Top Tens - 12/18/13

MEN'S TENNIS RANKINGS (12/3/13)

Photo Credit: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports

1. Rafael Nadal (Spain) - 13030 points
2. Novak Djokovic (Serbia & Montenegro) - 12260 points
3. David Ferrer (Spain) - 5800 points
4. Andy Murray (Great Britain) - 5790 points
5. Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) - 5255 points
6. Roger Federer (Switzerland) - 4205 points
7. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) - 4180 points
8. Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) - 3730 points
9. Richard Gasquet (France) - 3300 points
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) - 3065 points

WOMEN'S TENNIS RANKINGS (12/3/13)

Photo Credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/australianopen

1. Serena Williams (USA) - 13260 points
2. Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) - 8046 points
3. Li Na (China) - 6045 points
4. Maria Sharapova (Russia) - 5891 points
5. Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) - 5875 points
6. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) - 4775 points
7. Sara Errani (Italy) - 4435 points
8. Jelena Jankovic (Serbia & Montenegro) - 4170 points
9. Angelique Kerber (Germany) - 3965 points
10. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) - 3520 points

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE LEADING SCORERS

Photo Credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football

1. Luis Suárez (Uruguay) - Liverpool - 17
2. Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 13
3. Daniel Sturridge (England) - Liverpool - 9
4. Wayne Rooney (England) - Manchester Utd - 8
4. Loïc Remy (France) - Newcastle Utd - 8
4. Aaron Ramsey (Wales) - Arsenal - 8
4. Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) - Everton - 8
4. Yaya Touré (Ivory Coast) - Manchester City - 8
9. Robin Van Persie (Netherlands) - Manchester Utd - 7
9. Olivier Giroud (France) - Arsenal - 7
9. Álvaro Negredo (Spain) - Manchester City - 7

Top Tens - 12/11/13

FIFA MEN'S RANKINGS (11/28/13)

Photo Credit: http://thebadassitudeblog.com

1. SPAIN
2. GERMANY
3. ARGENTINA
4. COLOMBIA
5. PORTUGAL
6. URUGUAY
7. ITALY
8. SWITZERLAND
9. NETHERLANDS
10. BRAZIL

FIFA WOMEN'S RANKINGS (8/2/13)

Photo Credit: http://intrepidmg.wordpress.com/2012/08/17

1. USA
2. GERMANY
3. JAPAN 
4. BRAZIL
5. SWEDEN
6. FRANCE
7. CANADA
8. AUSTRALIA
9. KOREA DPR
10. NORWAY

MEN'S TENNIS RANKINGS (12/3/13)

Photo Credit: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports

1. Rafael Nadal (Spain) - 13030 points
2. Novak Djokovic (Serbia & Montenegro) - 12260 points
3. David Ferrer (Spain) - 5800 points
4. Andy Murray (Great Britain) - 5790 points
5. Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) - 5255 points
6. Roger Federer (Switzerland) - 4205 points
7. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) - 4180 points
8. Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) - 3730 points
9. Richard Gasquet (France) - 3300 points
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) - 3065 points

Sports From A to Z, 12/8/13

A is for And we're back! After about a year and a half away from the blogging game, the blog is back.  If you know me, you know how it is with me and sports. Just can't stay away. Gonna try and do a piece every Sunday, we'll see how it goes.

B is for the Brooklyn Nets. Thought to be a legitimate challenger to the Miami Heat in the NBA's Eastern Conference with a core of Kevin Garnett (15 All-Star Games, 1 MVP), Joe Johnson (6 All-Star Games), Paul Pierce (10 All-Star Games), Deron Williams (3 All-Star Games), and Brook Lopez (1 All-Star Game), the Nets dealt the Heat their first loss of the season back on November 1st, 101-100. Since that time though? Just 5 wins in 18 games and with a record of 6-14, they sit tied for 12th place in the Eastern Conference. Of their projected starting five, only Johnson has appeared in every game with Williams missing 11, Lopez 7, Pierce 5 and Garnett 2. On top of that Garnett's averaged a career low 6.5 points per game while shooting just 36% from the field. Their only saving grace? The East is so weak this season that the 8th place Bulls are just 8-10, a mere 3 games up on the Nets.

