Los Angeles Kings Notebook: Stadium series game vs San Jose Sharks set at Levi's Stadium?

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Puck Daddy on Yahoo! Sports reports that Ticketmaster leaked information revealing that one of the five games between the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks will be at the San Francisco 49ers' new home, Levi's Stadium.

When the schedule was released earlier this year, it was analyzed that the game would have a game outdoors and it would be either at the 49ers' home or at AT&T Park. Why Levi's? Capacity.

But the reason the league looks like it's going with Levi's Stadium, which held its first-ever event just Saturday night (a Major League Soccer game between the San Jose Earthquakes and the Seattle Sounders), is right there in the final line: 26,997 more seats. Multiply that by whatever they're charging for admission, and you have a whole lot of sweet, sweet coin.

The game will likely take place on Saturday, February 21st, at 7:00 PM Pacific time, according to the Ticketmaster photo.


Other Kings news

• As the team approaches the salary cap, the Kings were able to re-sign Dwight King with a three-year deal for $5.9 million. They've been able to hold on to the majority of the players from last season and still have roughly $200,000 left in cap space. That's basically it for them signing players this offseason.
• Jarrett Stoll strolled around Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with the Stanley Cup, giving fans a chance to look at the trophy and get pictures from the Kings player.

Stanley Cup Final 2014: Rangers latest victim to experience 'Comeback Kings'

#450082676 / gettyimages.com

The rallies are becoming completely natural for the Los Angeles Kings, and in a postseason where things have ultimately bounced positively their way, they sit just three wins away from winning their second Stanley Cup in three years.

Justin Williams nailed his eighth goal of the postseason, being part of another clutch shot 4:36 into overtime in a 3-2 victory. Similar to the last game out in Game 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks, the New York Rangers capitalized on their speed and jumped to an 2-0 lead in the first period.

It didn't last long. Kyle Clifford hit his first goal of the postseason a little over two minutes after the Rangers took the two-goal lead. The game-tying shot by Drew Doughty was assisted by both Clifford and Williams. The third period ensued as a classic defensive-driven period for the Kings with no goals scored.

After the slow start, the Kings took control of the game and grabbed the momentum. Suddenly, the Rangers didn't seem as fast as they were out of the gate, and a defensive gaffe by both Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh left Williams wide open.

Doughty deferred to Williams with praise after the game, saying he doesn't get enough credit for what he does [via NHL.com].

"I've said this many times: Justin is the most underrated player on our team by a mile, he doesn't get enough credit for what he does," said Kings defenseman Drew Doughty[.]

Indeed, Williams has a career-high 20 points in the postseason (8 goals, 12 assists). He capitalized on a costly mistake by the Rangers and that's one of the reasons why the Kings are where they're currently at.

Los Angeles holds the early 1-0 lead in the series and play resumes on Saturday night. The puck drops at 6:00 PM Central time and it will be televised on NBC.

Stanley Cup Playoffs 2014: Blackhawks force Game 5 against Kings in instant classic

The defending champions have been impossible to beat in the final three games of a series since last year, and that trend continues after the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 5-4, in double-overtime.

I expected a win from the home team coming into the game, but I didn't expect a game quite like that. Chicago started things off by taking advantage of power plays and going up 2-0 early in the contest. Los Angeles answered by scoring two goals themselves and the Blackhawks added one more keep a 3-2 lead after just one period.

The goals slowed down as the game went on. The Kings eventually took a 4-3 lead in the second period, but they didn't enjoy it long after the third period began. Ben Smith had his third goal of the postseason to tie it up at 4-4 just a 1:17 into the final period regulation.

After non-stop action in the first overtime, Chicago finally scored just over two minute into the second overtime to stay alive in Round 3. It was by former Kings player, Michal Handzus.

The game honestly had it all. Anybody that's not a hockey fan would be instantly transformed with all the drama, hard hits, and just great hockey play all around. It had everything. Your high-scoring affair in the first period and then both goalies seemingly getting hotter as the game went on. There was rarely an overtime that thrilling with non-stop action on both ends. At one point, there were eight minutes of hockey without a whistle.

Sure, the NBA is more popular and the general public still scoffs at the sport, but do what I did and put both games side-by-side together. Trust me, you can have your foul frenzy of a game that takes out the best player in the game for over half the game. You can take your final minute of the game lasting a half-hour and endless views of instant replay.

While suckers were watching to see who touched the ball last, NHL fans were treated to back-and-forth game action. NHL fans got over 82 minutes of game action, NBA fans got 48 and the runtime of both games weren't that much different.

