Third-seeded Texas sweeps Oregon for NCAA title
Third-seeded Texas sweeps Oregon for NCAA title
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bailey Webster had 14 kills, Haley Eckerman added 12 and third-seeded Texas swept Oregon on Saturday night for its first NCAA volleyball championship since 1988.
The Longhorns won 25-11, 26-24, 25-19.
Texas (29-4) has been a recent regular at volleyball’s Final Four, making its fourth appearance in five years and playing in its first title game since 2009, when the Longhorns lost to Penn State in five sets after leading 2-0.
This time they took care of business for their second title in four tries, recording their third sweep in the past four matches.
Webster, a first-team AVCA All-American, helped the Longhorns on defense as well with four blocks and keyed a second-set comeback. She was the tournament’s most outstanding player.
Liz Brenner and Katherine Fischer each had 13 kills for fifth-seeded Oregon (30-5).
Santa Cruz outpoints Guevara, defends IBF belt
LOS ANGELES — Leo Santa Cruz defended his IBF bantamweight title with a unanimous decision over Alberto Guevara on Saturday in the first live boxing match on CBS in 15 years.
Santa Cruz (23-0-1, 13 KOs) won his third defense of his 118-pound belt in just over three months with steady aggression against Guevara (16-1), who performed well despite taking the fight on three weeks’ notice.
Santa Cruz overcame an apparently injured nose by breathing through his mouth for most of the fight. He also fought through a right hand injury picked up in sparring, switching to a southpaw style while steadily breaking down Guevara with an impressive 989 punches in the 12-round bout.
Judge Jonathan Davis scored it 116-112 for Santa Cruz, while Pat Russell had it 118-110 and Fritz Werner scored it 119-109. The Associated Press favored Santa Cruz 117-111.
Wambach scores twice,
U.S. women beat China 4-1
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Abby Wambach scored twice to help the United States close out the season with a 4-1 exhibition victory over China on Saturday night.
The 32-year-old Wambach has 152 international goals, six behind Mia Hamm for the U.S record.
Megan Rapinoe and Sydney Leroux also scored for the Olympic champion Americans in their third consecutive match against China in the finale of a 10-game Fan Tribute Tour. The U.S. ran its unbeaten streak to 23.
The United States opened the scoring on Wambach’s goal in the 18th minute. Alex Morgan’s pass from the left wing found Wambach near the 6-yard box, and Wambach headed Morgan’s cross inside the left post.
Rapinoe scored in the 36th minute with a 40-yard blast.
China cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 45th minute on Han Peng’s goal.
Wambach scored her second goal in the 64th minute, and Leroux capped the scoring in the 87th.
New league called National Women’s Soccer League
PORTLAND, Ore. — The new women’s soccer league with franchises in Portland, Seattle and six other cities will be called the National Women’s Soccer League.
The league made the announcement Saturday.
The NWSL also unveiled its new logo. It is red, white and blue and includes the silhouette of a female soccer player about to strike the ball.
The new league starts play in 2013. The Portland team will be called the Thorns. The Seattle club has yet to announce its name.
7 leaving Big East to build basketball conference
The seven Big East schools that don’t play major college football are separating from the conference many of them founded so they can build a league focused on basketball.
The presidents of the seven schools made the announcement Saturday, two days after their intentions were first reported.
The seven schools venturing out on their own are: Georgetown, St. John’s, Villanova, DePaul, Marquette, Seton Hall and Providence.
Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Providence helped form the Big East, which started playing basketball in 1979. Villanova joined in 1980, and Marquette and DePaul in 2005. The Big East began playing football in 1991.
Hamilton, Angels finalize $125M, 5-year deal
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Feeling “a little upset” that Texas didn’t move quickly enough to re-sign him, free-agent outfielder Josh Hamilton donned a Los Angeles Angels jersey on Saturday after finalizing a $125 million, five-year contract that he called a new chapter in his life.
Hamilton, the 2010 AL MVP, joins a batting order that already includes Albert Pujols and AL Rookie of the Year Mike Trout. The 31-year-old Hamilton hit a career-high 43 home runs last season and batted .285 with 128 RBIs in 148 games.
Hamilton’s $25 million average salary matches Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard for the second-highest in baseball, trailing only Alex Rodriguez’s $27.5 million average with the New York Yankees.
Former Cowboys LB Brown remembered at funeral
ST. LOUIS — Friends, family, teammates and members of the community filled a church to say goodbye to former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jerry Brown Jr.
He was remembered Saturday morning for his religious beliefs, sense of humor, physical presence and his lifelong desire to play in the NFL.
His casket was Cowboys gray with the team’s star logo on the inside. His No. 53 Cowboys framed jersey and pictures from his life bracketed the casket, along with a signed helmet from the Indianapolis Colts.
By wire sources