SPORTS - UConn earns Final Four bid, edges Arizona 65-63 (AP)

SPORTS - UConn earns Final Four bid, edges Arizona 65-63 (AP)

AP – Arizona's Kyle Fogg, center reacts after losing to Connecticut 65-63 at the NCAA West regional college …

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Mar 26, 10:58 pm ET

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Jim Calhoun could scarcely watch when the most improbable postseason run of his coaching life at Connecticut came down to an open 3-point attempt by Arizona's Jamelle Horne.

The shot clanged off the back rim. The clock hit zeros.

Nine victories in just 19 days. Calhoun has seen just about everything, but nothing like this — and now his Huskies will keep running all the way to Houston.

Kemba Walker scored 20 points, freshman Jeremy Lamb added 19 and UConn earned its second Final Four berth in three years, beating Arizona 65-63 Saturday to win the West regional.

After missing the NCAA tournament entirely last year, Calhoun's tireless team is headed to the Huskies' fourth Final Four, punctuated by an ebullient on-court celebration in a building packed with Arizona fans.

UConn simply hasn't lost since a .500 Big East regular season, winning five games in five days at the conference tournament before this NCAA run. Walker claims he isn't surprised by this sprint through the postseason, while Lamb has nothing to compare it to, leaving Calhoun alone in his grateful disbelief.

"Never did I imagine a team winning nine games in tournament play in 19 days," Calhoun said. "These brothers, these young guys, have just given me a thrill beyond compare. Our march in the past nine games, I haven't experienced anything like this."

UConn also made the Final Four in 1999, 2004 and 2009 — all three times out of the West. In sweet redemption for a program and a veteran coach tarred by scandals over the past year, the Huskies will face the winner of North Carolina's East regional final against Kentucky next Saturday.

Derrick Williams and Horne missed go-ahead 3-pointers in the final seconds for Arizona, allowing the third-seeded Huskies (30-9) to hang on after Lamb scored six key points down the stretch when Walker encouraged the Huskies to run plays for the fearless frosh.

"This is no time to be tired," Walker said. "We're trying to get as far as possible. We want to win this whole thing."

Williams had 20 points while battling foul trouble for the fifth-seeded Wildcats (30-8), who led with 6 minutes to play. After Lamb pushed the Huskies ahead and Walker hit a jumper with 1:13 left, Lamont Jones and Horne then hit late 3-pointers for Arizona, but the Wildcats couldn't convert two good looks in the final seconds.

"The second one, I thought it was definitely going in," Lamb said. "When he missed it, I looked at the clock and saw zero-zero, and I just went, 'Whooooo.' It's the best feeling I've ever had."

The Huskies are the last team standing from the Big East's 11 NCAA entrants. After going 9-9 in regular-season conference play, they've done more than even Calhoun might have expected just three weeks ago.

After the Wildcats missed their final two shots, Walker and Calhoun wrapped each other in a bear hug at center court after the buzzer as Emeka Okafor, Jake Voskuhl and other UConn alums celebrated on the court.

The two-time national champion coach has referred to his group as "an old-fashioned team," a praise of their work ethic and resilience. But they also showed remarkable poise down the stretch in a building firmly in favor of the Wildcats.

A year after Arizona's 25-year streak of NCAA tournament appearances ended, the Wildcats and second-year coach Sean Miller were one 3-pointer away from a return to the Final Four. Williams demolished Duke in the regional semifinals with a career-high 32 points, but three early fouls limited him to 7 minutes in the first half against UConn.

"I've never been prouder of a team, and I've never seen a team come so far as we did in a short period of time," Miller said. "It will probably feel better in a few weeks than it does now."

Jesse Perry scored 14 points for Arizona, which trailed 34-25 early in the second half before scoring nine straight points. The Wildcats reclaimed the lead with 14 1/2 minutes left on Williams' layup, but UConn quickly scored seven consecutive points.

The Huskies led 50-41 until the Wildcats made a 12-2 run that included two rim-ripping dunks by Williams and the go-ahead slam by Perry with 7:17 left. With Honda Center rocking in Arizona red, Lamb smoothly put the Huskies ahead before following Alex Oriakhi's putback layup with a steal and a dunk with 3:08 left for a seven-point lead.

UConn just keeps rolling in what has shaped up as a magnificent season after last year's disappointing NIT trip. The Huskies roared through the league tournament with an unprecedented display of endurance at Madison Square Garden.

"I only feel tired after everything is over," Walker said. "When I'm playing, it's no problem. I'm good."

Walker kept up his incredible scoring pace in the tournament, dropping 33 points on Cincinnati before equaling the highest-scoring tourney game in UConn history with 36 against San Diego State in the regional semis.

Jones did a fairly decent job slowing Walker, his good friend since the sixth grade in New York City. They played together for two years at Harlem's Rice High School, although Walker claimed their history wouldn't give Jones an advantage in their first head-to-head meeting since their AAU days.

Good thing Walker had Lamb, the lanky shooter who betrayed no inkling of nerves in the biggest game of his life.

"I definitely expected to play in the NCAA tournament and have a chance at the Final Four when I chose UConn," Lamb said. "I just didn't know it would happen this fast."

Arizona won the Pac-10 regular-season title and made the top 10 for the first time in late February, but lost consecutive league games in Los Angeles before dropping the Pac-10 tourney finale to Washington on a buzzer-beater.

Last week, Arizona knocked off powerful Memphis and Texas before their 93-77 victory over the Blue Devils.

The West Coast crowd was solidly behind Arizona, with red-and-blue fans filling most of the lower bowl. Williams and the Wildcats repeatedly waved their arms before UConn's possessions, riling up the noisy crowd.

"For us to be one of the last teams standing, a lot of people want to be in our shoes," Jones said. "It's unfortunate that it has to end here, but the feeling of playing here is something you'll always remember."

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SPORTS - Racing issue French rugby title warning to Toulouse (AFP)

SPORTS - Racing issue French rugby title warning to Toulouse (AFP)

AFP/Getty Images – Rafael Nadal of Spain serves against Kei Nishikori of Japan during the Sony Ericsson Open at Crandon …

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MIAMI (AFP) – Top seeds Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki lived up to expectations as both advanced with ease at the $9 million Miami WTA and ATP Masters tournament.

Nadal, on the quest for his first trophy since October in Tokyo, overpowered Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-4 while Wozniacki beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-1, 7-6 (9/7).

World number one Nadal has yet to win a Miami title, finishing runner-up in 2005 to Roger Federer and three years later to Nikolay Davydenko. His win over Nishikori followed one at Wimbledon last year.

"It was one of those first rounds you don't want to see," said the Spaniard. "I'm very happy about how I played today -- I was at a high level tonight.

"The feeling was better than last week, so that's important. The serve worked very well at the end of the match."

World number three Federer notched another match win and another career milestone through a straight-sets win over Radek Stepanek.

The third-seeded Swiss defeated the Czech 6-3, 6-3 to reach the third round.

Seventh seed Tomas Berdych fought past Spain's Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-1, 6-7 (4/7), 6-0.

But there was no joy for Andy Roddick, who became the second Miami title holder in as many years to exit in an opening match.

