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5616. wabbit - 6/15/2007 1:40:56 PM  Once again, the San Antonio Spurs walked the hallways in champagne-soaked T-shirts. Bruce Bowen carried the Larry O'Brien trophy, one he had cradled before. Tony Parker, wrapped in France's flag, squeezed an MVP award he richly deserved. And Tim Duncan, always the center of everything for his team, recorded every precious moment with a camcorder. This wasn't their first NBA title. But for the Spurs, it's the maybe the one that means the most. Champions for a fourth time in nine years, they're now a dynasty.
Parker scored 24 points, Manu Ginobili had 27 -- 13 in the fourth quarter -- and the Spurs moved in among the NBA's greatest franchises with an 83-82 victory Thursday night for a sweep of the Cavaliers -- court jesters through much of their first finals. With their fourth championship since 1999 -- and third in five years -- the Spurs joined the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls as the only teams in NBA history to win four titles.
5617. wabbit - 6/18/2007 2:03:03 PM  The only thing Angel Cabrera couldn't conquer at this U.S. Open was Oakmont. That was much tougher than Tiger Woods. Cabrera hit all the right shots at the right time Sunday, none bigger than a booming tee shot down the middle of the 18th fairway that stopped a late slide, allowed him to post a 1-under 69 and forced Woods and Jim Furyk to catch him. For the second straight major, Woods couldn't buy a birdie. For the second straight U.S. Open, Furyk couldn't make a par. Cabrera became the first Argentine in 40 years to win a major, powering his way to a pair of birdies on the back nine that turned into a one-shot victory over two of the best players in the world.
South Africa's Ashleigh Simon became the youngest professional winner of a Ladies European Tour event at the Catalonia Ladies Masters on Sunday, edging out Becky Brewerton and Kirsty Taylor by two strokes. The teenager, aged 18 and 37 days, carded a 2-under-par 70 at the Club de Golf Masia Bach to finish at 8-under 280. Only South Korea's Amy Yang, a 16-year-old amateur when she claimed the 2006 ANZ Ladies Masters in Australia, was younger in recording a victory. Simon turned professional a day after her 18th birthday about five weeks ago, and was playing in only her fourth start in the paid ranks.
PGA news
5618. wabbit - 6/18/2007 2:03:20 PM  Kate Ziegler broke swimming's oldest world record, shattering the 1,500-meter freestyle mark by 9 1/2 seconds Sunday night. Ziegler won the 30-lap race at the Kate Ziegler broke swimming's oldest world record, shattering the 1,500-meter freestyle mark by 9 1/2 seconds Sunday night. Ziegler won the 30-lap race at the TYR Meet of Champions in 15 minutes, 42.54 seconds, easily erasing Janet Evans' 1988 mark of 15:52.10 set in Orlando, Fla. At the time, Evans was the first woman to break 16 minutes. It was Ziegler's fourth victory at the meet, having already won the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles. In the 1,500, Ziegler's 400-meter split was 4:09.87 -- 4 seconds off her winning time in the event Friday. Her 800 split of 8:22.57 was 2 seconds faster than her winning time in the 800 Thursday. At the world championships in March, Ziegler won the 1,500 in 15:53.05, second-fastest in history. The race is not an Olympic event for women. in 15 minutes, 42.54 seconds, easily erasing Janet Evans' 1988 mark of 15:52.10 set in Orlando, Fla. At the time, Evans was the first woman to break 16 minutes. It was Ziegler's fourth victory at the meet, having already won the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles. In the 1,500, Ziegler's 400-meter split was 4:09.87 -- 4 seconds off her winning time in the event Friday. Her 800 split of 8:22.57 was 2 seconds faster than her winning time in the 800 Thursday. At the world championships in March, Ziegler won the 1,500 in 15:53.05, second-fastest in history. The race is not an Olympic event for women.
5619. wabbit - 6/18/2007 2:03:36 PM  Barry Bonds added baseball's oldest ballpark to his longball list and was back on his way to the sport's most hallowed record. The San Francisco slugger hit his 748th career homer in Boston's 9-5 victory over the Giants on Sunday, adding Fenway Park, the Red Sox and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield to his scrapbook and moving within seven of Hank Aaron's mark. The last time Bonds homered off a knuckler was when he hit No. 73 of 2001 off Los Angeles Dodger Dennis Springer to establish the single-season record. Bonds had been hitless in eight at-bats against Wakefield, even joking that the pitches were too slow to hit hard.
