Wednesday’s Top 25 6. North Carolina (26-4) beat Maryland 88-64. 7. Missouri (26-4) beat Iowa State 78-72. 8. Marquette (24-6) lost to Cincinnati 72-61. 10. Ohio State (24-6) beat Northwestern 75-73. 17. UNLV (24-6) at Colorado State. 19. Louisville (22-8) lost to South Florida 58-51. 23. Temple (23-6) beat UMass 90-88, OT. SCOREBOARD AUTO RACING NASCAR penalizes Knaus Chad Knaus, Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief, was fined and suspended by NASCAR for a failed inspection of Johnson’s car before qualifying for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17. The car had illegally modified sheet medal between the roof and side windows CONTACT US Page 3B Sports The Paducah Sun | Thursday, March 1, 2012 | paducahsun.com Section B COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Mid-Continent rebounds from 1-11 start to win TSAC’s 2nd seed. | 2B Sports................... 575-8665 [email protected]Steve Millizer ......... 575-8663 [email protected]Joey Fosko ............ 575-8661 [email protected]Dusty Luthy Shull ...575-8662 [email protected]LOUISVILLE — The loss stung Louisville seniors Chris Smith, Kyle Kuric and Jared Swopshire. The offi- ciating chapped coach Rick Pitino. And the 19th-ranked Cardinals will once again need to prove they can win a grinding, offensive game. Kuric and Smith scored 14 points each, but South Florida ruined the Cardi- nals’ senior night with a 58-51 victory Wednesday night that gives the Bulls the signature win they have desperately sought for their NCAA tournament resume. “It was a tough loss,” Pi- tino said. “They were the better basketball team to- night in that style. They’re bigger, stronger; you got to give them credit. They’ve been waiting a long time to get into the tournament.” Jawanza Poland led South Florida (19-11, 12-5 Big East) with 16 points, and with the game tied at 41, both sides scrapped through an ugly sequence. Louisville’s Russ Smith missed a 3-pointer long on a 4-on-3 break, the Bulls snagged the rebound and had a 3-on-2 advantage, but Hugh Robertson missed a follow-up dunk that had coach Stan Heath putting his hands on his head in disbelief. He would start smiling soon enough. Augustus Gilchrist scored, Robertson made an acrobatic play off a miss by Gilchrist by bouncing it off the backboard and putting it back in to give the Bulls Louisville stumbles at home BY COLIN FLY Associated Press MURRAY — Isaiah Canaan’s open 3-point shots are becoming increasingly more limited as de- fenders increase their harassment of the Murray State junior point guard. The solution, it seems, has been to start shooting from the parking lots of arenas of the Ohio Valley Conference. In Murray State’s win at Tennessee Tech, Canaan start- ed a go-ahead run with a deep three at the top of the key, nearly touching the half-court logo. “As long as I know what’s a good shot and what’s a bad shot, our coaches trust in us,” Canaan said, “and I try to do the best I can to take the best shot and the right shot.” Canaan has proven he can shoot from anywhere on the court, and is one of the nation’s leaders in 3-point shots. He ranks seventh in the nation with 3.2 threes a game, and his 48.4 percent average is good for third in the nation. As a team, the No. 14 Racers’ sharp-shooting ability rises to the top, making 7.6 threes a game, good for 41.5 percent from the field, which is fourth-best in the nation. They’re also one of the best defenders against the three, holding opponents to 29.7 per- cent from behind the arc, which is good for 19th in the nation. Racer senior Donte Poole, who is second on the team in three pointers, hitting 61 of his 153 at- tempts, has also been hitting some deep threes. “Throughout the course of the game you just get in a rhythm and No three appears too far away for Racers BY DUSTY LUTHY SHULL [email protected]Please see TREY | 3B Please see CARDS | 2B MADISONVILLE — Lyon County, especially senior for- ward Warron Sutton, proved Wednesday night it could keep up with a perennial Second Re- gion power such as Madison- ville. At least for three quarters, anyway. Once the fourth quarter be- gan, the Lyons had run out of gas and the Maroons had just enough left in their tanks to pull away for the 52-34 win in the opening game of the Second Region boys basketball tourna- ment. Madisonville will face Chris- tian County in Monday’s first semifinal at 6. The Colonels downed Webster County 74-62 in Wednesday’s second quar- terfinal. Lyon coach Jeff Embrey was pleased with his team’s effort but knew it was facing an uphill battle where benches were con- cerned. “That’s a talented basketball team,” Embrey said afterward regarding Madisonville. “What hurts us against them is our depth. They can run 12 guys at us, and we have seven or eight that we’re trying to shuffle in and out. In the fourth, our legs wore out and our shots became short. I’m proud of our kids.” Early on, Lyon gave its coach and fans plenty to be happy about. Andrew Brazell hit a lay- up for the first two points of the game. It would be the lone basket Brazell would hit. Sut- ton and Jericho Wilkerson each added a field goal to make it 7-6 Maroons midway through the first. After missing several long distance shots early on, Madi- sonville eventually found its groove. Jawan Combs and Tray Carr both hit from downtown to put the Maroons up 12-6. Sut- ton made the first of three treys to cut it to 12-9. After some back-and-forth free throws, the first quarter ended with Madi- sonville ahead 18-11. The Lyons got to within six at the half with Sutton scoring eight points in the second quar- ter. After Combs scored nine points in the first quarter, he Maroons outlast Lyons BY JON FUTRELL [email protected]Please see LYON | 3B MURRAY — Lone Oak’s game plan made plenty of sense. Force Fulton City to play an up-tempo game, wearing down a team with a painfully thin bench, and po- tentially get a key player or two in foul trouble. The Purple Flash managed to do some of that, but it forgot to hit a few shots along the way, and tiny Fulton City — the smallest public school in the First Region — notched only its second region- al tournament win in 49 years. Led by ironmen Khalil Frame, Jordan Miller and foul-plagued point guard Vance Maze, the Bull- dogs ripped Lone Oak 58-45 on Wednesday night at Murray State University’s CFSB Center, set- ting up a David vs. Goliath match in Monday night’s semifinals with defending champion Mar- shall County, the region’s biggest school with about 10 times Fulton City’s enrollment. Fulton City coach Jimmy Long Fulton outlasts frosty Lone Oak BY JOEY FOSKO [email protected]Please see BULLDOGS | 3B MURRAY — For all the talk about Marshall County’s suf- focating, physical defense, the balanced scoring and the four- guard lineup that causes a flock of matchup problems, point guard Cole Nelson succinctly described what makes the Marshals tick. “When we’re getting defensive stops and running,” Nelson said, “we’re at our best. That’s our game.” The Marshals put it on display in Wednesday night’s First Re- gion quarterfinals at Murray State University’s CFSB Center, notch- ing their 30th win of the season with a 59-36 blowout of archri- val Graves County and earning a date in Monday’s semifinals with Fulton City, a 58-45 winner over Lone Oak. A pair of transition baskets in a third-quarter run illustrated Nelson’s point. Less than two minutes into the half, Chase York picked off a pass and turned up- court but lost his footing as he crossed midcourt. With a couple of Graves defenders converging on the loose ball, York lunged for the ball and slapped it back to the middle of the floor to Nelson, who had an easy layup that put Mar- shall ahead 30-20. “That isn’t how we normally do it,” York cracked, “but it showed how focused we were for this game.” Less than two minutes later, a Chase Clark steal and nifty be- hind-the-back pass to Nelson for a layup and three-point play put the lead in double digits for good. “I would probably get yelled at for that pass if it didn’t work,” Clark said with a smile. “But it worked. We had wanted Graves again ever since they beat us the last time we played them, and we came out with a lot of intensity.” The Marshals’ halfcourt de- fense did the rest, forcing Graves Marshals smother Eagles with defense BY JOEY FOSKO [email protected]Please see MARSHALL | 3B JOHN WRIGHT | The Sun Khalil Frame of Fulton City (44) loses the handle on the ball against defensive pressure from Lone Oak players Lucas Englert (24) and Zach Perry on Wednesday night at Murray. “When we’re getting defensive stops and running, we’re at our best. That’s our game.” Cole Nelsom Marshall County
Transcript
Wednesday’s Top 256. North Carolina (26-4) beat
Maryland 88-64.7. Missouri (26-4) beat Iowa
State 78-72.8. Marquette (24-6) lost to
Cincinnati 72-61.10. Ohio State (24-6) beat
Northwestern 75-73.
