Sports Briefs March 30, 2010
Golf
Ernie Els went two years without a PGA Tour victory. Now he's won two in a row.
Els survived a few nervous moments by making two clutch par putts, closing with a 1-under 71 to win the rain-delayed Arnold Palmer Invitational by two-shots over Kevin Na and Edoardo Molinari in a Monday finish at Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla.
Coming off a four-shot victory in the World Golf Championship at Doral two weeks ago, Els won for the 18th time in his PGA Tour career and made it consecutive wins for the first time since 2003.
Baseball
Franklin Gutierrez homered with one out in the ninth inning off American League rookie of the year Andrew Bailey to lift the Seattle Mariners to a 3-2 win over the Oakland Athletics in Phoenix.
Bailey, pitching for the first time since March 14, retired the first batter he faced before Gutierrez's blast sailed over the fence beyond the glove of leaping A's center fielder Eric Patterson.
Football
The Seattle Seahawks have signed special teams standout Sean Morey to a multiyear contract.
The team announced that it had a deal with the 2008 Pro Bowl selection from the Arizona Cardinals. The 34-year-old was an alternate for last season's Pro Bowl. Morey's specialty is punt and kickoff coverage.
Basketball
The Washington State University men's team has granted freshman Xavier Thames his release.
Coach Ken Bone said he will transfer at the end of the semester.
Thames saw action in all 31 games for the Cougars this season and made four starts. The guard from Sacramento averaged 4.6 points and 1.2 assists.
NBA
Nets 90, Spurs 84: At East Rutherford, N.J., Brook Lopez had 22 points and New Jersey notched its 10th victory, beating San Antonio.
Raptors 103, Bobcats 101: Chris Bosh had 22 points and 11 rebounds and visiting Toronto beat Charlotte.
Hornets 108, Lakers 100: Chris Paul had 15 points and 13 assists to help host New Orleans beat Los Angeles.
Mavericks 109, Nuggets 93: Dirk Nowitzki had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and host Dallas beat Denver.
Jazz 103, Knicks 98: At Salt Lake City, Carlos Boozer scored 26 points and Utah beat New York.
NHL
Predators 3, Panthers 2, OT: At Sunrise, Fla., Francis Bouillon scored in overtime to lift Nashville over Florida.
Hurricanes 4, Thrashers 1: Carolina goalie Cam Ward made a brilliant return after being out nearly two months, Erik Cole scored a decisive goal with 4:11 left and the visiting Hurricanes beat Atlanta.
Sabres 3, Bruins 2: Tyler Myers had a goal and set up Paul Gaustad's score to lift Buffalo to its sixth win in seven games, beating Boston.
Wild 3, Kings 2: At St. Paul, Minn., Martin Havlat scored in the third period and Minnesota beat Los Angeles.
Ducks 3, Stars 1: At Anaheim, Calif., Nick Bonino scored his first NHL goal with an assist from 600-goal scorer Teemu Selanne, and Curtis McElhinney made 30 saves in Anaheim's win over Dallas.
Auto Racing
Will Power won the rain-delayed Honda Grand Prix in St. Petersburg, Fla., holding off Justin Wilson by nearly a full second for his second IndyCar victory in as many races in 2010 and the third win of his career.
- The Associated Press