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New Zealand held off a fighting Perth Wildcats outfit to successfully defend its NBL title with a 79-73 game three win in Auckland on Tuesday night.

The Breakers became the first side to win consecutive titles since Sydney Kings in 2002-2005, a championship team that veteran New Zealand guard CJ Bruton was also a part of.

The 35-year-old guard, who has won NBL titles with Sydney in 2004 and 2005, Brisbane in 2007 and New Zealand last year, showed his big game experience with a cool 16 points, going 4-of-7 from downtown and adding three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Bruton was awarded the Larry Sengstock Medal for the Most Valuable Player of the series, to roars from the 9,000-strong home crowd at Vector Arena.

This time around Bruton put the Breakers up by seven with a three-point dagger with less than two minutes to play thanks to an offensive rebound from team-mate and 2011 finals MVP Tom Abercrombie.

Im never going to shy away, youve got to know that from the start of my career to the end, Bruton told Grandstand.

At the end of the day I want to go down in history as one of the great players and if I shy away from stuff like that Im not going to get there, Im not going to go into that category.

Breakers forward Gary Wilkinson led all comers with 23 points while centre Alex Pledger went 4-of-6 for 13 points and Abercrombie had 12 and four rebounds.

Bruton was full of praise for his team-mates not only for their performances on Tuesday night but throughout the title defence.

I also want to bring my team to special places and obviously they did all the legwork, he said.

I was injured part of the year … we had a great group of guys who committed to the team, committed to becoming one and the results are what they are.

Despite Brutons heroics the Wildcats would not give up and, with a minute to play, Perth skipper Shawn Redhage made a huge three-pointer in the context of the game.

Bruton drained another three-pointer but star Wildcats guard Kevin Lisch hit back instantly with a slick lay-up at the other end.

Cedric Jackson then went to the charity stripe for the Breakers and coolly drained both free throws to push the margin back to six.

To get the latest sports news from USA TODAY, including game results, columns and features, follow us on Twitter at @USATODAYSports.

(04-23) 23:23 PDT — After two straight trips to the Western Conference final, the Sharks now have to come to grips with their earliest playoff exit during a run of eight straight postseason trips.

The Sharks concluded an inconsistent season by losing the final four games of their first-round series against the Blues capped by a 2-1 Game 5 defeat on Saturday night in St. Louis.

This team is too good to be going home right now after five playoff games, forward Logan Couture said after the game. Its tough.

The Sharks, who have the second-best record in the NHL the past eight seasons, failed to play up that level for most of this past campaign, especially against the Blues, who won eight of nine overall against San Jose this season.

The same problems that doomed the Sharks during a stretch when they lost 19 of 29 games that almost cost them a playoff berth, were starkly evident against the faster and deeper Blues.

The leagues second-worst penalty unit allowed six power-play goals in 18 chances, including three in a pivotal Game 3 loss. The third and fourth lines failed to generate much offense. Goaltender Antti Niemi struggled to control rebounds at times, which proved pivotal on the game-tying goal in the clincher.

Its a terrible feeling, captain Joe Thornton said. It was a battle all year. We had to win our last four games just to get into the postseason. There was nothing smooth sailing about this year. Wed like a better fate, but unfortunately we dont.

Instead the team with the second-best record in the NHL the past eight seasons is still looking for its first Stanley Cup trip.

The Sharks only previous first-round loss during this run of eight straight playoff trips came when they were knocked out in the first round by Anaheim in six games 2009 after posing the NHLs best regular-season record.

In fact, the five-game loss was the first ever in the first round for the Sharks, making this their shortest postseason run in history.

Its brutal, defenseman Dan Boyle said. All the hard work in the summer, all the 82 games, the playoffs, the preseason, the practices. Its very frustrating. Its not a good feeling.

Its one that has become an annual occurrence for the Sharks, who have been unable to break through with a talented core led by Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Boyle and Ryane Clowe.

Thornton excelled with two goals, three assists and strong all-around play all series, he had little help. Marleau and Pavelski, two the teams 30-goal scorers in the regular season failed to record a single point in the five games.

Its unacceptable, said Pavelski, who had often been a postseason star for San Jose. The chances, the ice time you get, you have to produce. Thats the bottom line. You want to be out there at that time and you want the puck. I had the chances. It just didnt happen. It cant happen like that. Its extremely difficult because I had a chance to be a difference maker.

