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OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators put an end to speculation and officially named Jason Spezza as its captain Saturday afternoon. The announcement came as no real surprise as Spezza was the odds-on favourite to take over the captaincy after Daniel Alfredsson chose to sign with the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent in July. "This is a huge honour for both myself and my family," said Spezza, as he read from a prepared statement. "Its something that is very important to me." Spezza becomes the eighth captain in franchise history and admitted wearing the "C" is a dream come true. "For me Ive always dreamed of being a captain," said Spezza, who missed most of last season with a back injury. "My main goal is to try to win the Stanley Cup and thats something that Ive always wanted. I take the game of hockey very seriously and I like being able to help my teammates. "I like being able to push myself and try to become a better player everyday." Being the face of the franchise is an honour and a challenge that Spezza says he is looking forward to. Spezza said that having had the opportunity to play alongside Alfredsson and experiencing the highs and lows of a professional career have allowed him time to grow as both a player and a person. "I feel like its come naturally, I feel like its not something thats been forced upon me and that gives me the confidence to know that I can do a good job." With over 600 games and 621 career points, Spezza is the second longest serving member of the Senators. Chris Phillips, who was also in strong contention to take over the captaincy, holds the distinction of being the longest serving member. Phillips will remain an alternate captain, with Chris Neil joining the leadership group as the second alternate. Both Neil and Phillips were drafted by Ottawa and have spent their entire NHL careers with the Senators. "The Ottawa Senators have a history of strong leaders, strong captains and we believe that will continue today," said Senators general manager Bryan Murray. "This years team we believe will be one of the youngest if not the youngest in the NHL so having a strong leadership corps headed by our captains is going to be very, very critical if were going to be successful." Head coach Paul MacLean admitted the fact that Spezza has spent his entire career in Ottawa was a significant reason the team selected him as the new captain. The 30-year-old Spezza was the Senators first-round pick (second overall) in the 2001 NHL Draft. He has registered four 30-goal seasons and two 90-plus point campaigns. The Mississauga, Ont., native has represented Canada on six different occasions, and has earned five medals at various international tournaments throughout his career. Custom Arizona Diamondbacks Nike Jerseys . 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Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys .C. -- With a chance to start over and maybe drive in any series he wanted, Juan Pablo Montoya thought long and hard about what mattered most at this stage of his career.NEW YORK -- Carmelo Anthony let it fly from halfcourt, and when it went in, he had proof of what was already obvious. "When I made the shot at the half, I told myself the zone was there," Anthony said. Soon, he had passed Kevin Durant. Next was Bernard King, and finally Kobe Bryant. Three records, all shot down in one scintillating performance. Anthony scored a career-high 62 points to break the franchise and current Madison Square Garden marks, and the New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Bobcats 125-96 on Friday night to stop a five-game losing streak. Anthony made 23 of 35 shots, one when he leapt from centre court to beat the halftime buzzer, and even added 13 rebounds in the NBAs highest-scoring performance this season. Anthony had 56 after three quarters, bettering Durants previous season high of 54, and stayed in for the first few minutes of the fourth to break Kings Knicks record of 60 set in 1984 and Bryants arena record of 61 set five years ago. "I made history tonight, with the performance, but just to be a part of that group of people, like I said, theres only a small group of people that knows what that zone feels like and tonight I was one of them," Anthony said. It was easily the highlight of the season for Anthony, on pace to miss the playoffs for the first time in his career and facing frequent questions about his future with the team as he heads into free agency this summer. That was all on hold for one night, the focus simply on Anthonys amazing scoring. He easily passed his previous career best of 50 points and possibly couldve even passed 70 or more had the game been close. Instead, he checked out for good after breaking the records when he banked in a short jumper with 7:24 to play. "Ive seen him score a lot of points, but that was some performance right there," said J.R. Smith, who was also a teammate of Anthonys in Denver. Smith noticed a different focus from Anthony before the game, a seriousness replacing the usual laughter. Perhaps some of it was some added pregame motivation after the team watched a video featuring Muhammad Ali, one of Anthonys favourite athletes. With the Knicks desperately thin in the frontcourt after losing Andrea Bargnani on top of the injuries to Amare Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin, Anthony simply took on more of the scoring load as New York won for the first time on its eight-game homestand after dropping the first three. King, elected to the Hall of Fame last year, said he was proud of Anthony, who he considers one of the best players in the gamee.dddddddddddd "If anyone was to break my Knicks record that I have held for so long, Im absolutely delighted that it was Carmelo," King said through the teams public relations department. Al Jefferson had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats, snapping his streak of four straight 20-10 games. Charlotte had won two in a row, holding division leaders Toronto and the Los Angeles Clippers to an average of 93 points. But the Knicks, who had lost to the Bobcats 10 days ago to start their current skid, shot 56 per cent. So what happened to Charlottes defence? "Melo. Enough said," Jefferson said. Fans chanted "Melo! Melo!" when the Knicks had the ball in the second half, as if they were calling a play. That was replaced by "We Want Melo! We want Melo!" after he checked out. He made 20 of his first 26 shots against what had been a good defensive team, but there was no defence for the zone Anthony was in. "When hes in one of those zones, aint nothing nobody can do about it," Jefferson added. Last seasons scoring champion had eight points in the first 2 1/2 minutes, went 8 of 10 in the first quarter and had 20 points as the Knicks led 30-21. He skipped his usual break and kept playing deep into the second quarter before finally taking a seat with 4:34 left, shortly after missing an open jumper. He returned with 2 1/2 minutes left to finish the half in style, throwing in a buzzer beater from just inside halfcourt to cap his 15-of-21 half and make it 67-46, Stoudemire laughing hysterically on the bench in his brown suit jacket and the rest of the players leaping in celebration. "Just to see everybody smiling once again, thats what I was more excited to see," Anthony said. "Guys on the bench smiling, high-fiving, having fun once again, thats the only thing I care about." Turned out Anthony was just getting started. He made his first five shots in the second half and the Bobcats would eventually grow frustrated, picking up two technical fouls on one play after Anthonys 3-pointer late in the third. He made both free throws, part of his 10-for-10 showing at the line, and said he tried to check himself out earlier but his teammates wouldnt allow it. Notes: Kemba Walker, who had 25 points in all three previous matchups against the Knicks, sat out his third game in a row with a sprained left ankle. ... The Knicks said Bargnani, who tore the ulner collateral ligament in his left elbow, wont require surgery and will instead just need rest and treatment. ' ' '