Mar
21
DAYTON, Ohio – Siena strikes again. Ronald Moore hit a 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left in the second overtime – from the identical spot he made one at the end of the first OT – as the Saints beat eighth-seeded Ohio State 74-72 on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Moore’s two clutch shots advanced ninth-seeded Siena (27-7) into Sunday’s second round where the Saints will meet Louisville, the tournament’s top team. The Cardinals moved on with a 74-54 win over No. 16 seed Morehead State.
Evan Turner missed a leaner from 15 feet that would forced a third OT for the Buckeyes (22-11), who blew an 11-point lead in the second half of regulation.
Siena came into the tournament with a higher profile for a small school after shocking Vanderbilt in the first round last March. The little college from upstate New York returned a veteran squad that was given a solid chance of beating one of the Big Ten’s powers.
Siena pulled it off despite playing much more like sinners than Saints.
Siena committed 22 turnovers and made just 6-of-23 3-pointers, but Moore, who was 0-for-4 from 3-point range in regulation, drained his two big shots when it mattered most.
Mar
18
Brodeur sets NHL record for wins by goaltender
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NEWARK, N.J. – With the final seconds ticking off the clock, Martin Brodeur saw the shot leave the stick of Chicago forward Troy Brouwer, kicked out his right pad and watched the puck head to the corner.
Within seconds, the buzzer sounded and Brodeur stood alone as the NHL’s winningest goaltender with 552 career victories. Childhood idol and Hall of Famer Patrick Roy was now behind him.
“It was an exciting night,” Brodeur said after making 30 saves in the Devils’ 3-2 win over the Blackhawks on Tuesday night. “I’m happy that it’s done and over with. It’s been chaotic, the last few days. It was an awesome night. It was a great reception from the fans.”
The end was a fitting tribute for the 36-year-old Brodeur. He leapt into the air and pumped the right hand that held his stick in exclamation as a sellout crowd once again roared “Mart-tee, Mart-tee.”
He was immediately surrounded by teammates in a celebration that seemed akin to winning the Stanley Cup.
Instead of hoisting the trophy, Brodeur took out a pair of scissors and cut the net.
“It’s definitely harder than I thought,” Brodeur quipped. “These basketball players, it’s only a little net. This was a big net. I had help from a couple of my teammates.”
While other Devils finished the job of cutting down the net, Brodeur took a victory lap around the ice, high-fiving his coaches as he passed the bench.
The victory came in Brodeur’s 987th game of a 15-year career played entirely with the Devils.
During that tenure, the likable Brodeur has led the Devils to three Stanley Cup titles and won the Vezina Trophy four times as the league’s top goalie.
Now he holds the wins record, and another could soon fall. He is within four shutouts of passing Terry Sawchuk (103) for the NHL record, and he has a chance to push his win total well beyond 600.
“If this continues being fun, I’ll stick around for a long time,” Brodeur said.
As he spoke, a deafening roar of “Mart-tee, Mart-tee” filled the arena.
“Guys were commenting that is was like a Stanley Cup atmosphere there, you know the intensity, the excitement, the buzz in the arena,” veteran Devils forward Brendan Shanahan said. “You felt it from the drop of the puck. You felt it in warmup.”
Brodeur tied Roy’s mark in an emotional setting, his hometown of Montreal on Saturday night with Roy in attendance.
“I thought it was pretty cool in Montreal, but this topped it,” Brodeur said.
With family in the crowd in Newark, Brodeur took the ice in front of a full house that cheered him from the warmup to the final buzzer, mostly with the echoing chant of “Mart-tee, Mart-tee, Mart-tee.”
Those cheers turned to “Thank you, Marty” as the clock ticked down, and “Marty’s Better,” once the record was his.
“This is one of those really special moments that doesn’t come along often,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who was in attendance. “Maybe once in a lifetime, maybe once in two lifetimes.
“We witnessed some history here tonight, and the fans recognized that. This building was on edge, emotionally excited throughout.”
Brodeur wasn’t the only record-setter on the night for New Jersey. Patrik Elias became the Devils’ career leading scorer when he recorded his 702nd point with a perfect pass to set up a short-handed goal by Brian Gionta late in the second period for a 3-0 lead.
The Devils took the pressure off Brodeur early with two goals against Nikolai Khabibulin in the opening 6:01 in extending their record for home wins to 10. Zach Parise set up both, finding Jamie Langenbrunner in the slot 38 seconds after the opening faceoff and then threading a pass through the crease to Travis Zajac at 6:01.
After that it was up to Brodeur to protect the lead, and he looked extraordinarily focused in winning for the eighth time in nine games since returning from elbow surgery late in February.
Blackhawks defenseman Cameron Barker got the first Chicago goal, firing a point shot past a totally screened Brodeur on a power play late in the second period. Dustin Byfuglien made it 3-2 with 2:03 left in the game.
“With 10 minutes left, I thought, ‘All right, this is finally going to happen,’” Brodeur said. “I was a clockwatcher, a little bit. When 2 minutes came and they scored, I said, ‘I’ve got 2 more minutes to kill.’ It made it tough in the last few minutes, but we got it done.”
The loss was a season-high third straight for Chicago, and fifth in sixth.
And Brodeur was a big part of that.
“He is a special goalie,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “You look at the consistency, the volumes of games he can play and his consistency in the net. They changed the rules because of the way he handled the puck. He’s amazing. Not many goalies have that style and he keeps getting better and better and better. At this stage of his career, he looks as good as ever.”
Parise and Langenbrunner worked a great give-and-go in the opening minute to put New Jersey ahead. Langenbrunner made a pass from the left boards to Parise streaking down the right side, and Parise then found Langenbrunner alone in front for his 24th goal.
Stationed at the left side of the net, Zajac got a slam-dunk for his 20th goal when Zajac found him at 6:01 as a Blackhawks penalty ended.
Elias led a 2-on-1 with Gionta late in the second period and then pumped his fist after the puck went into the net, allowing Elias to break assistant coach John MacLean’s record for points with the Devils.
Notes:@ Roy earned his 551 wins in 1,029 games with Montreal and Colorado. … Chicago has not beaten New Jersey since Oct. 10, 1998. The Blackhawks are 0-8-2-1 in that span. … Khabibulin is a 6-3-3 Brodeur. … Langenbrunner’s goal gave him points in nine straight games.
Mar
17
Manny’s hammy to keep him out at least a week
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PHOENIX – Manny Ramirez’s hamstring injury will keep him out of spring training games for at least a week.
“We’re just going to lay low till we get rid of this,” Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre said Monday. “We’re just going to keep him out. I can’t give you a time because I don’t know the time, but it’s certainly going to be through the weekend and probably beyond that.”
Ramirez aggravated his sore left hamstring Sunday while playing the outfield for the first time this spring.
The Dodgers slugger first had trouble with his hamstring last week, when he was scratched from the lineup Thursday in what was supposed to be his exhibition debut. He played Friday as the designated hitter, sat out Saturday and started in left field Sunday against Colorado.
While chasing Troy Tulowitzki’s fourth-inning double into the left-field corner, Ramirez felt his hamstring grab. He was removed from the game when the Dodgers came to bat.
Now, the Dodgers are playing it safe by keeping Ramirez out of games, even though he will continue to hit in workouts.
“A thing we’re certainly not going to attempt to do is take a chance with this, and once you start playing it never goes away,” Torre said.
Torre said if Ramirez gets “a week or so of at-bats, it should be enough” for the slugger to be ready for opening day.
The 36-year-old Ramirez began working out with the Dodgers on March 4, a day after re-signing with the team by agreeing to a $45 million, two-year contract.
Torre said Ramirez is upset about the lingering injury.
“He was frustrated,” the manager said. “He’s always in a good frame of mind pretty much, but he certainly doesn’t like the inactivity.”
Mar
16
Big East puts up big number — 3 top NCAA seeds
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Built for basketball, the Big East is a big hit in March yet again.
Louisville, Pittsburgh and Connecticut helped the league that was created decades ago for hoops become the first conference to earn three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament.
North Carolina, the regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference champion, was the other top seed.
Still, the headlines on Selection Sunday belonged to the Big East, the league that gave us Patrick Ewing and John Thompson, one of the game’s biggest upsets (Villanova over Georgetown in 1985) and one of its greatest games (Syracuse over UConn in six overtimes just last week).
The coup of placing three teams on the top line comes 24 years after the Big East became the first league to get three teams in the Final Four – Georgetown, Villanova and St. John’s.
So much has changed since then. And so much has stayed the same.
“It speaks volumes for what it means to win the Big East,” said Louisville coach Rick Pitino, whose Cardinals are the tournament’s overall top seed and will play in the Midwest.
The Cardinals (28-5), winners of the regular-season and conference championships in the nation’s top-ranked conference, will open against the winner of an opening-round game Tuesday between Alabama State and Morehead State.
The rest of the tournament starts Thursday and Friday.
The Final Four is scheduled for Ford Field in Detroit on April 4 and 6. Last year, all four No. 1 teams made it to the Final Four. But Pitt (East), Carolina (South) and UConn (West) all know its called March Madness for a reason – things rarely go to form.
