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Best NFL Trends for ‘unders’ in Week 4 Betting

admin — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 01:18:10 +0000

Best NFL Trends for ‘unders’ in Week 4
Low scoring games are the norm for a number of teams in the NFL, and here at BetUS Sportsbook, we’re focusing in on some of those best matchups that this week has to offer. Here are the best NFL trends for ‘unders’ in the league in Week 4. Baltimore Ravens vs.

Premiership afl Betting Tips
18th -19th September 201018th September 2010 Stoke (1.91) Draw (3.5) West Ham (4.5) Terrific result for Stoke Monday. 1-0 down at half time, they fought back to win 2-1 with practically the last kick of the game. Stoke should be able to build on that after some unlucky results. West Ham will be without their manager due to Yom Kippur. That may not be such a bad thing considering their results so far this season. No wins and letting in 12 goals in just 4 games, things are already looking bleak. They are a relatively new team so will take a little more time to gel. If not, it’ll be Championship football next season for them. I don’t really give West Ham a chance in this game. Stoke opened at 2.0 and the odds have dropped. Best price is now 1.91 at most places. Aston Villa (1.83) Draw (3.6) Bolton (5) Villa outplayed Stoke first half last game but Stoked raised their game and Villa ended up losing 2-1. This could be the last game in charge for caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald with Gerrard Houllier taking over next week. They seem to be doing the exact opposite of Villa of the last few years in that they are winning their home games and losing their away games. Bolton had a good game at Arsenal only trailing 2-1 when Gary Cahill got sent off. Pretty much game over after that. He will be missing for this game which will be a big miss. In terms of betting, I’ll stick with form and just for a Villa home win. Its 1.83 at Boylesports. Blackburn (2.1) Draw (3.4) Fulham (4) Blackburn did a good job getting a point at Manchester City last week. They took an early lead and managed to hold on for the draw despite all the City pressure. Fulham scored a late goal to win against Wolves last weekend. The game was overshadowed by Booby Zamora breaking his leg. He’ll be out for at least 4 months now which will be a big loss for them. Home advantage makes this pick fairly easy. Blackburn are strong at home and Fulham are poor away from home. Blackburn win is 2.1 at Skybet. Everton (1.67) Draw (3.8) Newcastle United (6.3) Unreal game last weekend for Everton and Manchester United. Everton were 3-1 down in stoppage time and managed to score twice to level the game 3-3. Excellent character shown by Everton there. Some of it was down to Manchester United easing off thinking they had the game in bag. Newcastle could not follow up their recent form results. They lost 2-0 at home to Blackpool last week. Looking at the odds, Everton look a bit short to me. They are second bottom of the league without a win. I know they will pick up their game sometime but at 1.67 I am not willing to risk it. I think the draw at 3.8 at PaddyPower is the value bet. I’ll not trust Newcastle to get an away win here. Tottenham (1.5) Draw (4.5) Wolverhampton (8.5) Spurs disappointed last weekend at West Brom only managing a draw. In their midweek Champions League game they let a 2-0 lead slip and ended up with a 2-2 draw away in Bremen. Last time they had a Champions League game they came back and lost 1-0 at home to Wigan. Wolves gave it a good go at Fulham and could have won the game. In those last few minutes it could have gone either way. Wolves really are looking like a Premiership team. Last season, they did the double over Spurs. I think the bookmakers have put this in to the price. I was expecting Spurs to be shorter. Wolves still look tasty at 8.5 at Skybet. West Bromwich (2.38) Draw (3.3) Birmingham (3.25) West Brom have recovered well since the opening day thrashing at Chelsea. They were unlucky to lose at Liverpool and held Spurs 1-1 last week. Birmingham drew 0-0 last weekend against Liverpool in a game where they could easily won. This game will have a lot of interest in the Midlands but I can’t see myself getting excited about it. At first glance it looks like a draw to me but I wouldn’t want to put any money on this game. Sunderland (5.5) Draw (3.75) Arsenal (1.7) Sunderland played most of last weeks game against Wigan with 10 men and were only denied all 3 points by a late equalizer. Arsenal come in to this game on a high after thrashing Braga 6-0. Thats what happens to you if you try to play football against Arsenal, they will hit you on the counter and run up these scores. I am sure Steve Bruce will not make that same mistake. Sunderland won this game 1-0 last season and drew 1-1 the year before. I am still not sure about Arsenal with all those players out. Sunderland at 5.5 at William Hill looks a good bet to me. Teams generally do worse after a Champions League game and Sunderland could well take advantage of that. 19th September 2010 Manchester United (1.73) Draw (3.75) Liverpool (5.5) An extremely bad week for Manchester United, first they throw away a 3-1 lead at Everton and then they only managed a 0-0 draw against Rangers in the Champions League. To be fair I think Alex Ferguson thought he could beat Rangers with a B side. With the full side back I think they will do a lot better. Liverpool looked poor against Birmingham last weekend. Torres just looked so off the pace. In the Euopra League game they beat Steaua Bucurest 4-1. That scoreline was a bit flattering to them. Liverpool always seem to raise their game against Manchester United but this time I don’t think they have the players to do it. Manchester United at 1.73 at PaddyPower for me. Odds are rising though so you’ll probably get a better price closer to kick off. Wigan (5) Draw (3.75) Manchester City (1.8) Wigan only managed to draw against Sunderland last weekend despite having an extra man for most of the game. With Sunderlands general poor away record I would have expected better of them. I still think that the result against Spurs a few weeks ago was a fluke. Manchester City are lacking any form. If they were true title contenders then they really should have got all 6 points from their last 2 league games. Instead they drew 1-1 against Blackburn at home and lost away to Sunderland. They had a good result in Austria in the Europa League but that wasn’t Premiership standard. I still will go for a City win though. Wigan have not convinced me they are a Premiership side and City have the players to really give them a good hiding. Its 1.8 at VC Bet. Chelsea (1.11) Draw (10) Blackpool (29) Can anyone stop the Chelsea juggernaut this season? Someone will but it won’t be Blackpool at Stamford Bridge. 1.11 for a home side in the Premiership is the lowest I’ve seen. Bookies are really sure that Chelsea will win this. Hard to argue with them. Beating Newcastle and Wigan away is one thing but going to Bridge in a normal season is hard but Chelsea seem to be hammering teams like this for fun. I guess its Chelsea on the handicap then. One the Asian Handicap -2.5 its 1.82 at bet365.

