Sports Articles

2009-01-31 | Jim Murphy

The Detroit Pistons hung tough with the Boston Celtics for most of the game on Friday night in Motown, but at the end the balance of power in the NBA remained intact—the Celtics won their 10th straight game as they outlasted the Pistons 86-78. Detroit, meanwhile, continued to struggle with their 9th loss in their past thirteen games.

2009-01-31 | Jim Murphy

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Ingemar Johannson has died at a nursing home in his native Kungsbacka, Sweden at the age of 76. No official cause of death has been given, but Johansson recently returned to the nursing home after a difficult bout with pneumonia. Johansson had moved to the nursing home on the Swedish coast from Stockholm over ten years ago after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia.

2009-01-31 | Jim Murphy

Gracie family patriarch and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu pioneer Helio Gracie died in his sleep yesterday in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 95. It’s impossible to overestimate his influence on martial arts, and particularly his pathbreaking role in what is now the sport of mixed martial arts. The Gracie family name will forever be synonymous with Brazilian sports, jiu-jitsu, MMA and the UFC—not only due to Helio’s own accomplishments but the legacy he created both by training others and through his family.

2009-01-30 | Jim Murphy

With the victory, Orlando’s record on the season improved to 35-10. By way of comparison, Cleveland’s record dropped to 35-9 with the loss and Boston’s division leading record is only slightly better at 38-9. Out west, the LA Lakers also have a 35-9 record. In other words, the NBA is overlooking the Magic at their own peril as they’re right in the thick of things among the league’s elite.

2009-01-30 | Jim Murphy

The fight will take place on May 2nd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It’ll be shown on PPV in the US, but still up in the air is whether it’ll be produced and distributed by HBO or by rival Showtime. Golden Boy Promotions, who represents Hatton, has a long standing relationship with HBO while Pacquaio’s representative Bob Arum seems to favor Showtime. In any case, after what has already been settled to make this fight a reality don’t expect much rancor over which broadcast outlet is charged with its production and distribution.

2009-01-30 | Jim Murphy

Never let it be said that David Beckham lacks a flair for the dramatic. He accepted his current loan assignment to AC Milan in large part to impress England’s national soccer manager Fabio Capello that he still has the skills to wear the “three lions”, and in the process he’s become a favorite of his Italian teammates and the country’s media and fans. With Capello in attendance for Milan’s game against Genoa at the San Siro, Beckham scored his second Serie A goal in as many games with one of his trademark unstoppable free kicks.

2009-01-29 | Jim Murphy

It wasn’t that long ago that the Boston Celtics were in full panic mode. Their 19 game win streak had ended, and the team immediately started slumping badly losing 7 of their next 9 games. During this time questions started to emerge about the team’s depth—particularly in the backcourt, which prompted talk of trying to acquire New York Knicks’ pariah Stephon Marbury to give the team some depth. During that time, Kevin Garnett was a voice of reason suggesting that it was only a matter time before the Celtics regained their footing and resumed stomping the rest of the NBA.

2009-01-29 | Jim Murphy

Off a hard fought and physically draining double OT win in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, the Charlotte Bobcats entered Portland’s Rose Garden Arena on Wednesday “ripe for the picking”. The Blazers showed no mercy, rampaging to a 32-18 first quarter advantaged against the fatigued and injury depleted visitors before coasting to an 88-74 victory.

2009-01-29 | Jim Murphy

Nashville won for just the fourth time in their last thirteen games, but early in the contest it looked like another road loss for the Predators as the host Canucks took the early advantage. Nashville got on the board first late in the opening period when Joel Ward scored at the 18:50 mark assisted by Jordin Tootoo and Vernon Fiddler. The Preds took this advantage into the locker room, but their lead was short lived as Vancouver came out blazing to start the second period posting three goals in the first seven minutes of the frame to go up 3-1.

2009-01-28 | Jim Murphy

Buoyed by the return of Mickael Peitrus, the Orlando Magic shot out to a big first quarter lead and were never really threatened as they routed the Indiana Pacers 135-111 at the Amway Arena on Tuesday night. The victory improved the Magic’s record to a glossy 34-10 on the year, and 17-4 at home.

2009-01-28 | Jim Murphy

Boston has been on a nice run lately, and the victory on Tuesday at the TD BankNorth Garden improved the Bruins’ record on the year to 35-8-5 and 6-1-1 in their last eight games. They even made some history at the NHL All-Star game over the weekend, as their monstrous 6’9” defenseman Zdeno Chara won the “hardest shot” competition with a sizzling 105.4 MPH effort that broke Al Iafrate’s 16 year old record of 105.2 MPH.

2009-01-28 | Jim Murphy

According to comments from exiled New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury and unnamed “sources” close to the team, his move to the Boston Celtics for a late season run was all but a done deal. Reportedly once Marbury and the Knicks were able to resolve his contractual situation, he’d be wearing the Celtics green. While his perception of reality is dubious at best, Marbury even insisted that he had a “pledge” from Boston that they’d be signing him as soon as possible.

2009-01-28 | Jim Murphy

For whatever reason, the Charlotte Bobcats give the Los Angeles Lakers fits. The Bobcats improved to 5-4 against L.A. during their short existence with a hard fought 117-110 double OT win over the Lakers at the Staples Center on Tuesday night. Charlotte is now one of only two teams in the league with an all-time winning record over the Lakers—the Boston Celtics are the other with a 151-117 all time advantage in the head to head series.

2009-01-28 | Jim Murphy

The Lionel Hollins era in Memphis began in much the same way that the Marc Iavaroni coaching tenure ended last week—with a noncompetitive home loss, this time to the Denver Nuggets who beat the Grizzlies 100-85 in a game that wasn’t really in doubt after halftime.

2009-01-28 | Jim Murphy

Steve Francis entered the NBA with the flashy moniker “Stevie Franchise”, drafted by the Grizzlies—then in Vancouver—with the 2nd overall pick in the draft behind Elton Brand at #1 and before Baron Davis at #3. He refused to play in Vancouver, forcing a trade to the Houston Rockets where he would spend most of his NBA career. On Wednesday, his career may have ended when the Grizzlies—now located in Memphis—waived Francis.

2009-01-27 | Jim Murphy

The Portland TrailBlazers trounced the Los Angeles Clippers 113-88 on Monday night, but Brandon Roy wasn’t happy. Always the consummate competitor, Roy felt that his team shouldn’t have let their opponents stay in the game as long as they did—a stinging statement after a 15 point road victory.

2009-01-27 | Jim Murphy

Beckham has played well since arriving in Milan, and over the weekend scored his first goal in Serie A competition. AC Milan owner (and current Italian Prime Minister) Silvio Berlusconi has been so pleased with Beckham that he’s willing to spare no expense to keep him in Northern Italy. Reports indicate that Milan is willing to pay the equivalent of $6.5 million (US) to the Galaxy as a transfer fee. They’re also willing to pay Beckham a signing bonus to soften the blow of breaking his lucrative contract with the American Major League Soccer franchise.

2009-01-27 | Jim Murphy

Andrei Arlovski did a good job executing Freddie Roach’s gameplan against Russian fighting god Fedor Emelianenko. Arlovski’s handspeed, slick punch combination and power appeared to be giving “The Last Emperor” a lot of grief. It was all going Arlovski’s way—until he made a mistake, got reckless and wound up on the wrong end of a TKO loss in just over three minutes of the first round. With the victory in the main event of Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Fedor retained the WAMMA world heavyweight championship and solidified his claim as the best at the weight in the world—if not ever.

2009-01-24 | Jim Murphy

The Memphis Grizzlies have fired coach Marc Ivaroni following an 11-30 start to the season. Ivaroni became the 7th NBA coach to lose his job since the beginning of the season. Earlier today Memphis General Manager Chris Wallace confirmed that he’s in the process of finalizing a deal with current Milwaukee Bucks assistant Lionel Hollins to become the team’s new head coach.

2009-01-24 | Jim Murphy

While there are some indications that Kansas City is close to a deal with former Denver Broncos’ coach Mike Shanahan, there are a few procedural hurdles to jump. Contrary to speculation that the “evaluation” of Edwards was a cynical attempt to satisfy the NFL’s “Rooney Rule” that stipulates that team’s must interview at least one minority candidate, league officials indicated that wasn’t the case and should KC hire Shanahan without interviewing a minority candidate that they would be in violation.

2009-01-24 | Jim Murphy

Miller has battled with his weight for much of his time as Jazz owner, and suffered a heart attack last summer. He experienced considerable complications and setbacks after the attack including kidney failure and gastrointestinal bleeding that required significant blood transfusions. As a result, he spent the better part of two months in the hospital. In October, Miller had surgery to address a bone infection and diabetic ulcers on his feet.

2009-01-22 | Jim Murphy

The New York Jets have hired Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator Rex Ryan as the team’s new head coach. He’ll replace Eric Mangini, who was fired after missing the playoffs with a 9-7 record and—according to rumors—for not being deferential enough to his prima donna QB Brett “The Gunslinger” Favre.

2009-01-22 | Jim Murphy

For all of the accolades heaped upon LA Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, he might not get the credit he deserves for one important area of his game—his toughness. While other Western Conference “superstars” like Utah Jazz malingerer Carlos Boozer shut it down for months after suffering a minor muscle strain, Kobe keeps playing through a variety of nagging ailments.

2009-01-22 | Jim Murphy

New York real estate billionaire Stephen Ross completed his purchase of 95% of the Miami Dolphins earlier this week, with former majority owner Wayne Huizinga retaining a 5% stake in the team. The first matter of business after the deal was finalized concerned the status of Executive VP of Football operations, Bill Parcells. The sale triggered a clause inserted by the wily “Tuna” when hired last year that would allow him to leave the team and still receive the remaining $9-12 million remaining on his contract.

2009-01-22 | Jim Murphy

The Boston Celtics’ late December/early January swoon is becoming a distant memory as the defending NBA champions shot out to a big first quarter lead and never looked back en route to a 98-83 road victory at Miami on Wednesday night. Former Heat guard Eddie House had a big game against his old team to bolster the efforts of the Celtics’ usual scoring threats as Miami lost its fourth straight home matchup against Boston.

2009-01-22 | Jim Murphy

Montreal Canadians goaltender Carey Price played well in relief of Jaroslav Halak in the Habs loss to Atlanta on Tuesday night, but he wasn’t the answer on Wednesday against the New Jersey Devils. Making his first start since he was sidelined with an ankle injury in late December, Price gave up four goals with New Jersey scoring a fifth into an empty net in the last minute of the contest as the Devils routed Montreal 5-2.

2009-01-22 | Jim Murphy

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady said that his recovery from knee surgery is going well, though he declined to give a timetable for his return. Brady was injured in the Pats first game of the 2008 season and didn’t play again after knee surgery in October. He spoke to Toronto sports radio station Fan 590 on Wednesday and addressed his injury and the aftermath at length in a wide ranging interview.

2009-01-21 | Jim Murphy

Milsap enjoyed another very effective outing which will further embolden Jazz supporters who want the team to send malingering Carlos Boozer packing and make the 2nd year player out of Louisiana Tech—which also produced another “decent” power forward named Karl Malone—the future of the franchise at the position. Milsap scored 28 points and pulled down 15 points in yet another “double/double” performance since taking over the starting power forward spot from Boozer.

2009-01-21 | Jim Murphy

The Atlanta Thrashers opened up an early three goal lead and hung on to cool off red hot Montreal by a 4-2 score at the Phillips Arena on Tuesday night. Despite a solid 27-12-6 record good for 60 points, the Canadians have struggled to make up ground on the Boston Bruins who lead the NHL’s Northeast Division with a 33-8-5 record worth 71 points.

2009-01-21 | Jim Murphy

Favre’s absence was hardly a surprise—he seldom played in Pro Bowl contests while in Green Bay and he’s decided to put the Jets through the same tiresome “will I or won’t I retire” charade that he subjected the Packers to last summer. The “official” reason for his absence is a nebulous “shoulder injury” supposedly suffered in the Jets’ last game of the year, though there’s a good chance it could have happened while Favre was patting himself on the back.

2009-01-19 | Jim Murphy

The Arizona Cardinals will play in the Superbowl for the first time in franchise history after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 32-25 in Tempe, AZ on Sunday. Veteran QB Kurt Warner threw four TD passes for the Cardinals, while their defense forced 3 turnovers. The Cardinals will play the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the Superbowl two weeks from Sunday in Tampa, Florida.

2009-01-19 | Jim Murphy

Despite the fact that they’ll be facing a team making their maiden Superbowl appearance, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been in plenty of them. Pittsburgh reached their second Superbowl in four years and the seventh in team history by virtue of a 23-14 win over a gritty Baltimore Ravens team. While Baltimore’s defense received all of the pre-game hype, the Steelers’ stop unit held the Ravens to just 198 yards of total offense.

2009-01-19 | Jim Murphy

Dan Henderson used his superior power punching and wrestling ability to defeat Rich Franklin by split decision in the main event of UFC 93 before an enthusiastic sellout crowd at the O2 Arena in Dublin Ireland on Saturday. With the victory the former PRIDE middleweight and welterweight champ earned the right to be the coach of Team USA in Season 9 of “The Ultimate Fighter”. The forthcoming installment of the UFC reality show will pit Henderson’s Team USA against a team of UK fighters coached by Michael Bisping.

2009-01-18 | Jim Murphy

What he meant to say was "don’t run into the new coach and GM on the way out the door". On Saturday, Glazer introduced Raheem Morris as the Bucs’ new head coach and Mark Dominik as the team’s new General Manager. The 32 year old Morris becomes the youngest active NFL head coach and brings no previous head coaching experience to the table. Nevertheless, the Bucs new head coach dismissed suggestions that hiring such an unproven commodity was a "risk"

2009-01-18 | Jim Murphy

The panic in Beantown following the Celtics’ recent swoon is starting to subside as the team regains their footing and starts to string together some victories. On Saturday night in the Meadowlands, the defending NBA champions were in control from the outset as they thumped the New Jersey Nets 105-85 for their fourth consecutive victory.

2009-01-18 | Jim Murphy

Less than two years ago, Denis Kang was considered one of the top welterweights in mixed martial arts. Following a shocking upset in his UFC debut at the hands of Alan Belcher, he’s now a fighter that’s been on the wrong end of three of his last five fights. Belcher, meanwhile, watched his stock continue its uptick after another impressive victory.

2009-01-17 | Jim Murphy

In something of a surprise announcement, the Tampa Bay Bucs fired head coach Jon Gruden on Friday after seven seasons and a Superbowl championship. The dismissal came in the wake of one of the worst late season collapses in NFL history, as the Bucs failed to make the playoffs by losing 4 straight games after starting the season 9-3. Team General Manager Bruce Allen was also fired by the team after five seasons.

2009-01-17 | Jim Murphy

Despite having to tinker with their starting lineup due to injuries, the Cleveland Cavaliers remained undefeated at home by virtue of a 92-78 victory over the New Orleans Hornets at the Quicken Loans Arena on Friday night. LeBron James was "under the weather" with a severe head cold but it sure didn’t hurt his game as he came close to posting a "triple double" playing out of position at center as the Cavs used a small lineup to complete fluster the visiting Hornets.

2009-01-17 | Jim Murphy

Facing a slew of injuries and off a disappointing loss at Oklahoma City on Wednesday where the team was criticized for a lack of energy, the Utah Jazz defeated the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth straight time with a 101-91 victory Friday night at the FedEx Forum. Point guard Deron Williams continued to demonstrate his All Star form, while Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko responded admirably in rare starting assignments.

2009-01-15 | Jim Murphy

Now that Tim Tebow has announced that he’ll be returning to Florida to help defend their national championship in 2009 and forgo the NFL draft for another year, runner-up Oklahoma is in good shape as their QB Sam Bradford announced that he’ll be back as well. The defending Heisman Trophy winner made it official on Wednesday at a press conference in Norman, OK.

2009-01-15 | Jim Murphy

New York Giants’ wide receiver Plaxico Burress was back in the news on Wednesday, and for a change it wasn’t just due to his on-going legal issues. While Plax was in a Pennsylvania courtroom to find out how much money he’d have to pay to a local Chevy dealer, at least one powerful member of the New York Giants’ braintrust publically stated that he’d prefer it if the team moved on without him.

2009-01-15 | Jim Murphy

Scott Pioli, who helped turn the New England Patriots from a laughing stock into a dynasty, was introduced on Wednesday as the new General Manager of the Kansas City Chiefs. According to a spokesman for team chairman Clark Hunt Pioli will have complete control over all football operations and report only to Hunt.

2009-01-14 | Jim Murphy

After a 31 year NFL career with Superbowl victories both as a player (with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1979) and as a coach (with the Colts in 2007), Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy announced his retirement on Monday. He’ll leave the game not only as a highly successful head coach, but one of the most admired and respected men to have ever walked an NFL sideline.

2009-01-14 | Jim Murphy

Florida Gators’ QB Tim Tebow is such a fierce competitor on the field and such a class individual off of it, it’s almost heresy to suggest that his decision to return to Gainesville for his senior season could have possibly been motivated by anything other than his commitment to the school. Less than 24 hours after he announced his decision to forego the NFL draft and return for his last season of college eligibility, it was also reported that Tebow would undergo shoulder surgery on his non-throwing arm. Could it have been a case that the fear of being “damaged goods” and hurting his draft position had as much to do with his decision as his loftier motivations?

2009-01-14 | Jim Murphy

The NFL’s resident paragon of class, Plaxico Burress, is in legal hot water again. While not as severe as the felony firearms rap he faces in New York City after he managed to shoot himself in the leg at a Manhattan nightclub called the “Latin Quarter”, he’ll be in court on Wednesday in Pennsylvania to determine how much money he’ll owe to a Lebanon County car dealer in exchange for damages on a leased 2004 Chevy Avalanche.

2009-01-12 | Jim Murphy

The Steelers held the Chargers to a net 15 yards rushing—all by Darren Sproles. Sproles had an effective game overall, with 91 yards receiving and 164 yards on kickoff returns but his inability to find any daylight on the ground left the Chargers with a woefully one-dimensional offensive attack. At the same time, the Chargers’ defense couldn’t stop the Steelers who had an answer any time the passing of Phillip Rivers put points on the board for San Diego.

2009-01-12 | Jim Murphy

Neither quarterback had overwhelmingly impressive statistical performances, but McNabb made the big plays that made the difference in the game while Manning did not. McNabb would finish with 217 yards on 22/40 passing with 1 TD pass and two interceptions. Manning finished with 15/29 for 169 yards with no TD passes and two interceptions. Despite the lackluster statistical showing, McNabb has the Eagles in the NFC championship game for the fifth time in eight seasons.

2009-01-12 | Jim Murphy

There had been some speculation that the deeply religious Tebow would opt for the NFL seeking a bigger stage for his ministerial and charitable work. Head coach Urban Meyer had set up meetings for Tebow with several NFL coaches to evaluate his prospects at the professional level . Ultimately, Tebow wasn’t swayed by any of their comments and now suggests that he never seriously considered leaving for the NFL. After the championship celebration festivities were over.

2009-01-11 | Jim Murphy

No one really took the Arizona Cardinals seriously entering the NFL playoffs, but after destroying Carolina on the road Saturday evening that should change. The Cards forced 6 turnovers and essentially whipped the Panthers in every phase of the game in front of a stunned crowd at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium en route to a 33-13 victory. Objectively, the game wasn’t even as close as the lopsided final score would indicate.

2009-01-11 | Jim Murphy

Marinelli went 10-38 in three years with the Lions, but prior to his first head coaching gig was the defensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Bucs for much of the previous decade. During his tenure, the Bucs defensive front was arguably the most feared in the NFL and compiled 328.5 sacks—the most in the league during that timeframe. He’ll be charged with restoring the same quality to the defensive line in Chicago, which has become notably porous in recent years and a far cry from “The Monsters of the Midway”.

2009-01-11 | Jim Murphy

The Utah Jazz own the Detroit Pistons. Utah defeated Detroit for the eighth consecutive time on Saturday night, behind 22 points and 7 rebounds from former Piston Mehmet Okur who improved his personal record to 9-1 against his old team. The Jazz opened a 32-21 lead after one period and put it on cruise control from there as they coasted to a 99-82 victory at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

2009-01-10 | Jim Murphy

It wasn’t pretty, but “winning ugly” is what Baltimore Ravens football is all about. Behind their punishing defense, the Ravens used a first quarter TD pass from rookie QB Joe Flacco and two Matt Stover FGs to outlast the Tennessee Titans on Saturday. With the victory, the Ravens advance to the AFC Championship game against the winner of Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers/San Diego Chargers game.

2009-01-10 | Jim Murphy

LeBron James was dominant as he scored 38 points to lead all scorers, while also contributing seven rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocked shots. He was a formidable presence on the defensive end as well, making life miserable for Boston’s leading scorer Paul Pierce. Pierce was held to a season low 11 points, and he only managed to reach double digits after James came out of the game in the fourth quarter with the outcome all but decided.

2009-01-10 | Jim Murphy

Just ten days after losing his 205 pound title to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86, Jackson became a fixture on tabloid TV and websites following a bizarre incident in Southern California where he allegedly hit several vehicles, ran red lights and weaved in and out of traffic as he led police on a chase through Orange County. The chase eventually ended when Rampage blew a tire and the photos of him being held at gunpoint on the ground were featured on newspapers worldwide.

2009-01-09 | Jim Murphy

Defense dominated the game’s opening period, with neither high powered offense able to put as much as a single point on the scoreboard. The teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter, with the Gators drawing first blood on a 20 yard TD strike by Tim Tebow to Louis Murphy. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford would answer a few minutes later with his own 6 yard TD pass to Jermaine Gresham. The teams entered the halftime break deadlocked at 7-7.

2009-01-09 | Jim Murphy

Having milked the equivocation over coming out retirement for most of last summer, Brett Favre plans to make sure he’s the central focus of the sports media for months to come. In the process, he’s got no problem holding up the Jets’ ability to plan their future while he decides. Apparently not content with having thrown former head coach Eric Mangini under the bus, Favre is going to pull the same act with the Jets that he did last summer with his old team, the Green Bay Packers.

2009-01-09 | Jim Murphy

While Brett Favre is planning to keep the Jets in the lurch over the summer, one man who is no doubt happy to be away from the drama is former head coach Eric Mangini. Less than two weeks after being fired by the New York Jets—more due to his chilly relationship with “The Gunslinger” than anything else—Mangini was hired as the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday and is no doubt looking forward to rebuilding the football team in a relatively “diva-free” environment.

2009-01-08 | Jim Murphy

The Celtics had no answer for the Rockets’ Yao Ming, who finished with 26 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Ron Artest added 17 for Houston and Aaron Brooks contributed 19 off the bench. Paul Pierce led Boston with 26 points, Kevin Garnett tallied 18 and Ray Allen added 13. Glen Davis provided a boost to Boston’s struggling bench with 12 points but the Celtics reserved were still outscored by their Houston counterparts 32-23.

2009-01-08 | Jim Murphy

Cleveland took control of this contest from the outset and never looked back, opening up a 29-12 lead after the first quarter. The one sided game allowed Cleveland to rest some of their starters in advance of Friday’s huge grudge match against the defending NBA champions, while giving their bench some valuable minutes. LeBron James led the Cavs with 21 points despite playing only 31 minutes. Mo Williams contributed 15 points in only 27 minutes of play, and reserves Wally Szczerbiak, JJ Hickson and Daniel Gibson each posted double figures.

2009-01-08 | Jim Murphy

The Utah Jazz improved their record to 21-15 on Wednesday night as they dominated the fatigued New Orleans Hornets by a 116-90 score at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. The Jazz were led again by another big game from Paul Milsap, who posted his 19th consecutive double/double since taking over the starting power forward position with Carlos Boozer on the disabled list.

2009-01-07 | Jim Murphy

Bobcats’ pointguard Raymond Felton led his team with 25 points, Gerald Wallace had 23 and rookie DJ Augustin added 20 off the bench. Center Emeka Okafor also provided a significant contribution to the Charlotte cause with 13 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Boston’s Paul Pierce led all scorers with 28 points, Ray Allen scored 20 and Kevin Garnett added 14 points. Once again the Celtics bench struggled, as Charlotte’s reserve outscored their Boston counterparts by a 34-19 margin.

2009-01-07 | Jim Murphy

The University of Utah went undefeated for the second time in five years in 2008, but was passed over for the national championship game in favor of Florida and Oklahoma—two teams with one loss. In the aftermath of Utah’s destruction of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl—the Utes’ second BCS bowl victory in as many tries—at least someone is looking for some answers from the BCS powers-that-be. Utah State Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has opened an investigation of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) over possible anti-trust violations.

2009-01-07 | Jim Murphy

After 17 NHL seasons where he became the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mats Sundin is likely to make his debut in a Vancouver Canucks jersey on Wednesday night. Sundin signed with the Canucks as a free agent in mid-December and is hoping to take the ice for the first time with his new team as they play the Oilers in Edmonton.After 17 NHL seasons where he became the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mats Sundin is likely to make his debut in a Vancouver Canucks jersey on Wednesday night. Sundin signed with the Canucks as a free agent in mid-December and is hoping to take the ice for the first time with his new team as they play the Oilers in Edmonton.

2009-01-06 | Jim Murphy

The first half was surprisingly uneventful, with Ohio State getting on the board first by virtue of a 51 yard Aaron Pettrey FG midway through the opening period. Texas would respond with a 27 yard Hunter Lawrence FG midway through the second quarter before Ohio State Ryan Pretorious kicked a 30 yarder to give his team a 6-3 lead heading into the halftime break.

2009-01-06 | Jim Murphy

The injury plagued Utah Jazz got some good news on Monday night as power forward Paul Milsap returned to the lineup and posted his 18th consecutive double/double leading his team to a 119-114 victory over the Golden State Warriors at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. The victory allowed the Jazz to keep pace with Portland for second place in the NBA’s Northwest Division with 20 wins.

2009-01-06 | Jim Murphy

Tomlinson injured his groin in the Chargers’ final regular season game and although he tried to play in the team’s playoff victory over Indianapolis it was apparent that he was far from 100%. There have been conflicted reports about the severity of Tomlinson’s injury—the team has described it as a “strained groin muscle” while media reports have suggested that it could be a detached tendon.

2009-01-05 | Jim Murphy

Takanori Gomi was matched against Kitaoka despite his split decision upset loss to Sergey Golyaev in a “top contenders” match at Sengoku 6 in November. The promotion basically decided to ignore the result of that bout and slot Gomi for the lightweight title against Kitaoka anyway. Kitaoka rendered that decision irrelevant as he stunned the Saitama Super Arena crowd by forcing Gomi to submit to a heel hook just 1:41 into the first round.

2009-01-04 | Jim Murphy

The Knicks were led by a career high 31 from Wilson Chandler and 30 points from Al Harrington. David Lee also added 14 points and 14 boards for New York. The Celtics enjoyed a 31 point outing from Paul Pierce, but with the exception of Ray Allen’s 16 points no other Boston player scored in double digits. The Knicks in particular stymied Kevin Garnett (6 points, 9 rebounds) and Rajon Rondo (3 points, 3 assists).

2009-01-04 | Jim Murphy

In Minnesota, the Eagles Donovan McNabb threw for 300 yards with a TD pass and one interception as Philadelphia pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat the Vikings 26-14. The Eagles carried a 16-14 advantage into the locker room at halftime and were unable to increase that margin during a scoreless third quarter. The decisive play of the game occurred midway through the 4th when McNabb found Brian Westbrook for a 71 yard TD pass play to stretch their advantage to 9 points. David Akers added a FG just after the two minute warning to produce the final margin of victory.

2009-01-03 | Jim Murphy

The Crimson Tide must have believed their own press clippings, as they appeared blindsided in the first quarter as the Utes shot out to a 21-0 lead. Brian Johnson opened the scoring with his first of three TD passes, this one to Brent Casteel from 7 yards out. Less than three minutes later, Matt Astiata scored from 3 yards out to increase Utah’s lead to 14-0. Johnson capped the first quarter onslaught with another TD pass, this one to Brandon Godfrey from 18 yards.

2009-01-03 | Jim Murphy

In the second quarter, however, it was all USC as the Trojans scored 24 unanswered points on two TD passes from Sanchez, one to Ronald Johnson from 19 yards out and the other to CJ Gable from 20 yards. Sanchez also added a 6 yard rushing TD, and David Buehler kicked a 30 yard FG as the Trojans overwhelmed their opponents en route to a 31-7 halftime advantage.

2009-01-03 | Jim Murphy

Roy didn’t travel with the team to Los Angeles on Sunday for a game against the Lakers at The Staples Center. He’ll definitely miss home games this week against Detroit and Golden State, with the best case scenario for his return being January 12th in Chicago against the Bulls. More likely, the team will hold him out a couple more days and he’ll be back in action on January 14th when the Blazers play the Sixers in Philadelphia.

2009-01-02 | Jim Murphy

The Hawkeyes shot out to a 14-0 first quarter lead and never looked back. QB Richard Stanzi started the scoring when he found Trey Stoss in the end zone for a 6 yard TD pass, and Greene ran in his first TD of the day less than three minutes later. Greene would score again on a 1 yard TD run midway through the second quarter, and Iowa took a 21-0 advantage into the locker room. They’d add 10 more points in the third quarter on an 18 yard Daniel Murray FG...

2009-01-02 | Jim Murphy

It certainly makes sense for the Celtics to bolster team depth, with PJ Brown and James Posey gone from last year’s team. There was some interest in signing Dikembe Mutombo to improve the team’s interior defense, but he signed with Houston several days ago. On the other hand, despite Boston’s third loss in four games to Portland on Tuesday night it’s a little premature to hit the panic button based on the team’s recent 19 game winning streak and their NBA best...

2009-01-02 | Jim Murphy

Alverez received an enthusiastic reaction from the fans in Tokyo’s Saitama Super Arena as he made his way to the ring on New Years’ Eve—his run to the DREAM lightweight finals and particularly the epic battle with Hansen has made him a highly respected and popular fighter in Japan. The reaction he received was nothing like Aoki’s, however, who was cheered like a rock star as he bounced to the ring to his trademark theme song “Baka Survivor”. While the fans...