Photograph of Islanders celebrating a second period goal from Ruslan Fedotenko by Frank Franklin II/AP Islanders 4 Rangers 3 (Shootout): This was not a game for fans of goaltenders. Henrik Lundqvist was terrible, Wade Dubielewicz was too but better when it counted and the Islanders prevailed in a sloppy game. Blake Comeau got things started when he scored by throwing the puck off of Michal Rozsival to put the Islanders in front. The Rangers......

Atlanta 99 Knicks 93: They simply couldn’t bring this one home. Ahead 91-90 with less than three minutes in the game, the Knicks went cold on both ends of the floor and lost. Jamal Crawford made two turnovers, missed two shots and totally blew a defensive assignment as the Hawks went up 94-91 with 34 second left. The Knicks got the ball back and went inside to Randolph who already had 29 points, but he......

Nationals 10, Mets 9: Willie Randolph better be queuing up a tape of the 2006 Cardinals' September. Back then, they didn' t pitch, lost a ton of games down the stretch, and looked dead entering the playoffs. This year's Mets can identify. They can't seem to do anything right. Even with a six-run ninth-inning rally, the Mets came up one run short. At least Philadelphia lost to Atlanta -- still feels weird to root for......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery at the Washington Mutual on Sheepshead Bay Rd. in Brooklyn, a worker fell into the water off Pier 11 on Governor's Island, and a bank robbery on 57th St. and Broadway in Manhattan. Additional charges could be in store for the woman who allegedly shot a Staten Island commune leader before fleeing to Philadelphia. Maya Rudolph is not returning for the new season of Saturday Night......

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......

Tigers 16, Yankees 0: Needing a win to salvage a split in Detroit, the Yankees instead got a beating and left having lost three of the four games to the Tigers. Boston awaits New York for a three-game series that starts Tuesday, and the Yankees can't be blamed if they feel a sense of urgency. Mike Mussina has felt that way for a while now. The results, including Monday's performance against Detroit, haven't been pretty.......

Royals 7 Yankees 0: Kei Igawa should buy a plane ticket back to Japan. Today’s ledger of 5.2 innings, seven hits and 2 walks while allowing five runs just reinforced the fact that Igawa is nothing more than a batting practice pitcher. The Yankees could have won seven-straight, but they didn’t, at least we know that Igawa is junk and Phil Hughes will be back in the rotation soon. Pirates 8 Mets 4: Oliver Perez......

Mets 6, Pirates 3: Tom Glavine picked up his 299th career win by taking advantage of a rare night of productivity from Paul Lo Duca. A start after wilting despite having a 6-0 lead before he threw a pitch, Glavine shut down the Pirates at Shea. Lo Duca entered the game with a .312 on-base percentage and a .357 slugging average, and, despite the Mets' laughable efforts to have him elected to the All-Star Game,......

Yankees Sweep Tampa: When you send Kei Igawa and Matt DeSalvo out to the mound in a doubleheader, you cannot expect a lot of good to happen, but the Yankees’ offense changed that thinking. New York took the first game 7-3 behind some great hitting from Andy Phillips and the first career home run by Shelly Duncan and then took the second game 17-5. New York jumped on top in the nightcap with three runs......

Devil Rays 14, Yankees 4: Pitchers can go from cruising to losing in a matter of batters. Mike Mussina's propensity to allow home runs makes him especially prone to such reversals of fortunes. He looked good for two innings on Friday but couldn't finish the fifth. Four games at home against the Devil Rays might look like a well-wrapped Christmas present, but with Matt DeSalvo and Kei Igawa scheduled to start both ends of......

Yankees 6, Blue Jays 4: The Yankees used some home runs and a bloop single to beat Toronto. Alex Rodriguez hit his 32nd home run of the season and career home run number 496, but it was Andy Phillips who delivered the go-ahead runs. With two outs in the 6th inning, Phillips broke a tie game with bloop single to center, scoring Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano. The two teams combined for six home runs......

Yankees 7 Minnesota 6: The Yankees showed some grit Thursday, overcoming another lousy start from Kei Igawa and a lack of clutch-hitting to get the win. Things looked great in the first couple of innings as New York rebounded from a two-run deficit take a 5-2 lead thanks to home runs from Cano and Cabrera. But, Igawa was awful again, giving the lead back in the fourth by allowing three runs to score with two......

Twins 6, Yankees 2: Beating Johan Santana is tough enough with an A lineup. Doing it with three reserves becomes nearly impossible. The Yankees tried and failed to beat the Cy Young Award winner by sending out Kevin Thompson, Miguel Cairo and Wil Nieves on the same day. Part of the blame goes to manager Joe Torre for choosing to rest everyone en masse, but part of the blame can rest on the Yankees' perpetual......

Mets 6, Phillies 5; Mets 5, Phillies 2: Things couldn't have gone much better for the Mets. Brothers Carlos, who have been struggling of late, combined for three homers. Orlando Hernandez and John Maine combined to hold the Phillies in check. New York leads Philadelphia by five games in the National League East. Of all the developments, Beltran's and Delgado's homers have to be the most welcome. Billy Wagner also deserves plenty of recognition, even......

Mets 9 Oakland 1: Tom Glavine showed that he isn’t done yet. In eight innings of work, Glavine kept the A’s tied up, allowing only seven base runners while striking out five. About the only thing he did wrong all night was getting thrown out at home, but he still went 2-for-3 at the plate. Shawn Green had a big night at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and home run, while driving in......

Mariners 3, Yankees 2: Matt DeSalvo -- he who reads Camus and writes unpublished novels in his spare time -- threw seven innings of one-run ball for the Yankees before turning it over to the bullpen with a one-run lead. Second base umpire Gerry Davis blew a call and hurt the Yankees in the eighth. With two out, pinch runner Willie Bloomquist appeared to be caught stealing second. Davis called him safe, and Kenji Johjima......

Sabres 2 Rangers 1: The Rangers were eight seconds away from winning this game and taking a 3-2 lead in the series when Chris Drury netted the game-tying goal. Up until that point, the Rangers had played a great game, but anyone who watched the final minute of regulation has to wonder why Jaromir Jagr was on the ice? After taking a 1-0 lead with just over three minutes left, the Rangers needed to play......

Devils 3, Senators 2 (2OT): Things appeared to be going according to plan for the Devils. They jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in a game they needed to avoid an 0-2 deficit in the Eastern Conference semifinals. That plan got broken when Dany Heatley tied the game with 26.4 seconds left. The first overtime was ripe with chances -- tired skaters lead to open shots -- but the Devils needed to the......

Tampa Bay 10 Yankees 8: It’s not hard to fathom why New York keeps losing, they just aren’t pitching well at all. Already leading the league in relief innings, the Yankees saw starter Kei Igawa fail to get out of the fifth while the bullpen had another shaky night. On the positive side, Alex Rodriguez has erased any doubts about his ability to perform in New York. Rodriguez belted his 13th and 14th homers......

Rangers 4 Atlanta 2: The Rangers finished off their sweep of the Thrashers in dramatic fashion, coming back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to finally take the lead on a goal that had to be reviewed for over five minutes. Five minutes into the third period, Matt Cullen unleashed a vicious slapshot that caromed off the top crossbar and appeared to bounce out of the crease. Replays showed the puck had bounced down into......

Nets 100, Knicks 86: Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson combined to put the Nets in the playoffs while putting the Knicks in the realm of the draft lottery. No team that can't finish the season above .500 should be that proud of its year, but the Nets can take solace in knowing they'll get to play in the second season. On the other hand, no Knicks player should be happy his team improved from last......

Islanders 3, Devils 2 (SO): Improbable as it may seem, the Islanders have made the playoffs. All it took was four straight wins in their final four games, and do that while third-string goalie Wade Dubielewicz logged significant time. No one will remember that they blew a 2-0 lead in Sunday's game, and the Islanders earned a crack at the conference's best team, the Buffalo Sabres. Orioles 6, Yankees 4: They couldn't repeat the late-inning......

Yankees 10, Orioles 7: Yeah, you read the headline right. Alex Rodriguez came through in yesterday afternoon's game in the biggest way - with a two-out game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the 9th inning. It was his 2nd home run of the game. The bottom of the ninth inning went something like this: out, out, Robinson Cano single, Derek Jeter walk, Bobby Abreu hit-by-pitch, grand slam by Rodriguez into the black seats. Kei......

The Yankees begin their quest for the elusive 27th championship today when Carl Pavano takes the hill against the Devil Rays. That Pavano is the Opening Day choice shows you the weakness of this team, the starting pitching is very suspect. Chien-Ming Wang is hurt, though he should be back soon. Andy Pettitte has returned, but he has already had back issues. Mike Mussina is just older and the rest of the rotation is......

Would-be Yankee pitcher Kei Igawa took a visit to Yankee Stadium last night as the Yankees and the 27 year-old lefty close in on contract negotiations. Reports say that the two parties have agreed in principle on a five-year, $20 million contract. The Yankees bid $26 million just for the right to negotiate with Igawa after failing to bid enough to negotiate with Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. While in town, Igawa was traipsing around......