The American eighth seed, who has been troubled by a low-grade illness for a month, was ambushed by Pablo Cuevas 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).

"I had a little trouble breathing out there today," said Roddick, who will drop from the top 10 in the next rankings.

"I've had something for a little while, but I'm going to have it checked out when I get home.

"I didn't feel good all day. I've had it dating back to Memphis off and on. That's a little too long, I think."

Roddick, who played the Davis Cup tie at the start of the month in Chile, then failed to make the quarter-finals at the Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells.

He was treated on court on Saturday for both his illness and a groin problem.

Cuevas, ranked 67th in the world, had never played Roddick before and made the most of his first chance.

In the third round he will face Frenchman Gilles Simon, who beat German Rainer Schuettler 6-4, 6-3.

Federer, whose 16 grand slam titles are the most in history, joined Pete Sampras on seventh in the all-time win list with 762 career victories. Jimmy Connors sets the pace in that statistic with 1,242.

"It's nice tying Pete, but he could have played for many more years," said Federer. "He could still win some matches on tour now if he wanted to."

"It's a funny stat, but it shows how long I have been around already, how much I've won, all around the world and all the different surfaces. I've played 10, 12 solid seasons, you know," added Federer, who next faces Argentina's Juan Monaco -- a 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4 winner over Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Germany's Philipp Petzschner upset 10th-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-4.

French 15th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached the third round as he beat Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, while former top-10 player Mikhail Youzhny crushed Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun 6-1, 6-0.

In women's action, fourth seed Samantha Stosur put out Lucie Safarova 6-0, 7-6 (7-1) while sixth seed Jelena Jankovic defeated Klara Zakopalova 7-5, 6-1.

There was also an opening victory for 16th seed Maria Sharapova, a winner over German Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 6-0.

China's Peng Shuai upset 11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, hammering the Russian 6-3, 6-1.

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SPORTS - Behind Stricklen, Lady Vols beat Ohio State 85-75 (AP)

SPORTS - Behind Stricklen, Lady Vols beat Ohio State 85-75 (AP)

AP – Tennessee forward Alyssia Brewer, right, shoots against Ohio State center Ashley Adams during the first …

By RUSTY MILLER, AP Sports Writer Rusty Miller, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Mar 26, 5:03 pm ET

DAYTON, Ohio – There are halftime chats and then there are coach's rants. Pat Summitt hasn't won 1,071 games by not knowing when to let her team have it.

Summitt absolutely lit up her Tennessee Lady Vols at the break and their regional semifinal game Saturday tilted soon after. With Shekinna Stricklen scoring 14 of her 20 points in the second half and touching off a critical 11-3 second-half run, Summitt and the Lady Vols moved into their accustomed spot in the Elite Eight with an 85-75 win over Ohio State.

"It was about an 8 1/2," she said, rating her halftime speech on a scale where 10 is when the paint peels off the walls. "I wasn't real happy. But that's what you have to do at times. You go into the locker room and get a feel. One thing about this team, they do respond. Sometimes I think they kind of like to hear the coaches going off."

The Lady Vols (34-2) won their 25th consecutive game, but only took control with their charge in the final minutes.

Meighan Simmons added 18 points and Kelley Cain — inserted into the starting lineup to offset Ohio State's height advantage — had 16 for Tennessee, which is pursuing a ninth NCAA title. The Lady Vols meet Notre Dame, a 78-53 winner over Oklahoma, in the regional championship game on Monday night, with a trip to the Final Four in Indianapolis on the line.

"Coach kind of lit a fire under our butts in the second half," Cain said. "We played better. We were getting up in their grilles, making them play at a different level than they were used to."

Simmons grinned as she said, "Coach went off on us in the locker room."

None of the Lady Vols were really surprised. They had not been aggressive on defense, leading to Ohio State (24-10) shooting 67 percent in the opening half. The Buckeyes led by as many as six before settling for a 42-40 lead at the break.

"We played on our heels a little more in the first half," said Angie Bjorklund, who didn't score but had seven assists.

With the game hanging in the balance and Tennessee on top 58-57, Stricklen twice made big plays to provide some breathing room. First, she hit a deep, deep 3 as the shot clock was draining away. After an Ohio State miss, she took the ball from the right wing and bulled her way along the baseline to power in a layup for a 63-57 lead.

After Brittany Johnson hit one of her four 3s for Ohio State, the Lady Vols ran off six points in a row for their largest lead of the game. Simmons stopped and popped in a shot from 15 feet, Taber Spani made a follow and then Spani drilled a long jumper to make it 69-60.

Ohio State got as close as eight points in the last minute, but Stricklen scored seven in a row for the Lady Vols to hold the Buckeyes at bay.

"Shekinna is the type of player, if you really don't ask her to step up, she can kind of blend in," Summitt said. "But she's a big-time player. She knows she is our go-to player."

The game was played a little over an hour away from Ohio State's campus, but there appeared to be more orange than scarlet and gray in the crowd of 8,813.

By the end, the thousands of Tennessee fans were chanting, "S-E-C! S-E-C!"

Samantha Prahalis had 22 points and seven assists for the Big Ten champions, while Jantel Lavender had 19 points, Johnson 16 and Tayler Hill 12. It was a bad 24 hours for Ohio State, which also had its top-seeded and top-ranked men's team eliminated in the sweet 16 on Friday night by another traditional power, Kentucky.

Everything seemed to be going the Buckeyes' way on Saturday afternoon until Stricklen took over and the Lady Vols amped up their effort.

"For about 33 minutes, we played sound, smart basketball," said Buckeyes coach Jim Foster, making his 25th NCAA appearance in 33 years as a head coach. "For about 7 minutes, we didn't. And that 7 minutes really cost us."

Summitt said mental adjustments were needed at halftime far more than anything she could draw up on a dry-erase board.

"Obviously, our defense had to pick it up. I told them that's where we have to invest with all of our energy," she said. "We did a good job with that. Then our board play got a lot better. I don't know what they were thinking in the first half, but we didn't have the same energy level."

But then Summitt expended some of her own energy at halftime.

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SPORTS - Top tennis seeds Nadal, Wozniacki advance (AFP)

SPORTS - Top tennis seeds Nadal, Wozniacki advance (AFP)

AP – Red Bull Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany gestures number 1 after qualifying fastest ahead …

By NEIL FRANKLAND, AP Sports Writer Neil Frankland, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Mar 26, 6:10 am ET

MELBOURNE, Australia – World champion Sebastian Vettel will start from pole Sunday in Formula One's season-opening Australian Grand Prix after a dominant performance in qualifying Saturday.

The Red Bull driver had a time of 1 minute, 23.529 seconds, more than three-quarters of a second quicker than nearest rival Lewis Hamilton of McLaren.

"It's a good position to be in. It's the best position, pole position, so I'm very happy with that," Vettel said. "But we need to keep our feet on the ground and see how we get on tomorrow."

Red Bull's Mark Webber will start third in front of his home crowd, with Jenson Button of McLaren fourth as he attempts to win the race for a third straight year.

