Archive for November 18th, 2008
NBA Scores
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 | NBA, Sports | No Comments
Blackhawks Let One Slip Away At UC, Lose to Sharks 6-5
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, Sports | No Comments
The Sharks “toyed with” the Blackhawks for 40 minutes and then went in for the “kill” in the final 20 minutes of the contest. Although the Blackhawks gave the NHL’s points-leader a battle of a lifetime, the Blackhawks came in on the short-end of the stick, and were left to float away in anguish after a disappointing, frustrating and painful 6-5 loss on its home ice on Sunday.
The Blackhawks and Sharks played one of the more exciting games of the young NHL season. The teams traded goals in the 1st period. Milan Michalek opened the scoring for the Sharks with his 6th goal of the season. Kris Versteeg tied the game at 1 with his 4th goal of the season. Joe Thornton gave the Sharks the lead again with his 4th goal of the season and then defenseman Brian Campbell tied it back up with his 3rd goal of the season. Before you knew it, the 1st period was over and the game was tied at 2.
The Sharks took charge in the 1st half of the 2nd period. Goals by Dan Boyle and the ageless Jeremy Roenick gave the Sharks a 4-2 lead. But the Blackhawks answered right back midway through the period with an offensive barrage that Sharks goalie Brian Boucher could not withstand. Kris Versteeg scored his 2nd goal of the game to cut the Sharks lead to 1. Cam Barker and Patrick Kane then scored goals 18 seconds apart in the 17th minute of the 3rd period to send the United Center faithful into a frenzy. The Blackhawks and their fans were going crazy, as they saw a golden opportunity to defeat the NHL point-leading Sharks and send a message to the rest of the NHL that this young team was ready to contend for “The Cup”.
But disaster struck in the 3rd period. Dave Bolland’s tripping penalty set up the game-tying goal by Dan Boyle (his 2nd of the game and 6th on the season). With 6 minutes to go in the game, Dustin Byfuglien was penalized for tripping, which set up the winning goal by Devin Setoguchi. The Blackhawks had their chances with a power play of their own with 4 minutes left to play, but they came up empty and endured their 1st loss at the United Center during regulation play. All in all, the Blackhawks committed 7 penalties, resulting in 4 power play goals for the Sharks. Blackhawks’ goalie Cristobal Huet made only 25 of 31 saves.
Blackhawks Head Coach Joel Quinneville was not please with his team’s performance – “I’m not happy at all with the way this thing ended. They’re a good team. We had them where we wanted them and let them off the hook. We were gracious.” Coming off of a great 4-0 stretch, the Blackhawks lost the last 3 games of the home stand (one in a shootout, one in overtime and one in regulation). They now embark on a crucial 6-game road trip that will take them through Phoenix, Dallas, Toronto, San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles. Dallas is the worst team of the lot – that at 6-8-3 – so the competition will be stiff during this stretch. The Blackhawks are currently 7-4-5 with 19 points and they are tied with 3 other teams for 6th place in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks need to play well on this road trip and come away with at least 3 wins in order to show that their quick start isn’t a fluke. The team is ready, and Quinneville should have them ready to make a point – loud and clear – on this upcoming circus road trip.
Bears Embarrassed at Lambeau, Lose 37-3 to Packers
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 | Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, NFL, Sports | No Comments
Ouch…
The Chicago Bears were tied atop the NFC North Division with the Minnesota Vikings, who had just beaten the Green Bay Packers. The Bears were getting their starting quarterback back after Kyle Orton had missed the Tennessee Titans loss the week before due to a sprained right ankle injury suffered the week before against the Detroit Lions. The Bears had something to prove against the Brett Favre-less Packers, who trailed the Bears by 1 game and were looking to make a statement of their own. It seemed the Bears had things going in the right direction, and then BAM!!! They actually had to play the game on Sunday.
Bears 3, Packers 37. Not good. The Bears managed only a 35-yard Robbie Gould field goal in the 2nd quarter. The Bears’ offense sputtered along for most of the game. Orton completed only 50% of his passes for 133 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. The Bears managed only 9 first downs and only 234 total net yards. The lone bright spot was Matt Forte who compiled over 100 total yards from scrimmage – 64 rushing yards on 16 carries and 40 receiving yards on 6 receptions. After Forte, the Bears’ next best receiver was Greg Olsen who caught 4 passes for 45 yards. The offense may have been out of sync with Orton getting back up to speed after the week off, but the Bears have a lot to be concerned with as they come down the home stretch.
The Bears’ defense was ineffective once again. Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed 23 of 30 passes for 227 yards. Rodgers threw 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, good for a 105.8 passer rating. Packers Running Back Ryan Grant rushed for 145 yards on 25 carries and scored on a 4-yard rushing touchdown to give the Packers a 14-3 in the 2nd quarter. Packers Kicker Mason Crosby also kicked 3 field goals, including a 53-yarder at the end of the 2nd quarter to give the Packers a 17-3 halftime lead. The Packers gained 24 first downs, controlled the clock for over 37 minutes and amassed a total of 427 net yards.
The Packers defense is good, but the Bears offense should have been to produce a better offensive attack to take less pressure off the Bears defense. Orton probably wasn’t fully up-to-speed after dealing with his right ankle injury, but the team will need to execute better if it still hopes to make the playoffs at the end of the season. The defense was atrocious. The Bears did not have 1 touch on Rodgers all game long. The front line is not getting any consistent pressure on the quarterback, as Tommie Harris, Mark Anderson, Adewale Ogunleye and Alex Brown have not lived up to the expectations going into the season. That factor is allowing opposing teams’ offenses to execute their designed game plan at will. Lovie Smith and Defensive Coordinator Bob Babich are not making any adjustments during the course of the game, and that is compounding the problem. Immediate changes are necessary if the Bears defense expects to stop anyone during the last 6 games of the season.
There is some good news. The Bears schedule is beatable down the stretch. They have road games at the St. Louis Rams (2-8) and Minnesota Vikings (5-5) the next 2 weeks. Then the Bears have 3 consecutive home games at Soldier Field – the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6) on Sunday 12/7; the New Orleans Saints (5-5) on Thursday 12/11; and the Greeen Bay Packers (5-5) on Monday Night Football on 12/22. The Bears finish on the road at the 3-6 Houston Texans. So the Bears do not have to face a team that has a winning record currently. The Bears have already beaten the Vikings and are capable of beating both the Vikings and Packers – both wins would make it very likely that the Bears would win the NFC North and make the playoffs. The Jaguars and Saints are both having down years, and as long as neither team finds the right “answer” when they play the Bears, the Bears have a good shot at winning both of those games. The Rams and Texans are both bad football teams, so a loss to either of those teams would be devastating to their playoff chances. So even though the Bears have a lot of holes, and my rating of the Bears’ defense and Head Coach Lovie Smith’s schemes is poor at best, they still have a very good chance to return to the playoffs in 2008-9. Once in, anything can happen – just ask the 2007-8 Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.