Couture, the other 30-goal man, scored his only goal late in the closing seconds of a Game 3 loss at home. Marty Havlat scored twice in the opener and then went silent except for untimely trips to the penalty box.

Clowe, the other top six forward, did not score a goal in the series either. In fact, only four forwards got goals the entire series with rookie Andrew Desjardins getting one in the opener.

Coach Todd McLellan gave credit to St. Louis record-setting defense that allowed only 155 goals in an 82-game regular season, but also knew he needed more from his star players.

They are stifling, he said. They play such a good checking game. They give you absolutely nothing. Then on the other hand, when you only have four forwards that hit the score sheet in a five-game series, odds are youre not winning and thats what it ended up being.

While the struggle to score might not have been a surprise, a smaller aspect that hurt the Sharks was more unusual. The Sharks were the second best faceoff team in the regular season at 53.3 percent and are tops in the NHL in McLellans four years as coach.

But the Sharks lost the faceoff battle to the Blues and because of that often struggled to set up in the offensive zone. In fact, the series-clinching goal was set up after Patrik Berglund beat Marleau on a draw in San Joses end, setting up David Perrons tip of Alex Pietrangelos point shot that gave the Blues a 2-1 win.

The one thing that we had for four years straight is you could count on faceoffs, McLellan said. You could count on winning them and executing them. As the series wore on we werent winning those battles. We were winning some of the less important faceoffs but we were losing the critical ones. … It sounds like a small thing, its a big thing for a team.

And its a big reason why the Sharks are heading home.

On the surface, it might appear Tom Thibodeau wouldnt have known what to do with himself on Monday.

For starters, the Bulls were on the second of their only three-day break between games all season, not including the All-Star break. Secondly, he barely had to talk about injuries, merely saying Derrick Rose participated in most of Mondays practice and is feeling great after returning from his right foot injury Saturday against the Mavericks.

Given a coach so consumed with planning and detail, that, of course, would be wrong.

You always keep the end in mind, Thibodeau said following a good-vibes day at the Berto Center. Basically a lot of the things we were doing this month were geared to this from rest to preparation to the things were most likely to see and what we need to correct.

Thibodeau even rattled off details like how many two-day breaks April has offered three and how no Bull ranks in the top-20 in overall minutes played.

Indeed, thanks to injuries, Luol Deng, who leads the NBA in average minutes per game, is the only Bull, at No. 23, to rank in the top 53 of overall minutes played. Carlos Boozer is 54th.

We got hit hard early with our games and injuries, Thibodeau said. Were in very good shape now.

So much so that Thibodeau, with the magic number to clinch the Eastern Conferences top seed at one, maintained he wont rest starters over the final two games beginning Wednesday in Indiana. He did say they might not play extended minutes should the top seed be clinched.

But with the starting lineup only together 14 games thus far, its all systems go as that unit tries to improve on its 12-2 mark.

Were a well-rested team, Thibodeau said. And we have to be playing well going in (the playoffs) too. Some guys who have been resting or injured most of the season, they need some minutes. Maybe a unit needs minutes. You also might want to look at playing small. We went with CJ (Watson) and Derrick together last game. We may look at things like that.

Not surprisingly, his players embraced the philosophy.

Id rather play than rest, Luol Deng said. Youve played all these games anyway. So its a rhythm thing.

It has been a tough season for the team. We dealt with it real well. Guys have stepped up. Individually, its been up and down. But were coming together at the right time. Were playing together and thats key right now.

Even if the Bulls lose at Indiana, they can secure the conferences No. 1 seed with a home victory on Thursday against Cleveland regardless of what the Heat does. The overall No. 1 seed for homecourt advantage through the NBA Finals remains at large too.

Were trying to get homecourt advantage; thats pretty important, Joakim Noah said. Were also in a situation where weve had injuries. We havent had a lot of time to play together. The more experience you have on the court, the better.

Were a pretty healthy group now. Guys are getting back to where they need to get to. Were fine.

