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PITTSBURGH -- There were some difficult questions surrounding Sidney Crosby when he missed the start of the season because of a concussion, especially given his history with that type of injury.The answers have come swiftly and definitively. The Pittsburgh Penguins center is OK. More than OK.Going into Mondays game against the New York Rangers at PPG Paints Arena, Crosby has 12 goals in 12 games, putting him into a tie with Winnipeg rookie Patrik Laine for the NHL lead in that category. Laine has played eight more games.The anomaly in Crosbys game is his goals-to-assists ratio. He has three times as many goals as his four assists. He has never finished with more goals than assists in an NHL season.For whatever reason, thats just the way its worked out, he recently told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I dont feel like Im looking to shoot any more. Thats one thing I have to constantly remind myself of, to have that shooting mentality. I would probably look to pass most times.Crosby is not shooting appreciably more -- 3.6 shots a game this season, 3.3 for his career.Since their team captain got into the lineup, the Penguins are 8-2-2.Overall, Pittsburgh is 11-4-3. That makes Mondays game a showdown for first place in the Metropolitan Division between the Penguins, with 25 points, and the Rangers (13-5-1, 27 points), who are coming off of a 3-2 shootout loss Sunday against Florida in their first game beyond regulation this season.This is the first meeting between the clubs since the Penguins knocked New York out of the playoffs in the opening round last spring.Sundays game -- one made worse by a broken left leg suffered by Mika Zibanejad in overtime -- was the Rangers second loss in a row, and their four combined goals in those games are uncharacteristic. They have thrived on offense. They have a league-best 76 goals and a plus-31 goal differential. They have 14 players with at least 10 points, and Michael Grabner sits just behind Crosby and Laine with 11 goals.But New York also has gotten strong goaltending. Henrik Lundqvist missed a shot at his 10th win Sunday. Antti Raanta, who seems likely to start Monday, hasnt played a lot, but he has been effective, going 4-0 with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage.Im not worried at all about Antti, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault told the New York Post recently about Raanta. We know hes always going to give us a chance to win.Raanta said its about finding a good New York backup state of mind.I just think about good things and what youre doing and what it takes, and just enjoy the moment, he told the Post. Its the best league in the world, and youre fortunate enough to be here. Just go there and do your best and, hopefully, you get the win.Pittsburgh, coming off of a 1-1-1 road trip, lags behind the Rangers in terms of offensive prowess despite returning nearly the same lineup from its Stanley Cup team last season and Crosbys goal production. The Penguins have five players with at least 10 points. It scored just five goals on the three-game road trip. It has outscored its opponents by just two goals, 52-50.Were going to keep moving forward. All we can do is control the process and whats in front of us. Were grabbing points here along the way and winning some games, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.The teams wont have to wait long for their second meeting. This is the first half of a home-and-home. They have a rematch Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.Adidas Continental 80 Heren . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. "It was definitely a very good match -- I was playing really good tennis," Radwanska said. Adidas NMD Dames Sale . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. http://www.nmdbelgie.com/ . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. Adidas Continental 80 Korting . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. Adidas Tennis Hu Kopen . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost .ARLINGTON, Texas --?Dallas Cowboys?owner Jerry Jones has acknowledged speaking with the NFLs special counsel for domestic violence investigations, and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott said he was interviewed by the league this season about an abuse claim made against him.Elliott said after Sunday nights 29-23 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Eagles that he was interviewed once by NFL investigators about six weeks ago. He characterized there being an ongoing investigation but said he didnt really know what was going on.Prosecutors in Ohio declined to press charges over the summer in a domestic violence case involving the fourth overall draft pick.All I can do is not worry about it, focus on this team and do whatever I can do to help these guys get wins, Elliott told The Associated Press after running 22 times for 96 yards and catching four passes for 52 yards against the Eagles.CBS Sports reported earlier Sunday, citing multiple unnamed sources, that Jones raised the topic of the investigation during league meetings in Houston about two weeks ago with Lisa Friel, a former New York prosecutor serving as special counsel. That report said they were within earshot of other league and team executives.Jones said after Sunday nights game that the two had a good discussion. He said the conversation might have gotten loud but said it was a situation where he had to talk over the music.Asked if the interaction was contentious, Jones responded with a laugh, Well, I dont know about that, but certainly, the volume of it had a lot to do with noise in there.In September, when Ohio officials decided not to file criminal chaarges, the Columbus city attorneys office cited conflicting and inconsistent information in evidence.ddddddddddddA police report said Elliott, who played at Ohio State, denied allegations that he assaulted his girlfriend in July, causing bruises and abrasions.Three witnesses told police they didnt see Elliott assault the 20-year-old woman. Elliott said the woman got the bruises and abrasions in a bar fight.Asked if the Elliott investigation would have closure soon, Jones replied, I dont know that the NFL has a closure, has a situation where theyve cut it close, which could be a frailty of the system.He continued: As you know, in law, one of the things in the Constitution is that not only are you innocent before proven guilty, you get quick addressing and then you dont get it drawn out. It has certain time frames and has a lot of economic limitations. So we have to, in my mind, just make sure that we inject that in ... [what] we do in the NFL.Jones went on to say that because many issues within the league are so public, it complicates how they are ultimately handled and addressed.?Thats one of the challenges we have in dealing with these sensitive social issues, he said. Make no mistake about it, the NFL does not want to -- I guess I have to do my disclaimer, but obviously were not for bullying and were certainly, certainly, certainly not for the issue of domestic violence. That area there is one were having to get our hands around.ESPN staff writer Todd Archer contributed to this report. ' ' '