Devils 2, Islanders 0

How many times must I type in that score? It seems a lot. It seems this score happens every time the Devils and Islanders play. Brodeur just knows what he's doing. The Devils figure out how to score at the most opportune times. The defense knows when to open it up and when to shut it down. This game was physical. And rightly so. Lots of fights, lots of other aggressive penalties, lots of bad blood. And yet, you look up and see the score was the same it's always been. America's Goaltender let in two goals, and the Canadian Beast shut 'em out again. That's 11. That's quite a few. 91 overall. There is no one else even close to winning the Vezina Trophy this year. It's Martin Brodeur, hands up and hands down and hands everywhere in between. It would definitely help to have Gionta and White back, but when I'm listening to the games, I don't miss them as much because everyone else is picking up their game. But those are still two huge cogs in the machine and if they need time to get ready for the grind, so be it. As long as they can come back 100% or close to it, we'll be okay. We've got Brodeur back there. Which is good enough most times. It's always good enough against the Isles. That's just how it goes.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu

In a night that featured Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, it was the above guy who shined the most for the Mavericks. And he doesn't even really play with the Mavs. Pops was named the MVP of the NBA's first Developmental League exhibition game. And he got 30 points and was a beast. Nowitzki got third in the 3-point shooting contest and Jason Terry came in last. Oh well. Go West, tonight. Young man. I already said that but there it is again.

Mock Draft

The big boys at CBS Sportsline check into things:

JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU -- Why not? Raiders need a quarterback who can handle the vertical game. Russell qualifies. Still, you never can be sure when it comes to the Raiders -- though it's probably safe to assume they don't use this first-rounder on a kicker.

Wow. Four sentences, half of which contain only two words, and he manages to get in two slaps in the face to the Oakland faithful. Granted, the old adage, "You never knwo when it comes to Oakland (or Al Davis) isn't much of a slap, but that is the intention, and EVERYONE writes it. The kicker thing is funny, though. Ah, screw it.

Mock Draft

Football (at About.com) weighs in on the whole deal, retroactively hopping on the bandwagon:

1.Oakland Raiders - Calvin Johnson, WR Georgia Tech With rumors swirling of an instant fallout between Randy Moss and new head coach Lane Kiffin, it seems likely that Moss won't be wearing the silver and black next season. That opens up a spot for a top-shelf WR in Oakland, and that's where Johnson comes in.

It still makes a good deal of sense, but it doesn't seem very practical here. The guy is a beast, that's for sure. Wouldn't hurt to have him, but I don't think WR is a pressing position. Not only for the Raiders, but for any team really. There are more important cogs. It is nice to see something different than JaMarcus Russell, however. Still.......something makes me think for making a big deal out of this that the Raiders trade the #1 pick away, so all of these mock drafts won't mean a dang thing.

Reds MLB asks me some questions

Here you are, ma'am

Could the jockeying for position also include super prospect Bailey? Unlikely, but a lights-out spring could make the question all the more intriguing.

The Reds also haven't named a closer yet to open the regular season. Weathers, Stanton, Ligtenberg, Bray and Coffey are among those in the mix.

Another spring storyline: Could this be the year that Griffey moves from his familiar center field to right field?

1. No go on Bailey
2. There won't be a clear closer, but it will be Weathers to start. If not, it's Coffey.
3. Sadly, no.

Penguins 5, Devils 4

I warned you.

Not bad offensive hockey, and that's going to have to be the case the rest of the way against Pitt, because their goalie is not a stud. Otherwise, pretty poor game. There's no denying the Penguins are the best team in the NHL as of currently and they are dangerous, that's for sure. They will challenge for the Atlantic.

NBA All-Star Game Tomorrow Night

Go West! (young man)

Mavericks 80, Rockets 77

What can you say? The Mavericks win in all sorts of ways, this one being ugly. I finally got to watch them on TV, and it was not pretty. Which, as I said, is ugly. But it was still fun to watch. It was fun to watch McGrady and Nowitzki go back and forth in the second half, matching big shot with huge shot. It was like nobody else was on the floor for a while. But Nowitzki was the better mean because he earned it. I hate Tim Duncan. Can't stand the man. But this T-Mac of Tracy McGrady is starting to climb the ranks. He has a sweet shot and is a good player, but he is such a whiner. And he gets pansy fouls called for him all the time. Good thing he can't make a freakin' free throw. Or else the Rockets would have won this game. They were so bad from the line, thank goodness.

