Sports Talk

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Sports

1. NCAA Football:
a. Big East exit is said to begin for Syracuse and Pittsburgh.

Syracuse University, a founding member of the Big East, and Pittsburgh have begun the formal process of leaving the Big East by applying to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, an ACC official said. The same official said that at least 10 other universities had reached out to the ACC. The ACC presidents also moved to increase the fee exacted on schools leaving the conference from $12-14 million to $20 million (as you listening Miami and Florida State?).
With the Southeast Conference perhaps looking to the ACC for its next member, it makes sense for the ACC to accept Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Those universities are being cautious about what they say because of possible legal action by Baylor University has significantly slowed Texas A&M's jump to the SEC. Universities are also seeking stability, a rallying cry of Oklahoma whose board of regents will meet Monday and discuss the Sooners' intent to leave the Big 12 and join the Pacific 12, probably taking Oklahoma State with it
If the A.C.C. accepts Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the Big East will scramble once again to hold on to the rest of its members. Two possibilities are Baylor and Iowa State. Assuming Missouri goes to the Big 10. Where I wonder will Texas, Texas Tech, Kansas and Kansas State go? And the game of musical chairs goes on among the NCAA Division !-A football colleges.

b. Where football and higher education mix.

The University of Chicago, well known for Saul Bellow, Milton Friedman and links to 85 Nobel Prize winners, was once famous for football. It boasted a legendary coach (Amos Alonzo Stagg), a Heisman Trophy winner and a national championship (1905 beating Michigan). But in 1939, it did something extraordinary - gave up the game to save its soul. “In many colleges, it is possible for a boy to win 12 letters without learning how to write one,” Robert Maynard Hutchins, the university’s president, had written acidly of sports in The Saturday Evening Post. He particularly disparaged football, deriding as myth the idea that the game produced men of good character or instilled a sense of fair play. Indeed, for a college to be a success on the field, he said, it must be something of a scoundrel beyond it. But instead of euthanizing the game, Hutchins merely put it in a coma. In 1969 it returned as a varsity sport and since then it has been thriving on its own measuretermssm in Division III. Winning is preferred but not an obsession; players recruited but not given athletic scholarships; championships are won but little noticed. "We're just a teaspoon in a larger sandbox," said Dick MaloneyChicago's's head coach since 1994. Last year, when the squad won the University Athletic Association championship, the clinching victory merited only 187 words in the hometown Chicago Sun-Timesand none in The Chicago Tribune. As a fan of another Division III school, Hobart College, and surrounded by a number of other Division III and II colleges, I understand exactly what the University of Chicago has achieved. A return to the true nature of sports, where winning is not the main point but how you play the game. And here in the western Finger Lakes, the local papers, including Rochester's Democrat and Chronicle, cover all thvariousus colleges within its sphere (Hobart, Univ. of Rochester, RochesteInstituteue of Technology, Nazareth, St John Fischer, and SUNY Brockport and Geneseo).

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Sports News:

1. NFL: Before surgery, Peyton Flew to Europe for stem cell therapy.
Before Colts QB Peyton Manning had hismost recent neck surgery, he took a trip to Europe for a last-ditch effort to avoid going under the knife once again. The therapy is currently not approved for use in the US and didn't apparently work. So Manning still had the sergery. But it confirms that Manning will do whatever he has to do to play again.

2. NCAA Div 1-A Football: Ohio St out of AP Top 25 for 1st time since 2004.

Mark another loss for Ohio State in a year of setbacks. They fell out of the AP college football poll for the first time in nearly seven years, ending the US's longest streat of appearances in the Top 25. They had been ranked in 103 straight Top 25s since last being left out on 20 Nov 2004. The loss of Pryor, who would have been a senior, has left Ohio State (2-1) with huge problems at quarterback, and not until the sixth game of the season will the Buckeyes get three other key offensive players back in the lineup — running back Dan Herron, receiver DeVier Posey and tackle Mike Adams.
Oklahoma stayed at No. 1 with Florida State dropping six spots to No. 11 and for the 3rd week LSU and Alabama flip-floppged Nos. 2 and 3. The Tigers moved up to No. 2 after beating Mississippi State 19-6 while the Crimson Tide slipped to third. Boise State stayed at No. 4 and Stanford mooved up to No. 5. The rest of this week's top 10 has Wisconsin at No. 6, followed by Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. [The Cowboys and Aggies meet in College Station, Texas, on Saturday.] Nebraska is No. 9 and Oregon 10th.

