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5430. wabbit - 4/2/2007 1:10:30 AM  Michael Phelps equaled the most hallowed mark in swimming, winning his seventh gold medal at the world championships Sunday night with his fifth world record. Phelps smashed his own standard in the 400-meter individual medley by 2.04 seconds, becoming the most successful swimmer ever at the worlds. The 21-year-old American joined countryman Mark Spitz as the only swimmers to win that many golds at a major international meet. Of course, Spitz' achievement came on the sport's grandest stage -- the Olympics. Phelps hopes to equal the feat or go one better at next year's Beijing Games.
5431. wabbit - 4/2/2007 1:10:51 AM  Morgan Pressel became the youngest major champion in LPGA Tour history Sunday with a game well beyond her 18 years, closing with a 3-under 69 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship as everyone around her self-destructed. Pressel played her final 24 holes over Mission Hills without a bogey, finishing the round with a 10-foot birdie putt that looked as though it would be only good enough for second place. Then came a shocking collapse from Suzann Pettersen, the latest and most significant on a sun-baked afternoon in the desert. Pettersen, a fiery 25-year-old from Norway, had a four-shot lead with four holes to play when she started hitting tee shots into the ankle deep rough and missing putts on the crusty greens. She went bogey-double bogey-bogey to fall one shot behind, and needing a birdie on the par-5 18th, she hit wedge some 25 feet beyond the hole and missed the putt.
Adam Scott held off defending champion Stuart Appleby in the Houston Open on Sunday, saving par with a 50-foot putt on the 72nd hole after hitting his tee shot into the water. Scott shot a 6-under 66 to finish at 17 under, three strokes ahead of Appleby and third-round leader Bubba Watson. Playing together, Scott led Appleby by one stroke as they stood on the 18th tee, but Scott pulled his tee shot into the pond that lines the left side of the 488-yard hole, the course's most difficult. Appleby drove into the fairway bunker, then immediately gave Scott a reprieve by hitting his approach into the water near the green. Scott took his drop, hit his approach safely away from the water, then holed the par-saving putt. He pumped his fist, Tiger Woods-style, after the ball disappeared and the crowd roared. Appleby had a double bogey to finish with a 69. Watson birdied the last hole for a 72. Scott became the sixth Australian to win the event, joining Appleby, Bruce Devlin, Bruce Crampton, David Graham and Robert Allenby. Appleby and Crampton have won it twice and the eight victories by Australians are the most in any U.S. tour event. Only the British Open (9) has had more champions from Down Under.
5432. wabbit - 4/2/2007 1:11:09 AM  Novak Djokovic whacked the tournament's final shot for a winner, then collapsed on his back, sprawled at the baseline. Djokovic rose to embrace his opponent and climbed into the stands to hug his parents. He returned to the court and threw his shirt and racket to the cheering crowd. The kid plays with flair and celebrates the same way. Djokovic succeeded where Roger Federer failed, beating qualifier Guillermo Canas 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 Sunday to win the Sony Ericsson Open. Canas upset the top-ranked Federer twice last month, including in the fourth round Tuesday. But the 29-year-old Argentine's relentless baseline game failed to faze the 19-year-old Djokovic, who dominated with his versatile shotmaking and held every service game. Seeded 10th, Djokovic will improve to a career-high No. 7 in the rankings Monday. With his first ATP Masters Series title, the slender Serb became the youngest men's champion in the tournament's 23-year history. Djokovic won every set he played -- the first time the Key Biscayne men's champion has done that since Ivan Lendl in 1989.
