Sports Briefs March 29, 2010
Golf
Fred Couples won his third straight Champions Tour start, closing with a course-record 10-under 62 on Sunday for a two-stroke victory over Corey Pavin in the Cap Cana Championship in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic.
Couples is the eighth Champions Tour player to win three straight starts, leaving him one behind the tour record set by Chi Chi Rodriguez in 1987.
• Ernie Els had a two-shot lead over Kevin Na when the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational was suspended by thunderstorms that soaked Bay Hill and the Orlando, Fla., area for three hours. The round is to resume this morning at 7 a.m.
• Hee Kyung Seo shot a 2-under 70 for a six-stroke victory over Inbee Park to win the inaugural Kia Classic in Carlsbad, Calif.
Basketball
Kevin Willard is leaving Iona to become Seton Hall's new coach.
The 34-year-old Willard has agreed to replace Bobby Gonzalez, who was fired on March 17 after a 19-win season that was beset by problems off the court.
Baseball
Ryan Dempster struck out three consecutive Mariners with the bases full to end his seven shutout innings and the Chicago Cubs beat Seattle 1-0 in a preseason game in Peoria, Ariz.
M's starter Ryan Rowland-Smith struck out four and walked none in his seven innings.
NBA
Magic 103, Nuggets 97: J.J. Redick had 23 points and eight assists to help host Orlando beat Denver.
Trail Blazers 92, Thunder 87: Andre Miller scored 26 points and visiting Portland beat Oklahoma City.
Cavaliers 97, Kings 90: LeBron James scored 23 of his 34 points in the second half and host Cleveland beat Sacramento.
Bucks 108, Grizzlies 103, OT: John Salmons scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and host Milwaukee rallied to avoid a third straight loss and beat Memphis.
Hawks 94, Pacers 84: Josh Smith had 21 points and 13 rebounds and host Atlanta snapped Indiana's five-game winning streak.
Heat 97, Raptors 94: Dwyane Wade scored 32 points and host Miami rallied to beat Toronto.
Bulls 110, Pistons 103: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Flip Murray scored 23 points and Chicago beat hapless Detroit.
Suns 111, Timberwolves 105: At Minneapolis, Amare Stoudemire had 30 points and 17 rebounds, helping Phoenix hold off Minnesota.
Spurs 94, Celtics 73: Manu Ginobili scored 28 points to lead visiting San Antonio over Boston.
Warriors 121, Clippers 103: Reggie Williams scored 25 points and visiting Golden State beat Los Angeles.
NHL
Penguins 5, Maple Leafs 4, SO: Sidney Crosby ended a seven-game stretch without a goal by scoring twice, and host Pittsburgh beat Toronto.
Flames 5, Capitals 3: Visiting Calgary scored four goals in the first period and held on to beat Washington.
Flyers 5, Devils 1: Brian Boucher stopped 32 shots, and host Philadelphia beat New Jersey.
Blue Jackets 4, Blackhawks 2: Jakub Voracek had two goals and an assist to lead visiting Columbus over Chicago.
Blues 2, Oilers 1: Keith Tkachuk scored the winning goal on his 38th birthday, and host St. Louis beat Edmonton.
Sharks 4, Avalanche 3: Devin Setoguchi had two goals, and host San Jose beat Colorado.
Auto Racing
NASCAR's bad weather luck at Martinsville Speedway reared its head again as rain forced the postponed of the Sprint Cup race at Martinsville, Va., until this morning.
• The IRL Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was postponed until this morning after a band of thunderstorms pounded the course in St. Petersburg, Fla.
• McLaren's Jenson Button survived a first-corner collision to win a thrilling Formula One Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia.
- The Associated Press