Devils 5, Lightning 3

Goals:
First Period: Zach Parise, DEVILS (no assist)
Patrik Elias, DEVILS, PPG (Gomez, Rafalski)
Martin St. Louis, Lightning, PPG (Richards, Boyle)

Second Period: Brian Rafalski, DEVILS, PPG (Gomez, Langenbrunner)
Vincent Lecavalier, Lightning (no assist)

Third Period: Vincent Lecavalier, Lightning (Prospal, St. Louis)
Zach Parise, DEVILS (Langenbrunner)
Brian Gionta, DEVILS (Gomez, Elias)

Shots on Goal: 26-24 Lightning

Penalties: Devils - 12 minutes, Lightning - 6 minutes

Nice to be back again. School is crazy right now, but I simply must take time out to cover the playoffs. Hockey playoffs are sweet except for the fact that almost all of the games are on some obscure TV station and not one that I actually get on my television. Unfortunately, that also includes Versus. Anyway, here we go.

--FIRST PERIOD--

Not a bad start, would be better if Oduya would get his frickin' act together. Sheesh. Twice times he pulled a holding call when somebody else was already in the box. These are the two best teams in terms of not being penalized, and this has been a parade to the box all night. What a joke. Anyway, Brodeur didn't face many shots, shut most of them down, but couldn't handle a 5-on-3, which is pretty understandable. The Devils got an early goal from Zach Parise, which is awesomebe cause many of the previews said the Devils young blood has to get hot, and that's what happened. Even better though is that Patrik Elias scored. Better for me, because we need all the major players. Gionta, Gomez, Elias, Langenbrunner, Madden - all those guys who you think of as being Devils. He got a nice pass from Gomez and just slammed it in. Two fairly easy goals and they were shutting down Tampa Bay for the most part. Hard to completely shut down such scorers as Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis, and Vincent LeCavalier forever, especially in dealing with penalties. I think if the Devils stick to 5-on-5 hockey, they can do it. They can't let up, though. They need to keep going strong. You can tell they really feel this is the playoffs. If there was one team to bet on for turning on their game come playoff time, it's the New Jersey Devils. That's always a good feeling. Gotta watch out for the Lightning, though. Gotta pound that weak goalie.

--SECOND PERIOD--

Patrik Elias with another power play goal? It's too dang good to be true, my friends. Except this time wasn't really his own doing, he just happened to be in the right place after Ralf let it rip. Ralf gets an assist, but on those shots, I feel like giving him the goal. Just because it touched Elias along the way doesn't mean that Elias scored it. Unless he did. Ah well. Another goal. Good start. Have to do it. Must not stop. Lots of nothing went on, not even any penalties, until somehow LeCavalier got the puck behind the net, wrapped it around, and it went in behind Marty Brodeur. Always. Always with this guy. How does he score those dang goals every time? The scary part about this series is that the Devils aren't known for scoring many goals, and even when they get 3 goals in a period and a half, it's not enough. Tampa Bay can come back from any deficit - they can score at will. It's a scary thought. Defense must dominate here, they need to choke as much life out of the Lightning offense as possible. Can it be done? We can only hope. The radio is randomly alternating between live action and commercials. It's really pissing me off. Well, I'll be darned, they did change the Elias goal to a Rafalski goal. Good for him. Hard to understand how they got it wrong or how they know they got it right. Anyway, I am much more satisfied, maybe Elias will feel that he got screwed over and will want to score another one. That couldn't hurt right now. Elias almost got one, but not quite. Same for Gomez. The Lightning definitely picked it up in this period, with a lot more opportunities and a lot more reckless play. Brodeur came up with two huge stops, one on LeCav and the other on St. Louis. The two guys with the goals. Truly, other than Richards, there is nobody on this team, but they were good enough to almost get #3 in the East, that's just how dang good those 3 players are. Ridiculous. The Devils just need to hold on. They got a couple good chances, but played a little more loose and Tampa Bay was all over the place. Need to find a way to slow down the pace and preserve the lead, maybe even extend it.