Alex Rodriguez and Chien-Ming Wang have been unstoppable the past few weeks, two big reasons the New York Yankees look almost unbeatable right now. Rodriguez hit his major league-leading 27th homer, Wang came within one out of a complete game and the Yankees won the second Subway Series of the season Sunday night with an 8-2 victory over the stumbling Mets. Damon and Jorge Posada also homered, helping the Yankees win for the 11th time in 12 games. They finished their finest homestand in nine years with an 8-1 record and split the six-game season series with their crosstown rivals for the third straight year. Wang (7-4) struck out a career-high 10 and walked one. He scattered six hits, sending the NL East leaders to their 11th defeat in 13 games.
Fausto Carmona's sharp sinker gave the Cleveland Indians a needed lift. Carmona (8-2) pitched seven-plus innings to help the Indians avoid a three-game sweep with a 5-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. Casey Blake extended the majors' longest hitting streak of the season to 26 games for Cleveland, which won for only the third time in eight games and remained in first place in the AL Central. Chipper Jones got his 2,000th hit for the Braves, losers of 10 of their last 15.
MLB scores
5620. wonkers2 - 6/19/2007 10:50:52 PM Cap'n Dirty finished out of the money last night 5621. wonkers2 - 6/20/2007 9:45:10 PM Bol d'Or Regatta 5622. wonkers2 - 6/21/2007 12:25:31 PM Who Will Win the 32nd America's Cup? 5623. wabbit - 6/21/2007 1:42:14 PM  Coming off the shortest start of his career five days ago, Robert Woodard shut down Rice for six-plus innings Wednesday and North Carolina stayed in the College World Series with a 6-1 victory. Rice had 29 runs and 33 hits in its first two CWS games, one of which was a 14-4 victory over the Tar Heels on Sunday. Woodard and two relievers limited the Owls to one run on six singles and a double on Wednesday, and Dustin Ackley broke open the game with a three-run homer to help the Tar Heels force another meeting with Rice on Thursday. The winner meets UC Irvine or defending national champion Oregon State in the best-of-three championship starting Saturday. Rice (56-13), at No. 2, and 2006 national runner-up North Carolina (56-14), at No. 3, are the only remaining national seeds in the CWS.
In one month, Oregon State has gone from uncertainty about making the NCAA tournament to taking the final step toward playing for a second straight national championship. The Beavers are back in the College World Series' championship round after a 7-1 victory over UC Irvine on Wednesday night that ended the Anteaters' dramatic postseason run. Oregon State (47-18), looking to become the first repeat champion since LSU in 1997, plays the winner of Thursday's Rice-North Carolina game in the best-of-three finals starting Saturday.
Rice coach Wayne Graham said Wednesday that the record number of players getting hit by pitches at this year's College World Series is more than a coincidence. Five batters were hit in Wednesday's game between North Carolina and Rice, bringing the CWS-record total to 45 in 12 games. There have been five hit batsmen with the bases loaded, and 11 players have scored after being hit. Cal State-Fullerton tied a CWS record on Monday when it hit five batters in a game against UC Irvine. The Anteaters finished with 12 HBPs in four games, a CWS record.
NCAA Men's Baseball
5624. wabbit - 6/21/2007 1:42:31 PM  Playing for the Texas Rangers after a year out of baseball, Sammy Sosa became the fifth member of the 600-homer club Wednesday night when he connected against his former team, the Chicago Cubs. After driving a 1-2 pitch to right-center for a solo shot in the fifth inning of Texas' 7-3 victory, Slammin' Sammy bounced out of the batter's box with his trademark hop and thrust his right fist into the air before reaching first base. He was mobbed at home plate by his teammates while the scoreboard showed pictures of all five members of the elite club: Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sosa.
