76ers, Mavericks take 2-0 leads
PHILADELPHIA, April 24 (UPI) -- Philadelphia and Dallas took command of their opening-round series Wednesday night while Detroit managed to draw even with Orlando.
With the eight first-round NBA series having completed two games each, five of them are deadlocked.
Allen Iverson scored 29 points and Kenny Thomas collected 17 and 16 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers took a 2-0 lead in their series with a 90-85 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.
New Orleans played Game 2 without starting point guard Baron Davis, who is sidelined with knee problems that plagued him throughout the season. Matters were made worse for the Hornets midway through third quarter when leading scorer Jamal Mashburn left with a dislocated right index finger.
Mashburn returned in the fourth period but was ineffective and is considered day-to-day.
Philadelphia led by as many as 17 points in the first half, but New Orleans pulled within four before Mashburn exited.
Iverson scored 10 points in the third quarter, capping it with a three-pointer to give the 76ers a 76-66 lead.
In Auburn Hills, Richard Hamilton scored 30 points and the Detroit Pistons overcame another record-setting performance by Tracy McGrady to even their series at one game apiece with an 89-77 victory over the Orlando Magic.
McGrady, the NBA scoring champion, poured in a team playoff-record 43 points to lead the Magic to a 99-94 victory in Game 1. He was even better in this one as he scored 46 points, making 16 of 26 shots from the field.
But McGrady received little help from his supporting cast, which combined for just 31 points while making 11 of 42 shots.
Hamilton led a balanced attack for the Pistons, who placed five players in double figures. Detroit never trailed and led by as many as 22 points in the first half, when they played like the conference's top seed.
In Dallas, Steve Nash hit a tie-breaking three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining that boosted the Mavericks to a 103-99 decision over Portland and a two games to none advantage.
Replays indicated that Nash's right foot was on the three-point line when he took the shot that gave Dallas a 102-99 advantage, but Dallas Coach Don Nelson complained about the discrepency in the number of fouls called in the game.
Portland went to the line 37 times to 18 for the Mavericks.
On Thursday, NBA action finds New Jersey at Milwaukee, Indiana at Boston and Minnesota at the Los Angeles Lakers. All three series are tied at 1-1.
NHL second round opens Thursday
DALLAS, April 24 (UPI) -- The NHL's conference semifinals open Thursday night with Jean-Sebastien Giguere being the player in the spotlight.
Giguere posted stunning statistics in the Western Conference quarterfinals, but the numbers will be against him when the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim take on the top-seeded Dallas Stars.
New Jersey, meanwhile, will entertain Tampa Bay in the opener of their series. On Friday, Minnesota will be at Vancouver and Philadelphia will visit Ottawa.
Giguere stopped 165 of 171 shots as the Mighty Ducks made the Detroit Red Wings the first defending Stanley Cup champion in 51 years to be swept in the first round of the playoffs.
That earned a second-round matchup with the Stars, against whom Giguere was pulled twice during the season after surrendering seven goals in just over four periods.
The Ducks have had a week off since dethroning the Red Wings. And that has put Giguere squarely in the media spotlight.
"I came into the playoffs taking it as a learning experience," he said. "The journalists and the media attention, which we don't get here very often, is part of the learning experience, something that every athlete has to go through if they want to be successful and win a championship. That's fine by me."
The Stars survived the first round without All-Star right wing Bill Guerin and playmaking center Pierre Turgeon, who are recovering from thigh and ankle surgery, respectively.
In their absence, Dallas got points from 15 different players. But Mike Modano and defenseman Sergei Zubov were the offensive stars with four goals and six assists apiece.
New Jersey erased the memory of last year's first-round loss with a stellar defensive job on Joe Thornton and his Boston Bruins.
Madden and linemates Jay Pandolfo and Turner Stevenson did more than keep Thornton in check. They outscored the Boston's No. 1 line, 3-2, as New Jersey took the series in five games.
Now Madden and his linemates face a different challenge in Vincent Lecavalier. While Thornton boasts impressive size and strength, Lecavalier, Vaclav Prospal and first-round hero Martin St. Louis rely on speed.
Brought together by Coach John Tortorella in Game 3 of the conference quarterfinals, Lecavalier, Prospal and St. Louis combined for 10 goals and seven assists as the Lightning rallied for an improbable six-game victory over the Washington Capitals.