17. UNLV (24-6) at Colorado State.
19. Louisville (22-8) lost to South Florida 58-51.
23. Temple (23-6) beat UMass 90-88, OT.
SCOREBOARD AUTO RACINGNASCAR penalizes Knaus
Chad Knaus, Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief, was fined and suspended by NASCAR for a failed inspection of Johnson’s car before qualifying for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17. The car had illegally modified sheet medal between the roof and side windows
CONTACT US
Page 3B
SportsThe Paducah Sun | Thursday, March 1, 2012 | paducahsun.com Section B
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Mid-Continent rebounds from 1-11 start to win TSAC’s 2nd seed. | 2B
LOUISVILLE — The loss stung Louisville seniors Chris Smith, Kyle Kuric and Jared Swopshire. The offi -ciating chapped coach Rick Pitino. And the 19th-ranked Cardinals will once again need to prove they can win a grinding, offensive game.
Kuric and Smith scored 14 points each, but South Florida ruined the Cardi-nals’ senior night with a 58-51 victory Wednesday night that gives the Bulls the signature win they have
desperately sought for their NCAA tournament resume.
“It was a tough loss,” Pi-tino said. “They were the better basketball team to-night in that style. They’re bigger, stronger; you got to give them credit. They’ve been waiting a long time to get into the tournament.”
Jawanza Poland led South Florida (19-11, 12-5 Big East) with 16 points, and with the game tied at 41, both sides scrapped through an ugly sequence.
Louisville’s Russ Smith missed a 3-pointer long on
a 4-on-3 break, the Bulls snagged the rebound and had a 3-on-2 advantage, but Hugh Robertson missed a follow-up dunk that had coach Stan Heath putting his hands on his head in disbelief.
He would start smiling soon enough.
Augustus Gilchrist scored, Robertson made an acrobatic play off a miss by Gilchrist by bouncing it off the backboard and putting it back in to give the Bulls
Louisville stumbles at homeBY COLIN FLYAssociated Press
MURRAY — Isaiah Canaan’s open 3-point shots are becoming increasingly more limited as de-fenders increase their harassment of the Murray State junior point guard.
The solution, it seems, has been to start shooting from the parking lots of arenas of the Ohio Valley Conference. In Murray State’s win
at Tennessee Tech, Canaan start-ed a go-ahead run with a deep three at the top of the key, nearly touching the half-court logo.
“As long as I know what’s a good shot and what’s a bad shot, our coaches trust in us,” Canaan said, “and I try to do the best I can to take the best shot and the right shot.”
Canaan has proven he can shoot from anywhere on the court, and
is one of the nation’s leaders in 3-point shots. He ranks seventh in the nation with 3.2 threes a game, and his 48.4 percent average is good for third in the nation.
As a team, the No. 14 Racers’ sharp-shooting ability rises to the top, making 7.6 threes a game, good for 41.5 percent from the fi eld, which is fourth-best in the nation. They’re also one of the best defenders against the three,
holding opponents to 29.7 per-cent from behind the arc, which is good for 19th in the nation.
Racer senior Donte Poole, who is second on the team in three pointers, hitting 61 of his 153 at-tempts, has also been hitting some deep threes.
“Throughout the course of the game you just get in a rhythm and
No three appears too far away for RacersBY DUSTY LUTHY SHULL
MADISONVILLE — Lyon County, especially senior for-ward Warron Sutton, proved Wednesday night it could keep up with a perennial Second Re-gion power such as Madison-ville. At least for three quarters, anyway.
Once the fourth quarter be-gan, the Lyons had run out of gas and the Maroons had just enough left in their tanks to pull away for the 52-34 win in the opening game of the Second Region boys basketball tourna-ment.
Madisonville will face Chris-tian County in Monday’s fi rst semifi nal at 6. The Colonels downed Webster County 74-62 in Wednesday’s second quar-terfi nal.
Lyon coach Jeff Embrey was pleased with his team’s effort but knew it was facing an uphill battle where benches were con-cerned.
“That’s a talented basketball team,” Embrey said afterward regarding Madisonville. “What hurts us against them is our depth. They can run 12 guys at us, and we have seven or eight that we’re trying to shuffl e in and out. In the fourth, our legs wore out and our shots became short. I’m proud of our kids.”
Early on, Lyon gave its coach and fans plenty to be happy about. Andrew Brazell hit a lay-up for the fi rst two points of the game. It would be the lone basket Brazell would hit. Sut-ton and Jericho Wilkerson each added a fi eld goal to make it 7-6 Maroons midway through the fi rst.
After missing several long distance shots early on, Madi-sonville eventually found its groove. Jawan Combs and Tray Carr both hit from downtown to put the Maroons up 12-6. Sut-ton made the fi rst of three treys to cut it to 12-9. After some back-and-forth free throws, the fi rst quarter ended with Madi-sonville ahead 18-11.
The Lyons got to within six at the half with Sutton scoring eight points in the second quar-ter. After Combs scored nine points in the fi rst quarter, he
MURRAY — Lone Oak’s game plan made plenty of sense. Force Fulton City to play an up-tempo game, wearing down a team with a painfully thin bench, and po-tentially get a key player or two in foul trouble.
The Purple Flash managed to do some of that, but it forgot to hit a few shots along the way, and tiny Fulton City — the smallest public school in the First Region — notched only its second region-al tournament win in 49 years.
Led by ironmen Khalil Frame, Jordan Miller and foul-plagued point guard Vance Maze, the Bull-dogs ripped Lone Oak 58-45 on Wednesday night at Murray State University’s CFSB Center, set-ting up a David vs. Goliath match in Monday night’s semifi nals with defending champion Mar-shall County, the region’s biggest school with about 10 times Fulton City’s enrollment.
MURRAY — For all the talk about Marshall County’s suf-focating, physical defense, the balanced scoring and the four-guard lineup that causes a fl ock of matchup problems, point guard Cole Nelson succinctly described what makes the Marshals tick.
“When we’re getting defensive stops and running,” Nelson said, “we’re at our best. That’s our game.”
The Marshals put it on display in Wednesday night’s First Re-gion quarterfi nals at Murray State
University’s CFSB Center, notch-ing their 30th win of the season with a 59-36 blowout of archri-val Graves County and earning a date in Monday’s semifi nals with Fulton City, a 58-45 winner over
Lone Oak.A pair of transition baskets in
a third-quarter run illustrated Nelson’s point. Less than two minutes into the half, Chase York picked off a pass and turned up-court but lost his footing as he crossed midcourt. With a couple of Graves defenders converging on the loose ball, York lunged for the ball and slapped it back to the middle of the fl oor to Nelson, who had an easy layup that put Mar-shall ahead 30-20.
“That isn’t how we normally do it,” York cracked, “but it showed how focused we were for this
game.”Less than two minutes later,
a Chase Clark steal and nifty be-hind-the-back pass to Nelson for a layup and three-point play put the lead in double digits for good.
“I would probably get yelled at for that pass if it didn’t work,” Clark said with a smile. “But it worked. We had wanted Graves again ever since they beat us the last time we played them, and we came out with a lot of intensity.”
