NBA
LAKERS RIDE KOBE, C'S SMASH HAWKS, PISTONS BACK ON TRACK
LA Lakers 122, Denver 107
The Kobe Bryant Show returned for another engagement at the Staples Center on Wednesday, and that meant bad news for the Denver Nuggets. While Allen Iverson (31) and Carmelo Anthony (23) combined for 54 points, Bryant nearly matched that himself with 49 points to go with 10 assists as the Lakers handily defeated the Nuggets. Bryant took just 27 shots, hitting 18 of them, as he nearly reached the half-century mark. He's just the third Laker ever to go for 40 and 10 in a playoff game, and the other two are legendary: Jerry West and Magic Johnson. Kobe got help from Luke Walton and Pau Gasol, who each scored 18.
Boston 97, Atlanta 77
What can you say about this series except that it's a learning experience for the Atlanta Hawks? They are getting schooled in all phases of the game as they try to keep up with the Boston Celtics. On Wednesday, for example, they failed to make a single three-pointer, they were outrebounded 45-35, they made 21 turnovers to Boston's 12, and they had just 10 assists. Meanwhile, the Celtics balanced their scoring among Kevin Garnett's 19, Ray Allen's 15, and Paul Pierce's 14 as they cruised to the win. The Celtics outscored the upstart Hawks in each quarter. Marvin Williams and Josh Smith led the Hawks in scoring with 13 each, but they were a combined 6 for 22 from the floor against Boston's tough defense.
Detroit 105, Philadelphia 88
Look who showed up for Game 2. The Detroit Pistons. After trying to mail in Game 1 and discovering that they were short on postage, the Pistons decided to show some fire in Wednesday night's matchup at the Palace. The Pistons, as they did in Game 1, took a halftime lead, but this time they held off any attempt by the Sixers to climb back into the game. A 53-36 halftime lead turned into an 84-62 lead after three quarters, and the party was over for Philly. Richard Hamilton took scoring honors with 20, but three of his teammates, Tayshaun Prince, Antonio McDyess, and Rasheed Wallace each had 16. Philadelphia reserve guard Louis Williams led his team with 17 points.
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
THURSDAY'S GAMES
Orlando at Toronto
Cleveland at Washington
Houston at Utah
EASTERN CONFERENCE
#1 Boston vs. #8 Atlanta
Game 1: Boson 105, Atlanta 81
Game 2: Boston 97, Atlanta 77
Boston leads 2-0
Game 3: At Atlanta Saturday
#2 Detroit vs. #7 Philadelphia
Game 1: Philadelphia 90, Detroit 86
Game 2: Detroit 105, Philadelphia 88
Series tied 1-1
Game 3: At Philadelphia Friday
#3 Orlando vs. #6 Toronto
Game 1: Orlando 114, Toronto 100
Game 2: Orlando 104, Toronto 103
Orlando leads 2-0
Game 3: At Toronto Thursday
#4 Cleveland vs. #8 Washington
Game 1: Cleveland 93, Washington 86
Game 2: Cleveland 116, Washington 86
Cleveland leads 2-0
Game 3: At Washington Thursday
WESTERN CONFERENCE
#1 LA Lakers vs. #8 Denver
Game 1: LA 128, Denver 114
Game 2: LA 122, Denver 107
LA leads 2-0
Game 3: At Denver Saturday
#2 New Orleans vs. #7 Dallas
Game 1: New Orleans 104, Dallas 92
Game 2: New Orleans 127 Dallas 103
New Orleans leads 2-0
Game 3: At Dallas Friday
#3 San Antonio vs. #6 Phoenix
Game 1: San Antonio 117, Phoenix 115 (2 OT)
Game 2: San Antonio 102, Phoenix 96
San Antonio leads 2-0
Game 2: At Phoenix Friday
#4 Utah vs. #5 Houston
Game 1: Utah 93, Houston 82
Game 2: Utah 90, Houston 84
Utah leads 2-0
Game 3: At Utah Thursday
MLB
CUBS EARN MILESTONE WIN IN EXTRA INNINGS
The Chicago Cubs are everyone's loveable losers. On Wednesday night, they proved that they've done a fair amount of winning too. The Cubbies beat the Colorado Rockies 7-6 in 10 innings to earn the 10,000th win in franchise history.
Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot singled home pinch-runner Mike Fontenot for the game winner.
The game went into extra innings because both team's closers blew save opportunities. Aramis Ramirez hit a go-ahead two-run home run off Rockies closer Manny Corpas in the top of the ninth. It was the second-straight blown save for the struggling Colorado closer.
