Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: That hot-starting Youkilis
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: Kevin Youkilis' hot start -- can he make it last? -- Josh Beckett's steady improvement, Manny Ramirez's quest for 500 home runs -- and is 600 a realistic goal? -- and the Minnesota Twins, who are hanging in there despite the loss of Johan Santana and Torii Hunter.
URI basketball update: Daniels prepares for NBA draft, and more
By PAUL KENYON
Journal Sports Writer
Will Daniels is in Las Vegas.
No, it is not to celebrate his graduation from URI, but rather to prepare for life after college. Daniels' agent, Andy Miller, has a number of his clients -- players hoping to be drafted -- in Vegas. They are working out and playing basketball while awaiting word on who will be invited to Orlando, the final pre-draft camp.
In other URI basketball news, word is leaking out for next year, although not from the Rams. The team prefers not to discuss its schedule until everything is in place. However, Central Connecticut and New Hampshire have announced they will be visiting the Ryan Center next season.
Also, work for a tournament Thanksgiving week is apparently virtually complete. That event will include four games, one at home, one on the road and then two at The Palestra in Philadelphia to determine the title. URI is set to host Hartford and visit Monmouth. Possible opponents at The Palestra include Penn State and Villanova.
"There's still a lot to do, but we're in better shape than we were at this time last year," one school official said of the scheduling situation.
Finally, there is no word yet on the final make up of next year's team. As it is, the team has one too many players with those returning and five signed for next year. There also is word of a possible transfer.
Current indications are that any cutbacks are likely to come from the new players signed for next year. Hakim McCullar and Will Martell, two little-used freshmen last season, both are working hard and making improvements and appear likely to stay.
In one interesting Atlantic 10 development, Shawn James of Duquesne, the brother of URI forward Delroy James, has hired an agent and thus will not return to school for his final season of eligibility.
Boston Bruins ranked sixth-worst franchise in sports, by someone
Everyone loves top 10 lists, and Dave Golokhov hits on fertile ground today on foxsports.com, ranking the top 10 worst franchises in pro sports. Number one is the Pittsburgh Pirates, the once-proud team that is in danger of tying the major-league record for consecutive losing seasons.
Sitting at No. 6 -- our own Boston Bruins. Golokhov writes: "To be blunt, owner Jeremy Jacobs seems to be stingy and only cares about profits. The Bruins are an Original Six team in one of the biggest American markets, but ownership only allows the front office to make enough moves to tease the fans into believing there is hope. Up until 1997, the Bruins made the playoffs in 30 consecutive seasons, but have zero Stanley Cups since Jacobs took over 33 years ago. That might be because Jacobs is more focused on making money outside of hockey: He owns the TD Banknorth Garden, running the concession stands and charging rent to the Boston Celtics (among others)."
Here are two columns worth reading about Spygate. The Chicago Tribune's Dan Pompei says that the scandal is over, and it's time to remember just how good a coach Bill Belichick is. Meanwhile, Harvey Araton of The New York Times calls for a one-year suspension of the coach over his history of transgressions.
ESPN report: Patriots stole offensive signals, too
ESPN's Mike Fish reports this morning that the tapes turned over by Matt Walsh to the NFL include evidence that the Patriots tried to steal offensive signals, not just defensive signals, as has been widely reported until now.
Fish says that a list of videotaping documents Walsh turned over to the league includes one entry, from an October 2001 game against the Miami Dolphins, that indicates a video of offensive signals. Walsh's attorney, Michael Levy, told Fish that the Miami tape was the only one in Walsh' possession that showed offensive coaches signaling from the sidelines.
Former Red Sox pitcher Kason Gabbard, who you may remember was traded last year to Texas along with David Murphy for relief pitcher Eric Gagne, was in the center of a nasty incident last night in Seattle.
It started when Gabbard's teammate, second baseman Ian Kinsler, who had homered earlier in the game, was hit by a pitch from Seattle's Felix Hernandez.
