Thursday, December 11, 2014

Marcus Mariota Sweeps Awards

Marcus Mariota, the outstanding quarterback of the Oregon Ducks, won the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the Davy O'Brein National Quarterback Award at the Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday night.

Mariota had previously won the Maxwell Award as the nation's Most Outstanding Player and is, by all accounts, the front runner for the Heisman Trophy in 2014.

Read the full ESPN story here.

Royals Sign Kendrys Morales For 2 Years

The Kansas City Royals, not content to rest on their laurels, have signed free agent Kendrys Morales to a 2 year 17 million dollar contract.

Morales will get $6.5 million next year and $9 million in 2016. The deal includes an $11 million mutual option for 2017 with a $1.5 million buyout. Morales can make an additional $750,000 in performance bonuses in each of the first two seasons based on plate appearances: $50,000 for 375 and $100,000 apiece for 400 and each additional 25 until 550.

Twins Give Ervin Santana 4 Year Deal

The Minnesota Twins have given free agent Ervin Santana a 4 year deal worth 55 million dollars according to ESPN.

The right-hander is guaranteed $54 million over the four years, with a conditional option worth $14 million in 2019 if he throws more than 200 innings, a source said. He will receive a $1 million buyout if the Twins don't exercise the option.

Read the ESPN article here.

Reds Make Moves at Winter Meetings

The Cincinnati Reds have traded Mat Latos to the Miami Marlins in exchange for RHP Anthony DeSclafani and catcher Chad Wallach. latos was 5-5 for the Reds last year being limited to just 16 starts because of elbow and knee problems.

The reds also traded Alfredo Simon to the Detroit Tigers for infielder Eugenio Suarez. Simon had his best year in the majors last year going 15-10 for the Reds

Yoenis Cespedes to Tigers

The Boston Red Sox have traded Yoenis Cepedes to the Detroit Tigers for starter Rick Porcello.

Between the Oakland Athletics and the Red Sox, Cepedes hit 22 home runs and drove in 100 runs. Porcello had his best year at 15-13 with a 3.43 ERA

Read the ESPN article here.

Culiacan Rebounds, Takes Game 2 of the Series 11-3

The Tomateros de Culiacan got their bats working last night and overpowered the Charros 11-3 behind the pitching of Francisco Campos, who worked 5 innings and gave up 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 4 Charros.

Culiacan jumped out to the lead 2-0 in the top of the 3rd. Max Leon and Eric Farris singled and after Russell Branyan struck out, Issmael Salas drew a walk to load the bases. Arturo Rodriguez then hit a fly ball to right that Leo Heras dropped and Leon and Farris scored.

Ramiro Pena doubled for the Tomateros in the 4th and scored on a single by Rico Noel for a 3-0 lead.

Jalisco would get a run back in their half of the 4th when Jesus Cota doubled and, after a wild pitch, scored on a sac fly by Amadeo Zazueta to cut the lead to 3-1.

Joey Meneses reached on a fielding error by the Charros to lead off the top of the 6th. Sergio Gastelum sacrificed Meneses to second and Meneses scored on a single by Ramiro Pena. Rico Noel hit a 2 run home run to left for a 6-1 Culiacan lead. One out later, Eric Farris hit a solo home run to cap a four run inning and the 7-1 Tomateros lead.

Japhet Amador hit his 12th home run of the year, a solo shot, in the bottom of the 6th and the Charros had narrowed the lead to 7-2.

Manny Rodriguez was hit by a pitch withone out in the bottom of the 7th and came around to score on a Marquez Smith double to left to make the score 7-3 Culiacan.

The Tomateros scored a run in the 8th and added 3 more in the 9th on 2 walks, a ground rule double by Joey Meneses and a run scoring double play ball off the bat of Ramiro Pena for the final score of 11-3.

The Charros did not help themselves in the field, committing 4 errors. They also left 9 men on base for the game and went 1 for 7 with men in scoring position.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

NFL Game Picks 12-11 to 12-14

After an outstanding week, finishing at 13-3, I feel confident I can do at least as good this weekend. There are a lot of divisional games that have playoff implications.

Arizona @ St. Louis     Cardinals 24-13     Can the Rams shutout a 3rd team in a row...nah
Pittsburgh @ Atlanta     Falcons 27-17     Falcons fly high in the Dome
Washington @ NYG     Giants 30-14     Eli finally reaches week 1 potential
Miami @ New England     Patriots 35-17   Can't go against Belichick/Brady
Oakland @ Kansas City     Chiefs 17-16     Tossup...Raiders looking better
Houston @ Indianapolis     Texans 24-23     Texans have some "luck" of their own
Jacksonville @ Baltimore     Ravens 27- 10     Too much "D" by the Ravens
Green Bay @ Buffalo     Packers 31-13     Only 8' of snow can stop Rodgers
Tampa Bay @ Carolina     Buccaneers 19-16     Newton not playing...only Bucs chance
Cincinnati @ Cleveland     Bengals 17-14     Johnny Football wins job, not game
NY Jets @ Tennessee     Jets 21-20     Titans looked so bad last week...Go Geno
Denver @ San Diego     Broncos 35-31     Warm weather...rest the running game Peyton
Minnesota @ Detroit     Lions 21-17     No excuses Lions...keep up with Pack
San Francisco @ Seattle     Seahawks 23-16     Problems in 49er locker room
Dallas @ Philadelphia     Eagles 24-21     Toss up game...advantage home team
New Orleans @ Chicago     Saints 28-17     Saints can't let me down 3 weeks in a row

Some Details of Jon Lester's 6 Year 155 Mil Deal With the Cubs

By now, everyone knows about Jon Lester signing a 6 year 155 million dollar deal with the Chicago Cubs. Here is a paragraph from the ESPN article on the deal as told to Jayson Stark.

Among other incentives negotiated by Lester and his agents, Seth and Sam Levinson, the deal includes a signing bonus of $30 million to be paid over the life of the contract and a full no-trade clause. Lester will earn $145 million between his base salary and signing bonus and receive either a $10 million buyout after six seasons or a $25 million vesting option for the 2021 season that could bring Lester's total take to $170 million, a source familiar with terms of the contract told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.

Congratulations to you Mr. Lester. Read the ESPN article here.

Phillies Trade Jimmy Rollins to Dodgers

ESPN and Yahoo Sports are reporting that the Philadelphia Phillies have traded shortstop Jimmy Rollins to the Los Angeles Dodgers. There is no mention of who the Phillies will get in return for Rollins.

Here is the Yahoo Sports article.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Charros Ride an 8 Run 2nd Inning To Victory Over Culiacan

The Charros scored 8 runs in the bottom of the 2nd and coasted to a 13-6 win over the Tomateros de Culiacan. Jalisco had 15 hits with Amadeo Zazueta going 3 for 5 with 5 RBIs while Jesus Cota was 2 for 3 with 3 runs scored.

Russell Branyan led off the top of the 2nd for the Tomateros with a walk but was erased on a double play grounder by Issmael Salas. Arturo Rodriguez singled and went to third on a single to right by Oscar Robles, who went 4 for 4 for Culiacan. Ramiro Pena singled to score Rodriguez and Ali Solis singled to center to score Robles for the 2-0 Tomateros lead. Solis was caught trying to steal second for the third out and the Charos were out of the inning.

Jalisco struck back in their half of the 2nd. With one out, CJ Retherford singled to center. Jesus Cota drew a base on balls and Gabriel Gutierrez loaded the bases with a Texas League single to center. Amadeo Zazueta, the hero of Sunday's game with Mexicali, hit a 3 run double off the wall in center scoring Retherford, Cota and Gutierrez. Eduardo Arredondo hit his third double of the year to score Zazueta for a 4-2 Charros lead. After a wild pitch by the Culiacan starter Marco Camarena put Arredondo on third, Manny Rodriguez doubled to left to score Arredondo. Leo Heras drew a base on balls. With one out, Japhet Amador flied out to center moving Rodriguez to third and Heras to second. Marquez Smith followed with a single to score Rodriguez and Heras. CJ Retherford hit his second single of the inning to put runners on first and second with 2 outs. Jesus Cota singled to right to score Smith with the eighth run of the inning. After two innings the Charros led 8-2.

The Tomateros used consecutive singles by Arturo Rodriguez, Oscar Robles and Ramiro Pena to score a run in the top of the 4th. Ali Solis grounded out 6-3 to score Robles. Rico Noel then laid down a perfect squeeze but to score Pena. Maxwell Leon followed with a single. With the score now 8-5 Charros, Manuel Flores relieved Graham Godfrey. Flores gave up a single to Eric Farris. Russell Branyan singled to score Leon. Flores got Issmael Salas to ground out to third but the lead had narrowed to 8-6 Jalisco.

Jalisco scored a run in the bottom of the 5th. Jesus Cota led off with a walk and went to second on a ground out to short by Gabriel Gutierrez. Cota scored on a single by Amadeo Zazueta to give the Charros a 9-6 lead.

Jesus Cota singled to center to lead off the 7th for the Charros. After a walk to Gabriel Gutierrez, Amadeo Zazueta singled to score Cota, Zazueta's 5th RBI of the game. Eduardo Arredondo laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third with 1 out. Gutierrez scored on a passed ball as Zazueta moved to third. Manny Rodriguez and Leo Heras walked to load the bases. Japhet Amador singled to right to score Zazueta and Rodriguez for the 13-6 lead.

Hugo Castellanos worked the 9th, giving up a walk to Russell Branyan with two outs before striking out Joey Meneses to end the game.

Carlos Vazquez picked up the win in relief to improve to 3-1 on the year and Marco Camarena took the loss for Culiacan to fall to 3-2 on the season.

Changes Coming For The 2015 Pecos League

After vacillating for months on who would and would not be in the Pecos League for the 2015 season, Commissioner Andrew Dunn has announced that the Bisbee Blue are out and the Las Cruces Vaqueros are in.

Here is an article I wrote for the Big Bend Courier in Alpine Texas.

Dunn has finalized the 2 division league like this:

Northern Division: Taos Blizzard, Trinidad Triggers, Las Vegas (NM) Train Robbers and the Santa Fe Fuego.

Southern Division: Roswell Invaders, White Sands Pupfish, Las Cruces Vaqueros and the Alpine Cowboys.

I'll have news on exciting roster changes for the Cowboys in the coming days and I will be reporting on the Pecos League here in my blog starting in late April, early May.

Cam Newton Injured in Traffic Accident

Cam Newton suffered two transverse process fractures of the lower back during a 2 vehicle traffic accident at around noon on Tuesday in Charlotte. This is the same type of injury that kept Tony Romo out of one game for the Cowboys earlier this year.

There was no announcement at this time on whether or not Newton would miss any time.

The club did say that Newton would be kept overnight for additional observation.

Green Bay outlasts Falcons 43-37 on MNF

The Green Bay Packers held off the Atlanta Falcons last night on MNF by a score of 43-37. The game was still in doubt late in the 4th quarter until the Packers recovered a Falcon's onside kick attempt and James Stark took a handoff from Aaron Rodgers 41 yards to the Falcon's 6 yard line with just over a minute to go in the game.