WSD Sports Page: Kings dominate against Blackhawks in 3rd period, tie series

Photo via Flickr

In the first 38 minutes of the game, Chicago was up 2-0 and cruising to take a 2-0 lead in the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Then, things escalated quickly after Los Angeles broke through with a goal.

Five more goals were scored by the Kings after Justin Williams scored on a tip-in with under two minutes left in the second period, winning by the final 6-2 tally and evening up the series. The Kings took advantage of two power play opportunities early in the final period and Jeff Carter had a hat trick in that final stretch.

It was incredibly uncharacteristic for Chicago to get ran out on their own ice like that. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews admitted that it just got away from them once the Kings were able to garner all the momentum (via NHL.com):

"You're bound to give up something," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "If they score a goal to pull within one it doesn't mean they have to score six unanswered. I think we always want to close out periods. We want to try to keep that momentum going into the next one but sometimes it happens. So we just needed to find a way to bounce back early in that third and we didn't do it."

The second power play opportunity given to LA was a mental error by Chicago's Brandon Saad, but that likely put the nail in the coffin after the Kings were able to grab the 3-2 lead just three minutes into the final period.

Don't forget about Jonathan Quick, who had a stellar first period just to keep the game within reach. He saved 19 shots in the first two periods before Chicago was held to just six in the final frame.

It took five periods, but the Kings finally broke through to make it a series against the Blackhawks.


Other Headlines

MLB: Giants beat Rockies 5-1, lose pitchers Cain and Casilla

Matt Cain continues to have the worst luck this season. After three innings, San Francisco's starter pulled his right hamstring and had to exit the game. He gave up zero hits and walks along with recording three strikeouts on 36 pitches, en roue to what looked like a great start. Luckily, the bullpen was able to break through and save the day, with Yusmeiro Petit picking up the win after three innings of work himself.

Another injury was sustained by reliever Santiago Casilla, who was trucking to first base and landed awkwardly on his leg, tumbling down and was in agony for quite a few minutes. With a quick turnaround today thanks to a day game, the Giants have to work quickly to come up with a plan to replenish the pitching roster as they deal with injuries.

In better news, the Giants got the much-needed win with solo long-ball shots from Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval, and Brandon Crawford.

NBA: Spurs flex muscles again, throttle Thunder to take 2-0 lead

I don't want to say a series is over after two games, but Oklahoma City is on life support. The loss of Serge Ibaka was a huge loss for the Thunder, and Scott Brooks needs to figure out a game plan to both slow down San Antonio and get more of his players involved. Russell Westbrook took over the game and missed a billion shots during the Spurs' huge run that spanned the second and third quarters.

There's plenty of time to work some magic, but clearly, Gregg Popovich is showing how superior he is as a head coach and how much better of a team that he has in the Western Conference -- which is an unbelievable statement.

NFL: Smith pleads no contest to three felony weapons, two misdemeanor DUI charges

Sentencing will happen shortly after training camp opens up this summer for the team. Obviously, being an NFL player and all, he won't be facing much, if any, jail time. But he should easily see a suspension from the NFL, or at the very least a suspension from the team. His actions are indefensible, and so was the abomination at LAX last month. Smith shouldn't be seeing action until October, but we'll see how severe his punishments are.


Today's Slate
(Central times listed)

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 3
Canadiens at Rangers (NYR 2-0) - 7:00 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - CONF FINALS
No games

MLB
-Giants at Rockies - 2:10 MLBTV
Dodgers at Mets - 6:10 MLBTV
D'backs at Cardinals - 6:15 FSMW
Cubs at Padres - 9:10 CSCH

CBB - BIG 12 TOURNEY
Kansas vs Baylor - 9:00a FSSW+
Texas Tech vs Oklahoma - 12:30 FSSW+
TCU vs W Virginia - 4:00 FSSW+
-Oklahoma St vs Texas - 7:30 FSSW+

WSD Sports Page: Pacers beat Heat at free throw line in ECF opener

After cruising through the NBA playoffs winning eight of their first nine games, the Miami Heat take a backseat in Indiana as the Pacers throttle them from the perimeter and at free throw line to take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combine for 52 of the team's 96 points, and outside of Chris Anderson and Ray Allen hitting the double-digit mark and be efficient from the field, no one else showed up on the Heat. Nobody was able to hit from the perimeter, the team hitting a cold 6-of-23 including Chris Bosh's 0-for-5 and just 4-for-12 from the field overall.

While the Heat were making free throws, they just weren't getting there enough. The Pacers took 22 more attempts. That's an incredibly rare deficit for Miami considering their superstars generally get the bulk of the calls.

If Indiana ends up winning Game 2 of this series, you can bet that there's going to be a definite swing in momentum when it comes to fouls being called in Miami. There is no conspiracy in NBA game fixing -- at least, not that we know of -- but we all know that these foul calls will balance out.

There's simply no way the Pacers are going to waltz into Miami and attempt nearly 40 free throws in a game, and they have to go into the game knowing that.

What they can control is shooting, and three of their starters -- Lance Stephenson, Paul George, and David West -- combined for 23-of-36 on field goals, a whopping 63.8 percent. That and rebounds (+9 from Game 1) are something they can control, which is where they match up the best against Miami and why we all considered Indiana to be the Heat killers from opening tip of the season.

Ever since "Boat Trip," the Pacers seem to have righted the ship. Now we'll just see how far it goes and how they respond to adversity in the following games.

NHL: Blackhawks take Game 1 against the Kings

Chicago's defense tightened up in the third period, allowing just four shots on goal by Los Angeles as they cruise to the series-opening victory. Despite having six more shot attempts, only getting 15.3% of them in the final stretch down a goal isn't acceptable. Tyler Toffoli had his fourth goal in the postseason.

MLB: Giants avoid three-game skid against Marlins

San Francisco's Ryan Vogelsong shut down the all-of-a-sudden hot Miami offense, giving up only five hits and one walk. A 3-run jolt to start the game in the first inning along with Pablo Sandoval's solo shot in the fifth inning (extending his nine-game hitting streak) was all they needed to win, but things got a bit dicey in the eighth inning when the Marlins had runners in the corners.

However, the fish aren't the 2-out scorers like the Giants are, who scored eight of their 15 total runs on two outs and leads MLB with 86 2-out RBIs.

LAX: Johns Hopkins falls to Duke

The Blue Devils began the game with a 6-0 run and finished scoring seven of the last eight goals, holding their lead to head to the NCAA semifinals. They only scored three goals in the first 21 minutes of play in the first half, but the Blue Jays never felt like a threat on offense. Duke dominated ball control with a 37-19 advantage in ground balls and held JHU to just two shots in the final period. JHU going 3-3 in EMOs in the first half were the only thing that kept them in the game.

Today's Slate
(Central times listed)

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 3
Rangers at Canadiens (NYR 1-0) - 7:00 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - CONF FINALS
Thunder at Spurs (Game 1) - 8:00 TNT

WSD Sports Page (5-6-14): Rutgers withdraws commencement invitation for Eric LeGrand

Rutgers' disastrous decision to rescind an offer for Eric LeGrand to speak at commencement, the Clippers and Wizards start off the NBA conference semifinlas with a bang, the Giants and Buccos play over five hours of baseball, and an incredibly disturbing rape story emerges with top Oregon Ducks players, all today on the sports page.

The Lede

Rutgers withdraws commencement invitation for Eric LeGrand

Days after Rutgers gave an invitation to paralyzed football player Eric LeGrand to speak at commencement, they pulled it out from under him to let a political figure speak.

LeGrand announced on Twitter last night and spoke to multiple media outlets on his displeasure that athletic director Julie Hermann called him on Monday to say that they moved in a different direction for a commencement speaker -- former New Jersey governor Thomas H. Kean.

This apparently happened just days after he got a call from Rutgers chief of staff, Gregory Jackson, who offered LeGrand to speak at the commencement after Condoleezza Rice opted out.

To put it simply, Hermann's first year as Rutgers AD has been nothing short of a disaster, and that just piles on to this huge list in a damning article by Brian Hamilton at Sports Illustrated last month which highlighted her comments that she'd be happy if the The Star-Ledger newspaper just went ahead and died. She showed no remorse for the many people that got laid off a week prior.

There was a clear disapproval of who should be Rice's replacement as the commencement speaker at the school. There's nothing wrong with having Kean speak at the event, but it looks incredibly bad when you announce that he will speak moments after you tell somebody else that they were invited.

Double-down on the terrible when the school shuns LeGrand, a big figure at Rutgers who remains the only player to have his football number retired and is an inspiration to many people. Instead of pulling out the rug from under him, is it hard to have two speakers at this event and just roll with it?

Apparently so. God forbid these graduates and their parents stick around for 15 more minutes at commencement. Time is valuable, and they would get nothing out of anything LeGrand has to say, right?

Other Headlines

NHL: Los Angeles win first two games at Anaheim

The Kings were dead tired as they clinged to a one-goal lead in the 3rd period, but Dwight King quickly stole the puck when the Ducks pulled their goalie and slammed in the game-ender with 58 seconds left for a 3-1 final. Marian Gaborik scored his sixth goal of the playoffs just 34 seconds into the contest to put the team up early and they didn't look back. 

Jonathan Quick continued to be vintage, and the team has killed off 22 of their last 23 power plays against them. They went into last night's game killing 19 straight. Of course, a fight broke out between the fans after the game, resulting in one of the fan's apparent girlfriends taking a throwdown, but got back up and continued to break up the fight. Because she's a hockey fan.

NBA: Chris Paul drains eight 3's, Blake Griffin adds 23 in LA Clippers' rout over Oklahoma City

Paul had 32 points and 10 assists, including shooting 8-of-9 from downtown in a 122-105 dominating victory on the road. OKC had 17 turnovers (6 from Russell Westbrook) and the game got out of hand early with the Clippers outscoring the Thunder 39-25 in the first quarter.

MLB: San Francisco defeats Pittsburgh 11-10 in 13 innings

Both teams combined for 21 runs, 36 hits in nearly 5.5 hours of action. Reliever Jean Machi picked up his fifth win of the season, and did so by landing a sacrifice bunt on offense that resulted in the Pirates' reliever to send a throw wide and giving Hunter Pence the go-ahead run.

The Giants rebounded from an 8-2 deficit after five innings with a 5-run sixth inning to get back into it. Hector Sanchez recorded four hits and three RBIs and the top three in the order -- Angel Pagan, Hunter Pence, and Buster Posey -- had three-hit games but just a combined two RBIs, both from Posey. Even more impressive, SF went 8-for-18 with runners in scoring position.

Page 2's

NBA: Indiana does it again with another home loss

Speaking of first quarter disasters, the Pacers were down big against the Washington Wizards. Roy Hibbert had zero points again, and Tracy McGrady makes a pretty good point afterwards.

NFL: Denver's Peyton Manning still not 100 percent after neck surgery

Manning went on the Late Show with David Letterman and announced that he still wasn't fully recovered from his surgery. He sure looks pretty good considering, and I'd still take a sub-100 percent Manning over many other QBs in the league.

NCAA: Oregon basketball sees mass exodus of players after rape scandal

Something did happen to the victim, but the conflicting statements by her leaves the case falling flat. But Brandon Austin, Damyean Dotson, and Dominic Artis to likely all be history, with Artis already transferring. The story is pretty sickening if true. Potentially, all three players had sex with her at a house party, performed oral sex, forced her into a cab, and then did more stuff with her at an apartment leaded to Dotson and Artis. All three players contest that it was consensual.

NCAA: FSU's Jameis Winston avoided security according to police report

But Winston still denies stealing the butter and claims he put it in a sale bin, like that should redeem him a little. All of this screams a non-traditional way of handling grocery shopping, because a whopping zero people would ever walk out of a grocery store without intent of shoplifting.

Today's Slate

Central times listed.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Hull City at Man United - 1:45 NBCS

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 2

Bruins at Canadiens (Tied 1-1) - 6:00 NBCS

Blackhawks at Wild (CHI 2-0) - 8:00 CNBC

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 2

Nets at Heat (Game 1) - 6:00 TNT

Blazers at Spurs (Game 1) - 8:30 TNT

MLB

Giants at Pirates - 6:05 CSBA/RSPT

Dodgers at Nationals - 6:05 SNLA/MASN

D'backs at Brewers - 7:10 FSAZ/FSWI

Rangers at Rockies - 7:40 FSSW/ROOT

Royals at Padres - 9:10 FSKC/FSSD

WSD Sports Page (5-1-14): Los Angeles Kings complete reverse sweep against San Jose Sharks

Los Angeles comes back to win a seven-game series against San Jose, Mike D'Antoni is gone as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach, and more NCAA players doing the stupid in today's sports page.

The Lede


For the fourth time in NHL history, a team pulled off the amazing reverse sweep in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Los Angeles cruises to seven-game series victory over San Jose blows it in the postseason again. It was a storyline that was hard to believe could happen, but it ended up being a story that's pretty easy to believe.

Home ice matters little in hockey, especially in Game 7s. The road team has won more often than the home team, and that happened with both Minnesota and LA on Wednesday night.

Some Sharks fans will be quick to point out the phantom goal in Game 6 that skewed the whole series, but they can justify it however they want. That didn't excuse the no-show at home in Game 5. And the continuing disastrous history of the team deserves all the vitrol from its fans because, let's face it, it keeps on continuing. There's no excuse when dropping four straight games in a series.

Now it's a SoCal rivalry in the next round, and it's going to be just as tough for the Kings. That series against the Sharks was a hard-hitting mess that saw Jonathan Quick absolutely winded in the closing minutes of last night's game. At least they'll have two nights off before the opening game, and two nights off between Game 2 and 3.


Other Headlines

1. NBA: Mike D'Antoni resigns as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He posted a sub .500 record with the team, an astonishing 20 games under. The team reportedly wouldn't pick up the option on his contract, and therefore he didn't want to go through another season of hell and discomfort. Perhaps this move is in the best interest of everyone.
2. NHL: Minnesota advances on overtime goal in Game 7. No, hockey doesn't get much better than that. And it all starts over again with the next round tonight.
3. NBA: Playoff recap. Dwight Howard and Houston hold off elimination, San Antonio wins another nail-biter with Dallas, Toronto wins shocking high-scoring affair.
4. NCAA: Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky explains why he's still in college even though he hates being broke. He thinks the NBA boring, which is interesting considering how easy it is to watch the Badgers and fall asleep. And don't get me started on him knowing that he's "pursuing his degree free of charge" and hates "seeing $20 left in" his bank account at the end of the month. I'd hate for him to budget around paying his tuition for the next 20 years with a low-income job.
5. ESPN: Outside the Lines reports big-time college football teams in FBS are thriving despite the economic struggles over the years. Next up, whether or not money handed under the table and other incentives make athletes decide where to go to college. This breaking revelation and more on the next OTL.
6. NBA: Toronto Raptors fan gets rejected after going for a kiss. Oh, the feels, man. At least they won the game, so he can't feel all bad.
7. NCAA: Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston steals crab legs, issues stupid apology. Reason #943 of why I don't care about college athletics that much. This guy, a national title winning, Heisman Trophy winner, steals crab legs and, with his lawyer, issues a long-ass, stupid apology.

Yesterday's Favorites

• Giants 3, Padres 2 - Tim Hudson picks up his fourth win and almost reels in all 27 outs, but a late home run in the final inning forced a move to put Sergio Romo in to close the game. They've now won six of their last seven games, and will head to Atlanta for a big series with the NL West lead.

Today's Slate

(A.K.A. Games I'm keeping track of) - Central times listed.

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 2

Canadiens at Bruins - 6:30 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1

Pacers at Hawks (ATL 3-2) - 6:00 NBATV

Thunder at Grizzlies (MEM 3-2) - 7:00 TNT

Clippers at Warriors (LAC 3-2) - 9:30 TNT

MLB

Dodgers at Twins (Game 1) - 12:10 MLBN/SNLA/FSNO

Dodgers at Twins (Game 2) - 6:10 SNLA/FSNO

LAX

AE: UMBC vs Binghamton (Semi 1) - 3:55 AETV (ONL)

AE: Stony Brook at Albany (Semi 2) -6:30 AETV (ONL)

Yesterday's Favorites: Los Angeles Kings dominate Game 5, keeping San Jose Sharks on their heels

Los Angeles takes all the momentum from San Jose in the NHL playoffs, San Francisco dominates in the fifth inning to win their third straight game, Denver wins their 21st consecutive Major League Lacrosse season opener, and Tottenham bores everybody by holding on to win in today's very long recap of all my favorite teams from yesterday.


NHL: Kings 3, Sharks 0 (SJ leads 3-2)

When Los Angeles generally gets three goals, it's game over with Jonathan Quick in front of the net. That certainly was the case on Saturday night. Quick stopped all 30 San Jose shots and the team killed all five Shark power plays. Three different Kings scored, including Jeff Carter's second goal of the playoffs on the lone power play goal. Drew Doughty was a part of the assist, his fourth of the postseason.

LA still has plenty of work to do, but they completely eliminated home advantage at The Cage early. San Jose fans were booing from the national anthem to the final horn. They've got full momentum in the series, and the Sharks will have to refocus and try to close the series out on Monday night.

MLB: Giants 5, Indians 3

Tim Lincecum didn't get off to a great start for San Francisco, but it didn't matter. After giving up the first three runs of the game, the Giants figured out Zach McAllister, punching in four runs in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded, Gregor Blanco pinch hits and singles in a run. Angel Pagan sacrifices to bring in another run. After Blanco steals second, Hunter Pence hits a ground ball to reel in the remaining two on the bases. Buster Posey tacked on a run in the next inning with his fifth homer of the season.

It's San Francisco's third straight win, keeping ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers who held on in the ninth inning to defeat the Colorado Rockies. San Diego dropped another game to the Washington as they continue to struggle bringing in the runs.

OTHER NOTES: Pablo Sandoval continues to struggle, going 0-for-3 at the plate on Saturday. Lincecum gave up nine hits, three runs and recorded just three strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work, but the bullpen (Gutierrez, Machi, Affeldt) and Sergio Romo didn't give up a hit en route to the closer's sixth save of the season.

MLL: Outlaws 14, Launch 10

Major League Lacrosse finally kicked off on Saturday, and both games started off as road team blowouts. Denver spoiled Florida's inaugural MLL game in Boca Raton and raced all the way to an 11-1 lead at halftime. However, the Launch refused to become lunch, and Florida's Josh Amidon added on after scoring the team's first goal with a 2-point goal in the third period. Veteran Casey Powell led the way with three goals and two assists.

Florida scored all five goals in the 3rd period and had a seven-goal run until Denver finally stopped the bleeding with Chris Bocklet hitting two of the Outlaw's final three goals to hold on to the victory. Bocklet had five goals while Eric Law had two goals and two assists. Goalie Jesse Schwartzman was an impenetrable wall until the 3rd quarter, but the lead perhaps made everyone soft on Denver.

BPL: Tottenham 1, Stoke City 0

Spurs all but clinch Europa League action, but it wasn't pretty. Emmanuel Adebaylor set up defender Danny Rose for his first Premier League goal of the season. He also aided in the elimination of Ryan Shawcross for Stoke, picking up his second yellow card. But even with 10 men, Stoke played more inspired down the stretch and had multiple opportunities to end the game in a draw.

The lackadaisical Spurs got through this week, finally on the road for once, but there's absolutely no inspiration here. Basically, their objective is to just get through each game, and move right on to the next. Similar to low-paid production jobs, the just want to get a project over and done with so they can move right on to the next one. In Tottenham's mind, they were ready for the season to end yesterday.

WSD Daily Sports Page (4-23-14): Should Frank Vogel be fired if the Indiana Pacers don't advance?

Will Indiana's Frank Vogel get fired if the Pacers don't advance to the next round? "Stone Cold" Steve Austin gives his thoughts on gay marriage and says it exactly how we thought he would say it, and your daily recaps of NBA and NHL action -- including Drake's lint roller -- all today in the sports page.

The Lede



It's crazy, but Frank Vogel should be coaching for his job

Despite achieving a 56-26 record and being the first seed in the Eastern Conference, Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel is apparently coaching to keep his job.

ESPN's Marc Stein reports that sources close to the Pacers believe that if Indiana underwhelms in the playoffs, Vogel will likely get the axe. That sounds pretty severe considering everything Vogel has done for the Pacers during his tenure, but there's been a clear drop off by Indiana that's lasted since February.

Clearly, it's not just Indiana coming back to Earth. They're a really great team filled with superstars, but team chemistry must be on the same page. Otherwise, it doesn't matter who is on the team. This is why many teams that are filled with nothing but superstars end up disappointing -- it's incredibly hard to get those egos together.

Team chemistry is completely collapsing with the Pacers, and a lot of it reportedly is from Lance Stephenson beginning in late March. Yahoo! Sports reported on a fight between Stephenson and Evan Turner during practice right before their first game against the Atlanta Hawks. Stephenson had a scuffle with George Hill on March 31st, and Roy Hibbert calling out "some selfish dudes" was likely referring to Stephenson.

Perhaps Stephenson has big head on his shoulders after becoming one of the most improved players in the NBA this season. The problem for Vogel is that he can't pin it on Stephenson. In fact, president Larry Bird is on Stephenson's side and criticized Vogel in March for his disappointment in how the team is prepared.

It's truly unfortunate for Vogel. Since taking over during the 2010-11 season, the Pacers haven't missed the playoffs, haven't finished lower than second in the Central division, and the team is 167-97 in the regular season. Despite just an 18-17 playoff record, they've improved every season and were looking to finally break through into The Finals this year.

There's still time to get that done, but Miami is the clear favorite right now in the East. And perhaps Frank won't get another chance if he doesn't even make it to the Heat.


Top Five Stories that Matter to Me

1. NHL: Los Angeles drops to 0-3 hole against San Jose. There's nothing more pivotal than a Game 3 when a team holds a 2-0 lead. Now the Kings will have to win four straight games
2. NFL: The regular season schedule is officially released tonight. This is the only sport that devotes a 3-hour show for a freaking schedule. Yet it will probably score higher ratings than every baseball game, all the NHL games, and even the Spurs-Mavs game on NBATV.
3. WWE: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin gives vulgar rant about gay marriage. He focuses on religion, and it really "chaps [his] ass." But hey, he gets the point across.
4. NFL: LaMarr Woodley believes the Oakland Raiders will make the postseason. For those that don't know who Woodley is (that's a lot of you) the linebacker spent his first seven seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It good to have goals, no matter how unrealistic they are.
5. NBA: Aubrey Drake Graham uses a lint roller during the Nets-Raptors game. Real Instagram comment: "habibiz lint roller on deck"

Yesterday's Favorites

MLB: Rockies 2, Giants 1

The hits finally came for San Francisco, but they were unable to bring in the runs scoring just once on a solo home run by Hunter Pence. They were able to get baserunners against Colorado starting pitcher Franklin Morales, but all nine runners in scoring position were stranded. Madison Bumgarner gave up nine hits but recorded six strikeouts in a complete effort that went eight innings.

NCAA Baseball: Texas 5, UT-Pan American 4

It was a bit closer than the Longhorns wanted it, but they finally break a 3-game losing streak after getting bulldozed by TCU over the weekend. Mark Payton hit a go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to give Texas their first lead of the night and they held on to finish off UTPA in the ninth. Ben Johnson hit a solo home run in the sixth inning to tie the game up.


Stanley Cup Playoffs

• Canadiens 4, Lightning 3 (MON 4-0)
• Bruins 3, Red Wings 0 (BOS 2-1)
• Rangers 4, Flyers 1 (NYR 2-1)
• Sharks 4, Kings 3 (F/OT) (SJ 3-0)

After coming back in the 3rd period down two goals, Montreal smacked in the game winner with under one minute left.

Boston is also starting to flex their muscles. After getting zero goals in the first game, they've outscored Detroit 7-1 in the last two games with seven different players.

NBA Playoffs

• Pacers 101, Hawks 85 (Tied 1-1)
• Raptors 100, Nets 95 (Tied 1-1)
• Wizards 101, Bulls 99 (F/OT) (WSH 2-0)

Great night in The Association. The Pacers pulled away in the 3rd quarter outscoring the Hawks 31-13. Toronto outrebounded Brooklyn 52-30 to overcome shooting just 12.5 percent from downtown and turning the ball over 10 more times to even the series. Chicago loses another heartbreaker at home and will have to find answers in Washington.

Today's Slate

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - SEMIFINALS
Bayern Munich at Real Madrid (Leg 1) - 1:45 FS1

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Penguins at Blue Jackets (PIT 2-1) - 6:00 NBCS
Ducks at Stars (ANA 2-1) - 7:00 CNBC
Blues at Blackhawks (STL 2-1) - 8:30 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Bobcats at Heat (MIA 1-0) - 6:00 TNT
Mavericks at Spurs (SA 1-0) - 7:00 NBATV
Blazers at Rockets (POR 1-0) - 8:30 TNT

MLB (NL West)
D'backs at Cubs - 1:20 WGN
-Giants at Rockies - 2:10 CSBA/RSRM
Padres at Brewers - 7:10 FSSD/FSMW
Phillies at Dodgers - 9:10 CSPH/SNLA

LAX
-Villanova at Johns Hopkins - 6:00 ESPNU

CBB (Big 12)
Missouri State at Kansas - 6:00 ESPN3
Baylor at Texas State - 6:30 ESPN3

WSD Daily Sports Page (4-21-14): Los Angeles Kings can't figure out incredible surge by San Jose Sharks

The Lede




NHL Playoffs 2014: LA Kings get blown away in San Jose, 13 goals scored against in first two games

Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings' impressive playoff run two years ago seems much, much further away after an extremely disappointing start in their first playoff series against the San Jose Sharks over the weekend, getting smacked around giving up six goals on Thursday night and seven goals on Sunday night.

The wheels fell apart in the final minute of the first period in Game 1, when the Sharks went up 3-0 before intermission. They tacked on two more in the second period but it could have been a lot worse of Quick didn't make some great moves in front of the net. Period 3 was better after San Jose stopped choking down LA, and gave some spark to the team and fans for the next game.

It started out well. LA put up the first two goals in the first period of Game 2, and order looked to be restored. Then once both teams hit the ice for Period 2, the Sharks got hot again with seven different players scoring a goal in a 7-0 run that buried the Kings into submission.

After being outscored 13-5 in the first two games, it's hard to figure out exactly how the Kings can slow down the Sharks as the series shifts to Staples. No, Quick hasn't been his usual self giving up goals he wouldn't have two years ago, but his team isn't doing any favors. In four of the first six periods of the series, San Jose is destroying LA in possession and shots at the goal. It's not Quick's fault when a Sharks player swipes the puck away before the Kings can clear it and nails a 1-on-1 shot against Quick.

The series resumes Tuesday night. The Kings have plenty of work ahead of them now needing to win four of the next five. Hope seems lost, but hockey is one crazy ass sport that can't be predicted.


