Die Indianer » h. "The puck rolled on me a bit, but youll take them

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - Maria Sharapova was happy to play an 11 a.m. match Monday, especially when her work day was already done by the time a mid-afternoon shower interrupted play. "Its nice to see all the players coming back in the locker room, and Im like, Ill see you later," she said. Sharapova started early but didnt start well. She won only five points in the first four games before settling down to reach the quarterfinals at the Sony Open by beating Kirsten Flipkens 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. The worlds top-ranked players had an easier time. Serena Williams eliminated fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-1. Rafael Nadal received a warning for slow play and still won in 59 minutes against Denis Istomin, 6-1, 6-0. Venus Williams lost her serve eight times and was beaten by No. 10 Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 5-7, 6-3. Sharapova, meanwhile, endured her second successive ragged three-setter and found herself trailing 4-0 after only 15 minutes. "I usually like playing the first match, but I didnt start off the way I wanted to," she said. "Nothing was working." Seeded No. 4, Sharapova seemed thrown off by the lack of pace from Flipkens, a tour veteran who hits floating backhands and sometimes slices her forehand as well. "Shes a different type of opponent," Sharapova said. "There are not too many girls that hit a slice backhand 90 per cent of the time in the rallies. But I know what to expect from her game. It shouldnt be that much of a surprise." Sharapova finished with 36 unforced errors and only 13 winners. She also double-faulted 10 times. But she won — and was ready to leave Crandon Park before most matches had even begun. With the rest of the day free, what was on the schedule for one of the worlds most celebrated athletes? "Not much, actually," Sharapova said. "I like to have my afternoon tea around 5. Its like a Russian tradition. Ill see my dog, spend some time with him, then get treatment, dinner, and then the day is over." At the top of her to-do list for the rest of the week is winning her first Key Biscayne title. Sharapova has been the runner-up five times, including each of the past three years, but she downplays any frustration regarding her many near-misses. "Of course you want to be able to hold the winners trophy," she said. "But you also remember the matches that you got through to get in the position to get to the final stage. Its not like I didnt have my opportunities in those finals; I just didnt take them. Thats why you come back and hope for another chance." Williams seems to be gaining momentum as the tournament unfolds, as usual. She overcame sloppy patches in her first two matches and committed only one unforced error in the second set against Vandeweghe. But Williams was impressed with the 22-year-old American, and told her so when they met at the net after the match. "She said, Listen, you played so well. Weve got to play doubles. Wed do so well," Vandeweghe said. Williams next plays No. 5-seeded Angelique Kerber, who beat Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. No. 8 Petra Kvitova rallied past No. 12 Ana Ivanovic, who double-faulted nine times in the final two sets and lost 3-6, 6-0, 6-0. In mens third-round play, No. 10 seed John Isner, the only American to reach the mens third round, hit 17 aces and beat Nicolas Almagro 7-5, 6-3. No. 22-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov rallied from a break down in the final set to beat Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (5). Dolgopolov has gone 6-1 this month despite his worries about unrest in his native Ukraine, where his mother and other relatives still live. "For me it was important it has calmed down and no people are dying," said Dolgopolov, who was born in Kyiv. "But theres a little bit of chaos still going on, and no one knows who is the ruling party and who is controlling the country. Its a mess." Cody Zeller Jersey .com) - Nicolas Colsaerts fired an 11-under 60 on Thursday and grabbed a 3-stroke lead with the opening round of the Portugal Masters suspended by rain. Willy Hernangomez Jersey .J. -- Rampage Jackson scowled, howled, then bellowed to the crowd: "Im back! Im back!" With rebuilt knees and a new promotion, Jackson might have one more act left in MMA. https://www.hornetslockerroom.com/Larry-Johnson-City-Edition-Jersey/ . -- Miami Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle defended the management style of coach Joe Philbin in the wake of the teams bullying scandal. Malik Monk Jersey . The 155th edition of the Plate for Canadian-foaled three-year-olds, the oldest continuously run stakes race in North America, will be televised live on TSN in HD (High Definition) in a special presentation from 4:30 – 6:00 pm ET. Post time is 5:38 pm. Muggsy Bogues Hornets Jersey .com) - They didnt meet in the regular season, so Sam Houston State might be saying it won the de facto title game between the two Southland Conference co-champions Saturday. OTTAWA -- Derek Stepan felt like he shed a huge weight Saturday afternoon. The New York Rangers centre had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators ending a 13-game goal-scoring drought. Stepans last goal was Dec. 20th. "Its a big relief," admitted Stepan. "I dont know for whatever reason throughout the year you go through these little dips and gullys and you have to find a way to just get through it. Its like the old saying of getting a monkey off your back." While the goal will definitely help Stepan feel better about his game, he said picking up the two assists were just as important. "It definitely helps with confidence," said Stepan. "Confidence is a tricky thing in this sport. When you seem to find a little bit of it you have to try and build off that momentum." Winners of five of their last six and holding a playoff spot have the Rangers feeling good about their game and they want to continue to improve. "Weve been talking about it as a group that points for the rest of the year are huge," said Stepan. "This one was no different." Brad Richards, Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello also scored for the Rangers (26-21-3). Cam Talbot was solid in goal stopping 27 shots for his 10th win of the season. Marc Methot scored the lone goal for Ottawa (21-19-9) as Craig Anderson stopped 26 shots. The loss put an end to the Senators eight-game (6-0-2) point streak. Ottawa is 1-4-2 on home ice when having to play midday. This one was no different. The last time the Senators won at home in the afternoon was Nov. 9 against the Florida Panthers, which also happens to be the last time they held a playoff spot. "I dont know what it is," said Clarke MacArthur. "To even talk about it is just an excuse. We have to be ready. The other teams come in here ready at two so we have to find a way to be better." Giveaways proved to be extremely costly for Ottawa as the Rangers scored twice on two terrible ones. "It happens to all of us once in a while," said Marc Methot of the giveaways. "Unfortunately it happened a few times (Saturday)." Zuccarello took advantage of a giveaway by Chris Philllips near centre ice and broke in alone on Anderson.dddddddddddd He caught Anderson out of position to make it 4-1 New York late in the third. While the Senators were managing to hold on during the game despite their sluggish play a late goal in the second proved to be the back breaker. With 11.5 seconds remaining Erik Karlsson went to pass the puck back behind his own net but put it directly on Stepans stick. Stepan beat Anderson shortside to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead and disappoint the 19,978 on hand at Canadian Tire Centre. "It was a momentum swing for sure," said Ottawas coach Paul MacLean of giving up the late goal. "Instead of getting out of the period down one, youre down two. It gives momentum to the other team going into the room and now you have to work even harder coming out of the room to start the period to get something going." MacLean said he didnt feel any need to talk to Karlsson as a mistake that blatant is sure to have an effect on any player. Earlier in the period Nash picked up his 12th of the season, as he broke in alone on Anderson and roofed the puck high. "It was a great play by Stepan," said Nash. "The puck rolled on me a bit, but youll take them any way you can get them." Ottawa had gotten off to a decent start with Methot scoring his fourth, tying a career high, to take a 1-0 lead, but midway through the period the Rangers tied it with a power-play goal. With a two-man advantage Stepan made a cross-crease pass to Richards who went high on a kneeling Anderson. "We started the game well and set ourselves up for a good hockey game," said Karlsson. "We just couldnt pull through for 60 minutes. We were a little bit too sloppy with the puck making plays." Saturdays game marked the first of three meetings between the two teams this season. Ottawa had claimed five straight overall against New York in the regular-season series, including the last three in Ottawa. Notes: D Patrick Wiercioch, D Joe Corvo and LW Matt Kassian were a healthy scratch for the Senators. RW Chris Neil returned to the lineup after missing the last six games with a lower-body injury. ... D Justin Falk was a healthy scratch for the Rangers. ' ' '