Month: February 2020

Notre Dame Hockey: Irish Win Shootout, Not Game

Notre Dame (11-11-5, 6-7-4-3) tied Penn State (17-8-2, 9-6-2-0), 3-3, on Friday night. That’s all that should be said about it. But instead, the Big Ten has decided that conference ties need to end in shootouts that don’t decide anything except one …

Notre Dame (11-11-5, 6-7-4-3) tied Penn State (17-8-2, 9-6-2-0), 3-3, on Friday night. That’s all that should be said about it. But instead, the Big Ten has decided that conference ties need to end in shootouts that don’t decide anything except one more point. No real win; only one in a shootout, which the Irish got after seven rounds.

I’m not even going to bother getting into this one. OK, Michael Graham scored when the Irish had an extra attacker late in the third period, which was pretty cool, but otherwise, nope. I got nothing. A game that can’t decide whether it wants to award a win or a tie doesn’t deserve the benefit of an analysis.

If you’re going to a give a team an extra point in the conference standings, give them the win, too. Don’t just put the result into some sort of limbo that will make itself forever confused with its own identity. Give it a win or a tie, but not both.

James Harden returns to form as undersized Rockets outshoot Mavs

James Harden (35) had his best 3-point shooting night in weeks, and he also grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds as the Rockets won at home.

Houston star James Harden had his best rebounding game of the season and his top 3-point shooting performance in weeks as the undersized Rockets held off Kristaps Porziņģis and Dallas Mavericks in a 128-121 victory (box score) Friday night at Toyota Center.

It’s the fourth win in six games for the host Rockets (30-18), who jumped Dallas (29-19) in the Western Conference standings with the victory. Harden led the way with a game-high 35 points and 16 rebounds.

With starting center Clint Capela again out with a heel injury, Houston coach Mike D’Antoni went back to his small lineup by starting usual power forward P.J. Tucker at center, and then inserting Danuel House Jr. to Tucker’s vacated spot. Thabo Sefolosha spelled both off the bench.

The Rockets are now 2-0 with the undersized House-Tucker front line in Capela’s absence, having also won on Monday in Utah.

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On Monday, reserve seven-footer Isaiah Hartenstein played a few first-half minutes. On Friday, he did not, making the Rockets the first team since 1963 to play an entire NBA game with no player above 6-foot-6.

Given that dynamic, the 7-foot-3 Porziņģis took advantage with 35 points and 12 rebounds. Overall, Dallas won the rebounding battle, 52-37.

But the added floor spacing paid major dividends for Houston on the other end, with the Rockets making 21 of 45 shots (46.7%) from 3-point range as a team. Of Harden’s 35 points, over half of them came courtesy of a 6-of-14 showing (42.9%) on 3-pointers.

Harden entered the Dallas game shooting just 22.9% on 3-pointers during his recent 10-game slump. Friday’s result is just the second time in the last 11 games for the former MVP and the league’s current scoring leader to exceed 35% from behind the arc.

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The floor spacing may have also helped Harden and the Rockets avoid turnovers, with Houston recording only six as a team for the entire game.

In addition to his shooting on offense, Harden also helped Houston overcome its lack of size on defense with a season-high 16 rebounds and a game-high four steals. Of those 16 rebounds, 14 were defensive.

Harden’s final 3-pointer iced the game late in the fourth quarter, putting the Rockets up by seven points with just over a minute left.

Russell Westbrook had 32 points and a team-high nine assists. Of the 128 points, over half came between Houston’s All-Star backcourt, which had 67 combined. Eric Gordon made his second consecutive start at small forward and added 17 points, including three 3-pointers.

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The Mavs were missing star guard Luka Doncic, who was out with an ankle injury and is expected to miss several more games. Backcourt mate Tim Hardaway Jr. made four of the Mavs’ 14 total 3-pointers, but that wasn’t enough to keep up with the hot-shooting Rockets.

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The Rockets return to action Sunday afternoon for the second game of a three-game homestand. In a 1 p.m. local time tip-off, the Rockets will host prized rookie Zion Williamson and the suddenly surging New Orleans Pelicans (20-29), who have now won three straight games.

