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6242. wabbit - 1/9/2009 10:19:16 PM  As he stood on the confetti-strewn field at Dolphin Stadium late Thursday night, just moments after his team earned its second BCS championship in three seasons, Florida safety Ahmad Black wasn't bragging. If anything, he was still coming to terms with the pivotal role he played in the Gators' 24-14 victory over Oklahoma. "Now I can lay down tonight and say I picked off the Heisman Trophy winner," he said.
This was a different stadium in a different time zone with an entirely different set of players, but the overriding image of the Gators' latest national championship victory seems all too familiar to anyone who watched the last one against Ohio State.
Oklahoma, the highest-scoring team in modern football history, fresh off a streak of five-straight 60-point outings, scored 14 points Thursday night -- the exact same amount scored by the previously unstoppable Buckeyes two years earlier.
Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford didn't suffer nearly as humbling a night as '06 Heisman winner Troy Smith, who completed just four passes, but Bradford did finish with his third-lowest passing yardage (256) of the season and his first two-interception game since Oklahoma's last loss Oct. 11 against Texas…
6243. wabbit - 1/9/2009 10:21:01 PM How 'bout those off-season deals for the BoSox? John Smoltz, Brad Penny and Rocco Baldelli… I hope they all stay healthy. 6244. psychprof - 1/9/2009 10:24:39 PM Wabbit...we have been to ST L, KC, Boston, Yankits, Toronto, Detroit, Cleve, Philly...this spring to Houston A's and Texas R's... 6245. wabbit - 1/9/2009 10:45:16 PM No doubt you'll get to the new Yankee stadium soon as well.
I took my f-i-l to a BlueJays game many moons ago - it was a cold day and we were sitting on metal benches. Not good for his 80-year-old bones, but he was determined to see the whole game, and so we did. I couldn't tell you who they played, but I remember the big grin on his face. 6246. wabbit - 1/11/2009 6:13:25 PM  Playoff football has a pretty simple truism: The team that makes the fewest mistakes wins. If that's the case, then Baltimore should have won this game 38-10. Instead, Tennessee made this one interesting by outgaining Baltimore by 180 yards, running 19 more plays and possessing the ball for eight more minutes. Tennessee lost the game by fumbling five times, turning it over twice in the red zone, getting penalized 12 times for 89 yards and, in general, looking more like the 12th seed in the AFC than the first. The Ravens' 13-10 win (Recap | Box) was a terrific, if slightly sloppy, AFC division playoff game in the cold central Tennessee mist Saturday evening. And once again, the moral of the story is Baltimore has a quarterback playing so far over his head that he'd be towering over Yao Ming if this were basketball. In eight playoff quarters, rookie Joe Flacco is a pedestrian 20 of 45 (44.4 percent) for 296 yards and one touchdown. Game-manager, right? I'll get to that fallacy in a second. But in 18- and three-point playoff victories in his first two postseason games, Flacco hasn't thrown an interception, been sacked or fumbled…
Not one of the pundits in the pregame show picked Arizona, though Terry Bradshaw did make a complimentary comment before picking Carolina to win. Wow, were they wrong. Arizona thoroughly dominated the favored Carolina Panthers 33-13 Saturday night in an NFC divisional playoff game. Two hours after the Panthers scored a meaningless touchdown on an 8-yard catch by Steve Smith, onlookers were still trying to wipe the rain and the disbelief from their eyes in Bank of America Stadium. Carolina entered the game 8-0 at home this season, while Arizona was 0-5 in the Eastern time zone. The Panthers had scored 28 or more points in seven consecutive games to end the regular season, while the Cardinals had surrendered 35 or more in four of their final six, including 47 or more on two occasions. When Carolina opened the game by marching 50 yards in five plays for a 7-0 lead, most assumed the contest would be a rout. They were right. They just had the wrong team. Thanks to an efficient offense and a playmaking defense, the Cardinals grabbed the game by the throat and did not let go. They got 220 yards passing and two touchdowns from QB Kurt Warner, a franchise playoff record 166 yards and one touchdown on eight receptions by Larry Fitzgerald and six takeaways by the defense, which intercepted Jake Delhomme five times and recovered one of his fumbles…
NFL playoffs
