MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Andy Roddick overcame a slow start
before serving 32 aces to beat Robin Haase 2-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 and
move into the fourth round of the Australian Open. Seven-time Grand
Slam winner Justine Henin (EH'-nihn) has been eliminated in the
third round, losing 6-4, 7-6 to Svetlana Kuznetsova (svet-LAH'-nah
kooz-NET'-so-vah).
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) - New York Jets linebacker Jason Taylor
has returned to practice on a limited basis, and wide receiver-kick
returner Brad Smith is expected to play in the AFC championship
game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Taylor sat out practice
Wednesday while recovering from a concussion, but was back
yesterday.
DENVER (AP) - Pekka Rinne (PEH'-kuh RIH'-nuh) stopped 32 shots
to lift the Nashville Predators to a 5-1 win over a Colorado
Avalanche squad that learned hours earlier that forward Tomas
Fleischmann would be out for the rest of the season with blood
clots in his lungs. The Predators have won nine of 11.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Martin Brodeur (mar-TAN' broh-DYOOR') and
the suddenly revived New Jersey Devils took advantage of the
absence of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to shut out the
Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0. Brodeur had a a relatively easy night,
stopping 23 shots in posting his fourth shutout of the season and
114th of his career.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Former ESPN announcer Ron Franklin is suing
the network over his firing for reportedly berating a female
colleague, Jeannine Edwards. The wrongful termination lawsuit filed
in Franklin's hometown of Austin claims ESPN had no grounds for
dismissing him, but a spokesman says the network acted
appropriately in firing the 68-year-old Franklin.