It was a game of two halves as the Packers built a 31-7 lead after two quarters and the Falcons held Green Bay to 12 points in the second half while scoring 30 points of their own.

Aaron Rodgers connected on 24 of 36 passes for 327 yards and 3 touchdowns. Rodgers has now thrown 35 TD passes with just 2 INTs all year. Matt Ryan, of the Falcons, was equally effective going 24 for 39 for 375 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The Packers rushed for 179 yards on 30 carries with 2 touchdowns. James Stark led the Packers with 75 yards and a touchdown and Eddie Lacy ran for 73 yards and a TD. Lacy also caught a touchdown pass from Rodgers.

Although Atlanta was held to 91 yards on the ground for the night, Steven Jackson gained 50 yards and had a 4 yard touchdown run.

Julio Jones had a career best receiving game with 11 receptions for 259 yards with a 79 yard touchdown catch and run. Roddy White, Harry Douglas and Eric Weems also caught touchdown passes from Ryan.

Jordy Nelson caught 8 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns for Green Bay including a 60 yard touchdown reception.

Monday, December 8, 2014

3 Heisman Trophy Finalists Named

This year there are 3 finalists for the Heisman Trophy. They are Marcus Mariota, oregon Ducks, Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin Badgers and Amari Cooper of the #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.

Mariota of Oregon, threw for 3783 yards and 38 touchdowns with just 2 interceptions. Marcus also ran for 669 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Ducks.

Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin running back, leads the nation in rushing with 2336 yards on the ground and an average of 179.7 yards rushing per game. Gordon rushed for 408 yards against Nebraska, at the time an NCAA record.

Amari Cooper caught 115 passes for the #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide for 1656 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Although Mariota appears to be the odds on favorite in this year's voting, the three individuals named as finalists are well deserving of the Heisman Trophy.

Congratulations to Mariota, Gordon and Cooper.

Current NFL Playoff Teams With Tie Breakers

Here is the way the NFL Playoffs break down before the Monday Night Football game with all of the tie breakers included.

Check out the breakdown for your team here.

Kentucky Receives all 65 First Place To Remain #1

The University of Kentucky, under John Calipari, remained #1 in theland of NCAA Men's Basketball, garnering all 65 first place votes in the AP Poll.

Last weeks #2, Wisconsin, fell to #5 after an 80-70 loss to Duke. The Blue Devils jumped 8-0 #3 Arizona to grab the #2 slot. Louisville is at #4 with the Badgers at #5.

Virginia, Villanova, Texas, Gonzaga and Kansas round out the Top 10 in this weeks voting.

Bowl Schedule Set With Baylor and TCU on the Outside Looking in

The Bowl schedule for the 2014-2015 college season is set. Although Big 12 teams TCU and Baylor finished #5 and #6 respectively and cannot win the National Championship, they will be in the "Top 6" Bowl Games.

Ohio State jumped over both the Horned Frogs and the Bears with their resounding 59-0 win over the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big 10 Championship. The Big 12 does not have a conference championship which some have said forced the CFP Committee to choose the Buckeyes.

Here is the Bowl Schedule for this year.

Ottawa Senators Fire Head Coach Paul Maclean

The Ottawa Senators have fired head coach Paul Maclean after an 11-11-5 start to the 2014-2015 NHL season.

Just two years ago, Maclean was the winner of the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's Coach of the Year.

The Senators were 114-90-35 in the four years that Maclean was their coach.

Knicks at 4-18 Developing an Adverse Mentality Says Phil Jackson

The President of the New York Knicks, Phil Jackson, sees something developing in his 4-18 team, a "losers" mentality.

When asked about the team's record thus far he had this to say. "Obviously, we're disappointed," said Jackson, who has won a record 11 NBA championships as a head coach. "... I think guys understand what we're trying to do. Hopefully, they're getting to be more compliant. There's some resistance to discipline and order and culture change and things like that. I will call it a crucible for what we're going through here. The process, maybe the heat, is going to refine some of the stuff so that we come out and be a pretty good team after all is said and done."

Before the season started, Jackson said that this Knicks team was a potential playoff caliber team. They now have the same number of loses as the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Indians Trade for Brandon Moss

The Cleveland Indians have acquired Brandon Moss from the Oakland Athletics for minor leaguer Joey Wendle.

The 31-year-old Moss batted .234 with a 25 homers and 81 RBIs in a career-high 147 games for the A's. The left-handed hitter drew 67 walks and scored 70 runs. Moss hit .268 with 21 homers in the first half of the season to earn his first All-Star selection, but a nagging hip problem cut into his production.

Infielder Joey Wendle hit .253 for Double A Akron last season.

Patriots Down Chargers 24-13 on Sunday Night

The New England Patriots defeated the San Diego Chargers 24-13 on Sunday to improve to 10-3 on the year. This is the 12th consecutive season of 10 or more wins for the Patriots. Only the '83-'98 San Francisco 49ers have more, winning 10 or more for those 16 seasons. I think they also had a couple of pretty good QBs during that time, Joe Montana and Steve Young. Tom Brady must be in the conversation when talking about the "greatest" quarterback of all time.

Brady threw a 69 yard catch and run touchdown pass to Julian Edelman with 8:41 left in the game to give the Patriots the 24-13 lead and the defense did the rest. The defense sacked Philip Rivers 4 times and intercepted him once. They stopped the long pass and were tremendous against the run, holding the Chargers to 53 yards on 17 carries.

Read the ESPN article here for more detail.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Charros Out Pitch Aguilas 3-2 to Take Game Three of the Series

The Charros salvaged one win of the three game series with the Aguilas de Mexicali on a 3-2 win on Sunday afternoon. It was a pitchers duel on both sides as the Charros scored all of their runs in the bottom of the 5th and the Aguilas scored their runs in the top of the 6th.

CJ Retherford led off the bottom of the 5th for the Charros with a single to left. With one out, Mexicali starter, Marco Quevedo threw a wild pitch to move Retherford to second. Gabriel Gutierrez reached safely on an error by the Aguilas second baseman. Retherford and Gutierrez scored ahead of a 3 run home run by Amadeo Zazueta that put Jalisco up 3-0.

Mexicali came right back in the top of the 6th. Lead off batter Misael German struck out but reached first on a passed ball by the Charros catcher. Gil Velazaquez singled and German scored on a single by Dave Sappelt. Walter Ibarra followed with a single to load the bases. Adrian Ramirez relieved Charros starter Ben Kozlowski and got Luis Juarez to ground into a 5-2 fielder's choice that cut down Velazaquez at the plate. Carlos Vazquez replaced Ramirez on the mound for Jalisco and Josh Whitesell greeted him with a sac fly to center that scored Sappelt with the second and last run for the Aguilas.

Ben Kozlowski pitched 5 innings of 4 hit ball giving up the 2 runs while striking out 3. Adrian Ramirez, Carlos Vazquez, Mario Mendoza and Ivan Salas recorded holds and Brian Broderick pitched a perfect 9th to get his 14th save of the year.

The Charros improve to 29-21 overall and 8-7 in the second half standings. Mexicali is 28-22, one game behind the Charros overall, and 9-6 in the second half.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Aguilas Overpower Charros 10-3

Game two of the three game series with Mexicali went to the Aguilas by a score of 10-3. The Charros offense was no match for the Aguilas on this night as Mexicali scored 10 runs on 10 hits, seven for extra bases, six doubles and one triple.

The Aguilas picked up right where they left off on Friday. In the top of the 1st, Dave Sappelt led off the game with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Walter Ibarra. Sappelt scored on a sac fly to left by Luis Juarez to make the score 1-0 Mexicali.

The Aguilas added to their lead in the top of the 3rd. Gil Velazquez doubled to left with one out. After Dave Sappelt struck out, Walter Ibarra doubled to center to drive home Valazquez for the 2-0 lead.

Wildness got the better of Charros starter Orlando Lara in the 4th. Josh Whitesell hit a lead off with a double and went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Mike Bianucci. Lara then hit Xorge Carrillo with a pitch and walked Chris Roberson to load the bases. Another walk, this time to Ricardo Serrano, forced in Whitesell for the third run of the night for Mexicali. Gil Velazaquez then hit a bases clearing double to put Mexicali up 6-0. Luis Rodriguez came on in relief of Lara for the Charros and walked Dave Sappelt on four pitches. Walter Ibarra followed with a triple off the wall in right center to score Valazquez and Sappelt. Luis Juarez grounded out to first to score Ibarra and the Aguilas led 9-0.

The Charros got a run back in the bottom of the 6th to cut the lead to 9-1. Eduardo Arredondo singled and scored on a double by Manny Rodriguez.

In the top of the 7th, Josh Whitesell led off with a double for Mexicali, went to third on a double by Xorge Carrillo and scored on a sac fly by Misael German for a 10-1 lead.

Jalisco scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th as Japhet Amador walked, Marquez Smith doubled and Brendan Harris singled to score pinch runner Jesus Cota. Amadeo Zazueta then hit a sac fly to score Smith and the score was 10-3, then final score.

Crimson Tide Defeat Missouri Tigers 42-13 to Win The SEC Championship

Alabama showed why they are the #1 ranked team in the nation, winning the SEC Championship 42-13 over the #16 ranked Missouri Tigers. The win on Saturday should solidify the Tide's hold on the #1 position in the CFP rankings. #2 Oregon and #3 TCU both won convincingly and all that remains for the Bowl positions is ACC Championship Game between #4 FSU and #11 Georgia Tech.

The game was close, 21-13, after three quarters but Alabama reeled off 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

Blake Sims, the Alabama quarterback, was 23 of 27 passing for 262 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Tide ground game rushed for 242 yards on 49 carries with Derrick Henry leading the attack. Henry rushed for 141 yards on 20 carries with 2 touchdowns. T.Y. Yeldon added 2 TDs on 14 carries.

Missouri was held to just 41 yards on the ground by a swarming, smothering Alabama defense. Maty Mauk was under pressure all day and completed just 16 of 34 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown. 

Take a look at the ESPN Recap here.


TCU Crushes Iowa State 55-3

Trevone Boykin threw for 460 yards and 4 touchdowns on a 30 for 41 passing afternoon. Aaron Green carried the ball 13 times for the Horned Frogs for 104 yards and a TD as TCU thumped the Iowa State Cyclones 55-3 on Saturday.

Unless Baylor does likewise to Kansas State or FSU manhandles Georgia Tech, TCU should maintain the #3 position in the CFP rankings.

Held to just a 17-3 halftime lead, TCU scored 31 unanswered points in the third quarter to put the game away.

Read the ESPN Recap here.

New Sports Pages Format

Be sure to check out the "pages" on the blog for aggregated sports links.

Bisbee Blue Leave the Pecos League for 2015

The Bisbee Blue played their inaugural in the Pecos League in 2014. The Blue will be playing ball in Bisbee in 2015, just not in the professional Pecos League. Instead, they will become a part of the Kino League, a collegiate summer league.

Andrew Dunn will retain ownership of the Blue and has not closed the door on a return to the Pecos League in the future.

The Las Cruces Vaqueros will rejoin the Pecos League. “I’m extremely disappointed to say the least,” Dunn said. “But at the end of the day Las Cruces is too good of a place not to have back.”

