Rangers score 6 straight, top NJ in cold and snow

Too much sun forced the boys of winter to wait to play at the ballpark in the Bronx.

Once clouds filled the skies over Yankee Stadium and snow began to fall — hockey weather for sure — Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers got the best of the New Jersey Devils.

Rick Nash scored for the fifth straight game during New York's four-goal middle period, and the Rangers rallied for a 7-3 victory over the Devils on Sunday.

Sun reflecting off the ice delayed the start of the first hockey game at Yankee Stadium for about an hour. The wait was expected to be longer, so Lundqvist took a nap. Cloud cover took care of that problem more quickly than expected.

Suddenly the All-Star goalie was awakened and told warm-ups would take place in 30 minutes. He put on his pinstripe pads, but still looked groggy in the first period when New Jersey took a 3-1 lead.

"I was half asleep, mentally somewhere else, but then I regrouped and I am happy with how I finished," Lundqvist said.

"I'm not going to lie, when they scored the third one, I had a bad feeling about it. My first thought was, 'Am I going to be able to finish this game? Then you kind of regroup and tell yourself, 'I need to stop the next shot. That's it. There is no other way to do this.'"

Devils counterpart Martin Brodeur had no such luck. He allowed six goals on 21 shots and was replaced by Cory Schneider at the start of the third.

"You rely a lot on instinct, and poise, and I couldn't close my glove, it was so cold," said Brodeur, who along with Rangers coach Alain Vigneault criticized the chippy ice that required repairs.

New York got within one before the first intermission and then swarmed Brodeur.

Dominic Moore and Marc Staal had goals in the first for the Rangers, then Mats Zuccarello scored two straight to put New York ahead for the first time. Carl Hagelin and Nash found the net, too, behind the beleaguered Brodeur, who angrily swatted the puck away after one of the tallies.

"Most of their goals went in off our players, or a stick or skate, and that happens. It was just one of those nights," Brodeur said.

Nash has seven goals in his streak and 18 this season.

A day after the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks played in 60-degree weather at Dodger Stadium, the NHL returned to conditions more fitting for hockey.

"Within 16 hours, two of the most-revered venues in sports welcomed more than 100,000 fans to sit under the sky and enjoy two of the fiercest rivalries in the National Hockey League," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. "The games were spectacular, the images were unforgettable, and the sheer energy our sport creates was unmistakable."

Lundqvist settled down and made 19 saves. He hadn't allowed more than two goals in his previous seven outings.

The Devils took care of that in the first.

Patrik Elias scored twice, Travis Zajac once and Jaromir Jagr had two assists in the first to excite the large number of New Jersey fans who made the trek to the Bronx for what was a Devils home game.

"They changed their game in the second period," Jagr said of the Rangers. "They were flying into our zone, and we didn't react to it."

Jagr past former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Mario Lemieux for 10th place on the NHL career assist list.

Stan Wawrinka wins Aussie Open final vs injured Nadal

Stan Wawrinka added a win over Rafael Nadal to his list of firsts in a stunning run to his maiden Grand Slam title, extending his rival's injury-cursed run at the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 upset in Sunday's final.

The 28-year-old Wawrinka had never taken a set off Nadal in 12 previous meetings, but attacked from the start against the 13-time major winner and regained his nerve after dropping the third set against the injured Spaniard.

Nadal appeared to be on the verge of retiring in the second set, when he hurt his back and needed a medical time out, but he refused to quit.

"It's really not the way you want to win a tennis match, but in a Grand Slam final I'll take it," said Wawrinka, the first man in 21 years to beat the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players en route to a Grand Slam title.

Nadal was a hot favorite to win at Melbourne Park and become the first man to win each of the four Grand Slam tournaments twice in the Open era — instead, his injury curse struck again. It remains the only major he's hasn't won at least two times.

