NBA: Cavaliers, Nets resume series in New Jersey

(Sports Network) - The sixth-seeded New Jersey Nets try avoid losing the first three games of their Eastern Conference semifinals series with the second-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, as the clubs meet today at Continental Airlines Arena.

Game 4 of this best-of-seven series is scheduled for Monday at Continental Airlines Arena.

Cleveland took care of business in Games 1 and 2 at Quicken Loans Arena. In the opener, LeBron James finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as the Cavaliers picked up an 81-77 win over New Jersey.

Nascar: Bowyer on point for Dodge Avenger 500

Darlington, SC (Sports Network) - Clint Bowyer won the pole for Saturday night's Dodge Avenger 500 at the Darlington Raceway. The No.07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driver circled the 1.366-mile speedway in 29.806 seconds (164.987 m.p.h.). The pole victory was the first of Bowyer's 47-race Nextel Cup career. Starting alongside Bowyer will be Greg Biffle who posted a second-best 29.826 seconds around the "Track Too Tough To Tame."
Jamie McMurray (29.907) and Carl Edwards (29.928) will make up row two.

Golf: Mickelson leads Players; Woods barely makes cut

Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sports Network) - Phil Mickelson used an eagle at the 16th hole Friday to shoot an even-par 72 and remain atop the leaderboard after two rounds of The Players Championship.

Mickelson finished the day where he started, at five-under par as he tries to win this championship for the first time. With a 36-hole score of 139, he is one shot ahead of Australian Nathan Green, who shot a three-under 69 on Friday.

NFL: Eagles release veteran DT Rayburn

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The Philadelphia Eagles released veteran defensive tackle Sam Rayburn on Friday.Rayburn originally signed with the club as a rookie free agent out of Tulsa and spent his first four NFL seasons in Philadelphia, recording 101 tackles and nine sacks in 52 games.Rayburn was made expendable after Philadelphia signed a pair of defensive tackles in free agency, Montae Reagor and Ian Scott.

Soccer: Stuttgart claims top spot as Schalke falls to Dortmund

Bochum, Germany (Sports Network) - Stuttgart moved into the top spot in the Bundesliga standings on Saturday with a 3-2 comeback win over Bochum at Ruhrstadion.
The club entered the day trailing Schalke by a point, but the Gelsenkirchen outfit dropped a 2-0 decision to Dortmund, putting Stuttgart in position to win its first league title since the 1991-92 campaign.

Red Wings, Ducks begin West finals in Motown

(Sports Network) - The Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks begin the Western Conference finals this evening in the Motor City, as the Red Wings host Game 1 of the best-of-seven set at Joe Louis Arena.
This series pits the top-seeded Red Wings against No. 2 Anaheim, making it the first Western Conference finals to feature the top-two seeds since Detroit and Colorado battled each other in 2002. The Red Wings beat the Avalanche in that series five years ago and went on to win the Stanley Cup.

White Sox open homestand with Royal visit

(Sports Network) - The Chicago White Sox target their third straight win this evening, when they open a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals at U.S. Cellular Field.
The White Sox got a splendid outing from Cuban right-hander Jose Contreras on Thursday, as he tossed the second shutout of his career in a 3-0 win over the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome.
Contreras (3-3) allowed just five hits with a walk and four strikeouts for the White Sox, who have won four of their last five games.

Tennis: Nadal wins again, ties McEnroe's surface record

Rome, Italy (Sports Network) - Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal extended his clay-court winning streak to 75 matches on Friday at the Italian Masters, and in the process he equaled John McEnroe's record for the longest-ever winning streak on one surface.
A second-seeded Nadal, seeking his third straight title at this clay-court French Open tune-up, blew past high-quality Serbian Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-3 at Foro Italico. The fifth-seeded Djokovic was fresh off his title last week in Portugal and captured a Masters Series event in Miami early last month. The rising Serb also lost to Nadal in a Masters Series finale at Indian Wells back in March, but avenged that setback by tackling Nadal in a quarterfinal in Miami.

Boxing: Former boxing champ Corrales killed in accident

Las Vegas, NV (Sports Network) - Former boxing champion Diego "Chico" Corrales died Monday in a motorcycle accident. He was 29 years old.
"He always cared about the fans and gave them their money's worth," promoter Gary Shaw said on his website. "He was a true warrior. He was what boxing stood for, and what boxing is all about."
Corrales died two years to the day after one of the greatest fights in recent memory. On May 7, 2005, he posted a 10th-round TKO of Jose Luis Castillo at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for the WBC lightweight title.