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Took the family to see some World Cup rugby last night.
Samoa 25-21 USA.
A cold, rainy night in Saint Etienne. Perfect conditions for the match (we've had something of an Indian summer these last few weeks, and teams have often suffered from the heat). Excellent ambiance in the Stade Geoffroy Guichard, a legendary soccer venue. Near-capacity crowd, mostly locals and mostly... soccer fans.

The Samoans came to the Cup with big ambitions : they have been quarter-finalists several times before. But this is not a good year for them, and this was their only win of the Cup.
The USA have lost their three games (England, Tonga, Samoa) but with honour and style, scoring tries in each game (and achieving one point on the Cup scoreboard, by virtue of their narrow losing margin in this match). They still have one match to go... but will be harbouring no illusions, since they will be playing South Africa, who I rank as second favourites for the Cup, behind New Zealand.

USA in red, Samoa in blue.

A more competitive match than I had expected. My girls were waving the Samoan flag, but I tried to remain even-handed. We were lucky to be seated behind the right set of goalposts : Samoa dominated the first half, but the USA were on top in the second, so we saw most of the play up close.

Man of the match for me was this man, number 14, Takudzwa Ngwenya, who scored a brilliant winger's try, the USA's first, in the second half. Can't find a decent photo of him, he's new to international rugby. All I know about him is that he's... a Texan.

Veteran captain Mike Hercus was reliable with his kicking, scoring from three penalties and getting one difficult conversion out of two.

Guardian
BBC
# USA captain Mike Hercus:
"I think at the end we played really good.

"We've really got in the habit of being slow starters. The spirit of rugby was there. Hopefully we entertained people."

Thank you sir, you did!

5768. anomie - 9/29/2007 4:54:18 AM

Cubs win! The Northsiders in Chicago, of which I was once one, are happy to be in the playoffs as NL Central Division champs. I await the inevitable October heart break.

5769. wabbit - 10/1/2007 12:12:36 AM

J.D. Drew skipped Boston's wild celebration of its first AL East title in 12 years. He didn't miss much Saturday night. Continuing his surge at the end of a trying season, Drew hit a full-count fastball for a three-run homer in the seventh inning to help the Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 6-4. The win, combined with Cleveland's loss to Kansas City, guaranteed the Red Sox will have the best record in the AL - with a tiebreaker edge if they match the Indians at 96-66. That gave them the right to choose whether to start their division series at home against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday or Thursday. They picked Wednesday, giving them an extra day off during the series, and Cleveland will begin Thursday against the New York Yankees. The Sox lost 4-3 in this afternoon's game, but Mike Lowell was named team MVP, which makes me happy.

The Arizona Diamondbacks clinched their fourth division title - and home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs - before they even took the field thanks to the Milwaukee Brewers' come-from-behind win over San Diego. The Brewers' 11-inning win also kept Colorado's postseason hopes afloat. Today, the Rockies beat Arizona 4-3 and the Padres lost 11-6 to Milwaukee. Colorado will play a tie-breaker against San Diego Monday at Coors Field for the final playoff spot in the majors. Chicago clinched the NL Central division with a 6-0 victory in front of thousands of raucous Chicago fans on Friday night.

The Mets are out and the Phillies are in. Considered all-but-out of contention just 2 1/2 weeks ago, the Philadelphia Phillies overcame a huge deficit in the standings, caught the Mets and won their first NL East title since 1993 on the final day. Ryan Howard hit his 47th homer, 44-year-old Jamie Moyer pitched 5 1-3 gutsy innings and the Phillies, backed by a crowd going crazy, beat Washington 6-1 Sunday to end a 14-year playoff drought.

MLB scores

5770. wabbit - 10/1/2007 12:12:54 AM

Abby Wambach gave the United States something more than bad memories to carry home from the women's World Cup. Wambach's two goals, and two more from Lori Chalupny and Heather O'Reilly, led the United States to a lopsided 4-1 victory over Norway on Sunday in the third-place game. The powerful American striker scored in the 30th and 46th minutes, giving her six goals for the tournament and putting the United States in command. The U.S. team, distracted by the expulsion of goalkeeper Hope Solo, pulled together three days after a humiliating 4-0 semifinal loss to Brazil that ended a 51-game winning streak.

Defending champion Germany repeated its title, winning its second straight Women's World Cup on Sunday, defeating Brazil 2-0 behind second-half goals by Birgit Prinz and Simone Laudehr. Prinz scored in the 52nd minute and Laudehr added a cushion late in the game, helping Germany become the first women's soccer team to successfully defend its title in the World Cup or Olympics. Brazil star Marta, who had seven goals in the tournament, had a chance to tie the game in the second half, but her penalty kick was stopped by diving German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer. Germany managed to hold off flowing attacks by Brazil, which routed the United States 4-0 in the semifinal.