The Pecos League will consist of two divisions.  The Northern Division will consist of the Taos Blizzard, Trinidad Triggers, Las Vegas Train Robbers and the 2014 League Champion Santa Fe Fuego.
The Southern Division will have as it's teams, the Alpine Cowboys, Roswell Invaders, White Sands Pupfish and the Las Cruces Vaqueros.

The season runs from the 20th of May through the 29th of July with a 4 team playoff to commence on the day after the regular season.

The Alpine Cowboys, runners up in the 2014 championship begin their season on the 20th of May with a 4 game series at home against the Las Cruces Vaqueros and end up the season on the 25th-28th of July with 4 games at home against the White Sands Pupfish.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Charros Drop Opener to Aguilas 7-5

The Aguilas de Mexicali used the home run ball and timely hitting to outscore the Charros 7-5 on Friday night in Zapopan. Six Mexicali pitchers scattered 13 Jalisco hits over 9 innings. The Charros had opportunities to score but left too many men in scoring position.

Mexicali scored in the top of the 1st. Walter Ibarra singled to center and went to second on a single by Luis Juarez. Ibarra then stole third and scored on a sac fly by Josh Whitesell. The Aguilas had a 1-0 lead.

Manny Rodriguez singled with one out in the bottom of the 1st for the Charros. Leo Heras singled with Rodriguez stopping at second. With two outs, Marquez Smith singled to score Rodriguez and move Heras to third. CJ Retherford singled to score Heras and give the 2-1 lead to the Charros.

Israel Nunez hit a solo home run for Jalisco, his frst of the year, with one out in the bottom of the 2nd for a 3-1 Charros lead.

Ricardo Serrano singled for Mexicali with one out in the top of the 5th and went to second on a single by Gil Velazquez. Dave Sappelt followed with a triple off the wall in left center to score Serrano and Velazquez to tie the game at 3 apiece. The Charros starter, Juan Delgadillo, threw a wild pitch to score Sappelt with the go ahead run and a 4-3 Aguilas lead.

The Charros came back to tie the game in the bottom of the 5th. Manny Rodriguez led off with a single and scored on a double by Leo Heras. Jalisco had tied the score at 4-4.

After bringing in Mario Mendoza to pitch the 7th, Dave Sappelt hit a solo home run to give Mexicali a 5-4 lead.

Adrian Ramirez replaced Mendoza for the Charros in the top of the 8th and walked the lead off batter, Josh Whitsell. Mike Bianucci then hit a 2 run home run to right for the 7-4 lead.

Jalisco pulled to within one, at 7-5, in the bottom of the 9th. Leo Heras drew a one out walk and stole second. After Japhet Amador struck out, Marquez Smith singled to score Heras but it wasn't enough as the Aguilas beat the Charros 7-5 in the first game of a three game weekend series.

Venados Avoid Sweep Top Charros 3-2

The Venados de Mazatlan took game 3 of the series with the Charros, 3-2, to avoid a series sweep. Fredy Quintero got the win with 6 2/3 innings of strong pitching to improve to 1-2 on the year while allowing 5 hits and striking out 5. Marco Tovar (5-1) suffered his first loss of the season surrendering all three Venado runs on 10 hits in his 6 1/3 innings of work.

Jesus Cota singled to lead off the Charros half of the 3rd. Jesus Lopez and Israel Nunez followed with singles to load the bases for Jalisco. One out later, Manny Rodriguez hit a sac fly to center to score Cota and the Charros had the early 1-0 lead.

Daryle Ward doubled to lead of the bottom of the 4th for the Venados. Ricardo Alvarez singled on a bunt down the third base line and Mazatlan had runners at first and second with no outs. Doug Clark singled to score Ward. Heber Gomez bunted for a single to load the bases. Jose Figueroa hit a sac fly to center to score Clark and the Venados had taken the lead 2-1. Jose Fabela walked to load the bases with two outs. Marco Tovar, the Charros starter, then walked Gilberto Mejia to force in Gomez for the 3-1 Venado lead.

The Charros scored a run in the top of the 8th to cut the lead to 3-2. Leo Heras singled to lead off the inning and went to second on a wild throw to first on a pickoff attempt. Marguez Smith then singled to score Heras but Smith was thrown out at second trying to advance on the throw home. Jalisco loaded the bases with two outs but Israel Nunez popped out to short to end the inning.

Jalisco overall is now 28-19 in the Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico with a 7-5 record in the second half. The Venados climb to 21-25 overall and 5-7 in the second half standings.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Charros Outlast the Venados de Mazatlan 3-2 in 12 innings

The Charros played an extra inning game on Wednesday in Mazatlan, winning 3-2 in 12 innings, when Leo Heras' double to center scored Manny Rodriguez from first with the game winner.

Marquez Smith drew a walk to lead off the top of the 2nd for the Charros. With two outs, Jesus Lopez doubled to left to push Smith to third. Israel Nunez followed with a single for the 2-0 Charros lead as both Smith and Lopez scored.

With two outs in the bottom of the 3rd for the Venados, Jesus Fabela drew a base on balls and scored on a double by Doug Clark to get Mazatlan on the board and cut the Charros lead to 2-1.  Jose Figueroa then singled to right to score Clark and went to third on a throwing error by Charros first baseman Marquez Smith. With the scored tied at 2-2, the contest became a pitchers duel for the next 9 innings.

Graham Godfrey started for the Charros and went 6 2/3 innings. Although he gave up both Venados runs, he was pitching well, scattering 7 hits over his time on the mound. Ivan Salas and Adrian Ramirez held Mazatlan scoreless over 3 innings and Brian Broderick, in an unusual move for a closer, worked the final 2 1/3 innings allowing just 1 hit, walking one and striking out two to pick up the win. Broderick improved to 3-1 on the year to go along with his 13 saves.

Steven Hensley took the loss for the Venados to fall to 0-1 for the season. He gave up 2 hits and a run in 2 2/3 innings of relief. Hensley got the first two outs in the bottom of the 12th before Manny Rodriguez singled. Leo Heras then put the game away with his run scoring double that gave the Charros the 3-2 lead.

Brian Broderick gave up a one out single to Doug Clark in the bottom of the 12th before getting Jose Figueroa to ground into a 4-6 fielder's choice and Olmo Rosario to ground out to third to end the game.

Israel Nunez was 1 for 4 with 2 RBIs. Jesus Lopez had 2 doubles on a 3 for 5 night while Leo Heras went 2 for 5 with the game winning RBI.

Jalisco is now 28-18, ten games above .500 over all, and tied for the 2nd half league lead with the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at 7-4.  The Venados fall to 20-25 overall and 4-7 in the 2nd half standings.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Nick Markakis to the Atlanta Braves

Nick Markakis, formerly of the AL East Champion Baltimore Orioles, has reportedly signed a 4 year 45 million dollar contract with the Atlanta Braves. The Orioles declined the 17.5 million dollar club option and instead paid Markakis a 2 million dollar buy out option.

the Orioles lost slugger Nelson Cruz to the Seattle Mariners earlier in the week.

NFL Picks for Dec 4-8

I finally got the picks on time. Of course, last week I went 7-6 on the games I did pick. The Steelers let me down as did Baltimore, the Giants, Carolina and Oakland.

Dallas @ Chicago     Cowboys 35-17     Yes it will be cold but not as cold as the Bears
Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati     Steelers 31-17     Bengals look bad again this week
St. Louis @ Washington     Rams 28-14     Can a win against the Raiders be that good
NY Giants @ Tennessee     Titans 28-27     Toss up...hence the score
Carolina @ New Orleans     Saints 35-21     Saints need to get to .500 for respect
NY Jets @ Minnesota     Vikings 29-16     Jets played horribly on MNF...no change
Baltimore @ Miami     Ravens 28-13     Dolphins need a lot...no playoffs this year
Indianapolis @ Cleveland     Colts 30-20     The 2 headed QB problem is back in Cleveland
Tampa Bay @ Detroit     Lions 28-10     Stafford connects for 4 TDs
Houston @ Jacksonville     Texans 31-17     More if JJ Watt could just have a good game for once
Buffalo @ Denver     Broncos 30-16     Who needs Peyton when you have a run game
Kansas City @ Arizona     Cardinals 24-17     Cardinals players "care" this week
Seattle @ Philadelphia     Seahawks 24-17     Eagles fall into a tie with Cowboys
San Francisco @ Oakland     49ers 33-10     All problems solved in SF with a win
New England @ San Diego     Patriots 31-13     Brady over Rivers anywhere, anytime
Atlanta @ Green Bay     Packers 38-17     Rogers throws 5 TD passes leaves in 3rd quarter

There you have them!

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Charros Swamp Mazatlan Venados 11-6

The Charros de Jalisco traveled to Mazatlan to take on the Venados on Tuesday for a three game series. Jalisco won the game 11-6 but the game was tied at 6 after the second inning and it seemed the runs would not stop coming.

With one out in the top of the 1st, Manny Rodriguez singled to center and scored on a double by Leo Heras who went to third on the throw. Japhet Amador singled to score Heras. After Marquez Smith popped up for the second out, CJ Retherford hit a 2 run home run to deep left for the 4-0 Charros lead.

Doug Clark singled for the Venados with one out in the bottom of the 1st. Olmo Rosario drew a base on balls. After a ground out moved both runners up a base, Ricardo Alvarez singled to score Clark and Rosario. Heber Gomez drew a two out base on balls. Charros starter, Ben Kozlowski then uncorked his second wild pitch of the evening to put runners at second and third. Jesus Castillo singled to plate Alvarez and Gomez and the score was tied at 4.

The Charros got right back into scoring mode in the top of the 2nd. With one out Israel Nunez singled and went to second on a single to center by Eduardo Arredondo. Manny Rodriguez doubled to score Nunez and Arredondo. The Charros had regained the lead 6-4.

Not to be outdone, the Venados came storming back in their half of the 2nd. Gilberto Mejia led off with a single and scored one out later on a home run by Olmo Rosario to knot the game at 6 all.

Jalisco took the lead for good in the top of the 6th. CJ Retherford led off with a single to right. Brendan Harris singled. With one out the Mazatlan pitcher, Enrique Lechuga, threw a wild pitch that advanced the Charros runners. Isreal Nunez reached on an error by the third baseman and the bases were loaded. Eduardo Arredondo singled to score Retherford and Manny Rodriguez singled to drive in Harris. With one out and the bases loaded, Leo Heras drew a 6 pitch walk to force in Nunez. The Charros scored three and took a 9-6 lead into the bottom of the 6th.

CJ Retherford led off the top of the 7th for the Charros with a solo home run, his second of the game and third of the year. Brendan Harris followed the home run by Retherford with a triple. Edson Garcia came in as a pinch runner for Harris and scored on a wild pitch by the Venados reliever, Jesus Barraza. The Charros had two more runs on the board and the final 11-6 score.

CJ Retherford had 2 home runs and a single in his 5 trips to the plate, scoring 3 times and driving in 3.  Manny Rodriguez went 3 for 5 with a double, 2 RBIs and a run scored. Leo Heras was 1 for 4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Brendan Harris went 2 for 4 with a triple and a run scored. Eduardo Arredondo was 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored and catcher Israel Nunez was also 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored.

