(SportsNetwork.com) - The Buffalo Sabres headed into the Christmas break playing their best hockey of the season. It was pretty much the opposite for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Catch all the action on TSN and TSN Radio 1050 at 7:30pm et /4:30pm pt. The Sabres will shoot for a fourth win in five games when they visit the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs in Fridays Atlantic Division battle at Air Canada Centre. Toronto lost seven out of nine heading into the Christmas break, but the club at least has managed to earn points in three straight outings. The Maple Leafs have gone to the shootout phase in each of their last three games, beating Phoenix on Dec. 19 before losing consecutive tilts against Detroit and the New York Rangers. The Maple Leafs seemed on the verge of a regulation defeat Monday in New York City, but they came up with a controversial goal after Rangers forward Chris Kreider was sent off for shooting the puck over the glass with 3:34 remaining in the third period. New York goaltender Cam Talbot appeared to cover up David Clarksons chance in-close on the man advantage, but the whistle never blew and Nazem Kadri alertly pushed the puck over the line to make it a 1-1 game with only 84 seconds to go in regulation. However, Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello each scored for the Rangers during the shootout, while Joffrey Lupul scored Torontos lone goal in the decisive segment. Kadri had a chance to extend the shootout for Toronto, but was denied by Talbot. Toronto fell for the ninth time in its last 10 road games despite a terrific 42-save performance from Jonathan Bernier. "Our goaltender stood on his head," Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle remarked. "Thats all you can ask in a game like this one." The Leafs are 12-8-1 as the home team this season compared to a 6-8-4 record on the road. Although Buffalo is still last in the NHL with 23 points, the club has recorded four of its 10 wins this season over the last seven games. The Sabres latest victory, Mondays 2-1 overtime win against visiting Phoenix, came with a little bit of luck, as Buffalo was the beneficiary of a bizarre play in the extra session. Mark Pysyk fired a shot from near the right circle 3:47 into the extra session which was initially stopped by Coyotes goalie Mike Smith, but the puck bounced straight up into the air and was batted down by a Phoenix defender and landed in the back of Smiths pants. Smith, unaware of the disc wedged in his pants, turned and slid backwards into the net carrying the puck across the goal line for the game-winner. "I saw it come down and figured it landed. I didnt know where it went from there, but I saw he was in the net and figured it was in," said Pysyk. Tyler Ennis scored the game-tying goal 14:01 into the final session for the Sabres. Ryan Miller made 36 saves in the win. Although Buffalo has picked up the pace recently, the club still enters Friday on an eight-game road losing streak. The Sabres, who last won as the guest on Nov. 5 in San Jose, are just 3-12-1 on the road this season. The Sabres have not fared well in Toronto recently either, losing two straight and seven of the last eight encounters at Air Canada Centre. Buffalo, however, has won three of the past four meetings overall. Buffalo hopes to have leading scorer Cody Hodgson back tonight after the centerman missed the last two games due to an upper-body injury. Hodgson has eight goals and 11 assists to pace the Sabres with 19 points. Cheap Kevin Durant Shoes . Despite Arsenals financial firepower, the 31-year-old midfielder was the only arrival in the January transfer window. Signed until the end of the season as injury cover, Kallstrom might not be fit until mid-March after arriving Friday at Arsenal having injured his back earlier in the week while training with Spartak Moscow. Kevin Durant Shoes From China . Howard hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. https://www.kevindurantshoescheap.com/ . On Wednesday night, they showed that stellar defence and a little small ball can get the job done too. With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line. Kevin Durant Shoes Deals .C. - Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek says guard Goran Dragic will return to the starting lineup against the Charlotte Hornets after missing the last two games with a strained back. Wholesale Kevin Durant Shoes . "I honestly dont know," he said. Try this: 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds by Rajon Rondo, a 62-37 rebounding advantage by the Celtics and a horrible 4-for-30 shooting performance on 3-pointers by the Nets.MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves best days came with Flip Saunders on the sideline. Now that the organization is shrouded in uncertainty surrounding the long-term future of star forward Kevin Love, Saunders is returning to the bench to try revive a franchise that hasnt made the playoffs in 10 years. With the teams coaching search complicated by Loves status, the Timberwolves decided the best course of action was to have Saunders, who was hired last season as president of basketball operations, step in for a second stint as coach until the situation stabilized, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not