Game 1

- Great power play. Shutout by Turco. Huge win in game 1 against the defending champs.

- The Stars made the self-proclaimed toughest team in the league pay for their ignorance. Anaheim is really just a bunch of arrogant goons. One of the dirtiest teams in the league. Late hits, bad penalties, after the whistle antics. And the Stars nailed them for it.

- Stars shut them out, look for the road sweep Saturday night.

Dallas Stars dominate Ducks in Game 1, 4-0

04:14 AM CDT on Friday, April 11, 2008
By MIKE HEIKA / The Dallas Morning News
mheika@dallasnews.com

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Dallas Stars may have surprised even themselves Thursday night by playing a game that has been missing for almost a month and shutting down the defending Stanley Cup champions on their home ice in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

Not only did Dallas put together the kind of team effort that was a hallmark of this squad earlier in the season, it laid a huge amount of doubt onto the table for the Anaheim Ducks and their fans.

The Stars went 4-for-7 on the power play and took a 4-0 victory against a team that touted the best home record in the NHL. It also set up a big challenge for the Ducks, who must rebound in Game 2 on Saturday or face the prospect of going down 2-0 in the series with Game 3 and Game 4 in Dallas next week.

"It’s a good start, but we can’t get too high," Stars center Mike Modano said. "We need to get some rest and then get ramped up again. You have to respond because you know they’re going to answer the bell."

"We couldn't have drawn it up any better," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow, who scored the final goal. "We stayed smart. We stayed disciplined. And we took advantage on the power play."

The power play had been in a slump, but it was missing Mike Ribeiro, Jere Lehtinen and Brad Richards, who each have been battling soreness and illness. The Stars got their roster back intact (minus Sergei Zubov) Thursday and seemed to have a ton of energy. That allowed Stars coach Dave Tippett to put Morrow with Ribeiro and Lehtinen, and put Richards with Loui Eriksson and Joel Lundqvist. The Ribeiro line continued to be the top scoring line for the Stars, as Morrow had a goal and two assists, Lehtinen scored a goal and had an assist, and Ribeiro earned two assists.

The Stars ran the majority of the power play with Modano and Stephane Robidas, and they made the Ducks pay for their mistakes.

"There were a lot of things that weren’t as good as they should have been,’’ said Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer. "We did take some bad penalties, but they seemed to find a way to score at will."

Steve Ott tipped a Robidas shot for the first goal. Eriksson was wide open on the second. Lehtinen and Morrow found space in the slot for the last two, thanks in large part to Ribeiro’s smart play. But when the Stars weren’t on the power play, they had to make smart plays, as well. Rookie Matt Niskanen drew the first penalty, Trevor Daley the second, Philippe Boucher the third, and Mattias Norstrom the fourth. The Stars defense did the right thing in a lot of different situations while playing under heavy pressure.

Marty Turco finished with 23 saves and recorded his fourth career playoff shutout – the fourth in his last seven playoff games.

"I don’t want to single any part of it out, because I thought Turco had some great saves, I thought our defense did a great job in front of the net, and I thought our forwards did a great job in defending," Tippett said.

Mix in strong playoff debuts for Niskanen (22:07 in ice time) and Niklas Grossman (15:39), and you have an impressive performance down the line.

"What was great about this win is that we did it as a team," Robidas said. "Honestly, we used everybody. Everybody was important in this game. When we do that, that's when we really are a good team."

That team feeling was important, especially with the team’s playoff history. The Stars had lost five straight Game 1s with Tippett as their coach and Turco in goal. They were 1-4 in those series. To put the pressure on the opposition was definitely a nice change.

"I can’t remember the last time we won a Game 1," Morrow said. "It was huge."

That said, it was just one game, players reminded.

"We have to be ready for Saturday, because we know they’re going to be ready, and we know it’s going to be twice as hard as tonight was,’’ Boucher said. "And tonight was not easy."

It just looked that way.





- I don't even know what to say anymore. I'm not sure what else I can write about Dirk.



Dirk's dagger gets Dallas Mavericks in playoffs

04:32 AM CDT on Friday, April 11, 2008
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

The playoffs became more than a rumor Thursday night for the Mavericks.

And the Mavericks became much more than an afterthought for anybody gauging their chances in the postseason.

In one of the most entertaining games of this or any regular season, the Mavericks made the last of many huge plays – Dirk Nowitzki's 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left – to outlast the Utah Jazz, 97-94, at American Airlines Center.

The win, coupled with Denver's win at Golden State, clinched a playoff berth for the Mavericks.

The way they won it clinched far more than a spot in the bracket. The Jazz had won four in a row, including the last two against San Antonio and New Orleans, who managed an average of 65 points against the Jazz.

