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The text messages popping into Helio Castroneves' cell phone have nothing to do with racing.

And yet they have everything to do with his new approach to racing in the IndyCar Series.

The texts are from Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, who is competing in the ABC series "Dancing With with the Stars," a competition Castroneves and dance partner Julianne Hough won in dazzling fashion last winter.

Taylor, a Pro Bowl defensive end, asks Castroneves for tips on mastering the tango, the mambo, the fox trot and cha-cha, among other things.

"How do you do this?" Taylor inquired.

Johan Franzen and the Detroit Red Wings are kicking the Colorado Avalanche when they're down.

Franzen scored three times to lift Detroit to a 5-1 victory Saturday over the banged-up Avs, giving the NHL's top-seeded team a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinal.

Franzen -- a 6-foot-3, 220-pound center known as "Mule" -- redirected a shot in front of the net early in the game, scored on a wraparound in the second period and whacked a rebound out of the air in the third for his first career hat trick.

He had two goals in Detroit's series-opening win.

Colorado's Ian Laperriere scored early in the third period, avoiding a shutout.

At Hesston

Women -- 1. Meredith Warren, Wichita, 19:40; 2. Helena Duncan, Wichita, 20:27; 3. Carmille Johnson, Wichita, 20:47; 4. Denise Schmidt, Augusta, 20:51; 5. Elaine Chavez, Wichita, 21:30; 6. Kathleen Patterson, Wichita, 21:58; 7. Aiden Stiner, Great Bend, 22:01; 8. Tam Perry, Hillsboro, 22:05; 9. Sarah West, Abilene, 22:05; 10. Tanya Molleker, Valley Center, 22:26.

1-10 -- 1. Alexis Mijares, Wichita, 24:13; 2. Alex Ratzlaff, Hillsboro, 24:25; 3. Aspen Greg, Wichita, 25:07. 11-17--1. Mikala Heddin, Hesston, 22:39; 2. Lauren Wolfenberger, Newton, 23:39; 3. Hannah Wolfenberger, Newton, 24:02. 18-24--1. Robyn Liebelt, Osage City, 22:45; 2. Pam Rizza, Roeland Park, 23:04; 3. Meredith Lehman, Newton, 23:49. 25-29--1. Cathy Guyer, Moundridge, 22:38; 2. Sally Nietfeld, Hesston, 23:28; 3. Abbie Fuqua, Hesston, 24:52. 30-34--1. Brandey Voran, Hesston, 23:44; 2. Carrie Friesen, Hesston, 24:50; 3. Krysti Bergkamp, Marquette, 24:50. 35-39--1. Christy Schunn-Sebe, Newton, 24:45; 2. Lori Schmidt, Salina, 24:53; 3. Cathy Peters, Wichita, 25:07. 40-44--1. Kelli Farber, Rose Hill, 25:14; 2. Cindy Zumbrunn, Abilene, 25:43; 3. LeeAnn Johnson, Rose Hill, 25:55. 45-49--1. Lynn Morris, Hutchinson, 22:28; 2. Becki Yoder, Peabody, 23:37; 3. Donna Spoonemore, Hillsboro, 24:14. 50-54--1. Marlys Plett, Hillsboro, 24:28; 2. Cyndi Koehn, Hesston, 24:55; 3. Teresa Robinson, Buhler, 25:07. 55-59--1. Barbara Holzman, Wichita, 23:11; 2. Christine Rans, Hesston, 29:41; 3. Barb Voth, Newton, 29:55. 60-64--1. Trudy Calloway, Wichita, 25:21; 2. Marcia Schultz, Wichita, 28:51; 3. Jean Selzer, Hesston, 34:43. 65-69--1. Rowene Hinshaw, Wichita, 32:09; 2. Analene Klassen, Newton, 36:27; 3. Carol Zanker, Marysville, 39:28. 70-74--1. Mary Jane Mann, Topeka, 34:01; 2. Charlene Jones, Barnard, 35:47; 3. Dorothy Zook, Hesston, 46:30. 75-79--1. Rita Sadowski, Newton, 33:56; 2. Maurine Regehr, Hesston, 44:45; 3. Naomi Rutschman, Hesston, 46:11. 80-84--1. Lucile Hochstetler, Hesston, 47:45; 2. June Dirks, Wichita, 49:02; 3. Lois Amstrutz, Hesston, 52:55. 85-99--1. Marie Wiens, Hillsboro, 58:37; 2. Donna Phillips, Valley Center, 1.00:44; 3. Ruth E. Schmidt, Hesston, 1.10:33.