The Charros improve to 27-18 overall and 6-4 in the second half of the Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico. The Venados fall to 20-24 with the loss. Two more games with Mazatlan then it's home to face the Aguilas de Mexicali for three games this weekend.

FSU Drops to 4th In The CFP Rankings

The Horned Frogs of TCU jumped into the top 4 teams in the nation on Tuesday according to the CFP Committee, leap frogging an undefeated FSU Seminole team that has 28 consecutive wins. TCU is ranked ahead of Baylor despite losing to the Bears 61-58 in their head-to-head matchup.

Alabama remained at #1 and the Oregon Ducks held onto the #2 spot.

This weekend, all of this could change. The Crimson Tide takes on #16 Missouri in the SEC Championship while Oregon faces #7 Arizona in the PAC 12 Championship. FSU squares off against the #11 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for the ACC Championship. The two Big 12 schools, which do not have a championship game, will face their final Big 12 games. TCU faces a 2-9 Iowa State team while Baylor draws a game with #9 Kansas State.

If all of the four teams should win, and in my estimation TCU had better win big, the playoff spots would remain the same.

Now for the conspiracy theory. The CFP Committee wants an East Coast team, the SEC is close enough, to play a West Coast team in the final. An Alabama or Seminole team in the final would be okay with them. The committee knows that Oregon will have no problem with TCU but might face tougher competition against the undefeated FSU team. Using my logic you then would have a championship game with an undefeated FSU team or the immensely popular and strong 1 loss Alabama playing the Ducks for the National Championship.

But, if FSU  loses this weekend, there won't be ACC team in the playoffs and potentially 2 Big 12 teams could be in the top four of the final rankings. Now that would be interesting.

Kevin Durant To Make Return Against Pelicans Tonight

Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder will make his first start of the year tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans. Durant has missed the past 6 1/2 weeks with a broken foot.

"Just excited to get back out there with my teammates," Durant said Tuesday. "It's been a long 6½ weeks just trying to get better and get my foot right. The training staff did a great job, so I'm just looking forward to playing tonight.

As with any lengthy time off from a skilled position in a physical league, Durant may look rusty but he will be on the court going full bore.

When asked about the layoff in terms of his conditioning and team chemistry, Durant had this to say, "I know it's going to be a little bit different for me not having played ... and then going out there and playing the highest level of basketball. But I'm looking forward to going out there and seeing where I am and playing as hard as I can for my team."

Durant's return could not have come at a better time for the Thunder. Russell Westbrook is back and the Thunder are languishing at 5-12 early on in the NBA season.

 Royce Young has the ESPN story here.

 

Brady Hoke Out At Michigan

The interim Athletic Director at the University of Michigan has reportedly fired head coach Brady Hoke with a year left on his 5 year contract.

Jim Hackett clearly wants the Wolverines to head in another direction. After the way Dave Brandon, former Athletic Director, and Hoke handled the concussion situation with Sophomore quarterback Shane Morris in the Minnesota game, there was no place for Hackett to go.

Michigan went 31-20 in Hoke's 4 years including an 11-2 season in 2011 when the Wolverines beat rival Ohio State and defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Sugar Bowl.

Hoke took over for Rich Rodriguez for the 2011 season and Hoke was named the Big 10 Coach of the Year. Today's announcement comes as Rich Rodriguez is named the Pac 12 Coach of the Year for 2014.

Sam Cooper of Yahoo Sports has an article here should you like more information.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Dolphins Plod to 16-13 Win Over Hapless Jets

Thankfully last night's Monday Night Football game has come to an end. Without looking back on every MNF contest through the years I can say, without reservation, that this game between the Miami Dolphins and the NY Jets was the most boring game I have ever watched. The Dolphins beat the Jets 16-13.

After three quarters of play the Dolphins had 52 yards on the ground and 167 through the air. The Jets on the other hand had 233 yards rushing and just 42 yards receiving. Geno Smith, Jets quarterback, was 3 of 6 passing for the first half. Only Tim Tebow has ever won an NFL game while attempting 15 or fewer passes in a game.

There was a situation in the second quarter, with the Jets leading 10-6 and facing a 4th and 2 from the Miami 27 yard line that seemed the perfect time to go for it on 4th down. The Jets defense had held the Dolphins for most of the half and the Jets had 228 yards rushing at the time. The worst case scenario for the Jets, if they didn't make it, would be that the Dolphins would take over on downs at their own 27 and the Jets defense would force them to go 73 yards in a drive, something the Dolphins had not been able to do in the game. Ryan chose to kick the field goal for a 13-6 lead.

Geno Smith attempted just 13 passes all game and completed 7 of them for 65 yards with no touchdowns and 1 interception. Statistically, Ryan Tannehill had a better night at 25 of 35 passes for 235 yards but he also failed to record a touchdown and also threw an interception.

The teams combined to miss 3 field goals, 2 by the Jet's Nick Folk and 1 by the Dolphin's Caleb Sturgis. Folk's second miss came with the score tied at 13 and 10:24 to go in the game.

Caleb Sturgis connected for 3 with 1:57 left in the game but the win was not assured until Geno Smith threw an interception with 34 seconds left.

The Dolphins somehow have managed to stay in the playoff hunt at 7-5 while the Jets fall to 2-10 on the year.

ESPN Says SEC No Longer Exceptional

Ivan Maisel, of ESPN, tries to make a point in an article he has written, that the SEC is no longer exceptional. I beg to differ with Mr. Maisel and would say in support of the SEC that his opinion is a bit premature.

Ivan had this to say in his article. "The best running backs in the FBS play in the Big Ten. The best quarterbacks are in the Pac-12. So are the best defensive linemen. The ACC skunked you 4-0 this past Saturday. The Big 12 is the only conference with a chance of putting two teams in the playoff."

To his point that the best running backs are in the Big 10, I would point out that only three teams in the Big 10 are good, meaning that the seven teams not named Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin have defenses that are built to Big 10 standards, big and slow. The Big 10 running backs would have trouble with the offensive lines and linebackers of the SEC, recruited for speed.

The best quarterbacks, according to Ivan, are in the Pac-12. Marcus Mariota, my choice for the Heisman, is the best quarterback in the nation but the 11 other quarterbacks in the league have shown themselves to be inconsistent. The SEC quarterbacks are competent and are coached in ball control to minimize turnovers.

The ACC did take 4 of 4 from the SEC this week; but, The #3 team in the country barely beat a Florida team who's coach already knows he won't be back next year given a second consecutive bad season and #16 Georgia Tech beat a #9 Georgia, playing without an unfairly targeted Todd Gurley, in a long standing in state rivalry.

The SEC has never been about flashy QBs. It is about crushing, swarming defenses and punishing ground games. The Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn was a bitter in state rivalry as was Georgia/Georgia Tech, Florida/Florida State, South Carolina/Clemson and Mississippi State/Ole Miss. Name a conference with so many conference rivalries and in state rivalries where the entire college football nation will stop and watch.

Alabama will beat #17 Missouri in the SEC Championship game and remain #1. They will play either TCU or Baylor, from a league, The Big 12, who doesn't have a championship game. One of these teams will make it to #4. By the way the head-to-head between these two teams was a really close 61-58. The Big 12 is all about defense, right? #2 Oregon will beat #3 FSU and Alabama will beat Oregon. The swarming defense of Alabama, and sufficient time to prepare for the Ducks offense will give Alabama another National Championship and the 8th consecutive championship for the SEC.

If you care to read a good, but wrong headed, article by Ivan Maisel by all means do and let me know what you think.

Kentucky Wildcats Top NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings

John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats are firmly at the top of the NCAA Men's Basketball weekly poll with 62 of the 65 first place votes.

The Wisconsin Badgers are at #2 and received the remaining 3 first place nods. Arizona, Duke and Louisville round out the top 5.

Read the short ESPN article here.

Nelson Cruz Signs 4 Year Deal With Mariners

It is being reported that Nelson Cruz, he of Biogenisis connections that resulted in a 50 game suspension in 2013, has signed a 4 year deal with the Seattle Mariners worth 57 million dollars.

Cruz played for the Baltimore Orioles in 2014 and was the only player in the majors to hit 40 home runs. The three-time All-Star holds MLB records for most home runs (six) and most RBIs (13) in a single postseason series (2011 ALCS).

Read the ESPN article here.

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Caneros Shutout Charros 6-0 On Excellent Pitching By Terance Marin

The Caneros de Los Mochis took the third game of the three game series with jalisco, 6-0, behind the outstanding pitching of starter Terance Marin and reliever Andres Avila.

Orlando Lara, of the Charros had a one hitter through four innings. Lara gave up a lead off walk to Yancarlo Angulo to lead off the 5th. Angulo moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Sebastian Valle and scored two batters later on a single by Justin Christian. The Caneros led 1-0.

Terance Marin was pitching a no-hitter until Eduardo Arredondo singled with two outs in the bottom of the 6th. The Charros could not take advantage of the base runner as Manny Rodriguez struck out to end the inning with the Caneros still leading 1-0.

The Caneros added to their lead in the top of the 8th. Greg Golson singled to center to lead off the inning. Juan Gamboa advanced Golson on a sacrifice bunt. Juan Pedroso walked. Adrian Ramirez replaced Mario Mendoza for the Charros and walked Ramon Orantes to load the bases. One batter later, Gloson scored on a single by Yancarlo Angulo. Sebastian Valle then cleared the bases on a grand slam home run to deep center to give the Caneros a 6-1 lead that would hold for the victory.

Jalisco managed just three hits off of Terance Marin and reliever Andres Avila and Eduardo Arredondo had two of them, going 2 for 4 in the loss. The Charros struck out 7 times and didn't receive a free pass all game. Marin picked up the win to move to 1-1 on the year, while Orlando lara took the loss to fall to 4-2 on the season. Lara went 6 2/3 innings giving up just three hits but walking 4 and striking out 4. Charros reliever Adrian Ramirez gave up the grand slam to Sebastian Valle.

The Charros fall to 26-18 overall and 5-4 in the second half of the Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico while the Caneros climb to 24-20 overall.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Charros Best Caneros de Los Mochis 7-1

The Charros de Jalisco, behind some fine pitching by Juan Delgadillo and four relievers, beat the Caneros de Los Mochis 7-1 on Saturday night in Zapopan.

In the bottom of the 1st for the Charros, Manny Rodriguez singled and went to second on a 4-3 ground out by Leo Heras. Japhet Amador doubled to right to score Rodriguez and give the Charros the 1-0 lead.

The Charros added to their lead in the bottom of the 2nd. CJ Retherford led off with a single and Brendan Harris walked. Gabriel Gutierrez drew a base on balls to load the bases. Jesus Lopez hit a sac fly to right  to score Retherford and advance Harris and Gutierrez to 2nd and 3rd. Eduardo Arredondo grounded into a double play to end the inning but the Jalisco lead was 2-0 after two innings.

