Month: January 2020

Whicker: No winners in Spyball scandal, not even the Dodgers — Press Telegram

The Houston Astros were not brought to justice. General manager Jeff Luhnow should have been exiled for five years. Their share of national TV revenue should have been revoked and reallocated among the other 29 clubs. They should have lost the entire 2020 and 2021 drafts, not just the first two picks. All their 2020…

Whicker: No winners in Spyball scandal, not even the Dodgers — Press Telegram

By MARK WHICKER | mwhicker@scng.com | Daily NewsPUBLISHED: January 20, 2020 at 2:26 pm | UPDATED: January 20, 2020 at 2:26 pm

The Houston Astros were not brought to justice.

General manager Jeff Luhnow should have been exiled for five years. Their share of national TV revenue should have been revoked and reallocated among the other 29 clubs. They should have lost the entire 2020 and 2021 drafts, not just the first two picks.

All their 2020 games against the Angels should be canceled.

Okay, too harsh.

Given all that, spare us the petitions on behalf of the Dodgers.

They did not lose the 2017 and 2018 World Series because Alex Cora was sitting in the other dugout with his two-way wristwatch, autographed by Dick Tracy.

They began losing Game 5 in 2017 because they felt it was important to pitch Brandon Morrow into puddling exhaustion, and then because Kenley Jansen walked a batter and hit another before Alex Bregman’s game-winning single.

Jaylen Brown’s Praise Of Kemba Walker Says Plenty About Kyrie Irving’s Celtics Run — NESN.com

Despite the Boston Celtics’ recent struggles, it sure seems there’s a much friendlier vibe on Causeway Street. A big reason for that was the club’s needed (and forced) change in leadership atop the roster. Out was Kyrie Irving, who ended his up-and-down Celtics tenure when he signed with the Brooklyn Nets. Replacing him was the…

Jaylen Brown’s Praise Of Kemba Walker Says Plenty About Kyrie Irving’s Celtics Run — NESN.com

RAPTORS (28-14) AT HAWKS (10-33) PREGAME NOTES: GAME #43 – MONDAY, JAN. 20, 2020 – 2:30 P.M. (ET) – STATE FARM ARENA TV: SPORTSNET ONE – RADIO: SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN

ATLANTA’S LAST GAME STARTERS

POS NO. PLAYER HT. WT. G GS PPG RPG APG SPG BPG MPG FG% 3FG% FT%
F 22 CAM REDDISH 6-8 218 39 28 8.5 3.6 1.6 1.1 0.5 26.1 .333 .289 .787
F 12 DE’ANDRE HUNTER 6-7 225 42 41 12.0 3.7 1.7 0.6 0.2 31.0 .405 .333 .769
C 20 JOHN COLLINS 6-9 235 17 17 17.5 9.5 1.4 0.7 2.1 30.0 .502 .348 .766
G 3 KEVIN HUERTER 6-7 190 32 24 11.5 4.1 3.4 0.9 0.5 27.7 .416 .396 .844
G 11 TRAE YOUNG 6-1 180 39 39 28.8 4.6 8.5 1.2 0.1 35.0 .445 .374 .838

HISTORIC TRIPLE-DOUBLES: On 11/23 vs. Toronto, Trae Young compiled 30 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds in 41 minutes. The second-year guard from the University of Oklahoma became just the third player in Hawks history with a 30-point triple-double, the second Hawk to accomplish the feat since the club moved to Atlanta in 1968-69 and the first since Herm Gilliam in 1974. On 1/8, Young posted 42 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists – the first 40-point triple-double in Hawks history. He became the youngest player in NBA history to record those minimums in a single game, surpassing Oscar Robertson whose previous record was 21 years, 357 days old.

