The Southern Observer » hots he faced. Zatkoff didnt exactly settle in q

JOHANNESBURG - Oscar Pistorius again faces the possibility of a murder conviction after a South African judge ruled Wednesday that prosecutors can appeal against the double-amputee Olympians conviction on the lesser charge of culpable homicide.The sensational case will go to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which will review the murder trial of Pistorius, who fatally shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through the closed door of a toilet cubicle on Valentines Day last year.Judge Thokozile Masipa, who convicted Pistorius and sentenced him to five years in jail, acknowledged that chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel had raised legitimate questions of law that should be studied by the appeals court.This might have a practical effect on the conviction, Masipa said.We note the finding of the court and abide by the ruling, Pistorius family said in a statement.Pistorius could face a minimum of 15 years in prison if the appeals court overturns the culpable homicide conviction and raises it to a murder conviction.Under his current sentence, Pistorius could be released from prison and placed under house arrest after serving 10 months, or one-sixth of his sentence. It is unclear whether the appeals court will have ruled on his case within 10 months.Nathi Mncube, the prosecution spokesman, said he hopes the appeal will be expedited, but acknowledged that the process can take a long time.Were happy, Mncube told journalists.The approval of an appeal represented a victory for South African prosecutors who had been disappointed that Pistorius was acquitted of murder.In another disappointment for the state, British businessman Shrien Dewani left South Africa on Tuesday after being acquitted of the murder of his wife Anni during their honeymoon in Cape Town in 2010.The appeals court has panels of three or five judges and does not meet again until Feb. 15, according to the website of the court, which is based in the South African city of Bloemfontein. Decisions are based on the opinion of a majority of judges.Witnesses do not appear before the court, and the parties need not be present during the hearing of an appeal. A written judgment is usually handed down shortly after the argument, the courts website says.In arguing for an appeal, the prosecution said Judge Masipa incorrectly interpreted a legal principle. Under that principle, a person should be found guilty of murder if he foresaw the possibility of a person dying because of his actions, and went ahead with those actions anyway.While approving an appeal against her own verdict, Masipa rejected the prosecutions argument for an appeal of the sentence for culpable homicide. Prosecutors had said it was too lenient.In any case, if the appeals court finds Pistorius guilty of murder, the sentence would automatically be raised to match the severity of the crime.Pistorius said he thought a dangerous intruder was in the house when he killed Steenkamp, a model and budding reality TV star; prosecutors allege he killed his girlfriend after an argument.Pistorius legs were amputated below the knees when he was 11 months old because he was born without fibula bones due to a congenital defect. However, he grew up playing sports with prosthetics. The sight of Pistorius racing at the London Olympics on carbon-fiber blades was one of the enduring and inspirational images of the 2012 games. Brandon Morrow Jersey . -- Manager Bob Melvin shuffled the Athletics batting order and got the type of production he was looking for from the top of the lineup. Kris Bryant Jersey . The NFL announced Friday that the Texans sixth-year veteran offensive lineman will replace Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jason Peters in the Jan. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Andr...on-Kids-Jersey/. He even addressed his group of relievers Sunday morning. Dustin McGowan made those worries a nonfactor, at least for a day. McGowan pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, Colby Rasmus hit a grand slam and Melky Cabrera added a two-run homer as the Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2. Anthony Rizzo Jersey . -- Two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana agreed Tuesday to a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles as he tries to come back from the second major operation on his left shoulder. Fergie Jenkins Jersey .com) - The top spot in the AFC South will be on the line when Houston native Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts shoot for their fourth straight win when they take on the Texans at NRG Stadium.PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins spent the first 25 minutes against the Toronto Maple Leafs showcasing all of their flaws, from defensive breakdowns to spotty