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He was also an assistant college football coach after his playing days were over. RIP.
John “Jack” Zilly, who played on two national championship football teams for Notre Dame in the 1940s, has died. He was 88.
The school said Saturday that Zilly died Friday in Narragansett, R.I.
Zilly was a right end on Notre Dame’s 1943 championship team. He then joined the Navy and served two years in the Pacific during World War II. He returned to school and celebrated another national title in 1946.
Zilly was a sixth-round draft pick by San Francisco of the All-American Football Conference. He wound up playing for the Los Angeles Rams from 1947 to 1951 and the Philadelphia Eagles in 1952.
What’s a little bit or a lot of snow when there is a important football game to be played? From ESPN-
Kickoff for the Ravens game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday was moved to 4:15 p.m., because of a snowstorm expected to hit Baltimore this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning in Baltimore, predicting snow accumulations of 10 to 20 inches. They expect it to begin snowing late Friday and continue through early Sunday morning.
The NFL approved the change on Friday after the City of Baltimore recommended the move, according to the Ravens’ Web site. The game was originally scheduled for 1 p.m.
Safety concerns was the reason given for the time change. I guess that is meant for the fans, not the players. Snow falling while a professional football game is taking place is hardly unique.
Update- Another NFL game has been postponed. The Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers will be kicking off late in the afternoon also.
The revised article brought up an issue I hadn’t thought of. That two NFL teams had to fly into the snow packed Northeast. The Chicago Bears original flight to Baltimore, scheduled for Friday night, was canceled.
No I’m not talking about some middle aged man propelling a ball at some objects at the end of a lane, but the games that climax every college football season. Bowl season officially starts this afternoon, here are the matchups for all the college football fanatics out there.
Note- I gave the shortened name version of all the upcoming games. Also I listed what broadcast network would be televising the game and what time they would be coming on the air. All times are Eastern Standard.
Dec 19
New Mexico- Fresno State vs. Wyoming 4:30 p.m. ESPN
St. Petersburg- Central Florida vs. Rutgers 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 20
R+L Carriers New Orleans- Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee 8:30 p.m. ESPN
Dec 22
MAACO Las Vegas- Oregon State vs. BYU 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 23
Poinsettia- Utah vs. Cal 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 24
Sheraton Hawaii- Nevada vs. SMU 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 26
Little Caesars- Marshall vs. Ohio 1 p.m. ESPN
Meineke- Pitt vs. North Carolina 4:30 p.m. ESPN
Emerald- Boston College vs. USC 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 27
Music City- Kentucky vs. Clemson 8:30 p.m. ESPN
Dec 28
Independence- Texas A&M vs. Georgia 5 p.m. ESPN2
Dec 29
EagleBank- UCLA vs. Temple 4:30 p.m. ESPN
Champs Sports- Miami vs. Wisconsin 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 30
Humanitarian- Bowling Green vs. Idaho 4:30 p.m. ESPN
Holiday- Arizona vs. Nebraska 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 31
Armed Forces- Houston vs. Air Force Noon ESPN
Sun- Oklahoma vs. Stanford 2 p.m. CBS
Texas- Navy vs. Missouri 3:30 p.m. ESPN
Minnesota vs. Iowa State 6 p.m. NFL Network
Chick-fil-A- Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee 7:30 p.m. ESPN
Jan 1
Outback- Northwestern vs. Auburn 11 a.m. ESPN
Capital One- Penn State vs. LSU 1 p.m. ABC
Gator- West Virginia vs. Florida State 1 p.m. CBS
Rose Bowl- Ohio State vs. Oregon 4:30 p.m. ABC
Sugar- Cincinnati vs. Florida 8:30 p.m. FOX
Jan 2
International- South Florida vs. Northern Illinois Noon ESPN2
Papajohns.com- South Carolina vs. UConn 2 p.m. ESPN
Cotton- Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss 2 p.m. FOX
Liberty- Arkansas vs. East Carolina 5:30 p.m. ESPN
Valero Alamo- Michigan State vs. Texas Tech 9 p.m. ESPN
Jan 4
Fiesta- Boise State vs. TCU 8 p.m. FOX
Jan 5
FedEx Orange- Iowa vs. Georgia Tech 8 p.m. FOX
Jan 6th
GMAC- Central Michigan vs. Troy 7 p.m. ESPN
Jan 7th
BCS National Championship Game- Texas vs. Alabama Jan. 7 8 p.m.
Some random notes on the above 34 games
*- 19 of the 34 games are not scheduled till Dec. 31st or later. I guess college football fanatics are expected to flip channels very quickly on those 3 days(Dec 31-Jan 2) when 15 games are being aired.
