Raymond Felton Incident Adding Big Distraction To Disasterous Knicks Season

Things really haven't been going great for the New York Knicks this year. Right now they sit in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, with a 21-36 record. This puts them just five games out of the final playoff spot in the East, which at the moment is held down by the Atlanta Hawks. Sure the Knicks still have an outside chance to make the playoffs, it is a possibility. At the same time, there are a lot of outside factors that could keep the Knicks from the playoffs. They have had so many problems on the team this year, what with injuries to key players, stupid stunts pulled by JR Smith on the court, all kinds of stuff. Now they have another incident to deal with, that being the off the court problems of Raymond Felton.

If you haven't heard the story already, Felton was arrested Tuesday for a felony weapons charge, with an unregistered hand gun in his possession. He was released from a Manhattan Criminal Court on $25,000 bail and could be back in the Knicks lineup for their next game against the Miami Heat. Felton faced the media on Wednesday after practice, speaking for less than a minute and saying basically that he didn't think this incident was going to be a distraction to the team.

Now its bad enough that Felton is having one of the worst seasons of his professional career. The Knicks are barely hanging on in the playoff race, and Felton has had trouble producing. He has been slowed by nagging leg injuries early, which have effected his play on the court. He's averaging a career-worst 10.4 points on 40.3 percent shooting, and his defensive play hasn't been as strong as it has been in seasons past. That has been bad enough for Felton. Now he has this off the court trouble to deal with.

As badly as Felton, and the rest of the Knicks for that matter, don't want it to be a distraction, I hate to break this but it is going to be a distraction. The media is going to be all over it and Felton will hear about it wherever he goes. This story won't go away and will cause a distraction. This whole off the court incident will not interfere with his playing time, as he is not due in Court over the incident until June 2nd and there is no action, as of yet coming down from the NBA because of this. Will the NBA take action over this, i don't know. I think they are going to let the court system and then the Knicks take care of it before the league really has to get involved. So for now it least, Felton can go about trying to help the Knicks try to get into the playoffs.

But there is more to it than meets the eye. This whole thing is just another strange episode in this 2013-14 New York Knicks Season. With this incident with Felton,. nobody in the organization is stepping up and apologizing for it. With Felton, he isn't taking any questions regarding this matter, which is a smart move legally, but still he should at least apologize for his sub par play and for allowing something like this to happen and cause whatever aftershock will occur from it. Then their's James Dolan and his executives. Dolan wasn't around at Knicks practice yesterday and wasn't available for comment on this story. That to me is a gutless move by the Knicks owner. Its making a couple of statements to me. First off, by not showing up and speaking about this it tells me that Dolan doesn't care about his fan base. Why? Because if he really cared about the fan base he would have shown up and let the fans know that he cares about the team and who plays for them. The fans are paying to watch this team play, and right now the team is struggling as is. Dolan really hasn't done much to fix that at the moment. Now with this going on with Felton, by not speaking about it, Dolan is telling me that he doesn't care what his players do on and off the court. If Dolan really cared he would have taken Felton out of the lineup and said that what he has done isn't allowed on this team. That is where Dolan really dropped the ball.

So there has been a lot going on around the Knicks this season, and with this story swirling around the club, things could get worse from here on out. Only way the Knicks can stop this kind of talk is by playing really well over the final 25 games of the season and getting into the playoffs. Right now this story will be hanging over their heads for a little while longer.

Oswego Women's Hockey Tripped Up On Senior Weekend

The Oswego State Women's Hockey team came into the final weekend of the regular season on the strength of a six game winning streak. The team closed out the regular season with a pair of home games against the rival Plattsburgh State Cardinals. In the history of the Rivalry, Oswego has never been able to beat the nationally ranked Cardinals, losing all 16 games they have played against Plattsburgh. Unfortunately, that trend would continue for the Lakers as they dropped both games to Plattsburgh by the narrowest of margins.

First up was a Friday night nail batter that saw the Cardinals take the victory 1-0. The only goal of the hockey game was scored by Chelsea VanGlahn, her 11th of the season, at the 19:32 mark of the 2nd period. Both teams were unable to score on their powerplays, Plattsburgh going 0 for 8 and Oswego going 0 for 5. Sydney Aveson got the win in net for the Cardinals, improving her record to 16-1-1, as she stopped all 18 shots she faced. Meanwhile Bridget Smith took the loss for Oswego, dropping her record to 6-1-1 on the year, as she stopped 34 of the 35 shots she faced.