Later, Gabbard, who was making his first start after a stint on the disabled list, threw high to Seattle's all-or-nothing power hitter Richie Sexson. The pitch wasn't really that far inside, but Sexson took exception, charging the mound and throwing his helmet at Gabbard.
Sexson was ejected. Gabbard remained in the game, but not for long. He faced two more hitters after the fourth-inning confrontation with Sexson, then left the game with an apparent leg injury.
On today's sports cover, Kevin McNamara and Jim Donaldson have coverage of the Celtics' emphatic Game Two victory in the Eastern Conference semifinals, while Steve Krasner chronicles Kevin Youkilis' unbelievable success in Detroit.
BOSTON - The Celtics' defense is strangling the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Celtics are now up big in the third quarter, 56-38, and really bothering the Cavs with their defense. Boston trailed 24-17 after the first quarter but dominated the next 12 minutes by blitzing the Cavs, 27-12. Cleveland shot 2-for-17 in the quarter.
Boston's bench did much of the first half damage with Leon Powe and Sam Cassell scoring 9 points apiece. LeBron James is struggling again. Big Time. The NBA's leading scorer had 11 points at the half but was 3-of-13 from the field with three turnovers. He simply cannot hit an open jump shot.
The Cavs' Ben Wallace left the game after only 3:40 with a case of dizzyness. He has not returned.
Update: 3 minutes left in the third quarter: Boston is up, 63-46.
Yankees avoid sweep; Sterling gets to call a Betemit home run
The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-3, today at Yankee Stadium to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Tribe. The Bombers got home runs from Johnny Damon (positively Damonic), Jason Giambi (the Giambino), Robinson Cano (Don't You Know) and Wilson Betemit. And if you're wondering what a John Sterling call of a Wilson Betemit home run sounds like, I have reports that it went something like this: "Who's Betemit than him." Right. Click here for the box score.
Tickets on sale tomorrow for Brazil-Venezuela soccer game
FOXBORO -- Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Friday, May 9, for the highly-anticpated June 6 doubleheader featuring world soccer power Brazil against Venezuela following a Major League Soccer clash between the New England Revolution and FC Dallas. That doubleheader will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with the Revs-Dallas tilt, followed by the international match at 8:30 p.m.
Ticket prices for the doubleheader start at $30, and go on sale to the general public tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-877-GET-REVS or Ticketmaster at (617) 931-2222. Group discounts are available for parties of 20 or more.
NEW YORK (AP) - Kobe Bryant added another honor Thursday to go with his MVP award, becoming the only unanimous selection to the All-NBA team.
The Lakers star was voted to the first team for the third straight season and fifth time in his career. He led Los Angeles to the best record in the Western Conference and was presented with the MVP trophy Wednesday before helping the Lakers to a 120-110 victory over Utah in Game 2 of the conference semifinals.
Joining Bryant on the first team were New Orleans guard Chris Paul, who was three votes shy of being a unanimous pick, along with Boston's Kevin Garnett, Cleveland's LeBron James and Orlando center Dwight Howard.
Garnett was a first-team pick for the fourth time and James made his second appearance. Paul and Howard were first-timers.
Voting was done by a panel of 127 sports writers and broadcasters, with points being awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.
Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash of Phoenix were voted to the second team along with San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Utah guard Deron Williams and Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki. The third team consisted of Houston's Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, plus Utah's Carlos Boozer, Boston's Paul Pierce and the Spurs' Manu Ginobili, the league's top sixth man.
The Pawtucket Red Sox earned an even split of their four-game home series with the Durham Bulls by winning 3-2, today at McCoy Stadium.
Rehabbing Sean Casey was 2 for 4 with a pair of singles and a run scored, while Alex Cora, also on a rehab assignment, was 1 for 4 with a single and a run scored.
David Pauley (3-2) pitched six innings for the win, striking out five and walking one while surrendering both Durham runs in the sixth. Bryan Corey picked up the save by striking out two batters in a perfect ninth inning.
