2011年12月21日星期三

Injury roundup: Patriots' Carter placed on IR

 The New England Patriots have placed defensive end Andre Carter on injured reserve.

Tuesday's move ends the season of the team's leader in sacks with 10 and sidelines a key player on a struggling defense. The Patriots have allowed the most yards in the NFL for nearly the entire season.
Carter started all 14 games. He injured his left quadriceps late in the first quarter of Sunday's 41-23 win over the Denver Broncos and was driven off the field on a cart. He had signed as a free agent Aug. 8 after five years with the San Francisco 49ers and five with the Washington Redskins.
The Patriots also signed defensive lineman Cedric McKinley to the practice squad. He spent part of this season on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad.

Chris Johnson expected to play for Tennessee
NASHVILLE — Chris Johnson says he originally feared he had hurt his right ankle badly, but says he expects to be able to play Saturday as Tennessee (7-7) tries to keep its faint playoff hopes alive against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
At first, Johnson thought the injury was worse than the one he sustained in a playoff loss to Baltimore.
This has been Johnson's worst season after missing all preseason before signing a $53.5 million extension. Yet he is 70 yards away from 1,000 yards rushing for the season, which looked unlikely considering his struggles over the first half of the season.
Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew is the NFL's rushing leader.
Texans' Andre Johnson will miss his sixth consecutive game
HOUSTON — Houston Texans star receiver Andre Johnson will sit out Thursday night's game against the Indianapolis Colts because of a strained left hamstring.
Johnson, who will miss his ninth game this season, was sidelined for six consecutive games earlier in the year with a right hamstring injury that required surgery.
Coach Gary Kubiak said Tuesday that Johnson is "very close" to returning to practice, but isn't quite ready.
The Texans (10-4) have already clinched the AFC South, so Kubiak is staying cautious with the franchise's career leader in receiving yards. Houston plays Tennessee in its regular-season finale on Jan. 1.
Darren McFadden still questionable for Raiders
ALAMEDA, Calif. —Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden did some light jogging Tuesday but it remains uncertain whether he'll play again this season after being sidelined with an ankle injury since mid-October.
Wide receiver Jacoby Ford's return is also uncertain. He has also progressed to jogging after sitting out the past month with his own foot injury.
With a short week, the Raiders would be hard-pressed to get either on the field for Saturday's game in Kansas City. Coach Hue Jackson wouldn't rule it out, though.
The outlook is only slightly more optimistic for quarterback Jason Campbell.
Campbell has been throwing passes up to 30 yards in his attempt to return after undergoing surgery for a broken collarbone in mid-October. He has yet to resume practicing, however.
Felix Jones uncertain for Cowboys
IRVING, Texas — Dallas running back Felix Jones missed practice Tuesday because of hamstring tightness. That left the Cowboys with two running backs who weren't even on an NFL roster a few weeks ago.
Sammy Morris, who made his season debut last week, split time at practice with Chauncey Washington, who signed with the Cowboys practice squad Nov. 30. Morris was cut at the end of training camp by New England while Washington was let go by St. Louis in August.
Coach Jason Garrett says he's hopeful that Jones will be able to practice some this week and be ready for Saturday's game against Philadelphia.
If not, Morris is the most logical choice to start since running backs DeMarco Murray and Phillip Tanner are on injured reserve.

2011年12月9日星期五

A's nab valued prospect Parker in deal for Cahill

Following the A's quiet departure in the Winter Conferences now, there still been around a residual unknown all around the team's direction. But simply eventually taken off the confines of Dallas, that path has become obvious.

The A's designed a bold statement on Friday, likely acquiring their stance together around the rebuild route, by dealing right-hander Trevor Cahill and lefty reliever Craig Breslow together with cash factors towards the D-backs.

In exchange, Concord received valued pitching prospect Jarrod Parker, right-hander Ryan Prepare and outfielder Colin Cowgill inside a deal that were within the works best for nearly per week.

