The  Cleveland Browns shifted their focus at the tight end position on Friday, signing  unrestricted free  agent Benjamin Watson to a multi-year contract and also  releasing Steve Heiden. Financial terms of the deal for Watson, a former member  of the  New  England Patriots,  were not  disclosed,  but a  Cleveland newspaper reported it to be three-year pact worth $12 million, including $6.35 million  guaranteed. Watson  spent  each of  his first  six  seasons with  the Patriots,  who  made him the 32nd  overall pick of  the 2004 draft. He has 167 receptions for 2,102 yards with 20 touchdowns in 71 regular-season games.
                                     
The  Cincinnati  Bengals made it  official on  Friday and signed wide receiver Antonio  Bryant.  Terms of  the contract  were not  released, but a Cincinnati newspaper  reported it to  be for $28 million over four years. The pact equals that  of cast-off wideout Laveranues Coles, whose contract was terminated last week  after a single underwhelming season with the team. Bryant spent the past two  seasons with Tampa  Bay and fought through a knee injury in 2009 to catch 39 passes for 600 yards and four touchdowns over 13 games. In 2008, the eight- year  veteran from  Pittsburgh  set  career marks  in  nearly every  offensive
category with 1,248 yards and seven TDs on 83 receptions.

Denver  Nuggets  coach George Karl will  miss the remaining three games of the team's  road  trip as he  continues his treatment  for neck and throat cancer. Karl  missed  the opening  game of the  trip on Wednesday,  a 110-102 win over
Minnesota,  and will  not join the team for Friday's game against New Orleans. He  will  also skip Saturday's  contest at Memphis  and next Monday's visit to Houston. The Nuggets said Karl is still adjusting to the feeding tube that was inserted  into his  stomach  during  a surgical  procedure  on Monday.  Adrian Dantley has coached the Nuggets to a pair of wins in Karl's absence.
                                     
Chicago  Bulls  All-Star point guard  Derrick Rose  will miss Friday's game at Miami  and  is listed as  day-to-day after an MRI  confirmed he has a sprained left  wrist.  During Thursday's loss  to the Magic,  Rose was driving the lane late  in the first  quarter and ran into Orlando center Dwight Howard. He fell hard to the ground and will miss his first game of the season.

Oregon  Ducks  quarterback Jeremiah  Masoli was suspended  for the entire 2010 season   after  pleading  guilty  to  charges  of  second-degree  burglary  on Friday.  Ducks  head  coach  Chip  Kelly made  the  announcement  at  a  press conference   after  Masoli's  court  appearance.  In  addition,  he  suspended running   back  LaMichael  James  and  kicker  Rob  Beard  for  a  minimum  of one  game apiece  after  the pair  pleaded guilty  to  harassment in  separate incidents. Masoli and another player were accused  of stealing two laptops and a   guitar  from  a  campus  fraternity  house  in  late  January.  James  was sentenced to 24 months probation and 10 days in jail after agreeing to  a plea bargain  that dropped  four other  charges. Masoli  is coming  off a  terrific season in leading the Ducks to the Rose Bowl, as  he threw for 2,147 yards and 15  touchdowns  while rushing for  668 yards and  13 scores. The rising senior will be eligible to return in 2011, as the team will utilize a redshirt year.

Ernie  Els  fired a six-under 66  on Friday to  move in front after the second round  of the WGC-CA Championship at a rainy TPC Blue Monster at Doral. Els, a three-time  major winner,  finished 36 holes at 10-under 134 and is one stroke clear  of Robert Allenby, whose second-round 67 included an ace, an eagle, six birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey.  First-round leader Charl Schwartzel finished off his final hole after the delay and had a two-under 70. He is tied for  third place with  Bill Haas, who shot a six-under 66, at seven-under 137. Three-time  major champion Padraig Harrington (68) and Soren Hansen (69) share fifth at minus-six.

Joe Mather's RBI double in the ninth inning tied the game and Shane Robinson's two-run double put the Cardinals ahead in a 5-3 win over the Marlins 5-3 in Jupiter.  The Cards were the visiting team in their spring home, and scored all their runs in the top of the ninth.  Starter Kyle Lohse allowed two hits and struck out two over four innings.  Dennys Reyes was the winner, allowing one run over an inning-and-a-third of relief.  Pete Parise allowed a run on three hits, but held on for his second spring save.  Today, the Cards will host the Red Sox at Roger Dean Stadium.  Rich Hill and Kyle McClellan, each contenders for the fifth spot in the Cardinals' rotation, will both pitch.

