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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.
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CLEVELAND - Candace Parker calmly walked to the middle of the floor, extended her index finger and said the same two words almost everyone wearing Tennessee orange has been muttering for nearly a decade.
“One more,” Parker said.
As in one more victory — and, just maybe, another NCAA title for the Lady Vols.
“I really feel like we owe it (to Tennessee),” the sophomore All-American said. “We owe it to ourselves.”
Parker scored 14 points and made the biggest of Tennessee’s record 20 steals, helping the Lady Vols overcome a 12-point deficit and beat North Carolina 56-50 in a national semifinal on Sunday night to set up an NCAA title date with Rutgers.
Down 48-36 and on the verge of watching another splendid season end short of a seventh championship, Tennessee outscored the Tar Heels 20-2 down the stretch to earn its 12th trip to the title game.
It was sweet revenge for Tennessee, which had lost the Cleveland Regional final on the same floor one year ago to the Tar Heels (34-4).
“At the eight-minute mark, I said, ’We don’t want to go home, we’re not leaving here without a national championship,”’ coach Pat Summitt said.
Parker, the Lady Vols’ do-everything phenom, made sure this trip to Cleveland would last more than one game. Although she went just 3-for-12 from the field, she went 8-of-9 from the line, had 13 rebounds and fouled out two Tar Heels.
Tennessee’s Nicky Anosike added 14 points, none bigger than her layup with 2:04 left when the Lady Vols, who trailed 48-36 with 8:18 remaining, finally caught the high-powered Tar Heels at 50-all.
North Carolina, trying to get to the championship for the second time, collapsed down the stretch, just like its men’s team did last week against Georgetown.
In the Tar Heels’ last 15 possessions, they scored just two points, missed all eight field-goal tries and had seven turnovers.
“We’ve never lost to a team that shot 27 percent,” coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “I feel like defensively we did the job. I’m really disappointed.”
All-American Ivory Latta had 13 points, but missed three 3-pointers in 1:15 as North Carolina was unable to pull it out.
There were few dry eyes in the North Carolina locker room where the normally upbeat and smiling Latta’s eyes were reddened.
“I’m just sorry,” she said, “because I felt like we should have won and I could not get the shot.”
When the final horn sounded, Tennessee’s players poured onto the floor in celebration, a few jumping into each other’s arms. Parker, though, remained calm and reminded her teammates there’s still work to be done.
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It was an ugly win, but a win nonetheless for the Lady Vols, who won despite shooting a measly 27 percent from the floor — the lowest ever by a winning team in the Final Four — and making 21 turnovers.
Tennessee hasn’t won it all since 1998.
“Everyone wearing orange would say it’s been way too long since Tennessee won a national championship,” Parker said. “I’m tired of not seeing a banner that has all our names written all over it.”
The Tar Heels appeared in control when Latta drove to the basket and was fouled while making a scoop shot with 8:50 left. She flexed her biceps, let out a scream in the direction of Carolina’s supporters and sank her free throw to make it 46-36.
North Carolina’s lead swelled to 12, but Parker and the Lady Vols weren’t about to let another title shot slip away.
They upped their defensive pressure, forced the Tar Heels into six turnovers on seven trips and held the nation’s highest-scoring team to two free throws by Latta and no field goals in the final 8:01.
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.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points and Evan Smotrycz added 13, helping No. 22 Michigan remain unbeaten at home with a 70-61 win over Illinois on Sunday.
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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.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
