TBS Issues A Statement

Thanks to Ken at Fang’s Bites for providing me with this.  It’s a statement issued by TBS spokesperson Megan Bondi:

STATEMENT FROM TBS REGARDING ALCS GAME 6:

Two circuit breakers in our Atlanta transmission operations tripped causing the master router and its backup – which are necessary to transmit any incoming feed outbound – to shut down.  This impacted our live feed from being distributed to any of the other networks in the Turner portfolio and caused the delay in our coverage.  Both our primary and backup routers were impacted by this problem.  We apologize to baseball fans for this mishap that caused a delay in our coverage.

TBS Loses Game Feed

Due to a power outage in Atlanta GA, TBS is currently unable to broadcast Game 6 of the ALCS between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox. 

The outage occurred just prior to the studio show throwing it over to Tampa to the broadcast crew for the game.  They lost power around 7:55 p.m. eastern time.  TBS in the games place showed some of “Bloopers and Practical Jokes” and then the “Steve Harvey Show”.

The unacceptable part in this in that it took TBS nearly ten minutes to put up a scroll stating they were having problems and then they ran scroll only one time at first.  It took them several more minutes for them to run a continous scroll stating they had techincal difficulties.

I’ve never missed Chip Caray this much in my life.  Not funny TBS.

TBS regained power and put the game on the air at 8:28 p.m.

Red Sox vs Rays ALCS Game 6 Notes & Lineups

Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays 2008 ALCS

Again it’s simple folks. The Boston Red Sox need to win to stay alive or join the other teams on the golf course or in places that feature warm weather.

After the amazing comeback by the Red Sox on Thursday night, all the pressure is on the Rays. And once again for those non-believers out there, don’t ever count the Red Sox out.

For them to get it to a Game 7 tomorrow night, Josh Beckett will need to be well, October Josh Beckett of year’s past.  In Game 2 of the ALCS, Beckett gave up 8 runs on 9 hits in 4 1/3 innings. He also walked 1 and struck out 5.

The man dubbed “Big Game James” takes the ball for the chokers Rays. James Shields was the loser in Game 1 of the ALCS at the Trop as he gave up 2 runs in 7 1/3 innings of work to take the loss.

Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe has his video preview of Game 6.

Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe has some news and notes for us.

Here are the transcripts from the pregame press conferences.

Dustin Pedroia is the only finalist from the Red Sox in the Player’s Choice Awards.

Dan Roche of WBZ-TV is recovered and ready for Game 6. Are you?

Red over at Surviving Grady is ready for tonight’s game. So is Texy from Center Field.

Tonight we will find out who the big game pitcher is.

The Red Sox have fared well in Game 6’s.

Alex Speier of WEEI.com has some interesting tidbits for us.

I fully expect the Trop to be rocking tonight as they should have close to 40,000 people there.

Lineups and batter/pitcher matchups after the jump.

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Ciaravino’s 3 Field Goal Misses Huge In 12-10 Loss To Rutgers

Tony Ciaravino and Desi Cullen react after Ciaravino hit the upright late in the game.

UConn Huskies kicker Tony Ciaravino missed 3 key field goals during the game with the last one being the potential game winner with 1:12 left in the game to give the Rutgers Scarlet Knights a 12-10 win in front of a sold-out crowd at Rutgers stadium.

The win for the Scarlet Knights was only their second of the season (2-5, 1-2 Big East) and their first against a FBS opponent. UConn falls to 5-2 (1-1 Big East).

So what went wrong for the Huskies. Some bad special teams mistakes, giving up the big plays on defense and giving Mike Teel and Domenic Natale plenty of time to throw the ball. To me the big blunder of the game was when Robbie Frey decided to pick up the ball at his own 1 yard line on the opening kickoff in the 3rd qtr. UConn got pinned in and had to punt giving Rutgers good field position which they took advantage of.

Zach Frazer had a good game going 14-of-20 for 236 yards and a touchdown.

Zach Frazer had a good game going 14-of-20 for 236 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Offensively, Donald Brown dominated things for the Huskies in 1st half as he rushed for 100 yards. The Rutgers defense held Brown to 11 yards total in the 2nd half. Zach Frazer had a good game at QB as he was 14-of-20 for 236 yards and a touchdown.

If the Huskies can’t figure things out on defense in stopping the big plays, it could end up being a long season. Frazer showed he can throw the ball with Brown being shut down and it didn’t help that the Huskies spent most of the 3rd qtr pinned deep in your end. It just shows you how important field position is in this game.

Hopefully Randy Edsall does something about the special teams play and talks to his kick returners about when to let the ball go and when to pick it up.

