Watch Jonathan Quick’s 5 greatest saves from Kings’ Game 3 shutout of Devils (VIDEO)

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The New Jersey Devils had their best chances of the Stanley Cup Final in Game 3. Unfortunately for them, Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick had his best game of the Final on Monday night.

He stopped all 22 shots he faced in the 4-0 win, his third shutout of the postseason and first since Game 2 against the Phoenix Coyotes. Quick now has a 1.36 GAA and a .950 save percentage. He has a shot at catching Marty Turco's 2007 record for playoff save percentage (.952) with another stellar performance in Game 4.

Quick provided nightmare fuel for the Devils in Game 3, thwarting a few chances that seemed tagged for the back of the net. Not only that, but two key saves led to Kings goals moments later.

Here are the five greatest stops from Quick's perfect Game 3 victory, which moved the Kings within a victory of their first Stanley Cup.

Clarkson made a nice move to spring the Devils on a 2-on-1. But as he was all game, Quick was there to stifle the Devils' chance before getting bowled over by Clarkson. Oh yeah; moments later, the Kings scored the game's first goal. 4. Adam Henrique, Second Period The Devils' rookie had two cracks at Quick on the power play, but Quick wouldn't crack. A cross-ice pass found him with room to Quick's left. The Kings goalie moved far outside his crease to cut down the angle. He saved a first shot, Henrique collected the rebound, shot it into Quick's chest and he covered. Moments later, Anze Kopitar made it 2-0. 3. Ryan Carter, Second Period The game was well in hand at this point, with the Kings up 4-0, but Quick still had some magic left in stopping Zajac point-blank to preserve the shutout. 1. Zach Parise, First Period The Devils were on a 5-on-3 power play thanks to Mike Richards elbow and a Jeff Carter high-sticking double minor. Patrik Elias set up Zach Parise in front of a deflection, which Quick kicked out of harm's way — with Zajac on the doorstep. Seconds later, Marek Zidlicky's tripping call short-circuited the man advantage.

Ohio runner stops in state final to aid fallen opponent

On Saturday, West Liberty-Salem (Ohio) High junior Meghan Vogel won a state title. Incredibly, that might not even be what she or anyone else remembers most about her day at the Ohio Division III track and field state meet, because she later committed one of the most selfless acts of the year on the track: She stopped running the 3,200 meter final to help along a foe who had collapsed just 20 feet from the finish line.

As first reported by the Springfield News-Sun, Vogel had already captured the state 1,600-meter title when she came upon Arlington (Ohio) High sophomore Arden McMath near the finish line of the 3,200-meter final. Both Vogel and McMath were out of contention for the medals in the event at that point, and rather than try and make a final, mad dash, Vogel decided she was better served helping ensure McMath made it to the finish line.

The result was nothing short of electrifying, as you can see from the News-Sun video above. With each step, the cheering crowd at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Stadium seemed to get louder and louder, finally reaching its zenith when McMath crossed just in front of Vogel.

In fact, even that final finishing order was Vogel's idea; after all, McMath had been ahead of her when she collapsed.

While McMath and her teammates may have been most touched by Vogel's charitable actions, the state champion insisted that she got just as much out of the charitable act.

"Helping her across the finish line was a lot more satisfying than winning the state championship," Vogel told the News-Sun.

Technically, Vogel should have been disqualified for helping McMath, as regulations call for any runners aiding another to be disqualified from their event. Yet, perhaps in line with the spirit of Vogel's touching act, Ohio officials failed to disqualify either runner, with final standings crediting McMath for a 14th place finish and showing Vogel crossing the line in 15th place.
"She could have just gone around Arden," Arlington coach Paul Hunter told the News-Sun. "But she chose to help. I've never seen that at a state meet. That's real sportsmanship."
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UK Pound Down Against US Dollar, But Higher Against Euro

UK pound is down against the US dollar today, but higher against the euro. Once again, the interesting place the UK pound finds itself in is contributing to its mixed performance. The pound is heading lower against the US dollar as risk appetite dissipates, and higher against the euro as the pound represents a European safe haven.


Even after Egan-Jones Rating Company downgraded the UK pound to AA- from AA, the sterling is still higher against the euro in Forex trading. Pound is considered more stable than the 17-nation euro right now, thanks to all the uncertainty in the eurozone regarding what’s next for various countries, and the fact that there is still no solution being presented by eurozone leaders.

Against the US dollar, pound is lower, though. Risk appetite is once again a little scarce. However, there are some hopes from the upcoming G-7 conference call. It doesn’t look as though markets will be in full retreat today, but things are tilted a little lower today with some of the general risk aversion.

