SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2014 SPORTS

Kentucky tops Louisville Fellaini denies spitting Mickelson makes Open cut SAN ANTONIO: Phil Mickelson made the cut on the number in the Texas Open on Friday, INDIANAPOLIS: Nobody will accuse these Kentucky kids of being the fastest learners. Not this sea- LONDON: Marouane Fellaini has insisted he did not spit at Pablo blasting out of a greenside water hazard to 5 feet to set up a birdie on the final hole. son. And certainly not during most of Friday night’s game against Louisville. But once again, late in Zabaleta during this week’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford. Mickelson shot a 2-under 70 after opening with a 77 - his worst score of the season - on the game with everything on the line, they figured things out just in time. Following United’s 3-0 defeat on Tuesday, footage emerged on the TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Oaks Course. Lefty was 11 strokes behind leader Steven Bowditch, Aaron Harrison hit a 3-pointer for the go-ahead score with 39 seconds left and Julius Randle YouTube website appearing to show midfielder Fellaini spitting near Zabaleta’s head while the City defender was on the turf following a clash the Australian who had a 67 to reach 8-under 136. made a pair of clutch free throws to lift the fantastic freshmen of Kentucky to a 74-69 victory over Bowditch, ranked 339th in the world, holed out from 83 yards for an eagle on the par-4 their in-state rivals. The eighth-seeded Wildcats (27-10) led for a grand total of 65 seconds in this between the pair. It is understood the Football Association are aware of the clip, with the governing body now deciding whether to charge Fellaini 12th. The 30-year-old topped the leaderboard at the end of a round for Midwest Regional semifinal. They’ll play Michigan on Sunday for a trip to the first time in his PGA Tour career. the Final Four. “I told them before the game, you’ll get punched in the with misconduct. The FA are now due to request sharper footage from match broadcasters Sky before ruling on whether Fellaini should face dis- “My wedge shots have been pretty good,” he said. “I was try- mouth and you’re going to taste blood,” coach John Calipari said. ing to hit (the one on No. 12) a little past the pin and hope it “You can fight or you can brace yourself for the next shot. They ciplinary action, with a decision anticipated some time early next week. But United manager David Moyes, who signed Fellaini from former came back to a reasonable distance. Got lucky.” fought.” Fourth-seeded and defending champion Louisville ends Chad Collins (66) and rookie Andrew Loupe (70) were a its season at 31-6. Few expected a run this deep for the Wildcats club Everton, said he’d discussed the incident with the Belgium interna- stroke back. Only two of the top 15 players on the leader- as this season played out and their five freshmen starters strug- tional and that his player was adamant he’d done nothing wrong. “I’ve gled to play a team game. But they’ve been learning slowly. They spoke with Marouane and he says it isn’t the case,” Moyes said. board are in the top 100 of the world rankings. Sixth- trailed by 13 midway through the first half, then by seven with “We will work with the FA if that is what we have to do. Marouane is place Kevin Na is 78th in the world and ninth-place Zach 41/2 minutes left. Suddenly, things kicked in. Actually, it was a adamant that at no time did he do that (spit at Zabaleta). I don’t think it is Johnson is 10th. Collins is 315th and Loupe 505th. sophomore, Alex Poythress, who scored five points and blocked a completely conclusive, from what I’ve seen,” the Scottish boss added. No. 5-ranked Mickelson was in the stream that runs in Russ Smith layup attempt during a 7-0 run that tied the Earlier this month, the FA banned Hull’s George Boyd for three front of the 18th green after attempting to reach the game at 66 with 2:11 left. “Alex Poythress won the matches after he spat at Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart. par 5 in two from 288 yards with a 3-wood. He game for us,” Calipari said. “We were begging him Moments before the alleged spitting incident, Fellaini was booked by pulled off his left shoe and rolled up that the whole game to start playing, and he played at match referee Michael Oliver on Tuesday for elbowing Argentinian full- pants leg and gave it a shot with his back Zabaleta. —AFP the right time.”—AP foot in the water. —AP Study: MMA brain injury risk higher than boxing

