The Islanders keep giving Garth Snow a reason to believe. Thursday it was a 1-0 victory over Tampa Bay that put New York back into a playoff spot. New York welcomed back Chris Simon from his latest suspension, but the Uniondale crowd didn’t exactly welcome Simon. When he skated his first shift the boos were louder than the cheers, but things settled down and Simon ended up with nine uneventful shifts on the night. It......

Devils 2, Sabres 1 (SO): Aggressive play cost the Devils the win in regulation, but Martin Brodeur, Brian Gionta and Patrik Elias too center stage in the shootout to allow the Devils to continue their home dominance. They have picked up 21 of 22 points at their new Prudential Center in the last 11 games. Things didn't look so rosy when Jason Pominville tied the game with 1:47 to go, but the Devils bounced......

Philadelphia 105 Knicks 77: On Tuesday, the Sixers fired their GM and President. On Wednesday, they lost to Boston, a team that is currently 17-2. On Friday and Saturday they swept a home-and-home against the Knicks, a team that desperately needs to start over again. It’s time Jim Dolan, if you even care anymore. It’s time Isiah Thomas, if you care about anything beyond your current job. Long ago the Garden was a magical place......

Knicks 85 Chicago 78: Seriously, that isn’t a misprint, the Knicks won the game! Afterwards, while the fans stormed the court and the tickertape rained down, Isiah Thomas took a minute to point out that everyone was wrong about him and that this triumph was his vindication. Ok, it didn’t quite happen that way, but based on some of the reaction you had to assume that the Knicks had actually won a big game, rather......

Islanders 2, Rangers 1: For all the success the Rangers have had against the rest of the league, they still can't solve the Islanders. Five-game winning streak? Poof! Rick DiPietro made 18 saves and the Islanders won for the third time in three games between the two clubs. Ruslan Fedotenko and Josef Vasicek each scored in the second period, and Michal Rozsival scored a short-handed goal for the Rangers. He now has seven goals......

Rangers 2 Washington 0: It wasn’t an offensive explosion, but it was enough. Chris Drury put the Rangers in front with a goal 6:45 into the second period and the power play clicked again a few minutes later when Michal Rozsival made it 2-0. That’s all that Henrik Lundqvist needed as he recorded his 3rd shutout of the season by making 31 saves. Lundqvist has played every game of the year so far for New......

Maybe all the Rangers needed was a punch in the mouth. Not a punch per se, but a high stick that knocked some teeth out of Jaromir Jagr’s mouth. Jagr shook off the hit and the Rangers shook off the malaise that has plagues their power play all season with two goals in the third to win 3-1 over Tampa Bay. New York took an early lead in the first period on Nigel Dawes’ third......

IIndians 12, Yankees 3: Well, that didn't go as planned. Chien-Ming Wang didn't have his sinker, gave up a ton of two-out and two-strike hits, and the Yankees got buried. Their patient bats wore out C.C. Sabathia, but they only got three runs for their efforts against him, and that wasn't nearly enough given the way Wang pitched. Then they stunk up the joint against the Indians bullpen, but by them the game was......

St. Louis 3 Mets 0: And so it has come to this, with three games left in the year the Mets are now tied for first with the Phillies. A seven-game lead has evaporated in two weeks and with the Padres winning tonight, missing the playoffs has become a very real possibility. How this team breaks out of these doldrums is hard to imagine. The Mets only got one runner to second base in Thursday’s......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery at the Washington Mutual on Sheepshead Bay Rd. in Brooklyn, a worker fell into the water off Pier 11 on Governor's Island, and a bank robbery on 57th St. and Broadway in Manhattan. Additional charges could be in store for the woman who allegedly shot a Staten Island commune leader before fleeing to Philadelphia. Maya Rudolph is not returning for the new season of Saturday Night......

Mets 7, Marlins 6 (11 innings): A third straight win has pushed thoughts of panic to the back burner. Philadelphia lost, meaning the Mets' lead is 2 1/2. Stranger things have happened, but the Mets have buckled up in the driver's seat in the National League East. Please support David Wright for the MVP award. He put the team ahead in the 11th after another poor performance from the relievers. That bullpen still has to......

Blue Jays 5, Yankees 4 (14 innings): If they knew their four-run rally in the ninth inning would only result in a 14-inning loss, maybe they wouldn't have been so excited when they produced that unexpected effort. Roy Halladay hardly had to exert himself over the first eight innings, but some shoddy defense and timely hitting in the ninth undid all that.They always say it's better to have loved and lost than to never have......

Mets 3 Braves 2: Some people may question Willie Randolph’s managing, but they had better give him credit for this weekend. After a dismal sweep at the hands of the Phillies, the Mets responded in a huge way, sweeping their archrival in Atlanta. Tom Glavine contributed at both ends, driving in the first run of the game and allowing only one run in six innings. David Wright added his 25th home run of the year,......

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and his wife Cynthia were the very portrait of a snuggly couple at a U.S. Open match yesterday evening. The Post says the couple was "love-love" but the tabloid is probably disappointed that it's not a picture of A-Rod with a stripper friend or C-Rod in her naughty tank top. And earlier in the day, Rodriguez had a home run and an error (that led to two unearned Devil......

Yankees 9, Devil Rays 6: Mike Mussina might want to worry now. Ian Kennedy threw seven innings of three-run ball -- though only one run was earned -- as the Yankees evened their series against the Devil Rays. Mussina might start if Roger Clemens is unable to go Monday, but the rookie Kennedy probably earned himself a few more starts with this one. Alex Rodriguez found himself at the center of everything today. He hit......

