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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Classic cut short by court condensation

From Staff And Wire Reports

College Basketball: The Carrier Classic game between No. 4 Ohio State and Marquette aboard the USS Yorktown in Mount Pleasant, S.C. was canceled because of moisture on the court.

After a wait of about an hour, referee John Cahill said the condensation on the converted flight deck could not be dried. He said it was in the best interest of the teams to call off the game.

Earlier in the day there was no problem with the court, as the No. 7 Notre Dame women defeated No. 19 Ohio State 57-51.

Also, a game between No. 10 Florida and Georgetown on the deck of a ship was canceled at halftime because the court became too wet.

Florida led 27-23 at the break in the Navy-Marine Corps Classic when the game aboard the USS Bataan in Jacksonville, Fla. was stopped by the court condensation.

The two cancellations aboard the aircraft carriers cast doubt on whether these outdoor games will continue in the future.

UCLA’s Muhammad ineligible: The NCAA ruled UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad is ineligible to play after violating amateurism rules. It’s not known how many games he will miss.

Leader Beljan nearly faints

Golf: Charlie Beljan had trouble breathing even before he teed off, called for paramedics when he made the turn and even told his caddie at one point that he thought he might die. With his PGA Tour job on the line in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., he kept right on playing until he had a remarkable 8-under-par 64 to build a three-shot lead going into the weekend.

The next question is if Beljan can even play on the weekend. Moments after signing his card, Beljan was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

Stanford leads in Mexico: Angela Stanford shot a 5-under 67 to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational at the Guadalajara Country Club.

Busch wins pole at Phoenix

Auto Racing: Kyle Busch set a track record in winning the pole at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., where Brad Keselowski got a jump on Jimmie Johnson in their tight Sprint Cup championship race. Busch ran a lap of 138.766 mph. Keselowski, seven points behind leader Johnson, will start 14th on Sunday, Johnson 24th.

Scott takes truck race: Brian Scott used a pass on a restart with two laps left to win a wreck-filled NASCAR Truck Series race at Phoenix International.

NHL, union talks fall apart

Miscellany: After three seemingly positive days of talks, things went a bit sour when negotiations ended between the NHL and the players’ union.

There were vocal disagreements at the end of the session, and the union team went back to its office to hold a conference call with the executive board and other players. The union is beginning to feel that the NHL isn’t ready to make a deal now, even if the players were suddenly willing to accept the league’s offer in full – which they are not.

Free agents reject deals: Josh Hamilton, B.J. Upton and Kyle Lohse were among nine free agents who turned down $13.3 million offers from their former clubs as the annual MLB general managers’ meetings ended.

Also rejecting the one-year guaranteed offers were the Yankees’ trio of Nick Swisher, Rafael Soriano and Hiroki Kuroda along with David Ortiz, Michael Bourn and Adam LaRoche.

Djokovic, Murray advance: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Andy Murray won their final group matches at the ATP tennis finals in London, sending both into the semifinals.

Americans win: Americans Steven Holcomb and Steve Langton won the two-man gold medal in the World Cup bobsled season opener at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, N.Y.

In the women’s race, Jazmine Fenlator and Lolo Jones of the U.S. won silver.