Saturday, April 19, 2008 NBA playoffs full of all-stars and great matchups By Nick Haller staff writer nphsol2@psu.edu March madness is over...now what? Well fellow basketball fans, brace yourself, it is the start of the 2008 NBA playoffs, exciting right? Well it actually is. Just yesterday, the final spots in the Western Conference were decided, making the West, arguably, the more dominate side of the league. Every team in the West, that made the playoffs, plus wins, when the Easi posting three 50 win teai Sounds a little lop sided me. On the flip side, th< Eastern Conference dor have the two best teams the league - record wise l is - and they are pretty i a potential lock for the Conference finals. The Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons have dominated the East NBA Playoff Picture West 1. LA Lakers (57-25) vs. 8.) Denver (SQ-32) 2. New Orleans (56-26) vs. 7.) Dallas (51-31) 3. San Antonio (56-26) vs. 6.) Phoenix (55-27) 4. Utah (54-28) vs. 5.) Houston (55-27) East 1. Boston (66-16) vs. 8.) Atlanta (37-45) 2. Detroit (59-23) vs. 7.) Philadelphia (40-42) 3. Orlando (52-30) vs. 6.) Toronto (41-41) 4. Cleveland (45-37) vs. 5.) Washington (43-39) Behrend softball By Jessica Carlson sports editor jlcsolB@psu.edu The Penn State Behrend softball team improved their record to 19-9 after going one and-one against Westminster College on Monday. April 14. After losing the first game to the Titans by a score of 7-4. the women decided to put an end to their three game los ing streak, defeating them in game two by a score of 3-2. During the first game, the Lady Lions were in the lead 2-0 until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Titans pulled ahead 3-2. They sealed the deal in the sixth inning when they scored four more runs and went on to defeat Behrend 7-4. In game two, it was Westminster who let the 2-0 lead slip away. In the top of the sev enth inning, the Blue and White drove in three runs off of RBI singles from junior Laura Frishkorn and junior Katie Whitby to tie it up at two. Frishkorn then scored the winning run off of a hit into right field by jun ior Michelle Zill. Behrend went on to win Pittsburgh Steelers owner endorses Obama By Andrew McLachlan co-editor-in-chief asmsoo6@psu.edu he will do what is best for them, Pittsburgh Steelers chairman which is to inspire them to be Dan Rooney is preparing for the great Americans.” upcoming NFL Draft, which will be held April but had time di his busy scheduli announce publici who he will bi backing in th< upcoming elec tion. Rooney will toney is not con supporting Ban led about Obama. Obama over Hii : sports fans know Clinton in this . ju support your primary. The 75-year old team when they are the under- Rooney said in a statement that dogs,” Rooney said. “Barack he does not usually publicly Obama is the underdog here, but endorse politics. “As a it is with great pride that I join his grandfather and a citizen of this team.” community, I think Barack Other Steelers personal that are Obama's thoughtful, strategic supporting Obama are former approach is important to running backs Franco Harris and America,” Rooney said. Jerome Bettis. "When 1 hear how excited young people seem to be when they talk about this man, I believe this year and have also looked promising when they have faced Conference opponents. For the rest of the East, there not much to be said. The Orlam Magic and Cleveland Cavaliei round out the top four spots am the bottom four struggled ti maintain a winning percentage * .500. The Sixers and Hawks maki up the last two spots and there r xentages are undei t makes fans wonder how strong East is? The Western Conference is a dif :rent story, with the Los Angeles .akers sitting at the top spot. Even though they has the best record in te West, does not mean they are ife from elimination. The Lakers 1 meet the Nuggets, which can tially be a re-make of a an No. 8 iting a No. 1 seed just like last year, with the Golden State Warriors upsetting the Dallas Mavericks. We are located one block from the Millcreek Mall and only 17 minutes from Behrend. preparing for upcoming playoffs game two by a score of 3-2, On Saturday, April 12, the Lady Lions fell in both games against Pitt-Greensburg. In the first game, the Pitt-Greensburg Bobcats took the lead 2-0 after a few Behrend errors. Not much action would occur for the rest of the game and the Lady Lions would lose to the Bobcats by a score of 2-0. Junior Julie Roman pitched all seven innings giving up five hits while striking out five others. In game two, junior Allison Babish smacked a grand slam over the center field fence to give the Behrend Lions a 6-3 lead after just two innings of play. The rest of the game would be all about the Bobcats as they went on a scoring rally to give them the vic tory 10-6. The next game for Behrend softball will be a conference game against La Roche College on Saturday, April 19. La Roche currently poses an AMCC record of 6-8 with an overall record of 11-19. On Monday, April 21, Behrend will take on Medaille College who currently sits at No. 2 in the AMCC with a record of 9-1. Lake Erie holds the No. 1 spot iney had a chance to ''bama during his in the “Steel City.” ;n though the polls iow that Obama is jwn to his com letitor, Hillary todham Clinton, in ennsylvania, r- 1 * r > ir Granada Apartments 1717 Kuntz Rd, Erie Pa 16509 We offer 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments and 2 Bedroom Townhouses Great student specials available! Call Today! 814-868-4681 OPT Funny enough, the Warriors finished No. 9 in it, posting 48 wins. The iors would be a lock for the :d spot in the Eastern onference, but due to geo -aphic location, they do not lay in the East. This is also mother example of the lack competition in the East td the overpowering domi :e of the West. What makes the playoffs most intriguing is the potential remake of classic NBA finals, like a Lakers-Pistons or Laker-Celtic match-up. This should give any avid basketball fan chills; with renewing the old playoff rivalry. Playoffs start this weekend and the teams will be ready to play. Can Kobe Bryant final ly get his ring without Shaquille O’Neal, and can Shaq get one more ring before he hangs it up? Two powerhouses out East have some thing to prove. Who will come out of the West on-top? We will find out in the coming weeks. at 13-3 The women have five more doubleheaders lined up for the rest of the season, all of which are conference games, before heading into the playoffs. Their game against La Roche on the 19th is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at La Roche College. MLB -Houston Astros shortstop MfgUil Tejada has admitted to his team that he is ieaUy 33 and not 31-years old. Considered to be a burden to Mm, Tejada decided to end his secret, that he has kept for 14 years. “1 was a poor kid,” said Tejada, who approached the media about his deception on Thursday, April 17. “It's something that hap pened the first time I signed my contract. I had no intention of doing anything wrong.” -The official charity of the Red Sox, the Jimmy Fund, began an auction for the David Ortiz’s jersey that was buried under the New York Yankees' new stadium by a Boston fan hoping to create a hex. The auction lasts for one week. The starting bid was $5OO for the No. 34 jersey, a brand new jersey and two seats to a Red Sox game. NCAA -The rape trial of former Penn State running back Austin Scott was delayed Wednesday April 17 as the state Superior Court wrangled over last-minute appeals. Scott, 23, of Allentown, PA, is awaiting trial on felony rape and sexual-assault charges, along with three misdemeanor charges. Scott was suspended by Perm State coach Joe Patemo on Oct. 5, citing a violation of team rules. Police charged Scott a week later. -Quarterback Steve McNair is retiring from the NFL after a 13-year career, in wMch he was named co-MVP and led the Tennessee Titans to the Super Bowl. McNair, who began his career with the Houston Oilers, led the Baltimore Ravens to a 13-3 record in 2006, but lost most of his 2007 season due to injuries. NBA ~The New York Daily News reported that New York Knicks head coach Isiah Thomas will not return as coach next season, after the Knicks missed out on the playoffs for a fourth year in a row. New team president Donnie Walsh could announce the decision as early as Thursday. It is unknown if Thomas will remain with the Knicks in some lower capacity. Steelers vs. Behrend Pittsburgh Steelers Footballers Basketball Team vs. The Behrend Community All-Stars Tickets are $7 Sunday, April 20,3 p.m. The Behrend Beacon I k in Sports
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