Dolphins sink Panthers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — He may be 32, but Ricky Williams is far from done. And even without Ronnie Brown, the once written-off Miami Dolphins are back in the playoff picture.

Williams rushed for 119 yards and scored three touchdowns, and the Dolphins beat the Carolina Panthers 24-17 on Thursday night for their fourth win in six games.

Johnson's goal lifts Blues

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Erik Johnson scored on an end-to-end rush 17 seconds into overtime to give the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night.

The win was the first for St. Louis in five overtimes (1-4) this season and the first loss for Phoenix (4-1) in five extra sessions.

After Phoenix put the puck in St. Louis' end, Johnson gained control, skated up left wing and crossed the Coyotes' blue line with the puck. The defenseman moved into the high slot and beat goalie Ilya Bryzgalov with a wrist shot.

Hornets leave Suns in the dark

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Peja Stojakovic hit seven 3-pointers during a 25-point, 13-rebound performance, and the New Orleans Hornets defeated the Phoenix Suns 110-103 on Thursday night.

Devin Brown and rookie Marcus Thornton each scored 19 for New Orleans, which won its second straight under new head coach Jeff Bower.

The score was tied at 96 when Stojakovic and rookie Darren Collison hit back-to-back 3s, and New Orleans held on from there. Collison had 15 points, putting both Hornets rookies in double figures.

Giants' Lincecum wins second consecutive Cy Young

NEW YORK (AP) — Talk about a freak - Tim Lincecum needed just 15 wins to bag another NL Cy Young Award.

Yup, throw out those old baseball cards. Wins and losses don't mean much anymore when it comes time for voters to pick baseball's best pitchers. It's all about WHIP, FIP, BABIP and other lines of alphabet soup.

"It's turned into a game of complete numbers and statistics and what people do with that," Lincecum said.

Bruins thrash Atlanta

ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Ryder scored twice, Patrice Bergeron had the only goal of the shootout and the Boston Bruins snapped Atlanta's four-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory over the Thrashers on Thursday night.

Boston halted a three-game slide, which included two overtime defeats. The Thrashers at least picked up a point when Maxim Afinogenov scored with 41.4 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime.

Clark looking to make his mark again

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — When Dallas Clark looks at the evolution of tight ends, he thinks of John Mackey.

The Hall of Famer made it chic for the big guys to catch passes and run down field when it was more popular for them to be blockers or outlet receivers.

Now, four decades later, Clark is carving out his own niche in a very different NFL.

Giants' Ross ready to return

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — After missing the first nine games of the season with a severe hamstring strain, New York Giants cornerback Aaron Ross is poised to make his 2009 debut Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

Ross continued to practice at full speed Thursday, his third practice since returning to action. While the coaching staff has not made any determination about Ross' playing status or whether he will be in the starting lineup, Ross just wants to be playing again.

Childress signs extension with Vikings

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — The man who brought Brett Favre to the Minnesota Vikings will be sticking around for a while.

The Vikings signed Brad Childress to a contract extension on Thursday, nine games into what is shaping up as a promising season for the men in purple. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. ESPN.com cited anonymous sources in reporting that the extension will carry through the 2013 season.

Henry proves it: You can't trust soccer players

PARIS (AP) — Soccer players just can't be trusted to be honest and Thierry Henry proved that by choosing to play volleyball against Ireland, blatantly handling the ball for the goal that sent France to the World Cup.

Cheating, plain and simple. More proof, if it was needed, that soccer needs far better on-field policing.

"Something has got to be done," says Graham Barber, a former Premier League and FIFA referee with hands-on experience of dealing with Henry.

Georgia baseball player left paralyzed after crash

ATLANTA (AP) — Chance Veazey was living out his dream. He had a scholarship to play baseball at the University of Georgia. He impressed his coach so much during fall workouts that he was already penciled in as the starting second baseman.

Tragedy struck before Veazey made it to opening day.

For Hendrick, a 1-2-3 finish might make history

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — For Hendrick Motorsports, this NASCAR season might seem easy as 1-2-3.

OK, maybe it only looked easy.

No matter if Jimmie Johnson or Mark Martin leaves Homestead-Miami on Sunday with the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, Hendrick Motorsports - which owns both cars - will have plenty to celebrate. The title, whomever delivers it, will be Rick Hendrick's ninth in NASCAR, tying him with Petty Enterprises for the most. And it will be his record-setting 12th overall, joining three truck titles.

Maine downs Delaware State 59-56

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Sean McNally scored 17 points and Troy Barnies tallied a double-double, helping Maine hold off Delaware State 59-56 on Wednesday night.

Marcus Neal's 3-pointer put Delaware State ahead 54-53 with 5:10 to play, but Maine (2-1) went on a 6-2 run from that point to seal the comeback win.

McNally's layup with 1:12 left gave Maine its final margin, and the Black Bears defense held the Hornets (2-1) scoreless the rest of the way.

Coyotes howl, nip Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Radim Vrbata had a goal and an assist, and Ilya Bryzgalov made 24 saves in the Phoenix Coyotes' 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night.

The Wild's Antti Miettinen tied it at 2 with 4:58 to play, but Phoenix countered 19 seconds later, with Scotty Upshall blasting in the rebound of Keith Yandle's shot.

James Vandermeer also scored for Phoenix.

Andrew Brunette added a goal for the Wild, 0-2-2 in their last four games. Minnesota was outshot for long stretches of the game and repeatedly frustrated by Bryzgalov.

Celtics rebound with win over Warriors

BOSTON (AP) — Rajon Rondo scored 12 of his season high-matching 18 points in the third quarter and the Boston Celtics rebounded from a two-game skid with a 109-95 win over the short-handed Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

Paul Pierce, who missed a day of practice with a sore left knee, scored 19 on 7-of-12 shooting. Playing without a wrap on the knee, Pierce made a 3-pointer after the Warriors ended the Celtics' 12-0 run with a pair of free throws in the third quarter. Pierce's 3 made it 70-57.

Magic steal Oklahoma City's Thunder

ORLANDO, Fla. — Rashard Lewis fell one assist shy of his first triple-double, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the Orlando Magic's 108-94 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.

Lewis, who was suspended for the first 10 games of the season for violating the league's substance abuse policy, didn't play in the fourth quarter, which the Magic started with an 88-58 lead