CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- South Africa beat Australia 28-8 to retain hope of wrestling the Rugby Championship title away from New Zealand, although the Springboks were ruing missing out on a possibly valuable four-try bonus point. South Africa scored 23 unanswered points in the first half after an early Wallabies penalty, but couldnt maintain that momentum at Newlands. Hooker Adriaan Strauss and fullback Zane Kirchner went over for tries inside 15 minutes against a creaking Wallabies defence and South Africa led 23-3 after 32 minutes. Yet wing Willie le Roux crossed for the third try and South Africas next points only in the 72nd and despite scrambling desperately at the end, the home team didnt find the fourth try that might have boosted its title chances. World champion New Zealand played Argentina late Saturday, after which the Springboks would know what they need to do when the two top-ranked teams meet at Johannesburgs Ellis Park in a mouthwatering tournament decider next weekend. For most of the second half at Newlands, a battling Australia, outplayed almost everywhere, held up the South Africans while never threatening to stop a losing run at the Cape Town ground that dates to 1992. The Wallabies then pounced for a late consolation score when a cross-kick found debutant Chris Feauai-Sautia free on the left flank to touch down in the 78th -- over 70 minutes after the Australians first points. South Africas players also didnt celebrate the victory as eagerly as they might have despite successive wins over Australia to win the Nelson Mandela Plate. Morne Steyn kicked 13 points in his 50th test for the Boks, who controlled the entire first half and most of the match. Strauss, starting in place of Bismarck du Plessis, powered over in the 13th minute from a succession of forward drives, and Kirchner cruised in two minutes later in a sweeping backline move from deep in their half as South Africa shrugged off Christian Lealiifanos seventh-minute penalty. But in a subdued second 40, and hampered maybe by the sin-binning of lock Flip van der Merwe right on halftime and a later yellow card to No. 8 Duane Vermeulen, South Africa never hit top gear again and the Wallabies won back some respect despite sinking to a sixth straight defeat at Newlands and a fourth loss out of five in the Rugby Championship under struggling new coach Ewen McKenzie. Australia also had two players sent to the sin-bin. . -- The Orlando Magic finally are showing the patience in critical moments that coach Jacque Vaughn has been waiting for all season. . Zimmermann became the National Leagues first 16-game winner, pitching seven solid innings to lead the Washington Nationals past the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 Wednesday night.
http://www.bruinsauthority.com/authenti ... ersey/.com) - On the bright side, either the Minnesota Wild or Buffalo Sabres will end their losing streak on Thursday night. . -- The Sacramento Kings have claimed forward Travis Outlaw off waivers under the NBAs new amnesty provision, filling out the frontcourt with another veteran. .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York.Most Senators fans are still reeling from Saturday nights epic collapse against the Montreal Canadiens, when their team became the first in NHL history to lose a game in which they had a three-goal lead in the final five minutes. The loss was painful on so many levels and seemed to put a definitive nail in the coffin when it came to the Senators playoff chances. And while its easy to point to that loss as the one that killed the teams post-season hopes, it was merely the final straw in a season-long string of disappointments. That collapse against Montreal was spectacular and historic (for the wrong reasons), but it wasnt an anomaly when it comes to the 2013-14 Ottawa Senators. On too many occasions this season, this team squandered opportunities to get two points – either settling for one or being blanked altogether. Here is a look at the 10 games that will likely cost the Senators a playoff spot this season: 1) October 5th – 5-4 shootout loss at TOR Just 24 hours after shutting out the Buffalo Sabres in the season opener, the Senators jumped out to a 4-2 lead against the Maple Leafs midway through the second period. But with time running out in that frame, Joffrey Lupul scored a goal to pull the Leafs to within one goal heading into the third period. And in what would become an eerie preview of what to expect defensively throughout the season, the Senators would allow the Leafs to tie the game – and then win it in a shootout. 2) November 1st – 5-4 shootout loss vs NYI The Senators managed to blow a two-goal lead twice in this game, squandering 2-0 and 4-2 advantages. And knowing what we know about the 2013-14 New York Islanders now, this loss looks even more ridiculous in hindsight. Adding to the lunacy of this night was the fact the Senators surrendered 57 shots on goal to New York. Thats not a typo. 3) December 10th – 2-1 shootout loss at BUF Granted, the Senators played the night before and beat the Philadelphia Flyers in a spirited shootout on home ice. But the Sens looked pretty average against the NHLs worst team the very next night and managed to score only a single goal. The offensive malaise even extended into the shootout, which required 10 rounds before the Sabres eventually won it. 4) December 19th – 4-2 loss vs FLA This was another costly loss to an Eastern Conference lightweight – only it was more damaging because it occurred in regulation time. The Senators led this game 2-1 after the first period and should have been sparked by a brilliant highlight reel goal from Jason Spezza. Instead, the Panthers scored twice in the final 2:32 of the game to stun the Sens with a 4-2 victory. Ottawa was on the power play with a chance to tie the game in the final 90 seconds, but allowed a 2-on-1 the other way and Tomas Kopecky buried them with a shorthanded goal. 55) December 21st – 4-3 overtime loss vs PHX Former Senator Antoine Vermette killed the Senators in this matinee game, as he scored a hat trick – which was capped off with the overtime winner.dddddddddddd The Senators actually held a 2-0 lead in this game and also had a 3-2 advantage with under three minutes to play in the third period. This game may have been the best microcosm for the Sens penchant for sloppiness in afternoon games. 6) January 8th – 4-3 overtime loss at COL Once again, the Senators were less than three minutes away from a regulation time victory, only to have disaster strike. Paul Stastny scored the tying goal with just over two minutes left and then Tyson Barrie scored the overtime winner 33 seconds into the extra frame. The Sens allowed two goals in the span of about three minutes with the game on the line. Instead of skating out of Denver with two points, they had to settle for just one. 7) January 16th – 5-4 overtime loss vs MTL You can actually make a sound argument that the Senators were fortunate to take one point out of this game, considering the Habs jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. But Ottawa fought back with four straight goals and appeared to be in complete command of this game – until Jared Cowen accidentally put the puck into his own net after Craig Anderson stopped Tomas Plekanec on a breakaway. PK Subban then scored just 23 seconds into overtime, with a celebration that seemed to irk the Sens. Sadly, this was not the most painful 5-4 overtime loss they would endure against the Habs this season. 8) February 1st – 6-3 loss at TOR In a case of déjà vu, the Senators once again found themselves with a two-goal lead at the Air Canada Centre – only to watch it evaporate quickly. The Senators had a 2-0 lead, but Toronto tied the game in the second period, thanks in large part to a controversial play. Nazem Kadri drilled Sens defenseman Cody Ceci behind the net with a hit that many felt was illegal, but play went right on and Kadri took the puck and set up Joffrey Lupul for the tying goal. The Sens never seemed to recover from that turn of events and the Leafs scored four times in the third period to beat Ottawa. 9) March 4th – 3-2 loss at EDM Like every other game on this list, the Senators held the lead – jumping out 1-0 early thanks to a Jason Spezza goal. Fresh off a win at the Heritage Classic in Vancouver two days earlier, the Senators should have had some momentum for this game against the lowly Oilers. Instead – in what turned out to be a damn good audition before the trade deadline – Ales Hemsky scored twice to pace the Oilers to a 3-2 victory. 10) March 15th – 5-4 overtime loss at MTL Its still a little too soon to talk about this game. ' ' '
