just4moms.netExciting News Every Mom Should Know…

Thank God it was only seven … I thought the league would really go overboard, but be that as it may, Metta will think before acting.  Anger is something … it is hard to control and at least he is trying to work on it, and when your pocket is hit, you tend to pay more attention.  so don’t preach the Lakers funeral because one player is missing.  Everybody is professional and should be able to step up and do their jobs.  I hope things get better for Metta, I hope Kobe has a good scoring night for this last game, because he stayed ahead after missing seven games, so I am hopeful that he can do what it takes to secure it again.  I know he says it isn’t important, but he scored his butt off to be ahead, and .11 points behind Durant is not a lot, so hopefully he has a good night in Sacramento.  Teams go through ups and downs because you have different personalities.  I believe in Metta because he is working on himself and at least acknowledging the fact that he needed to make a change.  Some of us stay in denial, but all in all, I believe in the Lakers and I am praying and pulling for them.

Published on may 7, 2012 by faceoffnews   ·   no Comments

The NHL announced Monday that Philadelphia Flyers star and leading playoff point scorer Claude Giroux will be suspended one game for his hit on new Jersey’s Dainius Zubrus Sunday night.

The hit that has the hockey world talking came at the end of a shift in which Claude Giroux appeared very frustrated over a missed call on goaltender Martin Brodeur. Clearly angry, Giroux targeted Zubrus and finished his check. The hit crossed the line from typical hockey play to suspendable action when Giroux’s shoulder made contact with Zubrus’ head.

class=’embed-youtube’ style=’text-align:center; display: block;’>

This is the type of hit that the NHL wants to get rid of. Giroux’s hit to Zubrus’ head was unintentional,  but reckless.  Fortunately, Dainius Zubrus wasn’t injured.

(Listen to Giroux’s explanation here)

This situation seems like an excellent opportunity for Brendan Shanahan and the NHL Department of Player Safety: Claude Giroux’s 17 points lead all playoff scorers, earning him a spot among the league’s few superstars. Suspending a superstar, in a game in which his team faces elimination, is a great way to show the players in the league that headshots will not be tolerated whatsoever. Right?

The opportunity to suspend a high-caliber player has already presented itself in these playoffs. but, Shanahan and company let them off almost scot-free.

In the first game of the Western Conference Quarterfinals between the Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings, Nashville defenseman Shea Weber slammed Henrik Zetterberg’s head into the glass like a maneuver out of a WWE wrestling video game. Arguably the league’s best defenseman, Weber was given a measly ,500 fine.

class=’embed-youtube’ style=’text-align:center; display: block;’>

Later in the first round, in game four of the Flyers-Penguins series, the NHL’s leading regular season point-getter and likely recipient of the Hart trophy Evgeni Malkin, elbowed the head of Flyers defenseman Nicklas Grossmann. Grossman was concussed on the play, but Malkin’s dirty hit went unnoticed by everyone with the authority to make an impact. there was no penalty on the play and Malkin did not receive even a fine, let alone a supsension. In fact, he did not even receive a phone call from disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan.

class=’embed-youtube’ style=’text-align:center; display: block;’>

Also in the first round, the league tried to send a message by suspending notorious troublemaker Raffi Torres 25 games for his hit on Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa. While Torres’ suspension was well deserved, the message sent here misses the mark. Dirty hits from players with dirty track records are expected. but, these players aren’t the only ones whose hits induce concussions.

Brendan Shanahan and the Department of Player Safety needs to hammer out a distinct, uniform policy that excludes no player under any circumstances.

If Alexander Ovechkin elbows a player in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, suspend him for game 7. The future of player safety–especially head safety–is far more important than television viewer ratings.

The one game suspension handed to Claude Giroux is fair. but, the time to suspend a world-class player for a dangerous hit has come and passed–multiple times.

The Hockey Writers

Tags: Claude, Giroux, mark, Misses, Shanahan, suspension

Poor misguided "dating spreadsheet guy" of last week has another moment in the New York Post Monday. This time it comes from Andrea Peyser, our new favorite dating columnist, who's not only full of advice but also so effervescently positive. how does she do it? Peyser uses David Merkur—remember, he's the investment banker who ranked his Match.com dates and kept track of them via Excel—to bemoan the entire state of online dating, that thing these crazy kids are all doing nowadays! the nostalgia wafts over the cubicle walls, here. Peyser writes: 

It seems so very 2011. but remember the old days when men and women used to communicate via text message?

Or the previous century, when guys and gals hooked up in bars?

Remember? Remember those days? Peyser seems not perturbed by the fact that right in front of our eyes, guys and gals are still texting and hooking up in bars. No matter. the point is, we're all creeps now. Creeps with computers! Peyster continues:

It’s happened. the war of the sexes has gone creepy, officially turning from a pastime to a game. now it’s blown up into hand-to-hand combat on the Macs of Manhattan, where even a guy who looks like Miss Piggy can be the master of his virtual harem.

As for what the world is coming to and why, Peyser believes the fault lies with 1) the Internet; 2) Men, who think they are invincible because of the Internet (whatever happened to picking up "chicks in person," the way real men used to, back when people were honest and there was no such thing as a dial-up?); and 3) Women, who are desperate, a "red meat in a guy’s dreams of zipless conquests," eating up online dating manipulations from terrible men "like a bulimic before a purge."

but mostly it's the Internet. This all happens because men can't get girls in real life and so go online instead where they can better mess with women. because that's exactly how it works, assuming people are only online dating because they are psychotic.

there are other possibilities here, of course. There's a small chance that online dating is just another way for people to meet and to go through the general "games" and orchestrations (which every so often result in actually getting to like someone else, and maybe even having a relationship) as any other form of communication and interaction, including hooking up in bars after meeting in person after discovering a mutual admiration for cave drawings or whatnot. Online dating might, maybe, be a conduit to dating, not simply a distasteful activity akin to an eating disorder. but we're not the dating columnist. Andrea Peyser is! Her solution in this desperate time: Get off the computer and meet your husband in a synagogue, like her friend Arlene. Arlene clearly has an AOL account.

Image via Shutterstock by Andy Dean Photography.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at jdoll at theatlantic dot com. you can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire. Jen Doll

May 6, 2012 (LAS VEGAS) — Floyd Mayweather Jr. finally found himself in a real fight, complete with a bloody nose and an opponent in Miguel Cotto who was never going to quit.

As usual, he found a way to win.

Mayweather used his speed and accuracy Saturday night to take a unanimous decision over a game Cotto in a bruising bout to win a piece of the 154-pound title. but it wasn’t easy, as Cotto landed some hard punches and kept attacking all the way to the final bell.

“You’re a hell of a champion,” Mayweather told Cotto in the ring afterward. “You’re the toughest guy I ever fought.”

Mayweather dominated late, rocking Cotto in the 12th round to pull out a win and remain unbeaten in 43 fights. Unlike most of his fights, though, Mayweather got his nose bloodied and engaged in some bruising exchanges he usually likes to avoid.

Two judges scored the fight 117-111 and the third had it 118-110. the Associated Press had Mayweather winning 116-112.

Fighting just a few weeks before he enters a county jail to serve a three-month sentence for domestic abuse, Mayweather found himself in a tough fight against a game opponent who never stopped moving forward. but he was faster and more accurate than Cotto and seemed to wear him down in the final rounds.

In the last round, Mayweather landed his best punch of the night, a left uppercut that seemed to hurt Cotto. He followed that with several flurries to the head to wrap up a decision that until the later rounds had been in doubt.

the decision was roundly booed by the crowd at the MGM Grand arena, which cheered wildly every time Cotto landed a punch.

“He’s a tough competitor,” Mayweather said. “He came to fight, he didn’t just come to survive. I dug down and fought him back.”

Cotto was never down, though he seemed hurt several times during the fight, particularly in the 12th round.

“The judges said I lost the fight, I can’t do anything else,” Cotto said. “I’m happy with my fight and performance and so is my family. I can’t ask for anything else.”

Mayweather, who was guaranteed $32 million, was forced to fight every minute of all 12 rounds against the Puerto Rican champion. He did it after weighing in at 151 pounds, the heaviest he has ever been for a fight.

the weight didn’t seem to affect Mayweather, and neither did the heavier 10-ounce gloves at super welterweight. but he took some punishment, including a bloody nose during the middle rounds, before coming back to dish some out in the later rounds.

“When you fight on pay-per-view you have to give the fans what they want, and that’s excitement,” Mayweather said.

Mayweather entered the ring unbeaten in his 16-year pro career, and a 6-1 favorite to stay that way. the fighter who has become the biggest pay-per-view attraction in the sport padded his already thick wallet with the fight, but he was forced to earn every penny of it.

the win gave Mayweather the 154-pound title held by Cotto, and assured him of still being a champion when he reports to jail June 1 for a sentence stemming from a domestic abuse case involving his former girlfriend and their children.

“In life there’s obstacles,” Mayweather said. “When it comes to June 1, I have to accept it like a man.”

Mayweather will be in jail when Manny Pacquiao fights in the same ring June 9 at the MGM Grand against Timothy Bradley. though boxing fans have clamored for a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, it has yet to be made — and may never be made.

That’s partly because of Mayweather’s insistence that Pacquiao submit to Olympic-style drug testing, though Pacquiao has already said he will do that.

“I want to fight Pacquiao but he needs to take the tests before we make that fight,” Mayweather said.

Cotto came out looking slow and overmatched in the first round, but quickly settled into a routine, attacking Mayweather from behind his left jab. but Mayweather got more aggressive coming out to start the fourth round, and landed a series of rights to the head that stunned Cotto and kept him from moving forward effectively.

Mayweather fought good portions of the fight on the ropes, using them for leverage and counterpunching to Cotto’s head when he opened up. He was not only quicker than Cotto, but more accurate, often landing in between Cotto’s defenses.

“He’s ready to quit,” trainer Roger Mayweather told his nephew after the sixth round.

but Cotto was relentless, coming forward and hitting Mayweather with good shots to the head. Toward the end of the eighth round he landed several punches to the head, prompting Mayweather to shake his head as if they didn’t hurt, but by then Mayweather was bleeding from the nose and looked like he had taken some punishment.

Punch stats showed Mayweather landing 179 of 687 punches to 105 of 506 to Cotto.

Cotto, who fell to 37-3, was guaranteed his biggest purse ever, $8 million.

(Copyright ©2012 by the Associated Press. all Rights Reserved.)

Get more Sports »

sports

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Rangers coach John Tortorella wasn’t sending a message to center Derek Stepan. Coaches don’t send messages in the playoffs.

"It’s about putting people on the ice that you think are going to help you win that particular game," Tortorella said Sunday.

Stepan’s play in Games 1 and 2 against Ottawa wasn’t bad enough to warrant a complete benching, but it wasn’t good enough to convince Tortorella to keep him in the top-six. Tortorella demoted Stepan to the fourth line in both Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

"I wasn’t performing and there were other guys playing better," Stepan told NHL.com.

Even if it wasn’t a message, Stepan took note of where he was in the lineup, and where he was headed if he continued to underperform. the next step was the press box, or worse, the offseason.

Stepan wasn’t about to be embarrassed by either. he responded, and over the past four games Stepan has arguably been the Rangers best forward, even with the emergence of college sensation Chris Kreider.

Posted: April 30, 2012

During the final minute of Sunday night’s game between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks, Rajon Rondo, the Celtics’ star point guard, landed himself in hot water when he “chest bumped” the back of referee Marc Davis, apparently in objection to a foul call on one of his teammates.

Rondo’s chest bump, which he says was an accident, got him ejected from the game. To make matters worse for Rondo and the Celtics, the “accident” may even see him suspended, which could have a huge impact on the Celtics going into game 2 of the playoffs.

“I’m always worried, but I would be surprised if that happens,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of Rondo’s possible suspension. “I thought Rondo was walking toward Marc, and Marc turned back toward him, and that’s when Rondo bumped him. That’s all it was, in my opinion. but we’ll see.”

Rondo says that he was upset about the referee’s call, but he didn’t mean to walk into Davis.

“obviously I was upset about the call and I said some words to Marc. I deserved the first tech,” Rondo said. “As I was walking, I thought he stopped. my momentum carried me into him. I even think I tripped on his foot.”

You can watch Sunday night’s “incident” between Rajon Rondo and Marc Davis for yourself directly below.

Do you think Rajon Rondo deserves to be suspended, or was the chest bump clearly an accident?

DETROIT (97.1 the Ticket) the Detroit Tigers have unconditionally released Brandon Inge today following their 5-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners. Brad Eldred, who has been hitting .388 with 13 HRS and 35 RBI, was called up from Toledo to replace him.

Interviewed after the game, Inge, 34, was philosophical about it.