1,000 Pittsburghers agree: Belichick should be suspended
According to the story broken last night by The New York Times, former Patriots assistant Matt Walsh today will deliver his video collection to the NFL. The story goes on to identify the teams whose coaches will be featured giving signals on the tapes, and notes that Walsh does not in fact have a tape of the St. Louis Rams' 2002 Super Bowl walkthrough.
The team that probably has the biggest potential beef here is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were upset by the Patriots in the 2002 AFC Championship Game. According to The Times, the tape Walsh has has been edited to show Steelers coaches signalling plays during the game, followed by two different camera angles of the actual plays that were called.
On the Web site of the San Diego Union-Tribune the story also received scant attention, but football writer Jerry Magee does have a column that calls the Patriots the team to beat in 2008 in the AFC, with the Chargers second.
Red Sox first baseman Sean Casey (hip sprain) and infielder Alex Cora (elbow strain) are playing for the PawSox this afternoon as both continue their rehab assignments.
Cora, who went 2-for-4 in his first appearance on Wednesday, is batting second and will play second base again today against the Durham Bulls. He will play shortstop on Friday and will rejoin the Red Sox this weekend. He said this morning that he's 100 percent. He grounded out in his first at-bat.
Casey is serving as the PawSox' DH today and will play first base on Friday. He singled in his first at-bat.
ATLANTA (AP) - By the time Bill Hargrove was recognized last year as the nation's oldest league bowler, his eyesight had deteriorated so much he could hardly see the pins.
But he kept at it, armed with a mental image of them. He was still bowling last week, just before he was hospitalized and died Monday of congestive heart failure - four days shy of turning 107.
Hargrove died at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, a spokeswoman said Thursday. He lived nearby in Clermont.
He earned national attention in May 2007, after turning 106, when the United States Bowling Congress dubbed him "the oldest league bowler ever."
Hargrove began bowling in 1924. For decades, he played a version known as duckpin bowling. As duckpins faded, Hargrove took up the more popular form of bowling, played with a larger ball. He said it helped him cope with the 1973 death of his wife, Johnnie Ruth Carter Hargrove, and gave him something to look forward to after he retired.
"I love it," Hargrove said when the league honored his longevity. "It puts you on trial as far as your ability. And your ability comes and goes. I'm fighting it all the time."
"Bowling kept him fit, and I'm sure having something like that, something that you really love, keeps you going," said Sandra Hargrove Carnet, 59, Hargrove's only child. "But he never became retired from the world. He stayed out there, interacted with people and the world. He just really enjoyed being part of the community, and that's what ultimately contributed to his longevity."
Projo CeltsTalk with KMac: Will LeBron strike back?
Click the play button below to hear Kevin McNamara preview tonight's Celtics-Cavaliers Game Two. The topics: Cleveland should feel better about Game One than Boston, the NBA must have been cringing on Tuesday, getting Ray Allen back on the scoreboard might be easier than getting Pierce there, and Sam Cassell's Game One contribution.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: a tough, tough way to lose a game, Julio Lugo's channeling of Edgar Renteria, whether there's a market for Julian Tavarez, and the struggles of tonight's Tigers starter, Justin Verlander.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports today that David Sanborn, a Red Sox fan from Oceanside, Calif., has been ordered to pay about $25,000 for his role in a bar fight in 2006 with Mario Melendez, a Yankee fan. Melendez sued for damages because he injured his hand when he punched Sanborn (Melendez said the punch was in self-defense). No criminal charges were filed in the incident, but a Superior Court jury on Tuesday awarded Melendez $15,297 for medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering; and $10,000 in additional punitive damages.
Sanborn, a Massachusetts native, claimed that Melendez challenged him to a fight and then sucker-punched him.
The Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins, who meet Friday night to begin their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals series, don't like each other very much. That much we know. Once upon a time, Pittsburgh and Philly fans weren't too chummy either, but that was when the Pirates and the Phillies played in the same division and were both good. Now there's not too much of a rivalry between the cities, but maybe that's all about to change.
