NBA
Spurs 109, Suns 106
Knicks 94, Nets 85
Pistons 110, Bullets 105
Pacers 104, Trailblazers 93
Celtics 94, Mavericks 87
SuperSonics 105, Hawks 83
NHL
Nordiques 7, Senators 5
Panthers 4, Lightning 1
Stars 2, Blackhawks 1
Capitals 2, Bruins 1
Flyers 4, Rangers 2
Blues 3, Red Wings 3
SPORTS BRIEFLY
King to continue to promote Tyson
CLEVELAND - Mike Tyson needed only 61 seconds - almost as fast as he knocks out some opponents - to reaffirm that promoter Don King will lead his quest to regain the heavyweight championship.
"Don is the greatest promoter in the world, as we know," Tyson said Thursday in his first public comments since being released from prison Saturday.
With those words, Tyson ended speculation of a rift with King. He did not take any questions after reading a brief statement.
Tyson also said close friends John Horne and Rory Holloway would co-manage him, his fights would be televised by the Showtime cable network and his bouts would be at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Tyson didn't mention a fight timetable, but the chairman of the MGM Grand expects him to fight "within six months."
UNLV hires UMass assistant
LAS VEGAS - To Billy Bayno, it was an opportunity too great for an aspiring young basketball coach to pass up.
The Massachusetts assistant brushed aside years of turmoil at UNLV on Thursday, taking the job as coach of the Runnin' Rebels and vowing to restore the once-vaunted program to national prowess.
"All I looked at was the positives that occurred in the past, the great teams, the great coaches," Bayno said. "I grew up watching UNLV basketball. Every time I watched them play, their hearts and souls were left on the courts. They were the hardest playing team in the country."
The 32-year-old Bayno becomes the third head basketball coach at UNLV in the last three years, the second in only five months.
It is the first head-coaching job for Bayno, who promised to work to return the beleagured UNLV program to the prominence it once held under former coach Jerry Tarkanian.
Alford to guide Southwest Missouri
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Steve Alford, who helped Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers to an NCAA basketball title, now joins his former mentor in the Division I coaching ranks, filling the vacant job at Southwest Missouri State.
Alford, 30, and eight years removed from that title says his coaching style is a blend of four major influences in his life - his father, Sam Alford, a top high school coach in Indiana; Knight; and his two NBA coaches, John McLeod and Don Nelson.
TV HIGHLIGHTS
Baseball: Mariners vs. Blue Jays, ESPN, 11 a.m.
Baseball: Cubs at Reds, WGN, noon
Baseball: Yankees at Rangers, ESPN, 2 p.m.
NCAA Tournament: Championship game, UCLA vs. Arkansas, Channel 5, 6:40 p.m.