NBA
HORNETS, SPURS ADVANCE; ROCKETS, PISTONS WIN
New Orleans 99, Dallas 94
The New Orleans Hornets broke out to a 54-39 halftime lead, and despite the fact that Dallas chipped away at that lead in the second half, it was too late for the Mavs. A packed house of 18,260 watched in the New Orleans Arena as a New Orleans NBA team won a playoff series for the first time ever. The Hornets' diminutive catalyst, Chris Paul, turned in another stellar performance, stinging the Mavs for 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 15 assists-and zero turnovers. That is perhaps the most amazing statistic of all as he played in his first NBA elimination game and performed flawlessly. He got some offensive help from David West, who scored 25 points. The Mavs got 22 points from Dirk Nowitzki as they quietly slip into NBA oblivion for another season.
San Antonio 92, Phoenix 87
The Phoenix Suns aren't the Phoenix Suns they used to be. They didn't put up much of a fight in this series as the Spurs sent them home after just five contests. As a result, Mike D'Antoni, who not long ago looked to be a coaching genius who was putting together a desert juggernaut, could be done pacing the Pepsi Center sidelines for the Suns any longer. Reports are suggesting that the Suns and D'Antoni will soon part ways. For the fourth time in five seasons, D'Antoni's Suns were eliminated by the robotic Spurs. Tony Parker scored 31 points and Tim Duncan was close behind with 29 points. For the Suns, Boris Diaw had 22 and Amare Stoudemire added 15. The Suns missed 17 free throws (20 for 37), including a miserable 9 for 20 by Shaquille O'Neal.
Houston 95, Utah 69
The Toyota Center was friendly to the home team on Tuesday as the Houston Rockets outshot, outrebounded, and out-defended the Utah Jazz to win for the second time in the five game series between the two teams. Houston shot 46 percent to Utah's 36 (78 percent of free throws vs. Utah's 56 percent). The Rockets grabbed 46 rebounds; the Jazz, 38. And Houston forced 18 Jazz turnovers. Tracy McGrady scored 29 points and was able to rest for 10 minutes-perhaps an important factor if Game 6 is close and he is needed to carry the team in the fourth quarter. Luis Scola had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Houston. The Jazz were led by Carlos Boozer with 19.
Detroit 98, Philadelphia 81
The two top teams in the East are not having an easy time of sending off their seventh- and eighth-seeded teams, but on Tuesday, Detroit was able to jump off to a huge first-quarter lead and relax a little in beating the Sixers. Detroit shot 75 percent in the first quarter to stake themselves to a 35-21 lead and send a message to the 76ers that they were not about to take them for granted anymore. The hot shooting continued for Detroit, as they shot 58 percent for the game. Chauncey Billups led the Pistons with 21 points, and Andre Iguodala had the same number of points for Philadelphia.
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
EASTERN CONFERENCE
#1 Boston vs. #8 Atlanta
Game 1: Boston 105, Atlanta 81
Game 2: Boston 97, Atlanta 77
Game 3: Atlanta 102, Boston 93
Game 4: Atlanta 97, Boston 92
Series tied 2-2
Game 5: Wednesday at Boston
#2 Detroit vs. #7 Philadelphia
Game 1: Philadelphia 90, Detroit 86
Game 2: Detroit 105, Philadelphia 88
Game 3: Philadelphia 95, Detroit 75
Game 4: Detroit 93, Philadelphia 84
Game 5: Detroit 98, Philadelphia 81
Detroit leads 3-2
Game 6: Thursday at Detroit
#3 Orlando vs. #6 Toronto
Game 1: Orlando 114, Toronto 100
Game 2: Orlando 104, Toronto 103
Game 3: Toronto 108, Orlando 94
Game 4: Orlando 106, Toronto 94
Game 5: Orlando 101, Toronto 92
Orlando wins 4-1
#4 Cleveland vs. #8 Washington
Game 1: Cleveland 93, Washington 86
Game 2: Cleveland 116, Washington 86
Game 3: Washington 108, Cleveland 72
Game 4: Cleveland 100, Washington 97
Cleveland leads 3-1
Game 5: Wednesday at Cleveland