The Marshals’ halfcourt de-fense did the rest, forcing Graves
Khalil Frame of Fulton City (44) loses the handle on the ball against defensive pressure from Lone Oak players Lucas Englert (24) and Zach Perry on Wednesday night at Murray.
“When we’re getting defensive stops and running, we’re at our
best. That’s our game.”
Cole NelsomMarshall County
College basketball
Wednesday men’s scoresEAST
Boston College 56, Georgia Tech 52La Salle 60, George Washington 56Pittsburgh 89, St. John’s 69Rhode Island 78, Fordham 58St. Bonaventure 98, Saint Joseph’s 93, 2OTTemple 90, UMass 88, OT
SOUTHAlabama 55, Auburn 49Duquesne 88, Charlotte 77East Carolina 69, Marshall 68, OTMississippi St. 69, South Carolina 67, OTNorth Carolina 88, Maryland 64Northwestern St. 92, Nicholls St. 61Richmond 82, Dayton 71SE Louisiana 64, McNeese St. 57South Florida 58, Louisville 51Southern Miss. 67, SMU 60UAB 68, Tulsa 64
MIDWESTBall St. 71, Cent. Michigan 52Bowling Green 56, Miami (Ohio) 51Buffalo 74, Akron 70Cincinnati 72, Marquette 61E. Michigan 54, W. Michigan 53Iowa 62, Nebraska 53Kent St. 68, Ohio 61Missouri 78, Iowa St. 72N. Illinois 65, Toledo 61Ohio St. 75, Northwestern 73Purdue 80, Penn St. 56SIU-Edwardsville 81, Chicago St. 70W. Illinois 72, Nebraska-Omaha 51
SOUTHWESTHouston 82, Tulane 53Lamar 81, Texas St. 65Rice 68, UTEP 61Stephen F. Austin 58, Sam Houston St. 47Texas-Arlington 78, Texas A&M-CC 64UTSA 73, Cent. Arkansas 60
WESTNew Mexico 86, Air Force 56
TOURNAMENTAtlantic Sun Conference
First RoundBelmont 76, Jacksonville 62Mercer 61, Lipscomb 53
Big South ConferenceQuarterfi nals
Charleston Southern 88, Liberty 74UNC Asheville 86, High Point 61VMI 85, Coastal Carolina 68Winthrop 71, Campbell 55
Ohio Valley ConferenceFirst Round
SE Missouri 75, E. Kentucky 65Patriot League
First RoundAmerican U. 57, Army 40Bucknell 87, Navy 63Lafayette 84, Holy Cross 76Lehigh 70, Colgate 57
West Coast ConferenceFirst Round
Portland 74, Santa Clara 70
Ohio Valley TourneyAt Municipal Auditorium
Nashville, Tenn.First RoundWednesday
Southeast Missouri State 75, Eastern Ken-tucky 65
Jacksonville State 75, Austin Peay 70Second Round
Thursday
Tennessee Tech vs. Southeast Missouri State, 6 p.m.
Morehead State vs. Jacksonville State, 8 p.m.Semifi nals
Friday, March 2Murray State vs. Tennessee Tech-Southeast
Missouri State winner, 6 p.m.Tennessee State vs. Morehead State-Jack-
sonville State winner, 8 p.m.Championship
Saturday, March 3Semifi nal winners, 1 p.m.
Sun Belt ConferenceAt Hot Springs, Ark.
First RoundSaturday, March 3
Summit ArenaSouth Alabama vs. Troy, 6 p.m.Western Kentucky vs. FIU, 8:30 p.m.Hot Springs Convention CenterFAU vs. Arkansas State, 6:15 p.m.
Quarterfi nalsSunday, March 4
Summit ArenaMiddle Tennessee vs. FAU-Arkansas State
winner, 6 p.m.UALR vs. Western Kentucky-FIU winner, 8:30
p.m.Hot Springs Convention CenterLouisiana-Lafayette vs. North Texas, 6:15
p.m.Denver vs. South Alabama-Troy winner, 8:45
p.m.At Summit Arena
Semifi nalsMonday, March 5
Middle Tennessee–FAU-Arkansas State win-ner vs. Louisiana-Lafayette-North Texas winner, 6 p.m.
UALR–Western Kentucky-FIU winner vs. Den-ver–South Alabama-Troy winner, 8:30 p.m.
ChampionshipTuesday, March 6
Semifi nal winners, 6 p.m.
Women’s scoresEAST
Drexel 73, VCU 63Northeastern 80, Hofstra 62
SOUTHDelaware 79, William & Mary 53James Madison 66, George Mason 54McNeese St. 68, SE Louisiana 53Nicholls St. 86, Northwestern St. 78Old Dominion 65, Towson 50UNC Wilmington 64, Georgia St. 54
MIDWESTIowa St. 57, Kansas St. 33Oklahoma St. 66, Kansas 63
SOUTHWESTCent. Arkansas 62, UTSA 50Lamar 56, Texas St. 50Oklahoma 71, Texas Tech 62Sam Houston St. 70, Stephen F. Austin 55Texas A&M-CC 74, Texas-Arlington 54
TOURNAMENTAtlantic Sun Conference
First RoundFlorida Gulf Coast 79, ETSU 63Stetson 72, SC-Upstate 59
Ohio Valley ConferenceFirst Round
Austin Peay 84, Morehead St. 83, 2OT
E. Kentucky 70, Tennessee St. 55West Coast Conference
First RoundLoyola Marymount 66, San Fran-
cisco 60
Pro basketball
NBA standingsEASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division W L Pct GBPhiladelphia 21 15 .583 —Boston 17 17 .500 3New York 18 18 .500 3Toronto 11 24 .314 9½New Jersey 11 25 .306 10
Central Division W L Pct GBChicago 28 8 .778 —Indiana 22 12 .647 5Milwaukee 14 21 .400 13½Cleveland 13 20 .394 13½Detroit 12 25 .324 16½
WESTERN CONFERENCESouthwest Division
W L Pct GBSan Antonio 24 10 .706 —Dallas 21 15 .583 4Houston 21 15 .583 4Memphis 20 15 .571 4½New Orleans 8 27 .229 16½
Northwest Division W L Pct GBOklahoma City 28 7 .800 —Denver 19 17 .528 9½Portland 18 17 .514 10Minnesota 18 17 .514 10Utah 16 18 .471 11½
Pacifi c Division W L Pct GBL.A. Clippers 20 12 .625 —L.A. Lakers 20 14 .588 1Golden State 14 18 .438 6Phoenix 14 20 .412 7Sacramento 12 22 .353 9
–––Tuesday’s Games
Boston 86, Cleveland 83Indiana 102, Golden State 78Philadelphia 97, Detroit 68Chicago 99, New Orleans 95Houston 88, Toronto 85Milwaukee 119, Washington 118New Jersey 93, Dallas 92Sacramento 103, Utah 96Minnesota 109, L.A. Clippers 97
Wednesday’s GamesOrlando 102, Washington 95Oklahoma City 92, Philadelphia 88Golden State 85, Atlanta 82Boston 102, Milwaukee 96Detroit 109, Charlotte 94New York 120, Cleveland 103Toronto 95, New Orleans 84Memphis 96, Dallas 85Denver 104, Portland 95Utah 104, Houston 83Chicago at San Antonio, (n)Minnesota at L.A. Lakers, (n)
Today’s GamesOklahoma City at Orlando, 7 p.m.Minnesota at Phoenix, 8 p.m.L.A. Clippers at Sacramento, 9 p.m.Miami at Portland, 9:30 p.m.
