All good things must come to an end. The Houston Rockets defeated the Chicago Bulls 107-100 on Tuesday night in Houston. It was only the 4th time all season that the Rockets super-star three-some – Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest – had played in the same together. Ming led the Rockets with 28 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. McGrady added 16 points, 3 boards and 6 assists. While Artest scored 10 points and dished out 6 assists in only 27 minutes off the bench. Luis Scola, the Rockets underrated Forward, scored 13 points and grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds, as he continuously out-played the smaller Bulls forwards. The Rockets are now 30-19 and are tied with the New Orleans Hornets for the 5th seed in the West.
Despite having 6 players with double-digits points, the Bulls still lost. Luol Deng led the Bulls with 28 points and 6 rebounds. Tyrus Thomas chipped in 14 points and 13 rebounds. Derrick Rose turned in another solid all-around game – 12 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Ben Gordon chipped in 20 points and added 6 rebounds.
Next up for the Bulls is a match-up against the Hornets in New Orleans tonight. Hornets super-star Chris Paul injured his groin on Monday night and may not be in the lineup tonight against the Bulls – good news for us Bulls fans!
Manny Ramirez has had one team make him an offer and he turned it down. The Los Angeles Dodgers said they would give him $25 million for one more year with the team. Manny and his agent Scott Boras thinks he is worth more. Ramirez and his agent think he will get a multi-year deal. The Dodgers owner Frank McCourt hinted that the club is unlikely to revisit a long-term offer to Ramirez. There are a few factors that could keep the Dodgers from making a long term deal, Manny turns 37 this year and the fact that he forced the Red Sox to trade him last season. I don’t know Manny holding out might not be the best thing right now. No other teams want you.
The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on Tuesday night in Canada. After falling behind 1-0 in the 1st period, the Blackhawks scored the game’s final 3 goals to pull off the 3-1 win. Cam Barker’s 4th goal of the season tied the game at 1 just 3 minutes into the 2nd period. Dave Bolland’s 10th goal of the season gave the Blackhawks the lead for good with just under 4 minutes left to play in the 2nd period. Martin Havlat’s 16th goal of the season gave the Blackhawks some cushion for a 3-1 lead midway through the 3rd period. The Blackhawks exploded for 41 shots, but could only manage to land 3 behind Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson. Cristobal Huet saved 20 of 21 shots for the Blackhawks and won his first game in 3 starts. He now has 13 wins on the season and a 2.31 goals-against-average.
The Blackhawks have 64 points and maintained their 7-point advantage over the 5th seed Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference.
Three Stars
1. T. Hunter – NYI (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
2. R. Martinek – NYI (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
3. Y. Danis – NYI (Saves: 29, Save Pct: .967)
Final
1
2
3
T
Washington (33-15-4) «
2
1
2
5
New Jersey (32-16-3)
0
1
1
2
Three Stars
1. M. Nylander – WAS (Goals: 2, Assists: 0)
2. M. Green – WAS (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
3. J. Langenbrunner – NJ (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
Final
1
2
3
T
St. Louis (21-24-5) «
2
1
1
4
Columbus (24-22-5)
2
0
0
2
Three Stars
1. B. Boyes – STL (Goals: 2, Assists: 1)
2. C. Mason – STL (Saves: 33, Save Pct: .943)
3. R. Umberger – CLB (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
Final
1
2
3
T
Pittsburgh (24-23-5)
1
0
1
2
Montreal (29-16-6) «
1
2
1
4
Three Stars
1. R. Hamrlik – MON (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
2. M. Pacioretty – MON (Goals: 0, Assists: 1)
3. S. Crosby – PIT (Goals: 0, Assists: 0)
Final OT
1
2
3
OT
T
Florida (24-18-8) «
1
0
2
1
4
Toronto (19-23-9)
2
1
0
0
3
Three Stars
1. B. McCabe – FLA (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
2. S. Weiss – FLA (Goals: 1, Assists: 2)
3. N. Hagman – TOR (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
Final
1
2
3
T
Los Angeles (21-21-7) «
0
0
1
1
Ottawa (17-25-7)
0
0
0
0
Three Stars
1. J. Quick – LA (Saves: 29, Save Pct: 1.000)
2. M. Handzus – LA (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
3. B. Elliott – OTT (Saves: 25, Save Pct: .962)
Final
1
2
3
T
Phoenix (24-23-5)
0
0
1
1
Nashville (23-24-3) «
1
1
0
2
Three Stars
1. P. Rinne – NSH (Saves: 29, Save Pct: .967)
2. R. Bonk – NSH (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
3. J. Arnott – NSH (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
Final SO
1
2
3
OT
SO
T
Atlanta (18-29-5) «
0
0
1
0
1 (2)
2
NY Rangers (29-18-5)
0
0
1
0
0 (1)
1
Three Stars
1. K. Lehtonen – ATL (Saves: 39, Save Pct: .975)
2. S. Kozlov – ATL (Goals: 0, Assists: 0)
3. H. Lundqvist – NYR (Saves: 21, Save Pct: .955)
Final
1
2
3
T
Calgary (30-16-4)
1
0
0
1
Dallas (24-18-7) «
1
1
1
3
Three Stars
1. M. Turco – DAL (Saves: 24, Save Pct: .960)
2. M. Kiprusoff – CGY (Saves: 29, Save Pct: .906)
3. B. Richards – DAL (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
Final
1
2
3
T
Chicago (28-13-8) «
0
2
1
3
Edmonton (25-22-3)
1
0
0
1
Three Stars
1. D. Bolland – CHI (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
2. D. Roloson – EDM (Saves: 38, Save Pct: .927)
3. M. Havlat – CHI (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
Final
1
2
3
T
Carolina (25-22-5)
0
2
1
3
Vancouver (23-20-8) «
2
1
1
4
Three Stars
1. M. Sundin – VAN (Goals: 1, Assists: 1)
2. R. Kesler – VAN (Goals: 1, Assists: 2)
3. A. Burrows – VAN (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)
Manny Ramirez has had one team make him an offer and he turned it down. The Los Angeles Dodgers said they would give him $25 million for one more year with the team. Manny and his agent Scott Boras thinks he is worth more. Ramirez and his agent think he will get a multi-year deal. The Dodgers owner Frank McCourt hinted that the club is unlikely to revisit a long-term offer to Ramirez. There are a few factors that could keep the Dodgers from making a long term deal, Manny turns 37 this year and the fact that he forced the Red Sox to trade him last season. I don’t know Manny holding out might not be the best thing right now. No other teams want you.
