Wayne Byers – Morning – Mar 8

NBA ALL STAR GAME….

ATLANTA (AP) — Team LeBron showed off its high-flying and long-range skills during a dominating run to close out the first half, setting up a 170-150 romp over Team Durant in the league’s 70th midseason showcase.

LeBron James is now 4-0, having defeated Stephen Curry’s squad in 2018 and teams selected by Milwaukee’s two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo the last two years.

Antetokounmpo was the game MVP after shooting 16 of 16 for 35 points. Curry chipped in with 28 points, while Damian Lillard had 32. James spent most of the night admiring his drafting skill, playing less than 13 minutes and finishing with four points.

Bradley Beal led Team Durant with 26 points.

Philadelphia 76ers standouts Joel Embiid (joh-EHL’ ehm-BEED’) and Ben Simmons were ruled out of the game because of a coronavirus contact tracing issue. The NBA said the two had contact with an individual who later tested positive for the coronavirus.

Curry was the NBA’s 3-point shooting champion for the second time in his career. Curry finished first in both rounds to edge Utah’s Mike Conley and Boston’s Jayson Tatum. Curry had 28 points in the finals, one more than Conley.

Indiana forward Domantas Sabonis was the winner of the skills challenge, defeating Orlando forward Nikola Vucevic in the final. Portland’s Anfernee Simons came away with the Slam Dunk championship.

T25 MEN’S BASKETBALL

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Luka Garza scored 21 points and had 16 rebounds as No. 5 Iowa defeated No. 25 Wisconsin 77-73. It was the 12th double-double of the season for Garza, who leads the Big Ten in scoring and is third in the nation. Iowa has won seven of eight and is 20-7 overall. The Hawkeyes will be the third seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Micah Potter shot 9 for 12 and scored 23 points for Wisconsin, which has lost five of six.

UNDATED (AP) — MaCio Teague scored 35 points while matching a school record with 10 made 3-pointers and No. 3 Baylor beat No. 18 Texas Tech 88-73 in the regular season finale.

The Big 12 champion Bears finished undefeated at home for the first time in 73 years.

Teague made 10-of-12 shots from long range. Jared Butler scored 18 points and Davion Mitchell 17 as Baylor finished 11-0 in the Ferrell Center.

Mark Vital had 10 points and 15 rebounds. Kyler Edwards had 18 points for Texas Tech in its most lopsided loss this season.

In other top 25 games Sunday:

— Rocket Watts scored 21 points and Aaron Henry had 18 to lead Michigan State to a 70-64 victory over No. 2 Michigan that seems to seal coach Tom Izzo’s 23rd consecutive NCAA Tournament bid. The Spartans have won five of their last seven games, beating No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Illinois and their second-ranked rivals during the late-season surge. Michigan senior guard Eli Brooks hurt his left ankle early in the game at the Breslin Center and did not return in what potentially could be a problem going into the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.

— Luka Garza scored 21 points and had 16 rebounds as No. 5 Iowa defeated No. 25 Wisconsin 77-73. It was the 12th double-double of the season for Garza, who leads the Big Ten in scoring and is third in the nation. Iowa has won seven of eight and is 20-7 overall. The Hawkeyes will be the third seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

— Tramon Mark hit a long 3-pointer as time expired to give No. 9 Houston a 67-64 win over Memphis. After Memphis had tied it with 1.7 seconds left, Marcus Sasser threw the ball to midcourt where Mark picked it up. He dribbled through two Memphis defenders and launched a 35-footer off the backboard ending a six- game winning streak for Memphis.

— Andrew Jones scored 16 points while making all four of his 3-pointers, and No. 15 Texas finished the regular season with a third consecutive road victory, beating TCU 76-64 on Sunday night. Matt Coleman III scored 14 points and Courtney Ramey had 13 points and six assists for Texas, which moved up to the third seed in the Big 12 tournament and will face No. 18 Texas Tech, the sixth seed, in the quarterfinals Thursday.

