Buffalo ends road woes in shootout
NHL: Jason Pominvile and Nathan Gerbe scored in a shootout and Ryan Miller made 27 saves as the Buffalo Sabres snapped a 12-game losing streak on the road with a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.
Pominvile ripped a shot over the glove of Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur on the Sabres’ third and possibly final shootout attempt to tie things at 1-all.
Miller, who had given up a goal to Ilya Kovalchuk on the Devils’ first shootout try, made a pad save on rookie Adam Henrique on New Jersey’s fourth attempt and Gerbe gave Buffalo its first road win since Dec. 3 by beating Brodeur.
Hardaway Jr. leads Michigan to win
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 19 points to help No. 20 Michigan defeat host Purdue 66-64.
Jordan Morgan had 12 points and seven rebounds, Stu Douglass scored 12 points and Evan Smotrycz added 10 points for the Wolverines (16-5, 6-2), who entered the game in a tie for first place in the Big Ten.
Reports say Raiders hiring Denver’s Allen
NFL: The Oakland Raiders reportedly will hire Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen as their new head coach.
Fox Sports and ESPN reported that the sides were still working out final details but an agreement had been reached. The Raiders have not confirmed the hiring.
Allen will be the first Raiders coach with a defensive background since late owner Al Davis hired John Madden before the 1969 season.
The 39-year-old Allen helped the Broncos improve from allowing a league-worst 29.4 points and 390.8 yards per game to ranking 20th in yards (357.8) and 24th in points (24.4) this season on the way to an AFC West title.
Giants, Lincecum agree to contract
BASEBALL: Two-time N.L. Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants reached an oral agreement on a two-year contract worth $40.5 million. The deal includes a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $18 million this year and $22 million in 2013, a person familiar with the agreement.
• Posada retires a Yankee: Flanked by his wife and children, with five World Series trophies sitting on a table to his right, Jorge Posada announced his retirement.
The five-time All-Star catcher ends his major league career after 17 seasons, all with the New York Yankees.
Posada, 40, began the press conference quoting Joe DiMaggio: “I want to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee.”
• La Russa will manage All-Stars: Tony La Russa will become the second retired manager to lead an All-Star team next summer, joining Hall of Famer John McGraw. La Russa concluded a 16-season run in St. Louis with the team’s second World Series title in five years last October, stepping down after 33 seasons overall.
NBA: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points and Marcus Camby grabbed a season-high 22 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers beat visiting Memphis 97-84, snapping the Grizzlies’ seven-game winning streak.
Boise State hires ex-EWU star Lake
MISCELLANY: Boise State coach Chris Petersen has turned to the NFL to fill a vacancy on his coaching staff. Former North Central High School and Eastern Washington University standout Jimmy Lake will be the new coach for the Broncos’ defensive backfield and coordinator of pass defense.
Lake coached the last two seasons overseeing defensive backs for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he coached the secondary for the Detroit Lions in 2008. Before coaching at the professional level, Lake worked at Eastern Washington, Montana State and Washington.
• Mourners pay their respects: Decked out in Penn State hats and jackets, students and townspeople at State College, Pa., stood in a line more than a quarter-mile long to pay their respects to Joe Paterno, the coach who for nearly a half century was the face of their university.
• Oklahoma State upsets Aggies: Tiffany Bias scored 14 points, including a tiebreaking layup with 28 seconds left, and host Oklahoma State downed No. 14 Texas A&M 57-53.