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High school hockey playoff results

Division I
Hendricken 4, Toll Gate 0
Mount St. Charles 5, Moses Brown 4, o.t.

Division I-A
Burrillville 4, Lincoln 1
Cranston West 4, Barrington 1

Division II
Smithfield 7, Cumberland 2
Portsmouth 3, St. Raphael 2

Division III
Narragansett 7, Scituate 6
South Kingstown 4, Prout 2

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 8:35 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

What you're saying: High school hockey semifinal predictions

We've been asking readers on HSGametime to predict the winners of the best-of-three boys hockey semifinal series that begin tonight. You can still vote until the series are decided, but we figured we'd give you a snapshot of who your favorites and underdogs are right now.

Division I
-Hendricken, 207 votes; Toll Gate 114 votes (65 percent to 35 percent)
-Mount St. Charles 194 votes; Moses Brown 47 votes (81 percent to 19 percent)

Division IA
-Burrillville 119 votes; Lincoln 32 votes (79 percent to 21 percent)
-Barrington 55 votes; Cranston West 33 votes (63 percennt to 37 percent)

Division II
-Portsmouth 70 votes; St. Raphael 57 votes (55 percent to 45 percent)
-Smithfield 76 votes; Cumberland 70 votes (52 percent to 48 percent)

Division III
-South Kingstown 59 votes; Prout 38 votes (61 percent to 39 percent)
-Scituate 72 votes; Narragansett 41 votes (64 percent to 36 percent)

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:47 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Yanks' Cabrera, Duncan suspended for roles in fight

NEW YORK (AP) - Yankees center fielder Melky Cabrera and first baseman Shelley Duncan were suspended for three games each for their roles in Wednesday's spring-training fracas between New York and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tampa outfielder Jonny Gomes was suspended for two games Friday. All three players were fined along with Yankees manager Joe Girardi, third-base coach Bobby Meacham and hitting coach Kevin Long.

The suspensions, unless appealed, will start at the beginning of the regular season.

Bob Watson, baseball's vice president for discipline, cited Duncan for "violent and reckless actions, which incited the bench-clearing incident," and penalized Cabrera for "violent and aggressive actions during the incident." Gomes was suspended for "violent actions, which escalated" the situation.

Benches cleared during the second inning of Wednesday's game, four days after Girardi complained about Tampa Bay's aggressive play after a collision at the plate that injured catcher Francisco Cervelli.

Duncan slid into Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura with spikes raised after hitting a hard grounder off third baseman Evan Longoria's glove and trying to advance to second base on the play.

Duncan, thrown out by at least 10 feet, was immediately tossed. Gomes was ejected after racing in from right field and barreling into Duncan as other players poured onto the field. No punches appeared to have been thrown as order was restored.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Column: Yankees playing dirty tricks this spring

By Paul Hagen
Philadelphia Daily News

CLEARWATER, Fla. — It might have been different if baseball treated spring-training games for what they really are: largely meaningless exhibitions held mainly so teams can make a few bucks while starting pitchers build up their arm strength for the regular season.

These days, though, the ticket and concession prices and the fancy-schmancy ballparks and the orange-alert level of security around the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues lend an aura of artificial importance to these glorified intrasquad games.

So it’s not surprising that the fans are confused when they show up and the regulars don’t play after the third inning, or the visiting team brings only two players they’ve ever heard of. Nor was it shocking that the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays had a little misunderstanding
about the rules of engagement at this time of year.

To recap: Saturday, Rays runner Elliott Johnson plowed into Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli, breaking Cervelli’s wrist.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi, while conceding Johnson’s slide was clean, was still furious. He wasn’t upset with the play. He was angry because the calendar said March.

“I’m all for playing hard, but I don’t think it’s time to run over a catcher in spring training,” he said. “During the season, I’m all for it . . . But in spring training, I don’t believe in it.”

What Girardi apparently does believe in during spring training is revenge. When the teams met again on Wednesday, Yankees starter Heath Phillips hit Rays third baseman Evan Longoria with a pitch in the first inning. In the second inning, Yankees first baseman Shelley Duncan went into second base spikes high, gashing Akinori Iwamura and igniting a bench-clearing brawl in the process.

The vote here (and all the delegates who go with it) is cast for Tampa Bay.

Look, it’s not that complicated.

Clean, hard plays during spring training: good.