Friday’s Games
Memphis at Toronto, 6 p.m.Milwaukee at Atlanta, 6:30 p.m.New Jersey at Boston, 6:30 p.m.Chicago at Cleveland, 6:30 p.m.Denver at Houston, 7 p.m.Dallas at New Orleans, 7 p.m.Golden State at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.Charlotte at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.Miami at Utah, 8 p.m.Sacramento at L.A. Lakers, 9:30
p.m.L.A. Clippers at Phoenix, 9:30 p.m.
Hockey
NHL standingsEASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF GAN.Y. Rangers 61 40 15 6 86 169 124Pittsburgh 63 37 21 5 79 202 166Philadelphia 62 34 21 7 75 203 188New Jersey 62 35 23 4 74 172 170N.Y. Islanders 63 26 28 9 61 148 187
Pacifi c Division GP W L OT Pts GF GAPhoenix 63 33 21 9 75 166 156San Jose 62 33 22 7 73 178 159Dallas 64 33 26 5 71 168 175Los Angeles 64 29 23 12 70 138 137Anaheim 63 27 26 10 64 161 178
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.
Tuesday’s GamesPhoenix 2, Vancouver 1, SOOttawa 1, Boston 0Florida 5, Toronto 3Washington 3, N.Y. Islanders 2, OTCarolina 4, Nashville 3Detroit 5, Columbus 2Tampa Bay 2, Montreal 1Los Angeles 4, Minnesota 0San Jose 1, Philadelphia 0
Wednesday’s GamesPittsburgh 4, Dallas 3, SOChicago 5, Toronto 4St. Louis at Edmonton, (n)Buffalo at Anaheim, (n)
Thursday’s Games
New Jersey at Boston, 6 p.m.Minnesota at Montreal, 6 p.m.N.Y. Islanders at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.N.Y. Rangers at Carolina, 6 p.m.Florida at Winnipeg, 7:30 p.m.Columbus at Colorado, 8 p.m.Calgary at Phoenix, 8 p.m.St. Louis at Vancouver, 9 p.m.Buffalo at San Jose, 9:30 p.m.
Friday’s GamesNew Jersey at Washington, 6 p.m.Chicago at Ottawa, 6 p.m.N.Y. Rangers at Tampa Bay, 6:30
p.m.Minnesota at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.Dallas at Edmonton, 8:30 p.m.Calgary at Anaheim, 9 p.m.
Misc.
TransactionsBASEBALL
Major League BaseballMLB–Suspended free agent minor
league LHP Justin Dowdy 50 games after refusing to take a drug test.
National LeagueAgreed to terms with C Bryan An-
derson, RHP Mitchell Boggs, 3B Matt Carpenter, OF Adron Chambers, RHP Maikel Cleto, OF Allen Craig, C Tony Cruz, 2B Daniel Descalso, RHP Bran-don Dickson, RHP Chuckie Fick, LHP Sam Freeman, 3B David Freese, 2B Ty-ler Greene, 1B Mark Hamilton, OF Jon Jay, OF Erik Komatsu, 2B Pete Kozma, RHP Lance Lynn, RHP Adam Ottavino, RHP Adam Reifer, OF Shane Robinson, LHP Marc Rzepczynski, RHP Fernando Salas and RHP Eduardo Sanchez on one-year contracts.
Atlantic LeagueSUGAR LAND SKEETERS–Signed
LHP Tyler Lumsden, LHP Colton Pitkin, RHP Duniesky Flores, RHP Ryan McK-eller, SS Iggy Suarez and C Octavio Martinez.
FOOTBALLCanadian Football League
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS–Re-signed OL Andre Douglas.
HOCKEYNational Hockey League
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING–Assigned F Pierre-Cedric Labrie, F Trevor Smith and D Evan Oberg to Norfolk (AHL). Re-called D Keith Aulie from Norfolk.
American Hockey LeagueBRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS–
Agreed with D Russ Sinkewich.MOTORSPORTS
NASCAR–Fined crew chief Chad Knaus $100,000 and suspended him along with car chief Ron Malec six races apiece because Jimmie John-son’s car failed an inspection before the Daytona 500. Johnson was docked 25 points, leaving him with a negative 23 points.
COLLEGECALDWELL–Named Jan Marco Jiras
men’s tennis coach.NORTHERN ARIZONA–Announced
the resignation of wide receivers coach Francis St. Paul.
RHODE ISLAND–Agreed to terms with director of athletics Thorr D. Bjorn on a three-year contract extension.
THE FINE PRINT
On televisionTODAY
COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN)6 p.m. – Michigan at Illinois (ESPN)6 – Florida State at Virginia (ESPN2)6 – CIAA quarterfi nal (CSS)8 – Georgia at Kentucky (ESPN)8 – Villanova at Rutgers (ESPN2)9:30 – Colorado at Oregon (Sports South)10 – New Mexico State at Nevada (ESPN2)
COLLEGE BASKETBALL (WOMEN)10:30 a.m. – Big Ten: Illinois vs. Michigan (Big Ten)1 p.m. – Big Ten: Northwestern vs. Nebraska (Big
Ten)5 – Big Ten: Wisconsin vs. Minnesota (Big Ten)7:30 – Big Ten: Indiana vs. Michigan State (Big
Ten)PRO BASKETBALL
7 p.m – Oklahoma City at Orlando (TNT)9:30 – Miami at Portland (TNT)
GOLF2 p.m. – PGA: Honda Classic (TGC)
FRIDAYCOLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN)
5 p.m. – Atlantic Sun semifi nal (CSS)6 – OVC semifi nal: Murray State vs. TBA (ESPNU)6 – Akron at Kent State (ESPN2)7:30 – Atlantic Sun semifi nal (CSS)8:30 – OVC semifi nal: (ESPNU)
COLLEGE BASKETBALL (WOMEN)10:30 a.m. – Big Ten quarterfi nal (Big Ten)Noon – SEC quarterfi nal: Kentucky vs. TBA (Sports
South)1 p.m. – Big Ten quarterfi nal (Big Ten)2:30 – SEC quarterfi nal: Tennessee vs. TBA
(Sports South)5 – Big Ten quarterfi nal (Big Ten)6:30 – SEC quarterfi nal: LSU vs. TBA (Sports
South)7:30 – Big Ten quarterfi nal (Big Ten)9 – SEC quarterfi nal: Georgia vs. TBA (Sports
South)PRO BASKETBALL
7 p.m. – Golden State at Philadelphia (ESPN)9:30 – L.A. Clippers at Phoenix (ESPN)
AUTO RACINGNoon – Nationwide: Bashas’ Supermarkets 200
practice (Speed)1:30 p.m. – Sprint Cup: Subway Fresh Fit 500
practice (Speed)3 – Nationwide: Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 prac-
tice (Speed)4:30 – Sprint Cup: Subway Fresh Fit 500 “Happy
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – Boys: First Region (at Murray State): St. Mary vs. Carlisle County (6 p.m.), Paducah Tilghman vs. Calloway County (7:45 p.m.). Second Region (at Madisonville): Livingston Central vs. Henderson County (6 p.m.), Hopkinsville vs. Caldwell County (7:30 p.m.).
COLLEGE BASKETBALL – Georgia at Kentucky (8 p.m.), Michigan at Illinois (6 p.m.). OVC Tournament (at Nashville, Tenn.): Tennessee Tech vs. Southeast Missouri or Eastern Kentucky (6 p.m.), Morehead State vs. Austin Peay or Jacksonville State (8 p.m.). Women: OVC Tournament (at Nashville, Tenn.): Mur-ray State vs. Morehead State or Austin Peay (noon), Tennessee Tech vs. Eastern Kentucky or Morehead State (2 p.m.).
FRIDAYHIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – Girls: First Region
(at Murray State): Lone Oak vs. Marshall County (6 p.m), Murray v. Paducah Tilghman (7:45 p.m.). Sec-ond Region (at Christian County): Livingston Central vs. Webster County (6 p.m.), Hopkinsville vs. Hen-derson County (7:30 p.m.).
