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.

Friday Sports

Pretty heavy slate of games to be played on Friday. We begin with...

The New York Islanders meeting up with their wartime enemies, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Al Montoya made the starts. Pittsburgh opened the scoring with Michael Rupp notching his eighth of the season, courtesy of Eric Godard and Craig Adams. Two fights followed, reminiscent of the previous bloodbath between these two teams, with Godard dropping gloves with Trevor Gillies, possibly to send a message from Eric Tangradi, and then Zenon Konopka and Aaron Asham took a dance later in the period. Both instances were heavily punished on the ice, and it curtailed the violence for the rest of the game. The scoring restarted in the second period with Zbynek Michalek scoring his fifth of the year for the Penguins on the power play from Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy. New York found twine with the stick of Blake Comeau sinking his 23rd of the season, via Matt Moulson and Jesse Joensuu. Comeau would strike again for the Islanders to tie it in the third period on his second of the game and 24th of the year, a power play goal powered by Michael Grabner and Travis Hamonic. Mark Letestu put Pittsburgh back in front with his 13th of the season, assisted by Rupp and Asham. Hamonic found another equalizer for New York with his fourth of the year, made possible by Kyle Okposo. The tie lasted into a shootout, where Chris Kunitz put the Penguins up 4-3 over the Islanders. Letestu, Comeau, and Rupp were the three stars.

Into the battle of Florida, where the Tampa Bay Lightning hosted the Florida Panthers. Scott Clemmensen and Dwayne Roloson took care of the twines. Vincent Lecavalier put Tampa Bay out front first with his power play goal, the 23rd of his season, made possible by Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos. Florida tied it with Jason Garrison notching his fifth of the year, with assists from Mike Santorelli and Evgeny Dadonov. The Lightning retook the lead with Ryan Malone's 14th of the season, an unassisted goal. Tampa Bay extended their lead on the second goal of the game and 24th of the year for Lecavalier, a penalty shot for the crime by Keaton Ellerby. The Lightning added on some more distance with Pavel Kubina netting his fourth of the season on the power play, thanks to Malone and Steve Downie. Santorelli made it a 4-2 deficit, and eventual loss, for the Panthers with his 20th of the year, assisted by Joe Callahan and Dadonov. Lecavalier, Malone, and Mike Lundin got the three stars.

Back north into Buffalo, with the Sabres hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Jhonas Enroth were called on to start. Philadelphia opened the scoring on Scott Hartnell's 22nd of the season, coming off of Danny Briere and Sean O'Donnell. Buffalo tied it in the second period with Nathan Gerbe sinking his 15th of the year, thanks to Paul Gaustad and Mark Mancari. Jason Pominville put the Sabres in front with his 21st of the season, with helpers provided by Thomas Vanek and Tim Connolly. The Flyers retied it with Kris Versteeg, his 21st of the year finding twine shorthanded via Claude Giroux. Thirty-nine seconds later, Briere's 33rd of the season had Philadelphia back in front, and Hartnell and Matt Carle picked up assists. Ryan Miller played the third period in relief of Enroth. Buffalo retied it in the third period with Gerbe's second of the game and 16th of the year, guided in by Vanek and Steve Montador. Vanek secured a 4-3 victory in the ensuing overtime as his 32nd of campaign went in unassisted. Gerbe, Vanek, and Briere were the three stars.

Back south to Atlanta, where the Thrashers hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Ondrej Pavelec were sent to block pucks. Carolina opened with a Jeff Skinner goal, his 31st of the season, helped along by Tuomo Ruutu. The Hurricanes added on with Erik Cole netting his 26th of the year, via Cory Stillman. Carolina struck in the second period with Joni Pitkanen on the power play, his fifth of the season powered by Jamie McBain. Keeping with the one assist theme, The Hurricanes got a third period tally from Brandon Sutter, his 14th of the year, with Chad LaRose getting the helper. Carolina kept going with Jussi Jokinen's 19th of the season, fueled by Ruutu and Skinner. The Hurricanes added some more with Ruutu on the power play, his 19th of the year finding twine thanks to Jokinen and Skinner. With thirty-nine seconds remaining in the regulation time, Bryan Little put his 18th of the campaign in the net, courtesy of Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler. With the 6-1 score, the three stars were awarded to Skinner, Ward (18 for 19 saves), and Ruutu.

Heading over to Detroit, where the Red Wings hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Jimmy Howard had control in the creases. Chicago opened with a Brent Seabrook goal, his eighth of the season, made possible by Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa. The Blackhawks also got a Ben Smith goal, his first of the year, thanks to Patrick Kane. Chicago rolled on with a Brian Campbell tally, his fifth of the season, assisted by Michael Frolik and Kane. The Blackhawks added on with Hossa's 25th of the year in the second period, a power play tally powered by Seabrook and the goalie Crawford. Detroit finally got on the board as Drew Miller netted his ninth of the season, with help from Johan Franzen and Justin Abdelkader. The Red Wings ended up losing 4-2 after Tomas Holmstrom netted his 17th of the year, courtesy of Jonathan Ericsson and Brad Stuart. Kane, Hossa, and Seabrook were the three stars.

Down to Nashville, where the Predators hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets. Steve Mason and Pekka Rinne played goal. Nashville opened with a Patric Hornqvist marker, his 20th of the season, assisted by Mike Fisher and Shea Weber. The Predators added on in the second period with Matt Halischuk netting his fourth of the year, via Jerred Smithson and Jordin Tootoo. Hornqvist tallied again for Nashville with his 21st of the season and second of the game, this time needing no assistance. Columbus got on the board as R.J. Umberger guided in the 17th of the campaign for Derick Brassard. The Predators made it 4-1 with Sergei Kostitsyn notching his 23rd of the year, with helpers provided by Hornqvist and Kevin Klein. This final score cemented a three stars of Rinne (44 for 45 saves), Hornqvist, and Halischuk.

Heading north to Edmonton, where the Oilers hosted the Minnesota Wild. Jose Theodore and Devan Dubnyk played between the pipes. Minnesota got lead as Brent Burns netted his 17th of the season on the power play, powered by Mikko Koivu and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. The Wild extended the lead in the second period with Jared Spurgeon notching his third of the year, thanks to Bouchard and Koivu. Edmonton got on the board with a Teemu Hartikainen goal, his second of the season, assisted by Jordan Eberle and Chris VandeVelde. Minnesota secured a 3-1 win with an empty netter by Andrew Brunette, his 18th of the year providing sock tricks for Bouchard and Koivu. Koivu, Hartikainen, and Bouchard took the three stars.

Into Colorado, with the Avalanche hosting the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Peter Budaj opposed each other. Dallas led off with Mike Ribeiro scoring his 19th of the season, thanks to Karlis Skrastins. The Stars extended the lead in the second period on a Loui Eriksson goal, his 27th of the year, guided in by Brad Richards and Jamie Benn. Brandon Yip put Colorado on the board with a shorthanded goal, his eleventh of the campaign, fueled by Philippe Dupuis and Jonas Holos. Dallas got the goal back in the third period with Brenden Morrow netting his 32nd of the season, courtesy of Steve Ott and Ribeiro. Yip made it 3-2 for the Avalanche, with his second of the game and 12th of the year made possible by Jay McClement and Holos. This was the final, with Ribeiro, Morrow, and Yip taking the three stars.

Into the desert, where the Phoenix Coyotes hosted the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Ilya Bryzgalov took care of the goals. Andrew Ebbett used his second of the season to put Phoenix on the board, with help from Kyle Turris. San Jose replied with Ian White sinking his third of the year, courtesy of Niclas Wallin and Torrey Mitchell. The Coyotes took the lead back with Ray Whitney potting his 17th of the campaign, helped in by Shane Doan and Eric Belanger. Radim Vrbata also tallied for Phoenix with his 19th of the season, with Belanger gathering the assist. The Coyotes extended the lead in the third period on the power play from Doan, whose 20th of the year was powered by Vrbata and Lauri Korpikoski. Joe Thornton got the Sharks a little closer with his 21st of the season, assisted by Logan Couture and Douglas Murray. San Jose made it 4-3 with a Dany Heatley goal, his 26th of the year, made possible by Patrick Marleau and Jason Demers. This would be the final, and the three stars went to Doan, Vrbata, and Michal Rozsival.

Finishing up in Anaheim, the Ducks hosted their northerly neighbors, the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Dan Ellis had the puckblocking duties. Los Angeles opened with a Ryan Smyth goal, his 22nd of the season, helped in by Dustin Brown and Jarret Stoll. Anaheim had the next two goals, in the second and third periods, come off Teemu Selanne's tape, his 30th and 31st of the year. Luca Sbisa and Jason Blake fueled the first one, while Saku Koivu and Blake did the honors on the decisive tally. The three stars were Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf, and Toni Lydman.

As for baseball, seeing as it wasn't an earth-shattering day, I will post a link here, and hopefully have more time in the near future to actually cover the games. Here's the scores.

Thursday Sports

A small schedule in both sports on Thursday, starting off with the four hockey games. These started with...

The New York Rangers hosting the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Henrik Lundqvist played goal. Atlanta got in front with Rob Schremp in the second period, his 13th of the season coming off of Andrey Zubarev and Anthony Stewart. Fifteen seconds later, the Thrashers extended their lead with Andrew Ladd notching his 28th of the campaign, thanks to Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little. Eric Boulton made it 3-0 for Atlanta with his sixth of the year, assisted by Johnny Oduya and Schremp. This would be the final, with Pavelec (29 save shutout), Schremp, and Ladd getting the three stars.

Up to Ottawa, where the Senators hosted the Montreal Canadiens. Alex Auld opposed Craig Anderson. Montreal took the first lead in the second period with Brian Gionta netting his 27th of the season, courtesy of Mathieu Darche and James Wisniewski. Ottawa tied it in the third period with Jason Spezza recording his 21st of the year, with help from Colin Greening and Bobby Butler. Butler put the Senators on top with his ninth of the season, made possible by Spezza and Chris Phillips. With eleven seconds in regulation left, Michael Cammalleri found the equalizer for the Canadiens on his 19th of the year, helped in by Andrei Kostitsyn and Wisniewski. Ottawa topped Montreal 3-2 in the overtime period with Filip Kuba potting his second of the campaign via Butler and Ryan Shannon. Butler, Spezza, and Kuba earned the three stars.

Down to Texas, where the Dallas Stars hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Brian Elliot and Kari Lehtonen played in front of the cages. Tom Wandell put Dallas out front first with his seventh of the season, an unassisted goal. Loui Eriksson added on for the Stars with his 26th of the year, courtesy of Jamie Benn and Brad Richards. Brandon Yip put Colorado on the board in the second period with his tenth of the season, assisted by Philippe Dupuis and Matt Duchene. Dallas answered that with a power play goal from Brenden Morrow, his 31st of the year, powered by Eriksson and Mike Ribeiro. The Avalanche pulled close again with Mark Olver's second of the season, guided in by Ryan Wilson and Duchene. Ruchards secured a 4-2 victory for the Stars with his 27th of the year, fueled by Benn. Eriksson, Stephane Robidas and Wandell were the three stars.

Finishing the hockey games in Vancouver, where the Canucks hosted the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Roberto Luongo got the starts. Vancouver led off with Mason Raymond sinking his 14th of the season, with a lone assist by Jannik Hansen. Ryan Kesler had the next two Canucks goals, his 38th and 39th of the year, the earlier one coming from the Sedin twins on the power play (Henrik and Daniel, although anyone who's remotely close to enjoying hockey should know that), and the second period tally coming unassisted. Raymond would tack on another goal for Vancouver, his second of the game and 15th of the season, with Daniel and Kevin Bieksa grabbing the helpers. Kesler finished his hat trick in the third period with his 40th of the year, thanks to Chris Higgins, prompting Jose Theodore to come on in relief and bringing the 5-0 Canucks final. Kesler, Luongo (29 save shutout), Raymond had the three stars.

Over to the Diamond...

The Cleveland Indian opened up the day by hosting the Boston Red Sox. Jon Lester and Fausto Carmona took the starts. Cleveland got the game's only run in the eighth inning as Asdrubal Cabrera sacrificed to score Adam Everett. Daniel Bard was stuck with the loss, Rafael Perez got the win, and Chris Perez got the win. Marco Scutaro and Shelley Duncan were the game's top batters. The Indians swept the three game series.

Heading across the state to Cincinnati, where the Reds hosted the Houston Astros. Brett Myers and Sam LeCure were handed the ball. Houston opened the scoring in the first inning with Hunter Pence grounding out but scoring Jason Bourgeois. Cincinnati replied with Edgar Renteria doubling in the next inning to bring around Jonny Gomes. The Astros took the lead back in the fourth inning with a Brett Wallace groundout, which provided safe passage for Carlos Lee. The Reds retied it again in the seventh inning as Scott Rolen sent a ball out of the yard for one run. Houston defeated Cincinnati on a Matt Downs double, bringing around Wallace for a 3-2 final in the ninth. Fernando Abad took the win, Brandon Lyon made the save, and Nick Masset took the loss. Downs and Renteria were the top batters. Cincinnati took the series 2-1.

Up to Toronto, with the Blue Jays hosting the Oakland Athletics. Trevor Cahill and Ricky Romero were the dueling pitchers. Toronto was the first to dent the scoreboard with a sixth inning single by Jayson Nix, bringing around J.P. Arencibia. Oakland answered with Andy LaRoche reaching home on a Coco Crisp strikeout on a wild pitch, which brought Crisp on to the basepaths. After two steals and then a Conor Jackson single, Crisp made it 2-1 for the Athletics, a decisive score. Cahill took the win, Brian Fuentes made the save, and Jason Frasor suffered the loss and a blown save in the odd game. Jackson and Nix were the top batters. Toronto did take the series 2-1.

Into the Big Apple, where the New York Yankees hosted the Minnesota Twins. Francisco Liriano and A.J. Burnett were on the mound. New York was the first on the board in the third inning with Nick Swisher hitting a sacrifice fly to bring in Brett Gardner. Minnesota replied the next inning with Jim Thome doubling to score Justin Morneau before Jason Kubel did the same for Thome himself. The Yankees answered in the bottom of the inning with Andruw Jones' double that scored Alex Rodriguez, Russell Martin grounding out for a Robinson Cano run, and Jones coming around on a Gardner single. The Twins got within a run as Denard Span grounded out to provide a route for Alexi Casilla, but they could not muster another run to tie, and New York grabbed a 4-3 win. Liriano was pinned with the loss, Burnett took the win, Joba Chamberlain and Rafael Soriano got holds, and Mariano Rivera punched out the ninth for another save. Thome and Derek Jeter were the top batters. New York took the rain-shortened series 2-1.

Moving along, the Pittsburgh Pirates hosted the Colorado Rockies. Esmil Rogers and Paul Maholm were the starting pitchers. Colorado opened up in the first inning with Carlos Gonzalez reaching on a Neil Walker error, which allowed Dexter Fowler to score, and followed it with Troy Tulowitzki sacrificing himself to score Gonzalez. Pittsburgh answered in the bottom of inning with Andrew McCutchen grounding out to score Jose Tabata. The Rockies retook the lead on a solo shot by Tulowitzki. Gonzalez singled in the sixth as well, with Ryan Spilborghs benefiting from the hit, and Tulowitzki brought him back around once more, with a double, but he failed to safely reach third on the greedy baserunning play. Colorado rolled on in the seventh with Spilborghs singling for a run by Rogers, and Gonzalez bringing Fowler in with his sacrifice fly for a 7-1 score, the eventual final. Rogers was the winning pitcher, and Maholm was the loser. Tulowitzki and Tabata were the best hitters.

Over to Milwaukee, where the Brewers hosted the Atlanta Braves. Tommy Hanson and Shaun Marcum played from the mound. Milwaukee got on the board in the first with a two run homer by Ryan Braun, also scoring Carlos Gomez. Martin Prado answered with a two-RBI single in the second inning, with Freddie Freeman and Matt Young crossing home safely. The Brewers replied in the bottom of the inning with Nyjer Morgan scoring on a fielder's choice reach by George Kottaras. Milwaukee got another run in the seventh inning with Prince Fielder reaching on a fielder's choice (no pun intended, these are only the facts), forcing in Rickie Weeks. The 4-2 score was the final, with Hanson losing, Marcum winning, holds being awarded to Mitch Stetter, Sergio Mitre, and Kameron Loe, and the save converted by John Axford. Prado and Braun were the top hitters. Milwaukee took the series 3-1.

Down to Chicago, where the White Sox hosted the Tampa Bay Rays. David Price and Edwin Jackson were the hurlers. Chicago opened with a first inning double by Alex Rios scoring both Juan Pierre and Gordon Beckham. In the third inning, Rios scored on a Paul Konerko double. Tampa Bay got on the board in the eighth inning with Reid Brignac singling to drive in Felipe Lopez. The White Sox finished up the scoring in the bottom of the eighth with Brent Lillibridge singling to score Alexei Ramirez before completing his trip on a Pierre single. Price took the loss in the 5-1 game, as Jackson got the win. B.J. Upton and Rios were the top batters.

Back east, the Philadelphia Phillies hosted the New York Mets. Jonathan Niese was the unlucky foe to Roy Halladay. Shane Victorino opened the scoring in the third inning with a single to score Wilson Valdez, and he reached second on a throwing error from Angel Pagan, and then came home on a Placido Polanco double. The Phillies kept it going in the fourth inning with Carlos Ruiz's single driving in Ben Francisco, Valdez's double knocking in Raul Ibanez, and Polanco driving in both Ruiz and Valdez. Valdez knocked in a pair of runs in the fifth inning as well, with his deep double good enough for Ryan Howard and Ibanez, although the greedy baserunner was caught at third. Ibanez added a two-run tater for Philadelphia in the seventh inning, scoring Howard again. The Phillies made it 11-0 on an eighth inning fielder's choice by Polanco, securing a path for Valdez to come home again. Halladay easily took the win, as easily did Niese with the loss. Jose Reyes and Valdez were the top batters. The Phillies snagged a 2-1 series victory.

Also, the Baltimore Orioles hosted the Detroit Tigers. Brad Penny and Chris Tillman were on the mound. Detroit opened in the first inning on a Miguel Cabrera single, scoring Austin Jackson, and Victor Martinez tacked on his own single to score Brennan Boesch. Baltimore replied in the second with a solo shot from Vladimir Guerrero and a single by Mark "K" Reynolds to bring in Adam Jones. The Tigers got back to business in the fifth inning, with a solo homer by Alex Avila and a double from Boesch to drive in Will Rhymes. The Orioles replied back with a two run homer by Jones, scoring Luke Scott as well. Detroit wouldn't have any of it, with Jackson doubling for Avila's safe passage to home. In the bottom of the seventh, Baltimore exploded with Guerrero singling to bring in Brian Roberts, and then reaching second and pushing Nick Markakis to third on a fielding error by Don Kelly. Jones would hit a sacrifice fly to push Markakis the last 90 feet, and Reynolds provided a double for Guerrero and Felix Pie to score safely. Cesar Izturis capped off the five run inning with a  single to bring Reynolds back around. This put the score at 9-5, which would end up as the final. Brad Thomas took the loss, and the blown save went to Enrique Gonzalez, while Jim Johnson gathered the win. Boesch and Jones were the best of the hitters. Baltimore grabbed the series 2-1.

Lastly, the Florida Marlins hosted the Washington Nationals. John Lannan and Josh Johnson took the mound as starters. Florida opened in the first inning with a Hanley Ramirez double to score Chris Coghlan, and a Gaby Sanchez groundout providing space for Omar Infante to score. Washington got a solo home run by Jayson Werth in the fourth inning. The Nationals kept it going with Danny Espinosa grounding out and scoring Wilson Ramos in the fifth inning. Ryan Zimmerman also produced an Ian Desmond run for Washington in the sixth inning with an RBI-single. The Marlins got an equalizer in the bottom half of the inning as Emilio Bonafacio grounded out to score John Buck. The tie lasted into the eleventh inning, as Adam LaRoche hit a two run tater for a 5-3 lead that would hold up. Tyler Clippard took a blown save, but Todd Coffey got the win and Sean Burnett picked up a save, while Edward Mujica had the loss. LaRoche and Ramirez were the top batters. Despite the loss, the Marlins took the series 2-1.

That's all. Trying to get a jump on Friday's games in at least one sport so I can work elsewhere for the weekend.

Wednesday Sports games

Another bunch of games in both sports. I will actually cover them all this time, beginning with the...

Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Cam Ward were the goalies. Carolina opened the scoring with Derek Joslin recording his second of the season on the power play from Cory Stillman and Eric Staal. The Hurricanes added on with Jeff Skinner's 30th of the year, with Staal picking up another assist. Erik Cole made it 3-0 in the third period with his 25th of the campaign, and Staal was able to complete his sock trick. This would be the final, with Ward (42 save shutout), Staal, and Joslin earning the three stars.

North to Boston, where the Bruins hosted the New York Islanders. Rick DiPietro and Tim Thomas played in front of the nets. Boston opened up with just a second left in the first period on Shawn Thornton's tenth of the season, made possible by Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell. New York got on the board in the second period with Michael Grabner on the power play, his 32nd of the year coming on the power play from Blake Comeau and the goalie DiPietro. Dennis Seidenberg put the Bruins back on top with his seventh of the campaign, assisted by Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley. Campbell also scored for Boston, his 13th of the season created by Adam McQuaid and Tomas Kaberle. Grabner put the Islanders back within a goal on his second of the game and 33rd of the year, a shorthanded tally with help from Josh Bailey and Ty Wishart. This 3-2 score would last throughout the rest of the game. Campbell, Grabner, and Thornton took the three stars.

Into New Jersey, where the Devils hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Martin Brodeur took the starts. Ilya Kovalchuk got New Jersey out front first with his 30th of the season, assisted by Jacob Josefson and Mark Fayne on the power play. The Devils added on in the second period with Mattias Tedenby nailing his eighth of the year off of Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias. Henrik Tallinder kept New Jersey going with his fifth of the season, guided in by Adam Mair and Rod Pelley. Jean-Sebastien Giguere played goal in the third period, relieving Reimer. Toronto got on the board with Phil Kessel on the power play his 31st of the year coming off of Joffrey Lupul and Matt Lashoff. Tyler Bozak added on for the Maple Leafs with a shorthanded (3 on 5) tally, his 15th of the season going unassisted. Elias sealed victory with his 20th of the year, an unassisted empty netter. With a score of 4-2, Kovalchuk, Tedenby, and Bozak were the three stars.

To Washington D.C., where the Capitals hosted the Florida Panthers. Scott Clemmensen and Semyon Varlamov stood in the creases. Washington opened early with a power play goal by Mike Knuble, his 24th of the season assisted by Brooks Laich and Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals extended their lead on the power play late in the first period, with Jason Chimera recording his tenth of the year, powered by Nicklas Backstorm and Laich. Washington kept going in the second period with Sean Collins' first of the campaign, helped along by Ovechkin. The Capitals also tallied in the third period, with Matt Hendricks registering his ninth of the season, thanks to Boyd Gordon and Jeff Schultz. Florida finally got on the board with a power play goal, David Booth's 23rd of the year, fueled by Sergei Samsonov and Clay Wilson. The Panthers got closer with the 19th of the season for Mike Santorelli, with Samsonov and Marty Reasoner providing the helpers. Ovechkin sealed the game at 5-2 with an empty net goal, his 32nd of the year, with Backstrom grabbing the lone assist. Varlamov (31 for 33 saves), Ovechkin, and Laich took the three stars.

Westward to Chicago, with the Blackhawks hosting the St. Louis Blues. Ty Conklin and Corey Crawford made the starts between the pipes. David Backes led off with his 31st of the season for St. Louis, helped out by T.J. Oshie and Andy McDonald. Oshie also scored for the Blues in the second period with his eleventh of the year, a power play goal from Alex Pietrangelo. Chicago got on the board with a Marian Hossa goal, his 24th of the season, with assists by His Skate, Patrick Sharp, and Nick Leddy. The Blackhawks tied it with Tomas Kopecky recording his 15th of the year, courtesy of Brent Seabrook and Chris Campoli. Leddy put Chicago in front with his fourth of the season, fueled by Duncan Keith and Jake Dowell. Chris Stewart found an equalizer for St. Louis in the third period by netting his 28th of the year, thanks to Matt D'Agostini and Patrik Berglund. The game lasted into overtime, where Jonathan Toews secured a 4-3 victory with his 32nd of the campaign, assisted by Keith and Brian Campbell. Toews, Leddy, and Stewart earned the three stars.

Up to Calgary, where the Flames hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Miikka Kiprusoff took control of the twines. Rene Bourque opened the scoring for Calgary with his 27th of the season in the second period, a power play goal powered by Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester. Jarome Iginla netted the next two Flames goals, his 40th and 41st of the year, with Mikael Backlund and Anton Babchuk producing the earlier even strength goal, and Alex Tanguay teaming up with Backlund to assist on the power play one three minutes later. Tanguay tallied as well for Calgary, his third period goal coming as his 22nd of the season, courtesy of Backlund, who wrapped up a sock trick, and Iginla. Edmonton got on the board with a Magnus Paajarvi goal, his 15th of the year, made possible by Andrew Cogliano. The Flames got the goal back with Curtis Glencross potting his 24th of the season, thanks to Greg Nemisz and Babchuk. Calgary secured a 6-1 win with Iginla completing his hat trick on his 42nd of the year, a power play goal guided in by Tim Jackman and Tanguay. Iginla, Tanguay, and Backlund took the three stars.

To Anaheim, where the Ducks hosted the San Jose Sharks. Antero Niittymaki and Ray Emery took the starts, although Emery split time with Dan Ellis. Anaheim struck first with a Corey Perry goal, his 48th of the season, coming from Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks extended their lead with Cam Fowler on the power play, his tenth of the year powered by Lubomir Visnovsky and Perry. Perry tallied again for Anaheim in the second period with his second of the game and 49th of the season, made possible by Ryan and Getzlaf. San Jose got on the board with Dan Boyle's ninth of the year, helped along by Kyle Wellwood and Douglas Murray. The Ducks got the goal back when Perry finished off his hat trick with his 50th of the season, a power play goal produced by Teemu Selanne and a sock trick clinching assist for Getzlaf. Selanne also added on for Anaheim with his 29th of the year, also coming on the power play via Fowler and Getzlaf. Anaheim added on again with Jason Blake's 16th of the season, a power play goal, guided in by Saku Koivu and the second sock trick man, Ryan. The Sharks made it 6-2, which would end up being their margin of defeat, in the third period with a Ben Eager goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Andrew Desjardins and Torrey Mitchell. Perry, Getzlaf, and Selanne took the three stars with little difficulty.

Wrapping up for hockey in Los Angeles, where the Kings hosted the Phoenix Coyotes. Ilya Bryzgalov opposed Jonathan Quick in goal. Los Angeles got out front first with the 20th of the season by Jarret Stoll, aided by Dustin Brown. Phoenix tied it with a Lee Stempniak marker, his 19th of the year going down thanks to Taylor Pyatt and Vernon Fiddler. Pyatt put the Coyotes in front with his 18th of the season, made possible by Stempniak and Fiddler. The Kings tied it in the second period with Kyle Clifford's seventh of the year, assisted by Wayne Simmonds and Rob Scuderi. The tie lasted into a shootout where Los Angeles's two tallies from Michal Handzus and Stoll were enough to beat Phoenix's one from Radim Vrbata. Clifford, Stempniak, and Stoll earned the three stars.

Into the realm of baseball with...

The Tampa Bay Rays hosting the Los Angeles Angels. Dan Haren and Jeremy Hellickson took the starts. Los Angeles opened with Bobby Abreu belting a double to score Howie Kendrick. The Angels added on with an Alberto Collaspo solo shot in the fourth. B.J. Upton put Tampa Bay on the board in the fifth inning with his own solo home run. Los Angeles got back to work with Jeff Mathis in the sixth inning, doubling to knock in Mark Trumbo, who would single in the eighth inning to bring Vernon Wells safely home. The Angels capped it off 5-1 with a Torii Hunter single, scoring Maicer Izturis, although the greedy baserunner Peter Bourjos failed to make it to third safely. Haren got the win, Kevin Jepsen took the hold, and Hellickson was the losing pitcher. Collaspo and Upton were the top hitters. The Angels swept the series 2-0.

Onward to St. Louis, where the Cardinals hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kevin Correia and Chris Carpenter were on the mound. Pittsburgh opened the scoring with Ryan Doumit's double in the fourth inning, knocking in Lyle Overbay. Neil Walker added on for the Pirates in the fifth inning, with a solo home run. Overbay hit a ground rule double in the ninth inning, which scored Andrew McCutchen. St. Louis got on the board with a Yadier Molina double making it 3-1 as Lance Berkman crossed the plate, but they would score no more. Correia got the win, Evan Meek took the hold, and Joel Hanrahan made the save, while Carpenter was dinged with the loss. The Pirates claimed the series 2-1.

