Sports Briefs March 1, 2011
Baseball
After almost two weeks of turmoil, Miguel Cabrera returned to where he's most comfortable: a baseball field.
Cabrera played his first game following his arrest, going 0-for-2 with a walk as the Detroit Tigers' designated hitter Monday in a 6-2 win over the New York Yankees.
Cabrera batted cleanup, his first appearance since his arrest on Feb. 16 on suspicion of driving under the influence and resisting an officer without violence. He is to be arraigned on March 16.
After the game, he refused to answer any non-baseball questions. Cabrera said he is looking forward to playing the field, but manager Jim Leyland said he will DH again today against Toronto, then play the field Wednesday against Houston.
Top 25 Men
After getting through their toughest stretch of the season, Ohio State is back at No. 1.
Marking the third week in a row The Associated Press Top 25 poll has had a new team on top, the Buckeyes climbed a spot over Duke, which lost at Virginia Tech on Saturday night.
No. 8 Notre Dame 93, No. 19 Villanova 72: At South Bend, Ind., Ben Hansbrough had 30 points and 10 assists as Notre Dame (24-5, 13-4) routed Villanova (21-9, 9-8) to secure a double bye in the Big East tournament.
Kansas St. 75, No. 7 Texas 70: At Austin, Texas, Rodney McGruder scored 22 points and surging Kansas State (21-9, 9-6 Big 12) muscled past slumping Texas (24-6, 12-3) for the Wildcats' fifth straight win.
The league-leading Vancouver Canucks added center Maxim Lapierre from Anaheim and left winger Chris Higgins from Florida before Monday's NHL trade deadline.
Vancouver got Lapierre and minor league center MacGregor Sharp from Anaheim in exchange for center Joel Perrault and a third-round draft pick in 2012.
n The Minnesota Wild traded goaltender Anton Khudobin to the Boston Bruins for two 23-year-old prospects.
• The Los Angeles Kings grabbed Dustin Penner from the Edmonton Oilers for a package of prospects and picks just before the deadline.
• The Atlanta Thrashers acquired forward Radek Dvorak from the Florida Panthers for forwards Niclas Bergfors and Patrick Rissmiller.
• The dismantling of the disappointing Ottawa Senators took another step when defenseman Chris Campoli was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Ryan Potulny and a second-round pick in this year's draft.
• The Detroit Red Wings signed goaltender Jimmy Howard to a two-year, $4.5 million deal.
Blackhawks 4, Wild 2: At St. Paul, Minn., Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews each scored in the second period, and Chicago stretched its winning streak to a season-high five games with a win over Minnesota.
Red Wings 7, Kings 4: Drew Miller scored twice, Darren Helm added a short-handed goal in the third period, and visiting Detroit rolled to its sixth straight road victory, beating Los Angeles.
Time is running out for the Heritage golf tournament, the event that features the picturesque Harbour Town lighthouse at Hilton Head Island, S.C.
PGA Tour vice president Ty Votaw said the tournament has to find a replacement for longtime sponsor Verizon if it hopes to continue past April.
- The Associated Press