Sunday’s game will be nationally televised on ABC.

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Georgia basketball great Terry Fair dies at 59

Georgia basketball great Terry Fair, who was a key player on UGA’s Final Four team, has passed away at the age of 59.

Former Georgia basketball star Terry Fair has passed away at the age of 59, the school announced.

Fair, who was a four-year starter for the Bulldogs, was a key player on Georgia’s 1983 final four team.

According to the university, Fair died on Thursday of natural causes. He passed away in his hometown of Macon, Georgia.

A 6-foot-7 forward, Fair was selected in the fourth round of the 1983 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers.

He went on to play professionally in Israel for a decade and was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

From UGA Sports Communications:

Fair arrived in Athens in the fall of 1979 as a centerpiece of what was then the Bulldogs’ greatest recruiting class ever along with Dominique Wilkins, Derrick Floyd and Lamar Heard. Fair was a consensus All-American as a senior at Southwest Macon High School after he led the Patriots to the 1979 national championship while averaging 21.1 points and 15.2 rebounds per game.

Fair, Wilkins, Heard and Floyd helped lead the Bulldogs reach numerous firsts during their careers. Georgia earned its first postseason bid ever in 1981 with an invitation to the NIT. The Bulldogs returned to the NIT in 1982 and advanced to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

In 1983, Georgia secured its first-ever invitation to the NCAA Tournament after winning the SEC Tournament. Fair was named the championship game’s MVP by CBS after scoring 19 points in the title tilt against Alabama.

Fair and the Bulldogs, to pull off their historic 1983 run, took down St. John’s in the Sweet Sixteen before facing UNC, a team that featured four future NBA players – Michael Jordan, Kenny Smith, Brad Daughtery and Sam Perkins.

In the Sweet Sixteen win over St. John’s, Fair was unstoppable. He scored 27 points, had 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks in the 70-67 win over eventual NBA Hall of Famer Chris Mullin and St. John’s.

Georgia eventually fell to NC State in the Final Four. The Wolfpack would go on to win the 1983 NCAA Tournament, led by legendary coach Jimmy V.

At the conclusion of Fair’s collegiate career, he was the Bulldogs’ all-time leader in steals (194) and games played (123). He also ranked No. 2 in rebounds (923), No. 4 in points (1,492) and No. 9 in assists (177).

Years later, Fair’s 923 rebounds still ranks No. 2 in school history.

“Terry was a player who never thought about ‘me.’ He was always thinking about the team,” said Hugh Durham, Fair’s coach at Georgia. “He played so hard defensively and would do whatever you asked him to do for the team. Those are the things that I remember most about him as a player.”

Fair’s decision to stay in-state and play for Georgia was a monumental factor in making the Bulldogs a relevant basketball program.

Together, he, Dominique Wilkins, Vern Fleming, James Banks and team captain Lamar Heard (who passed away in 2017) put Georgia basketball on the map for arguably the first time in the program’s history.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Fair’s family and the entire Georgia basketball community.

Where to eat in Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District

You won’t go hungry in Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District, where award-winning chefs are serving up inventive dishes.

Portland‘s Central Eastside Industrial District is one of the city’s hottest neighborhoods for dining, with more new restaurants on the way. Here are a few of our favorite spots to feast and imbibe from morning ’til night.

Stacked Sandwich Shop

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How did a chef with a sandwich shop become Eater Portland’s Chef of the Year? Stacked is the culmination of chef Gabriel Pascuzzi’s many years in the fine dining world.

Here, he combines fine dining techniques and hyperlocal ingredients to elevate the humble sandwich to a whole new level. Classics include the oxtail French dip with charred onions and a pork and water buffalo meatball sandwich with spicy tomato and truffle pecorino. There are always several vegetarian options and salads, too.

Le Pigeon

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The 10-seat chef’s counter at Le Pigeon, available for walk-ins only, is the best way to experience two-time James Beard Award winning chef Gabriel Rucker’s signature restaurant. The communal tables are fun too, and the five- and seven-course tastings menus are consistent great values.

