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Welcome to Les Grobsteins Official Website
 MOOSE(July 9,1997-August 29,2008) He will always be with us!
Welcome to GROBBERNET!
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GROBBER'S MONDAY RANTS---Oct 6,2008
Posted by: grobber33 on Monday, October 06, 2008 - 10:09 AM
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***The Cubs were nothing more than an absolute disgrace! This was by far the worst showing in our lifetimes by a Chicago Baseball team in the Post Season. Six runs total in three games with sub par defensive play and no life whatsoever. OK, the 1983 "Winning Ugly" White Six won 99 games and their offense was even worse that this year's Cubs in the Playoffs. Those 83 Sox scored just three runs in four games against Baltimore in the ALCS,but they at least won a game 2-1. But the Cubs appeared beaten after game one on Wednesday night.
***And the Fans had nothing to do with the Cubs losing,but damned, the atmosphere(or lack thereof)was awful for the entire first game,and even though the crowd showed much more life for the first inning and a half of Thursday night contest,they were comatose for the rest of the night. It was definitely a cooperate crowd,which Management could care less about. The big time rollers are the only types whom Management cares about. The average Fans don't matter any more,no matter what the Club bosses say.
***The Brewers also are done,but they at least won a game. The White Sox and Angels stayed alive Sunday and each have won a game heading into Monday action. That means the Cubs finished in LAST PLACE among 2008 MLB Post Season teams--the only club NOT to win even one friggin game! Are Fans supposed to be excited about this? Should loyal fans be expected to forget this Playoff meltdown and just be thrilled with the meaningless 97 game regular season? I DON'T THINK SO!
***Heading into next season.Cub Fans will have every right to be as apathetic as can be. No matter what the Front Office does between now and Spring Training next year, all of the propaganda we'll hear at the Cub Convention,etc, will mean nothing. Fans are sick and tired of this 'Wait until next year' crap. The 97 regular season wins by the Cubs mean absolutely nothing! Who cares? This season was a total loss!
***The White Sox got 'on the board' with their 5-3 win over Tampa Bay.The Rays still lead the ALDS 2 games to 1,but the Sox have a chance Monday to send the series back to St.Pete for a fifth game Wednesday, Since the Angels beat the Red Sox in 12 innings and over five hours, the Sox and Rays game will start at 4pm,and the Angels-Red Sox contest goes at 7:30pm. The East Coast bias continues as the Red Sox are still being given preference for the Prime Time start.
***Heard several times after the Sox win Sunday night on the South Side: "Well the Sox have a Playoff win while the Cubs didn't win any." Nyah,Nyah,Nyah!
***The Bears are in first place for the first time since the 2006 season ended.Last year the Bears lost their opener in San Diego while Green Bay won it's first game and led the NFC North 'wire to wire'.The Bears had no intention of allowing the awful Detroit Lions even think about competing Sunday. The NFL is chock full of horrible teams in addition to Detroit. Houston may be the most talented 0-4 team, Cincinnati and St.Louis are also win less,and hopeless. Seattle,Kansas City,Oakland,and Cleveland are also dregs of the NFL.
LES
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Sox win 5-3, cut Rays ALDS lead to 2 games to 1.
Posted by: grobber33 on Monday, October 06, 2008 - 10:05 AM
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The White Sox are back in their American League Division Series with Tampa Bay after using the pitching of John Danks,and some clutch hitting to beat the Rays 5-3.The Rays hit Danks pretty well in the first two innings,but only scored one run. That came in the second when Dioner Navarro doubled into the LF corner.He took third on a grounder to second by Rocco Baldelli.The after a walk to Jason Bartlett,Akinori Iwamura hit a slow roller that both Danks and Paul Konerko went after,and the speedy second baseman beat it out for an RBI infield single.The Rays however left two runners on like they did in the first inning. Garza walked DeWayne Wise leading off the Sox third. After Orlando Cabrera whiffed,Wise stole second,and he then scored on a hard hit single up the middle to tie the game 1-1. The Sox got to Garza for three runs in the 4th to take the lead for the first time. Jim Thome started the rally when he hit a long double over the head of CF B.J.Upton,who always plays shallow anyway. Konerko walked and Ken Griffey Jr.singled to right to load the bases. Alexi Ramirez lifted a sac fly to Upton in CF and in fact all three runners tagged and advanced. Wise then lined a two run double past Evan Longoria that rolled into the LF corner to score both Konerko and Griffey on what was the winning blow as it turned out. The Sox had another chance in the 5th when Pierzynski,who clearly had Garza figured out,hit a long double over Upton's head,but Dye fouled to Navarro,and after Thome walked,Konerko bounced into an around the hron double play to end the inning.The Sox added a run in the 6th with two gone in the 6th.Griffey led off with a walk, Brian Anderson ran for him,and stole second. Ramirez was robbed of a hit by 3B Evan Longoria,and Wise bounced out to a pulled in Carlos Pena at 1B. B ut Juan Uribe line an RBI single to left to score Anderson. The Rays got back into the game in the top of the 7th. Baldelli walked and two outs later,Upton lined a 400 foot plus two run homer to the Left Field seats to cut the Sox lead to 5-3.One hit by Pena later,Octavio Dotel relieved Danks and got out of the inning. Matt Thornton worked a scoreless 8th.Bobby Jenks worked the ninth,giving up only a walk,but he earned the save.
