The Boston Bruins are up 2 games to 1 over the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago is 0-4 in game 3's in the playoffs and Boston is 4-0. Game 4 is tomorrow at 9pm in Boston. In the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs lead the Miami Heat 3-2. Game 6 is tonight at 9pm in Miami. Go Blackhawks and Spurs. Not that I am a fan of either team, I just don't like the Bruins or Heat.
In CWS action, the Tarholes are winning their loser's bracket game against LSU 3-0 in the 5th. LSU has 2 men on and 1 out. The NC State Wolfpack plays the UCLA Bruins tonight at 8pm.
The Cleveland Indians lost to the Kansas City Royals 2-1 last night. They play again tonight at 7:05.
LSU just scored. 3-1 Tarholes.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Sunday, June 16, 2013
CWS Update
The NC State Wolfpack defeated the UNC Tarholes 8-1 in game 1 of the NCAA College World Series. The Pack will play the winner of the LSU Tigers/UCLA Bruins game. The Tarholes will go where they belong, the LOSERS' bracket. Wolfpack ace Carlos Rodon went 9 innings and gave up 1 run on 5 hits and struck out 8 Tarhole batters.
In other baseball news, the Cleveland Indians won 2 of the 3 games they played with the Washington Nationals this weekend. Next is a 3 game home stand with the Kansas City Royals. Game 1 will see Carlos Carrasco (0-2 15.26 ERA Yeah, I had to look at it twice too.) pitch for the Tribe. The Royals will start James Shields (1-4 2.71 ERA) who last pitched on June 12th vs Detroit. He went 7 innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits, walking 2 and striking out 6. The Royals won 3-2 in 10 innings. Carrasco's last outing was also against the Tigers, on June 8th in Detroit. he pitched 4 innings and gave up 6 runs on 10 hits, walking 3 and striking out 1. The Tribe lost 12-5. The Indians are currently 34-34 and 4.5 games behind the AL Central leading Tigers. The Royals are 33-34 and in 3rd place in the AL Central, 1.5 games behind the 2nd place Indians.
In other baseball news, the Cleveland Indians won 2 of the 3 games they played with the Washington Nationals this weekend. Next is a 3 game home stand with the Kansas City Royals. Game 1 will see Carlos Carrasco (0-2 15.26 ERA Yeah, I had to look at it twice too.) pitch for the Tribe. The Royals will start James Shields (1-4 2.71 ERA) who last pitched on June 12th vs Detroit. He went 7 innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits, walking 2 and striking out 6. The Royals won 3-2 in 10 innings. Carrasco's last outing was also against the Tigers, on June 8th in Detroit. he pitched 4 innings and gave up 6 runs on 10 hits, walking 3 and striking out 1. The Tribe lost 12-5. The Indians are currently 34-34 and 4.5 games behind the AL Central leading Tigers. The Royals are 33-34 and in 3rd place in the AL Central, 1.5 games behind the 2nd place Indians.
Monday, June 10, 2013
NC State advances to CWS
For the first time since 1968, the NC State baseball team has advanced to the College World Series in Omaha. The Pack knocked off the Rice Owls in 2 games ( one of them a 17 inning marathon that included a 75 minute rain delay.) in the Super Regional in Raleigh, NC.
The Cleveland Indians lost all 3 games to Detroit is that series. It put the Tribe 5.5 games back in the AL Central. Cleveland is currently in Texas playing 3 with the Rangers. (Game 1 is tied 3-3 in the 5th)
The Cleveland Indians lost all 3 games to Detroit is that series. It put the Tribe 5.5 games back in the AL Central. Cleveland is currently in Texas playing 3 with the Rangers. (Game 1 is tied 3-3 in the 5th)
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Cleveland @ Detroit
The Indians travel to Detroit to take on the Tigers for 3 games in Comerica Park. The Tribe has lost 4 in a row after dropping a 3-game series to the Yankees in New York. The Yankees series started a 9 game road trip that will end in Texas with the Rangers. The Tribe will start Ubaldo Jiminez (4-3 4.83 ERA) and the Tigers will go with Justin Verlander (7-4 3.70 ERA). Jiminez last pitched on June 1st in Tampa bay against the Rays. He went 8 innings giving up 4 hits and no runs, walking 1 and striking out 7. The Indians won 5-0. He split his last 2 outings vs the Tigers. On May 11th in Detroit he went 6 innings giving up 1 run on 3 hits, walking one and striking out 9. The Indians won that game 7-6. he pitched against the Tigers in Cleveland on May 22nd going 4 innings giving up 6 runs on 7 hits, walking 3 and striking out 3. The Tribe lost 11-7. Verlander pitched in both of those games as well. On the 11th he went 5 innings giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, walking 5 and striking out 7. On the 22nd he went 5 innings giving up 5 runs on 10 hits, walking 1 and stiking out 9. His last game was in Baltimore on June 1st. He went 7 innings with the Orioles giving up 3 runs on 8 hits, walking 1 and striking out 5. The Tigers won 10-3. First pitch tonight is scheduled for 7:08 in Detroit. This series is a must have for the Tribe to stay in the hunt for the AL Central lead. Detroit holds 1st place at 31-26 , 2 games ahead of the 30-29 Indians.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Carolina Hurricanes Unveil New Sweaters
The Hurricanes unveiled the new 2013-14 version of their road and home uniforms on June 4th, 2013. I am worried that the Red Wings may be upset that we stole their red uniforms. I am not a huge fan of the new sweaters, though I do like the lace-up neck on the red. The Hurricanes logo is smaller and the alternate storm flag is gone. However, the black alternate jersey will stay the same. It was my favorite. The team announced that the new "cleaner and modernized" look would replace the "busy and dated" sweaters of old. The storm warning flag band around the bottom of the old jersey has moved inside of the neck band, like the Keep Pounding slogan inside of the Carolina Panthers new jersey. So I now have to replace my 3 older jerseys. I have to wear what the team is wearing so I own all 3 jersey variants. I hope I get a raise soon. I already had to replace my 3 Carolina Panthers jerseys when Nike decided it needed more of my money last year.
catch-up
The Indians lost to the Yankees on Monday 7-4, and on Tuesday 4-3. The teams face off tonight in New York with Corey Kluber (3-3 4.36 ERA) faces CC Sabathia (5-4 3.71 ERA). Sabathia is the 9th Cy Young Award winner the Tribe will face, beating 7 of the previous 8. In the NBA: the Heat beat the Pacers in game 7 and the Finals will be the Spurs and the Heat. The NHL: Boston is up 2-0 in the Eastern Finals over the Penguins. The Blackhawks are up 2-1 over the Kings in the West.
NC State baseball is hosting the Rice Owls in a Super-Regional in Raleigh. Then it's on to Omaha.
NC State baseball is hosting the Rice Owls in a Super-Regional in Raleigh. Then it's on to Omaha.
Biogenesis bigger than BALCO?
Back when Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire were juicing and breaking home run records, BALCO was practically sponsoring many MLB players. The fact that Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun are facing 100 game suspensions (50 for using PED's and 50 for lying about it) seems like a bigger deal. Basically because it happened in a time where Major League Baseball is supposed to be PED free. Steroids and amphetamines were prevalent in clubhouses at the time. The post-BALCO MLB drug policy took care of the PED problem, right? Wrong. Now ESPN is reporting that Biogenesis CEO Tony Bosch is ready to testify that more than players, such as Braun and A-Rod, were using his products. Proof that the League's anti-doping policy has failed miserably.
The testimony of Bosch to the League will surely draw interest from the Players' Association. The league has long condemned Bosch as a "low-life", a "sleazeball" and a "faux-doctor." But now MLB is hanging on his every word, using his testimony to hand out up to 1000 games of suspension to suspected users?
Bigger than BALCO? maybe, but worse than the BALCO because the drug policy instituted by the League after BALCO was supposed to wipe out PED's. MLB would be drug-free. And now there are major stars facing 100 game suspensions for using. Will the policies ever work completely? If new guidelines are put in place and more substances banned, will new companies find other ways of circumventing the League's rules? Of course they will. There are millions of dollars to be made selling PED's to players.
The testimony of Bosch to the League will surely draw interest from the Players' Association. The league has long condemned Bosch as a "low-life", a "sleazeball" and a "faux-doctor." But now MLB is hanging on his every word, using his testimony to hand out up to 1000 games of suspension to suspected users?
Bigger than BALCO? maybe, but worse than the BALCO because the drug policy instituted by the League after BALCO was supposed to wipe out PED's. MLB would be drug-free. And now there are major stars facing 100 game suspensions for using. Will the policies ever work completely? If new guidelines are put in place and more substances banned, will new companies find other ways of circumventing the League's rules? Of course they will. There are millions of dollars to be made selling PED's to players.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
It was a tough weekend for me sports-wise. The Indians lost 3 in a row to the Red Sox, and then lost game 1 of the Ohio Cup Series in Cincinnati to the Reds 4-2.( Game 2 will be tonight at 7pm in Great American Ballpark) And the NC State Wolfpack played in the longest game in ACC Tournament history, going 18 innings to lose to the stinking Tarheels. The Pack also played in the 2nd longest game in tourney history in 2011 going 15 innings before losing to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 7-6. Note to the NC State baseball team: take care of things in regulation. The Wolfpack will be hosting an NCAA Regional in Raleigh on May 31st. The Pack earned the top seed in the Regional and will play the 4th seed Binghamton Bearcats in game 2 at 7pm. Game 1 will feature 2 seed Ole Miss vs 3 seed William & Mary.
The Ohio Cup is still up for grabs tonight as the Indians and Reds face each other in the 2nd game in Cincy tonight. Then the teams move to Cleveland for 2 games. Tonights pitchers will be Zach McAllister (4-3 2.89 ERA) for the Tribe and the Reds will use Mat Latos (4-0 3.17 ERA), a righty from Broward Community College. Latos last pitched on 5/22 in New York. He went 6 and 2/3 innings against the Mets, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits, walking 1 and striking out 4. The Reds won 7-4. McAllister last pitched on 5/23 in Boston. He went 5 innings against the Red Sox, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, walking 3 and striking out 5. Cleveland won 12-3. The Tribe is now 2nd in the AL Central at 27-23, 2.5 games behind 1st place Tigers. Cincinnati is in 2nd place in the NL Central at 32-19 only 1.5 games behind the division and NL leading Cardinals. The Indians and Reds have not faced each other in the regular season, but the Tribe swept them in 3 games to open the pre-season in Cleveland on Feb 22-24. The Ohio Cup currently resides in Cleveland.
The Ohio Cup is still up for grabs tonight as the Indians and Reds face each other in the 2nd game in Cincy tonight. Then the teams move to Cleveland for 2 games. Tonights pitchers will be Zach McAllister (4-3 2.89 ERA) for the Tribe and the Reds will use Mat Latos (4-0 3.17 ERA), a righty from Broward Community College. Latos last pitched on 5/22 in New York. He went 6 and 2/3 innings against the Mets, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits, walking 1 and striking out 4. The Reds won 7-4. McAllister last pitched on 5/23 in Boston. He went 5 innings against the Red Sox, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, walking 3 and striking out 5. Cleveland won 12-3. The Tribe is now 2nd in the AL Central at 27-23, 2.5 games behind 1st place Tigers. Cincinnati is in 2nd place in the NL Central at 32-19 only 1.5 games behind the division and NL leading Cardinals. The Indians and Reds have not faced each other in the regular season, but the Tribe swept them in 3 games to open the pre-season in Cleveland on Feb 22-24. The Ohio Cup currently resides in Cleveland.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Indians Trounce Red Sox 12-3 in Francona's Return to Fenway.
The Red Sox fans may have been glad to see former Boston manager Terry Francona back in Fenway Park before the start of the Indians @ Red Sox game last night. They probably didn't feel that way after the game was over. The Indians used a 6 run 6th inning to defeat the Sox 12-3. Winning pitcher, Zach McAllister (4-3 2.89 ERA) went 5 innings giving up 3 runs on 3 hits, walking 3 and striking out 5. Cody Allen went 1 inning with no hits and a strike out, Scott Barnes got his first save of the season going 3 innings and giving up 2 hits and striking out 4. Ryan Dempster (2-5 4.69 ERA) got the loss for Boston. He went 3 innings giving up 4 runs on 5 hits, walking 4 and striking out 4.
On offense, the Indians put on a show. Michael Bourn went 3-6 witha run and 2 RBI's, Asdrubal Cabrera went 2-5 with 2 runs and an RBI, Carlos Santana went 1-2, but was walked 4 times and scored 3 runs. Mark Reynolds went with a run and 3 RBI's, Yan Gomes went 1-4 with 1 run and 2 RBI's, Drew Stubbs went 3-5 with a run and 3 RBI's. The Tribe went 8-19 RISP and left 11 on base. The Red Sox were 2-10 RISP and stranded 6 runners.
The Indians are now 27-19, still in first place in the AL Central by one-half game over the 2nd place Tigers. (Detroit came from behind to beat the Twins 6-5 last night to stay close.) The Red Sox are 28-20 and in 2nd place in the AL East, 1 game behind the Yankees. The 2 teams play game 2 of the 4 game series tonight. Taking the mound for the Indians will be Justin Masterson (7-2 2.83 ERA) who last pitched on 5/19 against the mariners. Justin went 7 innings giving up 3 hits, no runs, walking 4 and striking out 11. The Indians won 6-0. He last pitched against Boston in Cleveland on 4/17 going 5 innings and giving up 4 runs on 11 hits, walking 1 and striking out 5. The Red Sox won 6-3. Boston will go with John Lackey (2-4 3.31 ERA) tonight. His last game was a 6 inning effort in Minnesota on 5/19. He gave up 1 hit and struck out 5.The Red Sox won 5-1. Lackey has not faced the Tribe this season. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM in Boston.
On offense, the Indians put on a show. Michael Bourn went 3-6 witha run and 2 RBI's, Asdrubal Cabrera went 2-5 with 2 runs and an RBI, Carlos Santana went 1-2, but was walked 4 times and scored 3 runs. Mark Reynolds went with a run and 3 RBI's, Yan Gomes went 1-4 with 1 run and 2 RBI's, Drew Stubbs went 3-5 with a run and 3 RBI's. The Tribe went 8-19 RISP and left 11 on base. The Red Sox were 2-10 RISP and stranded 6 runners.
