Division Series Recap

What a first week of the playoff we have seen!

Without question the most competitive series was between Anaheim Angels and Boston Red Sox. Boston, thanks to two strong pitching performances, took the two opening games. Then came the marathon game in game game three. Led by two homeruns from Mike Napoli the Angels were able to end their eleven game playoff losing streak to Boston by beating them in twelve innings. Game four brought another impressive pitching performance from a Boston starter as Jon Lester went seven shutout innings. Unfortunately for Lester that was all for not as the bullpen proceeded to squander his two run lead. Rookie Jed Lowrie was there to save the day for Boston in the ninth as he singled home Jason Bay for the walk off win.

Also punching their ticket to the ALCS was the the Tampa Bay Rays. Like Boston, Tampa cruised to a two game lead in the series before hitting a little bump in the road in game three. Chicago starter John Danks saved the season for the second time in as many starts going seven solid innings for the White Sox. Game four saw two huge homeruns from BJ Uption lead the way as the Ray continued their storybook season winning the series 3-1. What a story the Rays have been; going from the worst team in the MLB a year ago to winning the AL East this season and now they have a chance to make even more history as they advance to the ALCS.

Over in the National League we saw what may have been the most surprising result thus far of this year's playoffs as the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs, who were considered by many to be the best team in baseball going into the playoffs, never could seem to cool down the hot hitting Dodger bats. The Dodgers outscored the Cubs 20-6 over three games. The only game that was even remotely close was game three but even then it was a run late in the game that got the score to 3-1. Manny Ramirez continued to swing a hot bat, as he has since being acquired at the trade deadline, going 5 for 10 with a pair of homeruns.

Joining the Dodgers in the NLCS will be the Philadelphia Phillies who defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in in four games. Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino swung hot bats for the Phillies who also got strong pitching performances from Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, and Joe Blanton en route to their impressive series victory. Philadelphia's victory should set up quite a NLCS match-up as the Phillies and Dodgers are two of the hottest teams in baseball.

LDS: Day 3

There were just two LCS games yesterday, both coming from the AL side of things. Let's take a look at what went down.

Rays 6, White Sox 2
It did not look good from the start for the Rays, but the end is all that matters. Scott Kazmir gave up 2 runs in the first inning, but pitched a solid 5 1/3 with 4 strikeouts to pick up his first playoff win. Akinori Iwamura was the hero for the Rays, hitting a 2 run shot in the 5th inning to give the Rays an insurmountable lead. Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli also added late RBI's for Tampa Bay. Mark Buehrle went 7 innings and gave up 10 hits in a losing effort. Tampa will look for the sweep as they go to Chigago for game 3.

Red Sox 7, Angles 5
It was a wild game on the west coast last night as the Sox and Angles squared off. Boston got the early lead on a J.D. Drew double and a Jason Bay 3 run shot. The Angles did not fade though, as they kept on chipping away at the Boston lead. Chone Figgins, Torrii Hunter, and Mike Napoli all drove in runs, cutting the lead to 5-4 in the 7th inning. Figgins led off the 8th with a triple, and a Mark Teixeira sac fly tied the game up. The Angles brought Francisco Rodriguez in the game, but David Ortiz led off the 9th with a double. J.D. Drew then took K-Rod deep, giving the Sox a 7-5 lead. Jon Papelbon closed out the game and gave Boston a 2-0 series lead. The Sox now come back to Boston looking to close out the series.

Saturday's Big 3: Week 6

While Major League Baseball playoffs and regular season NFL action are now in full swing, it's hard to forget that there are still some great college football games on this weekend. Let's take a look at some of the top games for week 6:

#13 Auburn at #19 Vanderbilt
It's the first time in a long time that Vanderbilt football mattered. Now that Vandy has cracked the top 2o, they get a tough SEC test as Auburn comes to town. Vanderbilt averages 202 rushing yards per game, a fact that the Tigers D knows about. They'll look to stop the running attack of Jared Hawkins and Chris Nickson. I'll take Vandy at home to prove that they're not a fluke team.


#23Oregon at #9 USC
USC is looking for a rebound. After a loss to Oregon State that all but knocked them out of the national title picture, they're hungry to get back on the winning track back in Los Angles. Oregon ranks 8th in total offense, so Ray Maualuga and company have work to do this weekend. USC is too good to be beat again this season, and they're tough to beat at home. I'm taking the Trojans at home this week.


#14Ohio State at #18 Wisconsin
At the beginning of this season, this game had the potential to be huge. Though it's not as big as it could be, Big 10 title dreams are still on the line. The Badgers are scary at home, winning 27 of there last 28 at Camp Randall Stadium, and the fans won't do anything help to Terrelle Pryor or Chris "Beanie" Wells. Wisconson running back P.J. Hill looks to have a big game this weekend as the Badgers offense averages 218.5 yards on the ground. With a bruising running game and home field advantage, I'll take the Badgers.

Division Series: Day 2

Day two of the 2008 Division Series saw an American League team make its franchise playoff debut while over in the National League there was very little change from a day ago.

Phillies vs. Brewers
When you picture an at bat between Shane Victorino and CC Sabathia, logically you would think the overpowering left would have a big advantage; not on this day. Victorino knocked in four runs with one swing of the bat and added two doubles to help the Phillies to a 2-0 series lead. Sabathia, who was pitching on three days rest for the fourth consecutive start, lasted just 3.2 innings giving up five runs on six hits. Brett Myers had a solid outing for the Phillies allowing just two runs in seven innings of work helping Philly to the 5-2 victory.

