NHL
SAVARD LEADS EAST OVER WEST IN NHL ALL-STAR CLASH
Many NHL fans thought the absence of superstar Sidney Crosby would have a negative impact on the league’s showcase event. Not so! While having Sid the Kid would have been nice, there were plenty of stars to carry the load.
Veteran forward Marc Savard (Bruins) scored the game-winner with 20 seconds left in regulation to lead the Eastern Conference over the Western Conference 8-7.
The East took an early lead, beating West goalie Chris Osgood (Red Wings) five times in the first period! They were shutout in the second, but came back with three goals in the third.
While West star Rick Nash (Blue Jackets) tallied a hat trick, East star Eric Staal (Panthers) won game MVP honors with a pair of goals, an assist, and being on the winning team.
A total of 42 players were in action, with 15 making their All-Star game debuts.
NBA
CAVS WIN KOBE-LEBRON MATCHUP
The Cleveland Cavaliers made sure Kobe Bryant didn’t beat them in the closing seconds. The LA Lakers couldn’t do the same with LeBron James. As a result, the Cavs beat the Lakers 98-95 on Sunday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
James, who scored 14 fourth-quarter points en route to a 41-point performance, netted two free throws with less than 10 seconds to go in the game, leaving the Lakers with plenty of time to knot the game with a three-pointer.
But Mike Brown exhorted his charges to make it hard for Kobe Bryant to get the ball, and by the time he did, it was too late. Luke Walton passed up a chance to tie the game, tossing the ball to Bryant as the game ticked away.
With the win, the Cavaliers improve to 24-19 while the Lakers dip to 27-15. Bryant led the Lakers with 33 points. He also had 12 rebounds. Lamar Odom scored 14 and grabbed 9 rebounds.
James got help from Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who scored 16 points and swept 11 errant shots off the boards.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Sacramento 103, Seattle 101
Phoenix 88, Chicago 77
Golden State 106, New York 104
Orlando 96, Boston 93
Milwaukee 105, Washington 102 (OT)
Portland 94, Atlanta 93
Dallas 90, Denver 85
Minnesota 98, New Jersey 95
Utah 97, Houston 89
NBA NOTES
• Seattle’s 14-game skid was punctuated on Sunday by another game-winner from the bad guys. This time, it was Kevin Martin of Sacramento who broke Sonic hearts everywhere, heaving in a 20-footer that touched net as the buzzer sounded. LeBron James and Tracy McGrady have also shot daggers into the Sonics with last-tick bombs to beat them.
• You take 95 shots, you expect to score a similar number of points. But not the Bulls. Not Sunday. They clanged 62 of those 95 shots and managed just 77 points against Phoenix in another loss. Bricks were flying everywhere. Combined, the two teams were 8 for 38 from behind the three-point arc.
• Twenty-six rebounds for Golden State’s Andris Biedrins. Wow.
• Before this season began, who thought that a midseason game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Portland Trail Blazers would have playoff implications?
• How long can the New Jersey Nets stay with Lawrence Frank? On Sunday, they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who now have eight wins. The Nets have lost nine straight.
FACT OF THE DAY
Baron Davis of the Washington Wizards has hit 70 straight free throws. It’s been a month from Monday since he last boinked a freebie. Here’s a look at the Top 3 free-throw streaks in NBA history:
1. 97 Micheal Williams, Minnesota
March 24, 1993 through November 9, 1993
2. 81 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Denver
March 14, 1993 through November 16,1993
3. 78 Calvin Murphy, Houston
December 27, 1980 through February 28, 1981
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: DEB PATTERSON, COACH, KANSAS STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
BIO NOTE: Patterson, a strong and outspoken Christian, has had to battle attacks from anti-Christian groups at KSU who have tried to stifle her desire to talk about her faith.
RECENT NEWS: On Sunday, Patterson’s KSU Wildcats beat Oklahoma to take over first place in the Big 12 with a 6-0 record.
FAITH QUOTE: "In recruiting is when you have that first moment of complete honesty with the players. I have to be honest about what I expect, and I have to be honest about my relationship with Christ. I'm not going to yell and scream and curse at my players to get them to do the things that get them to where they need to be. That's not the kind of motivation I'm going to use."
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
• Why would the union members not want to fire the union bosses who gave them bad advice? Of course, we’re not talking here about unions for guys putting cars together or driving truck—we’re talking about union guys who play baseball. Their bosses told them to stonewall Senator George Mitchell, and we already know what kind of grief that advice is causing Roger Clemens. Now Oakland slugger Jack Cust is speaking out, and the story is the same. Now he has to try to clear his name in the court of public opinion when he could have avoiding this hassle had he been able to meet with Mitchell’s investigators. Now his statements sound murky and confusing. Speaking of the comments by Larry Bigbie, the former minor leaguer whose comments about Cust are recorded in the Mitchell Report, Cust replied with a fussy, “I don’t remember a lot of things from five years ago, but he may have misrepresented something I said at some point.” Wouldn’t “I have never taken steroids nor have I ever offered to get steroids for anyone” been a bit more convincing? Stonewalling and obfuscation never proved anyone’s innocence.
• Football fans rejoice! You have another league to support. For those diehards who see February through August as a sports black hole of depression, the All American Football League is here to rescue you from NFL Network reruns. The AAFL held a draft on Saturday, and it plans to have football games beginning in April. So far, Detroit, Little Rock, Knoxville, Gainesville, Birmingham, and an unnamed city in Texas are slated to have teams. If you live west of the Mississippi, you’re out of luck, but for folks in these six locations, get ready for Eric Crouch, Eric Kresser, Yarah Yisrael, Bryan Randall, and other guys who were not quite up to NFL standards. They’re eager to give you spring football.
• What more can we say about Tiger Woods? The 2008 golf season is barely underway, and he has already reminded us of his greatness. He nailed a putt on Sunday at Torrey Pines that is less believable than a UFO landing in your driveway. Standing sixty feet from the hole as the crow flies, Woods sent the ball on a circuitous route that could have curved around a Buick before it found the bottom of the cup. He won the Buick Open by eight shots, giving him four straight wins at this tournament and 62 for his career. That ties him with Arnold Palmer for No. 4 all-time. And scariest of all, after he blew away the Buick Open field he said, “I’m starting to get better.” That would be like Eva Longoria saying, “I’m starting to get prettier.” Or Tony Dungy opining, “I’m starting to get nicer.” Or Joel Osteen admitting, “I’m starting to get happier.” Tiger Woods. Enjoy him. We’ll probably never say anyone like him again.
WHO IS HE?
Testing your knowledge of past sports stars—taken from “Legends” articles from the pages of Sports Spectrum magazine
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? RICO PETROCELLI
MONDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• He is best noted for one game. Thirty-five years ago, this hockey player was on the bench in the closing seconds of the decisive game in a series between the Soviet Union and Canada. The score was tied, and this player yelled to a teammate, Pete Mahovlich, to come off the ice so he could go on. There was less than a minute left in the game. With 34 seconds remaining, this player fired the puck past the Russian goalkeeper, and Canada won this monumental battle with the CCCP. Immediately, this player became a Canadian national hero.
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 MONDAY GUEST
LANNY FRATTARE, radio voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Perhaps you forgot that the majors had a team in Pittsburgh, so quiet have the Buccos been in recent years. But the team continues to strive to improve, and it uses the winter for some marketing projects that Lanny Frattare will discuss. He also discusses the recent Hall of Fame vote that put Goose Gossage in the Hall and kept Bert Blyleven out.