*- What a downer must it be for Oregon State players and fans. A few weeks ago they were one win from a Rose Bowl trip. Instead they lost to Oregon and are playing in a minor bowl before Christmas.
*- The NFL network televises a college football game. I guess that’s the cable sports equivalent of the Sci-Fi channel showing wrestling….
*- The bowls are now set where now certain conference finishers are locked into the same bowl games every year. I understand why the current system is done, but I prefer the day when bowl games would have greater variance from year to year. The Peach bowl would usually invite a ACC or SEC school but they could be creative, like when they invited Army and Illinois. Wouldn’t a SEC team against BYU or Wyoming be nice for a change?
*- Bobby Bowden’s farewell game is against the same school(West Virginia) that he left before coming to Florida State. I do know FSU and WV have played at least twice previously in bowls during the Bowden-Florida State era.
I won’t make any hot wisecracks*. Only because I can’t think of any at this time. From AP-
A van carrying equipment for the Minnesota Wild caught fire on Friday afternoon and left the team scrambling ahead of its Saturday game against the Ottawa Senators.
The fire occurred in the parking lot of Scotiabank Place, where the van had been driven following the team’s afternoon practice at a neighboring facility.
“It was a five-minute drive,” head equipment trainer Tony DaCosta said, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Firefighters took care of the flames, which were located in the back of the van. Police said there were no injuries.
“There was a fire in an equipment van in the parking lot at Scotiabank Place this afternoon. No one was injured, but some of the Minnesota Wild’s hockey equipment was damaged,” the team said in a statement. “The Wild is in the process of taking inventory to determine the damage to the equipment.”
The team said that goaltender Nicklas Backstrom’s equipment was destroyed.
Minnesota and Ottawa are scheduled to play on Saturday. The game is on according to the Wild’s website.
*- OTB Sports readers are free to make their own jokes.
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OTB Sports linked with The show must go on- Ottawa beats Minnesota 4-1...
Do not pass Go, and do not collect $200*. From ESPN-
The Mariners and Chicago Cubs have announced a trade that sends outfielder Milton Bradley to Seattle for right-handed pitcher Carlos Silva.
According to sources familiar with the deal, the Mariners will send a total of $9 million to the Cubs in the deal — about $3 million in 2010 and about $6 million in 2011.
That money could allow the Cubs to obtain a center fielder and move Kosuke Fukudome back to right field. They’ve expressed interest in free agents including Marlon Byrd, Rick Ankiel and Scott Podsednik.
But they’ve also explored potential trades for a center fielder — most prominently, Curtis Granderson, before he was traded to the New York Yankees.
Silva is owed $11.5 million for both 2010 and 2011; in 2012, he is due either a $12 million option or a $2 million buyout. Bradley is owed about $23 million on his deal.
*****
Bradley batted .257 with 12 home runs and 40 runs batted in last season. He has a .277 career batting average, but his time in the majors has been beset by injuries and run-ins with teammates and fans. Through 2009, he’s played for seven teams in nine seasons, with 115 HRs and 439 RBIs.
*****
Silva signed a four-year, $48 million deal with the Mariners after the 2008 season and has been a disappointment in Seattle, going 5-18 the past two seasons. He appeared in eight games last season, going 1-3 with an 8.60 ERA.
For his career, he’s 60-64 with two saves and a 4.72 ERA in 295 appearances with the Phillies, Twins and Mariners.
For whatever it is worth, reports from Venezuela say Silva’s arm is healthy again.
So why would Seattle trade him? Salary perhaps, or concerns about Silva’s arm may still be persisting. I see this trade as two teams wanting to rid themselves of high priced and risky property. Your guess is as good as mine if Chicago or Seattle make good from this deal.
*- Another Milton Bradley, was a board game pioneer.
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It had nothing to do with what the Guard said in his post. From AP-
Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings has been fined $7,500 for posting a message on his Twitter account after Milwaukee’s 108-101 double overtime win over Portland last weekend.
Jennings was fined for the timing of his post, not the content when he tweeted: “Back to 500. Yess!!! “500″ means where doing good. Way to Play Hard Guys.”
The fine was announced Friday before the Bucks played at Cleveland.
According to the NBA’s social media policy, players cannot tweet during game time, defined as beginning 45 minutes before the game starts and ending after players have finished talking to the media following the game.
Like a pro basketball player will say something intelligent insightful to the press. “You know, we won the game and…..”
The Colts became the 3rd NFL team to go 14-0 during the regular season. From AP-
Peyton Manning completed every pass early and one big one late, exactly what the Indianapolis Colts needed to stay unbeaten.
Manning threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns, including a 65-yarder to Reggie Wayne to go ahead for good, and the Colts beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-31 Thursday night to improve to 14-0 for the first time in franchise history.
The wild game on a cool night included 714 yards, 43 first downs, 10 lead changes, six punts, several big plays and just two turnovers.
*****
Jacksonville had a chance to win it in the closing minutes, but David Garrard overthrew Mike Thomas on a third-and-10 play with about a minute to play. Jacob Lacey intercepted the ball, and the Colts ran out the clock.
Indianapolis extended its NFL-record winning streak in the regular season to 23 and became the third 14-0 team in league history, joining the 1972 Miami Dolphins and 2007 New England Patriots. New Orleans can join the list with a victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night.
Manning also went over 4,000 passing yards for the season during last night’s game. Up till the mid 70′s only one QB(Joe Namath) had reached a similar milestone and just once. Manning has thrown for 4,000 yard 10 times.
The 2009 NFL season has been one of contrasts. Some great teams(Colts and New Orleans Saints) and some horrible ones(St. Louis and Tampa Bay). The Colts IMHO are less likely to remain undefeated. I hold to that view after seeing Jacksonville torch them 4 days after they struggled offensively against Miami. Either the Jaguars are a Jekyll and Hyde team or the Indianapolis defense isn’t very good. The Colts rank 25th in the NFL in total defense. Can such a team win a Super Bowl?
What drugs was the CAS taking when they made their ruling? From AP-
French tennis player Richard Gasquet was cleared of any wrongdoing Thursday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport accepted his claim that he tested positive for cocaine by kissing a woman in a nightclub.
The CAS dismissed appeals by the World Anti-Doping Agency and International Tennis Federation, which wanted Gasquet banned for up to two years.
“I’m absolutely relieved. This is the end of a crazy story,” Gasquet said. “I’m happy to be 100 percent cleared.”
The court in Lausanne accepted Gasquet’s claim that he inadvertently consumed cocaine by kissing the woman in a Miami club hours after withdrawing injured from a tournament in March.
“It was impossible for the player, even when exercising the utmost caution, to know that in kissing a woman who he had met in a totally unsuspicious environment, he could be contaminated with cocaine,” the court said in a statement.
A CAS panel of three lawyers said the quantity of the drug in Gasquet’s urine test was “minute” and the 23-year-old Frenchman was “clearly not a regular cocaine user.”
One kiss on a cocaine user is supposed to then make the substance show up in a non-user’s bloodstream. This sounds implausible to say the least.
Will the New York harness racing track be ever able to collect the money? From Harnessracing.com-
The New York State Racing and Wagering Board on Tuesday ordered four off-track betting corporations in the state to pay Yonkers Raceway several million dollars owed as part of legislation passed six years ago that guaranteed that harness tracks would not be financially impacted by the nighttime simulcasting of Thoroughbr ed signals.
The ruling comes in addition to monies already owed to Yonkers. Earlier this month, New York City OTB filed for Chapter 9 federal bankruptcy protection, listed Yonkers as one of its two top creditors—along with the New York Racing Association—with $18 million owed. There is some question whether the New York City OTB will ever be able to pay the money.
The Board said that the New York City OTB owes Yonkers an additional $3.6 million, while Nassau OTB owes $1.8 million, Suffolk OTB owes $1.2 million, and Catskill OTB owes $940,000.
I wish the owners of Yonkers Raceway good luck in obtaining the money owed to them. They will need it. Raceways, racing associations, and off track establishments that are convenient for bettors, are having trouble surviving and this all started occurring before the recent economic downturn. Horse racing in the United States is dying. I don’t think anything can change the course the industry is on to extinction.
Update- Henry passed away this morning. RIP.
He has been on injured reserve since breaking a arm in a November 8th game. From ESPN-
Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry is “battling for his life” after falling out of the back of a pickup truck Wednesday during what police described as a domestic dispute with his fiancee.
FOXSports.com reported Henry was on life support, according to a source.
Henry was found in the road about eight miles north of downtown Charlotte “apparently suffering life-threatening injuries,” according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. Police spokesman Robert Fey said officers were stationed near the 26-year-old Henry’s hospital room. He had no information on Henry’s condition, but said he was alive.
“We ask everyone to pray for Chris,” agent Andy Simms of PlayersRep Sports said in a statement. “We also ask that you respect the privacy of Chris’ family. Chris is indeed battling for his life tonight, and our thoughts and prayers [are] with him during this extremely difficult time.”
Police said a dispute began at a home just before noon and Henry jumped into the bed of the pickup truck as his fiancee — whom they did not identify by name — was driving away from the residence.
This story is very sad. Please do say a prayer for Henry and his family.
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