NBA
CURRY ENJOYS HOMECOMING; KNICKS BEAT BULLS
Eddie Curry scored 29 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked four shots as he reminded Chicago Bulls fans that he’s still got game. This time, though, the former Bull was playing for the New York Knicks, who picked up win No. 9 on the season with a 105-100 victory over the Bulls.
Curry was 11 for 14 from the field on the way to his big night in front of his hometown fans. He attended Thornwood High School in South Holland, a southern suburb of Chicago.
Jamal Crawford chipped with 24 points, and Stephon Marbury had 18 for the Knicks, who won for just the second time away from Madison Square Garden.
The Bulls, who were ahead by 13 points during the early stages of the fourth quarter, got 22 points and 12 rebound from Joe Smith, 21 points from Ben Gordon, and 20 from Kirk Hinrich. But they fell apart at the end, and New York scored 14 of the game’s final 16 points.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Sacramento 104, Orlando 100
Utah 111, Indiana 89
LA Lakers 117, Memphis 101
Minnesota 101, Miami 91
Cleveland 95, Seattle 79
Milwaukee 87, Philadelphia 83
Houston 92, Washington 84
Charlotte 115, New Jersey 99
NBA NOTES
• Orlando’s starting guards had five points, two assists, and no steals in the Magic’s loss to Sacramento. The Kings’ top two guards had 38 points and eight assists and four steals. No wonder the Kings won.
• Finally. Win No. 5 for the Minnesota Timberwolves—71 days into the NBA season. How frustrating must this be for them?
• The Nets had Carter, Kidd, and Jefferson, but the Charlotte Bobcats had Michael Jordan. He talked with the Charlotte players and the coach before the game, and the Cats went out and beat the Nets and their big three.
• Kyle Korver seems to be liking his new team. After being traded from Philadelphia to Utah, Korver has come off the bench for the Jazz to hit double figures in three of the four games he’s played for Jerry Sloan.
NHL
VETERANS LEAD RED WINGS OVER AVALANCHE
A pair of aged veterans turned in impressive performances to lead the red-hot Detroit Red Wings past the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night 1-0.
Dominik Hasek, the Wings’ soon-to-be-43-year-old goaltender registered his second-straight shutout. Hasek turned away 19 Colorado shots on goal to earn the 79th shutout of his legendary career.
Detroit defenseman Chris Chelios, who’ll turn 46 later in January, became the second-oldest player in NHL history when he took the ice. Only NHL legend Gordie Howe, who suited up for the Hartford Whalers at the ripe old age of 52 years and six days old, has played in the league at an older age than Chelios!
Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk—who was named as a starter in the upcoming NHL All-Star game—scored the game’s only goal.
Detroit improved to 33-8-3, while Colorado slipped to 22-17-2.
NHL SCORES
Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 1
Carolina 1, Boston 0
Tampa Bay 5, New York Rangers 3
St. Louis 6, Columbus 1
Phoenix 3, Calgary 1
Pittsburgh 3, Florida 1
Nashville 7, Los Angeles 0
Montreal 4, Chicago 3 – OT
New Jersey 2, Buffalo – OT Shootout
Vancouver 3, New York Islanders 2 – OT Shootout
FACT OF THE DAY
NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
You may be surprised to discover what school has accumulated the most national championships in college football history. Since the first time such a thing was possible, back in 1869, Yale University has captured the most championships. Of course, the method of selecting the top team in the land has changed much since then—but who knows, maybe how Princeton was chosen as the first champ just a few years after the end of the Civil War just might have been as good a way as we have now.
Multiple Champions
Yale 18
Princeton 17
Notre Dame 13
Alabama 10
USC 10
Harvard 9
Michigan 9
Ohio State 7
Minnesota 6
Miami (FL) 5
Nebraska 5
Pittsburgh 5
Penn 4
California 3
Cornell 3
Illinois 3
Georgia Tech 4
Penn State 4
LSU 3
Michigan State 3
Texas 3
Army 2
Florida 2
Florida State 2
Tennessee 2
QUESTION OF THE DAY
TODAY’S QUESTION: How many times has LSU won the national championship in football? How many times has Ohio State won it? What college has won it the most times?
PREVIOUS QUESTION: Pittsburgh has won the Super Bowl five times. What other two teams share that record with the men from the Steel City?
ANSWER: This year’ NFL final game marks the 42nd time the Super Bowl has been contested. In that time, three teams have taken home the coveted championship trophy five times. Only one team has a chance to improve that mark to six in 2008. One five-time winner, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost this weekend. Another, the San Francisco 49ers, didn’t make the playoffs. That leaves the Dallas Cowboys still in the running for Super Bowl win No. 6 this season.
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today’s sports news
THE REAL JOE
If you caught the press conference in which Joe Gibbs announced the reasons for his retirement, you got the clear picture of a man with a deep faith in God and His direction in his life. But if you didn’t see that and just read published reports about Gibbs’ retirement, you wouldn’t know how important faith is to him. That part get left out of nearly every report about Gibbs. What was mentioned was his love and concern for family, which is a good thing. But that love of family comes from Gibbs’ solid faith and Christian convictions. That’s what he said, but for most reporters, the essence of Joe Gibbs wasn’t important enough to write about.
RICH’S LOSSES
Three players who could have played a significant role for the the
BULLDOG BID
You don’t have to be a Georgia Bulldogs’ fan to like Michael Adams. He’s the president of the University of Georgia, and while it might be true that he should be more worried about how the professors are doing in the English department than how the NCAA runs its little football season, he’s made a brave move. He has stepped out of the NCAA box and proposed that the organization cobble together an eight-team playoff to help decide the national champion in football. This is big because Adams has been an opponent of a playoff system for a long time. Now we’ll see where this takes us.
WHO IS HE?
Testing your knowledge of past stars -- taken from the pages of Sports Spectrum magazine.
TUESDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• The first person inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.
• Had a winning percentage of .813 as a college coach (885-203).
• All-American player at Purdue; College Player of the Year
• Won 10 NCAA championships as a college coach
• Has written several best-selling books
• Sample of his poetry:
There is no fear within my heart
Because I’m growing old;
I only wish I had more time
To better serve my Lord.
WHO IS HE? JOHN WOODEN
Wooden will celebrate his 98th birthday on October 14, 2008.
WEDNESDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• Led the San Diego Chargers in scoring five times during the 1980s
• Scored 766 career points for the Bolts
• Named to the Pro Bowl in 1983
• Kicked a 53-yard field goal in 1980
• Was host of Wheel of Fortune in the late 1980s.
• Says, “I realized that God has a plan and how important it is to put your trust in Jesus Christ.”
WHO IS HE?
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER:
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: CAM WARD
CAM WARD, GOALIE, CAROLINA HURRICANES
BIO NOTE: Cam and Cody Ward were married on July 22, 2006.
RECENT NEWS: On Tuesday, Ward picked up his third shutout of the 2007-2008 season and the fifth of his career.
FAITH QUOTE: “Before every game I will pray just before I go on the ice. God gave me a special talent, and I will be forever grateful for that. I feel that when I say a prayer, it helps me feel more relaxed and calm.”
—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 WEDNESDAY GUEST
JEREMY FOSTER, sports reporter, Houston Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, two prominent pitchers who were mentioned in the Mitchell Report, live in Houston. Foster talks about how the news of these two players' new notoriety is playing in Houston.
