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FantasyNascarPreview.com’s Talladega Speedway Preview

23 April 2009

In an effort to bring you more complete fantasy coverage, I contacted Fantasy NASCAR Preview for those of you interested in Fantasy NASCAR. They have agreed to allow me to sharesome info with you. They provide rankings, previews, an innovative B List Calculator, and a top notch blog.

This week they discuss Talladega.

Hey y’all…I’m going to try this video thing just once more. Here’s my article, in video form:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa5Wl3uZFuE

If you don’t have time to watch it, you’re not missing much….lol. I’ll list my team here for those of you in a hurry:

A list: Clint Bowyer (0/9), Kyle Busch (2/9)…Mark Martin (0/9) and Jeff Burton (0/9) are also under consideration.

B list: Casey Mears (0/9), David Stremme (0/9), David Ragan (0/9), Ryan Newman (0/9). I’m set here…please see the video if you want to hear me plead my case for these four.

C list: Robby Gordon (0/9), Regan Smith (0/9)…Reed Sorenson (0/9) and Sam Hornish, Jr. (0/9) are also under consideration.

It’s back to writing next week, y’all…hope you enjoyed the two week video streak.

Talladega Useful Links
Yahoo Driver Rankings
ESPN Rankings

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Friday Tidbits – 4/17/09

17 April 2009

The Giants put Joe Martinez on the DL after he got hit by a line drive. He suffered a concussion and three small fractures in his head. The Giants called up Justin Miller. Jose Guillen (hip) landed on the DL. Hiroki Kuroda landed on the DL. Bartolo Colon looked good for the White Sox. C.C. Sabathia got his first Yankee Win. Brandon Webb was placed on the DL. Harry Kalas and Mark “the Bird” Fidrych passed away. Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye both hit their 300th HRs back-to-back. Orlando Hudson and Ian Kinsler hit for the Cycle. Jed Lowrie landed on the DL. Josh Beckett was suspended six games. Lastings Milledge got shipped down to the Minors. Chris Carpenter strained his rib cage. Evan Longoria missed a couple games for family matters. The Dodgers sent Delwyn Young to Pittsburgh for a couple Minor Leaguers. Cleveland called up Aaron Laffey and sent Josh Barfield down. Diasuke Matsuzaka, Jesse Litsch, Xavier Nady, Brian Moehler, Jorge Campillo, and Chris Carpenter landed on the DL. A-Rod took batting practice.

Shutouts: Aaron Harang, Kyle Lohse, Zach Duke
Grand Slams: Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Melvin Mora,Carlos Pena, Edwin Encarnacion, John Buck, Kevin Millar

Monta Ellis is done for the year. Dwyane Wade scored 55. Cleveland clinched the best record. Flip Saunders is going to be Washington’s next coach. Ray Allen served a one game suspension for an elbow. Cleveland rested LeBron, Mo Williams, Z, and Joe Smith in their season finale. This is exactly why fantasy basketball seasons need to be wrapped up sooner. The Cavs lost blowing their chance to tie the ’86 Celtics for best home record. Jason Kidd messed around and wrapped the season up with a Triple-Double. Detroit put Allen Iverson on their playoff roster. KG may miss the playoffs. Danny Ainge suffered a heart attack.

Pittsburgh recalled Miroslav Satan for the playoffs. Jacques Lemaire called it quits for the Wild. GM Doug Risebrough won’t be back either. Detroit re-signed Johan Franzen. Thomas Vanek racked up his 40th goal. Colorado fired GM Francois Giguere. Andrew Brunette had ACL surgery. Detroit recalled Darren Helm for the playoffs. The Islanders won the NHL Draft Lottery and the #1 pick. Edmonton fired Coach Craig Mcactavish. The Rangers beat Washington. The Devils beat Carolina. The Penguins beat the Flyers. Boston beat Montreal. Detroit beat Columbus. Chicago beat Calgary. Daniel Carcillo got suspended for a cheap shot. Anaheim shut out San Jose.

The Redskins signed Kedric Golston to a one-year deal. Tampa Bay signed Donald Penn. Donte Whitner was arrested for disorderly conduct. Zach Thomas signed with the Chiefs. Byron Leftwich signed with Tampa Bay. Pittsburgh signed Super Bowl MVP James Harrison to a long-term deal. Kevin Dockery re-signed with the Giants. Charlie Batch signed with Pittsburgh. Maurice Jones-Drew signed a four-year extension. John Madden called it quits.

