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CBSSports.com wire reports
March 27, 2011

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers have become a feel-good story this season, their playoff berth within reach under new head coach Doug Collins.

With a chance to improve their standing in the Eastern Conference, they showed they still have to find a way to reach their potential.

Marcus Thornton scored 32 points and former Philadelphia center Samuel Dalembert made two free throws in the closing seconds of overtime to give the Sacramento Kings a 114-111 win over the 76ers on Sunday.

Jason Thompson added 15 points and Beno Udrih made a big 3-pointer in the closing minutes to help the Kings win their third straight.

The Sixers were led by Jrue Holiday's 28 points, while Jodie Meeks added 22. Philadelphia missed a chance against one of the NBA's worst teams to make up ground on fifth-place Atlanta.

"We are fighting to make the playoffs. Sacramento is playing with house money," Collins said. "Hopefully, we learned. We have a lot of work to do. This was not a good day."

There were crackles of excitement, notably Lou Williams' 32-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer that sent the game into overtime, and Holiday's 16-point fourth-quarter, but the Sixers lost at home to a team that won just its 20th game of the season.

The Kings trailed by five at halftime, but Thornton's 19-point third quarter helped get them out of the hole. Trailing 91-87 with 4:58 to play, Holiday scored the next nine points for the Sixers -- capped by a 3-pointer -- to put Philadelphia up 96-91 with two minutes left.

Sacramento quickly tied it again after Thornton drilled a jumper, then a 3-pointer with 36.6 seconds to play.

In the closing seconds of regulation, Udrih made two free throws to give Sacramento a three-point lead, then the team opted not to foul Williams before he shot, and barely guarded him as he went up.

"We should have fouled Lou, but we didn't," Dalembert said.

The Kings outscored the Sixers 8-2 in the closing minutes of overtime, including Dalembert's free throws with 12 seconds to play that gave Sacramento a four-point lead. As he ran down the court to boos, he kissed his lips and pointed to the sky. The center, who spent his first eight NBA seasons in Philadelphia, finished with 13 points and 19 rebounds.

The Kings won for the first time in six overtime games.

"We could've easily folded the tent [because of] how things were going out there," Thornton said. "But, you know, hats off to our guys. We stayed in there and came out with a huge win."

After making 12 of their first 21 shots, the Sixers made 28 of 69 the rest of the game. Their bench was worse, shooting 4 for 26 (15 percent) and scoring just 14 points.

The Sixers (37-36) have lost two straight and are 4-6 in their last 10 after completing a 16-5 stretch. The Kings owned the boards, outrebounding Philadelphia 58-36 one game after Miami had a 49-31 rebounding edge against the Sixers.

"They're huge," Collins said. "There's no question. Elton [Brand] had three rebounds in 39 minutes. Evan [Turner] had one in 20 minutes. Thad [Young] had one in 18."

Overall, it wasn't a good finishing effort.

"I knew Sacramento was playing a lot better basketball than the last time we played them," Collins said. "They can score and make it very difficult for you to score. We got off to a good start. I thought it was fool's gold from moment one, and I told our guys that. We lost an edge. We never got it back, and then we fought and almost stole the game."

The Kings stole it back in overtime.

"Our team has a tendency to hang our heads and not bounce back from those kinds of things," Kings head coach Paul Westphal said. "We haven't been a good closing team for most of the year, but lately, we've improved in that area, too. We found a way to score, but mostly we stayed in the game because of our defense and rebounding."

Notes

Evans played in his second game since missing the previous 19 with left foot plantar fasciitis, scoring 10 points in 23 minutes. ... The Kings have won four of their past five after winning four of the previous 22 games.

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NEWARK, N.J.?One word summed up North Carolina?s locker room after Sunday?s loss?stunned.

?We worked to get this far, and it?s sad that we ended our season with unfilled potential,? said freshman forward Harrison Barnes (18 points, six rebounds), who led a furious rally that fell short. ?I thought we played great down the stretch. It was the first 30 minutes of the game. We can play a great 10 minutes, but it?s what you do before that. Previously we?ve been able to overcome that. Tonight we couldn?t.?

Barnes said that deciding whether or not to enter the NBA draft would have to wait.

?All I can tell you is, it won?t be today,? Barnes said.

Freshman forward John Henson (four points, nine rebounds), felt sick about spending most of the game in foul trouble.

?It hurts, you feel like you let the team down,? Henson said. ?You couldn?t do all you can do to help. That?s the worst feeling.?

Center Tyler Zeller said the reality of losing would really set in Monday.