NOTES---Attendance was 40,142.....The game was delayed for 35 minutes at the start.....Gavin Floyd(17-8)opposes Andy Sonnanstine(13-9)in Monday's game four.
LES
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Angels outlast BoSox, live for another day.
Posted by: grobber33 on Monday, October 06, 2008 - 09:23 AM
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BOSTON---Francisco Rodriguez's biggest save of a record-breaking season came in a tie game.Rodriguez wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th inning, Mike Napoli hit two early homers before scoring the go-ahead run in the 12th and the Los Angeles Angels avoided another playoff sweep by beating the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Sunday night.Boston had beaten Los Angeles in 11 consecutive AL playoff games, including three-game sweeps in 2004 and '07 en route to a pair of World Series titles. But the Angels chased Red Sox ace Josh Beckett early, then got six scoreless innings from five relievers to keep them in the game.Napoli hit a mammoth homer off the Green Monster light stanchion to tie the game 3-all in the third, then gave Los Angeles a lead with his second homer before the Red Sox tied it 4-all in the fifth. It stayed that way until Napoli singled to lead off the 11th, went to second on Howie Kendrick's sacrifice bunt and scored when Erick Aybar blooped a single to left-center.Jered Weaver, making his first career relief appearance, pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Javier Lopez, the sixth Boston pitcher, took the loss in a game that lasted 5 hours, 19 minutes.
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Orton,Bears crush pitiful Lions 34-7,move into first in NFC North
Posted by: grobber33 on Monday, October 06, 2008 - 02:06 AM
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DETROIT---Like many NFL players, Kyle Orton seems to love playing the Detroit Lions.Orton set career highs in passing yards, completions and quarterback rating while throwing two touchdowns to lead the Chicago Bears to a 34-7 win over Detroit on Sunday.He was 24-of-34 for 334 yards and had a 121.4 rating, improving to 3-0 against the Lions.The Bears (3-2) broke a first-place tie with the Green Bay Packers, who lost at home to Atlanta, to lead the lackluster NFC North with about one-third of the season completed.The Lions (0-4) look like the might have trouble winning a game any time soon, and the move they made to fire team president Matt Millen appears to be moot because of the mess he left behind.The Bears built a 31-0 lead before rookie Kevin Smith scored for the Lions midway through the third quarter.Detroit played fourth-year quarterback Dan Orlovsky in the third quarter for the first time in his career, but it wasn't immediately clear if the move was made because Jon Kitna was hurt.
Orlovsky was 13-of-26 for 97 yards -- all career highs -- and threw an interception. Kitna was 8-of-16 for 74 yards and fumbled on the Lions' fourth possession after losing 4 yards on the first three possessions. Matt Forte scored on a 9-yard reception to make it 10-0 in the second quarter and his 1-yard run early in the third made it 24-0.Orton connected with Devin Hester for a touchdown late in the second quarter and Charles Tillman intercepted a pass that went off Roy Williams' hands and returned it for a score, giving the Bears a 31-0 lead early in the third.It was a familiar start for Detroit.The Lions trailed 21-0 in their first two games and 21-3 in the third, leading to Millen's firing during a bye week that ended his era with an NFL-worst 31-84 mark since 2001. Detroit has been outscored 38-0 in the first quarter this season.The Bears had their most lopsided win on the road against the Lions since winning 42-14 in 1948.The Bears were without two key players on defense, cornerback Nathan Vasher to injury and defensive tackle Tommie Harris because of a team suspension, but they didn't have any trouble slowing down Detroit. Orton did plenty when they had the ball to enjoy his accomplishments. He surpassed his previous records of 22 completions and 268 yards passing -- both of which he reached last month against Tampa Bay -- and a 103.3 rating, which he set in a 38-6 win over the Lions at home in 2005.The win,coupled with Green Bay's home loss to Atlanta,put the Bears in first place for the first time since the end of the 2006 season.
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Brewers join Cubs in Baseball's offseason. Phils advance
Posted by: grobber33 on Monday, October 06, 2008 - 01:59 AM
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MILWAUKEE---Pat Burrell broke out of his slump in a big way with two homers, one a three-run shot, and Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth added solo homers Sunday to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that clinched their first trip to the NLCS since 1993.Overshadowed by the offensive barrage was a gem by Joe Blanton, who held the Brewers to one run after an eight-day layoff.Rollins got the Phillies started with a leadoff shot and Philadelphia won the best-of-5 series three games to one, earning another crack at the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.The teams have met for the NL pennant three times before. The Dodgers won in 1977 and '78, while the Phillies took the flag in 1983.Game 1 is Thursday in Philadelphia. During the regular season, each team swept a four-game series from the other at home.The wild-card Brewers, meanwhile, head for an offseason of uncertainty after their first playoff appearance in 26 years. Ace pitcher CC Sabathia, who almost single-handedly salvaged Milwaukee's postseason hopes, is a free agent and isn't expected back. Ben Sheets, the team's second-best starter, might be gone, too.Oh, and the Brewers need a manager after firing Ned Yost with 12 games left in the regular season. Dale Sveum took over on an interim basis.Burrell, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were a fearsome trio in the regular season for the Phillies, putting up the kind of numbers that make opposing pitchers shudder. Howard made a case for the NL MVP, leading the league in home runs (48) and RBI (146), and Utley and Burrell added 33 homers each.But their bats were deafeningly silent in the first three games of the series, even as Philadelphia jumped out to a 2-0 lead. The three were a dismal 4-for-28 in the first three games, with Burrell going hitless. The power outage was reminiscent of last year, when they went 5-for-27 while being swept by Colorado.This wasn't the same, Howard and Burrell insisted after Saturday night's loss. Philadelphia's offensive fortunes were about to turn.Did they ever.Rollins led off Sunday's game with a homer, turning on a 3-2 pitch from Suppan and depositing it into the first row of seats in right field. Two innings later, Shane Victorino doubled to left with one out and went to third on a groundout by Utley. The Brewers opted to walk Howard, which wouldn't seem like a bad move, considering Burrell's single in the second was his first hit of the postseason.But Burrell made the Brewers pay, lofting Suppan's 2-2 pitch so deep into the left-field stands