Page 899 of 2956

      Price starting to live up to first round billing

      June 10, 2010 /

      When David Price signed a six-year, $8.5 million contract that included a $5.6 million signing bonus in August of 2007, the expectations for the youngster immediately went through the roof.

      After appearing in five games with one start in 2008, Price struggled some in 2009 while also flashing the brilliance that Rays fans were hoping for. He won 10 games that season, but he also gave up 17 home runs in 23 starts and his ERA topped out at 4.42. His main issues were commanding his pitches inside the strike zone and dropping his arm angle when he threw his changeup, which led to hitters taking him out of the yard.

      When the Rays traded Scott Kazmir mid-season last year, they had high hopes that Price would eventually emerge as their ace in 2010. But heading into the season, the club was still unsure whether or not he could be a true No. 1 because he hadn’t shown the consistency that all great front of the rotation pitchers have.

      Until now, that is.

      Price still has command issues, but after dominating the Blue Jays for six innings of one-run ball on Wednesday night, it’s clear that he’s starting to put everything together. To date, he’s 9-2 with a 2.23 ERA and has 57 strikeouts. His six home runs allowed are also down a bit from last season and his WHIP is a solid 1.17.

      Most importantly, the Rays are currently in first place in the AL East, ahead of the defending World Champion Yankees and the always-contending Red Sox. Price leads Tampa in wins and ERA, which is huge for a club that was desperately in need of someone in the rotation to step up and be the No. 1 guy. It’s still early, but both Price and the Rays are off to fantastic starts in 2010.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Even with expansion, Pac-10 could eliminate the need for a title game

      June 10, 2010 /

      Expansion talk in the Pac-10 continues to heat up, as ESPN.com reports that Colorado has accepted an invitation to join the conference. Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech should receive invites as well, while Nebraska is likely heading to the Big Ten.

      Despite adding more teams, the Pac-10 could eliminate the need for a conference championship game by pushing for two automatic bids to the BCS.

      The coach said it’s possible the Pac-16 would push for two automatic bids to the BCS, one for each division champion. That potential bonanza could open the possibility of the two division champs from one league playing for the national title, and it would eliminate the need for a conference championship game.

      “The Pac-10 doesn’t believe in a championship game,” the coach said. “And coaches in the Big 12 don’t like it anyway.”

      Does anyone else think that it’s ridiculous to have 16 teams play in one conference but no championship game? It’s amazing how these schools manage to eliminate playoff-like games at all costs, even though that’s the structure that most fans want.

      Fans want to see the best teams play each other, whether it’s in a conference title game or a playoff format in the postseason. But clearly the BCS and the schools themselves don’t want to breed head-to-head competition. They’re fine with crowning a champion based on record and moving on. As long as they can increase revenue, then who cares about the fans, right? I would be shocked if the Big Ten didn’t try to follow in the footsteps of the Pac-10 and figure out a way to avoid a conference championship game themselves.

      Another interesting takeaway from the article is that expansion might not happen for another two years. So even though Nebraska, Texas and Oklahoma would be joining other conferences in 2012, they’d still play in the Big 12 for the next two seasons. How awkward.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football, External Sports

      USC football program gets two-year postseason ban

      June 9, 2010 /

      USC just got gorilla-smacked by the NCAA.

      From ESPN.com:

      The USC football program will receive two-year postseason ban, a reduction in scholarships and a forfeiture of wins from at least the 2004 season when the NCAA releases it sanctions on Thursday, a source told ESPN’s Shelley Smith.

      I’ll have more on this topic when more details are released, but here are some quick-hit thoughts:

      – Looks like Pete Carroll got out of So Cal at the right time. Think he knew the shit storm that was about to come down on the program when he decided to take the Seahawks job in January? Many people thought it was odd timing for Carroll to head back to the NFL when the decision was announced, but something tells me Pistol Pete had an inkling that something was about to go down and decided to hightail it out of town.

      Before Captain Wiseguy points out the obvious, yes, I’m just speculating. But let’s be realistic about the situation: Carroll, who has been courted many, many, many times throughout the years by NFL teams, decides to accept the Seahawks’ head coaching job five months prior to USC getting a two-year postseason ban. Coincidence? I think not.

      – I wonder how Lane Kiffin feels about leaving Tennessee in the dust to take over for Carroll at USC now. If you listen closely enough, you can her Vols fans laughing in the distance.

      – That 2004 USC squad is highly considered one of the greatest college football teams of all time, so the fact that the program will have to forfeit their 13 wins from that season is jarring to say the least. People will still remember how powerful that team was, but from now on, it’ll always be associated with this ban.

      – Soooo, is Oklahoma now the 2004 (or 2005) BCS National Champion? How does that work?

      College Football, External Sports

      Hawks win first title in 49 years in bizarre finish to Game 6

      June 9, 2010 /

      Hockey fans in the great city of Chicago had to wait 49 years to experience the moment again, but on Wednesday night it finally happened.

      In a thrilling, yet completely bizarre finish to the title series, the Blackhawks hoisted the Stanley Cup with their 4-3 victory over the Flyers in overtime. Patrick Kane scored the game-winning goal 4:06 into OT, but nobody outside of him knew that the puck had slipped past Philly goalie Michael Leighton because the net indicator never went off. The announcers didn’t even know that the puck had got passed Leighton until they saw Kane skating down the ice with his arms up in the air and the rest of his teammates clear the bench to greet him at the other end.

      In all honesty, the moment killed the excitement that had been building for over three periods. Chicago fans obviously don’t care how it ended because the Hawks won, but for casual fans, it was undoubtedly a lackluster finish. (Or at least, a lackluster finish for a game-winning, series-clinching overtime goal.) It was strange to watch the Hawks celebrate while the Flyers stood on the ice waiting for the referees to make an official announcement about whether or not the goal had counted.

      Regardless, it was a thrilling moment for the Hawks and their fans. With four minutes remaining in the third period, it looked as though Chicago would win in regulation but then Scott Hartnell beat Antti Niemi to eventually force overtime. Of course, without Niemi, both teams would be heading back to Chicago for a Game 7 right now. He made a couple of key saves late in the game to keep the Hawks afloat. In fact, he saved a point-blank shot by Jeff Carter with less than two minutes to play in regulation, right in front of the Hawks’ net.

      All in all, this was a great moment for hockey and for Chicago fans, who are extremely loyal and who cherish titles. It was an exciting series and the NHL can’t be upset about how this one turned out.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NHL

      Is there now proof that Pete Rose corked his bat?

      June 9, 2010 /

      The X-ray photo above is apparently Pete Rose’s Mizuno PR4192 bat, which he used in 1985 in efforts to break Ty Cobb’s all-time hit record. As you can see from the photo, the barrel of the bat is hollowed out and filled with cork.

      Deadspin.com has the details about the sports collector that discovered the bat:

      Schubert knew he had a unique bat from the beginning. The tape job was uncharacteristically heavy, and Rose had painted a white “14” on both the knob and the head of the bat. Most of Rose’s bats had his number on the knob, whether due to superstition or the practicality of finding it in the rack. But on the head? Well, that was a different story. Only a handful of known Rose bats have the “14” on the head.

      A fellow collector urged Schubert to inspect the bat head, and he discovered a circular patch of rough wood under the white paint, about eight-tenths of an inch across. Could it be a drill hole?

      Schubert had to know. He took the bat to an X-ray technician, who laid the bat on a table and punched a few buttons. Within minutes an image appeared on the monitor.

      Many players use (or claim to use, after they’ve been caught) corked bats only in batting practice. If this bat turned out to be altered, there would be concrete proof that Pete Rose had used a corked bat in a game. Which wouldn’t come as a surprise to many.

      “There was no question he wanted the record,” Taube says. “At that point in his career, he was going to do whatever he had to do.” A game-used corked bat would add to the mountain of evidence that ballplayers only take the rulebook as a suggestion, especially when baseball’s supposedly sacrosanct records are at stake.

      “We never thought to look,” says Adam Wolter. “Usually you cork it for power. Pete didn’t need that or want that. But I guarantee a lot of people are going to be checking their own Pete Rose bats now.”

      They have been. John Taube has a PR4192 with white paint on the head, concealing what appears to be a drill hole. Same goes for Chuck Long, an Ohio collector. And Steve Mears, a Southern California collector, also went and got his X-rayed.

      Do yourself a favor and read the entire story. It’s bizarre.

      Quite frankly, I don’t know what to make of this report. Not that I discount Deadspin’s reputation, but how easy is it to doctor a photo? It’s clear that those bats are corked in the article, but are they the same bats in the X-ray machine? Who’s to say that they didn’t take pictures of different bats?

      That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rose did cork his bat. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear anything about what Rose did during his baseball days. As the article points out, this is the same man that vehemently denied betting on baseball and now he charges people to autograph balls with, “Sorry I bet on baseball” written on them. He’s not the most honest person to walk the earth.

      I’ll be interesting to see if one of the bigger media outlets picks up on the story and does its own investigation.

      External Sports, MLB

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