Hamilton's performance to split the Red Bull cars was an impressive one, and McLaren reaped the reward for making some bold changes to the car after trouble offseason testing.

"It was a very brave and tough decision for us to pull back from what we'd been developing over the winter test," said Hamilton, the 2008 series champion. "And after the last test to come back and decide we were going to go in another direction. Since I've been here, we've never ever done that before."

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso qualified fifth and Mercedes' Michael Schumacher was 11th.

The Red Bull and McLaren cars were consistently fastest after the first Q1 session, switching between the firmer "prime" tires and the "options" to try and feel their way to faster lap combinations.

There may be more surprises for race day after the Red Bull drivers revealed they didn't use the added thrust of their KERS systems at all in qualifying. Neither Vettel or Webber would elaborate on the reason behind the decision.

Schumacher said a failure with his KERS partly explained his disappointing time.

"Clearly that was not an ideal start to the season, and I cannot deny that I am disappointed," he said. "It's not that the KERS only worked intermittently, or that I could probably have made it to Q3, but it is because our performance did not turn out as we expected."

Troubled constructor Hispania became the first team to miss out on the race under the reintroduced 107 percent rule, after both its drivers failed post a time under the cut off mark set at seven percent higher than the fastest time in Q1. With the cut-off time set at 1:31.266, Vitantonio Liuzzi could manage only 1:32.978 and Narain Karthikeyan had 1:34.293. Despite a request from the team pleading exceptional circumstances for the poor times, race stewards decided to enforce the rule and exclude the team from the race.

Renault's Nick Heidfeld, ninth-fastest in final practice earlier in the day, also was eliminated in Q1 and will start from a disappointing 18th.

In Q2, Renault's Rubens Barrichello ruined his chances of qualifying in the top 10 when he touched the grass coming into the third turn, losing control and spinning into the gravel.

Adrian Sutil of Force India also was eliminated, but had a lucky escape when he spun his car 360 degrees coming out of the final turn and narrowly missed a wall before regaining control and continuing his lap.

Renault's Vitaly Petrov put in a strong performance to qualify in sixth place, ahead of Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

Kamui Kobayashi of Sauber and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Buemi also impressed by making it into the Q3 session. Kobayashi will start ninth, and Buemi 10th.

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SPORTS - England cruise past woeful Wales in Euro qualifier (AFP)

SPORTS - England cruise past woeful Wales in Euro qualifier (AFP)

AFP – England's midfielder Frank Lampard celebrates scoring a penalty during their Euro 2012, group G qualifying …

by Rob Woollard Rob Woollard – Sat Mar 26, 9:10 pm ET

LONDON (AFP) – Fabio Capello lavished praise on Jack Wilshere after the teenage midfielder anchored England to a comfortable win over Wales with a performance that belied his tender years.

The Arsenal youngster had played only 52 minutes of international football prior to Saturday's 2-0 win over Wales, a result which put England back on track to qualify for next summer's Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine.

While goals from Frank Lampard and Darren Bent secured a straightforward three points, it was the assured performance of the 19-year-old Wilshere that left Capello reaching for the superlatives.

"It's incredible, the performance of this player during this season," Capello enthused. "He improved in a short space of time, incredible."

Wilshere has nailed down a regular starting place at Arsenal this season, and impressed during the Gunners Champions League exit to Barcelona.

The youngster now appears to be well on his way to becoming a first choice in England's midfield, where he worked in tandem with Lampard on Saturday in front of Scott Parker in the holding role.

Capello said he had discussed Wilshere's improvement with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, and both coaches were surprised at his rapid development.

"I spoke with Arsene and Arsene told me the same thing -- incredible. He plays like a player of 28, 29 years with 35 or 40 caps," Capello said.

"The good players always improve."

Wilshere meanwhile modestly played down the praise directed his way.

"This is the sort of thing you want to hear. But at my age, I'm only 19, there are still big players like Steven Gerrard to come back," Wilshere said.

"I just have to work hard for my club and see if the manager picks me for internationals."

Capello meanwhile brushed off suggestions that the victory had vindicated his controversial decision to reinstate John Terry as permanent captain at the expense of the injured Rio Ferdinand.

"Why? Against you? It's my job guys. It's normal. It's my job," Capello said. "When you win you are the best, when you lose you are ..."

He also declined the invitation to single out Terry for special praise, instead highlighting the contribution of Aston Villa winger Ashley Young, whose movement and pace was a constant thorn in the side of the Welsh defence.

"All the players played well. But I think some players played very well. Ashley Young played very well. This year he has been a really good player. He played well in Denmark, he played well this evening," Capello said.

Capello was also pleased with the display of Parker, the in-form West Ham midfielder who many felt was unlucky to have been overlooked by the Italian for his World Cup squad last year.

"Scott played very well," Capello said. "The position, he won back a lot of balls, in every moment he was in a good position in front of the back four."

Capello meanwhile played down the significance of the tactical tweak that saw Parker shield the back four with Wilshere and Lampard pushed up behind a front three of Young, Bent and Wayne Rooney.

"I prepared this style for Wales but we can change the style because English players are really good, they can play different styles," Capello said.

"But the real style is 9-1. Because you need to defend and you need to go forward."

The only blemish on an otherwise positive afternoon for Capello was a needless 37th-minute booking for Rooney which rules the striker out of their next qualifier, against Switzerland at Wembley in June.

"I know, I told him he will miss the next game, it's not good news for us," Capello said.

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SPORTS - Butler back in Final Four, beats Florida in OT (AP)

SPORTS - Butler back in Final Four, beats Florida in OT (AP)

AP – Butler's Shelvin Mack (1) shoots past Florida's Chandler Parsons (25) and Florida's Patric Young during …

By BRETT MARTEL, AP Sports Writer Brett Martel, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Mar 26, 9:54 pm ET

NEW ORLEANS – Of course Butler erased a late deficit. Of course the Bulldogs hit a clutch 3-pointer late in overtime. Of course they're going back to the Final Four.

This is the Butler Way.

Shelvin Mack scored 27 points, including five in overtime, and Butler reached the Final Four for the second year in a row with a 74-71 victory over Florida on Saturday.

"This is a huge deal," said Zach Hahn, whose two 3-pointers helped Butler stay close in the first half. "I don't know that any other mid-major has ever done this. It's hardly happened once, let alone twice. It's an unbelievable feeling."

Butler, the Horizon League champ, has vanquished three higher seeds from major conferences — top-seeded Pittsburgh, fourth-seeded Wisconsin and now second-seeded Florida — in succession.

Those big wins came after Howard tipped in a winner in the final seconds against Old Dominion.

This game had another frantic finish.

"We just kind of stayed together, stayed the course, figured it out, and just played resiliently," Butler coach Brad Stevens. "I'm incredibly proud of these guys. They carried their coach in a big way. ... Our players did a great job, and (they are) just a special group. We're really lucky that they're Butler Bulldogs."

Matt Howard scored 14 and Khyle Marshall added 10 for the Bulldogs (27-9), who showed again they simply won't give in, climbing out of an 11-point hole in the last 9:25 of the second half.