The Indians are now 27-19, still in first place in the AL Central by one-half game over the 2nd place Tigers. (Detroit came from behind to beat the Twins 6-5 last night to stay close.) The Red Sox are 28-20 and in 2nd place in the AL East, 1 game behind the Yankees. The 2 teams play game 2 of the 4 game series tonight. Taking the mound for the Indians will be Justin Masterson (7-2 2.83 ERA) who last pitched on 5/19 against the mariners. Justin went 7 innings giving up 3 hits, no runs, walking 4 and striking out 11. The Indians won 6-0. He last pitched against Boston in Cleveland on 4/17 going 5 innings and giving up 4 runs on 11 hits, walking 1 and striking out 5. The Red Sox won 6-3. Boston will go with John Lackey (2-4 3.31 ERA) tonight. His last game was a 6 inning effort in Minnesota on 5/19. He gave up 1 hit and struck out 5.The Red Sox won 5-1. Lackey has not faced the Tribe this season. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM in Boston.
Waxahachie Indians Pull Off Upest of Top-Ranked McKinney North Bulldogs
The Waxahachie High baseball team pulled of a major upset in the Texas high school 4A regional baseball playoffs yesterday. The Indians beat the top-seeded McKinney North High Bulldogs 1-0. I say the "team" pulled it off, but only because all 9 starters were actually there. However, the Indians only needed 1 guy to win the game. Waxahachie 6'2" senior pitcher, David Martinelli, threw a no-hitter shutting down the high powered Bulldog offense. The McKinney North's team average was .354 and had a 26-4 record on the season. Then in the 3rd inning, he ripped a solo home run. Martinelli went on to retire every Bulldog batter in what was only his 3rd start of the season. He is normally used in relief, but was moved up in the rotation. Martinelli is 4-1 with a 2.23 ERA. And he isn't so bad with the bat either. He is hitting a stellar .409 this year, hitting 5 home runs and driving in 25 RBI's.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Indians come up short against Tigers. Francona headed back to Boston for 4 game series with the Sox.
The Indians once again hit Justin Verlander well, and often. But after falling behind the Tigers 9-3 in Cleveland last night, the Tribe could not pull off the comeback. 2 rain delays stretched the game, and the Tribe battled back to pull within 2 runs at 9-7. The Tigers won 11-7. The Indians are 26-19 and one-half game ahead of the 25-19 Tigers for 1st place in the AL Central. Cleveland starts a 4 game series with the Red Sox in Fenway park tonight. It will be Terry Francona's first return to Boston since taking over as the Indians manager. The last series with Boston was in Cleveland back on April 16-18. The Tribe lost all 3 games. Boston is 28-19, 2nd in the AL East trailing the division leading Yankees by one-half game. Zach McAllister (3-3 2.65 ERA) will take the hill for the Indians tonight. Zach last pitched on May 18th vs the Mariners. He went 7 and 1/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits, walking 1 and striking out 1. The Indians won 5-4 on a walk-off single from Mark Reynolds. His last game against Boston was on April 18th, going 5 innings giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, walking 3 and striking out 7. The Tribe lost 3-6. The Sox will send Ryan Dempster, a righty from the Great White North, out to face the Tribe. Dempster (2-4 2.47 ERA) last pitched 4 and 2/3 innings in Minnesota on May 18th. He gave up 5 runs on 8 hits, walking 6 and striking out 2. The Sox downed the Twins 12-5. Dempster has not faced the Indians this season.
ACC Baseball Championship.
The ACC Baseball Tournament has begun from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The park is the home of the Durham Bulls minor league baseball team, a Triple A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The pools break down like this:
Pool A
Pool B
In the first round, the 7th seed and defending champs, Georgia Tech, beat 2nd seeded Florida State 4-3. 3rd seed Virgina beat the 6th seed Virgina Tech 10-1, and the 4th seed NC State beat 5th seed Clemson 6-3. The rest of the schedule looks like this:
The pools break down like this:
Pool A
| No. 1 North Carolina |
| No. 4 North Carolina State |
| No. 5 Clemson |
| No. 8 Miami |
Pool B
| No. 2 Florida State |
| No. 3 Virginia |
| No. 6 Virginia Tech |
| No. 7 Georgia Tech |
In the first round, the 7th seed and defending champs, Georgia Tech, beat 2nd seeded Florida State 4-3. 3rd seed Virgina beat the 6th seed Virgina Tech 10-1, and the 4th seed NC State beat 5th seed Clemson 6-3. The rest of the schedule looks like this:
| Virginia | Georgia Tech | May 23 | 11AM | ||
| Miami | North Carolina | May 23 | 3 PM | ||
| Florida State | Virginia Tech | May 23 | 7 PM | ||
| NC State | Miami | May 24 | 11 AM | ||
| Georgia Tech | Virginia Tech | May 24 | 3 PM | ||
| North Carolina | Clemson | May 24 | 7 PM | ||
| Virginia | Florida State | May 25 | 11 AM. | ||
| Miami | Clemson | May 25 | 3 PM | ||
| NC State | North Carolina | May 25 | 7 PM | ||
| Championship- | Pool A Winner | Pool B Winner | May 26 | 1 PM on ESPN2 |
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The Indians dropped game 1 of the 2 game series with the Tigers 5-1 last night in Cleveland. The 2 teams play again tonight at 7:05. The Tigers will start Justin Verlander (4-4 3.17 ERA) and the Tribe will send out Ubaldo Jiminez (3-2 5.31 ERA). Verlander last pitched on 5/16 in a loss to the Rangers in Texas. The Texans won the game 10-4. He went 2 and 2/3 innings giving up 8 runs on 6 hits, walking 2 and stiking out 3. He last pitched against Cleveland on 5/11 going 5 innings giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, walking 5 and stiking out 7. The Tribe won 7-6. Jiminez has won 3 of his last 4, needing a save from Pestano on 5/17 to seal the Indians win against Seattle. He went 5 innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits walking 2 and striking out 9 against the Mariners. he faced Verlander on 5/11 going 6 innings and giving up 1 run on 3 hits, walking 1 and striking out 8. The Indians are 26-18 and 1.5 games ahead of the 2nd place 24-19 Tigers.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
NHL/NBA Play-off update
I have been neglecting the NHL and NBA playoff games in my blog. Since my favorite teams are out, I don't follow them AS closely as I would if the Hurricanes and Bobcats (for now) were in. So in the west, the Kings are up 2-1 over the Sharks, and Detroit is up 2-1 on the Blackhawks. Game 4 of the Kings/Sharks series is tonight in The HP Pavilion, in San Jose. The Sharks won an OT thriller in game 3. The Redwings and Blackhawks take the ice in Joe Louis Arena on Thursday for game 4 of that series. Detroit won 2 in a row and are playing well. In the East, Pittsburgh leads the Ottowa Senators 2-1. The Sens took the Pens to double OT to win in Ottowa on Sunday. Colin Greenburg scored on a backhander 7:39 into the 2nd OT period to keep the series in reach. They face off Wednesday from Scotiabank Place in Ottowa. The Bruins lead the Rangers 2-0. New York also fell behind the Caps 0-2 in round 1, but battled back to win 2 in a row tying the series at 2. The Caps won game 5 but NY took games 6 and 7. Not to disparage the Capitals, but the Bruins are not the Capitals. They are ready to put the Rangers away and if they go up 3-0, it could spell doom for John Totorella's squad. Game 3 is tonight in MSG.
In the NBA, the Pacers and heat face off in the eastern Conference Finals and the Grizzlies and Spurs battle out west. The Spurs lead their series 1-0 after spanking Memphis at the AT&T center 105-83 in game 1. Game 2 is tonight, also in San Antonio. The Pacers and Heat start their series on Wednesday in Miami. Indiana won 2 of the 3 regular season meetings with the Heat.
In the NBA, the Pacers and heat face off in the eastern Conference Finals and the Grizzlies and Spurs battle out west. The Spurs lead their series 1-0 after spanking Memphis at the AT&T center 105-83 in game 1. Game 2 is tonight, also in San Antonio. The Pacers and Heat start their series on Wednesday in Miami. Indiana won 2 of the 3 regular season meetings with the Heat.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Former Arkansas QB Brandon Mitchell transferring to NC State.
Brandon Mitchell has announced he will enroll at NC State. he considered Michigan, Alabama-Birmingham, Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech. Mitchell is a senior with 1 year of eligibility and will reportedly start competing for the starting job. The 6-4. 239 lb QB played in 21 games, starting 3. He is 25-43 passing for 332 yards and 2 touchdowns. he has rushed 23 times, gaining 75 yads and scoring 2 TD's. He has caught 17 passes for 272 yds. The Wolfpack has 2 QB's currently on the spring roster: Pete Thomas is a 6-6 234 lb Jr, and Manny Stocker is a 6-1 212 lb sophomore. Last year, Stocker played in 5 games and was 0-2 in passes thrown. Thomas spent 2011 with the Colorado State Rams. he was 161-261 in passing, for 1607 yds. He threw 7 TD's and 8 picks, with a QB rating of 116.1. The Rams went 3-9, winning their first 2 games and 3 of the first 4. They lost 8 in a row to finish the season. Thomas asked for and was granted a release from CSU and was picked up by the Wolfpack in January of 2012.
Indians and Tigers get together for 2 in Cleveland.
The Indians and Tigers face off tomorrow at Progressive Field. The Tribe is 26-17 and in first place in the AL Central. The Tigers are 23-19 and 2 games behind the division leading Indians. Man it felt good saying that! The Tribe is 8-2 over their last 10 games, winning 5 in a row. They are fresh off of a 4 game sweep of the Seattle Mariners. The Tigers are 4-6 over their last 10 and on a 2 game losing streak. They lost their last game 11-8 to the Rangers, with Miguel Cabrera hitting 3 home runs in the game. Tuesday's game is slated for a 7:05 start at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. The pitching duel will be a re-match of the first game the 2 teams played against each other this season. The Tigers will send Max Scherzer (3.98 ERA) and his perfect 5-0 record out to face the Cleveland batters. Scherzer's last game against the Tribe in Detroit was the only win for Detroit in the 3 game series. He went 8 innings giving up 4 runs on 5 hits, striking out 2 back on May 10th. The Tigers won the game 10-4. His last game was a May 15th home game against the Houston Astros. He pitched 7 innings and gave up 5 runs on 5 hits, walking 3 and stiking out 7 in a 7-5 Tigers loss. Al Alburquerque (0-1) took the loss. The Indians will start Corey Kluber (3-2 5.40 ERA) who last pitched against Detroit on may 10th. He lasted 4 and 2/3 innings giving up 8 runs on 11 hits, walking 2 and striking out 4. Kluber got the loss for the Tribe. His last game was in Philadelphia on may 15th. Coery got a win from his 6 inning effort, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and striking out 5. The Indians won 10-4.
Gomes Walk-off 3 run shot in the 10th sweeps Mariners
Yan Gomes hit his second home run of the game and pulled of the Tribe's 3rd walk-off win of the 4 game series with the Mariners today. The Mariners jumped out to an early 2-0 lead when Scott Kazmir walked Jason Bay, who then stole 2nd. Kendrys Morales doubled to left, scoring Bay. Michael singled to center, scoring Morales. 2-0 Seattle after 1.
The Tribe stormed back in the bottom of the 2nd when Carlos Santana doubled on a liner to right. Michael Brantley draws a walk from Hisashi Iwakuma. Then Ryan Rayburn took an 89 mph 4 seam fastball out over the left field wall, making the score 3-2 Indians. Yan Gomes takes another Iwakuma 4 seamer over the left field wall for back-to-back Tribe home runs. 4-2 Cleveland after 2.
In the top of the 3rd, Jason Bay singles to right. Kyle Seager hits a ground rule double and Bay is on 3rd. Morales singles to center, scoring Bay and sending Seager to 3rd. Michael grounds into a 4-6-3 double play, but Seager scores. The score is tied at 4. In the bottom of the 3rd, Nick Swisher singles on a liner to left. Santana flies out to center, Swisher advances to 3rd. Mark Renynolds draws a walk and Brantley singles to right, scoring Swisher and sending Reynolds to 2nd. A double play ended the inning with the Indians up 5-4.
Kazmir walks Kelly Shoppach to start the 4th. Then gives up a double to Robert Andino. Francona goes for the hook and replaces Kazmir with Matt Albers. Brendan Ryan grounds out to short, scoring Shoppach from 3rd and moving Adino to 3rd. Michael Saunders reached on a fielders choice, Adino goes for home and is tagged out by Gomes on the throw from Swisher. With Jason Bay at bat, Saunders attempts to steal second and is gunned down by Gomes, throwing to Kipinis for the tag. The score is tied at 5.
On to the 7th inning, Yoervis Medina has replaced Hisashi Iwakuma. He walks Michael Bourn. Jason Kipins is batting and a passed ball by Kelly Shoppach sends Bourn to 2nd. Kipinis grounds out to first, Bourn to 3rd. Asdrubal Cabrera reaches on a fielder's choice and scores Bourn from 3rd. Swisher draws a walk and with 2 on and 1 out, Santana flies out to center, advancing both runners. Mark Reybnolds lines out to end the inning. 6-5 Cleveland after 7.
In the top of the 8th, Vinne Pestano replaces Bryan Shaw (who replaced Kazmir in the 6th) and he delivers a 92 mph fastball to Kyle Seager. Seager then delivers the pitch to the right field seats. 6-6 tie after 8.
To the top of the 9th, Chris Perez comes on for the Tribe. Endy Chavez pinch-hits for Kelly Shoppach. The 2nd pitch to Chavez was a 93 mph 4 seam fastball. Chavez lifted it to center for a solo HR. The score is now 7-6 Seattle. In the bottom hald of the inning, Tom Whilhelmsmen is on for the Mariners. Kipinis singles to right, and Swisher singles, advancing Kipinis to 3rd. Mike Aviles pinch-runs for Swisher. Santana reaches on a fielding error bt Whilhelmsmen and Kipinis scores, tying the game at 7.
In the 10th, Perez strikes out Morales and Jesus Montero grounds out to short. In comes Joe Smith to replace Perez. Smith throws 3 pitches to Justin Smoak. It proved to be one too many as Smoak parked a 92 mph sinker in the right field seats. And the Mariners are up 8-7. In the bottom of the 10th, Charlie Furbush is on for Seattle. Michael brantley singles on a fly to right. Drew Stubbs lays down a sac bunt, but a fielding error by Justin Smoak allows him to reach. 2 on no outs, and Yan Gomes at the plate. Gomes takes Furbush's 3-2 offering of a 93 mph 2 seam fastball deep to left, scoring 3 and ending the game. 10-8 Cleveland. Those Indians love to make it exciting!
The Tribe stormed back in the bottom of the 2nd when Carlos Santana doubled on a liner to right. Michael Brantley draws a walk from Hisashi Iwakuma. Then Ryan Rayburn took an 89 mph 4 seam fastball out over the left field wall, making the score 3-2 Indians. Yan Gomes takes another Iwakuma 4 seamer over the left field wall for back-to-back Tribe home runs. 4-2 Cleveland after 2.
In the top of the 3rd, Jason Bay singles to right. Kyle Seager hits a ground rule double and Bay is on 3rd. Morales singles to center, scoring Bay and sending Seager to 3rd. Michael grounds into a 4-6-3 double play, but Seager scores. The score is tied at 4. In the bottom of the 3rd, Nick Swisher singles on a liner to left. Santana flies out to center, Swisher advances to 3rd. Mark Renynolds draws a walk and Brantley singles to right, scoring Swisher and sending Reynolds to 2nd. A double play ended the inning with the Indians up 5-4.
Kazmir walks Kelly Shoppach to start the 4th. Then gives up a double to Robert Andino. Francona goes for the hook and replaces Kazmir with Matt Albers. Brendan Ryan grounds out to short, scoring Shoppach from 3rd and moving Adino to 3rd. Michael Saunders reached on a fielders choice, Adino goes for home and is tagged out by Gomes on the throw from Swisher. With Jason Bay at bat, Saunders attempts to steal second and is gunned down by Gomes, throwing to Kipinis for the tag. The score is tied at 5.
On to the 7th inning, Yoervis Medina has replaced Hisashi Iwakuma. He walks Michael Bourn. Jason Kipins is batting and a passed ball by Kelly Shoppach sends Bourn to 2nd. Kipinis grounds out to first, Bourn to 3rd. Asdrubal Cabrera reaches on a fielder's choice and scores Bourn from 3rd. Swisher draws a walk and with 2 on and 1 out, Santana flies out to center, advancing both runners. Mark Reybnolds lines out to end the inning. 6-5 Cleveland after 7.
In the top of the 8th, Vinne Pestano replaces Bryan Shaw (who replaced Kazmir in the 6th) and he delivers a 92 mph fastball to Kyle Seager. Seager then delivers the pitch to the right field seats. 6-6 tie after 8.
To the top of the 9th, Chris Perez comes on for the Tribe. Endy Chavez pinch-hits for Kelly Shoppach. The 2nd pitch to Chavez was a 93 mph 4 seam fastball. Chavez lifted it to center for a solo HR. The score is now 7-6 Seattle. In the bottom hald of the inning, Tom Whilhelmsmen is on for the Mariners. Kipinis singles to right, and Swisher singles, advancing Kipinis to 3rd. Mike Aviles pinch-runs for Swisher. Santana reaches on a fielding error bt Whilhelmsmen and Kipinis scores, tying the game at 7.
In the 10th, Perez strikes out Morales and Jesus Montero grounds out to short. In comes Joe Smith to replace Perez. Smith throws 3 pitches to Justin Smoak. It proved to be one too many as Smoak parked a 92 mph sinker in the right field seats. And the Mariners are up 8-7. In the bottom of the 10th, Charlie Furbush is on for Seattle. Michael brantley singles on a fly to right. Drew Stubbs lays down a sac bunt, but a fielding error by Justin Smoak allows him to reach. 2 on no outs, and Yan Gomes at the plate. Gomes takes Furbush's 3-2 offering of a 93 mph 2 seam fastball deep to left, scoring 3 and ending the game. 10-8 Cleveland. Those Indians love to make it exciting!
Miggy Cabrera hits 3 HR's as Tigers lose to the Rangers
I don't have any love for the Detroit Tigers. They are my AL Central nemisis. But I have to give respect to Miguel Cabrera. The man can hit a baseball. Far. And often. In the Tigers' game in Arlington with the Rangers, Cabrera hit 3 home runs and drove in 5 runs, going 4-4 on the night. Thankfully, the Texas Rangers won 11-8, keeping the Indians in 1st place in the division. Cabrera is having a Triple Crown kind of year, hitting 11 home runs, 2nd in the AL to Mark Reynolds (CLE) Chris Davis (BAL) Edward Encarnacion (TOR) and Robinson Cano (NYY) who all have 12. He leads the league with a .387 batting average, better than the NL leader, Jean Segura's .364 average. He leads the league in RBI's at 47, 2nd place in the AL is Chris Davis with 40 and 1st in the NL is Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki at 37. Miggy's WARP is 2.3. He is one of the best hitters in baseball. He is on pace to hit 42 HR and 181 RBI's this season.
Having said that, in the 3 games the Tigers have played the Indians, Cabrera went 5-14. He batted .379, scored a run, drove in 3 runs, and struck out twice. The Indians won 2 of the 3 games the teams played.
Having said that, in the 3 games the Tigers have played the Indians, Cabrera went 5-14. He batted .379, scored a run, drove in 3 runs, and struck out twice. The Indians won 2 of the 3 games the teams played.
Lead-off HR becomes game winner for D-Backs
A lead-off home run in a baseball game isn't all that rare. A lead off home run on the very first pitch is slightly more unusual, but not a major sporting news event. But when that 1st pitch home run becomes the game winning score, you have got yourself a story. The game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins ended 1-0. A full 9 inning baseball game with a combined 236 pitches thrown, and all of the scoring came from the very first one. The pitch, a 94 mph four-seam fastball from Tom Koehler, sailed over the right field wall in Miami's lavish Marlins Park on Saturday. D-Backs batting coach, Don Baylor, had told Parra to swing at the first pitch. This guy is either a baseball genius or a history buff. There is some signifigance of this 1st pitch HR that eventually became the game winner. The last guy to do it was Pete Rose. Charlie Hustle's first pitch lead-off HR beat the Mets 1-0 back on September 2nd of 1963. 50 years ago.
The Marlins threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the same inning when a line drive to right from Chris Coghlan had Derek Dietrich motoring home from 2nd. The right fielder made an amazing throw to get Dietrich out at the plate. Oh, the right fielder was Gerado Parra.
The winning pitcher, Brandon McCarthy, recorded his 3rd career shut out. It was also his first win since being hit by a line drive and suffering a skull fracture on September 5th of 2012. McCarthy was pitching with the Oakland A's at the time. The ball, hit by LA Angels SS Erick Aybar during the 4th inning, struck McCarthy in the head, and he fell to the ground. He was able to leave under his own power and xrays showed the fracture.
The Marlins and D-Backs played again Sunday, with the marlins winning 2-1. Parra's first at bat was a swinging strike out on 4 pitches, he went 0-4 on the day.
The Marlins threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the same inning when a line drive to right from Chris Coghlan had Derek Dietrich motoring home from 2nd. The right fielder made an amazing throw to get Dietrich out at the plate. Oh, the right fielder was Gerado Parra.
The winning pitcher, Brandon McCarthy, recorded his 3rd career shut out. It was also his first win since being hit by a line drive and suffering a skull fracture on September 5th of 2012. McCarthy was pitching with the Oakland A's at the time. The ball, hit by LA Angels SS Erick Aybar during the 4th inning, struck McCarthy in the head, and he fell to the ground. He was able to leave under his own power and xrays showed the fracture.
The Marlins and D-Backs played again Sunday, with the marlins winning 2-1. Parra's first at bat was a swinging strike out on 4 pitches, he went 0-4 on the day.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Masterson strikes out 11 in Tribe win.
The Indians win game 3 game of the 4 game series with Seattle Mariners today. The first 2 games were won with a walk-off home run in the 10th and a bases loaded walk off single in the 9th. No need for any late inning heroics today, because the Tribe dominated the entire game, winning 6-0. Justin Masterson (7-2 2.83 ERA) went 7 innings giving up 3 hits, walking 2 and striking out 11 Mariners batters. Rich Hill pitched 2/3 of the 8th giving up 1 hit, 1 walk and 1 strike out. Joe Smith pitched 1 and 1/3 with 1 hit, 1 walk amd 1 K. The Tribe got it started in the 1st inning, Michael Bourn hit a lead off double to right. Michael Brantley singled to right and Bourn scored from second. Nick Swisher reached base on a fielding error and Brantley scored. In the second, Bourn singled on a grounder to 2nd. Kipinis singled on a line drive to center, Bourn advances to 3rd. Michael Brantley turns a Felix Hernandez 93 mph sinker into a souvenir for a lucky fan in the center field bleachers. 3 runs score, and the Tribe leads 5-0. In the 4th inning, Mike Aviles sends a line drive to center for a double. Drew Stubbs hits a grounder fielded by Jesus Montero, and is thrown out at first, Aviles scores from 2nd.
Cleveland is on a 17-4 run, it's best 21 game stretch since 2007. The defeat of Felix Hernandez today was the Tribe's 7th win of the 8 games they have faced Cy Young winners. King felix lasted 5 innings, giving up 8 hits, 5 earned runs, 2 walks and 8 strike outs.
The Indians look to complete the 4 game sweep of the Mariners tomorrow at 12:05. Seattle will start righty Hisashi Iwakuma (5-1 1.84 ERA). His last game was on May 16th in Yankee Stadium. He got the win going 7 innings giving up 8 hits, 2 runs and striking out 4. Seattle dusted the Yankees 12-2. Scott Kazmir (2-2 5.33 ERA) will get the start for Cleveland. Scott last pitched in Philly on May 14th. It was a 5 inning effort in which he relinquished 4 runs on 6 hits, walking 2 and striking out 3. The Tribe lost 6-2.
The Indians are now 25-17 and 1.5 games ahead of the 2nd place Tigers. Detroit lost to the Texas Rangers last night and are currently in the 2nd inning of a scoreless game in Arlington. (Go Rangers)
Cleveland is on a 17-4 run, it's best 21 game stretch since 2007. The defeat of Felix Hernandez today was the Tribe's 7th win of the 8 games they have faced Cy Young winners. King felix lasted 5 innings, giving up 8 hits, 5 earned runs, 2 walks and 8 strike outs.
The Indians look to complete the 4 game sweep of the Mariners tomorrow at 12:05. Seattle will start righty Hisashi Iwakuma (5-1 1.84 ERA). His last game was on May 16th in Yankee Stadium. He got the win going 7 innings giving up 8 hits, 2 runs and striking out 4. Seattle dusted the Yankees 12-2. Scott Kazmir (2-2 5.33 ERA) will get the start for Cleveland. Scott last pitched in Philly on May 14th. It was a 5 inning effort in which he relinquished 4 runs on 6 hits, walking 2 and striking out 3. The Tribe lost 6-2.
The Indians are now 25-17 and 1.5 games ahead of the 2nd place Tigers. Detroit lost to the Texas Rangers last night and are currently in the 2nd inning of a scoreless game in Arlington. (Go Rangers)
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Reynold's Walk-off single rains on Seattle come back.
Zach McCallister was on his way to a CGSO today with the Mariners. 8 innings in, the Tribe was up 4-0 and Brendan Ryan lifts an 85 mph splitter over the left field wall, scoring 2. Rich Hall came on in relief. Chris Perez came on to close in the 9th and gave up back-to-back homers to Raul Ibanez and Justin Smoak. So the bottom of the 9th was set up to be a thriller. Last night's walk-off hero, Jason Kipinis was up first. He singles to to center. Asdrubal Cabrera doubles to left, Kipinis is on 3rd. Oliver Perez intentionally walks Nick Swisher to load the bases with no outs. Yoervis Medina replaces Oliver Perez. He pitches 2 85 mph curves. The first one almost gets by Jesus Montero. The second one is hit and Reynolds reaches on a fielder's choice. Kipinis scores from 3rd and the game is over. Tribe wins 5-4. You certainly get your money's worth when you buy a ticket to a Cleveland Indians baseball game! SO McAllister goes 7 and 1/3 giving up 2 runs on 6 hits, a walk and only 1 strike out. Rich Hill went the other 2/3 of the 8th giving up 1 hit. Chris Perez came on to close in the 9th giving up 2 runs on 2 hits (both HR's) and notching a strike out. His ERA is still only 1.98. He got the win and goes 2-0 on the season. The Indians stranded 12 base runners and were 3-12 RISP.
The Indians and Mariners play one more game tomorrow in Cleveland. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:05 and it will be thrown by Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez (5-2 1.53 ERA). The Indians will rely on Justin Masterson (6-2 3.41 ERA) to complete the series sweep of Seattle. Masterson last pitched on 5/13 in a 1-0 home win against the Yankees. He had a CGSO, going all 9 innings and giving up 4 hits, 3 walks and rining up 9 k's. Hernandez last pitched on 5/14, also against the Yankees, but in New York. He went 6 innings giving up 1 run on 5 hits, walking 2 and striking out 8 Yankee batters. The Yanks won it 4-3 and the loss went to Charlie Furbush (0-2).
The Indians are now 24-17 in first place in the AL Central. The Tigers are 1/2 game out, currently playing in Texas and losing to the Rangers 6-2 in the bottom of the 5th.
The Indians and Mariners play one more game tomorrow in Cleveland. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:05 and it will be thrown by Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez (5-2 1.53 ERA). The Indians will rely on Justin Masterson (6-2 3.41 ERA) to complete the series sweep of Seattle. Masterson last pitched on 5/13 in a 1-0 home win against the Yankees. He had a CGSO, going all 9 innings and giving up 4 hits, 3 walks and rining up 9 k's. Hernandez last pitched on 5/14, also against the Yankees, but in New York. He went 6 innings giving up 1 run on 5 hits, walking 2 and striking out 8 Yankee batters. The Yanks won it 4-3 and the loss went to Charlie Furbush (0-2).
The Indians are now 24-17 in first place in the AL Central. The Tigers are 1/2 game out, currently playing in Texas and losing to the Rangers 6-2 in the bottom of the 5th.
Kipinis Walk-off HR Sinks Mariners
The Tribe won the 1st game of a 3 game series with Seattle in grand style last night. A 10th inning 2 out smash with 2 on gave the Indians a 6-3 win over the Mariners. Ubaldo Jiminez went 5 innings giving up 2 runs (1 HR) 7 hits, walking 1 and striking out 9. The Indians got things rolling in the 2nd when Nick Swisher drew a lead-off walk from Brandon Mauer. Calos Santana doubled, sending Swisher to 3rd. Jason Giambi flew out to right, scoring swisher from 3rd and advancing Santana to 3rd. Mark Reynolds struck out and with Michael Brantley at the plate, Mauer's wild pitch scored Santana from 3rd. Brantley struck out to end the inning. In the top of the 4th, Kendrys Morales takes a 91 mph 2 seam fastball from Jiminez over the right field wall, cutting the Indian's lead 2-1. In the bottom of the 5th, Drew Stubbs solo shot to right off of Mauer makes the score 3-1. In the top of the 6th, Justin Smoak singled to right. Ubaldo took a seat and Rich Hill faced Raul Ibanez. His first pitch, a 92 mph 2 seam fastball, sailed past Ibanez for a called strike. His second pitch, a 75 mph curveball, sailed past the right field fence, scoring 2 runs, tying the score at 3. On to the 10th inning. Mark Reynolds goes down swinging, then Michael Brantley grounds out to 2nd. The Mariners replace carter Capps with Luke Luetge. With 2 outs, Drew Stubbs draws a 5 pitch walk from Luetge. With Miachael Bourn at bat, Stubbs steals 2nd base. Bourn singles on an 86 mph slider to 2nd, Stubbs advances to 3rd. Jason Kipinis steps in the box, Bourn takes 2nd on defensive indifference. Luetge's 1st pitch, a slider, hit catcher Jesus Montero's glove at 86 mph. Montero regretted calling for that pitch again, as the 2nd 86 mph slider that came to Kipinis ended up in some guy's den. Kipinis drove the pitch into the right field stands, scoring 3 runs, The walk-off jack gave the Tribe a 6-3 win. Kipinis is a scorching .361 over his last 14 games. He has hit 6 round-trippers and driven in 19 of his Indians team mates. Recently, Jason has readjusted his swing, going a little shorter, and it has paid off.
The pitching staff for the Indians shared the load in the last 5 innings. Hill replaced Jiminez in the 6th and pitched 1 and 1/3 before giving up the game tying 2 run shot to Ibanez. He was replaced by Bryan Allen who pitched 1 inning and got 1 K. Bryan Shaw served up 1 strike-out in the 2 batters he faced in the 9th, and Chris Perez came in to pitch 1/3 of the inning getting 1 strike-out. Vinnie Pestano pitched in the 10th, walking 1 and striking out 1. That gave Vinnie his first win (1-0 2.0 ERA on 3 earned runs, 5 walks and 9 K's) on the season.
The Indians and Mariners play again today at 1:05 at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. Zach McAllister (3-3 2.68 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Tribe. McAllister's last game was on May 12th in Detroit. He pitched 6 innings, gave up 2 runs on 8 hits with 3 walks and 5 strike outs. The Indians won the game 4-3 on a walk-off single from Michael Bourn in the 10th. Joe Smith got the win for the Tribe. The Mariners will start Joe Saunders (3-4 5.51 ERA). His last game was a home win against the A's where he went 6 and 1/3 innings, giving up 1 run on 5 hits, walking 3 and striking out 6.
Cleveland is 23-17 and tied with Detroit for 1st in the AL Central. Seattle is 3rd in the AL West at 20-22, 6.5 games behind the 2nd place A's and 7 games behind the 1st place Rangers.
The pitching staff for the Indians shared the load in the last 5 innings. Hill replaced Jiminez in the 6th and pitched 1 and 1/3 before giving up the game tying 2 run shot to Ibanez. He was replaced by Bryan Allen who pitched 1 inning and got 1 K. Bryan Shaw served up 1 strike-out in the 2 batters he faced in the 9th, and Chris Perez came in to pitch 1/3 of the inning getting 1 strike-out. Vinnie Pestano pitched in the 10th, walking 1 and striking out 1. That gave Vinnie his first win (1-0 2.0 ERA on 3 earned runs, 5 walks and 9 K's) on the season.
The Indians and Mariners play again today at 1:05 at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. Zach McAllister (3-3 2.68 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Tribe. McAllister's last game was on May 12th in Detroit. He pitched 6 innings, gave up 2 runs on 8 hits with 3 walks and 5 strike outs. The Indians won the game 4-3 on a walk-off single from Michael Bourn in the 10th. Joe Smith got the win for the Tribe. The Mariners will start Joe Saunders (3-4 5.51 ERA). His last game was a home win against the A's where he went 6 and 1/3 innings, giving up 1 run on 5 hits, walking 3 and striking out 6.
Cleveland is 23-17 and tied with Detroit for 1st in the AL Central. Seattle is 3rd in the AL West at 20-22, 6.5 games behind the 2nd place A's and 7 games behind the 1st place Rangers.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 88-84 last night. That gave the Grizzlies the series 4-1. Memphis will be in the Western Conference Finals for the 1st time in team history. DeAngelo Williams is beside himself with delight! During the game, a very odd 4 point play was awarded to OKC. Near the end of the 3rd period, Derek Fisher shot (and missed) a 3 point shot near the Memphis bench. Tony Allen was sitting on the bench and leapt to his feet during the play. In his excitement, he apparently forgot he was holding his warm-up shirt and inadvertently threw it onto the court. Fisher missed the shot, but complained to the ref about the shirt. The 3 point shot was allowed (some sort of basket interference call?) and Allen was given a technical foul. Fisher drained the free throw and the Thunder went on a 15-4 run after that. The Grizzlies held on to win.
The Heat sent the Bulls home in the East. They won game 5 94-91, taking the series 4-1. The Pacers and Knicks face off in game 5 of their series tonight. The Pacers lead 3-1. The Spurs and Warriors are headed to game 6 with San Antonio leading the series 3-2.
The Heat sent the Bulls home in the East. They won game 5 94-91, taking the series 4-1. The Pacers and Knicks face off in game 5 of their series tonight. The Pacers lead 3-1. The Spurs and Warriors are headed to game 6 with San Antonio leading the series 3-2.
Torres suspended for hit on Stoll
San Jose Sharks winger Raffi Torres was suspended Wednesday. There will be a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety because of his hit on LA Kings center Jarret Stoll in Game 1 of their western conference semis on Tuesday night. A decision will be made on any suspensions that Torres might get. He was given a two-minute minor for charging at the time. He could be suspended for multiple games because Stoll may have a head injury. There is no word on Stoll from the Kings. He didn't come back into the game Tuesday night or practice with the team on Wednesday. His status for game 2 is unknown. Darryl Sutter said he was day to day, but that was all. Stoll has had one assist and no goals in the post season, and is 3rd in hits for the Kings in the post season with 23. Torres has 1 goal in the post season. Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday in Los Angeles. Brad Richardson will replace Stoll on the King's 3rd line with Dustin Penner and Trevor Lewis.
A very similar hit by Ottawa defenseman Eric Gryba on Montreal forward Lars Eller during their first-round playoff game got Gryba suspended for 2 games. The director of the NHL's Department of Player Safety, Brehdan Shanahan, will meet with Torres on Thursday to determine if there will be any suspensions. Torres was suspended in 2012 when he played for the Coyotes for a hit on marian Hossa. He was out for 25 games for that one.
A very similar hit by Ottawa defenseman Eric Gryba on Montreal forward Lars Eller during their first-round playoff game got Gryba suspended for 2 games. The director of the NHL's Department of Player Safety, Brehdan Shanahan, will meet with Torres on Thursday to determine if there will be any suspensions. Torres was suspended in 2012 when he played for the Coyotes for a hit on marian Hossa. He was out for 25 games for that one.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The Indians take the 2nd game of the series in Philadelphia 10-4. Kluber pitched 6 innings giving up 3 runs, no walks and 5 strike outs. Cody Allen came on for 1 inning striking out 2, no hits or walks. Nick Hagadone pitched 1 inning and walked 1 batter. Matt Albers came in for the final inning and gave up 1 run on 2 hits and 1 strike out. Mike Aviles, Nick Swisher and Jason Kipinis all homered for the Tribe and Mark Reynolds added a 2-run double. Reynolds has been moved to 3rd base after the Indians optioned Lonnie Chisenhall to Columbus. Chisenhall has not come through with the performance the Tribe was expecting. The Indians are off tomorrow, and on Friday welcome the Mariners to town for a 3 game weekend series. The Indians are now 22-17, half a game in back of the Tigers. The Mariners are currently 3rd in the AL West at 18-21, 4 games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers. The Indians will send Ubaldo Jiminez (3-2 5.55 ERA) out to face the Mariners Friday. Jiminez has been much improved as of late. After a rough start, he has won 2 in a row. His last outing was 6 inning effort in Detroit. The righty pitched 6 innings, striking out 8, walking 1 and giving up 1 run on 3 hits back on May 11th. The Tribe won the game 7-6. The Mariners will start Brandon Mauer (2-5 5.97 ERA). The Seattle right-hander's last game was on May 11th. He delivered a 5 inning, 6 hit, 3 run game with 2 walks and 4 k's. That 4-3 loss to the Oakland A's was his second loss in as many games.
So after the Indians lost 7-0 in the second game of the double header with the Yankees, they lost 6-2 to the Phillies in Philadelphia last night. They are cuurently playing the Phillies again. The Indians started righty Corey Kluber (2-2 5.64 ERA) and the Phillies started lefty Cole Hammels (1-5 4.05 ERA). Kluber is currently at bat...interleague play. The Tribe is back in 2nd place in the AL Central at 21-17 1.5 games behind the Tigers. The Phillies are 19-21 and in 3rd place in the NL east, 3.5 games behind the division leading Braves.
On to the NHL. Pittsburgh beat Ottowa 4-1 in game 1 of that semi-final series. Malkin scored and got an assist, Vokoun had 35 saves, Kunitz had a goal and an assist, Martin scored a goal (PP) and Dupuis scored a short-hander in the 3rd. Greening scored the only goal for the Sens in the 1st. The Kings shut out the Sharks 2-0. Quick had 35 saves, Slava Voynov scored a goal and got an assist, Mike Richards scored a goal and got an assist.
On to the NHL. Pittsburgh beat Ottowa 4-1 in game 1 of that semi-final series. Malkin scored and got an assist, Vokoun had 35 saves, Kunitz had a goal and an assist, Martin scored a goal (PP) and Dupuis scored a short-hander in the 3rd. Greening scored the only goal for the Sens in the 1st. The Kings shut out the Sharks 2-0. Quick had 35 saves, Slava Voynov scored a goal and got an assist, Mike Richards scored a goal and got an assist.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Für meine Fans im Vaterland
Die nhl-Endspiele produzieren einige aufregende
Spiele. Die Braunbär und die Förster sollten guten Reihen sein. Die Pinguin- und
Senatornversprechen, auch aufzupassen Spaß zu sein. Ich denke, dass New York die
Ost-Konferenz gewinnt. Die Könige schlagen die Haifische, der Schwarzefalken
schlagen die Rotdrosseln. Die Schwarzefalken und die Förster spielen für das
Stanley Cup und New York gewinnt in 6.
I don't know if that even makes sense or not. I hope it does.
Last night I expected the Caps and Rangers to put on a show. I was hyped and ready to watch those teams battle. Then The Rangers crushed the Caps 5-0. The real show was with the Maple Leafs and Bruins. The Bruins were up 3-1 in the series and it was all but over for the Leafs. Then Toronto ties the series at 3-3. Last night the Leafs were up 4-1 in the 3rd when the Bruins thought, "Hey fellas, why don't we play some hockey?" Boston was down by 2 with 1:30 left in the 3rd, and scored 2 goals in 31 seconds to tie the game at 4. 6:05 into the OT, Patrice Bergeron scores and Boston wins 5-4, taking the series. I just do not like the Bruins. I am no Leafs fan, but I just can't stand the thought of ANY team from Boston winning anything. (I think you all know how I feel about the Sox, Patriots and Celtics)
In the East it is the Pens, the Sens, the Bruins and the Rangers. Pittsburgh and Ottowa start in Pittsburgh Tuesday night. (I feel the same way about Pittsburgh teams as I do Boston teams) The Bruins and Rangers face-off Thursday in Boston. I am looking forward to that series. Should be some quality hockey. The Penguins and NY will play for the Prince of Wales Cup. I believe the Rangers will come out of that group to represent the conference in the Finals.
In the West it is Chicago, Detroit, San Jose and the defending champion Kings.The Blackhawks and Redwings renew their rivalry while the battle of California begins in Tuesday in the Staples Center. The Blackhawks and Kings will advance to the conference finals. I like the Blackhawks to come out of the West and play the Rangers for the Stanley Cup. I think will be a good series, and the Rangers will win in 6.
In the East it is the Pens, the Sens, the Bruins and the Rangers. Pittsburgh and Ottowa start in Pittsburgh Tuesday night. (I feel the same way about Pittsburgh teams as I do Boston teams) The Bruins and Rangers face-off Thursday in Boston. I am looking forward to that series. Should be some quality hockey. The Penguins and NY will play for the Prince of Wales Cup. I believe the Rangers will come out of that group to represent the conference in the Finals.
In the West it is Chicago, Detroit, San Jose and the defending champion Kings.The Blackhawks and Redwings renew their rivalry while the battle of California begins in Tuesday in the Staples Center. The Blackhawks and Kings will advance to the conference finals. I like the Blackhawks to come out of the West and play the Rangers for the Stanley Cup. I think will be a good series, and the Rangers will win in 6.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Game 1 of the Indians/Yankees Double-header goes to the Tribe.
Jason Kipinis hit a solo shot in the 1st off of David Phelps. That was all the Cleveland Indians needed to take game one of today's double-bill with the Yankees at Progressive Field. The lone run gave the Tribe a 1-0 victory. Justin Masterson got a CGSO, going all 9 innings giving up just 4 hits, walking 3 and fanning 9 Yankee batters. Kipinis, Swisher, Cabrera, Brantley and Stubbs combined for 5 hits in the game. Justin got into a bit of a jam in the 2rd when the bases were loaded, but pitched his way out of it. With 2 outs, Chris Nelson singled on a grounder to 3rd. Masterson walked Corban Joseph, sending Nelson to 2nd. Chris Stewart singles to short to load the bases. Masterson stayed calm and struck out Alberto Gozalez to end the inning and the Yankee threat. The Indians are still in 1st place in the AL Central at 21-15. The Yanks are first in the AL East at 23-14.
Game 2 is about to start. Trevor Bauer (1-1 2.7 ERA) will start for the Indians, his last outing was 5 inning 1 hit, 6 walk, 5 K effort on May 1st against the Phillies. The Indians won 6-0. Vidal Nuno (0-0 0.0 ERA) will start for New York. he pitched 3 innings against the Astros on April 29th giving up 4 hits and striking out 2. The Yankees won 7-4. The Indians are on a 3 game win streak and are 8-2 over the last 10 games. The Yankees just lost the last game and are 6-4 over the last 10. The Tribe goes to Philadelphia for 2 games tomorrow and Wednesday. They get some well deserved rest on Thursday before playing 4 in Seattle. The Yankees go home for 6 straight against the Mariners and Blue Jays, then travel to Baltimore for 3 games with the Orioles. They won't see any time off until May 23rd. I expect to see lots of rotation of the Yankee starters in game 2 this afternoon.
