Creighton 82, Bradley 71

Sure, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 95-94. But that's not the story.

I travelled with my friend Brett to Peoria, Illinois last night. It was about a 25-minute trip to see our favorite NCAA basketball team. Brett's from Omaha, going to college with me at Eureka. I just like Creighton ever since they beat Florida in triple-overtime in the NCAA Tournament a few years ago. We dressed up, we made outrageously absurd signs, and we were treated to a dominating performance from the Bluejays. They started off red hot, making their first six shots, four of them were 3-pointers, and they were up 16-3. Bradley never got within more than 9 points after that as Nate Funk & Co. took over. Actual, Watts was dang good last night, hitting the 3 ball well and playing a tough inside game. Tolliver was weaker than usual, but he got fouled hard all night long. Miles was solid and helped out in several key moments. Bradley just took way too many dang 3's, and thankfully missed a great deal of them. It was a great, great night.

Thrashers 5, Devils 4 (SO)

Ehhhhhhh.

Just when you are ready to applaud the Devils for getting some offensive life in their blood, they forget how to play defense. This is exactly what I brought up with John F. I had wondered if it was wise to wish for offense and to receive offense, because that might easily sacrifice the defensive side of things. That seemed to be entirely the case last night as the Devils scored 4 but gave up 4. And they couldn't settle things in overtime, so they headed to a shootout with the EXTREME handicap of not being good in shootouts and going against what is no doubt the best team in the league at shootous. They scrapped and fought and played with determination. And let's be honest here: the Thrashers are GOOD. And the Devils were able to adjust and match their tempo, match their scoring and matched their shot total as the teams combined for EIGHTY SHOTS on goal. Yikes. They played a decent, but highly uncharacteristic, style of play. It just wasn't meant to happen.

Mavericks 122, Sonics 102

It's nice to see the Seattle Supersonics. They're a good club, a fun bunch, but a team that the Mavericks can count on to beat. And that's always a nice team to have around. The score always seems the same, the flow of actions always seems the same, and the game maybe seems in doubt for a slight period of time but never seems that they are truly in trouble. Ray Allen will explode, as he did for 35 points this time around. This game was no different. Except for a key twist. Austin Croshere.

Mr. Croshere had a CAREER-high 34 points as he simply went off last night. Josh Howard was out attending to hise wife's needs as she birthed a child. Dirk Nowitzki, thinking that maybe since Josh Howard was out, he should DECREASE his ability, decided to pretty much suck. The Terry/Harris combo was effective, not spectacular, yet again. Greg Buckner contributed solid minutes off the bench. But Croshere was the story, as he drained 7 of 10 3-pointers, the most he's ever had, made, or taken.

The shooting was spot-on and the Mavs were able to get to the free throw line a lot more than Seattle was. The odd stat was that the Mavs got killed on the boards, but when they made so many of their first shots, it wasn't a big deal this time around.

My only complaint is Eric Dampier has been a joke lately. He started strong, lost his way, got back to being strong, and is now not even a factor. He better get his game into gear.

What's up with the Cleveland Browns?

Troy Smith, the great Ohio State QB, has now thrown his name in the hat to be the future QB of the Cleveland Browns. He is the second superstar ball-chucker to do so since the college football season ended, with Brady Quinn being the first. Granted, it makes more sense for Smith to do it. Ohio State happens to be in Ohio, and Cleveland happens to be a major city in Ohio. Brady Quinn was more surprising, but this is surprising as well since Quinn already said he wants to go here. Perhaps the Browns package all of their draft picks together, get picks #2 and #3 and get them both. Maybe.

Greg Knapp comes to work for the Oakland Raiders

Knapp Joins Raiders Coaching Staff as Offensive Coordinator

To be honest, I'm more excited about this move than I am with the head coach move. And I guess the single most obvious (and rational) answer is that Greg Knapp is proven. He gets things done. Sources said he wasn't coming, rumors said he was coming. You just never know. I don't think they settled with Knapp, I think they got their man this time around. At least, I hope that's the case. He should be a bright mind and I hope he is given a great deal of freedom. No offense to Lane Kiffin, but having Greg Knapp is more exciting, at least initially, right now. GO RAIDERS.

Al Davis = Fidel Castro?

An interesting comparison to say the least. Or the most. The following is a link to Hall of Fame Magazine where Lesley Visser takes on the one and only Al Davis. The article is a pretty balanced look at Al Davis, with most of the compliments coming about the past. We could definitely use compliments about the current situation, but those seem few and far between. Go and read if you want some history as to what the Raiders used to be.

Link

USC-Raiders pipeline begins

Lane Kiffin, who just got done teething, has hired two football minds with USC ties:

Yogi Roth (USC Graduate Asst) - Oakland Offensive Asst
Mark Jackson (USC Dir. FB Operations) - Oakland "Front Office Role"

I guess a lot of things could be worse than the Oakland Raiders becoming the University of Southern California NFL team. I just happen to think variety has the potential to be more than just the spice of life.

