NBA
HORNETS NIP SUNS IN DOUBLE OT
The 18,422 folks who filed out of the US Airways Center in Phoenix late Wednesday night may have been disappointed, but certainly got their money’s worth.
Chris Paul and the visiting New Orleans Hornets made sure of that. Paul scored 42 points to lead the Hornets past the Phoenix suns 132-
Paul, who struggled in New Orleans’ previous game in Utah, reminded NBA fans everywhere why he is on the All-Star team. He took 33 shots, hit 18 of them, dished out nine assists, accumulated eight steals, and made just one turnover in 50 minutes of action. Paul got backup help from Peja Stojakovic, who had 26 points, while David West had 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Stojakovic was the ultimate hero for New Orleans by ending the game with a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer that avoided a third overtime and ended his team’s mini losing streak at three.
The Suns, who were playing without Shawn Marion, who had been traded earlier on Wednesday to Miami for Shaquille O’Neal, relied heavily on three-pointers, raining down 13 successful ones on the Hornets. Steve Nash had five of them and led the Suns with 32 points. Amare Stoudemire had 26 points and 20 rebounds.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Portland 100, Chicago 97
Seattle 105, Sacramento 92
Utah 118, Denver 115 (OT)
Dallas 107, Milwaukee 96
Detroit 100, Miami 95
Indiana 103, New York 100
Boston 111, LA Clippers 100
Orlando 100, New Jersey 84
San Antonio 85, Washington 77
Atlanta 98, LA Lakers 95
NBA NOTES
• You just have to move on. The Miami Heat players could have gone through the motions on Wednesday after finding out that The Big Teammate had been shipped off to Phoenix. Dwyane Wade could have especially taken umbrage to losing Shaquille O’Neal, since the two of them had led the Heat to a championship—and expected others. But Miami played the Detroit Pistons tough before losing in Michigan. And now the big test is how Marcus Banks and Shawn Marion will fit in and help a team that still has just nine victories 100 days into the season.
• Two losing skids clashed in New York on Wednesday. The Pacers journeyed to the Big Apple lugging a seven-game losing streak with them, and their Knicks opponents were saddled with a six-game slide. When the buzzer sounded, the Pacers’ streak was over, and Zeke’s guys had a seven-game skid of their own to take home with them.
• Speaking of streaks, the Utah Jazz now have fashioned a winning streak to the tune of 10 games.
NHL
CAPS BEAT FLYERS, MOVE INTO FIRST PLACE
The Philadelphia Flyers were the first-place team when play began on Wednesday between them and the Washington Capitals. But when the final horn sounded, two first-place teams left the ice.
Washington beat Philadelphia 4-3 to slide past Atlanta in the Southwest Division.
Alexander Ovechkin continued his hot season, scoring his 46th goal of the season—that’s the best in the NHL—and he got some help from Brooks Laich, Matt Bradley, and Viktor Kozlov. Ovechkin’s third-period goal put the Caps up 4-1 at the 7:45 mark.
The Flyers weren’t done, however. Sami Kapanen and Randy Jones scored after that to make it a one-goal game.
Mike Knuble scored the other Flyer goal, notching his 21st lamp-lighter in the second period.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Colorado 3, San Jose 1
Buffalo 3, New Jersey 2
Edmonton 4, Chicago 1
FACT OF THE DAY
SHAQUILLE O’NEAL’S NUMBERS
Shaquille O’Neal has become a journeyman. He is now with his fourth NBA team as he continues to seek another championship ring. Here’s a look at his career statistics.
Games played: 1,013
Field goal percentage: .580
Free throw percentage: .524
Rebounds: 11,630 (3811 O; 7,819 D)
Blocked shots: 2,485
Assists: 2,745
Steals: 646
Points: 25,908
Points per game average: 25.6
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: KYLE KORVER
BIO NOTE: Nice pickup for the Jazz. Since they acquired Kyle Korver from the Sixers, Utah has gone 16-2.
RECENT NEWS: Korver scored 27 points on Wednesday, and he nailed four free throws in the final seconds of overtime to ice the Jazz’ victory over Denver.
FAITH QUOTE: "I've seen a lot of guys have all this stuff, and they might be happy for a minute here or a minute there. But if something goes wrong they just go back down again. When you have God in you and when you're trying to live for Jesus you're much more stable. There's a bigger goal."
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
RANGERS GET PITCHER
It is no mystery that the Texas Rangers need pitching. Always have. They have historically torn the cover off the ball, and then their pitchers give up more runs than their offense can keep up with. So, on Wednesday, they acquired a pitcher. Good one. Hall of Fame one. But one who won’t be taking the mound. Nolan Ryan has been named the president of the Rangers, and one can imagine that a guy with his pitching pedigree understands just what the Rangers need.
SMOKING SYRINGES?
Whoa. This could be big news if it turns out to have the element of truth attached to it. Reportedly, Brian McNamee was prescient enough to know that if he ever told anyone that Roger Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs he would deny it. So, as the report continues, he kept all of the syringes and vials from the alleged administration of those substances. If this turns out to be true—if there is physical evidence in this situation—imagine the fallout for Mr. Clemens. Again, this is just a report, and who knows if it can be verified. But the important point to keep in mind is that truth is the precious gem in this and every investigation. Truth, Scripture tells us, is vital in human interaction. “Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value a man who speaks the truth” (Proverbs 16:13).
BATTLE OF THE SONS
The real story in Wednesday’s meeting between Texas Tech and Baylor was the son of a college basketball coach—a son who learned from his dad how to coach the game, even being his assistant for many years. And, no, we’re not talking about Pat Knight here. We’re talking about Scott Drew, son of Homer Drew from Valparaiso University. Sure, the spotlight was on Pat Knight, who took over as the Red Raiders’ coach this week when his legendary and controversial dad decided to call it a career. But the praise falls directly on the other son of a coach. Drew has orchestrated one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college basketball history. He took a Baylor program that had been destroyed by former coach Dave Bliss and had been rocked by high crimes and misdemeanors—and he has turned it into a force. Baylor beat Tech 80-74 to improve to 17-4 on the season. Drew, a Christian, learned his craft well from one of the classiest men in college hoops—the aforementioned Homer Drew—and his future is as bright if not brighter than the more famous son of a coach he went up against on Wednesday.
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
• Spent his college career playing for the University of Louisville.
• Played for the LA Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA, averaging 13.6 points a game.
• When he retired, he was the all-time leader in games played for Milwaukee: 711.
• Had his best NBA season in 1979-80 when he averaged 17.6 points per game for the Bucks.
• Currently is a successful entrepreneur—the franchisee of nearly 200 Wendy’s restaurants.
WHO IS HE? JUNIOR BRIDGEMAN
THURSDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• Played on the tennis circuit for 18 years.
• She played in the finals at Wimbledon in 1990.
• Won 12 pro tennis titles in her career.
• In 1989, she became the first African-American woman tennis player since Althea Gibson in 1958 to reach a Grand Slam final.
• Helped coach the US women’s team in the 2000 Olympics.
WHO IS SHE?
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
DAVID TYREE, Wide receiver, New York Giants
SS featured David Tyree on Friday in The Daily. On Sunday, he introduced himself to the football world with one of the most remarkable catches in Super Bowl history—a catch that rescued the Giants from sure defeat.
Now hear his story, which is as remarkable as that catch.
