ST. PETERSBURG, FL - MAY 13: Tampa Bay Rays celebrate their eleventh inning victory over the New York Yankees on May 13, 2008 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
MLB
GROSS ENDS RIVERA'S STREAK AS RAYS BEAT YANKS
At the start of the season, Gabe Gross was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. On Tuesday, he was delivering the game-winning hit for the Tampa Bay Rays in the 11th inning off New York Yankees nearly unhittable closer Mariano Rivera. Tampa Bay 2, New York 1.
Gross, who was picked up by the Rays in late April, cracked a single with no outs to score pinch runner Jonny Gomes from second base with the game winner. It's the first run Rivera (0-1) has given up all season.
But Rivera wasn't the only closer to struggle. With the Rays ahead 1-0, Hideki Matsui sent the game into extra innings with a home run off Rays closer Troy Percival in the bottom of the ninth inning.
J.P. Howell (3-0), who pitched two scoreless innings of relief, earned the win that moved the Rays into sole possession of first place in the American League East.
Tampa Bay has won 15 of its last 20 games and sits seven games over .500 for the first time in franchise history.
AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Baltimore 5, Boston 4
Kansas City 3, Detroit 2
Cleveland 4, Oakland 0
Texas 5, Seattle 2
Toronto 5, Minnesota 3
Los Angeles Angels 2, Chicago White Sox 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
San Francisco 4, Houston 2
Arizona 8, Colorado 4
San Diego 4, Chicago Cubs 3
Milwaukee 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 3
Cincinnati 5, Florida 3
Philadelphia 5, Atlanta 4
New York Mets 6, Washington 3
Pittsburgh 8, St. Louis 4 - 10 innings
NBA
HOMECOURT HOLDS; PISTONS, HORNETS WIN
Detroit 91, Orlando 86
With Chauncey Billups sitting in street clothes waiting for his hamstring to heal, the Detroit Pistons still had enough leadership and offense to get past the Orlando Magic on Tuesday and move into the Eastern Conference finals. They will await the Boston-Cleveland winner before starting play in their sixth straight Eastern Conference finals. Detroit's win, combined with the New Orleans victory in the Big Easy on Tuesday mean that in the second round of the playoffs, the home team has a record of 17-1.
Rodney Stuckey filled in admirably for the injured Billups, scoring 15 points while running the Pistons' offense. Richard Hamilton led the way with 31 points, including a perfect 16 for 16 at the free throw line. Antonio McDyess had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Tayshaun Prince also contributed, especially on defense, where he had another of those Reggie Miller-type blocked shots late in the game as Hedo Turkoglu was attempting to score. That block seemed to kill the Magic's hopes of catching the Pistons. Turkoglu led the Magic with 18 points. Dwight Howard had 14 points and 17 rebounds. His free-throw shooting deficiency hurt the Magic as he was just 6 for 15 from the line.
The Magic made more field goals than Detroit, and more three-pointers (8 to 3), but at the charity stripe, Detroit hit 87 percent (28 for 32) to 57 percent (16 for 28) for Orlando.
New Orleans 101, San Antonio 79
Whatever was said in the Hornets' locker room at halftime of the New Orleans-San Antonio game on Tuesday should be sold as a motivational tape. Something happened to the Hornets at halftime that turned them into a force the Spurs could not handle.
After trailing at the half at the New Orleans Arena in front of a SRO crowd of fans who are probably still getting used to the idea that their Hornets are really quite good, Byron Scott's team marched out of the locker room and blasted the Spurs in the third quarter 28-11.
It went something like this: David West scores. Tim Duncan scores. David West scores. Chris Paul scores. Duncan again. Then West, Paul, Paul, and Paul. Then Tyson Chandler once more. And Mo Peterson. Fourteen straight New Orleans points. Manu Ginobili stops the string. Then Paul. And Mo Pete with another three. Tony Parker sticks a couple of twos to give San Antonio its only string of baskets in the quarter. On it went until New Orleans lead going into the final quarter 72-58.
West was the man of the match, scoring 38 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, dishing out five assists, and wrenching one back--his own. Despite the pain, the created even more of it for the Spurs with his career playoff game. Chris Paul had 22 points and 14 assists.
For the Spurs, Tim Duncan was held to 10 points, but he grabbed 23 rebounds. Ginobili led San Antonio with 20 points.
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
BOSTON VS. CLEVELAND
Game 1: Boston 76, Cleveland 72
Game 2: Boston 89, Cleveland 73
Game 3: Cleveland 108, Boston 84
Game 4: Cleveland 88, Boston 77
Series tied 2-2
Game 5: Wednesday at Boston
DETROIT VS. ORLANDO
Game 1: Detroit 91, Orlando 72
Game 2: Detroit 100, Orlando 93
Game 3: Orlando 111, Detroit 86
Game 4: Detroit 90, Orlando 89
Game 5: Detroit 91, Orlando 86
Detroit wins 4-1
WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. UTAH
Game 1: LA Lakers 109, Utah 98
Game 2: LA Lakers 120, Utah 110
Game 3: Utah 104, LA Lakers 99
Game 4: Utah 123, LA Lakers 115 (OT)
Series tied 2-2
Game 5: Wednesday at Los Angeles
NEW ORLEANS VS. SAN ANTONIO
Game 1: New Orleans 101, San Antonio 82
Game 2: New Orleans 102, San Antonio 84
Game 3: San Antonio 110, New Orleans 99
Game 4: San Antonio 100, New Orleans 80
Game 5: New Orleans 101, San Antonio 79
New Orleans leads 3-2
Game 6: Thursday at San Antonio
NHL
PENGUINS SCORE FOUR, LEAD BY THREE
For the third straight game in the Eastern Conference finals, the Pittsburgh Penguins scored four goals against the Philadelphia Flyers. This time, however, the Flyers didn't get their usual two goals. They got just one. As a result, the Penguins lead their series 3-0 and could close things out in Philadelphia on Thursday.
