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.

Smith Traded; Flyers Win; Spurs Blow Lead

1. The San Francisco 49ers have increased their chances of improving through the draft by dumping QB Alex Smith on the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs sorely need a new quarterback following the failure of a signing in Matt Cassel. In the Chiefs past two seasons, Chiefs' quarterbacks including Cassel (also includes Kyle Orton, Brady Quinn, and Tyler Palko) have thrown 38 interceptions compared to 21 touchdown passes. In order to get Smith, the Chiefs were willing to give up a second round draft pick in this years draft and a conditional draft pick in next years draft. Smith has fared much better over the past two seasons having a 19-5-1 record and throwing 30 touchdown passes. He will join Andy Reid who's system of short passes and quick drop backs will use the most out of Smith's skill set. The Chiefs plan to release Matt Cassel following March 12 when the two teams are officially allowed to make the trade.
2. Roy Hibbert and David Lee have been suspended for their actions in last nights Pacers- Warriors game. Both men will be suspended for one game without pay and each had teammates who were fined as well. For the Warriors Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have been fined $35,000 and Lance Stephenson of the Pacers has been fined the same amount.
3. Disturbing allegations have been made by former Colorado tight end Nick Kasa (even more disturbing is that these "student-athletes" should be in classes right now like me). He has claimed that several teams have asked about his sexual orientation. I find this weird cause he said they asked about girlfriends and marriage and my thought is this: 1. Do you see a ring or any other type of jewelery that means "taken". 2. Go on Facebook. Lastly, who cares if a player is gay or straight as long as they can play football.
NBA Recap
The Kings and the Magic played a very high scoring game in Orlando last night with a total of 226 points. The Kings dominated the first three quarters to enter the fourth with a 98- 68 lead. They did not have the leading scorer of the game however as Tobias Harris scored 23 points for the Magic. John Salmons had 21 points and 5 assists in the win.
Demar Derozan's 34 points were not enough for the Raptors in their defeat to the Cavs 103-98. This is the second win in a row for the Cavs and they almost beat the Heat two games ago so they are playing a little better right now than their 20-38 record. Dion Waiters led the Cavaliers with 23 points.
Trevor Ariza made two free throws after an intentional foul to bring the Wizards with in one against the Pistons. The best part about the intentional foul was that they got the ball back but Ariza was unable to make the three with only one second left. Ariza was the player of the game for the Wizards scoring 22 points and also adding in 6 rebounds. For the Pistons Brandon Knight had 32 points while Jose Calderon had 18 assists.

The lack of David Lee's presence hurt the Warriors tonight as they fell to Knicks109-105. They missed him most on the boards where they lost 46-38. Stephen Curry stepped up and scored 54 points while also dishing out 7 assists. I'm too lazy to do research but that means he played apart in at least 68 points (maybe more if three pointers). Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 35 points and 8 assists.
The Grizzlies held the Mavericks to just 5 points in the third quarter to win 90-84. The Grizzlies were down by 14 at the half but thanks to that third quarter they pulled out the close game. Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies with 22 points while Shawn Marion had 16 points and 8 rebounds for the Mavericks.
Monta Ellis hit a three pointer as time expired to prevent the Bucks-Rockets game from going into overtime. He had 27 points on the night as well as 12 assists. The game was close throughout ending 110-107 with the Bucks entering the fourth down by 2. James Harden drooped 25 points during the game Omer Asik grabbed 22 rebounds.
The Thunder kicked the shit of the Hornets 119-74. Russell Westbrook scored 29 points and Kevin Durant had a triple double with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Al Horford

The Atlanta Hawks took care of business against the Jazz 102-91. Al Horford dominated the game with 34 points and 15 rebounds.
The Spurs really blew it against the Suns just three days after beating them. They had a ten point lead heading into the 4th and had a lead as high as 7 with 3 minutes left. Wesley Johnson hit a three pointer at the buzzard after Manu Ginobili missed a free throw with 3 seconds left to tie it up at 100-00 and send things to overtime.  In overtime the Spurs were limited to 1 points (a free throw by Tony Parker) while the Suns scored 5 to win 105-101.
LaMarcus Aldridge was not able to be the hero last night when he missed a 9-foot jumper at the end of the game. Damian Lillard had made a three just a few seconds earlier to put the Blazers within one but the Nuggets were able to claim victory. Lillard led the Blazers with 26 points and his teammate J.J. Hickson had 14 rebounds. Ty Lawson had 30 points and 6 assists in a 111-109 Nuggets' win.