Brad Hutt pitched eight strong innings and Byron Wiley hit a two-run single as Kansas State defeated Texas 4-1 in Big 12 Conference play Saturday in Manhattan.

Wiley's seventh-inning hit padded K-State's lead and helped preserve Hutt's 22nd career victory, three shy of a Wildcat record. K-State improved to 20-22, 6-11 in the Big 12.

• Buck Afenir hit a two-run homer and Erik Morrison had three hits, but Kansas still lost 10-3 to Oklahoma State in Stillwater. The Cowboys used a four-run fifth to break open a close game and dropped KU to 25-21 and 5-12 in the Big 12.

BASKETBALL

Johnny Dawkins, a longtime assistant coach at Duke, has been hired as Stanford's new men's basketball coach.

Kechi Playhouse will open its 26th season on June 5 with the Marshall Karp comedy, "Squabbles," about two in-laws who fight all of the time.

The playhouse at 61st North and Oliver will offer five shows throughout the summer, in contrast with most fall-to-spring groups in Wichita.

The theater, owned by Misty Maynard, is housed in a converted 1920 Methodist church that holds about 100 people.

All performances are at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $9 for Thursdays and Sundays and $10 for Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations may be made at 316-744-2152.

"Squabbles" will be presented June 5-29.

THE DANCE MUSICAL FEATURING MUSIC BY BILLY JOEL FOLLOWS FIVE TEENS GROWING UP IN THE VIETNAM ERA.

Matthew Friedman grew up in Billy Joel territory on Long Island, N.Y., and when he was 8 or 9, he got the chance to wave enthusiastically to his idol as the Piano Man sped by his parents' car on a motorcycle. Even better, Friedman says, Joel waved back.

Now at 39, Friedman plays Piano Man -- that's the character's name -- in "Movin' Out," the innovative dance musical that uses Joel's music and lyrics and Twyla Tharp's Tony Award-winning choreography to tell the dramatic story of five teens growing up during the Vietnam era. The show closes out this season for Theater League with two performances on Friday and Saturday.

"There is not a single word of dialogue in the entire show," said Friedman, who is onstage the entire time, sitting at a piano hovering above the dancers and pounding out Joel's songs. "It's a very original approach. I have to give Twyla credit for being able to tell the complete story just through dance."

"I'm not really Billy Joel by name, but as Piano Man, I'm the narrator of the show," he said. "I create the mood and sometimes tell through the lyrics what's happening. The dance takes it from there."

Don't expect flower power, peace signs and hippies when Wichita State University revives the groundbreaking "Hair" for a 40th anniversary production beginning Thursday, says director Andrew Palermo, who intends to make the 1960s period piece relevant to today's issues.

But, Palermo cautions, leave the kids at home because "Hair" remains an adult show with an R rating. That means there will be the nudity that made the show notorious, although Palermo, a New York-based artist-in-residence at WSU, says not as much as most people probably imagine.

The original, the first to drop trou for both men and women on Broadway, featured about 30 seconds of nudity at the end of Act I during the haunting "Where Do I Go?"

"But we're not going to do precisely what past productions have done," Palermo says. "I don't want to give too much away, but it will be more of a metaphysical flash. That's for both the cast and the audience's sakes. It's a theatrical production. We don't want it to feel like porn."

Back in 1970 when "Hair" first tried to come to Wichita as a national touring production, city officials banned it from city-owned Century II, even threatening to arrest nude performers on stage. That sparked national headlines. Cooler heads later prevailed and "Hair" came to town the following year without incident.

