Friday's results

BASEBALL

MAJOR LEAGUE

Detroit Tigers 1 Boston Red Sox 2, Milwaukee Brewers 6 Chicago Cubs 5, Minnesota Twins 9 Cleveland Indians 0, New York Mets 7 Philadelphia Phillies 5, Chicago White Sox 2 Kansas City Royals 1, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6 New York Yankees 2, Atlanta Braves 9 Houston Astros 3, St Louis Cardinals 3 San Diego Padres 8, Arizona Diamondbacks 2 Pittsburgh Pirates 6.

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BASKETBALL

NBA

Tracy McGrady scored 37 points as the Houston Rockets fought back from three straight losses to beat the Dallas Mavericks 101-83.

The best-of-seven playoff series is tied 3-3, with game seven tomorrow in Dallas.

In the other match, Antoine Walker scored 24 points, including the clinching basket in overtime, as the Boston Celtics avoided elimination with a 92-89 win over the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.

The Celtics overcame the ejection of Paul Pierce late in regulation time to force a seventh game in the Eastern Conference playoff.

 

JUNIOR TALL BLACKS

The squad to play a six-team international tournament in San Diego, California, from June 5-12: T. Abercrombie (North Harbour), B. Anthony (Waitakere), D. Clarke (North Harbour), J. Edwards (Canterbury), E. Fantl (Waitakere), M. Kovacevic (Palmerston North), J. Matthews (Nelson), A. Pledger (Hamilton), D. Prewster (Wellington), W. Siddall (North Harbour), J. Trueman (Nelson), C. Webster (North Harbour).

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CRICKET

TOUR MATCH

(Kingston, Jamaica)

South Africa 245 (B. Dippenaar 64, M. Boucher 59; J. Lawson 4-39, Bevon Brown 4-41) bt Jamaica XI 216 (T. Gordon 70; S. Pollock 4-18, A. Nel 2-36) by 29 runs.

ENGLISH COUNTY

C and G Trophy (one-day).-

First round, at Riverside: Durham 234 (P. Collingwood 82; A Botha 4-44) lost to Derbyshire 237-9 (C. Bassano 57, G. Welch 50) by one wicket.

At The Grange: Scotland 134 (R. Watson 53) lost to Worcestershire 138-0 (V. Solanki 74no, S. Moore 57 no) by 10 wickets.

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GOLF

WACHOVIA CHAMPIONSHIP

Leading scores (US unless stated).-

66: S. Garcia (Spain).

68: P. Sheehan, J. Sindelar, K. Perry, R. S. Johnson (Sweden).

69: J. Furyk, A. Magee, J. Maggert, J. Parnevik (Sweden).

70: R. Palmer, B. Bryant, F. Funk, P-U Johansson (Sweden), T. Woods, V. Singh (Fiji), T. Ridings.

71: W. Austin, B. Curtis, P. Harrington (Ireland), B. Quigley, C. Barlow, J. Rose (Eengland), J. Rollins, S. Verplank, S. Kendall, G. Ogilvy (Australia), J. Sluman, C. Campbell, P. Mickelson, C. Beckman, H. Haas.

Also:

76: C. Perks (NZ).

WOMEN'S MICHELOB ULTRA OPEN

Leading scores (US unless stated).-

67: S. Cavalleri (Italy), C. Nilsmark (Sweden).

68: K. Samp, C. Kerr, L. Lindley, L. Diaz, J. McGill.

69: J. Bartholomew, H. Kim, B. Lincicome, AJ Eathorne (Canada), J. Stephenson (Australia), Shi Hyun Ahn (Korea), M. Redman, Jeong Jang (Korea), W. Doolan (Australia), G. Park (Korea), Mi Hyun Kim (Korea), J. Inkster, N. Gulbis, B. Luse, Jimin Kang (Korea), Young-A Yang (Korea).

TELECOM OPEN

(Seoul)

Leading first-round scores (par 72, Korean unless stated).-

67: K. Katoh (Japan), T. Pilkadaris (Australia), Choi Kyung-Ju.

68: Park Jae-Kyung, Lee Boo-Young, Park No-Seok, Kang Kyung-Nam, A. Buckle (Australia), Kang Kwon-Il, Kong John-Joon, Choi Sang-Ho.

69: G. Simpson (Australia), C. Warren (Australia), S. Kapur (India), Yoo Jong-Koo, Choi Yoon-Soo, Kim Dae-Sub, Han Young-Keun.

70: R. Lee (NZ), A. Johl (India), Park Boo-Won, Hwang Joon-Sun, Mo Joong-Kyung, T. Wiratchant (Thailand), S. Ishigaki (Japan), R. Gibson (Canada), S. Yates (Scotland), F. Couples (US).

Also

73: E. Lee (NZ).

80: M. Pearce (NZ).

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ICE HOCKEY

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

(Vienna)

Group A, points: Slovakia 5, Russia 5, Belarus 2, Austria 0.

Group B: Canada 3 United States 1, Slovenia 1 Latvia 3. Points: Canada 6, US 4, Latvia 2, Slovenia 0.

Group C, points: Sweden 6, Finland 4, Ukraine 2, Denmark 0.

Group D: Czech Republic 1 Kazakhstan 0, Germany 1 Switzerland 5. Points: Czech Republic 6, Switzerland 4, Kazakhstan 2, Germany 0.

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RUGBY

LIONS TOUR

Referees for the tour.-

June 4 v Bay of Plenty: P. Honiss. Touch judges: S. Walsh and K. Deaker. Television match official (TMO): P. O'Brien.

June 8 v Taranaki: K. Deaker. Touch judges: Honiss and Walsh. TMO: O'Brien.

June 11 v NZ Maori: Walsh. Touch judges: Honiss and Deaker. TMO: O'Brien.

June 15 v Wellington: Honiss. Touch judges: Walsh and Deaker. TMO: O'Brien.

June 18 v Otago: L. Bray. Touch judges: Honiss and Deaker. TMO: O'Brien.

June 21 v Southland: Deaker. Touch judges: Walsh and Bray. TMO: Honiss.

June 25, first test, Christchurch: J. Jutge (France). Touch judges: A. Cole (Australia) and S. Dickinson (Australia). TMO: S. Young (Australia).

June 28 v Manawatu: To be confirmed.

July 2, second test, Wellington: Cole. Touch judges: J. Kaplan (South Africa) and Dickinson. TMO: M. Lawrence (South Africa).

July 5 v Auckland: To be confirmed.

July 9, third test, Auckland: Kaplan. Touch judges: Dickinson and Lawrence. TMO: Cole.

FRED ALLEN CHALLENGE CUP

Ponsonby outclassed Grammar Carlton 52-23 in the curtainraiser to last night's Blues-Hurricanes Super 12 match at Eden Park.

The cup was the only trophy Ponsonby had yet to win.

And the comprehensive victory also guaranteed Ponsonby the Auckland premier one first-round championship for the Alan McEvoy Memorial Trophy.

Grammar Carlton held Ponsonby to 19-16 at the break. But it was all one-way traffic in the second half as the Ponies scored five tries, four converted by first five-eighths Brett Williams.

Ponsonby 52 (C. Tuoro 2, T. Finau, B. Tauwhare, R. Hansell-Pune, T. Hufunga, P. Williams tries; B. Williams 4 con, 3 pen

Grammar Carlton 23 (J. Volckman, S. Taufa tries; L. Munro 2 con, 3 pen) HT: 19-16.

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SOCCER

UEFA CUP

The competition will have a first-time champion this year when Sporting Lisbon and CSKA Moscow play for the title in Lisbon on May 19.

CSKA beat two-time champions Parma (Italy) 3-0 in the second leg of the semifinals to advance with a 3-0 aggregate win.

Sporting held on to edge Dutch side AZ Alkmaar on away goals, despite losing 3-2 in extra time.

The two-leg series ended 4-4 on aggregate.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Premier League fixtures, tomorrow: Chelsea v Charlton, Aston Villa v Manchester City, Blackburn v Fulham, Crystal Palace v Southampton, Everton v Newcastle, Middlesbrough v Tottenham, Norwich v Birmingham, Portsmouth v Bolton, Manchester United v West Bromwich.

Monday: Arsenal v Liverpool.

1 Chelsea3527716713882 Arsenal3523847633773 Man United35211045421734 Everton35177114136585 Liverpool36167134937556 Bolton 36159124541547 Tottenham36149134740518 Middlesbrough361312115145519 Man City3612121244374810 Aston Villa3612111343484711 Charlton 361291540554512 Birmingham 3610121438444213 Blackburn 369141331404114 Newcastle 359131343534015 Portsmouth361081842563815 Fulham351081742563817 Southampton366131742623118 Crystal Palace367101937583119 West Brom365151633603020 Norwich 3661218417130

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TABLE TENNIS

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

(Shanghai)

Women's singles, semifinals: Zhang Yining (China) bt Lin Ling (Hong Kong) 10-12 11-4 11-5 11-3 11-7, Guo Yan (China) bt Guo Yue (China) 10-12 11-3 11-6 11-7 11-9.

Final: Zhang Yining bt Guo Yan 5-11 11-7 11-7 4-11 11-8 13-11.

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TENNIS

ROME MASTERS

Third round (prefix denotes seeding): F. Verdasco (Spain) bt 1-A. Roddick (US) 6-7 7-6 6-4, 9-G. Coria (Argentina) bt D. Sanguinetti (Italy) 6-0 6-4, D. Hrbaty (Slovakia) bt 4-T. Henman (Britain) 6-3 3-6 6-3, 6-A. Agassi (US) bt 12-I. Ljubicic (Croatia) 7-6 6-3, A. Martin (Spain) bt L. Horna (Peru) 6-1 6-3, D. Ferrer (Spain) bt 3-G. Gaudio (Argentina) 6-0 6-1, 5-R. Nadal (Spain) bt 11-G. Canas (Argentina) 6-3 6-1, 15-R. Stepanek (Czech Republic) bt N. Almagro (Spain) 4-6 6-4 6-2.

WOMEN'S GERMAN OPEN

(Berlin)

Third round: 1-M. Sharapova (Russia) bt Shuai Peng (China) 6-2 6-1, 12-J. Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) bt K. Peschke (Czech Republic) 4-6 6-4 6-2, 4-S. Kuznetsova (Russia) bt C. Martinez (Spain) 5-7 6-4 6-4, 7-P. Schnyder (Switzerland) bt 11-K. Clijsters (Belgium) 6-7 6-5 (Clijsters retired injured), 8-E. Bovina (Russia) bt M. Shaughnessy (US) 6-4 6-2, 13-J. Jankovic (Serbia and Montenegro) bt J. Schruff (Germany) 6-3 6-2, 6-N. Petrova (Russia) bt M. Pierce (France) 6-2 7-5, 2-A. Mauresmo (France) bt V. Razzano (France) 6-4 6-2.

GIFU CHALLENGER

New Zealand's Leanne Baker was eliminated in the second round of the singles at the US$50,000 ($68,920) tournament in Japan yesterday.

Baker, a qualifier for the main draw, lost to China's Yan Ze Xie 3-6, 3-6.

She has reached the quarter-finals in the doubles with Italian partner Francesca Lubiani.

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WATER POLO

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The New Zealand senior women's team for the championship in Montreal in July: C. Harache (Wellington), O. Colebourne (Wellington), R. Swindells (Auckland), S. Pattison (Wellington), R. Donoghue (Maranui), K. Wilkinson (Wellington), E. Cox (Auckland), F. Snell (Auckland), R. McGuinness (Wellington), A. Logan (Auckland), S. Tan (Wellington), E. MacPherson (Wellington), L. Smith (Auckland), A. Sieprath (Auckland).

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YACHTING

SWEDISH MATCH TOUR

Day two of Toscana Elba Cup in Italy, repechage round: I. Ainslie (SA) bt B.Ainslie (GB), F. de Angelis (Ita) bt T. Peponnet (Fra), R. Coutts (NZ) bt P. Holmberg (Virgin Islands), H. Pepper (NZ) bt K. Jablonski (Pol).

Final round-robin standings, group A: *E. Baird (US) Team Alinghi, 4-2 (4 wins, 2 losses), *M. Holmberg (Swe) Victory Challenge, 4-2, *J. Spithill (Aus) Luna Rossa Challenge, 4-2, B. Ainslie (GB) Emirates Team New Zealand, 4-2, H. Pepper (NZ) Capitalia Team, 3-3, F. de Angelis (Ita) Luna Rossa Challenge, 2-4, P. Holmberg (Virgin Islands) Team Alinghi, 0-6.

Group B: *P. Gilmour (Aus) Pizza-La Sailing Team, 5-1, *G. Brady (NZ) BMW Oracle Racing, 4-2, *I. Percy (GB) +39 Challenge, 3-3, R. Coutts (NZ) Coutts Racing, 3-3, T. Peponnet (Fra) K-Challenge, 3-3, K. Jablonski (SA) Desafio Espaol, 2-4, I. Ainslie (SA) Team Shosholoza, 1-5.

*Advances directly to the quarter-finals.