The Call-Leader from Elwood, Indiana • Page 5

The Elwood CmlUMtdtr Wednesday. March 31, 2010 PAGE 5 oastwa mm Yankees 'Venditte uses both, arms NBA KISSIMMEE, Fla (AP) Ambidextrous pitcher Pat last season, gave up seven runs on six hits and two Venditte threw with both arms for the New York Yankees on Tuesday, giving up one run in 1 13 innings during a 9-6 split-squad toss to the Atlanta Braves. Making his first appearance for the Yankees, Vendrtte took over for CC Sabathia with two outs in the fifth inning and tossed four wanmup pitches with each hand. Venditte switched back and forth, depending on whether he was facing a righty or lefty, and gave up two hits and a walk. The 24-year-old reliever, who uses a six-finger glove, pitched for two teams in Class A last season and went a combined 4-2 with 22 saves and a 1.87 ERA.

If he makes the majors, Venditte wouldn't be the first pitcher to throw as a left-hander and right-hander. Greg Harris, who pitched from 1981-95, was a righty throughout his career. He pitched from the left side for two batters in his second-to-last game. Sabathia tuned up for his start in the major league opener Sunday night at Boston, allowing five runs and eight hits in 4 23 innings. CARDINALS 9, METS 4 PORT ST.

LUCIE, Fla. Matt Holliday hit his first two' home runs this spring and the St Louis Cardinals roughed up Oliver Perez in a win over the New York Mets. The Cardinals homered three times off Perez. Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run shot in the first inning and Holliday followed with a long drive. Brendan Ryan added a two-run homer the next inning, and Perez made it through just 2 13 innings before being pulled.

The left-hander, coming back from knee surgery late waks. Cardinals opening-day starter Chris Carpenter walked six in five innings. He allowed one earned run and four hits in five innings. WHITE SOX 2, ATHLETICS 0 GLENDALE, Ariz. Mark Buehrle pitched five shutout innings and Carlos Quentin homered as the Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics.

Buehrle gave up four hits and finished spring training with a 2.08 ERA. Ben Sheets, who struggled earlier this month and entered the game with a 17.28 ERA, put together a second straight quality start, going 513 innings and allowing a run on three hits. He struck out five and walked five. CUBS 5, GIANTS 3 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Chad Tracy celebrated his addition to the Cubs' opening-day roster with a two-run homer in the eighth inning, leading Chicago over the San Francisco Giants.

Tracy edged out veteran infielder Kevin Millar for the final spot earlier in the day. He homered off Guillermo Mota, making a bid for a short role in the Giants' bullpen. Former Cubs player Mark DeRosa gave the Giants a 3-2 lead with a two-run homer in the fourth. PADRES 7, REDS 5 GOODYEAR, Ariz. Right-hander Mat Latos had no problems with his elbow in his return to the mound, and the San Diego Padres made it another challenging afternoon for Cincinnati opening-day starter Aaron Harang.

Latos missed a start last week because of a tender pitching elbow. He struggled with his control at times, but allowed only one unearned run and Jhree hits in three innings Continued from Page 4 nitety for the city of Indianapolis," he said. Landry, who played against both schools while at Purdue, expects a dose game this weekend. "It will be a grind-it-out probably one or two-possession game at the end," he said. "I'm going with Michigan State.

They always have a good year, they have a great coach." SUNS 111, BULLS 105 CHICAGO Jason Richardson scored 27 points and Channing Frye hit a dutch 3-pointer with 41.6 seconds to go and the Phoenix Suns clinched a playoff berth by beating the Chicago Bulls 111-105 for their eighth straight win. Steve Nash scored seven of his 22 points in the final two minutes and had 10 assists. Amare Stoudemire added 21 points for the Suns, 13 in the first quarter. Flip Murray and Derrick Rose, who kept Chicago dose down the stretch with 10 points in the final period, had 23 points each. The Bulls are VA games behind Toronto for the eighth playoff spot in East.

MLB Spring Training NBA Standings NCAA Tournament Final Four Continued from Page 4 its hometown, no less. "This is a very spedal story for Butler and deservedly so," Izzo said. If not out of the douds because they were picked in the top 10 all year. I mean, if I wasn't playing them, I definitely would be a fan, I can promise you that" Mike Krzyzewski's Duke teams have always been team-first and this year is no exception. Scheyer, Smith and Singler are the Blue.

