Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby plans to play Thursday against the New York Rangers, his first game in more than three months following a second lengthy bout with concussion-like symptoms. Crosby went through an arduous workout with his teammates Tuesday and got bumped around enough that he feels prepared for the grind that awaits over the final month of the regular season and beyond.
"You're not going to get hit to the extent that you would in a game," Crosby said. "But you've got to test that as best you can."
The dizziness and headaches that have plagued Crosby, 24, since the symptoms resurfaced in early December have abated. Crosby believes he's in better shape now than he was during a brief comeback from a 10-month layoff last fall, when he collected 12 points in eight games before heading back to the injured reserve.
"I'm just trying to make sure I progressed and remain symptom free," he said. "Everything's gone really well."
His arrival further bolsters hockey's hottest team. The Penguins have won nine in a row and closed to within striking distance of the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers.
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NHL general managers moved a step closer to changing the league's icing rule in an effort to make the game safer. After the second day of their three-day meetings, the GMs said they were united in a rule being called hybrid icing.
NHL rules currently allow players to chase the puck to the end boards, which can create full-speed races in an effort to get to the puck first. Under hybrid icing, the race for the puck would end at the faceoff dots, allowing players to battle for possession more safely at 30 feet away from the boards instead of 3 feet away.
Hybrid icing has been discussed for six years, but this will be the first time the GMs will bring it to the competition committee and seek the Board of Governors approval to put it in place.
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The Buffalo Sabres will have to continue their playoff push without top defenseman Tyler Myers, who has been suspended without pay by the NHL for three games for an illegal hit from behind.
League disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan issued the ruling Tuesday, after holding a hearing with Myers over a minor boarding penalty he received in the third period of a 3-2 overtime victory against Montreal a day earlier. Shanahan ruled Canadiens forward Scott Gomez had his back turned and was defenseless when Myers struck him from behind and into the boards. Myers forfeits $14,189.19 in salary in serving a suspension that begins Wednesday, when the Sabres host Colorado.
SOCCER: Galaxy can advance in CONCACAF
A berth in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals will be at stake when the Galaxy meets Toronto FC at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Home Depot Center. With a win or by holding Toronto to fewer than two goals in a tie, the Galaxy will move on. Toronto FC advances with a victory or a draw in which the teams combine for six or more goals. A 2-2 tie would force overtime and, possibly, a penalty-kick shootout.
Two games into the new year the Galaxy, Major League Soccer's defending champion, is still looking for its first victory, having played Toronto to a draw in the first leg of its CONCACAF quarterfinal before losing to Real Salt Lake, 3-1, in its MLS opener Saturday.
"Everyone is kind of chomping at the bit because we were a little frustrated with how the game ended the other night," Galaxy captain Landon Donovan said. "Sometimes a loss is a wake-up call."
— Kevin Baxter
Germany striker Mario Gomez scored four goals, leading Bayern Munich into the Champions League quarterfinals with a 7-0 rout of FC Basel. A week after Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match, Gomez became the eighth to hit four as Bayern overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit to advance 7-1. Arjen Robben also scored twice for Bayern, which was joined in the next round by Marseille despite the French club's 2-1 defeat at Inter Milan.
ETC: Johnson's appeal denied
Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team got no relief from the NASCAR appeals board, but they will try one more time.
A three-member panel of the Appeals Board on Tuesday unanimously upheld the penalties against the team, which were assessed for unapproved modifications made at the Daytona 500. The original penalties were a $100,000 fine and six-race suspension for crew chief Chad Knaus, a six-race suspension for car chief Ron Malec, a reduction of 25 driver points from Johnson and 25 owner points.
Team owner Rick Hendrick said he will appeal to the National Stock Car Racing chief appellate officer, and Knaus will work this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway during the appeal process.
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The newly restructured RadioShack-Nissan-Trek team, including defending champion Chris Horner, will be among 16 cycling teams that have been named to compete in the Amgen Tour of California May 13-20. The No. 1-ranked team in the world, Omega Pharma-QuickStep, which includes three time Amgen Tour winner Levi Leipheimer, and 2011 Tour de France champion BMC Racing, which includes George Hincapie, will also compete. The event begins in Santa Rosa and travels more than 750 miles before finishing at L.A. Live.
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Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax is among witnesses scheduled to testify at a trial next week to determine if the New York Mets' owners must give up millions of dollars they received from jailed financier Bernard Madoff. Koufax is a childhood friend of Fred Wilpon, one of the Mets' owners.
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North Dakota's secretary of state says backers of the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname have enough petition signatures to put to voters the question of whether to keep the name. Al Jaeger says nickname supporters had about 1,500 signatures more than they needed to have a June vote on the nickname.
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