Florida Sports Fan Blog

The Florida Panthers are fresh off a shutout loss that marked their third such defeat in 11 games.

Their coach called it “a step in the right direction.”

The team again is plummeting out of the playoff picture, prompting the general manager to say it’s time to “retool” the roster and nobody is off-limits. But Friday’s trade deadline passed with no moves beyond one announced a day earlier.

The GM said “we made good progress.”

In fairness, the shutout loss came on a night in which the Panthers hit the goalpost six times. And Friday’s deadline only freezes rosters until after the Olympic break, meaning nobody in the locker room should feel comfy.

If that wasn’t obvious by GM Randy Sexton’s heated comments after a loss Tuesday, it was on the club’s Web site Friday, when new managing partners Cliff Viner and Stu Siegel posted a sharply worded, signed letter.

“We must admit the significant shortcomings we have as an organization,” they wrote, “and we must move quickly and efficiently to overcome these shortcomings.”

The partners said their goals included qualifying for the playoffs “on an annual basis” and contending for the Stanley Cup “in the near future.” They pointed a finger at players who have dropped five straight entering tonight’s home game against Boston, the final outing before the Olympic break.

Click here to read the full article – By Palm Beach Post

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It starts with Vinny. For a new Lightning owner, it always does.

He has seen them all, Vinny Lecavalier. He could tell you about the cheap ones and the mouthy ones, about the ones who patted his back and the ones who pounded their chests, about the ones who said nothing and the ones who said things you couldn’t trust.

Soon, Lecavalier will provide us with the first clues about Jeff Vinik, owner-in-waiting.

Eventually, perhaps other things will matter more when Lightning fans judge Vinik. Perhaps he will finally bring stability to the franchise. Perhaps he will finally make the rest of the league think of the Lightning as a smart, calculating franchise. Perhaps he will be hungry enough, passionate enough, wealthy enough to make the Lightning essential once again. Perhaps he’ll even hang around for a few seasons.

For now, however, there is Vinny.

Do you think Vinik can get to him?

Soon, the Lightning will be his. Perhaps by the team’s next game (on March 2), the deal will be complete. (The transaction might have been completed by now, but word is NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has misplaced his rubber stamp again, and owners say they won’t buy him a new one until at least March.)

Still, this feels as if it is all but done. Before long, Vinik will close the deal on the schizophrenia of a team and the apathy of the fans, on the underachieving players and the overpaid ones, on a defense that can allow four goals in the time it takes you to sneeze and on an offense that seems to think the net is currently starring in the final season of Lost.

Click here to read the full article – By Gary Shelton of St. Petersburg Times

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A day after the players held a closed-door meeting and General Manager Randy Sexton told reporters he was ready to clean house if his team didn’t play with more passion, the Panthers were in a foul mood.

“We haven’t shown up to play,’ defenseman Keith Ballard said after a 40-minute practice Wednesday. “We haven’t competed hard enough and we haven’t been desperate enough to win games, and we haven’t deserved to win them.

“We’re letting each other down. (Goaltender Tomas Vokoun) is playing his butt off, and we’re not giving him any support.’

That’s an understatement. The Panthers have scored 13 goals in their last 11 games, including four during their current four-game losing streak.

The offense took another hit when coach Peter DeBoer confirmed that forward Rostislav Olesz suffered what is believed to be a broken hand in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to Carolina. He will be out for the final two games before the 16-day Olympic break and perhaps longer. Although Olesz hasn’t scored a goal in his past 11 games, he is still fifth on the team with 26 points.

Snapping the scoring drought won’t be easy. These next two games at home are against Northwest Division-leading Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins. Vancouver is led by former Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, who has a 2.33 goals-against average on a team that has allowed the third-fewest goals.

Click here to read the full article – By Palm Beach Post

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Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said he will be hanged if he doesn’t play goaltender Antero Niittymaki tonight against the Bruins.

By whom? The players? Fans?

“No, no,” Tocchet said, insisting he spoke in jest. “But the kid is 7-0-1. I’d be crazy not to. You ride him. He’s a hot hand.”

Scorching, really, though Niittymaki’s record in his past eight starts doesn’t tell the whole story.

It’s one thing to win. It’s another to carry a team that during a 7-1-1 roll has scored 22 goals, a paltry 2.4 average, though that is plenty when your goalie is in a stretch with a 1.09 goals-against average and .965 save percentage in the seven wins and one shootout loss.

“He’s been amazing,” defenseman Andrej Meszaros said.

Please, Niittymaki said, “It’s not that huge a deal.”

“You’re just relaxed and patient and wait for the puck to come to you,” he said Wednesday at the Ice Sports Forum. “I’m not out there in a zone. You feel good and things are going good. That’s about it.”

Click here to read the full article – By St. Petersburg Times

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“It wasn’t exactly a bold prediction, but Panthers defenseman Keith Ballard correctly forecast after Sunday’s win that goalie Tomas Vokoun would be the team’s defensive player of the month.

