Golden Eagles shine over Irish; perfect in Big East
Jerel McNeal had a season-high 27 points and Wesley Matthews made some key baskets down the stretch Monday night to lead No. 8 Marquette to a 71-64 men’s basketball victory over Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., the Fighting Irish’s fourth straight loss.
It was the second loss in a row at home for the Fighting Irish (12-7, 3-5 Big East), who had won 45 straight at the Joyce Center until losing Saturday to No. 2 Connecticut.
Matthews had 16 points and Dominic James added 15 for the Golden Eagles (18-2, 7-0), who have won 10 straight and remained unbeaten in the Big East along with No. 7 Louisville.
•Griffin, Sooners top Cowboys: Blake Griffin scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half and No. 4 Oklahoma (20-1, 6-0 Big 12) survived Oklahoma State (13-6, 2-3) 89-81 in the Bedlam rivalry game at Stillwater, Okla.
•Oregon State tops Bakersfield: Roeland Schaftenaar had 20 points and eight rebounds in Oregon State’s (9-10) 65-59 non-conference win over Cal State Bakersfield (5-15) in Corvallis.
•No.1 Huskies rout Cardinals: Maya Moore had 27 points and 11 rebounds, freshman Tiffany Hayes added a career-high 23 points, and the top-ranked Connecticut women (20-0, 6-0 Big East) routed No. 6 Louisville 93-65.
All-American Angel McCoughtry had 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Cardinals (19-2, 6-1).
NBA
Roy leads Blazers
Brandon Roy scored 33 points on 11-of-15 shooting to lead visiting Portland to a 113-88 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The game was tight all the way until the Trail Blazers reeled off a 15-3 spurt in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to open a 92-76 lead.
Heat stifle Hawks: The NBA’s leading scorer, Dywane Wade, finished with 35 points and the Heat held the Hawks without a field goal for nearly 131/2 minutes during one first-half stretch, as Miami beat Atlanta 95-79.
Atlanta set a franchise-futility record with its 27-point first half.
O’Neal leads Suns: Shaquille O’Neal contributed 29 points as the Phoenix Suns wrapped up a six-game East Coast swing with a 103-87 win over the Wizards.
O’Neal went 10 of 14 from the field, 9 of 10 from the free throw line and had eight rebounds.
•Hornets sink Sixers: Chris Paul had 27 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds and seven steals for his fifth triple-double of the season, and the New Orleans Hornets defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 101-86 at New Orleans.
Football
Stringer widow settles
The widow of Minnesota Vikings lineman Korey Stringer reached a settlement with the NFL over his heatstroke death during training camp in 2001.
Under an agreement with Kelci Stringer, the NFL will support her efforts to create a heat illness prevention program.
No other terms of the settlement announced by a family spokesman were released.
•Eller found guilty: Former Vikings great Carl Eller was convicted of assaulting a police officer who tried to arrest him after he swerved and nearly struck a squad car last April.
Hennepin County District Judge Dan Mabley ruled Eller was guilty of fourth-degree assault of an officer and second-degree refusing to submit to a field sobriety test. Mabley has seven days to outline his decision in a written order.
The 67-year-old Eller faces up to a year on each count when he is sentenced Feb. 23.
•Vick sues former adviser: Imprisoned NFL star Michael Vick is suing a former financial adviser for at least $2 million.
Vick claims Mary Wong of Omaha, Neb., misrepresented herself to gain control of his finances, which she then misused. He’s accusing Wong of fraud, breach of contract, negligence and other offenses.
•Seahawks’ Hill sorry for arrest: Seattle Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill apologized after his weekend arrest in the Atlanta area for investigation of misdemeanor marijuana possession.
Sgt. Dwayne Taylor of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said the 26-year-old Hill was arrested early Saturday morning in the suburban Atlanta county. Taylor said Hill had apparently fallen asleep behind the wheel at a major intersection.
•New UW coach out: Aaron Roderick returned to Utah a little more than a week after he left to be the receivers coach at Washington.
In a surprise announcement, coach Steve Sarkisian said Roderick will not be joining the Huskies’ coaching staff due to family-related reasons. Roderick accepted a job coaching UW receivers on Jan. 17.
Miscellany
Soccer causes stir in Iran
The first mixed soccer game – females vs. males – since the 1979 Islamic revolution led to swift punishment as an Iranian soccer club said it had suspended three officials involved and handed out fines of up to $5,000.
Iran’s strict Islamic rules ban any physical contact between unrelated men and women, and Iranian women are even banned from attending soccer games when male teams play.
The officials – a coach and two managers – first denied the game took place, but video clips on cell phones of the game were used as evidence against them, the Vatan-e-Emrooz daily newspaper in Tehran, Iran, reported.
•Skier to stay in coma: Swiss skier Daniel Albrecht will be kept in an induced coma until his lungs have sufficiently recovered from injuries sustained in a training accident last week, the hospital in Innsbruck, Austria, where he is being treated said in a statement.
•Big Brown, Curlin rewarded: Dubai World Cup winner Curlin was chosen Horse of the Year for the second year in a row at the Eclipse Awards in Miami Beach, Fla. Big Brown, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, was chosen 3-year-old Male of the Year.