Mavericks 90, Spurs 85

What a game. And I missed it! I was on the road for nearly TWELVE HOURS my friends, of what should have been an 8.5-hour trip. I do not want to get into details, so let's get into the game that I missed.

First of all - the Mavericks must beat the Spurs. They MUST. I gave them maybe 2% chance last year to do so, but they won Game 7 in San Antonio which was probably my favorite basketball game of all-time. Anyway, the Spurs are the biggest rival and I don't like the Spurs at all. Though the Suns scare me more.

So there you have it. Just like that, the Mavs have a 2-1 edge on the season series and no doubt it will probably get tied up on April 15, but that's what the taxes say. The Mavs can win in San Antonio now, they win at will. And last night was another example of a tough game. A good game. And a whiny Tim Duncan. The guy's a joke.

Nowitzki led the way with a season-high 36 points and he also contributed 8 rebounds. He didn't really get bailed out until the late stages of the second half, but Josh Howard turned it on to give 18 points and 12 boards. The man is rounding into a solid player. It is fun to see. Other than that, not much to get excited about. Devean George still can't hit his 3's. The Spurs outshot the Mavericks at the free-throw line, 31-20. I always watch that stat, and encourage you to do so because for some reason, that stat will always be there. Whether it's the refs or what, I don't know, but the Spurs always get favorable treatment. I hate to rant about the refs, I guess I've just learned it well being a Raiders fan and all. But anyway, it doesn't matter much because the Spurs suck at free throws and only made 21 of their 31.

The Mavs are now 27-7. It is an INCREDIBLE record at this stage in the season, considering they started out 0-4, they are 27-3 since then. They have gone on some serious streaks, a 12-game win streak early in the year and currently a 13-game win streak that might simply grow and grow. They play the Lakers in Los Angeles next, and I'm always skeptical of that game. The Lakers seem to have their number, but the Mavs are just streamrolling right now. Hard to pick against them. I love it!

Article: Raiders fire coach Art Shell

A.K.A. "n00b t4ken 2 pWn shop"

I apologize for the l33tspeak. And I also apologize for what is about to follow it, a mock conversation between yours truly and Al Davis.

Mr. Davis: "Hey, Tim Mo, how much do you know about the Raiders?"

Tim Mo: "A lot!"

(Mr. Davis smacks Tim Mo across the face. A loud >SMACK< style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">Mr. Davis: "Tim Mo, how much do you know about the Raiders?"

Tim Mo (sniffling, sobbing): "Not very much, Mr. Davis. Not very much."

What the l33tspeak and the mock dialogue have to do with anything, I'm not sure. But they probably have something to do with the fact that Art Shell got fired and then there's this post
saying it wouldn't happen. To those who have read the post (those unfortunate souls) you would have seen a brand-new Raiders blogger and a relatively new Raiders fan get all caught up in his ego and proud of his boasting, knowing what the REAL story would be. Surely Shell wouldn't get fired, he has AT LEAST another year left. Well, fuggedaboudit. This guy don't know nothing. Time for the speculation, as if we need more of that.

And check out the last mini-paragraph of this article: "Once a proud franchise, the Raiders have become a laughingstock and an unpopular destination for many coaches because of Davis' involvement in the day-to-day operation of the team and the club's inability to discipline players." Wow. Like to EDITORIALIZE much?????

Mavericks 100, Pacers 91

Al Harrington and Jermain O'Neal had 44 points and 27 rebounds between them, but it wasn't enough to knock off the Mavs, especially on the road. Not when you have Josh Howard throwing in 25 and 11, Nowitzki dropping 20, and Devin Harris with his season-high 24 points. The Mavs shot pretty well, and I particularly like the fact they only took 8 three's all night. Lately they had been jacking them up there. They got KILLED on the boards tonight, largely due to the aforementioned Pacers Harrington & O'Neal, but they did what they usually do and they found a way to win.

