Cnotes NHL March 2015 Trends/Stats/News Etc...All you know B4 Wagering !

Preview: Kings (29-20) at Jets (31-20)


Date: March 01, 2015 4:00 PM EDT

After a long win streak put them back in the Western Conference playoff picture, two straight losses have shown that nothing is certain for the Los Angeles Kings.


The defending champions don't figure to receive any favors Sunday at MTS Centre against the Winnipeg Jets, who exhibited playoff-like intensity their last time out.


Los Angeles (29-20-12) resembled a team with a Stanley Cup hangover for much of the season before emerging from it with an eight-game win streak Feb. 7-24 that included victories over top opponents such as Washington, Detroit and Tampa Bay twice.


The Kings, who were five points out of contention before the streak, held opponents to 1.4 goals per game on the surge to move into third place in the Pacific Division.


That defensive trend persevered in a 1-0 loss to Ottawa on Thursday, but the Kings took a step backward with Friday's 4-2 loss at Anaheim. The Ducks, who had scored more than three goals once in their prior 10 games, netted four in the third period.


"We got away from the things that were winning us games previously," center Jeff Carter said. "This was a tough one. ... At this point of the year when we're blowing third-period leads, it's tough to take because of the points we need right now."


Los Angeles can expect a similarly hungry effort from Winnipeg (31-20-12), which fought hard in a 2-1 shootout loss to St. Louis on Thursday. Despite failing to earn the extra point, coach Paul Maurice saw plenty to be proud of.


"In our room, (we're focusing on) the way we played," Maurice said. "It was a well-played game, hard-fought game, good pace, good intensity. Disciplined, but hard.


"All positives. I didn't think we were lacking in any area. ... We can come to the rink and bring that game every night, then you're proud of the way you play."


The Jets outhit the Blues 35 to 21 and Mark Scheifele tied it in the third to clinch the much-needed point. Winnipeg has earned at least one point in nine of 11 following a four-game losing streak Jan. 27-Feb. 2.


"It's the way these guys are wired in this room," Scheifele told the Jets' official website. "Guys feed off the challenge to test themselves against the best in the league. We have so much character in this room. This game proved it."


The Kings and Jets played an intense matchup at Staples Center on Jan. 10, combining for five goals and 10 penalties in the first period alone. Michael Hutchinson and Jonathan Quick each allowed four goals before the Jets won 5-4 in a shootout.


Los Angeles took the first meeting 4-1 on Oct. 12, which also came at Staples. The Kings won their last visit to Winnipeg 3-1 on March 6 to end a two-game skid there.


Hutchinson and Quick figure to square off again. Hutchinson is 4-0-3 in his last seven starts and has seemingly pried the starting job away from Ondrej Pavelec, who has allowed three or more goals in four straight.


Quick, who did not play Friday, has been excellent since the streak began, posting a 1.56 goals-against average with one shutout in nine games. His career 3.25 GAA versus the Jets is his worst against any opponent, but is 2-0-1 over his last three meetings.


Blake Wheeler could return Sunday after missing the last two games with a lower-body injury. He has four goals and four assists in 11 career matchups against the Kings.


Justin Williams' 37 career points against Winnipeg are his most versus any Western Conference opponent.

Preview: Lightning (38-19) at Panthers (26-22)


Date: March 01, 2015 5:00 PM EDT

Steven Stamkos and Ben Bishop got the Tampa Bay Lightning back on track before a busy March.


They've also played a significant role in the team's recent success against the Florida Panthers.


The Lightning will try to kick off the month with a sixth consecutive win over their in-state rivals and their seventh in a row on the road in the series Sunday.


Stamkos scored a pair of goals Friday as Tampa Bay (38-19-6) bounced back from last Sunday's loss in Colorado with a 4-0 victory over Chicago. Bishop made 28 saves in his second shutout this season and improved to 4-0-0 with a 1.25 goals-against average in his last four starts.


"This is the time of the year you want to see your guy - and he's the guy - get hot," associate coach Rick Bowness said. "We hope that continues the way he played (Friday)."