Deyjis' go-to guys. Ifs just that they seem to go to a different One every night. Scheyer went 1-for-11 in the second round against California, but Smith and Singler made up for it by scoring 37 combined points. When Singler missed every shot in the regional final against Baylor, Smith scored a career-high 29 points and Scheyer broke free of his shooting slump, hitting five 3-pointers on the way to 20 points. None is a superstar in his own right, but they form a three-headed headliner that has tradition-rich Duke back in the Final Four for the first time since 2004.

They haven't been given credit along their careers for what they are doing or for what they are trying to accomplish," Krzyzewski said. "I'm really pleased for them." West Virginia has a singular star in Butler, the athletic senior who can reel off points in bunches and has a knack for coming through in big moments. Butler's a likely future pro, but even he needs help sometimes, particularly earty in the NCAA tournament when he was struggling to find his shot. And when the shots aren't falling for anyone West Virginia isnl a particularly good shooting team the Mountaineers can turn to their defense. Coach Bob Huggins preaches a gritty, you-canl-score-against-us approach to every possession and the Mountaineers have bought in, riding their defense into the Final Four for the first time since 1959.

"I think to advance in this tournament you have to be able to defend," Huggins said. "But I think that's all the time. People do it different ways, but (ifs the defense)." Yep, this is going to be a little different Final Four than we're used to. But, in a way, maybe ifs fitting. This has been a strange NCAA tournament, filled with upsets, unexpected collapses by big-name teams, runs deep into the bracket by a rising tide of mid-majors.

The final games will be piav -basketball-rich Indiana, where: the team-first concept seems to be a part of the state constitution. And what better place to finish it off, in Indianapolis, not far from Hinkle Fieldhouse, where the ultimate little-team-that-could story was filmed. "It's going to make for a good Final Four in a different way," Izzo said. "It might be refreshing and enjoyable to watch teams that are going to have to rely on each other to advance a little bit more than maybe one person." Women's NIT SEMIFINALS Wednesday's Game Miami (21-13) at Michigan (21-13). 7 p.m.

Thursday's Game California (22-13) at Illinois State (28-7), 8:05 p.m. Saturday's Championship Semifinal winners, 2 p.m. FINAL FOUR At Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis Saturday's National Semifinals Michigan State (28-8) vs. Butler (32-4), 6:07 p.m. West Virginia (31 -6) vs.

Duke (33-5), 40 minutes folowing Monday's National Championship Semifinal winners, 9:20 p.m Women's NCAA DAYTON REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Sunday's Games Connecticut 74, Iowa State 36 Florida State 74, Mississippi State 71 Regional Championship Tuesday's Game Connecticut 90, Florida State 50 MEMPHIS REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Saturday's Games Baylor 77, Tennessee 62 Duke 66, San Diego State 58 Regional Championship Monday's Game Baylor 51, Duke 48 SACRAMENTO REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Saturday's Games Stanford 73, Georgia 36 Xavier 74, Gonzaga 56 Regional Championship Monday's Game Stanford 55, Xavier 53 KANSAS CITY REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Sunday's Games Oklahoma 77, Notre Dame 72 OT Kentucky 76. Nebraska 67 Regional Championship Tuesday's Game Oklahoma 88, Kentucky 68 FINAL FOUH At Alamodome, San Antocio National Semifinals Sunday, April 4 Connecticut (37-0) vs. Baylor (27-9) Stanford (35-1) vs. Oklahoma (27-10) National Championship Tuesday, April 6 Semifinal winners Lady Huskies win by 40 DAYTON, Ohio (AP) Maya Moore and Connecticut are just two steps away from their ultimate goal after another rout in the women's NCAA tournament Moore scored 22 points to lead the Huskies past Florida State 50 Tuesday, sending the defending champions back to the Final Four and stretching their unprecedented win streak to 76 games. Tina Charles controlled the paint with 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Huskies (37-0), who advance to their eighth Final Four since 2000.

They will meet Baylor in the semifinals Sunday night. The 40-point victory was the largest margin ever in a regional final. Oklahoma rips Kentucky KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Oklahoma withstood early adversity, composed itself and took control with balance, hustle and grit Nyeshia Stevenson scored 31 points and Oklahoma blew past fourth-seeded Kentucky 88-68 to earn its second straight trip to the Final Four. Amanda Thompson added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the third-seeded Sooners (27-10), who'll face Stanford on Sunday in San Antonio.