So, time to break out the brackets, sharpen some pencils and pay into an office pool (or two).
Maybe do a little griping here and there.
Among the aggrieved: Duke and Memphis, both overlooked in the quest for top seeding, settling for No. 2 seeds despite winning their conference tournaments. Memphis is often downgraded for playing in the less-than-steller Conference USA, but John Calipari’s team proved people wrong last year, making it to the national title game.
“I know people in the city are mad,” he said. “That’s OK. Good karma, good will.”
At least they’re in the big show.
Penn State, San Diego State and St. Mary’s were among those left out despite some impressive credentials. St. Mary’s went 26-6 but lost by 25 to Gonzaga in its conference tournament final.
“I was hoping common sense prevailed,” coach Randy Bennett said. “Using common sense, we’re one of the top 34 (at-large) teams. This was the best team we’ve ever had, so it’s just disappointing to be in this situation.”
Feeling much differently was Arizona, which extended its NCAA-leading streak of tournament appearances to 25. But this one might be the most hotly debated. The Wildcats finished 19-13 and were all but written off after a first-round loss in the Pac-10 tournament.
“They beat UCLA, they beat Gonzaga, they beat us,” said Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, whose team won the Pac-10 regular-season title. “I think people missed the boat on our conference this year. The selection committee understood the Pac-10 is better than people thought.”
Thrilled as Arizona was, maybe nobody got a bigger kick out of hearing their names called than the North Dakota State Bisons. New players on the Division I level, the ND State seniors all committed to a redshirt year when they arrived, knowing this would be the first year they’d be eligible for the tournament.
“We all talked about it and said we have to have the opportunity to go to the biggest basketball tournament our senior year,” guard Ben Woodside said.
Welcome to the party, fellas: Your first game is against defending national champion Kansas, the No. 3 seed in the Midwest.
Not surprisingly, the Big East also tied for the lead with seven teams in the tournament, along with the ACC and Big Ten.
The selection committee went with some travel arrangements that weren’t ideal but couldn’t be avoided. For instance, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah all travel to Miami, while Florida State goes to Boise, Idaho.
Whether Utah State’s Blue Bull mascot will also make it to Boise to square off with the Marquette Golden Eagle is still an unknown; the bull got in a fight with New Mexico State’s cowboy at the conference tournament and was suspended for the final.
It should be interesting to see if there’s any long-term effect from the six-overtime classic that Syracuse, third seed in the South, and UConn put on in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament – just another wonderful chapter in that conference’s storied history.
Founded in 1979, the Big East enjoyed all kinds of success in the early years. Yet football came into the mix and the league found itself on the verge of extinction only six years ago when Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech bailed for the ACC and a better situation on the gridiron.
The Big East went out and recruited Louisville, among other teams, and this year had five of the top 12 spots on the sport’s biggest stage (Villanova was also a No. 3)
Who’s laughing now?
“It just gives you an idea, if theoretically half the top teams in America are coming out of one conference, how difficult it was for anybody,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said.
Although the Big East had no problem with numbers, the Southeastern Conference placed only three teams in the tournament – the third coming only because Mississippi State won the conference tournament and earned the automatic bid.
That result, plus Southern California’s championship in the Pac-10 tournament, cost a couple of bubble teams spots among in the 65.
Among the last teams to make it were: Wisconsin, a 12th seed in the East; Maryland, a surprisingly high 10th seed in the Midwest; and Dayton, one of only four teams from small conferences to earn an at-large bid.
The so-called mid-major conferences have gone from nine at-large bids in 2005 to four this year. Besides St. Mary’s, Creighton got left out, as did New Mexico, UNLV and San Diego State, all from the Mountain West.
“We look at teams, we don’t use a label,” said Mike Slive, chairman of the selection committee. “It’s not about mid-major teams and major teams. It’s about teams. In the final analysis, it’s about who you play, where you play and how you do. It’s about teams, not about conferences.”
Penn State also got left out. The Nittany Lions had the 311th-ranked non-conference strength of schedule – certainly not a help in the selection group’s meeting room.
“We tried to deliver a message that it’s the entire body of work,” Slive said. “It starts in November and December and goes through the conference tournament.”
Feb
22
Maryland stuns No. 3 North Carolina 88-85 in OT
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Greivis Vasquez recorded Maryland’s first triple-double since 1987, and the Terrapins rallied from a 16-point deficit to shock No. 3 North Carolina 88-85 in overtime Saturday, ending the Tar Heels’ 10-game winning streak.