Josh Howard for MVP? He certainly has been a stud this year. But what about the little man, Devin Harris, tonight? More of that, good sir!

Devils 4, Islanders 3

Goals: Zach Parise, Devils (Zajac)
Sergei Brylin, Devils (Pandolfo)
Trent Hunter, Islanders (Hill, Hilbert)
Zach Parise, Devils (Langenbrunner, Zajac)

Patrik Elias, Devils (Gionta)
Andy Hilbert, Islanders (Sillinger, Hunter)

Mike Sillinger, Islanders (PPG) (Blake, Satan)

Shots on Goal: 43-26 Islanders

Penalties: Devils - 6 minutes, Islanders - 8 minutes

Good game tonight. Fun. Defensive lapses aren't great, but hey, a win is a win, particularly within the division.

--FIRST PERIOD--

Well, that was exciting. Three goals in three minutes, a complete 180 from the previous meeting between these two teams, and unlike a typical start of pretty much any Devils game. But there you have it, that's hockey sometimes. Zajac's name was being called time and time again, and he wound up with two goals. A lot of chances, a lot of early action, and the Devils defense settled down even though they were without the services of Johnny Oduya for most of the period and probably the rest of the game. The Devils open up the second period with a 5-on-3 for a little bit and then another minute of a regular power play. We'll see how it goes.

--SECOND PERIOD--

The teams exchange goals as the Islanders pick up the pace. They easily have more shots on goal, but it seems the Devils truly have more scoring opportunities and better shots instead of long shots from the point. Brodeur is playing solid hockey, it doesn't seem either of the goals were his fault. We expect a shutout every time from this guy because we know he can deliver it, but he's still doing alright anyhow. Not a whole lot of penalties on the Devils side, and they are playing very smartly in that regard. They are good on the power play (in terms of percentage) and they are good on the penalty kill, but I don't think enough is made of how many penalties they take vs. those they create. They must be in the Top 5 in that category. Well, I expect the Islanders to pick up the pace but I doubt they will put that close. The Devils have this one in hand. We shall see.

--THIRD PERIOD--

Whew, that's it. The Islanders racked up the shots, and this time there were a lot of good chances. Marty was superb in this period, except for the late goal he allowed on the 6-on-4. Otherwise, good job by all. I know the Devils don't like giving up 3 goals and 40+ shots, but they did allow it and they managed to win despite it. And the best part of all? The Islanders didn't get any points.

Devils Preview

Instead of being monotonous and linking to it every time, if you want a good game preview of EVERY Devils hockey game (and one that is, let's be honest, better than what the top media websites put out there) check out what John F. has to say. The link tonight is for the Islanders @ Devils. Well done.

Link

Article: Seriously, Oakland, pass on Quinn

Connor Byrne over at RealFootball365 agrees with me.

Link

LT MVP

Well, there was no doubt about this one. As much as I can't stand the Chargers, Tomlinson deserved this. He was simply amazing this year, and even if I can't be truly happy for him since he's in my division, his play is good for this league. I'll trade the entire Raider offense for this guy. And half my draft picks.

Raiders 2007 Opponents

The home schedule is extremely favorable to us. The road schedule is obviously tougher, but the key note is that the Raiders are playing IN MINNESOTA. With my luck, I'll be in school down in Illinois when that game takes place, but maybe, just maybe I'll be able to see my beloved Raiders. I'm such a traitor.

Brendan Harris traded to Devil Rays

For a player to be named later (seems the Reds have a lot of those players coming.......someday) or cash. I'll take the cash, to be honest with you. How's about $126 million??

Link

Josh Howard - Player of the Week

Howard was the Western Conference winner for the second straight week. He averaged 21.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 blocks in helping Dallas win four games and extend its winning streak to 10.

Howard had 28 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in an 89-85 win at Denver on Sunday.

