Reds 10, Pirates 4

Reds are 4-0 in Spring Training games. Or 5-0, if you count the B Team's 5-0 win today.

NOTABLE THINGS

Pitching: Homer Bailey has an ERA of 13.50. He's off the team. 2 innings, 3 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, 1 K, 2 wild pitches. Eh......Coffey got the win, striking out 2 in his inning. Tom Shearn pitched the final 2 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 2 K's.

Hitting: Josh Hamilton continues to be THE MAN, as he goes 2/3 today with a run scored and an RBI. He's hitting .533. Crosby was 0/3 with a K, but scored twice. ??? Makes limited sense. Hatteberg had another 2-run homer. Janish keeps K'ing it up. Joey Votto had a 2-run blast. Bellhorn has been smart, taking a lot of walks thus far in the year. Denorfia was 3/5 and poor Jeff Keppinger who goes in for the pinch hit and instead takes a pinch shot in the body by the pitcher from Pittsburgh. He's out for a while.

Fielding & such: No errors today, great job. There was a passed ball by Moeller, but Bailey was wild all the way around. Castro had an "SF." Anybody know what that means? Somebody help me out here. Lots of guys left on base again today, many in scoring position. Hard to complain about offense, though.

Mavericks 103, Magic 98

The last time I didn't start with "Mavericks" on the title, that was 15 games ago. 15 straight wins. 50-9. Ridiculous? You be the judge, but only if the answer is yes.

Big 3: Jason Terry led the charge, with 29 points, as well as an astounding 15 points. He was plain aggressive. He was back to his playoff form last year when he went crazy. He was just all over the place, playing a great game. Granted, the guys had to hit their shots for him to get an assist, but he was passing and stroking it well tonight. Nowitzki had his: 24 points and 9 rebounds. Josh Howard rounding out things with 21 points.

For the Magic, you assume Dwight Howard will be the stud and he was, getting 25 and 10. That's points and rebounds.

Nice to know the Mavs can win a gut check game, or back-to-back gut check teams against two good teams from the East. Granted, they beat them both on their home floor, but they played fourth quarters very well against both teams and managed to come out with a lead. This is huge for the playoffs as they are clearly the team to beat and continue to prove so every night.

The retro jerseys looked nice for Orlando, but it just didn't help them.

Maple Leafs 4, Devils 3 (Shootout)

Blah blah, there was a game, blah blah CAM JANSSEN IS T3H 3VIL MAN!!!!

Not that I'm arguing for Cam's behalf. I didn't see the hit, nobody liked the hit, and I can't condone a late hit on a guy who is completely unaware that it's coming. Cam got his 3 game suspension and thousands-buck fine. It works out. Everyone is flipping out about it, because it was bad I'm sure. I can't help but think some of it is due to anti-Devils bias, though. It seems a little too thick, a little too vibrant and passionate and maybe overdone. I don't think the Devils needed any more ammunition, Mr. Janssen. Thanks anyway.

As far as the actual game goes, it was pretty interesting. People told me to beware the Maple Leafs, but I said to them, "Maple Leafs?" I mean, you're talking about the least intimidating mascot of all-time, right? And they punched me. Hard.

They scored 3 goals. And then 3 goals in the shootout. To have them get 4 goals overall. That makes sense, right? Maybe, maybe not. The Devils also got 3 goals. And 2 goals in the shootout. To end up with 3 goals.

Brodeur was doing fine with shootouts until this game. He let in every goal. Every stinkin' one. The Devils had this game, then allowed a collapse and gave away 2 points. At least they hung on to get 1 of them back. The Devils have to play well. It's crunch time. The Penguins are not going away, Tampa Bay is crazy right now, Buffalo keeps winning. The East is going wild, and so is the West, which makes things pretty flippin' exciting.

Get back to winning, fellas.

P.S. How was Marty the second star of the game?

Reds gone CRAZY

What has happened since I stopped paying attention to meaningless spring training baseball games? I've missed THE CRAZINESS, that's what. The Reds swept the Twins in their weekend series with scores of 5-2 and 14-1.