Panthers 4, Devils 2

This was a highly forgettable game. And one that I marked way back at the beginning of the year as a must-win game. Not this game specifically, but every game against the Florida Panthers because they had the goalie with the 2nd-most wins (Ed Belfour) and I wanted Brodeur to get that mark (which he currently does hold) and to ensure that this wouldn't be a problem, Brodeur needed to beat "Eagle Ed" every time they went up head-to-head. That did not happen last night, but Brodeur has a nice cushion of 8 wins that he can sit on for now. Just because he surpassed Belfour earlier in the year and just because he racked up his 11th 30-win season doesn't mean he can mentally check out. Don't get me wrong, that is certainly NOT what I am accusing him of doing. If anyone is practically mentally flawless, it's Martin Brodeur. Last night seemed to be an abberation though. Things just didn't seem to work, the Panthers figured out Marty pretty easily. It started off well enough, with Gionta getting his usual goal, but it fell apart from there. John F calls it like he always does in talking about patience and how the Devils are content with playing over-patiently (not a word) when they score first or when it's tied because they have so much faith in Brodeur. Usually it works out. But sometimes the offense, ODDLY ENOUGH, needs to carry the day. They had an opportunity when they were put down 3-2 halfway through the second period. They just couldn't come up with any answers. Those things are going to KILL them in the playoffs where offensive intensity must and will pick up. They better start scoring some goals.

Mavericks 106, Kings 104

Hard-fought victory last night. Made me think of the Dallas/Sacramento games of old, when they were bitter rivals and slugged it out night after night. I don't know what happened to those days. Dallas got a heckuva lot better and the Kings have gotten worse. I guess that's how the story goes. But tonight was back to old-school Kings/Mavs with the Mavs squeaking it out by two points at the end of the game. Tough stuff. Nowitzki had his 8th-straight double-double last night, pouring in 32 points and racking up 11 boards. Josh Howard had an off night with 13 points, but the Terry/Harris combo put up 32 points as well as 13 assists. Stackhouse contributed a solid 16 points with good shot selection yet again. This man is going to be HUGE in the playoffs. Field goal percentage was dead even, 53% a piece, which really makes me think it was a Kings/Mavs game of old. For the Kings it was Ron Artest with 25 and Kevin Martin with 21, but ultimately it was not enough. Good thing, too.

And with that win...

...Martin Brodeur continues to lengthen his NHL record of 30+ wins a season with 11 in a row. The most seasons in total is 13, held by Patrick Roy. Marty should be able to snatch that win up pretty quickly at the pace he is going. Congratulations to a well-deserving goaltender.

Devils 2, Lightning 0

Goals:
First Period: Brian Gionta, Devils (Gomez, Elias) Second Period:
Third Period: Jay Pandolfo EMPTY NETTER

Shots on Goal: 28-25 Tampa Bay Lightning

Penalties: Devils - 4 minutes, Lightning - 8 minutes


--FIRST PERIOD--

This is a first period I can live with. The Lightning are fast. One could say "lightning quick" but then that one would get shot because that's a dumb thing to say. But yes, the score is in the Devils favor currently, which is nice. It's also nice to see that the first line is living up to being the first line and not having to have the second line pick them up. Though the second line would answer the call, no doubt. Especially with the Young Stars MVP Parise in there mixing it up. But I wasn't simply pleased with the goal by the first line, their entire play this period was very solid. Everyone is talking about rust after the All-Star game. I don't get it. It's ALWAYS mentioned. I'm sure it's being mentioned in every other hockey game. It makes no sense. This is just another game to me. Not a big difference. One thing for the Devils to improve is faceoffs, they are getting blown out of the water so far 12-3. But that's been a weak point for the Devils all year, especially recently. Good thing Marty isn't playing like he was in the All-Star game, but I told you that it doesn't matter anyway.

--SECOND PERIOD--

Amidst many technical difficulties (which will probably continue into and beyond the third period) I didn't really keep up with this period. What I know is that the Devils won a handful more faceoffs and the shots on goal were about just as even as they were in the first with the Devils maximizing their shot selection and the Lightning minimizing their quality chances, but only because their shots were being taken at a MAN-BEAST in Martin Brodeur. Tom Chorski just said to me, "And the Devils head into the third period not having given up a goal. How many times have we seen this with Martin Broduer?" And I answered to him, "Several." But he didn't hear me. Because he was on the radio and I was in reality.

--THIRD PERIOD--

So what? Pando throws in an empty-netter (which I have ALWAYS called for not actually counting towards a player's goals or assists, but NO ONE listens to me on this issue). Martin Brodeur gets ANOTHER shutout and nobody blinks an eye because that's what he is supposed to do. So what? The Devils play "Devil hockey" and if I have to type that in quotes one more time then I'm going to rip out my eyelashes one at a time. I mean, what's the point? The Devils roll again. They suffocate the Lightning for once in a blue moon and rock the standings yet again. I'll take it. Don't get me wrong. Is the NHL ready for this? I mean, it's only been 15+ years that it's been going on.