Game 2 is about to start. Trevor Bauer (1-1 2.7 ERA) will start for the Indians, his last outing was 5 inning 1 hit, 6 walk, 5 K effort on May 1st against the Phillies. The Indians won 6-0. Vidal Nuno (0-0 0.0 ERA) will start for New York. he pitched 3 innings against the Astros on April 29th giving up 4 hits and striking out 2. The Yankees won 7-4. The Indians are on a 3 game win streak and are 8-2 over the last 10 games. The Yankees just lost the last game and are 6-4 over the last 10. The Tribe goes to Philadelphia for 2 games tomorrow and Wednesday. They get some well deserved rest on Thursday before playing 4 in Seattle. The Yankees go home for 6 straight against the Mariners and Blue Jays, then travel to Baltimore for 3 games with the Orioles. They won't see any time off until May 23rd. I expect to see lots of rotation of the Yankee starters in game 2 this afternoon.
The Indians took 2 of the 3 games played in Detroit over the weekend, moving into 1st place in the AL Central. The Tigers won the opener on Friday and the Tribe won Saturday, holding off a late inning Tiger's rally to win 7-6. On Sunday, Cleveland had to go to the 10th inning to pull off the 4-3 win. Both the Indians and Tigers are 20-15 (.571) The Indians have a double header with the NY Yankees starting today at noon in Cleveland. The Tigers face the Houston Astros tonight at 7:08 in Detroit.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The Cleveland Indians pulled off a nail biter last night winning 7-6 over the Tigers in Detroit. The Tribe was up 6-1 in the 5th and the Tigers rallied to 6-5. The Tribe added a nun to go up 7-5 and the Tigers scored again. Chris Perez came in for the bottom of the 9th to close it out for the Indians. Game 3 of the series just started at 1 pm.
USA besiegt Deutschland in der Eishockey-Weltmeisterschaftsvorrunde 3-0
The United States beat Germany 3-0 in the prelimanary round of the Helsinki pool. Team USA has 2 Carolina Hurricanes playing, Jamie McBain and Justin faulk. Team Canada has both Staals, Jay Harrison and Jeff Skinner. Team Usa has defeated Austria, Latvia, Finland, Germany and France. They lost to Russia, and play Slovakia next.
Friday, May 10, 2013
NHL Play-offs
The NHL Play offs have had some exciting games. Last night in the Eastern conference, the Senators eliminated the Canadiens, winning 6-1. The pens beat the Islanders to go up 3-2 in that series. Toronto and Boston square off in The TD Bank Garden. The Bruins lead that series 3-1. The Leafs need to come up big to stave off an early golf season. The Rangers and the Caps meet in the Verizon Center with that series tied at 2 games each.
In the Western conference, The Blackhawks took their series with Minnesota (4-1) with a 5-1 win in front of the home crowd at the United Center. The Ducks and Redwings face off tonight in Joe Louis Arena. The octopi will be flying as the home crowd tries to drive Detroit to win and stay alive. Anaheim leads the series 3-2. The Blues travel to the Staples Center for game 6 against the defending champion Kings. LA leads the series 3-2.
In the Western conference, The Blackhawks took their series with Minnesota (4-1) with a 5-1 win in front of the home crowd at the United Center. The Ducks and Redwings face off tonight in Joe Louis Arena. The octopi will be flying as the home crowd tries to drive Detroit to win and stay alive. Anaheim leads the series 3-2. The Blues travel to the Staples Center for game 6 against the defending champion Kings. LA leads the series 3-2.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
The Royals and Tigers both lost tonight. Detroit lost 5-4 in Washington to the Nationals, KC fell to the Orioles 5-3 in Baltimore. That tightens up the AL Central race. The Tigers are 19-13, Kansas City is 17-13 and the Indians are 18-14. KC and Cleveland are 1 game behind Detroit. The Indians go to Detroit tomorrow and KC plays in Baltimore again. Baltimore is hot and they lead the AL East at 21-13, tied with Boston and 1/2 game ahead of the Yankees.
The Canadiens are facing elimination at the hands of the Ottowa Senators. They are down 4-1 with 9 minutes in the 3rd. The Pens are up 4-0 over the Islanders with 2 minutes left. The Pens will go up 3-2 in the series. As I was typing this, Ottowa scored again, 5-1 with 7 minutes left.
The Canadiens are facing elimination at the hands of the Ottowa Senators. They are down 4-1 with 9 minutes in the 3rd. The Pens are up 4-0 over the Islanders with 2 minutes left. The Pens will go up 3-2 in the series. As I was typing this, Ottowa scored again, 5-1 with 7 minutes left.
Break out the brooms at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario! The Tribe completes the 4 game sweep of the Oakland A's with a 9-2 win this afternoon in Cleveland. Scot Kazmir pitched 6 innings giving up 5 hits and 2 runs, striking out 10. Brantley went 2-5 with a run scored, Kipinis went 1-4 with a run and 3 RBI's, Cabrera went 1-3 with a run, Swisher went 1-3 with a run and an RBI, Jason Giambi went 1-4 in the DH spot with a run and an RBI, Mark Reynolds went 2 for 3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's, Yan Gomes went 4-1 with a run and an RBI and Drew Stubbs 2-4 with a run and 1 RBI.
Kipinis, Swisher and Reynolds all homered in the game. The Tribe is now 18-14, 3rd in the AL Central, 1.5 games behind the 1st place Detroit Tigers. Detroit plays in Washington today at 4:05, the second place Royals take on the Orioles in Baltimore at 7:05.
The next game for Cleveland is a date with the division leading Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Tigers will start Max Scherzer (4-0 3.43 ERA). His last outing was a 8 inning, 1 run 3hit effort in Houston. He walked 2 and fanned 8 Astros hitters. Detroit squeaked by the Astros 17-2. The Indians will go with Corey Kluber (2-1 3.o6 ERA). Kluber's last appearance was a 4-2 loss to the Twins, the loss snapped a Tribe 6 game winning streak. Kubler went 5 and 2/3 innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits, walking 4 and striking out 5. The Indians and Tigers will play 3 games in Detroit, Friday and Saturday games both Start at 7:08. Sunday's game will start at 1:08, a great day to treat mom to a ball game.
Kipinis, Swisher and Reynolds all homered in the game. The Tribe is now 18-14, 3rd in the AL Central, 1.5 games behind the 1st place Detroit Tigers. Detroit plays in Washington today at 4:05, the second place Royals take on the Orioles in Baltimore at 7:05.
The next game for Cleveland is a date with the division leading Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Tigers will start Max Scherzer (4-0 3.43 ERA). His last outing was a 8 inning, 1 run 3hit effort in Houston. He walked 2 and fanned 8 Astros hitters. Detroit squeaked by the Astros 17-2. The Indians will go with Corey Kluber (2-1 3.o6 ERA). Kluber's last appearance was a 4-2 loss to the Twins, the loss snapped a Tribe 6 game winning streak. Kubler went 5 and 2/3 innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits, walking 4 and striking out 5. The Indians and Tigers will play 3 games in Detroit, Friday and Saturday games both Start at 7:08. Sunday's game will start at 1:08, a great day to treat mom to a ball game.
The red-hot Cleveland Indians took the third game of the 4 game series from the Oakland A's last night, winning 4-3. Justin Masterson improved to 5-2 on the season with 7 strike-outs. He has been using his splitter quite a bit lately and the results have been positive to say the least. The Tribe was up 4-3 in the ninth when A's short stop Adam Rosales took a Chris Perez pitch to deep left. The ball appeared to hit the wall and the play was declared a ground rule double. Video replay showed that it possibly hit a railing BEHIND the wall (making it a home run) but apparently there was not enough evidence to overturn the call. The would -be home run that would have tied the game stood as the call on the field, a double. A's Manager Bob Melvin came out to dispute the call and was ejected. I love the Indians, and I watched that ball about 10 times, it looked at regular speed to hit the top of the wall. In slow motion and on a couple of zoomed shots, it does appear it cleared the wall and hit something in the stands. Bad call or not, the Indians won the game. Chris Perez got his 5th save of the year. Brantley went 2-4 with a run and 2 RBI's. Nick Swisher went 1-4 with a home run and 1 RBI. Carlos Santana went 1-2 with a home run and an RBI. Cleveland looks to finish the 4-game sweep today at 12:05. Starting for the Tribe is Scott Kazmir (1-1 6.28 ERA) and former Indians righty Bartolo Colon (3-1 3.62 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Athletics.Colon's last performance was a 5 inning effort vs the Yankees on May 4th. He gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and 3 strike outs. The yankees won the game 4-2. Kazmir's last appearance was on 5/4 against the Twins, he gave up 2 runs on 5 hits, walking 1 and striking out 7. The Tribe won 7-3. The Indians are 17-14 on the year, 3rd in the AL Central 1.5 games out of first. The A's are 18-17 and in 2nd in the AL West, 2.5 games in back of the Texas Rangers.
Monday, May 6, 2013
To all of my German readers, I would like to say Willkommen. danke für das Kommen. To all of my Russian readers, let me say Добро пожаловать. Спасибо. I am glad to see that my blog is being seen by so many people around the world. Please continue to read my posts and tell your friends about my blog! I have had a few from Venezuela, the UK, France and Indonesia as well. I am excited that the Carolina Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, NC State Wolfpack and Cleveland Indians have such global followings!
Well the Tribe won 2 out of the 3 weekend games vs the Minnesots Twins. Cleveland won on a walk-off single Friday by a 7-6 score. Saturday the Indians won 7-3 and lost 4-2 on Sunday. That puts the Tribe at.500 at 14-14. They are in 3rd place in the AL Central, 3.5 games behind the 2nd place Royals and 4 games behind the 1st place Tigers. Tonight the Indians take on the Oakland Athletics ( 18-14 .563 2nd in the AL West) in Cleveland. The game is FREE on MLB TV tonight! The Tribe will start Ubaldo Jiminez (1-2 7.13 ERA) fresh off of his best performance in quite some time, getting the win over Kansas City and giving up 3 hit over 7 innings with no runs walking 2 and fanning 4. The A's will start Jarrod Parker (1-4 7.36 ERA). Parker's last outing was a 6 inning effort against the Angels where he gave up 6 hits and 3 earned runs, walking 3 and striking out 4. The A's won the game 10-6. The Indians play 4 games against Oakland at home and then pack for Detroit to play 3 with the Tigers. The Indians return to Progressive Field on the 13th for a double header with the Yankees to make up the weather postponed games from April 10-11. Then it's back on the bus for a trip to Citizen's Bank Park for 2 games against the Phillies.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
The Cleveland Indians are officially on a winning streak! They have won 4 in a row and are 7-3 over their last 10. They won the last 3 games by a combined score of 29-2. The Tribe beat KC 9-0, the Phillies 14-2 and the Phillies again last night 6-0. Trevor Bauer went 5 innings and held the Phillies scoreless, with the help of the rest of the defense. He walked 6 batters (4 of them lead-off hitters) and struck out 5. He allowed only 1 hit in the 5 innings and his pitch count reached 93 before he was relieved by Bryan Shaw. Philadelphia went 0-10 RISP and left 9 on base. The Tribe went 6-16 RISP and stranded 12. After hitting 7 home runs in the previous game, the Tribe had no HR's last night. Brantley went 3-5 with a run, and Kipinis went 0-4 (reaching first on a walk). Cabrera went 1-4 with a run and 2 RBI's. Mark Reynolds went 1-5 scoring a run, and Santana went 2-4 with 2 runs. Raburn went 4-5 continuing his hot hitting streak and scored 2 runs. Drew Stubbs went 1-4 and drove in a run.
The Tribe rests tonight and is back in action Friday at 7:05 when the ALC rival Twins come to town. Minnesota will start Lefty Pedro Hernandez (1-0 2.35 ERA) and the Indians will start Justin Masterson (4-2 3.12 ERA). Cleveland is 12-13, 1 game below .500 and in 4th place in the AL Central. They are 3 games behind the Division leading Royals and 2 games ahead of 5th place Chicago. The Twins are 12-12 in the AL Central, 2.5 games back and 1.5 games ahead of Cleveland.
The Tribe rests tonight and is back in action Friday at 7:05 when the ALC rival Twins come to town. Minnesota will start Lefty Pedro Hernandez (1-0 2.35 ERA) and the Indians will start Justin Masterson (4-2 3.12 ERA). Cleveland is 12-13, 1 game below .500 and in 4th place in the AL Central. They are 3 games behind the Division leading Royals and 2 games ahead of 5th place Chicago. The Twins are 12-12 in the AL Central, 2.5 games back and 1.5 games ahead of Cleveland.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The Indians put on a home run clinic last night in Progressive Field, going yard 7 times and racking up 14 runs on 17 hits against the Phillies. 2-time Cy Young winner Roy Halladay had the start for the Phils, and the Tribe showed him no respect. Ryan Rayburn went 3-4 with 2HR, 3 runs and 3 RBI's. Carlos Santana went 1-2 with a HR and 2 RBI's. Mark Reynolds went 2-4 with 2 runs, 1 HR and 2 RBI's. Lonnie Chisenhall went 1-4 with 1 HR, 1 run and 2 RBI's. Michael Brantley went 1-5 on 1 hit with 1 HR and 2 RBI's. Drew Stubbs went 3-4 with 3 runs on 3 hits, 1 HR and 1 RBI. Zach McAllister pitched 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 earned runs. He walked 1 and struck out 4.
The Tribe takes on the Phillies again tonight in Cleveland at 7:05. Trevor Bauer (0-1 5.40 ERA) was brought up from Triple-A Columbus for the spot start. He will head back after tonight's game. The Indians also optioned Nick Hagadone to the Clippers to give Bauer a roster spot. Bauer's last start for Cleveland was a loss to the Rays in Tampa on April 6th. He pitched 5 innings giving up 3 hits, and 2 earned runs. He walked 7 Tampa Bay batters and struck out 2. The Phillies will start former Indians' pitcher Cliff Lee (2-1 3.30 ERA) who won the Cy Young Award with the Tribe in 2008. This is the first time the left-handed Lee has faced the Indians since being traded in 2009.
The Tribe takes on the Phillies again tonight in Cleveland at 7:05. Trevor Bauer (0-1 5.40 ERA) was brought up from Triple-A Columbus for the spot start. He will head back after tonight's game. The Indians also optioned Nick Hagadone to the Clippers to give Bauer a roster spot. Bauer's last start for Cleveland was a loss to the Rays in Tampa on April 6th. He pitched 5 innings giving up 3 hits, and 2 earned runs. He walked 7 Tampa Bay batters and struck out 2. The Phillies will start former Indians' pitcher Cliff Lee (2-1 3.30 ERA) who won the Cy Young Award with the Tribe in 2008. This is the first time the left-handed Lee has faced the Indians since being traded in 2009.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
The Cleveland Indians showed faith in the struggling Ubaldo Jiminez against the Kansas City Royals last night. Jiminez toed the rubber for the Tribe last night and gave up 3 hits over 7 innings. It was his best game of the year so far, and maybe his best as an Indian. Asdrubal Cabrera went 2-3 with 2 RBI's and a run. Ryan Rayburn went beast mode going 4-4 with 2 HR and 4 RBI's. Mark Reynolds went 2-4 with 2 RBI's. The Indians play the Phillies in Cleveland tonight at 7:05 pm. Roy Halladay (2-2 5.08 ERA) will start for the Phils. The Tribe will start Zach McAllister (1-3 3.52 ERA). The Phillies are 12-14 on the season and in 3rd place in the NL East, 2.5 games behind the 1st place Braves. The Tribe is 10-13 in 4th place in the AL Central, 3.5 games behind the division leading tigers and .5 games ahead of the White Sox.
Monday, April 29, 2013
So the NFL draft is over. 1 QB went in the first rd, Florida State's EJ Manuel went to Buffalo after they traded down with St. Louis and STILL got the guy they wanted. The Carolina Panthers fixed some issues on the defensive line drafting DT's in the 1st and 2nd rounds. Star Lotulelei fron Utah and Kawann Short from Purdue. Carolina had no 3rd rd pick after a deal with San Fran last year to move up and get Frank Alexander. In the 4th they took Edward Kugbila, OG from Valdosta State. In the 5th, they took ILB AJ Klein from Iowa State and in the 6th they selected Kenjon Barner, an RB from Oregon. Could that selection mean DeAngelo Williams may be on the way out? I certainly hope not!
In college baseball news, #6 NC State had a 3 game series with the #1 ranked Tarheels over the weekend. The Heels took the first game 7-1 but the Wolfpack came back to win the 2nd 7-3. Game 3 was rained out and has not been rescheduled. NC State pitcher Carlos Rodon leads the nation in strike outs. Prior to Friday night's loss to UNC, the Pack had won 14 games in a row. The Pack is 34-11 overall and 15-8 in the ACC.
The Cleveland Indians had some difficulty getting all of their games in against the KC Royals. The first game was postponed, and the Indians dropped the 2nd 2-3. Sunday's double header started out rough for the Tribe. They lost 9-0 but came back to win the 2nd game of the day 10-3. The 2 teams face off again tonight at 8:10 with the ever-inconsistent Ubaldo Jiminez (0-2 10.06 ERA No, that is not a typo) and KC will start Wade Davis (2-1 3.2 ERA). The Tribe is 9-13 on the season , in last place in the AL Central, 4 games behind the division leading Royals.
The Carolina Hurricanes ended their season Saturday in Pittsburgh getting CRUSHED by the Pens 8-3. Former Hurricanes Jussi Jokinen finally scored 2 goals...for the Penguins.
In college baseball news, #6 NC State had a 3 game series with the #1 ranked Tarheels over the weekend. The Heels took the first game 7-1 but the Wolfpack came back to win the 2nd 7-3. Game 3 was rained out and has not been rescheduled. NC State pitcher Carlos Rodon leads the nation in strike outs. Prior to Friday night's loss to UNC, the Pack had won 14 games in a row. The Pack is 34-11 overall and 15-8 in the ACC.
The Cleveland Indians had some difficulty getting all of their games in against the KC Royals. The first game was postponed, and the Indians dropped the 2nd 2-3. Sunday's double header started out rough for the Tribe. They lost 9-0 but came back to win the 2nd game of the day 10-3. The 2 teams face off again tonight at 8:10 with the ever-inconsistent Ubaldo Jiminez (0-2 10.06 ERA No, that is not a typo) and KC will start Wade Davis (2-1 3.2 ERA). The Tribe is 9-13 on the season , in last place in the AL Central, 4 games behind the division leading Royals.
The Carolina Hurricanes ended their season Saturday in Pittsburgh getting CRUSHED by the Pens 8-3. Former Hurricanes Jussi Jokinen finally scored 2 goals...for the Penguins.
Friday, April 19, 2013
It was another one of "those" nights for me in sports last night. The Cleveland Indians fell to the Boston Red Sox 6-3 and the Carolina Hurricanes lost to the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 in OT.
The Sox started the scoring in the 2nd when Mike Napoli tripled and then Daniel Nava singled to right. In the bottom half of the inning, Cleveland's Mark Reynold's hit a ground rule double on fan interference from a grounder to left. Eager Tribe fans reached over the wall to grab the ball as it neared the bleachers near the left field wall on the 3rd base line. The ump called fan interference and gave Renolds the double. He went to 3rd on a sac fly to right by ryan Rayburn and scored on a grounder Mike Avilles hit to 3rd, but was thrown out at first. Cord Phelps grounded to shourt and was thrown out at first to end the inning 1-1. The Sox added 2 more and the Tribe scored again and it was 3-2 going into the 7th. The Red Sox put up 3 runs in the top of the inning when Elsbury singled to right, the Tribe made a pitching change, Victorino makes it to fist on a throwing error by Cord Phelps, and Dustin Pedroia flew out to right sending Ellbury to 3rd. Mike Napoli singled to right (again) scoring Ellsbury and sending Shane Victorino to 3rd. Nava flew out to center scoring Victorino and sending Napoli to 2nd. Mike Carp came in to pinch hit for Jonny Gomes, and hit a liner to right scoring napoli from second and getting to 2nd on the throw. Jarod Saltialamacchia struck out to end the Sox run. The score was 6-2 Boston. The Sox changed pitchers in the 8th and Drew Stubbs drew a walk from Andrew Miller. Michael Brantley singled to left sending Stubbs to 2nd. Asdrubal Cabrerra grounded to 3rd, Stubbs was out on the force with Cabrerra at 1st and Brantley on 2nd. Carlos Santana doubled to right scoring Brantley and putting cabrerra on 3rd. Nick Swisher struck out to end the inning and the Tribe's comeback. Final score 6-3.
At the same time I was watching the Indians game on my computer, I was watching the Hurricanes play the Jets in Winnipeg. The Jets started the scoring with Zach Bogosian's 1st period tip in at 12:13 with assists from Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd. In the second, Paul Postma's wrister got by Peters at 8:27 with assists from Blake Wheeler and Zach Bogosian. The Canes answered at 10:38 in the 2nd on a Tuomo Ruutu wrister with assist from Justin Faulk and Tim Gleason. The teams went into the locker room with the score 2-1 Winnipeg. The Jets started the 3rd period with a goal from Blake Wheeler, lighting the lamp at 8:40 with assists from Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd sending the score to 3-1. The Canes stormed back on goals by Tuomo Ruutu at 12:22 with assists going to Marc-Andre' Bergeron and Jordan Staal. The Canes pulled Justin Peters and with a 6th skater on the ice Alexander Semin scored at 18:48 with assists from Jiri Tlusty and Jordan Staal to tie the game at 3. But at 1:23 in the OT period, Dustin Byfuglien scored on a wrister from Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler. The Canes garnered 1 point, but with the loss and the NY Rangers winning, the play-offs are out of the picture for Carolina.
The NFL released the schedules yesterday. Many experts are saying the Panthers have the toughest schedule. We get 2 prime time games, a Thursday in Tampa Bay and a Monday Night game at home against the New England Patriots. I hate the New England Patriots. We open the season at home (first time since 2009) with the Seahawks then shuffle off to Buffalo to face the Bills. The final game of the season will be in Atlanta. I hate the Atlanta Falcons. It looks like a tough schedule but if the Panthers can avoid injuries and finish games, we could very well b e 10-6.
The Sox started the scoring in the 2nd when Mike Napoli tripled and then Daniel Nava singled to right. In the bottom half of the inning, Cleveland's Mark Reynold's hit a ground rule double on fan interference from a grounder to left. Eager Tribe fans reached over the wall to grab the ball as it neared the bleachers near the left field wall on the 3rd base line. The ump called fan interference and gave Renolds the double. He went to 3rd on a sac fly to right by ryan Rayburn and scored on a grounder Mike Avilles hit to 3rd, but was thrown out at first. Cord Phelps grounded to shourt and was thrown out at first to end the inning 1-1. The Sox added 2 more and the Tribe scored again and it was 3-2 going into the 7th. The Red Sox put up 3 runs in the top of the inning when Elsbury singled to right, the Tribe made a pitching change, Victorino makes it to fist on a throwing error by Cord Phelps, and Dustin Pedroia flew out to right sending Ellbury to 3rd. Mike Napoli singled to right (again) scoring Ellsbury and sending Shane Victorino to 3rd. Nava flew out to center scoring Victorino and sending Napoli to 2nd. Mike Carp came in to pinch hit for Jonny Gomes, and hit a liner to right scoring napoli from second and getting to 2nd on the throw. Jarod Saltialamacchia struck out to end the Sox run. The score was 6-2 Boston. The Sox changed pitchers in the 8th and Drew Stubbs drew a walk from Andrew Miller. Michael Brantley singled to left sending Stubbs to 2nd. Asdrubal Cabrerra grounded to 3rd, Stubbs was out on the force with Cabrerra at 1st and Brantley on 2nd. Carlos Santana doubled to right scoring Brantley and putting cabrerra on 3rd. Nick Swisher struck out to end the inning and the Tribe's comeback. Final score 6-3.
At the same time I was watching the Indians game on my computer, I was watching the Hurricanes play the Jets in Winnipeg. The Jets started the scoring with Zach Bogosian's 1st period tip in at 12:13 with assists from Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd. In the second, Paul Postma's wrister got by Peters at 8:27 with assists from Blake Wheeler and Zach Bogosian. The Canes answered at 10:38 in the 2nd on a Tuomo Ruutu wrister with assist from Justin Faulk and Tim Gleason. The teams went into the locker room with the score 2-1 Winnipeg. The Jets started the 3rd period with a goal from Blake Wheeler, lighting the lamp at 8:40 with assists from Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd sending the score to 3-1. The Canes stormed back on goals by Tuomo Ruutu at 12:22 with assists going to Marc-Andre' Bergeron and Jordan Staal. The Canes pulled Justin Peters and with a 6th skater on the ice Alexander Semin scored at 18:48 with assists from Jiri Tlusty and Jordan Staal to tie the game at 3. But at 1:23 in the OT period, Dustin Byfuglien scored on a wrister from Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler. The Canes garnered 1 point, but with the loss and the NY Rangers winning, the play-offs are out of the picture for Carolina.
The NFL released the schedules yesterday. Many experts are saying the Panthers have the toughest schedule. We get 2 prime time games, a Thursday in Tampa Bay and a Monday Night game at home against the New England Patriots. I hate the New England Patriots. We open the season at home (first time since 2009) with the Seahawks then shuffle off to Buffalo to face the Bills. The final game of the season will be in Atlanta. I hate the Atlanta Falcons. It looks like a tough schedule but if the Panthers can avoid injuries and finish games, we could very well b e 10-6.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
The Charlotte Bobcats finished the regular season last night with a 105-98 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was the 3rd win in a row for Charlotte. The Bobcats finish at 21-61 on the season in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and 4th in the Southeast Division, 1 game ahead of the Orlando Magic.
The Cleveland Indians dropped another game to the Red Sox at Progressive field last night. Justin masterson gave up 5 runs before Nick Swisher's bomb to dead center scored 2 runs. Jason Giambi, the very next batter, added a deep ball over the right field wall to make the score 5-3. Later a Sac bunt and throwing error would score a runner from 3rd making the final 6-3 Boston.This was Masterson's first loss on the season. There is one game left in the series, tonight at 7:05. Zach McAllister (1-1 2.19 ERA) will try to quiet the Boston bats for the Tribe and Jon Lester (2-0 1.42 ERA) gets the start for the Sox. I, for one, will be gald to see the Red Sox leave town. Up next for the Tribe is a 3 game road series in Houston, then a trip to the South Side of Chicago for 3 games against the White Sox. The Indians are 5-8 (.385) and in last place in the AL Central, 3.5 games behind the division leading Tigers.
The Carolina Hurricanes lost to the Ottowa Senators 3-2 on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Place. Justin Faulk scored in the second and Eric Staal added a power play goal in the 3rd. The game was FULL of fights after Jared Cowen leveled Jeff Skiner with a blow to the head. Chad LaRose went after Cowen and it was on after that. Ten 5 minute majors were handed out during the game between the 2 teams. Tonight the Canes are in Winnipeg to take on the Jets in the MTS Center. It is the final meeting of the Souteast division rivals. The Hurricanes are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and 4th in the Southeast division at 17-23-2 with 36 points, 10 points behind the NY Rangers who hold the 8th playoff spot. The Iets are in 9th place in the East with 46 points and 1 game behind the Rangers. They are in 2nd place in the Southeast, trailing washington by 4 points. Puck drops at 8pm. The next game will be a home match-up with the Flyers.
The Cleveland Indians dropped another game to the Red Sox at Progressive field last night. Justin masterson gave up 5 runs before Nick Swisher's bomb to dead center scored 2 runs. Jason Giambi, the very next batter, added a deep ball over the right field wall to make the score 5-3. Later a Sac bunt and throwing error would score a runner from 3rd making the final 6-3 Boston.This was Masterson's first loss on the season. There is one game left in the series, tonight at 7:05. Zach McAllister (1-1 2.19 ERA) will try to quiet the Boston bats for the Tribe and Jon Lester (2-0 1.42 ERA) gets the start for the Sox. I, for one, will be gald to see the Red Sox leave town. Up next for the Tribe is a 3 game road series in Houston, then a trip to the South Side of Chicago for 3 games against the White Sox. The Indians are 5-8 (.385) and in last place in the AL Central, 3.5 games behind the division leading Tigers.
The Carolina Hurricanes lost to the Ottowa Senators 3-2 on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Place. Justin Faulk scored in the second and Eric Staal added a power play goal in the 3rd. The game was FULL of fights after Jared Cowen leveled Jeff Skiner with a blow to the head. Chad LaRose went after Cowen and it was on after that. Ten 5 minute majors were handed out during the game between the 2 teams. Tonight the Canes are in Winnipeg to take on the Jets in the MTS Center. It is the final meeting of the Souteast division rivals. The Hurricanes are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and 4th in the Southeast division at 17-23-2 with 36 points, 10 points behind the NY Rangers who hold the 8th playoff spot. The Iets are in 9th place in the East with 46 points and 1 game behind the Rangers. They are in 2nd place in the Southeast, trailing washington by 4 points. Puck drops at 8pm. The next game will be a home match-up with the Flyers.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
This is a busy time of year for me. School is almost over and we have lots of testing going on. I will do my best to keep up with the blog. So the Hurricanes beat the Bruins on Wednesday in Raleigh. The Indians won 2 against the White Sox and dropped a 3rd. Game 1 ended in a walk off single by Nick Swisher scoring Mike Bourn from 3rd. Justin Masterson got a CGSO in the 1-0. The 2 postponed games vs the Yankees have been rescheduled. The Tribe will host the Yanks in a double header on May 13th. The Hurricanes play the Ottowa Senators in ScotiaBank Place tonight. The Carolina Ale House Cool Bars tour will be in Wilmington tonight as well. The Indians host the Boston Red Sox tonight in Cleveland. Terry Francona will face his former team. Felix Doubront will start for the Sox and Ubaldo Jiminez will take the mound for the Tribe. Game time is at 7:05.