Tampa Bay, winner in three of four and the league's highest-scoring team at 3.25 goals per game, is one point ahead of third-place Detroit in the Atlantic Division but trail Montreal by five. The Lightning will face those teams a combined five times in their 15 games in March.


Stamkos has four goals in his team's past three wins and has scored six of his 34 in the past seven contests. He's had 15 goals and eight assists in his last 14 games against Florida (27-22-13), while Bishop is 5-0-0 with a 1.89 GAA in five lifetime matchups.


The Lightning are facing the Panthers for the first time since a 3-2 overtime win at home in the season opener Oct. 9 and will see a different-looking club.


Florida acquired Jaromir Jagr - one goal shy of tying Phil Esposito for fifth on the all-time list - from New Jersey on Thursday for a pair of draft picks. The Panthers then sent Tomas Fleischmann to Anaheim on Saturday for a third-round pick and another veteran forward in Dany Heatley, who could remain in the AHL at least initially.


Jagr did not register a point in his debut Saturday, but Florida ended an 0-3-1 skid with a 5-3 win over Buffalo. Brandon Pirri had a pair of goals and Jussi Jokinen registered three assists as Florida rallied from an early 2-0 deficit.


The win kept the Panthers within four points of Boston for the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot.


"I wish I could score, but it doesn't matter, we won," said Jagr, who has 716 goals. "When you come to a new team, you just want the first game to be a victory, and I'm happy about that."


Jagr has one goal and two assists in his last seven games against Tampa Bay, but zero points in his past three, including two this season.


Valtteri Filppula has a team-best nine points in Tampa Bay's five-game win streak against the Panthers (three goals, six assists). He registered 10 of his 44 points in the past nine contests, totaling one goal and nine assists.


Roberto Luongo started for Florida on Saturday and it's unclear if he'll go in both ends of this back-to-back set. He was in net for the season opener against Tampa Bay and is 1-2-1 with a 2.77 GAA in his last four matchups.


Backup netminder Al Montoya has allowed one goal in each of his last two meetings but the most recent was Dec. 7, 2013.

Preview: Blue Jackets (26-30) at Penguins (35-17)


Date: March 01, 2015 5:00 PM EDT

Sidney Crosby fought Brandon Dubinsky the last time the Pittsburgh Penguins met the Columbus Blue Jackets, though that won't happen again.


Dubinsky is out for the visiting Blue Jackets on Sunday evening when they try to end a five-game slide as well as the Penguins' three-game win streak.


These clubs played an intense first-round series last season, which Pittsburgh (35-17-9) captured in six games.


Columbus (26-31-4) has responded by taking the first two 2014-15 meetings, including a 2-1 win at Pittsburgh on Feb. 19.


Crosby was held without a point that night after amassing 17 in a 10-game streak in the regular season versus Columbus. In the second period, he dropped his gloves to fight Dubinsky - a nemesis over the years. The Blue Jackets center went on to score the winning short-handed goal with 2:17 left.


Dubinsky is out indefinitely due to concussion symptoms. In any case, Crosby insists he will keep his gloves on Sunday.


"I think my last fight before that was four or five years ago so I would probably not bet on seeing another one," Crosby said.


The Penguins have won three straight since losing to the Blue Jackets, with Crosby totaling four points. He scored his 20th goal in Wednesday's 4-3 win at Washington.


Fellow superstar Evgeni Malkin has eight points in a four-game run. Crosby has 62 points and Malkin 61.


Gritty forward Daniel Winnik will make his Pittsburgh debut after being acquired Wednesday from Toronto. He had seven goals and 18 assists this season.


"I think anybody that gets traded you hope it's to a team that has a chance to win the Cup and I've been fortunate to be traded in here and have that chance for the rest of the year," Winnik said.


He'll see a former teammate in David Clarkson, who made his Columbus debut in Saturday's 2-0 home loss to New Jersey after being acquired Thursday from the Maple Leafs. His new team held a 33-19 edge in shots.


'We did a lot of good things,' Clarkson said. 'Of course, you always think you can do better."


Curtis McElhinney stopped 17 of 18 shots as Columbus fell to 0-4-1 in its last five games.


