send the Habs to the Cup or is he too inexperienced? Ther

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama coach Nick Saban and the football team are moving on. Saban has put to rest the speculation that he would replace Mack Brown at Texas by striking a new deal with Alabama. For the third-ranked Crimson Tide, the focus is on getting over the loss to Auburn and trying to finish the season strong in the Jan. 2 Sugar Bowl against No. 11 Oklahoma. Saban had said Friday night after agreeing to a new contract reportedly worth about $7 million a year that he planned to retire at Alabama. He said "there were no talks" between his representatives and Texas and pointed to comments on ESPN that he "never considered going to Texas." "I think Ive already made a reaction to that," Saban said. "Dont you watch ESPN? Didnt you see what they put down across the bottom line. Thats my reaction to it. "I dont have any more reactions to it. I think its kind of over so why do we want to talk about that? We look forward. Im looking forward. I made a commitment to our players that are here and Im happy to be committed to them and I want them to make the same kind of commitment to the program and to their future success." Brown announced his resignation at Texas on Saturday. Several Texas regents and a former regent were involved in a meeting with Sabans agent last January to gauge the coachs interest in coming to Texas. Saban found the best way to quash that talk: Re-upping with the Tide. Receiver Kevin Norwood never doubted it. "I went home for the break or whatever, and everybody was basically talking about it," Norwood said. "And I was like, Coach Saban is not going anywhere. And whatever social media was saying, whatever was happening after that, I pretty much ignored it." Alabama (11-1) returned to the practice field on Tuesday for the first time since the Iron Bowl. The game was tied until Chris Davis returned a missed field goal 109 yards for a touchdown on the final play to effectively end Alabamas bid for a third straight national championship. Now, the team is gearing up for a bowl trip that would be a prize for most teams, but could be viewed as a disappointment for the Tide. "Were fired up playing Oklahoma," defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan said. "Its not for a national championship or anything, but were going to go into it like it is. "Were going to try to finish this season as strong as possible." Left tackle Cyrus Kouandjio said Saban brought up the 2008 season when the Tide fell to Florida in the SEC championship game and to Utah in the Sugar Bowl. "He was like we shouldnt let this loss bring us down to the point where we just keep hang-dogging and keep our heads down going into the game and lose that game, too," Kouandjio said. On the field, Saban said guard Anthony Steen will miss the bowl game after having shoulder surgery. Off the field, the coach had more to celebrate than even his new contract. His son, Nicholas, and daughter-in-law had a baby on Sunday. The sometimes gruff Saban lit up talking about the experience that got him to the hospital in the wee hours. "To have a healthy baby and a healthy mother and someone that beautiful come into your family is really something that you have to count your blessings on," he said. "They actually had a rocking chair over there so I was kind of happy rocking that baby a little bit. Since then, I havent been able to go back. "I kind of miss the little bugger if you want to know the truth about it." TIDE BITS: Former Southern California and Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, a onetime rival, has been visiting with Tide coaches this week in Tuscaloosa. Its a common practice for Alabama -- even Oklahomas staff has come to town -- and Saban said hes not sure why that would cause any stir. "Lane is a really good offensive coach, and Ive always had a tremendous amount of respect for him," Saban said. "Just to come in and brainstorm a little bit just some professional ideas with our guys, I think, is a real positive thing. And I dont know why theres any reaction to it. Im really quite surprised." John Wensink Jersey . Not bad for a defenceman. The goal, that is. Although the shuffling dance steps werent bad, either. Barrie scored 55 seconds into overtime, Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 shots, and the Avalanche moved a step closer to their first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. Mark Barberio Jersey .com) - Theres nothing better for a team than to send out the staff ace in the most important game of the season. http://www.hockeyavalanche.com/authentic-ian-cole-avalanche-jersey/ . Ferrer was unable to find his rhythm in losing 6-4, 6-2 to Teymuraz Gabashvili in his opening match while Nadal struggled past fellow Spanish player Albert Ramos 7-6 (2), 6-4. Nadal eventually overcame his 103rd-ranked opponent to reach the third round, rebounding from a surprise loss to Ferrer in the Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals. Adam Foote Avalanche Jersey . Tortorella told The Vancouver Province hell be cheering for Team Sweden to win gold when they take on the defending Olympic champions on Sunday morning. "I hope Sweden wins, cause I dont think Hammer (Dan Hamhuis) is going to play, judging by whats happened. Matt Nieto Jersey . Blatter, a 75-year-old Swiss executive who has been in office since 1998, was handed a final four-year term as head of footballs governing body in a vote at FIFAs congress. He won 186 votes out of 203 ballots.The worst possible news has happened for the Montreal Canadiens. Head coach Michel Therrien announced Monday morning that Carey Price will miss the rest of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers after suffering a lower-body injury in Game 1. The incident occurred when Rangers forward Chris Kreider slid into Price after falling on a partial breakaway. The question is, with Montreals best and most important player sidelined while already being down in the series after a miserable loss in Game 1, can the Habs still beat the Rangers and advance to the Stanley Cup Final? The Canadiens seemed to be on top of the world coming into the series. They brushed off the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round followed by a grueling victory over their hated rivals - the Boston Bruins - in seven games. Many thought Montreal had a great opportunity to advance to the Stanley Cup Final and maybe even become the first Canadian team to hoist the Stanley Cup in 21 years. Now after just one game, all of that is in doubt. Montreal could go with backup Peter Budaj or former Canadian world junior goalie Dustin Tokarski for Game 2. Budaj replaced Price in the third period of Game 1 and proceeded to let in three goals on eight shots, all on the power play. Budajj has only one post-season start in his career (last year with Montreal) and has appeared in a total of seven games with a 5.dddddddddddd.10 goals against average and a .843 save percentage. Can this 31-year-old backup send the Habs to the Cup or is he too inexperienced? Therrien might decide to shake things up and go with Tokarski. The 24-year-old has only played in 10 regular season games in his short three-year career, but has shown signs of success this season, picking up two wins in three games with a 1.84 GAA. Is it possible Montreal can catch lightning in a bottle with Tokarski? It happened once before when Ken Dryden came out of nowhere to lead the Canadiens to victory in 1970-71. Adversity has a reputation of either bringing a team together or causing them to fail miserably. To say losing Price at this time of year is adversity would be an understatement. This really is a punch in the gut. Do the Canadiens have the strength and leadership to recover from such a blow or will it cause them to crumble? Therrien did say Price might be available for the Stanley Cup Final. Well, theyre going to have to get there first without the guy that was instrumental in getting them this far. Can the Canadiens beat the Rangers without Price? As always, its Your! Call! ' ' '