NBA
CLOSE, BUT NOT ENOUGH; HEAT DROPS 15TH STRAIGHT
The Miami Heat did everything but win on Thursday as they hosted the San Antonio Spurs and gave them all they could handle. But in the end, when Dwyane Wade drove toward the hoop and was manhandled by a squadron of Spurs without a whistle toot from any of the refs, the Spurs walked away with a 90-89 win.
Wade drove the middle of the lane, but he never got a shot off as the Spurs stripped him of the ball. Wade fell to the AmericanAirlines Arena floor in disbelief. His 27 points and nine assists were not enough. Mark Blount had offered Wade some support, scoring 23 points, and Udonis Haslem grabbed 12 rebounds. In fact, the Heat led much of the game, but they could score only eight points in the final eight and a half minutes of the game.
Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 30 points and 11 rebounds. He also hit a key 20-foot jumper down the stretch as the Spurs reached the end of the 24-second shot clock.
San Antonio’s record stands at 28-13 while the struggling Miamians are 8-33 on the season and 0 for 2008.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Milwaukee 104, Indiana 92
Golden State 121, New Jersey 119
NBA NOTES
• Don’t know much about Monta Ellis? Start with the fact that he scored 39 points for the Golden State Warriors, who wowed a national TV audience with some racehorse hoops against the New Jersey Nets Thursday. Ellis was drafted by the Warriors out of high school in 2005, so he’s just 22 years old. He’s averaging 17 points a game as he settles in as sharpshooting NBA guard. He has hit more than 50 percent of his shots this season.
• The Warriors have been spreading around the scoring. Of course, Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis lead the team, but five players have had games of 30 points or more: Davis, Jackson, Monta Ellis, Al Harrington, and Keleena Azubuike.
• The New Jersey Nets’ losing streak is now seven games.
NHL
RANGERS RETIRE LEETCH’S NUMBER; BEAT THRASHERS
The New York Rangers did what they needed to do for their fans on a very special night at Madison Square Garden.
Veteran Brendan Shanahan beat Atlanta goaltender Johan Hedberg for the only score in the tiebreaker to send the New York Rangers to a 2-1 win over the Thrashers. That pleased the large MSG crowd who was in attendance to witness the team’s pre-game festivities for longtime Rangers great Brian Leetch.
One of the best American-born skaters in NHL history, Leetch played with the Rangers from 1988 through
Leetch’s No. 2 now hangs from the rafters with Cup-winning teammates Mike Richter and Mark Messier. Leetch also used his special night to announce to the crowd that the Rangers will retire Adam Graves No. 9 jersey next season.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Columbus 1, Chicago 0
ashington 2, Toronto 1
Buffalo 2, Dallas 1
Los Angeles 3, Anaheim 1
Minnesota 3, Colorado 2
Boston 4, New York Islanders 1
San Jose
Montreal 4, New Jersey 3
Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 3
Ottawa 8, Tampa Bay 4
Phoenix 4, Nashville 3 – OT
Edmonton 4, Florida 3 – OT Shootout
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: MICHAEL REDD, GUARD, MILWAUKEE BUCKS
BIO NOTE: Michael Redd, one of the best shooters in the NBA, scored 13 points in his first NBA season. He has now scored 9,873 points in his career.
RECENT NEWS: On Thursday, Redd scored 37 points to lead the Bucks past the Pacers.
FAITH QUOTE: "Since I’ve had the Lord Jesus Christ in my life, miraculous things have happened to me. I just thank God every day for Him blessing me and showing me favor, when I’m not worthy of that. I keep Him first, and I’m diligent in keeping Him first."
