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Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
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.
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NEW YORK - This edition of “Late Night with Andy Roddick” ended at 12:45 a.m., and the 2003 U.S. Open champion loved every minute of it.
Still, Roddick wouldn’t mind if the U.S. Tennis Association occasionally put the men’s match on court before the women’s match during the Grand Slam tournament’s evening sessions.
“It’s all part of it. Kind of the crazies that stay till 1 in the morning — there’s something fun about that,” Roddick said after winning his first-round match at the U.S. Open in straight sets.
Because of an opening-night ceremony featuring Andre Agassi, followed by a victory by Venus Williams that lasted more than 2½ hours, Roddick was forced to wait until after 11 p.m. Monday night to get on court in Arthur Ashe Stadium for the last match on the schedule. He then made quick work of 84th-ranked Bjorn Phau of Germany, beating him 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.
Pounding serves at up to 145 mph, Roddick finished with 13 aces. He put 81 percent of his first serves in.
The stands were less than half-full by the end. Those fans that stayed were loud, though, supporting the highest-seeded American.
“It’s just unique. You play in all sorts of atmospheres. There’s not as many people, but the ones that are there sure are vocal-slash-drunk,” Roddick said.
“I guarantee half the people out there were probably here all day, too. They have to be pretty passionate and really enjoy what they’re seeing and the whole experience of it,” he added. “It’s 1 in the morning. I guarantee you, they all have to work tomorrow. They certainly have to get up earlier than I do.”
The USTA has said it is planning to have a men’s match precede the women’s for one or two night sessions during this U.S. Open.
In other action, Roger Federer extended his U.S. Open winning streak to 35 matches with a 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 victory over NCAA champion Devin Britton in the first round.
The top-seeded Federer is trying to become the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win six consecutive titles at the American Grand Slam tournament.
Britton was an 18-year-old wild-card entry from Mississippi who was playing in his second career tour-level match — and first at a major championship. He actually hit more winners than Federer, 32-31. But Britton also made more than twice as many unforced errors, 40-18.
Paul-Henri Mathieu, No. 26 on the men’s side, was the first seeded player to lose, beaten by Mikhail Youzhny 2-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2.
Another American, Sam Querrey, will debut later this week, bringing with him some lofty expectations — he might be the next great American tennis star in a country looking for just that.
“Everyone is doing what they can,” said Querrey, who is seeded 22nd. “A lot of times, even if you go back 100 years, you’ll have a period of 10 years where you’ll have four or five guys in the top 10, and then years where you might just have one guy. It’s kind of like a rolling wave.”
As much as anywhere else, the search for America’s next great player resonates at Arthur Ashe Stadium, inside the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of America’s Grand Slam. It’s the place where Connors and McEnroe, Chrissy and Tracy Austin, ruled during a golden era that feels more like ancient history with each passing year.
Patrick McEnroe is in charge of putting together the program that will keep the pipeline filled, with hopes of producing multiple stars in the future.
“I think it’s going in the right direction,” Roddick said. “I think even with younger kids going back to 14, 15, 16 years old in Florida, from what I hear, it’s a lot more” organized.
That’s the future.
The present belongs — could belong, that is — to guys like John Isner (ranked 55th), Donald Young (185) and Jesse Levine (135). No. 25 seed Mardy Fish is on this list, too, but the 27-year-old withdrew Sunday with a rib injury.
And Querrey.
He stands 6-foot-6 and ranks third on tour with 696 aces this year, a stat that is allowing him to become more aggressive in his return game, as well, because he’s more confident about holding serve.
He is 21-6 since Wimbledon and has played in four finals, including a victory in Los Angeles. He won the U.S. Open Series, a grouping of hard-court tournaments leading to this week. That pushed his ranking from barely inside the top 50 to a career-best 22nd. It also earned him a chance for a $1 million bonus if he wins the Open.
His biggest win this summer was a 7-6 (11), 7-6 (3) victory over Roddick, one that may not signal Querrey is ready to rise all the way to the top, but certainly serves as a confidence builder.
“It also helps if you play Federer or Nadal,” Querrey said. “Andy’s beaten those guys. Hey, he did it, I beat him, why can’t I beat those guys? So it kind of gives you that extra edge against them, too.”
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
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Aug. 31-Sept. 13 |
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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
Silva: 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 NFC teams.