?Anytime the season?s over, it?s a killer,? Zeller. ?I don?t even know what I?m going to do with my week. You?re just lost. You just feel empty.?

Asked about the future of the Tar Heels who might enter the draft, Zeller said, ?It?s something we?ll have to discuss. I think we?ll make the decision quick.?

North Carolina vs. Kentucky: Recap | Play-by-play | Box score

Kansas vs. VCU: Recap | Play-by-Play | Box score

Butler vs. Florida: Recap | Play-by-Play | Box score

Connecticut vs. Arizona: Recap | Play-by-Play | Box score

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And we all thought that Butler?s run was incredible.

VCU has now done something that no other team has done before. The Rams, who took part in the first ever at-large play-in game just 16 short days ago, is now headed to the Final Four after capping off their astonishing run through the bracket with a 71-61 win over No. 1 seed Kansas. It was their fifth straight win in the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first team to ever do so before reaching the Final Four.

The Rams knocked off teams from five of the six BCS conferences. They were the underdog in each of the five games. Their star point guard nearly transferred in the offseason after former head coach Anthony Grant took the job at Alabama. Their star center is a cast-off from Wake Forest. Hell, head coach Shaka Smart, who played basketball at D-III Kenyon College, didn?t even gather his team to watch the NCAA Tournament selection show because he did not believe they were getting in.

Like George Mason in 2006, the Rams have gone from a questionable addition to the tournament to two wins from a national title.

But unlike George Mason, VCU has a real, honest-to-god shot at winning this thing.

VCU didn?t luck into the Final Four. They aren?t headed to Houston because they were given the benefit of a friendly whistle or took advantage of a soft bracket. VCU smothered USC on the defensive end of the floor. They ran both Purdue and Georgetown off of it. After squeaking by Florida State in the Sweet 16, the Rams overcame a hot start by Kansas to take down the tournament?s most talented remaining team.

And this is where VCU?s story starts to differ from George Mason.

When the Patriots made the Final Four in 2006, they knocked off some impressive opponents, but they did so in dramatic fashion. Against a talented-but-enigmatic UConn team that had been struggling throughout the tournament ? if you remember, that team nearly lost to Albany in the first round ? George Mason overcame a 12 point halftime deficit to win in overtime when Denham Brown?s last second three bounced off the rim.

VCU needed no such luck. And VCU didn?t need to make a comeback.

After the Jayhawks scored the first six point of the game, VCU responded with a 19-4 run that they stretched out to a 39-15 surge. They were up by 14 at the half. Kansas made couple runs at the Rams in the second half, at one point getting as close as two, but VCU had an answer every time.

And while Jamie Skeen will look like the hero, finishing with 26 points and 10 boards, VCU?s real savior was the diminutive Joey Rodriguez. His stat line was, frankly, pretty ugly. He finished with nine points, five boards, five assists, four turnovers, and 2-8 from the field.

But it was Rodriguez who sparked VCU?s final push.

After airballing a three the previous possession and seeing Kansas get within 57-52 with less than five minutes left, Rodriguez stepped up and buried a three early in the shot clock. (In hind sight, it was a pretty dumb shot, one that surely had Smart doing the old ?No, no, no, YES!!?) A minute later, Rodriguez dribbled his way under the rim, somehow finding Brad Burgess at the top of the key for a wide open three that pushed the lead to nine points. Two minutes later, Rodriguez again found Burgess, this time on a nifty pass that led to a layup, to put VCU up 65-57 with less than two minutes left.

You see, the thing about VCU in this game ? in this tournament ? is that they played like the favorite. They were the ones that jumped all over Kansas. They were the team that made the Jayhawks fall back on their heels. The Rams were playing confident, physical basketball. They were jawing after baskets and diving on loose balls.

Kansas?

They spent the first half looking hesitant and unconfident. They took quick, ill-advised shots early in the possession. They turned the ball over and missed free throws (15-28 on the game). The Jayhawks were flustered. They looked ill-prepared for playing on this kind of stage.

VCU may not have been the more talented team, but they were the better team on Sunday afternoon.

And the beauty of the NCAA Tournament is that being the better team on one afternoon is all you need to advance.

That?s why a team that didn?t even think they would get a shot to dance will now be performing on the sport?s biggest stage.

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West Region Champion: Connecticut (30-9)

Seed: 3

Conference: Big East

The strength: UConn?s greatest asset is the unyielding stamina of its primary offensive weapons, junior point guard Kemba Walker and freshman wing Jeremy Lamb. Walker rarely rests on the bench, and Lamb still can be found late in games working relentlessly to run around screens to free himself for scoring opportunities. Lamb does not perform like a typical freshman. He has a high-level understanding of offensive basketball and how to make himself useful beyond merely catching the ball and shooting it.

