Archive for October, 2008
World Series Postponed Again
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
Because of continued inclement weather again in the Philadelphia area, MLB has postponed the resumption of World Series Game 5 until Wednesday, October 29th at 8:35 PM EST. The forecast for Wednesday still calls for rain and possible snow showers, but MLB thinks they will be able to get the final 3 1/2 innings (or more) in at some point during the night on Wednesday.
The Phillies lead the World Series 3-1 and can clinch a World Series title with a win in Game 5. The game was suspended in the middle of the 6th inning on Monday night with the game tied at 2. Grant Balfour is in the game as the pitcher for the Rays. Cole Hamels is scheduled to lead off the bottom of the 6th inning, but will definitely be replaced with a pinch hitter.
If the Phillies win, it will bring the 1st World Series Championship to Philadelphia in 28 years. If the Rays win, World Series Game 6 will be played on Thursday, October 30th, with a potential Game 7 slated for Halloween Night, Friday, October 31st. The coaches have announced likely Game 6 starters as Bret Myers for the Phillies and James Shields for the Rays. If there is a Game 7, the Phillies would reap the benefits of the Tuesday night suspension by having Cole Hamels available to pitch on 3 days rest. In Game 5, Hamels only needed 75 pitches to get through 6 innings of work before the game was suspended and would be fairly well-rested for a start on Friday night.
Titans Stay Unbeaten With 31-21 Comeback Win Over Colts
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 | NFL, Sports | No Comments
For almost 3 quarters, it looked like the Tennessee Titans’ hopes of pulling off the improbable undefeated season would come crashing to a halt on Monday Night Football. But then LenDale White scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown to pull the Titans within 2 points and Kerry Collins’ 2-point conversion pass to Ahmard Hall tied the game at 14. The Titans had new life, and they stormed past the Colts with a 17-7 edge in the 4th quarter to remain undefeated at 7-0. The 25 unanswered points scored by the Titans at the end of the 3rd quarter and the start of the 4th quarter sent a demoralizing message to the Colts team standing mere yards across the field from them. And more importantly, they sent a strong message to the rest of the NFL scattered all around the country. The Titans have a fierce defense and an efficient offense centered around a solid 2-headed rushing attack with LenDale White and Chris Johnson. The Titans now stand atop the AFC South with a 3-game lead over each of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans. They hold a 2-game lead over 3 teams in the AFC who all have 5-2 records – the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Titans are in great position, but have a tough stretch coming up where the Titans will play the Green Bay Packers at home, the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars on the road and then the New York Jets at home. Will the Titans be able to match the New England Patriots from a year ago and record an undefeated season to the delight of fans all across the state of Tennessee? Only time will tell. The Titans have already faced the music and racked up key victories over the Jaguars, Colts, Vikings and Ravens, so there is no reason to think the Titan Train will come to a halt anytime soon.
Major League Mess, Dictator Selig Suspends World Series Game 5
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
Bud Selig found himself in a Major League mess during Game 5 of the World Series at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia. The Phillies led the series 3-1, and had their ace on the mound for what could have been the deciding game in the 2008 World Series. The weather forecast for Monday (the scheduled date for Game 5) and Tuesday (a scheduled off-day) was not good, but the powers that be thought there was enough of a window to get World Series Game 5 in on Monday night. We would either have a World Series Champion or we would be heading back to cowbell land for Game 6 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. By the end of a raw, wet, dangerous night, we had neither.
The umpires and MLB called the game in the middle of the 6th inning, just after the Rays’ Carlos Pena got only his second hit of the World Series – maybe the most important hit of his young career. That hit tied the game at 2, and took a lot of pressure off of MLB’s Commissioner, Bud Selig. You see, little did we know that Dictator Selig had altered the MLB landscape by usurping complete authority over World Series competition. Following the suspension, Dictator Selig announced that there would never be a World Series Game that did not go the full 9 innings under his seemingly endless watch. Now under “regular season rules”, once 4 1/2 innings are played, if the home team is winning and a game is delayed because of inclement weather and ultimately not able to be completed, the home team is awarded a victory. Nowhere in the MLB rulebook does it state that post-season games or World Series games are to be treated any differently. So how does Dictator Selig make the determination that there won’t be any non-9-inning World Series games under his watch? I don’t know.