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
NONAGENARIANS
Today is a special day for a man about it is hard to find anything bad to say. Today Ernie Harwell, Hall of Fame baseball play-by-play man and gentleman Christian, turns 90 years old. He joins the Nonagenarian Club. As a point of reference, Ernie, who retired from his day-to-day duties as the Detroit Tigers’ announcer in 2002 and whose voice is as strong and melodious as ever, is one day younger than Oral Roberts, founder of Oral Roberts University. Mr. Harwell joins a club already populated by another man sports figure noted for his strong Christian beliefs and for carrying himself with dignity: John Wooden. The former UCLA coach, who still attends the Bruins’ home games, is 97 years old. Kudos to those who God has honored with long lives of service to Him.
FEDERER FALLS
Novak Djokovic. Quickly now. What are two things you know about this man. Other than the fact that you can’t pronounce his last name. Here’s some help. 1. He is in the Australian Open finals, and Roger Federer is not. 2. He beat Federer 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) on Friday. 3. He’s from Serbia. 4. He’s 20 years old. Yes, that’s four facts, but we are just getting to know the kid. Djokovic is having a pretty good 2008. He captured the Hopman Cup XX with a win over Mardy Fish, and now he’s reeled in the biggest fish of all: Federer. The top-ranked Swiss had been to the finals of 10 straight Grand Slam events—until Djokovic stopped that streak. Now Djokovic will take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (which sounds a little like something you’d get at an exotic seafood restaurant, not at the Australian Open). Tsonga and Djokovic will tangle on Sunday in Melbourne.
SIGNS OF SPRING
With spring training just three weeks away, the signings are beginning to pick up across the baseball landscape. Jeremy Affeldt signed up to pitch with Cincinnati, leaving Colorado. Relief pitcher Rafael Soriano has signed up again with the Atlanta Braves for two more years wearing the Tomahawk. Rod Barajas, catcher, is moving from Philadelphia to Toronto after signing a one-year deal with the Blue Jays. The Tampa Bay Rays have inked James Shields to a four-year agreement, expecting him to be their long-term ace. He’s been with the organization since 2000. The Rockies kept shortstop Troy Tulowitzki by promising to pay him $31 million for through 2013. Cleveland got Rafael Betancourt to sign his name to a two-year deal to keep pitching at Progressive Field.
NO SIGNS OF SPRING
Of course, not every major leaguer knows where he will be going in mid-February. Among those players who have not put a pen to paper for 2008 are Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Mike Sweeney, Trot Nixon, Luis Gonzalez, Sean Casey, Kenny Lofton, Kyle Lohse, Tony Clark, and Mike Piazza. That’s a pretty good bunch of players—but each has a serious downside that for the most part relates to a number on their birth certificates. With just a few days to go, will these guys find a home for 2008?
JONES BEING JONES
If you want a laugh or two, read Detroit Tigers’ closer Todd Jones’ recounting of his 15 minutes of commercial fame. It’s on the Sporting News Website and in Sporting News magazine, and it is pure Todd Jones—self-deprecating and funny. It seems that he had a big chance to be in a Gatorade commercial—kind of co-starring with Derek Jeter. We won’t tell you anything more. We’ll just let the Roller Coaster tell it. He’s better at it. And if you want more Todd Jones, we’ll have a small item on him in the May-June edition of Sports Spectrum magazine. You’ll found out why Jones has a tattoo. It’s all good.
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 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? NATE COLBERT
THURSDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• He played on Indiana University’s 30-4 NCAA championship team in 1987.
• He was named MVP of the 1987 Final Four after he hit the game-winning shot against Syracuse in the final game.
• Played several years in the CBA after college.
• Played professionally in the Philippines, France, and South America.
• Had an interim stint as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
• Currently coaching with the Golden State Warriors.
WHO IS HE? KEITH SMART
FRIDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• Played in the 1967 and 1969 All-Star games
• Set an American League record for home runs by a shortstop with 40
• During his career, hit 210 home runs and knocked in 773 runs.
• Batted
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 FRIDAY GUEST
DAVID STEELE, play by play, Orlando Magic Steele has been courtside to watch the Magic as they have turned into one of the top teams in the East. He¹ll talk about the good times and the bad for the Magic. Also, he¹ll talk about an underrated star from the other side of the country.
