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He is reported to be in stable condition.
Richard Zednik sustained a major gash in his neck when the right skate of Panthers’ teammate Olli Jokinen with his back to Zednik caught him with 9:56 left in Sunday’s game at Buffalo and the Sabres leading 4-3. The game was suspended temporarily.
Sabres’ doctors stopped the bleeding and Zednik was transported to Buffalo General Hospital in “stable condition,” said Panthers team spokesman Justin Copertino. Sabres’ team doctor William Hartrich and Dr. Les Biffon worked on Zednick to stop the bleeding.
Blood poured out of Zednik’s neck as he skated to the Panthers’ bench and was quickly escorted off the ice with a white towel on his neck. A trail of blood remained from the goal line in the Sabres’ zone all the way to the Panthers’ bench.
Jokinen was tangled with Buffalo’s Clarke Macarthur near the boards and while falling down kicked his skate up into the air. It sliced his linemate’s neck.
Zednik’s injury was a fluke happening. Let’s hope he gets well soon.
Buffalo fans were classy afterwards, giving a standing ovation after Zednik’s condition was reported. I’m a Florida fan and say thanks Buffalo.
Florida lost the game 5-3. Their climb to first place on hold for now.
Any knowledgeable NY Met fan from the 60′s and 70′s who who Karl was. I was to 10-12 Met games with my father between 1967-1975 before moving to Florida and Karl was a fixture at Shea then. Thanks Karl for cheering along with me and all the others who attended games at Shea. RIP.
The Queens man who became famous for holding up signs in the stands at Shea Stadium – praising or tweaking the Mets and their opponents – died last week.
Karl Ehrhardt, 83, who was better known as “the Sign Man,” was found in his Queens home on Monday, said his daughter, Bonnie Troester. He had recently undergone surgery. 
Ehrhardt, a former commercial artist, was a fixture at games between 1964 and 1981. After notable plays, he would hold up one of 60 signs he carted with him.
“Jose, Can You See?” was a favorite, held up from Ehrhardt’s seat behind the third-base dugout whenever Jose Cardenal struck out.
Another regular was “It’s Alive,” announcing a breakthrough for a player who was in a slump.
His sign spoke volumes after the Mets’ 1969 World Series victory: “There Are No Words.”
“I just called them the way I saw them,” he said in one interview.
Ehrhardt tossed out his cue cards and turned his back on the Mets in the early 1980s after a blowup with management, suddenly touchy in the midst of a prolonged spree of losing seasons.
However, he returned to the stadium in 2002 to help the Mets mark their 40th anniversary.
Last night’s win was the team’s 3rd win in their current road trip.
BOSTON — If the Panthers can wrap up their five-game road trip tonight in Buffalo the right way, they could wake up Monday morning atop the Southeast Division standings.
An offense that has struggled for most of the season battled from behind three times and pulled away late for a 6-3 victory over Boston at TD Banknorth Garden on Saturday night, once again moving to within one point of the division lead.
Florida (26-26-5) can claim that lead with a win at Buffalo and a Washington loss to the New York Rangers this afternoon.
Right now Florida has 57 pts, one point behind division leaders Carolina and Atlanta. However Florida has played one less game than those two teams. Washington also has 57 points, but has played one game less than the Panthers.
Florida plays tonight at Buffalo. A win would be big not just because of the division standings, but to show the Panthers can win back to back road games on consecutive days. I’ve seen Florida play in a very lackluster fashion more than once this year when they’ve had back to back games this year.
Some other assorted Panther notes
*- The team has scored 18 goals in its last three games, tying a team record. Will the real Panthers please stand up? Is this the same team that lost 1-0 to Buffalo the first game back after the All-Star break?
*- Yesterday was Tomas Vokoun’s 51st game in goal for Florida. No goalie has played more. Vokoun’s GAA isn’t good but his Save Pct. is 11th in the NHL. Vokoun has had a good year and I’d hate to think what this team would be doing if not for the Czech’s goaltending.
On the other hand, Vokoun has given up 8 goals in his last two games. Is Tomas getting tired? Coach Martin appears to have little confidence in backup goalie Craig Anderson, I really don’t know why. Anderson’s Save Pct is even better than Vokoun’s in limited play. Also Anderson’s two wins this year came in matchups versus Martin Brodeur and Rick Dipietro two of the best in the East. Why isn’t Anderson giving Vokoun a break more often? I fear Florida could burn out Vokoun before the team makes the playoffs. That is assuming Florida does that.
Martin hardly played Anderson last year either. Anderson was called up at around the All-Star break and then rode the bench as Florida played 41-year-old veteran Eddie Belfour over 20 games straight in goal. Belfour ran out of gas at year’s end. This year and last show IMHO that Martin has no confidence in Anderson and I don’t really know why. He’s played well when given the chance.
*- Has Palm Beach Post Florida Panther beat reporter Brian Biggane been paying attention this year? In an article about last night’s game, Brian wrote-
With the Panthers on a power play, Jokinen collected a short pass from goaltender Tomas Vokoun and worked his way through the Boston defense, then beat Thomas on a backhander through the pads. It was Vokoun’s first assist of the season.
First? Try sixth assist of the year. Vokoun leads all NHL goaltenders in assists. Biggane should stop drinking or pay more attention to the team he’s paid to cover.
*- Florida has won 15 road games this year. I bet the team finishes with 20 or more for the year, breaking the Panther’s previous record of 18.
This weekend’s broadcast was the last on the cable movie network. From AP-
“Inside the NFL” is ending its 31-year run on HBO.
Wednesday’s season finale will be the studio show’s last on the network, HBO announced earlier in the day.
“It has been a terrific franchise,” HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said in a release. “But the television landscape has changed quite a bit over the last 30 years and we have to recognize the realities of the business. I’m not sure we had more than one competitor when the show launched in 1977.”
The decision does not mean the end for the program itself. It’s owned by NFL Films, which is looking to continue the show in conjunction with another network in the fall.
I watched the show beginning in 1977 and was a regular viewer till the early 1990′s. Originally NFL films produced shows called This week in the NFL and Game of the Week. These were syndicated shows, hosted by Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier. When ITN first aired, the broadcasts were mostly edits of those shows. I remember the being hosted by Chuck Bednarik when originally on the air, but I swore he did the shows with Len Dawson. Wikipedia says otherwise.
Note- Is there anyone besides me who can still hum much of Game of the Week’s music?
After leaving the Navy in 1989 and returning to Florida, I pretty much stopped watching the show. With ESPN and other 24 sports networks, seeing last weekend’s football highlights no longer required an hour being set aside every week. Inside the NFL’s demise on HBO doesn’t surprise me.
Hat tip- Professor Bainbridge who mourns the show’s passing and says it must be saved.
The last year Tiger played 72 holes at the tournament was in 2004. From Golf Week-
Tiger Woods will not play next week’s Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club, sources close to Woods told the Los Angeles Times.
Woods has played the event 11 times, nine as a professional. His best finish at Riviera is a tie for seventh in 2004. Woods lost a playoff to Billy Mayfair in 1998 at Valencia Country Club.
“I haven’t heard for sure that Tiger isn’t coming,†Northern Trust tournament director Tom Pulchinski told the Times, “and we’re always happy to have him, but we still have a great field, one of the strongest all year, and we’re confident we’ll have a great tournament.â€
Tiger skipping the LA event doesn’t surprise me. For both his dismal track record and that Tiger has been snipping PGA tournaments from his schedule on a regular basis. He used to play at Phoenix, Pebble Beach and Orlando(Disney World) but not anymore. LA and Riviera will be lucky to see Tiger in the future.
I’m not criticizing Tiger’s schedule making, just giving an honest opinion.
Also note- Golf week again screws up. Tiger’s best finish in LA at Riviera was a tie for second in 1999, not a tie for seventh. Don’t believe me, look it up at Golfstats.com. Riviera has hosted the LA Open every year since 1973 with the exception of 1983 and 1998.
We learn the true story about HS football player Kevin Hart.
RENO, Nev. (Feb 6) – A northern Nevada prep football player who had claimed he was duped into believing he was recruited to play at a Pac-10 school admitted Wednesday he made up the story.
Kevin Hart, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive lineman for Fernley High School, offered a broad apology in a statement he issued through the Lyon County School District. Hart said he had wanted to play football at a Division I school “more than anything.”
