Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.
THURSDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NHL: Bruins at Lightning, 7:30 p.m. (NESN, NHL Network)
NBA: Heat at Bulls, 8 p.m. (TNT)
NBA: Spurs at Clippers, 10:30 p.m. (TNT)
College basketball: Cincinnati at UConn, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Georgia at Arkansas, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: Drexel at Delaware, 7 p.m. (NBCSN)
College basketball: La Salle at Temple, 7 p.m. (CBSSN)
College basketball: Penn State at Illinois, 8:15 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
College basketball: Iowa at Nebraska 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: Duke at Virginia Tech, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: California at Oregon, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: Stanford at Oregon State, 11 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: BYU at Saint Mary’s, 11 p.m. (ESPN2)
AROUND THE WEB:
Darrelle Revis
♦ Two cornerbacks who have given the Patriots headaches are in a Twitter war with each other. Jets veteran Darrelle Revis on Wednesday finally responded to Seahawks second-year player Richard Sherman, who has been tweaking Revis since Super Bowl week.
Sherman, who had an All-Pro season in which he had numerous confrontations with opposing players, including Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, tweeted Wednesday the same kind of line he’s been writing for weeks:
One season u will get 8 picks…. But it won’t happen anytime soon… I did it in my second season… So u have something to chase. Got off my flight to this hilarious convo. So I have 8 picks and 3 ff and a sack. My season stats looking like Revis career stats.
Revis, a four-time Pro Bowler who missed most of 2013 after tearing his ACL, answered with this tweet: I’ve never seen a man before run his mouth so much like a girl. This dude just steady putting my name in his mouth to get notoriety. Sit down young pup and wait your turn.
Sherman quickly responded: Don’t need ya name … Ur name will be irrelevant once u step back on the field bruh. Get ya picks up!
Revis answered back: Child please lol!!! Your still taking baby steps son. Don’t get to a head of yourself.
♦ It might not have the same intensity in American, but the World Baseball Classic is a big deal to some Asian countries. That was made clear Tuesday, when four Taiwanese scouts masqueraded as umpire trainees and sneaked into a South Korean practice game to gather information. The countries are the co-favorites in Pool B for next month’s tournament and will play in the Taiwanese city of Taichung on March 5.
The four men were discovered after they started timing the delivery of the pitchers.
“We had our suspicions because there seemed to be too many people in the umpires’ room,” a Korea Baseball Organization official said. “They kept saying they were umpire trainees. But we later learned that they were really scouts and we ejected them from the stadium [in the fourth inning].”
A KBO official said the Taiwanese pro baseball governing body apologized via e-mail, saying the scouts did not have approval to go to the game and that there will be “proper punishment for their improper behavior.”
♦ The Oscar Pistorius case took an odd turn Wednesday when it was revealed that lead police investigator Hilton Botha faces attempted murder charges, leading to calls for him to be removed. Botha and two other police officers allegedly fired at a minibus they were trying to stop in 2011, and they are due in court in May to face seven counts of attempted murder.
Botha testified Wednesday in the Pistorius case, admitting that the Olympian’s claims how the shooting of his girlfriend took place did not contradict what police had discovered.
ON THIS DAY TRIVIA (answer below): On Feb. 21, 1982, which Bruins goalie recorded his only career shutout in a 1-0 victory over the Flyers in Philadelphia?
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We’ve been in that situation with Red Auerbach, and so many other emotional games — teams are very dangerous, especially in their home building. You take a lot of pride in protecting that and going out and getting that first win. You could see it in their eyes. I saw it in [Kobe Bryant's] eyes. He was really emotional coming out and he wanted this game bad. We understood that.” – Paul Pierce, after the Celtics lost to the Lakers on Wednesday night in Los Angeles’ first game since the death of owner Jerry Buss
STAT OF THE DAY: 1 – Games Canucks forward Jannik Hansen was suspended for his hit to the head of Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa on Tuesday night
‘NET RESULTS (mobile users, check the website to see the videos): Rockets guard James Harden nails a halfcourt shot to end the third quarter vs. the Thunder on Wednesday night.
Charles Barkley appears on “The Price is Right” as part of celebrity week.
Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton is plunked in the head by a fastball from Jose Fernandez, the team’s top draft pick in 2011, during a simulated game at spring training in Jupiter, Fla.
France’s Quentin Robinot goes behind the back for a return in a table tennis match with Belarus’ Kiryl Barabanov at the Kuwait Open.
TRIVIA ANSWER: Marco Baron
SOOTHING SOUNDS: Mary Chapin Carpenter was born on this day in 1958.