UCLA’s Jrue Holiday will enter the draft sans agent. Blake Griffin and May Moore won the R. Wooden Awards. Isiah Thomas will be FIU’s new coach. He has destroyed a league and an NBA team. He’s going for the trifecta. At least he’s donating his salary back to the athletic department the first year. Mississippi’s David Huertas is turning pro. Same with UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet, Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson, Texas’ Damion James, Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody, and DePaul’s Dar Tucker.. Mike Anderson signed a seven-year deal with Missouri.

Texas Tech DE McKinner Dixon was suspended for academic reasons.

Angel Cabrera beat Kenny Perry in a playoff to win the Masters. Alex Cejka leads the Verizon Heritage after the opening round.

Joey Logano won the Nationwide’s Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Lleyton Hewitt beat Wayne Odesnik to win the ATP US Men’s Claycourt Championships. Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Florent Serra to win the ATP Grand Prix Hassan II. Caroline Wozniacki beat Aleksandra Wozniak to win the WTA MPS Group Championships. Jelena Jankovic beat Carla Suarez-Navarroto win the WTA Andalucia Tennis Experience.

That concludes the Tidbits. As always feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned. Be sure to check out my Links Page for some great sites.

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| Posted by LestersLegends | Categories: College Basketball, College Football, Golf, MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, NHL | Tagged: MLB, NBA, NCAA, NFL, NHL, Sports week in review, The Week in Sports |

Friday Tidbits – 4/10/09

10 April 2009

Happy Birthday Lynn!

Ichiro (ulcer) landed on the DL. Gary Sheffield signed with the Mets. The Braves opened the 2009 season with a Win over the Phillies. Joey Devine landed on the 60-Day DL. The Yankees got smoked by Baltimore in their Opener. Ken Griffey, Jr. homered in his first game back with Seattle. Muhammad Ali, Bill Cosby and Henry Aaron were chosen to be the recipients of the Beacon Awards. Brandon Webb will miss a start. Joe Mauer took Batting Practice. Koji Uehara beat the Yankees in his MLB debut. Angels’ Rookie Nick Adenart was killed in a hit-and-run crash. So sad. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. Chris Carpenter fired a gem for St. Louis. Tampa picked up where it left off by beating the Sox.

Dino Gallinari will shut it down following back surgery. Andre Miller messed around and got a Triple-Double. John Stockton, Jerry Sloan, C. Vivian Stringer and David Robinson were named to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Oh, and this Michael Jordan fella got in too. Dwight Howard had another 20-20 game. Andrew Bogut (back) is done for the year. Jason Kidd dished out 20 Assists to move past Magic Johnson into #3 on the all-time list. Zach Randolph got popped for a DUI. Manu Ginobili (ankle) is done for the year. Carl Landry returned for Houston. Udonis Haslem (finger) will miss the rest of the regular season. The Knicks signed Mouhamed Sene. Andrew Bynum returned for the Lakers. Hef’s treatment must have worked.

Toronto signed Tyler Bozak. Taylor Pyatt is taking a leave from Vancouver following the death of his fiance in a car accident. Columbus activated Jason Chimera from the IR. New Jersey G Kevin Weeks will miss a couple of weeks. San Jose welcomed back Mike Grier and Claude Lemieux. The Islanders signed Doug Weight to an extension. Ottawa signed Cory Clouston to a two-year deal.

Shutouts: Minnesota’s Niklas Backstrom vs. Calgary, Boston’s Tim Thomas vs. NY Rangers, Chicago’s Nikolai Khabibulin vs. Columbus, Carolina’s Cam Ward vs. NY Islanders, San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov vs. Colorado, Colorado’s Peter Budaj vs. San Jose, Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo vs. L.A. Kings

Hat Tricks: Philadelphia’s Jeff Carter vs. Toronto, Carolina’s Eric Staal vs. NY Islanders

The Giants cut Plaxico Burress. Tennessee signed Patrick Ramsey. The Rams signed Kyle Boller. Pittsurgh re-signed LB Keyaron Fox. Reggie Williams got arrested again. Put a fork in him. Plaxico Burress won a $1 million grievance against the Giants. Cheddard Plax can use that for legal and medical expenses. Houston signed Cato June. The Chiefs won a ruling that would allow them to cut the troubled back without having to pay his guaranteed salary next year. Jeff Garcia is returning to the Bay Area. This time for the Raiders. Kellen Winslow signed a six-year extension with Tampa. Samari Rolle re-signed with Baltimore. Cincinnati brought in Tank Johnson. He kept his nose clean in Big D, hopefully he’ll do the same in Cincy. Marcus Stroud got an extension with the Bills. Marshawn Lynch got slapped with a three game suspension for getting busted on gun charges. T.O., his new teammate, decided to show up for workouts after all.