3. NCAA:
a. Texas tp Pac-12 reportedly 'almost certain' and the ACC
has accepted Syracuse and Pittsburgh as its newest members.
But there is still one question amid the speculation that we do know still exists: is Texas willing to forfeit or compromise some of its power with the Longhorn Network? A move to the Pac-12 could very well force Texas to share its LHN revenue and exposure with other teams. Are the Longhorns prepared to give that up? Football independence , a la Notre Dame, is a possible route, as is landing with another conference — say, the ACC — who is more willing to accommodate Texas’ wishes. But don’t think for a second that the Longhorns are out in the cold on this one. There may be some truth to the statement that Texas “overplayed its hand“, but it seems unfathomable that if Texas came calling that a conference commissioner wouldn’t pick up the phone and listen.
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In the meantime, wrapping up what’s been a whirlwind past 36 hours, the ACC announced Sunday morning in a press release that the conference’s Council of Presidents (COP) has unanimously voted to accept Pittsburgh and Syracuse as new members. The invitation followed the submission of letters of application from both universities within the past two days. The ACC, which has officially poached the Big East for the second time in a decade (Boston College & Va Tech), now stands at 14 members, although this could be their first shot in a move to a 16-team superconference. “The ACC has enjoyed a rich tradition by balancing academics and athletics and the addition of Pitt and Syracuse further strengthens the ACC culture in this regard,” said commissioner John Swofford. “Pittsburgh and Syracuse also serve to enhance the ACC’s reach into the states of New York and Pennsylvania and geographically bridges our footprint between Maryland and Massachusetts. With the addition of Pitt and Syracuse, the ACC will cover virtually the entire Eastern Seaboard of the United States.” It’s the second — with Texas A&M-to-the-SEC being the first — of what could be myriad dominoes tumbling in the next few weeks and months that could, and likely will, change the face of college football forever.

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MLB:
1. Reeling Red Sox lose, see wild-card lead shrink
Boston's David "Big Poopy" Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia walk back to the dugout. The Red Sox lost game 1 of the day-night doubleheader. The reeling Red Sox lsot for the 12th time in 15 games when Jeremy Guthrie (who?) pitched the LAST-PLACE Baltimore Orioles to a 6-5 win in the opener of a day-night doubleheader, cutting Boston's AL wild-card lead to 1 1/2 games. The Red Sox had lead Tampa Bay by nine games on Sept. 3rd. I almost feel sorry for the Red Sox. They are having their injury-bug at the wrong time of the year. But as a Yankee fan, NAW. <metaphorically rubbing my hands>

2. Mariano Rivera becomes the all-time saves king.

Mariano Rivers moved past Trevor HOffman on the all-time saves list, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth inning gainst the Twins to close out a 6-4 victory and recod his 602nd career save (and all with one team). And let's not forget his 42 post-season saves with an under 1.00 ERA. So the best closer in baseball history is now the all-time saves leader. Congrats Mariano. You are definitely the best.

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NCAA FOOTBALL

1. OU, UT presidents authorized to pursue all conference options.
At separate Board of Regents meetings (and as expected) Oklahoma and Texas received authorization to take action regarding their schools' conference affiliation. Both votes were unanimous and given carte blanche by their regents to shift conference allegiance, although they will have to "rubber stamp" the choice. Oklahoma's Pres. Boren said he had had "informal talks" with the Pac-12 and was working closely with in-state rival Oklahoma State (holds its regents meeting Wednesday).
It's believed that Texas would prefer to remain in the Big 12 but the departures of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State could force them also to look to the Pac-12. If Texas can resolve some issues regarding The Longhorn Network, they with Texas Tech are likely to follow the Oklahoma colleges.