Sergei Bobrovsky, who has missed the last 16 games because of a groin injury, could be back after he was activated Saturday. Coach Todd Richards did not name a starting goalie after Saturday's defeat.


The Blue Jackets went 0 for 3 on the power play to drop to an NHL-worst 4.9 percent since the All-Star break. They are 0 for 20 in their last six games.


Columbus backup center Brian Gibbons, who was recalled from the minors Friday, will play in Pittsburgh for the first time since he was a rookie last season with the Penguins.


These teams are among the NHL's leaders in hits per game. Pittsburgh is preparing to get ready for the physical challenge that awaits.


"Against Columbus, they're the type of team they're a heavy forechecking team so you've got to be able to skate through your zone quick," coach Mike Johnston said. "And that's the real focus for us going into tomorrow night's game."

Preview: Maple Leafs (25-31) at Capitals (33-20)


Date: March 01, 2015 7:00 PM EDT

The Washington Capitals' three-game slide can be traced to difficulties in the opening period, and they're hoping Tim Gleason can help solve it.


With Gleason potentially in line for his team debut Sunday night, the Capitals look to continue their home success against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are trying to snap a franchise-record losing streak.


With 19 games left in the regular season, Washington (33-20-10) would seem on its way to the playoffs with nine points more than the cutoff in the Eastern Conference.


The Capitals, though, have dropped three games in a row after winning eight of 10. Their recent struggles have been particularly evident in the first period, as they've been outscored 4-1 in the last three games while giving up the first goal in each.


Washington gave up another tally in the opening period Friday, and went on to lose 3-0 at last-place Carolina.


"The slow starts have kind of been killing us," right wing Tom Wilson said. "The way things have been going the last four games, we have to change something. It's crunch time now, (19) games left, and it's not the time you want to be playing bad hockey."


Gleason may get a chance to help after being acquired in a trade with the Hurricanes on Saturday, in exchange for defenseman Jack Hillen and a fourth-round draft pick this summer. He's scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after the season.


"Obviously, he's an older defenseman. He brings a wealth of experience. He's a bigger body," coach Barry Trotz said. "I think he's more on the penalty killing, defensive side, good around the blue paint. Just makes more of a stay at home than an offensive defenseman. Thought would be that he would play with (Mike Green). Just gives us a little more balance there."


Getting Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom going again would also help. Ovechkin leads the NHL with 39 goals, but he has one in four games after collecting five during a streak of that length, which also included four assists.


Backstrom is among the league leaders with 64 points, but he has none in three games after getting seven in the previous four.


Ovechkin has 28 goals and 50 points in 35 career meetings with Toronto, netting the final goal of a 6-2 road win Jan. 7.


The Capitals are 8-1-1 in their last 10 meetings with the Maple Leafs (25-32-5) in the nation's capital, and that may only improve with Toronto on a team-record 15-game road slide. It's the longest in the league since Chicago dropped 19 in a row in 2003-04.


The Leafs have scored 15 goals during the road skid - only three coming in the first period - and suffered their fifth shutout of the stretch with Saturday's 4-0 loss at Montreal in the opener of a four-game trip. Toronto, though, outshot the Canadiens 30-23, including 22-11 after two periods.


"They only had 11 shots after two periods," coach Peter Horachek said. "We turned over that first goal, they had an empty-net goal, and that third goal was clearly goalie interference.


"But there was some good compete there. We had some good opportunities."


Phil Kessel would like to capitalize on one, as he's failed to score during the road losing streak. He has just three goals in 14 career visits to Washington.


James van Riemsdyk's 22 goals are just one back of Kessel for the team lead, but he has one in 13 games.

Preview: Ducks (39-17) at Stars (27-25)


Date: March 01, 2015 8:00 PM EDT

The Anaheim Ducks are surging toward a third straight Pacific Division title and are hoping a move prior to the trade deadline has boosted their chances at a long playoff run.


Tomas Fleischmann could make his team debut as Anaheim looks to deal the host Dallas Stars a sixth straight defeat Sunday night.


The Ducks (39-17-7) hold a 12-point edge on second-place Vancouver - which has two games in hand - after winning four of their last five. They were held scoreless for six consecutive periods before rallying for a 4-2 victory over Los Angeles on Friday.


