Detroit Pistons Rasheed Wallace (l) attempts to score over Miami Heat Udonis Haslem during the second quarter on Monday. (AP Photo)

TORONTO, May 24--Rasheed Wallace scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as a solid Detroit Pistons defeated the Heat 90-81 in the opening game of the Eastern Conference finals in Miami on Monday.
According to Reuters, Chauncey Billups added 18 points for the defending NBA champions, who got double-digit scoring from all five of their starters in the first of the best-of-seven games series.
Game Two is also in Miami on Wednesday and the Heat will be hoping to bounce back from their first playoff loss this postseason after eight straight victories.
Richard Hamilton added 16 points for the Pistons, while Ben Wallace had 13 points and 13 rebounds as Detroit held the Heat to just one point in the final 4 Ú minutes after nearly squandering a 14-point lead.
“We just wanted it a little bit more,“ Rasheed Wallace said. “We just play D (defense) and play our assignments.
“We’re just trying to prove last year wasn’t a fluke.“ Tayshaun Prince also contributed 13 points to Detroit’s attack, while Antonio McDyess had 10 points off the bench in just 20 minutes to become the sixth Piston into double figures.
Shaquille O’Neal played for the Heat despite a lingering thigh injury that kept him sidelined from games and practices for almost two weeks.
He made his first four shots of the game and finished with 20 points in 33 minutes of action.
Eddie Jones led Miami’s scoring with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting, while a disappointing Dwyane Wade could only manage 16 points after shooting just 7-for-25.
The Pistons led 44-43 at the half, pulled ahead by as many as 14 points and held the Heat to just 14 fourth quarter points in a solid defensive effort.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 24--Slipping standards of refereeing have forced the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to increase its vigilance in a bid to arrest the problem.
The AFC took Syria’s Abbas Mahmoud Ashek off their elite panel of 50 FIFA-accredited referees earlier this month, citing poor performances at the Arab club championship.
With the final round of Asian 2006 World Cup qualifiers reaching a climax in August, referees are coming under severe scrutiny following a controversial year.
Last year’s Asian Cup was plagued by poor officiating and there have been further problems during the qualifying competition for next year’s World Cup.
Tough measures were needed to raise standards, the AFC’s director of referees Gary Power said.
“It is a positive approach because by using only the best referees the risk of errors will be minimised,“ he told Reuters.
“But the long-term solution lies in better initial selection and training of referees.“
AFC General Secretary Peter Velappan acknowledged there had been problems but said they were being overcome through close monitoring.
“There were some issues with refereeing at the Asian Cup,“ he said. “But the AFC is constantly trying to improve the standards. Our referees know that they are being watched.“
Asian soccer’s image was tarnished by some controversial decisions at the 2004 Asian Cup in China.
Three hotly disputed goals helped Japan to beat the hosts 3-1 in the final in Beijing, provoking a furious reaction from Chinese fans who burned Japanese flags and fought with riot police.
A quarterfinal between Japan and Jordan ended in farce when Japan’s players persuaded the referee to switch ends during their penalty shoot-out, to Jordan’s fury.
A World Cup qualifier between North Korea and Iran in March was marred by crowd trouble after fans in Pyongyang reacted to a late sending-off by hurling missiles.
China’s domestic league was almost brought to a standstill last season after accusations by several clubs that corruption among referees was rife.

Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball to Dudi Sela of Israel in the first round of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros on Monday. (Reuters Photo)

PARIS, May 24--Roger Federer hardly knew anything about qualifier Dudi Sela before playing him Monday in the first round of the French Open. That didn’t stop the top-ranked Swiss from winning 6-1, 6-4, 6-0, according to AP.
Federer said his scouting report on Sela was limited to just ’half an hour before the match’.
“I warmed up next to him on the same court. That’s it. I warmed up with my friend and he warmed up with his friend,“ Federer said. “I hadn’t heard anything about him. So I think you can relax a little bit because he’s not supposed to break through in this tournament.
“If you play tough, you know you should get through. Once I win a set 6-1, I’m not usually going to lose a match.“
Federer also knows nothing about his next opponent--Spain’s Nicolas Almagro, who beat Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-3--but he does believe his game needs improving.
“I just wasn’t happy on a few of my forehands. I also think I could have served better,“ he said.
Federer has lost in the first round at Roland Garros three times--1999, 2002 and 2003. And a third-round loss to three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten prevented Federer from sweeping all four major events last year.
With that history, Federer was careful not to take Sela lightly, especially after being broken twice in the second set.
“It’s true, you know, when I’m down a break and he looks like he’s going to get the next game as well,“ Federer said. “It makes you wonder sometimes. But I reacted just in time not to let that affect me too much.“
Federer is 42-2 and leads the men’s tour with six titles this year--Doha, Rotterdam, Dubai, Indian Wells, Key Biscayne and Hamburg. His only losses were to Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals at Monte Carlo and Marat Safin in the Australian Open semifinals.
He’s trying to become just the second man in 36 years to win all four major events. Andre Agassi completed a career Grand Slam by taking the French Open six years ago.
“You can never be unhappy winning in straight sets,“ Federer said. “So it’s a good start.“

TORONTO, May 24--Victor Martinez’s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning drove in the winning run as the Cleveland Indians edged the Minnesota Twins 2-1 in American League play at Jacobs Field on Monday.
According to Reuters, the catcher’s liner to center field scored Jhonny Peralta as the Indians won their third straight game in the opener of a four-game series between the bitter Central Division rivals.
It was an uneventful start to the series between the teams, who have had several on-field altercations in the past few seasons.
Major League Baseball issued a written warning to the clubs before the series began to keep their players in line after a benches-clearing incident on May 5.
The warning worked, at least for the first game, played in front of just 13,257 fans on a bitterly cold night in Cleveland.
Arthur Rhodes (3-1) pitched a perfect inning of relief for the win, as five Indians pitchers combined on an eight-hitter.
Starter Scott Elarton pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings, allowing just four hits. Bob Wickman finished up, getting the final three outs in a nervous ninth inning for his 13th save.
Minnesota starter Kyle Lohse (3-3) allowed two runs on seven hits over 7 1/3 innings and took the loss, striking out one and walking two.
Aaron Boone’s RBI double in the second inning cashed in the Tribe’s other run, as Cleveland made the most of just seven hits.
Michael Cuddyer tied the game with a run-scoring double in the seventh inning for the Twins.

2005 Indianapolis 500 race car driver Danica Patrick from the USA before posing for photographs during a promotional event for the race in Times Square, New York on Monday. (Reuters Photo)

INDIANAPOLIS, USA, May 24--For a split-second wobble in practice, Danica Patrick would most likely have become the first woman to take pole position at the Indy 500, Reuters reported.
As it is, the 23-year-old rookie will start next race in fourth position on the grid--the best starting position by a woman in the classic American event’s 89-edition history.
She is only the fourth woman to qualify for the Indy 500 and her predecessors, among many other admirers, believe she can become the first woman to win, despite a lack of experience.
“All the ingredients are in place,“ said Janet Guthrie, the first female driver to break the all-male barrier at Indianapolis in 1977.
“Danica is the first woman to arrive at the Speedway with top-notch equipment and the full backing of a winning team. And she has the talent and determination to make the most of her opportunity.
“Despite her inexperience at Indianapolis, there’s no reason Danica can’t win if she gets the right breaks on race day.“
Patrick drives a Rahal Letterman Racing Panoz/Honda. The team won the Indy last year with Buddy Rice, who will miss this year’s race because of a back injury.
Her car is identical to that of team mate Kenny Brack of Sweden, the 1999 champion who will start 23rd on the grid.

