NBA
KINGS BLOW PAST FADING NETS
The struggling New Jersey Nets showed up at ARCO Arena at the wrong time. On Tuesday, the Sacramento Kings started the game at full strength for the first time, and it showed. They flew past the Nets 128-94, sending New Jersey to its sixth straight loss.
Ron Artest, Kevin Martin, and Mike Bibby were on the court together finally for the Kings after a series of injuries, and they led the scoring. Artest had 27, Martin scored 19, and Bibby contributed 15. The Kings did suffer another injury when John Salmons twisted his ankle after playing for just two minutes. Salmons had filled in admirably while the others were hurt.
Meanwhile, the Nets and Lawrence Frank continue to find winning an elusive goal. Their record fell to 18-23 on the season. Their big three, Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, and Jason Kidd had 21, 18, and 13, but they didn’t get much help. Only one other Nets player had double figures, while the Kings had seven players with 10 or more.
The Kings improve to 18-22 on the season.
OTHER NBA SCORE
Phoenix 114, Milwaukee 105
NBA NOTES
• It was cold and snowy as the Suns and Bucks reported to the Bradley Center on Tuesday. Perfect weather for Canada-raised Steve Nash (he was born in South Africa). Once inside, he warmed up in a hurry, scoring 37 points and dishing out 10 rebounds as the Suns improved to 30-12. They now have the second-best record in the NBA behind Boston.
• The Miami Heat are like that kid in the cell phone commercial who says, “Can this day get any worse?” and then gets steamrolled by a huge football player. On Tuesday, the Heat were steamrolled by the news that Shaquille O’Neal would be out for more than two more weeks as his left hip heals. That leaves the Heat, already on a 14-game losing streak, down one superstar as they face San Antonio, Indiana, Boston, and Orlando in an attempt to win for the first time in 2008. The Heat has not won since before Christmas.
NHL
OSGOOD TURNS AWAY KINGS; RED WINGS ROLL
Veteran goaltender Chris Osgood just keeps getting better with every start for the Detroit Red Wings. Osgood turned away 27 shots to lead the Wings to a 3-0 shutout victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.
Osgood, who has already been named to the NHL All-Star Game, recorded his third shutout of the season and the 46th of his career. The victory was also significant for Osgood, as he moved ahead of legendary netminder Rogie Vachon into 15th place on the NHL’s all-time win list.
Tomas Holmstrom, Mikael Samuelsson, and Johan Franzen scored goals for the NHL leaders. Detroit improved to a league-best 36-10-4, while Los Angeles fell to a league-worst 19-29-2.
Los Angeles has only defeated the Red Wings once in their last 18 meetings!
OTHER NHL SCORES
Calgary 2, Minnesota 1
Nashville 4, Colorado 0
Columbus 4, Dallas 2
Tampa Bay 4, Edmonton 3
Montreal 8, Boston 2
New Jersey 7, Philadelphia 3
New York Rangers 4, Atlanta 0
New York Islanders 6, Carolina 3
Florida 5, Ottawa 3
San Jose 3, Chicago 2
FACTS OF THE DAY
SHUTOUT KINGS
The all-time leader in shutouts in NHL history is Terry Sawchuk with 103. Among active players, the next in line are Martin Brodeur (96), Dominik Hasek (79), Curtis Joseph (51), and Chris Osgood (46).
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: JEREMY AFFELDT, PITCHER, CINCINNATI REDS
BIO NOTE: Affeldt and his wife have a foundation that supports, among other things, youth missions trips. Go to www.jaffeldt.com
RECENT NEWS: Pending passing a physical, it appears that Affeldt will pitch for the Cincinnati Reds in 2008.
FAITH QUOTE: “I’m not a superhuman; I worked hard for 4-1/2 years in the minor leagues to get here. I’ve had some experiences that challenged my faith. I’ll do the best I can, no matter what the circumstances, and let God take care of the rest.”
NOTE: Read devotional articles by Jeremy Affeldt in the upcoming March-April edition of Sports Spectrum magazine.
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
TOO LATE?
What NASCAR has done to itself over the past few years has made it almost recognizable to the folks who supported it before it got all famous. Before it dressed up in suits and ties and wandered off to New York for its big awards show. Before it turned its back on the kinds of racetracks that make a fan’s stomach and heart pound with noise and excitement. Before it turned the Cup chase into the NBA playoffs, making the effort of driving around the track worthless for too many drivers. Before there were so many restrictions put on racing and cars that the races began to look like nothing more than your local Interstate as it sweeps through town. NASCAR needs to have more grease under the fingernails and more white-knuckle driving on tracks that people care about. If it keeps sanitizing and standardizing, NASCAR may find itself in trouble.
VENUS FALLING
Don’t look for Serena and Venus Williams to plan a vacation to Serbia anytime soon. For the second day in a row, a competitor from that European country just south of Hungary knocked off one of the Williams sisters at the Australian Open. On Wednesday, Ana Ivanovic knocked off Venus 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 to make it through to the semifinals. It was another Serbian, Jelena Jankovic, who beat Serena on Tuesday. There are three Serbian players still in the Aussie Open, including Novak Djokovic on the men’s side.
GIANTS HAVE EDGE OF PATRIOTS
At least among Sports Spectrum readers, they do. The Daily Weekly Poll asks you to weigh in on the question of who you think will win Super Bowl XLII. So far, the Giants have a slight edge. Don’t forget to cast your voted for which team you think will leave Glendale, Arizona, with the big prize.
FEDERER DROPS BLAKE
James Blake is reaching. He is striving. He is working hard to get to the top of men’s tennis. But three’s a problem, and his name is Roger Federer. Blake, who came into the Australian Open as the No. 12 player in the world, made it to the Top 8 at Melbourne, but Federer stopped any further progress. The No. 1 player beat Blake on Wednesday 7-5, 7-6, 6-4 to reach the semifinals. Federer has won the last two Australian Opens.
WHO IS HE?
Testing your knowledge of past sports stars—taken from “Legends” articles from the pages of Sports Spectrum magazine
TUESDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• He finished his college basketball career as the top career rebounder, averaging 22.7 rebounds a game.
• He was the MVP and Rookie of the Year in the ABA in 1972.
• He was a member of the 1975 ABA championship team, the Kentucky Colonels.
• He was a six-time NBA All-Star
• He scored 24,041 points in his combined ABA/NBA career.
WHO IS HE? ARTIS GILMORE
WEDNESDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• He hit five home runs in one day (doubleheader) while with the San Diego Padres, tying Stan Musial’s record. Ironically, when this person was 8 years old, he was on hand to see Musial hit his five home runs in a doubleheader.
• He hit 173 home runs in a career that was cut short because of back problems.
• In 1970 and 1978, he hit 38 home runs for San Diego
• After retiring, he started a church in Escondido, California.
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 WEDNESDAY GUEST
TOM LEMMING, college football recruiting analyst
For the next couple of weeks, grown men will run all over the country trying to impress high school kids—trying to woo them to come to their school and play football. Seems like an odd ritual, but that’s college recruiting. Tom Lemming analyzes all of this, and he will talk about what he’s finding when he is interviewed by the SS radio team. So, if you find this ritual worth watching, you’ll find this interview worth listening to.