officially announced the move. A news conference was scheduled for Friday. Saunders previously coached the Timberwolves from 1995-2005. He won 411 games in 10 1/2 seasons in Minnesota and guided the Wolves to the only eight playoff appearances in franchise history, including the Western Conference finals in 2004. He has a career record of 638-526 in 16 seasons as an NBA head coach, a career that also includes stops in Detroit and Washington. Saunders is joining a short list in the NBA of coaches that also have final-say executive authority, one that includes newly hired Stan Van Gundy in Detroit, Doc Rivers with the Los Angeles Clippers and, to a certain extent, Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. Saunders will continue to work closely with GM Milt Newton in the front office while handling coaching duties. When Rick Adelman retired at the end of the regular season, he did so in part to try to help the Timberwolves move forward with a plan to show Love, a three-time All-Star who can opt out of his contract next summer, that there was a long-term plan in place for success. But Loves tenuous situation didnt help the search process, with trade rumours serving as a caution sign for several high-profile candidates. Saunders was in the market for a coach with extensive head coaching experience, either in the NBA or at a major college program, one that could command the respect of a young locker room and also handle the media scrutiny that comes with the questions surrouunding Love.dddddddddddd Names like Tom Izzo, Billy Donovan and Fred Hoiberg came and went without any traction. The Wolves hosted Memphis coach Dave Joerger for an interview two weekends ago, but Grizzlies owner Robert Pera sweetened his contract to keep him around. Sam Mitchell, Lionel Hollins, Scott Skiles and several others received consideration as well. Unable to find what they felt was the right fit for a delicate job, Saunders and owner Glen Taylor met this week to reassess the situation. Taylor said when he brought Saunders back as team president that he would not put him back on the bench. He fired Saunders as coach once before, in 2005 when Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell, unhappy with their contracts, submarined the follow-up to the teams stirring run to the Western Conference finals. Saunders was also hopeful that he could find someone other than himself to take over the team. But with Loves status preventing them from pursuing the coaches they felt would fit best, the two decided that Saunders should take over for at least this season if not longer. The Timberwolves have not given up on convincing Love to play out this season in Minnesota and re-sign next summer to a contract that can pay him and extra year and about $26.5 million more than any other team. It was not immediately clear what the appointment of Saunders would do for Loves desires to stay or go. Love has yet to make the playoffs in his six seasons in the league and is believed to be growing impatient with the Wolves, who finished 40-42 and in 10th place in the West this year. Love created a stir when he spent last weekend in Boston, where the Celtics are rumoured to be making a run at trading for the 25-year-old power forward before the June 26 draft. Just how long Saunders will coach remains to be seen. There is the possibility that Saunders will add assistants to his staff who could be groomed to eventually take over. The Wolves were expected to reach out to Mitchell, a former Timberwolves player and Raptors head coach, and David Blatt, who has spearheaded Russias return to Olympic relevance and coaches in Israel, to gauge their interest in joining his staff. ' ' 'called forward Trevor Smith from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League earlier Sunday...With 46, Phil Kessel has more career points against Ottawa than any other NHL team. ' ' 'nd Manu Ginobili sitting late, the San Antonio Spurs needed Tony Parker to come through again. Parker had 25 points and nine assists and San Antonio escaped a late rally to beat the Utah Jazz 109-105 on Wednesday night, extending their winning streak to six games. The Spurs appeared destined for a relatively easy night after Parker, Duncan and Ginobili led them to an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter. Everything came unraveled as the Jazz closed the game on a 21-9 run to pull within a basket in the final minute. With Parker guiding a hybrid lineup, San Antonio held on to hand Utah its sixth straight loss at the AT&T Center. "(Parker) pulled us through it again," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "They did a good job coming back and always been a gritty, physical group. They never give in. They did a good job coming back and then they were fortunate enough to make some shots, some tough shots that got them back in the game. All three (Parker, Duncan and Ginobili) of those guys did a great job, but then in the fourth Tony saved it for us, really." Duncan, Marco Belinelli and Kawhi Leonard scored 15 points each, and Ginobili had 13 in his first home start of the season for San Antonio (31-8). Utah was without Gordon Hayward for the third straight game with a strained hip flexor. Even without their leading scorer, the Jazz didnt have any problems putting up points and placing a