Staying alive: Phoenix's Mikkel Boedker (right) holds off Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar during the Coyotes' 2-0 win on Sunday. APAnd then Captain Coyote and his goalie crashed the party for a win that suggests this series is far from finished.Shane Doan scored two goals, Mike Smith made 36 saves in his third playoff shutout, and the Phoenix Coyotes emphatically avoided playoff elimination with a 2-0 victory in Game 4 of the conference finals on Sunday.Ray Whitney and Antoine Vermette had assists for the Coyotes, who avoided the sweep by snapping the eighth-seeded Kings' eight-game winning streak and canceling Los Angeles' plans to celebrate its first berth in the Stanley Cup finals since 1993. With their backs against the glass, the Coyotes soundly outplayed an opponent that had been on an 11-1 run through the postseason."We recognize we put ourselves in a tough position, (but) we also know it has been done," said Doan, Phoenix's captain since 2003 and the sole remaining member of the Winnipeg Jets team that moved to the desert in 1996."I guess that's what sports are all about, trying to do something that someone hasn't done for a while, try to do things (when) the odds are kind of stacked against you," Doan added. "Nobody wants to be in the position we're in, but everybody wants to prove they can answer that call."Phoenix still must win three more games to become just the fourth team in NHL history to rally from an 0-3 series deficit, but the Coyotes finally regained the form they showed in knocking off Chicago and Nashville in the first two rounds.Game 5 is Tuesday night in Phoenix. Los Angeles is 7-0 on the road in the playoffs, but the Coyotes can't wait to see another whiteout in their stands."Two ways to look at it: They're either due to lose, or we've got to find a way to stop them," Doan said. "Law of averages says you're going to lose eventually on the road, so it happens. Next game wouldn't be a bad one to lose."Doan scored on a power play in the first period and on a deflected shot in the second, silencing the crowd at the Kings' first loss since April 18. Smith, who has all three of his shutouts on the road, made several impressive saves while outplaying Jonathan Quick for the first time in the series."We had nothing to lose," Smith said. "We had to make sure we played our best game. That would give us a chance to win. We obviously had a huge game from Doaner, and it trickled down through our lineup. He was unbelievable. He was such a great leader tonight. Every guy knew that they were going to do their part to try to force this series to Game 5."Quick stopped 19 shots with little help from his Los Angeles teammates, who were shut out for the first time in the postseason while hitting a bump in what had been one of the most impressive playoff runs in NHL history.The Kings have reached the Cup final just once in 44 seasons of existence, but their worst game of the postseason prevented them from claiming just the second conference title in franchise history — and becoming just the second No. 8 seed to win three playoff rounds."Phoenix played a really good game and came out hard," Los Angeles defenseman Matt Greene said. "They got a big power-play goal against us there, and they got a big faceoff goal. Smith was awesome tonight. They played well, and we can play better. We need to respond better than that."HELSINKI — Russia won the ice hockey world championship Sunday by defeating Slovakia 6-2 in the final.Alexander Semin of the Washington Capitals scored two goals and had an assist in the rout. Russia scored three times in the second period to take control.Alexander Perezhogin, Alexei Tereshenko, Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and tournament MVP Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins scored the other goals, with Datsyuk and Alexander Ovechkin of the Capitals assisting on two.Slovakia defender Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins scored both of his nation's goals, one on a blast from the blue line, the other from close range.Russia, the champion in 2008 and 2009, returned to the title after finishing fourth last year. It did not lose in 10 games and finished the tournament with a plus-30 goal difference."We are the Big Red Machine just now," defenseman Nikolai Kulemin said.