Premiership Betting Tips
2nd – 3rd October 20102nd October 2010 Wigan (2.38) Draw (3.3) Wolverhampton (3.3) Neither of these teams have started brilliantly. They sit 17th and 18th in the league respectively. Wigan had a goalless draw last weekend at Birmingham. With no really good strikers they are struggling to score. Wolves are still underated in my opinion. They were unlucky not to get anything from Villa’s visit last weekend. Looking at the odds, its got to be X2. I will go with the away win because I think Wolve’s luck has to change at some point. Wigan look like a team that deserve to be at the bottom whereas Wolves have been unlucky. Its 3.3 at PaddyPower. Birmingham (2.88) Draw (3.3) Everton (2.7) Birmingham have drawn their last 2 home games 0-0. The don’t seem to have the ability to break teams down and their early season luck has run out. Everton are rock bottom with 3 draws. Last weekend they drew to Fulham 0-0. With no strikers I can’t see them scoring the goals needed to pick themselves off the bottom of the table. Cahill is a decent player but playing a lone strike role is tough for anyone. This games looks like a 0-0, or 1-0 either way. Unders for sure. Under 2.5 goals is 1.71 at Bodog but I am going to go for under 1.5 goals at 3.2 at VC Bet. Stoke (2.3) Draw (3.3) Blackburn (3.4) Stoke battled well from a goal down to take all 3 points from an in form Newcastle. They were outclassed first half but second half they came back and deserved the win. Blackburn beat Blackpool last weekend. It probably should have ended a draw and Blackpool sealed their own downfall by going for the win instead of settling for a point. Both teams are masters of the long throws in to the box. Its hard to separate the sides. I will go for the home win though as I am still as Stoke have been good at home in recent seasons and Blackburn poor. Normality has to return to the Premiership sooner or later. Its 2.3 for the home win at 888sport. Sunderland (5.5) Draw (3.6) Manchester United (1.83) Sunderland were unlucky to only get a point from Liverpool last weekend. That first goal should never have been. I guess its payback for last seasons beach ball incident. Darren Bent seems to be on a roll with scoring, netting both Sunderland goals. Manchester United were once again disappointing away from home in the Premiership. They had to come from behind twice to get a point against Bolton. They had a better time in Spain winning 1-0 against Valencia but both teams were really set out for the 0-0 and it was a late fortunate goal which gave Manchester United the win. I am sure Manchester United will turn their away fortunes around at some point but I’m not willing to back it at 1.83 this weekend. I think over 2.5 goals is the better bet. All 6 of Manchester United’s games have been over 2.5 goals. With their not so solid defense and Darren Bent free scoring they are bound to let on in, so they’ll need to have an overs game to win. Its even money at bet365. Tottenham (2) Draw (3.6) Aston Villa (4) Spurs had a good looking win on paper against FC Twente. They were 2-0 up, then conceded, had a man sent off, got a lucky penalty and scored a very late goal. It was one of those 4-1 games that could have been a 2-2. Last weekend they lost to West Ham 1-0. Gerrard Houllier has got off to the perfect start with 2 wins out of 2. Spurs will present a tougher test than Wolves or Blackburn though. I still am siding with the away win. Spurs had a game midweek and I am still not convinced that they have gotten used to playing in Europe then winning in the league. Villa win is 4.0 at most Bookmakers West Bromwich (2.2) Draw (3.4) Bolton (3.8) West Brom may have shock result of the season. Not only did they outplay Arsenal, winning 3-2, they were 3-0 up with 15 minutes to go. They knocked Man City out of the Carling Cup and beat Birmingham 3-1 in the previous home game. They are the in form team. Bolton played extremely well against Manchester United and fully deserved their 2-2 draw. Johan Elmander looks very threatening for Bolton at last. I will stick with the current form. I worry that some teams outside the top few haven’t got 3 wins in a row in them but you can’t go against a team that has just won at Arsenal 3-2. West Brom are 2.2 at PaddyPower. West Ham (2.38) Draw (3.3) Fulham (3.5) Just when I was writing off West Ham this season they get a draw at Stoke, beat Sunderland away from home (in the Carling Cup) and then beat Spurs. Grant has got them playing as a team now. I think Fulham have take a step back under Mark Hughes. Unbeaten but they have only won 1 game, drawing the other 5. They created few chances against Everton last weekend and 0-0 was a fair result. I am going to go with West Ham to carry on their resurgence. Its 2.38 at Betfred for the West Ham win. 3rd October 2010 Manchester City (1.5) Draw (4.5) Newcastle United (8.5) Great result for City last weekend against Chelsea. They outplayed them in a dull game and fully deserved the 1-0 win. On paper, they do have potentially a better team than Chelsea and it was just a case of whether they would gell at the right time. Newcastle were good against Stoke and going in to the break 1-0 they looked comfortable winners but Stoke came back and won 2-1. A little more consistency is needed. I probably could make the case for the Newcastle win. They did beat Chelsea’s (strongish) Carling Cup side 4-3. I am going to go for the home win though and put last week’s freak results behind. I think City will make top 4 this season. 1.5 is a great price for any top 4 team at home against a bottom tier team. Its 1.5 at William Hill . Liverpool (1.33) Draw (5) Blackpool (11) Liverpool’s season is going from bad to worse. In a game on paper, they should have won easily, they needed a referee’s mistake to earn them a point. There were signs of improvement but from a very bad start. Blackpool should have really settled for the draw against Blackburn last weekend. They lost because they went for the win. I know what Ian Holloway means when he says that draws don’t keep you up but better to have 1 point than 0. I really can’t see Blackpool getting anything here. They have had 2 shock away wins so far but against the big teams they have got spanked pretty hard. Liverpool win but to be honest 1.33 doesn’t appeal to me at all. I am still unsure whether Liverpool are a big team this year. Chelsea (1.75) Draw (3.75) Arsenal (5.5) Chelsea were brought crashing down to reality with the 1-0 loss at Manchester City last weekend. Many people thought they would walk the league this season (including myself) but they have shown that against strong opposition they can fail. Arsenal were humiliated last weekend by West Brom. Even Wenger, who usually defends his players or blames someone else, blamed his players. Its tough for Arsenal with all the players out though. Fabregas is very doubtful for this game and his role is vital if Arsenal are going to get anything from this. Usually, I would be saying back Arsenal at 5.5. How often does that happen? With all the injuries though, I can’t see them getting anything here. Chelsea are 1.75 at Boylesports.