As the Philadelphia Inquirer reports today, Philly is abuzz over rumors of a pending attack by Penguins fans on the Rocky statue in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Pens fans are supposedly interested in adorning the fictional boxer with a Pittsburgh jersey. Angelo Cataldi, former Journal staffer and current Philadelphia talk show host, has suggested posting a big, scary-looking guy with "menacing facial hair" in front of the statue to protect it. But he discourages violence, saying "you gotta look so scary that they wouldn't try [anything]."
On today's sports cover, Steve Krasner writes about last night's strange Red Sox loss at Detroit, Robert Lee reports that the Celtics defense in Game One set a tough standard to follow, and Tom Meade spends some time with Ken Read, who is preparing to lead his yachting crew on a race around the world.
Anyone who follows golf in New England knows the names Parajeckas, Dantas and Kirby. All have been frequent contenders in regional events and they were again yesterday.
There was one difference this time. While the names are familiar, not all the faces are.
The Parajeckas who won medalist honors in U.S. Open qualifying at The Shelter Harbor Club in Charlestown, R.I., was Jason Parajeckas. He is a December graduate the University of Connecticut who recently turned pro. He is the son of Paul Parajeckas, the head pro at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, Mass., and a player who not only has won numerous New England events but also has competed on the Champions Tour.
Jason Parajeckas recorded a 2-under 69 that included a 31 on the back nine. He began his run by chipping in for birdie on the 10th hole.
Jeff Dantas, a Seekonk, Mass., resident who owns his own golf teaching center, took second with a 70 and Eddie Kirby, the head pro at Alpine Country Club and a former PGA Tour player, was third among the 43 players with 71.
Pedro Martinez still working toward return from DL
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Pedro Martinez is scheduled to throw a side session on Friday in Florida, another step in the pitcher's rehabilitation from a strained left hamstring.
Martinez threw a side session on Tuesday, and the Mets are waiting to see how he comes out of it before his next workout. It hasn't been determined yet whether he will be throwing to hitters or just a catcher.
"Until Pedro gets on the mound where he starts moving around, he's just doing his rehab, so there's nothing to report that's significant," manager Willie Randolph said.
"I get reports on him, but basically they just said he got his work in, did his core work, that kind of stuff. That's what I get on my Blackberry. The main thing for him is when he gets on the mound and into some games, then I can give you guys a heads-up on what he's doing. But right now he's just basically stretching his arm out and doing his exercises."
BOSTON (AP) - LeBron James says the rest of the series between his Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics won't look anything like the first game.
James says he won't miss 16 of 18 shots or commit 10 turnovers. And he says don't expect Celtics Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to struggle, as they did in Boston's 76-72 win Tuesday.
James added that one thing that won't change is the physical defense both teams played, which essentially shut down him, Pierce and Allen.
James said he thought Cleveland played pretty well, but their shots weren't falling.
Cleveland coach Mike Brown said the Cavaliers must improve their ball movement and more aggressively drive to the basket.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: The old guys can still pitch
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: the combined shutout by 41-year-old Tim Wakefield and 42-year-old Mike Timlin; the first throwing session of the year for 41-year-old Curt Schilling; Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz becoming a force in the middle again; and the MLB Players Association's investigation of the owners' failure for not finding a job for Barry Bonds.
Right now on our Fantasy Sports Blog, you can find updated position-by-position hitter rankings, complete rankings for starting and relief pitchers, plus Michael Salfino's weekly Baseball by the Numbers column. This week, he looks at guys who like to run, and picks the guys who bring more to the table than just their speed.
Taking a page from the Boston Celtics' playoff playbook, the Providence Bruins have lost three straight road games to the Portland Pirates, and now will have to win two straight at the Dunkin' Donuts Center if they hope to continue their tremendous season.
All three of Providence's losses have been by one goal (after the P-Bruins had won the first two games by a combined 11-1 score), and two of them have come in overtime.
After his team went the distance with Celtics, Hawks GM will resign
ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta Hawks general manager Billy Knight is stepping down.
The announcement comes after the Hawks ended a nine-year playoff drought and forced the Boston Celtics to a Game 7 in a first round playoff series that ended Sunday.
