Ailing Creamer hopes to play in final round today

Paula Creamer has played well enough this week to have a chance of winning the LPGA Tour’s money title.

That is, if she can get out of the hospital this morning.

Hours after becoming one of eight qualifiers for the final round of the ADT Championship in West Palm Beach, Fla., and its $1 million first-place prize Saturday, Creamer – who has been sick since Wednesday night – was admitted to Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, Fla., because of severe abdominal distress.

Creamer said after her round that she was planning to play, but wanted to go have a CT scan to rule out appendicitis.

Provided she can play, Creamer will have a chance to be the first American to win the LPGA’s season money crown since Betsy King in 1993. All eight players will start tied at par when they embark on an 18-hole shootout for the $1 million winner’s prize, and if Creamer cannot play, it’ll be a seven-woman field.

The other qualifiers are Suzann Pettersen, Angela Stanford, Seon Hwa Lee, Ji-Yai Shin, Jeong Jang, Karrie Webb and Eun-Hee Jee.

NHL

Canadiens honor Roy

Patrick Roy heard cheers again in Montreal, more than a decade after his bitter divorce from the Canadiens.

All the hard feelings were gone when the storied franchise retired the Hall of Fame goalie’s famous No. 33.

“Tonight, I am coming home,” Roy said to the raucous, sold-out crowd at the Bell Centre, when his number was raised to the rafters before Montreal fell to Boston 3-2 in a shootout.

Roy won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP twice with the Canadiens, both in years that Montreal captured the Stanley Cup. The first came when Roy was a 20-year-old rookie in 1986 and the other seven years later when he won a record 10 games in overtime.

•Flyers nip Coyotes: Mike Richards’ wrist shot from the slot 1:35 into overtime lifted Philadelphia over the visiting Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 and extended the Flyers’ winning streak to four games.

•Senators stop slide: Daniel Alfredsson and Jesse Winchester scored late in the second period and the Ottawa Senators beat the visiting New York Rangers 4-1 to end a six-game skid.

•Canucks streak on: Pavol Demitra scored twice, Daniel and Henrik Sedin had three points each and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 for their third straight win on the road.

•Nash stays hot: Rick Nash extended his goal streak to five games, knocking in a backhander in the first period that helped the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets to a 2-0 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers.

NBA

No stopping Wade

Dwyane Wade shook off flu-like symptoms to score 38 points, and the Miami Heat rallied from 15 points down to beat the visiting Indiana Pacers 109-100.

•Big night for O’Neal: Shaquille O’Neal had 19 points and 17 rebounds to power the Phoenix Suns to a 102-92 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Phoenix.

•Cavaliers cruise: LeBron James had 24 points, seven rebounds and eight assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the visiting Atlanta Hawks 110-96 for their ninth win in 10 games.

•Thunder fizzle out: David West scored a season-high 33 points and Chris Paul had a triple-double to help New Orleans beat Oklahoma City 109-97, handing the Thunder their 11th straight loss and first under interim coach Scott Brooks.

Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City, which is 1-13 since leaving Seattle, with 30 points.

College men’s basketball

Cowboys avoid upset

Blake Griffin had career highs of 35 points and 21 rebounds, and No. 12 Oklahoma (4-0) needed just about all of them in an 80-76 victory over Gardner-Webb (0-3) in Norman, Okla.

Griffin’s three-point play with 2:06 left put Oklahoma up 76-74, and Austin Johnson hit three free throws in the final 20.6 seconds to help the Sooners avoid the upset.

Miscellany

Garay retains title

Hugo Hernan Garay (32-2) of Argentina defended his WBA light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Juergen Braehmer (31-2) in Rostock, Germany.

•Hatton triumphs: Looking much like the fighter he’s always been, Ricky Hatton dominated the fight from the second round before Paulie Malignaggi’s trainer stepped into the ring 28 seconds into the 11th round to spare his fighter any further damage in Las Vegas. Fighting in the same ring where he suffered his only loss against Floyd Mayweather Jr. a year ago, Hatton easily staked his claim once again as the best 140-pounder in the world.

•Surgery for Billingsley: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley had surgery after fracturing his leg in a fall at his Reading, Pa., home. Billingsley suffered a spiral fracture of the fibula in his left leg when he slipped on ice outside his house.

•U.S. opens against Mexico: The United States men will open the final round of regional qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament at home against Mexico and finish its run against Costa Rica. The other three teams in CONCACAF’S qualifying tournament, played between February and October, are El Salvador, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago.

•Spain up 2-1: Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco sent a chill through Argentine tennis, winning their doubles match to give Spain a 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup final in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Lopez and Verdasco beat David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-3, boosting Spain’s hopes of winning the best-of-5 championship on the road despite the absence of an ailing Rafael Nadal.

•Joubert, Kostner win: Brian Joubert’s sensational short program gave him such a big lead, he won the Cup of Russia in Moscow even with a less-than-stellar free skate. Carolina Kostner topped error-strewn Fumie Suguri with an elegant free skate to win the women’s title.