Photo Credit: http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports

C is for Cano. Robinson Cano and the Seattle Mariners have agreed to a 10 year, $240M contract as the AL West just keeps loading up on star power. The 31 year old second baseman has enjoyed 4 straight all-star seasons, and in the past five years has never hit less than .302 while adding at least 25 homers, 85 runs batted in, and 41 doubles. Seattle used 5 different second basemen in 2013 (Nick Franklin, Dustin Ackley, Robert Andino, Carlos Triunfel and Brad Miller), but none of them can compete with Cano in terms of numbers. In fact, the five of them combined to hit fewer homers (24) than Cano did last season (27). Still, 10 year contracts are a dangerous thing as evidenced to those previously given to Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols. That said, it's a definite upgrade for the Mariners right now.

Photo Credit: http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb

The A to Z - from Angels in the Outfield to Tomislav Zubcic

A is for Angels in the Outfield. Remember that flick from the mid 90s? Well Angels rookie Mike Trout made a catch this week that was straight out of the movie taking a home run away from Baltimore's J.J. Hardy. If you haven't seen it yet, it's definitely worth a look. Tell me that's not reminiscent of the catch a young Matthew McConaughey made in the movie. I'm just saying. Hardly seems fair that a team that has Albert Pujols on it would need any help, but you never know. Anyhow, back to the movie, how ridiculous was that cast? Danny Glover, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Neal McDonough, Adrien Brody and McConaughey? Not to mention former AL batting champion Carney Lansford as Ken 'Hit or Die' Kesey.

Photo Credit: angelswin.com

Photo Credit: supamov.net

B is for Balotelli. The Polarizing Mario Balotelli scored twice for Italy against Germany on Thursday to lead the Italians into the Euro 2012 Final. The 21 year old striker who recently helped lead Manchester City to an English Premier League title, struck once with his head and once with his feet in the first half against the favored Germans, and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon the Italian defense took care of the rest limiting the Germans to a stoppage time penalty kick in the second half and nothing more. Balotelli is tied with Mario Gomez (Germany), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Mario Mandzukic (Croatia) and Alan Dzagoev (Russia) for the tournament scoring lead with 3 goals. Italian coach Cesare Prandelli summed up Balotelli's performance against Germany best when asked if this was the best match of Balotelli's career: "Balotelli's career has just started."

Photo Credit: thefa.com

C is for Casillas. Spain's starting goalkeeper Iker Casillas was at the center of the action on Wednesday as Spain outlasted Portugal 4-2 on penalties to advance to their second straight Euro Cup Final. The Real Madrid keeper denied Joao Moutinho and Bruno Alves drilled a shot off the crossbar during the shootout setting up Cesc Fàbregas's clincher.

Photo Credit: mid-day.com

D is for Derek Jeter. The Yankee Captain doubled off Chicago's Jose Quintana in the first inning of Friday night's contest moving him ahead of Cal Ripken and into 13th place on the all-time hits list with 3185. Jeter, who has 97 hits on the season, needs 67 more to tie Nap Lajoie for 12th. Lajoie, in case you aren't familiar with him, played second base for the Phillies, Philadelphia A's and Cleveland Naps between 1896 and 1916. He won the American League Triple Crown way back in 1901.