Dirty plays with an intent to injure during spring training, or any other time for that matter: bad.

And if Girardi is already so tightly wound in his first spring that he’s overreacting to incidents like this, how will he handle being in the pressure cooker that managing the Yankees is once things really start to heat up?

CRYSTAL CLEAR

So comedian Billy Crystal’s 60th birthday present was being allowed to play in the Yankees’ exhibition game against the Pirates on Friday. Here’s what some other celebrities told Mike Downey, of the Chicago Tribune, when asked whether they’d be interested in doing the same.
George Lopez: “Yes, I would consider it. I can’t hit or throw, but (White Sox manager) Ozzie Guillen and I would be a perfect fit. I know all the bad words in Spanish.”

George Wendt (Norm on “Cheers”): “I could get on base . . . My belly would be so far over the plate they’d either have to walk me or hit me.”

Comedian and Cubs fan Tom Dreesen had a suggestion for his favorite team: “They should charge rich and famous people the same way NASA charged that rich guy to go into space. Then use that money to buy better pitching.”

NUMEROLOGY

—The Padres took 1,440 baseballs with them to China for a two-game exhibition series against the Dodgers. “I don’t want to run out,” equipment manager Brian Prilaman explained. “I don’t think they’ll have (a sporting goods store) down the street in Beijing.”

—Braves lefthander Mike Hampton is trying to come back after missing the last two seasons because of injuries. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last pitcher to return from that long an absence and win at least 10 games was Schoolboy Rowe in 1946. He was 11-4 for the Phillies after missing two seasons while in the Navy during World War II.

QUOTEHANGER

—Mets righthander Pedro Martinez, on the whereabouts of his Red Sox 2004 World Series ring: “I keep it in a safety-deposit box in New York. With my skinny, ugly fingers, I can’t wear that big thing.”

—Atlanta outfielder Jordan Schafer, the Braves’ top prospect, on being considered cocky: “It’s a really fine line. You can’t be a punk and make people think, ‘He’s young and hasn’t proven himself.’ At the same time, you have to be confident in your ability. If you doubt yourself, you’re not going to play very well.”

BOX SCORE LINE OF THE WEEK

Indians lefthander Aaron Fultz had a night he’d like to forget Wednesday against the Braves: 1/2 IP 8H 9R 7ER 0BB 0S0 1HR.

His one out came on a sacrifice fly.

In other words, he retired only one batter and even that resulted in a run.

RUMOR CONTROL CENTRAL

—With 41-year-old Moises Alou (hernia) out for at least the first month of the season, the New York Daily News reports that the Mets are looking at Pittsburgh’s Xavier Nady and Detroit’s Marcus Thames.

—The two leading contenders to take Brandon Inge off the Tigers’ hands seem to be the Dodgers and Giants, although both teams would expect Detroit to pick up much of the remaining $19.1 million Inge is owed over the next three years.

ET CETERA

—Yes, the Tigers have a formidable lineup. But Joel Zumaya will be out until midseason following shoulder surgery, Todd Jones has a 24.55 earned run average and is saying things like, “I’ve got to figure it out,” and Fernando Rodney won’t be ready until Opening Day. That’s the closer and two primary setup relievers.

—The Cubs granted filmmaker John Scheinfeld permission to make a behind-the-scenes documentary on this season. “If we win the World Series this year (ending a 100-year drought), it’ll probably win an Oscar,” second baseman Mark DeRosa said. “I’ll get to walk on the red carpet. We’re going to Sundance!”

—Twins reliever Pat Neshek was dominant early last season, but had a 4.83 earned run average in the second half. He thinks the fade might have been caused by an unhealthy lifestyle, so he’s become a vegan.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Talk Red Sox baseball today with Joe McDonald

Joe McDonald will be online from noon to 1 p.m. from Fort Myers to take your questions about the team as it gets ready to depart for Japan and the early start to the regular season.

You can send in your questions now: go to projo.com/chat, click launch chat, choose a display name (you don't need a password) and enter the red sox chat room. Remember not to press enter or click send until you have finished typing your question. Questions will display to the room as Joe answers them.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:40 AM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

On today's sports cover, Joe McDonald reviews the Red Sox' catching situation now that Doug Mirabelli is gone, while Art Martone has a column about Mirabelli's place in Sox history. Jim Donaldson, meanwhile, wonders why certain game announcers feel the need to lobby for Tim Welsh's job.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments 0