WOMBAT-Empfang » se press for a layup to give Georgia Tech a 52-41 lead w

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The NHL regular season is about to be put on hold for the All-Star Game and all the fanfare that goes along with it. The break from action could prove to be much longer than expected for Philadelphias Zac Rinaldo, and, considering his behavior on Tuesday night, thats not a bad thing. Rinaldo marred what was an otherwise entertaining game between two of the leagues fiercest rivals -- the Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Although Philly is struggling to keep its head above water in the Eastern Conference standings, the Flyers once again showed they can still dial up the intensity when facing the hated Penguins, notching a 3-2 overtime win at Wells Fargo Center. Before Claude Giroux won it for the Flyers with an OT marker, the teams combined for 93 penalty minutes. It shouldnt be too surprising that most of the physical stuff came after Rinaldo delivered an ugly hit on Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang in the first period. Rinaldo already had taken a cross-checking minor earlier in the game, but that was nothing compared to the boarding major that came later in the first period. Despite seeing nothing but the back of Letangs jersey, Rinaldo left his feet to finish a check which resulted in the Flyers forward getting a game misconduct. Video of the incident can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/ojac33v. Letang was slow to get off the ice and left the game for good. Although the Penguins have not revealed the nature of Letangs injury, it is promising that the talented blueliner was able to participate in Wednesdays morning skate. Whether he will be able to play when Pittsburgh takes on visiting Chicago on Wednesday is still unclear, but the team said he is still undergoing tests for a concussion and will be a game-time decision against the Blackhawks. It would be a fortunate turn of events if Letang was able to avoid serious injury, but even if he wont miss a significant amount of time, there seems to be no way for Rinaldo to escape a lengthy suspension. By now its known the NHL takes injuries into account when determining the length of suspensions. In this case, however, the leagues head disciplinarian, Stephane Quintal, may have to factor in some comments Rinaldo made after the game as well. Postgame interviews with players who were accused of dirty play can take all kinds of forms. Sometimes the person strikes a defiant tone and fails to claim responsibility while other times a player is wise enough to express remorse for their actions. Rinaldo not only failed to take the blame for the hit, he made it much worse by offering this nugget following Tuesdays game. I changed the whole game, man. (Expletive) who knows what the game wouldve been if I didnt do what I did? Maybe Rinaldo is right about changing the game, but if you want to argue about the veracity of his statement then you are clearly missing the point. With Letangs status still in question and plenty of time for Rinaldo to think about his part in hurting him, the Flyers forward decided to show pride in the hit instead of even the smallest amount of shame. Because even if he did alter the course of the game, he only did so by injuring one of Pittsburghs top players and its obviously wrong to boast about such a thing. With Rinaldo being offered an in-person hearing with the league (at a time yet to be determined), it is widely speculated the repeat offender will be receiving a suspension of longer than five games for the hit. Although Quintal may not reference Rinaldos postgame comments when the video explaining his suspension is released, my guess is the topic will come up when the two men are discussing the incident behind closed doors. There was some confusion as to whether Rinaldo was joking with his changed the whole game comments, but he refuted those claims via his Twitter account. I didnt intend to hurt Kris tonight. Im very sorry I did, read Rinaldos tweet. At no point did I ever joke about such a thing. Those reports are untrue. It doesnt matter to me whether Rinaldo was joking or not when he ended Tuesdays media scrum with those ill-advised words. In fact, it looks worse if he wasnt kidding because that could mean he thinks its his job to hurt key players from opposing teams. Joking about it would be insensitive and extremely immature, but it might be better than actually being proud of the hit and seeing it as some sort of accomplishment. Of course, Rinaldo does earn his pay for delivering big hits, but thats because he offers little else to a hockey team. Pittsburgh had some of the same kind of players in its own lineup on Tuesday, including winger Bobby Farnham, who has compiled 24 penalty minutes in 11 career games before recording his first NHL point. Some folks will go over the top and call for Rinaldo to be banned from the league. The same thing happened earlier this week when Chicagos Daniel Carcillo, a former Flyer and himself a repeat offender, was given a six-game suspension for a boarding play of his own. Rinaldo doesnt need to be run out of the game, but it wouldnt hurt him to sit for a couple of weeks to contemplate his dangerous hit and the flippant way in which he addressed it. After his actions and words on Tuesday night, its clear Rinaldo has more than a few lessons to learn. Adidas Stan Smith Discount . 