Orioles pitching stays strong
BALTIMORE, April 24 (UPI) -- Jason Johnson allowed one run and one hit in six-plus innings Wednesday, allowing Baltimore to coast past the Chicago White Sox, 7-1.
Jeff Conine contributed a three-run home run in the bottom of the first.
Trailing, 3-1, the White Sox thought they tied the game in the fifth on an apparent two-run homer by Joe Crede. Replays appeared to show that Crede hooked the ball inside the left field foul poul, but after conferring, the umpires called it foul.
Johnson (3-0) walked four, struck out two and did not allow a hit until Paul Konerko delivered a one-out single in the fifth. Johnson walked Magglio Ordonez to start the seventh, then left after falling behind Konerko, 2-0.
In the last four games, Baltimore starters have allowed four runs in 28 innings for a 1.29 ERA.
The Orioles gave Johnson all the support he needed in the first inning. Bartolo Colon (3-1) issued a leadoff walk to Melvin Mora and gave up a single to B.J. Surhoff before Conine drilled an 3-2 pitch over the left field fence for his second home run.
Other American League results: Tampa Bay 4, Toronto 3; Boston 6, Texas 1; Detroit 4, Oakland 1; Seattle 4, Cleveland 0. Minnesota's game at Kansas City was rained out.
Eaton outduels Wood
CHICAGO, April 24 (UPI) -- Adam Eaton struck out a career-high 12 and combined with Matt Herges on a five-hitter Wednesday, carrying San Diego past the Chicago Cubs, 2-0.
It was only the third loss for the Cubs in 11 games.
Eaton (1-1), who allowed five hits and two walks, recorded his first win of the season while handing Wood his first loss. Herges tossed two hitless frames to record his first save.
Wood (3-1), who surrendered two runs and five hits in seven innings, struck out 11. But he missed a chance to became the second four-game winner in the National League. He was trying to become the first Cubs' pitcher to start 4-0 since Jaime Navarro and Jim Bullinger in 1995.
The Padres gave Eaton the only run he needed in the second as Xavier Nady led off with walk and moved to second on Mike Rivera's single. Wood struck out Shane Victorino and Eaton, but gave up an RBI single to Ramon Vazquez.
San Diego tacked on an insurance run in the fifth on Sean Burroughs' RBI single.
Other National League results: Atlanta 4, St. Louis 2; Florida 5, Milwaukee 4 in 12 innings; Arizona 6, Montreal 2; San Francisco 4, Pittsburgh 3 in 13 innings; Philadelphia 6, Colorado 4; Cincinnati 3, Los Angeles 0; New York 4, Houston 2.
Wallace named NBA Defensive Player of Year
NEW YORK, April 24 (UPI) -- Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons was named Wednesday as the NBA's Defensive Player of the year.
He is the sixth player to claim the honor two seasons in a row.
The 6-9 forward averaged a league-leading 15.4 rebounds and was second in the NBA with 3.15 blocks to help the Pistons earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Wallace joins Sidney Moncrief (1983-1984), Dennis Rodman (1990-1991), Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-1994), Dikembe Mutombo (1997-1998) and Alonzo Mourning (1999-2000) as the only back-to-back winners.
Wallace received 531 of a possible 585 points, including 100 of 117 first-place votes, from a panel of writers and broadcasters. Players received five points for a first-place vote, three for a second-place vote and one point for a third-place vote.
It has been a season of recognition for Wallace, who became the first undrafted player in history to be voted as a starter for the NBA All-Star Game. He led the NBA with 1,072 rebounds and 239 offensive rebounds, was second with 833 defensive rebounds and third with 230 blocks.
Soccer players killed in accident
MAPUTO, Mozambique, April 24 (UPI) -- Twelve members of the Wane Pone soccer club were killed and 13 were injured in a traffic accident.
The Mozambican Premier League team had hired a private minibus to transport the group home from the northern city of Nampula, where it played over the weekend, losing 2-0 to Ferroviario de Nampula.
The vehicle crashed into the back of a truck from the South African petro-chemical company SASOL on Tuesday night.
The bus was carrying Wane Pone's players, coaches, club officials and members, but the names of the deceased have yet to be released.
