MLB
BOSTON OPENS SEASON WITH EXTRA INNING WIN
The Oakland A's opened the baseball season very early Tuesday morning Bay Area time, but there was no action at McAfee Stadium. That's because the A's were 5,000 miles away in Tokyo playing the Boston Red Sox. The major league baseball season inexplicably opened in Japan on Tuesday morning with Boston beating Oakland 6-5 in 10 innings.
Mark Ellis struck the first big blow of the new season when he hit a solo home run to get the A's off to a 1-0 lead in the second inning. He hit that home run off Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Japanese pitcher who was celebrating something of a homecoming.
The A's scored once more in the first to take a 2-0 lead. In the sixth, Boston took the lead. Manny Ramirez doubled home two runners, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkillis. Then Brandon Moss singled Ramirez home. The A's answered in the bottom of the sixth when Jack Hannahan, who started the 2008 season with three career home runs, smashed a two-run shot with Bobby Crosby aboard.
In the ninth, Moss struck again for the Red Sox, hitting a one-out home run (his first major league blast) to send the game into extra innings.
In the top of the tenth, Rameriz doubled home Julio Lugo and David Ortiz to give the Sox a 6-4 lead.
The A's came back to score one in the bottom of the inning, but then Jonathan Papelbon slammed the door shut, and Boston won 6-5.
And thus the season began in the Land of the Rising Sun with Manny being Manny and the Sox beginning the defense of their World Series title.
NHL
HABS NOTCH PLAYOFF BID
The Montreal Canadiens are in! Montreal beat the Ottawa Senators 7-5 on Monday night to secure their playoff spot. Not that there was much doubt, as the Habs have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 43-24-10.
Montreal scored three goals in the first period then erupted for four more in the second period to run away from the Senators. Andrei Kostitsyn scored a pair of goals in the first period to lead the charge.
Dany Heatley scored his 38th and 39th goals of the year in a losing effort for Ottawa.
Last season, the Canadiens were eliminated from the playoff picture on the final game of the regular season.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Edmonton 5, Minnesota 3
Colorado 2, Calgary 0
New York Islanders 4, Pittsburgh 1
NBA
SIXERS SURPRISE CELTICS AT THE GARDEN
With everything wrapped up in the East, the Boston Celtics have nothing major to play for as they finish the season by lining themselves up for the playoffs. That cannot be said for the Philadelphia 76ers, who are fighting for their postseason life. The Sixers rode their motivation to a 95-90 win over Boston at the TD Banknorth Garden on Monday.
Philly is a team that earlier this year seemed destined for an April vacation, but they have battled to the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference. They have won eight of their last 10 games and now have a 36-35 record. As it stands now, they would play Orlando in the playoffs.
Andre Iguodala, as is customary, was the big gun for Philly. He scored 28 points while Andre Miller chipped in with 20.
Philadelphia used a strong fourth quarter to push past the team with the best record in the NBA at 55-15. The 76ers outscored Boston 29-19 in the final stanza to overcome a deficit and get out of town with the win.
The Celtics, playing with a full complement of superstars, got 12 from Paul Pierce, 18 from Kevin Garnett, and 14 from Ray Allen. Leon Powe helped out with 16.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Detroit 110, Phoenix 105 (OT)
Seattle 97, Portland 94
Miami 78, Milwaukee 73
New Jersey 106, New York 91
Houston 108, Sacramento 100
Denver 120, Memphis 106
NBA NOTES
* Did you know that Lindsey Hunter was even still a member of the Detroit Pistons. He played 9 minutes for Detroit in their win over Phoenix on Monday-his second action since the new year began.
* The Denver Nuggets are making a late-season run at the playoffs, and the Golden State Warriors must be very nervous. Both have won 43 games, but Denver has one more loss with 28. The Nuggets have a three-game winning streak going. The next two games for Denver are the two teams in front of them-Dallas on Wednesday and Golden State on Friday.
FACT OF THE DAY
GETTING TO KNOW STEPHEN CURRY
Sophomore: Davidson College
High school: Charlotte (NC) Christian
Scored more than 1,400 at Charlotte Christian
Parents: Dad- Dell Curry, former NBA star for 16 seasons; played college hoops at Virginia Tech
Mom- Sonya, volleyball star at Virginia Tech
College choices: Winthrop, Virginia Commonwealth, Davidson, and an offer to try out at Virginia Tech.
