in brief

BOXING

'Hungry' Wladimir Klitschko
to defend titles vs. Chambers

IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko says he is in the best shape of his life going into his defense against American challenger Eddie Chambers.

The 33-year-old Ukrainian hasn't fought in nearly 10 months but says he won't be rusty when he fights his former sparring partner today in Duesseldorf, Germany.

"I've never been so fast, I've never been so agile, I've never been so experienced as I am now," Klitschko said ahead of his 17th title fight. "I am hungry. I am on fire. He wants my title, but I won't allow it."

Klitschko (53-3, 47 knockouts) last fought in June, stopping Ruslan Chagaev in a hastily organized fight.

The 27-year-old Chambers (35-1, 18 KOs) gives away 5 inches in height to the 6-foot-6-inch Klitschko, who also has a similar reach advantage.

Also: A fight between former champion Hector Camacho and Allan Vester set for March 26 in Copenhagen, Denmark, was canceled because Vester injured his back in training.

The fight would have been the 47-year-old Camacho's first bout in Europe.

Las Vegas' Jesse Magdaleno begins his quest for a second national Golden Gloves championship today when the West Regional Golden Gloves tournament is held at the South Point.

Magdaleno, the reigning 119-pound champion, will fight this year at 123 pounds.

Fighters from Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and Washington will compete at 4 p.m. today and noon Sunday with the winners advancing to the national championships in Little Rock, Ark., from May 3 to 9.

PRO FOOTBALL

Free-agent linebacker Porter
agrees to deal with Cardinals

Free-agent linebacker Joey Porter agreed to a three-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals on Friday.

Terms of the deal were not released.

Porter, an 11-year NFL veteran and four-time Pro Bowler, spent the past three seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He has 92 career sacks.

Also: Tennessee acquired defensive end Jason Babin after the Philadelphia Eagles declined to match the Titans' offer.

The New York Jets signed former Seattle Seahawks linebacker and special teams captain Lance Laury.

TENNIS

Jankovic, Wozniacki advance
to Indian Wells women's final

Jelena Jankovic defeated Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-4 to reach the women's final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., where she'll play Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki.

Wozniacki beat fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-2, 6-3, a win that is projected to raise her world ranking to No. 2 next week.

Andy Roddick advanced to the men's semifinals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over 18th-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain, who lost to the American for the 11th consecutive time.

Roddick will play No. 6 seed Robin Soderling in today's semifinals. The Swede defeated No. 4 seed Andy Murray, 6-1, 7-6 (4).

Defending champion Rafael Nadal plays 20th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia in the other semifinal.

Also: Twelve-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro pulled out of next week's Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla.

Williams, a five-time winner of the hard-court event, is out because of the left knee injury that has sidelined her since her Australian Open title.

Del Potro has a right wrist injury that has bothered him since the start of the season.

The 13-day tournament begins Tuesday.

LOCAL COLLEGES

Roach tosses no-hitter as CSN
rolls to doubleheader sweep

Donn Roach threw a no-hitter in the opener and Joe Robinson and Taylor Larsen combined on a one-hitter in the second game as the third-ranked CSN baseball team swept a Scenic West Athletic Conference doubleheader against Colorado Northwestern Community College 5-0 and 10-0 at Morse Stadium in Henderson.

Roach walked three and struck out nine in his seven-inning performance.

Marvin Campbell went 3-for-6 with two triples in the doubleheader for CSN (21-5, 8-2 SWAC).

Also: The CSN softball team dropped a Scenic West Athletic Association doubleheader to 20th-ranked College of Southern Idaho 11-2 and 18-12 at the Russell Road Recreation complex.

Berlynn Bagley went 4-for-8 with three RBIs over the two games for the Coyotes (17-10, 13-8 SWAC).

The UNLV baseball team lost the opener of a three-game series against Long Beach State 17-8 at Wilson Stadium.

Nolan Clark and Richie Jiminez each had two hits for the Rebels (13-7).

Steve Tinoco had four hits for the Dirtbags (8-8).

The UNLV softball team split a pair of games in the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif.

The Rebels dropped a 14-13 slugfest to fourth-ranked Michigan in the first game. Ashli Holland had a home run and two doubles for UNLV.

Jaci Hull went 3-for-3 and Jessica O'Connor went the distance on the mound for the Rebels (19-10) in a 7-1 win over San Jose State in the second contest.

Amanda Bingson broke the UNLV record in the weight throw by 2 feet, tossing the hammer 183 feet 4 inches, on the first day of the Trojan Invitational track and field meet.

The field events were held in Walnut, Calif.

MISCELLANEOUS

St. John's fires basketball coach after Red Storm's NIT ouster

Norm Roberts was fired as St. John's basketball coach after six seasons -- only two of them with a winning record.

Athletic director Chris Monasch announced the dismissal two days after the Red Storm lost to Memphis in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament to complete a 17-16 season. The Red Storm were 6-12 in the Big East this season -- 13th in the 16-team conference.

Also: Terrico White scored 21 points and sparked a decisive second-half run as Mississippi (23-10) defeated Memphis (24-10) 90-81 in the second round of the NIT in Oxford, Miss.

Oregon athletic director Mike Bellotti is stepping down after less than a year in the position to become a college football analyst with ESPN.

Bellotti was head coach of the Ducks for 14 seasons before he formally took over as athletic director in July. His resignation is effective April 5, and he'll make his debut on ESPN on April 17.

Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler signed a six-year, $30 million contract extension that will keep him in Vancouver through the 2015-16 season.

In his sixth season with the Canucks, the 25-year-old Kesler has already set a new career high with 66 points in 71 games.

Newton Marshall, the first musher from Jamaica to enter the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, reached the finish line at Nome, Alaska, three days after Lance Mackey won for an unprecedented fourth consecutive time. Newton Marshall finished in 47th place, covering the course in 12 days, 4 hours and 27 minutes.