Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Vacation from the blog

In an effort to constantly keep things fresh I'll be taking a few days off to concentrate on some other things.

Look for a new update around Monday, May 23rd.

Take care, everyone!!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Sports recap for May 10th

What you may have missed in the world of sports from yesterday...

NBA PLAYOFFS:


The Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies battled through 3 overtimes with the Thunder eventually winning 133-123 and tying up the series as 2 games a piece. The Thunder appeared to have the game in hand as they led by 10 points with just over 5 minutes remaining but the Grizzlies rallied and Mike Conley, Jr.'s three pointer with three seconds left tied the game and sent the game to overtime. In the first overtime the scoring went back and forth, but when Memphis' OJ Mayo fouled out with 16 seconds left you had to wonder if things were falling apart for the Grizzlies. However, Mayo's replacement (former Maryland star and loud-mouth) Greivis Vasquez came in and hit a HUGE off-balanced 3-pointer with 9 seconds left to tie the game, once again. Into the 2nd overtime offensive production went down which amounted to only 10 points, a team, scored. Vasquez again made his presence (off the bench) felt as he hit a 2 point jumper and converted the following free throw. OKC's Russell Westbrook ended the scoring in the 2nd overtime when he hit a deep 2 point shot to tie the game again and sent the game into the 3rd overtime. In the 3rd overtime both teams looked tired, especially Memphis, as the Thunder out-scored the Grizzlies 14-4 in the 3rd OT. Kevin Durant, alone, out-scored the Grizzlies in the 3rd OT as he scored 6 points. The Grizzlies made their final shot of the night with 2:40 left on the clock in the 3rd OT and couldn't then couldn't make anything else leading to an easy finish to the overtime period. Russell Westbrook led all scorers with 40 points and Kevin Durant also added 35 for the Thunder. The Grizzlies were led by Zach Randolph's 34 points/16 rebounds and Marc Gasol's 26 points/21 rebounds.


The Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics also battled into overtime, last night, but this game only took one extra frame to determine a winner as the Heat went on to win 98-90 and with the win the Heat take a 3 games to 1 lead over the defending Eastern Conference Champion Celtics in the best of 7 series. LeBron James led the Heat in scoring with 35 points and Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 27. The Heat's version of "The Big Three" all scored 20 or more points, a piece.


NHL PLAYOFFS:


The Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators, 2-1, and ended the best-of-seven series by winning 4 games to 2. Two 1st period goals were all Vancouver ended up needing as they now move on to the Western Conference Finals.


NCAA Basketball News:


Texas A&M head coach, Mark Turgeon, has accepted the same position at Maryland. A news conference at Maryland is set for Noon, today, to announce Turgeon as the new coach replacing recently retired, Gary Williams.

WVU basketball news:

WVU (basketball) forward Kevin Jones announced he had withdrawn from the NBA Draft and will return for his senior season.

WVU basketball also announced that freshman Kevin Noreen has been granted a hardship waiver granting him another season of eligibility. Simply put he'll be a freshman again, this coming season.


Other news:


LeBron James apologized for responding, "that's retarded" during a post-game press conference.


The US Women's World Cup team was announced.


NBA announces all-defensive teams. Boston Celtics Kevin Garnett and LA Lakers guard Kobe Bryant were both named to the first team for a record-tying ninth time.

The Greenbrier Classic announced even more talent will be showing up this summer in southern West Virginia. PGA Tour star, Phil Mickelson has been confirmed as a participant in the golf tournament and the Black Eyed Peas were announced as joining the already impressive list of concert performers. Along with the Black Eyed Peas other confirmed acts include Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan and Keith Urban. All great news for the Greenbrier Classic, as it continues to garner great publicity and interest.


MLB Scores:
ESPN's MLB Scoreboard


NL:


Pirates beat Dodgers, 4-1. With the win the Pirates moved above the .500 mark in mid-May for the first time in seven years.


Phillies beat Marlins, 6-4.


Reds beat Astros, 6-1.


Brewers beat Padres, 4-3.


Rockies beat Mets, 2-1.


