Houston Rockets blast off at home
April 30, 2008
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The Houston Rockets were facing elimination if they lost their game 5 match against the Utah Jazz. With this thought in their minds the Houston players blew away the Jazz.
Tracy McGrady lead the Rockets with 29 points. The two teams next meet in Utah on Friday as they play game 6.
San Antonio have advanced to the next round following a 92-87 victory over the Phoenix Suns. The Spurs are matched up against New Orleans who also won be a five point margin against the Dallas Mavericks. The final score was 99-95.
In the East the Detroit Pistons moved a step closer the second round with a 98-81 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The Pistons lead the series 3-2.
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100 Days until the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing
April 30, 2008
Today marks 100 days until the Olympics will hold the opening ceremony in Beijing. As I published this post it is exactly 100 day until what no doubt will be a spectacular opening.
The ceremony starts at 8.00pm on August 8. It will be interesting to see if all of the world leaders attend the ceremony. There has been talk of a boycott due to the situation in Tibet.
My wife is not happy about the 100 day celebration as Beijing TV will have special programming rather than her regular series.
The Olympic torch today touched down in Hong Kong. It will hit the streets on May 2. The next day will see the torch in Macao. On May 4 the torch will be in Sanya, Hainan Province, which is part of mainland China.
From an Australian team perspective, there have been 6 sports that have already selected their team members for the Olympics. By early July all of the Australian Olympic team should have been selected.
I will be in Beijing cheering on the Australian team. I would love to hear from anyone else who will be in Beijing in August 2008.
Miami Heat name Erik Spoelstra as Head Coach
April 30, 2008
Pat Riley has stepped down as head coach of the Miami Heat. He is to be replaced by former Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting Erik Spoelstra.
The 37-year old Spoelstra has been with the organization for 13 seasons. The Portland native’s first role with the Heat was as the team’s video coordinator in 1995.
Spoelstra appointment makes him the NBA’s youngest current head coach, born on Nov. 1, 1970 in Evanston, IL. Lawrence Frank of the New Jersey Nets was the previous youngest head coach. He is 69 days older than Spoelstra.
Spoelstra grew up in Portland, Oregon and attended Jesuit High School, followed by his days at the University of Portland. He is third all-time in assists for his high school team. He also was an accomplished college player and was the starting point guard for four years for Portland.
Spoelstra had the honor of being named West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year in 1989. During his college career he scored over 1000 points.
After he graduated from College in 1992 with a communications degree he headed to Germany where he was player/coach for TuS Herten (later the Herten Ruhr Devils), a German professional team.
Pat Riley will stay on as team President.
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Scholes’ wonder goal sees Man United through to Moscow
April 30, 2008
A fabulous goal by Paul Scholes has been enough to take Manchested United through to next months UEFA Champions League final in Moscow. The tie ended 1-0 as the Scholes goal was the only shot to hit the back of the net over the two legs.
The goal to Scholes came on 14 minutes after Gianluca Zambrotta’s poor clearance fell to the 33 year old Manchester United player. Scholes was around 25 metres from goal when he unleashed his match winner. It was an untouchable strike that veered to the right and found its way into the top right corner of the net.
Scholes now has the chance to make amends for the 1999 Champions League final which he missed through suspension. On that occasion Manchester United claimed the title with a victory against Bayern Munich in Barcelona.
The Champions League final will be an all England affair as the other semifinal sees Chelsea at home against Liverpool.
The final will be staged in Moscow on 21 May 2008. Unlike the semis which are played over two legs it is a single match.
Lakers advance to the second round in NBA finals
April 29, 2008
The Los Angeles Lakers are the top seed in the Western Conference of the NBA finals. So far they have played like a top seed.
The Lakers have now advanced to the second round of the NBA finals thanks to a hard fought victory in Denver. With just 33 seconds left on the clock Denver were only down by 2 points following a 3 point bucket by Camby off an Iverson assist. If they could have got a defensive stop on the next play they could have stolen the match. As it was on the next play Gasol slammed home a dunk to give the Lakers a four point cushion.
A turnover by Hilario proved costly as Kobe Bryant sank two free throws to effectively seal the game and help the Lakers advance. Bryant topped the scoring for the Lakers with 31 points.
Orlando Magic first team into the second round of the NBA playoffs
April 29, 2008
Orlando Magic have advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs following their win over the Toronto Raptors. The final score was 102-92. The Magic won the series 4-1.
The Raptors were in the match until around six minutes to go in the match. After falling behind early in the fourth quarter the Raptors got to within 2 points with 6.02 on the clock. From there the Magic pulled away to wrap up the match with a 10 point advantage.
