Alex Ovechkin returned to the line up yesterday and produced right away for his Washington Capitals with a goal in the first period as they went on to defeat the New York Rangers 4-2 at Madison Square Garden. The premier LW missed six games due to injury but has still been able to find the net 15 times in just 15 games played. “It’s always nice when you get hurt and you come back and you score in the first period on your first shot,” said Ovechkin. “You feel pretty good about yourself. After that I feel pretty cool. I was not afraid to take some hits and go battle.”

Marian Gaborik scored the first goal for the Rangers before Ovechkin answered later in the period. Gaborik was able to score again 8:23 into the third period to tie it at 2-2. Matt Bradley scored the go-ahead goal for the Caps with five minutes left. Brian Pothier then fired one in the empty net unassisted to wrap things up in New York.

The Rangers have to wait until Saturday to redeem themselves at home against the Florida Panthers. Washington is scheduled to host the Montreal Canadiens on Friday, November 20th.

America’s most beloved ballpark is set to feature a Legends competition Saturday, January 2nd at 2:00 PM. It will serve as one of the many events scheduled around the Winter Classic at Fenway Park. The following week will showcase Hockey East teams between BC, BU (men), Northeastern, and UNH (women).

Hall of Famer Cam Neely will participate in the old timer classic along with former NHL standouts Brian Leetch, Pat LaFontaine, Bob Beers, Andy Brickley, Lyndon Byers, Gary Doak, Ken Hodge, Ken Linseman, Rick Middleton, Terry O’Reilly, Brad Park, Johnny MacKenzie, Bob Sweeny, and Don Sweeny. Hollywood’s Denis Leary, Tim Robbins, and Bobby Farrelly will also take part in the festivities. Check back soon for Legends Classic tickets!

Matt Moulson set the tone early for his squad, scoring the initial goal six minutes into the first period as the New York Islanders went on to defeat the Boston Bruins 4-1 last night at the TD Garden. Daniel Paille found the net for the B’s in the second before Moulson decided to tack another on the board.  From there the Islanders shut down the Boston attack for the rest of the game. Trent Hunter added the fourth goal with less than a minute to go when the Bruins pulled their goalie for the extra skater.

The Bruins have now let up ten goals in their last two contests. “Those little details that meant so much to us being successful aren’t consistent right now,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “There’s not that confidence or determination we need to be successful. Right now we have to have our best players playing their best if we’re going to turn it around.”

Hopefully Boston can turn things around against the Atlanta Thrashers Thursday night. After heading to Atlanta they’ll travel north to square off against the Buffalo Sabres. Boston Bruins tickets are now available!

Joe Johnson scored eight of his game-high 35 points in overtime as his Atlanta Hawks went on to outlast the Portland Trail Blazers 99-95 last night at Philips Arena. The Hawks have started off the year red hot with regular season record of 9-2.  The team believes themselves to be definite contenders in the East for 2010.

“The last two years being in the playoffs has put this team in a totally different light,” said coach Mike Woodson. “Now when they go on the court, they know they have a chance to win. It’s kind of nice sitting on the top of the division.” Josh Smith collected 20 points and 16 rebounds to help Atlanta earn their fifth consecutive victory, a streak that includes a tough road win in Boston against the Celtics.

The Trail Blazers have also improved immensely over the years. So far this season they hold an 8-4 record with young talent LaMarcus Aldridge, Andre Miller, and Greg Oden leading the way. Aldridge notched 18 yesterday with Miller and Oden following up with 14 and 11, respectively. Portland is set to host the Detroit Pistons Wednesday as the Hawks take on the Miami Heat in Atlanta.  

Allen Iverson is expected to be waived at some point today after not being placed on waivers by the league deadline, giving great indication that he and the Memphis Grizzlies are parting ways. The 34 year-old guard began complaining during his debut against the Sacramento Kings. Even though he just came back from injury (torn left hamstring), Iverson expected to start immediately and receive heavy minutes.

