Ortiz launches two of Boston’s eight homers as Red Sox pound Tigers 20-4

One after another, the baseballs cleared the fences at Fenway Park — a franchise record-tying eight home runs in all for the Boston Red Sox.

And David Ortiz led the way.

The Red Sox DH homered twice and he also doubled for his 2,000th career hit on Wednesday night to lead the Red Sox to a 20-4 romp over the Detroit Tigers.

“I’ve never really seen that many happy faces in the dugout at the same time,” said Ortiz, who was one of a franchise-record seven different Red Sox batters to homer in the game. “It was like lighting a firework. ... I see everybody happy. It’s like the fireworks just keep on coming.”

Boston pulled away in an eight-run sixth inning when Will Middlebrooks hit a grand slam, Ortiz had an RBI double to reach 2,000 and Daniel Nava added a two-run homer. Ortiz homered again in the five-run seventh — the 427th of his career to move past Billy Williams and into 47th on baseball’s all-time home run list.

“Congratulations to David. That’s a heck of a milestone,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “I’m sure the Red Sox fans are proud of him and he’s proud of himself. He’s had a wonderful career and he’s popular here. A very kind man, really. I’m very happy for him. It came against the wrong team, but that’s OK.”

AL East-leading Boston has won nine of 11, taking two out of three from the Central-leading Tigers to hold onto the best record in the league. After scores of 3-0 and 2-1 in the first two games of the series, the Red Sox burst out with a franchise record-tying eight homers and a season-high 20 runs.

Jacoby Ellsbury, Stephen Drew, Mike Napoli and Ryan Lavarnway also homered as the Red Sox turned a game that was tied 4-4 after four innings into a blowout.

“Just a rare and outstanding offensive night tonight,” said Red Sox manager John Farrell, who had Shane Victorino steal second in the fifth inning to try to get the go-ahead run in scoring position. “You think at that point you’re looking to somewhat manufacture a run any way you can. Little did we know it would turn out like it did. ... We had no idea of what was about to take place shortly after that.”

Ryan Dempster (8-9) allowed four runs on six hits and two walks in six innings, striking out seven to win his second straight start since he was suspended for five games for intentionally hitting New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez.

The Red Sox open a four-game series with the Yankees in New York on Thursday night.

Rick Porcello (11-8) gave up nine runs — eight of them earned — on seven hits and four walks in five-plus innings. He allowed three homers, Al Alburquerque gave up two, Jeremy Bonderman allowed two and Evan Reed gave up one.

“That was pretty ugly,” Leyland said. “Obviously we just didn’t a good job of keeping the ball in the ballpark. The Green Monster’s one thing, but you normally don’t see them going out to right field like that. They were hitting them out like ping pong balls.”

Ortiz homered in the fourth to tie the game 4-all, then added an RBI double in the sixth for hit No. 2,000. He waved his batting helmet as he stood on second base while the crowd cheered and home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg helped the Red Sox dugout retrieve the ball.

Ortiz homered the next time up, prompting another standing ovation from the crowd at Fenway Park. The fans remained on their feet until he popped out of the dugout for a curtain call.

Prince Fielder homered for the Tigers, who were without Miguel Cabrera for the third time in four games with a strained abdominal muscle. A reigning triple crown winner, Cabrera leads the majors again with a .355 average with 130 RBIs and is four behind Baltimore’s Chris Davis with 43 homers.

Detroit shortstop Jose Iglesias, who was acquired from Boston at the trading deadline, left in the fifth inning with pain in his shins.

Shane Victorino singled with one out in the fifth, stole second and took third when catcher Alex Avila threw the ball into centre field. On the 11th pitch of his at-bat, Dustin Pedroia hit a sinking line drive that left fielder Andy Dirks caught just off the grass but he could not keep Victorino from tagging up and scoring to make it 5-4.

The Red Sox blew it open with eight in the sixth thanks to a bases-loaded walk, two homers and Ortiz’s double. They added two more in the eighth to make it 20-4.

NOTES: The only other time the Red Sox have hit eight homers in a game was July 4, 1977, against Toronto at Fenway Park. ... Nava has reached base safely in 39 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the majors. ... The Chicago Cubs, run by former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, claimed former Red Sox reliever Daniel Bard off waivers. ... Boston manager John Farrell said Clay Buchholz’s wife gave birth to a daughter. The right-hander will resume his rehab stint with Triple-A Pawtucket in Rochester on Thursday night before joining the Red Sox in New York. ... Porcello had allowed three or fewer runs in 10 of his last 11 starts. But in his career he is 1-3 with a 10.42 ERA against the Red Sox. ... Victorino went over the short wall along the first-base line to retire Austin Jackson and end the fourth inning. Victorino then returned what appeared to be a cellphone to a woman in the front row.

View the original article here

Slumping Toronto FC fires president and GM Kevin Payne

Toronto FC has claimed another body.

The underachieving Major League Soccer club fired president and general manager Kevin Payne.

The club has not made the move official but Payne told The Canadian Press that he was leaving.

“I wish TFC and its supporters all the best,” he said in a text. “I’m confident the team is in a great position heading into next year and I’m proud of that.

“I understand the desire to move forward in a different direction and want nothing but the best for the club.”

Payne said he had no other role with the team but had agreed “to help with the transition.”

The former D.C. United executive arrived in late November with the task of turning around the worst team in Major League Soccer. But progress has been hard to find and the team, which has never made the playoffs, stands tied for 18th in the 19-team league with a 4-12-10 record.

Ultimately Payne paid the price for yet more failure at a franchise that is losing fans as well as matches.

It didn’t help that he was hired before Tim Leiweke took over as president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the team.

Payne, 60, may also have suffered for his penchant for talking. Like the manager he hired — rookie coach Ryan Nelsen — he complained this season about the team getting a raw deal from officials.

That is not Leiweke’s style.

“I tend to believe that sitting here and revisiting those calls doesn’t serve much of a purpose,” the MLSE boss said in a July interview with The Canadian Press. “And so we probably have to as an organization spend less time bitching and more time just moving on and understanding that sometimes that’s the way those calls are going to go.”

Both Payne and Nelsen also complained about the salary cap handcuffs they had inherited.

And Payne liked to talk about his master-plan, detailing imminent player moves that proved to be not so imminent.

Payne also raised some hackles at the club early on when he questioned the fitness level of some players in pre-season without naming names.

“Lots of guys did a great job and came back in great shape,” he said in January. “But there were more than one or two who were not even close to being fit. I have a hard time understanding that. Ryan feels the same way ... There’s just no excuse for it.”

Payne, while clearly dedicated to his task, seemed to come across as thinking he was the smartest man in the room.

Then Leiweke arrived. He oversaw the Los Angeles Galaxy during his time in charge of AEG, helping bring David Beckham and Robbie Keane to the team.

Leiweke spoke favourably of Payne — “He knows where the bodies are buried and he knows what it takes to build a championship team” — in a June 4 in-house interview aired on YouTube.

And he said in July he would wait until the end of the season to assess the team’s management, explaining he didn’t think it was “fair or proper to get into an analysis” mid-season.

Toronto was 2-10-8 at the time. It apparently took Leiweke two wins, two losses and two ties to change his mind.

The club, which plays Saturday in Portland, has eight games remaining this season.

Payne arrived with a flourish, wearing one of his four MLS championship rings to his Toronto FC introduction. The former D.C. United boss routinely wears one of his rings, but wasn’t going to at the news conference in Toronto until wife Pam changed his mind.

“I said to my wife this is weird. For the first time since ‘97 — when I got the ‘96 ring — I’m not going to put on a championship ring,” he related Nov. 28 after being unveiled in Toronto.

