Leading Off

The English Patient

After taking a pounding from Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the 10th round last Saturday night in Las Vegas, welterweight Ricky Hatton of England got a good long look at the MGM Grand Garden Arena ceiling. Awarded the victory by TKO, Mayweather (inset) ran his record to 39-0 in retaining his WBC title (page 16).

Icebreaker

In his first game at Edmonton's Rexall Place, Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) faced off against the Oilers' Jarret Stoll. Before a sellout crowd of 16,839, Crosby (inset) had three assists in leading Pittsburgh to a 4-2 win on Dec. 5.

Allen a Night's Work

Celtics guard Tony Allen made a wraparound delivery to James Posey last Friday for one of his five assists in a 112-84 victory over the Raptors at TD Banknorth Garden. Kevin Garnett (inset) had a team-high 23 points for Boston, which had a league-best 17-2 record at week's end.

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Photograph by Al Bello/Getty Images

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JOHN IACONO

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Photographs by Andy Devlin/Getty Images

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Photographs by Damian Strohmeyer