Associated Press
RALEIGH ó Cam Ward stopped 28 shots in his fifth shutout of the season and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 3-0 on Monday night to match a season high with their fourth straight victory.
This one was most fulfilling, coach Paul Maurice said, because it came against a fellow playoff contender and was in doubt for much longer than a 9-3 rout of last-place Tampa Bay.”This game was a lot more fun to coach, and I think if you went around the room, it’s a lot more satisfying,” Maurice said. “It’s the difference between potato chips and steak.”
Joe Corvo and Rod Brind’Amour scored, and Tuomo Ruutu added an empty-netter for the Hurricanes, who jumped from ninth in the Eastern Conference into a tie for fifth with Montreal at 77 points in the crowded playoff chase.
“It was a playoff game, in our eyes,” Ward said. “Look at the standings. Everybody knows what’s at stake.”
* OTTAWA ó Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley had second-period goals in Ottawa’s 2-1 win over Toronto.
* MONTREAL ó Guy Carbonneau was fired as coach of the struggling Canadiens, hockey’s most historic franchise that is in danger of missing the playoffs in its 100th season.
* DALLAS ó The Stars have signed center Brian Sutherby to a two-year contract worth $1.6 million.
* NAPLES, Fla. ó NHL Players’ Association chief Paul Kelly urged the league’s general managers to adopt a ban against intentional hits to the head.
Kelly proposed a rule that would give referees the ability to immediately punish players who deliberately target the heads of opponents. Now, those hits are mostly handled with supplemental discipline by the league.
* SAN JOSE, Calif. ó Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov and defenseman Rob Blake will miss both games on an upcoming road trip because of injuries.
MAJOR LEAGUES
TAMPA, Fla. ó Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez underwent arthroscopic surgery Monday to repair torn cartilage in his right hip, and doctors said they found nothing that would keep him from returning to the lineup in May.
“The surgery went exactly as we planned,” said Dr. Marc Philippon, who performed the 80-minute procedure at Vail Valley Surgery Center in Colorado. “No surprises.”
Other options considered were a more aggressive surgery that would have sidelined Rodriguez up to four months or a conservative approach of rest and treatment.
“There is no doubt in our minds that this was the best option,” Philippon said. “This was the best option for Alex and the Yankees.”
* PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. ó Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer has been hampered by back pain, hurting his rehab from offseason kidney surgery. He will undergo a magnetic resonance arthogram today.
* NEW YORK ó Manny Ramirez’s money from his new $45 million, two-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers won’t be fully paid until June 2013, according to contract details obtained by The Associated Press.
Ramirez gets a $25 million salary this year, but just $10 million is paid up front. The rest is due in $5 million installments each June 30 in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
WBC
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico ó Yadier Molina’s go-ahead double keyed a three-run rally in the eighth inning, and Puerto Rico beat a pesky Netherlands team 3-1 to advance to the second round of the World Baseball Classic.
* TOKYO ó Kim Tae-kyun drove in the only run to help South Korea beat defending champion Japan 1-0 and finish first in Pool A of the World Baseball Classic. Both teams had already advanced to the second round.
* TORONTO ó Chris Denorfia went 4-for-4 with three doubles, Alex Liddi drove in two runs and Italy eliminated Canada from the World Baseball Classic by beating the Group C hosts 6-2.
It was a quick and disappointing tournament exit for the Canadians, who featured a lineup that included major league stars Jason Bay, Russell Martin and Morneau.
* TORONTO ó Chipper Jones will take at least five days off to recover from a mild strain on his right side, and the Atlanta third baseman hopes to return to the United States’ lineup in the second round of the World Baseball Classic.
“You couldn’t get me away from here with a crowbar,” Jones said.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BOONE ó Two Appalachian State players have been arrested on assault and burglary charges, though details of the incident haven’t been released.
Watauga County district attorney’s officials said Travis Dowda and Robert Simpkins also are charged with property damage.
Athletic department spokesman Mike Flynn said Dowda, a junior defensive back, has been suspended indefinitely from the team. He said Simpkins, a senior tight end, finished his final season last year.
* JACKSON, Miss. ó A Mississippi football signee with a history of legal trouble faces an uncertain future after he was arrested on charges he assaulted a man at a McDonald’s drive-through with brass knuckles.
Starkville police arrested Jamar Hornsby on March 1 and charged him with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor petit larceny after he and two other men allegedly assaulted the man.
The 22-year-old Hornsby is on probation after taking a plea deal in a misdemeanor credit card fraud case that occurred while he was on the University of Florida football team. Hornsby signed a national letter of intent with the Rebels in February, but his future with the team is now uncertain.
NFL
CLEVELAND ó The Browns signed cornerback Hank Poteat, who had two interceptions, a sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery last season for the New York Jets.
* RENTON, Wash. ó The Seattle Seahawks have re-signed offensive lineman Ray Willis and signed free agent tight end John Owens.
* ALLEN PARK, Mich. ó The Detroit Lions signed linebacker Cody Spencer and re-signed running back Aveion Cason to one-year contracts.
* TAMPA, Fla. ó Authorities say the girlfriend of Buccaneers linebacker Geno Hayes stabbed him in the head and in the neck.
A Hillsborough County Sheriff’s spokeswoman says Hayes was taken to a hospital by a friend Saturday. The 21-year-old former Florida State player was treated and later released.
* PHILADELPHIA ó The Eagles re-signed linebacker Tank Daniels to a one-year contract.
* GREEN BAY, Wis. ó The Packers signed safety Anthony Smith, their first free-agent deal of the offseason. Smith spent his first three seasons in Pittsburgh.
* JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ó The Jaguars signed three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tra Thomas to a three-year contract.
* CARLSBAD, Calif. ó Charlie Joiner received a replica bronze bust from the Pro Football Hall of Fame to replace the one destroyed when his home burned in a wildfire in 2007.
TENNIS
NEW YORK ó Maria Sharapova is returning to the WTA Tour this week, ending her injury absence of more than seven months by playing doubles at an event in Indian Wells, Calif.
Sharapova, who missed the last two Grand Slam tournaments with a right shoulder injury, will compete in doubles for the first time in nearly four years, teaming with Elena Vesnina.
GOLF
SAN DIEGO ó Torrey Pines Golf Course will host an LPGA Tour event for the first time in 27 years under an agreement to hold the Samsung World Championship in September.
RACING
MIAMI ó To this day, Helio Castroneves hasn’t seen a single dime of $5 million in licensing money he was promised under a 1999 contract with Penske Racing. It’s either been parked at Penske or is still idling in a Dutch investment account.
But the Internal Revenue Service says Castroneves owes U.S. income taxes on the money anyway, contending the 33-year-old driver can’t avoid tax by simply refusing cash to which he’s entitled. A complex concept known as “constructive receipt” is at the heart of the prosecution’s case against Castroneves.
Testimony resumes today in the tax trial of Castroneves, his business-manager sister Katiucia Castroneves ó both originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil ó and his lawyer Alan Miller of Birmingham, Mich. All are charged in a seven-count federal indictment with conspiracy and tax evasion from 1999 to 2004.
SOCCER
NEW YORK ó David Beckham tops Major League Soccer’s salary list again at $6.5 million ó more than 43 times the league’s average ó even though he’ll remain on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy to AC Milan until midseason.
Beckham’s guaranteed income dwarfs the league average, which rose 14 percent to $147,945 from the start of last season.