MIAMI (Reuters) - When San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan takes the court for Game One of the NBA Finals on Thursday, he will be aiming to become only the second player to win championships in three different decades.

That is just one of many reasons why LeBron James of the defending champion Miami Heat believes the soft-spoken 37-year-old Duncan deserves to be counted among the game's greats.

"He is probably one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball," said James, about going up against the Duncan and the Spurs in the best-of-seven championship series.

The only other player to accomplish the feat was John Salley, a power forward who won titles with the Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990 and then was a bit player in the Los Angeles Lakers' run to the championship in 2000.

Duncan has been a central figure in each of San Antonio's NBA triumphs.

"If I just look at the last 15 years, he's probably been the most consistent, most dominant player that we've had as far as 15 years all together. He's won four titles, multiple All Stars, MVP, and so on and so on," James said on Wednesday.

A quick glance at Duncan's career achievements, with titles in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007 and league Most Valuable Player awards in 2002 and 2003, raises the question as to why he gets so little attention.

Kobe Bryant, with five rings would be the only other player of this generation who could argue his case to be above Duncan in the pecking order of NBA greats, and he certainly enjoys a higher profile.

Perhaps playing for a Spurs team which, despite their success has a lower profile in the media, has eased the spotlight on Duncan.

But James believes the modest style of the man from Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands is also a factor.

"I think he doesn't get a lot of recognition because he's not flashy like a lot of guys are," said James.

"He's not jumping over people and highflying and doing the things that attracts people to the game. But I think true basketball, true IQ people, the players, they know how great he is," said James.

James credits Duncan's ability to compete at the highest level in the sunset of his career to a smart approach to fitness and the quality of the Spurs' staff.

"I think it's about him staying in shape, his conditioning level. I think it's the great support that they have in San Antonio. Also I think it's him being a true professional," James said.

"When you give everything to the game, the game rewards you. He's a champion. He has championship DNA."

Typically, Duncan credits San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich for his long shelf life.

"I have been playing a little less in the summertime," said Duncan, saying that translates into less stress on his knees. "Then Pop has made all the other adjustments for me basically, whether I like it or not. My minutes are down.

"Every once in a while, whether healthy or not, I have a couple of games off. Don't play in many backtobacks, things that were really wearing my body all season," he said.

Popovich, however, says playing at such a high level for such a long time is mostly about Duncan's character.

"He's a consummate pro. He takes great pride in fulfilling his responsibility to his team mates. He feels it very strongly. It's just a personal character quality that he has. It's as simple as that," said Popovich.

"He works himself hard all summer long. He's got high standards. He wants to participate and compete at a high level, and he has the discipline to do it. It's about character, and he's got it."

(Reporting By Simon Evans; Editing by Larry Fine)

DETROIT (AP) -- Toyota is giving the Corolla a sportier look and more gadgets, a recognition by the world's biggest automaker that the under-50 crowd wants more than just reliability in a compact car.

The world's largest automaker rolled out the 2014 version of America's top-selling compact Thursday night at a splashy event in Santa Monica, Calif., hoping to shed the old version's no-frills image and attract new, younger buyers.

The 2014 model, which goes on sale in September, is longer and sits lower, with an athletic look that's much closer to a sports car than the econobox it replaces. It also gets a new transmission, suspension and interior that Toyota says will make the car quieter and more luxurious, with better handling than the current version. It's the 11th generation of a car that Toyota has been selling worldwide since 1966.

"It's a huge car for us. It helped really identify the company and the brand and what we're all about," says Bill Fay, group vice president of the Toyota Division in the U.S. "We should appeal to a little younger buyer and broaden out the appeal of the car to more than what it is today."

The car's bold design is unusual for Toyota, which in the past made few changes to its cars with each update. But the new version is badly needed. The Corolla, with a reputation for sterling dependability, is still America's No. 1 compact. But dealers have had to cut its selling price and offer big discounts to compete against sleek new versions of the Honda Civic, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra and Chevrolet Cruze.

"They clearly here are saying 'we've got to give the Corolla more personality and more life,' given the way the competition is," says Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University. "I certainly understand why they are pushing it here."

Toyota sold 132,514 Corollas this year through May, beating the No. 2 Civic by 3,500. But the Corolla's average selling price of $18,464 is the lowest of the five top-selling compacts. It sells for almost $1,600 less than a Civic, according to the TrueCar.com auto pricing site. And Toyota is second only to Ford's Focus in discounts per car at $2,072.

