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SUNDAY, MAY 13, 2012
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THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com
S TA N L E Y C U P P L AYO F F S
Rangers hold off Caps in Game 7
By IRA PODELL AP Sports Writer
AP PHOTO
New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal (18) defends himself with his gloves as Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin checks him in the first period of Game 7 on Saturday.
NASCAR
NEW YORK — Brad Richards and Michael Del Zotto scored, Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves, and the New York Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with a 2-1 victory in Game 7 over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night. Richards scored less than two minutes in, and Del Zotto doubled the lead in the third period to help the top-seeded Rangers improve to 5-0 in Game 7s at Madison Square Garden. That set up a matchup with the New Jersey Devils, the team the Rangers beat in the 1994 conference finals en route to their first Stanley Cup title in 54 years. That series will open Monday in New York.
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New York and Washington alternated wins and losses from Game 1 on, and this one didn’t come easy for the Rangers, who missed a chance to eliminate the Capitals in Game 6 on the road. Just 38 seconds after Del Zotto made it 2-0 at 10:05 of the third, Roman Hamrlik sent a shot off of New York forward Derek Stepan that fluttered past Lundqvist for his only blemish of the night.
N B A P L AYO F F S
New York played a very disciplined game, taking only one penalty for delay of game against Ruslan Fedotenko in the third period. The Rangers’ power play did nothing on its two chances, but keeping Washington’s manadvantage unit off the ice helped secure this win. The Capitals tried to pull Holtby for an extra skater with 1:22 left in the game, but he had to scramble back to cover the vacated net before he ever got to the bench. He finally got off the ice, and the Capitals pressured in the Rangers’ end. The puck was stuck in the corner when the final seconds ran out, and Lundqvist thrust both arms in the air as streamers poured down from the ceiling.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Cougars repeat as Freedom champions
Harvick, Busch still not friendly year later
The Times Leader staff
The Misericordia baseball team is headed back to the NCAA regionals. After a delay of a week because of field conditions in Quakertown, the Cougars beat DeSales 5-3 in the decisive game of the Freedom Conference tournament on Saturday, winning the program’s second straight league title. Senior Jeff Slanovec was named tournament MVP, finishing with an RBI double in the
EDITOR’S NOTE: At press time, the Southern 500 was still in progress. For complete results, go to www.timesleader.com By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Time has not smoothed things over between Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. The two Sprint Cup stars stole the show at the Southern 500 last year with their postrace dustup on the way to the garage after Regan Smith’s victory at the track “Too Tough To Tame.” Harvick was angered with Busch’s tactics late in the race when both were contending for the checkered flag. Busch, Harvick and Clint Bowyer were three-wide on the narrow track during a late restart when all were trying to chase down Smith. Bowyer went sprawling into the interior wall after contact. As cars spun out behind, Busch gathered his machine, then veered down the track and sent Harvick spinning. Smith held on through a green-white-checkered finish for his first Sprint Cup victory. But the real drama was unfolding on pit road as Busch and Harvick drove from the track. Busch was up against Harvick’s back bumper when Harvick jumped out and rushed toward Busch’s window where it looked like he took a swing at Busch. Busch bumped Harvick’s driverless car into the interior wall and headed into the garage. Both were called into the NASCAR hauler and each left composed — although with different versions of what happened. Busch said Harvick engaged in “unacceptable racing.” “I gave him room off of two, I didn’t get the room,” Busch said. Harvick said he was running hard and “things happen. That’s it. What do you do?” Busch and Harvick were both fined $25,000 and placed on probation by NASCAR after the Darlington tussle. The two said they hadn’t talked about what happened last year. “I tend to be able to let things go and forget about things while others tend to keep dwelling and keep bringing them back up,” Busch said. That includes Darlington Raceway leaders, who used the incident as part of its promotional campaign. The track urged fans not to miss round two between “Hitman” Harvick and “Rowdy Busch.” Billboards, radio spots and Internet ads saturated the market with another potential tangle. Harvick understood why the track used the incident to attract fans. He said he hasn’t spent too much time worrying about it. “I don’t talk about Kyle or to Kyle,” Harvick said.
