Celtics (13-0) earn another West win

So far, the Celtics know how the West is won.
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* At this point, missing Garnett doesn't hurt Celtics
* Mavericks know of challenges facing Celtics
* Allen is latest Celtic floored by flu bug
* C's beat up on Heat
* No Garnett, no Allen, no problem: Celtics roll past Heat, 117-87

They defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 96-90, last night at a sold-out TD Banknorth Garden. With Celtics legend Bill Russell sitting courtside, Boston improved to 13-0 against the Western Conference this season.

While the Celtics have yet to play the reigning champion Spurs and the hot Suns and Hornets, defeating the Mavericks legitimized Boston's unblemished West record.

"I didn't know that," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers of his team being 13-0 against the West. "It's nice. It caught me off guard. But we still have a West Coast trip coming up [after] the All-Star break, so you know I'm not going to say a word about it. The West is better than the East."

Boston is now an NBA-best 36-8, and 20-4 at home, after going 10-5 in January.

Kevin Garnett missed his third straight game with an abdominal strain. Boston, however, is 2-1 without Garnett, filling his mammoth sneakers with the likes of Leon Powe (10 points, 4 rebounds) and James Posey (13 points, 3 rebounds).

"When you don't have a Garnett and you win against Dallas, it's good," Rivers said. "Dallas is a team that we are still trying to catch in our minds. They've been there."

Rivers said he wouldn't return Garnett to the lineup until he was 100 percent and that there was no timetable for his return. Rivers, however, did say that Garnett seemed to be improving.

Garnett hasn't spoken publicly in a week. Director of basketball operations Danny Ainge, however, expressed optimism that Garnett will be back soon.

"I'm not worried long term," Ainge said. "It's day to day. I'm hoping he can play next week."

Allen returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday's game at Miami with flu-like symptoms. He received intravenous fluids at a Miami hospital and slept so much that day that he remembers little of it.

"I just kept throwing up," Allen said. "It was probably the most I had thrown up in my life."

To make matters worse, he returned to action just after learning he didn't get selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while teammates Garnett and Paul Pierce made it.

The teams went into halftime knotted at 44. Allen scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting before the break. Dallas forward Josh Howard, who was snubbed for the Western Conference All-Star team, scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half.

"I was trying to make plays," Allen said. "I've spent a lot of time being a playmaker so I wanted to make sure I came out and was aggressive."

Boston held a 71-70 lead through three. Pierce scored 13 points in the third quarter, when Dallas's Dirk Nowitzki scored 17 of his game-high 31 points.

Howard's lay-in tied the game at 88 with 3:21 left. Two free throws by Pierce gave Boston a 90-88 lead with 3:02 remaining, before Nowitzki hit two free throws with 58.4 seconds left to tie the game at 90.

After a missed jumper by Pierce, the 6-foot-1-inch, 171-pound Rondo snuck behind the 7-foot, 245-pound Nowitzki and took the ball out of his hands. Without hesitation, Rondo (14 points, season-high 12 rebounds) scored on a reserve lay-in to give Boston a 92-90 lead with 42.5 seconds left.

"[Rondo] came in from behind on us and I guess we just lost vision of him, and it was a huge play for him," said Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said.

Said Rivers: "Over the last three games, I think this is the best stretch of [Rondo's] career."

After Dallas guard Jason Terry missed a jumper in the lane, Posey retrieved the rebound with 10.9 seconds left. After being fouled, Posey sealed the win with two free throws with 10 seconds left.

"It's a little surprising," said Pierce of Boston's success against the West. "But, hey, we are focusing on what we have to do night in and night out. Anything is possible. I think the Western Conference favors the kind of style we like to play, anyway. They like to get up and down [the floor] a little more. They are more offensive-oriented than, I think, the Eastern Conference. That suits our style just fine."

Bruins dominate Sun Devils

There was plenty of spectacular play by UCLA against Arizona State on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion, but just enough caution for the fifth-ranked Bruins to rout the Sun Devils, 84-51, in a Pacific 10 Conference game.

