The Blue Jackets put to rest a slew of ugly numbers that followed them around like toe fungus, beating the Dallas Stars 4-1 in American Airlines Center. Which of the following streaks was most unsettling, most in need of being expunged from the Blue Jackets’ stat sheet: A: No regulation road wins this season (17 games), and none dating back to last March 12 in Carolina (23 games) B: Eight straight blown leads after being up through two periods C: No road wins this season for goaltender Steve Mason (0-8-0) D: All of the above The correct answer of course is ‘D.’ Mason had a season-high 36 saves, 18 of them in the first period. Rick Nash had his second two-goal game of the season, and John Moore had the first two assists of his NHL career. Antoine Vermette and Fedor Tyutin (empty-net) also scored. There. That wasn’t so hard, was it? “We talked about being more positive, more upbeat,” Mason said. “And the guys were able to do that tonight. I have to give a lot of credit to Umby (winger R.J. Umberger); he did a really good job of keeping guys up and positive during that (second) intermission.   “We know we can be a team that can close out games. There’s no reason we can’t. This one here is something we can build off now.” The game was not without a setback for the Blue Jackets, though. Defenseman James Wisniewski suffered a fractured left ankle and will be out indefinitely pending more tests on Friday in Columbus. (See previous Puck-rakers post.) But a win away from Nationwide Arena — in regulation, after leading through two periods, and in front of the stellar play of Mason — seemed like a major accomplishment for a team that has trouble taking baby steps this season. “After all the things that have kind of backfired on us the last few weeks here … that was a great 20-man effort,” Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel said. “From getting an early lead, to building on that lead, and playing very well in the third period, it was a good effort and a good feeling all around.”   Mason put it more bluntly: “It was good to hear music in the visitor’s room after the game for a change.” The Blue Jackets led 1-0 only 3:50 into the game. Rookie Ryan Johansen carried the puck behind the net, feathered a sweet pass across the slot to Nash and celebrated as Nash fired the puck into a yawning net. The Stars responded — actually, the poured it the freak on for most of the first period — to make it 1-1 at 8:57 of the first. Stars forward Vernon Fiddler, who once tormented the Jackets as a member of the Nashville Predators, fired a rebound home off Mason left leg. Early in the second, Moore — a brilliant skater — floated sideways from atop the left circle to the high slot and loosed a wrister than Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen left on the doorstep. Vermette gathered it and crammed it under Lehtonen’s glove for a 2-1 lead. If Vermette’s goal was big, Nash’s at 6:09 of the third was huge. Make that, Hyoooodge! Aided by a Johansen screen, Nash scored on a nifty wrister from the right circle to make it 3-1. For a club that has treated third period’s like first dates, it was much-needed breathing room. The Blue Jackets killed back-to-back penalties late in the third (Boll, charging at 14:05, and Nikitin, hooking at 3:46) before Tyutin scored into an empty net with 2.0 remaining. Side dishes: — Mason was 0-8-0 on the road this season with an .839 save percentage and 4.80 goals-against average before tonight. He had lost 11 straight on the road (0-9-2) dating back to that March 12 game in Carolina. I remember that game, how it was seasonably warm and how Hurricanes fans were enjoying a tailgate before faceoff. Never occurred to me that it was have such meaning nearly half a season later. — Here’s rookie John Moore on Mason tonight: “Mase made some huge saves. He outplayed (Stars goaltender Kari) Lehtonen, that’s for sure, and Lehtonen is a heck of a goalie.” — The Blue Jackets may not need to recall a defenseman in the next couple of days to cover for Wisniewski’s injury. May not, I said. Aaron Johnson is here and able to play. But they’ll almost certainly need to recall somebody from Springfield before they leave next week on a lengthy California road trip. — C Ryan Johansen was a soft-handed beast tonight. His feed to Nash for the game’s first goal tonight had to make Blue Jackets think a season or two down the road, when the kid grows into his paws and really gets comfortable in the NHL. He has 2-2-4 in his last four games after going a few weeks without a point. — Here’s Mason, on what the win means: “A lot of people were questioning whether we care or not. I think this definitely shows that everybody in this dressing room is going to do everything we can do to get back into the playoff hunt.” — The Stars lost captain Brenden Morrow in this one, too. Morrow was struck on his wonkly left knee by a puck and didn’t return after the second period. — Aaron Portzline aportzline@dispatch.com twitter: @aportzline

