NHL:
In the NHL, the Rangers edged Detroit 4-3, the Islanders slid past Ottawa 4-3, Pittsburgh bested New Jersey 5-2, Columbus skated by Boston 4-3, Buffalo won against Detroit 4-3, Minnesota edged Nashville in overtime 3-2, Winnipeg beat Chicago 3-1, Calgary doubled up Colorado 6-3, Dallas topped Arizona 3-2, and it was San Jose over Anaheim in overtime 3-2.
The Blackhawks have activated center Artem Anisimov off injured reserve and placed veteran right wing Marian Hossa on IR retroactive to Dec. 20. Anisimov's 14 goals and 27 points both rank third on the team, and Hossa tops the club with 16 goals. Both forwards have been sidelined by upper-body injuries.
NBA:
In the NBA, Boston topped Memphis 113-103, Oklahoma City won against Miami 106-94, Houston beat Dallas 123-107, and it was Utah over the Lakers 102-100.
New York Knicks President Phil Jackson and Lakers executive Jeanie Buss have ended their engagement. Jackson tweeted a statement last night in which the couple said that because of their professional obligations and geographic distance, "sustaining the relationship has been difficult." Jackson and Buss began dating in 1999 while he coached the Lakers and were engaged before he moved across the country to take the Knicks job in 2014.
NFL:
The Bills have fired coach Rex Ryan ahead of their last game of the season after he failed to lead Buffalo to the playoffs. Bills officials announced Ryan's firing on Twitter on Tuesday, after a Week 16 loss to the Dolphins dropped the Bills to 7-8 and officially eliminated the team from playoff contention. The loss extended the NFL's longest active playoff drought to 17 seasons. Ryan was 15-16 in two seasons with Buffalo. The Bills also said on Twitter that Ryan's brother, Rob Ryan, was fired from his position as an assistant head coach with the responsibility to oversee defense. The Bills say offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn will serve as interim head coach this Sunday.
Ryan Fitzpatrick will start at quarterback in the Jets' season finale against the Bills on Sunday. Coach Todd Bowles made the announcement after practice yesterday, saying that Fitzpatrick was the backup "so now he's the starter."
Authorities say the brother of a former NFL player was gunned down near New Orleans Lakefront Airport while he was visiting his mother for the holidays. They say 38-year-old Robert Smith died at the scene Monday morning from a gunshot wound. The victim's brother is former Jets wide receiver Courtney Smith.
Bruce DeHaven, a longtime special teams coach who helped the Buffalo Bills go to four consecutive Super Bowls, has died following a battle with prostate cancer. He was 68. Buffalo Bills spokesman Scott Berchtold says DeHaven passed away yesterday in Orchard Park, New York, with his family by his side.
A person familiar with the decision has confirmed to The Associated Press that the Bills intend to start backup quarterback EJ Manuel in place of Tyrod Taylor for their season finale at the New York Jets on Sunday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity yesterday because the Bills have not disclosed that information. The switch comes the same day the Bills fired coach Rex Ryan.
NCAA:
In college football, Jordan Asberry ran for a 3-yard touchdown on fourth down in overtime to send Army past North Texas 38-31 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. It was Army's 46th rushing TD of the season, breaking the school record held by the 1945 national championship team that had two Heisman Trophy winners in the backfield. The Black Knights ran for 480 yards and six TDs in ending the season 8-5.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers have capped a tumultuous football season with a very satisfying victory. Shannon Brooks turned a deflected pass into a 13-yard, go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter as the Gophers upset Washington State, 17-12 in the Holiday Bowl at San Diego. Minnesota also frustrated quarterback Luke Falk and held the Cougars to their lowest point total of the season. Falk was picked off by Adekunle Ayinde to set up Rodney Smith's 9-yard scoring run that put the Gophers ahead 17-6 with 2:06 left.
John Wolford was 10 of 19 for 183 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with a neck strain in the third quarter of Wake Forest's 34-26 win over 23rd-ranked Temple in the Military Bowl at Annapolis. Wolford threw an interception on the game's first series to help the Owls take a 7-0 lead before the Demon Deacons reeled off 31 straight points by halftime. Phillip Walker finished his career by going 28 for 49 for 396 yards and two touchdowns for Temple.
In college men's basketball, Number 14 Wisconsin used an active start on the defensive end to build an early lead and defeat Rutgers 72-52 last night. Nigel Hayes scored 20 points, and Zak Showalter added 18 for Wisconsin. Mike Williams led Rutgers with 18 points.
Syracuse beat Cornell 80-56.
AP Male Athelete of the Year:
LeBron James is The Associated Press Male Athlete of the year after leading the Cavaliers to the NBA title and ending Cleveland's 52-year drought without a championship team. James also captured the award in 2013 and joins Michael Jordan as the only NBA players to win it at least twice.
The Cavaliers forward collected 24 first-place votes to beat out a pair of Olympic legends: swimmer Michael Phelps and sprinter Usain Bolt. Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant tied for fourth with Golden State guard Stephen Curry, last year's winner.
World Cup Skiing:
Mikaela Shiffrin has earned her second career World Cup giant slalom win and moved further ahead in the overall standings. The American beat Tessa Worley of France by 0.78 seconds. It was the 24th career win for the slalom specialist. Shiffrin's only previous GS win came in Oct. 2014. Shiffrin extended her overall lead to 55 points over defending champion Lara Gut of Switzerland.
Olympic Russian Doping:
More athletes now face IOC cases linked to cheating at the Sochi Winter Olympics and a major cross-country skiing event was removed from the country. The IOC says it has opened 28 disciplinary proceedings against Russian athletes whose urine samples were likely tampered with at the 2014 Olympics.
Six cases involve cross-country skiers who are now provisionally suspended by the International Ski Federation (FIS), which did not identify them. Six Russian men won five medals, including one gold, in cross-country skiing on home snow at Sochi.
The new wave of Olympic doping cases is set to produce a flow of verdicts and disqualifications next year that could fuel calls for some or all of the Russian team to be banned from the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea. The cases are based on evidence provided this month by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren.
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