fensive improvement after the Sun Devils had surrendered 110 and 115 points in their two most recent games.TURNING POINT: Justice fed Obinna Oleka for a 3 with 1:54 left in the first half, then hit his only 3 of the game 38 seconds later to give ASU a 48-32 lead. UNLV had trailed by only five momen

NEW YORK -- When American swimming sensation Katie Ledecky added to her climbing total of career visits to NBCs Today show Monday -- this time to talk about how life has changed since she set two world records and won five medals at the Rio Summer Olympics, four of them gold -- she smiled and squirmed in her seat as the five hosts on the set took turns good-naturedly kidding her about her record-shattering start to her freshman year at Stanford University this fall. Antonio Davis Jersey .It already has included a 65-second rout in a 1,650-yard college invitational race Sunday in which Ledecky ... um ... beat the runner-up by four laps.Sooo, that basically means you get out of the pool, have coffee and a donut, and wait for everyone else to finish? TV host Savannah Guthrie needled.When the 19-year-old Ledecky was too polite or sheepish to parry back, the segment only got funnier.Wait -- she broke another record in just the last 20 seconds! Guthrie added.And on the way to the event tonight, shes going to break another record! Matt Lauer boomed, causing Ledecky to shake her head and blush again.Ledecky was in New York with 40 of her Olympic medal-winning teammates for USA Swimmings annual Golden Goggles Awards on Monday night, a black-tie year-end benefit that recognizes the U.S. teams best performances each year. Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, Libby King and Maya DiRado were among the others who attended. Ryan Lochte did not.Ledecky has replaced Phelps as the most riveting figure in U.S. swimming. But as scintillating as her first three months at Stanford have been -- starting with the fact she set an NCAA or American record in every race she swam through Nov. 15 -- there was another woman sharing the red carpet with her at the Marriott Marquis hotel who was also impossible to ignore.That was Stanford teammate Simone Manuel, the first female African-American swimmer to win an individual event at an Olympic Games and, as of last weekend, the first person anywhere to beat the amazing Ledecky in her last 74 finals in a race above 100 meters.Manuel, a junior, defeated Ledecky on Saturday in the 200-yard freestyle during an invitational at Ohio State, clipping Ledecky by .26 of a second.No, I didnt know the [length of the streak], a surprised Ledecky said, grinning as if even she found it cool.I didnt know it, either, but its not like Im out of the park yet, Manuel joked, speaking a little further down the red carpet from where Ledecky was taking questions. I still have to race her every day in practice, at nationals, at NCAAs.Manuel was right. Its just a start. But dont overlook the significance of their head-to-head battles; their races should be fascinating -- maybe even transformative -- for both swimmers.With 10 Olympic medals already won between them, the 20-year-old Manuel and Ledecky could anchor the U.S. swim team for a few Olympics to come.I know I definitely want more, Manuel said.The idea of Ledecky, especially, finally having anything close to a true rival -- another female swimmer who can push her and beat her while training on the same team and sometimes in the same lane day in and day out, sets up an interesting dynamic for both women as they slowly start looking ahead to the 2020 Tokyo Games.I dont look at it like shes a frenemy, Ledecky laughed, pointing out she and Manuel were roommates in Rio, and have been roommates for four years at international meets, so were good buddies.We both love to race and we both love to compete. We race all the time in practice and Simone beats me at least a couple times a week [in sprints]. So its a great environment every day. And I dont consider it a loss when its my teammate thats beating me, anyway. Were both racing our hardest for Stanford and excited about what could follow.Ledeckys coaches are always looking for fresh challenges to throw her way. Shes been so peerless at the distance events for so long, there is talk now about dropping her down to the 100-meter free (Manuels gold-medal individual event in Rio), and maybe adding the 400 individual medley to the 200, 400, 800 and 1,600 events and world records she currently owns.Many argue Ledecky -- not LeBron James, Usain Bolt, Lionel Messi or anyone else you can name -- is the most dominant athlete in the world today. Its only news now when she doesnt win.Manuel shoulders a different set of challenges. Though she also won the gold in the 4x100 medley relay and silver in the 50 free and 4x100 freestyle relay in Rio, she said in the past that trying to become the first African-American to win any Olympic swimming medal was difficult for her at times, as if so much history weighed on every stroke. She was expansive on the topic in Rio, paying homage to groundbreakers that came before her and embracing a chance to weigh in on matters like police violence against African-Americans back in the United States.But Monday, she pulled back