Sports News
May 1, 2008Here are the sports results from Wednesday:
PHILADELPHIA - The Montreal Canadiens are down 3-1 in a playoff series they've dominated everywhere except where it counts most: the scoreboard.
Flyers goalie Martin Biron was yet again was brilliant - and the difference - as Philadelphia beat the Canadiens 4-2 Wednesday to take a commanding lead in their Eastern Conference semifnal.
PHILADELPHIA - Daniel Briere was steaming on the Philadelphia Flyers bench, upset at himself and his line for giving the Montreal Canadiens a new life.
So he went out and did something about it.
DALLAS - Sharks captain Patrick Marleau thought he had pushed the puck too far ahead. Maybe it was too much to expect another short-handed goal.
Instead, in an eerie replay for the Dallas Stars, Marleau managed to finish the play with a short-handed goal for the second straight game. This one came in Wednesday night's 2-1 victory that kept San Jose from being swept in the Western Conference semifinals.
BOSTON - Strong-armed Vernon Wells fielded back-to-back singles in the bottom of the ninth and fired home both times.
The centre-fielder's first throw cut down the potential winning run. His second was a split-second late, allowing Manny Ramirez to slide home safely and give the Boston Red Sox a 2-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night.
BOSTON - Takedowns and menacing gestures. Double technicals and flagrant fouls. And the Boston Celtics are heading to Atlanta to try to deliver the knockout punch.
Paul Pierce scored a playoff-high 22 points, and Ray Allen turned back the final Hawks' charge with three three-pointers in a three-minute span of the third quarter on Wednesday night to help Boston beat Atlanta 110-85 and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
CLEVELAND - Caron Butler saved Washington's season.
Butler made a layup with 3.9 seconds left and the Wizards held their breath as LeBron James missed a potential series-ending layup at the horn, giving Washington an 88-87 victory Wednesday night and adding at least one more game to this overheated NBA playoff series.
TORONTO - The red and white is infused with a dose of eco-friendly green for the upcoming Olympic Games - and it's going graphic to boot.
The design team at Hudson's Bay Company, who crafted Canada's Olympic apparel, say they've stepped up the style quotient for the Summer Games in Beijing with their first-ever collection comprising earth-friendly materials like bamboo, organic cotton and cacona, a fibre derived from coconut.
LONDON - Avram Grant has done what Jose Mourinho never managed to accomplish with Chelsea - put the London club into the Champions League final.
The Blues held on to beat Liverpool 3-2 in extra time Wednesday in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals, and their 4-3 aggregate win sent them to the final on May 21 in Moscow, where they will face Manchester United.
The best divers from China, Australia, Germany and the U.S. will be launching off the tower and springboard at Montreal's Olympic Pool starting Thursday.
The best diver from Canada will watch them from the stands. World champion and Olympic medallist Alexandre Despatie won't compete in the Maple Leaf Simply Fresh Canada Cup because he broke a bone in his right foot three weeks ago.
BEIJING - Chinese mountaineers made final preparations Wednesday to take the Olympic flame up Mount Everest in a grand but contentious feat that is being accorded an unusual mixture of fanfare and secrecy.
As China marked 100 days before the start of the Olympics, state-run television began the first of what were billed as elaborate and technically difficult live broadcasts from Everest's base camp for the journey up the world's tallest peak.
TORONTO - Bruce Boudreau was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year Wednesday after leading the Washington Capitals to a remarkable turnaround.
Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings and Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens are also up for the award, presented annually to the head coach who has "contributed the most to his team's success."
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont. - Stephanie Edmison of Toronto scored the first big upset at the Canadian squash championships on Wednesday, defeating second-seed Runa Reta of Montreal in second round play.
Edmison nearly squandered a two-game lead but prevailed 9-5, 9-7, 5-9, 9-7. Earlier Wednesday, Edmison opened the tournament with a 9-0, 9-0, 9-2 victory over Alix Younger of Winnipeg. Reta had a first round bye.
HALIFAX - Canada faces an opponent at this IIHF World Hockey Championship that it has never seen before.
As much as the Russians and Finns and Americans stand in the way of a gold medal, so does the burden of playing at home. It seems strange to consider home ice a disadvantage but only one of the last 21 host countries has even played in the gold-medal game - and Sweden had to settle for silver in 1995.
TORONTO - Three games into his career with Toronto FC and Honduran Amado Guevara is already feeling right at home.
The former MLS MVP has two goals and an assist, helping Toronto (3-2-0) to a franchise-record three wins in a row heading into Thursday's game against the visiting New York Red Bulls (7 p.m. ET). The attacking midfielder played for New York, then known as the MetroStars, from 2003 through 2006.
DALLAS - From the start, Avery Johnson was a perfect fit as coach of the Dallas Mavericks.
At the end, it was pretty obvious he wasn't.
LOS ANGELES - Oscar De La Hoya's farewell tour is beginning at home. He can only hope it doesn't end there, too.
De La Hoya fights Saturday night against light-hitting Steve Forbes in what is scheduled to be the first of three fights before he calls it a well-done career by the end of the year. It's a homecoming of sorts for the fighter from East L.A., but merely an appetizer for bigger things later this year against the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr., and possibly Miguel Cotto.
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - A 41-year-old man from Mississauga, Ont., has been charged for allegedly recruiting young people for a fake hockey school.
Peel Regional Police say the suspect got more than $100,000 in tuition and related fees from potential students.
