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5360. wabbit - 1/15/2007 6:54:27 PM  The Dallas Mavericks felt fortunate to get the victory. Dirk Nowitzki had 38 points and Josh Howard made a go-ahead layup with 0.9 seconds left to rally the Mavericks past the Toronto Raptors 97-96 on Sunday. Toronto's Morris Peterson was told not to switch off Howard and cover Nowitzki during a timeout before the decisive play. But Peterson did, allowing Howard to make a wide-open layup to give Dallas the lead. Toronto's Anthony Parker missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Playing in just his second game with the Denver Nuggets, Steve Blake showed the Portland Trail Blazers what they've been missing. Blake, traded to Milwaukee in the offseason and acquired by Denver from the Bucks last week, had a career-high 25 points against his former team Sunday night, in Denver's 109-93 victory over Portland.
Whoever retouched this photo of Joumana and Jason Kidd should be bitchslapped. Her head is too big, neck is too long, and please do something to mitigate the horror of that boob job. These two sound like a real fun couple. The wife of the New Jersey Nets star has filed her own domestic-violence restraining order, less than a week after the point guard accused her of beating him and extreme cruelty.
NBA scores
5361. wabbit - 1/15/2007 6:54:45 PM  Reigning champion Roger Federer and former world No. 1 Andy Roddick were a pair of first-round winners, while fourth-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic was sent packing Monday by American Mardy Fish at the Australian Open. The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer won his 30th straight tennis match by handling German Bjorn Phau 7-5, 6-0, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena.
Former world No. 1s Amelie Mauresmo and Serena Williams highlighted the opening-day winners at the 2007 Australian Open. Mauresmo is the defending champion here in Melbourne. The second-seeded Mauresmo got past American Shenay Perry 6-3, 6-4, while an unseeded Williams waltzed past 27th-seeded Italian Mara Santangelo 6-2, 6-1 in first-round action at Melbourne Park.
Australian Open
5362. wabbit - 1/15/2007 6:56:49 PM  The old Bode Miller is back. He's winning, he's joking and, of course, he's taking risks. Miller took a particularly aggressive line in the final turns of a downhill Saturday before crashing across the finish line to win the hallowed Lauberhorn race and move within two wins of Phil Mahre's U.S. record for World Cup victories. Miller finished in 2 minutes, 28.89 seconds for his 25th World Cup win, 0.65 seconds faster than Didier Cuche of Switzerland. Peter Fill of Italy was third, 1.47 seconds behind Miller. American Steven Nyman was 11th.
American bobsledder Steven Holcomb won a four-man World Cup race Sunday for his second victory in two days. Holcomb and teammates Pavle Jovanovic, Steve Mesler, and Brock Kreitzburg had a combined time of 1 minute, 45.04 seconds, 0.21 ahead of Germany's Andre Lange. Pierre Lueders of Canada was third, 0.25 behind. Lange has now secured the European Championship as the highest-placed European finisher. After four of eight races, Holcomb has 285 points to share fourth place with Lange in World Cup standings. Evgeni Popov of Russia, who finished fourth, leads with 360 points, followed by Leuders with 300 and Janis Minins of Latvia with 285.
Sven Kramer won the men's 10,000 meter race Sunday at the European Speedskating Championships. The Dutch skater won in 13 minutes, 10.44 seconds, 4.93 seconds ahead of teammate Carl Verheijen. Enrico Fabris of Italy was third, 11.07 behind. Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic won the women's 5,000 in 6:58.45 to add to her victory in the 3,000 on Saturday. Renate Groenewold of the Netherlands finished second in 7:08.76 and Claudia Pechstein of Germany was third, 11.6 seconds back.
 Silke Kraushaar-Pielach led the German women to their 70th straight luge World Cup win Sunday. The Germans swept the top four places, with Kraushaar-Pielach finishing her two heats in 1 minute, 27.568 seconds while claiming her fifth win in six season races. Tatjana Huefner was second in 1:27.861. Corinna Martini was third in 1:28.120 in her World Cup debut. She replaced Sylke Otto, the two-time Olympic champion who retired Friday to have a child. Christian Oberstolz and Patric Gruber of Italy won the men's doubles in 1:27.373, catching Germany's Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch with the fastest second heat. They also pulled even with the Germans in the World Cup standings with 555 points. Leitner and Resch finished in 1:27.483, with Gerhard Plankensteiner and Oswald Haselrieder of Italy third in 1:27.550.
