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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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SOUTH BEND, Ind. - When Notre Dame entered this season, one of the recruiting goals, among others, was adding a speed receiver.
Mission accomplished.
New Jersey standout Nyshier Oliver became the 15th player, and first in nearly two months, to commit to Notre Dame’s recruiting class of 2009.
“You can’t go wrong with Notre Dame,” the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Oliver said.
And one would think Notre Dame can’t go wrong with another wide receiver. Oliver is the first to commit to this class, and he comes a year after Irish coach Charlie Weis signed an impressive group that included current freshman Michael Floyd, who already, with his acrobatic catches, has lived up to the hype as one of the best freshman receivers in the country.
Notre Dame last year also signed Christchurch, Va., standout Deion Walker and John Goodman of Fort Wayne, Ind. While Floyd has starred this season and appears ticketed for Freshman All-America honors, neither Walker nor Goodman has played, and both appear ticketed for redshirt years.
Many believed that landing a speed guy was imperative this season, and it appears Weis has found his guy. Recruiting super site Rivals.com lists Oliver’s time in the 40-yard dash as 4.4 seconds, a speed that can stretch a defense.
With the Oliver commitment, Weis has stretched his reputation in his home state. Oliver, who plays at Saint Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, is the fourth Garden State player in this class alone to commit to Notre Dame.
He joins linebacker Carlo Calabrese (Verona), running back Theo Riddick (Somerville) and nose tackle Tyler Stockton (Princeton) to commit to the group. Defensive end Anthony LaLota, a high school teammate of Stockton, was pursued by Notre Dame but last month committed to Michigan.
Four products of New Jersey — tight end Mike Ragone, linebacker Steve Quinn, defensive lineman Hafis Williams and receiver Duval Kamara — are Weis recruits who already are on the ND roster.
“He’s a Jersey guy,” Oliver said, “I’m a Jersey guy.”
And now Oliver is a Notre Dame guy. He’s expected to play slot receiver at Notre Dame, although he could play any of a number of skill positions, including cornerback. Oliver plays running back and defensive back at Saint Peter’s Prep.
“It is a great choice and proper fit for him,” Rich Hansen, Oliver’s high school coach, said in a statement on the school’s Web site. “I now look forward to Nyshier finishing out his time at Prep in great fashion, performing on the field and in the classroom, fulfilling all of our expectations."
Just how great a fashion Oliver finishes in, however, likely won’t be known, at least if you talk to him.
“I don’t even know my stats,” Oliver said.
Weis and his assistants are prohibited by NCAA recruiting rules from publicly commenting on a recruit until the player has signed a national letter-of-intent. Signing day is Feb. 4.
The addition of Oliver may not be the end of the line for Notre Dame in terms of wide receiver recruits. Inglewood, Calif., standout Shaquelle Evans officially visited South Bend for ND’s Sept. 27 victory over Purdue and reportedly had a good visit. His recruitment could come down to the Irish and his hometown USC.
Oliver originally committed to Tennessee but later reopened his recruitment. The Volunteers, Wake Forest, Maryland and Michigan all made his final list of choices.
"And of course," Oliver said, "Notre Dame."
It took a while for the light bulb to go on, but when it did, Jonas Gray finally showed the talent many had expected from the blue-chip prospect from Detroit. In a recent interview, Gray, who is rehabbing an ACL injury to get ready for the NFL Scouting Combine, expressed the confidence and support he has for head coach Brian Kelly.
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