Professional Sports

MIAMI (AP) - Dirk Nowitzki got the Dallas Mavericks to the brink of an NBA championship. His teammates did the rest, a perfect ending for a club that talked all season about its greatest strength being the sum of its parts. ...Read more

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama junior left-handed pitcher Adam Morgan was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 120th pick overall in the third round in the Major League Baseball draft on Tuesday afternoon. Morgan is the first Crimson Tide player to be selected in the 2011 draft. ...Read more

Deontay Wilder will fight in Tuscaloosa again on June 18th.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Mark Ingram figures there no use dwelling on whether the NFL lockout will stunt his growth as a player, and he downplays the apparent tension that the Saints' decision to draft him has caused with Reggie Bush. If anything, Alabama's 2009 Heisman Trophy winner sounds pleased with how his pro career has begun. ...Read more

New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan was in Tuscaloosa Friday.  Ryan served as a guest speaker at the Alabama football coaching clinic.

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Jeff Gordon passed Kyle Busch with eight laps left and stretched his lead from there at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, ending his winless streak at 66 races. PIR has been the place to end long winless streaks lately. ...Read more

Boxer Deontay Wilder talks about his first win inside Alabama state lines.

John Huddleston reports on a professional basketball team that not only puts on a good show, they also take pride in being positive role models.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - NASCAR is back - and so is Juniormania. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won pole position for the Daytona 500 with a speed of 186.089 mph in qualifying Sunday. It's a boost for Earnhardt, who is coming off a disappointing 2010 season and has spent Daytona speedweeks facing questions about the 10-year anniversary of his father's death at the track. ...Read more