--THIRD PERIOD--

Quick flurry of shots by Tampa Bay. Brodeur flat out robs Tarnasky, that was pretty amazing right there. And now the Devils 3-1 lead becomes a tie game at 3-3. Did I not go over this? You can never let up on Tampa Bay. No lead is safe. They can score on a whim. Who can score? Those 3 dang guys. Nobody else matters. Crush them, squeeze them, trap them, hook them, slap them, punch them. Sickening. The Devils cannot afford to get into a scoring match with this team, it just can't be done. Well, consider me wrong momentarily as Zach Parise gets his 2nd goal of the night on a pretty nice play and the Devils regain the lead. We know the Lightning can do this, it's weird for the Devils to do it, but I don't mind. If they want to score a lot of goals, go ahead. They might need it for this series, thank goodness for Zachary Parise, my dear friends. What a kid. Now we need some defense or something crazy like that. For the moment, it seems there might be some reasonable hockey action going on. It would clearly be in the Devils best interest to slow down the pace of the game. The Devils are playing smartly, now. They are still being opportunistic but are being less risky about it. That's how they're going to have to do it if they want to hold onto this lead. It's a dangerous place to be. Tampa Bay is turning on the juice yet again, but Brodeur got big saves on Prospal and St. Louis. Brodeur has allowed 3 goals on 18 shots, not great, but they have been tough shots, and on top of that, he has made some dang tough saves. Not a wonderful start, but he's doing what he can. He needs more help than what he is getting. HUGE TEST for the Devils right as the first penalty is called in the final frame, and they are now on the penalty kill thanks to Parise's slash. Not much time left in the game, a good kill here would be very helpful to icing this one. Not icing in the rulebook way, but on wrapping it up. You know. The power play is over for Tampa Bay, but they remain in control. Scary stuff here, it's getting late. Just hang on, buddies. You can do it. Thanks to that power play, the Lightning now have more shots on goal than the Devils, 23 to 22. The Devils have a great record when they shoot more. Hopefully they can get some more shots in, maybe even an insurance goal. AND AS SOON AS I SAY IT, AN INSURANCE GOAL IS SCORED!!!!!!!! Wow, I am so good. In what may be the worst play of the playoffs, Holmqvist sent the puck out instead of covering it up, turning it over to Elias, who gave it to Gomez who gave it to Gionta who scores! Game over, baby. The Lightning go down swinging, but they go down nonetheless. Very, very nice. I would not be surprised to see Marc Denis in net Saturday night. I would have expected Holmqvist, but after that critical mistake, it's hard to believe he'll be the goalie.

Islanders 3, Devils 2 (SO)

So, there it is. The Islanders are in, the Maple Leafs are out, the Devils don't change their position, and Brodeur doesn't pick up any more wins. But that's primarly because he didn't play.

Brodeur was rested on the final game of the year in favor of Scott Clemmensen. Clemmy actually played pretty well, but going into the shootout, you didn't feel very good with such an unproven guy out there, and sure enough, he didn't come through. Some guy named Doublewide, who is the 3rd-string goale for the Islanders, won the game and sent them into the playoffs. Yeah, that's right. Dublewizthtchshjz won the game. Why in the world, if this game meant so much to the Islanders, would they start him? Apparently America's Goalie was still hurt and Dunham inspired no confidence. Whatever. It worked. The Islanders were up 2-0 late, but the Devils got 2 very late goals to send it to overtime. Nothing worked there, so it was a shootout. And you know what happens from there.

The Devils didn't need to win, so they didn't. Not a big deal. It would have been nice to end the season with a win, especially at home where the Devils have struggled recently. It's just very annoying because I want to keep the Atlantic Division rivals out of the playoffs as much as possible, and 4 of the 5 teams are in the playoffs. That's a lot. The Flyers had no chance, being the worst team in the league. But the Penguins, Rangers, and Islanders are in. The weird thing is that no team is playing each other. They are #2, #4, #6, and #8. Very, very odd. Oh well. I hope everyone loses but the Devils, that's for sure.

