I didn't do very well last week, in fact I went 4-10 on the week. I promise I'll do much better this week. Here goes!
San Diego @ Denver Broncos 28-21 - Shootout between Manning and Rivers
Detroit @ Atlanta Lions 31-21 - Even without Megatron
Baltimore @ Cincinnati Ravens 35-17 - Bengals continue downward spiral
Chicago @ New England Patriots 28-24 - Turmoil in Bears lockerroom spills onto field
Miami @ Jacksonville Dolphins 21-17 - Short trip for Miami victory
Minnesota @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-17 - Bucs with just enough O
Buffalo @ NY Jets Bills 21-14 - Out on a limb here
Seattle @ Carolina Seahawks 31-17 - Hawks can't lose 3 in a row?
Houston @ Tennessee Texans 24-14 - JJ may have to do it all
St. Louis @ Kansas City Chiefs 27-10 - No more trick plays please
Philadelphia @ Arizona Eagles 28-20 - Must keep pace with the Boys
Oakland @ Cleveland Raiders 31-17 - Two losses in a row to winless teams
Indianapolis @ Pittsburgh Colts 28-21 - Tough test for Luck and the D
Green Bay @ New Orleans Packers 35-28 - Another offensive thriller
Washington @ Dallas Cowboys 31-10 - 'Skins are toast in the East
W.D. Barr's unique perspective on what's important in the world of Mexican Baseball!
Thursday, October 23, 2014
NHL Update
The following article is from Puck Central on ESPN.
The tragic murder of the soldier at the Canadian Tomb of the Unknowns and bullets flying in the Parliament Building are grim reminders that the world has gone crazy and that sports sometimes need to take a back seat to life.
The games will go on in Canada! The Canadian and American citizens will not be terrorized!
The tragic murder of the soldier at the Canadian Tomb of the Unknowns and bullets flying in the Parliament Building are grim reminders that the world has gone crazy and that sports sometimes need to take a back seat to life.
The games will go on in Canada! The Canadian and American citizens will not be terrorized!
SEC's 5 Best Coodinators
Brad Crawford of saturdaydownsouth.com, has a really good article on the 5 best coordinators in the SEC. Also contained within the article is a link to one on the 5 worst coordinators...also a good read.
There are two defensive coordinators, 2 offensive coordinators and a running backs/recruiting coordinator listed.
The defensive coordinators are from Ole Miss and Georgia, the offensive coordinators from Alabama and Mississippi State and the running backs/recruiting coordinator is from LSU.
If you like the SEC, you'll love the article. If you tend to think the SEC is overrated you will scoff at any notion that any good thing could come from the SEC.
I'm a college football fan who likes well written articles about college football. Read Brad's article here, Regardless where you stand on the SEC, you'll have to admit this article is spot on.
There are two defensive coordinators, 2 offensive coordinators and a running backs/recruiting coordinator listed.
The defensive coordinators are from Ole Miss and Georgia, the offensive coordinators from Alabama and Mississippi State and the running backs/recruiting coordinator is from LSU.
If you like the SEC, you'll love the article. If you tend to think the SEC is overrated you will scoff at any notion that any good thing could come from the SEC.
I'm a college football fan who likes well written articles about college football. Read Brad's article here, Regardless where you stand on the SEC, you'll have to admit this article is spot on.
NBA 2014-2015 Season Preview
LeBron is back in Cleveland, Kobe is the 40th best player in the NBA, Kevin Durant has a broken bone in his foot...
These are some of the stories, above and below, to watch this season.
Blake Griffin seems to be saying "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore..."
Carmelo Anthony says he won't win the scoring title because of the triangle offense.
And let's not forget the reigning Champion San Antonio Spurs!
Mike Prada of SBNation.com has a wonderfully complete breakdown of the NBA's upcoming season. Be sure to read it all here. It's a little cumbersome but a great read.
These are some of the stories, above and below, to watch this season.
Blake Griffin seems to be saying "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore..."
Carmelo Anthony says he won't win the scoring title because of the triangle offense.
And let's not forget the reigning Champion San Antonio Spurs!
Mike Prada of SBNation.com has a wonderfully complete breakdown of the NBA's upcoming season. Be sure to read it all here. It's a little cumbersome but a great read.
Sporting News Names Kershaw MLB "Player of the Year"
Sporting News has named Clayton Kershaw of the LA Dodgers their Player of the Year for 2014.
What I like about Sporting News' selection is that their panel is made up of 244 major league players. These players vote on what they see day in and day out. The panel is not given a list to choose from, they choose their own candidate.
This year, Kershaw narrowly beat LA Angels outfielder, Mike Trout by three votes, 76-73. Giancarlo Stanton, of the Miami Marlins, finished a distant third with 32 votes.
Jesse Spector of The Sporting News has an article here with the facts about Kershaw's 2014 season. A season where he missed the month of April due to injury.
What I like about Sporting News' selection is that their panel is made up of 244 major league players. These players vote on what they see day in and day out. The panel is not given a list to choose from, they choose their own candidate.
This year, Kershaw narrowly beat LA Angels outfielder, Mike Trout by three votes, 76-73. Giancarlo Stanton, of the Miami Marlins, finished a distant third with 32 votes.
Jesse Spector of The Sporting News has an article here with the facts about Kershaw's 2014 season. A season where he missed the month of April due to injury.
Royals Down Giants 7-2 in Game 2
The Kansas City Royals answered the Giants' offensive outburst in game 1 of the World Series with one of their own in game 2.
Game 2 looked as though it might be a continuation of game 1 when Gregor Blanco sent a 3-2 pitch from Yorlando Ventura over the wall in right to lead off the game and give the Giants a quick 1-0 lead. Ventura settled down and got the next three outs to get out of the inning.
The Royals responded in their half of the 1st inning. Alcides Escobar reached on a ball hit deep in the hole to short. Norichika Aoki flied out to center. Escobar was caught trying to steal second for the second out. Lorenzo Cain then doubled to left center and Eric Hosmer walked. Billy Butler followed with a single to score Cain and the Royals had tied the game at 1.
Kansas City scored another run in the 2nd on doubles by Omar Infante and Alcides Escobar that gave the Royals a 2-1 lead.
The Giants would tie the score in the top of the 4th on a double by Pablo Sandoval to lead off the inning, and a double by Brandon Belt one out later that scored Sandoval.
Jake Peavy started the bottom of the 6th for the Giants and gave up a single to Lorenzo Cain and walked Eric Hosmer. Jean Machi relieved Peavy and gave up a 2-0 single to Billy Butler that scored Cain with Hosmer stopping at second. Kansas City had retaken the lead 3-2. Terrance Gore ran for Butler. Javier Lopez relieved Machi and got Alex Gordon to fly out to left for the first out. Hunter Strickland relieved Lopez and threw a wild pitch that moved both runners into scoring position. Hosmer and Gore scored on a double by Salvador Perez. Perez came around to score on a 2 run home run by Omar Infante and the Royals led 7-2. Neither team would score again and the Royals had taken game 2.
Billy Butler was 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs for the Royals while Omar Infante went 2 for 3 with the home run, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Lorenzo Cain was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Gregor Blanco was 1 for 4 with the home run and a run scored for the Giants and Brandon Belt was 1 for 4 with the other RBI.
Jake Peavy was saddled with the loss allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits with 2 walks while striking out 1 in 5 innings of work. Kelvin Herrera picked up the win in relief of Yorlando Ventura.
The series now shifts to San Francisco on Friday with games 3, 4 and 5 to be played at AT&T Park. Games 6 and 7, if necessary will be played in Kansas City.
Game 2 looked as though it might be a continuation of game 1 when Gregor Blanco sent a 3-2 pitch from Yorlando Ventura over the wall in right to lead off the game and give the Giants a quick 1-0 lead. Ventura settled down and got the next three outs to get out of the inning.
The Royals responded in their half of the 1st inning. Alcides Escobar reached on a ball hit deep in the hole to short. Norichika Aoki flied out to center. Escobar was caught trying to steal second for the second out. Lorenzo Cain then doubled to left center and Eric Hosmer walked. Billy Butler followed with a single to score Cain and the Royals had tied the game at 1.
Kansas City scored another run in the 2nd on doubles by Omar Infante and Alcides Escobar that gave the Royals a 2-1 lead.
The Giants would tie the score in the top of the 4th on a double by Pablo Sandoval to lead off the inning, and a double by Brandon Belt one out later that scored Sandoval.
Jake Peavy started the bottom of the 6th for the Giants and gave up a single to Lorenzo Cain and walked Eric Hosmer. Jean Machi relieved Peavy and gave up a 2-0 single to Billy Butler that scored Cain with Hosmer stopping at second. Kansas City had retaken the lead 3-2. Terrance Gore ran for Butler. Javier Lopez relieved Machi and got Alex Gordon to fly out to left for the first out. Hunter Strickland relieved Lopez and threw a wild pitch that moved both runners into scoring position. Hosmer and Gore scored on a double by Salvador Perez. Perez came around to score on a 2 run home run by Omar Infante and the Royals led 7-2. Neither team would score again and the Royals had taken game 2.
Billy Butler was 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs for the Royals while Omar Infante went 2 for 3 with the home run, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Lorenzo Cain was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Gregor Blanco was 1 for 4 with the home run and a run scored for the Giants and Brandon Belt was 1 for 4 with the other RBI.
Jake Peavy was saddled with the loss allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits with 2 walks while striking out 1 in 5 innings of work. Kelvin Herrera picked up the win in relief of Yorlando Ventura.
The series now shifts to San Francisco on Friday with games 3, 4 and 5 to be played at AT&T Park. Games 6 and 7, if necessary will be played in Kansas City.
Mayos de Navojoa Top Charros 6-1
Charros pitcher, Juan Delgadillo, had another rough outing last night dropping to 0-3 on the season with the 6-1 loss to the Mayos de Navojoa.
Delgadillo lasted just 4 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits with 2 home runs while striking out just 2.
Navojoa scored 3 times in the bottom of the 3rd. With one out Jose Chavez singled and Jon Weber sent a line drive home run to right to give the Mayos a 2-0 lead. Two batters later Chris Marrero sent a ball over the fence in left center for a home run to increase the lead to 3-0.
The Charros got a run back in the top of the 5th. Cory Vaughn led off the inning with a triple. Vaughn scored on an attempted pick off by Navojoa starter, Eddie Gamboa, that sailed wide and into foul territory.The lead was narrowed to 3-1 Mayos.
Things were quiet until the bottom of the 8th inning. Charros reliever Alan Guerrero replaced Manuel Flores. With one out, Rolando Acosta singled. After Guerrero got the second out he was replaced by Murphy Smith. Eliseo Aldazaba tagged Murphy for a double with Acosta stopping at third. Fernando Flores was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Luis Borges singled to drive in Acosta and Aldazaba. Antonio Garzon replaced Murphy on the mound and Jose Chaves greeted Garzon with a double that scored Flores. Jon Weber flied out to left to end the inning but the damage was done. The Mayos would go on to win the game by this 6-1 score.
The only bright spots on the night for Jalisco were Cory Vaughn's triple and Manny Flores who worked three perfect innings in relief of Delgadillo to lower his ERA to 2.00.
The series is even at 1-1 with the rubber match to be played tonight. The Charros fell to 6-4 on the year while Navojoa climbed to 3-7.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
NBA Owners Shoot Down Draft Lottery Changes
The NBA owners, by a vote of 17-13 in favor, failed to achieve the 23 votes required to change the way the NBA Lottery Draft is conducted.
The new changes would have given the 4 worst team an even 11% chance of receiving the 1st pick in the draft. As it stands now the worst team has about a 25% chance of getting the 1st pick.
The rules change was an effort to reduce the chance of "tanking" games at the end of a season to get that coveted 1st draft pick.
Commissioner Adam Silver said. "I think we all recognize we need to find the right balance between creating the appropriate incentives on one hand for teams to, of course, win, and on the other hand allowing for appropriate rebuilding and the draft to work as it should in which the worst performing teams get the highest picks in the draft."
The new changes would have given the 4 worst team an even 11% chance of receiving the 1st pick in the draft. As it stands now the worst team has about a 25% chance of getting the 1st pick.
The rules change was an effort to reduce the chance of "tanking" games at the end of a season to get that coveted 1st draft pick.
Commissioner Adam Silver said. "I think we all recognize we need to find the right balance between creating the appropriate incentives on one hand for teams to, of course, win, and on the other hand allowing for appropriate rebuilding and the draft to work as it should in which the worst performing teams get the highest picks in the draft."
Read the full ESPN article here.
UNC Underfire for "Sham" Courses Taken by Athletes
The University of North Carolina has discovered in an investigation the university commissioned that over an 18 year period, athletes were steered toward so called sham courses to maintain their GPA and thus maintain their athletic eligibility.
This is from the ESPN story. "The report, released Wednesday, says academic advisers in North Carolina's athletic department colluded with a manager in the African and Afro-American Studies department for student-athletes to take classes to boost their GPAs and keep them eligible in their respective sports."
This is from the ESPN story. "The report, released Wednesday, says academic advisers in North Carolina's athletic department colluded with a manager in the African and Afro-American Studies department for student-athletes to take classes to boost their GPAs and keep them eligible in their respective sports."
Read the full investigative story here.
Giants Take Game 1 of World Series 7-1
Madison Bumgarner held the Kansas City Royals to 3 hits and 1 run over 7 innings as the Giants overpowered the Royals 7-1 to take game one of the 2014 World Series.
Hunter Pence was 2 for 3 with a home run, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored while Pablo Sandoval went 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs for the Giants.
Read the ESPN recap here.
Hunter Pence was 2 for 3 with a home run, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored while Pablo Sandoval went 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs for the Giants.
Read the ESPN recap here.
Charros Top Navojoa 6-4
The Charros de Jalisco powered their way to a 6-4 victory last night over the Mayos de Navojoa. Orlando Lara picked up the win with the help of two home runs by Leo Hera and a home run by Marquez Smith.
Jalisco scored a run in the top of the 1st with a solo home run by Heras off of Navojoa starter, Mario Gonzalez, and the Charros led 1-0.
In the 3rd, Gabriel Gutierrez led off with a double and went to third on a single by Jesus Lopez. Lopez moved up to second on a wild pitch. Eduardo Arredondo grounded out 4-3 as Gutierrez scored and Lopez went to third. Leo Heras then,stroked a hard shot up the middle that caromed off the glove of the Mayos second baseman into left center for a double that scored Lopez. The lead was now 3-0 Charros.
Navojoa got a run back in the bottom of the 3rd. Jose Chavez doubled to lead off. Jon Weber drew a base on balls. Orlando Lara then struck out Luis Fonseca and Chris Marrero but Rolando Acosta singled to right to drive in Chavez. Acosta was thrown out at second trying to stretch his single into a double to end the inning. The Jalisco was 3-1.
Marquez Smith, of the Charros, walked to lead off the top of the 4th. Smith stole second and went to third on a throwing error by the Mayos catcher, Genaro Andrade. Smith then scored on a single by Jesus Cota to increase the Charros lead to 4-1.
Leo Heras hit his second home run of the night in the top of the 5th for a 5-1 Charros lead.
Navojoa's reliever Estaban Haro started the 6th and Marquez Smith greeted Haro with a solo home run, Smith's third of the year, as Jalisco increased their lead to 6-1.
Ken Sigman had replaced Orlando Lara in the 6th. In the bottom of the 7th Sigman gave up a solo home run to Eliseo Aldazaba and the Mayo's had cut the lead to 6-2.
Adrian Rameriz, pitching for the Charros to start the bottom of the ninth, gave up a single to Rolando Acosta and a 2 run home run to Reggie Ambercrombie and the Charros lead was down to 6-4.
Brian Broderick entered the game with two outs in the ninth and got pinch hitter Fernando Flores to ground out to second to preserve the win for Lara, who is now 2-0 on the year, and pick up his fourth save of the season.
The Charros de Jalisco improve to 6-3 on the young season while the Mayos de Navojoa fall to 2-7. These two teams play again tonight in a continuation of their three game series.
Leo Heras was 3 for 4 with 2 home runs and a double, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Marquez Smith was 1 for 2 with a home run, 2 walks, an RBI and 2 runs scored. Jesus Cota went 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Orlando Lara pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up 1 run with 3 base on balls and 6 strikeouts. His ERA on the year is 0.84. Brian Broderick lowered his ERA to 1.69.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Harbaugh Questioned About Kaepernick Game Down 42-10
Jim Harbaugh had to answer questions on Monday about Colin Kaepernick. Harbaugh was asked why he left Kaepernick in with 11:22 to go in the game and the 49ers down 41-10 to the Denver Broncos.
