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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 ImagesIn 2003, it was decided players no longer would need to bow or curtsy to the Royal Box behind one of the Centre Court baselines. Instead, players only are required to pay homage if Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Charles is present — and neither has stopped by to watch tennis at Wimbledon since the 1970s.
Also, construction has started on a roof for Centre Court, expected to be fully operational in 2009. That will consign to history, at least on Wimbledon’s most hallowed court, one of the tournament’s grandest traditions: rain delays.
And then there’s the prize money. The All England Club announced in February it would give men and women the same amounts from the first round to the final for the first time since players began getting paid in 1968.
So replay fits in with a growing sense that this is no longer your grandfather’s Wimbledon.
“I don’t think tradition means you can’t change anything, ever,” Roddick said. “They renovate Fenway, they renovate Wrigley. They’re moving Yankee Stadium. It can be done.”
Long a proponent of electronic line-calling, Roddick used the system to his advantage Thursday at a Wimbledon warmup at Queen’s Club in London. He lost the first set to Alex Bogdanovic and was tied 5-5 in a second-set tiebreaker when a call went against Roddick, setting up match point.
Roddick challenged, got the call overturned and was on his way to a three-set victory.
Even players once vocal in their criticism of the system have been coming around.
That includes Roger Federer, who will be seeking his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title this year. The world’s No. 1 player still is not a big fan of the technology, and he maintains it probably won’t alter a match’s result.
Yet asked recently about replays at Wimbledon, Federer said, “I’m quite OK with it. It doesn’t disturb me anymore.”
Not quite a ringing endorsement, maybe, but it counts as progress.
Another past Wimbledon champion, Lleyton Hewitt, noted, “I’m not the biggest fan of it,” before adding, “It does bring the public and the fans into it” — pointing to a big reason why major tournaments went this route.
At events large and small, spectators clap or shout when players challenge calls, then become even more enthusiastic when replays are shown, getting as animated about the video as any volley.
Through the first three days of the Queen’s Club tournament, there were 25 challenges, and eight calls were overturned, a 32 percent success rate. That’s similar to last year’s U.S. Open, where 72 of 226 challenges were successful, 31.8 percent.
“When we discussed the introduction of Hawk-Eye, everybody was very enthusiastic. It’s a helpful addition to the game,” Ritchie said. “The players felt it was a step forward.”
So what’s next? Rip up the turf and play on hard courts? Allow — gasp! — colored outfits?
Too much? Well, how about showing replays of fantastic points on those snazzy new video screens at Centre Court?
“We’re not ready to go full blast this year,” Ritchie said. “We need to look at how we use that screen technology for 2008.”
One step at a time.
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.
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The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
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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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