The Corolla's looks really haven't changed much in the past decade, even with an update five years ago. Meanwhile, competitors spent money on leather interiors, touch-screen systems, new transmissions and powerful yet efficient engines for their compacts.

Those rivals now pose a challenge in a segment long ignored by Detroit and dominated by Honda and Toyota. In the past, all it took was a decent, reliable car to gain buyers. But industry analysts say reliability is now easy to come by. Companies have to set themselves apart with style, fuel economy or performance.

Toyota didn't disclose the new Corolla's price, or its fuel economy numbers, although it did say an Eco version should get over 40 miles per gallon on the highway. The current version starts around $18,000 with an automatic transmission. Fay says Toyota's goal is to keep the new version close to that price.

As customers see the value of the updated version, Toyota expects transaction prices to rise, with an uptick in sales predicted for early next year, Fay says.

The new version will certainly get better gas mileage. The current car falls near the back of the class with an estimated 34 mpg on the highway, due in part to an outdated four-speed automatic transmission. The Civic, Corolla's closest competitor, gets an estimated 39 mpg on the highway with its five-speed transmission. With more gears, engines generally don't have to work as hard at freeway speeds.

Toyota is offering two engines in the latest version, a 1.8-liter, 132 horsepower four-cylinder that carries over from the current model, and the same engine with new valve technology that adds eight horsepower to reach 140. The newer engine comes only on the Eco version.

The base engine is less powerful than the Corolla's main competitors. The Civic has 140 horsepower, while the Focus has 160 and the Elantra is rated at 148.

Toyota is giving the new version a continuously variable transmission that has seven "shift points" that mimic a conventional automatic. CVTs don't usually shift gears, instead allowing the engine to operate efficiently at most speeds.

The new Corolla also is nearly four inches longer than the current version. That gives passengers more room in both the front and back, Toyota says.

"Not only will the interior be a lot more comfortable and have more of a premium feel, it's going to be quieter," Fay says. "It's going to have a lot different feel."

The average age of a Corolla buyer is 53, about the average for the whole compact segment, Fay says. The new car's sporty look and digitial technology should help lower that figure. "We're going to be able to get on (more) people's shopping lists," Fay says.

Northwestern's Calkins says the radical styling runs the risk of turning off longtime buyers who are used to a more conservative look. But Tom Libby, lead North American analyst for the Polk automotive research firm, says traditional Toyota buyers are extremely loyal.

"The propensity of a Toyota owner to stay with the Toyota brand is pretty high relative to other makes," Libby says.

TUBERCULOSIS

The Size of the Problem: In 2011 alone there were roughly 8.7 million new cases and 1.4 million deaths caused by TB. According to the World Health Organizations (WHO) , about 40 percent of the worlds TB cases can be found in India and China; and 24 percent occur in Africa.

How Infection Happens: Tuberculosis is caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium and is transmitted via air droplets: An infected person puts contaminated droplets into the air by speaking, coughing, or sneezing. Not everyone who breathes in tuberculosis becomes sick, though. People with latent TB have it living in their bodies but they dont get sick and they cant infect others. Others do become sick with TB disease because their bodies cannot stop the bacteria from growingand they spread the disease.

What an Infection Looks Like: Signs of TB include persistent cough, chest pains, fever, weight loss, and coughing up blood or sputum (a fancy term for mucus). TB not only typically attacks the lungs, it can infect the brain, spine, or kidneys. Without proper treatment, TB can be fatal.

How Its Treated: Tuberculosis treatment takes six to nine months and involves different phases. In the first two-month phase, TB that can be weakened by drugs is treated with some combination of ethambutol, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and rifampin (which are antibiotics, not the names of moons from Star Wars). The drug regimen just for the first phase of TB treatment is complicated, to say the least: The CDC, American Thoracic Society, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America recommend one of the following:

a dose a day for two weeks, followed by two doses weekly for six weeks; or

three doses a week for eight weeks; or

five doses a week for eight weeks, depending on the drug combination

This first round is followed by another four to seven months of another, equally difficult-to-follow drug regimen with some combination of three antibiotics.

Now I have to ask: How often have you goofed on taking your medicine? Who remembers to take a vitamin every single day? Tuberculosis treatment is tricky, and it is extremely important to follow the regimen, because, when you dont, thats when drug resistance can develop.

TB Superbugs: There are varying degrees of resistance in tuberculosis bacteria, and each comes with its own acronym: MDR-TB, or multidrug resistant tuberculosis, is resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, which, according to the , are the two most powerful drugs against TB. According to the WHOs 2012 Global TB Report, about 3.7 percent of new TB cases and 20 percent of previously treated TB cases are estimated to be MDR-TB.

