Not Another New England Sports Blog!: Baltimore Orioles

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Thursday, October 16, 2014

Buffalo Springfield Sports Chowdah Update- Pats Put Damper on Coming Out Party for Bills New Onwership; Detroit Block City- Rask, Bruins Outlast Red Wings; Royal Festivities- Kansas City Parties Like Its 1985

NFL- A week after handing the last undefeated team of the 2014 NFL season their first loss, the Patriots travelled to western New York for Bills first game under new owner Terry Pagula. Pagula- a multimillionaire that made his money on the natural gas boom in the Marcellus Shale also owns the Buffalo Sabres and is a major donor to the Penn State hockey program- was approved by the NFL as the teams' new owner in an October 8th owners meeting. Pagula successfully outbid tycoon Donald Trump, rocker John Bon Jovi and Canadian interests who openly supported relocating the franchise to Toronto. Pegula, who promised to keep the franchise in western New York, purchased the Bills from the estate of the late Ralph Wilson earlier this year.

However, the key name to remember from Sunday's game was Patriots WR Brandon LaFell, an unheralded signing in the offseason earlier this year.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Patriots got the ball back with a shorter field when LB Jamie Collins intercepted a pass attempt from Bills QB Kyle Orton at the New England 39 yard line. Thanks to a Bills penalty, the ball moved to the Buffalo 1 yard line where Brady connected with TE Tim Wright for the first score of the game. After a three and out for each team, the Bills got the ball back on their own 33 yard line with 8:43 to go in the half. Orton kept the drive going for the Bills with a 28 yard pass to Scott Chandler to give Buffalo the ball on the Patriots 19 yard line. The Bills would tie the game up at 7-7 when Orton connected with Robert Woods on 2nd and goal from the Pats 7 yard line and the PAT was good.

Although the Bills got the ball back after holding New England to a 3 and out following the kickoff, DE Chandler Jones managed to break through and sack Orton and strip the ball, giving the Patriots the ball back on Buffalo's own 24 yard line. Although the Bills defense were able to keep the Patriots out of the red zone, the ball was still close enough for a Gostkowski chip shot FG to put New England up 10-7.

The following kickoff was a touchback and Buffalo actually lost yards when DE Rob Ninkovitch sacked Orton, pushing the Bills back to their own 13. While the Patriots had good field position at their own 42, they'd once again go three and out after Brady was sacked. After the Patriots kickoff, the Bills got the ball back on their own 30 yard line with 14 seconds to go in the half. On first and 10 for Buffalo, CJ Spiller rushed for 12 yards before he fumbled, which was recovered by Patriots DE Zach Moore at the Bills 42 with all of 6 seconds left in the half. With the clock ticking, Brady completed a quick 7 yard pass to Julian Edelman to give Gostkowski a slightly shorter field to work with for this FG attempt. As time expired, the 53 yard FG attempt was good and the Patriots headed to the locker room with a 13-7 lead.

New England got the ball back to start off the second half, and after a 3 and a half minute drive that started out on their own 20, the Patriots barely crossed into Buffalo territory when Brady connected with WR Brian Tyms for a 43 yard TD pass to put New England up 20-7. However, Buffalo would counter with a nearly 7-minute drive from their own 20 that was capped with a 1 yard Fred Jackson TD run to cut New England's lead to 20-14.

The Patriots replied with a drive that went all the way to the Buffalo 22, where New England had to settle for another Gostkowski FG to make it a 24-14 game. However, the Patriots began to pull away with their first possession of the 4th quarter thanks to an 18 yard TD pass from Brady to WR Brandon LaFell to make it a 30-14 lead. After a touchback on the following kickoff, Buffalo started from their own 20 and after the drive appeared to sputter on the Bills 40, Orton managed to convert a 4th and 2 thanks to a 35 yard completion to WR Robert Woods. With just under 6 minutes to go, Orton connected with Chris Hogan for an 8 yard TD pass to once again make it a 1-score game, with New England now leading 30-22.

However, the Patriots would strike back quickly and take a 37-22 lead thanks to a 56 yard completion from Brady to LaFell for his second TD of the afternoon with 2:39 left in the game.

That would be all New England would need, putting a damper on the celebrations for the start of the Pegula era in Buffalo. With talk of Brady's career being all but over after the Monday Night fiasco in Kansas City, Brady is now 23-2 against Buffalo in his career.

Turns out this is a short week for New England- they head home to take on the Jets for a Thursday night game. Kickoff is 8:25 PM ET and the game will be televised on the NFL Network and CBS.

NHL- It was a rather forgetful weekend for the Bruins- after winning the season opener, Boston dropped three straight to the Red Wings, Washington and Colorado [Washignton shut out Boston 4-1 while the Avalanche won in the final second of regulation- NANESB!].

On Wednesday night, the Bruins travelled to the Motor City hoping to break their 3-game skid and got off to a pretty good start when David Krejci scored a little over five minutes into the first to give Boston a 1-0 lead. However, Tomas Tatar got the equalizer about three minutes later.

The Bruins re-took the lead in the second when Reilly Smith scored an even-strength goal to make it 2-1. The Bruins would take their 2-1 lead to the 3rd period until Gustav Nyquist scored a power play goal just 2:56 into the 3rd. The power play tally was enough to force OT, and after a scoreless OT, the game would head to a shootout. The Red Wings would miss on both of their shootout chances while Krejci and Reilly Smith would score for Boston to give them the shootout win and snap a 3-game losing streak.

The Original Six action continues on Thursday night when the Bruins travel to Montreal for the first meeting of the 2014 season. Puck drops at 7:30 ET and the game will be broadcast on the NHL network.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- Buffalo Sabres announcer Rick Jeanneret missed the team's home opener this month after being diagnosed with throat cancer in July. The Sabres radio and TV play-by-play man- who has been with Buffalo since their inaugural season in 1971- received the diagnosis in his native Canada after doctors discovered a malignant golf-ball sized growth in his throat. Jeanarette will undergo treatment in the USA and was given an 85% chance of recovery.

ALCS- For the first time in 29 years, the Kansas City Royals are going to the World Series....and they got there by making quick work of the teams with the two best records in the American League.

After getting out to a 3-0 series lead against Baltimore, the Royals got out to a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first at Game 4 in Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday. All of the scoring for Kansas City came in the bottom of the first with a one out and runners on second and third when Eric Hosmer hit a ground ball between first and second for a fielder's choice. O's 2B Jonathan Schoop threw home to C Caleb Joseph as Alciedes Escobar slid on, but the throw went past the catcher and Nori Aoki immediately came home on the error to give Kansas City the quick 2-0 lead.

Although he would give up a solo homer to Baltimore's Ryan Flaherty to cut the Royals lead to 3-1 in the top of the 3rd inning, Kansas City starter Jason Vargas would throw 5⅓ innings and the bullpen would allow no additional runs by Baltimore. Despite allowing a leadoff walk to Adam Jones to start off the 9th, Greg Holland got Nelson Cruz to hit into a fielder's choice, erasing the potential tying run at second, before Delmon Young struck out swinging and JJ Hardy hit a groundout up the 3rd base line to finish off the series.

Kansas City has gone an impressive 8-0 this postseason, and have only trailed in a few innings between the Wild Card game, the Division Series and the ALCS. This performance has already drawn comparisons to the 2007 Rockies, who got off to a similar start as a Wild Card in the postseason [but because of inclement weather and a prolonged ALCS between the Indians and Red Sox never were quite the same once the World Series beagn- NANESB!].

The Royals await the winner of the NLCS between the St Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants- San Francisco is taking a 3-1 series lead into tonight's game five and the Cardinals will have to win three in a row if there's to be a rematch of 1985's "I-70" World Series.

NCAA FOOTBALL- A pretty good weekend, although not as turbulent and dramatic as week 6. As far as nationally ranked teams go, the big story would have to be Baylor's roaring-from-behind-in-the-4th-quarter win over Texas Christian to remain the only undefeated team in the Big Twelve conference. The #4 Baylor Bears came all the way back to beat the #12 TCU Horned Frogs by a 61-58 final on Saturday afternoon.

The Magnolia State continues to produce winning football as Ole Miss and Mississippi State are nearly done with the most difficult part of their respective schedules [Ole Miss hosts Auburn on Nov 1st while Mississippi State travels to Alabama on Nov 15th- assuming the two teams run the table, that sets up a matchup between undefeated Mississippi State and Ole Miss on Nov 29th for Rivalry Week- NANESB!].

As for Week 7, the #3 Mississippi State Bulldogs hosted Auburn and would go on to beat them by a 38-25 final while the #1 Runnin' Rebels ran out of College Station, TX with a 35-20 win over the Texas A&M Aggies.

MEANWHILE IN THE ACC- The Boston College Eagles came out of their off week looking pretty good, travelling to the Tarheel State and beating the NC State Wolfpack by a 30-14 final.

