IN BRIEF

UNLV

Baseball team loses leads, game at BYU

UNLV blew two five-run leads and lost to Brigham Young 14-13 Thursday in a Mountain West Conference baseball game at Provo, Utah.

The Rebels (14-21, 3-4 MWC) took 5-0 and 11-6 leads but couldn't overcome shoddy pitching and defense.

Trailing 13-10, BYU (17-13, 4-3) scored four runs in the seventh inning, two unearned. UNLV finished with four errors, leading to four unearned runs.

Ryan Kowalski went 3-for-5 with three RBIs to lead the Rebels' 16-hit attack. Michael Brenly, Braden Walker and Keith Smith homered for UNLV.

The teams will continue their three-game series at 5 p.m. today.

Also: UNLV beat Utah 3-2 and 2-1 in a Mountain West softball doubleheader at Eller Media Stadium.

In the first game, Stephanie Bregante pitched 5 2/3 innings in relief to get the victory. Jaci Hull hit a solo homer for the Rebels (26-16, 2-0).

Heather Slettvet struck out a career-high 12 for UNLV in the second game. She gave up seven hits and walked three in the complete game.

The Rebels (26-16, 2-0) will host Utah (19-14-1, 0-2) at 7 p.m. today. FOOTBALL

Saints release veteran place-kicker Carney

The New Orleans Saints released place-kicker John Carney two days after trading for Olindo Mare.

Carney, 43, was the Saints' all-time leader in field-goal accuracy percentage (.833). He joined the Saints in 2001 and will be entering his 18th NFL season.

Also: Wide receiver Patrick Crayton re-signed with the Dallas Cowboys. Crayton, a restricted free agent, got a one-year, $1.3 million deal. TENNIS

Venus Williams rolls, reaches quarterfinals

Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Fla., beating Meilen Tu, 6-2, 7-5.

The unseeded Williams, coming off a second-round victory over fourth-seeded Patty Schnyder, will face eighth-seeded Tatiana Golovin in the quarterfinals of the clay-court tournament. Golovin beat 12th-seeded Samantha Stosur, 6-2, 6-1.

Top-seeded Nadia Petrova also advanced, beating 15th-seeded Zheng Jie, 6-2, 6-3.

HOCKEY

Eagles, Spartans move into Frozen Four final

Boston College and Michigan State advanced to the final of the Frozen Four in St. Louis.

Boston College (29-11-1) will take a 13-game winning streak into the championship game after a 6-4 semifinal victory over North Dakota. Nathan Gerbe scored the go-ahead goal with 4:06 left.

Michigan State (25-13-3) advanced with a 4-2 victory over Maine. Nick Sucharski scored the go-ahead goal off a rebound early in the third period and Jeff Lerg made 29 saves for the winners.

The Eagles are seeking their first title since 2001, and the Spartans haven't won it all since 1986. Boston College lost to Wisconsin in last year's final. SOCCER

Maradona improves but remains in hospital

Diego Maradona has shown marked signs of improvement from an acute hepatitis condition blamed on alcohol abuse, a doctor said.

"We are seeing the clinical improvements are ever more evident in this case of acute, toxic hepatitis," said Hector Pezzella, director of the private Guemes Sanatorium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Maradona, 47, is being treated.

The doctor said Maradona also was in better spirits but wouldn't say when he expected the soccer great to be released. Thursday was his eighth day at the hospital.