Area Sports Briefs (The Daily Star) The Stamford Golf Club has started registration for its Junior Program for the 2007 summer season. Registration deadline is Sunday and space is limited to the first 70 juniors (ages 5-16) who sign up....more...ESPN movie 'Ruffian' recalls (Madera Tribune) Before Barbaro, there was Ruffian. A brilliant filly who won her first 10 races by a whopping total of 82 3/4 lengths, Ruffian was viewed as a superstar with the power to restore horse racing's lagging popularity in 1975....more... Counting on leaders, champions, quality (Bangor Daily News) There are some things in the sports life you had best heed, or you take the risk of a surprise if you don?t. "I had a plan and I shook Tek off, and I?ll think ?What if?? for the rest of my life."...more... Angela Busch: 'Rounding Third' right on target (Naples Daily News) Sports and theater have long been mutually exclusive activities. It?s rare to see your buddy from the Super Bowl party all decked out for a local production of Romeo and Juliet....more... The Sports Guy: Running with the NBA Finals (ESPN) The thought of LeBron James putting his own stamp on the NBA Finals left Bill Simmons no choice -- he had to do a running diary of Game 1....more... The Sports Guy: A nice ring to Spurs (ESPN) While no one was looking (not even Bill Simmons), the Spurs quietly made themselves into one of the best teams of the decade. Story...more... Magic Release Donovan From Contract (Norwalk Advocate) After walking out on Orlando, Billy Donovan insisted the Magic would have a great future without him. That future success likely will be entrusted to Stan Van Gundy, with ESPN and the Orlando Sentinel reporting late Wednesday night that the former Miami Heat coach had accepted the head coaching job. ...more... 'Ruffian' is good, but has flaws (Newsday) The masters at Disney/ABC/ESPN couldn't have come up with a more brilliant bit of cross-promotional hype if they had thought of it themselves, which presumably they didn't....more... Sports in brief (The Salt Lake Tribune) Tennis Sharapova beaten in semifinals Maria Sharapova failed to put up much resistance Thursday at the French Open and lost 6-2, 6-1 to Ana Ivanovic, who was as steady as anyone making her Grand Slam semifinal debut could...more... |