Atlanta Hawks Players to Record 30-pt Triple-Doubles

Player Date Opponent Points Rebs Assists

Trae Young 11/23/19 Toronto Raptors 30 10 10

Trae Young 1/8/2020 Houston Rockets 42 13

10 Herm Gilliam 2/5/74 Capital Bullets 34 13 13

Lenny Wilkens 10/24/67 New York Knicks 30 12 13

GRAND OPENING: Trae Young led all players with 38 points (11-21 FGs, 6-10 3FGs, 10-12 FTs) in 37 minutes at Detroit on 10/24. The second-year guard scored 26 points in the first half alone, the most by a Hawks player in the last 20 seasons. Young’s 38 points are the most by a Hawk in a road season opener since the team moved to Atlanta in 196869 and the most in any opener since Dominique Wilkins scored 39 against the Nets on 11/1/86. Last season, Young led all rookies with nine 30-point games.

TRAEMENDOUS On 11/12 at Denver, Trae Young tied a career-high with eight triples (also 2/25/19 at Hou), notched a season-high 42 points and reached the 30-point mark for the third consecutive game (the second time in his career with three straight). He also dished out 11 assists against the Nuggets to record his fourth double-double in five games. Young became the first NBA player in the 2019-20 season, and, at the time, the youngest player in league history (21 years and 54 days) with three straight games of 30-or-more points and 10-or-more assists.

TRIPLE-THREAT TRAE: On 11/8 vs. Sacramento, Trae Young scored 30 points, handed out 12 assists and swiped a career-high five steals in 40 minutes. Young became the first Hawk to compile at least 30 points and five steals since Mike Bibby in January 2009 and the first Hawk to add at least 10 assists to that stat line since Pete Maravich in March 1974. The second-year Oklahoma product became the first NBA player with 30 points, 12 assists and five steals in a game since Victor Oladipo in the 2017-18 season.

ONE HUNDRED GAMES OF BUCKETS AND DIMES: Trae Young played the 100th game of his career on 11/30 at Houston. Through 100 games, Young compiled more than 2,000 points and 800 assists, becoming only the second player in NBA history to reach those minimums after his first 100 contests per Elias:
Players With At Least 2,000 Points and 800 Assists in 100 Games

Player Game 1 Game 100 Points Assists

Oscar Robertson 10/19/1960 12/13/1961 3,040 1039

Trae Young 10/17/2018 11/30/2019 2,089 812

DEANDRE’S SCARY GOOD HALLOWEEN: On 10/31 vs. Miami, DeAndre’ Bembry posted the fourth double-double of his career, amassing 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in 28 minutes … Bembry narrowly missed a triple-double, as he added a career-high eight assists and two steals.

EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: On 10/28, Trae Young was named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Oct. 22-27. Young led the Hawks to their first 2-0 start since the 2016-17 season and averaged 38.5 points, 9.0 assists and 7.0 rebounds. He became the first player in NBA history to compile at least 38 points, nine assists and seven boards in each of his team’s first two games of the season. His 77 total points through two contests set a new franchise record, breaking the old mark of 75 set by Dominique Wilkins in 1986-87. The award was Young’s second weekly honor of his career, as he was named POW for games played March 18-24 last season.
YOUNGEST ATLANTA HAWKS TO WIN PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Season Player Date of Award Age

2018-19 Trae Young March 25, 2019 20

2019-20 Trae Young Oct. 28, 2019 21

2007-08 Josh Smith Dec. 9, 2007 22

1983-84 Dominique Wilkins April 15, 1984 24

2005-06 Joe Johnson Dec. 19, 2005 24

1,500 FOR #15: On 12/10 at Miami, Vince Carter played in the 1,500th game of his NBA career and knocked down a then-season-high four three-pointers, finishing with 12 points. He became the fifth player in NBA history to reach 1,500 games played and tied Dirk Nowitzki for the highest point total in a player’s 1,500th contest. The list of NBA players to reach 1,500 games is found here:

