Morning Briefing April 9, 2010
Basketball
Less than two days after helping UConn win its second straight national championship, Tina Charles was selected first by the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA draft on Thursday.
The Minnesota Lynx drafted Virginia guard Monica Wright with the second pick, then drafted Nebraska’s Kelsey Griffin with the third pick, but dealt her to the Sun minutes later for Connecticut’s first- and second-round picks next year.
Gonzaga forward Vivian Frieson was drafted by Tulsa in the third round with the 31st pick overall.
Brad Stevens signed a 12-year deal with Butler that would keep him at the school through at least 2021-22. The school did not say how much the deal was worth.
Last season, Stevens had a total compensation package of $750,000.
Fred Hill appears to be out as Rutgers basketball coach after four seasons.
Hill was informed by the university that he wouldn’t be retained because of multiple violations of the conduct clause in his contract, The Home News of New Brunswick reported, quoting a source close to the situation.
Derrick Rose scored 24 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 109-108 in NBA action.
Kings 116, Clippers 94: Tyreke Evans had 28 points, leading host Sacramento past Los Angeles.
Nuggets 98, Lakers 96: Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points and Denver beat visiting Los Angeles.
Hockey
Wisconsin scored in the opening minutes of the first two periods and went on to rout Rochester Institute of Technology 8-1 in the Frozen Four at Detroit.
The Badgers will play Boston College, which beat Miami of Ohio 7-1, for the national title on Saturday night.
Eric Staal had three goals and two assists and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 in NHL action at Raleigh, N.C.
Coyotes 3, Kings 2, SO: Adrian Aucoin’s shootout goal lifted Phoenix at Los Angeles.
Wild 2, Flames 1, SO: Brent Burns and Antti Miettinen scored in a shootout to lift Minnesota at Calgary.
Sharks 4, Canucks 2: Evgeni Nabokov’s 30 saves lifted host San Jose past Vancouver.
Stars 3, Ducks 2, SO: Mike Modano had a goal and an assist in regulation and then scored in the shootout to help Dallas beat visiting Anaheim.
Bruins 3, Sabres 1: Tuukka Rask made 31 saves, leading host Boston past Buffalo.
Penguins 7, Islanders 3: Sidney Crosby had one goal and three assists, leading host Pittsburgh past New York.
Lightning 4, Senators 3, SO: At Tampa, Fla., Teddy Purcell’s shootout goal lifted Tampa Bay past Ottawa.
Spokane Chiefs defenseman Jared Cowen made his debut with Ottawa, recording a two-minute hooking penalty in the first.
Panthers 3, Devils 2: At Sunrise, Fla., Scott Clemmensen stopped 42 shots, leading Florida past New Jersey.
Football
Teams from the Mid-American and Western Athletic conferences will play in the Humanitarian Bowl for the next four years.
The third selection of bowl-eligible MAC teams will participate in the bowl, played at Boise State. The WAC is committed to sending one of its top teams.
Miscellaneous
A state Supreme Court ruling and a Board of Higher Education decision have retired for good the University of North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux nickname after a four-year legal battle.
The court ruled that the board had the authority to dump the nickname at any time. The court rejected an appeal that sought to delay action.
— The Associated Press