“And she said ‘I think you should put it on.’ I said ‘Well, I don’t want to be always talking about D.C.’ She said ‘But you need to get people to aspire to win their own ring. Understand that that’s the goal.’ So that’s why I’m wearing it.”

Payne was Toronto FC’s first president. He became the soccer team’s equivalent to the Leafs’ Brian Burke and the Raptors’ Bryan Colangelo, both of whom have since moved on.

“We found the right guy,” Tom Anselmi, MLSE’s COO, said at the time.

“I think it’s probably THE best signing that we’ll make,” added head coach Paul Mariner, who was soon to be dumped by Payne in favour of Nelsen.

Nelsen is the team’s eighth manager in seven seasons.

Until his resignation as president and CEO just days before joining TFC, Payne had spent 17 years at D.C. United — helping the franchise find its feet in time for the debut MLS season in 1996.

Payne joined a Toronto franchise that has failed to make the playoffs since its inception in 2007, winning just 45 games over those six seasons.

Toronto (5-21-8) posted franchise worsts in 2012 for wins (five), losses (21), points (23), goals against (62) and winless string (14).

“I really love to build things,” he said when asked about why he would take charge of such a floundering franchise.

Payne has helped set the stage for whoever takes over. The team has shed the big contracts of the likes of Torsten Frings and Darren O’Dea and the 2014 salary cap situation will offer far more flexibility.

There is also a base of good young talent at the club. But the franchise continues to disappoint.

View the original article here

Eskimos give conflicting statements on play callers

The strange case of who calls the plays for the Edmonton Eskimos is quickly spiralling into an issue of who calls the shots.

One day after general manager Ed Hervey publicly guaranteed that offensive co-ordinator Doug Sams was done calling plays, Sams announced Wednesday he will still be the one sending the signals to quarterback Mike Reilly when Edmonton hosts the Calgary Stampeders on Friday.

“(It’s) business as usual,” Sams told reporters after the Eskimos completed practice under the sticky heat and hot sun at Commonwealth Stadium. “Nothing’s changed, guys.”

So Sams was asked why Hervey announced Tuesday a change was coming?

“I don’t know,” Sams said. “You’d have to ask him.

“I don’t have an opinion or a comment.”

On Tuesday Hervey, the former Eskimos wide receiver in his first year as GM, was adamant Sams was out as play caller.

“I can guarantee you that the current person who is making the calls (Sams) will have a limited role in calling them,” Hervey said. “I’ve been very disappointed with some of the play-calling at critical times especially on the offensive side.

“That has been addressed last night. It will be addressed following this press conference. I assure you we will see a different offence in how the game is called.”

Hervey promised the gameplan will see more straight-ahead, smashmouth football.

“We will be very simple in how we do things,” Hervey said. “We’re not going to spend a lot of time trying to create different things.”

But on Wednesday, Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed refused to say who would be making the calls Friday night. On Monday, Edmonton scored 27 fourth-quarter points to erase a 37-7 deficit, only to lose a heart-breaking 37-34 decision.

“Being that it’s a short week, we want to make certain we keep as much as close to the vest as possible,” said Reed. “We’re still sorting through Calgary.”

Reed hedged, however, when asked if he will eventually change the play-calling as per Hervey’s directive.

“Your general manager has told you there will be change in play-calling. Will there be a change in play calling?” Reed was asked.

“We have not yet discussed all the details and semantics about what is going to happen Friday night,” Reed responded. “I’m not trying to be adversarial or difficult.

“It is purely about making certain this football team is properly communicated to so that we are in the best possible opportunity to win the game Friday.”

Hervey’s critical remarks were not limited to the play-calling. He also said he wants the team to run straight ahead in short-yardage situations and the defence to attack more and react less.

He also ordered the benching of underperforming offensive lineman Simeon Rottier, an Alberta native. Reilly was sacked seven times Monday and has been hit hard and often this season.

Hervey singled out Rottier, the veteran right guard, as the main culprit and announced Rottier won’t start Friday. Hervey then said he’d be happy if Rottier never played another game this year.

Rottier practised with the team Wednesday. Hervey watched most of the workout from the sidelines but left before it ended.

Rottier said he’s not happy with his performance, either, but will do whatever is necessary to win.

“You’ve still got to be professional and show up to work every day,” he said. “It sucks for me to be talking about this right now because I should be playing better.”

Hervey said Tuesday he was not concerned if by stepping into Reed’s areas of responsibility he was undercutting Reed’s authority or the coach’s ability to lead the locker room. In Hervey’s mind, he’s simply doing what needs to be done.

Hervey said Reed’s job, and those of the other Eskimos coaches, would be evaluated at season’s end.

Reed was asked Wednesday, given the events of the past 24 hours, whether he would even want to return in 2014.

He declined to answer but did deliver his personal thoughts on leadership.

“Leadership is about not being at the centre of attention, but doing what is right for the collective. And that’s what I’m going to focus on,” he said.

Reed also made it clear how he would handle this controversy and future ones.

“I’m going to do what’s right for this franchise,” he said. “When I came here in December 2010 I said we’re going to do things the Edmonton Eskimo way.

“The way I see it as an Edmonton Eskimo, we’re going to handle it in-house. I’m not going to pronounce anything in the media.”

View the original article here

Usain Bolt plans to retire after 2016 Rio Olympics

Usain Bolt plans to retire after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Bolt said Wednesday he wants to win more gold in Rio, set another world record in the 200 metres next year, and perhaps win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.

“So far, (it) is after the Olympics in Rio,” Bolt said of his retirement plans. “I think if I am in great shape, I’ll go there and do what I have to do. I think it will be a good time to retire, on top.”

var Perform ='Perform Sports Video Player';

Winning another three golds in Moscow last month made him the most decorated athlete in world championship history with eight gold and two silvers. He has six gold medals from the Olympics.

“If I want to be among the greats of (Muhammad) Ali and Pele and all these guys I have to continue dominating until I retire,” Bolt said ahead of his final race this season in the 100 at Friday’s Van Damme Memorial.

Bolt won the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and at last year’s London Games. He won the same triple at the 2009 worlds before repeating that feat in Moscow last month.

At 27, Bolt has the experience to know that a lax season midway between Olympics can hurt him. In 2010, a soft entry into the year and subsequent injury cost him almost a full season.

“I kind of didn’t do much in the off-season and then got injured and had to start from scratch. So this season, I will not make that mistake again,” Bolt said.

Like 2010, next season has no major championships, but Bolt is forcing himself to think of new goals for 2014.

He already owns the 100 and 200 world records and shares the 4x100 with his Jamaican teammates. He acknowledges the 100 record of 9.58 seconds will be extremely tough to better, but he hopes to improve on the 19.19 he ran in the 200 in Berlin four years ago.

“I have learned, I have mastered the art of running the turn,” Bolt said of the 200. “So if I can stay injury free and be in good shape, then it is possible for me to definitely go after the world record.”

As a Jamaican, Bolt can compete in the Commonwealth Games, too, something he has yet to do. Next year, the event will be held in Glasgow, Scotland.

“I have never been to Commonwealths and so it is always good to add to your collection of gold medals,” Bolt said.

View the original article here

Oneida Indian Nation launches radio campaign calling for Redskins to change team name

An American Indian tribe in upstate New York said Thursday it will launch a radio ad campaign pressing for the Washington Redskins to shed a name often criticized as offensive.

The Oneida Indian Nation said the first ad will run on radio stations in Washington before the team hosts the Philadelphia Eagles in its season opener Monday night. In the ad, Oneida Nation Representative Ray Halbritter says NFL commissioner Roger Goodell should “stand up to bigotry” by denouncing “the racial slur” in the team’s name.

“We do not deserve to be called redskins,” the Oneida leader says in the ad. “We deserve to be treated as what we are — Americans.”

The radio ad said Goodell had rightly been critical this summer after an Eagles wide receiver was caught on video making a racial slur against African-Americans.

The ads launch as the Washington Redskins this year face a fresh barrage of criticism over their nickname, with local leaders and pundits calling for a name change. In May, 10 members of Congress sent letters to Redskins owner Dan Snyder and Goodell urging the team to change the name.

Snyder has vowed to never change the name.

League spokesman Brian McCarthy, in an email to The Associated Press, said they “respect that reasonable people may have differing views.”

“The name from its origin has always intended to be positive and has always been used by the team in a highly respectful manner,” McCarthy wrote.

There was no immediate response from the Redskins.

The Oneidas have been vocal opponents of the Redskins nickname — be it for NFL or high school teams. The tribe, which runs a casino and resort in central New York, this year gave $10,000 toward new jerseys to an area high school that changed its nickname from the Redskins to the Hawkeyes.

The Oneida said the first ad will run Sunday and Monday on several stations in Washington. Subsequent ads will run in Washington during home games and in the cities hosting the team when it is away. A spokesman for the Oneidas would not say how much the campaign would cost beyond “multiple thousands.”

Halbritter said that fans also are being urged to lobby the NFL in support of the name change at www.changethemascot.org , a website that debuted Thursday.

“We believe that with the help of our fellow professional football fans, we can get the NFL to realize the error of its ways and make a very simple change,” Halbritter said in a prepared statement.

View the original article here

Goodell: Concussion lawsuit settlement a ‘significant amount of money’

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took issue with the notion that the league’s $765-million settlement with former players is a paltry sum compared to the sport’s revenues.

“This is a significant amount of money,” he said Wednesday. “The plaintiffs also agreed it was an appropriate amount. The mediator felt it was an appropriate amount.”

Goodell made his first public comments since the settlement to the lawsuits was announced last week. More than 4,500 former players, some of them suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or depression, accused the NFL of concealing the long-term dangers of concussions and rushing injured players back onto the field.

“We were able to find common ground to be able to get relief to the players and their families now rather than spending years litigating,” Goodell said at an event in Manhattan to promote February’s New York/New Jersey Super Bowl.

The settlement was announced last Thursday after two months of court-ordered mediation and is subject to approval by a federal judge. It does not include an admission from the NFL that it hid information from players about head injuries.

“We think it’s the right thing to move forward and try to do what we can to help our players,” Goodell said.

Some former players questioned the size of the settlement, considering it stretches over 20 years and will be divided among thousands of people — and considering the NFL takes in more than $9-billion a year, a figure that will rise when new TV contracts start in 2014.

Goodell noted that those billions are revenues, not profits.

The settlement applies to all past NFL players and spouses of those who are deceased — a group that could total more than 20,000. It sets aside $75-million for medical exams and $10-million for medical research.

Individual payouts would be capped at $5-million for men with Alzheimer’s disease; $4-million for those diagnosed after their deaths with a brain condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy; and $3-million for players with dementia.

The NFL’s litigation may still not be over. Four former players filed a federal lawsuit in New Orleans on Sunday against the league and helmet maker Riddell, claiming they hid information about the dangers of brain injury. They want medical care for past, current and future NFL players.

As the league and retired players debate what happened in the past, the NFL has promoted its initiatives aimed at making the game safer. Goodell appeared on CBS This Morning earlier Wednesday to help announce a program with Under Armour and GE to donate money toward projects that prevent head injuries.

View the original article here

Canucks owner Aquilini wants information sealed from divorce trial

The lawyer for a co-owner of the Vancouver Canucks says he is asking a judge to seal “commercially sensitive information” and take practical steps to prevent it from arising in the form of questions during an upcoming divorce trial.

The trial between Francesco Aquilini and his estranged wife, Taliah, is scheduled to begin Monday, but legal wrangling has already generated headlines as the couple fought over a prized wine collection.

George Macintosh said in an e-mail Wednesday evening he is seeking an extension of an August 2012 order by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Nathan Smith that established the process the parties must follow to have documents declared confidential.

“Essentially, we are only seeking an extension of the order ... which is essentially to seal commercially sensitive information and take practical steps to have the lawyers at trial, through their questioning, not divulge such information,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Francesco Aquilini tweeted a link to a statement he made, saying his lawyers will seek orders to protect the confidentiality of private family and commercial interests.

“During this trial, protecting my five children will be at the heart of everything I do relating to both custodial and financial matters,” he stated.

“While I can personally withstand the impact of media coverage, it is simply not fair to have my children exposed to the effects of sensitive family matters being aired this way.”

He said he was confident Taliah Aquilini would agree that an order was in the best interests of their family.

Both parties agreed in August 2012 not to file affidavits relating to their children, and Judge Smith has already ruled Francesco Aquilini will not be forced to testify about any alleged adultery.

View the original article here

Ojibwa man launches rights challenge against Ottawa football team’s name

An Ottawa man has launched a legal complaint against a local youth football program over use of the name “Redskins,” saying the phrase is racially insensitive and should be changed.

The Canadian case is the latest in a long-running debate over the Redskins name, used most prominently by the National Football League’s Washington Redskins, which has resisted calls to rebrand.

The Ottawa complainant, Ian Campeau, had for roughly two years asked the Ottawa-area Nepean Redskins Football Club to change its name. The Ojibwa man ultimately filed the complaint Tuesday with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal on behalf of his five-year-old daughter, in a case that has the backing of the Assembly of First Nations.

The football club, meanwhile, says both rebranding and any legal fight could be too expensive for the volunteer-only organization, which took its name from the NFL team 32 years ago. It would require replacing player equipment, a scoreboard and other supplies. After early complaints by Mr. Campeau, who is not involved in the league, the football club asked the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition last year for input. The group felt the name wasn’t being used maliciously, and didn’t object.

“This was never taken on as a slight towards aboriginal people and to be a negative. That goes without saying, and it’s without question,” said football club president Steve Dean. “The question now is, given all the rhetoric that’s been presented, is this something that we want to maintain?”

Mr. Campeau isn’t seeking money. Instead, he’s asking the tribunal to order Ottawa’s National Capital Amateur Football Association to change the name and logo in the next five years. He argues the name is racially charged.

“What’s going to stop [people] from calling my daughter a redskin in the school yard?” he said in a written statement. “It’s marginalizing, dehumanizing and racial profiling. If my daughter wanted to play football, or even watch it, she wouldn’t feel welcome.”

AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo offered his support to Mr. Campeau’s battle, saying “the term ‘Redskins’ is offensive and hurtful and completely inappropriate.” He added “it is unfortunate that this step must be taken as a last resort.”

Mr. Campeau’s case is being handled on a pro-bono basis by Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. The case could be settled through mediation before heading to a hearing, said Qajaq Robinson, a lawyer representing Mr. Campeau.

“Ian has been clear throughout that he admires the work that NCAFA does do. He appreciates the value of organized sport for children, youth and young adults. However, under this [Redskins] term and the moniker, there is a group in our community, an aboriginal group, who are being discriminated against. And the good [work] can continue without that term,” Ms. Robinson said.

Some volunteers contacted Wednesday declined to comment, saying only the long-simmering public fight is unfortunate for a youth sports organization. Asked whether some think the issue is being blown out of proportion, Mr. Dean says the feedback he’s seen “does have some of those sentiments.”

The Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition discussed the issue last October after being approached by Mr. Dean’s club, chairperson Marc Maracle said.

“We felt that the club didn’t select the name with any malicious intent to insult or criticize the community or aboriginal people in general,” he said in an interview, stressing the group doesn’t claim to speak for the broad aboriginal community. Mr. Campeau is “determined in his approach,” Mr. Maracle said.

“We’ve taken this issue, I think, in a more positive light. I know this is a huge issue in the States in terms of mascots and team names. You know, we’ve got enough challenges on our plate.”

The Nepean club serves about 250 children and teenagers, running tackle and touch football teams and a cheerleading program. It was founded in 1978 as the Barrhaven Buccaneers, but wore the same colours as the NFL Redskins, and so the name was changed in 1981. “Kids looked at that as a positive, in terms of dressing in NFL colours … that was really the starting point of it,” Mr. Dean said.

The NFL’s Redskins – valued by Forbes as a $1.7-billion franchise – have also faced regular calls to rebrand. Ten members of Congress reiterated the request in a letter earlier this year. Last month, former Oakland Raiders CEO Amy Trask said she, too, thinks the name should be changed.

“As a society, we should seek to inspire people to be tolerant and respectful of others, regardless of our differences. Using Redskins as the name of an NFL team does not further this goal,” Ms. Trask told NBC.

It’s not an idea that team owner Dan Snyder has left the door open to, telling USA Today this year that “we’ll never change the name.” The NFL’s commissioner has also resisted calls to change the name of one of the league’s flagship franchises. They have public opinion on their side: A poll earlier this year found that four out of five Americans say the Redskins should keep their name, while only 11 per cent said it should be changed.

View the original article here

Crosby discusses lengthy recovery road from concussions, safety of the game

After four straight shortened seasons due to injury and entering his ninth NHL campaign, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has declared himself healthy and ready for the upcoming season.

Crosby discussed his battle back from concussions, the NHL’s ongoing battle to make the game safer and some of the unconventional treatments that helped him recover in an interview with the CBC’s Peter Mansbridge that aired Wednesday night.

“Concussions are still kind of a mysterious thing. We do know a lot more now, but there are still things that we can learn and hopefully ways and methods we can learn to either heal or to find out more about the actual extent of the injuries,” Crosby said.

On Jan. 1, 2011, during the Winter Classic, Crosby received a hit from David Steckel of the Washington Capitals that resulted in his first reported concussion in the NHL. Four days later Crosby's head was driven into the boards by Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman. Although Crosby continued to play in both contests, his symptoms worsened and after missing the next game against the Montreal Canadiens the team announced that he would be out of the lineup for a week.

However, Crosby was unable to return to game action until Nov. 21, 2011 over 11 months since being sidelined. He would only play eight games before recurring symptoms forced him back to the sidelines. Crosby didn’t return to game action until mid-March, 2012.

There were some dark days when the thought he may never play hockey again at the professional level entered his mind.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I thought about it,” Crosby told Mansbridge.

The standard recovery protocol when recovering from a concussion is rest, something that is extremely difficult for professional athlete who is used to competing on a daily basis.

“When you get a typical injury you’re given a time frame, you’re gradually working towards getting back," Crosby said. "With concussions there is not generally a time frame or a span where you’re feeling better. You feel like you’re getting better and it can be one day and you’re back to where you started. It’s a frustrating injury and one that anyone has gone through can relate. It’s a hard one to understand unless you’ve gone through it.”

During the interview, Crosby also discussed some of the alternative treatment options he sought to alleviate his lingering concussion symptoms when typical treatment failed to work, including his visits to Dr. Ted Carrick, the founding father of “chiropractic neurology.”

Through his work with Carrick, Crosby was eventually able to return to the ice. When asked if he had any concussion-related symptoms since returning to action over year and half ago, Crosby emphatically said he had not, including after taking a puck to the face that broke his broke his jaw and forced him to miss the final 12 regular season games and the Penguins first playoff game.

“I’ve had a good couple of bumps along the way," Crosby said. "Obviously getting shot in the face was a good test.”

Crosby still finished tied for third in league scoring (15 goals, 41 assists for 56 points) and captured the Ted Lindsay Award (player of the year selected by the NHLPA).

The Cole Harbour, N.S., native said the league’s intent to curb dangerous hits has improved, but as time goes by, hockey at every level will need to adjust and adapt as the game changes to make sure it is as safe as possible.

However, Crosby did say that the game is fast and physical and it is impossible to protect everyone.

Going forward, Crosby said he will not change the way he plays the game for fear of getting hurt.

“I still feel that the physical part is just as enjoyable. I don’t go into the corner thinking twice about my head,” Crosby said.

While recovering from any injury can be frustrating, even more so from a concussion, Crosby is pleased with the way the process played out.

“Going through (recovery) so long and making sure there wasn‘t still any underlying things and forcing myself to (be completely healthy), it might be a different story. Maybe I wouldn’t even be playing now. Looking back, as frustrating and long as it seemed, I am happy with the way that it went.”

View the original article here

Year after missing U.S. Open with bad knee, Nadal cruises into semi-finals

It’s as though Rafael Nadal never left.

If anything, he’s playing better than ever.

A year after skipping the U.S. Open because of a bad knee, Nadal powered his way back to the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows, overwhelming 19th-seeded Tommy Robredo 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday night.

“I’m sure that’s the way I have to play to keep having chances to be successful in every surface, but especially on this one,” said the second-seeded Nadal, who is 20-0 on hard courts in 2013. “I was able to do it today. I hope to be able to do it in two days.”

On Saturday, Nadal will face No. 8 Richard Gasquet, who edged No. 4 David Ferrer 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3.

That one took nearly 3 1/2 hours, and was filled with plenty of ebbs and flows, allowing Gasquet to reach his first major semifinal in six years.

Nadal, meanwhile, was never challenged even the slightest bit by Robredo, who was coming off a fourth-round upset of 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer. That stunning result scuttled the possibility of a Nadal-Federer showdown, which would have been the rivals’ 32nd meeting on tour, but first at the U.S. Open.

Robredo had been 0-10 against Federer before finally beating him Monday. Perhaps that allowed Robredo to enter Wednesday believing he’d have a chance against Nadal, despite an 0-6 mark in their previous matches.

So much for that. This one lasted 1 hour, 40 minutes, and it really was over after 22 minutes. That’s how long it took Nadal to dominate the first set, not only winning every game but also 24 of 29 points, including all seven that lasted 10 strokes or more.

“I played great the first set,” Nadal said. “It’s my first set so far this year 100 per cent.”

That’s really saying something, considering that he is 58-3 this season with nine titles, including his record eighth championship at the French Open in June. At the next Grand Slam tournament, though, Nadal flopped, exiting in the first round at Wimbledon.

That surprising defeat, against a guy ranked 135th, came on June 24. Feels like eons ago. Nadal hasn’t lost a match to anyone since. His 12 major trophies include the 2010 U.S. Open, and he has reached at least the semifinals the past five times he entered the tournament. Nadal did not come to New York in 2012, part of about a seven-month absence due mainly to a left knee problem.

No sign of that Wednesday.

“He was up very quick,” said Robredo, who is 0-7 in Grand Slam quarter-finals, “and then there was nothing else to do. He was too good.”

It took Robredo 39 minutes to finally win a game, the ninth of the match, and some fans stood to applaud, probably hoping for a more competitive evening of tennis. At the changeover moments later, the videoboards in Arthur Ashe Stadium showed Donald Trump in his suite, and the cheers turned to boos.

With loud grunts, Nadal announced his violent, uppercut forehands, and they cut through the 20 mph wind, thick with spin, landing right near lines.

Through two sets, Nadal compiled a 19-2 edge in winners — the final tally was 28-10 — and that forehand of his also forced Robredo into plenty of errors. Actually, every aspect of Nadal’s game worked.

One backhand lob was curled so well, Robredo tossed his racket up in the air toward the ball, knowing he had no chance of reaching the perfectly placed shot. Nadal never faced a break point, and through five matches so far in New York this year, he has not lost serve once, a run of 67 games.

Nadal played at the French Open and Wimbledon with tape below his left knee, but not at the U.S. Open. He looks healthy as can be, covering the court well and tracking down shot after shot by his opponents.

Now Nadal becomes Gasquet’s problem. They’ve played 10 times on tour, and Nadal has won all 10.

“Last time I beat him, I was 13,” Gasquet said, referring to a junior match he looked up on YouTube. “It was a long time ago.”

When Nadal was told about that, he smiled broadly.

“Yeah, I think I lost 6-4 in the third,” Nadal said. “Yeah, I remember.”

The other two men’s quarter-finals are Thursday, with No. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. 21 Mikhail Youzhny, and No. 3 Andy Murray against No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka. Murray beat Djokovic in last year’s U.S. Open final.

In the women’s semifinals Friday, No. 1 Serena Williams faces No. 5 Li Na, and No. 2 Victoria Azarenka plays unseeded Flavia Pennetta.

Azarenka and Pennetta won their quarter-finals Wednesday.

Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion and last year’s runner-up to Williams at Flushing Meadows, eliminated 48th-ranked Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-3.

The 83rd-ranked Pennetta, who missed the 2012 U.S. Open because of right wrist surgery, reached her first Grand Slam semifinal with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over 10th-seeded Roberta Vinci.

Pennetta spoke Wednesday about sitting at her parents’ place in Italy, watching on TV as the U.S. Open went on without her. She was asked whether, at the time, she could have imagined playing at this level 12 months later.

“I hoped so. It’s what I hoped for at the start of this year, to be honest. It didn’t happen as easily or as quickly as I’d hoped,” she said. “But I definitely hoped.”

Nadal, too, was far away when the 2012 tournament took place, at home on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

He was concerned about how long it would take his knee to recover, how long it would take for him to play well.

And between then and now, he worked with Toni Nadal, his uncle and coach, on improving his hard-court game.

Things seem to be going to plan so far.

In an interview during ESPN’s coverage of the match, Toni Nadal said it “was necessary” to change the way Rafael plays on hard courts.

“Rafael has problems in his knees, and we talked about playing more aggressive and more near the baseline,” Uncle Toni said. “At the moment, (it’s) going good.”

In the mixed doubles semifinal, Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic and Max Mirnyi of Belarus, defeated Toronto’s Daniel Nestor and France’s Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 6-7 (4), 12-10.

View the original article here

Flames hire Brian Burke as president of hockey operations

Welcome to the Calgary Flames’ age of truculence.

Brian Burke, known for his smash-mouth style of hockey, was unveiled Thursday as the Flames’ new president of hockey operations. The announcement was made at a conference room inside the Scotiabank Saddledome and capped a whirlwind 24 hours of speculation.

According to the Flames’ new management flow chart, Ken King will remain as the CEO of the Flames sporting group, which includes the CFL Stampeders, the WHL Hitmen and the National Lacrosse League Roughnecks. Jay Feaster also remains as the general manager and will work in tandem with Burke, who described his role as an advisor.

“This is a relatively new structure in professional hockey,” said Burke, who was relieved of his president and GM duties with the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this year. “There are few teams in the NHL have this type of management structure. There are a number of teams in the NFL that do. There are a number of teams in MLB that do. A number of teams in the NBA that do and it works. And it’s going to work here.

“I’m not the general manager of the Calgary Flames,” added Burke. “Jay Feaster is. Jay and I have been friends for a long time. We met this morning and talked about how to make this work and we’re both committed to winning. I think I can provide some help but I think that Jay’s got great ability and he’s already made some very important steps in fixing things here.”

The 58-year-old Burke was in Calgary on Wednesday and met with King and Flames’ owner Murray before agreeing to come aboard. Two months ago, the Flames flew NHL chief of player safety Brendan Shanahan into Calgary, where he dined with Edwards and King and discussed a position with the organization. In the end, Shanahan passed on the possibility and Calgary went back into search mode.

Burke was asked how big a rebuilding job he faces in Calgary, compared to the one he inherited when he took over the Maple Leafs.

“In Toronto, there was a lot of work that needed to be that took longer than I thought, in terms of getting some assets out of there. Obviously, we made a major acquisition in acquiring Phil Kessel. The compensation that was paid turned out to be higher than expected. But I’d do the trade again tomorrow.

“I think Jay has already taken some of the major steps to rebuild,” Burke insisted. “I think Calgary had the best draft of anybody. It’s hard in a cap system to turn your team around. I don’t like time frames. I see guys who say this is a three-year rebuild and I think they’re just buying three years for themselves. I have seen (the Flames’ AHL affiliate) Abbotsford play and I do think there’s help on the way.”

View the original article here

Champion Ravens return to Denver to open new season against still-smarting Broncos

John Elway has been down this lonely road before, trudging through the tunnel in deafening silence after a stunning loss at home as the AFC’s prohibitive Super Bowl favourite following a 13-3 regular season.

It happened to Elway the quarterback after the 1996 season when Denver lost to Jacksonville 30-27. It occurred again for Elway the executive in January when the Broncos were beaten 38-35 by Baltimore in the divisional round.

Elway rebounded the first time to win back-to-back Super Bowls. He said the pain of that pratfall against the Jaguars was the impetus to make them into champions.

“It was a great incentive for us to come back and have an even better year the following year,” Elway said.

After engineering a $125-million off-season spending spree and acquiring wide receiver Wes Welker and massive right guard Louis Vasquez — to help new centre Manny Ramirez fend off the likes of Ravens nose tackle Haloti Ngata — Elway is aiming for history to repeat itself after this latest heartbreak.

Five things to watch for as the Broncos kick off the season Thursday night against the champion Ravens:

ROAD RAVENS: Joe Flacco looms larger than life in Denver, and not just because he engineered the stunning playoff upset with his 70-yard touchdown throw to Jacoby Jones that tied it at 35 with 31 seconds left in regulation.

The NFL’s marketing machine put up gigantic banners of Flacco alongside Peyton Manning on the Broncos’ stadium to promote the league’s first game of the 2013 season.

Fans are furious, Manning is miffed and Flacco is flummoxed.

Still, Flacco reasoned, “being hated is not a bad thing.”

This flag flap could have been avoided had baseball’s Orioles moved their game Thursday night to accommodate the champs for a customary home kickoff.

“I’m not too worried about it,” Flacco said. “It’s not like they’re taking a home game away from us. They’re just making us play on the road maybe earlier than we wanted to.”

ELVIS RETURNS: “Doom & Gloom” is what Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller called themselves in Denver, where the Pro Bowl pass rushers combined for 29 1/2 of the Broncos’ league-leading 52 sacks in 2012.

Dumervil signed with the Ravens in free agency after his infamous fax foul-up in Denver led to his release by the Broncos.

He won’t see Miller on Thursday night because Denver’s All-Pro linebacker is serving a six-game drug suspension.

“He’s like a younger brother,” Dumervil said. “We’ve spoken. We talk all the time. He’s dealing with tough times and he’ll fight through it.”

RAHIM’S REDEMPION: Safety Rahim Moore is out to make amends for the most memorable mistake in Denver’s playoff loss, when he mistimed his jump on Flacco’s heave to Jones.

“I haven’t seen it from him one snap or one second where he’s dwelled on that,” Broncos secondary coach Cory Undlin said. “If anything, he’s used it as motivation.”

Veteran cornerback Champ Bailey appreciates Moore’s accountability but noted there were plenty of goats in that game.

“He wasn’t the guy that put us in that situation,” Bailey said. “So, we’ve all got to own that one.”

RAVENS REBUILT: For the first time in the Ravens’ 18-year existence, Ray Lewis isn’t manning middle linebacker. Daryl Smith, who signed a free agent deal in June, is the veteran replacement. He’s a sure tackler entering his 10th season and could help provide some of the veteran presence the Ravens lost.

Smith was part of a Ravens defensive revamp as they also said goodbye to starters Ed Reed, Bernard Pollard, Paul Kruger and Cary Williams, and hello to Dumervil, Chris Canty, Marcus Spears and Michael Huff.

Flacco parlayed his fantastic playoff run into a six-year, $120.6 million contract, but also lost his two favourite targets as receiver Anquan Boldin was traded and tight end Dennis Pitta is sidelined with a fractured hip.

RECORD RETURNER: As a former special teams co-ordinator, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he had “reluctant admiration” for Trindon Holliday, who piled up an NFL-record 248 yards in returns against the Ravens in January.

Denver’s diminutive returner became the first NFL player to take back both a punt and a kickoff for TDs in a playoff game. Those touchdowns were the longest punt (90 yards) and kickoff (104 yards) returns for scores ever in the post-season.

Of course, Holliday was a footnote when Jones’ tying TD grab made him the star instead.

Otherwise, it might have been Holliday and not Jones putting his fingerprints on the Lombardi Trophy, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel’s late show and then prancing across the floor with Karina Smirnoff on Dancing With The Stars.

View the original article here

Ujiri goes back to Africa to help grow the game that has given him so much

Masai Ujiri’s priority is to inject life into the terminally ill Toronto Raptors, but his basketball roots will forever run deep in his native Africa.

Ujiri, hired in May to be the Raptors’ new general manager, recently returned from Johannesburg, South Africa, where he led a handful of NBA stars, past and present, on a four-day pilgrimage designed to try and grow the game on the vast continent.

It was the 12th annual Basketball Without Borders mission into Africa. The NBA’s global development and community outreach program’s aim is to unite young basketball players, promote the sport and encourage positive social change in the areas of education, health and wellness.

The NBA has run the program, in collaboration with the sport’s global governing body, FIBA, since 2001, and this summer, similar camps were also staged in Argentina and Portugal.

Ujiri, 43, was born in Nigeria, and he overcame incredible odds to become the first African-raised GM of a major North American professional sports team.

At one point during his career, Ujiri worked as an unpaid international scout for the Orlando Magic, sharing rooms with scouts and players during his travels while he bird-dogged talent for the NBA team.

For as long as is able, Ujiri says, he will continue to return to Africa to give back to the game that has provided him with so much.

“Coming here to Toronto, I want to win, I want to build and grow,” the GM said Wednesday, during an interview in his sunlight-flooded corner office that overlooks Union Station in downtown Toronto. “I also think I’ve been put in this position to give back to the kids of Africa. It is a 100-per-cent obligation for me.”

Ujiri was joined in Johannesburg by Kyrie Irving, the first-overall pick of the 2011 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, African-born NBA players Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls.

NBA legends and African sporting heroes Dikembe Mutombo and Hakeem Olajuwon also took part, as did current players Al Horford and Jerryd Bayless.

There was also a strong NBA coaching component, including Ty Corbin, head coach of the Utah Jazz, Monte Williams of the New Orleans Pelicans, and Lionel Hollins, who was fired by the Memphis Grizzlies at the conclusion of the 2012-13 season.

NBA senior executive Adam Silver, who is slated to succeed David Stern as NBA commissioner when he steps down in February, was also among the visiting party.

Ujiri, primarily because of his vast knowledge of African basketball, has been the African camp director since the program’s inception, and says its growth has been phenomenal.

“I remember when I took Marcus Camby during one trip and one morning, we both went down to wake up the campers,” Ujiri said. “It was like Marcus Camby waking up a kid from Sudan, a kid from Niger or Cameroon. This is a big deal for these kids and they never forget it.”

Nearly 100 campers who have participated in the program (some 60 of Africa’s top young players, 17 and under, are selected each year to attend) have gone on to play U.S. college basketball, including Luc Mbah a Moute, who is entering his sixth season in the NBA.

This summer’s camp featured players from 25 African countries.

After three days of life-skills seminars, basketball skills-development sessions and competitive games each afternoon, the highlight of the final day was an all-star game and skills competition featuring the most promising players from the continent.

Ujiri is convinced Africa will become the next big breeding ground for future NBA stars, provided much-needed infrastructure continues to be built.

“Soccer is the game I started playing when I was 6, and all you needed to play was an open field and four stones to represent the goal posts,” he said. “It’s easy to learn. I think once there are more basketball courts, more facilities, that will make it easier for kids to pick up the game at a younger age.”

Ujiri was in Africa for two weeks, and was able to attend the African championship tournament, hosted by the Ivory Coast (won by Angola).

He, along with Olajuwon, also attended the One Man, One Nation Celebration at FNB Stadium in honour of former South African president Nelson Mandela. The cultural festival included a soccer match and a rugby game.

Ujiri was asked why basketball wasn’t included.

“We’ll work on that,” he said.

View the original article here

Rookie QB EJ Manuel to start for Bills in opener against Patriots

Once Bills quarterback EJ Manuel practiced Sunday for the first time in two weeks, coach Doug Marrone had an inkling the rookie first-round draft pick might be ready to open the season.

On Wednesday, Marrone was convinced, announcing Manuel had fully recovered from a left knee injury and will start against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

“He’s 110 per cent. He looks good out there,” Marrone said following practice. “And that’s what we’re going to go with.”

That’s a relief for Marrone. He was expressing uncertainty about Manuel’s status since the quarterback was hurt scrambling during a 20-16 preseason win over Minnesota Aug. 16.

“Obviously, being a Catholic, there were a lot of prayers to that,” Marrone said. “I mean, honestly, you go home and say ‘Gosh, I hope he’s healthy,’ but you really don’t know.”

Manuel was far more confident he would be ready, especially after taking part in individual drills on Sunday in his first practice since having what the team called a “minor procedure” Aug. 18.

“I felt I would be good to go a few days ago as far as my knee,” Manuel said. “I know mentally, if I had the chance to go out and play, I’d be ready for it.”

Manuel showed little sign of a limp despite wearing a small brace during practice.

“I haven’t had any hesitation,” Manuel said, noting he hasn’t determined whether he’ll wear the brace on Sunday. “It feels fine. It feels strong, so I can do all my normal movements.”

He opened practice as he had done in training camp. Taking the snap, Manuel dumped a short pass over the middle to C.J. Spiller, and then took off running without a sign of a hitch toward the end zone with the rest of the starting offence.

Manuel also spent another half-hour throwing passes following practice.

His return is the first bit of positive news for the retooled and rookie-laden Bills, who have been stung by a series of setbacks over the past week.

Starting cornerback Stephon Gilmore will miss the first month with a broken left wrist. Starting safety Jairus Byrd’s status is uncertain because of a foot injury and after he missed most of the off-season before signing his franchise tender two weeks ago.