COLLEGE BASEBALL – Murray State at Central Arkansas (6 p.m.), Cumberland at Mid-Continent (6 p.m.).
Coming up
BASEBALL-SOFTBALL: The Lone Oak Youth Base-ball-Softball Association will have registration for the 2012 season on Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Fees are $45 for 4-year-old T-ball, $55 for 5-year-old T-ball and $65 for ages 7 and up.
The Rules: Please send your submissions for Purchase sidelines to [email protected], or fax to 270-442-7859, or mail to Sports, The Paducah Sun, Box 2300, Paducah, Ky., 42003-2300.
Purchase memos
BASKETBALLFridayOVC
semifi nalsat Nashville,
Tenn.Time: 6 p.m.TV: ESPNU
BASKETBALLToday
Georgiaat LexingtonTime: 8 p.m.
TV: ESPN
BASKETBALLSaturdaySyracuse
at Syracuse, N.Y.
Time: 3 p.m.TV: KFVS-12
BASKETBALLSaturday
OVC championshipat Nashville
Time: 1 p.m.TV: ESPN/ESPN2
BASKETBALLSundayFlorida
at Gaines-ville, Fla.
Time: 11 a.m.TV: KFVS-12
BASKETBALLTuesdayBig East
tournamentat New York,
N.Y.Time: TBA
MURRAYSTATE
KENTUCKY
LOUISVILLE
2B • Thursday, March 1, 2012 • The Paducah Sun Morning Update paducahsun.com
MAYFIELD — It has been a tale of two seasons for the Mid-Continent University men’s bas-ketball team. Through the fi rst 18 games of the season, very little seemed to go right for the Cougars, but since Jan. 21, head coach Winston Bennett’s ball-club has been on a roll.
“We knew we were playing a tough schedule in the fi rst half of the season, and playing it without a couple of our key players,” Bennett said, “but that is how you prepare for a series of dogfi ghts in the TranSouth. You have to play tough teams in order to be battle-tested once the conference schedule rolls
around.”The Cougars played a tough
schedule in the opening season, and playing without the defend-ing TranSouth Defender of the Year, senior Chris Ferguson, Mid-Continent struggled. Mid-Continent posted a 1-11 record, the lone win a 90-88 double-overtime victory over Ohio-Mid-western University.
“Despite enduring a rough fi rst half of the season, we had a lot of confi dence going into the conference schedule,” Bennett said. “When you’re playing close with all those tough teams with-out a couple of your bigger guys, the guys who are in the lineup really benefi t from a confi dence standpoint.
Mid-Continent entered play on Jan. 21 with a record of 2-16, including a 1-4 mark in Tran-South Conference games. But things fi nally clicked for the Cougars, as they came from be-hind to pick up a key road win at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn.
The Cougars then rattled off wins in eight of their last 11 games, surging from sixth place to second in the TranSouth’s fi -nal standings. Over that stretch, the Cougars were 7-1 in games decided by 10 points or less, and 4-0 in overtime.
Ferguson and Marcus Bowins each earned TranSouth player of the week honors in the season’s fi nal month, while Ferguson
and newcomer Charles Peden earned spots on the All-Tran-South teams. Antonio Davis also played a huge role in getting the Cougars to the second place fi n-ish in the TranSouth. The junior out of Union County High School knocked down a three-pointer to send the game into overtime at Lyon College on Feb. 4, scored 11 points in the second half and overtime at Blue Mountain on Feb. 23, and had 19 more second half tallies at Cumberland in the Cougars’ two comeback wins in the season’s fi nal week.
As the second seed, Mid-Con-tinent will host Lyon College in the TranSouth Quarterfi nals on Thursday night at Mayfi eld High School.
Mid-Continent captures 2nd seed in TranSouth tourneyBY TIM SHAY
Special to the Sun
a 45-42 lead with 3:59 left. Poland hit a 3 that pushed the lead to six points.
Chris Smith answered with a three-point play that cut it to 48-45 and South Florida burned its fi nal two timeouts with 1:22 left, including a disputed call when it appeared Fitzpat-rick didn’t maintain posses-sion despite the bench be-ing awarded a timeout.
“It was a bad call. There were a lot of bad calls in the game. Nobody says we were going to win the game, but it was defi nitely a poor call,” Pitino said. “The ref heard the coach call a time-out, so he blew the whistle. Just ask the other two guys, it was a complete loose ball — nobody had possession.”
On the ensuing inbounds play, Poland hit a jumper that made it 50-45 with 1:20 left.
“That play is set for me to go all the way to the corner,” Poland said. “I went to the corner and they collapsed in.”
Kuric cut it to 51-48 on 3-pointer with 39 seconds to go, but the Cardinals could get no closer.
South Florida has won six of seven since a 30-point loss at Georgetown and was con-sidered on the bubble with a game remaining at home
against West Virginia on Sat-urday.
The Cardinals (22-8, 10-7) had won their 10 previ-ous home fi nales, but shot 34 percent for the game and watched the Bulls hit 8 of 10 from the free throw line in the fi nal minute to seal the victory.
The Cardinals looked dis-jointed throughout, never more apparent than the fi nal possession of the fi rst half when Peyton Siva waited much too long to initiate the offense, lost the ball briefl y and was forced to take an awkward attempt at the baseline.
CARDS: Pitino angry over bad callsCONTINUED FROM 1B
SOUTH FLORIDA 58,
No. 19 LOUISVILLE 51SOUTH FLORIDA (19-11) Anderson
Louisville’s Russ Smith (left) gets a shot up over the defense of South Florida’s Anthony Collins during the second half of a Big East Confer-ence game on Wednesday in Louisville. South Florida defeated No. 19 Louisville 58-51.
paducahsun.com Sports The Paducah Sun • Thursday, March 1, 2012 • 3B
MURRAY — It seems fi t-ting the Murray State wom-en’s basketball team would face Austin Peay at noon on Thursday.
The Lady Govs (9-21) defeated Morehead State 84-83 in double overtime in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament Wednesday to advance to play the Racers. Despite beating the Racers twice this season, the Govs earned the eighth and fi nal seed of the OVC tourna-ment, and have been one of the hottest teams during
post season play the past several seasons.
“We know we’ll have our hands full whoever we play,” Racers coach Rob Cross said Monday. “We’re just excited to be there and to have that bye gives us a couple days of rest and a little extra time to focus on ourselves.”
After a dismal start to the season, the Racers (12-17) have rebounded to fi nish out the conference season strong, earning the fourth-seed in this week’s tourna-ment. Cross considered both potential match ups as serious threats for the Rac-
ers.“The big thing is going
to be what happens on the court in these games,” Cross said. “They can draw on some experiences, they’ve been in the tournament for three years, but it re-ally comes down to what happens in each game and each possession. If we’re not ready to play Thursday afternoon, it will be a short trip for us, and if we play well we feel like we’ll have a chance to advance.”
Austin Peay upset the then-No. 1 seed Racers in 2008-2009 in the OVC semifi nals, sending the
regular-season champs to the Women’s NIT, with the Govs advancing to the NCAA tournament. Last season, Austin Peay put the Racers out of the tourna-ment in the fi rst round.
Including Wednesday’s win, APSU is 9-2 in the OVC tournament under head coach Carrie Daniels, reach-ing the conference tourna-ment fi nals the past three seasons despite mediocre regular-season records.
The Racers have sus-tained several injuries to key players this season, and with an unexpectedly depleted lineup thanks to
injury and attrition, have since chanced their entire defensive identity mid-season, going from press-ing and trapping for 40 minutes a game to a more focused half-court defense. And it’s seemed to work.