Los Mochis got a run back in ther top of the 3rd off Charros starter Juan Delgadillo when Yancarlo Angulo led off with a single, advanced on a wild pitch, went to third on a ground out by Rodolfo Amador and scored on a sac fly by Justin Christian. The Caneros had cut the lead to 2-1, but they would get no closer.

Jesus Cota, batting for Brendan Harris, led off the bottom of the 7th for the Charros with a single. Gabriel Gutierrez followed with a single. Edson Garcia came into the game as a pinch runner for Cota. Jesus Lopez reached safely on a throwing error by the Caneros catcher that scored Garcia and Gutierrez for the 4-1 Charros lead. The Caneros manager argued over the second run scored on the play at the plate. He argued too strenously as he was ejected by the home plate umpire. Manny Rodriguez then hit a ground rule double, his 16th double of the year, that score Lopez. Leo Heras was intentionally walked and Japhet Amador singled to right to score Rodriguez and move Heras to third. Marquez Smith followed with a sac fly to score Heras and the Charros led 7-1.

The Caneros threatened in the top of the 9th, putting runners on second and third with two outs but Rodolfo Amador flew out to left to give the Charros the 7-1 victory.

Juan Delgadillo picked up his 1st win of the year against 5 defeats going 5 innings allowing just 2 hits and 1 run. Luis Niebla took the loss to fall to 2-3 on the season for Los Mochis.

Manny Rodriguez was 2 for 5 with a double, an RBI and 2 runs scored. Japhet Amador was 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBIs while Gabriel Gurierrez went 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored.

The Charros are now 5-3 in the second half of the season. They are 26-17 overall in the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico. 

Ole Miss Tops #4 Mississippi St. 31-17

In the dog eat dog world of the SEC, Ole Miss, who had fallen to #19 in the CFP polls beat #4 Mississippi State 31-17.

Dak Prescott of Mississippi St. completed 22 of 37 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown while Bo Wallace was 13 for 30 for 296 yards and an INT with no touchdowns.

Jaylen Walton carried the ball 14 times for Ole Miss and gained 148 yards including a 91 yard touchdown scamper with 2 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter.

The stats were fairly even. Ole Miss had 15 first downs while Miss. St. had 21. 532 total yards for Ole Miss and 445 for Miss. St. 205 yards on the ground for Ole Miss and 167 for the Bulldogs. Time of possession was totally in favor of Miss. St. though as they held the ball for 34:45 while Ole Miss had the ball for 24:15.

Read the ESPN recap here for the rest of the story.

Here's another perspective from Yahoo Sports.

#16 Georgia Tech Stuns #9 Georgia in OT 30-24

 Georgia Tech kicker Harrison Butker kicked a 53 yard field on the last play of regulation to tie the Bulldogs at 24 and the Yellow Jackets went on the beat Georgia 30-24 in overtime.

Tech rushed for 399 yards against a very good Georgia defense but the Yellow Jacket's D.J. White had the biggest defensive play of the day as he intercepted a pass from Georgia's Hutson Mason intended for Malcomb Mitchell in overtime to clinch the win for the Yellow Jackets.

For all the details, read the ESPN recap here.

Here's the Yahoo Sports take.

Yaquis Walkoff Single in 9th Downs Charros 4-3

The Charros de Jalisco played the second game of a three game set on Wednesday in Obregon and lost to the Yaquis 4-3, giving up three runs in the bottom of the 9th.

Jalisco scored their three runs in the top of the second. With one out, Marguez Smith drew a walk. Jesus Cota doubled and Gabriel Gutierrez walked to load the bases. Ivan Araujo hit a sac fly to center that scored Smith and moved the runners to second and third. Jesus Lopez singled to score Cota and Gutierrez for the 3-0 Charros lead.

Obregon scored a run in the bottom of the 3rd to make it a 3-1 ballgame. The score would remain 3-1 until the bottom of the ninth.

Brian Broderick, the Charros closer, started the 9th by giving up singles to Said Gutierrez and Christian Villanueva to put runners at the corners with no outs. Carlos Figueroa hit a ground ball to third that Marquez Smith threw away past first and into right field foul territory. Armando Araiza, pinch runner for Said Gutierrez, and Villanueva scored and Figueroa wound up on third. Albino Contreras then hit a walkoff single to center for the Yaquis comeback win over the Charro.

NFL Picks for November 30th

I was 12-2 last week and would have been perfect if the Texans had an offense and the Jets were...well...not the Jets. Here are my picks for this week

Washington  @ Indianapolis     Colts 28-17     Colts "D" too much for the Redskins
Tennessee @ Houston     Texans 21-17     I'll take the Texans in this toss up game
Cleveland @ Buffalo    Bills 27-21     It was just the Jets but the Bills look good
San Diego @ Baltimore     Ravens 31-28     Flacco over Rivers should be a game to watch
NY Giants @ Jacksonville     Giants 32-17     Manning gained confidence against the Cowboys
Cincinnati @ Tampa Bay     Bengals 23-16     Tampa's defense has improved but not enough
Oakland @ St. Louis     Raiders 23-13     Another toss up...I'll take the Raiders
New Orleans @ Pittsburgh     Steelers 35-31     Pittsburgh is too strong for the Saints
Carolina @ Minnesota     Panthers 24-14     Toss up #3 Panthers by 10
Arizona @ Atlanta     Cardinals 27-21     Not impressed with NFC South
New England @ Green Bay     Packers 28-27     Turnovers make or break this game
Denver @ Kansas City     Broncos 31-24     KC has had 10 days off but the Broncos have Manning
Miami @ NY Jets     Dolphins 28-10     Rex Ryan could be fired after this game

Friday, November 28, 2014

Dez Bryant Calls Eagles "Cheap" Players

Dez Bryant, whose Cowboys had just been beaten 33-10 was crying about the "cheap" play of the Eagles.

"I'm really not mad at all," Bryant said after the Cowboys' 33-10 loss on Thursday. "They beat us and I'm going to accept that, but [expletive] can't wait, but not looking past Chicago [on Dec. 4], but I cannot wait to go up there and play [Philadelphia] again. Cannot wait."

Seems when a team holds you to 73 yards in the air and no touchdowns somebody must be cheating.

The Cowboys' defense struggled with the high-tempo Eagles offense, which converted 53 percent of its third-down plays and gained 464 yards, the most Dallas has allowed this season. The Eagles defense also held Demarco Murray to 73 yards on the ground, only the second time in 12 games that Murray has not rushed for at least 100 yards.

Tony Romo had his consecutive game streak of 38 games with a touchdown snapped. he game was played in Arlington and the rematch, on December 14th will be in Phildelphia.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Charros Beat Yaquis de Obregon 11-2

The Charros supported starter Orlando Lara with 4 home runs as Jalisco cruised to an 11-2 victory in the first game of a three game series with the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico first half champion Yaquis de Obregon.

With one out in the top of the 1st, Manny Rodriguez hot a solo home run just inside the left field foul pole and over the 325' sign to give the Charros an early 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the first, Lara walked himself into trouble. Christian Villanueva singled and Agustin Murillo drew a base on balls. Luis Fonseca was hit by a pitch and Carlos Valencia walked to force in Villanueva to tie the score at 1.

Obregon took the lead in the bottom of the second on a lead off double by Said Gutierrez and a throwing error by Orlando Lara on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Nicolas Garcia that scored Gutierrez. Obregon had taken a 2-1 lead.

Gabriel Gutierrez hit a lead off home run in the Jalisco 5th inning to tie the score. Jesus Lopez then singled. Leo Heras and Manny Rodriguez singled to load the bases. CJ Retherford hit a sac fly to left to score Lopez for a 3-2 Charros lead.

In the top of the 7th, Ivan Araujo singled and Leo Heras walked. On a double steal, Araujo scored and Heras went to third when the Obregon catcher threw wildly to third and the ball sailed into left. Manny Rodriguez hit a sac fly to left to score Heras and Jalisco led 5-2.

Marquez Smith lead off the top of the 8th with a solo home run. Gabriel Gurierrez and Ivan Araujo singled and Leo Heras walked to load the bases. Manny Rodrigues singled to drive in Gutierrez and Araujo. CJ Retherford hit his second double of the night to plate Heras and give the Charros a 9-2 lead.

Jesus Cota hit the 4th home run of the evening for Jalisco in the top of the 9th. Gabriel Gutierrez, Ivan Araujo and Leo Heras all singled, with Gutierrez scoring, for the final 11-2 margin of victory.

Orlando Lara picked up the win for the Charros to improve to 4-1 on the year while Alejandro Martinez took the loss to fall to 1-5 for the season.

Leo Heras wae 2 for 4 with an RBI  and 2 runs scored. Manny Rodrigues had a home run and 2 singles in 5 at bats with 4 RBIs. CJ Retherford went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs. Marquez Smith hit the solo home run in his 4 trips to the plate. Gabriel Gutierrez was 3 for 5 with a home run, an RBI and 3 runs scored. Jesus Cota went 1 for 4 with a solo home run.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Charros Top Aguilas 2-1 in Final game of Series

The Charros de Jalisco took the third game of the series with Mexicali 2-1 behind the excellent pitching of Marco Tovar and 4 relievers. Tovar is 5-0 on the season with a 2.64 ERA and Brian Broderick earned his 13th save of the year.

Marco Tovar had a one hitter through 4 1/3 innings before giving up a solo home run to Xorge Carrillo with one out in the bottom of the 5th. The Aguilas had a 1-0 lead in what was shaping up to be a pitchers duel.

The Charros took the lead for good in the top of the 6th on back-to-back doubles by Japhet Amador and Marquez Smith and, after Mario Meza replaced Marco Durarte on the mound for Mexicali, Gabriel Gutierrez singled to score Smith for the 2-1 lead and the eventual final score.

The Aguilas threatened in the bottom of the 8th, putting a man on first with two outs but Charros reliever, Brian Broderick came on to get Walter Ibarra to ground out to second to end the inning.

Broderick overcame a one out error by shortstop Jesus Lopez in the top of the 9th to get Josh Whitesell to hit into a double play to end the game and seal the win for Marco Tovar.

Marco Durarte pitched a very good ballgame but was saddled with the loss to fall to 0-3 on the year with a very respectable 2.47 ERA.

Marques Smith had a double and a single with an RBI and a run scored in his 4 trips to the plate. Japhet Amador was 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored while Gabriel Gutierrez went 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Aguilas Overpower Charros 10-4

The Aguilas de Mexicali manhandled the Charros in game 2 of the scheduled 3 game set on Saturday night in Mexicali with a 10-4 victory.

Jalisco scored the first run of the game in the top of the 2nd. Marquez Smith walked with one out. CJ Retherford doubled to score Smith and the Charros were on the board with the 1-0 lead.

Mexicali answered in their half of the 2nd. Xorge Carrillo walked and moved to second on a walk to Ricardo Serrano. With two outs, Gil Velazquez singled to score Carrillo and the game was tied at one.

The Aguilas scored 3 times in the bottom of the 3rd. Walter Ibarra singled and scored in front of a Josh Whitesell home run. Xorge Carrillo doubled and went to third on an error by the Charros second baseman. Graham Godfrey then threw a wild pitch that scored Carrillo. The Aguilas had the 4-1 lead after three innings.

