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.
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...
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
