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LAst Night's Action: Kings Refuse To Back Down But Lose in OT
Chicago Blackhawks defeat LA Kings 3-2 (OT). Kings right winger Brad Richardson made a horrendous turnover at center ice giving the puck over to Blackhawks center Dave Bolland who then passed it to a charging Patrick Sharp. It was just Sharp and goalie Jonathan Quick. And just like the first goal scored in the game, Sharp got it through Quick to give the Blackhawks the overtime victory 2:08 in the extra period. It was a hard fought game for both teams with the Kings staving off a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:41 in the first period thanks to a Wayne Simmonds slashing and Sean O’Donnell cross checking penalties. Anze Kopitar got scored a go-ahead power play goal 6:50 in the second period and got an assist on the Dustin Brown goal earlier in the period giving him points in eight straight games and 16 of his last 17 games. As disappointing as the loss might be, the Kings can come away from this game knowing that they could play with and not be intimidated by one of the better teams in the league. After all it was one mistake that cost them the game.
Miami Heat defeat LA Clippers 108-97. The Clippers were 2-19 on the road since December 19 before coming into Miami. Well that’s just move that counter to 2-20. The Clippers kept the game interesting for three quarters, but as usual collapsed in the end. Rasual Butler scored 31 points for the Clippers while not scoring once in the final 16:50. Whenever Butler scores 30 points his teams have gone 1-5 the one win being while he was with the New Orleans Hornets when they played.... You guess it. The Clippers! By the way, has anyone told Mike Dunleavy that he’s fired yet?
Notable Notes
There will indeed be No More Garcia Pop up. Former Dodger and Boston Red Sox Nomar Garciaparra signed a one-day contract with Boston in order to retire as a member of the Red Sox. The two time first team All American from 1993-94 and ACC All Star with Georgia Tech, the Whittier native was drafted by the Red Sox in the first round in 1994. He made his debut for Boston in 1996 and went on to win the Rookie of the Year in 1997 by a unanimous vote.
After being traded by the Red Sox to the Chicago Cubs months before Boston won their first World Series since 1918 in 2004, he landed with the Dodgers in 2006 along with fellow Red Sox alumni Bill Mueller, Derek Lowe and manager Grady Little. Most people here in Los Angeles will remember his heroics in that memorable game on September 18, 2006 against the San Diego Padres. After the Dodgers hit four consecutive home runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game 9-9, Nomar with his bad legs hit the walk off home run in the tenth inning with Kenny Lofton to give the Dodgers the 11-10 victory and lift them to a half-game lead over the Padres.
Nomar hit another gem six days later in the final home game of the 2006 season against the Arizona Diamondbacks. With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Nomar hit a grand slam to send the Dodgers off with a final home victory before going on the road for a week to end the season.
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Nomar will now serve as an analyst for ESPN. Is there an over/under on the number of days before Nomar stabs Steve Berthiaume in the throat?
Tonight’s Action
UCLA Bruins at Arizona Wildcats in the Pac-10 Tournament. 12:10 pm FSWest, AM 570 KLAC.
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