Saturday Sports, full coverage

I may regret trying this, but I will attempt all sports coverage for Saturday. Beginning with hockey, we start in New York...

With the Rangers hosting the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist played in front of the goals. New Jersey opened the scoring on a Nick Palmieri goal, his ninth of the season created by Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac. New York replied with a Chris Drury goal, his first of the year, assisted by Erik Christensen and Mats Zuccarello. Kovalchuk put the Devils back in front with his 31st of the campaign, with helpers by Andy Greene and Anssi Salmela. The Rangers tied it back up in the second period with Wojtek Wolski notching his 12th of the season, guided in by Ruslan Fedotenko and Mike Sauer. Ryan McDonagh put New York in the lead with his first of the year, fueled by Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik. Brandon Prust continued the run for the Rangers, his 13th of the season getting assistance from Brandon Dubinsky and Derek Stepan. New York wrapped up a 5-2 win with a Prospal goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Artem Anisimov and Dan Girardi. McDonagh, Drury, and Prospal were the three stars.

Into Boston, where the Bruins hosted the Ottawa Senators. Curtis McElhinney and Tim Thomas got the starts. Daniel Paille put Boston up front early with his sixth of the season, assisted by Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton. Ottawa tied it with Bobby Butler recording his tenth of the year, from Milan Michalek and Jason Spezza. The Bruins retook the lead in the second period on a power play goal by Nathan Horton, his 26th of the season, powered by Zdeno Chara and Milan Lucic. Boston made it a 3-1 game, the eventual final, with an unassisted goal by Rich Peverley, his 17th of the year. Thomas (31 for 32 saves), Horton, and Peverley were the three stars.

Down to Florida, where the Panthers hosted the Washington Capitals. Michal Neuvirth and Tomas Vokoun played goal for the game. Florida opened the scoring in the third period with Bill Thomas sinking his fourth of the campaign, with Patrick Rissmiller and Tim Kennedy picking up the assists. This would be the only goal, with Vokoun (28 save shutout), Thomas, and Neuvirth (22 for 23 saves) taking the three stars.

Into Carolina, where Hurricanes hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning for a chance in the playoffs. Mike Smith and Cam Ward tended the twines. Tampa Bay opened with a Dominic Moore tally, his 18th of the season, guided in by Steve Downie and Marc-Andre Bergeron. The Lightning extended their lead with Vincent Lecavalier netting his 25th of the year, with help from Martin St. Louis. Tampa Bay kept rolling with Steven Stamkos finally scoring his 45th of the season, with Teddy Purcell and Simon Gagne providing the help. The Lightning continued on in the second period with Brett Clark potting his ninth of the year, assisted by Lecavalier and St. Louis. Carolina finally put a dent in the scoreboard with Cory Stillman netting his 12th of the season, a power play goal powered by Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner. The Hurricanes pulled a little closer on Chad LaRose's 16th of the year, from Brandon Sutter and Jamie McBain. Tampa Bay pulled back away with an empty netter from Gagne, his 17th of the season, fueled by Nate Thompson. The Lightning secured victory 6-2 with St. Louis putting his 31st of the year away into empty twine, thanks to Purcell and the goalie Smith. Smith (42 for 44 saves and an assist), Lecavalier, and St. Louis took the three stars.

Over to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller opposed Steve Mason for half the game, before Jhonas Enroth took over the twine. The scoring began in the second period with Derek Dorsett netting his fourth of the season for Columbus, assisted by Samuel Pahlsson and Chris Clark. Buffalo matched this with a Jason Pominville goal, his 22nd of the year, guided in by Steve Montador and Brad Boyes. The Sabres took the lead with Chris Butler scoring his second of the season, thanks to Paul Gaustad and Mark Mancari. Tyler Ennis extended the Buffalo lead with his 20th of the year, helped in by Boyes. The Blue Jackets got back within a goal on Jared Boll sinking his seventh of the campaign, fueled by Matt Calvert and Derek MacKenzie. Columbus retied it in the third period with Kristian Huselius netting his 13th of the season, with help from Antoine Vermette and Sami Lepisto. The Sabres got the lead back with Drew Stafford's 31st of the year, a power play goal made possible by Pominville and Marc-Andre Gragnani. Gaustad bolstered the Buffalo lead with his 12th of the season, also on the power play, powered by Boyes and Tyler Myers, the former making a sock trick. Huselius tallied to make it a 5-4 deficit for the Blue Jackets with twenty-three seconds remaining, his 14th of the year and second of the game on the power play coming off of Grant Clitsome and Derick Brassard. They would not be able to overcome, and the three stars went to Pominville, Boyes, and Huselius.