ALBANY: About one-third of profes- studies aimed at not only preventing sional mixed martial arts matches end long-term brain injuries, but also iden- in knockout or technical knockout, tifying those predisposed to them, the indicating a higher incidence of brain UFC demonstrates true commitment trauma than boxing or other martial to the safety of all professional ath- arts, according to a new study in the letes,” Epstein said. American Journal of Sports Medicine. Preliminary results from the University of Toronto researchers Cleveland studies found athletes with examined records and videos from 844 higher exposure to head trauma - Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts based on a formula including number from 2006 to 2012 for the study pub- of fights, years fighting and fights per lished this month. They found that 108 year - were likelier to score lower on matches, or nearly 13 percent, ended cognitive testing. Researchers con- in knockouts. Another 179 matches, or ducting the free, ongoing assessments 21 percent, ended in technical knock- of fighters’ brain health are examining outs, usually after a combatant was hit factors like genetics, lifestyle or head in the head five to 10 times in the last trauma exposure and susceptibility to 10 seconds before the fight was injury. The Toronto researchers, who stopped. examined UFC matches, found the “We’re taking the premise with this time from a knockout blow - often a that what you see on TV is one thing, punch to the jaw - until matches were but to kind of add scientific rigor to stopped averaged 3.5 seconds, with document it objectively,” said Michael losers on average getting hit 2.6 more Hutchison, co-author and director of times to the head. With TKOs, they the concussion program at the univer- found that in the last 30 seconds sity’s MacIntosh Sports Medicine before a match was stopped, the loser Clinic. was hit on average 18.5 times, 92 per- With the technical knockouts, or cent of those to the head. TKOs, they reviewed videos and found Hutchison acknowledged that “an increasing number of repetitive unlike the knockouts, which meet the strikes to the head” during the last 30 criteria for brain concussions, they seconds of a match, he said. can’t definitively identify the particular Professional mixed martial arts injury from a TKO. Professional rules includes elements of wrestling, judo, say that happens when a referee stops boxing and kickboxing inside an a fight because one competitor can no enclosure with fighters wearing small, longer defend himself. “We can accu- fingerless gloves and no headgear. rately suggest ... this can’t be good for Officials from UFC, the sport’s major their health,” he said. brand, seeking approval to stage Citing data from other research, the bouts in New York have argued that study said the mixed martial arts head COLUMBUS: Marc-Andre Fleury No. 29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins flips the puck past Mark Letestu No. 55 of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period. —AFP mixed martial arts has evolved over 20 trauma rate also outpaces American years with many safety regulations to football and hockey. protect fighters, including mandatory The researchers proposed introduc- Penguins clinch playoff spot suspensions after concussions. They ing rules like in boxing where a fighter say it’s safer than boxing, with no his- gets a 10-second count and is evaluat- COLUMBUS: Chris Kunitz and FLYERS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 2 10 times since the NHL’s trade Ottawa beat Chicago. It was tory of deaths or traumatic brain ed after a knockdown. They also pro- Beau Bennett scored goals 47 sec- Vinny Lecavalier, Scott Hartnell, deadline on March 5 and four of Anderson’s first game back injuries sustained in the ring. posed more training to help referees onds apart midway through the Claude Giroux and Wayne them have been winners, includ- since being injured March 10. Lawrence Epstein, chief operating identify fighters who are defenseless third period and Marc-Andre Simmonds scored goals, leading ing his with 7.8 seconds left Erik Condra, Cody Ceci, Milan officer of UFC, called the Toronto study or have lost consciousness so they can Fleury made 35 saves as the Philadelphia over Toronto. in the second period. He also Michalek and Kyle Turris also “somewhat flawed” and said a forth- stop fights more quickly. Pittsburgh Penguins clinched an Toronto’s James van Riemsdyk scored the shootout winner in scored for the