Good morning, New York sports fans! Here is your first look at the New York area sports scene on another frigid February Friday. Good luck saying that fast 10 times.
↵- ↵
- Jacques Lemaire earned the 600th coaching victory of his illustrious career Thursday night as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1, in overtime. Don't look now, but the once-woeful Devils continue to march ever closer to playoff contention in the Eastern Conference. New Jersey is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games and is now within 13 points of eighth-place Carolina for the final playoff spot. That is still a long climb, but it is now at least within shouting distance for New Jersey. ↵
- St. John's stunned UConn Thursday night behind Dwight Hardy's 33 points. All I can say is the Big East truly is an amazing basketball conference. ↵
- The struggling New York Knicks host the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at Madison Square Garden. Almost certainly there will be chants of 'Me-lo' as Knicks fans voice their desire for the team to complete a trade for Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks would fall back to .500 with a loss tonight. ↵
- In NFL labor negotiations, there are no negotiations right now. It seems highly unlikely a deal will be in place by March 3, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires.
↵ - A couple of NBA notes worthy of mention. Congratulation to Ray Allen, who became the NBA's all-time leader in 3-point field goals Thursday night. Utah's Jerry Sloan, who resigned Thursday, deserves a 'kudos' for a tremendous 23-year run in Utah. ↵