Heat’s LeBron James will be named MVP

A person familiar with the decision has told the Associated Press that Miami’s LeBron James will be announced Saturday as the NBA’s most valuable player, the third time he has won the award in the past four seasons.

James is expected to be presented with the trophy Sunday by Commissioner David Stern before Miami hosts Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Indiana.

James will become the eighth player to win the award at least three times, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone.

He’ll be the first to win as a member of the Heat. James’ previous MVP awards in 2009 and 2010 came with Cleveland.

ETC.

Lawsuit against Syracuse Boeheim dissmissed

A judge threw out a defamation lawsuit brought against Syracuse University and men’s basketball Coach Jim Boeheim by two men who said the Hall of Fame coach slandered them when he said their accusations of sexual abuse against former assistant coach Bernie Fine were driven by greed.

Two former team ball boys, Bobby Davis and Michael Lang, accused Fine of sexually abusing them more than 20 years ago.

When the allegations surfaced in November, Boeheim vehemently supported Fine, a friend for more than 40 years and his assistant for 35-plus seasons. Boeheim told ESPN that Davis was telling “a bunch of a thousand lies” and called him an opportunist looking to cash in on the publicity surrounding the Penn State sex-abuse scandal.

Supreme Court Justice Brian DeJoseph, a graduate of Syracuse and its law school, ruled Friday that Boeheim’s comments were not statements of fact but were opinions that are protected from defamation suits.

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Novak Djokovic joined Rafael Nadal in declaring he won’t play again on the new blue clay court at the Madrid Open after losing to Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6 (2), 6-3, in an all-Serb quarterfinal.

Tipsarevic won for the second time in five matches against Djokovic, who last lost at this stage in November at the Paris Masters.

“I want to forget this week as soon as possible and move on to the real clay courts,” the top-ranked Djokovic said.

On the women’s side, Serena Williams eased past Maria Sharapova, 6-1, 6-3, to advance to the semifinals.

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Charles Pasarell, who has been associated for 31 years with the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, announced Friday that he was leaving the event to develop a resort in his native Puerto Rico. Steve Simon will remain as tournament director and Pasarell’s longtime business partner Raymond Moore will also continue to work at the tournament.

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Sprint Cup points leader Greg Biffle won his second career pole at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, sweeping past the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne to start up front for the Southern 500 Joey Logano wrecked leader Elliott Sadler five laps from the end, then broke free during a green-white-checkered finish at Darlington Raceway for his second consecutive Nationwide Series victory IndyCar Series officials are announcing a change that will increase the horsepower of engines by 40 to 50 in time for Indianapolis 500 qualifying.

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American Justin Gatlin nipped Jamaica’sAsafa Powell to win the 100 meters in 9.87 seconds at the season-opening Diamond League meet at Doha, Qatar.

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Laura Bennett of Boulder, Colo., placed third in the ITU World Triathlon in San Diego to secure the third and final spot on the U.S. women’s triathlon team headed for the 2012 London Olympics. Helen Jenkins of Britain won the race and Erin Densham of Australia placed second. The men will race Saturday with several Americans vying for spots on the Olympic team.

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The owners of third-place Kentucky Derby finisher Dullahan say the colt won’t be running in the Preakness Stakes on May 19 but will return in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.

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The Buffalo Bills have agreed to a one-year contract to sign free-agent quarterback Vince Young, providing them an established backup to Ryan Fitzpatrick and a bona fide threat in their wildcat formations The Houston Texans have signed veteran free-agent quarterback John Beck.

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Justin Faulk of the Carolina Hurricanes scored four minutes into overtime for his second goal of the game, sending the United States to a 3-2 victory over Kazakhstan at hockey’s world championships at Helsinki.

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Alhambra super-heavyweight Dominic Breazeale qualified for the Olympic Games in boxing, rallying on points in the third and final round to defeat Puerto Rico’s Gerardo Bisbal, 15-12, in Brazil.