Corey Perry's two goals followed tallies from Ryan Kesler and Emerson Etem.


"I think this team turned the corner tonight," said Kesler, who also added an assist to end a nine-game drought without a point. "That's the kind of hockey we need to be playing right now."


The Ducks bounced back after losing 3-0 to Ottawa on Wednesday.


"It's just sticking with your game plan," Perry said. "We're going out, we're doing all the right things, and it's eventually going to break the right way for us. It gives us confidence, that's for sure."


Anaheim added some forward depth Saturday by acquiring Fleischmann from Florida for Dany Heatley and a third-round pick in this year's draft. Heatley only played six games for the Ducks and was sent to AHL Norfolk on Dec. 30.


Fleischmann, who played under coach Bruce Boudreau in the AHL from 2005-07 and in Washington from 2007-11, scored a career-high 27 goals while playing all 82 games in 2011-12. However, he has exactly that many in his last 180.


"He is a left-handed shot, can play on the power play or the penalty kill, and gives us added depth on the left side," general manager Bob Murray said. "His history with Bruce should help ease his transition to our club."


Fleischmann could make his debut against the Stars (27-25-10), whose playoff hopes have been all but dashed. They've gone 1-4-2 since losing leading scorer Tyler Seguin to a knee injury and fell 5-4 in a shootout to Colorado on Friday.


Dallas, which sits last in the Central Division, held leads of 3-1 and 4-3 in the third period. Cody Eakin had two goals and an assist, while Jason Spezza scored to give him three goals and an assist over his last three.


"You look around the league, the teams that are in the playoffs aren't giving up (big leads)," Spezza said. "That's why we're out of the playoffs, because we haven't been able to close out games."


The Stars have held a lead heading into the third in three of their last four.


"Maybe it lands on me a bit, just being a leader," captain Jamie Benn said. "We've got to learn how to win on this team, and you can put that on the leadership of myself."


Coach Lindy Ruff was critical of goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who stopped just 19 of 23 shots. He's allowed 14 goals while going 0-1-2 over his last three starts.


"The goaltending performance doesn't match the effort of the team. It's as simple as that," Ruff said.


John Gibson has started the last nine games in net for the Ducks, but Frederik Andersen could get the nod in this contest. Andersen, who is 29-8-5 with a 2.37 goals-against average, missed the previous eight with an upper-body injury before backing up Gibson on Friday.


Andersen made 21 saves and Perry had a goal and an assist in Anaheim's 2-1 overtime win over Dallas on Oct. 31.

Great info !!!

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

Six of the best minor league prospects for the Toronto Blue Jays

1) Daniel Norris, P-- Reached majors after only 23 IP in AAA

2) Aaron Sanchez, P-- Reached majors after only 34 IP in AAA.

4) Dalton Pompey, OF-- No relation to Gordon Bombay from The Mighty Ducks

6) Devon Travis 2B/OF-- Hit .323 in his first 993 minor league ABs.

14) Dwight Smith Jr OF-- His dad was a major league outfielder.

26) Juan Meza, P-- 17-year old Venezuelan makes pro debut this season.



**********

Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports Saturday.....

13) ESPN has gone overboard with "Joe Lunardi Week" this week, having the expert on Bracketology on live during every game to offer his astute observations on the Field of 68. Lunardi does a fine job, seems like a decent guy but his word isn't gospel and ESPN acts like it is. Interesting food for thought but thats all it is.

12) BYU 73, Gonzaga 70-- This probably means the Zags are out of a #1 seed and out of the West Region; also means headaches for the committee, since BYU can't play on Sunday so they have to be placed into a Thursday/Saturday bracket. BYU's RPI went up 20 sports after this win at Gonzaga.

11) Boise State 56, San Diego State 46-- Broncos are hot team in a down Mountain West this year. San Diego State cannot score and that'll be enough to send them packing early in the NCAAs.

10) Referee Brian O'Connell worked the Manhattan-Iona game in New Rochelle Friday night; less than 15 hours after that game emded, O'Connell was in Madison Square Garden, doing the Georgetown-St John's game. Refs make a ton of money but they also work very hard, as many as five or six games a week.

