Robinson resigns as New Jersey Devils coach
NEWARK, N.J., Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Hall of Famer Larry Robinson has resigned as head coach of the New Jersey Devils.
General Manager Lou Lamoriello is expected to take over the coaching duties on an interim basis, beginning Tuesday night against the New York Rangers.
Robinson announced his resignation to the team at practice on Monday. Health and family reasons apparently contributed to his decision. Robinson missed two games earlier this month with a sinus infection and he described having headaches.
Robinson, who took over for Pat Burns in July, leaves the club with a 14-13-5 mark and 33 points -- currently good enough for fourth place in the Atlantic Division and 10th overall in the Eastern Conference.
Robinson led the Devils to the second of their three Stanley Cups in the spring of 2000, and had most recently been a special assignment coach.
Robinson, a Hall of Fame defenseman, first took the Devils' helm late in the 1999-2000 season.
Hingis rejoining WTA Tour first week of 2006
Gold Coast, Australia, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Former world No. 1 Martina Hingis said Monday she will return to the WTA Tour the first week of 2006.
Hingis plans to compete at the Australian Hardcourt Championships which takes place January 1-7.
Hingis, one of the most dominant players in the sport, was forced to leave the Tour in 2002 due to numerous injuries to her feet, left knee and left hip. The Swiss has played just one WTA Tour match since then, a three-set defeat to German Marlene Weingartner earlier this year in Pattaya City.
Hingis is a three-time winner of the Australian Open and six-time finalist of the event.
Hingis, 25, has 40 WTA Tour singles titles, including five Grand Slam tournament wins. She has won every major except the French Open and is also the youngest player in history to reach No. 1 in the world rankings (16 years, six months).
Peyton Manning leads Pro Bowl voting
NEW YORK, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Peyton Manning received a record 1,184,142 votes to lead the fans' balloting for the 2006 Pro Bowl.
Voting for the game concluded Dec. 16 with a record 70.5 million votes cast.
Manning was followed by Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander (1,110,575 votes); San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson (1,044,360); Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson (987,650); and Chargers tight end Antonio Gates (941,846).
Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was the top defensive player with 447,145.
Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey led all AFC defensive players with 379,477.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams was the top rookie vote getter with 219,736.
The Pro Bowl will be played Feb. 12 in Honolulu.
Pittsburgh center Lemieux out indefinitely
PITTSBURGH, Pa., Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Pittsburgh Penguins center Mario Lemieux is sidelined again after suffering a recurrence of a rapid heartbeat.
The latest incident occurred in the third period of Pittsburgh's overtime loss to Buffalo on Friday.
Lemieux was back on the ice for the first time after being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. Initially, medication appeared to be controlling the condition until he suffered the relapse.
Lemieux visited a doctor on Monday and will not be allowed to be a part of on-ice workouts for at least 10 days.
"He's going to be an off-ice conditioning program for the next 10 days to two weeks and then he will be reevaluated after that," Penguins General Manager Craig Patrick said. "They are going to try and get the right level of medication that he needs. Medicine is not an exact science, so you have to test things and try them. They are in that process now."
Phillies get Ricardo Rodriguez from Rangers
Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The Philadelphia Phillies got right-handed pitcher Ricardo Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers Monday to complete the Vicente Padilla trade.
Rodriguez, a 27-year-old, four-year veteran, has a 10-15 career record with a 5.18 ERA for Cleveland and Texas. He was 2-3 with a 5.53 ERA in 12 games in 2005.
Padilla was originally traded to Texas for a player to be named earlier this off-season.
Padilla, 28, was 49-45 overall in Philadelphia and represented the final piece of the four-for-one trade that sent Curt Schilling to Arizona in July 2000. Philadelphia also received Travis Lee, Omar Daal and Nelson Figueroa in the trade.
Padilla joins a Rangers rotation that lost Kenny Rogers, who signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Tigers last Monday. In 2005, Texas' pitching staff finished 26th in Major League Baseball with a 4.96 earned run average.
