Tracy McGrady

Eddie House

Al Harrington

Scott Skiles

Andrew Bogut

Dwayne Roloson was pulled after the fifth goal. The Panthers torched the Islanders goalie for those five goals on just 23 shots. The Isles have now lost four of its last five but Roloson attributed the blowout to the looming home-and-home series against the Rangers starting Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

“To be completely honest I just think we were a team that forgot we were playing tonight and looking forward to the Rangers games,” Roloson said. “Just from the beginning of the game to the end, it was just one of those games.”

It was also a game where the stats didn’t tell the story. The clubs each turned the puck over 11 times, though the Panthers capitalized on the mistakes. Florida twice took the puck away from defensemen to initiate one-on-one chances against Roloson, who fell to 10-5-5.

The Islanders and Rangers entered Tuesday locked in a three-way tie for third in the five-team Atlantic Division with 31 points. The Rangers have struggled recently as well, going 3-5-2 in its last 10 games.

Roloson said his team needed to rebuild quickly after Florida bombarded the Islanders into giving up a season-high in goals. Tonight’s game marks the first of three games in 10 days against the local rival. John Tavares scored the key insurance goal in the Islanders 3-1 win against the Rangers at home Oct. 28 in the first meeting.

“It’s on each individual in this locker room to respond,” Roloson said. “We have to be embarrassed but confident that we’re going to go out and play a good hockey game Wednesday night.”

Though the final score suggests it, this was anything but a blowout. Duke was winning 13-10 at the half and looked to be in the middle of an ACC upset. However, Miami quarterback Jacory Harris had different plans in the fourth quarter. Throwing for 348 yards and two touchdowns on the game, Harris led the Hurricanes to a 21-point run in the fourth quarter to knock the Blue Devils out of bowl contention. Now having scored in 7 straight games, Miami running back Damien Berry went for 76 yards and a score on the ground, as receiver Leonard Hankerson caught 8 passes for 143 yards one touchdown. I think the Cane’s offense didn’t wake up until it was almost too late and just about caused them another loss. Meanwhile, on the other sideline, Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis wasn’t having that bad of a day in his hometown, going 27-40 for 303 yards and one score. However, it just wasn’t enough; while Miami picked up in the second half, the Blue Devils failed to respond. Donavan Varner had a career day; catching eight passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns. But he was unable to spur Duke past Miami, losing their 55^th straight road game vs. ranked opponents. Ultimately, this game marked the end of the reign of Thaddeus Lewis, as he’s finishing his career without a bowl game appearance. And… well… doesn’t really do much for Miami, as they’re sitting at third in the Costal division anyway.

CLEMSON – 34 VIRGINIA – 21

Outplaying the Cavs in the second half, Clemson fulfilled their season-long goal of going to the ACC championship. Tiger quarterback Kyle Parker threw for 234 yards and two scores and is starting to look like a very promising quarterback, especially since it’s his freshman year. Watch out for Parker in year’s to come. Heisman hopeful CJ Spiller carried Clemson on his back all year and he didn’t plan on stopping. Racking up 114 all-purpose yards, Spiller edged the Tigers over Virginia to clinch their first ACC title appearance in 18 years. Senior receiver Jacoby Ford led Clemson in receiving, catching six passes for 106 yards and a score and second string back Andre Ellington ran one in as well. All in all, Clemson finally pulled themselves together and stringed together wins when needed to reach the ACC title. They’ll be playing a very tough opponent in Georgia Tech. But if they can pull off the upset, they’ll be in a BCS bowl.

FLORIDA STATE – 29 MARYLAND – 26

Finishing the Terps off in the fourth quarter, the Seminoles made Maryland’s season just that much more miserable. Though Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel had a TD-INT ratio of 0-3, he handed the ball off to Lonnie for two scores, leading the Seminoles past Maryland. Coming into the season, I had the Terps as perhaps the Atlantic champions. But currently residing at the last spot in the ACC, Maryland hasn’t lived up to the hype.

NORTH CAROLINA – 31 BOSTON COLLEGE – 13

UNC came out firing, taking a prompt 21-3 lead in the first quarter and, though they didn’t score again until the fourth quarter, didn’t look back. Though Tarheel running back Ryan Houston scampered for a tough 45 yards and two scores, the rest was one on the other end of the ball. Running both a fumble and an interception back for a touchdown, the UNC defense simply came to play as they shattered a good Boston College team 31-13.

Save that myth for the casual basketball fan.

Real basketball followers know that’s not always the case.

And, if you’ve watched the first four New York Knick games this season, you especially know what a huge difference getting off to a good start means to their success.

It took three tries in a span of four nights, but the Knicks finally figured out what sometimes makes a strong fourth quarter hold up in an NBA game –- playing just as well in the first quarter.

Persistence pays.

So does another cliché… playing from ahead instead of playing catch-up.

After a season-opening blowout loss in Miami, the Knicks lost their next two games in pretty much the same fashion.

On Friday, New York had a big fourth quarter, outscoring the Charlotte Bobcats 27-13, which was only good enough for a double overtime loss because the Knicks came out flat and trailed 32-13 after the first quarter.

The following night, New York again dominated the fourth period, 41-26, but all that did was cancel out a miserable first quarter in which the Philadelphia 76ers outscored the Knicks 40-25, before later beating them in overtime.

On Monday night at Madison Square Garden however, the Knicks finally learned their lesson.

This time, playing from the start, with focus, passion, intensity, and a sense of purpose, a fourth quarter in which the Knicks outscored the New Orleans Hornets 40-30, didn’t go to waste.

That’s because it was coupled by New York also winning the first period, 31-24, slightly more than the final margin of victory in the Knicks’ 117-111 win over the Hornets, despite Chris Paul again doing what he does best.

The victory was the 300th regular season win in career of Knicks’ head coach Mike D’Antoni, who laid out some specific pre-game goals before the win. “Keep our intensity up for 48 minutes, play together, and move the ball,” he said.

That sounds fairly simple, but those were all areas in which the Knicks lacked while beginning the season with three straight losses, their worst start since going 0-5 in 2005.

Well, check, check, and check on all three accounts, and then some, against New Orleans (1-3), which lost its second straight on a northeast road trip.

“I thought our defense was solid most of the night,” D’Antoni said, as he finally saw his team buy into buckling down and getting serious about making defensive stops.

“Just a better flow of the game,” he added. “It felt better offensively and defensively. Each guy came in and understood what he needed to do.”

The one guy who did it best for the Knicks was forward David Lee, who scored a team-high 28 points on 13 of 17 shooting from the floor, while adding eight rebounds. “He was huge,” D’Antoni said of Lee.

Lee’s efforts were complimented by that of former starter Al Harrington, who D’Antoni has preferred to use as a spark off the bench the past two games. As he did with his game-high 42 points on Saturday, Harrington responded in that role, matching Lee’s eight boards while scoring 24 points on 8 of 21 shooting from the field in 29:43.

On Harrington seemingly accepting his new role well, D’Antoni said “I hope he likes it because he’s doing a terrific job at it.”

After trailing by 31, 21, and 23 points in their first three games, and never leading after the first quarter in any of those games, the Knicks came to play early against the Hornets, scoring 14 straight points to take a 16-6 lead in the opening period.

The seven-point lead the Knicks built after the first quarter, propelled New York to a 58-52 halftime lead. But Paul, widely considered the best point guard in the league, scored 11 of his game-high 32 to help the Hornets outscore the Knicks 29-19 in the third quarter and take an 81-77 lead going into the final period. Paul also had a game-high 13 assists with just two turnovers, and added five rebounds, while shooting 12 of 18 from the floor (including 4 of 5 from three-point range) and 4 of 5 at the free throw line.

However, it was the fast start in the opening quarter, leading to the six-point halftime lead, which allowed yet another big fourth quarter by New York to be the difference between a third consecutive late rally falling short and instead, the Knicks’ first win of the season.

For the first time on the young season, the Knicks consistently exhibited solid team play, sound defense, a good motion offense, and nice ball movement, often finding the open man and exploiting the Hornets’ interior defense for easy baskets.

Most of all, keeping their intensity up as D’Antoni wanted, often diving after loose balls, deflecting passes, and just having a better overall court awareness, ultimately carried the Knicks to victory.

Although Lee and Harrington led the way, they had plenty of help as the Knicks played a nice team game, with 24 assist on their 43 field goals.

Guard Larry Hughes, scored 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field, as the latest new starter in D’Antoni’s early season lineup experimentation, as the coach searches for the best floor combinations.

Knicks’ point guard Chris Duhon scored 18 points, making 8 of 9 free throw attempts, while dishing out 9 assists and turning the ball over just twice. And, forwards Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler chipped in nine points apiece.

All around, it was largely a team effort. As Hughes pointed out, “It’s about coming out and playing hard for 48 minutes.” He added that offensively, “When we make those guys move, we can shoot the ball from anywhere. It makes the game a lot easier.” He also was happy for D’Antoni on reaching his personal milestone, saying “Congratulations to Coach!”

D’Antoni meanwhile, was happy just to get any win, and viewed the win as a positive sign of the potential of what could lie ahead when his team backs up on the court what he preaches to them in the locker room. “I was just encouraged the whole game,” he said. “We’ll just keep going forward… Much better tonight, we took a gigantic step forward.”

The Knicks can take their next step on Wednesday night, when they host 0-2 Indiana, who will first play at home against Denver on Tuesday, before coming to New York.

Tennessee @ Florida

We heard it from Lane Kiffin in the offseason, who falsely accused Gators coach Urban Meyer of recruiting violations while also claiming that he was going to be “singing Rocky Top all night long” after beating Florida.  These statements will be very hard to backup, considering many believe Florida to be the best team in the country while Tennessee’s offense looked anemic last weekend in a home loss to UCLA.  Florida is the superior team, they are out to get the Vols after all the offseason comments, and the game is in the swamp, so all signs point to a blowout.

Florida 52, Tennessee 10

Nebraska @ Virginia Tech

Winning this matchup would go a long way to restoring Nebraska’s status as one of college football’s elite programs.  Even though Bo Pelini has already ripped the team’s defense for being soft (after they allowed only 3, that’s right, 3 points against Florida Atlantic), the defense is very solid, and the same goes for Virginia Tech.  I’m expecting a low scoring affair, but I think Tyrod Taylor and the Hokies offense get just enough done to secure a win.

Virginia Tech 16, Nebraska 13

Cincinnati @ Oregon State

This game has been overlooked by practically everyone, but this should be an exciting, high scoring affair.  Cincinnati won the Big East last year and looks very strong again this year, while Oregon State is still a bit of an unknown due to having a completely new defense.  Their game against UNLV last week was way too close, so I have a feeling this week won’t be a great one for the home crowd.  There will be lots of points, however, with Cincinnati QB Tony Pike putting up big numbers in a Bearcat victory.

Cincinnati 41, Oregon State 31

Florida State @ BYU

It feels weird saying that once powerhouse Florida State beating non-BCS school BYU would be an upset, but in 2009, it definitely would be.  BYU is off to a hot start this season, already knocking off Oklahoma, and a win against FSU wouldn’t just strengthen their profile to be selected to a BCS game, it would actually give them a glimmer of hope that they could play for the national title if they run the table.  However, I expect the BYU BCS talk to stop here.  FSU had a wake up call last week, almost losing to Jacksonville State, but their to the wire performance against Miami shows that the team has the ability to be very good, especially since the Miami team they lost to has looked very good since.  FSU has better athletes than BYU, and if FSU puts it together, this is a very winnable game.  The one thing working against FSU is BYU’s potent offense, led by darkhorse Heisman candidate Max Hall, but if FSU can slow down the offense while putting up points of their own (which they should be able to do, as long as they play like they did week 1 as opposed to week 2), then the Noles will win.

Florida State 31, BYU 24

West Virginia @ Auburn

This would have been a marquee game three years ago, when West Virginia was the powerhouse of the Big East and Auburn was a top tier SEC team.  West Virginia has clearly lost a step after losing Rich Rodriguez, and losing Pat White doesn’t help things either, but the offense still has plenty of weapons, led by Noel Devine.  However, West Virginia hasn’t been particularly impressive in their first two wins, while Auburn has been a surprise.  Last year, the Auburn offense was, to put it lightly, not very good, but new coordinator Gus Malzahn has been able to implement his version of the spread offense with lots of early success, averaging 43 points a game.  Traveling down to Jordan-Hare Stadium will be tough for the Mountaineers, and with a spread offense that actually works, I expect Auburn to win this one.

Auburn 38, West Virginia 24

Other games to watch this week: Texas Tech @ Texas, California @ Minnesota, Arizona @ Iowa, Georgia @ Arkansas, Utah @ Oregon

Almost prophetic, Carter told the media after team got blowout against Washington that the Nets were going to have to take out their frustration on Minnesota, “plain and simple.”

Again that’s exactly what happened.

However, in the least likely of ways, it wasn’t the combo of Harris and Carter, which combined for 34 points by the way, that frustrated the crap out of Al Jefferson and Craig Smith for 48 minutes.

In the end, when seven guys hit three-pointer’s and get to double figures, you know you did something right as a team.

However, that wasn’t the only thing that went right for the Nets tonight.

Yi Jianlian played extremely well, notching 16 points and five rebounds, but didn’t get much playing time after the first half. Even Bobby Simmons was a factor, hitting three of four from beyond the arc, scoring 12 points for the first time this season. Nonetheless, in addition to Simmons and Yi, I loved the way Brook “Big Show” Lopez played tonight. Active on the boards on both ends of the floor all night, Lopez was a force, drawing fouls like a shifty point guard. Hitting his free throws as well, I think this is was a turning point for the youngster and a game he should watch if he hits a rut during the course of the season.

That wasn’t all though.

Simply put, the bench was uber solid. Keyon Dooling was sharp on both ends, and was shooting his heart out. Ryan Anderson and Stromile Swift didn’t get much playing time, and were still factors on both ends combining for 13 points and eight rebounds. Jarvis Hayes was also doing his thing, hitting three points at will [where was this guy when I was playing NBA Jam in arcades 10 years ago?].

When the bench plays this well, no team in the league has a chance. Yes, I said it. Want to fight about it? [sorry bad “Family Guy” reference] The only question is, can they keep it up?

Guess we’ll just have to wait and see about that.

On another note, I just want to say that the Yes Network broadcast of tonight’s game was utterly hilarious, in the best way possible, that is. From Ian Eagle’s and Jim Spanarkel’s two or three minute mention of their favorite weathermen and the supreme focus on Eagle’s jump shot [not bad if you ask me]to the endearingly charming Michele Beadle’s make-out session with the Phoenix Sun’s mascot, these guys were enjoyable and at their best.

Keep it up guys.