New Look Mavericks Beats Defending Champ Lakers

The newly upgraded line-up which included Haywood and Stevenson (Butler was out sick...) got the best of Wednesday's game and beat the defending champs 101-96. Most notable in the Mavericks line-up upgrade is their much improved defense.

Haywood had 5 blocks of the team's 6 blocks showing how big an impact and presence he brings to the team inside the post. The game was an exciting one which had 24 lead changes and eight ties.

Though the newly acquired did shine in their game, it was the veteran players that lead the team for the win. Nowitzki and Terry scored 22 of Dallas’ final 23 points.

“This is our type of ballgame,” said Terry. “Any time in the fourth quarter and the game is close, it’s going to be up to myself, Jason Kidd or Dirk to get the win. I think we welcome that challenge and we don’t need to change it right now.”

Dallas and Los Angeles split the four-game season series. This could be an indication that Dallas is ready for whatever match-up problems the Lakers may impose on them during the playoffs if ever the two teams meet.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics (UPDATE)

The NBA top team Cleveland Cavaliers will be visiting the mighty Boston Celtics in what seems to be a battle of the Eastern division leaders. The Cavaliers are the top of the Central division while the Celtics are the top of the Atlantic division.

Right now the Cavaliers are coming off a losing streak to win against the New Orleans who are missing their top play-maker in Chris Paul. That game had their newly acquired player, Antawn Jamison, start in the starting line-up. The Cleveland team hold a 44-14 record coming into Thursday's game.

On the other hand, the Celtics have a 36-19 record and will be having home court advantage when they host the game. However, they might not be playing with Paul Pierce and thus would have to adjust their game to match Lebron's intensity at the SF position.

Expect this game to have a play-off atmosphere as these top teams battle it out on the court.

UPDATE: The Cavaliers beat the Celtics 108-88. King James was simply his dominant self while Mo Williams dropped 3-point bombs to help close the 4th quarter.

Jayson Williams Sentenced to 5 Years in Jail

Jayson Williams, a former NBA star, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for the killing of his limo driver, Costas Christofi, and will be available for parole after 18 months.

"To my family, please forgive me for the pain I've caused you," Williams said Tuesday as he read from a statement. "You deserve a better father, a better brother and son than I have been. I am not a bad man, but I acted badly on Feb. 14. I will work endlessly to improve myself and make positive contributions to society."

Williams inadvertently killed his limo driver last 2002 while showing off his set of guns to his friends.

As an NBA player, he played nine seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets before a leg injury forced him to retire in 2000. He was in the second year of a six-year, $86 million contract.

Pacquiao VS Clottey: Pacman Passes Pre-Fight Tests

There is less than a month before the Pacquiao vs Clottey fight takes place. And now a few weeks before the fight, Manny Pacquiao has underwent the required pre-fight physical examinations over the weekend and was declared fit to duke it out with Joshua Clottey on March 13 in Texas.

What tests did he undergo?

He had his reflexes and vital signs checked plus other battery of tests which he passed. Notable was that he went through blood tests before his fight with Clottey.

This is what he said in English in a TV interview, "It's hard when blood is taken from you, especially for athletes like me. We need strength but when blood is taken from you, you get weak. You will be able to recover though in 3 to 4 days."

(“Mahirap kapag ikaw ay kinunan ng dugo, lalo na sa aming mga atleta. Ang kailangan namin ay lakas so pag kinunan ng dugo, manghihina ka. Makaka-recover ka lang mga three or four days pa (after)," the Pacman told Trinidad in his TV interview.)

This blood testing is notable because this was the issue that had stopped the Mayweather vs Pacman megafight from taking place and moving forward.

Team Pacquiao is also quite confident that their boy will beat Clottey for his first ever knockout.

“Well, the more I watch Clottey, the more mistakes I find in him and I’m very confident Manny is going to knock him out and be the first person to knock him out," Roach said in an interview with the show “On the Ropes" posted on The Mushroom Magazine.

Whatever the case is, Pacquiao has been training like a madman like what he has done with his previous fights showing that he respects his opponents by not treating them lightly.

The fight will be on March 13 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. There are 3 ways you can watch the fight. First, obviously is by going to Dallas and watching it there live. Second is via HBO's pay-per-view. Third is via an online Pacquiao vs Clottey live stream.

Haywood Powers Mavericks Over Grangerless Pacers

Brendan Haywood, the newly acquired center from the Washington Wizards, powered the Mavericks to a 91-82 win over the Indiana Pacer who was missing their top scorer in Danny Granger.

