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Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had hole-by-hole reports.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
Getty Images fileQ: The new rules changes have been getting lots of praise. Any of them not working out, though?
-- Todd Cavunn from Burlington, Vt.
A: I have to say, Todd, the rules have worked out quite well, perhaps beyond everyone's imagination or estimation. Steve Yzerman, for one, isn't happy about it. Stevie Y, about six weeks into the season, was lamenting the great number of penalty calls, claiming that it's not the game he grew up playing as a professional.
Well, Yzerman is right, it's not the same game. But let's not forget, the referees weren't interpreting the rule book correctly for a very long time, especially when it came to interference in the neutral zone.
Meanwhile, the game was dying on the vine. Yzerman's claim now is that the officials aren't doing their jobs, because they're just blowing their whistles and calling penalties, rather than using their educated judgment.
All that is fair criticism. But the guys in stripes weren't doing that before either, when they refused to blow their whistles and the entertainment value was being strangled out of the game. In an ideal world, I would prefer that they go by an educated eye and make deliberate, considered calls, all in a split second, mind you. But if I had to choose between too many calls, and no calls whatsover — which is precisely the difference to be considered here — then let's go with the new NHL.
It's a heckuva lot more fun and entertaining.
As for what is not working, I'd have to say it's the contact issue, specifically what blue liners can do to defend near their own net. Truth is, they can't do much, and perhaps the league will have to reconsider what the officials will tolerate in that specific area — in the slot and on top of the crease. Let's not see the day return when defensemen can crack opposing forwards across their backs with devastating, vicious crosschecks.
But I think it's OK if the D-men are allowed to shove forwards out of the way, or at least be allowed an initial bit of contact.
The good news, Todd, is that talk of making the nets bigger has abated. Goal scoring is up enough, by about 1.3 goals per game. More important, games are still worth watching even when a team holds a two-goal lead midway through the third period. It wasn't the lack of goal scoring, per se, that bothered me in the old game. It was that teams rarely could erase deficits, once their opponents moved ahead on the scoreboard and went into their trap defensive mode. Now the feeling is, last goal wins, reminiscent of the street hockey game so many of us grew up playing.
Q: Will Sergei Fedorov help get the Blue Jackets on the right track?
-- Jarrod from Alberta
A: Well, Jarrod, Columbus is counting on it, but I've got serious reservations that Fedorov, 36 years old as of Dec. 13, can be enough to get the struggling expansion club into the playoffs for the first time.
First off, there is his age, along with the fact that he missed virtually the entire first quarter of this season with a groin injury. On top of that, star Jax winger Rick Nash has been out with injury, too.
Columbus is calculating that Fedorov, a dazzling player with Detroit in the mid-'90s, will be in their mix for two or three more seasons after this one. They're also counting on him to the be the kind of pivot for Nash that the Caps one day will find for Ovechkin. If he were, say, 25 going on 26, and not a decade older than that, I would be far more encouraged.
Here's where I could be wrong. We have not seen Fedorov in full flight yet under the new rules. We also haven't seen him in full health, in full flight, with the talented Nash as his full-time partner. If indeed there is a magical connection there, then maybe they can ignite some enthusiasm up and down the lineup. If so, I'll stand corrected, in which case I'll be happy to say that I was terribly misquoted.
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Check out highlights from the Rangers 3-2 win over the Capitals.
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Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
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