The Wildcats stormed out to a 17-4 lead, only to watch as the Sooners rallied to go ahead 43-39 by halftime. Oklahoma opened the second half on a 15-5 run, then scored 11 straight points to jump ahead 69-50 with 6:30 left. All-Americans named NEW YORK (AP) UConn junior Maya Moore was honored as an All-American by The Associated Press, the third straight year she has made the women's team. She was joined on the squad by teammate Tina Charles, Nebraska's Kelsey Griffin, Virginia's Monica Wright and Ohio State's Jantel Lavender. Moore is the fourth three-time AP All-American, following Tennessee's Chamique Holdsdaw, Duke's Alana Beard and Oklahoma's Courtney Paris.

St John's hires Lavin NEW YORK (AP) Former UCLA Coach Steve Lavin has agreed to become the basketball coach at St. John's. Lavin has been an analyst for ESPN since UCLA fired him in 2003. He had a 145-78 record with UCLA, leading the school ton the NCAA tournament's round of 16 five times. The Bruins reached the final eight in 1997, his first season.

St. John's, which fired Norm Roberts after six seasons, has not been to the. NCAA tournament since 2002. Floyd to coach UTEP EL PASO, Texas (AP) Tim Floyd is coming back to El Paso and couldn't be happier about returning to the school that gave him his first coaching job more than 30 years ago. The former USC coach and one-time assistant to former Miners Coach Don Haskins was introduced Tuesday as the fifth coach to lead UTEP since Haskins retired in 1999.

Floyd, who most recently has been an assistant for the NBA's New Orleans Hornets, left USC after the 2009 season amid allegations of recruiting violations involving player O.J. Mayo. Floyd replaces Tony Barbee, who left UTEP last week to take the head job at Auburn. Boston C. coach fired BOSTON (AP) Al Skinner is out as the Boston College basketball coach, ending a 13-year tenure in which he led the Eagles to more wins than anyone else in school history many of them in front of lackluster home crowds who never embraced the program.

Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo said Skinner's departure was by mutual agreement, but it had all the markings of a firing: Skinner will be paid for the remaining three years on his contract Berdych upsets Federer KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) Roger Federer was upset by Tomas Berdych in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open, (3). 7-6 (6). Berdych ended a streak of eight consecutive losses against Federer. The 6-foot-5 Berdych also had lost 11 matches in a row against top-1 0 opponents.

Others advancing to the quarterfinals included Andy Roddick and Rafael who could meet in the semifinals. THUNDER 111, 76ERS 93 PHILADELPHIA Kevin Durant had 26 points and 10 rebounds, Jeff Green added16 points and Oklahoma City cruised over Philadelphia. Nenad Krstic added 14 points and Russell Westbrook had 10 points and 14 assists for the Thunder (45-28). James Harden also had 12 points and Serge Ibaka 10 for Oklahoma City, which is nearing its first playoff appearance since 2004-05 as the Seattle SuperSonics. Elton Brand scored 22 points, Andre Iguodala added 21 and Jrue Holiday had 11 for the Sixers, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

BUCKS 107, CLIPPERS 89 MILWAUKEE Rookie Brandon Jennings scored 17 points and went the extra distance to prated Bucks big man Andrew Bogut, leading Milwaukee past Los Angeles. Bogut scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his second straight game since missing one with a sore back, and Jennings, who added six assists and five rebounds, came to the 7-footer's aid late in the third quarter when tensions rose after a spat of rough play. These Bucks won't be pushed around by anyone, turning into just the type of scrappy, hard-scrabble group that coach Scott Skiles envisioned when he took over in 2008. The Bucks are no longer losers, either. With the vidory to finish the five-game homestand, Milwaukee (41-32) will complete the season .500 or better for the first time in six years.

ROCKETS 98, WIZARDS 94 HOUSTON Rookie Chase Budinger hit a go-ahead jump shot with 28 seconds remaining and made two free throws and Houston escaped with a win over Washington. The win breaks a four-game skid for the Rockets and extends Washington's team-record losing streak to 16 games. In this matchup of banged-up and undermanned squads, it seemed for most of the game hat neither team would pull away. The Rockets finally did, thanks to Budinger's career-high 24-points, to win their first game since Kevin Martin has been out of the lineup with a sore shoulder. Budinger's jumper made it 94-92 and he added the free throws after a missed 3-point attempt by Earl Boykins.

