01-21-2020, 06:06 AM
NEW YORK -- The New York Knicks are preparing to buy out the contracts of veterans Metta World Peace and Beno Udrih. Neither player was available Saturday for the Knicks 107-98 loss in Atlanta. "Were going in a different direction and weve got to figure out another spot or two for our ballclub," coach Mike Woodson said before the game. World Peace wrote on his Twitter account earlier Saturday that his agent was working on a buyout and thanked fans and the city. Neither veteran has earned a place in Woodsons rotation in his first season in New York. Udrih has appeared in just 31 games, while World Peace, who had a procedure on his knee in January, has played in just 29. "I cant say anything went wrong," Woodson said. "Again, they werent in the rotations. Im not going to linger on it. I mean, were buying them out. As a coach, guys work for me, I wish them nothing but the best as they move on and were going to move on. So thats about the extent of it." Players have to be waived by March 1 if they hope to sign with another team and be eligible for the playoffs. World Peace is a New York native who played at St. Johns, and had long hoped for a homecoming. It didnt turn out to be a happy one with the Knicks, as his 7 minutes of playing time Friday in a double-overtime loss at Orlando was only the sixth game hed gotten into in 2014. All-Star Carmelo Anthony said he was surprised because World Peace seemed to be in good spirits a day earlier. "He was happy, He played," Anthony said. "On the bench, in the locker room, he was a different Metta. Maybe because he had the chance to get out there and play a little bit. But I wake up this morning and hear that he wanted a buyout, it took me by surprise." Udrih hasnt played since Jan. 24. There was speculation the point guard would be traded before Thursdays trade deadline. "Its sad to see them go. But look, this is the business of basketball, man," Anthony said. "For whatever reason, I dont know whats the reason that they wanted to get bought out. But it happened and weve got to move on from there." Carolina Hurricanes Gear . No, the San Antonio star didnt announce retirement plans during an off day at the NBA Finals on Wednesday. Carolina Hurricanes Shirts . Others describe it as taking the parrot for a walk. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Hurricanes Jerseys 2020 .Brady threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman midway through the fourth quarter, and New England beat the San Diego Chargers 23-14 for its eighth win in nine games. Hurricanes Jerseys 2021 . Bobrovsky posted a 2-0-1 record with a 1.58 goals-against average and .950 save percentage to help the Blue Jackets (35-26-6) gain five of a possible six points last week. He capped the week by making 32 saves and stopping 2-of-4 shootout attempts in a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- Seven wins in a row, and the Abbotsford Heat are still looking for ways to improve. The Heat defeated the Toronto Marlies 6-3 Sunday night in American Hockey League action, which ties a franchise record for consecutive victories. The streak has included overtime, shootouts, comebacks, and on Sunday, a blown lead in the third period. "We look back at each game and know where we havent done so well in certain areas, and known that weve been lucky to win some in this streak as well," said Brett Olson, who scored the winning goal. "Were happy with where were at. But weve just got to keep it all in perspective and learn from each game, and maintain that confidence that when we get in tight situations like this, that we can win." After the Marlies rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie the game 3-3 in the third Olson converted a pass from Knight off a Tyler Wotherspoon rush while playing four-on-four at 12:21 of the third period. "Spooner made an unbelievable rush," said Olson of the rookie defenceman Wotherspoon. "He bought time and basically sucked the guy in and was able to kick it out to Knight. Knight fed it through a nice little hole, and I didnt have to do much, to be honest with you. It was right on my tape, and I just had to put it in the open net." It was just the second goal of the year for Olson but a coachs hunch matched him with the Heats leading scorer on that shift. "The big things is, they can get up and down the rink together and they both can share the puck pretty well," said Abbotsford head coach Troy Ward. "Theyve had some chemistry so it was kind of a gut feeling." Knight added a goal and Michael Ferland also had a goal and an assist for the Heat (11-4-1), while Chad Billins, Ben Street and Markus Granlund scored the others. "That was like a playoff-atmosphere game, for the most part," said Olson. "There were a lot of hits, there was a lot of hard work to the net, a lot of puck battles on the walls, just great plays overall." Joey MacDonald made 24 saves for Abbotsford and his most important may have been with four minutes to go when he came across to glove a T.J. Brennan slap shot, a quality save even the Toronto defenceman had to acknowledge with a stick tap.dddddddddddd Josh Leivo, Trevor Smith and Jerry DAmigo scored for the Marlies (6-5-1) while Spencer Abbott chipped in with two assists to extend his point streak to 11 games. Garret Sparks stopped 24 shots for Toronto. Leivo opened the scoring for the Marlies at 8:09 when he took a pass at full speed from Abbott and made a move around a defenceman to beat MacDonald through the five-hole. The Heat tied the game at 17:46 when Greg Nemisz blazed down the right wing and threw a puck to the net. Sparks couldnt corral it and, with Nemisz in the crease, Billins raced in to wrist it past the Marlies netminder for his team-leading sixth goal of the season. The Heat took the lead at 5:02 when Street converted a two-on-one rush with Ferland and Knight made it 3-1 two minutes and 31 seconds later. Ben Hanowski fed the puck to Knight in the high slot as Olson went to the net to provide traffic and Knight placed a hard wrist shot from the top of the circle past Sparks. Toronto cut into the deficit while on a five-on-three power play. Abbott found Smith open at the side of the net and the Marlies captain one-timed it past MacDonald at 11:49. The Marlies tied the game at 6:10 of the third period when DAmigo put one past MacDonald. After blocking a shot at his own blue line, Sam Carrick rushed down the ice and tried to centre for David Broll. The puck found its way to DAmigo at the side of the net with MacDonald sprawled. "They pushed pretty hard and we took a lot of penalties in a row," said Ward. "They scored a nice five-on-three goal. We seemed to be a little bit on edge. Theyre a good hockey team. We would expect that from them. Its 3-1 and with a couple of mistakes its 3-3." Despite giving up a two-goal cushion, the team didnt get flustered, going on to score three more times, including a penalty shot by Granlund and an empty netter by Ferland. The Heat now head on their longest road trip of the season. "Its going to be a long one," said Billins. "But you know, its fun too. Its a good time to really build up the team bonding. Its going to be a battle, but youve just got to take it one game at a time. Weve got to pull off some wins here." ' ' '
