Wakefiled Faces Tigers In a Boston Red Sox rotation featuring two World Series MVPs and a Japanese pitching legend, a 40-year-old knuckleballer has been perhaps the most effective of all. Tim Wakefield looks to continue baffling opposing hitters and lead the streaking Red Sox to their eighth win in nine games Tuesday night when they continue their four-game series with the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park.
Author: Shah
Pistons Need to Close The Detroit Pistons intend to get this over without further delay. They want to beat the Bulls in Game 5 and advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the fifth straight year. “No doubt, that’s our intention – to try to close the series out,” Chauncey Billups said Monday. Detroit had a chance to end the series in Game 4, but the Bulls showed a lot of resolve against a team that usually doesn’t waste time when it has a chance to eliminate an opponent.
Randy Too Old? Coming off back surgery and being 43 years old, Randy Johnson is still struggling to find the endurance necessary to become a consistently dominant pitcher again. The Diamondbacks (20-19) hope the five-time Cy Young Award winner can continue to recapture his form when he starts the opener of a three-game set against the Colorado Rockies (16-22) at Coors Field on Tuesday.
Series Tied The Anaheim Ducks’ brother act, Scott and Rob Niedermayer, have been bonding on the postseason score sheet. Scott scored the winning goal in the Ducks’ 4-3 overtime victory in Game 2 that evened the Western Conference finals against Detroit. That victory gave Anaheim home-ice advantage heading into Tuesday night’s contest against the Red Wings.
Battle of Birds A loss in the second month of the season is rarely devastating. The Baltimore Orioles may be thinking otherwise. The Orioles try to rebound from their most disappointing defeat of the season Monday night when they begin a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Showdown in Texas Instead of worrying about how the San Antonio Spurs won Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, Steve Nash is more interested in why the Phoenix Suns lost. “I’d like to give them all the credit in the world, I think they’re a terrific team,” Nash said Sunday. “But I know those are shots we make and are capable of making.”
Moyer Takes on Brewers Jamie Moyer hasn’t faced the Milwaukee Brewers in nearly 10 years – when he was in the midst of his 11th big-league season. Baseball’s oldest left-hander looks to continue his strong start to the season Monday night when the Philadelphia Phillies open a four-game series against the Brewers at Citizens Bank Park.
LeBron Stumped LeBron James has no intention of letting the New Jersey Nets turn him into an outside shooter and passer again. While many may point to another triple-double by Jason Kidd or the Nets’ ability to rebound and score in transition as the keys to Game 3 on Saturday, the real difference was New Jersey’s success in keeping the 22-year-old Cavs superstar on the outside with myriad defenses.
Smoltz Turns 40 One day shy of his 40th birthday, John Smoltz shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, he appears to be getting better. Smoltz looks to win his fourth straight start and record his 199th career victory Monday night when the Atlanta Braves open a four-game series against the Washington Nationals at RFK Stadium.
Senators Found Swagger Daniel Briere and the Buffalo Sabres can call off the search for their long-lost playoff swagger. Their opponents, the Ottawa Senators, have found it and are claiming it for themselves. How else to explain how the Senators have turned the tables on their division rival and longtime playoff nemesis?