Vasquez had a career-high 35 points and 11 rebounds and 10 assists. The junior guard hit a key 3-pointer with 1:15 left and made two free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining to put Maryland up 88-85.
After North Carolina’s Ty Lawson lost the ball while heading toward the basket just before the buzzer, many of the 17,950 fans stormed the court to celebrate the unlikely upset.
The triple-double by Vasquez was the first for Maryland (17-9, 6-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) since Derrick Lewis did it twice in 1987.
Lawson led the Tar Heels (24-3, 10-3) with 24 points and Danny Green had 18.
North Carolina led 52-36 with 14:17 left in regulation.
Tyler Hansbrough had 11 points and 11 rebounds for North Carolina, which beat Maryland at home 108-91 earlier this month. But in the rematch, the Terrapins got career-best performances from Vasquez, who scored Maryland’s first 16 points, and Cliff Tucker, who finished with 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting.
After Green scored the first basket in overtime, Tucker made a layup and Vasquez nailed a 3-pointer to give the Terrapins their first lead since 18-17. Lawson tied it with a 3-pointer, but Vasquez put Maryland back in front by coolly making a shot from beyond the arc.
Lawson answered with two free throws, and the Terrapins played keep-away until Eric Hayes was fouled with 11.3 seconds to go. Hayes made both shots, and after Wayne Ellington made two foul shots for the Tar Heels, Vasquez was fouled and made his two at the line.
Down by 16, the Terrapins launched their comeback behind Tukcer and Hayes. Each made a 3-pointer in a 12-2 spurt that cut the gap to six, and after the Tar Heels went ahead 62-55, Hayes made two foul shots and Tucker scored on a drive and added a 3-pointer to get Maryland within 64-62.
Lawson then hit a jumper, Ellington added a free throw, Lawson connected from long range and Hansbrough capped the 8-0 run with a layup.
But it wasn’t enough. North Carolina led 76-70 before Vasquez scored with 1:24 to go, Hayes made a layup with 1:05 remaining and a layup by Vasquez with 8 seconds left forced the overtime.
Thompson scored 11 points, and North Carolina limited the Terrapins to 32 percent shooting in taking a 39-30 halftime lead.
After the Tar Heels went up 6-0, Vasquez’s opening flurry got the Terrapins to 17-16. Then, after Landon Milbourne blocked a shot by Hansbrough, Adrian Bowie made two free throws to give Maryland its first lead.
But the Terrapins went cold, going exactly 8 minutes without a field goal while missing 10 straight shots from field. During that time, Ellington made two baskets in a 10-0 run that put North Carolina ahead 27-18.
Hayes ended the drought with a 3-pointer with 5:37 to go, the first field goal by Terp other than Vasquez.
Feb
5
NEW YORK – Not quite Kobe Bryant. Definitely vintage LeBron James.
James scored a season-high 52 points in his 21st career triple-double, joined Michael Jordan as the only visitors with multiple 50-point games at the present Madison Square Garden, and led Cleveland to a 107-102 victory over New York on Wednesday night.
Two nights after Bryant set a record at the present building with 61 points, James was on pace to break it after scoring 20 in the first quarter.
His scoring eventually tailed off a bit, especially after he briefly left the game in the fourth quarter after cramping up, but the skills that make him perhaps the NBA’s premier all-around player remained throughout.
“I don’t go out there for the numbers, I just play my game,” James said. “You guys seen every phase of my game tonight, the scoring, the rebounding, the assists and defensively just trying to attack the opposing team.
“I never thought you could look at the box score and see somebody with 50 with a triple-double, but it’s happened.”
James added 11 assists and 10 rebounds, becoming the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 to have a triple-double in a 50-point game. James grabbed his final rebound with under 2 seconds left, then tumbled out of bounds as time expired.
“A pretty impressive triple-double,” Cleveland’s Wally Szczerbiak said. “I bet his fantasy owners are pretty happy.”
They were similar numbers to James’ game in New York last March, when he finished with 50 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Jordan is the only other visiting player to twice score 50 here, with a high of 55 that was the opponent record before Bryant broke it Monday night.
“The sad thing is that I’m sure LeBron said that it’s no big deal to get 61 points,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I’ll just get a triple-double. (Kobe) didn’t do that.”
Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 15 points, and Szczerbiak had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won four straight and eight of nine. They are off until a showdown with Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday in Cleveland, where the Cavaliers are 23-0.
Al Harrington scored 39 points for the Knicks, who fell to 0-2 during they’re referring to as “Dream Week,” games against the Lakers, Cavs and Boston Celtics. David Lee had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The focus on James’ first trip here in November was his free agency in 2010, days after the Knicks made a pair of trades to clear salary cap space for a run at him. This time, the building was still buzzing from Bryant’s performance, and the talk was on whether James could top it.
He said he wouldn’t try – unless the situation called for it.
“We go out and try to win ball games. Myself and Kobe go out and win ball games and sometimes we make games like that,” James said before the game.
“It just so happens where we get high numbers or we make an unbelievable play. It just happens that way. But we’re out there first of all trying to win the basketball game. I never go into a game saying I’m going to try to put up a decent amount of numbers or anything like that. I’ve never been that type of player.”
Yet he was looking for his own shot to start and was ahead of Bryant’s pace early on, draining a jumper at the buzzer to give him 20 points in the first quarter – two more than Bryant had – and Cleveland a 36-24 lead.
“I felt a few shots go in and just continued to try to work that hand and just try to see if I was really feeling hot, and I was able to knock a few shots down,” James said.
The Knicks used a 16-3 spurt to cut a 14-point deficit to 43-42 midway through the second, but the Cavs came out of a timeout with a play that led to an alley-oop pass for James’ dunk. He had 28 in the half, then found Ben Wallace alone for a layup as time expired that sent Cleveland to the locker room with a 57-52 advantage.
Unlike Monday, when the MSG crowd loudly cheered for Bryant, the fans were behind the Knicks in this one. They responded with a spirited performance after being blown out in the previous two meetings with Cleveland – James didn’t even play in the fourth quarter of either – and were down only one with 2 minutes to play.
James then scored on a drive to give him 50 points, and set up Ilgauskas for a bucket that gave the Cavs breathing room at 104-100 with 52 seconds remaining.
Notes:@ Eddy Curry rejoined the Knicks on Wednesday after taking a leave from the team to attend the funeral for an ex-girlfriend and her daughter who were shot to death in Chicago. D’Antoni said he wasn’t sure when Curry, who has been sidelined almost all season because of knee problems, would begin practicing again. … With Delonte West still out and Sasha Pavlovic not with the Cavs because of the flu, Szczerbiak made his second straight start. … Wallace, among the worst free throw shooters ever, airballed an attempt from the line in the first quarter.
Feb
3
Garden party: Kobe’s 61 sets MSG record
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NEW YORK – Kobe Bryant broke the current Madison Square Garden record with 61 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers looked plenty potent without Andrew Bynum in a 126-117 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night.
Bryant teased and pleased a sold-out crowd that took turns booing him and saluting him with “MVP!” chants during an electrifying performance. He passed Michael Jordan’s opponent record of 55 points at the present building, known as “Garden IV,” when he hit three free throws with 3:56 remaining, then bettered Bernard King’s mark of 60, set on Christmas Day 1984, with two more foul shots with 2:33 to play.
Bryant, who also finished with the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season, left to a loud ovation after the 24th 50-point game of his career. It was also his fifth 40-point game here.
Pau Gasol added 31 points and 14 rebounds in the Lakers’ first game since losing Bynum, their starting center, for eight to 12 weeks with a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee. They’ll be fine without him if Bryant plays the way he did Monday, going 19-of-31 with an array of tough jumpers, powerful drives to the basket and perfect foul shooting. He also hit all 20 free throws.
Bynum was hurt Saturday at Memphis when Bryant missed a driving shot, then crashed into his leg. The center isn’t expected to need surgery and said he was confident he would return in time for the playoffs.
Lamar Odom moved into the starting lineup and Gasol slid to the center spot to replace Bynum, who was carrying a tall black crutch, though he was limping along without using it. Odom had six points and 14 rebounds.
The Lakers reached the NBA finals last season despite losing Bynum for the final 46 games with an injury to his left knee, but they missed his inside presence when they were overpowered by Boston in six games.
Gasol and Odom were too big for the undersized Knicks, but the Lakers will get a truer test of where they are without Bynum when they visit the Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers later this week.
Al Harrington scored 24 points, David Lee had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and reserve Wilson Chandler added 20 points for the Knicks, who had won three straight and six of seven, but didn’t have the firepower to stay with the Western Conference leaders in the opener of their brutally tough week.
New York hosts Cleveland on Wednesday and Boston on Friday. It’s the first time a team has played three straight games against opponents with .750 winning percentages after Feb. 1 since the Celtics did it in February 1995, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said the daunting slate would give the Knicks the chance to “elevate” their game.
“These will be three great games to do that and whatever happens we’ll spin it the best way we can,” D’Antoni said before the game.
