The Girls state basketball tournament has its first finals set in Class 1A as Exira and Mt Ayr won the semifinals on Wednesday. Exira topped Newell Fonda 70 to 58...with Mt Ayr 57-48 over Martensdale-St Mary's. The Championship game is Friday at 6 PM.
Semi-final games are scheduled today with the 2A this afternoon and 3 A tonight. In 2A play..NW Webster tangles with OA-BCIG (Odebolt Arthur-Battle Creek-Ida Grove) and Roland Story faces Mt Vernon. Tonight's 3 A semi-finals match Sioux City Heelan and Ballard Huxley....Waukon and Algona.
The Marshalltown Community College women's team faces Iowa Central at 8 PM tonight in Creston in the Region 11 semi-finals. #1 seed Kirkwood faces DMACC. The Championship is tomorrow night.
In the men's Region 11 Division One tournaments, Southeastern downed Indian Hills 62 to 60 to capture the best of 3 series..and advance to regional finals.
In the Division Two tournament, Ellsworth 84-67 over Clinton...Iowa Lakes 70-64 over DMACC..Iowa Central 84-71 over NIACC..and Kirkwood advanced 73-52 over Southwestern.
Semi-finals are Saturday and finals Sunday at Iowa Central..in Ft Dodge.
ATLANTA (AP) - TNT has hired Adam Alexander as its play-by-play announcer for the six NASCAR races the network broadcasts during the summer.
Alexander replaces Bill Weber, who did not call the final three races of TNT's coverage last season for what the network termed a "private matter."
Alexander is a reporter for SPEED, and has also worked as a play-by-play announcer for Motor Racing Network. He'll be joined in the booth by returning analysts Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach.
TNT also says that Lindsay Czarniak will host its pre-race show. She will also host TNT and NASCAR.com's post-race coverage, and give mid-race updates and reports.
TNT takes over NASCAR coverage on June 6 at Pocono through the July 10 race at Chicago.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Iowa has lost for the eighth time in ten games, this one at Number 15 Wisconsin. The Badgers cruised to a 67-40 victory last night. Aaron Fuller had 14 points for the
Hawkeyes, who are 10-20 overall and 4-13 in the Big Ten. They'll finish a rough regular season at Minnesota on Sunday.
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - The Number 13 Iowa State women have missed a chance to wrap up the second seed in next week's Big 12 tournament. Number 20 Oklahoma State beat the visiting Cyclones 78-70 last night. Iowa State's top scorer, starting point guard Alison Lacey, missed the game because of an illness.
UNDATED (AP) - Drake is the Number 8 seed as the Missouri Valley Conference tournament begins today in St. Louis. The Bulldogs are 13-18 and will face ninth-seeded Southern Illinois in the first round this evening.
MESA, Ariz. (AP) - The Chicago Cubs have agreed to terms with a right-handed pitcher who defected from Cuba last year. The deal with 21-year-old Juan Yasser Serrano won't be official until he passes a physical exam and completes the necessary paperwork. He would start the season at Class A Daytona.
BUFFALO (AP) - Making his first start since the Vancouver Games, U.S. Olympic goalie Ryan Miller received a 45-second standing ovation as he was the last of seven U.S. Olympians honored by the Sabres in Buffalo. Several fans brought U.S. flags and many more chanted "USA! USA!" as Miller acknowledged the cheers with several waves from the goal crease. The Washington Capitals ruined Miller's night by beating the Sabres 3-1.
UNDATED (AP) - The upset of the night in college basketball went to 22nd-ranked Maryland, which beat fourth-ranked Duke 78-72 to tie the Blue Devils atop the Atlantic Coast Conference at 12-and-3.
Elsewhere, Kansas State kept it close for a while, but second-ranked Kansas wore down the fifth-ranked Wildcats in the second half of an 82-65 victory. Third-ranked Kentucky clinched at
least a share of the Southeastern Conference regular season championship by whacking Georgia 80-68.
UNDATED (AP) - LeBron James had 26 points and 14 assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers opened a 20-point first-quarter lead and cruised to a 111-92 victory over the New Jersey Nets in a matchup of teams with the best and worst records in the NBA. Elsewhere, Carmelo Anthony scored 30 and the Denver Nuggets routed Oklahoma City 119-90. The Dallas Mavericks won their ninth in a row, 112-109 over Minnesota.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) - Jack Nicklaus thinks Tiger Woods will play in next month's Masters. Nicklaus added, "I can't imagine in 100 years he's going to miss" the Masters. Woods has not missed a Masters or a U.S. Open since 1995. Woods is chasing Nicklaus for the all-time lead in majors. Nicklaus won 18. Woodshas 14.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has undergone neck surgery to relieve pain caused by a pinched nerve. The team says the injury has bothered Manning on and off for the past four years but never affected his training, practice or playing regimen. Manning has never missed a start in his 12-year NFL career and is a four-time league MVP.
