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Gordon told The Associated Press he planned to file the paperwork. In a phone interview Tuesday afternoon, Gordon said he intends to go through with the draft if he remains injury free.

He filed the necessary paperwork last spring, but withdrew before losing his eligibility.

A 6-foot-4, 240-pound junior from Nashville, Tenn., Gordon was an all-Southeastern Conference selection this year and just lost out to Vanderbilt's Shan Foster for league player of the year. He averaged 17.2 points per game and was one of the SEC's most difficult matchups.

Lewis also said Tuesday that linebacker David Pollack is leaning toward retirement. The former first-round draft pick broke a bone in his neck while making a tackle during the 2006 season.

Pollack’s decision isn’t a surprise. He has said all along that he doubted he would return if there was a chance he could injure the neck again. Lewis’ comments about Johnson were his strongest yet. The Pro Bowl receiver has been disgruntled since the middle of last season, when his look-at-me antics came under criticism.

Since the end of last season, Johnson has been lobbying for a trade even though he agreed to a long-term deal with the Bengals two years ago. Johnson’s contract would pay him $3 million next season and extends through 2010, with a club option for 2011.

Although Johnson stopped talking to reporters in Cincinnati last season, he has done numerous national interviews in which he threatened to sit out the season if he’s not traded. Lewis responded Tuesday by saying he should follow through with his threat.

Turns out, it was standard draft disinformation. At the time, Miami was negotiating with Jake Long, the Michigan offensive tackle. Ireland did a great acting job.

That's what the draft is all about: everyone lies. Or, to put it more accurately, dissembles. If anyone is allowed to spew out untruths, it's a team official in the few weeks before the draft - everyone hides his intentions so the other 31 teams are as confused as fans and the media.

In this case, the dissembling was based on the personality of Bill Parcells, who is now running the Dolphins.

Parcells has spent the last two decades trying to find another great pass rusher, the next Lawrence Taylor. Turns out, he chose someone more akin to Jumbo Elliott, who Parcells coached with the Giants and Jets - a Michigan offensive tackle.

Here are the other 11 players, with their college commitment in parentheses: Franklin-Simpson's Kelleshia Cooke (Tennessee Tech), Shelby County's Raechele Gray (Marshall), Marion County's Tacarra Hayes (Tennessee Tech), Owensboro's Janae Howard (Louisville), South Oldham's Lauren Jones (Austin Peay), Paul Dunbar's Chantelle Pressley (Eastern Illinois), Montgomery County's Maggie Prewitt (undecided), Fern Creek's Monique Reid (Louisville), Fairdale's Ceira Ricketts (Arkansas), Manual's Brittany Wilson (Dayton) and South Laurel's Lauren Wombles (undecided).

The games have been moved from a two-week format to one weekend for the first time this year, with the first game on June 13 at Indianapolis’ Conseco Fieldhouse and on June 15 at Louisville Gardens. The boys’ All-Star roster has not been released.

Harrellson made his first recruiting visit to Kentucky last weekend. After saying he did not commit to the Cats while in Lexington, he said of the visit:

"It went well. I've got one more visit set up, and it might be the last one I take."

Harrellson plans to visit St. Louis next weekend.

"All in all, I had a great time," he said of visiting UK. "I really liked it."

As you read this, it's exactly 130 days until Kentucky and Louisville renew the Governor's Cup football rivalry.

Last year's UK-U of L battle was the most anticipated in the modern history of the series. Both teams had legitimate reason to think they'd be strong -- a rarity in the history of our state's signature college football rivalry.

Both had an unusual level of star power in the offensive skill positions, starting with senior stars in quarterbacks Andre Woodson and Brian Brohm.

The homegrown QB standouts are gone, and so are a bevy of future NFL receivers from both schools.

Abderrahime Bouramdane visited for the first time on Monday, learning what thousands before him have come to understand as they reached Heartbreak Hill, 20 miles in.

"Up," he said, "is the problem."

Cheruiyot pulled away from Bouramdane as they entered the Newton Hills, reaching the crest of Heartbreak Hill with a 27-second lead and coasting to the sixth-fastest time in Boston Marathon history.

Dire Tune outkicked Alevtina Biktimirova after a back-and-forth last mile to win by 2 seconds in the closest finish in the history of the women's race. Cheruiyot, of Kenya, and Tune, of Ethiopia, each earned a recently enhanced prize of $150,000 -- the biggest in major marathon history.

Hensley and wife Danielle have three children under the age of 4 -- son Brady and twin daughters Bailey and Shelby.

