First, if you haven't done so yet, check out my post about the Utah basketball team just a little ways down on the main page here. I put a lot of thought into it.
The Philadelphia Eagles (10-5) lost to the Minnesota Vikings (6-9) last night 24-14 in Philadelphia in the first Tuesday NFL game since 1946. The game was postponed from Sunday night due to inclement weather in the Philadelphia area and concerns over fan safety. Michael Vick played okay, but he may have been a little gimpy after taking a hit on the Eagles' first play from scrimmage. It was too bad because now the Eagles are out of the running for a first round bye, but still have the NFC East wrapped up as well as the 3-seed in the NFC Playoffs.
The Eagles look like they will play the Packers (9-6) or the Giants (9-6) at home in the first round depending on this weekend's results. The Eagles didn't look too sharp, but games like that happen and I'm not too worried about it. On the positive side, Philadelphia can rest its starters in this Sunday's home game against the Cowboys (5-10) as nothing they do will effect their playoff positioning.
In related news, Tucker Carlson said on Fox News Channel that Michael Vick "should have been executed" for his role in dog fighting that led to him serving a jail sentence. Carlson isn't happy that President Barack Obama has told Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie that he is happy that though he doesn't condone Vick's past actions, he is happy that Vick has gotten a second chance and doing well with it. I agree with the President, not Carlson. Vick did do some terrible things, but he paid his debt to society and I feel served an appropriate amount of time. As long as he doesn't do anything like that again, he has the right to get on with his life. Carlson's comments are just way out of line as his suggested punishment goes way beyond what the crime was. I'm happy that Vick is doing well and not just because he is helping out my team. People have a right to a second chance after they have paid their debt to society and Vick has certainly done that.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Cheering for the Leafs
First off, I have to encourage you to check out my thoughts on the Utah basketball team immediately below this post. I put a lot of thought into it. Now, my Toronto Maple Leafs (30 points, 13-18-4) are in 13th place in the Eastern Conference and lost at home tonight to the Carolina Hurricanes (36 points, 16-15-4) by a score of 4-3. The Leafs host the Columbus Blue Jackets (39 points, 18-15-3) on Thursday.
The Leafs looked like they were going to have a promising year, but the wheels look like they have come off again and the team is closing in on once again being hopelessly out of playoff contention. Something needs to change and hopefully they will get some young talent to develop sometime in the reasonably near future to lead them at least to the playoffs. It's too bad that the Maple Leafs have been so bad for so long, it's been seemingly forever since they even made the playoffs, let alone contended for the Stanley Cup. Indeed their last Stanley Cup Title came in 1967. The team has a huge fan base, possibly the biggest in the NHL, yet still struggles on an annual basis. I'm tired of it, but hopefully things will turn around, if not this year then next... or the next...
The Leafs looked like they were going to have a promising year, but the wheels look like they have come off again and the team is closing in on once again being hopelessly out of playoff contention. Something needs to change and hopefully they will get some young talent to develop sometime in the reasonably near future to lead them at least to the playoffs. It's too bad that the Maple Leafs have been so bad for so long, it's been seemingly forever since they even made the playoffs, let alone contended for the Stanley Cup. Indeed their last Stanley Cup Title came in 1967. The team has a huge fan base, possibly the biggest in the NHL, yet still struggles on an annual basis. I'm tired of it, but hopefully things will turn around, if not this year then next... or the next...
Monday, December 27, 2010
What to do about the Runnin' Utes?
The Utah Runnin' Utes (7-6) took 8th place (out of 8 teams) in the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii last week, losing to Butler 74-62, Hawaii 68-55, and San Diego 67-64. Losing to Butler (9-4) is understandable, the Bulldogs are a really good team and have most of their players back from their run to the National Championship Game last March. Losing to Hawaii (9-3) on their home court isn't a terrible loss, but it's not exactly a great loss either as in not understandable the way the Butler loss was.
And then there was the Christmas Day loss to San Diego (3-10). That loss on a neutral court (or any court really) in completely unacceptable. We are Utah and we have too good of a program and tradition to accept losing games like that. San Diego is a really bad team. The win against Utah was their first against a Division I school all season. The Toreros have lost to bad teams along the way to getting to 3-10, including the likes of Cal State Fullerton (4-8) and Fresno State (4-6), which I saw for myself as being a really bad team. I love Utah basketball and will continue to support the team no matter what, but I am growing weary of watching the team I love lose games they should win.
The San Diego loss is the kind of loss that can lead to coaches getting fired. Losing to Oral Roberts (5-8) at home this season was bad enough. However, the San Diego loss is definitely worse, ranking among the worst in the Jim Boylen era at Utah, up there with the loss to Division II Southwest Baptist in 2008 and the blowout loss at home to BYU to end the regular season in 2010.
Now I do have a good memory and I remember that Utah also lost to Idaho State in 2008 but still managed to beat BYU, share the 2009 Mountain West Conference Regular Season Championship and subsequently won the Mountain West Tournament on the way to earning a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament. All of those things were great and earned Coach Boylen a contract extension. And if he is kept around and able to do that again, I would be happy. Those memories are why I was hoping something similar would happen this year following the Oral Roberts loss.
However, the San Diego loss is much worse than the Oral Roberts loss. Coach Boylen is in his 4th season and simply cannot be having losses like this one anymore if he is trying to build the program to a national level. Every year dating back to the Ray Giacoletti era, there have been at least 1 or 2 of these losses per season to the likes of Southern Utah, Albany, Santa Clara, the aforementioned Southwest Baptist and Idaho State, Idaho, Seattle and the pair of losses this year to Oral Roberts and San Diego.
Look, I'm a patient guy, a tolerant guy. Every once in a while, something fluky can happen and a loss like this can happen and be just a blip on the radar for a program that is still really good. Syracuse lost to Le Moyne in an exhibition game last season, but still made the Sweet 16. This year they are 13-0, ranked 5th in the country, and looking strong heading into Big East play. The point is, losses like that can happen and they don't have to ruin a season. But if they are happening on an annual basis, as they are at Utah, it can bring down a program and keep it short of achieving greatness. A great program is consistent throughout the season, which puts it in to position to get a favorable seed and make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament. I'm not saying Utah has to be Syracuse, but they should be a lot further along than where they are now.
Losses like the one to San Diego can wear on a team's confidence as well. I remember in the 2006-07 season, Giacoletti's last at Utah, the Runnin' Utes lost to Southern Utah and Albany in non-conference play, but also beat Washington State (3-seed in the Tournament) and Virginia (4 seed in the Tournament) by double-digit margins. They also beat an Air Force team that was ranked 11th in the country at the time and took a UNLV team that advanced to the Sweet 16 to double overtime on its home floor. However, they had 11 wins on the year and that just wasn't good enough. Good wins can offset bad losses, but they won't substitute for a total lack of consistency.
This year, the Utes have exactly zero of what I would call good wins in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. So there is nothing to offset the bad losses. And the Diamond Head Classic exhibits a trend toward a disturbing lack of consistency. The season is not totally lost at this point, but the Runnin' Utes cannot let losses lead to more losses as they clearly did in Hawaii. I believe they have more talent than both Hawaii and San Diego, but lost both games. If that trend continues, I can pretty much guarantee you that Coach Boylen won't be back next year.
The season resumes for the Runnin' Utes this Friday at 5 p.m. MT at Portland (11-3). The game is not being televised, but can be watched live online at portlandpilots.com. Here's a link to the video page. Once there you will have to click on the "Watch" button on the event "Portland Men's Basketball vs. Utah." The game can also be heard on AM 700 in the Salt Lake City area and on kall700sports.com. The Pilots have a nice record that includes no bad losses, but no eye-popping wins either. Even though I would bet Utah is more talented than Portland, I still think the Pilots will win this game because they will be on their home floor and because they have been the more consistent team this season. The Runnin' Utes open conference play on Wednesday, January 5th at Air Force (7-3). Utah should win both games based on talent, but I think they will only win one. If they are looking to get headed back in the right direction, however, they would do well to win both heading into a home match-up with #7 San Diego State (14-0) on Saturday, January 8th.
And then there was the Christmas Day loss to San Diego (3-10). That loss on a neutral court (or any court really) in completely unacceptable. We are Utah and we have too good of a program and tradition to accept losing games like that. San Diego is a really bad team. The win against Utah was their first against a Division I school all season. The Toreros have lost to bad teams along the way to getting to 3-10, including the likes of Cal State Fullerton (4-8) and Fresno State (4-6), which I saw for myself as being a really bad team. I love Utah basketball and will continue to support the team no matter what, but I am growing weary of watching the team I love lose games they should win.
The San Diego loss is the kind of loss that can lead to coaches getting fired. Losing to Oral Roberts (5-8) at home this season was bad enough. However, the San Diego loss is definitely worse, ranking among the worst in the Jim Boylen era at Utah, up there with the loss to Division II Southwest Baptist in 2008 and the blowout loss at home to BYU to end the regular season in 2010.
Now I do have a good memory and I remember that Utah also lost to Idaho State in 2008 but still managed to beat BYU, share the 2009 Mountain West Conference Regular Season Championship and subsequently won the Mountain West Tournament on the way to earning a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament. All of those things were great and earned Coach Boylen a contract extension. And if he is kept around and able to do that again, I would be happy. Those memories are why I was hoping something similar would happen this year following the Oral Roberts loss.
However, the San Diego loss is much worse than the Oral Roberts loss. Coach Boylen is in his 4th season and simply cannot be having losses like this one anymore if he is trying to build the program to a national level. Every year dating back to the Ray Giacoletti era, there have been at least 1 or 2 of these losses per season to the likes of Southern Utah, Albany, Santa Clara, the aforementioned Southwest Baptist and Idaho State, Idaho, Seattle and the pair of losses this year to Oral Roberts and San Diego.
Look, I'm a patient guy, a tolerant guy. Every once in a while, something fluky can happen and a loss like this can happen and be just a blip on the radar for a program that is still really good. Syracuse lost to Le Moyne in an exhibition game last season, but still made the Sweet 16. This year they are 13-0, ranked 5th in the country, and looking strong heading into Big East play. The point is, losses like that can happen and they don't have to ruin a season. But if they are happening on an annual basis, as they are at Utah, it can bring down a program and keep it short of achieving greatness. A great program is consistent throughout the season, which puts it in to position to get a favorable seed and make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament. I'm not saying Utah has to be Syracuse, but they should be a lot further along than where they are now.
Losses like the one to San Diego can wear on a team's confidence as well. I remember in the 2006-07 season, Giacoletti's last at Utah, the Runnin' Utes lost to Southern Utah and Albany in non-conference play, but also beat Washington State (3-seed in the Tournament) and Virginia (4 seed in the Tournament) by double-digit margins. They also beat an Air Force team that was ranked 11th in the country at the time and took a UNLV team that advanced to the Sweet 16 to double overtime on its home floor. However, they had 11 wins on the year and that just wasn't good enough. Good wins can offset bad losses, but they won't substitute for a total lack of consistency.
This year, the Utes have exactly zero of what I would call good wins in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. So there is nothing to offset the bad losses. And the Diamond Head Classic exhibits a trend toward a disturbing lack of consistency. The season is not totally lost at this point, but the Runnin' Utes cannot let losses lead to more losses as they clearly did in Hawaii. I believe they have more talent than both Hawaii and San Diego, but lost both games. If that trend continues, I can pretty much guarantee you that Coach Boylen won't be back next year.
The season resumes for the Runnin' Utes this Friday at 5 p.m. MT at Portland (11-3). The game is not being televised, but can be watched live online at portlandpilots.com. Here's a link to the video page. Once there you will have to click on the "Watch" button on the event "Portland Men's Basketball vs. Utah." The game can also be heard on AM 700 in the Salt Lake City area and on kall700sports.com. The Pilots have a nice record that includes no bad losses, but no eye-popping wins either. Even though I would bet Utah is more talented than Portland, I still think the Pilots will win this game because they will be on their home floor and because they have been the more consistent team this season. The Runnin' Utes open conference play on Wednesday, January 5th at Air Force (7-3). Utah should win both games based on talent, but I think they will only win one. If they are looking to get headed back in the right direction, however, they would do well to win both heading into a home match-up with #7 San Diego State (14-0) on Saturday, January 8th.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Utes hammered in Las Vegas Bowl
My Utah Utes lost to Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl last night by a score of 26-3. It was disappointing, especially after the Utes were in control through the entire first quarter and couldn't get more than a 3-0 lead. In the game, they left at least 13 points on the board with dropped passes and a pair of missed field goals. But Boise State left some points on the board too. The Broncos probably would have won anyway, but it would have been nice not to play as sloppy of a game and to score more than 3 points. You never know, if it was close at the end who knows what could have happened. It was a disappointing end to the season.
In basketball, the Runnin' Utes lost to Butler in Honolulu in the first game of the Diamond Head Classic. Utah faces host Hawaii tonight at 10:30 p.m. MT on ESPNU. Check it out.