on the non-swimming topics a little.When an African-American reporter told Manuel shes now an icon and inspiration to their community and asked what kind of legacy she wants to leave outside the pool, Manuel said, Well, Im just 20 years old, so I havent really thought about the legacy I want to leave. I guess just making sure that people go after their dreams. That they can do anything.Later, Manuel admitted one of the many reasons she and Ledecky feel a kinship is because of the continuing expectation on them to do the extraordinary.We keep each other from thinking too much about the pressure of our races, Manuel said.She only smiled and said, Nah, when asked if she has ever been tempted to tell Ledecky to quit trying to have it all already, stick to the distance events, and leave the 100 or 200 freestyle to her. But then she did quickly add she does give Ledecky some mess about being a freshman.Ledecky already has taken much flak about getting lost on the Stanford campus, putting her swim cap on wrong, having some misadventures on the bicycle she uses to get around, and sometimes screwing up chores like putting the lane markers in the pool for team practices.The freshmen also have to bring up the towels, but they do that in shifts, so Katie knows when she has to do it, Manuel explained.The Great Katie Ledecky? Towel girl?Nodding now, Manuel deadpanned: Shes got it figured out.I wanted the college experience, Ledecky added. And so far, its been awesome. Kenny Williams Jersey . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. Dale Davis Jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. https://www.cheappacers.com/193k-bob-net...sey-pacers.html . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. TEMPE, Ariz. -- Few expected Arizona State to give top-ranked Kentucky a battle in the Nov. 28 game, but the 46-point loss was humbling.The Sun Devils fired back after that defeat. From long range. Arizona State tied a school record by knocking down 18 3-pointers in a 97-73 win over UNLV Saturday night.Guard Shannon Evans II led the way with a season-high 28 points as the Sun Devils beat UNLV for the fourth straight season.You wonder about the psyche of the team, the confidence of the team after something like that, coach Bobby Hurley said. But we practiced real hard and guys got a lot of pride. I thought we might struggle some early in the game on offense. I felt that the guys would perform and outwork our opponent defensively.Evans, Torian Graham and Tra Holder combined to make 15 3s, with Graham hitting six as part of his 22 points. Holder added 20 points and Arizona State shot 49 percent from the field.ASU led by as many as 30 points.Probably the most important win of the season, Graham said. We were all in a dark place last week so it was good to just get out of that dark place.ASU used an 11-0 run to take a 20-6 lead in the first half, with Graham and Holder hitting a pair of treys during the run. The Rebels cut the lead to five, 34-29, on free throw by Jalen Poyser with 4:15 left, but the Sun Devils closed out the half on a 17-3 run and stayed in control the rest of the way.A night like this, when everybodys hitting, is always great, Evans said. When we play great defense, everybody gets easier shots and everybody scores, so its more fun for everybody.Thirteen of Arizona States 17 first-half field goals were from long distance. Maurice OField took ASUs 36th 3-point attempt with 17 seconds left, but the effort came up short of both the rim and the school record.Doown 19 points at halftime, UNLV couldnt cut the lead into single digits. Pacers Jerseys China. Poysers 20 points led UNLV, with forward Tyrell Green adding 18 points and nine rebounds.The Rebels had won five of six coming into the game.TIP-INSUNLV: Uche Ofoegbu started after missing the Rebels last game due to illness ... Christian Jones (foot) missed his fifth straight game ... Cheickna Dembele (foot) played five minutes after missing the past three games.ARIZONA STATE: Rapper YG, in town for a show on Sunday, took part in the students Curtain of Distraction free throw tradition ... Kodi Justice was knocked to the floor on the final play of the first half but was able to walk off the court and returned in the second half.STAT OF THE NIGHT: Arizona States 73 points allowed wasnt a season low, but it showed defensive improvement after the Sun Devils had surrendered 110 and 115 points in their two most recent games.TURNING POINT: Justice fed Obinna Oleka for a 3 with 1:54 left in the first half, then hit his only 3 of the game 38 seconds later to give ASU a 48-32 lead. UNLV had trailed by only five moments before and was still within striking distance until that sequence.BIG PICTUREUNLV: Three of the Rebels next five games are against teams in the Top 25: No. 5 Duke on Dec. 10, No. 23 Oregon in Portland on Dec. 17 and fourth-ranked Kansas on Dec. 22.Arizona State: The Sun Devils go to New York for their next game, then fly back across the country to San Diego for a game against San Diego State on Dec. 10.UP NEXTUNLV takes on Duke at the new T-Mobile Arena Dec. 10.Arizona State plays No. 15 Purdue in the Jimmy V Classic Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. ' ' '