New Jersey evens series with OT win

NHL: Travis Zajac scored at 5:39 of overtime and the New Jersey Devils avoided elimination and sent yet another Eastern Conference first-round series to a seventh game with a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday at Newark, N.J.

Steve Bernier and Ilya Kovalchuk also scored and Martin Brodeur made 14 saves for New Jersey, which squandered a two-goal lead and had fans dreading another first-round playoff exit until Zajac scored from the right hand circle.

The shot beat Scott Clemmensen to the lower corner and set off a mob scene on the ice.

Smith expects Hogs to battle for title

College football: John L. Smith stood at the podium, pouncing with a smile on every question he was asked about his surprise hire as the coach at Arkansas.

The guy asked to pick up the pieces following the scandal-tainted ouster of Bobby Petrino handled everything thrown his way and was adamant about keeping Arkansas in the thick in the Southeastern Conference and national championship races.

“I want to say that our expectations are the same,” Smith said at his introductory news conference with a handful of players watching nearby. “Nothing is going to slow down. In fact, we’re going to speed up. Our expectations are that we’re going to battle and fight for a national title.”

Jazz clinch playoffs by defeating Suns

NBA: Paul Millsap scored 26 points and Al Jefferson went on a personal 8-0 fourth-quarter run as the Utah Jazz defeated the Phoenix Suns 100-88 in Salt Lake City to secure a Western Conference playoff spot.

The victory halted Utah’s seven-game losing streak to the Suns, dating to March 2010.

• Johnson leads Atlanta: Joe Johnson scored 28 points, including a wild 3-pointer in the final minute, and the Atlanta Hawks held on for a 109-102 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

• World Peace suspended seven games: Lakers forward Metta World Peace was suspended seven games by the NBA for throwing a vicious elbow at Oklahoma City’s James Harden, meaning the Los Angeles starter likely will miss six playoff games.

The suspension is Ron Artest’s third career ban of at least seven games, including an 86-game suspension in 2004 for jumping into the stands at the Palace of Auburn Hills in the Detroit suburbs to fight fans.

Saints’ Vitt calls allegations ‘ludicrous’

NFL: While state police and the FBI started a wiretapping probe into the Saints and general manager Mickey Loomis, assistant head coach Joe Vitt called allegations that Loomis’ had his Superdome booth wired so he could listen to opposing coaches “ludicrous.”

“It’s absolutely ludicrous. It’s impossible,” Vitt said. “I’ve never heard of it before. That’s something from ‘Star Wars.’ When I first heard something about it being a wiretap, I thought they were talking about Sammy “the Bull” Gravano or something. I didn’t even know what they were talking about.”

• More players join lawsuit: A group of former Dallas Cowboys, including Hall of Famers Randy White, Bob Lilly and Rayfield Wright, joined with other retired players to file the latest concussion-related lawsuit against the NFL.

• Wife denies attacking Sanders: Deion Sanders’ estranged wife denied she attacked her husband at their home and said she’s not getting a fair shake because of her husband’s stature in the community as a former star player for the Dallas Cowboys.

Pilar Sanders, a model who has appeared on several television shows, was released after spending the night in jail on a misdemeanor domestic assault charge.

A magistrate judge ordered her stay away from their home in the Dallas suburb of Prosper for 60 days and barred her from threatening or harassing her husband, KTVT-TV reported.

“I’m a full-time mom, 100 percent for my children,” Sanders said, her voice breaking. “And I just haven’t been given a fair shake.”

Baylor freshman declares for NBA

Miscellany: Baylor freshman standout Quincy Miller changed his mind and is declaring for early entry in the NBA draft.

• Bay on disabled list: The New York Mets put left fielder Jason Bay (Gonzaga University/North Idaho College) on the 15-day disabled list, a day after he broke a rib while trying to make a diving catch.

• Chelsea knocks out Barcelona: Visiting Chelsea eliminated defending champion Barcelona and reached the Champions League final with a grueling 2-2 tie, winning the semifinal on 3-2 aggregate despite playing most of the game a man short.

Chelsea advanced to the May 19 final at Munich. In the other semifinal, Real Madrid is home today trying to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Bayern Munich.