Hockey Playoff Races

The Flyers and the Capitals are in in the East. The final six spots are still up for grabs. Here are the remaining schedules for the teams still realistically fighting for a spot:

Boston: Home (7) - MON, NYR, CHI, TOR, ATL, NYI, OTT. Away (3) - PHI, NYR, NJ.
Pittsburgh: Home (4) - NJ, FLA, PHI, NJ. Away (5) - PHI, TB, FLA, NYI, ATL.
Tampa Bay: Home (4) - CAR, OTT, PIT, FLA. Away (5) - CAR, MIN, CHI, BUF, CAR.
Montreal: Home (3) - WAS, ATL, CHI. Away (5) - BOS, CAR, NJ, OTT, TOR.
NY Rangers: Home (4) - OTT, BOS, ATL, NJ. Away (4) - BOS, BUF, NYI, PHI.
Buffalo: Home (5) - FLA, NJ, NYR, TB, PHI. Away (4) - TOR, WAS, CAR, CLB.
Carolina: Home (5) - TB, MON, BUF, DET, TB. Away (4) - TB, WAS, NYI, ATL.
Toronto: Home (3) - BUF, WAS, MON. Away (5) - COL, DET, BOS, OTT, NJ.

The bottom 5 teams haven't technically been eliminated, but it'd take a heck of a run for them to close the gap.

Only the Canucks are in the West right now as there are still only 3 points separating the 5 through 10 seeds. Calgary faces the biggest disadvantage as they have three fewer games than Chicago, Anaheim and Dallas. Here are the schedules for those still realistically in contention:

Detroit: Home (6) - VAN, TOR, CHI, STL, MIN, CHI. Away (3) - NAS, CAR, CHI.
San Jose: Home (5) - CAL, DAL, ANA, LA, PHX. Away (4) - LA, PHX, ANA, PHX.
Phoenix: Home (5) - CLB, SJ, DAL, COL, SJ. Away (2) - LA, SJ.
Los Angeles: Home (5) - SJ, COL, DAL, PHX, ANA. Away (4) - EDM, VAN, SJ, ANA.
Nashville: Home (6) - ANA, DAL, VAN, DET, ATL, CLB. Away (2) - COL, STL.
Chicago: Home (5) - FLA, ANA, TB, STL, DET. Away (5) - DET, BOS, CLB, MON, DET.
Anaheim: Home (4) - COL, DAL, SJ, LA. Away (6) - DAL, NAS, CHI, CAL, SJ, LA.
Dallas: Home (3) - ANA, CLB, COL. Away (7) - NAS, PHX, SJ, LA, ANA, COL, MIN.
Calgary: Home (3) - ANA, EDM, VAN. Away (4) - SJ, EDM, STL, COL.

Only Colorado and Edmonton have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but St. Louis, Columbus and Minnesota would take a long shot to get in at this point.

AL East Update

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

Spring Leaders

Hits - Jake Fox 18
Home runs - Jake Fox 7
RBIs - Jake Fox 12
Stolen Bases - Matt Angle 5
Innings - Brad Bergesen 16 2/3
Strikeouts - Brian Matusz 13

News: Brian Roberts returned to action Sunday after being out since March 7th with back spasms. Roberts played 5 innings and was 0 for 2 with a walk. He'll be in action again today against the Yankees. The 33 year old switch hitting second baseman was limited to just 59 games last season due to a herniated disc in his lower back. Roberts had played at least 155 games and scored at least 100 runs while stealing 30 or more bases in each of the three previous seasons so having a healthy Roberts at the top of the lineup come the beginning of the season would be a huge boost for the O's. First baseman Derrek Lee made his spring debut this weekend after dealing with tendinitis in his wrist and recovering from offseason surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. Unfortunately Lee fouled a ball off his foot on his first swing and was forced to miss Sunday's game as a result. The MRI came back ok though so the hope is that he doesn't miss too much time.