Player Years Played Games Played

Robert Parish 1977-1997 1,611

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1970-1989 1,560

Dirk Nowitzki 1999-2019 1,522

Vince Carter 1999-Present 1,517

John Stockton 1985-2003 1,504

CHARLOTTE 7, MARLIES 3: “Loss for words right now. I think pretty frustrated, I think the whole group’s frustrated. We all haven’t been good enough. It’s going to take a group effort to climb our way out of this. Can we? Yes. Will we? Yes. Today’s another frustrating day. We’re going to find a way to right the ship.” — GREG MOORE

TORONTO MARLIES (21-16-2-2 – 46 Points) vs. CHARLOTTE CHECKERS (24-14-3-0 – 51 Points)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2020

 123OTFINAL
TORONTO030–3
CHARLOTTE142–7

GAME SUMMARY    |    GAME SHEET |    PHOTOS    |      SCRUMS

SCORING SUMMARY

Toronto: J. Schmaltz (2) (J. Bracco, C. Conrad), H. Elynuik (3) (J. Duszak), K. Agostino (20) PP (Marchment, J. Bracco)
Goaltender: J. Woll (24/31)

Charlotte: M. Geekie (11) PP (J. Bean, A. Nedeljkovic), D. Gust (7) (R. McKeown, J. Bean), J. Gauthier (19) (M. McCormick), E. Luostarinen (7) (Unassisted), S. Lorentz (14) PP (F. Claesson, C. Priskie), M. Geekie (12) (F. Claesson, J. Pritchard), S. Lorentz (15) (M. Geekie, R. McKeown)
Goaltender: A. Nedeljkovic (14/17)

ON THE SCORESHEET

  • Jordan Schmaltz put the Marlies on the board at 11:15 of the second period. Schmaltz has 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) through 29 games this season.
  • Hudson Elynuik scored at 12:14 of the second period. Elynuik has seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) through 34 games this season.
  • Kenny Agostino scored on the power play at 12:14 of the second period. Agostino has 13 points (9 goals, 4 assists) in his last 15 games. Agostino is tied for fifth overall in the AHL in goals (20). He is the first Marlie to reach the 20-goal mark for the third time in his AHL career.
  • Jeremy Bracco recorded the primary assist on Schmaltz’s goal and the secondary assist on Agostino’s power play goal, both in the second period. Bracco is fourth overall in the AHL in assists (29).
  • Colt Conrad registered the secondary assist on Schmaltz’s second period goal. This was his first point in his first game with the Marlies this season. Conrad has 25 points (5 goals, 20 assists) through 24 games with Newfoundland (ECHL).
  • Joseph Duszak picked up the lone assist on Elynuik’s second period goal. Duszak has two points (1 goal, 1 assist) through eight games this season.
  • Mason Marchment collected the primary assist on Agostino’s second period power play goal. He has eight points (6 goals, 2 assists) through nine career games against Charlotte. He has nine points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 14 games this season.
  • Joseph Woll stopped 24 of 31 shots he faced. Woll is now 7-10-1-1 on the season with a .890 Save Percentage and a 3.60 Goals Against Average.

OF NOTE…

  • Toronto was 1-for-3 on the penalty kill and 1-for-3 on the power play.
  • Charlotte had a 31-17 edge in shots in all situations. Kenny Agostino, Hudson Elynuik and Mason Marchment led the Marlies with three shots on goal.
  • The Marlies are 1-2-0-1 against Atlantic Division opponents and are 0-1-0-1 against the Charlotte Checkers.
  • Toronto is on their annual Boat Show road trip, returning to Coca-Cola Coliseum on January 31. Before the All-Star Break (January 26 to January 29), Toronto will face the Texas Stars, the San Antonio Rampage, the Charlotte Checkers and the Cleveland Monsters, each in two game series.

