CBS sets Final Four Tip Times

From CBS Sports -

CBS Sports has announced tip times for the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four games on Saturday, April 4 (6:00-11:00 PM, ET). Connecticut takes on Michigan State to tip-off the day (6:07 PM, ET), followed by North Carolina against Villanova 40 minutes after conclusion of the first game.

Both contests will be available in high definition

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For the third time, the Final Four

Kemba Walker, tied a career high with 23 points and led Huskies over Missouri 82-75 in the West Regional final on Saturday. UConn fought hard for their trip to Detroit, on the court and off, and is headed to its third Final Four this decade -- where they will meet either Louisville or Michigan State. JIm Calhoun's 'Elite Eight' record improves to 3-5 and he will be looking to stay unbeaten in the Final Four next weekend. Heading into this tournament, many questioned the legacy of Uconn's upper classmen, some calling them the least decorated class of the last 20 years. That was arguable, but today there is to be no argument; AJ Price, Jeff Adrien and Craig Austrie, the core Seniors, will leave Uconn as some of the best Huskies of all time. They have entered the high society, one of the three best teams ever to wear the American Flag Blue. Congrats boys, you've done us all very proud.

Congratulations are in order for the Villanova Wildcats, who beat Pitt in a new NCAA classic, good luck to Louisville today -- they could have us feeling all a little 1985 before the day is through...

Manny's hammy to keep him out at least a week

PHOENIX – Manny Ramirez's hamstring injury will keep him out of spring training games for at least a week.

"We're just going to lay low till we get rid of this," Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre said Monday. "We're just going to keep him out. I can't give you a time because I don't know the time, but it's certainly going to be through the weekend and probably beyond that."

Ramirez aggravated his sore left hamstring Sunday while playing the outfield for the first time this spring.

The Dodgers slugger first had trouble with his hamstring last week, when he was scratched from the lineup Thursday in what was supposed to be his exhibition debut. He played Friday as the designated hitter, sat out Saturday and started in left field Sunday against Colorado.

While chasing Troy Tulowitzki's fourth-inning double into the left-field corner, Ramirez felt his hamstring grab. He was removed from the game when the Dodgers came to bat.

Now, the Dodgers are playing it safe by keeping Ramirez out of games, even though he will continue to hit in workouts.

"A thing we're certainly not going to attempt to do is take a chance with this, and once you start playing it never goes away," Torre said.

Torre said if Ramirez gets "a week or so of at-bats, it should be enough" for the slugger to be ready for opening day.

The 36-year-old Ramirez began working out with the Dodgers on March 4, a day after re-signing with the team by agreeing to a $45 million, two-year contract.

Torre said Ramirez is upset about the lingering injury.

"He was frustrated," the manager said. "He's always in a good frame of mind pretty much, but he certainly doesn't like the inactivity."

Bulldogs dancing! MSU upsets Vols 64-61, wins SEC

TAMPA, Fla. – Mississippi State showed all those bubble teams from the Southeastern Conference how to get into the NCAA tournament.

Phil Turner scored seven of his 12 points in the final 1:35 Sunday, and the Bulldogs knocked off Tennessee 64-61 to win the SEC tournament championship and the league's automatic NCAA berth.

Turner, who had 10 rebounds, hit a big 3-pointer to put Mississippi State (23-12) in front for good, then made two free throws with 8 seconds left to help the Bulldogs hold off the Volunteers (21-12) in a wild finish.

Cameron Tatum's long 3-pointer bounced off the rim and Mississippi State's Barry Stewart rebounded as time ran out on Tennessee's hopes of winning the tournament for the first time since 1979.

Netherlands topples Dominican Republic at WBC

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Stunned twice by a pesky Netherlands team, the Dominican Republic is done at the World Baseball Classic.

Eugene Kingsale singled in the tying run and scored the game-winner in the 11th inning Tuesday night as the Netherlands rallied for a 2-1 victory over the heavily favored Dominicans, earning a surprise spot in the second round.

After an error by first baseman Willy Aybar allowed the winning run to score, Netherlands players rushed out of the dugout and piled all over each other in a raucous celebration that resembled a World Series finale.

Jose Reyes, Robinson Cano and other Dominican stars slumped quietly in the dugout, staring ahead in shock.

"This is a miracle. The Dominican Republic is one of the best teams in the world," Netherlands manager Rod Delmonico said with tears in his eyes. "It is difficult to describe what took place. These kids have fought for three days. I have never had a team with this much passion."

It was the second time in four days that a Netherlands squad made up of little-known players upset the Dominican Republic, considered one of the favorites coming into the 16-team tournament thanks to a roster filled with major league All-Stars.