Blake Griffin was named AP Player of the Year and won the Naismith Award. Bill Self won Coach of the Year honors. Michigan State beat UConn to advance to the title game. UNC beat Villanova to join them. UNC beat Michigan State for the National Championship. Sean Miller is leaving Xavier for Arizona. Memphis promoted Assistant Josh Pastner to Coach. Leonard Hamilton signed an extension with Florida State. Blake Griffin, DeJuan Blair, Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill, James Johnson, and James Harden are turning Pro. Jodie Meeks, Jeff Teague, Dwayne Collins and Devan Downey will test the waters, but not hire an agent. Jamie Dixon was named the Naismith Coach of the Year. Top recruit DeMarcus Cousins has spurned Memphis for Kentucky. Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, and Paul Harris will test the NBA Draft waters. Only Flynn will make a decent Pro. Jim Calhoun will return for UConn next year.

UConn Women capped off a perfect season with another National Title.

Purdue will be without QB Justin Siller (academics) for at least a year. Iowa’s James Ferentz, Tyler Christensen, and end Zach Derby got pinched for public intoxication. Florida State’s Rod Owens picked up a DUI.

Jeff Gordon snapped his 47-race winless streak to win the Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch won the Nationwide race.

Paul Casey beat J.B. Holmes in a playoff to win the Texas Motor Speedway. Michael Hoey won the Estoril Open. Brittany Lincicome won the LPGA’s Kraft Nabisco Championship. Chad Campbell led after the first day at the Masters. Tiger was five strokes back.

Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic 6-2, 7-5 to win the Sony Ericsson Open championship. Victoria Azarenka beat Serena Williams 6-3, 6-1 on the Women’s side.

That concludes the Tidbits. As always feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned. Be sure to check out my Links Page for some great sites.

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| Posted by LestersLegends | Categories: College Basketball, College Football, Golf, MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, NHL | Tagged: MLB, NBA, NCAA, NFL, NHL, Sports week in review, The Week in Sports |

Friday Tidbits – 4/3/09

3 April 2009

The Lakers clinched the #1 seed in the West. Gilbert Arenas returned for the Wizards. Allen Iverson returned. Mark Cuban got fined $25K for Twittering about the officials. James Posey got slapped with a suspension for going Bobby Knight on a referee. OK, no chairs, but he did toss the ball at Gary Zielinski. Dwight Howard shattered Wilt Chamberlain’s mark of youngest player to 5000 rebounds. The Heat retired Alonzo Mourning’s number. The Celtics will shut down KG a few more games. Stephen Jackson (toe) is done for the year. Josh Howard returned for the Mavs. Shaun Livingston signed with Oklahoma City. Cleveland won their 13th straight. The Wizard snapped the streak. Andrew Bynum of Playboy Mansion fame says he’ll return by season’s end. Brendan Haywood returned for Washington. Ramon Sessions messed around and got a Triple-Double. Kevin Martin dropped 50 points on Golden State. AI said he’d rather retire than be a backup.

Vincent Lecavalier (wrist) is out for the season. Ryan Smyth (hand) is as well. Toronto was fined $500K and had a 4th round pick taken away for signing Jonas Frogen. Boston signed Tim Thomas to an extension.

Shutouts: New York Islanders’ Joey MacDonald vs. Detroit, Ottawa’s Brian Elliott vs. Tampa Bay, Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo vs. Chicago, New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist vs. New Jersey, Phoenix’s Al Montoya vs. Colorado

Hat Tricks: St. Louis’ David Backes vs. Detroit

Justin Duchscherer will miss a month following elbow surgery. Kevin Gregg won the Cubs’ closer role. Dontrelle Willis and Joel Zumaya will start the year on the DL for the Tigers. John Lackey will start the year on the DL for the Angels. Trevor Hoffman will as well for Milwaukee. Chipper Jones signed a three-year extension with Atlanta. With all due respect, what are they thinking? He turns 37 this month. Joba Chamberlain pleaded guilty to his DUI charge. Texas cut Frank Catalanotto, allowing Andruw Jones to earn a roster spot. Washington’s Anderson Hernandez will start the year on the DL. Scott Baker landed on the DL.