"After we met up, it seemed like Trevor was the guy that might be a great fit on their behalf,Inch A's assistant gm David Forst stated. "And it was vital to us when we would trade Trevor, we would obtain a guy which has the opportunity to be considered a front-line starter back, and that we seem like Jarrod is the fact that guy. From there, we worked out trying to puzzle out which other pieces may help our Major League club in 2012."

Each bit, the A's hope, can help equal to a fighting team as soon as 2014. At that time, the A's might be getting into a brand new stadium in San Jose. A minimum of this is the plan if Mlb grants it, which many believe might happen in The month of january in the next owners' conferences.

The eco-friendly light would associate to some a number of years based on growing pains, as the A's look toward the next of countless playoff runs within their new house. Knowing that, Friday's move might be one of several in the future this offseason -- Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey still function as trade bait -- and may ultimately envision reminiscences of the one which adopted the 2007 campaign.

The D-backs, coincidentally, were also prominent figures of Oakland's roster transformation that winter, too. Arizona acquired hurler Serta Haren and, consequently, shipped six gamers towards the A's, including Brett Anderson, Carlos Gonzalez and Chris Carter.

"It's type of come full circle," Anderson stated Friday. "I had been in Jarrod Parker's footwear, searching toward the near future. Now we are searching toward the near future again.

"It's difficult, particularly with it being Trevor. You realize the company side but they are torn due to the friendship side. I suppose you need to do notebook computer for the club, however, you never need to see your buddies go. The A's have been in a fascinating situation at this time, being unsure of whether there's likely to be a brand new stadium, therefore it is difficult to know whether or not to play like we are destined to be in Concord or maybe we are likely to be in San Jose. Tough goings in Concord at this time.Inch

After Anderson became a member of the A's in 2007, the club proceeded to seize your hands on Gonzalez, Ryan Sweeney and Fautino P Los Santos in the Whitened Sox inside a swap for Nick Swisher that winter. Trades that sent away pitchers Wealthy Harden and Joe Blanton also adopted several weeks later.

This time around, it's Cahill on the go. Just 23 and owed $29 million within the next 4 years inside a deal which includes two club options, the best-hander will certainly fortify a powerful D-backs rotation that assisted Arizona to some National League West title this season.

Following a career 2010 season, which incorporated an 18-8 record and a pair of.97 ERA, Cahill required a recession this year, collecting a 12-14 mark and 4.16 ERA. However, he earned work-high 34 begins and it has made a minimum of 30 begins in all of his three large league seasons.

"Type of surprised," Cahill stated from the news he'd been exchanged. "I heard lots of other guys' names bounce around, and before the past few days, I i never thought I'd attend least the first to visit.

"I believe it will likely be good. I truly loved Concord and was comfortable there, however it appears like the Diamondbacks wish to win and that i actually want to compete and then try to win a championship and so i think it is good.Inch

The 31-year-old Breslow is arbitration-qualified and it has offered among the game's that is better left-handed remedies in the last three seasons, most lately assembling a 3.79 ERA in 69 games this year. He's set to become listed on a D-backs bullpen which includes submariner Kaira Ziegler, exchanged through the A's to Arizona in This summer.

By spinning in Parker, an initial-round Draft pick in 2007, the A's get what's regarded as Arizona's top prospect. Following rehab from his 2010 Tommy John surgery, the 23-year-old right-hander published an 11-8 record and three.79 ERA for Arizona's Double-A golf club this season.

He was known as as much as the large leagues the very first time in September and impressed greatly in only one start, throwing 5 2/3 shutout innings and generating a just right the club's postseason roster.

"We had him a great deal this season and that we like him," Forst stated. "Before he'd his surgery, he was most likely among the top pitching prospects in the overall game. We felt like he returned back very well this season.Inch

"I recall him getting a significant arm," stated Anderson, who performed alongside Parker in training league while still in Arizona's system. "He was drafted within the first round for any reason. I understand he'd Tommy John surgery, however i saw he returned towards the large leagues, also it appears like he's recuperating from that."