"I've been thinking about getting out of it as a head coach for a while," Hensley said. "My dad passed away in January, and when something like that happens, it hits home and makes you realize what's really important in life.

"Like I said in my letter (of resignation), I was spending Sundays meeting with coaches when I should've been in church with my family."

Hensley was at Dunbar for three years. The Bulldogs finished 10-3 in his first season, but went 1-9 in 2006 and 4-8 last fall.

Kentucky (30-9, 9-9 Southeastern Conference) has not lost a non-conference game since a May 2007 setback at Evansville. The Wildcats are fresh off a 4-1 week, highlighted by a series win over Florida at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

UK defeated Louisville 7-6 earlier this year on Keenan Wiley's walk-off home run in the 12th inning. Kentucky has won six of the past seven meetings, and leads the series 62-30-1, including a 21-14-1 mark in Louisville.

Louisville (23-15, 8-7 Big East) will send Dunbar graduate Thomas Royse to the mound for his first career start. Royse has a 2-0 record and a 4.94 ERA in 17 games out of the bullpen in 2008.

Cowgill earns SEC honors

In 14 games for Triple-A Louisville, Hairston batted .421 with three home runs and 15 RBI.

"He's been playing great," said Reds Manager Dusty Baker, Hairston's manager with the Chicago Cubs in 2005 and 2006. "As much as I like Juan, we felt Hairston might be a better fit. He can play anywhere. It gives me a number of options now."

The Reds signed Hairston, a 10-year veteran who's been plagued by back problems for the last two years, to a minor-league contract and invited him to spring training as a non-roster player. He was reassigned to Cincinnati's minor-league camp March 29.

"I got a chance to play and play healthy," Hairston said. "The most important thing was to go down and make sure my back was OK. It feels great."

For Alexander, the two seasons since he received that eight-year deal have been filled with injuries, ineffectiveness and incessant boos.

"Yeah, it's sad, really," Seahawks president Tim Ruskell said while announcing the defending four-time NFC West champions released Alexander unconditionally, hours after the running back passed a physical.

Ruskell could've been talking about the Seattle fan's relationship with the always-smiling star, who earned a reputation for being a bit passive.

The 30-year-old Alexander went to three Pro Bowls, but was never the most beloved player on the Seahawks.

The Flyers led the best-of-seven series 3-1 before allowing the Capitals to pull even.

"For some reason, we don't like to do it the easy way," Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn said. "We like to grind it out and do it the hard way. But it's a great feeling to get this series won."

Lupul found space in front of the net to get a backhander past Cristobal Huet after Washington's goalie had deflected Kimmo Timonen's shot.

"You're on a power play, the puck goes to the net, you end up banging it in, and 20 guys are ramming you into the boards," Lupul said about the celebration after his first playoff goal. "I'm still catching my breath right now. I'm sure it'll sink in here in the next couple of hours."

It was the teams' first meeting since Boston swept Los Angeles in last year's American League Divisional playoffs.

Jacoby Ellsbury hit two solo homers and Kevin Youkilis added a two-run shot for Boston, while Pedroia went 4-for-5 with three doubles and a single.

Beckett, the majors' only 20-game winner last year, started the season on the 15-day disabled list with a strained lower back before making his first start April 6. It wasn't immediately known when he'd make his next start.

Boston emergency starter David Pauley, recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Pawtucket, made his fourth major league start - and first since 2006 - and gave up five runs on seven hits in 4 1-3 innings.

Paul Maholm (1-2) limited the Marlins to one run and four hits over six innings, ending a slide in which Pirates starting pitchers had an 11.38 ERA over the six games. The Marlins' three-game winning streak was also halted.

Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco (1-2) allowed only one hit, Maholm's single, over five shutout innings and appeared to get a break in the sixth when second base umpire Scott Barry called Nate McLouth out at second on a steal attempt. TV replays showed McLouth coming up from his pop-up slide, his foot on the base, before he was tagged by second baseman Dan Uggla.

The call, argued briefly by manager John Russell, may have been what the Pirates needed to shake themselves out of their slump. They responded with four consecutive two-out hits, with Freddy Sanchez and Jason Bay getting singles ahead of Ryan Doumit's game-tying RBI double.

Nady ran his hitting streak to 10 games with a single that made it 3-1 and gave Maholm (1-2) his first win in seven starts since beating Colorado on Aug. 23. The Pirates, outscored 58-16 during the losing streak, hadn't led since being ahead of the Cubs 1-0 in the second inning of a 3-2 loss Friday.