Haywood had 13 points, 20 rebounds and added 3 blocked shots as the main post defender. His 20 rebounds matched his career high and was one of the reasons of this win.

“Both teams didn’t shoot well, so I had a lot of opportunities to get some rebounds,” said Haywood, who had 20 rebounds Jan. 15 at Chicago when he was still with the Wizards. “I was trying to attack the boards and be aggressive.”

His stellar play is certainly being noticed now that he is with a playoff contender. As the starting center with Erick Dampier out, he has taken advantage of this opportunity to show that he is one of the best big men in the league.

To be fair, the Pacers top scorer was out. Granger didn’t play for unspecified personal reasons and he is certainly hurting his team with his absence.

USA Vs Canada Hockey Score

The US hockey team has ended their 50-year losing streak against Canada by beating the Canadians today. The USA vs Canada hockey score is 5-3. With this win the US team is advancing to the quarterfinals of the winter games tournament. The Americans got the win because of Brian Rafalski who managed to score two goals. Rafalski is also responsible for setting up a third goal. US team goalie Ryan Miller also did a great job, he stopped a lot of goal attempts from Team Canada; it was 42 saves all in all that caused the Canadians to be silenced as the game progressed.

Now the US team is 3-0 in the 2010 Winter Olympics and are just waiting for the result of the Finland vs Sweden game. The outcome of the Finland-Sweden game could mean that the Team USA will be entering the quarterfinals as the top seed among all the teams.

The loss of Canada to USA today is considered as the biggest upset in the tournament but it is not the end for Canada yet, they only need to win their game on Tuesday to remain in the tournament and get the chance to meet the Americans again later.

Kevin Martin Trade - New Stop Houston Rockets

Kevin Martin, the former franchise star of the Sacramento Kings, has been traded (in principle) to the Houston Rockets. If the agreement between the Rockets and the Kings push through, Kevin Martin, Sergio Rodriguez, Hilton Armstrong and Kenny Thomas will be traded for Tracy McGrady, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey.

The agreement has not been finalized and could be expanded to add another team in the picture in the form of the Knicks to make it a 3-team trade.

“But it was time. I used to be the young guy playing with old guys. Now I’m the old guy playing with young guys. Let the young guys develop. I appreciate them letting me go to a playoff-caliber team at this time of my career.” said Martin when asked about his trade.

If the deal becomes 3-sided, T-mac would potentially go to the New York Knicks. If not, he plans on joining a play-off contender team like the Cavs or the Lakers.

Cavs Trade with Wizards and Clippers

In another blockbuster trade involving the Cavs, Wizards and Clippers, multiple players have been dealt around to meet each teams' needs. Let us go through them one by one and then analyze the implications it would bring to each teams.

The Cleveland Cavaliers sent Big Z (Zydrunas Ilgauskas), a 2010 first-round draft pick and the rights to Emir Preldzic who was selected in the second round of last year’s draft from Cleveland to the Wizards. In turn, they got Antawn Jamison.

The Washington Wizards also dispatched of Drew Gooden to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Al Thorton.

The Los Angeles Clippers dealt Sebastian Telfair to the Cavs as part of the 3-team trade.

So who is the clear winner in this trade? In my opinion, it would be the Cavs, the Wizards and then the Clippers in that order of success. First of all, the Cavs is the best team in the league right now and adding a former All-Star and some much needed point guard depth could only bring good news to the team. The Wizards is a mess but dealing their veterans in exchange for young potential players is a wise move. The Clippers on the other hand gets to clear some cap space.

Let us start with the Cavs. The Cleveland only has a duo of All Stars (Mo Williams is good but not the level that can lead you to playoffs...) and adding a former All Star in Antawn Jamison is a very good thing. He is a prolific scorer and can open the lanes for both LBJ and Shaq. He was the unsung leader of the Wizards when Arenas was out and the team could certainly benefit from his professionalism and veteran leadership (behind LBJ).

Although Jamison was the big and popular part of this trade, Sebastian Telfair is also an important part of this deal. Acquiring him solidifies the guard position especially now that Williams and West have just been injured and the latter having some personal issues to deal with.

The other teams are out of the playoff hunt and are just looking forward to the future. And like all other rebuilding teams, they try to acquire young talent and expiring contracts so their moves are okay.

Marcus Camby Traded to Portland Blazers

Marcus Camby, the two-time member of the NBA all-defensive team, has been traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw and some cash. This trade was made so that Portland will have the much needed help inside the paint and at the same time unloading some "extra" big men from the Clippers roster.

Camby was apparently unhappy with the move because his family was already settled in LA and they liked it there. But this is all business and this must happen.

