The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 56

2004:04:10:22:59:15 D4 SPORTS LOSANGELESTIMES father, Leon, and uncle, Michael, having been champions. He has his name on three title belts as the reigning welterweight champ of the WBC, World Boxing Assn. and International Boxing Federation. And Saturday night, in the semi-main event, Cory (33-2, 10) defended those titles with a unanimous decision over Zab Judah (30-2, one no-contest, 22). beat a super fighter Spinks said.

I get credit now, I know what I have to Judge Doug Tucker scored the fight 116-111 and judges Chuck Giampa and Dave Moretti each gave it to Spinks, 114-112. The Times scored it 115-112 for Spinks. Spinks was clearly the superior fighter in a match that lacked much action until the last two rounds. Then the crowd woke up when Judah went down in the 11th round. He got up and floored Spinks in the closing seconds of the 12th.

All Spinks had to do to win the fight was to get up, and that he did. In an earlier match, Lakva Sim (19-3-1, 16) of Mongolia won the vacant WBA lightweight championship by beating Miguel Callist (17-4-1 13) of Panama on a fifth-round TKO. The fight was stopped at the 2:20 mark of the round by referee Tony Gibson after Callist had previously been knocked down in that round. Klitschko (42-3, 39), who had a four-inch height advantage and 17-pound weight advantage, had blistered Brewster, a 3-1 underdog, with a devastating jab through the first four rounds, bloodying his face. But in the fifth, Brewster connected with a pair of left hands that left Klitschko helpless on the ropes.

Byrd gave Klitschko a standing eight-count, ruling that only the ropes had prevented him from going down. When the bell sounded to end the round, Klitschko was back on the ropes. With the final echo of that bell still ringing in his ears, Klitschko fell to the canvas from the accumulation of punishment Brewster had dished out. Byrd tried to help Klitschko up. But when Klitschko staggered to his feet, Byrd looked in his eyes and decided the fighter had had enough.

Klitschko, whose brother Vitali will fight for the World Boxing Council heavyweight crown against Corrie Sanders on April 24 at Staples Center, did not talk to the media before being taken to a nearby hospital for observation. called it because take care of Byrd said. tried to get a response out of him, but there one. I have never stopped a fight like that Cory Spinks would appear to have all the ingredients necessary to be one of biggest names. He has the name recognition with both his By Steve Springer Times Staff Writer LAS VEGAS He had the bigger frame.

He had the bigger name. He had the oddsmakers on his side. He had the dream of sharing the heavyweight title with his brother. And through four rounds of Saturday World Boxing Organization heavyweight title fight, Wladimir Klitschko had put together a dominating performance against Lamon Brewster. None of it mattered, however.

BecauseKlitsch- ko also turned out to have a glass jaw. Brewster, a Los Angeles fighter with a dream of his own, pulled off a major upset at the Mandalay Bay Events Center by knocking Klitschko down in the fifth round and then winning the vacant title when referee Robert Byrd stopped the match at the end of that round. was kill or be said Brewster (30-2, 27 knockouts), who had been knocked down in the previous round. He had dedicated the fight to longtime trainer Bill Slayton, who died from cancer last October. Brewster Staggers Klitschko in Upset The Los Angeles fighter recovers from an early beating to win the WBO heavyweight title when the bout is stopped after the fifth round.

Associated Press GROUNDED: Lamon Brewster gets the better of Wladimir Klitschko in the fifth round. By Robyn Norwood Times Staff Writer This is how wild Jameer schedule has been. It was after 9 p.m. Friday before he got away from the Naismith Award banquet in Atlanta, and he had a 10 p.m. flight to Los Angeles to be here for the John R.

Wooden Award ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday morning. had to cut my speech a little said Nelson, the Saint point guard who has virtually swept the player-of- the-year awards and Saturday added the final one, the Wooden Award. the trophies mean a lot to me, but sitting next to Coach Wooden means a lot more than any trophy receive in my said Nelson, who led the Hawks to an undefeated regular season, a No. 1 ranking and the NCAA Elite Eight.

see the trophies in my home or basement, but sitting with this man here is something Ican cherish. I say, here with the greatest coach St. Coach Phil Martelli saw his opening. he said, to laughter. have to say Martelli, who has watched Nelson pick up the Associated Press player-of-the-year award, the U.S.

Basketball Writers Oscar Robertson Trophy, the Commonwealth of Adolph Rupp Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Naismith Award and the Wooden, noticed something different Saturday. when he got this award was the first time I thought he emotionally connected with all Martelli said. kind of stopped him. I was pleased for Nelson received 5,408 points, only 193 more than Emeka Oka- for of Connecticut, who might have beaten him out if voting had concluded after the Final Four, where performance led the Huskies to their second NCAA title. Nelson and Okafor finished more than 2,000 points ahead of the other finalists.

