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IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The way Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan sees it, the 16th-ranked Badgers are playing better because theyre making shots. Theyre also making plays -- and Frank Kaminsky came up two huge ones to beat No. 15 Iowa on Saturday. Kaminsky had 21 points and a crucial late steal as Wisconsin won 79-74 for its fifth straight win after a 1-5 stretch marked by poor shooting. Sam Dekker added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Badgers (22-5, 9-5 Big Ten), who swept the season series and moved a half-game ahead of the Hawkeyes (19-7, 8-5) in the Big Ten standings. "We like to get into our classroom and in the gym and teach guys things. Show them film, work with them," Ryan said. "Frank is one of those guys thats doing a heck of a job on his learning curve. Hes really been pretty sharp." No one was sharper than Kaminsky in the final 36 seconds. Josh Oglesbys jumper with 1:01 left put Iowa up 72-71, but Kaminsky answered with a jumper that gave Wisconsin a one-point lead. Kaminsky then stripped Iowas Roy Devyn Marble under the basket and hit two free throws as the Badgers went up 75-72 with 24.5 seconds left. "He was trying to make a play, and he presented the ball and I just hit it out of his hands. Thats one of those plays where its kind of up to the (referee) to see what theyre going to call. I thought I got it clean," Kaminsky said of the steal. "Im just happy it came out in our favour." Marble had 21 points and 11 assists for the Hawkeyes, who lost their third home game in four tries. Marble could have milked the shot clock down to just over a second on the games biggest play. He instead attacked the rim and paid for it with a turnover that the Hawkeyes didnt recover from. "You call a play and then hes got to read it. Thats what he did," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. This was just the second game in two weeks for Iowa. The Hawkeyes were off ahead of last Saturdays 82-70 win at Penn State, and Tuesdays postponement at Indiana gave the Hawkeyes an extra week off. After a rather rusty start, Iowa asserted itself in the second half. Marble hit a 3 and Aaron White followed with a strong drive to the hoop that put the Hawkeyes ahead 62-58 with 6:27 left. The Badgers seemed flummoxed at times by Iowas zone defence, scoring just 20 points in the first 16 minutes of the second half. Still, Wisconsin tied it at 66-all with 3:18 left on a three-point play by Nigel Hayes, and freshman Bronson Koenigs jumper put the Badgers ahead 71-70 with 1:21 left. "Hes a good player. Youre going to see a lot more of him over the next few years," Ryan said of Koenig, who had a career-high 12 points. Iowa was forced to make a rare lineup change. Forward Zach McCabe started in place of Melsahn Basabe, who was limited to just a minute because of illness. Basabe is one of Iowas top interior defenders, and the Badgers took advantage of his absence early on. Wisconsin hit 12 of its first 16 shots, and Dekkers 3 put the Badgers ahead 34-24. Wisconsin shot 57 per cent from the field in the first half, and Koenig matched his previous career high of 10 points in just 10 minutes as the Badgers led 40-31. But Wisconsin missed its first six shots after the break and Iowa eventually retook the lead, 52-51, with 10:55 left. Oglesby matched a season high with 17 points for Iowa. But White was held to just four points, and McCabes 3-point attempt with less than 20 seconds left and the Hawkeyes down 3 never reached the rim. "It didnt come out of his hand cleanly, but he was wide open," McCaffery said of McCabe. "I dont think hell make any excuses." Kaminsky shares Ryans assertion that shot-making has keyed Wisconsins recent surge. But Kaminsky added that the belief that those shots are going to fall has been whats really reinvigorated the Badgers over the past three weeks. "Having the confidence to step up and take those shots is back. I think we had that at the start of the season. It kind of went away for a little bit, and now I think we have that back," Kaminsky said. Pierre Turgeon Jersey .Two San Francisco radio stations say they wont play the song during the duration of the World Series. A Kansas City, Missouri, station responded with plans to play the Grammy-winning track every hour from 7 a. Ken Dryden Jersey . The win gives Canada its fifth title at the World Sledge Hockey Challenge. "Weve got to keep pushing," said Westlake, who led Canada with five goals in the tournament. "The second you let off the pedal, everyone catches up. http://www.canadienssale.com/authentic-j...nadiens-jersey/. -- The road to the Masters got off to a bumpy start Sunday for Tiger Woods when he withdrew from the Honda Classic with what he said was a lower back injury. Custom Montreal Canadiens Jerseys . Viewers in the Jets region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 6:30pm ct/7:30pm et. The game is also avialable on TSN Radio 1290 in Winnipeg at 7pm ct. Alexei Kovalev Jersey . - Christophe Lalancette scored a third-period goal and added the shootout winner to lead the Drummondville Voltigeurs to a 5-4 win over the Quebec Remparts in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play on Sunday.HOUSTON -- Gary Kubiak pulled the Texans out of the NFL basement and remains the only coach to take them to the playoffs. That wasnt enough to save his job, not with the Texans mired in an 11-game skid that has dropped them back to the bottom of the league. Houston fired Kubiak on Friday, one day after the Texans lost 27-20 at Jacksonville and continued