Showing posts with label avoid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label avoid. Show all posts
Monday, May 21, 2012
Captain Doan sets standard as Coyotes avoid whitewash
LOS ANGELES — The Clarence Campbell Bowl was in Staples Center for the first time, waiting to be presented by commissioner Gary Bettman to the NHL's Western Conference champions. The Los Angeles Kings' long-suffering fans gathered downtown shortly after dawn, eager to witness a series sweep and a coronation.Staying alive: Phoenix's Mikkel Boedker (right) holds off Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar during the Coyotes' 2-0 win on Sunday. APAnd then Captain Coyote and his goalie crashed the party for a win that suggests this series is far from finished.Shane Doan scored two goals, Mike Smith made 36 saves in his third playoff shutout, and the Phoenix Coyotes emphatically avoided playoff elimination with a 2-0 victory in Game 4 of the conference finals on Sunday.Ray Whitney and Antoine Vermette had assists for the Coyotes, who avoided the sweep by snapping the eighth-seeded Kings' eight-game winning streak and canceling Los Angeles' plans to celebrate its first berth in the Stanley Cup finals since 1993. With their backs against the glass, the Coyotes soundly outplayed an opponent that had been on an 11-1 run through the postseason."We recognize we put ourselves in a tough position, (but) we also know it has been done," said Doan, Phoenix's captain since 2003 and the sole remaining member of the Winnipeg Jets team that moved to the desert in 1996."I guess that's what sports are all about, trying to do something that someone hasn't done for a while, try to do things (when) the odds are kind of stacked against you," Doan added. "Nobody wants to be in the position we're in, but everybody wants to prove they can answer that call."Phoenix still must win three more games to become just the fourth team in NHL history to rally from an 0-3 series deficit, but the Coyotes finally regained the form they showed in knocking off Chicago and Nashville in the first two rounds.Game 5 is Tuesday night in Phoenix. Los Angeles is 7-0 on the road in the playoffs, but the Coyotes can't wait to see another whiteout in their stands."Two ways to look at it: They're either due to lose, or we've got to find a way to stop them," Doan said. "Law of averages says you're going to lose eventually on the road, so it happens. Next game wouldn't be a bad one to lose."Doan scored on a power play in the first period and on a deflected shot in the second, silencing the crowd at the Kings' first loss since April 18. Smith, who has all three of his shutouts on the road, made several impressive saves while outplaying Jonathan Quick for the first time in the series."We had nothing to lose," Smith said. "We had to make sure we played our best game. That would give us a chance to win. We obviously had a huge game from Doaner, and it trickled down through our lineup. He was unbelievable. He was such a great leader tonight. Every guy knew that they were going to do their part to try to force this series to Game 5."Quick stopped 19 shots with little help from his Los Angeles teammates, who were shut out for the first time in the postseason while hitting a bump in what had been one of the most impressive playoff runs in NHL history.The Kings have reached the Cup final just once in 44 seasons of existence, but their worst game of the postseason prevented them from claiming just the second conference title in franchise history — and becoming just the second No. 8 seed to win three playoff rounds."Phoenix played a really good game and came out hard," Los Angeles defenseman Matt Greene said. "They got a big power-play goal against us there, and they got a big faceoff goal. Smith was awesome tonight. They played well, and we can play better. We need to respond better than that."HELSINKI — Russia won the ice hockey world championship Sunday by defeating Slovakia 6-2 in the final.Alexander Semin of the Washington Capitals scored two goals and had an assist in the rout. Russia scored three times in the second period to take control.Alexander Perezhogin, Alexei Tereshenko, Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and tournament MVP Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins scored the other goals, with Datsyuk and Alexander Ovechkin of the Capitals assisting on two.Slovakia defender Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins scored both of his nation's goals, one on a blast from the blue line, the other from close range.Russia, the champion in 2008 and 2009, returned to the title after finishing fourth last year. It did not lose in 10 games and finished the tournament with a plus-30 goal difference."We are the Big Red Machine just now," defenseman Nikolai Kulemin said.