Josh Childress was third, Chris Duhon was fourth, and Mississippi Lawrence Roberts was fifth. Although the Wooden Award is the final major award to be presented, voting by the panel of more than 1,000 media members and college basketball experts ended March 29, the day after the conclusion of the regional finals. (Wooden Award officials said the cutoff is necessary to make logistical arrangements for the ceremony, traditionally held the weekend after the Final Four.) Nelson was more than worthy of all the awards he Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun said. is an incredible player and a tremendous But he gracefully made it clear like to see at least one award that recognized the entire season. know some of the ballots I do have to be in with two weeks left in the Calhoun said.

got an expression, something I truly believe, that life is not a Polaroid, a motion picture. make a motion pic- ture sometimes, and not take a The other players added their praise for Nelson. things he can do on a court are Duhon said. led a team that was not on the map onto the Nelson averaged 20.6 points, 5.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 steals this season and finished as Saint career leader in scoring, assists and steals. His number will be retired at the upcoming banquet, but he get to throw out the first pitch at the Philadelphia home-opener.

told them his rotator cuff is messed said Martelli, who will do the honors. The ceremonies at the L.A. Athletic Club, televised nationally on CBS for the first time, also honored Alana Beard, winner of the first Wooden Award, presented Friday in a ceremony at the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey. In addition, Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery was honored with the of Award, created to recognize coaches who demonstrate the character and on-court success exemplified by Wooden. got a little emotional because it kind of hit Montgomery said.

grew up in Southern California with the L.A. Athletic Club and Coach Wooden. Those are things that were out of my Wooden likes to tell the story of holding Montgomery in his arms as a baby when father was an instructor at UCLA. Montgomery reached the Final Four in 1998 but is only the second coach who won a national championship to receive the award. Roy Williams, last winner, is the other.

The other winners Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Lute Olson and Denny Crum have eight titles among them. look at the people who have received this award and you really feel like you deserve Montgomery said. chokes you up to be the Associated Press TRAVELING MAN: Jameer Nelson cut his speech short after receiving the Naismith Award on Friday night in Atlanta, then hopped a plane in time to receive the Wooden Award on Saturday. By Gary Klein Times Staff Writer Aweek after an expansion team let the Avengers score virtually at will, the Colorado Crush proved far less generous on Saturday night at Staples Center. The Avengers failed twice in the second half to score on first- and-goal situations from inside three-yard line.

When the Avengers did reach the end zone, the Crush twice foiled two-point conversion attempts. The result was a 57-55 Colorado victory before 11,816 that dropped the Avengers to 5-4 and complicated their pursuit of a playoff spot. game is a must-win said Avenger quarterback Tony Graziani, who completed 26 of 34 passes for 285 yards and five touchdowns. Last week, the Avengers exploited man-to-man coverage for a franchise-record 81 points. Colorado employed a more traditional Arena Football League scheme and improved to 7-3.

defenses play man-to- man, going to look Graziani said. thought tonight was just as easy. We just score inside the Despite their uneven effort, the Avengers almost overcame a 37-28 halftime deficit. 13-yard touchdown pass to Chris Jackson got the Avengers within 44-42. But Ahmad Hawkins intercepted two-point conversion attempt that was intended for Jackson with 6:58 remaining.

The Crush answered with a 33-yard touchdown pass from John Dutton to Damian Harrell. Colorado led, 50-42, after Anthony Brenner missed the extra point. The Avengers came back and scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Graziani to Kevin Ingram to make the score50-48. However, two- point conversion pass intended for Ingram fell incomplete with 1:19 remaining. Colorado stretched the lead to 57-48 on a four-yard touchdown pass from Dutton to Kevin McKenzie with 43 seconds left.

The Avengers responded with a two-yard scoring reception by Jackson to cut it to 57-55 with 16 seconds left, but the Crush ran out the clock. The Dallas Desperados (6-3) snapped the San Jose Saber- four-game winning streak with a 58-54 victory in front of 10,417 at Dallas. San Jose is 7-2. The Grand Rapids Rampage won their first game, beating the Detroit Fury, 49-45, as 10,106 attended in Auburn Hills, Mich. Chris five-yard scoring run with 23 seconds remaining was the game-winner.

The Rampage is 1-8 and the Fury fell to 4-5. Ryan Vena threw for 265 yards and five touchdowns in the Columbus 65-55 home victory over the New York Dragons (5-4) in front of 17,171. Aaron Garcia threw for 330 yards and eight touchdowns for New York. The Destroyers are 3-6. The Arizona Rattlers (5-5) defeated the Las Vegas Gladiators, 80-63, at Phoenix with 12,641 attending.

The Gladiators fell to 3-7. Associated Press contributed to this report. ARENA FOOTBALL Crushing Defeat for the Avengers From Times Staff and Wire Reports Amelie Mauresmo dealt Justine Henin-Hardenne her second loss of the year, erasing a match point to defeat the WTA top-ranked player, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-3, Saturday in the semifinals of the Bausch Lomb Championships at Amelia Island, Fla. The third-seeded Mauresmo moved into the finals against fourth-seeded Lindsay Davenport who came back from a set and break down to defeat seventh-seeded Nadia Petrova 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. Mauresmo clearly has recovered from the back injury that forced her to the sideline for the last 10 weeks.

