National Digest
Moving on PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Detroit powered into the second round by crushing Philadelphia 100-77 on Thursday night, winning the series 4-2. The Pistons have only one day off before they host the Magic on Saturday in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Richard Hamilton hit his first five shots during Detroit’s overpowering start and finished with 24 points. Cubs fall CHICAGO (AP) — Ryan Braun hit a two-run double off Kerry Wood during Milwaukee’s three-run ninth inning and the Brewers rallied to beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Thursday. Wood blew his third save in seven chances and wasted a fine performance by Carlos Zambrano, who pitched 6 1-3 innings and helped himself with his 13th career homer — tying the team record held by Ferguson Jenkins. With the Cubs ahead 3-1, Wood hit leadoff batter Craig Counsell in the ninth and pinch-hitter Gabe Kapler doubled over the head off left fielder Alfonso Soriano — who just came off the disabled list Thursday after being sidelined with a strained right calf. Jason Kendall followed with an RBI single up the middle that shortstop Ryan Theriot knocked down. Wood (2-1) walked Rickie Weeks to load the bases before striking out Mike Cameron. But Braun lined a double to right-center to give the Brewers a 4-3 lead. Rookie award BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) — Kevin Durant became the first Seattle player to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award — and perhaps the last. Durant, the national college player of the year at Texas and the No. 2 pick last year, averaged 20.3 points for the SuperSonics. The youngest player in the league at 19 was a bright spot during a dismal basketball season in Seattle. The Sonics won 20 games, and team owner Clay Bennett recently got league approval to move the team to Oklahoma City. Cutler diagnosed DENVER (AP) — Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, his business manager Marty Garafalo confirmed. The 25-year-old Cutler found out about two weeks ago that he was diabetic and needed daily insulin injections. Garafalo said Cutler was managing his disease and “in no way is his football career jeopardized.” NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A man charged with shooting three people outside a Las Vegas strip club has denied he was involved and accused Adam “Pacman” Jones of ordering the shooting and framing him to avoid identifying the real shooter.
HOCKEY NEW YORK (AP) — Rangers forward Sean Avery remained in an intensive care unit, two days after his spleen was lacerated during a playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The internal bleeding, that has kept Avery in intensive care, stopped. If that improvement continues, he could be moved out of the unit Friday morning, Rangers spokesman John Rosasco said. GOLF BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) — Lorena Ochoa felt helpless as too many shots ballooned into relentless gusts that reached 36 mph, sending her to a 2-over 73 at the SemGroup Championship — only her second round over par this year. Hee Young Park held it together in Oklahoma’s notorious wind with a 2-under 69, and Beth Bader also was 2 under as she finished up a tough day for everyone at Cedar Ridge. Two other subpar rounds came from Ochoa’s group — Paula Creamer and defending champion Mi Hyun Kim, each with 70s. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — David Toms took the first-round lead in the Wachovia Championship, breaking out of a missed-cut, sore-back funk with a 5-under 67. Playing in the morning when the greens were still soft from the drenching rain earlier in the week, Toms made eight birdies, including a near ace at the 13th hole, to take a one-shot lead over Phil Mickelson and Jason Bohn. Mickelson, in his first tournament since the Masters, showed off his new, longer putter in shooting a 68. SEVILLE, Spain (AP) — John Daly shot a 3-over 75 in his first tournament in Spain in 16 years, leaving him 10 strokes behind leader Martin Erlandsson in the Spanish Open. Erlandsson, from Sweden, birdied the final three holes for a course-record 65. Spain’s Jordi Garcia and Ignacio Garrido shot 66s on the Real Club de Golf de Sevilla. BASEBALL LOS ANGELES (AP) — Buzzie Bavasi, who built Dodgers teams that won four World Series titles in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, died at his home in the La Jolla area of San Diego. He was 93. His death was announced by the Seattle Mariners, whose general manager is Bill Bavasi, a son of the former Dodgers GM. Emil Joseph Bavasi — nicknamed Buzzie by his family for the way he buzzed around as a kid — helped put together Dodgers teams that included future Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. As an executive in the Dodgers’ minor league system, he helped Robinson, Campanella and Don Newcombe through their often difficult integration into professional baseball. Robinson went on to break the major league color barrier. TENNIS BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Rafael Nadal defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Barcelona Open quarterfinals, posting his 100th win on clay in his last 101 matches. Nadal’s backhand was sharp throughout the match, and another break in the second set was enough to set up a quarterfinal match against Juan Ignacio Chela, who defeated Ernests Gulbis 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland will play Albert Montanes after upsetting seventh-ranked David Nalbandian 6-3, 6-1. Montanes held on to beat Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Earlier, fifth-seeded David Ferrer rallied to stop Nicolas Lapentti 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. He will next play Tommy Robredo, who topped ninth-seeded Guillermeo Canas 6-1, 7-5. Also, Denis Gremelmayr defeated 15th-seeded Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-0. He will face Nicolas Almagro, who improved to a 21-3 record on clay this season after defeating Mario Ancic 7-6 (5), 6-2. MUNICH, Germany (AP) — Marat Safin edged Michael Berrer 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the BMW Open. The Russian next faces second-seeded Fernando Gonzalez, who rallied to defeat Kristof Vliegen 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 on another day of rain delays. Younes El Aynaoui upset seventh-seeded Steve Darcis 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and will face Juan Martin Del Potro — a 1-6, 6-0, 6-4 winner over Igor Andreev. PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) — Top-seeded Vera Zvonareva advanced to the quarterfinals of the Prague Open when wild-card Magdalena Rybarikova withdrew. The 13th-ranked Russian will next play Roberta Vinci. Second-seeded Shahar Peer, Klara Zakopalova, third-seeded Victoria Azarenka, fourth-seeded Katarina Srebotnik, and Iveta Benesova also advanced. FEZ, Morocco (AP) — Second-seeded Gisela Dulko defeated Emilie Loit 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem. The Argentine will play seventh-seeded Sorana Cirstea, who defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-2. Alisa Kleybanova and fourth-seeded Aravane Rezai also advanced.