Mike Miller cut the lead to two points with a tip-in with five seconds left, but Kyle Lowry made two free throws to secure the win. EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W-L PCT GB y-Boston 47-26 .644 Toronto 36-37 .493 11 New York 26-47 .356 21 Philadelphia 26-48 .351 2114 New Jersey 10-64 .135 37V4 Southeast Division W-t PCT GB x-Orlando 52-22 .703 x-Atlanta 47-26 .644 4 Miami 40-34 .541 12 Charlotte 38-35 .521 13. Washington 21-52 .288 30 Central Division W-L PCT GB y-Cleveland 58-16 .784 Milwaukee 41-32 .562 16 Chicago 35-39 .473 23 Indiana 28-47 .373 30 Detroit 23-50 .315 34 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W-L PCT GB x-Dallas 49-25 .662 San Antonio 44-29 .603 4 Memphis 38-35 .521 10 Houston 37-36 507 11 New Orleans 35-40 .467 14 Northwest Division W-L PCT GB x-Utan 49-26 .653 x-Denver 48-27 .640 1 Oklahoma City 45-28 .616 3 Portland 45-29 .608 3 Minnesota 14-60 .189 34 Pacific Division W-L PCT GB x-LA Lakers 54-20 .730 -x-Phoenix 48-26 .649 6 LA Clippers 27-47 .365 27 Sacramento 24-51 .320 30 Golden State 21-52 .288 32 -clinched playoff spot y-clinched division Tuesday's Games Indiana 102, Sacramento 95 Oklahoma City 111, Philadelphia 93 Phoenix 111, Chicago 105 Milwaukee 107, LA Clippers 89 Houston 98, Washington 94 Wednesday's Games LA Lakers at Atlanta, 7 p.m. Philadelphia at Charlotte, 7 p.m. Milwaukee at Cleveland, 7 p.m.

LA Clippers at Toronto, 7 p.m. Oklahoma City at Boston, 7:30 p.m. Miami at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Phoenix at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m. Dallas at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Sacramento at Minnesota, 8 p.m. Washington at New Orleans, 8 p.m. Houston at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. New York at Portland, 10 p.m. Golden State at Utah, 10 p.m.

Thursday's Games Orlando at Dallas, 8 p.m. Portland at Denver, 10:30 p.m. Pacers 10Z Kings 95 SACRAMENTO (95) Landry 8-1 5 1-2 17, Greene 2-6 0-05, Hawes 2-7 H) 4, Udrih 8-17 2-3 18, Evans 6-13 44 1 7, Nocwni 4-1 2 0-0 9, Thompson 6-14 6-6 18, Udoka 2-7 0-0 5, Brockman 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 39-92 13-. 15 95.

INDIANA (102) Granger 13-20 3-4 33, Murphy 6-13 4-4 19, Hiboert 5-1 2 0-0 10, Watson 4-8 0-0 10, Rush 3-12 1-2 8, Dunleavy 4-9 0-1 9, McRoberts 1-4 2-2 4, Price 2-3 00 5, SJones 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 39-83 12-15 102. Sacramento 30 28 14 25 85 Indiana 24 23 26 29102 3-Poirrt Goals Sacramento 4-12 (Greene 1-1, Nocwni 1-2, Evans 1-2, Udoka 1-3, Udrih 0-4), Indana 12-26 (Granger 4-7, Murphy 34, Watson 2-3, Price 1-2, Dunleavy 1-2, Rush 1-4). Fouled Out None. Rebounds -Sacramento 56 (Thompson 11), Indana 46 (Murphy 13).

