Sports Briefs May 1, 2012
Basketball
The New York Knicks sound hopeful that Jeremy Lin's return to the lineup may come sooner than later.
Lin did some on-court work in Miami for the fourth consecutive day, before the Knicks played the Miami Heat on Monday night in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Game 3 isn't until Thursday in New York. The Knicks plan to practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, and that could give them time to get a better feel for how Lin's recovery from surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee is going.
• The worst team in NBA history will have a new coach next season.
The Charlotte Bobcats have decided not to renew coach Paul Silas' contract after the team finished 7-59 this season for the worst winning percentage in league history (.106).
College
Officials at Utah State and San Jose State acknowledge they are in discussions with the Mountain West Conference over realignment for 2013 yet say no formal agreement has been reached.
Conference USA already is set to bring aboard Texas-San Antonio just months before the school was to begin its first season in the Western Athletic Conference.
The moves could mean the end of the WAC as a football league.
Utah State athletic director Scott Barnes is attending WAC meetings in Phoenix but acknowledged "things have progressed," though no decision is formal.
San Jose State sports information director Lawrence Fan said the school also has been in discussions to join the Mountain West.
Utah State and San Jose State have a history dating to their days in the Big West.
Baseball
A federal court jury saw snippets of Roger Clemens denying steroid use at a now-famous 2008 congressional hearing, then listened as Clemens' lawyer tried in fits and starts to declare that proceeding to be "nothing more than a show trial" that shouldn't have taken place.
The perjury retrial of the seven-time Cy Young Award winning pitcher entered its third week, which unfolded as yet another session bogged down by constant objections.
• AMERICAN LEAGUE
Rangers 4, Blue Jays 1: Yu Darvish won his third straight start, Mitch Moreland and Craig Gentry homered to lead Texas at Toronto.
Yankees 2, Orioles 1: Hiroki Kuroda pitched seven neat innings lifting host New York past Baltimore.
Red Sox 11, Athletics 6: David Ortiz hit two home runs to lead host Boston past Oakland.
Angels 4, Twins 3: At Anaheim, Calif., Torii Hunter homered and drove in three runs to lead Los Angeles over Minnesota.
Kansas City at Detroit, ppd., rain: The scheduled game between the Royals and Tigers will be made up Sept. 24.
• NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pirates 9, Braves 3: Pedro Alvarez and Yamaico Navarro each hit two-run homers to lead Pittsburgh at Atlanta.
Phillies 6, Cubs 4: Placido Polanco hit a tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth to lift host Philadelphia over Chicago.
Diamondbacks 9, Marlins 5: Left-hander Patrick Corbin pitched 5 2/3 innings to win his major league debut, helping visiting Arizona beat Miami.
Rockies 6, Dodgers 2: At Denver, Troy Tulowitzki hit a two-run double to help Colorado past Los Angeles.
Astros 4, Mets 3: Matt Downs hit a two-run homer and Jed Lowrie had the go-ahead single in the eighth to propel host Houston over New York.
Brewers 8, Padres 3: Ryan Braun had his first three-homer game, leading Milwaukee at San Diego.
- The Associated Press