Associated Press
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. ó Making one bold declaration after another, Rex Ryan gave his vision for the New York Jets: a Super Bowl trophy and a White House visit.
“With all the cameras and all that, I was looking for our new president back there,” Ryan said with a big, bright smile Wednesday, moments after being introduced as the team’s head coach.
“You know,” he added, “I think we’ll get to meet him in the next couple years anyway.”
Whoa! Talk about putting pressure on yourself. After all, this is a franchise that hasn’t been to a Super Bowl since his father, Buddy, was an assistant on the 1969 champions.
“I’m not afraid of expectations,” the 46-year-old Ryan said. “My goal is to win a Super Bowl. It’s not to just win X number of games.”
NHL
TORONTO ó Michael Ryder beat Vesa Toskala with a high wrist shot in the fourth round of a shootout to give the Boston Bruins a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
Blake Wheeler and Martin St. Pierre also scored for Boston in the shootout.
Devils 5, Canadiens 2
NEWARK, N.J. ó Paul Martin scored on a breakaway goal and added an assist in New Jersey’s fifth straight victory.
Flyers 5, Thrashers 3
PHILADELPHIA ó Antero Niittymaki made 28 saves to improve to 12-0 against Atlanta, and Mike Knuble scored twice for Philadelphia.
Niittymaki is one of only two active goalies with a perfect mark in at least 10 decisions against one team. Detroit’s Chris Osgood is 17-0 against Tampa Bay.
Stars 4, Panthers 1
SUNRISE, Fla. ó Mike Ribeiro had his first NHL hat trick, Mike Modano also scored, and Marty Turco made 27 saves for Dallas.
Islanders 2, Ducks 1
UNIONDALE, N.Y. ó Yann Danis made 39 saves, and Kyle Okposo and Kurtis McLean scored to help New York snap an eight-game losing streak.
Lightning 5, Sabres 3
TAMPA, Fla. ó Steve Eminger and Steve Downie scored 34 seconds apart early in the first period, leading Tampa Bay to its fifth victory in seven games.
TENNIS
MELBOURNE, Australia ó Serena Williams ignored pain and frustration to reach the third round of the Australian Open with a straight sets win over Gisela Dulko.
Olympic champion Elena Dementieva improved her 2009 winning streak to 12 matches with 6-4, 6-1 win over Iveta Benesova.
Amelie Mauresmo, who won here and at Wimbledon in 2006, rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Britain’s Elena Baltacha.
No. 6 Gilles Simon of France won the opening match on center court at Melbourne Park, beating Australian Chris Guccione 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
For the first time in six years, Amer Delic is still in contention after two rounds. The 26-year-old Bosnian-born American got a place in the main draw as a lucky loser and knocked off No. 28-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu.