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2B – Daily News – Friday, January 8, 2010 NFL PLAYOFFS Wild-card Playoffs Saturday, Jan. 9 N.Y. Jets at Cincinnati, 1:30 p.m. (NBC) Philadelphia at Dallas, 5 p.m. (NBC) Sunday, Jan. 10 Baltimore at New England, 10 a.m. (CBS) Green Bay at Arizona, 1:40 p.m. (FOX) Divisional Playoffs Saturday, Jan. 16 Philadelphia, Green Bay or Arizona at New Orleans, 1:30 p.m. (FOX) Baltimore, N.Y. Jets or Cincinnati at Indi- anapolis, 5:15 p.m. (CBS) Sunday, Jan. 17 Dallas, Green Bay or Arizona at Minneso- ta, 10 a.m. (FOX) New England, N.Y. Jets or Cincinnati at San Diego, 1:40 p.m. (CBS) Conference Championships Sunday, Jan. 24 AFC, noon (CBS) NFC, 3:40 p.m. (FOX) Pro Bowl Sunday, Jan. 31 At Miami AFC vs. NFC, 4:20 p.m. (ESPN) Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7 At Miami NFC champion vs. AFC champion, 3:25 p.m. (CBS) NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB Boston 25 8 .758 — Toronto 18 18 .5008 1/2 New York 15 20 .429 11 Philadelphia 10 24 .29415 1/2 New Jersey 3 32 .086 23 Southeast Division W L Pct GB Orlando 24 11 .686 — Atlanta 22 12 .6471 1/2 Miami 17 16 .515 6 Charlotte 15 19 .4418 1/2 Washington 11 22 .333 12 Central Division W L Pct GB Cleveland 28 9 .757 — Milwaukee 14 18 .43811 1/2 Chicago 14 19 .424 12 Detroit 11 23 .32415 1/2 Indiana 11 23 .32415 1/2 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct GB Dallas 24 11 .686 — San Antonio21 12 .636 2 Houston 20 16 .5564 1/2 New Orleans17 16 .515 6 Memphis 17 17 .5006 1/2 Northwest Division W L Pct GB Denver 22 13 .629 — Portland 22 15 .595 1 Oklahoma City 19 16 .543 3 Utah 19 16 .543 3 Minnesota 7 29 .19415 1/2 Pacific Division W L Pct GB L.A. Lakers 28 7 .800 — Phoenix 23 13 .6395 1/2 L.A. Clippers16 18 .47111 1/2 Sacramento 14 20 .41213 1/2 Golden State10 24 .29417 1/2 ——— Wednesday's Games Cleveland 121, Washington 98 Atlanta 119, New Jersey 89 Toronto 108, Orlando 103 Boston 112, Miami 106, OT New Orleans 97, Oklahoma City 92 Golden State 107, Minnesota 101 San Antonio 112, Detroit 92 Phoenix 118, Houston 110 Utah 117, Memphis 94 L.A. Clippers 102, L.A. Lakers 91 Thursday's Games New York 97, Charlotte 93 Friday's Games Toronto at Philadelphia, 3 p.m. Orlando at Washington, 3 p.m. Indiana at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Boston at Atlanta, 5 p.m. Utah at Memphis, 5 p.m. New Jersey at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Dallas at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Chicago at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m. Miami at Phoenix, 6 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Portland, 7 p.m. Sacramento at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Cleveland at Denver, 7:30 p.m. Saturday's Games Memphis at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Atlanta at Orlando, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Minnesota at Chicago, 5 p.m. Indiana at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. New York at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Utah at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Denver at Sacramento, 7 p.m. National Hockey League At A Glance By The Associated Press All Times EST EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA New Jersey 41 30 10 1 61 12289 Pittsburgh 45 27 17 1 55 142 125 N.Y. Rangers44 21 17 6 48 117 121 Philadelphia 43 21 19 3 45 130 124 N.Y. Islanders4418 18 8 44 110 136 Northeast Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Buffalo 42 27 11 4 58 11796 Boston 43 22 14 7 51 113 104 Ottawa 44 22 18 4 48 125 134 Montreal 46 22 21 3 47 118 124 Toronto 44 15 20 9 39 120 153 Southeast Division GP W L OT Pts Washington 43 26 11 6 58 Atlanta 43 19 18 6 44 Tampa Bay 42 16 16 10 42 Florida 44 17 20 7 41 Carolina 42 11 24 7 29 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts Chicago 44 31 10 3 65 Nashville 44 26 15 3 55 Detroit 42 21 15 6 48 St. Louis 42 17 18 7 41 Columbus 44 15 20 9 39 Northwest Division GP W L OT Pts Calgary 43 25 13 5 55 Colorado 44 24 14 6 54 Vancouver 43 26 16 1 53 Minnesota 44 21 20 3 45 Edmonton 43 16 22 5 37 