Vikes’ Peterson plans to play vs. Saints (AP)

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:36:09 +0000

Vikes’ Peterson plans to play vs. Saints (AP)
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP)—Adrian Peterson says he plans to play on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. The Minnesota Vikings star running back practiced on a limited basis Thursday. But he says his sprained left ankle is feeling much better and he expects to play for the first time in a month. Peterson has missed the last three games with the high ankle sprain. Peterson says he feels about 85 percent healthy right now, but he is determined to rejoin his teammates and help them to an elusive victory. The Vikings are 2-11 and need two wins in their last three games to avoid the worst record in franchise history. Peterson joked that he has been getting pressured by fans on Twitter who want him back to help their fantasy football teams.

C-a-C: DeAndre Jordan struggles through short-term memory loss

admin — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:18:09 +0000

C-a-C: DeAndre Jordan struggles through short-term memory loss
DeAndre Jordan(notes): “You are not a basketball. Why am I holding you aloft beneath the rim?” Child: “JE NE SAIS PAS JE SUIS JUSTE UN PETIT ENFANT” Jordan: “Wow, I forgot you are French. Wow, I forgot I know French.” Navigating the lockout is a constant struggle when you are living with That Thing from “Memento.” Courage, DeAndre. Best caption wins instructional “Muzzy” tapes, like DeAndre doesn’t remember using. Good luck. In our last adventure: Marcus Banks(notes) is considering an offer to play in Lick-tenstein. (That will be 10 comedy dollars, please. I accept PayPal.) Winner, Grey Ghost: Marcus Banks enjoys making faces at his new Brian Cardinal(notes) action figure. Runner-up, Kb: Banks: “How can I afford this? Because I’ve been making the NBA average salary the last few seasons even without playing more than 25 games a year. Thank you, NBPA.” NOTE: I think you meant to write, “Thank you, Phoenix Suns and Robert Sarver,” since they’re the ones who ACTUALLY SIGNED Banks to a five-year, $21-million contract in 2006 to back up Steve Nash(notes). Like Clay Davis and most everybody else in the world, Marcus Banks will take any mother’s father’s money if he just GIVIN’ it away. Winner, Al: Things were cool with the “double dog dare,” but Marcus fell for the “triple dare you.” It was not a happy ending. Related: Steve Nash, DeAndre Jordan, Brian Cardinal, Marcus Banks, Phoenix Suns, Create-a-caption, NBA lockout