9) Boston College 79, NC State 63-- "you can buy Wolfpack/NiT ticket packages starting today in Raleigh"; this was a bad loss.

8) Clemson 70, Georgia Tech 63 OT-- Tigers raced out to a 20-2 lead, so if you laid 3.5 points in this one, what looked like an easy win became a nailbiter. Starting to look like Yellow Jackets will be coach-searching soon.

7) Fresno State 59, New Mexico 55-- Former Oregon State coach Craig Robinson, now a sub-par TV analyst, when this game was 26-8, Fresno: "I think the pace of play favors Frerno." Really? Ya think?

6) Sacramento State 73, Portland State 60-- Hornets are now game ahead in Big Sky standings, which means they would host the Big Sky tournament in a makeshift "gym" that has never been used for basketball before. Could be interesting.

5) Murray State 73, Tenn-Martin 67-- Racers finish OVC play 16-0; now comes the hard part; winning the OVC tournament, or else.......

4) St John's 81, Georgetown 70-- Steve Lavin's unpredictable team is taking its erratic act to the NCAA tournament. Good luck getting their bracket right.

3) Kentucky 84, Arkansas 67-- Razorbacks love to press, but they couldn't score enough in this game to set up their press enough- this one was over early.

2) UAB 100, Middle Tennessee 95, 3OT-- Blazers blew 12-point halftime lead befoe they won Saturday's game of the day.

1) I don't get too involved with which team gets which seed in the NCAA tournament; to me, the big thing is who gets in, thats what matters. The NCAA committee does a good job, for the most part, but is tough to do that job and keep everyone happy.

Blackhawks put Kane on long-term IR


February 25, 2015


CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Blackhawks placed Patrick Kane on long-term injured reserve on Wednesday and recalled forward Teuvo Teravainen from Rockford of the American Hockey League.


The Blackhawks also assigned Trevor van Riemsdyk to their top minor league affiliate. The rookie defenseman, who had left knee surgery in November, likely will return after a conditioning stint with the IceHogs.


Kane, who leads Chicago with 27 goals and 37 assists, lost his balance and crashed into the boards after he was cross-checked by Florida defenseman Alex Petrovic with 12:11 left in the first period of Tuesday night's 3-2 shootout victory over the Panthers. He stayed down on the ice for a short time and appeared to be favoring his left arm or shoulder as he skated to the bench and went straight to the locker room with an upper-body injury.


The Blackhawks were traveling to Florida on Wednesday and did not provide an update on how long the dynamic winger would be sidelined. But the spot on long-term injured reserve means he will be out for at least 10 regular-season games and 24 days.


''You miss a valuable guy, a buddy,'' coach Joel Quenneville said after Tuesday night's victory. ''He's having one of those years who are very noticeable. But the guys still got to stick with it. Playing the right way will be emphasized as we go along.''


Kane's move to long-term injured reserve also creates some room with the salary cap ahead of Tuesday's NHL trade deadline.


The 20-year-old Teravainen has two goals and two assists in 15 games with the Blackhawks. The first-round pick from the 2012 draft is regarded as one of the league's top prospects.

Panthers add Jagr for playoff run


February 26, 2015


SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Panthers acquired Jaromir Jagr from the New Jersey Devils on Thursday for a second-round pick in June and either Florida or Minnesota's third-round pick in 2016.

Jagr had 11 goals and 18 assists in 57 games this season for New Jersey. His playing time has been cut recently and he has gone eight games without a point.


Jagr is sixth in NHL history with 716 goals, seventh with 1,068 assists and fifth with 1,784 points in 1,530 career regular-season games in 22 years with Pittsburgh, Washington, the New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston and New Jersey.


The Czech star also has 78 goals and 121 assists in 202 playoff games. He helped Pittsburgh win Stanley Cup titles in his first two seasons in the NHL in 1990-91 and 1991-92.


Florida was still working out the details Thursday as to when Jagr would make his debut for the team. The Panthers are home against Chicago on Thursday night.


