Sports Articles

2009-02-27 | Jim Murphy

The New Jersey Devils activated goaltender Martin Brodeur on Wednesday, nearly four months after he underwent elbow surgery. Brodeur injured his elbow on November 1st in a game against the Atlanta Thrashers, and had surgery several days later to reattach a torn bicep muscle. Initially there was some concern that he would be out for the season, but the prognosis began to quickly improve following the surgery due to the lack of complications and Brodeur’s tenacious rehab.

2009-02-27 | Jim Murphy

The NHL Western Conference battle got a little more heated on Wednesday as the host Detroit Red Wings routed the San Jose Sharks 4-1 at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit snapped San Jose’s 4 game winning streak, and the Sharks failed to earn a point in the standings for only the seventh time in their last 51 games. Despite the setback, the Sharks narrowly maintained the edge over the Boston Bruins for the league’s best record.

2009-02-27 | Jim Murphy

Carlos Boozer has finally returned to the lineup from yet another illusory injury, but the Utah Jazz did just fine without him. Paul Milsap has done an impressive shoring up the interior, and Mehmet Okur and Deron Williams have picked up their scoring pace. Most importantly, the various ‘role players’ on the team have come up big when needed—on Wednesday night it was rapidly improving shooting guard Ronnie Brewer who scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Jazz won their sixth straight and ninth in ten games by routing Minnesota on the road 120-103.

2009-02-27 | Jim Murphy

So much for the notion that New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur could suffer from some ‘rink rust’ in his first game back from injury. In his first action since being sidelined by an elbow injury on November 1st, Brodeur stopped 24 shots and earned his 99th career regular season shutout as the New Jersey Devils beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-0 on Thursday night at the Meadowlands Arena. With the win, Brodeur is now six shy of tying Patrick Roy’s record for all time wins and five shutouts away from tying Terry Sawchuck’s all time best mark in that department.

2009-02-27 | Jim Murphy

Norm Van Lier, who earned a reputation as one of the best defensive players in NBA history during his career with the Chicago Bulls, was found dead at his home on Thursday afternoon. He was 61.

2009-02-27 | Jim Murphy

After a difficult road trip, the Boston Bruins are clearly glad to be back at home. Showing some signs of vulnerability with a 1-4 mark during the recent stretch of away games, the Bruins hoped that a return to Boston’s TD BankNorth Garden would be the cure for their woes. It appears to have done the trick, as Boston followed up Tuesday’s 6-1 rout of Florida with a 6-0 destruction of Anaheim on Thursday night.

2009-02-26 | Jim Murphy

The Stephon Marbury fiasco in New York is finally over. The petulant point guard and the Knicks reached a buyout agreement on Tuesday afternoon. Since the buyout deal was consummated early enough, Marbury will be eligible for the playoff roster for any team that wants to sign him once he clears waivers which will happen by mid-day Friday.

2009-02-26 | Jim Murphy

The Los Angeles Lakers weren’t at their best on Tuesday night against the Thunder in Oklahoma City. They shot out to a big lead, but watched the plucky Thunder chip away and threaten as the game progressed. It took a big 4th quarter effort from Kobe Bryant to thwart OKC’s comeback bid as the Lakers prevailed 107-93.

2009-02-26 | Jim Murphy

The Boston Bruins were clearly happy to be back on their home ice at the TD BankNorth Garden as they demolished the Florida Panthers 6-1 on Tuesday night. The victory was the 4th in the past six meetings between the two teams and avenged a 2-0 loss at Florida last Saturday night

2009-02-24 | Jim Murphy

The New York Rangers have done well for most of the NHL season, but have recently gone into a tailspin that has seen them lose 10 of their last 12 games. With the season now spiraling out of control, the Rangers fired head coach Tom Renney on Monday. He’ll be replaced by former Tampa Bay Lightning coach John Tortorella.

2009-02-24 | Jim Murphy

The San Jose Sharks have—for the time being at least—opened a little breathing room in the race for supremacy in the NHL Western Conference. A few days ago they held a tenuous one point lead over the Detroit Red Wings but have now pushed their advantage to five points following a victory against the Dallas Stars on Monday night. San Jose prevailed 1-0 in a defensive struggle that featured exceptional performances from the goaltenders at both ends of the rink.

