All Sport Report

It has been a busy weekend for sport, with 3 key matches coming to a close on a global scale:

Formula 1 - The Flying Fin - Kimi Raikonnen, pips British rookie Lewis Hamilton and last years champion Fernando Alonso in the final race at Interlagos, Brazil. Kimi had not lead the championship since the first race, however he finished with a phenominal 2nd half to the season and beat the feuding McClarens who drove themselves out of the points repeatedly during the final races in a bid to best each other.

MLB - the Boston Red Sox defeated Cleveland 11-2 in game 7 of the ALCS, firing them into the World Series. They scored and impressive 6 runs in the bottom of the 8th to clinch the victory.

Rugby World Cup - South Africa become world champions defeating England 15-6, amid the outcries of a “dubious” decision by the video referee that disallowed what appeared to be an England try, (which would have, at the time, cut the score from 9-3 to 9-8) the springboks captivated a dream world cup in which they cruised through the entire competition, and ending Englands dream of back to back world cups, and the opportunity to do so by winning 3 consecutive games as the underdogs (beating Australia in the 1/4 finals and home nation France in the semi’s)

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The NFL are always pushing to get kids playing football, after all, it is a great sport for exercise, tackles obesity, and helps to build skills such as working within in a team and hand-eye co-ordination. But the biggest thing is the experience, and the chance to become a great professional sports player, its a huge opportunity, and just think of that kind of opportunity when kids such as this have talent:

Cody Paul, a name to remember perhaps?

As highlighted in a previous report, on Sunday British rookie Lewis Hamilton will be fighting for the F1 championship.
But before that, on Saturday, England will be taking on South Africa in the final of the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup. The two teams were in the same group at the start of the world cup, and in the previous match England were well and truly hammered by the springboks 36-0, but after hitting their form, dispatching the highly rated Aussie’s and the home side of France, they will be looking for a 3rd successive upset as they go in as the underdogs.

But, not only will they be going into the final with the memories of the loss from a month ago, and the pressure of being the first team to winback to back world cups, they will also be without Josh Lewsey, one of the standout wingers in rugby. He limped off during the first half against France and the England team doctor Simon Kemp has ruled him out after scans were taken of his leg, although nothing else has been said about the injury.

Lewsey, who was a member of the 2003 World Cup team that won the tournament, will remain in France with the squad. He also stated:
“I have done all i can, now is the time to get behind the team”

Regardless of injuries to the squad, come Saturday England will be facing a huge test against a side that has cruised almost effortlessly through the tournament, could we be seeing the fate of it all resting on Johnny Wilkinson’s left foot once again?

The answers to that question are obvious:

- Besides a major injury setback, the Pats will be coming out of week 9 with either home field advantage or the other advantage of knowing what the Colts may try should they meet again in the post-season.

- LT is not done yet, 4 TD’s and 198 yards rushing, while still being eclipsed by rookie Peterson’s numbers, it could be the start of something big for the future hall of famer. and i say future hall of famer for both LT and Peterson (he is THAT good).

- Defensive co-ordinators can’t prepare you for everything, all the tape available from the first 5 weeks, and despite missing any big kind of attacking prowess, Adrian Peterson still rolled over the Bears for 224 yards, and he did it behind a line that can’t be considered anywhere near the best in the league, while the Bears stacked up against him. And on the other side of the ball? They are STILL kicking to Hester, it’s simple, on kickoff’s give them the start on the 40, the Bear’s offense is inconsistent, look for turnovers. And on punt’s, give the ball to the crowd! just go for it on 4th and 21, its all better than just giving them an easy 7 points!

- Old dogs, new tricks? Of course im talking about Testaverde, 21 straight seasons with a TD, mind you, he is still more mobile than Drew Bledsoe ever was, but throwing for over 200 yards after only having a few days to get to know the offense is some going, kudos to you old man, kudos…

- If strange men offer you the cover of a certain game, turn it down. I am a firm believer of the Madden curse, so is Tomlinson, and he quickly turned down the offer to be on the cover of ‘08. Vince Young did not, and so far he has thrown only 3 TD’s but 6 interceptions, has a rating of 68.0 and for a mobile QB has only gone for 129 rushing, and then to top it off he hurt his quadriceps against the Bucs and sat out the rest of the game.

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In precisely 8 days time and 1 race, the Formula 1 season will be finished, and the title race is the closest it has been for years (the first time since 1986 there have been 3 drivers gunning for the championship in the final race).

Currently on top is British rookie and McClaren driver Lewis Hamilton, who could have taken the title last week, but in treachourous conditions, his tyres were worn so far that the canvas was showing, and when he pulled into the pits, he slid off under braking into the gravel trap immedietly outside the pits, and no amount of pushing from the Chinese stewards could move the beached car. This leaves Hamilton (107 points) going into the final race (Brazil) with “only” a 4 point lead, which means if he finishes 1st or 2nd, he will become the champion ahead of his team mate Fernando Alonso (103).
However, If Hamilton finished 3rd and Alonso wins, they will be tied on points however Alonso will have one more 1st place, and will take the title, there are dozens of other possibilities involving tied points, but anything other than the above scenario between those two will result in Hamilton taking the title thanks to him having one more 2nd place finish.

