UCLA hires Steve Alford as new basketball coach

LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA has hired Steve Alford as men's basketball coach, luring him from New Mexico days after Alford signed a new 10-year deal with the Lobos.

Athletic director Dan Guerrero says Alford is "the perfect fit for UCLA" because he connects with a new generation of players and brings an up-tempo and team-oriented style of play to Westwood.

Alford led New Mexico to a 29-6 record this season that included the Mountain West regular-season and tournament titles. But the Lobos were upset by Harvard in the second round of the NCAA tournament shortly after Alford's new deal with the school had been announced.

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Tottenham v FC Basel Europa League Betting Odds, Preview and ...

Tottenham v FC Basel Betting PreviewThe Premier League side starts with home advantage in this one, and a commanding performance could see them well set for the second leg. Spurs are still eyeing up a top three finish in the Premier League and so have split focus. This is the first meeting between the two sides in UEFA competition, and it is Spurs who will start as favourites against the Swiss side who have never won in England.

Tottenham v FC Basel Recommended Bet:Spurs have posted a W2 D0 L1 record on home soil against Swiss sides. Overall Tottenham have a W3 D0 L2 record again Swiss sides and in those five matches, there have been 22 goals scored. So we can probably expect high entertainment on Thursday night. In each of Tottenham's three wins, they have scored four or more goals. Tottenham are on a four game winning streak in North London in Europe at the moment and defeat at Inter Milan in their second leg of the round of sixteen tie ended a ten match unbeaten European streak for them. They are the only side left in the competition who has actually won it before. Tottenham are overwhelming favourites for this one, as they have scored in eight of their last nine Europa League games. They have conceded in seven of those though. This should be routine enough for Spurs if they are on top of their game, and not too much sign of an upset if they stay composed.

Basel have yet to win a match in England in eight previous attempts. They have only been to London once before and that ended in a loss to Fulham. Their big moment came in last season's Champions League group stage where they eliminated Man United with a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford and a 2-1 win back at home. Over all, Basel's record against English clubs stands at W3 D5 L8. The last time they were at this stage, they were eliminated by Middlesbrough back in the 2005/06 season. FC Basel are now without a win in six European away matched (D3 L3), their last win on the road coming during this season's qualifying round. In the Europa League itself, they haven't won any of their last seven away matches. They are actually the only remaining domestic champions left in the competition and never before have they made it to the semi finals of a major European club competition. They have shown that they can keep things tight though, conceding just two goals in their last seven Europa League matches. They have only conceded one goal after half time in this season's Europa League, and that is from ten matches. They have scored 6 goals after the 80th minute mark in this year's competition.

Online bookmaker PromotionBoylesports are applying their 1st Assist Cashback promotion to the Europa League matches this week. If your 1st Goalscorer selection assists the first goal of the game, then the online bookmaker will refund the losing First Goalscorer stake. So a good bit of coverage on your First Goalscorer betting for the Europa League (and Champions League ) matches this week. The maximum refund is up to £100 per customer per match, and applies to bets placed before kick off only. New customers registering an account with online bookmaker Boylesports can get up to a £20 free bet as a welcome bonus.

Don't expect much! Robin van Persie warns Manchester United's FA Cup replay ... - Mirror.co.uk

Dutchman is exhausted after having only 48 hours to recover from Sunderland game before travelling to Stamford Bridge

Manchester United striker Robin van Persie has warned that tomorrow's FA Cup replay with Chelsea could be a scrappy affair, as he struggles to regain fitness.

The Dutchman played the full 90 minutes and saw his deflected shot score the only goal as the Red Devils retained their 15-point lead in the Premier League by beating Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light.

Van Persie now has less than 48 hours to prepare for the game at Stamford Bridge and claims the game could be low on quality.

"It is not ideal. Normally on the second day your muscles are quite bad, but now we have to play at this certain time," van Persie said.

"It is a shame but we can't do anything about it because there are Champions League games in midweek and Chelsea are still in the Europa League. We just have to deal with it.

"People have to realise they can't expect a great game of football because it is not possible. If it happens I am glad - but don't expect it because these games are just too close to each other."

Van Persie's strike was recorded as an own goal to Bramble, but the striker - who has scored 19 goals in the league this season - is confident he will be credited for his efforts.

"Of course, no question about that," he told Sky Sports. "I think you could see (I enjoyed it). It's been a while so it was good to score again, and it was an important goal. Today it was all about three points and we got them.

"We knew before that it was going to be tough; away at Sunderland is always going to be very hard. They work hard and play a game with lots of long balls, second balls and we had to dig in. We did that, everyone fought hard for a deserved win.

"This team, if you ask me, is just full of winners. Everyone knows what he has to do. I was never in doubt, even if it was still a small score at 1-0. I was always confident we would win this game because of players like Mike (Carrick), Vida (Nemanja Vidic), Chris (Smalling) has been playing really well, Alex (Buttner) just comes in and plays well... everyone knows what he has to do and we did it again."

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Florida vs. Michigan: Keys to Victory for Gators in Elite 8 Battle

A win against the Michigan Wolverines on Sunday will put Billy Donovan and the Gators in the national semifinals for the first time since they capped off back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007.

This is far and away the most difficult game Florida has had in the tournament. The lowest seed the Gators have faced is the 11th-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers.

They'll need everything in their arsenal to get past the Wolverines. Should Florida follow these three keys, it will be just fine.

Kenny Boynton is a fearless shooter. Normally, that wouldn't be a bad thing for a player. When that player happens to shoot an average of 39.2 percent from the field, that can be a huge problem.

More times than Gators fans would like to remember, Boynton's shot selection has hurt Florida. He'll make you wonder what in the world drove him to attempting a field goal that had almost no chance of going down.

The Gators can't let Boynton shoot them out of another game. He's gotten a little better reining in his shot selection over the last week or so.

The first half has not been kind to Trey Burke in the tournament. He wasn't very good against South Dakota State in the round of 64, and it was much the same against Kansas in the Sweet 16.

Florida can't let that happen again. Should Burke begin the game with a few misses, the Gators need to jump out to a lead and not let it go.

They let Florida Gulf Coast get out to an early lead before eventually going on a huge run and taking the game over. As much as the Eagles fought, there never looked to be a way back because of how well the Gators defense was playing.

In order to get a similar defensive performance, Will Yeguete will have to be the defensive spark. When he came on the floor, FGCU found itself in trouble. Yeguete was one of the driving forces behind the Eagles' 20 turnovers.

With the kind of perimeter players on Michigan, it's going to be imperative for the Gators to get out and lock down on shooters like Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Nik Stauskas.

Defense has been the calling card of Florida all season. It's held opponents to just 53.7 points a game on 37.9 percent shooting. Yeguete will need to be flying around the court on the defensive end once again in order to corral the Wolverines offense.

More Info: [Soccer Live] Strømsgodset - Sarpsborg

Statement card after 2013 Miami Masters. Maybe not looking beneficial to someone!!!!!

A Ranking after 2013 Miami Masters: Federer @ 3, Ferrer back @ 4 and Nadal @ 5. Gasquet @ 9? And Tipsy will not leave?

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Louisville compared to. Wichita State: Comprehensive Preview for 2013 Final Four Sport

Wichita State took its Cinderella run into the Last Four to battle the tournament's No. 1 over all seed, Louisville. The Shockers have lived up to their name by having an impressive run in this contest that features genuine wins over Pittsburgh and La Salle and impressive wins over No. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. 2 seed Ohio State. Wichita State has pulled this off maybe not by fluky plays or unsustainable hot firing, but by they that will be made by quality team play a hardcore out even for a team as skilled as Louisville. Meanwhile, Louisville has been even more remarkable. The Cardinals have yet to be severely tested in this event. Their best sport was a triumph over Oregon in the Sweet 16, and while getting down second-seeded Duke, 85-63, in the Elite Eight the Cardinals appeared not quite unbeatable. This all creates for an excellent matchup. Here is everything you need to capture the action: Where:AGeorgia Dome, Atlanta, GA When:ASaturday, April 6 at 6:09 p.m. ET Watch:ACBS Live Stream:ANCAA.com Betting Line:ALouisville -10 (via Vegas Insider on March 31) Sport Review While Louisville was supremely impressive in moving past Duke, the victory didn't come with out a cost. As CBS' Jeff Goodman explains, sophomore guard Kevin Ware suffered a nasty leg injury in the very first half that left his teammates visibly shaken and at least one in tears. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images Ware have been providing strong minutes for the Cardinals. In the three tourney games before the Elite Eight, Ware was calculating 20 minutes and just under seven points per contest. His contributions will be missed by the Cardinals, nonetheless it isn't something they could not overcome. Particularly when you think about this next stat. Any sport involving Louisville, the first thing I look at is its opponents power to defend the steel. The Cardinals provide a powerful defensive force that resulted in them forcing the second-most turnovers per play in the nation. Wichita State does not exceed in caring for the ball, but because the Shockers are 109th in turnovers per play it is not terrible. They will struggle against this defense, but not to the level that it willAnecessarilyAdoom them. Carl Hall can help the Shockers lb the unpleasant glass.Jeff Gross/Getty Images Not all of the stats are in Louisville's favor. The Shockers will be able to pound the offensive boards. As the Shockers check always in at 14th in offensive-rebound percentage, the Cardinals are 177th in the nation in defensive-rebound percentage. Finding additional looks on the bad end will allow the Shockers to help keep this game close. Prediction: Louisville 72, Wichita State 65 Louisville is really a talented team on a mission right now. Whilst the loss of Ware hurts their depth, it also reinforces this team's drive to win and gives it an emotional rallying point. The Shockers have now been outstanding. This trip is deserved by them to the Final Four, but they don't have the ball handlers or fire power to over come the Cardinals.

New package on the cards for Stu Holden

Despite the fact that Stu Holden will undoubtedly be making Bolton Wanderers for the next 28 days, the team and manager Dougie Freedman have confirmed that they wish to keep carefully the American around. Holden will be moving to Sheffield Wednesday where he will hopefully slot directly into the Owls' midfield. The news from the club allayed concerns from Bolton Wanderers fans which they could be forced to see the person (who had been perhaps the club's best on the area) leave afer almost two years of inactivity through extensive harm. Stu has been out for nearly 2 yrs, but has just recently made significant steps in a bid to go back to complete fitness. Holden made late-game hearings again Sunderland and Everton before going 67 minutes in Bolton's 1-0 win against Peterborough. Speaking included in Holden's loan story, Dougie Freedman made a spot to say that Stu has been presented a extension by the club: "This may be the alternative in his treatment process and he will return to us fit healthy. This is actually the best shift for Stuart and is really a win-win-win situation for everyone involved. "We had an excellent chat early in the day in the week. I informed him that individuals want him around next season and have offered him an agreement extension." Speaking to the Bolton News, Freedman delved into a bit more detail concerning the situation: "It is wonderful information that we'll be giving him a fresh contract. "I am sending him out to obtain games since whatever I actually do is in Bolton's best interest. I am doing something which helps in the long term. "Stu has performed several reserve games but we're at the stage where he wants that check. I am taking a look at the larger picture because we've got young Josh Vela and Medo, and this transfer suits everyone."

Link: FC Zurich - St. Gallen - Swiss Super League