LISSONE, Italy, May 24-- Alessandro Petacchi won his third stage at the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday after another high-speed lead-out from his Fassa Bortolo team.
According to Google Sports news, the 31-year-old Italian beat Erik Zabel of Germany and compatriot Paolo Bettini in a rain-soaked sprint finish after the 15th stage was reduced from 205 km to 158 km due to bad weather at the planned start in Livigno.
It was Petacchi’s 20th victory of the 2005 season and the 98th of his 10-year career.
Compatriot Paolo Savoldelli finished in the same time as Petacchi and retained the overall race lead, 25 seconds ahead of Danilo Di Luca.
He added, “I went a bit early with 200 meters to go to avoid being blocked in but nobody really caused me any problems when I accelerated and I think I won pretty well.“
Petacchi will take his career total to 100 if he wins in Varazze on Thursday and on the last stage to Milan on Monday.
Savoldelli finished safely in the middle of the Peloton and praised Giro organizers for moving the start of the stage down the valley from Livigno to Tirano.
“Starting in Livigno would have been crazy because we would have got very cold in the rain and snow on the long descent,“ he said. “The result of the stage wouldn’t have changed and so the organizers made the right decision.“
Savoldelli and the other 158 riders left in the Giro take a break on Wednesday on a second rest day. They will be back in action on Thursday for the 210-km 16th stage from Lissone to Varazze, on the Ligurian coast.

CARDIFF, UK,
May 24--The British and Irish Lions needed an injury-time penalty by Jonny Wilkinson to scrape a 25-25 draw with Argentina on Monday as the below-strength visitors threatened to gatecrash the going-away party, Reuters said.
The Lions, who depart for New Zealand on Wednesday and play the first of three tests on June 25, struggled throughout and only in a nail-biting finale when they piled on the pressure did they look the superior side.
However, they had to wait until the last kick of the match, six minutes into injury time, to prevent an embarrassing defeat.
“I would have swapped it (the late penalty) for one of the earlier ones which had all been close and I was pretty relieved when it went over,“ said Wilkinson, whose last previous international contribution was to win the World Cup for England in 2003.“
The flyhalf performed well in his first international for 18 months, landing six penalties and converting the Lions’ only try scored in the first half by England centre Ollie Smith.
But he was matched all the way by his opposite number Federico Todeschini who also had six penalties and converted an early Jose Nunez Piossek try.
When the final whistle sounded the Pumas celebrated as if they had won the World Cup--as well they might having performed superbly despite the absence of up to a dozen first team regulars.
They had raced into an early 13-0 lead as the disorganized Lions looked exactly what they were--a team of relative strangers playing together for the first time.
A sharp break by captain Felipe Contepomi opened the way for winger Piossek to score in the corner after six minutes and Todeschini’s boot did the rest.
The Lions hit back after 16 minutes when Wilkinson cleverly delayed an inside pass out of the tackle to Smith and the fast-arriving England centre dived over the line.

ISTANBUL, Turkey, May 24--Liverpool will need to display the cunning and conviction that defined their European golden age if they are to upset predictions and beat a more accomplished AC Milan side in Wednesday’s Champions League final, Reuters said.
The English club, four-times winners between 1977 and 1984, revived memories of those heady European nights in seeing off Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea in the knockout rounds to reach their first final in the competition in 20 years.
This clash with Milan, who won the European Cup for the sixth time in 2003, presents a still greater challenge for a Liverpool side with a threadbare look compared to Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
“We know we’re not the favourites going into the game,“ Liverpool’s Spanish coach Rafael Benitez recognised. “But we deserve to be in the final and now we’re here we have nothing to lose.
Surprisingly, Wednesday’s game at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium will be the first UEFA competition meeting of two sides who have racked up 504 European matches between them and appeared in 21 finals.
It comes in the 50th final since the competition began in the 1955-56 season.
For Milan it will be a fifth final since 1993; for Liverpool a first since the tragedy of 1985, when the English club’s rioting fans caused a wall to collapse at the Heysel Stadium, causing the deaths of 39 people, mostly Juventus fans.
Liverpool, in their first season under Benitez, finished fifth in England’s Premier League and will be playing in the less UEFA Cup next season unless they win on Wednesday and are given special dispensation to defend the trophy.
Milan were much more impressive in Serie A, finishing runners-up to Juventus, but after seeing Liverpool prevail against their Italian rivals with a mixture of attacking panache and uncompromising commitment they will be far from complacent.