Senators. Patrick coming study by researchers who Most US states have legalized and NHL playoff spot with a 2-1 win scored 4 seconds into the second, Calgary’s 2-1 win at home over Sharp, Marian Hossa and Brent have enrolled nearly 400 active and regulated professional mixed martial over the Columbus Blue Jackets matching an NHL record for the on Monday. Seabrook scored for Chicago. retired fighters will provide better arts, although some are silent on the on Friday. fastest goal from the start of the Joe Colborne, Mark Giordano Antti Raanta made 24 saves. insight. matter. New York is the only state that James Wisniewski scored a period. But the Maple Leafs’ skid and Kevin Westgarth also scored “By partnering with the Cleveland prohibits such fights and longstand- power-play goal for Columbus reached seven games. for the Flames, who tied a club STARS 7, PREDATORS 3 Clinic, one of the world’s leading med- ing efforts to get it legalized recently with 3:06 left, but Pittsburgh Lecavalier was dropped from a record with their 45th one-goal Dallas had seven players score ical research institutions, on advanced stalled again. —AP hung on as Fleury made huge spot on the wing on the second game of the season. goals in a victory over Nashville. saves on Brandon Dubinsky and line to his more natural center on They improved their record to Alex Goligoski had three assists, Cam Atkinson during a scrum in the fourth line. But he also had 22-17-8 in those one-goal tying his career high. Colton the final seconds. the spot on the top power-play matchups. Brad Richards had a Sceviour, Trevor Daley and Ryan Curtis McElhinney, taking the unit and scored in the first with goal and an assist for the Rangers, Garbutt each had a goal and an place of the ill Sergei Bobrovsky, Philadelphia holding a two-man whose winning streak ended at assist. After Nashville pulled with- stopped the first 28 Penguins advantage. five games. in 5-3 in the third period on Eric shots before Kunitz notched his Nystrom’s goal, Valeri Nichushkin 34th with 9:25 left. The Penguins FLAMES 4, RANGERS 3 SENATORS 5, BLACKHAWKS 3 and Cody Eakin scored 9 seconds are now at 99 points, moving clos- Mike Cammalleri had a goal Craig Anderson had 46 saves apart for a 7-3 edge. Stars goalie er to clinching the Metropolitan and an assist to lead Calgary over and Clarke MacArthur had a allowed three goals Division title. New York. Cammalleri has scored goal and two assists and on 28 shots. —AP

OILERS 4, DUCKS 3 Andrew Ference scored at 3:51 NHL results/standings of overtime and Ben Scrivens Philadelphia 4, Toronto 2; Pittsburgh 2, Columbus 1; Ottawa 5, Chicago 3; Dallas 7, Nashville 3; Calgary 4, NY stopped 48 shots as Edmonton Rangers 3; Edmonton 4, Anaheim 3 (OT). pulled off an upset over Anaheim. Western Conference Eastern Conference Sam Gagner, Jordan Eberle Atlantic Division and Oscar Klefbom also scored for Pacific Division W L OTL GF GA PTS Boston 50 17 6 233 153 106 the Oilers, who are in last place in Montreal 42 26 7 195 188 91 San Jose 47 19 9 230 181 103 the Western Conference. Tampa Bay 40 24 9 217 195 89 Edmonton ended a three-game Anaheim 47 18 8 234 186 102 Detroit 33 26 14 195 209 80 skid. Los Angeles 43 25 6 185 157 92 Toronto 36 31 8 218 235 80 Nick Bonino, Patrick Maroon Phoenix 36 26 12 205 209 84 Ottawa 30 29 14 210 246 74 and Mathieu Perreault scored for Vancouver 34 30 11 183 201 79 Florida 27 39 8 178 240 62 the Ducks, who had a two-game Calgary 31 36 7 189 217 69 Buffalo 20 45 8 139 218 48 winning streak come to an end Edmonton 26 39 9 184 244 61 Metropolitan Division and missed out on an opportuni- Pittsburgh 47 22 5 228 184 99 ty to move into a tie for first in the Central Division NY Rangers 41 30 4 200 183 86 Pacific Division with the San Jose St. Louis 50 16 7 238 164 107 Philadelphia 39 27 7 210 206 85 Sharks. Chicago 42 18 15 247 196 99 Columbus 37 30 6 205 198 80 The Ducks remain one win Colorado 46 21 6 224 200 98 Washington 34 27 12 212 218 80 short of tying their franchise New Jersey 31 28 14 177 190 76 Minnesota 37 26 11 183 188 85 record of 48 wins in a season, set Carolina 32 32 9 184 205 73 Dallas 35 27 11 210 210 81 in 2006-07 when they won the NY Islanders 28 35 10 204 246 66 Winnipeg 33 32 9 206 216 75 . Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the SAN JOSE: In this April 20, 2013, file photo, Josh Thomson (top) punches Nate Nashville 32 32 11 186 226 75 standings and are not included in the loss column (L) Diaz during the second round of a UFC lightweight mixed martial arts fight. —AP