6247. wabbit - 1/12/2009 7:50:28 PM  David Tyree's helmet catch. Plaxico Burress' game-winning touchdown reception. A slew of sacks. Last year's run to the Super Bowl title was full of magical moments for the New York Giants. There was no encore this year, no big plays in their one-game postseason. The Giants' run to a repeat is over. The Philadelphia Eagles -- labeled as this year's Giants -- ended the run by Tom Coughlin's team by making Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning and his offense look ordinary in the red zone and by keeping the sack pack at bay in a 23-11 victory in the NFC semifinal Sunday. Everything was there for New York (12-5) to go on. It had the ball three times inside the 20-yard line and came up with three field goals. Two other trips inside the Philadelphia 30 ended with John Carney missing field goals, only his second and third miscues of the season. He had two others blocked…
There is a home-field advantage in the NFL playoffs after all, and it belongs to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now they've got to prove it means something against the team they despise like no other, and in the game they lose at home like no one else. The Steelers, owners of the NFL's best home-field record since the 1970 NFL merger, shook off a 7-0 deficit barely two minutes into the game, controlled pint-sized playmaker Darren Sproles and returned some normalcy to the postseason by beating the San Diego Chargers 35-24 in an AFC divisional game Sunday. With a now-healthy Willie Parker running for 146 yards and two touchdowns, Ben Roethlisberger ignoring his late-season concussion to throw for a score and lead an efficient offense, the Steelers did what the favored Titans, Panthers and Giants couldn't do by winning at home. It was the first time since 1971 that three road teams won during a single playoff weekend, and the Steelers made certain that road teams didn't go 4-for-4…
NFL Playoffs
6248. wabbit - 1/12/2009 7:53:15 PM Peter King, SI: Think of the headlines from the weekend. [ … ] Arizona, a team with 28-, 21- and 40-point losses since Thanksgiving hosting a league championship game. But the other headlines are pretty strong too:
- McNabb, yanked in November, leads Eagles to fifth title game this decade.
- Flacco, no Fluke-o, the rookie QB wins his first two playoff games.
- Will third Steelers-Ravens meeting of year be another Texas Steel Cage Match?
- Eagles, Steelers in a possible Keystone State Super Bowl.
- Two top seeds combine for 21 points, go down with a whimper.
- Giants, winners of 4 of last 5 last year, lose 4 of last 5 this year.
- Did Eli Manning's easy-to-decipher cadence cost the G-Men their season?
- Sixth seeds 4-0 after two playoff weekends... all, of course, on the road.
- Kurt Warner bids to be second QB to pilot different teams in Super Bowl.
6249. wabbit - 1/12/2009 8:00:03 PM The Colts have called a 5 p.m. press conference this afternoon to discuss the future of head coach Tony Dungy. Word has reportedly leaked out of Indianapolis that Dungy will indeed retire… Dungy was a class act, he'll land somewhere.
Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady are making some major post-season plans after getting engaged in Los Angeles over the weekend, PEOPLE has learned. The New England Patriots quarterback, 31, proposed with a diamond solitaire to the Brazilian supermodel, 28, on Friday… Does anyone else not care? 6250. wabbit - 1/12/2009 8:08:56 PM  Dwight Howard scored 24 points, Jameer Nelson had eight of his 22 in the final two minutes, and the Magic beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-98 on Sunday night. Hedo Turkoglu added 21 points for the Magic (30-8), who are tied with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA lead in victories. Orlando has won four straight and 13 of 15 games…
Ray Allen was on a roll, so the Boston Celtics kept going to him. Allen scored a season-high 36 points, including eight 3-pointers, and the Celtics withstood a late Toronto rally to beat the Raptors 94-88 on Sunday afternoon, snapping a four-game losing streak. Allen, who made a career-high 10 3-pointers against Charlotte on April 14, 2002, went 8-for-10 from 3-point range Sunday, making his first six attempts…
Andrew Bynum scored a season-high 24 points including a go-ahead follow shot with 18.5 seconds remaining, Vladimir Radmanovic added a season-high 18 points, and the Lakers beat the Miami Heat 108-105 to become the first Western Conference team to reach 30 victories. Bryant had 19 points and seven assists, but shot just 5-of-14. Gasol had 14 points and 18 rebounds to match his career high, but shot 4-of-15. Outside of Bryant and Gasol, the Lakers shot 28-of-54 and scored 75 points…
NBA scores
6251. wabbit - 1/12/2009 8:37:42 PM A bit of catch-up...
Authorities have ordered an autopsy to determine what caused the death of German 800-meter runner Rene Herms. "The autopsy will follow within the next few days and we should then know fairly quickly why the athlete died," Dresden's chief prosecutor Christian Avenarius said Monday. Herms, who was 26, was found dead Saturday morning in his apartment in the eastern town of Lohmen. Police said there were no indications of a suicide or a crime. [ ... ] Herms was a six-time German champion and reached the 800-meter semifinals of the 2004 Olympics.