Braden Holtby played well in his second career Game 7, making 29 saves. It was yet another heartbreaker for the Capitals, who were looking to reach the conference finals for the third time. Six of Washington’s seven playoff losses were by one goal, and only one of its 14 games overall were decided by more than one. Both the Rangers and the Capitals reached the second round of this year’s playoffs with Game 7 wins. New York knocked out Ottawa, and Washington eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins. But history isn’t all on the Rangers’ side. Since playoff expansion, no club has played 14 games in the first two rounds and went on to capture the Cup.
championship game. Tied 3-3 after six innings, Misericordia got a run in the seventh and eighth innings thanks to a pair of DeSales errors. Matt Karabin picked up the win in relief and Gabe Noyalis sealed the deal, earning the save with a strikeout and the tying run at the plate in the ninth. Andrew Tressa led the Cougars, finishing 3-for-5 with an RBI. Will Minderjahn and Chris Tuttle each had a pair of hits.
LOCAL ROUNDUP AP PHOTO
Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce drives against Philadelphia 76ers guard Evan Turner during the first quarter of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference semifinasl Saturday in Boston.
Garnett leads Celtics past 76ers
By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer
BOSTON — Kevin Garnett scored 29 points — his most in the regular- or postseason this year — and added 11 rebounds on Saturday night to give the Boston Celtics a 92-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Rajon Rondo had 17 assists, 13 points and 12 rebounds for his eighth career playoff tripledouble. He ran the length of the court to receive the inbounds pass and dribble out the final 3.4 seconds of the game. Game 2 is Monday night in Boston before the series shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4. Andre Iguodala scored 19 points and Evan Turner had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers, who advanced to the second round for the first time since 2003 by beating East No. 1 seed Chicago. The Sixers led 77-67 with 11 minutes to play before Boston scored 23 of the next 30 points, with Rondo making a jumper to cut it to 80-79, then another with 3:37 left to give Boston the lead. After Spencer Hawes’ basket from the right baseline put the
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Sixers up 84-83, Rondo drove to the basket and, with his path blocked, turned and handed the ball to Garnett. He banked one in and drew the foul to give Boston a two-point lead, then added another jumper. After misses by Turner and Lou Williams, Paul Pierce hit a fall-away jumper with 78 seconds left to make it a six-point lead — the Celtics’ biggest of the night. Jrue Holliday’s jumper cut it to three points, then Rondo fouled him with 3.4 seconds left and he made both foul shots. Boston inbounded the ball from between the benches, and Rondo sprinted back into the backcourt and outran his defender to the wrong basket as the time expired. Pierce, who had a sprained MCL in his left knee, scored 14 points on 3-for-11 shooting. Rondo was only 6 for 15 from the floor, but he was 3 for 6 in the fourth quarter, adding five
rebounds and four assists. Both teams advanced by winning their first-round series in six games: Boston beat Atlanta, and Philadelphia eliminated the Bulls to become the fifth No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1. They got only one day off before beginning the second round in Boston, where the Celtics earned their only victory against the Sixers this year. Philadelphia won the two games at home, including a 32-point victory on March 7. None of the three regular-season meetings between the teams was close. The Sixers scored the first seven points of the game and led by 10 at the end of the first quarter, when Boston shot 30 percent. It was 45-32 when Boston scored 10 of the last 12 points in the half, with Rondo picking up four assists and a steal in the final 3 minutes before the break. A little more than two minutes into the third, Avery Bradley outraced Rondo to a long rebound and took it in, splitting defenders Iguodala and Holiday for the reverse layup that made it 48-47 — Boston’s first lead of the game. Philadelphia quickly retook the lead and extended it to eight points.
