NBA
ROCKETS BLAST PAST NETS; 19 STRAIGHT
Okay, now it's getting historic. First, it was surprising. Then, when Yao Ming went down, it was impressive. Now the Houston Rockets have soared into the stratosphere of NBA winning streaks, and they are beginning to ink their name into the record books. On Monday, the Rockets zipped past New Jersey without having to turn on any extra jets 91-73-and it wasn't really that close. New Jersey didn't score more than 19 points in a quarter until the last one, and by then Houston led 70-47.
Dikembe Mutombo made sure the Nets didn't think they could come into his house. He blocked five New Jersey attempts, reminding them that while he may not be 7'5" tall, he does all right for a guy 7' 2".
Meanwhile, the Rockets' balanced scoring took care of things at the fun end of the floor. Tracy McGrady had 19 while Rafer Alston and Luis Scola had 12 each. And another of Houston's unknown leading men, Steve Novak, had 11. Novak, in case you didn't know, is a second year player out of Marquette.
The Nets were led by Vince Carter's 13 points while Richard Jefferson had 12. New Jersey slips to 26-38 on the season.
Houston is now 43-20 and the owner of a 19-game winning streak. That streak puts the Rockets in rare company in NBA history. They now share the third longest winning string put together by any NBA team. If they can beat Atlanta on Wednesday, they will match Milwaukee's second longest happy streak since the league began back in the 1940s. The Bucks won 20 straight in 1970-71 behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. After that, the gap is 13 games since the longest streak is the LA Lakers' 33.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Cleveland 88, Portland 80
LA Clippers 99, Miami 98
Dallas 108, New York 79
San Antonio 107, Denver 103
Orlando 123, Atlanta 112
Boston 100, Philadelphia 86
NBA NOTES
* True fans. The Miami Heat has some loyal fans. Dwyane Wade was out for the season and the lowly LA Clippers were in town for a game at the AmericanAirlines Arena. And guess what? More than 19,000 fans showed up. The Marlins should be so fortunate.
* Dallas' win over the miserable New York Knicks was this easy: The Mavs scored 32 points in the first quarter. The Knicks didn't reach 32 until the third quarter and by then Dallas had 54 points.
* Make that 100 double-doubles for 23-year-old LeBron James. And he got his 17th triple-double while doing it. King James had 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists to fashion his seventh such effort of the season.
NHL
IGINLA SETS TEAM MARK IN WIN OVER ST. LOUIS
As of Monday night, captain Jarome Iginla has scored more goals for the Calgary Flames than any player in franchise history!
Late in the first period, Iginla beat Manny Legace of the Blues on a power play to score his 41st goal of the season. In front of a packed house at the Saddledome, Iginla's 365th goal moved him past Theo Fleury on the team's all-time list.
Iginla added a pair of assists as the Flames clobbered the Blues 7-3.
Ron Tanguay scored a pair of goals for the Flames who have gone 6-1-2 in their last nine games.
The Flames currently sit as the third seed in the Western Conference playoff picture.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Vancouver 2, Los Angeles 1 - OT
New York Rangers 3, Buffalo 2 - OT Shootout
FACTS OF THE DAY
TOP NHL SCORERS
Jarome Iginla is now the Calgary Flames' top goal-scorer ever. But what about the rest of the league? Who are the Top 10 leaders in all-time goals scored?
1. Wayne Gretzky 894
2. Gordie Howe 801
3. Brett Hull 741
4. Marcel Dionne 731
5. Phil Esposito 717
6. Mike Gartner 708
7. Mark Messier 694
8. Steve Yzerman 692
9. Mario Lemieux 690
10. Luc Robitaille 668
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE:
BERNHARD LANGER, Champions Tour golfer
BIO NOTE: Langer is from Germany. He won the Masters twice in his PGA career: 1985 and 1993
RECENT NEWS: On Sunday, Langer won the Toshiba Classic on the Champions Tour for his second career win on the tour of 50-and-over golfers.