He said Wednesday he is resigning from the organization effective July 1.
The 55-year-old Knight spent six years with the organization. His best season came this year, as the Hawks had a 37-45 regular season record and broke a nine-year playoff drought.
Knight says in a statement he's "leaving the organization in much better shape than it was in when I took over."
It goes on for about six minutes, some of which is pretty hilarious. Here's an excerpt: "Twenty years from now, you're going to see me, riding in a drop-top Hummer, butt-naked, with some ankle socks on, and a headband -- Boston Celtics headband -- standing up driving, from Boston to California."
On today's sports cover, Kevin McNamara and Robert Lee, and photographer Glenn Osmundson, have coverage of the Celtics' Game One Eastern Conference semifinal victory over LeBron James and the Cavs, while Paul Kenyon is in Detroit with the story of the Red Sox' fifth straight win.
Charlie Blanchard began his day today with a lost ball and ended it with a new trophy for winning still another golf championship.
Blanchard, the reigning Rhode Island Golf Association player of the year, took the RIGA’s season-opening event, the Burke Memorial. He posted a 75 at Newport which, added to his opening 69 at Wanumetonomy, gave him a 36-hole total of 144.
That was three shots better than Swansea’s Jon Costa, who also had a closing 75 for 147, work that included a birdie on the final hole. Valley’s Shane Rice had the best score of the second day, a 70, to take third at 148.
Blanchard began the second round with a three-shot lead but saw it disappear quickly. The lefty pushed his tee shot into an overgrown area on the opening hole. He never found the ball, had to go back and re-tee and was happy to get away with a bogey on the par-5 hole. He three-putted the par-3 fourth for a double bogey.
``I had a 12-footer and got a little too aggressive on the first putt,’’ he said.
As the players made the turn, Blanchard, Fenner Hill’s Jason Hull and Wanumetonomy’s Luke Hyder were within one shot of each other for the lead. Hyder, playing at Wanumetonomy, struggled coming home. Hull birdied the par-5 10th to tie Blanchard.
The pivotal swing came on the other par-5 on the back side, the 12th. Hull hit his tee shot into the trees and bogeyed. Blanchard hit a good drive, then a rescue within eight feet.
``I thought I made the eagle,’’ he said.
As it was, he settled for birdie. Now he was ahead by two and never gave away control the rest of the way.
The hole-by-hole breakdown for all players in the tournament is available online at rigalinks.org. The RIGA has a new scoring system that will be available through the season.
The plan here is to work arm-in-arm with the RIGA website. It will provide the numbers and we hope to fill in the details on this blog.
A-Rod reveals that he passed out during birth of first daughter
NEW YORK (AP) - Alex Rodriguez passed out during the birth of his first daughter.
"The one nurse had a cold cloth on his head. The other nurse had the blood pressure on his arm. And my mother was like rubbing his back. And he is passed out on a couch. And I am there, in the middle of labor," Cynthia Rodriguez, wife of the New York Yankees star, said on an episode of the YES Network's "YESterdays" that is scheduled to be broadcast Wednesday night.
"And really, I am not being paid much attention to besides the doctor and a couple of nurses," she said. "And he is there moaning. In between pushing, I am going, 'Honey, are you OK?' and 'Are you breathing? Are you OK?' "
Natasha Alexander Rodriguez was born on Nov. 18, 2004.
"As tough and big as he seems, he is real wimpy around doctors or any type of medical situation," Cynthia Rodriguez said, according to excerpts released Tuesday by YES. "I don't know why I thought the birth of our child would be different. In the middle of the night, I realized that I needed to go to the hospital. I wake him up. The first thing that comes out of his mouth, 'Can we call your mother?' ... A few hours later, I said, 'I think you can call my mom now.' Uh, and the color came back to his face when I told him he could call my mom."
A-Rod traveled from New York last week and arrived at a Miami-area hospital about 10 minutes after the birth of his second daughter, Ella Alexander Rodriguez, on April 21.
Alex and Cynthia met in 1996 at a gym in Miami.
"I scouted her out for a month," he said. "I wanted to see her routine, and I wanted to see what time she came in, see how consistent she was. And sure enough, she was like a machine. She would come in right after work, and get on the treadmill and do her abs. And finally, I build enough courage after about 31/2 weeks. And I said, 'I know you are going to go do some abs after. And do you mind if I join you?"
Cynthia said she was unaware of his celebrity status at first.
"I know he played baseball, because everybody in the gym said, 'Do you know who that is? And he plays baseball' or whatever," she said. "I didn't grow up in a sports-oriented family. So, I wasn't aware that you could have an entire livelihood off of a sport. So when they would say, 'Oh, he plays baseball,' I always think, 'Oh, I wonder what else he does' - like 'that's a nice hobby - but what does he really do?"
Brown lacrosse coach Lars Tiffany is disappointed that his Bears, the Ivy League co-champions with Cornell, were not selected for the NCAA Division I lacrosse tournament.
But he is more disappointed that Georgetown did not receive a bid. The Hoyas finished 9-4, beat NCAA tournament teams Duke by four goals and Navy on the road in overtime, played a schedule that included Maryland, Syracuse, Delaware and UMass, the 2007 national runner-up, and were ranked No. 11 in the USILA poll.
“And look what it did for them? Maybe that’s not the answer,” Tiffany said Monday night, referring to strength of schedule as a criterion for selection. He was taking a break from responding to close to 200 e-mails and 50 telephone messages left in the wake of Brown’s 6-5 victory over Princeton Saturday, knocking the Tigers from the Ivy League race and securing a share of the title.
“I’m more upset about Georgetown than about us,” he said.
Tiffany knew his team, ranked No. 13, was on the bubble before the selections were announced Sunday night. The 11-3 Bears lost to Hofstra, Denver and Cornell, all NCAA tournament teams, and they beat only two teams that finished with winning records.
“We were on the wrong side of the bubble,” he said with a laugh.
Tiffany is concerned that the selection committee is relying too much on number crunching and not enough on deliberations.
“We would have loved if there had been a conversation,” he said. “The last three or four years they have migrated away from committee to hard quantitative analysis.”
Tiffany guessed that Navy, Drexel and Brown were in the running for the last at-large bid.
“When they named Navy to play North Carolina, the wind left our sails,” he said. “And when Denver came up, we knew we were dead. That’s when it was time for me to talk to the team and focus on 2008.”
It was a great season. The Bears won 10 of their last 11 games and shared the Ivy title for the first time since 1995. Jordan Burke, the junior goalie, established himself as one of the best in the nation and should receive All-Ivy and All-America consideration. He was a three-time Ivy League player of the week. Monday night he received the Fritz Pollard ’19 Trophy as Brown's outstanding male varsity athlete of the year.
The NCAA Tournament starts this weekend. The quarterfinals will be May 17-18 at Cornell and Navy and the semifinals May 24 and final May 26 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro at 1 p.m. The Division II championship will be May 25 at Gillette at 4:30 and the Division III final May 25 at Gillette at 1:30.
The Division I women’s semifinals and final will be at Towson University in Maryland. The Division II women’s tournament is taking place in Houston and the Division III women’s semifinals and final at Roanoke College in Salem, Va.
Curt Schilling made 25 tosses from a distance of 60 feet from 1:43 to 1:49 this afternoon at Comerica Park, the first time he has thrown a baseball this spring as he continues to rehabilitate his right shoulder.
The session went well. He will repeat the workout on Thursday.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: Daisuke Matsuzaka's inability to control his pitches, Craig Hansen's inability so far to seize the opportunity handed to him, Mike Lowell's first RBIs of the season, and the inconsistency of the Detroit Tigers.
Projo CeltsTalk with KMac: Previewing the Cavaliers series
Click the play button below to hear Kevin McNamara discuss the Celtics' Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. How would Kevin draw up a plan to slow LeBron James? Did the Cavaliers make themselves better with their big midseason trade? How do the C's attack the Cleveland defense?