WESTERN CONFERENCE
#1 LA Lakers vs. #8 Denver
Game 1: LA 128, Denver 114
Game 2: LA 122, Denver 107
Game 3: LA 102, Denver 84
Game 4: LA 107, Denver 101
LA wins 4-0
#2 New Orleans vs. #7 Dallas
Game 1: New Orleans 104, Dallas 92
Game 2: New Orleans 127 Dallas 103
Game 3: Dallas 97, New Orleans 87
Game 4: New Orleans 97, Dallas 84
Game 5: New Orleans 99, Dallas 94
New Orleans wins 4-1
#3 San Antonio vs. #6 Phoenix
Game 1: San Antonio 117, Phoenix 115 (2 OT)
Game 2: San Antonio 102, Phoenix 96
Game 3: San Antonio 115, Phoenix 99
Game 4: Phoenix 105, San Antonio 86
Game 5: San Antonio 92, Phoenix 87
San Antonio wins 4-1
#4 Utah vs. #5 Houston
Game 1: Utah 93, Houston 82
Game 2: Utah 90, Houston 84
Game 3: Houston 94, Utah 92
Game 4: Utah 86, Houston 82
Game 5: Houston 95, Utah 69
Utah leads 3-2
Game 6: Friday at Utah
STILL THE CELTICS
Voting in the Daily Weekly Poll about who will win the NBA title ended on Monday, and the LA Lakers garnered some new votes in the last days of polling. Here's how the final number shook down:
Boston Celtics 38 percent
LA Lakers 18 percent
San Antonio Spurs 15 percent
Detroit Pistons 9 percent
New Orleans Hornets 7 percent
NEW POLL
Which MLB team has surprised you the most with its early-season success?
MLB
YOUKILIS HELPS RED SOX END FIVE-GAME SKID
Kevin Youkilis droved home slow-footed David Ortiz with the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth inning to end a pitcher's duel and give the Boston Red Sox a 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
Youkilis' RBI single to center field off Toronto ace Roy Halladay (2-4) brought an end to the Red Sox five-game losing streak.
Halladay, who tossed his third consecutive complete game, took the loss in spite of a stellar five-hit performance. Yet his counterpart for Boston was even better. Sox lefty starter Jon Lester threw eight innings of one-hit baseball, but didn't get the win. Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon (1-0) picked up the win in relief of Lester.
Boston improved to 16-12 on the season. Toronto fell to 11-16.
AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Detroit 6, New York Yankees 4
Baltimore 7, Tampa Bay 4
Seattle 7, Cleveland 2
Kansas City 9, Texas 5
Minnesota 3,
Los Angeles Angels 2, Oakland 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Colorado 3, San Francisco 2
Houston 6, Arizona 4
St. Louis 7, Cincinnati 2
Milwaukee 10, Chicago Cubs 7
Los Angeles Dodgers 7, Florida 6
Washington 6, Atlanta 3
Philadelphia 7, San Diego 4
New York Mets 5, Pittsburgh 4 - 11 innings
NHL
PENS, WINGS, STARS ALL GO UP 3-0
Pittsburgh 5, New York Rangers 3
Penguins: Martin Hossa, Georges Laraque, Evgeni Malkin (2), Ryan Malone
Rangers: Martin Straka, Ryan Callahan, Jaromir Jagr
Dallas 2, San Jose 1 (OT)
Sharks: Patrick Marleau
Stars: Sergei Zubov, Mattias Norstrom (OT gamewinner)
Detroit 4, Colorado 3
Avs: Cody McLeod, Andrew Brunette (2)
Red Wings: Pavel Datsyuk (2), Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS SCHEDULE
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Montreal vs. Philadelphia
Game 1: Montreal 4, Philadelphia 3 (OT)
Game 2: Philadelphia 4, Montreal 2
Game 3: Philadelphia 3, Montreal 2
Philadelphia leads 2-1
Game 4: Wednesday at Montreal
Pittsburgh vs. New York Rangers
Game 1: Pittsburgh 5, New York 4
Game 2: Pittsburgh 2, New York 0
Game 3: Pittsburgh 5, New York 3
Pittsburgh leads 3-0
Game 4: Thursday at New York
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Detroit vs. Colorado
Game 1: Detroit 4, Colorado 3
Game 2: Detroit 5, Colorado 1
Game 3: Detroit 4, Colorado 3
Detroit leads 3-0
Game 4: Thursday at Colorado
San Jose vs. Dallas
Game 1: Dallas 3, San Jose 2 (OT)
Game 2: Dallas 5, San Jose 2
Game 3: Dallas 2, San Jose 1 (OT)
Dallas leads 3-0
Game 4: Wednesday at Dallas
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life -- in the words of an athlete in the news.
