FanFare 5/24/03

Briefly

Basketball

There are moments that can define not only a game, but an entire playoff series. Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks can only hope that one of them didn't happen early in the fourth quarter. Nowitzki went down with a sprained knee as Tim Duncan was leading San Antonio on a 12-0 run to open the fourth quarter, and the Spurs controlled the game the rest of the way to beat Dallas 96-83 and take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Rudy Tomjanovich stepped down as coach to take another job with the Rockets after 12 seasons that included the franchise's only two NBA championships.

Colleges

The NCAA is staying out of the fight as the Atlantic Coast Conference tries to lure Miami, Syracuse and Boston College from the Big East. NCAA president Myles Brand said he has not talked with Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese or ACC commissioner John Swofford and intends to let the schools make their own decisions.

Football

Giants defensive tackle Keith Hamilton was charged with cocaine and marijuana possession after his car was stopped for having tinted windows. Following a search, Hamilton was charged with possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle.

Golf

With a lot of rain in the forecast, Catriona Matthew and Lorie Kane made a bee line to where they wanted to be -- in the lead at the LPGA Corning Classic. Matthew shot an 8-under 64, one shot better than Kane, and both finished the second round at 12-under 132, one stroke ahead of Meg Mallon.

Hockey

Jeff Friesen was down, shocked that his mistake in the third period might cost the Devils a chance at another Stanley Cup. Moments later he scored the biggest goal of his career and sent his team to the finals. Friesen put the Devils in front for good with 2:14 left and New Jersey beat the Senators 3-2 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Motorsports

Kevin Harvick set a Busch Series track record, turning a lap at 184.543 mph to win the pole for the Carquest 300. Harvick's lap around Lowe's Motor Speedway easily bested Ron Hornaday's year-old record of 182.094 mph.

Tennis

Top-seeded Andy Roddick got a little help in reaching his third final of the year at the International Raiffeisen Grand Prix. Roddick owned a 6-2, 2-0 lead against David Sanchez when the eighth seed quit with a recurring muscle strain in his right calf.

On the air

Arena football playoffsWildcard game, 2 p.m., WPSD

College baseballBig 12 tournament seminfinal, 10 a.m., Fox-Midwest

MVC championship, 7 p.m., Fox-Midwest

College softball world seriesAlabama vs. Oklahoma, 11 a.m., ESPN

Louisiana-Lafayette vs. UCLA, 3 p.m., ESPN2

Washington vs. TBA, 6 p.m., ESPN2

California vs. TBA, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2

Golf

Volvo PGA Championship, 8 a.m., TGC

LPGA Corning Classic, 1 p.m., TGC

The Colonial, 2 p.m., KFVS

Columbus Southern Open, 5 p.m., CNBC (same-day tape)

MLB

N.Y. Mets at Atlanta, noon, KBSI, TBS

San Francisco at Colorado, 3 p.m., KBSI

St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m., WDKA, KZIM-960, KBXB-97.9

Chicago Cubs at Houston, 7 p.m., WGN

Men's college lacrosseJohns Hopkins vs. Syracuse, 10:30 a.m., ESPN2

Virginia vs. Maryland, 1 p.m., ESPN2

Motorsports

Carquest Auto Parts 300, noon, FX

Practice for Coca-Cola 600, 2:30 p.m., FX (same-day tape)

Qualifying for Summer Nationals, 4 p.m., ESPN (same-day tape)

ASA, Iowa 300, 8 p.m., SPEED

NBA playoffsDetroit at New Jersey, 7 p.m, ESPN

NFL EuropeScotland at Amsterdam, noon, Fox-Midwest

WNBA

Los Angeles at Connecticut, 3 p.m., WSIL

CHARTER CABLE KEY:CNBC (ch. 53), ESPN (42), ESPN2 (43), Lifetime (49)Fox-Midwest (45), Fox-Central (352), Fox-Pacific (353), Fox-Sunshine (351), Fox-World (350), FX(50), KBSI (9), KFVS (7), MSNBC (55), Outdoors (38), Outdoor Life Network (74), Oxygen (75), Speed Channel (44), TBS (10), The Golf Channel (46), TNT (48), WDKA (17), WPSD (6), WQWQ (33), WSIL (3). Listings and times are provided by the networks and individual stations and are subject to change.

Area events

High school girls' soccerFestus St. Pius X at Notre Dame, Class 1 sectional, 1 p.m.

High school track & fieldClass 1, 2 state meets, Jefferson City

Class 3 sectional, Festus

Class 4 sectional, Eureka

High school girls' swimmingState meet, St. Peters

Amateur baseballCape Riverdogs at Southern Illinois Merchants (2), 1 p.m.

Motorsports

Karts, mini sprints at SEMO Raceway, Blodgett, 6 p.m.

Sprints, street stocks, cruisers at Auto Tire and Parts Racepark, Benton, 7 p.m.

Rodeo

MBRA Buckle Series at Flickerwood Arena, 9 a.m.