Link

Article: 'Just Quinn, Baby' could become Raiders new motto

Josh Dubow, of the Associated Press, tells the Raiders they better pick Brady Quinn, the star QB of Notre Dame OR ELSE. Well, not really. But the basis for that is summed up as follows: "Um.....have you SEEN your other two QB's play?" The answer to which is no, because they were on national TV twice and I was not around to watch. I count myself thankful for that, but yes, our quarterback play was certainly abysmal. But back to Quinn now, for he is the talk of the town. It's not exactly the "Brady Quinn Bowl" as much as last year was the "Reggie Bush Bowl" but everyone is assuming Quinn will go #1. Funny part about that is how Bush didn't go #1. After all that hype. 'Tis a shame.

Anyway, I say no to this. Brady Quinn probably isn't the best QB of the year, probably won't be the best QB of the draft either. Sure, he's got that "star power" and "sex appeal" and a "hot sister" who "likes AJ Hawk quite a bit" and on and on and on, but I just do not want to see this pick happen. I would much rather see Adrian Peterson or Calvin Johnson here. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE A KICKER CHOSEN WITH THE #1 PICK NOR A LONG SNAPPER. That disclaimer was for the Raiders, who seemingly always come up with a dumb pick. Not that everyone team doesn't have dumb picks, but come on. I don't want to see another offensive lineman, even though that's what we desperately need. Why? I'm afraid he'll wind up like Gallery. Now, who DIDN'T think Gallery was going to be amazing? I mean sure, a #2 for a left tackle was not exactly all that interesting or exciting, but he was going to be a BEAST and knock people around. It just hasn't happened and it probably won't. I still have no clue as to why.

So forget about Quinn, let him take his beautiful drama somewhere else. We can keep his sister, though. We can take Troy Smith if we want to, that would be alright. Brian Brohm? Maybe. That Kolb guy from Houston who threw for a million yards? No, that's just overrated hype right there. Adrian Peterson bursting out of the backfield and creating his OWN blocks? Sure. Calvin Johnson catching EVERY pass thrown his way? Sure.

I think, though, that the Raiders will trade the #1 pick. Which isn't a bad move, after all Schweigert was calling for it. That's probably what they will do, and if a team wants Quinn bad enough (Quinn wants the Browns to pick him) then we can get some good stuff in return.

But in reality, who knows what will happen? Not I.

Raiders coach

The Raiders obviously have many decisions to make heading into the offseason. The firing squad around the league took two early victims: Dennis Green of the Arizona Cardinals and Jim Mora of the Atlanta Falcons. I don't know much about the Mora story, other than him talking about going to coach at the University of Washington, but other than that, I'm actually surprised that he's done. He seemed like a pretty good coach to me. As far as Green goes, I feel bad for the man, partly because of the MINNESOTA CONNECTION, but also because he is a good man who should have done a better job with Arizona.

To sum it up, the Raiders have had four incredibly painful years, this year being the most painful of all. But you look at the past 10-12-15 years, and you see that there is something to be thankful for. Not being the Browns, or the Cardinals, or the Lions of all teams. But the Raiders are charging right in with them to become a team of that caliber. And that is not good, not good at all.

Will Art Shell stay? A lot of "pundits" who LOVE to trash the Raiders are saying he will leave. Most of them are saying that he is done. I say to them, maybe. But I doubt it. I will be surprised if he gets fired. I'm pretty sure he will stay for at least one more year and maybe even longer than that. And to be honest, I'm okay with that.

Like many, I have blamed Shell from time to time for a wide variety of things. It's hard to like a coach of a team that performs so poorly and even harder when reading through news reports and articles and blogs about how AWFUL this team has been. So many people are calling for Shell's head. I just don't buy it. If you go back to what I just said, this team performed poorly. This is a performance-based business. And the players did not perform. Surely, the coaching this year has not been without fault, it was not very good. But the players go out there, and even if they went out there with the most vanilla offense you could find (and that might have actually been the case) you still need to block, run, catch, throw, juke, spin, and PROTECT THE BALL.

