Vasquez

PHILADELPHIA -- San Diego rivals Terry Norris and Paul Vaden turned what was billed as a "grudge match" into a 12-round sleepwalk last night in the junior middleweight unification appetizer to the Mike Tyson-Buster Mathis main course.All 12 rounds were sluggish and the estimated 9,000 fans at the Spectrum derided the lack of action. But Norris, who forced the issue throughout, did what little fighting there was and won a lopsided decision.Norris, who owned the World Boxing Council crown, added Vaden's International Boxing Federation belt to his collection.

COLLEGE PARK - Some people travel to Mediterranean spas to find their mojo. Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez prefers a bandbox filled with howling, undulating, body-painted Duke University partisans. Vasquez, who has been in a shooting slump lately, said he can't imagine a better place to regain his stroke than Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium - from which he draws inspiration, energy and focus. Maryland (13-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) visits No. 2 Duke (17-1, 4-0) for the third time in Vasquez's career at noon today.

COLLEGE PARK -- Illinois was in possession against Maryland at Comcast Center on Wednesday night when the ball swung to Greivis Vasquez's man. Priming himself to play defense, Vasquez leaned forward, slapped both palms on the court and howled. The sophomore guard was posturing neither for the television cameras nor his opponent. Maryland vs. VCU Tonight, 7:30, Verizon Center, Washington, MASN, 1300 AM Line: Maryland by 3 1/2

COLLEGE PARK -- What Greivis Vasquez faces on the road is no different from what he gets at home. Though fans at Comcast Center don't chant his name derisively as the crowd did last month at Virginia Tech, they have filled Internet message boards with critical, mean-spirited remarks about Maryland's sophomore guard. So what Vasquez will experience tonight, when the red-hot Terrapins play second-ranked Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., is really nothing compared with what he went through in December, when the Terps bottomed out after embarrassing home losses to Ohio and American.

COLLEGE PARK -- There was a shiny bauble on the top shelf of Greivis Vasquez's locker in the Maryland dressing room last night, the reward for two successful nights of basketball. Yet, in the wake of the Terps' 70-64 win over Hampton in the regional final of the OBE Classic here, Vasquez felt a bit more like Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who threw five interceptions in a Monday night win over Buffalo last month. Northeastern@Maryland Thursday, 8 p.m., Comcast SportsNet+, 1300 AM

CLEMSON, S.C. -- With just under two minutes left to play and his team on the cusp of winning its third straight game, Maryland freshman guard Greivis Vasquez couldn't resist antagonizing the Clemson students just a wee bit. He cupped his hand to his ear while they taunted him, as if to say, "I can't hear you," and flashed a cocky smile - a gesture he earned by contributing to half of his team's field goals in the Terps' 82-66 win over Clemson yesterday at...

COLLEGE PARK -- An antidote to what had been ailing the Maryland Terrapins came after Eric Hayes drove the lane and passed to an open Greivis Vasquez in the corner early in the second half of yesterday's game. Vasquez, who entered the game having missed 11 straight three-point attempts, tossed up a pillow-soft three that was good. Vasquez followed with a two-point basket on the next possession, and the Terps (4-2), playing without an ailing Bambale Osby, were off on a 15-0 run and a 72-51 victory over Lehigh (2-3)

A mixed martial arts fighter has died in a hospice about six weeks after he was injured in a sanctioned bout, a rare fatality for a combat sport that is growing in popularity. Sam Vasquez, 35, of Houston, was injured at the Toyota Center on Oct. 20 and died Friday. The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Vasquez's death, but spokeswoman Stacey Mitchell said it could be several days before the official cause is determined. Vasquez was hospitalized after he was knocked out by Vince Libardi of San Antonio in the third round of a fight at the Renegades Extreme Fighting show.

ATLANTA - There's a reason Greivis Vasquez will take the court at the Georgia Dome tonight determined to scratch, claw and sweat his way through 40 minutes. There's a reason they'll have to drag him off the hardwood if the scoreboard isn't tilting in Maryland's favor when the final buzzer sounds. There's a reason he vows to play tonight's game against North Carolina State as though it's the last time he'll ever wear a Maryland jersey. That reason? "It could be," Vasquez said yesterday.

Greivis Vasquez looked disgusted. "I don't even think we made any threes," the sophomore guard said after Maryland lost to UCLA on Monday night. "We need to shoot the three better." Lehigh @Maryland Today, 4 p.m., Comcast SportsNet, 1300 AM