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Alain Vigneault will be the new head coach of the New York Rangers, a source confirmed to ESPNNewYork.com.

Though the details are still being finalized as of Saturday afternoon -- Vigneault is technically still under contract with the Vancouver Canucks -- the hiring is imminent, the source said.

The Rangers declined to comment via a team spokesperson.

Vigneault was also a top candidate for the Dallas Stars head coaching vacancy, but chose the Rangers after being made what one source described as a "lucrative" offer from the Stars.

A source told ESPNNewYork.com that Vigneault agreed to terms with the Rangers before informing Dallas he was out of the running Friday night. ESPNNewYork.com reported that Vigneault met with team owner Jim Dolan in New York on Friday.

Read more http://espn.go.com/new-york/nhl/stor...rangers-source

Alex Ovechkin capped his great season with the NHL's biggest award.

The Washington Capitals right wing won his third Hart Trophy, given to the league's MVP, on Saturday night, beating out Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and John Tavares of the New York Islanders. Ovechkin led the NHL with 32 goals during the regular season, the first time he's led the league in scoring since 2009, when he won his second straight Hart Trophy.

"It was kind of hard, but as everybody knows, I like challenges," Ovechkin, who was moved to the right wing this season, said in taped remarks. "It was a big challenge for me and the coaching staff, but we make it."

Read more http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/93...ns-hart-trophy

Florida Gators linebacker Antonio Morrison was arrested early Sunday morning for allegedly punching a nightclub bouncer because he was not given a discounted rate for admission.

According to a Gainesville Police Department report, two officers on patrol witnessed an altercation at 2:15 a.m. at the entrance to the Kava Lounge on West University Avenue. Upon arriving, the officers spoke with 25-year-old Omar Al Ajlani, who said he had been attacked and punched in the head.

Police arrested Morrison and charged him with misdemeanor simple battery. Morrison was booked into the Alachua County Jail at 6:03 a.m.

Morrison, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound sophomore, is expected to be the Gators' starter at middle linebacker.

Read more http://espn.go.com/college-football/...battery-charge

Greg Biffle gave Ford a milestone victory -- right down the road from company headquarters.

Biffle raced to his second straight Sprint Cup win at Michigan International Speedway, easily holding off Kevin Harvick after points leader Jimmie Johnson smacked the wall in the final laps Sunday. It was the 1,000th victory for Ford Motor Company across NASCAR's three national series -- Cup, Nationwide and Truck.

"What a great moment this is," said Jamie Allison, director of Ford Racing. "We couldn't be prouder to have this moment come here today at Michigan in front of so many of our Ford friends. What a great race and a great day for Ford."

It was Biffle's first win since he overtook Johnson to win at MIS in August. Johnson's engine faltered with six laps left in that race. This time, he was about a second behind Biffle with three laps to go -- but a tire give way, and he dropped all the way to 28th.

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup...epeat-michigan

John Force ended a 31-event winless streak Sunday in the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, beating Cruz Pedregon in the final round.

The 64-year-old Force raced to his record 135th career victory and fourth at Bristol Dragway. He powered his Ford Mustang to 4.148-second run at 305.29 mph, while Pedregon's Toyota Camry shut off approaching the finish.

"If you can't compete you are just mentally out of it," Force said. "This is great to come back here and win. So many fans wanted me to win on Father's Day. It's just a great day for the Force family and to do it on Father's Day is just awesome."

Force outran daughter Courtney Force, points leader Matt Hagan and rising star Blake Alexander to advance to the final round.

Steve Torrence won the Top Fuel event, and Rodger Brogdon topped the Pro Stock field.

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/nhra/story...lley-nationals

Simon Thornton of Ireland beat Tjaart Van der Walt on the first hole of a playoff at the Najeti Hotels Open on Sunday to win his first European Tour title.

Both shot 1-under 70 in the final round, with pars on the last six holes to finish at 5-under 279. In the playoff, Van der Walt had a bogey on No. 18 while Thornton made a short par putt to clinch the victory.

Read more http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/9...ean-tour-title

Scott Parel won the Air Capital Classic on Sunday to become the fourth-oldest winner in Web.com Tour history, closing with a 7-under 64 for a three-stroke victory.

The 48-year-old Parel finished at 18-under 266 at Crestview Country Club after opening with rounds of 69, 66 and 67. He earned $117,000 to jump from 153rd to 14th on the money list with $124,808.

"Obviously, I'm playing well now," he said. "My goal now is to climb up there as high as I can and a win is a good start toward it."

Read more http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/9...apital-classic

They wanted Phil in Philly, serenading him with off-key attempts at "Happy Birthday," chanting his name as he strode down fairways, all but imploring Lefty to hole a nearly impossible pitch shot on the 18th hole that would keep the U.S. Open alive for another day.

