NBA
SUNS SHINE, BEAT SPURS
It's been a rough few weeks for the Phoenix Suns as they try to regroup with their new-look team featuring Shaquille O'Neal. On Sunday, they showed signs that they may be able to make this new lineup work. They hosted the San Antonio Spurs and defeated them 94-87.
One of the indicators of an improving defense for the Suns is the fact that they blocked eight Spurs shots. Clearly, this was the best defensive effort by Phoenix in a while, and lack of defense has been their biggest problem. O'Neal blocked two shots, giving him 2,500 blocks in his career. The Big Newcomer also had 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Steve Nash led the Suns in scoring with 19, and Grant Hill scored 18.
Manu Ginobili captured scoring honors for San Antonio with 22, with Tony Parker right behind with 21.
San Antonio is now 43-19 on the season while the Suns improved to 41-22 with the victory.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Philadelphia 119, Milwaukee 97
Toronto 114, Seattle 106
Detroit 116, Chicago 109
Sacramento 114, LA Lakers 113
NBA NOTES
* Here's a test for you. Ben Udrih. Mikki Moore. Francisco Garcia. Spencer Hawes. They all had double figures for an NBA team on Sunday. Do you know which one? These less-than-household-name players helped the Sacramento Kings beat the Lakers in LA.
* What's the deal with Philadelphia? This is one of those teams that no one pays attention to, but it appears that they are getting better as playoff time nears. They have won four in a row after manhandling Milwaukee on Sunday. If their winning ways continue, they could join Boston, Detroit, Toronto, and Orlando as above .500 teams in the East. The Sixers are 30-33 with 19 games left. They'll have to go 11-8 to finish 41-41. The last time they won at least as many games as they lost was 2004-2005 when they finished 43-39
NHL
RANGERS BEAT BRUINS IN SHOOTOUT
The New York Rangers continued their red-hot play on Sunday with a 1-0 shootout victory over the Boston Bruins.
After 60 minutes of stellar goaltending by both team's goalies, Nigel Dawes of the Rangers beat Boston netminder Alex Auld in round two of the tie-breaker to lift New York to the shootout victory.
The Bruins could not get anything past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist! He turned away 29 saves to earn his eighth shutout of the season.
The win moved the Rangers one point in front of the Boston Bruins for sixth place in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Columbus 5, Tampa Bay 3
Detroit 4, Nashville 3
Pittsburgh 4, Washington 2
Anaheim 3, Montreal 1
Dallas 3, Colorado 0
Edmonton 6, Chicago 5 - OT
San Jose 3, Minnesota 2 - OT Shootout
FACTS OF THE DAY
SHAQ'S STATS
Where Shaquille O'Neal stands in NBA history in points, rebounds, and blocked shots. On Sunday, he became just the third NBA player in league history to have at least 26,000 points, 11,500 rebounds, and 2,500 blocks.
POINTS
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
Karl Malone 36,928
Michael Jordan 32,292
Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
Moses Malone 27,409
Elvin Hayes 27,313
Hakeem Olajuwon 26,946
Oscar Robertson 26,710
Dominique Wilkins 26,668
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL 26,040
REBOUNDS
Wilt Chamberlain 23,924
Bill Russell 21,620
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 17,440
Elvin Hayes 16,279
Moses Malone 16,212
Karl Malone 14,968
Robert Parrish 14,715
Nate Thurmond 14,464
Walt Bellamy 14,241
Wes Unseld 13,769
Hakeem Olajuwon 13,748
Buck Williams 13,017
Jerry Lucas 12,942
Bob Pettit 12,849
Charles Barkley 12,546
Paul Silas 12,357
Charles Oakley 12,205
Dennis Rodman 11,954
Kevin Willis 11,817
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL 11,734
BLOCKED SHOTS
Hakeem Olajuwon 3,830
Dikembe Mutombo 3,246
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3,189
Mark Eaton 3,064
David Robinson 2,954
Patrick Ewing 2,894
Tree Rollins 2,542
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL 2,501
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: ANTHONY PARKER, Toronto Raptors
BIO NOTE: Parker spent five years playing pro basketball in Israel.
RECENT NEWS: On Sunday, Parker scored 23 points to help the Raptors beat Seattle.
FAITH QUOTE: "Your body is your temple, and you have to take care of it. You can do everything right as a Christian as far as going to church and reading the Bible, but this body is where the Holy Spirit is-inside of you-and you have to take are of that."
-Quoted in Sharing the Victory
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
HERE COME THE CAMRYS
It's still a little hard to get used to, but if Joe Gibbs has anything to say about it, we'll be accustomed to hearing this by the end of the 2008 Sprint Cup season: The Toyota Camry has won a NASCAR race. Yes, for the first time since a Jaguar won a NASCAR race in the 50s, a car not built by an American company has captured the checkered flag. On Sunday, Kyle Busch commandeered his import around the track at the Atlanta Motor Speedway faster than anybody else, including second-place Tony Stewart, who was also piloting a Nipponese automobile. Both of those Camry drivers are part of Joe Gibbs Racing. The top American car in Sunday's race was Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 Chevy, a part of Hendrick Motorsports. Busch drives the No. 18 car for Gibbs-a number that had been Bobby Labonte's when he was on of Gibbs' star drivers in the past. Greg Biffle was fourth, and Jeff Gordon finally had a Top 5 finish in his No. 24 Chevy.
JOHNSON TO PITCH AT 44
He's got 284 wins, he's 44 years old, and his body seems a bit creaky. Add it all together, and you get Randy Johnson taking the mound Monday for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The ancient lefty is going to test his aching back against the Colorado Rockies in the Arizona desert as he attempts to overcomes two back surgeries and get to that magical 300 wins. How long has Johnson been pitching? He started his pro career when Ronald Reagan was just starting his second term as Leader of the Free World. When he drafted in June 1985 by the Montreal Expos, it was still two years before teammate Justin Upton was born. Go for it, Big Guy. Here's hoping his back holds up, and he reaches 300.
NFL REPORT
The NFL is in its offseason, but there is always news in the biggest league in all of US sports:
* Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots aren't having a good year in 2008. First, they lost the Super Bowl as their winless season went up in smoke. Then the NFL continued its pursuit of the Pats' spying problems. Now, it appears, the NFL is about to talk to another former insider who seems willing to talk about the subject.
* Roger Goodell has also sent out memos to NFL teams stressing the importance of avoiding a repeat of the Patriots' cheating scandal of early in the 2007 season.
* Meanwhile, things couldn't be going better for Tom Coughlin. The formerly highly criticized coach of the New York Giants has financial security after inking a $21 million deal to keep coaching the Giants for four more seasons.
SPRINT CUP STANDINGS
With four races in the books, here's a look at the leaders in the Sprint Cup standings. Next up for the NASCAR guys: Bristol, Tennessee, and the Food City 500 next Sunday.
Driver | Points | Car No.
1. Kyle Busch 665 18
2. Greg Biffle 592 16
3. Kevin Harvick 574 29
4. Ryan Newman 571 12
5. Jeff Burton 555 31
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 531 88
7. Kasey Kahne 528 9
8. Tony Stewart 525 20
9. Brian Vickers 491 83
10. Kurt Busch 478 2
Other notables:
12. Matt Kenseth
13. Jimmie Johnson
15. Jeff Gordon
18. Mark Martin
32. Dale Jarrett
36. Sam Hornish Jr.
INSIDE SPORTS SPECTRUM
Do you read Sports Spectrum magazine? If you do, you'll be able to identify the following athlete featured in the March-April edition of the magazine, which is arriving in mailboxes across the country this week.
MONDAY'S SPORTS SPECTRUM FEATURE
* He was a successful pitcher for the New York Yankees, making the 1991 All-Star team.
* He won 163 career games as a right-handed pitcher.
* He struck out 1,611 batters.
* He pitched in the 1990 World Series for the Oakland A's.
* After he retired from baseball, he became a sports agent-which he still is today.
CAN YOU NAME THIS SPORTS PERSON?
FRIDAY'S SPORTS SPECTRUM FEATURE
* He has the second highest batting average of any active major leaguer.
* He has been named a NL All-Star five times.
* He helped lead his team to the 2007 World Series.
* Said this: "My faith helps me with my marriage first and foremost.
CAN YOU NAME THIS SPORTS PERSON? TODD HELTON
BIRTHDAY SURPRISE
A Christian athlete who is now officially one year older.
JOE CARTER
Former major league All-Star
Born: March 7, 1960 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Joseph Chris Carter
Hit 396 career home runs. Batted in 1,445 runs. Collected 2.184 base hits in 16 major league seasons. A five-time American League All-Star.
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
MIKE WHITWORTH, associate commissioner, Southeastern Conference
It all comes down to this for many college basketball teams: Championship week. This is when the leagues get together after playing an entire league schedule to decide the league champion and have a tournament to decide the league champion. Sound confusing? Just add money to the equation and the confusion evaporates. Anyway, Mark Whitworth joins the SS radio team to discuss the SEC tournament, and Whitworth also adds the spiritual dimension by discussing some faith stories of some SEC athletes.