Bulls 96, Mavericks 85

Consider me spoiled, but that sucked.

Reds in the division

Each time the Cubs make a deal, I feel small. And sad. But they've done it again, this time getting Cliff Floyd from the Mets. The Cubs have retained Aramis Ramirez and made deals so far to get: Alfonso Soriano, Mark DeRosa, Neal Cotts, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis, and now Cliff Floyd. I know the Reds can't compete with that, they do what they can as a smaller-market team. It just sucks that they can't truly compete. I just have a bad feeling the Cubs are going to break the curse and win the World Series. It just makes sense because since I've been in Illinois, all of the surrounding teams have been winning. The Cubs are the only ones left.

Narron on Josh Hamilton

Umm.................

"Even if he goes 0-for-his-first-50, we'll keep running him out there and let him play."

How about....NOT doing that?

Roddick loses

Lost in the shuffle of sports TEAMS is my favorite tennis player, that being Andy Roddick. He got DESTROYED last night (or this morning) by Roger Federer - 6-4, 6-0, 6-2. I watched it live.

What this means is that they are playing the Australian Open. It's on the other side of the world. The match started at 2:45am Central Standard Time. I went to sleep at 10:00, got a phone call from my friend Brett at 2:30 saying that he was coming over. We watched the match. Thankfully, it ended quickly for a tennis match, and we got back to sleep before 4:15. Of all the nights to screw up college sleep and mess around with sleep cycles and classes, we thought it would be a good idea to take a shot on this match. It was a bad mistake, my friends. We thought since Roddick had come close, and even beat Federer in a meaningless exhibition, that he was "closing the gap." It couldn't have been further from the truth last night. Part of me wishes I would have kept sleeping. But the experience was interesting. It just sucked.

Don't make the same mistakes I've made, kiddos.

Predictions

I really need to NOT keep my predictions to myself and post them on here. Because I know when things are going to happen. But I suppose everyone could accuse me of altering my timestamp on my posts. So I can't win.

Anyway.

My prediction this time was that there would be a MINNESOTA CONNECTION as Brian Rolston from the Minnesota Wild would score on Martin Broduer. I didn't know he would do it twice in the same period, but I knew it would be once.

Speaking of Marty, he gave up SIX goals in the second period. SIX FREAKIN' GOALS. IN ONE PERIOD. This is Martin Brodeur we are talking about. I mean, I know it's an All-Star game, and I'd much rather have Brodeur do well in the regular season (which he's doing) than have him play well in a meaningless exhibition. But it's still disheartening to see him flounder around like this. Sickening. Let's forget about all of this. Don't tell anyone this took place.

Deja Vu

From Red Hot Momma:

"Crack Technical Staff likes the idea, thanks to the fact that Saarloos is from Oakland, which you have to admit, is an organization that knows a thing or two about pitching.

That's pretty much exactly what I said in my most recent post.

Reds get Saarloos

!!!

Not a huge move, but I have always liked the Athletics in terms of their pitching. They know what they are doing and they have solid contributers. I like this guy and I enjoyed watching him every now and then for the A's. The Reds are debating whether to use him as a starter or in relief. I would opt for the former. He would be a decent starter, a good #4 or #5 and I believe he has the potential to keep getting better. I think he will fit in very well and play well for us. That's the hope, anyway. What did the Reds give up? David Shafer, a pitcher from Double A. Not a huge deal at all. A deal well done. I'm pretty excited about it.

Also, the Reds signed Mark Bellhorn to a minor league deal. The guy's fallen off the map, but he was a decent player back in the day. And thus continues Krivsky's fascination with the oldies.

Zach Parise MVP of the Young Stars Game

'Atta boy.

Mavericks 111, Magic 95

Not much to compain about here. When you win 21 of your last 22 games, you're doing pretty well. The only team in the NBA that I remain afraid of are the Suns. Not the Spurs anymore, though I should. And not the Lakers, though I should. I think the Mavericks are the best team in the NBA, but I think they are susceptible to being beaten by the Suns more than anyone else. I don't know, call it a hunch. Nowitzki went off, scoring 33 and rebounding 10 for a sweet double-double. He is clearly back to being the man in charge. Just another win. I don't really know what to say. Either Nowitzki scores the most or Howard does. If Nowitzki scores the most, Howard scores in the mid-20's, which he did tonight with 25. The Mavericks usually win the rebounding war, which they did tonight. They usually shoot better from the floor, which they did (56-43%). They started off hot, taking a dominating first quarter lead. They used to do that a lot and hadn't been doing it as much, but they went back to that tonight. I mentioned to my girlfriend last night that it's boring sometimes. It's actually annoying for the Mavericks to win, and that makes no sense to me since I am a huge fan. It's hard to explain. It's just great scoring, great teamwork, great defense. Every night. It's hard to complain, but something makes me nervous. I wish they would translate this sucess into the postseason. And they did that last year, by dominating the Grizzlies, and by beating the Spurs in the best series of the year and then finishing off the Suns. And then they lost all their magic against the Heat. Not much else to say. Goodbye.