Mack was playing through pain after rolling his left ankle in the first half and needed a small bandage on his forehead in the second half. He could not recall what happened to his head, only that it was bleeding when he came to the sideline.

That didn't stop him from draining a crucial 3-pointer with 1:21 left in overtime to give Butler the lead for good at 72-70. He also had enough vigor left during the net-cutting ritual to do a mocking Gator chomp with his arms from atop a ladder.

"It's a physical game. That's what the NCAA tournament is all about," Mack said. "You wouldn't want it any other way."

Kenny Boynton missed a long 3 that could have given Florida (29-8) the lead with a little under 20 seconds left. Alex Tyus appeared to have the offensive rebound, but Howard tied him up and the possession arrow favored Butler.

Florida had to foul Mack with 10.6 seconds to go, and he hit both shots for the final margin before Erving Walker missed a 3 to tie in the final seconds.

"Congratulations to Butler," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "They had great, great heart tonight. ... I knew they had that, you know, all year long."

Before reaching the round of eight this year, Florida hadn't won an NCAA tournament game since winning its second straight national title in 2007.

The Gators missed the tournament entirely in 2008 and 2009, before returning last year and being knocked out by BYU in the first round.

Florida ended Butler's season twice before in the NCAA tournament, once in 2000 in the first round and again in 2007 in the round of 16.

The Bulldogs hadn't forgotten.

Butler players got motivational text messages from Bulldogs past concerning their latest matchup with the resurgent Gators.

In the locker room after the game, players said they hoped they made the Butler community proud. Judging by video of celebrating fans back in Indianapolis being passed around the locker room on a cell phone, they had.

Last year, Butler was able to play in front of those fans at the Final Four in Indianapolis, where about 30,000 fans attended their open practice.

Now it seems as though the Bulldogs win the crowd wherever they play, although Stevens suspects the support they had at last season's Final Four in their hometown will be hard to top.

"Nothing will be like Indy. Indy was crazy," Stevens said. "If there's 30,000 people (at open practice) they're going to try to be getting whoever else's autographs are there in Houston. It's not going to be for our guys. ... But trust me, we will play anywhere they send us and we are thrilled to go to Houston."

Stevens knows it won't be the same this time.

Vernon Macklin scored a career-high 25 points for Florida, while Boynton finished with 17 points and Tyus had his second-straight double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Butler had to overcome Florida's size advantage and a number of its own mistakes.

In regulation, the Bulldogs made 10 of 20 free throws and shot 39.6 percent (21 of 53), including 8 of 30 from 3-point range. Yet they somehow found a way to survive to overtime, when they hit all seven foul shots and three of their eight field goals.

Remarkably, Butler also outrebounded the Gators, 41-34.

Now the Bulldogs are one win away from a second straight appearance in the national championship game.

"They're tough," said Florida forward Chandler Parsons, who had a disappointing five points on 2 of 9 shooting. "They're physical. They have all the characteristics of a good team. You know, it's not their first time here. They were in this situation last year, so I think their experience helped them and I think they just came up with big plays when the team needed it."

Florida appeared to be taking control when Tyus, the leading scorer and rebounder in Florida's overtime win over BYU, got loose for a pair of soaring dunks, then added two free throws and a driving floater during a 12-1 run that gave the Gators a 51-40 lead with 9:26 left.

Howard's basket inside as he was fouled snapped the run, then seldom-used reserve Chrishawn Hopkins, who'd just set up Howard's score, added a 3 as Butler slowly clawed its way back again, finally tying it at 57 with 3:03 to go on the second of consecutive driving layups by Mack.

Macklin, who'd been limited by foul trouble in the second half — he committed his fourth with 9:02 left — returned to hit a free throw and a layup on a strong move inside to make it 60-57. Mack's free throws cut it to one point and Howard had a chance to give Butler the lead after drawing a foul with 30.7 seconds left.

He missed his second free throw, then Walker missed a long pull-up jumper — his eighth straight miss to that point — forcing overtime.

"Walker was 1 of 10, and he's been such a clutch shooter for us," Donovan said. "When you get into those situations where the game is coming down to the wire like that and it's one-possession games, anything can happen."

Butler initially took a 67-64 lead in the overtime on Ronald Nored's free throws, but Florida came back with a couple of clutch 3s. Boynton's tied it 67, then Walker finally hit his first field goal from 3 to put the Gators up 70-69.

That's when Mack responded with his big 3 that propelled Butler to its latest upset. It helped make up nicely for the Pittsburgh game, when his late foul nearly cost Butler a chance to move on.

"I feel incredibly good for Shelvin," Howard said. "If we would have lost on that play, he still scored 30 points and carried us. You can't fault him and say you lost us the game because he essentially won us the game. The kid's incredible. He really carries us at times. This is the type of player Shelvin is."

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SPORTS - BOA leaders kicked off 2012 board in money dispute (AP)

SPORTS - BOA leaders kicked off 2012 board in money dispute (AP)

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SPORTS - Ravens' Tom Zbikowski uses lockout to explore ring career (Reuters)

SPORTS - Ravens' Tom Zbikowski uses lockout to explore ring career (Reuters)

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SPORTS - Red Bull's Vettel takes pole for Australian GP (AP)

SPORTS - Red Bull's Vettel takes pole for Australian GP (AP)

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SPORTS - Gonzaga beats Louisville 76-69 to reach Elite 8 (AP)

SPORTS - Gonzaga beats Louisville 76-69 to reach Elite 8 (AP)

AP – Louisville's Shoni Schimmel (23) calls for an out-of-bounds ball for her team and Gonzaga's Janelle Bekkering …

By TIM BOOTH, AP Sports Writer Tim Booth, Ap Sports Writer – 52 mins ago

SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves figured the realization of what the Bulldogs have accomplished won't settle in until the most inopportune of times — like the middle of the night.

"At about 3 a.m. when I haven't slept yet, we'll start to think about it," Graves said.

But what might seem like a dream run for the Bulldogs is very much real. The little Jesuit school is one win away from the Final Four.

Courtney Vandersloot did a little of everything again, scoring 29 points, handing out seven assists and getting seven steals, and 11th-seeded Gonzaga advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history with a 76-69 win against Louisville on Saturday night.

Playing less than two miles from their campus, the Bulldogs (31-4) sent the blood pressure rising for the 10,000 or so hometown fans in attendance after nearly squandering all of a 20-point second half lead. Along the way, they became the lowest seed to ever reach a regional final and get a chance Monday night to become the first school from outside the six major conferences to reach the Final Four in a decade.

"It hasn't really hit us yet," Vandersloot said. "We're excited about the win and I think that we're still celebrating, but pretty soon we'll focus on our next game ahead of us and then we'll realize how close we are."

Shoni Schimmel led seventh-seeded Louisville (22-13) with 18 points, but didn't find her shot until midway through the second half, missing 12 of her first 13 attempts. Keshia Hines scored a season-high 17, but the Cardinals got just five minutes out of leading scorer Monique Reid, who suffered a right groin strain. Reid said she actually felt it pop in pregame warmups and tried to go early but knew within the first 90 second she wouldn't be able to do much. She returned briefly in the second half but finished with just two points.