The weakness: This still is not an elite perimeter shooting team, with the Huskies hitting 33.7 percent. They?re poor from the field, actually, at 43.5 percent. It?s a little surprising more teams haven?t attempted to use zone defense to control the Huskies? plundering of the foul lane. Cincinnati did it in the second round but couldn?t score enough to support an adequate defensive performance. No team uses dribble penetration to greater advantage. Teams have tried to double Walker when he catches, or when he reaches the lane, but he?s too skilled a passer for that to be consistently effective.

Best player: Walker has been an All-America since the season began and has dominated March in a way we?ve rarely seen. The difference between his performance and that of, say, Davidson?s Stephen Curry in 2008 or Purdue?s Glenn Robinson in 1994 is that Walker made it all the way to the Final Four. He is blazingly quick with the basketball?not quite as absurdly dynamic as an Allen Iverson but measuring nicely in that category against ordinary humans. Walker not only has that electric first-step and immediate acceleration, but he also can stop in an instant, gain his balance and fire accurate pull-up jumpshots. That?s the skill that famously led Pitt?s Gary McGhee to stumble to the court at Madison Square Garden while Walker launched the game-winning jumper in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. Walker was widely criticized by statistical analysts during the season because, asked to carry a heavy offensive burden, he forced action and often shot a low percentage. What his critics missed, as with Iverson, is that even his misses could become positive plays if they occurred after penetration had rearranged the defense.

Super sub: Freshman point guard Shabazz Napier is actually a starter who comes off the bench, and he handles the ball much of the time so Walker can function more as a scorer than playmaker. Napier is a lefty who is strong on the ball, makes open shots and handles his defensive responsibilities. His contributions at that position helped restore Walker to greatness after a mid-season slump.

Coach?s M.O.: Pugnacious Jim Calhoun searches for battles even when there are none, but this year he didn?t always have to manufacture his fights. There was the NCAA hearing that took place on the first day of practice and ultimately led to sanctions against the program and the coach. There was the widespread expectation that the Huskies would follow last year?s disappointing season with a challenging rebuild. Aside from its motivational utility, it is impossible for Calhoun to justify taking offense to the low expectations, and yet he does. The Huskies underachieved last year, missed the tournament, and were starting over with the widely respected Walker, promising big man Alex Oriahki, a group of veterans who?d never contributed and a bunch of freshmen underrated by most everyone save Calhoun. This is what makes Calhoun great, but the act has grown a bit tiresome through the course of the season.

Season?s turning point: There?s a temptation to say it was the home loss to Notre Dame on the final day of the regular season. The Huskies blew a late lead and afterward regrouped and began their current nine-game winning streak. But none of this would have developed had not Walker taken command late in the Maui Invitational opener against Wichita State and delivered a comeback win. Without that game, there is no chance to outlast Michigan State in the semifinal and blow out Kentucky in the championship game. These were essential results in getting the Huskies seeded as a No. 3 after they finished just 9-9 in the Big East regular season.

Toughest tournament test: In the regional final against Arizona, the Huskies had to survive two attempts at game-winning 3-pointers by the Wildcats and prevailed, 65-63. They were fortunate that Wildcats star forward Derrick Williams was limited to 26 minutes because of first-half foul trouble.

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Andy Roddick of the U.S. wipes his face as he walks from the court during his match against Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay at the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament in Key Biscayne, Florida March 26, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Hans Deryk

MIAMI | Sun Mar 27, 2011 3:05am EDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - Defending champion Andy Roddick made a shock early exit from the Sony Ericsson Open on Saturday, suffering a second round loss to Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas 6-4 7-6.

The world number eight, struggled physically and needed medical treatment during the second set, said that he was likely suffering from a lingering bronchial infection.

"I had a little trouble breathing out there today. I've had something for a little while but I'm going to have it checked out when I get home," the American told reporters.

Roddick was broken in the seventh game as 67th-ranked Cuevas took charge and although he battled on in a tight second set, he looked sluggish and bowed out in the tiebreak with consecutive forehand errors.

"I'm just frustrated. You don't like going out there with less than what you have got and I feel like I have been doing that a lot," he said.

"It's not like I'm super mad because I had chances or lost or didn't play. It's just frustrating."

The win was the first for Cuevas against a top 10 ranked player and left the tournament without another drawcard after Britain's Andy Murray was defeated by U.S. qualifier Alex Bogomolov on Friday.

