Devils 3, Flyers 1

I really should be doing homework.

Anyway, the Devils won. At home. That's good because it hadn't happened for a while. But they beat the worst team in the league and that is that.

It was a true score of 2-1, that's when I mean when I talk about the game being 3-1 but the last goal was by the team that was winning after they threw the puck in the empty net. So yes, the game was 2-1.

It started off bad enough for the Devils. Lack of discipline leading to penalties, not skating well, missing pucks all over the place, missing passes to each other, looking sluggish on offense and failing to get into position on defense. They played a pretty bad first period and didn't play much better for most of the second, but it was about even in the middle of the period and then the Devils took over late in the second, scoring both of their goals in the final 2 minutes of the period. First was Mike Rupp with a nice goal, then it was Zajac on the power play shoving one at the goal with hardly any time remaining and it went in. Brodeur had the shutout going until late in the game when Simon Gagne, of course, slammed one in there. The Devils hung on for the win.

Despite the poor play of the Devils, Broduer only saw 15 shots. That's pretty dang impressive. They went from 8 shots on goal in the first period to only 7 the rest of the game, with a measly 2 shots in the final period. One of which went in, as I recall.

Anyway, good win for the Devils to reassert themselves over a far inferior team. The team got a boost with John Madden's return, but also lost Gomez early in the game and for the rest of the game. So they could have been downhearted about that, but they didn't let it show. I don't know the status of Gomez, but hopefully it's not a big deal.

Interesting note: the Devils dominated the faceoffs, 32 to 15. That might be their best positive differential of the year, since they are usually not a good faceoff time. Not sure what it meant, probably that the Flyers aren't great.

Brodeur for Hart Trophy?

Kara Yorio says Brodeur beats Crosby by a nose:

Comparing a skater to a goalie is always unfair. There is no way to deny that the goalie has a bigger effect on the game's outcome. With the greatest respect for the amazing season from the 19-year-old Penguin, that's just the way it is, and it takes the trophy out of his hands.

This tight race goes to Brodeur, your 2006-07 Hart Trophy winner.

The best part of this whole thing is that these are two teams battling for the Atlantic Division, currently tied with 100 points apiece. Great stuff. Does the winner of that battle win the MVP? I'd hope not, whether it's the Devils or Penguins. Marty deserves it. He has been a little off his game of late, but what a season he has had. Nice to see some national recognition for it all.

Mavericks 105, Knicks 103

Whew. Yikes. Again.

Remember almost losing to the Bucks? It happened again, the Knicks are not a team that anyone should lose to. I mean, it happens. Thankfully this time it didn't happen. It blows my mind how one team can both be playing for a lottery pick as well as playing for the playoffs. It doesn't make any sense. That's how bad the Eastern Conference is these days.

The Knicks hung around due to many things, primary among them the Mavs shooting woes. They shot 38.5% from the floor, including an atrocious second quarter where they were 2/19. Other than shooting, the Knicks had the Mavs number in rebounds, though that margin was closed late. Starbury was HUGE for them, scoring a season-high 43 points. He was unstoppable until the end of the game, where he missed both of his late shots and was also forced into a turnover. If it were not for the fourth quarter, the Knicks would have had all the stats in their favor, but the Mavs went wild in the fourth quarter, scratching and clawing their way back in.

The only thing that kept the Mavs close early in the game were free throws. They ended up being 35/39 which was HUGE. Even though they did miss most of the free throws late in the game. That needs to stop. But they did well on free throws, finally having more attempts than the other team, even thought it was only by 2.

Nowitzki was ice cold throughout the game, feeling the effects of his injury. But he turned it on in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 of his 30 points. He also surpassed 15,000 points for his career on this game. Congrats, Dirk. He simply took over the game late in the fourth quarter for these Mavs. Stackhouse, while ending up with only 19 points, scored almost all of them early in the game. He kept the Mavs in it when they were out of it, and he was also 11/12 from the free throw line which was major. Josh Howard had 20 & 8. Jason Terry had 14 points, had a horrendous off-night shooting the ball, but still managed to hit two incredibly big 3-pointers late in the game. Once again, the Mavs got to 20 assists and once again they won. They barely got to 20 though. Also, the 3-point shooting kept the Mavs in it, as they were 10/22 which is pretty dang good.