Tyler Murphy had 132 rushing yards and ran for two 2 TDs while passing for another 132 yards. John Hilliman and Sherman Alston also had rushing TDs on the day. The win is also Boston College's first against an ACC opponent this season.

This weekend, the Eagles once again return to host a ranked opponent at Chestnut Hill as they host #24 Clemson. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 ET and the game will be televised on ESPNU.

ELSEWHERE IN THE ACC- The game of the week- at least one involving an ACC team- will be a matchup between two undefeateds when #2 Florida State will host #5 Notre Dame at Tallahassee on Saturday. Both teams are sporting 6-0 records coming into Saturday's prime time matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 PM ET and the game will be televised on ESPN.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Kansas City Smoked Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Season, Jeter's Career Wraps Up At Fenway; Rollin' Royals Eliminate Oakland, Take Game 1 of ALDS; Fail to the Chiefs- Patriots Thrashed at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday Night

RED SOX- The Major League Baseball regular season came to an end on Sunday and with it, the disappointing 2014 seasons for both the New York Yankees and defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox. Fans of the Red Sox were hoping for a more spirited defense of their 2013 title while Yankees fans wanted a postseason appearance for captain Derek Jeter's final season.

Although the Yankees had been mathematically eliminated by that point, Jeter's final home game at Yankee Stadium ended in memorable fashion as the Bronx Bomber's shortstop hit a walkoff RBI single in the bottom of the 9th, breaking a 5-5 tie against the AL East Champion Baltimore Orioles on September 25th.

The Yankee captain's final game on Sunday drew a national TV audience as the game was televised on TBS. The Yankees got out to an early lead in the 3rd inning, thanks to a one out, two RBI single from Ichiro Suzuki. Jeter made it a 3-0 game when he hit a high chopper up the 3rd base line that he beat out for an infield single as Suzuki made his way home. As it turned out, that would be it for Jeter. Manager Joe Girardi immediately decided to pull Jeter for pinch runner Brian McCann.

The Yankees would go on to win by a 9-5 final and would take two out of three from the Red Sox in the weekend series. The Red Sox, finishing a mere 25 games out of first place in the AL East, wrapped up the season with a 71-91 record and were increasingly unrecognizable from the 2013 squad that won the World Series. For instance, the only starting pitcher remaining from the 2013 team was Clay Buchholz after Peavy, Lackey, Lester and Doubront were traded earlier in the season.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS- The Nationals have done nothing less than quietly dominate the National League East this season. Although they were among the first to secure a playoff berth, they ended the regular season in dramatic fashion when Nats starter Jordan Zimmerman threw the Nats first no-hitter.

Heading into the top of the 9th inning, Washington had a 1-0 lead over the Miami Marlins with two away when outfielder Christian Yelich belted what looked like a sure double to not only break up the Zimmerman's no-hit bid, but put the tying run in scoring position for Miami. However, late inning defensive replacement and rookie outfielder Steven Souza, Jr made a spectacular diving catch to rob the Marlins of a base hit, ending the ballgame and sealing Zimmerman's no hitter.

The well-rested Nats will play the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS beginning Friday, October 1st. First pitch is scheduled for 3:07 ET at Nationals Park and the game will be televised on Fox Sports 1.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS- After narrowly missing out on the AL Central pennant, the Kansas City Royals managed to secure their first postseason berth in nearly 30 years, prompting a 1-game playoff with the Oakland A's at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday Night.

With Jon Lester on the mound for Oakland, KC took a 3-2 lead with an RBI double from Lorenzo Cain and an RBI single from Eric Hosmer in the bottom of the 3rd. However, the Royals bullpen would implode in the top of the 6th, allowing a 3-run homer off the bat of Brandon Moss before an out was even recorded. The A's would get two more runs to make it a 7-3 ballgame and quiet down the crowd at Kauffman Stadium. However, the Royals would immediately start to chip away with RBI singles from Cain and Billy Butler in the bottom of the 8th along with Hosmer coming home on a wild pitch to make it a one run game. In the bottom of the 9th, pinch hitter Josh Willingham led off the inning with a single before being pulled for pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson. Dyson moved into scoring position on a sac bunt by Alcides Escobar before stealing 3rd. Dyson would then come home on a Nori Aoki sac-fly to tie the game up at 7-7 and force extra innings.

The 7-7 deadlock wouldn't be broken until the top of the 12th when Alberto Callaspo hit an RBI single for the Athletics, giving them an 8-7 lead over KC. However, Hosmer would get a 1-out triple on ball that barely stayed in the park and Christian Colon would get an RBI infield single in the bottom of the 12th, bringing Hosmer home to tie the game up once more- this time at 8-8. Alex Gordon fouled out to third for the second out, bringing up Salvador Perez, who had gone 0-5 on the night. However, Perez managed to hit a ball fair past a diving Josh Donaldson and into left field to bring home the winning run.

The win set up an ALDS matchup with another AL West team- this time the Angels- on Thursday night. Despite having the best record in all of baseball this season, the Angels never led in what would be an extra innings affair much like Tuesday night's affair. Royals 3rd baseman Mike Moustakas would turn out to be key in this one, hitting a tie-breaking solo homer to lead off the top of the 11th to make it 3-2 Kansas City. Greg Holland would come out of the Royals bullpen and get a clean 1-2-3 inning to close out game one for the Royals.

ELSEWHERE IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE- The Baltimore Orioles took Game 1 of their series against the Detroit Tigers after the Tigers bullpen imploded and allowed 8 unanswered runs in the bottom of the 8th in what had previously been a close game. In fact, between the bottom of the 2nd and 7th innings, it was a pitcher's duel between Max Scherzer and O's starter Chris Tillman.

The Orioles go on to win game one of their series by a 12-3 final and the series will resume almost immediately on Friday at noon.

MEANWHILE, IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE- It's actually been pretty quiet in the National League this week, with only one game since the end of the regular season on Sunday- that was the single game Wild Card playoff between the San Francisco Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Thursday night.

San Francisco's Brandon Crawford would hit a grand slam off of Pirates starter Edinson Volquez in the top of the 4th inning to give the Giants an early 4-0 lead. That would be all the Giants needed to get past Pittsburgh as Madison Bumgarner threw a complete-game 4-hit shutout on Thursday as San Francisco cruised to an 8-0 win. The victory earns the Giants a matchup against the Nationals inside the beltway for game one of the NLDS on Friday night.

The other NLDS matchup on Friday features the Dodgers hosting the St Louis Cardinals at Chavez Ravine on Friday night.

PATRIOTS- New England's first Monday night game of the 2014 season didn't go particularly well. Coming off a win in which the Pats seemed to just barely hold off the woeful Raiders at Foxborough, the Patriots seemed unprepared and overwhelmed by their Monday night game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

The Kansas City Chiefs offense and QB Alex Smith seemed to move the ball at will, and while the Chiefs 17-0 lead at halftime didn't seem insurmountable, things got worse for the Patriots in the second half as Kansas City jumped out to a 27-0 lead before the Patriots finally got on the board. Believe it or not, things actually got worse for the Patriots in the 4th with the Chiefs scoring 14 quick points thanks to an Alex Smith TD and a Hussain Abdullah pick six of Tom Brady.

The only bright spot was when backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo got some playing time and managed to put New England in double-digits on a 3 minute, 81 yard drive that was capped by a 13 yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots would go on to lose by a 14-41 final.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Long Overdue Sports Chowdah Update- Trojan Horseplay, Boston College Upends #9 USC at Chestnut Hill; Feeling Minnesota- Patriots Thump Vikings; Pirate Booty- Pittsburgh Sweeps Red Sox As Rusney Castillo Makes Boston Debut.

NCAA FOOTBALL- Without a doubt, the biggest upset of week 3 was what took place on Chestnut Hill Saturday night when the BC Eagles hosted the USC Trojans. Heading into last weekend, USC was coming off of a triumphant 13-10 win over the Stanford Cardinals while BC was coming off of a 30-20 loss to the Pitt Panthers at Chestnut Hill.

Last weekend's game was 'Red Bandana night', which honored former BC Lacrosse player Welles Crowther who was killed in the September 11th attacks while rescuing others at the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

The heavily favored Trojans got out to a quick 10-0 lead in the first before Boston College got on the board with a 4 yard catch and carry TD run from RB Tyler Rouse to open up the 2nd quarter- however, Launceford would miss the PAT and it was a 10-6 game. USC quickly responded with a TD catch and run from Cody Kessler to Javorious Allen to give the Trojans a 17-6 advantage.

On the next possession, though, BC would put together a 75 yard drive that took all of 3:48 before Jon Hillman hit paydirt on a 3 yard TD run. After a couple of three and outs for each side, BC got the ball back with 1:48 at their own 46 when Sherman Alston ran 54 yards to give Boston College their first lead of the day, putting them up 20-17 before halftime.

For the second half, BC's defense really clamped down on the USC offense [Kessler was sacked five times on the night- NANESB!] and Jon Hilliman would make it a 10 point BC lead, punching it in with 7:35 to go in the third to make it 27-17. With under nine minutes to go in the game, Joey Launceford kicked a chip shot FG to make it a 30-17 contest.

But USC wasn't done yet- with 4:57 left in the game, Cody Kessler connected with Nelson Agholor for a 10 yard TD pass to make it a one score game as the clock ticked down. However, a minute later the Eagles jumped out to a 37-24 lead thanks to a 66 yard TD run by Tyler Murphy. However, the Trojans weren't done yet and after getting the ball back, Kessler connected with Darrius Rogers for a 14 yard TD run to cut Boston College's lead to 37-31. After closing to within 6 and with less than two minutes to go, USC went for the onside kick which was immediately recovered by the Eagles.

QB Tyler Murphy had a better night rushing the ball than passing it, rushing for 191 yards and a TD on 13 carries while ging 5 of 13 through the air for 54 yards.

Boston College's homestand continues this weekend with the Eagles hosting the University of Maine Black Bears. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 ET and the game will be streamed on ESPN3.

NFL- After a lackluster season opener in Miami in which the New England Patriots were outmaneuvered in the second half and lost by a 33-20, New England took their show on the road to Minnesota to take on the Vikings at TCF Bank stadium on Sunday.

With former Patriots backup Matt Cassel under center, the Vikings got out to an early 7-0 lead before New England answered with 30 unanswered points. Stevan Ridley managed to tie the game up with a TD rush from the Vikings 1 yard line before Gostkowski put the Patriots up 10-7 with a 48 yard FG with 30 seconds to go in the first. In the second quarter, Brady found Julain Edelman for a 14 yard TD pass to make it a 17-7 game. With time running out in the first half, Cassel managed to get the Vikings close enough to try a 48 yard FG attempt with 9 seconds left, but that was blocked by DE Chandler Jones who immediately returned it 58 yards for a TD to put the Patriots up 24-7 at the half.

The only scoring in the second half would come from two Gotskowski FGs and the Patriots would go on to thump Minnesota by a 30-7 final for their first win of the 2014 regular season. Tom Brady would go 14-21 with 149 yards and a TD while Cassel went 19-36 with 202 yards, a TD, four interceptions and 6 sacks. Stevan Ridley led the Patriots ground attack with 25 rushes for 101 yards and a TD.

This Sunday will be the Patriot's home opener when they host the Oakland Raiders. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 and the game will be televised on CBS.

OTHER VIKINGS NEWS- The Patriots didn't have to face RB Adrian Peterson on Sunday. Peterson is facing felony child abuse charges in Texas after punishing one of his kids by hitting him with a tree branch. The boy's mother took him to a doctor where he described some of the marks as open wounds.

Although he was cleared to play in this weekend's game at New Orleans, the front office quickly did an about face and exepted him from team activities.

BATLIMORE RAVENS- In another high-profile domestic abuse incident, was cut by the Baltimore Ravens after video from his February 2014 arrest in Atlantic City on assault charges surfaced. Earlier surveillance video from an Atlantic City hotel and casino had shown Rice dragging his unconscious fiancée- Janay Palmer- out of the elevator by her hair, but TMZ was able to obtain video from inside the elevator that showed him knocking Palmer unconscious. Initially Rice was suspended for the first few games of the 2014 season before being indefinitely suspended and outright cut by the NFL.

BOSTON RED SOX- Perhaps the most noteworthy event [at least from Boston's presepctive- NANESB] from this week's sweep of the Red Sox by the Pittsburgh Pirates is the MLB debut of Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo on Wednesday night, who went 1-4 in Boston's 9-1 loss to Pittsburgh. After the 3-game sweep the Pirates are just 2 and a half games behind St Louis in the NL Central and three and a half games ahead of Milwaukee for the second and final NL Wild Card berth. The Buck-os will host a pretty important series this weekend as the Brewers come to town to try and close the gap as time is running out on the regular season.

OTHER MLB NEWS- With just under two weeks to go, three teams have already clinched their respective divisions. The Nationals clinched the NL East with a 3-0 shutout over Atlanta while Baltimore clinched the AL East pennant with an 8-2 win over Toronto- both of these wins coming on Tuesday night.

The following night, the Angels shut out the Seattle Mariners by a 5-0 final- that alone wasn't enough for them to win the pennant, but players and savvy fans stuck around to watch the rest of the Rangers vs A's game on the stadium's jumbotron. The A's were nursing a 1-0 lead heading into the top of the 9th, but the Rangers scored 6 unanswered runs to go on an win by a 6-1 final. The loss gives the Angels the win and right now the best Oakland can do is hope for one of the remaining Wild Card spots [the Royals are a game ahead in the Wild Card chase while the Mariners are only a game behind the Athletics- NANESB!].

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Sports Chowdah Update- O No! Sox Come out On Top Thanks To Workman-Like Effort; Kings For More Than A Day, LA Takes Commanding 3-0 Lead in Cup Final; Dulled Chrome, California Chrome Misses Shot at Triple Crown

RED SOX- After a disastrous road trip through the rust belt where they lost five out of six games, the Red Sox were back in the AL East on Monday, facing off against Baltimore at Camden Yards and on the wrong end of a 4-0 shutout.

On a rainy Tuesday night, the Sox looked to reverse their fortunes with Brandon Workman on the mound. Heading into a scoreless 3rd inning, Workman got a bit of run support when Mike Napoli hit a 2-out RBI single that plated Brock Holt. Despite a couple of rain delays, Workman was able to maintain his rhythm and fooled most of the Baltimore batters he faced, not allowing a hit until the 6th inning. Miller, Tazawa and Uehara came out of the bullpen to make Napoli's RBI stand up. Workman goes on to pitch 6⅔ innings of 1-hit ball, allowing one walk and striking out four. Boston goes on to win by a 1-0 final and after losing ten straight, winning seven straight and then losing five straight [going back to May 14th- NANESB!] the Red Sox have won two out of their last three games- although the recent streak has put Boston 9 games out of first place, it still isn't bad enough to put them in the AL East cellar. Currently Toronto leads the AL East and both Baltimore and the Yankees are tied for 2nd place at 5 and a half games.

The series will continue Wednesday night with ex-Dodger Rubby De La Rosa [1-1; 2.84 ERA] going up against Baltimore's Wei Yin Chen [6-2; 4.13 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- Former Red Sox manager and one of the last remaining Brooklyn Dodgers Don Zimmer has passed away at the age of 83. Zimmer, who survived a near-fatal beaning in the minor-leagues would go on to play 2nd base for the Brooklyn Dodgers for their only World Series title in Ebbets Field.

Zimmer was teammates with Jackie Robinson for a few seasons and remained with the Dodgers for a year after their move to Los Angeles. Between 1960 and 1965, Zimmer bounced around between the Cubs, Mets, Reds and Senators before playing a single season for the Toei Flyers in Japan. As a player, Zimmer had a career .235 batting average and 91 homers along with 352 RBI.

After his playing days, Zimmer found work as a manager- first for the San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos before landing with the Red Sox between 1974 and 1976. After the Red Sox won the AL Pennant in 1975, an infamous 'Zim' moment was during the wild and chaotic Game 6 of the 1975 World Series was when Boston had the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the 9th with 2B Denny Doyle on 3rd. After a fly ball to shallow left, 3rd base coach Zimmer saw Doyle start to break and shouted "No! No!". Doyle apparently thought Zimmer was shouting "Go! Go!" and continued running towards home plate, only to be cut down by the throw from shallow left. Cincinnati was able to get out of the 9th and force extra innings, setting up Carlton Fisk's legendary and photogenic walk-off homer off a Pat Darcy pitch in the 12th inning.

The Red Sox lost the World Series and the following season, manager Darrel Johnston was fired in July and Zim was named interim manager before the position was more permanent. Although Boston finished flat in 1976, the Red Sox would win 90+ games between 1977-1979. However, this would include the infamous 'Boston Massacre' in which the Yankees trailed the Red Sox by as much as 14 games late in the season only to force a 1-game playoff that was decided by a home run from light-hitting Yankees catcher Bucky Dent.

Zim was also known for his acrimonious relationship with lefty pitcher Bill 'Spaceman' Lee during his time in Boston and reportedly avoided starting him during the infamous 1-game playoff against New York in 1978 despite Lee's winning record against the Bronx Bombers.

After being fired from Boston, Zim spent time coaching or managing with the Rangers, Yankees, Rockies, Cubs, Giants and Rays. In 1999, Zimmer filled in for Yankees then-manager Joe Torre while he was recovering from prostate cancer, going 21-15 during that timeframe. In 2003, Zimmer returned to Fenway as bench coach for the Yankees in the 2003 ALCS. During Game 3, the benches cleared after Manny Ramirez charged the mound after a high and inside pitch from Roger Clemens. Zimmer came out of the dugout and charged Pedro Martinez- Martinez responded by throwing Zimmer to the ground [the TV announcers had initially mistaken the 72 year old Zimmer for Yankees starter David Wells- NANESB!].

