Red Sox/Yankees News & Notes – 8/31

Youk and Joba - Boston Globe & AP Photos

Lost: The Red Sox bats. If found, please return to Fenway Park. The Sox threw out their best 3 pitchers and the Yankees threw out their best 3 pitchers and well heck, y’all know what happened. The Red Sox got swept out of NY. The lead in the AL East is down to 5 games. Am I worried? No. All the Red Sox have to do is keep doing the things that got them this far. There was a little bit of drama in the game and I am not talking about Terry Francona getting ejected after a judgment call by the umpires. I am talking about the ejection of Joba Chamberlain. He had a bit of the nerves and threw two fastballs over the head of Kevin Youkilis. Were they intentional? I don’t think they were. Naturally, the Red Sox think he did while the Yanks say otherwise. Should make for some interesting games at Fenway in two weeks. Baltimore comes into town, losers of 9 straight games but before they take the field for batting practice this afternoon, let’s take a look at the headlines and happenings from the Boston area and New York media on this last Friday in August.

Over their heads [Boston Globe]

YANKEES HIT SWEEP SPOT [NY Post]

Revived Bombers sweep scuffling Sox [Boston Herald]

Cano, Wang, Yanks sweep Sox [NY Daily News]

Riled & Wild [Hartford Courant]

Red Sox waste chance to put Yanks away in AL East [Newsday]

Red Sox get dusted [Pro Jo]

Francona is uniformly upset [Boston Globe]

GIAMBI MAKES A FIRST IMPRESSION [NY Post]

Yanks phenom raises Sox’ ire [Boston Herald]

Yanks’ wins give race new look [NY Daily News]

Torre Still Playing By The Rules? [Hartford Courant]

Joba adds fuel to heated Red Sox-Yankee rivalry [Newsday]

Umpire: Pitcher ejection justified [Pro Jo]

For more headlines head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, NY Post, NY Daily News and Newsday websites.

Red Sox vs Orioles Pitching Matchups

at

Friday August 31st, 7:05 PM

Radhames Liz, RHP (0-1, 7.50) vs Tim Wakefield, RHP (16-10, 4.16) Julian Tavarez, RHP (7-9, 4.84)

Saturday September 1st, 7:05 PM

Garrett Olson, LHP (1-2, 7.33) vs Julian Tavarez, RHP (7-9, 4.84) TBA

Sunday September 2nd, 2:05 PM

Daniel Cabrera, RHP (9-13, 5.08) vs Jon Lester, LHP (2-0, 5.67)

Friday’s Fast Walk Around the AL & NL West

NL WestAL WestLivan Hernandez has no problem when the Diamondbacks ask him to pitch on short rest.

Joe Saunders has overcome many obstacles to gaining a spot in the Angels rotation.

The Dodgers moved Eric Stults to the bullpen to make room for Esteban Loaiza.

A’s 2B Mark Ellis took time to visit a diabetes clinic on Thursday.

Giants PA announcer Renel Brooks-Moon is the only female PA announcer in MLB.

Mike Hargrove met up with his former team, the Mariners, in Cleveland on Thursday.

Padres reliever Heath Bell hopes to be a closer someday.

John Rheinecker has carved his niche in the Rangers bullpen.

Rockies radio broadcaster Jack Corrigan says the strokes he suffered last year haven’t affected his work.

The National Lampoon Sports Minute (Or So)

Written by Steve Hofstetter, Adam Hofstetter, Cody Marley, Ryan Murphy, Elliot Steingart, and Chris Strait

Harrah’s has announced that it intends to build an arena in Las Vegas capable of housing an NBA team. Tim Donaghy has already volunteered to referee all 41 home games.

The Houston Rockets have made a contract offer to defensive specialist Dikembe Mutombo. The offer is for one year or six points, whichever comes first.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will be a cast member of Dancing With the Stars. We’re not sure how he’ll be able to stay on his feet while they’re constantly in his mouth.

A judge has set bond at $5 million each for the two men accused of robbing Antoine Walker’s home. Ironically, that’s almost as much money as Walker stole from the Heat last season.

Barry Bonds was honored in San Francisco when the mayor presented him with the key to the city. Given Bonds’ popularity, we’re surprised he didn’t just leave the key under the mat. Next up is a visit to the Wizard to finally get a heart.

Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon invented a new pitch: a combination cutter and slider that he calls a slutter. The pitch is also known as “The Paris Hilton.”

After being cut by the Padres, David Wells has joined the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers are looking forward to increased sales of Dodger Dogs. However, fans are complaining about the loss of a handicapped parking spot.

And Gary Sheffield will miss several games with a sore shoulder. Sheffield has already come out against the shoulder for being racist.

For more of the Sports Minute (Or So), visit minuteorso.com

Patriots Wrap Up Preseason With 27-20 Win

Heath Evans on the run 

While Tom Brady didn’t play tonight for the Patriots, the Giants actually put Eli Manning on the field for the first drive of the game before removing him for Jared Lorenzen.