The Rockets had this game in hand, although it was close. They were scrappy, they were fighting. They just ran into a team who would not and will not lose. It's as simple as that. Jason Terry, who had a very poor game, was of course the guy who made the winning shot. And for the Rockets, the worst guy on the floor for them (I think Alston maybe) took this horrible-looking shot. It was so bad. But the Mavericks got it back and made the shot. I am pretty sure that was NOT the shot the Rockets wanted to take, but oh well. The Mavs continue to win. Nowitzki, unspectacular through much of the game, turned it on for his little fued with McGrady. Stackhouse had huge buckets to pull the Mavs closer, and then Nowitzki hit back-to-back 3's to put the Mavs on top late. They held on. Nice.

It's to be expected, but the Mavericks won again. So many dang games. 44 wins. 9 losses. They won't post the best record of all-time, but they could be in contention to be one of the best teams of any given year. In NBA history. That's pretty amazing right there.

Raiders sign Sands, Thomas

Raiders keep two free agents

Pretty good moves, I'd say. Not really high on either one of them, but Sands was a very capable backup last year, and even got some starts and played hard. He played well at times, but the thing was he played hard. And you could tell. He had a couple breakout games. If he can keep that going, he's worth 4 years, $17 million. Robert Thomas was basically an unknown, but a good special teams player, and became famous for his play against the Steelers. $2 million a year isn't bad at all. But more importantly, these were the two guys the Oakland Raiders wanted to keep, and they are kept.

Devils 5, Canadiens 2

Wait a minute, the Devils scored THREE GOALS on the Power Play? Since when? Since what? Well, if you keep in mind that 66.66% of those goals scored were on a 5-on-3, it's not quite as great. Right right, I complain. I complain when there is hardly anything but good news. I know this. And I'm STILL complaining about the Power Play, even when 3 of the 4 goals (not counting the empty netter) were scored with the extra attacker. It will take me a while to believe, though the Devils have always been great at drawing penalties. So they will always have their chances, that's for sure.

Elias put on a nice show. His scoring and skating are always abilities people can point to easily and show how impressive he is. At the same time, his passing is underrated. Some of the passes he makes are just incredible. He is a very fluid player and played very well. Good for Ralf getting two goals, hitting the right shots at the right times (being 5-on-3).

I mean, what else do you want from this game? This is a great game. This is a game the Devils win 99 times out of 5. The scoring and skating and passing were dead-on. The defense had some lapses, but they were shuffling and juggling their lineups. They still played very well, limiting the Canadiens' shot total to a mere 21, no double digits in any period. Whereas the Devils were one shot away in the first period from having double digits in all three periods. Brodeur played a solid, if unspectacular, game. He faced one more shot (21) than BOTH of Montreal's goalies (Huet - 20, Aebischer - 20). They won the FACEOFF battle, which no one has explained to me yet. They drew 8 penalties and gave up 2. And how bout that scrum? Janssen is back, my friends.

Here's what I'm concerned about. Tomorrow night. Penguins vs. Devils. The Penguins are arguably the hottest team in the league right now. They should give the Devils fits the rest of the year, battling for the Atlantic Division. They are good. The Devils know this. The Devils must win.

NLC Rankings

Red Hot Mama weighed in, and I just couldn't help myself after seeing it:

1. Reds
2. Brewers
3. Astros
4. Cubs
5. Cardinals
6. Pirates

You will not see another order like this by anyone else, so take a good look at it. I don't mean to be rude, but what the???