Art Shell will be back. Sorry to those of you who don't like that, but do you want to sit through yet ANOTHER firing and hiring? This will not change things. And things definitely need to be changed. If I'm wrong, that's fine. I could be. I just don't see it. But if I am wrong, my choice for coach is Rob Ryan. Without a doubt. I want to hear that man speak, and he has no choice but to speak after games, after practices, and all of that. I want to see The Caveman step in front of the podium and throw around some knuckle-headed wisdom. That's just me, that's what I'm about. I think he's earned it.

Mavericks 112, Supersonics 88

Even on a poor shooting night (which was somewhat resurrected in the fourth quarter) the Mavericks pull it off in Dallas against an inferior Supersonics team. I like Seattle. Not a whole lot. But I like Ridnour and Collison and I sometimes like Ray Allen who is maybe a superstar but at least he's quiet about it.

Tonight, Dirk Nowitzki led the way (finally!) with 31 points and 15 rebounds. If my memory serves me correctly, he hadn't led the team in scoring except just once in the past ten games. Josh Howard had another solid game with 21 points and 9 boards, though he went 0-5 from beyond the arc. Jason Terry had 18 points and 8 rebounds, and Devin Harris chipped in 16 points. Ray Allen had 27 points for Seattle.

The score at halftime was 55-55. Not all that odd, except for the teams exchanging 33 points and 22 points in the first and second quarters, with the Mavs opting to score their 33 in the first quarter. Then the Mavs closed the deal in the fourth quarter. I believe DJ Mbenga got his first two points of the year tonight. Congrats, DJ!

Once again, much credit goes out to the defense which continues to get better (although, yes, it was the Supersonics) and also gotta give credit to the opportunistic offense, even if the shooting was a bit off tonight. Not much else to say, the Mavericks win a lot of games at home and they were playing a team that they should have beaten. And the Supersonics were beaten. Next!

Rangers 3, Devils 2 (Shootout 4-3)

Dang.

The Devils, as I have said time and time again (but this will be the first time on my new blog!), are not a shootout team. I like shootouts for the most part, they're kinda cool. But the Devils are built to grind out an overtime victory. Brodeur, who can stop pretty much any breakaway you throw at him, isn't all that great handling shootouts. His stats aren't bad, but something about it, I don't think the stats reflect his uncomfortability. Anyways, all Jamie Langenbrunner, or Scott Gomez, or Travis Zajac needs to do is score a shootout goal. They all don't, however. Oh well. Like I say, the Devils at least get a point and maintain the division lead, you just hate to give the Rangers two points, especially in your own building. To be honest, though, the Devils were on their way to get 0 points and they probably deserved that point value, but they squeaked out a point and live to fight another day. Speaking of which, this was the first game in a while that Hollweg & Janssen were healthy but they didn't tangle. I'm sure they will, they have many more opportunities.

P.S. Listening to all the games on WFAN New York, as I do, I listen to Matt Loughlin and Tom Chorske. They're both in their first years, and for the most part they do a good job. Sometimes it seems that Loughlin gets more excited for goals scored by the other team. Anyway, tonight I had some beef with them. They called the game well and the overtime well, but the shootout was all jumbled up. They were talking about shots going off of people or hitting the post or whatnot, but failed to mention if the skater scored a goal or not. That is the most basic information, whether the puck went in the net or not, and they did not cover that very simple base and made it hard to listen to and hard to figure out what was going on.

Rangers @ Devils

As John F. puts so well, the Rangers are to be hated. So...on to the hatred.

--FIRST PERIOD--

DEVILS - 1 || RANGERS - 0

Goal: John Madden, Devils at 18:32 (Assists: Brylin, Pandolfo)
Shots on goal: 9-5 Devils
Penalties: Offsetting Roughing Minors (Rozsival, Rangers) (Rupp, Devils)

Elias and John Madden (no, not that John Madden) are crashing the net tonight. Brodeur has not really been tested. The Devils are quick to the puck tonight and playing that well-known DEVILS HOCKEY. Sarge is continuing his crazy points streak with an assist on the breakaway to Madden. Overall, pretty pleased right now.

