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The blame for last night’s loss falls squarely on Manager Joe Girardi. From AP-
When Derek Jeter led off Game 3 with a homer into the bullpen, this AL Championship Series seemed uncomplicated. Power hitting and steady pitching appeared to be driving New York to the World Series.
About 261 minutes, 14 pitchers, six homers and several big blunders later, a winning hit by a backup catcher left only one thing certain in this cuckoo series: The Los Angeles Angels won’t be trampled by the mighty Yankees.
Jeff Mathis drove home Howie Kendrick with a two-out double in the 11th inning, and the Angels survived a second straight ALCS thriller, beating New York 5-4 Monday to trim the Yankees’ series lead to 2-1.
“There was a lot of great baseball on that field this afternoon,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “There were a lot of twists and turns, and both teams played a terrific game. We just got it done at the end.”
Kendrick, himself a part-time infielder, homered and tripled before singling with two outs in the 11th off rookie Alfredo Aceves. Mathis followed with his drive up against the left-field wall, and Kendrick slid home well ahead of a desperate throw, setting off an on-field celebration of the backups’ bonanza.
Mathis, a .211 hitter in the regular season, came up with his third late-inning, extra-base hit of this outlandish series, just two days after the clubs’ 310-minute, 13-inning icy epic in Game 2.
Besides taking reliever David Robertson out of the game when he was pitching well, Girardi went through seven relievers in four innings. He also made the comical decision to replace outfielder Johnny Damon with DH Jerry Hairston after already taking out starting Designated Hitter Hideki Matsuki. With Damon’s removal, the Yankee pitchers were then required to hit.
I’m sure Yankee fans are howling about all of this right now. They should remember their team is still up 2 games to 1 and are still favored to win this series. If the Yankees win the World Series, the dumb moves of Joe Girardi in last night’s game will be forgiven if not forgotten also.
This for a hit he made in a game against Tampa Bay yesterday. From AP-
The NFL suspended Carolina Panthers special teams player Dante Wesley one game without pay Monday for launching himself into defenseless Tampa Bay returner Clifton Smith.
Wesley left his feet and hit Smith in the neck and head with his forearm and shoulder as Smith waited to field a punt late in the second quarter on Sunday. Smith sustained a concussion and both benches emptied onto the field. Wesley was immediately ejected.
Smith had not signaled for a fair catch and Wesley said he mistimed hitting him. But NFL executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson called the act a flagrant violation of player safety rules.
“The prohibited contact in this case went well beyond simply interfering with the receiver,” Anderson wrote in a letter to Wesley. “Instead, by striking your defenseless opponent in the head and neck area, you committed an unnecessary and unnecessarily dangerous act that is specifically prohibited by the rules.
Carolina coach John Fox said the hit wasn’t malicious or intentional. It was brutal for sure and I don’t think the NFL was wrong in suspending Wesley.
This is his second run-in with the law for 2009. From AP-
Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Jeff Reed has been cited by city police for public intoxication and disorderly conduct outside a bar a couple of blocks from where the team beat the Cleveland Browns a few hours earlier.
Police say Reed was cited outside McFadden’s Bar about 9 p.m. Sunday.
Reed kicked two field goals in the 27-14 victory.
This is Reed’s second brush with the law this year.
He paid $543 in fines and restitution after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and criminal mischief for damaging a paper towel dispenser in a convenience store bathroom in New Alexandria in February.
Team spokesman Dave Lockett says the team is still gathering information and has no comment.
Reed wasn’t placed under arrest but will receive a summons via the mail.
Publicly drunk five hours after the completion of a football game game you played in. I would guess Reed didn’t leave the stadium till 5-5:30 yesterday. For some people it don’t take much time or all that much alcohol to get drunk.
The Steelers lost a game to Chicago this year mostly due to failed field goal attempts by their placekicker. Reed better pull himself together if he wants to remain employed. A player not performing on the field and with personal problems off it has the right mix for job security problems.
Are two players plus a future draft pick too high a price for a player that scored 48 points all of last season. From AP-
The Minnesota Wild acquired right wing Chuck Kobasew from Boston on Sunday in a deal that sent right wings Craig Weller and Alexander Fallstrom to the Bruins.
The Wild also sent the rights to their second-round pick in the 2011 draft.
The 27-year-old Kobasew had one assist in seven games with the Bruins this season. He had 21 goals and 21 assists in 68 games last season, reaching the 20-goal mark for the third time in his career.
The Wild have scored 15 goals while going 1-6, and forwards Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Cal Clutterbuck, Martin Havlat and Petr Sykora have been out with injuries.
Kobasew has gotten off to a slow start this year, so trading him may look premature. On the other hand Fallstrom was one of the Wild’s top prospects. He could end up a much better player than Kobasew but that won’t happen immediately.
Bottom line- I think Boston will come out better in the long-term.
The Redskin offense was listless at best in a defeat to previously winless Chiefs today. From ESPN-
Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn lost more than a game on Sunday.
Zorn was told after a 14-6 setback to the previously winless Kansas City Chiefs that he will not call offensive plays anymore.
Executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato met with Zorn and told him that he has too many responsibilities right now, Redskins’ director of communications Zack Bolno told ESPN.com’s Matt Mosley. The team did not reveal who would call plays, but an announcement is expected on Monday.
Zorn began his postgame news conference with a loud, lengthy sigh into the microphone. And the coach kept on sighing as he discussed a loss which dropped the Redskins to 2-4 this season and 4-10 over their past 14 games.
“I’ve got to be better. And it really irritates me. Truly irritates me,” Zorn said. “And I’m just not going to rest until I get that taken care of.”
The heat on Zorn is sure to increase leading up to Washington’s next outing: a high-profile Monday night game Oct. 26 against the Philadelphia Eagles, which is followed by the Redskins’ bye week.
The owner of the Redskins, Daniel Snyder, has never been a particularly patient owner or a competent one. His hiring of Jim Zorn less than two years ago left many football experts puzzled by the decision. Zorn won’t be the Redskins head coach in 2010. If the team loses their next game, I am expecting him to be fired and a interim coach before the next game is played.
It is the worst defeat in Titan/Houston Oiler franchise history. From AP-
Record-setting Tom Brady threw six touchdown passes and the New England Patriots sent the hapless Tennessee Titans plummeting to a new low in their winless season with a 59-0 win on a snowy Sunday.
Five of those passes came in the second quarter, an NFL mark for one period. The six touchdown throws tied Brady’s own Patriots record. And the 59-point margin matched the largest since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, the Los Angeles Rams’ 59-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons in 1976.
The Titans took their worst loss since they began play in 1960 as the Houston Oilers, eclipsing the 61-7 setback to Cincinnati in 1989.
The Patriots were up 45-0 at halftime. That didn’t stop New England coach Bill Bellichick from sending QB Tom Brady back out to play in the second half. Has Belichick lost his mind? The game is won and he is putting at risk one of the NFL’s most valuable properties.
A serious question. What is the cause of the huge turnaround in Nashville? Last year saw Tennessee go 13-3. They are 0-6. The departure of Albert Haynesworth was a big loss for the team, but one player of his caliber leaving wouldn’t seem likely to cause this big a reversal for an NFL team. If there are any Titan fans out there with a theory of their own, I’d love to hear it.
He broke the previous mark held by Sterling Sharpe. From AP-
Aaron Rodgers got knocked around again but still managed to have a big day against the Detroit Lions’ defense, throwing for 358 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the Green Bay Packers’ 26-0 victory Sunday.
Donald Driver became the franchise’s career receptions leader with a first-quarter catch and rookie outside linebacker Clay Matthews III had two sacks as the Packers (3-2) turned in a dominant defensive effort against an undermanned Lions offense.
Detroit (1-5) was without rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson because of injuries — and it showed, as the Lions managed only 79 yards of total offense in the first half. Backup quarterback Daunte Culpepper hurt his hamstring in the third quarter and was replaced by third-stringer Drew Stanton.
The Lions after getting their first win since 2007, generated some enthusiasm for a significant turnaround this year. Now they are 1-5 and banged up at Quarterback. More than three wins this year is overly optimistic IMHO.
Jenson Button has also locked up the driver of the year title. From AP-
Jenson Button has clinched his first Formula One title after capitalizing on his rivals’ miscues to finish fifth in a Brazilian Grand Prix won by Mark Webber.
The fifth-place finish Sunday was good enough to give Button an insurmountable 17-point lead in the drivers’ standings ahead of the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 1.
His closest competition for the title, Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello, started from pole but finished eighth after a puncture on his home track. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was fourth
.
Red Bull’s Webber took his second F1 win ahead of Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber and defending champion Lewis Hamilton of McLaren at the 2.6-mile Interlagos track.
Button had only one Formula One triumph prior to this year. Who knows Webber could be the Jenson Button of 2010.
This year’s Formula One campaign saw more than its share of drama off the track. I will be surprised if the offseason is quiet one.
Howard, who came from Miami and played high school football about one hour south of me, was stabbed to death on campus. Very tragic and RIP.
Jasper Howard, a 5-foot-9, 174-pound starting cornerback on the UConn football team, died today after an on-campus stabbing.
According to multiple sources, Howard, 20, was reportedly was stabbed near the student union.
Howard is from Miami and attended Miami Edison High School.
State Police major crime unit and UConn police say the stabbing happened just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday on Hillside Road near the center of campus. Police said two people were stabbed and were found near each other on Hillside Road. Both were taken by UConn ambulances to Windham Community Memorial Hospital. Police said the stabbing happened when a school-sponsored dance at the student union was let out. A fire alarm was pulled at 12:26 a.m., an altercation happened outside the building between two groups of people and then two people were stabbed.
The perpetrator of the stabbing is still at large, according to an emergency alert posted on the University’s website Sunday morning.
On Saturday, Howard had a solid performance in the Huskies 38-25 win over Louisville at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. He had 11 tackles and also forced a fumble and recovered it in the third quarter. That led to a 30-yard field goal.
Howard often talked about his tough time growing up in Miami. His mother, Joangila worked many jobs to support him and his sisters including one, Jasmine, who is afflicted with meningitis.
Howard, the first in his family to go to college, also often talked about his dream of making it professionally so that he could support his family.
This was also her first event of the 2009-10 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating season. From AP-
PARIS — World champion Kim Yu-na of South Korea has captured the Trophee Bompard women’s event, winning the free skate with a flawless performance to finish ahead of Japanese skaters Mao Asada and Yukari Nakano.
Performing to George Gershwin’s “Piano Concerto in F Major,†Yu-na received 133.95 points for a total of 210.03 that included Friday’s short program.
Asada, a former world champion, rose one spot to second overall with 173.99 points. Nakano finished third with 165.70 points.
Kim’s margin of victory is dominating and her 133.95 a new world record for the free skating program. Anything less than Yu-Na winning a Gold medal next February at the Winter Olympics will be looked at as a disappointment.
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