NBA
REDD SHOOTS BUCKS PAST CLEVELAND
Mo Williams led the way, but Michael Redd got to be the hero for the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday as they edged the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-102 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
Williams went wild offensively, hitting 12 of his 22 shots, including 3 of 6 from behind the three-point line and 10 of 10 from the charity stripe, to score 37 points. But it was a three-pointer by Redd that sent the 15,346 Milwaukee fans home happy. With time ticking away at the end of the game, Redd stopped just outside the trey line, faked Wally Szczerbiak, and flipped the ball toward the hoop as the buzzer sounded. It hit nothing but the bottom of the twine, and Milwaukee had a come-from-behind victory.
The Cavs trailed at halftime 57-53, but they came back to outscore the Bucks 27-
Milwaukee has won three of its last four games, and the teams it beat, Denver, Detroit, and Cleveland, are all playoff contenders. The Bucks’ record is 22-35 while Cleveland dips to 32-25.
Milwaukee shot 37 free throws in the contest while Cleveland went to the stripe just 14 times.
LeBron James led Cleveland with 35 points.
OTHER NBA GAMES
Houston 94, Washington 69
LA Lakers 96, Portland 83
Miami 107, Sacramento 86
Orlando 102, New Jersey 92
Minnesota 111, Utah 100
Phoenix 127, Memphis 113
Golden State 105, Seattle 99
NBA NOTES
• Houston rolled past Washington in its first game without Yao Ming. They led at halftime 51-23. They have now won 13 straight games. One plus factor for Houston is having Dikembe Mutombo to step in at center. His four blocked shots helped suggest that interior defense was still being played without Yao. Sports Spectrum note: You can read about Mutombo’s philanthropy in the March-April edition of Sports Spectrum magazine.
• Yes, you read that right. The Miami Heat won another game. That’s 10 now: 10-44. They used a 31-11 third quarter to crown the Kings. Shawn Marion had 24 points to lead his new team.
• Utah had one of those nights against Minnesota. The Jazz turned the ball over 24 times on the way to allowing the T-Wolves to win for just the 12th time this season. It’s a mighty long season, and sometimes you’re A game just doesn’t show up.
NHL
PITTSBURGH WINNERS ON AND OFF THE ICE
The Pittsburgh Penguins made the biggest deal of the NHL’s trading deadline day, then went out and doubled up the New York Islanders 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Pittsburgh, whose roster was thin due to a big trade earlier in the day that landed high-scoring forward Marian Hossa, scored a pair of goals in the first period and a pair of goals in the third period to beat the Islanders. Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Taffe scored first-period goals to give the Pens the early advantage. Jordan Staal and Connor James then finished the scoring with goals in the third.
As the offense was delivering bookend goals, Pittsburgh goaltender Ty Conklin was setting a personal best with 50 saves!
The win was important for Pittsburgh, but the trade-deadline deals the Pens made just might have put them in the driver’s seat for a Stanley Cup appearance out of the Eastern Conference.
Hossa, the former Atlanta all-star, came at a high price. Pittsburgh dealt forwards Colby Armstrong and Eric Christensen, a top prospect and a first-round draft choice to acquire the five-time all-star.
In a separate deal, the Penguins also acquired big defenseman Hal Gill from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Washington 4, Minnesota 1
Boston 4, Ottawa 0
Dallas
Montreal 5, Atlanta 1
Calgary 3, Colorado 2 – OT
Carolina 2, New Jersey 1 – OT
Edmonton 4, Detroit 3 – OT Shootout
FACTS OF THE DAY
NHL ATTENDANCE
Yesterday we looked at NBA attendance—Top 10 and Bottom 5. Today, the NHL.
Top 10
1. Montreal 21,273
2. Buffalo 20,412
3. Ottawa 19,756
4. Philadelphia 19,544
5. Toronto 19,422
6. Calgary 19,289
7. Tampa Bay 18,708
8. Detroit 18,678
9. Vancouver 18,630
10. Minnesota 18,568
Bottom 5
26. Washington 14,657
27. Nashville 14,580
28. Columbus 14,466
29. Phoenix 14,300
30. NY Islanders 13,378
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE:MICHAEL REDD, MILWAUKEE BUCKS
BIO NOTE: Michael scored the 10,000th point of his NBA career on Saturday against the Denver Nuggets. Not bad for a guy who scored 13 points in his entire rookie season.
RECENT NEWS: On Tuesday, James hit a 24-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Bucks a 105-102 win over Cleveland.
FAITH QUOTE: "The cross is the greatest thing that ever happened to me. If it weren't for the cross, I wouldn't be alive right now. If it weren't for the cross, I wouldn't be saved right now. The cross is the story of my life."
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
WOW! YAO OUT!
This is the worst possible news for a Houston Rockets team that is on a roll and seeming to be getting it all together for the stretch drive. Yao Ming has a broken foot. Tuesday, the Rockets announced that Yao has a stress fracture in his left foot, and he is lost to the team for the rest of the season. Those 22 points, those 11 rebounds, and that imposing figure in the middle for the Rockets will be impossible to replace.
CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITIES
So, the guy who runs the team that owns Wrigley Field says he’s willing to consider offers to sell naming rights to one of baseball’s most hallowed edifices. To help Mr. Sam Zell with his quest for more money (hey, gas prices keep rising), here are some suggestions. Sell to the grocery store chain, and we’d enjoy going to Piggly-Wiggly Field. Sell to the chewing gum company, and it would remain Wrigley Field. Sell to the cookie company, and it would become Mrs. Field’s Field. Sell to Boeing and it will really take off as Boeing Field. Maybe Apple Computers will spend the money and turn it into the Apple Orchard. Anyway you look at it, tradition will take a beating if this venerable baseball park becomes Whirlpool Field or Wal-Mart Field or United Technologies Field or AFLAC Field—or whatever it might become.
AN INNOVATION!
Stop the presses. Tony La Russa has an innovation. It’s not as big as the West Coast offense in football or the dribble-penetration offense in basketball—but it is a bit different. And innovation in baseball is about as common as a Chicago Cubs World Series title. The St. Louis Cardinals’ skipper says he’s going to buck baseball tradition by batting his pitchers in the eighth spot, putting a better hitter at No. 9—kind of like a NL DH move. It would seem that another innovation regarding pitchers is in order. Why not actually allow the pitchers to become hitters. Why not make them take batting practice every day, work on their hitting, and learn from the hitting coach. Managers are always looking for better offense. Why not turn their pitchers, who were probably good hitters in high school before somebody decided to take the bat out of their hands, into decent hitters. Imagine picking up an extra 100 or so hits a season just because you made your pitchers take BP every day, learn how to put the ball in play, and didn’t go up to the plate looking like John Kruk facing Randy Johnson. Now, that would be an innovation worth considering.
KALINE’S DAY
What a remarkable day for Colin Kaline. He’s just a college kid, playing baseball as a freshman for Florida Southern. But on Tuesday, he got to play against his grandpa’s major league team—the Detroit Tigers. Al Kaline, who continues to assist the Tigers as a special assistant to the president 55 years after he broke in with the team, was on hand in Lakeland as Colin played second base against Detroit in the Tigers’ first spring training action. Kaline failed to get a hit in four at-bats as Detroit crushed the kids 17-4. It probably didn’t matter as Colin played in front of his grandfather and his Tigers.
SPRINT CUP STANDINGS
With two races in the books, Kyle Busch leads the Sprint Cup standings. The racers head next to Las Vegas for the UAW-Dodge 400 on Sunday, March 2.
Driver Points Car
1. Kyle Busch 335 Toyota
2. Ryan Newman 329 Dodge
3. Tony Stewart 316 Toyota
4. Kurt Busch 299 Dodge
5. Carl Edwards 296 Ford
6. Kasey Kahne 294 Dodge
7. Kevin Harvick 268 Chevy
8. Jimmie Johnson 267 Chevy
9. Greg Biffle 262 Ford
SPECTRUM RADIO 10. Jeff Burton 261 Chevy
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
ED SCHILLING, former D-I basketball coach, Wright State
Ed Schilling lives in Indianapolis, so he is well aware of what has gone on recently with the Kelvin Sampson situation at Indiana University. Sampson is out as a result of recruiting violations. Coach Schilling will talk about the case and discuss what sometimes happens to assistant coaches when they are asked to do things that violate NCAA rules during the recruiting process.