— Cameron Krutwig and Braden Norris scored 20 points apiece to help 20th-ranked Loyola Chicago roll past Drake 75-65 in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Keith Clemons added 13 points for the Ramblers, who will be making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and first since the 2018 team reached the Final Four as a No. 11 seed.

NHL..

— Yanni Gourde, Ondrej Palat and Victor Hedman each scored a power-play goal in the second period, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3. Pat Maroon added his 100th career goal in the third period, giving Tampa Bay a season-high four goals with the man advantage. Gourde finished with two goals and two assists. The Lightning improved to 3-0-1 taking two of three in the series between Central Division contenders.

— Alex Ovechkin, Dmitry Orlov and Nick Jensen scored to lead the Washington Capitals to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. T.J. Oshie had two assists and Ilya Samsonov stopped 36 shots for the Capitals, who have won eight of 11. Washington was without forward Tom Wilson, who served the first game of a seven-game suspension for Friday’s hit on Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo. Joel Farabee scored for Philadelphia, which lost its second straight and finished 3-3 during a grueling nine-day, six-game stretch.

— Sidney Crosby capped a three-goal surge in the first period and the Pittsburgh Penguins coasted to a 5-1 win over the New York Rangers. Crosby scored his eighth of the season, Kasperi Kapanen netted his sixth and John Marino his first as Pittsburgh scored three goals on six first-period shots. Evgeni Malkin and Zach Aston-Reese added goals as the Penguins won for the ninth time in their last 13 games. Casey DeSmith, making his second start since Feb. 11, stopped 22 shots.

UNDATED (AP) — Anders Lee and Brock Nelson scored 62 seconds apart early in the second period and rookie Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves as the New York Islanders defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 for their fifth straight win.The victory was the Islanders’ sixth straight over the Sabres this season. Sorokin earned his fourth win of the season as the Islanders improved to 10-0-2 at Nassau Coliseum.

Last-place Buffalo lost for the seventh straight time.

 

— Vincent Trocheck and James Reimer continued to torment their former team, lifting the Carolina Hurricanes to their fifth straight victory with a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers. Trocheck scored for the fourth time this season against the Panthers. Nino Niederreiter, Sebastian Aho and Warren Foegele also had goals for the Hurricanes, who have won eight of 10 home games this season. Reimer made 21 saves to improve to 3-0-0 since being traded by the Panthers. MacKenzie Weegar and Mason Marchment scored for Florida, which had a five-game points streak snapped.

 

— Scott Wedgewood made 40 saves, Kyle Palmieri scored out of a scramble with 4:37 left and the New Jersey Devils snapped a five-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory over the Boston Bruins. Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask made 24 saves and remained stuck at 299 career victories. The Bruins have lost four of six games. Palmieri scored about two minutes after Wedgewood robbed Craig Smith’s bid at the end of a Bruins’ power play.

— Roman Josi scored the final shootout goal on a backhander, helping the Nashville Predators beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 after blowing a 3-0 third-period lead. Josi and Forsberg scored in the shootout as the Predators ended a three-game losing streak. Rookie Eeli Tolvanen had a goal and an assist in regulation, Mikael Granlund and Calle Jarnkrok added goals and Pekka Rinne made 35 saves for Nashville. Filip Forsberg added two assists as the Predators built a 3-0 lead through two periods.

— Shootout goals by Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson allowed Ottawa to come away with a 4-3 verdict over the Flames in Calgary. The Flames picked up a point on goals by Johnny Gaudreau and Noah Hanifan, but they fell to 0-1-1 since hiring Darryl Sutter as head coach. Connor Brown, Colin White and Ryan Dzingel tallied in regulation for Ottawa.

— Alex Ovechkin, Dmitry Orlov and Nick Jensen scored to lead the Washington Capitals to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. T.J. Oshie had two assists and Ilya Samsonov stopped 36 shots for the Capitals, who have won eight of 11. Washington was without forward Tom Wilson, who served the first game of a seven-game suspension for Friday’s hit on Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo. Joel Farabee scored for Philadelphia, which lost its second straight and finished 3-3 during a grueling nine-day, six-game stretch.