Cahors rugby club says 28-year-old Perigueux flanker Feao Latu has died from a heart attack after collapsing during a game between the clubs in southwest France. The game was halted in the 17th minute Sunday after the Tonga player collapsed. He was rushed to a hospital but doctors were unable to revive him, Cahors said on its Web site. The two teams play in the French third division.
What happened to Michael Vick's dogs? The dog approaches the outstretched hand. Her name is Sweet Jasmine, and she is 35 pounds of twitchy curiosity with a coat the color of fried chicken, a pink nose and brown eyes. She had spent a full 20 seconds studying this five-fingered offering before advancing. Now, as she moves forward, her tail points straight down, her butt is hunched toward the ground, her head is bowed, her ears pinned back. She stands at maybe three quarters of her height.
She gets within a foot of the hand and stops. She licks her snout, a sign of nervousness, and looks up at the stranger, seeking assurance. She looks back to the hand, licks her snout again and begins to extend her neck. Her nose is six inches away from the hand, one inch, half an inch. She sniffs once. She sniffs again. At this point almost any other dog in the world would offer up a gentle lick, a sweet hello, an invitation to be scratched or petted. She's come so far. She's so close.
But Jasmine pulls away.
PETA wanted Jasmine dead. Not just Jasmine, and not just PETA… 6252. wabbit - 1/24/2009 7:53:25 PM Super Bowl XLIII will be played Sunday, Feb. 1. The Pittsburgh Steelers have won five of their six Super Bowls. The Arizona Cardinals are making their first Super Bowl appearance, although quarterback Kurt Warner has played in two previous SB games with the St. Louis Rams. Pittsburgh has been designated the "away" team and will be in their road white uniforms. Jennifer Hudson will sing the National Anthem and Faith Hill will sing "America the Beautiful" as part of Super Bowl XLIII pregame festivities. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform in the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLIII Halftime Show.
Herm Edwards, the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs during the worst two-year span in team history, was fired on Friday. Edwards goes out with a three-year regular-season record of 15-33 and with one year remaining on a four-year, $12 million contract. As head coach of the New York Jets in 2001-05, he had a regular-season mark of 39-41 and was 2-3 in the playoffs… Deposed Denver coach Mike Shanahan will "definitely'' not coach the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009 -- nor will he take a coaching job anywhere prior to the 2009 season, an NFL source close to Shanahan said late Friday night. The source said Shanahan was adamant that he was not coaching the Chiefs.
In what's shaping up as a contest between former NFL Players Association presidents Troy Vincent and Trace Armstrong, the union narrowed its list to five candidates to succeed the late Gene Upshaw as executive director. The Associated Press learned Thursday that Vincent and Armstrong made the most recent cut this week, when the NFLPA pared its list from nine. A person familiar with the list but not authorized to reveal the names said the other three candidates are former Bears tackle Jim Covert; Ben Utt, who played for Baltimore and Indianapolis; and Washington-based attorney DeMaurice Smith…
NFL news
6253. wabbit - 1/24/2009 7:53:57 PM  LeBron James tossed up a rare airball from the top of the 3-point arc that showed he's human. Then he quickly returned to his typical self. James stepped back under pressure from Ronny Turiaf and knocked down a 19-footer to barely beat the final buzzer, lifting the Cleveland Cavaliers to a wild 106-105 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. James finished with 32 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocked shots, but also missed three second-half free throws and went 10-for-16 from the line. His teammates jumped up and down in delight when the ball went through, then the officials gathered to review the play before ruling his shot beat the buzzer. Stephen Jackson hit a go-ahead 22-foot jumper over James with 6.4 seconds left and finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Golden State. The Warriors also lost at the buzzer Wednesday night against Oklahoma City. Golden State's Monta Ellis scored 20 points in his season debut and return from an ankle injury. He did his best to upstage LeBron, but to no avail…
The Indiana Pacers took advantage of Yao Ming's injury by going to the free-throw line at will against his much-smaller replacements. Yao, the Houston Rockets' 7-foot-6 center, left Friday night's game because of a sore right knee and did not play after halftime. The Pacers made 26 free throws in the second half of their 107-102 victory…
Eric Gordon began this season as a rookie and a reserve point guard. Due to an abundance of injuries that have decimated the Los Angeles Clippers' roster, he's getting substantial minutes and is playing like a polished veteran. Gordon scored a career-high 41 points in 43 1/2 minutes on the court, and Al Thornton had a season-high 34 points, leading the Clippers to a 107-104 victory over Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder…
NBA scores
6254. wabbit - 1/24/2009 7:54:25 PM  Richard Gasquet was cruising along in his third-round match Saturday against Fernando Gonzalez, winning the first two sets and appearing well on his way to an easy victory at the Australian Open. But the 28-year-old from Santiago found a way back, saving a match point in the third-set tiebreaker and needing seven set points to send it to a fourth. It was well and truly game on. Just after midnight, 4-hours and 9-minutes after it started, and with both players hitting the exact number of winners -- 191 -- the match ended with Gonzalez a 3-6, 3-6, 7-6 (10), 6-2, 12-10 winner…
Gonzalez meets top-seeded Rafael Nadal in his next match, poor thing. Nadal was broken by Haas for the first time in the tournament, but showed no weakness in ripping 53 winners to only eight unforced errors in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory… btw, Rafa blogs.
Fourth-seeded Murray, seeking his first Grand Slam title, ran off 11 straight games while overwhelming Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 6-0, 6-3. The 21-year-old Scot had only 10 unforced errors and next plays No. 14 Fernando Verdasco…
Australian Open
6255. wabbit - 1/26/2009 11:33:08 PM SI's Dan Patrick interviewed Tom Verducci, co-author of Joe Torre's new book The Yankee Years . Some highlights:
- Don't believe all the headlines. Torre never uttered the words "A-Fraud" or "Single White Female" about Alex Rodriguez. A lot of that was from A-Rod's teammates and other people Verducci spoke with. "Obviously A-Rod is a lightning rod," Verducci said. But don't jump to conclusions about what Torre actually said.
- Verducci said he talked to Torre on Sunday, and the current Dodgers manager isn't surprised by all the controversy. After all, it's New York.
- Verducci says it's not shocking that A-Rod has trouble fitting into the Yankees locker room. And it's no surprise Rodriguez has issues with Derek Jeter. Of course A-Rod did.
Read an excerpt here.
Andy Pettitte and the Yankees have agreed to a $5.5 million, one-year contract that brings the left-hander back to New York. A person familiar with the negotiations said the agreement would be announced Monday. Pettitte can make an additional $6.5 million on performance bonuses and bonuses based on time on the active roster. Late last year, New York had offered a deal that would have guaranteed Pettitte $10 million, down from the $16 million he earned last year. He joins a starting rotation that already includes CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain. The deal raised the Yankees' projected opening-day payroll to $196.8 million for 17 players with agreements…
6256. wabbit - 1/26/2009 11:33:58 PM  Alex Kovalev made his mark well before he stared down Montreal native Roberto Luongo in the shootout. The only problem was the NHL All-Star game was still tied when Kovalev set out on yet another breakaway. With two 1-on-1 goals and an assist already in the bank during Sunday night's midseason classic, Kovalev gave the Eastern Conference the little extra oomph it needed to finally finish off the West with a 12-11 victory in the 57th NHL All-Star game.
The home of hockey produced an All-Star shootout from start to finish. All that was missing was Rocket Richard. In the city where the NHL was born 92 years earlier, Kovalev gave Montreal and Canadiens fans something new to cheer about in the 100th season of the league's most storied franchise. Kovalev, the Canadiens' biggest current star, scored two breakaway goals and then capped the night off in the shootout. Kovalev was selected the MVP.
It was the second-highest scoring game in All-Star history and the fifth decided after regulation. The West erased an early deficit and outshot the East 22-13 after the second period, 54-48 overall…
6257. wabbit - 1/26/2009 11:35:14 PM  For 21-year-old Andy Murray, there will be plenty of other days to get his head into his tennis game. Murray was being touted as one of "the big four" players expected to make it to the men's semi-finals. Fernando Verdasco, who bounced back from being two sets to one down against a player he had lost to on five previous occasions, had a different plan. Verdasco will meet fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who beat No. 9 James Blake 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (3), leaving No. 7 Andy Roddick as the only American in the men's draw. Tsonga was runner-up last year to Novak Djokovic, while Blake has failed to get past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam in 28 appearances…
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, left 2007 runner-up Fernando Gonzalez feeling out of sorts with another dominating performance in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win. He has yet to drop a set and next faces the sixth-seeded Simon, who advanced when fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils retired with a wrist injury…
Three players had to quit mid-match with injuries or illness, paving the way for Serena Williams, Gilles Simon and Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the quarterfinals. Williams was the biggest beneficiary of the wave of retirements. She lost the first set to 13th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and was so frustrated with her first serve that she cursed it, earning a warning for a verbal obscenity. The 19-year-old Azarenka, who woke up sick, had to quit in the second set…
Australian Open
6258. wabbit - 1/27/2009 6:23:24 PM I'm not sure about "The Ability to Fly" Bud commercial on this list from last year's Super Bowl, but there are usually some good commercials aired during the Super Bowl. I still like the E*Trade baby ads and I'm a sucker for Clydesdales.