2. AP source: Big East, Big 12 officials talk merger.
The Big East and Big 12 might join together in a fight for survival. Officials from the two have been discussing ways to merge what's left of them if Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State leave. That would leave Missouri, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State scrambling for an affiliation. Without Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the Big East still has six football members (Cincinnati, Connecticut, South Florida, Rutgers, Louisville and West Virginia) with TCU to join in 2013 that gives the Big East a presence in Big 12 territory.
The SEC has voted to accept Texas A&M as its 13th member, and speculation has Missouri and West Virginia as candidates to become No. 14. And the ACC may not be done adding Big East teams - UConn and Rutgers would complete the 16 teams in the ACC. So the musical chairs known as Division 1-A continues on its merry way.

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Monday Night Football[/u]:
Giants' margin of victory can't conceal concerns as they beat the St Louis Rams 28-16.

If the preseason was a series of disastrous car crashes for the NY Giants' defense, then the offense was a group of rubbernecks, standing idly by as the wreckage piled up around them. Questions about the passing game were sloughed aside by season-ending injuries in the secondary and a crisis at linebacker. We are not worried, players and coaches said. The offense will be ready. Two games now and the defense is still the story and the offense -- well it is somewhere between inconsistent and nondescript. “I thought we played well,” QB Eli Manning said, before hesitating. "At times," he added. Well, they won, not prettily, but a win nevertheless. Let's hope it gets better as they go on.

Panthers' Newton exceeds expectations with fast start.
Cam Newton leaping after a TD.
Cam Newton, the No. 1 draft pick overall and Carolina's rookie quarterback from Auburn University and Heisman Trophy winner, stunned the NFL by throwing for over 400 yeards in his first two games as a pro., unfortunately the team is 0-2. What would Cam Newton have done with a normal off-season? We won’t know until next year, but for now, Newton, the rookie quarterback from Auburn who was supposed to need time to transition from the spread offense he ran in college to a more N.F.L.-friendly pocket game, has stunned the league with a record-setting first two weeks. On Sunday, Newton passed for a single-game rookie record of 432 yards against Green Bay, a blitz-heavy team. That was 10 more yards than he passed for last week in his pro debut, - the first N.F.L. player to begin his career with consecutive 400-yard passing games. Can he keep it up? Only time will tell but right now, congrats are in order ot a fabulous rookie.

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MLB
1. A.L. race rages, but Yankees stay above it.

The New York Yanakees have higher priorities on their agenda than helping their old "friends", the Botson Red Sox, to hang on to their wild-card spot. Today, they have clinched a spot in the playoffs with their last night 5-0 win last night over Tampa Bay behind a superb performance by the rookie right-hander Ivan Nova (looks like he'll be their No. 2 starter) and today's 4-2 win in the first game of a doubleheader against the Rays. The Yankees are now 6 1/2 games ahead of Boston for the winning of American East division. Depending on what Boston does tonight, they could be down to a magic number of one.

2. In baseball's Bronze Age, statues are becoming bigger part of landscape

Rob Warnock lingered last week in the shadow of a striking bronze sculpture just outside Turner Field. He had been assigned to hand out Braves tickets for his company’s employee-recruitment gathering at that night’s game, and, thinking about where to rendezvous, had said to his boss, “Which gate?” “Why don’t you just meet them at the Hank Aaron statue?” came the reply. Statues, though hardly a new phenomenon at baseball stadiums, are now popping up all over. Some 70 former players have been immortalized, several this season. The latest is Johnny Bench at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park, who said he was delighted at the depiction of himself rising out of a catcher’s crouch and erasing a base-stealer.
The sculptors, many of whom grew up cheering for their subjects, say baseball was the sport best suited for statues. “This is their way to get close to these players, to admire excellence,” said Zenos Frudakis of Philadelphia, who created the four Phillies statues. “They add a history point,” said Lou Cella of Chicago, who is responsible for White Sox and Cubs renderings, including the midsummer arrivals Frank Thomas and Ron Santo. “They are ways for people to consistently remember who these guys are. It’s the grandfather telling his grandson, I saw him play.” Harry Weber, credited with all but one of the 11 player castings in St. Louis, said, “Baseball lends itself to the personality of the individual,” making it easier to differentiate the athletes than in other sports. He has captured the power of a Bob Gibson pitch, the range of a Ozzie Smith catch, the form of a Lou Brock at-bat.
Because the voice of a franchise can also become its face, numerous TV-radio announcers are bronzed: Harry Caray in Chicago (Cubs), Ernie Harwell in Detroit, Harry Kalas in Philadelphia and, in Seattle, Dave Niehaus, who died last November and whose statue ceremony took place last week. “In some subliminal way, the announcer becomes like a family member,” said Larry Nowlan, who sculptured Kalas, a Phillies announcer for 38 years, until his death in 2009. “Players don’t stay around long enough.”
Total cost for a statue, which Weber estimated at $90,000 to $150,000 for life-size renditions, rises exponentially with each additional inch. Some are paid for by the club; others are financed by donations or fund-raisers. Some sculptors rely on images of players from photographs and video. Others are grateful for honorees willing to pose for them in the wrinkled flesh.
I think this is getting a little out of hand but it is certainly a bonanza for sculptors. But I still think I perfer the Yankees monument park with bronze plaques on the wall.

