Sports Briefs December 27, 2010

Miscellaneous

Filmmaker Bud Greenspan, whose riveting tales soared as triumphantly as the men and women he chronicled for more than six decades, died Saturday at his home in New York City of complications from Parkinson's disease, companion Nancy Beffa said. He was 84.

As a 21-year-old radio reporter, Greenspan filed his first Olympic story from a phone booth at Wembley stadium at the 1948 London Games. He cut a distinct figure at nearly every Summer and Winter Games afterward, his eyeglasses familiarly perched atop a bald dome, even in a swirling blizzard. His most recent work, about the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games - which Greenspan attended - will be ready for release in the coming weeks.

Yet even as controversies over politics, performance-enhancing drugs and commercialism increasingly vied for attention on the planet's grandest sporting stage, he remained uncompromising about his focus on the most inspirational stories.

"I spend my time on about the 99 percent of what's good about the Olympics and most people spend 100 percent of their time on the 1 percent that's negative. I've been criticized for seeing things through rose-colored glasses, but the percentages are with me," he said in an interview nearly a decade ago.

His best-known work was "The Olympiad," the culmination of 10 years of research, more than 3 million feet of rare, archival film, hundreds of interviews and visits to more than 30 nations. The 10-part series he produced was aired in more than 80 countries.

Football

Jack Griffin's 34-yard field goal on the game's final play gave Florida International (7-6) a stunning 34-32 win over Toledo (8-5) on Sunday night in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit.

Clippers 108, Suns 103: Rookie Blake Griffin had 28 points and 12 rebounds for his 18th straight double-double and host Los Angeles beat Phoenix for the first time in 10 games.

Bulls 95, Pistons 92, OT: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Carlos Boozer had 31 points and 11 rebounds, and Derrick Rose added 23 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in Chicago's overtime victory over Detroit.

Timberwolves 98, Cavaliers 97: Michael Beasley scored on a driving layup with 5.9 seconds left and finished with 28 points to help visiting Minnesota beat Cleveland and snap its losing streak at seven.

Grizzlies 104, Pacers 90: At Indianapolis, Rudy Gay scored 30 points, Zach Randolph had 18 points and 16 rebounds and Memphis snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Indiana.

Hornets 93, Hawks 86: Chris Paul scored 22 points, 13 in the pivotal third quarter, and host New Orleans beat Atlanta.

Spurs 94, Wizards 80: Tony Parker had 20 points, 14 assists and six assists and host San Antonio beat Washington.

76ers 95, Nuggets 89: Jrue Holiday had 22 points, Thaddeus Young added 20 and visiting Philadelphia rallied to beat Denver.

Senators 3, Penguins 1: Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby scored with 3:22 remaining to extend his points streak to 24 games, but Erik Karlsson had two goals and an assist to lead host Ottawa over the Penguins.

Capitals 3, Hurricanes 2: At Raleigh, N.C., Alex Ovechkin had a goal to lead Washington over Carolina.

Blackhawks 4, Blue Jackets 1: Patrick Sharp scored two goals to lead host Chicago to its fourth straight win.

Lightning 3, Thrashers 2, OT: Vincent Lecavalier's scored twice and visiting Tampa Bay beat Atlanta.

Red Wings 4, Wild 1: At St. Paul, Minn., Henrik Zetterberg had a goal and an assist, powering Detroit over Minnesota.

Blues 2, Predators 0: Jaroslav Halak made 32 saves for his fourth shutout and host St. Louis beat Nashville.

Maple Leafs 4, Devils 1: At Newark, N.J., Jonas Gustavsson stopped 29 shots and Toronto beat New Jersey.

Islanders 4, Canadiens 1: At Uniondale, N.Y., Dwayne Roloson stopped 37 shots, and New York beat Montreal.

Coyotes 1, Stars 0: Jason LaBarbera stopped 29 shots for his fifth career shutout and visiting Phoenix beat Dallas.

Kings 4, Ducks 1: Dustin Brown had a goal and an assist and host Los Angeles Kings beat Anaheim.

Canucks 3, Oilers 2: Kevin Bieks' third-period goal lifted host Vancover over Edmonton.

- The Associated Press