Photo Credit: andaplayertobenamedlater.com

E is for Euro 2012 Final. It all comes down to Sunday. The 2006 World Cup Champions Italy, who actually considered withdrawing from this year's tournament due to match-fixing scandals in the Serie A, will take on the 2010 World Cup and reigning Euro Cup Champions Spain for all the marbles. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't see this coming. I didn't even have Italy getting out of their group, let alone into the Finals. But here they are. Taking on a banged up Spanish team that's playing without their leading scorer from the World Cup (David Villa) and without their defensive leader (Carles Puyol). But hey, that's why they play the game. I don't see a lot of scoring taking place on Sunday, but you can be assured that you'll see some pretty good soccer if you tune in. Spain and Italy already played each other during the Group phase and played to a 1-1 draw. Antonio Di Natale gave Italy a 1-0 lead in that one only to have Cesc Fábregas equalize just moments later.

Photo Credit: telegraph.co.uk

F is for Festus Ezeli. Or Furkan Aldemir. Pick one. The 6'11" Nigerian-born Ezeli was taken with the 30th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors after 5 years at Vanderbilt. The Turkish-born Aldemir stands 6'9" and has been playing professionally in Turkey since 2007, and impressive feat considering he doesn't turn 21 until August. The Clippers selected Aldemir with the 53rd pick in the draft. The real question though isn't which player will have a better NBA career, it's which player has a better NBA name.

Photo Credits: swishscout.com / eurohopes.com

G is for Great Britain. David Beckham won't be representing Britain at the 2012 London Olympics as coach Stuart Pearce has opted to go a different direction using his three overage (older than 23) player slots on Welshmen Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy and 24 year old Englishman Micah Richards. Beckham had appeared in 115 games for England, a record for a field player, but hasn't represented his country since 2009. Beckham has 2 goals and a team high 5 assists for the surging Galaxy who have won 3 straight in June following their elimination from the U.S. Open Cup.

Photo Credit: rawstory.com

H is for Harper. Have any doubts about 19 year old Bryce Harper's maturity as a player? On June 16th, Harper went 0 for 7 with 5 strikeouts against the New York Yankees. A lesser man might delve into a prolonged slump, but Harper's right back to tearing up opposing pitcher tallying three multi-hit games in the past week. On the year, Harper's hitting .274 with 8 homers and 6 steals and who has him as a keeper in his fantasy league? This guy.

Photo Credit: blogs.bettor.com

I is for Injuries. NBA Champions Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade will both be sitting out the 2012 Summer Olympics as they tend to injuries sustained during the Miami Heat's title run. Both Bosh and Wade were part of the 'Redeem Team' back in 2008 that went 8-0 en route to a Gold Medal. Bet you couldn't name the other 10 members of that squad: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Jason Kidd, Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd and Deron Williams. James, Williams, Bryant, Paul and Anthony are all expected to return this summer. And yeah, that's Chris Bosh hiding in the background as usual like a Bosh.

Photo Credit: viennagardners.wordpress.com

J is for James. Ok, so LeBron James has finally won his NBA Championship meaning he'll no longer be in the same category as Karl Malone and Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing and all the other great players who never won an NBA Title. Now a lot of the media has started changing their tones about LeBron saying how great he is and how the fans should appreciate him more, and I've got to be honest with you. I don't think they get it. Nobody disliked LeBron because of anything he did on the basketball court. He is an unreal talent, I don't think anyone can dispute that. People don't like LeBron because of 'The Decision', because he took the easy way out by joining forces in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and because of how he handles himself during interviews. I don't care if he wins eight titles or however many he promised he'd win. I don't like LeBron James, and I don't have to. How you like them apples?

Photo Credit: clnsradio.com

K is for Kentucky. The reigning NCAA Men's Basketball Champion Wildcats just had six players drafted in the 2012 NBA Draft: Anthony Davis (Hornets #1), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Bobcats #2), Terrence Jones (Rockets #18), Marquis Teague (Bulls #29), Doron Lamb (Bucks #42) and Darius Miller (Hornets #46). And yeah, that ties an NBA record for players drafted in a single draft in case you were wondering. More on that next week.