That's FOURTEEN. Runs, not hits. Hits were 25, get real.

First up was Reds 5, Twins 2.

Notable things - Pitching: Lohse sucked it up, and hit Torii Hunter in the head. Didn't last an inning. Brian Meadows cleaned up his junk, finishing the first and pitching the second, only allowing a run. Stanton was fine, Bray was fine, Belisle was a little rusty but got the win, The Lizard was nice, and Kershner walked one but got the save.

Notable things - Hitting: Hopper was not a good leadoff, going 0-for-3. Bubba Crosby had a 2-RBI hit, so maybe he makes the team after all. Votto (single, double) and Encarnacion (single, homer) were the stars of the night, and Moeller, yes, Chad Moeller had an RBI!

Notable things - Fielding & Such: Freel has a competitor in Bellhorn for caught stealing. They both have 1 as it stands. Machado made the error for the Reds.

Second up was Reds 14, Twins 1.

Notable things - Pitching: Starters were winners and losers tonight as Harang got the win and Bonser got the loss. Harang was alright, striking out two in 2, and allowing 5 hits and an earned run. Bonser gave up 3, including a 2-run homer to Hatteberg. Bobby Livingston followed and pitched the same 2 innings (well, they were different) and struck out the same numbe of 2 guys, but allowed only one hit. So he is the new #1 starter, ladies & gents! Victor Santos followed, doing almost the same thing, but striking out one fewer. Ligtenberg went the next two and struck out one, and Shackelford was on for the save (hey, the Reds could give up 12-13 runs in the ninth) and walked one and got the heck outta there.

Notable things - Hitting: Where to begin? Probably with Josh Hamilton, the kid that will probably make the team. And rightfully so, thankfully as he went 3-for-4 today (2 dubs) with a run scored. No ribbies, though. Freel, the true leadoff man, went 2/3 and scored. Hatteberg homered and went 2/2. Crosby was 2/3, Phillips the same (with a homer) and Paul Janish was 3/3 with 2 RBI's. The Reds stranded SEVENTEEN baserunners. Holy wow.

Notable things - Fielding & such: Error on Joey Votto tonight. Not the prospect you thought he'd be? He'll be riding the doghouse for weeks now. Right? I mean, because Narron hates fielding errors, right? And he's done everything in his power to correct them, yeah? Come on.

GO REDS (even in meaningless games)

Raiders in free agency

HUGE goings-on today, primarily just because Tampa Bay is emulating Oakland (which I've said before) but doubling up on them as they acquired TWO of the top veteran QB's in landing Jeff Garcia and trading for Jake Plummer. The deal with Plummer is that he may retire. If not, the Bucs have Plummer, Garcia, and Simms. Ridiculous. I mean, that's all it is.

The Raiders did not do much except cut Tyrone Poole and restructure the contract of Barry Sims. The Sims thing had to be done, and I'm glad it was. I'm glad he was man enough to get it done, he must see some light at the end of the tunnel. Poole was a true vet, but didn't do a whole lot for us. That's how it goes in this business. Langston Walker was lost to free agency today, and not too many people cried about it. Just because of the porous offensive line last year, though I think Walker could be (and has been) good at times. We'll miss his blocked kicks, that's for sure.

Dirk "Obviously" Watch

"He (Lebron James) was great all night, so I thought one of them for sure was going in," said Dirk, who had a 24-11-7 night. "We dodged a bullet there, obviously."

Mavericks 95, Cavaliers 92

It's just what Sefko was writing about earlier, the Mavs are the Anti-Lebrons. Lebron James, the new god of basketball, will get his. You know this. The Mavs tried everything they could, the Mavs being a dang good team, and the guy scores 39 points. All of the highlights, all of the recap, was about Lebron James. Good for him. The problem? He wasn't on the winning team. And that's just fine with the Mavs. Put Lebron out there, show his dunks and crazy 3-pointers and his excellent skills, and then just sort of tack on the fact that the Mavs won their zillionth straight. They are fine flying under whatever radar they can at this point. They keep winning. It doesn't stop.