Even without injured Alex Rodriguez, the Dominicans featured David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, Miguel Tejada and Pedro Martinez, just to name a few. But in two games they couldn't solve an unheralded Netherlands pitching staff coached by former big leaguer Bert Blyleven.

Netherlands players were still on the field celebrating 15 minutes after the game ended.

The Dominican Republic reached the semifinals of the inaugural WBC in 2006, and a first-round exit in Group D this time seemed almost unimaginable a few days ago.

Then, the Netherlands won 3-2 in the teams' tournament opener Saturday. The Dominican Republic bounced back for a 9-0 victory Sunday over Panama, but was stymied again Tuesday night before a pro-Dominican crowd of 11,814 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.

The Netherlands (2-1) will face Puerto Rico (2-0) on Wednesday for first place in Group D. Puerto Rico needed a late rally to win the first game between the teams, 3-1 on Monday. Both clubs begin second-round play Saturday in Miami.

"Tonight we are going to try to rest, even though it will be difficult with all the emotion," Delmonico said.

Tuesday night's game was scoreless until the 11th inning, when Kingsale misplayed Jose Bautista's two-out liner to right for an error that let the speedy Reyes score all the way from first base.

Reyes, who had walked, clapped his hands emphatically as he slid across the plate.

Leon Boyd struck out Hanley Ramirez to end the inning, though, and the Netherlands wasn't finished.

Pinch-hitter Sidney de Jong doubled to start the bottom half against Chicago Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol. A groundout by pinch-hitter Curt Smith moved de Jong to third, and he scored on Kingsale's single to right.

Marmol then uncorked a wild pickoff throw that caromed toward the right-field line and allowed de Jong to reach third.

After Sharlon Schoop struck out, Randall Simon was intentionally walked and Yurendell DeCaster slapped a one-hopper toward the first-base line that could have been handled by Aybar. But it glanced off his glove and rolled away into foul territory as Kingsale raced toward the plate.

Aybar retrieved the ball, spun and threw to Marmol covering first, but it was too late. DeCaster beat the play with a feetfirst slide to the bag, then popped up and jumped into the arms of a teammate.

"I am very proud of the work we have done," DeCaster said. "I agree that this is a team with a lot of confidence, but I expect us to be even stronger in the next Classic."

Boyd earned the win to go with his save on Saturday against the Dominican Republic. Marmol took the loss.

Dominican Republic starter Ubaldo Jimenez set a tournament record with 10 strikeouts in four innings. The previous mark was eight by Japanese pitcher Koji Ueharaon in 2006 against South Korea.

"We have a solid defense," Delmonico said. "We know that we need to keep on working on our offense, but this team has a lot of confidence."

No. 3 Pittsburgh beats No. 1 Connecticut 70-60

PITTSBURGH – Sam Young dominated one of this season's biggest games with 31 points and No. 3 Pittsburgh likely secured one of the top seeds in the NCAA tournament, opening up a 14-point lead early in the second half before holding off top-ranked Connecticut 70-60 on Saturday.

Pitt (28-3, 15-3 Big East) had never beaten a No. 1-ranked team in school history, only to accomplish it twice in less than a month — both times against Connecticut (27-3, 15-3), which still hasn't figured out how to slow down Young. Pitt becomes the seventh school to beat a top-ranked team twice in a season, the last North Carolina over Duke in 1998.

The Panthers had to wait for the outcome of Saturday night's game between No. 6 Louisville and West Virginia to see if they would win a share of the Big East regular season title. If West Virginia won, Pittsburgh and Louisville would be tied with the Panthers getting the No. 1 seed in next week's tournament. A Louisville win and Pitt would get the tiebreaker over UConn and the No. 2 seed.

Young scored 56 points in the wins over UConn, getting 25 in the 76-68 victory on Feb. 16.

Still, the Panthers did it a different way than they did in winning at UConn, when 6-foot-7 DeJuan Blair pushed around 7-3 Hasheem Thabeet for 22 points and 23 rebounds and Thabeet ended with only five points and four rebounds. This time, Blair had eight points and eight rebounds in a relatively quiet performance and Thabeet had all 14 of his points in the first half.

Young scored the two biggest baskets of the game after Connecticut went on a 12-0 run, keyed by A.J. Price's eight points, to close within 52-50 with 8:24 remaining.

Young, a senior playing his final home game, hit a driving layup through traffic to make it 54-50, then went above the rim to put down Levance Fields' high lob pass — a dunk that drew the loudest roar of the game from the standing-room crowd of 12,908 and seemed to take the life out of UConn's rally.

Price responded with another 3 — he ended with 19 points — but Jermaine Dixon drove the lane after a frustrated Thabeet, who twice couldn't score from in close, swatted the ball downcourt in an attempt to maintain UConn's possession.

