John Tortorella made his presence felt right away during his first day as coach of the New York Rangers. He went to work on the practice rink Tuesday morning, along with new assistant coach Jim Schoenfeld, as they worked to change the philosophy and tenor of a team that is struggling to hold onto a place in the playoffs. ...more

February 24, 2009

At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, Rays first baseman Carlos Pena sports some broad shoulders. ...more

February 22, 2009

Tomas Vokoun made 41 saves for the Panthers on Saturday night, but his most important might have been the one he didn't see. ...more

February 22, 2009

Anybody looking for Lightning defenseman Matt Smaby these days needs to keep their ears open. ...more

February 22, 2009

Over the better part of the last decade, winning has become a formality of sorts for the Ridgewood High baseball program. Four district titles, seven playoff victories and a trip to the 2002 state championship game are a few boastful achievements earned since 2001. That's what makes last year's 12-15 campaign stand out to those familiar with baseball in the North Suncoast. The Rams had qualified for postseason play in seven consecutive tries until the bugs of youth and inexperience finally bit. ...more

February 21, 2009

The indoctrination of Steven Stamkos to the NHL hit some hardships this season. ...more

February 19, 2009

Spring is here - at least from a sports standpoint. Last week, the high school sports schedule, though still wrapping up the winter sports, flipped to spring. ...more

February 18, 2009

Lightning rookie and overall No. 1 draft pick Steven Stamkos recorded a natural hat trick in Tuesday's game against Chicago, scoring three consecutive goals. Stamkos, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Feb. 12, scored his first goal of the game at 12:58 of the first period when he jumped on puck that caromed off the end boards to the side of the net that he put past Cristobal Huet that tied the game 1-1. Then Stamkos went to work on the power play in the second period. With Craig Adams in the penalty box for a high sticking double-minor at 9:45, Stamkos gave Tampa Bay the lead at 10:28 when he took a down-low, cross-ice feed at the left point from Vinny Prospal and fired a wrist shot to the top of the neat post and over the right shoulder of Huet. Seventy seconds later, with Stamkos back on the left point on the second half of the power play, Stamkos one-timed a Steve Eminger feed past Huet that gave the Lightning a 3-1 lead 11:38 into the second period. Stamkos took to one knee and gave a Tiger Woods-esque fist pump as hats began to rain down from the stands in celebration of the rookie's first career hat trick performance, the first rookie hat trick in franchise history. It is Stamkos' second multi-goal game of the season. The overall No. 1 pick failed early on to live up to the lofty expectations placed on him when Tampa Bay selected him first at the draft in Ottawa back in June. He had four goals through the first 42 games of the season. But since the coaching staff put him onto a strength-training program, which saw him sit out three games as a healthy scratch, Stamkos has improved his play. In his past 13 games, including Tuesday, Stamkos has six goals and five assists. ...more

February 17, 2009

Quarterback Jeff Garcia admitted Tuesday that being Jon Gruden's quarterback was difficult and that there were times the recently fired Bucs coach "rubbed me wrong." ...more

January 22, 2009

After a middling campaign before the holiday break, Alonso High's boys soccer squad has picked up steam, winning 10 out of its last 11 games ahead of closing out the regular season against Middleton on Friday. ...more

January 22, 2009