Friday night: : Marc Savard scored twice and Tim Thomas stopped 26 shots to lead the host Boston Bruins past the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Michael Ryder scored for the fourth game in a row, and David Krejci also scored for the top-seeded Bruins. ... Nicklas Lidstrom scored his second goal of the game with 49.1 seconds left, lifting the host Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal series.
Lawmakers: It's time for football playoff
et cetera
Tackling an issue sure to rouse sports fans, lawmakers pressed college football officials to switch the Bowl Championship Series to a playoff, with one Texas Republican likening the current system to communism and joking it should be labeled "BS," not "BCS." John Swofford, the coordinator of the BCS, rejected the idea of switching to a playoff, telling a House panel that it would threaten the existence of celebrated bowl games. Sponsorships and TV revenue that now go to bowl games would instead be spent on playoff games, "meaning that it will be very difficult for any bowl, including the current BCS bowls, which are among the oldest and most established in the game's history, to survive," Swofford said. Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, who has introduced legislation that would prevent the NCAA from calling a game a national title unless it's the outcome of a playoff, bluntly warned Swofford: "If we don't see some action in the next two months, on a voluntary switch to a playoff system, then you will see this bill move."
Baseball: : The Texas Rangers placed outfielder Josh Hamilton on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left rib cage muscle. Hamilton is batting .242 with two homers and 10 RBIs after an All-Star season in 2008. ... Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer, an All-Star, was activated after missing the first month of the season with a back injury.
Pro football: : Brett Favre says he's retired, but Minnesota coach Brad Childress acknowledges that it's likely the Vikings will at least assess their interest in the record-setting quarterback later in the offseason. ... Vikings first-round draft pick Percy Harvin has been hospitalized because of severe dehydration.