Up north in Toronto, the Maple Leafs hosted the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and James Reimer played between the pipes. Ryan White put Montreal in front early with his second of the season, guided in by Lars Eller and Tom Pyatt. Brian Gionta extended the lead for the Canadiens with his 28th of the year, a power play goal powered by Scott Gomez and Mathieu Darche. Toronto got on the board with Phil Kessel's 32nd of the campaign, helped along by Joe Colborne. Montreal got the goal back in the second period with Gionta tallying again, his 29th of the season and second of the game coming on the power play via Yannick Weber and Roman Hamrlik. The Canadiens cemented a 4-1 victory with Tomas Plekanec notching his 22nd of the year shorthanded in the third period, thanks to Pyatt. The three stars went out to Gionta, Kessel, and Price (27 for 28 saves).

South to Philadelphia, where the Flyers hosted the New York Islanders. The starting goalies were Rick DiPietro and Sergei Bobrovsky, although the latter was replaced by Brian Boucher quickly, and the former did not complete the game as Al Montoya mopped up a second of game time. Philadelphia led off just sixteen seconds into the game with Kimmo Timonen potting his sixth of the season, thanks to Mike Richards and Kris Versteeg. The Flyers added on thirty-one seconds later as Scott Hartnell sank his 23rd of the year, courtesy of Ville Leino and Andrej Meszaros. New York found the scoreboard as Michael Grabner scored his 34th of the season, an unassisted goal. The Islanders tied it as the fifth of the year from Travis Hamonic went down, a power play goal from John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. Nineteen seconds later, Philadelphia had the lead again, as Danny Briere sank his 34th of the season, also an unassisted goal. Tavares retied it for New York on his 29th of the year, made possible by Dylan Reese and P.A. Parenteau. The Islanders took the lead in the second period with Parenteau's 20th of the season, a power play goal powered by Tavares and Matt Moulson. Meszaros retied it for the Flyers with his seventh of the year, assisted by Matt Carle and James van Riemsdyk. Hartnell gave Philadelphia the lead with his 24th of the campaign and second of the game, with Briere and Meszaros doing the work. Meszaros extended the Flyers lead with his second of the game and eighth of the season, a power play goal with guidance from Briere and Jeff Carter. Darroll Powe finished off a 7-4 victory for Philadelphia with his seventh of the year into the empty twine, fueled by Versteeg. Meszaros, Hartnell, and Boucher (25 for 26 saves in relief) were the three stars.

Over to St. Louis, with the Blues hosting the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Jaroslav Halak took care of the cages. St. Louis led off the scoring with T.J. Oshie in the second period with his 12th of the season, assisted by David Backes and Kevin Shattenkirk. The Blues wrapped it 2-0 with Alex Steen netting his 20th of the year unassisted in the third period. The three stars were Oshie, Halak (24 save shutout), and Steen.

Up to Calgary, where the Flames hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Henrik Karlsson were the goalies for the game. Calgary opened the scoring in the second period with Jarome Iginla netting his 43rd of the season, a power play goal from Alex Tanguay and Mark Giordano. Mikael Backlund put the Flames further ahead with his tenth of the year, also on the power play, via Giordano. Vancouver got on the board in the third period with Alexandre Burrows netting his 26th of the season, assisted by Daniel Sedin. The Canucks tied it on the power play with the 41st of the year by Ryan Kesler, powered by Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. The tie lasted into overtime, where Vancouver beat Calgary with a Christian Ehrhoff goal, his 14th of the campaign, guided in by Alexander Edler and Jannik Hansen. Giordano, Kesler, and Backlund took the three stars.

To Los Angeles, with the Kings hosting the Anaheim Ducks. Dan Ellis and Jonathan Quick played in the blue paint. Anaheim opened with Brandon McMillan sinking his eleventh of the season unassisted. The Ducks extended their lead with Saku Koivu scoring his 15th of the year, a power play goal powered by Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. Anaheim added on another goal, this time from the tape of Francois Beauchemin on the power play, his fifth of the season gathering steam off of Koivu and Lubomir Visnovsky. Los Angeles got on the board with a power play goal by Ryan Smyth, his 23rd of the year making it 3-1 thanks to Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson. The gloves dropped off even during the goalless third period, with Sheldon Brookbank and Teemu Selanne going fist to fist with Kyle Clifford and Brad Richardson. Despite this, the three stars were Koivu, Dustin Brown, and Ellis (43 for 44 saves).

