Halloween update

Cardinals Capture Their 11th World Series

• On Friday night, the St. Louis Cardinals won their second World Series in 6 years defeating the Texas Rangers in game 7. The 11th championship in the franchise’s history; putting them second on the list of franchises championships. This game may be the last played by Albert Pujols as a Cardinal, as he is a free agent this offseason and will be looking for a big contract. Cardinals Hall of Fame Manager Tony LaRussa won the third World Series of his storied managerial career.
• The Cardinals sent their ace Chris Carpenter out, thanks to a rain day last Wednesday that pushed the game out a day which allowed Carpenter to get enough rest after pitching in game 5. The Texas Rangers tagged Carpenter early with 2-runs in the first inning as all 4 of the first 4 Texas hitters reached base. Things were not looking good for the Cardinals and the Rangers were looking good after a devastating loss the night before.
• However, the Cardinals tied the score in their half of the inning and went onto score another 4 runs. After the slow start Carpenter settled in and pitched through the 6th inning without giving up another run. David Freese, the hero of game 6, was named the MVP of the World Series. He is the 6th player in the history of baseball to be named the MVP of both the World Series and the League Championship series (the semifinals).
• While the Series win was a treat for the Cardinals, it was definitely a cruel trick for the Rangers who would have won the Series if, among other things, Nelson Cruz had simply caught David Freese's deep fly ball. It may or may not be the most debilitating collapse in American sports history and for a franchise that's never won a World Series, it will certainly be tough to swallow.

Major upsets in NFL, college football


• The last weekend in October was a big one for a number of teams, and many failed to answer the call. A week after #3 Oklahoma suffered their first loss, they played undefeated #8 Kansas State and after K-State took a 17-14 lead, they forgot to continue playing and let Oklahoma steamroll them, 58-17.
• The Clemson Tigers were also undefeated and looking for a BCS Title game possibility but they got beaten soundly, 31-17, by Georgia Tech whose well run triple option offense gives defenses firs because it is so rare and unconventional in today's game.
• Stanford nearly suffered a similar fate as it's fellow top 8 contemporaries but barely escaped with a 56-48 win in triple overtime against Southern Cal. Andrew Luck's Cardinal are now the 4th ranked team in the BCS standings and with #1 LSU and #2 Alabama playing each other next week, will likely move up to #3 after that game. Oklahoma State sits at #3 currently.
• In the NFL, the woeful Arizona Cardinals jumped out to a 24-3 lead over the Baltimore Ravens but former Cardinals star WR Anquan Boldin (7 catches for 145 yards) and his new team, the Ravens, avoided a second straight bad loss by beating the Cardinals 30-27 with a late rally.
• The New York Giants fell behind the winless Miami Dolphins 14-3 early but ended up rallying for a 20-17 win. The St. Louis Rams, however, did manage to get their first win after jumping off to a huge lead against the Saints and holding on for a 31-21 win. The fact that the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in baseball can't be completely written off as a reason for this win as that victory gave the entire city a morale boost.
• In what could only be called a mild upset, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the New England Patriots 25-17 after leading nearly the entire game. The Patriots were 5-1, considered by many to be the best team in the NFL and Tom Brady sported a 6-1 career record against the Steelers but all those stats meant nothing today as Pittsburgh and QB Ben Roethlisberger dominated the game that really didn't seem as close as the score indicated.

October 28th update

Cardinals "Freese" Rangers' World Series celebration

• In what can only be described as one of the craziest baseball games in World Series history, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers in mind-boggling fashion Thursday night, 10-9 in 11 innings to force an all-or-nothing game 7 of the World Series.
• The Cardinals came back from 4 different deficits including a 2 run deficit in the 9th inning when David Freese hit a game-tying triple and another 2 run deficit in the 10th inning when an RBI groundout and RBI single by Lance Berkman (who had 3 RBI's, 4 runs and 3 hits including a home run) gave them new life again. Freese then ended the game with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the 11th. St. Louis trailed 7-4 in the 7th inning and got one run back in the 8th on a Alan Craig solo HR but left the bases loaded without scoring another.
• St. Louis was twice down to the final strike but both times managed to come through to defeat the Rangers who now know what the 1986 Boston Red Sox, the only other team to get within 1 out of a World Series victory without winning the game, felt like.
• I've always heard that the Red Sox were doomed to lose Game 7 in 1986 as soon as they completed their collapse in Game 6. Now we'll get a once in a generation chance to see if the Texas Rangers can survive the emotional turmoil and come back to win the Series one day after letting a near-perfect chance slip through their hands. Game 7 is tonight at 8:05 in St. Louis with Matt Harrison of the Rangers opposing Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals.


