WEST VALLEY, UT- The puck had barely been dropped to the ice when the Alaska Aces scored the first goal of the night, taking the opening faceoff into the Grizzlies’ zone and driving a slap shot past goalie Parker Van Buskirk. This was not exactly the “rebound start” Utah’s coaching staff had been hoping to see from the Grizzlies after a disappointing loss the night prior to the same Aces team.
Utah did welcome back forward Ryan Kinasewich after he spent the majority of his two weeks in the AHL on the Hamilton Bulldogs’ bench. Kinasewich reassumed his position as team captain, and brought with him a ray of hope to a Utah scoring campaign that had decreased significantly since his departure. Kinasewich leads the ECHL in both goals and game-winning goals, and while most around the team are puzzled as to why Hamilton would have called Kinasewich up only to have him ride the pine, they are certainly happy to have him and his hot stick back in West Valley and in a Grizzlies’ uniform.
However, Friday night’s game proved to be an ugly homecoming.
Following the early strike by the Aces, Kinasewich wasted no time firing the puck back at Alaska’s net, as he had five of Utah’s eleven shots on goal in the first period. Problem was, none of the Grizzlies’ shots landed home, and Alaska (who came into West Valley as a below .500 team) added another goal. After the quick first period, the Aces led 2-0.
And things didn’t start off any better in the second period than they did in the first, as Alaska put a third goal past Van Buskirk less than one minute after play had resumed. That forced Utah coach Kevin Colley to replace Van Buskirk with Mitch O’Keefe, who had an eight game win streak snapped by the Aces in the loss the night prior.
Not even two minutes after the change, Alaska was called for a slashing minor, and Utah went on the 5-4 man advantage. The ensuing face off was won by the Grizzlies, and Tom May followed a rebound shot for Utah’s first goal of the game, cutting the Aces lead to two. But the sparkling momentum proved to be merely fools’ gold, as the Grizzlies would fail to score another goal until late in the third period.
Behind the outstanding play of goalie Scott Reed (who entered the game having stopped 82 of Utah’s last 86 shots on goal in their previous three meetings, and ended the night with 42 saves) the Aces began to run wild. They even managed to pour in a five-on-three short handed goal as part of their three goal second period. As the horn ending the frame sounded, Alaska headed to the locker room leading 6-1, and most of the spectators at the E-Center headed to the parking lot, perhaps finding refuge in a big Jazz win over the visiting Trail Blazers in Salt Lake City.
With both teams having seemingly decided this particular hockey game had ended in the second period with the Aces’ sixth goal of the contest, the third period panned out to be a relatively quite one. Aside from a few scuffles and a meaningless second feel-good goal by the Grizzlies, the game ended without any momentum swings or pushing drives for Utah, and the Aces left the state for the last time in ’09 with a 6-2 victory.
The Grizzlies will now have to find a way to bounce back quickly from such an ugly loss, as they head into a December schedule that has Utah playing feared Idaho Steelheads three times (once on the road), a team that is far and beyond the favorite to win the ECHL championship. Also, coach Kevin Colley mentioned in his post game interview that changes would need to be made to the team, as he didn’t see “more than a few players who were willing to stick up for their teammates.” Whether he meant line adjustments or flat out trades, either way this Utah team has their work cut out for them, and not knowing who will be playing and when may prove to be a major road bump in their season.
But then again, if they can pick it back up quickly, this stretch may be less grisly for the Grizzlies than Friday night’s outcome.
Austin Horton
860 AM/1230 KFAN-2/1320 KFAN
Austin's Sports Blog (the one place where he is ALWAYS right)
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Giants-Broncos, Thanksgiving night 2009
DENVER, CO-As far as tryptophan is concerned, there was not an adequate dosage available for New York Giants fans on Thanksgiving night, as their team lossed badly to the surprisingly competitive Denver Broncos, 26-6.
Both squads came into the final game of the holiday with 6-4 records (the Broncos having lost 4 in a row). While that many wins was more than any of Denver's followers might have expected even by the end of the season, no one figured the Giants, just one season removed from becoming Super Bowl champs, would be struggling this badly on both sides of the ball. Especially with Eli Manning (whom they gave an astoundingly large amount of money in a new contract extension last summer) at the helm. But when you score more field goals than touchdowns-or when you fail to score even ONE touchdown- in a game, history says you'll most likely lose.
Behind Kyle Orton's arm (yes, THAT Kyle Orton) and a strong defensive outing, the Broncos looked as though they had made a deal with the devil and switched lives with New York. Denver flat out dominated the Giants in every statistical area of the game, both offensively and defensively. And halfway through the fourth quarter, after Denver went up by twenty, it was evident that on this Thanksgiving night, the G in G-men stood for Garbage.
Elvis Dumervil, Denver's fourth year defensive end, wrapped up the evening addressing the story that the team had held a players-only meeting previously in the week by offering a huge grin to the reporter and stating, "...I'm just grateful for everything tonight; especially a win over the Giants." Clearly, whatever was ailing the Broncos, Mr. Dumervil believes it has gone the way of Thanksgivings past.
For those Giants fans who were listening to the game over the radio waves, some escape from the torture was provided when the broadcast was momentarily knocked off the air shortly following Eli Manning's game-icing interception. However, for those fans who were unfortunate enough to have been viewing the game on television, perhaps a healthy helping of leftover turkey, coupled with a glass of warm milk, would have been the route to take.
All in all, the Broncos kept their playoff hopes alive (at least for this week), while helping themselves to a Giant(s) holiday feast.
Austin Horton
1230 KFAN-2
Both squads came into the final game of the holiday with 6-4 records (the Broncos having lost 4 in a row). While that many wins was more than any of Denver's followers might have expected even by the end of the season, no one figured the Giants, just one season removed from becoming Super Bowl champs, would be struggling this badly on both sides of the ball. Especially with Eli Manning (whom they gave an astoundingly large amount of money in a new contract extension last summer) at the helm. But when you score more field goals than touchdowns-or when you fail to score even ONE touchdown- in a game, history says you'll most likely lose.
Behind Kyle Orton's arm (yes, THAT Kyle Orton) and a strong defensive outing, the Broncos looked as though they had made a deal with the devil and switched lives with New York. Denver flat out dominated the Giants in every statistical area of the game, both offensively and defensively. And halfway through the fourth quarter, after Denver went up by twenty, it was evident that on this Thanksgiving night, the G in G-men stood for Garbage.
Elvis Dumervil, Denver's fourth year defensive end, wrapped up the evening addressing the story that the team had held a players-only meeting previously in the week by offering a huge grin to the reporter and stating, "...I'm just grateful for everything tonight; especially a win over the Giants." Clearly, whatever was ailing the Broncos, Mr. Dumervil believes it has gone the way of Thanksgivings past.
For those Giants fans who were listening to the game over the radio waves, some escape from the torture was provided when the broadcast was momentarily knocked off the air shortly following Eli Manning's game-icing interception. However, for those fans who were unfortunate enough to have been viewing the game on television, perhaps a healthy helping of leftover turkey, coupled with a glass of warm milk, would have been the route to take.
All in all, the Broncos kept their playoff hopes alive (at least for this week), while helping themselves to a Giant(s) holiday feast.
Austin Horton
1230 KFAN-2
Friday, November 20, 2009
NFL Thursday on Fox Radio: Carolina vs Miami, 11-19-09
I decided to start blogging some of the games that I get to produce for the radio station I've been moonlighting at. It's a sports station in Salt Lake called KFAN. It's actually the highest rated station in the state, and the flagship station for the Utah Jazz (this really is quite a big deal; I'm very lucky to start my career off at such a great launching pad). Anyway, here's the first entry: The Thursday night game in the NFL between the Dolphins and Panthers, which I produced on the air (1230 AM KFAN-2)
CHARLOTTE, NC- The Miami Dolphins swam into North Carolina Thursday night weathering the tidal wave that was caused by the news that star running back Ronnie Brown would require season ending surgery to repair an injured ankle. Not only that, but they also have been going at it with a rookie at quarterback and a kick returner as their main receiver. The Panthers, who have been bogged down by the less than stellar play of quarterback Jake Delhomme, were all but salivating in anticipation of what could have been a strong, rallying win for their team. However, the Dolphins' once-retired RB Ricky Williams had other plans in mind....
The starting kickoff resulted in great field position for the Panthers after the Dolphins' Dan Carpenter slipped as he connected with the ball. Carolina then drove far enough for a John Kasay field goal, and the score at the end of the first quarter was 3-0 Panthers.
But that was about all the good that occurred for Carolina in the entire first half of play (they did knock in a second field goal). Ricky Williams took a handoff and a pass from Chad Henne all the way for scores, and the Dolphin defense sacked Delhomme twice in the first and once more in the second quarter. The Dolphins went into the locker room leading 14-3.
In the second half Carolina seemed to wake up a bit, no doubt spurned by their home crowd fans' boos and criticisms in reaction to the poor effort the Panthers had displayed to that point. After holding Miami to a field goal on their first posession in the third, the Panthers took control of the momentum. DeAngelo Williams took a delayed handoff up the middle for 39 yards. Two plays later, Delhomme connected with Smith in the end zone for six. With the score now 17-12, head coach John Fox kept his offense on the field, opting to go for two rather than kick the extra point. It proved to be the right decision, as Williams dove across the goal line to convert the try. The crowd was alive, the players were walking with swagger, and Carolina seemed to have turned the corner on the way to a home victory. But, as mentioned before, the former Heisman Trophy winner from Texas knew just how to spoil the party.
The Panthers defense forced Miami into an almost must-convert third down with six minutes left in the game. Chad Henne dropped back in the pocket, avoided one tackler and threw a laser to the tight end Hartline for a gain of 13 and the first down conversion. As Miami ran to the line, Henne went to the sidelines, leaving Williams in the slot for the snap. Out of that Wildcat formation, Williams took the ball and scampered 46 yards for his third touchdown of the game, and completely deflated the hopes of a comeback win for Carolina.
Although the Panthers tried to make it a game late in the fourth, making another field goal and closing the gap to a score, they were unable to come up with the onside kick. Not that the game was over then by any stretch. Miami failed to convert a first down, and Carolina took the ball back with 54 seconds left. After Delhomme connected with Smith over the middle to the Miami 45, Carolina spiked the ball and set up for one last end zone heave. Delhomme's desperation throw had the distance it needed, but Miami's defense knocked it down, and time expired. The Dolphins escaped Carolina with a 24-17 win.
Following the game, Miami linebacker Joey Porter mused over the affects Ricky Williams' performance had on the outcome of the game. With a chuckle in his voice, Porter said, "Ricky ran the ball like he was 25 again."
-Austin Horton
1230 AM
KFAN 2
****Let me know if you like it, please. Thanks*****
CHARLOTTE, NC- The Miami Dolphins swam into North Carolina Thursday night weathering the tidal wave that was caused by the news that star running back Ronnie Brown would require season ending surgery to repair an injured ankle. Not only that, but they also have been going at it with a rookie at quarterback and a kick returner as their main receiver. The Panthers, who have been bogged down by the less than stellar play of quarterback Jake Delhomme, were all but salivating in anticipation of what could have been a strong, rallying win for their team. However, the Dolphins' once-retired RB Ricky Williams had other plans in mind....
The starting kickoff resulted in great field position for the Panthers after the Dolphins' Dan Carpenter slipped as he connected with the ball. Carolina then drove far enough for a John Kasay field goal, and the score at the end of the first quarter was 3-0 Panthers.
But that was about all the good that occurred for Carolina in the entire first half of play (they did knock in a second field goal). Ricky Williams took a handoff and a pass from Chad Henne all the way for scores, and the Dolphin defense sacked Delhomme twice in the first and once more in the second quarter. The Dolphins went into the locker room leading 14-3.
In the second half Carolina seemed to wake up a bit, no doubt spurned by their home crowd fans' boos and criticisms in reaction to the poor effort the Panthers had displayed to that point. After holding Miami to a field goal on their first posession in the third, the Panthers took control of the momentum. DeAngelo Williams took a delayed handoff up the middle for 39 yards. Two plays later, Delhomme connected with Smith in the end zone for six. With the score now 17-12, head coach John Fox kept his offense on the field, opting to go for two rather than kick the extra point. It proved to be the right decision, as Williams dove across the goal line to convert the try. The crowd was alive, the players were walking with swagger, and Carolina seemed to have turned the corner on the way to a home victory. But, as mentioned before, the former Heisman Trophy winner from Texas knew just how to spoil the party.
The Panthers defense forced Miami into an almost must-convert third down with six minutes left in the game. Chad Henne dropped back in the pocket, avoided one tackler and threw a laser to the tight end Hartline for a gain of 13 and the first down conversion. As Miami ran to the line, Henne went to the sidelines, leaving Williams in the slot for the snap. Out of that Wildcat formation, Williams took the ball and scampered 46 yards for his third touchdown of the game, and completely deflated the hopes of a comeback win for Carolina.
Although the Panthers tried to make it a game late in the fourth, making another field goal and closing the gap to a score, they were unable to come up with the onside kick. Not that the game was over then by any stretch. Miami failed to convert a first down, and Carolina took the ball back with 54 seconds left. After Delhomme connected with Smith over the middle to the Miami 45, Carolina spiked the ball and set up for one last end zone heave. Delhomme's desperation throw had the distance it needed, but Miami's defense knocked it down, and time expired. The Dolphins escaped Carolina with a 24-17 win.
Following the game, Miami linebacker Joey Porter mused over the affects Ricky Williams' performance had on the outcome of the game. With a chuckle in his voice, Porter said, "Ricky ran the ball like he was 25 again."
-Austin Horton
1230 AM
KFAN 2
****Let me know if you like it, please. Thanks*****
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