Matt Maiocco of csnbayarea.com has the story for his ComCast Bay Area Sports broadcast. You can read the article and watch some video here.
I am going to borrow the quote from Harbaugh though, because it takes reading the quote several times to get his drift. I understand never giving up but sometimes you need to save your horses for another day and let the ponies run.
“The drive started with about 10 minutes and I was still thinking with three timeouts and a quick score, an onside kick, three timeouts to stop a drive, another score and an onside kick,” Harbaugh said. “I was still thinking of the possibilities. That drive extended quite a bit of time, longer than I was hoping for. And I did think about, in the middle of the drive about the six-minute mark, of taking Colin out, but didn’t.”
Matt Maiocco of csnbayarea.com has the story for his ComCast Bay Area Sports broadcast. You can read the article and watch some video here.
I am going to borrow the quote from Harbaugh though, because it takes reading the quote several times to get his drift. I understand never giving up but sometimes you need to save your horses for another day and let the ponies run.
“The drive started with about 10 minutes and I was still thinking with three timeouts and a quick score, an onside kick, three timeouts to stop a drive, another score and an onside kick,” Harbaugh said. “I was still thinking of the possibilities. That drive extended quite a bit of time, longer than I was hoping for. And I did think about, in the middle of the drive about the six-minute mark, of taking Colin out, but didn’t.”
Makes perfect sense right.
Pick 'em in 2014 World Series
Jayson Stark, writing for ESPN.com, has a very good article about the similarities and the differences between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants. Read the article and you can takes yer chances.
The Royals were 89-73 in 2014 while the Giants were 88-74. This the first time that neither team in the World Series had at least 90 wins.
The Giants won the World Series in 2010 and 2014 and hope to keep up their even year magic. The Royals on the other hand, haven't been in the playoffs, let alone the World Series, since 1985. When you count the last three games of that series and the first seven games of this round of playoffs, the Royals have won 10 playoff games in a row.
The American League won the All-Star game in July that gave the Royals the first two games in KC with games 3, 4 and 5 in San Francisco. That sounds good but the Royals were 42-39 at home while the Giants were 47-34 on the road. Maybe that advantage isn't so great.
Neither team had a Kershaw or Scherzer as a starting pitcher but both team's starters give quality innings. The Royals have a 7th and 8th inning pitcher with a very good closer. The Giants setup men and closer are also good.
The similarities of these two teams make this series too close to call.
Anthony Riccobond of ibtimes.com has this about the series with his prediction of Royals in 7 games.
Although evenly matched my pick is also Kansas City but they win in 6 games.
The Royals were 89-73 in 2014 while the Giants were 88-74. This the first time that neither team in the World Series had at least 90 wins.
The Giants won the World Series in 2010 and 2014 and hope to keep up their even year magic. The Royals on the other hand, haven't been in the playoffs, let alone the World Series, since 1985. When you count the last three games of that series and the first seven games of this round of playoffs, the Royals have won 10 playoff games in a row.
The American League won the All-Star game in July that gave the Royals the first two games in KC with games 3, 4 and 5 in San Francisco. That sounds good but the Royals were 42-39 at home while the Giants were 47-34 on the road. Maybe that advantage isn't so great.
Neither team had a Kershaw or Scherzer as a starting pitcher but both team's starters give quality innings. The Royals have a 7th and 8th inning pitcher with a very good closer. The Giants setup men and closer are also good.
The similarities of these two teams make this series too close to call.
Anthony Riccobond of ibtimes.com has this about the series with his prediction of Royals in 7 games.
Although evenly matched my pick is also Kansas City but they win in 6 games.
News and Notes From Week 7 in the NFL
Thursday through Sunday in the NFL was pretty exciting. The Redskins, behind backup quarterback Colt McCoy, beat the Titans 19-17. The St. Louis Rams used special team subterfuge to upset the Seahawks 28-26.
After looking so good last week, the Browns lost 24-6 to the here to fore winless Jaguars. The Bills lost key players but rallied on a TD pass from Kyle Orton to win 17-16 over the Vikings.
Matthew Stafford engineered two late TD drives to topple the Saints 24-23. The Chiefs used a last second FG to beat the Chargers, while Demacro Murray set an NFL record that had stood for 56 years as the Cowboys humbled the Giants 31-21.
The Bears are bickering among themselves and with their fans...again.
Oh yes, Rodgers, Brady and Manning were their same old selves...ho hum!
Frank Schwab of Shutdown corner on Yahoo Sports has his weekly winners and losers story here. Be sure to check it out.
After looking so good last week, the Browns lost 24-6 to the here to fore winless Jaguars. The Bills lost key players but rallied on a TD pass from Kyle Orton to win 17-16 over the Vikings.
Matthew Stafford engineered two late TD drives to topple the Saints 24-23. The Chiefs used a last second FG to beat the Chargers, while Demacro Murray set an NFL record that had stood for 56 years as the Cowboys humbled the Giants 31-21.
The Bears are bickering among themselves and with their fans...again.
Oh yes, Rodgers, Brady and Manning were their same old selves...ho hum!
Frank Schwab of Shutdown corner on Yahoo Sports has his weekly winners and losers story here. Be sure to check it out.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Charros take Series From Tomateros With 6-5 Win
The Charros de Jalisco baseball team is interesting to say the least. Starter Marco Tovar gave up four hits in the bottom of the 1st, all of them solo home runs. The Charros did not make a pitching change until the 3rd inning after Tovar gave up 2 walks and a single to load the bases with no outs.
Four relief pitchers for the Charros held the Tomateros scoreless until the bottom of the 8th on two hits and one walk.
Jalisco started to climb out of the four run hole in the top of the 4th. Leo Heras led off with a walk and Manny Rodriguez doubled. With runners at 2nd and 3rd, Japhet Amador singled to score Heras with Rodriguez stopping at third. Marguez Smith then grounded out to third as Rodriguez scored. The Charros were on the board but were still down 4-2.
The Charros scored a run in the 5th when Jesus Lopez scored on an Eduardo Arredondo single to narrow the score to 4-3 Tomateros.
With one out in the top of the 6th, Cory Vaughn was hit by a pitch. After Gabriel Gutierrez flew out to center, Vaughn scored on a double by Jesus Lopez that tied the score at 4.
Jalisco scored two more runs in the 7th. Eduardo Arredondo and Leo Heras walked. Japhet Amador drove in Arredondo with a single. Cory Vaughn walked to load the bases and Gabriel Gutierrez waited out a walk to force in Heras with the second run of the inning and the 6-4 Charros lead.
The Tomateros tried to mount a comeback in the bottom of the 8th. With one out, Arturo Rodriguez singled. Ronnier Mustelier also singled to put runners on the corners with one out. Rodriguez scored on a ground out to second off of the bat of pinch hitter Refugio Cervantes to make it a one run ball game, 6-5. Pinch hitter Oscar Robles then grounded out to first to end the inning.
Neither team would score in the 9th and the Charros won their fifth game against three losses.
Japhet Amador and Manny Rodriguez were both 2 for 5 with Amador driving in 2 runs and Rodriguez scoring 1. Jesus Lopez was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. Eduardo Arredondo went 1 for 4 with an RBI.
Carlos Vazguez got the win for the Charros while Brian Broderick picked up his third save of the year.
Four relief pitchers for the Charros held the Tomateros scoreless until the bottom of the 8th on two hits and one walk.
Jalisco started to climb out of the four run hole in the top of the 4th. Leo Heras led off with a walk and Manny Rodriguez doubled. With runners at 2nd and 3rd, Japhet Amador singled to score Heras with Rodriguez stopping at third. Marguez Smith then grounded out to third as Rodriguez scored. The Charros were on the board but were still down 4-2.
The Charros scored a run in the 5th when Jesus Lopez scored on an Eduardo Arredondo single to narrow the score to 4-3 Tomateros.
With one out in the top of the 6th, Cory Vaughn was hit by a pitch. After Gabriel Gutierrez flew out to center, Vaughn scored on a double by Jesus Lopez that tied the score at 4.
Jalisco scored two more runs in the 7th. Eduardo Arredondo and Leo Heras walked. Japhet Amador drove in Arredondo with a single. Cory Vaughn walked to load the bases and Gabriel Gutierrez waited out a walk to force in Heras with the second run of the inning and the 6-4 Charros lead.
The Tomateros tried to mount a comeback in the bottom of the 8th. With one out, Arturo Rodriguez singled. Ronnier Mustelier also singled to put runners on the corners with one out. Rodriguez scored on a ground out to second off of the bat of pinch hitter Refugio Cervantes to make it a one run ball game, 6-5. Pinch hitter Oscar Robles then grounded out to first to end the inning.
Neither team would score in the 9th and the Charros won their fifth game against three losses.
Japhet Amador and Manny Rodriguez were both 2 for 5 with Amador driving in 2 runs and Rodriguez scoring 1. Jesus Lopez was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. Eduardo Arredondo went 1 for 4 with an RBI.
Carlos Vazguez got the win for the Charros while Brian Broderick picked up his third save of the year.
Manning Breaks Career TD Mark With #509
Peyton Manning sat out an entire year because of 4 neck surgeries. He has come back from that time off to play at a "superstar" level in one of the most violent games in the US,
Sunday he passed Brett Favre for the Most Touchdown Passes - Career with #509 against the San Francisco 49ers on national television.
Jeff Legwold of ESPN has the story of Peyton Manning here.
Congratulations Peyton on a remarkable career.
Sunday he passed Brett Favre for the Most Touchdown Passes - Career with #509 against the San Francisco 49ers on national television.
Jeff Legwold of ESPN has the story of Peyton Manning here.
Congratulations Peyton on a remarkable career.
Cowboys Top Giants 31-21 For 6th Win In A Row
The Dallas Cowboys, behind a solid effort by Tony Romo and a record breaking performance by Demarco Murry defeated the NY Giants 31-21 to improve to 6-1 on the year,
Romo threw for 279 yards and 3 TDs. Dez Bryant caught 9 of Romo's passes for 151 yards. TE Gavin Escobar caught 3 passes for 65 yards and 2 TDs.
The story of the game though, was Demarco Murray recording his 7th consecutive game to start the season. The old record was 6 in a row by Jim Brown set in 1958.
Murray, on a pace for more than 2000 yards rushing this season has 915 yards through 7 games a 130.7 average. That would work out to 2091 yards over the 16 game schedule.
Read the ESPN Recap here.
Romo threw for 279 yards and 3 TDs. Dez Bryant caught 9 of Romo's passes for 151 yards. TE Gavin Escobar caught 3 passes for 65 yards and 2 TDs.
The story of the game though, was Demarco Murray recording his 7th consecutive game to start the season. The old record was 6 in a row by Jim Brown set in 1958.
Murray, on a pace for more than 2000 yards rushing this season has 915 yards through 7 games a 130.7 average. That would work out to 2091 yards over the 16 game schedule.
Read the ESPN Recap here.
Colts Shutout Bengals 27-0
While Andrew Luck was completing 27 of 42 passes for 344 yards and 2 TDs with no INTs, the Colt defense was holding the Bengals to 135 yards of total offense. The 27-0 final score indicates that the Colt defense is quite formidable.
Cincinnati had 103 yards through the air and 32 yards on the ground for the game. Giovani Bernard was the leading ground gainer for the Bengals with 17 yards on 7 carries. Mohamed Sanu had 3 catches for 54 yards while Jermaine Gresham caught 10 passes from Andy dalton for 48 yards.
Dalton was 18 of 38 for 126 yards but was sacked 3 times for 17 yards.
The Bengals ran 54 plays and got just 8 first downs. Two of those first downs were the result of Colt penalties. Cincinnati was forced to punt the ball away 11 times during the game, tying a franchise record. They didn't get the ball into Colt territory until the 4th quarter.
T.Y. Hilton, of the Colts, had 7 catches for 107 yards, his second consecutive 100+ yard game. Reggie Wayne caught 4 passes for 15 yards that put him over 14,000 yards receiving for his career.
The Bengals fall to 3-2-1 on the year while the Colts are 5-2.
Cincinnati had 103 yards through the air and 32 yards on the ground for the game. Giovani Bernard was the leading ground gainer for the Bengals with 17 yards on 7 carries. Mohamed Sanu had 3 catches for 54 yards while Jermaine Gresham caught 10 passes from Andy dalton for 48 yards.
Dalton was 18 of 38 for 126 yards but was sacked 3 times for 17 yards.
The Bengals ran 54 plays and got just 8 first downs. Two of those first downs were the result of Colt penalties. Cincinnati was forced to punt the ball away 11 times during the game, tying a franchise record. They didn't get the ball into Colt territory until the 4th quarter.
T.Y. Hilton, of the Colts, had 7 catches for 107 yards, his second consecutive 100+ yard game. Reggie Wayne caught 4 passes for 15 yards that put him over 14,000 yards receiving for his career.
The Bengals fall to 3-2-1 on the year while the Colts are 5-2.
Rams Stun Seahawks 28-26 On Special Teams Play
The Seahawks controlled the game on the offensive side of the ball. They even held the Rams in check defensively byt they couldn't stop the Rams on special teams play.
They allowed the Rams punter, Johnny Hekker to complete an 18 yard pass with 2:55 left on the clock for a 1st down.
Read the ESPN Recap here.
They allowed the Rams punter, Johnny Hekker to complete an 18 yard pass with 2:55 left on the clock for a 1st down.
Read the ESPN Recap here.
Buster Posey the New Jeter?
Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey has compiled some very interesting statistics in his first 5 full seasons with the Giants. Remember that Posey, a catcher, missed most of the 2011 season after fracturing his leg in a collision at home plate with Scott Cousins.
Is he as good as Derek Jeter was in his first 5 seasons?
Jayson Stark, of ESPN.com, has an indepth article on how good Posey has been and how he compares to Jeter at the same point in their careers. Read Jayson's article here.
Is he as good as Derek Jeter was in his first 5 seasons?
Jayson Stark, of ESPN.com, has an indepth article on how good Posey has been and how he compares to Jeter at the same point in their careers. Read Jayson's article here.
FSU 31-27 Over Notre Dame
I have watched the replay of the offensive pass interference call on Notre Dame in last night's loss to Florida State. I have seen it from every angle possible. The offensive pass interference call was probably correct, but...if you watch the defensive back #6 for FSU you will clearly see his arms around the shoulders of CJ Prosise.
In this case there are off-setting infractions which should be a no call, or at a minimum a re-do of the play from the 4 yard line.
Of course arguments can be made that ND let the game slip away in the 2nd half and should never have been in the position they were in at the end of the game.
Both teams played clean, hard football all night. It was a thrilling game, depending on who one was rooting for, but a great game none the less.
Rodger Sherman writing for SBNation.com has the video and his commentary here.
I don't agree with his conclusion but watch closely and see for yourself.
In this case there are off-setting infractions which should be a no call, or at a minimum a re-do of the play from the 4 yard line.
Of course arguments can be made that ND let the game slip away in the 2nd half and should never have been in the position they were in at the end of the game.
Both teams played clean, hard football all night. It was a thrilling game, depending on who one was rooting for, but a great game none the less.
Rodger Sherman writing for SBNation.com has the video and his commentary here.
I don't agree with his conclusion but watch closely and see for yourself.
Charros Defeat Tomateros de Culiacan 9-5
After Friday's 3-1 loss at Culiacan, the Charros came out with bats blazing on Saturday. They scored 9 runs, their highest output of the year, on 14 hits, also a high for the season, as they beat the Tomateros de Culiacan 9-5.
Graham Godfrey picked up the win with 5 strong innings of 1 hit, one run pitching. The one hit that he did give up was a home run to Oscar Robles.
The Jalisco hitters gave Godfrey plenty of run support in the top of the 1st, scoring three runs on four hits. Eduardo Arredondo started things off with a single to left. After Leo Heras popped up to second, Manny Rodriguez doubled and Arredondo went to third. Japhet Amador doubled to score Arredondo and Rodriguez and the Charros had a 2-0 lead. Marquez Smith singled to center and Amador stopped at third. Cory Vaughn followed with a sac fly to right that scored Amador to increase the Charros' lead to 3-0.
Graham Godfrey got one out in the bottom of the 1st before giving up the solo home run to Oscar Robles. The Jalisco lead was 3-1.
In the top of the 3rd, Manny Rodriguez singled with one out. Japhet Amador singled to left. Marquez Smith singled to left and Rodriguez was thrown out at home trying to score from second. A wild pitch by Tomateros pitcher, Alfredo Aceves, put Amador and Smith in scoring position. Cory Vaughn singled to drive in Amador and Smith. Jalisco had a 5-1 lead after three innings.