WITH 'BITTERSWEET," ASHLEE SIMPSON DIVES HEADLONG INTO THE '80S FASCINATION SHE'S FLIRTED WITH ON PREVIOUS CDS.

ASHLEE SIMPSON

"Bittersweet World"

'' (Geffen)

Yes, everyone wants to know whether Ashlee Simpson and her fiance are expecting their first child. But after listening to Simpson's new "Bittersweet World" album, what should concern them is that she may actually have no idea what year it is.

Shockers can't close deal

A team that closes games by committee often doesn't really own a closer.

No. 14 Wichita State proves that baseball theory. The Shockers blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning and lost 8-7 to Indiana State on Sunday at Sycamore Field. The Sycamores won the game on a wild pitch by the third reliever trying to protect WSU's lead.

"We've got to be more clutch in those situations," said sophomore Dusty Coleman, one of three pitchers who failed to get the outs. "Having a three-run lead going into the ninth should be game over every time."

It wasn't for a variety of reasons in an inning that spoiled the weekend for the Shockers (33-9, 11-4 Missouri Valley Conference). They blew a chance to add to their MVC lead with Northern Iowa coming to Eck Stadium on Friday. Instead, the Panthers, who lost two of three over the weekend, are tied with the Shockers in first.

The one certainty about the NFL Draft is you just never know how it's going to turn out.

Take, for example, Sunday's final day of the 2008 draft.

Former Kansas tight end Derek Fine heard he might be drafted in the sixth or seventh round. Instead, he went in the fourth to the Buffalo Bills -- the same round in which Missouri All-American tight end Martin Rucker was selected.

Ex-Jayhawk offensive tackle Anthony Collins was sure he would be a first-rounder, the second round at the lowest. Instead, Collins had to wait until the Cincinnati Bengals took in with the 13th pick of the fourth round.

Marcus Henry, KU's 1,000-yard wide receiver last season, was certain he wouldn't dip below the fourth round -- his agent told him so. But Henry wasn't taken until the New York Jets made him the fifth choice of the sixth round.

In romantic comedies, a clear Hollywood hierarchy is at work.

There's the guy who gets the girl. And there's the other guy, the one she abandons for Mr. Right.

Patrick Dempsey has been on both ends of that pecking order. Long before he became "Grey's Anatomy's" "McDreamy," he was the dreamboat, junior edition, that assorted starlets floated off into the sunset with in movies such as "Can't Buy Me Love."

And then all that went away.

"You stop getting the opportunities," Dempsey, now 42, says. "You haven't lost your skills. You just aren't 'hot' any more."

The Chiefs' first-round draft picks stood Monday at Arrowhead Stadium and held up their new jerseys. Offensive lineman Branden Albert held up a No. 76 jersey. Defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey held up the No. 72, and that made him smile.

When it was time to return the jersey to a team employee, Dorsey wasn't ready to let go.

"Take care of it, man," he said to the employee.

For the next nine months, everything about Dorsey and Albert will be handled with care. They are the face of the Chiefs' youth movement, a shift away from some of the familiar faces of years past and a new philosophy--less emphasis on free agents and more emphasis on draft picks--the Chiefs hope will dull the pain of last year's 4-12 record.

The signs hung around Arrowhead say the Chiefs are spending this offseason "Laying the foundation." Albert said Monday he thinks the team began by snagging a pair of linemen in the first round.

Aqib Talib fielded question after question. When he finally encountered one he couldn't answer, the first-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got some unexpected assistance.

"My first name means 'the last to come.' I'm the youngest out of four kids. My last name, I don't know," the ballhawking cornerback said Monday before being joined on a podium by Bucs coach Jon Gruden.

The two held up a No. 1 jersey with Talib's name on the back.

"That name," Gruden said, "means 'good corner,' I hope."

The room erupted in laughter, but Gruden was only half joking.

It's not as easy as high school.

Of course, that was a given coming in -- Daniel Dellasega didn't expect any of this to be easy.

The combined seven Class 2A state titles seemingly came with the uniforms he wore at Pittsburg Colgan, where Daniel Dellasega thrived as a three-sport star from 2001-2005.