Oswego looked to bounce back the next day, senior day for the team, against this same Cardinals club. But once again the result was the same as the night before, this time a 2-0 win for Plattsburgh. The Cardinals scored both goals in the opening period as Giovanna Senese scored her 13th of the year at 12:12 and then Chelsea VanGlahn netted her 12th of the year and 2nd in as many nights at the 18:51 put the Cardinals up 2-0, a lead they would not relinquish. Both teams again came up empty on their powerplays, with Plattsburgh going 0 for 3 and Oswego going 0 for 2. Sydney Aveson got the win for Plattsburgh, improving her record to 17-1- on the year, as she stopped all 14 shots she faced in the shutout. Tori Trovato took the loss for Oswego, dropping her record to 5-3-0 on the year, as she stopped 39 of the 41 shots she faced.

Even thought the Lakers came up short this weekend, thy hung in there with the best team in the country for 120 minutes of total hockey. Oswego faced 76 total shots over the weekend and surrendered just three goals, that's saying a lot. Plus throughout the first game of the weekend Oswego pushed the attack and had Plattsburgh against the ropes, which shows how close they were to finally breaking the losing streak against the Cards. Oswego showed the entire weekend that they won't go away.

Senior weekend saw the final regular season home games for the nine seniors on the team: Mady Paul, Jocelyn St. Clair, Emma Smetaniuk, Melissa Seamont, Olivia Boersen, Chelsea Hunt, Megan Hagg, Leslie Jarvis and Catherine Cote. Even though senior weekend didn't go as planned the Lakers still made a big statement with their overall play.

And the season isn't over yet. The Lakers finished the regular season 16-8-1 and 10-5-1 in ECAC West Play good enough for a 3rd place finish in conference, behind only Elmira and Plattsburgh. Oswego has a playoff game this saturday afternoon at home as they take on the BuffaloS tate Bengals at 3PM!

(Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Oswego Men's Hockey Close Regular Season With Pair Of Wins

The Oswego State Men's Ice Hockey team came into the final weekend of the regular season on their heels a little, after dropping their final two home games of the season. Oswego closed out the regular season games in the North Country, as they made their yearly trip to Potsdam and Plattsburgh, their two biggest rivals. Before the Lakers could take on their rivals teh Cardinals they had to first get by the Bears in Potsdam.

Oswego has always played well against the Bears, going 64-24-2 all time against Potsdam. That trend continued thanks to a big come from behind, 4-3 victory Friday night. The Bears got on the board first, at the 4:06 mark of the 1st period, when Billy Pascalli scored his 9th of the year, a powerplay goal. The Lakers answered back at the 7:14 mark of the period when Alex Botten scored his 6th of the year, another powerplay goal. Potsdam would retake the lead at the 10:46 mark, when Mike Arnold scored his 15th of the year, giving the Bears a 2-1 lead which they would take into the 2nd period. In that middle period, Oswego found their offensive stride, scoring three times. Matt Galati scored his 19th of the year 36 seconds into the period to tie the game. Then at the 16:55 mark, Mike Montagna score his 8th of the year to give Oswego the lead. Galati would score again, his 20th of the year less than a minute later to increase the Oswego lead to two. Mike Arnold scored his 16th of the year at the 18:20 mark of the 3rd to cut the lead to one but Oswego would hold on for the 4-3 victory, snapping the two game losing streak.

Jon Hall took the loss for Potsdam, dropping his record to 3-4-2 on the year, as he stopped 28 of the 32 shots he faced. Meanwhile Matt Zawadzki picked up the win for Oswego, improving his record to 9-2-2 on the season, as he stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced on the night. Potsdam went 2 for 4 on the powerplay while Oswego went 1 for 5 with the man advantage. Oswego got multiple point performance from Bobby Gertsakis (2A), Nick Rivait (2A) and Matt Galati (2G 1A). With Matt Galati hitting the 20 goal mark for the season, it marks the 3rd time in the last five years that a Lakers player have hit the 20 goal mark. The other two were Eric Selleck (2009-10) and Luke Moodie (2012-13).

So now that Potsdam is out of the way, it was on to the Stafford Ice Arena in Plattsburgh as the Lakers and Cardinals add another chapter to their storied rivlary. The first meeting of the year ended in a 3-3 tie. That wasn't the case this time around, as Oswego pulled out a nailbiting 4-3 win. The first period went by without a score, but the 2nd period we really saw the offense pick up as six goals were scored in the middle frame. Plattsburgh scored first, 26 seconds into the period, when Michael Radisa scored his 6th of the season. Oswego answered back with a pair of powerplay goals. First, at the 4:45 mark, Mike Montagna scored his 9th of the season. Then at the 6:23 mark, Andrew Barton scored his 2nd of the year to give the Lakers the lead. Plattsburgh answered back at the 8:27 mark when Radisa scored his 2nd of the game and 7th of the season. Plattsburgh retook the 3-2 lead at the 9:20 mark when Alex Brenton scored his 12th of the season for the Cardinals. Oswego was able to pull even at the 12:50 mark thanks to Alex Botten's 7th of the year. The score would remain deadlocked at 3 until the 17:28 mark of the 3rd period, when Brandon Adams scored his 9th of the year, giving the Lakers the 4-3 victory.