The ball, of course, bounded by the wicker basket-topped flagstick at Merion, assuring that Englishman Justin Rose would become the first Briton to win the U.S. Open in more than 40 years.

While Phil Mickelson was left to lament another near-miss at the U.S. Open -- he called it "heartbreaking" -- the 32-year-old Rose offered up another feel-good major winner, a guy who had his own history with 72nd-hole pitch shots.

Rose holed a shot from off the green at the 1998 Open Championship as a 17-year-old amateur to tie for fourth, sending him on an up-and-down odyssey that saw him capture his first major with a solid round of even-par 70 on Sunday.

"It feels fantastic," said Rose, who was born in South Africa, grew up in England, became a citizen of the United Kingdom and now lives in Orlando, Fla. "I committed myself to the process this week. I committed myself to putting a strategy in place that I hoped would work in five-to-10 years in delivering major championships. And I tried to strike on that feeling the first week out, first time I tried and tested it to come out with the silver. And it feels absolutely amazing.

"Going forward gives me a lot of confidence. I don't know if it takes pressure off, but it's a moment where you can look back and think childhood dreams have come true."

Read more http://espn.go.com/golf/usopen13/sto...n-second-again

Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova won her sixth career title Sunday, beating Croatian teenager Donna Vekic 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the final of the Aegon Classic.

The 16-year-old Vekic stayed close against Hantuchova, who is 14 years older.

Read more http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id...h-career-title

Top-seeded Andy Murray rallied to beat defending champion Marin Cilic 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Queen's Club tournament for the third time.

The match was delayed for more than three hours by rain.

It is the 27th career title for the Briton, who also claimed the trophy in 2009 and '11, and his second of the season after winning at Miami in March.

read more http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id...urnament-third

Roger Federer overcame a sluggish start to beat unseeded Mikhail Youzhny 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 for his first title since August.

Roger Federer found the perfect place to end his title drought -- a small town in western Germany that has a big tennis stadium and a street named Roger-Federer-Allee leading to it.

Federer left Halle a winner again Sunday, ending a 10-month run of 11 tournaments without a title, an eternity by his standards.

The 31-year-old Swiss great overcame a sluggish start to beat unseeded Mikhail Youzhny 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 at the Gerry Weber Open for his first title since Cincinnati in August.

Read more http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id...-title-drought

Heavyweight contender Denis Boytsov (33-0, 26 KO’s) was also on the card against Oleksandr Nesterenko (9-2, 4 KO’s). Boytsov stopped Nesterenko in the 3rd round after nailing him with a looping right hand that appeared to him on the back of the head. The fight was immediately stopped at that point. Nesterenko got back to his feet and staggered briefly. It was a good punch, but the placement was in a bad spot.

Nesterenko threw very punches in the three rounds of action. It was mostly Boytsov jabbing and throwing an occasional big right hand power shots to the head. There really wasn’t much action from Boytsov either.

Compared to in his previous fights a couple of years earlier, Boytsov looked flabby last night with visible fat on him and he also looked older, slower and he didn’t throw combinations like he did when he was 24 and 25.

Read more http://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/06/...ys-nesterenko/

Heavyweight contender Manuel Charr (24-1, 14 KO’s) put on a body punching display last Saturday in stopping 38-year-old Ukrainian journeyman Oleksiy Mazikin (14-9-2, 4 KO’s) in the 3rd round in a scheduled 12 round fight of his WBC Baltic heavyweight title at the Karl Eckel Halle, Hattersheim am Main, Hessen, Germany.

Charr knocked Mazikin down four times in the fight with all of the knockdowns occurring by body shots. The fight was halted in the third after Charr nailed Mazikin with a perfect left to the body that put him down.

This time the referee chose to halt the fight rather than letting Mazikin pick himself up off the canvas and continue fighting.

Charr, 28, knocked Mazikin down with a right hand to the body in the 2nd round. In the 3rd, Charr dropped Mazikin with a short left to the midsection. Moments later, Charr knocked Mazikin down with another left to the body.

Read more http://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/06/...ys-nesterenko/

Ryan Hunter-Reay continued Andretti Autosport's domination at the Milwaukee Mile, winning the IndyCar event Saturday for the second year in a row.

Hunter-Reay became the first driver to win back-to-back races at the Mile since Tony Kanaan in 2006 and 2007 when he was driving for -- you guessed it, Andretti.

"I love this place," said Hunter-Reay, who won his third career race at Milwaukee.

"Every driver you ask, it's the oval they respect the most. It's hard to get it right. It opens up to two lanes and it creates some great racing."

Andretti drivers have won five of the last nine races at the mile oval and nearly had a perfect day Saturday in a race that was promoted for the second year by Michael Andretti's marketing company. Hunter-Reay got the win, E.J. Viso finished fourth and James Hinchcliffe was fifth.