NHL-BRUINS-CARLO

Bruins coach: Carlo ‘feeling better,’ week-to-week after hit

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy says defenseman Brandon Carlo “is feeling better” but remains week-to-week from the hit that earned Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson a seven-game suspension.

Although no diagnosis has been released, Carlo was woozy leaving the ice after Wilson smashed his head into the glass.

The NHL suspended Wilson for the fifth time in his career on Saturday, the day after his hit in the first period of Friday night’s game sent Carlo to the hospital in an ambulance. The Capitals wing will also lose $311,781.61 in pay.

MLB-NEWS

Pirates acquire RHP Underwood in trade with Cubs

UNDATED (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired right-hander Duane Underwood Jr. in a trade with the Chicago Cubs.

Underwood went 1-0 with a 5.66 ERA in 17 games with Chicago during the pandemic-shortened season. He was designated for assignment on Tuesday. Underwood, a second-round pick in the 2012 amateur draft, is 1-1 with a 5.20 ERA in 30 career games.

The Cubs received minor league first baseman Shendrik Apostel in the deal. The 20-year-old Apostel was signed by the Pirates out of Curaçao in July 2017.

In other MLB news:

— The Washington Nationals have released reliever Jeremy Jeffress for what general manager Mike Rizzo called unspecified “personnel reasons.” The move comes less than two weeks after Jeffress agreed to terms on a minor league deal. Jeffress was expected to add to a a Nationals bullpen that already included Brad Hand, Daniel Hudson, Will Harris and Tanner Rainey. The 33-year-old Jeffress pitched for the Cubs last season.

— Cleveland Indians third baseman José Ramírez and slugger Franmil Reyes have been isolated from their teammates at spring training after breaking COVID-19 protocols when they dined indoors after getting haircuts. Manager Terry Francona said the two players have been sent to their temporary homes in Arizona as the Indians await word from the league as to when they can rejoin the team.

— Chicago Cubs reliever Pedro Strop is away from the team after he violated baseball’s COVID-19 protocols. The 35-year-old is in camp on a minor league deal. The Cubs said Major League Baseball will decide when Strop is allowed to rejoin the team.

NASCAR-LAS VEGAS

Larson gets for win since suspension

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kyle Larson is back in NASCAR and back in victory lane.

On Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson raced to his first NASCAR victory since he was reinstated from a nearly yearlong suspension. He ran just the first four races last season, then lost his job for using a racial slur while playing a video game early in the pandemic.

He worked all last year on rebuilding his image and was hired by Hendrick Motorsports when NASCAR said the suspension would lift at the start of this year.

Brad Keselowski of Team Penske was second in a Ford and followed by hometown driver Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin in Toyotas for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Ryan Blaney was fifth for Penske and then Martin Truex Jr. and Bell put all four JGR cars in the top seven.

PGA-ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL

DeChambeau outlasts Westwood at Bay Hill

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The long ball helped Bryson DeChambeau outlast Lee Westwood to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational, only the key shots were more with his putter than his driver.

DeChambeau holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the front nine and a 50-foot par putt early on the back nine. He closed it out with a nervy 5-foot par putt for a 1-under 71 and a one-shot victory over the 47-year-old Westwood.

It matched the low score of the day, one of only three rounds under par in the toughest final round at Bay Hill in 41 years.

DeChambeau and Westwood were never separated by more than one shot over the final 15 holes, a fascinating duel of generations that came down to the last shot.

GOLF-LPGA TOUR

Ernst wins Drive On Championship for 3rd LPGA Tour title

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — Austin Ernst won the Drive On Championship on Sunday for her third LPGA Tour title, pulling away to beat fellow former NCAA champion Jennifer Kupcho by five strokes at Golden Ocala. Ernst closed with a 2-under 70 to finish at 15-under 273. Kupcho had a double bogey and three bogeys in a 74.

Following sisters Jessica and Nelly Korda in the first two events of the year, Ernst gave the United States three straight victories to open a season for the first time since 2007.

The 29-year-old former LSU star from South Carolina, showing her school spirit with a purple shirt, also won the 2014 Portland Classic and the 2020 NW Arkansas Championship.

