Giants will meet Dallas in opener Giants will meet Dallas in opener ADVERTISING EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Super Bowl-champion New York Giants will kick off the NFL season at home against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 5 in a
Giants will meet Dallas in opener
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Super Bowl-champion New York Giants will kick off the NFL season at home against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 5 in a nationally televised Wednesday night game.
The league said last month that the Giants would play in the opener, but they announced the opponent Tuesday.
The Giants defeated Dallas twice in the last four weeks of the 2011 season, clinching the NFC East title with a 31-14 victory in MetLife Stadium on Jan. 1.
The league moved the game to Wednesday night to avoid a conflict with President Barack Obama’s Thursday night speech at the Democratic National Convention.
This will be the Giants’ first Wednesday game since Oct. 3, 1934, a 14-12 victory over Pittsburgh. The last NFL game played on a Wednesday was in 1948.
Minnesota tops Washington
in NIT semifinal
NEW YORK — Freshman guard Andre Hollins scored 20 points, including five in overtime, and short-handed Minnesota beat Washington 68-67 on Tuesday night to advance to the NIT title game.
With the shot clock winding down and the Golden Gophers clinging to a one-point lead in the final minute, Hollins banked in an off-balance shot to put Minnesota up 68-65.
The top-seeded Huskies (24-11), who trailed by 15 late in the first half, sent the game to overtime when C.J. Wilcox stole the ball and drove for the tying layup with 16.3 seconds left.
Wilcox had a good look at a potential tying 3-pointer in the final seconds of overtime, but the ball bounced off the rim. Darnell Gant put back the miss to pull Washington within a point, but after Julian Welch missed two free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining, Abdul Gaddy’s desperation shot from beyond midcourt fell well short.
The sixth-seeded Golden Gophers (23-14) will face No. 3 seed Stanford in the championship game Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
Stanford overwhelms Massachusetts
Anthony Brown scored a season-high 18 points and Josh Owens had 15 points and 12 rebounds to help Stanford advance to the NIT championship game with a win over Massachusetts.
The Minutemen took their first lead since early in the game with about 8 minutes left, but Brown hit a 3-pointer to push the Cardinal (25-11) back on top, then later scored seven points during an 11-3 run that put Stanford in control.
Brooklyn native Chaz Williams led fifth-seeded UMass (25-12) with 19 points.
Serena Williams loses to Wozniacki
at Key Biscayne
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Serena Williams’ bid for a record sixth Key Biscayne title ended Tuesday night when she lost in the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open to former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, 6-4, 6-4.
Wozniacki served well and was content to keep the ball in play from the baseline, using her retrieving skills to extend rallies until Williams would make a mistake. Williams hit 34 winners to 12 for Wozniacki, but also committed 36 unforced errors to the Dane’s 13.
Williams, seeded 10th, was playing in her first tournament since January after being sidelined by a left ankle injury. She hasn’t won a title since August.
The buzz Andy Roddick got from beating Roger Federer turned into a hangover when Juan Monaco became a real headache. Less than 24 hours after his upset win over Federer, Roddick endured a drubbing against Monaco 7-5, 6-0.
Monaco, a patient baseliner seeded 21st, was unfazed by Roddick’s big serve, and the match became a succession of long rallies. Roddick began to look weary as the match progressed and stumbled after several shots as the match slipped away.
Tigers 3B Cabrera gets medical clearance to play
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera was cleared Tuesday to play again, more than a week after a bad-hop grounder broke a bone beneath his right eye.
The third baseman is expected to return to the lineup within a couple of days, although manager Jim Leyland hasn’t committed to the exact date the AL batting champion will play.
“That’s not good news. That’s great news,” Leyland said before the Tigers played the Houston Astros.
The Tigers open their season April 5 at home against Boston. Leyland emphatically said that if Cabrera is healthy, he will start at third base and bat third.
Cabrera has been out since being hit in the face on March 19. The ball off the bat of Philadelphia’s Hunter Pence caused a gash that needed eight stitches and left some discoloring under Cabrera’s eye.
By wire sources