"We are very excited to bring an experienced big man of Marcus' caliber to the team and we feel he'll help us a great deal down the stretch run," Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "He's a fierce competitor and has been one of the league's best defensive players for quite some time."

Portland, although ravaged with injuries to multiple players, is hoping to make a playoff push in light of the team's pleasantly surprising standings and ability to withhold opponents even without their important players.

The move makes sense this season but what happens next season when 2 of Portland's big men come back from injuries remains to be seen.

Thunder Blasts Mavericks 99-86 After Blockbuster Trade

A few days (or hours..) after the blockbuster trade between the Mavericks and the Wizards that sent Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to the Mavericks, the Oklahoma Thunder roared past the Mavericks in a 99-86 win.

It wasn't exactly an ugly loss. The first quarter showed glimpses of what could be with Butler and Haywood leading the way with Nowitzki out. But that's it about potential. The next three quarters was about how the Thunder players beat them in convincing fashion.

“They were just making shots and we weren’t,” Butler said. “That’s the story of the game. The third quarter, that really killed us.”

Granted, this is their first game together and should not be used as the measuring stick to judge the success of the trade. There are more games to play for them to mesh their personalities and polish player chemistry and all that is pointing to is more wins.

The Mavericks organization believes that the trade will bolster their team in every aspect of the game and would give them the skills and bodies to match up with the reigning NBA champion, the Lakers, if ever they do meet in the finals.

Unfortunately though, Erick Dampier headed to the locker room with 2:54 remaining with an open dislocation of the middle finger on his right hand. His presence and Haywood's would provide solid defense inside the paint.

Dirk Nowitzki played a total of 36:04 (36 minutes and 4 seconds) and the coaching staff would like to bring his average playing time down. Thus, expect it to go down as the newly acquired players take their rightful places and start to adjust with the Dallas type of balling.

George Karl - Nuggets Coach Has Cancer

George Karl, Denver Nugget's current coach, has neck, throat cancer. The good news is that it is treatable. He will undergo a six-week treatment program of radiation and chemotherapy thus causing him to miss some games and practice time with his players.

"My desire is to do whatever I can to stay with my team throughout the treatment that I have to go through," Karl said. "Basically, my belief is this is a championship team and I want to do anything and everything I can to help them continue in their quest that we all want."

Karl has survived prostate cancer before and now he goes head on with another battle with cancer. During his absence, his assistant Adrian Dantley would lead the team.

Coach Karl is the second most 'winningest' coach in team history with 260 wins since joining the Nuggets in January 2005. How the Nuggets do without their coach is yet to be seen. But with a floor general as capable as Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets should be fine.

"Someone asked me the question, Have I come to terms with this one," Karl said. "I don't think I have."

Whatever happens, we hope that the coach gets the best treatment and would come out victorious from this terrible sickness.

Men's Figure Skating 2010 - Winter Olympics

The Men's Figure Skating is well underway in the Winter Olympics and we are all interested what the current point tally is. It is good if you watch this live on tv but if not we will try our best to summarize the action.

On top of the race is Russia's Yevgeny Plushenko who took an early lead in the men's figure skating short program with a score of 90.85. Next is Evan Usalysacek, from the U.S. who is in second place with a score of 90.30 and then Japan's Daisuke Takahashi is in third place with a score of 90.25.

"It's just amazing," Chan told reporters about skating in the Olympics. "It brings me to tears and I get chills all over my body."

The competition ain't over yet and you can still follow on by keeping in mind the schedule below:

Schedule for figure skating (PST):
Sun Feb 14, 2010
4:30pm - 7:55pm Figure Skating - Pairs - Short Program

Mon Feb 15, 2010
5pm - 8:55pm Figure Skating - Pairs - Free Skating

Tue Feb 16, 2010
4:15pm - 8:45pm Figure Skating - Men's - Short Program

Thu Feb 18, 2010
5pm - 9:05pm Figure Skating - Men's - Free Skating

Fri Feb 19, 2010
4:45pm - 8:05pm Figure Skating - Ice Dance - - Compulsory

Sun Feb 21, 2010
4:15pm - 7:45pm Figure Skating - Ice Dance - - Original

Mon Feb 22, 2010
4:45pm - 8:55pm Figure Skating - Ice Dance - - Free

Tue Feb 23, 2010
4:30pm - 9pm Figure Skating - Women's - Short Program

Thu Feb 25, 2010
5pm - 8:55pm Figure Skating - Women's - Free Skating

Sat Feb 27, 2010
4:30pm - 7pm Figure Skating - Exhibition - Gala

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