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts San Jose 44 28 9 7 63 Phoenix 44 26 14 4 56 Los Angeles43 25 15 3 53 Dallas 43 18 14 11 47 Anaheim 43 17 19 7 41 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Wednesday's Games Buffalo 5, Tampa Bay 3 N.Y. Rangers 5, Dallas 2 Philadelphia 6, Toronto 2 Minnesota 4, Calgary 1 N.Y. Islanders 3, Colorado 2 San Jose 2, St. Louis 1, OT Thursday's Games Atlanta 2, N.Y. Rangers 1, SO Washington 5, Ottawa 2 Chicago 5, Boston 2 Philadelphia 7, Pittsburgh 4 Montreal 2, Florida 0 Nashville 4, Carolina 2 Columbus at Edmonton, late Phoenix at Vancouver, late St. Louis at Anaheim, late Detroit at Los Angeles, late Friday's Games Tampa Bay at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Colorado at Carolina, 4 p.m. Toronto at Buffalo, 4:30 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Columbus at Calgary, 6 p.m. Saturday's Games N.Y. Rangers at Boston, 10 a.m. Washington at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh at Toronto, 4 p.m. Colorado at Buffalo, 4 p.m. New Jersey at Montreal, 4 p.m. Florida at Ottawa, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Chicago at Minnesota, 5 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Phoenix, 5 p.m. Anaheim at Nashville, 5 p.m. Calgary at Vancouver, 7 p.m. St. Louis at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Detroit at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. TRANSACTIONS By The Associated Press BASEBALL American League BALTIMORE ORIOLES—Named Richie Hebner hitting coach and Greg Grall bat- ting practice-bullpen coach of Norfolk (IL); Kennie Steenstra pitching coach of Bowie (EL); Denny Hocking coach of Orlando (FSL); Ryan Minor manager, Troy Mattes pitching coach and Mike Devereaux coach of Delmarva (SAL); Leo Gomez coach of Bluefield (Appalachian); Milt May coach of the Orioles (GCL); Miguel Jabalera man- ager, Robert Perez pitching coach, Benny Adames coach, Ramon Lubo catching coach and Evaristo Mercedes trainer of Orioles Team 1 (Dominican); Elvis Morel manager, Dionis Pascual pitching coach and Ruben Francisco coach of the Orioles Team 2 (Dominican); Mike Bordick minor league offensive instructor; Bobby Dicker- son Dominican Republic infield and field coordinator and Jake Parker minor league equipment manager. BOSTON RED SOX—Traded 1B Casey Kotchman to Seattle for UT Bill Hall, a player to be named and cash. Agreed to terms with 3B Adrian Beltre on a one-year contract. KANSAS CITY ROYALS—Agreed to terms with LHP Noel Arguelles on a five- year contract. NEW YORK YANKEES—Agreed to terms with RHP Sergio Mitre on a one-year con- tract. OAKLAND ATHLETICS—Agreed to terms with DH Jack Cust on a one-year contract. TEXAS RANGERS—Named Bill Hasel- man manager of Bakersfield (Cal). Agreed to terms with INF Matt Brown on a minor league contract. TORONTO BLUE JAYS—Claimed INF Brian Bocock off waivers from San Fran- cisco. National League PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES—Agreed to terms with INF Ozzie Chavez, C Kevin Nelson, C Dane Sardinha, C John Suomi, RHP Ryan Vogelsong and RHP Ehren Wasserman on minor league contracts. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS—Agreed to terms with OF Matt Holliday on a seven- year contract. SAN DIEGO PADRES—Agreed to terms with RHP Mark Worrell on a minor-league contract. FOOTBALL National Football League NEW YORK JETS—Signed LB Ezra But- ler, P T.J. Conley, LB Joshua Mauga and WR Larry Taylor to futures contracts. PITTSBURGH STEELERS—Fired spe- cial teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky. Signed RB Isaac Redman, TE Eugene Bright, WR Jason Chery, S Tuff Harris, DT Steve McClendon, RB Justin Vincent, CB Trae Williams, DT Scott Paxson, PK Piotr Czech. HOCKEY National Hockey League CAROLINA HURRICANES—Recalled F Jerome Samson from Albany (AHL). COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS—Assigned C Derek MacKenzie to Syracuse (AHL). DALLAS STARS—Recalled C Warren Peters from Texas (AHL). DETROIT RED WINGS—Assigned LW Mattias Ritola to Grand Rapids (AHL). NASHVILLE PREDATORS—Recalled F Ben Guite from Milwaukee (AHL). PHOENIX COYOTES—Activated F Daniel Winnik from injured reserve. Placed F Scottie Upshall on injured reserve, retroactive to Jan. 2. ST. LOUIS BLUES—Assigned G Ben Bishop to Peoria (AHL). SOCCER Major League Soccer COLUMBUS CREW—Re-signed D Jed Zayner to a four-year contract. NEW YORK RED BULLS—Named Hans Backe coach and Jeremy Holsopple strength and conditioning coach. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES—Named Mark Watson assistant coach. COLLEGE ARMY—Named Leo Cullen men's assis- tant soccer coach. MASSACHUSETTS—Named Ed Matz women's soccer coach. MISSISSIPPI—Announced QB Jevan Snead will enter the NFL draft. NEVADA—Named Andy Buh defensive coordinator. NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS—Named Ed Rifilato defensive coordinator. NOTRE DAME—Named Bob Diaco defensive coordinator and Charley Molnar offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. RICHMOND—Announced sophomore QB Aaron Corp has transferred from Southern Cal. SAM HOUSTON STATE—Named Jeff Conway assistant football coach. SOUTH FLORIDA—Announced DE Jason Pierre-Paul will enter the NFL draft. VIRGINIA—Named Jim Reid defensive coordinator and associate head coach. VIRGINIA TECH—Announced DE Jason Worilds will enter the NFL draft. Scoreboard Scoreboard Heatley gives Sharks overtime win SAN JOSE (AP) — A tired Dany Heatley sprinted into action once he had the puck on his stick and an open lane to the net. Heatley scored on a breakaway at 4:06 of overtime to give the San Jose Sharks a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night. ''I was surprised Dany was able to pull away,'' Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. ''He was tired and at the back end of a shift. We were actually trying to get him off.'' San Jose's Patrick Marleau tied it with a power-play goal with 7:09 left in regulation, and Evgeni Nabokov made 28 saves. Tied for the NHL lead with Chicago with 63 points, the Sharks have won nine of their last 10 games. ''He got rewarded for blocking a shot,'' Nabokov said about Heat- ley's winner. ''He was tired too, but he did a good job. I got excited and thought, 'There he goes, he's got the breakaway.' Those guys play us hard every single game but we stayed with it.'' Andy McDonald scored in his fourth straight game for the Blues, who lost their sixth straight and sec- ond since interim coach Davis Payne took over Saturday following Andy Murray's firing. Mason made a season-high 42 saves for St. Louis. ''We played with a lot more structure and came out strong,'' McDonald said. ''They scored on a power play on a penalty on myself and that's a hard pill to swallow.'' Heatley blocked McDonald's shot to start the winning sequence. He got a step on a pair of Blues' defenders and beat Mason. ''I was going to wait and see after I got a lit- tle step on the guys,'' Heatley said. ''I played with Mason last year in the world champi- onships so he knows my game. It was more of a split-second deci- sion on the shot.'' The Blues were miss- ing two of their top offensive stars in Keith Tkachuk and Paul Kariya, two noted Sharks' killers. Tkachuk remained at home following his mishap with broken teeth in the Blues' 6-3 loss to Chicago on Sat- urday. Kariya, who missed his fourth game because of concussion-like symptoms, skated during the pregame but wasn't well enough to play. Tkachuk has 33 career goals against the Sharks, his second-most (34 vs. the Blackhawks) against any team. Kariya has 60 points against San Jose, his fourth-highest total against any team. McDonald, who scored his 14th goal, helped his own cause. He was pushed into Nabokov during the power play and they both went to the ice. McDonald got up faster and took advantage to slip the puck into the net against a defenseman with 13:15 remaining in the second peri- od. ''I think we made some progress,'' Payne said. ''I though all four lines, all six defensemen and Chris Mason played a heck of a game.'' Blues defenseman Barret Jack- man saved a goal by pouncing on the puck and using his glove to bring it back from near the line. Marleau's tying goal was set up when Ryan Clowe won the puck along the