Sports

<VIDEO> Pro golfer Sergio Garcia provided an amazing highlight at the Arnold Palmer Invitational when he climbed some 15 feet into an oak tree and played a shot back out to the fairway. He ended with a double bogey on the hole. 

<VIDEO> Tony Stewart has harsh words for Joey Logano.

     HAMILTON, Mass. (AP) - The Massachusetts home of Syracuse star guard Michael Carter-Williams has been destroyed by a fire.

 

     According to Boston television station WCVB, the blaze began around 10:30 p.m. Saturday at the Hamilton home of Mandy Carter-Zegarowski, the mother of Carter-Williams. 

 

     When firefighters arrived at the home about 30 miles north of Boston, there was heavy fire in the attic and around the chimney. Firefighters had to be evacuated twice because of the intense heat before the flames were brought under control by 12:50 a.m., the station said. 

 

     Family members were in the home watching the Syracuse-California game in the NCAA tournament when the blaze erupted, but there were no injuries.

 

     Carter-Williams wasn't told about the fire until after the game in San Jose, Calif. 

 

<VIDEO> La Salle's Cinderella run continues with win over Ole Miss

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     NEW YORK (AP) - The NCAA tournament's first full day has earned its highest preliminary television rating in 22 years.

 

     The games Thursday on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV averaged a 5.8 overnight rating and 14 share. The networks say that was up 4 percent from 2012.

 

     This is the third season of CBS and Turner's 14-year, $10.8 billion contract to televise every game of the tournament in its entirety, a change in approach that so far has been a ratings success.

 

     Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned to a program. Shares represent the percentage of all homes with TVs in use at the time. Overnight ratings measure the country's largest markets.

 

<VIDEO> Harvard scored its first-ever NCAA College Basketball Tournament win Thursday night, topping #3 seeded New Mexico, 68-62. Wesley Saunders scored 18 points to lead Harvard.

<VIDEO> Matt Brady pleased with JMU's performance Wednesday night.

 PHOENIX (AP) - Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan says Robert Griffin III is "ahead of schedule" in his return from knee surgery.

 

     Shanahan, speaking at the NFL owners meeting on Wednesday, said that when Griffin comes back, he must learn how to protect himself in the face of the fierce defenses in the NFL.

 

     Once Griffin does come back, Shanahan says the young quarterback needs to learn to slide and throw the ball away to avoid the big hits that lead to injuries.

 

     Shanahan says that "if hard work has anything to do with it," Griffin will be ready for the coming season.

 

     The standout rookie underwent surgery to repair knee ligaments after he was hurt in his team's playoff loss to Seattle.

 

     NEW YORK (AP) - Butler, Creighton and Xavier are moving to the new Big East.

 

     They will join the so-called Catholic 7 basketball schools who left to start a new conference and are keeping the Big East name. The league also announced Wednesday its completed broadcasting deal with Fox.

 

     Butler and Xavier are leaving the Atlantic 10. Creighton departs the Missouri Valley Conference.

 

     They join Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall and DePaul.

 

<VIDEO> The Dominican Republic topped Puerto Rico 3-0 on Tuesday to win the World Baseball Classic. Second Baseman Robinson Cano was named WBC MVP after hitting .469 with two home runs.

<VIDEO> Highlights: Heat comeback to beat the Celtics, 105-103.

<VIDEO> Tiger Woods tells the world that he and skier Lindsay Vonn are an item via Facebook.

<VIDEO> Louisville is the top seed in the NCAA tournament after a topsy-turvy season in college basketball, capped by another round of upsets over the weekend.

 UNDATED (AP) - Georgetown and Syracuse will meet in the Big East tournament for the 14th and final time Friday at Madison Square Garden. The Orange earned a berth in the semifinals of what will be their last Big East tourney before leaving for the ACC.

 

     James Southerland and Michael Carter-Williams kept No. 19 Syracuse's run at one more Big East title going as the Orange beat No. 17 Pittsburgh 62-59 to advance to a semifinal date with the Hoyas. Southerland had 20 points and Carter-Williams scored the Orange's last seven points.

 

     Meanwhile, Otto Porter Jr. scored 18 points and Markel Starks added 14 as the fifth-ranked Hoyas advanced with a 62-43 win over Cincinnati. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 13 off the bench, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer that sparked a game-turning run after the Hoyas blew a 16-point lead.

 

     The Hoyas and Orange have combined for 12 Big East crowns, with Georgetown winning seven times. The Hoyas are 7-6 versus Syracuse in the tournament.

 

     The other Big East semifinal will have fourth-ranked Louisville against No. 24 Notre Dame.

 

     The Cardinals took advantage of 25 turnovers in a 74-55 rout of Villanova. Russ Smith scored 28 points and Luke Hancock came off the bench to add 14 in the Cardinals' eighth straight win.

 

     Pat Connaughton scored 18 points on six 3-pointers as Notre Dame downed No. 12 Marquette 72-65. Jerian Grant shot just 4-for-15 but finished with 17 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Irish.

 

 

 PARIS (AP) - Sebastien Loeb Racing has pulled out of the Le Mans 24 Hours race after a sponsor withdrew its support.

 

     Franck Montagny and Nicolas Marroc were set to drive in the race on June 22-23 but the team has now had to decline its invitation.

 

     Team manager Dominique Heintz says "the first step was to make the entry request, the second was to be selected. The last step was to finalize the project, which was made impossible by this withdrawal. We sincerely regret the situation."

 

     Sebastien Loeb Racing has also pulled out of the European Le Mans Series.

 

     The team's place will be given to Swiss outfit Race Performance.

 

  SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) - Bidding for the fifth starter's job, Jeff Niemann allowed one run in 4 1-3 innings as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Thursday.

 

     Niemann, who's allowed three runs in 12 2-3 innings this spring left with a runner on. Matt Wieters hit a three-run homer in the fifth off Juan Sandoval to tie it at 3.

 

     In his first start for Baltimore, Kevin Gausman, the Orioles first pick in the 2012 draft,  allowed two runs in 2 2-3 innings. Luke Scott gave Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead with a two-run home run.

 

     The winning run scored on catcher Luis Exposito's error.

 

 GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Richard Howell scored 22 points with 12 rebounds while Lorenzo Brown led the defensive effort on league player of the year Erick Green to help North Carolina State beat Virginia Tech 80-63 in Thursday's first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

 

     C.J. Leslie scored 15 points for the fifth-seeded Wolfpack (23-9), who shot 52.8 percent (28 of 53) and took control with an 11-0 second-half run. N.C. State led by 17 points after that spurt and never let the 12th-seeded Hokies (13-19) get the margin under double figures again. 

 

     Brown had nine points, 12 assists and seven rebounds, but did his best work as a nagging defense presence against Green - the nation's leading scorer at 25.4 points per game. Green finished with 15 on 5-for-19 shooting for one more frustrating ACC tournament performance in the senior's final game.

 

     The Wolfpack advanced to Friday's quarterfinals to face fourth-seeded Virginia.

 

<VIDEO> The700level: LeBron James puts on a pregame show

<VIDEO> Officials in Kentucky have organized a first-ever tournament, bringing together fishermen to hunt Asian Carp. The species has infested much of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, gobbling up food supplies and crowding out native fish.

<VIDEO> Fifty-three year old Mitch Seavey won the grueling Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race across Alaska on Tuesday evening, making him the oldest Iditarod winner ever. His victory came after a dueling sprint against Aliy Zirkle.

<VIDEO> SI.com counts down the top 5 best free agent signings in NFL history

     OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has signed a new contract worth $120.6 million over six years, making him the highest paid player in NFL history.

 

     The Super Bowl MVP finalized the deal Monday. Flacco will receive a $29 million signing bonus and $52 million in guaranteed money.

 

     Flacco says, "It's not really about the money, it's about that respect."

 

     The 28-year-old Flacco threw 11 touchdown passes and no interceptions during the postseason and led the Ravens to a Super Bowl win over San Francisco.

 

     That probably helped him in negotiations, but Flacco says, "I think I'm an asset to this team. ... The fact that we won the Super Bowl just comes with that. If we didn't win the Super Bowl this year, I still think I'm worth the same."