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    • Zack Smith finishes off Matt Niskanen with the stinky leg drop.

      No. 1 Star: Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators

      Anderson stopped 49 of 50 as the Senators staged a stunning comeback over the Pittsburgh Penguins, tying the game with less than a minute to go and winning it, 2-1, in double overtime.

      No. 2 Star: Torey Krug, Boston Bruins

      Krug's second postseason game was even better than his first. He had a two-point night in the Bruins 5-2 win, scoring again and picking up an assist. His play on the goal, kicking the puck to his stick then whipping it past Henrik Lundqvist, showed some serious veteran savvy:

      Read More »from NHL Three Stars: Anderson shines in Sens’ comeback; Krug’s two-point night
    • This one looked over.

      The Ottawa Senators were staring a three-game deficit right in the face, down a goal with 90 seconds to go. Then, to make matters worse, Erik Karlsson took a slashing penalty, putting them down a man as well. But the Senators refused to go away, and a minute into the penalty, Daniel Alfredsson sneaked into the Pittsburgh zone, unmarked, and Milan Michalek found him in front of the net. Alfy sealed the deal, as Alfies often do, ending Tomas Vokoun's shutout bid and sending the game into overtimes.

      Yes, overtimes. For the first time in the 2013 postseason, it took double OT for this game to produce a winner, and when it did, the Senators were back in the series. At 7:39 of the second overtime, Colin Greening banged home a loose puck to give the Sens a 2-1 victory:

      And with that, the legend of the pesky Sens lives on. This team just won't go away. Pittsburgh will be left to wonder if it was their brutally lackadaisical approach to the powerplay late in regulation that cost them the lead, or destiny.

      (Probably the former. But the latter makes for a nice narrative, no?)

      Even after tying the game up in miraculous fashion, the Senators were nearly dealt the fatal blow numerous times. Pascal Dupuis hit a post in the first overtime. Evgeni Malkin had several terrifying forays into the Senators' end. They even survived another Pittsburgh powerplay in OT number two.

      Alfredsson and Greening will get much of the credit for stealing Game 3 -- which is sort of what happens when you get your name on the scoresheet after the 59th minute -- but Craig Anderson was a deserving first star after keeping the game within stealing distance all night. The Senators' netminder stopped 49 of 50 shots in the win.

      How close were the Senators to the end? After the game, Greening -- who took a high-stick in the second and was late to the postgame scrum because doctors had to extract the fiberglass that had been sitting in his face for two and a half periods -- looked like he'd just come from Dexter's kill table.

      You can't get much closer to death than that. Not many people survive the blood slide moment.

      Game 4 goes Wednesday in Ottawa.

      Read More »from Senators steal Game 3 after Greening completes comeback with double OT winner (Video)
    • All my exes live in Texas (USAT)

      It's the middle of May and we've got plenty to talk about. Jurickson Profar's promotion. Doug Fister's college days. Derek Holland's OPS.

      As usual, we'll do it in chat fashion. I'll provide the polls, you provide the beverages, everyone bring something silly. In Michael Scott's lingo, this is a win-win-win.

      Headed for a magazine mock, so you're on your own for a while. Re-convene at 10:15 pm ET.

      Read More »from Late Night Fantasy Chat: 10:15 pm
    • (@thisistheone99)(@thisistheone99)After over 134,000 minutes on the sidelines watching Manchester Utd play in 61 different cash-generating kits, Sir Alex Ferguson took to the dugout for the final time on Sunday at The Hawthorns.

      Fergie was denied a victory in his 1,500th game in charge as a Romelu Lukaku hat-trick earned West Brom a bizarre 5-5 draw, but there was one clear winner on the day: the man who bought 700 souvenir programmes, spending £2,800 ($4,250) in the process.

      Unless he really likes pictures of Steve Clarke clapping, the opportunistic "fan" presumably intends to cash in on his share of the £4 match day magazines, which included a 40-page Sir Alex Ferguson tribute.

      The Daily Mail reports:

      To mark the Manchester United boss being at the Hawthorns to bring down the curtain on his incredible career, West Brom have produced a 144-page programme, which is the biggest ever produced for a domestic fixture in England.

      And one fan stunned a programme seller by handing over £2,800 for 700 copies, which are selling

      Read More »from Fan spends $4,250 on West Brom programmes commemorating Alex Ferguson’s final match
    • Patrice Bergeron streaked into the Rangers' zone, going wide on his man and down the wall. As he neared the goal line, he threw the puck towards the crease, where Dan Girardi was unable to get a stick on it and, much to his chagrin, Brad Marchand was. The smallish winger with the nose for the net redirected it past Henrik Lundqvist for the score.

      That's not the Game 1 overtime winner I'm describing, though the similarities are striking. It was the fourth goal in Boston's decisive, 5-2, Game 2 victory over the New York Rangers.

      The retread of the Marchand-Bergeron connection aside, these games weren't all that similar. Game 1 was close -- so close it needed extra time; Game 2 was over well before the end of regulation.

      Johnny Boychuk scored the eventual game-winner at 12:08 of the second period after Brad Marchand handed him the puck at the top of the zone and the Rangers handed him all the time in the world. He beat Henrik Lundqvist with a laser.

      The Rangers' comeback hopes took a major hit just 26 seconds into the final frame, as Marchand and Bergeron hooked up for the goal described above (and showcased below):

      Read More »from Bruins steamroll Lundqvist, Rangers with 5-2 victory in Game 2
    • Marc Gasol was all out of answers, and so early (Getty Images)

      The San Antonio Spurs won their second round series with the Golden State Warriors last Thursday, the night after it learned it would be playing the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference finals. By the looks of San Antonio’s 105-83 Game 1 win on Sunday, though, it appears as if the Spurs have been preparing for this matchup for over two years.