Jesus Lopez scored for the Charros in the top of the 4th. After singling to lead off the inning, Lopez went to third on a single by Amadeo Zazueta and scored as Eduardo Arredondo hit into a 4-6-3 double play. The Charro lead was 6-1.
Antonio Garzon started the 6th for the Charros in relief of Godfrey. Garzon got Oscar Robles to ground out to second and Issmael Salas to fly out to left. Nick Buss reached on a single off of the pitcher's leg. Arturo Rodriguez doubled to right and Buss scored. Ken Sigmen relieved Garzon and gave up a 2 run home run to pinch hitter Jorge Vazquez. Culiacan had cut the Charros lead to 6-4.
The Tomateros scored another run in the bottom of the 7th when Joey Meneses scored on a single by Sergio Gastelum that brought Culiacan to within one run of Jalisco at 6-5.
Marquez Smith hit a solo home run in the top of the 8th and the Charros had an insurance run and the 7-5 lead.
In the top of the 9th, the Charros put the game away by scoring two runs. Manny Rodriguez hit his third double of the night to drive in Amadeo Zazueta and Leo Heras for the final score of 9-5 Charros.
Manny Rodriguez was 4 for 5 on the night with 3 doubles, 2 RBIs and a run scored. Japhet Amador went 2 for 5 with a double, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Marquez Smith was 3 for 5 with a home run, an RBI and 2 rubs scored.Cory Vaughn was 1 for 3 with 3 RBIs. Amadeo Zazueta, playing in his first game for the Charros, went 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Brian Broderick pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief for his second save of the season.
Graham Godfrey picked up the win with 5 strong innings of 1 hit, one run pitching. The one hit that he did give up was a home run to Oscar Robles.
The Jalisco hitters gave Godfrey plenty of run support in the top of the 1st, scoring three runs on four hits. Eduardo Arredondo started things off with a single to left. After Leo Heras popped up to second, Manny Rodriguez doubled and Arredondo went to third. Japhet Amador doubled to score Arredondo and Rodriguez and the Charros had a 2-0 lead. Marquez Smith singled to center and Amador stopped at third. Cory Vaughn followed with a sac fly to right that scored Amador to increase the Charros' lead to 3-0.
Graham Godfrey got one out in the bottom of the 1st before giving up the solo home run to Oscar Robles. The Jalisco lead was 3-1.
In the top of the 3rd, Manny Rodriguez singled with one out. Japhet Amador singled to left. Marquez Smith singled to left and Rodriguez was thrown out at home trying to score from second. A wild pitch by Tomateros pitcher, Alfredo Aceves, put Amador and Smith in scoring position. Cory Vaughn singled to drive in Amador and Smith. Jalisco had a 5-1 lead after three innings.
Jesus Lopez scored for the Charros in the top of the 4th. After singling to lead off the inning, Lopez went to third on a single by Amadeo Zazueta and scored as Eduardo Arredondo hit into a 4-6-3 double play. The Charro lead was 6-1.
Antonio Garzon started the 6th for the Charros in relief of Godfrey. Garzon got Oscar Robles to ground out to second and Issmael Salas to fly out to left. Nick Buss reached on a single off of the pitcher's leg. Arturo Rodriguez doubled to right and Buss scored. Ken Sigmen relieved Garzon and gave up a 2 run home run to pinch hitter Jorge Vazquez. Culiacan had cut the Charros lead to 6-4.
The Tomateros scored another run in the bottom of the 7th when Joey Meneses scored on a single by Sergio Gastelum that brought Culiacan to within one run of Jalisco at 6-5.
Marquez Smith hit a solo home run in the top of the 8th and the Charros had an insurance run and the 7-5 lead.
In the top of the 9th, the Charros put the game away by scoring two runs. Manny Rodriguez hit his third double of the night to drive in Amadeo Zazueta and Leo Heras for the final score of 9-5 Charros.
Manny Rodriguez was 4 for 5 on the night with 3 doubles, 2 RBIs and a run scored. Japhet Amador went 2 for 5 with a double, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Marquez Smith was 3 for 5 with a home run, an RBI and 2 rubs scored.Cory Vaughn was 1 for 3 with 3 RBIs. Amadeo Zazueta, playing in his first game for the Charros, went 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Brian Broderick pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief for his second save of the season.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Gators "Swamped" by Missouri Tigers 42-13
The Florida Gators have not had 3 seasons in a row this bad since...well...since Spurrier left.
Read the ESPN article here and shake your head in wonder as most SEC fans are.
Read the ESPN article here and shake your head in wonder as most SEC fans are.
Tide "Rolls" over A&M 59-0
How does Nick Saban get the "no offense" monkey of the last two weeks off his back? How about shutting down Kenny "Trill" and the Texas A&M offense while scoring 59 points on offense in the 59-0 rout of the Aggies.
Blake Sims was 16 of 27 passing for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns. Even alabama backup quarterback, Jake Coker was 5 for 8 for 36 yards and a TD.
The Tide rolled for 298 yards on the ground and 4 TDs. TJ Yeldon carried the ball 13 times for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Amari Cooper caught 8 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
The Alabama defense held the A&M offense to 172 yards on the day - total yards!
Read the ESPN article here.
Blake Sims was 16 of 27 passing for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns. Even alabama backup quarterback, Jake Coker was 5 for 8 for 36 yards and a TD.
The Tide rolled for 298 yards on the ground and 4 TDs. TJ Yeldon carried the ball 13 times for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Amari Cooper caught 8 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
The Alabama defense held the A&M offense to 172 yards on the day - total yards!
Read the ESPN article here.
D3 Coach Fastest to 100 Wins
Lance Leipold of Wisconsin-Whitewater became the fastest coach to 100 wins on Saturday. Coach Leipold is now 100-6 since taking over the Warhawks in 2007. He is also 29-1 in Division 3 playoffs.
Congratulayions Coach Leipold!
Read the ESPN story here.
Congratulayions Coach Leipold!
Read the ESPN story here.
NFL Predictions for Week 7
The ESPN staff has done their weekly predictions for Week 7 in the NFL. In the games this week that matter they predict the Cowboys to defeat the Giants and the Broncos to come out on top of the 49ers.
The problem with their predictions is that only two people are doing the prognosticating and if they split there's no concensus.
I will give you my predictions here and then link you to the ESPN article so that you might see for yourself what I mean.
Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers - This is easy, Packers 35-20
Atlanta Falcons at Baltimore Ravens - I look for the Falcons to upset Baltimore 21-17
Tennessee Titans at Washington Redskins - Titans win to get to .500 24-21
Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams - Things don't get easier for Rams. Seahawks 31-10
Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars - Browns close 24-20
Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts - Colts squeek 31-27
Minnesota Vikings at Buffalo Bills - Bills in a close one 20-13, mostly field goals
Miami Dolphins at Chicago Bears - Bears 28-21
New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions - NO needs this one, Megatron may not play. NO 24-17
Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers - Phillip Rivers wins 31-20
Arizona Cardinals at Oakland Raiders - Cards 24-3
NY Giants at Dallas Cowboys - Giants have the Cowboys # in Dallas. Giants 28-24
San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos - TD record falls but so do Broncos 31-27
Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers - Steelers must win...so...Texans 20-17
Here is what the "experts" say.
The problem with their predictions is that only two people are doing the prognosticating and if they split there's no concensus.
I will give you my predictions here and then link you to the ESPN article so that you might see for yourself what I mean.
Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers - This is easy, Packers 35-20
Atlanta Falcons at Baltimore Ravens - I look for the Falcons to upset Baltimore 21-17
Tennessee Titans at Washington Redskins - Titans win to get to .500 24-21
Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams - Things don't get easier for Rams. Seahawks 31-10
Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars - Browns close 24-20
Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts - Colts squeek 31-27
Minnesota Vikings at Buffalo Bills - Bills in a close one 20-13, mostly field goals
Miami Dolphins at Chicago Bears - Bears 28-21
New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions - NO needs this one, Megatron may not play. NO 24-17
Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers - Phillip Rivers wins 31-20
Arizona Cardinals at Oakland Raiders - Cards 24-3
NY Giants at Dallas Cowboys - Giants have the Cowboys # in Dallas. Giants 28-24
San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos - TD record falls but so do Broncos 31-27
Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers - Steelers must win...so...Texans 20-17
Here is what the "experts" say.
West Virginia Stuns #4 Baylor 41-27
Clint Trickett and the West Virginia Mountaineers upset the #4 Baylor Bears on Saturday, 41-27.
Triskett passed for 322 yards and 3 TDs with 1 INT. This was Trickett's 8th consecutive 300+ yard game. Kevin White had 8 receptions for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns. WVU rushed for 134 yards while the Mountaineer defense held Baylor to 95 yards on the ground and 223 yards through the air.
Read the ESPN story here.
Triskett passed for 322 yards and 3 TDs with 1 INT. This was Trickett's 8th consecutive 300+ yard game. Kevin White had 8 receptions for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns. WVU rushed for 134 yards while the Mountaineer defense held Baylor to 95 yards on the ground and 223 yards through the air.
Read the ESPN story here.
Syracuse faces NCAA Committee On Infractions
Dana O'Neil, writing for ESPN has this story on Syracuse University facing the NCAA's Committee on Infractions for at least 10 basketball players who were allowed to play despite failing to meet the school's drug policy standards.
Think Your Golf Game is Good?
Read the story of 81 year old Dom Debonis and his terrific 3 days of golf. The yardages are short but remember...he is 81.
ESPN has the story here.
ESPN has the story here.
Peyton Manning and the Chase to 508
Peyton Manning, of the Denver Broncos, needs 3 TD passes to tie Brett Favre for the most touchdown passes in an NFL career. If he doesn't get to that number this week against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday he surely will against the San Diego Chargers on Thursday the 23rd of October.
The Yahoo Sports staff has put together an interesting look at Manning's career. Check it out here.
The Yahoo Sports staff has put together an interesting look at Manning's career. Check it out here.
Charros Drop Opener to Tomateros de Culiacan 3-1
Ben Kozlowski started the game for the Charros last night and pitched a pretty good 5 2/3 innings. The Tomateros de Culiacan won the game 3-1 but Kozlowski did not figure in the decision. The Tomateros exhibited some good pitching of their own although their starter, Marco Camarena, also got a no decision.
The game was scoreless through 5 innings. In the top of the 6th, Leo Heras singled to lead off. Manny Rodriguez followed with an RBI double and the Charros took the early lead 1-0. The way Kozlowski was pitching that looked as if it might be enough.
The first two batters for the Tomateros in the bottom of the 6th, JC Linares and Nick Buss went down quietly. With two outs, Kozlowski tossed a mistake to Jorge Vazquez that he hit out of the park to right. The score was tied at 1. Juan Navarrete, the Charros manager, yanked Kozlowski for reliever Alan Guerrero. Guerrero gave up a single to Arturo Rodriguez and a double to Ronnier Mustelier. Sergio Gastelum then got the third consecutive hit off of Guerrero, a single that scored Rodriguez and Mustelier. That would be all the scoring in the game as Culiacan won by the final score of 3-1.
The Charros squandered opportunities in each of the last three innings. They had Gabriel Gutierrez on first in the top of the 7th. Jesus Lopez hit a grounder to second that hit Gutierrez for an out. The Charros would not score.
In the top of the 8th, Leo Heras was caught stealing second after a lead off single. Again, the Charros would not score.
After putting runners on 1st and 2nd in the top of the 9th, pinch hitter Jesus Cota hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
Leo Heras went 3 for 4 on the night with a double and a run scored. Gabriel Gutierrez was 2 for 4 while Manny Rodriguez went 1 for 3 with the lone Charros RBI.
Alan Guerrero took the loss for Jalisco while reliever Manny Barreda got the win for Culiacan and Ricardo Gomez picked up his third save of the young season.
The game was scoreless through 5 innings. In the top of the 6th, Leo Heras singled to lead off. Manny Rodriguez followed with an RBI double and the Charros took the early lead 1-0. The way Kozlowski was pitching that looked as if it might be enough.
The first two batters for the Tomateros in the bottom of the 6th, JC Linares and Nick Buss went down quietly. With two outs, Kozlowski tossed a mistake to Jorge Vazquez that he hit out of the park to right. The score was tied at 1. Juan Navarrete, the Charros manager, yanked Kozlowski for reliever Alan Guerrero. Guerrero gave up a single to Arturo Rodriguez and a double to Ronnier Mustelier. Sergio Gastelum then got the third consecutive hit off of Guerrero, a single that scored Rodriguez and Mustelier. That would be all the scoring in the game as Culiacan won by the final score of 3-1.
The Charros squandered opportunities in each of the last three innings. They had Gabriel Gutierrez on first in the top of the 7th. Jesus Lopez hit a grounder to second that hit Gutierrez for an out. The Charros would not score.
In the top of the 8th, Leo Heras was caught stealing second after a lead off single. Again, the Charros would not score.
After putting runners on 1st and 2nd in the top of the 9th, pinch hitter Jesus Cota hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
Leo Heras went 3 for 4 on the night with a double and a run scored. Gabriel Gutierrez was 2 for 4 while Manny Rodriguez went 1 for 3 with the lone Charros RBI.
Alan Guerrero took the loss for Jalisco while reliever Manny Barreda got the win for Culiacan and Ricardo Gomez picked up his third save of the young season.
Celtics, Pistons Swap Players
According to Chris Forsberg of ESPN, the Boston celtics have traded Joel Anthony to the Detroit Pistons for Will Bynum.
Read Chris' article here.
Read Chris' article here.
4 Umps Named to 1st World Series Crew
Four veteran umpires, with an average of 15 years experience, have been named to the crew of the 2014 World Series. Jerry Meals, Hunter Wendelstedt, Eric Cooper and Jim Reynolds will be calling their 1st Series.
Mark Townsend, of Big League Stew, has an interesting story about their selections and replay review in Major League Baseball. Read Mark's story here.
An umpire's entire body of work is evaluated when assigning postseason series, and we always strive to have the most deserving umpires working postseason games,'' MLB spokesman Michael Teevan said.
''This year,'' he added, ''instant replay also became another facet of performance.''
Several factors determine which umpires get picked for the playoffs and World Series by MLB. Ball-strike ratings on plate jobs, skill at handling situations on the field, experience and time missed during the season are all considered.
Mark Townsend, of Big League Stew, has an interesting story about their selections and replay review in Major League Baseball. Read Mark's story here.
Blake Griffin "Could" Retaliate For Cheap Fouls
Blake Griffin , of the LA Clippers, is getting pretty fed up with hard, cheap fouls. In a preseason victory over the Utah Jazz, Griffin and Trevor Booker had to be separated after a foul by Booker led to Griffin grabbing the back of Booker's head. Griffin was pulled away by teammates.
"I was going to but then I thought its preseason," Griffin said when asked about retaliating. "It's not worth it, that's not the person I want to waste it on."
"I was going to but then I thought its preseason," Griffin said when asked about retaliating. "It's not worth it, that's not the person I want to waste it on."
Read ESPN's story by Aresh Markazi here.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Seattle Trades Percy Harvin to NY Jets
ESPN is reporting that the Seattle Seahawks have traded Percy Harvin to the NY Jets for a conditional draft pick in the 2015 draft. Sources say that this could be from a 2nd through a 4th round pick.
Read the ESPN story here.
Read the ESPN story here.
Jets Lose to Pats 27-25 Drop To 1-6
The NY Jets ran for 218 yards, controlled the ball for almost 41 minutes and had no turnovers. Geno Smith was 20 of 34 for 226 yards and a touchdown. Given these stats it could be assumed that the Jets won.
Sadly, they lost. Nick Folk was 4 for 5 on field goal attempts. His last try, from 58 yards, was blocked by Chris Jones on the last play of the game to preserve the Patriot's 27-25 win.
The Patriots improved to 5-2 on the year while the Jets have lost 6 in a row and are on the brink of elimination from the playoffs with a 1-6 record. Realistically with 9 games remaining, the Jets would have to win out to have a chance.
Tom Brady was 20 for 37 for 261 yards with 2 touchdown passes to Shane Vereen, including a 49 yard catch and run, and 1 TD pass to Danny Amendola, his only catch of the night.
The Jet defense, ranked 5th in the league overall, held the New England patriots to 63 yards on 15 carries.
Chris Ivory had 107 yards on the ground for the Jets on 21 carries with a touchdown and Jeff Cumberland had 3 catches for 50 yards and a TD.
