Another one in the net: Boston's Michael Ryder scores past Vancovuer's Cory Schneider in the first period of Game 6 on Monday night. The Bruins beat the Canucks 5-2 to even the series 3-3. APBOSTON — When Brad Marchand whistled a shot over Roberto Luongo's shoulder early in Game 6, Vancouver's enigmatic goalie looked a bit surprised, a little shaky.When Milan Lucic trickled another goal through Luongo's legs 35 seconds later, the Boston Bruins could tell Luongo was off — and they were on.The tension of an elimination game eroded right along with Luongo's poise. With another goal by Andrew Ference moments later, Luongo was history and the Bruins were headed back to Vancouver for the Stanley Cup finals' grand finale.The Canucks could have raised the Stanley Cup on Monday night, but the Bruins refused to allow a Garden party for the visitors. They even chased Luongo off their home ice in the first period, knotting the series with a 5-2 victory."We wanted to make sure if we went down, we went down fighting," Marchand said.Only Luongo went down. The Bruins put the Canucks' goalie and the Stanley Cup back on the shelf — and back on a plane to the West Coast for Game 7 on Wednesday night."I'm proud of the guys," said Mark Recchi, who had three assists. "We had our backs to the wall, we've been resilient all year, and we came out and had a great first period and did what we had to do tonight, and it comes down to Game 7. It's one game now."For the sixth time in the last 10 seasons, the finals have been stretched to their limit. The home team hasn't lost in this series, with Vancouver winning three one-goal games and Boston posting three blowout victories, but the Bruins are riding a wave of momentum toward their first title since 1972 with three wins in the last four games.Tim Thomas made 36 saves for the Bruins, giving up two third-period goals while burnishing his credentials for the Conn Smythe Trophy."Not too many people counted on us being at this point right now," said Thomas, who has allowed just eight goals in six finals games. "It's a great feeling. We battled hard tonight. We came to play, and it's coming down to one game. This is what we dream of, when you're little kids playing street hockey, you know, you're in Game 7."NHL MVP Henrik Sedin scored his first point of the finals with a late power-play goal for the Canucks, who flopped in their first attempt to win the franchise's first championship. Maxim Lapierre also scored in the third period for the Canucks, who will get one last try at a Rogers Arena filled with worried Vancouverites hoping Luongo and their maddening team can come through.Thomas has turned in a virtuoso performance in the finals — but the spotlight in Game 6 was trained squarely on the other net.After Luongo led Vancouver to the brink of a title with a stellar performance in a 1-0 victory Friday, the Canucks hoped to celebrate in Boston. The Bruins canceled the festivities with yet another stunning barrage of goals against Luongo, who was ventilated for 15 goals in just over 4? periods in Boston."You can't hang your head and feel sorry for yourself," Luongo said. "That's the worst thing I could do. . . . I had a good feeling all day. Before the series started, I said I enjoyed playing in this building. Just got to move on right now. Got to believe in myself, right?"Boston even set a finals record with four goals in 4:14 while chasing Luongo and welcoming his backup, Cory Schneider, with a quick goal from Michael Ryder.
Showing posts with label force. Show all posts
Showing posts with label force. Show all posts
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Bruins force decisive Game 7
Another one in the net: Boston's Michael Ryder scores past Vancovuer's Cory Schneider in the first period of Game 6 on Monday night. The Bruins beat the Canucks 5-2 to even the series 3-3. APBOSTON — When Brad Marchand whistled a shot over Roberto Luongo's shoulder early in Game 6, Vancouver's enigmatic goalie looked a bit surprised, a little shaky.When Milan Lucic trickled another goal through Luongo's legs 35 seconds later, the Boston Bruins could tell Luongo was off — and they were on.The tension of an elimination game eroded right along with Luongo's poise. With another goal by Andrew Ference moments later, Luongo was history and the Bruins were headed back to Vancouver for the Stanley Cup finals' grand finale.The Canucks could have raised the Stanley Cup on Monday night, but the Bruins refused to allow a Garden party for the visitors. They even chased Luongo off their home ice in the first period, knotting the series with a 5-2 victory."We wanted to make sure if we went down, we went down fighting," Marchand said.Only Luongo went down. The Bruins put the Canucks' goalie and the Stanley Cup back on the shelf — and back on a plane to the West Coast for Game 7 on Wednesday night."I'm proud of the guys," said Mark Recchi, who had three assists. "We had our backs to the wall, we've been resilient all year, and we came out and had a great first period and did what we had to do tonight, and it comes down to Game 7. It's one game now."For the sixth time in the last 10 seasons, the finals have been stretched to their limit. The home team hasn't lost in this series, with Vancouver winning three one-goal games and Boston posting three blowout victories, but the Bruins are riding a wave of momentum toward their first title since 1972 with three wins in the last four games.Tim Thomas made 36 saves