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.

NBA Power Rankings

So here are some things that may surprise you:The Nets are ranked very low and that is due to their tendency to play close games and their above average turnovers. Chicago is rather low because while they play good defense their offense is on the downside. San Antonio is the top team despite only winning 49% of rebounds.

FIFA Institutes Goal-Line Technology: Still not enough

FIFA, the organizing body for international soccer, has decided that the next world cup will feature goal-line technology. Goal-line technology was used in the 2012 FIFA World Cup in Japan, the event was won by Brazilian side Corinthians. There was not a standard goal-line technology system however as the stadium in Yokohama used GoalRef and the stadium in Toyota used Hawkeye (the program that is currently used in a few Tennis Grand Slams). FIFA has not decided which program to use in Brazil in 2014. The two systems that were used in Japan are up for consideration as well as two possible submissions from unknown German companies.
This however is not good enough for enough for FIFA as blown calls on the goal-line are not their only problem. Their needs to be some type instant replay review in addition to the ability to detect whether or not the ball has crossed the goal-line. Goals such as Thierry Henry's against Ireland and this German goal would have been disallowed if instant replay was in use during the 2010 World Cup and its qualification. Critics that argue that it would ruin the flow of the game are just wrong... players tend to celebrate for at least 10 seconds after a goal and that is exactly how long it should take to decide whether or not the goal needs to go to further review. And to argue that the flow of game is more important than making sure the correct team wins the game is even more ridiculous, anyway, that is how I feel about FIFA's use of technology.

NBA Recap
Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan both scored 24 points in the Raptors' 96-88 win over the Washington Wizards. Rudy Johnson also added in 8 rebounds. Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 25 points.
The Bobcats defeated the Magic 105-92 thanks to Gerald Henderson's 24 points and 10 rebounds. Kemba Walker also scored 24 points and dished out 7 assists. In the losing effort, Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Brandon Jennings

Overtime was needed to decide the Nets-Bucks matchup at the Barclay's Center. The game was close throughout but the Nets won the overtime period to win the game 113-111. Brandon Jennings scored a game-high 34 points and also chipped in seven assists. Joe Johnson had 24 points in the winning effort.
The Grizzlies were able to survive pseudo 4th quarter comeback by the Pistons to win 105-91. Zach Randolph was the leading performer for the Grizz scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Luol Deng and Joakim Noah continue to carry the Bulls as they have been left without star guard Derek Rose. Deng scored 20 points while Noah scored 15 and grabbed 17 rebounds during their 96-87 defeat of the New Orleans Hornets. Anthony David of the Hornets recorded his second straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
A strong third quarter helped the Nuggets defeat the Celtics 97-90 at home. Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson each scored 26 points for the Nuggets.
The Jazz took a 26-19 lead over the Warriors after the first quarter and never looked back in their 115-101 win. Al Jefferson scored 24 points in the winning effort. This was the sixth straight loss for the Warriors but Steph Curry was a bright spot with 29 points. David Lee also had a strong performance for the Warriros with 18 points and 9 rebounds.

Tony Parker

Despite a 3 pt advantage in the 4th quarter, the lowly Kings lost 108-102 to the Spurs. Tony Parker scored 30 points and also had 11 assists as the top performer. His teammate Tim Duncan had 9 points with 14 rebounds. Isiah Thomas led the Kings with 22 points.
In the night cap, the Suns beat the Trail Blazers 102-98. The Blazers made a run towards the end of the game but were unable to pull out the victory. J.J. Hickson had an incredible night scoring 25 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in the loss. For the Suns, Luis Scola had 18 points.

All NBA
Guard- Goran Dragic- Phoenix Played a true point guards game with 18 assists but also had 5 turnovers. He scored 16 points and collected 5 rebounds in a rare win for the Suns.
Guard- Ty Lawson- Denver Had the shooting touch last night going 8-13 from the field and 8-10 from the line. He gathered 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Guard- Tony Parker- San Antonio His 7 turnovers were a little high but he made up for them with his points. He had 30 of them in the Spurs close win going 10-20 from the field and 10-12 from the free throw line. He also had 11 assists.

Noah

Forward- J.J. Hickson- Portland Lamarcus Aldridge's complement came up big last night scoring 25 points on only 14 field goal attempts. He shot 71.4% from the field and 5-7 from the line. Not only did he score but he snagged 16 rebounds.
Forward- Joakim Noah- Chicago *Player of the Night* As usual Noah had a night of high rebounds and average scoring. He was 6-11 from the field and 3-4 from the line for 15 points while grabbing a monster 17 rebounds. On defense he blocked 3 shots and even did a little ball distribution with 5 assists.

NHL Recap
The Jets got out to a quick start getting a 2-0 lead in the second period and were able to starve off the Sabres as a goal by Jason Pominville at the end of the second was the only thing the Bruins could muster in the 2-1 loss. Andrew Ladd netted his eighth goal of the year for the Jets. It was the Sabres 4th loss in 5 games.
Canadiens won their 5th game in a row thanks to Alex Galchenyuk's goal early in the third to break the 1-1 tie. Raphael Diez scored on an empty net later in the third to seal off the 3-1 victory.
Craig Anderson saved 37 of 38 shots in the Senators 3-1 victory over the Islanders. The Sens took a 2-0 lead into the third period before Travis Harmonic trimmed it down to a one goal advantage.

Ripped off in that trade

Steven Stamkos's 10th goal of the year broke the 1-1 tie in the second period. The Lightning then scored another two goals (Matt Carle, Alex Killorn) before James van Riemsdyk netted his ninth goal of the year for the Leafs, but it was meaningless. Notice that two former Flyers scored (one defensemen, another we traded for Schenn, and now we are stuck with Schenn and Coburn who currently #1 and #17 respectively in the league in turnovers, while Carle and van Riemsdyk aren't even in the top 90).
Tim Kennedy gave the Sharks a 2-1 win with 7 minutes left in the third period with assists from Tommy Wingels and Justin Braun. Patrik Berlgund scored his 9th goal of the year for the Blues in the 1st period.
Jimmy Howard was pulled after just 11 minutes due to letting in two goals on seven shots. The game was sent to overtime thanks to Pavel Datsyuk's eighth goal of the year with just under 7 minutes left. Once in overtime, Shea Weber netted a goal only 44 seconds in to give the Predators a 4-3 overtime win.

Hossa

The Blackhawks made history before the end of the game by reaching overtime, therefore recording a point in all 16 games to open the season. That ties them with the 06-07 Ducks and have now stretched their Central Division lead to 8 points. Marian Hossa scored two goals, both in the second period, to improve his season total to 8 (but he was also injured in the head,, not sure on return. and give the Blackhawks a 4-3-1 advantage after the second frame. The Canucks then came back with two goals of their own by Alexander Edler and Kevin Bieks to send the game to overtime. The 5 minute period produced nothing and the game was sent to a shooout. Both teams missed their first attempt but Patrick Kane of Chicago and Christopher Higgins of Vancouver both put in their attempts. On Chicago's third attempt Andrew Shaw scored which left it up to Ryan Kessler who failed to score on Ray Emery. This gave the Blackhawks a 4-3 win. (Interesting to see that this was a matchup between two backup goalies; Schneider continued to prove that Luongo is better and Emery did his job giving Crawford a break).
A goal by Jeff Carter with 50 seconds left (his 7th of the year) broke a 1-1 tie. Jarret Stoll scored 28 seconds later to cement the 3-1 victory. Oiler's goalie Nikolai Khabibulin played well stopping 35 of 37 shots.

All NHL

Bozak

Forward- Tyler Bozak- Toronto Did a good job controlling the puck winning 22 of 13 draws while forcing two turnovers while having one himself. He also added in an assist.
Forward- Pavel Datsyuk- Detroit Grabbed two points off an assist and a goal  while firing 7 shots on net. Finished the game with a +2 rating.
Forward- Joe Thornton- San Jose One of the premier performers this year Joe scored a goal and also won 12 of his 14 faceoffs. He also recorded a hit and one takeway.
Forward- Vincent Lecavalier- Tampa Bay Played a very physical game with 5 hits but also played skilled netting one goal.
Defense- Duncan Keith- Chicago Gave the Canucks a fit last night forcing three turnovers while adding an assist on the powerplay. Finished the game with a +1 rating.
Defense- Matt Carle- Tampa Bay Scored a powerplay goal and also played great D. He blocked three shots, forced two turnovers, and recorded a hit. Despite all this he finished the nigh with a -1.
Defense- Shea Weber- Nashville His goal in overtime gave the Predators a win and he also had an assist. He didn't forget how to play defense however blocking three shots and snagging two takeaways. Finished the game with a +2 rating.
Goalie- Craig Anderson- Ottawa No surprise here, he is almost always on the list due to him being good and the fact that his defense sucks. He saved 37 of 38 shots for a league high .974 SV% (well for goalies that played more than 40 minutes.
Goalie- Cory Schneider- Vancouver I think it safe to say that Luongo could have prevented the loss but his defense did not make things easy for Schneider. He saw 43 shots last night saving 40 of them but he came up short in the shootout letting in two goals.

Anderson "My Fantasy Hero"

Spurs Run Thunder in Game 2

Tonight the Thunder started off clueless against the Spurs pick and roll game. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were successfully able to get to the rim all night because of the Spurs’ big men relentlessly screening Russell Westbrook. He was left on an island all by himself because Thunder big men did not want to leave Tim Duncan wide open down in the post as a result of helping Westbrook. The Spurs started off dominating the game even though Duncan had an awful performance on from the field. Duncan was able to get open in the paint was either not able to make the shot or had trouble getting a hold of the ball. Great ball movement from Parker and Ginobili allowed Kawhi Leonard and other Spurs role players to get open shots.  The Spurs also played superior defense in the first half as Durant was the only Thunder really able to get to the rim with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Westbrook.

Splitter spent much time at the line due to the
Hack-A- Splitter technique

The Thunder on the other hand really struggled to get the ball rolling at all during the game. They had no real offense going throughout the game and most of their points coming from their Big 3. Unable to run plays, the Thunder relied on one on one basketball and fast break points for their offense. With the Spurs running all over the Thunder the Thunder decided to go to the Hack-A-Splitter strategy. It worked a little as Tiago Splitter struggled from the line. In the end it did not work as well as planned because the Spurs were able to score with the clock stopped and the Thunder failed to capitalize on offense.

Unless the Thunder can find some sort of homecourt advantage the Spurs will most likely run all over them on their way to the NBA Finals. What more can you expect from a team that seems to have everything. They have a big 3 that is capable of rebounding, scoring, and passing while also possessing a great depth of role players. This depth will help them later on in the season as they will not get tired late in games. They also have the most experience together of any of the teams left in the playoffs, Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan have been around since the end of the David Robinson era. It will be interesting to see if the Heat or Celtics challenge the Spurs in the Finals.