"It was a heck of a run and we did all we could," Reid said. "Watching, it was painful. I mean, I'm the leading scorer on the team. They played hard. We tried. We definitely tried."

The last mid-major conference team to reach the Final Four was 2001 when Jackie Stiles led Southwest Missouri State — now Missouri State — to the national semifinals. And Stiles did it by winning a regional held in Spokane.

Now it's Vandersloot and the Bulldogs trying to match what took place 10 years ago in the same building. When the Bulldogs emerged from their locker room about an hour after the victory, they were greeted by a standing ovation from the Gonzaga fans that hung around to watch the nightcap between top-seeded Stanford and No. 5 seed North Carolina.

The Bulldogs will play the winner.

Janelle Bekkering came up big in the closing minutes for Gonzaga with eight of her 15 points, including a baseline drive with 4:01 left that broke a nearly five minute scoreless streak for the Bulldogs. Kelly Bowen added 12 and Katelan Redmon scored 10 for the Bulldogs, who have now won 21 straight games.

As great as Schimmel was in getting Louisville to the regional semifinals with 33 points in an upset of No. 2 seed Xavier, the freshman point guard endured the struggles of a freshman for the first 30 minutes against the Zags. She made 8 of 23 shots overall, and 2 of 10 on 3-point attempts.

Hines tried to make up for the absence of Reid by scoring six straight late in the second half as Louisville got within 65-62 with 2:56 left before the Bulldogs pulled away. Tia Gibbs added 16 for Louisville.

"We dug ourselves a hole in the beginning and had to fight back, but it's one thing that we don't do is quit," Gibbs said. "And like coach said, he won't quit, so we won't quit. Unfortunately we (messed) around for the first 30 minutes and then fought the last 10, but that's it."

Vandersloot added another mark to her stellar career, setting an NCAA record for assists in a single season when she found Bowen for a three-point play less than two minutes into the second half. It was part of a 16-7 Bulldogs' spurt that pushed their lead to 51-31.

Louisville and Schimmel then got started. The freshman hit a pair of deep 3-pointers along with a floater in the lane. Her 3 with 9:08 left pulled the Cardinals within 59-48, and moments later the Gonzaga lead was down to seven with 5:35 left after Schimmel scored a pair of fastbreak baskets.

Hines scored six straight on the inside, getting the Cardinals within three before Bekkering's baseline drive. The Bulldogs hit 11 of 12 free throws in the final 2:36, including a trio from Vandersloot, who had gone more than nine minutes without scoring.

The Bulldogs outscored Louisville 24-5 at the line.

"This is an opportunity not a lot of people have," Vandersloot said. "We're really grateful that we get to play in front of our home crowd."

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SPORTS - Penn, Fitch fight to draw at UFC 127 (AP)

SPORTS - Penn, Fitch fight to draw at UFC 127 (AP)

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SPORTS - Flames rally to beat Oilers in shootout (AP)

SPORTS - Flames rally to beat Oilers in shootout (AP)

AP – Jiyai Shin, of South Korea, drives on the third tee in the third round of the LPGA Kia Classic golf tournament …

– 2 hrs 54 mins ago

INDUSTRY, Calif. – Second-ranked Jiyai Shin shot a 3-under 70 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Sandra Gal after the third round of the Kia Classic.

Shin, the South Korean star who has eight LPGA Tour victories, had a 15-under 204 total on the Industry Hills Golf Club course at Pacific Palms. Gal, from Germany, also shot a 70.

"I think the course is a good match with me," Shin said. "I can't wait. Maybe it will be a really great day. I think so."

South Korea's Na Yeon Choi was third after a 65, the best score of the round.

"I changed my putt after the second round," Choi said. "My putter was cold. I couldn't make it the last two days, so I changed the putter. I felt really good."

Michelle Wie shot a 71, leaving in tie for eighth at 5 under. Returning to the tour after finishing finals at Stanford, Wie had five birdies and three bogeys in the round.

"I've really got to shoot light out," Wie said about her chances in the final round. "I've got to make a lot of birdies and make no mistakes. Hopefully, I can do that."

Gal returned to the course early to finish the final nine holes of the rain-delayed second round. She shot a 68 in the round to begin the third a stroke behind Shin.

"I know it was 27 holes, but to be honest I thought it was to my advantage to come out early and get a feel for the course and the conditions," Gal said. "So, I didn't quite mind it."

In the third round, Gal birdied the first hole to tie for the lead, then pulled ahead on No. 2 when Shin made only her third bogey of the tournament. Gal made another birdie on the third hole and kept the lead until the back nine. Shin broke a tie with a two-stroke swing on the par-3 15th, hitting her tee shot to 3 feet to set up a birdie. Gal bogeyed the hole.

Shin also birdied the 17th, but bogeyed 18 after hitting her drive into a pond.

"It was getting dark so I hurried myself a little bit," Shin said about her drive on 18. "I missed on my timing and hit a big hook."

Gal also birdied the 17th and finished with a par.

The tournament is the tour's first in the Los Angeles area in six years.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects total to 204 in second paragraph.)

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SPORTS - Fans throw another Final Four party for Butler (AP)

SPORTS - Fans throw another Final Four party for Butler (AP)

AP – Edmonton Oilers teammates Chris Vande Velde, left, and Teemu Hartikainen collide during the first period …

– 44 mins ago

EDMONTON, Alberta – Alex Tanguay scored in the first round of a shootout to give the Calgary Flames a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.

Calgary, down 4-1 early in the third period, is ninth in the Western Conference, a point behind eighth-place Chicago for the final playoff spot. Calgary has five games left, while Chicago has eight to play.

The victory was only the Flames' second in their last eight games.

Steve Staios forced overtime, beating Devan Dubnyk with a slap shot with 1:55 left in the third.

Jarome Iginla started the comeback with a power-play goal, his second of the game, at 5:55 of the third.

Curtis Glencross made it 4-3 with 7:51 left off an assist from Iginla.

Magnus Paajarvi, Teemu Hartikainen, Colin Fraser and Ryan Jones scored for Edmonton. The Oilers, last overall in the NHL, have lost nine in a row.

NOTES: Iginla has 36 goals this season. ... Miikka Kiprusoff made 17 saves for the Flames. ... Calgary forward Niklas Hagman missed his second consecutive game because of concussion-like symptoms.

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SPORTS - Bonds' lawyer Allen Ruby used to wrestling matches (AP)

SPORTS - Bonds' lawyer Allen Ruby used to wrestling matches (AP)

AP – Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin dunks the ball on an alley-oop pass from Mo Williams against the …

– 36 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Blake Griffin had 22 points and 16 rebounds, Chris Kaman added 17 points and 12 boards, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat Toronto 94-90 on Saturday night to hand the Raptors their fourth straight loss.

The Clippers had lost their previous five meetings with the Raptors by an average of 17.4 points. Eric Gordon, who missed his first 11 shots in Friday's 112-104 loss to the Lakers, had 17 points after getting into early foul trouble, and Mo Williams finished with just nine points after scoring a season-high 30 against the two-time defending champions.

Ed Davis had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who ended a 1-4 road trip in which they fell behind by more than 40 points to both Denver and Golden State.

