Sports Briefs March 2, 2010

Soccer

Retired boxer Oscar De La Hoya has joined the U.S. bid committee trying to win the right to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.

De La Hoya is a part-owner of Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo.

FIFA's executive committee will vote on Dec. 2.

Other U.S. board members include former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and director Spike Lee.

Basketball

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are the only ranked team from Washington, Oregon or California, remaining at No. 18 in the latest Associated Press poll.

Syracuse (27-2), received 59 first-place votes and moved to the top off its 95-77 victory over then-No. 7 Villanova in front of an on-campus record crowd at the Carrier Dome.

Kansas, which had been No. 1 for the last four weeks and 13 polls overall this season, had the other six first-place votes and dropped to second. The Jayhawks (27-2) lost at Oklahoma State on Saturday, the same day Kentucky (27-2) lost at Tennessee.

• No. 10 West Virginia 81, No. 19 Georgetown 68: At Morgantown, W. Va., Da'Sean Butler scored 22 points in his final home game and the Mountaineers (23-6, 12-5) beat the Hoyas (19-9, 9-8).

• Texas 87, Oklahoma 76: At Austin, Texas, Senior Damion James scored 24 points and Texas (23-7, 9-6 Big 12) beat Oklahoma (13-16, 4-11).

• Utah State 76, Fresno State 39: At Logan, Utah, Tai Wesley scored 20 points and the Aggies 24-6, 13-2 Western Athletic Conference) beat the Bulldogs (14-17, 6-9).

NBA

Cavaliers 124, Knicks 93: LeBron James had 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and host Cleveland used a 74-point first half to hammer New York.

Mavericks 89, Bobcats 84: Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points, Jason Terry had several key buckets down the stretch, and visiting Dallas beat Charlotte.

Magic 126, 76ers 105: Jameer Nelson had 22 points and 10 assists, and visiting Orlando beat Philadelphia.

Hawks 116, Bulls 92: Jamal Crawford scored 21 points and Atlanta won in Chicago for its fourth win in five games.

Trail Blazers 103, Grizzlies 93: Brandon Roy scored 25 points and Nicolas Batum added 21 as visiting Portland erased a 14-point first-half deficit with a strong third quarter and defeated Memphis.

Spurs 106, Hornets 92: George Hill scored 23 points and visiting San Antonio won its second consecutive game, beating New Orleans.

Rockets 116, Raptors 92: Kevin Martin and Aaron Brooks scored 28 points each in and Houston rolled over Toronto.

Suns 101, Nuggets 85: Amare Stoudemire had 19 points and host Phoenix beat Denver.

Clippers 108, Jazz 104: Baron Davis had 19 points and 2 assists and host Los Angeles beat Utah.

Red Wings 3, Avalanche 2: At Denver, Nicklas Lidstrom scored a power-play goal with 9:03 left in the third period and lifted Detroit past Colorado.

Greg Rita, the caddie for Curtis Strange when he won successive U.S. Open titles and for John Daly when he won the British Open, has died of brain cancer.

Correction

Austin Wilson of Post Falls placed third in the 5A 145-pound class at the state wrestling tournament last weekend in Pocatello. His name was inadvertantly omitted from Sunday's story.

- From staff and wire services