The weather outside isn't pleasant today. A mix of snow and rain make for a gloomy February Tuesday. Here's a poem to brighten the mood.
He warmed his hands with his mouth
The same one that touched my cheek last night
The February frost hid the sunlight
But forgot to tell us to head south
It goes without saying
He’s a breathless work of art
He’s weightless when he’s playing
Save for the pounding of his heart
He navigated the indoor court
Like a compass, he guided the ball
An anchoring captain leading an escort
His magical maneuvers made me fall
As he ran around my backhand return
The lights from the roof placed a glow on his feet
Reverse momentum caused them to churn
A beautifully fluid and balanced retreat
He wasn’t a blessing in disguise
Because I could clearly distinguish
Only for him, these points I relinquish
Just to feel his smiling eyes
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Battle at Breslin
Ohio State rose to the occasion with the Big 10 title on the line in East Lansing Sunday. The ninth-ranked Buckeyes defeated the Spartans to move into a tie for second place in the conference. The 74-67 loss to Ohio State at home was crushing for the team that made it to the national championship game last season. But Michigan State, ranked eleventh in the nation, is still in contention to win the Big 10. The Spartans botched defensive assignments and gave away too many plays with poor shots Sunday. Evan Turner, OSU’s leading scorer, collected 20 points despite playing through flulike symptoms. Turner also finished with 10 rebounds and six assists to help tighten the conference race . Michigan State was led by junior guard, Durrell Summer’s 16 points.
The Buckeyes had a 13 point advantage at the break. Turner secured just four first half points on nine looks. Yet, the Bucks led 39-26 backed by William Buford’s nine points in the game’s first twelve minutes. The crowd was quieted by three dunks by OSU’s Dallas Lauderdale. The Spartan shining star, Kalin Lucas, went 0 for 5 from the floor and hit just one bucket in the first half. The home crowd watched in agony as their team made just 9 of 27 shots before the break. In the second half, the green and white clad Spartans delighted the fans at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Michigan State wiped out the OSU edge with four minutes remaining. Summers scored seven straight to lift the sluggish Spartans to a 62-61 lead. MSU’s depth and experience was retained, but not long enough to prevail over the skillfully crafty Buckeyes. The Bucks went on a bold run, banging in seven points. Ohio State rebounded to take a three point lead on Turner’s downtown dish. Jon Diebler drilled a 3-pointer with less than two minutes to pad the lead to six for the Bucks. David Lighty and Turner made six of eight free throws to seal the deal for 21-7 Ohio State.
Michigan State was outrebounded 41-38. The Spartans fought back but couldn’t forge the strong finish needed to make the comeback complete. MSU managed 33% from the rainbow and only 55% from the charity stripe. Lucas finished with nine points, eight assists and two rebounds. Spartan senior, Raymar Morgan, notched a gnarly 14 of the team’s 32 rebounds. OSU head coach, Thad Matta, played just six of his men the entire game. Kyle Madsen, the 6’9” center, was the only player to come in off the pine for 16 minutes. Four of the five starters clocked the maximum forty minutes, and all of them finished with double digits in points. MSU should have been able to compete and beat the worn out Buckeye starters. The Spartans outscored Ohio State 41-35 in the second half. It was OSU that held on to top of Spartans on their home floor and pick up their third win in five tries. Purdue still carries the Big 10 torch, leading by half a game. OSU has the morale to win the conference. The Buckeyes know how to dictate the pace of play and mark their territory on the road. The won, despite Turner being irrelevant and shut out in the first half. OSU can top Purdue if they succeed in taking away their opponent’s offensive opportunities. They lost by three points to the Boilermakers last Wednesday. Yesterday they handed the Spartans their second loss in fifteen games at the Breslin Center.
Parting Points: Go team USA! Way to chip Canada. Ryan Miller is brilliant.
Number 19 Pitt takes down third ranked Villanova in a Big East thriller.
Monday tune- “Zero” by Smashing Pumpkins
The Buckeyes had a 13 point advantage at the break. Turner secured just four first half points on nine looks. Yet, the Bucks led 39-26 backed by William Buford’s nine points in the game’s first twelve minutes. The crowd was quieted by three dunks by OSU’s Dallas Lauderdale. The Spartan shining star, Kalin Lucas, went 0 for 5 from the floor and hit just one bucket in the first half. The home crowd watched in agony as their team made just 9 of 27 shots before the break. In the second half, the green and white clad Spartans delighted the fans at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Michigan State wiped out the OSU edge with four minutes remaining. Summers scored seven straight to lift the sluggish Spartans to a 62-61 lead. MSU’s depth and experience was retained, but not long enough to prevail over the skillfully crafty Buckeyes. The Bucks went on a bold run, banging in seven points. Ohio State rebounded to take a three point lead on Turner’s downtown dish. Jon Diebler drilled a 3-pointer with less than two minutes to pad the lead to six for the Bucks. David Lighty and Turner made six of eight free throws to seal the deal for 21-7 Ohio State.
Michigan State was outrebounded 41-38. The Spartans fought back but couldn’t forge the strong finish needed to make the comeback complete. MSU managed 33% from the rainbow and only 55% from the charity stripe. Lucas finished with nine points, eight assists and two rebounds. Spartan senior, Raymar Morgan, notched a gnarly 14 of the team’s 32 rebounds. OSU head coach, Thad Matta, played just six of his men the entire game. Kyle Madsen, the 6’9” center, was the only player to come in off the pine for 16 minutes. Four of the five starters clocked the maximum forty minutes, and all of them finished with double digits in points. MSU should have been able to compete and beat the worn out Buckeye starters. The Spartans outscored Ohio State 41-35 in the second half. It was OSU that held on to top of Spartans on their home floor and pick up their third win in five tries. Purdue still carries the Big 10 torch, leading by half a game. OSU has the morale to win the conference. The Buckeyes know how to dictate the pace of play and mark their territory on the road. The won, despite Turner being irrelevant and shut out in the first half. OSU can top Purdue if they succeed in taking away their opponent’s offensive opportunities. They lost by three points to the Boilermakers last Wednesday. Yesterday they handed the Spartans their second loss in fifteen games at the Breslin Center.
Parting Points: Go team USA! Way to chip Canada. Ryan Miller is brilliant.
Number 19 Pitt takes down third ranked Villanova in a Big East thriller.
Monday tune- “Zero” by Smashing Pumpkins
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Thunder Take T-Mac's Thunder
Kevin Durant drained a clutch three pointer at the end of regulation and notched a pull up jumper in overtime to give Oklahoma City a 121-118 victory over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Nothing rattles Durant. The Thunder won for the eighth consecutive time, a season best streak for Oklahoma City. The overtime defeat came in Tracy McGrady’s dazzling New York debut. T-Mac collected 26 points in 32 minutes, his highest total in over a year. The All-star’s effort wasn’t enough to prevent durable Durant from hanging 36 points. Upstart Oklahoma City improved to 32-21, while the Knicks dropped their record to 19-35.
David Lee scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Knicks’ sixth straight loss. Newly acquired Eddie House, added a season-high 24 points for the home team. McGrady banked 10 shots in a strong first quarter to match a season high for the former Houston Rocket. T-Mac made a long jumper and a three-pointer at the end of the half for a 57-52 New York advantage. He finished with 19 first half points to match his output with Houston through six games. The electrifying McGrady ran out of steam at the end of the fourth quarter for Mike D’Antoni’s club. He missed some vital free throws as he took his fatigued body to the hardwood. New York blew a six point lead late in regulation. The Thunder outscored the Knicks 8-2 in the game’s final sixty seconds. A Jeff Green three-pointer was followed by a Russell Westbrook’s layup to cut the Thunder deficit to one point with less than thirty seconds remaining. Westbrook finished with 31 points and 10 assists. The second year guard out of UCLA got the Thunder going in the second half. He helped stage an early lead for the visitors with 10 second half points. Green made 16 points and 11 boards. House bucketed a pair of free throws to give the Knicks a three point lead in the final seconds before Durant knotted the game at 105 by netting a trey.
