World Baseball Classic; Heat win 15th in a row

Catching You Up on World Baseball Classic
Chien-Ming Wang led four Chinese Taipei (1-0) pitchers in a 5 hit performance against Australia(0-1). Stefan Welch scored the only run for the Australians in there 4-1 defeat. Cheng- Min Peng went two for three with two RBIs for Chinese Taipei.
Japan (1-0) scored three runs in the top of the eighth to get on top of Brazil (0-1) in the latter's WBC debut.Tiago Magalhaes and Paulo Orlando (also stole a base) went two for four in the 5-3 loss. Japan's effort on the mound was through five men with Tadashi Settsu getting the win throwing 3 innings and letting up one run.
The Netherlands (1-0) were able to get 10 hits for 5 runs in their 5-0 shutout of the Koreans. Andruw Jones went 2-4 with a double in the DH spot while his teammate Andrelton Simmons had 3 hits and two doubles. Diegomar Markwell pitched 4 scoreless innings and got credited for the win.

Bell

In Brazil's (0-2) second game on March second they fell to Cuba (1-0) 5-2. Cuba's Guillermo Heredia and Alexei Bell RBI'd in the 5th to give the All Reds a 2-0 lead. Cuba Scored twice more in the sixth but Brazil answered back with two of their own. That was all Brazil got on the night. Ismal Jimenez pitched 4 and 2/3 innings of scoreless ball to start the game and teammate Raciel Iglesias got the save with 3 scoreless innings of his own. Frederich Cepeda went two-for-four for Cuba.
Japan (2-0) beat their longtime geographic and political foe China (0-1) 5-2. China's only runs came in the top of the second with neither coming on a hit (fielder's choice and dropped third strike). Seichi Uchikawa had two hits on four at bats with an RBI for Japan. Kenta Maeda led Japan's five pitcher army only allowing 1 hit in five innings (he was credited with win).
The Netherlands (1-1) got off to a 3-0 lead against Chinese Taipei (2-0) when Dashenko Ricardo's two run single drove in Xander Bogaerts and Curt Smith. It was Chinese Taipei who dominated the rest of the game scoring one in the second, four in the fourth, and three in the sixth. Dai- Kang Yang had a sacrifice fly in the 4th and then in the sixth he had a two-run homer. Wei- Lun Pan pitched 4 and two/thirds scoreless innings of relief of Yao-Lin Wang and got the win by walking one and only allowed one hit in the 8-3 win.
The mercy rule came into effect with Cuba destroying China (0-2 12-0. China only had 3 hits in seven innings thanks to the pitching of four Cubans with Danny Betancourt leading the way striking out 8 in 4 and 2/3 innings. Alexei Bell hit a two run homerun fourth and Jose Abreu hit a grandslam in the fifth along with a RBI double in the second.
Despite Keunwoo Jeong leaving 6 runners on base Korea (1-1) was able to defeat Australia (0-2) 6-0 nothing last night. Seung Song allowed two hits and struck out five in four innings starting for Korea and picking up the win. Hyunsoo Kim hit in two RBIs for Korea on a single.

Cordemans

Australia (0-3) had to play again yesterday and were defeated by the Netherlands (2-1) 4-1. Robbie Cordemans got the win for the Netherlands pitching 5 scoreless innings where he struck out 3, gave up two hits, and walked none. The loss was credited to Dushan Ruzic of Australia who allowed four runs off of 6 hits in two innings. Jonathan Schoop of the Baltimore Orioles hit a two run homer for the Netherlands in the second.
China (1-2) defeated Brazil (0-3) in a game that meant nothing but pride for the two teams. China used three pitchers throughout the game with Tao Bu getting the start and allowing 1 run on 2 hits and Jiangang Lu coming in in the seventh to relieve Quinyuan Meng; Lu was credited with the win. Ray Chang, a member of the Twins organization, went 3-4 with a double and two RBIs. Brazil was up 2-0 headingi into the eight when China unleashed a 5 run rally. Both teams are eliminated from the competition after the 5-2 Chinese win.
Chinese Taipei is currently up 2-0 on Korea in the top of the sixth.

WBC Standings - Updated: Mar 5, 2013
Pool A	W	L	GB	RS	RA
Japan (advanced)	2	0	-	10	5
Cuba (advanced)	2	0	-	17	2
China (elliminated)	1	2	1.5	7	19
Brazil (Eliminated)	0	3	2.5	7	15
Pool B	W	L	GB	RS	RA
Chinese Taipei	2	0	-	12	4
Netherlands	2	1	.5	12	9
Korea	1	1	1	6	5
Australia (eliminated)	0	3	2.5	2	14

NBA Recap
The New York Knicks (36-21) won their first game in 10 tries with a fourth quarter comeback against the Cleveland Cavaliers (20-40). Amare Stoudemire led the Knicks with 22 points and Raymond Felton chipped in 10 assists. Marresse Speights had 23 points for the Cavs in the 102-97 loss.
It took overtime for the Monta Ellis led Bucks (30-28) to defeat the Utah Jazz (32-28) 109-98. The Jazz outscored the Bucks by 10 in the fourth to force overtime while Ellis scored 34 in the winning effort. Derrick Favors got the double-double for the Jazz with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
The Orlando Magic (17-44) were led by Aaron Afflalo in their fourth quarter comeback to defeat the Hornets(21-40) 105-102. He scored 26 and also had five rebounds. Anthony Davis outdid him despite his team losing with 17 points and 15 rebounds.

Wade

Dwayne Wade had 32 points and 10 assists in the Heat's(44-14) 15th straight win at Minnesota (20-37). Lebron James pitched in 20 points and ten rebounds in 97-81 win .
The Denver Nuggets (39-22) destroyed the Atlanta Hawks (33-26) 104-88 in Denver thanks to Corey Brewer's 22 points. Al Horford led the Hawks with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Bobcats (13-47) continue to lose as the Trail Blazers (28-31) dominated them 122-105. Lamarcus Aldridge scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to grab the double-double while Kemba Walker dropped 15 points and dished out 11 assists, sad that that is their top performer.
David Lee scored 29 (and 11 rebounds) and Stephen Curry had 26 (and 12 assists) as the Warriors (34-27)beat the Raptors (23-38) in an alright slugfest. The final score was 125-118 and it only took four quarters. Andrea Bargani and Rudy Gay each scored 26 points for the Raptors.

ALl NBA 3/5/2013
Pos	Player	Injury Note
G	Dwyane Wade (PON)- MIA	Scored 32 points with 10 assists in 7 rebounds against the T-Wolves. Shot 15-23 from the field.
G	Brandon Jennings- MIL	Shot 8-14 on FG and 4-5 from long range for 20 points. Had 17 assists compared to 3 turnovers and also had 3 steals.
F	Lamarcus Aldridge- POR	Led the Blazers with 23 points and 14 rebounds and shot 7-9 from the FT line. Had 5 assists and 3 blocks.
F	David Lee- GS	Shot 12-21 from the field and 5-5 from the line for 29 points while also grabbing 11 boards.
F	Al Horford- ATL	Scored 18 points while grabbing 13 points. His points came easy due to his 5 offensive rebounds.

NHL Recap
Nazem Kadri scored his ninth goal of the year to give the Maple Leafs a 1-0 advantage in the first period which was ripped from them in the second as Marek Zidlicky scored twice for the Devils in the second. The Maple Leafs then had a strong third period with goals by Jay McClement to open the period and Clarke MacArthur to break the tie. Phil Kessell added the insurance with 10 minutes left to secure a 4-2 win despite the Leafs only having 23 shots.

Crosby

The Penguins needed a three goal third period to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3. Chris Kunits gave the Penguins a lead int the first but Steven Stamkos and Tom Pyatt swung things around in the second. Entering the third down 2-1, the Penguins scored three unanswered including a goal for Sidney Crosby which gave him a 2 goal night in addition to his assist earlier. Steven Stamkos scored with eight seconds left but it meant nothing. Evgeni Malkin had one goal and one assist in the game. Mathieu Garon was replaced by Anders Lindback after 22 minutes due to a lower body injury.
The Ducks and Coyotes entered the third period tied 2-2 and the third period did nothing to settle things with both teams scoring two and the game was headed into overtime at 4-4. Again, overtime did nothing and the game was off to shootout. And once in shootout, it took five rounds before Oliver Ekman- Larsson broke the 1-1 tie scoring on Jonas Hiller. Ekman- Larsson had two assists in regulation in addition to the shootout winner. Jonas Hiller was extremely busy facing 40 shots during regulation + overtime in the 5-4 loss.
Finally a game that wasn't close with the Kings smashing the Predators 5-1. Pekka Rinne had a pathetic performance in net letting in five goals on only 13 shots before being replaced by Chris Mason after 50 minutes. Mason was perfect in the last 10 minutes plus overtime and only allowed one puck in the net during the shootout. Jeff Carter (former Flyer) had a hat-trick and his teammate Jarret Stoll had 2 assists.

All NHL 3/5/2013
Pos	Player	Injury Note
F	Steven Stamkos- TB	Scored two goals on four shots on net. On defense he had four hits and 2 blocks.
F	Jeff Carter- LA	Recorded a hat trick for the Kings with one goal on the powerplay.
F	Corey Perry- ANA	Had one goal on the PP and an assist for a two point night. Blocked three shots on defense.
F	Ryan Getzlaf- ANA	Ducks have two players on the list despite the loss, Getzlaf scored once and assisted on two others while recording two hits.
D	Victor Hedman- TB	Had an assist but made his mark on defense recording two hits, blocking 3 shots, and forcing a turnover. Finished at +2.
D	Carl Gunnarsson- TOR	Blocked 2 shots, had 2 hits, and two takeaways in addition to an assist.
D	Michael Stone- PHO	Had a goal for the Coyotes plus he had three hits and 2 takeaways.
G	Jonathan Bernier- LA	Saved 18 of 19 shots on a slow night for an easy 5-1 win.
G	Marc- Andre Fleury	Faced 28 shots and saved 25 of them for .893 SV% which isn't overly impressive.