Sports Log - The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)

NBA

Report: Nets lead way in Anthony chase

The New Jersey Nets are emerging as the front-runner in thepursuit of Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony, according to areport on ESPN.com last night. The report said the Nets are willingto offer No. 3 overall pick Derrick Favors, the expiring deals ofTroy Murphy and Kris Humphries, plus at least one future first-round pick for Anthony, whose contract expires after next season . .. Lakers forward Ron Artest is motivated to win another NBAchampionship because he plans to auction his ring from last season'stitle to raise money for mental health counseling in schools. Afterthe Lakers beat the Celtics for the title in June, Artest thankedhis psychiatrist for helping him relax during the playoffs. He saidhe received counseling for a few months when he was 13, but thatfunding for the program dried up . . . Raptors rookie forward EdDavis is expected to sidelined up to six weeks after undergoingarthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee.

College football

UMass cracks top 10 after near upset

UMass climbed six spots to No. 9 in the FCS Coaches Poll afterits narrow loss to Michigan Saturday. The Minutemen also moved upfive spots to No. 11 in The Sports Network poll. UMass, which lostto the Wolverines, 42-37, ranked 21st in the FBS, joins five otherColonial Athletic Association teams in the FCS top 10: No. 2Villanova, No. 3 James Madison, No. 5 Richmond, No. 6 Delaware, andNo. 8 William & Mary. New Hampshire, which dropped to 1-2 afterlosing to Rhode Island Saturday, fell 10 spots to No. 18 . . .Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder has a sore throwing armand will take it easy at practice this week. Ponder wore a sleeveyesterday to protect a bruised right tricep muscle he suffered inthe Seminoles' Sept. 11 loss at Oklahoma. The injury stiffened up onhim during Saturday's 34-10 win over BYU . . . Brandon Hanning, akaOhio University's Rufus Bobcat, said his 'whole plan' was to tackleOhio State's Brutus when he tried out for the mascot's job at OUlast year. He did just that Saturday, wrestling unsuspecting Brutusto the ground before 105,075 fans at Ohio Stadium. The 19-year-oldHanning is banned from further affiliation with the school'sathletic department, although he isn't actually a student thereanymore; he now attends nearby Hocking College.

Pro hockey

Penguins hand Shero 5-year extension

Penguins general manager Ray Shero, whose deft handling of thesalary cap and midseason hiring of coach Dan Bylsma in 2009 helpedPittsburgh win its first Stanley Cup in 17 years, agreed to a five-year contract extension that runs through the 2015-16 season.Shero's current five-year contract, signed at the start of the 2006-07 season, would have expired at the end of this season. ThePenguins have twice played for the Stanley Cup and won it once underShero, an assistant general manager in the NHL for 14 seasons beforebeing hired by the Penguins. They've made the playoffs in all fourseasons since Shero took over . . . The former owner of the HartfordWhalers is taking control of business operations of the city's minorleague hockey team. Howard Baldwin announced his company, HartfordHockey LLC., will be responsible for marketing, ticket sales, andother day-to-day business operations of the AHL's Hartford WolfPack. Madison Square Garden and the NHL's New York Rangers willcontinue to own the team and retain control over the players andcoaches. The team will be renamed the Connecticut Whale sometimethis year. Baldwin is trying to convince the NHL that the citydeserves a team.

Baseball

Selig won't expand use of replays

Commissioner Bud Selig ruled out increased use of instant replayby umpires to review close calls during the postseason this year.Selig said he discussed the matter with the special committee ofmanagers, management, and ownership he appointed in December. 'Idon't get the feeling that there's a lot of support for it, at leasttheir conversations with me,' he said. Baseball instituted videoreview to assist umpires late in the 2008 season, but limited itsuse to whether potential home runs are fair and whether the ballwent over the fence . . . Cubs outfielder Tyler Colvin remainedhospitalized in Miami, a day after his season ended when part of ashattered bat punctured his chest. Colvin was hit in his upperchest, allowing air into his chest well and potentially into hislungs.

miscellany

Symphony Hall ready to make a racket

Boston's Symphony Hall may be known as the 'house of strings' toconcert-goers, but other stringed instruments - squash rackets -take over tomorrow night as four of the world's foremost championsplay for $30,000 in prize money in the Sharif Kahn Cup. The'Showdown at Symphony' features four players who have claimed theworld's No. 1 ranking, including Egyptian Ramy Ashour, the currentboss, fellow Egyptian Amr Shabana (2007-08), Frenchman GregoryGaultier (2009), and Canadian Jonathon Power (2006). The eventbegins at 6 . . . The University of Maine gave women's basketballcoach Cindy Blodgett a two-year contract extension. The former BlackBears star is 20-69 in three seasons at Maine . . . Tomas Rojas beatKohei Kono by a unanimous decision to capture the vacant WBC superflyweight title in Saitama, Japan.

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