Odom made a free throw 14 seconds into the game to open the scoring, then Bryant and Gasol combined for the next 30 Los Angeles points. Bryant’s 3-pointer with 35 seconds left gave him 18 points and the Lakers a 31-26 lead headed to the second.
New York was down only one before Bryant returned from a break with 7:25 left in the half and took over the game. He scored nine points in a 1:15 span to make it 49-42 and had 16 points in the second quarter, giving Los Angeles a 65-54 advantage.
He hit the 40-point mark during a 15-4 spurt midway through the third quarter that allowed the Lakers to finally shake free of their Knicks.
Notes:@ Bryant and Lee both picked up NBA awards Monday. Bryant was the Western Conference player of the month after averaging 27.2 points and 7.1 assists while leading the Lakers to a 12-4 record in January. Lee won East player of the week behind his averages of 19 points and 15.3 rebounds, plus 53.5 percent shooting while helping the Knicks go 3-0. … Bryant’s previous best at Madison Square Garden was 46 points on Feb. 6, 2003.
Feb
2
Holmes goes from drug dealer to Super Bowl MVP
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TAMPA, Fla. – Santonio Holmes sat on the grass alongside the end zone – legs outstretched, head bowed, arms wrapped tightly around the ball.
He’d come too far to let go.
The kid who once sold drugs on a street corner had grown up to become MVP of a most remarkable Super Bowl.
Holmes, who overcame his gritty childhood in rural south Florida, made a brilliant touchdown catch with 35 seconds left to give the Pittsburgh Steelers their record sixth Super Bowl title, a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night.
“I dared the team,” Holmes said. “Just give me the ball, give me the chance to make plays and I will do it for you.”
He was true to his word on the 6-yard winner.
After a pass to the left corner went through Holmes’ hands, Ben Roethlisberger lofted the ball toward the right corner, over the hands of not one, not two, but three Arizona defenders. Holmes leaped to get it – and somehow managed to drag both feet in bounds, his toes barely scraping the grass before he tumbled out of bounds.
The official threw up both arms – touchdown! – and Holmes sat out of bounds for several seconds, looking down at a ball he didn’t want to give up. His teammates piled on top of him, celebrating a game that will go down as one of the greatest in Super Bowl history.
The referee took a look at the replay to make sure Holmes had control of the ball and got both feet down. The third-year receiver never had any doubt.
“I knew it was a touchdown 100 percent,” he said. “My feet never left the ground. All I did was stand on my toes and extend my hands.”
Amazingly, Holmes’ catch came at exactly the same point – 35 seconds remaining – as Plaxico Burress’ 13-yard touchdown catch in last year’s Super Bowl, giving the New York Giants their upset of the unbeaten New England Patriots.
That finish was a classic. This one was even better.
“The first read was the running back in the flat, but he wasn’t open,” Roethlisberger said. “Then I was going to try to bang it to Hines (Ward, MVP of the 2006 Super Bowl), but someone was closing in on it and I was a little nervous about it. It wouldn’t have been a touchdown. I looked back, scrambled a little bit and saw ‘Ton’ in the corner. I tried to throw it high so he was going to catch it, or no one was.
“Luckily, he made a heck of a play.”
Holmes was so good – nine catches for 131 yards, four of them on the winning 78-yard drive – that he actually managed to outshine teammate James Harrison, who seemed to be a shoo-in for the MVP award through three quarters.
“Santonio is a guy who just loves to deliver in big moments and big games,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.
Harrison, the NFL’s defensive player of the year, returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half. The longest play in Super Bowl history gave the Steelers a 17-7 lead heading to the locker room, and they stretched it to 20-7 after three periods.
But Kurt Warner and the gritty Cardinals rallied, going ahead 23-20 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining on Larry Fitzgerald’s 64-yard touchdown catch.
Then it was Holmes’ turn to shine. Earlier in the week, he used the Super Bowl stage to acknowledge selling drugs in Belle Glade, Fla., hoping his story would persuade other youngsters growing up in tough surroundings to turn their life around, just as he did.
Now, he’s given them another compelling reason to follow his path.
“This is a wonderful blessing,” Holmes said. “I would like to thank the Lord for helping me overcome all the things I overcame, the coaches for sticking with me, the organization for being behind me and believing in me, and my quarterback for giving me this opportunity to make plays for him all season.”
After being drafted in the first round out of Ohio State, Holmes matured into one of Pittsburgh’s key offensive players by his third season, making 55 catches for 821 yards and five touchdowns in 2008. He added three more scores in the playoffs.
