THURSDAY SPORTS: Clemson opens play in Charleston Classic; Lady Gamecocks win; Bobcats, Hawks win

The Clemson men’s basketball team is back in action Thursday night, taking on Temple as part of first round play in the Charleston Classic. The winner of Thursday’s game takes on the winner of Davidson vs. Georgia in the second round on Friday.

______________________________________________________________________________

Clemson’s women’s basketball team fell to #19 South Carolina, 68-43 at Littlejohn Coliseum on Wednesday.

______________________________________________________________________________

In the NBA Wednesday, Kemba Walker scored a season-high 31 points and the Charlotte Bobcats handed the turnover-prome Brooklyn Nets their sixth loss in their past seven games, 95-91. Elsewhere, Paul Millsap, signed in the offseason to replace Josh Smith, had 19 points to steal the spotlight in Smith’s return to Atlanta, leading the Hawks to a 93-85 win over the Detroit Pistons.

______________________________________________________________________________

Riding a four-game Southern Conference winning streak, Furman will attempt to continue its strong late season run and claim a share of the 2013 SoCon championship Saturday when it entertains Wofford, its oldest football rival, in a noon clash at Paladin Stadium. This contest will mark the 87th renewal of the state’s original football rivalry, which began in 1889. Coverage will begin Saturday morning at 10:30 on 96.3 WGOG.

______________________________________________________________________________

Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinnery has been named a semifinalist for the 2013 Maxwell Football Club Collegiate Coach of the Year Award. The 16 semifinalists were announced by Maxwell Football Club President Ron Jaworski on Wednesday. Swinney and Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer are the only repeat semifinalists from last year.

______________________________________________________________________________ 

Clemson senior quarterback Tajh Boyd is a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Boyd is joined on the list by Derek Carr of Fresno State, Jordan Lynch of Northern Illinois, A.J. McCarron of Alabama and Aaron Murray of Georgia.

______________________________________________________________________________

In other Clemson news, Dabo Swinney announced Wednesday that junior defensive tackle Josh Watson will forego his senior season and enter the NFL draft.

______________________________________________________________________________

In the first big-name trade of the offseason, the Detroit Tigers traded first baseman Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers Wednesday for second baseman Ian Kinsler, a deal that Fielder had to approve and did. As part of the deal, the Tigers are sending $30 million to Texas to offset the cost of Fielder’s salary, who still has $168 million due to him over the next seven seasons.

______________________________________________________________________________

An angry Alex Rodriguez walked out of his grievance hearing Wednesday, upset after the arbitrator ruled that his attorney couldn’t question Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig under oath. About four hours later, A-Rod went on sports radio station WFAN in New York, where he denied using any performance-enhancing drugs from the company Biogenesis. He also denied having named other players in the PED investigation, and questioned Selig’s motivation for giving him a 211-game suspension, the most ever for a baseball player for an alleged PED violation, declaring, “He hates my guts. It’s 100 percent personal. This is all about his legacy. To put me on his mantle would be a big trophy for him.”

______________________________________________________________________________

U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn partially tore one of the rebuilt ligaments in her surgically-repaired right knee in a training crash, putting in question her ability to compete in the Sochi Olympics in February. The announcement Wednesday came one day after the four-time overall World Cup champion and 2010 Vancouver Olympics downhill gold medalist suffered the injury. Vonn — who’s currently dating Tiger Woods — hasn’t competed since needing surgery to fix her ACL and MCL after another crash nine months ago.