for the Bruins, giving up two third-period goals while burnishing his credentials for the Conn Smythe Trophy."Not too many people counted on us being at this point right now," said Thomas, who has allowed just eight goals in six finals games. "It's a great feeling. We battled hard tonight. We came to play, and it's coming down to one game. This is what we dream of, when you're little kids playing street hockey, you know, you're in Game 7."NHL MVP Henrik Sedin scored his first point of the finals with a late power-play goal for the Canucks, who flopped in their first attempt to win the franchise's first championship. Maxim Lapierre also scored in the third period for the Canucks, who will get one last try at a Rogers Arena filled with worried Vancouverites hoping Luongo and their maddening team can come through.Thomas has turned in a virtuoso performance in the finals — but the spotlight in Game 6 was trained squarely on the other net.After Luongo led Vancouver to the brink of a title with a stellar performance in a 1-0 victory Friday, the Canucks hoped to celebrate in Boston. The Bruins canceled the festivities with yet another stunning barrage of goals against Luongo, who was ventilated for 15 goals in just over 4? periods in Boston."You can't hang your head and feel sorry for yourself," Luongo said. "That's the worst thing I could do. . . . I had a good feeling all day. Before the series started, I said I enjoyed playing in this building. Just got to move on right now. Got to believe in myself, right?"Boston even set a finals record with four goals in 4:14 while chasing Luongo and welcoming his backup, Cory Schneider, with a quick goal from Michael Ryder.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Leg injuries force Tiger to pull out of TPC after nine holes
Troubles continue: Tiger Woods hits a shot from the fairway on the second hole during the first round of The Players Championship on Thursday. Woods withdrew after nine holes due to pain in his left knee. AP PHOTOPonte Vedra Beach, Florida — Tiger Woods limped off the golf course and into a future that is murkier than ever when he withdrew with leg injuries after his worst nine holes at The Players Championship on Thursday."I'm having a hard time walking," he said.Woods shot a 42 on the front nine of the TPC Sawgrass, including a triple bogey on the fourth hole when he didn't clear a water hazard 30 yards in front of him. He constantly walked some 20 yards behind his playing partners, holding his golf club for support, and limping noticeably after each hole.After taking a bogey on the par-5 ninth, he handed his scorecard to U.S. PGA champion Martin Kaymer, then walked back to inform Matt Kuchar that he was leaving early from The Players for the second straight year.It was his first competition since the Masters, where Woods said he hurt his left knee and Achilles while hitting from the pine straw beneath Eisenhower Tree on the 17th hole in the third round. Woods was briefly tied for the lead the next day and finished tied for fourth.He described it as a "minor injury" when he skipped last week to give his leg time to heal, and said he was "surprised" that it acted up on him at The Players."The treatment's been good," he said. "It's been getting better. But it just wasn't enough."From the opening tee shot, he looked as bad as he ever has."The knee acted up and then the Achilles followed after that, and then the calf started cramping up," Woods said. "Everything started getting tight, so it's just a whole chain reaction."The first hole could not have gone any worse for Woods.He pulled his opening tee shot into the pine trees, leaving him a stance in the pine straw. Then he came up short of the green, his ball perched at the bottom of a steep bank that forced another awkward stance."The pine straw didn't help because my foot slipped, my left foot slipped," Woods said. "It obviously would have probably felt better if it would have held."The rest of his nine holes was not much better, especially at No. 4. He said his knee "grabbed me" on a tee shot that sailed well left into the mounds, and he put his approach into the water.Then came a shocker of a shot — after taking a drop, his short pitch to a back pin hit the bulkhead and went back into the water. He had to make a 20-foot putt for triple bogey.Even more remarkable — Woods didn't hit a single green from his five tee shots that found the fairway."Nobody really knows how much pain he was in," Kaymer said. "Of course, we hope that he gets well soon, that he gets out here again. It would have been nice to play another 27 with him. And he shot 6 over, but hopefully he can recover soon so he can play great golf again."The 42 was three shots higher than his previous worst 9-hole score at the TPC Sawgrass. His worst 9-hole score on the U.S. PGA Tour was a 43 on four occasions, the most recent on the back nine at Quail Hollow last year when he missed the cut.Woods has had four operations on his left knee.One week after missing the cut for the first time since last June, Nick Watney opened with an 8-under 64 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Wells Fargo winner Lucas Glover.Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Matsui, Rakuten want to be positive force this season
Kazuo Matsui saw firsthand the damage caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami when he and the rest of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles visited Sendai on Friday.