Patriots rally for win, tie Coughlin for first The Times Leader staff
HUGHESTOWN — Down by three in the bottom of the seventh, Pittston Area rallied for four runs to beat Nanticoke 5-4 on Saturday in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division I baseball game. The victory moved the Patriots (8-5) into a first-place tie with Coughlin in Division I East with two games left to play. Patrick McGinty came through with the big hit in the seventh and finished with three RBI. Michael Schwab went the distance for the win, striking out seven. Anthony Ioanna hit his league-leading third home run for the Trojans (2-10) and struck out 10 in the loss. Nanticoke
ab r h bi
Yudichak c Jezewski cf Briggs 2b
4 1 1 0 4 1 0 0 3 1 2 0
Ioanna p Decker rf Ivan 1b Mlshfski ph
3 4 3 1
1 0 0 0
1 1 1 0
3 1 0 0
Pittston Area ab r h bi
Houseman 2b MSchwab p Razvillas 1b ASchwab 3b Loftus c Kielbasa lf Carey cf BDelaney dh Mancini pr Hahn rf McGinty ss
3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 2 3 0
1 0 1 0
0 0 2 0
0 0 0 0
Higgs ss 4 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 Maul lf 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Boyle dh 3 0 1 0 3 2 2 1 Sorber pr 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 Myers 3b 3 0 1 0 Totals 22 5 6 5 Totals 32 4 9 4 Nanticoke ................................. 002 000 2 — 4 Pittston Area............................ 001 000 4 — 5 2B – Kielbasa, Hahn, Briggs; HR – Ioanna IP H R ER BB SO Nanticoke Ioanna (L, 2-5).......... 6.1 6 5 5 1 10 Pittston Area MSchwab (W, 2-1) .. 7.0 9 4 2 1 7
Berwick 2, Tunkhannock 1
Clay DeNoia scattered six hits
and struck out six for the win while Ben Bower nailed down the save for the Bulldogs (8-4). Kyle Miller and Jordan Stout had two hits and an RBI apiece. Rich Condeelis and Alex Zaner both finished with two hits with a double for the Tigers (6-6). Tunkhannock
Berwick ab r h bi Morales cf 2 0 0 0 Melito 2b 2 1 1 1 Lashock 3b 3 0 1 0 Miller ss 2 0 2 1 JStout dh 2 1 2 1 Berkes 1b 0 0 0 0 May lf 3 0 1 0 Curtin c 2 0 0 0 Jones ph 1 0 0 0 Fnstrmchr rf 1 0 0 0 Laubach ph 1 0 0 0 DeNoia p 2 0 0 0 Bower p 1 0 0 0 Totals 27 1 7 1 Totals 20 2 7 2 Tunkhannock........................... 000 010 0 — 1 Berwick..................................... 001 010 x — 2 2B – Zaner, Condeelis, Melito IP H R ER BB SO Tunkhannock Saylor (L, 1-1)........... 6.0 7 2 1 1 6 Berwick DeNoia (W, 3-2)....... 5.1 6 1 1 1 6 Bower (S).................. 1.2 1 0 0 0 1
Sherry lf Zaner 2b Custer c Condeelis 1b JMcClain ss Saylor p Lee rf Ash 3b Thompson cf
ab 4 4 2 3 3 3 3 3 2
r 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
h bi 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
GIRLS LACROSSE
Dallas 11, Mifflinburg 10
Melissa Tucker scored her 5th goal of the day with one second remaining in regulation to edge Mifflinburg in Dallas’ last regular season game. Cara Pricher and Emily Capitano added three goals apiece for the Mountaineers while Madeline Mulhern contributed two assists and Dana Jolley had seven saves in goal. Dallas will take on Delaware Valley Monday evening in the first round of district playoffs.
A half-decade later, Nelson graduates Curtis delivers for Yanks in 10th MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
The Associated Press
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Fifty years ago, Don Nelson left the University of Iowa eight credits and a student-teaching requirement shy of a degree. Nelson took correspondence classes to complete the credits. But it took the most coaching wins in NBA history for the university to decide Nelson didn’t need to be a student teacher to earn a diploma. On Saturday, the former Hawkeyes’ star player returned to re-
ceive his bachelor’s degree in physical education during Iowa’s commencement ceremony at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long, long time. I wish it would have happened 50 years ago. But it didn’t,” Nelson said, “and I think that the morale to that story is it’s never too late as long as you keep working and keep having dreams. They can come true.” Nelson is known for the 1,355 coaching wins he picked up over 31 seasons as an NBA
coach, a career he wrapped up with Golden State following the 2010-11 season. It’s easy to forget that it all started over five decades ago in the Midwest. Nelson, who turns 72 on May 15, starred for Rock Island High in Illinois, just across the river from Iowa, and joined the Hawkeyes in 1959. Sporting a spiky blond flat top and a versatile game that would serve him well in the pros, Nelson finished his Iowa career as a two-time AllAmerican.
Times Leader staff
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Colin Curtis delivered a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the10th inning, driving in Kevin Russo from second base and making the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 3-2 winners over the Durham Bulls Saturday night. Russo had reached first on a fielder’s choice after Yadil Mujica singled to center field with one out.
Russo then stole second. Curtis’ hit made a winner out of righty Kevin Whelan (1-0). Whelan went 2 innings, allowing just two hits while striking out one. Josh Lueke (0-2) was tagged with the loss. The Yankees got on the board first with a two-run Steve Pearce home run in the third inning. The Bulls answered with two runs of their own in the top of the fourth.