Which brings me up to my next point. Will the Devils win? They play the Tampa Bay Lightning for sure now. It's settled. The Devils haven't been good at home and haven't been good vs. the Lightning. Anything can change come playoff time, and I would expect to see different results against the team. But they are a threat to score at any time. They are a good team. This may very well be the hardest test the Devils may face. If they play the winner of Ottawa/Pittsburgh, they could beat either team. Then they could beat Buffalo, assuming they come out of things. Tampa Bay might be the hardest individual matchup, and that's scary. We'll see how things go. It's playoff time now!

GO DEVILS!!

Mavericks 86, Blazers 74

Another low scoring affair, this time with the positive result. It was good to be home, albeit without Josh Howard. Maybe Josh Howard should be MVP of the league, the Mavericks look worse without him than without Dirk. That's mostly a joke, but still a weird phenomenon. Anyway.

This game was never really in doubt and the better team won. Not sure what else you want other than that. Howard and Stackhouse didn't play, and didn't need to. Nowitzki played less minutes than ever before, but he was cold anyway. He ended up with a measly 11 points. It was the guard duo of Jason Terry and Devin Harris that took over this night. Terry had 22 at halftime and was simply taking over the game. He was great. He ended up with 29, which was sad because I thought he might just explode, but he tempered things down in the second half. Devin Harris had a lawnmower type game. Scored a little bit here, a little more here, a little bit more here, and then ended on a very solid note with 18 points. They controlled the flow of the game, allowing the reserves to do their thing.

Portland can be beaten even when they have their stars. They didn't have any of their big stars, with Zach Randolph and LaMarcus Aldridge already out, and the rookie of the year Brandon Roy declared inactive for the game. That pretty much seals the deal right there. If you can beat that team with those guys in there, then it shouldn't be a contest when they are out of it. And that's pretty much what happened. Jarrett Jack was really the only guy worth watching for them, he played a smart game and ended up with 18 points.

Kevin Willis made his Mavericks debut and second NBA debut after a few years away from the game. He did nothing but get 2 fouls in less than a minute and then sat back down. Ha. Sad. Moe Ager, the Mavs rookie draft pick, got significant minutes (24), scoring 8 points and getting 3 rebounds. Nothing to write home about.

Portland jacked up a ton of shots, 77 in all, and made only 29 for 38%. The Mavs shot 51%. Finally, the Mavs were able to dominate in free throw shots, 28 to 19 attempts. Problem is, they only made 16 of their 28, which is very bad for the best free-throw shooting team in the league, but it happens every now and then. Still not good. Rebounds were clearly in the Mavs favor, thanks in large part to 10 rebounds snagged by Diop and Croshere.

That's about it, folks. Next game vs. the Clippers tomorrow night. Could be a first-round matchup. More importantly, if the Mavs win, they get #1 in the West. It's practically inevitable, but it would be nice to get out of the way.

Pirates 6, Reds 3

What do you expect with Eric Milton on the mound? I honestly thought about Milton as a human being today, being Easter and all. I thought I could sit alongside him and offer him support. Seriously, though. It must suck to be him right now. Nobody believes in him and everyone wants him gone. For good reasons, no doubt. And he wasn't awful today, just not very good. Gave up 4 earned runs on 10 hits in his almost 6 innings. The Reds put up a 3-run rally in the 7th, but that was all. The invincible bullpen wasn't to be, as Todd Coffey and Jon Coutlangus gave up homers in their innings. Victor Santos once again was dang good. It just wasn't enough. Jared Burton was placed on the 15-day DL. Maybe that means the Reds will try to deal or get rid of Milton in 15 days. Maybe it doesn't mean that.

I'm back

What did I miss?

Raiders - Nothing.

