SUNDAY SPORTS
Michael Grabner’s team-leading eighth goal 6:32 into the game set the tone as the Rangers cruised to a 4-1 win over the Flames in Calgary. In just 15 games, Grabner is one shy of the nine goals he scored last year with the Maple Leafs in 80 games.
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Carey Price is still on top. Price made 24 saves as the Canadiens shut out Jimmy Howard and the Red Wings 5-0 at Bell Centre. Howard and Price entered the game as the NHL’s two best goaltenders. Howard’s league-best .961 save percentage was slightly better than Price’s .953 at the start of the encounter. Howard gave up five goals on 25 shots before being replaced at the start of the third period.
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Another tough night on the road for Toronto. Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist as the Penguins beat the Maple Leafs 4-1. Zach Hyman scored for the Leafs and Frederik Anderson had 45 saves in his second start in two nights. Toronto has won just once in its last eight on the road.
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Battling the elements, adversity, and their own mistakes, the Saskatoon Hilltops prevailed in Saturday’s Canadian Bowl championship, beating the BC champion Westshore Rebels 37-25. It was the third year in a row the Hilltops finished the year as Canadian champions, and was the 19th Canadian championship for the team.
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DeMar DeRozan and the Raptors showed they have no issue playing in back-to-backs. One night after beating the Hornets in Charlotte, Toronto returned home and beat the Knicks 118-107 at Air Canada Centre. DeRozan scored 33 points – the eighth time in nine games this season he’s gone over the 30-point mark.
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Conor McGregor raised his arms in triumph before he stepped inside the cage, the cocky Irishman playing to a crowd going wild for UFC’s greatest champion.
McGregor ran a circle around the mat, a victory lap of sorts before he even threw a punch. McGregor packed fans to the Madison Square Garden rafters and drove them into a frenzy as he packed a vicious punch against Eddie Alvarez.
McGregor used a brash and brilliant performance to knock out the overwhelmed Alvarez in the second round to win the UFC lightweight title Saturday in the main event of UFC 205 on a record night.
He dubbed himself this week the King of New York.
Now, he’s been crowned a two-class champ.
“What’s next for me,” McGregor bellowed inside the cage.
The easy answer: Whatever the “Notorious” one wants.
McGregor dominated from the opening bell of the biggest card in UFC history – on pace to set an MMA pay-per-view record – and the sold-out crowd of 20,427 loaded with A-listers from Madonna to Hugh Jackman went wild with each punishing blow.
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Sweden’s Niklas Edin will try and make it two for two on this season’s Grand Slam of Curling calendar.
Edin beat Matt Nichols and Team Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., 6-4 on Saturday in the Tour Challenge men’s semifinal.
Nichols, skipping in place of Brad Gushue while he recovers from hip surgery, led 4-3 through seven ends after scoring a single, but Edin responded with three points in the eighth to pull off the victory.
Edin will go for his second title of the season on Sunday when he faces Scotland’s Kyle Smith in the championship draw.
Smith needed an extra end to defeat Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud 6-5 in the other men’s semi.
Edin won the first stop on the Grand Slam tour in October, beating Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., at the Masters.
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Minnesota Vikings cornerback Captain Munnerlyn has been downgraded to out for today’s game against the Washington Redskins because of an ankle injury. Munnerlyn practiced on a limited basis Friday in hopes of being able to play.
(With files from the Canadian Press, SaskNow.ca)