These days, titles are few and the playing time is limited as a member of Kansas State's baseball team, which plays No. 14 Wichita tonight at Eck Stadium.

It's been an adjustment for Dellasega, one that was expected, but no less easy to accommodate.

Dan Wheldon had just climbed down from victory lane at Kansas Speedway for the second year in a row, and he had just finished second or better for the fourth straight time at Kansas.

Why, he was asked, is he so flaming good in IndyCar races here?

Wheldon shot back that he doesn't know why, doesn't care why and, frankly, doesn't want to know why.

What Wheldon does know is that racing in Kansas has curative powers for him, and that is extremely cool.

"I don't why and I don't want to jinx myself," he said following his easy victory in Sunday's IndyCar Road Runner Turbo 300. "I just hope it continues."

ATLANTA -- After lasting only four innings Sunday in New York, Braves pitcher John Smoltz returned to Atlanta on Monday and is to have his troublesome right shoulder examined today.

Smoltz gave up seven hits and four runs in the 6-3 loss to the Mets. He has had concerns about the right shoulder since spring training, but Sunday's game provided the first evidence he cannot continue to pitch effectively through the discomfort.

Smoltz started the season on the disabled list with tightness in the back of the shoulder. He entered Sunday's game with an 0.78 earned run average but now faces a possible return to the disabled list.

Smoltz said he couldn't deliver pitches the way he wanted.

"The next couple of days I should know what paths we're looking at," Smoltz said Sunday.

Gil Meche didn't get a win, but he gave the Kansas City Royals a chance to win.

Meche allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings, but that was still too many as Toronto beat Kansas City 5-2 Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium in the final game of a six-game home stand.

The Royals went 2-4 on the home stand and after an off day today, will begin a six-game road trip, starting Tuesday night at Texas.

"It was still not the quality of game I'm looking for, but definitely an improvement," said Meche, who dropped to 1-4. "I need more games like this.

"Unfortunately, we made a lot of mistakes, and it cost us."

Notes

• Tonight is "Military Night" at Eck Stadium -- $5 discount tickets will be available to those with a military ID, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter will fly over after the National Anthem, colors will be presented by the Kansas Air National Guard Honor Guard, and McConnell Air Force Base Commander James Vechery will throw out the first pitch.

• WSU defeated K-State 4-3 on April 8 in Manhattan. Josh Workman, Tyler Hill, Conor Gillaspie and Tyler Weber each drove in a run for the Shockers.

• The Shockers have won six of the last 10 meetings.

• In his start last Tuesday against Kansas, WSU starter Tyler Fleming gave up one run and four hits in four innings in the 6-4 win.

Eagle high school reporters talk to area athletes about their school, their sport and teen life. Today, it's Valley Center High.

Three Valley Center golfers -- junior Cade Canaday, sophomore Jake Pritchard and sophomore Kevin Diehl -- took a few moments after school to answer some questions.

Is golf the most frustrating sport?

Canady: Definitely, because of all the mental aspects of it. There's so much more to think about on every shot.

Pritchard: Probably. But it's also the most fun (sport) I've ever played. It comes with the frustration, but that's part of the fun of it -- get over the frustration and pull through it and have the happy times.

Andover Central softball coach Rita Frakes cried Thursday night following the Jaguars' 3-2 loss in 21 innings to visiting Clearwater.

"My worst feeling was watching my kid pitch the most incredible game she's ever pitched and not come away with the win," Frakes said of junior pitcher Nikki Armagost.

Armagost had 47 strikeouts in the doubleheader's 28 innings -- Andover Central won the first game 7-0. She struck out 33 in the second game.

"It was a great game. I had tears in my eyes as I talked to the kids and looked at them and said, 'That's a tough one to lose,' " Frakes said.

But it was a great game to win.

Andover junior Richard Lee wanted to prove he belongs at the top of the AV/CTL tennis ranks.

He may have done so Monday afternoon, walking away the Div. 3 champ, winning all three of his matches at the league meet.