All in all, the Knicks didn't have this in the bag, but they were staying around and playing better. The Mavs turned on the defensive pressure and made key baskets down the stretch. This is the story of their lives. They should have beaten the Knicks, and they ended up doing so, despite all the adversity going against them. Excellent.

Belisle is #5

Breaking news:

A spectacular spring earned Belisle a starter's job after he worked out of the bullpen last season.

And there you have it, from the official team site. Not a big surprise, because many people mentioned Saarloos can work from the bullpen. He would have preferred to be the starter, but he can be a good long relief man. Or just anything in relief really, except a closer. Maybe even that. There is no doubt Belisle earned it. I probably would have slightly given him the edge over My Man Bobby, but it's hard to bet against Livingston.

Here's hoping Belisle has a great year, and maybe even moves up a few slots! Due to his own performance, not the subpar performance of others.

Interview with Jerry Narron

I found this part particularly interesting:

MLB.com: Was having 140 different lineups last season out of necessity because of changes, injuries and having interchangeable or versatile players?

Narron: It was definitely out of necessity. It wasn't that I was trying to do anything special, believe me. I would love to have the same eight guys in there and just write down a different pitcher every night. Players like to know their roles and how they're going to be used. I think they do best when they don't have to worry about being in the lineup or how they're going to be used.

I have a hard time believing in what you're selling, Mr. Narron.

Reds 5, Rays 4

This is a game I have been known to say "the Reds wanted to lose but didn't." A sort of jest, if you will. It felt like that today, just not as much. They won. Which goes with the saying, I suppose.

NOTABLE THINGS

Pitching: Fitting that the battle for the fifth spot came down to today's game. Hard to say who ended up on top overall, as Saarloos got the better of Belisle on this particular day. Belisle started and got the first 8 outs, giving up 5 hits and a walk, K'ing 4 and letting 3 score, 2 earned. So he was human, shall we say. But he picked up the win, due to the 5 runs scored when he was pitching. Saarloos took the next 7 outs and was much more efficient, allowing only 1 hit and K'ing 1. Cormier (everyone's favorite) took the 6th and gave up a run. Weathers took the 7th and allowed only a hit. Stanton had the 8th, allowing 2 hits but no damage. I'm assuming that's how we'll see the late innings shape up - Weathers followed by Stanton. I'd prefer the other way around, in case Stanton blows it. He has the potential to do so. Anyway, Jared Burton was the closer on this night and got a huge save, with a 1-2-3 inning. Game over.

Hitting: All 5 runs in the first inning. Freel was a surprise play, but he led off and was 1/3 with a run scored. Griff was 1/3 with an RBI single. Castro had a big 2-RBI double. Hatteberg also had an RBI double. Gonzo got another hit, this time getting an RBI. Saarloos was 1/1!!! Moeller was 0/3 while grounding into a double play. Welcome to the team, Chad!

Fielding & such: 2 errors today. One on Gonzo!!!!!!! Seriously, for all the fake hype, I'm getting a little concerned. He made what, 7 errors last year? He's made 3 in spring training. Let's hope he just doesn't really care right now, because c'mon, this is just not right. The other was on Phillips, which is almost as sad. Jay Bruce thought he was cool trying to steal a base, but no, not in the big leagues, my son. He was caught stealing. Bolivar-Janish-Valentin turned a pretty sweet double play. That is all.

Moeller wins by default

Hey, lookie there! Norris Hopper will start the season on the 15-day DL, meaning that spot that maybe wasn't going to Chad Moeller, 3rd catcher extraordinairre, now becomes his by default! Hard to assume what Narron would have done, we know he loves the 3-catcher system, so maybe Moeller was favored in the first place. Hard to believe that, though, when the other guys were Hopper & Denorfia.

Remember when it was a battle for the last spot between Denorfia & Hopper? And nobody thought much about Chad Moeller? And then they hurt themselves in back-to-back games and we giggled because we thought it was silly and fun. But now, it turns out their injuries were much more serious than we first imagined, particularly in the case of Denorifa who is out for a dang long time. Tough break for the kid.

