Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York • Page 41

DEMOCRAT and chronicle DemocratandChronicle.com SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011 7D NBA Knicks no match for Lakers Williams denies rumors he caused Sloan to resign THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK Kobe Bryant scored 33 points in another effortless night at Madison Square Garden, and the Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 113-96 victory over the struggling New York Knicks on Friday night. Bryant scored 19 points in the first quarter, and perhaps only the lopsided score kept him from recording a sixth 40-point game at the arena. He raised his average at MSG to 30.5 points, edging past Carmelo Anthony and into the lead for tops among active players. Pau Gasol added 20 points for the Lakers, who beat the Knicks for the eighth straight time overall and fifth in a row at the Garden. Amare Stoudemire had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who lost for the fourth time in five games and fell to 26-26, the first time they've been at .500 since they were 9-9 after beating Detroit on Nov.

28. 76ers 77, Spurs 71: Jrue Holiday scored 27 ment Wednesday night with Sloan in an emotional 91-86 loss to Chicago. "Maybe arguing was the last straw, so there I am, guilty of that," Williams said. "But I think anybody who believes I could force coach Sloan to resign is crazy. He's stronger than that and personally if I said that to him, he'd probably go tell me to go do something." Williams laughed at the thought.

Earlier Friday he admitted the rumors were not funny. "Never once did I say, 'It's me or Williams said. "That didn't happen. I haven't even had a meeting with any of our management this year. So where all this stuff is coming from I have no clue.

"I'd be interested to see who the sources are." I 1 1 I 9 VI 1 Ct v'v 9 -r a hi FRANK FRANKLIN II The Associated Press Kobe Bryant shoots over New York Knicks' Danilo Gallinari during the the first half on Friday. LYNN DEBRUIN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SALT LAKE CITY -New Utah Jazz coach Ty Corbin admitted his head was still spinning from Jerry Sloan's shocking resignation yet expressed confidence Friday the team and star guard De-ron Williams were moving forward together. "Right now the guys' heads are spinning like mine is and we've got to find some way to get some stability through the game tonight and the next couple of games," said the 48-year-old Corbin, who was chosen as Utah's new head coach Thursday. "Then maybe we can catch our breath a little bit." Williams, meanwhile, was doing his best to squelch speculation that he forced out the 68-year-old Sloan. But he did acknowledge having a halftime argu McMillan.

Cavaliers 126, Clippers 119 LA. Clippers 33 20 28 29 9-119 Cleveland 29 23 31 27 16-126 LA. CLIPPERS: Gomes 3-6 3-4 10, Griffin 11-26 9-10 32, Jordan 3-3 1-2 7, Davis 10-22 4-6 26, Foye 8-19 3-4 23, Diogu 2-2 2-3 6, Bledsoe 5-12 3-3 13, Aminu 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 43-96 25-32 119. CLEVELAND: Eyenga 3-9 0-0 6, Jamison 11-20 9-13 35, Hickson 12-19 3-3 27, Sessions 3-6 6-7 12, Parker 2-6 0-0 4, Gibson 4-8 6-6 17, Williams 7-18 2-2 17, Moon 1-3 0-0 2, Hollins 3-3 0-1 6.

Totals 46-92 26-32 126. 3- Point Clippers 8-23 (Foye 4- 11, Davis 2-4, Griffin 1-1, Gomes 1-2, Aminu 0-1, Bledsoe 0-4), Cleveland 8-20 (Jamison 4-6, Gibson 3-5, Williams 1-4, Moon 0-1, Parker 0-2, Eyenga 0-2). Clippers 54 (Griffin 13), Cleveland 58 (Hickson 14). Clippers 20 (Davis 7), Cleveland 34 (Williams 14). Total Fouls-LA.