Now as a baseball fan, I didn’t want to see a World Series Game end after 5 1/2 innings either. Especially with Game 5 being an elimination game, it would have been a shame to see the Phillies win the 2008 World Series with a close 2-1 victory in Game 5 where the Rays only had 18 outs instead of the normal 27. But the rules are the rules and if Dictator Selig and MLB intended for all World Series games to go the full 9 innings no matter what (even if it meant suspending play and picking up where the teams left off on the following day), then Dictator Selig should have proposed the rule change during the off-season, obtained the necessary ownership approval and announced the new rule to the media and the fans. Selig’s authoritative mantra and unilateral decision flies right in the face of baseball and the legends who played the game well before Selig became King. This is not the first time Dictator Selig has shown blatant disrespect for the game. Selig intentionally ignored baseball’s rampant steroids use, turning a blind eye to the abuse so that the fans would come out to see McGwire and Sosa chase Aaron’s home run record. We saw a glimpse of Dictator Selig when he unilaterally called for the 2002 All-Star Game to end in a tie after 9 innings had been played to protect the players from unwanted injury. While respected entrepreneur Mark Cuban is still in the hunt to buy the Chicago Cubs because he has offered one of the highest bids, rumors abound that Dictator Selig and his “old-boys” network will never allow Cuban to be an owner of an MLB team because he isn’t of the right “pedigree”. And last night, Dictator Selig and the umpires allowed the players to risk injury all night long in the wet, sloppy, dangerous field conditions, simply because the Phillies had taken that 2-0 lead in the 1st inning, and still held onto that slim 2-1 lead after 4 1/2 innings had been played. Dictator Selig and his cohorts finally got the lucky break they needed in the 6th inning, when Carlos Pena drove in B.J. Upton to tie the game at 2. Now Selig could suspend the tie game and announce his edict that no World Series game would end until all 9 innings had been played. With the game tied at 2-2, that outcome was obvious, but if the game had still been 2-1 during the middle of the 6th inning, it would have been interesting to see what Dictator Selig would have ruled.
Given the weather forecast, World Series Game 5 probably should not have been played in the first place. Once started, however, the game should have been played according to the current MLB rules in place. Selig and the umpires should have called the game prior to the top of the 5th inning – given that it did not appear likely that the rain would stop at any point soon – to avoid any controversy. Or if the game had been delayed (and ultimately suspended) during the middle of the 5th inning, the Phillies should have been declared the World Series Champions with the rain-shortened Game 5 victory. I’m sure Phillies fans would have welcomed their first World Series Championship in 25 years regardless of the circumstances.
As for the “game” itself, it was hard to analyze the play on the field given the poor conditions the players faced. Cold, raw weather, driving rain – it was not a night meant for baseball. The Phillies sent 8 men to the plate in the 1st inning, scoring on Shane Victorino’s 2-RBI single to take a 2-0 lead off Scott Kazmir. The Rays cut the lead in half on an RBI single by Evan Longoria in the 4th inning that scored Carlos Pena. Going into that inning, Pena and Longoria were hitless for the entire series. Then as the rain continued to pour down, we had the Carlos Pena 6th inning drama that tied the game at 2. Cole Hamels was as good as it gets again – 6 innings, only 75 pitches, 2 earned runs, 5 hits and 3 strikeouts. It doesn’t get much better than that and he probably could have gone another 2-3 innings if not for the rain. Kazmir did not have his best stuff, but he kept his team in it until the suspension. Kazmir struck out 5, but he gave up 4 hits and walked 6 in only 4 innings of work.
The resumption of World Series Game 5 – weather permitting – will occur tonight at 8:35PM EST. Stay tuned for more drama – hopefully the teams will be able to clean up the mess created by Dictator Selig.
