By TOM CANAVAN   Associated Press   5/22/2012 12:33 AM   

NEWARK, N.J. -- Martin Brodeur made 27 saves and survived a third-period punch to the chest by old buddy Mike Rupp as the New Jersey Devils defeated the New York Rangers, 3-1, Monday night, evening the Eastern Conference Finals, 2-2. Zach Parise ha ...

By JOE KAY   Associated Press   5/22/2012 12:33 AM   

Reds 4, Braves 1 CINCINNATI -- Right-hander Mike Leake hit his first career homer - part of three solo shots in a row by the Cincinnati Reds - and allowed only two hits over eight innings Monday night for a 4-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Dr ...

By JIMMY GOLEN   Associated Press   5/22/2012 12:32 AM   

76ers 101, Celtics 85 BOSTON -- Brandon Bass scored 18 of his postseason career-high 27 points in the third quarter on Monday night as the Boston Celtics pulled away from the Philadelphia 76ers to win 101-85 and take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Con ...

By DAVID BRANDT   Associated Press   5/22/2012 12:31 AM   

It didn't take long for LSU to jump back on top of the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers are the No. 1 seed in this week's SEC tournament - just one year after missing the field entirely - and hope to win an expanded version of the event, which ...

By CAM HUFFMAN   chuffman@aikenstandard.com   5/21/2012 11:39 PM   

Devante Butler helped take Aiken High School all the way to the Class AAAA Lower State basketball championship game in February, and now he’s looking to take his family somewhere it hasn’t been before. The Hornet senior signed a letter of ...

By CAM HUFFMAN   chuffman@aikenstandard.com   5/21/2012 11:36 PM   

The bats have fallen silent as high school baseball and softball has come to an end around the state, but when the honors were handed out for the recently-completed season, area players made plenty of noise. BASEBALL Taylor Hearn (Williston-Elko) ...

Associated Press     5/21/2012 12:32 AM   

IRVING, Texas -- Jason Dufner made a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday for a one-stroke victory in the Byron Nelson Championship, his second victory in four weeks. The winning putt wrapped up a closing 3-under 67 for an 11-under 269 tota ...

Associated Press     5/21/2012 12:32 AM   

INDIANAPOLIS -- The field is set for the Indianapolis 500. And, more importantly, it's full. On an otherwise ho-hum day of qualifying, nine cars made the field on their first attempts, ending any potential last-minute drama and assuring the May 27 ...

By LUKE MEREDITH   Associated Press   5/21/2012 12:31 AM   

NEWTON, Iowa -- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. didn't need a fortuitous push from a teammate to win at Iowa Speedway this time around. Stenhouse's No. 6 car was strong enough to keep the drama and the rest of the field out of reach. He led 209 of 250 laps a ...

Associated Press     5/21/2012 12:31 AM   

Braves 2, Rays 0 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Tim Hudson threw another gem against Tampa Bay. Hudson scattered four hits over 72âÑ3 innings, David Ross homered and the Atlanta Braves beat the Rays 2-0 on Sunday. "My sinker has been key for m ...

By JENNA FRYER   Associated Press   5/21/2012 12:31 AM   

CONCORD, N.C. -- It didn't take teams very long to figure out their best shot at winning the All-Star race would be in the first 20 laps. What few predicted, though, was that the new format would encourage drivers to take it easy for portions of Sa ...

By TOM WITHERS   Associated Press   5/21/2012 12:30 AM   

Heat 101, Pacers 93 INDIANAPOLIS -- Miami's season, the one that's supposed to end in an NBA championship and vindication, was slipping away. LeBron James brought it back. And this time, Dwyane Wade helped him. James scored 40 points, Wade a ...

By GREG BEACHAM   Associated Press   5/21/2012 12:30 AM   

Coyotes 2, Kings 0 LOS ANGELES -- The Clarence Campbell Bowl was in Staples Center for the first time, waiting to be presented by Commissioner Gary Bettman to the NHL's Western Conference champions. The Los Angeles Kings' long-suffering fans gathe ...

By CAM HUFFMAN   Sports editor   5/20/2012 11:31 PM   

Dekoda Watson said he never would be where he is today - living his dream as an NFL player - if it weren't for the Aiken community and South Aiken High School. Now the Tampa Bay Buccaneer linebacker wants to give back. Watson will host the Dekoda Wa ...

Associated Press     5/19/2012 11:48 PM   

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Alex Cobb overcame early struggles and ended up with a most impressive performance. Cobb won his first start of the season, Matt Joyce hit a grand slam and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Atlanta Braves 5-2 on Saturday. "He believ ...

Associated Press     5/19/2012 11:48 PM   

IRVING, Texas -- Jason Dufner shot a 1-under 69 on Saturday, enough to keep a one-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Byron Nelson Championship. On a day when nine players had or shared the lead, Dufner was the one on top alone for the ...

By BETH HARRIS   Associated Press   5/19/2012 11:48 PM   

LOS ANGELES -- Tim Duncan scored 19 points, helping engineer a 24-0 run in the third quarter after the Spurs trailed by 24 points, and San Antonio defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 96-86 on Saturday to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their second-round ...

By DAN GELSTON   Associated Press   5/19/2012 11:48 PM   

NEWARK, N.J. -- In his latest playoff gem, Henrik Lundqvist had little time to do more than stop every breakaway or 2-on-1 attempt New Jersey shot his way. When he took a moment to breathe, Lundqvist had all the confidence his New York Rangers wou ...

By JENNA FRYER   Associated Press   5/19/2012 11:48 PM   

CONCORD, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson won his third All-Star race on Saturday night by pulling away over the 10-lap sprint to the $1 million prize. Johnson joins Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon as the only three-time winner in All-Star race history. His ...

By GENE SAPAKOFF   Post and Courier   5/19/2012 11:48 PM   

COLUMBIA -- LSU wrestled an SEC regular season baseball championship away from South Carolina on Saturday with a 3-2 victory in a 10-inning thriller televised nationally. The series opener Friday afternoon might have been better, with Kevin Gausman t ...