Mexicali added to their lead in the bottom of the 4th when Gil Velazquez singled, Justin Greene walked and Walter Ibarra singled to right to score Velazquez. Josh Whitesell singled to score Greene with the second run of the inning. Xorge Carrillo grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the 4th but the Aguilas had a 6-1 lead.

In the bottom of the 5th with one out, Gil Velazquez singled to drive in Ricardo Serrano who lead off the inning with a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. The Aguilas took a 7-1 lead into the 6th.

Walter Ibarra hit a solo home run in the Mexicali half of the 6th to increase the Aguilas lead to 8-1.

Justin Greene doubled in the bottom of the 7th for Mexicali to drive in pinch hitter Victor Mendoza and Gil Velazquez. The Aguilas had a 10-1 lead.

The Charros had runners on first and third in the top of the 9th when Marquez Smith hit his 9th home run of the year to score Araujo and pinch hitter Fernando Valenzuela to cut the lead to 10-4. But that was the end of the scoring for Jalisco as the Aguilas de Mexicali won the game by the 10-4 score.

Edgar Ozuna got the win for Mexicali to improve to 4-1 on the year with a 2.66 ERA while Graham Godfrey took the loss and dropped to 4-2 on the season. Godfrey gave up 5 runs on 6 hits in the three innings he pitched.

CJ Retherford was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI while Marquez Smith went 1 for 3 with a three run home run.

The Charros drop to 0-2 in the second half of the season after finishing 21-14 in the first half. The third game of the series will be played at 5 PM Guadalajara time on Sunday. The Charros have a day off on Monday before starting a 3 game series in Obregon against the Yaquis.

ECU Receiver Sets Career Reception Record

East Carolina receiver Justin Broyles set the FBS Career Reception record on Saturday passing the 349 passes caught by Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles set in 2011.

Read the ESPN story here.


New Rushing Record In NCAA Football

Samaje Perine broke the 1 week old rushing record today in Oklahoma's 44-7 win over Kansas. He rushed for 5 touchdowns.

Perine broke the record set last week by Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon who rushed for 408 yards. Perine rushed for 427 yards on 34 carries.

Perine also broke the Oklahoma rushing record of 294 yards by Greg Pruitt set 43 years ago.

Read the full ESPN story here.


Raul Ibanez One Of Three Candidates Left For Rays Job

Raul Ibanez is one of three people remaining in the hunt for the Rays managing position. Raul is a very personable player who is said to have been a great influence in the locker room. He has 19 years playing experience including this year with the Kansas City Royals but, Ibanez has never coached at any level.

The other two candidates for the position are Kevin Cash and Don Wakamatsu. Cash played in the big leagues as a catcher for 8 years and was the bullpen coach for the Cleveland Indians in 2103 and 2014.

Don Wakamatsu has the most experience among the 3. He managed the Seattle Mariners from 2009-2010 and although he wound up with a losing record (127-147) the payroll was small and there were no star players. He was the Bench coach for the Rangers from 03-06, Athletics in 08, the Blue Jays from 2011-12 and the Kansas City Royals in 2014.

The Rays are no longer considering Dave Martinez, bench coach under Joe Maddon for the past seven years. for the job.

"The decision on Dave Martinez was especially difficult," Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman said in a statement. "He's played a key role in our organization's evolution, and he's done all he can to put himself in position to be a manager. In the end, we determined that our clubhouse would best benefit from a new voice that will add to our already strong and cohesive culture."

If Ibanez is chosen to replace Maddon, it will be for monatery reasons only in my opinion. There are many, more experienced options available to the Rays. They need experience as they compete in the toughest division in the league

NCAA Football Coaches Would Prefer 8 Team Playoff

Coaches from 103 of the 128 FBS schools voiced their opinion in an ESPN poll about the College Playoff system. 44% of those coaches would prefer an 8 team playoff system while 29% were okay with the playoff system now and 17 % wanted to expand to a 16 team playoff.

The coaches who want to expand to 8 teams would like to see the Conference Champions from the Power 5 conferences, (ACC, Big 12, Big 10, SEC and Pac 12) automatically in and the next 3 highest ranking schools make it.

An 8 team playoff would make more sense. Just this week Jeff Long, said that the difference between #4 and #7 teams was very narrow. An additional game for the playoffs might mean that conferences would play one less season game which might mean less of the "easy" non conference schedules that some conferences are accused of scheduling. It could also mean a conference championship game for the big 12 to eliminate Co-Champions as we are likely to have with Baylor/TCU this year.

All-in-all it will come down to the money. Given enough money even ESPN, which is in the first year of a 12 year deal for the current system, might consider an 8 team playoff.

Red Sox Make Offer To Sandoval

The Boston Red Sox have offered Pablo Sandoval, of the World Champion San Francisco Giants, a 5 year 95 million dollar contract.

Sandoval would immediately solve the third base problems for the Sox. Pablo hit 16 home runs and drove in 73 for the Giants in 2014. The hitter friendly Fenway Park would suit Sandoval's line drive spray hitting style. The Sox have offered a 5 year deal while Sandoval and his agent would prefer a 6 year contract.

They Giants have said they would love to keep Sandoval but they let him explore free agency without making him an offer. The team most likely wanted to know what the market would see as an appropriate price for Sandoval. Now the Giants see approximately what it will take to keep Pablo on the Giants roster in 2015.

The Blue Jays and the Padres have both shown interest in the career .294 hitter.


NFL Picks for This Week

After going 6-7 last week this is my bounce back week. One of these weeks I'll get around to forecasting the Thursday game although I never would have picked the Raiders to beat the Chiefs this week.

Cleveland @ Atlanta     Browns 24-21     Upset in the making
Tennessee @ Philadelphia     Eagles 27-17     Sanchez makes bid for Pro Bowl
Detroit @ New England     Patriots 30-21     Brady or Stafford in New England
Green Bay @ Minnesota     Packers 35-17     Aaron...should we relax yet?
Jacksonville @ Indianapolis     Colts 28-10     Colts "D" too good for Jags
Cincinnati @ Houston     Texans 21-17     JJ scores on a punt return
Tampa Bay @ Chicago     Bears 23-17     Cutler gets no credit for the win
Arizona @ Seattle     Seahawks 24-17     Inexperience at QB shows against good defense
St. Louis @ San Diego     Chargers 30-20     Rivers make me look like a genius
Miami @ Denver     Broncos 31-21     KC loss Broncos win...breathing room
Washington @ San Francisco     49ers 35-13     Woe to the Redskins
Dallas @ NY Giants     Cowboys 27-17     Giants are woefully bad
NY Jets Vs Buffalo @ Detroit     Jets 20-13     Jets kick their way to a win
Baltimore @ New Orleans     Ravens 28-13     Saints still can't figure this game out

Charros Drop Game 1 In Mexicali 6-2

Jalisco dropped the opening game of a three game set in Mexicali on Friday night by a 6-2 score. The turning point in the game happened in the 3rd inning when the Charros' relievers gave up 4 runs after getting the first two outs.

Mexicali started off the scoring in the bottom of the 1st. With two outs, Charros starter, Juan Delgadillo, issued a walk to Dave Sappelt who scored on a triple by Luis Juarez. The Aguilas jumped out to an early 1-0 lead.

Jalisco tied the game at 1all in the top of the 2nd on a solo home run by Jose Felix, his first of the year.

In the bottom of the third, Juan Delgadillo got the first two batters to fly out to center. At this point, Juan Navarrete brought in Charros reliever Ken Sigman to replace Delgadillo. Sigman immediately gave up a double to Josh Whitesell and a single to Humberto Cota that scored Whitesell. Sigman threw a wild pitch to move up the runner and then walked Ricardo Serrano. Chris Roberson followed the walk with a single to right that scored Cota. Manuel Flores was called on to relieve Sigman. Gil Velazquez doubled off Flores to drive in Serrano and Roberson. Justin Greene grounded out to third to end the inning but the damage was done. The Aguilas had a 5-1 lead after 3 innings.

The Aguilas scored again in the bottom of the 6th. With one out, Gil Velazquez singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Justin Greene. Walter Ibarra singled to plate Velazquez and Mexicali led 6-1.

Brendan Harris singled to lead off the 9th for Jalisco. Ivan Araujo entered the game as a pinch runner for Harris. Japhet Amador grounded out to first base moving Araujo to second. A wild pitch got Araujo to third and he came home on a single by Jose Felix. The Aguilas lead had been cut to 6-2 but the Charros would not score again and Mexicali had won the game.

Ken Sigman took the loss for Jalisco. Coming on in relief of starter Juan Delgadillo in the 3rd, Sigman gave up 4 runs on three hits and a walk without recording an out. In this game, manager Juan Navarrete deserves a loss too as he replaced Delgadillo too early. Navarrete has had the quick hook all year. Javier Solano got the win for Mexicali, his 5th of the year, throwing a 4 hitter through 7 innings of work.

Jose Felix had 2 RBIs and a run scored, including a home run while going 2 for 4. Edson Garcia was 1 for 3 and Brendan Harris went 2 for 2 with 2 walks. 

Friday, November 21, 2014

Winless Oakland Raiders Top KC Chiefs 24-20

The Kansas City Chiefs did what no other NFL team has done since November 17th, 2013...They lost to the Oakland Raiders 24-20 on Thursday night. The Chiefs had been tied for first place in the AFC West but will have to wait until the 30th of November, when they face the Broncos, for their shot to take sole possession of first again.

Oakland took a 17-10 lead into the 4th quarter and used a 17 play 80 yard drive to score on a 9 yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to James Jones with 1:42 left on the clock to seal the win.

Latavius Murry, Raiders running back, rushed for 112 yards on just 4 carries with 2 touchdowns including a 90 yard run that put the Raiders up 14-0 early in the second quarter. The Raiders rushed for 179 yards while the Chiefs were held to 96 yards on the ground on 24 carries. Jamaal Charles, who had 159 yards and 2 TDs against Seattle in the Chiefs 24-20 win, was held to just 80 yards on 19 carries with no touchdowns.

James Jones had a touchdown reception from Derek Carr. Jamaal Charles and Anthony Fasano, had touchdown catches from the Chief's Alex Smith.

Kansas City will have 10 days off before facing the Broncos on the 30th of November.

Charros Sweep Navojoa With 9-2 Win

Ben Kozlowski pitched 6 2/3 innings of 4 hit ball on the way to a 9-2 Charros victory over the Mayos de Navojoa. Jalisco swept the series to end the first half of the season at 21-14.

Kozlowski was followed by Antonio Garzon and Hugo Castellanos who preserved the win by holding the Mayos hitless over the final 2 1/3 innings.

Fernando Valenzuela led off the bottom of the 3rd for the Charros with a solo home run, his first of the year. Jesus Lopez then singled and took second on a wild pitch by the Navojoa starter, Irving Jimenez. Manny Rodriguez doubled to left to score Lopez for the 2-0 Jalisco lead.

Eduardo Arredondo drew a walk to lead off the 5th for the Charros and came around to score on Manny Rodriguez' fourth home run of the year, a two run shot to left. Leo Heras followed the home run with a double and scored on Japhet Amador's 2 run home run, his 10th of the year.

Navojoa, behind 6-0 entering the top of the 7th, loaded the bases on three straight singles. Carlos Bustamante grounded into a double play that scored John Lindsey with the first Mayo run. Alejandro Gonzalez singled to drive in Luis Fonseca with the second run of the inning to make the score 6-2 Charros.

Jalisco scored three times in the bottom of the 8th. Fernando Valenzuela singled to lead off. The Mayos went to reliever Gene Escat who threw a wild pitch that moved Valenzuela to second. Edson Garcia walked and Eduardo Arredondo singled to load the bases. Amadeo Zazueta grounded into a 4-2 fielder's choice that cut down Valenzuela at the plate. Leo Heras was safe on a throwing error by the Mayos third baseman that scored Arredono. Japhet Amador was intentionally walked and Marquez Smith hit a sac fly to center that scored Zazueta with the third run and the final 9-2 score.

Ben Kozlowski got the win to move to 1-2 on the year while Irving Jimenez took the loss to fall to 1-4 on the season.

Fernando Valenzuela was 3 for 3 on the night with a home run. Manny Rodriguez went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run and 3 RBIs. Japhet Amador had a home run and 2 RBIs in his four at bats. Brendan Harris was 2 for 4 and Leo Heras went 1 for 5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Rodriguez leads the league in doubles with 14. Amador is tied for the lead in home runs with 10 and leads the league in RBIs with 32.

The Charros end the first half of the season at 21-14. The Yaquis de Obregon team is the !st Half Champion with a 21-13  record, a half game ahead of the Charros.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Jalisco Tops The Mayos de Navojoa 6-3

The Charros de Jalisco reached the midway point of their 68 game schedule with a 6-3 victory over the Mayos de Navojoa on Wednesday night. The Charros are 20-14 on the season.

Orlando Lara picked up the win for Jalisco to improve to 3-1 on the year and Brian Broderick notched his 12th save of the campaign. Hector Velazquez was saddled with the loss for Navojoa his first loss of the year against no wins.

Jose Chavez led off the game with a double for the Mayos and scored on a triple by Tim Federowicz for the early 1-0 lead.
 
Jalisco responded with a 2 spot in the 2nd. Brendan Harris walked to lead off. Gabriel Gutierrez waited out a walk to put runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs. Both runners moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Ivan Araujo. Jesus Lopez hit a sac fly to center to score Harris. Hector Velazquez then launched a wild pitch to score Gutierrez and the Charros were ahead 2-1.

Jesus Lopez tripled to lead off the 5th inning for the Charros. Eduardo Arredondo hit a sac fly to left that brought home Lopez and Manny Rodriguez followed with a single. Ruddy Acosta replaced Velazquez on the mound for the Mayos and walked Leo Heras. Japhet Amador doubled to left to score Rodriguez and Marquez Smith doubled to score Heras and Amador. Jalisco had scored their 6 runs for the night.

In the top of the 6th, Tim Federowicz hit a solo home run to narrow the Charros lead to 6-2.

With David Kopp pitching for the Charros in the top of the 9th, Diego Madero hit his first home run of the year for Navojoa. The score was 6-3 Jalisco. After recording an out and walking Alan Sanchez, Kopp was replaced by Brian Broderick who got the final two outs and preserved the victory for Lara.

The Charros scored their 6 runs on just 6 hits, 3 of which went for extra bases. Marquez Smith was 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Japhet Amador went 1 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Jesus Lopez had a triple in his two official at bats.

Orlando Lara pitched a good game, going 6 innings, giving up just 2 runs on 7 hits. Adrian Ramirez was credited with a hold. Brian Broderick lowered his ERA to 0.53 with a scoreless 2/3 on an inning.

The Charros have won two games in a row and their record stands at 20-14, a full game behind the Yaquis de Obregon, for 2nd place in the Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico and a game in front of the Aguilas de Mexicali.


Running Back Ben Tate Claimed Off Waivers by Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings claimed former Cleveland Browns running back, Ben Tate, off the waiver wire on Wednesday.

Tate will be paid $353,000 as the Vikings part of his salary for 2014 and $46,900 for each game he remains on the Vikings 46 man roster.

Adrian Peterson, unless he wins an appeal, has been suspended for the remainder of the season by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. While waiting on word of his suspension, the Vikings have been using rookie Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata to fill in for Peterson. McKinnon is averaging 4.9 yards a carry while Asiata has 6 rushing TDs and 1 receiving touchdown.

On the face of the pickup, it appears to be a bad decision by the Vikings front office as Tate's performance for the Browns, where he was used primarily as a third down back, has not been as productive nor produced the results the Vikings have had with their current backs.

CFP Rankings Have Alabama #1

The CFP ranking is out for the week of November 18th and Alabama, by virtue of their win over previously #1 Mississippi State, vaulted from #5 last week to the top spot this week, leapfrogging idle Oregon and an FSU team that had to stage a second half comeback again over an unranked opponent.

Mississippi State dropped three spots to #4 while last week's #4, TCU, fell one spot to #5 with a narrow victory over unranked Kansas. Ohio State jumped over idle Baylor to claim the 6th spot. The Big 12, doesn't have a conference championship game. The CFP Commission is tasked with using conference championship winners as tie breakers in the final rankings. TCU and Baylor are both expected to finish 11-1 on the year and be named Co-Champions of the Big 12.

Oregon and FSU should win their respective championships and should Mississippi State lose in the SEC Championship game, Ohio State could be the fourth place team in the final rankings. Of course, Ohio State must win the Big 10 Championship game or TCU/Baylor would be the favorite to finish fourth in the final CFP rankings to be issued on December 7th.

Selection Committee chairman Jeff Long said "the differences between teams four through seven are narrow, very narrow."

Lakers Top Atlanta Hawks With 114-109 Win

The LA Lakers won their second game in 11 tries behind Kobe Bryant's 28 points on Tuesday night in Atlanta. Admittedly they only beat the 5-5 Hawks but they handed the Hawks their first loss at home. The Lakers need every confidence boost they can get.

Carlos Boozer had 20 points for the Lakers and Nick Young, playing in his first game of the year following a thumb injury, added 17 in the win.

Paul Millsap had 29 points for the Hawks while Jeff Teague chipped in 23.

The Lakers out rebounded Atlanta 44-38 with Boozer and Jordan Hill each grabbing 10 while Al Horford and Pero Antic had 8 boards apiece for the Hawks.

Royals' Butler Signs With Oakland Athletics

Billy Butler, a free agent from the World Series Kansas City Royals , has agreed to a 3 year 30 million dollar contract offer from the Oakland Athletics. Butler hit .271 with 9 home runs and 66 RBIs for the Royals in 2014. He is a career .295 hitter, an All Star and a Silver Slugger Award winner in 2012.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Charros Defeat Navojoa 8-6

Marco Tovar started for the Charros against the Mayos de Navojoa and went 5 1/3 innings, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits, walking 3 and striking out 5. David Kopp picked up the win as the pitcher of record when Jalisco took the lead in the bottom of the 8th. Kopp pitched 2/3 of an inning. Brian Broderick got his 11th save of the year, pitching a perfect 9th inning. Linder Castro took the loss for the Mayos to fall to 0-2 on the season. Castro gave up 4 runs on 4 hits in the 8th, including a home run to Gabriel Gutierrez.

Navojoa scored a run in the top of the 4th on a solo home run by John Lindsey, his first of the year.

With two outs in the 5th, Jose Chavez singled to center for the Mayos and went to second on a single by Rolando Acosta. Tim Federowicz singled to score Chavez and John Lindsey singled to drive in Acosta for the 3-0 Navojoa lead.

The Charros answered in their half of the 5th. Ivan Araujo singled and went to second on a single to center by Jesus Lopez. Eduardo Arredondo hit into a fielder's choice that scored Araujo and Jalisco was on the board. Manny Rodriguez hit a ground rule double and Leo Heras walked to load the bases. Japhet Amador then cleared the bases on a double to deep left. The Charros had taken a 4-3 lead.

The Mayos wouldn't quit and they retook the lead 5-4 in the top of the 6th. Fernando Flores singled to left. Diego Madero also singled to left. Alejandro Gonzalez singled to score Flores and Rolando Acosta singled to center to plate Madero for the two run inning.

Carlos Orrantia doubled with two outs in the Mayo's half of the 7th. Fernando Flores reached on an infield single to third that advanced Orrantia. Charros reliever, Ivan Salas, uncorked a wild pitch to score Orrantia from third and gave Navojoa a 6-4 lead.

Jalisco put the game away in the bottom of the 8th. With one out, Marquez Smith doubled and scored on a Brendan Harris double to center. Gabriel Gutierrez followed with a 2 run home run to left, his second of the year. Ivan Araujo singled, stole second and came home on a single by Eduardo Arredondo. The Charros had the final margin of victory, 8-6.

Ivan Araujo was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Eduardo Arredondo went 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs and a run scored raising his batting average to .234. Manny Rodriguez got back on track going 2 for 5 with his 13th double of the year and a rub scored. Japhet Amador had a double in 3 at bats with 3 RBIs and a run scored. Gabriel Gutierrez was 1 for 4 with the 2 run home run.

Jalisco is now 19-14 on the year while Navojoa falls to 11-22. The Charros are a full game behind the Yaquis de Obregon for the overall league lead.


Steelers Top Titans 27-24 on MNF

The Pittsburgh Steelers, down 24-13 starting the 4th quarter, fought back to defeat the Tennessee Titans 27-24 behind Le'Veon Bell's 204 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. Bell's rushing total was the highest singe game effort this season.

Ben Roethlisberger was 21 of 32 passing for 207 yards and a TD with 1 INT.  Antonio Brown caught Big Ben's touchdown toss with 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter to seal the win for the Steelers. Brown had 91 yards receiving on 9 catches for the night.

William Gay, of the Steelers, picked off a pass from Zach Mettenberger and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown in the 1st quarter.

Mettenberger completed 15 of his 24 pass attempts for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns with the 1 interception. Bishop Sankey was the leading ground gainer for the Titans with 38 yards on 11 carries.

Nate Washington caught one pass all game for the Titans, good for 80 yards and a touchdown for the Titans.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Culiacan Tops Charros 6-3 to Take Series

Culican took the rubber match of the three game series with the Charros, 6-3, behind starter Hector Rodriguez and five relievers who held Jalisco to three runs on just seven hits.

Jalisco scored in the bottom of the 3rd. Jesus Lopez singled to lead off. Eduardo Arredondo hit a ground ball single to first that scored Lopez on a throwing error by the Tomateros first baseman. The Charros had a short lived lead 1-0.

The Tomateros scored two in the top of the 4th on a solo home run by Garrett Weber, a single by Issmael Salas, a walk to Ramiro Pena and a run scoring single by Ali Solis that scored Salas. Culiacan had retaken the lead 2-1.

The Charros came right back in the home half of the 4th to retake the lead 3-2. Gabriel Gutierrez singled with one out. Amadeo Zazueta reached safely on a throwing error by the third baseman and the runners wound up on 2nd and 3rd. Jesus Lopez hit a sac fly to right to score Gutierrez with Zazueta moving to third. Eduardo Arredondo singled to score Zazueta for the Jalisco lead.