The Mavs passed that by the end of the third quarter. Then, they bowed up to make some gutsy plays down the stretch for their third win in a row and fifth in six games.

"Out of all the games when we started this run, this is one game I really was keeping my eyes on and seeing how far we've come in the physicality department," coach Avery Johnson said. "If we'd have lost this game, obviously, I wouldn't have felt great. But I thought we battled."

The Mavericks, who reached 50 wins for the eighth straight season, had made a season out of losing games just like this. They now have pulled a couple of them out in the last week and their attitude heading toward the playoffs is as positive as it's been all season.

The last, frantic minute made the difference. The lead had flip-flopped 10 times in the fourth quarter alone. The Mavs went up 94-91 on two Jason Terry free throws with 9.4 seconds to go. Terry had 21 points, all after halftime.

But Utah's Deron Williams banked in a 3-pointer with 5.8 ticks left to tie the score.

The Mavericks had no timeouts left and it was a good thing. They inbounded quickly, with Jason Kidd shoveling the ball to Eddie Jones, who found Nowitzki on the left wing, just outside the arc. His 3-pointer made it eight points in the final 9.4 seconds and delivered the Mavericks an emotional, gut-checking win.

"No lead in this league is comfortable anymore, and we know Utah keeps on playing," Nowitzki said. "Over the last three or four weeks, we lost those close games. We were able to pull it out."

They did so without Josh Howard for most of the second half. He played just three minutes after halftime after bruising his right knee, aggravating an injury he suffered Sunday in Phoenix. Howard said he doesn't think the injury is serious.

It was a heartbreaker for Utah, which reacted after Williams' 3-pointer like it was expecting the Mavericks to call a timeout.

"I think it was the excitement of, 'Wow, that shot just banked in,'" said Kyle Korver, who found himself trying to guard two Mavericks in the quick trip downcourt. "We just didn't get back, and he hit a big, big shot."

Nowitzki finished with 32 points. But he got loads of help from Jones, Eddie George and Brandon Bass, all of whom played key roles off the bench.

"We wanted to get progressively better," Johnson said of the Mavericks finally nailing down a playoff spot. "We had a major setback in terms of trying to get our team together once we made this trade, and now we seem to have it moving in the right direction."




- Doubleheader sweep??? Great starting pitching? Great bullpen work?? Over .500 for the first time since 2006?



Win-win situation: Texas Rangers above .500 after DH sweep

12:57 AM CDT on Friday, April 11, 2008
By TODD WILLS / The Dallas Morning News
twills@dallasnews.com

ARLINGTON – The Rangers are over .500 for the first time in the Ron Washington era.

But that was the last thing the second-year manager wanted to talk about after the Rangers swept Thursday's doubleheader from Baltimore, previously the hottest team in the American League.

The topics of interest to Washington after the 3-1 and 5-4 victories were the Rangers' surprising starting pitching, timely and aggressive hitting and the bookend saves by first-year closer C.J. Wilson.

To Washington, those were a much bigger deal than improving to 5-4, even if it's the first time the Rangers have been above .500 since Sept, 23, 2006, when they were 78-77.

"We've played only nine ballgames," Washington said. "We're playing very well. Ask me when we're 15 or 20 games over .500, then yeah, maybe I'll be excited about it."

Washington had plenty to be excited about Thursday. Some of the highlights:

•The starting pitching continues to shine. Kevin Millwood and Kason Gabbard combined to allow four earned runs in 12 2/3 innings. That gives the Rangers' rotation a 2.88 ERA entering today's series against Toronto.

Millwood has been the staff's ringleader, even if his win Thursday was only his first in three starts. He left with a 1.29 ERA.

The Rangers gave Millwood a five-year contract to be the leader of the pitching staff, and in his third season, he may be doing just that.

"My whole deal was to get off to a good start," Millwood said. "I think I've done that."

•The offense finally produced in the clutch after sleeping through Tuesday's home opener, an 8-1 loss. It took awhile Thursday, as the Rangers were hitless in their first six chances with runners in scoring position in Game 1.

"Up until the seventh, there wasn't much we could do," Washington said.

Ian Kinsler had a one-out single and stole second on his own. He scored the go-ahead run on Michael Young's line drive to center.

Young was then given the green light from Washington. He stole second and scored on an aggressive decision by third-base coach Matt Walbeck on Josh Hamilton's shallow fly ball to right field.

Young and Kinsler had the key hits in Game 2. Young had a home run to get the offense going in the first inning, and Kinsler snapped a 4-4 tie in Game 2 with a run-scoring single.

