Darchinyan pounds Arce,Devils flat in defeat

The New Jersey Devils appeared to be off on the right foot in Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Kings as Dainius Zubrus looked to have given the Devils the early lead.
However,video review overturned it as it was ruled to have entered the net due to an unintentional kick and the game went downhill from there as the Kings beat Scott Clemmensen three times in the second period in a 3-1 Los Angeles win.Dainius Zubrus (13) scored the Devils only goal in the third period to avoid the shutout.
The Devils host the hated Rangers tonight at 7 in a crucial divisional matchup.

Hell Raisers

1) I dont know if it was dead legs from playing the night before,looking forward to the Rangers or taking the Kings lightly,but I do know this-Everything after the called back goal was downhill.
They just seemed flat.

2) Scott Clemmensen allowed three goals for the second start in a row,but other than the penalty shot from Patrick O'Sullivan,was not really to blame.

3) The defense was pretty sloppy in front of Clemmensen.
The loss of Colin White likely didn't help,but it could not be the entire reason for such a poor performance.

4) Not much else that I can say,but even though Clemmensen has been beyond expectations all season,maybe not is the time for Kevin Weekes to take his turn.
Weekes has been the better goaltender over the last two weeks.

5) The Rangers are sputtering themselves and appear to be ready to turn to Sean Avery as the savior?
As if the retiring of Adam Graves number wasn't dumb enough??

Bullpen Notes

Vic Darchinyan hammered Jorge Arce from pillar to post and retained his World Jr.Bantamweight title when the doctor refused to allow Arce to leave his corner for the 12th and final round.
The battered and bloodied Arce won only one round on two judges cards and two on the other.
We had Darchinyan ahead 108-101 at the time of the stoppage.

Darchinyan holds all three major belts and has beaten two of the divisions top four fighters in his last two bouts.
So why doesn't the supposedly fair and impartial Ring Magazine regard him as champ?
Maybe it could be because new Ring owner Golden Boy Promotions doesn't have a stake in Darchinyan???

Sorry to Showtime jettison longtime blow by blow announcer Steve Albert in favor of one of our least favorite in "Screamin" Gus Johnson.
We have written in the past about Johnson's over the top calls/Vince McMahonesque pro wrestling style commentary in football and basketball for CBS and he pretty much lived up to our low expectations.

Boxing and Horse Racing seems to attract every announcer that thinks that they can just show up and slide by without really knowing the sport.
It usually is apparent by the end of the show just how ill prepared and how little they actually know about the sport.

Enjoyed watching C-SPAN's Q and A with Brian Lamb last night as it featured one of my favorite left wing pundits in Stephanie Miller for the hour.
I have always been a mark for Miller since her mid 90's TV show that lasted about 12 days!
I only wish her show started a little earlier or later as I am usually in bed when her radio show is on.
The picture of the lefty talker is (of course) with blog favorite and (should already be) Senator Al Franken.

Photo Credits
Penalty Shot:Jim McIssac-Getty Images
Boxing:AP Photo
Miller/Franken:StephanieMiller.com