Blackhawks Lose 3-2, Still Winless on Road
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 | NHL, Sports | No Comments
The Minnesota Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 handing the Blackhawks their 4th loss on the road this season. The Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead in the 1st period on Patrick Sharp’s 6th goal of the season, but the Wild would answer with 3 consecutive goals in the 1st and 2nd periods to put the game away. The Blackhawks did manage to cut the lead to 1 late in the 3rd period on Duncan Keith’s 2nd goal of the season, but that would be as close as the Blackhawks would get. It was a frustrating loss for the Blackhawks as they out shot the Wild 36 to 18. Cristobal Huet did not have a good night for the Blackhawks as he only saved 15 of the Wild’s 18 shots on goal.
Next up for the Blackhawks is a home game against the Dallas Stars on Halloween Night at the United Center. The Blackhawks are 3-3-3, good for 9 points and tied for 7th place in the NHL’s Western Conference.
Quinneville Optimistic About Blackhawks Future
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 | NHL, Sports | No Comments
Just 2 short weeks ago, the Chicago Blackhawks replaced the legendary Denis Savard with veteran coach Joel Quinneville as the new head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks.
It came as a surprise in some respects – why didn’t the Blackhawks make the switch to Quinneville during the off-season if that’s what they were going to do anyway, and if they wanted to give Savard more time to prove himself, why didn’t they give him more time to right the ship than a mere 4 games?
On the other hand, there were definite signs that the team could move in a different direction. During early 2008, the Blackhawks brought in successful coach Scotty Bowman as a special adviser to the organization. Bowman, having coached several Stanley Cup Champion Teams, knows what it takes to turn an organization around to bring it over the top towards that Stanley Cup goal. During the summer of 2008, the Blackhawks brought in Joel Quinneville as a scout. Quinneville had coached successful teams in St. Louis and Colorado and in 9 full seasons as a head coach, his teams had finished at least 1st or 2nd in the division 8 of those years. From these 2 additions, one could glean that the organization was ready to win, and win now. And it would do whatever it took to get back to the playoffs and make a spirited run to the Stanley Cup Finals. And if that meant parting ways with a legendary player, but green coach like Savard, then so be it.
There are rumors that Savard did not entirely take advantage of having Bowman at his disposal. Many young coaches would love to be able to talk strategy with a man like Bowman, but it doesn’t appear that Savard made enough of a commitment to listen to Bowman or learn from him. Maybe if Savard had made more of an effort with Bowman, he would still be here, but the flat pre-season and 1-2-1 start to the season, brought about Savard’s removal in quick fashion.
The Blackhawks are in a very unique position in the Western Conference. Although they just missed out on the playoffs last season, they have a talented mix of players that could make them a serious threat all season long. With Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, the Blackhawks have 2 talented scorers who can change the momentum of a game with one flick of the wrist. With two #1 goaltenders in Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet, the Blackhawks have 2 goalies capable of pitching a shutout on any given night. The young team has gained another year of experience and with the addition of Brian Campbell, the defensive unit will be more aggressive and be able to create goal-scoring opportunities unlike previous seasons.
Quinneville is excited to take the reigns of the young, talented team to continue the re-building process started by Savard the last 2 seasons. He understands that many of his young players admired Savard and grew to respect him and trust him as a coach as time went on. Quinneville is in the process of learning about each of his players – their strengths and weaknesses and the types of schemes and situations that will bring out the best in each player. He has been slow to implement his full game plan into the mix. Quinneville wants his team to be able to play in the same Savard system for the time being, until he has made his full analysis of what he has to tinker with. The team has responded well under Quinneville – better than he ever expected. The team has yet to lose in regulation, winning 2 games and losing 2 games in a shootout. Quinneville has brought a calming influence to the coaching upheaval, and emphasized taking time in practice to work on fundamentals and the team’s game plan. So far so good, and the future only looks brighter. Keep your eyes on this young Hawks team – it should make the playoffs for only the 2nd time in 10 years, and if certain things bounce Chicago’s way, this is a team you might be seeing in June 2009.
