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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.
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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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AP
Embattled coach Kelvin Sampson may always cherish Saturday night’s victory over No. 10 Michigan State.
It meant even more to Indiana basketball.
Eric Gordon scored 28 points and broke Mike Woodson’s school scoring record for freshman, keeping the 13th-ranked Hoosiers in the Big Ten title chase with an 80-61 victory over the Spartans.
“Yes, I think so,” Sampson said when if this win meant more to him than others. “But you know, these games are about these kids. Basketball is so much bigger than any one person, and the game is always about the players.”
It would have been hard to tell this week when Sampson’s NCAA troubles overshadowed basketball.
On Wednesday, the NCAA accused the Hoosiers coach of five major rules violations, including providing false and misleading information to investigators. On Friday, university officials announced it would conduct a second internal investigation, which is supposed to be completed by next Friday.
Fans refused to wait that long to voice their opinions.
Supporters waved signs that read “Save Sampson” and “If O.J. is innocent, so is Sampson.” Proponents of firing Sampson countered with placards reading “Sampson get off the phone” and “Every IU student prefers Knight, see ya Sampson,” a reference to former Indiana coach Bob Knight.
Others could be overheard talking about the risky move Indiana made when it hired the former Oklahoma coach two years ago. And for the second straight home game, Sampson drew more boos than cheers during pregame introductions.
“There’s no doubt what he’s done has tainted the program and we don’t want him to be part of it,” said Lisa Adams, an Indiana sophomore from Northbrook, Ill.
Yet the same people disgusted by the allegations, offered unified support for the Hoosiers on a night they desperately needed it.
With a shot at winning their first Big Ten title since 1993, still missing a signature victory on their resume and having endured four days of tortuous speculation about Sampson’s future at Indiana, the Hoosiers finally turned it around.
Gordon provided the lift after senior forward D.J. White landed awkwardly on his left leg and rolled out of bounds with 4:55 left in the first half. White, the Big Ten’s top rebounder and No. 2 scorer, eventually was helped to the locker room and didn’t return to the sidelines until late in the second half.
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“I think when a kid gets his knee injured, he’s a little afraid, and he was a little afraid at halftime,” Sampson said. “He said ’Coach, it doesn’t feel right.’ The doctor said ’I don’t think we should play him,’ and I said, ’I agree. If it doesn’t feel right we should hold him out. He’s too valuable to us.”
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The freshman guard took over on offense, finishing 9-of-15 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. He also broke Woodson’s mark of 500 points, which had stood since 1976-77, and came within a basket of becoming the first Indiana freshman with four 30-point games in a season. Gordon has now scored 520 points.
Thomas produced his best game of the year, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds and gave Indiana (21-4, 9-2) enough muscle inside to contend with the Spartans’ tough rebounders.
It was the perfect prescription for the ailing Hoosiers.
“I went, ’Aw, man,’ “ Thomas said of White’s injury. “But you’ve got to play. If something happens to him, we all have to pick our game up.”
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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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.
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.
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