It was the fourth straight loss for the Sun Devils, 14-6 overall and 4-4 in the Pac-10, who couldn't cope when UCLA practiced patience during an early 13-0 run that gave the first-place Bruins (19-2, 7-1) an unchallenged 18-4 advantage.

And they coped even less well when the Bruins felt free to improvise a little bit later.

"I'm really pleased with how we played tonight, especially attacking the zone defense," UCLA Coach Ben Howland said. "This team tonight against the zone did the best job ever since I've been here."

Howland pointed to the fact that against a defense where the first open shot is often a long distance shot, the Bruins took only 12 three-pointers and made eight of them.

"That's a lot of efficiency," Howland said. "To only take 12 threes against a zone is a good sign."

Certain that they could break down Arizona State by going inside (Luc Richard Mbah a Moute started UCLA's initial run with a layup) and then outside (Josh Shipp made consecutive open three pointers in the middle of it), the Bruins were able to be aggressive and creative.

"Obviously we got whipped in every facet of the game," Arizona State Coach Herb Sendek said. "Tonight was just a learning experience."

After the Sun Devils had drawn within 30-20, Russell Westbrook stuck his hand in the passing lane and came out with a steal. The ball went on a string to Darren Collison who passed, with both feet in the air, to a running Kevin Love, who scored a dainty layup and encouraged the Pauley sellout crowd of 11,070 to its feet.

Collison said he didn't even remember the play. Love said he meant to dunk the ball but his leg locked up a little. Yet the basket put the Bruins ahead, 34-20, and the Sun Devils seemed to lose heart while UCLA extended that lead to 46-24 by halftime.

What followed was more joyful basketball.

Love eyeballed Collison after Arizona State made a free throw and hit him with an immediate outlet pass for a fastbreak layup. Shipp made his fifth three-pointer of the game with 12:27 left while he was fading almost out of bounds.

With almost nine minutes left and UCLA up 72-38, many of the late-arriving crowd became early exiters.

Howland wasn't quite as eager to sit down his stars. With 8:27 left, Collison was checked hard into the stanchion and stayed on the ground for a moment. Hobbled for so long by a sprained knee and a sore hip, each Collison tumble is cause for concern. But the junior point guard hopped up and made his free throws to put the Bruins up, 76-40.

Those foul shots were Collison's 27th and 28th in a row. The school record is 36 in a row, set by Henry Bibby in 1972.

Collison wasn't considering any personal streaks after the game though. He was celebrating UCLA's unselfish play.

"We were making extra passes, everybody looked for the open guy and it is real fun to play this way," he said.

Love finished with his 12th double-double (20 points and 10 rebounds), Shipp had a game-high 21 points and Collison had 14 points and nine assists with only one turnover.

Mbah a Moute, who missed both UCLA wins on the Oregon trip last weekend because of a concussion, was back in the starting lineup as was Westbrook (in place of Alfred Aboya). Westbrook had been coming off the bench since Michael Roll injured his foot a month ago.

"My purpose was that we wanted to attack the zone early," Howland said, "and that's our best five players from the standpoint of attacking a zone defense."

There was a single down note afterward. Howland said backup center Lorenzo Mata-Real injured his left wrist in the final 30 seconds while taking a charge and may need an X-ray.

'Over Her Dead Body' Is Enlivened by a Free Spirit

Is there love after death? Around Hollywood, that's like asking if there's valet parking at Mr. Chow's. Even a cursory survey of the available research material -- "Topper," "Blithe Spirit," "Wuthering Heights," "Ghost," "Heaven Can Wait," "Close to Heaven," the recent "P.S. I Love You" -- nullifies the notion that mere mortality might ever get in the way of romance. After all, it's not as if life comes with end credits.