their stunning fall for a team that expected to make a Super Bowl run. Houston (2-11) was flagged 14 times for a franchise-record 177 yards. The 52-year-old Kubiak was hired in 2006 and led the team to AFC South titles in 2011-2012, the highlights of his eight-year tenure as coach of his hometown NFL team. The Texans said they couldnt wait any longer to start turning things around, not with the losses and undisciplined play piling up. "Whats taken place with this organization is unacceptable," general manager Rick Smith said. "Weve got three weeks of an evaluation process left and weve got to right the ship." Kubiak thanked the team for giving him his first head coaching job in the NFL. "Though we came up short this season, the work, effort and sacrifice they gave me and this organization over the last eight seasons is not to be taken for granted," he said in a statement provided by the Texans. "We had a great run here and we will never forget our back-to-back AFC South championships. Coming back home was a dream come true for all of us. This will always be our home." Kubiaks overall record is 61-64, with a 2-2 mark in the playoffs. Owner Bob McNair said the decision to let him go was a hard one. "It was difficult for me because I think so much of Gary," McNair said. "Weve been evaluating it every game and asking the question, Whats in the best interest of the organization? Were at the point now where we need to go ahead and make some changes because losing like this is unacceptable." He added: "Were here to have a winning culture and this year has not contributed to that." The Texans said defensive co-ordinator Wade Phillips would serve as interim coach for the rest of what has been a miserable season. McNair said NFL and head coaching experience were important factors in filling the job, and that the 66-year-old Phillips will be considered. Kubiak suffered a mini-stroke Nov. 3 in a frightening scene, collapsing at halftime during a game against the Colts and being rushed to a Houston hospital. He suffered a transient ischemic attack, which occurs when blood flow to the brain is briefly interrupted, typically by a blood clot or narrowed blood vessels. Experts say they are often a warning sign for a future stroke, particularly within three months of a TIA. Kubiak returned to coach, but the Texans have been unable to rebound from injuries to top players including quarterback Matt Schaub, running back Arian Foster and linebacker Brian Cushing, who was lost for the second straight season. McNair pointed to messy play and the handling of second-year quarterback Case Keenum as reasons for the move before the endd of the season.dddddddddddd "I think the last straw was losing," McNair said. "Weve got a lot better talent than Jacksonville and to lose to them twice, to their credit they played harder, played smarter and to have them beat us on that is not acceptable. If a teams going to beat us because theyre better than we are, or have better ability thats fine, but we expect to go out and play hard and play smart, and we didnt play smart." Kubiak, a former NFL quarterback who calls the teams plays, has long been known as a top offensive coach, mentoring quarterbacks in Denver under Mike Shanahan and then Schaub and Keenum in Houston. He was hired in 2006, along with Smith, after the Texans finished a franchise-worst 2-14. Smith spent 10 years with Kubiak while the coach was offensive co-ordinator of the Broncos. Smith was Denvers defensive assistant for four seasons before moving into the front office for his last six years with the Broncos. The pair helped transform the Texans, which began play in 2002, from league laughingstock to contender. The team went 6-10 in their first year and 8-8 in each of the next two seasons. Expectations were high in 2010 after Houston finished at 9-7 for its first winning record in 2009. The Texans instead fell to 6-10, which led to many fans calling for Kubiaks firing. His original contract was due to expire after the 2010 season, but McNair defended him several times amid the bumps. Last year, the Texans announced contract extensions for both Smith and Kubiak, rewarding them for taking the team to the playoffs last year for the first time. Kubiaks three-year agreement has him under contract through 2014. McNair said at the time he offered Kubiak a four-year deal, but the coach preferred to make it for three. Kubiak made his mark as Denvers offensive co-ordinator under Shanahan, winning two Super Bowls. An eighth-round pick out of Texas A&M, he spent nine years as John Elways backup. He finished his career 4-1 as a starter, all in emergency relief of Elway. "You always hate to see guys fired," Broncos coach John Fox said. "It happens, its tough. But you never like to see that. Hes a good friend and a heck of a coach, a guy I have a lot of respect for and its unfortunate." The Texans also fired special teams co-ordinator Joe Marciano and replaced him with assistant Bob Ligashesky, who is in his 10th NFL season and first full year with Houston. Other recent departures from the Texans include assistant head coach Alex Gibbs (for Seattle) and offensive co-ordinator Kyle Shanahan went to join his father in Washington. Keenum, Phillips and the rest of the Texans will get three weeks to show what they have to McNair and company. With Kubiak out, it is clear that the evaluation process could have stiff consequences as the team tries to rebuild. "We have a young quarterback in Case Keenum and we need to find out if hes capable of being a starter or capable of being the backup," McNair said. "The way you find out about that is by playing him." ' ' '