PARIS -- Ireland held on grimly in a nail-biting finish to beat France 22-20 and win its first Six Nations since 2009, giving centre Brian ODriscoll the perfect send-off in his last test on Saturday. Rashaan Evans Jersey . With just over a minute remaining, ODriscolls and Irish hearts sank when France No. 8 Damien Chouly scored in the right corner, but the try was disallowed for a forward pass from captain Pascal Pape. "Im over the moon, very happy for the lads and obviously very happy for Brian in his last international," Ireland captain Paul OConnell said. "Historically, this is always our toughest Six Nations with England away from home and France away from home, so to win the championship with these two fixtures is a great success." Ireland flyhalf Jonathan Sexton scored two tries among a personal 17 points to steal the limelight in ODriscolls world-record 141st and final test. Right winger Andrew Trimble got Irelands other try. "There is where it all began and to finish with a medal around my neck 15 years later is incredible," said ODriscoll, who was still in his jersey at the news conference. "Its been a fantastic Six Nations for us. Ive enjoyed every second. I dont really want to take this jersey off yet." Irelands last win in Paris was in 2000, when ODriscoll, nine months into his great career, scored a hat trick of tries and made his name. "I dont think anybody will step into Brians shoes," Ireland coach Joe Schmidt said. "Theyre rather big, but hopefully they can grow into them." Irelands title was only its second in 29 years, and relegated England to second for a third straight year. England beat Italy 52-11 in Rome earlier, forcing Ireland and France, a long shot for the title, to win or miss out. France finished fourth, Wales rising to third with a 51-3 defeat of Scotland. France, after an indifferent campaign, came to the party with all guns loaded and produced the games highlight moment, its first try to fullback Brice Dulin. There was a controversial second try from hooker Dimitri Szarzewski, who knocked on before scoring against the post. "Of course its frustrating to finish fourth," France coach Philippe Saint-Andre said. "You cant say our players cant play rugby and that they dont have any desire. We showed enormous ambition to play good rugby. The highest level is very cruel and you have to congratulate Ireland and ODriscoll." France missed chances in the last 10 minutes to take the lead, when replacement scrumhalf Jean-Marc Doussains penalty drifted wide and the disallowed try. "I would have liked to have closed it out a lot better than we did," OConnell said. "Ive been coming to Paris since I was 22, its a very tough place to win. Ive never won here before. In my year as captain, at 34 and in Brians last cap, it really is an incredible feeling." ODriscoll kissed the Six Nations trophy before OConnell raised it aloft, sending Irelands large contingent of fans into delirium again. "I tried to channel the emotions into the performance. You cant allow the occasion to get the better of you," ODriscoll said. "You have to try and make sure youre a cog in the wheel of the team. The emotions come after and they did, and Im sure therell be a few tears later on with multiple beers on board. But its a wonderful way to finish." Early momentum, especially from centre Mathieu Bastareaud, was with France for a 6-0 lead. Sextons first try cut the lead to one, and soon after, scrumhalf Conor Murrays clever footwork and pass released Trimble for a try and 12-6. Stung back into action, the French pack took control. With blood pouring from a cut under his right eye, Szarzewski gained ground and flyhalf Remi Tales lofted a pin-point cross-kick to the right corner, where winger Yoann Huget brilliantly palmed it down to Dulin, who scored. It was Frances best move of the tournament. Sexton missed a penalty, the last act of the half, to allow France to go into the interval 13-12 ahead but without prop Nicolas Mas, who trudged off with his right arm in a sling. In the second half, Trimbles superb run down the right almost earned the supporting ODriscoll a try. Ireland recycled, and Murray sent Sexton over for the seven-pointer. Another penalty from Sexton made it 22-13. But France wasnt finished. Just after the hour mark, Szarzewskis try that really wasnt cut the margin to two. The Irish resisted the final French onslaught to send ODriscoll into a happy international retirement "Not many people get to finish their career on their own terms and with high emotions," ODriscoll said. "I feel very fortunate." Malcolm Butler Titans Jersey .com) - The Grand Slam season will get underway Monday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where a new champion will be crowned this year. Blaine Gabbert Titans Jersey .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. http://www.thetitansfansclub.com/Black-Friday-Luke-Stocker-Jersey/ . Johns IceCaps erased an early two-goal deficit to come from behind and defeat the host Portland Pirates 5-4 on Saturday in American Hockey League action.