GOLF-NEWS

Koepka withdraws from Players Championship with knee injury

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Brooks Koepka is out of The Players Championship with a knee injury. This time it’s his right knee. His manager says only that the four-time major champion strained his right knee. Koepka is to meet with doctors this week to get a better idea of what’s going on. Koepka has been saddled the last few years with injuries to his left knee.

He ended 18 months without winning at the Phoenix Open last month. He was runner-up at the World Golf Championship last week. Koepka is being replaced at The Players Championship by Anirban Lahiri.

In world and national news….

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order directing the Department of Education to review policies implemented by Donald Trump’s administration, including changes to Title IX regulations that prohibit sex discrimination in federally funded institutions. Biden focused on gender equity during his campaign and promised to strengthen Title IX if he won the White House. Administration officials say Biden also will sign a second executive order on Monday formally establishing the White House Gender Policy Council. The order directing the Title IX review could pave the way to a major shift in how colleges handle allegations of sexual misconduct.

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The fate of a former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee into George Floyd’s neck as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe will be decided by 12 residents of Hennepin County who will be picked after extensive grilling about their views. Jury selection begins Monday in the trial of Derek Chauvin, who is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with Floyd’s death. Picking a jury is expected to take at least three weeks, as prosecutors and defense attorneys try to weed out potential jurors who may have biases. Legal experts say the key will be finding jurors who can put aside their opinions and decide the case based on the evidence.

 

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares are mixed after the U.S. stimulus package passed the Senate over the weekend. European benchmarks rose in early Monday trading, while heavy selling of shares in technology companies pulled benchmarks lower in Japan and South Korea. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 2.3% after China’s foreign minister made ominous comments about the self-ruled island of Taiwan. Worries that a strong recovery might push inflation higher and prompt central banks to raise their ultra-low interest rates, making borrowing more expensive, also are overshadowing the markets. Oil prices rose after Saudi Arabia confirmed an attack on one of its oil facilities, though it did not cause significant damage.

 

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has started vaccinating Palestinian laborers who work inside Israel and its West Bank settlements after the immunization drive was beset by delays. Palestinian laborers who crossed into Israel at several West Bank checkpoints received their first doses of the Moderna vaccine on Monday. Some 100,000 Palestinian laborers from the West Bank work in Israel. Israel has administered over 8.7 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to its population of 9.3 million, but faced international criticism for providing few to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. An Israeli military official said it was a shared interest to vaccinate Palestinians.

 

After historic whirlwind visit, Pope leaves Iraq for Rome

BAGHDAD (AP) — Pope Francis has wrapped up a historic whirlwind tour of Iraq that sought to bring hope to the country’s marginalized Christian minority with a message of coexistence, forgiveness and peace. The pontiff and his traveling delegation were seen off with a farewell ceremony at the Baghdad airport from where he departed for Rome. The four-day papal visit has covered five provinces across Iraq. People gathered in crowds to catch a glimpse of the pope wherever he went, fueling coronavirus concerns. Few wore facemasks, especially during all of Francis’ visits on Sunday in northern Iraq.

 

BANGKOK (AP) — Oil prices pressed higher Monday after strikes on major oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, shook energy markets. The strikes on Saudi sites have increased in frequency and precision in recent weeks, raising concerns about the country’s air defenses and the expanding capabilities of Iran-backed rebels across the border. Brent crude, the international standard, gained $1.14 to $70.47 a barrel, surpassing $70 for the first time in over a year. Benchmark U.S. crude oil added $1.10 to $67.19 per barrel, up 1.7%. After plunging last year as demand plummeted with the onset of the pandemic, prices have been recovering in the past few months.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and South Korea have reached an agreement in principle on a new arrangement for sharing the cost of the American troop presence. Details have not been released, but the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs said Sunday that the deal includes a negotiated increase in Seoul’s share of the cost for the U.S. troop presence. Talks had broken down during the Trump administration over Washington’s demand for a five-fold increase in South Korea’s share of the cost. A State Department spokesperson declined to specify the agreed increase in Seoul’s share.