Grabner nets two goals in Islanders’ win
NHL: Michael Grabner, a former Spokane Chief, scored twice and rookie goalies Nathan Lawson and Kevin Poulin combined to stop 36 shots in the New York Islanders’ 5-2 victory over the Sabres on Friday night in Buffalo, N.Y.
Lawson stopped 10 shots in the first period, before leaving the game with a left knee injury. Poulin took over and stopped 26 of 28 shots.
• Lightning’s Moore strikes in shootout: Dominic Moore scored the only shootout goal and Dan Ellis stopped all three Florida shooters in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2-1 road victory over the Panthers at Sunrise, Fla. Ellis made 30 saves in regulation and overtime.
• Thrashers’ owners file lawsuit over lost money: The owners of the Atlanta Thrashers claimed to have lost more than $130 million since 2005 and at least another $50 million on the plummeting value of the NHL franchise because of a bitter dispute that ruined their plans to sell the team.
The ownership group, known as Atlanta Spirit, revealed its financial woes in a lawsuit against King & Spalding, one of the city’s most prominent law firms, claiming faulty legal work is largely to blame for its predicament.
• Forsberg to practice with Colorado: Former NHL MVP Peter Forsberg will practice with the Colorado Avalanche today to see if he is in shape for a possible return to the team.
Paul helps Hornets humble Hawks
NBA: Chris Paul scored 16 points and dished out eight assists in a laugher for the visiting New Orleans Hornets, who took control late in the first half and held the Hawks to their lowest-scoring game in Atlanta history in a 100-59 rout.
Only Jordan Crawford’s 3-pointer with 32 seconds remaining kept the Hawks from their worst offensive effort – a 57-point game in 1955 when the team was in St. Louis.
Angels make deal for All-Star Wells
Baseball: The Los Angeles Angels acquired All-Star center fielder Vernon Wells from Toronto, giving them the big bat they wanted to add this winter.
The Blue Jays shipped their high-priced fixture to the Angels for catcher Mike Napoli and outfielder Juan Rivera in one of baseball’s biggest trades this offseason.
The teams did not say whether the Blue Jays would also send cash to the Angels to help offset Wells’ contract. He has four years and $86 million left on the $126 million, seven-year deal he signed with Toronto.
• Rays add big names: A person familiar with the negotiations said that Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez have agreed to one-year contracts with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Damon gets $5.25 million and the chance to earn $750,000 in bonuses based on attendance, the person said. Ramirez gets $2 million.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreements had not been announced.
Vegas, Woodland lead Hope Classic
Golf: Gary Woodland shot an 8-under-par 64 to join Jhonattan Vegas in the lead at 18-under 198 after three rounds of the 90-hole Bob Hope Classic in La Quinta, Calif.
Vegas maintained his steady play in his fifth PGA Tour event with a 67 at Silver Rock.
Alex Prugh of Spokane shot a 66 and closed the third round at 2-under 214.
• Cochran fires 62 at Mitsubishi: Russ Cochran had two eagles and six birdies in a career-best 10-under 62 to take the first-round lead in the Champions Tour’s season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii.
The 52-year-old left-hander had a two-stroke lead over defending champion Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw.
Vonn puts together winning super-G run
Skiing: Lindsey Vonn put together an error-free run and posted her fifth victory of the season in a super-G in Cortina D’ Ampezzo, Italy, taking a big chunk out of Maria Riesch’s overall World Cup lead.
Vonn sped down the shortened Olympia delle Tofane course in 1 minute, 11.66 seconds.
Vonn cut Riesch’s overall women’s lead by 68 points. The German leads Vonn 1,052-927.
• Kostelic earns super-G win: Overall men’s World Cup leader Ivica Kostelic won the super-G in Kitzbuehel, Austria, his fifth World Cup victory in less than three weeks.
The Croatian slalom specialist, who had never won a speed race, finished his run on the challenging Streifalm course in 1 minute, 17.33 seconds for his 16th career World Cup win.
Terrapins survive OT scare with Virginia
Women’s basketball: Diandra Tchatchouang made a driving layup with 6.1 seconds to play in overtime and No. 15 Maryland (15-3, 2-2 ACC) survived a scare at Virginia, 77-75 in Charlottesville, Va.
Tchatchouang also forced overtime by hitting the only 3-pointer of the game for the Terrapins with 13.8 seconds left in regulation. Virginia (11-9, 0-4) led 68-62 with 2 minutes to play in regulation.
NASCAR approaches new point system
Auto racing: NASCAR president Mike Helton strongly indicated the points system used since 1975 will be scrapped for a simpler scoring method in 2011.
The Associated Press reported this week that NASCAR is informing teams it wants a system that would award points based on finishing position, from 43 points to the winner to one for last place.
“The main goal is to get one that’s just easier to understand and simpler. And we’re close,” Helton said.