that Ryan Braun barely bothered to chase it. He turned and started to jog toward the wall, but the ball was long gone by then. The Phillies weren't done, either, with Werth hitting a homer to make it 5-0. The sellout crowd at Miller Park booed Suppan, not letting up when Greg Dobbs flied out to end the inning.It could have been even uglier for Milwaukee. The Phillies had runners at second and third with only one out in the second, but Suppan struck out Carlos Ruiz and Blanton. Yovani Gallardo, who pitched Game 1 after missing most of the season with a knee injury, relieved Suppan and kept the Phillies in check, not allowing another hit until the seventh inning. But the damage was done by then.Burrell hit another monster homer to left in the eighth inning off Guillermo Mota.The Brewers had their own offensive worries, though Blanton can take credit for most of those. The burly right-hander, acquired in July from Oakland, hadn't pitched since Sept. 26 and was making only his second career postseason appearance.After a first-inning single by Braun, Blanton retired his next 10 hitters, with only four balls leaving the infield. He finally wore out in the seventh, giving up a leadoff homer to Prince Fielder, who had been 0-for-12 in his first postseason. After J.J. Hardy followed with a single, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel replaced Blanton with Ryan Madson.Hardy advanced to third on two groundouts, but Madson retired Jason Kendall on a popout to end the threat.The Brewers added another run in the eighth on Braun's two-out RBI single, and the Milwaukee fans- - including the blue-collar truck driver in Miller ads who's made it his mission to "take back the High Life" -- stood and began clapping their Thunder Stix, sensing a change in momentum.
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Cubs finish another disgraceful Post Season run. Swept by Dodgers.
Posted by: grobber33 on Sunday, October 05, 2008 - 11:54 AM
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LOS ANGELES---It's a century and counting for the Cubs.A pitiful showing in the National League Championship Series-one that was even worse than last year-came to a lame finish in LA LA Land. Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers shoved the Cubs,and for that mattrer suffering Cub Fans into another long winter Saturday night, completing a three-game sweep of their first-round playoff series with a 3-1 victory.The Cubs' latest flameout has to be among the most galling, considering they fell flat against the Dodgers after their best regular season since 1945.It doesn't matter. It' all for naught and can be tossed in the garbage can. James Loney hit a two-out, two-run double in the first to get Los Angeles started, and Hiroki Kuroda worked 6 1/3 brilliant innings in the first postseason outing of his career.The three victories boosted first-year manager Joe Torre's postseason total to 79 -- the most in baseball history. His first 76 came in the previous 12 years as skipper of the New York Yankees, including 16 in four World Series triumphs.After earning their first postseason series victory in 20 years, the Dodgers will face Philadelphia or Milwaukee in the best-of-7 NLCS starting Thursday -- at Philadelphia should the Phillies win, at Dodger Stadium should the Brewers prevail.And the Cubs head home without having come close to their first World Series triumph since 1908. They have lost nine consecutive playoff games, including three to Arizona in the first round last year.They are now 0-7 lifetime during the Post Season in the State of California.While the Cubs clinched the NL Central on Sept. 20 and won a league-high 97 games, the Dodgers had a losing record as recently as early September before turning things around behind Manny Ramirez. They went 84-78 and won the NL West, baseball's weakest division.Make no mistake, the Dodgers dominated this series, outscoring the Northsiders 20-6 thanks in part to a lot of help from the bumbling Cubs. Cursed or not, they were outplayed in every way, committing six errors and doing a woeful job of hitting with runners in scoring position.Basically,they just plain STUNK! The Dodgers, meanwhile, entered having won only one postseason game since beating Oakland in the 1988 World Series. They tripled that output against the Cubs, who became the first team to finish with NL's best regular-season record and be swept in the first round of the playoffs since the Astros in 2001.Ramirez, who hit .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBIs in 53 games after joining the Dodgers, went 1-for-2 and scored a run, giving him five hits in 10 at-bats with two homers, five runs scored and three RBIs in the series. Rich Harden (0-1) walked Ramirez intentionally twice.The Dodgers began their locker room champagne celebration within a couple minutes after the final out, and several returned to the field shortly thereafter to share their joy with the fans. Russell Martin and Matt Kemp went into the left-field pavilion, and Kemp poured champagne into Kuroda's mouth in front of the Los Angeles dugout as the fans cheered.For the Cubs,they deserve caster oil.This wasn't Kuroda's first outstanding performance against the Cubs -- he shut them out on four hits while striking out 11 on June 6 at Dodger Stadium.The Cubs were pretty awful in the first two games at Wrigley Field, where they were an NL-best 55-26 during the regular season. Game 1 starter Ryan Dempster matched a career high with seven walks in 4 2/3 innings in a 7-2 loss, and each of the four Cub infielders committed errors in Game 2, leading to a 10-3 setback.A move to Los Angeles didn't help the pitiful offense, which scored a league-leading 855 runs this year,but none of that means crap now!. The Cubs had only four hits in 17 at-bats with runners in scoring position in the first two games before going 1-for-11 in Game 3.At least the long-suffering Cubs fans weren't around to boo them in Game 3, although the Dodger Stadium faithful made up for that. Russell Martin hit a one-out double in the first and took third on a single by Ramirez. After Harden struck out Andre Ethier, Loney hit a liner down the right-field line, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead and sending the towel-waving fans into an early frenzy.Rafael Furcal walked with one out in the fifth and scored on a double by Martin.The Cubs got their run in the eighth off Wade on a leadoff double by Derrek Lee, who had three hits, and a two-out RBI single by pinch-hitter Daryle Ward. Jonathan Broxton relieved and struck out Mark DeRosa to end the inning, and worked a perfect ninth with two more strikeouts to earn a save.Harden allowed five hits and three runs in 4 1/3 innings. He had gone 5-0 with a 1.99 ERA in his last 10 starts of the regular season.The Cubs put two runners aboard with two outs in both the first and third innings, but Kuroda worked out of trouble each time, retiring Geovany Soto to end the first and Aramis Ramirez to finish the third.Soto doubled to open the fourth and took third on an infield out. But after Soto stayed at third on another groundout, the Dodgers walked Ryan Theriot intentionally before Kuroda fanned Harden.