Jose Calderon, who sat out the second half of Friday's 138-100 loss to the Warriors because of a strained left hamstring, was back in the starting lineup against the Clippers and scored 16 points in 34 minutes.

Raptors leading scorer Andrea Bargnani was scratched because of an ankle problem. In Friday night's 138-100 loss at Golden State, Bargnani scored just seven points in 27 1-2 minutes after averaging 23.3 over his previous six games.

The Raptors, who set a franchise record for most points allowed in a half by surrendering 84 in the first 24 minutes against the Warriors, led the Clippers 44-43 at intermission. They went up by as many as 10 with 8:27 remaining before the Clippers pulled ahead 85-82 with a 15-2 run capped by Kaman's layup off an offensive rebound with 3:21 left.

Toronto regained the lead at 88-87 on a layup by Davis with 1:58 to go, but Griffin got it back for good with a dunk, and Gordon hit the Clippers' first 3-pointer of the game with a minute left to put Los Angeles ahead 92-88. Williams helped sealed the win with a pair of free throws.

Fourth-year Toronto forward Julian Wright, averaging 14.4 minutes in his first season with Toronto and upset about his limited playing time, spent the entire game on the bench in uniform after refusing to report into Friday's game in the third quarter with the Raptors being blown out by the Warriors. He wasn't suspended, but did apologize to his teammates.

DeMar DeRozan, who was born in nearby Compton and played his high school ball there, started out 0 for 9 from the field and was 3 for 15 overall with seven points in 34 minutes. He finally ended his shooting drought on a 14-footer with 9:56 to play, extending Toronto's lead to 77-68.

This was DeRozan's first visit to Staples Center since All-Star weekend, when the USC alum competed against Griffin in the slam-dunk contest and waited two days before publicly expressing his displeasure about Griffin's dunk over a car. DeRozan was watching from the bench just a few feet away when Griffin blew an alley-oop dunk attempt on a lob pass from Randy Foye with 3:25 left in the first quarter.

Notes: The Clippers were 0 for 8 on 3-pointers before Gordon's clutch shot. The last time they went an entire game without making one was Jan. 15, 2008 (0 for 6). ... Both teams wrapped up their respective schedules against the other conference. Toronto finished 8-22 against the West, and the Clippers were 13-17 against the East — including a 122-101 victory at Washington on March 12. ... Toronto entered Saturday as one of six teams allowing 105 or more points per game. ... The Raptors have lost the second game of a back-to-back set seven of the last eight times they've had one.

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SPORTS - Packers DE Jolly arrested on drug charge again (AP)

SPORTS - Packers DE Jolly arrested on drug charge again (AP)

AP – Allen Ruby, attorney for former baseball player Barry Bonds, arrives at federal court in San Francisco, …

By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Mar 26, 6:14 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Allen Ruby is used to flamboyant wrestling matches pitting one larger-than-life character against another — and not just in the courtroom.

Barry Bonds' lead lawyer has a background unfamiliar to most attorneys, one that prepared him for rough exchanges and life in the glare of the spotlight.

"My dad was a wrestler, and then a wrestling booking agent and a wrestling booking promoter," he said. "Way before Vince McMahon. And it was a family business, so I wrestled and announced and did various things in and around the business basically until I went to law school."

Son of Bert Ruby — aka "The Magyar Hercules" — Allen Ruby knows a thing or two about showmanship. That comes in handy as he tries to clear his seven-time NL MVP client of charges he lied to a federal grand jury when he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.

Raising and lowering his resonant, baritone voice, inflecting it with irony and sarcasm at times, Ruby commands the courtroom. When he walks back to the rest of his team — a dozen fill two tables and the first row of seats — to get a manila folder with copies of exhibits, he lifts the papers dramatically and hands copies to the prosecution and the judge's clerk as the jury watches. He rocks back slightly during questions in cross-examination when expressing incredulity.

"The truth is, is it not, is that you recorded Dr. (Arthur) Ting to gather information ... to extort Barry?" he asked Steve Hoskins, Bonds' former business partner.

Ruby wrestled professionally on weekends and summers before going to Stanford Law School. He eventually found himself on a different strand of the sports business. The NFL hired him as one of its lawyers to defend a $1 billion-plus lawsuit filed by the Oakland Raiders, who claimed they were forced out of Southern California after the 1994 season and never reimbursed for the market rights it relinquished.

He prevailed on behalf on the NFL and has gone on to other high-profile cases. In 2007, he succeeded in getting the case dismissed against Ron Gonzales, who while San Jose mayor had been indicted on charges of bribery in an alleged deal with a waste management company.

"Allen Ruby came highly recommended, and did not disappoint," said Joe Browne, senior adviser to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "He is a man of unquestionable integrity, who is disciplined, motivated and tireless. Not only does he have superb judgment and courtroom presence, but he is a terrific communicator. He gets to the heart of a matter quickly."

Not all praise is so effusive. Bobby Ghajar, a lawyer who represented Intel Corp. in a case against Dualcor Technologies Inc., which hired Ruby, responded to an email request for comment tersely: "I will say this about Allen: He has an unmistakable presence." Ghajar would say no more.

Ruby, who turns 66 in July, wanted to be a lawyer since his playground days.

"I was 7 years old and talking about being a lawyer. I can't imagine an occupation where you have this kind of opportunity to meet so many interesting and in many cases very accomplished people," he said. "I always liked to listen to people talk. And I have to confess I always enjoyed talking myself. And it just seemed like, even from a kid's perspective, that being a lawyer involved a lot of those things."

It's rubbed off on his family. Married to Cynthia since 1972, they have two children. Sarah, who is 31, is a lawyer. Daniel, who is 27, is a third-year student in law school.

Ruby grew up in Detroit and went to Michigan State. While he didn't realize it at the time, a turning point came when he decided to go to Stanford Law School.

"That was a fluke," he said. "I thought I was going to go East, and one slushy Midwestern day, it turned out I was going to go West. I'd never been West before. I'd never been West of Chicago. California was quite a change."

He did return to Michigan to clerk for Charles Levin of the Michigan Supreme Court, but then decided to start a small law firm with friends from law school.

When his partner retired, Ruby decided last year to discontinue his San Jose-based Ruby & Schofield and became a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, one of the world's largest firms. He knew some people at Skadden when he worked on the NFL case. (In a coincidence, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who is presiding on the Bonds' trial, also worked for the NFL when she was a young lawyer at Cotchett, Illston & Pitre in Burlingame).

"It doesn't take long to figure out why Allen is so good in front of a jury," said David Zornow, Skadden's global head of litigation. "I think he's got a commanding presence. He's unpretentious. He's the kind of person who talks to a jury in plain language, takes complicated facts and makes them understandable to a nonlawyer, a person who exudes credibility and belief in what he's saying."

He's done a lot of work for tech firms in Silicon Valley. Despite all he's done before, no case has brought him the attention of USA v. Bonds, in which the government charges the home run king of lying to a grand jury in 2003 when he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.

He wouldn't necessarily consider a victory his greatest win. Ruby said he doesn't put his successes in any particular order.