      It was over two years ago that the Grizzlies shocked the Spurs by topping the longtime contender in their opening round series. And though both rosters have changed somewhat in the years since, the core of both teams’ value system (talking and movement for San Antonio, rugged low post and defensive play for Memphis) remains the same. Because the Spurs pulled out early against Golden State, though, and the Oklahoma City Thunder never really looked like a contender against Memphis in the second round, you get the feeling that the Spurs coaching staff was multitasking throughout last week, mindful of its eventual showdown with Memphis.

      It

      Read More »from San Antonio strikes first and strikes soundly, destroying the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1
    • Ironically, it was less than 24 hours earlier that we rehashed Tim Lincecum's accusatory comments on the Coors Field mound in September 2010 that had everyone (myself included) turning into expert lip-readers.

      Of course that became temporarily significant again because of the interesting exchange between Troy Tulowitzki and Madison Bumgarner on Friday night after a baseball was taken out of play at Tulowitzki's request as he was running the bases. Rather than a continuation of bad blood, though, it turned out to be nothing more than an honest request and a miscommunication. Everyone went about their merry way heading into Saturday night's game in Denver. But maybe the mere mention of that incident stirred up some spirits at Coors Field.

      Well, that, or maybe Tim Lincecum just can't catch a break these days, because the struggling former Cy Young Award winner ended up taking an embarrassing tumble on that same mound in the fourth inning of Colorado's 10-2 victory.

      It happened right in the middle of his 1-1 delivery to Charlie Blackmon when his plant leg slipped right off the rubber. He's actually pretty lucky he didn't suffer a sprained ankle or even a knee injury considering the torque and pressure put on his lower leg, but he bounced up and carried on with the only downside to the mishap being a balk that awarded the runner second base.

      Read More »from Revenge of the Coors Field mound: Tim Lincecum takes mid-delivery spill during ugly outing
    • Jurickson Profar has been raking at Round Rock (USAT Images)On Sunday afternoon, Buster Olney broke the news that Rangers prospect Jurickson Profar — rated by many as baseball's top prospect — had arrived in Arlington. Profar has since been promoted to the big league roster, with Ian Kinsler (ribs) hitting the 15-day disabled list.

      This is an actionable fantasy event, you guys. Add Profar where you can, then return here for additional details.

      GO. MAKE THE ADD. SHOO.

      Profar didn't race out to a huge start at Round Rock this season — he hit just .231/.355/.410 in April — but he's been on a tear lately. He's hitting .415 over his last 10 games, he homered twice on Saturday, and he's raised his slash to .278/.370/.438. Not bad for a 20-year-old at Triple-A. He's swiped six bags in seven attempts so far this year, too, and he's walked nearly as often as he's struck out (21 BB, 24 Ks).

      Yes, we all understand that Profar is just a kid, and it's only the PCL. Plus he'll have no guaranteed spot in the Texas lineup when Kinsler returns (probably soon). There are issues here, no doubt. We can make no guarantees with Profar. Everyone should understand that 20-year-olds sometimes fail. Blah-blah-temper-expectations-blah-blah-losing-advice-blah. (There, satisfied with the caveats? Great.)

      Read More »from Fantasy alert: Jurickson Profar gets the call as Ian Kinsler hits the DL
    • No beers were sacrificed in the attempt to catch this foul ball, but that's not to say there were no substantial risks involved. In fact, I would confidently say the Cubs fan seated front row in the upper deck at Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon was willing to put a whole lot more than a beverage on the line to reel in a souvenir.

      Fortunately for him, he had two big things working in his favor as he leaned precariously over the railing with Ike Davis' foul ball slicing in his direction.

      The first would be his tremendous balance, as he managed to keep himself steady while extending his arms as far as they would go.

      The second are his exceptional hands.

      Seriously. That was all about the hands. Even Keith Hernandez, a Gold Glove first baseman in his day who knows how important soft hands are in fielding a baseball, was impressed by how easily the fan was able to snatch the baseball and secure it from that position. And Keith doesn't impress easy, folks, so that's a pretty solid endorsement.

      Read More »from Cubs fan showcases tremendous hands while reeling in dangerous foul ball (Video)
    • In the 59th minute of Zenit St. Petersburg's final home match of the Russian Premier League season, 31-year-old Russian international Roman Shirokov was brought on to boos and jeers. In the first minute of injury time, Shirokov put away the final goal in Zenit's 3-1 win against Volga Nizhny and he celebrated by giving fans behind the goal an "up yours" gesture as payback for his reception half an hour earlier. The referee then showed the striker with a history of being unfriendly a straight red and he was off.

      Shirokov was probably jeered in the first place because he tweeted "CSKA deserved the championship!" after CSKA Moscow sealed the league title on Saturday, leaving second place to Zenit. This isn't the best way to endear yourself to your own fans.

      Prior to Euro 2012, ITV explained his reputation for cause controversy like this:

      That [big-game] mentality has its downsides, though, as a number of disciplinary scrapes have given Shirokov something of a bad-boy reputation in Russia. He's known as 'Mister Twitter' in his homeland, apt - much like Joey Barton - to use social media to vent his uncompromising views. Shirokov once famously referred to fans of rival club Spartak Moscow as "pigs", and to Slovakia's national side as "a bunch of farmers".

      So it seems this is just Roman Shirokov being Roman Shirokov.

      Read More »from Zenit player sent off for celebrating goal with rude gesture aimed at own fans

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