NBA
C'S WIN, CAVS LOSE; BOTH SERIES AT 3-2
Washington 88, Cleveland 87
Caron Butler's late-game drive down the lane resulted in a basket. LeBron James' did not. As a result, the two teams have to go back to the nation's capital for Game 6. After Butler scored with less than four seconds to go, James took the ball at the top of the key, drove down the right side of the lane, bumped some bodies, and fired off a short runner that failed to touch net, and the Wizards walked away with their second win of Round 1. James and Butler were the top scorers for their teams; James had 34 points and Butler's heroic shot at the end gave him 32.
Boston 110, Atlanta 85
As with the first two games at Boston, the Celtics controlled this game handily. They outscored the Hawks in every quarter. Boston hit 54 percent of their shots-including hitting 9 of 20 from three-point range. Boston's Big Three paced the offense with Paul Pierce scoring 22, Kevin Garnett getting 20, and Ray Allen netting 19. Joe Johnson paced the Hawks with 21. Boston blocked nine Atlanta shots as they clamped down the defense on the youngsters from Atlanta.
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
Game 5: Boston 110, Atlanta 85
Boston leads 3-2
Game 6: Friday at Atlanta
#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
Game 5: Washington 88, Cleveland 87
Cleveland leads 3-2
Game 6: Friday at Washington
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
MLB
SOTO STARS AS CUBS POUND BREWERS
Fans at Wrigley Field on Wednesday night were treated to the Chicago Cubs biggest offensive outburst since 2001. Chicago 19, Milwaukee 5.
Cubs catcher Geovany Soto cracked a pair of two-run homers and finished his career day with six RBI to power the Cubs' 17-hit attack. Chicago plated six runs in both the first and eighth innings.
Milwaukee starter Jeff Suppan (1-1) got shelled! Suppan surrendered 11 hits and 11 runs, eight earned, in 3 2/3 innings.
Chicago starter Ryan Dempster (4-0) was the recipient of the offensive outburst. Dempster wasn't sharp, but he didn't need to be. The veteran pitcher walked five and allowed three runs in six innings of work.
Chicago improved to 17-10 win the victory.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was in attendance at Wrigley Field.
NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
San Francisco 3, Colorado 2
St. Louis 5, Cincinnati 2
San Diego 4, Philadelphia 2
Arizona 8, Houston 7
Los Angeles Dodgers 13, Florida 1
Pittsburgh 13, New York Mets 1
Washington 3, Atlanta 2 - 12 innings
AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Boston 2, Toronto 1
Detroit 6, New York Yankees 2
Tampa Bay 8, Baltimore 1
Cleveland 8, Seattle 3
Texas 9, Kansas City 3
Minnesota 4, Chicago White Sox 3
Los Angeles Angels 6, Oakland 1
NHL
SHARKS AVOID EXTINCTION; FLYERS WIN AGAIN
San Jose 2, Dallas 1
For the fourth straight game, the Sharks scored no more than two goals. This time, though, for the first time in the series, it was enough. The Stars scored first in the game at Dallas, but Patrick Marleau tied things at 9:19 of the second before Milan Michalek score the winner at 3:26 of the third on a power play. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 17 of 18 shots in goal for the Sharks.
Philadelphia 4, Montreal 2
The Flyers moved the Eastern Conference one game closer to an all Pennsylvania finals on Wednesday with some late game scoring. The Flyers led Montreal in the middle of the third period 2-0 on goals by R. J. Umberger and Scott Hartnell. But the Canadiens roared back with two goals in the span of 37 seconds to knot the score. Saku Koivu tied the game at 13:36 after Tomas Plekanec put the Habs on the board at 12:59. Philadelphia re-grouped, and Daniel Briere got the winner at 16:22. Umberger punched in an empty-netter in the game's closing seconds for the final tally.
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
Game 4: Philadelphia 4, Montreal 2
Philadelphia leads 3-1
Game 5: Saturday 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)
Game 4: San Jose 2, Dallas 1
Dallas leads 3-1
Game 5: 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:
MICAH OWINGS, pitcher, Arizona Diamondbacks
BIO NOTE: Besides being a pretty good pitcher (he's 4-0), Owings is also a remarkable hitter. He is hitting .429 this season. He has five home runs in 79 at bats in his major league career.
RECENT NEWS: On Wednesday, Owings was called on to pinch hit for the Diamondbacks, and he hit a home run on the first pitch he was thrown.
FAITH NOTE: When Micah Owings signs a baseball card, he also writes the Bible reference Philippians 4:13, which says, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." -Sports Spectrum magazine
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
NCAA
"YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE! NO MORE GROUSING!"
Save your words. Store up all your analogies. Put all of your BCS complaints in a box, label them "Do not use until 2013," and move on with your life. The Bowl Championship Series people have spoken, and it's clear that no matter what anyone says, no matter how much whining takes place, and no matter how clearly you can explain how really cool at playoff would be for college football-it's not going to happen. The good thing about the BCS' notification that they've settled this deal until 2014 is that we can all go on with our lives and we don't have to feel the burden to keep complaining about it. This leaves us more time to gripe about gasoline prices-something else we can't do anything about.
