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Sports Outside the Beltway

Cleveland Indians name Manny Acta to be manager

He replaces Eric Wedge who was let go at the end of the 2009 season. From AP-

The Cleveland Indians have hired Manny Acta as their manager.

Acta signed a three-year contract with a club option for 2013, team spokesman Bart Swain said Sunday. Additional terms were not disclosed.

Acta was fired by the Washington Nationals in July.

The Indians chose him after a second round of interviews over former New York Mets manager and ESPN analyst Bobby Valentine and Indians Triple-A manager Torey Lovullo.

Acta had a .385 winning percentage while leading Washington. That is pretty awful, but the Nationals are a woeful team. So I think it is safe to say Acta will do better in Cleveland.

 

Troy Matteson sets new 36 hole PGA Tour scoring mark

The previous mark of 123 had only been established earlier this year. From AP-

Troy Matteson had never shot a 61 until this week. Now he’s done it twice in a row to set a PGA Tour record.

His second straight 9-under round at the Frys.com Open on Saturday gave him a three-shot lead at 16-under 194 heading into the final round.

Matteson’s 122 score in consecutive rounds broke the tour record of 123 set this year by Steve Stricker in the third and fourth rounds of the Bob Hope Classic.

Ron Streck shot 124 at the Texas Open in 1978. I don’t recall if anyone else equaled that mark before Stricker broke it.

Streck won in Texas but Stricker failed to bring home the Hope. Matteson, who won the Frys in 2006, I predict to win tomorrow.

 

Florida Panther David Booth taken off ice on stretcher

He got leveled by a shoulder to his face. From AP-

Florida Panthers left wing David Booth was taken from the ice on a stretcher Saturday night after a hard hit from Philadelphia captain Mike Richards.Panthers Flyers Hockey

With 2:55 left in the second period, Booth had just released the puck in front of the Flyers’ blue line, and Richards delivered a late hit with his shoulder. Both of feet appeared to leave the ice as he struck Booth.

Booth immediately fell face-down and remained motionless for several minutes. Both teams trainers and Flyers team physician Gary Dorshimer attended to him. Booth appeared to be conscious as he was wheeled off following a 7-minute delay.

Richards was given a major penalty for interference and a game misconduct for intent to injure. He could face a suspension.

The verdict on Richards- He should be suspended for two months. I’ve been ranting about the NHL’s jellyfish like reaction to thuggery on ice for as long as I’ve blogged here. My most recent post on a player suspension, was written less than three hours before Booth got knocked out. There’s only one way to stop this, make the penalties so severe that team’s and players will think twice before leveling an opposing hockey player. Two month suspensions when players are carted off on a stretcher. The rest of the hand short handed. You’ll see this shit stop fast with those punitive forms of punishment.

I’d like to strangle Florida Panther announce Bill Lindsay. He was talking about Mike Richards leadership. He was an animal tonight, not a saint and Lindsay should be ashamed of himself for making excuses for what was done today. The Panthers should send Lindsay back to radio broadcasts where no one will hear his stupidity.

Florida is down 5-1 with less than three minutes to play. Another loss will take the team to 2-6-1 this year. Booth is the team’s best player. Another key player, Radek Dvorak, hurt his knee tonight. This is going to be a horrible year for Florida.

Update= Here’s the video

 

Navy runs by Wake Forest 13-10

Navy did not throw a single pass in the rain drenched game.

Backup quarterback Kriss Proctor ran 40 yards for a third-quarter touchdown, and Navy beat Wake Forest 13-10 in a driving rain Saturday for its fifth straight victory.

Subbing for injured Ricky Dobbs (left knee), Proctor carried 23 times for 89 yards in his first college start. Coming in, Proctor’s lone experience over two seasons was playing the mop-up role in a 63-14 win over Rice.

The Midshipmen (6-2) did not throw a pass. Last year, against SMU in similar conditions, Navy became the first FBS team since Ohio in 1997 not to attempt a single throw.

Fullback Vince Murray ran for a career-high 175 yards – his second straight 100-yard game – and Joe Buckley kicked two field goals for the Midshipmen, whose winning streak is their longest since a 5-0 start in 2004.

Wake Forest and Navy played in last year’s Eaglebank Bowl. The only 2008-09 colleage bowl game I watched the whole way through. I served in the Navy from 79-89.

It is difficult to pass in bad weather, but I always thought a football team needs to mix it up. A defense will otherwise always key on the run.

 

PGA Tour player follows double eagle with a hole-in-one

It was done by Nicholas Thompson, who has never finished better than 2nd in a PGA Tour event. From AP-

Nicholas Thompson gained five shots in quick fashion with a double eagle and a hole in one to storm into contention at the Frys.com Open.

Thompson, using a 3-wood, sank his shot from 261 yards on the par-5, 562-yard 11th hole on the Raptor Course at the Grayhawk Golf Club.

After a par on No. 12, Thompson’s tee shot with a 7-iron went in on the par-3, 199-yard 13th. In three holes, he moved from 6 under to 11-under par.

It was the fourth double eagle on the PGA Tour this year.

I think four may be a record for one year. Double eagles were seldom seen in tournaments when par 5′s were only reachable with a driver and a wood. Club technology has made many unreachable holes now only a driver and mid-iron away.

BTW Thompson stands -11 after 3 rounds and four shots behind the leader, Troy Matteson.

 

NHL suspends Carolina Hurricane Tuomo Ruutu for 3 games

Another thug NHL player being wrist slapped by the league. From AP-

Carolina Hurricanes forward Tuomo Ruutu has been suspended three games by the NHL for a boarding of Darcy Tucker that knocked the Colorado Avalanche winger unconscious.

Ruutu was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for boarding Tucker at 5:26 of the second period of Friday night’s game.

Ruutu will lose $56,067.36 in salary for the suspension, which was announced Saturday. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Here’s the video

The NHL will only get control of this violence by handing down suspensions for double digit amounts of games. I don’t see that happening any time soon. I think the NHL thinks violence like this and the Evgeny Artyukhin/Matt Niskanen incident appeal to a certain group of fans. They probably do, but I don’t know why a serious sports needs to satisfy the lowest common denominators among its fan base. The image of the NHL will always be dirtied by the thugs that play for them.

 

British Grand Prix may return to Silverstone

A failed bond issue has clouded the 2010 edition of the race. From AP-

The British Formula One Grand Prix faced an uncertain future on Friday after the failure of a bond to cover the cost of redeveloping the Donington Park circuit.

“Donington Ventures Leisure Limited can confirm that a bond for 135 million pounds [$224.8 million] to cover the cost of the F1 redevelopment at Donington Park has been unsuccessful,” a statement said.

“Despite higher than expected levels of interest and very positive early indications, the bond — which was launched with Citi Group last week — has failed to secure enough subscription ahead of today’s deadline. Information regarding the circuit’s future plans is not yet available.”

Formula One head Bernie Ecclestone had given Donington, which has a 17-year contract to host the race from next year, until noon Monday to remedy a breach of contract after repeatedly extending deadlines.

Ecclestone has said that Silverstone, the circuit that put on the first championship race in 1950 but lost the contract after this year’s farewell, will be offered the chance to regain the Grand Prix.

If Donington isn’t available, I’m sure the race will be run at Silverstone instead. Bernie Ecclestone has made it known in the past that the British GP would continue at Silverstone if Donington didn’t get it’s act together.

Along with the Italian Grand Prix, the British GP is the longest continuously staged Formula One race.

 

Michigan horse racing tracks may shut down in November

Funding issues and a recent veto by Michigan’s governor could cause the lights to go out on November 5th. From Harnessracing.com-

The immediate future of racing in Michigan is in jeopardy for the second time this year as the racetracks prepare to cease operations as of Nov. 5 due to the lack of funding from the state, a situation made even more dire by Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s recent line item vetoing of virtually all of the monies directed toward horse racing.

The first time this year that funding issues came into play was in late July when state money ran out to operate the Office of Racing Commissioner, which resulted in the Michigan Harness Horsemen’s Association taking $75,000 out of its purse pool to provide funding so that Hazel Park could continue its live race meet.

This time, it appears that avenue is not likely, so unless some sort of legislative relief comes in the next week a total shutdown of the tracks could be imminent. Live racing is currently being held at Northville Downs, but with a state auditor necessary at all the tracks because of simulcasting, all sites would have to close because there would be no money to pay that person.

“This is political football being played with the budget,” said Hazel Park director of racing Ken Marshall, who said he is remaining optimistic that funding can be found to preclude any shutdown. “This is like being in the 15th round and if we’re going to down, at least we’re going to go down swinging. This battle is not over yet.”

Governor Granholm when announcing her vetoes, she said- “I believe that horse racing programs should be self-supporting.” I think horse racing should be self-supporting also. The sad news right now is that public interest in any form of horse racing is dying off. Some people in the industry think casinos or other forms of gambling at racing establishments can save the sport. The truth is, even racetracks with slot machines and poker tables aren’t doing well enough to sustain horse racing at the same establishment. If horse racing in Michigan can’t survive without public dollars, the industry should move on to somewhere they can be profitable.

 

Two high school football games moved due to burrowing owls

The birds are protected by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. From the Sun-Sentinel-

The Piper High School football team has lost to the owls – a team not on its schedule.Owls

A pair of the burrowing birds have settled in on the 25- and 35-yard lines and the football team can’t play or practice on the field.

The owls’ new residence has forced the Piper football team to move its final two home games from its Sunrise campus.

The Oct. 30 game will now be played at Miramar High and the Nov. 12 game at South Broward. Nov. 12 also is scheduled to be Senior Night. It’s also likely the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams will have to play most of their seasons, which begin early next month, at a local community park.

“Right now we have a football program that’s trying to build and go in the right direction,” Piper coach Matthew Lewis said. “We’re dealing with the sudden change and this provides an excellent opportunity for us to handle adversity.”

The football players on Piper (3-3) weren’t too keen about any owl encounters.

“They’re small, but I don’t want to get close to them,” said Piper senior cornerback Nevin Lawson.

The owls have the upper hand under Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rules that classify them as a species of special concern. The owls have a high vulnerability to factors that may lead to their becoming a threatened species if they are left without protection or management.

Piper is a Broward County Florida school, as is my alma mater Deerfield Beach HS. Deerfield or The Bucks and Piper played each other yearly back in the 1970′s. Actually the 1978 District Championship(When I was a senior) came down to those two schools, with Deerfield coming out on top 14-0. Piper got revenge the next year by winning 14-12 and they were district champs. The only time between 1978 and 1983 that the Bucks didn’t win the district. Twice in those five years Deerfield was eliminated in the state playoffs by the eventual champion and in another year we lost to Boca Raton HS whose QB is now U of GA head football coach Mark Richt.

 

Cleveland Brown CB Eric Wright all right after rollover crash

He may play in this weekend’s game. From AP-

Browns cornerback Eric Wright was back at practice hours after flipping his car on a wet highway entrance ramp. He may play Sunday against Green Bay.

Wright rolled his car early Friday when his vehicle slid on wet pavement. He was examined and released at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. The Browns sent him for more tests and Wright was back at the team’s training facility in Berea, Ohio, in time for practice.

Coach Eric Mangini was hopeful Wright would be able to play in Sunday’s home game against the Packers.

Wright rode a stationary bike during the 30-minute period he was observed by reporters. The Browns listed him as questionable for Sunday with a shoulder injury.

Wright felt fortunate to suffer no significant injury. I concur, he was more than lucky.

 
 


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