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MLB
Doubts gone, NY Yankees take title in East.

Jose Posada, pinch-hitting in the 8th inning, drove in the winning runs.
The Yankees, who were widely predicted to finish behind the Boston Red Sox, won yesterday's doubleheader (4-2, 4-2) with the Tampa Bay Rays with late rallies to capture the American League East title. With the Red Sox in the throes of a collapse, the Yankees won the Division title with ease, brushing side all competitors to win their 12th division crown since 1996 (Their 17 Division Titles is an all-time best for MLB.). “It’s not often that we’re considered the underdogs, but I understood it with the moves that they had made,” Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said, and then added, “But this is a special group. This is a group that knows how to win.” It appears that the Red Sox did not share in that knowledge.

NY Mets dream about next year and alterations to Citi Field.

One day after General Manager Sandy Alderson provided reporters with indications that the Mets would make significant changes to the dimension of Citi Field, he enlightened the men who will play there next season. “I think any time you talk about making a park more hitter friendly, the hitters are going to be on board with that,” David Wright said. “It’s nice to have a front office that recognizes the situation and tries to correct it. That’s obviously greatly appreciated.” Alderson and his staff have pored through copious amounts of data, culled from three years of the play at the stadium, to determine what changes might be most beneficial for the team. He presented those numbers and an array of alterations to a group of Mets players Wednesday. Whatever changes the team makes are bound to help the hitters because the park is a nightmare for them now.

In the American League, look out for the Angels.
Dan Haren’s start ended after he was hit by a line drive on the final out of the eighth inning, Peter Bourjos and Vernon Wells homered, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Blue Jays, 7-2, in Toronto on Wednesday night, closing within two and a half games of the Boston Red Sox in the American League wild-card race. “We’ve put ourselves in a position where if someone stubs their toe, we’ve got a chance,” Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. Haren was examined by Blue Jays doctors. X-rays were negative. Haren allowed one run and four hits over eight innings for his first road victory since winning at Detroit on July 30. Bourjos had three hits, including a solo shot in the third, and came within a double of the cycle. So watch out Boston and Tampa Bay. There's a new boy in town who just might beat both of you.

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MLB

1. From cruise control, a shift to panic mode in Boston and Atlanta.

If the Red Sox and the Braves continue their late-season descents, this September could produce two historic collapses. For the Boston Red Sox, the failures of the last week have amounted to some grim theater - Josh Beckett, their best pitcher beaten up by the Oriles (eliminated from meaningful competition months ago). ns it's not any prettier for the Atlanta Braves. Their rock, 3rd baseman Chipper Jones (future Hall of Famer) lost a ball in the lights before Omar Infante (a former teammate) hit a 2-run game-winning homer for the lowly Florida Marlins off the Braves sterling rookie reliever, Craig Kimbrel
Watching teams - good ones, even great ones - losing night after improbable night when the games matter most , can be ghoulishly riveting. This year, no team, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, has ever squandered what Boston and Atlanta are close to giving up: leads of eight or more games in the race for a spot in baseball’s postseason in the final month of the season.
For fans who hang on every pitch, teams losing their grip on a playoff spot seems to happen in slow motion. Still, the slow torture has not completely extinguished what passes for faith. Andrea Walker, a lifelong Bostonian, was distraught with the Red Sox, but continued to wear her cap defiantly Thursday. “You have to be a real fan,” she said, “not a fan of opportunity.” Mark Foster, a longtime Braves fan from Roswell, Ga., said he had not given up yet. But recent losses to the sub-.500 Marlins and Mets were distressing. He will show up to the last home games of the season. “I’m an optimist, I think we can do it,” he said. “But I’m not going to lie and say I’m not scared.”
But as I am a Yankee fan, I can't help but smile a little. Before the season started all the expers picked Boston to win and didn't give the Yankees that much of a chance. So whose got the right to smile now, hmmmm?

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Former Ravens tackle Orlando Brown dead at 40
Police and fire officials say former Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Orlando "Zeus" Brown has been found dead at his Baltimore home. He was 40. The cause of death isn't known.
Fire spokesman Battalion Chief Kevin Cartwright says firefighters were called about 11 a.m. Friday because Brown was unresponsive at his home near the Inner Harbor. Cartwright says Brown was dead when firefighters arrived. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said firefighters called police, a routine procedure in such cases. He said there were no signs of trauma or suspicious activity.

Brown began his career with the Cleveland Browns in 1993 and played twice for that team, as well as the Ravens, ending his NFL playing days in 2005. He started 119 of his 129 games. Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who signed Brown as an undrafted rookie in Cleveland in 1993, released a statement saying, “Orlando improved as a player as much as anyone I have ever seen, as he went from being a defensive lineman at South Carolina State to becoming one of the game’s top offensive tackles.”

Brown was sidelined by an accident on Dec. 19, 1999, while playing for the Browns in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. When the referee Jeff Triplette tossed his flag, weighted with BBs, it struck Brown in the right eye, missing his helmet’s face guard. Brown walked off the field, but furious, he returned and shoved Triplette to the turf. The league suspended him indefinitely for assaulting Triplette but lifted the suspension after it was found that the flag had temporarily blinded Brown. The Browns released him in 2000. He in turn sued the NFL for $200 million, saying the flag incident prematurely ended his career. According to reports, he settled for a sum between $15 million and $25 million in 2002.
R.I.P. Orlando Brown.

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SPORTS

NFL: Worst kind of prospect brings best kind of passion.

Before Mark Herzlich became the linebacker who overcame cancer, he was another football prodigy with a familiar dream. At high school in a Philadelphia suburb, he was the prototypical all-American boy. The first time he played in a varsity uniform, he was the leading linebacker by the end of the opening quarter. The first time he took a handoff, he ran 95 yards for a touchdown. He led his team to two league titles. His teammates unanimously voted him captain. For college, he chose Boston College and was a starter by the end of his first season and the ACC defensive player of the year by his third year. But then there was this increasing pain in his left leg, the diagnosis and the invasive realities of treatment. Herzlich’s battle with Ewing’s sarcoma caused him to miss the 2009 season, but he returned for his fifth year at B.C., playing just 10 months after surgery to remove the tumor in his leg. He led the Eagles on to the field for the season-opening game against Weber State, recording five tackles to resounding cheers. He started all 13 games. He won an ESPY award for Best Comeback.
Then came the NFL draft and no phone call. However, it turns out that the Giants had a list with his name at the top. But because of the labor situation couldn't contact him. But Jerry Reese the GM and John Mara, the team's co-owner and Boston College grad were interested. “It just, to me, was a no-brainer,” Mara said. He made the team as backup linebacker and special team player. “Right now, we look at him as just a football player,” Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said recently, “because that’s what we do. Coughlin continued, "But let’s be honest, you can’t ever forget what he’s done, either. You can’t. It’s just an incredible, incredible story.” It is also a story Herzlich believes is not nearly over yet.

Cycling: Danger at Every Turn as Ccling's Fast Lane Becomes Faster.
When the Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt was killed in a crash during the Giro d’Italia in May, the commemoration began immediately. Each rider wore a black ribbon, and Weylandt’s initials and race number, 108, were painted across the remaining finish lines and appeared at the bottom of the official results with the slogan Always With Us. But four months later, as the world championships in Copenhagen and the cycling season wind down, the eulogies have faded. And after dismissing Weylandt’s fatal crash as part of cycling, neither the International Cycling Union, the sport’s governing body, nor the organizer of the Giro has conducted a formal investigation. The police inquiry focused on criminal liability and found none.
Weylandt was the 10th professional cyclist to die in a crash during a road race since Fabio Casartelli, an Olympic gold medalist, was killed at the Tour de France in 1995. Most of the other deaths, with the exception of Andrei Kivilev’s during the Paris-Nice season opener in 2003, came in less prominent races and attracted relatively little attention. The growing danger in professional cycling is not limited to fatalities. The sport does not keep accident statistics, but riders and cycling officials agree that the number and severity of race accidents have escalated significantly in recent years.
In a bid to slow auto traffic, towns, cities and villages throughout Europe have narrowed roads near their entrances, added speed bumps and introduced islands and traffic circles. In the Giro, Pinotti and Lewis came around a corner on a descent and struck a small metal pole on an island in the middle of the road. Expanding race fields have compounded any problems on the courses. Until the 1980s, about 130 riders, and sometimes as few as 100, raced in major events like the Tour de France. Today, 200 is more the norm. In a group that large, Lewis said, most of the riders in the pack are effectively blind to road hazards and must rely on shouted warnings from those at the front. And the fields are made up of higher-caliber racers who have increased race speeds. Better training, stricter entry rules and generally higher salaries mean that little separates the fastest and slowest riders today. More often than not, it takes a major mountain or other significant obstacle to break up the pack of 200. And in a sport in which two years counts as a long-term contract and employment is always uncertain, few riders are likely to challenge their bosses’ orders. That uncertainty also lies behind the reluctance of most riders to speak up about the dangers in their sport. Privately, some say that airing their concerns is likely to make them less attractive to employers. HTC-Highroad, the American team that employed Pinotti and Lewis, is closing down at the end of this season after failing to find a new sponsor. Lewis is one of two riders on the team still without a contract for next year; Pinotti signed with another American team.
This year's Tour de France had an unusual number of casualties in cluding one caused by a driver of one of the media cars whoooo sideswiped a cyclist. One team, Radio Shack, lost several of its top competitors in the first couple of days. I don't know what the solution is but I would have though that a cyclist's death would have cause people to take a look at the whole issue.

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Tee time: Pres. Obama plays gold with another first duffer, Clinton. Perhaps it's moments like these that lend people to say that some of life's greatest problems are solved (or at least discussed) on the golf course. Pres. Obama teed off in a foursome at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington that also included hiss chief of staff, William Daley, and longtime Clinton adviser Doug Band.

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SPORTS

1. After long hours, Red Sox keep slim lead.
1st game: Yankees 6-2, 2nd game Red Sox 7-4 in 14 innnings.

In the first game of a day-night doubleheader, A.J. Birnett turned in an amazing perrformance, but in the 2nd game, the Red Sox finally won in 14 innings with a three-run homer by Jacoby Ellsbury, their centerfielder. It was his third home run of the day having hit two solo homers in the first game. Manager Joe Girardi rested four of his starters in each game but they all played hard. As Girardi said, “Our guys play the game with a lot of pride, and our guys play the game the right way...That’s what they’re supposed to do.” For the Red Sox, the win helped them avoid a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium and kept them from falling into a tie for the A.L. wild-card berth with the Rays, who beat Toronto on Sunday afternoon, 5-2. The Rays close the season with three games against the Yankees, while the Red Sox finish with three in Baltimore.
In the west, Angels' playoff chances fade with a 3-run lead blown in the 9th.
With three games remaining, the Angels find themselves without any margin for error after a 6-5 loss to the Oakland A;s. They are 3 games behind the Red Sox for the American League wild card and so their chances remain slim (an probably none) to make the playoffs. I'm sure that the Yankees are happy to have them virtually eliminated and not have to make that trip back and forth to the west coast. GO YANKEES!!


2. Dream game for receiver; dream victory for Giants.

A year ago Victor Cruz was an undrafted free agent receiver, a week age he was just one of many backup receivers competing for playing time. Today, however, he's a star, cataching two TD passes as the NY Giants stunned the Philadelphia Eagles 29-16 at Lincoln Financial Field. The Giants were under collective pressure after faltering late against the Washington Redskins before beating the St. Louis Rams in underwhelming fashion in Week 2. Facing Michael Vick and the Eagles’ “dream team,” as Vince Young called them, the prospect of a 1-2 start to the season was real. Of course, by day’s end — with Vick nursing a broken right hand and the Giants ahead in the standings — the hype only served to make the final result sweeter. “They can continue being the dream team and keep dreaming,” Giants running back Brandon Jacobs said. Despite the proximity (he grew up in Paterson, N.J.), his family and friends did not come to watch the game in person, viewing it instead on television. That meant they missed seeing a performance that Cruz hopes is only the beginning. “I’ve been patient for a long time, and now I believe I can make a real impact,” Cruz said. “I just needed a chance.”

3. At 3-0, Buffalo Bills go from AFC's near-worst to first.

The Bills are being led by their Harvard-grad QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick (27-40, 369 yds, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) to a 3-0 record so far and like his coach, Coach Chan Gailey, prefers this to being reminded how the Bills were affectionately called 'lovable losers' a year ago. "'Lovable winners' is more like it," Gailey said today. The Bills have gone from being the NFL’s last team to win a game following an 0-8 start last season, to being the AFC’s only remaining unbeaten team this year. And they’re winning in dramatic fashion, overcoming a 21-point deficit to beat New England 34-31 on Sunday, making the Bills the NFL’s first team to rally from 18 points down and win in consecutive weeks (last week vs. the Rams). They also broke their 15-game losing streak vs. New England. And they’re doing it with eye-popping numbers. The Bills’ 113 points lead the NFL as they prepare for their next test at Cincinnati (1-2) on Sunday. GO BILLS!!

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MLB 2011 League Championship series:

National League:

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MLB Playoffs


Yanks pick up where they left off -- in weather delay.

After having 22 games affectd by weather during the regular season, the Yankees opened the posteason with a game that was suspended because of heavy rain. The Yankees and the Detroit Tigers played one and a half innings at the Stadium in Game 1 of the American League division series before downpours struck, washing away an intriguing matchup of aces between C. C. Sabathia and Justin Verlander. The game was delayed 1 hour 17 minutes before it was suspended; it will resume in the second inning Saturday at 8:37 p.m., with the score tied, 1-1. The pitchers, however, will no longer be Sabathia and Verlander. Instead, Ivan Nova will face Doug Fister, and the Yankees will bat first, in the bottom of the second inning.

Rays continue their run with rout of Rangers.

The aura surrounding the adrenaline-fueled Tampa Bay Rays shifted to wonderment Friday. Now the question is when they might come crashing back to baseball reality instead of making more history. Showing no emotional letdown after claiming a most improbable wild-card spot, the Rays clobbered the Texas Rangers, 9-0, in Game 1 of their American League division series, and did so behind the rookie left-handed pitcher Matt Moore and the light-hitting catcher Kelly Shoppach, two players who barely knew each other a few weeks ago. But the Yanks knew Moore, who struck out 11 of them in a game during the regular season. Side Note: Cooper Stone threw the ceremonial first pitch to Josh Hamilton before the game. Cooper, the 6-year-old son of Shannon Stone, a firefighter from Brownwood, Tex., was with his father when he fell over the left-field wall while reaching for a souvenir ball thrown to his son by Josh Hamilton on July 7. Stone died of his injuries. Since the death, Josh Hamilton has established a personal relationship with the family and the Rangers raised all railings throughout their ballpark 42 inches.

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MLB Divisional Playoffs


AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES:
1. Worth the wait for Yanks.
Cano's grand slam helps NY crush Detroit in suspended Game 1 of their ALDS day after rainout.

After their rainout the day before, Robinson Cano and the New York Yankees slammed their way to a 9-3 blowout. Cano hit his grand slam and drove in 6 runs and rookie starter Ivan Nova pitched brilliantly into the 9th as a relief pitcher. A day after rain wiped out aces Justin Verlander (who gave up one run) and C.C. Sabathia (also 1 run) after only 1 1/2 innings, play resumed in the bottom of the 2nd with two new pitchers, no national anthem -- all Yankees.
Along with Curtis Granderson, Cano is one of New York's two leading contenders for AL MVP — and he showed why. Yankees manager Joe Girardi moved the slugger up from f5th to erd in the lineup for the playoffs to get him more protection and pitches to hit. Smart move so far. "They put you third, so you want to do your job there. You don't want to let your manager down," Cano said. "I did my job today and hopefully I can continue doing it."
NOTEs: It was the 50th anniversary of Roger Maris' record-breaking 61st home run at the old Yankee Stadium on the final day of the 1961 season. Freddy Garcia gets the 2nd game start for the Yankees today while Max Scherzer takes the ball for the Tigers.

