Associated Press
FRISCO, Texas ó Graham Zusi has been a member of Maryland’s two NCAA men’s soccer championship teams in the past four years. The latest one was the sweetest.
Zusi’s second-half goal gave second-seeded Maryland a 1-0 victory over 13th-seeded North Carolina in the NCAA College Cup championship game Sunday.
Maryland (23-3-0) took the title in 2005 when Zusi was a freshman who contributed off the bench. This time, Zusi was one of the Terps’ senior leaders.
Maryland beat North Carolina (15-8-1) for the third time in as many meetings this season in the first all-ACC final in the 50-year history of the NCAA men’s soccer tournament. The Terrapins are 7-0-1 against North Carolina in the last eight matchups, with the Tar Heels last beating Maryland in October 2003.
FIRED
PHILADELPHIA ó Maurice Cheeks was fired Saturday as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, who are slumping at 9-14 a year after making the playoffs. Assistant general manager Tony DiLeo was appointed coach for rest of the season.
Cheeks became the fifth NBA coach fired this season.
O.J.
NEW YORK ó O.J. Simpson’s portrait hangs in the Heisman Trophy exhibit at the new Sports Museum of America.
He’s a member of the college and professional football halls of fame, his jersey number has been retired by the University of Southern California and he is featured on the Buffalo Bills’ Wall of Fame.
Many of the honors bestowed Simpson for being one of the greatest running backs in history are likely to remain in place, even as he serves a prison sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping.
Simpson was convicted earlier this month in Las Vegas. That came 13 years after he was acquitted in the slaying of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. Simpson was later found liable for their deaths in a civil trial.
Simpson’s status as a Hall of Famer was unaffected by those legal issues.
Now that he is a convicted felon, the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame plans to review his status and determine what to do with the Simpson memorabilia displayed at the museum in South Bend, Ind., NFF president Steve Hatchell recently said.
“We will review it, but there are no plans to take him out of the hall,” Hatchell said. “It’s a big wrestling match because he was put in for what he did as a football player at Southern Cal.”
COLLEGE HOOPS
PHOENIX ó Nic Wise scored 21 points, including three free throws in the final 31 seconds, and Arizona upset No. 4 Gonzaga 69-64 on Sunday.
Jordan Hill added 22 points and Chase Budinger had 14 for the Wildcats (7-2), who beat a team ranked in the top four for the first time since Nov. 8, 2001, when they beat No. 2 Maryland.
The Wildcats, who led most of the game, outscored Gonzaga 7-2 over the last 2:25, with Hill and Wise scoring all their points.
Austin Daye had 22 points and Matt Bouldin added 14 for the Bulldogs (7-1).
No. 15 Villanova 70, La Salle 59
PHILADELPHIA ó Corey Stokes scored 18 points and Scottie Reynolds had 13 to lead the Wildcats (10-1). Stokes and Reynolds went a combined 7-for-12 from 3-point range.
No. 20 Arizona St. 59, IUPUI 58, OT
PHOENIX ó Jeff Pendergraph and Derek Glasser scored all of Arizona State’s four points in overtime, and the Sun Devils (8-1) rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit.
NHL
CHICAGO ó Cristobal Huet made 31 saves, and Martin Havlat scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to their fourth straight victory, 3-1 over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Fredrik Modin scored for Columbus, and Steve Mason finished with 28 saves.