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When the NFL owners locked out the players last spring, what seemed like the end was just the beginning for the Cincinnati Bengals. With no offseason workouts, a shortened training camp and a roster depleted of former stars like quarterback Carson Palmer and receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, the Bengals appeared headed for another 4-12 season, or possibly worse. But on Sunday afternoon in Paul Brown Stadium, where the Bengals (9-6) host the Ravens (11-4), Cincinnati is one win away from becoming the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs. If the Ravens win, they can at least secure a No. 2 seed, a first-round bye and host a divisional semifinal. If the Bengals win, they would travel to No. 3 Houston for a first-round game. “We’ve got an opportunity to do something that almost nobody in the business thought we could do,” said Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth. According to Bengals coach and former Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, the seeds for Cincinnati’s turnaround were planted during the lockout. That’s when some of the veterans started organizing team drills, practices and workouts. Gone were the prima donnas like Ochocinco and Owens who would have complained. Instead, the grunt guys like Whitworth and nose tackle Domata Peko took over, and the rest followed. “The lockout helped create a new atmosphere around here,” Lewis said. “The big, tough guys started running the show, they took over the team. There are no more clique-ish groups in football than the offensive and defensive lines, and they stepped up and everyone else just rallied behind them. They have become the fiber of the team.” But it’s just not that simple. Cincinnati is winning with two rookies — quarterback Andy Dalton and receiver A.J. Green — playing prominent roles. Green, a first-round pick out of Georgia, was expected to contribute right away, and the kid has been the total package with 63 catches for 1,031 yards and seven touchdowns. “He was good early — so unassuming, so talented — from the very first time he stepped on the field,” Lewis said. “Usually you get to see these guys in minicamp and the various offseason camps, but there were no opportunities. But from the first day in training camp, you could tell he was special.” Dalton has been even more impressive. Quarterback might be the hardest position to learn in all of sports. Few rookies challenge for a playoff spot in their first season. Few rookies taken with the No. 35 overall pick have looked as poised or thrown for 3,166 yards and 20 touchdowns. He doesn’t play like a rookie. “He’s so far ahead of me when I was a rookie, it’s not even funny,” former Bengals quarterback and CBS analyst Boomer Esiason said earlier this year. “After my rookie year [general manager] Paul Brown and [coach] Sam Wyche were going into the offseason looking at each other cross-eyed.” Dalton had Lewis’ head spinning about a month or so before the draft. “I watched the way our coaches worked with him at TCU and how he threw to his receivers and backs,” Lewis said. “He stood firm, like these guys had been coaching him for years. I could see it was a good match. He understood what we were trying to teach. He could recite and then execute it.” Dalton will give the Ravens problems. The Ravens don’t have anyone who can match up with Green and Cincinnati has another talented receiver in Jerome Simpson and tight end Jermaine Gresham. The Ravens won the first meeting between the two teams this season, 31-24, as Cincinnati was minus-two in turnover differential and Dalton threw three interceptions. “It has been a big year for me and for this team, and it’s our job to find a way to get this last step,” said Dalton, who has been sacked 24 times this season, third fewest in the NFL. Another major difference has been the Bengals defense. Lewis noted that there are five former first-round draft picks starting. The Bengals get pressure with their front four of Robert Geathers, Frostee Rucker, Geno Atkins and Peko. Cincinnati has 44 sacks this season, third best in the league. They use a 4-3 scheme and play a lot of two-deep coverage, which has given the Ravens problems. Plus, the Bengals know that anytime they play Baltimore, it’s a big game for Lewis, who won a Super Bowl here with the Ravens in 2000. “If they lose, they know they don’t want to be around me,” Lewis said with a laugh. Lewis still has a fondness for Baltimore. He often comes back during the offseason as a guest speaker for companies or colleges. He likes what the Ravens have done by adding rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith and using tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta. He says the Ravens’ front seven on defense is one of the best in the NFL. But the Bengals have only one goal now. They’ve won six of their past nine meetings against the Ravens. “I think it would be huge,” said Bengals running back Cedric Benson. “You can only imagine what [a win Sunday] would do to some egos around here. But I think as far as the young guys, the team as a whole, the momentum and the bonding that it will actually do for the guys, for the team, is hard to even put in words. This is a team that has had a lot of adversity, wasn’t expected to do much this year. It would just be kind of a good capper, a great building block to the future.” Text FOOTBALL to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun Ravens text alerts

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Sarah Jones, a Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader, abruptly resigned her position as a high school teacher on Nov. 30, and now she’s the subject of two investigations. Except nobody will say what Jones has been accused of doing. Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway has been asked to assign a special prosecutor to a criminal case. The board that certifies teachers in Kentucky is also investigating Jones and she resigned Nov. 30 from Dixie Heights High School in Edgewood. Strange. Her lawyer had this to say: “Sarah Jones maintains that she’s innocent, that this is just a terrible rumor and it’s my understanding that the alleged victim denies it also. Sarah is being fully cooperative, and there have been no charges filed against her.” Jones has been a high school teacher since 2006. If her name rings a bell, that’s because she was trashed on a website called, “The Dirty,” earlier this year, and then attempted to sue said website. She won an $11 million judgment against “The Dirty,” but her lawyer bricked in the filing and the case is still ongoing. [Cincinnati.com]  

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CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals have placed wide receiver Andre Caldwell on injured reserve with a hernia, ending his season. The fourth-year player saw action in 13 games this season with two starts, making 37 catches for 317 yards and three touchdowns. To replace Caldwell, the Bengals have signed rookie receiver Armon Binns from the practice squad. Binns originally was signed to the practice squad on Sept. 20 after signing on July 28 with Jacksonville as an undrafted free agent and being cut on Sept. 3. Signed to the practice squad Tuesday is WR Vidal Hazelton, who like Binns attended the University of Cincinnati and is a rookie. Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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CINCINNATI (AP)—The Cincinnati Bengals have placed wide receiver Andre Caldwell on injured reserve with a hernia, ending his season. The fourth-year player saw action in 13 games this season with two starts, making 37 catches for 317 yards and three touchdowns. To replace Caldwell, the Bengals have signed rookie receiver Armon Binns from the practice squad. Binns originally was signed to the practice squad on Sept. 20 after signing on July 28 with Jacksonville as an undrafted free agent and being cut on Sept. 3. Signed to the practice squad Tuesday is WR Vidal Hazelton, who like Binns attended the University of Cincinnati and is a rookie.

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