“It’s one of those things, you can see how they’re going before they come. my heart will always be in Detroit,” Inge said, adding, “It’s a business when it comes to it. I hope the team does well, and wins it all.”

Inge has been a controversial figure for the Tigers, with a big base of fans and an equal number of non-fans.

“Why is he playing? Why is he on the team? How in the hell can he be batting .056 and keep a job?” 97.1 the Ticket host Terry Foster wrote in a blog. “he hit a home run in Kansas City and disappeared. His batting average never got above .167 this season. and we thought batting .181 in spring training was bad. We thought batting .197 last season was bad. Heck, Inge looked like Ted Williams compared to what he is doing now.”

Inge was booed loudly during Tigers Opening Day and the fans’ dissatisfaction only increased as his batting average decreased. the booing has taken over Comerica Park during Inge’s most recent appearances — especially after his batting average dropped to .056.

Inge said that even though some fans turned on him, he still loves the Tigers and the city.

“There’s nothin’, nothin’ that anyone could ever do who would ever change my opinion of Detroit, this organization,” said Inge. “It’s been a class act through and through and I’ve actually been very. very proud to be a part of it.”

But before the season started, Coach Jim Leyland and General Manager Dave Dombrowski both said they had high hopes for Inge at second base.

After the first exhibition game of the season, Dombrowski said about Inge: “If you watch him play second base, you would think he’s played there for the last 10 years, he’s moved that well to second base.. He’s been tremendous defensively, he’s got a great arm, great hands…He’s been phenomenal. People will be shocked when they see him play.”

After being displaced from third base to second base by the team’s new slugger Prince Fielder, Inge made a few notable defensive plays and hit one big home run.

Inge played for the Tigers since 2001, starting as a catcher and moving around to fill gaps as new players joined the team. he hit .197 last season.

As if it’s not already hard enough to get anything done on a Friday…

A new Easter Egg in Google search results allows you to fight an onslaught of little Google “o”s, usually with disastrous results. well, maybe I just suck at the game.

Typing Zerg rush into your search bar will produce a search page that immediately comes under attack. your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to destroy the “o”s by clicking them with your mouse before the green bar associated with each level turns red. the attackers will comes from all directions – top, bottom, sides. and it’s really pretty hard. This guy is a lot better than I am – but to be fair it’s early.

If you don’t want to do battle, you can always click on the X at the top right of your results to stop the attack. There, you’ll also see a stat counter for how many you’ve destroyed vs. how much damage they’ve done.

Once the search game is over, you can post your score to Google+.

Real-time strategy (and other types as well) gamers will know why Google made their little Easter Egg on the term “Zerg rush.” the Zerg come from the game StarCraft, and the “rush” (or Zerging) is now gameing-speak for “sacrificing economic development in favor of using many low-cost and weak units to rush and overwhelm an enemy by attrition or sheer numbers,” according to Wikipedia. Basically, to bum rush the hell out of someone.

So go ahead – protect your search results before it’s too late.

Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury took a dramatic beating in a game against the new York Islanders near the end of the regular season, but he said Tuesday it has nothing to do with his current struggles against the Philadelphia Flyers in an Eastern Conference quarterfinal.

In that 5-3 loss to the Islanders on March 27, Fleury was hit in the jaw by a puck and collided with teammates Chris Kunitz and Paul Martin.

Asked how long the effects of those collisions lasted, Fleury said, “A day. the next day, then I was good.”

Fleury, who has allowed 17 goals on 84 shots against the Flyers, said he does not feel any different.

“The same me,” he said.

He said he tried to “take it easy and relax” during Monday`s off day, but the Penguins` situation weighed on his mind. Which is as it should be, he said.

“I would like to forget about the last two goals (in Sunday`s game), but not forget what position we are in right now,” he said.

Center Jordan Staal said upon the Penguins` arrival in Philadelphia that he was unaware of speculation regarding his future with the team.

Staal, with whom the Penguins can begin contract discussions July 1, is set to become a free agent following next season along with fellow center Sidney Crosby.

Both players likely will command raises from their current average annual salary — $4 million for Staal and $8.7 million for Crosby.

The Penguins, who during the season signed winger James Neal to a six-year, $30 million contract, made that move with the intention of being able to retain each of their star centers: Crosby, Staal and Evgeni Malkin, who can become a free agent following the 2013-14 season.

Staal appeared bemused when pressed about speculation that he is unhappy with the Penguins and could be traded this summer.

