Posts Tagged ‘sports’
Posted by Richard on November 10, 2007
How 'bout them Vols?!?
Last year, Arkansas embarrassed Tennessee. This year, the Vols avenged that humiliating defeat by crushing the Razorbacks, 34-13, in a game not as close as the score would indicate:
Tennessee (7-3, 4-2 SEC) held Arkansas' powerful rushing game largely at bay, controlling the clock and the line of scrimmage in a 34-13 victory Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
While the 'Hogs Darren McFadden ran for 117 yards on 22 carries, he did not reach the end zone and his longest carry only went for 20 yards — a far cry from his 321-yard performance last week against South Carolina.
Meanwhile, Arian Foster rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, and his 59-yard run in the third quarter put the Vols in command, 27-3. A strong rushing effort allowed Tennessee to have the football for more than 33 minutes, fulfilling a pregame goal by keeping the ball out of McFadden's dangerous hands.
The Vols now control their own destiny. If they can beat Vandy and Kentucky, they'll win the SEC East and face (gulp) the LSU Tigers (now #1 in the nation, after Ohio State's loss) for the SEC Championship.
The victory should quiet the critics calling for coach Phil Fulmer's head. On Friday, almost 200 former Tennessee players told the critics to shut up:
The former players took out a full-page advertisement in The Knoxville News Sentinel on Friday, printing a letter that said the cries for Fulmer to be fired were "laughable — if the potential consequences weren't so serious."
The letter was signed by 191 former Vols, including Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: football, sports, tennessee | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Richard on October 30, 2007
The Broncos failed to turn the corner tonight. That's a pun, sort of. I remember when the Broncos signed Dré Bly, people were talking about how awesome the Broncos' pass defense would be. Bly and Champ Bailey are widely acknowledged to be the two best cornerbacks in the NFL, and among the best corners ever to play the game. Some fans salivated over how many INTs the two of them would collect, while others speculated that opponents wouldn't even try to throw deep against them.
Bret Favre burned each of the super corners for a long TD. The second, against Bly, went for 82 yards and ended the shortest overtime in NFL history — one play, 15 seconds, Packers win.
But really, the Broncos blew this game in regulation. As time was winding down, they failed to punch it into the end zone for the umpteenth time this season. Trailing by 3 with the ball on the five, 3rd and 2 with 20-some seconds to play and no time outs, Cutler ran for the first down — one of the stupidest plays ever.
Fortunately, the kicking team was able to pull off another miracle and line up in record time, and Elam tied the game with no time on the clock. But why, oh why, not try another pass into the end zone? The one on 2nd down to Marshall just barely failed. Assuming you don't screw up and throw an interception, at worst an incomplete pass stops the clock and makes the field goal a little less iffy. At best, you win the game.
And if they'd won in regulation and avoided the overtime, they'd have avoided the embarrassment of having the whole Broncos organization convinced that Green Bay would run on first down when Mike McCarthy and Bret Favre had other plans.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: broncos, colorado, denver, football, sports | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Richard on October 29, 2007
First, the good news: Football fans attending the Broncos-Packers game Monday night at Mile High won't face the traffic nightmare that had been predicted for downtown Denver.
Now, the bad news: The hoped-for traffic nightmare isn't going to materialize because 50,000 fewer people will be heading for downtown Monday evening. There won't be a Game 5 of the World Series. The Red Sox swept the Rockies.
Bummer. But a great year for the Rockies nonetheless. They won the pennant in near-miraculous fashion, at one point just one strike from elimination. They can be proud of how far they came this year, and they're a young team.
The storybook ending will just have to wait.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: baseball, colorado, denver, football, sports | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Richard on October 28, 2007
I admit it — I gave up on the Rockies trailing 6-0 and switched to the Tennessee – South Carolina game. I'm glad I did. The Vols led 21-0 at halftime, but completely collapsed in the second half, giving up 24 unanswered points. Trailing by 3 with a minute and change to play, they sucked it up, got within field goal range (barely), and freshman kicker Dan Lincoln tied the game from 48 yards out. In overtime, they scored another field goal from 27, and then held the Gamecocks. The 40-yard field goal to tie was wide, and the Vols had a critical win to keep their conference hopes alive.
Back to the Rockies. It looked hopeful when they made it 6-5, but once again the pitching just wasn't up to the job. Seeing the hand writing on the wall, I started drinking heavily in the 8th. Rum and Fresca, my low-cal fave.
