Shaquille O’Neal walked off the Miami Heat practice floor slowly, a bruised left quadriceps souring his mood. “Terrible,” was his answer to a “How is it?” query as he departed, though O’Neal sent word later that he wasn’t being serious. Still, there’s already cause for some serious concern around Heat camp — as eight of Miami’s 20 players were unable to practice Monday because of injuries.
Dylan Thomas and jockey Kieren Fallon survive a stewards’ inquiry to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Matt Kenseth has continued his trademark consistency in NASCAR’s “Chase for the Nextel Cup.” Unfortunately for the 2003 champion, that consistency has been finishing in the back of the pack.
The Minnesota Wild had plenty to prove Sunday night against the Anaheim Ducks, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season and went on to win their first Stanley Cup title. Brian Rolston and Mark Parrish scored second-period goals and Josh Harding posted his third career shutout with a career-high 37 saves, leading the unbeaten Wild to a testy 2-0 victory.
Maybe the Los Angeles Kings should return to London. Henrik Zetterberg had a goal and two assists and the Detroit Red Wings beat Los Angeles 4-1 on Sunday night, sending the Kings to their fifth consecutive loss. They have just one win so far, beating the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks in the season-opener in London.
Aaron Ward knows full well that the city of Boston is preoccupied with other major sports. Ward scored with 12 seconds left, just moments after San Jose had tied the game, and the Bruins ruined the Sharks’ home opener with a 2-1 victory Saturday night. The Bruins have a few days to savor a 3-2 season-opening road trip on the west coast before their home opener on Thursday.
The Vancouver Canucks found the perfect cure for an early season slide: Two straight games against the Edmonton Oilers. Henrik Sedin set up twin brother Daniel for two goals 2:18 apart in the second period to break open a close game and help the Canucks sweep back-to-back games against Edmonton with a 4-1 win on Saturday night.
Joe Sakic is closing in on another franchise milestone. Sakic had his 15th career hat trick to help the Colorado Avalanche beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-1 on Saturday night. He is one hat trick shy of tying Peter Stastny for the franchise record. “I didn’t realize it was 15,” said Sakic, who now has 614 career goals.
The loudest ovation from the raucous sold-out crowd was heard for All-Star Danny Briere. The nicest play came in the waning seconds from team captain Jason Smith. Two players that had nothing to do with Philadelphia’s disastrous last season have given the rebuilt Flyers early reason to believe they can return to the playoffs.
Olli Jokinen’s record-tying goal provided the lift Florida needed. Jokinen had a goal and two assists to tie Scott Mellanby for Florida’s career scoring lead in the Panthers’ 6-4 victory over Tampa Bay on Saturday night. “Before the season, I knew the stats,” said Jokinen, who has 156 goals and 198 assists for 354 points in seven season with Florida.
