Tuesday, April 15, 2014
New Playoff Format Gives N.H.L. Matchups It Wanted
New Playoff Format Gives N.H.L. Matchups It Wanted
Under a new format this season, the N.H.L. playoffs are arranged by division, with no reseeding after each round,resembling an N.C.A.A. tournament bracket. Even though some teams face more difficult matchups than they would have under the former format, the league got exactly what it wanted: matchups with plenty of spice and the renewal of some good rivalries. READ MORE
Brandon Lloyd, San Francisco 49ers strike 1-year dea
Brandon Lloyd, San Francisco 49ers strike 1-year deal
The San Francisco 49ers announced Tuesday that the wide receiver has signed a one-year deal to rejoin the team that originally picked him in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft.
Lloyd didn't register a snap last season after the Patriots released him in April on the heels of a 74-catch season in New England. Amid reports that his "erratic behavior" in the locker room bothered the Pats, Lloyd drew little interest on the open market before landing a role in a zombie flick.
Add Lloyd to a flock of 49ers wideouts who lack speed, but know how to catch the ball in traffic. He's on the wrong side of 30, but has a shot to make the roster behind Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree. San Francisco still lacks a true burner at the position, one reason the 49ers showed interest in DeSean Jackson before he signed with the Washington Redskins. READ MORE
At long last, Brandon Lloyd has found a new home.
Lloyd didn't register a snap last season after the Patriots released him in April on the heels of a 74-catch season in New England. Amid reports that his "erratic behavior" in the locker room bothered the Pats, Lloyd drew little interest on the open market before landing a role in a zombie flick.
Add Lloyd to a flock of 49ers wideouts who lack speed, but know how to catch the ball in traffic. He's on the wrong side of 30, but has a shot to make the roster behind Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree. San Francisco still lacks a true burner at the position, one reason the 49ers showed interest in DeSean Jackson before he signed with the Washington Redskins. READ MORE
Cal names Tennessee's Cuonzo Martin as new basketball coach
Cal names Tennessee's Cuonzo Martin as new basketball coach
Martin's decision to take the Cal job apparently caught Tennessee off-guard, according to a story on SB Nation. He flirted with Marquette right after the season, but when the Warriors decided to go in a different direction, Martin was expected to stay at Tennessee. But the SB Nation story said he had come under heavy criticism earlier in the 2013-14 season, including a petition to replace him.
The Volunteers staged a strong run at the end of the season, winning five of their final six conference games to finish 11-7 overall, good for fourth place. They were eliminated in the second round of the SEC tournament by Florida, which was ranked No. 1 in the country at the time.
Before going to Tennessee, Martin spent three seasons as the head coach at Missouri State, where he was 61-41 overall but just 26-28 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
A native of East St. Louis, Ill., he played college ball for Gene Keady at Purdue. Martin played for two seasons in the NBA after being a second-round pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1995 draft. He appeared in a total of seven games with the Vancouver (now Memphis) Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks.
(Associated Press)
If
Cal was trying to hit a home run with the hiring of a new men's
basketball coach, the Golden Bears appeared to come close enough,
announcing Tuesday that Tennessee head coach Cuonzo Martin would replace
Mike Montgomery.
Martin, 42, had been the Volunteers' coach for
the past three years, and led the Vols to a 24-13 record this past
season, including a surprise appearance in the Sweet 16, where they were
eliminated by Michigan. He was 63-41 overall in his three seasons at
Tennessee.Martin's decision to take the Cal job apparently caught Tennessee off-guard, according to a story on SB Nation. He flirted with Marquette right after the season, but when the Warriors decided to go in a different direction, Martin was expected to stay at Tennessee. But the SB Nation story said he had come under heavy criticism earlier in the 2013-14 season, including a petition to replace him.
The Volunteers staged a strong run at the end of the season, winning five of their final six conference games to finish 11-7 overall, good for fourth place. They were eliminated in the second round of the SEC tournament by Florida, which was ranked No. 1 in the country at the time.
Before going to Tennessee, Martin spent three seasons as the head coach at Missouri State, where he was 61-41 overall but just 26-28 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
A native of East St. Louis, Ill., he played college ball for Gene Keady at Purdue. Martin played for two seasons in the NBA after being a second-round pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1995 draft. He appeared in a total of seven games with the Vancouver (now Memphis) Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks.
Check back here for more on this developing story.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens Preview
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens Preview
Wednesday, April 16 7:00 PM ET
Leaning towards Montreal in this series !!
Leaning towards Montreal in this series !!
The Montreal Canadiens are the road team in their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but that didn't look likely a week ago, before the Canadiens laid an egg at home and lost 2-0 to the New York Islanders.
Now the Habs start on the road, their play heading into the playoffs has gone back to alarming, and a healthy and not-suspended Douglas Murray lurks in the background like the menacing beat of The Tell-Tale Heart.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Sexy Michelle Joy Phelps
A native to California, Michelle Joy Phelps, is a creative talent with her focus set on becoming a successful actress in the world of Film and Television.
AND SHE LOVES HER BOXING ! :)
Michelle Joy Phelps: Various Boxing Topics:
Cubs vs Cardinals - My Pick: ST. LOUIS 0 (-220) ML WON
Cubs 4 - Cardinals 6 Final My Pick: ST. LOUIS 0 (-220)
Bet $220 To Win $100
WON
Bet Summary
Going with St. Louis and Wacha (1-0, 0.71 ERA) for today's bet. Wacha has way better numbers vs Cub hitters then Jackson has vs St Louis batters. The Cards are batting over 300 vs E. Jackson lifetime.
-SportsProbabbilityBlog-
Cubs-Cardinals Recap
ST. LOUIS -- Matt Carpenter drove in three runs, leading Michael Wacha and the St. Louis Cardinals over the Chicago Cubs 6-4 Sunday.
The Cardinals took two of three from the Cubs. Chicago has lost three of four overall.
Carpenter hit a two-run single in the second inning and added a sacrifice fly in the fourth that put St. Louis ahead to stay at 4-3.
Wacha (2-0) allowed three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. He gave up a two-run homer to Anthony Rizzo on his 16th pitch of the game.
Wacha struck out eight and walked one.
Trevor Rosenthal gave up a run in the ninth, but retired Luis Valbuena and Emilio Bonifaciowith the trying runs on base to pick up his fourth save in as many opportunities.
Edwin Jackson (0-1) allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Friday, April 11, 2014
Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley Jr. Preview
Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley Jr. Preview
It's fight weekend in Las Vegas.
And unlike the first time Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley met at the same venue – the MGM Grand – nearly two years ago, Saturday's rematch between the two brings along an accompanying buzz that's been generated by a whole host of factors, particularly who's wearing the title belt.
Both Pacquiao's reign as the World Boxing Organization's (WBO) welterweight champion and his seven-plus year unbeaten run went by the boards when he dropped a split decision to Bradley in June 2012, but you'd be hard-pressed to find many who believed the Californian truly earned his bounty.
Indeed, the verdict in the new champion's favor encountered almost universal scorn among fans, prompted a hasty departure from the sport by embattled judge C.J. Ross and was deemed “Robbery of the Year” by many of the sport's most prominent media outlets, including BoxingScene.com.
The official weigh-in for the fight is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. ET. The fight card will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET, with the HBO pay-per-view broadcast set to open at 9 p.m. ET.
Even Bradley, who's since defended Pacquiao's belt with wins over one of the Filipino's former sparring partners (Ruslan Provodnikov) and his most familiar four-time foe (Juan Manuel Marquez), concedes the lack of clarity from the initial go-round will be a contributing factor in his encore effort.
“This is for all the people, all the millions of people who saw the first fight and said ‘Bradley lost the fight, but they gave it to him,'” he said. “It's for them, so they can say, ‘Dang, Tim Bradley the second time around made it more decisive. Maybe the first fight he didn't win, but he won the second one for damned sure.' The credit is what I'm looking for, for beating a legend.”
Bradley has spiced up the pre-fight hype by insisting Pacquiao, who was knocked cold by Marquez six months after their first fight and has appeared only once since – beating Brandon Rios in Macau, China last November – has lost the competitive zeal that had made him a pound-for-pound kingpin.
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, predictably takes issue with the assessment, and said that he's been using it as fuel during the former seven-division champion's pre-fight preparation.
“He's kind of motivated Manny to go for the knockout if he hurts him, because he's saying that Manny's no longer hungry and fights for the money only and has lost his killer instinct,” Roach said. “For him to say that is like a slap in the face to Manny. He's a little pissed off about it. I've never seen him this pissed off. He said, ‘Do you believe he said that to me?' and I remind him every day.”
How does Pacquiao win?
Because the consensus is that he won the first meeting in 2012, most would anticipate that he'd simply do more of the same, which would entail being faster and busier and continually landing the harder shots. Much will depend on how much, if any, he's slipped in the nearly two years since the first fight – a stretch which has seen him knocked out and shelved for 11 months before a one-fight return.
How does Bradley win?
Just as most believe Bradley lost the first time, most concede that he's progressed in the meantime. The post-Pacquiao defeat of Ruslan Provodnikov showed an acumen for absorbing punishment and outlasting a strong foe, while the points win over Juan Manuel Marquez proved he could handle a top-end foe with footwork and speed. The latter is more likely to be in play Saturday.
Prediction: Bradley by a close, unanimous decision
If the snarling, perpetually violent version of Pacquiao is the one who reaches the ring Saturday night – and if the assumptions are wrong that Bradley has made significant improvement – then it could be a short night in the Filipino's favor. However, the guess here is that “Desert Storm” is schooled enough to frustrate Pacquiao with movement and smart counters, and tough enough to fight his way out of trouble when it does inevitably present itself. That should be enough to win seven rounds in a fight that, if it goes according to Bradley's plan, will be far more strategic than spectacular. Call it 115-113.
It's fight weekend in Las Vegas.
And unlike the first time Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley met at the same venue – the MGM Grand – nearly two years ago, Saturday's rematch between the two brings along an accompanying buzz that's been generated by a whole host of factors, particularly who's wearing the title belt.
Both Pacquiao's reign as the World Boxing Organization's (WBO) welterweight champion and his seven-plus year unbeaten run went by the boards when he dropped a split decision to Bradley in June 2012, but you'd be hard-pressed to find many who believed the Californian truly earned his bounty.
Indeed, the verdict in the new champion's favor encountered almost universal scorn among fans, prompted a hasty departure from the sport by embattled judge C.J. Ross and was deemed “Robbery of the Year” by many of the sport's most prominent media outlets, including BoxingScene.com.
The official weigh-in for the fight is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. ET. The fight card will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET, with the HBO pay-per-view broadcast set to open at 9 p.m. ET.
Even Bradley, who's since defended Pacquiao's belt with wins over one of the Filipino's former sparring partners (Ruslan Provodnikov) and his most familiar four-time foe (Juan Manuel Marquez), concedes the lack of clarity from the initial go-round will be a contributing factor in his encore effort.
“This is for all the people, all the millions of people who saw the first fight and said ‘Bradley lost the fight, but they gave it to him,'” he said. “It's for them, so they can say, ‘Dang, Tim Bradley the second time around made it more decisive. Maybe the first fight he didn't win, but he won the second one for damned sure.' The credit is what I'm looking for, for beating a legend.”
Bradley has spiced up the pre-fight hype by insisting Pacquiao, who was knocked cold by Marquez six months after their first fight and has appeared only once since – beating Brandon Rios in Macau, China last November – has lost the competitive zeal that had made him a pound-for-pound kingpin.
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, predictably takes issue with the assessment, and said that he's been using it as fuel during the former seven-division champion's pre-fight preparation.
“He's kind of motivated Manny to go for the knockout if he hurts him, because he's saying that Manny's no longer hungry and fights for the money only and has lost his killer instinct,” Roach said. “For him to say that is like a slap in the face to Manny. He's a little pissed off about it. I've never seen him this pissed off. He said, ‘Do you believe he said that to me?' and I remind him every day.”
How does Pacquiao win?
Because the consensus is that he won the first meeting in 2012, most would anticipate that he'd simply do more of the same, which would entail being faster and busier and continually landing the harder shots. Much will depend on how much, if any, he's slipped in the nearly two years since the first fight – a stretch which has seen him knocked out and shelved for 11 months before a one-fight return.
How does Bradley win?
Just as most believe Bradley lost the first time, most concede that he's progressed in the meantime. The post-Pacquiao defeat of Ruslan Provodnikov showed an acumen for absorbing punishment and outlasting a strong foe, while the points win over Juan Manuel Marquez proved he could handle a top-end foe with footwork and speed. The latter is more likely to be in play Saturday.
Prediction: Bradley by a close, unanimous decision
If the snarling, perpetually violent version of Pacquiao is the one who reaches the ring Saturday night – and if the assumptions are wrong that Bradley has made significant improvement – then it could be a short night in the Filipino's favor. However, the guess here is that “Desert Storm” is schooled enough to frustrate Pacquiao with movement and smart counters, and tough enough to fight his way out of trouble when it does inevitably present itself. That should be enough to win seven rounds in a fight that, if it goes according to Bradley's plan, will be far more strategic than spectacular. Call it 115-113.
76ers vs Grizzlies - My Pick: 1st Qtr-MEMPHIS -5 (-115) WON
1st Qtr Score
76ers 30 vs Grizzlies36
My Pick: 1st Qtr-MEMPHIS -5 (-115)
Bet $100 To Win $86
WON
WON
Just
barely got this bet, but i wasn't confident if Memphis would cover the
full game 14 points with the couching staffs usually benching the
starters in the 4th qtr to prepare for the next game and rest them.
~SportsProbabilityBlog~
Philadelphia 76ers' Michael Carter-Williams (1) goes to the basket between Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) and forward James Johnson (3) in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Friday, April 11, 2014, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mike Brown)
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Bayern Munich vs. Manchester United Re-Cap
Bayern Munich vs. Manchester United Re-Cap
MUNICH -- Reaction to Bayern Munich's 3-1 win
vs. Manchester United on Wednesday, which sees the defending champions
advance to the Champions League semifinals 4-2 on aggregate.
1. The Stars of the South
At the final whistle, Willy Astor’s Bayern Munich anthem blared out across a rocking Allianz Arena, as it had just before the game began. “Who always handles the big pressure?” the lyrics asked, the crowd enthusiastically answering “FC Bayern Munich, Star of the South.” With their backs against the wall after Manchester United’s second-half sucker punch, Bayern’s big names stepped up to take them to the Champions League semifinals for a third successive season. READ MORE
1. The Stars of the South
At the final whistle, Willy Astor’s Bayern Munich anthem blared out across a rocking Allianz Arena, as it had just before the game began. “Who always handles the big pressure?” the lyrics asked, the crowd enthusiastically answering “FC Bayern Munich, Star of the South.” With their backs against the wall after Manchester United’s second-half sucker punch, Bayern’s big names stepped up to take them to the Champions League semifinals for a third successive season. READ MORE
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)