McGrady, sporting a number 3 jersey, didn’t start the overtime session and the Knicks earned a four point edge on Lee’s tap-in with 1:35 left. Rugged backup forward, Nick Collison, tapped in Durant’s misfire with 32 seconds left and Green fired from downtown to pull the Thunder back within one. T-Mac was summoned from the bench and set up the go-ahead jumper to House with the clock reading 30.7 seconds. Durant answered the Knicks’ challenge by drilling a 3-point shot. The All-star forward curled hard and received an inbounds pass from Westbrook to tie the game. The Thunder secured the victory and completed the rally. Durant nicked his 27th consecutive game with at least 25 points. Collison took charge by setting several screens and finished with double digit points. Former Arizona State rookie, James Harden, had 14 points for Oklahoma City. The Thunder sit third in the Northwest division but own the league’s current longest winning streak. Durant has proven he belongs in the upper echelon of the NBA elite.
Parting Points: Two Tiger notes-
(1)Johnny Damon is reportedly set to sign a $8 million deal with Detroit.
(2)Tiger Woods-could you have given a better effort? What does steroids have to do with cheating on your wife?
David Lee scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Knicks’ sixth straight loss. Newly acquired Eddie House, added a season-high 24 points for the home team. McGrady banked 10 shots in a strong first quarter to match a season high for the former Houston Rocket. T-Mac made a long jumper and a three-pointer at the end of the half for a 57-52 New York advantage. He finished with 19 first half points to match his output with Houston through six games. The electrifying McGrady ran out of steam at the end of the fourth quarter for Mike D’Antoni’s club. He missed some vital free throws as he took his fatigued body to the hardwood. New York blew a six point lead late in regulation. The Thunder outscored the Knicks 8-2 in the game’s final sixty seconds. A Jeff Green three-pointer was followed by a Russell Westbrook’s layup to cut the Thunder deficit to one point with less than thirty seconds remaining. Westbrook finished with 31 points and 10 assists. The second year guard out of UCLA got the Thunder going in the second half. He helped stage an early lead for the visitors with 10 second half points. Green made 16 points and 11 boards. House bucketed a pair of free throws to give the Knicks a three point lead in the final seconds before Durant knotted the game at 105 by netting a trey.
McGrady, sporting a number 3 jersey, didn’t start the overtime session and the Knicks earned a four point edge on Lee’s tap-in with 1:35 left. Rugged backup forward, Nick Collison, tapped in Durant’s misfire with 32 seconds left and Green fired from downtown to pull the Thunder back within one. T-Mac was summoned from the bench and set up the go-ahead jumper to House with the clock reading 30.7 seconds. Durant answered the Knicks’ challenge by drilling a 3-point shot. The All-star forward curled hard and received an inbounds pass from Westbrook to tie the game. The Thunder secured the victory and completed the rally. Durant nicked his 27th consecutive game with at least 25 points. Collison took charge by setting several screens and finished with double digit points. Former Arizona State rookie, James Harden, had 14 points for Oklahoma City. The Thunder sit third in the Northwest division but own the league’s current longest winning streak. Durant has proven he belongs in the upper echelon of the NBA elite.
Parting Points: Two Tiger notes-
(1)Johnny Damon is reportedly set to sign a $8 million deal with Detroit.
(2)Tiger Woods-could you have given a better effort? What does steroids have to do with cheating on your wife?
Friday, February 19, 2010
Syracuse Survives Scare
Syracuse scraped together a 75-71 win in Washington after blowing most of a 23 point halftime lead against Georgetown. The fifth ranked Orange were harassed by the Hoyas in the second half, but held on to improve their road record to 7-0 this season. Andy Rautins scored a season high 26 points against the tenth ranked Big East opponent. Rautins connected from beyond the arc with less than eight minutes in the game before Georgetown staged a 10-0 run to comeback and close within a basket of tying the game. The Hoyas had a chance to take the lead at 71-70 with a minute remaining, but Jason Clark’s shot trickled off the rim. Syracuse maintained their status of never trailing during the contest and staved off a furious rally on the road to win their 25th game. The Orange also clinched a first round bye in the upcoming Big East tournament.
Both teams were coming off surprising Sunday losses to unranked opponents. The Orange were stunned by Louisville and the Hoyas fell to an upstart Rutgers team in the unpredictable Big East. Last night was a chance at redemption for the storied schools. The home team has won the last eight times in the SU-Georgetown rivalry. History was not on the Orange side, and Georgetown certainly was out to prove that late in the game. The Orange built a luxurious lead early, successful on five of their first six buckets. They led by eleven before the game was even four minutes in old. Syracuse picked apart the potent Hoyas, draining three-pointers and grabbing rebounds. Rautins accounted for five three-pointers for Jim Boeheim’s Orange. Wesley Johnson poured in 16 points and eight boards and Rick Jackson donated 12. Johnson was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Syracuse sophomore, forward Kris Joseph, matched up against the Hoyas’ 6’10” center Greg Monroe, and netted 11 points. Monroe was the only Hoyas to deliver a free throw in the first 19 minutes of the game. The Hoyas went 9-of-29 from the field during the first half. Rautins didn’t make a field goal in the game’s final eight minutes.
The shining star for Syracuse was worn down while logging 36 minutes. Jackson and Arinze Onuaku were fouled out to add to the Orange challenges in the second half. The Hoyas scored 30 points in the paint during the second half. They only made four before the intermission. Junior guard, Austin Freeman, amassed 21 points to go along with six rebounds for Georgetown. Chris Wright fetched five steals and fired 20 points. Monroe matched Wright in points. The Orange were unable to defend all three Hoyas in the paint during the game’s final half. Boeheim was severely suffering from a lack of bench depth. Joseph pushed the Orange lead back up to seven with a pair of free throws with fewer than four minutes, but turned the ball over soon after. Freeman’s fastbreak picked pass went straight to the rim for a crowd-pleasing slam dunk and two point Georgetown deficit. Freeman started attacking the hoop in Washington’s second half. He hit 7-of-8 two point field goals in front of the D.C. faithful. Monroe continued to score at will down the stretch, but Thursday was the Orange’s night. Syracuse stifled and edged out their feisty opponent, shooting a nifty ninety percent from the charity stripe and holding the NCAA’s third best field goal shooting team to fewer than forty percent. Joseph drove past Monroe for the deciding bucket with nine seconds to go. Georgetown is mired in its first losing streak of the season. The Hoyas are 11-3 at home, and all three losses have come in their recent skid. Syracuse has yet to lose on the road and rebounded off their six point setback Sunday. The vivacious Orange own a 46-37 all-time advantage against the Hoyas.
Parting Points: Tiger Woods breaks the silence, USA wins a gold in men’s figure skating and the Nuggets hand the Cavs another loss. Nice way to finish the week in sports.
Both teams were coming off surprising Sunday losses to unranked opponents. The Orange were stunned by Louisville and the Hoyas fell to an upstart Rutgers team in the unpredictable Big East. Last night was a chance at redemption for the storied schools. The home team has won the last eight times in the SU-Georgetown rivalry. History was not on the Orange side, and Georgetown certainly was out to prove that late in the game. The Orange built a luxurious lead early, successful on five of their first six buckets. They led by eleven before the game was even four minutes in old. Syracuse picked apart the potent Hoyas, draining three-pointers and grabbing rebounds. Rautins accounted for five three-pointers for Jim Boeheim’s Orange. Wesley Johnson poured in 16 points and eight boards and Rick Jackson donated 12. Johnson was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Syracuse sophomore, forward Kris Joseph, matched up against the Hoyas’ 6’10” center Greg Monroe, and netted 11 points. Monroe was the only Hoyas to deliver a free throw in the first 19 minutes of the game. The Hoyas went 9-of-29 from the field during the first half. Rautins didn’t make a field goal in the game’s final eight minutes.
The shining star for Syracuse was worn down while logging 36 minutes. Jackson and Arinze Onuaku were fouled out to add to the Orange challenges in the second half. The Hoyas scored 30 points in the paint during the second half. They only made four before the intermission. Junior guard, Austin Freeman, amassed 21 points to go along with six rebounds for Georgetown. Chris Wright fetched five steals and fired 20 points. Monroe matched Wright in points. The Orange were unable to defend all three Hoyas in the paint during the game’s final half. Boeheim was severely suffering from a lack of bench depth. Joseph pushed the Orange lead back up to seven with a pair of free throws with fewer than four minutes, but turned the ball over soon after. Freeman’s fastbreak picked pass went straight to the rim for a crowd-pleasing slam dunk and two point Georgetown deficit. Freeman started attacking the hoop in Washington’s second half. He hit 7-of-8 two point field goals in front of the D.C. faithful. Monroe continued to score at will down the stretch, but Thursday was the Orange’s night. Syracuse stifled and edged out their feisty opponent, shooting a nifty ninety percent from the charity stripe and holding the NCAA’s third best field goal shooting team to fewer than forty percent. Joseph drove past Monroe for the deciding bucket with nine seconds to go. Georgetown is mired in its first losing streak of the season. The Hoyas are 11-3 at home, and all three losses have come in their recent skid. Syracuse has yet to lose on the road and rebounded off their six point setback Sunday. The vivacious Orange own a 46-37 all-time advantage against the Hoyas.
Parting Points: Tiger Woods breaks the silence, USA wins a gold in men’s figure skating and the Nuggets hand the Cavs another loss. Nice way to finish the week in sports.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Columbus Clippers
Pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training camps yesterday. The Purdue Boilermakers did their best Columbus Clippers impression Wednesday night at Value City Arena. Fourth-ranked Purdue clipped Ohio State 60-57 on the hardwood in Columbus. It was the first home loss this season for the 20-7 Buckeyes, who were knocked a game behind Michigan State in the Big Ten. Ohio State lost for the first time in 16 homes games and snapped their nine game Big Ten winning streak. The Boilermakers never trailed during the contest and fended off a three point attempt by OSU’s Jon Diebler as time expired. Purdue was previously 0-6 in Value City Arena.
Evan Turner led the Buckeyes with 29 points and 7 rebounds in the beastly Big Ten battle. JaJuan Johnson scored 24 points in 39 minutes for Purdue. The aggressive Johnson had 15 first half points as the visitors built a 36-23 halftime lead over the sloppy Bucks. Matt Painter’s Purdue team basketed the first seven points of the game. The game was similar to the first meeting between the two Midwest rivals. Earlier in the season, Robbie Hummel carried the Boilermakers with 29 points in the first half. Hummel didn’t record a tally in the first half Wednesday in Columbus. The junior forward finished with just four points and no assists, but his team still got their revenge from that earlier loss. The Boilermakers cranked up t he intensity in Columbus. Purdue staved off a comeback by getting consecutive baskets from Hummel and Johnson. The Buckeyes struggled offensively in the first half. They didn’t reach double digits until Turner’s layup with seven minutes remaining in the half.
Turner managed 11 of Ohio State’s first 16 points of the second half. William Buford helped rally the Buckeyes after enduring a poor first half. The sophomore’s short revival trimmed the Purdue lead to two points with less than ten minutes remaining in regulation. The conference’s best shooting team, Ohio State, hit just 37% in the first half. Purdue picked apart the Buckeye’s zone defense on their way to a 60% first half shooting. The Buckeyes were horrid from the arc. Thad Matta switched to a man-to-man defense in the second half, to no avail. The Boilermakers were too strong on defense. Chris Kramer blocked Buford’s layup and ran down the shot clock. OSU never pulled even, coming up short on many missed chances to notch the game. E’Twaun Moore sank two free throws after drawing contact to put the Boilermakers up 60-53 with just over one minute left. The Buckeyes made their shots down the stretch but consistent Purdue had an answer for every bucket. The Boilermakers sunk baskets with astoundingly solid play.
Ohio State had more turnovers than a bake shop in last night’s three point loss. The Buckeyes committed ten turnovers on the night as the Boilermakers locked up their fourth win against top ten teams this season. The ninth ranked Bucks returned to the cream of the college crop this week for the first time since finishing number one in 2007. The efficient Buckeyes toppled Iowa by 19 points Sunday in one of their best 40 minute showings this season. Johnson was unstoppable, swishing shots and pushing the lead for Purdue. Ohio State couldn’t defend against him, even with the thrilling Turner staging a huge second half for the home team. The Buckeyes’ defense did keep them in the game but not enough to keep torrid shooting Purdue down for long. Purdue shut down Turner in the assist column and forced the Buckeyes to adjust their own playing style. Mighty Moore added 15 points and six boards and Keaton Grant poured in 13 as the Boilermakers ran their winning streak to six games. We may be on the heels of baseball season, but Big Ten hoops and hopes are still springing eternal in Columbus.