Playing in her first tournament since withdrawing from the Australian Open quarterfinals in January, she changed speeds well during the two-hour, 45-minute match. With Henin-Hardenne up a set and leading, 5-4, in the second, she held a match point. But she sent an easy forehand return into the net, watched one of two aces go past her, and then committed one of her 52 unforced errors. Mauresmo held to 5-5, then broke and held again to even the match at a set apiece. Henin-Hardenne is 25-2 in 2004, including four titles one at the Australian Open.

Motor Racing Michael Waltrip avoided a crash that took out the top four drivers with two laps to go, and won the NASCAR Busch Series Pepsi 300 at Nashville Super- speedway. Rookie Clint Bowyer was racing rookie Kyle Busch for the lead coming out of Turn 2 on the 224th lap when he tapped Chevrolet. Busch started to spin, and Johnny Dodge ran into the back of Chevrolet, sending the trio and Robby Gordon into the infield. Waltrip drove his Chevrolet past the crash by staying close to the wall. NASCAR ruled that Waltrip had already passed Johnny Sauter when the caution came out and the field was frozen, giving him his 11th Busch Series victory.

It took NASCAR time to figure out the finishing order because Gordon came across the line third, followed by Bowyer, Busch, Kasey Kahne and Benson. The unofficial list had Sauter second, followed by Kahne, Bowyer and Gordon. Lee Hatch earned his first victory of the season as he held off Darren Young and Kevin Freddersohn to win the 50-lap Mechanix Wear Speed Truck Challenge Series feature at Irwindale Speedway. Hatch, the current series champion, had not won a race at the track in its six-year history. In the 50-lap Auto Club Late Model Series feature, Tim Huddleston held off Deryk Ward overthe final 15 laps for the victory.

Miscellany U.S. national team members Mark Ruiz and Rachelle Kunkel won titles at the American Cup diving competition at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis. Ruiz, sixth in the 10-meter platform at the 2000 Olympics, won the event with 1,036.17 points. Kunkel took the three-meter springboard with 772.41 points. Ruiz entered the final in first place and stayed there.

His second dive, an inward tuck 3 1 2 somersault, which carried a difficulty degree of 3.2, earned him 86.4 points. Kunkel, representing the Trojan Dive Club of Los Angeles, was second in the competition after the semifinals. Her final dive a forward pike 3 1 2 somersault earned her 70.68 points. Broadcaster Pat Summerall received a liver transplant in Jacksonville, and was in stable condition in an intensive care unit, hospital spokeswoman Evelyn Tovar said. Summerall, 73, had been on the waiting list at St.

Hospital since April 2. Transplant surgeon Jeffrey Steers said the 2 1 2 -hour procedure was completed without complications. Summerall, a recovering alcoholic, qualified for a transplant through blood tests that rank potential recipients anonymously. Dremiel Byers beat Olympic champion Rulon Gardner and Lee Fullhart defeated Cael Sanderson to win titles at the U.S. wrestling championships in Las Vegas.

three-point takedown with 23 seconds left beat Gardner, 3-1, in the 264.5-pound Greco-Roman weight class. Gardner was the 2000 Olympic gold medalist and the 2001 world champion. Fullhart spotted three-time U.S. national champion Sanderson a two-point lead and then rallied for a 5-2 win in the 185-pound freestyle class. Sanderson, the four-time unbeaten NCAA champion, won his last two national titles by beating Fullhart in the finals.

NEWSWIRE Mauresmo Upsets Henin-Hardenne The Vote The final point totals in voting for the Wooden Award, by more than 1,000 members of the media and college basketball experts who submitted ballots by March 29: PlayerPoints JAMEER NELSON, Saint OMEKA OKAFOR, JOSH CHILDRESS, CHRIS DUHON, LAWRENCE ROBERTS, Miss. St.2,296 The Best Is Definitely Last for Busy Nelson Saint star gets something better than the Wooden Award, and sitting beside the legendary coach. BOSTON Denver won its first NCAA hockey championship since 1969 with a 1-0 victory over Maine on Saturday night at the Fleet Center. Gabe Gauthier of Buena Park scored a first-period power-play goal that stood up, but it come easy for the Pioneers (27-12-5). They had to withstand a six-on-three Maine advantage in the final moments.

Matt Laatsch was sent to the penalty box for hooking with 2:09 to play. Then Gauthier was called for a delay of game with 1:34 left after closing his hand on the puck. When Jimmy Howard left the Maine net with 1:13 remaining, the Black Bears (33-8-3) had a three-man advantage. Adam Berkhoel, chosen the Frozen MVP, came up with his two biggest saves, both on slap shots by top scorer, Colin Shields. Denver won five national titles during a 12-year span in the 1950s and 1960s but none since 1969.

Maine won titles in 1993 and 1999. The Black Bears thought they took the lead early in the first period. Derek Damon put the puck in the net after shot from the point squirted to the right of the Denver goal. Awide-open Damon poked the puck past a lunging Berkhoel, but after a review the goal was disallowed because Mike skate was barely in the crease. From Associated Press Denver Beats Maine for Hockey Title.