NHL
CANADIENS BEAT DEVILS; GRAB TOP SPOT IN EAST
The Montreal Canadiens now sit atop the NHL's Eastern Conference!
Montreal goaltender Carey Price stopped 38 shots to register his second shutout of the season and give the Canadiens a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Offensively, Bryan Smolinski, Saku Koivu, Maxim Lapierre, and Michael Ryder all lit the lamp for Montreal.
With the victory-and the former first-place Devils' loss- Montreal took over first place in the Eastern Conference. They lead the conference with 87 points.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Colorado 5, Atlanta 2
Ottawa 4, Boston 1
Detroit 3, Chicago 1
San Jose 2, Nashville 1
Tampa Bay 8, New York Islanders 4
Phoenix 3, Anaheim 2 OT
Toronto 4, Philadelphia 3 OT
Edmonton 4, St. Louis 3 OT
NBA
BULLS SURPRISE JAZZ
The Utah Jazz had 41 wins and negotiating room in the Western Conference playoff picture. The Chicago Bulls had 25 wins and a team that seems in disarray. So, with postseason spots on the line for the Jazz, it would seem they would have the advantage going into the United Center on Tuesday.
The Chicago Bulls, though, proved otherwise, beating the Jazz 108-96 on the strength of a strong first half. The Bulls led at the intermission 55-42.
New Bull Drew Gooden proved his worth to the home crowd by scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He clearly outplayed another former Cleveland Cavaliers forward, Carlos Boozer, who had just 10 points and nine rebounds. Ben Gordon scored 19 to help Gooden, and the Bulls put six players in double figures in scoring.
Mehmet Okur did his best to spark the Jazz, scoring 22 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, and Deron Williams rang up another double-double with 20 points and 10 dimes. One player who failed to contribute was Kyle Korver, who has been a key outside threat for the Jazz since moving over from Philadelphia earlier this season. Korver was held scoreless.
The Jazz, who have lost just three games at Salt Lake City this season, are now just 14-19 on the road.
The Bulls, who have struggled with all kinds of problems this season, are now within sight of the eighth playoff spot in the East at 26-38, trailing Philadelphia by just a half game.
OTHER NBA SCORES
LA Lakers 117, Toronto 108
Phoenix 132, Memphis 111
Indiana 114, Seattle 107
Washington 105, Milwaukee 97
Portland 103, Minnesota 96
NBA NOTES
* Yikes. Phoenix crushed the Grizzlies, who have 15 wins this season. The Suns shot 60 percent, scored 72 first-half points and had 109 at the end of three quarters, outrebounded Memphis 45-39, and had Amare Stoudemire on their side. It didn't even matter that Shaquille O'Neal had just two points.
* Another Kobe night in LA: 34 points (12 for 20 from the field, including 4 for 8 from behind the arc and 6 for 6 at the line), seven rebounds, seven assists, four steals, and a blocked shot. Amazing.
* The Indiana Pacers haven't had many bright spots this year, but Mike Dunleavy appears to be one. It's taken a while for him to develop into a go-to guy in the NBA, but his 32 points on Tuesday against Seattle again demonstrates how much his game has improved.
FACTS OF THE DAY
NHL CONFERENCE STANDINGS
The NHL East is as tight as the Democratic presidential race. Here's how the East and West look with just a dozen or so games left.
EAST
Montreal 87 (Northeast leader)
New Jersey 86 (Atlantic leader)
Carolina 79 (Southeast leader)
Pittsburgh 85
Ottawa 85
NY Rangers 83
Boston 80
Philadelphia 79
WEST
Detroit 98 (Central leader)
San Jose 90 (Pacific leader)
Calgary 82 (Northwest leader)
Colorado 82 (Tied with Calgary)
Dallas 89
Anaheim 86
Minnesota 81
Vancouver 80
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: DEEDEE JONROWE, Iditarod racer
BIO NOTE: Jonrowe has raced her dogs in 26 Iditarods.
RECENT NEWS: On Wednesday, as Lance Mackey was winning the Iditarod in Nome, Alaska, Jonrowe was in White Mountain during a rest time. She is in 15th place in the race with about 68 miles left to go. You can check her actual progress at http://race.ionearth.com/iditarod/
FAITH QUOTE: "The Iditarod has been an incredible training ground for life. The lessons that have been reconfirmed on the trail are true in my daily life. There are misunderstandings with people, stumbles that I make in my dealing with God and people, and worst of all deliberate rebellious decisions that I make that hinder my progress to be the best I am capable of being. This willful sin "hinders my progress. It is weight that slows me down. God wants life to be smoother for me and many times I have to slow down long enough to reevaluate the sin in my life and ask God to "remove it from my sled." Life is not a sprint; it is an endurance race. With God's grace we can clear away the weight that slows us down-physically and spiritually."
-From Power Up, February 29, the day before the Iditarod began.
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
CARR-SHOPPING
The New York Giants have a pretty good model in the garage getting shined up for next season, but no team ever has too many quarterbacks. That's why the Giants are kicking the tires on a used Carr, namely, David Carr. He was released by Carolina, so the Giants are taking him out for a spin to see if he might be a good fit as a backup just in case Eli Manning breaks down. On connection: Chris Palmer, who coaches the QBs in Giantsland, coached Carr when both were in Houston.
A STADIUM'S FINAL EVENT
It appears that Yankee Stadium's final sports contest will not be a World Series game but a hockey game. The New York Rangers are arranging with the Yankee Stadium folks to light up the House that Ruth Built on New Year's Day 2009 for a game involving the Rangers. If it happens, the final sounds of the venerable old ball park will be skates on ice and a final buzzer, not the crack of the bat and the Yankee faithful cheering the final out. Purists will complain, of course, but the real slam to the stadium is replacing it at all, and that decision was made long ago. Know what would be even cooler? If Billy Graham had the strength to do one final revival on the infield of Yankee Stadium. Then the final sounds before the wrecking ball would fall could be "Amazing Grace."
BELMONT'S BEST
One of the teams that has already reserved a spot in the NCAA men's D-I basketball tournament is Belmont University, a Nashville, Tennessee, school with an enrollment of about 4,700 students. One of those students is Justin Hare, the Bruins' leading scorer this season. He was instrumental in Belmont's Atlantic Sun Conference championship, as he scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds, and handed out four assists. Hare is featured in the current edition of Sports Spectrum magazine in a column by Victor Lee. In that article, Lee talks about a remarkable thing Hare's parent did when he was nine-they took in 12 children to live with them. Suddenly, Justin and his two siblings had 12 more brothers and sisters. The experience molded Hare into what he is today, a strong Christian young man who understands about giving up something for others. You might want to get a copy of SS and read the article, and you might want to make sure you catch Belmont's appearance in the Big Dance.
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.
WEDNESDAY'S SPORTS SPECTRUM FEATURE
* She played college basketball at the University of Virginia.
* She was an assistant coach of the Seattle Storm when they won the WNBA title.
* In 2007 she was named the head coach of the Sacramento Monarchs.
CAN YOU NAME THIS SPORTS PERSON?
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? SIDNEY SPENCER
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 WEDNESDAY GUEST
BRAD LAMBERT, defensive coordinator, Wake Forest football
Yes, college football. Yes, we know that we are on the edge of March Madness, but for some people football is never more than one thought away. For those people, we have a football sampling that will keep them happy until Mel Kuiper next appears on SportsCenter. Lambert will discuss some of the human aspects of coaching-of seeing close friends go to other schools to coach or what Christian coaches have to endure when they are re-located to other jobs. Need football? SS Radio has it for you.
