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Roundtable Discussion: Florida’s hires Brad Lawing
Multiple sources have informed GatorCountry.com that Florida Gators football coach Will Muschamp has filled his coaching staff's vacancy with South Carolina defensive line coach Brad Lawing.
Similar to Dan Quinn’s role when he was at Florida, Lawing is expected to coach defensive ends while Bryant Young will continue to coach defensive tackles.
In this roundtable, Gator Country takes a closer look at Lawing’s background as well as reactions from GatorCountry.com staff members.
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2014 Football Commits
|Davidson (NC) Day|
|Cross City (Fla.) Dixie County|
|Jacksonville (Fla). Raines|
|Deland (Fla.) High|
|New Orleans (La.) St. Augustine|
|Miami (Fla.) Central|
|Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas|
2013 Basketball Commits
|Clermont (Fla.) Montverde Academy|
|Bonifay (Fla) Holmes County|
- JUST IN: Jarran Reed fails to qualify (AndrewSpivey @ 07:39 PM)
- Sanchez picked off three times in practice!!! (rounds @ 07:39 PM)
- Urban Meyer regrets the way his Florida tenure ended (gatormoe1 @ 07:38 PM)
- Rumors circulating that Notre Dame starting QB Everett Golson out from program (GatorEcon @ 07:36 PM)
- Ending with a Whimper? Go Softball (u8evol19i @ 07:35 PM)
- Pacers -vs- Heat (gatormoe1 @ 07:34 PM)
- Gainesville Super Regional: Game 1 UAB vs Florida (u8evol19i @ 07:32 PM)
- Look like Reed wont make it in this semester (Palhaco1 @ 07:27 PM)
- What celebrity do you simultaneously admire and despise? (GatorPrincess8 @ 07:22 PM)
- Jarran Reed won't play for UF this year (GATORAZ @ 07:07 PM) | http://www.gatorcountry.com/football/article/roundtable_discussion_floridas_hires_brad_lawing/ | 554 |
Injury roundup: Patchan's season likely over
Published: Monday, November 8, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 11:51 a.m.
It appears UF redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Matt Patchan's season is over before he even played a down. Coach Urban Meyer said Patchan is seeing a specialist about the wrist he fractured and had surgery on during training camp.
"It doesn't look like it's going to be fixed," Meyer said. "There's a problem, I don't want to get into now, but there's a problem with his wrist. His career will be fine, but for the remainder of the year, that is up in the air."
Meyer wasn't sure if he'd apply for a medical hardship for Patchan.
Meyer also said junior defensive tackle Jaye Howard (ankle) looks "promising" to play Saturday.
Junior running back Jeff Demps (foot) will play, but Meyer said he isn't sure how much he will play.
Meyer said kicker Caleb Sturgis (back) is out.
Sophomore left tackle Xavier Nixon hurt his knee in the first half of Florida's game at Vanderbilt on Saturday but returned to play in the second half.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged. | http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20101108/ARTICLES/101109441 | 308 |
Gators host Indiana this weekend
Published: Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 9:32 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 8, 2013 at 2:24 p.m.
In its final weekend of non-conference action before starting SEC play against No. 11 Kentucky (11-1) next Friday, Florida (7-7) welcomes Big Ten favorite Indiana (6-2) to McKethan Stadium for three games. Start times for the series are 7 p.m. today, 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Who: Florida (7-7) vs. Indiana (6-2)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: McKethan Stadium
Right-hander Jonathon Crawford (0-1, 3.60 ERA) will make his fourth start of the year to open the series and will face IU junior left-hander Joey DeNato (1-1, 2.03).
In a matchup of right-handers, Tucker Simpson (0-1, 4.15) will oppose the Hoosier's Aaron Slegers (1-0, 0.00) in the second game of the series and right-hander Eric Hanhold (0-0, 5.19) will start Sunday's finale for the Gators against Indiana southpaw Kyle Hart (1-0, 3.07). Hanhold held Miami to two runs over 4.1 innings last Sunday.
The Gators are 2-1 in weekend series this year, defeating Duke and No. 21 Miami by 2-1 margins, sandwiched around dropping three games to FGCU.
The Hoosiers are coming off a 3-0 weekend at the Caravelle Resort Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged. | http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20130307/ARTICLES/130309647/0/GMAG?Title=Gators-host-Indiana-this-weekend | 409 |
Martin Jol has admitted he can do little to shake up a Fulham squad in freefall ahead of the New Year's Day trip to West Brom.
Jol takes the Cottagers to the club where he once starred as a player in the midst of the worst runs of his managerial career. But his hopes of turning around a sequence of one win from 12 are being constrained by injuries to key men, leaving him without a great deal of room for manoeuvre.
"We have to pick ourselves up and there's not a situation where we can change the team in five or six positions," said Jol, whose side have dropped to within four points of the drop zone.
Copyright (c) PA Sport 2012, All Rights Reserved. | http://www.givemesport.com/323188-few-options-for-jol | 149 |
A convicted arsonist who was arrested three weeks ago for allegedly starting a small fire in front of an In-N-Out in downtown Glendale was arrested again this week for allegedly doing it again, this time near a Sprint store, officials said.
Gerald Harris, 71, was taken into custody about 1:14 p.m. Monday on suspicion of arson after he allegedly set a white plastic cup on fire, causing burn marks on the wall of the Sprint store in the 300 block of North Brand Boulevard, according to Glendale police.
Three weeks ago, Harris was arrested for allegedly lighting a stack of napkins on fire and throwing them in the air outside of the In-N-Out in the 100 block Brand Boulevard because he reportedly told officers that he was “trying to have a good time” and “wanted to put on a show.”
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office on Wednesday had not yet filed charges against Harris after requesting more investigation, according to spokeswoman Jane Robison.
Harris has been convicted of arson twice in the past 10 years, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.
Police in Monday’s incident extinguished the flames, which were about 12-inches high and 1 to 2 inches away from the store.
Harris allegedly told officers that he found the cup inside a trash can and thought it was so beautiful that he wanted to light it on fire to “make Glendale more beautiful,” according to police.
He also told officers that he allegedly intentionally placed the cup next to the store and used a lighter to set it on fire, according to police.
Harris, who is also a convicted sex offender, was serving parole for arson before being discharged on Dec. 7, according to police officials.
He told officers he was homeless and slept at the temporary winter shelter inside the National Guard Armory on Colorado Street, according to police.
Natalie Profant Komuro, executive director of Ascencia, which operates the shelter, couldn’t say whether Harris was staying at the armory because she didn’t know if he had given permission to release his information.
Ascencia doesn’t perform background checks on the shelter’s clients because it is an open program, she said.
Profant Komuro said that, overall, Ascencia takes the steps necessary to maintain the safety of their clients, staff and the community, which she added was a priority.
Harris has multiple convictions for trespassing, battery, vandalism, theft, public drunkenness and for indecent exposure, according to court records. | http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-818-0109-man-arrested-for-allegedly-setting-second-small-fire-in-downtown-glendale,0,5912350.story | 534 |
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By Martyn Herman
LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Unbeaten in 11 Premier League matches and with man-of-the-moment Gareth Bale scoring at will, Tottenham Hotspur start as favourites against Arsenal on Sunday in a north London derby crucial to both sides' hopes of Champions League qualification.
Victory for third-placed Tottenham would send them seven points clear of the fifth-placed Gunners and keep them above Chelsea in what is becoming a London-based tussle for third and fourth spots behind the Manchester clubs.
Bale has scored eight goals in his last six matches for Tottenham after manager Andre Villas-Boas gave the Welsh winger freedom to roam inside, his latest stunner coming to earn his side a 3-2 victory at West Ham United on Monday.
Arsenal, who last claimed three points at Spurs in 2007, have also been consistent in the league despite cup exits at the hands of fourth tier Bradford City and Championship side Blackburn Rovers and a Champions League mauling by Bayern Munich.
While Villas-Boas has won over the sceptics among Tottenham's fans after a tricky start at White Hart Lane, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has come in for unprecedented criticism as an eighth successive trophyless campaign looms.
Wenger, however, has lost only five times in 39 north London derbies, even if the gap between the clubs has closed.
It was about this time last season that his side met Tottenham at the Emirates with the visitors in an even stronger position, seeking a victory that would have opened up a 13-point gap between themselves and their bitter rivals.
Tottenham led 2-0 but collapsed to a 5-2 defeat, Arsenal eventually finished third and although Tottenham ended fourth they were denied a Champions League spot because Chelsea, who came sixth, ended up as European champions.
Tottenham also led at the Emirates this season before Emmanuel Adebayor was sent off and Arsenal again roared back to claim another 5-2 victory.
Those defeats serve as stark warnings to Spurs of the threat posed by an Arsenal who with the likes of Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott possess the firepower that promises to make the 152nd league meeting between the old rivals a cracking game.
There have been 39 goals in the last eight meetings between the clubs in all competitions, including a 2-1 victory for Tottenham in April 2010 that propelled Tottenham towards their first Champions League adventure.
Bale scored in that encounter and much of Wenger's pre-match preparation this week will be devoted to becalming a man already being tipped to win the Player of the Year award.
"Words can't descibe how well he is playing at the moment," Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker, sent off in the defeat at the Emirates last season, said of Bale.
"We have players in our squad that Arsenal would want any day of the week. It's a big game for us and we can push away a little bit."
Fourth-placed Chelsea, who set up an FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester United by beating Middlesbrough on Wednesday, can ramp up the pressure on Sunday's protagonists when they host West Bromwich Albion 24 hours earlier - a fixture that has not been kind on recent managers.
Villas-Boas was sacked after a defeat by West Brom last season and his successor Roberto Di Matteo's last league game in charge was also a defeat by the Midlands side in November.
Interim manager Rafa Benitez has struggled to win over the Chelsea fans although he insists the players are on board despite dropping 13 points from 24 since the turn of the year.
"I guarantee the players believe in what we're trying to do, 100 percent," Benitez said this week.
Leaders Manchester United can re-open a 15-point lead over champions Manchester City when they host Norwich City on Saturday, although manager Alex Ferguson's team selection will be heavily influenced by the Champions League last-16 second-leg match against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
"We have a job to do and the manager has said we need to think game to game and just win the next match, what's in front of us," midfielder Michael Carrick told United's website.
"You can't look too far ahead because it can come back and bite you."
City will hope United do take their eye off the ball as they prepare for Monday's trip to Aston Villa who dropped back into the bottom three with a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal last week.
Twelve months ago Harry Redknapp was battling for a top-four finish with Tottenham and was still in the frame for the England job but this time he finds himself in an increasingly desperate relegation fight with Queens Park Rangers.
Defeat at Southampton on Saturday would leave bottom club QPR's survival chances looking forlorn.
Second-from-bottom Reading are only a point adrift of safety ahead of Saturday's trip to Everton whose hopes of qualifying for the Champions League are receding fast. (Editing by Ed Osmond) | http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130227/preview-soccer-tottenham-banking-bale-derby-clash | 1,037 |
Air Force Releases 2008 Men's Soccer Schedule
July 10, 2008
Three teams that advanced to the 2007 NCAA Tournament, including Sweet 16 team and 2006 national champion UC Santa Barbara, highlight the Air Force Academy's 2008 men's soccer schedule, released today by head coach Doug Hill. In addition, the Falcons will play both of its service-academy rivals Army and Navy for the second consecutive season at the Birmingham Southern Fall Classic. The regular season begins on Friday, Aug. 29 against UCSB in Santa Barbara, Calif.
"We are very excited to have such a strong schedule this fall, especially playing teams that are NCAA Tournament tested," said Hill, who will enter his second season as head coach. "We are also excited to play Army and Navy again in the same season."
Following the UCSB game, the Falcons will travel to Cal Poly on Sunday, Aug. 29. After home games against Loyola Chicago (Sept. 7) and Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 12), Air Force will travel to Denver for a neutral site game against San Diego State on Sunday, Sept. 14.
A weekend in Birmingham, Ala., has the Falcons taking on its service-academy rivals in the BSC Fall Classic. Air Force will face Navy on Friday, Sept. 19 and Army on Sunday, Sept. 21. Another trip to California to play UC Davis on Saturday, Sept. 27 wraps up the non-conference schedule. UC Davis fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season to eventual runner-up Ohio State.
The Falcons open their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation slate with three consecutive home games beginning on Friday, Oct. 3 against UNLV. On Sunday, Oct. 5, defending MPSF champion New Mexico visits Cadet Soccer Stadium, while in-state rival Denver comes to town on Saturday, Oct. 11.
"As always, all of our MPSF opponents will be very tough," Hill said. "We always have great games against those teams and I expect the same this season."
This will be the final year the MPSF will employ a home-and-home schedule with all six teams this season as Seattle University and Cal State Bakersfield will join the conference in 2009. The regular-season champion will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I Tournament, which begins on Friday, Nov. 21.
Air Force, which finished 5-12-1 overall and 3-7 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation last season, finished tied for fifth in the league and returns five starters from the 2007 team. | http://www.goairforcefalcons.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/071008aab.html | 526 |
The 37-year-old Brazilian, World Cup veteran and free kick specialist joins the MLS side from Vasco de Gama.Major League Soccer may have lost a 37-year-old dead ball specialist in David Beckham, but it gained another on Monday with the New York Red Bulls' signing of Brazilian midfielder Juninho Pernambucano.
The Red Bulls added the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Lyon and Brazilian top-flight veteran after a lengthy bout of speculation that the club would be acquiring his services. Based on a team statement, Juninho does not appear to be a Designated Player signing, which means the Red Bulls still have a third DP slot vacant after the departure of Rafa Marquez. Terms of the deal were not disclosed per league and team policy.
"Juninho is a world-class player who our global sporting director, Gerard Houllier, and I have known and admired for many years," Red Bulls sporting director Andy Roxburgh said in a team-issued release. "Aside from being a top dead-ball specialist and a tremendous talent, Juninho is a fantastic professional both on and off the field."
Juninho, a central midfielder known for his free kicks, played under Houllier at Lyon from 2005-07 and was with the French club from 2001-09. His 100 goals with Lyon are fourth-most in the club's history. He was most recently with Brazilian side Vasco de Gama for a second stint after playing there prior to his Lyon days. Juninho will turn 38 next month, but Roxburgh appears confident in his new signing's ability to still compete at a high level.
"He is in great physical shape, and we think he can make a positive impact for us in 2013," Roxburgh said. | http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110/major-league-soccer/2012/12/17/3609790/red-bulls-sign-veteran-brazilian-midfielder-juninho?source=breakingnews | 359 |
Sept. 25, 2010
CONWAY, S.C. – College of Charleston scored two first half goals and held off a late Coastal Carolina charge en route to snapping the Chanticleers’ four game unbeaten streak with a 2-1 victory Saturday afternoon at the Coastal Carolina soccer field.
College of Charleston (5-2-1) picked up the first goal of the game and took a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute off the foot of midfielder Sean De Silva. The Cougars created a scoring chance seconds before the goal, but it appeared that the Coastal defense had thwarted that opportunity by gaining possession inside the Chanticleer box.
The Coastal defense attempted to clear the ball out and into space near midfield, but an errant kick drifted right to the feet of De Silva. De Silva gained control of the ball and sent a strike past a diving Scott Angeivne and into the back of the Coastal net.
The Cougars added a second goal just over seven minutes later in the 36th minute with a second unassisted goal. Freshman forward Andy Craven collected his second goal of the season when he scored on a breakaway goal. Craven managed to elude the Chanticleer defense and struck with a chip shot over a leaping Angevine.
Coastal Carolina (3-3-1) cut the College of Charleston deficit in half with a goal by Luis Faz in the 67th minute. Freshman Kristoffer Sandtroen sent a cross from the left side of the field into the Charleston box to a waiting Justin Portillo. Portillo trapped the ball and fired a shot on goal that Cougar keeper Kees Heemskerk saved back into the field of play. Faz sent a one touch shot near post into the open net to tally his second goal of the season.
“I think College of Charleston is a very good team and they were able to put together two goals in the first half,” Coastal head coach Shaun Docking said. “I thought they defended very well in the second half, but I was also very pleased with the number of scoring chances we created. “We’re still trying to find ways to convert those scoring chances against good teams.”
Both Faz and Pedro Ribeiro created scoring opportunities late in the second half with shots on goal, but Heemskerk made four saves in the second half to preserve the victory for the Cougars.
Coastal returns to action Tuesday at 7 p.m. when the Chanticleers travel to Wilmington, N.C., to take on UNC Wilmington from the UNCW Soccer Stadium. | http://www.goccusports.com/sports/m-soccer/recaps/092510aaa.html | 544 |
DIGHTON RESIGNS AS HEAD COACH
Cricket Canada regrets to announce the resignation of Michael Dighton, National Senior Men’s Coach, as of April 20, 2012.
During his 8 months in the position, Dighton coached the Senior Men’s team on a training tour of Barbados, the Caribbean T20, WT20Q preparation camp in Sri Lanka, World T20 Qualifier in UAE, and Canada’s tour of Namibia.
Cricket Canada Vice-President Vimal Hardat commented on Dighton’s resignation,
“We were obviously disappointed to lose someone of Michael’s caliber but understand his reasons and thank him for his contribution to Cricket Canada. We wish him all the best in the future.”
Cricket Canada’s CEO Doug Hannum indicated that the organization will begin looking for Dighton’s replacement immediately with an eye on qualification for the 2014 T20 Cricket World Cup and the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
“The search for Michael’s replacement will soon be underway, well in time for the national team’s trip to Scotland in July. We are certainly focused on putting our best foot forward to get ourselves into the next World Cup cycle and a new coach will be an integral part of that.” | http://www.gocricketgocanada.com/news/article/dighton-resigns-head-coach?mini=calendar%2F2013-04 | 274 |
Both Radcliffe Lightweight Boats Move on to IRA Grand Finals
CAMDEN, N.J.—The Radcliffe lightweight crew advanced both of its boats to their respective grand finals on the opening day of women's competition at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships Friday on the Cooper River.
Rowing into a fierce headwind, both boats placed second in their morning heats. The runner-up finish advanced the varsity eight directly to the grand final. Only the winner of each varsity four heat moved straight to the final, but the Black and White placed second in the repechage to move on.
"It was just about qualifying," said head coach Michiel Bartman. "The eight was able to get back in the second 1,000 to get in a position to qualify. The four conserved energy once it was clear they would have to race in the rep."
The Black and White varsity eight posted a heat time of 7:39.797 to finish comfortably ahead of third-place Georgetown, defeating the Hoyas by 6.7 seconds. Wisconsin won the heat in 7:33.951. Radcliffe's time was nearly three seconds faster than anyone in the second heat, which was won by Stanford in 7:42.575, with Bucknell also advancing. Georgetown and Princeton later advanced to the grand final from the repechage.
The four battled the strong headwind down the course and finished in 9:24.838, behind Stanford and more than 15 seconds ahead of rival Princeton.
The Radcliffe four needed only a top-four finish in the five-boat repechage but left nothing to chance, placing second in 9:31.689, topping third-place Georgetown by 9.5 seconds. Buffalo led throughout the race, but the Black and White did not need long to separate itself from the final three boats and maintained that second-place standing. | http://www.gocrimson.com/sports/wcrew-lw/2011-12/releases/201206012wfdzm | 391 |
Have a look at John Daly’s swing in Konica Minolta Style 300 frames per second. Do you think it has gotten shorter?
No? I didn’t think so either!
“I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s just our upbringing. We come from fairly humble backgrounds, and I think it’s something about the country we live in, with its traditions and humility. You picture us storytelling in front of a fireplace with a pint of Guinness and a musician playing. There is that culture, and I think a lot of it is the characters, a lot of characters.”
“I definitely missed it. I craved to be back in that kind of scenario. 2011 was a tough year, but I think I learned a lot about myself and handling my new-found position within the game, I suppose, and the higher world ranking and just my own expectations. I feel like since September of last year, I’ve really put these things into use. I’ve been playing very consistently now for close to 12 months. I’m very happy where my game is, and I’m looking forward to the PGA Championship, the FedEx Cup and the Ryder Cup.”
“Pre-shot routines. I think my pre-shot routines in 2010 were really sharp but probably not as sharp right now. Just seeing shots, the imagery. I think I need to be a little more instinctive again; maybe I’m trying to be a little too perfect and prepare a little bit too well under pressure, instead of just letting the brain take over and being instinctive. That’s something I’m going to work on between now and the PGA.”
“I fully expect they’ll ban them at some point. It’s going to be interesting, but I would be in the camp where I would like to see them go. I don’t think Adam putted very well in the last round, so I don’t think it was an advantage to him. If it was that advantageous, everyone would be using them. But, yes, when it comes down to a 6-footer under pressure on a Sunday afternoon at a major, it might just be that little bit easier to have one part of extraneous movement taken out by anchoring the putter to your body. It makes it just that little bit easier under pressure, but you still have to get yourself there.”
Phil calls it lethargic. Here he is looking dapper in a suit and speaking on CBS to Charlie Rose. Watch how they spend about 30 seconds talking about the point of the interview, “Math and Science”, then ditch it and get on to important stuff. Golf!
It’s one rule for one and one for the other. Or is it? Forget having to decide if belly putters should or should be legalized, what about the PGA changing their mind every five minutes on what is or isn’t a bunker? Well maybe not every five minutes, but every two years.
The new ruling called the “Dustin Johnson Dictat” (by me) states that all bunkering at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course which will host next month’s PGA Championship will be considered “sandy areas”. That really means that all the sandy areas might look like bunkers, but will be played like waste areas, where players can ground their club, remove stones and bash about as much sand as they wish with their practice swings.
Basically there will be no bunkers on the golf course.
So you can imagine how Dustin Johnson feels having heard this rule. Exactly two years ago he and a couple of hundred people were stood in what best can be described as a grassless cliffside at Whistling Straits only to have a fowl called on him for grounding his club in a “bunker”.
According to the PGA they didn’t change the rule to help everyone out or really annoy Dustin this year. Apparently in Kiawah it has always been the done thing being that the course is set amongst natural sand dunes. The same rule applied at the 1991 Ryder Cup.
Dustin Johnson is 33/1 with the bookies to win now that he can bring his bucket and spade!
It’s still not to late to enter a team in Ballyliffin’s Major Pro-Am this weekend. Teams of three will be joined by the elite from the Irish professional ranks over two days of competition on the Glashedy and Old Links.
Entry also includes a pre tournament practice round and guaranteed 5-star hospitality. It’s all shaping up to be one mammoth weekend in Donegal, on and off the course!
Download your entry form here or call 074-9378100 to book in by phone.
Five top 10’s this season for Jacob including an exciting week at the Open where he played the third round paired with Tiger Woods. Tiredness could be a factor for him in his fifth week in a row on the road but his recent form coupled with a win in Sicily in April make him the deserving favourite.
Norret lead by two after three rounds last year with some excellent golf but a final round of 72 dropped him to fourth. Played well at the Nordea Masters in this calender slot last season, so I’m hoping for a good week from the Dane in Austria.
The powerful Austrian is the home favourite this week and has kicked on from his four top 10’s last season with a win in the Ballantine’s back in April. Form has been poor since with only one top 20 in Sweden but backed by the crowd and memories of his tied fifth finish here last year, Bernd should put on a good show.
Plays his 62nd tournament this week in Austria and hasn’t quite found the formula for success. Yet! I saw enough from Gagli in his opening two rounds at Portrush a month ago to convince me he can win. Scored five top five finishes last year in his first full season on Tour coming close at the Scottish Open and even closer at the Madrid Masters. All that’s needed is a little step up from the Italian.
O ne of the most consistent and underrated players on the Tour David has the chance to score big this week. In his 17 events this season, the Scot has made 14 cuts finishing every event at par or better. Back this week after a disappointing trip to Castle Stuart, Drysdale will be looking to recreate the form of Wentworth and Portrush and get into the mix come Sunday.
Magnus A. Carlsson 25/1 has been on my radar with three top 10’s this season. He’s certainly good enough to break through. I’ll also be keeping an eye on gritty pro Robert Coles 95/1 who played well to podium in Morocco and showed signs of good things to come in Scotland last time out.
“Today Ernie Els will be putting with a live rattlesnake”, says David Feherty to the amusement of all at this year’s Tavistock Cup. Looks like Ernie is having the last laugh now!
Watch it one last time in the first 45 seconds of this video.
This week’s readers prize is a half day coaching with PGA professional John Dooley at his academy in Riverstown, Co. Cork, Ireland. The session, worth €250m, will cover all parts of your game and include high tec swing video analysis.
Here’s the itinerary:
9.15 am – 10.15 am, Golf Swing Analysis with JC Video.
10.30 am – 11.30 am, Short Game, Pitch shots.
11.45 am – 12.45 pm, Short Game, Chip shots.
12.45 pm – 1.00 pm, Recap and Q&A.
For more info on John’s services call 087-9277997 or mail [email protected]. Enter the comp through the widget on the left hand side.
Congrats to last weeks winner Vivienne Arnopp who wins a fourball on any DECGA Course. She gets to choose from the K Club, Carton House, Druids Glen, The Island and more!
The engraver at The Open is always under pressure at the end of the tournament. Getting the winners name on the Silver Medal and the Claret Jug in time for the presentation is as stressful as it gets.
On Sunday, the BBC did the shot, and the medal had Adam Scott’s name on it! Luckily however the name had just been traced, not engraved. Blushes were spared on the engraving but not before the error was broadcast!
Royal and Ancient greenkeepers, Lytham ground staff and the head greenkeeper of 2013 Open venue Muirfield Links emerged from a meeting this morning declaring “a whole new world of pain” for any player who hits the ball into the bunker during next year’s Open Championship.
“We trialled putting water in the bunkers this year and it was a huge success”, said Paul Smith, head greenkeeper at Royal Lytham. “However the players still found places in the bunker to drop the ball and some cases didn’t feel the full force of the hazard which we envisioned. Next year we will be placing deckchairs, flip flops and used hypodermic needles in areas of bunker sand not already filled with water. This, we feel, will provide a more exacting test befitting an Open Championship”.
Head of the R&A Peter Dawson clarified a decision to allow a player to sit on a deckchair in the bunker. “The player finding his ball in a trap, may avail of a deckchair for a period of 30 seconds only after failing to extricate himself from the bunker after five strokes,” Dawson said.
Previously held the tournament in 2006. Jim Furyk winner.
Early odds on the exchanges
Click here or on pic for course guide.
As always after a Major Championship, fatigue has to be taken into account not to mention the adjustment from links golf back to the parkland game. However Matt Kuchar should be reasonably fresh for the fight having taken a month off after a top 10 at The Travelers to tie ninth at Lytham. The Players champion has a recent best of tied fourth in The Canadian Open in 2010.
The RBC Canadian Open courses work very much on a rotational basis these past few years and this year comes all the way across from Vancouver to Ancaster, Ontario about 450 miles of New York city. Last year Bo Van Pelt held the lead going into the final round at the tough Shaughnessy Country Club but dropped into a tie for sixth after a final round 74. Though he missed the cut at Lytham, Van Pelt has been showing form of late finishing second to Tiger at the AT&T a few weeks back. Tied for 20th in 2006, the last time the event was held on this course.
Followed a strong showing at The Greenbrier Classic where he finished just outside the top 10 with a third place finish at the John Deere Classic the week before the Open. Piercy tied for sixth last year and the calendar suggests he hits form around this time of the year having bagged the Reno Tahoe Open in August 2011. One to watch.
Embarks on his 201st (PGA or European Tour) Tournament this week and can be quite proud of his record with two wins at the Frys.com Open in 2006 and 2009. Matteson came so close to win number three at the John Deere until Zach Johnson’s wonder shot from the bunker beat him in a playoff. Made the field and then the cut at The Open finishing in a tie for 39th. Tiredness may be a factor but Matteson is a form dog.
This is more of a gut feeling tip rather than based on solid fact but based on what on what I saw of Kyle Stanley last week at Lytham he will come strong again on Tour. He’s been through a dismal few months since winning in Phoenix back in February but mixed a hatful of birdies with some naïve course management in the Open to tie 39th. This could be one to back next Friday night if he’s in contention.
Long odds glory hunters might have a quid on Scott Brown this week at 110/1. Scott might have missed 12 cuts from his first 17 PGA Tour starts but he seems to be getting the hang of it with a seventh at the John Deere and a tie for fifth in the True South Classic which ran parallel to the Open.
When Ernie Els finished his final round at the U.S. Open last month, he had every reason to be filled with fury. He bogeyed two of the closing three holes at the notoriously unforgiving Olympic Club course in San Francisco and squandered his chance for a third U.S. Open title.
In 2010, Els, burning with frustration, had marched past the swarm of press after a similar back-nine failure at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
Great stuff GMac. Classic!
Here’s birdman in the VIP lounge at Lytham with 7 foot 11 inch celebrity caddie, basketballer and all round giant Dave McNally. Birdman has been brought in by Peter Dawson to present the Claret Jug, ‘coo’ and protest against deforestation in whatever way he sees fit tomorrow afternoon at the prize giving ceremony.
In an unprecedented move God himself came to out tonight to declare his position ahead of the final round of the 2012 Open Championship.
In a statement released through the Baptist Bishops of Blackpool, known locally as the the BBB, God said “Obviously I have the power to make crazy stuff happen. move balls in the air and stuff, make putts veer into the hole etc, but I’m torn between Tiger and Stevie; both are sinners of the lowest order, beyond redemption in my book , and hey I’ve forgiven a lot of bad shit.”
God went to praise Graeme McDowell, intimating he might be the the beneficiary of any kind final round bounces. “Far be it for me to interfere with the final round of a Major but GMac is a good God fearing lad just like his mum and dad. He has a nice low draw off the tee which suits Lytham so he doesn’t really need me, but if push comes to shove, let’s just say the McDowell’s have never missed a Sunday at Mass and do a lot of praying and stuff. That’s all I’m saying.” | http://www.golfcentraldaily.com/2012_07_22_archive.html | 3,134 |
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Titleist 913 Custom Fit Feature
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Editorial Feature: The Future of Golf
Few people that watched the final day of the 39th Ryder Cup could deny it was one of the most astonishing and captivating moments they had witnessed in sport.
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James Ellis, creator of the Pocket Pro golf app, provides some tips to help play a chip shot when in the rough.
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Top rated golf courses (Mauritius)
Top rated golf courses within Mauritius.
|Tamarina Golf Estate and Beach||Black River|
|One&Only Le Touessrok Golf Course||Other|
|Golf du Chateau||Savanne|
|Belle Mare Plage Golf Club - The Legend||Flacq|
|Belle Mare Plage Golf Club - The Links||Flacq|
|Belle Mare Plage Golf Club - Lemuria ChampionshipGolf Course||Flacq|
|Four Seasons Golf Club||Other|
|Four Seasons Resort Anahita||Flacq|
|Héritage Awali Golf Club||Black River|
|Mauritius Gymkhana Club||Plaines Wilhems|
|Shandrani Golf Course||Grand Port|
Back up to: Africa
Mauritius Regions:Agalega Islands | Black River | Cargados Carajos Shoals | Flacq | Grand Port | Moka | Pamplemousses | Plaines Wilhems | Port Louis | Riviere du Rempart | Rodrigues | Savanne |
|One&Only Le Touessrok Golf Course|
from 12 reviews
|Golf du Chateau|
from 5 reviews
|Belle Mare Plage Golf Club - The Legend|
from 5 reviews | http://www.golfshake.com/course/Africa/Mauritius/rated/ | 508 |
The utility of British linksland might have been onexistent had golf not come along to make it hal- lowed, history springing from its sandy soil. Then Hitler started a war. Suddenly the game’s bucolic links, by virtue
of the low-lying shorelines where they were built, were susceptible to history of another sort: a German invasion that
was expected following The Battle of Britain, the epic 1940
air war. Thus the British prepared to make a stand on golf’s
oldest and finest courses, threatening their very existence.
One of them was Royal Lytham & St. Annes, on which
the British Open will be played for the 11th time this month.
Royal Lytham sits low and hard by the Irish Sea, uncomfortably so at the outset of World War II, requiring that precautionary measures be taken. An anti-tank ditch was dug
across the breadth of the course, from the third to the 14th
green, and posts were implanted on its flattest fairways to
thwart their use as enemy landing strips.