Assists -Sacramento 19 (Evans 10), Indiana 25 (WatBon, Rush 5). AMERICAN LEAGUE W-L PCT Tampa Bay 18-7 .720 Cleveland 16-8 .667 Detroit 15-10 .600 Minnesota 14-11 .560 Kansas City 13-11 .542 Boston 13-14 .481 New York 12-14 .462 Toronto 10-12 .455 Oakland 11-14 .440 Los Angeles 9-14 .391 Baltimore 10-16 .385 Seattle 10-16 .385 Chicago 9-15 .375 Texas 9-16 .360 NATIONAL LEAGUE W-L PCT San Francisco 20-10 .667 Atlanta 16-9 .640 Chicago 16-9 .640 San Diego 17-10 .630 a Louis 14-11 .560 Colorado 15-12 .556 Philadelphia 12-11 .522 Houston 13-12 .520 Florida 13-13 .500 Milwaukee 13-13 .500 New York 13-13 .500 Los Angeles 11-12 .478 Arizona 12-15 .444 Cincinnati 9-15 t.375 Washington ".308" Pittsburgh 7-17 .292 NOTE: Split-squad games count in the standings; games against non-major league teams do not. Tuesday's Games Houston 5, Philadelphia 2 Tampa Bay 9, Boston 9, tie Florida 9, Washington 5 Atlanta 9, N.Y. Yankees (ss) 6 Detroit 10, Baltimore 9 Minnesota 4, Pittsburgh 1 St. Louis 9, N.Y.

Mete 4 Texas 4, Arizona 2 LA Angels 1 Milwaukee 1 tie, 1 0 inn. Chicago Cubs 5, San Francisco 3 San Diego 7, Cincinnati 5 Chicago White Sox 2, Oakland 0 Colorado 3, LA Dodgers 1 N.Y. Yankees (ss) 5, Toronto 3 Kansas City 7, Cleveland 2 Wednesday's Games Houston vs Atlanta at Kissimmee, 1:05 p.m. Minnesota (ss) vs N.Y. Yankees at Tampa, 1 :05 p.m.

Pittsburgh vs Detroit at Lakeland, 1:05 p.m. Toronto vs Philadelphia at Clearwater, 1 5 p.m. Tampa Bay vs Minnesota (ss) at Fort Myers, 1:05 p.m. Boston vs Baltimore at Sarasota, Washington vs St Louis at Jupiter, 1:05 p.m. Florida vs N.Y.

Mets at Port St Lucie, 1:10 p.m. Kansas City vs San Diego at Peoria, 3:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs (ss) vs Milwaukee at Phoenix, 4:05 p.m. Seattle vs Texas at Surprise, 4:05 p.m. Cincinnati vs Oakland at Phoenix, 4:05 p.m.

San Francisco vs LA Dodgers at Glendale, 4:05 p.m. LA Angels vs Chicago Cubs (ss) at Mesa, 4:05 p.m. Arizona vs Colorado at Tucson, Chicago White Sox vs Cleveland at Goodyear, 7:05 p.m. Cincinnati vs LA Dodgers at Las Vegas, 10.05 p.m. IHL Tuesday Gam Port Huron 4, Bloomington 3, OT Wednesday's Games Bloomington at Fftrrt, 7 p.m.

Muskegon' at Dayton, 7 p.m. Thursday's Game Dayton at Fort Wayne, 7:30 p.m. NHL Tuesday's Games Atlanta 3, Toronto 2 Boston 1 New Jersey 0, OT N.Y. Rangers 4, N.Y. Islanders 3 Ottawa 5, Washington 4, OT Columbus 3, Tampa Bay 2 Detroit 5, Edmonton 4 St Louis 4, Chicago 2 Los Angeles 2, Nashvile 0 Vancouver 4, Phoenix 1 Wednesday's Games Florida at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

Carolina at Montreal, 7 p.m. Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. Chicago at Minnesota, 8 p.m. San Jose at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. Anaheim et Colorado, 9 p.m.

Phoenix at Calgary, 9:30 p.m. NIT Tuesday's Semifinals At Madison Square Garden Dayton 68, Mississippi 63 North Caroina 68, Rhode Island 67, OT Thursday's Championship Dayton (24-12) vs. North Carolina (20-16), 7 p.m. "You can't build a reputation on whatou are going to do" Henry ford We will honor any competitors sales ads We inspect every vehicle every visit to insure our customers are driving the safest automobiles on the road We sell tires for all makes and models We rebuild transmissions in our shop (moit mak and modtls) FREE wash vac for any repair over $150 (when you mention this ad) Women's NIT SEMIFINALS Wednesday's Game Miami (21-13) at Michigan (21-1 3), 7 p.m. Thursday's Game Caifomia (22-13) at Illinois State (28-7), 8:05 p.m.

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