Yzerman
Lightning eye promising future (AP)
TAMPA
Fla. (AP)—The Tampa Bay Lightning are proud
yet hardly satisfied with a turnaround season that nearly ended with a trip to the Stanley Cup finals. A franchise in disarray before Boston financier Jeff Vinik purchased the club in March 2010 and overhauled the front office
the Lightning also made a dramatic transformation on the ice under first-year general manager Steve Yzerman and coach Guy Boucher en route to a surprising run in the playoffs. A 1-0 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals stopped the Lightning’s bid to play on hockey’s biggest stage for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2004. Nevertheless
Yzerman and Boucher have laid a solid foundation for the future. “I think there’s hope at all levels in the organization. I think that’s what’s impressive
” Boucher said after Friday night’s loss in Boston. “From the inside
I see what’s going on and … it’s trickled down to the players and the staff and myself
” the NHL’s youngest coach added. “And certainly we always want more. That was our motto all year long.” The Lightning lured Yzerman away from his job as a vice president for the Detroit Red Wings
the only team he played for during a 22-year career in which he scored 692 goals and was part of three Stanley Cup winners. And while the Hall of Famer insisted from Day 1 that there would not be an easy fix for a team that had fallen on hard times
several key decisions— including the hiring of Boucher—helped the team make the playoffs for the first time in four years and then prosper against higher seeded opponent in the playoffs. The fifth-seeded Lightning overcame a 3-1 deficit to eliminate No. 4 seed Pittsburgh in the first round
then swept top-seeded Washington in the Eastern Conference semifinals. “The guys are so resilient. If people knew how banged up the guys are right now
it’s incredible. We’re talking about (Pavel) Kubina and (Sean) Bergenheim not playing
but there’s guys playing in there
their bodies are just barely hanging on there
” Boucher said after Boston’s Nathan Horton(notes) scored the only goal in Game 7. “So from the inside
this was the end. I mean
there was nothing left. There was nothing left in the tank
” the coach added. “And I think it just shows that everybody wants more
players and everybody else
and that’s the path we’re going to take
definitely.” Yzerman brought in Bergenheim
Simon Gagne(notes) and Eric Brewer(notes)
but no personnel move was bigger than the January acquisition of 41-year-old goaltender Dwayne Roloson(notes)
who was instrumental in the team emerging as a contender. Roloson shut out the Penguins on the road in Game 7 of Tampa Bay’s opening-round series. He stopped 37 of 38 shots against the Bruins on Friday night. “He kept us alive
” Lightning forward Ryan Malone(notes) said. “It’s unfortunate we couldn’t give him any support.” Tampa Bay’s Big Three of Martin St. Louis(notes)
Steven Stamkos(notes) and captain Vincent Lecavalier(notes) carried their share of the load during the regular season and playoffs as well. St. Louis was second in the NHL with 99 points during the regular season and shares the league lead with 10 goals during the playoffs. Stamkos ranked second with 45 regular-season goals and former 50-goal scorer Lecavalier rebounded after a couple of disappointing seasons to develop more of a well-rounded game that Boucher said helped the team as much as having another big-time scorer. “He just wanted me to buy into the system
wanted everybody to buy into the system
” Lecavalier said. “He told me if everybody buys in
if you buy in as the captain
I think we’ll have a successful season. Yzerman
meanwhile
brought a sense of calm to an organization that made three coaching changes in two years before his arrival. “I think any great leader has a vision
and I think up to now he certainly has lived u
p to the vision that he out forward for everyone
” Boucher said. “We started the year
half the players were new and we were expecting to struggle for a while. And it didn’t happen
” Boucher added. “These players were carefully chosen
not just for their impact on the ice
but also on the type of individuals that they are.” St. Louis
Lecavalier and Kubina
who missed the last 10 games of the playoffs with an injury
are the only holdovers from Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup championship season. A six-time All-Star and a finalist for league MVP
St. Louis liked the prospect for a quick turnaround as soon as Yzerman was hired last May. “What he’s done in his career … I just had a good feeling about it
” St. Louis said. “Everything that’s gone on the last year has been unbelievable
a 180-degree turn.”
Mavs don’t care about facing Heat again (AP)
DALLAS (AP)—Back in the NBA finals, back to trying to beat the Miami Heat. Pretty wild how things have worked out for the Dallas Mavericks, isn’t it? “It doesn’t really matter that much to me,” Dirk Nowitzki(notes) said Friday. “No thought whatsoever,” echoed Jason Terry(notes). Oh, well. So much for the story line of the 2011 Mavs seeking redemption for 2006. If the only two holdovers don’t care, nobody else should. The message Nowitzki and Terry are sending is this club is focused on beating whatever team the NBA playoff bracket throws their way. They’ve already gone through LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) and the Trail Blazers, Kobe Bryant(notes), Pau Gasol(notes) and the Lakers and Kevin Durant(notes), Russell Westbrook(notes) and the Thunder. So, for their final act, they might as well get the team everyone’s been talking about since last summer—LeBron James(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes), Chris Bosh(notes) and a Miami franchise that coincidentally was the club that got in Dallas’ way five years ago. Nowitzki emphasized another point: This isn’t about the Heat and what they do. It’s about the Mavericks continuing to do the things that have helped them win 10 of their last 11 playoff games, including five straight on the road. “We just got to go for it and do the things that got us here—aggressive defense, rebound the ball and ball movement on the offensive end of the floor,” he said. The Mavericks locked up their second trip to the finals on Wednesday night. The next night, the Heat wrapped up their second trip to the finals, setting up the ’06 rematch starting Tuesday in Miami. Terry is an emotional player who fires himself up by sleeping in the other team’s uniform shorts the night before every game. So, at the very least, when he saw the Heat wrap up the East title, he probably let out a, “Here we go again,” with either a smile or a frown to indicate how he felt about it. But he also explained why it’s so easy to be dispassionate about this. “Only two people on this team are still playing, Dirk and I,” he said. “For them, it’s Wade and (Udonis) Haslem. It’s really not the same situation.” Clearly, he’s done his homework, proving he has given some thought to this being a rematch. “Then, for us, I (was) the point guard. Look who’s the point guard now!” Terry said, laughing. “Big difference.” Yes, Jason Kidd(notes) is an upgrade from Terry, who is better suited for his role as a scorer, specifically the instant-offense guy off the bench. Mavs fans also might chuckle about Dallas’ starting center in ’06, Erick Dampier(notes), now playing for Miami. He’s yet to play this postseason. In 2006, Dallas won the first two games at home, then went to Miami and melted down. They blew a big lead in the fourth quarter of Game 3 and never recovered. Pat Riley of the Heat not only outcoached Avery Johnson of the Mavericks, Johnson may have outsmarted himself by moving hotels midway through their stay in Florida, fearing that South Beach was too much of a distraction. Johnson’s successor, Rick Carlisle, isn’t concerned about it being an issue this time. “Not with our curfew,” he said, offering a rare giggle. With Kidd and Nowitzki vs. James and Wade, each team starts two players who are among the best of their generation. The clubs have a lot more in common: both 12-3 this postseason, both closing out the conference finals in five games. In the regular season, the Mavs and Heat tied for the most road wins. There was only a one-game difference in overall wins—58 for Miami, 57 for Dallas; that’s why the series is starting on the Heat’s court. Had they had the same record, the Mavericks would’ve had the edge because they won both head-to-head meetings. Because those games were in November and December, Carlisle insists they don’t matter. Still, it’s worth noting those were Miami’s only two losses in a 24-2 stretch that proved to everyone this experiment of superstars who are good friends teaming up to win a title just might work. The backlash from that pairing—and the way “The Decision” was handled last summer—produced a huge group of Heat haters. Those folks are now Mavs lovers, a cuddly acceptance that’s unusual for this franchise. “There’s no good guys, bad guys,” Nowitzki said. “There’s two good teams that made it to this stage and both want to win. So I’m not really worried about all that stuff.” Nowitzki was a free agent last summer, too. Teams didn’t pursue him because they were so sure he would remain in Dallas. But he admitted he would have listened had James and Wade invited him to be part of what they were putting together. “But they didn’t, so it wasn’t really an option,” he said. For some former MVPs, such a snub would be another reason to hold a grudge against the Heat. Not Nowitzki. A few weeks shy of turning 33, all he cares about is winning his first championship and the first for his franchise, no matter who it comes against or how. “I like how we fought through some stuff, some ups and downs through the years,” he said. “It took us a long time to get back here. Hopefully we can make it count.”
Wilpon: Mets could lose $70M this year (AP)
NEW YORK (AP) – Mets owner Fred Wilpon says his team is “bleeding cash” and could lose up to $70 million this year. Wilpon tells sports Illustrated in its current issue that he’s made a lot of poor judgments. He says trusting Bernard Madoff was his biggest regret. The Mets were caught up in Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Wilpon tells SI that the Mets “became in jeopardy” after a court-appointed trustee wanted the team’s owners to repay $1 billion to Madoff’s victims. Wilpon also says there could be an agreement within three weeks to sell a minority share of the team. Earlier this week
Wilpon took some pointed shots at Mets stars Jose Reyes(notes)
Carlos Beltran(notes) and David Wright(notes) in a magazine story in The New Yorker.
Halladay pitches Phillies past Rangers (AP)
PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Roy Halladay(notes) was backed by another light night at the plate from the Phillies. Well, except for two big swings. Ben Francisco(notes) and Raul Ibanez(notes) homered, and Halladay threw eight strong innings to lead Philadelphia to a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night. Halladay (6-3) struck out seven and walked one for the NL East-leading Phillies. Francisco hit a two-run shot in the second inning and Ibanez hit a solo homer in the fourth to give Halladay the support he needed to end a personal two-game losing streak. Halladay lost consecutive complete games because the Phillies failed to score more than two runs in either start. “I don’t think you can think about it,” Halladay said. “I think if you go out there trying to win the game yourself or do too much or feel like you can’t make mistakes, it compounds the problem.” C.J. Wilson(notes) (4-3) had an otherwise strong outing for Texas, striking out 10 in seven innings. Ryan Madson(notes), who took a liner off his pitching hand, worked the ninth for his eighth save. David Murphy(notes) was caught stealing at second to end the game. Three runs could almost be considered a slugfest the way the Phillies have been slumping at the plate. They lost five of six coming into the game and hadn’t scored more than three runs in any of them. The lone game they won over that stretch was a 2-1 win against Colorado. The Rockies responded by pounding the Phillies 7-1 on Thursday. Halladay at least keeps them in the game, even when the bats go cold. He did it again, never letting the Rangers get a serious rally going after they scratched for a run in the first. “It’s been a tough stretch, I think we’re all aware of that,” Halladay said. One unlikely candidate sparked the Phillies. Francisco made it 2-1 with his first homer since April 16. Francisco was in a horrible 3-for-36 slump with one RBI in his last 15 games. “It’s baseball. You’re going to go through slumps,” Francisco said. “I feel good now. I feel I’ve worked on my swing a lot lately. Just keep hitting.” He started in right field and John Mayberry(notes) Jr., was in center—needed changes after the Phillies placed center fielder Shane Victorino(notes) on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring. The Phillies recalled outfielder—and top prospect—Domonic Brown(notes) from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 23-year-old started the season on the DL after breaking his right hand early in spring training. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel expects to start Brown in Saturday’s game against Colby Lewis(notes). Brown’s addition doesn’t bother Francisco. “It’s on me to go out there and play well,” he said. Ibanez homered to center to continue the hot streak he’s been on since his 0-for-35 drought. He’s hitting .375 (21 for 56) since the longest hitless skid of his career. His slump has been transferred to Ryan Howard(notes). The slugging first baseman went 0 for 3 and is mired in an 0-for-23 funk. Howard is still a threat, though. The Rangers intentionally walked him with a runner on second and two outs in the eighth. Mayberry grounded out to end the rally. The Rangers scored first when shortstop Elvis Andrus(notes) stole home on a delayed double steal in the first. Andrus hit a leadoff single and advanced to third on Mitch Moreland’s(notes) single. Moreland stole second and Andrus bolted for home on catcher Carlos Ruiz’s(notes) throw. “Any time you’re in a game against a guy like him, you have to go for it,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “We had Elvis at third, went for it and made it.” Endy Chavez(notes) led off the eighth with a pinch-hit double and scored on Moreland’s groundout to make it 3-2. Wilson fanned seven batters over the first three innings—four straight over the first and second. He allowed both homers with two outs in the inning. Notes: Washington said reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton(notes) (broken arm) is “a possibility” to play Monday. … The Phillies optioned RHP Scott Mathieson(notes) to Triple-A and recalled RHP David Herndon(notes). … Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., said Thursday that Brown was not expected to get called up. Amaro changed his mind after a talk with Manuel. “There’s still a question on whether he’s ready to play on a regular basis here, but circumstances changed and I changed my mind,” Amaro said. … Phillies RHP Joe Blanton(notes), scratched minutes before Thursday’s start because of inflammation in his elbow, had an MRI. Amaro said he didn’t have the results.