MLB Cactus League
------
Cincinnati Reds 3, Milwaukee Brewers (ss) 1
Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Kansas City Royals 4
Seattle Mariners 6, San Francisco Giants 2
Chicago Cubs 8, San Diego Padres 7
Oakland Athletics 7, Milwaukee Brewers (ss) 3
Cleveland Indians 5, Chicago White Sox 5  (10 inn)
Arizona Diamondbacks 4, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 1
Texas Rangers 16, Colorado Rockies 5

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball
------
#1 Kansas 80, Texas Tech 68  (Big 12 quarterfinals, at Kansas City, MO)
#22 Georgetown 91, #3 Syracuse 84  (Big East quarterfinals, at New York, NY)
#6 West Virginia 54, Cincinnati 51  (Big East quarterfinals, at New York, NY)
#8 New Mexico 75, Air Force 69  (Mountain West quarterfinals, at Las Vegas, NV)
#9 Kansas State 83, Oklahoma State 64  (Big 12 quarterfinals, at Kansas City, MO)
Marquette 80, #10 Villanova 76  (Big East quarterfinals, at New York, NY)
#13 Tennessee 59, LSU 49  (SEC first round, at Nashville, TN)
#15 BYU 95, TCU 85  (Mountain West quarterfinals, at Las Vegas, NV)
Notre Dame 50, #16 Pittsburgh 45  (Big East quarterfinals, at New York, NY)
#20 Baylor 86, Texas 67  (Big 12 quarterfinals, at Kansas City, MO)
#21 UTEP 76, UCF 54  (Conference USA, at Tulsa, OK)
#24 Texas A&M 70, Nebraska 64  (Big 12 quarterfinals, at Kansas City, MO)
NCAA Top-10 Women's Basketball
------
No Games Scheduled
MLB Grapefruit League
------
Philadelphia Phillies 4, Detroit Tigers 0
Tampa Bay Rays (ss) 16, Pittsburgh Pirates 15
Tampa Bay Rays (ss) 4, Toronto Blue Jays 1
Houston Astros at Washington Nationals  (cancelled, rain)
St. Louis Cardinals 5, Florida Marlins 3
Boston Red Sox 8, New York Mets 2
Minnesota Twins 8, Baltimore Orioles 3 (8 innings)
Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees  (cancelled, rain)

NHL
------
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 3  (ot)
St. Louis Blues 2, New York Islanders 1  (so)
Boston Bruins 5, Philadelphia Flyers 1
Carolina Hurricanes 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 3  (ot)
Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Atlanta Thrashers 1
Montreal Canadiens 5, Edmonton Oilers 4  (so)
Detroit Red Wings 5, Minnesota Wild 1
Colorado Avalanche 3, Florida Panthers 0
Calgary Flames 2, Ottawa Senators 0
San Jose Sharks 8, Nashville Predators 5

NBA
------
Atlanta Hawks 105, Washington Wizards 99
Orlando Magic 111, Chicago Bulls 82
Portland Trail Blazers 110, Golden State Warriors 105

The Blues skate against the Islanders at New York tonight.  St. Louis will look to get back on the winning track after having its five-game winning streak snapped with a 7-3 loss at Colorado on Saturday.  This is the fourth stop on a six-game road trip for the Blues, who are at Columbus and Minnesota this weekend.  St. Louis is six points out of the final playoff spot in the West.

Allen Craig hit a two-run homer and drove in three in his spring debut as the Cardinals defeated the Washington Nationals 6-4 at Roger Dean Stadium.  Craig had missed all six games with a sore left quadriceps.  Colby Rasmus and Ruben Gotay each drove in a run for the Redbirds, who won for just the second time in seven spring contests.  Starter Brad Penny allowed just one hit and struck out two over four scoreless innings to get the win.  St. Louis plays Florida today.