Clippers 25, Cleveland 24. Technicals-Davis, L.A. Clippers defensive three second, Cleveland defensive three second. Ejected-Davis. Heat 106, Pistons 92 Miami 25 39 22 20-106 Detroit 21 22 22 27-92 MIAMI: James 7-17 2-3 16, Bosh 4-10 9-10 17, llgauskas 5-7 0-0 10, Chalmers 4-7 1-2 10, Wade 9-15 6-6 24, Jones 0-1 4-5 4, Miller 6-9 1-1 16, Anthony 0-2 1-2 1, House 3-7 0-0 8, Howard 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals 38-75 24-29 106. DETROIT: Prince 5-11 0-0 11, Wallace 2-2 0-0 4. Monroe 3-5 2-2 8, McGrady 2-6 4-4 9, Stuckey 4-12 1-2 9, Daye 6-13 3-4 18, Gordon 6-13 1-1 16, Villanueva 2-9 1-2 5, Wilcox 1-3 0-0 2, Bynum 1-4 4-4 6, Max-iell 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 34-80 16-19 92. 3-Point Goals-Miami 6-14 (Miller 3-5, House 2-4, Chalmers 1-3, James 0-2), Detroit 8-24 (Daye 3-6, Gordon 3-8, Prince 1-1, McGrady 1-3, Stuckey 0-2, Villanueva 0-4).

Rebounds-Miami 51 (Bosh 10), Detroit 40 (Gordon 7). As-sists-Miami 29 (James 10), Detroit 20 (Bynum 5). Total Fouls-Miami 17, De Standings EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION Pet GB Boston 38 14 .731 New York 26 26 .500 12 Philadelphia 25 28 .472 13V, New Jersey 17 37 .315 22 Toronto 14 40 .259 25 SOUTHEAST DIVISION Pet GB Miami 39 14 .736 Atlanta 33 19 .635 5, Orlando 34 21 .618 6 Charlotte 22 31 .415 17 Washington 14 37 .275 24 CENTRAL DIVISION Pet GB Chicago 35 16 .686 Indiana 23 28 .451 12 Milwaukee 20 32 .385 15 Detroit 20 34 370 16vi Cleveland 9 45 .167 27 WESTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHWEST DIVISION Pet GB San Antonio 44 9 .830 Dallas 37 16 .698 7 New Orleans 33 22 .600 12 Memphis 29 26 .527 16 Houston 25 29 .463 19 NORTHWEST DIVISION Pet GB Oklahoma City 33 18 .647 Denver 31 23 .574 3W Utah 31 23 .574 Portland 29 24 .547 5 Minnesota 13 40 .245 21 PACIFIC DIVISION Pet GB LA. Lakers 38 16 .704 Phoenix 25 25 500 11 Golden State 23 29 .442 14 LA Clippers 20 33 377 17 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 77-71 victory over league-best San Antonio. Spencer Hawes added 13 points and Elton Brand tied his season high with 17 rebounds for the Sixers.

Tim Duncan had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs. Heat 106, Pistons 92: Dwyane Wade scored 24 points and LeBron James added 16 points and 10 assists, helping streaking Miami take over sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference. James took a moment early on to ask a heckler to lay off his family, then helped Miami pull away for its eighth straight win. Hornets 99, Magic 93: Willie Green scored 24 points and David West added 17 points and 17 rebounds as New Orleans rallied to beat Orlando. The Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak, while Orlando's loss stopped a string of two straight wins.

The Magic are now 5-6 since posting their last three-game winning streak last month. Sacramento 12 37 .245 23tf FRIDAY'S GAMES New Jersey 94, Charlotte 89 Indiana 116, Minnesota 105 New Orleans 99, Orlando 93 Philadelphia 77, San Antonio 71 Portland 102, Toronto 96 Cleveland 126, LA. Clippers 119, OT Miami 106, Detroit 92 Memphis 89, Milwaukee 86 LA. Lakers 113, New York 96 Phoenix at Utah TODAY'S GAMES Charlotte at Atlanta, 7 p.m. New York at New Jersey, 7 p.m.

Philadelphia at Minnesota, 8 p.m. Chicago at New Orleans, 8 p.m. San Antonio at Washington, 8 p.m. Dallas at Houston, 830 p.m. Indiana at Milwaukee, 830 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Sacramento, 10 p.m. Box scores Nets 94, Bobcats 89 New Jersey 24 28 20 22-94 Charlotte 21 16 23 29-89 NEW JERSEY: Outlaw 1-8 1-3 3, Favors 2- 3 0-0 4, Lopez 14-27 3-6 31, Harris 4-10 7-8 16, Morrow 2-91-1 5, Humphries 5-10 5-7 15, Farmar 3-7 2-3 8, Vujacic 3-8 3- 6 10, Petro 0-2 0-0 0, Ross 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 35-86 22-34 94. CHARLOTTE: Wallace 6-10 8-11 20, Diaw 5-13 1-1 12, K.Brown 3-6 2-2 8, Augustin 2- 10 0-0 4, Jackson 5-12 8-11 21, Mohammed 0-0 1-4 1, Henderson 3-5 5-8 11, Najera 1-5 0-0 2, Livingston 4-6 2-2 10, McGuire 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-68 27-39 89.