Then there is the outside chance, Kimi Raikonnen, aka the Flying Fin, and he has certainly lived up to that nickname in the latter half of the season. He currently stands at 100 points, so if Hamilton finishes 5th or better, or Alonso finishes 2nd, then Kimi is out. But the way the second half of the F1 season has gone so far, anything could happen.

A complete listing of all the possible finishes at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix.
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It’s week 6 of the NFL season, and everything has been turned upside down, at least, in the NFC it has…but first, the “big showdown”, the 5-0 Pats at the 5-0 ‘Boys, Only the 5th time in history that two teams at 5-0 or better have faced off, but whats making this headline news across the board is that of the receivers, or as everyone else has been talking about, the 81 showdown, T.O. vs. Moss.
T.O. struck first, after practice leaving a note on his locker, which read as follows:
“Dear Reporters,

“p.s. Getcha Popcorn Ready.”

Of course the “other 81″ he is referring to is Randy Moss, who is letting his stats do the talking as he currently leads the NFL with 34 receptions for 551 yards and 7 TD’s. and while T.O.’s numbers aren’t shabby, (21 receptions/387 yds/3 TD’s) he certainly isn’t letting the stats take his spotlight. But then there is the QB situation, or rather, the shoot-out situation, since this is how the match is shaping up to be (that could be down to the lacklustre pass defence of the Cowboys). Romo will be playing his 16th career start, and when compared to Tom Brady’s first 15 games, or anybodys for that matter, Romo is on fire, throwing for over 4,000 yards and having a rating over 100, but coming off a game in which he threw 5 interceptions and fumbled the ball, its going to require a big return to form to go against the current number 1 defence in the NFL. But we are looking at a team that has improved from last year, and they beat the 9-0 Colts.
My prediction: even i have to respect how well the Pats are playing right now and go against my fave team; Pats 38-21 Cowboys.
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It’s September. That means all of the top baseball teams are scrambling to win games and make their way into the playoffs. For the AL, that means the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, and Detroit Tigers are going head to head in a desperate attempt to win the Wild Card position. While there is a lot of discussion over which team will get the AL Wild Card slot, talk of the NL pennant race has been practically mum!

The Tigers and Mariners had the distinct advantage of knocking each other down some games since they played one another. While the Tigers won the first two of the three game series, the Mariners weren’t about to let the Tigers get one step closer to moving ahead of them (just behind the Yankees). Today, the Tigers lost 14-7, at Comerica Field. Felix Hernandez started for the Mariners and in actuality he really didn’t control the ball game. Hernandez gave up multiple runs and hits to the Tigers, but that didn’t seem to matter.

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New Orleans Loses in NFL Opener

Ok, so my record is 0-1, but this week isn’t over yet. For some reason, Payton Manning had all the right moves and the Saints (even with the talent of Brees and Bush) just didn’t have what it took to take Manning down. This is just the first game of the season. Let’s hope it doesn’t foreshadow how the rest of the games will play out for the Saints this year.

This wasn’t just a win. This was a mess of a game. I hardly recognized the Saints in this game. Sure, the Colts won last year’s Superbowl, but it was a new year and in football who wins one year doesn’t necessarily reflect on how well they play the next. However, this opening game, in which the Colts won 41-10, seems to be the prelude to another season the Colts will dominate.

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University of Michigan took a stunning drop in the AP polls this week going from number five to unranked in the top 25 list. The AP expanded their polls to list the top 25 teams in 1989. Since that time no team has tumbled farther than Michigan did this week. The cause of the tumble was a loss to Appalachian State, a team that cannot even be ranked in the AP poll.

Despite other losses on the board, it was the 34-32 loss of Michigan that got the attention of sports fans and caused them to take the hardest hit. Most of the other teams failed to even move on the poll. Another team to fall off the rankings was number 19, Florida State. Their drop was due to the loss at Clemson (24-18). With Florida State out, Clemson moved in. Georgia Tech also made it into the Top 25 thanks to their win against Notre Dame (33-3), which almost made U of M’s loss look like nothing in comparison.

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With the first official NFL game being played on September 6, 2007, it’s time to pick the winners for Week 1. With what is turning out to be a surprisingly good pre-season (filled with drama, the shadows of criminal activity (Vick anyone?) and plenty of great game plays), the unexpected is bound to happen once the NFL main season gets underway.