The 49ers signed Marvel Smith. The Vikings matched Cincinnati’s bid for Naufahu Tahi. St. Louis signed TE Billy Bajema. The Saints re-signed Joey Harrington. Phillip Daniels re-signed with Washington. Donte Stallworth was charged with DUI Manslaughter. Now the Broncos are going to trade Cutler. Wake me when this drama is over. Isaac Bruce will be back with the Rams. Plaxico’s case got pushed back to June. The Jay Cutler ordeal makes me long for the days of the Brett Favre saga. Arizona signed Dan Kreider. The Broncos traded Jay Cutler to the Bears for Kyle Orton, the 18th pick, a first rounder next year, and a third rounder this year. The Bears added Orlando Pace. Word is Boston College’s B.J. Raji failed a drug test.

Kentucky canned Billy Gillispie. #1 Louisville destroyed #12 Arizona for a trip to the Elite Eight. #2 Oklahoma beat #3 Syracuse, #2 Michigan State edged out #3 Kansas, and #1 UNC thumped #4 Gonzaga to join them. #1 UConn beat #3 Missouri to earn a trip to the Final Four. #3 Villanova beat #1 Pitt to join them. #2 Michigan State beat #1 Louisville and #1 UNC beat #2 Oklahoma to round out the Final Four. Liberty’s Seth Curry is transferring to Duke. Florida’s Nick Calathes and Georgetown’s DaJuan Summers are turning pro. Blake Griffin, Tylen Hansbrough, DeJuan Blair, James Harden, and Stephen Curry were named First-team All-American. Virginia sniped Tony Bennett of Washington State to be their new Coach. John Calipari left Memphis for Kentucky. Mike Anderson signed a seven-year extension with Missouri. Bob Nash got an extension from Hawaii. Shaka Smart is the new VCU coach. Penn State won the NIT. Tim Floyd turned down an offer from Arizona to stay at USC. Tennessee signed Bruce Pearl to an extension. Georgia hired Nevada’s Mark Fox. Butler extended Brad Stevens’ deal.

Kansas suspended Dezmon Briscoe and Jamal Greene for breaking team rules. Bo Pelini got an extension from Nebraska. Tennessee’s Brent Vinson (shoulder) will miss the rest of Spring practices.

Tiger Woods roared back from a five shot deficit to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Keith Fergus won the Cana Championship. Soren Kjeldsen won the Andalucia Open. Lee Westwood led the Shell Houston Open after the first round.

Jimmie Johnson won the Goody’s 500.

That concludes the Tidbits. As always feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned. Be sure to check out my Links Page for some great sites.

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| Posted by LestersLegends | Categories: College Basketball, College Football, Golf, MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, NHL | Tagged: MLB, NBA, NCAA, NFL, NHL, Sports week in review, The Week in Sports |

FantasyNascarPreview.com’s Texas Motor Speedway Preview

2 April 2009

This week they discuss the race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Hey everyone! Schafe here, hoping that your fantasy team survived the recent short track swing with relative success. But now, the Cup boys head to a scene all-too familiar on this year’s schedule: a 1.5 mile, intermediate, “cookie-cutter” venue: the Texas Motor Speedway.

Last Week:
It made all too much sense to go with “Big Red” himself, Juan Pablo Montoya, at a track like the Martinsville Speedway, as the brakes here often emit a bright red hue, the drivers’ faces grow crimson with short track fever…and of course who could forget the infamously Maschino cherry-colored Martinsville hot dogs?
Kidding aside, Montoya did great for me, rallying from a lap down late to finish 12th. With Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on my bench in 8th, I only gave up several points and bankrolled another Junior start for later in the season. Mission accomplished. Gracias, JPM! =]

“Hail Mary” time:
For the second time this season, I’ve decided to put all of my chips down on Agent Double Zero: David Reutimann. With the November Texas race still fresh in my mind, I am inclined to believe that DReut can continue his dream season by putting together AT LEAST a solid top 15 effort. Running in the top 5 for most of last fall’s Dickies 500, Reutimann fell victim to a late race caution where most other lead lap cars elected to change just two tires,while the #44 UPS team opted for four…relegating Reuty to a disappointing 10th place finish. The key word in that last sentence was “disappointing.” Who would have expected DAVID REUTIMANN, an MWR driver, to be disappointed with a run that would’ve seemed out of reach just months prior?
However, this young 2009 season is a completely different story from seasons past, as Reutimann finds himself 11th in Sprint Cup points coming into this weekend. Upgraded to B-list status at the start of the year, it seemingly became even more difficult to pull the trigger on Reuty and feel completely safe…hell, just six months ago, I even had trouble activating him as my C-list driver. Needless to say…DReut continues to surprise. This is one of those picks that is not based on past history (looking at Reuty’s Texas past may cause you to cattle prod yourself), but more on the driver’s momentum. Once Reutimann solidified himself in the top 35 last season, he really started tearing it up…and the confidence that this self-conscious driver gained for 2009 was worth its weight in gold (and a nice chunk of fantasy points, too). He’s evolved into quite the all-around racer, which makes him an good sleeper candidate for a Chase berth: superspeedways, intermediates, and short tracks…he runs well enough to warrant a spot on your roster at ANY of these types of tracks. When 2009 is said and done, you may have very well used up most to all of his allocations. Who’d a thunk it?

So…can the ol’ Aaron’s Dream Machine keep it up? Well, the forecast certainly looks favorable for the weekend ahead, but we’ll leave that up to the racing gods.

Yahoo Driver Rankings
ESPN Rankings

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| Posted by LestersLegends | Categories: fantasy NASCAR, NASCAR | Tagged: fantasy NASCAR, NASCAR, Texas Motor Speedway |

Friday Tidbits – 3/27/09

27 March 2009

KG returned. Shaq passed Moses Malone for fifth on the all-time scoring list. Orlando re-signed Adonal Foyle. Dwyane gave a sick eight-year old Heat fan the jersey off his back. Houston signed James White. Derrick Rose hurt his wrist. Gilbert Arenas is supposed to return tomorrow. Linas Kleiza was fined $25K for mouthing off to officials. Dwight Howard had another 20-20 game. Orlando clinched the Southeast Division. Atlanta clinched a playoff spot. Nene got suspended for two games for head-butting Louis Amundson. Isiah Thomas spoke with the Clippers. Talk about a match made in Heaven. LeBron James became the second person (Oscar Robertson) with 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in at least four seasons. Troy Murphy sprained his knee.

Chicago’s Ben Eager was suspended three games for hitting Liam Reddox in the head. Marian Gaborik returned for the Wild, but Mikko Koivu (knee) will miss a week. Boston clinched the Northeast Division. Patrik Elias missed a tilt against Philly. Colorado’s Paul Stastny (foot) will miss a couple weeks. Toronto’s Martin Gerber was slapped with a three-game suspension for pushing and firing a puck at a referee.

Shutouts: New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur vs. Minnesota, Minnesota’s Niklas Backstrom vs. Edmonton, St. Louis’ Chris Mason vs. LA Kings, Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury vs. Calgary, Columbus’ Steve Mason vs. Calgary, LA Kings’ Jonathan Quick vs. Dallas, Dallas’ Marty Turco vs. LA Kings

Hat Tricks:

Joe Mauer won’t be ready for Opening Day. Corey Koskie has decided to retire rather than continue his comeback attempt. The White Sox signed Gavin Floyd to a four-year extension. Oakland extended Manager Bob Geren. Japan sent the U.S. packing the WBC. Curt Schilling called it quits. B.J. Upton will miss the Opener. Manny returned from his hamstring injury. Japan beat South Korea to win the WBC. They are the only team to have won the Classic. Hall of Famer George Kell passed away. Cole Hamels returned from his elbow injury. Tampa Bay send David Price to the Minors. Miguel Tejada got probabation for lying about steroids. Justin Duchscherer will likely head to the DL.