Manning did well in his 8 minutes of work going 5 for 8 for 58 yards and leading the Giants on a 16 play 80 yard drive that was capped by a Brandon Jacobs 1 yard scoring run.

The scoring drive a mix of 8 runs and 8 passes ate up 8:13 on the clock and mostly showcased Jacobs, the replacement for Tiki Barber, who ran the ball all 8 times for 22 yards.

Patriots back up quarterback Matt Cassel, got the start in place of Brady and he was able to get the Patriots on the board with :38 seconds left in the quarter when they got a 37 yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski to cut the Giants lead to 7-3.

Bam Childress gets a first downStarting at their own 49 Cassel had two big completions. One went 24 yards to Bam Childress the other a five-yard out on 3rd and 7 to Garrett Mills got Gostkowski closer for the attempt.

The first time the Patriots got the ball in the second quarter, they marched 83 yards in 13 plays that was topped off with Heath Evans going in from one yard out and a 10-7 New England lead.

It was a lead the Pats would take to the half.

Continue reading →

Paw Prints – Women’s Basketball & Football

Before I get into the UCONN women’s basketball news, I just wanted to pass along this quick news item.The UCONN athletic department announced today that the “Fan Appreciation” sale that was supposed to take place today and tomorrow will not be held tomorrow (Friday). They sold all the merchandise today, raising over $50,000 which will go towards athletic scholarships. By the time my dad got there, there was only big sizes left but he was lucky enough to get a few things.

UCONN released the schedule for the 2007-2008 UCONN Huskies women’s basketball program. It is highlighted by games with 3 of the 4 final four teams (North Carolina, LSU, and Rutgers). The Huskies will have 18 home games with 8 regular season and 1 exhibition game at both Gampel Pavilion and the Hartford Civic Center.

They will start the exhibition season off with a game against the US Senior Women’s Basketball National team, which will include former Huskies Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, and Swin Cash. They will then stay in state as Southern Connecticut State University will come visit the Huskies at the Hartford Civic Center for their second and final exhibition game.

Obviously there is no game against Tennessee this year but a lot of great games. They will play non-conference games against teams from the ACC, Big 10 and SEC among others.

They will also head to the U.S. Virgin Islands to take part in the 2007 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam over the Thanksgiving holiday. The other teams that are participating are the Duke Blue Devils, Purdue Boilermakers, Temple Owls, Stanford Cardinal and Old Dominion Lady Monarchs.

To see the full schedule, click here.

The UCONN football game on September 15th against Temple at Rentschler Field will kickoff at 12:00 Noon and be broadcast by ESPN Regional.

Donald Brown has been named as a candidate for the Doak Walker Award which is presented annually to the top collegiate running back in the nation.

2008-09 UCONN Women’s Bball Schedule

UConn Huskies 2008-09 women's basketball team

DATE OPPONENT/LOCATION TIME/SCORE TV/REC

NOVEMBER

TH 6 STONEHILL COLLEGE (EX.) (GP) W, 100-49 –
W 12 SPORTS RESOURCE PROGRAM (EX.) (XL) W, 103-39 –
SU 16 GEORGIA TECH (GP) W, 82-71 1-0
TH 20 SAN DIEGO STATE (XL) W, 99-55 2-0
SA 22 RHODE ISLAND (XL) W, 91-43 3-0
TU 25 at BYU W, 96-47 4-0
SU 30 OKLAHOMA (GP) W, 106-78 5-0

DECEMBER

W 3 HOLY CROSS (GP) W, 96-37 6-0
SU 14 vs. Penn State (MSG)! W, 77-63 7-0
TH 18 vs. Washington (Caribbean Classic)# W, 109-51
 8-0
F 19 vs. Northern Colorado (Caribbean Classic)# W, 85-40
 9-0
SU 21 vs. Florida State (Caribbean Classic)# W, 83-71
 10-0
SU 28 at South Carolina W, 77-48
 11-0
W 31 HARTFORD (XL) W, 78-41 12-0

JANUARY

SA 3 LSU (XL) W, 76-63 13-0
TU 6 at South Florida* W, 83-37
 14-0 (1-0)
SA 10 at West Virginia* W, 85-55 15-0 (2-0)
Tu 13 DEPAUL* (GP) W, 77-62 16-0 (3-0)
SA 17 SYRACUSE* (XL) W, 107-53
 17-0 (4-0)
M 19 at North Carolina W, 88-58
 18-0
SA 24 at Cincinnati* W, 65-34
 19-0 (5-0)
M 26 LOUISVILLE* (GP) W, 93-65
 20-0 (6-0)
SA 31 at Georgetown* W, 80-61 21-0 (7-0)

FEBRUARY

TU 3 RUTGERS* (XL) W, 75-56
 22-0 (8-0)
SA 7 at Marquette* W, 83-49 23-0 (9-0)
W 11 at St. John’s* W, 77-64 24-0 (10-0)
SU 15 PITTSBURGH* (GP) W, 95-42 25-0 (11-0)
W 18 at Providence* W, 75-39
 26-0 (12-0)
SU 22 NOTRE DAME* (XL) W, 76-66
 27-0 (13-0)
TU 24 VILLANOVA* (GP) W, 74-47 28-0 (14-0)
SA 28 SETON HALL* (XL) W, 81-50
 29-0 (15-0)

MARCH

M 2 at Rutgers* 7:30 p.m. ESPN2
6-10 BIG EAST Tournament (XL Center) – –
* – BIG EAST Conference Game

! – at Maggie Dixon Classic (New York, N.Y.)
# – at Caribbean Classic (Cancun, Mexico) – (Teams include Florida State, Washington, Northern Colorado)

GP – Gampel Pavilion (Storrs, Conn.)

XL – XL Center (Hartford, Conn.)

ALL TIMES EASTERN

Sox Wang Chunged 5-0

 

Here is a conversation overheard in the Red Sox dugout today.

Phone ringing

Gabe Morell (White Sox visiting clubhouse manager): Hello, visitors’ clubhouse

Terry Francona: Hey Gabe, it’s me Tito from the Red Sox. I’ve got a question for you.

Morell: Go right ahead Terry

Francona: Did we leave our offense back in Chicago?

Morell: Let me check for you, give me a minute.

Francona: Ok thanks Gabe. (yells outloud) Will someone get a gosh darn hit off this Wang character!?

Gabe: Tito, I am back. It sure seems like you did. I saw it in the corner underneath some towels. What do you want me to do with it.

Francona: Get it here ASAP. Although it won’t get here in time there’s 3 innings left. Send it overnight on DHL.

Gabe: Sure thing Tito. Will do.

Francona: It’s about darn time we got a hit. Atta boy Mikey. Sorry Gabe. Thanks a lot. See ya next year.

After putting up 46 runs and a bazillion hits against the Chicago White Sox, the Red Sox came into New York and were swept as the Yanks beat the Red Sox 5-0 this afternoon. Chien-Mien Wang was outstanding today as he threw 6 no-hit innings. Curt Schilling wasn’t so bad himself as really only Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter gave him fits. Cano did the biggest damage hitting 2 solo homers off Schilling while Jeter had 3 hits. For the series, the Red Sox were outscored 14-6 and outhit 30-13.

Schilling cruised thru the first two innings allowing just a single to Jeter. In the 3rd inning, Cano led off the inning with the first of his two home runs on a fastball that Schill left over the heart of the plate. Melky Cabrera followed that with a single and stayed there as Johnny Demon lined out to Coco in center. Jeter then had his second single of the day moving Melky over to second base. Schilling however reared back and settled down as he got Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez out to prevent further damage.

Wang was giving the Red Sox fits during the first four innings. Wang allowed lead-off walks in the 2nd and 4th innings and walked Jason Varitek for a second time in the 5th. None of the baserunners got past first base.

Leading off the 5th for the Yankees was Cano and he hurt Schilling again as he took a good cutter from Schill and planted it in the seats for a 2-0 Yankees lead. Schilling then walked Melky but Melky wasn’t on the basepaths that long as Schill got Demon to line out to Lowell who threw to Youk at first to get Melky. Jeter followed that up with his third single off Schill. The inning ended as Abreu flew out to J.D. Drew in right.

Continue reading →

You Got Punk’d

An Ohio high school student was suspended and banned from extracurricular activities for one semester because of a prank. I’m pretty sure everyone reading this knows of or may have partaken in a great high school prank of some sort. In fact, high school pranks have gotten so notorious over the last decade that MTV airs a show about them. Kyle Garchar, a senior at Hilliard Davidson High School in suburban Columbus Ohio, spent 20 hours over three days plotting his prank, which was captured on video and posted on You Tube. Garchar and the two students who helped him received three days in school suspension and the activities ban from Davidson principal John Bandow. What pray tell did the students do? Well, inspired by a similar act perpetrated on Harvard by Yale in 2004, the trio got cross town rival Hilliard Darby High School students, parents and supporters to spell out “We Suck” in the third quarter of a football between the two schools last Friday. Garchar, 17, created a grid to plan how the message would be spelled out once fans in three sections held up either a black or white piece of construction paper. Directions left on stadium seats instructed fans to check that the number listed on their papers matched their seat numbers. Darby supporters were told the message would read “Go Darby.” “It was tedious,” Garchar said. “I didn’t really think it was going to work.” But it did.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Y_AkT7PEM[/youtube]

Steve’s 2007 NFL Predictions

Super Bowl 42 Logo - Feb 3, 2008 - Glendale AZ

With the 2007 NFL season upon us I decided to take a look at the teams and make some pre-season predictions. The records you see below were actually compiled by me going through the week-by-week schedule and issuing a team a win or a loss. Then I assigned the 12 playoff teams and picked the winners for the Wild Card games, Division games, Conference Championship and finally Super Bowl XLII in Arizona which will feature a rematch of a recent Super Bowl.

Continue reading →