3- Point Goals-New Jersey 2-14 (Harris 1-1, Vujacic 1-5, Farmar 0-2, Morrow 0-3, Outlaw 0-3), Charlotte 4-14 (Jackson 3-5, Diaw 1-4, Wallace 0-1, Augustin 0-4). Rebounds-New Jersey 59 (Humphries 14), Charlotte 55 (Wallace 9). As-sists-New Jersey 18 (Harris 8), Charlotte 16 (Jackson, Diaw 4). Total Fouls-New Jersey 28, Charlotte 21. riod and four more in the second with an all-out brawl in the middle of the offensive outburst.

That was just the appetizer for a third-period donnybrook in which Johnson fought again that caused a delay of about IS minutes. With multiple ejections, both benches had only a handful of players on them for the final 12-plus minutes. New York chased Johnson 3:46 into the second period when callup enforcer Micheal Haley made it 6-0 on the Islanders' 16th shot. As Johnson skated to the backup goalie seat in the Anaheim 30 21 4 64 150 153 Los Angeles 29 22 3 61 151 131 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. FRIDAY'S GAMES Minnesota 5, St.

Louis 4, SO Detroit 6, Boston 1 New Jersey 2, San Jose 1 N.Y. Islanders 9, Pittsburgh 3 Columbus 3, Colorado 1 Atlanta 3, N.Y. Rangers 2 Chicago at Dallas Anaheim at Calgary SATURDAY'S GAMES Los Angeles at Washington, 12:30 p.m. Ottawa at Edmonton, 2 p.m. Toronto at Montreal, 7 p.m.

Carolina at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. Colorado at Nashville, 8 p.m. Chicago at Phoenix, 8 p.m. St. Louis at Minnesota, 9 p.m.

Calgary at Vancouver, 10 p.m. SUNDAY'S GAMES Boston at Detroit, 12:30 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Buffalo, 3 p.m. Pittsburgh at N.Y.

Rangers, 3 p.m. Columbus at Dallas, 3 p.m. Los Angeles at Philadelphia, 3 p.m. Carolina at Atlanta, 5 p.m. San Jose at Florida, 5 p.m.

Anaheim at Edmonton, 8 p.m. Summaries Red Wings 6, Bruins 1 Detroit Boston 3 1-6 0 0-1 First period-1, Detroit, Bertuzzi 9 (Fran-zen, Zetterberg), 1:10. 2, Detroit, Cleary 17 (Hudler, Kronwall), 3:10. 3, Boston, Krejci 8 (Lucie, Chara), 17:53 (pp). Second period-4, Detroit, Hudler 6 (Zetterberg, Rafalski), 1:09.

5, Detroit, Zetterberg 17 (Holmstrom, Cleary), 16:14 (pp). 6, Detroit, Bertuzzi 10 (Dat-syuk), 16:38. Third period -7, Detroit, Holmstrom 12 yU 76ers 77, Spurs 71 San Antonio 22 24 12 13-71 Philadelphia 27 19 14 17-77 SAN ANTONIO: Jefferson 1-8 0-0 3, Duncan 7-18 2-2 16, Blair 3-11 2-2 8, Parker 3-10 3-4 9, Ginobili 2-10 4-6 8, Bonner 1- 1 0-0 3, Neal 5-10 0-0 11, Hill 0-6 2-2 2, McDyess 5-7 1-2 11. Totals 27-81 14-18 71. PHILADELPHIA: Iguodala 2-15 3-4 7, Brand 4-11 0-0 8, Hawes 4-8 5-7 13, Holiday 9-14 6-6 27, Meeks 2-4 0-0 6, Young 2- 9 0-0 4, Turner 2-5 0-0 4, Songaila 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 3-13 0-0 6, Speights 1-2 0-0 2, Nocioni 0-0 0-0 0, Kapono 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals 29-82 14-17 77. 3- Point Goals-San Antonio 3-17 (Bonner 1-1, Neal 1-3, Jefferson 1-4, Duncan 0-1, Hill 0-3, Ginobili 0-5), Philadelphia 5- 13 (Holiday 3-4, Meeks 2-4, Williams 0-1, Hawes 0-1, Iguodala 0-3). Rebounds-San Antonio 64 (Blair 14), Philadelphia 50 (Brand 17). Assists-San Antonio 20 (Ginobili 6), Philadelphia 18 (Iguodala 6). Total Fouls-San Antonio 14, Philadelphia 16.