scare in the West-leading Spurs. Enes Kanter had 25 points off the bench for Utah (13-27). Burks scored 20 points, Derrick Favours had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Trey Burke added 17 points and former Spurs forward Richard Jefferson had 15 points. Duncan and Ginobili both re-entered the game for the final 4.3 seconds, but they were essentially bystanders as San Antonio collapsed down the stretch. Duncan exited with 2:40 left in the third quarter and the Spurs leading 74-60 and led 86-73 when Ginobili left with 10:02 remaining. Parkers 16-foot jumper put San Antonio ahead 102-88 with 3 minutes left when things started to fall apart. "(Pop) thought it was probably over," Ginobili said. "Tim was already stiff, so he probably thought it was over and then it got complicated. Once you sit for so long, especially at 37 (as Duncan is), its harder to get back in." Burke hit a jumpeer and a 3-pointer to cut the Spurs lead to 105-102 with 17.dddddddddddd7 seconds left. Following a pair of free throws by Belinelli, the rookie from Michigan hit another 3 to pull the Jazz within 107-105 with 4.3 seconds remaining. "It just shows who (Burke) is," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. "There is not a moment that is too big for him. He relishes in those moments. We are going to need him to continue to grow in those moments." The Jazz were forced to foul with time running out and Belinelli closed the scoring with a pair of free throws. Parker scored seven points in the final quarter, including four in the final 3 minutes. "Its just Pops calling my number lately," Parker said. "Since the beginning of the season, hes playing everybody, and lately hes been calling my number." Parker only had six points at the half, matching his new starting partner in the backcourt, Ginobili. Ginobili did not start the second half, but that mattered little as the other two members of the teams Big 3 stepped up. Duncan and Parker combined to score the teams first 12 points of the quarter for the Spurs first double-digit lead at 64-52. "The Spurs will make you pay for the mistakes you make," Favors said. "We did not play basic defence and got beat backdoor a lot in the third quarter." Duncan and Parker were a combined 9-for-12 shooting in the third quarter while scoring 20 points. "Its great just watching (Parker) play," Leonard said. "You know what time it is on the clock, he knows when its time to take over and he does it." NOTES: Hayward took part in pregame activities, but was still bothered by a left hip flexor that sidelined him the previous two games. ... Ginobili stood up preparing to run through his teammates during pregame announcements, but shrugged his shoulders in surprise when Ayres was announced instead. ... Duncan is four double-doubles shy of tying Hall of Famer Bill Russell for sixth on the career list. Duncan is the active leader, accumulating 781 double-doubles in 1,213 games. ... A bespectacled David Robinson received a loud ovation during the second quarter when the team honoured those who served in the military. "The Admiral" served in the Navy prior to winning two NBA titles during a Hall of Fame career with the Spurs. ' ' 'and a move to MLS comes at a peculiar time with World Cup preparations first and foremost. US Mens National team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann was critical of Clint Dempseys move to Seattle last fall. So a return to North America comes as a shock. The story behind the potential move has yet to be revealed, but considerable dollars are at pplay.dddddddddddd. A rumoured salary ballpark of $6.5 million per year would do the trick, roughly six times his current salary. Playing time is also an issue. The arrival of Kevin Strootman last summer, along with last weeks signing of Radja Nainggolan put the writing on the wall at Roma: Bradley must leave. Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star reports upwards of $100 million is being committed to Defoe and Bradley in transfer fees and salary. Its an incredible commitment for soccer in this city. These kinds of dollars cannot be justified by pure economics of the game alone. The MLS salary cap for 2013 before designated player commitments sat at just shy of $3 million. MLSE obviously has the funds but to make this kind of financial commitment to soccer and a team that had operating revenue in the ballpark of $4.5 million last season (according to Forbes) shows true ambition. This is what it takes to compete. For Bradley, whose father Bob is a former US National team coach, to choose a Canadian club no less over a US-based team speaks to the show me the money type mentality of the modern game. Credit Tim Leiweke. He said he would turn Toronto FC around, and quick. This is beyond the expected. Dion Phaneuf salaries to soccer players in Toronto will never make sense. But MLSE using its financial strength to turn an embarrassment into a pillar of the organization is money well spent. Many south of the border will question what a move like Bradleys says about the growth of MLS. Id argue it has less to do with MLS than it does Leiweke. With a network, resources and desire to win, hes what TFC desperately needed. MLS plays a big role in player acquisition and obviously contracts, which they control. Toronto FC failed to play nice