MIAMI: Pitcher Andrew Miller #23 of the Florida Marlins pitches in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)
MLB
MARLINS FINISH OFF SWEEP OF D-BACKS
The Florida Marlins improbable run atop the National League East continued to gain momentum on Thursday. The Marlins beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0 to finish off a three-game sweep in their showdown of division leaders.
Andrew Miller (4-3) stymied Arizona's bats for seven innings. The lanky lefty struck out a career-high nine and allowed just five hits to earn the win.
Arizona entered the series of first-place teams with baseball's best record. They scored just three runs in the series and dropped all three to the hometown Marlins.
Wes Helms delivered a key pinch-hit double to drive in a pair of runs and spark Florida's offensive attack.
Arizona starter Dan Haren (5-3) took the loss.
The series sweep was Florida's fourth of the young season.
Looks like the low-budget Marlins are here to stay in 2008.
NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Pittsburgh 8, Milwaukee 4
Atlanta 4, New York Mets 2
Philadelphia 7, Houston 5
San Diego 8, Cincinnati 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
New York Yankees 2, Baltimore 1
Toronto 4, Los Angeles Angels 3
Boston 11, Kansas City 8
Detroit 9, Seattle 2
Chicago White Sox 3, Cleveland 1
Texas 8, Minnesota 7 - 10 innings
NBA
PISTONS OVERCOME CELTICS MYSTIQUE
In the new reincarnation of the Boston Celtics Mystique-a phenomenon that comes along in the NBA ever couple of decades - it's not supposed to be possible for a visiting team to come into the Gah-den and steal a win. The relentless Detroit Pistons proved that theory wrong on Thursday with a 103-97 win over the Celtics in Boston.
What the Detroit Pistons brought to the house on Thursday was a championship attitude-one that never allowed them to falter in the face of a challenge. If they were down, they calmly came back. If the Celtics made a charge, the Pistons coolly hit the shots that were needed at just the right time. And all the while Richard Hamilton raced around the floor like a blue-clad version of the Energizer Rabbit. The man they call Rip scored 25 points - 25 points that were earned by hard work and remarkable shooting.
On the Celtics' end of the floor, Ray Allen had the most dynamic evening, scoring 25 points at the most opportune times. He got in foul trouble while trying to keep up with the peripatetic Hamilton, and he landed on the bench when his offense was most sorely needed. The other two-thirds of Boston's Big Three also contributed greatly. Kevin Garnett scored 24 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and again led the team with his fire. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 26 points.
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
BOSTON VS. DETROIT
Game 1: Boston 88, Detroit 79
Game 2: Detroit 103, Boston 97
Boston leads series 1-0
Game 3: Saturday at Detroit
WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. SAN ANTONIO
Game 1: Los Angeles 89, San Antonio 85
Los Angeles leads series 1-0
Game 2: Friday at Los Angeles
NHL
STANLEY CUP FINALS
Detroit vs. Pittsburgh
Game 1: Saturday at Detroit
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, closer, New York Yankees
BIO NOTE: Rivera, who travels to the Dominican Republic in the winter to take the gospel to baseball fans there, is in his 14th year with the Yankees. He made his major league debut on May 23, 1995. At the time he first pitched for New York, he was a starter; he started 10 games in 1995-but none since that year. He has 454 saves, which puts him behind just Lee Smith and Trevor Hoffman on the all-time list.
RECENT NEWS: On Thursday, Rivera didn't get a save. He picked up a victory. His career won-lost record is 63-45. His ERA this season is a microscopic 0.47.
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
NBA/NHL/MLB
MOTOWN MADNESS
Are there enough people to go around for the Saturday Night Showdowns in the Motor City? Three Detroit teams will be in action at the same time on Saturday evening-with two of them trying to take step closer to their sport's crowning glory. At 7:05, the Detroit Tigers will host the Minnesota Twins in Game 2 of their weekend series. There should be about 35,000 fans or more at that game. Across town at the Joe Louis Arena, at 8 p.m. the Detroit Red Wings will face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. More than 20,000 rabid Red Wings fans will be at the Joe for that noisy confrontation between the two best teams in hockey. And up the road a few miles, in Auburn Hills, the Palace will be rocking with 22,000 more Detroiters at 8:30 as the Pistons host Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals. That's 77,000 fans in one night in one city enjoying pro sports at its best. It'll be a perfect storm of Motown madness.
MLB
QUENTIN'S QUEST
He makes just $400,000 in a profession where that is the average salary is more than $3 million. But Carlos Quentin is not your average baseball player. He is one of the main reasons the Chicago White Sox sit atop the AL Central and are enjoying an eight-game winning streak. Quentin represented quality again for the Sox on Thursday by hitting a single to break a tie and send Chicago to a 3-1 win over Cleveland. So, who is this guy who is hitting .299 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI to lead Chicago? He's a third-year major leaguer who batted .230 for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006 and 2007. Last year, he hit .214 - giving no one any indication that he would have a breakout year after in 2008 after the Sox acquired him in exchange for Chris Carter (who went to Oakland in the Dan Haren trade). Before that, he went to Stanford, where he was nominated for the 2003 Golden Spikes Award that goes to college baseball's best player. Quentin is one of the surprise players on a surprisingly good Chicago White Sox team.
SPRINT CUP STANDINGS
We are 11 races into the 2008 NASCAR season. The next race is at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina, when the Coca-Cola 600 takes place. The Chase for the Cup 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.
