Page 2122 of 2957

Top 10 Miami Hurricanes in the NFL

October 23, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

The Love of Sports ranked the top 10 Miami Hurricane players currently in the NFL (with YouTube highlight clips, by the way).

2. Reggie Wayne, Wide Receiver
Wayne was a rare four-year starter at Miami and set a school record with 173 career receptions. This wide receiver’s been an integral part of the Colts’ vaunted aerial attack since the team drafted him in 2001, and his receptions have increased in each of his seven seasons in the league. He was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2006 and followed it up with 104 receptions for a league-leading 1,510 yards last season. He’s recently supplanted Marvin Harrison as Peyton Manning’s favorite target and hasn’t missed a game since 2002.
1. Ed Reed, Safety
Reed set Miami’s all-time interception record while leading the Canes to a national championship in 2001. He’s now the best defensive player on a Ravens unit that’s surrendered the second-fewest yards per game this season. He reads quarterbacks as well as any safety in the league and is regularly among the league leaders in interceptions. He’s made four consecutive Pro Bowls and was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. Good ole #20’s also a menace on special teams, where he’s blocked four punts in his career and returned one for a touchdown last season as well.

It’s amazing how many good NFL players the Canes have produced over the years.

College Football

Ed Reed Miami Hurricanes Reggie Wayne Top 10 lists

What do computers know anyway?

October 23, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

Before the World Series, ESPN.com hired a company to determine which team had the best probability of winning.

Unsurprisingly, the Rays came out on top.

We previously employed our Diamond Mind simulation software to project the results of the League Division and Championship Series. In the American League, we projected the Rays to easily defeat the White Sox, most likely in four games, and the Angels to defeat the Red Sox, but only if they could win Game 1. In the NLDS, our simulations projected the Phillies to defeat the Brewers, most likely in four games, and the Dodgers to upset the Cubs. The Phillies and Rays easily dispatched their opponents in four games, the Dodgers did indeed upset the favored Cubbies, and the Red Sox won that crucial opening game and went on to eliminate the Angels.
As we noted in our previous articles for ESPN.com, luck plays an even greater role in a short series than the regular season, which itself can be rather unpredictable. With that caveat in mind, the results of our simulations project the Tampa Bay Rays to continue their “Cinderella” run and defeat the Phillies. In fact, Tampa Bay won over 71 percent of our 2,000 series simulations, the largest winning margin of any postseason projection we’ve done for ESPN.com.

Not a good start there, Diamond Mind.

MLB

2008 MLB Playoffs 2008 World Series

Texas Tech to use contest winner as field goal kicker

October 23, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

This is exactly why you need to be prepared if you enter one of those halftime contests that teams hold at games:

Having already gone through two kickers – who have combined to miss six PATs and half of their field-goal attempts – the sixth-ranked Red Raiders are now seriously considering giving Matt Williams a shot against No. 18 Kansas this weekend.
Williams is a Tarleton State transfer student who won a month of free rent at the Tech/UMass game several weeks ago by kicking a 30-yard field goal. After his successful try, Williams was walking back to his seat when he was flagged down.
“They relayed a message to me saying that Coach [Mike] Leach wanted to talk to me,” Williams told RedRaiderSports.com the next day. “He told me to come into his office on Tuesday and talk to him, and then Coach [Clay] McGuire told me to come and speak with him on Monday.”
Initially, it was thought that Williams was ineligible this season due to transfer rules. However, according to McGuire – who heads up the Red Raiders’ special teams unit, Williams has been cleared to play.
“That is the way I understand it, yeah,” confirmed McGuire on Tuesday. “He’s got a real good shot. Only Mike Leach could bring a guy out of the stands and make it work.”

Granted, this kid had already played collegiality so it’s not like it was somebody practicing in their backyard for four months getting ready for some contest and now he’s the Texas Tech field goal kicker. Still, this a wild story.

This isn’t a story about some D-III team out in East Jesus New Hampshire; Texas Tech is the eighth ranked team in the nation.

College Football

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Sarah Palin may soon curse another NHL team

October 23, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

The last time vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin dropped the ceremonial first puck before a NHL game was during a Flyers-Rangers contest in mid-October. The Flyers haven’t won since.

Apparently Palin will soon cast her destruction on yet another hockey team.

Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will drop the ceremonial first puck Friday night before the St. Louis Blues’ game against the Los Angeles Kings.
The Alaska governor and self-described “hockey mom” also dropped the first puck Oct. 11 before Philadelphia’s home opener against the New York Rangers.
Palin will attend a rally Friday morning in southwest Missouri. Demand for tickets for the Springfield event prompted the GOP to move it from a university arena to the parking lot at Bass Pro Shops to accommodate the expected crowds.