Lockout videos: Penny, Shaq, Spree, and Timmy go absolutely nuts in 1994

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:00:19 +0000

Lockout videos: Penny, Shaq, Spree, and Timmy go absolutely nuts in 1994
Michael Jordan’s missed seasons in the mid-’90s are typically considered to be an asterisked period in the NBA history, but for nostalgists of a certain age it was also one of the most fun times around. Penny Hardaway was at his brief pre-injury peak and seemed like a next-level legend, Shaquille O’Neal(notes) terrorized every lackluster front line in his path, and players like Latrell Sprewell gave someone at the NBA office a great idea for this cool thing called League Pass. Sometimes, when these guys met up, they produced magical games. Like the one given above from December 16, 1994, when the team’s played an overtime thriller full of obscene stat lines. Penny went for 38 and 13 assists, Shaq put up 40 and 18, Spree poured in a ho-hum 40, and Tim Hardaway, only a few weeks into a comeback from a serious knee injury that made him miss all of the previous season, dished out 22 assists. It’s a long highlight video, but if you watch the whole thing you’ll wish it were longer. Thank you, YouTube friends. Related: Shaquille O’Neal, Lockout videos

Canadiens beat Flyers to end 6-game skid (AP)

admin — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:36:10 +0000

Canadiens beat Flyers to end 6-game skid (AP)
MONTREAL (AP)—Already feeling a desperate need to get their next win, Carey Price(notes) and the Montreal Canadiens reacted positively to a rough reminder that slumps put jobs on the line. Price made 21 saves for his 100th win and Max Pacioretty(notes) had two goals and an assist and Montreal ended a six-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. Canadiens assistant coach Perry Pearn was fired before the game. GM Pierre Gauthier told his players the news in the team’s dressing room a few hours before the pregame warmup. “It was a big shock to all the players. We didn’t see it coming at all,” said Pacioretty, who was a game-time decision because of an upper-body injury. “When things are not going your way you’ve got to mix things up and it kind of sent a message to the players that they’re willing to do what it takes to win hockey games. “It’s a decision that management made. None of the players were really involved in that but it showed us that no one’s job is secure, and we’ve got to bear down at a time like this and do what we can to win.” Pacioretty assisted on Andrei Kostitsyn’s(notes) goal 10:26 into the second and scored 2:12 later to make it 3-1. He added his second goal of the game in the third. Yannick Weber(notes) scored a power-play goal late in the first period to tie it at 1. Michael Cammalleri(notes) also scored for the Canadiens, who got their first win in six games at the Bell Centre (1-3-2). “We needed to get that one,” Price said. “It was a tough stretch there, honestly. It was pretty tough mentally on everybody so we’re just glad to have that over with and at least we have a chance to get right back into it (Thursday) night (in Boston). Hopefully we can continue what we did tonight.” The Canadiens, who are 2-5-2 overall, had not gone this deep into a season before getting their second win since 1941-42, when they got off to a 1-10-1 start. Jaromir Jagr(notes) scored his third goal in two games for Philadelphia, which played its first game without injured captain Chris Pronger(notes). Ilya Bryzgalov(notes) made 23 saves. “They have a lot of back pressure back through the middle,” said Scott Hartnell(notes), who assisted on Jagr’s goal which opened the scoring midway through the first. “When we turn pucks over it seems like their D are joining and there’s at least three guys caught and they’re coming 4 on 2. And we didn’t do it just once or twice, we did it that whole second and third period.” The Canadiens failed to score on their first opportunity after Philadelphia was called for a penalty 58 seconds in. Jagr soured the sold-out Bell Centre crowd’s somber mood further when he put the Flyers up 1-0 at 10:43 on a goal sealed with his trademark salute. Weber sent a jolt of energy through the building with 2.6 seconds left in the first when he drove a point shot inside the left post for his second goal and Montreal’s fourth power-play goal of the season. Kostitsyn got credit for putting the Canadiens up 2-1 midway through the second. Daniel Briere’s clearing attempt went in off Kostitsyn’s right skate, prompting a video review that upheld the goal. Pacioretty, who left Monday night’s 2-1 loss to Florida late in the second with an upper-body injury, made it a two-goal lead at 12:38 when a redirected puck left him a shot at an open right side for his third goal. He made it 4-1 with his second goal of the game—his fourth of the season— 3:16 into the third. Cammalleri increased the lead to four with his third goal at 15:36. Pronger is on bedrest and expected to miss two to three weeks after suffering an eye injury in Monday night’s 4-2 win over Toronto. Pronger, who does not wear a visor, was struck on the outside of his right eye by Maple Leafs center Mikhail Grabovski’s stick blade. NOTES: Flyers C Sean Couturier played his ninth game and GM Paul Holmgren will now have to decide whether he will remain with the team or be returned to his junior team. Couturier, who has two goals and two assists, was selected eighth overall by Philadelphia in the June draft. … Flyers coach Peter Laviolette used his timeout 4:29 into the second. … Price, who is 100-80-26 overall, was rested for the first time this season Monday. He had failed in five straight attempts to get his milestone win following a 5-1 win in Winnipeg. … The Canadiens went 1 for 5 on the power play.