MLB Grapefruit League
------
Philadelphia Phillies 4, Toronto Blue Jays 2  (at Dunedin, FL)
Atlanta Braves 7, New York Mets 6  (10 inn)  (at Port St. Lucie, FL)
Florida Marlins 16, Houston Astros 4  (at Kissimmee, FL)
Tampa Bay Rays 8, Boston Red Sox 6  (at Fort Myers, FL)
St. Louis Cardinals 6, Washington Nationals 4  (at Jupiter, FL)
New York Yankees 9, Detroit Tigers 8  (at Lakeland, FL)
Baltimore Orioles 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 2  (at Bradenton, FL)
MLB Cactus League
------
Arizona Diamondbacks 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 4  (at Goodyear, AZ)
Seattle Mariners 6, Texas Rangers 3  (at Surprise, AZ)
San Francisco Giants 5, Chicago Cubs 1  (at Mesa, AZ)
Chicago White Sox 9, Oakland Athletics 5  (at Phoenix, AZ)
San Diego Padres (ss) 5, Milwaukee Brewers 4  (at Peoria, AZ)
Cincinnati Reds 6, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 0  (at Tempe, AZ)
Cleveland Indians 10, San Diego Padres (ss) 5  (at Goodyear, AZ)
Kansas City Royals 5, Colorado Rockies 0  (at Tucson, AZ)

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball
------
#22 Georgetown Hoyas 69, South Florida Bulls 49  (Big East second round, at New York, NY)
NCAA Top-10 Women's Basketball
------
No Games Scheduled

NHL
------
Buffalo Sabres 5, Dallas Stars 3
New Jersey Devils 6, New York Rangers 3
Washington Capitals 4, Carolina Hurricanes 3  (ot)
Chicago Blackhawks 3, Los Angeles Kings 2
Phoenix Coyotes 4, Vancouver Canucks 3  (so)

NBA
------
Charlotte Bobcats 102, Philadelphia 76ers 87
Miami Heat 108, Los Angeles Clippers 97
Utah Jazz 115, Detroit Pistons 104
Memphis Grizzlies 111, Boston Celtics 91
Denver Nuggets 110, Minnesota Timberwolves 102
Oklahoma City Thunder 98, New Orleans Hornets 83
Dallas Mavericks 96, New Jersey Nets 87
San Antonio Spurs 97, New York Knicks 87
Sacramento Kings 113, Toronto Raptors 90

The Blues resume their six-game road trip tomorrow night against the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.  St. Louis had its five-game winning streak snapped with a 7-3 loss to the Avalanche at Colorado on Saturday.  The Blues opened the trip with wins at Phoenix and Dallas.  At 30-26-and-9, the Blues are in 11th place in the Western Conference with 69 points, six behind the Calgary Flames for the eighth and final postseason berth.  The Blues have 17 games remaining.

The Cardinals dropped a 7-6 decision to the Twins in Grapefruit League play yesterday in Fort Myers, Florida.  Danny Valencia hit a solo homer off Oneli Perez in the bottom of the eighth inning to snap a 6-all tie and lift Minnesota to victory.  Colby Rasmus hit a two-run shot in the fifth for St. Louis, which fell to 1-and-5 on the spring.  Skip Schumaker  had two hits, and RBI and scored a run while batting leadoff for Tony La Russa's crew.  Starter Adam Wainwright struggled in his spring debut, surrendering five hits, two walkd and four runs in two innings.  The Cardinals return home to host the Washington Nationals at Roger Dean Stadium.

MLB Grapefruit League
------
Pittsburgh Pirates 12, New York Yankees 7  (at Tampa, FL)
Boston Red Sox 9, Florida Marlins 0  (at Jupiter, FL)
Tampa Bay Rays 8, Baltimore Orioles 3  (at Sarasota, FL)
Detroit Tigers 9, Washington Nationals 4  (at Viera, FL)
Minnesota Twins 7, St. Louis Cardinals 6  (at Fort Myers, FL)
Houston Astros 8, New York Mets 4  (at Port St. Lucie, FL)
Philadelphia Phillies 7, Atlanta Braves 4  (at Lake Buena Vista, FL)
MLB Cactus League
------
Colorado Rockies 12, Los Angeles Dodgers 0  (at Glendale, AZ)
Cleveland Indians 6, Seattle Mariners 4  (at Peoria, AZ)
Milwaukee Brewers 5, Chicago Cubs 3  (at Mesa, AZ)
Texas Rangers 8, Oakland Athletics (ss) 8 (at Phoenix, AZ)
San Francisco Giants 6, Chicago White Sox 2  (at Scottsdale, AZ)
Kansas City Royals 11, Oakland Athletics (ss) 10  (at Surprise, AZ)
Arizona Diamondbacks 10, Cincinnati Reds 4  (at Goodyear, AZ)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6, San Diego Padres 5  (at Tempe, AZ)