Trail Blazers 102, Raptors 96 Portland 23 32 17 30-102 Toronto 19 28 23 26-96 PORTLAND: Batum 3-7 0-0 7, Cunningham 3-4 0-0 6, Aldridge 14-25 9-12 37, Miller 5-9 3-3 13, Matthews 1-7 4-6 6, Fernandez 8-11 1-1 23, Przybilla 1-1 1-2 3, Mills 3-6 1-1 7. Totals 38-70 19-25 102. TORONTO: Weems 5-10 0-0 10, Davis 3-6 0- 2 6, Bargnani 10-17 8-9 29, Calderon 2-4 2-2 6, DeRozan 7-13 3-5 17, Dorsey 1- 2 0-0 2, Bayless 6-11 2-2 18, Barbosa 2- 8 2-2 6, Wright 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 37-72 17-24 96. 3- Potnt Goals-Portland 7-17 (Fernandez 6- 8, Batum 1-4, Mills 0-1, Miller 0-1, Matthews 0-3), Toronto 5-9 (Bayless 4- 5, Bargnani 1-1, DeRozan 0-1, Barbosa 0-2).

Rebounds-Portland 38 (Aldridge 10), Toronto 42 (Davis 13). Assists-Portland 23 (Miller 8), Toronto 21 (Calderon 10). Total Fouls-Portland 15, Toronto 20. Technicals-Portland Coach line. Haley charged after him, and both players dropped their gloves and started punching.

Eric Go-dard was also involved, trying to protect the Penguins' netminder. Haley became an instant favorite among the 12,888 in attendance, who probably never had heard of him before Friday. But they chanted his name every time there was another dustup, long after he was sent to the dressing room. The second major uprising was sparked by New York enforcer Trevor Gillies' elbow that left Eric Tangradi prone on the ice. Blue Jackers 3, Avalanche 1 Colorado 1 0 0-1 Columbus 0 2 1-3 First period-1, Colorado, Dupuis 4, 15:54.

Second period-2, Columbus, Nash 25 (Voracek, Tyutin), 7:19. 3, Columbus, Brassard 14 (Nash), 14:02. Third period-4, Columbus, MacKenzie 3 (Pahlsson), 19:56 (en). Shots on Goal-Colorado 12-13-7-32. Columbus 6-14-12-32.

Power-play opportunities-Colorado 0 of Columbus Oof 2. Goalies-Colorado, Budaj 12-9-3 (31 shots-29 saves). Columbus, Garon 9-9-3 (32-31). Wild 5, Blues 4, SO NHL Islanders beat up Penguins in blowout win 3 generations of Thyroffs thrive at the baseline 0 Local clan named Family of the Year by U.S.T.A. Eastern Section.

Pacers 116, Timberwolves 105 Minnesota 31 27 32 15-105 Indiana 31 25 27 33-116 MINNESOTA: Johnson 2-7 0-0 4, Love 6-15 9-9 22, Pekovic 6-9 3-3 15, Flynn 2-8 0- 0 4, Brewer 4-9 4-7 12, Ellington 6-15 2- 2 14, Koufos 4-5 1-2 9, Telfair 2-7 3-4 8, Hayward 5-11 2-3 14, Tolliver 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 38-90 24-30 105. INDIANA: Granger 7-12 5-7 19, McRo-berts 6-9 0-0 12, Hibbert 1-4 4-4 6, Colli-son 3-11 2-4 8, Dunleavy 4-6 4-6 15, George 5-10 0-0 11, Hansbrough 4-12 6-6 14, Foster 2-4 0-0 4, D.Jones 6-7 5-6 19, Price 3-6 2-2 8. Totals 41-81 28-35 116. 3- Point Goals-Minnesota 5-17 (Hay-ward 2-4, Tolliver 1-3, Telfair 1-3, Love 1- 4, Ellington 0-1, Johnson 0-2), Indiana 6-15 (Dunleavy 3-4, D.Jones 2-2, George 1-3, Granger 0-2, Collison 0-2, Price 0-2).