Cubs vs. Dodgers
For the second day in a row Manny Ramirez hit a monster homerun and for the second day in a row the Dodgers cursed to victory, taking a 2-0 series lead heading back to Los Angeles. It was a sloppy game for the Cubs who committed four errors in the game; certainly not a performance you would expect from the team who finished the season with the best record in the National League. Of the ten runs allowed by Chicago pitching just five were earned. It is tough to give teams extra outs, particularly a team as good as LA and the Dodgers made them pay for their mistakes.

Rays vs. White Sox
Evan Longoria homered in his first two career playoff at bats and to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to victory in their first playoff game in the history of the franchise. After ten seasons in the American League basemen many wondered how the Rays would respond to their first taste of the playoff pressure. Just as have done all season when their ability was questioned, they answered their critics with a strong performance resulting in a 6-4 victory.

MLB Playoff Recap

Yesterday marked the beginning of the 2008 Major League Baseball playoffs. Three series got underway yesterday, let's take a look at what went down in each game.

Phillies vs Brewers
The Phillies hopped on the back of young lefty Cole Hamels (8.0 Innings, 2 Hits, 9 K's 1 Walk) and fought off a late surge by the Brewers to take a 3-1 victory yesterday in Philadelphia. Chase Utley started the scoring in the 3rd inning, hitting a double that scored 2. They tacked on an another run in the the same inning after a bases-loaded walk by Yovani Gallardo forced in Utley. The Brewers put together a late charge at the end, but were shut down by Brad Lidge who picked up the save.
Brett Myers takes on CC Sabathia in game 2.


Cubs vs Dodgers
After taking an early 2-0 lead, the Cubs looked to be in good position to shut the door early on the Dodgers. That lead didn't last long as James Loney hit a grand slam to centerfield, and LA rolled on from that point. Manny Ramirez hit a homerun in his postseason debut with the Dodgers, who won by the final score of 7-2. Derek Lowe went 6 innings, striking out six. Game two features Carlos Zambrano squaring off against Chad Billingsley in a great pitching matchup.


Red Sox vs Angles
After Josh Beckett was scratched from the game one start, Jon Lester was there to fill the void. The lefty looked strong against a potent Angles order, going 7 innings with 7 strikeouts and giving up 6 hits. LAA took an 1-0 lead in the 3rd, after a Jed Lowrie error extended the inning and let Torii Hunter drive in Garret Anderson. The Sox struck back in the 6th. Jason Bay, making his postseason debut, hit a 2 run homer, giving the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz also picked up RBI's , giving Boston a 4-1 lead. Closer Jon Papelbon got his first save of the playoffs.
Daiskue Matsuzaka and Ervin Santana will take the mound in game 2.

The Rays and White Sox kick off their series later today.

Bengals Sign Cedric Benson

The Cincinnati Bengals have signed RB Cedric Benson in order to replace injured RB DeDe Dorsey. Benson was released earlier this year by the Chicago Bears after violating conduct policies during the offseason. The former fourth overall pick could fit in well as he will likely split time with starter Chris Perry.

Hopefully, Benson will look to move on from his mistakes in the past and try to revive his career with this new opportunity. He will get a new chance to change his image in Cincinnati—can anyone say, "Cedric Treinta Dos?"

Chinese Gymnasts Turn out to be of Age

The Federation of International Gymnasts has ended their investigation into the age of Chinese gymnasts in this year's summer Olympics. As it turns out, they were provided with documentation proving the gymnasts were old enough to compete in the Olympic Games. The gymnasts, who looked no older than 10 years old, will be allowed to keep their medals while the Chinese government says that the age controversy was due to errors in paperwork.

It seems to me as though the real error here was that the Chinese government somehow lost control of the real age documents and were then not able to cover it up quickly enough. In any event, 10-years-old, 12-years-old, or 16-years-old, the Chinese gymnasts will keep their medals as the matter has been deemed officially closed. Conspirators can only speculate from here.

Kiffin Next to Fall

Just one day after the St.Louis Rams fired coach Scott Linehan, today the second coach was put on the chopping block. The Oakland Raiders have announced the firing of head coach Lane Kiffin. The move comes as a surprise to no one as Raider's owner Al Davis and Kiffin bumped heads repeatedly during the off season.

Oakland is expected to name offensive line coach Tom Cable as their new head coach. There is a press conference scheduled for 5pm on Tuesday where some type of announcement will be made regarding the teams plans for the remainder of the season.

White Sox Force One Game Playoff

162 games is not quite enough to figure out everything in the AL playoff picture. The Chicago White Sox, behind a grand slam by Alexei Ramirez, defeated the Detroit Tigers forcing a one game playoff between the White Sox and Minnesota Twins to determine the winner of the AL central, and the chance to square off with the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS.

The Tigers were up 2-1 after the top of the 6th, but the grand slam by Ramirez gave the White Sox a lead that they were not going to give up. Gavin Floyd picked up the win bumping his record to 17-8.

The game was a makeup of a rainout earlier this month, and was delayed 3 hours by rain moving through the Chicago area.

Linehan The First To Go

The first coach to go this NFL season? Now former Rams coach Scott Linehan got the unfortunate title. The coach was fired after a 31-14 loss to the Bills, capping off an 0-4 start where the Rams only put up a total of 43 points. It seems as though Linehan lost control of his team, after star running back Steven Jackson pubicly aired his concerns on a St. Louis radio show last week, where he said the locker room was "kind of on eggshells". He also disagreed with the benching of starter Marc Buldger.

What does an unhappy superstar, unhappy ownership, and an 0-4 start get you?
A kick out the door.