“When I realized that wasn’t going to happen, I made up what I wanted to be reality. I am sorry for disappointing and embarrassing my family, coaches, Fernley High School, the involved universities and reporters covering the story,” Hart said.
Lyon County sheriff’s detectives had been unable to corroborate Hart’s claims that he had been duped by a man he paid to help promote him to college football programs.
As soon as I heard not just Cal and Oregon denied recruiting Hart but other schools that had been mentioned, I had the feeling the whole thing was made up. Hart is young, but at 18 he should have known his web of lies would soon unravel.
The Golf World editor again proves his ignorance of the LPGA once again. He listed the top 30 players on the LPGA Tour for 2008. Here’s the list.
1. Lorena Ochoa
2. Suzann Pettersen
3. Annika Sorenstam
4. Cristie Kerr
5. Paula Creamer
6. Karrie Webb
7. Se Ri Pak
8. Morgan Pressel
9. Juli Inkster
10. Catriona Matthew
11. Jee Young Lee
12. Brittany Lincicome
13. Natalie Gulbis
14. Mi Hyun Kim
16. Nicole Castrale
17. Stacey Prammanasudh
18. Seon Hwa Lee
19. Maria Hjorth
20. Pat Hurst
21. Angela Stanford
22. Shi Hyun Ahn
23. Sophie Gustafson
24. Angela Park
25. Ai Miyazato
26. Na On Min
27. Sherri Steinhauer
28. Laura Diaz
29. Christina Kim
30. Karin Sjodin
For brevity I removed Sirak’s comments. I got some serious disagreements over those rankings, but in all but one instance you can say it is a matter of opinion.
Except for one golfer
From 2003-06 This player won 6 LPGA tour events, at least one in each year. Her money rankings for the years 2002-2006-
02- 14th
03- 4th
04- 8th
05- 8th
06-9th
You’ll ask what happened to 2007. She finished 81st on the money list.
7 events, 6 cuts made, 2 top 10s, $116,246 in earnings
Why the off year? The woman had a baby last June. She did not play an LPGA for over 6 months!
Who is this golfer? None other than 2001 LPGA Rookie of the Year, Hee Won Han. She should be the top 15 of any educated Golf writer’s list, if not the top 10. Han is no where to be found on Sirak’s list.
Just the latest indication Ron Sirak may be a closet racist. The goofs this man keeps making about about Asian golfers get harder and harder to swallow.
Update- Another problem with Sirak’s list. Jeong Jang’s low rating. Only placing her 15th. Since 2004, JJ has finished no worse than 12th on the money list and in the top ten every year from 05-07. 5th, 8th, and 7th respectively.
Now if you compare what Jang did over the last four years compared to 9th and 10th picks, Inkster and Mattew(Giving Catorina credit for being pregnant and giving birth in 2006 like I do for Han in 2007) and without weighing the fact that JJ topped both these golfers in 07 and is younger……well you got to ask yourself again if Sirak has a problem with Asian golfers.
It was the biggest margin of victory in team history.
TORONTO — The Panthers’ most one-sided win in franchise history also happened to be one of the most surprising.
In a battle between two teams with injury-depleted rosters, Florida got a hat trick from Richard Zednik and five points from Brett McLean to rout Toronto 8-0 Tuesday night at the Air Canada Centre.
*****
The Panthers had five previous wins in franchise history by six goals, three of them 6-0 shutouts.
Florida scored three goals in the opening 8:19 of the second period to take a 4-0 lead, then poured it on with four more in the third, when the Maple Leafs showed their frustration by instigating three fights.
Toronto pretty much quit after Florida made it 3-0. After it became 4-0, The Maple Leafs coach pulled the starting goalie Vesa Toskala for one who hasn’t won a game since November. Not a good sign.
The third period got ugly with fights. Florida scoring goals on both a 5-3 and 5-4 power plays as a result.
You can’t read too much into last night’s win. Toronto has the second worst record in the Southeast conference. Key players are hurt, or suspended. However Florida has always had trouble with the Maple Leafs. This was like only the Panthers’ 3rd win in the last 12 games between the two teams, and the first during the 07-08.