“About me?” Staal asked. “What are they saying? No, not right now. That`s the last thing on my mind, for sure.”

Pulling Scott Hartnell`s hair was an accident, said Penguins forward Craig Adams, who fought the Flyer late in Game 3. But Adams also suggested Tuesday that Hartnell should visit the barber.

“I grabbed a handful of his hair for a second and let it go,” Adams said. “I don`t think he has a huge problem with it. if he does, he should maybe get a haircut.”

Adams was assessed an instigator penalty for the fight. “(Pulling hair) is not something you try to do ever,” Adams said. “I tried to reach up to grab the collar. if you`ve got enough hair, it`s going to get in the way sooner or later.”

After Martin did not practice with his teammates Tuesday at Consol Energy Center, Bylsma was uncertain about his defenseman`s availability Wednesday night.

“Paul Martin was a maintenance day,” Bylsma said, indicating it was a routine absence. “And he is possible for (tonight`s) game.”

Martin leads the Penguins with 90 shifts in the series and did not appear to be injured after Sunday`s game.

Defenseman Kris Letang said he doesn`t regret trying to “Shhh” the Philadelphia crowd Sunday. he said the gesture was intended for former teammate Max Talbot, who did the same thing in Philadelphia when he played for the Penguins in the 2009 playoffs.

“Just a funny thing,” he said.

more Penguins headlines

The NHL suspended Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres indefinitely on Wednesday for knocking Chicago’s Marian Hossa out of the game — and maybe the playoffs — with a shoulder blow to the head.

Hossa won’t play in Game 4 on Thursday with the Coyotes leading the series 2-1. he was at home resting, exchanging texts with his Blackhawks teammates less than 24 hours after he was carried off the ice on a stretcher and taken to a hospital.

The hard knock by Torres was the latest in a first round that has been dominated by brawls and violent hits. The NHL scheduled a Friday hearing in new York for a player who has a reputation for big — and some say dirty — hits.

Depending on the locker room, the severity of the blow — one year after Torres did the same thing to Chicago’s Brent Seabrook while playing for Vancouver — differed and took the spotlight from a competitive first-round matchup that has seen all three games go to overtime.

“I’ve seen a lot of other hits like it in the league. It’s a fast game,” Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said Wednesday. “The thing about TV is you can slow it down and you can click and click and click it. when you’re out there on the ice, it’s not slowed down and click, click, click. It’s a fast game.’

“I don’t think there was any malicious intent on Raffi’s part,” he added. “He’s a hard hitter. That’s the way he plays the game. he turned, coming full speed, caught a guy right in the chest. Unfortunately, the player was injured.”

Torres’ skates were off the ice as he hit Hossa and sent Chicago’s regular-season points leader crashing to the ice in the first period. Hossa had just passed the puck when he was hit.

“There’s only been one dirty hit in our series and you saw the same thing from that guy last year in the same series,” Chicago’s Patrick Sharp said. “You know it’s coming. you try to warn your linemates and be aware when he’s on the ice. He’s got a history of targeting guys’ heads and having questionable hits. It makes it that much more frustrating to see it happen, but we got to rally behind Hoss.”

Chicago coach Joel Quenneville reiterated that the hit on Hossa was “brutal.” he said there was little change in Hossa’s condition without being specific, but said he was definitely out for Thursday’s game.

Asked if Hossa’s injury was long-term, Quenneville said: “We’ll see.”

Hossa went to a hospital for tests Tuesday night before he was taken home. A team doctor said a full recovery is expected but there is no timetable.

Torres, who wasn’t available Wednesday, spoke after the game and said: “I felt like it was a hockey play. I was just trying to finish my hit out there.”

The Blackhawks weren’t buying it.

“In the history of the game, hitting is used to dislodge a player from the puck, not the intent to injure when you don’t have the puck because you aren’t aware. To me, that wasn’t a hockey play,” Blackhawks forward Andrew Brunette said. “When you don’t have the puck, there shouldn’t be that kind of contact.”

The Coyotes were unhappy when Chicago rookie Andrew Shaw collided with goalie Mike Smith behind the net in Game 2 and knocked him to the ice. Smith was able to stay in the game and Shaw got a game misconduct. on Tuesday, he was suspended for three games.

Torres was not penalized for his hit on Hossa right in front of the benches. Quenneville said after the game that the refereeing was “a disgrace.”