Sox Stun Rays

Game five started just as the previous three had; a Boston starter got roughed up early and the Rays appeared to be cursing to their first World Series birth in franchise history. But just when things looked over the Rad Sox said not so fast...

Down seven runs going to the bottom of the seventh the Sox roared back led by a three run homer by playoff legend David Ortiz and some timely hitting from JD Drew. The Rays bullpen, which had been so strong throughout the playoff thus far, just could not get the job done tonight.

Going to the bottom of the ninth tied an error by probable rookie of the year Evan Longoria allowed Kevin Youkilis to advance to second base. Jason Bay was then intentionally walked setting up a lefty-lefty match up between Rays reliever J.P Howell and Sox batter JD Drew. After falling behind 3-0 Howell was able to battle back but Drew lined a 3-2 pitch down the right field line scoring Youkilis from second for the walk off win.

Once again this just goes to show you that you can ever count out the Boston Red Sox. A year ago they came back from a 3-1 deficit to the Cleveland Indians to win the series. The win tonight gives them a chance to duplicate that feat. It certainly will be no easy task, but Boston does have favorable pitching match ups heading back to Tampa. It is expected that Josh Beckett will get a chance to redeem himself in game six facing off against James Shields. Should it get to a game seven it will be Jon Lester for Boston likely against Matt Garza.

Chiefs Suspend Johnson

The Kansas City Chiefs have suspended starting running back Larry Johnson for this Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans. Chiefs coach Herm Edwards refused to go into detail, but did say that the suspension is due to a violation of team rules.

The loss of Johnson against the NFL's lone undefeated team does not bode well for Kansas City. Their offense has struggled to put points on the board thus far this season getting off to a 1-4 start.

Philly World Series Bound

The Philadelphia Phillies are the first to punch their tickets to the world series as they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday night 5-1 to take the series four games to one. The win marks the first time since 1993 that the Phillies have advanced to the World Series; they have not won it since 1980.

Led by another dominating performance on the mound from Cole Hamels, the Phillies had the win locked up early. Hamels pitched seven strong innings giving up just a Manny Ramirez homer in the sixth while striking out five. Jimmy Rollins also homered in a winning effort for the Phillies.

Following the game Hamels was named NLCS MVP. He finished the series 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA while striking out 13 batters in 14 innings of work.

Philadelphia awaits the winner of the Tampa Bay-Boston series, a series led by the Rays 3-1 going into tonight's game.

Rays Crush Sox....Again

For the second consecutive day the Tampa Bay Rays busted out the bats in a big way at Fenway Park, knocking Red Sox pitching all over the park en route to a 13-4 victory.

The loss marks the third game in a row that a Boston starter has been roughed up early as Tim Wakefield lasted just 2 1/3 innings giving up fives runs including three homeruns.

Rookie sensation Evan Longoria continues to tear the cover off ball for the Rays as he hit yet another homerun in the first inning of Wakefield. Carlos Pena and Willy Aybar also homered for Tampa. Carl Crawford led all Tampa Bay hitters with five hits. He finished the game a homer shy of the cycle.

The Red Sox have now lost three of four home playoff games this season. That comes a big surprise as they had the second best record in all of baseball at home during the regular season, second only to the Rays, a team they will now have to beat at their place if they hope to advance to the World Series. The good news for Sox fans is that Boston is no stranger to ALCS comebacks. Last season they climbed out of a 3-1 hole against the Cleveland Indians to win the series. And who can forget the 3-0 deficit in 2004 against the New York Yankees that the Sox erased en route to winning the ALCS and ultimately the World Series.

Busy Day in Dallas

Two major announcements came out of Dallas today as the Cowboys first announced a suspension that has been handed down by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, then announced a major trade.

The first news concerned Adam "Packman" Jones, who has been under the microscope all season following his reinstatement during the preseason, was suspended for "a minimum for four games" by Goodell stemming from a bar fight with Jones' own personal security guard. The guard had been assigned to Jones by the team in hopes of preventing any such problems. It is expected that Jones has played his final game in a Cowboys uniform. Rumors have been circulating for hours now that the Cowboys will likely cut ties with the troubled corner before his suspension is lifted.

After what seems like endless bad news for Dallas this week there was finally a positive as it was announced that they have acquired Pro Bowl wide receiver Roy Williams from the Detroit Lions for three draft picks. The addition of Williams gives the Cowboys one of the most formidable 1-2 punches at receiver in the league as Williams will team up with fellow Pro Bowler Terrell Owens. The biggest question now will be how long until one of these superstars is upset about not getting enough touches? There are only so many balls to go around and both players have a history of making it well known then they are upset with their lack of use in the offense. Brad Johnson will certainly have his hands full in the coming weeks as he looks to fill in for the injured Tony Romo at quarterback.

Cowboys March on Without Romo

The Dallas Cowboys will be without quarterback Tony Romo for the next 3-4 weeks due to a broken finger on his throwing hand. Romo suffered the injury on the first play of overtime during Sunday's 30-24 overtime loss at Arizona.

This is bad news for a Cowboys team that has been struggling as of late losing two of their last three games. 40 year old Brad Johnson will start in Romo's absence. His last NFL start was back in 2006 when he was a member of the Minnesota Vikings. The Cowboys next next three games are at St. Louis, home vs. Tampa Bay, and then at the Giants week 9 before a bye in Week 10.

Rays Win Marathon

When Josh Beckett and Scott Kazmir take the hill you know you are in for a close game. What you would not expect however is a 9-8 final score.

It started as a shootout, but ended as a pitchers duel. Two so called aces looked more like deer in headlight rookies combining to allow an ALCS record tying seven homeruns in five innings of work.

After the fifth inning it was a whole new ball game. Over the remaining six innings the two teams combined to score a mere three runs. But it was the Rays who scored when it counted. With the bases loaded in the 11th BJ Upton hit a sacrifice fly to right to plate pinch runner Fernando Perez evening the series at a game a piece.

The series now shifts to Boston for three game beginning Monday. Jon Lester and Matt Garza will take the hill for the Sox and Rays respectively.

Myers Gets It Done...With a Bat?

Philadelphia Phillies' starting pitcher Brett Myers came into game two of the NLCS batting 4 for 58 on the season at the plate. As a pitcher a stat line like that is not all that surprising. Myers himself would be the first to tell you that he is a bad hitter, but its not his job to hit, right?

That all changed on Friday night as Myers made up for his shaky performance on the mound by nearly doubling his hit total for the season. He finished the night 3 for 3 with three runs batted in en route to a 8-5 Phillies victory in game two of the NLCS.

"I'm not a very good hitter," said Myers in his post game interview. "I just get lucky occasionally. I'm baffled by it. I would've rather pitched better."

At this point in the season it is better to be lucky than good. We will see if the luck for the Phillies can continue Sunday as the series shifts to Los Angeles for three games.

NHL Season Preview

Thursday marks the opening night (on US soil) for the National Hockey League. While we realize hockey may not be the most popular of sports, here at WAY Back Sports we never leave a sport behind...unless its Nascar (you will NEVER see a Nascar post on this site).

Anyway, heres a look at how we think the season will finish:

Eastern Conference:

