|
What Goalie will the Broad Street bullies trade for before tomorrow’s trading deadline? From ESPN-
Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ray Emery will need surgery to repair his right hip and will miss the rest of the season, the team announced Tuesday.
“He is suffering from avascular necrosis and will have a bone graft done to alleviate his hip issues,” general manager Paul Holmgren said in a news release.
With Emery out, the Flyers may look to trade for a goalie ahead of Wednesday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline, although Michael Leighton has played well for the team.
Emery, 27, went 16-11-1 record with a 2.64 goals-against average and .905 save percentage, including three shutouts, in 29 games this season.
Ray Emery is a unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. He seems to have reformed from his tumultuous Ottawa days that caused him to play outside the NHL the for 2008-09 season. I think Emery won’t have any problem signing with another team.
The Flyers are now in need of a Goalie and a lot of rumors are flying around. One of them is Florida Goalie Tomas Vokoun being traded to Philadelphia. If not for salary cap reasons, I’d bet the trade takes place. It may still happen.
Vokoun is the best Florida player by a mile and only reason the team isn’t in the Eastern Conference cellar. Interesting enough-
1- Vokoun won’t start tonight against Atlanta. It’s going to be Scott Clemmensen(who’s been horrible this year)
2- If Vokoun is traded to Philly, his first opponent as a Flyer? The Florida Panthers, at Florida.
Florida is going to trade Vokoun either by the deadline or during the off season. They have the rights to an excellent Swedish Goalie named Jacob Markstrom. Markstrom could play in the NHL as soon as next season. If Florida trades Vokoun, what do they do at Goalie?
Obviously Clemmensen becomes the starter, but who will back him up? Alexander Salak from Rochester? If so, I better get my hard hat out for the rest of the 2009-10 season.
ESPN’s Scott Burnside speculates on what move Philadelphia will make. DolPhanDave covers the Vokoun/Florida Panther angle.
The first NHL game since the Olympic break was From played last night.
The Detroit Red Wings are healthy and ready to make a run at the playoffs.
That might bad news for the rest of the NHL.
Nicklas Lidstrom scored a power-play goal with 9:03 left in the third period and lifted the Red Wings past Colorado on Monday night and put themselves into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Tomas Holmstrom had a goal and two assists, Pavel Datsyuk had two assists and Jimmy Howard made 22 saves for Detroit, which won the first NHL game since Feb. 14 when the NHL took a two-week break for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Last night was the first time Detroit won back to back games since Jan 7-8. The Red Wings are currently 29-21-12 and 8th in the Western Conference race. I think they will make the post season but exit early. Detroit is getting old and a rebuilding period will start soon.
Israel is scheduled to play Chile this weekend. From AP-
Chile is still planning to host its Davis Cup series this weekend against Israel despite the devastating earthquake that has killed at least 700 people in the South American country.
Singles player Nicolas Massu arrived on Monday from Miami and expressed concern for the Chilean people but said he was ready to play.
Jose Hinzpeter, president of the Chile tennis federation, also said he wants the series to go ahead as scheduled in the northern port town of Coquimbo, which suffered little damage.
I don’t know about you. A tennis match seems unimportant when large amounts of people are dead or homeless. National pride from any win will just be transitory.
The rumored tournament is now official.
Today the LPGA announced that the inaugural Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia will be played October 22-24, 2010 at the prestigious Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC). The announcement was made in Malaysia by Zayra Calderon, LPGA Executive Vice President, Tournament Development & Worldwide Sales, along with officials from Sime Darby Group and IMG, the tournament organizer.
The new LPGA tournament, to be held at least through 2012 per the three-year agreement, will feature the top 50 LPGA members from the Official Money List, along with 10 sponsor’s exemptions. The 54-hole stroke play event with no cut will ensure that fans – many of whom will be viewing an LPGA event live for the first time – can catch all of their favorite stars in action throughout the weekend.
The tournament will be shown on Golf Channel. Another week on 2010 calendar is filled. Coud the LPGA be back to playing 30 plus tournaments a year in 2011? At present the signs are hopeful.
He didn’t even last a full season in South Florida. From the Miami Herald-
The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired defenseman Jordan Leopold in a deal with the Florida Panthers.
Florida traded Leopold to Pittsburgh for a second-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. The move was announced Monday, two days before the league’s trade deadline.
The 29-year-old Leopold signed a one-year contract with the Panthers in July. In the summer, he was part of a deal that sent the rights to defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to Calgary.
Leopold had 7 goals and 11 points for the season. He was to become a free agent at the end of this season, so the trade wasn’t unexpected.
This and the Dominic Moore trade are all the proof one needs to know about the rest of the 2009-10 Panther season. The team is packing it in. Their play has been brutal for over a month and only the wizardry of G Tomas Vokoun has kept the Panthers anywhere near the playoff race. Their 6 points out the 8th spot at present but it might as well be 1,000. This team isn’t going to the playoffs. AGAIN.
As for the trade, a 2nd round pick is a good deal on paper. If Florida makes good use of the pick. Say another David Booth but not a Lukas Krajicek. Even if the pick works out, Florida isn’t likely to benefit from it for 2-3 years. Dimitry Kulikov(Florida’s 2009 1st round pick) aside, most draft picks don’t come to the league for 2-3 years and then need time to adjust. Florida is rebuilding, AGAIN, but it could be 4 years before fans see improvement. I really am a Masochist when I root for this team 82 games a year.
Also blogging on the trade- Donny at Litter Box Cats.
He is the team’s leading scorer. From AP-
Minnesota Timberwolves star center Al Jefferson apologized to the team and fans Sunday after his arrest on suspicion of DWI following a weekend loss to Portland.
The Timberwolves suspended Jefferson for the next two games without pay — a punishment Jefferson said he accepts.
“I want to apologize to the entire Timberwolves organization, owner Glen Taylor, my teammates, coaches and Wolves fans everywhere for my actions last night,” Jefferson said in a statement released Sunday by the Timberwolves. “I made a very poor decision and I am truly sorry for that. As a leader on this team, I know that more is expected of me, and I am disappointed in myself.”
A Minnesota State Patrol trooper stopped Jefferson, 25, on Interstate 394 near downtown Minneapolis early Sunday for speeding and changing lanes without signaling, patrol spokesman Lt. Eric Roeske said.
After taking a field sobriety test, Jefferson was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center for a blood test, which he had agreed to, then to Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of fourth-degree driving while impaired, Roeske said. Jefferson was released after an hour in jail and faces an April 23 court appearance.
A forth-degree crime will probably result in a fine not jail time. If convicted, Jefferson should accept the fine like he did the suspension. I’m thinking he probably will.
Team Canada beat Team USA 3-2 on an overtime goal by Sidney Crosby.
A shame for Team USA, which outplayed expectations, beating Canada in the early rounds and arriving undefeated in the gold medal game.
It’s a rather odd tournament structure for an undefeated team to face a rematch in the championship game against a team it beat along the way and then play a single-elimination showdown. There’s not much incentive to win the first game if the two teams contend as equals in the finals.
Still, Canada had to fight their way to the game the hard way, beating the Russians along the way. It’s probable that the better team won. And they were at home, to boot.
Team USA fought back after being down 2-0, scoring the tying game with an empty net with just seconds to go. Stellar stuff and, certainly, nothing to be ashamed of against a favored team with more veteran talent playing in front of its home crowd. Let alone with the winning shot made by a man widely considered the best hockey player in the world.
Still, being 1-1 against Canada in the tourney and finishing in second place behind Canada is rather hollow. Obviously, you’d much rather have lost the first one and won the second.
Ah, well. Back to not caring about hockey for another four years.
No sudden death for sudden death? From AP-
An NFL spokesman said Saturday the league could change its overtime format for playoff games at a meeting next month.
Under the new format, both teams would get the ball at least once unless the first team to get the ball scores a touchdown, Greg Aiello said. If the first team to get the ball makes a field goal and the other team ties the game, action would continue until a team scores again.
Under the current rules, the first team to score wins.
“There have been various concepts that have been discussed in recent years, but this one has never been proposed,” Aiello said.
The competition committee will discuss the new concept with teams and players at league meetings March 21-24 in Orlando, Fla., when it could come to a vote. At least two thirds of the teams would need to agree to the changes for new rules to be adopted.
It is my prediction that the NFL does make some kind of change. Personally, I’m ambivalent on the issue. I believe the statistics show that the teams who lose the toss win slightly more often in regular season games. What the playoff record, I don’t know. Honestly, who says life or sports has to be fair?
The #4 player in the world has won the first two LPGA tournaments of 2010 From AP-
Ai Miyazato won the HSBC Champions on Sunday to become the first LPGA Tour player in 44 years to sweep the first two events of a season, closing with 3-under 69 for a two-stroke victory over Cristie Kerr.
Miyazato, the 24-year-old Japanese star who won the LPGA Thailand last week, took the lead with a birdie on the par-4 16th — a hole she played in 5 under for the week — and parred the final two holes to finish at 10 under on Tanah Merah’s Garden Course.
A 15-time winner on the Japanese tour, Miyazato earned $195,000 for her third career LPGA Tour victory — all outside North America. She won the Evian Masters last year in France for her first LPGA Tour title.
Marilynn Smith was last player to win the first two events in a season, accomplishing the feat in 1966.
Miyazato has come out blazing. Can she challenge for #1? I think so. Her winning streak is now on hold for a month. The next LPGA tournament begins March 25th in Carlsbad California.
For the 2nd week in a row, the LPGA had an exciting final round. Last week it was the Miyazato-Suzann Pettersen battle, this week 10 or so players fought it out on the back nine. If the LPGA can carry this over to the United States, the tour may benefit from Tiger Woods abscence from competitive golf. A win by Michelle Wie would help too. She’s off to a solid start in 2010.($32,090 in earnings, 18th on the money list)
Lorena Ochoa after opening with a 68, shot a 2nd round 79 and finished well back. Has Ochoa become a better version of the 2004 to pre 2006 LPGA Championship Se Ri Pak? Pak won two tournaments since pulling herself together but isn’t anything like the golfer she was from 1998 to 2003.
Also blogging on Miyazato’s win- The Constructivist at Mostly Harmless. He has a very detailed account of the back and forth battle for today’s tournament. He points out that since the HSBC began, the winner has gone on to be Player of the Year. Ochoa won both in 2008 and Ji Yai Shin in 2009. Miyazato has a head start on making three in a row.
Update- Hound Dog also blogged on the HSBC final round
My nominee for the most embarrassing effort by both teams in a NBA game this season.
On a night filled with offensive ineptitude it was only fitting that missed free throws proved to be the deciding factor.
Stephen Curry scored 27 points and the Golden State Warriors used the hack-a-Ben strategy to finish their rally from a 14-point deficit in the second half and beat the Detroit Pistons 95-88 on Saturday night.
The Warriors shot 41 percent from the field and committed 17 turnovers but came up with their first win without scoring at least 100 points since Jan. 30, 2009, at New Orleans.
“Sometimes you don’t know how you win games, but we just stayed around long enough to make plays at the right time,” said coach Don Nelson, who has 1,326th career victories — seven shy of breaking Lenny Wilkens’ record.
Anthony Tolliver added 19 points and 14 rebounds, and C.J. Watson scored 17 points in place of injured leading scorer Monta Ellis as the Warriors snapped a five-game losing streak against the Pistons.
Golden State held Detroit without a field goal for the final 3:52, with the Pistons only point in that span coming on a free throw by Ben Wallace on one of three trips to the line after intentional fouls by the Warriors. Wallace missed five of his six attempts late in the game, including consecutive air balls in the final minute.
Air balls? There isn’t supposed to be air balls in the NBA fans.
Anyone who attended this game should ask for a refund. Requesting a better Golden State team is asking for a miracle.
|
|