Based in the small fishing town of Inhassoro, Wane Pone was the sensation of Mozambican soccer last year, when it earned promotion to the Premier League for the first time. The club was in contention for the 2003 national championship.
Mario Andretti escapes injury in wreck
INDIANAPOLIS, April 24 (UPI) -- Mario Andretti made a frightening return to the cockpit of an Indy car Wednesday when he was involved in a crash with Kenny Brack.
The mishap came just a minute before a test session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was about to end.
According to Fred J. Nation, executive vice president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp., Brack had a mechanical problem on his final lap of an open test session. Andretti ran through a debris field and went airborne, nearly clearing the 22-foot catch fence that separates the track from the grandstand.
Andretti's car flipped three or four times and hit the fence, which sent it back toward the track. The rear axle tore away from the chassis and more than one tire was missing as the car landed on its right side.
Andretti was able to walk away and said he plans on being on the track on May 4, when it opens for Indianapolis 500 practice. He reached a top speed exceeding 226 miles per hour. The top speeds of the day in the private test session were over 229 mph.
Andretti drove the Dallara/Honda/Firestone normally piloted by IRL IndyCar Series driver Tony Kanaan, who is recovering from a broken arm. Another driver for Andretti/Green, Dario Franchitti, will miss the Indianpolis 500 due to a spinal fracture suffered in a motorcycle crash.
Mets place Burnitz, Cone on disabled list
NEW YORK, April 24 (UPI) -- New York Mets outfielder Jeromy Burnitz and pitcher David Cone landed on the disabled list Wednesday.
The Mets placed Burnitz and Cone on the 15-day disabled list as part of a series of rosters moves.
Burnitz, who is trying to rebound from the worst season of his career, will be sidelined from four to six weeks after being hit by a pitch in Tuesday night's loss to the Houston Astros.
He suffered a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal bone when he was hit on the left wrist by a fastball thrown by Billy Wagner in the ninth inning.
Earlier in the game, Cone left after just two innings with a strained left hip that has thrown a roadblock into his comeback attempt.
Cone's two-inning stint was his shortest since pitching 1 2/3 innings on Aug. 24, 1999 against the Texas Rangers as a member of the New York Yankees.
Cone is 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA in four starts for the Mets this season.
Army-Navy game stays in Philadelphia
WEST POINT, N.Y., April 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Military Academy and U.S. Naval Academy have decided to keep their football rivalry primarily in Philadelphia.
The service academies announced Wednesday that Philadelphia will remain as host of the annual December game four times during a five-year period from 2004 to 2008. The game in 2007 was awarded to Baltimore.
The service academies are expected to receive more than $20 million over the five-year period. They received serious interest from 14 cities looking to host the event. The list included East Rutherford, N.J., Houston, Pittsburgh and Seattle.
This year's game will be played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The game has been played 76 times at three Philadelphia venues -- Municipal Stadium (renamed John F. Kennedy Stadium), Franklin Field and Veterans Stadium.
Giants Stadium in New Jersey has hosted the event four times, including 2002. The game was staged nine times at the Polo Grounds in New York.
LPGA veteran diagnosed with cancer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., April 24 (UPI) -- Colleen Walker, a member of the LPGA Tour since 1982 and the winner of nine tournaments, has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Walker, who missed the last two seasons with a wrist injury, was hoping to return to the tour this year before a lump was detected during a routine mammogram on Jan. 6.
Walker is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments, but expects a full recovery and return to competitive golf in 2004.
"It's been a tough few months, but things are going well for me," Walker said in a statement released by the LPGA. "The outlook is very good. I waited a few months to make this public, but I feel it's really important to tell this story, as it shows how routine mammograms and early detection can save women's lives."
Following the initial detection, tests confirmed the lump was malignant and Walker underwent a mastectomy on Feb. 17. Subsequent tests showed no signs of further cancer, but she opted to undergo six sessions of chemotherapy, followed by radiation.
Walker will complete her treatment in the fall and said she has an "80-85 percent" of eradicating the disease completely.
Walker, who ranks 35th on the LPGA's all-time money list, earned her last two victories in 1997, when she won the du Maurier Classic and the Star Bank LPGA Classic. Her best season came in 1992, when she won three times and finished ninth on the money list.