The Reds, as much as I desire them to be #1, will simply not win the division. It won't happen. I would LOVE to be wrong here, but I don't see. The Brewers are better, that's true. But how much better? And I have a hard time thinking they will improve too much when so many of the other teams are better than they are. The Astros, to me, are the team to beat. I don't know why. I just feel it. Call it a hunch. The Cubs will be infinitely better. The Pirates will obviously be last. The big issue to me is the Cardinals. From #1 to #1 to #1 to 5th place??? And for what?? They didn't get THAT much worse, that's for sure. They always contend and they always play well. Once again, I would LOVE to be wrong and have them be bottom feeders, but it just won't happen.

I hate making predictions, because they are never right and invite criticism. But I guess that's the point, as I did just criticize RHM. But give her this, she put it out there. It's definitely original. But here's how I roll, as of Valentine's Day 2007, with #'s 4 and 5 being interchangeable.

1. Astros
2. Cardinals
3. Cubs
4. Brewers
5. Reds
6. Pirates

Mavericks 99, Bucks 93

Yeah yeah yeah, the Mavericks won again. Not a big deal. They have an outrageous record at 43-9. Nowitzki is a beast, blah blah blah. The real reason for this post is this hilarious photo. Enjoy.

5'5" Milwaukee Bucks guard Earl Boykins
runs into a screen by 7'0" Dallas
Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, of
Germany, during the fourth quarter of an
NBA basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 13,
2007, in Milwaukee. The Mavericks won
99-93.

Lightning 4, Devils 1

All-around bad. This is a team the Devils can't figure out. And that's not good news, because guess what, they were just in seventh place (now 6th) and could easily fall back there again and play the #2 team in the East, which would be.....the New Jersey Devils. Other teams around that area are Montreal (beatable) and Carolina (yikes). So the Devils need to figure out these teams that are hanging around the seed that they would face in the playoffs. But for sure, this is the team you don't want to see. They figured everything out. They scored four straight goals and played pretty solid defense. Their team has won 12 of 15. They have great skaters and great shooters. I've said all of this before. The Devils can't figure them out. They have played amazingly well as of late, but the Lightning are the kryptonite right now. Not that the Devils won't be able to figure them out, but time is running out and they should start doing it soon.

Mavericks 106, 76ers 89

What do you get when you have a high-scoring offense and a defense that shuts teams down? What do you get when you have the best record in the NBA, an unheard of 42-9?? I don't know the answers to these questions.

The Mavs own the best record on the road, and it helps to play teams like Philadelphia without Iverson, because how could they win? Sure, the Mavericks were up by so many points that they didn't care and they let the 76ers come back and think there was maybe a chance, but they ended up winning by almost 20. It's a typical story. They get such a huge lead, they get sick of it. They know they will win, so they slack off for a while. Not a great statement, not something to be proud of, but what can you do? If it doesn't even matter, then what's the point? True, it's not a great sign, but there you have it. And better to afford it now then when it counts.

Check the halftime score. 63-39. I mean, there it is. Do whatever the heck you want in the second half. Crap around. Play some horse. Play lackadaisical defense if you want. They did. And they paid the price in a rally from the 76ers. But it amounted to nothing.

Nowitzki had his day (24 points, 11 boards, 7 assists) and Howard did his usual thing (15 and 5). Devean George also got 15, and Jason Terry had 11 assists to go with his 16 points. For the Sixers, it was Igoudala with 21 points and 9 boards. 3-pointers was another key as the Mavs hit 7 of 15 and the Sixers took 10 and made a measly one! Hard to consider knowing that Kyle Korver is out there, but that's what happened.

Asomugha given offer to play in Pro Bowl, still can't go

Weird story.

The deal here is that Rashean Mathis of the Jaguars got injured and couldn't play. So Asomugha got a last-minute call from the Pro Bowl honchos telling him to get on the next flight out of wherever he was. Problem was, the next flight out would get him to Honolulu AFTER the game was scheduled to be over. Whoops. Oh well. He'll be there someday, unless last year was an aberration. Which it might have been.

Martin Brodeur shuts it down

Great post by Tom Lycan right.......................here.

Mavericks 95, Rockets 74

On a night where he was the high scorer in the game, Josh Howard also found out that he was going to the All-Star game. And rightly so.