Photo Credit: ukathletics.com

L is for Lukas Rosol. When you think tennis, Rosol probably isn't the first name that comes to mind. Well, you can bet that's changed for Rafael Nadal. The 11 time Grand Slam winner was shocked in the second round at Wimbledon by the 26 year old Czech 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. This was the earliest Nadal was eliminated in a major since 2005 when Luxembourg's Gilles Müller ousted him at Wimbledon. Rosol's joy was short-lived though as 27th seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber beat him in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 in his next match.

Photo Credit: worldtennismagazine.com

M is for MLS. MLS reasserted its dominance at the U.S. Open Cup this week as the last of the lower tier teams were eliminated from the competition setting up an All-MLS semifinals. The Philadelphia Union knocked off the Harrisburg City Islanders 5-2, Sporting Kansas City eliminated the Dayton Dutch Lions 3-0, Chivas USA got a goal 4 minutes into second half stoppage time to upend the Charlotte Eagles 2-1, and in the only quarterfinal match between 2 MLS squads, the 3-time defending champion Seattle Sounders defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0. Seattle will now take on Chivas USA on July 10th in one semifinal while Sporting and the Philadelphia Union will face off in the other semifinal on July 11th.

Photo Credit: buzzbox.com

N is for New Orleans Hornets. It figures that as soon as I leave Louisiana the Hornets would become interesting again. With two picks in the top ten, the Hornets got a legitimate big man in Kentucky's Anthony Davis and a possible point guard of the future in Duke's Austin Rivers. Throw in Kentucky's Darius Miller who was selected in the second round and the draft was especially kind to the Bees. I don't know that these additions make New Orleans a contender, but at the very least it should make them relevant.

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

O is for Oswalt. Who's the best team in baseball right now? If you guessed the Texas Rangers, you'd be correct. And now their rotation has gotten a boost with the addition of veteran Roy Oswalt. In two starts since his return, Oswalt has defeated the Rockies and the Tigers and is part of what has become a loaded rotation that includes Matt Harrison (11-3, 3.16 ERA), Colby Lewis (6-6, 3.51 ERA) and Yu Darvish (10-4, 3.57 ERA). Remember when the best pitcher the Rangers had was Roger Pavlik and all they did was hit? Those were simpler times.

Photo Credit: diamond.toppscards.com

P is for Pettitte. New York's pitching staff took quite a hit this week (pun intended) when Andy Pettitte was struck by a ground ball against the Indians Wednesday and broke his left ankle. Pettitte is expected to miss at least two months and was placed on the 60-Day Disabled List. Pettitte joins fellow starting pitchers CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda on the DL. All together the Yankees have 9 pitchers on the DL right now but still sit atop to the American League East.

Photo Credit: nydailynews.com

Q is for Quick. It didn't take long for the Los Angeles Kings to show their appreciation for their starting goalie Jonathan Quick. Just a few weeks after clinching the franchise's first Stanley Cup title, Quick was rewarded with a 10 year extension worth a cool $58M. The 26 year old from Milford, CT led all goalies this past postseason with a 1.41 Goals Against Average and a .946 save percentage.

Photo Credit: blog.mitchellandness.com

R is for Rehab. Ryan Howard is on the comeback trail. After tearing his achilles tendon on the final play of last year's NLDS against St. Louis, Howard has finally returned to the diamond taking the field for the Lakewood BlueClaws of the South Atlantic League. Howard is 3 for 6 in two games with 3 runs batted in.

Photo Credit: delawareonline.com

S is for Scott Brooks. The Oklahoma City Thunder and coach Scott Brooks are closing in on a new contract after some tumultuous negotiations. Brooks has been at the helm for the Thunder for four seasons now and seen their winning percentage improve each season. The Thunder came within 3 wins of an NBA title this year before coming up short against the Heat denying Brooks the chance to join a select group of players to win NBA Championships as players and coaches. Brooks was a member of the '94 Rockets team that defeated the New York Knicks in 7 games.

