Blackhawks defeat Canucks to clinch series, advance to Western Conference Finals

The Blackhawks and Canucks made Game 6 more of a ping pong match than a hockey game, but despite losing their early lead, Chicago had an answer for every one of Vancouver's goals to seal the series for the 'Hawks.

Per the Chicago Tribune, Chicago defeated Vancouver in Game 6 at Chicago's United Center 7-5 to make it to the final four in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1995.



"Blackhawks!!!!!"
Twitpic posted by @justinpawlak

After trailing in the series and in this game, the Blackhawks came from behind again after giving up a 3-1 lead. The Canucks were up 4-3 early in the third period and were ahead with 3:43 left off a Mats Sundin goal.

But Vancouver couldn't hold off the Hawks. Patrick Kane scored the game-winning shot on a hat trick with 3:34 left in the game, making it his third hat trick of the night.

The Blackhawks will go to the Western Conference Finals to face either the Anaheim Ducks or the Detriot Red Wings.



"Bluesmobile sighting - they were throwing out Blackhawks rally towels to everyone while blasting "Sweet Home Chicago"
Twitpic posted by @adamjlevine

Blackhawks fans are excited about their team possibly being eight games away from the Stanley Cup:

1. 
   PersniketusPapi Whoo!! Blackhawks are on their way to the western conference finals!! Special congrats to Patrick Kane for the hat trick!! 12 May 2009 from Tweetie
2. 
   joaquinhguerra @ttagaris That was beautuful, will it be a Caps vs Blackhawks Stanley Cup Championship? 12 May 2009 from TweetDeck in reply to ttagaris
3. 
   derekmelton The blackhawks TOTALLY deserved that. 12 May 2009 from TwitterFon
4. 
   tracyswartz detroit sux shouted through united center. #blackhawks 12 May 2009 from mobile web
5. 
   davespea4jake BLACKHAWKS WIN!! HOW SWEET IT IS!! 12 May 2009 from txt
6. 
   blueeyedbaby418 BLACKHAWKS WIN!!!!! ROUND 3 HERE WE COME!!!!! 12 May 2009 from web
7. 
   DHinsider Finally got our fingers untied after Tweeting that Blackhawks game. What that one for the ages, or what? 12 May 2009 from TweetDeck

Canucks fans obviously disappointed their team got eliminated:

1. 
   vichong I'm in post Canucks playoffs depression 12 May 2009 from twhirl
2. 
   alberto101 so many mixed emotions....sadness, anger, confusion. The Canucks are out of the playoffs:( 12 May 2009 from web
3. 
   Grefo Watching the Canucks lose to the Blackhawks tonight...Little G was in his Canucks Jersey and excited by the game...feel bad for Luongo :( 12 May 2009 from web
4. 
   jacquelyn_rae mourning that devastating loss. drinking my sorrows away. i love you canucks. next season. 12 May 2009 from web
5. 
   jamesmoes =Canucks disappoint again. I think I'll watch some more NBA playoffs from here on. 12 May 2009 from TweetDeck
6. 
   Mike_Winters as much as I don't like the Canucks and Luongo, he wasn't the reason they lost. Bad breaks are bad breaks. 12 May 2009 from web

Blackhawks defeat Canucks to clinch series, advance to Western Conference Finals

Dallas staves off elimination with two point win over Nuggets

On a night when two playoff hockey games were played, the place best suited for a penalty box might have been in Dallas where the NBA's Nuggets and Mavericks fought through a technical-plagued Game 4.

Per ESPN, Dallas overcame the calls to win 119-117 to send the series back to Denver at 3-1 -- the winner moving on to face the winner of the Rockets-Lakers series which is tied at two games a piece.

Dirk Nowitzki scored an amazing 44 points (19 in the fourth-quarter) and grabbed 13 rebounds for a desperate Mavs' squad.

The chatter from Big D? All about Dirk and the avoidance of a sweep:

1. 
   afh4 I'm not sure that I've ever appreciated Dirk Nowitzki fully. 12 May 2009 from web
2. 
   eyemDOPE Win or lose, Dirk Nowitzki deserves tons of credit for his play in this series, he's played as well as ever with all the off the court stuff 12 May 2009 from TweetDeck
3. 
   j0shsanch3z I demand a DNA test . . . that was not Dirk Nowitzki who made a big shot . . . impossible! 12 May 2009 from TwitterFon
4. 
   NBAMVP Can the mavs make history? Let's take it 1 game at a time! 12 May 2009 from mobile web
5. 
   justbj so the nuggets will demolish our beloved mavs in denver game 5. 12 May 2009 from txt
6. 
   jjlong_ Tell them denver janiors to pit the brooms away there's no sweappin needed !!! Let's go mavs !! 12 May 2009 from TwitterFon

As for Denver, point guard Chauncey Billups scored 24 points and was his usual clutch self, while Carmelo Anthony poured in a team-high 41 points for a Denver team that lost but still looks like they will advance.

Once again, refereeing was a big topic with seven technicals being called in the game:

1. 
   cmthorpe06 it took less than 30 sec for the refs to call another IDIOTIC technical 12 May 2009 from twhirl
2. 
   iamWesson I have never seen or heard the word technical used so much in the nba playoffs before...how come regular season games can't be like this? 12 May 2009 from TwitterBerry
3. 
   Brich_42 I went to the bathroom during the 4th of the Dallas game and that damn ref was in there and gave me a technical foul 12 May 2009 from TwitterFon
4. 
   SheiaSmoov The reffs are giving out technical fouls like candy on Halloween 12 May 2009 from TwitterFon
5. 
   wfaasports Brandon Bass technical is 7th of the game , four for Dallas 3 for Denver. So much for self control 12 May 2009 from TweetDeck
6. 
   jacobsloan Apparently, the Mavs set a team goal for every player to have a technical foul tonight. 12 May 2009 from web

So was the Nuggets' guard J.R. Smith-- challenging teammate Chauncey Billups' title of "Mr. Big Shot".