Kicker became an issue after rookie Dustin Hopkins hurt his right groin in practice Monday. Marrone called the injury minor, but ruled Hopkins out from playing Sunday. Dan Carpenter will fill in after the fifth-year player signed Tuesday.

Quarterback has been the Bills’ most pressing need over the past two weeks.

Had Manuel not been ready, the Bills would’ve been forced to start undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel, the only other quarterback on their active roster. Buffalo was placed in this position after veteran free-agent addition Kevin Kolb sustained a season-ending concussion.

The Bills scrambled to add quarterbacks by signing free-agent veteran Matt Leinart and acquiring Thaddeus Lewis in a trade with Detroit. Leinart was cut on Friday, a day after he struggled in a preseason loss to the Lions. Lewis was also cut, but has since been signed to Buffalo’s practice squad.

Manuel now gets his opportunity to be the opening-day starter, just as the Bills had envisioned in April, when they selected him with the 16th pick in the NFL draft. The Florida State product was the first and only quarterback taken in the first round.

He arrived in Buffalo with the expectation of filling a position that’s been unsettled since Hall of Famer Jim Kelly retired following the 1996 season.

Marrone isn’t lowering his expectations with Manuel set to make his NFL debut, and against an AFC East rival that has won 18 of the past 19 games against Buffalo.

“I’d be lying if I’m sitting here saying, ‘I don’t expect him to do great things,“’ Marrone said. “We expect not just EJ, but all of our players that are out there to perform at a very, very high level.”

Manuel is a strong-armed and mobile player, who best fits Marrone’s up-tempo approach to offence.

In two preseason games, Manuel was inconsistent, but showed encouraging signs of developing as a starter. He went a combined 26 of 33 for 199 yards passing, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Center Eric Wood was excited about Manuel’s return, and believes the rookie will be ready Sunday.

“I don’t think it’ll be too big for him,” Wood said, noting Manuel had a 25-6 record, including four Bowl victories, at Florida State. “He’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

View the original article here

Disappointment reigns in September as teams race for postseason berths

Collapses down the September stretch, long a part of baseball lore, are increasing in intensity and frequency in the wild-card era.

The question, with the schedule in its final four weeks: Which team could go down in flames this time?

While the Atlanta Braves (National League East), Los Angeles Dodgers (NL West) and Detroit Tigers (American League Central) have seemingly wrapped up division titles, and the Boston Red Sox (AL East) are widening the gap on the Tampa Bay Rays, similar big leads have evaporated in recent years.

The AL West is down to a battle between the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics, while in the wild-card race, 4 1/2 games separated those two teams plus Tampa, the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals, entering Wednesday’s action.

In the NL, the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds are fighting for the Central Division title and the privilege of avoiding a one-game playoff that would decide the qualifier for the pennant chase as the wild-card entry.

The Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks are on the outside looking in, hoping to benefit from another team’s historic fall from grace – which has happened before:

1995

The first year of wild-card play, the former California Angels established the template by starting September with a 7 1/2-game lead in the AL West, but lost 17 of 28 remaining games. The Seattle Mariners tied them on the final day of the season for the division title, and won a one-game playoff in Seattle. The Yankees overcame the Angels for the wild-card berth. The Mariners defeated the Yankees in the AL Division Series, before losing to the Cleveland Indians in the AL Championship Series. The Braves won the World Series.

2007

The New York Mets had a seven-game lead with 17 to play, lost 12 of those, including the finale to the then-Florida Marlins, and barely reached their clubhouse in time to see the Philadelphia Phillies top Washington to claim the NL East title. “It’s going to be a long off-season,” third baseman David Wright said. “I don’t want to experience it again.”

Meanwhile, also in the NL, the Colorado Rockies won 14 of their final 15 games to catch San Diego and then defeat the Padres in a one-game playoff for the wild-card berth. The Rockies would advance to the World Series, losing to Boston.

2008

Déjà vu for the Mets. “We’re all aware of what happened last year,” first baseman Carlos Delgado said after the New York managed to score five runs in their final series, again against the Marlins. The Mets had held a 3 1/2-game lead with 17 to play, and dropped 10 of them, again allowing the Phillies to sneak in. “We failed as a team,” Wright said. The Phillies defeated Tampa Bay for the World Series title.

2009

With four games remaining, Detroit held a three-game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central. The Tigers lost three of the four, the Twins won all four and they went into a one-game playoff for the division title. Result: Twins 6, Tigers 5. The Yankees swept the exhausted Twins in the ALDS and went on to a World Series victory over the Phillies.

2011

The Braves and Red Sox became, consecutively, the first two teams to blow leads of at least eight games in September for a playoff spot.

On Sept. 6, the Braves led the NL wild-card race by 8 1/2 but went 8-19 over their last 27 games as the Cardinals turned the table by mounting an 18-8 record in September. The Braves bowed out of the postseason with an extra-inning loss to the Phillies in the final game. “One of the worst feelings I’ve ever had coming off a baseball field,” catcher Brian McCann said.

In the AL East, the first-place Red Sox went 7-20 in September, as the Yankees and Rays lapped them for the division title and wild-card playoff berths, respectively. On Sept. 3, the BoSox had a nine-game lead over Tampa for the wild-card spot but lost six of seven games during the month to the Rays. Overall, the pitching staff surrendered more than six runs per game over the final month. Red Sox manager Terry Francona, blamed for lax clubhouse behaviour, would be fired. “Playing in Boston, you’re required to play your tail off every day to try to win ballgames for this city,” second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. “That’s what hurt so much as a player, that we not only let each other down in the clubhouse, but we let the city down.”

The Cardinals won the World Series, defeating Texas.

2012

With nine games left to play, Texas had a five-game lead over the Oakland in its quest for a third consecutive AL West title. But on the final day of the regular season, centre fielder Josh Hamilton dropped a routine fly ball to spark an A’s comeback and sweep a three-game series against the Rangers. The dispirited Rangers went to the inaugural one-game play-in against Baltimore and lost. “It shows anything can happen in a long season,” Rangers ace Yu Darvish said.

View the original article here

Pirates press on for division title after losing label of “The Streak”

Toast them with a bottle of Iron City. Wear that 1970s-era Pittsburgh painter’s cap with pride. Celebrate the end of “The Streak.”

Just don’t expect the Pirates to join in the fun. There’s an NL Central title to win.

The Pirates ended their 20-year run of losing baseball Tuesday night, reaching the 81-win mark with a 4-3 victory at Miller Park.

“I’ve won 81 games before, and this team is going to win more than 81 games. A lot more,” newly acquired outfielder Marlon Byrd said before Wednesday night’s game at Milwaukee.

Win No. 82 will have to wait.

The Pirates lost 9-3 in game interrupted for a couple minutes in the fifth after Brewers starter Wily Peralta (9-14) plunked left-handed cleanup hitter Justin Morneau in the forearm following Andrew McCutchen’s 19th homer of the year.

Morneau slowly walked to first and gestured to Peralta. The benches emptied and relievers scurried in from bullpens as far as short right and left, but the umpires quickly took control and the teams never got close to making physical contact.

McCutchen and Brewers manager Ron Roenicke each defused the situation afterward. McCutchen said he was looking for the ball after hitting his homer and wasn’t trying to show up Peralta; Roenicke said Peralta wasn’t trying to plunk Morneau, but he understood why the Pirates first baseman got upset.

The determined Pirates showed some spunk.

“It’s about changing the culture, and they’ve done that the past two years,” Byrd said before the game. “This was inevitable that this team was going to get to this point.”

Easy for him to say. He recently joined the club, obtained from the Mets in a deal to bolster the lineup for the playoff push.

Second baseman Neil Walker, on the other hand, is a little more passionate. He grew up in Pittsburgh and still lives in the Steel City.

Walker was bombarded with messages on his Twitter account Tuesday night.

“To be part of this group that has righted the ship, per se, in the win column is pretty significant. I don’t think anybody is going to admit that too much in here just because baseball players are so superstitious,” Walker said.

“But the fact that I’ve lived and breathed Pirates baseball since I can remember, being a baseball fan since I was 5 or 6 years old, it holds a little more significance to me.”

Left-handed starter Francisco Liriano (15-7) gave up seven runs, seven hits and two wild pitches in three innings Wednesday. Trailing 7-3, the Pirates loaded the bases in the seventh to bring up the tying run with two outs, but reliever Donovan Hand got John Buck to fly out to right-centre to end the inning.

All-Star closer Jason Grilli, in his first appearance since July 22 after coming off the DL for a right forearm strain, allowed a hit and struck out two in the eighth. Manager Clint Hurdle liked what he saw, calling Grilli’s velocity “firm.”

The Pirates took a one-game lead over the Cardinals into a three-game series in St. Louis. Cincinnati was 3 1/2 games back after a 16-inning loss to the Cardinals on Wednesday night.

Pittsburgh is aiming to finish first and avoid a best-of-one matchup between wild cards.

“We are trying to win every day. Every game is important from the first to the last, so we don’t treat it any differently from any other game,” said about the upcoming series against the Cardinals. “We go out every day to win. That is what we are going to do in St. Louis.”

No matter what, at least the Pirates don’t have to answer any more questions about the drought.

In western Pennsylvania, “The Streak” made one segment of fans miserable. Others viewed the franchise like lovable losers, the “Bad News Bears” of sorts of the majors.

The Pirates went 20 years, 11 months and 26 days since they last had 81 wins in a season.

More perspective on the two-decade run of misery since 1992:

—The Pirates were 1,374-1,796 during the streak for a .437 winning percentage.

—The Penguins and Steelers had seven losing seasons combined during that period.

—The franchise went through three ownership groups and seven managers, including Hurdle.

The skipper said he was humbled by all the messages that he had received.

“And they’re not from my buddies. They’re actually from people that we’ve come to know in the North Hills (suburbs) and the city of Pittsburgh that have reached out,” he said. “The emails and texts are quite meaningful.”

After the game Tuesday, Hurdle said he was especially happy for the family of Roberto Clemente, the late Hall of Famer who wore No. 21.

“They told me earlier in the season that we can’t have 21 losing seasons, that we’ve got to find a way to not have Roberto’s number tied to that,” Hurdle said. “I told them we’d find a way to take care of that. It’s been taken care of.”

The Pirates seemed loose before Wednesday’s game, but there were no cases of champagne waiting on ice. No trophy in another room waiting to be presented in a pregame ceremony.

Outfielder Travis Snider, whose pinch-hit homer in the ninth led to Tuesday’s win, talked fantasy football. Others watched the ever-present baseball highlights on the big-screen TVs.

McCutchen, the Pirates’ MVP candidate, put it best. He posted a simple message on his Twitter account shortly after the Pirates got win No. 81.

“Keep going ...”

View the original article here

Jays unable to capitalize after big first inning, lose to Dbacks in 10 innings

First, a dash of dirt. Next, a sprinkling of water. A little hand mixing and pretty soon Willie Bloomquist was covered in mud.
The year of the dirty walk-off is getting awfully messy in the desert.
Bloomquist lined his third hit for a run-scoring single in the 10th inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrated with what has become their typical grimy walk-off celebration after beating the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 on Wednesday.
var Perform ='Perform Sports Video Player'
“They’re taking the walk-off celebration to a whole new level,” the freshly showered Bloomquist said. “I’ll be pulling dirt out of my hair from now until the end of the season.”
The Diamondbacks have gone through an up-and-down season, leaving their playoff hopes clinging by a thread.
When it comes to pulling off the walk-off, they’ve been one of baseball’s best.
Against the Blue Jays, Arizona rallied from a three-run deficit after shaky first inning by Randall Delgado. Diamondbacks pitchers faced the minimum from then until the 10th inning, when Will Harris (3-0) worked around a baserunner to keep the game tied in Arizona’s franchise record-tying 21st extra-inning game.
Eric Chavez got the final rally started by blooping a single off Luis Perez (0-1) and pinch-runner Adam Eaton moved to third on A.J. Pollock’s single off Jeremy Jeffress.
Late on a previous pitch by Jeffress, Bloomquist lined a 1-2, 100-mph fastball off the right-hander through the right side of Toronto’s drawn-in infield, sending his teammates rushing onto the field.
It was Arizona’s 13th walk-off hit of the season and the fourth career for Bloomquist, a veteran who didn’t seem to particularly enjoy his teammates’ pigpen antics.
“I don’t think Bloomquist liked it, but he’s usually miserable, anyway,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “We’re like, ’C’mon, Willie, get dirty.’ It’s a meek sacrifice to get the game-winner in my mind. It’s a minimal sacrifice.”
Rajai Davis homered for the second straight game, a two-run shot, and Edwin Encarnacion added a run-scoring double in the first inning off Delgado.
After that, the Blue Jays went quietly.
Delgado retired 13 straight batters after the first inning and Toronto became the first team to leave no runners on base in an extra-inning game since Cincinnati on July 20, 1970, at St. Louis, according to STATS Inc.
“Delgado really settled in after we put up three on him,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “He started locating his pitches, limited his mistakes.”
Delgado allowed three runs on four hits with six strikeouts.
Blue Jays starter Mark Buehrle had a similar outing.
Matt Davidson ended Buehrle’s scoreless streak at 14 innings with an RBI double in the second inning and Miguel Montero followed with another double to cut Toronto’s lead to 3-2.
The left-hander shook off the shaky inning, working around a pair of baserunners in the third inning before retiring 10 of the next 11 batters.
Buehrle was lifted after a walk and a single in the seventh inning, and Chavez followed with a sacrifice fly off Sergio Santos that tied the game at 3-all.
Buehrle allowed three runs — two earned — on five hits in 6 1-3 innings.
“It was a good outing,” Gibbons said. “He probably regrets walking Davidson to lead off that inning. He was looking for a strikeout and they got the hit, then Chavez came through. It was just one of those games.”
One of those games the Diamondbacks seem to love.
The NL West leader for most of the season’s first half, Arizona has laboured since the All-Star break while the Los Angeles Dodgers have surged ahead. Even with the win, the Diamondbacks were 13 games behind the Dodgers in the division and eight behind the Reds in the NL wild- card race.
If only all their games went to extra-innings or came down to the last at-bat; Arizona is 16-5 in extra-inning games this season and has 13 wins in its last at-bat.
“Obviously, we’d like to get it done in nine, but if it takes long, it takes longer,” Bloomquist said. “As long as we come out on top.”
Even if it means getting dirty.
NOTES: Members of the Arizona Rattlers appeared before the game with the Arena Football League championship trophy before the game. The Rattlers won their second straight ArenaBowl on Aug. 17. ... Arizona 3B Martin Prado was picked as the NL Player of the Month for August on Wednesday after hitting .374 with four homers and 30 RBIs. ... Toronto starters have allowed three runs or less in seven straight outings. ... Arizona opens a four-game road series against San Francisco on Thursday. RHP Trevor Cahill will start the opener after going 2-0 with a 3.22 ERA his previous four starts. ... Toronto has a day off before starting a three-game series at Minnesota. RHP R.A. Dickey will pitch against Twins RHP Mike Pelfrey in the opener on Friday.

View the original article here