Lions 5-0 for first time since 1956 (AP)

admin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 08:52:57 +0000

Lions 5-0 for first time since 1956 (AP)
DETROIT (AP)—Detroit Lions fans counted down the final seconds—as if it was New Year’s Eve—when the franchise finished its first Monday night game in a decade. The Motor City is hoping this party doesn’t stop any time soon. Matthew Stafford’s(notes) second touchdown pass put Detroit ahead in the third quarter and Jahvid Best’s(notes) 88-yard run later in the period gave the Lions a double-digit lead in a 24-13 win over the Chicago Bears. “It was electric,” Stafford said. “Our fans came out and did an unbelievable job.” The Lions did a pretty good job, too. Detroit (5-0) is undefeated through five games for the first time since 1956 — the year before its last NFL title. Lions coach Jim Schwartz, though, refused to be celebrate, pointing to the team’s next game on Sunday at home against the San Francisco 49ers. “We’ll start on San Fran in about an hour and a half,” Schwartz said shortly after midnight. The defending NFC North champion Bears (2-3) are off to their worst start since 2007. They are three games behind Detroit and defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay (5-0) in the division. Detroit and its fans were clearly fired up for the Monday night game. The Lions had their largest crowd at Ford Field and the 67,861 fans created enough noise to rattle the Bears into nine false starts. “It was unbelievable,” Stafford said. “Especially early on, some of those third downs, you couldn’t hear yourself think.” The Bears looked unnerved at times by the raucous crowd. Chicago committed six false start penalties in the first half—an NFL season-high for a game, according to STATS, LLC. “We were going against a loud crowd, but that isn’t an excuse,” Chicago coach Lovie Smith said. “Pre-snap penalties kill you.” Chicago quieted the fans briefly by taking a 10-7 lead just before halftime and seemed to make them a little nervous by pulling within eight points with 4:07 left to play. Best, though, made them roar again with a 43-yard run that was capped by a horse-collar penalty that gave Detroit the ball at the Chicago 22. He ran for another first down that took time off the clock and set up Jason Hanson’s(notes) 31-yard kick with 1:56 to go to seal the victory. The Lions got some large gains on offense and a lot of solid and subtle ones on defense, holding Chicago to just three points in the second half. “Can’t give up the big plays,” Smith said. “Their defense made us earn everything. We didn’t do the same.” Stafford lofted a pass to Calvin Johnson(notes) for a 73-yard score—extending his NFL-record start with nine TD catches in five games—early in the second quarter. Best’s 88-yard run was the second-longest in franchise history, trailing only Bob Hoernschemeyer’s 96-yard run against the New York Yankees on Nov. 23, 1950. It was 3 yards longer than Barry Sanders’ longest gain on the ground. Smith was dumbfounded that Best wasn’t touched on the run through a hole up the middle and past the secondary. “Hard to swallow,” Smith said. “Jahvid Best is a good player, but we can’t let that happen.” Stafford was 19 of 26 for 219 yards with two TDs, including the go-ahead score to Brandon Pettigrew(notes) from 18 yards with 9:55 to go in the third quarter. Best more than doubled his previous career-high with 163 yards rushing on 12 carries. Johnson finished with five catches for 130 yards and for the first time this season, he didn’t score twice, but he made an impact as usual against a team that tried to slow him down with double coverage. Matt Forte(notes) ran for 116 yards on 22 carries for the Bears. Jay Cutler(notes) was 28 of 38 for 249 yards with a TD and no interceptions. “They were getting 3, 4 yards of surge every time and that makes it hard to stay in the pocket,” Cutler said. He was sacked three times and was hurried and hit many more times. “Jay was under a lot of pressure,” Smith said. “But he kept us in it.” Cutler’s 9-yard pass to Kellen Davis(notes) gave the Bears a three-point lead late in the first half, but it wasn’t large enough to hold off the NFL’s first team to come back from 20-point deficits in consecutive weeks. Detroit didn’t need to rally this time, taking the lead and making enough plays on both sides of the ball to keep it much to the delight of the sports-crazed fans in their state that are buzzing about them, the Tigers along with Michigan and Michigan State’s ranked football teams. The Lions, who became the NFL’s first 0-16 team just three years ago during the league’s worst stretch of futility since World War II, are finally giving their legion of followers something to cheer about. “Some of our guys were on the team, so they know what the city’s been through,” Best said. “They know what this team’s been through. I can definitely feel the sense of how hungry the city is.” NOTES: Chicago DE Julius Peppers(notes) left briefly with a knee injury in the first half, but returned to the game. “He tried to suck it up and go back out there,” Smith said. “That’s what you’d expect. We’ll see how he is. Other than that, we came out of it fine.” … Lions returner Stefan Logan(notes) was shook up in the first half and left the game, but returned before halftime. … Detroit rookie DT Nick Fairley(notes) made his debut two months after foot surgery.

Lynx beat Dream 73-67 for WNBA title sweep (AP)

admin — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:53:10 +0000

Lynx beat Dream 73-67 for WNBA title sweep (AP)
ATLANTA (AP)—Seimone Augustus and the Minnesota Lynx turned up the defensive pressure on Angel McCoughtry and the Atlanta Dream. The result was the final entry in a near-perfect postseason as the Lynx beat the Dream 73-67 on Friday night to complete a three-game sweep of the WNBA championship series. Augustus had 16 points and Maya Moore, returning to her Atlanta home, had 15 — including a key 3-pointer late in the game—to lead a balanced scoring attack as the Lynx won their first WNBA title. McCoughtry had a game-high 22 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. McCoughtry made only 9 of 25 shots as the Dream were held to 34.6 percent shooting from the field. “We felt we didn’t show them what a good team we were defensively in the first two games,” said Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve, who was soaked by a bubbly spray before her postgame news conference. Augustus had the primary defensive assignment on McCoughtry, who set a WNBA finals record with 38 points in Game 2. “Tonight we just kind of smothered her and forced her into bad shots,” Augustus said. Minnesota closed the postseason with six straight wins, including sweeps of Phoenix in the Western Conference finals and Atlanta in the championship series. Most Minnesota players celebrated in a pile of hugs on the court. Taj McWilliams-Franklin, the 41-year-old starting center, headed to the bench to engulf Reeve in a hug. Erika de Souza, who had 11 points, was Atlanta’s only other scorer in double figures. “I’m just glad we were able to finish playing Lynx basketball by being a good defensive team,” Moore said. Minnesota had four scorers in double figures as Rebekkah Brunson had 13 points and nine rebounds and Candice Wiggins had 10 points. Atlanta was swept by Seattle in the 2010 WNBA finals. The Dream trailed by eight points in the final quarter before making a late charge. Two free throws by McCoughtry cut Minnesota’s lead to 64-40. Following a turnover, Iziane Castro Marques hit a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the lead to one with 1:17 remaining. Poor shooting from the field forced Atlanta to foul in the final minute. Two free throws by McWilliams-Franklin and another by Lindsay Whalen pushed the lead to 67-63. Following a miss by Castro Marques, McWilliams-Franklin added two more free throws with 35 seconds remaining. McCoughtry had two late layups, but the Dream could come no closer than four points in the final 30 seconds. The Dream held a 19-12 lead in the first quarter and led 37-33 at halftime. There were two ties in the third quarter, the last at 41. Minnesota closed the period with an 11-4 run to lead 52-45 entering the final quarter. The Dream opened the fourth quarter with consecutive baskets by Alison Bales and Castro Marques to pull within three points. Augustus quickly came off the bench, and Atlanta’s comeback bid ended. A 7-2 run gave the Lynx a 59-51 lead. After McCoughtry’s basket cut the Minnesota lead to 61-56, Moore answered with a big 3-pointer that went through the net as the shot clock sounded. “If Maya Moore’s shot doesn’t go in, who knows what’s going to happen,” Atlanta coach Marynell Meadors said. “We had the momentum and we had them backpedaling.” McWilliams-Franklin’s status as starting center had been uncertain after she sprained her right knee, forcing her to leave Wednesday night’s game. She did start, wearing pads on both knees, and had seven points, four rebounds and four assists. She made four free throws in the final 1:07. “Maybe now they’re sore,” Reeve said of McWilliams-Franklin’s knees, “but when you’re in a close-out moment for the WNBA finals, you don’t feel a thing.” With the health of McWilliams-Franklin a concern, Reeve was upset when backup center Jessica Adair was called for her second foul late in the first quarter. After receiving a warning from official Michael Price to return to the bench, Reeve added another complaint and drew a technical foul. After there were a combined 78 free throws in the Game 2 at Minnesota, there were only 34—17 for each team—called in Game 3. NOTES: Former NBA star Julius Erving, who lives in Atlanta, had a front-row seat. Rapper Lil Wayne was also in the crowd. … The attendance was 11,543, including 1,500 tickets purchased by the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks and distributed by the Dream on Thursday. … Minnesota was called for 10 fouls in the first half while Atlanta drew only two.

Red Sox finish collapse, miss postseason (AP)

admin — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 06:17:39 +0000

Red Sox finish collapse, miss postseason (AP)
BALTIMORE (AP)—Jon Lester(notes) stood in front of a pack of reporters and cameramen, wearing a sharp suit with nowhere to go but home. Someone asked the Boston Red Sox pitcher what he will remember most about this season, and without hesitation he whispered a one-word answer. “September.” Dustin Pedroia walks into the locker room after a 4-3 loss against the Orioles.(Getty Images) The Red Sox completed their late-season collapse in horrific and historic fashion Wednesday night, falling out of the playoff chase by allowing two ninth-inning runs in a 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Boston held a nine-game lead in the AL wild-card race after Sept. 3, but a 7-19 September swoon left them tied with Tampa Bay entering the final day of the regular season. Only minutes after this game ended, the Rays completed their comeback from a 7-0 deficit with an 8-7 win over the New York Yankees in 12 innings. Boston became the first team to miss the postseason after leading by as many as nine games for a playoff spot entering September, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. “We’ll go down in history as one of the worst collapses in history, so it definitely doesn’t feel good to be part of that,” left fielder Carl Crawford(notes) said. “We had high expectations, and to fall short the way we did is definitely disappointing for us.” Boston’s 7-20 record for the month is its worst September since an identical mark in 1952. “It’s just shocking. We should be playing a one-game playoff right now,” Lester said. “It’s just one of those things. It wasn’t meant to be. It wasn’t our year.” Even if Tampa Bay lost, the Red Sox faced the prospect of a quick turnaround following a long night at Camden Yards that included a rain delay of 1 hour, 26 minutes in the middle of the seventh inning. When the rain came, Tampa Bay trailed 7-0. By the time play resumed, the Rays and Yankees were tied at 7 heading into the 10th inning. The Orioles won it in the ninth against Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon(notes) (4-1), who struck out the first two batters before giving up a double to Chris Davis(notes). Nolan Reimold(notes) followed with a double to score pinch-runner Kyle Hudson(notes), and Robert Andino(notes) completed the comeback with a single to left that a sliding Crawford couldn’t glove. “I was just overthrowing the ball, not really focusing on location,” Papelbon said. “I felt great. I felt great all year.” It was only his third blown save of the season and only defeat. “I don’t think is going to define me as a player. I don’t think this is going to define this ballclub this year,” Papelbon said, his voice breaking. “I don’t know about everyone else in this clubhouse, but whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Jim Johnson(notes) (6-5) worked the ninth for Baltimore. “To walk off, everybody wants to walk off,” Andino said. “It’s priceless man, you don’t have any words for it. Just enjoy it, and there’s no tomorrow, so next year.” The same can be said for Boston. Dustin Pedroia(notes) homered for the Red Sox, who went through the entire month of September without winning consecutive games. “I’m devastated. I’m heartbroken,” Pedroia said. “To play hard for 161 games like we have and have it end like this. … It should not have gone down to the last game of the season to decide if we were going to the postseason.” Pitching on three days’ rest, Lester limited the last-place Orioles to two runs and four hits over six gritty innings. But it wasn’t enough to prevent the Red Sox from absorbing one final blow. “We’re not very happy right now,” manager Terry Francona said. “We needed to take care of business and we didn’t.” Boston had several chances to pad a 3-2 lead it took in the fifth inning but was never able to complete the task. After Pedroia hit a solo homer off Alfredo Simon(notes) in the fifth, the Orioles got the potential tying run to third base in the bottom half and in the sixth before Lester worked out of trouble. In the seventh, Boston’s David Ortiz(notes) was thrown out trying to stretch a single, and with two outs rookie catcher Ryan Lavanway bounced into a fielder’s choice. Lavanway, who homered twice in an 8-7 win Tuesday, went 0 for 5 and stranded nine runners. The Red Sox blew another chance to increase the lead in the eighth when Marco Scutaro(notes) took off from first base on a double by Crawford. But Scutaro stutter-stepped before getting to third and was out at the plate. In the ninth, Lavanway grounded into a double play with one out and the bases loaded. It was the third time he came to the plate following an intentional walk to Adrian Gonzalez(notes). About 10 minutes later, Boston’s season was done. “I can guarantee you that everyone in this room will learn from this,” Ortiz said. “Trust me, a lot of guys in here will be thinking about what happened for a long time.” The Red Sox went up 1-0 in the third when Mike Aviles(notes) walked, took second on a single by Jacoby Ellsbury(notes) and scored on a single by Pedroia. Ellsbury’s single extended his hitting streak against Baltimore to 36 games, dating to April 2009. J.J. Hardy(notes) hit a two-run homer in the bottom half, only minutes after the scoreboard showed the Yankees increasing their lead over Tampa Bay to 5-0. Hardy’s 30th homer followed a leadoff walk to Davis. Boston pulled even in the fourth when Scutaro doubled, advanced on a groundout and scored on a balk. NOTES: Hardy’s homer gave Baltimore two players with 30 (Mark Reynolds(notes) 37) for the first time since 1996, when Brady Anderson had 50 and Rafael Palmeiro hit 39. … Lester’s performance lowered the ERA of Boston’s starters this month to 7.08.