1. 
   imjustshane I have a serious mancrush on JR Smith, that man is a jackers jacker. He makes me want to go out and make bad 3 pointers all over the place. 12 May 2009 from TweetDeck
2. 
   matt_craig JR Smith hits a fadeaway off the glass from 22 feet, and Brandon Bass misses a layup on the other end. About sums up this series. 12 May 2009 from Tweetie
3. 
   _GiNA_ @NBATV JR Smith is the Party Crasher! Just when you thought everything was going smoothly, he knocks the door down! 12 May 2009 from Tweetie in reply to NBATV
4. 
   1beginnersluck @SirAlexOfBoston jr smith is insane with those shots! 12 May 2009 from StockTwits

@bcuban captured this twitpic from floor level:


END OF THIRD QUARTER:

Dallas made a comeback from 10 points down to start the second-half, but the Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony pushed the lead back to five for Denver-- Nuggets 90, Mavericks 85.

1. 
   THE_REAL_PROF rooting for denver cause i feel they have a better chance of beating LA, but i like seeing dallas make a game of it. i hopes its denver in 6 12 May 2009 from web
2. 
   TheGoodPoint It's destiny I tells ya, there's nothing Denver could do for this win. Dallas is just too solid of a franchise to get swept. 12 May 2009 from TweetDeck
3. 
   i_am_joey denver missed all their shots in the last 3 minutes giving dallas a chance to tie the ballgame...what a quarter 12 May 2009 from web

END OF SECOND QUARTER:

It's halftime of Game 4 between the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks and so far no one's momma has been injured and no refs have been assaulted.

The Kenyon Martin-Mark Cuban feud? Probably some carry-over fiestyness.

Denver looking to sweep, holding a 63-53 lead at the midway point.

Thoughts from Twitteryville at half:

1. 
   rch01111 I am watchng the dallas mavericks and the Denver Nuggets paly. Refs have taken control of the game. Guess its there night to shine. 12 May 2009 from web
2. 
   n8dunn is watching the Pistons point guard lead the Denver Nuggets in a sweep of the Dallas Mavericks. Not a good trade, Joe. 12 May 2009 from Netvibes
3. 
   asdavis10 @trniii Yeah I think its a little of both. Dallas is Charmin soft. And Denver got all the "thugs" with tattoos. #NBA 12 May 2009 from Tweetie in reply to trniii
4. 
   MrSwaggahimself Why did I even turn the playoffs on? We all knew James had his broom ready and Dallas/Denver is BORING outside Martin vs. Cuban... 12 May 2009 from web

The refs messed up Game 3, admittedly, but Mark Cuban shared his thoughts on Twitter after a another tweeter pointed out an obvious ownership flaw:

1. 
   AndrewBucholtz RT @mcuban: "There is absolutely nothing to say after that." Well, that should prevent further fines at least. #FreeMarkCuban. 10 May 2009 from TweetDeck
2. 
   mcuban I just got called for a flagrant 1 for sneezing. Its 2 kleenex and the ball #fb 12 May 2009 from web

Dallas staves off elimination with two point win over Nuggets

Kenyon Martin Is More of a "face-to-face type of dude."

Mark Cuban was at it again Saturday night as he let his big mouth get him in trouble for the umpteenth time during his tenure as owner of the Dallas Mavericks.

Cuban was walking off the court after his team dropped their third straight game of the series and had a verbal confrontation with Kenyon Martin's Mother, Lydia Moore.

Moore claims that Cuban told her that her son was a punk, and that it was an unprovoked verbal attack. Cuban claims that he saw Moore, as a fan was yelling that the Nuggets were "thugs."

"That includes your son," Cuban said to Moore, according to his e-mail to The Denver Post.

Either way it seems as though Moore was the victim of Cuban's verbal abuse, for reasons unknown.

Martin spoke to the media about it after Monday's shoot around.

"I don't feel I need to call his name in the media and all that, but it's a little personal," Martin told The Denver Post. "And I'm going to take care of it.

"If you got something to say, say it to me. But I'm going to take care of it. I'm not going to do the whole media thing, back and forth. That's his thing. I'm more of a face-to-face type of dude.

There is definitely a little more interest in the Denver vs. Dallas match up tonight, and it isn't because this has been a great series.

Twitterers seem to be with K-Mart on this:

1. 
   cwendling Mark Cuban (50) told Kenyon Martin's mother, "your son's a Punk." Kenyon (31). Grown ups? I think not. http://bit.ly/KNKWK 11 May 2009 from TweetDeck
2. 
   cthecatalyst damn Mark Cuban, mouthing off to Kenyon Martin's mom is not cool. don't you have an insider trading case to fight? 11 May 2009 from web
3. 
   mshenefelt Mavs owner Mark Cuban looks like a jerk even in a "your mama" tiff with the notorious Kenyon Martin. http://bit.ly/10D1fx 11 May 2009 from TweetDeck
4. 
   TampaBO Sounds Kenyon Martin is gonna kill Cuban. This is so Biggie/Tupacesque. 11 May 2009 from web
5. 
   IBFOXY home, hungry...playoffs 2nite. hope kenyon martin punches mark cuban lol 11 May 2009 from web
6. 
   ICKizzleI Kenyon martin is gonna get down wit mark cuban tonight! Ahahha. Naw. But its gonna be an interesting game. 11 May 2009 from TwitterBerry

Kenyon Martin Is More of a "face-to-face type of dude."