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Monday, April 8, 2013

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Sports
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PGA Tour
Laird ties course record

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College Baseball .... 2B

MLB .... 3B

Tennis .... 4B

NASCAR .... 5B

Classifieds .... 6B

Hunter-Reay holds off Dixon

The Associated Press

Indy Car In Alabama

BIRMINGHAM Andretti Autosport remained perfect on the year Sunday when defending IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay snapped Penske Racings winning streak at Barber Motorsports Park. Hunter-Reay proved to be a credible threat for the victory when he beat both Will Power and Helio Castroneves for the pole. The Penske drivers had swept every pole and all three races in IndyCars previous visits to the Alabama road course. Hunter-Reay then ran a steady race, and held strong in one intense battle for posi-

tion with both Penske drivers, to claim his first win of the season. Then he had to hold off Scott Dixon, who finished second for the fourth consecutive year. I was dragging my tail off trying to hold off Dixon, HunterReay said. Castroneves was third to take over the IndyCar points lead, and Charlie Kimball, Dixons teammate at Chip Ganassi Racing, was a career-best fourth. Power was fifth. AJ Allmendinger ran seventh for most of his IndyCar debut but finished 20th after stalling his car during his final pit stop. But he was praised repeatedly

by team owner Roger Penske, even after the mistake in the pits. Finish this and just learn, learn, learn. You are doing fine, Penske radioed Allmendinger. It was a huge turnaround for Hunter-Reay, whose previous best finish at Barber was 12th and he opened the season with an 18th-place finish at St. Pete in a race plagued by mechanical problems. But he left with his 10th career victory, and put the No. 1 car into Victory Lane at an IndyCar race for the first time since Sebastien Bourdais tHE assOcIatED PrEss won at Mexico City in 2007. Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay poses by his car before before qualifying for Sundays IndCay Grand Prix of Alabama, at Barber Motorsports Park in See INDY, Page 5B Birmingham.

ESCAPING SHADOWS
Louisville, Michigan shine in Final Four
The Associated Press

NCAA CHaMPiOnSHiP

ATLANTA The hoops teams at Louisville and Michigan are used to being overlooked. The Cardinals may be a national powerhouse, but theyre still considered second ddle in their own state. The Kentucky Wildcats are the blue bloods of the bluegrass, while Louisville settles for being viewed as more of a blue-collar school. The Michigan basketball team knows what thats like. Football rules on the Wolverines campus rightly so, said Tim Hardaway Jr., given that programs long, storied history. We still have a ways to go, said Hardaway, Michigans junior guard. Football has a lot more national championships than we do. Well, its kind of hard to overlook either team now. Louisville and Michigan will meet Monday night in the NCAA championship game. The Cardinals (34-5) have lived up to their billing as the tournaments top overall seed,

blowing through their rst four opponents before rallying from a dozen points down in the second half to beat surprising Wichita State 72-68 in the national seminals. Its been quite a run for the Louisville athletic program, in general. The womens basketball team also reached the Final Four, while the football team won a Big East title and stunned Florida in the Sugar Bowl. All the while, theyre battling with Kentucky for the states affections. Were not a whos who like Harvard and Yale in the alumni world, coach Rick Pitino said Sunday. Were a blue-collar school that supports each other. One of the coolest places Ive ever worked. Pitino should know. He also worked at Kentucky, leading the Wildcats to a national title in 1996. Now, hes got a chance to become the rst coach to win championships at two schools.

See SHADOWS, Page 4B

Louisvilles Montrezl Harrell answers questions in the locker room before practice last weekend in Atlanta. Louisville plays Michigan in the championship game today.

tHE assOcIatED PrEss

Cards notch another upset against Cal

The Associated Press

Womens Final F our

Stewart and UConn beat Notre Dame

The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS Make that three straight upsets for Louisville, who used the latest thriller to head back to the womens national championship game for the first time since 2009. Antonita Slaughter scored 18 points on six 3-pointers and Louisville clawed back from a 10point halftime deficit to defeat California 64-57 in the national semifinals Sunday. Bria Smith scored 17 on 6 of 7 shooting for the Cardinals (298), who were a No. 5 seed and became the first team seeded worse than fourth

to win a Final Four game. The result ensures an all-Big East Conference final in the leagues last season in its current form, with Louisville meeting Connecticut on Tuesday night one night after the Louisville mens team plays Michigan for the championship. Right now anything can happen, Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. Why not us? Layshia Clarendon scored 17 for Cal (32-4), which had won the Spokane Region as a second seed. Gennifer Brandon tHE assOcIatED PrEss added 12 for the Golden Louisville guard Bria Smith (21) shoots against California Bears and Brittany Boyd guard Brittany Boyd (right) in the second half of Sundays Final Four game in New Orleans. added 10 points.

NEW ORLEANS Breanna Stewart put on quite a show to help UConn nally vanquish Notre Dame. The stellar freshman scored a career-high 29 points to go with four blocks, leading the Huskies to the national championship game with an 83-65 win over Notre Dame on Sunday night. The Huskies will face Louisville in the championship game Tuesday night in an all-Big East nal after the Cardinals rallied to beat California 64-57 in the other NCAA seminal. UConn will be going for its eighth na-

tional championship to match Tennessee for the most in womens basketball history. No team has dominated Geno Auriemmas Huskies the way that the Irish had over the past few seasons. UConn (34-4) had lost the previous two national seminals to the Irish and dropped three thrilling games this season to their rival. Stewart and her teammates wouldnt let it happen again, ending the brilliant career of Notre Dame guard Skylar Diggins. She nished her last college game with 10 points, going a dismal 3 for 15 from the eld.