Florida entered Thursday two points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.


Jagr, who turned 43 earlier this month, has been in the league longer than the Panthers have. His NHL debut was Oct. 5, 1990; the Panthers played their first game Oct. 6, 1993.


He was part of his native Czech Republic winning gold medals at the 1998 Olympics and the world championships in 2005 and 2010. Jagr owns or shares no fewer than 18 NHL records, including his 127 game-winning goals.


The Panthers scheduled a Thursday evening news conference to announce Jagr's acquisition.

Panthers trade Fleischmann for Heatley


February 28, 2015


SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Panthers acquired forward Dany Heatley and a third-round pick in this year's draft from the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, in exchange for forward Tomas Fleischmann.


The deal comes two days after the Panthers got Jaromir Jagr from New Jersey for a pair of draft picks.


Fleischmann had 27 goals for Florida three seasons ago, and 27 goals in 180 games since. Fleischmann had seven goals and 14 assists for the Panthers this season.


Heatley was scoreless in six games with Anaheim, and hasn't been in the NHL since December. The former rookie of the year has a pair of 50-goal seasons and has 791 points in 869 career regular-season games.


The Panthers announced the trade about an hour before their game against Buffalo on Saturday.

Caps pick up D Gleason from Canes


February 28, 2015


RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Washington Capitals have acquired defenseman Tim Gleason from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Jack Hillen and a draft pick.


Under terms of the trade announced Saturday, Carolina receives the Capitals' fourth-round pick in the upcoming draft.


Washington general manager Brian MacLellan calls Gleason ''a veteran, physical defenseman'' whose ''experience, toughness and skill set further strengthens our blue line'' for the Capitals' playoff push.


The 32-year-old Gleason has 140 career points in 710 NHL games with Los Angeles, Carolina and Toronto.


He blocked two shots and recorded one hit in 17 minutes of ice time in the Hurricanes' 3-0 win over the Capitals on Friday night. In that game, Hillen had one blocked shot and had a plus-minus rating of minus-1 in 12 minutes on the ice.


Both players are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents this summer.


The Hurricanes traded Gleason for the second time in 14 months. They dealt him to Toronto on New Year's Day 2014 in exchange for defenseman John-Michael Liles and a prospect, then signed him over the summer to a one-year, $1.2 million contract.


''Tim has been a steady presence on and off the ice for our team, and I wish him all the best in Washington,'' Carolina general manager Ron Francis said. ''This gives us a chance to take a look at Jack for the remainder of the season and continue to accumulate assets for a deep draft this summer.''


Rebuilding Carolina, which is in last place in the Metropolitan Division, has made three trades in the past week, previously dealing winger Jiri Tlusty to Winnipeg and defenseman Andrej Sekera to Los Angeles. The deals have netted the Hurricanes four draft picks, one prospect and now Hillen - a 29-year-old who has played in 301 career games with the New York Islanders, Nashville and Washington. He is in the final year of a two-year deal with the Capitals that pays him $700,000 per season.


The draft pick that Carolina received originally belonged to Arizona, which dealt it to Washington in a trade for Martin Erat and John Mitchell.

'Hawks acquire Vermette from Coyotes


February 28, 2015


CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Blackhawks acquired center Antoine Vermette from the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night for a first-round pick this year and defensive prospect Klas Dahlbeck.


The 32-year-old Vermette will help replace Patrick Kane, the star Chicago forward who broke his left collarbone Tuesday night and will be out at least until late May.


Vermette is in position to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. He has 13 goals and 22 assists in 62 games this season. In 11 NHL seasons, Vermette has 194 goals and 236 assists in 815 regular-season games with Ottawa, Columbus and Arizona.


''Antoine is the consummate professional and a class act and we wish him the best of luck in the future,'' Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said in a statement.


The Coyotes have lost nine straight, falling 4-1 in Boston on Saturday night.


''I don't know what I am thinking. It's obviously a strange position, and it's not a fun one,'' Vermette said before the trade. ''It's not the way you see it, you know as a group here. It's not the position you want to be. It's a little strange.''