Friday, April 12, 2013
The Carolina Hurricanes lost 3-1 to The Washington Capitals in the Verizon center last night. The game was 2-1 Caps when the Hurricanes pulled Justin Peters for an extra skater and the Caps added an empty netter for the 3-1 final. Jeff Skinner scored the only Hurricanes goal on a power play at 5:01 in the first. Troy Brouwer tied the game at 1-1 at 8:08 in the 2nd and two minutes later Mike Green added another to make it 2-1 Caps. Bouwer scored his second goal of the night on the empty netter at 19:54 in the 3rd.
The Indians and Yankees game was postponed again. No real date set for make ups for the 2 games from Wednesday and Thursday in Cleveland.
The Indians and Yankees game was postponed again. No real date set for make ups for the 2 games from Wednesday and Thursday in Cleveland.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Last night the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees were supposed to play at Progressive Field. The game was televised on ESPN2. I was excited because I live out of market and do not EVER get to see Indians games on TV unless I go someplace with the MLB package on Direct TV. So the one game they have on TV...postponed. They will probably make it up on May 13th as both teams are off that day. The Tribe plays in Detroit on the 12th and in Philly on the 14th, while the Yankees have a game in Kansas City on the 12th and play the Mariners in Yankee Stadium on the 14th. The 2 teams are supposed to play in Cleveland again tonight, but the weather report is less than favorable for the 7:05 start.
In other Tribe news, it was good to see Carlos Carrasco get back on the horse after his suspension for hitting Billy Butler in Kansas City.The incident happened back in 2011, but Carrasco missed last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. In the 4th inning of his short debut against New York, Carlos plunked Kevin Youkilis and was ejected. The Tribe optioned him to their Triple A affiliate in Columbus. Terry Francona still insists that the plunking was an accident. The Indians pulled up Corey Kubler to start last night, but the rain delay sent him to the bullpen and Zach McAllister (0-1 3.0 ERA) will start tonight as scheduled. Phil Hughes (0-1 6.75 ERA) will take the mound for the Yankees. The Indians are 3-5 and in last place in the AL Central. The Yankees are 4-4 and in 3rd place in the AL East.
In hockey news, the Carolina Hurricanes will meet the Washington Capitals for the 5th and final time this season at the Verizon Center in Washington. Carolina has lost the last 6 games it has played and are 5 games below .500 at 16-21 with 34 points in the standings, 2 points ahead of the Florida Panthers. The Caps lead the Southeast Division with 22-17 record and 44 points. The Hurricanes are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference, a whopping 10 points behind the NY Rangers who currently hold the 8th and final play-off spot.
In other Tribe news, it was good to see Carlos Carrasco get back on the horse after his suspension for hitting Billy Butler in Kansas City.The incident happened back in 2011, but Carrasco missed last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. In the 4th inning of his short debut against New York, Carlos plunked Kevin Youkilis and was ejected. The Tribe optioned him to their Triple A affiliate in Columbus. Terry Francona still insists that the plunking was an accident. The Indians pulled up Corey Kubler to start last night, but the rain delay sent him to the bullpen and Zach McAllister (0-1 3.0 ERA) will start tonight as scheduled. Phil Hughes (0-1 6.75 ERA) will take the mound for the Yankees. The Indians are 3-5 and in last place in the AL Central. The Yankees are 4-4 and in 3rd place in the AL East.
In hockey news, the Carolina Hurricanes will meet the Washington Capitals for the 5th and final time this season at the Verizon Center in Washington. Carolina has lost the last 6 games it has played and are 5 games below .500 at 16-21 with 34 points in the standings, 2 points ahead of the Florida Panthers. The Caps lead the Southeast Division with 22-17 record and 44 points. The Hurricanes are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference, a whopping 10 points behind the NY Rangers who currently hold the 8th and final play-off spot.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The Sports Report: Last night, the Carolina Hurricanes, Charlotte Bob...
The Sports Report: Last night, the Carolina Hurricanes, Charlotte Bob...: Last night, the Carolina Hurricanes, Charlotte Bobcats and Cleveland Indians were all in action. The Hurricanes played the Pittsburgh Pengui...
Last night, the Carolina Hurricanes, Charlotte Bobcats and Cleveland Indians were all in action. The Hurricanes played the Pittsburgh Penguins, the game started out pretty good with the Canes scoring first on a power play goal from Joe Corvo. The Pens tied it up and then went up 1-2. Bobby Sanguinetti tied it at 2-2 and Drayson Bowman gave the Canes a 3-2 lead. Then the pens scored 2 goals in 18 seconds and added an empty netter to win 5-3. The Indians lost 14-1 to the New York Yankees and the Bobcats lost 94-75 to the Memphis Grizzlies. It was a rough night. The UCONN women defeated the Louisville women for the women's NCAA championship. No title sweep for the Cards. I think I forgot to post about the Louisville men winning the men's title on Monday over Michigan.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
I have been neglecting the Sports Report for a few weeks. I have been on vacation for 3 weeks and was just too lazy to do it. The Hurricanes have lost 8 games in a row, The Wolfpack lost in the 1st round of the NCAA tourney, Lorenzo Brown and CJ Leslie are going into the NBA draft, and Rodney Purvis is transferring. The Carolina Panthers have picked up Ted Ginn Jr and Dominek Hicks. And the Cleveland Indians are 3-4 and in 5th place in the AL Central. That gets me caught up, but leaves out lots of details. Sorry about that. The Indians play the Yankees tonight in Progressive Field. Last night was the home opener for the Tribe. It was such a nice day in Cleveland that Terry Francona decided to walk to the ball park. Well, he got lost. Hopefully he left a trail of bread crumbs to find his way back tonight when the Indians take on the Yankees at 7:05. Carlos Carrasco will face Andy Pettitte. Carlos just got activated on Sunday after serving a suspension for an incdent with the Kansas City Royals last season. This is game 2 of a 10 game homestand featuring 4 games against the Yankees, 3 against the White Sox and 3 against the Red Sox before traveling to Houston to face the Astros.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Mugged in NY
The Hurricanes SHOULD have had a 1-0 shut-out over the NY Rangers last night in MSG. Eric Staal's slap shot at 19:09 in the first off of a pass from Joni Pitkanen was the games only ACTUAL goal. Derick Stephan's wrister at 11:06 in the 2nd should have been disallowed due to goalie interference. There was no call and Stephan scored while Dan Ellis was face down on the ice. My big problem with this is that Eric Staal had been called for interference on an identical situation and took a 2 minute break in the penalty box. But when the same ref saw the same play on the oposite end of the ice...no call. The Hurricanes were robbed. They ended up losing 2-1 in a shoot out. Now admittedly the Hurricanes could have overcome the bad call by scoring more goals. But if the right call had been made, the Canes would have gotten 2 points they desparately need.
NCAA Tourney
So the Wolfpack made it into the NCAA tourney as an 8th seed. They play the #9 seed Temple owls on Friday at 1:40 pm. The reward for beatingg Temple will be a date with the #1 seeded Indiana Hoosiers. The Pack played 2 solid games in he ACC tourney beating Virginia Tech and Virginia. They lost to Miami who eventually won the Championship game.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Survive and Advance
"WHAT IF I TOLD YOU…? that Ordinary People can do Extraordinary Things! – the incredible story and destiny of the 1983 NC State Wolfpack!
When the 1982-83 college basketball season began, Jim Valvano and his North Carolina State Wolfpack faced high expectations with equally high aspirations.
But with ten losses for the season, the Wolfpack’s only hope of making the NCAA Tournament was to win the ACC Tournament and earn the conference’s automatic berth. Nine straight improbable tournament wins later over the likes of Ralph Sampson, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, NC State had “survived and advanced” its way to a national championship.
Director Jonathan Hock takes a poignant look through the eyes of senior captain Dereck Whittenburg at a dream fulfilled and explores what at times has been a tragic and heartbreaking aftermath in the 30 years since"
. That is from the ESPN website promoting the new 30 for 30 film about NC State's incredible NCAA Championship. Phi Pack Attack defeated Houston's Phi Slamma Jamma. It was 30 years ago, on April 4th. I was a freshman in high school watching from the floor of my parents' living room. Derrick Whittenberg heaved a desparation shot with seconds on the clock. The shot fell short, but fell into the ready hands of Lorenzo Charles, who dunked it just before time expired. I nearly lost my head in the ceiling fan when I jumped up after it was over. ESPN will showcase that awesome season on Sunday March 17th. DVR The Walking Dead, or watch the 11:00 showing. DO NOT miss this film! Then go to YouTube and pull up Jim Valvano's ESPY speech from 1993. You are welcome.
When the 1982-83 college basketball season began, Jim Valvano and his North Carolina State Wolfpack faced high expectations with equally high aspirations.
But with ten losses for the season, the Wolfpack’s only hope of making the NCAA Tournament was to win the ACC Tournament and earn the conference’s automatic berth. Nine straight improbable tournament wins later over the likes of Ralph Sampson, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, NC State had “survived and advanced” its way to a national championship.
Director Jonathan Hock takes a poignant look through the eyes of senior captain Dereck Whittenburg at a dream fulfilled and explores what at times has been a tragic and heartbreaking aftermath in the 30 years since"
. That is from the ESPN website promoting the new 30 for 30 film about NC State's incredible NCAA Championship. Phi Pack Attack defeated Houston's Phi Slamma Jamma. It was 30 years ago, on April 4th. I was a freshman in high school watching from the floor of my parents' living room. Derrick Whittenberg heaved a desparation shot with seconds on the clock. The shot fell short, but fell into the ready hands of Lorenzo Charles, who dunked it just before time expired. I nearly lost my head in the ceiling fan when I jumped up after it was over. ESPN will showcase that awesome season on Sunday March 17th. DVR The Walking Dead, or watch the 11:00 showing. DO NOT miss this film! Then go to YouTube and pull up Jim Valvano's ESPY speech from 1993. You are welcome.
ACC Tournament Time
On Thursday, the ACC Tournament begins. Obviously, Duke and Miami (the regular season champs)are the favorites to meet on Sunday for the Championship. Selection Sunday will begin shortly after the nets are cut down at the Greensboro Collesium. I think at least 4 teams from the ACC will make it into the Big Dance. Duke, Miami, NC State and either Virgina or North Carolina, possibly even both. I think NC State has the chance to win the ACC tourney if they play the game they are capable of playing and stay out of foul trouble. I just hope they can do that for 4 straight games! Here is the schedule for the tourney:
| Date | Round | Game | Start Time (ET) | Network |
| Thursday, March 14 | 1st Round | No. 8 Georgia Tech vs. No. 9 BC No. 12 Virginia Tech vs. No. 5 NC State No. 10 Wake Forest vs. No. 7 Maryland No. 11 Clemson vs. No. 6 Florida State | 12 p.m. 2 p.m. 7 p.m 9 p.m. | ACC Network |
| Friday, March 15 | Quarters | No. 1 Miami vs. Game 1 winner No. 4 Virginia vs. Game 2 winner No. 2 Duke vs. Game 3 winner No. 3 North Carolina vs. Game 4 winner | 12 p.m. 2 p.m. 7 p.m. 9 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Saturday, March 16 | Semis | Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner | 1 p.m. 3 p.m. | ESPN |
| Sunday, March 17 | Final | Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner | 1 p.m. | ESPN |
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Canes Blank Caps in DC
Justin Peters gets his 2nd career shut-out and Riley Nash has his first 2-goal game as the Hurricanes beat the Capitals 4-0 in the Verizon Center. This was Carolina's first regulation win in DC since 2009. Joe Corvo started it all for the Canes with a wrister at 3:55 in the first. Assists were awarded to Alexander Semin and Eric Staal. The Canes scored again in the 2nd when Riley Nash's wrister at 5:55 got past Braden Holtby. Jay Harrison and Drayson Bowman were credited with the assists. Carolina added another goal on another Riley Nash wrister at 18:26, with Patrick Dwyer and Tim Gleason getting points off of the assists. In the 3rd, Patrick Dwyer added an empty netter at 18:39 to give the Canes the 4-0 win. Carolina now has 31 points and is in 1st place in the Southeast Division. The next game for the Hurricanes will be Thursday night in Raleigh against the Capitals.
Devils goalies need work on stopping backhanders...
I have been away from the blog for a while...sorry about that. I have been busy at work. Let's talk about a night on the frozen pond! The Carolina Hurricanes faced the New Jersey Devils at home on Saturday night. It was military appreciation night, so the Canes broke out some sweet digital camo sweaters for the pre-game skate. The league did not approve them for the actual game, so the Canes took the ice in their red jerseys. Either way, the Devils never saw the Canes coming! Marty Broduer was out for the Devils due to back problems, so it was up to Johan Hedberg to man the crease for New Jersey. Alexander Semin's backhander scored a power play goal at 12:16 is the 1st. Joe Corvo and Jiri Tlusty got assists on the play. Jay Harrison follwed up with his own backhander at 12:44 in the 1st with Jeff Skinner and Jordan Staal getting the assists. Ilya Kovalchuk tallied a short-handed goal for the Devils at 14:40. The teams went into the locker rooms after 20 at 2-1 Hurricanes. In the 2nd, Jiri Tlusty's wrister found the back of the net at 4:42. It got by with a little help from Alexander Semin and Dan Ellis. (Oddly enough, I have now been at a Hurricanes game against the Devils when a goalie actually scored a goal and another goalie got an assist. I saw Cam Ward score an empty netter against the Devils on 12/26/2011 and saw Dan Ellis get an assist against the Devils on 3/9/2013.) At 11:09 in the 2nd, Chris Terry scored his first NHL goal on a back hand shot with assists from Eric Staal and Bobby Sanguinetti. At 17:15 in the 2nd, Jeff Skinner scored on the night of the back hand shot. He was helped out by Tim Gleason and Jussi Jokinen. After 40 the canes had a 5-1 lead. In the 3rd, the Devils replace Hedberg with Jeff Frazee formely of the Albany Devils. Ilya Kovalchuk and and Patrick Elias both scored before 5 minutes passed in the 3rd and it was now 5-3 Canes. Jiri Tlusty added an empty netter late in the period to give the Canes the 6-3 win. Alexander Semin and Eric Staal picked up points off of assists on Tlusty's goal.
