Seton Hall-South Florida men's basketball game story for the St. Pete Times

Road breakthrough elusive

The Bulls lose their 15th Big East road game in 15 tries despite an early second-half lead.

By DENIS GORMAN
Published February 25, 2007

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.-One loss? It happens. Two losses, coincidence. But 15 consecutive losses? That's a trend.

Since joining the Big East, USF has lost all 15 road games it has played.

The latest came Saturday night, 89-76 to Seton Hall at the Meadowlands. It was Senior Night for the Pirates.

USF has one more shot to win its first Big East road game with the March 3 season finale at DePaul.

McHugh Mattis led USF with 21 points. Junior forward Brian Laing led Seton Hall with 21. Freshman guards Eugene Harvey and Jammar Nutter added 19 and 16, respectively, for the Pirates.

The Bulls have found all manner of ways to lose road games this season. Blowouts, close losses, poor perimeter defense and turnovers have highlighted their struggles. This time, the killer was second-half turnovers. USF committed 11 of its 19 in the second half, leading to 15 of 54 Seton Hall points.

For most of the game, the Bulls' athletic big men caused matchup problems for the smaller Pirates. Kentrell Gransberry and Mattis were able to use their strength and speed to get to the rim and offensive glass for easy baskets. At the half, USF held a 37-35 lead.

Gransberry scored 11 of his 19 in the second half to allow USF to maintain its slim lead while Seton Hall's guards kept attacking.

But after Gransberry committed his fourth foul with 9:57 left, the Pirates repeatedly attacked the rim for layups and fouls and much like they've done all season, and USF could not hold off its hard-charging opponent.

Forwards Stan Gaines and Laing and Nutter sparked a 25-11 run with their outside shooting. That saw the Pirates go from being down 57-49 to enjoying a 74-68 lead.

"I thought we broke down a lot" in the second half, Mattis said. "(We played) horrible transition defense."

The punctuation on Seton Hall's second-half dominance was a Laing alley-oop dunk off an inbounds play with 1:15 left.

"Anytime you lose, it's frustrating," coach Robert McCullum said. "When the same things hurt you, it's frustrating. You try harder to improve.

"Turnovers have plagued us all year; 26 points off of turnovers tell the story there."

The Pirates kept their slim Big East tournament hopes alive. Seton Hall needs to win its remaining games and hope St. John's loses all its games. The Bulls were eliminated from postseason contention last week.

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/25/Sports/Road_breakthrough_elu.shtml

Capitals-Devils gamer for the Washington Times

Capitals finally turn tables on Devils

By Denis Gorman
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published February 25, 2007

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Entering yesterday's game at Continental Airlines Arena, the Washington Capitals were a team that was reeling -- compiling a 2-5-3 record in their last 10 games. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils had won eight of 10 contests and were coming off of a home-and-home sweep of the archrival New York Rangers.

Yet, it was the Caps who looked energized in a 4-2 win -- their first in New Jersey in nearly five years. Washington had lost seven in a row in East Rutherford and last won on the road against the Devils on March 29, 2002. It was also the Caps' first win against the Devils in three tries this season.

"We knew what they were going to do," Caps goalie Brent Johnson said. "They're going to play a patient game and wait for their chances. So [we wanted to] negate the mistakes and that's what we did."

The Caps (24-28-10) jumped on the Devils (38-18-6) from the get-go, taking a 1-0 lead on Milan Jurcina's wrist shot past Devils goalie Martin Brodeur at 8:43 of the first period. Jurcina received a pass from Semin, who had spun away from a New Jersey defender along the board, and fired a shot that looked like it deflected off Devils' defenseman Brad Lukowich. The goal was Jurcina's third of the season, and his first as a Capital.

Initially, the goal was given to Alex Ovechkin, who had set up a screen in front of Brodeur. However, the replay showed that the puck did deflect off Lukowich.

"I didn't have time for a slapper, so I just wristed it on net," Jurcina said.

Alexander Semin's 32nd goal put the Caps up 2-0 at 2:18 of the second. A little more than two minutes later, Matt Pettinger's 14th goal of the year, a short-handed marker, gave Washington a 3-0 advantage. With Semin in the penalty box for hooking -- he committed two hooking penalties during the game -- Boyd Gordon picked off a pass from Jamie Langenbrunner and fired it off the boards, springing Pettinger for a breakaway. The left wing backhanded the puck past Brodeur. It was Pettinger's third short-handed goal of the year, putting him two behind league leader Jordan Staal of the Penguins.

Early the third period, Caps rookie center Tomas Fleischmann scored his first NHL goal on a breakaway, flipping the puck over a diving Brodeur for a 4-1 lead. Dainius Zubrus collected the puck afterward, giving it to team personnel to hold onto until they could give it to the rookie.

After the game, Fleischmann grinned as he held the puck aloft.

"It felt pretty good," Fleischmann said. "I didn't expect to go in on a breakaway. I saw him coming; he wanted to jump under my legs and I went on the backhand and it worked."

Following Fleischmann's goal, there was a noticeable increase in the Devils' effort. New Jersey began shooting from all angles -- the Devils outshot the Caps 14-7 in the third period and 31-30 overall -- but was repeatedly turned away by Johnson, who made 29 saves. Throughout the afternoon, Johnson frustrated Devils' shooters by squaring up to the puck.

"Even when we tried to scratch and claw our way back into the game late, their goaltender kept making saves and kept them in the game," Devils coach Claude Julien said.

Cam Janssen and Jay Pandolfo scored each of New Jersey's goals. Janssen's goal -- which came at 10:33 in the second period -- was his first of the season. Pandolfo scored at 14:02 in the third.

The Caps and Devils meet today for the final time this season at Verizon Center.

http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20070225-012619-4266r.htm

Colton Orr for AM New York, later picked up by Newsday

(Writer's note: I wrote this for AM New York, and Newsday picked it up and ran it on their site. I have included Newsday's URL to this entry. --Denis Gorman)

Rangers' Orr brings grit

By Denis Gorman

Special to amNewYork

February 13, 2007

The fourth-line forward was smiling as sweat dripped from his brow.

Why wouldn't he smile? He earlier scored a goal, the first of his career. He also fought twice, both times drawing cheers from the Madison Square Garden crowd. And for the first time since he was acquired off waivers last November, he was surrounded by reporters asking him positive questions instead of ones about his perceived shortcomings.

For one night, it was good to be Colton Orr.

Through most of the season, the Rangers right-winger from Winnipeg, Manitoba, has been a whipping boy. Fans and media have criticized the 27-year-old for not protecting Jaromir Jagr from those who would take liberties with the Czech superstar. His lack of production was also fodder for those who are paid to critique and those who aren't.

Prior to Friday night's goal 4:28 into the first period of the Rangers' 5-0 rout of Tampa Bay, Orr hadn't scored a point since last March, against the Islanders.

Skating with Blair Betts and Ryan Hollweg -- who scored his first goal of the season midway through the second period -- left wing Orr crushed Lightning center Blair Jones with a thunderous check. Orr then came off the half boards, received a pass from defenseman Fedor Tyutin and wristed a shot past Johan Holmqvist.

Orr finished the night with the goal, a fight, a game misconduct, three hits and 15 penalty minutes. In all, it was a good night for the young forward, who was named the second star of the night and did a victory lap around the Garden ice."It was just a good start to the game. We had a good forecheck going and Toots [Tyutin] made a great pass, and I was able to get it on net and go in," Orr said. "It was amazing. We've got a great group of fans here, and it was great to be able to do that."

But as good as the evening was for Orr, it might have been a better one for the Rangers organization. With the recent addition of Sean Avery, the Rangers can now boast gritty forwards who play a north-south game on every line, linemates with the franchise's skilled players. Friday night, the Rangers skated Avery with future Hall of Famer Brendan Shanahan and center Michael Nylander on the second line, and iced a third line of Petr Prucha, Matt Cullen and Jed Ortmeyer.

Avery is an example of skilled grit. In his first game as a Ranger, last Tuesday against the Devils, actress Elisha Cuthbert's significant other spent the night screening Martin Brodeur and generally being a pest. He assisted on Karel Rachunek's first-period power-play goal before the Rangers fell 3-2 in a shootout.Friday night, Avery ripped a wrist shot past Holmqvist that increased the Rangers' lead to 4-0 and forced Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella to replace the Swedish goaltender with Marc Denis.Late in the third, while on the bench, Avery threw two jabs at Lightnings enforcer Andre Roy, who had paired off with Orr for the second time. Was Avery taking a cheap shot or was he standing up for a teammate?

"You have to be team tough, and these guys certainly are doing that, that's for sure," said Avery. "Any time I can get a little jab in on a guy like that, I'm definitely going to try and do it."

Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/am-orr0213,0,7254404.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines

NHL Business story for the New York Post

NHL TAKES SHOT WITH NEW ADS

By DENIS GORMAN

February 11, 2007 -- Nearly two years after a season-long work stoppage nearly killed the sport and 12 months after a spike in interest greeted hockey's return, the National Hockey League is battling to turn around tepid interest at the turnstile and unimpressive TV ratings.



Two week's after the NHL drew an anemic 0.7 rating for its All-Star game, the country's No. 4 sports league is amping up a marketing campaign that attempts not to explain the game or showcase the talents of its players, but rather to show its highest-wattage stars as normal people - who happen to be good, very good, at playing hockey.



The league kicks its campaign up a notch this week with two new spots - just as NBC's coverage settles into the playoff push.



The spots show the players in some hotel high jinks - calling in a bogus room service order for a rival player in a room down the hall, engaging in hallway luggage cart races, pillow fights and dropping water balloons out a window.



Earlier campaigns - some of which didn't even feature players - failed to attract the casual fan to the tube or the rink. The Devils, among the NHL's elite teams, draw just 14,230 fans a game, off 3 percent from last season. The Islanders, in contention for a playoff berth, skate in front of an average 12,609 fans, down 4 percent from a year ago.



The Rangers are the exception, selling out their games as they do most years.



Credit Brendan Shanahan of the Rangers for coming up with the idea for showing the players as real people - and the NHL for running with it.



"This year is all about the players," Bernadette Mansur, an NHL executive, told The Post, adding that people, specifically young urban professionals, weigh heavily in the NHL's marketing plans.



To be sure, the NHL's channel on YouTube has been a hit. But for Mansur and the rest of the NHL, selling more tickets and getting higher ratings have so far proven elusive.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02112007/business/nhl_takes_shot_with_new_ads_business_denis_gorman.htm

Brendan Shanahan feature for the Detroit Free Press

Shanny to face Wings on Monday for 1st time as Ranger

February 2, 2007

BY DENIS GORMAN

FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITER

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Nothing has changed for Brendan Shanahan.

He is still a scorer: On opening night, he scored two goals and celebrated with his familiar fist-pump.

He still has a sense of humor: On a December night in Ottawa, he had reporters in stitches when he mocked the Senators' penchant for conducting postgame interviews on stationary bikes.

He still knows how to fight: Two weeks later, he squared off with Capitals tough guy Donald Brashear at center ice, after Brashear spent an evening running, elbowing and slashing Shanahan's teammates.

He is still an All-Star: He was captain of the Eastern Conference squad last month in Dallas.

No, nothing has changed for Shanahan, except for the crest on the sweater. Instead of the winged wheel, he has "Rangers" emblazoned across his chest. Nothing has changed, except instead of skating for the Hockeytown denizens, the future Hall of Famer scores goals on Broadway.

Nothing has changed? Everything has changed.

Monday night in New York, Shanahan faces the Red Wings, his former team, for the first time since signing a one-year, $4-million, free-agent contract July 9. Certainly, there will be memories of nine seasons in Detroit. The standing playoff dates. The three Stanley Cups. Three Presidents' Trophies. Six division titles. 309 goals and 324 assists. How could there not be memories?

"You'd like to say it'd be just another game, but I'd be lying," Shanahan, 38, said recently at the Rangers' practice facility. "It'll be strange seeing those uniforms on the ice, and a lot of the guys I played with are still there.

"When you've had as much fun and success (as I did with the Red Wings), you look back on it fondly. A lot of the things I try to do every day were lessons I learned with Detroit. It's an organization that's respected throughout the league. A lot of teams -- including ours -- want to get what they have, (those) expectations and results.

"I don't know if those games are that fun to play. For a player who has left a team, the first game back or against his old teammates is a tough one to play."

The Rangers' season has been a study in inconsistency. At 25-22-4, they're third in the Atlantic Division, 14 points behind the Devils, and 10th in the Eastern Conference. They've had winning streaks of three, four and five games. They've also had losing stretches of three, four and seven games.

The only consistent has been Shanahan, the left wing from Mimico, Ontario. He leads the team in goals with 26 and is fourth in assists (23) and points (49).

His statistics are more impressive when you consider he's not paired with a center who can ably set him up. Instead of Steve Yzerman, Shanahan is regularly skating with Matt Cullen and Jason Krog.

The Rangers haven't experienced much success the past decade -- they were swept in the first round of last season's playoffs, their first postseason appearance since 1997 -- so Shanahan's role is to mentor the young players while providing his usual power forward game.