After finishing second a year ago, Lee came into this season with high expectations for himself.

"I was playing pretty good today," Lee said. "Hopefully I move on from this to win regionals and do well at state."

With Andover a regional site, Lee should feel right at home in his quest to move on.

Seneca Bowl

Men

Ed Gonzales def. Gay Stroud 248-219; Duane Ensign def. Bob Mercer 237-226; Norm Christiansen def. Bob Potts 235-169; Mark Jensen def. Frank Walden 268-239. Semifinals -- Gonzales def. Ensign 244-216; Christiansen def. Jensen 312-258. Final -- Gonzales def. Christiansen 320-216.

Women

Maggie Blecha def. Gwen Tucker 221-202; Marilyn George def. Maxine Dilsaver 219-184; Irene Springer def. Donna Stark 243-230; Martha Conn def. Clara Hoecker 201-198. Semifinals -- Blecha def. George 219-198; Springer def. Conn 264-204. Final -- Springer def. Blecha 214-194.

Sarah Jessica Parker often referred to New York as the fifth lady in the show "Sex and the City," which chronicled the lives of four female friends.

But the hit HBO TV series stands accused of being unfaithful to the city in which it was set. The much-anticipated movie version of the show is set to premiere not in New York, but in London.

The film's stars -- Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon -- are all expected to attend the London world premiere on May 12 at the Odeon Leicester Square Cinema.

The film's next premiere will be held in Berlin on May 15.

The movie's not expected to premiere in New York until May 27, before opening at theaters across the United States on May 30.

Daniel Edwards didn't take much notice as the song blared through Eck Stadium, even though it was his. As the Kansas State closer made his way from the visitors' bullpen in the eighth inning Tuesday night against No. 14 Wichita State, Korn's "Coming Undone" blared through the loudspeakers. The otherwise unexceptional song is played every time Edwards enters a game at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan.

"It was probably a coincidence thing," Edwards said.

Five outs later, all coincidences included, it was K-State's night.

Edwards preserved the 3-2 victory by striking out three of the six Shockers he faced, including Andy Dirks with a runner in scoring position for the final out.

"As long we can come out on top in these types of games, it will be better for us," Edwards said.

When your high-school basketball teams is loaded with major-college recruits, it can be a little hard to stand out.

At least that's what guard Tyshawn Taylor discovered during his first two years at renowned St. Anthony High in Jersey City, N.J.

"I was in the shadow of my teammates for a long time," he said Tuesday after giving an oral commitment to Kansas.

But you can keep the cream down only so long. That's also what Taylor discovered after he performed at a high level last summer during AAU competition and camps.

"His game really blew up last summer," St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley said. "He really improved his game, and that's when everyone really started looking at him."

A hearing seeking a protection-from-stalking order against Wichita State baseball coach Gene Stephenson has been postponed from Thursday to an undetermined date.

A Sedgwick County District Court judge will meet with lawyers next month to schedule a hearing and other matters related to the case.

Stephenson, WSU's baseball coach since 1978, has been accused by a Wichita woman of harassing her numerous times in 2007. Stephenson has denied the allegation.

A temporary order was granted to the woman March 27.

Tuesday's box score

Who's on second?

With Josh Workman missing his 14th game with a pulled side muscle and backup Kyle Sisney sitting out with a hamstring injury suffered Saturday at Indiana State, freshman Taylor Brown anchored second base for the Shockers in his fourth start.

Consolver

Doris Greider, No. 16 (135 yds.) Five wood. Witnesses: Janice Olick and Sharon Cook.

Hesston

Drew Hodson, No. 17 (186 yds.) 6-iron. Witnesses: Logan Norrell and Camdon Pankratz.

Lying with her back on the ground, Northwest's Erin Widrig appeared to be finished for Tuesday night's matchup against Manhattan.

Minutes passed with Widrig on her back after a collision with goalkeeper Amanda Shook, until the junior was helped off the field by two coaches. It looked as if Northwest would have to protect its two-goal lead without its top defender for the final seven minutes.