Wilson retired all six batters he faced in the two games. He was so effective in the first game, throwing 10 pitches, that he was available to come back in the second.

Wilson credited Joaquin Benoit and Jamey Wright, who produced quality efforts in front of him.

"It helps when guys are setting you up," Wilson said.

Building his legacy

- Dirk continues to lead, inspire, put this team on his back, and build his Dallas sports legacy. What he's doing can't be discounted. Not only is he out there playing hurt, he's producing and continuing to be the go-to guy that this team has to have.

- This team is a collection of average talent surrounded by a superstar. So for Dirk to come back and just be a spot up shooter and "just a guy," wouldn't help in the least.

- Some actual tangible good coaching moves by Avery yesterday. Putting Dirk on Raja Bell to save him for offense (basically the Bruce Bowen move when they play San Antonio). Putting Devean George on Amare. Sticking with Brandon Bass and Dampier for major minutes. Game by game, letting the reins loose on Kidd.

- What a win. Holding that offense to 9 points in the 4th. Holding Nash to 4-17 shooting, 0-6 in the 4th. And showing some sack on the road, late in the year, in a must win game, and winning that bastard.

No Time For Pain, So Dirk And Mavs Gain

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

PHOENIX -- Dirk Nowitzki stumbled about 18 times by his own count as he drove left, gathered himself with one crucial step to rattle in a fall-away baseline dagger out of nobody's textbook, then showed us his truly unorthodox move.

Nowitzki didn't pop his jersey in celebration. He tugged it from the bottom.

Instead of grabbing it at the top to puff out the DALLAS on his chest, like Kobe Bryant and everyone else does, Nowitzki commemorated the biggest basket of the Mavericks' season by pulling tightly on his shirttail, trying for the same effect.

"I was too hyped up," Nowitzki said later with a laugh, "to even know what I was doing."

You could forgive Nowitzki for that one misstep and understand his emotional overspill Sunday, when he continued to dazzle playing basically on one leg. In only his third game back from a high ankle sprain that typically sidelines athletes in all sports from three to six weeks -- and which shelved the NBA's reigning MVP for only nine days -- Nowitzki had 32 points and 12 boards in 38 stubborn minutes.

The big difference for the visitors on this given Sunday: Dallas supplemented Nowitzki's show with its best all-around fourth quarter in forever, holding the uncharacteristically sleepy Phoenix Suns to a season-low nine points in the period to surge back from a double-digit deficit and claim a crucial 105-98 victory at US Airways Center.

The win didn't officially clinch anything for the Mavs, but the joy and obvious relief on their bench at the end suggested otherwise. It's the Mavs' first win over a team that is definitely playoff-bound since reacquiring Jason Kidd -- Wednesday's victims from Golden State, remember, are not in the West's top eight at the minute -- and almost certainly separates Dallas from the Nuggets and Warriors in the race for the final two playoff spots.

Especially with Denver capping a disastrous weekend by stunningly losing in double overtime at Seattle late Sunday.

"It meant more to them," Suns guard Steve Nash said of the Mavericks, "and they showed it."

It meant more to the Mavs because of their 1-11 record against winning teams with Kidd coming in. Nash's old team looked headed for 1-12, too, when some active switching, dominant board work (18-7 in the fourth quarter) and pesky hands on D combined with an inexplicable meltdown of the Suns' vaunted O to turn a 91-78 deficit into a 94-91 lead.

The Mavs didn't exactly flow freely on offense down the stretch, as has been their custom in recent weeks. Coach Avery Johnson's natural instinct to slow the game down when it gets tight, combined with occasional hesitation from Kidd running a new team, has seen Dallas' ball and player movement shut down in numerous crunch times lately. Yet compared to Phoenix, Dallas was running a virtual layup line in this fourth quarter with eight baskets and 13 trips to the line, while the befuddled hosts went nearly eight minutes without a point.

Nowitzki wound up outscoring the Suns by himself in the fourth, 12-9, with no more Shawn Marion to chase him around and Phoenix finding no suitable replacement in the teams' first meeting since they swung their blockbusters. Dirk's old pal Nash, meanwhile, missed all six of his shots in the quarter to somehow finish 4-for-17 from the field, with Kidd shadowing him well throughout and Nash unable to cash in on a few open looks he did get.

All of that added up to a comeback which served another purpose for the desperate Mavs, highlighting two important areas where they have shown improvement since the Kidd trade in spite of what the standings say.

No. 1: For all the fretting about what the losses of Devin Harris and DeSagana Diop would do to the Mavs defensively, they've actually had more consistency problems offensively, putting up some top-quality resistance against Boston, San Antonio and now Phoenix. "We've been doing this -- playing pretty good defense -- for a while now," Kidd said after totaling eight points, seven assists, six rebounds, four steals and, yes, four blocks. ("They were all below-the-belt blocks," Kidd joked.)