Rucker’s playful dishes like oxtail baklava with barbecue sweetbreads and plum-glazed pigeon ushered in a new era of relaxed fine dining at independent chef-driven restaurants when he opened in 2006. Fourteen years later, this is still one of the best restaurants in the city.

Canard

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Next door to Le Pigeon, Canard is chef Gabriel Rucker’s all-day cafe, serving three meals a day plus weekend brunch. The food is playful (think funfetti pancakes) but the wine list is seriously good, and it’s the perfect place to stop for either a snack or a meal.

Locally, Portland Monthly and The Oregonian declared Canard the best new restaurant of 2018 and they snagged a 2019 semi-finalist nomination for James Beard’s Best New Restaurant, too.

Boke Bowl

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What began as a pop-up in 2010 has become one of the best fast casual Asian-inspired restaurants in Portland. Portland-style ramen is made with handmade noodles (ask for shirataki noodles if you’re gluten-free) and light, but flavorful slow-simmered dashis, with an array of toppings for carnivores, pescatarians and vegans alike.

Poke, seasonal steam buns, fresh salads and house-brined pickles round out the diverse menu at Boke Bowl, which is great for sharing. Stop by for Korean Fried Chicken Night on Thursdays.

Kachka

Chanukah begins tonight, and so does our Latke Party! Make your bubbe (or someone else’s bubbe) proud. 🕎
These crispy latkes come with a set of 8 different accompaniments — one for each night of Chanukah. We’re talking @therealtsarnicoulai caviar, beet-cured salmon, maitake mushroom gravy, quince-apple butter, and other goodies! Even better, it comes with a dreidel and gelt to play with while you wait.
Available all 8 days of Chanukah, excluding December 25th when Kachka will be closed.
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A post shared by KACHKA (@kachkapdx) on Dec 22, 2019 at 10:39am PST

A meal at Bonnie and Israel Morales’ Russian restaurant is enlightening, fun and delicious. Get an education in vodka and caviar (not all of it’s super pricey), then taste the difference between Ukranian and Siberian dumplings.

Try Kachka‘s famous seven-layer dip that’s really more of a salad, playfully named “herring under a fur coat” on the menu. There are pickles, pork neck skewers and smoked veal breast served with buckwheat crepe.

Grab a cookie to go on your way out and practice your new Russian vocabulary. It’s rare to find a restaurant that blends the traditional and modern so well, and in a style of food still foreign to many American diners.

Olympia Provisions Southeast

Oregon’s first USDA-approved salumeria offers cured meats, sausages and pâtés that are sold nationwide. At Olympia Provisions Southeast, you can order Spanish, French and Italian charcuterie boards along with choucroute garnie and other classic European meat dishes.

Brunch is perhaps even better than dinner, with specials like the flapjack attack – hot cakes with poached eggs, hollandaise, sweetheart ham and maple syrup. Even ordinary dishes like shrimp and grits or a BLT sandwich are elevated by the rich flavor of their andouille sausage and bacon.

Renata

Everyone in the neighborhood flocks to Renata‘s expansive patio on a warm summer evening, enjoying a spritz or Negroni with wood-fired Neapolitan pizza and housemade pasta. Come winter, request a seat by the hearth to warm up and watch the kitchen at work.

Whether you’re looking for happy hour bar snacks, like arancini and fritto misto, or a hearty family-style meal for a large group, this is arguably the best Italian food in town, served with the same generous portions and loving spirit as if you’re dining with family.

All meat is sourced from small local farms and butchered in house. Try the porchetta spiced chicken or grilled pork chop with Calabrian chile aioli smashed potatoes.

La Luna Cafe

This cheerful cafe serves breakfast and lunch seven days a week with a menu ranging from greasy hangover cures to a virtuous acai bowl. Try the fat biscuit, composed of frizzled Irish bacon, smoked gouda scramble and maple aioli on a housemade buttermilk biscuit, or perhaps the za’atar roasted vegetables with lentils and goji tahini sauce.

The pastry case at La Luna Cafe is full of temptations too, like the pile of chocolate hazelnut cookies and matcha rice crispies. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right?

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