INTERVIEW-OLYMPICS-soccer might not sell out says minister (Reuters)

admin — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 01:18:08 +0000

INTERVIEW-OLYMPICS-soccer might not sell out says minister (Reuters)
* Robertson does not know if soccer tickets will sell out * Minister says not surprised they have been difficult to sell * Describes demand for all other events as extraordinary (Adds details) By Avril Ormsby LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) – Britain’s Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said he could not guarantee all the stadiums for the soccer tournament would be full in 2012 after a sluggish start to ticket sales compared with all the other events which have already sold out. Asked in an interview with Reuters whether all the soccer tickets would be sold, he replied: “I really don’t know. “I always thought of all the Olympic tickets they were going to be the most difficult ones to sell because the football market is quite saturated in this country.” Soccer is traditionally one of the biggest Olympic revenue spinners, with sell-out crowds treated in the past to glimpses of the world’s leading young players including Argentina’s World Player of the Year Lionel Messi in Beijing in 2008. About 500,000 tickets have been so sold so far, with matches at Wembley Stadium in London, where the final will be played, thought to have been outselling other stadiums. However, about1.5 million soccer tickets remain unsold. While England, football’s birthplace, regularly attracts huge crowds for Premier League matches, fans have seemingly struggled to get excited about the 16-team men’s tournament, which is an Under-23 competition with three over-age players allowed, or the 12-team women’s tournament with no age limit. One reason is that British teams, rather than separate ones representing England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales, will take part in the Games, and a debate about who will play and who will be the manager remains unresolved. The issue mainly concerns the men’s team and has left London’s organisers with the difficult task of trying to sell about two million soccer tickets, nearly a third of all those on offer in Britain and the European Union. “I just always thought that was going to be very difficult (to sell the soccer tickets), so I’m not surprised by the fact they’ve proved the most difficult to shift,” Robertson added. Soccer tickets will go on sale for a third time later this year with prices between 20 and 185 pounds ($32 and $302). As well as Wembley, soccer will also be staged at Old Trafford, Hampden Park in Glasgow, Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, St James’ Park in Newcastle and the City of Coventry Stadium. The tournament will kick off two days ahead of the July 27 opening ceremony because of the heavy schedule. GOLD MEDALS Britain won the first two official soccer tournaments in 1908 and 1912, but have not reached the Olympic finals since 1960. They last entered a team for the 1972 Munich Olympics but were eliminated in the qualifiers. No British team have taken part since because the home nations have not wanted to jeopardise their individual memberships of world soccer’s governing body FIFA. There is a widespread belief, certainly among the Scots, Welsh and Irish, that if they allow their players to take part in a British team political pressure from other FIFA members could mount for them to always play as a British team. FIFA president Sepp Blatter has repeatedly said this will not be the case but attempts to bring together players from the home nations for 2012 have still been strongly resisted and mean it is likely that only English players will take part. Former England captain David Beckham has been mooted as one of the three permitted over-age players, and his presence would certainly help boost sluggish sales. Mayor of London Boris Johnson has suggested offering any unsold tickets to local schoolchildren to avoid the embarrassment of empty seats. But Robertson suggested soccer fans may be leaving their purchases until nearer the matches. “It wouldn’t surprise me if there didn’t continue to be some football tickets available until quite close to the event,” he said. “The extraordinary thing about tickets really is not the football tickets that have not sold but the huge numbers of everything else that has. “I don’t think any other Olympic city has found itself in a position 13 months out from the Games when it has sold out of tickets. “Personally, I was surprised. I knew there would be high demand for tickets, I was surprised by just how high the demand was.” ($1 = 0.613 British Pounds) (Editing by Mike Collett/Mitch Phillips)

Former Notre Dame DL Duranko dies of ALS (AP)

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:36:07 +0000

Former Notre Dame DL Duranko dies of ALS (AP)
Pete Duranko, a star defensive lineman on Notre Dame’s 1966 national championship team who went on to play eight years for the Denver Broncos, has died of Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 67. Notre Dame announced Sunday that Duranko died at a hospice in Windber, Pa., on Friday. He had battled amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for a decade. Originally from Johnston, Pa., Duranko started at defensive tackle for the Fighting Irish in 1965 and ’66. He had 73 tackles for the ’66 team, which allowed only 3.8 points per game and had six shutouts in 10 games. The next year he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns of the NFL in the fourth round and the Broncos of the AFL in the second round. He went on to play defensive end and linebacker for the Broncos from 1967-74.