Staying alive: Phoenix's Mikkel Boedker (right) holds off Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar during the Coyotes' 2-0 win on Sunday. APAnd then Captain Coyote and his goalie crashed the party for a win that suggests this series is far from finished.Shane Doan scored two goals, Mike Smith made 36 saves in his third playoff shutout, and the Phoenix Coyotes emphatically avoided playoff elimination with a 2-0 victory in Game 4 of the conference finals on Sunday.Ray Whitney and Antoine Vermette had assists for the Coyotes, who avoided the sweep by snapping the eighth-seeded Kings' eight-game winning streak and canceling Los Angeles' plans to celebrate its first berth in the Stanley Cup finals since 1993. With their backs against the glass, the Coyotes soundly outplayed an opponent that had been on an 11-1 run through the postseason."We recognize we put ourselves in a tough position, (but) we also know it has been done," said Doan, Phoenix's captain since 2003 and the sole remaining member of the Winnipeg Jets team that moved to the desert in 1996."I guess that's what sports are all about, trying to do something that someone hasn't done for a while, try to do things (when) the odds are kind of stacked against you," Doan added. "Nobody wants to be in the position we're in, but everybody wants to prove they can answer that call."Phoenix still must win three more games to become just the fourth team in NHL history to rally from an 0-3 series deficit, but the Coyotes finally regained the form they showed in knocking off Chicago and Nashville in the first two rounds.Game 5 is Tuesday night in Phoenix. Los Angeles is 7-0 on the road in the playoffs, but the Coyotes can't wait to see another whiteout in their stands."Two ways to look at it: They're either due to lose, or we've got to find a way to stop them," Doan said. "Law of averages says you're going to lose eventually on the road, so it happens. Next game wouldn't be a bad one to lose."Doan scored on a power play in the first period and on a deflected shot in the second, silencing the crowd at the Kings' first loss since April 18. Smith, who has all three of his shutouts on the road, made several impressive saves while outplaying Jonathan Quick for the first time in the series."We had nothing to lose," Smith said. "We had to make sure we played our best game. That would give us a chance to win. We obviously had a huge game from Doaner, and it trickled down through our lineup. He was unbelievable. He was such a great leader tonight. Every guy knew that they were going to do their part to try to force this series to Game 5."Quick stopped 19 shots with little help from his Los Angeles teammates, who were shut out for the first time in the postseason while hitting a bump in what had been one of the most impressive playoff runs in NHL history.The Kings have reached the Cup final just once in 44 seasons of existence, but their worst game of the postseason prevented them from claiming just the second conference title in franchise history — and becoming just the second No. 8 seed to win three playoff rounds."Phoenix played a really good game and came out hard," Los Angeles defenseman Matt Greene said. "They got a big power-play goal against us there, and they got a big faceoff goal. Smith was awesome tonight. They played well, and we can play better. We need to respond better than that."HELSINKI — Russia won the ice hockey world championship Sunday by defeating Slovakia 6-2 in the final.Alexander Semin of the Washington Capitals scored two goals and had an assist in the rout. Russia scored three times in the second period to take control.Alexander Perezhogin, Alexei Tereshenko, Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and tournament MVP Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins scored the other goals, with Datsyuk and Alexander Ovechkin of the Capitals assisting on two.Slovakia defender Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins scored both of his nation's goals, one on a blast from the blue line, the other from close range.Russia, the champion in 2008 and 2009, returned to the title after finishing fourth last year. It did not lose in 10 games and finished the tournament with a plus-30 goal difference."We are the Big Red Machine just now," defenseman Nikolai Kulemin said.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Bard, BoSox avoid salary arbitration
Boston — Pitcher Daniel Bard and the Boston Red Sox have agreed on a one-year contract and avoided salary arbitration.Bard had asked for $1,825,000 and the team offered $1.4 million. He made $505,000 last season. The Red Sox announced the deal Saturday.The 26-year-old Bard went 2-9 with one save and a 3.33 ERA last season. He excelled as a setup man for Jonathan Papelbon until faltering in the final month.Papelbon has since signed with Philadelphia and the Red Sox have acquired All-Star closer Andrew Bailey and reliever Mark Melancon.There has been talk Bard might fit into Boston's depleted rotation. John Lackey will miss the 2012 season after surgery on his right elbow and Daisuke Matsuzaka is still recovering from right elbow surgery.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
QPR, Bolton avoid F.A. Cup upsets
London — Premier League strugglers Queens Park Rangers were rescued from potential embarrassment in a third-round replay in the F.A. Cup on Tuesday thanks to a late winner against third-tier MK Dons.Wales defender Danny Gabbidon's 73rd-minute goal gave QPR a 1-0 win at Loftus Road, earning the team a fourth-round home match against west London rival Chelsea.QPR required a last-minute equalizer by Heidar Helguson to earn a replay against MK Dons and was again troubled by a team 30 places lower in English soccer's pyramid, with the visitors overrunning Mark Hughes' team at times and wasting some golden chances before Gabbidon struck."It was a tough game," said Gabbidon, whose goal ended QPR's 10-match run without a win. "We needed that little bit of luck."Bolton, which also came from behind to earn a replay against lower-league opposition, beat fourth-tier Macclesfield 2-0.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Analysts hope NBA able to avoid lockout
DALLAS — So far in the NBA Finals, television numbers have been skyrocketing, as was the case around the league for much of the season. ABC and ESPN had record viewership numbers all season for NBA telecasts.