, which is short for extensively drug-resistant TB, refers to any TB bacterium that cant be conquered by isoniazid, rifampin, any fluoroquinoline, and at least one injectable second-line drug (drugs are often separated into first, second, and sometimes third, lines depending on how well they work and their side effects). XDR-TB has been reported by 84 countries; the WHO estimates that nine percent of people with MDR-TB have XDR-TB, too.

Its worth stopping for a reminder here: Drug-resistant strains can be transmitted from person-to-person. You may have never had TB before and be really diligent about taking antibiotics as prescribed, but given the right conditions, you could end up with XDR-TB.

From here things get even scarier: In May 2007, the European Centers for Disease Control reported two cases, dating from 2003, of tuberculosis infection in Italy that were resistant to every TB drug. Reports called the disease(meaning extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis). 

And if that werent bad enough, in December 2011 doctors in Mumbai, India, reported cases of(TDR-TB). Experts from the WHO, however, decided that no reliable definition of TDR-TB could be agreed upon, so before deeming a strain totally drug-resistant, more data needs to be collected and more research conducted.

Whatever you call this superbug, it raises an obvious and terrifying question: If TB does become resistant to the whole arsenal of anti-tuberculosis drugs, then what? Unfortunately, tuberculosis is not the only global infectious disease with growing drug resistance

HISANOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) - Dozens of crabs, three small sharks and scores of fish thump on the slippery deck of the fishing boat True Prosperity as captain Shohei Yaoita lands his latest haul, another catch headed not for the dinner table but for radioactive testing.

Japan's government banned commercial fishing in this area, some 200 km (125 miles) northeast of Tokyo, after a devastating 2011 tsunami and the reactor meltdowns and explosions that followed at the nearby Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, has battled since then to keep radioactive water used to cool the crippled reactor from leaking into the ground and the sea.

The walls of a once-bustling fish market that sold Yaoita's catch of flounder, rockfish, greenling and other sealife in the port of Hisanohama, about 20 km (12 miles) south of the ruined plant, remain in ruins.

The fishermen of Hisanohama, forced out of work by the disaster, have had no choice but to take the only job available - checking contamination levels in fish just offshore from the destroyed nuclear reactor buildings.

"We used to be so proud of our fish. They were famous across Japan and we made a decent living out of them," said 80-year-old Yaoita, who survived the tsunami by taking on the waves and sailing the six-person True Prosperity out to sea.

"Now the only thing for us is sampling."

Shoulders stooped from years of hard work, Yaoita is happy to be back pulling fish out of a 300-metre (330 yards) net. Like many younger fishermen, he's unsure how long he can stay at it.

The fishermen and Tepco are in dispute over the utility's plans to dump 100 tons of groundwater a day from the devastated plant into the sea. The complicated clean-up plan for Fukushima could take 30 years or more.

Tepco's challenge is what to do with the contaminated water that has been pooling at the plant at a rate of 400 tons a day - enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool in a week.

So far it has been racing to build tanks to store the contaminated water on the grounds of the plant, in which all the water is kept at the moment.

It has also asked fishermen to support a plan to build a "by-pass" that would dump groundwater into the sea before it becomes contaminated by flowing under the reactor's wreckage.

"We are staunchly against it," said Tatsuo Niitsuma, 71, who fishes with Yaoita.

MORE CONTAMINATION, LESS HOPE

Representatives from fishing cooperatives met Tepco officials on Thursday to discuss the proposal, with Trade Minister Toshimitsu Motegi to instruct Tepco on what to do, although no final plans were announced.

In addition to the "by-pass" Motegi, who also holds the energy portfolio, told Tepco to create "protective walls" in the ground by freezing the soil around the reactors to create an underground barrier to stop groundwater from flowing in and mixing with contaminated water inside the reactor building.

The fishermen, however, worry the "by-pass" plan risks more contamination and delays, possibly ending any hope for the only job they know.

Tepco officials have said it may take as long as four years to fix the problem, but have said they do not need outside help.

The uncertainty and stress have become problems. Many former fishermen live in temporary homes next to people they barely know after losing not only their jobs, but also family members.

Waves as high as 40 meters wrought havoc across several hundred kilometers of Japan's northeastern coast, damaging ports handling 7 percent of the country's industrial output, some 28,500 ships and 319 small fishing communities like Hisanohama.

The total cost of damage to the fishing industry is estimated at around 1.26 trillion yen ($12.49 billion).