Four pitches into the game, the Boston Red Sox provided a glimpse of what was to come. J.D. Drew led off with a homer and the Red Sox went deep four more times to back seven sharp innings by Julian Tavarez, who had it easy in Boston's 11-0 rout of the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night. Before the Braves even batted, Coco Crisp hit a three-run homer to give the Red Sox a 5-0 lead. David Ortiz added a two-run shot in the second, while Manny Ramirez and Eric Hinske chipped in late. The Red Sox tied their season high, having also homered five times April 22 against the Yankees. For good measure, Boston also had five doubles in a 15-hit outburst that helped extend its AL East lead to 10 games over New York.
The New York Yankees lost their second straight to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night, this time 6-1 as left-hander Jeff Francis matched Josh Fogg's seven-inning, one-run dominance from 24 hours earlier. The Yankees are getting a firsthand look at how much Denver's downtown ballpark and the Rockies' pitching staff have changed from five years ago. Last time the Yankees came to town in 2002, they scored 41 times in three games. This time, they've pushed across just two runs and have just one hit in 13 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
MLB scores
5625. wonkers2 - 6/25/2007 1:56:54 PM Emirates New Zeeland Ties Alinghi 1-1 in race two in the best of nine America's Cup competition 5626. alistairconnor - 6/26/2007 2:38:46 PM Yes I thought it was all over about half way through Race 2 : Alinghi cleaned up in the first race, and led around the first two marks in the second.
I think Alinghi let them off the hook by not covering properly, I am not yet convinced that TNZ can win this match.
We'll see about that in today's race. 5627. alistairconnor - 6/26/2007 2:49:22 PM The race is postponed for the moment, not enough wind, but the sea breeze is building, 8 to 9 knots, so we should get a start soon.
 5628. alistairconnor - 6/26/2007 4:35:01 PM Woo-hoo!
Team NZ made themselves convincingly the underdogs by losing that first race...
But now they've got 350 metres on Alinghi going around the first mark! Brilliant weather divining in light, shifty conditions... they only need to keep it tight now surely, to turn it into 2-1... 5629. alistairconnor - 6/26/2007 5:12:50 PM But yes, they manage to blow it! Horror show at the bottom mark : the spinnaker drop was disastrous, got it all wrapped round the jib and possibly under the keel too, they had to cut it up into pieces and they let Alinghi back into the race!
And now they cross and they are neck and neck! A leg and a half to race 5630. alistairconnor - 6/26/2007 5:48:29 PM So Alinghi rounds the last mark ahead, they have an 8à metre lead and they have the faster boat downwind... they just need to cover...
Unbefeckin'lievable! Ed Baird allows TNZ to get a kilometre of lateral separation, they pick a wind shift ant they're back in the race! 5631. alistairconnor - 6/26/2007 5:51:20 PM They are only a km from the finish, and more than a km apart! They will be converging on the finish line on opposit gybes...Anyone's race, the wind gods will decide. 5632. alistairconnor - 6/26/2007 5:55:45 PM I'm not going to say who won... watch it on TV if you can... A classic for the ages. 5633. wonkers2 - 6/26/2007 6:15:18 PM Great coverage. Now to my Tivo! 5634. alistairConnor - 6/26/2007 10:36:46 PM Woo! Americas Cup defender Ernesto Bertarelli is furious that the race was held at all in today's light, changeable conditions :
I didn’t come to the America’s Cup to do this sort of racing. It’s match racing at the end of the day. It’s not offshore racing where you just have to see whether the wind decides the regatta. I don’t think the wind should decide the regatta, the competitors should decide it on their ability. The wind should be way more stable than it was today for the race to take place. I’m sure for those who are watching it is exciting for sure, but you can go to Las Vegas for that. It’s not exactly what sailing should be about.
Boo fuckin' hoo. Heads will roll, mark my words.
5635. wonkers2 - 6/27/2007 12:57:32 AM Today's race was one of the most interesting America's Cup race in memory. The lead changed six times, with the sixth change coming at the finish when NZ came from behind to break into the lead 2-1. NZ blew a big lead at the first leeward mark when the spinnaker got sucked into the starboard jib fairlead. This mishap allowed Alinghi to pass NZ on the second windward leg. Very exciting racing. I bet the odds in Vegas now favor NZ. At least that's where I'd put my money, but not a whole lot.
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