The bigger news in regards to last night’s game may be this-
The win helped tighten the already close Southeast Division, with Florida (25-25-5) trailing co-leaders Carolina and Atlanta by just one point with a game in hand. Both the Hurricanes and Thrashers lost Tuesday night.
Florida’s three-game winning streak to within a point of the Division lead. Carolina and Atlanta have played one more game than the cats, which is the good news. On the negative side, Washington has played one less game than Florida.
It’s close, darn close. If Florida can win the division, the Eastern division is up for grabs. Ottawa isn’t playing up to snuff and if that doesn’t chang, and Carolina doesn’t make the playoffs, only Pittsburgh particularly worries me in the conference so far as the Panthers go.
It also was Florida’s 11th victory in its past 16 road games and improved its road record to 14-13-1. Only four Panthers teams have won more than 14 road games; the record is 18, held by the inaugural 1993-94 team. The team has 14 road games left this season.
Florida’s road record at least tells me this team can compete, if they want to. Right now the cats have won three in a row, including two on the road. The next three games are at Ottawa, Buffalo, and then Boston. Three games in four days starting tomorrow night. If the Panthers can win two of these, their season may well have turned.
What an odd story.
It looked like an American dream come true, but now somebody’s going to experience a nightmare.
Students, television and newsprint reporters packed the gym at Fernley (Nev.) High School to hear offensive lineman Kevin Hart give a verbal commitment to play football at the University of California. He chose Cal over Oregon.
“They really sold me,” Hart said, according to USA Today. “Coach [Jeff] Tedford and I talked a lot, and the fact that the head coach did most of the recruiting of me kind of gave me the real personal experience.”
The only problem … neither Cal nor Oregon recruited Hart.
Now, it’s a “law enforcement investigation,” said Fernley football coach Mark Hodges, according to the newspaper.
“This is involving law enforcement and may involve other departments, other than the NCAA, that are bigger than local,” Hodges told the Reno Gazette-Journal. “I would love to tell you everything I know, but I can’t at this time and I’m not even sure what I know.”
It was unclear whether Hart was duped by persons impersonating recruiters or if he was staging a hoax himself.
In High school I once heard some baseball players bragging they had a teammate thinking he was being scouted by a pro team. I don’t know if it was true or not.
Hart’s story is certainly bizarre. Justin Lawson at the Reno Gazette-Journal writes-
As I see it there are two scenarios that can play out in this one: Someone duped this kid into thinking that he was being recruited by these two schools or we’ve all been duped.
I don’t want to believe the latter because I just can’t see a high school athlete doing that to his coaches, teammates and friends. The first scenario could open up a lot of discussion for everyone from the NCAA down to the NIAA because if someone is impersonating a representative of these schools, then every high school athlete needs to be aware.
I don’t want to believe the second scenario either. Then sometimes a small lie can get out of control. Like in this recent story. In Hart’s case it looks like we’ll have an answer soon.
Anyone want an aging, often injured, overpaid basketball center who dabbles in police work on the side?
The Heat has told center Shaquille O’Neal’s representation that it is talking about trading him and he should be prepared for the possibility of a deal, according to two officials close to the situation. Phoenix has discussed sending forward Shawn Marion and point guard Marcus Banks to the Heat in return for O’Neal.
Asked for confirmation, one of O’Neal’s representatives said O’Neal has been made aware that discussions with Phoenix are serious and ongoing, but that a deal was not definite.
Dallas also has been mentioned as a potential destination, though the Heat had not immediately informed O’Neal of that possibility.
O’Neal, 35, was shocked by the turn of events, an associate said. O’Neal helped lead the Heat to the 2005-06 championship, but Miami has struggled since, losing in the first round of the playoffs last season and opening this season with a league-worst 9-37 record.
*****
O’Neal, who has been out with a hip injury, has two years left on his contract after this season. He will be paid $20 million each of the next two seasons.
I wish the Heat good luck trying to trade O’Neal. They will need it. O’Neal’s productive days are over with. He also carries an immense salary. I wouldn’t trade for him, but if the rumors are right there are teams out there willing to take a chance. Miami needs to re-build and O’Neal won’t be part of the Heat’s future. May as well move on now if the opportunity presents itself.
AP reports Shaq may be headed to the Phoenix Suns.
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