IN BRIEF

BASKETBALL

Bulls-Celtics Game 7 draws record rating

Game 7 of the Bulls-Celtics series has supplanted Game 6 as the most-watched first-round NBA playoff game ever on cable.

TNT said Boston's 109-99 victory Saturday to end the exhilarating series was seen by 6.99 million people. That was the most viewers for a first-round game on broadcast or cable since the 2004 Lakers-Rockets Game 4 on ABC.

The Bulls' 128-127 triple-overtime victory in Game 6 on Thursday was seen by 5.35 million people.

Also: Boston Celtics forward Leon Powe had successful surgery for a microfracture and torn ligaments in his left knee.

No timetable was set for Powe's return.

The second-year forward tore his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in the Celtics' Game 2 win over the Bulls on April 20.

Utah high school standout Ashley Kroneberger signed a national letter of intent to play for the UNLV women's basketball team.

Kroneberger, a 5-foot-10-inch guard, averaged 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.6 steals in her senior year at Springville High School. She was named the Class 4A state Most Valuable Player by the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret Morning News, leading her team to a 20-4 record and a runner-up finish in the state tournament.

Hal Perry, who teamed with Bill Russell and K.C. Jones on San Francisco's back-to-back NCAA champions in the 1950s, has died at age 75 after a lengthy illness.

HORSE RACING

I Want Revenge's injury could threaten career

The injury that kept I Want Revenge out of the Kentucky Derby will keep him from racing for months and threaten his career if he doesn't respond well to therapy, the horse's veterinarian said.

Foster Northrop said swelling in I Want Revenge's right front ankle, once considered mild, progressed last weekend, and an ultrasound and MRI showed additional ligament damage. The morning-line Derby favorite was undergoing a bone scan and other tests Tuesday in Lexington, Ky.

"Part of the prognosis is determined by the horse's response to therapy, but this is a serious injury, and depending on his progress, could be career-threatening," Northrop said.

Also: Musket Man, the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, probably will run in the Preakness.

Trainer Derek Ryan said he expects to decide by today, adding his colt will not run in the Belmont Stakes.

Kentucky Derby also-ran Desert Party, who finished 14th, will have surgery for a bone chip in his left front ankle and be sidelined indefinitely.

MISCELLANEOUS

Hewitt notches 500th career match victory

Lleyton Hewitt became the third active player on the ATP tour to reach 500 victories when he saved two match points before beating Philipp Petzschner 6-2, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (8) in the opening round of the BMW Open in Munich, Germany.

Hewitt has a 500-170 career record, which includes two major titles. The only other active players with more than 500 wins are Roger Federer with 638 and Carlos Moya with 573.

Also: David Nalbandian, ranked 19th in the world, needs surgery on a hip injury, which would keep him out of the French Open, Wimbledon and Argentina's Davis Cup quarterfinal against the Czech Republic in July.

Nalbandian told Argentine TV TyC Sports that his right hip is hurting more each day, adding that he expects to make a decision on surgery before the end of the week. He said he would need four to six months to recover.

Howie Clark hit a tiebreaking single in the 11th inning and Randy Ruiz followed with an RBI double, lifting the 51s to an 8-6 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies in a Pacific Coast League game in Fresno, Calif.

Las Vegas (7-18) squandered a strong start by Fabio Castro, who allowed two hits and two walks, struck out three and left with a 6-0 lead after seven innings.

Adam Witter's three-run homer capped Fresno's six-run eighth inning.

The 51s scored six in the second, highlighted by Aaron Matthews' two-run double and Buck Coats' two-RBI triple.

Lance Armstrong will ride in support of teammate Levi Leipheimer in the Giro d'Italia, saying he is not ready to contend for the title.

The seven-time Tour de France winner, who is still working his way back from a broken collarbone in a crash in March, said he hopes to win at least one stage of the Giro, which begins Saturday in Venice, Italy.

Armstrong helped Leipheimer win the Tour of Gila in New Mexico last week and the Tour of California at the beginning of the season.

Boxer Benjamin Flores died, five days after he was hospitalized following an NABF super bantamweight title bout with Al Seeger in a Dallas hotel.

Bout supervisor Bob Lenhardt says the 25-year-old Flores died at Parkland Hospital.

Referee Laurence Cole awarded the victory to Seeger in the eighth round of the fight Thursday night at the Hilton Anatole hotel.

Lenhardt said Flores, from Houston, was helped to his stool before lying down. Lenhardt said doctors rushed to his side, and Flores appeared unconscious when removed on a stretcher.

All pro soccer games in Mexico this weekend again will be played without fans because of swine flu. The decision comes even though other parts of the country are returning to normal following a shutdown to contain the virus.

Mexico's 176 league games -- from the first to third division -- were shuttered last weekend, and three games around the capital were closed to fans the week before.

Defending champion Manchester United advanced to the European Champions League final, winning 3-1 against host Arsenal in London as world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals and set up another.

Brigham Young linebacker Matt Ah You will transfer before his senior season, coach Bronco Mendenhall said. Ah You had 50 tackles last season, playing in 13 games and starting twice.