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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.
APFranzen got used to adjusting to the expectations suddenly being placed upon him, because they are in fact the same expectations he places upon himself.
"It feels like when I'm out there I want to score and try to get to the front of the net and get rebounds," Franzen said. "You feel you've scored before, so you can do it."
Though he’d registered only 22 goals through his first two NHL seasons, closer scrutiny of his stats reveals that clutch and Franzen have been synonymous before.
Last spring, he scored his first Stanley Cup overtime winner, eliminating the Calgary Flames in Game 6 of Detroit’s first-round series at the Pengrowth Saddledome. This spring, he added a second OT winner, beating Nashville in Game 5 of the opening round.
During the preseason, Franzen offered a glimpse of what was to come, scoring a team-leading five times while skating on a line with Holmstrom and Pavel Datsyuk.
"It (confidence) started there, playing with Pavel and Holmer," Franzen said.
That he took center stage early in the playoffs is even more startling once you learn that Franzen wasn’t even selected in the NHL entry draft until the age of 24, unearthed by Hakan Andersson, Detroit’s European super scout. The vast majority of players are drafted at 18.
"He was a late bloomer," Lidstrom said. "Hakan Andersson did a good job finding him somewhere in Sweden."
Starting in a defensive role, Franzen displayed NHL skating ability and soon showed he possessed the hands to bury chances and the courage to take the punishment required to score from close range.
The Wings see that sort of determination from Franzen on a daily basis.
"Stubbornness, I'd say," Lidstrom suggested as Franzen's best quality.
"He's very good at using his body. He's good at using his size. It's tough to take the puck away from him."
That stubbornness and strength serves Franzen well and earned him the nickname Mule from former Wings captain Steve Yzerman. Franzen wasn't too keen on the handle initially, but it has grown on him.
The Swedish word for mule, by the way, is mula.
The Swedish word for sniper?
It could be Franzen.
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.
Check out highlights from the Rangers 3-2 win over the Capitals.
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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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