New York Sports Fan Blog

For the past two games, with their backs against the wall, the New Jersey Devils have come up strong with two big games to keep themselves in the running for the Stanley Cup. After winning the first three games on the Stanley Cup Finals, the Los Angeles Kings made everyone believers that they would sweep New Jersey to lift their first ever Stanley Cup. But they have come up short in the past two games. The Kings offense has been no where to be found after lighting the lamp in game 3, scoring four goals against future hall-of-fame goaltender Marty Brodeur. The Devils were able to score twice against stellar goalie Jonathan Quick of the Kings in game 4, and then scored an empty net goal to make the final score 3-1, thus bringing the series back to New Jersey. The motto in the Devils locker room before game 4 was they have to fly back to New Jersey no matter what the outcome was in the fourth game, and they wanted to bring the Kings back with them to make them earn their first ever Stanley Cup. That is exactly what happened.

The series shifted back to The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey and the Devils got the crowd into it fast after an exciting first period of game 5. When the buzzer sounded after the third period the score was 2-1 New Jersey. The Kings now know the Devils are not going anywhere and they will come out fighting in game 6 Monday night in order to once again bring the series back to New Jersey for a game 7. All eyes are on the Kings and if they are going to be able to finish off the Devils at home tonight. If they don’t, another six-hour flight awaits them back to the east coast for a game 7, something no one in the Kings locker room wants. They want to hoist the Cup tonight, in front of 18,000+ of their fans and show everyone that they no only deserve to be in this year Stanley Cup Finals, but that they deserve to be the Champions this year.

The last holdout in a long-running land dispute with the developer of an NBA arena agreed Wednesday to sell his home on the site for $2.4 million more than he paid for it a few years ago.

Daniel Goldstein and his family agreed to leave their Brooklyn condo by May 7 in a settlement in court with developer Forest City Ratner Cos.

Goldstein said he bought the condo for $590,000 in 2003 and will receive $3 million for it. The sale figure was first reported in The New York Times.

Goldstein founded Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, the Atlantic Yards development project’s most vocal critic. Under the terms of the settlement, he can no longer be the spokesman for the group, but he said he will still be involved with it.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPNNewyork.com

At long last, it ends.

One of the five worst seasons in NBA history — if you judge them by such trifling matters as wins and losses — comes to a merciful end tonight at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, where the Nets will also split up for an offseason that might result in three-quarters of their roster being turned over.

Regrets? They’ve had a few.

“People wonder how the season went this way, and I wish I can explain it,” said four-year veteran Josh Boone. “We have a lot of talent, to be honest with you — a lot of guys who can do a lot of things. It’s unfortunate the season went the way it did, but we’re obviously not a 12-win-talent team. There were other circumstances that led to this.

“But unfortunately, the only thing that matters at the end of the day is your record. And that’s probably why they’re going to make” wholesale changes.

Click here to read the full article – By Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger

If the New Jersey Devils get past the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs, they will have beaten the defending Stanley Cup champions 10 times.

If the New Jersey Devils get past the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs, they will have beaten the defending Stanley Cup champions 10 times.

Whether it translates into postseason success remains to be seen.

“We hope so,” goalie Martin Brodeur said. “If it gives us any edge on them later on, well good.”

New Jersey vaulted into a first-place tie with the Penguins. Both teams have 87 points, but the Devils have played one fewer game. Fans chanted “You can’t beat us!” as the final seconds ticked down.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

The season that is to be based on a renascent dedication to defense starts in seven days, so it might be a good time to check in with those who might be in a position to evaluate it.

The short version: It’s not where it should be.

The emerging belief is that the Nets have improved in three key areas as they displayed in Wednesday night’s 94-92 loss against the Knicks before 15,721 at Prudential Center. They were giving up fewer straight-line drives to the rim, yielding fewer open 3-pointers (especially in transition), and having fewer communication breakdowns.

“We’re getting better there in those areas, but we had to,” said resident defensive specialist Trenton Hassell. “We know that in order for us to have any success, we’re going to have to become a really good defensive team.


Click here to read the full article – By Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger

New Jersey Nets Sports Memorabilia
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Maybe this is an overreaction, but three injuries in 14 days doesn’t sound much like a “fluke” (L-Frank’s word) as it does a trend.


But Devin Harris isn’t worried. He said he was checked out after suffering a strained right groin Tuesday night in Newark, and though you probably won’t see him for the rest of the week, he’s not treating this as much of a setback.

“Probably going to hold out on Friday’s game (at the Garden), kind of let it rest a little bit. Should be back by the weekend,” he said.

The coach said he’ll probably practice Sunday, and Devin says he’ll suit up at The Rock a week from Wednesday.

But after missing time with two ankle injuries, this new ache isn’t helping him or his team; they can’t compete without him or develop the kind of chemistry necessary to deal with the 82-game cauldron.


Click here to read the full article – By Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger

New Jersey Nets Sports Memorabilia
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The Nets are not wavering from their plan to move the franchise to Brooklyn, but are going ahead with three events scheduled in Newark, according to a report in The Record.


The first event is a celebration called “Netstoberfest” on Wednesday, and the Nets will then play two preseason games at the Prudential Center later this month.

Click here to read the full article – By Star-Ledger Staff of NJ.com

New Jersey Nets Sports Memorabilia
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Below are links to memorabilia available for popular New Jersey Nets players.