Nadal, Federer easily advance at Qatar Open

By Ross D. Franklin (AP)

The Texas Longhorns will be No. 1 on at least one ballot. It belongs to coach Mack Brown. Brown said he made up his mind after Colt McCoy hit Quan Cosby for a 26-yard touchdown with 16 seconds to play, lifting the third-ranked Longhorns to a 24-21 Fiesta Bowl victory over No. 10 Ohio State on Monday night. The stunning strike capped an 11-play, 78-yard drive that took only 1:42.

"I wasn't sure before right now, but Friday morning I'm going to vote Texas No. 1 because I think this is the best team in the country," Brown said.

It may be an empty gesture.

The coaches will...

By David Zalubowski (AP)

Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and had a season-high nine assists despite suffering a "probable" fracture in his right hand in the Denver Nuggets' 135-115 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.

The team, which described the injury as a "probable" fracture, said it doesn't know how much time Anthony will miss. He's going to see a specialist Tuesday.

Anthony injured his hand when the ball was slapped away early in the third quarter. He continued playing, but frequently grabbed at his hand. He had the Nuggets trainer check it out a few times when play stopped and...

By David Zalubowski (AP)

Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and had a season-high nine assists despite suffering a "probable" fracture in his right hand in the Denver Nuggets' 135-115 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.

The team, which described the injury as a "probable" fracture, said it doesn't know how much time Anthony will miss. He's going to see a specialist Tuesday.

Anthony injured his hand when the ball was slapped away early in the third quarter. He continued playing, but frequently grabbed at his hand. He had the Nuggets trainer check it out a few times when play stopped and...

By Jimmy Jeong (AP)

Andrew Cogliano's goal midway through the third period gave the Edmonton Oilers a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Monday night.

Kyle Brodziak and Jason Strudwick also scored for the Oilers, who have won four of their last five at home and moved into a tie with Minnesota for eighth place in the Western Conference.

Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau had goals for the Islanders (12-25-4), who have lost 13 straight road games and 15 of their last 17 overall in falling to last place in the NHL standings.

By Ross D. Franklin (AP)

Colt McCoy hit Quan Cosby for a 26-yard touchdown with 16 seconds to play, lifting third-ranked Texas to a 24-21 Fiesta Bowl victory over No. 10 Ohio State on Monday night.

The Buckeyes nearly pulled off the upset behind quarterbacks Terrelle Pryor and Todd Boeckman but instead went down to another disappointing bowl loss.

McCoy, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, calmly led the Longhorns 78 yards in 11 plays and 1:42 without calling a timeout. On the touchdown, Cosby caught a short pass, slipped a tackle and sprinted toward the goal line before diving into the end zone.

The...

By Steve C Wilson (AP)

Deron Williams had 25 points and 15 assists, Ronnie Brewer scored seven crucial points down the stretch, and the Utah Jazz held off the Golden State Warriors 119-114 on Monday night.

Williams tied his season high in assists as the Jazz led most of the way but could never break the game open from the Warriors, despite the loss of Stephen Jackson to a hamstring injury at the end of the first half. Neither team led by more than nine in the run-and-gun contest.

Paul Millsap posted his 18th consecutive double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds, Mehmet Okur had 20 points and 11...

By David Zalubowski (AP)

Kenyon Martin had 25 points and Chauncey Billups scored 13 of his 24 points in the final quarter, lifting the Denver Nuggets to a 135-115 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.

The Nuggets have now won four in a row, setting a season-high in points against the Pacers. Their previous best was 132 against Toronto in early December.

Denver is 24-12 after 36 games, matching the Nuggets' best start since their first year in the NBA in 1976-77.

Carmelo Anthony, playing with a dinged-up digit on his shooting hand for most of the second half, finished with 21 points and...

By Jim Prisching (AP)

Michael Redd had a season-high 35 points and Charlie Villanueva scored 13 of his 25 in the fourth quarter, leading Milwaukee to its first win without Andrew Bogut in 21 months, 107-97 over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.

Milwaukee, which finished the game on a 13-0 run, lost its previous nine games _ including four this season _ without Bogut, the former No. 1 pick who missed his second straight game Monday with back spasms.

