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SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
The Detroit Red Wings equaled an NHL record with their 20th straight win at home, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 Sunday night on the strength of Johan Franzen's tiebreaking goal early in the third period.
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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.
Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods greeted their Sunday pairing at Pebble Beach with optimism. But the day would end happily only for one.
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.
AP
PHOENIX - If Phoenix plays the Dallas Mavericks a few weeks from now in the Western Conference finals, confidence should be no problem for the Suns.
Not with the way they handled the Mavericks on Sunday.
With Leandro Barbosa leading a parade of big scorers with 29 points, the Suns beat the Mavericks for the second time in 18 days, 126-104.
Amare Stoudemire added 24 points and Steve Nash had 23 points and 11 assists as the Suns snapped Dallas’ nine-game winning streak and finished the season series 2-2. After a scoreless first quarter, Shawn Marion had 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting. He also frustrated Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki most of the afternoon.
“That’s about as good as we can play,” Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni said.
The Suns shot 65 percent (46-of-71), the highest in the NBA this season and a record for any team at US Airways Center, formerly America West Arena.
Phoenix shot 86 percent in the fourth quarter (13-for-15), 4-of-4 on 3s.
“We were getting good looks,” Marion said. “Everybody was rotating, making the extra pass. When everybody makes the extra pass, you get open looks and you’re going to knock down some shots.”
Stoudemire, who scored 41 in the Suns’ come-from-behind 129-127 double-overtime victory at Dallas on March 14, made 10 of 13 shots Sunday. In the last two games against the Mavericks, Stoudemire was 26-of-32 from the field.
“It’s just tough because my jumper is falling now, so it makes it harder for the defense to figure out what I’m going to do,” Stoudemire said. “I’m either going to shoot the jumper, drive around them or pass it out for a 3. It’s pretty much pick your poison with myself and also for the team.”
Even the hard-to-please Nash seemed satisfied for a change.
“Sometimes to a fault we’ve played to the level of our competition. Fortunately it’s good on nights like tonight,” he said. “Tonight I give us high marks for energy and consistency. When we play well, no one’s going to defend us well.”
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Josh Howard scored 28 for Dallas, 18 in a tight first half that featured 13 ties and nine lead changes. Jerry Stackhouse added 25 and Jason Terry 20.
Nowitzki scored 21 but was just 6-of-18 shooting.
“They had a good strategy, a good game plan,” Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. “They executed, and we never left the hotel.”
Boris Diaw had 16 points for Phoenix, and a spectacular behind-the-back bounce pass to Stoudemire for a layup.
“This doesn’t mean we’re so much better than Dallas, no,” D’Antoni said. “Dallas has got the best record, and they’re going to be the No. 1 seed, but I think it’s going to be very competitive and we’ll see what happens.”
PBT: Boston's Rajon Rondo continues to be named in trade talks, which is madness. The Celtics guard creates offense and makes everyone around him better, which was evident in Sunday's win over the Bulls.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.
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