Fouled Out-Telfair. Rebounds-Minnesota 53 (Love 15), Indiana 52 (Price 8). Assists-Minnesota 15 (Telfair 4), Indiana 17 (Collison 6). Total Fouls-Minnesota 30, Indiana 21. Technicals-Hans-brough, Indiana defensive three second.

Hornets 99, Magic 93 New Orleans 28 33 19 19-99 Orlando 24 28 28 13-93 NEW ORLEANS: Ariza 4-16 1-2 10, West 6-13 5-6 17, Gray 2-5 0-0 4, Paul 4-11 7-8 15, Green 10-20 1-1 24, Mbenga 1-1 0-0 2, Belinelli 1-5 0-0 3, Smith 0-0 1-2 1, Jack 5-6 2-2 13, Andersen 5-7 0-0 10, Pavlovic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-84 17-21 99. ORLANDO: Turkoglu 7-10 1-1 16, Anderson 2-8 0-0 5, Howard 8-12 4-12 20, Nelson 3-11 0-0 7, J.Richardson 3-9 0-0 6, Redick 4-10 4-4 14, Clark 5-9 4-514, Arenas 4-9 3-3 11. Totals 36-78 16-25 93. 3-Polnt Goats-New Orleans 6-21 (Green 3-7, Jack 1-1, Belinelli 1-3, Ariza 1-7, Andersen 0-1, Paul 0-2), Orlando 5-21 (Redick 2-5, Turkoglu 1-1, Nelson 1-4, Anderson 1-5, J.Richardson 0-3, Arenas 0-3).

Rebounds-New Orleans 51 (West 17), Orlando 50 (Howard 17). Assists -New Orleans 22 (Paul 7), Orlando 21 (Turkoglu, Nelson 5). Total Fouls-New Orleans 22, Orlando 21. Technicals-Andersen, New Orleans Bench. tunnel leading to the Penguins' dressing room, he was showered with an avalanche of boos from the unusually large crowd that clearly remembered what he did to DiPietro.

But his night wasn't over. Johnson returned at the start of the third period and got bowled over 1:19 in when Grabner was knocked into him by a hard hit from Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik. The second huge brawl broke out at 4:47, and Haley had two fights in the melee first with Max Talbot and then with Johnson after the goalie skated out toward the blue (Hudler. Datsyuk), 13:51 (pp). Shots on Goal-Detroit 12-7-15-34.

Boston 7-11-8-26. Power-play opportunities-Detroit 2 of 6: Boston 1 of 3. Goalies-Detroit, Howard 27-10-3 (26 shots-25 saves). Boston, Rask 5-11-1 (19-14), Thomas (0:00 third, 15-14). Thrashers 3, Rangers 2 N.Y.

Rangers Atlanta 1- 2 2- 3 First period-1, Atlanta, Stewart 14 (Burmistrov, Kane), 11:08. Second perlod-2, N.Y. Rangers, Staal 7 (Gaborik, Prospal), :26 (pp). Third period-3, N.Y. Rangers, Dubinsky 19 (Gaborik, McDonagh), 1:11.

4, Atlanta, Kane 15 (Stewart, Hainsey), 14:09. 5, Atlanta, Kane 16 (Byfuglien, Enstrom), 17:40 (pp). Missed Penalty Shot-Gaborik, NYR, 7:36 third. Shots on Goal-N Y. Rangers 13-9-7-29.

Atlanta 13-10-12-35. Power-play opportunities-N Y. Rangers 1 of Atlanta 1 of 5. Rangers, Lundqvist 21- 18-4 (35 shots-32 saves). Atlanta, Pave- lec 18-15-8 (29-27).

Devils 2, Sharks 1 San Jose New Jersey 0 1-1 0 2-2 First perlod-None. Second period -None. Third period-1, San Jose, Marleau 21 (Wallin, Pavelski), 6:08. 2, New Jersey, Rolston 8 (Kovalchuk, Elias). 9:12 (pp).