Photo Credit: mnwolves.blogspot.com

T is for Thome. The Phillies are willing to move their left-handed slugger to an AL club looking for a DH. After a slow start to the season, Thome has hit .295 in the month of June including a 12 for 36 stretch as a DH in interleague play against the Orioles, Twins and Blue Jays in which he homered four times. Now 41 years old, Thome has 609 homers in his Major League career dating way back to 1991.

Photo Credit: lehighvalleylive.com

U is for Uncle Drew. If you haven't seen the commercial yet starring NBA Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving, you should definitely check it out.

Photo Credit: ohellnawlblog.com

V is for Verlander. As we approach the half way point of the 2012 Major League Baseball season, Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander is quietly turning in another sensational season as he's on track to go 17-11 with 255 strikeouts and a 2.69 ERA. It's not quite the 24-5 250 strikeout 2.40 ERA season that won him a Cy Young a year ago, but it's nothing to sniffle at. Verlander has won at least 17 games in 5 of the last 6 seasons.

Photo Credit: blogs.bettor.com

W is for Wimbledon. No one from Great Britain has won Wimbledon since 1936 when Fred Perry defeated Gottfried von Cramm. Scottish born Andy Murray has been the semifinals in 3 straight years and is through to the fourth round this year following his win over Marcos Baghdatis. With Rafael Nadal's early exit, is it possible that this is the year?

Photo Credit: bleacherreport.com

X is for Xavier Hernández. If Spain captures the Euro 2012 title tomorrow he will have amassed the following hardware: 6 La Liga titles, 2 Copa del Reys, 5 Spanish Supercups, 3 UEFA Champions League titles, 2 UEFA Super Cups, 2 FIFA Club World Cups, a World Cup, two European Football Championships and a FIFA World Youth Championship. Yowzah.

Photo Credit: forum.akccoonhounds.org

Y is for Youkilis. Does this look weird to anyone else?

Photo Credit: usatoday.com

Z is for Zubčić. Tomislav Zubčić. Gotta love the NBA draft. The Croatian forward was taken with the 56th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors. 

Photo Credit: draftexpress.com

Kings One Win Away

Seeded 8th in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings now find themselves one win away from their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history. The Kings have gone 15-2 in the postseason so far with wins over the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues and Phoenix Coyotes, and are up 3 games to 0 against the Eastern Conference Champion New Jersey Devils. Let's take a look back at L.A.'s improbable postseason run and how they got to this point:

Western Conference Quarterfinals vs Vancouver, Game 1 - Won 4-2

Photo Credit: vancouversun.com

Dustin Penner scored with 3:14 remaining in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and Dustin Brown added an empty netter in the closing seconds as the Kings stunned the top seeded Canucks 4-2 at home to open the 2012 postseason. Center Mike Richards finished with a goal and two assists and Jonathan Quick made 24 saves as the Kings jumped out to a 1-0 lead.

Tuesday Trivia

Last week's question:

When was the last time two Canadian teams met in the Stanley Cup Finals?

Answer:

Photo Credit: heshoots-hescores.blogspot.com

You have to go all the way back to 1989 when the Calgary Flames defeated the Montreal Canadiens in six games. Hall of Famer Al MacInnis was named the Finals MVP. No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993 when Montreal defeated Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings in 5 games.

This week's question:

Photo Credit: foxsportswest.com

The Clippers clinched a rare playoff berth last night with their 92-77 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. What was the Clippers starting lineup the last time they played a postseason game?

Fantasy Hockey Fail

Photo Credit: bleacherreport.com

With the Stanley Cup playoffs set to kick off tonight it's time that I acknowledge my complete and utter failure as a fantasy hockey owner this year. It wasn't even for lack of trying. Only two guys in my league made more moves than I did. Shoot, two of the teams that finished ahead of me made ZERO moves. But yeah, I did very little right. Cut Scott Hartnell in the early part of the season and what happens? He goes on to score a career high 37 goals. It was just that kind of season. No one to blame, but myself. But that's all right. I can always redeem myself with fantasy baseball!

Tuesday Trivia

Last week's question:

Kentucky won the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, their first title since 1998. How many players from the '98 Kentucky team went on to play in the NBA?

Answer:

Six members of the Kentucky Wildcats team that won the 1998 NCAA title went on to play in the NBA: Wayne Turner, Jamaal Magloire, Jeff Sheppard, Michael Bradley, Scott Padgett and Nazr Mohammed. Of those six, only Mohammed and Magloire are still in the league.

Photo Credits: everyjoe.com and globaltoronto.com

Turner played in 3 NBA games for the Celtics in his brief career, but did enjoy a brief stint with the Harlem Globetrotters.

Magloire is currently in his 12th NBA season. An All-Star in 2004 with the Hornets, Magloire now plays for the Toronto Raptors. He has averaged 7.2 points and 6.5 rebounds a game in his career.

Sheppard played 18 games for the Hawks during the 1998-99 season averaging 2.2 points and 1.2 rebounds. He did make 5 starts.

Bradley actually left Kentucky after his sophomore season and finished his collegiate career at Villanova. Bradley played 5 seasons in the NBA  with 5 different teams averaging 2.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in his career.

Padgett lasted 8 seasons in the NBA where he was an effective role player for the Jazz and Rockets. He averaged just 4.2 points and 2.7 rebounds, but connected on 37.3% of his 3-pointers.

Mohammed is in his 13th NBA season and second with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Mohammed won a ring with the Spurs in 2005 and has averaged 6.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in his NBA career.


This week's question:

Photo Credit: thehockeyguys.net

The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin this week with just two Canadian teams in the postseason. When was the last time two Canadian teams met in the Stanley Cup Finals?

Super 60s

Two different players in two different sports each scored their 60th goals of the season today.

Photo Credit: theglobeandmail.com

Lionel Messi scored a pair of goals in Barcelona's 4-1 win at Real Zaragoza giving him 38 goals in La Liga matches and 60 across all competitions. He becomes the first player in almost 40 years to score 60 goals in a season for a club in a major European league. The last player to accomplish the feat was Bayern Munich's Gerd Müller who finished the 1972-73 season with 67 goals. Müller's mark seems well within striking distance as Barcelona still has 7 games left in La Liga and at least 2 more Champions League matches.

Photo Credit: broadstreethockey.com

Meanwhile across the Atlantic 22 year old Steven Stamkos scored his 60th goal of the year for the Tampa Bay Lightning in their 4-3 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets. Stamkos becomes just the second player (the other being Alex Ovechkin) to reach 60 goals in a season since 1996. Stamkos is just one of six players in NHL history to record two 50+ goal seasons before the age of 23. You may have heard of the others: Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Joe Nieuwendyk and Alex Ovechkin.

Top Tens - 3/20/12

NHL POINTS LEADERS

1. Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh - 88
2. Steven Stamkos - Tampa Bay - 84
2. Claude Giroux - Philadelphia - 84
5. Jason Spezza - Ottawa - 75
5. Phil Kessel - Toronto - 75
6. Ilya Kovalchuk - New Jersey - 72
7. Marian Hossa - Chicago - 71
7. Erik Karlsson - Ottawa - 71
9. Jordan Eberle - Edmonton - 70
9. John Tavares - Islanders - 70
9. Henrik Sedin - Vancouver - 70



NHL TOP GOAL SCORERS

1. Steven Stamkos - Tampa Bay - 50
2. Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh - 41
3. Corey Perry - Anaheim - 35
3. Phil Kessel - Toronto - 35
3. Marion Gaborik - Rangers - 35
3. Scott Hartnell - Philadelphia - 35
7. Jordan Eberle - Edmonton - 32
7. Milan Michalek - Ottawa - 32
7. James Neal - Pittsburgh - 32
7. Alex Ovechkin - Washington - 32

