It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and everyone involved with NFL is doing their part. For example, players and coaches are sporting the color pink in support. Chris Berman is spreading the word as well — or forgetting a word, I should say.
“Breast Awareness Sunday.” I love how he says it with so much conviction. In these tough economic times we must never, and I mean never, forget about boobs. Thanks for the reminder, Boomer.
On Saturday night, it took three things for the Dodgers to beat the Rockies and finally clinch the NL West. 1) A spectacular pitching performance from the 21 year-old Clayton Kershaw, who threw six scoreless innings on 10 strikeouts and three hits. 2) Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa’s groin injury in the fourth. De La Rosa pitched three hitless innings before the Rockies middle relief came in and struggled. 3) The seventh-inning rally from the Dodgers. After hits from Casey Blake, Ronnie Belliard, Mark Loretta, Juan Pierre, and Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers had scored five, breaking the game wide open.
The Dodgers unleashed their pent-up frustration in a five-run seventh inning that matched their entire offensive output from the previous five days, the five-hit, two-walk outburst lifting them to a 5-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night that secured their second title in a row.
For the last six days, the magic number for the Dodgers to win the division was at one.
The Dodgers lost five consecutive games over that span. The Rockies won six.
Ending the game was closer Jonathan Broxton, who had a chance to seal the division title in Pittsburgh six days ago, only to blow a three-run lead.
“In Pittsburgh, it didn’t go the way I wanted,” Broxton said. “It felt like a while to get here. The champagne traveled a lot. It probably has more miles on it than any other champagne.”
Obviously, the Dodgers hardly “clinched” anything. That word implies an interim of relaxation. The Yankees “clinched” their division and secured home field advantage some time ago. It took 161 games for the Dodgers to solidify their role in the playoffs. While they finish the season with the National League’s best record, the Dodgers are by no means its hottest team. Until last night, they had lost five straight. Fortunately for them, the Cardinals (their NLDS opponents) and the Phillies are both in similar skids. The Rockies, however, are tearing it up, winning six of their last seven.
Hats off to Rockies manager Jim Tracy, who took over midseason and completely turned this team around. The Rockies are thriving off the same type of momentum that took them from the wild card spot to the World Series in 2007.
Despite the Dodgers recent struggles, they did have to overcome a fair amount of obstacles, including Manny Ramirez’s 50-game suspension, Rafael Furcal and Russell Martin’s hitting woes, Hiroki Kuroda’s various injuries, and Chad Billingsley’s second-half meltdown. Really, it came down to Ned Colletti’s preseason and midseason acquisitions. Orlando Hudson, Randy Wolf, George Sherrill, Ronnie Belliard, Vicente Padilla, and Jon Garland turned it on when it mattered most. Notice how I didn’t mention the Twenty Million Dollar Man. Devotion transcends past drug use out here in L.A. and Manny Ramirez has received a season-long pass. Who knows if his bat will come alive in the playoffs. Nevertheless, it won’t matter. The best teams are going to advance, and that’s the end of it.
Ravens offensive lineman Jared Gaither left Baltimore’s game against New England on Sunday after suffering an apparent head or neck injury. He was taken off the field on a stretcher.
Gaither laid on the ground for several minutes as trainers attended to him, but he never got up and had to be carted off. He did show movement in his arms and legs, but the severity of the injury is unknown at this point.
Michael Oher shifted from to left tackle, while Marshal Yanda replaced Oher on the right side.
We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Washington Capitals…
Team Play: ISSUE – Reloading… There is a not so quiet excitement building in Washington for the start of the new season. Optimism is evident at player, coach and management level, and in the fans who will attend the 41+ sold out games this season. Any frustrations at their Conference Semi-Finals departure last season are now replaced by thoughts of chalking it up to completing another step toward the ultimate goal of raising The Stanley Cup. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a hungry and capable squad.
The early Fox Sports depth chart for the Capitals indicates a No. 1 line of Ovechkin- Backstrom- Semin from left to right, and Laich- Morrison- Knuble on No. 2. We think it will actually be Ovechkin- Backstrom- Knuble No. 1 and Laich- Morrison- Semin as No. 2. The No. 1 pairing scored 7 G’s and 7 A’s in the pre-season, and No. 2 combined to chip in 3 G’s and 8 A’s. Fourteen and eleven points? In pre-season? We know – suspect matchups against a lot of guys trying to make it into the NHL. But any way you slice these two pairings, it serves as an indicator that they will put up some good numbers for this club. Of interest to Caps fans is the No. 3 and 4 lines. As of 28 September, Keith Aucoin and Alexandre Giroux were amongst the cuts, leaving Chris Bourque and Quintin Laing up with the squad for opening night. And there’s also the Nylander Factor – as in not factored into any pre-season games + statements of deep desire to play + a $4.875M cap hit might just = a depth roster slot, especially due to injuries.
The top two pairings listed on defense are Green-Jurcina and Poti-Pothier. Based on last season’s play, the top blue line pair projects at approximately 103 points playing a full 82-game schedule. That’s with the big IF Mike Green produces 70+ points again this season. This is better than several forward trios on 3rd and 4th lines. You can forget the dearth of scoring in the pre-season for the first pair (a lone A for Green) as they saw limited game time. Line No. 2 was good for 1 G and 4 A’s in September and should be able to be counted upon for about a point every other game. For those waiting with baited breath, Karl Alzner was again a victim of late training camp cuts on 28 September, but look for an injury call up if required.
Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.
Here are quick-hit previews for all the games in Week 4 of the NFL.
Ravens (3-0) at Patriots (2-1), 1:00PM ET
Baltimore must pressure Tom Brady more than Atlanta did last week if it wants to leave Foxboro with a victory today. It would be wise for the Ravens to stay balanced offensively and grind down a New England defense that looked good for the first time last week. The Pats did a great job establishing the run in their win over the Falcons. If they can do that again, things will open in the passing game and Brady can take advantage of a Baltimore secondary that has not played well so far.
Lions (1-2) at Bears (2-1), 1:00PM ET
Fresh off their first victory in nearly 20 tries, the Lions look to pull off an upset in Solider Field. Detroit could be without running back Kevin Smith, so look for the Lions to throw early and often to take advantage of a suspect Chicago secondary. The Bears will look to establish the ground game with Matt Forte, although Jay Cutler should make more than enough plays in the passing game against a brutal Detroit defense.
Bucs (0-3) at Redskins (1-2), 1:00PM ET
Jim Zorn’s team has a lot to prove this week after losing to the Lions last Sunday. They’ll take on a Bucs team that they can dominate as long as Zorn doesn’t get conservative with his play calling. Washington needs to throw the ball vertically against a brutal Tampa secondary or else they’ll once again give an inferior opponent a chance to win. The Bucs will start Josh Johnson at quarterback and the O-line must give him time to throw or else his inexperience will shine through. It would be nice if Kellen Winslow and Antonio Bryant (who is questionable to play) could step up and help the young man out.
Titans (0-3) at Jaguars (1-2), 1:00PM ET
Will Jeff Fisher’s team fall to 0-4 a year after they started 10-0 and had the best record in the AFC? Keys to victory for the Titans are to run the ball offensively, stuff the box with eight defenders to stop Maurice Jones-Drew, and to get better in a hurry in pass coverage. If they can force David Garrard to beat them throwing the ball, they should be fine. Offensively, however, they need to get Chris Johnson and the running game going to take pressure off Kerry Collins.
Raiders (1-2) at Texans (1-2), 1:00PM ET
Will the real Texans please stand up? Houston has enough talent to make the playoffs, but their inconsistent play so far this season is maddening. They have a prime opportunity to earn another win today, as Oakland continues to struggle moving the ball offensively. The Texans can’t allow Darren McFadden to run wild because that will take pressure off quarterback JaMarcus Russell and the passing game. If Houston can establish its run game early, take shots down field in the passing game with Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson, then they should control this contest from the onset and take home a victory.
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