3, New Jersey, Kovalchuk 19 (Zajac), 16:01. Shots on Goal-San Jose 12-12-8-32. New Jersey 2-9-12-23. Power-play opportunities-San Jose 0 of New Jersey 1 of 3. Goalies-San Jose, Niemi 17-14-3 (23 shots-21 saves).

New Jersey, Hedberg 9-10-2 (32-31). troit 21. Grizzlies 89, Bucks 86 Milwaukee 17 23 28 18-86 Memphis 20 25 18 26-89 MILWAUKEE: Maggette 6-12 6-7 22, llya-sova 1-4 0-0 2, Bogut 2-9 1-2 5, Jennings 6-17 1-1 16, Salmons 5-11 7-9 18, Delfino 2-9 0-0 6, Dooling 2-9 3-3 8, Mbah a Moute 4-6 1-2 9, Brockman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-77 19-24 86. MEMPHIS: Gay 5-11 4-4 14, Arthur 5-14 2- 2 12, Gasol 3-7 3-4 9, Conley 8-19 4-6 23, Young 7-10 5-6 19, Vasquez 0-2 0-0 0, Allen 3-7 4-8 10, Carroll 1-1 0-0 2, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Thabeet 0-0 0-0 0, Had-dadi 0-3 0-0 0.

Totals 32-74 22-30 89. 3- Point Goals-Milwaukee 11-26 (Maggette 4-6, Jennings 3-7, Delfino 2-6, Salmons 1-1, Dooling 1-5, llyasova 0-1), Memphis 3-6 (Conley 3-5, Young 0-1). Rebounds-Milwaukee 51 (Bogut 14), Memphis 53 (Gay 10). Assists-Milwau-kee 14 (Salmons 6), Memphis 15 (Conley 8). Total Fouls-Milwaukee 27, Memphis 20.

Lakers 113, Knicks 96 LA. Lakers 30 32 23 28-113 New York 28 20 20 28-96 LA. LAKERS: Artest 2-9 0-2 4, Gasol 9-16 2- 2 20, Bynum 5-8 2-4 12, Fisher 0-1 0-0 0, Bryant 12-17 5-8 33, Odom 5-10 3-4 14, Blake 2-5 3-3 8, Brown 6-10 0-0 12, Walton 4-6 0-0 8, Smith 0-1 2-2 2, Carac-ter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 45-84 17-25 113. NEW YORK: Gallinari 4-15 6-6 14, Stoudemire 9-20 6-7 24, Mozgov 3-9 1-2 7, Felton 7-12 3-3 20, Fields 2-6 2-2 6, Chandler 5-10 2-2 13, Williams 2-4 0-0 4, Douglas 1-6 1-2 4, Randolph 2-3 0-0 4.

Totals 35-85 21-24 96. 3- Point Lakers 6-15 (Bryant 4- 7, Odom 1-2, Blake 1-2, Brown 0-1, Artest 0-3), New York 5-20 (Felton 3-6, Chandler 1-3, Douglas 1-4, Fields 0-1, Gallinari 0-6). Rebounds-LA. Lakers 52 (Bryant 10), New York 48 (Mozgov 11). Assists-LA.

Lakers 22 (Blake 7), New York 22 (Felton 7). Total Lakers 17, New York 22. Technicals-Blake, L.A. Lakers defensive three second, Stoudemire. night that I wanted to hit, he would be there." That dedication to the sport, especially teaching younger players, resulted in being recognized by the tennis district that includes New York City.

"We are very excited about it," Joe Thyroff said. "It's nice to be in that company. It's an honor, because we are not down in New York City. If you look at the accomplishments of the family, we have done a lot for tennis." Brad, 37 of Brighton, offers lessons at Mendon Racquet and Tennis Club, and Scott, 40 of Pittsford, also teaches at the Manhattan Square Tennis Club, which the family has owned since 2004. The love of the sport has been passed on to the next generation of Thyroffs as Scott's three sons Scotty (7), Brady (6), and Charlie (4) and Brad's son, Liam (2), have all taken up the sport.