"I think in order to be in court, you constantly face the reality of disappointment, and if you think in terms — boy, this is disappointing or that's not disappointing — I think you can drive yourself crazy," he said. "So I remember the cases where I wake up at 3 o'clock in the morning and think about them, but I don't rate them or rank them."

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SPORTS - No. 1 seed Stanford pulls away for win over UNC (AP)

SPORTS - No. 1 seed Stanford pulls away for win over UNC (AP)

AP – Stanford'sn Nnemkadi Ogwumike (30) and North Carolina's Jessica Breland reach for a loose ball in the …

By TIM BOOTH, AP Sports Writer Tim Booth, Ap Sports Writer – 4 mins ago

SPOKANE, Wash. – When Stanford needed its sister act the most, Chiney and Nnemkadi Ogwumike came through with exactly what the Cardinal needed.

Nnemkadi Ogwumike and her freshman sister, Chiney, scored 12 of Stanford's final 15 points and the top-seeded Cardinal held on in the final minute for a 72-65 win over No. 5 seed North Carolina on Saturday night in the Spokane Regional semifinals.

Stanford (32-2) kept alive its hope for a fourth straight Final Four trip — a string that started four years ago on this floor in Spokane — thanks to its talented sister duo who made up for an off night from Pac-10 player of the year Jeanette Pohlen.

Nnemkadi Ogwumike led the Cardinal with 19 points while Chiney, the Pac-10 freshman of the year, added 16. Pohlen missed eight of her nine shots and finished with just six points.

The Cardinal's road to Indianapolis and the Final Four now intersects with hometown favorite, 11th-seeded Gonzaga on Monday night in the regional final. Gonzaga beat No. 7 seed Louisville 76-69 in Saturday's first game to reach its first Elite Eight.

Stanford and Gonzaga met earlier this year on the Bulldogs' home floor with Stanford holding on for an 84-78 victory.

Italee Lucas led North Carolina (28-9) with 22 points and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt added 14 off the bench, but the Tar Heels were hampered by a tough night from forward Jessica Breland, the Tar Heels' second-leading scorer. Breland made just one of 13 shots, missed both of her free-throw attempts and finished with just two points, 10 below her season average.

Two of the most storied programs in college hoops and two of the most successful coaches — North Carolina's Sylvia Hatchell and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer — met for just the second time in the history of the two schools, the last meeting coming 16 years ago in an NCAA regional semifinal.

The result is what you'd expect with the Tar Heels and Cardinal involved — a tight matchup that came down to the final possessions.

But it was the Ogwumikes making the plays when the Tar Heels went cold.

Tied at 59 with 4:35 left, Nnemkadi scored consecutive baskets to push the Cardinal ahead by four. She scored with 3:08 remaining, then saw her sister come up with a big bucket in the lane with 1:59 left after North Carolina had pulled even at 65.

It was still a one-possession game with under a minute remaining when Nnemkadi Ogwumike missed in the lane, but Chiney grabbed the offensive rebound and scored while being fouled with 39.7 seconds left to put the Cardinal up 69-65. North Carolina committed a turnover on its next possession, one of four they committed in its final five possessions and Pohlen knocked down three free throws in the final 30 seconds.

Stanford has won 26 straight overall, the second-longest streak in school history. A win Monday night will match the longest streak by a Stanford team. Kayla Pedersen added 15 for Stanford, which won despite matching its season low and shooting just 36 percent.

Chay Shegog added 13 for North Carolina, who rallied from a seven-point deficit early in the second half but only once took the lead on Lucas' basket with 6:51 left. North Carolina went the final 3:42 without a field goal.

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SPORTS - Jiyai Shin leads Kia Classic (AP)

SPORTS - Jiyai Shin leads Kia Classic (AP)

AP – File - Seb Coe, Chairman of the London Olympic Organizing Committee, is seen at the start of the recruitment …

• Play Video Olympics Video:Officer describes cheerleader's violent death to jury WCNC Charlotte

By STEPHEN WILSON, AP Sports Writer Stephen Wilson, Ap Sports Writer – Thu Mar 24, 7:17 pm ET

LONDON – The bitter financial dispute over the London Games escalated Thursday when organizers excluded the top two leaders of the British Olympic Association from 2012 board meetings.

In another embarrassment for the host nation, the BOA also said it may withdraw from hosting a major global Olympic meeting in London next year because of money problems.

The messy spat pits the BOA, headed by Colin Moynihan, against the 2012 organizing committee, known as LOCOG and headed by Sebastian Coe. At issue is the distribution of any surplus from next year's Olympics.

LOCOG said Moynihan and BOA chief executive Andy Hunt are barred from attending board meetings while "they are individually and actively involved in pursuing a dispute against LOCOG."

"Both have been invited to send alternate representatives to board meetings," LOCOG said, adding that the BOA is "ably represented" by four other representatives on the board.

The BOA said in a statement late Thursday that it saw no reason to copy LOCOG and ban its top people from its own board meetings.

"We do not feel a similar action is necessary and we are not taking the same steps as LOCOG," the BOA said. "We see no reason to do so."

The cash-strapped BOA has been in open conflict with LOCOG and the International Olympic Committee over its share of revenues from the London Games.

The association, which is entitled to a 20 percent cut of any profit, argues that the cost of the Paralympics should not be taken into account.

LOCOG and the IOC insist the Olympics and Paralympics should be counted together. The BOA rejected the IOC's ruling last week and appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, raising the stakes by moving the issue to a full-blown legal dispute with London and international bodies.

The fight comes as IOC officials prepare to travel to London next week to check on preparations for the games.

The International Paralympic Committee accused the BOA on Thursday of "undermining the vision" of London 2012 as a single sports festival.

"The London 2012 Paralympic Games will not make a loss and will more than cover its costs," IPC chief executive Xavier Gonzalez said in an open letter to British media.

He said London's plans were always set out as representing "one festival of sport, with an integrated Olympic and Paralympic Games, underpinned by a single budget."

"It is very disappointing that this vision is being undermined by the BOA," Gonzalez said.

On a separate issue, the BOA said it may not host the Association of National Olympic Committee's general assembly next year in order to save money.

The biannual assembly, attended by leaders of more than 200 national Olympic bodies from around the world, is traditionally held in the upcoming summer Olympic host city in April, a few months before the games.

The conference, which costs several million dollars to stage, is always held in conjunction with a meeting of the IOC's ruling executive board.

"A final decision is a matter for ANOC," BOA spokesman Darryl Seibel told The Associated Press. "We've expressed interest in hosting the event here in London but a final determination hasn't been made. We are working with ANOC to find an appropriate solution for everyone.

"Of course we'd be honored to host the event. However, we do have to prioritize our resources. Our priority No. 1 is preparing Team GB for the games."

Jimena Saldana, the assistant to ANOC head Mario Vazquez Rana in Mexico, said ANOC had no comment on the issue for now.

The BOA, which relies exclusively on private funding, has said it faces a budget shortfall of up to $16 million that threatens funding of some support programs for the British team.

