NBA
BULLS, DUHON SPOIL WEBBER’S RETURN
One man named Chris stole the show from another man named Chris on Thursday night in Oakland. Chris Duhon scored 34 points and led the injury-riddled Chicago Bulls to a 114-108 win over the Golden State Warriors as the home team trotted out their newest player, Chris Webber.
Webber was no match in the box score for Duhon. C-Webb scored just four points and grabbed one rebound in his first NBA action since he was with Detroit last spring. C-Duh (hey, you’ve gotta give it a shot) had a career-high 34 points. Good thing, because the Bulls didn’t have three of their top players: Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, and Luol Deng. But Chicago’s Gang of 8 got big games from Joe Smith (27) and Tyrus Thomas (15) to overwhelm the Warriors.
Monta Ellis led the way for Golden State with 25 points. Baron Davis scored 22, Al Harrington had 20, and Andris Biedrins scored 12 and grabbed 18 rebounds.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Philadelphia 101, Miami 84
Houston 92, Cleveland 77
NBA NOTES
• It’s amazing that a person who is good enough to play in the National Basketball Association is as bad as the Chicago Bulls’ Ben Wallace is at hitting free throws. On Thursday, he took seven freebies and missed all seven of them. In fact, he hit the rim only just five of them—airballing the other two. From
• How long does it take to take a physical? The Miami Heat has nine team physicians (which would have been one for every player who suited up for Thursday’s loss to Philadelphia), but they can’t line a couple of them up to give physicals to Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks? The new Miami duo didn’t play on Thursday for lack of finishing their physical exams. It would seem that the Heat would want these guys on the floor as soon as possible.
• Sometimes, the Cleveland Cavs have LeBron James and not much else. Thursday was one of those nights. King James had 32 points. Everybody else had 45. And Houston had 92. King’s helpers Drew Gooden and Andrew Varejao were both out with injuries.
NHL
KINGS END RED WINGS STREAK IN STUNNING FASHION
The Detroit Red Wings had ripped off eight-straight victories prior to taking the ice against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night—and with a 3-1 lead heading into the final period No. 9 looked like a sure thing.
Not so fast!
The Kings rallied with four goals against Detroit netminder Chris Osgood to beat the hometown Wings 5-3.
Patrick O’Sullivan, Alexander Frolov, Brad Stuart, and Anze Kopitar each scored for Los Angeles in the decisive third period.
Henrik Zetterberg scored a pair of goals for the Red Wings who would have set a new franchise record had they been able to win nine straight.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Dallas 1, Minnesota 0
Columbus 2, Phoenix 1
Vancouver 2, Atlanta 1
Chicago 3, Calgary 1
Toronto 4, Montreal 2
Anaheim 4, New York Rangers 1
Pittsburgh 4, New York Islanders 3
Ottawa 5, Florida 4
Tampa Bay 2, Nashville 1 – OT
FACT OF THE DAY
CHANGES IN NASCAR
With the Daytona 500 just over a week away, perhaps it’s time to start making sure you are acquainted with some of the changes for a number of the drivers in the Sprint Cup.
Driver 2007 2008
Kyle Busch 5 Chevrolet 18 Toyota
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 8 Chevrolet 88 Chevrolet
Denny Hamlin 11 Chevrolet 11 Toyota
Mark Martin 01 Chevrolet 8 Chevrolet
Jeremy Mayfield 36 Toyota 70 Chevrolet
Casey Mears 25 Chevrolet 5 Chevrolet
Joe Nemechek 13 Chevrolet 78 Chevrolet
Dave Reutimann 00 Toyota 44 Toyota
Scott Riggs 10 Dodge 66 Chevrolet
Tony Stewart 20 Chevrolet 20 Toyota
J. J. Yeley 18 Chevrolet 96 Toyota
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: COREY KOSKIE
BIO NOTE: Koskie, who was born in Canada, has played for Minnesota, Toronto, and Milwaukee since he began his major league career in 1998.
RECENT NEWS: Koskie is currently unable to play because he is suffering problems related to a concussion he suffered in July 2006.
FAITH QUOTE: "The best thing you can do is pick up the Bible and try to read it. At least one verse. This really builds back into it, and then God will talk to you. He’ll talk to you through the Word, and as you move on, you start to get closer and closer."
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
PLAY OR NO FOR POLLACK
Cincinnati Bengals’ linebacker David Pollack has an important doctor’s appointment scheduled for Friday. The results of this visit could spell the difference between his playing football again or retiring from the game. Pollack suffered a broken neck early in the 2006 season, and he has been waiting and rehabbing for a long time to see if he can play again. You might want to pray for David Pollack as his future is decided through the words of his doctor.
NO WAY TO TREAT SOMEONE
Why to people treat each other this way? An 18-year-old kid changes his mind, and an entire arena-full of people shows that they forgot everything they were taught in kindergarten. Eric Gordon at one time said he was going to attend the University of Illinois. But he later changed his mind—which probably 80 percent of the students at Illinois have done at least once in their lives—and opted instead to go to Indiana. On Thursday, orange-clad kids from Illinois shouted obscenities and insults at Gordon, and some even resorted to throwing things at Gordon’s mom, who thought she would be safe to attend a sporting event on the campus of a public university. Indeed, it is impossible to police the actions of an entire campus, and it’s hard to know what can be done to stop this recurring situation of kids behaving badly, but it is indeed sad that so many people think it is all right to verbally mistreat others—just because they play basketball for the other team. If sports leads people to act in such an antisocial way, then they lose their value as wholesome, positive fun.
JOHNSON BEING JOHNSON
Chad Johnson asked a question during a pre-Pro Bowl interview. He deserves an answer. After explaining that he hasn’t been perfect, he then concluded that all “great ones” as he called himself “get out of line at times.” Then he said, “What great one doesn’t?” Well, it’s a long list, Mr. Ocho. How about LaDainian Tomlinson. Or Shaun Alexander. Peyton Manning. When was the last time he got into trouble? Probably sixth grade. How about Hall of Famer-to-be Darrell Green. Perhaps include Carson Palmer. Or coaches like Tony Dungy. He’s a great one. He also knows how to maintain decorum and composure. Lovie Smith. Joe Gibbs. The list is long, and we don’t have time, but it is possible to be a great sports person and be a good citizen all at the same time. So, there’s the answer, Chad. Thanks for the question. Now, have a great Pro Bowl.
WHO IS HE?
Testing your knowledge of past sports stars—taken from “Legends” articles from the pages of Sports Spectrum magazine
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? Zina Garrison
FRIDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• Played in 1,565 games for Cubs, Expos, Indians
• Hit 253 home runs and knocked in 895 runs
• Made the All-Star team in 1982 and 1984
• Won the Roberto Clemente Award in 1979
• Was Comeback Player of the Year in 1978
• Concluded is career as the No. 7 home run hitter in Cleveland history with 214.
• Suffered a huge tragedy when his wife was killed in a car accident—and he wrote a book about it: Triumph from Tragedy.
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
TED KLUCK, writer, Sports Spectrum magazine
Well, it’s not just Ted. He’s joined by SS radio gabbers Doug Redford, Tim Sleeman, and Frank Giardina to talk about the aftermath of Sunday’s surprising Super Bowl outcome.
