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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.
CHICAGO - Pitcher Ryan Dempster and the Chicago Cubs agreed Tuesday on a $52 million, four-year contract that includes a player option for 2012.
He gets a $4 million signing bonus, $8 million next year, $12.5 million in 2010 and $13.5 million in 2011. Dempster has a 2012 option for $14 million.
Dempster was 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA for the Cubs last season, then became a free agent after making the switch from the closer to starter.
“It was imperative that we kept him in house,” Cubs general manager Jim Hendry. “No doubt in our minds that Ryan would have exceeded this deal on the streets in three or four weeks from now, the way the market is for starting pitching. Ryan was committed. From Day One he told us he wanted to stay. And it was a priority for us to try and get it done before we got too far down the road in the winter.”
As the Cubs’ closer from 2005-07, he saved 87 games in 102 chances. But after earning a spot in the rotation during spring training, Dempster returned to the starter’s role he held with the Marlins and Reds from 1998-2003.
Dempster was 14-3 at Wrigley Field during the regular season after starting 10-0 on the Cubs’ home field.
“When we were going to give him a chance to make the rotation, there wasn’t any doubt in his mind, not only was he going to make it, but win at a high level,” Hendry said.
“He’s still got five or six good years in him,” Hendry added. “You win a lot of baseball games with this guy on your ballclub.”
Dempster struggled in the playoff opener against the Dodgers, throwing 109 pitches in 4 2-3 innings, giving up four runs and four hits while matching a career high with seven walks. He gave up a grand slam to James Loney in the Cubs’ 7-2 loss.
Chicago — which had the NL’s best record — was swept out of the playoffs in the first round for the second straight season.
On the first day of spring training last February, it was Dempster who said he thought the Cubs would win the World Series. But instead, they still haven’t won one since 1908. Now he’ll get another chance to help the Cubs end their long drought.
Last week, the Cubs traded for Florida reliever Kevin Gregg and said goodbye to free agent Kerry Wood. Hendry said the Cubs couldn’t give him the long-term deal he deserved because they had more important priorities.
And one of those top priorities was re-signing Dempster. Chicago also has explored acquiring San Diego ace Jake Peavy.
“I wouldn’t necessarily rule out anything,” Hendry said without being specific. He said the Cubs would not hesitate to bring on more pitching if the situation was right, while still hoping to add a left-handed bat.
Hendry, who got a contract extension through 2012 in October, said he expected the team’s payroll to increase slightly this season. He said he’d encountered no financial restrictions, even with the team up for sale by Tribune Co.
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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.