Down to Texas, where the Rangers hosted the Seattle Mariners. Felix Hernandez and C.J. Wilson battled atop the mound. Seattle got out front early in the second with Brendan Ryan's sacrifice fly to score Jack Cust. Texas replied in the bottom of the inning with David Murphy scoring on a Jack Wilson error, allowing Ian Kinsler to get aboard. Elvis Andrus also knocked a run in with a grounding into a fielder's choice, allowing Yorvit Torrealba to come around, but Wilson messed around again, and Mitch Moreland also scored. The Mariners got a run back on a fielder's choice by Michael Saunders, good to score Luis Rodriguez. Cust tied it with a single that brought in Milton Bradley. Moreland did work in the seventh, doubling to put the Rangers back on top as Murphy scored. Nelson Cruz doubled in the eighth for Texas, scoring Adrian Beltre and Michael Young, and the Rangers solidified the game as Cruz crossed safely after Brandon League's error that let Torrealba on. Hernandez took the loss, Wilson got the win, and Arthur Rhodes picked up a hold. Cust and Cruz were top hitters. The Rangers swept the series 3-0.

Back into Missouri, where the Kansas City Royals hosted the Chicago White Sox. Mark Buehrle and Jeff Francis got the ball. Kansas City opened in the bottom of the first with Alex Gordon doubling to bring in Melky Cabrera, and completing his trip on a Billy Butler single. The Royals did some more damage in the fourth inning with Alcides Escobar doubling to bring in Jeff Francoeur, and then crossing home on Brayan Pena's single, and advancement to second on a throwing error. Pena came home when Mike Aviles grounded into a fielder's choice. Ramon Castro got Chicago on the board in the seventh inning with a solo home run, backed up by Juan Pierre doubling to knock in Brent Morel. The White Sox got closer with a Carlos Quentin home run in the next inning. Kansas City replied in the bottom half of the inning with Aviles reaching on a Mark Teahen throwing error, which scored Chris Getz. Chicago did plenty of damage in the ninth inning, as Pierre scored on an Alex Rios single, Gordon Beckham scored on Paul Konerko's single, and Quentin doubled to score both Rios and pinch-runner Brent Lillibridge. The Royals, facing a loss, got a clutch double from Kila Ka'aihue to score Jarrod Dyson. The tie lasted into the twelfth inning, where Morel singled to knock in two runs, Quentin and Alexei Ramirez, and Pierre hit a sacrifice fly to bring in A.J. Pierzynski. This would make the score 10-7 for the White Sox over Kansas City. Matt Thornton blew a save, but Chris Sale grabbed the win, while on the other side of the ledger, Robinson Tejada had a hold, Joakim Soria had a blown save, and Sean O'Sullivan took the loss. Quentin and Escobar were the best of the batters. The series was split 1-1.

Speaking of Chicago, it was in the Windy City where the Cubs hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks. Armando Galarraga and Ryan Dempster were on the mound. Arizona was on the board in the third inning with Chris Young tripling to knock in Willie Bloomquist, before reaching himself as Alfonso Soriano botched the defensive play. Chicago tied it with a two run tater by Aramis Ramirez, with Marlon Byrd coming in safely as well. The Diamondbacks ravaged the scoreboard in the fifth inning with Bloomquist singling to knock in Gerardo Parra, followed by a Young double to knock Bloomquist in again, and Young made it to third on the fielding error by Geovany Soto. He would come in to score on Kelly Johnson's double. The Cubs got a seventh inning solo shot from Soriano. Arizona replied with Miguel Montero doing the same in the eighth. Tyler Colvin answered for Chicago with a groundout, scoring Starlin Castro to make it 6-4. This would be the final, with Galarraga taking a win, Juan Gutierrez grabbing the hold, and J.J. Putz taking the save, while Dempster was dinged with the loss. The Cubs did take the series 2-1.

To Denver, where the Colorado Rockies hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chad Billingsley and Jason Hammel opposed each other. Colorado opened in the first with Carlos Gonzalez doubling to score Seth Smith, and finishing his trip on a Jose Lopez single. Los Angeles got on the board with a solo home run by James Loney in the next inning. They continued in the third inning with Rod Barajas hitting a solo shot, followed by Casey Blake tripling to bring around Rafael Furcal before getting the last 90 feet on an Andre Ethier single. The Rockies got some runs back with a three run tater by Todd Helton, knocking in Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki. Tulowitzki hit his own two run shot out of the yard in the fourth inning. The Dodgers tried some late game heroics in the eighth inning with Juan Uribe drilling a groundout to bring in Matt Kemp, but they would lose 7-5. Billingsley took the loss, Hammel snagged the win, Franklin Morales and Matt Lindstrom had the holds, and Huston Street picked up the save. Barajas and Tulowitzki were the top batters. The Rockies took the series 2-0.

To San Diego, where the Padres hosted the San Francisco Giants. The Tims took the mound, with Lincecum opposing Stauffer. San Francisco busted open the scoring early with Aubrey Huff doubling to score Freddy Sanchez, followed by Buster Posey hitting a two-run homer to finish the trip for Huff. San Diego got on the board in the third inning with Nick Hundley hitting a solo home run. Huff hit an RBI-double in the fifth inning to score Andres Torres. The Giants got some more RBIs from Huff in the next inning with a single to score Brandon Belt, followed by Posey knocking in both Miguel Tejada and Sanchez, and Pablo Sandoval completing the trip for Huff with his own single. The Padres were teased in their half of the ninth inning, being allowed to have Brad Hawpe single and then Tejada commit an error to score Alberto Gonzalez. Chase Headley then knocked in a pair with his double, those being Orlando Hudson and Hawpe. This brought the score to its final of 8-4 Giants. Stauffer was the loser, while Lincecum picked up the win, and the save went to Ramon Ramirez. Posey and Headley were the top hitters. The series was split 1-1.

To New York, where the Yankees took on the Minnesota Twins, and the rain won. Carl Pavano and Freddy Garcia were supposed to pitch, but the game has been postponed.

We move to a dryer Baltimore, where the Orioles hosted the Detroit Tigers. Justin Verlander and Brad Bergesen were the pitchers. Detroit got out first with a second inning double by Alex Avila, knocking in both Brennan Boesch and Jhonny Peralta, and a two run homer in the fourth to bring in Victor Martinez. Baltimore replied in the bottom of the fourth with Derrek Lee sending a ball to the seats, knocking in Nick Markakis. The Tigers did some damage control in the fifth inning with back-to-back solo shots from Miguel Cabrera and Martinez. The Orioles did get a sixth inning RBI single by Vladimir Guerrero, scoring Brian Roberts, but the greedy old man was caught getting to second. Detroit made it 7-3 when Avila knocked in Ryan Raburn with a single. With this as the final, Verlander took the win and Bergesen took the loss. Avila and Lee were the top of the hitters.

Cleveland hosted the next game, with the Indians welcoming the Boston Red Sox. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Mitch Talbot had the starts. Cleveland opened the scoring with Shin-Soo Choo's two run homer, also scoring Michael Brantley. Boston got on the board with a Marco Scutaro single to bring in David Ortiz, and Jacoby Ellsbury followed that up with a groundout to bring J.D. Drew around safely. The Indians replied in the bottom of the inning with Asdrubal Cabrera singling to score Matt LaPorta. Cleveland also did work in the sixth inning, with Brantley grounding into a fielder's choice, which scored Travis Buck, followed by Asdrubal blowing a three run shot out of the yard, which knocked in Jack Hannahan and Brantley. The Red Sox left a mark in the seventh inning with Adrian Gonzalez's two run homer, which scored Carl Crawford as well. Cleveland made it 8-4 with LaPorta's solo shot in the eighth inning. Matsuzaka took a loss, Rafael Perez got the win, and Tony Sipp recorded a hold. Gonzalez and Asdrubal were the top batters.

Into Philadelphia, where the Phillies welcomed the New York Mets. Mike Pelfrey opposed the Phillies fifth wheel, Joe Blanton. Philadelphia was the first on the board in the first inning, with Placido Polanco grounding out to second but scoring Shane Victorino, followed by Raul Ibanez singling to drive Ryan Howard back home. The Phillies did a little more in the second inning, with Victorino's groundout producing a safe passage home for Pete Orr. Philadelphia continued to do work into the third inning, with Howard hitting a solo home run, Blanton singling for two RBIs, which were Ibanez and Ben Francisco, and Polanco singling for Orr to cross safely once more. New York rediscovered scoring with a two run tater by Angel Pagan, bringing around Carlos Beltran. The Mets found an onslaught for the fifth inning, with David Wright singling to score Jose Reyes, Beltran doing the same for Willie Harris, Ike Davis doubling for two RBIs by Wright and Beltran, and Daniel Murphy's pinch hit single capping a five-run inning as Pagan crossed the plate. The Phillies broke the 7 all tie with Polanco singling for score Victorino and coming back home with Howard's single later in the fifth. Francisco secured a 10-7 victory with his solo shot in the sixth inning. Blaine Boyer was the unlucky loser, while Antonio Bastardo got the win, J.C. Romero and Ryan Madson had holds, and Jose Contreras picked up a save.

Heading north to Toronto, where the Blue Jays hosted the Oakland Athletics. Dallas Braden and Jesse Litsch got the ball for the starts. Toronto was first on the board with Adam Lind doubling to score Yunel Escobar. Hideki Matsui answered in the fourth inning for Oakland with his two-run double, knocking in both Daric Barton and David DeJesus. The Blue Jays got back in front with a three-run tater from Travis Snider in the bottom of the inning, bringing around Juan Rivera and Edwin Encanrnacion. The Athletics tried to pull closer with Barton singling to score Coco Crisp. Toronto sealed a 5-3 victory with Aaron Hill's single, knocking in John McDonald. Litsch grabbed the win, Marc Rzepczynski bought a vowel with the hold he grabbed, and Jon Rauch had a save. Matsui and Snider took the top hitter status.

Down to Florida, where the Marlins hosted the Washington Nationals. Livan Hernandez and Chris Volstad played from the mound. Washington was on the board first in the second inning, with Ivan Rodriguez making base on a fielder's choice, allowing Rick Ankiel to make it across the plate. Ian Desmond then made it on base with a bunt bringing Danny Espinosa home, and Rodriguez scored on a Ryan Zimmerman sacrifice fly. In the fourth, Desmond doubled to score Rodriguez. Florida found runs in the fifth inning with Hanley Ramirez's double scoring Chris Coghlan, before John Buck cleared the bases with a triple, allowing Ramirez, Gaby Sanchez, and Logan Morrison to all reach home safely. The Marlins kept it going in the sixth inning with Omar Infante scoring Greg Dobbs on a single, and Coghlan later scoring as Ramirez reached base on Desmond's error. Coghlan benefited again when Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly to score him, and bring the game to its final of 7-4 Florida over the Nationals. Chad Gaudin took the less, while the win went to Brian Sanches, Edward Mujica and Clay Hensley took holds, and Leo Nunez made a save. Desmond and Buck gained the top hitter award.

Back up to Ohio, where the Cincinnati Reds hosted the Houston Astros. Nelson Figueroa and Edinson Volquez played atop the mound. Houston opened the scoring with Brett Wallace walking with the bases loaded to force in Michael Bourn, followed by a single from Chris Johnson, knocking in Angel Sanchez and Carlos Lee, topped off by J.R. Towles single to complete the trip for Wallace. Paul Janish put Cincinnati on the board in the second inning with a single to drive in Jay Bruce. The Reds kept it up in the third inning with Scott Rolen doubling for two RBIs on Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto crossing the plate, followed by Chris Heisey reaching on Figueroa's error, which allowed Rolen passage home, and added on with Towles' fielding error allowing Bruce to steal third and score, and Heisey getting to third and then home after Janish threw a single into the field. Cincinnati did some more in the sixth inning with Drew Stubbs singling in Janish, Phillips knocking in Miguel Cairo, Votto hitting a ground rule double to score Stubbs, and Phillips crossing safely on Rolen's fielder's choice, which he made base on. The Reds topped it off in the eighth inning with Edgar Renteria knocking Phillips in with a single, and Bruce helping Votto reach as Sanchez misfielded the ball. The final was 12-4, with Figueroa taking a loss, Volquez grabbing a win, and a hold awarded to Logan Ondrusek.

Lastly, the Milwaukee Braves hosted the Atlanta Braves. Mike Minor was on the mound, as was Marco Estrada. Atlanta opened in the first inning with a Chipper Jones double to score Martin Prado. Milwaukee answered in the bottom half of the inning with Prince Fielder single to score both Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez. Yuniesky Betancourt helped for the Brewers in the fourth inning with a double to bring in Fielder. Milwaukee also tacked on some in the fifth inning with Fielder's single scoring Weeks again, and Mark Kotsay singling to bring Fielder the rest of the way around. The Braves pulled within one run on a three run homer by Jason Heyward, with Jones and Brian McCann also crossing safely. The final was produced here, at 5-4. Minor lost, while Estrada got the win, Zach Braddock and Kameron Loe got the holds and John Axford picked up the save. Heyward and Fielder were the top batters.

That's all. Tomorrow is the same deal as it has been lately.

Tuesday sports

Tuesday brought us nine games of hockey and fourteen games of baseball. We start the hockey in...

Buffalo, where the Sabres host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dwayne Roloson and Jhonas Enroth got the starts. Tampa Bay got in front first with Ryan Malone scoring his 13th of the season, guided in by Mike Lundin. Buffalo answered with Thomas Vanek notching his 29th of the year on the power play, coming off of Jason Poimville and Tim Connolly. The Sabres extended the lead in the second period with another Vanek goal, his 30th of the season and second of the game, fueled by Pominville and Connolly again. Connolly tacked on his own for Buffalo, with Steve Montador and Drew Stafford helping to produce his 13th of the year. The Lightning pulled back within a goal on the 22nd of the season by Vincent Lecavalier, assisted by Martin St. Louis and Teddy Purcell. Vanek finished his hat trick to secure a 4-2 win for the Sabres, his 31st of the year going unassisted. Vanek, Connolly, and Chris Butler took the three stars.

Up to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs hosted the Washington Capitals. Michal Neuvirth and James Reimer tended the twines. Toronto led off with Nikolai Kulemin recording his 30th of the season on the power play from Clarke MacArthur and Carl Gunnarsson. Washington tied it on the power play, with Alex Ovechkin's 31st of the year, powered by Brooks Laich and Marco Sturm. The Maple Leafs retook the lead with Joffrey Lupul notching his 14th of the season, fueled by Phil Kessel and Luke Schenn. John Erskine provided another equalizer for the Capitals on his fourth of the year, made possible by Matt Hendricks and Matt Bradley. The tie lasted into a shootout, where Washington beat Toronto with Mike Knuble's tally. Reimer (39 for 41 saves), Ovechkin, and Kulemin took the three stars to their name.

Into Pittsburgh, where the Penguins hosted the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg and Marc-Andre Fleury were sent to stop pucks. Pittsburgh got the first lead with Jordan Staal on the power play, his eleventh of the season made possible by James Neal and Alex Kovalev. New Jersey tied it with Dave Steckel potting his sixth of the year, thanks to Rod Pelley and Nick Palmieri. Pascal Dupuis put the Penguins back on top with his 15th of the season, courtesy of Max Talbot and Zbynek Michalek. Chris Kunitz chipped in his 23rd of the year for Pittsburgh in the third period, assisted by Tyler Kennedy and Staal. The Devils pulled back within a goal on Brian Rolston's 14th of the season, guided in by Mattias Tedenby and Patrik Elias. Dupuis tallied again to secure a 4-2 victory for the Penguins with his second of the game and 16th of the year, shorthanded from Craig Adams. Kunitz, Staal, and Roslton earned the three stars.

Onward to Ottawa, with the Senators hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Craig Anderson took to the nets. Please note that all goals are of the power play variety unless otherwise mentioned in this paragraph only. Mike Richards put Philadelphia out front first with his 22nd of the season, coming off of Kimmo Timonen and Claude Giroux. Nick Foligno answered for Ottawa with his 14th of the year, thanks to Jason Spezza and Filip Kuba. Richards put the Flyers back on top with his second of the game and 23rd of the campaign, fueled by Nikolay Zherdev and Timonen. The Senators retied it with Ryan Shannon's eleventh of the season, courtesy of Spezza and Kuba. Bobby Butler struck at even strength for Ottawa with his eighth of the year, made possible by Zack Smith and the sock trick completing assist for Spezza. Spezza tallied in the third period to extend the Senators lead with his 20th of the season, helped along by Shannon and Butler. Ottawa sealed the deal at 5-2 with an empty netter by Milan Michalek, his 18th of the year, guided in by Jesse Winchester and David Hale. Spezza, Shannon, and Richards got the three stars.

Moving around in east Canada, to Montreal, where the Canadiens hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Carey Price put on the masks. Michael Cammalleri got things going for Montreal in the second period with his 18th of the season, coming off of Andrei Kostitsyn and Paul Mara. Patrick Kane replied for Chicago with his 27th of the year, from Troy Brouwer and Brent Seabrook. The tie lasted into overtime, where P.K. Subban propelled the Canadiens over the Blackhawks with his 14th of the campaign on the power play from Kostitsyn and Cammalleri. Subban, Price (42 for 43 saves), and Cammalleri were the three stars.

Southwesterly to St. Louis, with the Blues welcoming the Colorado Avalanche. Peter Budaj and Jaroslav Halak were the goaltenders. St. Louis opened the scoring with David Backes' 30th of the season, assisted by Kevin Shattenkirk and Andy McDonald. Colorado replied with Kevin Porter registering his 14th of the year, with help from Mark Olver and Matt Duchene. The Blues retook the lead on the power play in the second period, with the ninth of the season by Shattenkirk, powered by Carlo Colaiaocovo and McDonald. McDonald finished things off with a third period empty netter for a 3-1 victory, his 20th of the year made possible by Nikita Nikitin. Shattenkirk, McDonald, and Backes got the three stars honors.

Over to Nashville, where the Predators hosted the Atlanta Thrashers. Chris Mason and Pekka Rinne dominated the creases. Matt Halischuk put Nashville up first with his third of the season, coming off of Jordin Tootoo and Jerred Smithson. Tootoo potted his seventh of the year as well for the Predators, with help from Martin Erat and Jonathon Blum. Thirty-nine seconds later, Nashville extended the lead again with Sergei Kostitsyn notching his 21st of the campaign, thanks to Patric Hornqvist and Cody Franson. Tootoo struck again in the second period for the Predators with his second of the game and eighth of the season, with Halischuk helping out and Ondrej Pavelec coming in to relieve Mason. Kostitsyn added on for Nashville, registering his second of the night and 22nd of the year in the third period, with helpers provided by Franson and Hornqvist. Thirty-eight seconds later, Atlanta woke up with a Blake Wheeler tally, his 17th of the season, with the lone assist by Andrew Ladd. Mike Fisher answered for the Predators with his 19th of the year, a power play goal powered by Kostitsyn and Hornqvist, the latter clinching a sock trick. Wheeler tallied again for the Thrashers with his second of the game and 18th of the season, guided in by Ron Hainsey and Tim Stapleton. Forty five seconds later, the Atlanta tally from Nik Antropov made it 6-3 with his 16th of the year, assisted by Evander Kane and Alex Burmistrov. Tootoo, Kostitsyn and Halischuk took home the three stars.