NOTES---The Dodgers were 23-9 at Dodger Stadium after the All-Star break for the best home record in baseball. ... The Cubs were 42-38 on the road, but won 21 of their final 29 road games including nine straight from July 23-Aug. 15. ... Former Dodgers stars Don Newcombe and Duke Snider threw the ceremonial first pitches. Both were members of the franchise's first World Series championship in 1955. The Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles three years later. ... The Astros tied St. Louis for the NL's best record in 2001.
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Brewers get first ever NL Playoff win to get back into NLDS with Phils
Posted by: grobber33 on Sunday, October 05, 2008 - 08:44 AM
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MILWAUKEE---In the first ever post season game at Miller Park,which is the Brewers first period since the 1982 World Series,the Philadelphia Phillies were hoping to pull off a sweep. But Milwaukee,in it's first ever National Playoff contest, got good pitching and took advantage of wildness by the Phils pitchers to earn a 4-1 win and trim their deficit to two games two one in the NL Division Series.Dave Bush started out throwing strikes and Jamie Moyer did not. In the top of the first,Bush fanned Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Wirth,then threw out Chase Utley on a comebacker. In the bottom of the first, Moyer uncharacteristically walked lead off man Mike Cameron on four pitches,then put Billy Hall on with another walk,and he threw a wild pitch in the dirt. Ryan Braun fouled to 3B Pedro Feliz,but Prince Fielder was able to lift a sac fly to right and J.J.Hardy lined a two out RBI single to left to make it 2-0.The Phillies wasted a chance in the second after a lead off double to left by Ryan Howard,but Bush got Pat Burrell on a grounder to third,Shane Victorino on a fly ball to CF,and Feliz on a routine fly to left.Moyer was lifted for a pinch hitter in the to of the 5th,and Clay Condrey took over in the bottom of that inning.The Brewers got to him for an insurance run,again due to wildness. Cameron was hit by a pitch in the leg and Hall singled to center,sending Cameron to third.Braun then lifted a sac fly to left that scored Cameron to make it 3-0 Crew. The Phillies got on the board and chased Bush in the top of the 6th as Jayson Werth drove one to deep RF that Corey Hart appeared to first grab in front of the wall,but as he fell down,the ball came loose before Hart could show it to RF Umpire Mark Wegner and Werth ran all the way to third with a triple.Utley popped out to Hardy and Mitch Stetter relieved Bush. Howard bounced to Hall at third as Werth scored.The Brewers had a great chance to blow this game open in the 6th when they loaded the bases on singles by pitcher Carlos Villanueva,Cameron and Hall with one out,but Braun fanned against Chad Durbin,and then ex Cub Scott Eyre came in a got Fielder on a fly ball to left on a 3-1 pitch.But Eyre got into trouble in the bottom of the 7th.Hardy picked up his third hit of the game,a single to left,and he was bunted to second by Corey Hart. Craig Counsell,who had replaced Ricky Weeks in the fourth inning,hit a slow roller up the first base line,and he beat it out with no play. Jason Kendall followed with an RBI single to left. The Phillies had a 9th inning threat with runners at first and second with nobody out against Salomon Torres,but Feliz bounced into an around the horn double play,and even though Howard appeared to score from third on that play,he was sent back to third base when Umpires called runner's interference on Greg Dobbs. Carlos Ruiz then grounded out to end the game.
NOTES---Attendance was 43,992....The 'Italian Sausage' won the first ever Post Season Sausage race after the top of the sixth inning....Jeff Suppan starts game four for the Brewers against the Phillies Joe Blanton on Sunday at 12:07pm.
