Photograph of the Devils' Zach Parise battling with the Hurricanes' Scott Walker along the boards of the Prudential Center by Bill Kostroun/APDevils 5, Hurricanes 1: To be fair, Carolina was without three of its best players, but even a full-strength Hurricanes team would have had trouble with the Devils. New Jersey allowed only 22 shots the entire game and blew by Carolina for its seventh win in nine games. That makes them tied for......

Nets 101, Mavericks 82: Ah, the schizophrenic Nets. After losing three straight, they've now won two in a row, and Sunday's win came against a legitimate title contender. It also came at the Izod Center, a place they have had trouble putting up good performances all season long. Maybe it's all the empty seats. Vince Carter put forth one of his best efforts of the season -- a 29-point, nine-rebound performance. And that was after......

Photo of Eli Manning by AP/Bill Kostroun; Photo of Tom Brady by AP/Stephan Savoia When Super Sunday rolls around, there will be a lot of questions that will be answered. Will the Giants stop the undefeated season of the Patriots? How will Eli Manning perform in the biggest game of his career? And how Tom Brady's foot be? While there are clearly lots of other questions, one question that isn't so obvious is...who's the......

The game is still a week away, but the verbal sparring has begun. Plaxico Burress fired the first shot this week when he said about the Giants’ wide receivers that, "We have guys that can go out and do things just as well or maybe better than some of those guys.” The Patriots have refused to take the bait with Rodney Harrison simply talking about seeing what happens on the field while Ellis Hobbs noted......

Knicks 111 Nets 105: Something’s different with the Knicks. Not only did they win their third-straight game (a season high) Wednesday, but they did it with a comeback. New Jersey jumped out to a 15-point lead at the end of the first quarter and the Knicks responded. For some reason, they didn’t pack it in like they have on so many other nights. Jamal Crawford led the way with 35 points and eight assists, including......

Celtics 86, Nets 77: Maybe the Nets should play as well in the even quarters as they do in the odd periods. New Jersey got outscored 23-9 in the fourth quarter and fell to the 30-4 Celtics. Josh Boone did well -- except when he was at the free-throw line. He had 14 points and 16 rebounds in 37 minutes, but he went 0-for-6 from the stripe. The Nets as a team made only 9......

The degree of difficulty is going up this weekend, way up. Dallas finished with the best record in the NFC at 13-3 and dominated the Giants in two games already this season. Only New England had more points than Dallas’ 455 and with Terrell Owens practicing, the Cowboys should be able to score a lot this weekend. And that will be the challenge facing the Giants on Sunday. It sounds like Sam Madison will be......

Devils 2, Sabres 1 (SO): Aggressive play cost the Devils the win in regulation, but Martin Brodeur, Brian Gionta and Patrik Elias too center stage in the shootout to allow the Devils to continue their home dominance. They have picked up 21 of 22 points at their new Prudential Center in the last 11 games. Things didn't look so rosy when Jason Pominville tied the game with 1:47 to go, but the Devils bounced......

Nets 100, Warriors 95: With three minutes to go in this game, the Izod Center sounded like a morgue, and the Nets appeared on their way to a disheartening loss. A 14-point lead had turned into a one-point deficit. Careless passes led to easy Warriors baskets. But the Nets win consecutive games around major holidays -- remember that winning streak over Thanksgiving? Because of that, the Warriors wouldn't score again. Or maybe it was......

The Giants may have a case of déjà vu heading into Sunday’s game. Once again a win means they are in the playoffs and once again they are face the prospect of adverse weather conditions. But, the Bills are simply not a very good football team. They rank 30th in offense and defense and their 7-7 record is due to beating up on a weak schedule. That same criticism could be made of the Giants......

Roger Clemens is certainly good at issuing statements. Last week it was a vehement denial of the Mitchell Report findings, this week it is a denial and a lecture. Clemens’ agent released a statement yesterday that included the following:"I am disappointed that my 25 years in public life have apparently not earned me the benefit of the doubt, but I understand that Senator Mitchell's report has raised many serious questions. I plan to publicly answer......

With the Jets 3-10, the best thing that can be said about them is that they're still playing hard. They seemed insulted that people thought the Dolphins could beat them last week, and, despite playing in front of empty seats in a heavy rain Sunday, the Jets fought back before losing to the Browns, 24-18. Kellen Clemens scored the Jets' only touchdown with his quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter, but his inconsistent play and......

Knicks 100, Nets 93: No Stephon Marbury, and the Knicks take down the Nets. Of course, the Nets didn't have Jason Kidd (headache), so who knows which team was worse off. Richard Jefferson's heroics couldn't get the job done for the Nets, who continue to play inexplicably poorly at home following road games. Jamal Crawford filled the backcourt "void" for the Knicks with 29 points, and Zach Randolph had 25. Richard Jefferson had 31 points......

On the surface, this one has loss written all over it. Start with last week’s debacle, throw in a Bears team coming off a huge comeback win, subtract Plaxico from the mix, add a potentially cold and wet day in Chicago and the odds look bleak for the Giants. But, there are a few reasons for optimism. First and foremost is the opposing quarterback, Rex Grossman, who can make a big turnover on any play.......

It took all of 45 seconds on Sunday to tell you that the Giants were in trouble. Lawrence Tynes sent the opening kickoff out of bounds and Minnesota scored on a 60-yard bomb on their second play of the game. It was a harbinger of things to come as Minnesota thrashed the Giants 41-17 on Sunday. You can blame the entire team for this one, but the quarterback deserves special consideration. Eli Manning was terrible......