NADAL HAPPY

Number one seed Rafael Nadal had no such problems, however, and was satisfied with his 6-4 6-4 win over Kei Nishikori of Japan.

"I'm very happy about how I played. I think I played at a high level tonight," Nadal said. "The feeling was better than last week, so that's important. My serve worked very well at the end of the match."

Leading 2-1 in the first set, Nishikori failed to convert on two break opportunities and Nadal promptly broke the Japanese player in the ensuing game. In the eighth game, Nishikori again failed to convert on two break points.

Nadal broke Nishikori in the opening game of the second set and held serve to close out the match.

Third seed Roger Federer also advanced, enjoying a routine 6-3 6-3 win over Czech Radek Stepanek earlier on Saturday.

The victory took Federer alongside Pete Sampras with 762 career wins, equal seventh overall. Jimmy Connors tops the list with 1,241 wins.

"It's a funny stat," the Swiss said. "But it shows how long I have been around already, how much I've won all around the world and on all the different surfaces."

Federer, seeking his third Miami title, was ruthless, converting all three of his break point chances.

(Reporting by Simon Evans; Editing by Julian Linden and John O'Brien)

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SAN FRANCISCO -- With prosecutors saying Barry Bonds lied about using steroids, the home run king's lead attorney started picking at the government's case Tuesday, attacking witnesses expected to accuse Bonds of willfully taking drugs to make him hit the ball harder and farther.

Defense lawyer Allen Ruby, his rich voice sometimes inflected with sarcasm, said in his opening statement that a former Bonds girlfriend, a former business partner and a former personal shopper only came forward against his client after the baseball star broke off relationships with them.

He also insisted Bonds testified truthfully before a grand jury in December 2003 when he said he did not know he was using a pair of designer steroids. Bonds claims his trainer told him that he was taking "flaxseed oil" and "arthritic cream."

"I know it doesn't make a great story. Barry Bonds went to the grand jury and told the truth and did his best," Ruby said. "That's not a made-for-TV story."

On a day when federal agent Jeff Novitzky became the first witness to testify, saying Bonds' grand jury account differed with other facts in the case, the contrast in stories and legal teams could not have been greater.

While Ruby, a high-priced, high-profile defense lawyer, spoke in a booming baritone and painted Bonds as a victim over the course of an hour, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew A. Parrella gave his 46-minute statement in a workmanlike monotone that had some jurors struggling to keep their heads up.

His two best lines drew objections from Ruby that were sustained by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston.

First, Parrella called BALCO founder Victor Conte, Bonds trainer Greg Anderson and Bonds "the three Musketeers of BALCO."

Then, Parrella said Bonds' grand jury testimony was an "utterly ridiculous and unbelievable story."

After the opening statements, and with the jury out of the court room, Anderson walked in and passed Bonds, who turned his head away.

Anderson repeated his long-standing refusal to testify against his childhood friend, was held in civil contempt by Illston, taken into custody by U.S. Marshals and escorted out a back door. This will be his fourth time in prison, his third for refusing to testify against Bonds, and he likely will be held until the end of the trial. The case is expected to last about a month.

Anderson also served three months in prison and three months in home confinement for money laundering and steroids distribution from the original Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) case. Anderson's plea in that instance happened in 2005. Bonds' trial is the last to stem from the BALCO investigation.

Mark J. Geragos, Anderson's lawyer, argued that additional sanctions would be "punitive rather than coercive," which was ignored by Illston. Later, she instructed the jury that Anderson was unavailable and that jurors may not draw "any inference from his failure to testify."

Anderson was the go-between for Bonds in his contact with BALCO, and without his testimony to authenticate them, Illston excluded what the government said were three positive drug tests performed for the lab. Because he isn't testifying, the government will have a harder time proving the charges in Bonds' indictment, which includes four counts of making false statements to the grand jury and one count of obstruction.

Each count carries a penalty of up to 10 years, but federal guidelines recommend a sentence of 15 to 21 months.

Bonds, wearing a dark suit as he did Monday, this time with a light blue shirt and a silver-blue tie, sat with hands clasped for much of the time during opening statements. He occasionally wrote out notes for his lawyers, and he sat slouched in his chair, his long legs crossed at the ankles and poking out the other side of the defense table.

While much or all of the government's evidence has been made public since Bonds' indictment in December 2007, Ruby gave the clearest indication of the defense strategy: stick to the story Bonds told the grand jury and assail those implicating against him.

Ruby said the government witnesses and leaks "created a caricature of Barry Bonds, terrible guy, bad, mean."