Wars, members learned, reorder priorities. Once German
Messerschmitts began crossing the English Channel, British
golf largely took its leave, its royal and ancient roots irrelevant
against unfolding history that was greater than its own.
“I am writing at a time of year when in happier days I should
have been watching and writing about the Open Championship,” the legendary British golf writer Bernard Darwin wrote
in the midst of the war and the Open’s six-year hiatus from
1940 through 1945. “I wonder—and this is common to many
people—whether I shall ever watch one again.”
Darwin, a World War I veteran and the grandson of the
man who advanced the theory of evolution, must have
wondered whether the species had entered a period of
devolution. Sobering memorials that testify to the inhumanity to which he was twice exposed are ubiquitous in
Britain. One is found on the outer wall of the ruins of
St. Andrews Cathedral where Old and Young Tom Morris
are buried. St. Andrews’ war memorial lists the names
of its citizens who paid the supreme sacrifice in the two
world wars. It is not a short list.
“Every church in all these little villages, some not much
bigger than a hamlet, with 100 people maybe, has these war
memorials. Huge numbers killed,” renowned British golf in-
structor John Jacobs, 87, says. “It’s really quite heart-rending.”
It was, if not heart-rending, at least a disconcerting toll
the war was taking on British golf courses. Many were
neglected, their maintenance often left to grazing sheep,
250 head in the case of Muirfield GC, regarded by many
as Scotland’s best course. Some were requisitioned by the
military, including Turnberry on Scotland’s western coast.
An airfield, part of which is still visible, was built on its
links. The course was decimated and golf ceased.
“It was not surprising the opinion was freely expressed
that never again would Turnberry be a first-class golf
course,” wrote Martin A.F. Sutton, whose firm was hired
by owner British Transport Hotels to rebuild the course
after the war. History eventually would provide a second
opinion—the “Duel in the Sun,” Watson versus Nicklaus
At St. Andrews there was a concern that its proximity
to the Royal Air Force base at Leuchars made its shoreline
vulnerable to invasion. Pillboxes equipped with anti-tank | http://www.golfworldmagazine.com/golfworld/20120716?pg=72 | 799 |
Lobos Combine for Strong Performance at New Mexico Invitational
Jan. 26, 2013
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The freshmen opened the season with a strong showing, and the seniors led the way last weekend.
This week, both combined to post the Lobos' strongest performance of the young 2013 season.
The University of New Mexico's men's and women's track and field teams posted a season-best 34 top-10 finishes at the New Mexico Invitational, including 14 medals. The Lobos received strong results from the entire team, with a number of top-three finishes from the track events and field events.
A handful of those medaling finishes came from the mile races at the Albuquerque Convention Center, as New Mexico claimed a number of strong times in those events.
Out of the men's mile run, Adam Bitchell paced six Lobo runners as he clocked a third-place time of 4 minutes, 5.17 seconds. Along with Luke Caldwell and his sixth-place time of 4:08.89, New Mexico saw all six distance runners post sub-4:30 times, including Patrick Zacharias (12th), Logan Rosenberg (13th), Sean Stam (14th), and Vicent Montoya (16th).
The women's mile also produced strong results from both Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, Imogen Ainsworth and Kirsten Follett finished 1-2, clocking times of 4:55.08 and 4:59.32, respectively. From Friday, Nicola Hood nabbed ninth overall after winning her heat with a 5:19.30 time.
New Mexico also got strong finishes in the hurdles on both sides.
For the women hurdles, three Lobos notched top-10 marks as Holly Van Grinsven placed second with a career-best 8.60 time (now third all-time in New Mexico history), Precious Selmon placed fifth with an 8.86 time and Samantha Bowe came in 10th with a 9.02 time.
Additional strong finishes on the track came from the men's sprints and the women's mid-distance and relays.
For the women, Mia Weaver earned sixth in the 800 and Julie Brasher picked up eighth in the 600. The 4x400 relay team of Zoe Howell, Jasmin McCray, Shirley Pitts and Tawsha Brazley combined for a third-place time of 3:48.63, which ranks top-five all-time in Lobo history.
Out in the field events, New Mexico tallied top-10 marks in every event in which it competed, including medals in six events.
From Friday, the Lobos recorded top mark in the men's high jump, long jump and pole vault and in the women's long jump.
In the high jump, Django Lovett won and Markus Miller placed third while in the long jump Kendall Spencer finished third and Yannick Roggatz finished 10th. Out in the men's pole vault, Logan Pflibsen finished third, Robert Warensjo fifth, Tyler Jackson seventh and Chris Dodds tied for 10th.
From Friday's women's field events, Bowe claimed runner-up honors in the women's long jump with Van Grinsven taking sixth.
On Saturday, the Lobos picked up more strong finishes as Floyd Ross opened in the triple jump with a win, leaping 51 feet, 5 inches.
The women's triple jump chipped in three more solid results, as did the women's pole vault. Yeshemabet Turner led the women with a third-place leap in the triple jump of 39-2 1/4, while Casey Dowling finished sixth with a 37-5 3/4 mark and Aasha Marler seventh with a 36-11 3/4 leap.
From the pole vault, Amber Menke again posted the highest UNM clearance, vaulting 12-7 1/2 to place fourth. Margo Tucker and Nathalie Busk mark identical heights of 12-1 1/2 to place fifth and seventh, respectively, while Emily Heisler claimed eighth with an 11-7 3/4 clearance.
The Lobos still have one more athlete to compete Saturday, as distance standout Josephine Moultrie will make her season debut at the UW Invitational hosted by the University of Washington in Seattle. Moultie will run a 5:35 p.m. MT in the women's 3000-meter invitational run.
New Mexico returns to action as a whole next weekend when it hosts the third of four-straight home meets, the New Mexico Classic, back in the Albuquerque Convention Center. | http://www.golobos.com/sports/c-track/recaps/012613aab.html | 958 |
Only the fourth head coach in Marquette University women's basketball history, Terri Mitchell has added several chapters of her own to the Marquette history books since her appointment on June 6, 1996.
After the 2001-02 season, Mitchell found herself as the second women's basketball coach to win 100 games, the program's all-time winningest coach, and on the Board of Directors of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
In the third game of the season, Mitchell came upon her first milestone of the season. An 88-50 win over Alaska Anchorage in the Great Alaska Shootout gave her the victory she needed to join Tat Shiely as the only women's basketball coaches in school history to reach that plateau.
Needing 11 more wins at that point to become the program's winningest coach, Mitchell's squad got her to that milestone about as fast as they could. Needing 16 games to win 11, a 65-44 win over Tulane on Jan. 27, 2002, pushed Mitchell past Shiely as the coach with the most wins in MU women's basketball history.
She is also the most successful coach in the program's history. With a winning percentage of 64.5 heading into the season, Mitchell has the highest winning percentage of any MU women's basketball coach. She has proven her ability by adding to these marks with four career NCAA Tournament appearances, two Conference USA regular season titles and two C-USA Coach-of-the-Year awards.
In August of 2002, Mitchell received one of the finest honors a coach can receive -- she was nominated to the Board of Directors of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. She became the NCAA Division I Legislative Chair, replacing Lynne Agee of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in that position.
"I think it's a great opportunity to give back to the profession," Mitchell said of the position with the WBCA. "I feel very strongly that so much has been done to pave the way for young coaches to have an awesome opportunity to coach the sport we love and now the younger coaches need to give back.
"It's time in my career, the start of my seventh year as a head coach, to give back. I've been on several committees, but when I was asked to be a part of legislation, which is a great interest of mine, there was no hesitation to say yes."
The 2001-02 season was instrumental for the Marquette team. In addition to the personal goals that Mitchell sustained, the team continued to be one of the best defensive squads in the conference and the nation, holding the opposition to 59.6 points per game. That total was tied for the top spot in Conference USA and tied for 10th in the NCAA.
Marquette also graduated all four players from its senior class. Senior Kristi Johnson finished her career starting every game and finished with a physician's assistant degree. Sarah Zawodny, an all-conference performer in 2001-02, graduated with a degree in physical therapy. Kylee Bogott, a transfer from Ohio State, earned a Degree Completion Scholarship from the NCAA to finish with an exercise science degree. Kristin Seffern, a redshirt in 1998-99, finished her degree in physical therapy, despite having a year left of eligibility.
The 2000-01 season proved to be a vital year in the growth of the Marquette women's basketball program. Mitchell was instrumental in maintaining the stability and goals of the program, despite the graduation of three of the school's all time leading scorers.
Mitchell was faced with molding a young team against one of the most daunting schedules in the nation. While the season may not have resulted in 20 wins, like so many other Mitchell-coached seasons, the year proved to be a success, especially down the stretch.
Up against a bevy of talented teams, Mitchell led a squad comprised of five freshmen and two returning starters into battle. Faced with the usual ups and downs any young team might face, Mitchell challenged the Golden Eagles to face adversity. In doing so, the team picked up key victories against NCAA Tournament teams Wis.-Milwaukee and Michigan in the early part of the season.
The team closed out the year winning four in a row before falling to C-USA Champion Tulane on a last-minute shot. Mitchell helped her squad become resilient and taught them to never give up. Nine of Marquette's 16 losses were by nine points or less.
In 1999-2000, Mitchell led the Golden Eagles to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament and their fourth straight 20-win season, the first such streaks in the program's history. She also guided Marquette to its second-straight Conference USA regular-season championship.
Her 1999-2000 squad finished the season in fine fashion, winning 13 of its last 15 regular season contests as it claimed the regular season C-USA championship and berth in the NCAA Mideast regional. Guiding her squad to a 14-2 conference record, Mitchell earned her second C-USA Coach of the Year honor.
Four seasons ago, Mitchell led her squad to a 21-8 overall mark and a 12-4 record in C-USA play. For her efforts, Mitchell was named the Wisconsin Women's Basketball Coaches Association Women's Basketball Coach of the Year. Her squad was impressive, registering wins over nationally ranked Florida and Wisconsin.
Mitchell took the 1997-98 version of the Golden Eagles to a 22-7 overall finish and a 13-3 record in Conference USA, second best in the league. Marquette earned the C-USA American Division title and went to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. For her efforts she was honored as the 1997-98 Conference USA Coach of the Year.
In her first year at the helm of the Golden Eagles in 1996, Mitchell guided the largest turnaround in school history. Marquette's 21-10 mark was 13 more wins than the previous season's record of 8-20. The previous record for turnaround in a season was nine wins.
In fact, Marquette had the third-largest turnaround in NCAA Division I in 1996-97. Mitchell had the largest turnaround of any first-year head coach in Division I that season. Marquette also tied for the Blue Division title in Conference USA.
Along the way Mitchell shattered the record for most wins by a Marquette first-year head coach with 21, nine more than Tat Shiely's 12 victories in 1976. She holds the distinction of having 50 wins faster than any coach in Marquette history. In addition she became the only coach in school history to take her first team to the NCAA Tournament.
Not only did she take the 1996-97 Golden Eagles to the Big Dance, but they also recorded the first NCAA Tournament win in school history.
Mitchell's teams are characterized by hard-nosed defense and all-out hustle. Last season, Marquette held its opponents to a 35.0 field goal percent shooting clip and to just 69.6 points per game.
In the 1999-2000 season, Marquette led Conference USA and was 10th in the nation in defense with a 36.4 shooting percentage allowed.
In 1998-99, Marquette allowed its foes to shoot just 39.0 percent from the field and out-rebounded its foes by 8.0 boards per game, a stat that topped C-USA and was sixth in the nation.
In 1996-97, the Golden Eagles ranked nationally in field goal percentage defense while setting the school record by limiting the opposition to just 37.4 percent accuracy. In addition, the Golden Eagles out rebounded their opponents by 6.4 rebounds a game despite not having a starter taller than 6-1.
"Terri has been an instrumental part of the growth and success of Marquette women's basketball as an assistant for five years and now in her seventh year as head coach," Marquette Director of Athletics Bill Cords said. "She has leadership qualities, coaching skills, great knowledge of and love for the game and a tremendous work ethic combined with a deep sense of care for her students, our program, the university and the community."
Mitchell had been an assistant for the Golden Eagles since July of 1991. She was instrumental in signing Marquette's 1996-97 freshman class which was ranked 12th in the nation by the Blue Star Index. Marquette posted an 87-61 record and made three postseason appearances during Mitchell's tenure as an assistant.
As an assistant at Marquette, Mitchell was the recruiting coordinator, in addition to scouting, on-the-court coaching, practice scheduling, season scheduling, office administration and working with the guards. She also was responsible for the organization and promotion of the Marquette girls' basketball summer camp. She coordinated Marquette's community outreach programs for the basketball program.
Mitchell continues to take a very active role in the community. She has been the guest speaker at virtually every type of event, ranging from coaching clinics to high school banquets.
In addition, she serves on the Midwest Athletes against Childhood Cancer (MACC) Fund Board of Directors and has been instrumental in organizing different activities with the Special Olympics and many other service-oriented groups.
A native of Harrisburg, Pa., Mitchell served as the director of camps and promotions for Future Stars International for one year (1990-91), where she conducted basketball clinics throughout the eastern United States. From 1986-90, she instructed and coordinated the organization of camp sites for Future Stars.
Mitchell was a four-year letterwinner and team co-captain at Duquesne. Following an outstanding career with the Dukes, Mitchell served as a graduate assistant at Arizona State during the 1989-90 season.
Mitchell, 35, graduated cum laude from Duquesne with a psychology degree in 1989.
Q&A With Terri Mitchell
What types of student-athletes do you recruit?
We're looking for student-athletes that first and foremost love to work hard, love the game and want to work all the time. In order to improve, they have to have a work ethic and that work ethic goes on and off the basketball court.
We want responsible students who care about the great education they are getting at Marquette. The other big piece to all that is that they are a good person and want to be part of a team. It's not all about them, but it's about the greater goal of making Marquette basketball rise to the highest level.
What has kept you at Marquette for 11 years?
What has kept me here are many things, but one of the most important things is I believe in the education that our players are getting. The bottom line is when their basketball careers end -- whether collegiately or professionally -- Marquette has prepared our players with an outstanding foundation and to be leaders in the community.
Basketball wise, I believe we are capable of competing with anyone in the country. I've been driven by that and I have a staff that's driven by that. Marquette is a place that brings the very best out of you. It's a family environment where people really care. You can have the best of both worlds in being in a place that cares about your basketball program and you are not lost in the masses of people. You are in a place where people know who you are. The success we have had, we can build upon. It's not that we've had it and it's done, it's that we can build upon it.
How will the soon-to-be constructed Al McGuire Center benefit your program?
We think it will be an unbelievable boost to what we are trying to do here. In fact, it's the missing piece right now. Even though we have opportunities to play at great facilities like the U.S. Cellular Arena and the Bradley Center, it will give us a place we can call home. It is named after not just a great coach, but a great man. When you talk about the history and tradition here at Marquette it has to involve him. It will give us a first-class place. We feel like we are recruiting first-class players, so they will feel at home.
What are your long-term goals for the program?
You always have to talk about being a force in your conference first, because that's what it's all about -- always wanting to be at the top of your conference. I think we are in a very difficult conference. We know it's a great challenge to be toward the top in this league, but that's what we strive for.
We do that by playing a very difficult non-conference schedule, because the student-athletes that we're recruiting want to be challenged by the best teams in the country. That will always be a mark of our program.
In doing that kind of schedule, when you talk long term, you talk about a place of always wanting to be in postseason. You don't want it to be if you are in postseason, you want it to be when you are in postseason. That's the type of student-athletes we recruit and that's the position we want to be in.
You place an emphasis on the concept of family. How does that fit into the program?
I think family is a word that gets thrown around a lot, from program to program. For me, it's surrounding myself with a staff that I just don't work with, but we do things together and we feel comfortable over at each other's houses. We all have ownership. I think family means ownership. It's not about coming to work from nine-to-five. There's no such thing as nine-to-five. It's a passion you have for the program.
When I think family, we're so woven together that we have the same goals. When your staff has that, your team has that because that's how you recruit. Your team has that same determination. You do things to foster that with team meals, getting together with your players, not just in practice but off the court.
It's not just about wins and losses, but it's about when the players come, you are looking after them.
You have that with the parents too, involving them in the program. They understand that in the Marquette community, you don't get lost here. The players aren't just a social security number. All across campus, we're in this together. The other programs care about us and we want them to be successful. It's about getting out of the box of your own program. It's about getting the Marquette name out there and making it a success both academically and athletically.
What are your avenues of support?
It all starts with the leadership of (University President) Fr. (Robert) Wild. I am so thrilled that the president of our school supports us in games and that I'm able to talk with him and spend time with him. I know that he has the vision for this university and we're part of that.
Then you talk about (Vice President) Andy (Thon). You have a VP that is very accessible and comes to games and you can talk to.
Obviously that all leads to (Director of Athletics) Bill Cords and that unbelievable working relationship in that I can pick up the phone at any time and he cares about our team -- as he cares for all of our teams here. He wants to make a difference. That's why I've stayed because I trust Bill's leadership and that he wants to be at the top as much as I do and he's as competitive as I am and it all falls into place.
How do you measure success this season?
I need to know we're progressing. I need to know from the time we step on the court to the time we play our first game, that we've gotten better. Not just individually. We're not going to win because of any individuals. We're not going to win because Rachel is doing all the scoring. I need to know that the team is progressing in its level of conditioning and desire.
A great line that we've talked about before that really holds true is being "strong to the finish." That the enthusiasm we have now stays with us and increases. I have to be honest with myself if this team is getting better and I have to be responsible for practice and game situations to create that. I think I'm understanding after two difficult seasons what it takes to maintain a winning program.
To have four straight years of NCAA Tournament was a great run, but I'm as hungry and as passionate as I've ever been. The teams this year and beyond will benefit from what I've learned about what it takes to maintain such a high level. It takes a confidence and a passion and an unbelievable desire to get it done. Adjusting is huge. That's why we're willing to adjust our offense -- because it's needed.
Team Strengths Under Mitchell
In head coach Terri Mitchell's six seasons at Marquette, one of her team's bona fide strengths has been the play on defense.
In her six years, the Golden Eagles have held opponents to a 38.25 percent shooting pace and have stifled the opposition, allowing just 62.6 points per game.
The Golden Eagles set a standard with a season total of 35.0 percent allowed in 2001-02, the 10th best total in the nation. Last season, MU was fourth in the league in points allowed with 59.6, both bests in the Terri Mitchell era.
FG Pct. Defense C-USA Rank 2001-02 35.0 * 1st 2000-01 39.1 4th 1999-2000 36.4 * 1st 1998-99 38.8 2nd 1997-98 43.2 4th 1996-97 37.4 1st
Marquette has been a significant presence on the glass since Mitchell became head coach. In four of her six seasons, Marquette has led the league in rebounding.
Last season Marquette averaged over 40 rebounds per contest for the fifth time in Mitchell's six seasons as head coach.
The Golden Eagles don't just work hard on the defensive glass. Offensive rebounding is a priority for Mitchell, as are the second-chance shots they create.
Rebounding C-USA Rank 2001-02 40.9 7th 2000-01 39.9 5th 1999-2000 42.4 1st 1998-99 41.7 1st 1997-98 42.2 1st 1996-97 45.7 1st
Terri Mitchell has made it a point to schedule some of the best teams in the nation to take on her team.
Last season, Marquette's non-conference schedule was ranked 15th at the end of the non-conference slate by The Collegiate Basketball News Women's RPI College Basketball Ratings.
This season, Marquette's schedule remains tough with 11 of the 26 matchups coming against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament or WNIT, including a contest with Notre Dame, the NCAA Champion in 2001.
MU's Non Conference Opponents Under Mitchell Have Included: | http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/mitchell_terri00.html | 3,928 |
Northridge on the Wrong Side of a Home Run Derby, defeated 4-3
Feb. 20, 2009
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -
The Cal State Northridge Matadors (0-1) opened up the 2009 season with a bang Friday afternoon in their season opener against the Pepperdine Waves (1-0).
Senior outfielder Richard Cates broke up a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth inning with a blast to straightaway center field, giving the Matadors the lead going into the home half of the ninth.
The lead was short-lived however as the Waves hit two solo home runs of their own to come from behind and snatch the win away from the Matadors in the final moments of the game.
All runs scored by both teams were earned via the long-ball.
Throughout the first eight innings, it seemed as if both teams were trying to out-perform one another on the diamond, as sophomore Ryan Pineda opened up game by drilling a waist-high 88 MPH fastball off of Pepperdine’s Nathan Newman, a two-run home run that easily cleared the fence in left-center field in the fourth inning, giving CSUN an early 2-0 lead.
In the bottom half of the same inning, Pepperdine evened up the score with a two-run shot of their own, the only blemish on the performance of Matador starting pitcher Ryan McCarney on the day.
The junior transfer gave up only six hits and two runs in his seven-inning debut for Northridge.
Whenever the Waves were able to get a runner on base, McCarney was able to pitch his way out of any danger as he struck out three batters, and limited the majority of the Wave’s lineup o only fly or ground balls.
Aiding McCarney were a number of highlight-quality diving saves by both first baseman Dominic D’Anna, and centerfielder Jeff Pruitt that kept the Matadors in the game in search for that one run that would give them back the lead.
Pruitt’s shoestring catch ended a Pepperdine rally in the seventh, while D’Anna’s clutch performance in the eighth helped spark CSUN’s bats in the following inning as Cates muscled a 1-0 pitch over the fence in the deepest part of the park to give CSUN the lead.
The lead would be a temporary one as Pepperdine’s Nate Simon hit his second home run of the game in the bottom-half of the ninth, a shot that mirrored the blast by Cates to center field, before the game ended only moments later with a walk-off shot that just cleared the yellow tape atop the left-center field wall.
Northridge opens up their home schedule tomorrow at Matador Field as they look to even up the series in a 1:00 p.m. match-up. Sophomore Ryan Juarez will take the mound for the Matadors and face Scott Alexander before the series returns to Malibu on Sunday.
Northridge 000 200 001 - 3 5 0
Pepperdine 000 200 002 - 4 8 0 | http://www.gomatadors.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/022009aab.html | 667 |
The NC State men's and women's indoor track teams competed in two events on Friday, with junior Erin Mercer setting a personal best in the mile in Boston and junior Paige Eley hitting a career mark in the 60-meter dash in Fayetteville, Ark. Pack athletes compete in four different meets on Saturday.
Senior Lawanda Henry won the weight throw and junior Karimah Shepherd won the long jump on the first day of competition at the UNC Invitational, Competition concludes on Saturday at UNC's Eddie Smith Field House.
Tobais Palmer, C.J. Wilson and Bryan Underwood join the No. 24 NC State men's track team for this weekend's UNC Invitational in Chapel Hill.
TOBAIS PALMER'S COLLEGIATE BESTS
2011 Outdoor Track | http://www.gopack.com/sports/c-track/mtt/tobais_palmer_741432.html | 162 |
The San Angelo Stampede Express finished their best season ever last weekend with a disappointing 68-39 conference semifinal loss to the defending champion Billings Outlaws.
The Stampede made a dramatic turnaround under first-year head coach Clint Dolezel, ending 2010 with an 11-5 record after back-to-back 5-9 campaigns the previous two years.
“He is the main reason we were so successful,” linebacker Jermiah Turner said. “Darlene (Jones) did a heck of a job picking out a coach and he pretty much put together the pieces he needed to build a winner.”
Despite the U-turn, the sting of the season-ending loss could still be felt this week as the team began emptying out the locker room.
“Right now I’m more disappointed with how it ended just because it’s fresh on my mind,” Dolezel said. “But when I look back on it there’s no question it was a successful year.”
Dolezel brought his 13 years of arena football experience to San Angelo and assembled a team that was hungry for success.
The challenge now lies in returning that team to make another run next season.
“It’s a tough task at this level, but we’ll start immediately on trying to get players to commit for next year,” Stampede owner Darlene Jones said.
With the recognition Dolezel and the Stampede garnered on the field this season, players and coach alike will have possibilities to take their skills to a higher level.
Running back Derrick Ross, who earned Rookie of the Year honors while leading the league in rushing yards and touchdowns, likely earned himself an opportunity to take his game up the professional ranks.
Ross has already been contacted by the upstart United Football League’s Florida Tuskers and the Dallas Cowboys.
“I give all the credit to Ms. Darlene and Coach Dolezel for even bringing me in here,” Ross said. “Getting the opportunity to play and showcase what I can do on the football field, for them doing that, other teams have seen what I can do and now want to give me a chance. I’m very grateful for that.”
Along with the opportunities Ross has obtained through his performances in a Stampede jersey, his teammates have drawn interest from other leagues as well, including IFL sack leader Jon Williams, Jeramie Richardson and Turner to name a few.
Although some of the talent might be inching their way closer to a dream of playing on Sundays, Dolezel feels a large part of the team could return based on what they experienced in San Angelo this year.
“There are four or five guys that have good opportunities to go somewhere else,” Dolezel said. “But I would say the nucleus of this team has a good chance coming back.”
Turner will have another go at the Canadian Football League, but says he would never rule out a return to playing for the Stampede.
“If I don’t make it to a higher level, I’ll come back and play with whoever,” Turner said. “I love San Angelo and have a lot of respect for the people here.
“This is a semipro league and it’s meant for you to go up, that’s how it’s designed and that is what you want. The fact that we have so many guys getting opportunities says a lot about our season.”
As for the architect of the team, Dolezel has opportunities as well, some that include going under center to resume his quest for 1,000 touchdown passes.
The former Dallas Desperado sits at 931, more than any quarterback in any professional league and is open to the possibility of playing again.
“There is a chance I’ll play with a playoff-contending team, I’m still weighing my options and talking with my wife about it,” Dolezel said. “but I will take coaching opportunities over playing opportunities just because they are a little more stable.
“Dallas is the first option if they offer a job with the Arena League, if not there is a chance I’ll come back here for sure. This has been a great experience for me.” | http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2010/jul/09/surging-ahead-n-stampede-seek-winning-tradition/ | 929 |
Williams scores 22 as South Carolina hits 13 3s to beat Rider
Published: Monday, November 19, 2012 at 11:51 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, November 19, 2012 at 11:51 p.m.
The Associated Press
COLUMBIA — South Carolina hit a season-high 13 3-pointers to cruise past Rider 88-76 in a nonconference game Monday night, but first-year coach Frank Martin was unhappy with the defensive effort for a second straight game.
The Gamecocks, off to their first 3-0 start since 2009, shot 53.3 percent (32 of 60) from the floor — including 17 of 28 in the second half — and 48.1 percent (13 of 27) from the 3-point line, but it was Rider's 50.9 percent (27 of 53) from the floor that drew Martin's ire.
"Right now, we're depending on the ball going into the basket and we're not controlling the things we can control," Martin said. "I just told the players, when it catches you, don't be surprised and cry about what it smells like. We're dealing with fool's gold right now and that has to change."
Senior LaShay Page agreed with his coach.
"We didn't guard very well tonight," Page said. "Our on-ball defense was terrible. That's not coach Martin's philosophy, and we have to find a way to get better guarding the ball."
Despite the defensive shortcomings that allowed the Broncs (2-2) to score 42 points in the paint, the Gamecocks topped 82 points for the third game in a row. Their highest point total while going 10-21 last season was 79 in a victory over South Carolina State.
Junior Brenton Williams made five 3-pointers to lead the way as he scored a career-high 22 points to pace four Gamecocks in double figures. Freshman Mindaugas Kacinas added a career-best 18 points, Lakeem Jackson finished with 14 and Page chipped in with 12 points.
The Gamecocks went ahead by 10 points on a 3-pointer by Page with 11:30 remaining and the lead never dipped below double-digits the rest of the way. A 10-4 run that ended with a Kacinas layup with 4:49 left pushed the lead to 17, and it reached as many as 20 points.
Williams finished 5 of 8 from beyond the arc and Page was 4 of 9.
"We knew against the zone there were going to be some 3s to be made, especially those corner 3s against that half-court trap," Martin said. "My rule with with 3s is that ball better get in the paint first. We got 3s that came off dribble-drive, kicks, make the extra pass and shot it in. We didn't get tricked into shooting it early, so that was a positive."
Freshman Michael Carrera missed his second straight game with a concussion he suffered in practice last week, so South Carolina was left with only eight healthy scholarship players. The Gamecocks battled early foul trouble and had to play more zone than in their first two games.
Page, their leading scorer with 19.5 points a game coming in, played only five minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls. All five Gamecocks' starters had at least two fouls at the half, but South Carolina still led 44-37 with a balanced attack that saw five players score at least six points.
South Carolina opened the second half with two 3-pointers by Williams and another by Page, but the Broncs hung around thanks to the play of junior guard Nurideen Lindsey. He scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the second half.
Jonathon Thompson added 14 points and Anthony Myles chipped in 13 points for Rider.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged. | http://www.goupstate.com/article/20121119/WIRE/121119634/1088/news100 | 840 |
By Justin Grones (@JustinGrones)
CLEVELAND, Ohio. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Ten lead changes. Four ties. A deficit of as many as 12 points. But one final outcome-a 52-49 thrilling comeback win for the Green Bay women's basketball team (13-2, 3-0 HL) over Cleveland State (10-6, 2-1 HL). The win is the eighth straight for the Horizon League-leading Phoenix, which plays its next three games on the road.
"This game was a tough, physical battle and I think Cleveland State played a lot tougher than we did tonight," head coach Kevin Borseth said. "They really came ready to play, and we really need to focus on showing more toughness in physical games like these."
Green Bay opened the game on a transition layup from senior Sarah Eichler (Grafton, Wis.), followed by another layup by redshirt senior Stephanie Sension (Hopkins, Minn.). Cleveland State wasted no time answering the early Phoenix lead, grabbing a 6-4 advantage off a Shalonda Winton triple. The basket sparked a 9-2 run for the Vikings, who extended their lead to 15-6 with 10:20 remaining in the first half.
Eichler cut the deficit to 18-11 on a free throw with 4:03 remaining in the half, but Cleveland State responded with four unanswered points to push the lead to 22-11. Again, Eichler was there with a turnaround lay-in down low to end a scoring drought of more than three minutes for the Phoenix, putting Green Bay within nine at 22-13.
Cleveland State took a 24-14 lead into the half after grabbing 23 rebounds to Green Bay's nine. The Vikings also held the Phoenix to just 26.1 percent from the field in the half, including an 0-for-6 effort from behind the arc.
The Vikings opened the second half with a pair of free throws to push the lead to 26-14, but the Phoenix began to slowly chip away at the lead. For the first part of the half, however, Cleveland State answered every time Green Bay scored.
A three from senior Adrian Ritchie (De Pere, Wis.) with 12:47 remaining cut the Vikings' lead to 35-27 and sparked a streak where she would score seven of Green Bay's next nine points. With 9:25 remaining, she used a fastbreak layup to cut the lead to 39-35. After a tough half from the field in the first half, Ritchie rebounded in the second to score 13 points in the game and grab five steals.
An Eichler layup cut the lead to 39-37 with 8:32 to play and she followed it up by drilling a three to take a 40-39 advantage, the first lead for Green Bay since the 14:30 mark of the first half. Cleveland State would respond, however, in the second half's first of nine lead changes.
Sension scored four consecutive to give Green Bay a 44-42 lead with less than six minutes to play, but again the Vikings would retake the advantage just seconds later. Sension finished with 16 points and six rebounds on 8-14 shooting.
Trailing 47-46 with 3:50 remaining, redshirt sophomore Megan Lukan (Barrie, Ontario) hit two free throws to put Green Bay up by one. Cleveland State's Imani Gordon laid it in on the other end seconds later to retake the lead at 49-48, but an Eichler free throw a minute later tied things up at 49-49.
With 1:35 remaining, Eichler banked in possibly the most important shot of the night, giving the Phoenix a 52-49 lead-one it would hold for the remainder of the game. Eichler finished with a game-high 17 points.
"It was really back-and-forth in the second half, but we scored when we needed to. We needed to score late in that game, and then hold on to that lead," Borseth said.
Cleveland State had opportunities to tie the game twice with just seconds left, but missed both attempts from behind the arc. Green Bay's smothering zone defense was able to seal the win, the eighth straight win for the top team in the Horizon League.