Nowitzki had 24, Jason Terry had 20, Josh Howard had 17. Do you notice how the Big 3 always produce? Good, because I do. Nowitzki had 11 rebounds and 7 assists. So he's shooting a million for double-doubles, he's shooting a .000 for triple-doubles. But the guy gets dang close. Howard had 10 rebounds himself. Dampier had a solid game with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

The Mavs also swept the Western Conference Monthly Awards, getting the Player (Nowitzki) and Coach (Johnson).

Oakland News & Notes

It's everywhere, folks. Actual important news first.

The Raiders signed Tommy Kelly to a one-year deal for $1.35 million. This takes care of almost the entire defense, if not all of it. This is a good deal and was the right thing to do, as Kelly would have been able to test free agency waters. Time to focus on the offense.

The Broncos got EVERYWHERE BETTER by getting Dre Bly for Tatum Bell and George Foster. Bell is good, don't get me wrong. But the Broncos have at cornerback Champ Bailey (who I can't stand) and Dre Bly (who I like a lot but now I have to hate). There is no other team anywhere close to beating that combination, and oddly enough, the Raiders are close to being one of those teams chasing.

Some guy named Charlton Keith, who was on the Browns practice squad last year, signed with our beloved Raiders. Yes, the CLEVELAND BROWNS. Practice squad. Hmm.........

Apparently, this Jeff Garcia thing is gaining a lot more traction and looking a lot more apparent than I gave it credit for earlier. I have nothing against the guy, I would just be skeptical (and rightfully so, yeah?) of having another journeyman QB come in and play a year for the Raiders. Some people say this move actually signifies selecting JaMarcus Russell with the #1 pick. That would make me feel better about it. But what about Andrew Walter? Is last year the whole basis for making him a career Tuiasosopo? I hope not. And, what if Russell is not the savior we all believe he is? Then we're in trouble, folks.

This is hardly worth reporting, but Daniel Graham, former tight end of the legendary Patriots, is scheduled for a visit. If the price is right, better do it.

Sports Illustrated reports that "The Trade" with Green Bay, Rodgers for Moss, has never even been talked about. That's what I love about the Internet, the stupid rumors fly and anyone can get away with anything pretty much. Stupid kids.

Reds 9, Pirates 7

Not really sure what I'm doing. I can't imaging recapping baseball games as I do basketball and hockey games, because there are simply too many of them, and because crunch time for classes occurs after Spring Break. And plus, this is preseason, so what a bunch of hogwash. But here I go.

If this is the return to small ball, pitching & defense that the Reds were talking about, it's a sad beginning. I know it's not the season yet, but this had the feel of Reds vs. NLC opponents the year before last and the one before that. The fact that the Reds made it closer in the ninth inning by allowing two more runs and sloppy play isn't great, either. Five errors. Five??? This is what you get for stressing defense and fundamentals?? Let's hope they can put it together.

Paul Wilson got the win, good for him. Salomon Torres got the loss, as he chucked up 4 runs in the fifth.

These players got homers: Dunn, Phillips, Bellhorn (huh?), Keppinger (who?), and Hamilton. The highlight was Hamilton's as it was blasted further than Dunn's. I think that means he gets an automatic roster spot now. Oh well. For the Pirates, Matos got two homers, off the starter Milton and the winner Wilson.

My man Freel is batting 1.000 thus far, and got off to his usual base-running: 1 stolen base, 1 caught stealing. Phillips, Bellhorn, and Hamilton has 2 RBI's.

Milton did not look good (2 innings, 6 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 homers), but that's to be expected. Wilson did better than I would have predicted (2 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 2 strikeouts), but he was given a lot of credit by a lot of the players and staff, so maybe he'll be good for us again. Saarloos had a great 2 innings with straight 0's across the board (no hits, runs, walks, strikeouts). Same with Coffey's one inning. Cormier wasn't hot, and neither was Salmon.