"The coaching keeps me going," Joe Thyroff said. "The young kids keep me going and Scott and Brad keep me going too. I tell myself that I will only coach one more year, but then the kids keep me going. Tennis has given me a lot. It's definitely a family thing." WCLWELANDemocratandChronicle.com THE ASSOCIATED PRESS UNIONDALE John Tavares, Matt Moulson and rookie Michael Grabner all scored their 20th goal of the season and the New York Islanders got some revenge against the injury-depleted Pittsburgh Penguins with their sticks and their fists in a fight-filled 9-3 win on Friday night.

Just nine days after Brent Johnson beat New York 3-0 and knocked out Rick DiPietro in a one-punch fight that left the franchise goalie with broken bones in his face, the Islanders responded with four goals in the first pe WILL CLEVELAND STAFF WRITER Tennis has always been a family affair with the Thyroffs. Joe, the father, took his first les- sons in 1976. Sons, Scott and Brad, began soon after mother, Jeanne, 4 Joe Thyroff signed them up. In January the Thyroffs were honored together as the Family of the Year by the United Tennis Association Eastern Section. "We all started together and the very first time we took a lesson was together," said Joe Thyroff, 64 of Pittsford, who serves as the varsity coach for the Pittsford Sutherland girls and Pittsford Mendon boys.

"We always played together. Right after dinner, we would go out and play. We traveled and we always brought our tennis rackets with us. When we went on vacation, we always made sure there was a tennis court near us." "Growing up, I just remember the countless hours my father would be willing to play with me," Brad Thyroff added. "Any Minnesota 112 0-5 St.

Louis 2 0 2 0-4 Standings EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION I OT Pts GF GA Philadelphia 36 13 5 77 182 138 Pittsburgh 35 18 4 74 170 136 N.Y. Rangers 29 24 4 62 157 141 New Jersey 22 30 4 48 120 158 N.Y.Islandrs 19 29 7 45 144 180 NORTHEAST DIVISION OT Pts GF GA Boston 31 17 7 69 170 131 Montreal 30 20 6 66 148 143 Buffalo 26 22 57 155 155 Toronto 23 26 6 52 144 171 Ottawa 17 30 8 42 121 183 SOUTHEAST DIVISION OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 33 17 5 71 168 169 Washington 29 16 10 68 150 136 Atlanta 25 22 10 60 165 185 Carolina 26 22 7 59 162 169 Florida 23 24 7 53 143 146 WESTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL DIVISION OT Pts GF GA Detroit 33 16 6 72 183 161 Nashville 29 19 7 65 145 130 Chicago 28 22 4 60 172 151 Columbus 27 23 5 59 150 167 St. Louis 24 20 9 57 144 159 NORTHWEST DIVISION OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 35 11 9 79 186 131 Minnesota 29 20 5 63 143 144 Calgary 28 21 7 63 162 163 Colorado 25 24 6 56 167 181 Edmonton 16 30 40 134 184 PACIFIC DIVISION OT Pts GF GA Dallas 30 18 6 66 154 153 San Jose 30 20 6 66 156 148 Phoenix 28 19 9 65 159 158 Minnesota won shootout 4-3 First period-1, St. Louis, Berglund 13 (Oshie, Colaiacovo), 1:50. 2, Minnesota, Brunette 15 (Burns, Koivu), 2:49.

3, St. Louis, McDonald 9 (Boyes, Polak), 15:34. Second period-4, Minnesota, Clutter-buck 15 (Havlat), 1:30. Third period-5, St. Louis, Backes 19 (Boyes, Jackman), :19.

6, Minnesota, Clutterbuck 16 (Brodziak), :41. 7, St. Louis, Backes 20 (Pietrangelo, McDonald), 6:20. 8, Minnesota, Havlat 16 (Koivu, Brunette), 19:02. Overtime-None.

Penalties-None. Shootout-Minnesota 4 (Cullen NG, Bouchard Koivu Burns Clutter-buck NG, Miettinen NG, Brunette NG, Havlat NG, Madden G), St. Louis 3 (Oshie Boyes McDonald NG, Steen D'Agostini NG, Backes NG, Johnson NG, Berglund NG, Sobotka NG). Shots on Goal-Minnesota 9-9-8-1-27. St.

Louis 11-5-16-3-35. Power-play opportunities-Minnesota 0 of St. Louis 0 of 3. Goalies-Minnesota, Theodore 10-7-2 (35 shots-31 saves). St.

Louis, Halak 18-16-6 (27-23)..