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      Phillies rely on star Utley, finally figure out Lowe

      October 10, 2008 /

      The Philadelphia Phillies took Game 1 of the NLCS, relying on a struggling bat to get them past a Los Angeles Dodgers team that was cruising behind a masterful performance by starter Derek Lowe. That struggling bat was Chase Utley, who hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to give the Fighting Phils a 1-0 lead in the series.

      Chase UtleyLowe had been great to that point. He had gotten all but one of the outs either on ground balls or strikeouts as he employed a sinking fastball and a very sharp slider. But when Los Angeles shortstop Rafael Furcal began the bottom of the sixth with a two-base error on a grounder by Shane Victorino, Lowe left a sinker out over the plate and Utley turned on it and sent it into the right-field stands.
      “He was able to pull the ball. He got out in front of it,” manager Charlie Manuel said.

      Just that quickly, a game the Phillies couldn’t seem to grasp was falling into their hands. When Burrell also got a fastball he could drive and put the Phils ahead, Dodgers manager Joe Torre was out of the dugout and Lowe was out of the game. Just that fast, just minutes after Lowe had seemed indomitable.

      Maybe it wasn’t exactly like Gibson in 1988, maybe Utley didn’t limp haltingly toward the plate, but there was a concern about his physical status coming into this series.

      Bothered by a sore left hip for much of the second half of the season, Utley was just 2 for 15 in the division series against Milwaukee. His regular-season numbers presaged the trouble he has experienced recently. He had 23 home runs and 65 runs batted in before July 1 and 10 homers and 39 RBIs after it.
      “I think when Chase Utley’s hip is bothering him enough where he can’t play, he’s going to walk in and tell me,” Manuel said earlier this week. “He ain’t nowhere near there yet.”
      Apparently not. At least not last night.

      “It’s all about trying to put some hits together,” Utley said last night. “We had a runner in scoring position and I was just trying to get him over. No matter what, I was trying to get him to third base. I squared up a sinker and it went over the fence. For Derek Lowe, it was up, but it wasn’t a bad pitch.”

      The Phillies need their stars to shine in this series, unlike last year when they were bounced in the first round. Utley had been fantastic earlier in the season and had really struggled as of late. But great players rise to the challenge in these games and Utley did just that Thursday night.

      MLB

      Love ‘Em & Leave ‘Em: Week 6

      October 10, 2008 /

      Every week, I highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t tell you about how Drew Brees or LaDainian Tomlinson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and start them. I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances. It’s important to note that depending on your roster and situation, you may not be able to follow these recommendations. For example, if I suggest you bench a solid starter like Donovan McNabb, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.

      New for Week 6… I am now putting “Love ‘Em” players in the order that I’d start them.

      LOVE ‘EM

      QB: Jason Campbell is a great start this week against the Rams, who 28th in the league against the pass…Don’t look now, but Kyle Orton (a.k.a. “Beard”) is a starting quality fantasy QB. This week he has a Falcons defense that is 22nd in the league against the pass…Gus Frerotte plays the Lions. Start him…Matt Schaub should be back under center (and after Sage Rosenfels’ fourth quarter performance against the Colts, I don’t see Schaub losing his job anytime soon). He faces a Dolphins defense that is playing better, but has given up an average of 206 yards and 1.8 pass TD per game…JaMarcus Russell isn’t a bad start (for the desperate) against a Saints team that has yielded 245 pass yards and 1.8 pass TD per game.

      RB: Get Maurice Jones-Drew into your lineups this week. He faces a Denver team that is 25th in the league against the rush…The Colts have yielded a league-worst 189 rushing yards per game on the ground, so Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain both look startable even though they’re splitting carries. It’s doubtful that the Ravens will even bother to pass the ball at all…Ronnie Brown faces the Texans, who have given up an average of 140 rushing yards and 2.0 rush TD per game this season.

      WR:       Greg Jennings is pretty much a must-start every week, but Donald Driver deserves a starting spot this week since he faces a Seattle defense that is really struggling against the pass…Bernard Berrian has been productive the last three games (averaging 4.7 catches for 89 yards and 0.3 TD) and this week he faces a porous Lions secondary…Andre Johnson has regained his must-start status, but Kevin Walter is a sneaky good start against the Dolphins this week…Antwaan Randle El has a nice matchup against the Rams, who are 28th in the league against the pass.

      LEAVE ‘EM

      QB: Joe Flacco has a tough matchup with a Colts defense that is pretty bad against the run, but quite stout against the pass (165 pass yards, 0.3 pass TD per game)…J.T. O’Sullivan has been pretty good fantasy-wise, but this week he faces the Eagles, who are 11th in the league against the pass. He’s still startable, but only if you don’t have any good options on your bench…I’d stay away from Jeff Garcia, who is back under center but faces the Panthers, who are 3rd in the league against the pass (156 pass yards, 0.8 pass TD per game).

      RB: There are a number of good running backs that have bad matchups this week. They’re still startable, but proceed with caution and bench them if you have good depth at RB: Michael Turner (vs. CHI), Jamal Lewis (vs. NYG), Steve Slaton (vs. MIA), Joseph Addai (vs. BAL), Frank Gore (vs. PHI), Steven Jackson (@ WAS) and Earnest Graham (vs. CAR).