Cowgill, meanwhile, batted .354 with 13 home runs and 70 RBIs in 98 games at Triple-A. He made an appearance in 36 contests with Arizona, striking .239 with one homer and nine RBIs and nearly found his method to Concord five several weeks ago like a spoken-about option within the Ziegler trade.

Forst noted Cowgill can enjoy center area, which symbolized an extremely large void around the A's roster before Friday. He'll maintain this mixture for any beginning job for the reason that place come spring, and that he may also take part in the corners.

Ryan, 23, combined for any 2.21 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 48 looks between Double-A and Triple-A this year.

Not among the gamers acquired by Concord on Friday are named Albert Pujols or C.J. Wilson, who signed using the divison-rival Angels only a previous day. But Concord, which figures to become at the end from the American League West for any couple of years while La and fellow threat Texas duke it for that crown, wants to be for the reason that mix right after.

To that particular finish, they'll do whatever needs doing to catch youthful gamers with minimal service time who are able to enable them to make it happen. Which means the kind of Gonzalez and Bailey, together with other top gamers around the A's roster, continue to be to take.

"This does not change the other ongoing conversations we have been getting," Forst stated.

Roethlisberger's resilience sparks Steelers' win

Ben Roethlisberger was lounging around the Heinz Area turf, convinced his left leg was damaged. The Gambling huddled around their franchise quarterback, concerned their promising season is at risk.


Less than.

Very same Large Ben. And very same Cleveland Browns.

Roethlisberger put into his burgeoning status among the most difficult gamers in the overall game by coming back from the nasty cheap jerseys second-quarter sack to pass through for 280 yards and 2 scores - together with a 79-yard strike to Antonio Brown with 2:52 remaining - to lift the Steelers to some 14-3 victory Thursday evening.

"You cannot say enough about our quarterback," Brown stated. "It's amazing to experience having a guy like this who demonstrates that kind of toughness."

Not too Roethlisberger felt particularly tough after you have his left leg caught underneath Cleveland's Scott Paxson half way with the second quarter.

"It had been probably the most painful a few things i ever felt," Roethlisberger stated. "It felt like the center of my leg only agreed to be, cracked ... it felt like my feet was outdoors of my leg."

He visited the locker-room for X-sun rays while veteran Charlie Batch attempted to complete. The X-sun rays demonstrated no break and Roethlisberger came back.

"Doctors stated 'Just move,InchA Roethlisberger stated. "Once we stored going they stated, 'Just keep moving' since it literally felt enjoy it was going to explode."

Roethlisberger received a rousing ovation when he walked back to the area to begin the other half, although it was apparent he is at serious discomfort. He hobbled towards the type of scrimmage, he tip-toed while handing the ball off and that he grimaced while walking as much as throw.

Yet he in some way completed 8 of 12 passes for 178 yards following the break, such as the sealing touchdown to Brown, who caught the ball near midfield then beat Cleveland's Mike Adams towards the finish zone.

"I am happy with him and glad he obtained because I wouldn't happen to be capable of making it lower there as we needed to run another play," Roethlisberger stated, laughing.

Roethlisberger may have an MRI exam Friday to look for the extent from the damage. The Steelers have 10 slow days before a game title in Bay Area.

Brown carried out with five receptions for 151 yards along with a score because the Steelers (10-3) won for that eighth amount of time in their last nine games to maneuver one half-game before Baltimore for that AFC North lead.

The evening will not be appreciated for Brown's spectacular catch-and-run but Roethlisberger's John Wayne impersonation and Cleveland's typical meltdown against its greatest rival.

The Browns (4-9) lost for that 15th amount of time in their last 16 games using the Steelers, though they'd lots of chances to get their first victory at Heinz in eight years.

