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    • The Los Angeles Kings have become a social media sensation for pushing the envelope on Twitter, separating from the pack of staid NHL feeds with their snarky wit.

      For Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday night, the Kings had a guest-tweeter on the @LAKings feed in Kevin Ryder, one half of the Kevin and Bean morning show on KROQ in LA. He was snarky. He was sorta witty. But in one instance, he went too far for the Kings:

      @LAKings

      Yeah, sexual assault jokes aren’t everyone’s particular brand of whimsy.

      David Rogers of Puck Drunk Love offered this indictment:

      It's one thing to be snarky and a bit edgy. It's another to use what boils down to a rape joke on an NHL team's Twitter account. Though Ryder is responsible for the Tweet itself, those behind LA's account and marketing team are responsible for allowing him to use it in the first place. We're not sure who thought it was a good idea or how the idea was approved, but here we are. If you go and look through Ryder's work, this isn't exactly a surprising outcome.

      The apologies and clarifications were fast and furious after the tweet.

      Read More »from LA Kings apologize for Kevin Ryder’s sexual assault joke on Twitter
    • The Memphis Grizzlies' slogan for these playoffs has been "We Don't Bluff," a reference to a semi-famous quote from Zach Randolph and an encapsulation of the toughness that's typified this team for the past three seasons. However, that distaste for play-acting was called into question for at least one key moment in their Game 2 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.

      With the score 85-81 in favor of San Antonio and 27 seconds left in regulation, Zach Randolph forced a steal from Manu Ginobili and passed ahead to Tony Allen, who seemed to have a clear path to the basket for a lay-up. Ginobili caught up, though, and pulled Allen down by his forearm as he rose up for the shot. Allen grabbed his head after crashing to the floor, which suggested that it was a serious foul.

      The officials called a flagrant foul and headed over to the monitors to assess the severity. Replays showed a somewhat different picture of the action. While Allen did in fact hit the floor hard, his head never hit the ground. That indicates he bluffed, contrary to the Grizzlies' slogan. It worked, too — Allen nailed both free throws, Mike Conley hit a tough runner on the ensuing possession, and the Grizzlies forced overtime with the score tied at 85-85. The extra period wouldn't have happened if not for the flagrant.

      Read More »from Did Tony Allen fake the Manu Ginobili flagrant foul that put the Grizzlies and Spurs into overtime?
    • Getty Images

      No. 1 Star: Daniel Paille, Boston Bruins

      The catalyst for the Bruins’ dominating fourth line in Game 3, Paille set up Johnny Boychuk for the tying goal and then scored the game-winner on a funky bounce to give Boston a 2-1 win over the Rangers and a 3-0 series lead.

      No. 2 Star: Antti Niemi, San Jose Sharks

      The Sharks goalie stopped 22 shots, including 13 in the third period, to backstop San Jose to a 2-1 Game 4 win and a 2-2 series split with the Los Angeles Kings.

      Read More »from NHL Three Stars: Bruins push Rangers to brink, Couture heroic again
    • After Mike Trout's monster rookie season in 2012, many believed it wasn't a matter of if, but when he would achieve some of baseball's most distinguished feats. Like, for instance, hitting for the cycle.

      Trout can check that off his to-do list after Tuesday night's Los Angeles Angels game. All told, he was 4-for-5 with two runs, five RBIs and a stolen base. His at-bats went like this: strikeout in the first inning, single in the third, triple in the fourth, double in the sixth and in the eighth inning — with everyone watching to see if he could do it — a home run to complete the cycle.

      A few notes of historical context:

      (USA Today)• Trout is the youngest player in American League history — at 21 years, 9 months, 16 days — to hit for the cycle. Mel Ott, who achieved the cycle in 1929 at age 20 — is the youngest overall.

      • Other younger-than-22 cycle-hitters: Cesar Cedeno (1972), Arky Vaughan (1933) and Alex Rodriguez (1997).

      • Trout is the first hitter this

      Read More »from Mike Trout hits for the cycle, becomes youngest player in AL history to do so
    • It would be fair to expect San Antonio Spurs fans to let out sighs of relief after the end of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Memphis Grizzlies. After blowing a 13-point fourth quarter lead to see the Grizzlies force overtime (due in part to a questionable flagrant foul on Manu Ginobili with 26 seconds left), the Spurs controlled overtime to come away with a 93-89 win and 2-0 series lead heading into Game 3 in Memphis. They averted disaster and remain in strong position to make the NBA Finals.

      Yet, for at least one attending fan, the game's end was not an opportunity to express relief, but rather a chance to celebrate the Spurs' win in the form of an excited yelp. With two consecutive screams of "We did it!" this man has now entered playoff fan lore alongside Joakim Noah flipper-offer and potential murderer Filomena Tobias, the woman who screamed during the entire Spurs comeback in Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors, and the Miami Heat's "good job, good

      Read More »from Fan yells ‘We did it!’ to celebrate Spurs victory, enters internet lore forever (Video)
    • Dustin Penner was livid in the second period of Game 4 at the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night, and rightfully so: Watch referee Brad Meier whistle the play dead as the puck trickles through Antti Niemi’s pads towards the goal line.