Wrapping the hockey up in San Jose with the Sharks hosting the Phoenix Coyotes. Ilya Bryzgalov stood 200 feet away from Antti Niemi. Ian White got the scoring going for San Jose in the second period, his fourth of the season assisted by Torrey Mitchell and Kyle Wellwood. The Sharks extended the lead with Joe Pavelski potting his 20th of the year on the power play, courtesy of Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Phoenix got on the board with a Lauri Korpikoski tally, his 19th of the season going unassisted. San Jose made it 3-1 with Logan Couture netting his 32nd of the year, a power play goal powered by Dany Heatley and Wellwood. Niemi (35 for 36 saves), White, and Bryzgalov (34 for 37 saves) got the three stars.

Onward to the baseball...

Starting with the Boston Red Sox hosting the New York Yankees. Ivan Nova and Clay Buchholz got the ball for the starts. New York opened the scoring in the second inning with a Nick Swisher groundout scoring Alex Rodriguez and then a double by Eric Chavez to score Robinson Cano. Boston got on the board the next inning with Kevin Youkilis grounding out but allowing Dustin Pedroia safe access to home plate. The Yankees replied with a Russell Martin three run homer, also bringing in Curtis Granderson and Chavez. The Red Sox answered in the bottom of the fourth with Jacoby Ellsbury's fielder's choice to bring in J.D. Drew, and then a Pedroia double to score Ellsbury and Carl Crawford. New York went on a home run binge in the next three innings, as a two run shot came from Granderson, knocking Swisher in, and Cano and Martin each had solo shots. This made the final 9-4 Yankees. David Robertson took the win and Buchholz was tacked for the loss. Martin and Pedroia were the top batters.

Moving along to Atlanta, with the Braves hosting the Philadelphia Phillies. Roy Oswalt and Brandon Beachy took the starts. Philadelphia opened up with a Ben Francisco single, scoring Shane Victorino. Atlanta replied in the third inning with Freddie Freeman singling to score Alex Gonzalez and Martin Prado's single and subsequent error by Francisco to allow Freeman safe passage. The Phillies got back with a two run tater by Brian Schneider, scoring Raul Ibanez. Philadelphia continued in the seventh inning with a Carlos Ruiz pinch hit grand slam, with the plate being crossed by Ibanez, John Mayberry, and Wilson Valdez, followed by Ryan Howard doubling to knock in Victorino. The Phillies added on in the tenth as Ruiz came up with another RBI, scoring Michael Martinez with a double before Victorino finished Ruiz's trip on a single. This brought the final to 10-2, with Oswalt grabbing the win and Beachy getting stuck with the loss. Ruiz and Gonzalez were the best hitters.

To Detroit, where the Tigers hosted the Kansas City Royals. Bruce Chen took on Phil Coke with the pitching. Kansas City was first on the board, with a second inning single by Wilson Betemit, scoring Billy Butler, before moving up a base on a bad throw, and this brought Jeff Francoeur in when Alcides Escobar hit a fielder's choice. Francoeur added on a sacrifice fly in the ninth for the Royals, which brought in Alex Gordon. Detroit avoided a shutout by making it 3-1 on a Ryan Raburn solo home run. Chen got the win, holds were given to Aaron Crow, Tim Collins, and Robinson Tejada, and the save was converted by Joakim Soria, while Coke took a loss. Butler and Raburn had the best hitting status.

South to Chicago, with the White Sox hosting the Tampa Bay Rays. Wade Davis dueled with Philip Humber in pitching. Tampa Bay opened with a Ben Zobrist double to score Dan Johnson. Chicago answered with a Gordon Beckham sacrifice fly to bring in Brent Morel. Morel added on a fourth inning single, which allowed a run by Paul Konerko. The White Sox extended the lead in the seventh inning as A.J. Pierzynski doubled to score both Alex Rios and Konerko. The Rays tried to close the gap in the ninth on a Felipe Lopez solo shot, but it would only make it a 4-2 loss. Davis got stuck with the loss, Humber got the win, Will Ohman and Sergio Santos took holds, and Chris Sale was the save converter. Lopez and Pierzynski were the best of the hitters.

Doubleheader time! The Baltimore Orioles hosted a pair with the Texas Rangers. Colby Lewis and Zach Britton pitched the first game. Baltimore got the early lead in the first inning with a solo home run by Nick Markakis. Mark Reynolds also went to the yard with a three run bomb, also knocking in Luke Scott and Adam Jones. In the third inning, Jones singled to make it 5-0 by scoring Vladimir Guerrero. This would last through the next six innings, as Britton took the win and Lewis got tacked for the loss. Josh Hamilton and Reynolds were the best hitters in game one. Game two brought Matt Harrison and Jake Arrieta to the pitching mound. Baltimore opened the scoring again with a Jones solo home run. Texas answered with Elvis Andrus two-RBI single to score Mike Napoli and Mitch Moreland, followed by Hamilton bringing in both Ian Kinsler and Andrus, and capping off the six-run inning was a two-run tater by Adrian Beltre, finishing Hamilton's trip. The Rangers added on in the fourth inning with Napoli sending his solo shot over the fence and a double by Kinsler knocking in Moreland. Texas restarted the scoring in the seventh inning with Nelson Cruz sacrificing his at-bat to score Beltre. The Rangers did some more damage in the ninth inning with Beltre doubling for Hamilton's sake, and then getting knocked in on the three run tater by Cruz, also scoring Michael Young. With a 13-1 score, Harrison got the win, and Arrieta suffered a large loss. Beltre and Jones were the top batters in game two.

Down to Houston, where the Astros hosted the Florida Marlins. Javier Vazquez and Bud Norris took the ball for the starts. Houston opened the scoring in the first inning with a Hunter Pence double to knock in Angel Sanchez. Florida answered with Donnie Murphy grounding out but scoring Mike Stanton. The Astros replied in the bottom of the second on a Norris double to bring in Bill Hall and Sanchez helping Norris complete his trip around. Houston added on as Pence singled, helping Michael Bourn score in the fifth inning. The Marlins righted the ship a bit in the next inning with a Stanton double to bring in Logan Morrison and a Greg Dobbs two run home run to finish Stanton's trot. Florida continued their scoring pattern as Chris Coghlan doubled to bring in Wes Helms, before Omar Infante did the same for him. Dobbs hit an eighth inning double for the Marlins as well, which knocked in Gaby Sanchez. The Astros tried to get back with a Brett Wallace single scoring Carlos Lee, but they failed to score again and lost 7-5. Fernando Abad took the loss, Vazquez got the win, Randy Choate, Ryan Webb, and Clay Hensley took holds, and Leo Nunez got the save. Dobbs and Pence took top batting honors.

To Pittsburgh, with the Pirates hosting the Colorado Rockies. Greg Reynolds pitched against Charlie Morton. Colorado opened up with a first inning groundout into a double play by Carlos Gonzalez, sacrificing Jonathan Herrera but scoring Dexter Fowler. Ryan Doumit answered for Pittsburgh in the next inning on a two run homer to bring in Lyle Overbay. Gonzalez got the Rockies going again in the third with a single to knock in Fowler again. Seth Smith tacked on a sixth inning solo home run for Colorado. The Pirates answered in the seventh with Matt Diaz's single to score Ronny Cedeno. The Rockies retook the lead with a three-run double by Ty Wigginton, bringing around Herrera, Gonzalez, and Jose Lopez. Pittsburgh got one additional run with Jose Tabata's solo shot in the bottom of the eighth, but still lost 6-4. Jose Veras took the loss, while the win went to Matt Belisle, who also had a blown save, holds were taken by Matt Reynolds and Rafael Betancourt, and Matt Lindstrom nabbed the save. Smith and Doumit were the best hitters.

Milwaukee was next on the list, as the Brewers hosted the Chicago Cubs. Matt Garza and Chris Narveson took the starts. Milwaukee opened with a first inning double by Ryan Braun, bringing in Rickie Weeks before getting the last two bases on a double from the bat of Prince Fielder. Fielder doubled in the third inning as well for the Brewers, knocking in Nyjer Morgan and Braun both. Fielder continued his doubling spree with another in fifth, with Braun getting safe passage once more. The Brewers collected an eighth inning run off a Morgan walk forcing in Carlos Gomez. The score sat at its 6-0 final, with Narveson getting the win and Garza taking the loss. Marlon Byrd and Fielder were the best batters.

To New York, where the Mets hosted the Washington Nationals. Tom Gorzelanny and Chris Capuano were the pitchers. New York dented the scoreboard first with Carlos Beltran's two run homer to bring around Jose Reyes. Washington answered with a three run tater of Danny Espinosa's bat, scoring Wilson Ramos and Rick Ankiel. Beltran took it to the yard again in the fourth inning for the Mets, this time a solo shot. The Nationals shot back to take the lead on a solo home run for Ian Desmond. New York replied with a sixth inning, two-RBI triple for Ike Davis, scoring David Wright and Beltran, before he came home on Daniel Murphy's single. The Mets capped off an 8-4 win with Reyes double scoring Scott Hairston and Brad Emaus. Gorzelanny was pinned with the loss while Capuano got the win, Taylor Buchholz and Bobby Parnell picked up holds, and Francisco Rodriguez converted the save. Espinosa and Beltran were the top batters.

To Minnesota, where the Twins hosted the Oakland Athletics. Gio Gonzalez and Nick Blackburn were the pitchers. Oakland opened the scoring with Mark Ellis reaching base on Alexi Casilla's throwing error, allowing Kurt Suzuki safe passage home. This was the only score in the game, and Gonzalez took the win, Grant Balfour had the hold, and Brian Fuentes converted a save as Blackburn was stuck with the hard-luck loss. Daric Barton and the erratic Casilla were the top batters.

Down south to Arizona, where the Diamondbacks hosted the Cincinnati Reds. Bronson Arroyo and Daniel Hudson were the pitchers. Cincinnati opened the scoring in the first inning with Scott Rolen singling to bring in Brandon Phillips, followed by a Jay Bruce sacrifice fly to score Joey Votto. Arizona got on the board with a sixth inning Melvin Mora single, bringing in Chris Young. The Reds capped the game off in the ninth inning with Jonny Gomes' two-run double for Votto and Rolen, Ryan Hanigan singling to complete Gomes trip, and Chris Heisey using his own single for the same purpose on Hanigan, running the final to 6-1. Hudson took the loss, Arroyo had the win, and two holds were given to Bill Bray and Aroldis Chapman. Gomes and Russell Branyan were the best of the hitting.

To Southern California, where the San Diego Padres hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hiroki Kuroda opposed Dustin Moseley. Los Angeles opened up in the first inning with Andre Ethier singling to bring around Tony Gwynn. Ethier also had a homer in the fifth inning, followed by Juan Uribe reaching base on an error and Matt Kemp finding the plate. The Dodgers made it 4-0 with Casey Blake singling to drive in Gywnn. This would be the final, with Kuroda grabbing the win, Jonathan Broxton picking up a save, and Moseley taking the loss. Ethier and Brad Hawpe were the top hitters.

Staying in the same area, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hosted the Toronto Blue Jays. Brett Cecil and Matt Palmer were handed the ball. Los Angeles opened with Howie Kendrick sending a solo home run out in the first inning. Toronto tied it with Travis Snider's groundout to bring safe passage for Adam Lind. The Blue Jays added on in the third with Lind scoring John McDonald with a sacrifice fly. The Angels replied in the bottom of the inning with Maicer Iztruis doubling to score Jeff Mathis, before getting knocked in with a Bobby Abreu single, and then having Abreu come in on Vernon Wells' single. Toronto answered back with a fourth inning Rajai Davis single scoring both Edwin Encarnacion and McDonald, and Davis made it second on an errant throw, before coming the rest of the way on Aaron Hill's single. Peter Bourjos tied it back up for Los Angeles in the bottom of the inning, hitting a sacrifice fly to bring in Alberto Collaspo. This tie lasted for a whole game's worth of time, until the fourteenth inning, where Izturis bumped in Bourjos. Jon Rauch took the loss, while the Angels deprived bullpen caused Dan Haren, a starter, to come in and earn a win. McDonald and Izturis were top batters.

Up to Seattle, where the Mariners hosted the Cleveland Indians. Justin Masterson took on Doug Fister for the game's pitching. Cleveland found the scoreboard with a fourth inning sacrifice fly by Orlando Cabrera to score Asdrubal Cabrera, but a botched fielding play by Milton Bradley allowed Shin-Soo Choo to score as well. Seattle got on the board in the seventh inning with Michael Saunders singling to allow Justin Smoak passage home, and Luis Rodriguez got to third on a Michael Brantley error, but the Mariners were destined to lose 2-1. Fister was stuck with the loss, Masterson picked up the win, Rafael Perez and Travis Sipp took holds, and Chris Perez converted the save. Orlando Cabrera and Chone Figgins were the top batters.

Lastly, the San Francisco Giants hosted the St. Louis Cardinals. Jaime Garcia and Matt Cain played from the mound. San Francisco opened in the fifth inning with Mark DeRosa singling to score Pat Burrell. St. Louis tied it in the next inning as Skip Schumaker scored on a wild pitch. The Cardinals took the lead when Colby Rasmus sent a ball over the fence in the seventh. The Giants snagged a 3-2 victory in the bottom of the ninth with a clutch two-RBI double by Miguel Tejada, scoring both Buster Posey and Brandon Belt. Miguel Batista had a hold, but Ryan Franklin blew the save and was also stuck with the loss, allowing Ramon Ramirez the win. Rasmus and Tejada were the best batters.