NBA
NUGGETS SNEAK OUT OF MIAMI WITH WIN
Whew! The Denver Nuggets were just inches away from losing to the hapless Miami Heat on Tuesday when Dwyane Wade fired a possible buzzer-beater that hugged the rim before flying off into oblivion. That gave Denver a 114-113 win in overtime in Miami.
The Nuggets were led in scoring by one of their reserves, J.R. Smith, who scored 28 points, including eight successful three-point shots. Kenyon Martin had 24 for Denver, while Marcus Camby had 16 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the still-losing but now-improving Heat nearly pulled of the win thanks to their dynamic duo. Wade had 29 points and 10 assists while Shawn Marion had 23 points and 18 rebounds. He has put together double-doubles in his first two games for the Heat.
The Nuggets are now 32-19 on the season, while Miami falls to 9-41. But you have to think that it won’t be long until Wade starts hitting that heroic shot and the newly revived Heat starts to win a game or two.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Detroit 94, Atlanta 90
Boston 104, Indiana 97
New Jersey 92, Minnesota 88
Memphis 107, Sacramento 94
New Orleans 100, Chicago 86
NBA NOTES
• Many players who have been saddled with an 0-for night from the floor kind of pack it up by the time the fourth quarter rolls around—figuring it’s not his night and leaving it to his teammates to pick up the slack. Not Chauncey Billups. He was 0-for-8 heading into the final period against Atlanta Tuesday. So, what does Detroit’s Mr. Big Shot do? He cranks up the offense and scores 12 fourth-quarter points to lead his team to victory
• A sign of how good the Celtics have become: Even without Kevin Garnett over the last eight games, they have won six of them.
NHL
VANEK SHOOTS SABRES OVER SENATORS
Sabres star Thomas Vanek scored his first career hat trick to lead the surging Buffalo Sabres over the slumping Ottawa Senators 5-1 on Tuesday night.
Vanek scored his first goal in the second period, then added a pair of goals in the third period to help Buffalo improve to 7-0-2 since January 21. Vanek, who signed a huge contract in the offseason to stay in Western New York, now has 20 goals on the season.
Sabres goalie Ryan Miller turned away 25 Senators shots to earn the win.
Ottawa, who had newcomers Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore in the lineup on Tuesday night, has dropped seven of its last 11 games.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Anaheim 2, Colorado 1
Tampa Bay 3, Montreal 2
Carolina 3, Boston 2
Nashville 4, Detroit 2
St. Louis 4, Los Angeles 2
Edmonton 4, Minnesota 2
New York Islanders 4, Philadelphia 3
FACTS OF THE DAY
THE BUZZ IN NEW ORLEANS
The New Orleans Hornets are 20 games over the .500 mark this season. The Hornets have been in existence since 1988 when they entered the league as the Charlotte Hornets, and they have ended the season 20 over one time in their history. Here’s a look at their record every year in the league.
1988-89 20-62
1989-90 19-63
1990-91 25-62
1991-92 31-51
1992-93 44-38
1993-94 41-41
1994-95 50-32
1995-96 41-41
1996-97 54-28 26 games over .500
1997-98 51-31 20 games over .500
1998-99 26-24
1999-2000 49-33
2000-01 46-36
2001-02 44-38
2002-03 47-35
2003-04 41-41
2004-05 18-64
2005-06 38-44
2006-07 39-43
2007-08 35-15
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: MIKE SWEENEY
BIO NOTE: Sweeney has played his entire career with the Kansas City Royals—until now.
RECENT NEWS: The
FAITH QUOTE: "Are you looking for something to fill that void that only Christ can fill? Are you looking for something besides success and pleasure to give you the happiness that has always seemed elusive? Are you wanting to know you are loved just for who you are and not because of any accomplishments or accolades? Trust Jesus as Savior."
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
CAT-ASTROPHE
This is not a score you expect to see: Anyone 93, Kentucky 52. But it wasn’t just anyone who pounded the Kentucky Wildcats into cat litter on Tuesday in Nashville. It was the Vanderbilt Commodores, who now sport a 21-4 record and a four-game winning streak. The loss for Kentucky, who had seemed to turn their season around just in time for postseason consideration, was their worst shellacking since the Kansas Jayhawks took them apart by 55 points in 1989. It was the worst loss ever for the Wildcats in conference play.
PITCHER REPORTS
Isn’t it sad that on the day many major league pitchers and catchers report to spring training to begin getting ready for another baseball season, the nation’s focus is on a pitcher reporting to Congress on performance-enhancing drugs? Of course, no one knows what the outcome of Wednesday’s appearance of Roger Clemens on Capitol Hill will be, but that’s almost beside the point. The point is that baseball somehow feel asleep as its game was being besmirched and marred by the use of substances that produced tainted results. And now a new season begins with more dour men asking additional somber questions about increasingly consequential yet boringly non-baseball topics. Fans deserve better, and the sport needs to get this thing cleaned up soon so the folks who buy 70,000,000 tickets can go to the games without having to wonder if what they are watching is real or fake.
NOW WE’RE TALKING DOG!
There are dogs, and then there is Uno. For the first time ever, the Westminister people looked past all the fluffy-haired poodles and the perfectly coifed Pomeranians and slapped the No. 1 Dog label on a true dog of a dog—a beagle. A dog that can howl at the moon and chase rabbits and snuggle kids and make the worst day look better—and now he can stand atop the Dog World and bay at the rest of them with a little more pride today. Yes, Uno, who is three years old and celebrated his win by baying like only a beagle can (if your neighbor has one, you know). So there is, fans: Underdog. Snoopy. Huckleberry Hound. Just a regular, old leash-chewing, sad-eyed mischievous little mutt—the champion of
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
• Made the
• At one time held the world record in the 880-yard run, the one mile run, and the 1,500-meter run.
• Was selected the Sullivan Award winner in 1967 as the top amateur athlete in the
• Became a
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
TED ABERNATHY, member 1976 Indiana basketball team
Ted Abernathy played for Bob Knight a generation ago when the Hoosiers sailed through the 1976 season in undefeated fashion and claimed the NCAA crown. Listen in as Ted talks about what it was like to play for Knight and what his lasting impressions are of the controversial coaching legend.
