Off the wire

HOCKEY Lundqvist, Staal lead Rangers

Of their seven goals scored Sunday afternoon, the New York Rangers were most proud of the second. It came when they were down 3-1 late in the first period, an early deficit amid difficult conditions at Yankee Stadium’s first outdoor hockey game. Less than a minute after the Devils jumped out to a commanding two-goal lead, Rangers defenseman Marc Staal pushed the puck past New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur’s pads to pull within one in a 7-3 victory. New York’s four second-period goals ultimately knocked Brodeur out of the game and all but sealed the victory in front of 50,105 fans on a chilly afternoon. Snow flurries fell, but only during that auspicious second period, prompting Hagelin to suggest that it helped the Rangers. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist did not allow another goal after the first period.

FOOTBALL Fox: Prater fine

Denver Broncos Coach John Fox said placekicker Matt Prater will be fine for the Super Bowl. Prater missed practice all week with the flu and the Broncos kept him away from the rest of the team so he didn’t get everyone else sick. He was on the team plane that landed in New Jersey earlier Sunday and Fox says Prater was feeling better. Fox even joked that the Broncos “put him in a bubble” on the airplane. Prater, a Pro Bowler this season, was a big part of Denver’s record-setting 606-point regular season, converting 25 of 26 field goals and all 75 PATs. In the playoffs, he’s 5 or 5 on field goals and PATs. His only miss was a 52-yard field goal attempt at Kansas City on Dec. 1 that sailed wide left. Fox said Prater caught a virus “like everybody gets.”

The Washington Redskins have hired Randy Jordan as running backs coach. The 43-year-old Jordan spent the last two years as running backs coach at North Carolina. He also has coached running backs at Texas A&M and Nebraska. His only NFL coaching experience came as a special teams assistant with the Oakland Raiders in 2003. Jordan played nine seasons in the NFL, rushing for 574 yards in 122 games with the Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars. Jordan replaces Bobby Turner, one of several assistants not retained after coach Mike Shanahan was fired this month and replaced by Jay Gruden.

BASKETBALL Ray apologizes for comments

Mississippi State Coach Rick Ray has issued an apology after television replays showed him directing comments at Mississippi’s Marshall Henderson in the final seconds of Saturday’s game. Henderson was walking off the court with 6.3 seconds left when Ray said something as the guard walked past. The Rebels won 82-63 and Henderson scored 19 points. Ray issued an apology on Instagram on Sunday saying he “responded inappropriately to an Ole Miss player yesterday in our game.” Ray said he “reached out to [Ole Miss] Coach [Andy] Kennedy immediately to apologize and subsequently to the player.”Ray added there “is no reason for a coach to ever have interaction with an opposing player, ever, regardless of the circumstances.”

Legendary La Salle basketball player and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Tom Gola has died, his wife, Caroline, told the Philadelphia Daily News on Sunday. He was 81. A three-time All-American, Gola led the Explorers to the 1952 NIT championship and NCAA title in 1954. The national player of the year in 1955, Gola was named the most valuable player of both tournaments and remains the school’s all-time leading rebounder and third leading scorer. His 2,201 rebounds remains an NCAA record. Gola spent 10 years in the NBA, leading the Philadelphia Warriors to a championship in 1956 and was a five-time All-Star.

MOTOR SPORTS Action Express wins Rolex 24

After more than 2,400 miles and 23 1/2 hours of racing, the most prestigious North American sports car race came down to eight minutes and a final five-lap sprint. The first race of the unified United Sports Car Championship - the NASCAR-owned and IMSA-sanctioned series born from the merger between American Le Mans and Grand-AM - ended with a NASCAR flair. A late, full-course caution swallowed Joao Barbosa’s 13-second lead and gave Max Angelelli a last-ditch chance to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Barbosa never gave him a chance, pulling away on the restart with 8:23 to race Sunday to give Action Express Racing its second victory in four years. It gave Barbosa his second overall victory and third in class. Co-driver Sebastien Bourdais won the Rolex for the first time, while Christian Fittipaldi won for the second time. Action Express’ second entry finished third - and Chevrolet’s new Corvette swept the podium - in an outstanding day for the Bob Johnson-owned organization. Action won its first Rolex in 2010, and Barbosa was part of that team.

HORSE RACING Lakerville on top

Lakerville won the Clocker’s Corner Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths at Santa Anita on Sunday after a 17-month layoff. Ridden by Corey Nakatani, Lakerville, trained and co-owned by Barry Abrams, ran 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf in 1:11.75 and paid $19.60, $8.40 and $6.40 at 8-1 odds. Sweet Swap returned $7.60 and $5.80, while Di Giorgio was another halflength back in third and paid $8.20 to show. The victory, worth 460,120, increased Lakerville’s career earnings to $272,660, with five victories in seven starts. It was his first stakes victory.

Natalie Victoria led all the way, beating Endless Chatter by six lengths Saturday in the $67,000 allowance feature for fillies and mares at Aqueduct. Jose Ortiz was aboard for trainer Michelle Nevin, who claimed the 6-year-old for $12,500 in her previous start. Natalie Victoria got her eighth win in 29 starts, covering 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.73 on the fast track. Natalie Victoria paid $8.80, $5.10 and $3.60 as the 3-1 second choice. Endless Chatter returned $4.80 and $3.40, and Dreaming of Cara paid $2.70 as the 9-5 favorite.

FOOTBALL Team Rice takes Pro Bowl

Dallas running back DeMarco Murray caught a 20-yard pass for a touchdown and Carolina running back Mike Tolbert plunged into the end zone for a two-point conversion with less than a minute to give Jerry Rice a victory over Deion Sanders in the first schoolyard-style Pro Bowl on Sunday at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.

Baltimore’s Justin Tucker missed a 67-yard field goal on the game’s final play after missing a 66-yarder earlier in the game.

The touchdown and conversion gave Rice a comeback after Philadelphia quarterback Nick Foles threw a 12-yard touchdown to Cleveland tight end Jordan Cameron with less than 5 minutes to play to give Sanders a 21-14 lead.

The touchdowns by Cameron and Murray were the only scores of the second half in a game that had eight turnovers - including six interceptions - and nine sacks.

Foles was the only quarterback of six in the game to not throw an interception. He was named offensive MVP.

Philadelphia wide receiver DeSean Jackson and Carolina quarterback Cam Newton also had touchdowns for Team Sanders. New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham and Cleveland wide receiver Josh Gordon caught touchdowns for Team Rice.

The Pro Bowlers were split up by the NFL greats in a new draft format meant to improve the game. The picks made earlier in the week created matchups that pitted usual teammates against each other and challenged Rice and Sanders to compare the allstars against one another.

Jackson caught the game’s first touchdown pass from Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck. Luck threw the ball 36 yards into double coverage in the end zone on a flea flicker, where Jackson wrestled it away from Titans cornerback Alterraun Verner.

Kansas City’s Derrick Johnson - who had a big hit in the first half on Chiefs teammate Jamaal Charles - was selected as the game’s defensive MVP for Team Rice.