No. 2: Nowitzki is playing with emotion and a swagger that, until Kidd's Feb. 19 arrival, you hadn't seen since last season. Having a player of Kidd's stature to help him for really the first time since Nash's free-agent return to Phoenix in the summer of 2004 has clearly pumped Nowitzki with fresh hope and energy.

That's in spite of the Mavs' recent slump and an injury that still bugs him plenty. For all of Nowitzki's well-chronicled healing powers after numerous ankle sprains in his 10 seasons, Johnson estimates that his franchise player has regained only 60 to 75 percent of his mobility.

"It's not necessarily that Dirk is a fast healer," said Mavs athletic trainer Casey Smith, who doubles as a member of the Team USA training staff.

"He's back playing so fast because he does everything possible to return as quickly as possible and because he is by far one of the toughest players I've ever worked with. Everyone thinks that once he's back on the court that he's healed up, but in reality he usually deals with his injuries for days or even weeks after returning."

Yet it's a reality Nowitzki can block out after a win like this, coupled with the crushing loss Denver suffered in Seattle. The Mavs have seen just enough in the past week -- including a surge back to prominence from Josh Howard (24 points) and some more flashes from Brandon Bass (19 in 24 minutes after earning just 12 seconds of PT in Friday's loss to the Lakers) -- to think that they can rebound from that 0-10 start against winning teams with Kidd to be a dangerous first-round foe for New Orleans, San Antonio or L.A.

After all . . .

Owner Mark Cuban has been reminding folks for days now: Houston finished 17-18 in the 1994-95 season after acquiring Clyde Drexler at midseason and still went on to win the championship. Another pertinent bit of history along those lines that the Mavs know all too well: Shaquille O'Neal's Miami Heat went a humbling 2-12 against division leaders in the 2005-06 season and wound up overturning Dallas' 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals to win it all.

Could this have been one of those nationally televised Sundays that turns around someone's season, like Phoenix did on March 9 with a come-from-behind home win over the defending champs from San Antonio?

"It can't do anything but help," Johnson said.

Nowitzki took it a step further on his one leg, suggesting that having so much at stake in early April could ultimately prepare Dallas better for the playoffs than last season's 67-win romp did.

"In some ways, I like this better," Nowitzki said. "We didn't play a meaningful game after March last year."




- From the Arizona paper.

Suns go cold vs. Mavs

Paul Coro - Apr. 6, 2008 03:22 PM
The Arizona Republic

The Suns entered the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against Dallas needing only to score 20 points to become the NBA's top offense.

Instead, Phoenix blew a 13-point lead by looking like the worst offense around. The Suns went scoreless for nearly eight minutes in the fourth and Steve Nash missed his final seven shots in a 105-98 loss to Dallas at US Airways Center.

The team that had averaged 114.8 points to win 11 of its previous 14 games and had efficiently scored 89 points in Sunday's first three quarters disappeared.

After a Shaquille O'Neal turnaround opened the fourth quarter for a 91-78 lead, the Suns spent the next 7:51 with the sort of offensive helplessness that made Miami look potent. Phoenix missed 12 shots as the Mavericks' 16-0 run sent them to a win, making them 2-11 against winning teams since adding Jason Kidd.

The Suns still cinched a playoff spot with Golden State's and Denver's losses on Sunday but fell to sixth place in the West, three games ahead of Dallas, which now is firmly in the seventh spot. A Pacific Division title appears unlikely with Phoenix trailing the Lakers by two games with five games to play and Los Angeles holding the tiebreaker.

"Everything was going well for three quarters and their backs were really against the wall, so psychologically we were at two different places, and they played like it," Nash said. "It meant more to them, and they showed it."

Phoenix's seven-game home win streak ended with a 27-9 fourth quarter in which the Suns scored two more than the club's worst fourth quarter ever. In that 7:51, the Suns showed unfortunate balance, with six players missing and misfires coming from all over the floor. This came after shooting 50 percent with seven turnovers in the first three quarters.

"It's kind of like when you have a sugar high and crash," Suns forward Grant Hill said.

The Suns still had time to rally but did not score off two late Dallas turnovers. Then saw Dirk Nowitzki cap a 32-point game by scoring twice in the final minute after Phoenix had cut the lead to four.

"The momentum changed," said Stoudemire, who scored 31 points. "We couldn't warm back into it. They kept their guys in that got hot, and it was hard to slow them down."The difference in aggression was shown with the Suns not drawing a foul until the fourth quarter's seventh minute. By then, Dallas was in the penalty and scored 11 fourth-quarter points on free throws.