Sox win 10-5, take 3-0 lead. Details are in your morning paper. Bummer. Time for a nightcap. Or two. Buffalo Trace, a damn fine bourbon:
Light bronze in color with streaks of gold, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey bears a complex aroma of vanilla, mint, and molasses. Its taste is pleasantly sweet and contains notes of brown sugar and spice that give way to oak and leather. The long and dry finish has significant depth. When enjoyed with water, flavors of toffee, dark fruit and anise are revealed.
How 'bout them Vols?
UPDATE: Line of the night, from a hometown fan at a local watering hole: "Even if they [Rockies] lose, we still get to live here, and they have to live in Boston." I'll drink to that.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: baseball, colorado, denver, football, sports, tennessee, vols | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Richard on October 24, 2007
For the umpteenth time in the past week, some brain-dead schlub of a sports reporter today asked Rockies manager Clint Hurdle to speculate about how harmful the team's eight-day layoff before the World Series was. This time, Hurdle had the perfect response: "We will not apologize for winning quickly."
Pow!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: baseball, colorado, denver, sports | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Richard on October 21, 2007
If you stayed with that lopsided ALCS game, you missed one hell of a football game on ESPN. There's nothing better than SEC football, as demonstrated again tonight by LSU and Auburn. The second half was tremendous, and LSU's final-second, come-from-behind victory? Well, you just had to see it to believe it.
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.
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No, I don't want to talk about the Tennessee-Bama game.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: football, sports | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Richard on October 16, 2007
Watching the Rockies take a 6-1 lead into the 8th, I was wondering: if I'd offered to bet two years ago, or last year, when they were tied for last in the NL West — or, heck, earlier this season after their 1-9 road trip — that the Rockies would go to the World Series before the end of the decade, what kind of odds would I have gotten? Pretty long, I suspect.
Well, they're going! The team that was one strike from elimination won the pennant. The D-backs made it exciting, scoring 3 runs in the 8th. With two outs and a runner on third, Clint Hurdle pulled Fuentes and told closer Manny Corpas "Tonight, you've got to get us four outs instead of three."
Corpas delivered. It ended 6-4, appropriately with a great throw to first by Tulowitzki.
The superlatives just keep piling up for this young team. 21 of 22. Seven straight playoff wins. Best team fielding percentage in the history of Major League Baseball. What's most noteworthy to manager Clint Hurdle? He couldn't say enough about the character of his players.
Congrats on a great season to the very young Diamondbacks (who last year were tied for last with the Rockies). They fought hard to come back in the 8th and 9th, making for an exciting finish and showing a lot of character themselves.
But Todd Helton had the line of the night: "We're not done yet."
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: baseball, colorado, denver, sports | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Richard on October 15, 2007
It was a cold, wet night in Denver, but the Rockies remained red hot. They just won their sixth straight playoff game 4-1, their 20th win in 21 games. In the first three games against the Dbacks, they've given up only four runs. They're one win away from a second sweep and the World Series. Wow.
Tonight's interesting baseball fact: the last team to win 19 of 20 after September 1 was the 1977 Royals, and Rockies manager Clint Hurdle played on that team.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: baseball, colorado, denver, sports | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Richard on October 13, 2007
Win #19 in the last 20! The Rockies beat the Diamondbacks 3-2 in the 11th, becoming the first team in 31 years to start the post-season with five straight wins. The Dbacks walked in the winning run.
The Rockies take a 2-0 lead back to Coors Field Sunday night. Keep those brooms handy, Rockies fans!
And if you're going to the game Sunday, take a sweater and a jacket. The temp may be in the 30s, and rain is possible. The Broncos have a bye week (and will be trying to figure out why they can't do anything right), so this town will definitely be Rockies crazy.
Rocktober rolls on! Unbe-frickin-lievable.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: baseball, colorado, denver, sports | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Richard on October 12, 2007
Rockies 5, Diamondbacks 1. At Phoenix. Against the D-Backs' best pitcher. Win #18 in the last 19 games. Is this team hot, or what? Three more wins to the World Series, baby!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: baseball, colorado, denver, sports | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Richard on October 7, 2007
The Rockies swept the Phillies! The Rockies swept the Phillies! The Rockies swept the Phillies!