The Jets sacked Tom Brady once while the Patriots got to Geno Smith 3 times for -21 yards.
Sadly, they lost. Nick Folk was 4 for 5 on field goal attempts. His last try, from 58 yards, was blocked by Chris Jones on the last play of the game to preserve the Patriot's 27-25 win.
The Patriots improved to 5-2 on the year while the Jets have lost 6 in a row and are on the brink of elimination from the playoffs with a 1-6 record. Realistically with 9 games remaining, the Jets would have to win out to have a chance.
Tom Brady was 20 for 37 for 261 yards with 2 touchdown passes to Shane Vereen, including a 49 yard catch and run, and 1 TD pass to Danny Amendola, his only catch of the night.
The Jet defense, ranked 5th in the league overall, held the New England patriots to 63 yards on 15 carries.
Chris Ivory had 107 yards on the ground for the Jets on 21 carries with a touchdown and Jeff Cumberland had 3 catches for 50 yards and a TD.
The Jets sacked Tom Brady once while the Patriots got to Geno Smith 3 times for -21 yards.
Charros Lose to Naranjeros 8-3
The Charros de Jalisco dropped the third game of the three game series with Hermosillo by a score of 8-3. Jalisco dropped to 3-2 on the year while Hermosillo climbed to 3-2.
Juan Delgadillo took the loss for Jalisco, his second of the year. Delgadillo gave up 5 runs on 8 hits with 4 walks and 2 home runs.
Roy Corcoran picked up the win in relief for the Naranjeros. Juan Oramas started the game for Hermosillo and held Jalisco to 3 runs on 5 hits though 4 2/3 innings of work.
The Naranjeros scored two runs in the top of the 1st on back-to-back home runs by Carlos Gastelum and Sebastian Elizalde.
Jalisco got a run back in the bottom of the 1st. Manny Rodriguez singled and moved to second when Leo Heras drew a walk. Japhet Amador then singled to score Rodriguez and the Charros had cut the lead to 2-1.
Hermosillo scored another run in the top of the 2nd on a walk to Jerry Owens and a double by Sebastian Elizalde that scored Owens. Hermosillo led 3-1.
The Charros scored two times in the bottom of the 2nd. Cory Vaughn drew a walk and stole second. Wilson Batista grounded out with Vaughn moving to third. Gabriel Gutierrez doubled to left that scored Vaughn. Eduardo Arredondo followed with a single to score Gutierrez and tie the game at 3.
Adan Munoz led off the 3rd for Hermosillo with a double. With one out Jorge Flores singled and took second on the throw to third trying to get Munoz. Jerry Owens singled and Munoz scored with Flores moving to third. Carlos Gastelum hit a sac fly to right that scored Flores and the Naranjeros had a 5-3 lead they would not relinquish.
Hermosillo scored one run in the 6th and two more in the 8th for the final margin of victory, 8-3.
Manny Rodriguez and Japhet Amador were both 2 for 4 with Amador getting an RBI. Gabriel Gutierrez was 1 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored. Eduardo Arredondo had the other RBI for the Charros.
Venados de Mazatlan leads the Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico standings at 4-1 with four teams at 3-2, two teams at 2-3 and Mayo de Navojos remains winless at 0-5.
The Charros de Jalisco (3-2) travel to Culiacan today to take on the Tomateros de Culiacan (2-3).
Juan Delgadillo took the loss for Jalisco, his second of the year. Delgadillo gave up 5 runs on 8 hits with 4 walks and 2 home runs.
Roy Corcoran picked up the win in relief for the Naranjeros. Juan Oramas started the game for Hermosillo and held Jalisco to 3 runs on 5 hits though 4 2/3 innings of work.
The Naranjeros scored two runs in the top of the 1st on back-to-back home runs by Carlos Gastelum and Sebastian Elizalde.
Jalisco got a run back in the bottom of the 1st. Manny Rodriguez singled and moved to second when Leo Heras drew a walk. Japhet Amador then singled to score Rodriguez and the Charros had cut the lead to 2-1.
Hermosillo scored another run in the top of the 2nd on a walk to Jerry Owens and a double by Sebastian Elizalde that scored Owens. Hermosillo led 3-1.
The Charros scored two times in the bottom of the 2nd. Cory Vaughn drew a walk and stole second. Wilson Batista grounded out with Vaughn moving to third. Gabriel Gutierrez doubled to left that scored Vaughn. Eduardo Arredondo followed with a single to score Gutierrez and tie the game at 3.
Adan Munoz led off the 3rd for Hermosillo with a double. With one out Jorge Flores singled and took second on the throw to third trying to get Munoz. Jerry Owens singled and Munoz scored with Flores moving to third. Carlos Gastelum hit a sac fly to right that scored Flores and the Naranjeros had a 5-3 lead they would not relinquish.
Hermosillo scored one run in the 6th and two more in the 8th for the final margin of victory, 8-3.
Manny Rodriguez and Japhet Amador were both 2 for 4 with Amador getting an RBI. Gabriel Gutierrez was 1 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored. Eduardo Arredondo had the other RBI for the Charros.
Venados de Mazatlan leads the Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico standings at 4-1 with four teams at 3-2, two teams at 2-3 and Mayo de Navojos remains winless at 0-5.
The Charros de Jalisco (3-2) travel to Culiacan today to take on the Tomateros de Culiacan (2-3).
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Kevin Durant Has Surgery Will Be Evaluated In 6 Weeks
Sean Highkin of probasketballtalk.com has this article on Kevin durant's foot surgery.
Rangers Hire Jeff Bannister as New Manager
According to Calvin Watkins of ESPN Dallas and Fox News Dallas, the Texas Rangers have hired Jeff Banister as their manager for the 2015 season. Banister replaces Ron Washington who resigned in September and interim manager Tim Bogar.
Banister has spent 29 years in the Pittsburgh Pirate organization with the last 5 seasons as bench coach.
Read Calvin Watkin's article here.
Adam J. Morris of SBNation has his take here.
Banister has spent 29 years in the Pittsburgh Pirate organization with the last 5 seasons as bench coach.
Read Calvin Watkin's article here.
Adam J. Morris of SBNation has his take here.
Signature Authentication Haunts FSU and Jameis Winston
Darren Rovell of ESPN asserts that in indepth search reveals 2000+ Jameis Winston signed items on the website of James Spence Authentication (JSA).
James Spence, the authentication company's owner, told ESPN Thursday he will not reveal the identity or identities of the customers who submitted the signed Winston items for authentication. Spence also won't verify the number of items because he says his database is not searchable by name.
James Spence, the authentication company's owner, told ESPN Thursday he will not reveal the identity or identities of the customers who submitted the signed Winston items for authentication. Spence also won't verify the number of items because he says his database is not searchable by name.
Read Darren's article hhere.
Giants Win 6-4 Take 3 Games to 1 Lead in NLCS
The San Francisco Giants took a 3 games to 1 lead in the NLCS with a 6-4 win last night at AT&T Park on the west coast. Yusmeiro Petit got the win, in relief of starter Ryan Vogelsong, with 3 innings of effective relief work. Santiago Casilla picked up the save. Marco Gonzalez took the loss for St. Louis.
St. Louis broke on top with a run in the top of the 1st. Matt Carpenter doubled and Jon Jay walked. With one out, Matt Adams singled to left to drive in Carpenter. The Cards had the 1-0 lead.
The Giants answered in the bottom of the 1st. Gregor Blanco doubled to right to lead off. Joe Panik followed with a single that got Blanco to third. Buster Posey, who had 3 RBIs on the night, got Blanco home with a sacrifice fly to center. The score was tied 1-1.
The Redbirds would score another run in their half of the 2nd. Kolten Wong doubled to lead off the inning. AJ Pierzynski singled to drive in Wong and the Cards were back on top 2-1.
The Cardinals scored two more times in the 3rd. Matt Holliday doubled and Matt Adams singled with Holliday stopping at third. Jhonny Peralta hit into a 5-4-3 double play that scored Holliday. Kolten Wong hit a 3-2 pitch from Ryan Vogelsong over the right field fence to give the Cardinals a 4-1 lead. Kolten Wong his 7 hits this postseason...all for extra bases.
Joaquin Arias, pinch hitting for Vogelsong in the third, singled. Gregor Blanco grounded out to first as Arias moved to second. Joe Panik flied out to center and Arias took third. Buster Posey singled to left and Arias scored. Pablo Sandoval walked and Hunter Pence singled to drive in Posey. The Giants had cut the lead to 4-3.
Marco Gonzalez took the mound for St. Louis in the bottom of the 6th. Juan Perez walked to lead off the inning for the Giants. Brandon Crawford singled to right and Perez stopped at second. Matt Duffy, pinch hitting for Yusmeiro Petit, laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved Perez to third and Crawford to second. Gregor Blanco grounded to first and Matt Adams decided to throw home to get Perez but Adam's throw short hopped the catcher and Perez scored. The next batter, Joe Panik grounded to first. Adams stepped on the bag to get Panik but threw wildly to second trying to get Blanco. Crawford scored and the Giants had their first lead, 5-4. With Blanco on second, Buster Posey singled to left off of Cardinal reliever, Seth Maness, and Blanco scored giving the Giants the 6-4 lead.
With the 6-4 win and a 3 games to 1 lead in the NLCS, the Giants face the Cardinals tonight in game 5 at AT&T Park. If the Giants win game 5 they will face the Kansas City Royals in game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday the 21st of October. If the Cardinals win game 5, the NLCS heads back to St. Louis for game 6 and, if necessary, game 7.
dr. howl of SBNation has a great article on this game, and the series from a Cardinal point of view here.
St. Louis broke on top with a run in the top of the 1st. Matt Carpenter doubled and Jon Jay walked. With one out, Matt Adams singled to left to drive in Carpenter. The Cards had the 1-0 lead.
The Giants answered in the bottom of the 1st. Gregor Blanco doubled to right to lead off. Joe Panik followed with a single that got Blanco to third. Buster Posey, who had 3 RBIs on the night, got Blanco home with a sacrifice fly to center. The score was tied 1-1.
The Redbirds would score another run in their half of the 2nd. Kolten Wong doubled to lead off the inning. AJ Pierzynski singled to drive in Wong and the Cards were back on top 2-1.
The Cardinals scored two more times in the 3rd. Matt Holliday doubled and Matt Adams singled with Holliday stopping at third. Jhonny Peralta hit into a 5-4-3 double play that scored Holliday. Kolten Wong hit a 3-2 pitch from Ryan Vogelsong over the right field fence to give the Cardinals a 4-1 lead. Kolten Wong his 7 hits this postseason...all for extra bases.
Joaquin Arias, pinch hitting for Vogelsong in the third, singled. Gregor Blanco grounded out to first as Arias moved to second. Joe Panik flied out to center and Arias took third. Buster Posey singled to left and Arias scored. Pablo Sandoval walked and Hunter Pence singled to drive in Posey. The Giants had cut the lead to 4-3.
Marco Gonzalez took the mound for St. Louis in the bottom of the 6th. Juan Perez walked to lead off the inning for the Giants. Brandon Crawford singled to right and Perez stopped at second. Matt Duffy, pinch hitting for Yusmeiro Petit, laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved Perez to third and Crawford to second. Gregor Blanco grounded to first and Matt Adams decided to throw home to get Perez but Adam's throw short hopped the catcher and Perez scored. The next batter, Joe Panik grounded to first. Adams stepped on the bag to get Panik but threw wildly to second trying to get Blanco. Crawford scored and the Giants had their first lead, 5-4. With Blanco on second, Buster Posey singled to left off of Cardinal reliever, Seth Maness, and Blanco scored giving the Giants the 6-4 lead.
With the 6-4 win and a 3 games to 1 lead in the NLCS, the Giants face the Cardinals tonight in game 5 at AT&T Park. If the Giants win game 5 they will face the Kansas City Royals in game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday the 21st of October. If the Cardinals win game 5, the NLCS heads back to St. Louis for game 6 and, if necessary, game 7.
dr. howl of SBNation has a great article on this game, and the series from a Cardinal point of view here.
Charros Top Naranjeros de Hermosillo 9-2
The Charros de Jalisco scored six runs in the 2nd inning and Orlando Lara pitched 5 strong innings last night as the Charros defeated the Naranjeros de Hermosillo 9-2. Jalisco moved to 3-1 on the young season good for second place in the Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico behind the Vendaros de Mazatlan.
Jalisco got out to the early lead, scoring two runs in their half of the 1st. Hector Galvan, starter for the Naranjeros, got the first two outs but gave up a single to Manny Rodriguez, a double to Japhet Amador that scored Rodriguez and a single to Marquez Smith that drove in Amador and the score was 2-0 Charros.
Wilson Batista led off the bottom of the 2nd with a double for the Charros. Gabriel Gutierrez drew a walk and Jesus Lopez singled to load the bases. Eduardo Arrendondo singled to score Batista. Leo Heras, Jalisco right fielder, tripled to clear the bases and up the lead to 6-0. Manny Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly off of Naranjero's reliever, Jesse Estrada, to bring home Heras and after Japhet Amador flied out to center, Marquez Smith hit a towering home run to cap the 6 run 2nd inning and the Charros led 8-0 after two.
The Charros would score again in the 5th. Wilson Batista singled and moved to second when Gabriel Gutierrez walked. Batista advanced to third on a wild pitch and after Jesus Lopez struck out, Batista scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Eduardo Arrendondo. The lead was now 9-0 Jalisco.
The Naranjeros would score their two runs in the top of the 8th off of Charros reliever Manual Flores. Carlos Gastelum greeted Flores with a triple to center that got by Arrendondo. Sebastian Elizalde popped up to third but Cole Garner doubled to center and Gastelum scored. Luis Garcia grounded out to third for the second out. Yunesky Sanchez followed with a single to center that plated Garner and Hermosillo had scored their 2 runs. The score would remain 9-2 and the Charros won their third consecutive game.
Orlando Lara picked up the win for Jalisco, his first of the year, while Hector Galvan took the loss for Hermosillo.
Fernando Valenzuela, son of "El Torito", the famous former LA Dodger pitcher of the same name, pinch hit for Jesus Lopez in the bottom of the 8th and grounded out to second.
The 1-4 hitters for the Charros were 8 for 17 with 3 doubles, a triple, 8 RBIs and 4 runs scored. Eduardo Arrendondo was 2 for 4 at the plate with 2 RBIs and a run scored. Leo Heras went 2 for 5 with a double, a triple, 3 RBIs and a run scored. Jose "Manny" Rodriguez was 3 for 4 on the night with an RBI and a run scored. Marquez Smith went 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Wilson Batista was 2 for 4 on the evening with 2 runs scored.
Jesus Lopez is 8th in the league in hitting with a .385 average. Cory Vaughn is 14th, hitting .357 and Manny Rodriguez is 15th at .353.
Jalisco got out to the early lead, scoring two runs in their half of the 1st. Hector Galvan, starter for the Naranjeros, got the first two outs but gave up a single to Manny Rodriguez, a double to Japhet Amador that scored Rodriguez and a single to Marquez Smith that drove in Amador and the score was 2-0 Charros.
Wilson Batista led off the bottom of the 2nd with a double for the Charros. Gabriel Gutierrez drew a walk and Jesus Lopez singled to load the bases. Eduardo Arrendondo singled to score Batista. Leo Heras, Jalisco right fielder, tripled to clear the bases and up the lead to 6-0. Manny Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly off of Naranjero's reliever, Jesse Estrada, to bring home Heras and after Japhet Amador flied out to center, Marquez Smith hit a towering home run to cap the 6 run 2nd inning and the Charros led 8-0 after two.
The Charros would score again in the 5th. Wilson Batista singled and moved to second when Gabriel Gutierrez walked. Batista advanced to third on a wild pitch and after Jesus Lopez struck out, Batista scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Eduardo Arrendondo. The lead was now 9-0 Jalisco.
The Naranjeros would score their two runs in the top of the 8th off of Charros reliever Manual Flores. Carlos Gastelum greeted Flores with a triple to center that got by Arrendondo. Sebastian Elizalde popped up to third but Cole Garner doubled to center and Gastelum scored. Luis Garcia grounded out to third for the second out. Yunesky Sanchez followed with a single to center that plated Garner and Hermosillo had scored their 2 runs. The score would remain 9-2 and the Charros won their third consecutive game.
Orlando Lara picked up the win for Jalisco, his first of the year, while Hector Galvan took the loss for Hermosillo.
Fernando Valenzuela, son of "El Torito", the famous former LA Dodger pitcher of the same name, pinch hit for Jesus Lopez in the bottom of the 8th and grounded out to second.