LES
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NIU gives Vols a scare,but comes up short
Posted by: grobber33 on Sunday, October 05, 2008 - 08:42 AM
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KNOXVILLE---Nick Stephens threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Denarius Moore and Tennessee's new starting quarterback helped the Volunteers slip past Northern Illinois 13-9 on Saturday night.Stephens' touchdown pass came on the first play of a third quarter drive and put Tennessee (2-3) up 13-3. It was the Vols' longest play of the season. Tennessee still struggled, converting three of 13 third downs and picking up only nine first downs.With the Vols off to a poor start, Neyland Stadium was again less than full. The crowd was announced at 99,539, about 2,500 short of a sellout. It's unlikely an ugly win against a middle of the pack team from the Mid-Amercian Conference will do anything to appease Vols fans who have been displeased with Fulmer.Stephens completed 11 of 18 for 156 yards - not much different from Crompton's average stats - and the redshirt sophomore fumbled the ball at the Vols 23 after taking a hard hit.Mike Krause recovered for the Huskies at the 9, giving NIU its best shot at the end zone of the night.Back-to-back penalties for delay of game and sideline interference backed the Huskies up 10 yards, and Mike Salerno kicked a 25-yard field goal to pull Northern within 4 with 1:31 in the third quarter.
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Illini turns Juice losse to clobber Michigan 45-20 in the Big House.
Posted by: grobber33 on Sunday, October 05, 2008 - 04:56 AM
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Juice Williams threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 121 yards and two scores without making a mistake, leading Illinois to a 45-20 win over Michigan on Saturday. The quarterback's 431 yards of total offense for the Fighting Illini (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) were the most any player has had at Michigan Stadium and it matched an opponent record against the Wolverines. The Illini set a school record for points against Michigan, surpassing the 39 points Red Grange helped them score in 1924 as Memorial Stadium was dedicated, and they scored the most any team has at the Big House since Florida State had 51 in 1991.Michigan (2-3, 1-1) has its worst record after five games since starting 1-5 in 1967, two years before Bo Schembechler arrived.The Wolverines got off to a good start for a change, scoring a season-high 14 points in the first quarter, then they gave up 28 unanswered points and then some more to turn the game into a rout.Williams completed 13 of 26 passes and many of his incomplete passes were intentional after he eluded sacks and threw the ball away to avoid big losses. He ran the ball 19 times, including a 50-yard run that set up a score in the fourth quarter.He connected with Jeff Cumberland for a 77-yard pass, the longest by an Illini quarterback since 1985, and a perfectly lofted screen to running back Daniel Dufrene turned into a 57-yard TD. Arrelious Benn had six catches for 122 yards for the Illini, who fell out of the Associated Press poll this week for the first time this season following a loss at Penn State.Michigan's Steven Threet was 18-of-35 for 250 yards and two TDs. Sam McGuffie ran for 70 yards and a touchdown and freshman Martavious Odoums set season highs with seven receptions and 129 yards receiving.Thanks to Williams' sensational performance, Illinois won at Michigan Stadium for the first time since 1999. That victory helped the Illini go from 3-3 to 8-4, including a bowl win over Virginia, in what was their best season before winning nine games last season and playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1984.Michigan has some work to do to win enough games to play in a 34th straight bowl in Rich Rodriguez's debut season with college football's winningest program.
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Irish hold off late Stanford ralley
Posted by: grobber33 on Sunday, October 05, 2008 - 04:10 AM
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SOUTH BEND---Jimmy Clausen threw for a career-high 347 yards and three touchdown passes and Notre Dame held on for a 28-21 victory over Stanford on Saturday.ND's seventh straight victory over the Cardinal (3-3) looked as if it was going to be a rout when the Fighting Irish (4-1) were up 28-7 in the fourth quarter.Stanford made a late run behind Tavita Pritchard. He threw a 1-yard pass to Jim Dray and a 10-yard TD pass to Doug Baldwin with 6 minutes left to close to within a touchdown.The Cardinal got the ball back on their own 2 with 3:34 left, but couldn't mount a drive. They had one last chance with 8 seconds left, but fumbled the ball and Pat Kuntz recovered to end the game.The Irish, who started last season 0-5, won their fifth straight home game after losing a school-record six straight at Notre Dame Stadium a year ago. The Cardinal haven't won at Notre Dame Stadium since 1992.The game ended with some pushing and shoving, but coaches quickly separated the teams.It was the second straight career-best performance for Clausen, who threw for 275 yards a week earlier against Purdue. He was much more efficient against the Cardinal, however, completing 29-of-40 passes with no interceptions. He had a 21-yard touchdown pass to Armando Allen Jr., a 48-yard scoring pass to Michael Floyd and a 16-yard TD pass to Kyle Rudolph.Floyd had five catches for 115 yards for the Irish and Allen had seven catches for 66 yards and also scored on a 3-yard run as the Irish were held to 83 yards rushing. The 29 completions also were a career-high for Clausen.After rushing for 107 yards in the first quarter, Stanford managed just 22 yards running in the second and third quarters. The Cardinal finished with 161 yards rushing on 37 carries, led by Toby Gerhart's 104 on 13.Pritchard was 18-of-28 passing for 182 yards, including 10-of-11 for 106 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Gerhart, who left the game last week against Washington with a mild concussion, scored on a 1-yard TD run.The Cardinal were slowed in the first half by three interceptions thrown by Pritchard and eight penalties for 51 yards.The Irish took control with two second-quarter touchdowns, sandwiched around an interfering with a fair catch call, to move ahead 21-7. On the first drive, Clausen completed 5-of-6 passes for 65 yards and a pass interference call put the ball on the 2. Allen then raced between two Cardinal defenders to give the Irish a 14-7 lead.The Irish defense then held Stanford to a three-and-out. On the punt, Allen signaled a fair catch and raced up to catch it, but Nate Wilcox-Fogel got in the way. The ball hit Allen and Stanford's Will Powers picked it up and began running for the end zone, but officials called the interference penalty.Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh was irate, throwing down his play card and tossing his hat, because he thought Wilcox-Fogel was blocked into Allen.The Irish got the ball on the Stanford 48. On third-and-8, Clausen threw a long pass that Floyd caught at the 5 and ran in untouched after Stanford cornerback Wopamo Osaisai fell, giving the Irish a two-touchdown lead. The Irish made it 28-7 on Rudolph's TD catch.
