Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Price helps Habs take 3-1 lead on Bruins (AP)

Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic (17) and Bruins left wing Marco Sturm (16) of Germany, right, react as the Montreal Canadiens, left background, celebrate their 1-0 victory in Game 4 of the NHL Eastern Conference playoff hockey, in Boston Tuesday, April 15, 2008.

The Bruins are learning the hard way what the Canadiens knew four months ago: 20-year-old goalie Carey Price would be outstanding in the playoffs. The rookie posted his first playoff shutout, 17-year-veteran Patrice Brisebois scored late in the second period, and Montreal moved within one win of advancing in the best-of-seven series with a 1-0 victory over Boston on Tuesday night.




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Jazz rip Nuggets, boost home-court hopes (AP)

Denver Nuggets forward Linas Kleiza, of Lithuania, keeps Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko (47), of Russia, from the basket during the second quarter of the NBA basketball game Saturday, April 12, 2008, in Salt Lake City.

Mehmet Okur had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Deron Williams added 19 points and 11 assists, and the Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 124-97 Saturday night to strengthen their hopes of home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Jazz won three of four against their Northwest Division rivals for the third straight season and kept the Nuggets from moving closer to the final Western...




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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Smoltz pitches Braves past Santana, Mets (AP)

Atlanta Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar reacts after New York Mets'  Marlon Anderson, left, stole second base in the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 6 2008, in Atlanta. The Braves won 3-1.

John Smoltz is back -- and so is that pesky knot behind his shoulder. Smoltz pitched five scoreless innings, Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer and the Atlanta Braves beat Johan Santana and the New York Mets 3-1 on Sunday to complete a two-game sweep of the rain-shortened series. Santana (1-1) gave up only one run in seven innings, but Teixeira's eighth-inning drive off Aaron Heilman gave Atlanta a...




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Wiggins' 41 lift Stanford to Final Four (AP)

Stanford's Candice Wiggins drives to the basket and scores with Maryland's Marissa Coleman on the right during the second half on Monday, March 31, 2008, in Spokane, Wash., in the finals of the Spokane Regional of the NCAA basketball tournament.

Candice Wiggins checked off the one accomplishment missing in her career at Stanford -- getting the Cardinal back to the Final Four. The three-time Pac-10 player of the year, Wiggins scored 41 points, and got some help from unlikely sources as the second-seeded Cardinal pulled away from No. 1-seed Maryland 98-87 on Monday night in the Spokane Regional final.




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Monday, December 21, 2009

Sharapova's 18-match win streak snapped (AP)

Svetlana Kuznetsova, of Russia, reacts to scoring a point during her 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win against Maria Sharapova in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, Calif., Friday, March 21, 2008.

Svetlana Kuznetsova ended Maria Sharapova's winning streak at 18 matches Friday with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 victory in the Pacific Life Open semifinals. Sharapova's perfect start to the season included titles in the Australian Open and at Doha. Kuznetsova, refusing to wilt after Sharapova won the second set, broke her service in the opening game of the third and went on to build a 5-1 lead.




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Ogilvy, Jimenez lead Woods by 2 at Doral (AP)

Tiger Woods picks up his club as he prepares to tee off during the first round of the CA Championship golf tournament in Doral , Fla., Thursday, March 20, 2008.  Tiger ended the first round at 5-under-par.

Tiger Woods kept his head down as the rain fell harder and never broke stride as he followed a series of winding stairs and back doors, each step taking him farther from the Blue Monster. A security guard politely asked for an autograph, and Woods reached for a pen and forced a smile. A tough day at the office.




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Sunday, December 20, 2009

Wells sends Rockets to another defeat (AP)

New Orleans Hornets head coach Byron Scott cheers on his team as they took on the Houston Rockets during the second half of their NBA basketball game in New Orleans on Wednesday, March 19, 2008. New Orleans won the game 90-69.

The term "losing streak" suddenly applies to the Houston Rockets, thanks in large part to a player they got rid of at the trading deadline. Bonzi Wells helped New Orleans hand the Rockets their second straight loss after a 22-game winning streak, scoring 20 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter in the Hornets' 90-69 victory Wednesday night.




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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Yankees pay homage at Virginia Tech (AP)

Virginia Tech pitcher Dave Zappacosta is welcomed back to the dugout by teammates during Virginia Tech's exhibition baseball game against the New York Yankees in Blacksburg, Va., Tuesday, March 18, 2008.

Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and the rest of the New York Yankees stood on the third-base line, caps over their hearts while they gazed toward the outfield. As 32 oversized orange balloons were released into the air, the storied team in its famous pinstripes watched right along with Virginia Tech players, fans and family members of victims from last year's campus massacre.




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Friday, December 18, 2009

Butler returns, lifts Wizards over Cavs (AP)

Washington Wizards' Caron Butler, left, is covered by Cleveland Cavaliers' Ben Wallace (4) and LeBron James (23) during the final minute of an NBA basketball game Thursday, March 13, 2008, in Washington. The Wizards won 101-99.

When the Vogue cover model missed the 3-point attempt at the buzzer, the returning birthday boy and the Washington Wizards had an exhilarating win over a big nemesis. Caron Butler unleashed a month's worth of pent-up energy on day he turned 28, coming back from a 16-game injury absence to score 19 points Thursday night in the Wizards' 101-99 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.




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Giants give Coughlin 4-year, $21M deal (AP)

New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin is shown in this December file photo in Chicago. Coughlin was rewarded for the Giants' Super Bowl victory, agreeing to a four-year, $21 million contract Friday that will make him one of the NFL's highest-paid coaches.

Tom Coughlin was rewarded for the New York Giants' Super Bowl victory, agreeing to a four-year, $21 million contract Friday that will make him one of the NFL's highest-paid coaches. He will earn about $5.25 million annually, according to a person with knowledge of the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the contract hasn't been signed.




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Thursday, December 17, 2009

James scores 50 in Cavs' win vs. Knicks (AP)

Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James pauses during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 5, 2008, in New York. James scored 50 points as the Cavaliers won 119-105.

The "MVP!" chants weren't enough for one fan, who had to come on the court to LeBron James how much he appreciated the superstar's spectacular performance. That only made one of the best nights of James' career even better. James had 50 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds to win over the Madison Square Garden crowd and lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 119-105 victory over the New York Knicks on...




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Eagles sign former Patriots CB Samuel (AP)

In this Nov. 25, 2007, file photo, New England Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel (22) returns an interception for a touchdown ahead of Philadelphia Eagles' Brian Westbrook in the first quarter of their NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass.

Asante Samuel has such good hands and terrific instincts that the All-Pro cornerback rarely drops the ball, one reason why he has 16 interceptions the last two years. The Eagles instincts were on the ball, too, that Samuel was the kind of playmaker they desperately needed to strengthen a defense that recorded an NFL-worst 19 takeaways in 2007.




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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Rangers name Nolan Ryan team president (AP)

Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan smiles as he waits to be introduced at a news conference announcing that he has agreed to become the Texas Rangers' team president, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008 in Arlington, Texas.

Twenty years later, Nolan Ryan's job is to once again revitalize the Texas Rangers. The Rangers introduced the Hall of Fame pitcher as team president Wednesday with the fanfare of a major free-agent pickup, just as Ryan was in 1988 when Texas signed the right-hander to help fill seats and bring wins to the struggling franchise.




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