Storylines for Weekend of Football

• NFL Game of the Week – New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers: After a slow start to the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have found their winning ways again. Slow is not a word that has been used to describe the Patriots this year. They have been the most prolific offense so far this season. One of thebest offenses of the past decades (the Patriots) will be facing off against one of the best defenses of the past decade in this week’s game of the week.
• The other Pennsylvania team, the Philadelphia Eagles thought they had a trade last week with the Detroit Lions. The Eagles were going to trade Running Back Ronnie Brown to the Lions in exchange for Running Back Jerome Harrison. One of the important formalities in a trade, is a physical. All players must pass the physical in order for the trade to be consummated. Harrison failed his physical (and the trade was then voided) when it was found that he had a brain tumor. He has since had surgery to remove the tumor and is recovering. It is possible that the trade saved his life because the tumor would not have been found had the trade not been agreed upon.
• College Game of the Week Part I – Michigan State Spartans at Nebraska Cornhuskers: The #11 Spartans, who are coming off of a crazy victory on a last second Hail Mary against the previously undefeated Wisconsin Badgers, travel to # 14 Nebraska. The Spartans are looking to continue to crash the BC S championship party.
• College Game of the Week Part II – Oklahoma Sooners at Kansas State Wildcats: The Sooners are looking to recover from their first loss of the season, 41-38 to Texas Tech last week. Surprisingly to many, Kansas State, a team with little championship aspirations coming into the season is that one looking to stay undefeated and have a chance at a Big 12 or National Championship game appearance.
• On Thursday night, #17 Houston fell behind Rice 17-7 but then Quarterback Case Keenum and Houston's offense went, to use technical terminology, completely bonkers. Keenum threw for 9 Touchdowns, setting a record not for a game, but for a career in the NCAA. Here is the list of Passing TD's by QB's all-time:

Case Keenum*	138	Houston (07-11)
Graham Harrell	134	Texas Tech (05-08)
Colt Brennan	131	Hawaii (05-07)
Kellen Moore*	123	Boise State (08-11)
Ty Detmer	121	BYU (88-91)
*Active

October 12th update

Wednesday Spotlight: Tim Tebow

• Tim Tebow. The name alone induces a wide range of emotion. There's fanatical love, undying loathing, and in some cases confusion as to why such a big fuss is being made of a guy who hasn't shown that he can throw the ball at the NFL level. Generally though, there is a widespread feeling of respect for the Denver Broncos new starting quarterback. Tebow made his name at the University of Florida leading the Gators to two national championships and two conference championships.
• Tebow is known for his unorthodox style of playing and his very orthodox style of living. As a quarterback he is wildly inaccurate and known more for his ability to run past (and over) his opponents than his ability to throw over them. As a person raised by Christian Missionaries, Tebow spent summers in the Philippines building houses and schools, and helping people gain access to clean water supplies.
• Tebow’s excellence on the field lead Florida to unparalleled heights during his four years there, winning a National Championship his first year there (although he didnt play much) and his Junior year, at which point he was already a household name. He also led Florida to two Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships. Tebow also won a number of individual awards including becoming the first Sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy, given to the best college football player each year.
• In the NFL, Tebow was drafted in the first round amid much controversy, as most draft pundits thought his mechanics were too unorthodox for success at the NFL level where defenders are smarter, bigger and faster than in college. Through his first season and a quarter, Tebow's success has been mixed. He has started 3 of the 10 games he has appeared in and the team has won two of those three starts. That number will go up as he has officially been named the starter and while his ultimate football success remains to be seen, there is no doubt that he will leave blood, sweat and tears on the field and lead by example week after week.



Cardinals, Tigers tighten respective series

• On Tuesday night, the Detroit Tigers needed to win to avoid going down 3-0 to the Texas Rangers and a lot of their hopes rested on the arm of young pitcher Doug Fister, acquired midseason from the Seattle Mariners. Just as he did against the Yankees in the deciding game of the previous series, Fister came through in a big way and has continued to pay dividends far beyond what the team could have reasonably expected of him. Fister calmed down after giving up 3 singles to start the game and allowed only 1 more run as the Tigers won 5-2 to bring the series to 2-1 Texas.
• Both teams are dealing with a rash of injuries as Adrian Beltre of the Rangers got banged up and Victor Martinez of the Tigers actually hurt himself while hitting a home run Tuesday night. Both are expected to tough it out and play but neither will be at 100%. Others are hurt as well and Texas's longest tenured player and mainstay in the lineup Michael Young, is now only 2-24 for the playoffs giving him a miserable .083 batting average.
• On the other side, the Cardinals crushed the Brewers 12-3 on Monday night as David Freese homered and Albert Pujols hit 4 extra base hits (anything other than a single) including a home run of his own. That series is tied 1-1 as the teams head back to St. Louis for game 3.
• Both series will have games on Wednesday and Thursday as baseball moves closer to the World Series.

October 10th update

Raiders win thriller to honor late owner

• The Oakland Raiders longtime owner, the outspoken Al Davis, whose catch phrase "Just win, baby" was the mantra of Raiders fans and players for decades (even if has been ignored for the past decade or so) passed away this past week at his home at the age of 82. His team came out and played a thrilling game, getting an interception with seconds on the clock and a 25-20 lead when the Houston Texans were within a few yards of the end zone for the potential winning score. After the game, Hue Jackson, the Raiders current coach, gave a heartwarming postgame speech which can be read here.
• The Buffalo Bills defeated the stunningly inept Philadelphia Eagles assisted by 4 interceptions of QB Michael Vick. The Bills are now 4-1 while the Eagles are 1-4, records which 99% of the football world would have expected to be reversed at this point before the season started.
• The San Francisco 49ers destroyed the Tampa Bay Bucs 48-3 to go to 4-1 and take a commanding 2 game lead in their division. Given that the team who won the division last year only won 7 games, the 49ers look to be well on their way to the playoffs under first year supercoach Jim Harbaugh, who as a player, was actually the last player to start at quarterback for the Colts other than Peyton Manning before this season. Additionally, his brother John is coach of the Baltimore Ravens.
• In other action, the Minnesota Vikings scored 28 points in the first quarter to get their first win, the Kansas City Chiefs set a franchise record for their largest comeback, defeating the Indianapolis Colts 28-24 after being down 24-7 and the Denver Broncos rallied big after fan favorite Tim Tebow was inserted into the starting lineup but came up just short, losing by 5 after they ran out of time on their final drive against the San Diego Chargers.


Top Seeds are out, Baseball down to four

• The New York Yankees were defeated by the Detroit Tigers after their pitcher, Ivan Nova, left their decisive Game 5 with an injury. The Tigers, on the back of two 1st inning Home Runs and timely pitching to get out of multiple Yankee threats, made their way to the League Championship Series (LCS).
• The Tigers have moved on to face the Texas Rangers, who dispatched the Tampa Bay Rays despite scoring less runs than the Rays overall. The Rangers took game one in the best of seven series against the Tigers on a game-winning home run by Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz. The Rangers, who were the AL representative in the World Series last year have been amongst the favorites all year.
• The Philadelphia Phillies fell to the red-hot St Louis Cardinals, who were only in the playoffs thanks to a late season swoon by the Atlanta Braves. Chris Carpenter pitched a fantastic game 5 only allowing 3 hits slightly outpitching his friend Roy Halladay of the Phillies to give the Cardinals a 1-0 win
• The Cardinals move on to play the Milwaukee Brewers, who took 5 games to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round. The Brewers won Game 1 of this best of seven series 9-6 aided by an offensive explosion in the 5th inning off of Cardinals Starter Jaime Garcia. The Brewers, whose star pitcher Zach Greinke started a war of words with Carpenter before the series even started, have been a fun group to watch all year and probably have the most star power of any team left in the playoffs.

September 30th update

MLB Playoffs start today


Now that the field is set after the unbelievable events of Wednesday's regular season finales, we're finally ready to start baseball's second season. Here's a preview of the 4 series:

Phillies vs. Cardinals: Cardinals fans were big fans of Philadelphia as recently as Wednesday as the Phillies sweep of the Braves enabled the Cardinals to make the playoffs. But now they need to find a way to score runs off one of the best rotations in MLB history. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels were #2, #3 and #6 respectively in ERA and all have won either the Cy Young award or the World Series MVP before. Roy Oswalt is no slouch either, especially as the fourth starter. The question will be whether or not the Cardinals can find a way to score some runs and shut down the Phillies talented but inconsistent hitters.

Diamondbacks vs. Brewers: On paper this looks one-sided. The D-Backs have exactly one elite hitter (Justin Upton) and one elite pitcher (Ian Kennedy) while the Brewers look like a video game team with Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks, Zack Greinke, Yovani Gallardo and John Axford. But Arizona has been scorching hot (literally and figuratively) and will look to continue their great play into October.

Yankees vs Tigers: New York had the best team in the American League and has a team full of stars including 3 of the top 4 RBI leaders in the A.L. but they'll probably have to go up at least twice against a guy having one of the best pitching seasons in recent memory, Sportico favorite Justin Verlander. It will be tough to beat Detroit if they lose twice to Verlander and Detroit also has masher Miguel Cabrera and a consistent group of veterans around him in the lineup.

Rangers vs. Rays: A rematch of last year's ALDS, both teams have actually lost key contributors but return here nonetheless for much different reasons. The Rangers have
had one of the best offenses in baseball all year and have 3 young hard throwing left-handed pitchers who have seemed to get better and better as the year has progressed. The Rays led the majors in multiple pitching categories, had the second lowest starters ERA of any team in the past 20 years (The 2010 Oakland A's were 1st) and benefited from sizzling hot streaks from Sam Fuld, Desmond Jennings, Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and Matt Joyce among others. The series may simply depend on which team has more guys get hot.


Big early season matchups in Week 4 of NFL


• It's been quite a few years since the Detroit Lions were pegged as part of the game of the week. However, when the upstart Lions play the Cowboys Sunday in matchup of first place teams, the winner will be on a good pace to make the playoffs. The teams are a combined 5-1 with the only loss being a late Dallas collapse against the Jets in a game they led by 14 in the 4th quarter.

• In other games, the Houston Texans high-octane offense will get a boost from the probable return of Arian Foster as they meet the Steelers intimidating defense in a matchup of 2-1 teams.

• Tom Brady and the high-flying Patriots passing game invades Oakland where the Raiders are playing football again for the first time in years... (Oh wait, they never stopped? I guess it just seemed like it). Oakland sports the #1 rushing offense in the NFL and would be undefeated if they'd managed to hold onto a big lead in Week 2 against Buffalo.

• Last but not least, on Sunday night, the Jets and Ravens will be sure to do a lot of trash talking and hard hitting in a solid matchup of playoff regulars.

Red Sox, Braves in shock after completing horrific collapses

In what can only be called a fitting ending to the epic September swoons of the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves, both teams lost leads in the 9th inning and then lost their games, only to see the teams that they were tied with in the standings (Tampa and St. Louis respectively) win their games to win the wild-card spots outright. The Rays set an MLB record for the largest comeback in September to make the playoffs (9 games) and the Cardinals tied the NL record (8 1/2 games). ESPN's David Schoenfield called it the "most shocking, unbelievable, thrilling night in baseball history." It's hard to disagree with him.

• St. Louis won an easy game 8-0 after scoring 5 first run innings over the Houston Astros but the other 3 relevant games were nail-biting thrillers.

• The Red Sox were beating the Orioles 3-2 in the 7th inning when a rain delay stopped the game for the time being. However the Red Sox had to feel comfortable as they'd dodged a few good scoring opportunities by the Orioles and more importantly, the Rays were getting clobbered 7-0 by the Yankees.

• However, in the 8th inning the Rays used a combination of walks, hit batsmen and a home run be superstar Evan Longoria to pull within 1. In the 9th the Rays still trailed 7-6 and with 2 outs, 2 strikes and no runners on base when little-used 1B Dan Johnson hit a ball down the right field line for a home run to tie the game. The Red Sox began playing again, after seeing their security cushion hundreds of miles to the south completely disappear.

• The Red Sox took their 3-2 lead to the bottom of the 9th but with 2 outs, star closer Jonathan Papelbon gave up a double followed by another double which tied the game, followed by a liner that Carl Crawford slid for but missed, allowing the winning run to score.

• Exactly 3 minutes later in Tampa, Evan Longoria hit his 2nd home run (the first being the one in the 8th inning) down the left field line. The ball only traveled about 320 feet but was hit to the shortest part of the park and just barely fair and the Rays, who already knew that Boston had lost, mobbed Longoria at home plate, celebrating their 3rd playoff appearance in 4 years.

In the National League the Braves had a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 9th as well but star closer Craig Kimbrel allowed the tying run and they went on to lose in heartbreaking fashion 4-3 in 13 innings after Hunter Pence singled in the winning run.