"Rafa, I'm really sorry for you, I hope your back is going to be fine, you're a really great guy, good friend and really amazing champion," Wawrinka said as he accepted his first major trophy. "Last year I had a crazy match, I lost it. I was crying a lot after the match. But in one year a lot happened — I still don't know if I'm dreaming or not but we'll see tomorrow morning."

Wawrinka lost in five sets to Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of the 2013 Australian Open, in the longest Grand Slam match of the season. Djokovic went on to win his third consecutive title at Melbourne Park, and then beat Wawrinka again in five sets in the U.S. Open semifinals.

But Wawrinka avenged those losses this time, beating Djokovic in five sets in the quarterfinals — ending a run of 14 straight losses to the Serbian player.

Now he'll move from No. 8 to No. 3. In doing so, he'll surpass Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam winner who lost to Nadal in the semifinals — to become the highest-ranked Swiss player for the first time in his career.

A constant supporter of his countryman, Federer was one of the first people to call and congratulate Wawrinka after his win.

Wawrinka also broke up a sequence of wins for the Big Four — with 34 of the previous 35 majors going to either Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer or Andy Murray.

"Stan, you really deserve it," Nadal said. "Luck was against me today but you really deserve it.

"Last thing that I wanted to do was retire. I hate to do that, especially in a final. Same time, is tough to see yourself during the whole year you are working for a moment like this, and arrives the moment and you feel that you are not able to play at your best. "

Nadal has had a terrible stretch with injuries at the Australian Open, and has described it as his unluckiest Grand Slam. He won the title in 2009, and lost an epic five-set final to Djokovic in 2012. But he missed the 2013 edition during a seven-month layoff with knee injuries and illness, and his quarterfinal losses in 2010 and 2011 were affected by injuries.

"It has been a very emotional two weeks — I'm sorry to finish this way," he told the Rod Laver Arena crowd. "I tried very, very hard — this year was one of the more emotional tournaments in my career."

A possible retirement was looming when Nadal was serving at 0-2 in the second set. He bent over at the waist to stretch his back and then grabbed his lower back with his hand and grimaced in pain. His serve immediately dipped to 141 kph (87 mph).

When Nadal took a medical timeout after falling behind a set and a break, and returned to a chorus of boos without a shirt after 7 minutes, it seemed that an early finish was on the cards.

Wawrinka was aggravated during the time out, demanding that officials tell him why Nadal needed the break. And he came out aggressively to finish off the second set.

Nadal's serve speed dipped even further to 125 kph (77 mph) and then 114 kph (70 mph). The support in the stadium gradually shifted as the crowd saw the Spaniard battling to stay on the court.

Buccaneers executive Hickey hired as Dolphins' GM

In their fitful, laborious search for a general manager, the Miami Dolphins finally found someone to say yes: Dennis Hickey.

The longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneers executive accepted the job Sunday, ending a search that lasted nearly three weeks.

Hickey's hiring came after the Dolphins were rejected by several candidates. New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio and Tennessee Titans vice president of player personnel Lake Dawson turned down job offers, and Cleveland Browns assistant general manager Ray Farmer withdrew from consideration Thursday.

Several others declined invitations to interview as a replacement for Jeff Ireland, whose six-year stint as general manager ended Jan. 7 when he and owner Stephen Ross agreed to part ways.

Hickey has been with the Buccaneers for 18 seasons, including the past three as director of player personnel. He was their director of college scouting for six years.

He was not interviewed for Tampa Bay's GM job when it became open after this season. The Bucs won four division titles and one Super Bowl championship during his time with them, but went 28-52 over the past five years and had spotty draft results during that span.

Hickey was among eight candidates interviewed, with Ross aide Matt Higgins and executive vice president of football administration Dawn Aponte helping the owner with the screening process. The other finalist was Dolphins assistant general manager Brian Gaine, who worked under Ireland.

Some candidates and potential candidates expressed concern about the Dolphins' power structure, including the role of Aponte, who clashed with Ireland. Ross has said the new GM will report to him and will have autonomy in building the roster.

Dawson turned down the job shortly before Hickey accepted.