In basketball, the Runnin' Utes lost to Butler in Honolulu in the first game of the Diamond Head Classic. Utah faces host Hawaii tonight at 10:30 p.m. MT on ESPNU. Check it out.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Eagles win in amazing fashion
The Philadelphia Eagles (10-4) beat the New York Giants (9-5) 38-31 yesterday in what is being deemed the "Miracle at the New Meadowlands". My Eagles trailed 31-10 with 7:28 to go in the game yesterday before making an incredible rally. Michael Vick led the Eagles on three scoring drives (with a perfectly executed, surprise onside kick mixed in with a defensive stop) to tie the game at 31 with just over a minute left. Vick made plays with his arm and his legs, showing how dangerous he is as a mobile quarterback. There were at least two or three times where I thought he was going to be sacked and then scrambled and gained about 30 yards. That just makes the Eagles that much harder to defend.
Anyway, I was pretty excited at the mere prospect of going to overtime after trailing by so many with half of the fourth quarter already gone. The Eagles held the Giants on their ensuing possession and New York was forced to punt with 14 seconds left on the clock. Punter Matt Dodge booted a low, line-drive that Eagles return man Desean Jackson initially muffed. Jackson recovered and ran down the sideline for the winning score as time expired. It was an incredible play. My props are to Vick for maintaining composure down the stretch and leading the drives, as well as the team for not giving up despite a big deficit. Jackson made a great play by not panicking when he didn't catch the punt cleanly and found a seam to get to the end zone. This game will be one that is talked about for years to come and I'm just glad that my team was able to come out on top.
Anyway, I was pretty excited at the mere prospect of going to overtime after trailing by so many with half of the fourth quarter already gone. The Eagles held the Giants on their ensuing possession and New York was forced to punt with 14 seconds left on the clock. Punter Matt Dodge booted a low, line-drive that Eagles return man Desean Jackson initially muffed. Jackson recovered and ran down the sideline for the winning score as time expired. It was an incredible play. My props are to Vick for maintaining composure down the stretch and leading the drives, as well as the team for not giving up despite a big deficit. Jackson made a great play by not panicking when he didn't catch the punt cleanly and found a seam to get to the end zone. This game will be one that is talked about for years to come and I'm just glad that my team was able to come out on top.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Runnin' Utes come from behind to beat Boise State
Pictured: Will Clyburn watches his game winning three-pointer go in against Boise State last night.The Utah Runnin' Utes (7-3) defeated the Boise State Broncos (6-4) last night in Salt Lake City by a score of 86-84. Will Clyburn hit the winning three-pointer with about 10 seconds left to provide the final margin. Clyburn finished with 22 points and 8 rebounds. All five starters for the Utes were in double figures. Boise State's Daequon Montreal led all scorers with 28.
Utah jumped out to an early 17-8 lead, but the Broncos took control after that. Boise State's lead was as big as 16 at 66-50 with 14:03 left in the game. I thought Utah's defense up to that point was pretty poor as Boise State got a lot of open looks. After that, the Utes tightened up and BSU only scored 18 points the rest of the way. The Broncos got way too many offensive rebounds which led to a lot of second-chance points. That is something that needs to be cleaned up in a hurry before the Utes compete in the Diamond Head Classic beginning next Wednesday.
However, the real story of the game to me is the resiliency the Utes showed by not folding when they fell behind by 16 in the second half. Utah was able to chip away at the lead and made a number of key shots down the stretch. Jason Washburn made a couple of clutch free throws as well as a jump hook to help trim the deficit and the Utes got the stops they needed. Josh Watkins put Utah up for the first time since the first half with a pair of free throws with under 30 seconds left. A Broncos bucket set up Clyburn's heroics off of a pass from Watkins. Both Clyburn and Watkins deserve credit for that play in making the right decisions and getting the shot to go. It really pleased me to see the Utes play so well down the stretch as they seemingly made every play they had to.
Utah next plays Butler (6-4, 1-0 Horizon) at 9 p.m. MT on Wednesday night in the aforementioned Diamond Head Classic. The game will be televised on ESPNU. The Utes will play either Florida State (8-2, 1-0 ACC) or Hawaii (7-2) depending on the results of the previous day's games. Butler looked very impressive in dismantling Stanford (6-3) today by a score of 83-50 in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs look to be finding their groove and reminded me of the National Championship Runner-Up team from a season ago in beating the Cardinal today. They really only have one bad loss (which came without one of their emotional leaders Ronald Nored) and have played a tough schedule. It should be a tough game for the Runnin' Utes, but I'm anxious to see how they do.
Friday, December 17, 2010
J.R. Smith's amazing dunk, NBA thoughts
In case you didn't see it, J.R. Smith of the Denver Nuggets (15-10) had an amazing dunk last night over Gary Neal of the San Antonio Spurs (22-3) last night in the Spurs' 113-112 victory. I honestly did not know Smith had that in him. What a dunk, well worth viewing. With the win, the Spurs now have the best record in the NBA. The Nuggets are just kind of there, sometimes they play well and beat teams like the Lakers (19-7) and nearly beat the Spurs, but my feeling is that they are being held hostage by the Carmelo Anthony situation. Anthony wants a trade but is stuck in Denver right now. I think it's really hard to develop any kind of lasting team chemistry with something like that over a team. The Nuggets can be decent to good, but they won't go beyond that until this situation is resolved.
I'm pretty amazed at how well the Spurs have been playing this year, considering they were in the bottom half of the Western Conference all of last season and were easily dispatched by the Suns in the second round of the playoffs. It looked like the Spurs were aging too much and would have to infuse some new blood to return to their former heights. However, Manu Ginobli is having a great season, scoring 20 points a game. However, from what I hear, the big story is that Richard Jefferson is now more acclimated with the Spurs' system. He's averaging 14.1 points per game. Tony Parker is at 17.2 points per game. Jefferson coming on gives the Spurs another threat and I think that's what to point to more than just about anything for the San Antonio resurgence.
The Spurs have won 7 in a row, but that pales in comparison to the 10 in a row won by the Miami Heat (19-8) and the 12 in a row won by the Boston Celtics (21-4). I personally think the Celtics are the team to beat in the NBA right now, although they miss slip a little bit without Rajon Rondo the next couple of weeks. I think Doc Rivers is a great coach with some great players in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, plus of course Rondo. Shaquille O'Neal is still an asset when he's playing. The big thing about the Celtics is they play defense better than just about anybody, as well as on a much more consistent basis, and that really sets them apart.
The Heat look like they are really starting to gel and put it together following some early season struggles. I think they will definitely be a tough out come playoff time. I'm looking forward to their Christmas Day matchup with the Lakers. A win there could be a signature one for their team and give their momentum some more steam. The Heat are playing at the Knicks (16-10) tonight at 5 p.m. MT on ESPN and espn3.com. The Knicks had a long winning streak of their own snapped against the Celtics earlier this week and are really surprising people, including me. Amar'e Stoudemire is playing some great basketball and carrying the Knicks to some success. I think they will be tough to beat in Madison Square Garden, but I think they are missing a piece if they want to be a championship contender.
I'm pretty amazed at how well the Spurs have been playing this year, considering they were in the bottom half of the Western Conference all of last season and were easily dispatched by the Suns in the second round of the playoffs. It looked like the Spurs were aging too much and would have to infuse some new blood to return to their former heights. However, Manu Ginobli is having a great season, scoring 20 points a game. However, from what I hear, the big story is that Richard Jefferson is now more acclimated with the Spurs' system. He's averaging 14.1 points per game. Tony Parker is at 17.2 points per game. Jefferson coming on gives the Spurs another threat and I think that's what to point to more than just about anything for the San Antonio resurgence.
The Spurs have won 7 in a row, but that pales in comparison to the 10 in a row won by the Miami Heat (19-8) and the 12 in a row won by the Boston Celtics (21-4). I personally think the Celtics are the team to beat in the NBA right now, although they miss slip a little bit without Rajon Rondo the next couple of weeks. I think Doc Rivers is a great coach with some great players in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, plus of course Rondo. Shaquille O'Neal is still an asset when he's playing. The big thing about the Celtics is they play defense better than just about anybody, as well as on a much more consistent basis, and that really sets them apart.
The Heat look like they are really starting to gel and put it together following some early season struggles. I think they will definitely be a tough out come playoff time. I'm looking forward to their Christmas Day matchup with the Lakers. A win there could be a signature one for their team and give their momentum some more steam. The Heat are playing at the Knicks (16-10) tonight at 5 p.m. MT on ESPN and espn3.com. The Knicks had a long winning streak of their own snapped against the Celtics earlier this week and are really surprising people, including me. Amar'e Stoudemire is playing some great basketball and carrying the Knicks to some success. I think they will be tough to beat in Madison Square Garden, but I think they are missing a piece if they want to be a championship contender.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Cliff Lee to Phillies
Prized free agent pitcher Cliff Lee has apparently agreed to a deal with the Phillies. Wow, nobody saw this one coming, I mean nobody. I don't have time right now to go into a lot of detail, but I have provided this useful link to a Jayson Stark column that I think does a nice job of articulating the details, etc.:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove10/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=5918008
I also liked the tweet from Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News that I have re-tweeted and can currently be read to the right of this post as well as on my Twitter account at twitter.com/dpaysports. And yes it is true, the 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants did beat Lee (twice), Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels on their way to the championship.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove10/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=5918008
I also liked the tweet from Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News that I have re-tweeted and can currently be read to the right of this post as well as on my Twitter account at twitter.com/dpaysports. And yes it is true, the 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants did beat Lee (twice), Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels on their way to the championship.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Update on the Runnin' Utes
The Utah Runnin' Utes (6-3) beat Pepperdine (4-8) in Salt Lake City on Tuesday 67-60 and lost at Michigan (7-2) on Friday night 75-64. The Utes next host Boise State (6-2) on Friday night at 7 p.m. MT. I'm pleased that Utah was able to beat Pepperdine after the Waves led at halftime, but I'm disappointed that they didn't win by more. Pepperdine isn't a very good team and Utah didn't look that impressive in the win, but as they say: a win is a win.
Utah lost the game at Michigan in the first half, committing at least a dozen turnovers before intermission and trailing by 17 at the break. The Wolverines led by as many as 22 before Utah made a run late to lose by 11. The Utes looked bad most of the game and simply dug themselves too big of a hole with poor play. You just have to take care of the basketball or you're not going to be in a lot of games. Michigan played fine and may have won the game anyway, but Utah really hurt themselves. Without so many turnovers and missed free throws (7-13 from the line) I believe it would have been competitive and relatively close throughout. Jay Watkins scored 17 for the Runnin' Utes and Will Clyburn and Chris Hines each had 11.
I'm still cautiously optimistic about Utah's season. I don't consider the Michigan loss a bad loss, so hopefully it doesn't set the guys back. Boise State on Friday is what I consider a winnable game at home. Let's hope the Utes can pull off the basketball-football sweep by adding a win in the Las Vegas Bowl over the Broncos the following break.
Utah lost the game at Michigan in the first half, committing at least a dozen turnovers before intermission and trailing by 17 at the break. The Wolverines led by as many as 22 before Utah made a run late to lose by 11. The Utes looked bad most of the game and simply dug themselves too big of a hole with poor play. You just have to take care of the basketball or you're not going to be in a lot of games. Michigan played fine and may have won the game anyway, but Utah really hurt themselves. Without so many turnovers and missed free throws (7-13 from the line) I believe it would have been competitive and relatively close throughout. Jay Watkins scored 17 for the Runnin' Utes and Will Clyburn and Chris Hines each had 11.
I'm still cautiously optimistic about Utah's season. I don't consider the Michigan loss a bad loss, so hopefully it doesn't set the guys back. Boise State on Friday is what I consider a winnable game at home. Let's hope the Utes can pull off the basketball-football sweep by adding a win in the Las Vegas Bowl over the Broncos the following break.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Utah tops Bradley, hosts Pepperdine Tuesday
The Utah Runnin' Utes (5-2) won their first road game of the season on Saturday night, beating Bradley (4-4) by a score of 68-60 in Peoria, Illinois. I'm frustrated with bradleybraves.com which said it would have all games it streamed live available on demand as well. This game was scheduled to be streamed live and yet it is curiously unavailable on demand. I was counting on the on demand feature as I was unable to watch live and the website has let me down. In fact, it seems that the only games available on demand are the games that Bradley has won this season.
Anyway, Josh Watkins scored 23 points for the Runnin' Utes and Will Clyburn had 19 as the Utes led throughout. One concerning facet of the game was that Utah went 24-44 from the free throw line. That has to change and I'm pretty confident it will as the Utes normally seem to me to be a pretty good free throw shooting team. I don't have the stats on that on me, but it seems to be the case.
Bradley is one of those teams you should beat, even in their building, so I'm pleased that Utah was able to take care of business. It's the fourth year in a row Utah has played a team from the competitive Missouri Valley Conference and the Utes have compiled a 3-1 record in that span. The Valley always seems to be a fun league, but I don't think Bradley is the class of it this year.
Utah returns home to face Pepperdine (3-6) Tuesday night at the Huntsman Center. Pepperdine is another one of those teams you should beat, but I would have said that last year when the Utes went to Malibu, California and lost to the Waves. Hopefully Utah won't overlook them and will be able to put them away rather early on. I feel confident in predicting a rather comfortable win for the Runnin' Utes. The game won't be televised but will have live audio available on kall700sports.com and on AM 700 here in the Salt Lake City area. As usual, I will be at the game and will be tweeting as well. You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/dpaysports.
Utah's 5-2 record looks nice, but it hasn't come against the greatest of schedules. The toughest game of the year to date was definitely at Utah State (5-2), a loss. I don't consider that a bad loss, it being a road game against a good team. USU's 5-2 record looks better than Utah's as its only two losses were to ranked opponents (although the Aggies don't have any of what I would consider big wins to this point either). What is a bad loss for the Utes, though, is losing at home to Oral Roberts (4-4). I wouldn't necessarily consider Oral Roberts a bad team, but I think they are probably a mediocre team at best and definitely not someone you should lose to at home. However, it looks like the Utes may have put that behind them with wins against Fresno State and the aforementioned Bradley. If they keep up the winning the bad loss may end up looking like a mere blip on the radar. We should know a little more after Friday's game at Michigan (6-2).
Anyway, Josh Watkins scored 23 points for the Runnin' Utes and Will Clyburn had 19 as the Utes led throughout. One concerning facet of the game was that Utah went 24-44 from the free throw line. That has to change and I'm pretty confident it will as the Utes normally seem to me to be a pretty good free throw shooting team. I don't have the stats on that on me, but it seems to be the case.
Bradley is one of those teams you should beat, even in their building, so I'm pleased that Utah was able to take care of business. It's the fourth year in a row Utah has played a team from the competitive Missouri Valley Conference and the Utes have compiled a 3-1 record in that span. The Valley always seems to be a fun league, but I don't think Bradley is the class of it this year.
Utah returns home to face Pepperdine (3-6) Tuesday night at the Huntsman Center. Pepperdine is another one of those teams you should beat, but I would have said that last year when the Utes went to Malibu, California and lost to the Waves. Hopefully Utah won't overlook them and will be able to put them away rather early on. I feel confident in predicting a rather comfortable win for the Runnin' Utes. The game won't be televised but will have live audio available on kall700sports.com and on AM 700 here in the Salt Lake City area. As usual, I will be at the game and will be tweeting as well. You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/dpaysports.
Utah's 5-2 record looks nice, but it hasn't come against the greatest of schedules. The toughest game of the year to date was definitely at Utah State (5-2), a loss. I don't consider that a bad loss, it being a road game against a good team. USU's 5-2 record looks better than Utah's as its only two losses were to ranked opponents (although the Aggies don't have any of what I would consider big wins to this point either). What is a bad loss for the Utes, though, is losing at home to Oral Roberts (4-4). I wouldn't necessarily consider Oral Roberts a bad team, but I think they are probably a mediocre team at best and definitely not someone you should lose to at home. However, it looks like the Utes may have put that behind them with wins against Fresno State and the aforementioned Bradley. If they keep up the winning the bad loss may end up looking like a mere blip on the radar. We should know a little more after Friday's game at Michigan (6-2).
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Runnin' Utes visit Bradley on Saturday night
The Utah Runnin' Utes (4-2) visit Bradley (4-3) on Saturday night at 6 p.m. MT. The game will not be televised in Utah, but there is a live video stream of the game available on bradleybraves.com. Unfortunately the stream costs money, but hey it's worth watching the game to me. The Utes beat Fresno State (1-4) on Tuesday in Salt Lake City, but I thought it was a rather underwhelming victory against a horrible team.
Now I don't consider Bradley to be a great team, but they are definitely better than Fresno State and the game will be more of a challenge as it is on the road. My hope is that the Utes will win and give me some encouragement as to the potential of this team, but in all honesty I consider the game a toss up. I'll be back on here with my thoughts and analysis at some point following the game.
In other news this week, junior guard and captain Jace Tavita has left the program. Tavita didn't play at all Tuesday night against Fresno State despite being healthy and has seen his playing time diminished of late. The word is that Tavita is looking to transfer to a program in which he can get more playing time. Tavita was a good team guy and a good defender, but he was a serious liability on the offensive end of the floor. I won't miss him on the offensive end of the court and I don't think his absence will hurt the team too much. However, he was a likable guy that I always rooted for and I hope he lands on his feet and is successful somewhere.
For sports fans in the state of Utah it is also worth noting that Utah State (5-1) is at #16 Georgetown (7-0) at 10 a.m. MT on ESPNU. I think it's a game well worth checking out. I've thought the Aggies' basketball schedule has been far too weak in recent years and that scheduling a game like this is a step in the right direction regardless of the outcome.
Now I don't consider Bradley to be a great team, but they are definitely better than Fresno State and the game will be more of a challenge as it is on the road. My hope is that the Utes will win and give me some encouragement as to the potential of this team, but in all honesty I consider the game a toss up. I'll be back on here with my thoughts and analysis at some point following the game.
In other news this week, junior guard and captain Jace Tavita has left the program. Tavita didn't play at all Tuesday night against Fresno State despite being healthy and has seen his playing time diminished of late. The word is that Tavita is looking to transfer to a program in which he can get more playing time. Tavita was a good team guy and a good defender, but he was a serious liability on the offensive end of the floor. I won't miss him on the offensive end of the court and I don't think his absence will hurt the team too much. However, he was a likable guy that I always rooted for and I hope he lands on his feet and is successful somewhere.
For sports fans in the state of Utah it is also worth noting that Utah State (5-1) is at #16 Georgetown (7-0) at 10 a.m. MT on ESPNU. I think it's a game well worth checking out. I've thought the Aggies' basketball schedule has been far too weak in recent years and that scheduling a game like this is a step in the right direction regardless of the outcome.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Utah tops Fresno State
Utah (4-2) defeated Fresno State (1-4) last night by a score of 76-63. Utah led by as many as 24 in the second half. A lot of guys got into the act including Chris Kupets, Josh Watkins, Will Clyburn and Jason Washburn. I liked the balanced scoring from the Runnin' Utes last night. I didn't like how slow of a start they got off to, but they really started the second half strong and took control of the game.
Fresno State looks like a really bad team. They missed many open shots, often by wide margins. I thought Utah's defense was okay, but they still gave up a lot of open looks that the Bulldogs just weren't able to knock down. Hopefully they can ratchet up the defense a little bit more in the future. Utah next plays at Bradley (4-3) on Saturday night at 6 p.m. MT.
Fresno State looks like a really bad team. They missed many open shots, often by wide margins. I thought Utah's defense was okay, but they still gave up a lot of open looks that the Bulldogs just weren't able to knock down. Hopefully they can ratchet up the defense a little bit more in the future. Utah next plays at Bradley (4-3) on Saturday night at 6 p.m. MT.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Runnin' Utes back in action tonight
After a disappointing home loss to Oral Roberts (2-3), the Utah basketball team (3-2) gets back in action tonight at 7 p.m. MT against Fresno State (1-3). Fresno State is another team the Runnin' Utes should beat, but I said the same thing about Oral Roberts. I think the Utes will take out their frustrations on them and win by at least ten. The game is not on TV but can be heard via kall700sports.com and on AM 700 in the Salt Lake City area. I'll be at the game and you can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/dpaysports for updates. Go Utes!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Utah 17 BYU 16
Pictured: Brandon Burton dives to block Mitch Payne's field goal attempt on the final play of the game and give the Utes a 17-16 win.#23 Utah (10-2, 7-1 MWC) defeated BYU (6-6, 5-3 MWC) today at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City by a score of 17-16! The game was in question until the final play, when Brandon Burton blocked a Mitch Payne 42-yard field goal attempt to give the Utes the victory! This game had just about everything you could ask for in a college football game. I'm still reveling about the whole thing, it's just awesome to get a win like that against your rival!
I was among the many euphoric Utah fans who stormed the field after the game. When the kick was blocked my friends and I just started shaking each other with happy, amazed and euphoric expressions on our faces. My girlfriend even said "Derek, we're rushing the field!" It didn't take us long to get down there and soak it all up with the team and many, many other fans. What a way to end the regular season.
The special teams were great for the Utes. Not only was there the block to end the game, but also a key recovery of a punt that bounced off a BYU player to help set up Utah with a chance to take the lead. I also thought the Utah defense was just strong enough to get the win. BYU was in position to score a number of touchdowns, but the Utes were able to hold them to four field goal attempts (only three made of course) and a key turnover on downs in the third quarter.
The Cougars led 6-0 at halftime and had moved that lead to 13-0 at the end of the third quarter. Utah kicked a field goal and then recovered a fumble on BYU's next possession. A long touchdown pass on the next play made it 13-10. BYU led 16-10 when the Utes recovered punt return that took a bounce off of a BYU player. Jordan Wynn threw an interception, but the ball was fumbled on the return and recovered by Utah. BYU fans will claim that it wasn't a fumble, but I didn't think it was completely incontrovertible evidence to overrule the call on the field of a fumble. BYU still had their chances to win the game and didn't get the job done. Utah did. And give Utah credit for capitalizing on the fumble recoveries with a long pass that set up a Matt Asiata run to put Utah ahead 17-16.
True freshman quarterback Jake Heaps looked solid for the Cougars pretty much all day and appeared to have led the game-winning drive as BYU moved the ball to the Utah 25 yard line with 4 seconds left to set up a potential game winning field goal. Burton came in with little more than a small touch to get what may just be referred to as "The Block" and give the Utes the victory. What a relief for me. The Utes have been involved in a number of close losses to BYU the last few years and it feels great to come out on top at the end of a close rivalry game.
I thought Utah had blown any chance of winning when they had to use their final timeout to prevent a too many men on the field penalty before BYU's final third down of the game. There still would have been at least 35 seconds left and at least a faint Utah chance to win if BYU had made the field goal. But the lack of timeout allowed the Cougars to run down the clock to four seconds before the fateful kick that was blocked.
Jordan Wynn struggled some, especially in the first half where the Utes did not score, although he didn't look nearly as bad to me as he did in the TCU game (thankfully). I don't blame Coach Kyle Whittingham for trying Terrance Cain at quarterback to try and jump start things. I thought he should have tried that against TCU, frankly. Cain looked terrible, though, and threw two interceptions in the two drives he was in the game. Both gave the Cougars great field position, but fortunately they were only able to get points out of one of their ensuing drives with a Heaps touchdown pass. Wynn didn't play great by any stretch of the imagination, but he was better than Cain and played better in the second half than he did in the first. He made enough throws to put the Utes in position to win.
I think BYU regrets going for it on fourth down when they were in field goal range early in the third quarter and leading 6-0. If you take the points you're ahead 9-0 at that point and then 16-0 after the ensuing touchdown set up by Cain's second interception in as many drives. And by that measure it could have been 19-10 instead of 16-10 late in the game. Of course who knows if the game would have played out differently with a field goal attempt there instead of going for it, but BYU Coach Bronco Mendenhall has to deal with a lot of difficult what-ifs right now. I can't say I feel bad for him at all because I've never really liked the guy and it always makes me happy when he has to suffer a loss.
Again the theme for me is Utah made enough plays to win and that's the bottom line. You can point to the coaching decision mentioned above or the controversial fumble call, but the point is Utah made the plays they had to in order to come out on top. The scoreboard says it all and it read Utah 17 BYU 16 when the game was over. A favorite quote of mine for sports is from former Ohio State football Coach Woody Hayes who said "The best team always wins: everything else is excuses." I cannot write down my feelings better than that.
Runnin' Utes suffer bad home loss
The Utah Runnin' Utes (3-2) lost at home tonight to Oral Roberts (2-3) by a score of 78-70. The Utes trailed 34-18 late in the first half, before going on an 11-0 run bridging the halves to cut the deficit to five. I thought they were going to take over and win, but that's not what happened. Utah actually took the lead at 52-50 with about 11 minutes to go, but couldn't hold it and the Golden Eagles prevailed. It's a bad loss for the Runnin' Utes, just a real bad loss. I could mope about it more right now, but I'm not going to let anything dampen my enthusiasm after a big win in football today that I'm going to discuss here shortly. I'll have more thoughts on the basketball team at a later time because I don't want to bring myself down right now. The Runnin' Utes host Fresno State (1-3) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. MT.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Utah-BYU
Well the day has arrived. It's BYU (6-5, 5-2 MWC) at #23 Utah (9-2, 6-1 MWC). The game kicks off at 1:30 p.m. MT and can be seen on the Mtn. as well as CBS College Sports. As for me, I'll be there and you can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/dpaysports for updates and so forth during the game. I'll also be back blogging sometime tomorrow night with my thoughts and analysis of the game.
There's nothing quite like Utah vs. BYU. You remember for the next year who won this game. So for my sake I hope that the Utes pull it off so I don't have to be subject to ridicule, teasing and reminders from family and friends for the next year about the result. I think Utah has the better team and should win being at home. I'll pick the Utes by 10. That being said, it's a rivalry game and who knows what will happen. It was big for Utah to pick up that win last week at San Diego State so that they have some form of momentum heading into the big game. BYU looks much improved from earlier this season and I think they will give a competitive effort. I'm looking forward to it and I need some sleep so that I can be ready. Go Utes!
There's nothing quite like Utah vs. BYU. You remember for the next year who won this game. So for my sake I hope that the Utes pull it off so I don't have to be subject to ridicule, teasing and reminders from family and friends for the next year about the result. I think Utah has the better team and should win being at home. I'll pick the Utes by 10. That being said, it's a rivalry game and who knows what will happen. It was big for Utah to pick up that win last week at San Diego State so that they have some form of momentum heading into the big game. BYU looks much improved from earlier this season and I think they will give a competitive effort. I'm looking forward to it and I need some sleep so that I can be ready. Go Utes!
Runnin' Utes lose to Utah State; host Oral Roberts tonight
The Utah Runnin' Utes (3-1) lost at Utah State (3-1) by a score of 79-62 on Wednesday night. Don't be too deceived by the score as that was the Aggies' biggest lead of the night and came when Tai Wesley made a 3-pointer with under 10 seconds to go in the game. The Utes trailed throughout, but stayed within striking distance for most of the game. I was particularly impressed with an early second half run that cut the Aggies' lead to one. This run, however, was short-lived and Utah State was able to push the lead back up. The Utes looked competitive, but I wasn't really surprised that they dropped this game on the road to a good Utah State team. I was encouraged that Utah showed some heart and managed to stay in the game, however.
It was fun to be at The Spectrum in person to see an in-state rivalry like this, even though my team lost. I think it would be a shame if this rivalry were to be discontinued, as is the rumor. I know Utah is moving to the Pac-10, but this rivalry goes way back and I think they should find a way to keep it going. The Spectrum is a very hostile environment to play in, but I had fun being there even so and would love to be at a game there someday when the Utes beat the Aggies. Who knows when I might have that chance again. I think rivalries are good for college basketball and hope the two schools find a way to continue this one.
Utah hosts Oral Roberts (1-3) tonight at 7 p.m. MT at the Huntsman Center. The game will not be televised, but can heard via the internet at kall700sports.com and in Utah on AM 700. The Golden Eagles don't appear to be a very good team and the Utes should handle them. I'd like to see them bounce back from the loss Wednesday with a comfortable win.
It was fun to be at The Spectrum in person to see an in-state rivalry like this, even though my team lost. I think it would be a shame if this rivalry were to be discontinued, as is the rumor. I know Utah is moving to the Pac-10, but this rivalry goes way back and I think they should find a way to keep it going. The Spectrum is a very hostile environment to play in, but I had fun being there even so and would love to be at a game there someday when the Utes beat the Aggies. Who knows when I might have that chance again. I think rivalries are good for college basketball and hope the two schools find a way to continue this one.
Utah hosts Oral Roberts (1-3) tonight at 7 p.m. MT at the Huntsman Center. The game will not be televised, but can heard via the internet at kall700sports.com and in Utah on AM 700. The Golden Eagles don't appear to be a very good team and the Utes should handle them. I'd like to see them bounce back from the loss Wednesday with a comfortable win.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Utes win in football and basketball
The Utah Utes (9-2, 6-1 MWC) defeated the San Diego State Aztecs (7-4, 4-3 MWC) in football Saturday night by a score of 38-34. The Utes badly needed this win after getting embarrassed the past two weeks with the eyes of the nation on them. Jordan Wynn played quite a bit better tonight and I'm glad for him. I'll cheer for him when he's in there even though I did think Terrance Cain should have been given more of a look the past two weeks. But anyway, Wynn and the Utes came back to get this win after trailing 20-3 early in the second quarter. Wynn threw a 47-yard touchdown pass on a hail mary to Kendrick Moeai on a tipped ball on the last play of the half to put the Utes in the locker room trailing just 27-24.
San Diego State got a lucky touchdown on a pass that was deflected, caught and run in for a score on a ridiculous play that Utah should never have allowed to happen, but Utah responded with a score. The key play was a blocked punt that Utah recovered inside the five yard line early in the fourth quarter with the Aztecs leading 34-31. Utah was able to score a touchdown on an Eddie Wide run on fourth down that gave them their first lead of the night and also ended up being the final score at 38-34. I would have just kicked the field goal there and taken the tie, but Coach Kyle Whittingham always seems to go for it in those close type of situations and it often works out as it did tonight. And I'm not going to complain about the win.
SDSU quarterback Ryan Lindley threw for over 500 yards, but also threw 3 interceptions on the night, all three in Utah territory (two in the fourth quarter) that ended scoring chances. I credit the Utes with making some adjustments for the second half after looking completely helpless against the pass in the first half. It's never good when the opposing quarterback throws for over 500 yards, but the Utes were able to get some timely interceptions and stiffen up enough on defense in the second half.
This win showed to me that Utah has not given up on their season as they showed a lot of fight when they could have just folded the tent after falling behind by 17 early. I'm glad the offense showed up tonight. This gives me encouragement heading into the big rivalry game against BYU (6-5, 5-2 MWC) next Saturday in Salt Lake City.
As for basketball, the Runnin' Utes (3-0) defeated in-state foe Weber State (1-2) in Salt Lake City by a score of 90-75. Will Clyburn once again led Utah in scoring, pouring in 27 points. There were a lot of guys who got into the scoring act today and I was really encouraged by that. The Utes were playing from ahead the entire game and started both halves on 7-0 runs that just made things that much more comfortable. It just seemed like a good overall team effort today. One thing that I didn't like was that there were so many foul calls on both sides. It just felt like someone was shooting free throws the entire game from one team or the other, just let them play basketball, a little contact is a part of the game. I don't think that Utah would have lost or anything, it's just more fun to watch basketball when the game isn't being officiated too strictly. I usually don't like to say anything about the referees, but I thought they were just very whistle happy today, which is in stark contrast to last year's Utah-Weber State game in Ogden where there wasn't a stoppage of play for at least the first 8 or 9 minutes of the game (which I don't remember having a problem with). Fortunately, most referees don't seem to have this extreme of a problem of being too strict.
A really cool thing happened to me today. Utah forward Jay Watkins made eye contact with me during warm-ups, well before the game tipped off when there weren't very many fans there and then came over and stuck his fist up to the guard rail where I gave him a fist bump. It was really cool. Jay Wat is really cool and he had a pretty good game himself, as did a lot of guys today for the Runnin' Utes who next play at in-state rival Utah State (2-1) on Wednesday night.
San Diego State got a lucky touchdown on a pass that was deflected, caught and run in for a score on a ridiculous play that Utah should never have allowed to happen, but Utah responded with a score. The key play was a blocked punt that Utah recovered inside the five yard line early in the fourth quarter with the Aztecs leading 34-31. Utah was able to score a touchdown on an Eddie Wide run on fourth down that gave them their first lead of the night and also ended up being the final score at 38-34. I would have just kicked the field goal there and taken the tie, but Coach Kyle Whittingham always seems to go for it in those close type of situations and it often works out as it did tonight. And I'm not going to complain about the win.
SDSU quarterback Ryan Lindley threw for over 500 yards, but also threw 3 interceptions on the night, all three in Utah territory (two in the fourth quarter) that ended scoring chances. I credit the Utes with making some adjustments for the second half after looking completely helpless against the pass in the first half. It's never good when the opposing quarterback throws for over 500 yards, but the Utes were able to get some timely interceptions and stiffen up enough on defense in the second half.
This win showed to me that Utah has not given up on their season as they showed a lot of fight when they could have just folded the tent after falling behind by 17 early. I'm glad the offense showed up tonight. This gives me encouragement heading into the big rivalry game against BYU (6-5, 5-2 MWC) next Saturday in Salt Lake City.
As for basketball, the Runnin' Utes (3-0) defeated in-state foe Weber State (1-2) in Salt Lake City by a score of 90-75. Will Clyburn once again led Utah in scoring, pouring in 27 points. There were a lot of guys who got into the scoring act today and I was really encouraged by that. The Utes were playing from ahead the entire game and started both halves on 7-0 runs that just made things that much more comfortable. It just seemed like a good overall team effort today. One thing that I didn't like was that there were so many foul calls on both sides. It just felt like someone was shooting free throws the entire game from one team or the other, just let them play basketball, a little contact is a part of the game. I don't think that Utah would have lost or anything, it's just more fun to watch basketball when the game isn't being officiated too strictly. I usually don't like to say anything about the referees, but I thought they were just very whistle happy today, which is in stark contrast to last year's Utah-Weber State game in Ogden where there wasn't a stoppage of play for at least the first 8 or 9 minutes of the game (which I don't remember having a problem with). Fortunately, most referees don't seem to have this extreme of a problem of being too strict.
A really cool thing happened to me today. Utah forward Jay Watkins made eye contact with me during warm-ups, well before the game tipped off when there weren't very many fans there and then came over and stuck his fist up to the guard rail where I gave him a fist bump. It was really cool. Jay Wat is really cool and he had a pretty good game himself, as did a lot of guys today for the Runnin' Utes who next play at in-state rival Utah State (2-1) on Wednesday night.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Utes in action in basketball and football today
The Utah Utes will play in both basketball and football today. First, the basketball team (2-0) hosts Weber State (1-1) at 4 p.m. MT. That game will unfortunately not be on television, but will be on the radio in the Salt Lake City area on AM 700 and can also be heard online at kall700sports.com. Same radio information for the football game where the #25 Utes (8-2, 5-1 MWC) are at San Diego State (7-3, 4-2 MWC) at 8 p.m. MT. That game will be on TV and will be broadcast on the Mtn.
I've been encouraged by the play of the basketball team to this point in wins over Grand Canyon and Montana, but I think today's game will provide the stiffest challenge they have faced all season. Weber State was picked ahead of Montana in the Big Sky Conference and beat the Runnin' Utes last season in Ogden. However, the new mix of Utah players has looked pretty good so far and I think the Runnin' Utes will remain undefeated with a win over Weber State today.
The football team I am less encouraged by. At the very least it is safe to say that momentum is not on their side. They fell at home two weeks ago to TCU 47-7 and last week at Notre Dame 28-3. Both games were in the national spotlight and both games resulted in embarrassing losses. San Diego State has had a very solid season and only lost by five at TCU (which is still undefeated) last week. In fact, their three losses this year have come by one possession in each of them. They are unbeaten this year at home. I think San Diego State will be looking at this game as an opportunity to get a signature win for their program and I think they will win the game by a touchdown.
In order for Utah to stop this losing skid, the offense really needs to get in gear. Jordan Wynn has looked absolutely terrible at quarterback the last two weeks. He looks to me as though he has lost all self confidence, misfiring on even the most routine of throws. Word is he will get the start tonight despite his performance the last two weeks and I think if that is the case he needs to have a very short leash. If Wynn doesn't start out well tonight, the Utes have to go to back-up Terrance Cain in order to salvage a good finish to their season that started with such promise.
I will be at the basketball game against Weber State and watching the football game against San Diego State. I'll be on Twitter with updates from both of those games, you can follow me at twitter.com/dpaysports. After the games I will be back on here with my thoughts and analysis. Go Utes!
I've been encouraged by the play of the basketball team to this point in wins over Grand Canyon and Montana, but I think today's game will provide the stiffest challenge they have faced all season. Weber State was picked ahead of Montana in the Big Sky Conference and beat the Runnin' Utes last season in Ogden. However, the new mix of Utah players has looked pretty good so far and I think the Runnin' Utes will remain undefeated with a win over Weber State today.
The football team I am less encouraged by. At the very least it is safe to say that momentum is not on their side. They fell at home two weeks ago to TCU 47-7 and last week at Notre Dame 28-3. Both games were in the national spotlight and both games resulted in embarrassing losses. San Diego State has had a very solid season and only lost by five at TCU (which is still undefeated) last week. In fact, their three losses this year have come by one possession in each of them. They are unbeaten this year at home. I think San Diego State will be looking at this game as an opportunity to get a signature win for their program and I think they will win the game by a touchdown.
In order for Utah to stop this losing skid, the offense really needs to get in gear. Jordan Wynn has looked absolutely terrible at quarterback the last two weeks. He looks to me as though he has lost all self confidence, misfiring on even the most routine of throws. Word is he will get the start tonight despite his performance the last two weeks and I think if that is the case he needs to have a very short leash. If Wynn doesn't start out well tonight, the Utes have to go to back-up Terrance Cain in order to salvage a good finish to their season that started with such promise.
I will be at the basketball game against Weber State and watching the football game against San Diego State. I'll be on Twitter with updates from both of those games, you can follow me at twitter.com/dpaysports. After the games I will be back on here with my thoughts and analysis. Go Utes!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Runnin' Utes top Montana 80-71
Pictured: Will Clyburn goes in for a dunk in the Runnin' Utes' 80-71 win over Montana Wednesday night.The Utah Runnin' Utes (2-0) defeated the Montana Grizzlies (0-2) tonight in Salt Lake City by a score of 80-71. Will Clyburn led the Utes with 21 points, Josh Watkins had 20 and Jay Watkins had 18. Will Cherry led Montana with 21 points.
The Utes led most of the way and appeared to bust it open early in the second half when they stretched an 11-point halftime lead to 20, largely behind the play of Jay Watkins and Clyburn. However, the Grizzlies were able to cut into the lead by cashing in on some open 3s, being more aggressive, and grabbing more offensive rebounds. The lead got whittled down to as low as six before the Utes put the clamps on. I think Utah might have just lost some focus with such a big lead, but give Montana credit for not quitting either. The thing that stood out most to me was how quickly the Grizzlies were able to get back in the game; Utah needs to maintain focus even with a big lead.
The most important thing is that the Utes are now 2-0 which hasn't been the case the last couple of years at this time. Clyburn looks like he could be a star as he's looked really solid in the first two games. Another JC transfer, Josh Watkins, has also looked good so far at point guard. Sophomore starter Shawn Glover just didn't have it tonight, I don't know what the problem was exactly, but he just made a number of mental mistakes out there and didn't appear to be hustling as much as he should have been. Coach Jim Boylen adjusted accordingly and didn't have him out there much. We'll see if Glover can straighten it out. The Utes next play at home on Saturday against in-state rival Weber State (1-1) at 4 p.m. MT.
A word about some of the fans, in the student section in particular: At least one person at the Utah game tonight was chanting "Jimmer." I think it is stupid to degrade your rival when you aren't even playing them. Utah wasn't playing BYU tonight, there was no reason for that kind of chanting. In fact, the Utes aren't playing BYU for a couple of months. Tonight the focus should have been more on Montana. The "Jimmer" chant just seemed oddly out of place. Also out of place was a large cardboard cut-out of former BYU player Jonathan Tavernari making a funny face. Again Utah wasn't playing BYU and furthermore Tavernari has exhausted his eligibility and is no longer on the BYU team. Again, just very out of place. Utah fans would do well just to focus on the game at hand. To be fair most Utah fans are at least fairly knowledgeable about the team and what to cheer about, etc. and I enjoy associating with most of them at games. There were just a couple of things that irked me tonight, although not enough to ruin the overall experience of watching my team win.
Down the road a ways tonight, the #23 BYU Cougars (2-0) knocked off the Utah State Aggies (1-1) in Provo by a score of 78-72. I didn't watch the game but my understanding is that Jimmer Fredette was a big reason that BYU was able to come out on top, as well as a flagrant foul call late against the Aggies' Tai Wesley. This game sounds like it was tight the entire way; I thought BYU would win by 7-10 points but I didn't expect it to be a one possession game in the waning minutes. To me that shows that Utah State is a very capable team as they nearly pulled the upset in a hostile environment.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Runnin' Utes host Montana tomorrow night
The Utah Runnin' Utes (1-0) host the Montana Grizzlies (0-1) in basketball tomorrow night at the Huntsman Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. MT. The Utes defeated Grand Canyon 72-48 last Friday night, but this will be their first game against a Division I school. Montana dropped their season opener at Nevada. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Utes handle playing against a team that should provide some tougher competition. Junior Will Clyburn led the Utes with 14 points in his first game with Utah last Friday. The game will not be televised, so if you want to see it, join me at the Huntsman Center. The game will be available on the radio in Salt Lake City on AM 700 and the radio feed will also be broadcast online at kall700sports.com. I think the Utes should be able to handle the Grizzlies, but we'll see. There are so many unknowns this time of year. I'll be tweeting updates during the game and you can follow those at twitter.com/dpaysports. I will be back on here after the game for some analysis.
Monday, November 15, 2010
My 2010-2011 MWC Basketball picks
Alright, a few days after the official season opener, but I don't think there have been many games that we can learn much from, so I think it's still valid to give my 2010-2011 Mountain West Conference Basketball picks:
1. BYU
2. San Diego State
3. UNLV
4. New Mexico
5. Utah
6. TCU
7. Wyoming
8. Colorado State
9. Air Force
I know that a lot of people are picking #25 San Diego State to win the league and I almost did myself. They have all five starters returning from last year including Kawhi Leonard and Malcolm Thomas. I think the Aztecs are the most athletic team in the league and probably have the most talent. But they always seem to manage to lose a game or two in the MWC that they shouldn't and I think that will happen again this year. I think they will have a good year and make the NCAA Tournament and probably beat BYU in San Diego, but I still think they finish second. The Aztecs get a good non-conference test tomorrow night at #11 Gonzaga at 9 p.m. MT on ESPN2. That could give us a gauge on just how good this team is.
#23 BYU gets my pick to win the MWC for a number of reasons, chief among those being Jimmer Fredette. Fredette is in my opinion the best player in the Conference and when he gets going it can be lights out. He can single-handedly win games for his team when he is going right. I think Dave Rose is a great coach and manages to get more out of his teams than what is on paper and he always seems to manage to recruit great shooters. BYU enjoys a tremendous home court advantage as well and is very, very difficult to defeat there. I think any team in the country would have a tough time in that environment. That being said, it's not impossible to win there and teams can go in there and get a win. It just takes a great effort from a really good team. I think San Diego State will give them a game in Provo and UNLV may as well. But I think the thing that separates BYU from the rest of the league this year (aside from Fredette) is that they win the games they are supposed to win. I don't see them dropping games to TCU, Colorado State or Wyoming, etc. I'm not predicting the other contenders to drop games to those teams per se, but I think it's more likely to happen.
New Mexico is "only" losing Roman Martinez and Darington Hobson from last year's surprising MWC Championship team. But those are two big losses. Hobson was the player of the year and Martinez had a knack for knocking down clutch shots. However, the Lobos have a number of solid players back as well as a good coach in Steve Alford and I think will be right in the thick of the race and finish just behind UNLV in fourth place. I just don't know if they have what it takes to push them over the top.
UNLV is athletic and tough at home and should have another good year. This is all contingent on if Tre'Von Willis plays following his offseason arrest stemming from a domestic incident. Word is Willis will miss at least one regular season game, presumably before Conference play. If Willis is back and a team player, the Rebels can be right in the race. If Willis is out, then I would think New Mexico would easily pass them for 3rd place and they would be fighting Utah for 4th. With Willis in I think they are likely to be well ahead of the Utes in the standings.
Speaking of Utah, that's my team. The Runnin' Utes have made wholesale changes since last year's disappointing 14-17 campaign and Head Coach Jim Boylen has to be feeling pressure to perform this year. Fans like me aren't happy with the beating the Utes took at home to rival BYU in the regular season finale, it wasn't just that the Utes lost, it was that they looked worse than I've ever seen them in doing so. So hopefully the new changes to the roster foster a culture of more winning and competition on an every game type basis. I'm optimistic about this season and excited to see how things work out. I think if everyone gels, the Runnin' Utes could surprise some people this season. However, I'm trying to pick based on what's likely to happen and I have to temper my enthusiasm and pick the Utes fifth.
TCU I think is sixth this year, they always seem to have a few good players who can help them win a few games that maybe they shouldn't, particularly at home. I know the media picked Colorado State fifth, but I'm just not sold on the Rams. They don't inspire any confidence in me in being to win on the road except against the lowest of competition and I don't exactly see them having a clean slate at home either. So I picked TCU and Wyoming (and Utah) to finish ahead of them. The Horned Frogs and Cowboys I think have more potential to sneak up on people than does CSU.
Air Force gets picked to finish in last again. The Falcons have a unique, Princeton-style offense that can be difficult to defend and generally are a disciplined team. For this reason, they can stay in a lot of games that they otherwise wouldn't be able to. However, I don't think they are talented enough to finish somewhere that isn't in last, particularly offensively where they can go into prolonged dry spells.
So there you have it. Those are my picks and I'm sticking to them. I hope the Utes perform better than what I have them picked to do. We'll see. For the record I think BYU, San Diego State, UNLV and New Mexico all make the NCAA Tournament and that Utah just makes the NIT with TCU missing out on this and being relegated to the CBI. I don't see anyone else making postseason play. I'm really excited to see how this college basketball season plays out. I think college basketball is my second favorite sport to Major League Baseball so it's exciting that it is getting under way. The Mountain West has been a fun league to watch over the years so I'm going to enjoy this last season of it with Utah getting a chance to compete with its traditional rivals.
1. BYU
2. San Diego State
3. UNLV
4. New Mexico
5. Utah
6. TCU
7. Wyoming
8. Colorado State
9. Air Force
I know that a lot of people are picking #25 San Diego State to win the league and I almost did myself. They have all five starters returning from last year including Kawhi Leonard and Malcolm Thomas. I think the Aztecs are the most athletic team in the league and probably have the most talent. But they always seem to manage to lose a game or two in the MWC that they shouldn't and I think that will happen again this year. I think they will have a good year and make the NCAA Tournament and probably beat BYU in San Diego, but I still think they finish second. The Aztecs get a good non-conference test tomorrow night at #11 Gonzaga at 9 p.m. MT on ESPN2. That could give us a gauge on just how good this team is.
#23 BYU gets my pick to win the MWC for a number of reasons, chief among those being Jimmer Fredette. Fredette is in my opinion the best player in the Conference and when he gets going it can be lights out. He can single-handedly win games for his team when he is going right. I think Dave Rose is a great coach and manages to get more out of his teams than what is on paper and he always seems to manage to recruit great shooters. BYU enjoys a tremendous home court advantage as well and is very, very difficult to defeat there. I think any team in the country would have a tough time in that environment. That being said, it's not impossible to win there and teams can go in there and get a win. It just takes a great effort from a really good team. I think San Diego State will give them a game in Provo and UNLV may as well. But I think the thing that separates BYU from the rest of the league this year (aside from Fredette) is that they win the games they are supposed to win. I don't see them dropping games to TCU, Colorado State or Wyoming, etc. I'm not predicting the other contenders to drop games to those teams per se, but I think it's more likely to happen.
New Mexico is "only" losing Roman Martinez and Darington Hobson from last year's surprising MWC Championship team. But those are two big losses. Hobson was the player of the year and Martinez had a knack for knocking down clutch shots. However, the Lobos have a number of solid players back as well as a good coach in Steve Alford and I think will be right in the thick of the race and finish just behind UNLV in fourth place. I just don't know if they have what it takes to push them over the top.
UNLV is athletic and tough at home and should have another good year. This is all contingent on if Tre'Von Willis plays following his offseason arrest stemming from a domestic incident. Word is Willis will miss at least one regular season game, presumably before Conference play. If Willis is back and a team player, the Rebels can be right in the race. If Willis is out, then I would think New Mexico would easily pass them for 3rd place and they would be fighting Utah for 4th. With Willis in I think they are likely to be well ahead of the Utes in the standings.
Speaking of Utah, that's my team. The Runnin' Utes have made wholesale changes since last year's disappointing 14-17 campaign and Head Coach Jim Boylen has to be feeling pressure to perform this year. Fans like me aren't happy with the beating the Utes took at home to rival BYU in the regular season finale, it wasn't just that the Utes lost, it was that they looked worse than I've ever seen them in doing so. So hopefully the new changes to the roster foster a culture of more winning and competition on an every game type basis. I'm optimistic about this season and excited to see how things work out. I think if everyone gels, the Runnin' Utes could surprise some people this season. However, I'm trying to pick based on what's likely to happen and I have to temper my enthusiasm and pick the Utes fifth.
TCU I think is sixth this year, they always seem to have a few good players who can help them win a few games that maybe they shouldn't, particularly at home. I know the media picked Colorado State fifth, but I'm just not sold on the Rams. They don't inspire any confidence in me in being to win on the road except against the lowest of competition and I don't exactly see them having a clean slate at home either. So I picked TCU and Wyoming (and Utah) to finish ahead of them. The Horned Frogs and Cowboys I think have more potential to sneak up on people than does CSU.
Air Force gets picked to finish in last again. The Falcons have a unique, Princeton-style offense that can be difficult to defend and generally are a disciplined team. For this reason, they can stay in a lot of games that they otherwise wouldn't be able to. However, I don't think they are talented enough to finish somewhere that isn't in last, particularly offensively where they can go into prolonged dry spells.
So there you have it. Those are my picks and I'm sticking to them. I hope the Utes perform better than what I have them picked to do. We'll see. For the record I think BYU, San Diego State, UNLV and New Mexico all make the NCAA Tournament and that Utah just makes the NIT with TCU missing out on this and being relegated to the CBI. I don't see anyone else making postseason play. I'm really excited to see how this college basketball season plays out. I think college basketball is my second favorite sport to Major League Baseball so it's exciting that it is getting under way. The Mountain West has been a fun league to watch over the years so I'm going to enjoy this last season of it with Utah getting a chance to compete with its traditional rivals.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Utes embarrassed again
The #15 Utah Utes (8-2, 5-1 MWC) were completely embarrassed today by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-5) by a score of 28-3 in South Bend, Indiana. The Utes led 3-0 early, but then had a punt blocked deep in their own territory and returned for a touchdown and the Irish never looked back, taking a 14-3 lead into halftime. Shaky Smithson fumbled the opening kick off of the second half and the Irish quickly converted that into another score and later tacked on another touchdown.
Jordan Wynn was 24-39 passing with no touchdowns and an interception. He looked terrible for the second consecutive week, often missing open receivers and making poor decisions. He should have had at least one more interception. I can't fathom why Coach Whittingham again left Wynn in despite so many struggles. Wynn looked to me like a guy who had lost his confidence. Terrance Cain got in for two plays while Wynn got a bit banged up, but was promptly re-inserted into the game. I think you seriously have to consider starting Cain next week and if Wynn does start, he has to have a short leash.
I don't know what is wrong with the Utes. They just looked completely inept on offense and didn't seem to be able to do much for a while after Notre Dame took the lead on the blocked punt. The Utes had a couple of drives end with failures to convert on fourth downs in the red zone late in the game. I guess it's good that they moved the ball, but the failure to score is disconcerting. I didn't think the defense looked too bad, in reality they only deserved to have 14 points pinned on them. It was just a bad way to look on national television.
Utah plays at San Diego State (7-3, 4-2 MWC) next Saturday night at 8 p.m. MT. The Aztecs lost on the road today to #3 TCU (11-0, 7-0 MWC) by a score of 40-35. That'ws the closest game TCU has played all year. That doesn't bode well for next week and I think I'll have to pick SDSU to win that one.
In basketball, the Utah Runnin' Utes (1-0) opened their season last night with a 72-48 win over Grand Canyon (0-1), a Division II school. It's tough to gauge how much the win really means since it was against a Division II school, but I did enjoy getting to see the new faces of the Runnin' Utes. Will Clyburn in particular looked good and looks to have a good shot, going 2-4 on 3 pointers and scoring 14 points to lead all scorers. The Utes defense looked good as well in the win. I think we'll know more after Wednesday when the Utes take on Montana (0-1) at home at 7 p.m. MT. The Grizzlies are a Division I school that made the NCAA Tournament last season by winning the NCAA Tournament so they should provide a bit more competition.
Jordan Wynn was 24-39 passing with no touchdowns and an interception. He looked terrible for the second consecutive week, often missing open receivers and making poor decisions. He should have had at least one more interception. I can't fathom why Coach Whittingham again left Wynn in despite so many struggles. Wynn looked to me like a guy who had lost his confidence. Terrance Cain got in for two plays while Wynn got a bit banged up, but was promptly re-inserted into the game. I think you seriously have to consider starting Cain next week and if Wynn does start, he has to have a short leash.
I don't know what is wrong with the Utes. They just looked completely inept on offense and didn't seem to be able to do much for a while after Notre Dame took the lead on the blocked punt. The Utes had a couple of drives end with failures to convert on fourth downs in the red zone late in the game. I guess it's good that they moved the ball, but the failure to score is disconcerting. I didn't think the defense looked too bad, in reality they only deserved to have 14 points pinned on them. It was just a bad way to look on national television.
Utah plays at San Diego State (7-3, 4-2 MWC) next Saturday night at 8 p.m. MT. The Aztecs lost on the road today to #3 TCU (11-0, 7-0 MWC) by a score of 40-35. That'ws the closest game TCU has played all year. That doesn't bode well for next week and I think I'll have to pick SDSU to win that one.
In basketball, the Utah Runnin' Utes (1-0) opened their season last night with a 72-48 win over Grand Canyon (0-1), a Division II school. It's tough to gauge how much the win really means since it was against a Division II school, but I did enjoy getting to see the new faces of the Runnin' Utes. Will Clyburn in particular looked good and looks to have a good shot, going 2-4 on 3 pointers and scoring 14 points to lead all scorers. The Utes defense looked good as well in the win. I think we'll know more after Wednesday when the Utes take on Montana (0-1) at home at 7 p.m. MT. The Grizzlies are a Division I school that made the NCAA Tournament last season by winning the NCAA Tournament so they should provide a bit more competition.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
TCU delivers beat down
#4 TCU beat #6 Utah 47-7 this afternoon in Salt Lake City. It was a beat down in just about every way possible. The Horned Frogs were simply better on both sides of the ball and demonstrated superior focus and discipline as well. Quarterback Andy Dalton was lights out and put on a clinic in efficiently moving the TCU offense up and down the field all day. He looks like he will be ready for the NFL next year if you ask me. TCU's defense shut down the Utah offense all day as well and looked really stingy. The Horned Frogs jumped out to a 20-0 lead after the first quarter and led 23-0 at halftime. The Frogs were hardly done and led 40-0 before the Utes scored in the 4th quarter.
I think TCU was clearly the better team. However, I think Utah did not help themselves. Jordan Wynn had a terrible game at quarterback, missing several open receivers, losing a fumble and throwing two interceptions, all on bad decisions/throws. I don't know why Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham left Wynn in instead of going to Terrance Cain, but I don't think there is a good reason. Wynn didn't have it today and that was evident before halftime. Utah probably would not have won the game anyway, but you never know what could have happened with a little spark from a different quarterback. Cain could hardly have been worse than Wynn was today if he tried and I think he was worth giving a look at. TCU probably still would have won by a couple of scores anyway, but I think Utah definitely shouldn't have lost by 40 at home and could have played a lot better. And of course a lot of why Utah played poorly was due to TCU, let's not forget that, but there were also a number of what looked to me like unforced errors that could have been prevented.
TCU looks like the real deal and will likely be in National Title discussions. I'll be interested to see if they or Boise State can get there. TCU is now 10-0 and 6-0 in Mountain West Conference play. Utah drops to 8-1 and 5-1 in the MWC. It's hard to believe this team was 8-0 before the game the way they played, but again let's not forget that TCU is really good. However, it was a very humiliating and embarrassing loss for the Utes.
I think TCU was clearly the better team. However, I think Utah did not help themselves. Jordan Wynn had a terrible game at quarterback, missing several open receivers, losing a fumble and throwing two interceptions, all on bad decisions/throws. I don't know why Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham left Wynn in instead of going to Terrance Cain, but I don't think there is a good reason. Wynn didn't have it today and that was evident before halftime. Utah probably would not have won the game anyway, but you never know what could have happened with a little spark from a different quarterback. Cain could hardly have been worse than Wynn was today if he tried and I think he was worth giving a look at. TCU probably still would have won by a couple of scores anyway, but I think Utah definitely shouldn't have lost by 40 at home and could have played a lot better. And of course a lot of why Utah played poorly was due to TCU, let's not forget that, but there were also a number of what looked to me like unforced errors that could have been prevented.
TCU looks like the real deal and will likely be in National Title discussions. I'll be interested to see if they or Boise State can get there. TCU is now 10-0 and 6-0 in Mountain West Conference play. Utah drops to 8-1 and 5-1 in the MWC. It's hard to believe this team was 8-0 before the game the way they played, but again let's not forget that TCU is really good. However, it was a very humiliating and embarrassing loss for the Utes.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Utah-TCU
#5 in the BCS Standings Utah hosts #3 in the BCS Standings TCU tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m. MT at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The game will unfortunately be broadcast on CBS College Sports as opposed to a more prevalent channel that people are actually more inclined to watch. In good news, though, ESPN's College GameDay will be here. GameDay starts at 7 a.m. MT on ESPNU and the big GameDay begins at 8 a.m. on ESPN, i.e. a channel most people actually have. It's a big deal for the U. to get so much national attention from ESPN and I'm really excited about it. I'll be getting up early and attending it so maybe if you are really lucky you can catch me on TV.
As for the game, it will be the two highest ranked teams to ever go at it at Rice-Eccles Stadium. I picked the Utes to win the Mountain West before the season on the strength of having this game at home and I will stick to that pick. I think the Utes will win in a close one behind a raucous crowd that I will be a part of. Utah's defense has been stingy all year and I think they will step up big tomorrow.
As you have probably heard, tomorrow is the camo-blackout game and the Utes will wear black jerseys with camo type numbers and highlights on the shoulder pads. It's for the Wounded Warrior project. I think it's great that the Utes are helping out this project and I know a lot of people think it looks cool when the Utes wear black, but I'm kind of bummed that with GameDay here we won't be encouraged to show our real school colors of red and white. I'll support it but I don't think it's nearly as exciting as wearing the traditional red.
However, the real focus should be more on the game and that's the way I'm going to be looking at it. TCU is a really good football team, but Utah is good too and I think will significantly benefit from playing at home in front of a packed house.
Oh and I'm still reveling in my San Francisco Giants winning the World Series! How awesome is that!? Good stuff. Oh and if you feel so inclined, follow me on Twitter tomorrow for updates, etc. about the Utes at twitter.com/dpaysports. And in conclusion: Go Utes!
As for the game, it will be the two highest ranked teams to ever go at it at Rice-Eccles Stadium. I picked the Utes to win the Mountain West before the season on the strength of having this game at home and I will stick to that pick. I think the Utes will win in a close one behind a raucous crowd that I will be a part of. Utah's defense has been stingy all year and I think they will step up big tomorrow.
As you have probably heard, tomorrow is the camo-blackout game and the Utes will wear black jerseys with camo type numbers and highlights on the shoulder pads. It's for the Wounded Warrior project. I think it's great that the Utes are helping out this project and I know a lot of people think it looks cool when the Utes wear black, but I'm kind of bummed that with GameDay here we won't be encouraged to show our real school colors of red and white. I'll support it but I don't think it's nearly as exciting as wearing the traditional red.
However, the real focus should be more on the game and that's the way I'm going to be looking at it. TCU is a really good football team, but Utah is good too and I think will significantly benefit from playing at home in front of a packed house.
Oh and I'm still reveling in my San Francisco Giants winning the World Series! How awesome is that!? Good stuff. Oh and if you feel so inclined, follow me on Twitter tomorrow for updates, etc. about the Utes at twitter.com/dpaysports. And in conclusion: Go Utes!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Victory parade today for World Champion Giants!
Pictured: The 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants celebrate winning the World Series in Texas Monday.The 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants will have their victory parade today in San Francisco. Coverage can be seen on MLB Network and mlb.com I believe starting at noon MT. Some other stations may pick up some of the coverage as well. It still sounds so wonderful that my Giants were able to win it all. It truly is our time. I'm so happy that the 56 year drought between championships is over and that the Orange and Black were able to win their first World Series since moving west to San Francisco in 1958.
From what I've heard people are already lining the streets and it's already starting to get really crazy along the parade route. I would expect nothing less. How awesome is this? Too, too cool.
This championship helps ease the bad memories that so many of us Giants fans still had lingering from the 2002 World Series when the Giants lost to the Anaheim Angels in absolutely heartbreaking fashion. This one is one to remember, one for the ages. It's funny, I don't think anybody ever used the term powerhouse with this Giants team like they may have with some of the teams that featured guys like Barry Bonds, Willy McCovey, Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Jeff Kent and Juan Marichal. But this is the group that got it done. This year's edition of the Giants was a team in every sense of the word. To me they seemed like a throwback to other generations in a way because they were such a tight-knit group the way teams in earlier eras were.
You might say this team was greater than the sum of its parts but I don't want to discount the talent either. People haven't realized what a great pitching staff this Giants team has -- there is none better in baseball in my book. The offense didn't have a lot of superstars, but this group always seemed to get the big hit when the big hit was needed most.
A turning point in this wonderful playoff run is Game 3 of the NLDS in Atlanta where the Giants trailed the Braves 2-1 in the top of the ninth inning. Travis Ishikawa worked a walk but was still on first with two outs and two strikes on Freddy Sanchez. The Giants literally were one strike away from being down 2 games to 1 in the series with the Braves having the possibility of clinching the following night at home. But Sanchez singled. And then Aubrey Huff got a huge hit that drove in Sanchez to tie the game. An error by Brooks Conrad on a ball hit by Buster Posey put the Giants on top and they went on to win 3-2. They won the next night to clinch the series. That's just one moment, but it's one that really sticks out to me as it defines how resilient this team was.
I have really grown fond of the guys on this team and hope that most of them will be able to be back next year. But right now, it's not about next year, it's about celebrating the season that was. The San Francisco Giants are World Champions!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The Giants win the World Series!
Pictured: The 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants.The San Francisco Giants won the World Series tonight, beating the Texas Rangers by a score of 3-1! The Giants won the series 4 games to 1. What an awesome feeling this is! It's great to have my favorite team win its first World Series since 1954. I'm so happy about all this right now. It's still pretty surreal.
Edgar Renteria was named World Series MVP and for good reason. Renteria hit a three-run home run off of Cliff Lee in the seventh inning tonight to break a scoreless tie and put the Giants ahead for good. I sort of screamed I was so excited when that ball went out. Renteria further solidified his reputation as a clutch player. And let's not forget that he hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth against the Braves to tie the game in the Giants' home opener this year (which they won in extra innings). So in a way it's kind of full circle. Renteria didn't have the best year of his career and didn't really even play that much down the stretch. But what a World Series he had. I'm glad he was in the lineup and I'm glad he was on my team.
Not to be lost in all this was how well Tim Lincecum pitched tonight, throwing eight innings of 1-run baseball and recording ten strikeouts. It was a masterful performance on the biggest of stages. Lincecum showed why he has won the last two Cy Young Awards and why he is the ace of the staff. Brian Wilson continued his excellent postseason with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to officially clinch the championship.
The Giants' pitching was really a big story this series. You heard a lot about the Rangers offense and how potent it was and for good reason, but people overlooked how good this pitching staff really is. The rotation is great and what really set this group apart from other playoff teams was its dynamic bullpen. The old baseball saying is that good pitching beats good hitting and you saw that in this World Series.
Well, that's all for now, but I'll leave you with this thought: The San Francisco Giants are World Champions! Yes!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Giants one win away from glory
Pictured: Giants rookie pitcher Madison Bumgarner delivers a pitch during Game 4 of the World Series Sunday night in Texas. Bumgarner threw eight scoreless innings.The San Francisco Giants defeated the Texas Rangers 4-0 last night in Game 4 of the 2010 World Series in Arlington, TX. The Giants now lead the Series 3 games to 1. Rookie pitcher Madison Bumgarner was the story and pitched eight shutout innings in his World Series debut. Bumgarner was in complete control throughout and seemed completely unfazed that he was pitching in the World Series. I, like just about everyone else, was impressed that he shut down such a potent offense in what is considered a hitter-friendly ballpark. It's nice to think that the Giants don't have to worry about him or any of their other starters becoming free agents anytime soon.
Aubrey Huff supplied the first of the offense with a towering two-run home run in the third inning off Rangers starter Tommy Hunter. Andres Torres had an RBI double in the seventh and Buster Posey added a solo home run in the eighth. Brian Wilson worked a scoreless ninth in relief of Bumgarner. Edgar Renteria had another solid night, playing good defense at short stop and going 3 for 4 at the plate. He's having quite a World Series and is further solidifying his reputation as a clutch player.
Game 5 of the World Series is tonight in Arlington at 5:57 p.m. MT on FOX. The Giants will start their ace, Tim Lincecum, and the Rangers will go with theirs in Cliff Lee. We'll see if we get that dynamic pitching matchup everyone thought we would get in Game 1. Both guys are very, very good.
I'm pretty excited because the Giants are only one win away from winning their first World Series since 1954 when they were the New York Giants. They moved to San Francisco in 1958. It would be cool to win it at home but the way I see it is you have to go for it starting tonight on the road. You don't want to give the Rangers anymore chances than you have to. I'll be watching tonight. You should be too.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Giants take 2-0 World Series lead
Pictured: The Giants celebrate after taking a 2 games to none lead in the 2010 World Series.The San Francisco Giants defeated the Texas Rangers 9-0 tonight at AT&T Park in San Francisco to take a 2 games to 0 lead in the 2010 World Series. Matt Cain pitched 7 2/3 innings and still has yet to allow an earned run all postseason. He's been lights out. Edgar Renteria broke a scoreless tie in the middle innings with a solo home run once again proving he is a clutch player. Juan Uribe singled in another run later on. The floodgates really opened in the 8th inning against the Rangers bullpen which surrendered 7 runs in the inning, all after there were initially two outs and nobody on base. I said going into the series that the Rangers bullpen was weaker than that of the Giants and so far it has proven true.
The Giants' pitching staff has continued to throw well and tonight the old saying that good pitching beats good hitting was true. People have been hyping up the Rangers' offense, but I don't think they fully grasped what a great pitching staff the Giants have. That's been the recipe for success all year long, along with some timely hitting. The Giants have a lot of intangibles on this team as well and seem to have a real family atmosphere that is conducive to winning. Their offensive numbers may not blow you away, but it seems like so many times this year when the team has needed a hit, they have gotten that hit. Same thing with getting big outs and so forth when those have been needed. That can't always be put into statistics. Take tonight, with runners on 2nd and 3rd and only one out in the 6th inning with the Giants clinging to a 1-0 lead. The Rangers don't even have to get a base hit to score with less than two outs. Cain induced a harmless pop up and then ended the threat with a fly out. No harm, no foul and the Giants went on to the win.
I thought Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson pitched a pretty good game himself, but just was outdueled by Cain. As I mentioned, things didn't really unravel substantially for Texas until the 8th inning with the bullpen already in the game.
The series now shifts to Texas. Game 3 is Saturday and note that the start time is an hour earlier, first pitch is scheduled for 4:57 p.m. MT from Arlington, TX. The game will be broadcast on FOX. Let's go Giants! Keep this thing rolling!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Giants win Game 1 of World Series; Game 2 tomorrow
Pictured: Juan Uribe (5) rounds the bases after his 3 run home run in the 5th inning of Game 1 of the World Series.The San Francisco Giants defeated the Texas Rangers 11-7 tonight in Game 1 of the World Series at AT&T Park in San Francisco. The Giants were led by 3 doubles and 3 RBIs from Freddy Sanchez, who like many Giants was making his World Series debut. The really big blow came in a six run 5th inning when Juan Uribe hit a three-run home run to put the Giants up 8-2 at that point. Aubrey Huff had a solid night with an RBI and Buster Posey, Cody Ross, Nate Schierholtz and Travis Ishikawa came up with RBIs as well.
The Giants got to Cliff Lee tonight, proving that he is not invincible. I think it is ridiculous that some people were saying that Games 1 and 5 were automatic Rangers wins simply because Lee was pitching. Maybe now the Giants will get a little more respect. You would have thought getting to the World Series would command some amount of respect in itself. It's even more silly to say that when Lee was scheduled to face Tim Lincecum (who has won the last two National League Cy Young awards as many people seem to have forgotten) in both of those games. Lincecum wasn't exactly lights out tonight, but he was better than Lee. Now I didn't think that the Giants would get 7 runs off of Lee, but I didn't think he was unbeatable either. You never know what's going to happen in baseball and it's hard to think that this particular Giants team won't put up some kind of fight.
Bengie Molina, who was traded from San Francisco to the Rangers in July, got a loud ovation during pre-game introductions. I thought that was a really awesome thing to see. Molina meant a lot to the Giants for the 3 1/2 seasons he was here and seems to be a really good guy. I hope he doesn't do too well in this series because I want the Giants to win, but I still like the guy and would have applauded too if I was there.
Vladimir Guerrero had a pair of defensive miscues in the 8th inning in right field for the Rangers. He is normally the Texas DH but was in the field in a National League park so that the Rangers could have his bat in the lineup. He still has a strong arm, but his knees just aren't what they used to be and that's why he's been primarily a DH. I feel bad for the guy as he used to be one of the top right fielders in the game, particularly from his days with the Montreal Expos. I don't think his mistakes had an influence in the outcome of the game, but did help the margin to be a bit more comfortable at the end for the Giants. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy the Giants won and will take it.
The Giants bullpen was a little shaky, particularly in the 9th inning in which Ramon Ramirez, Jeremy Affedlt and Brian Wilson all allowed baserunners to get on as the Rangers scored 3 runs in the frame. Bruce Bochy downplayed it after the game saying he was glad he could get those guys some work in so that they wouldn't be too rusty. I think there is something to that as nobody had pitched since the Giants clinched the NLCS last Saturday. Affedlt was a huge part in that Game 6 win and Wilson has had a good postseason and particularly a very strong NLCS. I think the Giants' bullpen will pitch well in the remainder of the series.
Here's the particulars for Game 2 of the World Series tomorrow night:
Game 2 -- Texas Rangers (Wilson) at San Francisco Giants (Cain), 5:57 p.m. MT (FOX, Giants lead series 1-0)
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
World Series gets under way tomorrow night
At left: Cody Ross holds up the NLCS MVP trophy. He and the Giants begin the World Series tomorrow night.The World Series begins tomorrow night. Game 1 is set for 5:57 p.m. MT with the Texas Rangers at the San Francisco Giants and will be broadcast on FOX. For those of you who aren't near a TV, it can also be heard on ESPN Radio, which in Salt Lake City can be found on AM 700. Back to back Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum will pitch for the Giants and the Rangers will go with their ace, Cliff Lee. It should be a fantastic pitching matchup and I can hardly wait for the game to get started.
Let's hope that Cody Ross can continue his hot streak in which he seems to get an RBI and/or extra base hit every game. I hope the Giants can get to the Rangers' pitching staff, which has some good arms. I think once you get past Lee you have a chance to do some damage. Not to say the guys on their staff don't have talent, it's that the Giants have been able to hit some against similar pitching this year.
I'm going to go ahead and pick the Giants to win this series in six games (knock on wood). The Rangers have a potent lineup and some decent pitching and are a dangerous team to be sure. The Giants, though, clearly have the deeper pitching staff in my opinion, especially in the bullpen. The Rangers' bullpen imploded in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Yankees and has shown some vulnerability and inconsistency throughout the postseason. The Giants' bullpen has been pretty solid for most of the postseason, with Game 2 of the NLDS against the Braves as the exception. The old saying is that good pitching beats good hitting and I think that's what will happen in this series.
This Giants team has shown a lot of heart all year long and is really a tight-knit group which isn't always true with professional sports teams. I think this will also have an impact on how this series goes. So, tomorrow night can't get here soon enough. Let's go Giants!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The Giants win the pennant!
Pictured: The San Francisco Giants celebrate their fourth pennant since moving west.The San Francisco Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 tonight to win the National League pennant! Those words just sound great! Awesome!!! I am so excited! This is what it's all about! The Giants are going to the World Series! Wow this feels great!
The Giants beat the Phillies 4 games to 2 to win the National League Championship Series. Brian Wilson got Ryan Howard looking for strike three on a full count with two outs and runners at first and second. As FOX announcer Joe Buck said, that was about as intense as a baseball game could be. You have one of the best closers in the game throwing to one of the best hitters in the game with the winning run on base, two outs and a full count with a trip to the World Series on the line. I'm just glad that Wilson came through and sent the Giants to the Fall Classic. I don't think it's totally sunk in yet, but it's just an amazing feeling.
Juan Uribe hit the game-winning home run with a solo shot off Ryan Madson in the 8th inning to give the Giants a 3-2 lead. Uribe has had a good year with the power numbers and it makes me happy to see him come through. That home run will be long remembered among Giants fans. Good, good stuff.
Jonathan Sanchez struggled in this one, giving up 2 runs in the first inning and couldn't find the strike zone. Sanchez hit Chase Utley with a pitch in the third inning and Utley tossed the ball back to him under-handed. Sanchez took exception to this and the benches cleared. It was kind of fun to see the benches clear (there wasn't a fight) and to see guys on both sides show so much emotion for their teams. That proved to be the last hitter that Sanchez faced as he left with two runners on and nobody out. Jeremy Affeldt got out of that inning unscathed and threw two innings in total. Madison Bumgarner pitched two scoreless innings as well. Javier Lopez threw an inning of his own (he's been simply great for the Giants this season) and Tim Lincecum even came in in relief and recorded an out. Lincecum allowed a couple of runners to get on in the eighth and Brian Wilson came in and got out of that and then finished the save in the ninth. The bullpen threw seven scoreless innings in total -- simply awesome in a playoff game.
Cody Ross was named NLCS MVP and to me this was really an obvious choice. He was the Giants' most productive player, particularly on offense, for the entire series. I'm happy for him. I'd say that's a pretty good for a guy the Florida Marlins simply gave away on a waiver claim this year.
The World Series gets under way on Wednesday at 5:57 p.m. MT on FOX. It will be the Texas Rangers at the San Francisco Giants for Game 1 at AT&T Park. Game 2 is set for the same time on Thursday night. I'm excited the Giants have home field advantage. This should be awesome. Go Giants!
Rangers win ALCS; Giants-Phillies Game 6 upcoming
The Texas Rangers defeated the New York Yankees 6-1 tonight to win the ALCS 4 games to 2. The clinched in front of a rabid home crowd to earn their first pennant and World Series berth in team history. Colby Lewis was really good for 8 innings of pitching and Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz both had big hits in a key 4-run fifth inning for the Rangers. Josh Hamilton took home the ALCS MVP award after a really good series. The Yankees walked him intentionally three different times tonight. The Rangers' lineup is flat out dangerous and their starting pitching has looked quite good as well. The bullpen has been a little shaky, but they did get a great outing from Derek Holland in Game 4 and Neftali Feliz has been dynamic as the closer. They will be a tough out for whoever plays them in what I think will be a long World Series.
I'm really, really happy that the Yankees have lost and won't win the World Series this year. As I've said before, to me they represent everything is wrong with baseball. They have an exorbitant payroll that reaches far beyond even what other large market teams are capable of and are basically poachers of players that other teams have developed. It's infuriating. They think they can just get whoever they want and essentially buy championships. So I was very happy to see all the shots of the Yankees and their long faces late in the game as the inevitability of losing this game sunk in on them. Good stuff.
The San Francisco Giants take on the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 of the NLCS Saturday night in Philadelphia at 5:57 p.m. MT on FOX. The Giants lead the series 3 games to 2.The Giants start Jonathan Sanchez and the Phillies go with Roy Oswalt. Despite the loss at home in Game 5, I still think the Giants have a really good chance to take home the pennant. Sanchez is a really confident pitcher and has had really good stuff and control lately. The offense has been able to scratch across a few runs and even scored the game-winner against Oswalt when he came on in relief during Game 4. If I had to pick I would say the Giants win this game and move on to the World Series. I hope I am right, I think it will be a good, close game. Go Giants!
I'm really, really happy that the Yankees have lost and won't win the World Series this year. As I've said before, to me they represent everything is wrong with baseball. They have an exorbitant payroll that reaches far beyond even what other large market teams are capable of and are basically poachers of players that other teams have developed. It's infuriating. They think they can just get whoever they want and essentially buy championships. So I was very happy to see all the shots of the Yankees and their long faces late in the game as the inevitability of losing this game sunk in on them. Good stuff.
The San Francisco Giants take on the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 of the NLCS Saturday night in Philadelphia at 5:57 p.m. MT on FOX. The Giants lead the series 3 games to 2.The Giants start Jonathan Sanchez and the Phillies go with Roy Oswalt. Despite the loss at home in Game 5, I still think the Giants have a really good chance to take home the pennant. Sanchez is a really confident pitcher and has had really good stuff and control lately. The offense has been able to scratch across a few runs and even scored the game-winner against Oswalt when he came on in relief during Game 4. If I had to pick I would say the Giants win this game and move on to the World Series. I hope I am right, I think it will be a good, close game. Go Giants!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Giants drop Game 5, series goes back to Philly
The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the San Francisco Giants 4-2 tonight in Game 5 of the NLCS. The Giants still lead the series 3 games to 2. Game 6 is Saturday in Philadelphia with the start time yet to be determined (it depends on the outcome of Game 6 of the ALCS tomorrow night). Roy Halladay had a strained groin and seemed to be in trouble every inning for the Phillies but he gutted out six innings and had just enough to earn the win. The Phillies did most of their offensive damage in the 3rd inning, scoring three runs off Giants ace Tim Lincecum who suffered his first postseason defeat.
The Giants' defense let them down in the 3rd inning as Pablo Sandoval missed third base on a bunt attempt by Halladay that would have resulted in a double play and Aubrey Huff misplayed a groundball that ricocheted into center field and allowed two runs to score. The offense had some chances in the first inning as well but Phillies first baseman was able to snare a ball that Huff hit right on the screws for an out. If not for that play, the inning could have been a lot bigger than it was with the one early run the Giants did get. It's bad luck on that play, but part of baseball at the same time.
I thought Halladay showed a lot of heart tonight. It was clear he didn't have his best stuff, but he still only gave up two runs in six innings which to me shows a lot of character. And to find out after the game that he strained his groin in the second inning only makes his performance more impressive.
Cody Ross continues to be the frontrunner for NLCS MVP as he doubled in another run to push his RBI total to 5 for the series. He just seems to keep coming up with big hits in big situations. Let's hope he continues to swing a hot bat in Philadelphia.
I'm still optimistic about the Giants. They have already won in Philadelphia in the series and have Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain to pitch Games 6 and 7 against Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. Hopefully Game 7 isn't necessary, but it's nice to know that Saturday isn't an elimination game. I can hardly wait to see what happens. Game time should be just before 6 p.m. MT if the Rangers close out the Yankees tomorrow and just before 2 p.m. MT if the hated Yanks force a Game 7 in Texas for Saturday night. Speaking of the ALCS, it resumes tomorrow night. Here's the details:
Game 6 -- New York Yankees (Hughes) at Texas Rangers (Lewis), 6:07 p.m. MT (TBS, Rangers lead series 3-2)
And in another sports note, did anyone else notice what kind of beat down #1 Oregon (7-0, 4-0 Pac-10) put on UCLA (3-4, 1-3 Pac-10) tonight? The final score in Autzen was 60-13. The Ducks look really good and really fast. They are going to be tough to beat. I'm not a big Oregon fan per se, but their team sure is fun to watch play.
The Giants' defense let them down in the 3rd inning as Pablo Sandoval missed third base on a bunt attempt by Halladay that would have resulted in a double play and Aubrey Huff misplayed a groundball that ricocheted into center field and allowed two runs to score. The offense had some chances in the first inning as well but Phillies first baseman was able to snare a ball that Huff hit right on the screws for an out. If not for that play, the inning could have been a lot bigger than it was with the one early run the Giants did get. It's bad luck on that play, but part of baseball at the same time.
I thought Halladay showed a lot of heart tonight. It was clear he didn't have his best stuff, but he still only gave up two runs in six innings which to me shows a lot of character. And to find out after the game that he strained his groin in the second inning only makes his performance more impressive.
Cody Ross continues to be the frontrunner for NLCS MVP as he doubled in another run to push his RBI total to 5 for the series. He just seems to keep coming up with big hits in big situations. Let's hope he continues to swing a hot bat in Philadelphia.
I'm still optimistic about the Giants. They have already won in Philadelphia in the series and have Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain to pitch Games 6 and 7 against Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. Hopefully Game 7 isn't necessary, but it's nice to know that Saturday isn't an elimination game. I can hardly wait to see what happens. Game time should be just before 6 p.m. MT if the Rangers close out the Yankees tomorrow and just before 2 p.m. MT if the hated Yanks force a Game 7 in Texas for Saturday night. Speaking of the ALCS, it resumes tomorrow night. Here's the details:
Game 6 -- New York Yankees (Hughes) at Texas Rangers (Lewis), 6:07 p.m. MT (TBS, Rangers lead series 3-2)
And in another sports note, did anyone else notice what kind of beat down #1 Oregon (7-0, 4-0 Pac-10) put on UCLA (3-4, 1-3 Pac-10) tonight? The final score in Autzen was 60-13. The Ducks look really good and really fast. They are going to be tough to beat. I'm not a big Oregon fan per se, but their team sure is fun to watch play.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Giants win Game 4
Just a quick post tonight, but I have to say I am really excited about the Giants beating the Phillies 6-5 to go up 3 games to 1 in the series. Game 5 is tomorrow in San Francisco at 5:57 p.m. MT on FOX. I'll be watching. You should be too. Juan Uribe hit a walk-off sacrifice fly tonight. Resiliency is the word that comes to mind when describing tonight's win and that's not the first time this year I've used that word. Great win, the Giants should shoot for closing it out tomorrow night. They seem like a really tight-knit group that keeps grinding it out. It's been a fun year. Let's hope it gets even more fun. Go Giants!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Cain is able and Ross comes through again for Giants in Game 3
Pictured: Cody Ross once again comes through, this time with an RBI single in the 4th inning.The San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 this afternoon in Game 3 of the NLCS to take a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 is set for tomorrow night at 5:57 p.m. MT on FOX. Matt Cain threw seven shutout innings and outdueled Cole Hamels to earn his first career postseason win. Can't say enough about Cain, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said that Cain seemed to get even tougher when he got in more pressurized situations. The rest of the country is starting to see what we've seen for a couple of years now: the Giants have some big time pitching. Javier Lopez pitched a perfect 8th -- I still don't think he gets all the recognition he deserves as he's been absolutely lights out lately. Brian Wilson threw a scoreless 9th to earn the save.
Cody Ross once again came through, this time with a two out RBI single in the 4th inning off Hamels to enable the Giants to draw first blood. He's really dialed in right now -- after the game both Ross and Hamels said they felt it was a pitcher's pitch which makes it even more impressive that he was able to pull it to left field and give the Giants the lead. Aubrey Huff followed with an RBI single of his own and Freddy Sanchez added an RBI single an inning later.
The Giants are in pretty good shape but it's important for them to keep riding this momentum into tomorrow night's game. A win tomorrow night will put them in great shape for a prospective National League pennant.
The Texas Rangers beat the New York Yankees tonight 10-3 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the ALCS. The big blow was a three run home run from Bengie Molina to make it 5-3 in the 6th and the Rangers kept adding on after that. Reliever Derek Holland was as big a hero as anyone, throwing 3 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball to hold down the fort. He appropriately earned the win. The Rangers have a chance to clinch tomorrow. That sure would be cool.
Here's the details for tomorrow's games:
Game 5 -- Texas Rangers (Wilson) at New York Yankees (Sabathia), 2:07 p.m. MT (TBS, Rangers lead series 3-1)
Game 4 -- Philadelphia Phillies (Blanton) at San Francisco Giants (Bumgarner), 5:57 p.m. MT (FOX, Giants lead series 2-1)
Monday, October 18, 2010
Cliff Lee dominant; Giants-Phils resume play tomorrow
The Texas Rangers beat the New York Yankees 8-0 tonight at Yankee Stadium to take a 2 games to 1 lead in the ALCS. Cliff Lee was masterful through eight scoreless innings and the Rangers rocked the Yankees bullpen with six runs in the 9th. Josh Hamilton hit a two run home run in the first and that was all Lee needed. This was a big win for the Rangers who took home field back and will try and extend their series lead tomorrow evening.
The San Francisco Giants host the Philadelphia Phillies tomorrow afternoon at AT&T Park in Game 3 of the NLCS. Hopefully they come out on top. Just a short post tonight as I am busy. Go Giants! Here are the start times for tomorrow's games:
Game 3 -- Philadelphia Phillies (Hamels) at San Francisco Giants (Cain), 2:19 p.m. MT (FOX, Series tied 1-1)
Game 4 -- Texas Rangers (Hunter) at New York Yankees (Burnett), 6:07 p.m. MT (TBS, Rangers lead series 2-1)
The San Francisco Giants host the Philadelphia Phillies tomorrow afternoon at AT&T Park in Game 3 of the NLCS. Hopefully they come out on top. Just a short post tonight as I am busy. Go Giants! Here are the start times for tomorrow's games:
Game 3 -- Philadelphia Phillies (Hamels) at San Francisco Giants (Cain), 2:19 p.m. MT (FOX, Series tied 1-1)
Game 4 -- Texas Rangers (Hunter) at New York Yankees (Burnett), 6:07 p.m. MT (TBS, Rangers lead series 2-1)
Phillies even NLCS at 1-1
The San Francisco Giants lost Game 2 of the NLCS last night to the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 6-1. Roy Oswalt was dominant through eight innings, allowing only one run on a homer by -- who else -- Cody Ross. Jonathan Sanchez was pretty solid for the most part, he did walk three in the first inning but the third walk was granted on a missed call. The Phils were able to get a run when Oswalt ignored a stop sign from his third base coach and Aubrey Huff cut off an on target throw from center fielder Andres Torres that likely would have had Oswalt out by at least ten feet. Huff said he saw the stop sign and his instincts were to cut the ball off. It was a tough play, but the Giants still likely would have lost the game anyway.
After an intentional walk to Jayson Werth in the 7th, Jimmy Rollins hit a bases clearing double to bust the game open and make it 6-1. Even with Rollins struggling lately, he's not the guy you want up there in that situation if you're the Giants. J-Roll loves the big stage and has a knack for coming through in the clutch -- it's what he does. I wasn't surprised to see the big hit there that just missed being a grand slam.
Cody Ross hit his 3rd home run of the series in just two games. He is really dialed in right now and I hope he stays that way when the series shifts to northern California.
You can't understate what a big performance this was from Oswalt to even the series at 1-1 heading back to San Francisco. He was dynamic and seemed determined to get the win. Game 3 is tomorrow afternoon at 2:19 p.m. MT on FOX. The ALCS resumes tonight with it being imperative for the Rangers to get a win with their ace Cliff Lee on the mound. Here's the details:
Game 3 -- Texas Rangers (Lee) at New York Yankees (Pettite), 6:07 p.m. MT (TBS, Series tied 1-1)
After an intentional walk to Jayson Werth in the 7th, Jimmy Rollins hit a bases clearing double to bust the game open and make it 6-1. Even with Rollins struggling lately, he's not the guy you want up there in that situation if you're the Giants. J-Roll loves the big stage and has a knack for coming through in the clutch -- it's what he does. I wasn't surprised to see the big hit there that just missed being a grand slam.
Cody Ross hit his 3rd home run of the series in just two games. He is really dialed in right now and I hope he stays that way when the series shifts to northern California.
You can't understate what a big performance this was from Oswalt to even the series at 1-1 heading back to San Francisco. He was dynamic and seemed determined to get the win. Game 3 is tomorrow afternoon at 2:19 p.m. MT on FOX. The ALCS resumes tonight with it being imperative for the Rangers to get a win with their ace Cliff Lee on the mound. Here's the details:
Game 3 -- Texas Rangers (Lee) at New York Yankees (Pettite), 6:07 p.m. MT (TBS, Series tied 1-1)
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Giants take Game 1 of NLCS
At left: Cody Ross celebrates after one of his two home runs Saturday night in Philadelphia.The San Francisco Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Saturday night in Game 1 of the NLCS from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Cody Ross was the big star, clubbing two home runs off Phillies ace Roy Halladay, who had thrown a no-hitter in his previous start. Tim Lincecum went 7 solid innings, yielding 3 earned runs. Javier Lopez retired two hitters in the 8th and Brian Wilson earned a four out save. Halladay allowed 4 earned runs in his outing. Pat Burrell had an RBI double and Juan Uribe an RBI single in the top of the 6th to push the Giants' lead to 4-1. The Phillies countered with a two run homer from Jayson Werth to trim the lead to 4-3 but would get no closer.
The big thing about the first Ross home run was that Halladay had not allowed a hit to that point and the game was in the third inning. I think that hit and that run that gave the Giants the 1-0 lead really helped loosen everyone up. Ross has been huge lately and it's pretty to cool to see from a guy whose acquisition seemed to be almost an afterthought in the minds of Giants fans. Even when Carlos Ruiz tied the game up on a homer, the Giants did not lose their cool and recaptured the lead behind Ross' second long ball. It was interesting to see on the replays on Baseball Tonight that Ross' stroke looked pretty much exactly the same on both of his homers on pitches that were in almost the exact location. That's some good consistency.
The Giants showed resiliency tonight and did not fold in front of a rabid, sell-out crowd and the two-time defending National League Champions. I thought the bullpen did a tremendous job. Brian Wilson has been great, but so has Javier Lopez ever since the Giants acquired him from the Pirates. Lopez has been extremely tough on left-handed hitters and that trend continued tonight when he retired Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in succession in the top of the 8th.
It's nice to take the opener in Philadelphia and have the lead now not to mention having the assurance of going back to the bay area with no worse than a split. A win tomorrow night, however, would be pretty sweet.
In the ALCS today, the Texas Rangers bounced back in a big way from last night in defeating the New York Yankees 7-2 to even that series at 1-1. The Rangers' bats were once again hot and they were able to jump out to a big lead. The difference today was that the bullpen was able to hold the lead, throwing 3 1/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit baseball. The win was the first home win in Texas Rangers playoff history so it's good to get that out of the way. One cool play in the game came in the first inning when Elvis Andrus stole home on a double steal play to put the Rangers up 1-0 and help give them some momentum. Cliff Lee pitches for the Rangers in Game 3 on Monday night in the Bronx in a very pivotal game in the series.
Here's the stuff for the game tomorrow night:
Game 2 -- San Francisco Giants (Sanchez) at Philadelphia Phillies (Oswalt), 6:19 p.m. MT (FOX, Giants lead series 1-0)
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