Smoltz fanned Felipe Lopez in the third inning, the veteran hurler's fourth of the game, to reach the mark. He struck out 10 for the second straight start and for the 45th time in his 20-year career.

Lannan, a rookie, allowed five hits in seven innings and the Nationals snapped a three-game losing streak. Washington had lost six of seven and is just 3-15 since winning its first three games of the season.

The Braves' five-game winning streak came to an end.

Smoltz (3-1) allowed a run and five hits in seven innings, and didn't walk a batter. Still, his ERA rose 22 points to 0.78. He got no run support from an offense that came into the game leading the NL with a .286 average.

Terms of the deals for the restricted free agents were not disclosed.

Orlovsky spent last season as the team's third quarterback after injuring his toe in the second preseason game at Cleveland. He is expected to compete with Drew Stanton for the backup quarterback spot next season.

The 6-foot-4, 323-pound Peterman returns for a third season with the Lions. He started 13 games in 2007 at right guard.

Moore, 6-foot-1, 305 pounds, played in all 16 games last season for Detroit. He had 37 tackles and two sacks.

The 69-year-old McDonnell has won more national championships than any other collegiate coach in a single-gender program.

"It is hard to imagine that any coach in intercollegiate athletics has had more influence on a program than John McDonnell has had on the men's track and field program at the University of Arkansas," athletic director Jeff Long said. "It is impossible to quantify Coach McDonnell's contributions as a coach, educator and mentor. The recognition and pride he has brought to the University of Arkansas and Razorbacks across the nation and around the world is truly legendary."

His most recent national championship was in 2006 in indoor track; his team won the SEC indoor title in 2007 for his last league championship.

McDonnell's 12 consecutive NCAA indoor track championships, from 1984 to 1995, made up the longest streak of Division I titles in any sport.

Magglio Ordonez also homered, giving him 1,000 RBIs for his career, while Edgar Renteria had four hits.

Justin Verlander (1-3) struggled early, giving up five hits in the first two innings, but got out of it with only one run allowed. He blanked the Rangers in his last four innings, giving up one more hit, to lower his season ERA to 5.93.

Vicente Padilla (2-2) allowed seven runs and eight hits in three innings. Seven of the hits went for extra bases, including three home runs.

After Frank Catalanotto's second-inning homer made it 1-0, the Tigers came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning on a run-scoring groundout by Brandon Inge and Santiago's RBI double.

Hinske doubled in the second inning and added a RBI triple off Jesse Litsch (2-1) in the fourth before leading off the sixth with a solo homer - his sixth of the season - off reliever Jesse Carlson.

The first baseman's bid to hit for the cycle fell short when Scott Downs struck him out in the eighth.

Rookie Evan Longoria had a solo homer - his second of the season - off Litsch. Dioner Navarro (finger lacerations) returned from a stint on the 15-day disabled list to deliver two RBIs singles against the Blue Jays' starter.

James Shields (2-1) allowed four runs and six hits over seven innings to win for the first time since beating Baltimore in Tampa Bay's season opener. Two of Toronto's run were unearned, and the right-hander struck out five and walked two.

The Reds split their two-game series with a rare victory over the Dodgers, who are 11-3 against Cincinnati since 2006. Two struggling lineups took turns breaking out during the short series.

After scoring only three runs over the weekend while getting swept in Atlanta, the Dodgers piled up 15 hits in a 9-3 win on Monday night. Hairston, batting .421 in the minors, was called up before that game, and got the Reds rolling a day later.

He singled and doubled off Hong-Chih Kuo (0-1), then singled home a pair of runs off Scott Proctor as the Reds pulled ahead 7-1 after five innings. Hairston also singled home a run in the eighth, becoming the first Reds player to get four hits in a game this season.

Dunn and Phillips added solo homers - for Phillips, his first in 72 at-bats - as the Reds piled up a season-high 15 hits.

Canseco was interviewed by federal agents and answered a series of questions about a variety of subjects and about his knowledge of steroid use in baseball, said his attorney, Gregory Emerson.

The former AL MVP was questioned about his new book, "Vindicated," and "some of the issues that have arisen earlier in the (Congressional) hearings," Emerson said.

"He answered fully and to the best of his knowledge," the attorney said. He said nothing new of significance was discussed.

The 1998 party at Canseco's home became an issue because Brian McNamee, Clemens' former trainer, has said Clemens spoke with Canseco and soon afterward approached the trainer about using performance-enhancing drugs.

"I talk. I understand how defense works," he said after being selected the NBA defensive player of the year Tuesday. "Communication's probably the biggest thing when it comes to defense."