So fine that over the course of a two-minute interview, Noah said its an exciting time of year three times. Thibodeau probably planned for that too.

kcjohnson@tribune.com

Twitter @kcjhoop

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 04/23/2012

TheWashingtonPost

‘Game of Thrones’ recap: No pain, no gain
By Sarah Anne Hughes

Robb Stark (Richard Madden).
(Helen Sloan – HBO)

I have to admit that I didn’t watch a lot of Sunday ’s episode of “Game of Thrones,” titled “Garden of Bones.” Or I should say, I couldn’t watch it because — yeesh — it was a rough one.

Most characters either suffered, made others suffer or watched terrible suffering, all in their quest to win wars, be king or simply stay alive. Along the way one guy lost a foot, a woman lost the use of her bottom and a former smuggler lost the ability to say he’s never seen a priestess give birth to a shadow creature.

The episode opened on total cutie Robb Stark laying siege to a Lannister camp. The day after, with bodies littered on the battle field, Robb met a pretty nurse named Alyssa who was in the process of amputating a foot.*

Fun first date, right? Alyssa, who refused to give Robb her family name, accused him of being like all the other king wannabes.

“I have no desire to sit on the Iron Throne,” Robb told her, sounding like a total noble dreamboat. Then she was all, that don’t impress me much. So you got the army, but have you got a plan for after the war? (Yes, that was a Shania Twain reference. I’m not sorry!)

But come on — she’s totally going to fall for Robb because he’s like the Leonardo DiCaprio of “GOT.” He would be on the cover of Direwolf Beat, if such a thing existed. (Which it should.)

King Joffrey, meanwhile, continued proving why he’s the worst. First by aiming a crossbow at his fiancee Sansa (romantic) and making his knight beat and strip her as punishment for Robb’s actions. (Totally normal Groomzilla behavior.)

Thankfully, Tryion saved the day and led Sansa — who managed to keep her perfectly coiffed hair, despite the stress — from the chamber. When asked if she wanted out of this crazy engagement, she pledged her loyalty to Joffrey. “Lady Stark, you may survive us yet,” Tryion said to himself.

Then Tyrion, being Tyrion, reasoned that all Joffrey needs to stop aiming weapons at his betrothed is to get laid. So he sent two prostitutes to his nephew’s chambers. And what did that royal piece of garbage do? He asked one lady of the night to beat the other’s bare bottom with increasingly horrible objects* because he is a sociopath and, just to be clear: The. Worst. Tryion obviously needs to find a better way to deal with this kid.

Xaro Xhoan Daxos (Nonso Anozie).
(Paul Schiraldi – AP/HBO)

In the interest of family fairness, Arya’s life totally stinks as well. She’s in a Lannister prison that smells like death because, as we quickly learned, each day an inmate is tortured by having a bucket that contains a rat strapped to his body.* It is then heated and the person dies. “Joffrey, Cersei,” Arya chanted to herself, practicing the late, great Yoren’s revenge recipe for keeping one’s sanity.

In a moment that made my stomach lurch, Gendry’s number was called up for rat-bucketing. But then Lord Tywin Lannister arrived and was like, “Hey guys, maybe you should stop killing prisoners who have skills? Is that cool if we stop randomly torturing people for information they don’t have?” Tywin was also smart enough to see that Arya is a girl and therefore invited her to be his cup bearer, temporarily ending her suffering.

And now we must talk about the craziest thing that has ever happened on “Game of Thrones,” the moment that made me scream, “Oh my god, did you just see that?” to my dog, who really isn’t that into the show.

I am talking about Melisandre dropping her robe and giving birth to a shadow creature in front of Ser Davos, who I imagine was thinking, “WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?”

While many moments during “Garden of Bones” forced me to turn away, I couldn’t keep my eyes off Melisandre bringing forth what must be a cousin of “Lost’s” Smoke Monster. I have a feeling the pain of summoning the shadow monster into Westeros is going to be worth the gain.
Melisandre’s shadow baby. (HBO)

Meanwhile…

Littlefinger … is still being a terrible liar. He went to Renly’s camp to tell Lady Stark that, if Robb gives up other cutie Jaime Lannister, they will hand over Sansa and Arya, who he claims is being “wild” in King’s Landing. Which is funny because she’s actually watching people have rats strapped to their bellies and then murdered. He also gave Lady Stark poor Ned’s remains as a showing of good faith. Thank goodness we did not have to see them.