      WR: Marvin Harrison isn’t himself this season, and it’s unlikely that he’ll bust out against the #1 pass defense in the league…Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton should probably ride the pine against a Colts defense that is good against the pass…I wouldn’t think that Isaac Bruce would continue his recent success (4 TD in the last three games) against a solid Eagles team that really needs a win…Ike Hilliard and Antonio Bryant should probably ride the pine against the Panthers, who have been great against the pass.

      DTBWW

      Welcome to the world of Defensive Team By Waiver Wire. Each week, you pick up a defense usually playing at home against a bad offense, and each week, you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position. All teams are available in at least 50% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

      Here are this week’s picks:

      WAS (vs. STL) – In fact, WAS has good matchups for the next three weeks
      NYJ (vs. CIN)

      Last week’s picks:

      Panthers: 0 PA, 3 SK, 2 INT, 1 FR = 16 fantasy points
      Cardinals: 17 PA, 5 SK, 1 INT, 3 FR = 11 fantasy points

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Resounding jeers for EliteXC

      October 10, 2008 /

      Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald filleted the EliteXC’s most recent event, going so far as to say it was a “sham.”

      By now, all MMA enthusiasts (and most of the rest of us) know that Kimbo Slice was defeated in 14 seconds by Seth Petruzelli, who was a last-minute replacement for 44 year-old Ken Shamrock, who cut his eye while training on the day of the fight.

      Did Shamrock believe his training so unproductive that a little cramming was necessary?

      The point is that Shamrock was forced to back out, which sent EliteXC and CBS scrambling for an alternative. The first idea to solve the problem was, of course, to replace Shamrock with his brother, Frank — who was supposed to be the broadcast’s analyst.

      This often happens in sports. Analysts such as Troy Aikman and Kirk Herbstreit often leave their TV jobs on a temporary basis when their former teams have injured quarterbacks and need help.

      When that brilliant idea tarnished, EliteXC started searching for other stand-ins before finally settling on some dude named Seth Petruzelli.

      The column gets interesting when Salguero discusses what EliteXC told Petruzelli before the fight:

      Anyway, Petruzelli agreed to the fight, but his instructions from the EliteXC people seem hazy. In a radio interview Monday, Petruzelli said he was told he could not take Slice to the ground — which would be good for Slice, a stand-up brawler who is not proficient on the ground.

      This instruction from EliteXC, which has hitched its popularity to Slice and has an interest in Slice succeeding, is akin to Major League Baseball informing teams they must throw only fastballs to New York Yankees hitters. It is, after all, good for the sport when the Yankees win the World Series.

      ”The promoter kind of hinted to me, and they gave me the money to stand and trade with him,” Petruzelli told the Monsters in Orlando radio show. “They didn’t want me to take him down, let’s just put it that way. It was worth my while to try to stand up and punch with him.”

      Is this starting to sound rigged to you?

      That perception was personified when EliteXC vice president Jared Shaw began yelling at the referee in the fight’s final seconds, alleging Petruzelli used an illegal blow against Slice. In doing so, he showed an obvious bias toward the organization’s manufactured star.

      I’m not a regular MMA enthusiast, but I’d probably tune in if there was one league that featured all the best fighters. Until then, I’m going to stay away.

      Mixed Martial Arts, Television

      Athlete Profile: Tim Tebow

      October 9, 2008 /

      Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow loves the attention he receives once he makes his way out of a tunnel and onto an opponent’s field, he wants to draw all of the ire from the opposing fans, and let his teammates concentrate on winning the football game.

      So go ahead yell, scream obscenities, or make imaginative signs about his homeschooled education. It’s all been done before and none of it bothers Florida’s star quarterback.

      Tebow credits his religious upbringing as being the base to give him the inner strength needed to lead on the football field. His parents wanted to instill deep Christian beliefs into the lives of their children, and decided a homeschooled education was their only option.

      Bob and Pam Tebow met at a Christian student group meeting on the University of Florida campus in the 1960’s. Together, they wanted to spread the message of their faith as far as humanely possible, and after graduation, the Tebows established a Christian organization to fulfill their passion.

      One of their many endeavors throughout the world was creating an orphanage in the Philippines. Last spring, Tebow traveled there with his parents to spend time with the orphans, speak about his faith, and assist the medical staff with certain procedures. The family motto is simple: The Lord has everything under control, and he will take care of the Tebows.

      Before 1996, no attendance in either public or private school meant no participation in athletic events or being a member of a sports team sponsored by the school. But all that would change.

      Legislation was passed in Florida allowing homeschooled students to participate in local high school sporting events. The law specifies a student is eligible only for teams in their residential school district.

      The Tebows lived in the Jacksonville area of Florida, and Tim began his football career as a linebacker/tight end for a local Christian Academy in town. After the season, Tebow let his parents know that he preferred to play at the quarterback position.

      His parents decided to assist their son in fulfilling his goal of becoming a high school quarterback. Tebow’s mother packed their belongings and moved them to an apartment complex closer to Nease High School, which was known for their passing game.

      All it took was spring practice for Tebow to begin turning the heads of the Nease coaching staff. And before he was done with high school, Tebow would lead Nease to a state title, be named Florida’s “Mr. Football,” and a Parade All-American. His high school career numbers are staggering, as Tebow threw for 9,810 yards, 95 passing touchdowns and rushed for an additional 3,186 yards with 62 rushing touchdowns.

      He wanted to remain open-minded in the college recruiting process, despite his family ties to the University of Florida. Tebow enjoyed his meeting with then-Alabama head coach Mike Shula, as they discussed how his talents would be used in the Crimson Tide offense. But in the end, he chose the Gators because of Urban Meyer’s spread offense, an offense perfectly designed to exploit Tebow’s talent at the quarterback position.

      The Gator coaching staff wanted to utilize Tebow as a dual threat from the quarterback position, and he did not disappoint them in his collegiate debut as he scored a rushing touchdown. Tebow’s biggest game of his freshman season would come against SEC rival LSU Tigers, as he accounted for all three Gator touchdowns. Tebow also debut his patented, jump in the air and double-pump his throwing arm before releasing the ball pass in this game. His contributions as a key reserve seemed to be the spark plug needed to elevate Florida to a national championship, the Gators first since 1996.

      Meyer named Tebow to the starting quarterback position prior to the start of spring practice for the 2007 season. But questions lingered around the program if he was ready to take on the position full-time or was Tebow simply a gimmick item from the Gator playbook. He silenced his critics immediately in his first game as Florida’s quarterback by throwing for over 300 yards and three touchdown passes. By season’s end, he became the first sophomore ever to be named a Heisman Trophy winner.

      How did he do it? Simply put, his first campaign as a full-time quarterback was record-breaking. Tebow finished the season by throwing for 3132 yards with 29 touchdown passes, while running for 838 yards and scoring 22 rushing touchdowns. He is the first collegiate football player to rush and pass for 20 touchdowns in a season; and his combined 51 touchdowns were more than 87 D-1-A teams total touchdowns scored in the season. He became the third Gator in history to win the Heisman (Steve Spurrier and Danny Wueffel).

      Coming into this season, Tebow understands he has a target on his back, and to keep his edge, he will have to put the time and effort on and off the practice field to be ready for game day.

      Tebow on the Web

      Tim Tebow Wikipedia Page
      Wikipedia page; contains short bio, career stats, and external links

      Tim Tebow Fan Club Page
      Fan club official page; contains short bio, stats, and link to recent video highlights

      Tebow’s News and Commentary

      Tim Tebow says ‘sorry’ after Ole Miss stuns Gators
      Tebow apologizes to the Gator faithful on his poor performance against Ole Miss

      Tim Tebow Heisman Watch
      See how Tebow is fairing in a weekly mock Heisman Trophy poll

      Tebow Says

      Tebow discusses his inner feelings following a tough defeat in SEC conference game:

      ”Good will come out of this,” Tebow said. “You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season, and you will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody.”

      Tebow after winning the Heisman Trophy last season:

      “I am fortunate, fortunate for a lot of things,” Tebow said. “God truly blessed me and this just adds on. It’s an honor. I’m so happy to be here.”

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, College Football, General Sports

      Instant Replay. Is Soccer Next?

      October 9, 2008 /

      Instant ReplayWhen Major League Baseball decided to adopt instant replay earlier this year, it seemed as if the technology now had a presence in every major American sport. However, Major League Soccer has avoided its use, primarily because it’s never been called upon…until now. It’s well known that professional soccer is far more popular in the rest of the world than in the States, so leave it the enormously influential English Premier League to advocate the technology. Jorge Moran of FoxSoccer.com examines the possible repercussions of this decision:

      A seldom discussed yet more worrying aspect of the possible introduction of video evidence is that it would splinter the sport into two factions: the football practiced by those clubs and countries that can afford to have the technology installed and maintained, and the football of those that can’t.

      HawkEye, the camera-based goal-line technology that the Premier League tested but was unable to receive FIFA approval to use, would cost a reported $438,000 to install per stadium. Only a very small handful of national federations and leagues would be able to afford that, and perhaps only at the top flight level.

      Who’s to say that a country’s lower leagues aren’t worthy enough to receive the same sort of sporting justice that video evidence would bring to the upper tier? Teams from the lower divisions may be less profitable, but they are just as important to their supporters.

      Moran makes an interesting case. What binds soccer on a global level is that the game’s simplistic rules are relatively the same in every league. While a third world country may not be able to afford the cameras, implementing instant replay in a wealthier nation tilts this equilibrium. Hopefully a more cost-conscious system will arise.

      If some leagues do side with the technology, I hope it’s used on a smaller scale, as with MLB. Many people were upset when the ATP and WTA started using instant replay during tennis matches. However, players are given a limited number of “disputes” per game. Like tennis, soccer is popular on a global level. If instant replay creeps its way into the game, I hope it’s used both sparingly and wisely.

      Soccer

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