The Answer had some choice words for the organization following the contest. “Yeah, I’ll be disappointed (if he’s a sub this season),” said Iverson. “I’m not a reserve basketball player. I’ve never been a reserve all my life and I’m not going to start looking at myself as a reserve. … To answer the question, ‘No, I’m not a bench player. I’m not a sixth man. Go look at my resume and that will show you I’m not a sixth man.”

The Grizzlies will be forced to pay only a fraction of his $3 million contract. So far not many teams have jumped to get Iverson after his quick fall out with Memphis. The New York Knicks have already announced a possible interest in the veteran.

The Baltimore Ravens racked up two touchdowns and a field goal in the third quarter while holding the Cleveland Browns scoreless, resulting in a 16-0 Monday Night Football Ravens victory at M&T Bank Stadium. Ray Rice ran for 12 yards to claim the initial TD, which was followed by a Dawan Landry interception for six more. Baltimore posted their final points eight minutes into the third with a 44 yard boot through the uprights courtesy of Steve Hauschka.

“I guess I agree it wasn’t pretty,” said QB Joe Flacco. “It was an ugly win, but that’s the way some wins are in the NFL.” Flacco  threw for 155 yards from 13 passes completed. Luckily his defense pulled most of the weight yesterday, holding Cleveland’s Brady Quinn to 99 yards and two picks. The 1-8 Browns are scheduled to face the Detroit Lions on Sunday, November 22nd at Ford Field. Baltimore is set to host the undefeated Indianapolis Colts the same day.

Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns tickets are now available!

The Boston Red Sox just recently announced standard ticket prices for 2010 regular season games at Fenway Park. Between 2008 and 2009, all ticket costs froze in price from standing room areas to field box sections. For the upcoming season 63% of the tickets sold at Fenway Park will cost under $52.

“We will continue our ninth year of private investment, generated in large part by ticket revenue, to preserve, protect and enhance Fenway Park,” said Red Sox President & CEO Larry Lucchino.  “These annual investments, including those underway for 2010, total well over $100 million and, have put us in a position to host Red Sox baseball at Fenway Park for the next 40 to 50 years.”

The lowest ticket prices will stay at $12. Seats that include grandstands, right field box, right field roof box and lower bleachers will raise no more than $2 in price. In 2009 a new Fenway Park attendance record was set with 3,062,699 fans entering the park in total during the regular season. 

The first chance people have to get back into America’s most Beloved ballpark will be on Saturday, December 12th during the “Christmas at Fenway” special.  Fenway Park will be hosting a number of events around the NHL Winter Classic game New Years Day. Look back soon for specific dates at Fenway! Spring training and regular season Boston Red Sox tickets are available right here at AceTicket.com!

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick decided to keep the offensive unit out there in a fourth and two situation from their own 28 yard line with just over two minutes remaining. The call resulted in a short pass to Kevin Faulk that fell six inches short from the first down marker. From there Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts took over in just four plays, scoring the final touchdown with 11 seconds left to win 35-34 last night at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The well experienced and poised Manning felt the game shift his way after setting up eight yards away from the red zone with three timeouts and a world of time to work with. “When you see them going for it on fourth down, you get a little nervous, but our defense blitzed them, pressured them and got the stop,” said Manning. “It certainly changed our philosophy. In practice, we’re going 60 or 70 yards. So we figure we’re going to have to go five, six, seven plays. In the huddle, I said, ‘Obviously, we need a touchdown, but let’s not be in a hurry.’”

The Patriots gathered a number of positive moments despite falling inches short from clinching in the end. Tom Brady threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns from 29 completions, nine of which found Randy Moss for 179 yards. New England definitely developed a better mentality after posting 34 points against a tough Indianapolis defense. Yesterday’s contest may very well be a preview of the 2009 AFC Championship game. The Pats are now set to face the 4-5 New York Jets on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. New England Patriots tickets are now available!