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Rafa rolls Roger again in Monte Carlo
April 28, 2008
Rafael Nadal has defeated Roger Federer 7-5, 7-5 on the way to his fourth consecutive Masters Series Monte Carlo crown. It was the third straight time the world no. 1 and 2 players had met in the final at Monte Carlo.
After winning the first set Nadal fell behind 0-4 in the second. The King of Clay then stormed back to take the title. Nadal became the first player since New Zealand’s Anthony Wilding from 1911-14 to win four straight Monte Carlo titles.
It will be interesting to see how Federer will feel after yet again losing to Nadal on clay. The Swiss player is desperate to win the French Open this year in order to complete a career grand slam. He recently appointed a new coach to help with his quest for a French Open title.
Lakers looking to sweep series against Denver
April 28, 2008
Following recent games in the NBA playoff series the Los Angeles Lakers are the only team that can move into the next round with a clean sweep.
The Lakers have the chance to do this in their Monday night away game against Denver. Based on the form in the first three matches LA would be favoured to move on in four.
In other NBA playoff action the Cleveland Cavs edged closer to the next round following a 100-97 win over the Washington Wizards. The scores were level at 97 with 28 seconds left on the clock. Delonte West was the hero for the Cavs as he sunk the winning three point shot with 5 seconds to play. The Cavaliers lead the series 3-1.
The San Antonio Spurs were looking to sweep the Phoenix Suns out of the playoffs in the fourth match of their first round playoff series. Things did not go to plan for the Spurs. Raja Bell knocked down 27 points to help the Suns score a comfortable 105-86 victory. The Spurs have another chance to wrap up the series with a home game on Tuesday.
Detroit Pistons evened their series against the 76ers following a 93-84 away win. The Pistons will be looking to break the sequence of loss - win - loss - win by winning at home on Tuesday.
Also today the New Orleans Hornets were too good for the Dallas Mavericks. They took at 3-1 series lead following a 97-84 victory.
In matches on Monday in the USA as I already mentioned the Los Angeles Lakers will be looking to wrap up their series against Denver. The match tips off in Denver at 10.30 pm ET. In Atlanta the Hawks will be trying to level the series following their game 3 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Orlando Magic will be hoping to use the home court advantage against the Toronto Raptors to close out their series in the match that tips off at 7.30 pm ET.
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Ferrari go one-two in Spanish formula 1 grand prix
April 28, 2008
Kimi Raikkonen has lead Ferrari to a one-two finish in Spain. His team mate Felipe Massa came home 3.2 seconds behind the 2007 world champion. Third place went to Mclaren’s Hamilton.
The one-two result allowed the Ferrari team to regain the lead in the constructor’s table ahead of BMW Sauber.
Raikkonen started the race from pole position and extends his lead in the drivers’ championship. Ferrari have won the past 3 grand prix’s. Raikkonen’s two victories were split by his team mate Massa who won in Bahrain.
Earlier in the race Kovalainen in a Mclaren crashed out heavily and was stuck in a tyre wall. It appeared that something broke on his car which sent him crashing out at high speed. Reports later in the race said the driver was fine, with no visible signs of injury.
Australia’s Mark Webber placed a solid fifth after being helped up the track following Alonso’s car having mechanical problems.
The next formula one grand prix is to be held in two weeks in Turkey.
Djokovic gives Federer walkover in Monte Carlo Tennis Masters
April 27, 2008
Last week in Estoril Roger Federer was handed the title after Nikolay Davydenko withdrew from the match early in the second set. This time while playing Novak Djokovic in the semifinals at the Monte Carlo Masters he had won by default.
The crowd in Monte Carlo were not happy following Djokovic’s decision to pull out of the match. He was trailing 6-3, 3-2 when retired from the match. I know Djokovic would not have done this without reason so it is a bit tough on him that the crowd would react in this way.
No sportsman would ever want to just give up on a match. Well no honest sportsperson. There have been occasions were the lure of money to throw a match have taken precedence. I am sure that is a long way from what has happened in Monte Carlo.
The health of a player is more important than giving the crowd what it wants.
In the other semifinal Rafael Nadal defeated Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko to book his final spot against Federer for the third consecutive time in a Monte Carlo event. Nadal has won the past two finals against Federer so the world no. 1 will be keen to avenge those losses. The score was 6-3, 6-2 in favour of Nadal.
Nadal has also reached the doubles final. He has teamed up with countryman Tommy Robredo.
