Good morning, New York-area sports fans! Let's take our first look at the local sports landscape for this first Wednesday in March.
↵NBA: The New York Knicks lost to the Orlando Magic Tuesday night. Dwight Howard had 30 points and 16 rebounds for Orlando, but it was the play of Magic point guard Jameer Nelson that made the difference. He had 13 fourth-quarter points. The Knicks try again tonight against the New Orleans Hornets, and they should have newly-acquired forward Jared Jeffries in uniform.
↵NHL: The New York Rangers are falling, and at this point can't figure out how to get up. The Rangers lost to Buffalo Tuesday night, 3-2, and are now dangerously close to falling out of the NHL Eastern Conference playoffs. New York is in seventh place three points ahead of ninth-place Buffalo, but the Rangers have played three more games than the Sabres and one more than the eighth-place Carolina Hurricanes. ... The New Jersey Devils still sit 13th in the Eastern Conference 11 points back with a slim playoff chance. New Jersey hosts Tampa Bay, the Eastern Conference's No. 2 team, tonight.
↵MLB: Plenty of rumors that the New York Yankees are interested in Francisco Liriano of the Minnesota Twins, and also plenty of word coming out that nothing is actually happening in terms of trade talks.
↵NFL: New York Giants CEO John Mara has joined the labor negotiations as the clock moves toward the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement and a probably lockout. The Giants also gave RFA tenders to six players on Tuesday, including running back Ahmad Bradshaw and defensive tackle Barry Cofield.
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