goaltending to questionable decision-making. Then they spent the next 40 providing a reminder why they remain one of the most potent teams in the NHL. Evgeni Malkin picked up his first two-goal game in more than 18 months and added the game-winner in the shootout and Pittsburgh rallied by the stunned Maple Leafs 6-5 on Wednesday night. "That game was all over the place," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. So was Bylsmas team, which fell behind 4-1 and 5-3 -- looking comical at times in the process -- before getting its act together in the third period. Malkin and James Neal both scored in the third to tie it up, with Malkin and Sidney Crosby beating Torontos Jonathan Bernier in the shootout as Pittsburgh narrowly avoided its third three-game losing streak of the season. "Give everyone credit for sticking with it, because that first 25 minutes is as ugly as it gets," Crosby said. Chris Conner and Kris Letang also scored for Pittsburgh while Crosby added two assists to lift his point total to a league-leading 33. Rookie Jeff Zatkoff stopped 11 of 13 shots after replacing ineffective starter Marc-Andre Fleury less than a minute into the second period. "Jeff came in and made the stops he needed to make and played heads up," Bylsma said. Having the third period off helped too. Toronto didnt record a single shot over the final 25 minutes of play and went 0 for 2 in the shootout. James van Riemsdyk scored twice and added an assist for the Maple Leafs. Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri also scored for Toronto, but the Maple Leafs lost their way after taking a big lead. "I thought we did some good things for parts of the game, but obviously against a team like that you give them an inch and theyre going to take it all," van Riemsdyk said. While the Maple Leafs fizzled, there were no problems for the Penguins, who peppered Bernier with a season-high 48 shots. The goaltender made 43 stops, but went just 1 for 3 in the shootout. The Penguins have won 12 straight games against goaltenders making their first career starts against Pittsburgh. Its a streak that appeared in jeopardy when Bozak put the Maple Leafs ahead 5-3 with 5 seconds left in the second period by tapping a lazy rebound by Zatkoff. Instead, it proved to be the last sign of offence from Toronto. Pittsburghs decimated defence, whichh lost star Paul Martin for 4 to 6 weeks earlier in the day with a fractured leg, clamped down and let Malkin, Crosby company go to work.dddddddddddd "We received the whole third period," Toronto coach Randy Carlyle said. "We didnt skate, we didnt forecheck, we didnt establish much." Neals sixth goal in his past five games pulled Pittsburgh within 5-4 at 3:46 of the third and Malkin tied it less than four minutes later when he stood in front of the crease and nudged a scrambling Bernier into the net then tucked the puck under the sprawled goaltender. "Slow start but we need to play whole 60 minutes," Malkin said. "Not a great game for us but two points, its fine." Toronto managed to extend the game through overtime, but was no match against Zatkoff in the shootout. Zatkoff stuffed Bozak and David Clarkson in the first two rounds, and after Crosby easily beat Bernier to give the Penguins the advantage, Malkin wrapped up the comeback by firing a wrist shot over the exhausted goaltenders right arm. Pittsburgh dominated for stretches early, but the Maple Leafs kept effectively counter punching. Van Riemsdyk and Kadri helped the Maple Leafs take an early 2-1 lead and things only got worse for Fleury early in the second. He failed to clear the puck behind the net, instead feeding it directly to van Riemsdyk, who pushed it across the goal to make it 3-1 just 13 seconds into the period. That was all for Fleury, stopped just eight of the 11 shots he faced. Zatkoff didnt exactly settle in quietly. Another Pittsburgh turnover allowed Bozak to set up a wide-open Kessel for a one-time that pushed Torontos lead to 4-1 just 29 seconds after Fleury skated to the bench. Pittsburgh drew within a goal as Malkin and Letang scored on consecutive power plays, but the hard work seemed to evaporate in the final moments of the second as Zatkoff failed to control a rebound on a van Riemsdyk slap shot and the puck just sat in the crease for Bozak to tap in with just 5 seconds remaining in one of the weirder 20 minutes of the season for both teams. It set the stage for what Bylsma called the best 25 minutes hes seen from his team in quite some time. NOTES: The Penguins went 3 for 5 on the power play. ... Malkins last multiple-goal game came on March 22, 2012, against Nashville. ... Toronto played without F Joffrey Lupul, who strained his groin in the second period of Mondays loss to the Blue Jackets. ... A crowd of 18,660 showed up the night before Thanksgiving to provide the Penguins with their 300th straight sellout. ' ' '