The Penguins road two first period goals (Ryan Whitney and Marian Hossa) to the lead, which R. J. Umberger cut in half at 10:59 of the stanza.
The score stayed 2-1 until midway through the third period when Ryan Malone scored his fourth postseason goal. Hossa closed out the scoring the game's final minute with an empty-net score.
How dominant has Pittsburgh been in the postseason? They are 11-1 so far.
CONFERENCE FINALS
East
Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia
Game 1: Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 2
Game 2: Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 2
Game 3: Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 1
Pittsburgh leads 3-0
Game 4: Thursday at Philadelphia
West
Detroit vs. Dallas
Game 1: Detroit 4, Dallas 1
Game 2: Detroit 2, Dallas 1
Game 3: Detroit 5, Dallas 2
Detroit 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:
GABE GROSS, Tampa Bay Rays
BIO NOTE: Gabe's dad, Lee, played in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and the Baltimore Colts.
RECENT NEWS: On any other year, being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays would be a step into baseball oblivion. But not anymore--at least for now. Now it means playing for the first place team in the American League East. Yes, the Rays are ahead of the Red Sox, the Yankees, and the whole division. And a lot of the credit goes to Gross. He singled off Mariano Rivera in the 11th inning in St. Petersburg Tuesday night to send home the winning run and push the Rays into to top spot in the East.
FAITH QUOTE: "God takes care of the sparrows, and He makes sure they have what they need. How much more important are we than those. I know that He's going to take care of me in whatever situation I'm in. As long as I put Him in first place and serve Him first, everything else will fall in place." --Sports Spectrum magazine
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
LPGA
SORENSTAM TO CALL IT QUITS
This could have been really good. Annika Sorenstam has recovered from injuries that have hampered her game over the past few years. In fact, she has won three tournaments in 2008. That would mean that a huge rivalry could be developing between Sorenstam, who has won 72 times, and Lorena Ochoa, the current top golfer in the LPGA. With both golfers roaring along at the top of their game, it would have been fun to see what the next few years would have looked like as they battled each other and upcoming stars such as Paula Creamer. But Sorenstam has decided that when this season ends, she's going to back away from full-time golf action. She is engaged to Jerry McGee, and she is looking forward to family time instead of tee time.
TENNIS
HENIN TOO
Make that two superstar women athletes who are retiring early. Justine Henin is only 25 years old, but she is expected to announce on Wednesday that she is setting aside her racket. Henin has won the French Open, the US Open, and the Australian Open. Henin had been struggling with her game recently, but this announcement is surprising because she is so young.
MLB
SUNSHINE SERIES?
Sure it's early, but isn't it more fun to talk about a possible Florida Marlins-Tampa Bay Rays World Series than all of the other stuff that so often drags down the sports news? This tantalizing story of two small-budget, high-flying teams sure beats discussing all that silly spy stuff the NFL is wrangling about. It is so much more uplifting than wondering what Barry Bonds life must be like right now with all those perjury counts staring him down. And it certainly beats worrying about the latest pro athlete who "allegedly" beat his dad or got arrested for drunk driving or is going to hold out from minicamp or is going to jail for selling crack (all of which are actual stories). No, let's think instead of a World Series in which there is no snow. Nobody's breath is making ice crystals in front of their face. No pitchers are having to blow on their hands so they can feel the baseball. No fans are bundled up as if they are watching an NFL playoff game in Buffalo. A Florida World Series would introduce America to two teams that have mounds of young talent with hardly a huge multi-year contract to be found (except for Hanley Ramirez, of course). This would be a World Series for baseball's young fans who are not interested in hearing for the millionth time about the history of the Boston Red Sox or the possible huge numbers oldtimers Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter could compile if they play until they are 40. It would be for the kids who realize that the Rays actually play some of their home games at Disney World and who have a lot of players who aren't much older than Zac Efron. It would be for kids who have dreams and love seeing them played out by a bunch of guys in Miami you've never heard of and who usually play in front of empty seats. This Sunshine Series may never happen, and not many people expect the Rays and Marlins to keep this up all season--but the possibilities are tantalizing.
SPRINT CUP STANDINGS
We are 11 races into the 2008 NASCAR season. The race to get into the Cup Chase looks like this.
1. Kyle Busch 1,690
2. Jeff Burton 1,611
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1,556
4. Denny Hamlin 1,500
5. Clint Bowyer 1,490
6. Jimmy Johnson 1,442
7. Carl Edwards 1,400
8. Tony Stewart 1,397
9. Kevin Harvick 1,396
10. Jeff Gordon 1,326
11. Greg Biffle 1,308
12. David Ragan 1,266
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.
