PLANET sports

Ben Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass to Heath Miller and Jeff Reed made a 37-yard field goal, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a 10-7 halftime lead over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night. Miller's 3-yard touchdown reception came 4:44 into the second quarter. The score was set up by a 37-yard pass from Roethlisberger to Hines Ward that put the Steelers on the Bengals' 13 and a run by Gary...

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Petr Sykora's power-play goal with 2:40 remaining in the third period snapped a tie and lifted the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday.

Gerald Henderson scored all 20 of his points in the second half, finally helping No. 10 Duke find some offensive rhythm in an 83-58 victory over Southern Illinois on Thursday night in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Classic. Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler each added 13 points for the Blue Devils (4-0), who advanced to play either No.

By Daren Smith PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEWARK, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Devils are starting to get contributions from a couple of key players.

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Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Thursday that one of the reasons he is willing to take another chance on Adam "Pacman" Jones is because he feels partly to blame for the cornerback's latest trouble.

Doneal Mack scored 19 points and Shawn Taggart notched a double-double for Memphis in an 83-71 win against Chattanooga in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Thursday night. Mack was 5-for-9 from 3-point range, and Taggart scored 16 points and 11 rebounds for the No. 13 Tigers (3-0) in the win. Mack and Taggart also added two blocks and three steals each.

Mike Mussina took a secret to the ballpark every day this season. Maybe that's why he was so successful on the mound, so jovial in the clubhouse. From Day One of spring training, he knew this was his final year -- even if it meant giving up bids for 300 wins, a World Series ring and a better shot at the Hall of Fame.

So after a very uninspiring slate of games last weekend, we should have two great weeks of football leading up to the conference championship games.

This week we begin to see many of the great annual rivalries contended, which brings me to one of my favorite maxims of betting on college football -- whenever a rivalry game features a double-digit point spread, always take the underdog. As you can tell from this list of games I haven't necessarily pulled the trigger on any of those games, but just because Michigan is getting 21 points I still can't advise taking the points. If I had to bet, I would take the points however.

Also, I've included the "epic" showdown in the Apple Cup among my best bets and as you can tell I'm not backing the underdog. Frankly, Washington giving seven points is probably my lock of the year. Washington State has not been the least bit competitive this season, which you can't say for Washington. The Huskies suck, no doubt about it, but they've played decent at times and should beat the Cougars by three touchdowns.

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Gilbert Arenas is already thinking about the possibility of a last-place finish for his Washington Wizards -- and finding the silver lining.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. - Anaheim Ducks defenceman Francois Beauchemin underwent surgery Thursday to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Blues defenceman Erik Johnson, out for the season after injuring his knee during a pre-season team golf outing in September, had surgery to repair a damaged ligament.

Gilbert Arenas is already thinking about the possibility of a last-place finish for his Washington Wizards -- and finding the silver lining. With Arenas still working his way back from a third knee operation in 1 1/2 years, the Wizards are off to a 1-8 start heading into their game Friday against the Houston Rockets.

Coach Bill Laimbeer has been re-signed to a two-year contract by the Shock.

Annika Sorenstam arrived at the first tee Thursday morning, shook a few hands and got a kiss on the cheek from Donald Trump. Then she turned to the gallery and waved. On Friday, unless she moves a bit up the leaderboard, she'll be waving goodbye. Sorenstam shot a 2-over par 74 in Thursday's opening round of the ADT Championship, good for a tie for 23rd in the 32-woman event, her final LPGA Tour...

Matt Kenseth, who won the 2003 Cup Series championship, has re-signed with Roush Fenway Racing.

China has decided to remove TV coverage of their top league due to excessive pitch violence which turns football matches into impromptu martial arts competitions. So CCTV, China’s gov’t television, will be showing more games from top European competitions - the English FA is already salivating - in lieu of their domestic league. Let’s look [...]