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill apologized after his weekend arrest in the Atlanta area for investigation of misdemeanor marijuana possession just weeks before he could become a free agent.
In a statement Monday, Hill said he's embarrassed by the Saturday morning arrest "and the poor judgment I showed." And he added: "Please understand my actions were not consistent with the type of person I hope to become."... Isn't it time to legalize, or at least decriminalize, pot? Seriously. Treat it like alcohol for things like driving, but how much money and police effort is wasted arresting over 750,000 people for possession? Let the legal system concentrate on other drugs, or other crimes.6259. wabbit - 1/27/2009 6:24:14 PM  With ice packs and massages failing to provide relief, third-ranked Novak Djokovic looked increasingly woozy and had to give up while trailing 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2, 2-1, allowing No. 7 Andy Roddick to claim a spot in the semifinals. He will face second-ranked Roger Federer, who moved within two victories of his record-tying 14th Grand Slam by routing No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina 6-3, 6-0, 6-0. Federer, who owns a 15-2 advantage in previous matches with Roddick, ran off the last 13 games against del Potro…
Vera Zvonareva ran off 11 straight games in a 6-3, 6-0 win over 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli of France to reach the semifinals for the first time in 25 majors. Seventh-ranked Zvonareva will meet fellow Russian Dinara Safina, who survived 11 double-faults and 36 unforced errors to beat Australia's Jelena Dokic 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a back-and-forth match with 11 service breaks. It's the second straight Grand Slam semifinal for Safina -- younger sister of 2005 men's champion Marat Safin -- who lost to eventual champion Serena Williams at the U.S. Open.…
Australian Open
6260. wabbit - 1/29/2009 6:52:19 PM  You just have to feel sorry for poor Andy Roddick. No matter how well he plays, and he's playing very well right now, he just cannot get past Roger Federer in a grand slam. Federer just floats around the court and wins. Federer moved within one victory of his 14th Grand Slam title with another dominating victory, ousting Roddick 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 Thursday to reach the Australian Open final. Roddick, who undertook a rigorous offseason training regime designed to help him beat Federer and top-ranked Rafael Nadal, was in good form. But the second-ranked Federer outplayed him in every phase of the game. Ripping winners from all over the court and usually forcing Roddick to hit more than one good shot to win a point, he even had more aces than the hard-serving American, 16-8. Federer, seeking his fourth Australian title, will face the winner of Friday's semifinal between Nadal and fellow Spanish left-hander Fernando Verdasco. Any doubts about whether Rafa will win?
The women's final should be fun to watch. Serena Williams finally won over Elena Dementieva, who had won their last four matches. Williams was calm, collected and cool -- with the Rod Laver Arena roof closed to keep out Melbourne's oppressive heat wave -- to end Olympic champion Dementieva's 15-match winning streak with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. All that stands between her and a 10th Grand Slam title is third-seeded Dinara Safina, who is hungry to take home her first major trophy to go along with the two that brother Marat Safin has earned. Safina ousted fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the other semifinal. The winner Saturday also will rise to the No. 1 ranking…
Australian Open
6261. wabbit - 1/30/2009 4:40:29 PM What a match. Fernando Verdasco double-faulted to give the fifth set to Rafael Nadal in their semi-final. Nadal didn't win this one so much as persevere until Verdasco made a mistake to lose a heartbreaker, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (1), 6-4. This was the longest match in the history of the Australian Open at 5 hours, 14 minutes, breaking the previous mark of 5:11 in a match between Boris Becker and Omar Camporese of Italy in 1991. Rafa will play Roger Federer in the final on Sunday.
The Williams sisters won their third doubles title at the Australian Open and eighth Grand Slam title as a combination over Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and Japan's Ai Sugiyama, 6-3, 6-3. Hantuchova and Sugiyama had to dodge a number of stinging shots at the net, particularly from Venus. It was a good tuneup for Serena's singles final Saturday, when she will face Russia's Dinara Safina.
Australian Open
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