About 40 Hisanohama fishermen survived the disaster. They could make a few thousand dollars a month each with good catches, but instead get by on handouts for tsunami survivors.

"For many middle-aged men, their work meant everything, so now they find it hard to mingle with others, cut themselves off and start drinking," said Hideo Hasegawa, who runs a support center in a 3,000-strong temporary housing settlement.

The fishermen's opposition to Tepco's plans underlines deep distrust across radiation-contaminated areas towards Tepco and the government after their uncertain response to the disaster, and a lack of clear information about radiation risks since.

"They say it's safe, but they had always told us that the nuclear power is safe too - and just look what a mess we've gotten ourselves into because of that," Yaoita said.

Many fish caught in the area test below Japan's limits on radiation, a figure of 100 Bequerels per kilogram of Caesium-137 and Caesium-134, according to the Japanese government. However, crews say fish that live near the sea-floor, such as cod, halibut or sole, often test for excessive levels of radiation.

A large crab caught by Yaoita before the disaster could fetch as much as $30 on the Hisanohama market. A kilogram of flatfish could sell for about the same. Once he could catch dozens of both and many other fish on a single morning outing.

"The nuclear disaster destroyed our livelihoods and now we are like beggars," said Yaoita.

"Previously I never went to see the doctor. Now it feels like I down more drugs and medicine than actual food."

($1 = 100.9150 Japanese yen)

(Editing by Paul Tait)

While her eight colleagues donned their black robes and took the bench to announce opinions, Sotomayor was wearing Yale blue and receiving an honorary degree in New Haven, Conn.

Among her messages to graduates of Yale Law School, where Sotomayor received her law degree in 1979: A justice's life isn't all glamour.

"Sometimes it gets boring. No justice is supposed to say that. But, you know, there's drudgery in every job you're going to do," Sotomayor told more than 200 graduates. Yale posted video of the law school graduation on its website.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice John Roberts read a summary of Sotomayor's opinion in a case involving attorney's fees. So, point taken.

And who can blame her for finding her day job humdrum at times after the whirlwind she's experienced in recent months?

The 58-year-old justice has traveled the country and conducted many interviews to promote her best-selling memoir, "My Beloved World." The book has been on the New York Times' nonfiction best-seller list for 15 weeks, including several at No. 1.

She was greeted by adoring crowds in her parents' native Puerto Rico. She has appeared on CBS' "60 Minutes," bantered with Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart on Comedy Central, toured her old school with Oprah Winfrey and sat with the co-hosts on ABC's "The View," where some of them called her Sonia.

The larger point of Sotomayor's remarks at Yale was to tell the graduates they can learn in every job they do and urge them to take jobs about which they are passionate, even if they do not necessarily look great on a resume.

Although she did have a bit of bad news for the fledgling lawyers, their elite law school experience notwithstanding. "No, not all of you can be on the Supreme Court. There are only nine seats and you've got the job forever," she said.

___

Right about now, people start wondering when the high court will issue the term's big rulings gay marriage, voting rights and affirmative action this year.

Predicting how the court will decide cases and when, precisely, the decisions will come is notoriously difficult.

But there is little doubt actually none at all that the high court will wind up its work sometime during the last week in June.

A quick look at the justices' summer plans tells you all you need to know.

At least four justices have engagements the first week in July, thousands of miles from Washington.

Leading the way in summer teaching gigs, Roberts will be in Prague, in the Czech Republic, for a program led by the South Texas College of Law in Houston and the William Mitchell College of Law in Minneapolis. Justice Clarence Thomas is expected in Innsbruck, Austria, for St. Mary's University law school in San Antonio.

Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan both have agreed to speak in Aspen, Colo.

And then, starting after July 4, Kagan and Justice Anthony Kennedy are both teaching in Salzburg, Austria, for the University of the Pacific.

At some point early in July, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will alight in Paris to teach in Tulane University's summer law program.

Justices can accept roughly $25,000 in additional income for teaching and speaking, beyond their salary of $213,900 a year. The chief justice earns about $10,000 a year more.

Summer law school classes can add $10,000 to $20,000 to their incomes and also subsidize the cost of family vacations in very desirable locations. The schools are delighted to land a Supreme Court justice.

Last year, Roberts joked about heading to the "impregnable island fortress" of Malta, where he taught after he enraged conservatives with his vote to uphold President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Going to Malta "seemed like a good idea," Roberts joked the day after the ruling.

____

If the court ever were to alter its practice of doling out opinions among all the justices and instead put them all in Ginsburg's hands, the term would be pretty close to over.

