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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kings recall vet Richards for minors

Tampa Bay Jason Garrison celebrates his goal in win over Boston. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

NHL: The Los Angeles Kings recalled Mike Richards from their AHL affiliate on Sunday, two months after the $69 million center’s high-profile demotion.

The defending Stanley Cup champions added the veteran to their low-scoring lineup before opening a five-game East Coast road trip with their playoff hopes in the balance.

After three losses in their past four games, the Kings (34-23-14) sit two points behind Calgary for third place in the Pacific Division when they visit the New Jersey Devils tonight.

Richards was waived and subsequently sent to the minors in January when the Kings finally lost patience with several seasons of declining offensive production. The former Philadelphia Flyers captain won two titles with the Kings in an important two-way role, but he has just five goals and 10 assists in 47 games with Los Angeles this season.

After Richards cleared waivers, he accepted the minor league assignment and had 14 points in 16 games for Manchester. He is in the middle of a 12-year contract through 2020 that carries an annual cap hit of $5.75 million.

When general manager Dean Lombardi reluctantly sent Richards to the AHL, he said the Kings could recall the veteran for the playoff push if his replacements didn’t excel – and they haven’t.

Center Nick Shore hasn’t scored a goal in his first 25 NHL games, while fellow rookie forward Andy Andreoff has one goal in 17 games.

“You’ve got to produce,” coach Darryl Sutter said Saturday after the Kings struggled in a 4-1 home loss to Vancouver. “At the end of the day, the guys have played 20-some games, and we’re into the stretch part and they have one or no goals. We’re having trouble scoring. The guys have got to produce. That’s just being honest.”

Lightning finally beat Boston: J.T. Brown and Anton Stralman scored 15 seconds apart soon after Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos got into a fight, and the Lightning stopped a 10-game losing streak against visiting Boston with a 5-3 victory. The Lightning’s last win over Boston was on Mar. 13, 2012, a 6-1 victory. Less than a minute after Stamkos fought Boston’s Brad Marchand at 10:05 of the first, Brown (10:47) and Stralman (11:02) beat Tuukka Rask to put the Lightning up 3-1.

Minnesota women win hockey title

HOCKEY: In Minneapolis, Megan Wolfe scored early and Amanda Leveille made 19 saves, leading Minnesota to a 4-1 victory over Harvard (27-6-3) for the third women’s hockey championship in four seasons for the Gophers.

Hannah Brandt, Megan Lorence and Rachel Bona had goals in the third period for Minnesota (34-3-4), which returned the trophy to the west after a one-year slip.

Minnesota State top men’s seed: Minnesota State has received the top seed for the NCAA men’s hockey tournament, followed by North Dakota, Boston University and Miami of Ohio as the other No. 1 seeds in their respective regions. The 16-team field included six teams from the eight-team National Collegiate Hockey Conference and just one from the Big Ten.

ECHL shutout string ends: Jeff Jakaitis’ ECHL-record shutout streak ended after four games, but the South Carolina Stingrays won their 21st straight with a 5-4 shootout victory over the Cincinnati Cyclones.

Splitter, San Antonio easily ground Hawks

NBA: Tiago Splitter scored a season-high 23 points, Kawhi Leonard added 20 points and San Antonio won its third straight game with an easy 114-95 victory at Atlanta.

Paul Millsap finished with 22 points and Dennis Schroder had 18 points for Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta, which dropped its third straight.

Westbrook has 10th triple-double: Russell Westbrook had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 17 assists for his 10th triple-double of the season, leading Oklahoma City to a 93-75 victory over visiting Miami.

Borland giving 49ers most of signing bonus

NFL: Chris Borland, the former 49ers linebacker who shockingly retired after one year in the NFL, said that he will return three-fourths of his signing bonus to the team.

Borland received a $617,436 signing bonus when he agreed to a four-year deal with the 49ers, who drafted him in the third round out of Wisconsin a year ago. He will return $463,077 of that bonus, which will help the 49ers with their salary-cap space.

“To play one year, it’s not a cash grab as I’ve been accused of,” Borland, 24, said in an appearance on “Face the Nation,” the CBS News show. “I’m paying back three-fourths of my signing bonus. I’m only taking the money I’ve earned.”

Two-team L.A. stadium proposed: An NFL team owner has designed a Los Angeles-area stadium for two clubs – with two home locker rooms, identical sets of office space and two owners’ suites. The Los Angeles Times says St. Louis Rams’ owner Stan Kroenke doesn’t need to partner with another NFL team to finance the $1.86-billion venue in Inglewood but that the league wants a stadium for two teams. His plan competes with one by the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders, who want to share a stadium in Carson.

Harrison back with Steelers: Five-time Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison is returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 36-year-old Harrison signed a two-year deal with the team on Sunday following a productive 2014 in which he had 5½ sacks after being lured out of a brief 18-day retirement.

Dempsey back with national team

MISCELLANY: Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley highlight the U.S. team chosen by Jurgen Klinsmann for exhibition matches against Denmark and Switzerland.

Seattle’s Dempsey and the two Toronto stars are among six Major League Soccer players selected for the 23-man side. The rest of the roster is comprised mostly of players in Europe.

The United States is set to face Denmark in Aarhus on March 25, and Switzerland in Zurich on March 31.

Franklin, Cal win NCAA title: Missy Franklin of California won the 200-yard backstroke with the second-fastest time ever for her third title of the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships and helped the Golden Bears win the team title.

Ford out at Bradley: Geno Ford is out as head basketball coach at Bradley after four years and a 46-86 record, 9-24 this season.

Tomac wins Supercross: Eli Tomac raced to his second AMA Supercross victory of season, easily holding off series leader Ryan Dungey in the 450SX Class event in Detroit.