Top Tens - 3/13/12

NHL POINTS LEADERS

1. Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh - 84
2. Steven Stamkos - Tampa Bay - 82
3. Claude Giroux - Philadelphia - 80
4. Jason Spezza - Ottawa - 73
5. Phil Kessel - Toronto - 71
5. Ilya Kovalchuk - New Jersey - 71
7. Erik Karlsson - Ottawa - 69
8. Marian Hossa - Chicago - 67
8. Joffrey Lupul - Toronto - 67
8. Patrick Elias - New Jersey - 67



NHL TOP GOAL SCORERS

1. Steven Stamkos - Tampa Bay - 48
2. Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh - 38
3. Corey Perry - Anaheim - 34
3. Phil Kessel - Toronto - 34
4. Marion Gaborik - Rangers - 33
6. Scott Hartnell - Philadelphia - 32
6. Milan Michalek - Ottawa - 32
8. James Neal - Pittsburgh - 31
9. 5 players tied with - 30



FIFA MEN'S RANKINGS (3/7/12)

1. SPAIN
2. NETHERLANDS
3. GERMANY
4. URUGUAY
5. BRAZIL
6. ENGLAND
7. PORTUGAL
8. ARGENTINA

9. ITALY
10. CROATIA


OUT: DENMARK (11)



FIFA WOMEN'S RANKINGS (12/23/11)

1. USA
2. GERMANY
3. JAPAN
4. BRAZIL
5. SWEDEN
6. FRANCE
7. CANADA
8. ENGLAND
9. KOREA DPR
10. AUSTRALIA



MEN'S TENNIS RANKINGS (3/5/12)

1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - 13310 points
2. Rafael Nadal (Spain) - 10415 points
3. Roger Federer (Switzerland) - 8710 points
4. Andy Murray (Great Britain) - 7450 points
5. David Ferrer (Spain) - 4665 points
6. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) - 4455 points
7. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) - 3860 points
8. Mardy Fish (USA) - 2875 points
9. Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) - 2840 points
10. Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) - 2710 points



WOMEN'S TENNIS RANKINGS (3/5/12)

1. Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) - 8980 points
2. Maria Sharapova (Russia) - 7680 points
3. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) - 7095 points
4. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) - 6270 points
5. Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) - 5850 points
6. Samantha Stosur (Australia) - 5825 points
7. Marion Bartoli (France) - 5160 points
8. Li Na (China) - 4390 points
9. Vera Zvonareva (Russia) - 4340 points
10. Andrea Petkovic (Germany) - 3810 points



ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE LEADING SCORERS

1. Robin Van Persie (Netherlands) - Arsenal - 26
2. Wayne Rooney (England) - Manchester United - 20
3. Demba Ba (Senegal) - Newcastle United - 16
3. Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 16
5. Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Nigeria) - Blackburn Rovers - 13
5. Edin Dzeko (Bosnia-Herzegovina) - Manchester City - 13
7. Clint Dempsey (USA) - Fulham - 12
8. Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo) - Tottenham Hotspur - 11
8. Mario Balotelli (Italy) - Manchester City - 11
10. 4 players tied with - 10



LA LIGA (SPAIN) LEADING SCORERS

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - Real Madrid - 32
2. Lionel Messi (Argentina) - Barcelona - 30
3. Gonzalo Higuaín (Argentina) - Real Madrid - 17
4. Falcao (Colombia) - Atlético Madrid - 16
5. Fernando Llorente (Spain) - Athletico Bilbao - 14
6. Karim Benzema (France) - Real Madrid - 13
6. Miguel Pérez Cuesta (Spain) - R. Vallecano - 13 
8. Roberto Soldado (Spain) - Valencia - 12
9. 4 players tied with - 9



SERIE A (ITALY) LEADING SCORERS

1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden) - AC Milan - 19
2. Antonio Di Natale (Italy) - Udinese - 18
3. Edinson Cavani (Uruguay) - Napoli - 16
4. Germán Denis (Argentina) - Atalanta - 15
5. Diego Milito (Argentina) - Internazionale - 14 
5. Rodrigo Palacio (Argentina) - Genoa - 14
7. Miroslav Klose (Germany) - Lazio - 13
8. Stevan Jovetic (Montenegro) - Fiorentina - 12
9. Fabrizio Miccoli (Italy) - Palermo - 11
9. Emanuele Calaiò (Italy) - Siena - 11



GERMAN BUNDESLIGA LEADING SCORERS

1. Mario Gomez (Germany) - Bayern Munich - 21
2. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Neth.) - Schalke 04 - 19
3. Robert Lewandowski (Pol.) - B. Dortmund - 16
3. Lukas Podolski (Germany) - FC Cologne - 16
3. Claudio Pizarro (Peru) - Werder Bremen - 16
6. Martin Harnik (Austria) - VfB Stuttgart - 14
7. Marco Reus (Ger.) - B. Monchengladbach - 13
8. Mohammed Abdellaoue (Norway) - Hannover 96 - 11
8. Raúl (Spain) - Schalke 04 - 11
10. Franck Ribéry (France) - Bayern Munich - 11



NBA LEADING SCORERS (points per game)

1. Kobe Bryant - Lakers - 28.8
2. Kevin Durant - OKC - 27.9
3. LeBron James - Miami - 27.7
4. Kevin Love - Minnesota - 25.7
5. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 23.7
6. Derrick Rose - Chicago - 22.8
7. Dwyane Wade - Miami - 22.5
8. Deron Williams - New Jersey - 22.0
9. Monta Ellis - Golden State - 21.9
10. LaMarcus Aldridge - Portland - 21.8



NBA LEADING REBOUNDERS (per game)

1. Dwight Howard - Orlando - 15.0
2. Kevin Love - Minnesota - 13.6
3. Andrew Bynum - Lakers - 12.6
4. DeMarcus Cousins - Sacramento - 11.3
5. Blake Griffin - Clippers - 11.1
6. Kris Humphries - New Jersey - 10.7
7. Pau Gasol - Lakers - 10.5
8. Marcin Gortat - Phoenix - 10.4
9. Joakim Noah - Chicago - 10.4
10. Greg Monroe - Detroit - 9.9



NBA ASSIST LEADERS (per game)

1. Steve Nash - Phoenix - 11.0
2. Rajon Rondo - Boston - 10.0
3. Jose Calderon - Toronto - 8.5
4. Chris Paul - New Orleans - 8.3
5. Ricky Rubio - Minnesota - 8.2
6. Deron Williams - New Jersey - 8.1
7. Derrick Rose - Chicago - 8.0
8. Tony Parker - San Antonio - 7.9
9. John Wall - Washington - 7.8
10. Kyle Lowry - Houston - 7.2



2012 FEDEX CUP STANDINGS

1. Rory McIlory (Northern Ireland) - 1015
2. Kyle Stanley (USA) - 954
3. Johnson Wagner (USA) - 920
4. Mark Wilson (USA) - 864
5. Phil Mickelson (USA) - 835
6. Bill Haas (USA) - 791
7. Hunter Mahan (USA) - 787
8. Justin Rose (USA) - 768
9. Brandt Snedeker (USA) - 740
10. Steve Stricker (USA)- 679

Out: Keegan Bradley (11)



WORLD GOLF RANKINGS (3/12/12)

1. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)
2. Luke Donald (England)
3. Lee Westwood (England)
4. Martin Kaymer (Germany)
5. Steve Stricker (USA)
6. Charl Schwartzel (South Africa)
7. Justin Rose (USA)
8. Webb Simpson (USA)
9. Jason Day (Australia)
10. Hunter Mahan (USA)

Out : Dustin Johnson (12)



Photo Credits (in order of appearance):


zimbio.com
zimbio.com
justsoccerjerseys.com 
palmbeachpost.com 
tennisnow.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com 
zimbio.com
inquisitr.com
inquisitr.com

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