Saturday, December 22, 2012

"Monday" Night Football Week 16 2012

This week, the Monday Night game leads the pack instead of closing the week, as to avoid Christmas Eve for gameplay. We have...

The Detroit Lions hosting the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta led off in the first quarter with a Matt Ryan touchdown pass of 44 yards to Roddy White, and Matt Bryant booted the extra point. Detroit got on the board as Jason Hanson made a 34 yard field goal. The Falcons replied with another Ryan touchdown pass to White in the second quarter, this time for 39 yards, and Bryant knocked in another extra point. Atlanta extended the lead as Ryan passed 16 yards to Julio Jones for a touchdown, and Bryant supplied another PAT. The Lions shot back on a 38 yard field goal by Hanson. Detroit chipped away in the third quarter as Mikel Leshoure ran 1 yard for a touchdown, and Hanson was there with the extra point. The Lions got closer in the fourth quarter as Hanson nailed a 20 yard field goal. The Falcons responded as Ryan passed 1 yard to Michael Palmer for a touchdown, and Bryant made the extra point. Atlanta struck again as Bryant made a 20 yard field goal. Detroit got some back as Michael Turner was stuffed for a 2 yard loss on a run, resulting in a safety. This only made it 31-18, a final, with Atlanta now at 13-2 while the Lions drop to 4-11.

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KHL December 22nd 2012

Three games on today, and none of them are being played in Russia. First up is...

Dinamo Riga hosting Avangard Omsk. Karri Ramo and Mikael Tellqvist will be between the pipes. Riga began with a first period goal by Kristaps Sotnieks, assisted by Kaspars Daugavins and Martins Karsums. Omsk got on the board in the second period with a Dmitry Syomin goal, passed from Anton Kuryanov and Alexander Frolov. Dinamo retook the lead on a Krisjanis Redlihs goal, coming off of Aleksandrs Nizivijs and Jamie Johnson. Riga added on in the third period with a power play goal from Miks Indrasis, powered by Nizivijs and Johnson. Dinamo iced it at 4-1 with a Daugavins goal, going into the empty net courtesy of Alexander Giroux and Paul Szczechura. The three stars were Daugavins, Nizivijs, and Johnson, while Tellqvist (27 for 28 in saves) gets the honorable mention.

Next up, Dinamo Minsk hosts Severstal Cherepovets. Vasily Koshechkin and Lars Haugen are the masked men. Minsk led off with a Joe Pavelski first period power play goal, with a lone Tim Stapleton assist. Cherepovets answered on a Tom Wandell goal, fueled by Niclas Bergfors. Dinamo regained the lead as Zbynek Irgl scored a power play goal, coming off of Cory Murphy. Severstal tied it in the second period as Evgeny Ketov scored, thanks to Bogdan Kiselevich. Cherepovets gained the lead in the third period as Vadim Shipachyov scored a power play goal, made possible by Stanislav Yegorshev. Minsk retied it as Stapleton scored, via Pavelski and Irgl on the power play. Severstal won 4-3 with two shootout goals potted by Vadim Berdnikov and Shipachyov. The three stars went to Shipachyov, Pavelski, and Stapleton, while Irgl gets an honorable mention.

Finally, Slovan Bratislava welcomes Ak Bars Kazan. Konstantin Barulin and Jaroslav Janus have the green light to play goal. Bratislava opened in the first period on a Libor Hudacek power play goal, powered by Milan Bartovic and Michal Sersen. Kazan tied it in the second period on a Jarkko Immonen goal, set up by Evgeny Medvedev and Dmitry Obukhov. Ak Bars took the lead in the third period on an Alexei Morozov goal, passed from Konstantin Korneyev on the power play. Slovan tied it as Mario Bliznak scored a power play goal, courtesy of Andrej Sekera and Michel Miklik. The game went into a shootout, where goals from Bratislava's Jan Lipiansky and Michal Vondrka topped a lone tally by Kazan's Lauris Darzins for a 3-2 win. The three stars were Vondrka, Bliznak, and Morozov.

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Friday, December 21, 2012

KHL December 21st 2012

Russia knows that the world didn't end, and celebrated with nine hockey games. First on the slate...

Amur Khabarovsk hosting SKA St. Petersburg. Ilya Ezhov and Alexei Kuznetsov will be in goal. St. Petersburg got going in the first period as Viktor Tikhonov scored a goal, assisted by Kevin Dallman and Vladimir Tarasenko. SKA added on with a power play goal from Dallman, powered by Ilya Kovalchuk and Tarasenko. St. Petersburg struck again in the second period on an Ivan Nepryayev goal, coming off of Fyodor Fedorov and Anton Burdasov. SKA kept going in the third period as Igor Makarov scored a goal with a lone assist from Gleb Klimenko. St. Petersburg extended the lead with a Tikhonov goal, passed from Dmitry Kalinin. Khabarovsk got on the board as Topi Jaakola scored, thanks to Nikita Gusev. SKA answered on a Tarasenko goal, courtesy of Tikhonov and Kovalchuk. Amur shot back with a Janne Lahti goal, fueled by Juha-Pekka Hytonen. This was it for the scoring, with the final being 6-2, and the three stars were Tikhonov, Tarasenko, and Dallman, with Kovalchuk getting the honorable mention.

To the west, Metallurg Novokuznetsk welcomes Dynamo Moscow. Alexander Sharychenkov and Alexander Lazushin play between the pipes. Novokuznetsk was first on the board in the first period with an Alexander Islamov goal, set up by Anton Lazarev. Moscow tied it when Dominik Granak scored a power play goal with a lone assist by Ilya Gorokhov. Metallurg retook the lead on an unassisted Nikolai Skladnichenko goal. Dynamo retied the game in the second period as Sergei Soin put the puck in the net, with the help of Igor Shchadilov. Moscow took the lead as Nicklas Backstrom scored a power play goal, powered by Alexander Ovechkin. Dynamo extended the lead in the third period as Ovechkin scored, via Leo Komarov and Backstrom. This made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars being Backstrom, Ovechkin, and Skladnichenko.

Further west, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hosts Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. Chris Holt and Semyon Varlamov are the masked men. Yekaterinburg opened in the first period with a Stanislav Zhmakin goal, a power play goal powered by Denis Sokolov and Evgeny Lapenkov. Yaroslavl tied it with an unassisted Artyom Anisimov goal. Lokomotiv tied it in the second period as Maxim Trunyov scored, courtesy of Daniil Apalkov. Yaroslavl extended the lead in the third period with a goal by Sergei Plotnikov, helped along by Dmitry Kulikov and Emil Galimov. Lokomotiv iced it at 4-1 with a Dmitry Maltsev goal, passed from Yegor Yakovlev and Trunyov. Trunyov, Varlamov (24 for 25 in saves), and Anisimov.

A touch east, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod hosts Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Georgy Gelashvili and Vitaly Koval are in the blue paint. Nizhny Novgorod struck first in the first period with a Pyotr Schastlivy goal, courtesy of Maxim Potapov. Magnitogorsk tied it with a Nikolai Kulemin goal, assisted by Evgeny Malkin. Torpedo retook the lead on an Alexander Semin goal, with a lone assist by Mikhail Varnakov. Nizhny Novgorod extended the lead as Radek Smolenak potted the puck, with a helper from Martin Thornberg. Metallurg got one back in the second period as Justin Hodgman scored, thanks to Mats Zuccarello and Viktor Antipin. Magnitgorsk tied it in the third period as Ryan O'Reilly scored a goal, set up by Alexei Bondarev. Metallurg took the lead on another Kulemin goal, guided in by Sergei Gonchar and Sergei Mozyakin. Magnitgorsk won 5-3 after a Malkin empty net goal, via O'Reilly and Antipin. The three stars belonged to Kulemin, Malkin, and O'Reilly, while Antipin gets an honorable mention.

Into Moscow, where Spartak hosts Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk. Mikhail Biryukov and Alexei Yakhin received the starting nods. Khanty-Mansiysk finally got going in the third period with a power play goal by Vitaly Sitnikov, powered by Igor Skorokhodov and Alexei Pepelyaev. This was the game's only goal, with Biryukov (22 save shutout), Sitnikov, and Yakhin (22 for 23 in saves) getting the three stars.

Up in Mytishchi, Atlant hosts Traktor Chelyabinsk. Michael Garnett and Anton Khudobin guard the cages. Mytishchi started with a first period Maxim Mayorov goal, a power play goal powered by Andreas Engqvist and Sandis Ozolins. Chelyabinsk tied it as Andrei Kostitsyn scored, thanks to Konstantin Klimontov and Konstantin Panov. Traktor took the lead on an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, fueled by Yegor Dugin. Atlant retied it on another Mayorov goal in the second period, coming off of Engqvist and Ozolins. Mytishchi took the lead again as Nikolai Lemtyugov scored, with the help of Rafael Batyrshin and Nikita Tochitsky. Chelyabinsk tied the game again as Kuznetsov scored another goal, made possible by Vyacheslav Belov. The tie required a shootout to be broken, where Traktor prevailed 4-3 as Maxim Yakutsenya and Kuznetsov each scored. Kuznetsov, Mayorov, and Engqvist get the three stars while Ozolins is the honorable mention.

Over in Ukraine, Donbass Donetsk hosts Barys Astana. Vitaly Yeremeyev and Jan Laco stand in the creases. Astana led off in the first period with a Dmitry Upper goal, assisted by Konstantin Rudenko. Donetsk tied the game as Lukas Kaspar scored an unassisted power play goal. Barys took the lead back with a power play goal from Brandon Bochenski, powered by Maxim Spiridonov and Mikhail Grigoryev. Astana extended the lead as Nikolai Antropov scored a power play goal, via Spiridonov. Donbass replied as Oskars Bartulis scored, with helpers provided by Ruslan Fedotenko and Sergei Varlamov. Barys iced it at 4-2 with a Rudenko empty net goal, going in unassisted. The three stars were Spiridonov, Rudenko, and Antropov.

Further west to Prague, as Lev Praha hosts Salavat Yulaev Ufa. Iiro Tarkki and Jakub Stepanek protect the nets. Praha began in the first period on a Nicklas Danielsson goal, coming off of Erik Christensen. Ufa tied it with an Andrei Zubarev goal, with a lone assist by Alexander Pankov. Lev took the lead again in the second period as Jakub Klepis scored a power play goal, made possible by Ondrej Nemec. Praha extended the lead as Jakub Voracek scored, via Danielsson and Christensen. Lev kept going in the third period on another Danielsson goal, assisted by Voracek. Praha struck again on a shorthanded empty net goal by Lubos Bartecko, with Danielsson picking up the only helper. Lev iced it at 6-1 with an unassisted Voracek goal. The three stars were given to Danielsson, Voracek, and Christensen.

Finally, Slovan Bratislava brings in Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. Matt Dalton and Jaroslav Janus tend the twines. Slovan opened in the first period as Ivan Svarny scored, with the help of Roman Kukumberg. Nizhnekamsk tied it in the third period with an Igor Polygalov goal, assisted by Alexander Seluyanov and Yegor Milovzorov. The game was decided in the shootout, where Neftekhimik got goals from Polygalov and Petr Koukal to take the game 2-1. The three stars were Polygalov, Janus (43 for 44 in saves), and Dalton (28 for 29 in saves).

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Thursday, December 20, 2012

KHL December 20th 2012

Two games today, both in the west. First...

Vityaz Chekhov hosts Severstal Cherepovets. Vasily Koshechkin and Ivan Kasutin will be in the blue paint. Cherepovets was first to score in the first period on a Petr Caslava goal, assisted by Alexei Medvedev. The scoring ended here, so Severstal won 1-0, with the three stars being Koshechkin (34 save shutout), Kasutin (41 for 42 in saves), and Caslava.

Ending the day in Moscow, as CSKA welcomes Ak Bars Kazan. Konstantin Barulin and Rastislav Stana protect the nets. Moscow led off in the second period as Patrick Davis scored, thanks to Vyacheslav Buravchikov. Kazan tied it on a Kirill Petrov goal, fueled by Alexei Tereshchenko and Alexei Yemelin. Ak Bars extended the lead as Petrov scored again, with the help of Lauris Darzins and Tereshchenko. This made it 2-1, a final, with the three stars being Petrov, Barulin (26 for 27 in saves), and Tereshchenko.

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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

KHL December 19th 2012

Hockey is back, at least in eastern Europe, and we have ten games on today. Remember that when goalies are named, it's road team before home team when I'm writing. First up...

Metallurg Novokuznetsk hosts SKA St. Petersburg. Sergei Bobrovsky and Alexander Lazushin are in front of the nets. St. Petersburg opened in the first period on a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, assisted by Viktor Tikhonov and Ilya Kovalchuk. SKA added on as Tikhonov scored in the second, with a lone assist from Dmitry Kalinin. St. Petersburg struck again as Fyodor Fedorov scored, thanks to Anton Burdasov. Novokuznetsk got on the board as Randy Robitaille potted the puck, with the help of Alexander Bumagin. SKA padded the lead in the third period as Maxim Chudinov put down a power play goal, powered by Patrick Thoresen and Tony Martensson. This was good for a 4-1 win, with the three stars belonging to Tikhonov, Bobrovsky (21 for 22 in saves), and Tarasenko.

A little to the northwest, Sibir Novosibirsk hosts Dynamo Moscow. Alexander Sharychenkov and Jeff Glass receive the starting nods. Moscow began in the first period as Alexander Ovechkin scored, via Maxim Solovyov. Dynamo added on in the second period as Kirill Knyazov scored, thanks to Sergei Soin. Novosibirsk got on the board in the third period when Alexander Romanov scored, with the help of Alexei Kopeikin and Kristian Kudroc. Moscow replied with a Nicklas Backstrom power play goal, set up by Leo Komarov. Sibir shot back on a Jori Lehtera goal, fueled by Jonas Enlund and Kudroc. Novosibirsk tied it late with an Ivan Lekomtsev goal, with a lone Lehtera assist. The game was decided in the shootout, with Sibir winning 4-3 on a lone tally by Arturs Kulda. The three stars went to Lehtera, Kulda, and Kudroc.

Way to the west, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hosts Traktor Chelyabinsk. Michael Garnett and Curtis Sanford are the North American goalies. Yaroslavl was first to score with a first period Artyom Anisimov goal, passed from Yegor Averin. Lokomotiv extended the lead in the second period on a Sergei Plotnikov goal, made possible by Anisimov and Alexei Kalyuzhny. Chelyabinsk got on the board in the third period on an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, pushed through by Stanislav Chistov and Gennady Razin. They failed to tie the game, losing 2-1, with the three stars being Anisimov, Sanford (28 for 29 in saves), and Plotnikov.

A touch to the east, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod welcomes Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. Chris Holt and Vitaly Koval are between the pipes. Nizhny Novgorod struck first in the second period with an Alexander Semin power play goal, coming off of Mikhail Varnakov. Yekaterinburg tied it as Josef Straka scored a power play goal goal, courtesy of Rastislav Spirko and Sergei Gusev. Torpedo took the lead back in the third period when Evgeny Varlamov scored a power play goal, powered by Artyom Chernov and Semin. This held up for a 2-1 win, with the three stars being Semin, Koval (24 for 25 in saves), and Varlamov.

Into Moscow, where Spartak hosts Avangard Omsk. Karri Ramo and Sergei Borisov are given the starting nods. Omsk led off in the first period with an Alexander Frolov goal, thanks to Andrei Ivanov. Avangard padded the lead in the second period when Igor Volkov scored, with the help of Anton Kuryanov. Omsk extended the lead in the third period as Vladimir Pervushin potted the puck, via Kuryanov. This made it a 3-0 final, with the three stars being Ramo (32 save shutout), Kuryanov, and Frolov.

Staying in the Oblast but heading to Mytishchi, where Atlant welcomes Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Ari Ahonen and Anton Khudobin guard the cages. Mytishchi started with a first period goal by Mikhail Glukhov, assisted by Rafael Batyrshin. Magnitogorsk tied it with an Evgeny Malkin goal, fueled by Sergei Mozyakin. Atlant retook the lead in the second period on a power play goal by Glukhov, coming off of Maxim Semyonov and Sandis Ozolins. Metallurg retied it with another Malkin goal, courtesy of Mozyakin and Justin Hodgman. Mytishchi regained the lead again as Maxim Mayorov scored an unassisted power play goal. Magnitogorsk tied it again in the third period when Hodgman scored on the power play, with a lone assist by Mats Zuccarello. Metallurg took the lead as Mozyakin scored a power play goal, powered by Nikolai Kulemin and Malkin. Magnitogorsk iced it at 5-3 when Malkin put in an unassisted empty net goal to finish his hat trick. Malkin, Mozyakin, and Glukhov were the three stars, while Hodgman gets an honorable mention.

Onward to Belarus, as Dinamo Minsk brings in Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. Maxim Sokolov and Lars Haugen will be the masked men. Minsk got going in the second period with a Joe Pavelski goal, assisted by Vladimir Denisov and Teemu Laine. Nizhnekamsk tied the game with a power play goal from Renat Mamashev, powered by Alexander Seluyanov. Dinamo replied as Pavelski scored a power play goal, made possible by Tim Stapleton and Cory Murphy. Minsk padded the lead in the third period on a Stapleton goal, coming off of Geoff Platt and Lukas Krajicek. This made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars being Pavelski, Stapleton, and Haugen (33 for 34 in saves).

Next up, Donbass Donetsk hosts Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk. Mikhail Biryukov and Jan Laco tend the twines. Khanty-Mansiysk began with a first period goal from Andrei Kuzmin, with a lone assist by Alexander Rybakov. Donetsk got on the board with an unassisted and shorthanded second period goal scored by Vaclav Nedorost. Yugra took the lead back as Konstantin Glazachev scored, thanks to Linus Videll and Dmitry Altaryov. Donbass retied it with a Denis Kochetkov goal, made possible by Evgeny Nikiforov and Clay Wilson. Donetsk took the lead on a Peter Podhradsky goal, fueled by Evgeny Dadonov and Lukas Kaspar. Donbass extended the lead in the third period as Kaspar scored, with helpers provided by Dadonov and Nedorost. This held up for a 4-2 win, with the three stars being Nedorost, Kaspar, and Dadonov.

Continuing to Riga, as Dinamo hosts Barys Astana. Vitaly Yeremeyev and Mikael Tellqvist are all padded up. Riga struck first in the first period as Jamie Johnson scored, with the help of Guntis Galvins and Krisjanis Redlihs on the power play. Dinamo added on with an Andris Dzerins goal, coming off of Gints Meija. Astana responded in the second period with a Roman Savchenko goal, with a lone assist by Vadim Krasnoslobodtsev. Barys tied it in the third period as Brandon Bochenski scored a power play goal via Nikolai Antropov. Astana won 3-2 in overtime on an unassisted Konstantin Rudenko goal. The three stars were Rudenko, Bochenski, and Savchenko.

Finally, in Bratislava, Slovan hosts Salavat Yulaev Ufa. Iiro Tarkki and Jaroslav Janus are in the blue paint. The scoring just wasn't there in the regularly played game, and the scoreless tie was to be broken in the shootout. Here, Ufa got a goal from Yury Trubachyov, but it wasn't enough to overcome two goals in a row from Bratislava's Michal Vondrka. The 1-0 score was a final, with Vondrka, Janus (38 save shutout), and Tarkki (25 save shutout) getting the three stars.

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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Fantasy Football All-Stars Week 15 2012

The playoff field has been cut in half by now, and I've got 4 teams out of my nine that made the playoffs going for the gold next week. Here's who had the best scoring totals last week.

Quarterback: Russell Wilson
Running Backs: Adrian Peterson and Beanie Wells
Wide Receivers: James Jones and Michael Crabtree
Tight End: Dennis Pitta
Kicker: Blair Walsh
Team Defense: Arizona
Defensive Players: J.J.Watt and Greg Toler

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Monday, December 17, 2012

Monday Night Football Week 15 2012

Closing out this week, we have the Tennessee Titans hosting the New York Jets. New York started in the first quarter as Nick Folk made a field goal of 22 yards. Tennessee took the lead in the second quarter on a 94 yard touchdown run by Chris Johnson, and Rob Bironas was there with the extra point. The Jets pulled ahead in the third quarter as Mark Sanchez passed 17 yards for a touchdown to Jeff Cumberland, and Folk knocked in the extra point. The Titans regained the lead as Jake Locker ran 13 yards for a touchdown, and Bironas supplied the PAT. This held up for a 14-10 win, with Tennessee now at 5-9 and the Jets falling to 6-8.

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