MLB
BANNISTER, ROYALS STYMIE TIGERS
If not for Detroit Tigers shortstop Edgar Renteria, Kansas City Royals starter Brian Bannister would have tossed a no-hitter against the vaunted Tigers offense on Wednesday afternoon.
Bannister (1-0) tossed seven strong innings at the Tigers high-priced, veteran-laden line-up allowing just a pair of hits-both to Renteria. The Royals second-year starter struck out four and walked none to dominate Detroit and beat the Tigers 4-0.
Offensively, the Royals did nothing off of crafty veteran Kenny Rogers (0-1) for five innings. But the sixth inning was a different story. Kansas City broke through with a pair of runs off Rogers thanks to three doubles. Mark Grudzielanek, Jose Guillen, and Billy Butler all ripped doubles in the decisive inning.
K.C. added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning.
Detroit has 19 strikeouts in two games against the Royals.
Kansas City goes for the sweep on Thursday in Detroit.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston 5, Oakland 0
Baltimore 9, Tampa Bay 6
Cleveland 7, Chicago White Sox 2
Toronto 5, New York Yankees 2
Los Angeles Angels 1, Minnesota 0
Seattle 4, Texas 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Francisco 2, Los Angeles Dodgers 1
Houston 9, San Diego 6
St. Louis 8, Colorado 3
New York Mets 13, Florida 0
Cincinnati 6, Arizona 5
Atlanta 10, Pittsburgh 2
Washington 1, Philadelphia 0
Milwaukee 8, Chicago 2
NBA
MAVS WIN; WARRIORS FALL FARTHER BACK
The Golden State Warriors are picking a bad time to start digging a hole for themselves. They lost on Wednesday to the Dallas Mavericks 111-86 to dip to a full game behind the Denver Nuggets in the battle for the eighth spot in the Western Conference and two games behind Dallas. With less than two weeks to go, their outlook is beginning to look bleak.
The Mavs welcomed back Dirk Nowitzki after he recovered from his leg injury by outscoring Golden State in every quarter. Dallas jumped out to a 60-50 half time lead and just kept pouring it on. The Warriors managed just 36 points in the second half.
Nowitzki scored 18 points, but Jason Terry was the big gun with 31. Josh Howard had 28 as the offense benefited from the handouts of Jason Kidd, who dished off 17 assists.
Monta Ellis led the Warriors with 27 points, who got just two points from Stephen Jackson.
Next for Golden State is Memphis on Friday at home while the Mavs face the LA Lakers that same night in Los Angeles. Denver is off until Saturday when host Sacramento.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Atlanta 127, Toronto 120 (OT)
Boston 92, Indiana 77
Cleveland 118, Charlotte 114
LA Clippers 102, Seattle 84
LA Lakers 104, Portland 91
Memphis 130, New York 114
Milwaukee 110, Washington 109
New Orleans 106, Miami 77
Utah 117, Minnesota 100
PLAYOFF WATCH
* The Hawks now have a four-game lead over ninth-place New Jersey in the East.
* Toronto, Washington, and Philadelphia are all tied for fifth as they jockey for position for the postseason. The difference between fifth and seventh is the difference between playing Detroit (53-21) and playing Cleveland (42-33) in the first round.
* Boston has reached 60 wins.
* The Lakers kept pace with first-place New Orleans in the West. The Hornets have a half-game lead over the Spurs and a game-and-a-half lead over the Lakers.
* San Antonio, LA, Utah, Phoenix, and Houston are all within three games of New Orleans.
NHL
PENS ARE ATLANTIC CHAMPS
For the first time in 10 seasons, the Pittsburgh Penguins have won their division. They beat the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday to ice that first spot in the Atlantic.
Sidney Crosby got two goals for the Pens while Evgeni Malkin picked up the goal that put the Penguins ahead of the Flyers for good at 14:33 of the second period. Sergei Gonchar also scored for Pittsburgh.
Scott Hartnell and Jeff Carter scored for the Flyers.
