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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.
World Series of Poker commissioner Jeffrey Pollack says his event isn’t about the stars, but about the dream. And as far as what captures the attention of the public, he is right.
The average sports fan can’t just walk onto an NBA court and play against the Lakers. But the average poker fan can sit down at a poker table and match wits against the best players in the world.
That dream, plus the potential for winning a life-changing amount of money, is what attracts people to the game, and in particular, to the WSOP main event.
Bret Forsberg is one of those players. An electrician from the tiny town of Hadlock, Wash., he said he hopes to soon be known as a poker player who used to be an electrician.
Forsberg rides a motorcycle, and looks the part with his long hair, shaggy goatee and leather bandana. He earned his seat at the main event by winning a tournament at the Tulalip Casino in Marysville, Wash.
He’s had success in smaller buy-in tournaments in Washington, but came to Las Vegas eager to prove himself on a much bigger scale.
Forsberg and his wife Michelle were gracious enough to allow me to follow him on Friday as he played in the main event for the first time.
Late night:
Forsberg's luck continued to wan after dinner, and his chip stack slowly shrunk. To make matters worse, Julian Gardner, a professional from England, soon joined the table, and he brought a large mound of chips with him.
Gardner, a 29-year-old who finished second to Robert Varkonyi in the 2002 main event, immediatedly pushed the action, using his advantage and intimidation to steal pots.
Forsberg tried to make a couple moves. He raised with pocket jacks, but when an ace and queen came on the flop, and his opponent led out with a bet, he threw the jacks away.
Later, the same thing happened with pocket kings, only this time he had two other players in the pot. When the ace came on the flop, and his opponents led with a bet and a raise, he laid down his kings.
Down to about $6,000, Forsberg knew he had to change his strategy. So when he got pocket queens a short while later, he went all-in before the flop, then did it again with king-queen, both times winning the blinds and antes and increasing his stack to about $12,000.
"Now I'm starting to feel comfortable," he says. "I've still got 30 times the big blind and I'm playing some good cards."
Plus it was about 10:30 p.m., with a break coming at 11. He's been playing for nearly 11 hours, which is an accomplishment in itself. Now just hold on another half hour, make it to the break. Then make it to the next break. It's all about survival.
Then, shortly before 11 p.m., Forsberg looks down and finds pocket aces. First to act, he goes in with a raise. He notices another player sizing him up, eying his chip stack. This is exactly what he wants.
When his opponent announces "I'm gonna put you all in," Forsberg calls immediately and shoves his chips forward.
"I got my chips into the pot before he did," Forsberg says with a laugh, noting that if he wins the hand, he'll be up over $25,000.
His opponent turns over ace-king of spades, and Forsberg's optimism turns to dread when a jack and 10 come on the flop. The turn card is a queen, giving his foe a straight, and ending Forsberg's tournament.
"It's like I said when I started this little adventure," Forsberg says, "you really have to get lucky, not to get unlucky.
"You have to win your races to have a chance. Good play can get you into the money, but even pros will tell you that you have to have some luck."
When the first day ended, a field of nearly 1,300 had been cut to 445, with three more first-day groups to follow over the next three days. Gardner was among the chip leaders, sitting in 31st place.
Forsberg was not among them, but his dreams were far from dashed.
He will continue to play smaller tournaments in Washington, and says he'll build a stake from those events in case he has to buy his way in to the main event next year.
"This won't be the last one."
Inside NBCSports.com |
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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