Mathieu Cadieux took the loss for the Cardinals, dropping his record to 18-4-2 on the year, as he stopped 16 of the 20 shots he faced. Meanwhile Justin Gilbert got the start but was pulled halfway through the game after giving up three goals on `14 shots. Matt Zawadzki came in in relief of Gilbert, picking up the win, improving his record to 10-2-2. Zawadzki stopped all 22 shots he faced in the nets. Alex Botten (1G 1A) and Andrew Barton (1G 1A) each had multipoint games for the Lakers. Plattsburgh went 0 for 2 on the powerplay while Oswego went 2 for 3 on the man advantage.

Oswego finished the regular season 17-6-2 on the year, going 10-5-1 in SUNYAC play. That was good enough for 3rd place in the conference behind Geneseo and Plattsburgh. The 17 wins on the year marks the first time Oswego failed to win 20 games in a year for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

The season isn't over yet. SUNYAC Tournament play gets underway on Wednesday. Oswego will play host to the Buffalo State Bengals at 7PM. Winner will move on to play either Geneseo or Plattsburgh on the road Saturday night in the SUNYAC Semifinals!

(Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Fallout From Duke-Syracuse Calls

It was the call that was talked about most of the weekend. The Charge on C.J. Fair with 10.4 seconds left in the basketball game that allowed Duke to hang on to a 66-60 victory over Syracuse at Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday Night. From this one call, many people feel that it cost Syracuse the basketball game and many view the call as a bad call. Well lets face facts folks there is more to it than just that.

Just in case anybody hasn't seen the play yet, here's the call that we've all been talking about:

The call got Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim ejected from the game, allowing Duke position, all but sealing the victory. There have been quite a few debates that have been made over the call itself. The most notable debate is to whether or not the call was the right one. A lot of people have been saying it was a bad call and that there was bias towards Duke by the refs when they made the call. I'm sorry people but there's really no argument to be made over the call. It was a judgement call by the officials that could have really gone either way, it was a bang bang play if you take another look at it. So did the refs get the call right? They might have yes.

What also has been sticking in the craw of a lot of Syracuse fans was the non call that was made earlier in the game when Jabari Parker of Duke did the exact same thing to Michael Gbinije of Syracuse when Parker went up for a dunk. The ref called it a block and a turnover. So there was inconsistencies among the calls, I'll back the complaints that have been made by Syracuse fans about that. If you are going to call one then call the same thing in the same situation later in the game that's all. And if your not going to call the first play a charge, when it looked almost exactly the same as the video above, then don't call that a charge, call it a block and allow the bucket to stand.

Aside from whether or not the play was a bad call or not, there have been other questions that have arisen from that. The biggest question has to be did that call and the technical fouls to Jim Boehim cost Syracuse the game. The answer is no and I'll tell you why. First of all, there was still 10.4 seconds left on the clock, and had the shot counted, there would have been a free throw which in all likelyhood would have been made and given Syracuse a one point lead. There was still plenty of time for Duke to inbound the basketball, make a charge down the court and try to hit a game winning bucket. So there is no way you can honestly tell me that the call would have blown the game because Duke still would have been able to run down the court and score.

Another reason the call didn't cost Syracuse the game is because, in a way, Syracuse cost themselves the game. The reason I say this is because Syracuse got into foul trouble quite often in the basketball game and sort of took themselves out of it before this call could be made. If Syracuse had played the way they did in the first meeting between these teams back at the Carrier Dome at the beginning of February, then the Orange could have easily won the game. Both teams got into foul trouble at Cameron Saturday night, it wasn't just the Orange. Duke had foul trouble too, just like they did in the first meeting.

As far as the Boeheim ejection, there as no disciplinary action to come of it from the NCAA. It was the call that was made on the court nothing more nothing less. This also had an effect on the coaches polls, as both teams fell in the national rankings. Syracuse has fallen from #1 in the country to #4, as they had also been upset by Boston College earlier in the week. As for Duke, they fell from #4 to #6 in the nation, coupling the Syracuse game with the loss two days before to rival North Carolina. It's worth noting that both Boston College and North Carolina were not ranked in the top 25 teams in the nation in the Associated Press Coaches Polls, which is what lead to both Syracuse and Duke falling in the polls.

