AP - Rick DiPietro made 33 saves, and Robert Nilsson scored to snap a second-period tie to help the New York Islanders end a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.

AP - Japan's victory 10-6 over Cuba in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic drew a 1.8 rating, bumping up ESPN's average rating for the 12 games it aired to 1.1.

AP - Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun remembers it vividly.

AP - Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun remembers it vividly.

AP - It should have been the crowning moment in one of Lee Melchionni's best games in weeks. Instead, he had to fend off ridicule from his teammates.

AP - When Colorado needed him most, there was Joe Sakic, scoring, passing and playing with a zeal that gave his teammates a boost. Sakic had two goals and two assists and the Avalanche defeated Los Angeles 5-0 Monday night to avoid a first-ever season sweep by the Kings.

AP - Olli Jokinen scored on a breakaway with 1:44 left in overtime, lifting the Florida Panthers to a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night.

AFP - ) - Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho accused Fulham's players of influencing the referee after watching his side crash to their third defeat of the season at Craven Cottage.

AP - Top-seeded Villanova had everything going its way, building a 12-point lead while the hometown crowd cheered and former coach Rollie Massimino looked on proudly.

AP - Aya Traore had 20 points and a career-high 11 rebounds and Erin Lawless scored a season-best 19 points to help Purdue beat Missouri State 73-52 in the first round of the NCAA women's tournament on Sunday.

AFP - Australian Prime Minister John Howard's Liberal Party was defeated at the weekend in two state elections where Labor governments held on to power.

AP - Washington Nationals reliever Luis Ayala, who faced only one batter in his final appearance in the World Baseball Classic, will have reconstructive surgery on his right elbow and is expected to miss the entire season.

AP - Jermaine Wallace hit a fadeaway 3-pointer with a split second left, and little Northwestern State pulled off a shocker with a furious rally, beating Iowa 64-63 Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

AP - The Big East is off to a dismal start in the NCAA tournament. After all the hype surrounding the league placing a record eight teams in the field of 65, three are already headed home.

AP - So much for this being an upset special. Behind 28 points by Brandon Roy, fifth-seeded Washington defeated Utah State 75-61 Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

A move to honour Jane Fonda for charity work is defeated because of her opposition to the Vietnam War.

AP - The UEFA Cup, already a distant second in stature to the Champions League, lost two of its top-name clubs on Thursday.

AP - Jane Fonda's 1972 trip to North Vietnam is haunting her again. The Georgia Senate on Thursday nearly unanimously defeated a resolution that would have honored the actress' charity work in the state.

AP - Joyous Cuban fans celebrated Thursday, a day after their team's big win in the World Baseball Classic sent some of them rushing into the streets with shouts and song.

Reuters - Chauncey Billups had 26 points and 10 assists as the league-leading Detroit Pistons defeated the Toronto Raptors 105-98 in the NBA Wednesday at the Air Canada Center.