I find that the hardest games to predict tend to occur during the first few weeks of the season. This does not take away from the fun that is involved in predicting each game. I’m going to try and explain my motivation for choosing each team. Anyone who wants to compete in the NFL prediction game can leave their predictions (with or without explanations) in the comment section. I look forward to seeing what teams everyone else will be predicting to win.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis Colts

While the Colts made it to the Superbowl (and won) last year, the New Orleans Saints were last year’s underdogs turned superstars. This pre-season has shown the Saints still have what it takes to win a football game while the Colts have been nothing more than a disappointment (what gives Peyton?!). While I may be a bit biased in this selection, and I do believe this will be a close game, I have to go with my team on this one.

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My favorite time of year is College Football season. With my Big Ten, U of M Wolverines set to play on September 1, 2007 I was anxiously anticipating the first game of the season. I even planned to have a little party. That was until I found out that I CANNOT watch the game. Why, do you ask? Because it will be played on the Big Ten Network, a network I would have if the network and my digital cable provider, Comcast, could reach an agreement. Sure, they are playing a smaller school, Appalachian State, but shouldn’t I still have the right to see the game?

With the game only a few days away, my spirit has been crushed. I haven’t missed watching a U of M game in years. I have been a fan of the Wolverines since I was a child. I dislike the fact that the network makes it so we have to rely on our cable or satellite services to purchase the channel, especially since not every service provider is hip to comply with the network’s requests. For example, Comcast, which services over 40% of Big Ten country, is holding out due to financial reasons.

The Big Ten Network (and its parent company, Fox Sports) wants Comcast to put the Big Ten Network in its Basic Cable package. To do this, Comcast would have to up every person who has Comcast’s bill by $13 per year. That doesn’t seem so terrible, in terms of price (just over $1 a month). However, Comcast believes that this network has a niche audience and therefore does not want to force people who do not like sports to pay the increased amount.

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You’d think that after everything Michael Vick had done (66 dogs were seized from his home, they found something called rape stands (used to make the dogs more mean and aggressive - and yes they were used for what the name implies) in his possession, he participated (and admitted to it) in the murder of dogs, and he admitted to running a dog fighting ring near his home) that the Atlanta Falcons would wise up and fire him.

This is not the case. Michael Vick may still have a place in the Atlanta Falcons lineup, waiting for him, if/when he gets out of jail. That guilty admission should have been the thing to make the Falcons kick Vick off the team, but at this point, he will remain suspended until his plea has been filed and his punishment has been doled out.

Sponsors like Nike have already bid Vick adieu, not wanting the negative publicity to affect their sales, and rightfully so. Still, Vick has some people on his side. His Momma still loves him, and has defended her baby to the NY Post. Entertainer, Jamie Foxx has taken sides and remains in Vick corner. Even the owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank, seems to be willing to look past the “terrible mistake” Vick made, and possibly give him another chance.

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I thought I’d let you all have a laugh. These sports bloopers are quite funny so I thought I’d share them with all of you. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what your favorite blooper is. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sports, Bloopers, Funny Accidents, You Tube

With so many new, young pitchers starting for the Detroit Tigers this year, we have to ask ourselves, where have some of the pitchers gone? While pitchers like Andrew Tata and Jair Jurrjens have been called up from places like Toledo and Erie, one Detroit starter was actually re-assigned on what is being called a rehab assignment. Andrew Miller, the 22 year old, who was a first round draft pick in 2006, was sent to play for Detroit’s AAA team, the Toledo Mud Hens.

The Mud Hens who are having a stellar season, may not have wanted the pitcher to come their way, because with him, he has brought the pitching problems that have plagued the Tigers the entire second half of this season immediately preceding the All-Star Game. Miller pitched for the Mud Hens last night (August 15) for the first time against Richmond. Luckily, the Mud Hens have a good enough team to handle pitching trouble, because without it, Andrew Miller would have bombed in his debut.

Despite giving up five runs in one inning, the Mud Hens still managed to beat the Braves by a score of 8-7. In the troublesome inning by the former Detroit pitcher, Miller walked three and gave up four hits. You would have to imagine the Mud Hens were sweating after this tumultuous round. Miller pitched for three innings, unable to pitch more than 75 pitches in the game. He pitched at least 39 pitches in the first inning, though eventually he did seem to settle down and find his groove.

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David Beckham helped his new football team, the L.A. Galaxy win the first game in which he played. The Galaxy beat the D.C. United 2-0 with one goal scored by the British superstar player. His first appearance in the MLS was playing for the Galaxy in the SuperLiga semifinals. While there was a lot of speculation about how Beckham would do in his first American football performance his team and fans were more than pleased with the way things transpired.

Beckham scored during a free kick that took place within the first 30 minutes of the game. He also had a hand in the second goal, passing to Landon Donovan, who scored, and receiving an assist for his efforts. This was scored a little over a quarter of an hour into the game making the score 2-0 and sealing the win for the Galaxy.

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