Tough loss for the Huskies today.

Scoring:

UConn Huskies 3 0 0 7 10
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 3 0 9 0 12

1st quarter

CON – Tony Ciaravino 19-yard field goal – UConn 3 Rutgers 0

RU – San San Te 18-yard field goal – UConn 3 Rutgers 3

2nd quarter

None

3rd quarter

RU – Kordell Young 6-yard run (Te PAT) – Rutgers 10 UConn 3

RU – Donald Brown tackled in end zone for a safety – Rutgers 12 UConn 3

4th quarter

CON – Zach Frazer 47 yard pass to Kashif Moore (Ciaravino PAT) – Rutgers 12 UConn 10

Offensive Player of the Game:

Zach Frazer was 14-of-20 for 236 yards and 1 touchdown

Defensive Player of the Game:

The Rutgers defense. After allowing 100 yards rushing to Donald Brown in the 1st half, they shut him down and allowed him to rush for 11 yards in the 2nd half. Cody Brown had 9 tackles including 2 for a loss for the Huskies. He also had a pass break up and a blocked punt.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

1.  Towards the end of the 1st half, Tony Ciaravino missed a chip shot field goal with the game tied at 3. The miss was huge because UConn was getting the ball back to start the 3rd qtr.

2. Instead of letting the ball bounce out-of-bounds on the opening kickoff, Robbie Frey decided to pick it up and run and was tackled at the UConn 1 yard line.

3. Donald Brown was stopped in the end zone for safety in the 3rd qtr. Those two points proved to be the difference in the game.

4. Ciaravino hit the upright from 42 yards out with 1:12 left in the game.

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Paw Prints – The Daily Roundup – 10/18

Paw Prints Daily Roundup

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies football team as they will take on Rutgers at 12 Noon on ESPNU. I’ll be making the drive to my parents to watch the game. If you missed my UConn-Rutgers game preview, don’t forget to check it out.

Just like Josh Beckett, Randy Edsall told Zach Frazer to execute his throws.

The UConn defense wants to put pressure on Mike Teel this afternoon.

Donald Brown and the Huskies are anxious to get back to work.

Donald Brown is looking forward to today’s game against Rutgers.

Former Red Bank Catholic star Donald Brown is making UConn proud.

Here is a photo gallery of last night’s First Night festivities and some highlights and video as well.

Courtesy of David Gillett, here is some highlights from the dunking contest last night.

Both UConn Huskies basketball teams have high hopes in mind.

It was a night of fun for both teams last night.

A.J. Price looked a little bit rusty during last night’s brief scrimmage at First Night.

It was a night for fans and recruits of the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team.

Kemba Walker was very impressive on the court last night.

David Borges of the New Haven Register has a look at some of the men’s basketball recruits on hand last night.

Hasheem Thabeet’s little brother Akbar was on hand last night.

It’s national title or bust for the UConn women’s basketball team.

Kalana Greene is definitely not all the way back yet for the Huskies.

Joe Perez of the Norwich Bulletin has a look at the recruits that were on hand for the UConn women’s basketball team.

Rich Elliot of the Connecticut Post offers his up his impressions of the UConn women last night.

The UConn women’s soccer team beat DePaul 3-0.

Boston Red Sox ALCS News & Notes – 10/18

Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays 2008 ALCS

“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”
Jim Valvano

When Jim Valvano said those words, it was an emotional night for him as he knew he was dying of cancer and announced during the 1993 ESPY’s that he was starting the V Foundation for cancer research. The motto of the foundation was the quote seen above.

That same quote can be applied to fans of the Boston Red Sox. It was a shame to see many people leaving Fenway Park early while I’m sure others turned their television sets off or changed the channel. You should know something about the Red Sox and that’s to never give up on then. Sure they come close and sometimes rip our hearts out but think of how many times they’ve been in this predicament as of late and came through.

It’s a big game tonight as once again it’s do or die for the Red Sox. I still think all the pressure in the world weighs on the shoulders of the Tampa Bay Rays as they’ve never ever been in this type of situation. Expect the Trop to be loud tonight and I’m sure we’ll be hearing those dang cowbells as well.

All eyes will be on Josh Beckett tonight as he has struggled throughout the 2008 playoffs. It remains to be seen how much his oblique is really bothering him but he’ll be out there with one thing in mind, executing pitches.

Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe has a full recap of everything from yesterday’s workout sessions.

Thursday night’s win in Game 5 of the ALCS could go down as the most memorable moment in the history of the Red Sox.

James Shields is ready for tonight’s game.

For J.D. Drew, his game winning hit was all about timing.

The Rays say they have forgotten about Thursday night’s devastating loss and are focused on getting the job done tonight.

The Red Sox did think about starting Jon Lester tonight but know Beckett can get the job done.

Will Jacoby Ellsbury start tonight or will he be on the bench to start the game?

Curt Schilling thinks the Red Sox will win 7-1 tonight.

Jim Rice says all the pressure is on the Rays.

Gary Marby of WEEI.com has some quick nuggets about Game 5.

For more playoff slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant and Providence Journal websites.

And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying you can check out the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times websites.

Fitzy Reenacts Game 5 Of The ALCS

As always, Paul “Fitzy” Fitzgerald of the Townie News does something to make you laugh and probably snort some beer out of your nose. This time, he gives us a reenactment of Thursday night’s Game 5 of the ALCS when the Boston Red Sox came back from a 7-run deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-7 to force a Game 6 tonight at Tropicana Field.

As is the case 99.9% of the time, Fitzy’s videos are NSFW.

I would have to think this is what was happening in homes all across Red Sox Nation. I know it was pretty dang close to my thinking and words that came out of my mouth.

Samsung & The NFL Taping Super Bowl Commercial At Gillette Stadium On Monday Night

Samsung, The Official HDTV of the NFL

Samsung, The Official HDTV of the NFL, is looking for fans to come out and share their stories of “That’s How I See It” with a chance to have their story turned into a commercial that will air on NBC during the pregame show of Super Bowl XLIII on Feb. 1, 2009.

Fans are invited to stop by the NFL Super Ad mobile studio at Gillette Stadium to tell their story of pregame rituals, family traditions surrounding the NFL or defining moments while watching football. Selected stories will be posted on nfl.com/superad where fans can vote on their favorites Nov. 20, 2008 – Jan. 4, 2009.

WHEN: Oct. 20, 2008

WHERE: Gillette Stadium (Back area of Lots 12/13) One Patriot Place Foxborough, MA 02035
4 – 7 p.m.

WHY: Samsung and the NFL are giving fans the opportunity to share their passion and stories surrounding America’s favorite sport as part of this year’s “Super Ad: That’s How I See It” campaign. The NFL Super Ad mobile studio will be making up to 20 stops in various NFL markets at stadiums and at Samsung’s retail partner Best Buy now through Oct. 26. For a full schedule, please visit www.nfl.com/superad.

Don’t Stop Believing…the new lyrics!

Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays 2008 ALCS

Don’t Stop Believing…the new lyrics!

Just a big town team living in a red sox nation world
they took the midnight T going to fenway
Just a city team established in Boston Mass
they took the midnight T going to fenway

A player in a field of green the smell of beer and cheap old food
For a while they can share the night.
It goes on and on and on and on

Strangers waiting up down yawkey way.
Their shadows searchin in the night
RED SOX people living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night

Working hard to get my fill everybody wants a thrill
Payin anything to play in game 6. Just one more time.
Some will win, some will lose, the RAYS were born to sing the blues.
Oh the RED SOX season never ends. It goes on and on and on and on…

Don´t stop believing.
Hold on to the feeling.
RED SOX people!

Hat tipto Jason. Check out his site Murals By Jason. You won’t be disappointed.

Breaking News: Brady Had 2nd Surgery

patriots breaking news

The Boston Globe’s Mike Reiss is reporting that NFL MVP Tom Brady had a second procedure done to his knee on Wednesday because of an infection from the first surgery.  While second surgeries are uncommon, they do happen as Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning also had a second surgery for his knee (infected bursa sac). 

Also from the opening of head coach Bill Belichick’s press conference on Friday Morning from Eric McHugh at the Patriot-Ledger in Quincy:

Patriots coach Bill Belichick opened his news conference Friday morning with a question.

“Everybody get a good night’s sleep?” he asked.

 Not really. You?

“Couldn’t turn it off,” he said.

Of course, Belichick was referring to the Red Sox’ magical comeback win over the Rays Thursday night/Friday morning. In case you just emerged from a deep, dark cave that didn’t have Internet access or TV reception, the Sox trailed 7-0 in the seventh and rallied to win 8-7, forcing the series back to Tampa for Game 6.

“It didn’t look too good when it was 7-0,” Belichick said. “Then it’s 7-1, and then it’s 7-4 and 7-6. I thought the Red Sox played with the heart of a champion last night. Pretty impressive.”

Belichick noted one big difference between baseball and football: “You can’t run out the clock (with a big lead). You gotta get them out. You can’t run out the clock. Joe Torre told me that. And (Tony) LaRussa verified it.”