“I’m really proud of the way the team has picked up things quickly and moved on and really bought in to all the concepts we’re trying to teach the last couple of weeks,” Cross said. “We’ve had a lot of good leader-ship from Mallory Schwab and Kayla Lowe down the stretch.”
Schwab and Lowe, both
seniors, are the only players remaining from the 2008-2009 regular season cham-pionship team.
“There’s a fi nite amount of time left in their careers,” Cross said, “and there al-ways is for everybody but there’s a sense of urgency when you’re a senior and they’ve accepted the chal-lenge to step up and voice their opinions and not only voice their opinions but back it up with their play on the court.”
Call Dusty Luthy Shull, a Sun sports writer, at 270-575-8662.
Racers’ women confront familiar opponent in APSUBY DUSTY LUTHY SHULL
you just feel comfortable,” Poole said. “So your natural instinct is just to shoot it. You shoot it the same way. Honestly, I don’t think me or Isaiah really know where we’re shooting from, we’re just shooting to make it at that time.”
Racers coach Steve Prohm said the extra long-range shooting stems from opposing defenses as well as Poole and Canaan’s con-fi dence level at that point in the game.
“They shoot some deep ones,” Prohm said, noting he discretely lets his players know when they take a bad shot. “Their percentages are really good, and until their percentages get really, real-ly low, I’m not going to say a bunch about it.”
The Racers have shot the three-ball so well this sea-son that all but three play-ers have yet to make a three, and that includes centers Brandon Garrett and Har-ley Nussman. Eight players on the roster have made two or more threes this season.
As the Racers approach post-season play, starting with a 6 p.m. game Friday in the OVC tournament in Nashville, Tenn., the only logical prediction is that Ca-naan will be shooting threes from halfcourt, right?
“Nah, I’ll never be that far out,” Canaan said.
Not even for a shot from his knees like he made his freshman season?
“I still don’t know how I made that,” he said. “I doubt I’ll be that far out.”
Call Dusty Luthy Shull, a Sun sports writer, at 270-575-8662.
TREY: Racers shoot long range
CONTINUED FROM 1B
Staff, AP reports
TranSouth picks Shumpert as top player
Former Paducah Tilghman basketball star Natalie Shumpert was named the TranSouth Conference player of the year after leading Freed-Hardeman to a 27-4 record, the conference championship and a No. 1 national ranking earlier in the season. Shumpert is averaging 15.7 points per game and leads the team in steals, shooting 33 percent from 3-point range and 74 percent from the free throw line.
NASCAR suspends Knaus for six races
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR issued steep penalties against five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and his team for failing the first inspection for the Day-tona 500.
Crew chief Chad Knaus was fined $100,000 and suspended six races Wednesday, car chief Ron Malec also was barred for six races, and Johnson was docked 25 points, sending him into this weekend’s race last in the Sprint Cup Series standings.
The penalties stem from a failed inspection Feb. 17 at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR said the No. 48 Chevrolet had illegally modified sheet metal between the roof and the side windows, an area known as the C-posts.
US soccer beats Italy on Dempsey goal
GENOA, Italy — American players applauded af-ter gaining a rare victory over a soccer power, the United States beat Italy 1-0 Wednesday night on Clint Dempsey’s goal in the 55th minute for the Americans’ first win over the Azzurri in 11 games over 78 years.
Briefs
has preached patience to his team all season, reason-ing that a team that rarely dips deep into its bench can’t afford to get into a running game with a deeper opponent.
And he took a gamble or two along the way, stick-ing with Maze even after he picked up his third foul early in the second quarter. Maze, who had 11 points and four assists, picked up foul No. 4 midway through the third period, yet Long left him in for two more minutes and didn’t take him out until the Bulldogs (17-12) had extended their lead to double digits.
“We’ve gone stretches of two or three minutes at a time without him,” Long said, “but we can’t do it for very long.
“Finally, I saw a window where we could do it, and we actually added onto the lead so we sat him a little longer.
“The thing is, we kind of got into their game for a while, but we were able to get the ball inside and take
advantage of the things we could do against them.”
That’s where Frame and Miller entered the pic-ture. Frame, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound junior center, had 19 points and 15 re-bounds and was a bull in the paint, just what one would expect from a foot-ball star. Miller, a 6-5 junior who is more of a face-the-basket type of player, had 12 points, nine rebounds and a couple of assists that set up Frame on the block. Forward Josh Traylor (10 points, three assists) gave the Bulldogs four double-fi gure scorers.
“Basketball is my favor-ite sport, but football just kind of came to me,” said Frame, a defensive tackle who played last fall at 295 pounds and is drawing some Division I interest. “We knew they really don’t match up well with us in-side, and we were going to make sure we got the ball there.”
Lone Oak’s poor shooting didn’t help matters. Sopho-more Kam Chumbler (18 points) hit four 3-pointers in the fi rst 12 minutes of
the game to keep the Flash (14-18) close, but they went ice-cold for the remainder of the game. Lone Oak shot 26 percent from the fi eld and went 8-for-37 from the perimeter, including misses on 24 of its last 27 tries over the fi nal 2 1⁄2 quarters.
“If we could’ve made three or four more of those 29 we missed, and a lot of those were good looks, it’s a different game,” Lone Oak coach Andy Poore said. “And when you can’t make shots, it’s hard to set up
Field goals 17⁄66. 3-pointers 8⁄37 (Chum-bler 5, McKinney, Englert, Starks). Free throws 3⁄6. Rebounds 36. Fouls 13. Record 14-18.
FULTON CITY — Traylor 10, Miller 12, Frame 19, Jackson 6, Maze 11, Johnson, Roach.
Field goals 23⁄40. 3-pointers 2⁄6 (Maze, Miller). Free throws 10⁄18. Rebounds 39. Fouls 10. Record 17-12.
Call Joey Fosko, a Paducah Sun sports writer, at 270-575-8661.
BULLDOGS: Depth helps out Fulton, Lone Oak struggles after halftime
CONTINUED FROM 1B
(19-14) into a miserable shooting night. The Eagles shot just 23 percent from the fi eld, a refl ection of the offensive problems the Ea-gles have had at times.
Marshall led just 26-20 at halftime, but seven Graves turnovers in the third quarter helped the Marshals build a 15-point advantage going into the fourth quarter.
“We shot under 30 per-cent in three of the last four games,” said Graves coach Terry Birdsong, referring to a late-season loss at Lone Oak and a loss to St. Mary in the district fi nals. “I think we did a pretty good job on them defen-sively, as good as we had
in the other two games, but we just couldn’t score.”
Nelson led the Marshals (30-2) with 14 points, with Clark (13 points, three as-sists), York (12 points, six rebounds, three assists, four steals) and 6-foot-6 sophomore Austin Rent-frow (11 points, eight re-bounds) chipping in with solid production.
Mason Beale, 3-for-3 from 3-point range while his teammates were a com-bined 2-for-19 from be-yond the arc, led the Eagles with 18 points.
Marshall’s performance was similar to those that had painted it as the clear regional favorite since the fi rst month of the season.
“We all know if that, if they bring their ‘A’ game,
that they’re the team to beat,” Birdsong said. “They’re strong and physi-cal and they’ve got seniors and a lot of guys with state tournament experience. They have a lot of things that the rest of us (in the region) don’t have.”Graves County 10 20 28 36Marshall County 15 26 43 59
GRAVES COUNTY — Williams, Puckett 8, Kimbler 5, Starkey, Beale 18, Hackel, Hayden 3, Jones 1, A. Smith, Allred 1, J. Smith, Marrs, Vogt.
Field goals 11/48. 3-pointers 5/22 (Beale 3, Kimbler, Hayden). Free throws 9/14. Rebounds 25. Fouls 16. Record 19-14.
