Mavericks 102, Nets 89

Here we go again.

Same old story, right? Sort of. It was much closer in the fourth quarter than you are led to believe. Things really weren't decided until about 3 minutes left in the game. The Nets kept it close throughout, and I thought Mikki Moore in particular was very impressive. He got 20 points and his hustle was evident all night. Carter got his, you knew he would. I think I say that about every superstar, but that's the great thing about the Mavs. They don't attempt to clamp down on the superstars, to draw all their energy on stopping one guy. They let the star get his, and figure out other ways to win. Hey, they've won 16 straight using that strategy, so let's not knock it.

The night, though, belonged to Jason Terry. He led the way for the Mavs with 24 points. And not just that, but they were timely shots. They were well thought out and just smart plays. Fun to see. Nowitzki had 22 points and 11 rebounds, accumulating yet another double-double. The other one, Josh Howard, was not as evident, only scoring 10. Four other plays either matched or exceeded Howard's amount (Dampier, Buckner, Stackhouse, Harris), so it was clear that the team was spreading the ball around. Dampier in particular was EVERYWHERE tonight, getting 12 points and 14 rebounds. We need more of this from the guy, he definitely helped keep the edge tonight and made the tough moments of the fourth quarter more manageable. He was the star in that regard, while Terry was the more flamboyant superstar of the night.

Good game and now some time off.

P.S. Is anybody watching the Spurs? They've won 10 straight. Yikes.

Reds 3, Rays 1

Reds win again. The only undefeated team as the Yankees lost. Pretty cool.

NOTABLE THINGS

Pitching: Eric Milton did much better today, going 3 innings allowing 2 hits and an earned run. He even struck a guy out, go figure. Belisle pitched the next 3 innings, allowing 4 hits and a walk, but picking up the win. Shackelford pitched a strong 7th and Santos pitched the final 2 for the save, only allowing 1 hit.

Hitting: Freel led off and was 0-2, but scored a run when he got beaned by Glover. All in all, the offense really slowed down today, as you can see by the fact they didn't score 33,000 runs but only 3. Hatteberg is showing the same consistency that allowed him to almost beat out Aurilia for the best hitter on the team last year. Hopefully that stays, as he goes 2/3. Adam Dunn was also 2/3 and got the only RBI on the day. Conine on his first day went 0/2 with 2 K's. Yuck. Don't need to see that guy. Only 8 hits for the team today, and that's depressing considering the great numbers they've given us lately. Denorfia in particular worries me with his struggles. But still the victory.

Fielding & such: Error was on Hatteberg for dropping a pop fly. That dang guy. Can't blame him though, I did the same thing in Bam Bam ball. Two double plays were turned.

Raiders add Jeremy Newberry

More like Oldberry.

Who knows, could be a good move. And while you have teams like Miami, Tampa Bay, and Denver going ABSOLUTELY CRAZY right now with all the moves they are making, this is the first legitimate move the Raiders have made so far. It's not a big deal. It was clear our offensive line was horrendous, and so we signed a free agent lineman to come in and hopefully help us out. Not sure if he's going to play center or not, because we have Grove for that. Unless Grove is going to guard. Hard to figure out what is going on. To Newberry's credit, he wanted to stay close (being with San Fran) and he had a genuine desire to play for Oakland. So we'll give him a shot, hopefully he can put that determination into hard work and help our younger guys get some nasty streaks.

"In researching and evaluating Jeremy's background and history, it became obvious that he is a perfect fit for the Raiders right now," Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said. "He is an intense competitor and definitely understands what being a team player is all about."

This is what Lane Kiffin said. But is this what Lane Kiffin believes? Sounds like Al Davis to me. Hopefully Kiffin is behind it.