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Dont worry, Kris Letang insists. The heat is coming. Sure, the Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman admits the New York Rangers dont invite quite the same animosity inside his teams locker room as the Philadelphia Flyers. The Rangers ended any shot of that tantalizing matchup when they beat the Flyers in seven games to set up a showdown with Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference semifinals starting Friday. That doesnt mean Letang expects the next two weeks to be devoid of drama. Far from it. "Im pretty sure the intensity will get really high at one point when we start," Letang said. "The emotion is always going to be part of the game and were going to have to control it the best we can." Its an internal battle the Penguins won during a taut first-round series against Columbus. Expected to send the inexperienced Blue Jackets home without much effort, Pittsburgh needed six trying games to advance. The way the Penguins figure it, thats a good thing. Forced to respond to adversity, they played what coach Dan Bylsma called their best 120 minutes this season to avoid the upset. "We keep coming and we keep coming, playing forward and playing in the offensive zone and grinding teams down with that play with that speed and quickness," Bylsma said. "Games 5 and 6 were our best at playing that way." The Penguins will need to do it four more times if they want to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year. They split their four regular-season meetings with New York, all of them coming before the Olympic break. The Rangers hardly look like the team that was still struggling to find an identity when they last faced Pittsburgh in early February. Pittsburgh is no longer the patched-together unit that cruised to the Metropolitan Division title despite having stars Letang, Evgeni Malkin, Paul Martin and James Neal miss large chunks of the season due to injury. The Penguins are healthy. New York is hot. Five things to look for heading into Game 1. SLUMPING STARS: Pittsburgh captain and likely NHL MVP Sidney Crosby hasnt scored a goal in his past 10 playoff games. New York forward Rick Nash has just one in 19 post-season contests wearing a Rangers sweater. Whichever sttreak ends first could swing the balance of the series. Harold Landry Titans Jersey. Crosby had six assists against the Blue Jackets, including one to Malkin in the first period of Game 6 in Columbus that gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead. Crosby knows he needs to take more chances. So does Nash, who can live with the drought as long as the Rangers keep it going. "Thats all that matters," Nash said. "Im going to try to keep getting my game going." LUNDQVIST VS. FLEURY: New Yorks Henrik Lundqvist and Pittsburghs Marc-Andre Fleury are the two winningest goaltenders in the regular season over the past five years, combining for 334 victories. Yet Lundqvist has yet to lift the Rangers past the conference finals while Fleury has struggled in the playoffs since helping the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2009. Both had their wayward moments in the first round. Both responded with brilliant play. Whoever gets hot — and stays hot — will give his team the upper hand. POWERLESS POWER PLAY: The Rangers went just 3 for 29 on the power play against Philadelphia, ending the series by failing to score 21 straight times with the man advantage. Not exactly the recipe to hang with the Penguins, who had the NHLs best power play during the regular season and was a solid 4 for 15 against the Blue Jackets while adding a pair of short-handed goals in the process. GENOS BACK: Like Crosby, Malkin was in the midst of a lengthy goal drought before coming up with his second career playoff hat trick in the clincher against the Blue Jackets. The rust that came with missing the final three weeks of the regular season appeared to vanish as he lit up Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in Game 6. Playing alongside Crosby at times to try to shake loose the cobwebs, Malkin got hot. Expect to see the two MVPs on the ice frequently against New York. NEW YORK MINUTE: Game 1 marks the middle of a busy stretch in which the Rangers will play five times in seven days. Thats fine by them considering it beats the alternative of watching from home. "Now were in the middle of it and were in the battle," New York forward Brad Richards said. "This is when it gets real fun." ___ AP Sports Writer Ira Podell in New York contributed to this report. Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Bills Jerseys Cheap Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Patriots Jerseys Cheap Saints Jerseys Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap 49ers Jerseys Cheap Seahawks Jerseys Cheap Rams Jerseys Cheap Bears Jerseys Cheap Lions Jerseys Cheap Packers Jerseys Cheap Vikings Jerseys Cheap Bengals Jerseys Cheap Browns Jerseys ' ' '