When the NFL scheduled the Jets to play the Cowboys on Thanksgiving back in the spring, it had to think it was going to get a good game between two 2006 playoff teams. Unfortunately for the league, only the Cowboys have lived up to expectations this season. Still, the game is better than some of the duds of recent years. The Cowboys look like the best team in the NFC -- which could make them......

In news that isn't coming as a surprise to anyone, Alex Rodriguez, the former and probably future Yankees 3rd baseman, was named the American League Most Valuable Player today. It was the third time Rodriguez was named the MVP, winning previously in 2003 with the Rangers and in 2005 with the Yankees. This past season, A-Rod set career high marks in runs scored (143) and RBI (156). He also led baseball with 54 home runs......

Bye weeks can do wonders for football teams. Time off certainly helped the Jets. They held their own against the Pittsburgh Steelers and then secured a 19-16 win in overtime after trailing by three with two minutes, 23 seconds to go in regulation. For the second straight game, Kellen Clemens engineered a game-tying drive capped by a Mike Nugent field goal -- although this drive probably should won the game. The Jets finished the job......

After a much-needed bye that followed six straight losses, the Jets return to the Meadowlands field Sunday to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers, the first of three Super Bowl-caliber teams on their schedule in the second half. A win in any of those games -- they are also at Dallas on Thanksgiving and at New England on Dec. 16 -- would be a major surprise. That's the only way the Jets can affect the NFL......

Have the Giants shaken off last week’s debacle? That’s the question as they head to Detroit to face the 6-3 Lions. The Lions are one of the surprises of the season as Jon Kitna has revitalized his career and leads a very good passing attack with four receivers who are capable of getting into the end zone. Teams that throw the ball well have given the Giants fits this year and New York may be......

Hornets 84, Nets 82: As much as the Nets appreciate the start to the season Antoine Wright has had, they probably don't want him taking their final shot at the buzzer. But Wright did just that after starting for Vince Carter -- out with a sprained ankle -- and the result wasn't pretty. Carter's injury will have him out the always mysterious "indefinitely," and the Nets will have to find offense elsewhere. Richard Jefferson (32......

Even if a good portion of the announced paid attendance wasn't there to see it, the Jets played an entertaining if not successful football game in their 23-20 overtime loss to the Redskins on Sunday. Kellen Clemens showed flashes of brilliance and moments of poise -- including a drive that culminated with the game-tying field goal with 10 seconds left in regulation -- but the Jets defense didn't hold up its end of the bargain.......

Cleveland 6 Yankees 4: The 2007 Yankees’ season ended as it began, in disarray. Chien-Ming Wang didn’t make it out of the second inning and while Mike Mussina was reasonably effective, he left with a 6-1 deficit. Meanwhile, Paul Byrd managed to shut down the Yankees’ offense. Somehow, Byrd pitched around 10 base runners in five innings and the Yankees squandered numerous opportunities to score. In a way, that was the story of this......

John Madden said it best on the air, “Osi Umenyiora made the Pro Bowl in one night tonight”. Umenyiora turned in one of the greatest games by a defensive end ever, sacking Donovan McNabb six times officially and just missing out on a few other opportunities. And it wasn’t just Umenyiora, the defense had a dominating night. recording 12 sacks and holding the Eagles to only three points in the 16-3 win. Aaron Ross......

The Wizard of Oz has really been updated for current times. Now, in addition to Toto, Dorothy carries a bag from the 5th Avenue Apple Store with her. At least that's what Dorothy, played by Ian Kennedy, did as part of the Yankees' rookie hazing tradition where green players dress up in crazy outfits. We expect this version of The Wizard of Oz to come to an off, off, off Broadway location in the......

Welcome back, Chad! All those fans who cheered Chad Pennington's departure had nothing to complain about Sunday during the Jets' 31-28 win over Miami. All it takes is a suspect defense for a struggling unit to turn itself around. Pennington threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. Hand out the gold stars to Thomas Jones (110 yards rushing), Jerricho Cotchery (54 yards receiving) and Laveranues Coles (30 yards and a touchdown). For a......

Life's easier the lower you keep everyone's expectations. Bill Waterson once had Calvin impart that wisdom in the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, and the Jets are about to find that out as well. Last year, Coach Eric Mangini worked wonders to get the team into the playoffs and created a situation where media and fans will be looking for more. Don't be surprised if the team doesn't improve upon last year's results. Many......

Yankees 16, Royals 8: It was bound to happen and it took a little while, but Alex Rodriguez became the 22nd player in Major League history to hit 500 career home runs and the youngest player to reach that mark. A-Rod got it done early in the game, hitting a three-run shot in the 1st inning of yesterday's win against the Royals, which is the same team he hit #499 off of on July......

Alex Rodriguez settled anticipations of his 500th career home run early in the Yankees game against the Kansas City Royals this afternoon. With Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu on second and first base, A-Rod swung at the first pitch Kyle Davies served him and knocked it over the left field fence. It was Rodriguez's 36th homer of the season with 108 RBIs, and the magic number 500 has the third basemen on the verge......

NJ Governor Jon Corzine told reporters that he will not use his e-mail anymore as NJ Republicans have filed a lawsuit demanding that Corzine's e-mails with ex-girlfriend and NJ union leader Carla Katz be made public. Corzine said, "We’ll go back to the 1920s, and have direct conversations with people." We'll guess his staff is also getting him books on Morse Code, smoke signals, and sending messages in bottles. Now that Corzine's getting healthy after......