Maxwell Leon led off the 5th for the Tomateros by drawing a walk. Jorge Vazquez singled. Garrett Weber was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Issmael Salas walked to force in Leon and Ramiro Pena singled to score Vazquez. Culiacan had regained the lead 4-3.

Culican would score twice in the top of the 6th on a single by Rico Noel and a 2 run home run by Maxwell Leon to ice the Tomateros victory 6-3.

Alfredo Aceves picked up the win for Culiacan to improve to 2-3 on the year while Graham Godfrey took the loss for the Charros, his first of the year against four wins, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits with 4 walks in his five innings pitched.

With the series loss to Culiacan, the Charros record stands at 18-14. After the day off on Monday, the Charros travel to Navojoa for three games against the Mayos beginning on Tuesday the 18th of November.

NFL Picks This Week

UPDATE:  6-7 this week...16-9 for the last 2 weeks!

After going 10-2 last week I thought I would try my luck again this week. The teams playing are a little more evenly matched so the picks are much harder...my caveat if the picks go poorly!

Minnesota @ Chicago     Bears 24-17     Cutler admits he's bad...will bounce back
Houston @ Cleveland     Texans 28-10     Defense wins this one. Maybe 2 Def TDs
Seattle @ Kansas City     Seahawks 24-13     Toss up in KC but Wilson comes through
Atlanta @ Carolina     Falcons 17-14     Newton hurt? Falcons D just good enough
Cincinnati @ New Orleans     Saints 30-21     Saints start their charge today
Tampa Bay @ Washington     Redskins 21-13     Battle of not good teams
Denver @ St. Louis     Broncos 35-10     Offense + Defense win for the Broncos
San Francisco @ NY Giants     49ers 28-24     SF needs to stay ahead of Seahawks
Oakland @ San Diego     Chargers 21-17    Oakland 0-10 looking for QB in 2015 draft
Philadelphia @ Green Bay     Eagles 24-21     Why? I'm not sure. Gut feeling.
Detroit @ Arizona     Lions 28-14     No QB for Cardinals. Stafford and Robotron
New England @ Colts     Patriots 27-17     Brady teaches Luck a lesson in legacy
Pittsburgh @ Tennessee     Steelers 31-21     Roethlisberger recovers and so does D

Tomateros Destroy Charros Pitching With 16-5 Win

The Tomateros de Culiacan left no doubt as to their offensive abilities with 4 home runs and 16 runs scored against 4 Jalisco pitchers in just six innings on Saturday afternoon. Nick Buss, of Culiacan, was 4 for 5 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. Culican had 16 hits and drew four walks in the game.

The Charros collected 11 hits but could only manage 5 runs against four Culiacan pitchers. Jalisco left 12 men on base to show that their hitting, though plentiful, was not timely. Marquez Smith went 2 for 5 with his 8th home run of the year.

Robert Coello picked up the win for Culiacan and is now 2-0 on the year. Juan Delgadillo started for the Charros and took the loss, his 5th of the season. Delgadillo gave up 5 runs on 6 hits in just 1 2/3 innings of work. Manuel Flores gave up 5 runs in 2/3 of an inning and Ken Sigman gave up 5 runs in his 2 1/3 innings on the mound. Carlos Vazquez was the most effective pitcher for the Charros, holding the Tomateros scoreless over the 8th and 9th innings.

Culican led 11-0 as the Charros came to bat in the bottom of the 3rd. Israel Nunez walked to lead off the inning. Eduardo Arredondo singled and Manny Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Leo Heras grounded into a 3-6 fielder's choice that scored Nunez. Marquez Smith then beat out a ground ball to deep short for an infield single to drive in Arredondo as the Charros narrowed the lead to 11-2.

The score would be 16-2 Culiacan, as the Charros came to bat in the bottom of the 6th. Marquez Smith doubled and Jalisco then loaded the bases on walks to Jesus Cota and Jesus Lopez. Fernando Valenzuela hit a sac fly to center to score Smith and the Charros were behind 16-3.

In the bottom of the 7th with the score still 16-3, Leo Heras singled and came around to score on Marquez Smith's 2 run home run to right. Jalisco had climbed back but it wouldn't be enough on this night as the Charros fell by the final score of 16-5.

Jalisco's record is now 18-13, in a 2nd place tie with Mexicali and just 1/2 game behind Obregon in the Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico standings.

Sunday's game with Culiacan completes the three game series. The Charros are off on Monday before traveling to Navojoa to take on the last place Mayos for three games beginning on Tuesday the 18th of November.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

#5 Alabama Outlasts #1 Mississippi State 25-20

Alabama beat Mississippi State on Saturday 25-20 to make a strong statement to the CFP Committee for a berth in the top 4 finalists in this years 4 team playoff for the National Championship.

Dak Prescott, quarterback of Mississippi State was 27 of 48 passing for 290 yards and 2 TDs but threw 3 interceptions. Mississippi State also suffered a safety during the game.

Nick Perry, Landon Collins and Cyrus Jones all intercepted the potential Heisman Trophy finalist Prescott.

With this win and TCU's close win over unranked Kansas, the Crimson Tide should be in the top four of the CFP rankings on Tuesday. If FSU beats Miami tonight they should jump ahead of idle #2 Oregon with Alabama #3 and Mississippi State #4.

Read the box score and ESPN recap here

Wisconsin Badgers Crush Nebraska 59-17

The #20 Wisconsin Badgers ran roughshod over the #16 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday, 59-17. Forget any passing stats for this game. Wisconsin had 581 yards on the ground on 53 carries for an 11.0 average per running play. Melvin Gordon carried the ball 25 times for 408 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Read the account of the other plays in the ESPN article here.

TCU Wins Itself Out of Contention For a CFP Playoff Spot

TCU beat the unranked University of Kansas Jayhawks 34-30 on Saturday. The Horned Frogs did not look like the #4 team in the country as they had to come from behind from a 13-10 deficit at halftime to narrowly beat the 3-7 Jayhawks.

Trevone Boykin was 26 for 36 passing for 330 yards and a TD with 1 INT. Michael Cummings threw 19 completions in 37 attempts for 332 yards and 2 TDs with 1 INT for Kansas.

Aaron Green carried the ball 19 times for TCU with 2 touchdowns and Cameron Echols-Luper returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown and the difference in this game.

Corey Avery had a rushing touchdown for the 3-7 Jayhawks.

Read the ESPN box score and recap here.


Friday, November 14, 2014

Jalisco Bests Culiacan 4-3 In Front Of Fernando Valenzuela

The Charros de Jalisco, with "El Toro" in attendance beat the Tomateros de Culiacan 4-3 in the first game of a three game series on Friday night.

Fernando Valenzuela, LA Dodger great, threw out the first pitch and looked as if he could have taken the mound for Jalisco. "El Toro" pitched for Jalisco in 1992 and 1994 before financial difficulties forced the Jalisco team to disband.

Ben Kozlowski started for the Charros and went 5 innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits with 2 walks and 3 strike outs with a home run. Adrian Ramirez got the win in relief of Kozlowski and Brian Broderick got his league leading 10th save of the season.

Culiacan scored a run in the top of the 4th on a solo home run by Nick Buss.

Jalisco tied the game at 1 all in the bottom of the 5th on Marquez Smith's 7th home run of the year, a solo shot to left field.

The Tomateros got a run back in the top of the 6th. Jorge Vazquez singled and went to second on a single by Nick Buss. The Tomateros loaded the bases when Ben Kozlowski mishandled a sacrifice bunt by Issmael Salas to load the bases. Adrian Ramirez replace Kozlowski. Garrett Weber, of Culiacan, hit a sac fly to center to score Vazquez and the Tomateros had retaken the lead 2-1.

Jesus Lopez led of the 6th for the Charros by drawing s walk. Eduardo Arredondo laid down a sacrifice bunt that the Culiacan pitcher mishandled and the Charros had runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs. Manny Rodriguez sacrificed the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Leo Heras was intentionally walked to load the bases and bring the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico home run and RBI leader to the plate. "EL Gigante", Japhet Amador, then hit a bases clearing double to give the Charros a 4-2 lead.

Culiacan scored a run in the top of the 7th. Oscar Robles walked to lead off the inning. Rico Noel hit into a 5-4 fielder's choice. Maxwell Leon sacrificed Noel to second. Noel scored on a throwing error by the Charros' shortstop to make the game 4-3.

Jalisco reliever, David Koop allowed 1 hit but no runs in the 8th and Brian Broderick set down the 4 batters he faced with no hits and 2 strike outs in his 1 1/3 innings on the mound to preserve the win and pick up the save.

Jalisco improves to 18-12 on the year with a 10-4 record at home and an 8-8 record on the road.

There are 2 games left in this series with games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.   

Dolphins Best Bills 22-9

Ryan Tannehill threw for 240 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Miami Dolphins overcame 5 sacks and 2 lost fumbles to beat the Buffalo Bills 22-9 on Thursday night.

The Dolphins defense held Kyle Orton to 193 yards through the air with no TDs. They also held the Bills to just 54 yards on the ground. Anthony Dixon had 35 of those yards on 10 carries to lead the Bills ground game.

Jarvis Landry and Brandon Gibson had the receiving touchdowns for the Dolphins.

The lone bright spot for the Bills was the play of Mario Williams who had 3 1/2 sacks in the game.

Read the ESPN recap here.

Naranjeros Shutout Charros 4-0

Juan Oramas, starting pitcher for Hermosillo, shut out the Charros on 1 hit through 6 innings last night to beat the Jalisco team 4-0. Oramas walked only 1 while striking out 7. Oramas set down the first 13 Charros he faced before giving up a single to Cory Vaughn with one out in the 5th. Leo Rosales, Heriberto Ruelas and Jesus Castillo allowed just 1 hit over the last 3 innings to seal the win for Hermosillo.

Jerry Owens led off the bottom of the 1st for Hermosillo with a double. Justin Greens singled and Adan Munos singled to drive in Owens with the first run. With one out Greene stole third and then scored on a sac fly to center by Matt Padgett and the Naranjeros led 2-0.

In the botom of the 4th, Yunesky Sanchez singled. Sebastian Elizalde laid down a bunt that the Charros infielders couldn't handle and Hermosillo had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Carlos Gastelum singled to drive in Sanchez and took second on the throw home. Jorge Flores then hit a sac fly to score Elizalde for the 4-0 lead and the eventual final score.

Orlando Lara started and took the loss for Jalisco, dropping his record to 2-1 on the year. He gave up 6 hits over 3 1/3 innings and was responsible for all 4 Hermosillo runs.

Marquez Smith, with a single in the 7th, and Cory Vaughn had the only hits for Jalisco.

The Charros fall to 17-12 on the year, 1/2 game in front of the idle Yaquis de Obregon and atop the standings of the Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico. The Naranjeros, with the win, are now 12-17, five games behind Jalisco in the league standings.

The Tomateros de Culiacan bring their 2 game winning streak to Zapopan for 3 games starting tonight through Sunday.