Green Bay shot 50 percent from the field in the second half for a 39.6 mark for the game, and forced a tied season-high 26 Cleveland State turnovers. After turning the ball over 11 times in the first half, the Phoenix had just two turnovers in the final 20 minutes. The win also marks the 11th time in 15 games this season that Green Bay's nationally second-best scoring defense has held an opponent under 50 points.
will remain in Ohio for the rest of the weekend as it travels to Youngstown to
take on Youngstown State in a Saturday night matchup. Tipoff will be at 6 p.m.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on Green Bay Athletics, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com. | http://www.greenbayphoenix.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=206013560&SPID=13685&DB_OEM_ID=22500 | 1,057 |
A 17-year-old skier was hospitalized after his dramatic plunge from a chairlift earlier this month at a New Mexico ski resort, but is said to have recovered. Footage of the accident was uploaded Tuesday and shows the youngster hanging for several seconds before falling about 45 feet to the snow.
“Basically, the kid is home and he is fine,” Cody Sheppard, the ski patrol director at Ski Santa Fe, told the Santa Fe New Mexican. “It was kind of a dramatic deal. I guess he was attempting to throw a snowball to the chair in front of him, where some friends were, and when he threw the snowball, the momentum just carried him out of the chair. He did hang on for a while, but then he had to drop.”
Sheppard did not identify the teen but said he was airlifted via helicopter to a local hospital.
The footage was uploaded by a YouTube user named TriipyHD, who stated that among injuries sustained were a “concussion, skull fracture, collapsed lung, and a lacerated liver.”
Sheppard, however, said none of the injuries required surgery.
“They kept him for observation for a couple of days, and then he was released,” the patrol director said. “I’d probably shatter. There is something about being young and flexible, I guess, and just lucky the way you land.”
–Hat tip to Jason Blevins of the Denver Post | http://www.grindtv.com/action-sports/snow/post/teen-skier-plummets-45-feet-from-chairlift-but-said-to-be-ok/?.tsrc=yahoo | 312 |
Luis Suárez remains the Old Lady of Turin's No1 target for the summer, but she's also got her eye on a Little Pea. If Juventus can't prise the moustache-twirling uber-villain from Liverpool, then they'll look to bag Manchester United's Javier Hernández and play him up front alongside Fernando Llorente in the best Spanish-speaking little and large combination seen in Italy since that ferry-load of incorrectly-dubbed Cannon and Ball DVDs washed up in Ancona.
Gus Poyet told Reading he could keep them up, then opted not to prove it by turning down their offer of a job at the Madejski. Similarly, the Mill would like to assure readers that we can speak Russian, pick up a Volkswagen Beetle in one hand and down a can of Liver Botherer in fewer than five seconds. But, like Poyet, you'll just have to take our word for it.
Comic book vampire hunter with a hidden past and Sporting Lisbon striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel has agreed an £8m move to Norwich, who are keen to double the number of goalscoring Rickys in the Premier League.
"Save me! Frustrated Anders Lindegaard hints at quitting Manchester United in the summer," roars the Mirror. Though a look at the quotes in the report suggests it's a very subtle hint. "Everybody wants to play and I'm not different from anyone else. I'm sure all the players who are not in the starting lineup every game would say the same," says the Danish goalkeeper. "So I might be off in the summer," he didn't add.
In other-quotes-from-people-on-international-duty and translated-back-into-English-and-squeezed-ino-a-transfer-tittle-tattle-story news, the Russia coach, Fabio Capello, says he's not heard of any interest from Chelsea and Germany's Mario Götze mentioned the words "Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United" in an interview, but also followed them up with the words "I'm not thinking of that at the moment" and "I'm happy at Dortmund".
Barcelona, Arsenal and Tottenham are all hot on the tails of Antoine Griezmann. The Real Sociedad and France winger will cost somewhere in the region of £20m. And Manchester United want James "Sugar Man" Rodríguez from Porto. Nani and/or Anderson will be offered back to Portugal in exchange for the Colombian winger. | http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/mar/22/the-rumour-mill-javier-hernandez-juventus?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Ffootball%2Frss+%28Football%29 | 541 |
One of the fastest players on the team ... Can change a game with receiving and return skills ... Missed most of last season with injuries.
2005: Saw action in three games (Cornell, Fordham and Lehigh) ... Had one reception last season and returned eight kickoffs for 153 yards, a 19.1 average ... Caught one pass for 24 yards at Lehigh ... Returned punts six times for 122 yards, including a season-high 34 yarder.
2004: Played in eight games as a freshman and totaled six receptions for 51 yards along with four rushes for 26 yards with one TD and nine kick returns for 236 yards and a TD... ripped off a 90 yard kickoff return, the second longest in Hoya history, for a TD against Lehigh... scored career first TD at Monmouth on a 24 yard run...first touch of career came on a seven yard rush against Duquesne...fielded three kickoffs at Colgate for 48 yards...had two catches for 24 yards against VMI...snared three passes at Davidson for 18 yards.
High School: A First Team All-Conference football player at Calvert Hall...averaged over 29 yards a reception as a senior...also ran track and set a conference record in the 4 x 200 relay. | http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/ihezie_jasper00.html | 262 |
Guiseley Whites U7s were back in action again, this time closer to home at Burley. The Whites started slowly this week, losing to Bingley..
Under 7s – Whites – Latest News
The third tournament of the summer for the Whites kicked off at a very wet Tadcaster. The Whites started the day well against Sherburn WR,..
Early set-off for this Saturday’s tournament at Taddy. No wedding for me this week, so I will be fighting fit We’ll meet at..
Guiseley Whites U7s were back in action at the Crossleys JFC mini soccer tournament. The Whites came into the event having not played any..
So the end of what turned out to be a very successful first season for not only Guiseley whites but all of Guiseley JFC U7, arrives. No..
On a cold sunday morning Guiseley Whites were set to play their penultimate game against a good hard working Calverley side. Two more wins..
Sat 4th May Crossleys – Mini soccer tournament (5-a-side) Sun 12th May Burley Trojans 5-a-side Football Festival Sat 18th May..
Just a reminder it is the turn of Uner 7 and 8s for Goalkeeper Coaching session at St Marys this Friday at 7:00pm. It would be good to get..
The Whites third encounter against Maccabi brought a new challenge, the Whites playing 5 against Maccabi’s 6 player. The game started..
Thankfully the weather was a lot better than last week and the boys welcomed that with a great performance. The Whites where quick off the.. | http://www.guiseleyjuniors.co.uk/category/under-7s-whites-latest-news/ | 352 |
World No. 1 players Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova along with British hero Andy Murray lead 11 HEAD racquet rebels into the second week of Wimbledon. The showing for HEAD is one of the best at the majors for the marque of champions. Djokovic will continue the defence of his 2011 All England club title playing against countryman Viktor Troicki for a quarter-final place. "I've been in this position a couple times in my career. I'll be rested and ready for the next challenge," said the top seed.
French Open Champion Sharapova will play Sabine Lisicki, whom she has beaten three times since early 2011. The Russian playing with her YouTek IG Instinct MP, said she is working to win a fifth Grand Slam title. "You can never feel satisfied with whatever you have achieved, you always have to look for something else or you're never going to have any motivation. I always feel like I can be better in anything that I play. That's what gets me going."
Murray needed all of his survival skills to reach the second week as he ended the first week with a victory at the Wimbledon curfew hours of 11 p.m. The fourth seed will now gear up for a match with fellow HEAD racquet rebel Marin Cilic, who needed more than five and a half hours to win his third-round match 17-15 in the fifth set over Sam Querrey.
Murray was focusing on recovery to be ready for week 2. "You can recover, hopefully I'll be fresher," he said after his own three-hour late-night victory against Marcos Baghdatis. "It will be important for me to try to get off to a good start in the match against Cilic. If you are feeling a little bit tired and you go behind, it can be tough to come back."
Another HEAD-to-HEAD battle is set in the men's draw, with Richard Gasquet playing Florian Mayer. Mikhail Youzhny will face Denis Istomin.
In women's matches, Yaroslava Shvedova will try to follow up her golden first set (24 points won) in the fourth round with another winning performance, this time against Serena Williams. Shvedova, quarter-finalist at Roland Garros, said she never even knew she was making history as she played the perfect set, only the second recorded in the past 30 years. "Everything is working, in the shots and everything. I was just so into the game playing one by one and didn't think of anything else."
Tamira Paszek pulled a straight set win over Roberta Vinci winning 6-2, 6-2 and repeated her 2011 Wimbledon quarter-final while Peng Shuai is currently on court against Maria Kirilenko. | http://www.head.com/tennis/news/?region=sk&id=2433 | 577 |
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Former tennis ace John McEnroe is to sell a painting of him and ex-wife Tatum O'Neal by Andy Warhol at Sotheby's in London. The proceeds are set to go to a housing charity
Photo: © AFP
Tuesday June 24, 2008
Previous News In Pictures:
Sign up to our free newsletters! | http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities-news-in-pics/24-06-2008/48427/newshome/ | 86 |
You are here:Home >> Sports >> Leicester ask Brandon to stay
Leicester ask Brandon to stay
November 13, 2012
PANJIM: Leicester City Football Club have asked Brandon Fernandes to stay for another week with the club after his initial stint with them went well.
Brandon has been training with the Leicester Development Squad at the club's top class training facility, Belvoir Drive. The Club Development Director was absent from training for the majority of last week due to his commitments abroad,
and upon his return expressed a desire to see more of Brandon, who will remain in Leicester until at least next weekend. Reports back so far have been very encouraging.
Brandon said earlier today: "I am really enjoying Leicester. Everyone has been so welcoming. The quality of training is excellent, and it was a lot of fun to watch the first team play Nottingham Forest this weekend as they are local rivals. I have also enjoyed seeing the city, especially as it is preparing for Christmas. Lots of things here remind me of home."
Brandon's time in England has attracted global interest, and Brandon has thoroughly enjoyed his stay in Leicester. He has spent time with local Member of Parliament Keith Vaz, who has championed Brandon's career since identifying him as a special talent on a trip to Goa several years ago. Brandon has also met the Deol brothers, stars of Bollywood movie 'Yamla Pagla Deewana 2' when they shot scenes in Leicester last weekend. | http://www.heraldgoa.in/News/Sports/Leicester-ask-Brandon-to-stay/66897.html | 300 |
[email protected] — It was a valiant effort in Wednesday night’s opener, but the Reading Rangers (5-16) came up short against Schoolcraft 50-34 in Wednesday night’s Class C District semifinal at Quincy High School.Reading hung around early, playing tenacious defense as Schoolcraft’s top gun Luke Ryskamp sat the majority of the second quarter with two fouls. The problem for Reading was their inability to take advantage of Ryskamp’s time on the bench in both the second and third quarters; as Reading tallied only five in each stanza."We had a few that didn’t drop in that stretch," said Reading coach Brett Kerspilo. "I can’t be disappointed in the effort we gave. We’re undersized, but as we did all year, we played with tremendous heart."Schoolcraft (20-2) opened the game with a bucket inside from Zach Decker just over two minutes in. Reading responded with a triple from Dylan Ash to take the 3-2 lead — their only lead of the half — and the game.Ryskamp got on track for the Eagles with a three-point play to make it 5-3, as Schoolcraft continued to build a small advantage that got up to 15-9. Reading’s Alex Simmons hit a three at the buzzer to make it a three-point game after the first eight minutes.Schoolcraft opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run before Reading put a point on the board on a Devin Higley steal and scoop. Reading rattled off a triple from Cody Kafer and a bucket from Simmons to cut it to 22-17. Schoolcraft got a pair of free throws from Kyle Santman, another bucket from Decker and a drive and layup from Ryskamp at the horn to make it a 28-17 game at the break.Ryskamp drove the center of the lane for an easy layup to start the third and got a free throw and bucket moments later to make it a 33-17 game. Reading responded with a basket from Kafer to make it a 33-19 game. A three from Schoolcraft’s diminutive guard Benny Clark made it a 36-19 game. Reading got a bucket and free throw from Kafer to cut the lead to 14; but Schoolcraft got the last bucket of the quarter as Jeffrey Scott grabbed a Ryskamp miss and put it back for a 38-22 lead after three quarters.In the fourth, Ryskamp got another easy layup to start the quarter, and Schoolcraft pushed the lead to 42-26 before Reading got another triple from Kafer to make it 42-29. A few possessions later, Schoolcraft pushed the lead to 46-32 with a bucket from Decker on the inside, setting up the final 90 seconds.Reading’s mantra was to keep the game as slow-paced as possible and not get into a track meet with the Eagles. Reading shot 5 of 12 from the line on the night, unable to fully take advantage of some free opportunities."We wanted to keep them off balance by using different defenses, said Kerspilo. "I think we did that, and we didn’t want to get into a running match with them."Cody Kafer led Reading with 16 points. Devin Higley added seven points, four assists and three rebounds; Brandon St. Clare added five; Alex Simmons had three points and six boards; and Dylan Ash added three points.Luke Ryskamp led all scorers with 19 and Zach Decker added eight.Kerspilo and the Rangers say goodbye to six seniors in Devin Higley, Casey Donihue, Cody Kafer, Dylan Ash, Alex Simmons and Austin Coe."They’ve helped out our youth program and I’m proud of what they’ve been to our program," said Kerspilo. | http://www.hillsdale.net/article/20130307/SPORTS/130309620/1001/news,Z=728x90 | 811 |
Chief Keef Sentenced To Two Months At Illinois Youth Center For Probation Violation
Chief Keef must serve two months for violating his probation stemming from a firearm incident.
Chief Keef has been sentenced to two months at Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles, Illinois for violating probation.
According to Complex, the rapper, whose real name is Keith Cozart, will serve a two-month sentence at the center after he was convicted on Tuesday. The news comes courtesy of management member Idris "Peeda Pan" Abdul Wahid.
Keef was served his sentence after prosecutors claimed that he violated his probation by conducting an interview at a gun range. They also targeted the 17-year-old for failing to complete his GED in time to meet a court order.
UPDATE: Chicago Sun-Times reports that Keef pleaded guilty with Judge Carl Anthony Walker in order him to not be sentenced to juvenile detention. He broke into tears several times, but the judge did not grant clemency for his "blatant violations of the court's order."
Following the sentencing, his manager said that Keef would release a new single today. | http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.22583/title.chief-keef-sentenced-to-two-months-at-illinois-youth-center-for-probation-violation | 236 |
Very quiet morning at the Bell Sports Complex, the Canadiens still basking in the glow of last night’s 5-3 win over the New York Islanders.
Only seven Canadienswere on the ice for a bit of work: goalie Alex Auld, who will get the start on Long Island Friday night, and skaters Andrei Markov, who’ll play his first game of the season against the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre on Saturday, plus Lars Eller, Mathieu Darche, Alexandre Picard, Ryan O’Byrne and Dustin Boyd.
The rest of the crew worked out in the gym.
The team charters this afternoon to Long Island for tomorrow’s game against the Islanders.
• Carey Price became the first Canadiens goaltender to begin a season with nine starts since Patrick Roy in 1995.
• Islanders send Nino Niederreiter back to the W | http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/news/auld-tomorrow-markov-saturday | 187 |
Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
Steve and I are back again with your Senior Bowl coverage this week. Steve is out there with the players right now, so we'll have his thoughts a little bit later on. But for now, here's my notes as I followed along on NFL Network's coverage of the North team's practice.
The first thing on show was running backs and receivers working in pass-protection drills one on one against linebackers and safeties. Oregon running back Kenjon Barner was the early stand out, with a good pick up on a blitz from USC safety TJ McDonald. Barner followed that up by stonewalling a linebacker blitz up the middle. Barner has been thought of as a change of pace, speed guy. If he can prove he can be relied upon as an effective blocker, he could easily grow into a third down role, potentially even more.
On the other end of the spectrum was Robbie Rouse, the 5'7", 190 pound back from Fresno State. He really struggled to pick up any sort of block, getting beat on all three reps televised. It's tough to expect a small guy like him to take on blocks against guys half a foot taller than him, but he was struggling to even delay the rush, let alone stop it.
Tight end Nick Kasa, who the Redskins spent time with earlier today, was solid against straight up rushes, but struggled to adjust to any sort of inside move, getting beat there on a couple of occasions.
Safety Phillip Thomas flashed his athleticism and ability to blitz, one particular inside move stood out, knocking down the hands of the blocked and coming back inside with great burst.
Then things moved on to the receivers against the corners in one on ones. Desmond Trufant had another fantastic outing. He impressed me most out of the entire group yesterday, and continued in the same fashion today. He, like all the corners, were cheating on the quick outs early, but Trufant was one of the few that never got caught on the double move that they were being set up for. He sat in off-man and drove on the ball on those quick outs, not allowing a reception on any short out route. In press coverage, he allowed his receiver to get inside, but recovered extremely well and the ball ended up falling incomplete. His only bad play came when he forced his way into a rep against receiver Markus Wheaton. He was too hot-headed after getting worked up about having the rep and allowed Wheaton to just fly by him. He argued the ball was out of bounds and therefore incomplete, but as Charles Davis on NFL Network told him, it was a clear pass interference. Overall, he was impressive again.
But the top corner for the North squad today was Jordan Poyer. He was almost flawless in coverage, displaying good technique and incredibly quick feet in both press and off-man coverage. He's amazing fast to break on the ball when other corners would still be back-pedaling. He was beaten once on a comeback route, but he covered it as well as he could be expected, the ball was just timed to perfection and placed where only the receiver could catch it.
Utah State corner Will Davis had a rough time of it from what I saw today. On his first rep, he ran well on a go route, but failed to turn and locate the ball, resulting in a completed pass. He got caught cheating on the outside routes, Denard Robinson making the most of a out and up double move and ran by Davis.
Only saw one rep from safety Phillip Thomas in this drill. He was assigned Denard Robinson, who looked extremely slow to make his cut inside, but Thomas still gave up the inside leverage. Credit to Thomas for being able to recover and force Robinson to drop the ball, but I expect a receiver who hasn't been a quarterback for long spells of his college career would probably have caught that pass.
On to the offensive line and Justin Pugh. At 6'5", 297 pounds, he looks made for the zone blocking scheme run by the Redskins. Interestingly, Mike Mayock and the NFL Network crew mentioned a couple of times how he will be a better fit at right tackle than left, but in his first rep, he looked fine on the left side. He showed excellent quickness and met an outside speed rush easily. He set an anchor and controlled the block easily. When he moved to the right side, he faced a couple of bull rushes, but Pugh got low and got his hands under the defender, giving him the leverage to win the block. He won both blocks back to back. Pretty good day for Pugh.
Eric Fisher continues to look every bit of a top 10 pick at left tackle. He stonewalled Alex Okafor twice. Okafor has given just about everyone problems, but Fisher looked very composed and displayed rare patience from a left tackle, allowing the block to come to him and not reaching for the defender. He was almost perfect until Datone Jones from UCLA came back at him with an inside move and ran right past him. I expect it was just a hiccup for Fisher, but it will be interesting to see how he copes with those inside rushes as the week progresses.
Wisconsin's Ricky Wagner was a guy I was eager to see today, so I was disappointed when NFL Network only televised one of his reps at right tackle. On that rep, Alex Okafor batted his hands down and ran right past him without breaking a sweat.
This is getting on in length now, so I'll leave you with two final notes from the North team practice. Poyer took his success from the one on one drills into the 11 on 11 practice. Poyer read the quarterback well and pealed off his man to tip a pass intended to go behind him to an open receiver. The only other play of note from the 11 on 11 drills came from TJ McDonald. The offense ran a play-action bootleg, dragging the tight end on a deep route across the field. McDonald read the play well, not biting on the play-action fake. He ran with the tight end and stuck with him all the way to the sideline, forcing the quarterback to throw the ball away.
That's it from me for the time being. Be sure to check back for my notes on the South team's practice and Steve's take on the events taking place at the Senior Bowl today. | http://www.hogshaven.com/2013/1/22/3904670/senior-bowl-day-two-north-team-practice-reports | 1,318 |
HRTV PREMIERES TWO NEW WESTERN SERIES -- "RICHARD WINTERS HORSEMANSHIP" & "CHARLES WILHELM ULTIMATE TRAINING FOUNDATION"
Arcadia, CA, Oct. 19 -- HRTV (R), The Network for Horse Sports, will continue to bolster its Western equestrian programming line-up when two outstanding horsemanship clinicians -- Richard Winters and Charles Wilhelm -- are highlighted with new shows premiering on the network, beginning next week.
Series three of the weekly "Richard Winters Horsemanship" half-hour series will commence on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m., while the Charles Wilhelm episode offerings will kickoff on Sunday, Oct. 28 in a new 10 p.m. ET time slot.
"Richard Winters Horsemanship" series will showcase Winters' renowned skills as a teacher of proper horsemanship techniques, honing skills and conveying his vast knowledge to others.
Winters, whose impressive career spans three decades, will cover a host a pertinent topics on a weekly basis, including: pre-flight checklist (for first time riders), leg yielding, miniature horse training, Hackamore refinement, beach riding, advancing horsemanship, riding with a friend, and much more. Joining Winters within the series will be Dr. Steve Allday, who will discuss preventative treatments for horses, along with Winters' daughter, Sarah, also an accomplished trainer.
His credentials include a World Championship title in the National Reined Cow Horse Association along with being an AA rated judge. In 2007, he was named champion of the West Coast Equine Experience $10,000 Colt Starting Challenge, along with being presented with the Monty Roberts’ Equitarian Award for outstanding achievements in Horse/Human relationships.
Wilhelm's informative shows first debuted on HRTV a year ago and were well-received. He, too, is known for his superb horsemanship skills in communicating and motivating people as well as his astounding natural abilities with the horse. His relaxed, warm and amusing character has made him a favorite at clinics and expos.
He believes that “it’s never, ever the horse’s fault” and his training methods reflect the simple belief -- equine training techniques that combine the best of traditional, classical and natural horsemanship into a methodology that is applicable to every riding discipline.
Wilhelm's teachings, from his Northern California ranch, are targeted toward elevating horsemanship levels and skills, from novice to professional.
HRTV, The Network for Horse Sports, is a television-based multimedia network dedicated to equine sports. HRTV’s programming features horseracing from top U.S. and international racetracks, as well as a wide range of world-class English and Western horse competitions, news, original programming and award-winning documentaries covering the world of horse sports. The live stream of HRTV is available on a subscription basis to high-speed Internet users worldwide at www.hrtv.com <http://www.hrtv.com/> . In the U.S., the HRTV television network is available via telco, cable and satellite in over 19 million homes. | http://www.hrtv.com/hrtv-premieres-two-new-western-series----richard-winters-horsemanship--charles-wilhelm-ultimate-training-foundation/?Archive=y | 665 |
The Daily Telegraph reports that City manager Roberto Mancini watched Falcao during Atletico’s 2-1 victory over Malaga on Sunday. The story claims that City will attempt to sign the 26-year-old in January, although Atletico will resist this attempt.
"We know that Mancini has come to watch, but we are calm on the subject of Falcao.” Atletico president Enrique Cerezo said, according to the Daily Telegraph. “I suppose Mancini is here to look for a house in Malaga!"
City are not the only other club said to be interested in Falcao, with the Daily Mirror reporting that Arsenal could also be a surprise entrant in the tussle for the Colombian’s signature.
As for Falcao himself, who has now scored eight goals in six La Liga matches this season, he has said that he would be interested in a move to the Premier League.
“England? One day, I could go. It is a game I have watched for a long time and one day I would like to sample it," Falcao told The Times."I used to watch it on television when I was a kid. Players like Roy Keane, Eric Cantona, [Gianfranco] Zola. But the one I supported was [Faustino] Asprilla, when he was at Newcastle."I think I could adapt to England. I think I could score goals."
Falcao is not the only high-profile South American to be linked with Chelsea in recent times, with the Blues also said to be one of a number of clubs planning a move for Neymar when he make his long-awaited move from Brazil to Europe.
“Oscar messages me to tell me what a great club Chelsea is and what a great city London is," Neymar said, according to The Sun.
"He and Dani are both very good salesmen for their club.
"When the time is right I will listen to to the right offers that my agent has for me.
"It is very simple: if Barcelona are interested you listen, if Real Madrid are interested you listen, if Chelsea are interested you listen.
"There are maybe five clubs in the world that you know you must at least listen to."
As Chelsea look to continue revitalizing their squad, the Blues have been linked with a raid on Sampdoria for young trio Pedro Obiang, Roberto Soriano and Nenad Krsticic. The midfielders—aged 20, 21 and 22, respectively—were all watched by a Chelsea scout during Sampdoria’s 1-0 defeat at home to Napoli late last month.
The trio have played a part in establishing Sampdoria in an early midtable position after their return to Serie A this season. | http://www.ibtimes.com/chelsea-transfer-news-neymar-falcao-obiang-soriano-and-krsticic-involved-latest-speculation-843055 | 587 |
New rule changes impact college football
This year in college football brings about three crucial rule changes. With a focal point on player safety, these rules could have a noticeable effect in games.
First, kickoffs are now at the 35-yard line instead of the 30. Additionally, touchbacks have been moved forward to the 25-yard line, not the 20.
The yardage change allows for more touchbacks, which means fewer players will be hit during kickoffs.
IU Co-Defensive Coordinator Doug Mallory said this rule would impact the kickoff game.
“Moving it up five yards, you are not going to see as many returns,” he said. “It seems like it’s going to take a little away from the kickoff game.”
Second, when a player’s helmet comes off during the game, he must step off the field for the following play.
The player can stay on the field if it happened because of a flag against the other team, such as a facemask.
There have been mixed reactions to this rule, with some in support of the change for player safety and others, like senior defensive tackle Larry Black Jr., realizing this could result in an important player’s removal during a crucial play in the game.
“The helmet one is going to cause a lot of stirs,” Black said. “The helmet just comes off when you are going hard. If it comes off and on the ground, then you have to come out a play, and you could miss a key offensive or defensive player.”
College football players have seen this rule in action during its first week of play.
Northwestern junior quarterback Kain Colter’s helmet came off in a play during the fourth quarter against Syracuse.
“I was just watching a little of the Syracuse-Northwestern game, and here they are in second down, and a kid gets his helmet knocked off, and he has to come out,” Mallory said. “Well, then you put in the backup quarterback for a critical situation. So, kids just have to strap their helmets on better.”
Safety is a factor in the Big Ten Conference, as it is one of the toughest in the country, senior defensive tackle Adam Replogle said.
“The Big Ten is known for physical play, and I don’t think anything is
going to change,” he said.
Low blocking is now allowed only for linemen within seven yards of the snapper and for defensive backs in the tackle box.
“Low blocks have always been an emphasis,” Mallory said. “Anything for the safety of the game and the safety of the players, I’m in total agreement, just ’cause you are always trying to eliminate injuries.”
Both Black and Replogle said these rules are being implemented in practice. This way, issues such as a helmet flying off are less likely to occur during games.
“If a helmet comes off during practice, you are out for a play,” Black Jr. said. “We were doing that all camp, so it’s normal to us now.”
These rules are for the players’ benefit to keep then uninjured and able to play football for a long time, Black said.
“If it’s anything to keep the players safe, I’m all for it,” he said. “It’s a very
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DONETSK – Slovak coach Julius Supler is managing one of the most international teams in the world of hockey. Donbass Donetsk unites players from ten different countries. Today the Ukrainians aim for the IIHF Continental Cup win.
The Ukrainian champion plays in the Russian-based Kontinental Hockey League since this season and to be competitive on the next level the club needed to acquire new players.
Because the pool of KHL-calibre Ukrainian players is limited, only four Ukrainian players are on the roster for the Continental Cup after the departure of NHL players Ruslan Fedotenko, Olexi Ponikarovsky and Anton Babchuk. The first two also represented the Ukrainian national team in the Olympic Pre-Qualification in November while Babchuk was born in Ukraine but grew up in Russia and has represented Russia internationally.
In total, nine Ukrainian players have played at least one game on the KHL team this season but a majority of the players comes from elsewhere.
“We have ten nationalities. That’s pretty hard,” says Julius Supler. “I have to make quick decisions and everybody has to understand. It’s a pretty interesting job. You have to be alert all the time.”
Supler was named Donbass coach prior to the 2012-13 season. He has been working in and around Russia since 2003 when he signed with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Jobs followed with Riga 2000, Dinamo Riga and CSKA Moscow with a two-year stint as Slovak national team coach in between.
Supler was also the first national team coach in Slovak hockey history when he led the national team at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games and the 1994 IIHF World Championship C-Pool after the country’s independence.
With players coming from Belarus, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine and the U.S., the 62-year-old needs some polyglot skills.
Having worked in Russia before helped, as did his stint with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks in the ‘90s.
“I even wanted to learn a bit Latvian but it was too hard and I got along in Russian and English,” he says about his five years in Riga.
How does the coach communicate with players from so many different countries?
“I start in Russian and translate everything to English,” he says and adds with a smile: “If somebody doesn’t understand, I will say some harsh words in Slovak, after that everybody understands.”
“It’s an interesting job. Hockey is like a hobby for me so I can be happy to work in hockey.”
One of Supler’s top import players is American defenceman Clay Wilson, who played some NHL games for Columbus, Atlanta, Florida and Calgary before transferring to Donetsk last summer. It’s his first European hockey experience apart from representing the U.S. at the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia.
“It’s definitely the first time I play on such an international team. It’s a great experience to learn different cultures and the way people work. It’s been a lot of fun this season,” the 29-year-old Minnesota native says. “I really enjoy myself in Donetsk. I’ve been really happy with the city and the people. I have nothing but great things to say about Donetsk.”
Thinking about next season, he even wants to learn some Russian to be able to speak more.
“English is kind of the common language on our team and I’m lucky that most of my teammates speak English,” Wilson says. “That makes it an easy transition for me coming over.”
Today, Donbass Donetsk aims for the Continental Cup win. The math is simple for the team: Donbass Donetsk needs one more point against the Rouen Dragons, meaning a victory – or a loss in regulation time. If the Ukrainians lose the game after 60 minutes, either Rouen or Metallurg Zhlobin will be hoisting the winners’ plate.
“All we think about is a win and coming out to play our best hockey,” Wilson says. “This tournament means a lot for us and we really want to play our best game of the tournament.” | http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/recap/7489.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=215&cHash=fbbdf08fb1 | 926 |
STOCKHOLM – Swedish hockey heroes Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin, and Nicklas Lidström have come together with the Swedish organizers of the 2013 IIHF World Championship to create a new ticket distribution concept called My Game.
With My Game, each of these former players will receive 2,000 tickets to one of three chosen games. The idea is that they will distribute them to various organizations that they have selected. The lucky recipients of the tickets will get to attend the chosen game and also interact with one of these hockey stars.
“I grew up in Avesta in the province of Dalarna, and played ice hockey in a small club named Skogsbo,” said Lidström. “I would like to give them the opportunity to come here to Stockholm and see a World Championship game in the Globe and give them a chance to experience the feeling. I also want to give some tickets to kids in Västerås where my career took off.”
The concept is the first task set to Forsberg, Sundin and Lidström, all three of whom are supporting the 2013 tournament as World Championship ambassadors.
Already a friendly rivalry has developed between these three players, who competed for so long on against each other in the NHL and together with the Swedish national team.
“It would be great if my game had more spectators than the other guy’s games,” said a smiling Forsberg during the announcement for the My Game concept.
Click here for a video of Wednesday's press conference.
SWITZERLAND – CZECH REPUBLIC: Monday 6th of May at 16.15 hosted by Mats Sundin.
CZECH REPUBLIC – DENMARK: Thursday 9th of May at 16.15 hosted by Nicklas Lidström.
CZECH REPUBLIC – NORWAY: Tuesday 14th of May at 16.15 hosted by Peter Forsberg. | http://www.iihf.com/sk/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/recap/7494.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=211&cHash=3d9534e12b | 411 |
Today, when the Carolina Panthers meet up with the Washington Redskins, last year's offensive phenom will be on one sideline while the NFL's newest wunderkind will be on the other. And that matchup has been the focus of most of the pregame hype.
When the two most recent Heisman Trophy winners (and two players with uncommon athletic abilities) happen to be playing in the same stadium at the same time, people will talk.