TODAY'S FEATURE:
AARON COOK, pitcher, Colorado Rockies
BIO NOTE: Cook suffered from multiple blood clots in 2004 and doctors who worked on him said it was a miracle he lived through it.
RECENT NEWS: On Tuesday, Cook and the Rockies beat the Giants to improve his record on the season to 4-1.
FAITH QUOTE: "Anything that you don't have control over is 'sovereign'-meaning that God has it in control, and we can't worry about those things. People see that if they just let God be in control and don't try to handle things in their own strength that things will work out for their good." -Sports Spectrum magazine
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
MLB
WHAT TO THINK ABOUT BARRY ZITO
Some people must find it very difficult to enjoy their money. Bank robbers, for instance, have to live with one eye looking over their shoulders for the men in blue to arrest them. Folks deep in credit card debt surely must find it hard to spend $15 more bucks at McDonalds, knowing that they really don't have $15. And then there's Barry Zito. His W-2 form for 2008 will read somewhere in the $14 million range, which means he'll never ever have to worry about working the rest of his life. But right now, he's probably not enjoying his money very much. Mr. Zito is supposed to be the San Francisco Giants' top pitcher, but he has an ERA in the high sevens and a won-lost record that starts with zero. And everyone is piling on him as if he just robbed a little old lady. You have to feel badly for a guy who is giving an honest effort and getting no results. He's like the vacuum cleaner salesman who has had 20 straight doors slammed in his face. And it's raining. And his car got stolen. And his dog left him. The effort is there, but the results are gone. The other day, in three innings, Zito gave up more runs than Brandon Webb does in a month. And on Monday, he got sent to the bullpen. That's like benching LeBron James. It's a tough time to be Barry in San Francisco. First Bonds and his image were kicked out of the ballpark, and now Zito and his fastball have been relegated to the pen. So, let's not criticize Zito, no matter how much money he makes. Cash can't fix how bad he probably feels about all of this.
NFL
NEW MONEY STREAM
With salaries continuing to rise and with energy prices moving past the stratosphere and headed for Jupiter, pro sports teams are always looking for new revenue streams. The Buffalo Bills have discovered an interesting way to raise cash: Play your home games someplace else. Maybe your fans will not even notice that suddenly you have just seven or six home games instead of eight. The Bills will play eight "home" games in Toronto over the next five seasons, and for their willingness to leave Ralph Wilson Stadium in the dark on those days, they'll rake in $78 million. Maybe with that money they can put enough good players on the field to get into the playoffs and make it up the fans by having some postseason games at home.
MLB
DL GETTING CROWDED
The Disabled List has just added three pretty good baseball players-John Smoltz, Alex Rodriguez, and Jose Posada. Two of those three, Smoltz and Posada, are nursing more worrisome injuries that could have serious career implications. Smoltz, 40, and Posada, 36, are suffering from shoulder difficulties. Since both depend on throwing to do their jobs and both are getting to the upper levels in the age category for major leaguers, bum shoulders can be quite a concern. Posada, who had a great season in 2007, is in the first year of a new contract that will pay him $52 million over the next four years, so the Yankees want to protect him and make sure they get their money's worth. MRI testing revealed a strain, which means no surgery and a return to play after extended rest. Smoltz' injury appears to be related to inflammation, and that also indicates no surgery and a return to action in the not too distant future. However, when he returns, Smoltz may return to the Braves' bullpen. A-Rod sits and waits for a nagging quadriceps strain to get better. All three are on the 15-day DL.
SPRINT CUP STANDINGS
Nine NASCAR races are in the books. After Kyle Busch's win at Talladega on Sunday, here is the way things look.
1. Jeff Burton 1,347
2. Kyle Busch 1,325
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1,268
4. Denny Hamlin 1,248
5. Jimmie Johnson 1,245
6. Kevin Harvick 1,208
7. Clint Bowyer 1,182
8. Greg Biffle 1,148
9. Tony Stewart 1,137
10. Carl Edwards 1,084
THIS JUST IN
Notes of significance from the Christian sports community
New Book: The Mulligan
By Wally Armstrong
After ending a successful career as a PGA golfer, Wally Armstrong began a venture of teaching golf and of using gold analogies to teach biblical principles. One of his latest ventures is teaching timeless truths through golf is a book called The Mulligan. It's a book that can be used by the Christian for edification, and it can be given to the non-Christian as an outreach tool. Find out more about the book at www.wallyarmstrong.com.