At 12:03 GMT GBP/USD is at 1.5339, down from the open at 1.5384. EUR/GBP is lower at 0.8094, down from the open at 0.8125. GBP/JPY is also lower, down to 120.0315 from the open at 120.5150.

Ringgit Falls as China’s Growth & US Recovery Slows

The Russian ruble advanced today for the second day as the nation’s central bank stepped up to support the currency and crude oil, the main Russia’s export, rebounded after reaching a lowest level in more than a year.

The Bank Rossii (Russia’s central bank) boosted its sales of foreign currencies to $250 million to $300 million yesterday as a measure to support the ruble. Brent crude oil gained yesterday after reaching the lowest level since January 2011, but retreated today. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index of equities rose 0.3 percent on hopes that global economic growth will pick up momentum.

USD/RUB fell from 33.4620 to 33.1880 as of 11:12 GMT today.

Ringgit Falls as China’s Growth & US Recovery Slows

Asian currencies, the Malaysian ringgit among them, were down today as negative data from China on the weekend followed poor macroeconomic reports from the United States on Friday.

China’s Purchasing Manufacturing Index fell to 55.2 in May from 56.1 in April. The report followed Friday’s US non-farm payrolls that showed employment growing by just 69,000. The data signaled that global economic recovery is slowing and that had a negative impact on assets of emerging economies. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index of stocks fell for a fourth session.

USD/MYR rose from 3.1961 to 3.2018 as of 14:18 GMT today.

Euro Rebounds, Is Rally Sustainable?

 June 04th, 2012 at 13:44  11

The rebounded today, posting the second day of gains, but sustainability of the rally is highly questionable. Earlier, the currency declined as European leaders struggled to find a solution for the debt problems of the European Union.

Concerns about the potential breakup of the eurozone grow as politicians cannot provide anything that resembles a meaningful plat to contain the crisis. Germany still objects implementation of joint euro-bonds, arguing that it would not help to resolve the issues. Such indecisiveness may cost Europe dearly as Spain is likely to request a bailout, but the sheer size its economy means that it would be much harder (compared to Greece) to rescue the country.

EUR/USD climbed from 1.2415 to 1.2484 as of 13:44 GMT today, following the earlier decline to 1.2385. EUR/JPY was up from 96.95 to 97.58.

EUR/USD Breaks 1.26 Level, Traders Running from Euro

The euro fell below the 1.26 level against the US dollar, reaching lowest level since July 2010. That level was considered to provide strong support to the shared 17-nation currency and, now that the support line is broken, traders are afraid that the currency would spiral down to even lower price.

The members of the European Union are meeting at summit today, but most analysts and traders are pessimistic about the outcome of the meeting. Germany still rejects the implementation of eurobonds even as other countries, including France, support the idea. Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, claimed that the European financial crisis will be discussed at tonight’s meeting in Brussels only “at the very end”.

The Bundesbank stated that a Greek exit “would be significant but manageable within the help of cautious crisis management”. Indeed, some experts say that both the eurozone and Greece would be better if the indebted country will leave the currency union. Others argue that an exit of any country would create a precedent, which may lead to quick dissolution of the euro-area.

EUR/USD sank from 1.2686 to 1.2562 as of 16:48 GMT today. Earlier, some technical analysts claimed that the currency pair should bounce after reaching the 1.26 level, but now it does not look likely. The daily minimum was 1.2544 — the lowest since July 13, 2010. EUR/JPY slid from 101.39 to 99.67, reaching 99.52 intraday — the low not seen since February 1.

Rand Slides to This Year’s Low as CPI Below Expectations

The South African rand slumped against the US dollar today to the lowest level this year as slower-than-expected growth of consumer prices triggered speculations that the nation’s central bank would refrain from raising interest rates.

South Africa’s inflations accelerated to 6.1 percent in April from 6 percent in March. That was the first increase in three months, which is not bad, but still below analysts’ expectations of 6.2 percent growth. The worse-than-expected data prompted speculation that the South African Reserve Bank would keep its key rate at 5.5 percent tomorrow.

USD/ZAR climbed from 8.3180 to 8.4450 as of 14:53 GMT today, while the daily high of 8.4590 was the highest since November 25.

Euro Tanks as Greece Exit Considered More Likely

Euro is tanking today, heading lower as speculation about a Greek exit of the eurozone increases. Indeed, some think that there is a real threat for Greek withdrawal — and that such a withdrawal could prompt a domino effect that includes Spain and Italy later. Worries about what’s next for the eurozone are sending the 17-nation currency down across the board.


