No Sid? No problem: Plenty of NHL stars in Ottawa
OTTAWA (AP)—Three first overall NHL draft picks. The Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik. And don’t forget Pavel Datsyuk, the consistent Detroit Red Wings forward
Makeshift defence for Ghana against Mali (Reuters)
By Mark Gleeson LIBREVILLE, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Ghana will field a makeshift defence in a key African Nations Cup match on Saturday when they meet Mali in Franceville but striker Asamoah Gyan has again recovered in time. Captain John Mensah and his central defensive partner Isaac Vorsah are suspended for the match between two sides who won their opening Group D games on Tuesday.
Bulls scratch G Hamilton vs. Bucks (AP)
CHICAGO (AP)—Chicago Bulls guard Richard Hamilton was a late scratch for Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks because of a bruised right thigh. During his pregame press conference, Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said that Hamilton would go through warmups in hopes of playing
Bargnani out again with calf injury (AP)
DENVER (AP)—Former Denver swingman Linas Kleiza is getting the start for Toronto against the Nuggets on Friday night with Andrea Bargnani sidelined with another calf injury. Bargnani aggravated a strained left calf Wednesday night at Utah.
Pats’ line has tough job against Giants’ pass rush (AP)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Tom Brady felt the power of the New York Giants’ pass rushers when he was sacked five times in their first Super Bowl confrontation. Four years later, the New England Patriots’ offensive linemen expect another fierce attack on their quarterback in the championship rematch on Feb.
Hornets tell C Kaman to stay home (AP)
NEW ORLEANS (AP)—Hornets general manager Dell Demps says the club has decided to pursue a trade for 7-foot veteran center Chris Kaman. Kaman was excused from New Orleans’ home game against the Orlando Magic on Friday night, and Demps writes in an email that the team and Kaman “mutually decided for a number of reasons that we are not going to play Chris” while trade talks get under way. Kaman was acquired in a multiplayer trade that sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers shortly before the regular season, but has struggled to find a consistent role in New Orleans.
Gabon claims dramatic 3-2 win to eliminate Morocco (AP)
LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP)—Bruno-Zita Mbanangoye scored from a stoppage-time free kick to give Gabon a dramatic 3-2 win over Morocco on Friday and put the co-hosts into the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals while sending the Group C favorite crashing out of the tournament. Mbanangoye’s curling right-footed effort decided a frantic game in which Gabon had come back from 2-1 down with two goals in a minute before conceding a 90th-minute equalizer from a penalty. But Gabon wouldn’t give up, and Mbanangoye’s strike in the fifth minute of stoppage time ensured a barely believable finish
Selig expects expanded playoffs to start this year (AP)
NEW YORK – Commissioner Bud Selig expects baseball to expand its playoffs this season. Players and owners have already agreed to add an additional wild-card team in each league, but are still deciding whether it would take effect this year or in 2013
Telecom exec Hale buys share of Celtics (AP)
BOSTON (AP)—The Boston Celtics have a new member of the ownership group. Telecommunications entrepreneur Rob Hale has purchased an undisclosed share of the team, the Celtics announced on Friday.
Sore calf sidelines Magic F Anderson (AP)
NEW ORLEANS (AP)—Orlando starting forward Ryan Anderson is sitting out Friday night’s game in New Orleans because of a sore left calf. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy says Anderson was kicked in the calf during Thursday night’s loss to the Boston Celtics and remained sore a day later