''I felt Stephen is a great owner, passionate and wants to win, but the details of the offer didn't align with my vision,'' Dawson said in a statement. ''I turned it down because it wasn't an ideal fit for my family and me. ''

So Ross turned to Hickey, who interviewed for the first time 10 days into the search. His task will be to upgrade the roster for coach Joe Philbin after Miami collapsed late in the season to blow a playoff berth and finish 8-8.

The Dolphins haven't been above .500 since 2008, the longest such stretch in franchise history. Their tumultuous 2013 season included a locker-room bullying scandal that drew national scrutiny, and a report on the NFL investigation into the case will be released after the Super Bowl.

TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY - JANUARY 26TH

1819 - Abner Doubleday, Union general-major/inventor (baseball) is born.

1893 - Abner Doubleday, credit with inventing baseball, dies on 74th birthday.

1913 - Jim Thorpe relinquishes his 1912 Olympic medals for playing as a professional.

1924 - Charles Jewtraw, US 500m skater, takes 1st Winter Olympics gold medal.

1932 - William K Wrigley, owner (Wrigley Gum, Chicago Cubs), dies.

1951 - Mel Ott & Jimmie Foxx elected to Baseball Hall of Fame.

1960 - High-school basketball sensation Danny Heater scores 135 points.

1960 - Pete Rozelle elected NFL commissioner on 23rd ballot.

1961 - Wayne Gretzky, Brantford Ont, NHL great scorer (Oiler, King, Rangers) is born.
1963 - Major League Rules Committee votes to expand strike zone.

1977 - Soviet figure skaters Sergei Shakrai & Marine Tcherkasova 

are first to perform a quadruple twist lift, Helsinki.

1983 - Paul "Bear" Bryant, College Football coach (Alabama), dies at 69

1985 - Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky scores 50th goal in 49th game of season.

1986 - Super Bowl XX: Chicago Bears beat NE Patriots, 46-10 in 

New Orleans Super Bowl MVP: Richard Dent, Chicago, DE.
1990 - Boston Red Sox hires Elaine Weddington as asst GM 

(highest-ranking black female in a major-league front office).

1991 - Houston guard Vernon Maxwell is 4th NBAer to score 30 pts in a quarter.
1991 - Jan Stenerud becomes 1st pure placekicker to make NFL Hall of Fame.

1992 - Super Bowl XXVI: Washington Redskins beat Buffalo Bills, 37-24 

in Minnesota Super Bowl MVP: Mark Rypien, Washington, QB.

1997 - Super Bowl XXXI: Green Bay Packers beat NE Patriots, 35-21 in New Orleans.

2001 - Al McGuire, American basketball coach (b. 1928) dies.
2003 - Super Bowl XXXVII: Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Oakland Raiders, 

48-21 at the Qualcomm Stadium MVP: Dexter Jackson, Tampa Bay, S.

Woods shoots 79 to miss cut at Torrey Pines

Tiger Woods made his 2014 debut in a most dubious fashion — his first trip to Torrey Pines without sticking around until Sunday.

Woods went seven straight holes making bogey or worse and wound up with a 7-over 79 in the Farmers Insurance Open to match his worst score on American soil. For the first time in his career, he missed a 54-hole cut that is in effect when more than 78 players make it to the weekend.

Woods had to rally just to break 80.

After another poor chip on the par-3 eighth hole (his 17th of the third round), he chipped in to save par. On the par-5 ninth hole, he flubbed another chip to about 8 feet and made that for par and a 79.

Asked to stop for a comment at least with CBS Sports, Woods said, "No, I'm done." He signed a dozen autographs, climbed into a van and was driven away.

Perhaps the most remarkable figure of this week: He didn't make a single birdie on a par 5 over three rounds. In fact, he played them in 4-over par.

Still, what made the round so shocking is where it happened.

Woods was the defending champion and an eight-time winner at Torrey Pines as a pro, which includes his last major in the 2008 U.S. Open. He won a Junior World Championship on this public course along the ocean as a teenager. Woods had only finished out of the top 10 one time at Torrey on the PGA Tour, and that was in 2011 when his game was going through a major overhaul.

