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The Anaheim Ducks’ defense, a key to their Stanley Cup championship last season, looked sharper with Scott Niedermayer back on the ice. The San Jose Sharks still came away winners Sunday night, with Joe Thornton’s shootout goal the difference in a 2-1 victory. “There are always really good games against Anaheim,” Thornton said.

If the Calgary Flames continue to play like this away from home, they may not be all that eager to return to Alberta any time soon. The Flames’ top line of Jarome Iginla, Kristian Huselius and Daymond Langkow combined for 12 points, and the Flames won their fifth in a row on the road with…

Martin Brodeur won a penalty-shot battle with Daniel Briere, and the New Jersey Devils seized the momentum. John Madden scored two goals and Brodeur made 29 saves, including the game-turning penalty shot, to lead the Devils to a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. The game swung in the Devils’ favor midway through…

Wayne Gretzky spoke in a hoarse voice through a wide smile and even mustered a few laughs. The flu and laryngitis notwithstanding, the Hall of Famer’s return to Madison Square Garden could not have been better. Illness, not anger, robbed Coach Gretzky of his voice. He didn’t have to yell at his team Sunday night…

The ingredients were there, as they have been throughout Rick Pitino’s hugely successful coaching career. Playing with Pitino’s signature style — a little full-court pressure, some timely 3-point shooting, high energy at both ends of the court — Louisville made Pitino the 17th active Division I coach with 500 career wins in an 85-75 victory…

Russell Robinson, more accustomed to setting up other scorers, took his turn on the Kansas high-scorer carousel against Georgia Tech. Robinson scored 17 points, becoming the Jayhawks’ seventh different leading scorer in 11 games, and No. 3 Kansas survived a last-minute scare to remain unbeaten with a 71-66 victory over the Yellow Jackets on Tuesday…

Texas slugged its way through a tough battle on its home court. Now comes a Top Ten test for the unbeaten Longhorns. D.J. Augustin scored 24 points and the fourth-ranked Longhorns beat Oral Roberts 66-56 on Tuesday night, a close game in a season full of blowouts. Next up is No. 9 Michigan State at…

Senior forward Torre Johnson, Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s leading scorer and rebounder, was dismissed from the team Tuesday after being arrested early Saturday morning. Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter also said that sophomore guard Roman Gentry left the team for personal reasons. Johnson, a transfer from Oklahoma State, had been suspended in the immediate aftermath of his arrest on…

Over the last two decades, it has been the most pressing sports question in this basketball-mad city. Who will follow Lute Olson as Arizona’s basketball coach? The answer was provided in a press release on Tuesday morning: Kevin O’Neill. O’Neill, who has been serving as interim coach since Olson went on a personal leave of…

Georgia Tech senior center Ra’Sean Dickey, who has missed the first eight games of the season with an injury, will sit out the rest of the season as a redshirt. Dickey will retain his final year of eligibility for the 2008-09 season. Dickey (6-10, 250), has acute tendinitis in his right knee. “Ra’Sean is just…

Desperate to bolster their rotation, the Seattle Mariners are closing in on a deal with pitcher Carlos Silva, one of the top arms in a weak free-agent market. Talks between the sides have intensified, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the Mariners are not discussing the talks…

The baseball players’ union has agreed to discuss with owners the recommendations George Mitchell made to toughen the sport’s drug program. Commissioner Bud Selig sent a letter to union leader Donald Fehr asking that the sides talk about Mitchell’s ideas. “They wrote back, and they were amenable to discuss the recommendations,” said Rob Manfred, baseball’s…