The Hurricanes travel to Washington DC to take on the Caps at the Verizon Center tonight. The puck drops at 7pm. There are only 24 games left in the season for the Canes, who are 1st in the Southeast Division and 3rd in the Eastern Conference.
The Hurricanes travel to Washington DC to take on the Caps at the Verizon Center tonight. The puck drops at 7pm. There are only 24 games left in the season for the Canes, who are 1st in the Southeast Division and 3rd in the Eastern Conference.
Friday, March 8, 2013
So the Habs beat the Hurricanes 4-2 last night. I really hate the Canadiens. The next game for the canes is Saturday night at 7pm in Raleigh against the New Jersey Devils. The Devils are fresh off of a shoot- out win over the Sabres on Thursday in the Prudential Center. The NC State Wolfpack (22-8 11-6) travels to Tallahassee to visit the Seminoles (16-14 8-9) in the Donald L.Tucker Center. The Pack is coming off of a big win on senior night over Wake Forest in Raleigh. The Noles are fresh off 2 point win over the Cavs at home. The game is a must-win for NC State to stay in the running for a 1st round bye in the ACC tourney which starts on Thursday. The Pack won the early meeting between the 2 teams in Raleigh on Feb. 19th, 84-66. NC State leads the all-time series 41-28, winning seven of the last nine. The Pack is looking to win 12 games in the ACC for the first time since the 1973-74 season. The Pack went 12-0 in the ACC and went on to win the ACC tourney and NCAA Championship. Richard Howell is 4 rebounds away from his 1000th career rebound. He will be the 5th Wolfpack player in history to reach that mark. The game starts at 2pm.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Senior night a big win for NC State
Well last night was the last time I will ever see Scott Wood or Richard Howell in a Wolfpack uniform in PNC Arena. The Pack straight laid it on The Wake Forest Deamon Deacons last night 81-66. The Pack is 16-1 at home this season, their best record since going 17-3 in the 99-00 season. It also marked the 1st time since the 88-89 season that State swept the 3 in-state ACC teams (Carolina, Duke and Wake) in a season. Jim Valvano was still the coach and the Pack still played at Reynold's. So it is the first time it ever happened in PNC Arena. NC State (22-8 11-6) has won 6 of their last 7 games. State has 11 ACC wins for the first time simce 2003. If the Pack beats FSU in Tallahassee on Saturday, the 12 wins will tie the all-time win mark for the Pack.
Senior Richard Howell had 9 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 block. Scott Wood had 8 pts, 1 assist, and 2 steals. CJ Leslie had 19 points and 10 rebounds for his 9th double-double of the year. The Pack leads the ACC in double-double games at 33. Rodney Purvis scored 14 and Lorenzo Brown scored 11. No basket got more cheers from the PNC crowd than when SR Jay Lewis came onto the floor with just over 2 minutes left and hit a 3 point shot to close out his home career with the Pack.
The Carolina Hurricanes take on the Montreal Canadiens tonight in PNC arena. Puck drops at 7pm. I hate the Habs.
Senior Richard Howell had 9 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 block. Scott Wood had 8 pts, 1 assist, and 2 steals. CJ Leslie had 19 points and 10 rebounds for his 9th double-double of the year. The Pack leads the ACC in double-double games at 33. Rodney Purvis scored 14 and Lorenzo Brown scored 11. No basket got more cheers from the PNC crowd than when SR Jay Lewis came onto the floor with just over 2 minutes left and hit a 3 point shot to close out his home career with the Pack.
The Carolina Hurricanes take on the Montreal Canadiens tonight in PNC arena. Puck drops at 7pm. I hate the Habs.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Tonight the NC State Wolfpack (21-8 10-6) takes on the Wake Forest Deamon Deacons (13-16 5-11) in PNC Arena. It is senior night for the Pack, and they will be honoring Scott Wood, Richard Howell, and Jay Lewis. A sad day seeing such talented players leave. NC State leads the series 136-100 with the Deacs winning the last meeting in Winston-Salem 86-84. State has won 5 of its last 6 games and they remain in the hunt for a coveted first round bye in next week's ACC tournament. The Pack has won 3 straight games vs Wake at PNC Arena. State needs to win tonight and Saturday at Florida State to get a first round bye and possibly finish 3rd in the ACC regular season race. The Pack had been the pre-season pick to win the ACC, but dissapointing losses to Wake, Miami, Virginia and Maryland (all by a combined 7 pts!) combined with Miami's surprsing season kept that from happening. Tonight's game starts at 9pm and will be broadcast on the ACC Network. Good luck to the Pack and the seniors in their last home game!
Canes Sweep Buffalo in 3 Game Season Series
I will be the first to admit, last year when I heard thet Justin Peters was the starting goalie, I usually chalked that game up as a loss. I was glad that Dan Ellis was our back-up this year, I felt like we had a solid chance at winning when he was in goal. Then Cam Ward goes down for 6-8 weeks due to a 3rd degree MCL sprain. That throws Dan Ellis into the starting position, and I was ok with that. Justin Peters is recalled from Charlotte to be Ellis's back-up. Last night, in Raleigh, the Canes took on the Buffalo Sabres. Ellis was still feeling the effects of flu-like symptoms. Kirk Muller gives Peters the nod. I was less than optomistic. But Justin Peters was like a MACHINE in the first 2 periods of that game! I have a new faith in Justin Peters. The Hurricanes completed the season sweep of the Sabres, winning 4-3 on an outstanding display of goal tending. Carolina jumped up early with Jiri Tlusty scoring at 1:31 in the 1st and Eric Staal scored his 600th point on the assist. He had 3 assists on the night. Justin peters had 37 saves on 40 shots in his first game for the Canes this year. None better than a stop on a shot from Thomas Vanek at 1:17 in the 2nd. Vanek was wide open on the back door and threw one at the goal that made my heart sink. I knew it was a goal. But Peters got into postion for an amazing stick save. Ryan Miller also had some impressive save for Buffalo. He stopped a 2 man rush when Eric Staal stole the puck and passed to Alexander Semin in front of the net. Miller made a great glove save on Semin's shot. Joe Corvo added a goal at 12:17 in the 2nd to make it 2-0 Canes. The Sabres made it 2-1 off of a Cory Hodgson goal 25 seconds into the 3rd. less than a minute later, Jussi Jokinen gave the Canes a 3-1 lead scoring at 1:15. The Sabres had a PP in the 3rd and the Canes attepted to clear the puck, which was sent over the glass to create a 5-3 for Buffalo. TJ Brennan scored just as Jay Harrison came back on the ice to end the 5 on 3, the goal ended the delay penalty. At 16;43 Alexander Semin made it a 4-2 Carolina lead, and Hodgson scored his 2nd of the night for Buffalo with 35 seconds left in regulation. The canes got away with a 4-3 win. next up for Carolina is a home game on Thursday vs the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs beat the Canes 3-0 in their last meeting. Montreal is coming off of a 3-6 loss at the hands of the Islanders in NY. The puck drops at 7pm in PNC Arena Thursday night.
Monday, March 4, 2013
This was a great weekend for my favorite teams. The Carolina Hurricanes won a home-at-home series with the Florida Panthers and the NC State basketball team beat Georgia Tech. But the news for the Hurricanes turns ugly as starting goalie Cam Ward will miss 6-8 weeks due to a 3rd degree MCL sprain.
On Saturday night, the Hurricanes welcomed the Florida Panthers to town with a 6-2 beating of the visitors. The Canes jumped on Florida quickly with Jussi Jokinen scoring at 6:23 in the 1st. Jiri Tlusty added another at 8:39 to give Carolina a 2-0 lead. before the cheers could die down, Jussi Jokinen added his 2nd goal of the night at 9:28 in the 1st. Shawn Matthias scored for Florida at 17:49 and the Canes took a 3-1 lead into the locker room. In the 2nd period, Riley Nash scored his first NHL goal at 5:22, Eric Staal added another at 13:03 and Filip Kuba scored for the Panthers at 19:15. The Canes went into the the 2nd intermission with a 5-2 lead. In the 3rd, Eric Staal added his 2nd of the night and 12th of the season to give the Canes the 6-2 win. Cam Ward had 22 saves on 24 shots. Jose Theodore started the night in goal for Florida, but left the game 2:22 into the 1st period with an injury. He threw out his right leg to stop Jussi Jokinen's shot and stayed on the ice in obvious pain. Theodore had knee troubles for much of last season, the Panthers report that he has an undisclosed lower body concern. Scott Clemmensen came in as relief for Theodore, and the Canes scored 3 goals in 3:05. Theodore had 1 save on 1 shot and Clemmensen had 27 saves on 33 shots.
On Sunday, the Hurricanes made the trip to Sunrise Florida to play in the BB&T Center. The game started out odd and kept going. The Hurricanes had slated Dan Ellis as the starting goaltender. Ellis was feeling ill and not long before game time, Ward was alerted that he would get the start. The Panthers had goalie issues prior to game-time as well. Panthers goalie coach Robb Tallas suited-up for Sunday's game and was on the bench for most of the first period as the backup goaltender. Jacob Markstrom had been recalled from the AHL's San Antonio Rampage for Sunday's game. There was a problem with getting Markstrom's equipment to the arena and Tallas, 39, was signed to a one-day contact in the event that Markstrom couldn't play. Markstrom replaced Tallas on the bench with 3:44 left in the 1st period. Clemmensen started for Florida and the Canes jumped up to a 3-0 lead with Cam Ward turning away all 15 of the Panthers' shots he faced. Then Joe Corvo was defending Jack Skille in fron of the Hurricanes' goal. Corvo slid into Ward and knocked the net off of it's pegs. After the face-off, Ward made a save on another Panthers shot and did not get up from the ice. He was helped into the locker room by 2 teammates. Dan Ellis came in to finish the game and gave up 2 goals but the Canes preserved the win. Justin Faulk, Alex Semin and Jordan Staal had goals for the Canes. Jonathan Huberdeau scored both of Florida's goals. The Hurricanes play the Buffalo Sabres at home on Tuesday night. Buffalo beat Tampa Bay Sunday to give Carolina 1st place in the Southeast. Justin Peters has been called up from the Charlotte Checkers to back up Dan Ellis.
The NC State Wolfpack basket ball team beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 70-57 in Atlanta on Sunday. It was the 5th win in 6 games for the Pack. State moves to 21-8 over all and 10-6 in the ACC. Richard Howell scored 18 points, CJ Leslie scored 13 and TJ Warren had 14. The win moves the Pack into a tie for 4th place with Virginia after the Cavs beat Boston College on Sunday. The next game for the Pack will be Wednesday night against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Raleigh. The Deacs won the early meeting in Winston-Salem 86-84. The Pack needs to win Wednesday at home and again on Saturday when they go to Tallahassee to play the FSU Seminoles for the final game of the season.
On Saturday night, the Hurricanes welcomed the Florida Panthers to town with a 6-2 beating of the visitors. The Canes jumped on Florida quickly with Jussi Jokinen scoring at 6:23 in the 1st. Jiri Tlusty added another at 8:39 to give Carolina a 2-0 lead. before the cheers could die down, Jussi Jokinen added his 2nd goal of the night at 9:28 in the 1st. Shawn Matthias scored for Florida at 17:49 and the Canes took a 3-1 lead into the locker room. In the 2nd period, Riley Nash scored his first NHL goal at 5:22, Eric Staal added another at 13:03 and Filip Kuba scored for the Panthers at 19:15. The Canes went into the the 2nd intermission with a 5-2 lead. In the 3rd, Eric Staal added his 2nd of the night and 12th of the season to give the Canes the 6-2 win. Cam Ward had 22 saves on 24 shots. Jose Theodore started the night in goal for Florida, but left the game 2:22 into the 1st period with an injury. He threw out his right leg to stop Jussi Jokinen's shot and stayed on the ice in obvious pain. Theodore had knee troubles for much of last season, the Panthers report that he has an undisclosed lower body concern. Scott Clemmensen came in as relief for Theodore, and the Canes scored 3 goals in 3:05. Theodore had 1 save on 1 shot and Clemmensen had 27 saves on 33 shots.
On Sunday, the Hurricanes made the trip to Sunrise Florida to play in the BB&T Center. The game started out odd and kept going. The Hurricanes had slated Dan Ellis as the starting goaltender. Ellis was feeling ill and not long before game time, Ward was alerted that he would get the start. The Panthers had goalie issues prior to game-time as well. Panthers goalie coach Robb Tallas suited-up for Sunday's game and was on the bench for most of the first period as the backup goaltender. Jacob Markstrom had been recalled from the AHL's San Antonio Rampage for Sunday's game. There was a problem with getting Markstrom's equipment to the arena and Tallas, 39, was signed to a one-day contact in the event that Markstrom couldn't play. Markstrom replaced Tallas on the bench with 3:44 left in the 1st period. Clemmensen started for Florida and the Canes jumped up to a 3-0 lead with Cam Ward turning away all 15 of the Panthers' shots he faced. Then Joe Corvo was defending Jack Skille in fron of the Hurricanes' goal. Corvo slid into Ward and knocked the net off of it's pegs. After the face-off, Ward made a save on another Panthers shot and did not get up from the ice. He was helped into the locker room by 2 teammates. Dan Ellis came in to finish the game and gave up 2 goals but the Canes preserved the win. Justin Faulk, Alex Semin and Jordan Staal had goals for the Canes. Jonathan Huberdeau scored both of Florida's goals. The Hurricanes play the Buffalo Sabres at home on Tuesday night. Buffalo beat Tampa Bay Sunday to give Carolina 1st place in the Southeast. Justin Peters has been called up from the Charlotte Checkers to back up Dan Ellis.
The NC State Wolfpack basket ball team beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 70-57 in Atlanta on Sunday. It was the 5th win in 6 games for the Pack. State moves to 21-8 over all and 10-6 in the ACC. Richard Howell scored 18 points, CJ Leslie scored 13 and TJ Warren had 14. The win moves the Pack into a tie for 4th place with Virginia after the Cavs beat Boston College on Sunday. The next game for the Pack will be Wednesday night against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Raleigh. The Deacs won the early meeting in Winston-Salem 86-84. The Pack needs to win Wednesday at home and again on Saturday when they go to Tallahassee to play the FSU Seminoles for the final game of the season.
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