NHL
FLYERS ERUPT IN FIRST TO BEAT PANTHERS
The Philadelphia Flyers scored early and often to cruise to a 5-3 win over the visiting Florida Panthers.
Kimmo Timonen scored the first of four first-period goals to jumpstart the Flyers. After a Jay Bouwmeester goal for Florida, Simon Gagne, Daniel Briere, and Scott Hartnell gave the Flyers the 4-1 advantage after one period of play.
Briere added an empty netter late in the third period.
The win was Philadelphia’s fifth in six games, and thwarted Panthers coach Jacques Martin from earning his 500th coaching victory.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Chicago
New York Islanders 3, New Jersey 1
New York Rangers 2, Buffalo 1
Calgary 3, Minnesota 2 – OT Shootout
NBA
HORNETS BLAST SONICS, THIRD IN WEST
Imagine the crowds the Hornets would be getting if they were still in Oklahoma City. The young and talented men of Byron Scott’s team won their third straight game on Wednesday, their ninth in their last 11 games, and their 26th of the season against just 11 losses on Wednesday. They screamed past the Seattle SuperSonics 123-92 at the New Orleans Arena.
Trouble is, just 9,882 folks showed up to watch, leaving the place about half full for a team that is now just 10 percentage points out of first in the Southwest and just ½ game away from the top spot in the West.
What a lot of Hornets fans missed on Wednesday was Tyson Chandler scoring 14 points and grabbing 21 rebounds. They missed Chris Paul scoring 12 points and handing out 11 assists. They missed another double-double by David West, who had 19 points and 11 rebounds. And they missed Peja Stojakovic scoring 23 points. The Hornets shot 51 percent from the floor and just missed getting at least 30 points in each quarter (they had
Those fans also missed seeing a pretty good performance from Seattle rookie Kevin Durant, who had 20 points.
Perhaps if the Hornets keep winning, New Orleans fans will begin to notice and return to the arena, making the ownership glad they kept the team in town.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Milwaukee 87, Atlanta 80
Indiana 125, Golden State 117
New York 111, New Jersey 105
Boston 100, Portland 90
Charlotte 99, Orlando 93
Toronto 116, Sacramento 91
NBA NOTES
• It’s time to say it: Break up the Knicks! Maybe beating up on Detroit last weekend showed Isiah Thomas’ guys how much fun it is to win. Maybe Thomas’ sitting Zach Randolph down in a game late last week got his attention. Maybe the Knicks were just tired of losing. But for whatever reason, the Knicks now have a three-game winning streak.
• If you woke up to the realization that the Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat by 30 points on Wednesday, you had to assume that Shaquille O’Neal is still sidelined with his hip malady. If you did, you’d be wrong. The Big Hipster played and played well for the Heat—getting 24 points and 10 rebounds. And Dwyane Wade was there too. And it was a home game in front of an incredibly loyal packed house. And still, the 14-win Bulls beat the 8-win Heat. Crazy.
• When the Golden State Warriors left Conseco Fieldhouse after Wednesday’s game with the Indiana Pacers, they must have looked shell-shocked. Here they were, cruising along with a 93-79 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Visions of a Thursday day off must have danced in their heads—with Chicago and Milwaukee next, they could have been looking forward to a 4-0 road trip. But then the Pacers woke up. They scored 46 points in the fourth quarter, including hitting all 17 of their free throws, to win the game 125-117.
FACT OF THE DAY
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
The Indiana Pacers have scored 46 points in a quarter twice in 2007-2008. That’s not even close to the record for most points in the final quarter of an NBA game, though. On October 20, 1972, the Buffalo Braves (who are now the LA Clippers) scored 58 points in a game against the Boston Celtics—and lost 126-118.
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: ADAM LAROCHE
ADAM LAROCHE, FIRST BASEMAN, PITTSBURGH PIRATES
BIO NOTE: Adam’s dad, Dave, pitched in the major leagues in the 1970s and 1980s.
RECENT NEWS: On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed LaRoche to a 1-year contract that will pay him $5 million.
FAITH QUOTE: "What’s important in life, why we are hear on earth, is not the money, it’s not to make people happy, it’s not to play baseball—it’s to do one thing and that’s to spread the Word of God. All of us in baseball have been blessed with being in a position that people look up to us."