The ANOC assembly was held in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008 ahead of the games in those cities. Organizers of the 2000 Sydney Olympics declined to host the meeting, saying it was too much of a hindrance in the final months of preparations, and the event was moved to Rio de Janeiro.

Vazquez Rana, the Mexican media magnate, also serves on the IOC board. He has organized several ANOC meetings in Mexico, including last year's assembly in Acapulco.

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SPORTS - Griffin leads Clippers over Raptors 94-90 (AP)

SPORTS - Griffin leads Clippers over Raptors 94-90 (AP)

AFP – Toulouse's flanker Shaun Sowerby (L) tries to catch the ball in a line out in front of Racing-Metro …

• Play Video Wall Street Video:Talking Numbers: Cashing in on Dividends CNBC
• Play Video Wall Street Video:Teen Retailers: Time to Shop? CNBC
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by Pirate Irwin Pirate Irwin – Sat Mar 26, 6:52 pm ET

PARIS (AFP) – Racing-Metro made a triumphant debut home appearance at the Stade de France on Saturday easing to an impressive 43-21 win over Top 14 leaders Toulouse.

The victory saw Racing run in three tries - one by discarded French backrow forward Sebastian Chabal - while fly-half Jonathan Wisniewski contributed 28 points with the boot to show that they are live contenders for the title this year.

All Toulouse's points came from mercurial scrum-half Frederic Michalak as the victory for Racing saw them move to just a point behind Toulouse with four matches remaining of the regular season before it moves into the play-off stage for the top six.

"I would like to congratulate my players because they remained alert for the whole 80 minutes," said Racing's sporting director Pierre Berbizier.

"It is really a wonderful win.

"I hope we can continue on this level. Our next challenge is to keep our feet on the ground."

Guy Noves, the legendary manager of Toulouse, said his players had not been on their best form and had a further blow as France captain Thierry Dusautoir went off with what was first diagnosed as a sprained ankle.

"I am disappointed at our performance," he said.

"However, like after every reverse the club, the players and the management will look at the match again and find reasons behind it.

"We are still top but that is purely incidental. We have to go away twice more (at Perpignan and against Toulon in Marseille) and if we get zero points each time then we will no longer be first.

"While anticipating that, we are going to celebrate our first place," he added smiling.

Biarritz, the team Toulouse beat in last season's European Cup final, coasted to victory in the Basque derby, beating Bayonne 40-10 to consolidate their place in the top six.

France scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili contributed 20 points with his boot while international team-mate Imanol Harinordoquy was one of their four try scorers.

Earlier both Agen and Brive did their hopes of avoiding the second and final relegation spot good by winning their matches.

Agen beat champions Clermont in impressive fashion 26-17 for their sixth win in their last seven home matches and moved them onto 38 points, five ahead of second from bottom La Rochelle, who were beaten at home 34-16 by Perpignan.

Brive cruised to a 50-6 victory over already relegated Bourgoin, giving them a bonus point and leaves them a point adrift of Agen.

Agen steamrollered Clermont - who sorely missed suspended captain Aurelien Rougerie - scoring two tries in the opening 20 minutes to take a 20-7 lead.

Both came from their backrow as first flanker Jean Monribot burst through a flakey Clermont defence to run the ball in from 30 metres and then, in a brilliant move started just outside their own 22 which went through seven different pairs of hands, Tongan No 8 Opeti Fonua touched down.

Clermont had got off to a great start, rocking Agen with a third-minute try by Morgan Parra which he converted and the French scrum-half added a penalty six minutes from the break to just about keep the visitors in touch.

Agen extended their lead shortly after the restart through a penalty by South African fly-half Conrad Barnard taking him to 13 points for the match.

Clermont's hopes took another knock in the 55th minute when replacement prop Vincent Debaty was sin-binned and Barnard added a penalty for a 26-10 lead.

However, Clermont frayed Agen nerves as Samoan centre George Pisi scored a try with 16 minutes remaining - Brock James slotted the conversion for 26-17.

Parra was left seething after the defeat.

"I am both angry and disappointed. We let the match pass us by completely," said Parra.

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SPORTS - Notre Dame beats Oklahoma 78-53 (AP)

SPORTS - Notre Dame beats Oklahoma 78-53 (AP)

AP – Notre Dame guard Brittany Mallory shoots against Oklahoma during the first half of an NCAA women's college …

By JOE KAY, AP Sports Writer Joe Kay, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Mar 26, 4:54 pm ET

DAYTON, Ohio – No overtime this time. Notre Dame's defense needed less than a half to end the drama.

Brittany Mallory scored season-high 20 points Saturday, and Notre Dame's defensive pressure took its toll in a 78-53 win over Oklahoma that sent the second-seeded Fighting Irish to the regional final.

Notre Dame (29-7) will play top-seeded Tennessee on Monday. The Lady Vols (34-2) pulled away from Ohio State in the second half for an 85-75 win — their 25th straight — in the other semifinal.

Nicole Griffin scored 18 points for Oklahoma (23-12), which reached the Final Four each of the last two years. Notre Dame's go-for-the-ball pressure crumpled the Sooners' guard-driven offense, which had only eight field goals and 14 turnovers in the decisive first half.

It was the third time in the last four years that the Sooners and Fighting Irish met in the NCAA tournament. The first two games dripped with drama and went to overtime. Notre Dame won the first time, 79-75 in the second round in 2008. Oklahoma got the rematch, 77-72 last year in a regional semifinal in Kansas City.

Add a blowout to the budding rivalry.

Oklahoma (23-12) reached the Final Four each of the last two seasons. Their guard-driven offense led by Danielle Robinson (18.4 points per game) and freshman Aaryn Ellenberg (16.4) got rolling late in the season and pulled them through the first two rounds of the tournament.

They were under constant pressure from a defense that ranks third in the country in steals. There was a hand with green fingernail polish — a Notre Dame tournament tradition — reaching for every pass and every dribble. Robinson finished with 16 points on 6 of 16 shooting. Ellenberg had nine on 4 of 13 shooting.

Natalie Novosel added 15 points, and Devereaux Peters had 17 points and 13 rebounds for Notre Dame, which got the better of a turnover-filled, uptempo game. Each team had 24 turnovers.

Notre Dame opened with a 9-4 run that included three 3s by Mallory, who hadn't made more than three in any game this season. The senior guard was 0 for 10 from behind the arc in her last three games. She finished with a career-high six 3s.

Notre Dame closed the first half with a 21-4 run set up by the incessant defensive pressure. Notre Dame had nine steals and forced 14 turnovers in the first half.

The Fighting Irish suffered a setback when senior forward Becca Bruszewski twisted her left knee in a pileup under the basket early in the half. She tried to play but left the game a few minutes later and reared back in pain when a trainer checked the knee. She got up and limped to the locker room.

Bruszewski is Notre Dame's second-leading rebounder, nicknamed "Bruiser" for her physical play under the basket. She missed most of the first half, returning with a brace on her knee in the closing minutes. She didn't return until the closing minutes of the half and finished with four points and two rebounds in 16 minutes.

Didn't matter. Even with that front-line loss, Notre Dame dominated the boards and pulled away. The Fighting Irish finished with a 48-25 edge in rebounds.

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