This week’s thrilling set of matchups caused for some numerous close battles and upsets. The Jacksonville Jaguars edged out the New York Jets by 2 with a field goal in the final seconds. The Cincinnati Bengals stunned Big Ben and the Pittsburgh Steelers to put themselves at 7-2. Denver QB Kyle Orton fell to injury against Washington for the entire second half, which led to a Redskins 13-0 fourth quarter run. The New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts remained perfect at 9-0 after defeating the St Louis Rams and New England Patriots. Check for all Week 10 scores below.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

San Francisco 49ers 10, Chicago Bears 6 - QB Jay Cutler threw for a total of five INT’s, resulting in a San Francisco field goal in the fourth quarter to solidify the W.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Tennessee Titans 41, Buffalo Bills 17 - RB Chris Johnson led the Titans to their third straight victory with 132 yards rushing and 2 TD’s from 26 carries.

New Orleans Saints 28, St Louis Rams 23 - The Rams scored a TD with under 3 minutes left, but simply ran out of time to gain any more momentum against a tough Saints defense.

Miami Dolphins 25, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23 - Miami racked up 19 points in the first half and barely held off the rallying Bucs offense in the final quarter to win by 2.

Minnesota Vikings 27, Detroit Lions 10 - Brett Favre and Sidney Rice connected deep for 200+ yards, as the Vikings defense held Detroit to just 10 total points.

Jacksonville Jaguars 24, New York Jets 22 - The Jaguars put the Jets under .500 with a field goal to end the game up 2.

Cincinnati Bengals 18, Pittsburgh Steelers 12 - Cincinnati kicker Shayne Graham knocked all four FG attempts through the uprights, as the defense held the Steelers to 3 second half points.

Washington Redskins 27, Denver Broncos 17 - The Broncos were held scoreless in the second half with QB Kyle Orton sidelined due to injury.

Carolina Panthers 28, Atlanta Falcons 19 - Panthers QB Jake Delhomme threw for 195 yards and 2 TD’s from 15 passes completed.

Kansas City Chiefs 16, Oakland Raiders 10 - Oakland started off hot with 10 first quarter points but struggled from there to get anything going.

Green Bay Packers 17, Dallas Cowboys 7 - Green Bay turned it on in the fourth with 14 points, redeeming themselves from their dismal showing last week against Tampa Bay.

Arizona Cardinals 31, Seattle Seahawks 20 - QB Kurt Warner had another stellar performance, completing 29 passes for 340 yards and 2 TD’s.

San Diego Chargers 31, Philadelphia Eagles 23 - RB LaDainian Tomlinson broke out with 96 yards and 2 TD’s rushing.

Indianapolis Colts 35, New England Patriots 34 - QB Peyton Manning marched his team down field for 3 fourth quarter TD’s to come back and win by 1.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Baltimore Ravens 16, Cleveland Browns 0 - Baltimore scored 16 points in the third quarter as Cleveland’s offense struggled all game. Brady Quinn failed to complete over 100 passing yards while throwing for 2 INT’s.

Bye Week Teams: New York Giants, Houston Texans

Dwayne Wade scored a game high 36 points for the Miami Heat in attempts to beat out his friendly nemesis LeBron James. Though LeBron failed to match Flash in points with 34, his Cleveland Cavaliers more importantly were able to notch the 111-104 win on the road at the American Airlines Arena.

Buying a ticket to yesterday’s game meant you were in store for a full on performance involving two of the three best players in the NBA. The game was competitive on top of the marquee talent really going to work. “I like playing against LeBron more than anybody else in the league,” said Wade. “He brings out the best in me, and I bring out the best in him.” 

James refused to answer any free agency questions, but earlier this week Wade confirmed that the two have talked about playing together someday. So far the likely choices for LeBron in 2010 (aside from re-signing with the Cavs) include the New York Knicks, New Jersey (or Brooklyn) Nets, and Miami Heat.