This game wasn't as intense as the first meeting that's for sure. And this one, more than likely, won't be the last time these two teams face off this season. Duke and Syracuse are the two best teams in the ACC, which I think is a safe assesment, and will more than likely, if everything goes right, face off again in the ACC tournament, even possibly the big dance and the NCAA tournament. So there is another chance for a rubber match between these clubs again this season!

USA Hockey Blows It On Olympic Stage

After running rough shot through the first round, and first two games of the medal round of the tournament, the US Men's Hockey team couldn't get the job done and bring home a medal at the Olympics. In fact, the US Women had the same trouble in the Gold Medal game against Canada, but we will touch on that in a little bit. The Men's Hockey team had been scoring like crazy through the first four games of the tournament, but in the final two games, when it really mattered the most, they just couldn't get the job done.

The Men's Hockey team had no trouble scoring at all in the first four games they played, scoring 7, 2, 5 and 5 goals respectively. Then they ran into a brick wall in Cary Price and were shutout, 1-0, in the semifinal against Canada. Then they met Finland in the Bronze, looking really snake bitten, getting shut out again 3-0.

Phil Kessel led the tournament in scoring with eight points on five goals and three assists. He and NHL teammate James van Riemsdyk powered the US offense. The team could score at will, but by the time the medal round rolled around they offense decided not to show up at all. Now the goaltending and defense looked good. Jonathan Quick played very, very well in the tournament. Sure Quick was beat a few times in games, but Quick was able to keep the team in the games. Ryan McDonagh too did a very good job at the blueline to keep the other teams off the board, for the most part. And lets not forget about TJ Oshie becoming an unsung hero in the tournament, especially in the opening round game against Russia in the shootout. So going into the game against Canada in the semifinal,. everything looked good for the United States.

Then the wheels fell off. They played pretty well against Canada but were unable to solve Price in the Canadian net. There was a bit of an effort in that game, but it wasn't enough. Then against Finland in the Bronze medal game, the team just plain no-showed. There was no effort at all from anybody. Patrick Kane missed twice on the penalty shots, there was just no real pressure at all against Tuukka Rask, who was in net for Finland. They had their foot on the gas pedal during the early part of the tournament and it was taken off when it matters most, which shouldn't happen. The US needed to keep the pedal on the medal and they didn't do that.

Same thing can be said for the United States Women too, It happened both times for the Women when they played Canada in the tournament, both in the preliminary round and in the Gold Medal game. The US had leads in both games and couldn't hold them, finishing with Silver for the Women. They had the same problem as the guys, they took the foot off the gas and let up. There was no way the USA should have turned their back on a team, which is what they did against Canada. Had they kept Canada back on their heels, it would have meant Gold. But they took the foot off the gas, allowed Canada back in the game and the rest is history.

It was embarrassing for both hockey teams, the way they played on the national stage. Sure they gave their time to represent their country, and sure it's not really about winning and losing. How the US went about trying to finish the job was tough to watch. Had theyr eally left it all on the ice, then I wouldn't have this sour taste in my mouth.

Two Hockey Powers Battle For Gold

Ever since it became an Olympic sport in 1998, Women's Hockey has been dominated by two countries, the United States and Canada. This week the two countries will face off again with the Gold Medal on the line for the 3rd time since the first games in 1998. The United States won the inagural gold in 1998 in which they beat Canada, but since then, in 2002, 2006 and 2010 the gold has gone to Canada. In fact Canada has beaten the United States in 2002 and 2010.

This is nothing new for the sport as the US and Canada have been the dominate countries in the game since 1998. I mean lets face facts no other country can really challenge the United States or Canada on the ice in Olympic Hockey. So it comes as no surprise to anybody these two nations face off with gold on the line. It is safe to say this is the best rivalry in women's sports and is up there in the conversation of one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. Think about this. Besides their battles for Olympic medals, there have been fifteen world championships for women's hockey and each time it has been the US against Canada in the finals. Throw that in along with the fact that these countries have meet in three of the four gold medal games in the Olympics and I'd say its making a claim to becoming a really great rivalry.

This also goes to show how weak some of the other countries are by comparison when it comes to the women's hockey game on the international level. The only country to play for a medal on the international level that wasn't either the USA or Canada was Sweden who pulled off a big upset in 2006 by beating the US to get to the gold medal game, only to lose there to Canada. Otherwise its been the US and Canada for all the marbels. It would be great for the sport if some other countries could be able to push the US and Canada but at the moment that isn't really a question.