An outstanding defender throughout his previous 12 seasons, all with Minnesota, Garnett won the league award for the first time by a wide margin one day before Boston takes a 1-0 lead into Game 2 of the first-round series against Atlanta.

He had 90 of the 124 first-place votes and a total of 493 points. Marcus Camby of Denver, last year's winner, was second with 12 first and 178 points, just edging Shane Battier of Houston, who received 11 first-place votes and 175 points.

"Any award you're able to acquire in this league is a big deal," said Garnett, who would much prefer his first NBA championship. "At the end of the day, it's about winning."

Putz, the Mariners' All-Star stopper, was activated from the 15-day disabled list for Tuesday's game against Baltimore after missing 18 games with a ribcage injury. To make room, Seattle sent veteran right-hander R.A. Dickey to Triple-A Tacoma.

Meanwhile, Bedard threw a strong, 45-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday, and is expected to return to the Mariners rotation on Saturday when they host Oakland.

"He threw on the side today and he felt really strong," , manager John McLaren said.

Bedard is eligible to come off the disabled list on Thursday, but his return is being pushed back in order to give him another throwing session in the bullpen. It will also split the two left-handers in Seattle's rotation.

Smoltz, 40, received a standing ovation after Lopez swung and missed on a 2-2 pitch for the second out of the third inning.

Nick Johnson and Austin Kearns looked at called third strikes in the second. Nationals pitcher John Lannan struck out swinging to begin the third.

Among the 15 pitchers ahead of him on the 3,000 strikeout list, Smoltz reached the mark faster than all but Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Nolan Ryan, Curt Schilling and Roger Clemens.

Smoltz's former teammate, San Diego pitcher Greg Maddux, is the only other active pitcher with more strikeouts (3,287).

The old record was 15 assists, set by Muggsy Bogues in 1993.

David West scored 27 points and Peja Stojakovic 22 for New Orleans, which took a double-digit lead in the second quarter, led by as much as 25 in the third and never looked back.

Tyson Chandler had his second double-double of the series with 10 points and 11 rebounds, despite playing with foul trouble. Morris Peterson added 12 points and reserve guard Jannero Pargo had 10 for New Orleans, which was 10-of-18 on 3-pointers, with Stojakovic hitting 5-of-7.

The series now moves to Dallas, where the Hornets have not won since January 1998. But that streak will end if the Mavericks don't figure out how to slow down Paul and a supporting cast that has been playing with enormous confidence since the Hornets stormed back from a 12-point hole to win the series opener.

Chris Bosh had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, but missed a 19-footer with 1.9 seconds left that could have won the game. Jason Kapono scored 20 points, Jose Calderon had 18 and Carlos Delfino added 16 for the Raptors.

Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis each scored 18 for Orlando. Hedo Turkoglu made the go-ahead layup and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Toronto, which trailed most of the game, took a 101-100 lead with 1:04 left on three consecutive 3-pointers, one from Delfino and two by Calderon, plus a free throw by Delfino.

But Turkoglu drove the lane for an acrobatic layup to put Orlando back on top, 102-101, then sank two free throws to push the lead to three points. Delfino made another layup to make it 104-103 with 9.6 seconds left, and the Raptors immediately got the ball back after Orlando's Keyon Dooling was called for an offensive foul on the inbounds pass.

The Miami Dolphins were grinning Tuesday, too. They signed the Michigan left tackle to a five-year contract with $30 million guaranteed, and they'll select him with the top pick in the draft Saturday.

The deal allows the Dolphins and Long to avoid a possible holdout.

"It's really important for us to know Jake is going to be on the field for us on time when training camp begins in July," coach Tony Sparano said. "That was critical."

Long's total contract package is for $57.75 million, said a person familiar with the negotiations who didn't want to be identified because the Dolphins declined to reveal terms. Last year's top pick, JaMarcus Russell, signed for $61 million with the Oakland Raiders but missed all of training camp before reaching a deal.

Corpas (0-1) was two outs away from the save when Burrell sent a 2-2 fastball past diving center fielder Willy Taveras in the gap in left-center.

That made a winner of Ryan Madson (1-0), who threw a scoreless eighth. Brad Lidge struck out two of the three batters he faced for his fourth save in as many chances.

It was the third straight game the Rockies lost when leading after seven innings.

Garrett Atkins had staked Colorado to a 6-4 lead when he sent Brett Myers' 100th pitch into the left-field seats for a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh. Atkins, who also hit a two-run homer against Philadelphia on Monday night, connected off an 0-1 fastball after Matt Holliday had drawn a walk with one out.