Parting Points: Song of the day- “Come Out and Play” by The Offspring
“You make sense of madness when my sanity hangs by a thread”- Richard Marx
I am so bummed the Rockets traded McGrady to New York.
Evan Turner led the Buckeyes with 29 points and 7 rebounds in the beastly Big Ten battle. JaJuan Johnson scored 24 points in 39 minutes for Purdue. The aggressive Johnson had 15 first half points as the visitors built a 36-23 halftime lead over the sloppy Bucks. Matt Painter’s Purdue team basketed the first seven points of the game. The game was similar to the first meeting between the two Midwest rivals. Earlier in the season, Robbie Hummel carried the Boilermakers with 29 points in the first half. Hummel didn’t record a tally in the first half Wednesday in Columbus. The junior forward finished with just four points and no assists, but his team still got their revenge from that earlier loss. The Boilermakers cranked up t he intensity in Columbus. Purdue staved off a comeback by getting consecutive baskets from Hummel and Johnson. The Buckeyes struggled offensively in the first half. They didn’t reach double digits until Turner’s layup with seven minutes remaining in the half.
Turner managed 11 of Ohio State’s first 16 points of the second half. William Buford helped rally the Buckeyes after enduring a poor first half. The sophomore’s short revival trimmed the Purdue lead to two points with less than ten minutes remaining in regulation. The conference’s best shooting team, Ohio State, hit just 37% in the first half. Purdue picked apart the Buckeye’s zone defense on their way to a 60% first half shooting. The Buckeyes were horrid from the arc. Thad Matta switched to a man-to-man defense in the second half, to no avail. The Boilermakers were too strong on defense. Chris Kramer blocked Buford’s layup and ran down the shot clock. OSU never pulled even, coming up short on many missed chances to notch the game. E’Twaun Moore sank two free throws after drawing contact to put the Boilermakers up 60-53 with just over one minute left. The Buckeyes made their shots down the stretch but consistent Purdue had an answer for every bucket. The Boilermakers sunk baskets with astoundingly solid play.
Ohio State had more turnovers than a bake shop in last night’s three point loss. The Buckeyes committed ten turnovers on the night as the Boilermakers locked up their fourth win against top ten teams this season. The ninth ranked Bucks returned to the cream of the college crop this week for the first time since finishing number one in 2007. The efficient Buckeyes toppled Iowa by 19 points Sunday in one of their best 40 minute showings this season. Johnson was unstoppable, swishing shots and pushing the lead for Purdue. Ohio State couldn’t defend against him, even with the thrilling Turner staging a huge second half for the home team. The Buckeyes’ defense did keep them in the game but not enough to keep torrid shooting Purdue down for long. Purdue shut down Turner in the assist column and forced the Buckeyes to adjust their own playing style. Mighty Moore added 15 points and six boards and Keaton Grant poured in 13 as the Boilermakers ran their winning streak to six games. We may be on the heels of baseball season, but Big Ten hoops and hopes are still springing eternal in Columbus.
Parting Points: Song of the day- “Come Out and Play” by The Offspring
“You make sense of madness when my sanity hangs by a thread”- Richard Marx
I am so bummed the Rockets traded McGrady to New York.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Vancouver Victory
Ryan Miller made 14 saves in the USA men’s hockey opener against Switzerland Tuesday night. The goalie helped the young USA team top a solid Swiss squad 3-1 in Vancouver. Team USA got goals from Bobby Ryan, David Backes and Ryan Malone in the opulent win. Miller’s only blemish occurred with 10 minutes remaining. Roman Wick struck the goalie’s stick and the puck trickled into the net on a Swiss power play. The criticized and undersized Americans managed, coached by Toronto’s Ron Wilson, played with confidence against a more physical team. Miller made the quality saves and turned aside hard-hitting attempts on goal to maintain the USA lead.
St. Louis Blues forward Backes took a stick to the face during the opener for team USA. The bloody Backes beat Swiss netminder, Jonas Hiller, in the second period with a backhand-to-forehand goal. Ryan Malone secured his first Olympic goal by banging the puck through Hiller’s legs for a second middle stanza goal. The 30 year old Tampa Bay skater pounced on a rebound off an attempt from Phil Kessel and flipped it past Hiller’s pads. Bobby Ryan slipped a shot past his Anaheim teammate, Hiller, with a minute left in the first to pace the USA. The 1-0 lead was threatened by a few missed opportunities on the Swiss end. Switzerland up some early resistance, but couldn’t sustain it. The Swiss team had just two NHL regulars on the roster in Hiller and Mark Streit. Hiller made 21 stops in the loss. Ryan shook off an earlier hit by defensemen Streit to dig out a loose puck and dart down the ice for the score. The 22 year old had a breakout game on both ends of the ice. USA captain and NJ Devil, Jamie Langenbrunner, hit Streit twice during the game’s first shift. Malone’s goal came on a power play, where team USA went 1-of-3. The 2010 Olympic hockey opening game was a blazing finish for team USA. Miller faced nine shots during the first forty minutes. The Americans will face Norway next and then team Canada on Sunday. Wilson’s team will need to tighten up its overall game if they hope to compete with the consistent Canadians. The 2010 Olympic game hosts throttled Norway in their opener. After a scoreless opening period, Canada went on to thump Norway, banging home five third period goals to close out an 8-0 victory.
Parting Points: The USA men’s curling team isn’t doing so well. Bummer.
Tomorrow is the NBA trade deadline. Will the Suns deal Amare? Where will McGrady land?
Band of the day- The Wallflowers
St. Louis Blues forward Backes took a stick to the face during the opener for team USA. The bloody Backes beat Swiss netminder, Jonas Hiller, in the second period with a backhand-to-forehand goal. Ryan Malone secured his first Olympic goal by banging the puck through Hiller’s legs for a second middle stanza goal. The 30 year old Tampa Bay skater pounced on a rebound off an attempt from Phil Kessel and flipped it past Hiller’s pads. Bobby Ryan slipped a shot past his Anaheim teammate, Hiller, with a minute left in the first to pace the USA. The 1-0 lead was threatened by a few missed opportunities on the Swiss end. Switzerland up some early resistance, but couldn’t sustain it. The Swiss team had just two NHL regulars on the roster in Hiller and Mark Streit. Hiller made 21 stops in the loss. Ryan shook off an earlier hit by defensemen Streit to dig out a loose puck and dart down the ice for the score. The 22 year old had a breakout game on both ends of the ice. USA captain and NJ Devil, Jamie Langenbrunner, hit Streit twice during the game’s first shift. Malone’s goal came on a power play, where team USA went 1-of-3. The 2010 Olympic hockey opening game was a blazing finish for team USA. Miller faced nine shots during the first forty minutes. The Americans will face Norway next and then team Canada on Sunday. Wilson’s team will need to tighten up its overall game if they hope to compete with the consistent Canadians. The 2010 Olympic game hosts throttled Norway in their opener. After a scoreless opening period, Canada went on to thump Norway, banging home five third period goals to close out an 8-0 victory.
Parting Points: The USA men’s curling team isn’t doing so well. Bummer.
Tomorrow is the NBA trade deadline. Will the Suns deal Amare? Where will McGrady land?
Band of the day- The Wallflowers
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Notable Nail-biter
Notable Nail-biter
The errors agonized her ego
The court crushed her confidence
Each winner walloped her willpower
Each overhead obliterated her optimism
The forehands that flattened her faith
And the backhands that bruised her beliefs
Were soon suddenly swallowed with sound strategy
An injection of inner emotion shifted sides
Elbow extensions on serve and split steps at net
Couldn’t begin to capture the compelling courage
Of one down two sets and roaring back
The tantalizing tiebreaker took her to task
Until she could no longer live with losing
The final shot sequence a steady show
A nail-biting nip at the net her last hurrah
The errors agonized her ego
The court crushed her confidence
Each winner walloped her willpower
Each overhead obliterated her optimism
The forehands that flattened her faith
And the backhands that bruised her beliefs
Were soon suddenly swallowed with sound strategy
An injection of inner emotion shifted sides
Elbow extensions on serve and split steps at net
Couldn’t begin to capture the compelling courage
Of one down two sets and roaring back
The tantalizing tiebreaker took her to task
Until she could no longer live with losing
The final shot sequence a steady show
A nail-biting nip at the net her last hurrah
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