Yankees 7 Tampa Bay 3: If the Yankees are going to start winning regularly they will need more nights like this. A-Rod, Jeter and Abreu homered to pace the attack and Andy Pettitte gutted out 5 2/3 innings for the win. Before the game, A-Rod announced that he will not discuss a new conteact with the Yankees until the season is over. Mets 3 Reds 2: Jose Reyes and Ruben Gotay started the game off......

Pitcher Roger Clemens, who was coaxed out of retirement with a deal worth $28 million, was supposed to be the savior of the floundering Yankees. The Bronx team's pitching staff has been plagued with injuries and Joe Torre and Ron Guidry have been forced to call up ever-younger prospects from the organization's farm system. Fans were momentarily relieved and distracted from the Yankees' on-field woes during the 7th inning stretch of a game in early......

Tampa Bay 10 Yankees 8: It’s not hard to fathom why New York keeps losing, they just aren’t pitching well at all. Already leading the league in relief innings, the Yankees saw starter Kei Igawa fail to get out of the fifth while the bullpen had another shaky night. On the positive side, Alex Rodriguez has erased any doubts about his ability to perform in New York. Rodriguez belted his 13th and 14th homers......

The wedding season is in full swing: Second week in a row where there are over 30 weddings in the NY Times Weddings & Celebrations section. Here we go: Total Number of Weddings: 32 (including Vows column) Total Number of Same-Sex Weddings: 2 Youngest Bride: 24 Oldest Bride: 47 Youngest Groom: 24 Oldest Groom: 62 Biggest Age Difference: 17 years Number of Couples Where Bride and Groom Are the Same Age: 2 (24, 38) Number......

Rangers 2 Thrashers 1: New York took a commanding lead in their playoff series thanks to an incredibly lucky bounce and a beautiful goal from Brenadan Shanahan. The Rangers head home with a 2-0 lead in the series. Islanders 3 Sabres 2: Rick DiPietro returned and stopped 32-of-34 shots to lead the Islanders to victory. Marc-Andre Bergeron scored a power-play goal in the third period to give New York the victory. Lightning 3 Devils 2:......

Rangers 4 Atlanta 3: To say this was a physical contest is an understatement. The Rangers and Thrashers engaged in a heavyweight fight Thursday with New York surviving in the end. Jagr and Rozsival put the Rangers up 2-0 in the first before Eric Belanger cut the lead in half. The Rangers opened another two-goal lead in the second when Marcel Hossa made it 3-1, but Shane Hnidy cut the lead to 1 again midway......

For some inexplicable reason, the NHL has scheduled all three local clubs to start their playoff chase tonight and to overlap with each other most nights. Because of that, fans of the various teams should get to know this website to figure out where they can watch the games. As for the actual series, the Islanders have clearly drawn the toughest test. Buffalo started out the season on fire and hasn’t let up, earning the......

Yankees 10, Orioles 7: Yeah, you read the headline right. Alex Rodriguez came through in yesterday afternoon's game in the biggest way - with a two-out game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the 9th inning. It was his 2nd home run of the game. The bottom of the ninth inning went something like this: out, out, Robinson Cano single, Derek Jeter walk, Bobby Abreu hit-by-pitch, grand slam by Rodriguez into the black seats. Kei......

Yankees 9, Tampa Bay 5: Amazingly, Carl Pavano and Alex Rodriguez got through introductions without being booed and the Bleacher Creatures only did a few rounds of a “we want Bernie” chant. That was the start of Opening Day 2007 and the goodwill lasted all of four batters until A-Rod dropped a popup that would have ended the first inning. A-Rod could have turned his fortunes around in the bottom of the inning with two......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: Gefilte Fish Chronicles (Sunday, 7:00 p.m. WNET 13; 10:00 p.m., WLIW 21) A look at three sisters as they spend weeks getting a traditional Passover seder ready. New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., ESPN 2) The Amazings start their 2007 campaign this year against the team that shouldn't have even been in the World Series. A bit of warning - the game is......

Portland 92 Knicks 86: You want a “must-win” game? This one was it for the Knicks. Their next four games are Cleveland, Orlando, Cleveland and Dallas, so getting a win here was vital to prevent a long potential losing-streak. But, in classic fashion, the Knicks didn’t show up. Eddy Curry continued his regression (19.6 ppg pre All-Star game/16.9 after including 15.4 in March) scoring only eight points and Marbury went 6-22 from the field. Isiah......

Jazz 104, Knicks 102 (OT): It was a chance for the Knicks to get their 23rd win last night, matching their season total for last year. Unfortunatly, 22 turnovers and Mehmet Okur got the best of them. Despite having a 10-point lead with 5:03 left in the 4th quarter, the Jazz forced overtime. Quentin Richardson tied the game for the Knicks with 22 seconds remaining in OT, but the Jazz scored on a back door......

Knicks 116 Miami 96: When the matchup at center is Jerome James vs. Shaq you wouldn’t expect the Knicks to come out on top, but thanks to Jamal Crawford they did. Crawford hit sixteen-straight shots on his way to 52 points as New York routed Miami. Besides the inspired play of Crawford, the Knicks finally made a lineup change. Jared Jeffries was sent to the bench and Channing Frye got the start. Jeffries only played......

Islanders 4 Flyers 2: Rick DiPietro is definitely trying to earn his 15-year contract. Rick had another great night in the nets, stopping 29 of 31 shots and keeping New York in the game while they were blitzed in the first two periods. Jason Blake led the way for the Islanders with 7 shots and a goal and Miroslav Satan added 2 assists. Tampa Bay 3 New Jersey 2 (shootout): Martin Brodeur had a great......

Knicks 102, Kings 97: Jamal Crawford scored eight points in the final 1 minute 7 seconds to lead New York over Sacramento in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee. Crawford's won some other games this sesaon, but should people go as far as David Lee in singing his praises? The second-year forward called Crawford the "one of the best in the NBA" at performing down the stretch. Not quite, but still a good......