By Peter Graff
LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - It has all the ingredients of a proper British royal wedding: romance, tradition, rain, and a gossip magazine feud.
Peter Phillips, 11th in line to the throne, becomes on Saturday the first of Queen Elizabeth's grandchildren to wed, marrying his Canadian bride Autumn Kelly in drizzly weather at a chapel at the queen's Windsor Castle residence near London.
Phillips, 30, is the queen's eldest grandchild and son of Elizabeth's only daughter, Princess Anne.
Unlike his first cousins, Princes William and Harry -- or his sister, equestrian champion and Beijing Olympics hopeful Zara Phillips -- he has tended to stay out of the limelight.
Nevertheless, he accepted an offer from gossip magazine Hello! to allow its photographers exclusive access to the wedding for a reported 500,000 pounds (nearly $1 million).
Hello! calls it "the fairytale romance which has bridged continents and social divides".
LOCKED OUT AND FURIOUS
But the rest of Britain's celebrity-obsessed media was locked out, and predictably furious.
"What a start to married life for Princess Anne's son Peter Phillips -- cashing in on the accident of his birth and literally selling his grandmother to Hello! magazine," the Daily Mail thundered.
As is perhaps inevitable at weddings, speculation focussed on who would be next.
Prince Harry was expected to formally present his girlfriend of four years, Chelsy Davy, to Queen Elizabeth for the first time.
Prince William's off-again-on-again girlfriend Kate Middleton also was on the guest list, but William himself was unable to attend because he was at a friend's wedding in Kenya.
Phillips and Kelly met in 2003 at the Montreal Grand Prix, when he worked for the Formula 1 racing team BMW Williams and she worked at the BMW hospitality suite.
He was determined to woo her on his own terms and did not initially tell her of his royal lineage. She has said she found out she was dating a royal when she saw him on a television programme about his cousin Prince William.
Kelly, a graduate of Canada's prestigious McGill University, was raised a Roman Catholic, but converted to Protestantism before the wedding. Under British law, a royal who marries a Catholic loses his claim to the throne.
((peter.graff@reuters.com; +44 207 542 7947; Reuters Messaging: peter.graff.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: BRITAIN ROYAL/
May 16 (Reuters) - Major League Baseball standings on Friday
AMERICAN LEAGUE
EASTERN DIVISION
W L PCT GB
1. Tampa Bay 25 17 .595 -
2. Boston 24 19 .558 1 1/2
3. Baltimore 22 19 .537 2 1/2
4. Toronto 21 23 .477 5
5. NY Yankees 20 22 .476 5
CENTRAL DIVISION
W L PCT GB
1. Cleveland 22 20 .524 -
2. Chicago White Sox 21 20 .512 1/2
3. Minnesota 21 20 .512 1/2
4. Kansas City 20 21 .488 1 1/2
5. Detroit 16 26 .381 6
WESTERN DIVISION
W L PCT GB
1. LA Angels 25 19 .568 -
2. Oakland 23 20 .535 1 1/2
3. Texas 21 22 .488 3 1/2
4. Seattle 16 27 .372 8 1/2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
EASTERN DIVISION
W L PCT GB
1. Florida 23 18 .561 -
2. Philadelphia 24 19 .558 -
3. NY Mets 20 19 .513 2
4. Atlanta 21 20 .512 2
5. Washington 18 25 .419 6
CENTRAL DIVISION
W L PCT GB
1. Chicago Cubs 26 16 .619 -
2. Houston 24 19 .558 2 1/2
3. St. Louis 24 20 .545 3
4. Milwaukee 20 21 .488 5 1/2
5. Pittsburgh 20 22 .476 6
6. Cincinnati 19 23 .452 7
WESTERN DIVISION
W L PCT GB
1. Arizona 27 15 .643 -
2. LA Dodgers 21 20 .512 5 1/2
3. San Francisco 17 26 .395 10 1/2
4. San Diego 16 27 .372 11 1/2
5. Colorado 15 27 .357 12
(Compiled by Infostrada Sports; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
((peter.rutherford@reuters.com; +65 6870 3817; Reuters
Messaging: peter.rutherford.reuters.com@reuters.net; For the
latest Reuters Premier League and international
football news see: http://football.uk.reuters.com/))
(Adds quotes, detail)
NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Lakers held off a furious late fightback by the Utah Jazz to book their place in the Western Conference final with a nail-biting 108-105 victory in Game Six on Friday.
All-Star guard Kobe Bryant, named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the first time earlier this month, led the way with 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Lakers wrapped up the best-of-seven series 4-2.
Earlier on Friday, LeBron James poured in 32 points to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics 74-69 and force a deciding Game Seven in their Eastern Conference semi-final.