"The good thing is with Phoenix, you can be up 14 or down 14 and you're always in the game," Nowitzki said. "They play a fast-paced style and we play a fast-paced style so you're never really out of the game."

Until losing the lead with 5:15 to go in the game, the Suns had held the lead for 19 consecutive minutes after Boris Diaw's 12-point second quarter put the Suns in front.




- A 3-3 roadtrip with great starting pitching?



Texas Rangers end West swing with 10-4 win


08:05 PM CDT on Sunday, April 6, 2008
By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News
egrant@dallasnews.com

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Their record suggests the Rangers just treaded water on their season-opening West Coast swing.

Records can be deceiving.

On the way to splitting a six-game trip to Seattle and Los Angeles – topped off by Sunday's 10-4 win over the Angels – the Rangers fought the perceived contenders in the AL West to a draw while battling a flu epidemic that threatened to overrun the clubhouse.

But that's not all they accomplished. During the 3-3 trip, the Rangers showed signs of having a legitimate reliable starting rotation; they showed far more ability to overcome adversity (mainly errors); they showed an ability to play the kind of pass-the-baton game manager Ron Washington so desperately wants them to grasp; and the most second-guessed members of the opening-day lineup showed maybe they do belong after all.

Those guys – catcher Gerald Laird and first baseman Ben Broussard – combined for three homers and eight RBIs Sunday. Laird had two of the homers and a career-high six RBIs playing in his hometown. Broussard's homer was his third in the last four days.

Hey, did we mention the starting pitching?

"I think regardless of the record, we're happy with the way we're playing," shortstop Michael Young said. "We are playing as a team. We like where we are as a team right now."

A few examples of why Young felt so good, even though he's still coughing as an aftereffect from the flu:

•The starting rotation: Vicente Padilla gave the Rangers their fifth quality start in six games this season. The rotation, which pitched the fewest innings in the AL last year, is averaging almost 6 2/3 innings per outing for the young season. The rotation returns for the home opener with a 2.30 ERA and it has its first complete game since Aug. 29, 2006.

Padilla pitched seven solid innings Sunday even though he said he'd been battling the flu the last couple of days, too. Afterward, Padilla talked about the rotation as a whole rather than just his performance.

"Everybody was patting each other on the back," he said through a translator. "I think it's important that all the starters are doing the job and that we're all talking to each other and helping each other. We need to keep doing that."

When Washington went to him after the sixth, Padilla, with 93 pitches under his belt, said he wanted to go one more.

"First time," Washington acknowledged. "Last year, he didn't say much."

•Team play: The Rangers had perfect attendance at a team dinner last Sunday on the eve of the season, which was not overlooked by the club's veterans, who took it as a sign more players were on the same page.

Besides the flu, they overcame their own errors. They won twice despite committing multiple errors. Last year, they lost seven of their first eight multi-error games and didn't win their second until Mother's Day.

And one other example of the new team-first attitude: Given a choice of taking either Saturday or Sunday off, Laird chose to play Sunday. He was 0-for-8 against Saturday starter Jered Weaver and 1-for-6 against Sunday's starter Jon Garland.

That, he said, had nothing to do with it.

"I just wanted to work with Padilla," he said. "I feel like if we can get on the same page and get something going, we can really get on a roll."

•The road: Last year, the Rangers had the worst road-winning percentage in the majors (.346). Had they finished above .500 at 41-40 on the road last year, they would have ended up with 88 wins. By taking two of three from the Angels, the Rangers won a road series in just their second try of the season. Last year, they didn't win a road series until late May, their eighth of the year.

But, hey, did we mention the pitching?

"We are very pleased," Washington said. "Everything we do is going to be based on the work we get on the mound. So, far, we've been pitching pretty well. We are 3-3, and we are looking to get better."




- Dallas Stars Round 1 playoff schedule.



The Dallas Stars will open their first-round series with the Ducks at 9 p.m. CDT in Anaheim:

Ducks vs. Stars (All times Central)
Game 1: 9 p.m. Thursday at Anaheim
Game 2: 9 p.m. Saturday at Anaheim
Game 3: 7:30 p.m. Tues. April 15 at Dallas
Game 4: 7 p.m. Thurs. April 17 at Dallas
Game 5: 9:30 p.m. Fri. April 18 at Anaheim
Game 6: Time TBD Sun. April 20 at Dallas
Game 7: Time TBD Tue. April 22 at Anaheim

Games 5-7 will be played if necessary



- Jackson Height's own Randy Watson.