--SECOND PERIOD--

DEVILS - 1 || RANGERS - 1

Goal: Michael Nylander, Islanders (PPG) at 14:56 (Assists: Michal Rozsival, and a "thank you" to Scott Gomez)
Shots on goal: 11-6 Rangers
Penalties: Hooking (Pock, Rangers)
Tripping (Gomez, Devils)

Well, that really flipped on itself. To do what almost every announcer does and steal from Charles Dickens in order to make a sports allegory, it was a tale of two periods. The Rangers did what the Devils did in the first, pushing the tempo and firing shots on goal. The Devils were flat, content with sitting on the lead. Well, they don't have the lead anymore. Brodeur definitely should have handled Nylander's shot, especially since he got a glove on it. Oh well though. You live and learn. Heading into the third......should be a good time.

--THIRD PERIOD--

DEVILS - 2 || RANGERS - 2

Goal: Petr Prucha, Islanders at 9:05 (Assists: Jagr, Rachunek)
Goal: Jamie Langenbrunner, Devils (PPG) at 15:48 (Assists: Gionta, Gomez)
Shots on goal: 6-5 Devils
Penalties: Hooking (Nylander, Rangers)
Tripping (Pock, Rangers)

Whew. Caught a break there. The powerplay was not working at all, but then the Devils got to keep it in the offensive zone and put one in. Nice play. You hate to give a division rival (and a hated rival at that) a point, but at least the Devils will get a point. Let's hope they get two. Time for the extra session.

--OVERTIME--

No dice. Marty stood up under pressure. See ya on the other side, folks.

So many teams in New York, so little teams in Rhode Island?

The Devils take on the Rangers tonight. Pretty big game, as they usually all are within the division. The Rangers are now in second place in the Atlantic, and the Devils know something about beating the team behind them in the standings, as Brodeur (who is the man, by the way) took his A game on the road to beat Rick DiPietro and the Islanders on a night not far removed from this very night. DiPietro, who had been shutting teams out, did not shut this team down. In fact, Marty shut the Isles down. Which is good news if you are a Devils fan. And that's me, for the most part. I thought the Devils had been pretty hot lately, but it looks like they are only 5-4-1 the past 10 games. Which isn't bad, but it seems they have been doing well. They're just playing good hockey. "Devils hockey" as they say. Which is winning, apparently. I dig it.




He's scared. Of his own skills.

Fastest to 100 Wins

Congratulations to Avery Johnson, the "Little General." No doubt thanks in part to Dirk, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Devin Harris and the gang, but his coaching style and methods are just plain solid.

Reds

Another offseason. Baseball this time. Sometimes, I think baseball is quite boring. There is a lot of downtime. During the games, this is. Sometimes it's hard to watch because there are 18-22 televised spits between pitches. Anyway, the baseball offseason is so slow, that it might be more exciting than the regular season. Did that make sense? Maybe. Anyway, there will sadly not be much Reds talk going on, unless I feel like talking about the Reds. Which I might. But think about it, they could have gone .500, and should have. Just beat the freakin' Pirates. An easy task. But they checked out mentally. The point? 3 more wins, THREE MORE WINS, they could have tied the Cardinals, could have BEAT them in head-to-head matchups, and could have been in the playoffs and stumbled into the World Series. A long shot, the longest shot of baseball history perhaps, but it's close. That's the deal. It might not be that easy for the NL Central again, but the Reds could do it. It's possible. They could.

Raiders

Now that mercy is upon us for not having to involve ourselves in an awful season, it's time to look ahead. I'll look at the offense, defense, and special teams coming up. I might look at the coaching. I sure don't want to. But I might look at it. Just maybe. Also will look ahead to the draft and see what we got going on there.

Congratulations to Boise State - 2007 Fiesta Bowl Champions

A true win for all the underdogs out there.