“What he did tonight was similar to what he did in the month of January in the playoffs to get to this game,” Tomlin said. “In big moments we know what we can get from him.”
Before the final drive, Holmes told Roethlisberger to look his way. They hooked up for 14 yards. Then a 13-yarder. A 40-yard play took the Steelers to the Arizona 6.
And, finally, the one that mattered most of all.
“The sky’s the limit for that guy,” Roethlisberger said. “He has the potential to go where no receiver has ever gone. This is a big confidence boost for him.”
On Pittsburgh’s winning drive, Holmes and a hand – and feet – in all but 5 yards.
Roethlisberger actually looked for Holmes on first-and-goal, but he couldn’t hang on to the high throw. Holmes slapped the ground after the ball slipped through his hands, then headed back to huddle.
He was sure thankful to get another chance.
“I said to him that I wanted to be the guy to make the plays for this team,” Holmes said. “Great players step up in big-time games to make plays.”
Feb
2
Steelers rally to beat Cardinals 27-23
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TAMPA, Fla. – The winning play of the Super Bowl was right out of a schoolyard.
Scamble right, scramble left, find someone open.
The perfect unscripted ending to a game of improbable swings.
Their Steel Curtain shredded, Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes improvised the 6-yard touchdown with 35 seconds left that gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a record-setting sixth Super Bowl victory, 27-23 over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night.
“Great players step up in big-time games to make plays,” said Holmes, the game’s MVP. He said he told Roethlisberger that he “wanted to be the guy to make the plays for this team.”
And he was.
Holmes grabbed the ball with both arms stretched fully above his head in the back right corner of the end zone, his toes barely dragging inbounds. He fell, sat up and cradled the ball like the prize it was.
This thriller certainly matched last year’s upset of the New England Patriots by the New York Giants that ended with Plaxico Burress’ TD catch – with 35 seconds left, too.
But this one was even wilder. With the last tension-packed seconds ticking away, a kneeling Roethlisberger held coach Mike Tomlin’s hand as Kurt Warner led one last, but futile, drive.
“These guys just don’t blink,” Tomlin said. “They deliver. It’s never going to be pretty or perfect, if you will, but they have a great deal of resolve.”
The Steelers (15-4), winning their second Super Bowl in four seasons, led 20-7 in the fourth quarter, only to see Warner and the Cardinals stage a remarkable rally to go in front 23-20 with 2:37 remaining.
Warner hit All-Pro receiver Larry Fitzgerald in stride for a 64-yard touchdown and the lead. Already owning a slew of postseason receiving marks this year, Fitzgerald sped down the middle of the field, watching himself outrun the Steelers on the huge video screen.
Fitzgerald could only watch from the sideline as Roethlisberger engineered a 78-yard drive to win it in what resembled Heinz Field South. With waves of twirling Terrible Towels turning Raymond James Stadium into a black-and-gold tableau – Steelers fans supporting their beloved team, the economy be damned – Pittsburgh’s offense rescued the title.
“I knew it was a touchdown 100 percent,” Holmes said, even though it had to withstand a video review. “My feet never left the ground. All I did was stand up on my toes and extended my hands.”
And hauled in the pass that punctuated another Pittsburgh championship, adding to those won in the 1974, ‘75, ‘78, ‘79 and ‘05 seasons.
The stunning swings overshadowed Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison’s record 100-yard interception return for a touchdown to end the first half. That looked like the signature play until the final quarter, when both teams shook off apparent knockout punches to throw haymakers of their own.
Big Ben and Holmes struck the last blow, and when Warner fumbled in the final seconds, the Cardinals’ dream of winning their first NFL crown since 1947 were gone.
“I said it’s now or never, I told the guys all the film study you put in doesn’t matter unless you do it now,” Roethlisberger said. “I’m really proud of the way they responded.”
The Cardinals (12-8), playing in their first Super Bowl and first championship game of any kind since 1948, lost their composure after Harrison’s heroics. They had three penalties to keep Pittsburgh’s 79-yard drive going, a 16-play march that ended with Jeff Reed’s 21-yard field goal for a 20-7 lead.
And they couldn’t get Fitzgerald free until very late. But boy did he get free.
The All-Pro who already had set a postseason record for yards receiving and had five touchdowns in the playoffs was a nonentity until an 87-yard fourth-quarter drive he capped with a leaping 1-yard catch over Ike Taylor. He made four receptions on that series on which Warner hit all eight passes for all the yards.
And then he struck swiftly for the 64-yarder that put Arizona within minutes of a remarkable victory – a victory that never came because of the resilience of this Steelers team.