1 Caroline Wozniacki and three-time champion Serena Williams cruised into the semifinals, while last years runner-up Vera Zvonareva succumbed to Aussie Samantha Stosur in Thursdays womens quarterfinal action at the U. Cheap Stan Smith Australia . Vinci also beat Dulgheru last week in Bucharest en route to her first WTA final in a year. Vinci next faces sixth-seeded Kurumi Nara of Japan, who beat Czech qualifier Katerina Siniakova 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-2. No. http://www.cheapstansmithaustralia.com/. Josh Mazzola drove in five runs to lead the Goldeyes (20-12) past the Capitales 11-5 Friday night at Le Stade Municipal in Quebec City. Adidas Stan Smith Clearance . But defending champion Elena Vesnina of Russia held off a strong challenge to beat Shuai Peng of China 6-3, 6-4, and there was another hard-fought victory for 2012 runner-up Angelique Kerber of Germany, who defeated Alison Riske of the United States 7-6 (6), 6-4. Adidas Stan Smith Australia Sale . The Raptors have been outscored 88-66 in the opening quarter over a three-game span to begin the month of February. Their most recent loss, 109-101 in Sacramento on Wednesday, was eerily similar to Saturdays defeat at the hands of the Trail Blazers.SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A month ago, Syracuse was unbeaten, ranked No. 1 and riding high. Now, the Orange are struggling toward the post-season having lost four of five. Trae Golden scored 16 points, including six clutch free throws in the final seconds, and Georgia Tech stunned No. 7 Syracuse 67-62 on Tuesday night, the Oranges second straight home loss to a team with a sub-.500 record. Syracuse (26-4, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) started the season with 25 straight wins and spent three weeks at No. 1. "Im not happy with tonight, but Im very happy to be 26-4," coach Jim Boeheim said. "Were well ahead of predictions. We just have to regroup. "I try to look at the big picture and not snapshots. Were in good position. When you get in the (NCAA) tournament, youre going to play somebody good. You play good, you have a chance to win. You play well, seeding doesnt matter. Its as simple as that." Last season, Syracuse stumbled down the stretch of the regular season, losing four of its final five games, the last a humbling 61-39 loss at former Big East archrival Georgetown. The Orange responded by winning three straight games in the Big East tournament, losing to eventual national champion Louisville in the title game, and then went on to the Final Four. "It didnt end the way I wanted it to," said C.J. Fair, who matched his career high with 28 points in the final home game of his career. "It happened, but our seasons not over. I still have a chance to win my last game." Golden won it with some clutch free throw shooting in the final 35 seconds. "I kind of went back to when I was a kid and just knocked them in," said Golden, who was 8 of 8 from the line. "My dad used to make me nervous when I was younger. It made me think about that calm. It really helped me out." Georgia Tech (14-16, 5-12) snapped a four-game losing streak, and its previous five ACC road trips had produced two wins, an overtime loss, a three-point loss, a four-point loss and a 10-point loss. Getting healthier by the day, the Yellow Jackets, who at one point in the season had only seven scholarship players available, closes the regular season against Virginia Tech on Saturday with the conference tournament looming next week. "Big might be an understatement. Its a huge win for us," Golden said. "We beat one of the top teams in the country." The loss cost the Orange a great chance to lockk up a high seed in the conference tournament.dddddddddddd Jerami Grant, the Oranges leading rebounder, had been hobbled by back problems the past two games and watched in street clothes as freshman Tyler Roberson made his first start of the season. Grants absence was felt as only Fair and freshman Tyler Ennis, with 18 points, scored in double figures. "Not having him, hes a big part of our team," Fair said of Grant. "It could have been a different game if he was there. You never know, but its a big blow to the team." Georgia Tech had 18 assists and shot 24 of 51 from the field while committing only nine turnovers. "I thought our guys did a great job of executing the game plan in terms of taking care of the basketball, moving the basketball, getting it underneath the zone and making plays for each other," Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory said. "Weve had some tough times this year. This was a total team effort." Daniel Miller had 15 points and six blocks and Robert Carter Jr. added 12 points for Georgia Tech. Fair was 12 of 25 from the field and Ennis finished with seven assists. Trevor Cooney had only seven points and was 1 of 8 from behind the arc. After Fair cut the lead to 39-33 with a driving layup, Golden responded with a 3 from the right wing to put Georgia Tech up by nine. Two free throws by Kammeon Holsey and a jumper in the lane by Miller made it 46-34 with 13:18 to go. Fairs driving layup and a free throw by Michael Gbinije cut the deficit to single digits, but Chris Bolden beat the Syracuse press for a layup to give Georgia Tech a 52-41 lead with 8:10 to go. Fair missed a 3 but Bolden quickly missed one at the other end instead of taking time off the clock and Fair responded with a drive and shot off the glass with 2:41 left to make it 59-55. Fair was fouled on the play but failed to convert the free throw, making Syracuse a costly 7 of 16 from the line. Millers slam then beat the Orange press after a turnover by Fair, but Cooney finally came through with a 3 from the wing as Syracuse closed to 61-57 with 1:48 to play. Carter missed a free throw, but Ennis lost the ball on a drive in the lane with just over a minute remaining. Syracuse, which also lost at home to Boston College, closes the season at Florida State on Sunday. "Were just eager to get that win," Fair said. "Once we win a couple of consecutive games, that will get us going." ' ' '