Childress: Change Won't Hurt Rcr

The San Jose Sharks barely held off the Los Angeles Kings at the end for a second straight home win. Now the job gets really tough: The Sharks know they need to end the home-team dominance if they have any chance of winning this second-round series. Brent Burns got San Jose off to a fast start with a quick score and Logan Couture added a power-play goal early in the second period before the Sharks held on for a 2-1 victory Tuesday night to knot their series at two games apiece. "We knew going into this series we'd have to win one game at Staples Center if we want to win this series," Couture said.

John Tortorella's message isn't going to change even though his New York Rangers are in an even more desperate situation than before their latest loss to the Boston Bruins. The margin of error went from slim to none in an uncharacteristic home loss that put the Broadway Blueshirts on the brink of elimination. New York squandered a one-goal lead in the third period and lost 2-1 on Tuesday night to fall into an 0-3 series hole.

Build a new stadium, host the Super Bowl to show it off. The NFL rewarded the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday with hosting rights for the 2016 championship game, slotting the 50th Super Bowl in the 49ers' high-tech Santa Clara stadium scheduled to open next year. The league also voted at its spring meetings to give the 2017 game to Houston, which last hosted the big game in 2004. "After losing a Super Bowl, it feels really good to win a Super Bowl," said 49ers CEO Jed York, whose team lost to Baltimore in the NFL title game in February.

The NFL is free to twist arms, just like anybody else. So maybe it's just coincidence that all five of the new stadiums that will come on line during Roger Goodell's brief tenure as NFL commissioner have now been awarded Super Bowls. Or maybe not. Goodell emerged from an owners meeting Tuesday in Boston to announce that the 2016 Superpalooza — the 50th anniversary of the game — was awarded to a nearly-open-for-business stadium in Santa Clara that will be home to the 49ers, and that the 2017 game will return to Houston. More telling than the argument Goodell and the owners made for either venue might be the one they aimed at the Miami Dolphins' failed bid. "I think the stadium is a very important part of any of these proposals," he said after the vote.

If the Western Conference finals seem the slightest bit over after two San Antonio wins, hold that thought for a minute. The Spurs have been here before and don't feel at all comfortable with a 2-0 lead.