Premier League: Steven Gerrard scores two penalties as Liverpool beat Man Utd 3-0

Liverpool closed to within four points of Premier League leaders Chelsea after captain Steven Gerrard scored two penalties in a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Gerrard converted from the spot in each half before missing a third penalty after Nemanja Vidic was sent off before Luis Suarez scored a late third to keep Liverpool, who have a game in hand on Chelsea, firmly in the title hunt.

Though chances were scarce during the first half, Liverpool played with a far greater intensity and tempo, and took the lead on 34 minutes.

Rafael was fortunate not to be shown a second yellow card in as many minutes after handling the ball following Suarez's clever touch and Gerrard sent David de Gea the wrong way from the penalty spot.

United briefly woke from their slumber as Wayne Rooney tested Simon Mignolet just before half-time, but Liverpool were awarded another penalty in the opening minute of the second half.

Phil Jones was penalised for a nudge on Joe Allen and, though De Gea guessed correctly on this occasion, Gerrard's precise penalty was beyond the United keeper's reach.

The Red Devils saw two penalty appeals waved away in the ensuing 10 minutes before Liverpool were awarded a third spot-kick when Daniel Sturridge went down under Vidic's challenge which resulted in a second yellow card for the United captain.

Gerrard stepped up for his hat-trick, only to strike the post, while Liverpool could have had a fourth penalty moments later when Sturridge appeared to be tripped by Michael Carrick.

Suarez was thwarted by a brilliant save by De Gea before the Uruguayan did beat the United keeper on 84 minutes with a neat finish after controlling Sturridge's mis-hit shot.

Steven Gerrard talks to Sky Sports' Rob Palmer about Liverpool's season so far ahead of their clash with Manchester Utd on Sunday.

The manner of the defeat against their arch-rivals will be even more galling for United, who now have to lift themselves for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League tie at home to Olympiakos on Wednesday.

This time last year United were 29 points ahead of Liverpool. They are now 14 behind their bitter rivals with nine matches of the season left and the 11-point gap to fourth place looks insurmountable.

United were given an early warning sign after just two minutes when Sturridge sprinted past Vidic but shot wide.

Suarez then latched onto Jon Flanagan's cutting pass and sprinted into the United box but he did not go down when Marouane Fellaini pulled his shorts.

Sturridge again got the better of Vidic and Jones with a burst of pace, but he fluffed his shot, and De Gea made his first save from Allen.

Flanagan was booked for his third foul of the game and Rafael soon joined him for a pointless sliding tackle on Gerrard.

Nemanja Vidic speaks exclusively to Geoff Shreeves about his decision to leave Man Utd and his favourite memories from his eight seasons at the club.

Moments later and Rafael handed the Reds the lead when the ball struck the Brazilian's outstretched right hand as Suarez tried to guide the ball past him.

Gerrard made no mistake from the spot, tucking the ball inside De Gea's left-hand post.

United had a strong five-minute spell before the break which involved Rooney drawing a top save from Mignolet, but just 30 seconds after the restart they imploded.

Jones clattered into the back of Allen and the referee pointed to the spot and Gerrard placed the ball to De Gea's left again.

United thought they should have had two penalties for a handball by Glen Johnson and a foul on Rooney by Martin Skrtel but referee Mark Clattenburg disagreed.

Robin van Persie, the man who won United the title last year, glanced a free header feebly wide from six yards.

A nightmare afternoon plumbed new depths when Vidic was given a second yellow card for bringing down Sturridge, although replays suggested the England striker had dived.

The only crumb of comfort for United was that Gerrard missed his hat-trick opportunity by hitting De Gea's right-hand post.

De Gea saved well from Suarez with eight minutes left but the Uruguayan did not miss moments later to complete a miserable day for United.

Copyright : skysports.com

Top-seeded Wichita State headed to St. Louis — with Kansas company

Some people reacted with anger and sympathy on behalf of Wichita State as CBS revealed the Midwest Region bracket. The top-seeded Shockers appeared to receive a tough break from the selection committee, which placed some of college basketball’s biggest names in between them and a return to the Final Four.

The unbeaten Shockers reacted with excitement. Anybody who thinks this team will shrink from playing Kentucky, Kansas State, Louisville or Duke doesn’t understand this team. They want to play the big names. The biggest reaction during Sunday’s selection show came when “Kentucky” popped up as a possible opponent.

If the Shockers win their way to Arlington, Texas, for the national semifinals on April 5, they will earn it through a field that appears monumentally difficult.

“The best challenge out there is those big-name schools that you think you can’t beat,” WSU forward Cleanthony Early said. “And I feel like we can beat them, if we continue to play hard and do what we do.”

Before the Shockers can think about big names, they must fulfill the duty of the No. 1 seed and dispatch a No. 16. It’s usually easy, but they witnessed No. 16 Southern trail No. 1 Gonzaga by one point with 2:28 remaining last season in Salt Lake City. Gonzaga won 64-58, a performance which hinted at its loss to the Shockers two days later.

The Shockers (34-0) will play either Cal Poly (13-19) or Texas Southern (19-14) on Friday at Scottrade Center. Those teams meet Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio. The Shockers would face the Kansas State-Kentucky winner in the round of 32 on Sunday.

No. 1 seeds are 116-0 against the No. 16 seed.

The Scottrade Center, site of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, will be a madhouse starting Thursday with the public practices at noon. Kentucky and Kansas (in the South Region) own two of the largest fan bases in college basketball. Shocker fans started buying tickets for St. Louis at least a month ago. Kansas State adds a fourth team, with fans used to traveling, within driving distance.

While Wichita is 442 miles from St. Louis, Lexington is 334 and Manhattan is 368.

The challenge for WSU is to ignore the circus and focus on playing, first against an opponent they won’t know until Wednesday night. A year ago, the Shockers slipped relatively unnoticed into Salt Lake City — unable to fill a chartered flight with fans — as a No. 9 seed. This season, all eyes are on the nation’s lone unbeaten, some cheering and some wishing for their early demise. Before the Shockers can worry about Kentucky’s height or Kansas State’s Marcus Foster or a rematch with Louisville, it needs to win a game.

“Our bracket looks very stacked,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “Any time you’re going to play in this tournament, you really can’t think too far down the road. There will be upsets. People are going to talk about ‘You’re going to play this team or this team.’ You just need to take care of the business that is right in front of you, and that’s preparing for Texas Southern or Cal Poly.”

The Shockers excelled at taking each opponent seriously this season.

“We’ve got business to take care of and we’ve got to prepare properly,” Early said.

Grabbing one of four seeds atop a bracket adds another landmark to this historic season.

Wichita State is the Valley’s second No. 1 seed, joining 1979 Indiana State. It is WSU’s best seed in the tournament, topping a No. 5 in 2012. The Shockers are making a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, a first for the program.

“My reaction was, very thankful,” WSU guard Ron Baker said. “You get chill bumps watching your team’s name pop up on the bracket. This year, as a one seed, it feels very special and we’ll hope to take advantage of it.”

The Shockers join a list of 45 schools to earn top seeds since the NCAA first ranked the field in 1979. North Carolina (14), Duke (12), Kentucky (11) and Kansas (10) lead the list. Since 2004, WSU, Gonzaga (2013), Memphis (2006, 2008) and Saint Joseph’s (2004) are the only schools outside the SEC, ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big 10 and Pacific-10 conferences to earn a No. 1 seed.

Preparations started immediately, thanks to the use of Internet-based video systems. The video portion of the scouting reports were done within an hour or so of the selection show. Assistant coach Steve Forbes will handle the scouting duties for Texas Southern. Greg Heiar will prepare for Cal Poly. Associate head coach Chris Jans will scout Kentucky and either Forbes or Heiar will switch to Kansas State after WSU’s first opponent is determined.

WSU will travel to St. Louis on Wednesday. Public and private practices and media sessions are scheduled for Thursday.

“Both of these teams will have our full respect,” WSU guard Fred VanVleet said. “We’ll know our opponent pretty well by tip-off.”

Reaction to the Mighty Midwest came quickly.

According to the Associated Press, four of the teams in the Midwest are among the top eight in the nation —No. 2 WSU, No. 5 Louisville, No. 7 Duke and No. 8 Michigan.

Three 2013 Final Four teams — WSU, second-seeded Michigan and fourth-seeded Louisville, the defending NCAA champion, are in the Midwest. So is Saint Louis, ranked No. 10 less than a month ago. Seventh-seeded Texas finished in a tie for third in the Big 12 and owns wins over North Carolina, Iowa State and Kansas.

WSU, Duke and Michigan are ranked in the top 11 of the RPI, according to warrennolan.com. Louisville, which has won five straight games by 10 or more points, is a favorite of Ken Pomeroy’s advanced statistics. He ranks them No. 2 nationally with its offensive and defensive efficiency both in the top 10. WSU is the only other team ranked in the top 10 of both.

The committee also hit WSU hard with its map skills.

Should WSU and Louisville advance to the Sweet 16, they meet in Indianapolis in a regional semifinal, 114 miles from Louisville and 676 from Wichita, which hardly seems like geographic protection for the region’s top seed.

“No one in that committee room had the common sense to look at the Midwest and say, this is ridiculous?” wrote Luke Winn of Sports Illustrated on Twitter.

Eric Prisbell of USA Today Tweeted: “My worst fear: Louisville a 4 with WSU a 1. Totally ridiculous. No way Louisville is a 4 seed.”

The Shockers, after two months of talk about their schedule and their worthiness as a NCAA title contender, are ready for the main event.

“Once you get to the NCAA Tournament, it seems like a whole season in itself,” Baker said. “We can put everything behind us and focus.”

Copyright : kansascity.com

Money may send Vince Wilfork away

The 32-year-old defensive tackle asked for his release after apparently feeling spurned by recent contract discussions, according to the NFL Network. When reached yesterday, Wilfork’s agent, Kennard McGuire, had no comment.

As surprising as it may be, the signs existed of an unhappy ending with Wilfork’s $11.6 million cap hit in 2014. Financially, the Patriots would save $8 million against the cap by granting Wilfork’s request, so the business side of it works in the team’s favor.

The final season of Wilfork’s five-year, $40 million contract included $7.5 million in base salary, a $400,000 workout bonus and $200,000 weight bonus, plus the prorated portion of his $18 million signing bonus, accounting for $3.6 million in dead money.

So, the Pats didn’t want Wilfork to account for an $11.6 million cap hit a year after tearing his Achilles, and made their attempt to tweak that margin. Because Wilfork fought so hard in 2010 for his contract, the thought of taking a pay cut after 10 years of service was likely nauseating.

It’s possible the Pats offered an extension to Wilfork to spread out the cap hit to future years, but the high probability of a team-friendly offer appeared to irk him, which became evident with yesterday’s news of his asking to be released.

Wilfork is now betting on himself. In terms of actual cash, he would have made a minimum of $7.5 million in salary in 2014, and if he’s healthy enough after surgery, he would have earned the extra $600,000 with good attendance during the team’s nine-week offseason workout program.

In terms of average annual value, defensive tackle Paul Soliai set the market this offseason by earning $6.6 million per season in his five-year, $33 million deal with the Falcons, and Wilfork’s situation isn’t conducive to that type of deal. So, it’s clear he’s going to take less money by playing elsewhere in 2014, but Wilfork is likely taking the long-term view.

If he signs a one-year, prove-it deal, Wilfork could cash in next offseason with a two- or three-year contract that could ultimately net more money than he believes he’d receive immediately with the Pats. Considering Wilfork was a first-time first-team All-Pro in his last full season before the injury, it’s understandable why he’d feel confident in himself.

Pride might also be in play.

There’s no doubt the Patriots broke from their traditional philosophy Wednesday night by signing cornerback Darrelle Revis and making him the highest-paid player on the defense, as well as the second highest-paid player in the locker room.

Wilfork might shake his head and wonder why the big deal happened so quickly with Revis, who signed five hours after getting cut by the Buccaneers, and it’s been so difficult for him to get his own money, plus others who had come before him.

That’s just a theory.

However, the combination of Wilfork’s business sense and the timing of his request make it intriguing to connect the dots.

With so much in play from each side, there are positives for Wilfork and the Patriots to stand their ground, even if that results in a divorce.

Copyright : bostonherald.com

No Mo Black Mamba: Kobe Bryant To Miss The Rest Of NBA 2014 Season

According to Eben Gregory, The Los Angeles Lakers have ruled Kobe Bryant out for the remainder of the season after a re-examination of the veteran guard’s injured knee showed it still hasn’t healed.

Kobe has been out of the game since he fractured the lateral tibial plateau in his left knee. The injury was a tough break for the Laker star after he worked so hard to come back from a tragic achilles tear suffered last season.

Bryant himself spoke about it as well. Said Kobe,

“Obviously this has been a frustrating and disappointing season, but I appreciate all the support I’ve received from the Lakers and the fans and look forward to being back and ready for the start of training camp. I don’t want to say I’ll be back at the top of my game, because everybody is going to think I’m crazy and an old player not letting go, that sort of thing, but that’s what it’s going to be. The amount of time that we’re looking at in terms of being able to get as healthy as possible and then get in shape so that you don’t come back and get hurt again, by the time that’s ready to go you’re looking at a week left in the season or whatever the case may be and it didn’t really seem worth it. You just continue to try to ramp up. Now I find myself really looking at a seven-month training program. Just doing everything I can to get my body ready and be 100 percent and I have seven months to do that. So, I feel pretty good about it.”

Said team physician Steve Lombardo.

“With Kobe’s injury still not healed, the amount of time he’d need to rehab and be ready to play, and the amount of time remaining in the season, we’ve simply run out of time for him to return. However, Kobe will have the entire offseason to heal, rehab and prepare, and we look forward to him being 100 percent for the start of next season.”

Bryant said he made his decision to sit out the rest of the way Tuesday, prior to the final evaluation.

Copyright : theurbandaily.com

Chicago Bulls’ swingman Mike Dunleavy returns with vengeance

Chicago: Mike Dunleavy shook off a cruel elbow in the second quarter that left him bloodied and bruised before returning in the third to take down Houston with a superb offensive performance.

The 33-year-old Chicago Bulls swingman needed 10 stitches at half-time to close a nasty gash over his right eye after being floored by a cruel elbow from the Rockets’ Chandler Parsons.

Rather than let it end his night, Dunleavy scored 18 of his 21 points in the third quarter to lift Chicago to a 111-87 win over Houston Thursday night at the United Centre arena.

“The doctor said I had thick skin,” said Dunleavy, who is the son of former NBA star and NBA head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr.

Parsons drove to the basket, leading with his left elbow that smashed into the face of Dunleavy. Parsons was slapped with an offensive foul on the play.

Dunleavy said he was just holding his ground and didn’t see the elbow coming. His face, though, ended up as a bloody mess. He got up off the ground and rushed to the locker room while a trainer held a towel up to try and stop the bleeding.

“No point in hanging around the court and getting blood everywhere,” said Dunleavy.

The incident took place with just under eight minutes left before halftime.

“It feels alright,” Dunleavy said. “I got hit with an elbow trying to take a charge.

“It happens. You hang around this league enough and you are going to get hit. They did a good job of stitching me up and I was able to get back in quick enough.”

Dunleavy returned to the court to start the third and came out with vengeance. He scored 10 points during Chicago’s 20-2 run to open the period that extended their lead to 70-44 halfway through the quarter.

Dunleavy went seven-of-11 from the field in the third, including three-of-four from three point range.

“The hit knocked a little sense into me, I guess,” Dunleavy said.

Joking aside, Dunleavy said besides the deep cut he also suffered a sore neck due to the whiplash motion of being hit.

“I think it inspired the team,” said Joakim Noah. “He had a huge knot on his head, looking like [Evander] Holyfield, the white version ... It was good for Duke’s street credibility.”

Noah narrowly missed a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Chicago, which won for the 12th time in the last 16 games. Kirk Hinrich scored 19, Carlos Boozer 18 and D.J. Augustin 13 for the Bulls.

Chicago held Houston star James Harden to a season-low tying eight points.

The Rockets have lost two consecutive contests following a five-game winning streak. It’s the first time Houston has lost back to back games since January 24-25.

Jeremy Lin paced their attack with 21 points. They also got 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks from Dwight Howard.

Copyright : gulfnews.com

World T20 2014: Why we think that India cannot win the championship

The world T20 is around the corner and all the teams and fans are warming up to put up the contender ship for their respective countries. A total of 16 teams will be fighting for the title, 8 out of which would undergo a qualifying round before the main tournament starts.

The Indian team which has been on a bad run since the South African tour has a lot to worry about in the limited over format of the game. They have now lost 9 of their last 12 games, winning only two. Now the T2o format is an entirely different scenario than that of the 50 over format, but you can’t deny that the basic of the game is the same. India has not been able to give a complete team performance since the champions trophy now, and the lack of balance in the team is clearly visible. Here we take a look at the area of concern for the Indian team in the shorter format.

Now we are not talking about the IPL or any other domestic league, what we do want to put forward is that the Indian team last played a t20 international match on 10th October 2013 against the Australians, which they did manage to win due to career best figures from Yuvraj Singh. Before that India had not played another T20 in another 10 months, so for the records, they have played only one T20 international in the last 15 months. We can always argue that they get enough experience in the IPL, but we should also not forget that even the IPL was a year back

The bowling department has been one of the flaws that India has now carried for generations with themselves. We have never produced a bowler that can literally scare an opponent. Yes, there have been moments of brilliance by someone or the other and there has always been promise, but that never expands into anything. The team that is going to the T20 world cup is carrying the same bowling attack as the previous tournament. A bowling attack that has shown promise in the one day format, but T20 again is an entirely different format and we have seen again and again how the Indian bowlers crumble under pressure

The Indian middle order is far from what you can call as balanced. Yes we do have returning names like Yuvraj and Raina, who are huge when it comes to the T20 format but then even those two have not played any games at the international arena in the last 6 months or so. When it comes to cricket, practice and form matters, and these two far away from what you can call as good form, plus you also have the short ball problem with both of them. One might think that M S Dhoni would prove to be saviors as far as the middle order is concerned, but his record in T20 internationals doesn’t say much either as he is yet to score a half century in the shorter format. His strike rate also happens to be only 114.88 per 100 balls; something that is highly under achieving as far as M S Dhoni is concerned.

Another major concern is regarding the selection of the spinners, the team has management has yet not been able to decide about whom to play and whom to not. Since Ravindra Jadeja sure to play, considering his all-round performance in the recent tournaments, the team management will have to take a decision on whether to give chances to a newly sparked Amit Mishra or to maintain their Ashwin love affair, a love affair which doesn’t seem to bring about any profits when it’s required the most.

With so much to improve and so many hurdles to overcome, it seems very unlikely that the Indian team has any major chance of winning this world T20. We do believe in miracle, and one can give the example of the 2007 t20 world cup triumph as one, but a team can be one time lucky. Will luck do a favor on the Indian team for the second time? Only time will tell.

Copyright : india.com

UAE to host first stage of 2014 IPL cricket - organisers

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host the first leg of this year's Indian Premier League cricket (IPL), the organisers said on Wednesday.

The lucrative Twenty20 tournament this year clashes with the parliamentary election in the world's biggest democracy.  A staggering 814 million Indians will be eligible to vote from April 7 in what would be the biggest election the world has ever seen.

Voting will be held in nine stages, staggered until May 12, and results are due to be announced on May 16.  With poll security being the government's priority, UAE would host at least 16 IPL matches from April 16-30, the Indian cricket board said in a statement without naming the venues.

Local media claimed Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah would host those matches. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has approached the interior ministry for permission to host the May 1-12 matches in states where polling would be over, but has kept Bangladesh as a standby in case the government cannot provide security.

"BCCI will abide by the decision of the authorities in this regard. If it is not possible to play in India during this period, IPL matches will be held in Bangladesh," the board said.  

The last set of matches culminating in the June 1 final would be held in India, the board said, promising to share tournament schedules soon. South Africa hosted the second IPL in 2009 when the cash-awash tournament clashed with the multi-phased election that year.

Copyright : sabc.co.za

Phil Jackson’s fiancee Jeanie Buss - wearing New York sweatshirt - says Knicks job ‘his decision to make’

Jeanie Buss, Phil Jackson's fiancee, sports a New York sweatshirt for a morning walk.

LOS ANGELES — As the world awaits official word on whether Phil Jackson will save the Knicks, his fiancee, Lakers president Jeanie Buss, hinted Wednesday morning that she has the answer.

While wearing a sweatshirt with NEW YORK across the front as she walked her diabetic 11-year-old Maltese in front of the Playa Del Rey home she shares with Jackson, Buss told the Daily News that while it’s “not appropriate for me to talk about that ... Of course I wouldn’t stop him. It’s his decision to make, of course.”

Jeanie Buss says she would not stop Phil Jackson from taking a front-office gig with the Knicks.

Asked if New York has a special place in Jackson’s heart, Buss, who is also the Lakers’ NBA Board of Governors representative, responded: "Of course! It's where he was a player. And you know, I'm there a lot for Board of Governors meetings," she said.

Buss laughed when it was suggested the sweatshirt was a sign of where Jackson was heading.

 

Phil Jackson shares the beach front home (c.) in Playa Del Rey, Calif, with Jeanie Buss.

Jeanie Buss out for a morning stroll with dog Princess outside of their beach front home.

One of the big questions surrounding Jackson’s decision on whether to accept the Knicks’ offer of a front office position is how much time he would be willing to spend in New York. It has been reported that Jackson might prefer a consulting role with the team that would allow him to still spend time in L.A.

As she walked back to her house from a grassy park overlooking a lagoon, Buss was asked if they would have to give up their idyllic beachside lifestyle and move to New York, Buss answered:

"Isn't it nice down here?" she said, smiling as she walked away with her dog Princess in her arms.

“It’s my favorite sweatshirt,” she said.

Copyright : nydailynews.com

Are Broncos risking future to win now?

The Denver Broncos own the NFL’s best regular-season record in the two seasons since quarterback Peyton Manning improbably hit the market and signed with them. However, they are only 2-2 in the playoffs over that span, compared to a combined 12-3-1 for the more defensively oriented Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens. And after enduring a Super Bowl humiliation last month, there was no way the Broncos could sit by idly and hope for a different result next time. They were going to address their defense in some fashion, but could anyone have expected this? 

One day into free agency, the Broncos slammed the accelerator to the floor in a clear push to win a championship before the nearly 38-year-old Manning's career is finished. While the money Denver allocated for cornerback Aqib Talib and safety T.J. Ward sent a clear message on its own, the Broncos’ immediate interest in the recently released DeMarcus Ware left little doubt. The question is whether the Broncos can have it both ways. Will their win-now mentality cause them to pay a steep price later? 

Every NFL general manager would tell you successful franchises ideally build through the draft and supplement with value buys in free agency.

Copyright : insider.espn.go.com

Stars announcer Daryl 'Razor' Reaugh gives his account of Rich Peverley's collapse

Dallas Stars television color analyst Daryl "Razor" Reaugh spoke with Norm Hitzges on KTCK-AM/FM 1310/96.7 this morning to discuss last night's episode involving Rich Peverley.

Below is a transcript of his comments:

On whether he had an idea of what was going on when Peverley collapsed:

“None whatsoever in the beginning because the play was going on and then all of the sudden it was just pandemonium and chaos at the Stars bench. Things flash through your mind of what it might be. Did somebody get cut with a skate? There are time when there’s an injury or whatever and there’s a commotion on either bench and a player’s leaving the rink but this was completely different. Lindy Ruff was up and flailing his arms and trying to get the attention of both the officials and — as he said at the press conference after — a doctor. It doesn’t show on any of the video that was captured. You could sheer when you were in there just the sheer panic and the distress that was going on with our players and with our coaches with what had happened.”

On discovering that it was Rich Peverley:

“You move forward and you’re like, ‘Who is it?’ Because you know the precondition of Rich, your worst fears are there and you’re thinking, ‘That’s probably what it was.’ You can’t say it because you don’t know it yet. The most striking thing was looking at the video of the faces of the players and the coaches who just watched their teammate go essentially lifeless on their bench. Then you just shut up for a while it is what you do, and try to figure exactly what is going on without screwing it up and starting to speculate and babble. It was bizarre. I’ve never been a part of something like that.”

On after Peverley collapsed:

“Nobody could make an announcement. What announcement are you going to make anyway at that point? Our doctors, our training staff were absolute friggin’ rock stars last night. They were working on Rich 25 feet from our bench in the hallway. … You could see them pack someone from the bench and hustle down the hallway to get the paddles on him and that. As we heard after, one shot with the paddles and they brought him back like that, which was the greatest news they could have and he was conscious when he left, but it took them a long time to get that.”

On whether the heart actually stopped:

“It was surreal even after the game, that this group was loading up and marching on to St. Louis. Guys’ faces told the entire story. … My understanding is that is pretty much what happened. They gave him oxygen, gave him the paddles, brought his heart rhythm back and then took him back to the hospital.”

On the game getting postponed:

“I don’t know that you could say enough about how Lindy Ruff has handled himself done in his first season with the Dallas Stars, what he’s been doing with this group and what he did last night. Whether there were back room debates whether to go forward with the game or not … you could see the condition of the players. It was like, ‘There’s no way we’re playing.’ I think (Ruff) said that in his press conference too. The message to the league was, ‘We can’t play.’ ”

On what the doctors told Peverley when his condition was discovered in the preseason:

“I would think the message was that the risks were taken care of. Not even knowing whether this is completely to do with what he was dealing with or whether it was some other area of the heart that had failed him. … Everyone was quite confident, from what I understand, that this was being treated and he was going to be able to go on with his NFL career.”

On dealing with the whole event on the broadcast:

“The last thing on earth you want to do is end up like CNN and be giving out information and then backtracking and saying, ‘Well that actually wasn’t true.’ The message is always to just shut up until you get whatever confirmation of information you can give forth because people want to know, but at the same time you want to give them the right information. I’m not versed in how to handle these types of things. You just kind of juggle things as they’re going on. The best news of the night is that Rich was conscious and talking, because it didn’t look like that was going to be part of the equation right after that thing started at the Stars bench and you knew it was Rich Peverley.”

Copyright : dallasnews.com