—Sports Spectrum magazine
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
THE BAREFOOT COACH
In the November-December edition of Sports Spectrum magazine, Victor Lee presented a story in his column “Heart and Soul” about an organization called Samaritan’s Feet. Founded by Manny Ohonme, who grew up shoeless in Nigeria and came to the United States on a basketball scholarship to North Dakota State, Samaritan’s Feet provides shoes for people in Africa who can’t afford to buy them. Ron Hunter, the men’s basketball coach at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (UIPUI), is supporting Ohonme’s efforts by going shoeless as he coaches his Jaguars against Oakland University on January 24. It’s a great example of kick-starting Hunter’s effort to collect 40,000 shoes that he plans to take to Africa in July. To find out more about Samaritan’s Feet, go to www.samaritansfeet.org.
A VITAL ISSUE
A careful study of Scripture makes it clear that God’s design for His followers is that all sexual activity is to be reserved for a man and a woman who have married each other. Even at the beginning of God’s Book, he sets for the pattern in Genesis 2:27 when he says through Moses, “A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” In the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 6:16, Paul reiterates that “one-flesh” connection—telling the people at Corinth that if they unite with a prostitute, they are committing an act that violates what God designed for His people in that “one-flesh” union. He goes on in that chapter to say, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (18-20). This idea of purity until marriage has taken a beating in the past 30 years or so—first in society in general and more recently in the church. Unfortunately, an increasing number of young people who claim to love Jesus as Savior are turning away from Paul’s advice to flee sexual immorality. That’s why it is essential that people in authority or people in positions of influence display a godly example in this area of life. When they do not, it would seem, they give up their ability to lead others—especially young people. They no longer have the moral authority to provide guidance for those who look up to them. That’s why it is with sadness that we report today that Dwight Howard, who boldly proclaimed his faith upon entering the NBA, has recently become a father despite not being married to the child’s mother. Parents can use this as a sad illustration of what not to do if they want to honor God and live for him, but unfortunately, Howard’s time as a top Christian role model has to be put on hold.
900
Bob Knight simply loves to coach basketball. It’s just the other stuff that goes with winning more games than any other male college basketball coach that he doesn’t like. You get the idea that if he could just be brought in a box to the game, allowed to coach his team and then put back in the box after the game and hauled home, he’d like that. That way he could be kept from pesky reporters who want quotes. On Wednesday, Knight became the first men’s coach in Division I basketball to win 900 games. His response? He says the idea never came to mind. That he doesn’t even care about it. That the hoopla is just something to get over. It’s kind of sad that Knight isn’t able to enjoy what he has accomplished. He seems so intent on being a curmudgeon about everything, he is missing out of the enjoyment of it. Bob Knight is a great basketball coach. Having observed him in coaching clinics, this Daily writer can verify that the man knows his X’s and O’s. He is to be admired and commended for his dedication to helping kids be better basketball players and even better people. You just wish he could break out of whatever cloak of darkness that surrounds him so he could see how truly enjoyable all of life could be. Congrats to a phenomenal basketball coach.
WHO IS HE?
Testing your knowledge of past sports stars—taken from “Legends” articles from the pages of Sports Spectrum magazine
WEDNESDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• He caught 2,066 major league games.
• During 18 seasons he hit 324 home runs and knocked in 1,225 runs
• Set NL record for putouts with 11,319
• Named to the NL All-Star team 11 times
• Won the Gold Glove Award three times
• Selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003
Quote: “I know that Jesus Christ is the reason for my ability and the reason for me having the career I had.”
WHO IS HE? Gary Carter
THURSDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• He was the first college quarterback to throw for more than four TDs in one quarter (he connected for seven!) at Portland State.
• He played in 108 NFL games with the St. Louis Cardinals.
• He racked up
• Was a Pro Bowl QB twice (1984 and 1987)
• His son, Nick, is a backup quarterback for Boise State.
WHO IS HE?
SPORTS SPECTRUM RADIO
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
CHARLIE SKALASKI, assistant football coach, Liberty University
Did you know that not all of the football players recruited by Liberty University, a Christian college in Lynchburg, Virginia, are Christians going in? Find out what is behind this somewhat unusual philosophy—and about how tough it is to recruit football players at a school known for its faith-based background.
