At least War Pass has delivered a performance worthy of a shot at the Kentucky Derby. War Pass tired in the stretch and Tale of Ekati took advantage to win the $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in New York yesterday.

Coming off a last-place effort three weeks ago, War Pass rushed to the lead and held it until the final 50 yards of the 1¹/₈-mile race before finishing second. Tale of Ekati, trained by Barclay Tagg and ridden by Edgar Prado, came on strong to win by a half length as he stamped himself a leading contender for the Derby May 3.

War Pass won the first five races of his career and then finished last in the Tampa Bay Derby March 15.

Colonel John added to his credentials as the West Coast's top 3-year-old when he rallied late in the stretch to win the Santa Anita Derby in Arcadia, Calif. Striding smoothly and strongly when jockey Corey Nakatani asked him to turn it on, Colonel John blew past pacesetter Coast Guard and then pulled ahead of Bob Black Jack near the wire to win by a half-length. Coast Guard held on for third.

• In Cicero, Ill., Recapture the Glory overcame 15-to-1 odds to beat heavily favored Denis of Cork and easily outdistance a seven-horse field at the $500,000 Illinois Derby. The Kentucky-bred colt completed the 1¹/₈ -mile dirt course in 1 minute, 49.01 seconds in the feature race for 3-year-olds at Hawthorne Race Course.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 23 points, Rashard Lewis added 21 and the Orlando Magic locked up the Eastern Conference's No. 3 playoff seed with a 101-86 win at Cleveland. The Magic, who have sat behind Boston and Detroit in the standings for much of the season, won despite getting only four points on 1 of 8 shooting from All-Star center Dwight Howard -- 17 below his average. ... Leon Powe had 22 points and nine rebounds, leading a makeshift lineup for the Boston Celtics who were never threatened in a 101-78 victory at Charlotte that not only clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, but set the NBA record for biggest single-season turnaround. ... Vince Carter scored 21 of his 32 points in the second half and the New Jersey Nets beat visiting Toronto, 99-90, snapping a four-game losing streak.

• A woman who claims Michael Jordan fathered her child wants the former NBA star to submit to a third paternity test. Lisa Miceli also is asking a judge to lift a temporary restraining order imposed after Jordan filed a harassment suit against her. Miceli, 35, of Meadville, Pa., claims Jordan fathered her 4-year-old son, but Jordan's lawsuit says two 2005 paternity tests rule him out as the boy's father.

Serena Williams sat in her chair wearing a weary grin as tournament workers prepared the court for the postmatch ceremony. It took a long time for Williams to claim her fifth Key Biscayne, Fla., title. She blew a big lead, battled jitters, threw a tantrum and finally finished off Jelena Jankovic, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3, to win the Sony Ericsson Open.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Baby Penguins dropped a 2-1 decision to the Philadelphia Phantoms in AHL action last night. Tim Brent had the lone goal for the Baby Penguins.

• The Wheeling Nailers lost their final game of the ECHL season, 6-1, to the Elmira Jackals. Sean Collins scored the lone goal for the Nailers, who finished 22-43-7.

Pitt sophomore Kayla Zinger tossed a no-hitter in a 1-0 win against Connecticut as the Panthers split a home doubleheader. It was the first no-hitter by a Pitt pitcher since Nikki Gasti in 2003. Zinger gave up just one walk and struck out six to improve to 7-6 this season. Pitt is 18-13 overall, 4-2 in the Big East.

The Riverhounds got goals from Joseph Zewe and Oliver Quiah in a 2-1 win against West Virginia in Morgantown, W.Va. The Riverhounds (1-0-1 in the preseason) will play Robert Morris University 7 p.m. Tuesday at Upper St. Clair High School.