The 1-4 hitters for the Charros were 8 for 17 with 3 doubles, a triple, 8 RBIs and 4 runs scored. Eduardo Arrendondo was 2 for 4 at the plate with 2 RBIs and a run scored. Leo Heras went 2 for 5 with a double, a triple, 3 RBIs and a run scored. Jose "Manny" Rodriguez was 3 for 4 on the night with an RBI and a run scored. Marquez Smith went 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Wilson Batista was 2 for 4 on the evening with 2 runs scored.
Jesus Lopez is 8th in the league in hitting with a .385 average. Cory Vaughn is 14th, hitting .357 and Manny Rodriguez is 15th at .353.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
It's On To The World Series After KC Downs O's 2-1 In Game 4 Of ALCS
The Royals jumped on top of the Baltimore Orioles 2-0 in the bottom of the 1st and never looked back.
Alcides Escobar reached on an infield single to deep short off of O's starter, Miguel Gonzalez, to lead off the inning. Norichika Aoki was hit by a pitch. Lorenzo Cain sacrificed the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Eric Hosmer grounded into what looked like a fielder's choice but a throwing error by Orioles catcher, Caleb Joseph allowed Escobar and Aoki to score. The O's got out of the inning but the damage was done.
Baltimore got a run back on a solo home run by Ryan Flaherty in the top of the 3rd to make it a 2-1 ball game but the Royals pitching staff took over and shut down the O's the rest of the way.
Jason Vargas went 5 1/3 innings for the win, allowing 1 earned run on 2 hits with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts. Kelvin Herrera allowed 1 hit and no runs in 1 2/3 innings of work. Wade Davis held Baltimore scoreless in the 8th and Greg Holland picked up his 4th save shutting down the Orioles in the top of the 9th.
Lorenzo Cain became the first #3 hitter to lay down a sacrifice bunt in the first inning in a postseason game since Steve Garvey did it in the 1984 World Series.
Ned Yost takes over the top spot for consecutive wins by a manager in a postseason series with his 8th consecutive win.
Alcides Escobar reached on an infield single to deep short off of O's starter, Miguel Gonzalez, to lead off the inning. Norichika Aoki was hit by a pitch. Lorenzo Cain sacrificed the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Eric Hosmer grounded into what looked like a fielder's choice but a throwing error by Orioles catcher, Caleb Joseph allowed Escobar and Aoki to score. The O's got out of the inning but the damage was done.
Baltimore got a run back on a solo home run by Ryan Flaherty in the top of the 3rd to make it a 2-1 ball game but the Royals pitching staff took over and shut down the O's the rest of the way.
Jason Vargas went 5 1/3 innings for the win, allowing 1 earned run on 2 hits with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts. Kelvin Herrera allowed 1 hit and no runs in 1 2/3 innings of work. Wade Davis held Baltimore scoreless in the 8th and Greg Holland picked up his 4th save shutting down the Orioles in the top of the 9th.
Lorenzo Cain became the first #3 hitter to lay down a sacrifice bunt in the first inning in a postseason game since Steve Garvey did it in the 1984 World Series.
Ned Yost takes over the top spot for consecutive wins by a manager in a postseason series with his 8th consecutive win.
Selfish Moves by Selfish Players?
Matt Hayes of Sporting News has a great article outlining the Todd Gurley/Jameis Winston autograph signing debacle. Personally I agree with choice #1 on how to solve the NCAA rule.
He touches on a lot of good topics in the rest of the article but I would bet that the lead paragraphs will get to most attention.
Check out his article here, I know I will be back. Send me your comments about the article and Gurley/Winston.
He touches on a lot of good topics in the rest of the article but I would bet that the lead paragraphs will get to most attention.
Check out his article here, I know I will be back. Send me your comments about the article and Gurley/Winston.
Who Predicted the Cowboy's Would Improve on Their 8-8 Record?
Did anyone, not a Cowboy fan, think that Dallas would be in the playoffs this year?
ESPN The Magazine had a panel of 64 "experts" in their NFL 2014 season preview and exactly one person predicted that the Cowboys would be in the playoffs this season.
KC Joyner, the ESPN Fantasy football expert, was the lone supporter of the Cowboy's playoff hopes.
Read the ESPN article here to see the experts opinions now. Ashley Fox, ESPN's NFL writer, goes so far to opine that the Cowboys could be on a 10 game winning streak before they take on the Eagles for 2 games in 3 weeks in November.
My how times have changed!
ESPN The Magazine had a panel of 64 "experts" in their NFL 2014 season preview and exactly one person predicted that the Cowboys would be in the playoffs this season.
KC Joyner, the ESPN Fantasy football expert, was the lone supporter of the Cowboy's playoff hopes.
Read the ESPN article here to see the experts opinions now. Ashley Fox, ESPN's NFL writer, goes so far to opine that the Cowboys could be on a 10 game winning streak before they take on the Eagles for 2 games in 3 weeks in November.
My how times have changed!
Royals Take Commanding 3-0 Lead in ALCS
The Kansas City Royals have won their seventh consecutive game in the 2014 American League playoffs. Jason Frasor got the win while Greg Holland picked up the save. Wei-Yin Chen suffered the loss for the Orioles.
Although Kansas City is up 3 games to none in the ALCS, Game 3 was not assured until Steve Pearce grounded out to second for the third out of the Orioles 9th inning.
Jeremy Guthrie started for the Royals and threw 5 innings of 3 hit ball giving up the lone O's run. He threw 94 pitches of which 63 were strikes. Wei-Yin Chen started for the Orioles and matched Guthrie pitch for pitch through 5 1/3 innings, giving up 7 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikouts while allowing 2 earned runs. Chen threw only 80 pitches and 53 of them were strikes. Both starters were around the plate all night.
The Orioles would get on the board first. Guthrie gave up back-to-back doubles to Steve Pearce and JJ Hardy. Pearce scored the only O's run in the game on Hardy's double and Baltimore led 1-0.
In the bottom of the 4th, Lorenzo Cain singled with one out. Eric Hosmer singled to right and Billy Butler walked to load the bases. Alex Gordon then grounded out to second to score Cain and the game was tied at 1.
Chen gave up a lead off single to Norichika Aoki in the Royal's half of the 6th. Jarrod Dyson entered the game as a pinch runner for Aoki. After Lorenzo Cain struck out, Eric Hosmer singled and Dyson moved to third. Billy Butler hit the second pitch he saw from O's reliever, Kevin Gausman, to deep left for a sacrifice fly that scored Dyson and the Royals had their first lead of the night at 2-1.
Kelvin Herrera worked a perfect 7th, striking out two. Wade Davis worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning and Royal's closer, Greg Holland, got Adam Jones to pop up to second, Nelson Cruz to foul out to right and Steve Pearce to hit into a ground out to second to preserve the win for Frasor and pick up his third save.
34 teams have been down 3 games to none in MLB playoff history and only the 2004 Boston Red Sox have come back to win and advance.
Ned Yost, manager of the Royals, joins Clint Hurdle as the only managers in MLB history to win their first 7 playoff games.
40,183 Royals fans watched their team get to within one game of the World Series. The ALCS continues tonight and a Royals win will have them in the World Series for the first time since winning it all in 1985.
Although Kansas City is up 3 games to none in the ALCS, Game 3 was not assured until Steve Pearce grounded out to second for the third out of the Orioles 9th inning.
Jeremy Guthrie started for the Royals and threw 5 innings of 3 hit ball giving up the lone O's run. He threw 94 pitches of which 63 were strikes. Wei-Yin Chen started for the Orioles and matched Guthrie pitch for pitch through 5 1/3 innings, giving up 7 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikouts while allowing 2 earned runs. Chen threw only 80 pitches and 53 of them were strikes. Both starters were around the plate all night.
The Orioles would get on the board first. Guthrie gave up back-to-back doubles to Steve Pearce and JJ Hardy. Pearce scored the only O's run in the game on Hardy's double and Baltimore led 1-0.
In the bottom of the 4th, Lorenzo Cain singled with one out. Eric Hosmer singled to right and Billy Butler walked to load the bases. Alex Gordon then grounded out to second to score Cain and the game was tied at 1.
Chen gave up a lead off single to Norichika Aoki in the Royal's half of the 6th. Jarrod Dyson entered the game as a pinch runner for Aoki. After Lorenzo Cain struck out, Eric Hosmer singled and Dyson moved to third. Billy Butler hit the second pitch he saw from O's reliever, Kevin Gausman, to deep left for a sacrifice fly that scored Dyson and the Royals had their first lead of the night at 2-1.
Kelvin Herrera worked a perfect 7th, striking out two. Wade Davis worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning and Royal's closer, Greg Holland, got Adam Jones to pop up to second, Nelson Cruz to foul out to right and Steve Pearce to hit into a ground out to second to preserve the win for Frasor and pick up his third save.
34 teams have been down 3 games to none in MLB playoff history and only the 2004 Boston Red Sox have come back to win and advance.
Ned Yost, manager of the Royals, joins Clint Hurdle as the only managers in MLB history to win their first 7 playoff games.
40,183 Royals fans watched their team get to within one game of the World Series. The ALCS continues tonight and a Royals win will have them in the World Series for the first time since winning it all in 1985.
Charros Defeat Naranjeros de Hermosillo 3-2
The Charros de Jalisco improved their Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico record to 2-1 with a 3-2 win over Naranjeros de Hermosillo last night at the Stadium of Athletes in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.
Marco Tovar started, and picked up the win, for the Charros and went 5 complete shutout innings, giving up 5 hits and a walk while striking out 4.
Jalisco scored a run in the bottom of the second. Japhet Amador singled to lead off the inning. Marquez Smith singled and Amador stopped at second. Wilson Batista hit into a 6-4-3 double play with Amador advancing to third. Cory Vaughn followed with a single to left to score Amador and the Charros led 1-0.
Cory Vaughn singled to lead off the bottom of the 5th for Jalisco. Jose Felix then doubled to right and the Charros had runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Jose Lopez struck out but Eduardo Arrendondo laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Vaughn for the 2-0 Jalisco lead.
The Charros added another run in the 6th to increase their lead to 3-0. Manny Rodriguez singled to start things off. Japhet Amador singled and the Charros had runners at 1st and 3rd. Marquez Smith hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Rodriguez.
Hugo Castellanos started the 7th for the Charros. He got Yunesky Sanchez to ground out to first but he hit Jose Amador with a pitch. That was all for Castellanos. He was replaced by Carlos Vazguez. Vazquez walked Jesus Loya and was pulled for Alan Guerrero. Pinch hitter Adan Munoz greeted Guerrero with an RBI single and the Naranjeros were on the board. Jorge Flores then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
The score would remain 3-1 Charros until the top of the 9th. Brian Broderick, on to close for the Charros, got Luis Garcia to fly out to right for the first out. Yunesky Sanchez and Jose Amador connected on back-to-back singles to put runners at 1st and 3rd with one out. Jesus Lopez singled to drive in Sanchez with Amador stopping at second. The Charros lead was cut to 3-2. Broderick then got Johnathan Aceves to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game and pick up the save.
Marco Tovar recorded his first win of the season for the Charros while David Pauley was saddled with the loss for the Naranjeros.
Marquez Smith was 1 for 2 with an RBI. Cory Vaughn, hitting .400 on the season, went 2 for 3. Jesus Lopez was 1 for 3 and is also hitting .400 on the year. Jose Felix, making his first start for the Charros, was 2 for 3 with 2 doubles.
The Charros used 6 pitchers in the game. They have used 6 pitchers in each of their first three games.
Marco Tovar started, and picked up the win, for the Charros and went 5 complete shutout innings, giving up 5 hits and a walk while striking out 4.
Jalisco scored a run in the bottom of the second. Japhet Amador singled to lead off the inning. Marquez Smith singled and Amador stopped at second. Wilson Batista hit into a 6-4-3 double play with Amador advancing to third. Cory Vaughn followed with a single to left to score Amador and the Charros led 1-0.
Cory Vaughn singled to lead off the bottom of the 5th for Jalisco. Jose Felix then doubled to right and the Charros had runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Jose Lopez struck out but Eduardo Arrendondo laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Vaughn for the 2-0 Jalisco lead.
The Charros added another run in the 6th to increase their lead to 3-0. Manny Rodriguez singled to start things off. Japhet Amador singled and the Charros had runners at 1st and 3rd. Marquez Smith hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Rodriguez.
Hugo Castellanos started the 7th for the Charros. He got Yunesky Sanchez to ground out to first but he hit Jose Amador with a pitch. That was all for Castellanos. He was replaced by Carlos Vazguez. Vazquez walked Jesus Loya and was pulled for Alan Guerrero. Pinch hitter Adan Munoz greeted Guerrero with an RBI single and the Naranjeros were on the board. Jorge Flores then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
The score would remain 3-1 Charros until the top of the 9th. Brian Broderick, on to close for the Charros, got Luis Garcia to fly out to right for the first out. Yunesky Sanchez and Jose Amador connected on back-to-back singles to put runners at 1st and 3rd with one out. Jesus Lopez singled to drive in Sanchez with Amador stopping at second. The Charros lead was cut to 3-2. Broderick then got Johnathan Aceves to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game and pick up the save.
Marco Tovar recorded his first win of the season for the Charros while David Pauley was saddled with the loss for the Naranjeros.
Marquez Smith was 1 for 2 with an RBI. Cory Vaughn, hitting .400 on the season, went 2 for 3. Jesus Lopez was 1 for 3 and is also hitting .400 on the year. Jose Felix, making his first start for the Charros, was 2 for 3 with 2 doubles.
The Charros used 6 pitchers in the game. They have used 6 pitchers in each of their first three games.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Giants Up 2-1 In NLCS On Throwing Error
A throwing error by Cardinal pitcher Randy Choate allowed Brandon Crawford to score the winning run in the Giants 5-4 victory in Game 3 of the NLCS.
The Giants scored four times in the bottom of the 1st. After two outs, Buster Posey singled to right. Pablo Sandoval followed with a single to center and San Francisco had runners at 1st and 2nd. Hunter Pence doubled to right scoring Posey and moving Sandoval to third. Brandon Belt was intentionally walked to load the bases.Travis Ishikawa doubled to deep right field to clear the bases and the Giants were up 4-0.
The Cardinals got two runs back in the 4th. Jon Jay singled as did Matt Holliday. After Tim Hudson got two outs, he gave up a triple to Kolten Wong that scored Jay and Holliday.
In the top of the 6th, The Redbird's Jon Jay singled. He went to second on a ground out by Matt Holliday and to third on a ground out to first by Matt Adams. Jay scored on a Jhonny Peralta single to left and the Cardinals had cut the Giants lead to 4-3.
Randel Gruchik, rookie right fielder for the Cardinals, tied the game at 4 all in the top of the 7th with a solo home run off of the first pitch he saw from Tim Hudson.
That was all the scoring until the bottom of the 10th. Randy Choate was on in relief of Seth Maness. Brandon Crawford worked an 8 pitch walk to lead off the inning. Juan Perez, after fouling off two bunt attempts, singled to left with Crawford stopping at second. Gregor Blanco bunted down the third base line attempting to move the runners along but Choate threw the ball away at first and Crawford scored.
The Giants won on a walk off error and lead the NLCS 2 games to 1.
The Giants scored four times in the bottom of the 1st. After two outs, Buster Posey singled to right. Pablo Sandoval followed with a single to center and San Francisco had runners at 1st and 2nd. Hunter Pence doubled to right scoring Posey and moving Sandoval to third. Brandon Belt was intentionally walked to load the bases.Travis Ishikawa doubled to deep right field to clear the bases and the Giants were up 4-0.
The Cardinals got two runs back in the 4th. Jon Jay singled as did Matt Holliday. After Tim Hudson got two outs, he gave up a triple to Kolten Wong that scored Jay and Holliday.
In the top of the 6th, The Redbird's Jon Jay singled. He went to second on a ground out by Matt Holliday and to third on a ground out to first by Matt Adams. Jay scored on a Jhonny Peralta single to left and the Cardinals had cut the Giants lead to 4-3.
Randel Gruchik, rookie right fielder for the Cardinals, tied the game at 4 all in the top of the 7th with a solo home run off of the first pitch he saw from Tim Hudson.
That was all the scoring until the bottom of the 10th. Randy Choate was on in relief of Seth Maness. Brandon Crawford worked an 8 pitch walk to lead off the inning. Juan Perez, after fouling off two bunt attempts, singled to left with Crawford stopping at second. Gregor Blanco bunted down the third base line attempting to move the runners along but Choate threw the ball away at first and Crawford scored.
The Giants won on a walk off error and lead the NLCS 2 games to 1.
Cowboys Running Back Joseph Randle Arrested for Shoplifting - UPDATE
Joseph Randle, backup to Demarco Murray was arrested on Monday on allegations he stole $134 worth of merchandise from a Frisco, Texas Dillards department store.
Randle was charged with a misdemeanor Class B Theft of $50-$500. He was released on a writ bond at about 1:30 Tuesday morning.
A 5th round pick in the 2013 draft, out of Oklahoma State, Randle is being paid a base salary of $495,000 a year.
As a backup to Murray, Randle has seen limited action and has 113 yards on 16 carries for the Cowboys in 2014. He had the best game of his career on Sunday in the Cowboys win over the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks when he ran for 52 yards on 5 carries in the Cowboys 30-23 victory.
The Cowboys have said they will fine Randle an unspecified amout but they would not suspend him.
UPDATE
Cowboys to fine Randle 1 weeks pay, equal to $29,117
Read the ESPN article here.
Randle was charged with a misdemeanor Class B Theft of $50-$500. He was released on a writ bond at about 1:30 Tuesday morning.
A 5th round pick in the 2013 draft, out of Oklahoma State, Randle is being paid a base salary of $495,000 a year.
As a backup to Murray, Randle has seen limited action and has 113 yards on 16 carries for the Cowboys in 2014. He had the best game of his career on Sunday in the Cowboys win over the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks when he ran for 52 yards on 5 carries in the Cowboys 30-23 victory.
The Cowboys have said they will fine Randle an unspecified amout but they would not suspend him.
UPDATE
Cowboys to fine Randle 1 weeks pay, equal to $29,117
Read the ESPN article here.
And You Thought Flopping Was Bad?
Obvious "flops" in sports contests are funny. If it happens against your team and the ref misses it, it's maddening. If your team gets away with one, well...so be it.
For the Soccer world it isn't quite so easy to get away with a flop but that doesn't stop athletes from attempting them. Leandro Damiao tries a very lame soccer flop in the videos. Chile's Bryan Carrasco literally takes one for the team, except he did it to himself in the second video.
Brooks Pack, editor of "Dirty Tackle" for Yahoo Sports fas a good article with video here. Warch the videos and try not too laugh!
For the Soccer world it isn't quite so easy to get away with a flop but that doesn't stop athletes from attempting them. Leandro Damiao tries a very lame soccer flop in the videos. Chile's Bryan Carrasco literally takes one for the team, except he did it to himself in the second video.
Brooks Pack, editor of "Dirty Tackle" for Yahoo Sports fas a good article with video here. Warch the videos and try not too laugh!
Monday, October 13, 2014
49ers Score 24 Unanswered Points to Down Rams 31-17
The St. Louis Rams led the San Francisco 49ers 14-0 at the end of the 1st quarter but gave up 24 unanswered points to fall behind 24-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
The Rams kicked a field goal with 2:24 left on the clock to make it 24-17 but Dontae Johnson picked off an Austin Davis pass intended for Kenny Britt and returned it 20 yards for the touchdown that put the 49ers up 31-17 with 1:05 left to play. The Rams got to the San Francisco 41 yard line as time expired.
Colin Kaepernick was 22 of 36 for 343 yards and 3 TDs on the night. Anquan Boldin had 7 receptions for 94 yards and a TD. Brandon Lloyd and Michael Crabtree also had TD catches for San Francisco.
Austin Davis was 21 for 42 for 236 yards with 1 TD and an INT. Davis was sacked 5 times. Benny Cunningham had 21 yards on 7 carries with a touchdown.
San Francisco moves to 4-2 on the year. The Arizona Cardinals leads the NFC West with a 4-1 record after beating the Washington Redskins 30-20 and the Seattle Seahawks dropped to 3-2 with a 30-23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Read the ESPN article here.
The Rams kicked a field goal with 2:24 left on the clock to make it 24-17 but Dontae Johnson picked off an Austin Davis pass intended for Kenny Britt and returned it 20 yards for the touchdown that put the 49ers up 31-17 with 1:05 left to play. The Rams got to the San Francisco 41 yard line as time expired.
Colin Kaepernick was 22 of 36 for 343 yards and 3 TDs on the night. Anquan Boldin had 7 receptions for 94 yards and a TD. Brandon Lloyd and Michael Crabtree also had TD catches for San Francisco.
Austin Davis was 21 for 42 for 236 yards with 1 TD and an INT. Davis was sacked 5 times. Benny Cunningham had 21 yards on 7 carries with a touchdown.
San Francisco moves to 4-2 on the year. The Arizona Cardinals leads the NFC West with a 4-1 record after beating the Washington Redskins 30-20 and the Seattle Seahawks dropped to 3-2 with a 30-23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Read the ESPN article here.
Can the Orioles Come Back From an 0-2 Deficit?
On paper the Orioles should be the team with the 2 game advantage, They won the American League East by 12 Games. On paper, the Royals couldn't hit a home run off a "tee" this year. They finished last in the American League in home runs.
Billy Butler stole a base. On paper he couldn't steal a base with a 45' head start. Butler stole a base.
So...should you count the Orioles out? On paper, no team has come back from losing the first two games of a 7 game series at home and advanced to the World Series.
But we don't play the games on paper. The Orioles have great pitching, great hitting and good defense. The Royals do too.
Game 3 of the ALCS on Tuesday night should be a great game. The Royal's fans yearn for a winner. They are reliving 1985, the last time the Royals even made the playoffs.
Ryan Fagan, of Sporting News, has a very good story about this series. Be sure to read it here before popping the champaign for the Royals. But, don't count the Royals out either.
I could probably be less sure of the outcome of this ALCS but I doubt it!
Billy Butler stole a base. On paper he couldn't steal a base with a 45' head start. Butler stole a base.
So...should you count the Orioles out? On paper, no team has come back from losing the first two games of a 7 game series at home and advanced to the World Series.
But we don't play the games on paper. The Orioles have great pitching, great hitting and good defense. The Royals do too.
Game 3 of the ALCS on Tuesday night should be a great game. The Royal's fans yearn for a winner. They are reliving 1985, the last time the Royals even made the playoffs.
Ryan Fagan, of Sporting News, has a very good story about this series. Be sure to read it here before popping the champaign for the Royals. But, don't count the Royals out either.
I could probably be less sure of the outcome of this ALCS but I doubt it!
Florida State to Investigate Winston Autographs
Florida State University has begun investigating how 340+ items with Jameis Winston's autograph have shown up on the web pages for James Spence Authentications (JSA). JSA was recently in the news for authenticating 500+ items signed by suspended UGA Bulldog Todd Gurley.
FSU has not been contacted on the matter by the ACC or the NCAA, but the university's compliance department has begun to specifically look into how JSA received such a large number of signatures.
"Kids sign things all the time," Jimbo Fisher, head coach of the Seminoles said after Saturday's game. "So what do you want them to do, stop signing stuff? We could make them not have any fans from that standpoint and not sign for anybody. That's what it's going to come to, and that's a shame for college football, that somebody exploits a kid. Now if they're getting paid for it, then I don't have any knowledge of that. I don't believe Jameis did."
FSU has not been contacted on the matter by the ACC or the NCAA, but the university's compliance department has begun to specifically look into how JSA received such a large number of signatures.
Fisher also said that Jameis told him that he didn't take any money for the autographs. So while Todd Gurley was suspended by UGA immediately, no action will be taken against Winston until the investigation is complete.
What an indictment of the ACC when the SEC takes the moral high ground.
Read the complete ESPN story here.
7 NC State Players Suspended
Linebacker Jerod Fernandez, safety Josh Jones, both starters, receivers Johnathan Alston and Jumichael Ramos, defensive linemen Justin Jones and Pharoah McKever along with cornerback Mike Stevens were all suspended from the Wolfpack football team for a BB gun incident off campus.
Fernandez leads the team, and is tied for 2nd in the ACC, with 58 tackles. He also leads the team with 2 INTs.
Read the Yahoo Sports article here.
Fernandez leads the team, and is tied for 2nd in the ACC, with 58 tackles. He also leads the team with 2 INTs.
Read the Yahoo Sports article here.
Molina May Miss Playoffs With Pulled Left Oblique
The Cardinals added catcher AJ Pierzyski to their NLDS roster and left off a pitcher. The move seems precient now as Yadier Molina suffered a pulled left oblique muscle in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Giants and may not be available to play.
Read the full Yahoo Sports article here.
Read the full Yahoo Sports article here.
D'Backs Hire Chip Hale as Manager
The Arizona Diamondbacks have hired Chip Hale to replace fired manager Kirk Gibson for the 2015 season.
Hale was the 3rd base coach of the Oakland Athletics last season. He was the 3rd Base and Infield Coach for the Diamondbacks from 2007-2009. Arizona won the NL West in 2007. He was also the 3rd Base Coach for the NY Mets in 2010.
The Minnesota Twins drafted Hale in the 17th round of the 1987 draft. He made his major league debut with the Twins on August 27th, 1989. He played for the Twins in 1989 and 1990. He was playing for the AAA Portland Beavers on May 27th, 1991 when he hit a deep fly ball to right that became famous when Rodney McCray crashed through the fence while trying to track down the fly ball. Check out the video of that play here.
Hale played for the Twins again from 1993-1996 and played his final major league game with the LA Dodgers on October 2nd 1997. Hale had a career BA of .277 with 7 home runs and 78 RBIs.
Read the ESPN article on the D'Backs hire here.
Hale was the 3rd base coach of the Oakland Athletics last season. He was the 3rd Base and Infield Coach for the Diamondbacks from 2007-2009. Arizona won the NL West in 2007. He was also the 3rd Base Coach for the NY Mets in 2010.
The Minnesota Twins drafted Hale in the 17th round of the 1987 draft. He made his major league debut with the Twins on August 27th, 1989. He played for the Twins in 1989 and 1990. He was playing for the AAA Portland Beavers on May 27th, 1991 when he hit a deep fly ball to right that became famous when Rodney McCray crashed through the fence while trying to track down the fly ball. Check out the video of that play here.
Hale played for the Twins again from 1993-1996 and played his final major league game with the LA Dodgers on October 2nd 1997. Hale had a career BA of .277 with 7 home runs and 78 RBIs.
Read the ESPN article on the D'Backs hire here.
Cards Beat Giants 5-4 on Kolten Wong Walkoff Home Run
The St. Louis Cardinals have tied the NLDS at one game apiece thanks to some good pitching, poor hitting by the Giants and a power surge of home runs.
The Redbirds hit 4 home runs last night. They were all solo shots. Matt Carpenter connected in the 3rd, Rookie Oscar Taveras, pinch hitting for pitcher Carlos Martinez, in the 7th, Matt Adams in the 8th and Wong's walkoff in the 9th. Randal Grichuk drove in the second run for the Cards on a single in the 4th.
The Giants had tied the score at 4 in the top of the 9th on a wild pitch by Trevor Rosenthal with the Bases loaded.
Sergio Romo took the loss for the Giants while Seth Maness picked up the win.
These two teams now head to San Francisco for games 3, 4 and 5 of the NLDS. If necessary games 6 and 7 would be played in St. Louis.
Read the ESPN story here.
The Redbirds hit 4 home runs last night. They were all solo shots. Matt Carpenter connected in the 3rd, Rookie Oscar Taveras, pinch hitting for pitcher Carlos Martinez, in the 7th, Matt Adams in the 8th and Wong's walkoff in the 9th. Randal Grichuk drove in the second run for the Cards on a single in the 4th.
The Giants had tied the score at 4 in the top of the 9th on a wild pitch by Trevor Rosenthal with the Bases loaded.
Sergio Romo took the loss for the Giants while Seth Maness picked up the win.
These two teams now head to San Francisco for games 3, 4 and 5 of the NLDS. If necessary games 6 and 7 would be played in St. Louis.
Read the ESPN story here.
Mexico National Soccer Team Beats Panama 1-0, But...
The Mexico National Soccer team, El Tri, beat the Panama team 1-0 of Sunday. El Tri looked sluggish and unable to work well against a team that played close defense and tried to shorten the field.
This game, and the one against Honduras on Thursday, have shown that the Mexico team still plays like they did in the World Cup when these weaknesses were first exposed.
Things will bet harder for El Tri in it's march through CONCACAF which of 54 teams in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Associations Football.
There is a very good story fron the Sporting News here.
This game, and the one against Honduras on Thursday, have shown that the Mexico team still plays like they did in the World Cup when these weaknesses were first exposed.
Things will bet harder for El Tri in it's march through CONCACAF which of 54 teams in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Associations Football.
There is a very good story fron the Sporting News here.
Mavs Coach Rick Carlisle says Chandler Parsons Should "Shed Some Weight"
Carlisle thought about what he said when he singled out Chandler Parsons for being overweight and out of shape following an exhibition game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
Carlisle said in a statement, "I also made it clear to our players and staff this morning that this type of bad example is not acceptable and beneath the dignity of a championship organization like the Dallas Mavericks."
Carlisle said in a statement, "I also made it clear to our players and staff this morning that this type of bad example is not acceptable and beneath the dignity of a championship organization like the Dallas Mavericks."
This is the second time this preseason that the Mav's coach has questioned Parsons' conditioning.
Read the ESPN article here.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Bears Ground Falcons 27-13
The Chicage Bears beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday by a score of 27-13. The Bears remain tied with the Packers for the NFC Central lead.
Jay Cutler threw for 381 yards and a touchdown.
Jared Allen recorded his first sack of the year.
Willie Young got his 6th and 7th sacks for the Bears.
"D" returns to Soldier Field!
Read the story from Sportsrants.com here.
Jay Cutler threw for 381 yards and a touchdown.
Jared Allen recorded his first sack of the year.
Willie Young got his 6th and 7th sacks for the Bears.
"D" returns to Soldier Field!
Read the story from Sportsrants.com here.
Eagles Shut Out Giants 27-0
The Philadelphia Eagles shut down and shut out the NY Giants on Sunday night 27-0. With the eagles lack of offense the past couple of weeks this was comforting to the Eagles fans.
Conversely, the Giants fans, who had high hopes after the last two weeks need to be concerned. With the Eagles and the Cowboys both at 5-1, the Giants will have to play extremely well against Division and Conference opponents to make the playoffs.
By the way, this was the Eagles first shutout in 18 years! Their last shutout came against the NY Giants on December 1, 1996.
Read the ESPN "Rapid Response" article here.
Conversely, the Giants fans, who had high hopes after the last two weeks need to be concerned. With the Eagles and the Cowboys both at 5-1, the Giants will have to play extremely well against Division and Conference opponents to make the playoffs.
By the way, this was the Eagles first shutout in 18 years! Their last shutout came against the NY Giants on December 1, 1996.
Read the ESPN "Rapid Response" article here.
Packers Beat Dolphins with :03 on the Clock 27-24
Aaron Rodgers threw a 4 yard touchdown pass to Andrew Quarless with 3 seconds remaining in the game to overtake the Dolphins 27-24.
Rodgers threw for 264 yards on a 24 for 42 passing day with 3 TDs and no INTs. Jordy Nelson caught 9 passes for 109 yards and 1 TD. Rodgers has 15 TDs on the year with 1 INT
The Dolphins failed on a 4th and 1 at the Packers 1 yard line in the third quarter. The Dolphins have attemped a league leading 9 4th down plays but have only succeded on 2 of them.
The Packers remain tied with the Bears atop the NFL Central with a 4-2 record.
Read the ESPN article here
Rodgers threw for 264 yards on a 24 for 42 passing day with 3 TDs and no INTs. Jordy Nelson caught 9 passes for 109 yards and 1 TD. Rodgers has 15 TDs on the year with 1 INT
The Dolphins failed on a 4th and 1 at the Packers 1 yard line in the third quarter. The Dolphins have attemped a league leading 9 4th down plays but have only succeded on 2 of them.
The Packers remain tied with the Bears atop the NFL Central with a 4-2 record.
Read the ESPN article here
Jarrod Dyson of the Royals Channels Joe Namath
Joe Namath famously predicted his heavily underdog NY Jets would beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III and his prognostication became reality when the Jets won 16-7.
Jarrod Dyson has predicted that his Kansas City Royals would not be returning to Baltimore for a game 6 in the ALCS.
When asked by Kansas City Star reporter Andy McCullough if Dyson expects the game to return to Baltimore for a 6th game, Dyson said, "No sir, I don't and I don't think the Orioles think that way either".