All NBA 2/27/2013
Pos	Player	Note
G	Stephen Curry- GS	Shot 18-28 from the field and 11-13 from long range for 54 points playing every minute for the Warriors.
F	Kevin Durant- OKC	Had a triple double with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in only 27 minutes.
F	Josh Smith- ATL	Scored 24 points and was 5-7 from stripe. Also had 14 rebounds.
F	Al Horford- ATL	Dominated the boards with 15 rebounds and also scored 34 points.
C	Tyson Chandler- NYK	5-9 from the field and 6-7 from the stripe. He grabbed 10 offensive boards and 28 overall while scoring 16 points.

NHL Recap

Gagne's Back

The Flyers got  things off to a hot start with Claude Giroux scoring in the first 30 seconds of the game with an assist by Scott Hartnell. Hartnell got his second assist of the night a few moments later when Wayne Simmonds struck on the powerplay, Claude Giroux also helped out on that one. Simon Gagne scored early in the second period in his return to the Flyers and Maxime Talbot scored at the end of the period to put the Flyers up solidly 3-0 (Odd to see both Knuble and Gagne return this year). Joel Ward scored a meaningless goal with two minutes left as Ilya Bryzgalov was unable to preserve the shutout to win 4-1. In turnover news, Braydon Coburn had two to improve to 27 which puts him in a tie with Ilya Kovalchuk for fist in the league.

Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers
Feb 27, 2013 1 2 3 F WAS (7-11-1 15 PT) 0 0 1 1 PHI (10-11-1 21 PT) 2 2 0 4 Three Stars Claude Giroux 1 G, 1 A Scott Hartnell 2 A Simon Gagne 1 G	Team Stats Comparison WAS PHI Shots on Goal 24 32 Hits 22 25 Faceoffs Won-Lost 34-27 27-34 Penalty Minutes 18 21 Power Plays Converted 0 2 Power Play Opportunities 4 3
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD PHI 0:23- Claude Giroux (7)- Assist: Scott Hartnell PHI 4:04- Wayne Simmons (8) (Powerplay) Assists: Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux SECOND PERIOD PHI 3:54 Simon Gagne (1) (Powerplay) Assists: Brayden Schenn, Danny Briere PHI 14:55- Maxime Talbot (1) - Assists Luke Schenn, Bruno Gervais THIRD PERIOD WAS 17:51- Joel Ward (6)- Assists:Tom Poti, Jay Beagle

The Canadiens took care of their national rival yesterday 5-2 thanks to a three goal third period. Frazer McLaren started off the scoring on the night giving the Maple Leafs an early goal advantage but that was quickly erased by Alexi Emelin's first goal of the year. With under a minute left in the first Mike Brown of the Maple Leafs pulled off a "Total Douche Move" by checking Josh Gorges from behind. He got the deserved game misconduct and the 5 minute major that accompanies it. The penalty proved to be costly as Max Pacioretty scored at the tail end of the major to put the Canadiens up 2-1. Clarke MacArthur tied things up again 10 minutes later. The third was all Canadiens however as Brendan Gallagher, Max Pacioretty, and Brian Gionta all scored to make it a 5-2 win.

Bernier

Anze Kopitar scored with 5 minutes left to finish off a Kings third period comeback. Kyle Quincey scored for the Wings in the first to put them up 1-0 and then there was not another goal until Jeff Carter's with 10 left in the third. Jonathan Bernier made 32 saves in the 2-1 win.
The Ducks had no problem disposing of the Predators 5-1. Kyle Palmieri had the hat trick in the game while Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf assisted on all three. The Ducks defense stifled the Predators only allowing 21 shots.

All NHL 2/27/2013
Pos	Player	Note
F	Kyle Palmieri- ANA	Scored 3 of the Ducks' 5 goals in the blowout, Finished with a +2 and caused two turnovers.
F	Brayden Schenn- PHI	First of two brothers on the list today; he had one assist on the powerplay in addition to two hits and two takeaways.
F	Paul Gaustad- NAS	Dominated the faceoff circle and blocked two shots.
F	Craig Smith- NAS	Scored the Predators only goal and finished with a +1.
D	Luke Schenn- PHI	Finally played a good game getting an assist and 5 shots off. Also had 6 hits.
D	Mark Fraser- TOR	Played a defensive defensemen's game having 6 hits and 3 blocked shots.
D	Cody Franson- TOR	Contributed one assist and had 3 hits and two blocked shots.
G	Jonathan Bernier- LA	No surprise here only letting up one goal on 33 shots.
G	Ilya Bryzgalov- PHI	Also only let in one goal but had a much easier time only facing 24 shots.