MySports Today

In the 1st round of the Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, Tiger Woods shot a 30 on his back nine en route to a bogey-free 7-under 65 on the day.  The rest of the field should start to take notice soon, as Woods has already built a 3-shot lead over 4 players stuck at 68 – Retief Goosen, Jeff Maggert, Hunter Mahan and Lucas Glover.  Woods finished the round with 3 straight birdies, and after having a few tournaments under his belt in 2009 (with 1 victory), he’s looking poised to get into the double-digit victories very early in the season.

Woods is one lucky man.  Not to mention all of the tournaments he has won over the years (90 total career wins, including 14 Major Championships) or the $90 in tournament winnings he has earned, Woods has one of the hottest wives around.  Check out Elin Nordegren photos below!  Wonder if Jim Furyk was reacting to Tiger’s unbelievable 50-foot eagle putt or the full-size billboard photo of Woods’ wife behind the green on 10?!  It’s just not fair…

While I normally think Bill Simmons is pretty funny, you have to take your hometown cap off when you watch Rajon Rondo’s foul on Brad Miller at the end of the 1st OT session in Boston last night.  Gimme a break.  If you don’t make a play on the ball, it is a flagrant foul, plain and simple.  No question about this one.  Even thug Jalen Rose thought it was a flagrant foul as he stated on Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio.  I just hope the Bulls win Thursday night to send this back to Boston for a 7th and deciding game on Saturday night…

Here are the NBA games for 4/29/2009

Can it get any worse?  The New Orleans Hornets suffered the worst home-loss in NBA history at the hands of the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.  The Nuggets won the game 121-63 to take a convincing 3-1 lead in the best of 7 series.  The Nuggets took a 36-15 1st quarter lead and never let up.  The Nuggets outscored the Hornets in each quarter, holding the Hornets to just 11 and 13 points, respectively in the 3rd and 4th quarters.  Talk about packing it in and getting ready for the off-season.  What a joke of a performance by the the Hornets, especially during the playoffs.

The Nuggets had 7 players with double-digit scoring.  Carmelo Anthony led the way with 26 points points, while Chauncey Billups scored 17 points and dished out 8 assists.  The Nuggets shot 56.7% from the floor, including 10 of 20 from 3-point range.

On the other side of the ball, the Hornets shot just 31.5% from the field, including 2 of 15 from 3-point range.  Only 3 players scored in double digits for the Hornets – David West (14 points); Peja Stojakovic (10 points) and James Posey (12 points).  The Hornets franchise player – Chris Paul – played one of the worst games of his career – just 4 points on 2 of 7 shooting, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 turnovers.

Commissioner David Stern and the NBA should just cancel the rest of the series – why even bother playing Game 5 in Denver to “officially” end the series.  This series was over 12 minutes after the Hornets took the court on Monday night.  The Hornets should be ashamed of themselves.

In case you missed what had to be the best game this weekend the Bulls beat the Celtics in Chicago.

Check out this cool article about a girl pitching a perfect game in Little League and then getting to throw out the “1st Pitch” at Saturday’s Mets-Nationals game at CITI Field.  What a great story!  Can’t believe there are actually 50-60 perfect games thrown in Little League each year.  Wish we would hear more about them, so it’s great to find about this one.  Enjoy – Mackenzie Perfect Game – and pass it on…

The Boston Celtics showed why they are the defending NBA Champions – crushing the Chicago Bulls 107-86 at the United Center on Thursday night.  The Celtics now have a 2-1 lead in the series.

The 2 teams next face off at 12 noon on Sunday at the United Center.

Meanwhile, the Jazz chipped into the Lakers 2-0 lead with a dramatic 88-86 win over the Lakers on Thursday night.  Derron Williams hit a fadeaway jumper with 2.2 seconds left to give the Jazz the win.

The 2 teams next face off at 9 pm on Saturday night in Utah.

The Kansas City Chiefs traded TE Tony Gonzalez to the Atlanta Falcons for a 2nd round pick in the 2010 NFL draft.  Tony Gonzalez is a future hall of famer and is one of the greatest receiving tight ends of all-time.  Gonzalez is the only TE ever selected to 10 Pro Bowl appearances.  Gonzalez holds NFL records for tight ends in the following categories – - receptions (916); yards receiving (10,940); receiving touchdowns (76); and 100-yard receiving games (26).

Gonzalez had this to say about his sad departue from Kansas City:  “It’s somewhat bittersweet.  I love Kansas City.  I grew up in Kansas City.  The city means a lot to me.  I got there when I turned 21.  It will be sad to leave a city I love.  But I’m looking forward to making a Super Bowl run in Atlanta every year for the next three or four years.”

Chiefs GM Scott Pioli said it was tough making the move:  “From an organizational as well as personal standpoint there are mixed emotions.  I have the highest personal and professional respect for Tony and consider him to be a future Pro Football Hall of Famer.”

Gonzalez will offer the Falcons an excited new look at tight end for sophomore quarterback Matt Ryan.  Look for the Falcons to build on their successful 11-5 campaign in 2008.

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Western Conference

Derrick Rose was voted the NBA Rookie of the Year.  Rose received 111 first-place votes and 574 total votes from a panel composed of national sports writers and broadcasters.  O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies was the runner-up for the award – he received only 5 first-place votes and 127 total votes.

Rose hails from the Chicago area and led his hometown Bulls to the playoffs with a 41-win season.  Rose became the 3rd Bulls player to win the Rookie of the Year Award – Michael Jordan and Elton Brand also won the top rookie honors.  Rose was the #1 overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft and he led all rookies with 6.3 assists per game and was 2nd in rookie scoring with a 16.8 points per game average.  Rose was named the rookie of the month in November, December and March this season.

Rose did not disappoint come crunch time in the playoffs.  In Round 1, Game 1 against the defending champion Boston Celtics in Boston, Rose scored 36 points, dished out 11 assists and grabbed 4 rebounds to lead the Bulls to the 105-103 upset overtime win over the Celtics.  Rose’s 36 points matched the playoff record for a rookie in his first NBA playoff game.  And in his 2nd playoff game – a 118-115 loss to the Celtics in Boston – Rose turned in another solid all-around performance – 10 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

Rose has received excellent commendations from players and coaches around the league.

Former Bulls coach Phil Jackson said:  “He can finish around the basket, and that’s not easy for – he’s not small, but he’s not a big guard.  He’s good at that, and that’s impressive for a guy that size.  His quickness to the basket is impressive.”

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant had this to say:  “He plays both ends of the court, which is refreshing to see.  A lot of young players don’t play both ends.  He works hard at it, defense as well.”

Rose is a superstar in the making and will be the face of the Bulls franchise for years to come.