2. Rangers tie series by topping Rays 8-6 in ALDS Game 2.

Aided by a big miscue from home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley, the Rangers overcame a 3-0 deficit and defeated the Rays to even the ALDS at one game each. When the game was tied 3-3 that was when umpire Danley goofed. With Texas runners on 1st and 2nd, David Murphy hit a little nubber that spun off home plate and rolled into fair territory. The catcher picked it up and threw Murphy out at first. BUT Danley had signaled foul ball right away, making it a dead ball and taking the out off the board. The Rays' pitcher, James Shield, proceeded to throw 2 wild pitches and one run scored, making the score 4-3 and they added another before Shield got out of the inning 5-3.
The Rangers managed to keep hitting afterwards. Ian Kinsler had a two-run double in the sixth to make it 7-3. Evan Longoria came back with a three-run homer off Koji Uehara in the seventh, to bring the Rays within a run, but the Rangers scored an insurance run when Mitch Moreland homered in the eighth. Neftali Feliz protected the two-run lead in the ninth.
NOTES: Game 3 in the best-of-five series is scheduled for Monday in St. Pete with Colby Lewis facing David Price - Price gave up six runs — five earned — in four innings in what looked like a must-win start Wednesday against the Yankees. Price is also 0-3 with a 5.67 ERA in six career regular-season starts against the Rangers, and he lost to them twice in the ALDS last year, amassing a 4.97 ERA. “Big Game” James has allowed 11 runs over 9 1/3 innings in his last two postseason starts, both against the Rangers. He’s now 2-4 with a 4.98 ERA lifetime in October.

NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES.

1. Phillies bats explode in 11-6 Game 1 victory over Cardinals.

If you want to beat Roy Halladay, you have to get to him early. That's the common thought around baseball and it's back ed by the stats. The Cards followed that strategy to near-perfection in the early going, plating three runs in the top of the first inning courtesy of a Lance Berkman home run. But the St. Louis bats quickly went silent and the Phillies were able to rally in a major way against starter Kyle Lohse and the Redbirds’ bullpen. Jimmy Rollins went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and Chase Utley went 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Hunter Pence drove in two runs, Raul Ibanez drove in three, and Ryan Howard drove in four. After Berkman’s homer, Halladay retired 23 of the next 24 batters he faced. And 21 batters in a row. Only two balls left the infield. And the Phillies, MLB's best team during the regular season, grabbed a convincing 11-6 victory.
NOTES: Matt Holliday was able to pinch-hit late in the game, suggesting he might be ready to return to starting left field duties in either Game 2 or 3 of this series. Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET. Cliff Lee will face Chris Carpenter.

2. Yovani Gallardo, Prince Fielder lead Brewers past Diamondbacks in Game 1 victory.

Yovani Gallardo ended the regular season as one of the hottest pitchers in baseball, allowing two runs or less in each of his last three starts while posting a ridiculous 36/3 K/BB ratio over 20 1/3 innings. He was equally brilliant this afternoon in Milwaukee, tossing eight innings of one-run ball in a 4-1 victory over Arizona. Gallardo allowed just four hits whle striking out nine and walking only one. The only run scored on a solo homer by Ryan Roberts in the top of the 8th. John Axford tossed a perfect top of the 9th for the save. Ryan Braun and prince Fielder combined for five of the Brewers' eight hits.
NOTES: Gallardo's nine K's tied him with Don Sutton ('82) for the franchise record for strikeouts in a postseason game. The Brewers will try to keep the pressure on tomorrow when they send Zack Greinke (16-6, 3.83 ERA) to the hill against Daniel Hudson (16-12, 3.49 ERA). Greinke will be pitching on short rest for the second straight start, but if Ron Roenicke’s crew can leave home with two victories, they should be in very good shape in this series.