So now that everything has gone down over the last 12 days in the Olympics the USA and Canada are the only two left standing. These two teams met in the group stage of these games, with Canada skating away with a 3-2 win, the only loss suffered by the United States at these games. Canada is coming into this gold medal game having won 19 straight Olympic hockey games. Canada has had superb goaltending in the tournament, as Shannon Szabados and Charline Labonte have split duties in the nets, allowing just three goals on 97 shots (96.10 percent) in their four games. The offense for Canad has been powered by Meghan Acosta (three goals, one assist), Rebecca Johnston (two goals, two assists) and Natalie Spooner (two goals, two assists). So solid scoring and defense hasn't been a problem for Canada.

Same can be said for the United States. Jessie Vetter has played pretty well herself in the nets for the Americans, but sh hasn't really played quite as well as the Canadian counterparts. She's only faced 55 shots in four contests playing behind a stacked American squad led by defender and captain Julie Chu. The downside is that Vetter has allowed five goals. That adds up to a questionable 90.91 save percentage so far for Vetter, a number that bodes well for this high-powered Canadian attack. Just like Canada, the United States has a very high powered attack, with Amanda Kessel (three goals, three assists), Kendall Coyne (two goals, four assists) and Briana Decker (two goals, four assists) leading the high scoring charge for the team.

Both countries can roll four lines and are solid in their own defensive end. If the game between the two in the group round was any indication, this one is going to be a very close, tight checking game that will come right down to the wire. Sure Canada has been good, but the United States have been coming in red hot and will finally get the monkey off the back and take the gold!

Oswego Women's Hockey On A Bigtime Roll

The Oswego State Women's Hockey team has been on a major roll over the past few weeks, keeping that up this past weekend. Oswego has had trouble with the Pioneers in the past, going 3-12-0 against Utica all time. That changed a little this weekend as Oswego took both games against the Pioneers and by the same score.

First up was the Saturday afternnon game at the Aud in Utica, a game in which special teams was the star of the game, with Oswego coming away with the 2-1 win. Oswego got on the board first thanks to a shorthanded goal from Melissa Seamont, her 7th of the year. It was the only goal of the period. Seamont liked it so much she did it again, her 8th of the year, and 2nd shorthanded goal of the night, at the 4>:09 mark of the middle frame. Utica got one back, thanks to a powerplay goal from Nicole Kieffer 3:49 into the 3rd. That was all Utica could muster as Oswego held on for the 2-1 win. Seamont had both goals, giving her three shorthaded goals on the season.

Bridget Smith got the win for Oswego, improving her record to 5-0-1 on the season, as she stopped 29 of the 30 shots she faced. Jennifer Hamel took the loss for Utica, dropping her record to 11-7-0 on the year, as she stopped 17 of the 19 shots she faced. Utica Outshot the Lakers but Oswego hung tough and came away with the win.

The two teams squared off again Sunday afternoon in Oswego. Same story different arena, as Oswego came away with the 2-1 win. Utica jumped out to the 1-0 lead 3:45 into the game as Kelsey Dowdall scored her 5th of the year. But Oswego would storm back and tie the game at 14:30 of the 1st when Melissa Seamont scored her 9th of the year and 3rd in two nights. Seamont was set up by Emma Smetaniuk and Olivia Boersen. the score would stay the same till this line struck again at 9:33 of the 3rd period when Smetaniuk and Boersen set up Seamont for her 10th of the year and fourth in two days. Oswego's defense would hold tight to seal the win.

Jennifer Hamel took the loss for Utica, dropping her record to 11-8-0, as she stopped 28 of the 30 shots she faced. Bridget Smith got the win for Oswego, improving her record to 6-0-1, as she stopped 28 of the 29 shots she faced.

With their play this weekend both Seamont and Smith were honored by ECAC West. Seamonts four goals got her ECAC West Player of the Week, with four goals. In fact, Seamont has scored the last five straight Lakers goals. talk about a hot shooter. Bridget Smith meanwhile won ECAC West Goalie of The Week as she allowed just two goals and finished the weekend with a .966 save percentage.

The six game winning streak the Lakers are currently on is the longest winning streak in program history. In fact the 16 wins the team has is also a new program record. Now comes one of the biggest challenges of the season for the team.

Senior weekend is this weekend in Oswego, as the team says goodbye to the nine seniors on the club. As for who they play, well its going to be a tough weekend as the Plattsburgh State Cardinals come into town for the final two games of the season. Whats going to break this weekend, the Lakers current win streak ior the Cardinals four game win streak?

(Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics)