Catholic Seven confirmed; McCoy wants Vick; and ovetime galore in NHL

1. I typically do not like to comment on the slavery that his college sports but there has been recent developments in the Big East that I feel deserve attention.The Seven Catholic schools, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Villanova have settled an agreement that will allow them to keep the Big East name as they separate themselves from the football conference. Next year they plan on adding Butler and Xavier for sure with Creighton likely joining afterwards. Dayton and St. Louis will be candidates in following seasons. Notre Dame may be in this conference for the first year until it settles out what it's situation with the ACC is. This will dramatically hurt the rest of the conferences TV contract but not destroy the union. They will still be an AQ school in football but just not have a name.
2. The Yankees have reportedly offered All- Star Second baseman Robinson Cano a very lucrative deal in order to entice him into staying int he Bronx. Cano will be payed $15 million this year on a club option and is expected to test the free agent market this winter.
3. LeSean "Shady" McCoy has publicly stated that he wants Michael Vick to be the starting quarterback for the Eagles next year. He said "People forget- this is Michael Vick" (trust me, I remember the turnovers). While Vick may seem to be suited for Chip Kelly's running offense, Chip Kelly would probably prefer someone who can make smart decisions and not turn the ball over. That is why Michael Vick should be the Eagles' last option; they can either go with Nick Foles who has proven to be a work in progress yet able to be competent. Another option would be Dennis Dixon, who the Eagles have recently acquired and had ran Kelly's offense during his senior year of college. The last option before Vick should be Geno Smith of West Virginia that they could easily pick up at the number 4 spot of the draft. He is similar to Vick but younger and appeared to be a very efficient passer in the beginning of the year but dipped off at the end. The Eagles' need an efficient passer who can move the ball down field, not a flashy runner with a 56% career winning percentage.
NBA Recap

Noah

The Clippers took care of things in Indiana beating the Pacers 99-91. Chris Paul led the way for the Clippers with 29 points and 8 assists while Blake Griffin grabbed 14 rebounds.
Joakim Noah had an incredible 23 point 21 rebound performance in the Bulls 93-82 win over the Sixers. Jrue Holiday led the Sixers with 22 points while his teammate Spencer Hawes had 15 rebounds in the loss.
After just saying that he plans on playing in the 2016 Olympics Dwight Howard played a solid game scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 33 points while Ricky Rubio had 13 assists as the Timberwolves fell 116-94 to the Lakers.
All NBA
Not many games last night so this won't exactly be the all-decade team.

All NBA 2/28/13
Pos	Player	Note
G	Chris Paul- LAC	Second in the league with 29 points last night and also dished out 8 assists. Went 11-18 from the field.
G	Ricky Rubio- MIN	Had a league high 13 assists and and also scored 13 points (they lost so its still an unlucky number). He came two rebounds away from a triple-double.
G	Kobe Bryant- LAL	Shot 13-22 from the field and 4-8 from downtown to score a league high 33 points. Also had 5 assists and 5 rebounds.
F	Blake Griffin- LAC	Scored 18 points shooting 7-10 from floor and 4-5 on free throws. Grabbed 14 rebounds.
C	Joakim Noah- CHI *Player of the Night*	Grabbed an amazing 21 rebounds including 8 on the offensive end. Scored 23 points as well and completed the triple-double with 11 blocks.

 
NHL Recap
Only two goals were scored in regulation in the Bruins-Senators game as Nathan Horton scored for Boston and Jim O'Brien scored for the Sens both scored in the second period. Once in overtime Patrice Bergeron scored three and a half minutes into sudden death. Robin Lehner saved 44 of 46 shots in the 2-1 loss.

Phaneuf

The Maple Leafs and Islanders also went to OT but this game was much higher scoring. The teams split the period 1-1 but then the Maple Leafs scored three unanswered int the second after Lubomir Visnovsky opened up the second with a goal for the Islanders. One of the goals was James van Riemsdyk's 12th of the year and the Leafs entered the third up 4-2. Andrew MacDonald and Kyle Okposo both scored for the Islanders and the game was now headed into overtime. Only a minute into overtime did Dion Phaneuf score to end the game with a 5-4 Leafs win.
The Rangers opened up the game with goals by Carl Hagelin and Derek Stepan before Martin St. Louis answered for the Lightning with 4 minutes left in the first. Marc Staal then increased the Rangers lead to 2 when he scored on the powerplay in the second. Rick Nash then scored with only a minute thirty left to seal the 4-1 win.
The Penguins and Hurricanes split the first period 1-1 with goals by Chris Kunitz of PIT and Eric Staal of CAR. Staal's goal came with only 25 seconds in the period and the Hurricanes rode that momentum into the second with three goals including two by Jiri Tlusty. The Penguins were not able to answer in the third as the Canes walked away with a 4-1 win.
There was another close game last night in Florida where it took a shootout to sort things out between the Panthers and Sabres.The Sabres got off to a 3-2 start in the first which forced Scott Clemmensn out of the game and Jose Theodore in but Brian Campbell of Florida scored with minute and a half left in the third to send the game into overtime. Ovetime produced nothing so it was off to a shootout where Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville scored on the Sabres' first two attempts and their goalie Ryan Miller blanked the Panthers for the 4-3 shootout win. Ryan Miller made 40 saves on 45 shots while Jose Theodore was perfect on the 15 shots he saw before the shootout.

Toews

Corey Crawford and Ray Emery combined for a shutout in the Blackhawks 3-0 win over the Blues. Crawford was pulled after saving 6 shots due to an upper body injury. Jonathan Toews scored twice in the game to improve his year total to 8.
 The Jets' Andrew Ladd scored his 11th goal of the year just 8 seconds into last nights Jets Devils game. Things were quiet for the next 22 some minutes before Andrel Loktionov scored for the Devils to make things even steven. Andrew Ladd scored again in the third to break the draw and then he assisted on an empty netter by Blake Wheeler to put the clamps on the Jets' 3-1 win.
Sometimes as a goalie, you just have a really bad day, and that is what happened to the Stars' Kari Lehtonen last night. He allowed 5 goals on 38 attempts (obviously his defense didn't help) in his teams' 5-1 loss to the Oilers. Ales Hemsky had three points in the win scoring 1 goal and assisting on 2 others.
The Avalanche were down 4-2 entering the third period but they owned the final frame. Gabriel Landeskog scored 23 seconds into the third to cut the deficit to one and then Paul Stastny followed up with a goal 6 minutes later. Halfway through the third, Matt Duchene claimed the lead for the Avalanche and Semyon Varlamov held the Flames off for a 5-4 win.
Dany Heatlley scored two of the Wild's three unanswered goals to begin the game. Their streak was broken by Rostislav Klesla who brought the score to 3-1. The Wild increased the lead to four again on a Jared Spurgeon powerplay goal. The Coyotes were able to put some pressure Nicklas Backstrom in the third scoring two goals. Unfortunately the second of those two came with a minute left and they simply did not have enough time to score again losing 4-3. The Coyotes dominance of the third period can be seen by their 12-4 win in the shot department.

Brunner: Shootout Hero

Both Detroit and San Jose waited til the third period to score last night with Logan Couture netting one for the Sharks and Patrick Eaves answering 2 minutes later. The Red Wings got three shots off in overtime (won game shot total 37-28) but failed to score and the game went to a shootout. Damien Brunner slid one past Antti Niemi in the only goal of the shootout and the Red Wings walked away with a 2-1 SO win.


All NHL

All NHL 2/28/2013
Pos	Player	Note
F	Paul Stastny- COL	Scored a goal and had an assist for the two point night. Finished game with at +3.
F	Marcel Goc- FLA	Finished the game with +2 and recording two hits. On offense, had a goal and an assist.
F	Patrice Bergeron- BOS	Netted the game winner for the Bruins and also had two hits in the game.
F	Sidney Crosby- PIT	Had an assist in the loss but dominated the faceoff circle. Finished the game at -2.
D	Jeff Petry- EDM	Scored a goal and assisted on another while recording 4 hits and 5 blocked shots.
D	Mark Fraser- TOR	Had two assists on the night in addition to his 5 hits.
D	Dion Phaneuf- TOR	Scored in ovetime to give the Leafs the win while finishing game at +2.
G	Devan Dubnyk- EDM	A usual on this list Dubnyk saved 33 of 34 shots in Dallas's blowout win.
G	Antti Niemi- SAN	Although he lost Niemi saved 33 of 34 shots while his offense only got 26 off.

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Top 25 NHL Skaters

Top 25 Skaters in NHL - Updated: Feb 23, 2013
RK	Player	Goals	Assists	Other Stats
1	Jonathan Toews- Chicago	7	8	8 Blcks, 23 TA, +10
2	Matt Duchene- Colorado	6	11	23 Hits, 16 B, 18 TA
3	Eric Staal- Carolina	8	10	20 TA, +12
4	Pavel Datsyuk- Detroit	8	12	18 TA
5	Patrice Bergeron- Boston	3	8	9 H, 10 B
6	Rick Nash- NY Rangers	3	9	27 H
7	Tyler Bozak- Toronto	5	6	23 H, 12 TA
8	Sidney Crosby- Pittsburgh	7	18	10 H, 9 TA, 68 SOG
9	Claude Giroux- Philadelphia	6	12	19 H, 12 B
10	Drew Doughty- Los Angeles	0	7	37 H, 20 B
11	Zach Parise- Minnesota	7	5	22 H, 20 B
12	Antoine Vermette- Phoenix	4	4	34 H
13	Vincent Lecavalier- Tampa Bay	6	11	51 H
14	Mikko Koivu- Minnesota	3	9	20 H, 13 TA
15	David Backes- St. Louis	2	9	49 H, 17 B
16	Anze Kopitar	5	7	22 H
17	Ryan Getzlaf- Anaheim	5	9	27 H
18	Dion Phaneuf- Toronto	3	6	47 H, 30 B
19	Travis Zajac- New Jersey	3	2	13 TA
20	T.J. Oshie- St. Louis	5	8	22 H, 12 B
21	Steven Stamkos- Tampa Bay	12	14	26 H, 59 SOG
22	Ryan Callahan- NY Rangers	4	1	59 H, 20 B
23	Jordan Staal- Carolina	3	10	31 H
24	Henrik Zetterberg- Detroit	5	17	61 SOG
25	Thomas Vanek- Buffalo	12	13	26 TA, 69 SOG

NBA all star game; Bruins move into first place

As usual there was almost no defense being played in the All Star game as the West defeated the East 143-138. If you look at the numbers you'll see that their is usually about 5.2 blocks a game by a team but last night each team only averaged 4. Now that really isn't too far below the average but with some of the NBA's best players you think there would be some great defensive plays. The blocks were low but the turnover numbers were even higher. NBA team's average 14.5 turnovers a game but last night the team's averaged 17.5 or about 8% higher than usual. Chris Paul was named the MVP scoring 20 points and also dishing out 15 passes. Kevin Durant scored a game  high 30 rebounds while Carmelo Anthony scored 26 while grabbing a game high 12 boards. Kevin Garnett started the game but only played 6 minutes, failing to score, due to his forever aging body. Here are your highlights.

In other news today, Darren O'Day signed a deal with the Baltimore Orioles to make this the first year in the 39 year history of Arbitration in which no hearing has been held.
Former USC quarterback Matt Barkely has decided not to throw at the NFL combine as he continues to nurse his sore shoulder.
Lastly, Danica Patrick became the first women to win the pole at the Daytona 500.

NHL Recap
The Penguins slid (on their bellies) past the Devils into first place with a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres were leading 3-2 with 15 minutes left in the game but goals by Pascal Dupuis and Paul Martin put the Penguins up 4-3. Thomas Vanek's second period goal increased his total on the year to 12.
Despite a third period comeback by the Kings, the Blackhawks were able to hold on for a 3-2 victory in Chicago. Mike Richards (former Flyer) scored the Kings' two third period goals.
The Bruins pulled a Penguins and got into first place of the Northeast Division with a 3-2 victory of the Jets. The game was tied 2-2 going in to third before Brad Marchand's goal 36 seconds into the third frame but the Bruins into the lead.
In Dallas, the Stars lost to the Flames 4-3. The Stars were up 3-1 entering the third but lost the lead thanks to goals by Roman Horak, Matt Stajan, and Steve Begin. For each one of those guys it was their first goal of the year.
Detroit led the Wild 2-0 until 11 minutes left in the second when the Wild responded with three unanswered goals. Dany Heatley scored his 5th goal of the year to change the tie while Jason Tucker recorded the game-tier and Torrey Mitchell got the game winner.
The Rangers defeated the Capitals 2-1 at Madison Square Garden. Derek Stepan scored the game winning goal in the third to break the one-one tie. Braden Holtby made 38 saves in the lost.
Finally, the Blues beat the Canucks 4-3 in a shootout. It was Luongo's third overtime loss of the season and he has yet to lose in regular time.

All NHL (quick)

Forward- Jonathan Toews- Chicago Scored one goal on the power play as well as chipping in an assist. Also had 4 takeaways in 20 minutes of play.
Forward- David Backes- St Louis Played the role of distributor with an assist. Finished the game with a +1 rating while playing good defense blocking 2 shots and recording 2 hits.
Forward- Pascal Dupuis- Pittsburgh Recorded two goals in the Penguins win and also added in an assist. Finished +2 and also had 3 hits and two takeaways.
Defense- Johnny Oduya- Chicago Recorded an assist while also knocking down 2 Kings.
Defense- Stephane Robidas- Dallas Had an assist to finish +2. Also had 4 hits.
Goalie- Braden Holtby- Washington Although he lost his .950 SV% was second in the NHL only to Henrik Lundqvist. Holtby had to face 40 shots due to a poor defense and made 38 saves.