But after the Cubs took the lead in the top-half of the ninth inning, Cubs closer Kerry Wood surrendered a two-out RBI triple to Rockies outfielder Ryan Spilborghs. Wood (2-0) earned the win when Theriot knocked home the game winner off losing pitcher Kip Wells (1-1).
The milestone victory made the Cubs just the second franchise (Giants) to reach 10,000 victories. They are 10,000-9,465.
NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Houston 9, Cincinnati 3
Milwaukee 5, Philadelphia 4
Florida 7, Atlanta 2
New York Mets 7, Washington 2
Pittsburgh 7, St. Louis 4
LA Dodgers 8, Arizona 3
San Francisco 3, San Diego 2 (13 innings)
AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Los Angeles Angels 6, Boston 4
Tampa Bay 5, Toronto 3
New York Yankees 6, Chicago White Sox 4
Detroit 19, Texas 6
Oakland 3, Minnesota 0
Baltimore 3, Seattle 2
Cleveland vs. Kansas City - Postponed
NHL
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS SCHEDULE
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Montreal vs. Philadelphia
Game 1: Thursday at Montreal
Pittsburgh vs. New York Rangers
Game 1: Friday at Pittsburgh
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Detroit vs. Colorado
Game 1: Thursday at Detroit
San Jose vs. Dallas
Game 1: Friday at San Jose
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life -- in the words of an athlete in the news.
TODAY'S FEATURE:
MARIANO RIVERA, pitcher, New York Yankees
BIO NOTE: The Panama native spends time each fall in the Dominican Republic with SCORE International, teaching baseball clinics and telling the people who come to hear him of his faith in Jesus Christ.
RECENT NEWS: On Wednesday, Rivera picked up his sixth save of the season. He has 449 saves in his career.
FAITH QUOTE: "I want to be as clear as water, as open as I can be, for people to understand that no matter who you are, no matter how much you have, if you don't have Jesus Christ as your Savior, it doesn't mean anything."
-Sports Spectrum magazine
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
MLB
REDS REARRANGE THE FURNITURE
A 9-12 record isn't the end of the world, but for the Cincinnati Reds, it meant the end of the line for Wayne Krivsky. The owner of the Reds fired GM Krivsky on Thursday and replaced him with another man already in the front office, Walt Jocketty. The ace in the hole for Jocketty, it appears, is that he and the owner, Bob Castellini, knew each other when both worked together with the St. Louis Cardinals.
MLB
WHAT'S WITH THE FISH?
Somehow, in some way, the Florida Marlins always seem to right themselves and come up with a decent baseball team. Although no one ever expects much from them, they always fashion a competitive. After giving up their superstar third baseman and most famous pitcher in the offseason, it appeared that they were aiming to rebuild in 2008. But here they are, atop the NL East one-eighth of the way through the season. How? Start with Hanley Ramirez, who is not nearly the most famous Ramirez, but he is no slouch even next to Manny. The Marlin's shortstop is hitting .349 with seven home runs and 17 RBI. Over at first, Mike Jacobs also has seven home runs and 17 RBI. Josh Willingham is hitting .308, and Jorge Cantu comes in at .325. And on the mound? How about Mark Hendrickson. He's a former NBA player who pitched for the LA Dodgers in 2007 but was not offered a contract for this season. He's 4-1 for the Fish this year. Scott Olsen, a double-digit winner in 2006 and 2007, is 3-0. And closer Kevin Gregg has two wins, three saves, and an ERA of 2.61. Florida so often seems to be the team nobody wants, but on the field, they always put together a decent product.
MLB
GRANDERSON RETURNS
Is it a coincidence that on the night Curtis Granderson returned to the Detroit Tigers' lineup for the first time in 2008 the Team Everybody Thought Would Be Great actually was. The Tigers mowed down the struggling Texas Rangers 19-6 as the lineup everyone feared was almost intact. The lone missing element was Placido Polanco, who has some back issues. But with Granderson leading off for the first time, Detroit pounded the Rangers. Every starter had at least one hit and scored at least one run. Granderson scored three times, had two hits, knocked in two runs, and reminded everyone why he is so valuable to the success of the Tigers.
THIS JUST IN
Notes of significance from the Christian sports community
New Book: The Goal and the Glory
By Josh Davis
Josh Davis spent his formative years learning to swim. He learned his lesson well, and he went on to capture gold medal in the Olympics. In fact, he won three gold medals in 1996 at the Atlanta Olympic Games.
Now Davis and his wife are the parents of five kids, and he is a popular speaker in churches and conferences. Davis has also written a book that examines the faith stories of a number of Christian athletes.
The book, which will be in the bookstores soon, contains the stories of such notable athletes as John Naber, Laura Wilkinson, David Robinson, and Jennie Finch.