With Tampa Bay, Zimmer worked as a senior advisor to the Rays and was a regular fixture around the dugout during Spring Training and home games at Tropicana field. Zimmer also had the distinction of being the last Brooklyn Dodger player who was still in the majors- either as a coach or in the front office. While with the Rays, he wore a uniform that changed numbers each year- the numbers represented the years he had spent in baseball, with his most recent number being 66. In an interview, Zimmer said he prided himself on being able to draw a paycheck his entire life from the game he loved.

STANLEY CUP- Wow- looks like I have some catching up to do.

For starters, no Bruins hockey for the better part of a month after they lost in Game 7 of the eastern conference semifinals to the Canadiens. The Canadiens themselves were bested in 6 games against the New York Rangers while the Los Angeles Kings got past the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks in a roller-coaster 7-game series.

The first two games of the Stanley Cup final got underway at the Staples Center in Los Angeles- in each of those contests, the Kings rallied from behind to tie the game late and force OT with the Kings winning Game 1 by a 3-2 final in OT and Game 2 by a 5-4 final in double OT.

On Monday, the Kings did not need extra-time to take care of the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. With time expiring in the first period, the Kings got on the board with a goal from Jeff Carter to make it 1-0 Los Angeles. This was followed up by goals from Jake Muzzin and Mike Richards in the 2nd to give LA a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 lead while Jonathan Quick turned aside all 32 shots he faced to secure the Kings' 3-0 win.

After being on the wrong end of a 3-0 lead earlier in the playoffs, the Kings now have a commanding 3-0 lead over the Rangers and can secure their second Stanley Cup championship since 2012 with a win at Madison Square garden on Wednesday night. It's do-or-die for New York as Game 4 gets underway from Madison Square Garden tonight at 8:00 ET and will be televised on NBC Sports and the CBC.

HORSE RACING- After winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, there was all kinds of buzz surrounding California Chrome heading into this weekend's Belmont Stakes. California Chrome was poised to be horse racing's first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

After stumbling out of the gate, Chrome ended up finishing 4th to Tonalist and finishing in a near dead heat with Wicked Strong. A review of the starting gate showed that one of the horses next to him- Matterhorn- accidentally stepped on California Chrome's heel and had a small chunk taken out of it. The defeat led to an on-air post-race tirade from California Chrome's owner Steve Coburn, who referred to Tonalist's owners as 'cowards' and criticized owners who ran their horses in the Belmont Stakes but not the Preakness or Kentucky Derby.

FIFA WORLD CUP- Just days before the 2014 World Cup is set to get underway in Brazil, soccer's international governing body- FIFA- is under scrutiny for their bidding process in which the Middle Eastern emirate of Qatar named the host country of the 2022 World Cup. Qatar beat out competing bids from Australia, Japan, South Korea and the USA.

Since Qatar was announced, there have been allegations of bid-rigging and bribery on the part of FIFA according to the British Sunday Times. The newspaper claims to have been given e-mail correspondence between FIFA delegates and Qatari officials where a reported £3m in payoffs were given.

Qatari soccer official Mohammed Bin Hammam reportedly gave money and gifts to African members of the FIFA delegation to influence the governing body's votes and paid more than €300,000 to a Tahtian FIFA official who was caught in a Sunday Times sting soliciting money in support for a bid from people posing as American FIFA delegates.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Easter of Eden Sports Chowdah Update- Bruins Clip Wings to Even Series at 1-1; Red Sox Rally Late Against Baltimore on Sunday Night

BOSTON BRUINS- After stunning the home crowd at TD Garden on Friday night with a late goal in the 3rd period to take a 1-0 win over Boston, the Red Wings were looking to bring the series back to Motown by going up a commanding 2-0 lead over Boston.

Unlike Game 1, the Bruins didn't have to wait long to get on the board- Justin Florek caught Wings netminder Jimmy Howard out of position and he found the back of the net 7 and a half minutes to go in the first period. This had the distinction of not only being Florek's first NHL goal, but the Bruins first tally of the series.

About two minutes later, the Bruins would have a 5 on 3 man advantage for about 20 seconds with Detroit's Jakub Kindl being sent to the bin for interference at the 8:15 mark and Danny DeKeyser getting two for slashing at the 9:54 mark. Although Boston wasn't able to take advantage of the brief 2-man advantage, Reilly Smith put Boston up 2-0 with a power play goal 10:35 into the first period.

However, with 6:40 to go in the second, Detroit cut the lead in half on a goal that ricocheted in and was credited to Luke Glendening, making it a 2-1 game. However, Boston got the two goal cushion back in the final 1:45 of the second period on a Milan Lucic goal. In the opening two and a half minutes of the 3rd, Detroit's Kyle Quincey was given two minutes for roughing and Zdeno Chara would give the Bruins a 4-1 lead thanks to a power play goal 2:27 into the third.

The Bruins go on to win Sunday's Game 2 by a 4-1 final, sending the series over to Detroit knotted up at a game each. Tukka Rask stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced while Jimmy Howard stopped 25 of 29 shots faced. The Bruins were also 2 for 4 on the power play on Sunday afternoon.

Game 3 is set to take place from Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday night with a scheduled start time of 7:30 ET. The game will be televised on NESN, NBC Sports and TSN.

OTHER STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF NEWS- The defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks will have to do without the services of Defenseman Brent Seabrook, who received a suspension from the NHL after a hit on St Louis Blues captain David Backes on Saturday.

Video of the game shows Seabrook targeted Backes' head and at least one skate was off the ice when the Blackhawks defender was setting up for the hit, which came with the Blackhawks leading by a score of 3-2 with less than 5 minutes to go in regulation during Game 2. Seabrook was given a game misconduct and the Hawks were assessed a 5 minute charging penalty. In the dying seconds of regulation, the Blues also pulled Ryan Miller from the net for an additional attacker and that strategy bore fruit when Vladimir Tarasenko beat Corey Crawford with 7 seconds to go in the game, forcing OT in which Barrett Jackman would score the game winner 5:50 into the first OT to give the Blues a 2-0 series lead.

RED SOX- Coming into this weekend's series against Baltimore, the Red Sox were looking to climb out of the AL East basement- even though all of the teams were separated by no more than 2 and a half games on Friday. The series got off to a rough start when the O's manhandled Lackey on Friday night and Baltimore cruised to an 8-4 win over Boston.

On Saturday, Big Papi broke a 1-1 deadlock in the bottom of the 4th with a solo homer. Brock Holt, who was only called up from Pawtucket on Friday, gave the Red Sox some insurance in the bottom of the 7th when he belted a 1-out triple with Mike Carp on first to make it 3-1. Jonathan Herrera then grounded into a fielder's choice, sending Holt home and making it a 4-1 game before Koji Uehara came out of the pen and despite walking Matt Weiters to lead off the 9th, got the next three batters to strike out swinging, ending the ballgame.

Sunday night's nationally televised game on ESPN also marked the 1-year anniversary of the first Red Sox home game after the Boston Marathon bombings, and there was a pregame ceremony to honor the marathon runners, first responders and medical personnel from that fateful day.

Jake Peavy took to the mound on Sunday night and gave up three quick runs to Baltimore in the top of the first- a Nelson Cruz solo homer, a Matt Weiters RBI single and a JJ Hardy RBI sac fly. Meanwhile, Ubaldo Jiminez confounded the Red Sox bats through the first five innings as the O's added to their lead thanks to a 2-out David Lough ground rule double with 2 runners on that made it 4-0 in the 5th while outfielder Adam Jones hit an RBI single with two away in the top of the 6th. That was enough to chase Peavy from the mound and Chris Capuano came in from the bullpen to retire Weiters and prevent any further damage.

However, things were looking promising in the bottom of the 6th after David Ortiz got on board with a 1-out single, followed by Mike Napoli drawing a walk. Johnny Gomes then took a 2-2 Jiminez offering and planted it into the Monster Seats to put the Red Sox on the board and cut the O's lead to 5-3. Zach Britton came out of the Baltimore bullpen to relieve Jiminez and got the next two batters out. Capuano would get the Baltimore batters he faced out in order to give the Red Sox batters another chance in the bottom of the 7th.

After Pierzynski struck out to lead off the inning, Brock Holt singled and then made it to second when O's SS Ryan Flaherty dropped the ball when transferring it from his glove to his hand while attempting the double play on a Grady Sizemore ground ball- something the Red Sox admittedly caught a break on. Dustin Pedroia then singled to load the bases up before Big Papi beat the shift Baltimore had employed against him all night and hit an RBI single to make it a 1-run game. With Evan Meek coming out of the bullpen to relive Britton, Mike Napoli hit a ground ball to 3rd, but instead of trying to get the easy out at first or third, O's 3B Jonathan Schoop attempted to throw home and erase the runner there, but the throw was wide and his error tied the game. Gomes then fouled out and Danielv Nava struck out to end the Boston threat, but the game was tied 5-5.

Baltimore had a credible threat going in the top of the 9th thanks to a leadoff double from Adam Jones, who advanced to 3rd on a Weiters groundout. However, 2B Lombrardozzi would ground out to Andrew Miller and Jones couldn't advance. With two away, Mujica came out of the Boston bullpen in relief of Miller and got outfielder David Lough to strike out on four pitches to end the inning and strand Jones 90 feet away from home.

For the bottom of the 9th, Brian Matusz came out of the pen and got Grady Sizemore to strike out to start off the inning. Dustin Pedroia then belted a fly ball that was just a few inches short of a homer that caromed off the Green Monster in deep left center field [thanks to some fan interference- NANESB!]. After the umpires huddled and the play was reviewed in New York, the call was upheld and instead of a walkoff solo homer, Pedroia was at second with one away. Pedroia then advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch by Matusz with Big Papi in the batter's box. After falling behind 3-0 to Ortiz, O's manager Buck Showalter had Matusz intentionally walk Big Papi before bringing Darren O'Day out of the pen. O'Day struck Mike Napoli in the kneecap with a pitch to load up the bases and John Farrell decided to have Mike Capr pinch-hit for Jonny Gomes.

For a second, it looked as though Carp would end the game with a liner to shallow left field, but O's outfielder David Lough tracked it down for out number two. As Pedroia was returning to 3rd base, Lough made a way offline throw towards home that rattled around the backstop and seizing the opportunity, Pedroia ran home for the game-winning run. The Red Sox come all the way back from being shut out 5-0 to win Sunday night's game with two outs in the bottom of the 9th.

Tomorrow being Patriot's Day, the Red Sox and Baltimore will get underway especially early- 11:05 AM ET- and the game will be televised on NESN. Wei-Yin Chen [2-1; 4.76 ERA] will go up against Clay Buchholz [0-1; 5.51 ERA] to wrap up the 4-game series against the birds. As it turns out, Thursday's contest against Chicago was the last time they'll face an opponent that doesn't call the AL East home until early May. After the Baltimore series, the Yankees will come into town for a 3-game series before Boston head to Toronto for a 3-game series next weekend. On April 29th, the Red Sox will host the Tampa Bay Rays- the first time the two teams have met this season- before hosting Oakland on May 2nd.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

April Fool's Sports Chowdah Update- Sox Drop Season Opener to O's, Stop By White House for Customary Visit; Road Trip to Philly Wraps Up Hot March for Bruins; BC Advances to Frozen Four

RED SOX- The end of March heralded the beginning of the major league baseball season, with the Red Sox opening up on the road in Camden Yards. With Lester matched up against the O's Christ Tillman, the O's got on the board first when new acquisition Delmon Young grounded into a double play with nobody out and ex-Ranger Nelson Cruz at third in the bottom of the second.

The Red Sox managed to tie the game back up when Grady Sizemore- in only his second regular season MLB at-bat since July 2011- belted a solo homer to right field in the top of the 4th [His first at-bat was a single in the top of the 2nd- NANESB!].

However, Nelson Cruz would then lead off the top of the 7th inning with a solo homer off of Lester to give Baltimore the 2-1 lead. Tommy Hunter came out of the bullpen for the O's on the top of the 9th and led off the inning by hitting Will Middlebrooks with a pitch. Daniel Nava popped out the third for the first out of the inning but Pedroia followed that up with a single before Big Papi flew out to left field for the second out. With two away, John Farrell decided to have Jackie Bradley Jr come into the game as a pinch-hitter for Mike Napoli, but Bradley struck out to end the ballgame.

So the Red Sox open up the season with a 1-run loss in Baltimore. Not surprisingly, the Opening Day loss was taken in stride and kept in the proper perspective by some members of Red Sox Nation.

OMG! THE SOX ARE IN LAST PLACE....FARRELL'S GOTTA GO....RIGHT NOW!!!!- Obligatory #RedSoxNation Freakout. #RedSox #BOSvBAL #OpeningDay #MLB
— Fenway Nation (@Fenway_Nation) April 1, 2014

However, the Red Sox took Tuesday off to head down to the customary visit to the White House by the World Series champions [their third trip in 10 years and first since Barack Obama was elected- NANESB]. Gone were most of the beards that made the 2013 Red Sox look like a Hub version of Duck Dynasty, although some of the outfits stood out more than others.

THIS IS WHY JOHNNY GOMES WILL ALWAYS BE THE MAN! pic.twitter.com/M8iiXMPG4f
— Glenndrick Lamar (@GlennMTyson) April 1, 2014

The Red Sox will resume play tonight with John Lackey getting his first start of the season while Ubaldo Jiminez, who the Orioles signed to a 4-year, $50 million contract back in February. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

BOSTON BRUINS- The only downside of March for the Boston Bruins is that it's come to an end. Heading into last weekend, they started a 4-game road trip that started with back-to-back games in Washington DC and Philadelphia. On Saturday afternoon, they managed to double up the Caps by a 4-2 final with Chad Johnson in net.

On Sunday afternoon, they headed up the I-95 to take on the Philadelphia Flyers. Just a little after five minutes into the game, Vinny Lecavalier got the Flyers on the board first before ex-Flyer Andrej Meszaros beat Steve Mason to make it a 1-1 game halfway through the first. However, Kimmo Timonen put the Flyers back on top with an even-strength goal in the last 45 seconds of the first period.

However, at 5:44 into the second period, Zdeno Chara would get a power play goal to even up the contest at 2-2 and Patrice Bergeron would get a go-ahead goal from a seemingly impossible angle to give Boston their first lead of the night at the 11:05 mark.

In the third, the Bruins had managed to hold off the Phillies throughout most of the period until inside the final 25 seconds when Vinny Lecalvalier once again broke through and tied the game at 3-3 in regulation with a few seconds left. Since nothing was decided in regulation and the 5 minutes of overtime, the contest then headed to a shootout with Bergeron scoring early for Boston and Claude Giroux for Philly. The Bruins' Reilly Smith finally broke through in the fifth round of the shootout, giving Boston the 4-3 win, although Philly does collect a much-needed point to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Tukka Rask turned aside 49 of the 52 shots he faced prior to the shootout while Steve Mason made 27 saves on 30 shots faced. The Bruins were 1 for 2 on their power play opportunities while Philly went 0-4 with the man advantage.

The Bruins road trip continues through Detroit on Wednesday night- this one will be nationally televised on NBC Sports Network. Puck is scheduled to drop at 8:00 ET between the Bruins and Red Wings.

BOSTON COLLEGE HOCKEY- The BC Eagles survived a late challenge from a very game UMass-Lowell in Worcester on Sunday to advance to the frozen Four. Eagles defenseman Ian McCoshen broke a 3-3 deadlock in the 3rd and goalie Thatcher Demko made 29 saves in the Boston College win.

BC will advance to the Frozen Four to take on Union, who eliminated the Eagles last season by beating them 5-1 in the first round of the NCAA Eastern Tournament regional. This would be the Union Dutchmen's second trip to the Frozen Four since the 2011-2012 season, where they lost to Ferris State by a 3-1 final in the semifinal. The game is scheduled for 5:00 PM ET at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Thursday, April 10th.

Meanwhile, Minnesota bested St Cloud State in a 4-0 shutout to advance and face a resurgent North Dakota in Philly. The Fighting Sioux and Golden Gophers are scheduled to play at 7:30 PM ET and both the BC/Union Game and Minnesota/North Dakota games will be televised on ESPN.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Opening Day Is Here!

Nobody could sum up my love of baseball better than the late Ernie Hariwell and the final portion of his 1981 Hall of Fame Induction speech.

The 2014 MLB Baseball season technically got underway last weekend in Sydney, Australia when the Los Angeles Dodgers took on the Arizona Diamondbacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground, sweeping the two-game series Down Under.

However, Sunday night marks the beginning of the 2014 season in the USA- the LA Dodgers will take on the San Diego Padres at PetCo park at 8:05 ET and the game will be televised on ESPN. The Dodgers come into Sunday's game already two games up on the Padres by virtue of the fact that the two games they played in Australia counted as regular season wins. LA's Hyun Jin-Ryu will get the start against San Diego's Andrew Cashner.

Closer to the Hub, the Boston Red Sox will embark on their defense of their 2013 World Series title at Baltimore's Camden Yards. Jon Lester will get the start against Chris Tillman in Baltimore's home opener, and the game will be televised on ESPN2 with first pitch scheduled for 3:05 ET. Once a perennial doormat in the AL East, Baltimore was the only opponent in the division to have a winning record against Boston in 2013 with an 11-8 record versus the BoSox.

The Red Sox home opener is set for Friday, April 4th and it will be interleague play right out of the gate when they host the Milwaukee Brewers. First pitch for the Fenway Park home opener is scheduled for 2:05 and the game will be televised on NESN.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Under the Dome Sports Chowdah Update- Falcons Rally Late, But Get Their Wings Clipped; Because 162 Isn't Enough- Rangers and Rays Head Into One Game Playoff;

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE this time of year?

Kevin Cox- Getty Images

PATRIOTS- In their second prime-time matchup since week two, New England found themselves facing off against an NFC South opponent for the second straight week.

If last week's game against the Buccaneers was any indicator, Brady seemed to be settling into a groove with his corps of new receivers and vice-versa. However, they would have their work cut out for them in Week 4 on the road in the Georgia Dome against Boston College alum Matt Ryan and two of the NFL's best receivers.

The Falcons got on the board first with a Matt Bryant FG in the first before New England capped a 75 yard drive with a Brady to Matt Mulligan completion to put New England up 7-3. A 48 yard FG from Gostkowski made it 10-3 New England before Atlanta tied the contest up at 10-10 thanks to a 21 yard reception from Matt Ryan to TE Tony Gonzalez with just 38 seconds to go in the first half.

After another FG from Gostkowski in the 3rd quarter put the Patriots back on top, New England looked as though they were going to blow this one wide open at the start of the 4th quarter thanks to a 47 yard TD run from LaGarrette Blount to make it 20-10. Although the Falcons managed to drive down into New England's red zone, Michael Buchanan sacked Matt Ryan on 3rd and 5 from the New England 18 yard line, forcing Atlanta to settle for three points but still making it a 1-score game at 20-13.

The Patriots struck back quickly, thanks to two long completions from Brady to Edelman before Brady connected with WR Kenbrell Thompkins for an 18 yard TD pass. On the very first play of Atlanta's next possession, CB Aquib Talib managed to pick off a Matt Ryan pass and got as far as the Falcons 31 yard line before settling for a field goal, making it a 30-13 game with just over 6 minutes remaining in the 4th.

However, Atlanta would not go quietly and closed the gap thanks to an 11 yard TD pass from Ryan to Gonzalez before recovering the onside kick at mid field. Ryan got the Falcons as far as the Patriots 7 yard line, but Atlanta would have to settle for a field goal. New England successfully recovered the ball on Atlanta's next onside kick attempt and was simply looking to wind the clock down and get a first down on 4th and 1 at the Falcons' 37, but Brady fumbled the snap and although he recovered it, the Patriots turned it over on downs. Ryan looked as though he would make the Patriots pay when he found Julio ones for a nearly flawless 49 yard completion. However, with 36 seconds left and on 4th and 7 from the Patriot's 10, Aquib Talib broke up a Matt Ryan pass attempt to Roddy White in the end zone. New England got the ball back and Brady took a knee to run out the final seconds of the game.

New England moves to 4-0 for the first time since their 2007 dalliance with perfection. Next week, the Patriots will travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 PM kickoff on Sunday and will be televised on CBS Sports.

MLB- WILD CARD- It looks as though 162 games wasn't enough for the Texas Rangers or Tampa Bay Rays.

On the final day of the regular season, the Indians managed to leapfrog both Texas and Tampa Bay after winning 10 straight games to conclude the 2013 regular season to take the first Wild Card berth. This is Indians manager Terry Francona's first trip to the postseason since 2009 when he was still with the Red Sox. This is also Francona's first season as the Indians manager. The Tribe will await the winner of Monday's Rangers/Rays game.

First pitch for the Rays and Rangers Wild Card game is scheduled for 8:07 PM ET and will be televised on TBS.

Alan Diaz- AP

MIAMI MARLINS- And just like that the regular season is in the books, and it wasn't exactly uneventful.

While the Miami Marlins won't be going to the postseason, the end of their regular season was pretty noteworthy as starter Henderson Alvarez threw a no-hitter. Not only did the 23 year old Venezuelan starter get his no-hitter against the defending AL Champion Detroit Tigers, but he got it in an unorthodox manner and saw the game clinched when he was in the on deck, not the mound.

It was still a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 9th when Giancarlo Stanton came home on a wild pitch with the bases loaded for Miami's 1-0 win. The no-hitter was the Marlin's first since September 2006 when Anibal Sanchez no-hit the Arizona Diamondbacks.

RED SOX- The regular season for Boston ended on a less-than-glorious note after dropping two out of three to the Orioles over the weekend. Despite the losses, the Red Sox finish the season tied with St Louis for the best record in MLB with 97 wins and 65 losses.

This means that not only will Boston wait until Friday for their next game, they won't know who their opponent is until after two separate play-in games starting on Monday night. The Oakland A's finished one game behind Boston and will host the AL Central champion Detroit Tigers for the ALDS.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Full Circle Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Clinch Postseason Berth With Complete Game Gem From Lackey; Yankee's Pettitte Announces Retirement; Top Ranked Football Teams Coming to New England This Weekend; BC Women's Volleyball Sweeps Columbia Tourney

Jim Rogash- Getty Images

RED SOX- What a difference a year makes.

On a night when the Red Sox win total for 2013 matched their loss total from the awful 2012 season, Boston clinched their first postseason berth since 2009 [almost to the day when I started up this crappy blog- NANESB!] thanks to an outstanding complete game thrown by starter John Lackey against the Baltimore Orioles.

The O's came into town on Tuesday night in dire need of wins to keep afloat in the very tight American League Wild Card race and helped their own cause considerably by taking the first two games- despite the Red Sox jumping out to an early 2-0 lead each time. Interestingly, this was the first time in nearly a month that Boston had been dealt back-to-back losses.

Like the first two games of the series, Boston got out to a quick 2-0 lead when SS Stephen Drew belted a 1-out two-run homer off of O's starter Chris Tillman. This was followed up by a double from Jackie Bradley Jr who them came home on a Dustin Pedroia single to make it 3-0 Boston. The early lead on Thursday night held up thanks to this:

Unlike other starts by Lackey earlier this season, the starter had some run support early on. Not only was Lackey cruising, he took a no-hitter into the 7th inning before Adam Jones broke up the no-no bid with a solo homer over the Monster seats.

That would be all Baltimore would get, however, as Boston clinches their first playoff berth since 2009 with a 3-1 win. Lackey would give up two hits, one earned run, two walks and strike out a total of eight batters on 113 pitches in Thursday night's complete game, giving the bullpen a much-needed night off after Wednesday night's 12 inning Orioles win. Despite the loss, Baltimore is still only two games out of the Wild Card chase and the Red Sox will see them at the end of the month to wrap up the regular season at Camden Yards- [even by then we may not have a clearer picture of who has a Wild Card berth in the American League- NANESB!].

For Friday night, the Red Sox will host the Blue Jays for the final series of the regular season at Fenway. Earlier this week, the Jays delivered a crippling blow to the Yankees already-dim playoff hopes by taking two out of three from the Bronx Bombers at the Rogers Centre. Esmil Rogers [5-7; 4.47 ERA] will get the go-ahead against Jon Lester [14-8; 3.75 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and will be televised on NESN [lately, we had been enjoying an embarrassment of riches as far as nationally televised games go- NANESB!].

NEW YORK YANKEES- Yankees starter Andy Pettitte announced on Friday afternoon that he would be retiring at the end of this season. The 41 year old was coaxed out of retirement by the Yankees after 2011 and his last start at Yankee stadium will likely be on Sunday against the San Francisco Giants.

This season, Pettitte is 10-10 with a 3.93 ERA while he has a career 3.86 ERA and 19-11 record in the postseason, making him the winningest pitcher in postseason history. Petite is also slated to make his final start of the 2013 season against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park, the only other team he played for besides New York.

NCAA FOOTBALL- Not a particularly good week for the FBS schools in New England, although this was somewhat expected with Boston College now coming into a particularly difficult stretch of their schedule. Last weekend, the Eagles were dealt a 35-7 loss in their west coast road trip to USC. They will have a full week to prepare themselves for their next contest, which the Eagles could probably use. Although they return home, the will face the #8-ranked FSU Seminoles at Chestnut Hill on Saturday, September 28th. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 PM ET.

The Eagles won't be the only New England FCS team facing a top ranked opponent. UConn was bested by Maryland by a 31-21 final last week and will be playing host to the #15 Michigan Wolverines at East Hartford this weekend. This one will actually be aired in prime time with an 8:00 PM ET kickoff while the game will be on ABC in many markets.

Like one time Yankee Conference archrival UConn, the UMass Minutemen are in search of their first win of the season after losing 37-7 to Kansas State last weekend. This weekend, the Minutemen will host the Vanderbilt Commodores at Gillette Stadium. That game kicks off at noon eastern time.