"It was definitely different seeing him make so many bogeys," said Jhonattan Vegas, who played alongside Woods on a gorgeous day of very little wind. "He's human. You don't expect to see that, but it's the game. It happens to everyone. And it happened to him today."

The highest score of his career was an 81 in the third round of the British Open at Muirfield, when he played most of his round in 40 mph wind and rain. Woods also had a 79 in the Memorial last year, at the Quail Hollow Championship in 2010 and in the first round of the 1996 Australian Open.

As stunning as it was to see, there was little cause for alarm.

This makes the second straight year that Woods was eliminated early in his season-opening tournament. He missed the cut in Abu Dhabi a year ago after being assessed a two-shot penalty for taking relief from a sandy area. Woods went on to win five times last year and was voted PGA Tour player of the year for the 11th time.

He spoke earlier in the week about not being only a fraction off, which was plausible given the conditions at Torrey, especially on the South Course. For as dry as it has been this week, the rough is thicker and more lush than usual, especially right off the edge of the fairway. On the opening hole, Woods narrowly missed the fairway and could only advance the ball some 80 yards.

But he went south quickly on the fabled South Course.

Woods was in fairway, 254 yards from the flag on the par-5 18th in the middle of his round. A birdie would have put him within five shots of the leaders, who had just started the third round on the front.

His shot came up short and into the water, and his fourth shot flew the green into a plugged lie in the bunker. Woods blasted out and took two putts for bogey. On the first hole, he missed the green and chipped to 30 feet and three-putted for another double bogey, missing his bogey putt from just over 2 feet. It was the first time since the second round of the 2011 PGA Championship that he made consecutive double bogeys.

And then it was just one blunder after another — a three-putt on the par-3 third, a tee shot into the bunker on the fourth. From a front bunker on the par-5 sixth, he flew the green, chipped weakly to 6 feet and missed that par putt.

So when he ended that ugly streak with a birdie on the seventh, he removed his cap and waved to the crowd.

In the midst of this meltdown, Woods still found some perspective. Walking up the hill to the ninth tee, he spotted CBS Sports reporter Peter Kostis, working his first tournament since his bout with prostate cancer. Woods and Kostis have had their disagreements over the years, but the world's No. 1 player called out to him three times. Kostis walked over and Woods whispered into his ear that it was good to see him back at work.

Woods now goes to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic next week. There's a chance he might not show up at another PGA Tour event until Florida.

No. 18 Duke beats Florida State 78-56

Rodney Hood scored 18 points to help No. 18 Duke beat Florida State 78-56 on Saturday, giving Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski his 900th victory at the school.

Jabari Parker added 14 points for the Blue Devils (16-4, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their fourth straight game and extended the nation's longest active home winning streak to 28 games. Duke used an 11-0 run late in the first half to build a 20-point lead and never let the Seminoles get the margin back to single digits again.

Duke won despite shooting 31 percent, but converted 17 FSU turnovers into 29 points and dominated the offensive glass to score 29 second-chance points against the Seminoles (13-6, 4-3).

Krzyzewski is the all-time leader in career victories in men's Division I with 973. He joins Syracuse's Jim Boeheim as the only coaches with at least 900 wins at one program.

Okaro White scored 14 points for Florida State, which shot 50 percent but couldn't protect the ball or keep the Blue Devils off the boards. Duke finished with a 47-24 rebounding advantage, including 27-7 on the offensive glass.

FSU, which won in its last trip here on a last-second 3-pointer two years ago, led by one point for about 1 minute in the first half. But key scorer Aaron Thomas, who was coming off a 20-point effort against Notre Dame, finished with two points on 1-for-7 shooting before fouling out with 5:13 left.

It wasn't a vintage Duke performance. Krzyzewski was animated and often unhappy with his team in the early minutes, slamming down a chair during an early timeout and shedding his suit jacket by the 12-minute media timeout.

