Friday, 22 July 2011
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High school football coaches' planned tribute to Jim Tressel is a fumbled idea: Bill Livingston
High school football coaches should reconsider their plans to pay tribute to former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel on the opening weekend of the season.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/livingston/index.ssf/2011/07/high_school_football_coaches_p.html
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Tampa Bay Rays' James Shields gets just enough support to beat CC Sabathia and New York Yankees 2-1
By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, July 21, 2011ST. PETERSBURG — After watching James Shields outduel CC Sabathia in pitching the Rays to an important 2-1 win over the Yankees on Thursday night, manager Joe Maddon was quick with his answer to the pressing question of the veteran right-hander possibly being traded:
"I really don't see him going anywhere," Maddon said.
Besides, after perusing the box score, Maddon had a question of his own. "You look at his record, 9-8. How is that possible?" Maddon said. "How is that possible? You see Sabathia 14-5; that's what Shieldsy's record should look like."
The reason is obvious, given the Rays' often-anemic offense. And that's what made Thursday's win, before an enthusiastic 29,279 at Tropicana Field, even more impressive. For the 10th time in Shields' 21 starts, the Rays got him no more than two runs — on Evan Longoria's frustration-powered homer in the first and a Sam Fuld triple in the fifth. But Shields, against the Bronx Bombers no less, made it stand up, with help from relievers Brandon Gomes and Kyle Farnsworth.
"You have to outpitch a guy like Sabathia to win the game that night," Maddon said. "James was absolutely fantastic."
The Rays (52-45) needed him to be. The win allowed them to split the series and take some satisfaction in going 4-6 (including two 1-0 losses) in their 10-game All-Star-break spanning gantlet against the Yankees and Red Sox. It also left them 5½ games out of the AL wild card and 7½ from first in the East with 65 to play as they head out on a 10-game road trip that takes them through the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline.
"We talked about trying to win this game in order to give us some momentum going forward on the road," Longoria said. "This is one of those defining stretches of the season, where you look to the schedule and say, 'This is kind of a make-or-break point for us.' … We still have plenty of games left, with the amount of games that we're back, to make up ground and continue to push for the postseason."
The win was also important for Shields, who had lost his past four starts, including 1-0 to the Yankees and Sabathia on July 10, the only scoring on Shields' errant pickoff throw.
"That was a good battle tonight," Shields said. "It's nice to come out with a win, especially with what happened last time we faced each other in New York. Anytime you're going to face CC, you're going to go through a battle, and fortunately for us we got just enough runs to win the ball game."
Shields repeated after the game what he said the day before, that he doesn't want to be traded: "This is the team I want to play for."
The Cardinals and Reds have already been identified as interested, and the Tigers surfaced Thursday as another possibility.
The Rays didn't figure to get much against 31st-birthday boy Sabathia, who had won his past seven starts. Longoria's homer, his first in 10 games, gave them a charge and some confidence (they are 38-10 when scoring first). They made it 2-0 in the fifth when Elliot Johnson drew a two-out walk, and Fuld, starting ahead of All-Star Matt Joyce, laced a triple.
Shields took them into the eighth before allowing a run (lowering his ERA to 2.53), then Gomes, the rookie, got one big out (Nick Swisher, with the tying run on second), and Farnsworth the final three.
"I felt," Shields said, "like this was an important game to win."
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Three share Senior British lead
Times wires
Thursday, July 21, 2011SURREY, England — Mark Calcavecchia overcame the afternoon rain to shoot bogey-free 68 and share the first-round lead at the Senior British Open on Thursday.
"(The rain) wasn't horrible, but it made it tougher for sure," said Calcavecchia, who had two birdies on the front nine and two on the back nine then parred his final five holes. "Not making any bogeys was nice. So it was a … good start."
Mark McNulty and Mike Harwood, both benefiting from dry morning conditions, also shot 4 under.
Calcavecchia seeks to become the fourth player to win the British Open and the senior version (Bob Charles, Gary Player and Tom Watson).
"It's a bit early to talk about that," said Calcavecchia, who won the British Open at Troon in 1989. "We'll give it all we got and see where we're standing on Sunday coming down the stretch."
Albert MacKenzie and David Frost were a shot behind with defending champion Bernhard Langer one of seven who were two back.
Watson shot 75, making double bogey at No. 8 after a drive into the middle of the fairway.
"I wasted a lot of strokes on the greens," he said. "I made two putts. That's about it."
Williams: 'I've wasted the last two years'
A day after his firing as Tiger Woods' caddie was disclosed, Steve Williams expressed his unhappiness.
"You could say I've wasted the last two years of my life," the New Zealander told Television New Zealand. "I've stuck with Tiger and been incredibly loyal. I'm not disappointed I've been fired. That's part of the job. But the timing is extraordinary."
Neither side said why they parted. But Thursday, Golfweek reported Woods, out with injuries to his left knee and left Achilles', was unhappy when Williams caddied for Adam Scott after the U.S. Open.
Williams reiterated he didn't know about Woods' infidelity.
"My name should have been cleared immediately," he said. "It wasn't, and that's what makes it even more disappointing what's transpired."
PGA: Kris Blanks shot 3-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Canadian Open in Vancouver. Blanks played in the morning, after overnight rain softened the course and made it easier to attack the greens. Rickie Fowler, Anthony Kim and Lucas Glover, playing together in the morning, shot 69 along with Ernie Els and were among 10 who were one back. Also among that group was Matt McQuillan, who seeks to become the first Canadian to win the event since 1954.
LPGA: Karen Stupples shot 30 on the back nine to finish at 5-under 67 and share the first-round lead at the Evian Masters in Evian-Les-Bains, France. Maria Hjorth and Ahn Shin-Ae also shot 67. Stupples double bogeyed No. 9 then made six birdies as rain fell intermittently. Hjorth bogeyed her final three holes. Shin birdied three of her final four holes. Cristie Kerr and Japan's Ai Miyazato were one back.
European PGA: Swedish amateur Robert Karlsson 22, shot 5-under 67 to share the first-round lead with Alexander Noren and Jaco Van Zyl at the Nordea Masters in Stockholm, Sweden. Four players sat one back. Bubba Watson shot 71. Dustin Johnson, who tied for second at the British Open, shot 73.
Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/three-share-senior-british-lead/1181796
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Thursday, 21 July 2011
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Offense lacking in Tampa Bay Rays' 5-4 loss to New York Yankees
By John Romano, Times Sports Columnist
Monday, July 18, 2011ST. PETERSBURG
A bunt single. A stolen base. An error and a fielder's choice, and a runner crosses the plate without the ball ever reaching the outfield.
This is how an underdog survives.
A walk, and another stolen base. A groundout to the right side, a hitter beating out an infield single, and another run scores without the ball leaving the infield.
This is how a scrappy team excels.
The problem is the team playing small ball Monday night was the one that leads the American League in home runs. And the team that manufactured runs the old-fashioned way was the one that has the $207 million payroll.
In other words, the Yankees beat the Rays at what is supposedly their own game. And that's not an encouraging sign for Tampa Bay going forward.
In their past six games, the Rays have lost five times to the payroll-enhancing big boys in New York and Boston. And hardly any of the losses have been knockouts.
The Rays have lost 5-4, 1-0, 1-0 and 5-4 in that span. For all the talk of the Yankees buying themselves the best bats in the game, they still manage to play smart baseball when the situation calls for it, including the tying run scoring when a double play was broken up Monday night.
"One of the things Joe (Maddon) talked about to start the second half was exactly that," leftfielder Sam Fuld said. "We need to do a better job of playing small ball and doing the little things because we can't rely on hitting a three-run homer.
"We can't do that, and we're not going to beat teams like that. We have to win games 3-2 on most nights if we're going to have a chance."
It should come as no surprise that Tampa Bay is in the middle of the pack in the American League in most offensive categories. It is simply the way the team is constructed.
The team has invested much of its resources in starting pitching and defense because that's the best way to make up the payroll difference with Boston and New York.
This is why the bottom third of the batting order is almost comically inept on most nights. Using a combination of on-base percentage and slugging percentage as a guide, the Rays are 11th, 11th and 14th in the AL in production in the seventh, eighth and ninth spots.
So, yes, the idea that Tampa Bay had the most futile five-hour offensive performance in major-league history Sunday night — three singles and one walk in 16 innings against the Red Sox was the worst showing of a game of that length in the past century or so — is only mildly disturbing.
The bigger issue is the Rays do not compensate for their shortcomings with any kind of savvy at the plate or on the bases.
They strike out far too much, they walk too infrequently, and they get thrown out stealing bases more than any team in the AL. Too many innings end after a half-dozen pitches, and too many scoring opportunities disappear needlessly.
"I did make a plea recently with them to do a better job with two strikes. That was my biggest concern that we have a better two-strike approach or plan, which is more of a small-ball methodology," Maddon said. "If you're not going to hit for a high average, at least move the ball. If you're not going to drive in points or drive the ball out of the ballpark, at least move the ball.
"You can't do anything positive with a strikeout."
In case you're wondering, the Rays struck out nine times Monday. The night before was 13. The night before that it was 10.
And, please, do not whine about the hitting coach. These are major-league players. If they can't figure out how to come to the plate with a game plan at this point, chances are they're never going to learn.
"Offensively we've talked about it. That's where we need to pick it up," Evan Longoria said. "As an offensive player, I accept that and I understand that."
Yes, this team needs offensive help to be playing meaningful games in September. Maybe that help comes in a trade, but the odds of adding to this roster grow more dim with every loss.
So the hitters need to look at themselves. Not everyone in this lineup is capable of hitting .300 or bashing 20 homers, but they can at least give themselves a better chance of scoring runs with a more thoughtful approach.
"A lot of that is mental. What are you trying to do here? What are you looking for, what are you expecting the pitcher to throw?" Maddon said. "It's not about my hands, my feet, my head, and all of that crap. It's what am I thinking? So I've challenged them to think on a more professional level."
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