Vokoun earned a more prestigious honor Monday.

he 33-year-old veteran was named the NHL’s Third Star for January. Capitals winger Alexander Ovechkin was the First Star while Canucks center Henrik Sedin was Second Star.

Vokoun capped one of the best months in his career Sunday by notching his fourth shutout in January. He posted an 8-4-2 record with a 1.49 goals-against average and .956 save percentage and allowed more than two goals in just three of his 14 starts. Two of those three games were against the high-powered Capitals.

Vokoun made his 16th consecutive start Monday against the Ducks and coach Pete DeBoer plans to go with him the final five games before the Olympic break. He won’t get any rest then.

Click here to read the full article – By Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

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It was just as well the puck found its way back to Steven Stamkos after his blazing shot clanked off the post Sunday against the Capitals.

There was no time to fret missing a chance to tie the score because he immediately got another.

“I might have tried to shoot it a little harder,” the Lightning center said.

But not blindly.

“The most important thing,” he said, “is to hit the net.”

Stamkos picked a top, inside corner, right where he aimed; another display of one of the league’s most devastating shots, a one-time slap shot from the left faceoff circle that consistently finds the short side between goaltender and post.

“He has one of the best shots in the league from that position,” coach Rick Tocchet said.

It is a main reason Stamkos has a team-best 29 goals and entered Monday tied for the league lead with 12 on the power play.

The shot also is one of the best ways to measure how far Stamkos, 2008’s No. 1 overall draft pick, has come in confidence and production.

In the 87 games since Jan. 29, 2009, when he was benched for a third and final time as part of last season’s program to make him a smarter and stronger player, Stamkos has 83 points on 46 goals and 37 assists.

Compare that with six goals and 13 assists in 46 games prior, during which he admitted thinking, “My shot’s not as good. My hands aren’t as good,” and that he might be better off back in juniors.

Click here to read the full article – By St. Petersburg Times

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Florida Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez has packed a dozen balls and a glove for the organization’s upcoming tour of Iraq and Kuwait.

“You never know. Maybe we’ll do a little scouting trip while we’re there,” Gonzalez said with a chuckle Friday.


The more serious goal is to spread some goodwill among the troops.

Joining Gonzalez will be NL Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan, catcher John Baker, president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest and four members of the team’s Mermaids dance crew.

The group flies Sunday from Washington to Kuwait. The Marlins say the weeklong trip, sponsored by Armed Forces Entertainment, is the first of its kind for a major league club since the Iraq war began.

The Marlins said they’ll be ready to play catch, pass out souvenirs or share stories about life in the majors — whatever helps the troops take their minds off the war.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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Of the 119 players on the NBA’s 3-point accuracy chart this season, the Indiana Pacers might be surprised to learn who ranked next-to-last.


Dwyane Wade might not stay there much longer.

Only a 27 percent shooter from long range, Wade made his first four attempts from beyond the arc — including one that counted after goaltending, of all things — and scored a game-high 32 points as the Heat easily beat the Pacers 113-83 on Tuesday night.

“I’ve been feeling good about my shot lately,” said Wade, who topped the 11,000-point mark for his career on a second-quarter layup. “I think my first shot was a 3, which I normally try not to do. But I was in rhythm, shot it, hit it and after that the confidence was up.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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The Denver Broncos and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan have agreed to part ways, and a source told ESPN.com’s John Clayton that Nolan is close to an agreement to take on the same role with the Miami Dolphins.

Before the split, Miami sent in a request for permission to interview Nolan, sources close to the situation told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. The parting was friendly and gave Nolan a chance to move on and talk to the Dolphins, the source told Clayton.

The Dolphins fired defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni and have struggled to find a quick replacement. The Dolphins’ interest in Nolan apparently opened the door for the chance for Nolan to get to Miami.

Nolan becomes the third member of coach Josh McDaniels’ inaugural staff to depart following a disappointing 8-8 finish. Offensive line coach Rick Dennison left for Houston’s staff and longtime running backs coach Bobby Turner was reunited with Mike Shanahan in Washington. Both Dennison and Turner were holdovers from the Shanahan era.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

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After conducting his most extensive review in 15 years, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver decided to stick with coach Jack Del Rio.

At least for another year.

Weaver held a half-day meeting with Del Rio on Tuesday, then said the two would continue their rebuilding project with the Jaguars.

“I believe in Jack, that’s he’s the guy,” Weaver said two days before his 75th birthday. “After going through this process, Jack is the guy that can get us there. The fans have to have enough trust in me to believe that I’m making the right decision for the franchise.”

The announcement came amid reports that Del Rio was a candidate to succeed Pete Carroll at Southern California. Carroll left USC to become the Seattle Seahawks coach. The L.A. Daily News reported Monday that Del Rio, an All-American linebacker for the Trojans in 1984, had been sent a contract to sign.

“Didn’t even talk about that,” Weaver said. “I wasn’t interested in that. I was interested in if Jack wanted to be here and was committed to this franchise and that he shared my vision and my goals for this franchise and how we go forward. That was the substance of the conversations.”

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

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