BOSTON RED SOX

Spring Leaders

Hits - Jacoby Ellsbury 16
Home runs - 5 tied with 2
RBIs - 2 tied with 8
Stolen Bases - Ryan Kalish 5

Innings - Daisuke Matsuzaka 19 1/3
Strikeouts - Jon Lester 16

News: The Red Sox have announced their pitching rotation that they're going to start the season with. Jon Lester (19-9 3.25) will get the call opening day and he'll be followed by John Lackey (14-11 4.40), Clay Buchholz (17-7 2.33), Josh Beckett (6-6 5.78) and Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-6 4.69). It has the potential to be one of the most dominant rotations in baseball when you consider what all 5 are capable of. While Lester and Buchholz were solid last season, the three veterans on the staff struggled. Lackey had his highest ERA since 2004, Beckett has has worst season ever statistically speaking after going 17-6 in 2009, and Matsuzaka, while pitching better than he did in 2009, fell well short of the expectations he created for himself after an 18-3 2.90 ERA campaign in 2008. If those three can step their game up, and with the extra offense and bullpen help the Sox brought in during the offseason, this group has the potential to do some special stuff this year.


NEW YORK YANKEES

Spring Leaders

Hits - Alex Rodriguez 16
Home runs - Alex Rodriguez 5
RBIs - Alex Rodriguez 12
Stolen Bases - Eduardo Nunez 6

Innings - C.C. Sabathia 16 1/3
Strikeouts - Bartolo Colon 17

News: Bartolo Colon, Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia and Sergio Mitre are still battling it out for the final two spots in the Yankees rotation behind C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes. While no decisions have been made, it would appear the veteran Colon and the youngster Nova would have the edge at this point. Colon has issued just 1 walk in 15 innings this spring while fanning a team high 17 and posting a 2.40 ERA over 4 starts. The 24 year old Nova has allowed just 2 runs on 8 hits in 14 innings of work posting a 1.29 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a .170 average. The 30 year old Mitre has pitched well this spring, but may be more suited for a role out of the bullpen where all but 3 of his 27 appearances came last year when he posted a 3.33 ERA for New York. Finally there's Garcia who has a 5.93 ERA over his 4 starts. After pitching just 23 games between 2007 and 2009, Garcia rebounded to make 28 starts last year for the White Sox going 12-6 with a 4.64 ERA. The two time all star exceeded 200 innings 7 times in 8 seasons between 1999 and 2006 and 4 times won at least 16 games, but the emergence of Colon may force him out of the rotation. Garcia has stated he will not accept an assignment to AAA, so it will be interesting to see how the Yankees handle the whole deal.


TAMPA BAY RAYS


Spring Leaders

Hits - Casey Kotchman 16
Home runs - 3 tied with 3
RBIs - 3 tied with 8
Stolen Bases - Elliot Johnson 7

Innings - Andy Sonnanstine 14 1/3
Strikeouts - 4 tied with 10

News: Manny Ramirez is swinging a hot bat for Tampa this spring hitting .297 (11/37) and is tied for the team lead in home runs and runs batted in. His partner in crime Johnny Damon is also hitting .297 (11/37) and has 4 doubles. While durability for both remains a question with Ramirez turning 39 in May and Damon being 37, the Rays have to be happy with what they've seen early on. I wouldn't start making plans for October if you're a Rays fan, but there's reason to believe despite the mass exodus of personnel during the offseason that this is a group that will be able to compete.


TORONTO BLUE JAYS


Spring Leaders

Hits - Yunel Escobar 16
Home runs - Edwin Encarnacion 4
RBIs - Jose Bautista 9
Stolen Bases - Anthony Gose 8

Innings - Jesse Litsch 17 1/3
Strikeouts - Jesse Litsch 17

News: Brandon Morrow is looking like an ace so far this spring striking out 16 hitters in 12 innings while allowing just 1 earned run over 3 starts. The 26 year old right hander struck out 178 hitters in 146 1/3 innings in his first full season as a starter last year after making just 15 starts in 3 years with Seattle. Morrow showed exactly what he's capable of last August when he lost a no-hitter in the 9th inning against Tampa Bay but finished with a complete game 1-hit shutout with 17 strikeouts. Injuries have been his achilles heel throughout his young career, but if he can stay healthy, the guy has the potential to put up HUGE numbers.

What's up with the Big East?

11 of the 68 teams in this year's NCAA tournament came from the Big East conference. As we get ready for the Sweet 16 to tip off, only TWO remain: Connecticut, the winner of the Big East Tournament, and ... Marquette. The 11 seed in the East Region. How did this happen??

In the first round we saw Villanova fall to George Mason, St. John's lose to Gonzaga, Georgetown lose to Virginia Commonwealth, and Louisville get dumped by Morehead State. Then in the second round, Pitt, the Big East's lone #1 seed got upset but Butler, Notre Dame get blown out by Florida State, West Virginia come up short against Kentucky, and Cincinnati and Syracuse lose to Connecticut and Marquette respectively.

Syracuse lost to Marquette during the regular season as well, so that's not a real surprise despite being an 11 seed knocking off a 3 seed. Connecticut beat Cincinnati during the regular season as well. Kentucky won the SEC tournament so West Virginia's loss to them wasn't wholly unexpected. But that still leaves losses to George Mason, Gonzaga, VCU, Morehead State, Butler and Florida State.

Butler's won 11 in a row following their win over Pitt. Their run to the finals last year showed they're not to be overlooked, but Pitt was the Big East regular season champion. They only lost 5 other games all year. Yeah it was a close game with a controversial ending, but the best team in the Big East is not supposed to struggle with teams from the Horizon League.

George Mason had won 16 games in a row before losing to VCU in the Colonial Athletic Conference Tournament. Mason's no stranger to tournament success having beaten Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut back in 2006. Villanova meanwhile started the season 16-1 and then finished the year 6-11 with losses in their final six games including their first round exit. So while this isn't GREAT, Mason was a higher seed here, so it's understandable.

I really thought St. John's was going to go places in this tourney, but they ran into perennial cinderella Gonzaga who sent them home early 86-71. St. John's had regular season wins against Pitt, Villanova, Duke, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Marquette, Notre Dame, West Virginia and Georgetown. But they also had losses to Seton Hall, Fordham, St. Bonaventure, and St. Mary's. Gonzaga beat St. Mary's to win the West Coast Conference Tournament. So there's that.

VCU wasn't even supposed to make the tournament having to play a play-in game to even get into the field of 64. But they're now in the Sweet 16 following 3 straight double digit wins: a 59-46 win over USC,  a 74-56 beat down of Georgetown and a 94-76 route of Purdue. Not bad for the 4th place team in the Colonial Athletic Conference. Georgetown, like Villanova, sputtered down the stretch with the first round loss to VCU being their 5th in a row. Still, VCU lost to Northeastern (11-20) and Georgia State (12-19) during the regular season. And South Florida who won just THREE Big East games. You telling me Georgetown couldn't find a way to beat these guys?

I'm be willing to bet most people can't even tell you what conference Morehead State is in. Or what state it's in for that matter. If you guessed the Ohio Valley Conference and Kentucky, you'd be correct. If you told me they were going to be in-state rival Louisville, I'd have called you crazy. The only reason I'd even heard of Morehead State is the fact that their center Kenneth Faried broke Tim Duncan's modern rebounding record and led the nation in rebounding with 14.5 a game. This was a program that lost to Eastern Illinois (9-20) during the year. Louisville played for the Big East Tournament Title. Dick Vitale had Louisville going to the Final Four. This is a loss that can't happen for a team coached by Rick Pitino.

And finally Notre Dame. 14-4 in the Big East during the regular season was eliminated from the Big East Tournament against Louisville. Florida State was the 3rd place team in a weak ACC. They lost to Virginia Tech twice and Maryland during the year. Kind of makes you think the Hokies could have/should have been one of the top 68 teams instead of oh, I dunno, say USC. Or UAB. In any case, Notre Dame, a 2 seed got bested by FSU, the 10 seed. And in convincing fashion. Last year Notre Dame got knocked off by Old Dominion in the first round, so maybe this isn't a surprise after all.

So what's the explanation? Worn down after a grueling regular season? While the Big East is ultra-competitive it's not ultra-talented? Injuries? Hype? Whatever the reason, the Big East is down to two of eleven teams, and that just leaves everyone disappointed. Especially those of us put our faith in them in our brackets.

Sunday MLS Recap

LOS ANGELES 1 NEW ENGLAND 1

Sunday night was a frustrating and rainy one for the LA Galaxy. LA fell behind in just the 3rd minute when Shalrie Joseph got on the end of a cross from Marko Perovic to give the Revs an early 1-0 lead. The Galaxy then had a pair of first half goals overturned by penalties before finally getting on the board with Juninho's 39th minute strike from long range giving him two goals in his first two matches this season, equaling his total in all of 2010. The frustration didn't end there though as Juan Pablo Angel, making his Galaxy debut as a second half substitute tallied L.A.'s third overturned goal of the night in stoppage time with the game resulting in a 1-1 draw. The Revs had just 1 shot on target the entire game and it was Joseph's goal and enough to salvage a point on the road. Definitely a good start to the season for a New England team that missed the playoffs and finished 6th in the Eastern Conference a year ago. L.A. was once again without Omar Gonzalez and Donovan Ricketts, both still recovering from injuries, but they got Angel back albeit as a sub after he missed the season opener against Seattle. L.A. goes on the road next weekend to take on Real Salt Lake while New England has their home opener against Charlie Davies and D.C. United.

Photo Courtesy: bleacherreport.com

Cricket World Cup - First Round in Review

The quarterfinal matchups are set in the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Here are your fixtures that will kick off on Wednesday:

3/23 - Pakistan v West Indies
3/24 - India v Australia
3/25 - New Zealand v South Africa
3/26 - Sri Lanka v England

The winner of Pakistan-West Indies match will take on the winner of India-Australia on the 30th with the New Zealand-South Africa winner will take on the Sri Lanka-England winner on the 30th. The World Cup final will be held April 2nd in Mumbai.

Here's the final standings from group play:

And your scoring and bowling leaders through group play:

Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com

Photo Courtesy:zimbio.com

Cricket World Cup Wrapup - Day 27

Zimbabwe defeated Kenya 308-147 in the final World Cup match for both teams as neither will be advancing to the quarterfinals. Zimbabwe (2-4) finishes in 5th place in Group A while Kenya (0-6) finishes in 7th and along with the Netherlands were the only teams in the World Cup to not win at least one match. Craig Ervine led New Zealand with 66 runs off 54 balls and was named the man of the match. Kenya got 44 runs off 47 balls from Nehemiah Odhiambo in a losing effort.

 Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com

India clinched 2nd place in Group B with an 80 run win over the West Indies 268-188 in the final match of round robin play. India (4-1-1) got a monster game from Yuvraj Singh who produced 113 runs off 123 balls and also took 2 wickets in 4 overs en route to being named the man of the match. The West Indies (3-3) still advances finishing ahead of Bangladesh for the 4th and final playoff spot. Devon Smith led the West Indies with 81 runs off 97 balls in the top spot, but their final 7 batsmen combined for just 15 runs between them as they couldn't keep pace with the Indians.

Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com

Top Tens

Men's Tennis Rankings

1. Rafael Nadal (Spain) - 12630 points
2. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - 8710 points
3. Roger Federer (Switzerland) - 8280 points
4. Robin Soderling (Sweden) - 5735 points
5. Andy Murray (Great Britain) - 5545 points
6. David Ferrer (Spain) - 4510 points
7. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) - 4320 points
8. Andy Roddick (USA) - 3260 points
9. Fernando Verdasco (Spain) - 3095 points
10. Jurgen Melzer (Austria) - 2695 points



Women's Tennis Rankings

1. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) - 9850 points
2. Kim Clijsters (Belgium) - 8895 points
3. Vera Zvonareva (Russia) - 7505 points
4. Francesca Schiavone (Italy) - 5111 points
5. Samantha Stosur (Australia) - 4716 points
6. Li Na (China) - 4300 points
7. Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) - 4045 points
8. Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) - 3610 points
9. Venus Williams (USA) - 3465 points
10. Marion Bartoli (France) - 3235 points

Out: Agnieszka Radwanska (14)



FedEx Cup Points Leaders

1. Mark Wilson 1086 (1)
2. Nick Watney 960 (2)
3. Gary Woodland 945 (-)
4. Rory Sabbatini 820 (4)
5. Jhonattan Vegas 791 (3)
6. Bubba Watson 763 (6)
7. D.A. Points 737 (5)
8. Luke Donald 718 (7)
9. Jonathan Byrd 705 (10)
10. Aaron Baddeley 700 (8)

Out: Matt Kuchar (11)



NCAA Baseball Rankings (Previous Week)

1. Florida 18-2 (1)
2. Vanderbilt 19-2 (2)
3. Virginia 19-2 (5)
4. South Carolina 14-4 (6)
5. Florida St. 16-4 (4)
6. Texas 15-5 (10)
7. Oklahoma 17-5 (3)
8. Arizona St. 15-4 (8)
9. Texas A&M 15-5 (13)
10. LSU 16-4 (7)

Out: Arkansas (13)

Photos Courtesy (in order of appearance):

livetennisguide.com
bbs.chinadaily.com.cn
sportinglife.com
gatorzone.com