“I’m disappointed for our team,” said Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, the offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh when the Steelers won the 2005 title. “This is a group of men that I’m very proud of. They played very hard in circumstances where nobody believed in them.
“We learned a lot about our team, it’s just unfortunate it had to come out that way.”
Pittsburgh looked like the offensive juggernaut to open the game, smoothly driving 71 yards in eight plays. But the 72nd yard that would have given the Steelers a touchdown never came.
It looked like it had when Roethlisberger’s short run was ruled a TD. Whisenhunt challenged, and the score was overturned, leaving Tomlin his first difficult decision.
He took the points, Reed’s 18-yard field goal, the shortest in a Super Bowl since 1976.
After forcing a punt, the Steelers kept the ball the remainder of the first quarter – 11:28 in all, outgaining Arizona 140-13, getting seven first downs to one for the Cardinals. As Warner and the usually potent Cardinals’ offense watched, frustrated, from the sideline, Pittsburgh plowed it in on Gary Russell’s 1-yard run to make it 10-0.
When Arizona finally got the ball back, it knocked the Steelers off balance with short passes – and one huge play.
Warner, handed the NFL Man of the Year trophy just before kickoff, then hit Anquan Boldin streaking from left to right. He was upended at the Pittsburgh 1, and Warner’s lob to Ben Patrick got Arizona on the board. It was the tight end’s first touchdown this season.
Arizona’s defense then emulated the Steel Curtain with a big play. Bryan Robinson tipped Roethlisberger’s pass high into the air and Karlos Dansby corralled it at the Pittsburgh 34. The Cardinals got to the 1, then, perhaps jealous, the Steelers’ D asserted itself – magnificently.
Harrison, the defensive player of the year, stepped in front of Boldin at the goal line, picked off Warner’s throw and began a journey down the right sideline that ended as the longest play in Super Bowl history.
Harrison ran past or through most of the Cardinals, nearly stepped out of bounds at one point, and was dragged down by Fitzgerald as he fell to the goal line. The play was reviewed as several Cardinals knelt on one knee, exhausted from the chase and disheartened by the result.
“Those last couple of yards were probably tougher than anything I’ve done in my life, but probably more gratifying than anything I’ve done in football,” Harrison said.
“I didn’t see him around my offensive line,” Warner said. “He made a great play and a great run to get them a touchdown.”
Jan
17
TEMPE, Ariz. - After missing a playoff game with an injured hamstring, Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin said he expects to play in the NFC championship against Philadelphia on Sunday. “I’m feeling good,” Boldin said after practice Friday. “I’ve been able to practice all week, so if nothing else happens at this point, I’ll be out on the field.”
Boldin, who with Larry Fitzgerald forms possibly the best receiving tandem in football, said a trip to a Dallas chiropractor this week greatly improved his strained left hamstring. The injury kept Boldin out of the Cardinals’ 33-13 victory at Carolina in Saturday’s divisional playoff game.
Boldin has practiced each of the last three days, and he said he should be able to run all his normal pass routes Sunday.
“For me, it isn’t a problem either way right now,” Boldin said. “It’s not grabbing, so I don’t have any problem with it. I’m able to run short and deep routes.”
Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said he didn’t know how the hamstring might limit Boldin against the Eagles.
“I think we’ll get a better feel as the game goes on,” Whisenhunt said. “I expect him to be in the game. We’ll see how it goes, how he gets involved with the flow of the game. Obviously, we’ll give him as much as he can handle.”
Boldin injured his hamstring on a 71-yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner in the second quarter of Arizona’s 30-24 wild-card victory over Atlanta on Jan. 3. Boldin caught 89 passes for 1,038 yards and 11 touchdowns in the regular season despite missing four games with injuries.
Warner said Boldin hasn’t been slowed in practice this week.
“I’m sure only Anquan knows how good he feels,” Warner said. “But at least he’s been running around. You haven’t noticed any discrepancy in the way he’s running or the way he’s pushing himself, and so we’re excited about that because he obviously adds another dimension to our football team and another weapon and a go-to guy.”
For Philadelphia, running back Brian Westbrook, who has a knee injury, practiced Friday for the first time in three days and is expected to play.
Westbrook said he tweaked the knee in last week’s divisional playoff victory over the New York Giants but that it “just feels good.
“I don’t know what it is,” Westbrook said after practice Friday. “I just feel good right now.”
Offensive tackle Jon Runyan, who also has a knee injury, didn’t practice all week but is likely to play. Runyan has played in 212 consecutive games, including the playoffs.
Eagles safety Brian Dawkins, who has a back injury, also participated fully in practice for the second consecutive day.