BC Eagles Photo

NCAA VOLLEYBALL- The Eagles volleyball season is off to a good start with the women sweeping last weekend's Columbia tournament- already the second time they've gone undefeated in a tournament this season. Senior Melissa McTighe led the eagles with 8 kills against the Binghamton Bearcats for the finale of last weekend's Columbia tournament. Boston College started out the New York tourney in promising fashion on Friday the 13th by taking down Fordham in three straight sets before besting host Columbia 3 sets to 2.

The strong showing at the Columbia tournament gives the Eagles volleyball team and 8-2 record, good for 5th place overall in the ACC as they head into this weekend's New England Challenge tournament against Northeastern and Harvard.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Phoning It In Sports Chowdah Update- Lester Shuts Out Birds as Papi's Bat Does the Talking

Nick Wass- AP

RED SOX- Sunday's game turned out to be the rubber game of a quick 3-game weekend series against the Orioles at Camden Yard, perhaps garnering a little more attention than usual due to DH David Ortiz's shennanigans in the dugout on Saturday.

Having allowed a total of 38 runs in nine games this season against Baltimore, the prospect of a shutout looked fairly remote- although Boston still had some momentum after Saturday night's win. After getting out to a quick 1-0 lead thanks to a 2-out EBI single off the bat of Mike Napoli, Red Sox starter Jon Lester gave up a leadoff single to O's outfielder Nick Markakis before getting the next three batters out.

It looked as though both Lester and Baltimore starter Jason Hammel were settling in by the time the second inning rolled around. However, with two away and Ellsbury on 2nd in the top of the 3rd, Hammel might as well have been throwing phones at Big Papi as Big Papi cranked a 2-0 offering from Hammel into the seats in left field for his 20th homer of the season and put the Red Sox up 3-0.

Meanwhile, Lester was cruising- not allowing anyone to get past second in seven innings of work. Hammel lasted 5⅓ innings before TJ McFarland came on in relief. The Red Sox got some additional insurance in the top of the 8th when Saltalamacchia hit a 1-out 2 RBI single after McFarland had loaded up the bases with an intentional walk of Jonny Gomes to put the Red Sox up by a score of 5-0.

Matt Thorton gave up a leadoff single to Markakis after coming out of the bullpen in relief of Lester, but got Manny Machado to hit into a double play before getting Chris Davis to strike out swinging. Pedro Beato came on in the bottom of the 9th and got the Baltimore batters out in order, giving the Red Sox a 5-0 win and taking two out of three from the birds in Camden Yards.

Big Papi went 4-4 with a homer and 2 RBI on the day while Lester went 7 complete innings, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out eight batters. I gotta say what really left an impression on me for the last two games was the RBIs with two out- a total of six from Saturday and Sunday's games.

The Red Sox are in the middle of an unusual and unplanned part of their schedule where they'll have three opponents in two ballparks over the span of three days after Thursday's game against Tampa Bay at Fenway was postponed due to rain. Currently the Red Sox maintain a tenuous half game lead over the Rays for the AL East lead after Tampa Bay lost to the Yankees in the bottom of the 9th at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.

Monday evening's matchup at Fenway will have Tampa Bay's David Price [5-5; 3.75 ERA] going up against Felix Doubront [7-4; 3.78 ERA] with the somewhat unusual start time of 7:10 ET. Monday night's game will be televised on NESN. After the makeup game against Tampa Bay, Boston will then host the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night with a start time of 7:10 ET- Joe Saunders [9-9; 4.48 ERA] is slated to get the start against Brandon Workman [0-1; 4.40 ERA].

NCAA VOLLEYBALL- The Boston College Eagles have released their official 2013 schedule this weekend, with the season getting under way at the Western Carolina Invitational Tournament at the end of August where they'll face off against University of South Carolina-Upstate, UNC-Asheville, Western Carolina and Wright State.

Intra-conference play will begin on September 28th when the Eagles host Miami at Chestnut Hill- but even some matches against ACC opponents will have the feel of out-of-conference matches, as Notre Dame, Syracuse and Pittsburgh's volleyball programs will be making their Atlantic Coast Conference debut this season.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update for July 27th: Drew Calling- Slumping Shortstop Comes Up Big While Papi Gets the Phone; Mountaineers On the Move

Gail Burton- AP

RED SOX- With Thursday night's game against the Rays at Fenway rained out, the Red Sox would have to wait until Monday's make-up game if they were to try and salvage a split from the series [still a pretty quick turnaround time to reschedule a rainout nonetheless- NANESB!]. With the wet weather in Boston putting a damper on things, both the Rays and Red Sox moved on to drier pastures in the AL East, with Tampa Bay facing the Yankees in the Bronx and the Red Sox travelling down to Camden Yards in Charm City for a weekend series against the O's.

The series got off to a less than stellar start on Friday night when the Red Sox were shut out 6-0 by Baltimore. On Saturday night, the Red Sox got on the board relatively early when SS Stephen Drew came home from 3rf after Victorino hit into a fielder's choice in the top of the 3rd, giving Boston the early 1-0 lead. That would not be the last we'd see from the light-hitting Drew on Saturday night as Dempster would be getting some run support as the game went on.

O's starter Scott Feldman looked as though he was cruising through the 4th, getting Big Papi to fly out to center field and Mike Napoli to strike out swinging. However, back to back 2-out singles from Carp and Saltalamacchia put two runners on base for Drew, which led to this:

And in case the embedded video wasn't working, that's Drew hitting a 3-run homer into the right field seats at Camden Yard with two out to give Boston a 4-0 lead over the O's.

After Baltimore got on the board with a Brian Roberts RBI single in the bottom of the 5th to make it 4-1 Boston, Troy Patton would come out of the Baltimore bullpen in the top of the 6th. Patton allowed a leadoff single to Carp before getting Saltalamacchia to hit into a fielder's choice when Drew came up to bat again. Care to guess what happened next?

Drew Belted Patton's 1-0 offering to deep right-center field where it caromed off the top of the groundskeeper's shack. Carp came home to score as Drew was caught in a rundown between 3rd and home before scoring on an errant throw to the catcher. After the umpires conferred and reviewed the video replay, it was ruled a 2-run home run to make it a 6-2 Boston lead.

The Red Sox didn't let up when Jairo Acensio came in to replace Patton on the mound in the top half of the 7th. Victorino led off the inning with a solo homer to the walkway behind Camden Yard's right field seats to make it 7-2. But that wouldn't be the play from the inning that had most people talking. After a 3-0 count, Big Papi struck out for the second out of the inning and had some words with home plate umpire Tim Timmons on his way back to the dugout. What happened next really has to be seen to be believed.

For lack of a more diplomatic term, Ortiz freaked the fuck out and was ejected from the game apparently after deciding the visitors dugout in Camden Yards were in dire need of remodeling. Papi took his bat to one of the phones to the bullpen and started smashing away at them before stepping out of the dugout to yell some more at Timmons while Farrell and bench coach Torey Lovullo were doing there best to restrain him. Once back in the dugout, Pedroia was seen tersely exchanging words with Big Papi before the DH headed to the showers [full disclosure- I love Big Papi, and I could ALMOST understand this display if it were late in a one run game with the based loaded or something, but he could've injured teammates or personnel with that display- and it's not like he's a rookie who needs to be reminded to check himself before he wrecked himself- NANESB].

Baltimore would get a run back in the bottom of the 8th, but Junichi Tazawa would close it out in the bottom of the 9th to make it a 7-3 Boston final. Ryan Dempster gets the win, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out four in 5⅓ innings. Stephen Drew- who was flirting with the Mendoza line- goes 3 for 4 with 2 homers and 5 RBI while Shane Victorino went 1-5 with 2 RBI on the night.

The rubber game is all set for Sunday afternoon with Jon Lester [9-6; 4.50 ERA] going up against Jason Hammel [7-7; 5.20 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 PM ET and the game will be televised on TBS.

NCAA FOOTBALL- Two NCAA football FCS powerhouses are getting set to make the jump to the NCAA Football Bowl subdivision. Both Appalachian State and Georgia Southern University announced that they would be moving to the Sun Belt Conference starting in the 2015 season. Both the Georgia Southern Eagles and Appalachian State Mountaineers currently play in Southern Conference. The Mountaineers won three consecutive Division 1AA/FCS titles in 2005, 2006 and 2007 while the Eagles have six FCS/NCAA Division 1AA titles to their name [the UMASS Minutemen's most recent title came against Georgia Southern in 1998- NANESB!].

The move would bring the total number of football teams in the Sun Belt conference to 10 by 2015: the Mountaineers and Eagles in addition to Arkansas State, Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy and Western Kentucky.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Well Rested Sports Chowdah Update- Lester Looking Sharp After Having Start Pushed Back; Laser Show Here To Stay; K-Rod to Charm City;

Elise Amendola-AP

RED SOX- After being shut out by the white-hot Rays on Monday night, the Red Sox saw their lead in the AL East whittled down to merely half a game heading into Tuesday night's contest.

Jon Lester- who was originally slated to start the Sunday night game against the Yankees- had his start pushed back two nights so he could get some additional rest. After opening up the game with a 1-2-3 inning, Lester gave up a leadoff homer to Will Meyers to give the Rays the early 1-0 lead in the top of the second. The Red Sox came back with a run of their own in the bottom of the 2nd thanks to a Mike Carp single after Rays starter Roberto Hernandez gave up singles to Ortiz and Napoli to start off the inning (although Big Papi was thrown out trying to advance to third), tying the game at 1-1. The Red Sox would take the lead in the bottom of the 3rd with runners on first and third and Big Papi at the plate. Pedroia would steal second and Rays catcher Jose Molina's throw hit Pedroia, allowing Victorino to score and giving Boston a 2-1 lead.

The Red Sox would pad their lead with a Pedroia sac fly in the bottom of the 5th to make it 3-1, which is just as well, since Evan Longoria blasted a solo homer to lead off the top of the 6th for the Rays to once again make it a one-run game. However, Boston would get some run support in the bottom of the 8th with two outs and two on when Stephen Drew hit an RBI single followed by a Jose Iglesias single that managed to clang off the gloves of Rays 3B Evan Longoria and SS Yuniel Escobar as two more runs came in for the Sox to give them a 6-2 lead [Even though it was officially scored a 2-RBI single, Iglesias alertly moved to third on the throw home which rolled to the dugout- NANESB!].

Koji Uehara came out in the top of the 9th and had a 1-2-3 inning to preserve the Boston win, and one night after being shut out by the Rays, the Olde Towne Team goes on to win by a 6-2 final. Lester goes 6⅓ innings, allowing 7 hits and two earn runs while striking out 8. Jose Iglesias went 1-4 with 2 RBI and Dustin Pedroia was 0-2 with 1 RBI on Tuesday night. The win by the Red Sox snaps a 6 game winning streak for Tampa Bay that carried over from the All Star where the Rays leapfrogged past the Yankees and Baltimore for 2nd place in the AL East.

The series continues Wednesday night at Fenway with Felix Doubront [7-3; 3.76 ERA] taking the mound against Tampa Bay's David Price [4-5; 4.03 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and for the second time since Sunday, the game will be nationally televised on ESPN while the MLB Network and NESN will carry Thursday night's season finale.

Elise Amendola-AP

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- It's official.

Prior to last night's game, the Red Sox announced last night that Dustin Pedroia has signed an 8 year, $100 million contract extension that would keep the hard-charging second baseman in a Red Sox uniform through 2021. Peroia's current contract would have expired at the end of the 2014 season. The former Sun Devil was named AL Rookie of the Year in 2007 and AL MVP in 2008 in addition to two gold gloves and being selected to the All Star game twice.

Currently, Pedroia is batting .306 with 6 homers, 58 RBI and 14 stolen bases. Throughout his career, Pedroia has a .303 batting average with 96 homers and 116 stolen bases.

ELSEWHERE IN THE AL EAST- The Baltimore Orioles took a big step towards addressing one of their (few) weaknesses on Tuesday by acquiring Milwaukee Brewers closed Francisco Rodriguez in exchange for infielder Nick Delmonico from the Frederick Keys- Baltimore's Carolina League affiliate.

Rodriguez- aka "K-Rod"- is 1-1 with 1.09 ERA and has had 10 saves for the Brewers this season. K-Rod has been with Milwaukee since 2011

PITTSBURGH PIRATES- The resurgent Pirates got a scare in the 9th inning of Monday when closer and NL Saves leader Jason Grilli left the 9th inning of their game against the Washington Nationals. While the injury may not be as severe as the Pirates organization had feared, Grilli was put on the 15 DL with a strained right forearm on Wednesday.

On Monday night's game, Grilli allowed a leadoff walk to Washington's Adam La Roche in a 6-3 contest. This was followed up by a Jason Werth homer that made it a 1-run game. With one away, the Nationals Denard Span doubled off of Grilli before the Bucs closer got Nats catcher Wilson Ramos to strike out and was then pulled from the game. Vin Mazzaro then came on for Grilli and managed to get the final out, preserving the Bucs 6-5 win on Monday night.

After missing the playoffs for more than 20 straight years, the Pittsburgh Pirates have gotten off to a strong start both this season and in 2012. However, the second half of the Bucs 2012 campaign saw them gradually fade from playoff contention by Labor Day. Fans are hoping to avoid a repeat of last season's swoon in the Steel City. Currently, the Pirates are only a game and a half behind the St Louis Cardinals for the lead in the NL Central.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Woe Canada Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Take Two Out of Three From Heavy Hitting Toronto; Something Bruin in Omaha; O Noes! Yaz's Grandson Drafted by Baltimore

AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

RED SOX- On Sunday afternoon at Fenway, the Red Sox were hoping to help themselves out by closing out the four game series against Toronto with a victory while hitting the 50-win mark before the calendar turned over to July. After roughing up Wang and smacking around Johnson, the Jays bats came alive for Game 3 on Saturday and they won thanks in part to two homers to Jose Bautista.

Sunday's game would feature Mark Buehrle against Ryan Dempster. The Red Sox got on the board early thanks to a Lavarnaway RBI ground rule double and a two RBI double from Paw Sox callup Brandon Snyder in the bottom of the second. In the top of the 4th, Toronto would get two runs back on an RBI single from Colby Rasmus and an RBI groundout from Maicer Izturus to cut Boston's lead to 3-2. In the bottom of the 5th, the Red Sox once again made it a two run game after Johnny Gomes double brought Jacoby Ellsbury home to make it 4-2.

Dempster was starting to struggle in the top of the 6th, and Craig Breslow came in with the bases loaded for the Jays and only one out. Breslow managed to get Izturus to pop out to short and struck out pinch hitter Emilio Bonifacio to end the Toronto threat. However, in the top of the 7th, Breslow would give up a solo homer to Jose Reyes to make it a 4-3 game.

For the fourth time in five games, Koji Uehara came on in the top of the 9th to close the game out. While he seemingly effortlessly cruised through the Jays lineup the first time around, he struggled mightily on Sunday. After RF Shane Victorino made a spectacular diving catch on a Joes Reyes fly ball towards right, Uehara gave up a solo homer to Bautista to tie the game at 4-4 before getting the next two batters out.

The Red Sox would start off the bottom of the 9th with Jose Iglesias grounding out before Snyder singled to right. Jacoby Ellsbury was walked and Snyder was replaced at second with pinch-runner Jonathan Diaz while Toronto made a pitching change, pulling Juan Perez for Casey Janssen with runners at first and second with only one away. It's also worth noting at this point that Jays 1B Adam Lind left the game earlier with an unspecified ailment and was replaced with AAA Buffalo callup Josh Thole.

The first batter Janssen faced was Shane Victorino who chopped an 0-1 offering to Thole only for the Jays infielder to have it glance off his glove and roll into shallow right field as Diaz sped home for the game-winning RBI. This would be Boston's 7th walk off win of the season and knocks Toronto back to .500 and 8 games out of first place in the AL East. The win is Boston's 50th of the season and good for the best record in the American League [the Red Sox and St Louis Cardinals entered Sunday tied for the second best record in MLB; the Pittsburgh Pirates currently have the best record in all of baseball this season- NANESB].

The Red Sox will next host the San Diego Padres who, despite being two games under .500 are only two and a half games out of first place in the NL West. John Lackey [5-5; 2.99 ERA] will get the start against Padres rookie Robbie Erlin [1-0; 3.60 ERA in the MLB while going 6-2 with a 5.25 ERA for the AAA Tucson Padres in the Pacific Coast League] on Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM and the game will be televised on NESN.

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES- The UCLA Bruins won their first ever college World Series with a two game sweep of the Mississippi State Bulldogs last week.

The Bruins clinched the title in an 8-0 shutout of the Bulldogs while starter Nick Vander Tuig went eight shutout innings allowing five hits and striking out six before closer Eric Berg pitched a scoreless ninth to close out Game 2 of the best of three series.

Vander Tuig had help offensively from outfielder Eric Fillia, who went 2-3 with 5 RBI and 2B Cody Regis who went 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.

OTHER COLLEGE BASEBALL NEWS- The Baltimore Orioles selected Vanderbilt Commodores outfielder Mike Yastrzemski in the 14th round of this year's MLB draft. If that name sounds familiar, that's because Yastrzemski is the grandson of Red Sox Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. The Red Sox selected him in the 36th round of the 2009 MLB draft, but Yastrzemski opted to play college ball with the Commodores, who were ranked #1 overall through much of the NCAA regular season before being swept from the Super Regionals by Louisville.