Colt McCoy passed for 209 yards but additionally put two interceptions for that Browns (4-9), who lost for that 15th amount of time in their last 16 conferences using the Steelers.

McCoy left briefly within the 4th quarter after going for a crashes helmet-to-helmet hit from Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison.

The 2nd-year quarterback was scrambling from trouble when he hidden the ball under his arm briefly as though to operate. He drawn as Harrison approach and turned a brief pass to Montario Hardesty right before Harrison smashed into him. McCoy was lounging around the area for many moments prior to making his way off.

Stiff fines

He declined to express whether he felt Harrison's hit would be a cheap shot, but acknowledged that "it got me for any minute."

Harrison, that has faced stiff fines previously for hits against defenceless gamers, thinks he did not do anything whatsoever wrong.

"From things i understand, when the quarterback leaves the pocket, he's considered a jogger,Inch Harrison stated. "All of the defenceless[ness] and protections that the quarterback has within the pocket have left and you will tackle him just like he's a running back. The hit wasn't late, and so i really do not realise why it had been known as."

Seneca Wallace completed, leading the Browns towards the Pittsburgh five-yard line. McCoy came back but he wasn't exactly the same. He was flagged for intentional grounding on his first play to push the ball to the Pittsburgh 16. He attempted hitting Mohamed Massaquoi ultimately zone around the next snap, but Pittsburgh's William Gay easily walked before it to have an interception.

"I simply did not get enough onto it, underthrew it as well as their guy designed a nice play which was essentially the overall game," McCoy stated.

Pittsburgh's defence gave just a little but didn't break, keeping McCoy winless against AFC North competitors in the brief career. He's -8 against division rivals, though there is lots of blame for everyone.

Cleveland devices dropped several passes and running back Peyton Hillis handled just 25 yards on 10 carries.

"You can try the raw distance and say, 'well, I'm not sure what type of performance it had been,InchA Cleveland coach Pat Shurmur stated. "But we stored them from the finish zone until that last large pass. There's several things we are able to develop."

Maybe, however they unsuccessful to consider advantage on the evening once the Steelers had trouble escaping . that belongs to them way.

Two times within the first half Pittsburgh switched it over at a negative balance zone. Hines Ward fumbled in the Cleveland 15 at the start of the 2nd quarter to prevent on Pittsburgh drive. The Steelers first got it back on Troy Polamalu's first interception of year. Polamalu came back the pick towards the Cleveland 10.

Carrying out a false start penalty, Roethlisberger hit Heath Burns within the flat, however the ball came collapsing out after you have hit by Cleveland safety Joe Haden to throw away another chance.

The Browns were hardly better. McCoy made an appearance to attain a touchdown on Cleveland's opening possession, however the score was overturned by replay, which demonstrated McCoy's knee striking the floor using the ball just lacking the aim line.

The Steelers stuffed the Browns on third lower and Cleveland settled for Phil Dawson's 20-yard area goal.

Pittsburgh made an appearance to become ready to go when Roethlisberger hit Jerricho Cotchery to have an 11-yard score before injuries transformed things significantly. The Steelers made it again behind the play of among the league's most difficult rivals.

Roethlisberger has performed via a sprained left feet along with a fractured right thumb this year, although the discomfort paled compared to what he felt within the other half. Still, he handled to outlive and Pittsburgh's wants a division title and homefield advantage with the 2010 nfl playoffs greatly alive.

"It's among individuals things with him where you are literally will have to consider him from the area on the stretcher to obtain him from the play," Batch stated.

2011年11月24日星期四

American Samoa, the worst team in football, one of scores first victory

Talk a bit about gratitude this Thanksgiving.
American Samoa football team, ranked last in the FIFA rankings, made ​​history this weekwhen it won its first international competition.
This is the reason for the team to celebrate 16 years never taste victory.
The team played 30 times since 1994, lost all 30 years of age.
A maximum loss set a record in international jerseys usa football history, 30-1 defeating it in Australiain 2001.
But everything changed 2 - 1 victory over Tonga on Tuesday in the qualifying heats of the2014 World Cup match tickets.
"I hope we can improve our standing in the FIFA rankings and into the hundreds," coachThomas. Rongen said the country's football federation. "We are in 204 years, this moment of triumph would help."
Rongen, it may be the U.S. Under-20 team coach, was hired just three weeks ago.
He was not sure he even football federation where protection under the United States in the South Pacific, but he was close to doing the work.
"I live in Florida and own property in the Bahamas, so I am kind of an island people," he said. "I looked at the map and said to my wife:" Hey, this is an island. Do you want to do? "She said," Let's go. So we are down. "
Football is not a big draw on the island of about 55,000. , Rongen said, is a labor of lovesports lineup.
"They will not get any here, some take the time to leave their jobs, are losing money, and as such," he said.Green Bay Packers Jerseys
He added: "This is amateur football at its best at the highest level of competition can be very cynical, but this is only about 23 people sacrifice."

2011年11月1日星期二

Bruins end skid with win over Ottawa

The Boston Bruins have already put their brutal October behind them.

The defending Stanley Cup champions opened November with a 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night, getting back-to-back goals from Johnny Boychuk and Daniel Paille 47 seconds apart to break open a tie game in the third period.
After going 3-7 in October, the Bruins looked much more like the team that hoisted the Cup in June than the bumbling bunch that returned this fall and finished the opening month with the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

"We were dumping the puck well, retrieving the puck well. I thought that you just could tell we were getting better and better every shift that we did that," said Chris Kelly, who had a goal and an assist. "I thought for the most part that was the most consistent effort that we've had so far this year."
Zdeno Chara had two assists for the Bruins, who ended the Senators' six-game winning streak.
Boston outshot Ottawa 41-26 and shut down the NHL's top power play, holding Ottawa scoreless on three chances with the man advantage. Ottawa had 13 power-play goals in its first 12 games.
The Bruins controlled the second period and took a 3-2 lead on goals by Patrice Bergeron and Kelly, then put in two more after Ottawa's Jared Cowen tied it at 3-all on his first NHL goal with 14:56 left in the game.
Boychuk gave Boston a 4-3 lead with a slap shot from the point for his first goal of the season, and less than a minute later Shawn Thornton tipped a pass to Paille for a breakaway goal that put the Bruins up by two.
That was a big enough cushion for Tim Thomas (4-4), who finished with 23 saves.
"We definitely had the puck the most that we've had it all year, at least that's what it felt like," Thomas said. "We had it in their end and we just had our feet moving."
Craig Anderson (6-3) stopped 36 shots for Ottawa, which hadn't lost since Oct. 18.
"I think the Stanley Cup champions showed up and they decided they wanted to play. They were determined to win, and the solutions that we had for them weren't working," Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said. "They were quicker than us. They were on the puck better than we were. They made us play in our end way, way too much. When those things happen, bad things happen."
Nick Foligno finished with a goal and two assists, and Stephane DaCosta had a goal and his first NHL assist for Ottawa.
After getting outplayed in the second, the Senators grinded out the early part of the third and tied it when Foligno dropped a pass back to the point to Cowen, who fired a slap shot past a screen of players and Thomas' right pad.
But Boychuk tied it on a blast from the point with 13:19 to go, and Paille got loose for a breakaway goal on Anderson with 12:42 left.
"We stayed patient and we stayed strong in the defensive zone," Paille said. "Toward the end of the game we didn't give them too much."
Foligno gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead in the first period when he grabbed a loose puck and lofted a backhander off Thomas' blocker. The puck dropped behind him, and Bobby Butler crashed the net for Ottawa, occupying Thomas and the Bruins as the puck trickled across the goal line.
Milan Lucic tied it with a power-play goal with 12:48 left in the first, lifting a rebound over Anderson, but Ottawa struck again barely a minute later.
Foligno pounced on a loose puck and slid a backward pass between his legs to DaCosta, who poked a shot past Thomas as the details of Lucic's goal were being announced to the crowd.