OTHER NHL SCORES
New Jersey 3, Boston 2 (Shootout)
Carolina 6, Tampa Bay 2
Chicago 6, Detroit 2
FACT OF THE DAY
SOME EARLY LEAGUE LEADERS
Sure, it's very early, but this is the time when some new people get to lead the league in things-until the regular stars get squared away and start piling up the stats.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Batting
A. J. Pierzynski White Sox .625
Brian Roberts Orioles .600
Alex Rios Blue Jays .600
Home Runs
Jim Thome White Sox 2
RBI
Jose Lopez Mariners 5
Manny Ramirez Red Sox 5
Saves
Jon Papelbon Red Sox 2
Strikeouts
Daisuke Matsuzaka Red Sox 15
Rich Harden A's 15
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Batting
James Loney Dodgers .556
Blake DeWitt Dodgers .556
Freddy Sanchez Pirates .556
Home Runs
Xavier Nady Pirates 2
Ryan Zimmerman Nationals 2
Scott Hairston Padres 2
RBI
Xavier Nady Pirates 6
David Wright Mets 6
Yunel Escobar Braves 6
Chipper Jones Braves 6
Strikeouts
Oliver Perez Mets 8
Johan Santana Mets 8
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE
LANCE BERKMAN, first baseman, Houston Astros
BIO NOTE: Josh Hamilton was traded during the offseason from the Cincinnati Reds to the Texas Rangers.
RECENT NEWS: On Wednesday, Berkman went 3 for 5 against the San Diego Padres, including a game-winning home run in the ninth inning.
FAITH QUOTE: "First and foremost, I'll know I'm successful if I instill the values of Christianity and a relationship with God into my children. The recognition of Christ and his values is the most important thing for my family and me. If I can do that and have an impact on people around me - my teammates, my extended family, and anybody I come in contact with - and show them the love of God, then I will have been a successful person."
-Sports Spectrum magazine
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
VOTE FOR PEDRO
Pedro Martinez is on the DL again, and he probably needs all the love he can get. So, if you're a Mets fans, you need to be pulling for the man to get his body healed up again. He threw 57 pitches in his first start of 2008 and then hobbled off to face 4 to 6 weeks of mending. This time, it's a hamstring that is putting him on the sidelines again. Last year, Martinez pitched 28 innings for the Mets. In 2006, just 132 innings. The oft-injured pitcher is 36 years old.
BRAND, ARENAS RETURN
With the season winding down, the NBA welcomed back two of its superstars who have been rehabbing injuries all season. Elton Brand returned to the LA Clippers' line up, and he scored 19 points to help the lowly Clippers beat the even lowlier Seattle SuperSonics 102-84. Brand played 25 minutes. For Washington, the return of Gilbert Arenas has playoff implications, since the Wizards are battling for positioning in the East. Arenas played 20 minutes in the Wizards' contest with Milwaukee, and he scored 17 points. But his return was spoiled by the Bucks' last-second win in Washington.
OH, HENRY!
Chris Henry is at it again. Some people simply do not know how to be good citizens. More and more, it appears, Chris Henry is in that category. You can dress him up. Pay him lots of money. Offer him the opportunity to be a star in the biggest sports league in the land. But if he cannot conduct himself in a civil manner and if he thinks the laws of the land don't apply to him, he's going to continue to get into trouble. Henry's latest troubles, besides his problem of driving on a suspended license, is that he allegedly, reportedly, is said to have broken a guy's car window with a beer bottle and then hit the young man in the face with his fist. Henry's problems are not an indictment of the NFL, because every profession has people who make poor choices. It is sad, however, that Henry seems intent on throwing away his great opportunity. He plays for a club who has a top-notch chaplain, Ken Moyer, who could guide him toward the true answer to his problems-Jesus Christ. Only when Henry recognizes his sin problem and seeks the cure through faith in Christ will he truly find peace.
SPRINT CUP STANDINGS
With six races in the books, here's a look at the leaders in the Sprint Cup standings. Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag at Martinsville. Jeff Gordon was second, Jeff Burton third, and Jimmie Johnson was fourth. Now the teams are hauling their rigs to the Dallas area for Sunday's Samsung 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway. It's the first 500-mile race for the drives since March 9 at Atlanta.
| Driver |
Points
|
Birth date |
| 1. Jeff Burton |
915
|
June 29, 1967 |
| 2. Kevin Harvick |
876
|
Dec. 8, 1975 |
| 3. Greg Biffle |
855
|
Dec. 23, 1969 |
| 4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
846
|
Oct. 10, 1974 |
| 5. Kyle Busch |
831
|
May 2, 1985 |
| 6. Tony Stewart |
811
|
May 10, 1971 |
| 7. Kasey Kahne |
786
|
April 10, 1980 |
| 8. Denny Hamlin |
758
|
Nov. 18, 1981 |
| 9. Jeff Gordon |
749
|
August 4, 1971 |
| 10. Jimmie Johnson |
746
|
Sept. 17, 1975 |
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 THURSDAY GUEST
C.J. WOOLUM, men's basketball coach, Christopher-Newport University
Coach Woolum has been thinking about which teams will win on Saturday as Kansas takes on North Carolina, and UCLA plays Memphis. He'll break down the strengths and weaknesses of both teams before they tip off.