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: DAMIEN WILKINS, guard, Seattle SuperSonics
BIO NOTE: Wilkins' dad, Gerald, played in the NBA for 13 seasons.
RECENT NEWS: On Monday, Wilkins scored 20 points to help Seattle beat Portland.
FAITH QUOTE: "Read the Bible. You can never go wrong with that. The more you comprehend of it, the better off you are in life. Take the story of Job. It's the story of my life. Life is not always easy, and you experience tests of faith."
-Sports Spectrum magazine
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
NO KNOCK ON WOOD; HE'S A CLOSER
If Kerry Wood ever strikes out 20 batters in a game again-well, that will be something for the headlines. Wood, who started his career with such great expectations, has struggled with arm and shoulder problems for so long many had given up on his career. Not so fast, says Lou Piniella. The crusty skipper of the Cubs has named Wood as his closer after Wood put together another successful outing on the mound in Arizona. Wood will be 31 years old in May. He has a career record of 72-57-and no saves.
WOMENS' SWEET 16: 8 ARE IN
Eight teams in the women's NCAA Division I basketball tournament punched their tickets to the next round on Monday. And among the eight, two teams got through in what can be considered upsets. Here are the scores from Monday's action.
Greensboro Regional
George Washington (6) 55 California (3) 53
Rutgers (2) 69 Iowa State (7) 58
Spokane Regional
Vanderbilt (4) 64 West Virginia (5) 46
Pittsburgh (6) 67, Baylor (3) 59
Stanford (2) 88 UTEP (7) 54
New Orleans Regional
Oklahoma State (3) 73 Florida State (11) 72
LSU (2) 68 Marist (7) 49
Oklahoma City Regional
Texas A&M (2) 63 Hartford (10) 39
MAYBIN STILL NOT READY
The Detroit Tigers discovered in a September callup for Cameron Maybin that he was not ready for prime time. With his trade to the Florida Marlins, it was widely expected that the projected future superstar would slide right into the Fish lineup. Not gonna happen. The Marlins have sent Maybin to the minors after he hit .190 in spring training. Maybin is just 20 years old, and the Marlins are still planning on him to roam center field for the team eventually. For now, though, he still has some learning to do before he fulfills everyone's expectations.
SPRINT CUP STANDINGS
With five races in the books, here's a look at the leaders in the Sprint Cup standings. Next up for the NASCAR guys: Martinsville's half-mile track in Martinsville, Virginia and the Goody's Cool Orange 500. The NASCAR circuit, as is tradition, takes Easter weekend off. Good for NASCAR.
Driver | Points | 2007 finish
1. Kyle Busch 782 5
2. Greg Biffle 752 14
3. Kevin Harvick 749 10
4. Jeff Burton 745 8
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 686 16
6. Kasey Kahne 674 19
7. Tony Stewart 656 6
8. Ryan Newman 635 13
9. Clint Bowyer 606 3
10. Kurt Busch 605 7
Other notables:
Matt Kenseth 11th
Jeff Gordon 14th
Carl Edwards 16th
Sam Hornish Jr. 35th
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.
TUESDAY'S SPORTS SPECTRUM FEATURE
WHO IS THIS PERSON?
* He played basketball for Belmont
* He had a shot at the game-winner against Duke
WHO IS THIS PERSON?
MONDAY'S SPORTS SPECTRUM FEATURE
WHO IS THIS PERSON?
* He played last year for the Colorado Rockies
* He's an infielder who now plays for Cleveland.
* He began his career with the Montreal Expos.
WHO IS THIS PERSON? JAMEY CARROLL
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
MARK MCHALE, former assistant football coach, Florida State
You may not recognized the name Mark McHale, but one recently retired pro football player will never forget it. If not for Mark McHale, Brett Favre (Farv) may have ended up running a bait shop in Kiln (Kill), Mississippi, where it seems everything has a different pronunciation. McHale was the only college football coach who offered young Brett a scholarship after his high school days. Obviously, McHale was a great judge of talent. He talks about his claim to fame on the Tuesday interview.
