Alex Ovechkin scored three goals to Sidney Crosby’s two, leading his Washington Capitals past the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 in overtime last night at the Verizon Center. The contest featured a handful of fights in all three periods from both squads. The top ranked Capitals stand at 41-12-6 compared to Pittsburgh’s 35-22-2 record so far this season. “It was what people pay to see, when the superstars shine,” said Washington coach Bruce Boudreau. “There’s tension, and there’s excitement, and there’s physical play, and there’s passion on both sides. That’s what hockey is all about.”

Crosby kicked off the festivities with his two goals in the first period. Ovechkin delivered 9:01 into the second before Jordan Staal earned a pair of back to back scores himself soon after.  Washington scored again to make it 4-2 heading into the third block where Ovechkin proceeded to take over, notching the hat trick to send the game into OT. He later hit Mike Knuble with the assist on a power play to conclude the hard fought battle in DC. The Caps are scheduled to play the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday as the Penguins host the New York Islanders.

Marco Sturm came through with a pair of goals to help the Boston Bruins post their first W in 10 games over the Montreal Canadiens Sunday at the Bell Centre in Quebec. Tuuka Rask collected 35 saves to hold Montreal scoreless through all three blocks. “It’s always easier to have a two-goal than a one-goal lead,” said Rask. “If I sleep, it’s going to be on the scoreboard right away so you try be as sharp as possible.”

Adam McQuaid scored his first career NHL goal 17:32 into the initial period. Sturm followed up just before the start of the second to gain the extra advantage. The contest didn’t feature another score until Sturm found the net again with 10 minutes left in regulation. The Bruins will next face off against the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow night as the Canadiens prepare to host the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.

The Orlando Magic went on a 19-0 run in the third quarter to come back and defeat the Boston Celtics 96-89 yesterday at the TD Garden. “We were getting what we deserved,” said Boston head coach Doc Rivers, “I love our team on paper, but we tend to be front-runners. When we get a good lead we relax and teams take advantage of it and then you’re caught and it’s tough to turn it back on.”

The C’s were in control throughout the first two blocks until the Magic surged in the third, scoring 36 points to Boston’s 11. Vince Carter was 3-for-4 from deep to help him collect 20 points for the Magic. Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson contributed 16 and 15, respectively.

Rajon Rondo led Boston with 17 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and three steals. Paul Pierce posted 13 in his return to the lineup. “The foot was a little sore,” said Pierce. “But I don’t think it affected too much of my movement.” Boston is next scheduled to matchup with the New Orleans Hornets Wednesday at 8:00 PM.

Drew Brees completed 32 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns to claim MVP rights while leading his New Orleans Saints past the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 Sunday at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL. New Orleans fans have waited 43 years for the Saints to win it all, and Brees was certainly estatic to give his beloved city a reason to celebrate.

“Just to think of the road we’ve all traveled, the adversity we’ve all faced,” said Brees. “It’s unbelievable. I mean, are you kidding me? Four years ago, whoever thought this would be happening…We just all looked at one another and said, ‘We’re going to rebuild together. We are going to lean on each other.’ That’s what we’ve done the last four years and this is the culmination in all that belief.” 

Indianapolis was in control from the start, posting 10 in the first quarter while holding the Saints scoreless through the entire block. New Orleans then battled for two field goals before heading into the locker room to make it 10-6. Following a Saints onside kick recovery, Brees marched his men down field to earn their first lead of the contest.

Manning and Co. were able to bounce right back for six to reclaim the advantage, but from there it was all about the Saints. The final dagger came with 3:12 left in regulation when Tracy Porter jumped out for a 74 yard interception return. “Made a great play,” said Manning in disappointment after the game. “Corner made a heck of a play.”

The Saints are set to join the rest of New Orleans at the parade Tuesday afternoon. “It means everything,” said Brees. “We’re here because of their strength and everything they fought through here the last few years. They’ve given us so much support, so we owe it all to our fans.”

The complete 2010 MLS regular season schedule was just released earlier this afternoon, featuring the New England Revolution and Los Angeles Galaxy opening against each other Saturday, March 27th in Carson, CA. New England will then travel to Washington to matchup with DC United before hosting Toronto FC April 10th at Gillette.

No Major League Soccer contests will be held from June 11th-25th in light of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Later this summer the Revs are set to enter SuperLiga 2010, an annual event showcasing the best professional clubs from the U.S. and Mexico. Be sure to check back for New England Revolution tickets!

LeBron James took control at point guard and racked up 36 points and eight assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers went on to coast past the Miami Heat 102-86 last night at the Quicken Loans Arena. With Delonte West and Mo Williams sidelined along with Daniel Gibson’s first quarter absence due to family matters, James was easily able to come in and play floor general for the Cavs to extend their win streak to 10.

“I knew I was going to have the ball in my hands a lot because I was the starting point guard or point forward, whatever you want to call it,” said James. “Like Magic (Johnson). I can go coast to coast and do a lot of things with the ball that point guards in this league can’t do.”

Dwayne Wade led Miami in scoring as always with 24 points. LeBron has now defeated Wade in 13 of 22 total career matchups. “This team is just better than us,” said Wade. “You have to be realistic. I understand this team has NBA championship aspirations. We don’t have that. We’re focusing on trying to get to the playoffs and this team is trying to get to the championship. It’s totally different.” The Cavs are set to host the New York Knicks tomorrow night as the Heat travel north to face the Chicago Bulls.

The New Jersey Devils just recently exchanged forward Niclas Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-round pick in order to add stand-out Ilya Kovalchuck to their roster. The former Atlanta Thrashers captain has collected a total of 31 goals and 27 assists so far this season. New Jersey was also able to pick up Anssi Salmema, a defensemen who was previously a part of the Devils organization before Atlanta brought him in at the trade deadline in 2009.

Despite posting a successful 35-18-2 record, the Devils have been struggling lately in regards to their offensive production. Kovalchuck will certainly expect to make an immediate contribution in this area to keep his new team atop the Atlantic Division standings.

“We felt Kovalchuk was a player who could come and fill the need that we felt we had for an explosive scorer and someone who could add a different dimension to our power play with the type of shot,” said Devils GM Lou Lamoriello. “Then it was just the case of trying to make it work somehow where we could not sacrifice tomorrow.” The Devils are scheduled to host the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at 7:00 PM. New Jersey Devils tickets are now available!

The Detroit Tigers just recently invested long term with Ace Justin Verlander, negotiating and finalizing his $80 million five-year contract earlier this afternoon. Last season Verlander proved himself as one of the league’s premier pitchers, racking up a total of 269 strikeouts in 240 innings with a 3.45 ERA.

Detroit ended their 2009 campaign with a 6-5 loss in 12 innings to the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central tie-breaker. This marked the only time in MLB history where a team lost a three game lead with four games to go in the regular season. Verlander is confident his team will be able to make the proper adjustments to further succeed in 2010.

“I want to win. That’s first and foremost,” he said. “I feel like this organization wants to win, and they’re going to put this team in a position year in and year out. That’s all I can ask for, to be part of a team that goes out there and has a chance to win our division and play in the playoffs. That was a major consideration for me.” The Tigers are scheduled to begin their new conquest in Kansas City against the Royals for three games from April 5th-8th. Detroit Tigers tickets are now available!

This week has been all about breaking franchise records in Lakerland. Following Kobe Bryant netting 44 points in Tuesdays loss to Memphis to pass Jerry West on the all-time Lakers scoring list, Phil Jackson added another piece to his resume Wednesday during LA’s 99-97 victory over the Bobcats at the Staples Center. Charlotte kept the pressure on but Los Angeles wouldn’t fold in order to give their beloved coach his 545th win as a Laker.

Jackson is the only coach to earn the most wins for two separate franchises (Chicago, Los Angeles). His incredible run with Jordan, Pippen and Co. won six NBA titles before he traveled West to collect another four. “It’s been a really good run,” said Jackson. “Having this opportunity to coach this team is always special. The fact that we’ve had some great teams, great players, is always a credit to them. It’s not really an individual record in my mind.”

Last night’s game featured Andrew Bynum leading the way with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Lamar Odom came up with 19, including a few necessary buckets to keep the advantage down the stretch. Bryant, despite just recently edging the top spot within the orgnization could only produce five points.

The 4-time NBA champ has been struggling with a broken finger on his shooting hand. “It was just stiff — stiff and tight,” he said. “Lamar stepped on my foot as I was changing directions, so it just made it worse. It just set it back to Square One.” The Lakers will next matchup with the Nuggets tomorrow as the Bobcats prepare to challenge the Hornets back in Charlotte on Saturday.

Celtics captain Paul Pierce could only watch from the sidelines as others filled the void for Boston to will themselves over Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat 107-102 last night at the TD Garden. Rajon Rondo stepped up to assume his role as floor general with 22 points and 14 assists. Kevin Garnett earned a career high nine assists with 14 points as Ray Allen led the scoring campaign with 23. Eddie House came off the bench to shoot over 50% in the process of netting 16 points in just 24 minutes played.

After a handful of rumors in regards to locker room controversy in Boston, the Celts were certainly able to resolve any problems before yesterday’s contest judging by their style of play. “It was contagious,” said Rondo. “We shared the ball tonight and played very unselfishly.”

Miami is now 24-25, facing seven of their next eight games on the road. They’ll start with LeBron and the top seeded Cleveland Cavaliers tonight at 8:00 PM. The C’s will next play host to the New Jersey Nets on Friday. Boston Celtics tickets are now available right here at Ace!