5771. wabbit - 10/1/2007 12:13:33 AM

Hard Spun, second in the Kentucky Derby, turned the tables on Derby winner Street Sense in winning Saturday's $350,000 Kentucky Cup Classic at Turfway Park. It was the first time Hard Spun finished in front of his rival in three races. Hard Spun and Street Sense were sent off as 4-5 co-favorites in the four horse field. Breaking from the inside post Hard Spun immediately took the lead at the start and never looked back. With Mario Pino in the saddle, Hard Spun repulsed the challenge of Street Sense down the stretch and went on to win by 1 1/4 lengths. Finishing third was Stream Cat with Cat Shaker fourth. The field was reduced to four when Muqbil was scratched by trainer Duane Knipe. The time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:48.48 on the all-weather surface.

Owned by Rick Porter, Hard Spun finally got the best of Street Sense. After finishing second in the Run for the Roses, Hard Spun was third in the Preakness Stakes when Street Sense was second to Curlin. Curlin had been third in the Kentucky Derby. Hard Spun, trained by Larry Jones, has won his last two starts, including the King's Bishop Stakes at Saratoga. He was fourth in the Belmont Stakes and finished second to Any Given Saturday in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. Hard Spun collects $210,000 for the Kentucky Cup Classic, his second victory at Turfway Park where he won the Lane's End Stakes in March. His career earnings are now $1.6 million with seven wins in 12 lifetime starts. Hard Spun returned $3.80 and $2.10, and Street Sense paid $2.10. There was no show wagering due to the short field.

English Channel muscled his way through an opening along the rail and went to win the $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park on Sunday for the second straight year. The 2 1/4-length victory over Stream of Gold earned English Channel an automatic berth in the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf at New Jersey's Monmouth Park on Oct. 27. English Channel, trained by Todd Pletcher, left from the No. 1 post under John Velazquez, and ran third along the rail until the field turned for home. Behind a wall of horses, Velazquez somehow found room inside of Mission Approved and then held off Stream of Gold to become just the third horse to win the Grade 1 race two times.

After a lackluster performance in the Haskell, Curlin ran down favorite Lawyer Ron to win the $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup and get an automatic entry in the Breeders Cup next month. Lawyer Ron is already in, thanks to wins in the Whitney and Woodward Stakes, both in Saratoga.

Finally, good news for those of us who love the old man. 32-year-old John Henry is improving after a series of dehydration problems this summer. He is back to receiving visitors who come to see him at the Kentucky Horse Park.

5772. jexster - 10/1/2007 3:53:47 AM

AP Top 25

1. LSU (33)

2. USC (32)

3. California

5773. wabbit - 10/2/2007 1:04:28 PM

The NL wild card came down to a wild, 13-inning finish Monday night that put Matt Holliday and the Colorado Rockies into the playoffs and sent Trevor Hoffman and the San Diego Padres home weary and dazed. Holliday raced home on Jamey Carroll's shallow fly ball, capping a three-run rally against the all-time saves leader, giving the Rockies a 9-8 win in baseball's longest one-game tiebreaker.

"It's been an incredible run from game 1 to game 163," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "This is just a snapshot of what we've been through."

After Scott Hairston's two-run homer put the Padres ahead in the top of the 13th, Colorado came back against Hoffman. The Rockies won for the 14th time in 15 games and advanced to play at Philadelphia in the first round starting Wednesday.

MLB scores

5774. wabbit - 10/2/2007 1:04:50 PM

Tom Brady had three more touchdown passes. Sammy Morris had one of his best games. The New England defense had its way. The Patriots remained one of the NFL's four unbeaten teams Monday night - and, so far, the best of the bunch - by beating the Cincinnati Bengals 34-13 with a performance that showed their versatility. They've only just begun. New England (4-0) is off to its best start since 2004, when it won the Super Bowl for the third time in four years. An offense energized by the addition of receivers Randy Moss , Donte' Stallworth and Wes Welker showed it can grind it out, too.

