Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1121 of 1503)

      No fear for Rays in Game 2

      October 12, 2008 /

      As Ron Borges of the Boston Herald writes, the Tampa Rays showed no fear in their Game 2 victory over the Red Sox to tie the ALCS at 1-1.

      Tampa Bay RaysLess than 24 hours after the Soxs designated psychoanalyst implied hed seen unease, if not terror, in the bulging eyes of the youthful Rays in Game 1 they came back and slapped Josh Beckett [stats] silly, clobbering three home runs off him to drive the Sox designated post-season stopper to the bench after just 4 1/3 innings and they didnt stop at that.

      Four times the resilient Rays came back on the Red Sox [team stats] before a bases loaded sacrifice fly by B.J. Upton in the bottom of the 11th inning off Mike Timlin [stats] scored pinch runner Fernando Perez to gave the Rays another improbable 9-8 victory that evened the ALCS at 1-1 and made clear to anyone who doubted them that the same dogged determination that saw them twice hold off late-season efforts by Boston to pass them in the AL East standings remained a critical part of their makeup.

      What the Rays proved Saturday night was Maddons faith in them is well placed. It was Game 1 that was atypical, not last night. Perhaps, for one game the stage was too big for them but that moment of self-doubt didnt last long.

      The Rays really have something special building, regardless of whether or not they eventually win the ALCS or World Series. They have a nice young core of players that believe they can win and Saturday night they showed grit when the game started to slip away from them following the wild pitch that tied the game. Hopefully the rest of the series is as exciting as the first two games have been.

      MLB

      Karma’s a Whore Vol. II – Florida destroys LSU

      October 11, 2008 /

      Tim TebowLSU defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois said early this week that if he and/or his linemates got the opportunity to knock quarterback Tim Tebow out of their game Saturday against Florida, they would do so.

      Not only did the Tigers fail to knock Tebow out of the game (Jean-Francois didn’t even play due to an injury), they failed to do much of anything as the Gators routed their SEC rivals 51-21 in Gainesville Saturday night.

      Tebow completed 14 of 21 passes for 210 yards and also threw two touchdowns with zero interceptions. On the third play of the game, Tebow found Percy Harvin for a 70-yard touchdown pass after an LSU defender tipped the ball up while trying to make an interception. From there, the Gators mounted a 20-0 lead before the Tigers made a small rally to cut the score to 20-14 early in the second half. But the comeback was short lived as Florida scored touchdowns on their next three possessions and the rout was on.

      An outcome like this proves how broke the college football voting system is. LSU was ranked seven spots higher than Florida in the polls, yet was smoked by 30 points. Remember LSU’s big win over Auburn a couple weeks ago? Looks pretty weak after Auburn lost to Vanderbilt (who lost to Mississippi State Saturday) and unranked Arkansas the past two weeks.

      Florida proved tonight that they’re still the team to beat in the SEC. Furthermore, this game might have proved that the SEC is weak as a whole this season.

      College Football

      Oklahoma State proves they’re for real, upsets Missouri

      October 11, 2008 /

      Oklahoma State-MissouriComing into Saturday’s action, people were wondering whether or not No. 17 Oklahoma State was for real or not. Sure their offense was averaging 530 yards and over 50 points a game, but their toughest opponent prior to this week was arguably an unranked Troy team.

      But no longer do we have to wonder if the Cowboys are for real after they beat No. 3 Missouri 28-23 in Columbia. They picked off Heisman candidate Chase Daniel three times in the second half, including on MIZZOU’s final drive when the Tigers were in range to possibly take the lead late in the fourth quarter. The job OK State’s defense did in getting pressure on Daniel was outstanding and the trio of QB Zac Robinson (19 of 28 for 215 yards, 2 TDs), RB Kendall Hunter (154 yards rushing, 1 TD) and WR Damian Davis (3 rec., 76 yards, 2 TDs) came up with big plays all night.

      Now that Missouri, LSU and Oklahoma all lost, the top 10 in college football will undergo a major shakeup. It’ll be interesting to see how everything takes shape when the new polls are released. How far will MIZZOU fall?

      College Football

      Wisconsin coaching, effort a joke against Penn State

      October 11, 2008 /

      Penn State-WisconsinNot to take anything away from No. 6 Penn State because they continue to play fantastic football this year, but Wisconsin’s effort in a 48-7 loss to the Nittany Lions on Saturday night was ridiculous. The Badgers came out and ran the ball on their first 10 offensive possessions and it wasn’t until they fell behind 10-0 early in the second quarter did they attempt a pass.

      What exactly was Wisconsin’s game plan? Run the ball and rely on their defense to stop a PSU offense that is one of the best in the nation?

      Bret Bielema’s decision to play conservative blew up in his face. I understand the idea of trying to keep the Lions’ explosive offense off the field by establishing the run, but it made Wisconsin too predictable. And once Brad Nortman returned a punt 42 yards for a score to make it 17-0 in the second quarter, the game was basically over because Bielema had no backup strategy for when his brilliant original game plan failed.

      Penn State might be the best team in the Big Ten, but it was hard to get a read of how good they were tonight with how brutal Wisconsin was. And considering Toledo just beat them in Ann Arbor, the Badgers loss to Michigan a couple weeks ago looks even worse now.

      College Football

      Auburn offense a disaster again, Petrino wonders if there’s an opening

      October 11, 2008 /

      Tommy TubervilleJust three days after firing offensive coordinator Tony Franklin due to their inept offense, Auburn managed just 193 yards of total offense in a 25-22 loss to Arkansas on Saturday. The Tigers had just 137 passing yards and 56 rushing, while also turning the ball over three times and finished just 4 for 15 on third downs.

      After firing Franklin, Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said that his team’s offensive philosophy wasn’t going to change because it “is a good offense”, the players like it and that they are “getting better at it.”

      Here’s a thought: If you don’t have the personal to run the spread offense, don’t run it. You don’t just fire a guy and think that all of a sudden your players are going to magically fit into the system. Maybe Franklin wasn’t the problem after all. Or maybe he was. But you can’t fit square pegs into round holes.

      On a related note, isn’t it about time for Bobby Petrino to bolt Arkansas? My God, it’s been six games. Considering Petrino used to be the former offensive coordinator at Auburn, maybe he can leave Arkansas, become the new OC for the Tigers and eventually weasel his way into AU’s head coaching spot when Tuberville is eventually shown the door. That seems like the Bobby Petrino path to success.

      College Football

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