The Eagles signed Leonard Weaver. Cincy signed Naufahu Tahi. Minnesota gave Cedric Griffin a contract extension. Detroit is retiring Corey Smith’s #93 for next season. Chicago signed Glenn Earl. Miami sent Samson Satele to Oakland for a sixth round pick. LT saved the Bolts a cool $2.25 million in cap space. T.O. skipped a voluntary workout. It’s voluntary, and conditioning has never been his problem, so I don’t see it as being a big deal. He plans to skip all of the voluntary workouts. Now that I do have an issue with. Cleveland signed David Patten. Cleveland will have an open competition for the starting QB job. The NFL put an end to the wedge, along with three other safety changes for next year. The NFL owners voted to change the draft order of picks 21-30 based on where they finish in the playoffs. Roger Goodell wants a longer season. The Jets signed CB Donald Strickland. Tony Gonzalez still wants to be traded. T.O. received the Alzheimer’s Association’s first Young Champions Award. Chicago signed T Kevin Shaffer. New Orleans signed S Pierson Prioleau and cut Kevin Kaesviharn.

#11 Dayton beat #6 West Virginia. #12 Arizona beat #5 Utah. #10 USC beat #7 Boston College. #9 Siena beat #8 Ohio State. #13 Cleveland State beat #4 Wake Forest. #12 Wisconsin beat #5 Florida State. #5 Purdue beat #4 Washington. Cole Aldrich recorded a Triple-Double (13 points, 20 boards, 10 blocks) as Kansas beat Dayton. #12 Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16 with a win over #13 Cleveland State. St. Mary’s eliminated Davidson in the NIT. UConn may have violated some NCAA rules. They beat Purdue to advance to the Elite Eight. Pitt beat Xavier, Missouri upset Memphis, and Villanova upset Duke to join them.

Blake Joseph won’t return to Houston. Nebraska Freshman QB Cody Green (hip) will miss a few Spring practices. Jason Meinke left Minnesota to hit the books.

Retief Goosen won the Transitions Championship. Estanislao Goya won the Madeira Islands Open. Pat Hurst won the Mastercard Classic. Chapchai Nirat won the SAIL Open. He set a record for the Asian Tour by finishing at 32 under par. Jason Gore leads the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Tiger is three strokes back.

Kyle Busch won the Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick won the Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray to win the ATP BNP Paribas Open. Vera Zvonareva beat Ana Ivanovic in the Women’s final.

That concludes the Tidbits. As always feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned. Be sure to check out my Links Page for some great sites.

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| Posted by LestersLegends | Categories: College Basketball, College Football, Golf, MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, NHL | Tagged: MLB, NBA, NCAA, NFL, NHL, Sports week in review, The Week in Sports |

Friday Tidbits – 3/20/09

20 March 2009

New Jersey’s Eduard Najera (hernia) will miss the rest of the season. LeBron had his triple-double streak snap, but he scored 51. D-Wade dropped 50 of his own to stay in the MVP race. Jason Kidd recorded a Triple-Double. Dwight Howard had a 20-20 game. Danny Granger returned. Gregg Popovich coached his 1000th game. Stephen Jackson got suspended a game for collecting too many technicals. Bobby Jackson broke his cheekbone. Houston’s Carl Landry was shot in the leg. He’ll miss a couple of weeks. It happened at 4:30 in the morning. What do you think Chris Paul and LeBron James were doing at that time? Probably sleeping. New Jersey’s Sean Williams got arrested for throwing a computer monitor at a cell phone store. It must not have been Verizon or that group you see in the commercials would have stomped him. Devin Harris (shoulder & oblique) will be out a while. Josh Howard (ankle) will miss another week. Wally Szczerbiak (knee) will miss three weeks. D-Wade (hip) and Ray Allen (elbow) miss the tangle between Miami and Boston. Leon Powe (knee) will miss a couple of weeks. Greg Oden is back…for now. Doc Rivers got fined $25K. LeBron had another Triple-Double.

Martin Brodeur tied and the broke the Wins record with his 552nd victory. Colorado’s Cody McCormick was suspended two games for high-sticking. Detroit reached 100 points for a record ninth straight time. Brian Pothier returned for Washington. Evgeni Malkin topped the 100 point mark. Samuel Pahlsson returne for Chicago. Teemu Selanne scored his 1200th point. Montreal signed Olivier Fortier to an extension. Ovechkin scored his 50th goal. Ryan Clowe (surgery) will miss at least a week.