Top Five Headlines

1. NBA: Rick Adelman retires after 23 seasons as a head coach. Dude won 1,042 NBA games. Fantastic coach will be missed, and it's a bummer that the Minnesota Timberwolves couldn't play better under him this season.
2. BPL: Man United manager David Moyes expected to be sacked. Man U lost to Everton 2-0 on Sunday, and they may not even make Europa League qualifying currently sitting at 7th in the BPL behind Tottenham by six points.
3. NBA: New York Knicks head coach Mike Woodson is officially fired. His fate was going to be determined early this week according to reports late last week, and it only took a couple hours for him to find out on Monday morning.
4. NHL: Jesus resurrected at the Detroit-Boston game on Easter Sunday. He was seen being escorted out after sneaking into the bottom half of the arena, but he magically made it back in the third period to become the fan of the game. That's Jesus for you.
5. NBA: Gregg Popovich gives a message to ailing Craig Sager on the air. CS Jr. was on sideline duties filling in his father, and Popovich gave a heart-felt quick comment to Sager to wish him well and wanting him back on the sidelines. He would even be nice to him. That's love.

Yesterday's Favorites




NCAA Baseball: TCU 3, Texas 1 (F/Saturday)

The Horned Frogs completed the amazing sweep of the Longhorns. Texas was able to get on the board with hits, but only scored their lone run in the first inning. Nathan Thornhill was sharp again giving up five hits and two runs with six strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work, but the Texas offense just couldn't get anything going against TCU all weekend. With the sweep, TCU is now just one game back of Oklahoma State for the top spot in the Big 12 and Texas now sits at 3rd.

MLB: Giants 4, Padres 3

San Francisco had their 10th straight game decided by one run, and finally they were able to break a 3-game schnide and avoided a sweep at San Diego. Buster Posey hit his fourth home run of the season, a two-run jack, and SF put up two runs in each of the first two innings despite having just three hits. While Tim Lincecum had a hiccup in the third inning but gathered in his first win of the season after giving up seven hits, three runs, and recording seven strikeouts in six innings. The bullpen held it down the rest of the way -- four players didn't give up a hit and allowed just two walks.


Stanley Cup Playoffs Report

• Flyers 4, Rangers 2 (Tied 1-1)
• Bruins 4, Red Wings 1 (Tied 1-1)
• Canadiens 3, Lightning 2 (MON 3-0)
• Sharks 7, Kings 2 (SJ 2-0)

We've already touched on the Kings' debacle in SJ. That was the only Western Conference game in action yesterday while three Eastern Conference tilts happened earlier.

After sweeping the Lightning in Tampa Bay, Montreal continues to dominate and take a commanding 3-0 series lead with Game 4 at their home for a chance to sweep the series. Rene Bourque scored just 11 seconds into the game for the Canadiens to get on the board early and they didn't look back. Kudos to the Lightning for keeping it close the rest of the way, but it's a hard sell to win four straight games to move on.

Elsewhere, the Flyers were able to rebound after a crushing loss to the Rangers and tie up the series while the Bruins looked more like themselves in a dominating 4-1 win over Detroit. 

NBA Playoffs Rundown

• Spurs 90, Mavericks 85 (SA 1-0)
• Heat 99, Bobcats 88 (MIA 1-0)
• Wizards 102, Bulls 93 (WSH 1-0)
• Blazers 122, Rockets 120 (F/OT) (POR 1-0)

Road teams won five of the first eight games in the NBA playoffs, creating a lot of questions for Indiana, Chicago, LA Clippers, and Houston. The Pacers can never seem to rebound offensively and Roy Hibbert continues to struggle. Washington took over in the fourth quarter to get past the Bulls, outscoring the team 30-18 behind Nene Hilario's team-leading 24 points. And LaMarcus Aldridge's 46 points and 18 rebounds before fouling out helps the Blazers get past the Rockets in a high-flying game with zero defense to be found anywhere.


Today's Slate

BPL
West Brom at Man City - 2:00 NBCS

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Penguins at Blue Jackets (Tied 1-1) - 6:00 NBCS
Avalanche at Wild (COL 2-0) - 6:00 NHLN
Blues at Blackhawks (STL 2-0) - 7:30 CNBC
Ducks at Stars (ANA 2-0) - 8:30 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Grizzlies at Thunder (OK 1-0) - 7:00 TNT
Warriors at Clippers (GS 1-0) - 9:30 TNT

MLB - NL West
D'backs at Cubs - 7:05 FSAZ/CSCH+
Padres at Brewers - 7:10 FSSD/FSWI
Giants at Rockies - 7:40 CSBA/RSRM
Phillies at Dodgers - 9:10 CSPH/SNLA

LAX

CBB - Big 12
Texas Tech at New Mexico - 3:00
CS Bakersfield at Kansas St - 6:30 FCS