Top-25 College Basketball

The curtain was lowered on the rivalry between Connecticut and Syracuse as Big
East  mates  Wednesday night,  and the  Huskies extended the  road woes of the
outgoing sixth-ranked Orange with a 66-58 win at the XL Center. Ryan Boatright
scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Huskies (17-6, 7-4 Big East), who
got  15 points and six rebounds from Omar Calhoun. Michael Carter-Williams had
15  points for Syracuse (20-4, 8-3), which has lost three straight on the road
for the first time since dropping five in a row from Jan. 14-Feb. 11, 2009.

Elsewhere in the Top-25:

(1) Indiana 76, Nebraska 47
(2) Duke 73, North Carolina 68
(3) Miami-Florida 74, Florida State 68
Charlotte 71, (11) Butler 67
(17) Oklahoma State 91, Texas Tech 67
(19) New Mexico 54, Fresno State 48
(21) Notre Dame 82, DePaul 78 (OT)
(22) Memphis 93, UCF 71
(23) Oregon 65, Washington 52
(24) Colorado State 66, San Diego State 60

National Basketball Association

San  Antonio finally  got its "Big Three"  back on the floor, but it was Kawhi
Leonard  who stole  the show on Wednesday. Leonard buried a go-ahead 3-pointer
with 2.9 seconds left off a nice feed from Tony Parker to lift the San Antonio
Spurs to a 96-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.

Elsewhere in the NBA:

Indiana Pacers 101, Charlotte Bobcats 77
Atlanta Hawks 108, Orlando Magic 76
Boston Celtics 71, Chicago Bulls 69
Brooklyn Nets 119, Denver Nuggets 108
Detroit Pistons 96, Washington Wizards 85
Toronto Raptors 92, New York Knicks 88
Milwaukee Bucks 94, Philadelphia 76ers 92
Utah Jazz 97, Minnesota Timberwolves 93
New Orleans Hornets 99, Portland Trail Blazers 63
Dallas Mavericks 123, Sacramento Kings 100
Los Angeles Clippers 106, Houston Rockets 96

National Hockey League

James  Neal scored twice and added an assist as the Pittsburgh Penguins posted
a  4-2  win over the  Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.  Not only did the Senators
lose the game, they also lost defenseman Erik Karlsson to injury. The reigning
Norris  Trophy winner  will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a cut to
his left Achilles tendon.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

St. Louis Blues 4, Detroit Red Wings 3 (OT)
Calgary Flames 7, Dallas Stars 4

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Kentucky  forward  Nerlens Noel  will miss  the remainder  of the season after
suffering a torn ACL in his left knee. Noel was hurt during the second half of
Tuesday's  game at  Florida  and x-rays  were  negative, but  an  MRI exam  on
Wednesday  revealed the  severity of  the  injury. According  to the  school's
medical  staff, surgery  will be performed within the next 2-to-3 weeks with a
timetable  for  recovery expected  to be  6-to-8 months.  Noel was leading the
nation  in blocks with 106 and blocks per game with 4.4. He was also averaging
10.5 points and was second in the SEC in rebounding with 9.5 boards per game.

NBA

Orlando  Magic  forward Hedo  Turkoglu has  been suspended  without pay for 20
games  for  violating the terms  of the  NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program by testing
positive  for methenolone, the league announced on Wednesday. Methenolone is a
long-acting  anabolic steroid.  Turkoglu's suspension  began Wednesday  night,
when  the Magic lost to the visiting Atlanta Hawks. Over 11 games this season,
the  13-year  pro averaged just  2.9 points, 2.1  assists and 2.4 rebounds per
game.

NFL

After  orchestrating one  of  the  largest turnarounds  of  this past  season,
Minnesota  Vikings  head coach Leslie Frazier  had his contract option for the
2014  campaign  exercised by  the organization on  Wednesday. After going just
3-13  in  his first full year  at the helm, Frazier  -- with help from a near-
historic  performance  from eventual league  MVP Adrian Peterson -- guided the
Vikings to a 10-6 record and a surprise berth in the NFC Playoffs in 2012. The
seven-win  improvement was  the  largest  over a  one-year  span in  franchise
history.  For  those efforts, Frazier tied  for third in balloting for the NFL
Coach of the Year Award.

NHL

Ottawa  Senators  defenseman Erik  Karlsson  will  be out  indefinitely  after
suffering a cut to his left Achilles tendon during Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the
Pittsburgh  Penguins. Late in the second period, Karlsson, the reigning Norris
Trophy  winner, and Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke met along the boards while chasing
down  a puck, and  Cooke's left skate appeared to graze Karlsson near the left
ankle.  Karlsson  had to  be helped off  the ice  as he was  unable to put any
pressure on his left leg.

The Columbus Blue Jackets moved quickly to replace fired general manager Scott
Howson,  naming Jarmo  Kekalainen to the post on Wednesday. Howson, who was in
his sixth season as Jackets GM, was fired Tuesday with the club off to another
dismal  start, tied for  12th in the Western Conference with a record of 4-7-2
and  10  points. Kekalainen, a native  of Finland who worked with Blue Jackets
president John Davidson at St. Louis, is the first European general manager in
NHL  history. Kekalainen  spent  eight  seasons with  the  Blues as  assistant
general  manager  and director  of amateur  scouting, and  had been serving as
general manager of Jokerit in the Finnish Elite League since 2010.

BASEBALL

The  Cleveland  Indians made it  official Wednesday and signed pitcher Daisuke
Matsuzaka  to  a minor league contract  with an invitation to spring training.
Financial  terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a Cleveland newspaper had
reported  it to be worth $1.5 million if he makes the rotation with incentives
that  could bring  the total package to $4 million. Matsuzaka will be reunited
with  new Indians manager Terry Francona, who was his skipper for five seasons
with  the  Boston Red Sox.  The 32-year-old  right-hander spent six seasons in
Boston  and made  11 starts last year after recovering from Tommy John surgery
performed  in June  2011. Matsuzaka  was one  of Boston's  prized acquisitions
prior  to the 2007  season and was 33-15 in 61 starts over his first two years
with  the Red  Sox, but  has made  a total  of 55  starts over  the past  four
seasons.