Don't believe this could happen in today's baseball world? Read the ESPN article here.
Jarrod Dyson has predicted that his Kansas City Royals would not be returning to Baltimore for a game 6 in the ALCS.
When asked by Kansas City Star reporter Andy McCullough if Dyson expects the game to return to Baltimore for a 6th game, Dyson said, "No sir, I don't and I don't think the Orioles think that way either".
Don't believe this could happen in today's baseball world? Read the ESPN article here.
Cowboys Take Down Seahawks 30-23
The Dallas Cowboys controlled the offensive line of scrimmage to rush for 162 yards on the ground as the Cowboys defeated the reigning Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks 30-23.
Tony Romo passed for 250 yards on a 21/ 32 day with 2 TDs and no INTs. Both touchdown passes were caught by tight ends. Jason Witten had 2 catches for 24 yards and a TD while Gavin Escobar had 1 catch for 2 yards and the other passing touchdown.
Demarco Murray ran for 115 yards on 29 carries for his 6th straight 100 yard game and Joseph Randle added 52 yards on the ground.
Dan Bailey kicked 3 FGs for the 'Boys.
Russell Wilson was 14 for 28 with no TDs and 1 INT. He did have a rushimg touchdown. Seattle LB Mike Morgan returned a blocked punt 25 yards for a score for the only other touchdown for Seattle. Scott Hauschka kicked 3 FGs for the Seahawks.
Read the ESPN article here.
Tony Romo passed for 250 yards on a 21/ 32 day with 2 TDs and no INTs. Both touchdown passes were caught by tight ends. Jason Witten had 2 catches for 24 yards and a TD while Gavin Escobar had 1 catch for 2 yards and the other passing touchdown.
Demarco Murray ran for 115 yards on 29 carries for his 6th straight 100 yard game and Joseph Randle added 52 yards on the ground.
Dan Bailey kicked 3 FGs for the 'Boys.
Russell Wilson was 14 for 28 with no TDs and 1 INT. He did have a rushimg touchdown. Seattle LB Mike Morgan returned a blocked punt 25 yards for a score for the only other touchdown for Seattle. Scott Hauschka kicked 3 FGs for the Seahawks.
Read the ESPN article here.
Panthers 37, Bengals 37
It's not often an NFL game ends in a tie but if it had to happen, it would happen to the Cincinnati Bengals. On a day when the Browns thump the Steelers a victory by the Bengals would have been a full game up on the Browns at 4-1. Instead they "fall" to 3-1-1.
Read the ESPN article here.
Read the ESPN article here.
New England 37-22 Over Buffalo Bills
It looks like Tom Brady and the New England appear to be back, if in fact they were ever gone. The Patriots went into Buffalo and came away with a 37-22 victory and a firm grip on the AFC East.
Tom Brady was 27 for 37 passing for 361 yards and 4 TDs. Brady needed to shine because the Bills defense held New England to 50 yards rushing on 27 carries.
Brandon LaFell caught 4 passes from Brady for 97 yards and 2 TDs. Brian Tyms and Tim Wright both caught a TD on throws from Brady.
Kyle Orton was 24 for 38 for 299 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT
Read the ESPN article here.
Tom Brady was 27 for 37 passing for 361 yards and 4 TDs. Brady needed to shine because the Bills defense held New England to 50 yards rushing on 27 carries.
Brandon LaFell caught 4 passes from Brady for 97 yards and 2 TDs. Brian Tyms and Tim Wright both caught a TD on throws from Brady.
Kyle Orton was 24 for 38 for 299 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT
Read the ESPN article here.
Jalisco Charros defeat Aguilas de Mexicali 4-2
The Charros de Jalisco evened their league record at 1-1 with a 4-2 victory over the Aguilars de Mexicali on Saturday night in Zapopan.
Mexicali continued their hot hitting by scoring in the bottom of the 1st when Brock Peterson hit a long home run to right off of Charros starter Ben Kozlowski. Kozlowski played for the Sugarland Skeeters of the Atlantic league in 2014 and both the Texas Rangers and Hiroshima Toyo Carp at the big league level.
The Aguilas would score another run in the 4th. Mike Jacobs singled and moved to second when Luke Montz walked. A wild pitch by Kozlowski advanced the runners to 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Jacobs scored when Xorge Carrillo grounded to second. Kozlowski was able to get out of the jam without further damage and the Aguilas led 2-0.
Jalisco tied the score at 2-2 in the top of the sixth. Jesus Lopez singled and came around to score on Leo Heras' first home run of the season.
The Charros scored again in the 7th. Wilson Batista drew a one out walk. Gabriel Gutierrez singled and Batista stopped at second. Jesus Lopez followed with a single to center that scored Batista and gave Jalisco the 3-2 lead.
In the top of the 9th, Marquez Smith was hit by a pitch and Wilson Batista walked. After Cory Vaughn and Gabriel Gutierrez struck out, Jesus Lopez walked to load the bases. Eduardo Arrendondo singled to drive in Smith and give the Charros the final 4-2 margin of victory.
Jesus Lopez, hitting .429 for the year, was 2 for 3 on the day with an RBI and 1 run scored. Leo Heras hit his home run for his only hit in four at bats but that was good for a run scored and 2 RBIs. Marquez Smith and Wilson Batista, hitting .333 on the young season, both scored a run in the victory.
Ben Kozlowski worked five complete innings on the hill for the Charros giving up 4 hits and 2 earned runs while walking 2 and striking out 6. Alan Guerrero picked up the win in relief of Kozlowski and David Koop recorded his first save of the year.
Mexicali continued their hot hitting by scoring in the bottom of the 1st when Brock Peterson hit a long home run to right off of Charros starter Ben Kozlowski. Kozlowski played for the Sugarland Skeeters of the Atlantic league in 2014 and both the Texas Rangers and Hiroshima Toyo Carp at the big league level.
The Aguilas would score another run in the 4th. Mike Jacobs singled and moved to second when Luke Montz walked. A wild pitch by Kozlowski advanced the runners to 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Jacobs scored when Xorge Carrillo grounded to second. Kozlowski was able to get out of the jam without further damage and the Aguilas led 2-0.
Jalisco tied the score at 2-2 in the top of the sixth. Jesus Lopez singled and came around to score on Leo Heras' first home run of the season.
The Charros scored again in the 7th. Wilson Batista drew a one out walk. Gabriel Gutierrez singled and Batista stopped at second. Jesus Lopez followed with a single to center that scored Batista and gave Jalisco the 3-2 lead.
In the top of the 9th, Marquez Smith was hit by a pitch and Wilson Batista walked. After Cory Vaughn and Gabriel Gutierrez struck out, Jesus Lopez walked to load the bases. Eduardo Arrendondo singled to drive in Smith and give the Charros the final 4-2 margin of victory.
Jesus Lopez, hitting .429 for the year, was 2 for 3 on the day with an RBI and 1 run scored. Leo Heras hit his home run for his only hit in four at bats but that was good for a run scored and 2 RBIs. Marquez Smith and Wilson Batista, hitting .333 on the young season, both scored a run in the victory.
Ben Kozlowski worked five complete innings on the hill for the Charros giving up 4 hits and 2 earned runs while walking 2 and striking out 6. Alan Guerrero picked up the win in relief of Kozlowski and David Koop recorded his first save of the year.
Browns Overpower Steelers 31-10
The Cleveland Browns, with Brian Hoyer at the helm, manhandled the Steelers on Sunday winning 31-10. The score was 21-3 at halftime.
In the first game of the season, the Steelers went up 27-3 over the browns and held on to kick a game winning field goal as time expired.
Brian Hoyer was 8 of 17 passing for 217 yards and 1 TD. Ben Tate had 25 carries for 78 yards and 2 TDs while rookie Isiah Crowell rushed for 77 yards and 1 TD on 11 carries.
See the ESPN article here.
In the first game of the season, the Steelers went up 27-3 over the browns and held on to kick a game winning field goal as time expired.
Brian Hoyer was 8 of 17 passing for 217 yards and 1 TD. Ben Tate had 25 carries for 78 yards and 2 TDs while rookie Isiah Crowell rushed for 77 yards and 1 TD on 11 carries.
See the ESPN article here.
Giants Take Opener in St. Louis 3-0
The San Francisco Giants won their 7th consecutive road game in the playoffs with a 3-0 victory over the Cardinals last night in Busch Stadium. Timely hitting and several miscues by the Redbirds contributed to the win.
Madison Bumgarner won his fourth postseaseon start of 7+ innings with 0 runs allowed. This tied him with Christy Mathewson for the most in Giants history. Bumgarner is 4-0 with a .059 ERA over that span.
Adam Wainwright, 20-9 during the regular season, on the other hand is 0-4 over his last 5 postseason starts with a 5.19 ERA.
Read the ESPN article here.
Madison Bumgarner won his fourth postseaseon start of 7+ innings with 0 runs allowed. This tied him with Christy Mathewson for the most in Giants history. Bumgarner is 4-0 with a .059 ERA over that span.
Adam Wainwright, 20-9 during the regular season, on the other hand is 0-4 over his last 5 postseason starts with a 5.19 ERA.
Read the ESPN article here.
Royals Take Two in Baltimore, Lead ALCS 2-0
The Kansas City Royals won their ninth consecutive playoff game dating back to their World series win in 1985 when they took the final three games against the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World series.
Mike Moustakas continued hie home run tear by belting his fourth long ball of these playoffs in the 4th inning of the Royals 6-4 victory last night.
Moustakas had this to say about the Royals winning two games in Baltimore. "To come in here and win two games against a great team like that, it's huge for us".
Lorenzo Cain had four hits in the game to become just the second Royal to do that...the last...George Brett who did it twice.
Read the ESPN article here.
Mike Moustakas continued hie home run tear by belting his fourth long ball of these playoffs in the 4th inning of the Royals 6-4 victory last night.
Moustakas had this to say about the Royals winning two games in Baltimore. "To come in here and win two games against a great team like that, it's huge for us".
Lorenzo Cain had four hits in the game to become just the second Royal to do that...the last...George Brett who did it twice.
Read the ESPN article here.
New #1 in College Football
Mississippi State, with a win over previously unbeaten and #2 ranked team, has leap frogged former #1 Florida State to claim the #1 ranking.
The win was the Bulldog's third consecutive over a top 10 team. This marks the first time in the AP's 78 year history that a team has gone from unranked to #1 in five weeks.
Read the ESPN story here.
The win was the Bulldog's third consecutive over a top 10 team. This marks the first time in the AP's 78 year history that a team has gone from unranked to #1 in five weeks.
Read the ESPN story here.
Kevin Durant Fractures Foot - Out 6-8 Weeks
One could see this as a setback for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kevin Durant, the 2013-2014 MVP of the NBA has broken hi foot. He has what is known as a "Jones" fracture.
A Jones fracture is a fracture of the diaphysis of the fifth metatarsal of the foot, at the base of the small toe. The proximal end, where the Jones fracture occurs, is in the midportion of the foot. Those who sustain a Jones fracture have pain over this area, swelling, and difficulty walking.
Read the ESPN story here.
A Jones fracture is a fracture of the diaphysis of the fifth metatarsal of the foot, at the base of the small toe. The proximal end, where the Jones fracture occurs, is in the midportion of the foot. Those who sustain a Jones fracture have pain over this area, swelling, and difficulty walking.
Read the ESPN story here.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Royals Take Game 1 of ALCS with Extra Inning Win in Baltimore
The Kansas City Royals, in this postseason, have doubled the rate at which they hit home runs during the regular season. Almost 4% of their at bats have resulted in home runs.
Coming into this postseason no Royal hitter had ever hit a go ahead home run in extra innings. These Royals have done it three times. Alcides Escobar homered last night. He had only 3 HRs in 500+ at bats during the regular season.
Why all the talk about home runs. The Royals didn't hit many HRs during the season. They won the small ball way. They won with speed on the basepaths, good bunting, timely hitting and good pitching.
Alex Gordon of the Royals had this to say about the power surge, "We know we're capable of hitting home runs. We didn't do it during the regular season, but it doesn't really matter. This is the postseason and we're starting to swing the bats better now."
After 162 regular season games it's nice to know the Royals are finally warming up.
Kansas City threatened to walk away with game 1 early when they scored 4 runs in the top of the third. With one out, Alcides Escobar sent a Chris Tillman 0-2 pitch over the wall in left for a 1-0 lead. Norichika Aoki singled to left and Lorenzo Cain drew a four pitch walk. Billy Butler beat out an infield single to load the bases. Alex Gordon then worked the count full before doubling to right to clear the bases and drive in 3 of his 4 runs on the night. The Ryals led 4-0 after their half of the 3rd.
Baltimore got a run back in the bottom of the 3rd. Nick Markakis doubled off of James Shields. Adam Jones singled to drive in Markakis to narrow the lead to 4-1.
In the top of the 5th, Lorenzo Cain hit a lead off double to right. Cain moved to third on an Eric Hosmer ground out to second. Tommy Hunter relieved Orioles starter Chris Tillman and Billy Butler hit a sac fly to center to score Cain for the 5-1 lead.
Baltimore came roaring back off Shields in the bottom of the 5th. Nick Markakis singled to left and Alejandro De Aza singled to right. Adam Jones hit into a fielder's choice that got Markakis at third. Nelson Cruz doubled to score De Aza and the Orioles had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Steve Pearce walked to load the bases. After JJ Hardy struck out, Ryan Flaherty singled to drive in Jones and Cruz and the lead was now 5-4.
Brandon Finnegan replaced Shields to start the bottom of the 6th. Lead off hitter Jonathan Schoop waited out an 8 pitch walk. Nick Markakis singled and the Orioles had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Alejandro De Aza reached on an infield single to score Schoop and that would be all for Finnegan. Kelvin Herrera replaced Finnegan and got Adams to hit into a fielder's choice and Nelson Cruz to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, but the Orioles had tied the game at 5.
The scored remained knotted at 5 until the top of the 10th. Darren O'Day in relief of Zach Britton gave up a lead off home run to Alex Gordon and walked Salvador Perez. Buck Showalter replaced O'Day with Brian Matusz. Mike Moustakas worked the count to 2-2 before parking a Matusz pitch into the bleachers in right center.. the Royals had an 8-5 lead through 9 1/2 innings.
Greg Holland came in for the Royals to close out the victory. He quickly got two outs then Ryan Flaherty singled. Jimmy Paredes, hitting for Nick Hundley, walked. Delmon Young, pinch hitting for Jonathan Schoop, singled to score Flaherty. The Royals lead was down to 8-6. Holland got Nick Markakis to ground out to second to preserve the Royals 4th extra inning victory in their last 5 games.
Wade davis picked up the win for Kansas City while Dan O'Day took the loss for the Orioles. Greg Holland recorded the save.
Coming into this postseason no Royal hitter had ever hit a go ahead home run in extra innings. These Royals have done it three times. Alcides Escobar homered last night. He had only 3 HRs in 500+ at bats during the regular season.
Why all the talk about home runs. The Royals didn't hit many HRs during the season. They won the small ball way. They won with speed on the basepaths, good bunting, timely hitting and good pitching.
Alex Gordon of the Royals had this to say about the power surge, "We know we're capable of hitting home runs. We didn't do it during the regular season, but it doesn't really matter. This is the postseason and we're starting to swing the bats better now."
After 162 regular season games it's nice to know the Royals are finally warming up.
Kansas City threatened to walk away with game 1 early when they scored 4 runs in the top of the third. With one out, Alcides Escobar sent a Chris Tillman 0-2 pitch over the wall in left for a 1-0 lead. Norichika Aoki singled to left and Lorenzo Cain drew a four pitch walk. Billy Butler beat out an infield single to load the bases. Alex Gordon then worked the count full before doubling to right to clear the bases and drive in 3 of his 4 runs on the night. The Ryals led 4-0 after their half of the 3rd.
Baltimore got a run back in the bottom of the 3rd. Nick Markakis doubled off of James Shields. Adam Jones singled to drive in Markakis to narrow the lead to 4-1.
In the top of the 5th, Lorenzo Cain hit a lead off double to right. Cain moved to third on an Eric Hosmer ground out to second. Tommy Hunter relieved Orioles starter Chris Tillman and Billy Butler hit a sac fly to center to score Cain for the 5-1 lead.
Baltimore came roaring back off Shields in the bottom of the 5th. Nick Markakis singled to left and Alejandro De Aza singled to right. Adam Jones hit into a fielder's choice that got Markakis at third. Nelson Cruz doubled to score De Aza and the Orioles had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Steve Pearce walked to load the bases. After JJ Hardy struck out, Ryan Flaherty singled to drive in Jones and Cruz and the lead was now 5-4.