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/indycar/st...kee-mile-again

The rain drops splashed down on the pavement at Michigan International Speedway about an hour after Regan Smith's victory Saturday.

Too late to interrupt the race -- and that was fine with Smith and crew chief Greg Ives.

"I've had a lot of different situations over the years, of weather and how it plays into it," Ives said. "I had the radar on my screen, and I saw it breaking up. None of my strategy really came off the weather -- whether or not the rain was going to come. ... If it would have came and rained us out, it happens, but I wasn't going to guarantee myself anything on the rain."

Smith won the Nationwide Series race, holding off Kyle Larson in the final 10 laps and more than doubling his lead in the points standings. He took the lead with 13 laps remaining when Parker Kligerman had to pit. The race was run under threatening weather conditions, but all 125 laps and 250 miles were completed with no delays.

Kligerman led for 13 laps toward the end, but the rain that might have helped him didn't arrive in time.

"We played it perfectly for that situation," Kligerman said. "There was debris everywhere the last 20 laps. Of course, no one threw a caution, so we ran out of fuel and finished wherever we finished."

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/nat...ationwide-race

Simona Halep defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 6-3 Saturday to win the inaugural Nurnberger Versicherungscup for her first WTA title.

The seventh-seeded Romanian had six aces and broke serve for a 2-0 lead in the second set. She held off two break points in the final game before closing out the match with two forehand winners. It's her first win in four career finals.

Read more http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id...irst-wta-title

Fighting without his WBO title that he lost on the scales last Friday, Mikey Garcia (32-0, 27 KO’s) had an easy time stopping former two division world champion Juan Manuel Lopez (33-3, 30 KO’s) in the 4th round on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center, in Dallas, Texas, USA. Garcia knocked Lopez down with a nice right hand in the 2nd.

In the 4th round, Mikey nailed a desperate Juanma with a left hook to the head that dropped him on the canvas. The fight was then halted by Raphael Ramos at 1:35 of the round.

Lopez was jabbing continuously in the first two rounds, and he finally realized in the 2nd that he couldn’t stay on the outside and have any chance of winning. Late in the 2nd, Lopez begin to press the attack but then walked into a right hand that knocked him down.

With swelling around his left eye, Lopez attempted to put smart pressure on Mikey in the 3rd round, but he was caught left short left hooks and jabs frequently. On very few occasions was Lopez able to land any of his power shots in the 3rd. He just couldn’t get close enough to Mikey without getting nailed.

Read more http://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/06/...tirosyan-wins/

I think we may have seen boxing’s newest star in the lightweight division with undefeated Terrence Crawford (21-0, 15 KO’s) putting on a masterful boxing and punching performance in beating Alejandro Sanabria (34-2-1, 25 KO’s) by a 6th round TKO at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Crawford was almost un-hittable with his airtight defense and his quick footwork. He jabbed and pounded Sanabria like a surgeon. The fight ended suddenly when Crawford wound up and hit Sanabria with a picture perfect left hook to the head that put him down for the night. There was no getting up from that punch, and Crawford had his knockout.

I think Crawford may be the best fighter in the lightweight division right now, and that includes Adrien Broner, Richard Abril and Ricky Burns. I think Crawford is better than all of them. I doubt he’ll get any of those guys to fight him, but I think he’s the best at this weight right now.

Read more http://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/06/...ting-sanabria/

The Sacramento Kings have agreed to terms with Nuggets executive Pete D'Alessandro as the franchise's new general manager, league sources told CBSSports.com on Saturday.

The Kings' ownership group, led by Vivek Ranadive, is still working through how the front office will be structured and hasn't ruled out further additions, one person familiar with the situation said. An additional role could be a consulting position, similar to the Jerry West role in Golden State.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace is viewed as someone who would make a strong partner with D'Alessandro and hasn't been ruled out as an addition to the front office, a person familiar with the situation said. The Kings interviewed Wallace three times and are intrigued by his experience and small-market success.

D'Alessandro's departure from Denver, where he was executive vice president of basketball operations, leaves the Nuggets with a clean sweep of exits from their baskebtall structure. GM Masai Ujiri left for Toronto and coach George Karl was not invited back after a contract dispute. Ujiri is the reigning executive of the year, and Karl the reigning coach of the year.

It became doubtful in recent days that D'Alessandro, one of the top experts in the NBA on the salary cap and collective bargaining agreement, was going to be offered a new contract and/or a promotion in Denver in the wake of Ujiri's departure. After Ujiri left, D'Alessandro was playing a key role in the team's search for a new coach, which has been focused on Lionel Hollins and Brian Shaw.

- See more at: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/ke...essandro-as-gm