A few notes:

1. Crawford, who failed to make the catch on the final play of the Red Sox season, left Tampa for Boston after getting a $142 million deal from the Red Sox. Now he'll get to watch his old teammates play in the playoffs.
2. Boston had been 77-0 when winning after 8 innings.
3. David Ortiz said tonight's loss was 'much worse' than the loss to the Yankees in the ALCS on Aaron Boone's famed home run.
4. Ryan Lavarnway, the hero of Tuesday's game for the Red Sox, went 0 for 5 and left 9 runners stranded on base.
5. Dan Johnson, who hit the game-tying HR for the Rays in the 9th, was hitting .108 with 1 HR on the season.
6. The Braves lost their final 5 games, and all nine games against the Cardinals and Phillies in the second half of the season.
7. Former MVP and baseball analyst Barry Larkin said that Wednesday's baseball games were the most exciting he'd ever seen and fellow ESPN employee Stuart Scott came just short of that, saying that tonight and the night that Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris's single-season home run record in 1998 were the two greatest baseball nights he'd witnessed.
8. Houston finished with 106 losses which is the most in baseball since the 2005 Royals.
9. Longoria is only the second player in MLB history to hit a home run in the final at-bat of his team's final game to put them into the playoffs. The other? Bobby Thomson and the famous 'Shot Heard 'Round the World.'
10. The Red Sox lost 20 games in September, the most they'd lost in September since 1952.
11. The Rays will begin their postseason journey in Texas against the Rangers while the Yankees will return home to play Justin Verlander and the Tigers.

September 28th update

Both wild cards tied going into final day of MLB season
• Hollywood recently tried their hand at a baseball movie inspired by a true story but even the best screenwriters couldn't come up with a script better than this. The Atlanta Braves lost to the Phillies 7-1 on Tuesday night completing a collapse that saw them drop 8 1/2 games in 3 weeks. They had held the Wild Card lead since June 20th.

• Atlanta's collapse was eerily mirrored by the Red Sox in the American League who dropped into a tie the night before and had to scrap and claw to avoid facing a deficit on the final day of play. Rookie catcher Ryan Lavarnway hit his first 2 Home Runs. Lavarnway didn't even have much power in the minors but picked a great night to surpass expectations as Boston stopped a late rally just short, winning 8-7.

• The Tampa Bay Rays actually held a half game lead in the wild card for a few minutes before Boston finished their win after the Rays beat the Yankees 5-3. Tampa looked to be in dire straits, giving up an early lead when the Yankees loaded the bases with 0 outs in the 6th, already up 3-2. But Russell Martin grounded into a triple play (only the third in Rays team history) and Matt Joyce hit a 3-run home run in the next half-inning which accounted for the final scoring margin. Two batters before Martin's triple play, Mark Teixeira failed to score from on a double that hit the wall in center field.


• And last but not least, the only team facing a standings deficit on the day, the St. Louis Cardinals, came back from a surprising 5-0 hole early on against the worst team in baseball, the woeful Houston Astros, to win 13-6 and finally allow them to control their own destiny.


All 4 teams are basically in the playoffs already; as long as they win the know they will continue playing. Looks like MLB can start broadcasting those "Only in October" playoff commercials a bit early in 2011. To read more on the Rays-Sox drama read here or just go here for more wild card coverage





Wednesday Spotlight: Jesse Holley

In the past we have used this spot to discuss household names, well established stars, or uber-hyped prospects. This week we will do none of the above.

• Jesse Holley was a college athlete at the University of North Carolina. A starting Wide Receiver on the football team and an important bench player on the basketball team that won a National Championship in 2005. Holley was not drafted but signed as a free agent by the Cincinnati Bengals. He failed to make their team instead making the practice squad, but was cut less than a month later.

• Holley was working as a security guard and cell phone salesman in North Carolina when he heard about a reality show being hosted by NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin. The former Dallas Cowboy superstar convinced the team to allow him to award the winner of his show a shot at making the team. Holley beat out 11 other contestants (and a number of others who didn’t make the show) to make the preseason roster of the Cowboys.

• Holley was relegated to the Cowboys practice squad for much of the past two years. This season though, a number of injuries at wide receiver forced the Cowboys to have Holley on their team for a game against the San Francisco 49ers on September 18th. Holley, who had never had a catch in the NFL prior to this game, caught 3 balls for 96 yards. The biggest of these was a 77-yard reception in overtime that gave the Cowboys the ball on the 1 yard-line and allowed them to win the game on the subsequent play with a field goal. Holley is a true rags to riches story proving that hard work and perseverance still pays off.