Coach Tom Renney feels especially lucky to have Shanahan. It's easy for Renney to point to him as an example the rest of the team can follow.

"He's brought the experience of being a winner, a champion. With that, he's brought the incumbent work habits and personal preparation, day in and day out, being a professional athlete," Renney said. "Along with that is his leadership ability; the ways he's affected his teams in the past has been a huge help to us, naturally. And he's just a warrior; he plays with the type of vigor a younger player plays with."

Away from the rink, Shanahan has taken to New York. He lives in downtown Manhattan, and takes the subway to and from Madison Square Garden on game days. He estimates the trip from his apartment to the locker room takes 12 minutes.

"It's a different way of living; I haven't driven a car in about two months," Shanahan said, laughing. "I had only, up until this year, lived in the suburbs with backyards, front yards; now I live downtown in a building. So it's a totally different lifestyle.

"The convenience is pretty good, and every once in a while you get recognized down in the subway. It's mostly someone going to the game themselves, wishing you luck. If you ever walk through Penn Station, people don't have much time to talk. People are usually on their way somewhere, and in passing will say, 'Good luck.' "

With the Wings a virtual playoff lock and the Rangers in contention for the Eastern Conference's eighth seed, the possibility of a New York-Detroit Stanley Cup finals seems like a longshot, but delicious, nonetheless. Surely, Shanahan has considered the possibility.

"I haven't had a private moment where I thought about that," he said. "There's so much work right in front of us that if that scenario played out, I would address it and give it thought. But there's so much more important work for us to get through to make the playoffs. To get into the playoffs is our first goal. I think we can be a team that's very dangerous in the playoffs."

He's talking about the playoffs. So everything's the same.

Except everything is different.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070202/SPORTS05/702020412/1048/BUSINESS05

St. John's-Georgetown gamer for the Washington (D.C.) Times

Georgetown thrashes St. John's

By Denis Gorman

SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

February 2, 2007

NEW YORK -- The Georgetown Hoyas erupted after a slow start to move into a tie for second place in the Big East Conference by beating St. John's last night at Madison Square Garden.

In a 72-48 win, the Hoyas (16-5, 6-2) went on a 39-8 run spanning the first and second halves, ending any upset hopes that the Red Storm might have harbored.

Georgetown's run started innocently enough. Two free throws by Jeff Green cut the St. John's lead to 28-21. Guards Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp each made 3-pointers to end the first half. Georgetown trailed 28-27 but bounded into its locker room while St. John's players trudged into theirs.

"It got us going," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said of the run. "In a half where we didn't necessarily play well, going into halftime down one was key."

The Hoyas exploded in the second half. Wallace scored six points (a 3 and a three-point play) in a 29-second span. Green jumped over two Red Storm players for a putback dunk. Sapp blew past Avery Patterson with a slick ball fake, finishing with a layup that increased the Hoyas' lead to 43-30.

Before the run, the Hoyas had struggled against the St. John's zone defense, having taken ill-advised and off-balanced shots. Georgetown shot 39 percent in the first half. The Red Storm took advantage of the awful shooting, twice having leads of eight (22-14 and 24-16).

However, the leads weren't so much a result of good basketball. Red Storm senior center Lamont Hamilton missed most of the first half with three fouls. He fouled out in the second half, finishing with nine points. Without an interior defensive presence to contend with, the Hoyas spent the second half driving the lane for easy baskets. In the second half, Georgetown shot 73 percent -- the highest single half shooting percentage for Georgetown during the Thompson III era.

Defensively, the Hoyas flustered the perimeter-shooting challenged Red Storm, holding St. John's to shoot 40.8 percent from the field on the night, and only 32 percent in the second half.

"On the defensive end, I felt we communicated very well," said Green, who led both teams in scoring with 24 points. "If we keep communicating and make the hustle plays, we can play like we did in the second half."

Thompson agreed with his junior forward's assessment.

"It started with our defensive intensity. It started with us running down loose balls," Thompson said. "It started with us getting rebounds and then that just carried over to an easy flow and the hardness that we had at the offensive end."

It was the 88th meeting between the Big East rivals. Georgetown improved its record against St. John's to 50-38.

St. John's was without senior guard Darryl Hill, who will miss at least the next four to six weeks while rehabilitating his surgically repaired left knee. He had missed the Red Storm's previous three games with the injury, which ended his junior season prematurely. In five career games against the Hoyas, Hill has averaged 18 points.

http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20070201-115029-3713r.htm