In much bigger news, the Reds finally got around to signing Dustin Hermanson as the potential closer. Truth be told, we don't need many more relief pitchers, but this guy has the capability to be lights out as a closer, as he was just a couple years ago. It's worth a shot. But then what with Weathers, Cormier, Stanton, and crew? Forget it.

P.S. Marty & Thom Brennaman were making their first starts as father-and-son broadcast team. The fun fact for me about Thom Brennaman is that he called play-by-play for the amazing 2007 Fiesta Bowl where Boise State defeated Oklahoma 43-42.

QB Speculation

Jerry McDonald's going CRAZY over there.

Here's what you do: Pick JaMarcus Russell, make Walter the starter, get a veteran backup (Trent Green?) to help out when necessary, and get ready for '08.

Outfielders

So, you're the Reds. Hi, Reds.

You have a current "logjam" in the outfield. It's early, so don't sweat. I'll break it down nice and easy for you.

The story, from what I hear, is that the outfield has four spots that are locked down. I count three, but you tell me where I go wrong.

1. Dunn
2. Griffey
3. Freel

They want you to think that Conine is #4, and that could be true. I'd rather not see it. I'd rather see that man get STRICT platooning at first base, relieving Hatteberg (or Votto) only when necessary. I've got nothing against the man, we just don't need him around all that much. Making relief appearances at first base should be enough. No need to hog any outfield spots. But, if we're sticking to the script, that's four.

4. Conine

So now, you've got the competition for the fifth spot. It's ultimately between Norris Hopper, Chris Denorfia, Josh Hamilton, and Bubba Crosby. All have been featured with special stories, so let's not cry.

Since Denorfia is a starter for me, he's five.

5. Denorfia

1. Dunn (starts LF)
2. Griffey (starts RF)
3. Freel (relief duty)
4. Conine (???)
5. Denorfia (starts CF)

Now, there is debate amongst Reds folks that the club could go with 6 outfielders. Fair enough, let's give them that option.

6. Norris Hopper

Sorry, Mr. Hamilton. You could make this spot, it's true. You just have a longer way to go. If the Reds take my suggestion and get Conine the heck out of there, you're in. But if not, Hopper is in. I wasn't a Hopper fan last year, but when I looked at him during the offseason, I slapped myself and wondered why. He has been a trooper in the minor leagues, getting better all the team, and truly made the most of his major league call-up last year. He has nothing left to prove, he has done the job. He can do more. He can also pinch hit when he is not in the lineup, something I would be reluctant to give to Hamilton.

Bubba Crosby, sorry kid.

Raiders "interested" in Garcia, Packers "interested" in Moss

Very, shall I say, interesting. You get it? Heck yes, the joke!

I like these "stories," because they can be right or wrong and the people get it right either way. Very wise move. Jeff Garcia to Oakland? I'm assuming that's being fueled by the fact that the Raiders have a penchant for taking veteran QB's. That doesn't mean the cycle ALWAYS keeps going. It could, don't get me wrong. It's just annoying when veteran QB's are out there and so Oakland is always listed as a possibility, just because they've done it quite a few times. That's basically what it comes down to, you don't need any other information, just observe a trend and attribute that trend to be the end result of some event that is currently being looked at. Apparently the Raiders are interested in Carr, Plummer, Huard (not anymore), and every other QB who isn't locked up with their current team. That doesn't mean anything to me. The Raiders could keep grabbing up the veterans, but I am assuming that this is the year they turn that around, getting a fresh face and having the new guy and Walter be the tag-team combo of the future.

The other story is similar, but seems to have more merit. On the Packers side, anyway. Hard to tell with the Oakland side. I don't really care. I've said before, I was so excited when the Raiders got Moss and now I couldn't care less. At least I can make up my mind if he were go to the Packers, then I could hate him for sure. Otherwise, I'll continue to be indifferent towards him. The Packers are trying to make a triangle out of the Raiders-Buccanneers connection. All this trading players between teams is getting quite ridiculous.