But after watching Manhattan split through the defense and score a goal, Widrig shook off the pain in her hip to return to the field for the final five minutes. The Grizzlies held on for the 2-1 victory.

"I did not want them to finish the game with anything that would not get by me," Widrig said. "I didn't want to have to leave my team like that. I just wanted to finish the game."

When Widrig left, Manhattan was finally able to penetrate the Grizzlies' defense and cut the deficit in half with 2:22 remaining on a goal from Mallorie Blanck.

The North Redskins have a philosophy that good starts equal great finishes.

That strategy worked for them Tuesday as the Redskins defeated Bishop Carroll 9-0 at McAdams Field behind an early offensive explosion and pitching consistency.

With first place in the City League standings on the line, North (14-1 overall, 13-1 league) got a spectacular outing from ace Matt Applegate, stifling the Golden Eagle hitters.

Applegate spotted his fastball early and had plenty of movement on his curveball, finishing the game giving up four hits and striking out 10.

"I got ahead early and that allowed me to be effective later," said Applegate. "I was glad to be the guy out there. My team has confidence in me, and I build off of them."

Northwest's boys tennis team is young, to say the least. With no seniors and a core of sophomores leading the team, many other teams might be rebuilding.

Not the Grizzlies.

Northwest quietly finished third (6-2) in the City League this season after finishing fifth a year ago.

Northwest goes into Thursday's Class 6A regional at Dodge City with plenty of hope for this postseason and beyond.

"I'm thinking at the least, maybe we can get a doubles team qualified for state," coach Mike Thomas said.

Evgeni Malkin scored two power-play goals and added an assist to lift Pittsburgh to a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the host New York Rangers that stretched the Penguins' lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series to 3-0.

The Penguins are 7-0 in the postseason, still rolling after a four-game sweep of Ottawa in the first round.

Pittsburgh, which lost all four road meetings with the Rangers this season, can advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001 as early as Thursday. Only two teams have come back to win a series after trailing 3-0.

New York, which dominated the shots with a 39-17 edge, had the stirring rally in this one, erasing a two-goal deficit in the second period. But Malkin restored the Penguins' lead before the frame was finished, then won a key faceoff in the Rangers' end that helped set up Ryan Malone's goal that made it 5-3 at 2:30 of the third.

Marian Hossa, Georges Laraque and Malkin scored for Pittsburgh around a goal by New York's Martin Straka in the first period.

I'm back after catching the first weekend of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, and I'm exhausted. As with many festivals, you spend long periods of time standing in line to get tickets or to get into screenings, or both. As one festivalgoer said to me, "If your feet don't hurt at the end of the day, you're not doing it right."

If my feet were any indication, I was a pro.

But waiting is part of the fun. It puts you right in the middle of the excitement and the spectacle. Still, the films are the reason to endure it all.

Here are the six movies I was able to see:

• "Somers Town" is director Shane Meadows' study of two unlikely teenage friends -- one homeless, one living with his alcoholic father -- in London. Meadows explained in the Q&A after the screening that the film was originally intended to be a short, but then was stretched to 70 minutes -- and it felt like it.

What made the cover

• "My new bikini body! How Britney (Spears) beat cellulite" (Star)

• "Hillary (Clinton) gay love scandal revealed!" (Globe)

• "(Barack) Obama marriage explodes!" (National Enquirer)

Tell us something we haven't already figured out

Martin, 28, has been the head bouncer at America's Pub for the past year and loves it. She leads a team of seven bouncers -- all men.

The Winfield native has a degree in criminal justice from Wichita State University and is working on a finance degree. She hopes one day to work for a large corporation.

1. How did you become head bouncer? My managers offered me the position after the previous head bouncer quit. I had been working the longest out of all the other bouncers at that time. I knew exactly what was expected, and the managers trusted that I would get the job done.

2. What made you want to get your degree in criminal justice?

My older sister received her degree in criminal justice and was a sheriff's officer for Cowley County for a few years. She is the one who sparked my interest in the career. I knew I did not want to do police work or become a lawyer, but after researching I found that a degree in criminal justice offered several different avenues to pursue.