Superman to the rescue as Magic soar towards finals

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Dwight Howard dominated the overtime period to lift the Orlando Magic to a 116-114 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, putting the home team on the verge of a trip to the NBA finals. Howard's two free throws with 21 seconds remaining capped a 10-point effort in the extra session as the center nicknamed 'Superman' finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds to help the Magic leave LeBron James's Cavs facing a stunning series defeat.

Penguins sweep Hurricanes, book Stanley Cup return

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - The Pittsburgh Penguins booked their return trip to the Stanley Cup finals on Tuesday, sweeping aside the Carolina Hurricanes with a 4-1 victory in Game Four of the NHL Eastern Conference finals. The Penguins, who blanked the Hurricanes 4-0 in the best-of-seven series, will meet either defending champions Detroit, who beat Pittsburgh 4-2 in last year's finals, or the Chicago Blackhawks.

Nadal seeks record 30 Roland Garros wins in a row

PARIS (Reuters) - World number one Rafael Nadal will set a record for the number of successive matches won at the French Open if he beats Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili in the second round on Wednesday. By winning a 30th consecutive match, the Spaniard would eclipse Chris Evert's mark of 29 which the American set between 1974-81. She did not compete at Roland Garros in 1976-78.

Mike Tyson's daughter, 4, dies after accident

PHOENIX (Reuters) - The 4-year-old daughter of former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson has died, a day after being found with cord tied around her neck in an apparent accident at her home, Phoenix police said on Tuesday. "Exodus Tyson was pronounced deceased at 11:45 a.m. today at the hospital. Our sympathies go out to the family," police spokesman Andy Hill said in a statement.

Padres prayer for late miracle falls short

PHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) - Arizona starting pitcher Max Scherzer struck out 10 batters and the Diamondbacks held off a late rally to snap the San Diego Padres' 10-game winning streak with a 6-5 victory on Tuesday. The Arizona righthander allowed two runs and also had two RBIs over seven innings, but the red-hot Padres still managed to give the home team a major scare in the final two innings.

O.J. Simpson appeals robbery, kidnapping conviction

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - O.J. Simpson, the former football star acquitted of killing his ex-wife after a sensational trial, asked the Nevada Supreme Court on Tuesday to throw out his armed robbery and kidnapping conviction. Simpson, who was sentenced to up to 33 years in prison in December, said in his appeal that he was denied a fair trial through a series of errors judicial misconduct, insufficient evidence and a lack of racial diversity on the jury.