more of its time defending than on the attack. When the Coyotes get going as a franchise, the hockey world will get a true appreciation for just how important Ekman-Larsson is as a player. Hes dynamic, but that has been lost on a bad team for the past couple years. If Arizona

Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Thursday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EST:- NASSAU, Bahamas -- Gone from the game for 15 months, Tiger Woods returns to competition at the Hero World Challenge at No. 898 in the world but with a game that shows promise.- MINNEAPOLIS -- The Dallas Cowboys, riding a 10-game winning streak, play a struggling Minnesota Vikings team that will be without coach Mike Zimmer. He is recovering from eye surgery. Game starts 9:30 p.m.- ALAMEDA, Calif. -- General manager Reggie McKenzies plan to rebuild the Raiders is finally coming to fruition. Oakland is 9-2 and tied with the Patriots for the top record in the AFC.- DAVIE, Fla. -- Star tackle Ndamukong Suh usually gets double-teamed, so the Miami Dolphins are doing what they can to free him up. And hes doing what he can to make the strategy pay off.- SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Washington coach Chris Petersen will let others do the lobbying for the College Football Playoff. He believes what his No. 4 team does in the Pac-12 title game will speak loud enough.- TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Floridas Jim McElwain, a former Alabama offensive coordinator, never had a Crimson Tide quarterback quite like Jalen Hurts, in style if not effectiveness.- CLEMSON, S.C. -- Clemson knows all sorts of defensive schemes will be coming its way when they play Virginia Tech in the ACC title game.- OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors try to extend their winning streak to 13 games when they host James Harden and the Houston Rockets. Game starts 10:30 p.m.- CLEVELAND -- LeBron James and the defending champion Cavaliers return home and face the Los Angeles Clippers, who have lost three straight. Game starts 8 p.m.- Two notable womens college basketball games: No. 15 DePaul at No. 2 UConn (7 p.m.) and No. 3 South Carolina at No. 14 Texas (7 p.m.).- MEDELLIN, Colombia -- Tear-filled tributes are held at packed stadiums in Colombia and Brazil for the victims of the plane crash that left 71 dead.- MADRID -- Spanish authorities have detained 34 people, including six low-ranked tennis players, in connection with a match-fixing network involving second-tier tournaments in Spain and Portugal.- LONDON -- English soccer authorities are investigating whether clubs paid hush money to victims of sexual abuse in the 1990s. Former pro players have gone public over the last two weeks about their ordeals.- MOSCOW -- Irish race walker Olive Loughnane was awarded first place at the 2009 worlds when her opponent was later caught doping. She is still waiting for her gold medal and $30,000 in prize money.- SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Michael Phelps is looking to make the jump from swimmer and product pitchman to investor. The Olympic great is getting advice from Silicon Valley venture capitalists. Cheap Custom Nuggets Jersey .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Cheap Custom Nuggets Jersey . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. http://www.customnuggetsjersey.com/ . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. Custom Nuggets Jerseys . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Custom Nuggets Jerseys . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Coyotes players realize that the expectation outside the organization is that theyre going to be pretty good in the future. Once some of these high-profile picks start to mature, watch out. Right?Max Domi and the other current players have different plans. The Coyotes have bottomed out in their rebuilding effort and now he wants to see them make serious positive strides in the standings.I always laugh when people say, Youre going to be good in a few years. Why in a few years? Domi said during a recent phone interview. What do you mean, in a few years? With the moves weve made ... theres no reason we cant win night in and night out.Last season, the Coyotes needed a few breaks to get two points in a game. They needed the other team to play lousy. They needed high-end goaltending. Basically, they were overmatched.Internally, they now believe that if they play well, they can play with any team, regardless of how the opposition is playing.The key will be getting consistent play from a roster full of young players. Domi came out strong in 2015 but admitted he struggled later in the season -- even after everyone had warned him that harder times were coming.You have to battle the uphill battle, he said. Youre trying to elevate your game as much as you can but so does the rest of the league. Its almost like playoff hockey comes in December.Best new facesGeneral manager John Chaykas trade for free-agent defenseman Alex Goligoskis?rights raised eyebrows.?Why in the world would a veteran, puck-moving defenseman wait all these years to get a shot at free agency -- and then sign with the Coyotes? He did exactly that and at a very reasonable number ($5.475 million per season), showing just how convinced the Coyotes must be of their plans moving forward.Hell make a big difference on a defense that desperately needed him.Its unbelievable the passes and plays he can make, Domi said of Goligoski. You can tell his presence; its pretty unbelievable. Hes a mature guy who is definitely a leader. Hes going to help lead this team in the right direction.The signing of Jamie McGinn was a nice veteran addition on the wing. Hell push 20 goals -- and taking a $1 million flier on Radim Vrbata wont hurt. Theres insurance if some of the kids arent completely ready.Biggest unknowwnsThe prospects.dddddddddddd The Coyotes have an extremely deep prospect pool. Its just hard to project exactly when theyre going to make consistent NHL contributions.Dylan Strome had 111 points in 56 games last season in the OHL and will be given every opportunity to play in the NHL this season.He looked great last year [in camp], said Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Hes one year older now. I think hes going to come in and do what [Anthony Duclair] and Max [Domi] did last year.It will be interesting to see if theres any temptation to keep defenseman?Jakob Chychrun?around to give him a taste of the NHL. The Coyotes are still thin on defense, an area Chayka might try to look externally for help.Goaltending remains a bit of an unknown. The Coyotes still have?Mike Smith?locked up for three more years at $5.6 million per season, a high sticker price for a guy who has a save percentage in the .915 range.Sure thingsThere are plenty of questions surrounding the Coyotes, but there are two constants: coach Dave Tippett and Ekman-Larsson. Ekman-Larsson has now put up consecutive 20-goal seasons and has been a positive possession player on a team that has spent more of its time defending than on the attack. When the Coyotes get going as a franchise, the hockey world will get a true appreciation for just how important Ekman-Larsson is as a player. Hes dynamic, but that has been lost on a bad team for the past couple years. If Arizona makes a playoff push, hell get Norris Trophy consideration.And then theres Tippett. The one sure thing is that hes going to maximize talent. Having Tippett around last season may have even cost the Coyotes a shot at Auston Matthews because Tippett managed to scratch out wins with a group that was often overmatched. The payoff is that hes absolutely the right guy to guide all this young talent moving forward.PredictionThis isnt a playoff team yet, but its headed in the right direction. At some point the Coyotes will catch the aging former powers, such as the?Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, just not yet. Theyll have to settle for a sixth-place finish -- above Vancouver -- in the division. ' ' '