Shutouts: Nashville’s Pekka Rinne vs. Phoenix, Detroit’s Chris Osgood vs. Columbus, San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov vs. Anaheim, Washington’s Jose Theodore vs. Florida, Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo vs. St. Louis

Hat Tricks: Calgary’s Olli Jokinen vs. Toronto, Pittsburgh’s Chris Kunitz vs. Boston, Edmonton’s Sam Gagner vs. Colorado

Florida cut Jay Gibbons. Pat Burell took an ad out in Philly newspapers thanking Phillies’ fans. Classy. Mark McGwire is working as a hitting instructor for Matt Holliday, Bobby Crosby, Chris Duncan, and Skip Schumaker. I hope his instructions doesn’t included a course in pharmaceuticals. Tim Redding is out because of lack of strength in his arm. Puerto Rico beat the U.S. in the WBC. Ivan Rodriguez signed a one-year deal with Houston. Manny Ramirez (hamstring) shut it down for a week. The Phils and Cole Hamels survived a scare with his elbow. Julio Lugo (knee) will be out a month. Trevor Hoffman (side) will miss some time. Aaron Boone needs heart surgery. The U.S. beat Puerto Rico in the WBC. Kevin Youkilis hurt his ankle in the WBC. Washington signed Joe Beimel. Brian Schneider strained his calf. Venezuela beat the U.S. in the WBC. Evan Longoria will fill-in for Chipper Jones on Team USA.

Corey Mays signed with the Chiefs. The Rams cut Torry Holt. The Ravens cut Samari Rolle. The Browns signed Pork Chop Womack. Denver signed Scott Young. Reggie Williams had DWI and drug possession charges dropped. Donte Stallworth hit and killed a pedestrian with his car. Joey Galloway signed a one-year deal with New England. Seattle traded Julian Peterson to Detroit for Cory Redding and a 5th round pick. Baltimore signed Chris Carr. The Browns signed Eric Barton. The Raiders signed Khalif Barnes. The Vikings signed Karl Paymah. The Jags cut Crackman Jones. Paul Spicer signed with New Orleans. Fernando Bryant re-signed with Pittsburgh. Washington signed Renaldo Wynn. Baltimore signed L.J. Smith. The Jets will retain Abram Elam after matching Cleveland’s offer. Kansas City signed Monty Beisel, Bobby Engram, and Terrance Cooper. Cleveland signed John St. Clair. Kurt Warner had his hip scoped. The NFL has decided not to change the Overtime sytem. If it’s broke, why fix it? Baltimore cut Samari Rolle. New Orleans signed Darren Sharper. Arizona signed Bertrand Berry. Tampa Bay signed Angelo Crowell. Cleveland signed Corey Ivy. Minnesota signed Glenn Holt. Didn’t they know Torry was available? They also signed Karl Payhah. Donte Stallworth may have been drunk when he killed the pedestrian. The Saints cut Mike McKenzie. Arizona re-signed Elton Brown.

#20 Syracuse beat West Virginia to advance to the Big East Tournament Championship game. They only needed one OT this time. Temple beat #19 Xavier. #5 Louisville beat #13 Villanova. Maryland beat #9 Wake Forest. #23 Arizona State beat #10 Washington. USC beat #14 UCLA and #23 Arizona State. #22 Florida State beat #1 UNC. Ohio State beat #6 Michigan State. Mississippi State beat #16 LSU. #24 Purdue beat #25 Illinois. #5 Louisville beat #20 Syracuse to win the Big East Championship. #8 Duke beat #22 Florida State to win the ACC tourney. #24 Purdue beat Ohio State to win the Big Ten tourney. Louisville, Pitt, UConn, and UNC were named the #1 seeds. Ty Lawson sat out the opener. #9 Texas A & M beat #8 BYU. Tyler Hansbrough became the all-time leading scorer in the ACC. #10 Maryland beat #7 Cal. #10 Michigan beat #7 Clemson. #12 Western Kentucky beat #5 Illinois.

Torrey Davis left Florida. Boston College LB Mike McLaughlin tore his Achilles. Highly touted RB Bryce Brown has chosen Tennessee. Pitt suspended WR T.J. Porter after he got popped for a second DUI. South Carolina suspended Ladi Ajiboye for rule violations.

Phil Mickelson won the World Golf Championship. Michael Bradley won the Puerto Rico Open. Dan Forsman won the AT&T Champions Classic. Alex Prugh won the New Zealand Open.

That concludes the Tidbits. As always feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned. Be sure to check out my Links Page for some great sites.

2 Comments