By Bill Kostroun (AP)

Vince Carter scored 29 points, Yi Jianlian added 22 points and a season-high 13 rebounds and the New Jersey Nets handed the Sacramento Kings their 11th straight road loss, 98-90 on Monday night.

Jarvis Hayes had a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:53 to play as the Nets won consecutive games at home for the first time this season. New Jersey won despite playing the second half without point guard Devin Harris, who aggravated a hamstring injury in the first half.

Kevin Martin, who scored 45 on Saturday night, had 36 points for the woeful Kings (8-27). The reserve scored 11 in the...

By Julie Jacobson (AP)

Henrik Lundqvist became the fifth NHL goalie to start a career with four 20-win seasons, and the New York Rangers turned their struggling power play into a plus in a 4-0 victory over the slumping Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.

Lundqvist (20-11-3) made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season and 18th overall. He is the fourth Rangers goalie to post four consecutive 20-win seasons.

The Rangers, who were 1-for-17 with the man advantage during a 1-3-1 slide, got power-play goals from Nigel Dawes and defenseman Paul Mara and jumped over idle New Jersey and Philadelphia...

By Jeffrey Boan (AP)

Tim Duncan scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and the Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs held off the Miami Heat 91-84 on Monday night.

The Spurs, who won their third straight, only trailed once _ and that was for a mere 31 seconds. San Antonio put five players in double figures, ran out to a quick 10-point lead and shot 59 percent in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

George Hill scored 15 points on 4-for-4 shooting for the Spurs, who got 11 points from both Roger Mason and Matt Bonner and 10 from Manu Ginobili.

Dwyane Wade had 24 points and 12...

By Julie Jacobson (AP)

Henrik Lundqvist became the fifth NHL goalie to start a career with four 20-win seasons, and the New York Rangers turned their struggling power play into a plus in a 4-0 victory over the slumping Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.

Lundqvist (20-11-3) made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season and 18th overall. He is the fourth Rangers goalie to post four consecutive 20-win seasons.

The Rangers, who were 1-for-17 with the man advantage during a 1-3-1 slide, got power-play goals from Nigel Dawes and defenseman Paul Mara and jumped over idle New Jersey and Philadelphia...

By Nam Y. Huh (AP)

The Blackhawks made themselves right at home in their friendlier indoor confines.

Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 34 shots, Martin Havlat, Andrew Ladd and Patrick Sharp each had a goal and an assist, and Chicago rebounded from consecutive losses to Detroit to beat the Calgary Flames 5-2 on Sunday night at United Center.

Kris Versteeg and Dustin Byfuglien also scored for Chicago, swept by Detroit in a home-and-home series that wrapped up Thursday with the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field.

"This was an important game, back in our building," said defenseman Duncan Keith, who had...

By Joe Raymond (AP)

Luke Harangody had 31 points and 11 rebounds and No. 13 Notre Dame shot 45 percent against No. 9 Georgetown in a 73-67 victory Monday night that ended a five-game losing streak to the Hoyas.

Harangody, who had never scored more than 13 points in three previous games against Georgetown, scored the final 13 points of the first half to give the Irish an 11-point lead.

The Hoyas closed to 71-67 with 15 seconds left when Chris Wright scored inside, but Kyle McAlarney, who missed the front end of a 1-and-1 14 seconds earlier, made two free throws with 12 seconds left.

Notre...

By (AP)

Dominik Hrbaty upset James Blake 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (1) Monday to lead Slovakia to victory over the defending champion United States at the Hopman Cup.

Hrbaty, coming back from an elbow injury that saw his ranking slide to No. 250, gave Slovakia a winning 2-0 edge after teammate Dominika Cibulkova beat Meghann Shaughnessy 6-2, 6-2 in the opening women's singles match.

Hrbaty and Cibulkova played Shaughnessy and Blake in a later mixed doubles match.

Blake, ranked 10th, went into the match with a 2-1 edge against Hrbaty, including a win at the Beijing Olympics. But Hrbaty's...

By Kathy Willens (AP)

LeBron James didn't agree with the traveling call that helped prevent his Cleveland Cavaliers from beating lowly Washington.

A loss to the struggling New York Knicks leaves little doubt Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics are stumbling atop the Eastern Conference.

James was whistled for taking an extra step while driving for a potential tying layup with 2.3 seconds left, and Cleveland lost 80-77 to the host Wizards on Sunday despite wiping out a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

"Bad call," said James, who had 30 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. "We all make...

By Darryl Dyck (AP)

Rookie James Neal scored the winning goal in the fifth round of the shootout and the Dallas Stars rallied from an early two-goal deficit to beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Sunday night.

Ryan Kesler put the Canucks ahead in the fourth round, but Mike Modano tied it with a shot that trickled in off Jason LaBarbera's glove. After Marty Turco stopped Alex Burrows' deke, Neal beat LaBarbera with shot past the blocker.

Modano had a goal and an assist, and Mike Ribeiro also scored in regulation as the Stars won despite not arriving in Vancouver until late Sunday morning after...

By Gus Ruelas (AP)

Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 19 and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 100-86 Sunday night for their sixth consecutive victory and 15th straight at home.

LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 22 points and 11 rebounds, as all five starters scored in double figures. But the Blazers shot only 39 percent overall.

Facing the Trail Blazers for the first time since their season-opening, 96-76 win _ Portland's lowest point total ever against the Lakers _ the defending Western Conference champions pulled away with a 15-3 run that increased their...

By David Zalubowski (AP)

Niklas Backstrom stopped 33 shots for his fourth shutout of the season, Owen Nolan scored twice in the opening period and the Minnesota Wild snapped a six-game road losing streak, beating the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 on Sunday night.

It's the first time in 61 regular season and playoff games the Wild have held Colorado scoreless. The Avalanche have lost three in a row.

Backstrom was brilliant all evening as he moved to 5-1 lifetime at Pepsi Center, his most wins in any road arena. He has 13 career shutouts.

Nolan has four goals in three games since his return from a leg...

By Jeff Lewis (AP)

Rookie Bobby Ryan had a goal and an assist, and Jonas Hiller made 29 saves in the Anaheim Ducks' 2-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday night.

Ryan assisted on Chris Pronger's power-play goal early in the second period, and scored his seventh goal on a power play early in the third.

With Anaheim's defense playing well in front of him, Hiller logged his third career shutout.

The Ducks took over sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division behind San Jose. Anaheim and Phoenix were tied with 43 points heading into their contest.

By Ben Margot (AP)

Jerome Randle converted a four-point play with 2:13 remaining, matched his career high with 26 points and had a career-best 10 assists to lead California to an 81-71 victory over No. 17 Arizona State on Sunday night for a seventh straight win.

Ty Abbott fouled Randle at the top of the arc on a long 3 after James Harden had pulled the Sun Devils within two points moments earlier.

Harden finished with 26 points and eight rebounds to lead Arizona State (12-2, 1-1 Pac-10), which had its eight-game winning streak snapped two days after a 30-point victory at Stanford to start the...

By Sara D. Davis (AP)

Kyle Singler scored 19 points and keyed the decisive run that carried No. 5 Duke past Virginia Tech 69-44 on Sunday night.

Gerald Henderson added 15 points, Nolan Smith had 13 and Jon Scheyer finished with 11 for the Blue Devils (12-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).

They held the Hokies to 13 points in the second half and outscored them 30-9 over the final 17 minutes of the game.

Malcolm Delaney scored 12 points to lead Virginia Tech (9-5, 0-1). Leading scorer A.D. Vassallo was held to seven points _ 12 below his average _ and didn't score on 0-of-2 shooting in the...

By Nam Y. Huh (AP)

Martin Havlat, Andrew Ladd and Patrick Sharp each had a goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks rebounded from consecutive losses to Detroit to beat the Calgary Flames 5-2 on Sunday night.

Kris Versteeg and Dustin Byfuglien also scored for Chicago, swept by Detroit in a home-and-home series that featured the Winter Classic after winning a franchise-record nine straight games. Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith had two assists.

Todd Bertuzzi and Daymond Langkow scored for Calgary. Chicago ended the Flames' winning streak at five and snapped their points streak at 10...