Yeah, I'm a bit excited (and just a bit inebriated). Like I said the other day, I'm not a huge baseball fan. But I admire the hell out of this team and its achievements in the past month. Tonight's 2-1 win (the winning run came from 3 singles in the 8th after 2 outs) was the 17th in the last 18 games. Incredible. Look out, D-Backs, Rocktober rolls on!
It's been a great sports Saturday, IMHO. This afternoon, Tennessee shocked #12 Georgia 35-14 in a game not as close as the score would suggest. It looks like the Vols finally found a defense, and their running game looked great.
This evening, I kept flipping back and forth between the Rockies game and the LSU-Florida football game, which was a thriller. Florida's Tebow is something else, making the previously awesome LSU defense look merely mortal. But after trailing all game, LSU scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:09 remaining, and their defense held. We Tennessee fans appreciate the big favor, Tigers!
Sunday, we'll see if the Broncos can find a defense. And the ability to finish drives. Sigh.
UPDATE (Sunday): Defense sucked worse than ever, offense sucked as well, and I turned the slaughter off early. Zombyboy has the details and thoughtful analysis.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: baseball, colorado, denver, football, sports, tennessee | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Richard on October 2, 2007
I'm not a real big baseball fan. When you grow up with not much hand-eye coordination and a poor memory for names and numbers, baseball just doesn't have that much appeal. I've been to a few games at Coors Field and enjoyed them thoroughly, and I watch it on TV occasionally, but I don't closely follow it or keep track of players, stats, and all that.
But I am a big fan of grit, determination, character, courage, and heart — and boy, do these Colorado Rockies have all of that! Tied for a wildcard spot, they played a 163rd game tonight against the Padres. A local sportscaster just said it may be one of the best baseball games ever. I don't know about that, but it was a monumental battle, back and forth through 13 innings. Trailing by 2 runs in the bottom of the 13th, facing the best closer in the game, the Rockies rallied and won:
DENVER (AP) – Matt Holliday raced home on Jamey Carroll's shallow fly ball, capping a stunning, three-run rally in the 13th inning leading the Colorado Rockies into the playoffs.
The run came against Trevor Hoffman and the San Diego Padres for a 9-8 win Monday night and the right to go to the NL wild card.
After Scott Hairston's two-run homer put the Padres ahead in the top of the 13th, Colorado came back against baseball's career saves leader.
The Rockies won the longest one-game tiebreaker in major league history, and advanced to play Philadelphia in the first round.
That's victory number 14 out of the last 15 games. 14 out of 15. Every one of them necessary to make it to the playoffs. Talk about peaking at the right time! Talk about never say die! Go, Rockies!
Baseball in October is a beautiful thing. 🙂
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Posted by Richard on April 5, 2007
Belated congratulations to the Lady Volunteers for winning their seventh NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship Tuesday evening, beating Rutgers 59-46. It was a long time coming. Although they're perennially one of the top women's basketball programs in the country, their last championship was last century — 1998, to be precise.
Of course, 1998 was their third in a row, so they can be forgiven for taking a breather. And it's not like they went into a real slump — they've been in the Final Four six of the last nine years.
Coach Pat Head Summitt is one of the greatest coaches of any sport, men's or women's, ever. She's been coaching at Tennessee for 33 years. When she began, she was just Pat Head, and women didn't play in the NCAA. They had their own Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, an underfunded pale imitation.
Times have changed. This year, Tennessee fans worried that 6'4" Candace Parker might turn pro (she's staying at UT). And the Lady Vols have had a huge fan base for many years. Some are wealthy and generous, as demonstrated at the welcome home celebration attended by 3500 Wednesday night:
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt had a big surprise for her three assistant coaches at the Lady Vols' victory celebration Wednesday.
Holly Warlick and Nikki Caldwell, both former players, and fellow assistant Dean Lockwood were each presented a Mercedes SLK 280 roadster by a local dealership.
The three looked stunned and the players cheered in excitement and ran to the cars that were driven inside the city's convention center, used for the event because Thompson-Boling Arena is undergoing renovations.
I'm in Knoxville for a few days, visiting family and friends, and there are so many people wearing orange, it looks like football season. I swung by the University Center, and the Lady Vols merchandise is flying off the shelves in the bookstore. I may have to pick up a championship T-shirt myself, although I'll be hard-pressed to squeeze it into my suitcase.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: basketball, knoxville, sports, tennessee, vols | 1 Comment »