The record is his, for now, and Brett Favre can return his focus on two other numbers: 4-0. To hear him tell it over and over, this is all he has ever worried about: helping Green Bay win. Favre became the NFL's all-time leader in career touchdown passes with a couple of vintage third-down zingers Sunday, and the Packers stayed unbeaten with a 23-16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Favre threw No. 421 in the first quarter to Greg Jennings and No. 422 in the fourth quarter to rookie James Jones. He also went interception-free against a defense determined to make him the league's all-time leader in that category. Favre remained three picked-off passes away from topping George Blanda on the career list. Former teammate Darren Sharper had one in the first quarter that was wiped out by a penalty. He congratulated Favre after the game that left the frustrated Vikings 1-3. The Packers joined the Dallas Cowboys as the NFC's only undefeated teams.

After making things worse by knocking the ball farther away, Tony Romo finally grabbed it 33 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Yet instead of falling on the ball or throwing it away, Romo took off running. And running. And running. By following his blockers and making a guy miss on his own, Romo recovered all the yards he'd lost, plus gained four more - exactly what the Dallas Cowboys needed on a third-and-3 and in the midst of a sluggish start. That sparked the Cowboys to a 35-7 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Romo's wild, Staubach-like scramble came just before halftime of a tied game. He capped that drive with - what else? - a 15-yard touchdown run. Then he opened the second half with TD passes of 59, 37 and 17 yards, turning what had been a tight early game into yet another easy win for undefeated Dallas and another frustrating loss for winless St. Louis.

NFL scores

5775. wabbit - 10/4/2007 1:32:02 PM

What a loser.

5776. wabbit - 10/4/2007 1:32:50 PM

I'll leave this to Tom Verducci of SI:

To understand the difficulty of what Red Sox ace Josh Beckett did Wednesday night at Fenway Park, first you have to know that his was the 124th shutout in the 104 years of postseason play. Not bad. Beckett has three of those 124 shutouts himself; only the great Christy Mathewson, with four, ever threw more. Even better.

But what you really need to know is how many times in those 124 postseason shutouts that the pitcher allowed no walks and no extra-base hits while striking out as many as eight batters. I'll give you the entire list here:

1. Josh Beckett, Boston, 4-0, Game 1, ALDS over Los Angeles.

That's it.

No, it wasn't Don Larsen. But in its own way, it was a supremely unique night. Now you might appreciate what Beckett did to the Angels: No runs, no walks, no extra-base hits. No chance.

Beckett just might have set the tone for this series, if not for all of October. The Red Sox, given Game 1 and Beckett's postseason pedigree -- three shutouts in six starts with a 1.74 ERA -- have themselves a legit big-game ace. Take all the pitchers in this postseason and Beckett should be your first pick to start a big game -- like John Smoltz in the 1990s, a power pitcher in his youthful prime with the notches already on his belt...

5777. wabbit - 10/6/2007 1:31:32 PM

It's simple, really. Do not pitch around David Ortiz. On Friday night, Manny Ramirez ended Game 2 of the American League Division Series for Boston, hitting a walkoff homer for a 6-3 win. It was Ortiz, though, who won it. The Angels walked Ortiz four times, two of which were determined to be intentional, though with Ortiz it is difficult to tell. The last one was a predictable admission by Angels manager Mike Scioscia that he would rather pitch to Ramirez with two outs and the winning run on second than to Ortiz. For those of you driving down the Mass Pike today, be careful. Ramirez's home run might actually land sometime soon. He turned around a 95 mph fastball from Francisco Rodriguez with a viciously quick and powerful swing. His home run was majestic, as big and beautiful as any longball you shall ever see. People who were there will be telling their grandchildren about it. And a thank you to Danny Vinik for making a great barehanded catch of a Ramirez pop fly ball. Since he did not reach into the field of play, it was a legal move, and that allowed Ramirez to stay at the plate and draw a walk to load the bases before Mike Lowell's sacrifice fly tied it at 3.

Ok, who's praying for plagues? Swarming midges, millions and millions of them, bombarded the New York Yankees at the worst possible time Friday night, covering and rattling rookie reliever Joba Chamberlain and helping the Cleveland Indians to a 2-1 win in 11 innings and a two-game lead in their AL playoff series. Yankees fans probably aren't too thrilled with A-Rod. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and is now 4-for-47 with zero RBIs in his last 14 playoffs games. Andy Pettitte, otoh, pitched beautifully. For seven innings, in a white-knuckle game as tight as October can offer, Pettitte masterfully worked his way out of jam after jam. Pitching in his record-tying 35th postseason game, Pettitte gave the Yankees 6 1-3 shutout innings. After Pettitte walked Lofton on four pitches in the seventh, the left-hander was pulled for Joba Chamberlain, the flame-throwing righty who has become a New York cult hero in less than two months. But before Pettitte left the mound, several of his infielders tapped on the chest with their gloves, their tribute to a job well done.

MLB scores

5778. alistairConnor - 10/6/2007 1:50:32 PM

Good morning Wabbit... I'm just going to do one of my "sport that nobody is interested in" monologues... the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals are starting in ten minutes...

5779. alistairConnor - 10/6/2007 2:00:07 PM

First up : Australia-England.

This was the bill for the final of the last World Cup, in 2003. England were the underdogs then, as now.

But now they are reigning world champions... They have been rubbish for all of the intervening four years, regularly dominated by Ireland and of course France, even beaten by Wales, and getting trashed by all of the southern hemisphere teams.

After receiving a 35-0 hiding from South Africa, they were widely expected to crap out in the group stage. But they not only beat Fiji, they turned in an excellent match, playing decent rugby... I have warmed to them.

But all of this is irrelevant : I will back any team on earth against Australia. Without exception. I would back a team of Martians too.

5780. wabbit - 10/6/2007 2:28:04 PM

Go for it, AC! I like rugby, although I can't say I know the rules of the game. I'm sure if I can understand the basics of cricket, I could learn about rugby, but we so rarely get to see either here.

5781. wabbit - 10/6/2007 2:33:05 PM

Marion Jones' voice never wavered, her reserve never faltered as the words rang out in the silent, stately federal courtroom. She was a liar and a cheat, she told the judge, her eyes never straying from his face. And so ended years of angry denials by one of the world's most celebrated athletes.

The owner of three Olympic golds and two bronze medals, Jones came clean Friday and admitted she used steroids. She pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators when she denied using performance-enhancing drugs, then announced her retirement in a tearful apology outside the U.S. District Court.

"It's with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust," Jones said, her voice cracking as her mother stood behind her, a strong and supportive hand on her shoulder.

5782. alistairConnor - 10/6/2007 2:37:34 PM

According to classical theory, the group stage of the World Cup serves to give a handful of non-rugby-playing nations a taste of glory, but lets through the big five European teams (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France) and the big three Southern Hemisphere teams (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa), while allowing the island nations (Samoa, Tonga, Fiji) a chance of an upset, and an appearance in the quarter-finals.

But the geopolitics of rugby has shifted. The Big Three has become the Big Four. Argentina beat hosts, and co-favourites, France, in the opening match of the Cup. In the end, there was no South Pacific upset, but Ireland were squeezed out. So we have four North-South match-ups for the quarter finals.

And the Southern Hemisphere sides are favourites in all of them.

5783. alistairConnor - 10/6/2007 2:52:57 PM

10-6 to Australia at half time. But England dominated the game.

For the Australians, it looked like just another day at the office. Not a particularly good day. The English are playing with immense courage and spirit. Uncharacteristically, Johnny Wilkinson missed a couple of kicks, otherwise the Poms would be in front, and deservedly so.

Could go either way...

5784. alistairConnor - 10/6/2007 4:05:06 PM

Sorry : two corrections (not that you care...) England beat Tonga, not Fiji; and Fiji beat out Wales, to achieve the traditional Pacific Island presence in the quarter finalS;

So tomorrow, inevitably, South Africa will beat Fiji, and Argentina will beat Scotland, setting up one all-Southern semi-final for next weekend.

Today's two matches will provide the contestants for the other semi-final. And either match can go either way.

France-New Zealand is the headline match, in Cardiff, in five hours' time. But more of that later. Probably.

5785. alistairConnor - 10/6/2007 8:55:42 PM

So England won, 12-10! Hip hip hooray Henry!

Now for the Big Match.

For me personally, France-New Zealand is always the highlight of any World Cup. My ideal final.

And this particular World Cup was engineered to bring that about : the favourites vs. the host nation. Each of them was supposed to top their group, and proceed through quarter-finals and semis for the final showdown.

Argentina rudely messed that up, beating France and topping the group... condemning France to a premature showdown with the All Blacks in the quarter final...

5786. alistairConnor - 10/6/2007 9:59:46 PM

NZ 13 - 3 France, at half time.

Good game.

Now for what you've all been waiting for : the political context...

The coach of the French side, Bernard Laporte, has used his sporting position to advance his finances. Real estate promoter, casino owner, borderline mafiosi, everything I detest.

So our beloved President, Nicolas Sarkozy, announced a couple of months before the World Cup that Laporte would become minister of sport, once the cup was over. The subtext is that France was expected to win, or at leas to be finalist, and that Sarkozy and his government would bask in reflected glory.

This is why my support for the French side, and my dismay at their early defeat by the Argentines, has been mitigated by a healthy dose of schadenfreude. Sarkozy was even obliged to confirm that he would indeed take Laporte as minister, win or lose.

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