NBA
DIRK FIGURES OUT WARRIORS, MAVS WIN
Great athletes have a plan. And they have a way of neutralizing even the best plans that other cook up to stop them. On Wednesday, Dirk Nowitzki played like a great athlete, countering the Don Nelson strategy that worked so well for Golden State in last season’s playoffs. As a result, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Warriors 121-99.
Nowitzki had 29 points and six assists on offense. He added rebounds, and he blocked three shots in a well-rounded display that was missing from the GS-Dallas showdown in the 2007 playoffs. As a result, the Mavs improve to 21-11 on the season, and the Warriors fall to 19-14.
The Mavs’ star got help from Josh Howard, who had 19 points and a team-leading 13 rebounds. Also, Devin Harris had 17 points and Jerry Stackhouse had 16. The Mavs shot 53 percent from the field, including 8-for-6 from behind the arc. They also netted 84 percent of the their free throws.
Stephen Jackson scored 25 points for the Warriors, and Al Harrington contributed 21.
And surely Don Nelson is scribbling on his clipboard today trying to figure out a new way to stop Dirk Nowitzki when next the two teams meet.
OTHER NBA SCORES
New Orleans 95, LA Clippers 81
Utah 110, Philadelphia 107
Detroit 106, Washington 93
New Jersey 96, Orlando 95
Chicago 109, Charlotte 97
Portland 90, Minnesota 79
Milwaukee 103, Miami 98
Memphis 90, Indiana 72
Boston 97, Houston 93
Cleveland 98, Atlanta 94
Sacramento 107, New York 97
NBA NOTES
• At least the Minnesota Timberwolves have something to look forward to this year: The NBA draft.
• Kyle Korver has already made the Utah Jazz look like geniuses for acquiring him for disgruntled Gordan Giricek. On Wednesday, he made 5 straight free throws down the stretch to help the Jazz beat the Philadelphia 76ers, the team who gave up Korver earlier this week.
• Is there some kind of award that can be given to the fans in New York. Their Knicks are in disarray. Their coach is the bane of their very existence. The owner is not trusted to fix the problem. Yet Madison Square Garden is sold out to watch the Knickerbockers lose to the Ron Artest- and Mike Bibby-less Sacramento Kings. These folks are loyal.
• And speaking of the Kings, when did John Salmons turn into a go-to NBA guy? He had 32 points and 11 rebounds for Sacramento on Wednesday.
• The Orlando Magic home woes continue. By losing the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday, the Magic slip to 7-7 at home. Living out of suitcase, they are 15-5.
NHL
EARLY LEAD HELPS DEVILS DOWN PANTHERS
Jamie Langenbrunner and Noah Clarke both scored first-period goals to lead the New Jersey Devils past the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Wednesday.
Langenbrunner put the Devils on the scoreboard first with a tap-in past Panthers netminder Tomas Vokoun. Clarke then scored his first goal with New Jersey to make it 2-0. That’s the first time the Devils have scored a first-period goal in eight games!
Brian Gionta added New Jersey’s final goal in the third period.
New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur turned away 31 Florida shots to earn the victory.
The win was the Devils’ fourth in five games.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Detroit 4, Dallas 1
Phoenix 5, Colorado 2
Calgary 4, New York Rangers 3
Anaheim 2, Columbus 1
Edmonton 3, St. Louis 2 – OT
Atlanta 5, Carolina 4 – OT
NCAA
BOWL REPORT
Rich Who? The West Virginia Mountaineers proved that they are more than their now-departed former football coach by drubbing the Oklahoma Sooners 48-28 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Wednesday in Glendale, Arizona.
Ranked No. 9 before the kickoff, the men from Morgantown had their way with the No. 3 rated Sooners. Patrick White was spectacular for West Virginia. He was 10 for 19 passing for 176 yards and two touchdowns. But he was even better when he pulled the ball back in and ran it down field. White racked up 150 yards on the ground on 20 carries, including one 42-yard scamper. The Mountaineers covered 349 yards by carrying the ball.
After edging out to a 6-0 lead after the first quarter, West Virginia scored 14 points in each of the final three to put the game away handily. The Mountaineers held a 20-6 lead at the half.
The architect behind the game plan that worked was Bill Stewart, who was named to coach the team after Rich Rodriguez vacated his team for the Big House. After the game, White was clear that he hopes West Virginia hires Stewart to guide the team next season.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
TODAY’S QUESTION: Kyle Korver has a .911 percentage from the free-throw line this season (41-45), but he doesn’t have enough shots to qualify for the Top 10 list. Who is leading the league in free-throw percentage? Is it Chauncey Billups, Chris Paul, Ray Allen, or Kirk Hinrich?
PREVIOUS QUESTION: Today, Lloyd Carr is the former coach of the Michigan Wolverines. How many games did Carr win as the Michigan coach, and were does he stand on the all-time list of coaches for the Maize and Blue?
ANSWER: Lloyd Carr leaves behind the third highest victories list of any of Michigan’s 16 previous football coaches. The only two mentors with more wins were Fielding H. Yost, who won 165 games from 1901 through 1923, then from 1925-1926; and Bo Schembechler, who won 194 games in Ann Arbor from 1969 through 1989. Carr leaves with 122 wins and 40 losses from 1995 through 2007 for a winning percentage of .753.
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today’s
sports news
TUNA GOES TO IRELAND
No, this is not about migratory practices, unless you’re talking about football people swimming east to join the Fish. Bill Parcells has named Jeff Ireland to become his new general manager with the Miami Dolphins. Ireland was with Parcells when he was head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, and Ireland was in charge of scouting. Now Ireland will work with Parcells to try to revive the nearly expired Dolphins. Next on the Tuna’s agenda: Firing Cam Cameron, which he reportedly did on Thursday morning.
“SCORE THE BASKETBALL”?
Each year the folks at Lake Superior State University do readers of the English language a service by proposed certain words for banning because of overuse or misuse. This year, for instance, the ubiquitous “under the bus” was labeled for extinction, as in “the coach threw his player’s under the bus,” meaning he blamed them. It’s time as well to suggest that sports talkers and writers carefully wean themselves from a few words or phrases that have become irritating. Here are some suggestions from us hear at The Daily: “How big was that?” Without a clue as to how to describe a huge event in sports, whether it is a late touchdown or an important turnover, announcers simply hang out “How big was that?” Presumably, they want you to fill in the blank with your idea of however big that event was. Interviewers will often use this instead of a real question? “Coach, your guys came from behind to win this game. How big was that?” To which the coach should say, “Well, it was about 100 feet by 100 feet. Maybe even 150.” Might as well answer a non-question with a non-answer. And then there is the growing use of the phrase, “He scored the basketball.” For careful users of the English language, this would lead to wondering what the player used to score the ball. Perhaps a utility knife. And then, what would the ref call for doctoring up a basketball in that way?” So, those are two nominations for sports phrases that should be eliminated. Do you have suggestions? Email them to editor@sportsspectrum.com.
EX MARTZ THE SPOT
Another coach has run through the Detroit Lions’ grinder and come out on the other side. Mike Martz, who was expected to take his Greatest Show on Turf into Ford Field and help the Lions achieve offensive greatness, has been shown the door after two seasons. Martz job as offensive coordinator has been given to the tandem of offensive line coach Jim Colletto, who has 41 years of coaching experience in college and the NFL, and Kippy Brown, who coached the Lions’ wide receivers in 2007.
WHO IS HE?
Testing your knowledge of past stars—taken from the pages of Sports Spectrum magazine.
THURSDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• Played in 12 NFL seasons with the Chicago Bears.
• Made 1,488 tackles in 191 games
• Once had 20 tackles in one game.
• Selected the 1990 NFL Man of the Year
• NFL Defensive Player of the Year: 1985, 1988
Says, “In John 8:32 it says, ‘You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ Understand that your body is the temple of Jesus Christ.”
WHO IS HE?
WEDNESDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• He averaged 22.6 points a game in eight NBA seasons.
• One time he scored 73 points in a single NBA game.
• He was the NCAA Player of the Year three times.
• He had a vertical leap of 42 inches.
• He went by the nickname “Skywalker.”
• His NBA career ended in shame, but when he trusted Christ as Savior, his life was restored to dignity.
Who Is He? David Thompson
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER:
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: KYLE KORVER
KYLE KORVER, FORWARD, UTAH JAZZ
BIO NOTE: One thing Philadelphia will miss now that he has been traded to Utah is the annual Kyle’s Coat Drive, which has collected more than 2,800 winter coats for needy folks in the City of Brotherly Love.
RECENT NEWS: On Wednesday, Korver scored 14 points against his former team to help Utah beat them.
FAITH QUOTE: "I grew up in a Christian home. My father, grandfather and two of my uncles are pastors. There’s a point when you consider yourself a Christian. But there’s another point when your focus and ambitions are about God and furthering His kingdom. I think basketball really helps. Among all the pressures, the stress and ups and downs of a basketball season I just really realize now how much I need God in my life in order to be happy and to find true success."
—Sports Spectrum magazine
SS DAILY INTERVIEW:
To hear today's interview, go to the Sports Spectrum radio home page. It can be found at www.sport.org.
THE THURSDAY GUEST
TED KLUCK, writer, Sports Spectrum
The college bowl games are winding down, and the NFL playoffs are just around the corner. On this edition of the Daily Interview, the playoffs will be in focus. The big question, of course, is whether anyone can touch the Patriots? Listen in to some opinions about football, NFL style.