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Iwamura blast does in Buehrle, blown chances have Sox down 2-0 to Rays
Posted by: grobber33 on Saturday, October 04, 2008 - 11:39 AM
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ST. PETERSBURG---The White Sox only lost one game in their 2005 Championship run. But this year they already have two defeats. All-Star Scott Kazmir settled down after a shaky start, Akinori Iwamura hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Mark Buehrle, and the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays beat the White Sox 6-2 Friday night for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.The Rays rallied for the second straight day and remained undefeated in their young postseason history.The Sox try to avert a sweep when the series resumes Sunday on the South Side.Of the 35 teams to fall behind 2-0 in the division series before this year, just five have come back to advance.It's been a bleak October for both Chicago teams. The Cubs lost their first two NL playoff games at home to the Los Angeles Dodgers.The Sox started quickly, scoring twice in the first on Jim Thome's RBI single and Alexei Ramirez's sacrifice fly, but Kazmir struck out Juan Uribe with the bases loaded to end the inning after three straight foul balls.Dioner Navarro's run-scoring single off Buehrle in the second began the comeback following a two-base throwing error by Ramirez at second. Iwamura gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead with a drive into the left-center field stands off Buehrle in the fifth.The Rays added three runs in the eighth, when B.J. Upton tripled and scored on Carl Crawford's single, which chased Buehrle. Baldelli's run-scoring single against Octavio Dotel made it 5-2, and Navarro followed with a RBI double off Matt Thornton.Kazmir hit Orlando Cabrera with a pitch, walked Nick Swisher and gave up a single to Jermaine Dye that loaded the bases with no outs in the first -- hardly the start he was looking for after giving up four homers in two of his last three regular-season outings.The Sox threatened again in the second and fourth but couldn't score. The White Sox stranded eight runners through five innings, allowing the Rays to stay close until Iwamura's opposite-field homer put Tampa Bay ahead.The sellout crowd of 35,257 at Tropicana Field stood and chanted "Aki! Aki! Aki!" until Iwamura poked his head out of the dugout for a curtain call. He homered once in 192 at-bats against left-handed pitching during the regular season.Kazmir allowed two runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, leaving after Uribe's leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt in the sixth. Maddon brought in Grant Balfour to face Orlando Cabrera, who had a heated exchange with the Rays reliever before striking out in a crucial situation during Tampa Bay's 6-4 win in Game 1.Balfour got the better of Cabrera again, but this time without the dramatics of Thursday when the players shouted at each other after Balfour said something to himself on the mound and the White Sox shortstop mistakenly thought he was talking to him.Cabrera grounded to second base, moving Uribe to third, before Balfour escaped the jam by getting Swisher on a flyout.Tampa Bay's bullpen worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings, with J.P. Howell and Chad Bradford following Balfour.
NOTES---John Danks (12-9)opposes Tampa Bay's Matt Garza (11-9) in game three Sunday....Thome, in the playoffs for the first time since 2001 when he was with Cleveland, was 0-for-13 against Kazmir before his RBI single. He's driven in 37 runs in 57 postseason games....U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger threw out the ceremonial first pitch.... The Rays played without slugger Carlos Pena, who had slightly blurred vision in his left eye. He scratched his cornea at home Wednesday and was removed from Game 1 after two innings.
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Drew takes K-ROD deep in 9th as BoSox go up 2 games on Halos
Posted by: grobber33 on Saturday, October 04, 2008 - 09:10 AM
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ANAHEIM---The Cubs aren't the only team with their League's best record that's in big trouble. Boston has the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the team with baseball's best record, on the verge of elimination.J.D. Drew stunned Francisco Rodriguez with a two-run homer in the ninth inning, and the defending World Series champions beat the Halos 7-5 on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in their ALDS. Boston, one win from advancing to the AL Championship Series, won its 11th consecutive postseason game against the Angels, outscoring them 80-33 and setting the record for most postseason victories in a row over one opponent. The Red Sox won their ninth consecutive postseason game overall.Boston swept the Angels in the first round in 2004 and last year, both times en route to World Series titles.Game 3 will be Sunday night in Boston, with Joe Saunders pitching for the Angels against Josh Beckett, who was pushed back from the opener after injuring a muscle in his side. Drew's RBI double and Jason Bay's three-run homer off Ervin Santana gave Boston a 4-0 lead in the first inning, but the Angels, 100-62 during the regular season, clawed back and tied the score in the eighth when Chone Figgins hit a leadoff triple off Justin Masterson -- the Angels' first extra-base hit of the series after 19 singles -- and Mark Teixeira hit a one-out sacrifice fly against Jonathan Papelbon (1-0).Rodriguez (0-1), who set a record with 62 saves in the regular season, got the last out in the eighth. He allowed a leadoff double to David Ortiz in the ninth on a ball that bounced out of the glove of Reggie Willits, who tried for a leaping catch at the wall in right-center. After Kevin Youkilis grounded out, Drew pounced on a 2-2 changeup and sent it deep over the wall in center.Rodriguez, who allowed a game-ending home run to Manny Ramirez in Game 2 last year, hung his head, then covered much of his face with his glove.Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia also have 2-0 first-round series leads. Of the 35 teams to fall behind 2-0 in the division series before this year, just five have come back to advance, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Only one - the 2001 New York Yankees - came back to win after losing the first two at home.Papelbon retired all six batters he faced, getting help from Youkilis in the ninth. The third baseman caught pinch-hitter Gary Matthews Jr.'s foul popup with a terrific leaping grab over a camera well for the second out. Papelbon then struck out Howie Kendrick to end the game, and the closer pumped his arms and pounded his chest after his final pitch.The Angels, who have lost nine consecutive postseason games, stranded 11 runners -- all in the first seven innings.Hunter hit a two-out RBI single off Daisuke Matsuzaka in the bottom half, but Jacoby Ellsbury doubled in a run for a 5-1 lead in the fourth.Figgins singled in a run in the fourth and Hunter in the fifth, with the Angels stranding runners at the corners both times.Masterson walked Mike Napoli with the bases loaded in the seventh, then struck out Kendrick -- who stranded 12 runners in two games -- and Erick Aybar.Matsuzaka gave up three runs and eight hits in five innings, throwing 108 pitches. Santana allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.
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GROBBER'S FRIDAY THOUGHTS---Oct 3,2008
Posted by: grobber33 on Friday, October 03, 2008 - 12:05 PM
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***The Cubs played like a bunch of stiffs in game two of their NLDS Series with the Dodgers Thursday night. Four errors,one by each of a different infielder helped sold out Carlos Zambrano. The two miscues in the Dodgers five run second inning cost Zambrano four unearned runs. Had Mark DeRosa not bobbled Blake DeWitt's double play grounder,then Big Z would have gotten out of the inning unscored on.
***The Cubs four errors were the most by the Club in Post Season play since 1932 when they committed four against the Yankees in the World Series(what's that around here?). The team record is five set twice,but most recently in 1910 against the Philadelphia A's.
***The crowd was much more alive at the start of game two then they were on Wednesday night when they sounded dead,even when DeRosa hit his two run homer to give the Cubs a brief two run lead. But after a bases loaded double by Russell Martin made it 5-0,the crowd went back into their comatose state.
***Now the Cubs must go to Los Angeles and win a pair to have a chance to keep their season alive. Oh, and they are 0-6 in Post Season games played in California(0-3 in San Diego in 1984 and 0-3 in San Francisco in 1989)and if you count two losses at Arizona last fall,the Northsiders are 0-8 on the West Coast lifetime in Playoff games.
***Hope you don't have tickets for game five!
***The only team in Division Series history(dating back to 1995)to lose the first two at home,yet win the next three was the Yankees in 2001 against Oakland.
***The White Sox did not get the pitching performance from Javy Vazquez they needed in game one of their ALDS series Thursday,and the Tampa Bay Rays won the first Post Season game they ever played in. Mark Buehrle needs to hold the Rays in check in game two Friday in order to get the Southsiders even before they return home Sunday.
***Wonder what Orlando Cabrera's problem was when he kicked dirt at home plate after an outside pitch from reliever Grant Balfour. Credit plate umpire Joe West with stepping in front of Cabrera before he could charge the mound. Cabrera yelled some things that could easily be made out off the TV screen including a two word phrase that begins with the sixth letter of the alphabet.Balfour then fanned the Sox leadoff man,pumped his fist and screamed a few syllables in the direction of Cabrera. Let's see if there is any carryover in game two.
***Another team within 90 miles of Chicago,the Brewers is returning home for game three Saturday trailing the Phillies two games to none. This is starting to look like East and West Coast dominated League Championship series.
***The Bears suspended DT Tommy Harris for Sunday's game in Detroit for conduct detrimental to the team. Harris is still rehabbing his injured knee and with the Bears heading to their Bye Week,he'll have extra time to get stronger.
LES
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Cubs stink it up in game two, gt creamed by Dodgers 10-3, taril 2 games to none.
Posted by: grobber33 on Friday, October 03, 2008 - 11:59 AM
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The next sporting event at Wrigley Field....likely to be the NHL's Winter Classic between the Blackhawks and Detroit on January 1,2009! That is unless the Cubs can do something they have never done,and that's win a post season game in California(they are 0-6 there), and in fact they have to win twice out there to get this NLDS back to Clark and Addison. The Cubs franchise record post season losing streak reached eight as Chad Billingsley and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cubs 10-3 to take a two games to none lead back to the Southland.The Cubs played like a team that was "on something" in the second inning when Carlos Zambrano's defense let him down. The five run onslaught started with an Andre Ethier's line single.Next James Loney on the hit and run bounced one to the normal short stop position,but Ryan Theriot was on his way to cover second,which allowed the ball to get past into the outfield. Matt Kemp looked at a called third strike for the first out. Next Blake DeWitt hit a would be double play grounder that Mark DeRosa bobbled for an error as Ethier scored. Casey Blake then hit a sharp grounder that ate up Derrek Lee at 1B for the second error of the inning which loaded the bases. Out came Pitching Coach Larry Rothschild to settle Zambrano down. The Cub righty proceeded to fan Billingsley for the second out. But Rafael Furcal laid down a bunt that DeRosa charged and fielded,but with no chance to throw out the speedy Dodger lead off man as Loney scored. With the bags still jammed, Russell Martin cracked a bases clearing double into the left-center field gap which rolled to the wall. Just like that, 5-0 LA,and four of the runs were unearned,yet none should have scored.Manny Ramirez hit his second homer of this series leading off the top of the fifth. Zambrano lasted until the top of the 7th when he walked M.Ramirez with one out and Neil Cotts relieved. Big Z`did get a nice ovation from the crowd as he departed. Cotts walked Ethier on four pitches,and one out later Kemp doubled into the RF corner to score Ramirez and make it 7-0. The Cubs finally got on the board in the bottom of the 7th with two out back to back doubles by DeRosa and Jim Edmonds. When Geovany Sota singled Edmonds to third, Joe Torre took out Billingsley in favor of Cory Wade.The Dodgers added two more in the 8th,and one more in the 9th thanks to the Cubs fourth error of the game which ties an NLDS record. Each Cub starting infielder had an error. DeRosa doubled in a pair against Takashi Saito in the 9th.
NOTES---Rich Harden tries to keep the Cubs sinking hopes alive in game three on Saturday at Dodger Stadium against Hiroki Kuroda who blanked the Cubs out there in the regular season....The Cubs four errors(one by each infielder)was the most by the Northsiders in Post Season play since the 1932 World Series against the Yankees.
LES
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Longoria leads Rays to win over Sox in their 1st ever Post Season game.
Posted by: grobber33 on Friday, October 03, 2008 - 06:44 AM
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ST. PETERSBURG---Evan Longoria and the Tampa Bay Rays appeared perfectly at home in the playoffs with a Game 1 victory over the White Sox.The All-Star 3B homered in his first two at-bats and the surprising AL East champions were a big hit in their postseason debut, beating the Sox 6-4 Thursday in their AL playoff opener.The Rays held the Southsdiers in check with James Shields' effective start and Grant Balfour's testy, bases-loaded escape. The Trop rocked on this day with a sellout crowd of 35,041. Rays season-ticket holder Dick Vitale joined in the fun, waving a "We Love Longoria" placard from his first-row seat next to the visitor's dugout. The White Sox took a 3-1 lead on Dewayne Wise's three-run homer in the third inning. But Javier Vazquez, who has a history of flopping in big games, could not hold it.Longoria became the second player to homer in his first two postseason at-bats, joining one of his former minor league hitting coaches, Gary Gaetti, who did it with the Minnesota Twins in 1987.Longoria homered on his first postseason pitch, a 421-foot leadoff drive in the second. He put Tampa Bay ahead 4-3 with another solo shot in the third, a 430-foot homer off one of the infamous catwalks that support the roof at Tropicana.He also had an RBI single and finished 3-for-3 with three RBI.The Rays led 6-3 in the seventh when the game got tense.Balfour relieved Shields with the bases loaded and one out, and struck out Juan Uribe. Orlando Cabrera was up next and after ball one, he kicked dirt toward the mound and appeared to shout something at Balfour. The reliever walked toward the plate before being stopped by umpire Joe West. Balfour fanned Cabrera to end the threat, pumped his fist and pointed at the White Sox shortstop. The exchange also brought Maddon and bench coach Dave Martinez out of the dugout and more words were exchanged.Cabrera said he was responding to something Balfour said.It was the same kind of feisty attitude the Rays displayed in spring training during a dustup with the New York Yankees and a bench-clearing brawl in June on their first visit to Boston to play the Red Sox.Shields allowed three runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings. Balfour struck out both batters he faced and J.P. Howell worked a perfect eighth.Dan Wheeler gave up a solo home run to Paul Konerko in finishing for a save. Wheeler is filling in for closer Troy Percival, who has been slowed by injuries and was left off the playoff roster.Tampa Bay slugger Carlos Pena left after the second inning with slightly blurred vision in his left eye. The Rays said he accidentally scratched his eye at home, and was expected to return to the lineup for Game 2.Longoria's RBI single in the fifth made it 5-3 and chased Vazquez.Carl Crawford, back in the lineup for the first time since injuring his finger on Aug. 9, hit an RBI single off Clayton Richard. Vazquez allowed six runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings -- the fourth consecutive start, all losses, he's gone less than five innings.
NOTES---Mark Buehrle (15-12) opposes Scott Kazmir (12-8) in game two Friday...Vazquez is the first pitcher to start Game 1 of a playoff series with at least 16 regular-season losses since Steve Carlton in 1983.
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Past Articles
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- Friday, October 03
- Brewers in 2-0 hole as Victorino hits slam off Sabathia for Phils (0)
- Thursday, October 02
- Dempster wild as Cubs drop NLDS opener to Dodgers and lose Home Field advantage (0)
- Red Sox beat Halos in ALDS opener as Lester outduels Lackey (0)
- Wednesday, October 01
- Brewers can't handle Hamels,lost to Phila in opener 3-1 (0)
- Sox join Cubs in Post Season after 1-0 win over Twins on Thome's blast and Danks gem (0)
- Tuesday, September 30
- Sox,Ramirez, Slam Tigers to get Tie-Breaker shot at Twins (0)
- Monday, September 29
- Blackhawks routed by Jackets, waive Khabibulin (0)
- GROBBER'S MONDAY RANTS---Sept 29,2008 (0)
- Bears use 3 Orton TD passes and a goal line stand to upset Eagles 24-20 (0)
- Hawks 3-2 in Pre Season after 4-3 win over Stars (0)
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