But anyway, get used to it. Chad Moeller with a Reds uniform on. And playing.

Twins 10, Reds 2

My Minnesota brethren kinda took care of me right there.

NOTABLE THINGS

Pitching: Arroyo didn't bring his 'A' game, but this was the first time he has shown anything worthy of concern this spring. Still not ideal to head into the season, but knowing Arroyo, he will shrug it off. His line goes something like 5 innings, 7 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit batter and 1 K for 3 earned runs and the loss. Still not all that bad. He was facing a good Twins team (not their full lineup) and they are good, so it's not unexpected. Coutlangus took the 6th and gave up a mere hit. Coffey took the 7th and gave up 2 hits and a run. Hermanson gave up 2 runs in the 8th, neither of them earned. Some guy named Lutz closed it out and gave up 3 hits and 3 earned runs, mixing in a walk and a K. Not a great night for anybody, save Lango.

Hitting: Hamilton led off and was 1/3. Where did that whole 22/44 thing go? Granted, his average is still barely under .400, but it's almost like he has become just a normal guy now. Phillips hit yet another homer, this time a 2-run blast. Let's hope we see more of this during the regular season. Jay Bruce had a hit in his only at-bat. Gonzo got a hit if you can believe that, and a double at that. EdE & Griff went 0/3. Ross went 0/2 and has generally sucked at hiting all spring. Hits were 15-5 in favor of Minnesota, so yeah.

Fielding & such: 3 errors. Gulp. One on Phillips (naughty boy), one on Crosby and one on some guy named Cosme. Hamilton had 2 outfield assists! Yeah, showing off more of that laser arm. Gotta dig that junk. Jay Bruce also threw out Lis at second base. Very nice. Hamilton & Phillips turned a double play on one of his outfield assists, and a regular double play was turned by EdE, Phillips, and Hatteberg.

The Mavs to pick up Kevin Willis?

Say it ain't so, Joe.

Umm........anbody not feeling this is a great move? I mean, granted, the guy is fit and muscular and has a great work ethic, blah blah. He is a team leader and blah blah. He's also 44 years old. It's true Diop has had a bust year and half the way Dampier is smoking the apathy weed, but do we need this guy? Out of all the candidates we could have, is Kevin Willis, the since-2004 retired Kevin Willis, the answer to the Mavs questions? Sure, you'll tell me he might play 4 minutes in a game or something like that. Alright, fine. Can he do it? Maybe. Could somebody do it better? Most certainly. We'll see what happens, it just seems everyone is so positive about this. I felt I needed to be the voice of negativity, if not the voice of reason.

Reds News

Go read Fay.

Denorifa needs Tommy John surgery and will miss almost the whole year. That's a huge blow. Did anybody see this coming? At all? Where is this out of, besides left field? Dang, man. So it's down to Norris Hopper vs. Chad Moeller. Probably not many Hopper fans, but I am sure many would prefer to see him over Moeller. Moeller hasn't had a bad spring, though. And you know it's inevitable the spot goes to Moeller, so you might as well deal with it and hope he can be at least adequate.

My Man Bobby & Majew were sent to Triple A. I was sad to see My Man Bobby go, but I have a feeling we'll see him again. He's too good. The race is off for Belisle & Saarloos, who nobody has talked about, seeing that we assumed he would get a bullpen spot. So you have to hope for Belisle, I mean you have to. Or Santos. But supposedly, he might fit in the bullpen. Might. It's him vs. Burton & Coutlangus. I like both of the young guys, and I like young over old, but I would take Santos right now.

Billy Bray & The Lizard will start the season on the DL. Also Gil & Keppinger but nobody is watching those two. I miss Bray already. Gordo, of course, is still on the DL as well.

This is so much to take. Too emotional right now. Where was the info about Milton being dumped?

Sabres 4, Devils 3

Dang. Tough loss. They all are at this point, let's be honest.

I actually got to listen to the game this team. It had its moments but it just seemed like a hockey game. Wasn't a whole lot going on. I mean, there were plenty of goals, it just wasn't very exciting to me, that's all. The Devils actually played pretty well, which is a good thing I guess, going into the playoffs. I would prefer to have them winning heading into the playoffs, but at least they are playing well. That Clarkson guy sure has been doing pretty good.

The game felt like it was pretty much a two-goal lead throughout, but the Sabres didn't have that actual lead until the beginning of the third period. The game actually ended up being 4-2, but Parise chipped in a meaningless goal with a few seconds remaining. What can you do? They played a better team last night. Paul Martin's goal in the middle of the third made it 3-2 and you could smell that maybe something was in the works, but 2 minutes the Sabres got that tw0-goal lead back up and it was clearly over.

Gotta keep trying. Where's Brodeur these days?

Dirk Nowitzki "Obviously" Watch

"There's really no need right now to make things worse at this point in the season. Avery told me to sit it out so obviously it was killing me in a close game to sit back and watch."

Mavericks 105, Bucks 103

6-0 on the road trip, coming home, relax, and almost lose to the Milwaukee Bucks? You've got to be kidding me, right? Wrong. Gut check time. Thankfully the Mavs pulled it off.

It didn't help having Nowitzki out the second half with an ankle injury. It was scary times, though we have seen it before. He just came out late in the second quarter but eventually returned, so people thought it was okay. But he couldn't get it going in the second half, so people were scared again. Apparently where it stands now is that he is fine and ready to go but his ankle is not good. He's going to play on it regardless. We'll see how they handle him for the rest of the season. And he wasn't the only one, Josh Howard tweaked his ankle late in the game. Aaaahhhhh!!!!!

The good news is the first to 60 wins. Both in terms of the Mavericks are the first to 60 wins, and the team that gets to 60 first wins. Maybe.

After Nowitzki was injured out, the Bucks went on a tear to lead the game at halftime. Even though the Mavs struggled at times late, they eventually closed it out thanks in large part to Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse. Terry ended up with 27 points. He knew he had to lead this team and he did a dang good job of it making many key baskets down the stretch. Stackhouse's 21 points were also crucial and he was 5/8 on 3's. Howard & Nowitzki ended up with 17 a-piece, Howard also getting 9 rebounds.

For the Bucks, Michael Redd took over and it wasn't hard to see coming. He ended up with 34 points, but the great part of that stat was that he scored 0 points in the fourth quarter. The Mavs made it their top priority to get the dang ball out of his hands and it worked wonders. Thankfully. But he still owned the game for the first three quarters, that's for sure.

Dallas launched a lot of 3's and ended up making 11 of them. The free throws weren't great, especially down the stretch. That could have allowed the Bucks to come back and win it, but thankfully there were strong defensive plays late in the game. The best free throw shooting team will have their off nights, but it's still tough to watch clankers late in the game. Once again the Mavs surpass 20 assists and win the game, this time with 24.

The Mavs got outshot, outrebounded, outassisted, outstealed, and outblocked, but they won the game. 60 wins. The first to 60 wins.

Reds 6, Pirates 4

NOTABLE THINGS

Pitching: Harang was the starter and did not look sharp. How many times have you heard that one before? Probably as many times as I am going to say what follows: wouldn't it be nice to see Harang have a dominating performance? He hasn't looked like the #1 all spring. Somehow I don't find it reasonable to just believe he will turn back into the ace on April 2. In fact, history says he will completely suck for the first game. As long as it's just the first game, I'm cool with that. He just doesn't look good. Anyway. This game was 5 innings, 10 hits (!), 2 K's, and 3 earned runs. Santos picked up the win as he pitched the 6th and 7th innings. Very well, I might add. I like the guy and have all spring and still feel he is a dark horse to potentially start. He gave up just one hit, walked 2, and K'ed 2. Majew pitched the 8th, walking 1 and K'ing 1 in his scoreless inning. Nice to see him doing well. Jared Burton got the save in the 9th, although he gave up 2 hits and a run.

Hitting: Hamilton led off and was 1/3. Dunn was 2/3, scoring twice and knocking in one. EdE was also 2/3. These men had back-to-back home runs in the 6th inning which was pretty dang exciting. Dewayne Wise had an RBI hit. Griff was 1/2 and got his first RBI of the spring. Castro & Ross were both 0/3, as was Gonzo. Bottom of the order stuff, baby. Chad Moeller, pinch hitter extraordinairre, knocked in a 2-RBI double for Santos in the 7th inning to break the 3-3 tie. Huge hit. Chad Moeller? Looks like he's in.

Fielding & such: Gonzo had another error. What the???? Granted, it's only 2. But it's 2 in 3 games, and that's just weird. No more, Gonzo. Also, Godwin had an error but nobody cares about that. Dewayne Wise got picked off of first base. Yikes. Also, there were supposedly 2 double plays for the Reds, but I can't decipher what any of it means. The people involved were Javier Valentin, Gonzo, Castro, and Conine. Cool.

Phillies 6, Reds 2

NOTABLE THINGS

Pitching: Lohse went a little over 4 innings and wasn't great. Wasn't too bad either, but nothing to write home about. Gave up 2 homers but only 2 earned runs, so thankfully both homers were solo shots. Still not great. Also mixed in a walk and a hit batter, but had 4 K's. Coutlangus finished out the inning and K'ed both Chase Utley & Ryan Howard. Howard had 3 strikeouts on the day, but still very impressive. I just don't think the kid has a spot on the team. Coffey took the 5th, gave up 2 hits and a walk but managed to escape. Nice to see Rheal Cormier back, but OH NOT REALLY as he took the loss. His inning of damage included 3 hits, 1 walk, and 2 K's for 3 earned runs. Hermanson pitched a useless 8th and looked rusty, giving up 2 hits and a run.

Hitting: Freel led off with a hit, but that was the only at-bat he was going to get as he plated his face into the outfield wall. We know he just got down on himself for not giving it his all thus leading to his latest injury, but how wise is throwing your face into a wall thisclose to Opening Day? Maybe not smart. Hamilton took over and was 1/2. Griffey was 1/3, but you won't believe how he notched his hit. On a bunt. !!!! On a perfectly placed bunt! Haha. It's just unbelievable stuff that you'll only see once in a lifetime. So Griff is on base with a bunt and then EdE comes up and just SMASHES one out of the park, so that's where the runs came from. EdE added another hit later in the game.

Fielding & such: No errors today as Bellhorn was sent down. Ouch! Just kidding...maybe? Two guys caught stealing though. Not great. Freel was a culprit as he is accustomed to. Gonzo was the other guy.

Devils 3, Islanders 2

Whew. And a big whew. So maybe WHEW. And so forth and so on.

On a night where the Devils needed to win to keep pace with the Penguins, they did so. The teams remain tied at 98 points, each snagging a playoff berth last night with their respective victories. This will be a dogfight until the end folks. For team morale and fan morale, it would make sense for the Devils to be the #2 seed. But, like I've said before, it might work in the Devils favor if they were to lose the Atlantic to the Pens and ended up #4 or #5. Granted, it wouldn't be great to face the hot Ottawa Senators, but do you really want to see a matchup against either the Atlanta Thrashers and Tampa Bay Lightning as the #7 team? I know I don't. Either way, I look forward to the playoffs, although I'm not optimistic.

No doubt it helped to have DiPietro on the shelf for tonight's game. I would much rather face Mike Dunham than America's Goalie, but that doesn't mean the Devils were handed the handicap and the win. They still had to earn it, which they did.

Zach Parise scored a career-high and a team-high 30th goal last night. And it was a power play goal on top of that. And it wasn't the only power play goal of the night for the Devils! David Clarkson, who has been far more impressive than I would have imagined, scored on the power play late in the game as well. Gomez had the other goal, and Elias got the assist on his Welcome Back! tour. Very nice. Goals for the Islanders were Yashin on the power play to make it 2-1 Devils and Jason Blake (of course) late in the game to make it 3-2, which was the final margin. Shots on goal were clearly in the Devils favor, as was the hustle factor.

It was nice to see the Devils play like this. Even the victory against the Panthers was shaky, this one was good. Good to see the Devils still have "it" whatever that may be. Also good to see Langenbrunner back in action and he got 20 minutes. Eric Rasmussen is back and got 16 minutes. Madden & Gionta are still out, but hopefully they will be coming back soon so we can put our complete team together. But the people, such as Clarkson, that don't really play much for the team are filling in admirably well.

Gotta keep up with the Pens, that's for sure. Or make them keep up with the Devils. Should be a good race. At least I'm excited about the Devils again, they looked GOOD.

Dirk Nowitzki "Obviously" Watch

"It was really a fun trip, obviously. We're trying to work hard offensively moving the ball, and everybody's making shots," said Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 15 points while shaking off an illness. "It was a fun trip."

Mavericks 105, Hornets 89

The Mavs win again. That makes the Eastern Conference road trip 6-0. 6 wins, no losses. Played some good teams, played some bad teams, all the games were on the road. That's quite a way to turn it around from that heartbreaking loss to Phoenix. But they did it, and they did it well.

As much as it seems the Warriors have the Mavs number, the Mavs REALLY have the Hornets number. As in the number 21. 21 straight victories over the Hornets of Oklahoma City/New Orleans. That's quite a few wins. The last time the Mavs lost to these jokers was back on Nov. 17, 1999. Back when they were the Charlotte Hornets. Oddly enough, the Hornets wore throwback Charlotte uniforms last night. Didn't help. It's also the current longest winning streak of any team against any team in ANY major sport. So, how's that for impressive?

How easy was this one? The Mavs had leads twice of 31 points in the fourth quarter and the Big 3 didn't play any of the fourth quarter. So yeah.

The Warrior Award (not Golden State style) goes to Nowitzki for everyone thinking he wasn't going to play this game due to having the flu. But he played it, he played for 23 minutes and got 15 points. Certainly not typical numbers, but I wasn't expecting his name to be in the box score. Hopefully he gets well soon. Josh Howard was the man last night, scoring 25 points (2/2 on 3's, and making 3/3 free throws) as well as snagging 10 boards. Jason Terry had 19 points, 7 assists, and once again had amazing shot selection. I hope he can keep this up. He is shooting very efficiently right now. Devin Harris was a little sluggish, but had 14 points.

For the Hornets, Chris Paul 2 points. That's right, all of 2 points on 1/10 shooting. Hilarious. Pargo had 23 points, but nobody was a real threat.

The Mavs shot 55% overall to the Hornets 42%. Mavs are still struggling getting to the line, but I'll imagine they will turn that up come playoff time. They need to get to the basket as almost every team, if not every team, this road trip has shot more free throws than the Mavs. When the Mavs get over 20 assists, I think they are undefeated or something this year. They got 22.

Dominating performance in what should have been one, even with Nowitzki at 77% health. Good stuff. Keep the Suns & Spurs away, let them fight it out, and we'll see what we have on the other end.

Bellhorn, Crosby stay - for now

From Rosey Crayons.

Very odd, since I fully expected both of them to be gone to other teams later this week. Thankfully, as far as Crosby is concerned, that's not the case. He'll be sticking around. So will Bellhorn. Interesting stuff, but Bellhorn might not be around for much longer. Can't imagine both guys sticking with the team for very long, but that's the case as it stands right now.

Raiders = losers in free agency

Raider-bashing on display in full force:

It's fair to say that the Raiders just don't get it. Running back Dominic Rhodes is a solid backup, but the rest of the signings were a bunch of flotsam. Center Jeremy Newberry is just about done and fullback Justin Griffith is just a guy. Worse yet, the Raiders were badly snubbed by a series of players such as Garcia and just about any top free agent running back.

In fact, just about any agent you talk to essentially laughed about the notion of signing his player with the Raiders, admitting that Oakland was merely used as a bargaining chip with other teams in hopes of forcing the price up. Most of the time, the strategy failed as teams saw through the ploy.

What the Raiders are left with is a serious problem at quarterback (Andrew "Tree Stump" Walter is all they have right now) and an offensive line that was no better than a year ago. Even with the No. 1 overall pick, the Raiders have a weak foundation to build upon.