SPORTSWIRE: Strong Panthers defense no match for Philadelphia

Penguins sneak by Rangers; Montana bids farewell; College hoopsters announce departures Goaltender Ron Hextall also remained hot for the Flyers -- winning his sixth straight start -- though he was hardly tested as the Panthers managed only seven shots in the first two periods. The Flyers will try to match their season-high, eight-game winning streak against the New York Islanders on Saturday. In a game touted as one of the best defenses -- Florida -- against the Philadelphia offense, the Panthers were embarrassed. Philadelphia continuously crashed the net, while the Panthers had trouble getting anybody in position. Philadelphia outshot Florida 30-17. Lindros, the all-time leading scorer against the Panthers, set up the first two goals and scored the third. Mikael Renberg scored at 9:12 in the first period when he beat Geoff Smith and wristed one under Florida goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck. Philadelphia made it 2-0 when Kevin Dineen pushed through a power-play goal at 9:31 of the second -- a backhand between Vanbiesbrouck's legs. Lindros, the NHL's leading scorer, netted his 24th when he deflected Eric Desjardins' slap shot into the upper-right side of the net to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead just as the power-play ended. Renberg had an assist on the goal. Lindros has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points against the Panthers in two seasons. · Penguins 6, Rangers 5 PITTSBURGH -- Ron Francis' second goal of the game late in the third period boosted Pittsburgh over the New York Rangers 6-5 last night and clinched a playoff spot for the Penguins. The Rangers lost despite a five-assist performance by defenseman Brian Leetch, which tied a team record, and four assists by Mark Messier. Walt Tkaczuk and Rod Gilbert also had five assists in games against Pittsburgh, and the Rangers have had five five-assist games. The Penguins qualified for the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season, a record for the 28-year-old franchise. The Rangers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped, their longest of the season, have lost their last six games in Pittsburgh since Nov. 25, 1992. New York was 0-3 against the Penguins this season, 0-2 in Pittsburgh. Goalie Ken Wregget posted his career-best 23rd win. He won 22 games with Toronto in 1986-87 and with Philadelphia in 19898-90. Francis scored at 15:05 when Jaromir Jagr fought off a check behind the net to center the puck. Francis waited until Mike Richter committed himself, then found the opening for his 11th goal. Leetch set up Alexei Kovalev at 14:31, offsetting a goal early in the period by Tomas Sandstrom and knotting the score 5-5. Pistons 85, Cavaliers 76 AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Grant Hill scored 26 points and Allan Houston added 23 to help the Detroit Pistons to an 85-76 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. The Pistons snapped a five-game losing streak, while Cleveland lost for the seventh time in nine games. The Detroit offense stalled at the start of the fourth, and the Pistons managed just one point in the quarter's first six minutes. That allowed Cleveland to pull to 76-69, but the Cavaliers didn't get another field goal until just a minute remained. The two teams combined for just seven field goals and 24 points in the fourth quarter. Bobby Phills led Cleveland with 17 points. · Mavericks 104, Clippers 91 DALLAS -- Jamal Mashburn, Roy Tarpley and Popeye Jones led the Dallas Mavericks to a 104-91 romp over the Los Angeles Clippers last night, keeping their scant playoff hopes alive. Dallas went into the game facing elimination from the playoff race with any combination of a Denver victory over San Antonio and a Mavs loss. Denver lost 107-96 at San Antonio. The Mavericks trailed Denver, holding their eighth spot in the conference, by three games. Mashburn scored 20 points and Tarpley had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Jones contributed 15 points and eight rebounds. Lucious Harris had 14 points and Jason Kidd chipped in nine points and nine rebounds. Loy Vaught paced the Clippers with 28 points and 16 rebounds. Eric Piatkowski added 13. SAN FRANCISCO -- For two decades, from Notre Dame to the San Francisco 49ers to the Kansas City Chiefs, Joe Montana played with a rare combination of grace and grit that made him not only a four-time Super Bowl champion but one of America's most beloved athletes. He could do everything except give up, until now. With his wife Jennifer and their four children at his side, with thousands of fans jamming an outdoor plaza to say goodbye on a cool, sunny Tuesday, Montana retired at age 38 in a nationally televised ceremony. Looking youthful in a blue suit, his hair tousled by a breeze off San Francisco Bay, Montana thanked the crowd for their support as they chanted, ''One more year, one more year...'' A few moments earlier, he had formally announced his retirement at a news conference in a nearby hotel. Montana, who always had a joke ready even in the tensest moment on the field, told one as he stepped to the podium to say the words he said he thought he'd never say. ''I guess you all know why I'm here,'' he said with a smile. ''I signed a new contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.'' ''I'm still healthy, I'm relatively in one piece. At this point, it's time to pull out the golf clubs,'' he said, pointing out that almost every season for years, people have speculated on his retirement. ''One year they were going to be right,'' he said. Three more prominent underclassmen -- Scotty Thurman of Arkansas, Rodrick Rhodes of Kentucky and Chris Carr of Southern Illinois -- decided yesterday to declare for the NBA draft. The possibility that any collective bargaining agreement reached between the NBA and its players might include a salary cap for rookies has spurred a number of college stars to announce they were coming out. Earlier, Joe Smith of Maryland, the college Player of the Year, Corliss Williamson, who was Thurman's teammate at Arkansas, Gary Trent of Ohio University and Mario Bennett of Arizona State, announced they would pass up their remaining college eligibility for the NBA. Players have until 11:59 p.m. May 14 to announce for the draft which is scheduled for June 28 in Toronto. Last year, 20 underclassmen declared and 12 were selected. NCAA rules are lenient for basketball players, allowing them to try the draft but give them 30 days to return for their remaining college eligibility if they do not sign with an agent or with the team selecting them. Football players do not have that option. Roger Clemens is a no, Greg Maddux is a maybe and Mike Mussina is a yes. With opening day only a week away, managers yesterday tried to determine whether their staff aces would be on the mound for the first games of the season. In Clemens' case, the answer was no, even though he had a pain-free workout in his recovery from a stiff shoulder. Boston manager Kevin Kennedy said the right-hander had already missed so much time that he can't possibly be ready for the April 26 game at Fenway Park against Minnesota. Instead, Aaron Sele will get the call. Maddux, winner of the last three NL Cy Young Awards, is recovering faster than expected from chicken pox and will throw off a mound today on an isolated field. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox has tentatively scheduled Tom Glavine to be the opening day starter against San francisco. Mussina got the official word yesterday that he'll pitch next Wednesday's game against Kansas City -- the first game on the Royals' new grass field. He was decidely unexcited. ''What do you want to me say, that I'm honored? It's just a game, just the first game,'' Mussina said. ''It's exciting and all, but I have to keep my perspective.''