Down to Dallas, with the Stars hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Mathieu Garon and Kari Lehtonen played goal. Dallas opened with a Steve Ott power play goal, his 12th of the season powered by Brad Richards and Alex Goligoski. The Stars added on in the third period with an empty netter by Loui Eriksson, his 25th of the campaign going unassisted. Dallas secured a 3-0 victory with Brenden Morrow's 30th of the year, also going unassisted into empty twine. Lehtonen (23 save shutout), Ott, and Toby Petersen took the three stars.

Lastly, the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Devan Dubnyk faced off in the creases. Ryan Jones put Edmonton up with a power play goal with only three seconds left in the first period, his 18th of the season, assisted by Jordan Eberle and Jeff Petry. The Oilers secured victory at 2-0 with Magnus Paajarvi, his 14th of the year on the power play, powered by Linus Omark and Petry. Dubnyk (26 save shutout), Jones, Paajarvi earned the three stars.

Baseball:

Due to time constraints, I will supply you readers a link for the scores on Tuesday in the MLB. I am very sorry I couldn't go into detail on these, but there are not enough hours in the day right now. Thank you for understanding.

Games and scores: click here.

Monday Sports

Today we have a small amount of games in both sports, with hockey playing two games and baseball fielding six. The hockey begins in...

New York, with the Rangers hosting the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas and Henrik Lundqvist tended the twines. Boston got on the board with the fifth of the season by Daniel Paille, assisted by Johnny Boychuk and Michael Ryder. The Bruins extended their lead with Nathan Horton scoring his 25th of the year, thanks to David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Boston kept going in the second period with Chris Kelly potting his 13th of the season, with help from Tomas Kaberle and Dennis Seidenberg. New York got on the board with a pair of Vinny Prospal goals, his seventh and eighth of the campaign, with Wojtek Wolski picking up both primary assists, as well as secondary assists to Marc Staal and Derek Stepan. Brandon Dubinsky potted his 24th of the year for the Rangers in the third period to tie the game, with helpers provided by Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov. Mike Sauer put New York in front with his third of the season, guided in by Marian Gaborik and Brian Boyle. The Rangers beat the Bruins 5-3 after the empty netter from Stepan, his 21st of the year, made possible by Ruslan Fedotenko and Sauer. Prospal, Sauer, and Dubinsky were the three stars.

Finishing up with puck, the San Jose Sharks hosted the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Antti Niemi played goal. San Jose led off with Joe Pavelski's 19th of the season, with help from Torrey Mitchell and Kyle Wellwood. The Sharks extended their lead with a Marc-Edouard Vlasic goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Wellwood and Pavelski. Kyle Clifford and Jamal Mayers later took a dance. Michal Handzus used his 12th of the campaign to put Los Angeles on the board, fueled by Matt Greene and Alec Martinez. Twenty-two seconds later, San Jose got the goal back with Wellwood's fifth of the season, made possible by Vlasic and Andrew Desjardins. Dan Boyle helped out as well for the Sharks, netting his eighth of the year, assisted by Joe Thornton and Douglas Murray. Thornton tallied for San Jose as well, his 20th of the season coming from Patrick Marleau. Devin Setoguchi made it 6-1 for the Sharks on his 22nd of the year, powered by Marleau and Boyle. The third period had a scrum at 17:12, with Boyle completing a Gordie Howe hat trick while dancing with Brad Richardson, and Douglas Murray taking on Clifford as well. Boyle was dinged for additional penalties regarding his face mask. The score above was final, with Wellwood, Thornton, and Vlasic getting the three stars.

To baseball, with the...

Milwaukee Brewers hosting the Atlanta Braves. Brandon Beachy and Chris Narveson got the ball. Milwaukee got out in front during the third inning, with a Rickie Weeks solo home run. Atlanta took a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning with solo homers by Martin Prado and Dan Uggla. This was the final, with Peter Moylan getting the win, Johnny Venters taking a hold, and Craig Kimbrel wrapping up with the save. Kameron Loe also got a hold on the other side of the ledger, but Takashi Saito blew the save and also took the loss. Prado and Weeks were the top hitters.

To Chicago, where the Cubs hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks. Joe Saunders finally got his start, opposing Randy Wells. Willie Bloomquist put Arizona up with a first inning solo home run. Chicago answered with the same thing by Alfonso Soriano in the third, and took the lead in the fourth with a Carlos Pena sacrifice fly to score Marlon Byrd. The Cubs scored some more in the eighth inning with a Geovany Soto double bringing around Aramis Ramirez, and a Soriano single to complete the trip around for Soto. This brought around the final score of 4-1. Saunders was the losing pitcher, Wells got the win, the holds were given to Sean Marshall, Marcos Mateo, John Grabow, and Kerry Wood, and the save was performed by Carlos Marmol. Bloomquist and Soriano were the top hitters.

Into Maryland, where the Baltimore Orioles hosted the Detroit Tigers. Rick Porcello and Jake Arrieta were on the mound. Baltimore opened the scoring as Matt Wieters scored on a wild pitch. Will Rhymes answered for Detroit with a single to bring in Brandon Inge. The Orioles got back to business in the fifth with a three run blast from Brian Roberts, scoring both Felix Pie and J.J. Hardy as well as himself. Wieters also used a single to knock in Nick Markakis, bringing the score up to 5-1, the eventual final. Porcello got tacked for the loss, while Arrieta picked up the win. Rhymes and Roberts took home top batter status.

Over to New York, where the Yankees welcomed the Minnesota Twins. Scott Baker and Ivan Nova were handed the ball. New York led the scoring with two-run homers in the first and second innings by Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, scoring Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher. Minnesota got on the board with a Jim Thome double that drove in both Justin Morneau and Delmon Young. Tsuyoshi Nishioka followed the example for the Twins with his own double and brought around Alexi Casilla. The Yankees would hold on for a 4-3 win, with Baker taking the loss, Nova grabbing the win, Joba Chamberlain and Rafael Soriano taking holds, and Mariano Rivera picking up the save. Nishioka and Rodriguez were the top batters.

Moving along to Texas, where the Rangers hosted the Seattle Mariners. Erik Bedard pitched against Derek Holland. Texas opened with an Elvis Andrus home run in the first. The Rangers added on with Julio Borbon tripling to score Mike Napoli and Yorvit Torrealba. Justin Smoak got Seattle going with a double in the fourth inning to bring around Milton Bradley, and Miguel Olivo tacked on a groundout to score Jack Cust. Nelson Cruz also hit a solo home run for Texas in the bottom of the inning. Chone Figgins grounded out in the fifth inning for the Mariners, but not without producing a run by Jack Wilson. The Rangers kept pace with Josh Hamilton's double bringing around Ian Kinsler. Texas got a groundout double play from Torrealba to bring in Michael Young, although the play itself with Wilson's ability to complete was far greater than the run (true colors, may they show). Seattle got one more run to make it 6-4 with an Olivo single driving in Bradley. They lost, as did the pitcher Bedard, while his opponent Holland grabbed the win, Darren O'Day and Arthur Rhodes were awarded holds, and Neftali Feliz picked up a save. Olivo and Cruz took the top batter status.

Into Missouri, wrapping up the games with the St. Louis Cardinals hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates. Charlie Morton and Kyle Lohse took the starts. St. Louis opened with David Freese grounding into a double play, one which allowed old Lance Berkman to reach home safely. Pittsburgh took the lead in the sixth with Neil Walker doubling for two RBIs in Ronny Cedeno and Jose Tabata, before a two run tater by Andrew McCutchen to complete Walker's trip. The Cardinals got Berkman to single and drive in Colby Rasmus, followed by Allen Craig grounding into a fielder's choice to score Albert Pujols. This wouldn't be enough, as they fell 4-3. Morton got the win, Jose Veras and Mike Crotta collected holds, and Joel Hanrahan recorded another save. Lohse got pinned with the loss. Walker and Skip Schumaker were the best batters.

That's all for Monday. Sorry for the delays on these, work ethic on here is at an all-time low. I'm lucky to keep pace, but I hope to improve that in the coming days.

Song of the Week XIV

This week we go into the vault for our song, heading back to the late 60s with the Beatles. The song is called Helter Skelter. This song has a very relaxed feel about it, with lyrics of curiosity and disbelief. The overall sound is kind of like a jam session from a garage band. It was experimented on fairly heavily as well. The ending features a couple of fade-ins and fade-outs, before finally stopping and one band member exclaiming "I got blisters on my fingers!" in a distinct British accent. This song is pretty fun, and a good tune. This feature will run again next week.

Fantasy Hockey All Stars week 24

Keep reading to the end to see how I did in the first wave of medal games. This week, there were some leagues already decided and other leagues heading into their finals. For those of you who still need time to win or lose, here's who would look nicest on your team:

Center: Vladimir Sobotka, 1 goal, 4 assists, +3, 7 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 10 shots on goal.
Left Wing: Patrick Marleau, 4 goals, 1 assist, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 17 shots on goal
Right Wing: Corey Perry, 3 goals, 5 assists, +2, 4 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 22 shots on goal
Defenseman: Kevin Shattenkirk, 0 goals, 5 assists, +3, 6 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 7 shots on goal
Goaltender: Antti Niemi, 2 wins, 1.00 goals against average, 49 saves, .961 save percentage, 1 shutout
Utility 1: Matt D'Agostini, 2 goals, 3 assists, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 4 power play points, 12 shots on goal
Utility 2: Chris Stewart, 3 goals, 4 assists, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 14 shots on goal

Those were the top players, although Sobotka and Shattenkirk are only there due to failures at other positions. Marleau was technically the best center and left wing. The Blues, as you see, dominated the scoring with their 10-3 rout over Detroit. Also, I took home 2 golds, 3 silvers, and 2 bronzes for this past week. I have a few more teams left, so a few more medals will be coming, as will the last feature of this for the season, and a Baseball all-stars series at the start of next week.

Sunday Sports

Sunday was slightly less packed then Saturday in regards to sports. There were four less hockey games, and we begin with...

The Philadelphia Flyers hosting the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Sergei Bobrovsky were between the pipes. Philadelphia got ahead first with James van Riemsdyk notching his 21st of the season from Sean O'Donnell and Claude Giroux. New York tied it with a second left in the first period on a power play goal by Bryan McCabe, his seventh of the year gathering steam off of Derek Stepan and Marian Gaborik. The Rangers got ahead with Ruslan Fedotenko potting his tenth of the season off of Vinny Prospal and Marc Staal. The Flyers retied it with Nikolay Zherdev recording his 16th of the year, thanks to Giroux and Matt Carle. The tie was broken by New York in the shootout, toppling Philadelphia 3-2 on the tallies from Erik Christensen and Wojtek Wolski. The three stars were Christensen, Giroux, and Fedotenko.

Down to Carolina, where the Hurricanes hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Jhonas Enroth opposed Cam Ward in front of the goals. Buffalo was on the board first with the first goal of the season for Chris Butler, assisted by Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis. Eric Staal replied with his 33rd of the campaign for Carolina in the second period, made possible by Bryan Allen and Chad LaRose. The tie lasted through the silent third period to the overtime, where the Sabres eked out a 2-1 victory over the Hurricanes with Marc-Andre Gragnani potting his first of the year, with Nathan Gerbe and Stafford providing the helpers. Gragnani, Enroth (35 for 36 saves), and Tuomo Ruutu took the three stars.

Moving along to Detroit, where the Red Wings hosted the Minnesota Wild. Jose Theodore and Jimmy Howard guarded the cages. Detroit opened the scoring with Darren Helm netting his 12th of the season, thanks to Patrick Eaves and Brian Rafalski. The Red Wings extended their lead with Nicklas Lidstrom registering his 16th of the year, with the help of Henrik Zetterberg. Minnesota got on the board with the third of the season by Brad Staubitz, guided in by Justin Falk. Detroit took the goal back with Tomas Holmstrom tallying for the 16th time this year, a power play goal powered by Rafalski and Pavel Datsyuk. The Red Wings extended their lead again with Johan Franzen recording his 28th of the season, helped in by Zetterberg and Todd Bertuzzi. The Wild made it 4-2 with Carson McMillan getting his first of the year, with Staubitz and Eric Nystrom adding on the assists. The three stars went to Holmstrom, Helm, and Staubitz.

Doubling back to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets hosted the St. Louis Blues. Jaroslav Halak and Mathieu Garon took to the blue paint. St. Louis opened the scoring on Patrik Berglund's 21st of the season, created by Chris Stewart and Alex Pietrangelo. The Blues extended their lead with Chris Porter's third goal of the year, helped along by Vladimir Sobotka and Alex Steen. Columbus got on the board with R.J. Umberger's 25th of the campaign, a power play goal made possible by Derick Brassard and Anton Stralman. St. Louis took the goal back in the second period with Andy McDonald registering his 19th of the season, with help from Matt D'Agostini and Nikita Nikitin on the power play. Berglund also tallied for the Blues with his 22nd of the year and second of the game, with Stewart and D'Agostini doing the rest of the work. David LeNeveu took over for Garon for the third period. St. Louis kept rolling in the third period with Alex Steen notching his 19th of the season, courtesy of Sobotka and Roman Polak. The Blues made it 6-1 with an unassisted Carlo Colaiacovo goal, his sixth of the year. Berglund, D'Agostini, and Stewart took the three stars honors.

To Chicago, where the Blackhawks hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mike Smith and Corey Crawford took to the nets as goalies. Tampa Bay opened with Vincent Lecavalier recording his 21st of the season on the power play, powered by Martin St. Louis and Simon Gagne. The Lightning wrapped it up 2-0 in the third period with Nate Thompson's empty netter, his tenth of the year coming off of Gagne and Adam Hall. Smith (31 save shutout), Lecavalier, and Brent Seabrook were the three stars.

Westward to Denver, where the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Peter Budaj got the starts. Olli Jokinen put Calgary on the board in the second period with his 17th of the season, from Alex Tanguay and Jay Bouwmeester. Tanguay tacked on for the Flames with his 21st of the campaign, with Jarome Iginla recording the lone assist. Milan Hejduk made it 2-1 with his 21st of the year for Colorado, thanks to John-Michael Liles and Mark Olver. It wasn't enough, as Calgary held on for the win, with Kiprusoff (34 for 35 saves), Tanguay, and Hejduk getting the three stars.

Down to Anaheim, where the Ducks hosted the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Ray Emery tended the twines. Anaheim drew first blood with Ryan Getzlaf sinking his 19th of the season, assisted by Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry. Dallas replied with Jeff Woywitka notching his second of the year, with help from Brendan Morrow and Loui Eriksson. Mike Ribeiro put the Stars on top with his 17th of the campaign, guided in by Morrow and Woywitka. The Ducks retied it with Lubomir Visnovsky's 18th of the season, an unassisted goal. Morrow gave Dallas the lead back in the second period with his 29th of the year, courtesy of Jamie Langenbrunner and Tom Wandell. The Stars extended their lead with Ribeiro's second of the game and 18th of the season, fueled by Brad Richards and Jamie Benn on the power play. Anaheim made it 4-3 with Perry's league-leading 47th of the year, a shorthanded and unassisted goal. However, the offenses were silenced in the third period, and the Ducks lost by the above score. The three stars went to Perry, Ribeiro, and Richards.

Moving into the baseball spectrum with...

The Cleveland Indians hosting the Chicago White Sox. John Danks and Justin Masterson got the starts. Chicago opened with a Paul Konerko single to score Omar Vizquel. Cleveland took the lead with a sixth inning two run homer by Orlando Cabrera, clearing off Travis Hafner. The Indians continued with Lou Marson doubling to score Jack Hannahan, before finishing his trip on the Asdrubal Cabrera sacrifice fly. Cleveland added on with Shelley Duncan eighth inning single that scored both Hafner and Orlando Cabrera. This was followed by a Michael Brantley sacrifice fly that knocked in Travis Buck. This brought the score to 7-1, the final with Masterson taking the win and a hold credited to Tony Sipp, while Danks was dinged for the loss. A.J. Pierzynski and Orlando Cabrera were the best hitters. The White Sox did take the series 2-1.

To the Bronx, where the New York Yankees hosted the Detroit Tigers. Max Scherzer opposed Phil Hughes. Detroit opened the scoring in the first inning with a Miguel Cabrera home run, a two run shot that scored Brennan Boesch. New York replied the next inning with their own two run homer off the bat of Jorge Posada, scoring Nick Swisher. The Tigers retook the lead in the third with Boesch singling to bring around Austin Jackson, before Cabrera hit another two-run tater that completed the trip for Boesch. The Yankees had a pair of solo yard balls with Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano's smacks. Detroit kept pace with another two-run homer, this time from Boesch to score Ramon Santiago. Posada answered for New York again, his two-run homer bringing Swisher in yet again. Santiago added a double to bring in Jhonny Peralta in the sixth inning, followed by Boesch's sacrifice fly that knocked in Jackson. Swisher brought Cano in home during the seventh inning with a double. The Tigers finished up with a Ryan Raburn double to score Boesch yet again. This final score made it 10-7, with Hughes taking the loss, Scherzer grabbing a somewhat sloppy win, Phil Coke and Joaquin Benoit taking holds, and Jose Valverde grabbing the save. The top hitters were Boesch and Posada. The Yankees took the series 2-1.

Up north, the Toronto Blue Jays hosted the Minnesota Twins. Nick Blackburn and Brett Cecil took the mound. Minnesota took the first shot, a solo home run by Danny Valencia. Toronto replied with Edwin Encarnacion reaching on Tsuyoshi Nishioka's throwing error, moving along to second and bringing Adam Lind in home. The Twins got back on top with Matt Tolbert hitting a single to bring Jason Kubel in, and Valencia attempted but failed to safely score. Nishioka added on by scoring Drew Butera on his single. The Blue Jays pulled out a sixth inning solo home run from Jose Bautista. Minnesota replied when Denard Span hit a solo home run in the ninth inning. Toronto got a run off of the Yunel Escobar sacrifice fly as Travis Snider found the plate, but they didn't get an equalizer, and lost 4-3. Cecil was designated with the loss, while Blackburn stole the win, Jose Mijares, Matt Capps, and Glen Perkins took holds, and Joe Nathan got his first save since Tommy John surgery. Span and Bautista were the top hitters. Toronto did however take the series 2-1.

Down to Cincinnati, where the Reds hosted the Milwaukee Brewers. Randy Wolf and Bronson Arroyo had the ball for the start. Milwaukee led off with a solo home run by Rickie Weeks. Cincinnati replied in the second inning with Jonny Gomes homer, a solo shot, followed by Paul Janish singling to bring around Jay Bruce. Weeks kicked in another run with his double to score Wolf in the third for the Brewers. The Reds had another answer in the fourth inning, with Drew Stubbs singling to score Ryan Hanigan, and completing his trip on the Brandon Phillips three run shot that benefited Janish as well. Hanigan crossed the plate again on his solo home run in the fifth, answered by Milwaukee's Ryan Braun with his own solo homer the next inning. Cincinnati added on to their score with a Scott Rolen sacrifice fly to knock in Phillips, followed by a three run tater by Hanigan, with Joey Votto and Gomes crossing home. The Reds made it 12-3 with a Miguel Cairo single, bringing in Chris Heisey. This was the final, with Wolf being the loser and Arroyo the winner. Weeks and Hanigan were the best of the hitters. Cincinnati made it a 3-0 sweep with the win.

Down to Florida, where the Marlins hosted the New York Mets. R.A. Dickey and Javier Vazquez squared off. New York busted out early with a two-run Willie Harris homer, bringing in Jose Reyes, followed by Lucas Duda's grounding into a fielder's choice, providing time for Ike Davis to score as Hanley Ramirez misfielded the ball. The Mets added on with a solo shot from Davis in the second inning, followed by a ground rule double for Daniel Murphy, which brought around Angel Pagan, and capped by Duda and Murphy scoring on Emilio Bonifacio's throwing error, allowing Dickey to reach first as well. Florida got on the board in the third inning with Omar Infante hitting a sacrifice fly to score Scott Cousins. Infante was kicked in during the seventh inning, as the Marlins got an RBI single from Gaby Sanchez. Pagan's walk got New York started again in the eighth inning, with Chin-lung Hu being pushed in, followed by a fielder's choice for Scott Hairston, on which he reached, and knocked in Harris. The final was 9-2, and Dickey took the win, along with D.J. Carrasco taking a hold, subsequently giving Vazquez the loss. Harris and Sanchez were your top hitters. The Mets won the series 2-1.

To Philadelphia, where the Phillies hosted the Houston Astros. Bud Norris took on Roy Oswalt. Philadelphia cut open the scoring with a three run shot from Ryan Howard, scoring Placido Polanco and Jimmy Rollins. Howard added on for the Phillies with his double to score Polanco again in the third inning. Houston got on the scoreboard with Hunter Pence sending a ball over the wall in the next inning. Brett Wallace continued for the Astros with a groundout to bring around Carlos Lee in the sixth. Philadelphia replied in the bottom half of the inning with Shane Victorino and Michael Martinez singles, coming back-to-back and knocking in Ben Francisco and Carlos Ruiz. Houston sent one final run in with Humberto Quintero grounding into a double play, taking Chris Johnson off the paths, but also bringing Wallace in to score. The final stood at 7-3 for the Phillies. Norris took the loss, while Oswalt got the win over his former team. Pence and Howard were the top batters. Philadelphia swept Houston 3-0 for the series.

Into Washington, where the Nationals hosted the Atlanta Braves. Tim Hudson and Jordan Zimmermann were on the mound. Atlanta opened the scoring in the first inning with Brian McCann singling to knock in Nate McLouth, answered in the other half by Washington's Adam LaRoche singling to do the same for Jayson Werth. The Braves got ahead in the fifth inning with Freddie Freeman grounding out to shortstop, allowing time for Alex Gonzalez to come in, followed by Martin Prado's double and extra base after Danny Espinosa committed an error, allowing Hudson to cross home. McCann added on a two-RBI single in the seventh when Prado and McLouth crossed the plate. Atlanta busted out in the eighth, with Jason Heyward scoring on a balk, Gonzalez coming in on a Prado sacrifice fly, Freeman rounding in on McLouth's double, Chipper Jones completing the trip for McLouth, McCann singling to drive in Matt Young, and topping off the six-run inning with Heyward singling to drive McCann back across the plate. The Nationals replied with a mere run on a Jerry Hairston, Jr. groundout to score Espinosa. Hudson picked up the win, while Zimmermann was given the loss in the 11-2 game. McCann and Espinosa were the best batters. Atlanta took the series 2-1.

To Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays hosted the Baltimore Orioles. Zach Britton opposed Wade Davis. Baltimore struck early with a Matt Wieters single to knock in Brian Roberts. This was answered by Tampa Bay in the third inning, with Elliot Johnson laying down a bunt single and scoring Matt Joyce. The Orioles got back to scoring in the seventh with a Mark Reynolds double scoring Wieters, followed by J.J. Hardy's double completing the trip for Reynolds, as well as Adam Jones. Reynolds knocked Jones in himself in the ninth inning with another double, bringing the score to 5-1. Britton got the win, Jason Berken and Jim Johnson got the holds, and Davis took the loss. The win completed a 3-0 sweep for Baltimore.

West to Texas, where the Rangers hosted the Boston Red Sox. Clay Buchholz and Matt Harrison were on the mound. Texas opened with a David Murphy second inning home run, a solo shot. Ian Kinsler also homered for the Rangers, his third inning blast also a solo home run. Mike Napoli joined the solo home run fun in the fifth inning, boosting Texas further. Boston got on the board in the seventh inning with Carl Crawford driving in Kevin Youkilis with a single. The Rangers answered with Nelson Cruz hitting a solo shot in the bottom of the inning, and making it 5-1 with Mike Young's double in the eighth to score Andres Blanco. This was the final, with Buchholz taking the loss, Harrison gathering in a win, and Darren Oliver picking up a hold. Crawford and Murphy were the top batters. Texas' win gave them a 3-0 sweep over Boston.

To Kansas City, where the Royals hosted the Los Angeles Angels. Scott Kazmir and Bruce Chen were the starters. Kansas City saw the first glimpse of scoring with Alex Gordon's single to score Mike Aviles, followed by Jeff Francoeur singling and Gordon reaching home after making second on a balk. The Royals added on in the second inning with Melky Cabrera homering for a solo shot, followed by Kila Ka'aihue's two-RBI double that brought in Gordon and Billy Butler, and he made third on a balk. Los Angeles got on the board with solo home runs in the third inning by Maicer Izturis and Howie Kendrick. The Angels added on with Mark Trumbo doubling to bring around Alberto Collaspo, before completing his lap on a Peter Bourjos groundout. Kansas City replied with a solo shot in the bottom half of the inning by Butler, which Los Angeles replied back to with Kendrick in the fifth. The scoring resumed in the seventh with Bobby Abreu hitting a two run tater to score Kendrick again. Francoeur answered for the Royals with a double to knock in Gordon. The Angels pick up a double from Izturis in the eighth to bring Bourjos back in. Callaspo followed that up with a solo home run in the ninth inning. Kansas City tied it on Wilson Betemit's two-RBI double on which Gordon and Chris Getz crossed safely home. The extra innings lasted into the thirteenth, where Matt Treanor knocked a three-run homer out of the park, with Betemit and Alcides Escobar also scoring, making it 12-9 Royals. Michael Kohn, Fernando Rodney, and Sean O'Sullivan had blown saves on both sides of the ledger, while Jordan Walden took a hold, Jason Bulger took the loss, and Tim Collins snagged the win. Abreu and Gordon were the top batters in the slugfest. The Royals took the series 3-1.

Crossing the state, the St. Louis Cardinals hosted the San Diego Padres. Dustin Moseley and Jaime Garcia made the starts. St. Louis was on the board first in the fifth inning with Yadier Molina singling to drive in Lance Berkman. The Cardinals made it 2-0 in the eighth inning with Ryan Theriot's single, bringing around Skip Schumaker. This was the final, with Moseley taking a hard-luck loss, and Garcia throwing a complete game shutout win. Nick Hundley and Schumaker were the top hitters. San Diego got away with a 2-1 series win.

North a bit to Chicago, where the Cubs hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ross Ohlendorf and Matt Garza were given the ball. Pittsburgh opened the scoring in the second inning with Ronny Cedeno singling to score Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez drove in a run himself in the third inning for the Pirates with a single that scored Jose Tabata. Chicago tied it in the fourth inning with Carlos Pena's two-RBI double with Darwin Barney and Marlon Byrd both scoring. Lyle Overbay put Pittsburgh back on track with a single, allowing Tabata to come across home again. The Cubs answered in the bottom of the inning with Barney's sacrifice fly, bringing Starlin Castro around. Chicago took the lead with an Alfonso Soriano solo home run in the sixth. The Pirates took the lead back in the ninth with a two-RBI single from Alvarez, scoring both Garrett Jones and Neil Walker. This gave them a 5-4 lead, and eventually the win of the same score. Jeff Karstens picked up a win, while Joel Hanrahan got the save, Kerry Wood got the hold, and Carlos Marmol suffered a blown save and a loss. Alvarez and Castro were the top batters. Pittsburgh stole the series 2-1.

To Colorado, where the Rockies hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks. Joe Saunders and Jhoulys Chacin took to the mound. The game was postponed at the start.

Into Oakland, where the Athletics hosted the Seattle Mariners. Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez pitched against each other. Seattle opened with a Ryan Langerhans solo home run in the second inning. Oakland replied with Coco Crisp tripling to drive in Kevin Kouzmanoff. Mark Ellis added on for the Athletics with a fourth inning groundout to shortstop, bringing in Josh Willingham, before singling in the sixth with the same result. Oakland exploded in the seventh inning with Hideki Matsui singling to score Crisp, Kurt Suzuki getting beaned and forcing in Daric Barton, Ellis walking to force in David DeJesus, and Kouzmanoff sacrificing his own at-bat for the sake of finishing Matsui's trip around the horn. This 7-1 score lasted throughout the rest of the game, pinning the loss on Fister, and the win went to Gonzalez. Langerhans and Crisp were the top batters. Seattle took the series 2-1.

Lastly, the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the San Francisco Giants. Barry Zito took on Hiroki Kuroda. Los Angeles got out to the early lead with Jamey Carroll triple to score Rafael Furcal, before Matt Kemp's two run blast completed his trip around. Pablo Sandoval added on a solo home run for San Francisco in the next inning. The Giants pulled closer with Buster Posey singling to bring Freddy Sanchez around. San Francisco tied it with Pat Burrell's solo shot in the seventh. The Dodgers got back to business in the bottom half of the same inning, led off by a Marcus Thames triple to score James Loney, followed by Aaron Miles pinch hit RBI single knocking in pinch runner Tony Gwynn. Furcal continued the scoring with his double to bring Miles around, and he was knocked in by an Andre Ethier single. The Giants pulled in a run with a bases-loaded walk for Brandon Belt, and a solo home run by Aaron Rowand in the ninth, but they still lost 7-5. Dan Runzler got dinged for the loss, while Kuroda had the win, Matt Guerrier had the hold, and Jonathan Broxton recorded his third save of the year. Sandoval and Kemp were the top hitters. The Dodgers took the series 3-1.

That's all folks. Monday's schedule is reduced significantly, and the song of the week will come out on Tuesday.