Bulls Welcome Skiles Back To United Center?!
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 | NBA, Sports | No Comments
Well, sort of… The Chicago Bulls open the 2008-9 NBA season with a home game at the United Center against the Milwaukee Bucks and former Bulls head coach Scott Skiles. After making the playoffs 3 consecutive seasons from 2004-5 through 2006-7, the Chicago Bulls suffered through a miserable 2007-8 season in which the team won only 33 games. Bulls General Manager John Paxson felt that Scott Skiles had lost the team and was disappointed in the way his players were distracted by off-season contract negotiations and possible Kobe Bryant trade rumors. In addition to firing Scott Skiles, Paxson and the Bulls also traded disgruntled forward Ben Wallace and veteran Joe Smith to the Cavaliers for Center Drew Gooden and Guard Larry Hughes.
During the off-season, the Bulls hired Phoenix Suns scout Vinny Del Negro as the team’s head coach. Del Negro has no coaching experience, but Paxson liked Del Negro’s up-tempo style and his enthusiastic demeanor which should blend well with the young, talented group of players that Paxson has compiled on the current roster. Del Negro had a successful 12-year NBA career and gained valuable experience in the Phoenix Suns front office. The Bulls also added 2 head coaches to Del Negro’s staff – Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff – who will offer guidance and insight as Del Negro matures as a coach.
The Bulls defied the odds in the 2008 draft when it won the NBA’s lottery for the top pick in the 2008 draft. The Bulls selected hometown sensation Derrick Rose who lead his team to the NCAA Final Four Championship Game in his freshman season at Memphis University. Paxson and the Bulls hope Rose can bring his up-tempo style of play and winning ways to the United Center. The Bulls are guard heavy – Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Larry Hughes and Thabo Sefolosha. So Del Negro will have to quickly determine the rotations that work best together early in the season. The Bulls also hope that Luol Deng will return to his 2006-7 form that saw him play like an elite NBA star on a consistent basis and that Tyrus Thomas will show more signs of development expected in a 3rd year player. If Deng and Thomas elevate their level of play, the rest of the team will benefit and it will take some of the pressure off rookie Rose.
Del Negro and the Bulls will be under the gun, however. After opening against the Bucks at home, the Bulls will have to play several 2007-8 playoff teams in October and November: the Celtics, Magic, Cavaliers (twice), Suns, Hawks, Mavericks, Lakers, Trailblazers, Warriors, Nuggets, Jazz, Spurs and 76ers. This schedule shapes up to be one of the toughest in the league, and the Bulls will have little time for growing pains under Del Negro. The Bulls players and fans will have to be patient and focus on fundamentals and playing one game at a time during this early stretch. It will be a test of Del Negro’s mettle to maintain control and stay optimistic during this early stretch. If the Bulls can emerge out of this stretch just a few games under .500, Del Negro and the Bulls should view that as a success and try to build off the team play for the rest of the season.
Bears Cherish Bye Week – Look to Tame Lions
Monday, October 27th, 2008 | NFL, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Bears sit atop the NFC North Division with a 4-3 record. The Bears are tied with the Green Bay Packers and are 1 game ahead of the Minnesota Vikings. The Bears, Packers and Vikings all had bye weeks in Week 8.
The Bears cherished the week off right smack dab in the middle of the grueling 16-game season. The Bears will face the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field on Sunday, November 2nd. The Lions lost to the Washington Redskins 25-17 this past Sunday and have yet to win a game during the 2008 campaign. The Bears and Lions met in Week 5 in Detroit, where Quarterback Kyle Orton led the Bears to a convincing 34-7 win. Orton set numerous individual records in the game – career high in completions with 24, career high in yards passing with 334, and a career high in passer rating with a 121.4 mark. Orton also threw 2 touchdown passes. The Bears will look for much of the same from Orton and the rest of the offense that has been surprisingly efficient so far this year.
On the injury front, the Bears hope to get some help back in their secondary with the return of Nathan Vasher and Charles “Peanut” Tillman. This will present an interesting decision for Head Coach Lovie Smith regarding 2nd year player Corey Graham who has started the last 3 games due to injury. He has the most tackles of any Bear during that 3-game stretch – 33 tackles – and he made his 1st career interception against the Vikings on October 19th.
The Bears 2008 1st round draft pick – Offensive Tackle Chris Williams – has been cleared to play after having back surgery in August to repair a bulging disc. The Bears makeshift offensive line has responded well for Orton, and Orton has developed a good feel for when the pocket is collapsing. With the offense playing well, it is unclear how much time, if any, the Bears will give Williams over the next few weeks. The coaching staff doesn’t want to disrupt the offensive line team play right now, but also wants to get some NFL experience for their high-priced offensive tackle. While this week’s game against the Lions could be a good first test for Williams, the Bears have formidable foes during the 4 weeks following the Lions game – home against the undefeated Tennessee Titans, at the Packers, at the resurgent St. Louis Rams and at the Vikings. Barring a serious injury to one of the current starters, the chances of Williams seeing significant playing team in any of those contests is slim to none.
Hamels, Phils Set To Bring World Series Title to Philly
Monday, October 27th, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
The Philadelphia Phillies are 1 game away from bringing the 2nd World Series title to the city of brotherly love. The Philadelphia Phillies lead the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in the World Series and will send ace Cole Hamels to the mound to finish off the job and bring home the first World Series Championship to Philadelphia in 28 years. 42 teams have led 3 games to 1 in the World Series, and 36 of those teams have gone on to win the Championship. After losing World Series in 1983 and 1993, however, Phillies fans aren’t taking anything for granted.
Cole Hamels has been as close to perfect as you can expect during the 2008 post-season. Hamels has gone at least 7 innings in each of his 4 post-season starts this year. He has not given up more than 6 hits or 2 earned runs in any of those starts. He beat the Rays 3-2 in World Series Game 1, striking out 5 while only walking 2 Rays’ batters. Hamels will go up against the Game 1 loser Scott Kazmir. Kazmir did not have the best command of his pitches in Game 1, but was able to work out of jams to keep the Rays in the game. Kazmir gave up 6 hits and 4 walks in only 6 innings of work, but yielded only 3 earned runs. His performance made it possible for the Rays to work a comeback, but the Phillies pitching was just too good.
If the Rays have any chance in Game 5, Kazmir will have to be at the top of his game. The Phillies’ bats exploded for 12 hits and 10 runs in World Series Game 4. Ryan Howard blasted his first 2 home runs of the World Series and Jayson Werth and Joe Blanton also hit home runs. The Phillies’ batters were also patient at the plate, drawing a total of 5 walks from 4 Rays’ pitchers. Kazmir will have to keep the Phillies’ batter off-balance and utilize his off-speed pitches to keep Howard and the rest of the wrecking crew in the ballpark.
At this point, it will be hard to imagine this Series going back to the cowbell heaven of Tropicana Field, but anything is possible. All season long, when critics started to write off the young, upstart Rays, that’s when they would go off on one of their long winning streaks. It would take an almost-perfect performance from both the Rays’ batters and pitchers in order to pull off the improbable, but that’s why they play the games. Hamels took home the NLCS MVP honors for his 2 victories against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and I’m thinking adds the World Series MVP trophy to his mantel with his 2nd win over the Rays tonight.
Blackhawks Lose Heart-Breaker to Red Wings 6-5
Monday, October 27th, 2008 | NHL, Sports | No Comments
The Detroit Red Wings handed the Chicago Blackhawks their 3rd shootout loss of the young NHL season. With the goals at one apiece in the shootout, the Martin Havlat of the Blackhawks had his shot saved, while Red Wings right wing Marian Hossa made his shot to give the Red Wings the 6-5 win (2 goals to 1 in the shootout). After the teams traded goals in the 1st period, the Blackhawks exploded for 3 goals in the 2nd period to give the Blackhawks the 4-2 edge at the end of the period. Just 3:15 into the 3rd period, however, the Red Wings tied the score with 2 quick goals. And the Red Wings regained the lead when Jiri Hudler scored his 3rd goal of the season with 10 minutes left to play in the game. The Blackhawks were able to tie the game on Patrick Kane’s 6th goal of the season with 7 minutes left to play. Neither team scored in the final minutes of the 3rd period or in the overtime period, and it was back to the shootout for the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks have played in 3 shootout games already this season, and haven;t come out on top in any of them.
Despite the shootout loss, the Blackhawks still have 3 wins and 3 shootout losses, good for 9 points and 7th place in the Western Conference. Although it is early, it’s good that the Blackhawks have gotten off to a productive start. While you’d like to see more wins in the shootouts, at least the team has played well enough to make it that far in each game. With the recent firing of Head Coach Denis Savard, the young team has been through a lot, and they will experience some more bumps along the way learning the new system under Joel Quinneville. Quinneville is taking his time getting to learn about his players and waiting for the right time to implement some of his schemes that will bring out the best in each player. As the season moves along, it will be interesting to see how the players respond to Quinneville and develop, and the team should poised to complete a run to the playoffs that it fell just short of in 2007-8.
Phils Crush Rays 10-2, 1 Game Away From World Series Championship
Monday, October 27th, 2008 | MLB, Sports | No Comments
The Philadelphia Phillies crushed the Tampa Bay Rays 10-2 in World Series Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the World Series. Phillies starter Joe Blanton limited the Rays to only 4 hits and 2 earned runs on 2 harmless solo home runs by Eric Hinske and Carl Crawford to earn the victory. Blanton pitched 6 strong innings, striking out 7 and walking only 2 Rays batters. Phillies relievers Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre, Ryan Madsen and J.C. Romero pitched the final 3 innings, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 5. The lethal pitching combination shut down one of baseball’s best hitting lineups and put the Phils in a great position to close out the World Series at home at Citizens Bank Ballpark on Monday, October 27th.
The Phillies bats finally came to life, making it all that much more difficult for the Rays to mount any sort of comeback. The Phils took a 1-0 first inning lead on a walk to Pat Burrell with the bases loaded. Pedro Feliz’s RBI single in the 3rd inning increased the lead to 2-0. The final 10 runs of the game (2 for the Rays) came courtesy of the long ball. Ryan Howard crushed a 3-run home run to deep left field in the 4th inning which put the Phils up for good with a 5-1 lead. After Blanton served up an Eric Hinske solo home run in the top of the 5th inning, he helped his own cause in the bottom of the inning with a monster shot to deep left field. The Phillies put the game out of reach for good in the 8th inning – Jayson Werth drove in Jimmy Rollins with a deep home run to left field, and then Ryan Howard hit his 2nd home run of the game – a 2-run shot to deep right field that scored Chase Utley. That closed out the scoring and put the Phillies up 10-2.
The Rays pitching was atrocious on Sunday night – 8 earned runs; 12 hits, 4 home runs, 5 walks and only 4 strikeouts. The Rays defense hasn’t helped either – they have now committed an errors in each World Series game and have a total of 5 errors for the series. The hot bats have also deserted the Rays – Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria are a combined 0 for 29 in the series. Only one regular is hitting above .300 for the series – catcher Dioner Navarro.
Things do not look good for the Rays – with Phillies ace Cole Hamels set to start World Series Game 5 on full days’ rest. Things don’t look good for my predictions either:
Rays in 7 – not gonna happen.
B.J. Upton MVP – his .250 average doesn’t help and unless he hits several home runs and leads the team in a comeback World Series win, it’s not gonna happen.
Cole Hamels – winning both of his starts – looks good right now and I like his match-up tonight. The Rays have their backs up against the walls, it will be a cool night in Philadelphia and the Rays’ youngsters will be playing tight.
At least we won’t have to hear anymore cowbell – hooray for that!