And yet, when we talk about "movie magic," we're not talking about the casual ability to suspend the divine rule book. We mean the screen's capacity to cloud men's minds. To perform sleight of hand, using smoke and mirrors. To execute an alchemical process on the most leaden or ridiculous of plots and devices. Take "Casablanca": Why in the world would the Nazis have cared about letters of transit signed by Gen. de Gaulle? Before you can give it much thought, Ingrid Bergman walks into the room, and the issue is moot. How about "Pretty Woman"? Isn't the premise about a hooker-turned-Cinderella just a tiny bit fatuous? Yes, but Julia Roberts laughs off all the arguments. Is "Juno" overrated? Okay, let's not go there.

"Over Her Dead Body," which should be the biggest tuna on that barge known as the weekend movie menu, has a fatuous, overabused storyline and a larger set of gestures than Cecil B. De Mille. But it also has Lake Bell -- the actress, not the nautical alarm system -- who blows into "Over Her Dead Body" the way the aforementioned Roberts blew into 1988's "Mystic Pizza." She takes over the screen. She is unkempt yet Botticellian. In her imperfectly beautiful way, she suggests Carole Lombard. As a comedian, she is enough of a distraction that you forgive all the inanities occurring around her. And there are many.

"Over Her Dead Body" is -- one supposes -- Eva Longoria Parker's movie, although the "Desperate Housewives" star is uncategorically eclipsed by her co-star, and playing the least sympathetic figure in the movie. Wearing a crescendo of hair and enough bronzer to alter the complexion of Finnish Lapland, Parker's Kate marches around the site of her pending nuptials with all the cuddliness of Otto von Bismarck. "It's your wedding day! Relax!" urges her laid-back veterinarian fiance, Henry (Paul Rudd), who apparently has never seen an episode of "Bridezillas." When a 500-pound ice sculpture lands on Kate, sending her to the antechamber of paradise, a sigh of contentment is heard from caterers all over the country.

There's a great deal of forced naturalism in "Over Her Dead Body" which is of the standard-issue, aren't-we-quirky-but-not-too-quirky-for-cable air of premeditated spontaneity. Except for Bell. She really is a natural, or as natural as one can be in a movie in which a dead fiancee returns to demolish her dear bridegroom's love life. As Ashley the psychic -- who is also a caterer -- Bell mixes eccentricity with warmth, creating a character so charming we don't stop to ask The Questions: What qualifies the goofy Ashley as a psychic (or a caterer!)? Why would someone as rumpled and easygoing as Henry agree, even at the request of his sister, Chloe (the winning Lindsay Sloane), to visit a clairvoyant like Ashley, especially to make contact with someone like Kate? None of it makes a lick of sense, not logically, emotionally or dramatically. But we have Bell, and everything's cool.

At this point, we the reviewer are experiencing buyer's remorse. Have we invested too much in Lake Bell? Is she really as convincing as we thought? Our fascination, we think (and hope), is less about a hormonal response than the phenomenon of the camera: How does an actress of less-than-classic beauty, whose features, in any objective sense, are overlarge and out of balance (the same was said of Sophia Loren), exist as such a pure creature of cinema? That movie stars are another species is not an original thought. But when one comes along, you know it. Anthropologically speaking.

The comedy doesn't nearly live up to its star, who, while a bit of a throwback to the era of effervescent screwball humor, is in a movie swirling in a vortex of formula. The momentum that's built as Ashley and Henry get on the same romantic track, and as Kate tries to derail them, starts to slow when Ashley finds the resolve to stand her ground rather than run comically away.

Writer-director Jeff Lowell must have sensed this, because he appends two sort-of subtexts that serve as movie applique rather than plot engines. One involves Dan, Ashley's catering partner and a gay man (Jason "American Pie" Biggs is actually quite good) with a secret. The other involves Chloe, who's a bit of a kleptomaniac around Henry's office, steals people's animals and does generally wacky things. She's enchanting but superfluous. What's interesting is that she's a free-spirited woman in a movie already built around one. How much individuality can one movie support? No one ever said there was a limit on personality, and Chloe supplies plenty of it.

And all this follows a year in which women were relegated to supporting roles, if they were lucky. (How does one explain Cate Blanchett's Best Actress nomination for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"? Poverty of choice.) "Over Her Dead Body," whose title might have explained the entire, dire state of women on film in 2007, has three very capable actresses in prominent roles. It may make one of them a star. There are certainly worse ways to start off a year in movies

Britney Spears returns to psych ward

Amid an orgy of flashing lights, police sirens and chopper blades, pop tart Britney Spears made a comeback of sorts Thursday - returning to a Los Angeles psychiatric ward.

A motorcade stretching the length of a football field whisked the singer to the UCLA Medical Center for a 72-hour stay after another "sad, sad evening" for the endlessly erratic entertainer, according to a family source.

"I don't know about Britney," her grandfather, June Austin Spears, told the Daily News. "I'm worried about her. She shouldn't go in the nut house.

"Sometimes you come out worse than you come in."

Sources said Britney Spears was up without sleep for three days and driving like a madwoman through her exclusive California neighborhood before she was hospitalized.

Celebrity Web site TMZ.com said Spears told doctors she was taking Adderall, a drug used to treat attention deficit disorder, and as many as 10 laxatives a day.

Spears, 26, has been classified as "G.D.," gravely disabled, which means she is unable to take care of her personal needs, such as food, clothing and shelter, TMZ.com also reported.

The classification is one of the criteria for involuntary commitment.

Some sources said the pop tart was refusing to take her prescription medicine when the strange behavior began.

A photographer staking out her Studio City mansion said she was disoriented and slurring her words. "She was really confused, like she didn't know where to go," he said. Sipping a Red Bull and wearing sunglasses, Spears started driving to a nearby dance studio before abandoning her plans and coming home, he said.

She was in the house early Thursday with her mother, Lynne; a friend, Alli Simms, and manager Osama Lutfi when the psychiatrist called the Los Angeles Police Department to commit her, published reports said.

"Her daddy and [her brother] Bryan had a lot to do with it," said the singer's 77-year-old grandfather. "They want what's best for her."

Police arrived shortly before 1 a.m., and she was loaded into an ambulance within 10 minutes for a hurried trip down Coldwater Canyon Blvd., police said.

The post-midnight motorcade was more fit for a President than a pop star: 11 police motorcycles and two police cars, with a pair of LAPD helicopters hovering above the ambulance carrying the distressed singer.

A source inside the Spears camp insisted the platinum-selling star was very calm and went willingly with police after they arrived at her house.

Actor George Clooney Becomes UN Peace Envoy

Oscar-winning actor George Clooney turned the normally staid United Nations upside down on Thursday when he visited the headquarters to become a U.N. Messenger of Peace. VOA's Margaret Besheer reports from the U.N. that the American celebrity is well-known for his work as a human rights activist on Darfur.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon enlisted George Clooney as a Messenger of Peace for his ability to raise awareness about critical issues.

The U.N. chief bestows the title of Messenger of Peace for an initial period of three years on prominent personalities willing to volunteer their time and talent to promote U.N.'s global peace efforts.

There was no doubt at U.N. headquarters on Thursday that the American actor can draw a crowd.

For the last few years, Clooney has been a passionate activist about the conflict in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region. In his new U.N. capacity, he will have a special focus on peacekeeping.

He just returned from a two-week trip to Sudan, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo with the U.N.'s Assistant Secretary-General of Peacekeeping Operations Jane Holl Lute. He told reporters the U.N has an important role to play in the crisis, and spoke about an experience he had while on his trip.

"When I stood in the hospital next to women who had been raped and set on fire two days earlier, they looked up to me and said, 'Please send the U.N.' - not the U.S., not China, not Russia - just the U.N. You are their only hope," he said.

In Darfur, Clooney said the Sudanese government tried, but failed, to show them that the international community had treated the government unfairly and accusations of atrocities are exaggerated.

"Let us be clear, as we traveled to north, south and west Darfur - in el-Fasher, Nyala and Zalengi - there was not one man, woman or child at any of these camps, at any of these locations who did not hold the government of Sudan or its Janjaweed-supported militia responsible for them being displaced," he added. "Not one."

Clooney also touched on the issue of equipment - particularly the need for helicopters - for the newly deployed African Union-U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur. He said the vast country lacks sufficient roads and helicopters are badly needed and urged member states to equip the troops properly.

He said there is only one chance to get it right in Darfur and only the United Nations can help on this scale. Clooney said he is proud to be a messenger of peace and that his message is: "the world is watching and you cannot afford to fail."

Ferry runs aground off Blackpool

A roll-on roll-off ferry which ran into trouble in high winds in the Irish Sea has run aground off Blackpool.

A total of 19 crew members and four passengers were flown to safety from the Riverdance, after it was hit by a freak wave in bad weather.

Nine of the crew members were still on board when it ran aground on the north shore of Blackpool beach on its journey from Northern Ireland to Heysham.

Owner Seatruck Ferries said it was trying to salvage the ferry.

Initially four passengers and 10 crew members were rescued, with the remaining nine crew rescued later.

A spokesman for Seatruck Ferries said: "The conditions are such that the master requested helicopter transfer of all personnel.

"All nine (crew members) are now safely off."

He added: "The issue was that as we approached high water the vessel started to rotate broadside on the beach.

"The high swell caused a list and, under those circumstances, the master decided safety came first."

He said the boat was listing 30 degrees and there was a risk that a helicopter rescue would be impossible if it was delayed any longer.

"We have now organised salvage assistance for the vessel," he added.

The Riverdance got into difficulties on Thursday evening, 10 nautical miles off the coast of Fleetwood, Lancashire, over a bank known as Shell Flat.

It had been sailing from Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland.

The vessel issued a Mayday at about 1930 GMT and three helicopters from the RAF, Royal Navy and Coastguard, were sent to the scene to help winch those on board to safety.

People were lifted two at a time into the helicopters, with nine crew staying on board to try and prevent the vessel from sinking.

Two lifeboats with volunteer crews also assisted in the rescue operation.

Rich Taylor, one of the RAF winch men involved, said: "It took some time to get the first rope down to the boat.

"Unfortunately, we then lost contact with that rope just through the boat moving away from us in the big swirl.

"So we had another bash at it and managed to get another rope down."

Seatruck Ferries Limited said the stricken vessel had been carrying trucks and trailers from Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland to the port of Heysham in Lancashire, when it was struck by the freak wave.

The wave caused the ship's cargo to shift resulting in the vessel developing a significant list.

Speaking during the rescue operation, John Matthews from Fleetwood RNLI described the sea conditions as "horrendous" with 7m waves and winds of up to 60mph (96km/h).

'Extremely unlucky'

Kevin Hobbs, the chief executive of Seatruck Ferries Limited, defended the decision to run the service in bad weather.

"When the vessel sailed there was no cause for concern," he said.

"There are many ships at sea at the moment in these conditions and we've just been extremely unlucky."

Those flown to safety have been taken to Blackpool Airport to recover and be assessed for injuries.

Supt Richard Spedding, of Lancashire Police, said a couple of them had "very, very minor injuries" but they were "glad to be safe on dry land".

Baghdad hit by two deadly market bombs

Up to 35 people were killed and dozens wounded in bombings at two Baghdad pet markets within 20 minutes of each other today.

A bomb hidden in a birdbox exploded at about 10.20am at the central al-Ghazl market, killing at least 17 people and wounding 27, police and hospital officials said. Six children and many teenagers were reported to be among the victims.

About 20 minutes later, another bomb targeted a bird market in the mainly Shiite southeastern neighborhood of New Baghdad. Police said four people were killed and nine wounded, including some children.

The bombings, which took place shortly before the weekly Islamic call to prayer, are the latest in a series of attacks chipping away at the recent security gains achieved by building up the numbers of US troops and a Sunni revolt against al-Qaida.

In late November, a bomb hidden in a box of small birds exploded at the al-Ghazl market, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, but it has recently re-emerged as a popular venue after security was improved and a driving ban was lifted.

The US military blamed the November attack on Iranian-backed Shiite militants who had hoped al-Qaida in Iraq would be held responsible for the attack so Iraqis would turn to the Shiites for protection.