By KEITH PARSONS / AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Saddled with a bum ankle, B.J. Elder limped during warmups, limped through 12 scoreless minutes, then limped back on the court to celebrate Georgia Tech’s first trip to the Final Four in 14 years. In Phoenix, Connecticut All-America center Emeka Okafor had only two points…

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Eagles, Rams and Jets received the maximum of four compensatory draft picks each from the NFL on Monday. In all, 32 picks were awarded to 16 teams for next month’s draft. Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, a team losing more or better free agents than it acquires…

By JEFF LATZKE / Associated Press Writer NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — In one game, All-American Nicole Powell has the chance to achieve two goals she has held for years — beating Tennessee and getting to the Final Four. The Stanford star has wanted to beat the Lady Vols since she was a little girl. She’ll…

MT Media Relations MC COLLUM MURFREESBORO — The Middle Tennessee football team opened spring practice today in rainy and wet conditions on the turf at Floyd Stadium. The less than ideal weather conditions, however, did not slow the Blue Raiders. “The weather was unfortunate, but it did not keep us from getting done what we…

By NEDRA PICKLER / Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — With gasoline prices at a record high, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is calling for the government to stop pumping oil into its emergency stockpile. Kerry says that’s one of several steps President Bush could take to slow the soaring cost of gasoline, which…

By WILL LESTER / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Although President Bush has been battered by a former aide’s claim that he did nothing to counter the al-Qaida threat before the Sept. 11 attacks, a poll released Monday finds American voters still consider Bush far stronger than Democratic rival John Kerry in defending the…

By TERENCE HUNT / AP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Dueling with Democratic rival John Kerry over the economy, President Bush is promoting lower taxes and free-trade policies in a state that has lost 80,000 manufacturing jobs since he took office. Bush’s trip to Appleton, Wis., on Tuesday was billed as an official visit…

By NEDRA PICKLER / Associated Press Writer CHENEY SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — John Kerry lashed out at Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday, accusing Cheney of distorting his Senate record on taxes as the Democrat sought to shift the debate to President Bush’s stewardship of the economy. “This administration has one economic policy for America…

By DAVID CRARY / AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Congress is on the case, and so are federal regulators, but legions of American parents already have reached a verdict — much of what airs on television is not fit for their children. Exasperation is widespread, but so is acknowledgment that the problem defies…

By BEN FELLER / AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — For the fourth time in as many months, the Bush administration is easing the restrictions of its education law, this time in the area of testing. The latest move — reducing the number of students a school may test without running afoul of the law…