MARSHALL COUNTY — Buchanan, Clark 13, Rentfrow 11, York 12, Nelson 14, Jessup 4, Northcutt 2, Lo. Taylor 3, Steele, Warnick, VanMeter, Solomon, Bar-nard.
Field goals 20/41. 3-pointers 3/11 (Nelson 2, Clark). Free throws 16/21. Re-bounds 35. Fouls 18. Record 30-2.
Call Joey Fosko, a Paducah Sun sports writ-er, at 270-575-8661.
MARSHALS: Four players reach double figuresCONTINUED FROM 1B
did not get on the board the rest of the game. The Maroons presented a more balanced attack with six different players scoring over the second and third quarters.
Madisonville opened the fourth with Daylyn Jones and Cameron Tandy scor-ing the fi rst two baskets for a 44-33 lead, the fi rst dou-ble-digit edge of the game. After Sutton made one of two free throws with ex-actly six minutes to go, Lyon would score no more
Several desperation shots from behind the arc were well short and the Maroons scooped them
up to score on fast breaks. Jones scored half of the points during Madison-ville’s 8-0 closing run. He fi nished with 14 points while Carr ended up with 11. Sutton led with 21 points, Wilkerson had 10.
–––Lyon County 11 24 33 34Madisonville 18 30 40 52
Field goals 22. 3-pointers 2 (Carr, Combs). Free throws 6/11. Fouls 16. Record 22-8.
Call Jon Futrell, a Sun sportswriter, at 270-575-8663.
LYONS: Sutton leads way with 21
CONTINUED FROM 1B
JOHN WRIGHT | The Sun
Mason Beale (above) and Jake Williams, both of Graves County, fight for a loose ball with the hidden Chase Buchanan of Marshall County Wednesday night at Mur-ray.
BOBBY MAYBERRY | The Sun
Jericho Wilkerson of Lyon County shoots over Cam-eron Tandy of Madisonville in the Second Region Tour-nament opening round-game Wednesday. Wilkerson, a freshman, finished with 10 points in the Lyons loss.
4B • Thursday, March 1, 2012 • The Paducah Sun Business paducahsun.com
LEDBETTER — Markets totaled 649 cattle. Compared to last week: Slaughter cows and bulls, steady to $3 higher; feeder steers, $1 to $2 lower; feeder heifers, $3 to $4 lower.
Slaughter cows: breaker, 75 to 80 percent lean, 800 to 1200 lbs., $74 to $83.50; low dressing, $61; boner, 80 to 85 percent lean, 800 to 1200 lbs., $65 to $74.50; lean, 85 to 90 percent lean, 800 to 1200 lbs., $55 to $63.50.
Slaughter bulls yield grade 1: 1500 to 3000 lbs., $98.50 to 106.50; slaughter bulls yield grade 2: 1000
to 1500 lbs., $88.50 to $91; low dressing, $83.50 to $84.50.
Feeder steers medium and large 1-2: 200 to 300 lbs., $212 to $224; 300 to 400 lbs., $200 to $208; 400 to 500 lbs., $189 to $204; 500 to 600 lbs., $173 to $183; 600 to 700 lbs., $153 to $164; 800 to 900 lbs., $130.
Feeder heifers medium and large 1-2: 200 to 300 lbs., $186 to $188; 300 to 400 lbs., $177 to $193; 400 to 500 lbs., $170 to $184; 500 to 600 lbs., $146 to $165; 600 to 700 lbs., $137 to $149; 700 to 800 lbs., $117; 800 to 900
lbs., $108.Feeder bulls medium and large
1-2: 300 to 400 lbs., $190 to $202; 400 to 500 lbs., $180 to $194; 500 to 600 lbs., $164 to $179; 600 to 700 lbs., $149 to $153; 700 to 800 lbs., $136 to $144; 900 to 1000 lbs., $104.
Stock cows medium and large 1-2: cows 3 to 8 years old, 6 to 8 months bred $830 to $1,110 per head; stock cows and calves: cows 6 to 9 years old with calves at side, $1,010 to $1,440 per pair.
Baby calves: beef breeds, $150 to $230 per head.
Livingston Livestock
Business Briefs
Brand-name deals to mix with Facebook posts
NEW YORK — Messages from brands such as Walmart and Starbucks may soon be mixed in with your Facebook status updates and baby photos from friends and family.
Facebook unveiled new advertising opportunities Wednesday to help the world’s biggest brands spread their messages on the world’s largest online social network.
Brands you’ve endorsed by hitting the “like” button will now be able to push deals and other updates right into the news feeds that show your friends’ updates, photos and links. These marketing messages could also show up if one of your friends has interacted with a brand, such as by liking it or commenting on a photo.
The new approach also means that advertisers will be able to reach users on mobile devices for the first time, giving Facebook a new and lucrative source of revenue.
Apple market value hits $500 billion
NEW YORK — Apple’s market capitalization topped $500 billion Wednesday, climbing to a mountain peak where few companies have ventured — and none have stayed for long.
Apple was already the world’s most valuable com-pany. The gap between it and No. 2 Exxon Mobil Corp. has widened rapidly in the past month, as investors have digested Apple’s report of blow-out holiday-sea-son sales of iPhones and iPads. And, more recently, Apple has raised investors’ hopes that it might insti-tute a dividend.
On Tuesday, the Cupertino, Calif., company sent out invites to reporters for an event in San Francisco next Wednesday, apparently to reveal its next iPad model. The launch of the new model was expected around this time, a year after the launch of the iPad 2.
Recent growth bolsters hopes for 2012
WASHINGTON — Stronger hiring and higher pay and savings should support solid growth for the economy in coming months.
That was a key message that emerged Wednesday from a report on economic growth in the final three months of 2011. The economy grew at a 3 percent annual rate in the October-December quarter, up from a previous estimate of 2.8 percent, the Commerce Department said.
Most of last quarter’s growth stemmed from a jump in company restocking. That happened because busi-nesses rebuilt inventories that had been depleted last summer. Stockpiling is expected to slow sharply this quarter. And as it slows, economic growth could, too.
Judge blocks graphic images on cig packs
RICHMOND, Va. — A judge on Wednesday blocked a federal requirement that would have begun forcing U.S. tobacco companies to put large graphic images on their cigarette packages later this year to show the dangers of smoking and encouraging smokers to quit lighting up.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington ruled that the federal mandate to put the images, which include a sewn-up corpse of a smoker and a picture of diseased lungs, on cigarette packs violates the free speech amendment to the Constitution.
He had temporarily blocked the requirement in No-vember, saying it was likely cigarette makers will suc-ceed in a lawsuit, which could take years to resolve. The government is appealing that decision.
Associated Press
The Nasdaq compos-ite index briefl y broke through 3,000 on Wednes-day for the fi rst time since the collapse in dot-com stocks more than a decade ago. Stocks ended lower, but it was still the best February on Wall Street in 14 years.
The milestone for the Nasdaq, heavy with tech-nology stocks, came a day after the Dow Jones indus-trial average closed above 13,000 for the fi rst time since May 2008.
Apple, the Nasdaq’s big-gest component, topped $500 billion in market value, the only company
above the half-trillion mark and only the sixth in U.S. corporate history to grow so big. Apple might reveal its next iPad model next week.
The Nasdaq last hit 3,000 on Dec. 13, 2000. Its last close above 3,000 was two days earlier. It was only above 3,000 for seconds on Wednesday before closing down 19.87 points at 2,966.89.
The Dow lost 53.05 to close at 12,952.07. The Standard & Poor’s 500 in-dex fell 6.50 points to close at 1,365.68.
For the month, the Dow gained 2.5 percent, the S&P 4.1 percent and the
Nasdaq 5.4 percent. The last time the stock market had such a strong Febru-ary was in 1998, when the S&P gained 7 percent.
Stocks opened higher after the government said that the economy grew faster at the end of last year than previously esti-mated — a 3 percent an-nual rate, the best reading since the spring of 2010.