      Ouch. Tough break for the Kings there, especially with the Sharks holding a two-goal lead at that point.

      Please join us next post for another Great Moment in 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs Officiating …

    • Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald and Nicolas Colsaerts — Getty ImagesThere is always a line when athletes get in feuds that you just don't cross, but that changed on Tuesday night with the latest battle in the golf world.

      Attending an awards dinner for the European Tour, Sergio Garcia was asked if he was planning on having Tiger Woods over for dinner during the U.S. Open considering the way the two had gone at each other since the Players Championship, and his response went from a war of words to downright ignorant.

      Garcia, channeling his inner Fuzzy Zoeller, said, "We will have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken."

      There are moments when things can be taken out of context, but when you're talking about racism, there just isn't a smile or a joking tone that can smooth things over. Garcia took what was a battle with the best golfer in the world, and of this generation, and turned it into something ugly.

      You see, what people might not understand is this is something that Woods has had to deal with all his life on the golf course. There are

      Read More »from Sergio Garcia takes spat with Tiger Woods to an ugly place with racist comment
    • That'd be a nice backdrop for the All-Star Race, don't you think?

      It's time for Power Rankings! After every race, we opine about who we think is at the top of the Sprint Cup heap and how and why they got there. But this week, it's different! The All-Star Race wasn't for points, so there's no point (pun!) in ranking the Sprint Cup field again. Besides we'd just put Jimmie Johnson back at the top.

      Instead, let's stick with the All-Star theme. There's been some fantastic fodder for Happy Hour in the email inbox this week; people are incredibly passionate about the All-Star Race. So what if the All-Star Race was going to go to another track? Where would it go? Let's answer that question.

      P.S. -- We're inverting the field this week. Why? Because we can. And we're dreaming big, too.

      12. Rockingham: Let's start off with a fan favorite. Rockingham has produced some great racing since the Truck Series has returned to it, and given the multiple grooves through the corners and the tire wear, there would be no shortage of side-by-side racing. Of course, the

      Read More »from Power Rankings: All-Star dream destinations
    • Getty ImagesThe Boston Bruins’ fourth line of Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton are everything the New York Rangers are not in the Eastern Conference semifinals: Tough, tenacious in the offensive zone, clutch and, above all else, goal-scoring.

      The trio factored in on both Bruins goals in their 2-1 Game 3 victory over the Rangers at MSG on Tuesday night, as Boston took a 3-0 lead in the series and can eliminate the Rangers on Thursday night.

      "They were working hard, and they've scored some big goals for us in the playoffs. I have confidence in that line," said Coach Claude Julien. "You utilize them because they're good, not because you have to."

      Entering the third period, Rangers held a 1-0 lead in the third period on a Taylor Pyatt goal at 3:53 of the second. But a Henrik Lundqvist turnover led to a few golden chances for the fourth line, until Paille found Johnny Boychuk for a blast just inside the blueline that beat Lundqvist and tied the game at 3:10.

      Boston took the lead for good on a strange sequence later in the period.

      After Thornton won an offensive zone faceoff, the Bruins fired two shots on the Rangers’ goal. A third shot from Campbell deflected off of bodies in front of Lundqvist, with the puck flying up and over the Rangers goalie onto the goal-line. It landed squarely and then rolled away from the goal, in one of the postseason’s oddest moments.

      Lest one believe the Hockey Gods favored the Rangers on this play, Paille was able to skate around the cage unchecked and knock the loose puck in for the 2-1 lead. The Rangers pulled their goalie, but were unable to mount much against Tuukka Rask (23 saves).

      Read More »from Boston Bruins poised to sweep NY Rangers after grunts win Game 3
    • Charles Woodson is returning the Raiders (Getty Images)

      Free-agent defensive back Charles Woodson is returning to the Oakland Raiders as Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com reports that the 36-year-old has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the team that selected him with the fourth overall pick of the 1998 draft.

      The one-year deal has been confirmed by the Raiders. According to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com, the deal includes a signing bonus of $700,000 and is worth a maximum of $4.3 million.

      Woodson, who won the 1997 Heisman Trophy while at the University of Michigan, was the 1998 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and was named to four Pro Bowls during his eight-year stint with the Raiders. Woodson joined the Green Bay Packers in 2006 and in seven seasons twice led the NFL in interceptions (2009, 2011). Woodson was named to four Pro Bowl squads and earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2009 before he moved to safety during a 2012 season where he would miss nine games with a broken clavicle.

      Read More »from Charles Woodson agrees to one-year deal with the Oakland Raiders

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