boards and dished out to Dan Boyle, who faked a shot before guiding it to Marleau, who fired the puck into the upper left corner for his 28th goal of the season. ''I was just trying to find a lane to the net,'' Marleau said. ''Torrey (Mitchell) did all the work up front to screen the goalie and get his stick up.'' Heatley then won it with his 25th of the season. ''He started pulling away with his breakaway speed and the rest of us were all on the board waiting for him to put it in,'' Marleau said. NOTES: Blues' C Alexander Steen has points in five of his last six games. ... Blues RW David Backes has four assists in his last three games. ... Boyle was hit in the face by a puck in the second period and was able to walk off the ice on his own. He returned to the bench for the third period. ... Marleau has scored goals in three straight games. ... Mason is 1-8-0-1 against the Sharks. ... Mitchell played in his 100th game. Warriors hang on to beat Timberwolves MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Monta Ellis emerged from the showers having played 83 out of a possible 96 minutes in less than 48 hours. So Monta, are you tired yet? ''Nope,'' Ellis replied with a shrug. ''Not really.'' The indefatigable Ellis had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 38 minutes as the Golden State Warriors snapped an eight-game road losing streak with a 107-101 victory over the Minnesota Timber- wolves on Wednesday night. Ellis entered the night lead- ing the league in minutes played at 41.6 per game. Despite play- ing 45 minutes in a loss to Den- ver the night before, Ellis found enough energy in his 24-year-old legs to rise up and tip in a missed 3-pointer by Anthony Morrow with 1:05 to go that put the game out of reach. ''It's not tough at all,'' Ellis said. ''That's what we do. We've got everybody back now. It's not like at the begin- ning of the season when we had a back-to-back and we only had six guys. We can sub now, back-to-backs are pretty much easy now.'' Corey Maggette had 28 points and Stephen Curry added 16 before fouling out for the Warriors, who had not won a road game since Dec. 9 at New Jersey. The Nets (3- 32) are the only team with a worse record than the War- riors (10-24) and Timberwolves (7-29). Al Jefferson had 26 points and 14 rebounds and Kevin Love and 23 points and 16 boards for the Wolves, who have lost five in a row. The Wolves trailed by 19 points early in the third peri- od before mounting a comeback, pulling within 98-95 with 2:09 to play. Love gave the Wolves a brief scare when he knocked knees with Maggette with 2:52 to play. He immediately went down, clutching his knee and had to be helped to the locker room. But Love it was only a bruise, and he returned to the game with 1:05 left, That was just a few seconds too late. With Love waiting to check in, Ellis sneaked in from the backside and no Timberwolves player blocked him out as he got the easy tip-in for a 102-95 lead. Looking to settle a score after a 41-point blowout at the hands of the Warriors in Oakland in November, the Tim- berwolves came out strong with two fast breaks by Corey Brewer for an 8-2 lead. But for some reason, the Wolves backcourt tried to go toe-to-toe with the Warriors super-quick tandem on the perimeter in the first half, producing disastrous results. Jonny Flynn turned the ball over four times in the first half and finished the game a woeful 1 for 11 from the floor. ''I couldn't throw the ball in the ocean tonight,'' Flynn said. ''It was just one of those nights.'' Ellis and Curry wreaked havoc with their quick hands and quicker cuts to the basket, igniting a 22-6 run that put the Warriors in control. Ellis had four steals and played every minute of the first quarter less than 24 hours after a disheartening loss in Denver. The Warriors led the Nuggets by one point late in the game when Denver shooting guard J.R. Smith launched a desperation heave from 40 feet at the buzzer. The shot was well off the mark, but Ellis was called for a questionable foul that put Smith at the line. Smith made two free throws, lifting the Nuggets to a 123-122 victory. ''That