NBA
Mourning, Olajuwon return
All-Star center Alonzo Mourning, above, returned Tuesday to play with the Miami Heat, coming back from a kidney ailment that had sidelined him this season and once threatened his career.
Mourning was added to the lineup for Tuesday night's game against visiting Toronto and he scored nine points in the Heat's 101-92 loss.
Also Tuesday, Hakeem Olajuwon returned to the Houston Rockets' lineup, two weeks after his career was threatened by a blood clot. Olajuwon had 11 points and seven rebounds in Houston's 109-86 win over Houston.
Mourning, who started practicing with the team several weeks ago, decided to play after doctors told him that his condition might not change for a year. He said he will be monitored closely and his return will be on a game-to-game basis. NBA on page 6C.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Villanova names Wright
Villanova, Pa. Jay Wright's first stint at Villanova came as an assistant coach just a few years after the Wildcats' stunning 1985 NCAA tournament championship.
Wright, introduced as Villanova's coach Tuesday, hopes to return the Wildcats to those heights.
"I think what fans are going to have to expect is a team that's going to play with great passion, a team that's going to play with great pride," Wright said.
Wright, who led Hofstra into the last two NCAA tournaments, said he's thankful to be back in Philadelphia. The suburban Philly native grew up watching Big 5 basketball and was an at Villanova from 1987-1992. Wright, 39, replaces his friend Steve Lappas, who resigned unexpectedly Saturday after nine years at Villanova to become coach at Massachusetts.
WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final Four tickets scarce
Springfield, Mo. Southwest Missouri State is in the Final Four, but most fans without deep pockets will be watching on TV instead of from inside the St. Louis arena 31/2 hours away. The games were sold out long ago and prices are soaring.
The some 19,600 tickets to see the NCAA semifinals Friday night and the championship game Sunday at Savvis Center were doled out last summer.
It has created a ripe market for ticket brokers and scalpers some reportedly seeking as much as $1,900 for a single center court seat.
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