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5481. wabbit - 4/23/2007 12:37:52 AM  Flat on his back, LeBron James grimaced as he looked toward the arena rafters, where giant banners spelled out his team's playoff motto: "RISE UP!" And he did. Ignoring a sprained left ankle, James stayed in the game to score 23 points and Larry Hughes added 27 Sunday, lifting the Cleveland Cavaliers over the depleted Washington Wizards 97-82 in the opener of this Eastern Conference series. James turned his ankle on a drive in the third quarter but refused to come out, adding nine rebounds and seven assists in 44 minutes.
The "Brazilian Blur" breathed life into the Phoenix offense, and Kobe Bryant went from awesome to awful. The result was a second-half rally that gave the Suns a 95-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in their first-round playoff opener on Sunday. Leandro Barbosa scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half, including 15 consecutive Phoenix points in one stretch, to match his career playoff scoring high. Amare Stoudemire, back in the postseason after missing last year's while recovering from two knee surgeries, added 23 points and 12 rebounds. Bryant scored 39, but only 11 in the second half. The NBA's scoring champ was 1-for-10 shooting in the fourth quarter, when Phoenix pulled away. Steve Nash had 20 points and 10 assists and Shawn Marion 16 points and 16 rebounds for a Phoenix team struggled mightily until Barbosa provide the spark, highlighted by a 31-footer at the third-quarter buzzer that cut the Lakers' lead to 77-74 entering the fourth.
Shaquille O'Neal's words were sharp and pointed and aimed straight at his target, like those passes he whips to cutters when he is double-teamed. His target this time was referee Eddie F. Rush. Chicago's Luol Deng also played a big part in knocking defending champion Miami off track. So did Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni. Deng scored 33 points, Gordon and Nocioni each hit two free throws in the final 19 seconds, and the Chicago Bulls held off the Heat 96-91 Saturday in Game 1 of their opening-round rematch.
NBA scores
5482. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 4/23/2007 5:01:27 AM GO Sawks!!!!! 5483. wabbit - 4/23/2007 1:54:38 PM What a game! 5484. wabbit - 4/23/2007 1:54:57 PM  Don Nelson figures the Dallas Mavericks will eventually figure out how to stop his Golden State Warriors. Until they do, he's going to savor every moment. Baron Davis scored 19 of his 33 points in the third quarter, carrying Nellie's small-ball lineup to a 97-85 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night in Game 1 of their Western Conference series. Well, it wasn't a total stunner, at least not as much as a No. 8 seed beating a No. 1 seed normally is. After all, this was Golden State's sixth straight win over Dallas and the fourth in a row since Nelson ended a decade-long tenure with the Mavs to rejoin the Warriors.
This is what the Denver Nuggets had in mind when they acquired Allen Iverson to go with Carmelo Anthony. The high-scoring All-Star duo provided the offense and the Nuggets were tough defensively, too, as they beat the San Antonio Spurs 95-89 in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series Sunday night. Iverson scored 29 of his 31 after the first quarter and Anthony added 30 points for the sixth-seeded Nuggets, who entered the playoffs having won 10 of 11. Nene added 13 points and 12 rebounds and Marcus Camby grabbed 10 boards for Denver. The big guys also made things difficult for Tim Duncan, who scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds for the Spurs.
NBA scores
5485. wabbit - 4/23/2007 1:55:13 PM  Johan Franzen took a long shot and the Saddledome crowd fell eerily silent. The Detroit Red Wings knew they had just won their first-round playoff series. Franzen scored early in the second overtime period, leading the Red Wings to a series-clinching 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Sunday night. Detroit, the top-seeded team in the Western Conference, won the series 4-2 and will play either sixth-seeded Dallas or No. 5 San Jose in the second round. The Stars play Vancouver in Game 7 on Monday. The NHL came down hard Sunday on Calgary, suspending goalie Jamie McLennan for five games and fining coach Jim Playfair $25,000 and the team $100,000 for actions late in Game 5 of the Flames' first-round series against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. McLennan was given a match penalty for slashing Detroit's Johan Franzen in the midsection at 17:01 of the third period, one of four penalties the Flames were assessed for aggressive and illegal use of the stick (slashing or cross-checking) in the closing minutes of the Red Wings' 5-1 victory. McLennan's suspension was to begin with Game 6 Sunday night in Calgary. Detroit led the series 3-2.
A bounce here, a bounce there. The way Martin Brodeur sounded, the New Jersey Devils were fortunate to close out the Tampa Bay Lightning. In reality, the three-time Stanley Cup champion goalie was the difference in the first-round Eastern Conference series that the Devils won Sunday with Brodeur stopping 32 shots and Brian Gionta scoring two goals in a 3-2 victory. Faced with criticism after playing poorly in the first three games, the 34-year-old goaltender reverted to the form that helped him set a regular-season record for victories and win three straight to end the best-of-seven matchup in six games. Brian Rafalski also scored and Patrick Elias assisted on all three of New Jersey's goals. The Devils advanced to the East semifinals against the Ottawa Senators , who eliminated Pittsburgh in five games. Brad Richards scored two power-play goals for Tampa Bay, which was shutout by Brodeur in Game 5 after scoring three goals in each of the first four games and making the New Jersey star look nothing like a goalie that won a league-record 48 games this season. Brodeur's performance in the first three raised questions about his vulnerability. He rebounded from squandering a two-goal lead in the second period of Game 4, which New Jersey won in overtime, then stopped 31 shots for his 22nd career playoff shutout Friday night.
NHL scores
5486. wabbit - 4/23/2007 1:55:34 PM  It took the Boston Red Sox 10 pitches to hit four straight homers and three days to complete a sweep of the New York Yankees. In another thrilling chapter in a rich rivalry, the Red Sox tied a major league record with the home run streak and got their third consecutive comeback win with a 7-6 victory Sunday night despite Daisuke Matsuzaka's shaky debut against the Yankees. Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Lowell and Jason Varitek connected against Wright, making his second major league start. Then, with the Yankees leading 5-4 in the seventh, Lowell's homer off Scott Proctor (0-1) just cleared the Green Monster in left field for a 7-5 lead. Jeter hit his first home run of the season for New York to tie it at 4 in the fifth after Jason Giambi drove in three runs. But the Yankees' bullpen failed -- even with starter Andy Pettitte making his second relief appearance of the year. Matsuzaka (2-2) had his worst outing in four big league starts, allowing six runs in seven-plus innings. He finally got some offensive support, though. In his previous two starts, the Red Sox totaled just one run. The third-inning outburst made the Red Sox the fifth team in major league history to hit four homers in a row. The Los Angeles Dodgers did it on Sept. 18 last season against San Diego. Drew hit the second of those four homers as well. It was the second homer of the season for all four Boston batters. Wright became the second big league pitcher to allow four consecutive homers. The other was Paul Foytack of the Los Angeles Angels on July 31, 1963, in the sixth inning of the second game of a doubleheader against Cleveland. One of those homers was hit by Tito Francona, the father of current Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who turned 48 on Sunday.
With the wind blowing out at Wrigley Field, the conditions were perfect for the St. Louis Cardinals to get their offense out of a season-long funk. Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning and Scott Rolen had a career-best five hits to help the defending World Series champions beat the Chicago Cubs 12-9 on Sunday.
The Detroit Tigers were headed for a here-we-go-again loss until Marcus Thames hit a tying homer with two outs in the ninth inning. Then, Placido Polanco gave them a rare win at home in extra innings. Polanco singled home the winning run in the 12th and Detroit rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 6-5 on Sunday after blowing a three-run lead. Detroit squandered leads in its previous three games, too, losing twice in extra innings with a surprisingly shaky bullpen.
MLB scores
5487. wabbit - 4/23/2007 2:21:55 PM  Two weeks ago, Janez Brajkovic wasn't even sure he'd be riding in the Tour de Georgia. On Sunday, the 23-year-old Slovenian held on for the biggest win of his young cycling career. With help from his Discovery Channel teammates, Brajkovic overcame a flat tire and preserved a 12-second win over Christian Vande Velde in the final stage of the weeklong event, a circuit race through the streets of downtown Atlanta. Brajkovic was stricken by illness and fever earlier this month, making him doubtful for the race. But he recovered in time, then pulled away from more prominent teammates such as George Hincapie, 2005 Tour de Georgia winner Tom Danielson and Levi Leipheimer, coming off a victory in the Tour of California.
They knew they were gonna need a bigger boat. The crew of the Sea Ya Later II hooked a 1,063-pound mako shark in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday. The 12-foot-6-inch shark was half the size of their 23-foot boat. They called in The Mother Lode, a 45-foot charter boat, to help bring in the shark. The fishermen harpooned the shark with flying gaffs, a large hook attached to rope used to pull in a fisherman's catch. The gaffs were tied the Sea Ya Later II, which was tilting and close to taking on water. "If [the shark] hadn't been as tired as she was, this boat would be sitting on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico," said Lindsey Stanley, the Sea Ya Later II's captain. After the shark died, it took eight men to pull it aboard the charter boat and take it to Destin on the Florida Panhandle. The mako was too heavy for the first set of scales at Fisherman's Wharf. The registered weight of 1,063 pounds makes the catch eligible for the world record in the 30-pound line class for a short-fin mako. The class record is a 997-pound, 11-ounce shark caught in Sydney, Australia, in 1995.
5488. alistairconnor - 4/23/2007 3:12:36 PM ohhhh bugger...
Floyd Landis's B samples test positive for synthetic testosterone
Looks like he's on his way to being the first winner of the Tour de France to be stripped of his title. 5489. alistairconnor - 4/23/2007 3:47:39 PM The Louis Vuitton Cup, the challengers' series for the Americas Cup, has been trying to get off the ground in Valencia, Spain... for the past week.
A high pressure system over England has been keeping the weather static, dead calm. (Pretty nice here in France too.) Racing has been cancelled on six days out of seven... only three series of races completed so far, and the weather forecast for this week doesn't look hopeful.
It's a very Euro event this year. Logically enough: it's the first time the Cup has been in Europe. There are THREE Italian teams : old friends Luna Rossa; much-improved bad boys Mascalzone Latino; and outsiders +39 Challenge. One Spanish team, Desafio Espanol; the Swedish Victory Challenge having another try; plus outsiders from South Africa, Germany, France and China. The favourites are Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle Racing, and Emirates Team New Zealand.
I suppose the reason I find this list disconcerting is that there is only one American team (and no Australians).
5490. alistairconnor - 4/24/2007 3:25:43 PM   
Chaminda Vaas.
Lasith Malinga.
Muttiah Muralitharan.
All of them dangerous men. With a cricket ball.
Now playing : semi-final of the World Cup, Sri Lanka vs New Zealand.
To see who gets the privilege of being thrashed by Australia in the final.
5491. alistairConnor - 4/24/2007 9:48:57 PM Ohhh the agony. The collapse strikes in the 22nd over.
Sri Lanka were fiendishly efficient with the bat, ran up a bill of 290 runs in their 50 overs. New Zealand were doing pretty decently in reply... 103 for 2 in the first 21 overs...
Then Murali... dude on the right... wickedest spin bowler in the world... caught and bowled Oram and McCullum with consecutive balls...
It's all over, we're true to form. Eternal bridesmaids. 5492. wonkers2 - 4/25/2007 3:58:03 PM Walter Thomas,xxxxxxL sleeper in NFL draft 5493. alistairconnor - 4/25/2007 4:43:10 PM Is the Cap'n following the Americas Cup challenger series?
I paid up 30 euros for the virtual racing which is pretty feeble of me, but I love it. You can follow the races live, flying a helicopter around them to get the vantage point you want.
Today's races are fairly predictable, true to book form. Overall, it's clear who three of the semifinalists will be : Team NZ, Oracle, Luna Rossa (though they are showing signs of relative weakness) - but the fourth spot is up for grabs, and there are several credible contenders. The Spanish, proxy hosts for the Swiss cup holders; the second Italian team, the Latin Rascals; the much improved South Africans; and the constant Swedes.
It's clear that the three remaining teams, the French, Chinese and Sicilians, aren't going anywhere. But they are putting on a show. 5494. wonkers2 - 4/25/2007 7:40:37 PM Actually, the Cap'n has been out-of-town and busy since he returned and hasn't gotten into it yet. I'm pulling for Oracle, of course. I'm glad to see they're among the favorites. I'll have to check to see what's available on our cable TV hookup. 5495. jexster - 4/26/2007 6:08:20 PM 741 and Counting
High fives after a 3 run blast 5496. jexster - 4/27/2007 10:33:43 AM Bochy Ball
Giants Sweep Dodgers in LA
And move ahead of Dodgers N2 first place NL West 5497. wabbit - 4/27/2007 2:47:05 PM  The San Jose Sharks silenced the fans at Joe Louis Arena while stunning the Detroit Red Wings with goals 24 seconds apart. Matt Carle and Mike Grier scored midway through the first period and Evgeni Nabokov made 34 saves to lead San Jose to a 2-0 victory Thursday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. "We got the crowd right out of the game," said Joe Thornton, who had an assist on the first goal. "That was huge." Nabokov's shutout was his first this postseason and the fifth of his career in the playoffs. He was tied for second in the NHL with seven during the regular season.
The Ottawa Senators got to Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils early and often, and then avoided what could have been an embarrassing letdown. Jason Spezza scored 90 seconds into the game, and the Senators jumped to a 4-0 first-period lead before holding on for a 5-4 victory Thursday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal. "We made it harder than it should have been," Senators goaltender Ray Emery said after making 26 saves to help Ottawa win its fourth straight playoff game. "You know that team will rebound and they will not go down without a fight." The Devils certainly put a scare into Ottawa, drawing within 4-3 early in the second period. A shot off the goal post by Scott Gomez nearly tied the game later in the second.
NHL scores
5498. wabbit - 4/27/2007 2:47:21 PM  After the humiliation that was Game 2 of their playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers fell behind by 17 points early in Game 3. At that stage, with the home crowd booing, Lakers star Kobe Bryant figured there were two directions his team could take. "You can put your tail between your legs or come back fighting," he said. The Lakers went with option No. 2. Bryant scored 15 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter, Kwame Brown added a career playoff-high 19 points, and the Lakers beat the Suns 95-89 to cut Phoenix's lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
The Utah Jazz shot poorly again and rushed on offense a few times, yet coach Jerry Sloan was about as tickled as he gets. Utah's defense was good enough to overcome any offensive struggles, and the Jazz beat Houston 81-67 Thursday night to cut the Rockets' lead to 2-1 in their playoff series. The Jazz held the Rockets without a field goal for 10 minutes in the second half and didn't allow Houston's reserves to score a single point. Yao Ming scored 26 and Tracy McGrady had 24 points for Houston, but only two other Rockets scored.
The Detroit Pistons showed they know how to close out quarters. Now they want to close out another series. Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points, Chauncey Billups added 21 and the Pistons beat Orlando 93-77 Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round playoff series. The victory ended a postseason trend for the Pistons -- they had lost their last six Game 3s when leading 2-0 -- and left them one victory from advancing to the second round. Game 4 is Saturday in Orlando.
NBA scores
5499. wabbit - 4/27/2007 2:47:53 PM  Wily Mo Pena was standing in the on-deck circle when an intentional walk loaded the bases. Pena had struggled all season against right-handed pitching, which did not bode well for his matchup against Baltimore closer Chris Ray. The pitch was a fastball, and Pena launched it an estimated 430 feet. The eighth-inning grand slam capped a rally that provided the Boston Red Sox with a 5-2 victory Thursday night. Josh Beckett became the majors' first five-game winner, allowing two runs and eight hits in eight innings to help the Red Sox complete a two-game sweep. Beckett gave up five doubles, but became the 11th Red Sox pitcher to win his first five starts in a season. He joins a list that includes Babe Ruth, Roger Clemens, Lefty Grove and Pedro Martinez. Only Ruth and Martinez did it in April.
No paint, no ink, no ketchup. Nothing but Curt Schilling's blood was seeping through his socks in the 2004 postseason, current and former Red Sox said Thursday after a rumor resurfaced that the pitcher milked his injury for drama while helping Boston end its 86-year title drought. On Wednesday, Baltimore announcer Gary Thorne said during his broadcast of the Red Sox-Orioles game that Boston backup catcher Doug Mirabelli admitted it was a hoax. Thorne backed off Thursday after talking to Mirabelli before the Red Sox played the Orioles. Thorne said Mirabelli had been joking.
Phil Hughes showed promise. A.J. Burnett showed him how it's done. Burnett dominated the struggling Yankees and outclassed their prized prospect on the mound, sending last-place New York to its sixth straight loss by pitching the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-0 victory Thursday night. Making his much-anticipated major league debut, Hughes received a rough welcome from the hard-hitting Blue Jays and a valuable lesson in power pitching from Burnett.
Sammy Sosa is "Slammin' Sammy" once again. Sosa hit two homers to reach 594 for his career, but Paul Byrd and the Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers 9-4 Thursday for their fifth straight win. Sosa's 439-foot drive leading off the sixth inning against Byrd (2-1) made Jacobs Field the 44th major league ballpark in which he has homered. That broke a tie with Ken Griffey Jr. and Fred McGriff for the most in a big league career.
MLB scores
5500. wonkers2 - 4/27/2007 10:07:51 PM Check the first picture in this link.
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