Reds - Of course my computer goes down just as the MLB season gets underway. Reds currently stand at 4-1, taking 2/3 from the Cubs and the first 2 from the Pirates. The Cubs series was pretty good; Harang dominated, Arroyo was solid but just got outdeuled by Ted Lilly, Lohse did surprisingly well in the finale and the Reds did just enough to win their games. The freezing cold game yesterday against the Pirates went well. It looked like Belisle was going to be pretty shaky, but he settled down and turned in a great performance. The game today was also freezing cold, and the most back-and-forth the Reds have gone all season, but ultimately coming out on top. The big story this year is the bullpen, they have been simply dominant. I am particularly pleased with Victor Santos who has pitched out of 2 very tough situations so far. But everyone is playing really well, the only exception was Jared Burton, but hopefully he can figure things out. Apparently Milton pitches tomorrow. Happy Easter? We'll see, looks like we'll need the offense rolling on this one.

Mavericks - A bit cold as of late. Lost to Phoenix yet again, that sucked. Also lost to the Nuggets last night in probably their worst loss of the year. It was just painful to watch. What do they say, idiocy is when you try the same thing every time expecting a different result? Something like that. Well, that's what they did. They did beat the Kings in there somewhere, but they had their first losing road trip, 1-2. Hopefully they won't enter the playoffs looking lame, but they haven't looked great lately.

Devils - Well, I missed a ton. Brodeur goes out and beats Bernie Parent's single-season wins record. Parent had 47, Brodeur has 48 and maybe will end up with 49. Parent was extremely gracious about it, as was Brodeur. It was just a good all-around deal. Great for Brodeur! I am so pumped for the guy. As well as the Devils in general, as they locked up #2 in the East and also set the franchise record for wins in a season (49). Just a great year. Awesome stuff. And yet, maybe this is just me, it didn't feel like the Devils best year. This doesn't feel like 1995 or 2000 or 2003. Not just because the Devils ended up winning the Stanley Cup, but they don't seem as dominant. And yet, here they are, with the most wins of any Devils team, and the most wins by Brodeur in his career. So you'd think you could feel great about it. Don't get me wrong, I do feel very good about it. It's just that, something seems to be missing. They don't seem as dominant as many other Devils teams. Maybe I can be proved wrong. Maybe they will steamroll teams in the playoffs. That would be great. Looks like the first-round matchup will be with the Tampa Bay Lightning, though. That could be very, very dangerous. Hopefully things can be better against them than the results we have seen in the regular season. Let's hope.

Major technological difficulties

My computer fried. I'll try to be around, but I can't guarantee anything.

Go Reds! (and others)

Reds 5, Cubs 1

The Reds win and the Cubs lose! In the same game!

Milton to DL, 24 players instead of 25

What is going on in Reds-land?

Plus, who called the Milton move? Hint = he's typing the answer right now. Done.

So that problem is taken care of. Milton is on the DL, whether he has an injury or not. He may be moved. In which case, I really did NOT call it when I said he would hang around this year. But I'd rather be wrong. Sorry, Milty.

In the top post, Rosey Crayons talks about the Reds carrying 24 of their 25 players, which doesn't make too much sense. They'll make a decision later or something like that. Santos hasn't been cut or moved, so it could be him. In fact, it probably is him. Which would be fine with me.

Reds release Hermanson

Any explanations for this?

Granted, he blew chunks his last time out, but that was YESTERDAY. He appeared to be just fine the rest of the spring. Nobody was going all crazy about bringing him in, but we thought we found a legitimate closer. I don't know what any of it means anymore.

Reds Roundtable Pt. 6

Participants include Tim Mo (that's me!), shawn weaver of Cincinnati Reds Blog, Blade of The Cutting Edge, daedalus of Church of Baseball, Clint of the 320 Pub, , and Chris of Redleg Nation.

On the Reds chances in the NL Central, as well as Conine vs. Rolen/Edmonds...

daedalus: so how many games are we gonna win this year?

daedalus: 87

Blade: So we need to find someone good

Chris @ RLN: 74

Blade: I say 75

sweaver: I agree with Blade. 75 wins.

320Pub_Clint: 72

Tim Mo: 79

sweaver: I think we were a little lucky last year, and will be a little unlucky this year. Next year will be better.

daedalus: 87 wins. y'all remember that so i can say i told you so. and i'm never this optimistic

Tim Mo: you are the beacon of optimism on this night

sweaver: That is my hope. Because 87 wins takes the Central, I betcha.

Blade: If they win 87 games....eh forget it

daedalus: and you can make fun of me if it's nowhere close

Tim Mo: i agree with shawn, we are in a good position to be pretty dang good next year

320Pub_Clint: i think this season will be similar to last season. i definitely don't see us in last place like SI does

Blade: I mean, if a lot of things go right, 87 isn't that out of the realm. Who thought they'd win 80 last year

daedalus: not i

Blade: I see the Reds in fourth, Pirates are still bad and the Astros are vulnerable

sweaver: Certainly not me, with 80 wins.

Blade: Nor I

daedalus: cardinals rotation - it's simply awful. i think they are a non factor this year

sweaver: I put the Reds fourth as well. Astros are toast, Pirates a bit better but still bad.

Chris @ RLN: I agree w/ Blade. My division pick (at least right now) is Milwaukee (followed by the Cubs, Cards, Reds, Bucs, and Ausmuses).

sweaver: Cards/Cubs/Brewers/Reds/Astros/Pirates

Tim Mo: i doubt the cards are a non-factor

sweaver: But the Brewers are the only team in the division with a good shot at 90 wins.

Tim Mo: the brewers are in the middle of the pack and are the only team with a shot at 90?

daedalus: why? you can't win with one good player and a bunch of aging veterans. why is it that people criticize the acquistion of conine yet think that having rolen and edmonds on a team is a good thing?

sweaver: I think the Brewers are a .500 team, but with breakout potential.

Chris @ RLN: Because Rolen can freakin hit.

Chris @ RLN: And field.

sweaver: Conine isn't a HOFer. I think Rolen and Edmonds are.

320Pub_Clint: I think the Cards win the division with the Cubs in a very close 2nd. I always think the Brewers will do better than they end up doing so I will be a homer and pick Cincy 3rd, MIL 4 HOU 5 and PIT 6

Chris @ RLN: And is only 32.

Chris @ RLN: and had an 887 OPS

320Pub_Clint: yeah Rolen and Conine isn't a very good comparison

Tim Mo: believe it or not, there is such a thing as a good veteran player and a bad one

daedalus: conine isn't exactly an automatic out. he could, of course, be better, but he's not that bad. and rolen and edmonds HOFs? really? you think? rolen is only 32? you're kidding. i thought he was like 37

sweaver: Yes, I think Rolen and Edmonds are deserving of the HOF.

320Pub_Clint: I don't mind having Conine on the team as long as Jerry can fight the urge to play him every day

Blade: I'd take Rolen

Tim Mo: rolen for sure, jury is out on edmonds

Tim Mo: sorry clint, i mind having conine on the team

sweaver: Edmonds may be toast now, but he has been a great player

Chris @ RLN: The good news is that Edmonds' back isn't getting better; Eckstein still can't hit, and they have no pitchers beyond Carpenter and maybe Reyes. Rolen's definitely on the way to Cooperstown, though he might be the Barry Larkin to Wright, Cabrera, Zimmerman, and Gordon's ARod/Jeter/Nomar.

sweaver: Too true, Chris

320Pub_Clint: tim, so I assume you would like Votto up this season?

sweaver: I think Votto will be at 1B by Sept. 1

Chris @ RLN: Conine: .325 OBP last year.

daedalus: votto comes up in july after hatteberg and conine suffer little injuries

Blade: I like Votto too. Hatteberg is decent, but Votto is the future

daedalus: never goes down again

sweaver: Conine has been remarkably durable during his career.

Chris @ RLN: I don't need Votto right now - let him hit AAA. But there are always 1b floating around. Dmitri Young's starting for DC, no?

Tim Mo: yes sir

320Pub_Clint: i will go in the middle of shawn and daedalus and say Votto comes up sometime in august

Tim Mo: and votto will be up there eventually

daedalus: next year is gonna be great, isn't it? bailey and votto and no more milton.

Chris @ RLN: How about Roberto Petagine, for you long-term fans.

Tim Mo: i can MAYBE handle conine at first base, but if he gets in the outfield...

320Pub_Clint: yeah I agree with that Tim

The other sections..............

Pt. 1 - (Hamilton) daedalus' Church of Baseball
Pt. 2 - (#5 starter) Blade's Cutting Edge
Pt. 3 - (Eric Milton) Clint's Olde Pub 320
Pt. 4 - (pitching) Shawn's Reds Blog
Pt. 5 - (Narron) RedLeg Nation
Pt. 6 - Right here!
Pt. 7 - (final send-off) Shawn and Tyler's Redlegs Rundown

Blue Jays 1, Reds 0 -- Marlins 6, Reds 2

That's it. We're done. Lost them both, but no more of this.

JAYS-REDS NOTABLE THINGS

Pitching: My Man Bobby started and got 3 innings in. It's weird, on Yahoo! Sports right now, it says UNKNOWN for the pitcher. I mean, come on. That was Bobby, folks! Anyway, he did well, allowing 2 hits (one of which was a leadoff double) and a walk, K'ing 2, and leaving with a 0 on the scoreboard. Well done, Bobby. We'll see you up here sooner rather than later, maybe even sooner than we all imagined as it appears Eric Milton has some back problems - he was pulled out of his final spring start. I am never inclined to cheer for a man's injury, so I won't do so here. However, this could significantly affect the Reds pitching for the better. I just hope, if we are to stick with Milton, that he is given every chance to be as good as he can be. I don't want him at anything less than 100%. Anyway, back to the game. After My Man Bobby, it was Tom Shearn pitching the next 4 innings, giving up 3 hits and K'ing 5, but picking up the hard luck loss. Kershner pitched the 9th, giving up a hit.

Hitting: T. Godwin led off and was 1/3. Some guy named Piepkorn got a pinch-hit double. Bellhorn was 0/3 with 2 K's. Joey Votto was 2/3. Jay Bruce was 0/4 with 2 K's.

Fielding & such: No errors, no doubt because Gonzo was out of the lineup. Two double plays were turned, one by Snyder & Bellhorn on a sweet lineout, the other by Herr-Machado-Votto. Votto also got caught stealing.



MARLINS-REDS NOTABLE THINGS

Pitching: Lohse started and went 4 innings. Gave up 2 hits, a solo homer and a triple, K'ed 3 and ended up with 2 earned runs to his name. Dustin Hermanson followed and blew chunks. He blew the dang chunks off the place. Not really what I was wanting to see heading into the season. Yikes. This guy better figure it out. He got 1 out in the fifth, but only after giving up 3 straight doubles, followed by a single, followed by a walk. After a groundout, he was out of there with 4 earned runs to his credit, one of which was allowed by Todd Coffey who got the final 2 outs of the 5th, allowing another hit. After that, it got much better for the Reds. Everyone's favorite, Johnny Coutlangus, pitched another scoreless inning, though allowing 2 hits. Victor Santos pitched the next 2 innings, giving up a hit per inning and K'ing 1. The guy finished the spring with a 0.00 ERA and worked some very impressive innings. Some guy named Webb closed it out with a clean 9th.

Hitting: Freel led off and was 0/2. EdE was 1/2 with a double. He was knocked in by a Gonzo single. Dewayne Wise was 1/2 and scored on a Josh Hamilton single. Hamilton also added a double, going 2/3 on his final exhibition day.

Fielding & such: 3 double plays turned on this day, with Valentin in the middle of all of them, as the first baseman though, not as catcher. Francisco to Turner to Valentin happened twice, and then later it was Turner-Castro-Valentin.

REGULAR SEASON PLAY BEGINS TOMORROW FOR THESE REDS!!!

GO GET 'EM, CINCINNATI!

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.