in the sandbox regarding specific targets and team performance in recent years. Squabbling and the perennial disappointment of TFC, whose supporters are credited for league growth and expansion, was a black eye for MLS headquarters. Leiweke was an ideal buffer between club and league. Theres a history and understanding. It then made perfect sense to hire the young and bright Tim Bezbatchenko, an MLS staffer to take over as general manager - a calculated move, facilitating congruence with MLS to provide much needed stability. It has not been disclosed who is funding the transfers. MLSE stepping up assuming the cost would be seen as extending the olive branch. Leiwekes fingerprints are all over these transactions. They signal a donning of a new era for the organization. MLSE has a face. Its Leiweke, and all that comes with him. In a city with too few victories and forced tradition rather than substance, Leiweke is filling a void, one handshake and dollar at a time. These signings are an investment as will a stadium makeover in the coming years. Its part of a bigger plan, where reputation speaks for itself. For MLSE to gain credibility, they need to show they are serious about winning. No more talk; actions. No more wrangling with agents. No more disagreement with the league. No more ostracizing fans. Moves like these wins people over. This is how you win. This is how you sell hope. The cynic will remain. Signings alone dont equal results. Even more work is to be done to the roster. The heavy lifting is near complete. Toronto FC will be able to compete. True hope. Thats all it takes. Its a reasonable thought that the vibe, the fun, and actual winning football can all live simultaneously at BMO Field. We hope. @WheelerTSNgareth.wheeler@bellmedia.ca ' ' ' said. "You never what its going to be or if theres going to be one, but any additions will help." Paul George Shoes Free Shipping . Mauer drove in two runs before leaving with an injury, Eduardo Nunez homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 10-2 on Tuesday night. Paul George Shoes Outlet . Vincent Lamar Carter is no longer the lean, athletic dynamo who dazzled Raptors fans with eye-popping dunks that posterized even the leagues best defenders. https://www.cheappaulgeorgeshoes.com/ . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. Clearance Paul George Shoes .C. -- Theyll remember the OT from the first Syracuse-Duke game -- and the Ts that decided Round 2. Paul George Shoes For Sale . Brooks replaces right-hander Yordano Ventura, who left his last outing with a sore elbow. Ventura is expected to miss one start. Brooks has made one relief appearance for the Royals this season, allowing six runs in two innings in a May 3 loss to Detroit.IRVING, Texas -- There was no near-miss for Stacy Lewis this time. This was a runaway for the highest-ranked American after six runner-up finishes in her previous 16 tournaments. Lewis shot a 7-under 64 on Sunday in the North Texas LPGA Shootout, finishing at 16-under 268 and six strokes ahead of Meena Lee. It was the LPGA Tours largest margin of victory since Jiyai Shin won the 2012 Womens British Open by nine. "Ive been wanting to do this for a long time. I kind of have these mini goals in the back of my mind," Lewis said. "One of them was kind of taking a tournament and running away with it. ... So to be so close the last few weeks and then to come out and shoot 64, I mean I dont even know what to say." It was the ninth career LPGA Tour victory for Lewis, her first since August in the Womens British Open, and will boost the Texan from third to second in the world ranking. Lewis made a putt from about 25 feet off the fringe at the 540-yard seventh for an eagle. She followed with consecutive birdies to make the turn at 14 under and up by three strokes. "The eagle just really kind of got things going in the right direction, and then just I never let up," said Lewis, who punctuated her round with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18. "I never let the hammer down." Lee, the South Korean who won the last her two LPGA Tour titles in 2006, shot 70 after going into the final round at Las Colinas Country Club tied with Lewis for the lead. Lee bogeyed the opening hole and needed a birdie at No. 18 to finish alone in second place. Michelle Wie, who closed within two before faltering late, had a 67 to finish third at 9 under. Na Yeon Choi (69) and Kim Kauffman (70) tied for fourth at 8 under. Kraft Nabisco winner Lexi Thompson (69), Cristie Kerr (71) and Suzann Pettersen (72) were among six players at 7 under. Lewis, from The Woodlands near Houston, has finished outside the top six only once in nine tournaments this year. She was third at the Kraft Nabisco and had another runner-up finish just last week in San Francisco. She had three runner-up finishes in her last eight tournaments in 2013 after her victorry at St.dddddddddddd Andrews. Lewis got a share of the lead in Texas after a frustrating 69 in the third round Saturday when she hit all 18 greens in regulation but missed several makeable birdie putts. "Honestly, I didnt change anything. I didnt do anything different," she said. "They just didnt go in (Saturday). ... But once you see putts in, its kind of contagious." Defending champion Inbee Park closed with a 72 to tie for 14th at finish at 5 under. That will be good enough when the new world ranking comes out to stay No. 1 for the 56th consecutive week since the South Korean replaced Lewis at the top. Lewis will supplant Lydia Ko in the second spot. Ko, who didnt play in North Texas, moved to No. 2 after her win last week in San Francisco only days after her 17th birthday. Wie had her fourth consecutive top-10 finish, including her first win in nearly four wins at home in Hawaii after a runner-up finish in the seasons first major. Wie, playing five groups ahead of Lewis, was 6 under in a span of seven holes -- Nos. 9-15. When she made a 4-foot birdie putt at No. 15, she was 11 under and only two strokes behind Lewis, who was finishing her only bogey of the day at the par-3 11th. Lewis tee shot at the 175-yard 11th half-buried in the sand just under the lip of the bunker. Lewis had sand in her face after hitting out, and couldnt save par. But she got that lost stroke right back with a long birdie putt at the par-4 12th. While Wie was finishing with consecutive bogeys, Lewis had an incredible par-saver at the 390-yard 15th hole, where deciding against an iron she hit her drive into the water. After dropping from about 140 yards, she hit her approach to about 3 feet. Wies eagle at the 510-yard 10th hole was her third of the week there. But after missing the green at the 180-yard 17th for a bogey, she hooked her 8-iron approach at the closing par 5 into the trees and bogeyed. "I thought I had it on 17, just nuked it over the green," Wie said. "I just hit a wall on the last hole, which is disappointing for me. At the same time, 4-under par on the last day, Ill take it." ' ' 't be a part of it. Things that were doing right now and the way the fan base is going out there, we want to go out there and play hard and give them a reason to keep coming back and packing Maple Leaf Square and packing the ACC. "We need our fans, we love our fans. . . We cant wait to see (Wednesday) night, the vibe and the energy were going to get." The series has been a spirited battle even before the first ball was tossed up, thanks to general manager Masai Ujiris now-famous F-bomb. Its been a fierce fight on the court. Casey said Kyle Lowry looked like hed been through a 15-round bout after Game 4, and the coach expects both teams to come out swinging in Game 5 on Wednesday. "Its not going to be all smiles and bubble gum and fruitcakes. . . Its going to be a street fight," Casey said. "Thats the way weve got to come out, with that mentality." The Raptors, said Lowry, were caught on their heels Game 1 of the series. The less-experienced Raptors -- three of the teams starters had never made a playoff appearance -- werent prepared for how physical post-season action would be. They lost that game. They put up a fight in Sundays Game 4 victory in Brooklyn, holding the Nets to just three baskets in a scrappy fourth quarter. But they were forced to battle back from a lackadaisical third quarter, a bad habit the Raptors havent been able to shake all season long.dddddddddddd "Weve got to compete like that for 40-plus (minutes)," Casey said. "The third quarter has been our nemesis. . . thats what we have to remedy, coming out of the locker-room at halftime with that desperate disposition." Despite being the No. 3 seed, the Raptors were considered underdogs in this series based on playoff experience. DeMar DeRozan said theyve played with a chip on their collective shoulder with that underdog mentality all season, so this is nothing new. "We understood coming into this series that people still counted us out, people still doubted us, people said: Brooklyns experience, this, that and the third. . . whatever you want to hear," said DeRozan, who struggled through playoff jitters in Game 1 but has shone for Toronto in the three games since. "Weve been counted out so long, weve got the underdog mentality. I dont think thats going anywhere." Playoff experience was a major theme when this best-of-seven series began. Future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce alone -- with 136 playoff appearances -- had played in almost as many post-season games as the entire Raptors roster combined. None of Torontos starters -- Lowry, DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas -- had ever started in a playoff game. DeRozan, Ross and Valanciunas had never played in the post-season, period. The Raptors say that four games in, experience doesnt mean much anymore. "Its just who wants it more from here on out. Thats what it boils down to now," DeRozan said. Added Casey: "I dont think were as wide-eyed and bushy-tailed as we were in Game 1." Ross remains the one Raptor struggling with the playing on the big stage of the post-season. The athletic sophomore, who poured in 51 points in a game earlier this season, scored zero in Game 4. Casey and the players remain fiercely supportive of the 21-year-old. "Im not going to do anything to crush that young mans confidence or what hes brought to the table thus far," said Casey, pointing out that Ross has done some good things on the defensive end. "And its not about Terrence Ross, its about our entire team," the coach added. "The spotlight should not be on him in any way whatsoever. The reason why we win or lose is not because of what Terrence Ross did or didnt do." ' ' '