Nashville

Standings Teams are listed in order of playoff position. The first eight teams in each conference earn playoff berths, with the three division winners in each conference seeded first, second and third.   W   L   OL   Pts.   GIs   Op.    d-Pittsburgh 22   8   0   44   108   80    d-Montreal 19   5   4   42   90   70    d-Carolina 15   11   2   32   83   78    Boston 19   5   3   41   81   57    Ottawa 15   8   6   36   72   62    Toronto 15   12   2   32   86   83    d-Winnipeg 15   12   2   32   77   85    New Jersey 13   10   6   32   72   81    N.Y. Rangers 14   12   2   30   67   68    N.Y. Islanders 13   12   3   29   83   91    Tampa Bay 13   15   1   27   96   86    FLYERS 13   16   1   27   81   92    Washington 12   15   1   25   78   85    Buffalo 10   15   4   24   76   93    Florida 7   16   6   20   70   109      d-Chicago 24   2   3   51   100   62    d-Anaheim 20   3   4   44   90   66    d-Minnesota 15   10   2   32   70   68    St. Louis 16   10   2   34   85   80    Detroit 14   10   5   33   78   75   ...

Florida State beat North Carolina twice this season. Did the same to Duke, too. But it was Andrew Nicholson and little St. Bonaventure who nearly sent the Seminoles home in their first NCAA tournament game. Bernard James scored 19 points and Florida State barely avoided a big upset, rallying to beat the 14th-seeded Bonnies, 66-63, on Friday at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The third-seeded Seminoles (25-9) shook off a slow start and won their sixth straight game, including their run to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship last week.

BLOOD OOZED down Predators captain Shea Weber's face after a high stick clipped him close to his nose, though officials didn't call a penalty. So his teammates helped him take out his pain on the Dallas Stars. Roman Josi scored his second goal 28 seconds into overtime and the Predators rallied from a 4-2 deficit to beat the visiting Stars, 5-4, Monday night in a wild game featuring several fights, six goals and Weber's bloodied face - all in the second period. "There was a lot of blood," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said.

You don't find too many country music stars who hail from Northeast Philadelphia. Go ahead, name one. OK, what about two? Sure, that would be the Kinleys, Heather and Jennifer, who spent their early years in Mayfair and then moved on with their parents to Feasterville. Well, to be right on the money, Heather and Jennifer Kinley are not exactly stars at this point, but they would seem to be well on their way, with a Grammy nomination, two top-10 singles and an album tucked away on their resume, and a headlining spot tonight at the Trump Marina.

NASHVILLE , Tenn. - Ruben Amaro Jr. is about 2 weeks away from the 3-year anniversary of what's likely the defining move of his tenure as Phillies general manager. In December 2009, Amaro ended his long, calculated pursuit of Roy Halladay by trading for the longtime Toronto ace. But in doing so, he made a companion deal with Seattle that sent Cliff Lee out west. Despite Halladay's prowess, the trade wasn't very popular with a fan base that saw Lee beat the Yankees twice in the World Series just 2 months earlier.

NASHVILLE - Winger Matt Read entered Friday tied for the NHL rookie lead with 13 goals and could become the first Calder Trophy winner in Flyers history. Center Sean Couturier, a penalty-killing whiz who recently turned 19, has scored goals in three straight - including consecutive game-winners - and looks like the steal of the 2011 draft. Defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon, another player who made his NHL debut this season, has provided solid minutes since being promoted from Adirondack in November - and has shown a willingness to be a scrapper and to get involved in the offense.

NASHVILLE - Flyers center Claude Giroux has blossomed into one of the NHL's elite players, but he is trying to get through his first prolonged slump of the season. Maybe he's trying too hard. You can hear the disappointment in his voice after games. You can see his frustration as he slams his gloves on the bench after a goal-less shift. Giroux, an ultra-intense competitor, has one goal in his last 10 games. "It's not really about the stats, it's that I know I can play better," Giroux said after he and his line mates, Scott Hartnell and Jaromir Jagr, were shut down by defensemen Shea Weber and Ryan Suter in Saturday's 4-2 loss in Nashville.

The stunning, blockbuster trade that sent captain Mike Richards to Los Angeles last June looks better with each game. Wayne Simmonds, the rugged forward who was part of the deal, scored a pair of goals Thursday to carry the Flyers to a 4-1 win over Nashville at the Wells Fargo Center. Simmonds has 15 goals - one more than he scored all of last season with the Kings. With 32 games remaining, Simmonds is one goal shy of his career high in goals. The right winger was acquired with Brayden Schenn and a No. 2 draft pick in 2012 for Richards, who has one fewer goal and two fewer assists this season than Simmonds.

Another dead end in hunt for Hoffa DETROIT - Like many others that came before it, the latest search for former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa has come up empty. Tests on soil samples gathered last week from a backyard in a Detroit suburb showed no traces that Hoffa - or anyone else - was buried there, police in Roseville, Mich., announced Tuesday. "Our department just received the soil sample report from Michigan State University, after a battery of tests; the samples submitted for examination showed no signs of human decomposition," the police statement read.

Flyers center Danny Briere is getting "close" to returning from a concussion that has sidelined him for the last four games. "I felt good today. I was able to push myself fairly hard on the ice at practice, which is a good sign," Briere said after Thursday's morning skate. Briere and winger James van Riemsdyk, who is also out with a concussion, took part in the morning skate but did not play against visiting Nashville on Thursday night. Van Riemsdyk was unavailable for comment.