Stocks fell sharply after about an hour, then re-covered by mid-afternoon, after the Federal Reserve’s survey of regional eco-nomic conditions said the economy strengthened in the fi rst six weeks of the year.
Nasdaq cracks 3,000, but stocks fallAssociated Press
NEW YORK — The price of gas has jumped 45 cents since Jan. 1 and is the high-est on record for this time of year, an average of $3.73 a gallon. On Wall Street, talk has turned from the European debt crisis to another worry: Will higher gas prices derail the eco-nomic recovery?
Not yet, economists say. They argue that the United States is in much better shape than early last year, when a similar surge in fuel prices weighed on economic growth by squeezing house-hold budgets. Americans spent less on clothes, food and everything else.
Rising gas prices hurt less when an economy is im-proving than when it’s slow-ing down. So economists expect other spending won’t be badly hurt, at least for now. If gas breaks its record of $4.11 a gallon, however, all bets are off.
“Can the economy with-stand the increase we’ve seen so far? The answer is yes,” says David Kelly, chief market strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds.
The reasons:■ Jobs. The country has
added 2 million over the past year. Those 2 million people with paychecks will spend them, which helps the economy. Lower unemploy-ment also makes people feel better about the economy — and less likely to cut other spending way back.
■ Job security. Unem-ployment claims, the best measure of layoffs, are at a four-year low. Fewer Ameri-cans are worrying about losing their job, so they can take the punch of higher gas prices and move on.
■ A steadier housing market, the Dow Jones in-dustrial average’s clearing 13,000 and other signs of an improving economy also help. Add them together and consumer confi dence is the highest in a year. More confi dence makes people more likely to keep spend-ing on other things even if gas goes up.
“The public will howl as we approach $4 gas, but they will probably continue to increase spending,” says Carl Riccadonna, a senior
economist at Deutsche Bank.
■ Gas wasn’t the only thing getting more expen-sive last year. Prices for milk, meat, bread and other foods were rising because of higher prices for grains and other farm goods. Natural gas prices were also on the rise, making it more expen-sive for Americans to heat their homes.
This year, natural gas prices have plummeted. Unlike like year, fi lling up
the car’s tank is about the only thing getting dramati-cally more expensive. Last year, when Americans were feeling it from all sides, they made tough choices, like cutting out expensive din-ners.
■ The increase in the price of gas has been more grad-ual this year, which could make it easier on the psyche of the American consumer. Last year, prices at the pump rose from $2.78 to a peak of $3.98 in mid-May. The na-
tional average for a gallon of regular on Wednesday was $3.73, up from $3.28 at the start of the year.
The key is what impact gas prices have on other spend-ing in the economy. All con-sumer spending isn’t equal. A dollar spent on gas has less of an impact on the U.S. economy than a dollar spent in a restaurant or at a base-ball game. The U.S. is an oil-importing country, so many of the dollars spent on gas ultimately leave the country.
The rule of thumb among economists is that a 25-cent increase in gas knocks $25 billion to $30 billion off con-sumer spending in a year and lowers economic growth by 0.2 percentage points, says Carl Riccadonna, se-nior economist at Deutsche Bank.
The price of gas averaged $3.51 last year, so a move above $4 should only divert $60 billion from consumer spending this year, Ric-cadonna says. Last year, it drained an estimated $120 billion.
“It’s really a two-horse race,” Riccadonna says. “There’s rising energy costs, and then there is house-holds’ ability to handle those rising costs.”
So far, households appear to be keeping up. Econo-mists think the economy will grow at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the fi rst half of this year, compared with 0.9 percent while gas prices crept up in the fi rst half of last year.
Budgets balancing gasoline hikesBY CHRISTOPHER S.
RUGABER ANDMATTHEW CRAFT
Associated Press
Associated Press
Gasoline prices are displayed as a man rides his bicycle past them at a station Feb. 21 in Oakland, Calif. U.S. retail gasoline prices are the highest on record for this time of the year, which has analysts concerned about their effect on the economic recovery.
Associated PressNEW YORK — Gas
prices rose for the 22nd straight day on Wednes-day, even as evidence grew that drivers are using less fuel.
Drivers nationwide are now paying an average of $3.73 for a gallon of gas. That’s 30 cents higher than a month ago and 36 cents higher than the same time last year.
Consumers have cut back on driving this year as the price of gas in-creased by 45 cents a gal-lon. The Energy Depart-ment said Wednesday that average petroleum de-mand fell last week by 6.2 percent. Gasoline demand dropped by 6.7 percent
when compared with the same period a year ago. As demand falls, supplies are growing faster than many analysts expected.
The government said that inventories of crude oil rose by 4.2 million barrels last week. Analysts were expecting an increase of just 1 million barrels.
Oil fell on that report, although it recovered in the afternoon. There’s still a chance that lower prices this week could translate into a temporary dip at the gas pump — oil dropped 3 percent Monday and Tuesday. But most ob-servers still predict the average price will rise over the next several weeks, eventually topping $4.
Prices at pump rise despite drop in demand
Over $106 value!
paducahsun.com Business The Paducah Sun • Thursday, March 1, 2012 • 5B
Auto salesNew models, low interest rates and better access to credit are helping car buyers overcome linger-ing worries about the economy and driving U.S. auto sales higher.
A J.D. Power and LMC Automotive forecasts calls for February sales out today to be up from a year ago, hitting a sea-sonally adjusted annual pace of 13.3 million units.
Going private? Kenneth Cole Productions reports fourth-quarter earnings today, but the spotlight will be on Chairman Kenneth Cole’s recent bid to take the clothing and footwear company private.
The fashion designer has offered $127.5 million to buy out other shareholders. Cole said that he won't move forward with the deal unless it’s approved by a special committee of independent directors.
Starting to rise The housing market appears to be improving after a dismal 2011, and builders are responding by gearing up to build more homes.
Spending on construc-tion projects has been edging higher since August and economists are antici-pating January construction spending data will show another percentage increase. Source: FactSet
Construction spendingpercent change, seasonally adjusted
Source: FactSet
0
1
2
2.2
0.30.4
1.5
est.0.8
1.1
A S O N D J
10
14
$18
4Q ’10
Operating EPS
4Q ’11
KCP
$13.04
Price-to-earnings ratio: Lost moneybased on past 12 months’ results
Dividend: NA Div. Yield: NA
est.$.20 $0.28
’11 ‘12
$15.69
1,200
1,300
1,400
FJ
Trevor Delaney, Jenni Sohn • APSOURCE: FactSet Data through Feb. 29
The stock market posted its strongest February showing since 1998.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 closed up 4.1 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 2.5 percent this month after opening the year with its best January since 1997.
Technology stocks are the big winners among the indus-tries in the S&P 500, up 15 percent this year. The stocks of companies that supply raw materials, consumer discretionary items and financial services are all up more than 10 percent. The only industries not participating in the strong start to 2012 are telecommunications and utilities companies.
In the 25 times since 1945 that the S&P 500 rose in both January and February, the stock market finished the year up 24 times. The one exception? Last year when the market was essentially flat, down a fraction of 1 percent.
Millpoint 5 Piece Dining Group Includes 38" Square Counter Height Table & 4 Bar Stools
only$299
www. furnitureworldgalleries.com
If you’re not sleeping to your satisfaction within 125 nights, we will exchange your mattress for one that is right for you.** See store for details on price guarantee.
CO
M
FORT GUARANTEE
PR
I C E G U A R A N
T E E
SALES TAX INCLUDED* on any new mattress purchase over $499
& Mattress Superstore
FINAL DAYS!
Place to Buy a Mattress
Millpoint 5 Piece Dining Group Includes 38" Square Counter Height Table & 4 Bar Stools