Recently, former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos insisted that a Greek withdrawal from the eurozone is a very real threat, even as he tried to encourage Greek citizens to accept painful austerity measures. Concerns that Greece will be unable to remain in the eurozone are on the rise. Worries are triggering fears of a domino effect as well. Once the first country leaves the eurozone, it becomes easier for other countries to bail as well, and Spain and Italy are considered prime contenders for the spots as the next dominoes to fall.

For now, the main fear is a flight from deposits at banks in countries affected by the sovereign debt crisis. A fight over eurobonds, as well as other aspects of a growth package for the eurozone is being set up, as there are expected to be very big differences between the approach of new French President Francois Hollande and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

At 14:03 GMT EUR/USD is down to 1.2645 from the open at 1.2684. EUR/GBP is down to 0.8042 from the open at 0.8049. EUR/JPY is down to 100.4185 from the open at 101.4300.

Bank of Japan Inaction Helps Yen

The Bank of Japan decided against taking any more action to ease at this time, and that is helping the Japanese yen. Forex traders had been expecting the Bank of Japan to ease further, in an attempt to keep the yen weak, but the BOJ offered something of a surprise following the recent downgrade by Fitch.

Citing faster economic growth, Bank of Japan officials decided to forgo additional easing measures during the most recent BOJ policy meeting. Leaders insist that public investment has increased, along with private consumption. This situation has resulted in the BOJ deciding that further easing in an attempt to stimulate the economy is not needed.

Without the specter of more easing (at least for now), Forex traders feel a little more confident about buying the yen. The yen has strengthened against its major counterparts since the announcement. Even the Fitch downgrade didn’t do much to really slow the yen — especially against struggling European currencies. Now, with the yen back in the good graces of the Forex community, there is a chance that it will become popular as a safe haven currency again.

At 13:04 GMT USD/JPY is lower at 74.4760, down from the open at 1.5761. EUR/JPY is down to 100.7045 from the open at 101.4300. GBP/JPY is down to 125.0750 from the open at 126.0100.

Palin endorses Hatch in Utah

And a hew and cry arose from Twitter.  Dispensing with Tea Party challenger Dan Liljenquist and calling Orrin Hatch “Mr. Balanced Budget,” Sarah Palin endorsed the incumbent Senator from Utah on Greta van Susteren last night:



Palin also made a lengthier argument for Hatch on her SarahPAC site early this morning:

Orrin Hatch is part of the one percent. No, not that one percent you’ve heard about. He’s part of the one percent of national politicians who I think should be reelected. Orrin Hatch is a life-long conservative whose dedication and devotion to the conservative cause and to his beloved and beautiful state of Utah is well documented. Orrin was a Utah state campaign chairman for a fledgling and failing presidential candidate deemed “too conservative” and “unelectable” by the media. Ironically, that candidate was the man who restored our country to be a “shining city on a hill” – Ronald Reagan.

When asked about Orrin Hatch, President Reagan once said: “If every member of the Senate were like Orrin Hatch, we’d be arguing over how to deal with a federal surplus, and that’s why I like to think of Orrin as ‘Mr. Balanced Budget.’ The United States has been strong enough to deter aggression and maintain the peace, in no small degree due to the efforts of Orrin Hatch. He has been a champion of those who fight for freedom.”

Free speech moment: Standing with Stacy McCain, Patterico, Liberty Chick, and Aaron Walker

I know what it’s like to find out that you’ve been targeted for violence — real violence, as in being targeted for death by an extremist who has picked out his target based on nothing more than writing about politics.  My situation got resolved, fortunately, but my life has not been quite the same since.  I had the good fortune of having friends who quietly made sure that my family had the security we needed for me to continue my work in American politics.

Looks like that time has come around for some of our friends in the blogosphere.  Aaron Walker, Patterico, Liberty Chick, and Stacy McCain have written extensively about a man named Brett Kimberlin and connections to violent political action.  I have only followed the story at a distance, and don’t hold myself out to be an expert on the subject.  The result of their investigations has prompted a flurry of legal harassment in some cases, and worse in others.  Today, the Boss Emeritus — who knows a thing or two about Unhinged reaction to free speech — rallies the blogosphere in defense of our friends:

Over the past year, Aaron Walker (who blogged as “Aaron Worthing”), Patterico, Liberty Chick, and now Stacy McCain have been targeted by convicted Speedway bomber Brett Kimberlin because they dared to mention his criminal past or assisted others who did. The late Andrew Breitbart warned about Kimberlin and company.

