SPORTS

Judge Refuses To Accept Recording In Bonds' Trial

In a major relief for troubled baseball star Barry Bonds, the judge on Tuesday disallowed a recording discovered by a key witness in the perjury trial against the former San Francisco Giants slugger. District Judge Susan Illston called the 2003 garbled tape "barely intelligible." The prosecutors must be disappointed with the rule as they were planning to use the tape to bolster the credibility of a key government witness.

NFL Owners, Players Dispute Moves To Courtroom

The ongoing labor dispute between NFL owners and the NFL Players Association is set to move to a federal court in Minnesota tomorrow. Experts however, maintain that the players will emerge victorious and the court would give the leverage to the players, helping a quicker return to the business of football. “Both sides have compelling arguments,” said Andrew Brandt, an attorney to AJC. “The [players] do have [legal] precedent on their side from the same court in Minnesota from 20 years ago. On the owners’ side, they make a compelling argument that the standard of proof for lifting the lockout — irreparable harm — has not been met.”

San Jose Thrash Kings 6-1

In a one-sided encounter, the San Jose Sharks yesterday defeated Los Angeles Kings 6-1 at HP Pavilion. Center Michal Handzus scored the Kings' only goal of the game. Six players each scored a goal to help the Sharks clinch their fourth consecutive Pacific Division title. With this win, the Kings moved up to the No. 2 seeding, while the Kings dropped from fourth to fifth.

Connecticut Defeat Butler To Win Third Men's Basketball Title

The University of Connecticut yesterday defeated Butler University 53-41 at Reliant Stadium in Houston to claim its third men’s college basketball championship. Connecticut dominated the Bulldogs from the word go and completely outplayed them. Butler was held to 19 percent shooting, hitting 12 of 64 shots, their worse record so far. “We knew that we could really defend them,” Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said during the trophy presentation ceremony. “The major adjustment was we were going to out-will them and outwork them, and eventually we outplayed them.”

Shaka Smart Extends His Contract With VCU

In a good news for Virginia Commonwealth fans, their brilliant coach Shaka Smart, who led the Rams to their first-ever Final Four appearance, has decided to prolong his stay at the school, rejecting an offer from NC State, reported the Charlotte Observer. "[Smart] is staying,'' VCU athletic director Norwood Teague said in an email, according to the report.”We agreed to terms this [Monday] morning." “We’ve talked about that stuff so much. I bother him about it probably more than he bothers me. I’m always, ‘You need to think of five things we’ll do in the next nine months. We’ll go raise the money, we’ll do it.’ He feels so good about that. We’re still on the same page. We do things to our program that a lot of BCS programs don’t do, because we’re really a basketball-only school,” Teague added.

Brutally Beaten Giants Fan Still In Coma

San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, who was badly beaten by Dodgers fans on Thursday is still in coma. The 42-year-old Giants fan suffered critical injuries after being beaten brutally by Dodgers fans following the team's opening-night victory at Chavez Ravine. Stow is still in a hospitalized in Los Angeles after undergoing surgery. Stow is a paramedic and a father of two and his friend believes he was attacked "because he was the biggest" of the group. Police are yet to apprehend his assailants and has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to their arrest.

Stars Defeat Ducks To Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

Dallas Stars held their nerves to secure a 4-3victory over Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center yesterday and kept their playoff hopes alive. The Stars (39-28-11, 89 points) are now three points behind the eighth-place Blackhawks and they have four games in hand. “It’s one game at a time, but we definitely needed this game,” defenseman Stephane Robidas said. “It was stressful, but we came through. When it’s stressful and you win, then it’s fun.”

Notre Dame Women Defeat Connecticut, Reach National Final

In a shocking outcome, Notre Dame yesterday defeated two-time defending national champion Connecticut, 72-63, in their national semifinal action at Conseco Fieldhouse. Connecticut defeated Notre Dame in three previous meetings this season, but the Notre Dame’s women’s basketball program will always remember the Irish’s victory over Connecticut at a time when it mattered the most. Coach Muffet McGraw’s Irish hope to continue their magical run as The Notre Dame (31-7) will now Texas A&M (32-5) on Tuesday at Conseco Fieldhouse. The No. 2 seed Aggies secured a place in the final after registering a 63-62 victory against No. 1 seed Stanford (33-3) in the first national semifinal game.

Krystkowiak Replaces Boylen As Utah Coach

Nets assistant Larry Krystkowiak has become the new coach of the University of Utah, which means Krystkowiak will lead the Utes into the Pacific 12 Conference. Krystkowiak’s appointment came three weeks after Jim Boylen was fired by athletic director Chris Hill following consecutive losing seasons. The Nets will introduce Krystkowiak at a news conference Monday. The 45-year-old Krystkowiak has been associated with the New Jersey as an assistant for the last eight months. He played for the Jazz in 1992-93 after being drafted in the second round (28th overall) in 1986 by the Chicago Bulls.

UConn Defeat Kentucky 56-55

UConn defeated Kentucky 56-55 in the second game of the Final Four on Saturday at Reliant Stadium to end Kentucky’s heroics. Kentucky’s DeAndre Liggins wasted a 3-point attempt with six seconds left but UConn’s Shabazz Napier made full use of the opportunity and made two free throws after grabbing the rebound. The third-seed Huskies (31-9), who are also the West Regional champions, will now clash with Butler for the title Monday night. The Bulldogs reached the final after securing a 70-62 win over the VCU in the other semifinal.

Flames Captain Jarome Iginla Touches 1,000-point Mark

Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla yesterday became the 77th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points when he scored the game-winner three-pointer with 5:03 remaining. Iginla’s good show also helped Flames secure a 3-2 victory at St. Louis. The Flames captain scored late in the second period and also set up Alex Tanguay's tying goal at 8:01 of the third period. Iginla walked into the history after defeating Jaroslav Halak with a wrister from the right circle.

Lakers On Course To Steal Top Slot From Spurs

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz at Staples Center yesterday to move a game closer to the San Antonio Spurs' untouchable No. 1 seed in the West bracket of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. With yesterday’s win, the Lakers move to 55-20. The Spurs suffered an overtime defeat at the hands of the Houston Rockets to fall to 57-19. It was sixth defeat in a row for the Spurs, the worse skid for the franchise since 1997.