She's fast. Her unanimous opinion Monday reinstating the murder conviction of former Michigan police officer Burt Lancaster (no relation to the actor) came out 26 days after the court heard arguments, the fastest turnaround this term.

Roberts was a close second, writing another unanimous opinion in a patent case one month and four days after it was argued in January.

Whenever the justices all agree on something, it is much easier to get a decision in the books. But Ginsburg, Roberts and even Justice Antonin Scalia stand apart from the others for their writing speed.

But when the justices are at loggerheads, months can pass without a decision.

The affirmative action case, Fisher v. University of Texas, was argued more than seven months ago, on Oct. 10.

Only the justices can say what's taking so long. They will, eventually, in multiple opinions that are expected the day that case is decided before the end of June.

___

Follow Mark Sherman on Twitter at www.twitter.com/shermancourt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Thursday told Congress that a recent restructuring of its heavy rocket launch program to add 60 more launches and extend the schedule for a decade would more than double the program's projected cost to $70.7 billion.

The Defense Department's annual report to Congress on major arms programs forecast an increase of $35.7 billion or 102 percent in the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, under which contractors provide launch services to lift big U.S. military, intelligence and NASA satellites into orbit.

A Pentagon spokeswoman said the increase reflected plans for a total of 151 launches, up from 91, and a 10-year extension of the current schedule from fiscal year 2018 through fiscal 2028.

Seeking to combat continued cost increases, the Air Force last year restructured the EELV program to allow for more block buys of larger numbers of satellite launches, and to inject more competition in the longer term. This is the first Pentagon cost report that reflects the restructured program.

The Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog agency, in March estimated the cost of the revamped program at $69.6 billion.

United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture run by the two largest rocket launch providers, Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, has been the only provider of EELV launch services up to now, but the Air Force is trying to open the program to competition from other companies.

ULA spokeswoman Jessica Rye said the company was encouraged by the Air Force's innovative new acquisition strategy and would continue to work with the government to further reduce costs in coming years.

Elon Musk, founder and chief executive of privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, said his company could save the Pentagon more than $1 billion a year by providing greater lift capability using its new Falcon Heavy rocket.

"Falcon Heavy can carry satellites that weigh up to twice as much as Delta IV Heavy, so there is the opportunity to do bigger satellites or multi-satellite flights," Musk said in a statement. For instance, he said, the company plans to launch 10 satellites per flight for satellite operator Iridium.

SpaceX had been hoping for years to break the monopoly on military rocket launches held by ULA. It landed its first launch contracts for the U.S. military last December, including one involving the Falcon Heavy rocket that is due to fly in 2015.

U.S. Air Force officials say they want to study the company's performance on smaller launches before awarding it a contract to launch an expensive national security satellite.

In its report to Congress, the Pentagon said the Air Force was continuing to implement cost-cutting strategies for the EELV program, by expanding its insight into the contractors' costs, and implementing better cost management procedures.

(Additional reporting by Irene Klotz in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Lisa Shumaker)

News reports in Mexico say Lynn Earle, who was 60, was found stabbed to death in her home in Playa del Carmen earlier this week.

Friend Lisa Edwards says Earle had a gigantic heart for humans and animals, and spent several years working with animal rescue agencies in Mexico.

Edwards says Earle, divorced with one child, loved living in the country and felt at peace in Mexico.

The West Vancouver Police Department issued a news release expressing condolences to Earle's family.

It says she worked her way through the ranks, first serving as a civilian employee, then a bylaw officer before spending three years as a patrol constable.

She retired in 1996.

Actually, we were the 15th seed," Miller said.

And ultimately, the last one standing.

Miller capped his brilliant career with a breakaway goal in the third period, Jeff Malcolm stopped all 36 Quinnipiac shots and the Bulldogs won their first NCAA championship with a 4-0 victory Saturday night.

It was sweet revenge for Yale (22-12-3), which lost the three previous meetings with the top-seeded Bobcats by a combined 13-3. The nation's oldest hockey program, however, left no doubt in the final, riding the play of Malcolm and some unlikely offensive contributions to capture a title 117 years in the making.

"Tonight was our turn," Yale coach Keith Allain said.

The Bulldogs have been playing hockey since 1896 but had only made the tournament twice before Allain took over in 2006. The Yale graduate accepted the job with the promise from his bosses the school would do what it takes to be competitive. In seven seasons he guided the Bulldogs all the way to the top.

"I came back to prove you could go to the best university in the world and prove you can play hockey at the highest level," Allain said.

Yale did it throughout the tournament, knocking off three No. 1 seeds, including its Connecticut rivals from just down the street. Quinnipiac (30-8-5) located less than 10 miles from the Yale campus spent most of the year ranked No. 1.

The Bobcats (30-8-5) hardly looked like it after Yale's Clint Bourbonais redirected a shot between goalie Eric Hartzell's legs with 4 seconds left in the second period and freshman Charles Orzetti scored his first goal in four months 3:35 into the third to make it 2-0.

Miller, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, then broke loose and flipped a backhand by Hartzell for his 18th goal of the season. Pittsburgh native Jesse Root added an empty netter to set the coronation in motion.

"You've got to play your game," Miller said. "We had some great players on our team. A lot of guys that don't get noticed, they're our heroes."

Hartzell stopped 27 shots, but the Hobey Baker finalist let in a couple of soft goals that gave Yale all the momentum it would need.

"I thought we were the best team in college hockey for the season," Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said. "Unfortunately, we didn't prove it tonight."

The Bobcats dominated the season series, sweeping all three meetings by a combined score of 13-3. Quinnipiac trailed for all of 18 minutes in the three games combined and Hartzell allowed only one goal in the previous eight periods against Yale.

Yet Pecknold insisted the Bulldogs weren't the same team the Bobcats steamrolled 3-0 three weeks ago in the ECAC tournament consolation game. Yale tripped up national powers Minnesota and North Dakota to make the Frozen Four for the first time since 1952, then edged UMass Lowell 3-2 in overtime in the semifinals Thursday.

On the biggest stage, the Bulldogs finally put it together behind Malcolm.

The senior celebrated his 24th birthday by keeping the tournament's highest-scoring team at bay, including a crucial 5-on-3 penalty kill in the second period that kept the game tied. The Yale fans serenaded the goaltender with "Happy Birthday" during one stoppage in play, and Malcolm responded by taking turning away Yale's nemesis one breathtaking stop at a time.

Ultimately, Hartzell blinked first.

The clock winding down late in the second period, Young flipped what appeared to be an innocent shot from just outside the left circle. Bourbonais slapped his stick on the ice just as the puck rolled past him a few feet in front of the crease. The change of direction sent the puck between Hartzell's legs to give Yale an unlikely lead and a major boost heading into the final intermission of the season.

Quinnipiac attempted to respond early in the third, flying around the Yale net in the same way the Bobcats overwhelmed St. Cloud State on Thursday. Malcolm, in perfect position nearly every time, maintained his composure.

His teammates repaid his hard work with another unlikely goal. Orzetti, a freshman who hadn't scored since Dec. 8, streaked down the left wing and fired a shot at Hartzell. The rebound trickled to Hartzell's right and Orzetti slammed home his own rebound between the goalie's legs to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.

The soft goals were uncharacteristic of Hartzell's outstanding season. Yet they counted anyway.

"Without Hartzy we're not here, we don't go to the Frozen Four," Pecknold said."He was awesome all year for us."

Just not in the final 21 minutes of the season.

Miller, who scored in overtime in the semifinals against Lowell, broke through 9:06 into the third to make it 3-0. The Bobcats panicked, pulling Hartzell with 7:19 remaining.

The ploy lasted all of 20 seconds. Root delivered the puck into the empty net and drained any drama out of the final 7 minutes. Confetti rained down at the final horn as the Bulldogs mobbed Malcolm in celebration.

"In the NCAA tournament anybody can beat anybody," Miller said. "Whoever has the hottest goalie, best team game wins."

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG is exploring a sale of its blood glucose meters business, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, as the industry grapples with increased competition and reimbursement pressure.

The discussions about a potential sale of the Roche unit are still in their early stages and a deal may not materialize, one of the people said.

Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced it was cutting the reimbursement for diabetes test supplies by up to 72 percent. That would make it more difficult for companies to be profitable in this space, said another of the sources.

The change takes effect July 1.

It could not be learned how much the Roche unit was worth. All the sources wished to remain anonymous because the matter is not public. A Roche spokesman declined to comment.

Last year, Bayer AG, Germany's biggest drugmaker, attempted to sell its blood glucose meter business for around $1.5 billion, only to pull the plug on the sale early this year after failing to find sufficient buyer interest.

There are only a handful of companies that sell blood glucose meters, including Medtronic Inc and Johnson & Johnson, that would make logical buyers, two of the people said.

(Reporting By Jessica Toonkel, Editing by Soyoung Kim)