Fast-starting Wolverines down Indiana
Men’s basketball: Trey Burke scored 18 points, and No. 23 Michigan raced to a 20-point first-half lead before holding on for a 68-56 victory over No. 20 Indiana on Wednesday night at Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Wolverines (17-6, 7-3 Big Ten) remained unbeaten at home. Indiana (17-6, 5-6) twice fought back within two points in the second half, including at 52-50 with 3:20 remaining. Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a big 3-pointer for Michigan to pull away.
• Baylor turns back Aggies: Pierre Jackson hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to put No. 6 Baylor on top and added two free throws to give the Bears a 63-60 victory over host Texas A&M.
• Aztecs escape: Jamaal Franklin had 16 points and Chase Tapley added 14 for No. 17 San Diego State, which rallied from a 12-point deficit early in the second half and held on to beat visiting Boise State 58-56.
The Broncos could have won it but a wide-open 3-point attempt by Thomas Bropleh from the baseline rimmed out at the buzzer.
Charging 76ers bury Bulls 98-82
NBA: Andre Iguodala helped the Philadelphia 76ers (16-6) stamp themselves as a rising threat in the East, scoring 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 98-82 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls.
Iguodala outplayed Derrick Rose and stuffed a month’s worth of highlight video activity into one game.
• Blazers rout hapless Bobcats: Jamal Crawford scored 24 points in 21 minutes, helping the Portland Trail Blazers rout visiting Charlotte 112-68 for the Bobcats’ 10th straight loss.
• Ticket prices increase: The NBA’s average ticket price increased for the first time in three years, up 1.7 percent to $48.48, the Team Marketing Report said in its annual survey.
New York Knicks tickets averaged $117.47 after a 32.5 percent increase – and these figures don’t even include premium seats.
The Los Angeles Lakers were second at $99.25 after a 4.2 percent hike followed by Boston at $68.55, Chicago at $68.37 and Miami at $67.
Memphis has the lowest average at $22.95.
St. Louis group hopes plan will keep Rams
NFL : The St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission unveiled a plan that calls for $124 million in improvements to the Edward Jones Dome in hopes of making sure the city doesn’t lose another NFL team.
The commission had faced a Wednesday deadline to deliver the plan to the St. Louis Rams, which leases the dome.
The lease requires the dome to be “first tier,” or among the top 25 percent of all NFL stadiums in several categories. If not, the Rams can break the lease after the 2014 season and potentially move. Owner Stan Kroenke is a Missouri native, but has been non-committal about staying in St. Louis.
With Los Angeles organizers actively seeking a team, St. Louis fans are worried the Rams might leave, just like the Cardinals did after the 1987 season.
The plan calls for the Rams to pay for 52 percent of the upgrades. That would leave city and county taxpayers to pay the rest, an estimated $60 million.
Kroenke, who is married to the daughter of Wal-Mart co-founder James “Bud” Walton, owns an estate in Malibu, Calif., and is among the finalists seeking to buy baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, leading to speculation about a possible move to California.
• No rush on Manning decision: Jim Irsay is putting the Peyton Manning decision on hold.
The Colts owner said he will monitor Manning’s recovery from Sept. 8 neck surgery over the next month and may wait until the last possible moment to determine whether to pay the quarterback a $28 million roster bonus, redo the five-year contract he signed last summer or risk losing the four-time MVP as a free agent.
Panthers beat Caps to take division lead
Miscellany: Mikael Samuelsson had two goals and the Florida Panthers beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 at Sunrise, Fla. The Panthers moved into first place in the Southeast Division – one point ahead of Washington.
• Aggies down Texas Tech: Sydney Carter scored 17 points and Adaora Elonu added 16 to lead No. 18 Texas A&M to a 67-55 women’s basketball win over No. 25 Texas Tech at Lubbock, Texas.