5363. wabbit - 1/15/2007 6:57:31 PM  Already a three-time Super Bowl winner, Tom Brady's shot at a fourth is very much alive after the New England Patriots shocked league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson and the Chargers on Sunday, winning 24-21 to advance to the AFC championship game. Brady overcame three interceptions, his career playoff high, to lead the Patriots to 11 points in 3:26 late in the game. He and coach Bill Belichick now have a 12-1 postseason record together, and need to win at Indianapolis next Sunday to make their fourth Super Bowl trip in six seasons. As tough a win as it was for New England, it was a gut-wrenching loss for San Diego and its coach, Marty Schottenheimer, whose job could be in jeopardy after his career postseason record tumbled to 5-13. Tomlinson shattered several league records in helping the Chargers go an NFL-best 14-2, including 8-0 at home in the regular season.
Peyton Manning couldn't get Indianapolis into the end zone and, for once, it didn't matter. That's because Adam Vinatieri provided the Colts with all the offense they needed to advance to the AFC championship game. Signed during the offseason specifically for his playoff experience, Vinatieri kicked five field goals Saturday to put his name in the NFL record book and carry Indianapolis past the Baltimore Ravens 15-6.
Field goals were crucial in these semi-finals. Ever reliable Robbie Gould, with a boost from often criticized Rex Grossman, delivered the Chicago Bears into the NFC title game. Gould, working construction 16 months ago, cleared a path for the Bears with his strong leg Sunday, kicking a 49-yard field goal in overtime for a 27-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. The game-winner came shortly after Grossman got them in position with a clutch pass to Rashied Davis.
Who needs Mardi Gras when you’re one game from the Super Bowl? Deuce McAllister and rookie sensation Reggie Bush gave this battered city a reason to throw itself a party, carrying the New Orleans Saints where they’ve never been before — one game from the Super Bowl. It was the veteran McAllister with his two touchdowns and team playoff mark of 143 yards rushing, and the rookie Bush with his collection of magnificent moves, that made the difference in the raucous Superdome. To constant chants of "DEUCE!" or "REG-GIE! REG-GIE!" the Saints used an assortment of spectacular plays to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-24.
we're down to the final four
5364. jexster - 1/21/2007 9:06:24 PM 
5365. jexster - 1/22/2007 5:25:19 AM 
5366. wabbit - 1/26/2007 7:41:58 PM Now that I've recovered from the terrific disappointment of seeing the Patriots choke and lose to Indianapolis, I feel ready to move on.
 "Gonzo" is long gone. Now they call him "Speedy" Gonzalez, and he showed why. Tenth-seeded Fernando Gonzalez put on another brilliant display of tennis Friday, sprinting all over the court to rip winners at will as he dominated Germany's Tommy Haas 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the Australian Open final. It was a performance reminiscent of top-ranked Roger Federer's rout of Andy Roddick in the other semifinal a night earlier. Gonzalez was nearly flawless, leaving the capacity crowd gasping and the 12th-seeded Haas stunned and frustrated. Gonzalez had zero unforced errors in the first and third sets and only three for the match -- "One was really stupid," he said -- to go along with 42 winners that accounted for more than half of his 82 points. Gonzalez, who had never reached a Grand Slam semifinal before, will face Federer on Sunday evening in the championship match.
Federer was virtually untouchable as he beat sixth-seeded Roddick 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 Thursday to reach his seventh consecutive Grand Slam final, tying a record set by Jack Crawford in 1934. He really is something to see. He raises every other player's game, then raises his own. When you think he can't possibly improve, somehow he does. I felt bad for Roddick, but watching Federer was almost hypnotic.
The Grand Slam rematch of Serena Williams against Maria Sharapova has been two years in the making. Their initial meeting came in the 2004 Wimbledon final, when Sharapova won her first major. In the 2005 Australian Open semifinal, Sharapova served twice for the match -- once in the second set, once in the third -- and blew four match points before losing 8-6. Since that 2005 match, Sharapova has reached the semifinals at five other Grand Slams, and won the U.S. Open last year. Williams, who played only four tournaments in 2006 because of a lingering knee injury, hasn't added to her seven Grand Slam titles since she won in Australia two years ago. The players have split four matches -- Williams winning in straight sets at Miami in 2004, Sharapova at Wimbledon, Sharapova in three at the season-ending tour championship in 2004 and Williams in Australia in 2005. On Friday, they meet in the final of the Australian Open. Sharapova beat Kim Clijsters 6-4, 6-2 in Wednesday's semifinal. Williams, unseeded and No. 81 when the tournament began, beat Nicole Vaidisova 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the other semifinal.
Australian Open
5367. wonkers2 - 1/26/2007 7:59:44 PM The Serena Williams--Shahar Peer match was quite a battle. Williams finally blew Peer away with her amazing big serves. Peer was tenacious but no match for Williams. 5368. wonkers2 - 1/28/2007 3:34:28 PM What a comeback!Serena Williams clobbers Sharapova in Australian Open final. 5369. wabbit - 1/28/2007 7:23:41 PM  Serena Williams has become the first unseeded player in 29 years to capture the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, the American claiming the trophy for a third time by dismantling Russian No.1 seed Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open 2007 women's final. Not since Chris O'Neil in 1978 has a female stormed all the way through the draw at the Australian Grand Slam, but Williams showed a steely determination right from the first point in the final and was never troubled on the way to the 6-1 6-2 victory.
Williams hadn't claimed a WTA Tour title since winning her second Australian Open title in three years at the 2005 tournament, with a lack of fitness brought about by injury woes then compounded by knee problems that restricted her to only four tournaments in 2006. But having started this year's first major with her ranking at No.81, Williams now has eight Grand Slam crowns to her name after racing out of the blocks under the closed roof at Rod Laver Arena.
 Roger Federer captured his 10th Grand Slam singles title without dropping a set, finishing a dominating run through the Australian Open by beating Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday's final. Federer improved his winning streak to a career-best 36 matches, became the first man in the Open era to twice win three straight majors and has won six of the last seven Grand Slam titles -- his only loss was in the French Open final to Rafael Nadal.
It was the first time that a champion went through a major without dropping a set since the 1980 French Open, when Bjorn Borg did it for the third time. Ken Rosewall, who was sitting in the stands, was the last man to accomplish the feat at the Australian Open, in 1971. By reaching the final, Federer already had tied Jack Crawford's record of playing in seven consecutive finals at the majors, set in 1934. The 25-year-old Federer now is within four of Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slam titles.
5370. wabbit - 1/29/2007 8:45:28 PM  Tiger Woods is more interested in a fifth green jacket at the Masters than 11 straight victories on the PGA Tour. At this rate, he might have a chance to get both. Woods resumed his improbable pursuit of Byron Nelson with a predictable result at the Buick Invitational on Sunday, winning for the third straight year to stretch his PGA Tour winning streak to seven. That's the second-longest streak in tour history behind Nelson in 1945, and there is little evidence anyone can stop him. Woods caught up to the pack with a 3-wood from 276 yards to set up a 25-foot eagle putt on the ninth hole. He buried the hopes of his final challenger with a 9-iron to 21/2 feet on the 17th hole for birdie. His final act was figuring out how to get his ball out of a small hole in front of the 18th green, hitting it with the edge of his sand wedge to 3 feet for a par and a two-shot victory. It gave him a 6-under 66, the best score all week on the demanding South Course, site of the U.S. Open next year. Nelson's record often has been thought to be untouchable, which now describes the world's No. 1 player.
5371. wabbit - 1/29/2007 8:48:49 PM 
Barbaro, who rocketed to a six-and-a-half-length victory in the Kentucky Derby last May but sustained a catastrophic injury two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes, was euthanized early this morning in Pennsylvania. "We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain," Barbaro’s co-owner, Roy Jackson, told The Associated Press. "It was the right decision. It was the right thing to do. We said all along, if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him, then it would be time." Mr. Jackson and his wife, Gretchen Jackson, apparently made the decision after Barbaro experienced a setback over the weekend that required a risky surgical procedure on the horse’s right hind leg, the one he originally injured in the opening yards of the Preakness.
The veterinarians treating Barbaro said their only option was to try to build a framework of metal pins, bars and a plate around the horse’s right hind leg, to take all the weight off the fragile bone structure, which was already being held together with a matrix of screws. The surgery was performed Saturday at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals in Kennett Square, Pa., by Dr. Dean Richardson. Barbaro has been in intensive care since he originally shattered the leg.
5372. wonkers2 - 1/30/2007 12:54:54 AM Barbaro got better medical care than many Americans. [Not complaining about Barbaro's care.] 5373. OhioSTOPAS - 1/31/2007 3:40:00 AM Enough about Barbaro!
Talk about beating a . . . 5374. wabbit - 2/4/2007 8:15:18 PM  Jeff Quinney survived the wildest day at the PGA Tour's biggest party. Now the rookie is 18 holes away from his first PGA Tour victory. Quinney shot a 3-under 68 to hold on to a two-stroke lead in front of a raucous, near-record crowd of 162,750 Saturday in the FBR Open. The former Arizona State player and 2000 U.S. Amateur champion stood at 16-under 197 heading into the final round Sunday. Aaron Baddeley was second at 14 under after a 64, and Brett Quigley (66) and Bart Bryant (68) were three strokes back. Quinney, a top-10 finisher in the last two events, earned his PGA Tour card after toiling five seasons on the Nationwide Tour. He tied for fourth two weeks ago in the Bob Hope Classic and tied for seventh last week in the Buick Invitational.
Henrik Stenson shot a 4-under 68 Sunday to win the Dubai Desert Classic, finishing one stroke ahead of Ernie Els and two in front of defending champion Tiger Woods. Stenson, who has lived in Dubai for three years, began the day two shots behind Els. But the Swede had five birdies at the Emirates Golf Club to finish at 19-under 269. Els (71) had three bogeys, the same as Woods (69), who shared third place with Niclas Fasth (68) at 17 under. Woods, who had a difficult time putting despite the quality of the greens, said it was one of his most frustrating tournaments. Ross Fisher (71) finished fifth at 16 under after leading the tournament for the first two days. Peter Hanson (71) was two more shots back in sixth place.
Karrie Webb shot an even-par 72 in the final round of the MFS Women's Australian Open on Sunday for a six-stroke win. Webb, who began the day with a four-stroke lead over Wei Yun-jye of Taiwan, never saw her lead drop below three shots at Royal Sydney. She finished with a 10-under 278. Wei shot 74 Sunday to finish second at 4-under 284. Paula Marti of Spain and Minea Blomqvist of Finland, each with closing 69s, finished tied for third at 2-under 286. Brittany Lincicome of the United States and Shin Ji-yai of South Korea also finished with 69s and were another shot back tied for fifth. Katherine Hull of Australia shot a 7-under 65, the best round of the day, to move into ninth place at 1-over 289.
5375. wabbit - 2/4/2007 8:15:41 PM  Sidney Lowe always knew how to beat North Carolina as a player. The first-year coach proved he can also top the Tar Heels from the sideline. The former North Carolina State point guard earned his first big victory as its coach when the Wolfpack upset No. 3 North Carolina 83-79 on Saturday in just the kind of rivalry game he was hired to win. Courtney Fells scored 21 points, Ben McCauley had 17 and Gavin Grant added 16 for N.C. State (13-8, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) -- which led by 12, held off the Tar Heels' frantic comeback bid and beat two of the ACC's best teams in a four-day span. The Wolfpack upset No. 16 Virginia Tech 70-59 on Wednesday.
Ninth-ranked Oregon set out on a four-game trip 10 days ago as one of the best road teams in the nation. After three losses, the Ducks can't wait to get back to Eugene. Taj Gibson scored 18 points and Southern California held off a late rally for a 71-68 victory Saturday to give the Trojans a season sweep of Oregon for the first time in six years. Coming off a 69-57 defeat to No. 5 UCLA on Thursday, Oregon lost two in a row for the first time this season and has dropped three of its last four.
Jared Dudley had Boston College heading for an easy victory over No. 16 Virginia Tech on Saturday when he was called for three fouls in four minutes. That's when the BC bench picked up the pace. With three subs on the floor for the last seven minutes of the first half, Boston College extended its lead to as many as 23 points and coasted to an 80-59 victory over Virginia Tech. Rice had 20 points and eight assists while playing all 40 minutes to help the Eagles (16-6, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) improve to 2-3 against ranked teams and beat one for the first time since shotblocker Sean Williams was kicked off the team Jan. 17. BC, which had been tied with the Hokies for second place in the ACC standings, have beaten them six times in a row.
NCAA Basketball
5376. wabbit - 2/4/2007 8:16:02 PM  Josh Howard didn't let an All-Star snub and missing two games affect him. As for his slight lapse of judgment at the very end, that's easily forgiven by the Dallas Mavericks. Holding the ball after a wild scramble under Minnesota's basket in the closing seconds, Howard threw the ball to the other end of the court. Randy Foye had enough time to track it down and hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, but Dallas still won 94-93 for its 15th straight home victory Saturday night.
Mehmet Okur and the Utah Jazz apparently know something about the Phoenix Suns that the rest of the NBA does not. Okur scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half, including a decisive 19-footer with 5.1 seconds remaining, and the Jazz beat Phoenix 108-105 Saturday night for their third win over the Suns this season. Deron Williams added 28 points and 10 assists for the Jazz, who have handed Phoenix three of its 10 losses this season and have won four straight against the Suns overall.
The big rematch with Kobe Bryant turned out to be too big for Gilbert Arenas, who psyched himself out before the game even started. Departing from his usual happy-go-lucky routine, Arenas donned his headphones 90 minutes before tipoff and had the edgy nervousness of a kid waiting in a lobby for a job interview. That's no way to approach a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, especially when Bryant is seeking to settle a score. Round 2 went to Bryant on Saturday night as two of the NBA's most riveting playmakers tried to outdo each other, point for point, flashy move for flashy move. The Los Angeles star scored 39 points in the Lakers' 118-102 victory over Arenas and the Washington Wizards.
NBA scores
5377. wabbit - 2/4/2007 8:16:22 PM  The Nashville Predators and the Anaheim Ducks have been fighting for supremacy in the Western Conference for most of the season. The Predators continued to pad their lead in the West, shutting down the Ducks 3-0 Saturday night. It was the Predators' second straight win over Anaheim and their first regulation win against the Ducks since Oct. 9, 2003.
I still think it would be easier to take ice hockey seriously if they didn't name teams after Disney movies.
The Boston Bruins found an effective way to end their lengthy losing streak by facing a team that's stuck in a similar slump. Zdeno Chara scored a power-play goal with 3:11 left in overtime and the Bruins snapped a five-game slide with a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. Chara took a pass from Marc Savard behind the right circle and one-timed the puck past Cam Ward , sending the defending Stanley Cup champions to their fourth straight loss, their third straight on home ice and their sixth in seven games.
Mats Sundin steered coach Paul Maurice in the right direction as the Toronto Maple Leafs started to go deep in their shootout list. John Pohl scored on Toronto's fifth attempt and the Maple Leafs matched their longest winning streak of the season with a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. Andrew Raycroft , who made 30 saves, stopped Jason Spezza 's shot after Pohl scored on his first career shootout attempt with a backhand over Ray Emery 's right pad. Pohl scored on a penalty shot against Minnesota's Manny Fernandez in a 4-3 win over the Wild on Dec. 26.
NHL scores
5378. wabbit - 2/4/2007 8:16:35 PM I love Rick Reilly. 5379. wabbit - 2/5/2007 5:33:32 PM  The game - The 12th man was definitely the rain. While it looked like there was potential for a competitive game (the first quarter was great), by the end of the first half yesterday's Super Bowl XLI became another in a long line of forgettable mismatches. Indianapolis 29 - Chicago 17. It was surprising that the Bears were that close. I am sick and tired of Peyton Manning, but I'm very happy for Tony Dungy. Congratulations to Bears coach Lovie Smith, he was a class act in a tough game.
Despite the game itself, there were some interesting firsts. The obvious first is that both head coaches are African-American. Personally, I like that they are both soft-spoken men who lead by example rather than intimidation. It was the first time in Super Bowl history that the opening kick was returned for a touchdown, a 92-yard return by Devin Hester that was also the fastest score in Super Bowl history (14 seconds). This was the first Super Bowl with brothers officiating, Umpire Carl Paganelli and Back Judge Perry Paganelli. Hard to believe this was the first time the Super Bowl was played in the rain.
 The halftime show - It's getting rave reviews from most people, but I just don't see it. Prince was fine, but nothing that would keep me from going to the bathroom or getting something to snack on. Still, he was an improvement over the last few halftime shows (Paul McCartney?). It must look better from the seats in the stadium, and the pouring rain didn't help. One thing I thought was a nice touch and a throwback to the old style halftime shows was the marching band. Updated, but still looking like a marching band, and it made me think of Arky's Message # 3608 in thread 140 about the movie Drumline in the Movie thread. Overall, halftime was ok, not great. Oh, and Billy Joel sucked. He last sang the National Anthem at Super Bowl XXIII in 1989 and he was surprisingly good, but yesterday was painful.
The commercials - Disappointing overall. The fan-made Doritos ad was good, as were the feel-good ads by Coke (GTA video game), GM (anthropomorphic robot) and Budweiser (wannabe Dalmatian), but what were the folks at M&M/Mars thinking with that Snickers ad? And the heart getting beat up? I get the point, but that was just dumb. GoDaddy's mediocre commercial was promoted as the most salacious ad that would been seen during the game. I did like the quick cameo appearance of the Orange County Motorcycle guys. Revlon, we women who watch football aren't buying hair coloring based on ads seen during the Super Bowl. Allocate your advertising budget more wisely and spend it elsewhere. Congratulations to CareerBuilder.com for getting rid of the chimps. Budweiser had a couple losers, too - does anyone believe Jay-Z drinks Bud? Taco Bell's lions rolling their R's was cute, but I'm not sure what it has to do with Mexican food. Letterman and Oprah was clever, short, and a nice surprise. And honestly, didn't everyone laugh at the K-Fed ad for Nationwide? Finally, the NFL "Goodbye" commercial was well done, and also submitted through a contest. Can we all see the future for commercial advertising coming from YouTube? The Super Bowl ads can be seen at MSNBC.
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