But don't expect 'Skins rookie QB Robert Griffin III to get any advice from Cam Newton, the 2011 Offensive Rookie of the Year. It's not that Newton wouldn't be willing to offer if asked, it's just that RGIII doesn't need any.
In fact, the Carolina quarterback could learn a few things from the novice out of Baylor.
Newton, of course, broke a string of records last season and quickly became a crowd favorite. He'd celebrate touchdowns by giving away the football — usually to a kid in the stands.
Those were feel-good moments and they came from a young man who often exuded sheer joy while on the football field.
But that's just one side of Newton and a side few people are seeing anymore.
He is not one to take losing well and proved during 10 losses in 2011 he could pout with the best of them. This season, as Carolina has stumbled to a 1-6 record, he is downright sullen.
During his one and done season at Auburn his coach, Gene Chizik, did all his talking for him.
The pair looked more like a ventriloquist act than player and coach.
And as a Tiger he never lost, so losing never came up in conversation.
But now he's required to speak for himself. And the maturity you would expect from a team leader — and any NFL quarterback must be a team leader — just isn't always there.
Poor protection from the O-line and defensive adjustments to his freestyle quarterbacking style has kept him in check this year, and his stats reflect it. His supporting cast hasn't been much support, either.
And while he puts much of the blame for his team's woes on himself, his perpetual funk is contagious.
Instead of getting up after being knocked down, he prefers to sit alone on the bench, his head buried in a towel.
Griffin, on the other hand, acts as though this whole business of being a professional football player is old hat.
When he's not in the game, he's studying the game from the sideline.
When he's on the field, he's leading his team every step of the way, good play and bad.
Following a Redskins' victory or a Washington loss, he answers every question thoughtfully and honestly.
Like Newton, he hates losing, but he knows losing is an occupational hazard and must be dealt with. This is the big league and unless you're the 1972 Miami Dolphins, you can't win 'em all.
When it comes to game-breaking skills, you can argue all day long about whether Griffin has the edge over Newton or Newton gets the nod. There is no clear cut answer there.
But as far as mental toughness and possessing the kind of attitude a signal caller needs to be consistently successful, RGIII has the edge.
Fortunately for Newton, he's still young enough to learn what his Washington counterpart learned very quickly; you have to roll with the punches in the National Football League.
And if he can get the leadership part of his job down like RGIII has done (and get better protection than he's received in 2012), Newton has the chance to be as good as he wants to be.
And that means he can be as good as the Carolina Panthers need him to be. | http://www.independentmail.com/news/2012/nov/04/newton-can-look-to-rgiii-for-some-solid-career/ | 771 |
NEW ORLEANS — Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis calls his final NFL season his "last ride." So far, it's been anything but a smooth ride for a player revered by some and reviled by others.
On Wednesday, Lewis kicked off his daily news conference addressing a Sports Illustrated report about him allegedly using a banned substance to help him recover from a torn right triceps earlier this season.
Lewis missed 10 regular-season games because of the injury, but he returned in time for the Ravens first playoff game.
He announced his plan to retire after the Super Bowl just before the Ravens played their first playoff game.
Yet, rather than bask in the spotlight in the run up to the Super
The report said Lewis called Sports with Alternatives to Steroids owner Mitch Ross hours after Lewis suffered his injury and asked Ross to send him deer-antler spray and pills, as well as other products manufactured by the company.
"This is probably one of the most embarrassing things we can do on this type of stage," Lewis said Wednesday. "You give someone the ability to come into our world. Our world is a very secret society, and we try to protect our world as much as we can.
"But when you let cowards come into and do things like that, to try to disturb something ... I
Lewis dismissed the report and said that it's taking away from the Ravens and 49ers in the biggest game of the year.
"I don't need it, my teammates don't need, the 49ers don't need it, nobody needs it," Lewis said, "because it just shows you how people really plan things to try to attack people from the outside. It's just foolish. It's very foolish.
Lewis said he has too much respect for the NFL and his body to get involved with performance-enhancers.
Through it all, Lewis said, the Ravens remain focused, and they aren't distracted by the report.
"It's not," Lewis said, when asked if it's a distraction. "It's a joke, if you know me. I tell (my teammates) all the time, this is what I try to teach them. Don't let people from the outside ever come in and try to disturb what's inside. That's the trick of the devil. The trick of the devil is to kill, steal and destroy."
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday that he spoke with Lewis about the report and that he believes Lewis when he says that he isn't guilty of taking the substance.
"He said there's nothing to it," Harbaugh said. "Ray's honest, Ray's straightforward. He's told us in the past, he's told us now, that he's never taken any of that stuff, ever. I believe Ray. I trust Ray completely. We have a relationship. I know this man. I know what he's all about." | http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_22481158/super-bowl-2013-ravens-ray-lewis-denies-using?source=pkg | 594 |
fast little loans
Perth - Despite a cheap dismissal on Monday, Ricky Ponting went out in style, leaving the game as Australia's all-time leading Test batsman after a poignant guard of honour from the South Africans.
Not long after the adoring crowd in Perth gave him a rousing send-off, Australia's most successful captain was soon back in the pavilion with just eight runs as his side chased an improbable 632 to win the third Test.
But Ponting, who turns 38 this month, will be judged over the course of a stellar career that equalled Steve Waugh's mark of 168 Test matches - the most in the history of Australian cricket.
His South African opponents gave due recognition as he came out to bat on Monday, lining up to applaud him onto the pitch. But in truth Ponting had failed to fire in the current series, and admitted that his time was up.
The Tasmanian, who boasts 41 centuries, with only Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar scoring more, said ahead of the series decider in Perth that he knew retirement was imminent.
“Over the last couple of weeks my level of performance hasn't been good enough,” he admitted.
“My passion and love for the game hasn't changed but at the end of the day (the decision) was based on my results.”
Ponting won more Tests as captain - 48 - than any other Australian and has the astonishing success rate of almost 72 percent as the country's one-day leader, winning 164 of his 228 games.
He had already called a halt on his captaincy of the Test and one-day team in March last year, but continued as a player.
Despite skippering Australia in more than 300 Test and one-day matches, taking over from Waugh, his magnificent innings were blighted by three Ashes series losses as captain.
Nicknamed Punter by Shane Warne for his penchant for a bet (punt) on the greyhounds, Ponting amassed 13 378 runs in 168 Tests at 51.85, and 13 704 runs in 375 one-day internationals.
As captain, he oversaw a painful transition in Australian cricket following several high-profile retirements, including Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer.
But even with such greats in the ranks, Ponting, as captain, lost the 2005 Ashes in England, and despite engineering a 5-0 revenge in the ensuing home series in 2006/07, he again lost in 2009 and 2010/11.
That last failure was badly received in Australia - it was their first Ashes loss at home for 24 years and followed a series of defeats by Ponting-led teams.
Born the eldest of four children in the working-class Tasmanian suburb of Mowbray, Ricky Thomas Ponting was influenced to play cricket by his uncle Greg Campbell, who played Tests for Australia in 1989 and 1990.
Ponting went on to make his state debut at 17, the youngest to represent Tasmania in the domestic Sheffield Shield competition, before making his international one-day debut aged 20 in 1995.
He only scored one against South Africa in his first match but went on to become one of cricket's batting titans, with his Test debut coming 10 months later in December against Sri Lanka in Perth.
Ponting had a rocky beginning in the public eye and was banned for three matches in 1999 by Australian cricket chiefs following an early-morning brawl in a Sydney bar.
Married with two children, he is known as a campaigner against cancer and established The Ponting Foundation with wife Rianna to raise money for young Australians afflicted by the disease.
Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland described him as one of the best players to ever to pad up, and wants him to continue in the game in some capacity, although Ponting is yet to announce his future plans. - AFP | http://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket/world/punter-s-stellar-career-comes-to-an-end-1.1434337 | 808 |
Notre Dame Quarterback Tommy Rees pleads not guilty to fellony charges
Notre Dame Quarterback Tommy Rees pleads not guilty to felony charges
By: Jason O'Mahony | Published Friday, December 21, 2012, 3:27 PM | Updated Friday, December 21, 2012, 3:27 PM
Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees made a brief appearance in court Thursday morning to plead not guilty to charges stemming from his arrest at a house party on May 3. Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees made a brief appearance in court Thursday morning to plead not guilty to charges stemming from his arrest at a house party on May 3.
|Tommy Rees and his legal team.|
The Fighting Irish junior faces four misdemeanor charges, minor consumption of alcohol, battery and two counts of resisting law enforcement, after trying to flee from an off-campus party when police arrived.
Rees, along with four other unidentified males, jumped a fence in the back yard of the Notre Dame Ave. house when police responded to a noise complaint shortly after midnight on May 3. Police caught Rees with the assistance of a taxi cab driver and eventually had to use pepper spray to subdue him. The initial police report said Rees kneed the arresting officer in the lower abdomen during the struggle.
Rees appeared in court with George Horn, a South Bend attorney from the firm of Barnes & Thornburg, and one other middle-aged man. They did not responded to questions about the case on their way out of the courthouse. Horn could not immediately be reached for comment at his office Thursday.
Notre Dame's starting QB arrested for batteryNotre Dame continue to pay former Fighting Irish coach Charlie Weis millions
Senior linebacker Carlo Calabrese was also scheduled to be in court for his initial hearing for a misdemeanor intimidation charge Thursday. His attorney, Jeffrey J. Stesiak, made the appearance for him.
“I don’t know why he wasn’t here,” White said. “It happens. It’s not unusual for an attorney come and agree to continue to the case.”
Police arrested Calabrese at the same May 3 party after he allegedly threatened officers while they arrested Rees. According to the prosecutor, Calabrese asked Sgt. Dorian Finley if he was a Notre Dame fan. Finley told Calabrese that was irrelevant, to which he responded “that it was relevant and that Officer Finley did not like Notre Dame football by how he was acting toward him and his teammates."
Calabrese twice told Finley, “My people will get you,” according to the prosecutor’s office and pulled away from other bystanders at the party that attempted to walk him back to the house. His status hearing is set for June 21.
A third Notre Dame football player, sophomore wide receiver DaVaris Daniels, ran into alcohol-related trouble last week. Police in Vernon Hills, Ill. cited Daniels and 28 others for under aged drinking at a party early in the morning on May 13. The address in the police report is the same as Daniels’ home address. The citation is not a criminal charge, but he will have to appear in court.
“I’m aware of the citation DaVaris received and will be speaking with him about the matter,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said in a statement released Wednesday night. “Any team-related discipline that may be forthcoming will be handled internally."
All three players are competing for starting jobs on the football field next fall. Rees has started 16 of the last 17 games for Notre Dame at quarterback. Calabrese split time at inside linebacker with fellow senior Dan Fox
. Daniels is a candidate to take over the starting wide receiver role for departed senior Michael Floyd.Source: Dan Murphy at Blue & Gold Illustrated. | http://www.irishcentral.com/story/sport/inside-notre-dames-fighting-irish/notre-dame-quarterback-tommy-rees-pleads-not-guilty-to-fellony-charges-151881155.html?mob-ua=&c=y | 796 |
Detectives hunting Shahid Mohammed over a fire that caused the deaths of three generations of a family have released a new image of him.
Police hunting a man wanted over a fire that caused the deaths of three generations of a Huddersfield family release new information.
A 12 week public consultation exercise on radical plans to reform fire cover across West Yorkshire has been launched today.
Police are appealing for information after a fire at a building in the centre of Sheffield.
At around 6.30am on Friday, 19 April, officers received reports of fire at an unoccupied commercial building on Johnson Street, Sheffield.
Enquiries are ongoing into the circumstances surrounding the fire, and no arrests have been made so far.
Police have released a CCTV image of two men they would like to speak to, as it is believed that they may hold vital information that may assist with the investigation.
Anyone with any information about the incident, or who can assist in identifying the men pictured, should contact South Yorkshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 119 of 19 April 2013. Alternatively, people can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Rescue services are staging a three day exercise at their headquarters in Sunderland.
They have simulated a major disaster to test their response, as Derek Proud reports.
You can watch his full report below.
A Sheffield man needed hospital treatment for smoke inhalation after a fire in his flat in the early hours of Friday morning. Fire crews were called to the 3rd floor Cambridge Court flat, on Carver Street, at 12.50am. They found the bedroom in which the blaze started severely damaged.
Firefighters in breathing apparatus put the fire out and ventilated the rest of the property, which was filled with smoke.
A second flat, across the hallway, was also full of smoke, and firefighters' instructions helped the occupant to get himself to the front door and out to safety.
He did not suffer any injuries. Fire crews believe the fire started accidentally, caused by a lit candle which fell onto the floor.
Firefighters are continuing to fight a blaze at the Sheffield Ski Village.
South Yorkshire Fire Service received a call at 8.20pm - and have received 131 calls since.
It's expected crews will remain at the scene throughout the night.
A fire has broken out tonight at Sheffield Ski Village.
There are three fire engines at the scene, and South Yorkshire Fire Service say they do not know whether the fire will be put out tonight.
They have so far received 132 calls about the blaze.
It comes after it was revealed the village is unlikely ever to re-open, as its owners are unable to get insurance following arson attacks, vandalism and theft.
The ski complex has stood at Parkwood Springs for the last 25 years - but it was destroyed in a blaze last April.
The blaze was recorded as accidental, but has been followed by repeated arson attacks.
Firefighers were called out to Doncaster Prison last night after a blaze broke out in a cell.
Crews from Doncaster and Edlington Fire Stations were sent to the Marshgate jail at 7.10pm, but found the flames were out when they arrived.
Officers believe the blaze was started deliberately.
Three elderly people were taken to hospital after a blaze which destroyed a sixth floor flat in the Burmantofts area of Leeds. The fire broke out at Shakespeare Grange just before 11pm last night.
Fire crews in Lincolnshire have attending a blaze at a recycling plant in Ancaster. 35 fire fighters helped tackle flames and have been working with Mid UK Recycling to extinguish it. The material burning is approximately 550 tonnes of recycled carpet.
The Health Protection Agency has advised people living nearby to stay indoors and close their doors and windows as a precautionary measure. Anyone experiencing breathing issues because of the smoke should call NHS Direct or their local GP.
Mid UK Recycling would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused and are doing everything they can to bring the incident to a rapid conclusion.
Shipley has lost one its landmark buildings after a fire swept through a former art deco cinema dating back to the 1930s.
The disused building was last used as a bingo hall. It was so badly damaged it was in danger of collapse and needed to be demolished. The work has closed one of the main roads in the town all day. | http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/topic/fire/?page=2 | 902 |
UEFA Europa League video highlights
Oscar Cardozo makes it 3-1 to Benfica, and puts them ahead overall.
David Luiz scores a pearler from 25 yards out.
After his first shot is saved, Victor Moses nets for Chelsea.
Fernando Torres is first to react after a Lampard shot is saved.
Mohamed Salah scores what could be a vital goal for Basle to put them ahead on the night.
Oscar Cardozo nets after a quick free-kick. | http://www.itv.com/sport/football/europa-league/video-highlights/?page=2 | 107 |
By Clare Newman
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
NEWPORT'S unbeaten run in the Sydenhams Wessex League came to an end tonight (Wednesday) with defeat to Christchurch at St George's Park.
The side were 2-0 up at half time, thanks to goals from Iain Seabrook in the third minute, and John McKie in the 34th.
But in a disastrous final 15 minutes, second-placed Christchurch scored three times to take the points.
They will look to recover their winning ways on Saturday at home to Fareham Town.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
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Newport, Isle of Wight PO30 1ST. Registered in England. Registered number: 1342243. | http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/football/newports-unbeaten-streak-ends-46406.aspx?mn=1 | 230 |
Final Four weekend brings three teams to Tokyo that were expected to be here and one that joined the mix by a less conventional route.
The defending champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix, the three-time champion Osaka Evessa and the 008-09 title-winning Ryukyu Golden Kings were all popular choices to be in the hunt for the title before the bj-league’s sixth season tipped off in October.
This, however, has been anything but a typical season.
The Niigata Albirex BB, on the other hand, were considered a playoff-bound team, but the Sendai 89ers and Tokyo Apache, led by Honoo Hamaguchi and Bob Hill, respectively, appeared to have stronger teams and had better won-loss records before the March 11 earthquake. When those two Eastern Conference teams and the Saitama Broncos canceled the remainder of their games, though, the fourth-place Albirex emerged as a likely Final Four choice from a conference that also features the historically bad Toyama Grouses, who have had five consecutive losing campaigns, and the expansion Akita Northern Happinets.
The Final Four is set, with the Phoenix vs. the Albirex in the East final at 2:05 p.m. on Saturday. The West final features familiar foes Ryukyu and Osaka, meeting for a right to represent the conference in the title game for the third straight season, and the tipoff is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. The venue, as has been the case every postseason, is Ariake Colosseum. Sunday’s third-place game begins at 1:05 p.m., followed by the championship clash at 5:05.
What follows is a breakdown of the West and East finals
Ryukyu vs. Osaka: The Evessa were 1-3 against their archrival during the regular season, but the addition of point guard Kenny Satterfield, who began the season in a Saitama uniform, in April transformed Osaka into an even better squad.
Ryukyu forward David Palmer, who has played in three finals for the Evessa, said his team’s must apply a defense-by-committee approach against Satterfield. And it won’t be easy, he said.
It will be a “team effort, throw a lot of different guys at him — me, Carlos (Dixon), (Anthony) McHenry) and (Naoto) Kosuge,” Palmer said.
In other words, the Golden Kings want to disrupt Satterfield’s timing and not allow him to get into a comfort zone as Osaka’s facilitator on offense.
“If he gets going, he can get tough,” Palmer said of the former NBA floor general.
Palmer is confident his team has the athleticism and strength in numbers to counter Satterfield’s unique skill set.
“McHenry’s probably our go-to defender,” he said. “He can guard so many positions because of his length and athleticism.”
The Golden Kings have plenty of scoring punch in Carlos Dixon and Palmer, McHenry and Kosuge, Jeff Newton and Shigeyuki Kinjo and added strength in the frontcourt in Dillion Sneed, a126-kg hard-nosed rebounder and imposing force around the basket.
Tsubasa Yonamine, who had 233 assists and 61 turnovers before the playoffs commenced, runs the point with a quiet confidence but commands respect from his teammates.
Veterans Yasufumi Takushi and Yoshiki Yamashiro added depth to the rotation, while guard Takehiko Shimura, on loan from the 89ers, provided a boost for the season’s stretch run, including 14 points on 5-for-5 shooting in the season finale.
The well-rounded Evessa squad also features power forward Lynn Washington, the team’s perennial MVP candidate, tough center Wayne Marshall, Knight and Taiwanese newcomer Tseng Wen-ting, a shot-blocking menace, underrated passer and solid low-post scorer.
“You have to defend and rebound, but against Osaka you really have to try to limit free throws and points in the paint,” Palmer said. “With Lynn and Wayne Marshall, you really have to keep them away from the rim as best as you can to take away those easy baskets. Those things are really going to be the key.”
Palmer also mentioned that his team’s offensive options will help them compete in the high-stakes win-and-advance conference final.
“You have to score and guys have to be willing to score and take shots,” he said.
X-factor: Newton didn’t play in the Western Conference semifinals, nursing an ankle injury. If he’s mobile and active on both ends of the floor, Ryukyu’s power and speed will be better coped to slow down Satterfield and limit his forays into the lane.
With Washington in the lineup, the Evessa, who have endured a number of key personnel changes in recent years, remain a title contender every spring.
“He’s our emotional leader,” Blackwell said of Washington. “He’s been here so long and I’ve never seen a guy that wants to win more than he does. He just has that will and effort. His knee may be hurting and he gets his knee drained. It could be another problem, but he goes out and gives 110 percent and that doesn’t happen too often. He takes care of his body, he’s in the weight room, and he’s just our emotional leader on and off the court.”
For the Evessa, what will it take to triumph against Ryukyu?
“Offensively, we have enough talent, we have enough guys that can score,” Blackwell said. “They just have to have the confidence to share the ball and set screens, and defensively that’s what it’s going to take. And I said at the beginning of the year: it’s going to be on the defensive end. If we play and be active like we’ve been in these past few games — contesting shots, boxing outs, little things that — I think we’ll be fine.
He added: “We have four guys who on any given night can go off for 20 or more points, and that doesn’t happen very often, especially in this league. Okinawa’s got some guys that can score and so does Hamamatsu, but with the four guys we have with Kenny and Lynn, Billy and Wayne, they can all get big numbers, so that’s a plus for us.”
To beat Ryukyu, Blackwell also highlighted the need to slow down Dixon and Palmer and Kosuge on offense — “guys that can stoke the ball,” he said — so the zone defense will be key.
“They like to run, so it’s going to be essential for us to get back on defense,” Blackwell said. “…We’ll have to sprint back and play tough, tough defense and contest shots.”
The Evessa were No. 2 in the league in scoring defense, allowing 76 points a game. Only Niigata (74.3 ppg) allowed fewer points.
For Washington, the team’s return to the Final Four under first-year coach Blackwell was something that required great commitment from the entire organization.
“We changed our team a lot this season,” Washington said, “and for us to make it to the Final Four this season is a great accomplishment. I feel great about our team and I also feel like we’re not finished yet. Our goal isn’t to make it to the Final Four here in Osaka, our goal is to win the championship. And that’s been our goal every season we’ve had here with this franchise.”
To accomplish that goal, Washington emphasized the need for Osaka defenders to force Dixon and Palmer to become passers rather than first-option scorers and to limit Sneed’s impact in the lane. “We just have to play unbelievable team defense, which we are ready to play and we’ve been ready to play Okinawa since the last time because Kenny had just come on the team after not playing for three weeks, a three-week hiatus, so now we are a totally different team.”
In their last series, host Ryukyu topped Osaka 101-94 and 102-73 on April 2-3. Sneed had nine offensive rebounds in 34 minutes off the bench in those two games, as well as 18 points and 16 boards.
X-factor: Osaka’s Shota Konno and Hirohisa Takada can be the forgotten men on the Evessa, but leave them open, and they are capable of scoring points in bunches.
Hamamatsu vs. Niigata: The Albirex went 20-20 in the regular season, but added veteran big man George Leach for the stretch run after Saitama’s season ended. The team lost gifted scorer and lockdown defender Willie Veasley after the earthquake, though, as he opted to return home like many American players.
Naoto Takushi and Yuichi Ikeda, a pair of talented All-Stars, are experienced playoff-tested players who’ll have big roles in the team’s second straight trip to the Final Four.
Gone, though, are guards Makoto Hasegawa, 40, who played for Akita this season, and Akitomo Takeno, who rejoined the Rizing Fukuoka after two seasons in Niigata. These changes give Hirotaka Kondo, Shuhei Komatsu, Julius Ashby, Zach Andrews and others more chances to put points on the board.
X-factor: Ashby. The three-time All-Star has helped the Takamatsu Five Arrows and Tokyo Apache reach the championship game, but both teams fell short of their goal. Ashby, when he’s at the top of his game, is an explosive scorer and an intimidating defensive presence.
Phoenix coach Kazuo Nakamura’s club breezed through the regular season, outplaying the opposition and winning the majority of its close games as well.
In the offseason, Hamamatsu lost 2009-10 MVP Wendell White, who moved on to the Kyoto Hannaryz, and swingman Billy Knight, who had a stellar season for the Evessa. But newcomer Jeffrey Parmer (16.9 points per game) collected the league’s MVP honor and teammate Wayne Arnold (18.6 ppg), a super sixth man and 3-point shooter, joined him on the Best Five squad.
The Phoenix’s team defense, perimeter shooting prowess and offensive balance, including underrated big man Dzaflo Larkai (9.8 ppg), keep foes on their toes to match up with the defending champs. Shingo Okada (5.6 ppg), Kazutoshi Ota (6.3) and Masahiro Oguchi (6.0) give Nakamura multiple proven scoring options to run plays for.Osaka-Ryukyu battlehighlights semifinals
A few others tidbits about high-energy Hamamatsu:
* The Phoenix were 21-3 on the road in the regular season.
* Oguchi, a backup guard, drained 10 3s in the East final last May against Niigata.
*Led by Parmer’s 74, nine Phoenix players had 20 or more steals, evidence of the team’s feisty, opportunistic defense.
X-factor: Ray Nixon. The forward takes a lot of 3-point shots (274 this season) and scores in double digits (11.8 ppg; season-high 25 on Dec. 25) when he gets into a rhythm the versatile team becomes even harder to defend.
Around the league: Despite reaching the second round of the playoffs for the first time in team history, Shiga Lakestars general manager/CEO Shinsuke Sakai appears ready to undertake a major overhaul of the team, according to a league insider. Furthermore, it appears that former coach Takatoshi Ishibashi, who was fired midway through his first season at the helm, never had a proper chance to lead the team the way most coaches would be given.
“It sounds like Sakai-san made life tough in Shiga, often going into to the locker room when Big Bashi was addressing the team,” a source told The Japan Times. “He would talk to Big Bashi, and American players felt he was telling Big Bashi what to do/how to coach.
“(The Lakestars) paid Yu Okada a lot of money, so Sakai-san was upset that (Masashi) Joho was starting over him. But I hear that Joho repeatedly outplayed him in practice, so all the players knew that Joho deserved to be in the lineup over Okada.
“Upset one time after not playing much, Yu Okada got mad at Big Bashi as they talked, and threw something at him. Mikey (Marshall) was very upset that Okada would disrespect the head coach like that. This was brought to Sakai-san’s attention, but no disciplinary action taken against Okada. So gradually the American players lost respect for Big Bashi.” Now Sakai-san is clearing house,” the hoop insider continued. “(Assistant coach/veteran point guard) Haruyuki Ishibashi may go to Toyama to become the assistant coach. (Center) Hirotaka Sato may go to the expansion team in Yokohama. Joho may be let go to open up playing time for Yu Okada.”
Solid finish: Many stories about the bj-league have been written since the March 11 earthquake, and this one got lost in the shuffle. Sendai center Chris Holm finished his season by playing three games for the NBA Development League’s Dakota Wizards in early April, including a 14-point, 13-rebound effort on April 2 in 27 minutes. Ex-Oita and Ryukyu center Chris Ayer, who has began this season with the JBL’s Rera Kamuy Hokkaido, played 20 games for the Wizards, too.
Coming Saturday: The Japan Times spoke to Hamamatsu star and reigning playoff MVP Masahiro Oguchi, finding out his thoughts on the upcoming game against the Niigata Albirex BB and his role on the ultra-successful team.
Quotable: “The thing about Okinawa that stands out to me is that they have balance in all areas — big men, the forward spot and the guard spot. They have a good combination of different players. I think the first game we played them a couple weeks ago in Okinawa we could’ve won. We got killed on the offensive glass by Sneed. So boxing out and making sure we crash the boards is going to be key for us. And they play tough, they’re defensively tough,” — Blackwell, highlighting the Golden Kings’ strengths.
Quotable, part II: “When I speak for everybody in the locker room, from the head coach on down to the player who plays the least, we’re not done yet,” — Washington, summing up the team’s championship aspirations.
Do you have a story idea about the bj-league? Send an email to [email protected] | http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2011/05/20/sports/osaka-ryukyu-battle-highlights-semifinals/ | 3,322 |
MARTIN O’Neill will seek clear-the-air talks with Kieran Richardson when Sunderland return for the start of pre-season this week.
Richardson’s future is shrouded in doubt as he enters the final year of his contract, with a batch of interested Premier League clubs monitoring the availability of a player who is the longest serving in the current squad.
After five years on Wearside the player is understood to have expressed doubts about his Black Cats career in private towards the end of last season and Sunderland blocked a move for him in January.
Arsenal expressed an interest in him, but O’Neill needed experienced players in the second half of last season and, to his credit, he continued to turn in consistent performances in a variety of positions.
But his future is far from certain now.
Everton, West Brom and Premier League newcomers West Ham and Reading are all ready to offer him a new start away from the North East – and Sunderland’s hand would be considerably weaker if Richardson reaffirms his desire to leave this week.
But O’Neill is keeping an open mind about the player’s future, and would ideally like to keep him at the Stadium of Light if possible. He will seek to clarify
Richardson’s intentions on Wednesday, when the majority of the first-team squad report back.
Former Manchester United midfielder Richardson has filled in at left-back, left midfield and central midfield over the last couple of seasons and that versatility makes him a valuable asset to O’Neill, who has no appetite for the kind of complete overhaul that Steve Bruce oversaw last summer. Ideally, he would prefer to add just three or four pedigree performers and the loss of Richardson, who would not command much of a fee in the final year of his contract, would be a setback. Sunderland are back at work this week and will only have one new face among their ranks, former Aston Villa defender Carlos Cuellar.
O’Neill is happy to bide his time on other targets, fully aware that Wolves will try to extract the maximum possible amount for Black Cats targets Matt Jarvis and striker Stephen Fletcher.
Sunderland also like Blackburn’s Stephen Nzonzi and Manchester City’s England international Adam Johnson, although they know that particular chase is likely to go right to the wire. But talk of Junior Hoilett coming to Sunderland appears fanciful, with the winger currently casting around for the best possible deal.
He was on the verge of moving to Germany, but a deal fell through on wage grounds, and with Sunderland looking to rein in their spending it would be a surprise if they were to offer the sort of package that the Canadian winger is looking for. | http://www.journallive.co.uk/safc/safc-news/2012/07/09/martin-o-neill-to-clear-the-air-with-kieran-richardson-61634-31351982/ | 560 |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - The University of Arkansas says the former mistress of fired football coach Bobby Petrino has resigned her position with the program.
The school announced in a news release Tuesday evening that Jessica Dorrell had stepped down as the football team's student-athlete development coordinator. Athletic Director Jeff Long said the decision was mutual and that there are no immediate plans to try to re-fill the job.
The university says Dorrell will be paid approximately $14,000 to settle "all matters between the parties."
Petrino was fired last week for not disclosing their affair - a conflict of interest - and Dorrell had been put on paid leave. The revelations about their relationship surfaced after they were involved in a motorcycle accident on April 1. | http://www.kbtx.com/sports/sec/headlines/Petrinos_former_mistress_resigns_from_Ark_team_147847175.html | 159 |
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Join the 12th-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team and head coach Gary Blair at the annual Basketball 101 for ladies this Monday, Nov. 5, at the Cox-McFerrin Center for Aggie for Basketball.
Basketball 101 is designed to give ladies in attendees insight into building champions and creating a successful program. Coach Blair and rest of the Aggies will assist with various basketball activities and teach audience members how the Aggies play.
The night will begin at 6 p.m. with dinner followed by station work at 7 p.m. The night will conclude with a social hour at 8 p.m. allowing the audience to meet with Coach Blair, the assistant coaches, and the Aggie team. Audience members should be dressed casually and tennis shoes are recommended. The event will cost $25 which can be paid in advance by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE.
The Aggies will begin the season on the road Friday at ninth-ranked Louisville. The first chance to see the Aggies at Reed Arena will be on Wednesday, Nov. 14 against the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions of Penn State.
For more information, please contact the Texas A&M women's basketball office at: (979) 845-0565 or [email protected]. | http://www.kbtx.com/sports/texasam/headlines/Womens-Basketball-set-to-Host-Fifth-Annual-Basketball-101-177183611.html | 286 |
Surging Kaneland boys basketball has eyes on title
Knights continue to rack up Northern Illinois Big 12 East wins
MAPLE PARK – The Kaneland boys basketball team entered the season with little returning firepower, scarce size, an injured point guard and not much in the outside shooting department.
That might not sound like the recipe for a championship season, but the Knights are showing a knack for defying convention.
As the calendar nears February, the surging Knights are knocking on the door of a Northern Illinois Big 12 East title. Kaneland is 5-1 in NI Big 12 East play with four conference games to go, two games ahead of a trio of teams that are 3-3 in the conference.
If you have any technical difficulties, either with your username and password or with the payment options, please contact us by e-mail at [email protected] | http://www.kcchronicle.com/2013/01/29/surging-kaneland-boys-basketball-has-eyes-on-title/aaglks/?list-comments=1 | 180 |
News | Statistics | Player vs. Team | Utilization | Injury History | Depth Chart | Team Roster
Week By Week
Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:50:15 -0700
Seattle Seahawks RB Vai Taua (undisclosed) was waived Tuesday, Sept. 11, with an injury settlement.
Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:40:05 -0700
The Seattle Seahawks waived TE Cooper Helfet (undisclosed) and RB Vai Taua (undisclosed) with an injury settlement Friday, Aug. 31.
Sat, 24 Mar 2012 09:09:46 -0700
Seattle Seahawks RBs Kregg Lumpkin, Tyrell Sutton and Vai Taua are expected to compete for one roster spot during training camp.
Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:32:39 -0800
The Seattle Seahawks signed RB Vai Taua Wednesday, Jan. 11, to a reserve/futures contract.
Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:20:53 -0700
The Seattle Seahawks re-signed free-agent RB Vai Taua to the practice squad Tuesday, Oct. 25.
Sat, 03 Sep 2011 18:38:17 -0700
The Seattle Seahawks have released FB Dorson Boyce, WR Chris Carter, RB Thomas Clayton, DT Colin Cole, CB Kennard Cox, G Paul Fanaika, DE Maurice Fountain, C Michael Gibson, DT David Howard, LB Michael Y. Johnson, DE Jameson Konz, S Mark LeGree, WR Ricardo Lockett, LB Mike Morgan, S Josh Pinkard, T William Robinson, DE A.J. Schable, WR Owen Spencer, RB Vai Taua and WR Patrick Williams. DE Pierre Allen (undisclosed) was waived/injured.
Fri, 02 Sep 2011 22:53:52 -0700
Seattle Seahawks RBs Thomas Clayton and Vai Taua each scored rushing touchdowns in the preseason finale Friday, Sept. 2, against the Oakland Raiders. Clayton finished with 11 carries for 42 yards and the score, while Taua had seven totes for 31 yards and a TD.
Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:28:28 -0700
The Seattle Seahawks re-signed free-agent RB Vai Taua Wednesday, Aug. 24.
Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:00:38 -0700
The Seattle Seahawks have signed free-agent LB David Vobora (Rams). Terms of the contract were not disclosed. In a corresponding move, the team released RB Vai Taua.
Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:02:50 -0700
The Seattle Seahawks signed rookie free-agent RB Vai Taua (Nevada) Sunday, Aug. 14, and they re-signed LB Michael Y. Johnson.
More player news ... | http://www.kffl.com/player/24612/NFL/Vai-Taua | 585 |
Winnipeg received some timely hitting and great pitching to beat the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 4-1 Friday.
Like they have all series, Winnipeg received some timely hitting and great pitching to beat the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 4-1 Friday before 5,025 celebrating fans at Shaw Park.
The victory gives the Goldeyes a 3-0 series win over the RedHawks in their best-of-five American Association Divisional Series.
Winnipeg will now move on to play the Central Division Champion Wichita Wingnuts in the American Association Championship Series. Wichita beat the South Division Champion Laredo Lemurs in three straight games as well.
In Game 3, Fargo took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when, with two outs, Nic Jackson doubled and then scored on a single from Ryan Delgado. But, that was it for the RedHawks, who scored just six runs in the series.
Winnipeg used some timely hitting in the bottom of the fourth inning to erase the one-run deficit and take a 4-1 lead. Barbaro Canizares and Josh Mazzola singled to begin the inning and were pushed along the base paths by a bunt from Luis Alen. After the RedHawks intentionally walked Mike Coles, Kyle Day drilled a ball down the first base line and it found its way through the legs of Fargo’s Marcos Rodriguez. The error by Fargo’s first baseman allowed Canizares and Mazzola to score. Amos Ramon then sent a single to right field that brought in Coles and Day to put Winnipeg up 4-1.
Ramon led Winnipeg with two RBI and no Goldeyes player had more than one hit.
Goldeyes starter Matthew Rusch was brilliant for seven innings. He allowed just the run in the first inning, struck out five and walked one for the win. Jack Van Leur, Chris Allen, Zach Baldwin and Brian Beuning combined for two shutout innings of relief. Beuning pitched the ninth for his third straight save of the series.
Paul Burnside went six innings in a losing cause for Fargo.
The Goldeyes and Wingnuts will begin their American Association Championship Series Tuesday night at Shaw Park at 7:00 p.m. Game 2 will be played in Winnipeg at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. | http://www.kfgo.com/news-details.php?ID=0000010559 | 490 |
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Cedric Benson knows there's an expiration date stamped on any NFL player and that it seems to come up more quickly for running backs.
Despite carrying the ball more than 1,500 times over the past seven NFL seasons, Benson insisted Monday he has a lot left to give the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers signed the free agent running back Sunday, hoping to add depth and productivity at a position that is being stretched thin by injuries.
Green Bay is missing James Starks because of a turf toe injury. And the Packers don't want to overtax second-year player Alex Green in his return from a season-ending knee injury. And their problems compounded when they lost John Kuhn to an ankle sprain during Monday's practice. | http://www.kgw.com/sports/football/166032666.html | 159 |
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Bletcher sets top three target for KCs
12:00pm Friday 22nd February 2013 in Local
KIDDERMINSTER Carolians head coach Ian Bletcher has targeted a top-three finish in the Midlands Division Two West (South).
The Marlpool Lane side currently reside in third place but are locked in a battle with Worcestershire rivals Droitwich for it.
Spa are two points behind and have two games in hand over KCs.
But with Kidderminster to tackle Spa at home and the fourth-placed side still to play leaders Old Laurentians and Kenilworth, Bletcher believes his team can finish ahead of them.
The title race is also close, as Kenilworth also moved ahead of Laurentians to go top after a scrappy 3-0 win.
Bletcher said: “The league is tight and it is nip or tuck but we’re targeting a third place finish or above.
“Droitwich have to play Laurentians and Kenilworth again, while we’ve got them both out of the way.”
KCs maintained their good home record on Saturday as they ended Banbury’s four-game winning streak.
They were inspired by a pre-match pep-talk by club stalwart Denis Lloyd-Jones.
Kidderminster bagged five tries as they raced into a healthy lead and then weathered a second half push by the visitors.
“I was really pleased with the performance,” said the head coach.
“To score five tries and concede one was excellent.
“It was a strong display and I was pleased with the performance of the side.
“Tom Maher was superb and Nick Martin scored a fine hat-trick.
“Phil Knowles had a quick chat with Nick before the game about taking all his good work from training into the match and it paid off.”
KCs have a weekend off from the league but are keen to stay in the winning frame of mind and are trying to organise a friendly match for this weekend.
They have pencilled in Old Silhillians with the fixture yet to be confirmed.
“We don’t want a free weekend, it does us no good at all,” said Bletcher.
“Hopefully we can organise a game and keep the momentum going.” | http://www.kidderminstershuttle.co.uk/sport/local/10243059.Bletcher_sets_top_three_target_for_KCs/?ref=nt | 527 |
Published on Sunday, 23 December 2012 11:57
Written by Pat Garry, Staff Writer
Senior center Courtney Dilley led the EV-W lady Eagles at home Friday night, when she tossed in 18 points to help seal a commanding victory over the Kimball Area Cubs, 57-38. The Kimball club with a record of 4-3 is by no means a pushover opponent, but the team effort and evenly-distributed scoring from the EV-W girls was too much on that night. Holly Schumacher, senior guard, contributed 9 points; sophomore forward Greta Stommes tallied 12, including 6 from the charity stripe; Brook Stang, sophomore guard, ended with 8, while junior forward Dani Nelson added 6 of her own.
Coach Tom Jensen is pleased with the respectable 3-2 overall record – and 2-0 in the conference. “My hope for the team is that they get better each practice and become the best players they can become, and let our win/loss record take care of itself.” Jensen continued, “I also hope that these young women can learn and grow throughout the season, and develop essential life skills that will help them in the future!” Next up for the gals is a trip to Pierz Thursday, Dec. 20, then the Annandale Invitational Friday and Saturday, Dec. 28 and 29.
In photo above:
EV-W #23 Courtney Dilley goes up for a shot against Kimball's #55 Allie Seth. Staff photos by Marguerite Laabs. | http://www.kimballarea.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31827:lady-eagles-roll-over-kimball-area-lady-cubs-in-basketball&catid=70:ev-w-high-school&Itemid=482 | 321 |
NEWCASTLE, England (AP) — Brazil remains on track to win its first Olympic gold in men's football — barely.
Brazil narrowly escaped with a victory against a shorthanded Honduras on Saturday, twice coming from behind to earn a 3-2 win and advance to the semifinals of the men's Olympic football tournament.
Honduras got goals early in each half but could not hold on as the Brazilians played with an extra man from the 33rd minute after defender Wilmer Crisanto was sent off with two yellow cards just a minute apart.
Mario Martinez put Honduras ahead in the 12th before Leandro Damiao equalized in the 38th. Roger Espinoza gave Honduras the lead again in the 48th, but Neymar evened the score by converting a penalty kick in the 50th and Damiao netted the winning goal in the 60th.
Espinoza also was sent off in injury time after a foul on Oscar. He got a standing ovation from the crowd as he left the field, as did the rest of the Hondurans after the match ended.
Brazil's men's team has won four Olympic medals, but none of them were gold. It earned silver in 1984 and 1988, and bronze in 1996 and 2008. It is the only significant football competition the five-time world champions haven't won.
Brazil was in danger of becoming the latest medal contender to leave the Olympic tournament after Spain and Uruguay were eliminated in the group stage.
But Honduras' chances nearly ended when Crisanto was sent off for a hard foul on Neymar. He had received his first yellow card just a few seconds earlier, which had already prompted complaints from the Hondurans.
The crowd of more than 42,000 at St. James' Park got behind Honduras even more after the red card but Brazil was able to take control of the match.
Honduras's early goal came after Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa was hit while trying to get past Brazilian defenders inside the area. The ball ended up with Martinez, who volleyed it into the far corner.
Damiao equalized when Honduras defenders Jose Velasquez and Arnold Peralta failed to clear a cross from Brazil striker Hulk. Damiao took advantage of the indecision in front of the net and slid feet-first to get the ball across the goal line.
It was Espinoza who scored just after the second half started, going past a defender just outside the area and firing a low shot that went in near the far post.
Brazil answered immediately, though, when Damiao was brought down inside the penalty area. The crowd and the Hondurans were not happy with the call but Neymar struck a firm right-footed shot from the spot to beat Honduras goalkeeper Jose Mendoza.
Damiao scored the go-ahead goal after clearing a defender near the penalty spot after a pass by Neymar.
Honduras still had some chances despite playing a man down, mostly on powerful free kicks taken by Figueroa.
"I think we could've done more if we had 11 players the entire match, but there's nothing we can do about it, that's football," Honduras coach Luis Suarez said. "I never talk about the performance of a referee. They can make mistakes against you one day and in your favor the other. I'm happy about how my team played. Even with 11 players it would've been extremely hard."
Honduras was trying to repeat its stunning victory over Brazil in the 2001 Copa America, when it eliminated Luiz Felipe Scolari's team in the quarterfinals of the South American competition in what was one of Brazil's most shocking defeats ever.
Honduras had already provided a surprise victory in the group stage at the London Games when it beat Spain 1-0, helping eliminate the gold-medal favorite from the tournament played with under-23 squads and three older players per nation.
It was the first time Honduras advanced past the first round in the Olympics. It was eliminated in the group stage in 2000 and 2008, the only other times it participated in the games. The senior team made it to the 2010 World Cup, being eliminated in the first round.
Only two of the starters on Saturday play outside of Honduras — Figueroa and Kansas City Wizards midfielder Roger Espinoza.
Brazil's regular starters returned on Saturday after many were rested in the team's 3-0 win over New Zealand in its last group match, when it had already secured a berth in the quarters.
Brazil was the only team to win all of its three group-stage matches, entering the quarters with the tournament's best attack with nine goals scored.
Follow Tales Azzoni at http://twitter.com/tazzoni | http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/aug/04/brazil-edges-honduras-3-2-reaches-olympic-02/ | 978 |
BOSTON -- Last Tuesday night in Washington, the Boston Bruins scored three goals in the first period but wound up blowing the lead and falling in overtime to the Capitals.
Saturday at home, Boston ripped off three goals in a 2:18 span on three first-period shots in a row. Another 3-0 lead. And this time there was no collapse as the Bruins cruised to a 3-0 victory over the struggling Philadelphia Flyers.
"We talked about it after the second (period) a little bit," Tuukka Rask said after stopping 23 shots for his second shutout of the season, the 13th of his 59-win NHL career. "We need to learn from those and we played a pretty solid third, despite those couple of penalties. But they happen."
The Bruins won their second straight and improved to 16-3-3, while the Flyers dropped to 11-14-1 (4-10-0 on the road) with their third straight loss. That led to a team meeting after the game.
Tyler Seguin, Chris Kelly and Daniel Paille all beat Ilya Bryzgalov in that burst and that was it for the scoring. Rask had it easy through two periods and then had it a bit tougher in the third, when Seguin also bailed him with a hustle save after Rask was trapped out of the net.
"That was Tyler? I thought it was Dougie (Hamilton)," said Rask, who also had one shot hit a post in the period. "It was great. He was telling me he would have caught the guy when I sprinted out of the net, but it's good to see he's got my back and he's got those goalie skills, too."
The Bruins moved at least temporarily back into first place in the Northeast Division and Eastern Conference (the Montreal Canadiens play at the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday night) and also improved to 49-1-2 since the start of the 2011-12 season when leading by three goals at any point in a game.
Seguin converted a power-play pass from Milan Lucic on his team's third shot, at 11:53 of the first period. It was his eighth goal of the season and third in two games. He also has scored five times in his last five contests.
The just-recalled Jordan Caron set up Kelly alone in front at 13:28 and Gregory Campbell did the same for Paille 43 seconds later, making it goals from three different lines (the first time that has happened since Feb. 26). It was Kelly's second goal of the season and Paille's fourth.
Boston is 9-1-1 against Philadelphia in their last 11 meetings. But back in 2010 it was the Flyers who stormed back from being down 3-0 in the playoffs to eliminate the Bruins in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Rask was the goalie then and this was his first game against Philadelphia since that Game 7. It also saw the Bruins grab a 3-0 first-period lead before losing.
"It's in the past and as I've said before, we won the whole thing the year after," Rask said. "Things happen in hockey and for a goalie, if you start thinking that certain matchups are better for you than the others, you've lost half the battle. It was just a game, like any other."
Asked if he wanted to face the Flyers again sooner than Saturday instead of watching Tim Thomas, Rask said, "Not really. I won three games in that playoff series too. Too bad I just lost the last four, but it's hockey and things happen in hockey. "
After the Bruins took the big lead Saturday, the rest of the game was fairly bland. But in the second period, Zach Rinaldo hit Johnny Boychuk hard in the corner and Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton went right at Rinaldo. He knocked the Flyers' tough guy to the ice with two hard right hands.
Bryzgalov was sharp after the three-goal barrage, stopping all 23 shots the rest of the way. He had 25 saves total.
The point by Seguin gave his line (with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand) 15 goals and 38 points in the last 10 games. The Bruins are 8-1-1 in those 10 games.
And the Flyers needed a meeting.
"It's always good when you have a meeting," said Claude Giroux. "You want to make sure everybody's on the same page, and that's what we did."
Notes: Rich Peverley's assist on Kelly's 99th career goal marked Peverley's 200th NHL point. ... Last year, the Bruins had the top five players in the NHL in plus-minus. Coming into Saturday's game, Bergeron was tied for first at plus-17, while Seguin (plus-16) and Marchand (plus-15) were sixth and 10th, respectively. Bergeron led the league last year at plus-36. ... Rask turns 26 on Sunday. ... The Flyers host the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday night, while the Bruins are at the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday and Tuesday. The Flyers, Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning are the three NHL teams that have never swept the Bruins in a season series. ... The Bruins got Chris Bourque through waivers and sent him to Providence. They recalled Caron, who made his season debut for the big club and played well. ... The Flyers were coming off a 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh, which rallied from a 4-1 deficit to win. ... Veterans Mike Knuble (Flyers) and Jay Pandolfo (Bruins) were both healthy scratches. Between them, they have played in 2,139 NHL games, counting playoffs. ... Philly's Harry Zolnierczyk served the second game of his five-game league suspension for his hit on Brad Richards of the New York Rangers. | http://www.kjct8.com/sports/Bruins-shut-out-Capitals/-/163028/19251754/-/w49h20z/-/index.html | 1,229 |
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Kennebec Journal staff reports
HALLOWELL — Anthony DiMauro scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Boothbay boys basketball team past Hall-Dale, 49-47, in a Mountain Valley Conference game on Monday night.
John Hepburn added 10 points for the Seahawks (16-1).
Brian Allen led the Bulldogs (10-7) with 10 points.
Lisbon 54, Monmouth 51, OT: Tucker Brannon scored 26 points to lead the Greyhounds to the Mountain Valley Conference overtime win in Monmouth.
Brandon Goff and Billy Cummings each scored 14 points for Monmouth (6-11). Lisbon is 4-13. | http://www.kjonline.com/sports/LOCAL-ROUNDUP-Boothbay-downs-Hall-Dale.html | 148 |
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jordan Zimmermann always has trouble with the St. Louis Cardinals. Game 2 of the NL division series was no exception.
The Washington Nationals' right-hander retired the side in order in the first inning, then struggled to get anybody else out in a 12-4 loss Monday that evened the best-of-five series at a game apiece.
Carlos Beltran hit the last two of the Cardinals' four homers and St. Louis chased an ineffective Zimmermann after three innings. Allen Craig and Daniel Descalso also went deep to help the defending World Series champions build a big lead that compensated for a two-inning start from an ailing Jaime Garcia.
"They have a great lineup," Zimmermann said. "You get a few guys out and then you've got Beltran, (David) Freese and it never stops. You have to make your pitches and I wasn't able to do that tonight."
Zimmermann has never beaten the Cardinals in six career starts counting the postseason, allowing at least five runs in all but one of them. He yielded five runs and seven hits Monday, his shortest start of the season.
Nationals manager Davey Johnson said Zimmermann didn't mix it up enough and threw too many fastballs.
"All young staffs go through this. When you get into a thing like this, sometimes they revert back to just saying, 'OK, I'm going to go with what I feel is my best and pound away," Johnson said. "Zim's been better than that. You've got to get them off sitting on just one pitch."
After the perfect first inning for Zimmermann, seven of the next 11 batters reached safely as the Cardinals scored four in the second and one in the third to go up 5-1.
Washington catcher Kurt Suzuki said Zimmermann had the same stuff in the second inning as he did in the first. The Cardinals were the ones who made the key adjustments.
"They just came out and put some good at-bats together," Suzuki said. "They put the ball in play, moved runners around and when you do that you are going score some runs."
Craig hit his fifth career postseason homer and scored three times.
"You hate to get blown out, but you get walked off, it probably hurts a little bit more," Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth said. "The game was out of reach for a while. No big deal, a loss is a loss. We'll head home and feel good about it."
Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche hit consecutive homers in the fifth for the Nationals, who head home for the remainder of the best-of-five series. But the NL East champions are without All-Star ace Stephen Strasburg, shut down for the rest of the season early last month to protect his surgically repaired arm.
"I miss him not experiencing this with us and he misses not experiencing it with us," Johnson said. "But we did the right thing, there's no question.
"Obviously the guy was my No. 1. He'd have been the guy that opened up the series."
Game 3 is Wednesday afternoon at Nationals Park, the first postseason contest in the nation's capital since the original Senators played the New York Giants in the 1933 World Series. Edwin Jackson starts for Washington against longtime Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter, who made only three starts during the regular season because of injury.
The Cardinals are good at bouncing back. They lost the division series and NLCS openers last fall, then finished strong in the World Series after spotting Texas a 3-2 lead.
So, they're on familiar ground. And once again, as a wild card.
After the Nationals rallied late to win the opener 3-2, there were no lineup changes in Game 2 — just a lot more clutch hitting from players accustomed to October pressure.
Beltran homered twice in the postseason for the third time in his career, connecting in the sixth off Mike Gonzalez and eighth off Sean Burnett. Jon Jay had two hits and three RBIs, plus an outstanding catch at the center-field wall to deprive Danny Espinosa of extra bases in the sixth.
St. Louis was 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position during Game 1 and totaled just three hits, but the Cardinals had five hits in a four-run second Monday. Descalso hit his first postseason homer in the fourth, a day after getting robbed by Werth's leaping catch at the right-field wall. Beltran's drive off Gonzalez in the sixth banged off the facade in the third deck in left, estimated at 444 feet.
"Their numbers speak for themselves," Johnson said of the Cardinals. "They have got a fine hitting ballclub, and good pitching will slow down good hitting, but you've got to make pitches, and we didn't do that tonight."
Shadows creeped past the pitcher's mound around the third inning and didn't seem to be as big of an issue in Game 2, which started 1½ hours later than the opener. Both teams had issues with the playing conditions after the opener.
Nationals rookie Bryce Harper went 1 for 5 and struck out four times. He also was thrown out at third base on an ill-advised attempt to advance. He is 1 for 10 in the series with six strikeouts.
"Do I look overanxious? You think so?" Harper said to a reporter. "Maybe you should be a hitting coach."
Zimmermann lasted a season-low three innings while pitching on eight days' rest. His next-shortest outing also was against the Cardinals, when he coughed up a four-run, first-inning cushion and was chased after yielding eight runs in 3 2-3 innings during a 10-9 loss at home.
The numbers weren't favorable for the 25-year-old right-hander prior to first pitch, given he's 0-2 with a 9.45 ERA in five career regular-season starts against the Cardinals. They were 3 for 5 with runners in scoring position against a pitcher who led the majors by holding opponents to a .160 average.
Garcia threw 51 pitches in two innings and allowed Zimmermann's RBI single in the second. He was removed with a sore shoulder and sent for an MRI exam. The left-hander missed two months this season with shoulder fatigue.
The Cardinals had 18-game winner Lance Lynn warming up in the second and the right-hander stood on the bullpen mound during St. Louis' four-run inning. Pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker stood on the top dugout step while Pete Kozma struck out for the first out in the second and it was no decoy, with Schumaker contributing a run-scoring groundout to the rally.
St. Louis opened the second with four straight hits, singles by Craig and Yadier Molina that set the table followed by an RBI double from Freese and a run-scoring single from Descalso. | http://www.kmov.com/sports/baseball/national-league/173223251.html?ref=prev | 1,445 |
When you get bored, your eyes wander.
So when a blossoming blowout between the University of Alabama and some other team in Monday night's college football championship floated into yawnfest territory, the electronic eyes of ESPN naturally went wandering -- settling on a brunette bombshell who just happens to be the girlfriend of Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron.
"Now when you are a quarterback at Alabama, you see that lovely lady there, she does go to Auburn, I want to admit that, but she's also Miss Alabama and that's AJ McCarron's girlfriend, OK," ESPN broadcaster Brent Musburger said Monday night as the camera focused on Katherine Webb in the stands.
"Wow, I'm telling you, quarterbacks -- you get all the good-looking women. What a beautiful woman," he gushed. "Wow!"
As the chasm grew between Alabama and the other team -- the name will surely come back to us soon -- ESPN kept going back to the well, repeatedly showing Webb cheering in the crowd, wearing her boyfriend's No. 10 jersey.
Finally, Yahoo! Sports columnist Jess Passan jokingly tweeted, "Sources: A.J. McCarron's girlfriend to seek restraining order from Brent Musburger at halftime."
The attention prompted thousands of football fans to check out of the game and check up on McCarron's flame, turning "Katherine Webb" into Google's second-hottest search -- behind only McCarron himself.
All the attention made her a hotter property on Twitter, as well.
She went from a scant 526 followers December 26 to more than 148,000 Tuesday, according to the stats site TwitterCounter.com, outscoring her gridiron boyfriend's 91,000 fans on the social networking service.
In her first Tweet after the game, Webb didn't mention what had happened. | http://www.koco.com/news/national/What-game-A-pretty-woman-s-in-the-stands/-/9844074/18048072/-/vod1ol/-/index.html | 380 |
Posted: Jul 25, 2012 6:36 PM by Ashley Colley
Updated: Aug 24, 2012 1:31 PM
COLUMBIA -- A sure sign the High School Football season is almost here is the annual Pigksin Preview photoshoot at Hickman High School. Thirteen of the top high school football players in the state gathered for the cover shoot of the magazine.
The Pigskin Preview gives a rundown of area high school teams, and colleges, including the Missouri tigers making their move to the SEC. The magazine will be out the week of August 13th in a town near you.
"I never really thought I would come out here and be on the cover," said Tipton senior running back Dallas Peoples. "I always wanted to, never knew I actually would. So, it feels really really really good."
Blair Oaks senior linebacker Derek Otto said, "I'm really ready to see the competition and see how big the boys are getting and see how we'll stack up against everybody else."
"We had team camp last week and that really got me in the mood to want to play again, I mean being it senior year you want to be the best you can," said Webb City senior tightend Wes Mefford.
Rock Bridge senior defensive tackle A.J. Logan said, "I like it a lot better, it makes the whole season count, and it's more like the college traditional way to get to the playoffs and stuff." | http://www.komu.com/news/behind-the-scenes-of-the-pigskin-preview-photoshoot/ | 303 |
Heat extend winning streak to 13
String is one shy of franchise mark
Dwyane Wade scored 22 points and LeBron James overcame a rare poor shooting night to collect 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as host Miami edged visiting Memphis 98-91 to extend its winning streak to 13 games.Shane Battier went 4-for-5 from beyond the arc en route to 14 points and Chris Bosh scored 13 for the Heat, who surpassed the longest winning streak of the James-Wade-Bosh era and are one shy of tying the franchise mark.Marc Gasol collected 24 points and nine rebounds and Zach Randolph added 14 and nine as the Grizzlies had their eight-game winning streak come to an end.Battier's 3-pointer with 5:20 left gave Miami an 83-77 lead but Memphis battled back, knotting it at 85 on a pair of free throws by Gasol with 2:44 to play. Bosh converted a three-point play and James found Wade for a dunk over the next 41 seconds to push it back to a five-point edge.The Grizzlies crept back within a point, but James drained a 3-pointer and hit five of six free throws in the final 17 seconds to put the game away. The reigning MVP went 4-for-14 from the field and 8-for-12 from the free-throw line.GAME NOTEBOOK: James had a streak of 14 straight games shooting 50 percent or better come to an end. … Ray Allen added 10 points off the bench and hit a pair of 3-pointers as the Heat went 10-for-19 from beyond the arc. … The Grizzlies had not allowed more than 84 points in any of their previous four contests.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting and The Sports Xchange. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | http://www.ksbw.com/news/sports/Heat-extend-winning-streak-to-13/-/5739990/19148662/-/view/print/-/15pq1wr/-/index.html | 373 |
Kerry Wood was going to retire.
No, wait, he wasn’t.
No, wait, he wanted to pitch one more time.
It looked as if the popular Cubs pitcher who was viewed by some as Tom Ricketts’ fantasy league pick wanted to use a major-league game for a fantasy camp ending.
Wood got it against the White Sox on Friday, fittingly striking out the only man he faced. He shook hands with everybody on the mound, left to a standing ovation, embraced his son in front of the dugout and carried him down the steps before hugging teammates and taking a curtain call. A happy ending, for sure.
I’m not blaming Wood. I’d do the same thing if I could. But the sentimental specter appears to make official what we already believed: This Cubs season doesn’t matter, no matter what Theo Epstein said. The Cubs’ new Baseball Moses was brought in to fix the player development problems. At the same time, Epstein said every season is “sacred’’ because it represents a chance to win the World Series.
“Sacred’’ retired Friday. The Wood affair exposed the truth. Allowing Wood to dictate terms apparently approved by the team and forcing the manager into a warm-and-fuzzy moment instead of a baseball decision is less about “sacred’’ and more about getting Cubbed.
The elephant in the bullpen had nothing to do with winning baseball games. There had to be part of Dale Sveum that just wanted to get Wood in a game and get the episode over with so he could get back to managing a season, such as this season is now exposed to be. He had enough issues playing bullpen roulette this season.
It never made sense for Wood to be on Epstein’s roster. What was an old reliever doing on a team that’s all about getting younger and better? I’ll hang up and listen for the hummena-hummena-hummena.
But Wood was on the roster, and then he felt pain, and then he was held out of spring trining, and then he was bad in the regular season, and then he was officially injured, and then he was throwing his glove toward the McDonald’s on Clark. Would you like fries with that loss?
Understand, how the Wood episode came down Friday is different than the way Wood’s career came down altogether. Make that, the way Wood’s career spiked.
Whatever the ending, it’s worth recalling that Wood once was the most electric athlete in this city.
Michael Jordan had completed his second three-peat in 1998, and then he and the dynasty and the NBA went away. The Blackhawks were still in the dark ages. Wanny coached the Bears and Michael McCaskey ran them. Frank Thomas was carving out a Hall-of-Fame career, but he didn’t carry that supernova jolt.
Wood did. From the beginning, Wood did. In his fifth major-league start, Wood struck out 20 Astros, and that was that. Wood became an event. You didn’t watch him pitch as much as you experienced it. Wood idolized Roger Clemens, and it looked like the Cubs had a Clemens with a learner’s permit.
Five years later, Wood faced his idol when the Yankees came to Wrigley. On that dramatic Saturday afternoon, Clemens went looking for his 300th career win. Earlier in the week, Wood expressed regret that he wouldn’t be able to watch his idol achieve that historic victory. Smirk.
Then Kid K backed up his talk, and it’s amazing that Wrigleyville didn’t spontaneously combust that day.
Instead, the spontaneous combustion came about four months later in 2003.
Continuing injuries forced Wood in the bullpen. He became a closer. He became a set-up man. He became a hood ornament. Finally, he became comfortable with the inevitable.
And inevitably, it ended in a very Cub way that we thought we were done with. | http://www.kwch.com/sports/professional/chi-wood-quits-but-cubs-way-stays-unfortunately-20120518,0,2696955.column | 869 |
Russell Westbrook banked in a half-court shot during a rough-and-tumble 27-point outing, Kevin Durant added 26 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-91 on Sunday night.
Westbrook, a career 29 percent shooter from 3-point range, had made just 6 of 24 behind the arc to start the season and coach Scott Brooks suggested before the game that he needed to start making more if he was going to keep taking so many.
Westbrook may have temporarily extinguished that talk with a few well-timed connections, the first one coming as he ran along the sideline and banked in a desperation shot at the end of the third quarter.
Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 20 points.
Designed by Gray Digital Media | http://www.kxii.com/sports/headlines/Westbrooks-spree-spurs-Thunder-past-Cavs-106-91-178760061.html?site=mobile | 158 |
Maverik Lacrosse founder John Gagliardi is in the current issue of Fortune magazine. Fortune magazine shows how 3 small businesses stood up to larger competitors. One business is in pharmaceutical sales competing against CVS, another is a small pizza chain battling it out against world renowned Domino’s. John Gagliardi and Maverik, a lacrosse equipment maker, competes with New Balance, which owns two big time brands — Warrior and Brine.
The article details how Maverik strives to compete with other companies in the same market by loading his staff with players that the kids — and coaches — know and admire (including members of Team USA) such as Kyle Sweeney and Paul Rabil to name a few.
A cool image is also important: Maverik’s website features the top pros starring in edgy videos and offering up playing tips. Gagliardi also focuses on “lifestyle apparel” that gives the brand a “casual, cool, surf-snowboard dynamic” as opposed to the traditional prep-school vibe. He says sales were up 30% in 2009.
To read the full article click here. | http://www.lacrosseplayground.com/maverik-founder-in-fortune-magazine/ | 240 |
Lady Jacks take section title
The Westwood High School Lady Jacks softball team not only had an undefeated season, but is now celebrating winning the Northern Section Division VI championship. The Lady Jacks took on Maxwell High School Saturday, May 18 and won, 2-1, earning themselves the section title. The team ended its season with a league record of 10-0 and an overall record of 21-6. The Lady Jacks and their coaches pose together with their championship plaque after the game against Maxwell. Photo by Scott Nordstrom
Susanville Area Bicycle Association gets active on the Bizz Johnson Trail
May 23 — The Susanville Area Bicycle Association is inviting bikers, hikers, runners and walkers of all ages and skill levels to the Bizz Johnson Trail at 6 p.m. Tuesday evenings.
The weekly event is part of an outdoor series the association will be putting on through October. The event will begin at the kiosk on the west side of Richmond Road by the caboose, across the street from the Historic Railroad Depot. However, participants can join anywhere along the way.
Everyone is welcome to get active on the trail in whichever way they choose, whether it is running, biking, walking or jogging. Families, children, dogs and strollers are all welcome. After getting active on the trail, participants are also welcome to gather at the Pioneer Saloon.
Many active walkers, runners and bikers are weary of heading outdoors alone at this time of year because of the threat of mountain lions. However, the Susanville Area Bicycle Association says the Tuesday night event is a way for people to get out and be active without worrying about such threats because having so many people on the trail will deter predators.
“I feel strongly that local trails are not getting used more extensively because people are afraid of mountain lions,” said Dan Brown, who is helping organize the weekly event. “My solution is to attempt to have people just go with other people or in groups so they feel safer. Hopefully too, once they are familiar with being out they will not be as concerned and can get to know others."
According to a press release from the Susanville Area Bicycle Association, the goal is to have enough people so there are at least two people going a similar pace. With lots of people on the trail at once it should be safer and more enjoyable. You won’t be worried about mountain lions.
Participants are encouraged to go their own pace and cover as much distance as they would like. If there are people going faster than you want to, just wave goodbye and say, “Have a nice time. See you later.” Do only what you would like to at any speed and don’t be pressured into an exertion level greater than what you’re comfortable with.
The distance and amount of time is up to each individual, however, the Susanville Area Bicycle Association said most people will probably go one to two hours, but any amount of time is OK, from 20 minutes to three hours.
The Tuesday night event will also cover the new South Side Trail, which goes from Hobo Camp to the bypass trail around the big tunnel, about five miles up the Susan River Canyon.
Participants can ride the bus to the trail from Historic Uptown Susanville.
It is strongly recommended that each person bring water, identification, a snack, cell phone and a light if you plan to be out after dark. Bicycle riders should bring a helmet, a bike in safe, working condition, a spare tube, patch kit, tire levers and a valve adapter. Any person younger than 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Dog owners are asked to bring a leash and bags for their dogs.
For more information, email Brown at [email protected].
Lassen College basketball player receives scholarship
Justin McBride takes a shot for the Lassen Community College Cougars. McBride was on the 2013 Golden Valley Conference men’s basketball championship team and recently accepted a scholarship to attend and play basketball for Grace University in Omaha, Neb. Photo submitted
May 22 — Lassen Community College basketball star Justin McBride has accepted a scholarship to attend and play basketball for Grace University in Omaha, Neb.
McBride is a native to Sydney, Australia and has been playing basketball since he was 12 years old. He has enjoyed his stay in Lassen County and said it’s been an amazing experience, albeit very different from Sydney, which has a population close to five million. “Every new experience is a good experience,” McBride said, “it’s been a good change.”
McBride was a starter on the Lassen Community College basketball team and averaged 5.2 points a game while shooting 40 percent from the three-point line.
McBride was contacted by several schools throughout the season looking to make him part of their team, however, he says they were mostly rural schools and he was looking for something in an urban setting. When Grace University offered him a scholarship, McBride was happy to accept.
The Grace University Royals compete in Division II of the NCCAA and finished the 2012-13 season with a 17-17 overall record.
McBride will major in business with an emphasis in marketing and will live in downtown Omaha while attending Grace University. He says he will go wherever the best opportunity is when he graduates with his degree, whether it be in the U.S. or back in Australia.
According to Lassen Community College head basketball coach, Devin Aye, McBride is the first of an expected four players from the 2013 Golden Valley Conference men’s basketball championship team to accept a scholarship in the coming weeks.
“Congrats to Justin McBride on a great accomplishment and the opportunity to have his degree paid for while playing basketball at the university level,” Aye said.
Herlong takes championship at annual volleyball tournament
The Herlong Lady Vikings eighth-grade volleyball team won the championship at the annual Play Day tournament Friday, May 3. The team poses with its championship trophy in the Westwood High School gym. Photo submitted
May 21 — The Herlong Lady Vikings eighth-grade volleyball team competed in the Play Day tournament Friday, May 3 and came away as champions.
Play Day is an annual tournament for junior high school volleyball teams in the area. This year teams from Westwood, Diamond View, Richmond, Janesville, Johnstonville, Shaffer, Herlong and Greenville schools participated. A different school hosts the tournament each year. Whichever team wins the tournament gets its team name and the year it won engraved on the trophy. This is the first year Herlong has won the championship since the tournament began.
“It was an exciting day for us,” said coach Penny Thiels.
In addition to winning the Play Day championship, the team also had a winning season, losing only one game to Greenville. Thiels was out sick for the game against Greenville and the team attributes the loss to her absence. “They were determined to beat Greenville the next time we met,” Thiels said. The Lady Vikings’ determination paid off, as they beat the Greenville Lady Indians the next time they faced them and again at Play Day.
“I am very proud of my girls … and would like to commend their ability to play as a team. The main reason for our success is the team's ability to consistently serve at a high level getting multiple serves over with each rotation. This was an amazing team to coach both in talent and attitude,” said Thiels.
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The Dish - Orlando SentinelSix Central Florida chefs and one restaurant are finalists in pretigious James Beard awards. Chefs Kathleen Blake of The Rusty Spoon in Orlando, Scott Hunnel of Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Brandon McGlamery of...
Six Central Florida chefs and one restaurant are finalists in pretigious James Beard awards. Chefs Kathleen Blake of The Rusty Spoon in Orlando, Scott Hunnel of Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Brandon McGlamery of...
John Kunkel is no ordinary restaurateur. He built Lime Fresh Mexican Grill from a stand-alone spot in South Beach to a small chain that last year he sold to Applebee's for a reported $24 million. In 2011, he opened Yardbird Southern Table and Bar, where...
Staff writerSouth Florida gets several nods in the list of restaurant and chef semifinalists announced today for the prestigious 2013 James Beard Foundation Awards. The semifinalists were chosen from a more than 44,000 online entries. Final nominees will be...
If your relationship with chicken began with nuggets and stalled amid the supermarket's plastic-sealed trays of skinless/boneless breasts, we've got a bone to pick with you. It's time to give bone-in chicken a chance, from the whole bird to the...
Tags: Coal, Salt, Kosher Salt, Parsley, Foods and Beverages
The Dish - Orlando SentinelFour Central Florida chefs have been nominated for Best Chef: South in the prestigious James Beard Awards. Scott Hunnel of Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Lake Buena Vista, James Petrakis and Julie Petrakis of...
Postcards from FloridaFood, drinks and star-studded culinary competitions are the main ingredients of the Key West Bacchanalia, a benefit event slated for June 10-13. Headquartered at the Hyatt Key West Resort and Spa, 601 Front St., the festival features culinary...
Tribune staff reporterWith 35 years of NBA experience, Cavaliers coach Paul Silas has had front-row seats for many of the game's all-time greats, from Oscar Robertson to Larry Bird to Michael Jordan. Silas sees LeBron James every game. His words carry weight. "He could...
Tribune pro basketball reporterWhat's the limitation on peats? Four? Five? Wasn't it an eight-peat for the Boston Celtics? The Los Angeles Lakers go where no Bull ever tread, in serious search of a fourth consecutive NBA title. It sounds impressive, but two were miraculous, with the...
Daily PressA heart attack in Newport News. A whim in Tijuana. This is how a moneyed executive became a basketball roadie. This is how a Southern gentleman became a Cameron Crazy. This is how Herb Neubauer became Crazy Towel Guy, a leading perpetrator of the din...
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May 27, 2010 | Orlando Sentinel
Nov 27, 2004 |Story| Chicago Tribune
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Feb 10, 2003 |Story| Hampton Roads Daily Press
Original site for Jeff McInnis topic gallery. | http://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/jeff-mcinnis-PESPT004886.topic | 772 |
Luke Sutton produced a crucial century to twice rescue Lancashire on the opening day of the LV=County Championship match with Somerset at Old Trafford today.
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Standing in as an opener following a slight hamstring injury to Tom Smith, the wicketkeeper made 118 and shared two century partnerships as the Red Rose recovered from 27-3 and 175-7 to post a competitive 292 having won the toss.
Kyle Hogg, playing his first Championship game of the season, bowled Arul Suppiah with the last ball of the day to leave Somerset 14-1 in their reply.
“The century means a lot to me. When I scored my first hundred for Lancashire in a Roses game that was as special as it gets, but this wasn’t far behind. It was a really great day,” said Somerset-born Sutton, who put on 104 with Mark Chilton and 108 with Sajid Mahmood.
See Luke Sutton's interview on LancsTV
“It was a tough start to the day for us and it was just nice to be part of a recovery and we are in a reasonable position now.”
The 33-year-old revelled in the role of opener, hitting 18 fours on his way to his fifth Red Rose hundred since joining from Derbyshire in 2006.
And although admitting physically it would be hard to keep wicket and open on a permanent basis, Sutton says he would be happy to do the job again.
“I have had some experience of it, and my game is suited to it to an extent,” he said.
“I have quite a tight technique so it does suit my game, the tough part is the physical demands of opening the batting and keeping wicket.
I will just do what Peter Moores and Glen Chapple want me to do. When Tom comes back I will just slot in wherever they want me to.”
Australian Damien Wright was the pick of the Somerset bowlers, taking 5-41, with Alfonso Thomas claiming 3-84.
Wright claimed the wickets of Stephen Moore, Paul Horton and Ashwell Prince in his opening nine-over spell.
Sutton and Chilton then steadied the ship before the former Lancashire skipper was trapped lbw nine short of his half-century just after lunch by Thomas.
It was the first of three wickets in five overs for the South African-born seamer.
Steven Croft failed to reach 50 for the first time in the Championship this season as he holed out to Zander de Bruyn at fine leg, Kyle Hogg then edged Thomas behind to Jos Buttler and when Chapple was run out going for a single, Lancashire had lost four wickets for just 44 runs.
But just when it looked like they would miss out on any batting points, Sutton and Mahmood went on the attack and put on 100 in just 115 balls.
Sutton’s innings, his second highest for Lancashire, was eventually ended by a brilliant catch by Buttler down leg side in the 80th over, and he was greeted with a standing ovation from the Old Trafford crowd as he made his way back to the pavilion.
Mahmood followed three deliveries later as he was bowled by a slower ball from Wright.
And the Victoria seamer clinched his five-wicket haul when Daren Powell was caught by Nick Compton in the deep.
Photos: Simon Pendrigh, Peakpix Digital Images | http://www.lccc.co.uk/micro.php?p=news&id=3565 | 763 |
The organization announced Monday that the group will be known as the Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling. As noted by USA Wrestling executive director Rich Bender last week, the committee will be chaired by former world champion Bill Scherr.
Leading U.S. wrestling supporter Mike Novogratz will serve as the group's spokesman.
USA Wrestling says the committee's goals will be to work with FILA, wrestling's international governing body, and top wrestling nations to restore the sport to the 2020 Olympic program.
The group is also seeking to "mobilize and energize" the American public to support their cause.
The International OIympic Committee has recommended that wrestling not be included as a core sport in 2020. | http://www.ldnews.com/nationalsports/ci_22616527/usa-wrestling-formalizes-olympic-committee | 149 |
"What I would like to see is a level of accountability on the part of the NFL and Commissioner Goodell in regards to mishandling of this entire situation," Brees said after practice Wednesday. "We as players hold ourselves and are held to a very strict code of conduct both on and off the field. We have to be accountable to that, as it should be, and I feel like they should be held to the same standards.
"If someone would just come out in the league office and admit, 'You know what? We could have handled this situation better,' it would go such a long way with both players and fans. People would really come around to realize what this thing was all about because right now the league office and Commissioner Goodell have very little to no credibility with us as players."
Speaking later at a special league meeting in Dallas, Goodell, when apprised of Brees' comments, said he wouldn't apologize.
"To have a bounty program where you're targeting players for injury is completely unacceptable in the NFL, and it is clear that occurred for three years despite all of the denials," Goodell said.
Vilma was initially suspended an entire season while three other players —Saints
Paul Tagliabue, the former commissioner appointed by Goodell to handle the final round of appeals, threw out the suspensions and ruled there would be no fines, either, for any of the players. However, he absolved only Fujita. Tagliabue still found that Vilma and Smith took part in a Saints program that rewarded injurious hits and that Hargrove was not entirely truthful when NFL investigators asked him about the pool, but he said the suspensions levied by Goodell were disproportionate to how players had historically been punished for similar behavior, and because there was no clear link to "tough talk" about taking opponents out of game and the actual play on the field.
In motions filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Vilma and the NFL Players Association filed motions dropping their claims against the league over the player-discipline phase of the bounty probe.
However, Vilma notified U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan he would continue to pursue defamation claims he filed against the commissioner back in May, and asked the judge to open the discovery process which includes the collection of evidence and deposing of witnesses.
Later in the day, Berrigan ruled against opening discovery at this time, likely because she has yet to rule on the NFL's motion to dismiss Vilma's claims.
Vilma made it clear that he still believes his reputation has been harmed by the way Goodell spoke publicly about allegations that Vilma was the ring-leader of a bounty program which rewarded hits that injured targeted opponents, and that he put up $10,000 bounties on Kurt Warner and Brett Favre in the 2009-10 playoffs.
"Well the most important part of me being able to play now and not having to worry about a lingering suspension, that part is over," Vilma said. "I'm excited about that. The next part is really, that's outside of football. That's talking about attacking a man's character, attacking a man's integrity.
Vilma said he could not be sure what kind of settlement he might be willing to accept, but sounded like he was more interested in seeing through a court case with evidence made public than taking a financial settlement and keeping quiet.
"This is my career. There are no do-overs in football. I don't get to stop, wait five years and start over and come back with a new attitude, or a new face, or anything like that," Vilma said. "This is my legacy. This is what I leave behind. If I were to stop now, the only thing people are going to remember is the bounty. They're not going to remember anything before that. They're not going to remember all the accolades. That's why it's very important."
Goodell said Tagliabue's report "made it quite clear that he holds the management and the coaches responsible. My personal view is I hold everyone responsible. We have to have a personal responsibility here. Player health and safety is an important issue in this league."
Saints head coach Sean Payton is serving a full-season suspension, while general manager Mickey Loomis served eight games and assistant head coach Joe Vitt six.
Smith, the Saints' defensive end, also was critical of Tagliabue's opinion, saying that while he was pleased his suspension was overturned, he did not understand why he wasn't completely exonerated. He said he thought the testimony of two key NFL witnesses in the probe, former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and former defensive assistant Mike Cerullo, cleared him, though the NFL disagreed.
According to transcripts of closed hearings obtained by The Associated Press from a person with the role in the case, Williams and Cerullo both testified that Smith contributed money to a pay-for-performance pool that among other things rewarded hard legal hits, including those that knocked players out of games. However, when asked directly if Smith every put a bounty on anyone or even suggested that the Saints should try to injure any opposing player, both former coaches answered, "No."
"People actually think that we actually went out and did this, and we didn't do this," Smith said of the bounty program, adding that he had not decided whether to pursue any defamation claims of his own. "The only thing that was going on was a pay-for-performance that pretty much every other team in the league has and have had for years. That was it, I never participate in a bounty or put money down to injure another player or encourage other guys to injure other players."
Vilma said he was not bothered by the wording of Tagliabue's ruling, saying he fully expected the former commissioner, who works with a firm that represents the NFL, to be careful not to expose his client to liability.
Brees had a dimmer view.
"I hate to say this because it sounds so conspiracy theorist, but it seems like the last, at least, month or so, especially once Tagliabue stepped in, it's very staged, as in, 'OK, how do we get ourselves out of this mess, let the players off," Brees said. "Thank God we have a union that can represent the players and fight the process and represent our guys. Unfortunately, the coaches don't have that. The coaches are told the way it's going to be, and they have no way to fight back unfortunately, because I'd say certainly Mickey Loomis, Joe Vitt and Sean Payton didn't deserve what they got. | http://www.ldnews.com/sports/ci_22180350/vilma-advances-defamation-case-brees-blasts-nfl | 1,371 |
MONTREAL - Hockey fans reacted to the news of a tentative agreement between the NHL and its players Sunday with a mix of emotions.
Many said they are excited for the season to start after months of waiting — but a bitter taste remains.
At Toronto's Eaton Centre, Kevin Bourne said he's happy hockey might be coming back but he's not sure he'll watch it as religiously as before.
"Now that it's been gone for so long, I started gravitating to other sports," said Bourne, 32, a self-described Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators fan.
Bourne said he feels fans like him were treated poorly during the lockout.
"I think fans were used as pawns," he said. "I don't think fans were really respected in the whole thing."
The tentative deal to end the 113-day NHL lockout was reached early Sunday following a marathon negotiating session that went through the night.
Businesses, meanwhile, welcomed the news with open arms.
Arun Srivastava, who runs a tourism boutique in Old Montreal filled with Habs T-shirts and sweaters, said sales had dropped off considerably since the lockout began.
"We depend on this business in winter time when there's not that many tourists," he said. "A lot of tour groups bring passionate hockey fans to watch the games over here."
Bars and restaurants near arenas were particularly hard hit.
A report released last month by credit and debit card processor Moneris found that overall spending at venues near NHL arenas in Canada had decreased more than 11 per cent from a year ago on a game day.
One fan in Toronto said he has no doubt that people are going to flock back to the games once they start up again.
"I think (people) love their hockey," said Bill Mitchell, who was visiting Toronto from Potsdam, N.Y.
"There might be a few who might be upset, but I think they will come out in droves."
A return to NHL action may have a downside, too: less free time around the house.
Natalie Ricard, who was visiting Montreal from Trois-Rivieres, Que., said the lockout gave her extra hours with her partner and their son. Now, they'll be watching hockey.
"I'm going to find myself alone again, watching movies in another room," she said.
Some fans may not be as quick to return, however.
Stan Milousis, who cheers the San Jose Sharks, said he used to watch the NHL twice a week, but felt there were a myriad of problems, even before the lockout.
The 35-year-old Toronto fan said even though hockey is still Canada's sport, its popularity is fizzling in the United States.
"Even though the lockout is done and they made their deal, the NHL in general has a lot of work to do," Milousis said at the downtown Toronto shopping centre.
"What they need to do now is to generate stars, not guys who are good on the ice, but guys who are ambassadors on the ice."
He said the NHL needs more superstar players like Pittsburgh Penguin captain Sidney Crosby, who help the league rebuild its fan base.
For his part, Prime Minister Stephen Harper greeted the news with enthusiasm.
"Great news for hockey fans and communities across Canada," he said on Twitter.
— With files from Linda Nguyen in Toronto | http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Cheers+boos+Hockey+fans+react+with+mixed+emotions+tentative+deal/7781531/story.html | 711 |
McCollum garners another Patriot League Player of the Week honor
Posted: 11/26/2012 | Last updated: November 26, 2012 at 06:01 PM
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh senior guard C.J. McCollum was named Patriot League Player of the Week on Monday following another impressive week and record-breaking performance. McCollum averaged 27 points over a trio of Mountain Hawk victories last week, capped off by breaking the Patriot League career scoring record on Sunday at Sacred Heart.
It marks McCollum’s second Player of the Week award of the season and 14th of his illustrious career, six ahead of any other player in league history.
McCollum began by scoring 35 points on 12-of-21 shooting and 5-of-7 from three-point range against Fairfield in the NIT Season Tip-Off. It already marked his second game with 35 or more points on the season, along with the season opener at Baylor. McCollum had a highlight reel dunk in the second half which was featured on SportsCenter’s top 10 plays. He followed that up with 21 points in a 73-66 win over Penn on Tuesday.
The Canton, Ohio native wrapped up the week by scoring 26 points at Sacred Heart Sunday. It came on 8-of-14 shooting and 5-of-7 from three-point range. McCollum needed 23 points coming into the contest to break the league’s all-time scoring record, and he finished with 26, passing Holy Cross’ Rob Feaster with a pull-up jumper with 12:53 left in the second half. The senior captain currently owns 2,228 career points.
McCollum is third in the country averaging 25.7 points per game this season. He shot 52 percent from the field (28-of-54) and 65 percent from three-point range (11-of-17). For the season, McCollum is shooting 51 percent from the field (57-of-112) and 55 percent from long distance (17-of-31).
Lehigh will head to Quinnipiac on Tuesday to face the Bobcats at 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks then return home on Saturday to host Fairleigh Dickinson at 7 p.m. in Stabler Arena.
Like Lehigh Men’s Basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Individual and season tickets are on sale and may be purchased on Lehighsports.com, over the phone (610-758-4263) or in-person at Stabler Arena, Monday-through-Friday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. | http://www.lehighsports.com/sports/mbball/mccollum_garners_another_patriot_league_player_of_the_week_honor.aspx | 561 |
New York City restaurant owners were back to business as usual on Tuesday, selling pitchers of soda and other super-sized drinks that would have been banned without a judge's 11th-hour intervention.
A citywide ban on the sale of sugary drinks in containers holding more than 16 ounces was set to go into effect Tuesday before state Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling blocked the city's restrictions on Monday, calling them "arbitrary and capricious."
"It's no harm, no foul for us," said Josh Lebowitz, owner of Brother Jimmy's BBQ in Manhattan. "We'll go back to our old way of doing business."
In preparation for the expected ban on large sugary drinks at restaurants, fast-food eateries, movie theaters and stadiums in New York City, Lebowitz purchased 1,000 16-ounce cups to replace the 24-ounce ones used to serve soda at his five restaurants.
But after Monday's ruling, Lebowitz says those 16-ounce cups will remain in their boxes.
"We'll hold onto them for the time being," he said. "We're not going to use them."
Tingling's ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by a group of business associations -- including the National Association of Theatre Owners of New York State and the American Beverage Association, which hailed the decision as a "sigh of relief to New Yorkers and thousands of small businesses in New York City."
The city wasted no time in appealing Tingling's decision.
"We are moving forward immediately with our appeal," said Michael Cardozo, the city's corporation counsel. "We believe the judge was wrong in rejecting this important public health initiative. We also feel he took an unduly narrow view of the Board of Health's powers."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg touted the sugary drink ban as a step toward eradicating New York City's "obesity epidemic."
"We are confident that we will win [the appeal]," Bloomberg said at a press conference at Lucky's Cafe in Midtown Manhattan, where owner Laki Anagnostopoulos has decided to comply with the city's sugary drink restrictions despite the court's decision.
"It's not about money at the end of the day, it's about making a change," said Anagnostopoulos' son, Greg, adding that the restaurant has eliminated 24-ounce to-go cups and 20-ounce bottles of soda from its menu.
Other businesses were not as ready to comply with the restrictions in the wake of the court ruling.
"We have maintained our position from the beginning that any regulations to eliminate New Yorkers' rights to purchase beverages in sizes of their choice is not in the public's interest," Dunkin' Donuts said in a statement. "With the ban now declared invalid, customers in New York City will find all their favorite beverages in the sizes they want available at Dunkin' Donuts."
Iman Kimel, owner of Frames Bowling Lounge in Manhattan, had a so-called "plan B" for when he was no longer able to offer patrons pitchers of soda -- sell pitchers of juice instead. The high-end bowling alley's chef developed recipes for cranberry-apple and mint, carrot and citrus juices, among other blends.
Until the law dictates otherwise, though, Frames will continue to offer pitchers of soda -- which come with a standard birthday party package.
"As long as we can sell soda in larger quantities, we will," said Frames marketing manager Frayda Resnick.
Tingling wrote that his decision was based on the fact that the ban was "laden with exceptions."
In addition, the law would have exempted a variety of retailers, including 7-Eleven, seller of the iconic "Big Gulp" drinks, because it is regulated by the state, not the city.
"The effect would be a person is unable to buy a drink larger than 16 ounces at one establishment but may be able to buy it at another establishment that may be located right next door," Tingling wrote.
Bloomberg said that the city's legislation was aimed only at the businesses that the city has the right to regulate.
"We just think the judge was totally wrong," Bloomberg said, adding that the city can only enact legislation "where we have the right to do it." | http://www.local10.com/news/Large-sugary-drinks-still-flow-in-NYC/-/1717324/19286376/-/10gk27v/-/index.html | 885 |
Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera became the first Triple Crown winner in 45 years.
Cabrera left Wednesday's game in the fourth inning after going 0-for-2 at the plate and clinched the rare award shortly after when the Yankees pinch hit for Curtis Granderson, who was one home run shy of the Tigers slugger after a two-homer night.
The 29-year-old Venezuelan had a .330 batting average, 44 home runs and 139 runs to become just the 15th player of all-time to win the Triple Crown and first since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
Yastrzemski, who hit .326 with 44 homers and 121 RBI in winning the crown in '67 said he was shocked it has taken this long for baseball to see another triple crown winner.
"I'm surprised it's gone on this long to be perfectly honest. When (Pete) Rose broke (Ty) Cobb's hit record and when (Cal) Ripken broke (Lou) Gehrig's consecutive game record, I never thought that would happen either, so it's going to happen," the Hall of Fame outfielder told the Boston Globe last week.
"There's so much more publicity nowadays, people call a report in every day," the Globe quoted Yastrzemski as saying. "In '67, the Triple Crown wasn't even mentioned. We were so involved I didn't know I'd won it until the next day when I read it in the paper."
That the length of his reign surprises Yastrzemski is, well, not surprising. The Baltimore Orioles Frank Robinson had done it the year before Yastrzemski. Eleven others have done it also, dating back to Paul Hines of the Providence Grays in 1878. The Red Sox Ted Williams and the St. Louis Cardinals Rogers Hornsby each won it twice.
Of course, major league baseball was much different 45 years ago than it is today. There were only 20 teams (there are 30 today) and their was only playoff was the World Series, which the Red Sox lost to the Cardinals in Yastrzemski's triple crown year.
But Yastrzemski said batters of his era had one obstacle to face that today's hitters don't, a pitching mound that was 5 inches higher. The higher mounds gave pitchers an edge on velocity.
"I'd like to see what some of the pitchers would throw today, what their speeds would be, if they came off a higher mound. I could see (Justin) Verlander probably throwing 100 mph or more on every pitch," Yastrzemski told Boston radio station WEEI.
And one question will still be outstanding on Cabrera's season: should he be the league's most valuable player? Yastrzemski was in 1967.
TBS MLB analyst Dennis Eckersley thinks Cabrera deserves the MVP honor.
"I think Cabrera's focus has been on his team and winning, not concerns for himself. Playing for your team and having great numbers is an incredible feat," Eckersley said.
MVP or not, it won't reduce what Cabrera has accomplished this year, says his manager.
"No matter what happens, there are absolutely no flaws in Miguel Cabrera's season. None. Period. End of story," Leyland said. | http://www.local10.com/sports/Cabrera-gets-triple-crown/-/1717082/16841380/-/862bfm/-/index.html | 697 |
PENSACOLA, Fla. (WPMI) Pensacola Police are searching for a world championship ring that was stolen.
The ring belongs to the USA Greco-Roman wrestling team coach. It's valued at $5,000.
Police say the team noticed the ring was missing January 19, from a jewelry box inside Robert Hermann's home. Hermann received the ring for coaching the U.S. team that won the Greco world championship in 2007.
The ring has "USA" and the five Olympic rings and diamonds on the top. The name "HERMANN" is engraved on one side with an engraving of the United States and USA. The other side has "2007" and "World Champions" with a "1" engraved.
If you see this ring, or know where it is, contact Detective Cliff Lyster at (850) 435–1970. | http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/2007-Greco-Roman-World-Championship-Ring-Stolen/_HPJw6beM0GgxZYAMX4Jpg.cspx | 186 |
LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals National Championship
The Donald Ross Course at French Lick
French Lick, Ind.
August 20-22, 2012
First-Round News and Notes
First Round Scores >>
Jean Bartholomew and Lisa Grimes Jump Out to First Round Lead
LPGA Tour veteran Jean Bartholomew and Lisa Grimes shot first-round 1-under par 71’s to take the lead at the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals (T&CP) National Championship.
Both players were plagued by the undulating greens at The Donald Ross Course at French Lick including a three-putt bogey at the first hole for Bartholomew.
“It’s the same for everybody, these greens are very undulating,” said Bartholomew. “I three putted the first hole out of the gate and I wasn’t upset at all because I was just in the wrong spot. On this type of course you just have to accept your misses that aren’t that bad and take what you can get.”
Bartholomew made one additional bogey on the front-nine then recorded two birdies to make the turn with an even-par 36. A Teaching Professional at PGA National, Bartholomew faltered with back-to-back bogeys on 10 and 11 but quickly moved back to even-par after an eagle at the par-5 14th.
Bartholomew took advantage of the short par-5 and hit a seven-iron to eight feet then made the putt for eagle.
After recently playing in the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic on the LPGA Tour, Bartholomew threw her back out forcing her to undergo significant swing changes leaving her expectations low for this week.
“It was just one of those days, I was happy and I had no expectations,” said Bartholomew. “I threw my back out in Toledo a few weeks ago playing in the tour event. I was really sore this morning but once I got moving it was okay but I know my swing isn’t going to be normal but it might be a good thing because I don’t try to hit it as far.”
The winner of this week’s T&CP National Championship receives an exemption into next year’s Wegmans LPGA Championship. Bartholomew is already exempt after her victory at the Southeast Section Championship which elevates a lot of the pressure of this week.
“I’m just going to try to enjoy it, I have no expectations,” said Bartholomew. “I did win the section so that gets me into the LPGA Championship so I think I have a little less pressure on me to win this week. I like this course. It’s fun, it’s a challenge and I’m just going to go out and have no expectations.”
Grimes got off to a quick start on Monday’s first round with a birdie on the second and an eagle on the par-5 fifth. Grimes striped her drive down the fairway then hit a three wood to 20 feet and converted the putt for eagle. Despite shooting a 3-under par 33 on the front-nine, Grimes quickly fell victim to the undulating greens on the par-5 10th.
“I was three under on the front,” said Grimes. “I started the back and three-putted 10. I made a birdie on the little par-5 and after that I had two more bogeys.”
Grimes hit an impressive 14 greens in the first round and according to her, it was nothing spectacular.
“It wasn’t a boring round but I hit a lot of fairways,” said Grimes. “I got in trouble once but I hit a pretty good shot out of it to hit it on the green and two putted to save par. It was nothing spectacular except for the eagle, that was fun."
The Director of Instruction at Alexandria Golf Club, Grimes has had a busy year as she competed in the Wegmans LPGA Championship and U.S. Open.
Grimes and Bartholomew head in to tomorrow’s second round with a one-stroke lead over Kristen Samp and Lisa Strom who opened with an even-par 72.
Tuesday’s second round will begin at 7:30 a.m., off the first and tenth tees, with the afternoon tee times starting at 11:20 a.m.
A 36-hole tournament cut will be made to the low 70 and ties following Tuesday’s second round.
Bennett, Cusimano, and Daughtery Lead the Senior Division
A trio of players including Karen Bennett, Dede Cusimano, and Diane Daughtery all shot 1-over par 73’s to lead the senior division (for pros ages 50-over).
Ball striking was key for Bennett who carded five bogeys and four birdies during today’s first round.
“I played well, I struck it very well and kept the ball in play the whole time,” said Bennett. “I hit solid iron shots which kept me in the game.”
Despite solid iron play, Bennett faltered a bit after failing to get up-and-down from greenside bunkers on numbers one and four.
“I didn’t have too many challenging up-and-downs,” said Bennett. “On the first and fourth holes I was in the bunker and hit good bunker shots just didn’t make the putts. They weren’t gimmies, I hit good putts they just didn’t go in.”
The Head Golf Professional at Dick’s Sporting Goods, the highlight of Bennett’s day came after a birdie at the difficult par-4 eighth.
“My highlight of the day came at the eighth which is a brutally short dogleg hole,” said Bennett. “I hit four-iron, eight-iron to about seven feet and made it.”
Cusimano got off to a bit of a shaky start on Monday after opening with a two-over par 38 on the front-nine of The Donald Ross Course at French Lick.
“I didn’t start off so well on the front-nine,” said Cusimano. “But on the back-nine I stayed very patient because this is a very patient golf course.”
A Teaching Professional at Roaring Fork Golf Club, Cusimano quickly rebounded on the back-nine to shoot a 1-under par 35.
“I made some good putts out there,” said Cusimano. “I started hitting some shots very close so I made a couple good birdies on the back side.”
Cusimano is no stranger to seeing her name atop the leaderboard at the T&CP National Championship as she claimed back-to-back victories in the senior division in 2009 and 2010.
Much like Bennett and Cusimano, Daughtery got off to a rough start in today’s first round with a bogey on the first hole. Daughtery quickly rebounded with a birdie on the par-4 fourth before faltering again with back-to-back bogeys on the par-4 third and par-3 fourth. Determined to regain control of her round, Daughtery then birdied the par-5 fifth and pared out to shoot a one-over par 37 front-nine.
Daughtery went on to record bogeys on the par-4 10th and par-4 12th but responded with birdies at the 14th and 16th to finish the day with a one-over par 73.
Lindsey Leads the Newly Created Challenge Division
Luck was on Shari Lindsey’s side on Monday as she shot a first-round 6-over par 78 to lead the newly created challenge division.
“You have to have a little luck,” said Lindsey. “You can’t get upset, you can’t get mad, you have to keep on playing.”
Unfazed by a shaky start, Lindsey’s hard work prevailed as she held on to record one double-bogey, five bogeys, and one birdie to take a one-stoke lead over Deb Zamprelli and Louisa Bergsma heading into tomorrow’s second round.
“The day started off pretty rough,” said Lindsey. “I couldn’t hit a fairway but I just kept working hard to even make bogey or par. I was actually going through the day saying I’m going to make bogey so I might as well accept it and luckily I had some good shots out of the rough so it worked out well for me today.”
This year marks the first year the challenge division has been added to the Teaching and Club Professional National Championship. Any player competing in this year’s championship can enter the challenge division and play at a shorter yardage than the championship division and slightly longer than the senior division.
”I like the challenge division,” said Lindsey. “I can’t compete with the youngsters anymore and I am 50 but I decided not to play in the senior division, so the challenge works out well. I still hit it okay so I figured I would try it. It’s actually really good.”
Topics: Teaching and Club Professionals | http://www.lpga.com/golf/news/2012/8/tcp-national-championship-1st-round-notes.aspx | 2,038 |
By: Mike "BCMike" Fraser
Edited By: Mike "The Deuce" Bailey
The title of this blog of course is a quote attributed to Winston Churchill, but it seems to fit nicely with what Jets fans have been going through in the first part of January. It also gives us wise guidance as we come off our first win in a long stretch of losses. Is this the start of the long journey back out of our hole? Or a rest stop on our way down the standings? Tonight’s game against New Jersey should be a sign of things to come.
There’ve been many blogs, columns and newspaper stories dedicated to the great month of December the Jets enjoyed - mostly at home and mostly injury free, so we won’t rehash that here. It’s easy to say though that the month of January started in almost the exact opposite direction and hasn’t gotten much better until last night’s somewhat surprising victory against the Ottawa Senators. In my opinion the slump started with a win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on New Year’s Eve that was more about what the Leafs did wrong than what the Jets did right (As was repeatedly pointed out to us by the HNIC broadcast crew). Both teams played a sloppy game, but more ominously the Jets seemed to play a different game that got away from the gritty hard work that allowed them to rise into eighth in the east. It was a signal of things to come as the Jets struggled to put together a solid 60 minutes of hockey on the road. Frustration led them even farther away from the Noelean game plan as they began to take untimely penalties leading to blown leads and missed opportunities to get back into games.
Just as the team looked like it might turn the bus around after a hard fought win in Buffalo, luck took another swipe at the Jets as the stomach flu ravaged its way through the dressing room. This caused a rotating door of game day scratches that where hastily filled in from the farm and again led to more losses.
So after bad play and bad luck what more could go wrong? Let’s talk about injuries. The Jets started their road campaign without one of their most valuable contributors; Dustin Byfuglien. The trend continued as Bryan Little got hurt, then Zach Bogosian and finally Blake Wheeler. All key contributors to the Jets scoring sheet, of which only Little has returned. The Jets were now faced with the prospect of playing one of the east’s hottest teams, the Ottawa Senators, with a depleted line up. The cold reality that the Jets might be in free fall began to descend on the faithful, and trade winds began to rise to hurricane force as fans debated the fate of their club. Yours truly, in a fit of rage and panic also succumbed to trade fever by floating outlandish trade ideas, only to be put in my place by my betters. Many like myself where hitting the panic button.
The Jets must have sensed the desperate state of affairs, because the players responded with what can only be characterized as one of the gutsiest performances of the year. The damaged crew went into the nation’s capital and played an almost perfect road game, holding the Senators to zero goals, a feat which has never been accomplished by any Jets team, new or old. Mechanics of the game aside, the Jets seemed to regain something that had eluded them in the first part of January and indeed through many parts of the season itself: team play. They played as a desperate unit, realizing that they would need all hands on deck to win. This is the mentality that can lead them to future success.
So will the Jets make it through to the other side and keep the wolves at bay until all of their weapons can return to the line up? We’ll see tonight against the Devils. If they maintain that team focus, mixed in with a little desperation and a full 60 minute effort then yes. If they let their foot off the gas and let old habits creep back in, then the Sens game was another rest stop on the way down an even darker hole.
The Jets desperately need to get this win under their belts tonight and return home as their closest rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs face a schedule against weak teams and have the opportunity to bury the Jets even farther down the standings. Either way as Jets fans we have no choice but to follow Churchill’s advice and keep going. | http://www.lucky7hockey.com/2012/01/if-your-going-through-hell-keep-going.html | 908 |
Like the migration of geese and the flooding of the Nile, there are certain things that we have come to expect. One of those things is a price drop in current generation games the year that the next-gen consoles debut. So it is with Electronic Arts. EA today announced
a price drop in their current gen sports titles to $29.99 (Madden '06, NBA Live '06, FIFA '06, NASCAR '06
). In addtion, Harry Potter and the Gobet of Fire
is now $29.99, MoH: European Assault
is now $19.99, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted
is now $39.99. These prices only affect the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube versions of the games. X360, PSP, and DS prices are unaffected. Although none of these games are spectacular, keep your eye on game prices over the next six months. You'll be able to pick up some bargains on some great games.
Continue Article ↓ | http://www.lunabean.com/news/20060123_ea_cuts_prices.php | 208 |
MCJH tennis competes at Tech The MCJH tennis teams competed in an end of the year doubles tennis tournament at Tennessee Tech. Darian McDonald and Austin Smith (pictured) finished 3rd place. Mason Warfield and Brandon Coons finished 4th. Mary Chunn and Mahaley Tuck finished 2nd (pictured). Morgan Bottoms and Kaitlin Goheen finished 4th.
Macon vs. Trousdale: alumni game Macon County hosted Trousdale County in an Alumni game on Saturday. The fundraiser for both football programs featured former players from three different decades.
For Macon County, players were: Josh Newberry, David Newberry, Chris Greenhalgh, Seth Smith, Tyler Steen, Mickey Swindle, Jacob York, Austin Kemp, Michael Jones, Michael Dallas, Scott Key, Kyle Woodard, Jacob Law, Spenser Young, Anthony McMurtry, Michael Dies, Chase Greenhalgh, R...
Blue and White games at Pat Parker field The MCHS and MCJH football programs held a Blue and White game on Tuesday of last week closing out the spring practice season.
Jr. High players were divided into two teams; the white team was on offense and the blue team was on defense for the whole tame. The white team did outscore the blue team in this scrimmage style game.
The high school was played in regular game style, with a Blue team and a White team playing each other under norma...
Four Macon runners qualify for TSSAA Four Macon County athletes have qualified for the 2013 TSSAA State Track Meet. Tuesday, May 14 and Thursday, May 16 the A-AA Middle Tennessee Section Meet was held at the Lipscomb Academy Track. The Section Track Meet is the qualifying meet for the TSSAA State Track Meet. The top two finishers in each event automatically qualifies for the State Meet. The next two top finishers from all three A-AA sections also qualify for the State...
MCJH soccer wins Mid-TN Tournament The Macon County Jr. High Boys Soccer Team has had a historic season.
The team finished the regular season as undefeated champions. They also competed in the Middle Tennessee Soccer Conference Tournament last week. The Tigers advanced through the tournament to the championship game against West Wilson Middle School. The championship game was everything that people expect to see at highest level of competition.
West Wilson struck the net f...
MCHS Cross Country boys update
TSSAA — Class A & AA — Middle Sectional
Men - Team Rankings
1) Martin Luther King High Sc 170
2) Maplewood Comprehensive H 125
3) East Nashville Magnet 89.50
4) Central Magnet High Schoo 76
5) Stratford High School 45.50
6) Greenbrier High School 42
7) Middle Tennessee Christian 34
8) Goodpasture Christian Sch 25
9) Merrol Hyde Magnet 12
10) Macon Co. High School 10
11) East Robertson High ...
Submitted by Coach Glen GattisMacon County Times
MCHS Cross Country girls update
TSSAA — Class A & AA — Middle Sectional
Women - Team Rankings
1) East Nashville Magnet Scho 139
2) Martin Luther King High S 107
3) Maplewood Comprehensive Hi 89
4) Macon Co. High School 81
5) White House High School 46
6) Central Magnet High Schoo 41
7) White House-Heritage High 38
8) Middle Tennessee Christia 27
9) Merrol Hyde Magnet 13
10) Alvin C. York Institute 10
11) Trousdale Co. Hig...
MCHS baseball 9AA District awards High School Baseball 9AA District Awards were held on May 8, 2013, at White House High School. MCHS Baseball players receiving awards were:
1st Team All District - Austin Taft and Austin Craighead
2nd Team All District - Ryan Craighead, Shane Hesson, Tyler Kemp, and Dalton Shrum.
MCJH tennis beats Avery Chase On April 30, the MCJH tennis teams played Avery Trace in there last home and regular season match. The girls won 8-1. The boys won 9-2. The 8th graders and their parents were also recognized for Parents night. The Jr. High will end their season with a tournament at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville on May 20.
Macon County Soccer League Spring 2013 Season May 11 th (Week 5) Game Report
Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed the day. We would like to remind all the coaches to please fill out their publicity reports so we can recognize all the hard work the players put in. Here are the reports that were turned in.
The 9:00am match had the lime green team of Kim Cook taking on the lemon team of Dewayne Whittemore. The final score was a 4-2 win for lime green. Scoring for...
Volleyball schools at Cumberland University Volleyball Skills School at Cumberland University June 5-8
Cumberland University Volleyball Coach Dwayne Deering will be conducting the annual Volleyball Skills School at Cumberland University June 5-8. Each session is 9-11am covering a variety of volleyball skills and drills each day. Cost of each individual session is $40 or you may attend all 4 sessions for $145. Please contact Coach Dwayne Deering at 615-547-1318, e-mail: ddeerin...
Kailyn Brooks signs to Carson-Newman Macon County High School senior Kailyn Brooks was signed by Carson–Newman University located in Jefferson City, TN, to play basketball. She will be majoring in Elementary Education.
Kailyn is the daughter of Tony and Tracy Brooks. Kailyn signed her papers on Monday, April 22 with her family and friends present.
“Kailyn is one of the best overall basketball players I’ve had,” comments Macon County High School Tigerettes Head Basketball Coa...
Sr. Night for Tiger baseball Photo by Debbie Craighead
MCHS Baseball Team held their Senior Night on Thursday, May 2, 2013, before District Play-In Game against Westmoreland. Seniors honored were Ian Whittemore, Austin Taft, Jacob McClary, Tyler Kemp, Tyler Clark, Ryan Craighead, Dalton Shrum. Pictured: Senior Players with parents
Photo by Debbie Craighead
2013 Seniors – Front Row (kneeling L-R) Ian Whittemore, Aust...
Tigers beat Eagles on Senior Night The Macon County Tigers hosted the Westmoreland Eagles Thursday May 2 for Senior Night, in a game that would mark the end of the regular season and serve as the play-in game to the 9AA District Tournament. The Tigers were led by the outstanding play of two of its seniors, pitcher Dalton Shrum and shortstop Ian Whittemore.
Dalton Shrum took the mound for the Tigers and pitched a complete game shutout going seven innings while allowing no run...
Scott Taft Contributing WriterMacon County Times
Macon County Jr. High runs a mile All the kids at Macon County Jr. High ran a mile last week. About 750 students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades participated. It was the second year of 100% participation for the school since they began holding the annual run.
6th graders ran Tuesday, 7th graders Wednesday, and 8th graders Thursday. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners were chosen by time for both girls and boys. Band members had a separate set of winners, because students in the... | http://www.maconcountytimes.com/pages/news_sports/push?x_page=1&class=prev_page&per_page=15&rel=prev+start | 1,605 |
Franklin’s stars came out for Relay Idol last Saturday night at the Franklin Fine Arts Center to raise money for Relay for Life.
Cancer survivor Brenda Wooten emceed the event.
The winners were determined by how much money they collected. Every dollar was counted as one vote.
Rhonda and Luke Bateman were the winners, and Keirsten Hedden was the runner up.
Photos by Ellen Bishop & Vickie Carpenter | http://www.maconnews.com/arts-a-entertainment/686-relay-idol-stars-shine | 95 |
Derek Jeter's season ended on this play in the 12th inning early Sunday morning. / Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports
NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees stood in front of their lockers with vacant looks and misty eyes. When they finally spoke, their voices were trembling, almost quivering, trying to keep their emotions in check.
The Yankees didn't lose just a game Saturday night, 6-4 in 12 innings to the Detroit Tigers.
They lost their franchise.
Derek Jeter, one of the greatest players who has ever worn a Yankee uniform, broke his left ankle in the 12th inning and is out for the rest of the season.
Jeter, who was carried off the field writhing in pain, was informed of the news after X-rays showed a fracture. He was emotionless, Yankee general manager Brian Cashman said, when told of the news.
It was everyone else that looked shaken, many unable to even talk.
Former Yankese manager Joe Torre, now working in the commissioner's office, was with Jeter when the captain was informed of the news. So was Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and former teammate Tino Martinez. They gasped when the words came out, trying to grasp the reality:
Fractured ankle. Season over. Three months rehab. No surgery. Should be ready for spring training.
"The shock of the bad news,'' Cashman said, "there wasn't much dialogue after that.''
The injury occurred when Jeter, racing to his left, snared a ground ball hit by Jhonny Peralta. He gloved it, but immediately went to the ground. This time, he didn't get up.
He laid on the ground, screaming in anguish. He was immediately carried off the field while Yankee Stadium went silent.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi and trainer Steve Donahue immediately rushed toward him. The entire stadium, which had been rocking like a Springsteen concert in the ninth inning on Raul Ibanez's game-tying home run, now was silent.
They looked in disbelief, watching Jeter being carried off the field and disappearing into the dugout and through the tunnel.
"He's as tough as they come, and when Derek Jeter needs help getting off the field," Cashman said, "you know it's bad.''
Jeter, who won't need surgery, was still in the trainer's room when news reporters were let in the clubhouse. His street clothes were gone. And a security guard stood in front of his locker preventing pictures.
"This is a very, very difficult moment for us,'' Ibanez said. "It's tough knowing that he won't be with us.''
The injury, Cashman said, most likely was related to the bone bruise that Jeter sustained in Game 3 of the AL Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles, when he fouled a ball off his foot. He was used only as a DH in Game 4 and returned to shortstop in Game 5 not wanting to talk about the pain.
"We have seen what he played through in the last month and a half,'' Girardi said of Jeter's nagging injuries, "and the pain he has been in. And how he found a way to get through it.
"I mean, Jeet has always been as tough as a player as I've ever been around. And you know that's what he showed was toughness.
"I mean, even when I went to the field and I was going to carry him in, and he said, "No, do not carry me.' That is the kind of guy he is. He is going to play through injuries and everything â?¦ He never tells me what is bothering him, ever.
"I'm sad for him because I know how much he loves to play, and play in these type of situations. You can see the disappointment in his face. Everyone in this room knows who he is.''
Girardi didn't even have time to address his players after the game. They likely will have a meeting today, he said, and discuss it, almost like a support group. Jeter may even talk, telling them that they can't feel sorry for themselves, the same message All-Star closer Mariano Rivera delivered in May when he suffered a season-ending knee injury.
"I'm not sure how we'll deliver it, how we'll talk about it,'' Girardi said. "When we through it with Mo, Mo spoke to the team and told us to get it done. â?¦ Jeet is going to tell us, 'Let's go.' That's what he's going to tell us.
"I have to tell you, I don't want to be without him. Nobody in that room wants to be without him. But we have to move on. And I don't say that in a cold way, but we're trying to win a series here."
The Yankees will activate Eduardo Nunez, who will share the shortstop position with veteran Jayson Nix. Alex Rodriguez won't be an option, Girardi said. There was no time to even think who'll become the new leadoff hitter.
"Yes, I admit without a doubt, this is a big loss,'' Cashman said. "But is it something that we are going to allow us to stop dreaming and achieve our goal? No, we're not going to allow that.
"This is a big loss. But we got to do this for him. They'll do everything they can to rally around the circumstance and rally around him.
"The way to honor Derek more than anything else, and these guys all know that, is to get the job done in his absence. So that's what we're going to focus on.''
Copyright 2013 USATODAY.com
Read the original story: Nightengale: Only silence after Jeter departs | http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/usatoday/article/1632139&usatref=sportsmod?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Cfeaturedphoto%7CSports%7Cp | 1,231 |
The Rome Marathon team is organizing a relay-marathon on tomorrow, Saturday, October 20. Team of 5, with at least a woman and an over-45 athlete, will compete in the magnificient scenery of Villa Borghese. Combine this with the unparalled sweetness of Autumn afternoons in Rome and with the camaraderie of the city's running clubs - the result is a Saturday of pure fun.
Rules and regulations of the event (in Italian) at italiamarathonclub.it. Those unfamiliar with the language may call +39 06.40.65.064 for information. | http://www.maratonadiroma.it/?p=en-p123-c29en-newsmedia-news&id_news=24&title=relay-marathon-at-villa-borghese&lang=fr | 127 |
Asalaam Alaikum all, As you know, we just had our 5th Annual Marjaan Basketball Tournament on Sunday June 10th, ...Read More »
6th Annual 5-on-5 Basketball Tournament
League A (13-17)
League B (18-up)
Date & Time
June 8th, 2013
Emory’s Woodruff Center
25 Eagle Row, Atlanta GA 30322.
Top 3 winners from each division will receive trophies and medals.
Before 6/2 - 25$ Per Person
After 6/2 - 35$ Per Person
Maximum of 10 Players per Team.
June 6th, 2013
There are 32 team slots (16 slots for 13-17 & 16 slots for 18-up) available for the tournament. The tournament will give priority to teams on the “First Come, First Serve” basis. Priority will be given to teams in the following order:
- 1Teams that payonline
- 2Teams that register online but did not pay. | http://www.marjaan.org/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=detail&catid=4:2008&id=150:1stbasketballtournament-150&tmpl=component&Itemid=50 | 215 |
The Ravens' decision to give running back Ray Rice just five carries in Sunday's loss to the Seahawks has received a lot of criticism.
In a broader sense, their decision to run the ball just 12 times on 66 offensive plays has also come under fire.
But head coach John Harbaugh stood by the Ravens' play-calling during his Monday press conference, saying that he felt that the looks the Seattle defense presented and the game situation led the Ravens to decide to lean heavily on their passing game.
"I don't know how you would do it any differently," Harbaugh said. "I mean, we were in a situation where we lost two possessions (because of turnovers). We had basically four possessions in the first half, the last one was with 46 seconds left, and that's a two-minute possession. Two of those possessions went really well, and two of them we had four or five plays on. So, when you don't have very many plays, it's hard to build up your running game. And when you're down, you've got to throw it to get back in the game.
"So, I think every game is different. You've got to do in any particular game what you've got to do to try to move the ball. In the end, we definitely want to have more runs. That's indicative of having the lead, having more plays, especially early in the game. But, the way the game went, we had to throw it. And based on some fronts they were giving us early, we felt like we had to throw it, too."
While the Ravens' players have gotten heat for their uninspired performance in Seattle, the coaching staff has also drawn the ire of the fan base and members of the media alike.
When you have a Pro Bowl running back who is one of the top playmakers in the league, many find it hard to fathom that back getting only five carries and just 13 touches overall. Rice is the Ravens' top offensive playmaker, and many wonder why offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and Harbaugh did not make more of an effort to get him the ball.
Harbaugh was asked whether the Ravens might have essentially abandoned the run too early, given the fact they were never down more than two possessions at any point on Sunday.
"Well, we felt like we had to throw the ball, to some extent, during the second half," Harbaugh said. "We came out and we got a tipped pass, and if you look at that particular play - if you want to look at that play - that's a called run. That's a run where they've got a Will 'backer up on the line of scrimmage weak and a strong safety up on the line of scrimmage strong. There's not a lot of places to run. You can hand it off there and probably get no gain. You have a chance to pop it, but the odds are against you. So, we make an adjustment there, and we throw a slant pass and it gets tipped (and intercepted).
"We'll throw it when we need to throw it against the defenses we need to throw it against (according to) the circumstances of the game, and we're going to have to be able to do that. We're always going to hang our hat on being a physical football team, and we want to be able to run the ball. We definitely want to be able to run the ball, and we want to be able to run it well. But the way that game went, it made it tough for us to do that."
From an outsider's perspective, it's easy to make comparisons between the Ravens' surprising loss to the Jaguars and Sunday's loss to the Seahawks.
Against Jacksonville, Rice got just eight carries and the Ravens had just 12 carries overall. Flacco was called on to throw the ball on 72 percent of the Ravens' plays that day, and the offense struggled to move the ball, registering seven points.
Against Seattle, Rice got five carries and the Ravens had 12 carries overall. Flacco threw the ball on 79 percent of the Ravens' plays, and the offense put up just 17 points.
Harbaugh argued that such comparisons are irrelevant.
"I'm thinking every game stands on its own two feet, like I've said many times," he said. "The comparisons that people want to draw between the three (losses), you can draw that all you want. That's all hypothetical, theoretical stuff. When you know football, you understand that the schemes that you see and the situations that you face are different in every single game. So, in (Sunday's) game, no, I didn't see a lot more opportunities to run the ball." | http://www.masnsports.com/dan_kolko/2011/11/harbaugh-supports-sundays-lopsided-pass-run-ratio.html | 962 |
Catcher Matt Wieters will be out of the lineup for the first time Saturday night or Sunday afternoon in Toronto. Manager Buck Showalter will decide after checking the matchups.
Well, I checked them and I couldn't find a definitive solution.
The Blue Jays are starting right-hander Henderson Alvarez on Saturday and right-hander Kyle Drabek on Sunday. Wieters and backup Ronny Paulino haven't faced Alvarez, who's 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in two career starts against the Orioles, with one walk and nine strikeouts in 15 innings. Wieters is 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout against Drabeck. Paulino hasn't faced him.
Wieters is a career .229 hitter in day games and a .275 hitter in night games. Paulino is a career .234 hitter in day games and a .284 hitter in night games.
I'd probably go with the small sample size and let Wieters face Drabek on Sunday.
Then again, Wieters would be catching Brian Matusz instead of Jason Hammel, who tossed seven hitless innings Sunday against the Twins with Wieters behind the plate.
Wieters will catch at least the first seven games of the season, including Friday's series-opener in Toronto. But he'll also get a break Thursday because there's an open date on the schedule.
"We might catch him on the off-day in Bowie, by God," Showalter said with a grin.
Showalter wanted Wieters to catch every starter the first time through the rotation, and he'll complete that mission tonight with Wei-Yin Chen on the mound.
Saturday or Sunday will be "his first day because early in the season, he's fresh," Showalter said.
"We know how valuable he is, but we'd like to see him get a feel for all these guys. We tried to set that up in the spring as much as possible where he caught everybody, even work days and things like that. But I also want Ronny to see them, so there's two sides of that.
"I know John Russell's doing stuff with Ronny every other day to make sure he stays sharp catching-wise. Matt's very valuable. Like we did last year, we'll continue to monitor his catching." | http://www.masnsports.com/school_of_roch/2012/04/when-will-wieters-sit-instead-of-crouch.html | 492 |
has now lost six straight games, currently the longest losing streak in the league.
First place in Toledo City belongs to Start
, which has compiled an 8-5 overall record to go with its 6-0 league record. Bowsher
is in second place, zero games behind with an 8-2 record in league play. Rogers
's pitchers were the toughest in the league on opposing hitters this week, giving up only six hits. On the year, the Rams have allowed only 159 hits. Story is based on stats entered in MaxPreps by Monday 8am PST each week. | http://www.maxpreps.com/news/FtJe8Kp1fU-uxzSz5EGKMw/league-recap--woodward-losing-streak-continues,-now-winless-in-last-six-.htm | 119 |
A collection of news and information related to T.J. Graham published by this site and its partners.
Displaying items 1-12 of 12 » View mcall.com items only
ReutersThe Sports Xchange NFL Team Report - Buffalo Bills - INSIDE SLANT Buddy Nix stepped down Monday as general manager of the Bills and into a new role as special assistant with the team. Nix has been the Bills' general manager since 2009. "I've made this...
ReutersNFL Team Report - Buffalo Bills - INSIDE SLANT When it came to upgrading an offense that ranked 28th, 14th and 21st in points scored the last three seasons, the Bills were far from finished with the selection of a quarterback in the first round of...
Tyrann Mathieu has a checkered past. The Arizona Cardinals know it and they drafted the former Louisiana State safety in the third round of last week's NFL draft anyway. But they're not naive. The team will try to protect itself by taking such steps...
ReutersThe Sports Xchange Cardinals GM admits risk in drafting Mathieu Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim told Sports Illustrated's Peter King on Sunday night that former Heisman Trophy finalist Tyrann Mathieu is not the type of player the team...
Boston HeraldThe Grand Annual NFL Livestock Show concluded yesterday after two interminable nights and a day, and the biggest question in these parts is not who is Duran Harmon but did anyone in the AFC East close in on the Patriots? On paper the Buffalo Bills got...
The Buffalo NewsThe Buffalo Bills got the polished receiver they were looking for and added some much-needed depth at linebacker in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night. The Bills picked University of Southern California receiver Robert Woods with the 41st...
Staff reports|TV SPORTS| |SUNDAY| Women’s College Basketball--Georgetown at Penn State, 11 a.m. (Big 10 Network); South Dakota at Kansas State, 2 p.m. (FXSP) NFL Football--Baltimore Ravens at Washington Redskins, Noon (CBS); Chicago Bears at Minnesota...
Staff reports|TV SPORTS| NFL Football--Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders, 7 p.m. (NFL Network) NBA Basketball--New York Knicks at Miami Heat, 7 p.m. (TNT); Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns, 9:30 p.m. (TNT) Men’s College Basketball--Long Beach State at...
Staff reports|TV SPORTS| |SUNDAY| NFL Football--Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals, Noon (CBS); Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks, 3 p.m. (FOX); Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants, 3:25 p.m. (CBS); Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons, 7:20 p.m. (NBC)...
The Hartford Courant— Marcus Easley stepped out of the shower in the cramped visitors' dressing room late Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. He maneuvered past Steve Johnson, squeezed around reporters interviewing Donald Jones, stepped over his equipment bag and,...
Staff reports|TV SPORTS| |SATURDAY| Soccer--Premier League, Arsenal at Manchester United, 7:30 a.m. (ESPN2); MLS Playoffs, 7 p.m. (NBCSN) College Football--Oklahoma at Iowa State, 11 a.m. (ABC); Texas A&M at Mississippi State, 11 a.m. (ESPN); Temple at Louisville,...
MINNEAPOLIS - Christian Ponder threw a first-quarter touchdown pass in a sharp three-possession appearance and the Minnesota Vikings breezed to a 36-14 victory Friday night over the Buffalo Bills, who saw a decent performance from backup quarterback...
May 13, 2013 |Story| Reuters
May 12, 2013 |Story| Reuters
May 1, 2013 |Story| Los Angeles Times
Apr 29, 2013 |Story| Reuters
Apr 28, 2013 |Story| McClatchy-Tribune
Apr 27, 2013 |Story| McClatchy-Tribune
Dec 8, 2012 |Story| Aberdeen News
Dec 5, 2012 |Story| Aberdeen News
Nov 3, 2012 |Story| Aberdeen News
Nov 12, 2012 |Column| Hartford Courant
Nov 2, 2012 |Story| Aberdeen News
Aug 18, 2012 |Story| Aberdeen News
Original site for T.J. Graham topic gallery. | http://www.mcall.com/topic/sports/football/t.j.-graham-PESPT0015699.topic | 904 |
Sign Up For North Texas Volleyball Camp
Register Online Now For NT Volleyball Camp
North Texas volleyball head coach Andrew Palileo will be hosting his volleyball camp throughout July beginning with setter/hitter camp on July 8.
Former Texas A&M Head Coach Joins VB Staff
NT Volleyball Adds Associate Head Coach Al Givens
At the Division I level, Givens spent time at Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Weber State and Charleston Southern, where he combined for 391 career wins. He has 405 wins overall at the university level.
Andrew Palileo Named Volleyball Head Coach
Mean Green Volleyball Names Its Ninth Head Coach
University of North Texas Director of Athletics Rick Villarreal has announced the hiring of former Pac-12 Coach of the Year Andrew Palileo as the new Mean Green volleyball head coach.
Get To Know Courtney Windham
Get To Know Your Mean Green Student-Athlete
Courtney Windham, a junior volleyball player, is next up in February's Get To Know Your Mean Green Student-Athlete. Click on the video to meet Courtney. | http://www.meangreensports.com/SportSelect.dbml?ATCLID=205410922&SPID=563&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=1800 | 238 |
On The Rise... Tobias Kamke
by Paul Macpherson
Tobias Kamke relaxes at the Brisbane International last week.
After rising 187 places in the South African Airways ATP Rankings last season, Tobias Kamke is determined to become Germany’s highest-ranked player.
High school chemistry and physics classes have tested the patience and attention spans of teenagers for years. For Germany’s Tobias Kamke, the 2010 ATP World Tour Newcomer Of the Year, the classes were particularly torturous. In his latter years at school, turning pro was never far from his mind.
In 2004, with two more years of study ahead of him, Kamke took the chance while on holiday to play his first Futures event in Leun, Germany. After an unexpected run to the final in his first professional event, Kamke, then 18, was hooked and wanted out of school. No science experiment could hold a flame to the lure of the pro game. "I had no idea about chemistry, and physics was awful as well," Kamke told DEUCE at the Brisbane International in the first week of the 2011 ATP World Tour season. "It was always my dream to turn pro. When I made the final I was so motivated to start. I wanted to quit school and start right away, but I had two more years of school." [In Germany, formal schooling includes Year 13.]
Later, as he became more adamant that he would quit school, Kamke remembers heated arguments about his future with his father. "I rang him from a Futures event and said, 'Call the school and tell them I won't be there on the first day because I want to turn pro.' When I came back I had three or four discussions for one or two hours with my father about it and we were screaming a little bit."
"You have to stay in school. It’s much better for your future. What happens if you get injured after one year? Then you can’t study because you didn’t finish the 13 years of school," said his father, Lutz.
"I'm not getting injured. I will make it now," Kamke insisted.
With his mother, Margit, an uncle and even idol Michael Stich all imploring him to finish school, Kamke relented. "Michael said to me, 'If you're good enough to make it, you will make it in two years.' I thought if so many people were against it I should wait. The last two years were pretty tough, but I’m glad now that I listened and finished school."
Kamke, 24, is finally making up for his delayed start to the pro ranks. In 2010 he slashed his South African Airways ATP Ranking from 254 to 67, an achievement which promoted his peers to vote him the 2010 ATP World Tour Newcomer of the Year. Before last year his progress to the ATP World Tour had been anything but expeditious; during his career he's played 265 matches at Futures and Challenger level. But his days at the Challenger level look like they are over. Despite standing just 5' 11" Kamke has a growing reputation as one of the best athletes on tour, with exceptional foot speed and balance and penetrating ground strokes off both wings. In the off season he’s worked hard to improve his net game.
In 2010, after a series of deep runs at Challenger level, he qualified at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at Roland Garros, where he reached the second round. The week after, he reached the Furth Challenger final and then qualified at Wimbledon en route to the third round, where he was competitive against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Kamke’s travelling coach, Ralph Grambow, cites the German’s first-round recovery from two-sets down against tough Spaniard Guillermo Garcia Lopez (an Eastbourne finalist who later in the year would save 24 of 26 break points to beat Rafael Nadal in the Bangkok semi-finals) as a turning point in his career.
“In the first round of Wimbledon, Tobi was two sets and 3-5 down. He came back and won the match and at that moment he realised that he was ready for the bigger tour,” said Grambow, who shares coaching duties with the non-traveling Maik Schuerbesmann . “We were getting a return on the hard work. But right after the match he couldn’t believe what he had just done. He said: ‘Did that really happen? I was down and nearly out. How good is that!’ On the ATP website there was a picture of the moment he won, when he put his arms up in the air. He has it on his laptop as the background picture.”
Speaking to DEUCE this week in Sydney, Garcia Lopez recalled his Wimbledon loss and predicted good things for Kamke. “He’s got great legs; he runs so fast,” the Spaniard said. “He’s strong on both sides from the baseline – I really like his backhand - and he’s mentally tough. I think he’s going to be a good player and someone who could push into the Top 30 or 40 this year.”
Happy as he was with his Wimbledon success, Kamke still had more work to do. He won he Granby Challenger in Canada in early August, the Tiburon Challenger in California in October and then shook down Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-1 in the first round of Basel. “It was one of the best matches of my life. I didn’t miss a ball. I could do whatever I wanted and everything went in. It was a very big win for me,” Kamke said.
Growing up in the historic port city of Lubeck, about 50 kilometres north-east of Hamburg, Kamke looked up to 1991 Wimbledon champion and 1996 Roland Garros finalist Stich more so than iconic German tennis legend Boris Becker. Stich later would become a mentor and an occasional practice partner. “Of course I watched both their matches but my father was a big Michael Stich fan,” Kamke recalled. “He came from the north of Germany from where I am and I liked his game more than Becker’s. Some years later after he retired, I met him at a Hamburg club where I played club matches and he practised and prepared for his exhibitions. We practised sometimes. He’s like an idol for me. Not just on the court, but off the court too. I was 17 when I met him the first time. I felt like I was the luckiest guy in the world to hit balls with him for 45 minutes.”
For now, Kamke, who in ’96 was at Roland Garros to watch Stich’s first three victories en route to the final, is focused on pushing further up the rankings and, perhaps, becoming Germany’s highest-ranked player in the years ahead. A former tennis powerhouse, Germany begins 2011 with 10 players inside the Top 100 of the South African Airways ATP Rankings. But only one, former World No. 5 Rainer Schuettler, has ever cracked the Top 20. German fans are hoping that Kamke continues his rise.
But on the ATP World Tour, nothing is for certain and you only get what you earn. Fellow German Florian Mayer, who was Newcomer Of The Year in 2004, told DEUCE that the season after his breakout year was tough. He ended 2004 at No. 33 – a mark that remains his career-high ranking more than six years later. “For me it happened too fast,” Mayer said. “I came from 250 to 33 in six months. Everything was new with the big tournaments, the big courts; it was a little too much for me in the beginning. And the second year is always the toughest one when your opponents know you much better. But he’s got a good coach and team around him, so I think he will have a good year in 2011. He’s very fast, with a great backhand. His only weakness is his serve, but when he improves that, he can easily reach the Top 50.” | http://www.menstennisforums.com/showthread.php?p=11720550 | 1,738 |
The IronPigs, the Minors' top team in attendance the last three seasons, were awarded the annual Triple-A showcase, which will be held Sept. 17, 2013, and features a one-game showdown between the International and Pacific Coast League champions. The game will be televised live on the NBC Sports Network for a second straight year as well.
"This truly is a historic day for our franchise, our loyal and enthusiastic fans and the entire Lehigh Valley community," IronPigs general manager Kurt Landes said. "The Gildan Triple-A National Championship Game is Triple-A Baseball's showcase event and we are thrilled to bring it to our fans at Minor League Baseball's showcase ballpark."
Lehigh Valley seems like a logical choice in 2013 -- the IronPigs, Philadelphia's top affiliate, have led the Minors in attendance each of the last three years and are one of only three clubs to draw more than 600,000 fans annually for five straight seasons. The 'Pigs previously hosted the 2010 Triple-A All-Star Game.
"Lehigh Valley hosted one of Triple-A Baseball's crown jewel events in 2010 with the Triple-A All-Star Game, and now with the 2013 Gildan National Championship Game coming to the area, the IronPigs will become the first International League team to have hosted both of Triple-A Baseball's nationally televised games," said International League President Randy Mobley.
Through Aug. 13, 526,881 fans have made their way to the ballpark in Allentown, Pa., as the IronPigs led the International League in total attendance and 9,084 per game despite the ballpark having a seating capacity of 8,089.
This year's Triple-A National Championship will be played in Durham on Sept. 18 -- the Bulls have drawn nearly 401,000 fans this season.
The IL has captured the Triple-A National Championship each of the last three seasons with Columbus beating Omaha in Albuquerque, N.M., last season. The all-time series between the two leagues is tied, 3-3.
The IronPigs said current season ticket holders will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets for next year's event. The team said more details about events surrounding the game will be announced in the near future. | http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120813&content_id=36618894&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb | 470 |
|© MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.|
Aces Score Early, Often In 10-3 Victory07/23/2010 1:16 AM ET
PORTLAND, Ore.-Ryan Roberts gave Reno the lead with a two-run first-inning homer, and the Aces poured it on from there, taking the series-clincher 10-3 over Portland Thursday night at PGE Park.
After Chris Rahl led off the game with a double, Roberts' ninth homer of the season gave the Aces a two-run lead before Portland recorded an out. Reno would add another in the first and coast to the victory behind strong pitching by Matt Torra. The Aces also benefited from eight Portland walks, ensuring that their final game at Portland's PGE Park would be a victorious one.
Torra (7-6) kept the Beavers at bay, tossing eight innings and surrendering just two runs on six hits. Jose Marte threw the final inning for Reno to preserve the victory.
Cesar Ramos (2-4) was tagged with the loss, giving up eight hits and five runs-four earned-in four innings of work.
Roberts' first-inning homer was one of three long balls for the Aces. Mark Hallberg hit his first of the season, while Brandon Allen added his team-leading 13th dinger in the eighth inning. Rahl scored twice and recorded two hits from the leadoff spot.
The Aces return home Friday to begin an eight-game homestand against Fresno and Las Vegas. Friday's pitching matchup will feature Aces RHP Wes Roemer (1-5, 7.08 ERA) against Grizzlies LHP Matt Yourkin (6-3, 3.39 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. from Aces Ballpark, and is a Saint Mary's Fireworks Friday presented by KOLO 8, with a fireworks show immediately following the game.
Tickets for all Aces games start at just $7, and are available by calling the Reno Aces box office at (775) 334-7000 or by visiting RenoAces.com. The brand-new Freight House District, located just outside Aces Ballpark, is open seven days a week, on both game days and non-game days. | http://www.milb.com/news/print.jsp?ymd=20100723&content_id=12538432&vkey=news_t2310&fext=.jsp | 482 |
Welcome to MHR! Use this Open Thread to discuss the Oakland Raiders vs Denver Broncos game. It's your every week, virtual sports bar.
Greetings, once again, MHR!
Today, the Broncos will play their AFC West division game of the NFL regular season, as they take on the 1-2 Oakland Raiders.
For now, we have a huge slate of early games to whet our whistles. Here is the NFL schedule for today:
11 am MDT
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans
San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
San Francisco 49ers at New York Jets
Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams
2:05 pm MDT
2:25 pm MDT
6:20 pm MDT | http://www.milehighreport.com/2012/9/30/3432064/week-4-nfl-open-thread-early-games-Broncos-fans | 173 |
The 10-by-15 banner Langdon's fans displayed looked to be an adage.
But the section-sized sign that read "Never Say Never" proved to be the Cardinals' motto.
Langdon dug itself out of a two-game hole before edging Park River-Fordville-Lankin 10-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-12 Friday night at the Minot State University Dome to advance to tonight's Class B state-title match.
Langdon senior outside hitter Abbey Braaten attempts a spike as Park River-Fordville-Lankin’s Kirsten Johnson (14) moves into position for a block Friday at the Minot State University Dome.
The Cardinals, whose 15 tournament appearances is a classification best, will lock up with Kindred tonight at 8 p.m. in the championship.
Abbey Braaten was instrumental in her club's unlikely comeback, finishing the evening with 22 kills, 14 digs and three aces.
"They ranked us fourth in the district and said we wouldn't even win the regional," Braaten said. "It was our tough serves all year. Coach has been pushing that and that's what what we did tonight."
PR-F-L was assertive at the net in the first two sets, simply overpowering the Cardinals' front line. The Aggies' Kristen Johnson had her way with Langdon in the lopsided first set on her way to a team-high 17 kills, two blocks and two aces.
The only way Langdon countered that power was to add a degree of difficulty to its serves in an effort to keep it away from Johnson.
When the Cardinals were down 15-11 in third set and facing the consolation bracket, a timeout helped propel the momentum shift.
"Coach just told us to never give up," said Braaten, whose emphatic kill ended the match. "And that this is our time."
Langdon went on a 8-2 run following the break, ultimately leading to its comeback win.
PR-F-L couldn't shake off its nerves when push came to shove.
"We started playing a little tentative," PR-F-L coach Sherry Currie said. "At the same time I'm proud of my girls; they did their best."
The Aggies will face off with Linton-HMB today at 2 p.m for third place. | http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/570914/Langdon-comes-back--advances-to-title-match.html?nav=5016 | 508 |
Lasell Defeats MIT, 1-0
Sept. 13, 2006
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Despite tallying more shots (15-10) and penalty corners (10-2) than host Lasell College, MIT fell to the Lasers, 1-0, in non-conference field hockey action on Tuesday night. The loss dropped the Engineers' record to 1-3 on the season.
Following a scoreless first half, Lasell (1-3) recorded the game's lone goal after 9:37 had elapsed. Alexa Herman collected five saves in net for Tech as the Lasers goalie made 11 stops. | http://www.mitathletics.com/sports/w-fieldh/recaps/091306aaa.html | 136 |
The rumors surrounding John Farrell and the Red Sox won’t go away, especially now that Farrell’s Blue Jays are visiting Boston, where he coached until 2010. Farrell is the top choice of Red Sox officials to replace Bobby Valentine as the team’s manager in 2013, but he isn’t the only American League manager the Red Sox are considering. The Red Sox will turn to Angels manager Mike Scioscia if the Angels fire Scioscia and Farrell isn’t available, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
The Red Sox are expected to fire Valentine soon after the regular season ends, Nightengale writes. By that point the availability of Farrell, who’s under contract for 2013, and Scioscia, who’s under contract through 2018, should be more clear. Red Sox president Larry Lucchino told Nightengale the team hasn’t made a decision about Valentine’s future in Boston. "We'll re-evaluate it at the end of the season," Lucchino said. | http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/09/red-sox-eyeing-mike-scioscia.html | 216 |
Playoffs in Profile: Big risk, huge reward for Sounders' Alonso
As the MLS Cup playoffs continue, the MLSsoccer.com series "Playoffs In Profile" will take a look at the players and personalities who will each play a crucial role in their teams' hopes of winning the MLS Cup.
In the sixth installment, new media editor Fidencio Enriquez details the rapid ascent of Seattle Sounders midfielder Osvaldo Alonso, who walked out of a Wal-Mart in Houston four years ago with big dreams and the ambition to fulfill them. Check back with MLSsoccer.com to read the latest story as the "Playoffs in Profile" series continues this week.
Located about an hour’s drive west of Havana lies the town of San Cristóbal.
Known best for its involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis – the US discovered that the Soviets had begun construction of a missile base in the nearby region, effectively beginning the most dangerous encounter of the Cold War – nearly 30,000 people call it home.
Included among those is Seattle Sounders midfielder Osvaldo Alonso who, driven by the need to achieve better and bigger things, abandoned everything he knew on a fateful summer day in Houston in 2007.
It’s that same determination that has allowed Alonso to, in four short years, go from Cuban refugee to one of the brightest stars in Major League Soccer.
The Sport of Choice
In an island nation where baseball and boxing reign supreme, Alonso’s career to professional soccer is as unlikely as finding a Cuban who can’t dance.
Considering baseball legends Martín Dihigo and Luis Tiant and boxing greats Gerardo “Kid Gavilán” González and Teófilo Stevenson, it’s not hard to understand why Cuban kids look up to athletes in those sports and want to follow in their footsteps.
But when you’re a child who prefers to kick the ball instead of throw it, or curl a free kick instead of dealing a right hook, who do you turn to as your role model? For Alonso, his hero carried the distinguished title of “dad.”
“My father played soccer in Cuba,” Alonso said. “That’s where my love for soccer started.”
With Osvaldo Alonso Sr. as his coach beginning at the age of five, Osvaldito set out to become one of the best his nation had to offer.
“Since I was little, I was in an academy to develop as a soccer player,” Alonso said. “And at 16 years old, I had the chance to debut with FC Pinar del Rio in the first division in Cuba. That’s where it all started. I scored a goal and after that I was always on the first team.”
Alonso soon turned league success into international call-ups. He made his senior debut in September 2006 – the same year he won the league championship with Pinar del Rio – and was named captain of the U-23 team for 2008 Olympic qualifying.
But Alonso was playing in essentially a glorified amateur league – “In Cuba, there is no professional league,” he said – and he knew that to achieve bigger and better things, he’d have to leave everyone and everything he knew behind.
The Great Escape
If Alonso wanted to pull off his plan, he couldn’t tell anyone.
Since he found out that Cuba would take part in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Alonso knew his best chance to desert was during the tournament. He decided to take it in Houston.
With the team officials on high alert – Cuban forward Lester More had snuck out of the team hotel in New Jersey just days earlier – Alonso knew his window was now only half open and closing fast. But like a good midfielder, he saw an opening during a team outing and ran with it.
The team had visited a Wal-Mart, and while teammates and coaches browsed around, Alonso slowly straggled behind until he had slipped away from view. He then simply walked out the door, all the while feeling like his heart would burst out of his chest.
“The hardest moment of my life was the day I decided to desert,” he said. “The first day I abandoned the Cuban delegation, that was the hardest day.
“So many things were going through my head,” he continued. “You don’t know what to do when you’re in a new country, dealing with a new language. At that moment, I didn’t know what to do.”
Alonso eventually gathered himself, managed to call a friend in Miami, and a couple of hours later, he was on a bus en route to Florida.
No sooner had news broken out that Alonso had deserted the Cuban national team, he learned that Chivas USA, who included Cuban striker Maykel Galindo in their ranks, were interested in his services.
“When I deserted, [Chivas USA] asked Galindo if he knew me, if he could get in touch with me,” Alonso said. “They wanted me to go there and train.”
For a few months, Alonso trained with the Rojiblancos as he awaited his immigration papers.
He impressed the MLS side so much that they wanted him to stay. Chivas offered him a developmental contract, which would pay him $12,900. But Alonso didn’t care as much about the money than he did about the playing time, and when he heard the USL’s Charleston Battery wanted his services, Alonso jumped on the offer.
“[Chivas USA] asked me to stay with them. They offered me that contract, but I refused it,” Alonso said. “I then decided to go with Charleston. I wanted to play, to have the chance to showcase myself, and Charleston was the team that offered me that.”
Compared to Cuba, living in Charleston was like night and day. Trying to adapt to a new culture, a new language and a new way of life wasn’t the easiest of tasks for Alonso. In fact, just getting used to the idea that you could make a living off of playing soccer was still relatively new for him.
But if he was having any difficulties assimilating to life outside the field, on it, he was totally at home.
The Sounders Come Calling
In the 2008 season – his first and only with the Battery – Alonso helped guide Charleston to the US Open Cup final, where they were edged 2-1 by D.C. United. Despite falling short, Alonso had proven his worth. He scored four goals and added two assists in 23 games that season, nabbing first-team all-USL and Rookie of the Year honors.
“I think that going to Charleston was the best choice I made,” Alonso said. “In Charleston, I had more opportunities to play more, more options to be noticed.”
There was at least one team taking who had set their sights on him.
The Seattle Sounders were preparing for their inaugural MLS campaign in 2009, but they felt that to compete, they needed to acquire a high-energy central midfielder with a dogged penchant for winning the ball.
After facing Charleston a handful of times in 2008 in USL play, it didn’t take the Seattle brass very long to figure out they wanted Alonso to fill that spot.
“Obviously, he had played in Charleston in the USL, and so the Sounders – Brian Schmetzer and Adrian [Hanauer], and Chris Henderson was already here at the time – had gotten a good look at him and seen him,” explained Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid, who was the man appointed to helm Seattle in December 2008. “So by the time I came here to the club, he was a player that they mentioned to me.”
Interestingly enough, Alonso’s was a name Schmid already recognized from his days with the Columbus Crew.
“Ironically, while I was at Columbus, Ozzie had a tryout with me. ... I wanted to sign him at Columbus, but I only had a developmental contract,” Schmid explained. “He didn’t want to sign a developmental contract, and so from Columbus, he went to Chivas. Chivas didn’t sign him. The agent called us again, we again said we’d sign him to a developmental contract, they said no, and then he went to Charleston.
“So when … Adrian and Schmetzer said, ‘Hey, we really like this guy,’ they didn’t’ have to ask me very often. I said, ‘Yeah, let’s go get him.’”
Thus, in January 2009, Alonso was off to a new destination, a place where he’d again have to start anew, but one where he would quickly make a name for himself.
Making Waves, Winning Games
2009 holds a very special place in Alonso’s heart.
While first-year expansion clubs typically struggle in their inaugural MLS season, an über-competitive Alonso would make sure that didn’t happen.
From the initial whistle that kicked off the Sounders’ MLS era, Alonso was determined to establish himself in the league as one of the best. He quickly became the engine of the team – he played a full 90 minutes in 26 of his 28 starts that year – providing consistency as the team captured a US Open Cup title.
That trophy signified the world to Alonso.
“That was my first title [in the US],” he said. “It was big for me. My first year in MLS, my first year playing in the top flight, and I win that title. That was one of my biggest accomplishments thus far.”
Of course, Alonso’s fame just keeps growing. Considered among the best in his positions just three years into his MLS career, his reputation as a gritty and tenacious ball-winner is now being complemented by an improved passing game, and he’s turning lots of heads, especially with some of the goals he’s scored this season.
“I think people are more aware of him now,” Schmid said. “The people that follow the league, the fans that are fans of the league, and even the fans of the individual teams and the coaches in the league, I think if you asked them, ‘Who would be a player you’d wanna pluck off the Seattle team?’ I think Ozzie’s name would be up there in the top two or three.”
But as accolades and memorable moments – like his 96th-minute goal vs. Chicago in this year’s US Open Cup final, or his brace against Comunicaciones to put Seattle into the knockout stages of the CONCACAF Champions League for the first time – keep piling up, it just serves as more fuel to motivate Alonso to achieve greater things.
Currently, the goal is to win MLS Cup 2011, which is a little difficult considering they’re trailing Real Salt Lake 3-0 going into the second leg of their Western Conference semifinal matchup on Thursday.
“Winning the MLS Cup would be a tremendous dream,” said Alonso. “To win the Open Cup and close it with an MLS Cup would be dream come true.”
Still, he remains confident that helping Seattle win the MLS Cup is just a matter of time.
Until then, Alonso will just keep giving it all in the middle of the Sounders lineup, living the American dream.
“Since I deserted and had the chance to start playing soccer, I’ve reflected on every step I’ve taken,” he said, “and I’m super happy to have stayed in this country.” | http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/10/31/playoffs-profile-big-risk-huge-reward-sounders-alonso | 2,512 |
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07-09-2006, 11:37 AM
Not sure about his status. Most likely he signed the standard 3 fight deal, so he'd have 2 fights left. I know he is negotiating with K-1 to be in the K-1 Hero's 187 lb. GP.
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|Cat--Smasher ||01-16-2013 01:10 PM |
Ben Rothwell: 'I'm a gringo, but I'm trained by Brazilians'
UFC on FX 7's Ben Rothwell: 'I'm a gringo, but I'm trained by Brazilians' | News
"It's been an extremely hard road, a hard training camp for me," he told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps). "There have been some obstacles to test me, to say the least. It's been a test, both mentally and physically. But here I am. I'm going to fight Saturday, and I made it through these trials. And that's it. I made it here, and I'm standing here with you."
The injuries, which forced him out of a planned August bout with Travis Browne, came at a terrible time for the former IFL and Affliction fighter. After winning 13 straight fights from 2005 to 2007, Rothwell went just 2-3 afterward, and it included UFC losses to Cain Velasquez and Mark Hunt.
But he regrouped, showed off a slimmed-down physique, and then scored a "Knockout of the Night" performance over favorite Brendan Schaub at UFC 145. But that fight was nine months ago, and that momentum now seems long ago. On Saturday, there's the threat of ring rust, and Rothwell is obviously fighting in hostile territory by facing a veteran Brazilian fighter. Additionally, Rothwell's primary coaches couldn't make the trip to Sao Paulo with him.
That's reason enough to doubt his chances on Saturday, but Rothwell has a saving grace: coaches Luiz Claudio and Thiago Veiga. Both are Brazilian, and both have put Rothwell at ease this week after months of uncertainty.
"I don't want to get into details, but it's been both (physical and personal problems)," he said. "I'm recovering from the injury, things with my body. I've had other things going on. I have some coaches here helping me, but my main two coaches weren't able to make it with me out here, so I've just had some hard things to deal with.
"But I love Brazil. Brazil changed my life. I guess [Brazilian fans] don't know that. They don't realize how much my coaches from here have come here and are helping me. ... I'm a gringo, but I'm trained by Brazilians, and they've taken really good care of me. I've got Brazil on my back in a sense."
|Fedorlei Gomipierre ||01-16-2013 03:25 PM |
If Rothwell looks as good as he did against Schaub, I think he's going to be a fucking FORCE at HW. I love Napao too, this should be a helluva toss-up.
|NAL987 ||01-16-2013 08:29 PM |
For some reason I've never been impressed by Ben. Even in the IFL days. If both are at 100% I say Gonzaga grindos the grindo.
or Sub in 2/3rd RD.
|AnchorPunch ||01-16-2013 10:37 PM |
I just don't see GG sticking to the game plan. He's done it in, what, 2 fights? If the new, possibly enhanced, Ben shows up, he gets the KO.
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The event - which will take place in Enoch, Alberta just outside of Edmonton - will be broadcast live in the United States, Canada, and Mexico on HDNet Fights on February 20, and be headlined by Edmonton native Ryan Ford vs. Pat Healy.
This is unquestionably the best show weve ever put together, said MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich. I wanted to start 2009 with a bang that the whole world would notice and that has been accomplished in a big way.
The main event will feature the welterweight championship belt on the line as home grown Ryan The Real Deal Ford (8-1) clashed with the only man to defeat him, veteran Team Quest product Pat Bam Bam Healy (24-14). Ford has two victories - over LaVerne Clark and Nabil Khatib respectively following his only loss, and will look to avenge it against Healy who last saw action in the aforementioned victory over Ford at MFC 17.
In feature action the MFC lightweight championship will be on the line for the first time ever as the rugged Derrik Noble (24-11), and veteran wrestler Antonio McKee (27-3) vie for the chance to be the first fighter to wear the MFC 155 lbs belt. Noble is fresh off a victory over the supremely talented Ariel Sexton at MFC 19, and IFL veteran Antonio McKee puts his 11-fight undefeated streak on the line.
Coming off an impressive victory over Xtreme Couture fighter John The Natural Alessio, rising welterweight Paul Daley will match his premier stand up ability against one of the biggest wrestlers in the division, Nick The Goat Thompson (36-10). Thompson had an up-and-down start to his career, but has rattled off 20 victories in his last 22 fights, and was the first fighter ever to defeat Eddie Alvarez.
In other action former MFC light heavyweight champion Roger Hollett (8-2) will search for redemption against UFC veteran David Heath (9-4), Bryan Baker (8-1) faces TUF veteran Rory Singer (11-8), and another TUF veteran Solomon Hutcherson (10-5) will make his return to Alberta as he takes on the undefeated Dave Mewborn (6-0-1).
In other action
Simon Marini (6-1) takes on Ryan Machan (9-2)
Donovan Foley (6-2) vs. Josh Russell (2-0), lightweight
Jason Heit (2-0) vs. Sheldon Westcott (2-1), welterweight
Kyle Dietz (13-0) vs. Evan Sanguin (7-2), featherweight
Mike Sorensen (4-2) vs. Jesse Clarke (2-1), welterweight | http://www.mmaringreport.com/mfc-news/mfc-news/mfc-20-destined-for-greatness-the-best-mfc-yet-14.html | 579 |
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 11:35 a.m.
Airport used an unearned run in the sixth inning to break a tie and nip Flat Rock 3-2, capping a 14-0 Huron League softball season Monday.
Monday, May 20th, 2013 12:36 p.m.
Miranda Chlebos capped a great showing in the Madonna Softball Tournament by going 7-for-8 in Monroe’s final two games Sunday.
Saturday, May 18th, 2013 6:00 a.m.
Junior Katie Knapp won her second Regional championship Friday as she claimed first at No. 3 singles. She won last year at No. 4 singles.
Friday, May 17th, 2013 10:00 a.m.
St. Mary Catholic Central’s girls tennis team has qualified for the state meet for the fourth year in a row.
Monday, May 13th, 2013 1:27 p.m.
Runs have been hard to come by for the Toledo Mud Hens at Fifth Third Field this season. Ida’s baseball team experienced the same problem in the early innings when it played Britton-Deerfield on the Hens’ home field Saturday night.
Thursday, May 2nd, 2013 9:06 a.m.
Emily Ritzenthaler pushed her batting average to .576 with four hits and four RBI as Whiteford’s softball team crushed Whitmore Lake 19-0 in three innings Wednesday.
Monday, April 29th, 2013 8:57 a.m.
Monroe High’s softball team dropped its first game Saturday in the Saline Invitational but came all the way back to win the tournament. After losing to South Lyon East 5-4, the Trojans stopped St. Joseph 9-2, Fenton 6-1 and Saline 3-2.
Monday, April 22nd, 2013 10:38 a.m.
The field for Saturday’s Monroe Soccer Invitational was very balanced. Southgate Anderson, Monroe and St. Mary Catholic Central all finished with 1-0-2 records. Redford Thurston, which wound up going 0-3, turned out to be the difference in the event.
Friday, April 19th, 2013 10:53 a.m.
Heavy rain couldn’t stop the Bedford girls soccer team from kicking Adrian 6-1 Thursday night. Jessica Kreger scored three first-half goals as the Mules took a 4-0 lead.
Wednesday, April 10th, 2013 11:45 a.m.
Dundee’s golf team was in midseason form as it opened its season by winning the eight-team Blissfield Jamboree Tuesday. The Vikings shot 168 to edge second-place Onsted by one stroke. Erie Mason was third with 170 and Ida fifth with 184. Justin Kane paced Dundee with a 36, Anthony Becker shot 41, Tanner Massingill 45 and Trent Moody 46.
Tuesday, April 9th, 2013 2:32 p.m.
Bob Jones is only in his 12th season as Airport’s head baseball coach, but he already has 300 career victories.
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 11:28 a.m.
Gibraltar Carlson’s baseball team was off to a great start before imploding in their season opener in suburban Cincinnati. The Marauders led 9-3 and were in complete control after five innings.
Saturday, January 12th, 2013 10:00 a.m.
Meadow Montessori won its first game in school history in amazing fashion Friday night.
Saturday, January 12th, 2013 10:00 a.m.
Whiteford’s boys basketball team jumped right back into the Tri-County Conference race by handing Clinton its first loss of the season 49-40 Friday night.
Sunday, October 7th, 2012 6:00 a.m.
It was a great day for Nick Raymond and Ashley Sorge Saturday at the Hudson Booster Cross Country Invitational.
Monday, June 4th, 2012 2:00 p.m.
Monroe pitcher Amanda Arnett enjoyed this year’s District finals a lot more than last year.
Friday, March 30th, 2012 12:00 a.m.
• The Southern Michigan Timberwolves have joined the Great Lakes Football League.
Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 12:00 a.m.
• Bedford will take a 16-5 record against 18-2 Milan in the Class A District semifinals Wednesday night.
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 12:00 a.m.
• SMCC overcame the loss of injured Danielle Rogers to nip Flat Rock in overtime.
Friday, July 29th, 2011 12:00 a.m.
St. Mary Catholic Central's Neal Howey has signed with the Seattle Seahawks.
Thursday, April 14th, 2011 12:00 a.m.
• New Boston Huron totaled 242 points under the Stableford scoring system to finish first in front of 12 other teams Wednesday at Green Meadows Golf Course.
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 12:00 a.m.
• Erie Mason's boys track and field team returns a pair of state placers — Corey Lay (pole vault) and Tim Johnson (discus). | http://www.monroenews.com/staff/evening-news-sports-staff/stories/ | 1,117 |
More: You were tapped for a very important job.
Summer Sanders: Yes. I carried the torch on July 10 in Windsor. Now I will stay on to cover the games for Yahoo beginning July 22.
More: How were you chosen?
SS: I have had a long-standing relationship with Coca Cola, which has been an Olympic sponsor since the beginning. About a year and a half ago they asked me if I wanted to run the torch.
More: How big a deal is that?
SS: I had tears in my eyes as they asked me . . . You can’t ask for this opportunity, you have to be sought out. This was so awesome, you have no idea. I mean, I was jumping up and down like a kid going to Disneyland when I got the call.
More: How far did you carry the torch?
SS: I think it was 340 meters. Let me say, I was soaking up and milking every minute of it.
More: This must take you back to when you were a competitor?
SS: I get so emotional about the games. Now I am holding the Olympic spirit right in my hands. I love everything Olympics and I tend to dive into the emotion of it all.
More: What does going back to the Olympics as a commentator mean to you?
SS: It brings back old memories, ignites the dreams I had when I was a child and be the Olympian I always wanted to be.
More: Because of this huge honor, do you feel like you have come full circle?
SS: I do. This summer has been quite extraordinary for me. It is the 20th anniversary of my Olympics in Barcelona. Would you believe it took me 20 years to get on a cereal box? I finally ran the torch. Now that I am where I am, I really appreciate what my parents did to help get me there.
More: Running the distance should not be a problem for you--you took up the sport of running after you retired.
SS: Yes I did. The moment I hung up my Speedo I put on my running shoes and did the campus loop at Stanford University, which is a little over four miles. Slowly I began to build up my stamina by running in different places all over the country. Eventually I did two New York City Marathons and the Chicago Marathon.
More: And you're finally running pain free, right?
SS: Yes. I used to suffer from varicose veins. Walking around and being on my feet, especially covering the games, used to be so painful. I finally decided to have a 45-minute procedure done to eradicate the problem, and I feel like a whole new person. I am telling everyone to log onto rethinkvaricoseveins.com to learn why this is not a sign of aging but something that is common and that you can easily get rid of.
More: Was it hard to retire from the sport that made you a household name?
SS: Not when I did it. I was 21 years old and I just felt it. I even remember the day I made my decision. I was in the middle of the 50-meter pool doing a set for my coach. It was the first time in 17 years I questioned why I was doing this. It was then I knew. I opened up the book and began to write down my pros and cons about going further.
More: Were you scared as to what the future held?
SS: No, I wasn’t scared. If anything, I thought: Life is going to be amazing. I am about to open up this whole new world of opportunity, including finally being able to see friends and take classes I was always interested in.
More: I never thought I would hear the words “retire at 21” in the same sentence.
SS: (laughs) I know, but what else do you call it?
More: Did you have a game plan before you pulled the plug?
SS: I always loved television and I knew that was an area I always wanted to pursue. To make a career out of two things I love makes me feel so grateful.
More: So you plotted out your agenda ahead of time?
SS: . . . You need a direction, otherwise you will feel lost, and that can be scary coming from a world of so much structure. | http://www.more.com/summer-2012-olympics-summer-sanders | 911 |
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