Young dunked again on Pitt's next possession and added a free throw to finish off a three-point play created when Blair tapped the ball away in the backcourt to force a turnover, giving Pitt a 61-53 lead with 4:42 remaining.

With Thabeet not scoring inside, UConn didn't have enough to come back in its first loss in 10 road games this season despite Jeff Adrien's 11 points and 10 from Kemba Walker.

Pitt finished 19-0 at home, the second time since the Petersen Events Center opened in 2002 that it swept every home game. The Panthers did it in 2002-03.

Reserve Brad Wanamaker scored 13 points and Fields, playing despite a bruised lower back, added 10 despite missing 10 of 14 shots.

Pitt, which held a 48-31 rebounding edge in the first game, led 41-40 this time as Young had 10 rebounds. Thabeet had 13 and Stanley Robinson had 12.

Young was such a factor that at, one point, Blair went 18 minutes without scoring, yet Pitt still increased its lead from three points to 14 during that time.

UConn coach Jim Calhoun tried matching the 6-7 Adrien on Young at times to try to create a mismatch, but that allowed Young to use his advantage in quickness. In the second half, Young began stepping back to take jumpers, hitting 3-pointers for successive Pitt baskets to make it 48-36 after UConn had scored six consecutive points to close what had been a 14-point deficit.

Pitt hadn't swept UConn during the season — the teams haven't always met twice in a season — since 1996-97, when Pitt also beat the Huskies in the Big East tournament.

Giants GM: Team might welcome Plaxico Burress back

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Plaxico Burress could be welcomed back by the New York Giants — if the Super Bowl star can straighten out his legal problems stemming from a weapons charge and get his life back in order.

"Right now he is still a Giant and if things work out and he's on board with what we want coming back, we'd love to have him back," general manager Jerry Reese says said Tuesday.

Burress' future is cloudy because he faces an illegal weapons possession charge relating to a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a New York City nightclub in late November. He faces a mandatory 3 1/2 years in prison if convicted.

Barring a plea deal, the case is scheduled to return to court at the end of the month.

The 31-year-old, who signed a five-year, $35 million contract in September, also faces a possible suspension by the NFL for violating its personal conduct policy.

Burress, who has been living in New Jersey and Florida in recent months according to teammate Brandon Jacobs, has not commented publicly on his future with the Giants since the shooting.

His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has refused to respond to at least a two dozen telephone call by The Associated Press seeking comment during that period.

Since the Giants season ended, Reese has left the door open for a potential return by Burress, the only deep threat among their receivers. The team was 11-1 with him in the lineup. It lost four of its final five games after his season-ending suspension, including a 23-11 loss at home to the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the playoffs.

Without the threat of Burress beating them, opponents crowded the line of scrimmage and slowed down New York's running game and severely limited its offensive production.

Reese could have made a strong statement that the Giants planned to end their four-year association with Burress by signing a deep-threat receiver when free agency opened last week.

Instead, the Giants turned all their attention to their defense and signed linebacker Michael Boley, defensive end Chris Canty and defensive tackle Rocky Bernard.

Reese also noted that the Giants made a serious offer — a little less than $80 million — to former Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. He added that they did not make an offer to former Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Haynesworth signed with Washington for $100 million, while the Seattle Seahawks and Houshmandzadeh agreed on a $40 million deal.

Reese said the Giants still have work to do to get ready for next season.

"We'll still look around in free agency and see if something makes sense for us in free agency," he said. "But the draft is coming up soon and we'll try to supplement with the draft as well, try to fill some holes and just try to draft good players with the draft and try to develop some young people to come into our program and stay strong all around."

New York will probably have at least nine draft picks — two each in the second and fifth rounds — in April, giving Reese the chance to package some in a deal to get a higher pick. New York has the 29th pick now.

The Giants are scheduled to begin their offseason training program later this month, but Reese seemed to rule out Burress taking part.

"I'm not sure what will happen," Reese said. "Like I said, there are some legal issues right now, and I think that is the most pressing issue for him. I think he wants to try to get all those things resolved. We'll see what happens as far as offseason stuff goes."

Reese has high hopes for the Giants' young receivers — Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon, Sinorice Moss and Mario Manningham.

"Who knows who is going to step out of the shadows and be the guy," Reese said. "Again, we'll try to continue to upgrade that spot, but we have good players at that position right now. We can go into the fall with these guys, but we are definitely going to try to continue to upgrade that position."

The Giants and Burress have other issues to settle, resulting from the four-game suspension that team handed him after he shot himself in the right thigh.

The team withheld a $1 million portion of a signing bonus after suspending Burress. He also is looking to recover fines and lost wages resulting from his suspension.

The NFL Players Association has filed two grievances against the Giants on behalf of the receiver.