In brief: Vanderbilt eliminates Tar Heels from College World Series
Taylor Hill and Corey Williams combined on four-hitter, Connor Harrell and Curt Casali homered and Vanderbilt eliminated North Carolina from the College World Series with a 5-1 victory Wednesday night at Omaha, Neb.
Vanderbilt (54-11) beat the Tar Heels for the second time in the CWS and plays Southeastern Conference rival Florida on Friday. The Commodores would need to beat the Gators twice to reach next week’s best-of-3 finals.
North Carolina (51-16) left 34 runners on base in its three CWS games and was just 7 for 39 with runners in scoring position.
Anaheim’s Perry claims Hart Trophy
NHL: Corey Perry crashed the Sedins’ NHL MVP party.
The Anaheim Ducks’ forward, who scored a league-best 50 goals, won the Hart Trophy in Las Vegas. His surprise win came at the expense of scoring champion Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks, who was trying to complete an unprecedented MVP double dip after his twin brother and teammate Henrik took the honors last year.
Perry’s win capped the two-hour NHL Awards ceremony. Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis, who won the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly and excellent play, was the third MVP finalist.
Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom won his seventh Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman.
Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas added his second Vezina Trophy to go with his recent Stanley Cup title. Jeff Skinner, the 19-year-old sensation of the Carolina Hurricanes, won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.
NFL’s owners, players gather in Boston
NFL: NFL owners and players met in the Boston area in the latest attempt to work out a new collective bargaining agreement, a person with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press.
Commissioner Roger Goodell and members of his labor committee resumed negotiations with players’ association chief DeMaurice Smith and several players.
One NFL player told the AP that the NFLPA told him progress is being made “but there’s still maybe two weeks to go” before a settlement is likely. The main topic of discussion is the breakdown of total revenues.
Eight new programs will take to gridiron
College football: Eight schools will start college football programs this fall.
The National Football Foundation released the details, noting that 25 programs will start up in the next four years.
Texas-San Antonio will be the largest program to begin play this year, starting up at the Championship Subdivision level under former Miami coach Larry Coker.
• White admits taking money: Former USC football player and Los Angeles Times sports writer Lonnie White has admitted to accepting $14,000 in illegal payments during his four years at the school in the 1980s.
Wide gap separates sides in NBA talks
Basketball: Union officials said that NBA players and owners are about $7 billion apart over a 10-year span in their most recent proposals, a significant gap to close to avoid a work stoppage.
So far apart in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement that union president Derek Fisher said when players are briefed on the state of the talks, they are in “total disbelief” and ask why they even bother having meetings.
They have only until June 30, when the current CBA expires.
• Report: Romar candidate to replace Rambis: Minnesota Timberwolves president David Kahn has decided to fire coach Kurt Rambis and the team is compiling information on possible replacements, Yahoo! Sports reported. University of Washington coach Lorenzo Romar is being mentioned as a possible replacement.
• Storm’s Jackson will have more tests: Center Lauren Jackson of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm will undergo more tests today after evaluations on her strained left hip were inconclusive.
Americans advance to Gold Cup final
Soccer: Clint Dempsey scored in the 77th minute off an assist from Landon Donovan, and the United States advanced to the Gold Cup final with a 1-0 win over Panama at Houston.
The Americans will play in the biennial tournament’s title game for the fourth straight time after avenging a 2-1 loss to Panama on June 11.
The U.S. will play Mexico, a 2-0 winner over Honduras, for the championship at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Saturday.