REGULAR SEASON LEADERS

  • Goals: K. Agostino (20)
  • Assists: J. Bracco (29)
  • Points:  K. Agostino (33)
  • PPG: N. Petan (6)
  • Shots: P. Aberg (103)
  • +/-:  J. Lindgren, G. Wilson (+7)
  • PIMS: G. Wilson (60)

ON THE ROAD

  • Toronto’s away record is 8-10-2-2 (20 points) this season. Toronto’s longest road point streak reached nine points from Oct. 11 to Nov. 2 (3-0-2-1).
  • The Marlies have been outscored 81-69. Pontus Aberg leads the Marlies in goals (10) and Nic Petan in assists (11) on the road.
  • Goaltenders Kasimir Kaskisuo (5-3-1-1) and Joseph Woll (3-6-1-1) have combined to make 657 saves.

RECORD WHEN…

  • The Marlies are 7-9-1-0 when trailing after the first period and 3-12-2-1 when trailing after the second period.
  • Toronto is 14-10-1-2 when outshot by their opponent.
  • The Marlies are 6-2-1-0 in Sunday games and are 2-6-0-1 in January.

CURRENT POINT STREAKS

  • Mason Marchment has points (3-2-6) in three consecutive games.

MARLIES UPDATES.

  • Kevin Gravel (illness) did not dress for tonight’s game against Texas.
  • Ben Harpur (concussion)did not dress for tonight’s game against Texas.
  • Egor Korshkov (lower leg laceration) did not dress for tonight’s game against Texas.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

  • January 18: Returned defenceman Timothy Liljegren on loan from Toronto (NHL).
  • January 18: Returned forward Adam Brooks on loan from Toronto (NHL).
  • January 17: Assigned forward Trevor Moore from Toronto (NHL) on a conditioning loan.
  • January 14: Ressigned defenceman Joseph Duszak by Toronto (NHL) from Newfoundland (ECHL).
  • January 14: Recalled defenceman Timothy Liljegren from loan by Toronto (NHL).
  • January 14: Returned forward Mason Marchment on loan from Toronto (NHL).

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

On today’s game:
Loss for words right now. I think pretty frustrated, I think the whole group’s frustrated. We all haven’t been good enough. It’s going to take a group effort to climb our way out of this. Can we? Yes. Will we? Yes. Today’s another frustrating day. We’re going to find a way to right the ship.

On where he sees breakdowns in Toronto’s play:
D-zone, we definitely have to be a little bit tighter. We’re still allowing too much inside and getting to our goaltender. We’ve got to be able to close out on the D-zone when it’s a fifty-fifty puck and win our battles. There’s just an intensity in the game of hockey it needs to have and for the team to have throughout the entire bench. We had it for the second period today. Again, first period was not what we wanted in terms of talking about it and our slow start yesterday but just a little bit more heart, a little bit more possession, a little bit more our style and doing the things that we preach here and we’re having a hard time finding that consistency.

NEXT GAME:

January 24 at Cleveland – 7:00 p.m. ET
January 25 at Cleveland – 1:00 p.m. ET
January 31 vs Charlotte – 7:00 p.m. ET
February 1 vs Charlotte – 4:00 p.m. ET
February 4 vs Belleville – 7:00 p.m. ET

A society of cheaters — Daily News

“No fair! Cheater!” It’s been shouted by kids on every schoolyard and during every rainy-day game of Scrabble, Clue and Candyland since time immemorial. The cheating chant prompts parents and schoolyard proctors to offer the stock admonition, “Winners never cheat and cheaters never win.” But cheaters do win. Sometimes they win bigly. And kids know…

A society of cheaters — Daily News

Wiggins leaves door open on returning to Canadian fold in June — Toronto Sun

MINNEAPOLIS — Most of Canada’s highest-profile NBA players have committed to play for their country this summer at a last-chance Tokyo Olympic-qualifying tournament, with one notable exception. Read More

Wiggins leaves door open on returning to Canadian fold in June — Toronto Sun

“Right now my team is struggling a little bit so we have to get back and trying get in a playoff run. That’s my main goal right now. And after that I’m going to decide on Canada basketball.”