AL:


Tigers beat Blue Jays, 10-5.


Red Sox beat Twins, 2-1 in 11 innings.


Athletics beat Rangers, 7-2.


White Sox beat Angels, 8-0.




That's all. Enjoy your day!!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Sports recap for May 8th

What you may have missed in the world of sports from yesterday...

The Boston Celtics pulled to within one game of the Miami Heat as they beat the Heat in Boston, 97-81. The Heat still lead the series 2-1.


Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander tossed his 2nd career no-hitter as the Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-0. Verlander faced the minimum possible batters (only the 7th time that's happened since 1954).


Ohio State athletics face more scrutiny as they are now investigating how athletes obtained vehicles from local car dealerships. A particular review found that a car titled to former OSU star Thaddeus Gibson for a purchase price of $0. We all know Ohio State will get out of this with a slap on the wrist, like they do with everything else.


Animal Kingdom won a thrilling Kentucky Derby as a 20-1 long shot.


The Memphis Grizzlies again found a way to win a playoff game as they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in overtime, 101-93. The Grizzlies rallied from 16 points down and still pulled off the upset. Grizzlies big man Zach Randolph had 21 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies. Russell Westbrook lead the Thunder with 23 points.


Manny Pacquiao defeated Shane Mosley in a dominant 12 round decision.


Regan Smith won his 1st career Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway.


The Nashville Predators stayed alive for another game as they beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3 and kept hope alive as they drew to within a game of the Canucks 3-2 series lead.


Arizona men's basketball head coach, Sean Miller, agreed to a contract extension with Arizona, which comes after Miller's name was floated around as a possible replacement at Maryland (where Gary Williams just retired Wednesday).


University of Pittsburgh basketball star Ashton Gibbs decided to withdraw from the NBA Draft and return for his senior season, at Pitt.


LA Dodgers' outfielder Andre Either's 30 game hit streak came to an end, against the New York Mets.

WVU sports news:

As expected, WVU men's basketball received word, today, that La Salle center Aaric Murray will transfer to WVU. Murray said during his press conference that he made a mistake by not going to WVU out of high school but got bad advice, at the time. Murray also said now that he has a second chance he had to take it. Since Murray is transferring he will have to sit out a year before he's eligible to play, meaning you won't see him "officially" on the court until the 2012-13 season where he should provide an inside scoring presence for the Mountaineers.


WVU forward Kevin Jones has a big decision to make, today, as he has to decide (by this evening) whether he's staying in the NBA Draft or returning to WVU for his senior season. Jones is attending a pre-draft combine where he can be evaluated by NBA scouts and receive feedback. This is a fairly typical move as players test the waters (as Kevin Pittsnogle did between his junior and senior seasons) so it's not really a surprise that Jones declared. However, he is not projected by anyone, at this point, to be a high draft pick so it would be a bit of a surprise if he were to stay in the draft; especially with a potential NBA lock-out looming this summer. Some say this is a "weaker" draft class than next year's forecasts to be so there is a chance Jones could see it that way and feel he has a better chance of getting drafted this year, than next, but that's pure speculation, at this point. You should see/read his decision at some point relatively early in the day as most of the players who are coming back have already announced they are no longer remaining in the draft. Keep an eye out for status updates on the topic - or check out WV MetroNews (or your favorite WVU site) for breaking news.


MLB Scores:
ESPN's MLB Scoreboard


AL:


Tigers beat Blue Jays, 9-0.


Rays beat Orioles, 8-2.


Red Sox beat Twins, 4-0.


Royals beat Athletics, 4-3.


Rangers beat Yankees, 7-5.


Indians beat Angels, 4-3.


White Sox beat Mariners, 6-0.


NL:


Pirates beat Astros, 6-1.


Cubs beat Reds, 3-2.


Brewers beat Cardinals, 4-0.


Phillies beat Braves, 3-0.


Mets beat Dodgers, 4-2.


Nationals beat Marlins, 5-2.


Diamondbacks beat Padres, 6-0.


Giants beat Rockies, 3-2.


That's all. Enjoy your day!!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Sports recap for May 7th

What you may have missed in the world of sports from yesterday...

Dallas Mavericks took a commanding 3-0 series lead over back-to-back defending NBA champion LA Lakers. Not looking good for the Lakers as NO team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.  The champs are on the ropes, can they survive? The view from here is probably not, as much as it kills me to say. The Lakers banked on Pau Gasol being a force but he's looked as tough as a sorority girl in those infamous pillow fights. Not only could the next game be the last game for Gasol it is almost certainly the last game for Lakers head coach, Phil Jackson. Jackson has contemplated retirement before but everyone seems to believe he's done. Without a drastic move in the off-season - mainly getting rid of Gasol (possibly for Dwight Howard??) - I don't see Jackson coming back. Even though he'd go out on a "low note" he's had one helluva career.

Chicago Bulls took a 2-1 series lead as newly crowned NBA MVP Derrick Rose led the Bulls past the Atlanta Hawks, 99-82. Rose scored 44 to lead all scorers, a career high in points for Rose.


Willie Mays, aka the Say Hey Kid, turned 80 years old and celebrated with the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. In the middle of Mays speaking the call dropped -- typical AT&T!


Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall found out apparel company, Champion, was dropping him from his endorsement deal because he made controversial "tweets" about 9/11 (which is fun word play since Mendenhall likes to "drop" the football). Mendenhall had just resigned the deal with Champion on Sunday so that didn't last long. Ya gotta know you're in the public eye - so don't say controversial things if you're not ready to face the consequences.


Boston Bruins completed the 4-0 sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1.


Detroit Red Wings found a way to keep their Stanley Cup hopes alive as they beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-3. The win by the Red Wings still remain a loss away from elimination (San Jose leads 3 games to 1).


LA Dodgers outfielder Andre Either extended his hit streak to 30 games.


Uncle Mo scratched from the Kentucky Derby. The Derby having a rough string of injuries and horses pulling out of the race. At this point you could probably walk a horse up to the starting line and they'd let you run in the race.

WVU sports news:

Former WVU point guard Joe Mazzulla will head to Europe to try and play professional basketball. Mazzulla had received an assistant coaching job offer from a small school but said he wanted to try to play right now and then move to coaching after that.


WVU men's basketball team is expecting to receive"official" word today on the possible landing spot for La Salle University center Aaric Murray (6'10" 250 pounds). As I have previously mentioned, Murray was in town for the WVU spring football game and later that evening sent out a "tweet" saying he was "the newest member of the West Virginia team." Once he got back to Philadelphia, however, he and/or his "advisers" said that was a "prank." But it appears that maybe it wasn't a "prank" after-all. Sources are saying that at his 2pm press conference today, in Philadelphia, he will announce that he is indeed transferring to WVU (he was believed to be down to WVU and Oklahoma State - although some reports also mentioned Kansas as a possible destination). Murray originally signed with La Salle out of high school after choosing between La Salle and WVU (his "final two" schools). At La Salle, last season, Murray averaged 15.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. Per NCAA rules, wherever Murray transfers to he will have to sit out a year...meaning he will be eligible to play in the 2012-13 season. Coming out of high school Murray was ranked as a 4 star recruit and the #5 center in the nation, by Rivals.com; #6 center, by Scout.com and #8 center by ESPN.com. Click here for a scouting report (by ESPN) on Murray if you want more info. Ideally this would give Bob Huggins a true post player. Several NBA mock drafts also rate Murray pretty high so the chances of him being a "one and done" (after sitting out the up-coming season) could be higher than most other new WVU players (just something to keep in the back of your mind). I'll make sure everyone knows for sure what Murray decides on here and on Facebook/Twitter so keep an eye out for it around 2pm today.


MLB Scores:
MLB Scoreboard


AL:


Blue Jays beat Tigers, 7-4.


Twins beat Red Sox, 9-2.


Rays beat Orioles, 6-2.


Yankees beat Rangers, 4-1.


Athletics beat Royals, 3-2.


Angels beat Indians, 2-1 in 11 innings.


Mariners beat White Sox, 3-2.


NL:


Astros beat Pirates, 3-2.


Reds beat Cubs, 5-4.


Braves beat Phillies, 5-0.


Mets beat Dodgers, 6-3.


Nationals beat Marlins, 3-2 in 10 innings.


Cardinals beat Brewers, 6-0.


Padres beat Diamondbacks, 4-3 in 11 innings.


Giants beat Rockies, 4-3.


That's all. Enjoy your day!!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Sports recap for May 6th

What you may have missed in the world of sports from yesterday...

Maryland Terrapins men's basketball head coach Gary Williams, surprisingly announced his retirement yesterday afternoon. A press conference is set for today at 1pm at the Comcast Center. Williams won Maryland's only national championship in 2002 and finishes his 33 year career with a coaching record of 668-380. His final few seasons, at Maryland, involved a lot of "issues" between Williams and former Maryland athletic director, Debbie Yow. Yow recently moved on to NC State but Williams made sure he didn't leave without a final shot at Yow - read here.

LA Lakers' forward Ron Artest was suspended for the next game of the Western Conference semifinals after he clothes-lined DallasMavericks guard Jose Juan Berea in the last minute of game 2.

The Vancouver Canucks took a 3-1 series lead over the Nashville Predators after scoring a pair of late goals to win 4-2.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward continued a strange week for Steelers players as he was detained, at gunpoint, by police after being stopped for traveling in a reported stolen car. However, it turns out not only was the car not really stolen but it was the property of the passenger riding along with Ward. The female passenger had reported the car stolen in April but had forgotten to cancel the stolen car report. Ward and the female passenger were taken out of the car at gunpoint and handcuffed, but after a few minutes the female passenger proved she was indeed the owner of the car and the police apologized and released them both. Truly a "non-story" as Ward quoted it to ESPN, but given the negative PR the Steelers have received already this week, thanks to running back Rashard Mendenhall's "tweets," it's safe to say it hasn't been a great week for the Steelers image (since we all know rival fans don't care about "facts" of what happened to Ward).

Kentucky Derby is Saturday. Here is some info on the horses in the race. Get your big goofy hats ready!

NFL Lockout continues to move absolutely no where. NFL players continue to say it's all the owners/NFL fault which means they don't want to take any responsibility. What a shock. Millionaires vs billionaires arguing over "not money" as the player say - right, then why do they continue to talk about the TV revenues and rookie pay scales. Good one. Obviously everyone knows the owners are greedy, but they do OWN organizations so of course they're going to act that way.

WVU sports news:

Former WVU basketball player, Patrick Beilein, began work as the new Director of Basketball Operations at Bradley University.

WVU offensive coordinator (and head-coach-in-waiting) Dana Holgorsen sat down for a special interview with WV Illustrated.

MLB Scores: Click here for the ESPN MLB Scoreboard

AL:

Tigers beat Yankees, 6-3. Tigers get 3rd straight vs Yanks. Jeter a healthy scratch.

Rays beat Blue Jays, 3-1. Johnny Damon (Rays) reached 2,600 career hits.

Angels beat Red Sox, 11-0. Red Sox pitcher John Lackey roughed up by former team.

Royals beat Orioles, 9-1. Royal's pitcher Bruce Chen moves to 4-1 on the season.

Indians beat Athletics, 4-3 in 12 innings. Cleveland off to a 21-9 start to the season.

Mariners beat Rangers, 3-1. Justin Smoak homered.

NL:

Reds beat Astros, 10-4. Homer Bailey has strong showing fresh off the DL (for the Reds).

Mets beat Giants, 5-2. Mets avoid the sweep.

Cardinals beat Marlins, 6-3. Marlins pitcher Josh Johnson records first loss of the season.

Phillies beat Nationals, 7-3. Roy Halladay records 10 strikeouts for the Phillies.

Braves beat Brewers, 2-1. Complete 4 game sweep of the series.

Diamondbacks beat Rockies, 3-2 in 11 innings. Walk-off hit for Justin Upton.

That's all. Enjoy your day!!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Sports recap for May 5th

What you may have missed in the world of sports from yesterday...

Dallas Mavericks beat the LA Lakers, again, to take a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference Semifinals round of the NBA Playoffs. Final 93-81. The back-to-back defending NBA champion Lakers put themselves in an 0-2 hole in the best of seven series. The Lakers looked bad and Lakers Pau Gasol was booed multiple times by Lakers fans for his timid play. The Mavs were led by Dirk Nowitzki's 24 points and a seemingly endless amount of big plays turned in by Jose Juan Berea.

Chicago Bulls evened up their series (at a game a piece) with the Atlanta Hawks, the same day Bulls Point Guard Derrick Rose officially received his MVP trophy. Rose then went on to lead the Bulls to a 86-73 victory, as he led all scorers with 25 points.

Tampa Bay Lightning continued their impressive playoff run by completing their 4 game series sweep of the top-seeded Washington Capitals, with a 5-3 victory in Tampa. Again, I remind everyone that Washington sports radio had mentioned, prior to the playoffs starting, that should the Caps not go on to win the Stanley Cup this season (as they were pre-season favorites...and the favorite as the playoffs began) that head coach Bruce Boudreau's job may be in jeopardy. Only time will tell, but the Caps have been disappointing, to say the least, the last few years by not even reaching the Stanley Cup with the player their organization touts as 'the top player in the NHL.' The Lightning have now knocked out the Penguins (in 7 games) and the Caps (in 4 games). Important to note that the Penguins did play that 7 game series against the Lightning without their top two players (and two of the top players in the NHL), Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Boston Bruins appear to have things locked up as they have now cruised out to a commanding 3 games to none lead over the Philadelphia Flyers, BUT it's important to note that the Bruins did the exact same thing last year yet ended up losing 4 straight games to the Flyers and lost the series. Will history repeat itself or will the devastating collapse from last year serve as a lesson to the Bruins to take care of business as soon as possible? The Bruins won game 3 with a 5-1 score.

San Jose Sharks jumped out to a 3-0 series lead over the Detroit Red Wings with a 4-3 overtime victory.

Pittsburgh Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall issued a statement regarding his "controversial tweets" but did not apologize for the most controversial part...the part where he questioned if planes really took down the Twin Towers. I'm not sure why he issued a statement on this controversy, at all, if he wasn't going to comment on the part that people were upset about. Steelers fans, and NFL fans alike, continue to voice their displeasure with the unsettling nature of Mendenhall's comments. The Steelers did release a statement wondering why Mendenhall said what he said, but with the lockout they obviously can't have direct contact with him. Not really surprised he didn't retract what he said, but it makes him look pretty stupid when he releases a statement without even addressing the most controversial part of this PR nightmare - but even if he did address it he'd probably just delete it, like he did with the offensive "tweet." Count me as a Steelers fan that wants ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with this douchebag, ever again.

The Justice Department wants to know why there isn't a playoff in college football. Join the club

Blake Griffin was officially announced as the NBA Rookie of the Year.

The Kentucky Derby field is set. Dialed In is the favorite.

MLB Scores: To see more on any score click here to access the ESPN MLB scoreboard

Pirates beat the Padres, 7-4. Ryan Doumit hit a grand slam.

Twins beat White Sox, 3-2.

Blue Jays beat Rays, 3-2.

Reds beat Astros, 3-2.

Orioles beat Royals, 3-2.

Cubs beat Dodgers, 5-1.

Tigers beat Yankees, 4-0.

Braves beat Brewers, 8-3. Game 1

Phillies beat Nationals, 7-4.

Athletics beat Indians, 3-1.

Giants beat Mets, 2-0.

Angels beat Red Sox, 5-3 in 13 innings.

Rangers beat Mariners, 5-2.

Braves beat Brewers, 8-0. Game 2

Marlins beat Cardinals, 8-7.

Rockies beat Diamondbacks, 6-4.

That's all. Enjoy your day!!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Sports recap for May 4th

In my attempt to share my sports knowledge, I've decided to help make it easier for everyone to get their sports info with a morning recap of the previous day's sports news. Click on the purple text to get a link straight to the story for that particular piece of sports news. Let me know what you think! Here we go:

What you may have missed in the world of sports from yesterday...

Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano pitched a No-Hitter against the White Sox (1-0 Twins victory). It wasn't the "prettiest" no-hitter, as it took Liriano 123 pitches, 6 walks and 2 strikeouts to not only finish his first no-hitter but also his first complete game. This was the 248th no-hitter in MLB history (including the post-season, which has only seen 2 occur there). This was the 1st no-hitter thrown on May 3rd. Liriano came into the came posting a 9.13 ERA, the second highest ERA for a pitcher (entering the game) to throw a no-hitter (3 game minimum).

Miami Heat defeat the Boston Celtics 102-91 to take a 2-0 series lead. LeBron James scored 35.

Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals, 4-3, in Tampa to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.Washington sports radio had already discussed if head coach Bruce Boudreau should be fired, if they didn't win the Stanley Cup this year, back in March - let's see what happens.

22 year old Derrick Rose became the NBA's youngest MVP.

Oklahoma City Thunder evened up their series vs Memphis Grizzlies (at 1-1) by winning 111-102. OKC's Kevin Durant lead all scorers with 26 points.


NFL lock-out continues to twist and turn. Court grants expedited hearing for NFL's appeal (to keep lock out in place).

Pittsburgh Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall has come under fire after controversial "tweets" on his Twitter account where he questioned whether the terrorist attacks of September 11th actually occurred the way it's reported. UPDATE: Mendenhall has since deleted the Twitter post that said he didn't believe planes could take down the towers (paraphrasing).

LA Dodgers' outfielder, Andre Either, continued his hitting streak - now stretching to 29 straight games but the Cubs beat the Dodgers, 4-1.

The NBA will be facing it's own lock-out situation this summer, it appears, as the newest CBA proposal from the NBA owners didn't please the NBA players.

In news that will shock absolutely no one...a league source says LA Clippers' forward, Blake Griffin, will be named NBA's Rookie of the Year. Man, there's a shocker.

Cleveland Indians' outfielder, Shin-Soo Choo, was arrested for DUI. He "blew" more than double the legal limit in Ohio. (Insert Cleveland joke here.)

Boise State cited by the NCAA for lack of institutional control.

Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators, 3-2, in Overtime to take a 2-1 series lead.

The 137th Kentucky Derby is Saturday. Hall of Fame trainer, Bob Baffert, isn't sure what to expect after two of his three entries are now out for the race.


Other scores and notes:

MLB:

Twins beat the White Sox, 1-0.

Padres battled back late to beat the Pirates, 6-5 and Padres closer Heath Bell ties Trevor Hoffman as he picks up his 41st straight save.

BJ Upton hit a 2-run walk-off home run to lift the Rays over the Blue Jays, 3-2.

Cole Hammels scatters 5 hits over 9 innings as the Phillies beat the Nationals, 4-1.

Detroit Tigers beat the New York Yankees, 4-2.

Jon Lester fanned 11 (thru 7 innings) as the Red Sox defeated the Angels, 7-3.

Jeff Francoeur hits a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th to lift the Royals over the Orioles, 6-5.

Cleveland Indians score 3 in the top of the 9th to beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-1.

The Mariners scored twice in the bottom of the 8th to beat the Rangers, 4-3.

Brewers at Braves was postponed because of rain.

The Astros crushed the Reds, 10-4, after scoring 6 runs in the 4th inning.

Aubrey Huff hits a HR in the top of the 10th to lead the Giants past the Mets, 7-6.

Cardinals get 3 in the bottom of the 7th to beat the Marlins, 7-5.

Justin Upton hit a solo shot in the bottom of the 8th to lift the Diamondbacks past the Rockies, 4-3.

Cubs score 3 runs in the top of the 9th to beat the Dodgers, 4-1.



That's all. Enjoy your day!!