FAITH QUOTE: "I learned that good works was not what Christianity is all about. I learned that sin separated us from God, but Christ had bridged that gap between God and man by dying on the cross. After understanding that God loves me so much that He sent His only Son to die for my sins, and that I could never get to heaven through my own works but only according to His mercy and His free gift, it was natural to ask Him into my life. Since then I have seen tremendous changes in my life."
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
WADE UNTIL NEXT YEAR
This season, mercifully, is over for Dwyane Wade. The Miami Heat may lose lots more games, but Wade won't have to sprint up and down the court in vain. With 21 long games left in the season of despair for the former NBA champs, Pat Riley has announced that Wade and his painful knee are done for the year. Might be time for Riley to take a good hard look at what he has left, which will be preparatory to spending the offseason looking for spare parts to piece this team back together. Is there a Kevin Garnett-Ray Allen duo Coach can pick up over the next several months to make his team competitive again?
"PAIN DON'T HURT"
Well, at least that's what Sparky Anderson said one time. Who knows what he meant, but the converse was true for Randy Johnson on Monday: "No pain can hurt." The 44-year-old lefthander threw his first game-action pitches in spring training and reported that his body reacted without pain. But his line for the game hurts to look at: 1.1 innings, four hits, three runs, one home run, ERA of 20.25. But it's early and it's spring training, and the stats don't matter. What matters is that Johnson didn't have to go on the DL after the game. He said he was pain-free. And that can't hurt the Diamondbacks' mood at all.
CROWDED BACKFIELD
The Seattle Seahawks certainly are not hurting for running backs. At this stage in the offseason, they have enough to form a basketball team: newcomers T. J. Duckett and Julius Jones, plus holdovers Shaun Alexander, Maurice Morris, Leonard Weaver, and David Kirtman. Talk about your full-house backfield! It appears, though, that one of those running backs-the most famous and the richest-may have played his last home game at Qwest Field. Alexander, who has played just two seasons of a $62 million, 8-year contract, will soon be talking to the Seahawks and wondering why they are suddenly grabbing running backs like kids picking up eggs on Easter Sunday. What he may hear is that the former MVP and NFL leading rusher will have be employed by some other team when the new season starts.
SPRING CLIPPINGS
* Josh Beckett has back spasms that have the Boston Red Sox a little worried. And why not? He's a key to their pitching success, but until those spasms calm down, he's helpless.
* With the bullpen the only question mark on the Detroit Tigers' team, a Brandon Inge for Scott Procter deal must look mighty good to Dave Dombrowski.
* That Billy Crystal can play a little baseball for the Yankees is one of the great things about the relaxed code of spring training. You don't see the Knick letting Spike Lee play in their exhibition games. But who knows, maybe they should let him play now. At least he cares.
* Other pitchers hurting besides Beckett: Philadelphia's Adam Eaton, herniated disk, says he'll be ready for the opener; Texas' Brandon McCarthy, forearm inflammation, sidelined for up to six weeks; Giants' Noah Lowry, neuromuscular problem, ready by mid April.
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.
TUESDAY'S SPORTS SPECTRUM FEATURE
* She's a star with the LA Sparks in the WNBA
* In college, she played for the University of Tennessee.
* She led all rookies in 2007 in three-point field goal percentage.
* Among her best friends is Shanna Crossley, who plays for the San Antonio Silver Stars
CAN YOU NAME THIS SPORTS PERSON?
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? SCOTT SANDERSON
BIRTHDAY SURPRISE
A Christian athlete who is now officially one year older.
none for this date
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 TUESDAY GUEST
DEB PATTERSON, head women's basketball coach, Kansas State University
There aren't many coaches like Deb Patterson in college hoops. This woman is a firebrand for her faith, and she is not afraid to talk about it. This has, in fact, gotten her into some hot water with some folks in Kansas who don't like her brand of "religion." But Deb is more than an advocate for her faith in Jesus Christ. She's also a remarkable basketball coach. This year, her team won a share of the Big 12 title, and now she'll be leading them in the conference tournament.