The 23-year-old Dahlbeck has a goal in four games for Chicago this season. The Swede has four goals and six assists in 49 games for Rockford in the American Hockey League.


''Klas Dahlback is a big, strong, two-way defenseman who skates well and competes hard,'' Maloney said.


Chicago acquired defenseman Kimmo Timonen from Philadelphia on Friday for a second-round draft pick this year and a conditional 2016 fourth-rounder.

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

-- Fifteen lined D-I games Sunday; Oregon was the only road team that won.

-- Paul Casey, Ian Poulter are tied for first at the rain-delayed Honda Classic, which resumes early Monday morning.

-- Resume-damaging losses Sunday for Pitt, Stanford; they'll both have to win their conference tournament to make the NCAAs.

-- Phillies lost an exhibition game to a D-II college team, which doesn't matter but is not going to help season ticket sales any.

-- Memphis lost its best player, Austin Nichols, to an ankle injury, which cripples their chance to make a run in the C-USA tournament next week.

-- Watched the movie Hurricane Season on VH1 last night; excellent true story about a high school team that won the state championship after Hurricane Katrina.



**********

Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports weekend.........

13) Everyone has bad days, even Lebron James, who went 3-11 from the foul line in an OT loss in Houston. Cavaliers are 37-24, right now the #4 seed in the east- that would pit them against #1 seed Atlanta in the second round.

12) NBA office once vetoed a Kevin Garnett/DeAndre Jordan trade, maybe the best move the Clippers never made. Jordan had 26 rebounds Sunday in Chicago.

11) Speaking of Garnett, he bought 1,000 tickets for tonight's game with the Clippers and gave them away-- thats a pretty expensive gift. .

10) Watched the Jerry Tarkanian memorial on the Internet yesterday; UNLV did a really nice job, with one segment video appearances by John Calipari, Dick Vitale, Tom Thibodeau, Bob Huggins and Mike Krzyzewski.

ESPN's Kenny Mayne was the emcee; he is a former backup QB for the Rebels.

9) Hard to believe the NFL hasn't had a team in LA or Anaheim since 1994, but it looks like they'll have at least one therre fairly soon. I've been a Ram fan since the mid-60's; they weren't supported that well in the Coliseum, which is why they moved to Anaheim. Part of the reason they moved out of the Big A is that then-owner Georgia Frontiere was from St Louis-- really wasn't a great move for the franchise.

8) Tired of people bashing current Rams owner Stan Kroenke as being difficult to deal with; its not that hard to meet him. I live in upstate NY and I've met the guy. Saw him at the NBA Summer League in Vegas few years ago, talked to him about the Rams for 10 minutes. Good guy, was very polite and answered some questions. He's a business guy; he'll do what is best for his wallet, which is how rich people get rich. Would any of us do any differently?

7) When James Hahn won the LA Open last week, he was 297th in World Golf Ranking; this week, Padraig Harrington was 297th and now he is contending at Doral, only four shots out of the lead, thats how competitve golf has become, guys barely in the top 300 are winning or contending to win.

6) If you shoot a basketball and it wedges between the backboard and the rim, that should not be ruled a held ball, the defense should get the ball. No way should the offense benefit from a shot like that- those are bad shots.

5) Want to feel old? Ron Howard (Richie Cummingham on Happy Days, Opie on the Andy Griffith Show) turned 61 Sunday.

4) Saturday night, UTEP blew a 15-point halftime lead and lost at lowly Southern Miss 63-60; thats what happens when your head coach is suspended for a game. Tim Floyd was ejected at Louisiana Tech in the Miners' previous game and got suspended for that, so in effect, he got thrown out of two games for the same act.

3) Did you know the voting age is Japan is 20? Me either.

2) Oregon 73, Stanford 70-- 11 ties, 17 lead changes as the Ducks stay hot; tough loss for Stanford, which now probably needs to win the Pac-12 tournament or else they'll be on ESPN losing an NIT home game in a couple weeks.

1) Let me get this straight; the 76ers have two young prospects they drafted who have never played for the team, then they traded for JaVale McGee and just cut him, possibly because he doesn't always try hard. My question is this: Is the 76er brass trying hard to win? How are they any different from McGee?