5433. wabbit - 4/2/2007 1:11:31 AM 
The world’s richest race was supposed to be a showdown between brothers on their home racetrack Saturday. Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, had the undefeated Discreet Cat while Sheik Hamdan had America’s 2006 Horse of the Year, Invasor. The brothers showed up, but only one of their horses did. While Discreet Cat broke last and stayed there for most of the mile-and-a-quarter route, Invasor proved that he was the most dominant horse on the planet with a two-length victory in the $6 million Dubai World Cup that was as emphatic as it appeared effortless. Exactly 360 days ago on this racetrack, Invasor lost his only race in 11 starts to Discreet Cat in the U.A.E. Derby. Invasor, the son of Candy Stripes, responded by running off with five consecutive Grade I victories, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
There was no need for a photograph to identify the winner this time. Scat Daddy pulled away in the stretch for a one-and-a-quarter-length victory over Notional in the $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on Saturday. With the victory he became one of the leading contenders for the Kentucky Derby in five weeks. In the Fountain of Youth Stakes four weeks ago, Scat Daddy beat Stormello by a nose in a photo finish. This time there was no doubt as Scat Daddy won for the fifth time in eight starts for the trainer Todd Pletcher, who won five races on the Gulfstream card. Stormello, who was sent cross-country by the trainer Bill Currin to avenge the tough defeat, finished fourth after setting the early pace. Scat Daddy will not race again until the Derby on May 5, and will try to duplicate Barbaro’s feat of sweeping the Florida Derby and the Kentucky Derby. Until Barbaro, the last horse to win the Kentucky Derby after a layoff of five weeks or more was Needles in 1956. Ridden for the first time by Edgar Prado, who had six winners on the day, Scat Daddy moved into the lead on the turn for home and was never seriously threatened. Notional, winner of the Risen Star in his last start, made a brief run but was no match for Scat Daddy, the 3-year-old colt owned by James Scatuorchio and Michael Tabor.
5434. wabbit - 4/3/2007 2:08:54 PM  The Florida Gators took a chomp out of NCAA history with the repeat they simply had to have. Now they want more. They want to be called one of the best teams of all time. The Gators made their case Monday night with an 84-75 victory over Ohio State to capture the second straight national championship that was their only reasonable goal this season. They became the first team to go back-to-back since Duke in 1992 and the first ever to repeat with the same starting five.
Al Horford had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Taurean Green had 16 points and Greg Oden's 25 points and 12 rebounds weren't enough for Ohio State (35-4) to stop the Gators (35-5) from completing the quest they set upon when all the starters delayed their NBA plans for a try at another title.
This win completes a 2007 championship-game sweep of the Buckeyes in the two biggest college sports -- men's hoops and football. Florida, a 41-14 winner in the football title game in January, remains the only program in history to hold both championships at the same time. While the debate about the best teams of all time can truly begin, there is no denying that Florida's overall athletic program is the best in the nation. I wonder how the chess team is doing.
NCAA Basketball - Mens
5435. wabbit - 4/3/2007 2:09:19 PM  Felix Hernandez might not be back to being a star after just one outing. He is back enough to reach the levels of Dwight Gooden, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez. Hernandez, the 20-year-old would-be phenom who has lost 20 pounds since a disappointing 2006 season, thoroughly dominated the defending AL West champion Oakland Athletics in a 4-0 victory Monday. The major leagues' youngest opening day pitcher in 22 years allowed three hits and struck out a career-high 12 in eight innings. Hernandez tamed the same team that won 17 of 19 games last season against Seattle, crushing the Mariners back to the bottom of the division for the third consecutive year.
More than 41,000 fans got on their feet and gave Gil Meche a standing ovation. Very few of them would probably ever admit to being among the many critics who accused Kansas City of paying too much for the 28-year-old right-hander. The big deal paid off, for one outing at least. In his first start since the Royals gave him a club-record five-year, $55 million contract, Meche went 7 1-3 solid innings and led his new team to a 7-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox and an ineffective Curt Schilling. Settling down after a shaky first inning, Meche gave up six hits and one run. He struck out six and walked only one in the longest outing by a Kansas City starter on opening day since 1988.
On an emotional opening day, the New York Yankees honored Cory Lidle, welcomed back Bobby Murcer and beat Tampa Bay for a satisfying start. Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez came through with big hits and the Yankees even got a few encouraging innings from Carl Pavano in a 9-5 victory Monday over the baby-faced Devil Rays. Giambi, who hit a go-ahead single in the seventh for his third RBI, was a big part of the poignant pregame ceremonies. After a touching video tribute to Lidle, Giambi escorted the pitcher's wife, Melanie, and 6-year-old son, Christopher, toward the mound before they threw out first pitches. Lidle and Giambi were old friends and high school teammates. The 34-year-old right-hander was killed in a plane crash Oct. 11 in New York after finishing last season with the Yankees. His locker at Yankee Stadium will remain unoccupied all season, and the team is wearing black armbands on their jerseys in memory of him.
MLB scores
5436. arkymalarky - 4/3/2007 3:48:07 PM AR fired Stan Heath and hired Dana Altman, from Creighton. The big Razorback news is Frank Broyles finally leaving after the fall football season. It will be interesting to see what happens to Houston Nutt. 5437. arkymalarky - 4/4/2007 2:19:28 AM Well that didn't last long. 5438. wabbit - 4/4/2007 3:19:16 PM 26 hour turnaround, sheesh. Who do you think AR will try next? 5439. wabbit - 4/4/2007 3:20:07 PM  Eddie Robinson, who sent more than 200 players to the NFL and won 408 games during a 57-year career, has died. He was 88. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's, which was diagnosed shortly after he was forced to retire following the 1997 season, in which he won only three games. His health had been declining for years and he had been in and out of a nursing home during the last year. Super Bowl MVP quarterback Doug Williams, one of Robinson's former players, said the former Grambling State University coach died about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. Robinson had been admitted to Lincoln General Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
Robinson's was a career that spanned 11 presidents, several wars and the civil-rights movement. His older records were what people remembered: in 57 years, Robinson set the standard for victories, going 408-165-15. John Gagliardi of St. John's, Minn., passed Robinson in 2003 and has 443 wins. Robinson said he tried to coach each player as if he wanted him to marry his daughter. You gotta like that.
5440. wabbit - 4/4/2007 3:20:36 PM  Before the Tennessee Lady Vols took the court for Tuesday's NCAA title game against Rutgers, they heard a poem from assistant coach and frustrated English major Dean Lockwood about the importance of embracing the warrior mentality. When Lockwood had finished his recital, he picked up a baseball bat and smashed to pieces a videotape of Rutgers' semifinal game, in which the Scarlet Knights embarrassed SEC runner-up LSU 59-35.
In the days leading up to Tuesday night, the Lady Vols had been insisting that there was more to their team than the Candace Parker show. Their 59-46 victory over Rutgers proved that point. To win coach Pat Summitt's seventh national title in 20 years, the Lady Vols needed contributions from all precincts: A barrage of four three-pointers from diminutive junior point guard Shannon Bobbitt. Sixteen rebounds, including 10 off the offensive glass, from junor forward Nicky Anosike. Ten points, five rebounds and a critical steal from reserve Alberta Auguste.
NCAA Women's Basketball
5441. arkymalarky - 4/4/2007 7:08:28 PM I don't know, Wabbit. Our local bunch were always fair-weather round-ball hawg fans, and that was in our younger days when it was easy to gather up a round table of booze, cigarettes and poker, with the tv placed and rabbit ears adjusted so everyone could see it. Those really were the good old days. When the game wasn't televised in prime-time, channel 7 would show it at 10:30, and woe to the soul who divulged the score, or even any major plays, at any time during that day. This was a state-wide rule.
Nolan Richardson changed the dynamic somewhat, but I think the bottom line (football is having problems as well), is that Frank Broyles lost his mojo some years ago and no one has dared tell him. Now he's finally going, but he's waiting until the end of football season. Like everything else, Northwest AR runs the show and treats the rest of the state like red-headed step-children, and they can't maintain broad support doing that. That may not be it, but I get the feeling the head-coach is more micro-managed than most candidates would accept. If they could draw a big name that might not be the case, but they can't draw one now. Not without a lot more money, anyway. And when they do have a successful coach the lame Little Rock media (Democrat-Gazette, mostly) can be a regular, royal pain if the coach doesn't either suck up to or successfully ignore them.
Also, an interesting side-note is that Springdale, the richest public school in the state (or one of), had several football players and one of their coaches move up to the UofA team. That coach and those players left in disgust after this past season, and I don't know the details on that either, but I will be very interested to see how the football team does in the fall. I wouldn't be surprised to see Houston Nutt get kicked out the door ahead of Broyles' retirement, but again, I'm just a peanut-gallery spectator with little knowledge or understanding of the situation. I just know the program's decline has taken away some free fun for the po' folks.
Any Razorback fans (or anyone else) who can fill in or correct any of this post, please do. 5442. arkymalarky - 4/4/2007 7:09:39 PM Cool women's basketball story. 5443. jexster - 4/7/2007 10:59:09 PM The triennial Little League International Congress is being held this coming week in Houston. As part of the opening festivities, they have a parade of kids carrying flags.
My "Dream League" nephew and possibly his younger brother,the Little Leaguer, will carry flags Friday.
5444. wabbit - 4/10/2007 3:54:40 PM Is Don Imus a complete idiot or what? Did he learn nothing from the Mel Gibson/Michael Richards/Tim Hardaway comments? Not that Jesse Jackson has any point to make, after saying that Imus' remark about "nappy-headed hos" is the same as if Brian Williams said it on the evening news. Huh? I don't think so. However, I'm not buying the "this is comedy, I'm an entertainer, not a news person" crap. He may not be Brian Williams, but neither is he Howard Stern. He manages to get a lot of politicos and movers and shakers on his show, and they aren't there for entertainment value. And only Michele Moore, senior vice president of the Urban League, has made the point that this is as sexist as it is racist. Imus would not have made a similar comment about the mens' team. Yes, I know he called the New York Knicks a group of "chest-thumping pimps", but they are professional athletes making millions off playing a game, not college kids. And don't even get me started about the vast differences between womens' and mens' college sports. Imus has always been an ignornant dickwad to the few women who have worked with/for him, and if he was really feeling bad about what he said, he'd have apologized before there was a backlash in the press. I'm really sick and tired of the meanness and cruelty that is passed off as humor, and how women are supposed to smile and pretend it's all funny or be told they have no sense of humor. It's a con and we fell for it, but enough already. I hope the women at Rutgers show Imus what class really is, but I'm not sure he'd get the point. 5445. wabbit - 4/10/2007 3:54:59 PM  Unheralded Zach Johnson won the Masters' green jacket and had to beat Tiger Woods to get it. Johnson pulled away from Woods and the rest of the pack with three birdies in a crucial four-hole stretch along the back nine of Augusta National, closing with a 69 for a two-shot victory and only the second of his career. The 31-year-old self-described "normal guy" from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the least accomplished Masters champion since Larry Mize chipped in to beat Greg Norman in a playoff 20 years ago, but this was no fluke. Even as some of the thrills returned in the final round, Johnson kept his calm. And there wasn't anything Woods could do about it. Johnson shot 71-73-76-69 for a total of 289, which tied the record for the highest winning score set by Jack Burke in 1956.
To win the Masters, Johnson beat some of the world's top-ranked golfers. Now he's one of them. Johnson tamed a tough Augusta National and shot a 3-under 69 Sunday for his first major championship and only his second win on the PGA Tour, moving up 41 places to No. 15 in the latest Official World Golf Ranking. He was the first player ranked outside the world top 50 to win the Masters since the world rankings began 21 years ago. Among the players Johnson beat out Sunday was Tiger Woods, who tied for second place and, of course, retained his position at the No. 1-ranked golfer. Woods was followed again by Jim Furyk, Australian Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, South African Ernie Els, Henrik Stenson of Sweden and Vijay Singh of Fiji in positions 2-7. Retief Goosen of South Africa also tied for second place and moved up one place to No. 8, bumping Australian Geoff Ogilvy from his position last week. Ogilvy dropped to ninth, while Padraig Harrington of Ireland and Luke Donald of England, remained 10th and 11th respectively. Trevor Immelman of South Africa and Paul Casey of England parlayed nice showings at Augusta into one-spot bumps in the rankings to 12th and 13th respectively, knocking Spaniard Sergio Garcia two places to 14th. Johnson was followed by Charles Howell III and Australian Nick O'Hern, who both lost one spot to dip to 16th and 17th. Australian Stuart Appleby and David Toms were up one place apiece to 18th and 19th, while Australian Robert Allenby and David Love III both lost three spots to drop to 20th and 21st this week.
5446. wabbit - 4/10/2007 3:55:16 PM  Beating the odds again, Michigan State won its first NCAA hockey championship in 21 years. Justin Abdelkader snapped a tie with 18.9 seconds to go, seconds after ringing a shot off the post in the Spartans' 3-1 victory over Boston College on Saturday night. Jeff Lerg made 29 saves, and Chris Mueller added an empty-net goal with 1.2 seconds left to clinch it for the Spartans (26-13-3), a lightly regarded No. 3 seed in the Midwest Regional when the tournament began. Tim Kennedy tied it midway through the third period, and set up the go-ahead goal from behind the net when he spun off his man and passed the puck in front. Abdelkader, the MVP of the finals, beat Cory Schneider for his 15th goal and first in nine games.
Bridgewater State set NCAA Division III records for runs, hits, RBIs and victory margin Monday, routing Newbury 57-1 in seven innings. Bridgewater State also broke the NCAA all-divisions record for RBIs and tied the mark for hits, finishing with 54 RBIs and 44 hits. Steve Smith had seven hits, 10 RBIs and scored seven times to help Bridgewater State break the Division III records for runs and margin of victory set in Marietta's 48-0 victory over La Roche in 1999. Smith tied the record for hits in a game. The 54 RBIs broke the all-divisions mark of 53 set by Division II St. Francis of Illinois in a 1996 victory over Robert Morris. The 44 hits tied the record set by St. Francis in that 1996 game. Suffolk set the previous Division III RBI mark of 43 in a 2005 victory over Southern Vermont, and Baldwin-Wallace set the old Division III hits record of 42 in a 2002 win over Lake Erie.
5447. wabbit - 4/10/2007 3:55:30 PM  Tiago, a half brother to 2005 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Giacomo, earned a chance to match a victory previously achieved by his sibling in the first leg of the Triple Crown by rallying to score half-length win in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby (G1) on Saturday at Santa Anita Park. Racing without blinkers for the first time, Tiago and jockey Mike Smith powered past runner-up King of the Roxy with an explosive stretch run. Jerry and Ann Moss bred and owned Giacomo and Tiago, both of whom were trained by John Shirreffs. Smith guided Giacomo to a fourth-place finish in the 2005 Santa Anita Derby prior to winning the Kentucky Derby. Giacomo, by Holy Bull, and Tiago, by Pleasant Tap, are out of multiple stakes winner Set Them Free, by Stop the Music.
Nobiz Like Shobiz solidified his status as a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) with a determined half-length score in the $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) on Saturday at Aqueduct. Wearing blinkers for the first time, the Albert the Great colt delivered a much more professional performance in the stretch to rebound from a disappointing third-place finish in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) on March 3.
Cowtown Cat made another giant step forward in his now inexorable march towards the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) when he soundly defeated eight challengers in a 2 ¼-length victory in the $500,000 Illinois Derby (G2) on Saturday at Hawthorne Race Course. A race that was billed as a two-horse match race between Cowtown Cat and Cobalt Blue turned into a tour de force for Cowtown Cat, who under jockey Fernando Jara took the lead out of the gate in the 1 1/8-mile race and never relinquished it, drawing away nearing the finish and crossing the line in 1:51.21 on a fast track. Late-running Reporting for Duty closed to outgame third-place finisher Bold Start by three-quarters of a length. Cobalt Blue raced in fourth, not far off the lead early, but never menaced, fading to seventh in the lane while racing wide.
5448. wonkers2 - 4/12/2007 3:56:13 AM wabbit, you got it right on Imus. I've never been a fan and now I know why. Maybe Jexter can take his place. 5449. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 4/12/2007 4:18:50 AM I relish wabb's indignation; she's a righteous and insightful force to admire.
Imus has always played to the locker-room wannabes and the macho assholes. Cheap, mean shots are his stock and trade and he's always needed a comeuppance--so let's hope this will bring it about.
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