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball
------
#12 Butler Bulldogs 70, Wright State Raiders 45  (Horizon League final, at Indianapolis, IN)
NCAA Top-10 Women's Basketball
------
#1 Connecticut Huskies 60, #8 West Virginia Mountaineers 32  (Big East final, at Hartford, CT)

NHL
------
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Boston Bruins 3  (ot)
Nashville Predators 2, Atlanta Thrashers 1
Calgary Flames 4, Detroit Red Wings 2
Philadelphia Flyers 3, New York Islanders 2
Montreal Canadiens 5, Tampa Bay Lightning 3
Florida Panthers 3, Minnesota Wild 2  (so)
Vancouver Canucks 6, Colorado Avalanche 4
Ottawa Senators 4, Edmonton Oilers 1
Columbus Blue Jackets 5, Anaheim Ducks 2

NBA
------
Houston Rockets 96, Washington Wizards 88
Orlando Magic 113, Los Angeles Clippers 87
Indiana Pacers 107, Philadelphia 76ers 96
Charlotte Bobcats 83, Miami Heat 78
Milwaukee Bucks 86, Boston Celtics 84
Utah Jazz 132, Chicago Bulls 108
Portland Trail Blazers 88, Sacramento Kings 81
Los Angeles Lakers 109, Toronto Raptors 107

Four schools punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament last night.  Old Dominion beat William & Mary for the Colonial crown, Siena topped Fairfield for the MAAC title, Wofford knocked off Appalachian State to win the Southern Conference, and Saint Mary's beat Gonzaga to win the WCC.

MLB Grapefruit League
------
New York Yankees (ss) 7, Philadelphia Phillies 5  (at Tampa, FL)
New York Yankees (ss) 6, Pittsburgh Pirates (ss) 0  (at Bradenton, FL)
Tampa Bay Rays 4, Pittsburgh Pirates (ss) 3 (10 innings)  (at Port Charlotte, FL)
Toronto Blues Jays 4, Houston Astros 1  (at Kissimmee, FL)
New York Mets 11, Florida Marlins (ss) 2  (at Jupiter, FL)
Boston Red Sox 7, St. Louis Cardinals 6  (at Fort Myers, FL)
Minnesota Twins 5, Baltimore Orioles 0  (at Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Florida Marlins (ss) 11, Washington Nationals 2  (at Viera, FL)
Atlanta Braves 12, Detroit Tigers 4  (at Lakeland, FL)
MLB Cactus League
------
San Francisco Giants 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 2  (10 inn)  (at Scottsdale, AZ)
Seattle Mariners (ss) 5, Chicago White Sox 4  (at Glendale, AZ)
Milwaukee Brewers 6, Seattle Mariners (ss) 2  (at Maryvale, AZ)
Chicago Cubs 10, Oakland Athletics 3  (at Phoenix, AZ)
Colorado Rockies 5, San Diego Padres 4  (at Peoria, AZ)
Cincinnati Reds 14, Kansas City Royals 5  (at Goodyear, AZ)
Cleveland Indians 3, Arizona Diamondbacks 2  (at Tucson, AZ)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 13, Texas Rangers 9  (at Surprise, AZ)

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball
------
Saint Mary's Gaels 81, #14 Gonzaga Bulldogs 62  (WCC final, at Las Vegas, NV)
NCAA Top-10 Women's Basketball
------
#1 UConn Huskies 59, #7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 44  (Big East semifinals, at Hartford, CT)
#5 Xavier Musketeers 57, Temple Owls 55  (ot)  (Atlantic 10 final, at Upper Marlboro, MD)
#9 West Virginia Mountaineers 56, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 49  (Big East semifinals, at Hartford, CT)

NHL
------
Dallas Stars 4, Washington Capitals 3  (so)
Los Angeles Kings 6, Columbus Blue Jackets 0

NBA
------
Cleveland Cavaliers 97, San Antonio Spurs 95
New York Knicks 99, Atlanta Hawks 98
Dallas Mavericks 125, Minnesota Timberwolves 112
New Orleans Hornets 135, Golden State Warriors 131
Memphis Grizzlies 107, New Jersey Nets 101