Kawhi Leonard pouring it on in Clippers’ recent surge — Press Telegram

It’s been Ka’wine & Dine on opposing defenses for the past five games. Kawhi Leonard has feasted for 180 points in that span, including commemorating the 500th regular-season game of his career Saturday by becoming just the third Clipper to score at least 30 points in five consecutive games and the first to do it…

Kawhi Leonard pouring it on in Clippers’ recent surge — Press Telegram

Leafs, Andersen mail it in, head off to bye week with dismal loss to Blackhawks — Toronto Sun

Pathetic, really. Read More

Leafs, Andersen mail it in, head off to bye week with dismal loss to Blackhawks — Toronto Sun

By Terry Koshan

Pathetic, really.

The Maple Leafs slinked into their bye week on Saturday night and said bye-bye to their playoff spot.

The aim for many players as they get away from their livelihoods is to forget about work and relax, but we’re not sure how that can be possible for the Leafs considering their recent play.

Once the Leafs return from the break on Jan. 27 in Nashville to start a two-game trip, they’re going to try to put behind them the first true skid in the Sheldon Keefe era.

The Leafs were on auto pilot before 19,502 at Scotiabank Arena, losing 6-2 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

As such, the Leafs will scatter for warmer climates with just one win in six games, going 1-3-2. This after Toronto won nine of 10.

And worse: The Leafs have fallen out of a playoff spot, sitting in fourth in the Atlantic Division and 10th in the Eastern Conference.

“It’s not a good feeling,” captain John Tavares said. “We have to dig down and ask ourselves where we want to get to and how bad that we want to get there.

“Everyone is invested 100%, but when we have games like this, it gets in the way of us building what we want to build.”

The concern around No. 1 goaltender Frederik Andersen continues to grow, and never mind that he’s going to represent the Leafs, along with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, at the all-star game in St. Louis.

Lowry and VanVleet combine for 57 points in win over T-Wolves — Toronto Sun

MINNEAPOLIS — Toronto’s two stellar point guards made sure a huge night by Canadian Andrew Wiggins went to waste. Read More

Lowry and VanVleet combine for 57 points in win over T-Wolves — Toronto Sun

Toronto’s two stellar point guards made sure a huge night by Canadian Andrew Wiggins went to waste.

All-star Kyle Lowry and the man who has teamed so well with him, Fred Van Vleet combined to nail 12 of Toronto’s 13 three-pointers in a 122-112 Raptors win over Minnesota. VanVleet returned to the lineup with a 29-point gem, Lowry added 28 and the bench put the game away in the fourth quarter, mostly behind Norman Powell, who scored 20.

Wiggins handed out 10 assists for the first time in his career and had a huge start to the game, but faded in the second half.

Still, he collected the first triple-double of his career and became the first Canadian to notch one against either the Raptors or Vancouver Grizzlies. Wiggins is also only the third Canadian to achieve the feat, joining Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who did it last week, and Steve Nash.

VanVleet didn’t look like he had been sidelined for five games.

What Jerry Remy Believes Red Sox Should Do In Managerial Search — NESN.com

The Boston Red Sox have a lot of questions surrounding them as they head into the 2020 season. But the biggest of them all is who will replace Alex Cora as manager? Cora and the Sox mutually agreed to part ways Tuesday night. He was named in the Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred’s report…

What Jerry Remy Believes Red Sox Should Do In Managerial Search — NESN.com

Lakers blow out Rockets with second-half surge — Press Telegram

HOUSTON — The chants started with just over five minutes left. The Lakers were leading by 16, and streams of red-clad fans were heading up the Toyota Center aisles. Emboldened, a remaining cadre of Lakers’ faithful filled the arena with shouting: “LET’S GO LAKERS!” Clad in a blazer, a gold polo and Chuck Taylors, Anthony…

Lakers blow out Rockets with second-half surge — Press Telegram