Daenerys … and her extremely hungry people arrived at the gates of Qarth, the “greatest city that ever was or will ever be.” A unnamed merchant/member of the Thirteen asked to see a dragon in order to let Daenerys into the city. She refused, but luckily another Thirteener, Xaro Xhoan, vouched for her by cutting his hand with a knife.* And into Qarth Khaleesi, Sir Richard Ser Jorah and what remains of the Dothraki go.

*Asterisks denote scenes I couldn’t watch.

By Sarah Anne Hughes
 | 
06:00 AM ET, 04/23/2012

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Katherine Heigl welcomes second child; Tamera Mowry-Housley expecting first

Southern Miss shocked Case Keenum and previously undefeated Houston in the C-USA title game to create the possibility on no non-AQ teams in the BCS.

One half of the BCS title game picture is certain. LSU will be in New Orleans on Jan. 9. Its opponent isnt so clear.

Alabama looked to be in great position at No. 2 until Saturday night when Oklahoma State routed Oklahoma and Virginia Tech fell to Clemson.

That leaves open the likelihood that the Cowboys surge to third in both human polls and could pass the Crimson Tide in the computers.

In breaking down the cases for both teams, OSU has the advantage of making a big final impression and being a conference champion with wins against Oklahoma, Kansas State and Baylor. Alabama fans will point to lone loss by the Cowboys against 6-6 Iowa State, while its team fell to LSU in overtime.

A little more is known now with the release of the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. LSU, obviously, is No. 1 with Alabama No. 2. Oklahoma State jumped from fifth to third. The Harris Interactive poll, however, will not be released until 8:30 pm ET, just prior to the final standings as BCS officials hold back on some information to try to tamp down projections. Until then, there will be some nervous people in both Stillwater and Tuscaloosa.

Oklahoma State is doing its best to sway opinion. Early Sunday morning the school put out a press release making the case for why it should play in the title game, including detailing how the Cowboys beat five teams in last weeks standings while Alabama beat two.

Also on edge while waiting for the BCS release will be TCU and Michigan, which started the week at 18th and 16th in the BCS, respectively.

The Horned Frogs have to be in the top 16 to earn an at-large spot as the highest-rated champion from a non-automatic qualifying conference. The Wolverines need to be in the top 14 for an at-large selection.

While projecting the rest of the games, some conferences may not be able to fulfill their allotment. An asterisk indicates a school has filled a vacant spot. Teams in bold have already accepted berths.

BCS national championship: LSU vs. Alabama

Fiesta: Oklahoma State vs. Stanford
Rose: Oregon vs. Wisconsin
Orange: Clemson vs. West Virginia
Sugar: Michigan vs. Kansas State

GoDaddy.com: Northern Illinois vs. Arkansas State
BBVA Compass: Louisville vs. Western Kentucky*
Cotton: Oklahoma vs. Arkansas
Capital One: Nebraska vs. South Carolina
Outback: Michigan State vs. Georgia
Gator: Ohio State vs. Florida
TicketCity: Purdue vs. Tulsa
Chick-fil-A: Auburn vs. Virginia Tech
Kraft Fight Hunger: UCLA vs. Wyoming*
Liberty: Pittsburgh vs. Mississippi State
Sun: Georgia Tech vs. Utah
Meineke Car Care: Texas AM vs. Penn State
Insight: Iowa vs. Texas
Music City: Virginia vs. Vanderbilt
Pinstripe: Rutgers vs. Iowa State
Armed Forces: Houston vs. BYU
Alamo: Baylor vs. Washington
Champs Sports: Florida State vs. Notre Dame
Holiday: Missouri vs. California
Military: Wake Forest vs. Illinois*
Belk: Cincinnati vs. North Carolina
Independence: North Carolina State vs. Air Force
Little Caesars Pizza: Northwestern vs. Toledo
Hawaii: Southern Mississippi vs. Nevada
Maaco Las Vegas: TCU vs. Arizona State
Poinsettia: Boise State vs. Louisiana Tech
Beef O Bradys: Florida International* vs. Marshall
New Orleans: Louisiana-Lafayette vs. SMU
Famous Idaho Potato: Ohio vs. Utah State
New Mexico: San Diego State vs. Temple*

MORE:  Follow Erick Smith on Twitter

Blackhawks-Blues Game Review

St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) – Marian Hossa scored two special teams goals, one shorthanded and one on the power play, as the Chicago Blackhawks bested the St. Louis Blues, 5-2, at Scottrade Center.