Brandon Finnegan replaced Shields to start the bottom of the 6th. Lead off hitter Jonathan Schoop waited out an 8 pitch walk. Nick Markakis singled and the Orioles had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Alejandro De Aza reached on an infield single to score Schoop and that would be all for Finnegan. Kelvin Herrera replaced Finnegan and got Adams to hit into a fielder's choice and Nelson Cruz to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, but the Orioles had tied the game at 5.
The scored remained knotted at 5 until the top of the 10th. Darren O'Day in relief of Zach Britton gave up a lead off home run to Alex Gordon and walked Salvador Perez. Buck Showalter replaced O'Day with Brian Matusz. Mike Moustakas worked the count to 2-2 before parking a Matusz pitch into the bleachers in right center.. the Royals had an 8-5 lead through 9 1/2 innings.
Greg Holland came in for the Royals to close out the victory. He quickly got two outs then Ryan Flaherty singled. Jimmy Paredes, hitting for Nick Hundley, walked. Delmon Young, pinch hitting for Jonathan Schoop, singled to score Flaherty. The Royals lead was down to 8-6. Holland got Nick Markakis to ground out to second to preserve the Royals 4th extra inning victory in their last 5 games.
Wade davis picked up the win for Kansas City while Dan O'Day took the loss for the Orioles. Greg Holland recorded the save.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Charros de Jalisco Lose Opener of the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico
The Charros de Jalisco dropped their Liga Mexicana del Pacifico opener to Aguilas de Mexicali by a score of 8-1.
Mexicali scored 1 run in the first inning, single runs in the 3rd and 4th innings and put the game away on a 3 run home run by Luke Montz in the top of the 5th.
Juan Salvador Delgadillo started for the Charros and took the loss. He pitched 4 2/3 innings allowing 8 hits and 4 earned runs. Delgadillo walked one and struck out 2. Mario Meza got the win in relief of Javier Solano who pitched 4 2/3 innings of shutout ball but didn't pitch the required 5 complete innings to get the win. Solano gave up 3 hits but gave up 6 walks in his stint on the mound.
The Charros committed 3 errors during the game that led to 2 unearned runs for Mexicali.
Aguila de Mexicali scored run number 7 in the top of the 7th. Reliever Antonio Carzon struck out the first 2 Aguilas he faced then gave up a single to Mike Jacobs. Jacobs last played in the major leagues with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012. In 2009 he played for the Kansas City Royals, batting .228 with 19 HRs and 61 RBIs. Luke Montz, who appeared in 13 games for the Oakland Athletics in 2013, followed with his first double of the year to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Shane Peterson, who played for the Oakland A's Pacific Coast League's Sacramento River Cats in 2014 hitting .308 in 137 games with 11 HRs and 90 RBIs, singled to drive in Jacobs to make the score 7-0.
Jalisco got on the board in the bottom of the 8th when Wilson Batista, who played for Lancaster of the Atlantic League in 2013, singled with one out. Cory Vaughn, son of former major leaguer, Greg Vaughn and LA Dodger prospect, followed with a triple to score Batista and narrowed the gap to 7-1.
Luke Montz hit a solo home run, his second of the night, off of Charros' reliever Hugo Castellanos that made the final score 8-1.
Cory Vaughn was 2 for 3 on the night with a double and a triple and the lone RBI for the Charros. Jose Rodriguez was 2 for 5 for the Charros.
Luke Montz was 3 for 5 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs for Mexicali. Shane Peterson was 2 for 5 while Ramon Rios and Brock Peterson were both 2 for 4.
The Charros take on these same Aguilas on Saturday at the Panamerican Athletics Stadium in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.
Mexicali scored 1 run in the first inning, single runs in the 3rd and 4th innings and put the game away on a 3 run home run by Luke Montz in the top of the 5th.
Juan Salvador Delgadillo started for the Charros and took the loss. He pitched 4 2/3 innings allowing 8 hits and 4 earned runs. Delgadillo walked one and struck out 2. Mario Meza got the win in relief of Javier Solano who pitched 4 2/3 innings of shutout ball but didn't pitch the required 5 complete innings to get the win. Solano gave up 3 hits but gave up 6 walks in his stint on the mound.
The Charros committed 3 errors during the game that led to 2 unearned runs for Mexicali.
Aguila de Mexicali scored run number 7 in the top of the 7th. Reliever Antonio Carzon struck out the first 2 Aguilas he faced then gave up a single to Mike Jacobs. Jacobs last played in the major leagues with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012. In 2009 he played for the Kansas City Royals, batting .228 with 19 HRs and 61 RBIs. Luke Montz, who appeared in 13 games for the Oakland Athletics in 2013, followed with his first double of the year to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Shane Peterson, who played for the Oakland A's Pacific Coast League's Sacramento River Cats in 2014 hitting .308 in 137 games with 11 HRs and 90 RBIs, singled to drive in Jacobs to make the score 7-0.
Jalisco got on the board in the bottom of the 8th when Wilson Batista, who played for Lancaster of the Atlantic League in 2013, singled with one out. Cory Vaughn, son of former major leaguer, Greg Vaughn and LA Dodger prospect, followed with a triple to score Batista and narrowed the gap to 7-1.
Luke Montz hit a solo home run, his second of the night, off of Charros' reliever Hugo Castellanos that made the final score 8-1.
Cory Vaughn was 2 for 3 on the night with a double and a triple and the lone RBI for the Charros. Jose Rodriguez was 2 for 5 for the Charros.
Luke Montz was 3 for 5 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs for Mexicali. Shane Peterson was 2 for 5 while Ramon Rios and Brock Peterson were both 2 for 4.
The Charros take on these same Aguilas on Saturday at the Panamerican Athletics Stadium in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.
NCAA Players Need to be Paid to Play an Editorial
This week, Todd Gurley, a Junior running back and possible Heisman trophy winner in 2014, of the Georgia Bulldogs was suspended from the football team and is under investigation by the NCAA for selling his autograph. Gurley faces the real possibility that he will not play the remainder of the year for Georgia and could lose his scholarship.
The University of Georgia, as is required by NCAA rules, suspended Gurley when they became aware of the allegations.
Gurley is accused of being paid $400 to sign 80 items for Bryan Allen an Atlanta sports memorabilia dealer, on campus, in early spring. Doing the math, that works out to $5 per item. Supposedly there are photos and video of the signings, although none have surfaced yet.
Rules are rules and Gurley should have known better, if what is alledged is true, but this problem did not start with Todd Gurley nor will this be the end of it.
It is time that the NCAA realizes that athletes at big time universities are treated like chattel.
The arguments that the schools, and the NCAA, use to justify this indentured servitude are simple. They feel that a 4 year scholarship to a university, worth in the neighborhood of $200,000, over 4 years is sufficient payment for services. The second argument is that, starting this year, the athlete can earn up to $2,000 per academic year at employment on or off campus not associated with the athletic department. A final argument is that schools can't afford to pay their athletes.
To counter those arguments I would argue that sports scholarships are not guaranteed, by most universities, for 4 years but are on a yearly basis and can be revoked for many reasons both academic and non-academic. There are some universities that have started to guarantee those scholarships but not nearly enough. Given that the academic year, in most cases, runs from September through May, a 9 month period, that $2,000 earned works out to $222 a month.
These are the arguments put forth by the colleges/universities and the NCAA as to why they can't afford any changes to the current rules and regulations put forth by the NCAA and approved by the Deans of member colleges/universities.
Here are the reasons I have for a change in idea at the NCAA level.
Schools make millions of dollars off of these athletes. Here is a list of ways in which the schools and the NCAA make that money:
1. Ticket sales to athletic events
2. Concessions and Parking at those events
3. Visiting team remuneration packages (The University of Idaho was to be paid $900,000 dolllars for their trip to play the University of Florida)
4. Conference TV money (ESPN paid the SEC 2.25 billion dollars to broadcast their games through the 2026-2027 seasons. That's $150,000,000 per year for the SEC which works out to $10,700,000 per year/per school)
5. Local TV/Radio Money (considerably less than TV money, but income none the less)
6. Stadium advertising money
7. Bowl game revenue (if selected for bowl games, all revenue generated by teams in the conferenece is divided among all conference teams)
8. Jersey and sports memorabilia sales (University and the NCAA split this revenue)
9. Alumni giving to sports departments
10. Video game revenue (note lawsuits by former players over lost revenue)
11. Nike Sponsorship
Students who receive non sports scholarships are not limited as to the amount of time they can spend at employment. They can earn as much as they need to in order to pay for incidentals while attending college.
What Todd Gurley did was against the NCAA rules. He knew, or should have known, that what he was doing was against those rules. His suspension by the University of Georgia was done in accordance with those same rules governing universities and self reporting.
But Georgia will play football this weekend. They will travel to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Tigers in a game with SEC West Division implications. Todd Gurley will remain in Georgia while the University of Georgia and the NCAA decide his fate.
The NCAA must rethink it's rules on paying players to play. I remember when Title IX was going to absolutely ruin college sports. Has that happened? No. The universities were required to rethink their positions and make college athletics fair to all. Coming up with a fair way to pay players so that they don't feel the need to break the rules will not ruin college sports either.
There are now allegations (10/13/14) that 2014 Heisnan Trophy winner Jameis Winston has had over 100 signatures authenticated by the same firm that authenticated those signatures of Todd Gurley. When asked, Florida State Head Coach, Jimbo Fisher had this to say, "I asked Jameis if he took money for signing those autographs...he told me no."
There you have it folks, in the SEC the player is suspended right away. In the ACC, and the #2 Seminoles, the player said he didn't get any money so...nothing to see here...move along.
The University of Georgia, as is required by NCAA rules, suspended Gurley when they became aware of the allegations.
Gurley is accused of being paid $400 to sign 80 items for Bryan Allen an Atlanta sports memorabilia dealer, on campus, in early spring. Doing the math, that works out to $5 per item. Supposedly there are photos and video of the signings, although none have surfaced yet.
Rules are rules and Gurley should have known better, if what is alledged is true, but this problem did not start with Todd Gurley nor will this be the end of it.
It is time that the NCAA realizes that athletes at big time universities are treated like chattel.
The arguments that the schools, and the NCAA, use to justify this indentured servitude are simple. They feel that a 4 year scholarship to a university, worth in the neighborhood of $200,000, over 4 years is sufficient payment for services. The second argument is that, starting this year, the athlete can earn up to $2,000 per academic year at employment on or off campus not associated with the athletic department. A final argument is that schools can't afford to pay their athletes.
To counter those arguments I would argue that sports scholarships are not guaranteed, by most universities, for 4 years but are on a yearly basis and can be revoked for many reasons both academic and non-academic. There are some universities that have started to guarantee those scholarships but not nearly enough. Given that the academic year, in most cases, runs from September through May, a 9 month period, that $2,000 earned works out to $222 a month.
These are the arguments put forth by the colleges/universities and the NCAA as to why they can't afford any changes to the current rules and regulations put forth by the NCAA and approved by the Deans of member colleges/universities.
Here are the reasons I have for a change in idea at the NCAA level.
Schools make millions of dollars off of these athletes. Here is a list of ways in which the schools and the NCAA make that money:
1. Ticket sales to athletic events
2. Concessions and Parking at those events
3. Visiting team remuneration packages (The University of Idaho was to be paid $900,000 dolllars for their trip to play the University of Florida)
4. Conference TV money (ESPN paid the SEC 2.25 billion dollars to broadcast their games through the 2026-2027 seasons. That's $150,000,000 per year for the SEC which works out to $10,700,000 per year/per school)
5. Local TV/Radio Money (considerably less than TV money, but income none the less)
6. Stadium advertising money
7. Bowl game revenue (if selected for bowl games, all revenue generated by teams in the conferenece is divided among all conference teams)
8. Jersey and sports memorabilia sales (University and the NCAA split this revenue)
9. Alumni giving to sports departments
10. Video game revenue (note lawsuits by former players over lost revenue)
11. Nike Sponsorship
Students who receive non sports scholarships are not limited as to the amount of time they can spend at employment. They can earn as much as they need to in order to pay for incidentals while attending college.
What Todd Gurley did was against the NCAA rules. He knew, or should have known, that what he was doing was against those rules. His suspension by the University of Georgia was done in accordance with those same rules governing universities and self reporting.
But Georgia will play football this weekend. They will travel to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Tigers in a game with SEC West Division implications. Todd Gurley will remain in Georgia while the University of Georgia and the NCAA decide his fate.
The NCAA must rethink it's rules on paying players to play. I remember when Title IX was going to absolutely ruin college sports. Has that happened? No. The universities were required to rethink their positions and make college athletics fair to all. Coming up with a fair way to pay players so that they don't feel the need to break the rules will not ruin college sports either.
There are now allegations (10/13/14) that 2014 Heisnan Trophy winner Jameis Winston has had over 100 signatures authenticated by the same firm that authenticated those signatures of Todd Gurley. When asked, Florida State Head Coach, Jimbo Fisher had this to say, "I asked Jameis if he took money for signing those autographs...he told me no."
There you have it folks, in the SEC the player is suspended right away. In the ACC, and the #2 Seminoles, the player said he didn't get any money so...nothing to see here...move along.
LA Mayor Says "Highly Likely" NFL Will Relocate
The mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, said on a KNX radio show called "Ask the Mayor" that the NFL is finally interested in LA for the site of a relocating team.
Mayor Garcetti said, "It's highly likely an NFL team will come to Los Angeles in the next year.
Here is the ESPN article.
There is no confirmation or denial from the NFL in the article.
Mayor Garcetti said, "It's highly likely an NFL team will come to Los Angeles in the next year.
Here is the ESPN article.
There is no confirmation or denial from the NFL in the article.
Chris Bosh Dishes on Playing With LeBron
According to a story by Eric Freeman in Yahoo Sports, Chris Bosh has warned that playing alongside of LeBron James can be "different". Of course when you are playing with a super star things will be different and players of lesser stature will have to adjust.
I always thought that the 3 "stars" would have a rough time playing together in Miami. They had tremendous success, that is a given, but they didn't live up to the hype. They didn't win the Championship every year. How dare they!
Eric Freeman who writes in "Ball Don't Lie" for Yahoo Sports has a very good article about Bosh and his trials with LeBron and the Heat.
Read it here.
I always thought that the 3 "stars" would have a rough time playing together in Miami. They had tremendous success, that is a given, but they didn't live up to the hype. They didn't win the Championship every year. How dare they!
Eric Freeman who writes in "Ball Don't Lie" for Yahoo Sports has a very good article about Bosh and his trials with LeBron and the Heat.
Read it here.
UCF Wins in OT Against BYU 31-24
Last nigh's contest between the Knights of UCF and the Cougars of BYU was exciting to say the least. Christian Stewart, replacing BYU QB Taysom Hill, did a very credible job going 22 for 37. He threw 3 TD passes and had 1 INT.
Justin Stewart, for the Knights was 30/51 for 326 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. but the second of his TD throws came on the first drive in OT on a 4 yard toss to William Stanback out of the backfield.
The game had plenty of momentum swings. UCF went on top 10-0 early. BYU then scored 24 unanswered points to take a 24-10 lead. The Knights came back with 14 of their own points to tie the game in regulation before scoring in OT for the win.
Read all the details in the ESPN story here.
Justin Stewart, for the Knights was 30/51 for 326 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. but the second of his TD throws came on the first drive in OT on a 4 yard toss to William Stanback out of the backfield.
The game had plenty of momentum swings. UCF went on top 10-0 early. BYU then scored 24 unanswered points to take a 24-10 lead. The Knights came back with 14 of their own points to tie the game in regulation before scoring in OT for the win.
Read all the details in the ESPN story here.
Colts Hang on to Defeat Texans 33-28
The Indianapolis Colts jumped out big early and beat the Houston Texans 33-28. The Texans lost 2 fumbles in the last 5 minutes of play to give the Colts the victory.
Andrew Luck had his 3rd consecutive 300+ yard passing day going 25 of 44 for 370 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT.
Arian Foster, of the Texans, had 20 carries for 109 yards and 2 TDs while JJ Watt recovered a fumble and returned it 45 yards for his 2nd defensive TD of the year.
Read the ESPN story here.
Andrew Luck had his 3rd consecutive 300+ yard passing day going 25 of 44 for 370 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT.
Arian Foster, of the Texans, had 20 carries for 109 yards and 2 TDs while JJ Watt recovered a fumble and returned it 45 yards for his 2nd defensive TD of the year.
Read the ESPN story here.
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