What can you say about the Mavs that hasn't been said? I've said it all already. The Rockets were the better team in the first quarter. They scored 24 points. Seeing how incredibly low their final score was, we can deduct that they scored 50 points the rest of the game. Considering the Mavs have scored 40+ points in a quarter three times , that's pretty poor. The Mavericks didn't need a lot of anything really, but they still won by 20 points. Howard was the man, and fitting as he is going to the Big Dance with his teammate Nowitzki. The defense was dang good. Case in point = Tracy McGrady. 14 points in the first quarter. Ended up with 20 points, so he got 6 the rest of the game, a microcosm of the Rockets struggles as a whole. I dig it.

This team cannot lose. I hope they don't. I mean, they will. I just think they deserve the NBA Title. I don't want it handed to them, but the Colts were the best team in the NFL according to me, and they won it. It made sense. The Mavericks not only have the best record but are the best team in the NBA. It makes sense for them to win the whole thing. I just hope they can pull through.

Raiders hire Tom Rathman

He is the new Running Backs Coach. He was previously with the Detroit Lions and 49ers under the same title. Lots o' changes going on, this one seems like all the rest. Fine right now. But we'll see the final product when we see it. When I look at the sidelines of all the Raiders games, I won't recognize anyone. Except Rob Ryan. That's it. Shucks.

Folks, remember something. Don't get caught up in the hype. By no means bog yourselves down in pessimism, but let's be real. Just because Darren Perry comes from the Steelers and because they have great pass defense doesn't mean ours will stay elite. Just because Tom Cable is a thousand pounds thick and has coached some great offensive linemen doesn't mean our line will be great. Just because Tom Rathman coached the Niners when they were running the ball like crazy and coached Kevin Jones at Detroit and Jones rushed for a ton of yards doesn't mean our running game will all of a sudden be incredible. Just because Greg Knapp is the new OC doesn't mean our offense will emulate the Atlanta Falcons. Let's keep some perspective here. Hard not to be a little optimistic, though.

Mock Draft

Yahoo! Sports' John Murphy cracks open the case yet again, coming to the same conclusion as he did before, that the Raiders take JaMarcus Russell, QB from LSU:

His ability to keep his eyes focused downfield, plus his rifle arm and eye-opening size, would make him a perfect fit for a Raiders team that lacked firepower and punch in its offense this past season.

Okay. Make it so.

Devils 2, Islanders 0

Did not have the proper time to do "the shuffle" tonight, if you know what I mean. I don't. But it means period-by-period breakdown.

I was around for the first period, in which the Devils squandered all four of their power plays. It was not for lack of effort, that's for sure. It's just weird to me. The first period was heavily in the Devils favor, that's clear. 15 shots to 3. 3 weak shots. 15 pretty decent shots, but not enough to do anything meaningful. Still, I felt pretty good as I left my room to go listen to the "Food Dude" who came to speak on campus about........food. And how to eat right. He made me some ginger and honey and lime drink. It was nasty but good. Cleared me up. Anyway.

What it took was Pando scoring a shorthanded goal to show how bad the Devils have been on the power play. But seriously, they can't be that bad. They are 12th in the league. Hard to believe, right??? It sure was for me. But that was no doubt due to earlier in the year, as well as the hot middle when they didn't miss a power play. Nowadays -- not so much. Shorthanded, not much better, but better. Even strength? They are KILLING.

And who can complain about anything for too long until you realize that the goaltender of the New Jersey Devils is the (im)mortal MARTIN BRODEUR who is clearly the best goalie in the league at this point in time. He struggles, they all do. But his struggles are hardly ever mental. And hardly ever physical either, he just has his down days. Don't get me wrong, I call for Clemmensen sometimes just to rest the beast, but John F says if he doesn't want the rest, don't hand the man a rest. And he dominates. He shuts people down. He gets in your head by doing nothing. And he is a genuinely good man. What an athlete to cheer for. Makes the cheering worthwhile.

So, Islanders. Eat it. Eat it again and again and again. There's nothing you can do about it. The Devils are the best. Better than the Sabres? Only when Ryan Miller cries. Better than the top teams in the West? That's a tough bet. Maybe not. Probably not. But I'm riding high on them right now, flaws and all. This is a great team.