Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Rudy Gay scored 29 points to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 101-92 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday. Darren Collison had 16 points and six assists, while rookie Nik Stauskas broke out of a slump with 15 points and eight rebounds for the Kings, who are back above .500 again after dropping five of their last six games. Its about time something went in for me, Stauskas said. Its good to have a smile on my face and enjoy playing basketball again. Gordon Hayward finished with 19 points and seven helpers, while Alec Burks and Trey Burke scored 16 and 13 points, respectively, for Utah, which lost its ninth straight game. With the game tied at 68-68 heading into the final stanza, Burks two free throws gave Utah a brief lead before the Kings pulled away with a 12-0 run. Stauskas and Williams each provided five points during the spurt to make it an 80-70 game with 8:19 to go. Utah whittled the deficit down to three points twice, but Sacramento had an answer each time as Stauskas three-point play with just over three minutes to play gave the Kings enough of a cushion to hold on for the win. The Jazz used a 12-2 run, which was capped by Burkes jumper, to take a 19-4 lead with under five minutes to play in the opening stanza. Hayward knocked down a trey with 1.3 seconds remaining as the Jazz took a 31-23 lead into the second quarter. Stauskas jumper put the finishing touches on an 8-0 run that gave the Kings a 44-41 lead. Sacramento ended the half with back-to-back dunks courtesy of Gay and Ben McLemore for a 55-49 score heading into the break Utah got within a point after a pair of Burks free throws for a 60-59 game less than three minutes into the third and Rudy Gobert slammed his own rebound to give the Jazz a 67-66 edge. Game Notes The Jazz havent lost nine in a row since March 4-19, 2005 ... Sacramento has won five of its last seven games as the host in the series ... Kings center DeMarcus Cousins missed his sixth straight game due to a viral infection ... Kings forward Reggie Evans had a game-high 13 boards ... Sacramento shot 47.3 percent from the floor, while Utah shot 40.5 percent. . The Leafs were back on the ice Wednesday following an 10-day break. It apparently wasnt long enough, as Team Canadas 2-1 win over Latvia didnt conclude before the Leafs began practice. "I was thinking we might get a little delay, but it was nice to get out there," said Tyler Bozak of watching Wednesdays game. . Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scored two goals each Wednesday night in a 6-1 rout of Schalke in the first leg of their second-round matchup. "We played a very, very good match," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We got well into the match, scored two early goals and that opened the game and left us able to counter and to use the speed of our players.
https://www.cheapblues.com/. Ramirez is still hitting behind Puig, only now they are in the third and fourth spots, and the change is starting to generate positive results for manager Don Mattingly. . The attacking midfielder arrives on a free transfer from Spains Malaga. The 28-year-old joins Scottish striker Kenny Miller and Argentine midfielder Matias Laba as designated players on the Whitecaps roster. . Yet heading to New York, the Habs remain positive as it all comes down to the one main ingredient that the organization has built its team on - character.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Zack Greinke and the Los Angeles Dodgers have knocked Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees off baseballs payroll perch, part of an off-season spending spree that has the average salary approaching $4 million for the first time. The Dodgers are ending the Yankees 15-year streak as baseballs biggest spenders and as of Tuesday had a projected payroll of $235 million, according to study of all major league contracts by The Associated Press. New York, which last failed to top the payroll rankings in 1998, was a distant second at $203 million. After that, it was another huge gap to Philadelphia at $180 million, followed by Boston at $163 million and Detroit at $162 million. Houston is last at $45 million, up from $27 million at the start of last year, and Miami at $48 million remains 29th. Some large-market teams are among the smaller spenders, with the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs projected at $89 million, ranked 22nd and 23rd. Rodriguez, who holds the record for the largest deal in baseball history at $275 million over 10 years, is suspended for the season for violations of baseballs drug agreement and labour contract. Because of the ban, he will earn only $2,868,852 of his $25 million salary — 21 days pay for the 183-day season. Greinke would have become the highest-paid player, even if Rodriguez was getting all his cash. The pitcher has a $24 million salary in the second season of his $147 million, six-year contract, and because he can opt out of the deal after the 2015 season, baseballs accounting rules call for his $12 million signing bonus to be prorated over the first three seasons. "Weve got great ownership and a great fan base, and we need to do what we can to win games," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said last week in Sydney, where Los Angeles swept its opening, two-game series against Arizona. "I dont think the guys worry about it. I know we dont worry about it," Colletti said. "Were expected to win, and thats how we go about it. Money doesnt mean you win. Money just means you have a chance to get the best players." As of Tuesday, the average salary projected to be between $3.95 million and $4 million, with the final figure depending on how many players are put on the disabled list byy the time opening-day rosters are finalized at 3 p.ddddddddddddm. Sunday. That translates to a rise of 8 to 10 per cent from last years opening average of $3.65 million and would be the largest increase since 2006 or possibly even 2001. "Im not surprised. With the type of revenues clubs are enjoying these days, the average salaries are going to go up," New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. Illustrating the rate of escalation, the opening-day average was $1.07 million when Derek Jeter first reached the major leagues in 1995, broke the $2 million mark in 2001 and spurted past $3 million in 2008. "I think its great. I think it just shows the game is growing, fan interest is there," said Jeter, the Yankees captain who is retiring at the end of this season. "The business of baseball seems like its booming pretty good right now." The average U.S. wage in 2012 was $42,498, according to the Social Security Administration, the latest figure available and an annual increase of 3.12 per cent. Following Greinke on the highest-paid list are Philadelphias Ryan Howard and Cliff Lee at $25 million, the Yankees CC Sabathia at $24.3 million, and Seattles Robinson Cano and Texas Prince Fielder at $24 million each. The APs figures include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income for players on active rosters, disabled lists and the restricted list. For some players, parts of deferred money are discounted to reflect current values. Payroll figures factor in adjustments for cash transactions in trades, signing bonuses that are the responsibility of the club agreeing to the contract, option buyouts, and termination pay for released players. For instance, the Yankees are receiving $18.6 million from the Los Angeles Angels to cover most of the $21 million due to outfielder Vernon Wells, who has been released, and $13 million from the Chicago Cubs to pay most of the $18 million owed outfielder Alfonso Soriano. The Mets payroll include buyouts to Johan Santana ($4.9 million present value) and Jason Bay ($2.7 million present value). ___ AP Sports Writer Dennis Passa and AP freelance writers Mark Didtler and Jon Santucci contributed to this report. ' ' '