In Salt Lake City, Spaniard Pau Gasol scored 17 points and veteran guard Derek Fisher 16 while three other Lakers players also finished in double-figures.
Mehmet Okur and Deron Williams, who top-scored for the Jazz with 21, both missed three-pointers in the final seconds that would have tied the game.
"We played with a lot of heart," Bryant said in a court-side television interview after the Lakers reached the conference finals for the first time in four years.
"I think it shows a lot of maturity on our part to come to a place where they have lost only five times all year to win a big one. It also shows a lot of growth that we were able to execute and especially to withstand their run at the end."
The Lakers made a storming start and led 86-70 going into the fourth quarter. The Jazz trimmed the deficit to seven points before Bryant delivered two magical two-pointers to regain control for the visitors.
LEAD CUT
However, Utah again clawed their way back and forward Andrei Kirilenko's three-point jumper cut the lead to 103-100 with 25.5 seconds left but Los Angeles held on to win.
The Lakers will take on either the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs or the New Orleans Hornets in the conference final. The Spurs face the Hornets in the series decider in New Orleans on Monday.
In Cleveland, James also registered 12 rebounds and six assists as the Cavs delivered an impressive performance on home court to level the best-of-seven series at 3-3.
Kevin Garnett was top scorer for Boston with 25 points and eight rebounds while Paul Pierce contributed 16 points.
The Cavaliers led 59-50 going into the fourth quarter but had to weather a late rally by the conference's top-seeded Celtics.
Cleveland's victory sets up a series decider in Boston on Sunday. The home team has won every game in the series.
"We feel good but it's just one game," James said. "We had a game tonight where we could have gone down and it would have been over.
"It was a long game and we're going to let our hair down and then go into Boston and try to steal this one." (Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford) ((mark.stokes@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 7933; Reuters Messaging: mark.stokes.reuters.com@reuters.net. For the latest Reuters Premier League and international football news see: http://football.uk.reuters.com/))
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Keywords: NBA/
(Updates with Lakers win)
NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Lakers held off a spirited late fightback by the Utah Jazz to book their place in the Western Conference final with a nail-biting 108-105 victory in Game Six on Friday.
All-Star guard Kobe Bryant, named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the first time earlier this month, led the way with 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Lakers wrapped up the best-of-seven series 4-2.
Earlier on Friday, LeBron James scored 32 points to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics 74-69 and force a deciding Game Seven in their Eastern Conference semi-final.
In Salt Lake City, Spaniard Pau Gasol scored 17 points and veteran guard Derek Fisher 16 while three other Lakers players also finished in double-figures.
The Lakers made a storming start and led 86-70 going into the fourth quarter. The Jazz trimmed the deficit to seven points before Bryant delivered two magical two-pointers to regain control for the visitors.
However, Utah again clawed their way back and forward Andrei Kirilenko's three-point jumper cut the lead to 103-100 with 25.5 seconds left but Los Angeles held on to win.
DECIDER
The Lakers will take on either the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs or the New Orleans Hornets in the conference final. The Spurs face the Hornets in the series decider in New Orleans on Monday.
In Cleveland, James also registered 12 rebounds and six assists as the Cavs delivered an impressive performance on home court to level the best-of-seven series at 3-3.
Kevin Garnett was top scorer for Boston with 25 points and eight rebounds while Paul Pierce contributed 16 points.
The Cavaliers led 59-50 going into the fourth quarter but had to weather a late rally by the conference's top-seeded Celtics.
Cleveland's victory sets up a series decider in Boston on Sunday. The home team has won every game in the series.
"We feel good but it's just one game," James said in a court-side television interview. "We had a game tonight where we could have gone down and it would have been over.
"It was a long game and we're going to let our hair down and then go into Boston and try to steal this one." (Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford) ((mark.stokes@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 7933; Reuters Messaging: mark.stokes.reuters.com@reuters.net. For the latest Reuters Premier League and international football news see: http://football.uk.reuters.com/))
Please double click on the news links below:
[NBA-LEN] for more NBA stories
May 16 (Reuters) - NBA playoff results on Friday (home team
in CAPS)
LA Lakers 108
UTAH 105
(LA Lakers win the best-of-seven series 4-2)
CLEVELAND 74
Boston 69
(Best-of-seven series is tied at 3-3)
(Compiled by Infostrada Sports; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
((peter.rutherford@reuters.com; +65 6870 3817; Reuters
Messaging: peter.rutherford.reuters.com@reuters.net; For the
latest Reuters Premier League and international
football news see: http://football.uk.reuters.com/))
Keywords: NBA/RESULTS
Next: UPDATE 2-Baseball results