was quite the kick in the teeth for our ballclub last night the way we did,'' Warriors coach Don Nelson said. ''I'm pretty proud of them in the back-to-back, being able to have the energy to scratch out a win on the road.'' Golden State led 67-48 early in the third quarter before the Timberwolves finally recognized that they owned a decided advantage in the post. Jefferson scored eight points during a 13-0 spurt that cut Golden State's lead to 67-61 with 4 minutes to go in the third. But when Jefferson and Love, who both still are not in 100 percent game shape after missing significant time with injuries, went to the bench for a breather, the War- riors stunted Minnesota's momentum. ''That was one of the premises of what we wanted to do offensively was attack them inside,'' coach Kurt Ram- bis said. ''And clearly at the beginning of the ball game we weren't doing that. ... They weren't functioning offensive- ly the way they're capable of doing.'' A's to bring back Cust on $2.65M, 1-year deal OAKLAND (AP) — The Oakland Athletics have agreed to a $2.65 million, one-year con- tract to back Jack Cust, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hasn't made a formal announcement, which could come later Thurs- day. Cust is likely to be the club's designated hitter this season. Gen- eral manager Billy Beane has been commit- ted to upgrading Oak- land's lineup, and Cust provides some much- needed power in the middle of the order. He can earn an addi- tional $350,000 in per- formance bonuses and would get the full amount if he has 600 plate appearances. Cust became a free agent last month when the A's failed to offer him a 2010 contract. He hit .240 with 25 homers and 70 RBIs last season. But he also struck out 195 times, becoming the first player to lead in the AL in three straight sea- sons since Minnesota's Bobby Darwin from 1972-74. Cust struck out 164 times in 2007 and 197 times in 2008. The San Francisco Chronicle first reported Cust's impending deal. He had 26 homers in 2007 and 33 the follow- ing year, and has topped Oakland for three con- secutive seasons in homers, strikeouts and walks (93 last season). The 30-year-old Cust made $2.8 million last season and had been eli- gible for salary arbitra- tion. While Cust played 51 games in right field last season and 96 as DH, he is more likely to focus on hitting only with the other off- season acquisi- tions made by Oakland. He's also not strong defensively. The A's signed out- fielder Coco Crisp last month to be their center fielder, meaning Rajai Davis is expected to move to a corner spot. Oakland also was included in the big four- team, nine-player swap featuring Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay that brought outfielder Michael Taylor to the A's. Oakland sent third baseman Brett Wallace to Toronto. Beane acquired third baseman Jake Fox, sec- ond baseman Aaron Miles and cash consider- ations from the Chicago Cubs for three play- ers. Last week, the A's brought back r i g h t - h a n d e r Justin Duch- scherer on an i n c e n t i v e - l a d e n one-year contract after he missed all the 2009 season. Duchscherer underwent arthroscopic right elbow surgery on March 31 and later was treated for clinical depression. The A's finished with 75 wins for the second straight season and in last place in the AL West, losing their final seven games. Gannon won't offer more help to Raiders ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Rich Gannon won't be offering his help to the Oakland Raiders again any time soon. A day after the Raiders rebuffed an offer of help from their former quarterback, Gannon said on Sirius NFL Radio on Thursday that ''I won't make that call again.'' Gannon said on his show Wednesday that he had called team owner Al Davis to offer any help for the organization and struggling young quarterback JaMarcus Russell. The Raiders responded that Gannon was the one who needed help. Gannon won the 2002 league MVP for the Raiders, leading them to the Super Bowl that sea- son. Oakland has lost at least 11 games in all seven seasons since — the longest such streak in NFL history.