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American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. Central
Posted by Tom Massimo Categories: Fantasy, MLB, News,
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Bobby Jenks has converted 18 of 19 save opportunities and is now among the elite of closers in baseball. He has the perfect skill set of high strikeouts, low walks, an ability to induce groundballs and the guile to close games in extreme pressure situations, like last year’s World Series.
Javier Vazquez is putting together a quality season with a 7-3 record, 7.2 K/9 and a 2.1 BB/9. His bullpen has let him down a few times or his 4.19 ERA could be lower. Add in that he is capable of striking out more batters and he could be in for a nice rest of the season.
Freddy Garcia is going through a rough stretch. In his last four starts, he is sporting an ugly 8.10 ERA, while giving up 10 home runs. He should be able to tame the home runs. Garcia bounced back from a poor start to put up a string of good outings before hitting this rough patch. Given that and his track record, it might be a good idea to try and pry him loose from a disgruntled owner.
Click to continue reading American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. Central
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Ben Roethlisberger: Idiocy, Sadness, and Redemption?
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Injuries, News, NFL,
Before I really begin, let me say that I know a few hardcore Pittsburgh Stillers fans… no, that’s not a misspelling of the team name, but what the fanatical natives call their team. After talking with them, I found out they feel the same way I do about their Super Bowl Champion QB, Ben Roethlisberger - what an idiot.
“Big Ben” Roethlisberger got into a motorcycle accident in downtown Pittsburgh yesterday. Riding his 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa, Roethlisberger collided with a Chrysler New Yorker from the opposite direction driven by a 62-year-old woman. The car was making a left turn at the intersection where the impact happened. Okay, understandably, accidents happen and this one was very much one that is believable to happen. But what is unbelievable is this…
Roethlisberger wasn’t wearing a helmet.
Click to continue reading Ben Roethlisberger: Idiocy, Sadness, and Redemption?
Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 6.13.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, MLB, NBA, Playoffs, Scoreboard,
NBA FINALS: Everyone is asking - Can Shaquille O’Neal hack it anymore? Naturally, coming off a five point performance will have people questioning Shaq’s ability, but C’MON! This is Shaq we’re talking about here. Is he dominating like he did in seasons past? Of course not. But, he’s still a force in the blocks and considering he only took five total shots from the field, someone needs to remind him. Well, I know this much, you can question O’Neal’s ability all you want because essentially, I think we all know better. But, once you start questioning his heart, the big lug has too much pride to not get the last laugh.
*Game Three happens down in the sunny shores and beautiful views (models and all) of Miami. This is a critical game for the Heat because a Boston Red Sox style comeback from a 3-0 deficit is a rare thing. It’s as rare as Rachel McAdams going out on a date with me… maybe, just maybe if I can get her inebriated enough, she’ll say yes. Of course, when sobriety kicks in, she’ll have no idea, but at least I’d know. ANYWAY, the Heat cannot afford to lose because the Dallas Mavericks would have all the momentum going in their favor. Excuse me, even more momentum in their favor. It seems like they can’t miss. The Heat need to put a stop to that and feeding O’Neal down in the post seems to be a good remedy to get it started.
MLB: Is Roger Clemens kidding? In six innings of work, the Rocket only allowed two hits and struck out 11 in his second rehab start with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks. Unreal. Clemens is on schedule to make his MLB debut on June 22 against the Minnesota Twins.
*Two of the hottest teams right now (both winning eight of their last 10 games) are the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners, A.L. West rivals and combatants that start a three game set tonight in Oak-Town. Since the A.L. West always ends up being a close race down to the end, this series could be an important one for both clubs in determining their fates. Jamie Moyer takes the hill for the Mariners, while Joe Blanton takes the mound for the A’s.
*The old-timers, Tom Glavine of the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox’s Curt Schilling go for their tenth wins tonight and continue to lead their respective leagues in wins. Glavine will deal to the potentially dangerous Philadelphia Phillies batting order in Philly and Schilling faces the Minnesota Twinkies led by the hot-hitting Joe Mauer. Will experience win and youth be served? Or will the youngsters make Glavine and Schilling look like old men.
*Speaking of youth, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Jered Weaver makes his fourth start, looking to stay undefeated and go 4-0. Weaver has been every bit as good as most people projected him to be with a 3-0 record, 1.86 ERA, .162 BAA, 17 K versus 3 BB in 19.1 IP. There’s a very good possibility the young Weaver will bump the old weaver, older brother Jeff, from the Angels’ rotation when ace Bartolo Colon comes off the DL. I hope Jeff likes the bullpen.
Enjoy the games!
American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. East
Posted by Tom Massimo Categories: Fantasy, MLB, News,
TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS
Despite some talk of playing right field or first base, Rocco Baldelli has returned to center field.
The Rays sent down struggling starting pitcher Doug Waechter and replaced him with Jamie Shields. The early returns on Shields have been good, 3 starts, 2-0, 2.65 ERA, 16 K’s and just 6 walks in 17 IP. He was very impressive in Triple-A prior to his recall and could be worth a shot in AL-only leagues.
Aubrey Huff is really struggling with a .185 batting average. He is still making good contact and his batting eye is above average, which gives hope for a rebound.
Click to continue reading American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. East
Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 6.11.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, MLB, NBA, Soccer,
FIFA World Cup: Yesterday’s matches was just as eventful as the first day’s. Trinidad and Tobago played to a scoreless draw against a strong Sweden team, who just couldn’t take advantage of their opportunities. However, Shaka Hislop did take it to another level tending goal for T&T. The England/Paraguay match was odd in that, within three minutes of play, a David Beckham kick deflected off of Carlos Gammarra’s head into Gammarra’s own goal. And the scoring ended there with England winning 1-0. The Argentina contest with Ivory Coast pretty much went as it probably would have with the young, but talented Argentinians winning 2-1. Here are today’s matches:
*Group C: Serbia and Montenegro VS. Netherlands
*Group D: Mexico VS. Iran
*Group D: Angola VS. Portugal
NBA Finals: In Game One of this final series of the NBA, the Dallas Mavericks won 90-80 against the Miami Heat. The Mavs’ Dirk Nowitzki had a subpar game, but “The Jet,” Jason Terry turned it up and scored 32 points, seemingly not being capable of missing any shot that left his hand. Credit must also be given to the Mavs’ defense and Erick Dampier for doing better than expected and not totally succumbing to the force that is known as Shaquille O’Neal.
Click to continue reading Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 6.11.06
FIFA World Cup Review: Argentina 2, Ivory Coast 1
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: News, Scoreboard, Soccer,
Group C: This is a strong grouping here in Hamburg with Argentina, Ivory Coast, The Netherlands, and Serbia-Montenegro. In fact, it’s arguably one of the more difficult ones, in the World Cup. Argentina came into the tournament having won twice, last time in 1986 with the legendary Diego Maradona, but this is a very young team that is on its way up.
This was a very well-played match with Argentina coming out on top, thanks to goals from Hernan Crespo and Javier Soviola in the first half of the matchup. Didier Drogba scored the lone goal for the Ivory Coast in the 82nd minute of the game, but by then, it was too late.
FIFA World Cup Review: England 1, Paraguay 0
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: News, Scoreboard, Soccer,
Group B: Poor Paraguay captain, Carlos Gammarra. He was a part of history twice in this matchup with England, but it definitely was not good things to be a part of. Less than three minutes into the match, Gammarra inadvertently headed a ball off of a David Beckham kick into his own goal, which became the fastest own-goal in the history of the tournament.
And when the English team took the field in the second half, they played flat thanks to the rise in tempature and since no one else for Paraguay scored, Gammarra directly affected history again by this match being the first one decided by an own-goal. However, Gammarra shouldn’t hang his head for putting his team in the predicament of losing a game that could be critical in a three match-up group playoff to see who moves forward into the next round. If it wasn’t for Gammarra, I doubt Paraguay would be in the World Cup right now.
England is now 3-0 in World Cup play versus Paraguay.
FIFA World Cup Review: Trinidad And Tobago 0, Sweden 0
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: News, Scoreboard, Soccer,
Group B: David didn’t quite slay Goliath in this matchup of a little country against one of the better football (soccer to us Americans) countries in the world, but for all intents and purposes, David did win. And if anyone on the T&T squad epitomized David, it was goalie Shaka Hislop who stopped shot after shot from the Swedish team that had a ton of experience and talent over the two-island country.
To finish with a draw can be considered an upset for T&T and they know it. But, for the Swedes, this has to be a tough pill to swallow. Especially considering that T&T played one man short when Avery John received his second yellow card for hard tackling Christian Wilhelmsson and ejected from the game in the 46th minute. But, a story like this is why the World Cup is so great.
Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 6.10.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Boxing, Editorial, MLB, News, NHL, Playoffs, Scoreboard, Soccer,
FIFA WORLD CUP: What an excellent opening day for one of the toughest and most competitive tournaments in the world! Host country, Germany, was a part of history, beating Costa Rica in the highest scoring opening game in World Cup history, 4-2. And Ecuador, despite some controversy regarding the legitimacy of their being in the tournament, beat Poland, 2-0. See the recap of Day One here. Let’s see what the second day of opening round games brings us:
GROUP B
*England VS. Paraguay
*Trinidad and Tobago VS. Sweden
GROUP C
*Argentina VS. Ivory Coast
NHL: Game Three of the Stanley Cup Finals takes place up North in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. And guess what? The Edmonton Oilers think that G Dwayne Roloson can make it back for the series. This would be great news as the Carolina Hurricanes have had an easy go of it since Roloson has been out. Keep watching and keep that ear to the ground. The Hurricanes are leading the series 2-0. The puck drops tonight at 8PM EST and will be shown on NBC here in the States. Woo hoo! Primetime for the NHL… gotta build that profile up.
MLB: News on Albert Pujols - he actually said he could be back in two weeks! Of course, he did go on telling the press that it could be three, four, six weeks even. Basically, he isn’t going to rush himself back. Smart move. Roger Clemens is on his way back, but young fireballers - Kerry Wood and Rich Harden - are both back on the DL after serving time on the list earlier this season. If I were Wood or Harden, I’d bother Clemens and ask how he did it for so long.
*Texas Rangers rookie pitcher, John Rheinecker, looks to continue to go undefeated for the season (2-0), facing the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Rheinecker currently has a 1.77 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and has only given up one walk in 20.1 innings. One walk! That’s some pretty impressive control. However, let’s see how good that control is when the rookie faces the likes of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.
*A few pitchers look to follow the footsteps of the New York Mets’ Tom Glavine and Red Sox’s Curt Schilling and win their ninth game of the season. Mike Mussina (8-1) of the New York Yankees will try to do it against the Oakland Athletics this afternoon. The St. Louis Cardinals’ Jason Marquis (8-4) matches up against the Milwaukee Brewers to try to win his ninth game. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Brandon Webb takes the hill for the third time in trying to win his ninth… maybe the third time is a charm? Webb will face the New York Mets and their improved lineup.
BOXING: Antonio Tarver and Bernard Hopkins get it on tonight in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Light heavyweight champ, Tarver, has to be considered the favorite, if only because Hopkins is 41 years old now and lost his last two fights. It is thought that this will be Hopkins’ final career fight and will hang it up out of the ring. For 11 years, Hopkins dominated the Middleweight division and left it all in the ring. It would be nice to see him go out with a victory.
Enjoy the games!
FIFA World Cup Review: Day One
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Injuries, Scoreboard, Soccer,
Germany VS. Costa Rica
Germany isn’t being a very nice host. Just ask Costa Rica. Today, the host country beat Costa Rica by the score of 4-2, the highest-scoring opener in the history of the World Cup. Costa Rica had little else besides Paulo Wanchope, who scored the two goals for them. The German team is young, but a win like this can catapult them far.
The German team was without captain Michael Ballack, who is one of the better players in the world. Before the game, Ballack did want to play through his calf injury, but was talked out of it by his coach, Juergen Klinsmann. If Ballack can come back and play up to par, the German team becomes even stronger. Miroslav Klose scored two goals for the host country, while Philipp Lahm and Torsten Frings each scored one goal.
Ecuador VS. Poland
Ecuador was highly criticized regarding their credentials to play in the World Cup because a lot of their qualifying matches were played in the high altitude of Quito, Ecuador, which gave them an advantage versus their opponents - the Ecuadoreans were used to the thin air, while their opponents were not and would theoretically tire quicker.
However, playing in front of a hostile crowd cheering for Poland, Ecuador beat Poland 2-0… near sea level! The win is a big win and talks well of the Ecuadorean team and the validity of them being at the World Cup. Augustin Delgado played a hand in both scores as he scored one and assisted on the other to Carlos Tenorio.
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