"Barry is not a caricature. He's a man," Ruby said. "Whether the evidence in this case persuades you that he is an admirable man or not an admirable man or something in between has not a thing to do, we can all agree, with the charges that the United States government brought against him." He also criticized the government witnesses for cooperating with the media, saying they created "poisonous things that have been out there about Barry."

Ruby alleged Kimberly Bell, an ex-girlfriend who ended a nine-year relationship with Bonds, and Steve Hoskins, who had a fallout with Bonds in his signed memorabilia business, were "facing the loss of the financial benefit that Barry provided to them over the years."

Ruby also criticized Kathy Hoskins, Steve's sister and Bonds' former personal shopper, saying "the bitterness of these people toward Barry ... was very, very pervasive."

Jurors, who brought pads of paper to the court room, took notes as Novitzky spoke, and there were several empty seats in the five spectator rows during his often-tedious testimony.

Under questioning from Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey D. Nedrow, the tall, bald investigator, then with the IRS and now with the Food and Drug Administration, recounted going through BALCO's trash and finding copies of magazine articles containing photos of Bonds with BALCO executives. He then identified what he called a "treasure trove" of drugs taken from Conte's storage locker, and syringes, steroids and HGH seized from Anderson's home in September 2003. He said Bonds' claims that he was given steroids unknowingly caused prosecutors to consider whether they should file assault charges against BALCO executives.

When Novitzky, in response to a question from Ruby, talked about a recording of Anderson and Hoskins discussing how Anderson injected Bonds, several jurors took notes. Ruby objected to the testimony, and Illston ordered it stricken from the record.

Bonds rubbed his eyes and rested his chin on a hand during part of Novitzky's long testimony. A member of his legal team read the Huffington Post on a laptop.

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They did it again, and it?s absolutely mind-boggling. Despite shooting 9-33 from beyond the arc, and playing one big man against three, the Butler Bulldogs pulled off yet another upset special in the NCAA Tournament, this time stunning the Florida Gators 74-71 in overtime.

You hate the overused reference to Clue, but I simply cannot have enough fun with how surprisingly successful the basketball team of this small private co-educational liberal arts school has been in the last calendar year.

The Bulldogs are the first non-BCS conference affiliated school since UNLV in 1990 and 1991 to reach two consecutive Final Fours, but the dichotomy between the programs couldn?t be more stark. Those Runnin? Rebels were mean and vicious; boasting speed, quickness and future pros that made them look everything like a powerhouse team from any one of the Big Six conferences.

Butler is not that. Instead, it is the embodiment of a overachieving group of athletes dedicated to one single goal, led by one of the brightest and boldest coaches in all of sports. They defy everything that is elite, everything that is supposed to happen, everything that the numbers tell you is probably going to happen.

Four minutes into this afternoon?s game, it was pretty clear that the Bulldogs were outmatched. Vernon Macklin, nothing more than a serviceable big man for Billy Donovan, displayed an array of post moves against the inferior Butler frontcourt that was slightly similar to Hakeem Olajuwon.� The Gators? game plan appeared quite simple: bang it down low, rinse, repeat and then win. All for naught, Macklin finished with a career high 25-points.

But because they know how to leave us miffed better than any college basketball team in recent memory, Butler stuck around despite desperate shooting and limited offensive options. Unable to get into the Gators zone? ? they shot a lot of threes, and missed a good chunk of them. An astounding 55 percent of Butler?s attempted field goals were from beyond the arc, but the Bulldogs never really faltered ? baiting the Gators into silly decisions of their own by pressuring the perimeter and making the anything-can-happen backcourt duo of Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker into having to make decisions.� That?s where the game changed, as the Gators only got two points in the paint from their big man in the final 10 minutes of regulation.

From there, magic ensued. You don?t need all the details.

Brad Stevens said it best following last Saturday?s victory against Pittsburgh, and his frankness is much appreciated. Butler is not any better than any of the teams they have played en route to Houston ? and that includes Florida. But they are smarter, savvier, close like your top regional salesman, and seem to have tinge more luck than their opponents.

Those sorts of intangibles apparently can take you very far in March.

Nick Fasulo is the manager for Searching for Billy Edelin. Follow him on Twitter @billyedelin.

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Perry lifts Ducks past 'Hawks

Corey Perry scored twice in the third period and Anaheim's surging top line powered the Ducks to a 2-1 victory over Chicago in a key battle between Western Conference playoff hopefuls on Saturday night. Perry has eight goals in his last five games, putting him one ahead of Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos for the NHL lead with 44.

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