Then, after Duke looked to be in cruise control, the Blue Devils went nearly 7½ minutes without a basket in the second half. They stayed in control by hitting free throws after FSU got as close as 11 points on Montay Brandon's layup with 6:51 to play. Quinn Cook ended the drought with a driving basket that made it 71-54 with 3:25 left.

Duke made 34 of 43 free throws for the game, including 20 of 27 after halftime to offset a 6-for-27 shooting performance (22 percent) in the second half.

Hood was a last-second scratch from the starting lineup. Krzyzewski said Hood was sick, though Hood told reporters he had to change after spilling Gatorade on his uniform. Hood missed his first five shots, but he scored 14 points after halftime.

Duke also got a boost from reserve big man Marshall Plumlee, who posted career-highs of seven points and seven rebounds - with each rebound coming on the offensive glass.

No. 21 Michigan beats No. 3 Michigan State 80-75

With some swagger and a sweet stroke, Nik Stauskas lifted Michigan to a rare win at Michigan State.

Stauskas made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:12 left and finished with 19 points to lead the 21st-ranked Wolverines to an 80-75 win over the third-ranked Spartans on Saturday night to remain the only Big Ten team without a conference loss.
The sophomore shooting guard had four assists and unofficially had another one, separating coach John Beilein from a face-to-face argument with an official with 4:01 remaining.
"He was about to get a technical," Stauskas said.
Stauskas helped the usually mild-mannered Beilein from saying or doing something that might cost his team points just before the Wolverines (15-4, 7-0 Big Ten) went on a 10-0 run late in the game to take control.
"That's a great step in his leadership," Beilein said with a grin.
The Wolverines won for just the second time in 15 games at the Breslin Center.
Michigan is the first team since at least the 1996-97 season to win three straight games against top-10 teams in the regular season, according to STATS. The Wolverines, who had never pulled off that feat in school history, were coming off a win against No. 10 Iowa at home after beating then-No. 3 Wisconsin on the road.
"This is a great win for us because of who we were just able to beat," Beilein said. "It's one of the classiest, best programs in the country."
Freshman Derrick Walton Jr. scored a season-high 19 and Caris LeVert scored 17 for the Wolverines, who have won nine straight without standout center Mitch McGary.
The Spartans (18-2, 7-1) had won 11 straight since losing to North Carolina at home, but the streak was snapped by their rival soon after another injury-related setback.
"The better team won," coach Tom Izzo acknowledged.
Adreian Payne missed a fifth straight game with a sprained right foot and Branden Dawson was out for the first time since the junior forward said he broke his right hand hitting a table.
Michigan, though, didn't have any sympathy.
The Wolverines, who lost Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. early to the NBA, have been playing without McGary because he needed back surgery since losing to No. 1 Arizona in a closely contested game.
Michigan State's Gary Harris scored a career-high 27 points and didn't get much help offensively from his team that was without two of its best players. Freshman Alvin Ellis scored a season-high 12 points, surpassing his scoring total from his first seven Big Ten games.
Keith Appling was held to 10 points on 3 of 11 shooting, playing with a wrist injury and bad back.
"He just can't shoot right now with that wrist," Izzo said.
Michigan turned 11 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points as it outrebounded the Spartans 34-30.
The Wolverines have won five of seven in the series after losing 18 of 21, and Appling took the latest loss hard because he will not play them again at home.
"I feel like I lost a close family member," he said softly. "That's how bad it hurts."
Michigan got off to a great start with Stauskas making jumpers, pumping his fist and shouting as he ran back to play defense.
The Wolverines started 4 of 4 from the field and led 10-2 before losing the lead midway through the first half as Michigan State's defensive intensity picked up and its crowd began to roar.
Michigan made shots when it needed them most in the second half, scoring 50 points after halftime, including 5 of 8 on 3-pointers and 23 of 27 at the line.
"You're not going to beat too many teams when they shoot that way," Harris said.