2011年9月28日星期三

Cardinals rally to pull into wild-card tie with Braves

After St. Louis was swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in late August, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa thought his team would fall short of the post-season once again.


Less than a month later, the Cardinals are tied with Atlanta for the NL wild-card lead.

Pinch-hitter Ryan Theriot delivered a tiebreaking two-run triple in the seventh inning, cheap jerseys from china leading St. Louis to a 13-6 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

The sliding Braves lost 7-1 to Philadelphia, sending the race for the NL's final playoff spot to the last day of the regular season. If the teams are tied after Wednesday's game, St. Louis will host a one-game playoff on Thursday night.

"Yeah, when we got swept by the Dodgers," La Russa said when asked if he doubted his team could make such a run. "When I saw our schedule I said: 'We could finish under .500 if we don't start getting it back together.' And we did."

St. Louis has won 21 of 29 games since that sweep, moving to the brink of what not so long ago seemed like an improbable goal.

"It's kind of fed us here the last few days, 120 years of baseball and this is one of those historic runs to tie," La Russa said. "But there's a different story between tying and finishing it off. So tomorrow we'll see if we can go take another step."

The Cardinals trailed 5-0 early and appeared to be headed for a second straight loss to the Astros. But St. Louis scored five times in the fourth and erased a 6-5 deficit with a four-run seventh.

Lance Berkman hit a two-out single and scored on Allen Craig's tying double. Craig entered in the third inning when Matt Holliday departed with discomfort in his right hand.

Yadier Molina walked before Theriot hit his clutch triple to make it 8-6.

Nick Punto, who had four hits, doubled in Theriot in the seventh and had a solo homer in the ninth. Craig padded the lead with a three-run homer to the Crawford Boxes in left field in the eighth.

"You play all year for an opportunity to play in October," Theriot said. "So it's a good feeling to know that we put ourselves in a spot that we could possibly do that, to do what we've done this last month and keep playing."

Eduardo Sanchez (3-1) struck out two in 1 1-3 innings for the win in a game that included seven Cardinals relievers following an early exit by Jake Westbrook. It was Sanchez's first appearance since June 12 because of a shoulder injury.

Berkman booed

Skip Schumaker drove in three runs in the fourth, and Berkman had three hits and scored three times. The crowd booed loudly when Berkman, the longtime Astros star, scored in the seventh.

The Astros jumped on Westbrook for seven hits and five runs in 2 1-3 innings to take the early lead.

Enerio Del Rosario (0-3) yielded two hits and three runs for the loss.

Brian Bogusevic singled to start the Astros' fifth before consecutive walks loaded the bases. Bogusevic scored when Jimmy Paredes grounded into a double play, giving Houston a 6-5 lead.

David Freese walked to start the big fourth inning by St. Louis. Berkman singled with one out, and the runners advanced on a wild pitch by Henry Sosa.

Craig then walked before Molina singled in a run and Schumaker cleared the bases with a double to centre, chasing Sosa. David Carpenter came in and allowed Jon Jay's tying sacrifice fly later in the inning.

The Astros scored four times in the third. Brett Wallace had a two-run single and Paredes added a two-run triple that rolled up on the corner of Tal's Hill in centre field.

Bogusevic was disappointed that Houston let its early advantage slip away.

"It's not over in the third or fourth inning, and we knew there was still a lot of baseball yet to be played," he said. "We tried to add on and hold them off, but it didn't work today."

Cardinals star Albert Pujols got hit on the right elbow by a ball that glanced off his bat for a foul in the seventh. He writhed in pain for a minute before trainers came and checked on him. He continued his at-bat after a short delay, flew out to left field and played the rest of the game.