Devils 1, Penguins 0

No way, man. Another shutout? Not that hard for Brodeur these days. He's got 12. The next guy has about half of that. Three more of where those are coming from, and you've got the new 2nd-most shutouts by a goalie, which would be Brodeur with 95. But did you think it would occur in this game? Did you think it would happen in any game against the Penguins? The mighty, high-flying Penguins? No sir. But it did happen. The Devils only scored once, and if that's all you were told before looking at the recap, you would fear the worst. But then you would see that Brodeur shut them out and you would have a quizzical look on your face for a bit, and then accept it. For Brodeur does unthinkable, great things all the time. And this is one of them.

The goaltending wasn't the only impressive feat defensively for the Devils, as you can clearly tell that nobody from the Penguins scored. That would be no scoring for Crosby and no scoring for Malkin, who both score all the time. Their point streaks were snapped last night, thanks to their shots being stopped, but thanks to shots not being there in the first place. Great defensive work to shut them down last night. Crosby, Malkin, and Gonchar were on the ice all the time, and the Devils countered by giving heavy minutes to Madden, Lukowich, Pandolfo, and Martin. And those guys were pretty dang impressive, showing some grit I hadn't seen for a while. This newfound attitude would serve them well if they were to continue it.

The offense is not quite as cool, obviously. A lot of that has to do with Gionta being out. Because, right now, the first line does pretty much nothing pointwise. They get their open ice showcase stuff done, but it's not tangible, it's not practical, it's not reaping rewards. The second line continues to be the best, and Langenbrunner with the only goal, proves it again. A Power Play goal???? Only Langs, man. Only him.

Lots of penalties, but it didn't feel like a sloppy game. Felt GOOD. Dang good.

Also, David Hale was traded to the Flames for a 3rd-rounder. A 5th-rounder was given up. Not a big deal, I thought Hale was just fine, but wasn't a huge fan. Apparently, the important thing is this clears up room for Matvichuk to make his return to the ice. (UPDATE = More importantly, this appears to be making room for Andy Greene, as Lou said it himself.)

Mavericks 91, Wolves 65

The score would appear to give you the indication of being a grinder, but that's not really what it was. Maybe for the Wolves, but it was just another day at the office for the Mavs. Winning by almost 30. Winning 13 straight games again. Just winning, really. That's what they are used to. The Wolves have fallen off the map since the All-Star Game, and that's to be expected. Stopped following that team a long time ago, although I think I'm undefeated in times I've seen them in person. I've never seen Dallas at Minnesota, however. That would be pretty fun. Anyway.

Nowitzki was the man, scoring 23 and snagging 14 boards. That's plenty good stats, my friend. Howard contributed 17 points and 7 boards, even though he's playing on a funny ankle. The man is becoming a beast. Jason Terry rounds out the usual Big 3 with 18 points and 7 assists. Other notables are Diop, who snagged 10 rebounds and also scored 6 points. That's the same as Dampier, with 6 more rebounds. Dampier is becoming obselete again. He had a stretch, what, in mid-December maybe, of being pretty dang good for a while. Forget that, he's totally inconsistent, being pretty lame over quite a long stretch now. For the Wolves, it was Garnett and Ricky Davis with 15 a piece. Lame.

Here's some thing to keep in mind: 65 points is the fewest allowed in Mavs history. Not losing in a month (granted, it's the shortest one) hasn't happened until now in Mavs history. The Mavs are 11-0 in the second game of a back-to-back, whereas most teams (even the great ones) are around average.

What more can you ask? An NBA Championship, perhaps? Sure.

Josh Howard's ankle

While we're on the subject of great quotes, this one's a doozy:

"I'm the only one it's been happening to and I know it's not fate. Somebody's telling somebody to do something."

And there you have it.

Ryan Freel

Probably my favorite Reds player. Good quote from Lonnie Wheeler in his article today about center field:

the man who never put on a uniform he couldn't soil by the second inning

That's a pretty cool compliment.

Mavericks 110, Atlanta 87

I don't know what to write anymore.

When I first got into this sports blogging thing, back on the first day of 2007, I didn't go into it with the intention of writing recaps of all the games my teams played. I wanted to do analysis, I wanted to crunch numbers, I wanted to write off-the-wall things and such. And to an extent, I have done that. But I have usually resorted to recaps. Which are working alright for me. They just get old when I have to write another recap about the Mavericks winning by 15+ points every night. That's the extent of what Eddie Sefko wrote in his online chat last night, and I wholeheartedly agree. Except that guy gets paid.

So what happens is you get a team that has won 19 straight games at home and is hosting one of the more crappy teams in the league. So what you get at the end of the night is a team that has now won 20 straight games at home.

On an interesting note, something that seems to happen in all sports, is that when a player gets traded during a season, those two teams meet each other very shortly afterwards. That happened tonight with Anthony Johnson returning to Dallas, scoring 2 points in 24 minutes. We'll miss you, AJ!

Other Hawks players scoring were Joe Johnson, the new face of Atlanta, with 29. Pachulia, whoever that is, had 24 points.

For the Mavs, the trio busted it wide open. Nowitzki led the charge with 27 points and 8 rebounds. Howard had 20 points before he had to leave at the end of the game, due to an odd fall on top of Joe Johnson's foot that left his ankle sprained. Which JUST HAPPENED a couple games ago, with Jason Kapono and the Heat. What the flip? Jason Terry rounded out the cast, getting 21 points. I like when he gets involved. Perhaps the most impressive came from Jerry Stackhouse yet again, answering the call due to George & Buckner not playing and Howard not playing the fourth quarter. Stack had 26 minutes and used it to score 19 points and assisted on 9 other plays.

An easy win against a bad team. Fair enough.

P.S. THE MAVERICKS ARE THE FIRST TEAM IN NBA HISTORY TO HAVE THREE 12-GAME WINNING STREAKS OR HIGHER.

Devils 3, Capitals 2

Goals:
First Period: Brooks Laich, Capitals (Erskine, Zednik)
Second Period: Zach Parise, Devils (Zajac, Langenbrunner)
Third Period: Travis Zajac, Devils (Parise, Rafalski)
Alexander Ovechkin, Capitals (Schultz, Heward)
Jamie Langebrunner, Devils (PPG) (Rafalski, Elias)

Shots on Goal: 29-25 Devils

Penalties: Devils - 7 minutes, Capitals - 11 minutes


--FIRST PERIOD--

Well, the Capitals didn't score in the first minute. And after an early penalty, the game was still scoreless. That bodes well for the Devils this afternoon. Fairly boring back-and-forth thus far early in the period. The Devils, as you no doubt would understand, failed to score on their first power play, but it was one of their best power plays in a LONG time, considering some of the ones in which they scored. Lots of missed shots and stopped shots. Lots of pressure. Keep that going, and something might fall through. Couldn't keep all that D.C. talent scoreless for too long, as Laich scores. The game should be tied at 1, but the Devils have been robbed by the post and Johnson several times so far. Clemmensen should have his self-esteem boost back in gear as he stopped Ovechkin at point-blank range and stopped another as the horn sounds. Fairly even period, but more sparks have been shown by the Capitals.

--SECOND PERIOD--

More of the same stuff, really. Lots of missed shots but opportunities for the Devils, some defensive lapses and Clemmensen has handled it well so far. Rupp and Sutherby got into it a little bit, hard to say where that came from but it came from somewhere. Not sure who had the upper hand there. If you had an idea of who would score for the Devils to tie the game, would it be Zach Parise? If not, you should re-examine your head because that's exactly who it was. The assists were from the usual suspects as the teams were skating 4-aside. More back and forth action. Another missed opportunity on the power play, but the unit is kicking along. It's strong and makes good plays. It just doesn't score. Hard to figure out what the problems are. Parise is going wild a little bit, but Johnson is denying him pretty well, as well as the rest of the team. Who the crap is Brent Johnson? He's throwing his body all over these shots. Forget this stooge. The Capitals putting on some pressure now, but Clemmensen is holding up surprisingly well. Lukowich down on the ice with face bleeding. Come on people, no more of this. Another even period, perhaps with a slight Devils edge. Which means they should be up 2-1 by now. But yeah, we'll see how it goes down, though I might have already left. Going to see a movie at 2:30.

--THIRD PERIOD--

What a great start to the third, as Zajac slams it in the net!! I don't know what else can be done against Brent Johnson, who is playing much better than his name and career stats indicate. But jamming and slamming and stuffing can phase any goaltender. Nice goal. Put a little muscle into it. Cam Janssen throws another nice shot on goal, what's up with him lately? The Devils are putting on the heat early on in this period, and good for them. Clemmensen needs that help, but you don't want to wait too long before getting a shot on him either, because he could be too tight by then. Wow!! Back-to-back shots at point blank range for both teams - Langenbrunner denied on a pretty save by Johnson and somehow Clemmensen stops Semin at the other end. Crazy action. Clem is holding up strong as the Capitals are turning it on a little bit. And as soon as I type that, the wunderkind known as Ovechkin turns on the burners and fires a laser right past good ol' Clem. Darn it, youngin'. As much as the Devils suck at getting PP Goals, they certainly can draw them with relative ease. Here comes another one, this would be a great time to score one for once. AND AS SOON AS I TYPE THAT, it happens!!!! Langenbrunner puts the Devils back on top! With a POWER PLAY GOAL!! About dang time, nice job fellows. Now the Devils feel like they should let up on defense, which isn't a great idea. Doing better now, as they are almost done. Goalie is pulled. It's over. Good win today, was not expecting it. Rock 'n roll.

Capitals 4, Devils 2

What a perfect game to rest Martin Brodeur. Apparently, that's what is happening this afternoon as the two teams meet again. Which is a cool idea, if you like to lose two games in a row. Because the Devils simply do not win when Clemmensen is in the net. Do you know of any other team in the NHL that is more dependent on any one player? I don't. Martin Brodeur holds the success of the Devils in his hands. That said, he blew it yesterday. It would have been a perfect game to play Clemmensen, because the Devils lost anyway. I mean, that's easy to look at in hindsight. But it happened. And now what, you lose back-to-back games against the same team as the Penguins are darting ever closer to the top of the Atlantic Division? I suppose that's what you do. Brodeur needs to be rested. But Clemmensen? Do you think we could maybe have a backup who is at least mediocre-ly decent? Nah, of course not. When you think about it, it really doesn't matter because Brodeur will play infinity games a season. But if he goes down, it's over. If he has a bad game, no dice, nobody there to make him pick it up or challenge him.

In more positive news, congratulations to Cam Janssen for scoring his first NHL goal!!!

I don't know how it would be possible, but the Devils better beat the Caps today.

Mavericks 115, Nuggets 95

Does it ever get old? Let's hope not. Especially for the players. In almost an exact repeat of his previous game, Nowitzki had the same number of points (31), the same number of rebounds (11), and two more assists (8) barely missing his first triple-double. Hard to believe the guy has never had one yet, but I'm sure he will. Can't keep waiting this long. Josh Howard helped out a lot more than he did last game, even though he was playing on a sore ankle. He got 27 points, which helped out a lot, particularly in the first half. Dampier & Diop both got 7 rebounds, and 7 rebounds was the total that somebody else got. This one was definitely more surprising though - Devin Harris. Ha! The little man pulling down 7 boards. I wonder how that happened.....

Stackhouse does what he does and comes in off the bench and scores 16 quiet points and dishes out 6 quiet assists. The man is a warrior, a trooper, a soldier for the cause. Well done, Stack.

On the other side, the Nuggets have their two guys. You know they'll make it tough. Anthony & Iverson over there, Anthony getting 34 points and 6 rebounds. Iverson scoring 26 points. They both look like a lot, and they are a lot, but the Mavs' defense really clamped down in the second half. Thankfully. And Anthony & Iverson combined for 16 turnovers. That's huge. They were getting sloppy in the second half, no thanks due to the defense of the Mavericks.

Not much else, really. That's 11 in a row. Hosting the Hawks tomorrow night, should be a good time.