Trouble ahead: The NBA could be heading for a lockout despite drawing increased ratings during this season's NBA Finals. APSome would suggest interest in the league has never been higher.Which begs the question: Would those eyeballs come back if next season is interrupted by labor strife?It's one that ABC and ESPN analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy hope they don't see answered.Both expressed concern Saturday over the direction the league's labor rift may be heading. More talks between the NBA and its players are scheduled to take place in Dallas over the coming days, though both parties — even while indicating some progress may have been made at a negotiating session in Miami after Game 1 of the finals — still appear to be bracing for a lockout to commence when the current collective bargaining agreement expires on June 30."Very concerned," Jackson said. "It's been an all-time great season from top to bottom. You can't go anywhere where people are not talking about the great stories that have occurred throughout the course of the year. It's important ownership, management, players, union get together and try to keep this momentum going. I think there's more than enough money available to make a deal where everybody will be happy. It's going to be interesting."The NBA wants a hard salary cap, which players absolutely do not want to see. The current salary cap system allows for certain exceptions that permit teams to exceed it, such as to re-sign their own free agents. They wouldn't have that luxury under a hard cap system, potentially forcing teams to make some difficult decisions to stay below the threshold.Despite all the pressing labor matters, fans are watching in droves.ABC's broadcasts of the first two games of the NBA Finals drew an average of 15,347,000 viewers, up 28 percent over the last Miami-Dallas finals series in 2006 and even up 3 percent over what two traditional powerhouse franchises — the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics — lured last year. And around the league, viewership on regional sports networks was up 13 percent this season, the NBA said."If this does go to a lockout, it's different than the NFL," Van Gundy said Saturday. "There are real economic hardships that some teams are facing in the NBA losing money. The NFL, it's just, 'How much more do you want to make?' "Months of NFL labor talks broke down on March 11 and plenty of discussion sessions since have not ended that dispute, placing the 2011 season in jeopardy. The NBA played a 50-game schedule instead of the customary 82 in the 1998-99 season because of a lockout."If you have a well-managed team, where whoever is making the business and basketball decisions, you should be guaranteed two things," Van Gundy said. "One, that you can earn a profit and two, that you have a chance to compete for a championship, no matter what city you're in. And I think right now, you can't say that that's possible under this system. But the first qualifier is being managed properly, and there's a lot of teams you could go say that the players (should not) have to buy you out of your mistakes."Van Gundy is not cringing at the thought of a lockout this summer, though the former coach does not want to see next season interrupted, either.He sees some potential benefits if everyone is forced into a break this summer, most notably rest from the demands of a long season, especially for young players — many of whom started training camp in September, play all fall and winter and then get asked to participate in summer leagues and other offseason workouts."God bless the lockout," Van Gundy said, "until September 1."
Trouble ahead: The NBA could be heading for a lockout despite drawing increased ratings during this season's NBA Finals. APSome would suggest interest in the league has never been higher.Which begs the question: Would those eyeballs come back if next season is interrupted by labor strife?It's one that ABC and ESPN analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy hope they don't see answered.Both expressed concern Saturday over the direction the league's labor rift may be heading. More talks between the NBA and its players are scheduled to take place in Dallas over the coming days, though both parties — even while indicating some progress may have been made at a negotiating session in Miami after Game 1 of the finals — still appear to be bracing for a lockout to commence when the current collective bargaining agreement expires on June 30."Very concerned," Jackson said. "It's been an all-time great season from top to bottom. You can't go anywhere where people are not talking about the great stories that have occurred throughout the course of the year. It's important ownership, management, players, union get together and try to keep this momentum going. I think there's more than enough money available to make a deal where everybody will be happy. It's going to be interesting."The NBA wants a hard salary cap, which players absolutely do not want to see. The current salary cap system allows for certain exceptions that permit teams to exceed it, such as to re-sign their own free agents. They wouldn't have that luxury under a hard cap system, potentially forcing teams to make some difficult decisions to stay below the threshold.Despite all the pressing labor matters, fans are watching in droves.ABC's broadcasts of the first two games of the NBA Finals drew an average of 15,347,000 viewers, up 28 percent over the last Miami-Dallas finals series in 2006 and even up 3 percent over what two traditional powerhouse franchises — the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics — lured last year. And around the league, viewership on regional sports networks was up 13 percent this season, the NBA said."If this does go to a lockout, it's different than the NFL," Van Gundy said Saturday. "There are real economic hardships that some teams are facing in the NBA losing money. The NFL, it's just, 'How much more do you want to make?' "Months of NFL labor talks broke down on March 11 and plenty of discussion sessions since have not ended that dispute, placing the 2011 season in jeopardy. The NBA played a 50-game schedule instead of the customary 82 in the 1998-99 season because of a lockout."If you have a well-managed team, where whoever is making the business and basketball decisions, you should be guaranteed two things," Van Gundy said. "One, that you can earn a profit and two, that you have a chance to compete for a championship, no matter what city you're in. And I think right now, you can't say that that's possible under this system. But the first qualifier is being managed properly, and there's a lot of teams you could go say that the players (should not) have to buy you out of your mistakes."Van Gundy is not cringing at the thought of a lockout this summer, though the former coach does not want to see next season interrupted, either.He sees some potential benefits if everyone is forced into a break this summer, most notably rest from the demands of a long season, especially for young players — many of whom started training camp in September, play all fall and winter and then get asked to participate in summer leagues and other offseason workouts."God bless the lockout," Van Gundy said, "until September 1."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)