2009-02-24 | Jim Murphy

So far, life without Kevin Garnett has been much easier than the Boston Celtics could have ever expected. With their superstar forward out of action for two or three weeks, the Celtics have not only maintained form but flat out dominated. On Monday night, Boston routed Denver 114-76 to improve to 5-0 this season without Garnett in the lineup. It was Denver’s second worst home loss since joining the NBA in 1976.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

The Orlando Magic have been the best road team in the NBA for much of the season, but their trip to New Orleans on Wednesday night is definitely one they’d like to forget. Chris Paul posted a double/double for the Hornets as they sent Orlando to their worst loss of the season, defeating the Magic 117-85.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

The Detroit Red Wings kept pace with the Western Conference leading San Jose Sharks as they ripped the Nashville Predators 6-2 on Wednesday night at the Joe Louis Arena. The Wings snapped a two game losing streak as the shredded the Nashville penalty killers for 5 power play goals in a clear demonstration of why they’re #1 in the league with a man advantage.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

Ken Griffey, Jr. has agreed to a one year deal with the Seattle Mariners, bringing him back to the team with which he broke in to the majors and began his Hall of Fame career. The free agent had narrowed down his choices to the Mariners and the Atlanta Braves, but ultimately decided to head back to the Pacific Northwest after several days of deliberation.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

The New Jersey Devils were all but written off when Hall of Fame goalie Martin Broduer went down in November with a bicep tear. Instead, they’re doing what good teams are supposed to do—finding ways to win, night after night. They’ve also gotten stellar goaltending from their backups, including veteran Kevin Weekes who won his fifth straight start as New Jersey nipped the Tampa Bay Lighting 3-2 in shootout decision.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

Before Jerry Sloan became one of the winningest head coaches in NBA history, his claim to fame was as one of the toughest—some would say nastiest—players in league history. At their best, his teams in Utah have reflected this mentality and it was clearly in evidence on Thursday night at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City as the Jazz used their punishing physical style to pull away from the Boston Celtics late en route to a 90-85 victory.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

With the red hot Detroit Red Wings breathing down their necks for the NHL Western Conference lead, the San Jose Sharks took care of business on Thursday night as they beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 at the HP Pavilion. The victory allowed the Sharks to extend their precarious Conference lead to three points over their hard charging rivals from ‘The Motor City’.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

Larry H. Miller, the longtime owner of the Utah Jazz, died Friday night due to complications from Type 2 diabetes. He was 64. Miller had undergone a double amputation of his legs below the knee in late January and the prognosis was initially good for his recovery. After the surgery, however, Miller failed to respond and doctors discovered that he had a rare complication that prevented oxygen from reaching tissue throughout this body. In other words, instead of healing after his amputation his body continued to deteriorate and his condition was soon determined to be terminal.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

The Detroit Red Wings have raised their level of play as the NHL season has progressed and now find themselves in a virtual dead heat with the Western Conference leading San Jose Sharks. On Friday night at the Joe Louis Arena the Wings ripped the Anaheim Ducks by a 5-2 score to win for the eighth time in 10 games and remain a single point back on their rivals for conference superiority.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been hot on the tail of the Boston Celtics all season, and they kept pace on Friday night defeating the Bucks at Milwaukee 111-103. The Cavs were led by LeBron James, who scored a season high 55 points as Cleveland won their third straight game.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

Most fighters move up in weight as they get older, but Diego Sanchez did the opposite. It looks to have been a good move, as in his first fight in the lightweight division “The Nightmare” dominated a game Joe ‘Daddy’ Stevenson over three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC 95 held at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

A couple of months ago it looked like the NHL’s Eastern Conference race would be over by Valentine’s Day. Things have changed, however, and while the Boston Bruins still maintain the lead it’s starting to get interesting. Boston is starting to fall back to the pack, and on Saturday they were stoned in Miami by the Florida Panthers who beat the Bruins 2-0 behind the stellar goaltending of Tomas Vokoun.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

One day after the death of their longtime owner Larry H. Miller, the Utah Jazz paid tribute to him in the best way possible—by winning. On a night that began with a memorial tribute to Miller, the Jazz honored their hyper-competitive owner by defeating the New Orleans Hornets 102-88 at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

The Boston Celtics certainly know that it’s not always going to be *this* easy while Kevin Garnett is recovering from a strained knee over the next couple of weeks. After Sunday’s game with Phoenix, however, it’s definitely ‘so far, so good’. Rajon Rondo stepped up and contributed a career high 32 points as the Celtics crushed the Phoenix Suns 128-108 at the US Airways Arena on Sunday afternoon.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

In addition to being rivals on the ice, Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby flat out just don’t like each other. Ovechkin got the best of his foil on Sunday as he scored a goal along with an assist as his Capitals routed the Penguins 5-2 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. The Pens victory coupled with a Boston Bruins loss pulled Pittsburgh to within 7 points of the Eastern Conference lead.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

While the Washington Capitals were taking care of business at home against Pittsburgh, the Boston Bruins were going down in defeat to a Tampa Bay Lightning team near the bottom of the NHL Eastern Conference standings. The Lightning finally got the best of a see-saw affair with just over a minute to play in the contest, holding on for a 4-3 home victory.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

It’s a foregone conclusion that Matt Kenseth won’t win *every* race on the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. After a winless 2008, however, Kenseth’s Roush Racing team isn’t going to complain about that. They’re too happy having won the first two races of the 2009 season, adding this week’s Auto Club 500 victory to last week’s win at the Daytona 500.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

Point guard Steve Blake tied an NBA record with 14 first quarter assists and LaMarcus Aldridge posted a ‘double/double’ as the Portland Trailblazers ripped the hapless Los Angeles Clippers 116-87 at the Rose Garden Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Blazers were spurred to a 38-16 advantage during Blake’s first quarter onslaught that left the outcome of the contest all but certain after only 12 minutes of play.

2009-02-23 | Jim Murphy

The Carolina Hurricanes may be peaking at the right time. Matt Cullen’s hat trick helped lift the ‘canes to their third consecutive victory as they defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC on Sunday. Carolina is caught in the logjam for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, where a mere 7 points separate the 4th place Philadelphia Flyers from the 10th place Pittsburgh Penguins. Carolina is in 9th place after the victory with 67 points.

2009-02-18 | Jim Murphy

Just one year removed from a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been underachieving all season and are at risk of missing the playoffs entirely. Head coach Michael Therien has now paid the price for his team’s substandard record, as he was fired late Sunday night. Therien was replaced by Dan Blysma who coached the Pens AHL minor league affiliate at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton until getting the promotion to the NHL.

2009-02-18 | Jim Murphy

Head coach Jon Gruden wasn’t the only one to take the rap for Tampa Bay’s late season collapse—veteran QB Jeff Garcia has also been informed that he won’t be back with the team in 2009. Garcia compiled a 14-10 record under center for the Bucs and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2007, but with the team re-signing Luke McCown last week his services became expendable.

2009-02-18 | Jim Murphy

Heading into the All Star Break, Phoenix Suns’ forward Amare Stoudemire was considered all but gone by most NBA observers. It was well known that the team was looking to make a move, as much in an interest of cutting salary than anything else. At the same time, Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal were considered ‘untouchable’. Stoudemire was the odd man out, and the presumption was that he’d be dealt by the NBA trade deadline.

2009-02-16 | Jim Murphy

David Legwand scored both of the Predators’ regulation goals and scored twice in the shootout to almost single handedly propel his team to victory. Legwand has been red hot of late, and the Predators have followed his lead winning six of their last eight games. Legwand scored late in the first period assisted by Jordin Tootoo and Ryan Suter, and then again shorthanded midway through the second frame with an assist from Joel Ward.

2009-02-16 | Jim Murphy

With the first place Boston Bruins having lost four straight games, the Washington Capitals have taken advantage of their slump to pull within striking distance of the Eastern Conference lead. On Saturday night in Tampa, the Caps came out firing on all cylinders as they opened up a 4-0 lead on the host Tampa Bay Lightning before coasting to a 5-1 victory. Mike Green’s power play goal in the 2nd period ended the game opening onslaught by the Caps and represented the 8th straight game in which the defenseman has tallied, breaking the NHL record for most consecutive goal scoring games at the position.

2009-02-16 | Jim Murphy

It was a rough day for David Beckham as he played in his first “Derby” game for AC Milan against crosstown rivals Inter Milan. Beckham had to leave the contest early in the 2nd half after suffering a leg injury, and his team went down in defeat by a 2-1 score with a very questionable goal factoring into the margin of defeat.

2009-02-16 | Jim Murphy

With the exception of a torrential downpour shortening the Daytona 500 by 48 laps, it was ‘business as usual’ at NASCAR’s season opening race. It featured a dominant car at the beginning of the race, a big crash that wiped out a number of the top contenders, and a ‘dark horse’ winner who managed to avoid the on-track melee. This year, it was veteran Matt Kenseth who won at Daytona for the first time after NASCAR decided not to resume the event after it was ‘red flagged’ due to a heavy rainstorm.

2009-02-16 | Jim Murphy

The Phoenix Suns hosted the NBA All Star Game over the weekend, but it was hardly a celebratory occasion for head coach Terry Porter. Porter was fired on Sunday night after only four months on the job. General Manager Steve Kerr broke the news to him in a hastily arranged meeting, and Porter confirmed his dismissal to the AP on Monday morning. He also said that he’s going to digest everything before he makes any further comment: "I'm going to wait a few days to gather my thoughts before I say anything.”

2009-02-16 | Jim Murphy

The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the process of rebuilding the team from scratch, with a healthy infusion of young players and less of an emphasis on high priced veterans. The team had already released its two biggest free agent signings from a year ago, wide receiver Jerry Porter and cornerback Drayton Florence. On Monday, the rebuilding process claimed arguably the biggest name in franchise history as 11 year veteran running back Fred Taylor was released by the team.

2009-02-14 | Jim Murphy

Beckham is currently playing ‘on loan’ with the Italy Serie A club, but both he and club officials want to make the arrangement permanent. Beckham has become a fan favorite in Italy, while revitalizing his playing career. The superstar midfielder has become an integral part of the Milan lineup, to the extent that the team is willing to pay the Galaxy a huge ‘transfer fee’ for his rights.

2009-02-14 | Jim Murphy

Dimitroff secured the Falcons’ future QB in the NFL draft last year with the selection of Matt Ryan out of Boston College. Ryan may not be the all around athlete that Vick is, but he brings a number of other things to the table—the ability to read a defense and hit an open receiver, great leadership skills and, most importantly, an abundance of personal character. It was all but obvious that the Falcons’ would have no more interest in Vick upon his release, but Dimitroff’s comments made it official.

2009-02-14 | Jim Murphy

Clemmensen turned away 31 Bruins’ shots, and a lone goal by defenseman Bryce Salvador in the 2nd period proved the margin of victory. Clemmensen had gone nearly five years in the NHL without recording a shutout heading into this season. On Friday, he tallied his second consecutive shutout after beating the NY Rangers 3-0 on Monday night. Overall, the Devils have won 12 of 14 games and could not have responded better to a potentially crushing blow such as Broduer’s injury. They also got some good news on that front on Friday, as Broduer practiced for the first time in months skating and taking a few shots from the Devils coaching staff.

2009-02-13 | Jim Murphy

Favre contends that even heading into his original retirement press conference—the one last year with all of the tears while he was still a Green Bay Packer—he knew that he was retiring too early. This time, the Jets have already placed Favre on the ‘reserve’ list meaning the paperwork has already been filed with the NFL. Favre played poorly down the stretch as he suffered from a number of physical ailments.

2009-02-13 | Jim Murphy

The David Beckham –to-Milan saga will have a resolution soon, as MLS Commissioner Don Garber set a Friday deadline for any transfer to be approved by the league. As the deadline approached, there was no indication of any significant news coming out of either Los Angeles or Milan.

2009-02-13 | Jim Murphy

Jazz pointguard Deron Williams, spurned for an All Star roster spot, had an impressive ‘double/double’ with 31 points and 11 assists. His performance at least partially negated another big scoring night from Kobe Bryant, who posted 37 points in his final game before the break. While the Lakers at times gave the impression they were looking ahead to the break.

2009-02-12 | Jim Murphy

Vokoun stopped 42 Carolina shots for his 4th shutout of the season, and his teammates took all of the pressure off as they quickly opened the scoring and continued building on their lead throughout the contest. Nathan Horton’s 15th goal of the year quickly followed by Richard Zednik’s 11th of the season lifted the Panthers to a 2-0 first period lead. They added three more in the second, with tallies from Anthony Stewart (2), Gregory Campbell (12) and Michael Frolik (12).

2009-02-12 | Jim Murphy

The teams traded goals in the first period, with Mikael Samuelsson opening the scoring for Detroit with his 15th goal at the 9:26 mark. Minnesota would answer a few minutes later with Brent Burns’ 8th goal of the year to send the teams into the dressing room deadlocked at 1-1. Detroit would take over the game in the second, when Jiri Hudler and Kris Draper scored :50 apart to stake the Red Wings to a 3-1 lead.

2009-02-12 | Jim Murphy

Cleveland Cavaliers’ coach Mike Brown is heading to Phoenix to coach the Eastern Conference All Star team this weekend, but he’ll be traveling a little lighter in the wallet. The NBA hit him with a $25,000 fine on Thursday for criticizing the officiating in Cleveland’s last second loss to Indiana earlier this week.

2009-02-11 | Jim Murphy

After spotting the Boston Bruins a 2-1 lead, the San Jose Sharks erupted for four goals in the third period to rout their hosts 5-2 at the TDBankNorth Garden on Tuesday night. The matchup is a potential Stanley Cup Finals preview, with the Bruins and Sharks holding sizable leads in their respective conferences. The loss was only the 9th of the season for Boston and only their 4th setback on home ice.

2009-02-11 | Jim Murphy

It may not have been Kobe Bryant’s most dominant game of the season, but he played pretty well for a guy suffering from the flu. Kobe scored 34 points and 7 rebounds as the Lakers defeated the scrappy Oklahoma City Thunder at the Staples Center on Tuesday night by a 105-98 margin. In the process, Kobe became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 23,000 points as he bested Wilt Chamberlain’s old mark.

2009-02-11 | Jim Murphy

Mosley’s trainer, Naazim Richardson, had objected to the wrapping on Margarito’s left hand prior to the fighters entering the ring. When the offending wraps were removed, a pad treated with what has been described as “a plaster like substance” was found. Margarito had his hands re-wrapped and went on to lose the fight via 9th round KO.

2009-02-10 | Jim Murphy

Ever since he burst onto the MMA scene with a shocking first round KO upset of Jens Pulver at UFC 63, Joe Lauzon has been working to earn respect. He’s lost only once since then—to top contender Kenny Florian in a bout that earned ‘fight of the night’ honors—but for some reason he’s had trouble being taken seriously as a top contender in the UFC’s lightweight division.

2009-02-10 | Jim Murphy

In response to the prefight bantering from Jorge Arce, Vic Darchinyan promised a decisive beatdown of his Mexican adversary. He delivered precisely that, pounding the game Arce from pillar to post en route to an 11th round TKO victory on Saturday night in Anaheim, CA. With the victory, Darchinyan defended his IBF, WBC and WBA super flyweight titles and moved up the rankings for the mythical ‘pound for pound’ championship.

2009-02-10 | Jim Murphy

The Dallas Cowboys released Adam “Pacman” Jones on Monday, and the troubled cornerback is now a free agent. It wasn’t a surprise that he was jettisoned by the Cowboys, as they indicated last month that they planned to cut ties with “Pacman”. Monday was the first day that NFL teams could make waiver requests, and the Cowboys’ brass wasted no time in swinging the axe.

2009-02-09 | Jim Murphy

A big game by Lamar Odom boosted the LA Lakers to a 101-91 road victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Quicken Loans Arena on Sunday. Odom’s effort helped negate an “off night” for Kobe Bryant who played despite struggling with the effects of the flu. The Lakers’ victory ended the Cavs undefeated home run at 23 games from the start of the season. It was the team’s first loss at home since game 5 of last year’s first round playoff series against Washington.

2009-02-09 | Jim Murphy

The San Antonio Spurs placed so much value on their Sunday road contest against the Boston Celtics that they basically tanked their previous game to better prepare for it. Four of their five starters sat out last Tuesday’s loss in Denver—including Tim Duncan who hadn’t missed a game in two seasons—giving the NBA’s oldest team a full week to rest before their game against the defending champs. It paid off, with the Spurs using a last minute 11-0 run to pull away at the end of the game for a 105-99 victory.

2009-02-09 | Jim Murphy

The Detroit Red Wings used two goals from Pavel Datsyuk and a stellar goaltending effort from Ty Conklin to shut down the host Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday en route to a 3-0 win in a rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup Finals. The Red Wings suffocating defense held Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby to only one shot on goal as they improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight games against the Penguins.

2009-02-08 | Jim Murphy

With starting pointguard Mike Bibby injured and Joe Johnson still less than 100% as he recuperates from the flu, the Atlanta Hawks needed the rest of the team to step up their game against the lowly L.A. Clippers on Saturday night. Instead, the listless home team was blasted by one of the NBA’s worst road teams 121-97 at the Phillips Arena.

2009-02-08 | Jim Murphy

There were few, if any, highlights on Saturday night for the Denver Nuggets who were dominated in every phase of the game en route to their worst loss of the season, a 114-70 loss to the New Jersey Nets at the Meadowlands. The 44 point setback was Denver’s worst in over a decade, since losing at Portland 107-63 in 1997.

2009-02-08 | Jim Murphy

The Montreal Canadiens were hoping that a home game against the rival Toronto Maple Leafs would be a cure for their recent poor play. Toronto has been scrapping along a few games below .500 all year, while until recently at least Les Habs had been one of the NHL’s hottest teams. Unfortunately for Montreal, it didn’t quite work out that way as Toronto exploded for three goals in the third period to rout their longtime foes 5-2.

2009-02-07 | Jim Murphy

All five Indiana starters scored in double figures, paced by 33 points from Danny Granger. TJ Ford scored 21, Troy Murphy 20, Mike Dunleavy 11 and Jarrett Jack 10. The Pacers’ bench also produced another double digit scorer, with Roy Hibbert contributing 10 points to the winning cause. As usual, Dwight Howard was an almost unstoppable force in the middle for Orlando as he finished with yet another “double/double” on 21 points and 20 rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu added 20 points, 11 assists and 6 boards while reserve JJ Reddick chipped in for 17 points.

2009-02-07 | Jim Murphy

While catching the Boston Bruins for the Eastern Conference title might be out of reach (the Bruins have pulled away from the pack, leading second place Washington by 14 points), the New Jersey Devils are in a pitfight with the Washington Capitals for 2nd place. The red hot Devils increased their divisional lead and pulled to within a point of Washington by routing the Atlanta Thrashers 5-1 at Phillips Arena on Friday night.

2009-02-07 | Jim Murphy

The Boston Bruins are running away with the conference lead, enjoying a 14 point margin over second place Washington. The rest of the table is completely up for grabs, however, with only 13 points separating the second place Caps from the #10 seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. With the top eight seeds making the playoffs, the stretch run promises to be intensely competitive.

2009-02-05 | Jim Murphy

The New York Knicks have played the NBA’s best teams tough this week, but unfortunately their superstars have used the Madison Square Garden stage to turn in career performances. First it was Kobe Bryant, who went for 61 points on Monday in a hard fought win for his LA Lakers. More recently, it was LeBron James who scored 52 points and posted a triple double against the Knicks on Wednesday night as his Cavs held on for a 107-102 victory.

2009-02-05 | Jim Murphy

While the mainstream sports media conveyed an air of panic following the potentially season ending injury to Orlando Magic All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson, the mood of the team was decidedly confident. They knew that former College of Charleston standout Anthony Johnson was arguably the best backup at the position in the NBA and that their bigger concern was finding a backup for *him*.

2009-02-05 | Jim Murphy

The San Jose based Strikeforce MMA promotion has gained a reputation as the best “regional” mixed martial arts promotion in the United States. With a series of big announcements on Thursday, it looks as if they’re ready for a move to the bigtime. The most significant of these was the announcement that Strikeforce had reached a deal with bankrupt EliteXC parent company Pro Elite to purchase “certain assets” including the contracts of 40 fighters including some of the biggest names in the sport.

2009-02-04 | Jim Murphy

The Boston Celtics ran their current winning streak to twelve games despite the absence of Kevin Garnett on Tuesday night—but it wasn’t easy. Ray Allen hit a three pointer with 0.5 seconds remaining to lift the Celtics to a 100-99 victory over the pesky Philadelphia 76ers. While they definitely don’t want to play without Garnett longterm, the Celtics have now won eight straight and 12 of 14 without KG in the lineup dating back to last season.

2009-02-04 | Jim Murphy

The Cleveland Cavaliers never gave the Toronto Raptors a chance to threaten their undefeated record at home, surging to a 37-15 advantage after one quarter and never trailing en route to a 101-83 victory at the Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night. With the victory, Cleveland’s record at home improved to 23-0—the fourth best such mark from the start of the season since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976.

2009-02-04 | Jim Murphy

Nelson suffered the injury in the third quarter of Orlando’s 105-95 home loss as he fought for a loose ball with the Mavs’ Eric Dampier. Nelson came away with the ball, but was then fouled hard and hit the floor. He came up clutching his shoulder and didn’t return. According to Nelson, however, he felt the tear as he was going for the ball. This likely resulted in him landing awkwardly, leading to the dislocation.

2009-02-03 | Jim Murphy

Kobe Bryant has matured significantly as a player in recent years, evolving from the early days of his career when he’d frequently “shoot first and ask questions later”—often to the detriment of his team. Make no mistake, however—just because Kobe is a better rounded, more team oriented ball player now it doesn’t mean that he still can’t light it up when the situation calls for it. On Monday night he did just that, setting a record for the current incarnation of Madison Square Garden with 61 points as the Lakers 126-117.

2009-02-03 | Jim Murphy

The Portland Trailblazers took advantage to an injury to Hornets’ superstar Chris Paul to wipe out a 17 point deficit and post a 97-89 come from behind victory at the New Orleans Arena on Monday night. The Hornets fell apart completely after Paul headed to the locker room with an apparent leg injury, and Portland used a 38-15 fourth quarter to seize victory.

2009-02-03 | Jim Murphy

Though David Beckham has yet to personally address the subject of his impending return to the Los Angeles Galaxy his bosses at AC Milan—where Becks is playing ‘on loan’ from his US club—are starting to suggest that the longtime England captain wants to remain in Italy longterm.

2009-02-02 | Jim Murphy

What looked like a workmanlike Pittsburgh Steelers’ victory for three quarters became a barn burner in the final frame as the Arizona Cardinals posted the largest comeback in Superbowl history, scoring 16 unanswered points to take the lead late. In the end, however, Ben Roethlisberger calmly drove the Steelers downfield and found Santonio Holmes in the end zone for an amazing touchdown catch to pull out the victory. The 27-23 win gave the Steelers their sixth Superbowl title in franchise history—an NFL record.

2009-02-02 | Jim Murphy

LeBron finished with a game high 33 points, along with eight assists and four rebounds. Spurned for the All Star team, Mo Williams posted another impressive scoring tally with 22 points. Zydrunas Ilgauskas was the only other Cavalier to score in double digits with 13 points to go along with eight rebounds.

2009-02-02 | Jim Murphy

Peter Forsberg ended speculation over a late season return to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday in Sweden, indicated that he wouldn’t play in the NHL this year. Forsberg attempted a late season run with the Avs last year, but struggled with a foot injury that kept him out of 18 regular season and four playoff games.

2009-02-02 | Jim Murphy

With Kevin Garnett out of the lineup with the flu, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen stepped up to welcome former Celtics superstar and current Minnesota coach Kevin McHale back to Beantown with a 109-101 victory. The win was the Celtics’ 11th straight since their brief late December/early January “swoon” following the end of their franchise high 19 game winning skein.

2009-02-02 | Jim Murphy

Orlando never trailed in the game, leading 31-25 after the first quarter and using another big surge during a 34-18 third quarter to put the game away. Howard earned his 29th “double/double” of the season with 29 points and 14 rebounds, while Nelson scored 18 points and contributed 10 assists. Mickael Pietrus added 22 points off the bench, while starters Hedo Terkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Courtney Lee each scored in double digits for the Magic.

2009-02-02 | Jim Murphy

The infamous red sweater may be about to rise again, this time in the SEC. A source close to Bobby Knight told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday that the Hall of Fame coach would be willing to take the vacant University of Georgia basketball coaching job were it offered to him. Knight handed the Texas Tech coaching job over to his son, Pat, in the middle of the 2008 and has been working as a color analyst for ESPN ever since.

2009-02-01 | Jim Murphy

The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from a sloppy first half to pull away late and defeat the LA Clippers 112-95 on Friday night at the Quicken Loans Arena. With the victory, Cleveland improved to 22-0 at home and are the only remaining NBA team without a loss in their own building this year. The 22 wins to start the season is the 4th best since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77.

2009-02-01 | Jim Murphy

The New Jersey Devils ran their winning streak to eight games with a hard fought 4-3 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night at the Meadowlands. Jamie Langenbrunner tied the game with under a minute remaining in regulation, and then beat Pens goalie Marc Andre Fleury with a minute remaining in the extra session for the game winner.

2009-02-01 | Jim Murphy

Reigning lightweight champ BJ Penn entered his main event battle against welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre looking to become the first man in UFC history to simultaneously hold titles in two weight classes. GSP never gave him the chance to “make history”, as he stopped Penn after four increasingly dominant rounds to retain his belt with a TKO victory and make a compelling case for being the “pound for pound” best fighter in mixed martial arts.