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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.
Golf's dream pairing - Woods and Mickelson - is on the course in the final round at Pebble Beach. Jason Sobel has 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.
TUCSON, Ariz. - Russ Pennell was as surprised as anyone to be selected as the interim replacement for retired Arizona coach Lute Olson on Friday.
“Obviously, when I woke up this morning, I didn’t expect to be sitting in front of you,” Pennell told reporters at a McKale Center news conference.
The announcement came as a shock because the 47-year-old Pennell has ties to Arizona’s archrival, Arizona State. He was an assistant to former Arizona State coach Rob Evans from 1998-2006 and served last season as a Sun Devils radio analyst.
Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood turned to Pennell, who has never been a college head coach, after Mike Dunlap, Olson’s top assistant, told him he wanted to remain on the staff as an assistant, along with former Wildcat Reggie Geary.
“Mike wants to remain as the associate head coach; that’s his desire,” said Livengood, who added that Dunlap wasn’t offered the head coaching position.
Pennell is the Wildcats’ third coach in 19 months. Kevin O’Neill replaced Olson last season when Olson took a personal leave of absence for what he later termed “a medical condition that was not life-threatening.”
Pennell joined the staff last May 5, returning to college basketball after spending the last two seasons running the Arizona Premier Basketball League in Gilbert.
“I may not be a household name, but I’ve been around this game 47 years and nine months,” said Pennell, the son of a basketball coach. “I was born into a basketball family.”
Livengood said the school is still negotiating a contract with Pennell.
The athletic director said he would launch a national search for a permanent replacement. Asked how much he might be able to spend to lure a coach to Tucson, Livengood said, “There are always financial limitations. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t be able to get the best possible coach for the University of Arizona.
“This is a great job,” Livengood said. “It’s a great place to live. It’s a great university. There will certainly be a number of people who think this is a great place to coach.”
The decision to promote Pennell comes one day after the 74-year-old Olson stepped down after 24 seasons with the Wildcats.
Livengood said he first learned of Olson’s decision in a report on ESPN. He said Olson phoned him in the afternoon.
Olson is not believed to have spoken to his players since stepping down. Livengood said he met with the players.
“The kids are good,” Livengood said. “They’re resilient. But they’re hurting right now.”
Pennell has 23 days to prepare for the season opener against Florida Atlantic on Nov. 17, at home in the first round of the NIT Season Tipoff.
Pennell said he reminded the players that he had come to Tucson with the express purpose of serving on Olson’s staff — just as they had signed on to play for the legendary coach.
“Gentlemen, we’re in the same boat, and all we have is each other, and we’ve got to pull through this,” Pennell said he told them.
“You’ve got a group of kids sitting downstairs that have been rocked to the core, which shows their great love and admiration for the man they came here to play for, Coach Olson,” Pennell said. “But I also know from talking to those kids today that they’re competitors, that they’re Wildcats, that they want to carry on the great tradition that the University of Arizona has enjoyed over the last couple of years.”
With O’Neill on the bench, Arizona went 19-15 last season and earned the school’s 24th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, the nation’s longest active streak.
Given the chaos that has rocked the program over the last year, the Wildcats might have a difficult time extending that streak.
But Pennell said he was optimistic Arizona would be competitive.
“This basketball team has quality players on it. This is not some year that we’re ready to dismiss and just get onto whatever regime is next,” Pennell said. “The goals here are the same as they’ve always been.”
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.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
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.