On Tuesday morning at QVC Marine Field, where he was preparing for his first game in Japan since 2003, the images still hadn't left him.
"We all knew what kind of situation they were going through and we wanted to go to Sendai as soon as possible," Matsui said. "It took us a month to actually do it, and it was worse than we imagined. No words can describe what we actually saw."
The team, along with the rest of Japanese baseball, has dedicated its season to helping those in the disaster areas and giving them something to smile about.
Rakuten players and staff visited relief shelters in the Tohoku area prior to making the trek to Chiba. They visited with survivors and did their best to bring a little joy to those who had lost so much.
"I saw a lot of damaged areas when we went back," catcher Motohiro Shima said. "We were always cheered on by the people of Tohoku, so we'd like to give back to them."
Matsui came away impressed with the resolve of those he met while visiting the relief shelters.
"The victims were keeping their heads up and their courage rubbed off on us," Matsui said. "So we definitely would like to play our best for them."
Matsui was forced to get a late start on his first year back in Japan when the NPB pushed the start of the season ? originally set for March 25 ? back to April 12 in the aftermath of the disasters. NPB teams spent the extra time playing practice games and trying to come up with ways to contribute to relief efforts.
On Tuesday, it was business as usual as the Eagles and the rest of the NPB returned to action.
"This past month was a long one," Matsui said. "But we are actually able to open the season. We appreciate the fact that we can play baseball and would like to have the best results we possibly can. We'd like to show good baseball to the baseball fans of this nation."
The Eagles put on a good show in the opener, a 6-4 win over the defending Japan Series champion Chiba Lotte Marines.
While the visiting section was far from full the Eagles had their fair share or supporters, including some who made the drive down from Sendai and other northern areas.
"We would like this season to be special and in the end give the people of Tohoku some good news."
The gravity of the situation surrounding the game hit Shima after everything was over.
"During the game I don't have any time for that," Shima said. "But after the game, I was incredibly happy. After the game with all the build up it was really special."
On Tuesday morning at QVC Marine Field, where he was preparing for his first game in Japan since 2003, the images still hadn't left him.
"We all knew what kind of situation they were going through and we wanted to go to Sendai as soon as possible," Matsui said. "It took us a month to actually do it, and it was worse than we imagined. No words can describe what we actually saw."
The team, along with the rest of Japanese baseball, has dedicated its season to helping those in the disaster areas and giving them something to smile about.
Rakuten players and staff visited relief shelters in the Tohoku area prior to making the trek to Chiba. They visited with survivors and did their best to bring a little joy to those who had lost so much.
"I saw a lot of damaged areas when we went back," catcher Motohiro Shima said. "We were always cheered on by the people of Tohoku, so we'd like to give back to them."
Matsui came away impressed with the resolve of those he met while visiting the relief shelters.
"The victims were keeping their heads up and their courage rubbed off on us," Matsui said. "So we definitely would like to play our best for them."
Matsui was forced to get a late start on his first year back in Japan when the NPB pushed the start of the season ? originally set for March 25 ? back to April 12 in the aftermath of the disasters. NPB teams spent the extra time playing practice games and trying to come up with ways to contribute to relief efforts.
On Tuesday, it was business as usual as the Eagles and the rest of the NPB returned to action.
"This past month was a long one," Matsui said. "But we are actually able to open the season. We appreciate the fact that we can play baseball and would like to have the best results we possibly can. We'd like to show good baseball to the baseball fans of this nation."
The Eagles put on a good show in the opener, a 6-4 win over the defending Japan Series champion Chiba Lotte Marines.
While the visiting section was far from full the Eagles had their fair share or supporters, including some who made the drive down from Sendai and other northern areas.
"We would like this season to be special and in the end give the people of Tohoku some good news."
The gravity of the situation surrounding the game hit Shima after everything was over.
"During the game I don't have any time for that," Shima said. "But after the game, I was incredibly happy. After the game with all the build up it was really special."
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