1. Pittsburgh Penguins - The defending Eastern Conference champions have two of the top five best players in the the NHL (Sidney Crosby & Evgeni Malkin) and enough firepower along side them to make it back to the finals. They will have to weather the storm the first two months without top defensemen Sergi Gongar and Ryan Whitney but they have enough good young talent to hold the fort until they return.
2. Montreal Canadiens - Last season the Canadiens finished with the best record during the regular season before being bounced in the first round by the Flyers. The offseason saw the departure of RW Micheal Ryder and D Mark Streit but a little offensive fire power was brought in to replace them in LW Alex Tanguay and C Robert Lang. This season also marks the first full season for goaltender Carey Price as starter. If he has a strong sophomore season the Canadiens will be contenders in the East.
3. Washington Capitals - Third only by virtue of winning the Southeast, not necessarily the third best record. The Capitals have arguably the most exciting player in hockey in reigning MVP Alexander Ovechkin. They have a good mix of veterans (Sergi Federov, Chris Clark) and rising stars (Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin) to make for a good supporting cast for Ovechkin. The big question mark will be in goal. The Capitals will only go as far as Jose Theodore takes them.
4. Philadelphia Flyers - Having a healthy Simon Gagne back will do wonders for a team that was not that far away from having a big year last season. In the 07/08 playoffs they knocked off the #1 ranked Montreal Canadiens before falling to the Penguins in the Conference finals. The offseason saw the departure of promising young star R.J. Umberger which will sting, but I would think they Flyers would rather have Gagne than Umberger anyday.
5. Boston Bruins - Picking the Bruins to finish 5th may surprise some people but Boston is a gritty team who, with the guidance of coach Claude Julien, will win a lot of close games. The biggest difference this season for Boston will be the return of all star forward Patrice Bergeron who missed all but ten games last season following a career threatening concussion. The addition of Bergeron and the signing of free agent forward Michael Ryder will make the Bruins a team to watch out for in the East.
6. New York Rangers - The Rangers suffered some major losses over the offseason seeing forwards Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shannahan, and Martin Straka all announce their retirement from the NHL. Perhaps the player they will miss the most is not one listed above but instead agitator Steve Avery who signed with Dallas. They were able to bring in decent replacements in Markus Naslund and Nikolai Zherdev, add that to a group that already includes Scott Gomez and Chris Drury and you have a team who will be a strong playoff contender.
7. New Jersey Devils - The Devils are a playoff team for one reason: Martin Brodeur. In Brodeur's 14 seasons as the Devils' goaltender New Jersey has made the playoffs 13 times. Coincidence? I think not.
8. Ottawa Senators - It seems that the Senators and Penguins meet in the playoffs every year, so why change that this season. Ottawa boasts the best line in hockey in Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and Dany Heatley. Aside from that there isn't a whole lot to be dangerous.
9. Tampa Bay Lightning - Most improved team in hockey, but still not quite enough.
10. Carolina Hurricanes - Loss of Eric Cole means loss of playoff contention.
11. Buffalo Sabers - Ryan Miller will keep them in a lot of games, but he is just one man.
12. Florida Panthers - Good defense, not so good offense.
13. Atlanta Thrashers - They have Ilya Kovalchuk and um...who else?
14. Toronto Maple Leafs - Poor Leafs fans. Its gonna be a long season.
15. New York Islanders - They will battle the Leafs for the basement all year.

Western Conference:

1. Detroit Red Wings - The addition of Marian Hossa make the defending Stanley Cup Champions even that much better. There is no reason why the Red Wings will not go back-to-back.
2. Dallas Stars - Like the rest of the Western Conference, the Stars are just playing for second place. The addition of Sean Avery will add an element of grit to Dallas which will go a long way. Any team with that likes of Brenden Morrow, Brad Richards, Mike Ribeiro, and Marty Turco will be a team that contends.
3. Calgary Flames - The Flames made perhaps the most underrated move of the offseason picking up LW Mike Cammalleri from the LA Kings. Cammalleri will likely be paired with super star Jerome Iginla on the top line making for a nice 1-2 punch. If Miikka Kipprusoff can regain his elite status between the pipes the Flames could be dangerous this season.
4. San Jose Sharks - San Jose has become a perennial powerhouse in the Western Conference and that will likely continue this season. Led by center Joe Thornton and the emergence of Evgeni Nabokov the Sharks will be right in the mix in the West. The addition of D Dan Boyle could be another overlooked acquisition.
5. Anaheim Ducks - Like the Sharks, the Ducks are another team you can count on to be in the mix in the West each season. The young stud first line of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Chris Kunitz will power Anaheim to another strong season.
6. Chicago Blackhawks - In the Eastern Conference the Blackhawks might be the second best team. Unfortunately, they play in the stacked Western Conference where they will be in the middle of the pack. Chicago is just loaded with young talent and made some nice offseason acquisitions in D Brain Campbell and G Cristobal Huet. It would not be a surprise to see Chicago make some noise in the West this season.
7. Edmonton Oilers - The additions of Erik Cole and Lubomir Visnosky are big ones for the Oilers. Expect LW Dustin Penner to have a bounce back year this season after a slow first season in Edmonton. The Oilers are a solid team who will fight for one of the final playoff spots.
8. Minnesota Wild - The Wild will be as good as Marian Gaborik is healthy. They added a few nice role players in LW Andrew Brunette, RW Owen Nolan, and D Marek Zidlicky. If Gaborik plays 65 games the Wild are a playoff team.
9. Phoenix Coyotes - Young and improved, but still a year or two away.
10. Colorado Avalanche - Could sneak into the playoffs if Peter Forsberg returns.
11. Nashville Predators - Why is there hockey in Nashville?
12. Columbus Blue Jackets - Could be a sleeper team in the West.
13. Vancouver Canucks - If they got Roberto Luongo some help they could make some noise.
14. St. Louis Blues - Some good young pieces, but not enough.
15. Los Angeles Kings - Very young. Still two or three years from being a contender.

Cup Finals: Detroit Red Wings over Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

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.