April 19, 2009; Bulls shock Celtics at home!

Photo courtesy of NBA.com/Getty Images

Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls made quite an impression as he sets a new record for most point scored by a rookie in his first playoff game. He scored 36 points en route to a 105-103 overtime win against the defending champions Boston Celtics inside the TD Banknorth Garden. Rose added 4 rebounds, a steal and 11 assists to his credit.

And much to the dismay of the Celtics and its fans, they lost Game 1 inside their own homecourt. Kevin Garnett, who is still recovering from an ankle injury, sat at the bench during the first half. But, after halftime, since he doesn't want to be a distraction to the team, he saw the action from the locker room from that point on.

The Celtics were led by Rajon Rondo with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, while Paul Pierce had 23 points and 7 boards. Ben Gordon added 20 points for the Bulls, who will face the Celtics on Tuesday for Game 2, still from the Garden at 7:00 AM Manila time.

Next up is still from the East as the 8th seeded Detroit Pistons battles the 1st seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs showed their dominance all throughout the game, and thus winning it in a blowout fashion with a 102-84 scoreline. MVP candidate LeBron James topped all scorers with 38 big points, grabbing 8 boards and dishing out 7 assists while the triumvirate of Mo Williams, Delonte West and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 12 points each for the Cavs.

Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons, with 20 points, 2 boards and 4 dishes. They will meet for Game 2 on Wednesday at 8:00 AM Manila time, still from thr Q in Cleveland.

Now let's go to the West as the 6th seeded Dallas Mavericks face the 3rd seeded San Antonio Spurs in a "Lone Star State" showdown.

The Spurs ended the 1st quarter on a high note, leading the Mavs, 29-18. But, when the second quarter started, it seems that Dallas knew the formula to slow down the offense of the Spurs, as they cut down the lead to just 4 points. And at the end, it was too much Mavs as they won the game, 105-97 infront of a sellout crowd inside the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

Josh Howard led the Mavs with 25 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists while former MVP Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Four other Mavs scored in double figures, namely, Jason Terry (12), Jose Barea (13), Erick Dampier (10) and Brandon Bass (14). The Spurs on the other hand, were led by TIm Duncan with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. The two teams will meet again for Game 2 of their series on Tuesday at 9:30 AM Manila time.

And last but not the least, the West quarterfinal between the 5th seeded Houston Rockets and the 4th seeded Portland Trail Blazers. Houston gave the young Portland squad a taste of what Playoff basketball is all about. They showed no mercy as the pummeled the Blazers to a 108-81 blowout inside the Rose Garden. The Rockets led from the start to the very end, anchored by the 27 point performance by Aaron Brooks. The little guy added 4 rebounds and 7 assists to his name. While big man Yao Ming added 24 points and 9 boards for the Rockets, who now own a 1-0 lead in their series.

Brandon Roy led the Blazers with 21 points, 2 boards and 2 assists, while Greg Oden finished with 15 points and 5 rebounds. The two teams will tangle it up for Game 2 on Wednesday at 10:00 AM Manila time, still from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.

April 19, 2009

Chicago 105

Boston 103

Final/OT

CHI: Derrick Rose- 36 pts, 4 rebs, 11 assts, 1 stl.

BOS: Rajon Rondo- 29 pts, 9 rebs, 7 assts, 2 stls.

Bulls lead series 1-0

Game 2 on Tuesday, April 21 at 7:00 AM Manila time from Boston.

Detroit 84

Cleveland 102

DET: Rodney Stuckey- 20 pts, 2 rebs, 4 assts.

CLE: LeBron James- 38 pts, 8 rebs, 7 assts, 1 stl.

Cavaliers lead series 1-0

Game 2 on Wednesday, April 22 at 8:00 AM Manila time from Cleveland.

Dallas 105

San Antonio 97

DAL: Josh Howard- 25 pts, 4 rebs, 3 assts, 1 stl.

SAS: Tim Duncan- 27 pts, 9 rebs, 2 assts.

Mavericks lead series 1-0

Game 2 on Tuesday, April 21 at 9:30 AM Manila time from San Antonio.

Houston 108

Portland 81

HOU: Aaron Brooks- 27 pts, 4 rebs, 7 assts.

POR: Brandon Roy- 21 pts, 2 rebs, 2 assts.

Rockets lead series 1-0

Game 2 on Wednesday, April 22 at 10:00 AM Manila time from Portland.

And now, for all the football fans, here are the results from last night's Premier League and FA Cup Semi-Final action!

Barclays Premier League scores:

Stoke City 1

Blackburn Rovers 0

Sunderland 1

Hull City 0

Aston Villa 1

West Ham United 1

Portsmouth 1

Bolton Wanderers 0

Middlesbrough 0

Fulham 0

FA Cup Semi-Final score:

Chelsea 2

Arsenal 1

Wembley Stadium, England

CHE: Florent Malouda (33"), Didier Drogba (84")

ARS: Theo Walcott (18")

Chelsea moves on the the FA Cup Final; awaits the winner of the Man Utd-Everton semi-final tonight at 10:30 PM.

And now, for all you mixed-martial art fans, here are the results from UFC 97: Redemption from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, just this morning!

Preliminary Card

Light Heavyweight bout: Eliot Marshall vs. Vinicius Magalhães
Marshall defeated Magalhães via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).

Welterweight bout: Ryo Chonan vs. TJ Grant
Grant defeated Chonan via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29).

Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs. David Bielkheden
Bocek defeated Bielkheden via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:57 of round 1.

Middleweight bout: David Loiseau vs. Ed Herman
Herman defeated Loiseau via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27).

Middleweight bout: Jason MacDonald vs. Nate Quarry
Quarry defeated MacDonald via TKO (elbows) at 2:27 of round 1.

Middleweight bout: Denis Kang vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam
Kang defeated Foupa-Pokam via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Main Card

Light Heavyweight bout: Steve Cantwell vs. Luiz Arthur Cane
Cane defeated Cantwell via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).

Heavyweight bout: Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk
Kongo defeated Hardonk via TKO (strikes) at 2:29 of round 2.

Light Heavyweight bout: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brian Stann
Soszynski defeated Stann via submission (kimura) at 3:53 of round 1.

Light Heavyweight bout: Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio Rua
Rua defeated Liddell via TKO (strikes) at 4:28 of round 1.

Lightweight bout: Sam Stout vs. Matt Wiman
Stout defeated Wiman via unaninmous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Middleweight Championship bout: Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites
Silva defeated Leites via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 50-46) to retain the Middleweight Championship title.

And now, here are the results from "The Flash and the Furious" from the Araneta Coliseum.

Denver Cuello def. Hiroshi Matsumoto to capture the WBC International Minimumweight Championship via KO in Round 4.

Sonny Boy Jaro def. Yukka Gahon via KO in Round 1.

Drian Francisco def. Shahril Fabanyo via KO in Round 2.

Brian "The Hawaiian Punch" Viloria def. Ulises Solis to capture the IBF Light Flyweight Championship via KO in Round 11.

Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire def. Raul Martinez to retain the IBF/IBO Flyweight Championship via KO in Round 4.

So there you have it! You guys have just been fed! :)

Hope you had a good weekend! :)

God bless you guys! Stay safe! Peace out! The Wizard was here... :)

Comments, questions and suggestions are highly appreciated! :)