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Sports Report: In A Stunning Upset, Syracuse Dances To Final Four

Carrier Dome, Syracuse New York

NCAA:

Syracuse, a team many said did not deserve an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, is going to the Final Four. The tenth seeded Syracuse upset No. 1 seed Virginia 68-62. The Orange are the fourth double-digit seeded team in NCAA history to go to the Final Four. Meanwhile No. 1 North Carolina beat No. 6 Notre Dame 88-74. North Carolina will see Syracuse on April 2nd in Houston. On the other side, No. 2 Villanova goes up against No. 2 Oklahoma.

In women’s college basketball, No. 4 Syracuse beat No. 7 Tennessee 89-67 for a spot in the Final Four. They see No. 7 Washington who upset No. 4 Stanford 85-76. The other side will be set when No.1 Connecticut takes on No. 2 Texas tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN.  No. 1 Baylor sees No. 2 Oregon State at 9 p.m.

In college men's hockey, Quinnipiac beat Massachusetts-Lowell 4-1 last night in the NCAA East Regional final to reach the Frozen Four. Sam Anas scored the tiebreaking goal, and Michael Garteig made 14 saves. Scott Davidson, Landon Smith and Travis St. Denis also scored for Quinnipiac. The Bobcats will face Boston College on April 7th in the national semifinals in Tampa, Florida. On the other side, No. 3 North Dakota takes on Denver at 8:30 p.m.

Moves:

Kevin Stallings is the new head basketball coach at Pittsburgh. The 55-year old has left Vanderbilt after building a record of 332-220. In his career with Vandy and Illinois State Stallings is 455-283. His tenure with Vanderbilt included seven NCAA berths and trips to the Sweet 16 in 2004 and 2007.

NBA:

In the NBA, the Clippers beat Denver 105-90, Sacramento topped Dallas 133-111, Indiana defeated Houston 104-101, Golden State won against Philadelphia 117-105, and it was Washington over the Lakers 101-88.

Blake Griffin has been cleared medically to return to the Los Angeles Clippers. His return won't take place for a few days, however, as he now has to complete the club's mandated four game suspension for punching the assistant equipment manager. Griffin, who has not played since December, practiced with the Clippers on Saturday and was then cleared. He missed 41 games because of injuries.

NHL:

In the NHL, Pittsburgh edged the Rangers in overtime 3-2, Carolina skated by New Jersey 3-2, and it was Chicago over Vancouver 3-2.

PGA:

Jason Day, the winner of last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational and last year's PGA Championship, is on a roll. Day needed just 14 holes to beat Louis Oosthuizen 5-and-4 in the Dell Match Play final.

It took a playoff but the winner of the PGA's Puerto Rico Open was Tony Finau. He finished regulation tied with Steve Marino at 12-under-par. Finau closed the win out on the third hole of the playoff. It's his first win on the PGA Tour.

Tim Finchem has signed on for one more year as the PGA Tour commissioner, even though he might not stay that long. He has been the commissioner of men's golf since 1994. His latest contract was to expire on June 1, but he now says the PGA Tour board has extended his contract until June 2017. Earlier this week, deputy commissioner Jay Monahan was given the title of chief operating officer. Finchem says Monahan already has been running the day-to-day operations of the tour and that he is pleased with the transition plan.

LPGA:

Lydia Ko won the Kia Classic to reaffirm her position as the top LPGA player in the world heading into the first major championship of the season, the ANA Inspiration coming up this week. Ko birdied the final three holes for her third straight 5-under 67 and a four-stroke victory over second-ranked Inbee Park.

Fantasy Sports:

Smaller companies in the exploding fantasy sports industry say they could be shut out of doing business in some states by legislation that is actually intended to recognize the games' legality. Their concern is the ability to pay fees states are charging for the right to offer the games.

Virginia's governor signed a bill this month that authorizes fantasy contests but requires operators to pay a $50,000 annual registration fee to the state. On Friday, Indiana's governor signed a bill charging companies a one-time licensing fee of $50,000 with a $5,000 annual renewal fee.

Other states are considering legislation along the same lines, with a New York state proposal calling for a whopping initial fee of $500,000. Smaller companies say the costs could be devastating to their business.

MLB:

The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-1 yesterday. Boston's first three hitters — Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts — combined for seven hits, three runs and two RBIs. Bogaerts had a solo home run, his second of the spring, and Number 9 hitter Jackie Bradley Jr. had a two-run homer, his third of the spring.

Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval has been sidelined since Thursday with lower back stiffness. He took batting practice on Saturday. Manager John Farrell says he hopes to get him into a game tomorrow.

News from spring training:

— All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley won't be with the Cleveland Indians when they open the season. The club has announced that after playing in two exhibition games, Brantley reported residual soreness in his surgically repaired right shoulder. Brantley underwent the operation in November and had hoped to be ready for the start of the season although the doctors said it would probably take longer.

— The Atlanta Braves have acquired left-handed reliever Eric O'Flaherty from the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations. The 31-year-old pitched for the Braves between 2009-13. O'Flaherty, who had Tommy John surgery in 2013, had signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh last month. He has a 3.24 career ERA in 435 appearances with four teams.

— In another move the Braves acquired infielder/outfielder Tyler Moore from the Nationals in exchange for minor-league first baseman Nate Freiman. The Nationals waived Moore and outrighted him off the 40-man roster to Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the week. Moore has played in 277 games for Washington over the past four seasons.

Winter Olympics:

Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume is investigating the possibility of a future bid for the Winter Olympics, and he's reached out to officials in Lake Placid regarding use of the region's facilities. Labeaume is visiting the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland. Lake Placid Mayor Craig Randall says the idea would be to use some of the Olympic venues in the Adirondacks as part of a bid for 2026.

The IOC's Agenda 2020 emphasizes re-use of existing facilities. Lake Placid has twice hosted the games, in 1932 and 1980, and its refrigerated track for bobsled, skeleton and luge opened in 2000. The Canadian cities of Calgary and Vancouver also have hosted Olympic Winter Games and are being contacted.

©2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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