2011年9月15日星期四

Warriors to retire Mullin's jersey No. 17

The Golden State Warriors announced they will retire Hall of Famer Chris Mullin's jersey No. 17 at a ceremony on January 20, when the team is scheduled to host the Indiana Pacers.

Mullin, who spent 13 years of his 16-season NBA career as a member of the Warriors, will become the sixth player in team history to have his jersey number retired, joining Alvin Attles, Rick Barry, Wilt Chamberlain, Tom Meschery and Nate Thurmond.

"This is certainly a tremendous honor and one that I will cherish, especially when you consider the few, elite gentlemen who have preceded me," said Mullin.

Mullin was a five-time NBA All-Star and collegiate standout at St. John's, where he is still the all-time scoring leader and was named Big East Player of the Year an unprecedented three times. In addition to his 1992 gold medal, he also won Olympic gold as a collegian in 1984, then played 16 NBA seasons for Golden State and Indiana, amassing 17,911 points. He was enshrined into the Hall of Fame this summer.

2011年9月1日星期四

Bruins GM says Savard's playing career in doubt: report


Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli told the Globe that the two-time All-Star is still experiencing concussion-related issues that limited him to 25 games last season and he will not be in training camp when it opens next month.

"Based on what I see, what I hear, what I read, and what I'm told, it's very unlikely Marc will play again," Chiarelli said in a report on the Globe's website.


"Now, knowing the uncertainty of this injury, there's always Cheap Jerseys a chance (he could play). But based on what I'm told, it's very unlikely he'll play."

Once rated as one of the NHL's top centers, Savard has seen his career derailed by concussions.

Savard's concussion problems turned serious in March 2010 after an elbow to the head from Pittsburgh Penguins Matt Cooke left him unconscious on the ice.

He missed the start of last season and returned to play 25 games but was sidelined again on January 22 after sustaining his second concussion in 10 months.

Savard has 207 goals and 499 assists during a 13-season career that has included stints with the New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers and Bruins.

"Marc Savard won't play this year," Chiarelli told the Globe. "Nothing has changed in our monitoring. "He'll be examined and he'll be declared unfit to play."

2011年8月27日星期六

Kyle Busch, the Drama King, is in the limelight

Kyle Busch expected to be the center of attention at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he’s won four of the last five Sprint Cup races.
But it’s been a busy week even by Busch’s standards, beginning with the loss of his driver’s license Tuesday as punishment for his 128-mph speeding ticket back in May. Then came an on-track incident in Wednesday night’s Truck Series race that once again put him at odds with Kevin Harvick.
After Busch tangled with Elliott Sadler, who drives for Harvick in the Nationwide Series, he intentionally wrecked Sadler.
Busch indicated the incident stemmed from his problems with Harvick.
But Sadler wasn’t running for Kevin Harvick Inc. at the time. Asked Friday whether he’d spoken to Busch, Harvick went right into attack mode.
“He keeps running his mouth, he might get it whipped again off the track,” Harvick said.
And so it goes with Busch, the Sprint Cup Series points leader. He leads the series with four victories, and despite his 23rd-place qualifying effort Friday — Ryan Newman won the pole — has to be considered a threat to win tonight’s race.

But he’s once again in the center of the storm. Controversy can work for some drivers — it’s long been believed that two-time series champion Tony Stewart is at his best when surrounded by drama — but Busch isn’t so sure about the adversity.
“It can bring out the best and it can bring out the worst, certainly,” he said. “It’s about every day I’ve got something. I’m getting pretty used to it.”
The question becomes: Can Busch continue to keep up his pace while constantly facing a different drama?
Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon said he personally couldn’t produce but said it doesn’t seem to bother Busch or his older brother, Kurt.
“I couldn’t, but the Busch brothers seem to do it very well,” Gordon said. “I think it’s pretty well documented and clear that they get very excited and share their emotions over the radio quite often, and they’re still able to go to Victory Lane.”
The 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup championship is a different animal, though, and Busch has yet to make it through unscathed. He’s already considering the mental aspects of the upcoming stretch. There are just three races remaining until the Chase begins, and Busch doesn’t want much to change in how his Joe Gibbs Racing team is operating.
“It’s just about playing it smart,” Busch said. “For us, we just want to go out there and keep doing what we’ve been doing all year.”