Open thread: The Arkansas Democratic primary

Tonight’s the big night. If you read this post last week, you already know why. The odds of O actually losing this race are somewhere south of one percent, I’d guess, but they’re not absolute zero. Remember, a poll taken in Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District roughly 10 days ago had The One leading attorney John Wolfe by seven thin points with 17 percent still undecided. Greatest upset evah?

“I’ve raised less than $2000,” says Wolfe. “My biggest contribution was $50; my smallest was $0.44.” The money helped him drive his Ford Edge from his Nashville home over to Arkansas, and to pay for some penny apiece robo-calls. These supplemented the 3000 calls that Wolfe has made personally, “just talking to voters.”…

Two weeks ago, a convincted felon and frequent candidate named Keith Judd won 41 percent of the Democratic primary vote in West Virginia. He took seven counties away from the president. Reporters, conducting interviews at the polls, learned that voters were willing to support anyone who wasn’t Obama, no matter what he did. Vice President Biden even absolved these people.

The Judd comparison is extremely unflattering to Wolfe. He’s an upstanding citizen, and reasonable, with an “economic populist” policy agenda that could fit snugly on Dylan Ratigan’s MSNBC show. When I call Wolfe, he’s ready with a 10-minute monologue about the need to restore Glass Steagall, the unfairness of the bailouts, and the good that a transaction tax could do.

As usual, Jay Cost is thinking big picture:

Obama loses 40% of the vote in two Democratic primaries

Barack Obama had no national primary challengers in his second nomination race in most states, including Kentucky. Who knew it would still be a tough choice for voters? Kentucky voters in the Democratic primary preferred the empty slot to the empty suit, apparently: About two out of every five Democratic voters in Tuesday’s presidential primary in Kentucky chose “uncommitted” instead of voting for President Barack Obama. … “I’m at a victory celebration for ‘uncommitted’ who performed admirably,” said [state GOP chair Steve] Robertson. “I’ve never met the guy but know that he highly embarrassed Obama.” Robertson contended that the Democrats who vote most regularly — those he termed “the Democrats of Democrats” — “said ‘no’ to their president. If the Kentucky Democratic Party doesn’t get it after this race, they need to stare long and hard at the results. This shows that Obama has even more than an uphill battle to win Kentucky in the fall.” That’s not the worst of it. Obama may end up losing as many as half of Kentucky’s counties to “Uncommitted” as well: Kentucky’s vote was notable, though, for the fact that there weren’t even any other candidates on the ballot. The most the “uncommitted” option won so far this primary season was previously 21 percent in the North Carolina primary earlier this month. Kentucky looks as though it will double that number. In addition, Obama looked as though he may lose more than half of the state’s 120 counties. This follows on the heels of Obama’s embarrassing outcome in West Virginia, where he lost 41% of the vote to a felon currently residing in federal prison in Texas. Both states are big coal producers, and voters in both parties have become disgusted with Obama’s attacks on the industry that keeps their economy running, and which keeps the lights on for the rest of the country. Neither state was expected to support Obama in November, but this level of anger among rank-and-file Democrats has to have Team Obama worried about their prospects in coal-heavy Ohio and Pennsylvania, which are much more critical to their hopes for re-election. On top of the embarrassing results in Kentucky, Obama also lost 40% of the Democratic vote in Bill Clinton’s home state yesterday, too. So far, challenger John Wolfe has 41% of the vote with 67 of 75 Arkansas counties reporting. Wolfe appears to be carrying almost half of the counties in Arkansas as well, just as “Uncommitted” did in Kentucky. In 1968, a weak win in New Hampshire against a tough primary challenge was enough to convince LBJ that he couldn’t win a general election. I don’t expect Obama to retire, but barely winning states against no competition sends a very similar signal in 2012.

Pound Falls as CPI & HPI Drop

The Great Britain pound fell against the US dollar today after reports showed that inflation slowed and house prices unexpectedly declined, adding incentive for the Bank of England to stimulate the economy. The currency advanced against the euro after four days of losses. The consumer price index was 3.0 percent in April on an annual basis, down from 3.5 percent in the month before. The house price index fell 0.4 percent in March from a year ago, compared to the expected increase by 0.5 percent and the February growth by 1.0 percent. The index declined 0.6 percent on a monthly basis. The International Monetary Fund recommended the BoE to add stimulus for the UK economy. GBP/USD was down from 1.5827 to 1.5779 as of 13:13 GMT today. EUR/GBP dropped from 0.8094 to 0.8084.