NBA
IN OR OUT, WHICH IS IT FOR D'ANTONI?
Mike D'Antoni is at that odd spot in a career-hanging in the breeze while his disposition as a head coach is decided by others. While many feel that D'Antoni's bag better be packed and that he should be calling the Bulls or the Knicks for interview times, Steve Kerr, the GM of the Suns, is not saying that the former Marshall star is going anywhere just yet. Kerr and team owner Robert Sarver and planning to have a sit-down soon, Kerr says. That is usually not good news for a coach who doesn't see eye-to-eye with his GM. The problem, though, might not rest with D'Antoni. He was forced, in midseason, to recreate his team after The Big Trading Item, Shaquille O'Neal came over from Miami. In reality, the Suns were never the same with Shawn Marion gone and O'Neal taking up space. His uniform said PHX, but he could not FIX the Suns, and he surely didn't look ready to don his other uniform, the one with the Big S on the chest. After the trade, not even Steve Nash seemed to be able to figure out how the altered offense was supposed to work. Kerr created a problem for his coach, and now D'Antoni may have to pay the price.
MLB
RAYS NO LONGER BEDEVILED
Maybe it was the Devil. The beleaguered and woebegone Tampa Bay Devil Rays never had a chance. They were always among the worst teams in baseball. Their best season included just 72 wins out of 161 tries. But the newly christened Tampa Bay Rays? Well, they had a perfect March (1-0). And now they have traversed April and picked up a 14-12 mark for the month. They are a whopping three games over .500 (don't laugh; they've never been this good this late in the season). And they are in first place in a division that includes the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. And guess what? The Rays are about to add Scott Kazmir to their already impressive pitching staff as he comes off the Disabled List. Finally, for the first time ever, good times are rolling at Tropicana Field.
DAILY EXTRA
Avery Johnson
ANOTHER BUMP IN THE ROAD
The fact that Avery Johnson ever got a chance to rise to become an NBA coach hinged on his ability to take the smallest possible opportunity and run with it. This diminutive man from New Orleans once told this writer that when he began getting paid sizeable NBA salaries, it wasn't because of what he was doing in the NBA but because of the hundreds of hours of work he put into his shooting and ball-handling skills as a kid.
Yet even that hard work almost led to nothing but a pine-riding high school career and no hope of college hoops. As a 5'3" senior at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, young Avery was ignored by his coach. "I thought I should have been starting, naturally, but the coach chose somebody else." His team went undefeated in the regular season, and just before the tournaments began, the kid playing in front of Johnson, a friend of his, was kicked off the team. As a result, the little guard from a family of 10 played well in the tournament and his team went on to win the state championship.
And one college scout noticed Avery Johnson. Not a major college scout-but a guy from New Mexico Junior College. He talked to Johnson, and Avery took that single opportunity. He averaged just 6 points a game for NMJC, but then he moved on to a new opportunity at Cameron College-a two-year school in Oklahoma. Johnson's average dropped to 4 ppg. for the Aggies. After sitting out a year, he then played for Southern University. Although he led the nation in assists as a senior, he was not drafted by an NBA team.
What drove Johnson as he kept pursuing his dream? His faith and his family. "I wanted to reach my full potential. As a Christian you just want to put all you have into what you are doing. God says you do your best, and He'll do the rest. I just wanted to be the best and see what would happen."
What happened that he went to a free agent camp for the Seattle SuperSonics and did well enough to stick with the team's summer league squad. "I was playing against guys like Byron Scott, Terry Porter-guys I had been watching on TV. I held my own, and that gave Bernie Bickerstaff an idea that I could be a good player down the road."
For the next several years, Johnson shuttled between the United States Basketball League and NBA teams Seattle and Denver. Each year, from 1988-89 through 1994-95, Johnson increased his scoring average-from 1.6 ppg in 43 games with Seattle that first season to 13.4 with San Antonio in 94-95. He had taken what little opportunity an undrafted, short guard with no reputation is given by the NBA, and he turned it into stardom.
In 1999, he was a member of the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. When he was done playing for the Spurs, he was the all-time assists leader. And in 2006, after leading the Dallas Mavericks in his second year at the helm of that team, he was named the NBA Coach of the Year.
When Avery Johnson was asked once what word best would describe him, he replied, "Perseverance." He explained. "I've had to persevere through a lot of different things. Both on and off the court. I had to walk by faith and not by sight. I just thank God for developing that quality in me because it's made me a better person. And I know it's because God is walking with me. Hebrews 13:5 promises that He will never leave us or forsake us. I know that for a fact.
Now Johnson is at a place in his life where he must persevere again. The Dallas Mavericks have decided that they no longer want Johnson to coach their team. Again Johnson is at a turning point in his life. Again, the future is uncertain. But one thing is sure. Johnson will take whatever opportunity he is given, and he will turn his next venture into success.
After all, it's not just Avery Johnson walking this path. He has, as is always true for him, "God walking with me."
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.