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp both posted a goal and an assist for Chicago, which has won four of its last five games. The Blackhawks Ray Emery stopped 23 shots.

Sharps goal was also on the power play, as Chicago went 2-for-3 with an extra attacker while holding St. Louis 0-for-4.

We are glad the [penalty kill] improved tonight. We have to build on this one, said Hossa. We got the shorthanded goal and a couple of power plays. The special teams were the difference tonight.

David Perron scored in the first period in his return to St. Louis lineup after missing 97 games because of a concussion. Perron was injured against San Jose on November 4, 2010.

Its what I expected. I didnt feel that good but I didnt feel that bad either, said Perron. I scored a goal tonight, but I would have liked to have more.

Chris Stewart also tallied for the Blues, who have dropped two straight on the heels of a four-game win streak.

Brian Elliott was beaten four times on 35 shots. It marked the first time he had given up more than two goals in 12 starts this season.

It didnt take Perron long to get involved in the offense as the 2007 first- rounder lit the lamp 6:21 into the contest.

Toews scored on a deflection 51 seconds into the second period to draw Chicago even. Hossa pumped home his 25th career short-handed marker at 12:11, four minutes after Stewart had put St. Louis back on top.

Sharps power-play goal gave the Blackhawks their first lead at 15:06. Hossa then converted on a man advantage early in the third period, beating Elliott with a one-timer from the top of the slot.

Michael Frolik added an empty-netter with 1:12 remaining.

Wisconsins Aaron Henry (7) laterals the football to BJ Cunningham as Wisconsins Antonio Fenelus defends during the first half of the Big Ten conference championship NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011 in Indianapolis. Cunningham scored a touchdown on the play. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

The Vancouver Canucks vie to bounce back into the win game homestand this evening versus the Calgary Flames at Rogers Arena.

Cory Schneider has started every game since mid-November in place of Roberto Luongo, who went down with an upper-body injury almost a month ago and was forced into action in Thursdays 6-5 loss versus Nashville. Schneider was pulled after allowing three goals on five shots and Luongo made 12 saves in relief for Vancouver, which had a five-game winning streak stopped.

Schneider stopped 47 shots in a 4-1 win versus Columbus on Tuesday and is 7-4-0 with a 2.12 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. Luongo, who was making his first appearance since Nov. 13 versus the Islanders, owns a 7-6-1 mark to go along with a 3.05 GAA and a .892 save percentage.

The Canucks are 1-1 on the homestand and 6-4-1 as the host this season. Cody Hodgson, Daniel Sedin, Aaron Volpatti, Alexandre Burrows and Jannik Hansen all scored for the Canucks, who are tied with Edmonton for second place in the Northwest Division, six points behind Minnesota (35 pts).

It was an up-and-down game, said Canucks center Henrik Sedin. I thought we played solid … but they made some really nice plays.

Vancouver will close out the homestand Tuesday versus Colorado and had won eight of 10 games before losing to the Predators. Forward Mason Raymond (fractured vertebrae) is expected to be activated from injured reserve for Sundays game, while defenseman Sami Salo (groin) is listed as questionable. Raymond missed the first 24 games of the season.

Calgary has won three of its last four games and defeated the Oilers for a seventh consecutive time with Saturdays 5-3 victory at Rexall Place.

Mikael Backlund scored the game-winner midway through the third period, while Olli Jokinen tallied twice and both Derek Smith and Rene Bourque finished with a goal and an assist for the Flames, who have won two in a row on the road and are 6-7-0 away from the Saddledome.

They got two quick ones and we rebounded quickly to get right back in it, Flames forward Jarome Iginla said of Edmonton.

Miikka Kiprusoff made 26 saves to earn the victory. The Flames are still last in the Northwest Division and will begin a three-game homestand Tuesday versus the Hurricanes, Avalanche and Oilers.

Vancouver defeated Calgary, 5-1, on the road back on Nov. 1 and Luongo came less than a minute away from a shutout. He recorded 28 saves for the Canucks, who have won four straight, eight of nine and 11 of the past 15 encounters with the Flames. Calgary has dropped nine of 13 games at Vancouver.