- Associated Press - Monday, April 7, 2014

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

The NCAA championship games are set.

Kentucky will take on Connecticut for the men’s title on Monday night and Notre Dame and Connecticut square off in a matchup of unbeaten teams in the women’s final on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats (29-10) gained the men’s championship on another late 3-pointer, advancing when Aaron Harrison hit a 3 with 5.7 seconds left to lift Kentucky to a 74-73 win over Wisconsin at Arlington, Texas, on Saturday night. The Huskies (31-8) stymied No. 1 seeded Florida in the early game, getting 20 points and 10 rebounds from DeAndre Daniels to snap the Gators’ 30-game winning streak with a 63-53 victory.

Notre Dame’s women had little trouble with Maryland in the first semifinal Sunday night, beating the Terrapins 87-61 behind 28 points from Kayla McBride at Nashville Tenn. In the second game, Breanna Stewart scored 18 points to help UConn pull away in the second half for a 75-56 win over Stanford. The Huskies (39-0) are going for an unprecedented ninth national championship against the Fighting Irish (37-0).

PRO BASKETBALL

PHOENIX (AP) - Kevin Durant scored 38 points, surpassing Michael Jordan with his 41st consecutive game of 25 or more in the Thunder’s 122-115 loss to the Suns on Sunday night.

Durant has the third-longest such streak in NBA history and longest since Oscar Robertson did it for 46 in a row in the 1963-64 season. Wilt Chamberlain did it in all 80 regular-season games in the 1961-62 season.

MEDINA, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota Timberwolves forward Dante Cunningham was arrested Sunday for the second time in less than a week, booked for suspicion of making terrorist threats just days after being charged with felony domestic assault for an incident involving his girlfriend.

Medina police Officer Chris McGill confirmed Cunningham’s latest arrest but declined to go into detail about the allegations, saying police would release more information Monday.

NCAA

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - The NCAA president called an effort to unionize players a “grossly inappropriate” way to solve problems in college sports while insisting schools have been working to get athletes more involved in decisions that impact them.

At his news conference Sunday, NCAA president Mark Emmert said the association was in no rush to come up with plans in case college players’ unions sprout up across the nation. He portrayed the recent decision in favor of Northwestern players who seek to unionize as a very early step.

SOCCER

CHICAGO (AP) - U.S. Soccer fired coach Tom Sermanni hours after he was on the sideline for a 2-0 win against China on Sunday.

Sermanni took over the women’s program in January 2013. He previously spent eight years coaching Australia’s women’s team.

He helped the U.S. to a 13-0-3 record last season, but the Americans struggled at the Algarve Cup last month. They went 1-2-1 to finish an uncharacteristic seventh.

BASEBALL

TORONTO (AP) - Derek Jeter took over sole possession of eighth place on baseball’s career hits list with fourth-inning single, his second hit against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

The veteran shortstop grounded a one-out hit into right field, chasing Blue Jays starter Drew Hutchison.

It was the 3,320th hit of Jeter’s career, moving him past Hall of Famer Paul Molitor. Next on the list is Carl Yastrzemski, with 3,419.

NEW YORK (AP) - New York Mets closer Bobby Parnell will have Tommy John surgery and is out for the season.

The Mets made the announcement Sunday night.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Pirates signed general manager Neal Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle through the 2017 season on Sunday, with a club option for 2018.

GOLF

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) - Lexi Thompson left Michelle Wie behind Sunday - off the tee and on the leaderboard in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

The 19-year-old Thompson beat Wie into Poppie’s Pond, too, capping the breakthrough major victory with the traditional victory leap into the water near the 18th green. “It’s just a dream come true,” Thompson said.

Thompson closed with a bogey-free 4-under 68 for a three-stroke victory. She birdied four of the first nine holes to open a five-stroke lead and parred the final nine.

HUMBLE, Texas (AP) - Matt Jones earned his first trip to the Masters with a remarkable 42-yard chip-in on the first playoff hole, outdueling Matt Kuchar on his way to winning the Houston Open on Sunday.

The win is the first on the PGA Tour for the Australian, who made a 46-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to reach the playoff. He ended it one hole later, chipping over the right front bunker on the 18th.

Kuchar, who bogeyed the final hole of regulation, then missed his bunker shot to give Jones the win, nearly $1.2 million and a trip to Augusta National.

AUTO RACING

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - The Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway was postponed by rain.

It will be run Monday at 11 a.m., nine hours before the start of the NCAA national championship game in nearby Arlington.

SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) - Lewis Hamilton edged Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg after an intense race-long duel to take the victory by just one second at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.

PRO FOOTBALL

CLEVELAND (AP) - The Browns agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent wide receiver Nate Burleson.

A 12-year pro, Burleson has made 103 career starts. He finished last season with 39 catches for 461 yards for Detroit but missed half the year after breaking his arm in a car accident when he tried to stop a pizza from sliding off the passenger seat.

He spent four seasons with the Lions, who released him in February.

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