The Ticket Chest

Knicks Off to the Races, Beat Heat 120-115 in D’Antoni’s Debut

Friday, October 31st, 2008 | College Football, NBA, NHL, Sports | No Comments

The New York Knicks defeated the Miami Heat 120-115 in Head Coach Mike D’Antoni’s Knicks head coaching debut at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Knicks seemed to thrive under D’Antoni’s up tempo style. Controversial guard Jamal Crawford scored 29 points, going 13-29 from the field with four 3-pointers and 7 free throws. Crawford also added 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Center Zach Randolph chipped in 20 points and 9 rebounds, forward David Lee added 16 points and 11 rebounds and forward Wilson Chandler tallied 17 points and 9 rebounds. Starter Quentin Richardson also scored 16 points, giving the Knicks 6 players in double-digit scoring.

After an even 1st quarter, the Knicks outscored the Heat 32-18 in the 2nd quarter to take a 15-point advantage into halftime. The Knicks scored 60 points in each half, but had to hold off a resurgent Heat team that scored 40 points in the 4th quarter. Winning only 23 games during the 2007-8 NBA season, the Knicks looked like a revived team under D’Antoni. D’Antoni emphasized that his team would always play hard and would put on entertaining performances during the 2008-9 NBA campaign. On opening night D’Antoni and his team did not disappoint. Whether this turns into an every night occurrence remains to be seen. The talent is definitely there, but the players will need to commit to D’Antoni’s style and not get down when they lose a couple of games in a row. Under former coach Isiah Thomas, there tended to be a lot of finger-pointing when things went south. Under D’Antoni, that won’t be tolerated. Each player will be held accountable for his consistent play, and if D’Antoni senses that someone isn’t giving his all, he’ll send someone in the game who will.

As for the Heat, rookie head coach Erik Spoelstra did not have the same success with his new team that D’Antoni did. His team got off to a slow start, and by the time they got back in synch, it was too late. The Heat did have 5 players score in double-digits – including Dwayne Wade with 26 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds; Udonis Haslem with 23 points and 10 rebounds; Shawn Marion with 14 points and 11 rebounds; and Mario Chalmers with 17 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. 2nd overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft Michael Beasley had a lackluster NBA debut. He scored only 9 points and pulled down only 4 rebounds.

Tags: Miami Heat, NBA, New York Knicks

World Champion Phillies Cheered on at Parade

Friday, October 31st, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments

The Philadelphia Phillies rode flatbed trucks through the streets of Philadelphia, celebrating their first World Series title in 28 years with thousands of crazed Phillies fans. Halloween took a back seat this October 31st in the city of Philadelphia, as Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell “led off” the parade riding on a horse-drawn carriage and pumping his fists in the air in jubilation. This was the city’s first chance to celebrate a professional sports world championship since the 76ers won the NBA Championship in 1983. Fans watched from rooftops, hung out windows and even climbed step stools to get a better view of their World Champion Phils.

The parade was scheduled to go through the streets of Philadelphia and end at the sports complex in South Philly. Thousands of fans were allowed to watch the procession on the big screens in Lincoln Financial Field where the Eagles play and in Citizens Bank Ballpark, the home of the Phillies. The Phillies players were scheduled to attend a rally at the ballpark and then make a brief appearance for the fans in Lincoln Financial Field.

The Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in 5 games of the 2008 World Series. Phillies ace Cole Hamels was named the World Series MVP. Manager Charlie Manuel hoisted the World Series Trophy throughout the procession through the streets of Philadelphia.

Tags: Philadelphia Phillies, World Series Champions

Tarheels Top 1st ESPN/USA Today Poll

Friday, October 31st, 2008 | Sports | No Comments

ESPN/USA Today released its first poll of the 2008-2009 NCAA College Basketball Season. North Carolina topped the polls, receiving all 31 first-place votes. UCONN was 2nd, followed by Louisville 3rd, UCLA 4th and Duke 5th. The ACC has 2 teams in the Top 10 of the poll (North Carolina and Duke). The Big East set a record with 7 teams in the ESPN/USA Today poll – including 4 teams in the Top 10 – UCONN at #2; Louisville at #3; Pittsburgh at #6; and Notre Dame at #9.

The defending NCAA Champion Kansas Jayhawks are slated in the 23rd spot. Kansas knocked off North Carolina in the NCAA Final Four Semifinals game in an exciting game and then went on to defeat the Memphis Tigers in the Final Four Championship Game. Memphis is ranked #12 in the ESPN/USA Today poll, while the other 2008 Final Four Team – the UCLA Bruins – is ranked #4.

Even though it’s only October, it’s never too early to think ahead to the NCAA college basketball season and the always fun NCAA Basketball Tournament. Pretty soon we’ll have the NIT tournament, the Thanksgiving and holiday tournaments, the Jimmy V Classic and the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It should be an exciting college hoops schedule in 2008-9.

Tags: ESPN, NCAA College Hoops, Poll, Rankings

Brewers Hire Ken Macha as New Manager

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments

The Milwaukee Brewers announced the hiring of Ken Macha as the new Manager of the major league baseball club. Macha is 58-years old and a former Manager of the Oakland A’s where he led the A’s to a 368-260 in 4 years as the Manager. He also led the A’s to 2 AL West division titles during his tenure. Macha signed a 2-year contract with the Brewers.

The Milwaukee Brewers made their first playoff appearance in over 25 years following the 2008 season. In the middle of September, as the Brewers were chasing the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies for the wild card playoff position, the Brewers fired Manager Ned Yost and replaced him with interim manager Dale Sveum. Sveum coaxed the team into the playoffs on the last day of the season with a win over the NL Division Central champion Chicago Cubs. A New York Mets loss that same day catapulted the Brewers into the playoffs. By that point, however, CC Sabbathia and the rest of the Brewers were playing on fumes, and the eventual World Series Champion Phillies ousted the Brewers from the NLDS in only 4 games. Despite Sveum’s late season success, Brewers brass chose to go with a more-seasoned manager to work with the young, talented Brewers lineup. The key question mark is its pitching staff. Starters Sabbathia and Sheets are both free agents and many believe the Brewers do not have the cash to compete with the rest of the big spenders in the big leagues. The bullpen was one of the worst in the league, and unless they can sign some dependable arms, that will also be a major weakness during the 2009 campaign.

Tags: Ken Macha, Milwaukee Brewers

Greg Oden Out 2-4 Weeks

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 | NBA, Sports | No Comments

An MRI on the right foot of Center Greg Oden revealed a mid-lateral foot sprain. Oden is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with the injury. Oden injured the foot in the 1st quarter of the Trailblazers opening night loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. Oden didn’t think twice about it and stayed in the game until the pain forced him out towards the end of the 1st half. Oden is still searching for his first NBA point, as the Lakers held him scoreless in his 13 minutes of play. Oden had 5 rebounds, 1 blocked shot, and 2 turnovers before he departed. Although Oden played the entire pre-season before the 2007-8 NBA season, he had to have surgery on his right knee that required him to miss the entire regular season.

The early injury to Oden put a damper on the Trailblazers expectations for the 2008-9 NBA season. Joel Przybilla will start for the Trailblazers in Oden’s absence. The Trailblazers next face the San Antonio Spurs at home on Halloween night.

Tags: Greg Oden, NBA, Portland Trailblazers

Phillies Win World Series

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in World Series Game 5 to capture the World Series crown. It was the first World Series win for the Phillies since 1980. The teams were finally able to resume Game 5 48 hours after it started on Monday, October 27th. Game 5 had been suspended because of inclement weather with the score tied at 2 in the middle of the 6th inning. The resumption of the game got off with a bang as Geoff Jenkins pinch-hit for Cole Hamels and delivered a lead-off double to right center field. Jimmy Rollins sacrificed Jenkins to 3rd base and Jayson Werth drove in Jenkins with the go-ahead run with a bloop single to shallow center field that Akinori Iwamura could not hold onto. The Rays prevented further damage in the bottom of the 6th inning by getting out the Phillies 2 best hitters – Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

The Rays struck right back in the top of the 7th inning. After reliever Ryan Madsen struck out Dioner Navarro to lead off the inning, Rays right fielder crushed a Madsen pitch deep to left field for a solo home run that tied the game at 3. After a single by Jason Bartlett and a sacrifice by the pitcher J.P. Howell that moved Bartlett to 3rd base, Chase Utley made a great fielding play to stave off anymore Rays runs. Iwamura hit an infield single behind the 2nd base bag, and instead of throwing an off-balance throw to 1st base to try to get the speedy Iwamura, Utley held onto the ball. Once Utley saw Bartlett round 3rd base and head for home, Utley made a perfect skip throw to the plate where Ruiz tagged out Bartlett to the end the threat and keep the score tied at 3.

The Phillies took advantage of the momentum swing when Pat Burrell led off the bottom of the 7th inning with a long double to deep left center field. Burrell thought he had hit it out of the park and was leisurely jogging around 1st base while he admired his swing. But the ball ventured more to center field than to left field where the outfield wall is 10 feet higher, and the ball hit the top of the wall and bounced back into the field of play. If Burrell had been hustling from the start, he may have had a triple, so with Burrell at 2nd base, Manager Charlie Manuel elected to pinch-run for the power-hitting Burrell. The move paid off as Shane Victorino moved the pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett over to 3rd base on a groundout to the right side and Pedro Feliz drove in the game-winning run with an RBI single to center field.

Now all the Phillies needed to do was record 6 more outs. After Carl Crawford singled to lead off the 8th inning, Phillies reliever J.C. Romero induced a B.J. Upton double-play groundout and then a Carlos Pena flyout to left field. The Phillies brought in Closer Brad Lidge to start the 9th inning. Brad Lidge had been perfect all season long – 47 saves in 47 save opportunities. But Lidge is most-often remembered for giving up a monster Grand Slam to Albert Pujols in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS that forced the Astros to go back to St. Louis to win 1 more game on the road to advance to the 2005 World Series. And although the Houston Astros did win that Game 6 in St. Louis, the Astros were swept in the World Series by the Chicago White Sox and Lidge’s career turned south following confidence problems that he couldn’t shake for the last 2 years.

So here we were – Lidge had all the weight of the city of Philadelphia on his shoulders, and he didn’t disappoint. He got the all-important 1st out on an Evan Longoria pop out to shallow center field. Dioner Navarro singled and pinch-runner Fernando Perez stole 2nd base, giving the Rays a golden scoring chance with a man on 2nd base with only 1 out. In an interesting move, Rays Manager Joe Maddon elected to pinch-hit Ben Zobrist for Rocco Baldelli to get the righty-lefty match-up (Maddon had let the right-handed hitting Baldelli hit against right-handed throwing Madsen in the 7th inning and Baldelli came through with the game-tying home run). Lidge got Zobrist to line out to right field and then he closed out the magical night by striking out pinch-hitter Eric Hinske on 3 pitches to preserve the World Series win.

J.C. Romero picked up the win – his 2nd win of the World Series. Brad Lidge picked up the save – his 2nd save of the World Series. Cole Hamels was named the World Series MVP, going 1-0 in 2 starts and keeping the Rays hot hitters in check in each start.

After that final pitch, Lidge fell down to his knees with his arms outstretched in celebration. Catcher Ruiz ran out to celebrate with him. And then the real party was on – with towel-waving fans going berserk as they experienced the joy of a World Series Championship for the city of Philadelphia.

Tags: Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, World Series

Oden Hurts Foot in 97-76 Loss To Lakers

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 | NBA, Sports | No Comments

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Portland Trailblazers 97-76 in the 2008-9 NBA season opener for each team in Los Angeles. Although star Kobe Bryant scored 23 points, along with 11 rebounds and 5 assists, all of the talk was about the injury suffered by the Trailblazers 7-foot center Greg Oden. Oden injured his right foot late in the 1st half and never returned to the game. X-rays were negative and Oden will undergo an MRI to assess the damage to the foot. Right now, Oden’s injury is diagnosed as a sprain, and nothing more than that.

Oden, the 1st overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft, never played a single game during the 2007-8 NBA season due to the discovery of an off-season injury to his right knee that required microfracture surgery. There was a lot of hype surrounding Oden’s first NBA game, especially since it was coming in L.A. and against the greatest player in the game today – Kobe Bryant. The excitement was short-lived. In his brief 12 minutes of play, Oden racked up 5 rebounds and blocked 1 shot, but he did not score a single point and he had already picked up 2 personal fouls.

The game was all but over after the 1st half. The Lakers had opened up a 15-point halftime lead and they cruised to a 21-point victory in the 2nd half. Pau Gasol had 15 points and 7 rebounds for the Lakers, while Center Andrew Bynum returned from an injury during the middle of last season to score 8 points and grab 3 rebounds. The Trailblazers had 3 players score in double figures – Brandon Roy, Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez.

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Portland Trailblazers

NBA opening night

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 | General, Golf | No Comments

Tags: NBA

Bulls Beat Bucks 108-95, Win 2008-9 Home Opener

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 | NBA, Sports | No Comments

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 108-95 in the Bulls home opener at the United Center. The night also capped off the highly anticipated debut of the Bulls 2008 #1 draft pick from Chicago – point guard Derrick Rose. After shaking off his understandable nerves, Rose responded with 11 points, 9 assists, 3 steals and only 4 turnovers. His 9 assists was the 2nd most assists in an NBA debut by any player in the history of the league (LeBron James also had 9 assists in his debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers). Six Bulls players scored in double figures. Luol Deng led the team with 21 points, while Ben Gordon added 18 points off the bench. Tyrus Thomas had a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. Kirk Hinrich also had a solid game off the bench with 15 points and 7 assists.

The team effort was a pleasant surprise for Head Coach Vinny Del Negro who was making his head coaching debut in front of the hometown crowd at the UC. Because of injuries that plagued the team all pre-season, this was the first time that Del Negro had the full rotation of players (save Larry Hughes) at his disposal. And Del Negro used it to his advantage, mixing in players to take advantage of key match-up situations and the poor defense played by the Bucks. The fresh rotation of players allowed the Bulls to stay on top for most of the game – the Bulls outscored the Bucks in each of the 4 quarters played.

Michael Redd led the Bucks with 30 points, while newcomer Richard Jefferson added 15 points and 4 rebounds.

Next up for the Bulls – the defending Champion Boston Celtics who raised their 17th NBA Championship Banner on Tuesday night and then went on to defeat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in front of a raucous Boston crowd. The Celtics play good team defense, so we shouldn’t expect another 108 point outburst, especially on the road. But for one night, the Bulls came out on top, they played team basketball and they won a game that they should have won. That wasn’t the case during the 2007-8 season, so it’s good to see that the Bulls still have the confidence and the experience to get the job done down the stretch.

Tags: Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA

NHL standings for 10/29

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 | NHL, Sports | No Comments

Tags: Hockey, NHL, Standings, teams