Canadian Dollar Drops Against US Dollar on Risk Aversion

Risk aversion is the Forex market driver today, thanks to the Fitch downgrade of Japan. Even though equities aren’t being much affected by the latest news, currencies are. High beta currencies like the Canadian dollar are dropping, thanks to a desire for safe haven. Loonie is headed lower against the US dollar today, even though its own credit rating is remains solid. Canada retains the highest credit rating with all the agencies, but that isn’t helping the Canadian dollar today on the Forex market. The Japan downgrade has shaken things up a bit, and the US dollar is gaining against the loonie today. However, even though the Canadian dollar is down against the greenback, it is up against other high beta currencies, including the UK pound. With the situation in Europe so uncertain, it isn’t much of a surprise that European currencies have been hit harder in the wake of the Japanese credit downgrade. Canada’s currency remains stronger against some of the alternatives, especially in Europe. Additionally, Canadian dollar is up against the yen, which continues to struggle as Forex traders question the economic recovery in Japan. At 12:38 GMT USD/CAD is up to 1.0176 from the open at 1.0177. GBP/CAD is lower at 1.6047, down from the open at 1.6104. EUR/CAD is down to 1.2971 from the open at 1.3038. CAD/JPY is up to 78.48 from the open at 77.99.

Yen Slides as Fitch Downgrades Japan

The Japanese yen fell today as Fitch Ratings downgraded Japan’s sovereign credit rating because country’s actions to reduce public huge public debt are too slow. Fitch cut Japan’s long-term foreign-currency rating from AA to A+ and lowered the local-currency grade from to AA- A+. The outlooks on both rankings are negative. Some financial specialists recommended buying the yen against the dollar. They are reasoning that the yen is too attractive amid present turbulent times and the currency would bounce back rather soon. USD/JPY was up from 79.29 to 79.83 and EUR/JPY rose from 101.62 to 101.96 as of 12:08 GMT today.

WaPo/ABC poll shows dead heat between Romney, Obama …

The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll shows Barack Obama only three points ahead of Mitt Romney, 49/46, within the margin of error.  The poll also shows Obama’s advantage among women dissipating, and the President falling further behind his challenger on the economy.  All of this is rather amazing, given the manner in which Republicans keep shrinking in the sample series:

After months of aggressive campaigning on jobs and the economy, President Obama and Mitt Romney, his likely Republican challenger, are locked in a dead heat over who could fix the problem foremost on voters’ minds, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The parity on economic issues foreshadows what probably will continue to be a tough and negative campaign. Overall, voters would be split 49 percent for Obama and 46 percent for Romney if the November election were held now. On handling the economy, they are tied at 47 percent.

Despite flare-ups over issues including contraception and same-sex marriage, more than half of all Americans cite the economy as the one concern that will decide their vote in the fall, relegating others — such as health care, taxes and the federal deficit — to single-digit status.

Confirmed: Superman might be gay

Makes sense. He’s got the build, the fashion sense, and just maybe the gaydar-pinging facial structure. And yet — no one’s sure yet that he’s the one who’s coming out. All we know is that it’s a male, that it’ll happen next month, and that he’s “one of the major iconic DC characters.”

Is there something you’d like to tell us, Batman?

Actually, no need: We already know.

So which one is it? The folks at DC Comics aren’t saying, but they do say it’s the latest effort to make sure their comics keep up with the times.

Last September, DC Comics relaunched its entire line of comic books to feature an updated look and a new lineup of LGBT superheroes: including Voodoo, an African American bisexual woman and Batwoman, an open lesbian…

“DC and (archrival) Marvel are recognizing that there is an LGBT audience that has been reading their comics for years,” said Matt Kane, associate director of entertainment and media for GLAAD. “When creating these fictional worlds it’s important to show the full diversity.”

Obamateurism of the Day

How does the private sector create jobs? Any first-year econ student could explain it: businesses make profit on products and/or services, and add jobs as they maximize profits (in other words, reach a high level of productivity) but have the opportunity/need to expand sales.  Without maximized profit, there is no pressure to expand, and therefore no job creation; otherwise, businesses improve profit performance through efficiency … which maximizes profits in the end.   John Hinderaker knows this, and he’s a lawyer, not a first-year econ student, but apparently another lawyer named Barack Obama hasn’t quite figured that out yet.  In his press conference yesterday, Obama blamed Bain for wanting to maximize profits, as opposed to, er … every other business in the real world: