March 2006 in Sports - March 4, 2006 (Saturday)

March 4, 2006 (Saturday)

• Dogsled racing: The ceremonial start the Iditarod XXXIV begins in Anchorage, Alaska. Eighty-three mushers and their teams of dogs are competing. The race runs more than 1,049 mi (1,600+ km) to Nome, across the United States state of Alaska.
• Baseball: World Baseball Classic
  • Pool A
    • Japan defeats Chinese Taipei 14–3
    • Korea defeats China 10–1
• Rugby Union: Super 14, Round 4
  • Waratahs 31–16 Sharks in Sydney
    • The Waratahs scored three tries to one, missing several opportunities in the final 10 minutes to get a fourth for a bonus point.
  • Crusaders 39–10 Blues in Christchurch.
    • The Blues led the Crusaders at half-time 10–9, despite having Joe Rokocoko sin-binned shortly before the interval. However the Crusaders performed well in the second half, keeping the Blues tryless, with Richie McCaw scoring 2 tries in a win over their biggest rivals.
  • Stormers 15–30 Highlanders in Cape Town.
    • The Highlanders won their second game in a row in South Africa, with wing Roy Kinikinilau scoring twice in the first half. TVZN
  • Cheetahs 27–25 Hurricanes in Bloemfontein
    • Super 14 newcomers the Cheetahs upset the Hurricanes, whose three previous matches all resulted in bonus point wins.
• Cricket: West Indies in New Zealand
  • Match five in the five match series, New Zealand led the series 4–0 (before match).
    • The West Indies defeat New Zealand by 3 wickets with 2 balls to spare. New Zealand win series 4–1.
      • New Zealand won the toss, electing to bat, with Scott Styris scoring 90 and Dwayne Smith taking 5–45, New Zealand ending all out on 233. Good opening bowling spells from Kyle Mills and Shane Bond restricted the West Indies to just 10–1 off 10 overs. After that, every batsmen made contributions and the West Indies got home in a tight match to avoid a whitewash.
• NCAA Men's College Basketball
  • (15) North Carolina 83, (1) Duke 76: The Tar Heels took control with an 11–0 run midway through the second half, and held on to spoil the Blue Devils' Senior Night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tyler Hansbrough led the Heels with 27 points; J. J. Redick and Shelden Williams had 18 apiece for Duke.
  • Conference championship games (winners, in bold, advance to the NCAA tournament):
    • Belmont 74, Lipscomb 69 (OT): The Bruins won the latest incarnation of the Battle of the Boulevard, though not in Nashville, to earn the Atlantic Sun Conference title and their first NCAA berth ever.
    • Winthrop 51, Coastal Carolina 50: Craig Bradshaw's basket with 9.1 seconds left gave the Eagles the Big South Conference title.
    • Murray State 74, Samford 57: The Racers eased to the Ohio Valley Conference title.
• Boxing:
  • Miguel Cotto defeats Gianluca Branco by an eighth round technical knockout, to retain his WBO world Jr. Welterweight title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
  • Joe Calzaghe unifies his WBO world Super Middleweight title with the IBF one by defeating Jeff Lacy by a unanimous twelve rounds decision in Manchester, England.