2011年8月22日星期一

Power Rankings: Down Hamlin already eyeing 2012

Denny Hamlin may not yet be out but he's sure down.
After suffering through another miserable day Sunday at Michigan that ended with a trip into the wall and a 35th-place finish in the Pure Michigan 400, Hamlin's chances of challenging for the Sprint Cup championship are bleak.
In fact, Hamlin himself says the odds of him even getting into the Chase to have a shot at the title are on life support.

"I don't know," Hamlin said, shaking his head after his dismal day in the Irish Hills. "I'm going to do everything I can -- to get better. It's tough. Trust me, it's going to be very, very tough on a realistic standpoint for us to just go out there and say, 'You know what? We'll suck it up the next three weeks.' There's more to it than that at this point. We've got to crawl first these next three races before we even think about what happens at Chicago."
Unless Hamlin can hang on to one of the two wild-card spots he currently holds, Chicago -- where the Chase begins in mid-September -- will be where his 2012 season begins.
Hamlin is at a point where he thinks that might not be the worst thing for the struggling Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 team.
"Who knows, maybe missing the Chase would be the best thing for us for next year," he said. "We could spend 10 weeks screwing around and thinking of new ways to make our cars better and not have a points race for 10 weeks.
"I want to make the Chase. Trust me. [But] missing the Chase opens the door for communication, for us to take more chances and experiment with new things and if it makes us better next year, so be it."
It's hard to believe the driver who won eight races last season and went down to the wire in the championship race with Jimmie Johnson is talking about being a spectator for this year's Chase.
But with a rash of engine problems, assorted mechanical problems and a dash of bad luck thrown in for good measure, Hamlin's 2011 has been more of a nightmare than the dream he had hoped for after last season's success.
He still holds a ticket to the big dance in the form of a wild card, and despite his pessimistic attitude on Sunday he still plans on doing whatever he can to somehow right the ship and not just make the playoffs but be a presence when the Chase begins.
"We have three weeks to get ourselves back on track," Hamlin said. "I've got to get back to doing some of the stuff I did last year that made me successful, whether it be communicating more with [crew chief] Mike [Ford], whatever that is, I'm willing to do, whether it's Mike traveling with me to and from the race track every single week, we have to do whatever we have to do to get back to that."
He had better hurry.

2011年8月20日星期六

Greg Biffle captures Sprint Cup pole position

Greg Biffle is still annoyed with Boris Said after their run-in at Watkins Glen.
That hasn't stopped him from focusing on this weekend's Sprint Cup race in Michigan.
Biffle won his first pole in over three years Friday at Michigan International Speedway, posting a qualifying lap of 190.345 m.p.h. in his No. 16 Ford. It was an important step in the right direction after he finished 31st at Watkins Glen on Monday, then confronted Said in the pits afterward and gave him a couple of quick hits while Said was still in his car.
Said had touched off a wild crash at the end of the road race.
“Our deal is over with,” Biffle said. “We had our differences on the race track, that one instance, I told him I wasn't happy with it on the race track and then I didn't go around him the rest of the day. We talked about that on the phone and it is over.”
Said is racing in Montreal this weekend, so he wasn't anywhere near Biffle during Sprint Cup qualifying.
“We've settled our differences,” Said explained. “I won't be going to Christmas dinner with him, that's for sure.”
Biffle is 13th in the points standings but without a win this year. A victory would be a significant boost to his hopes of reaching the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
He hasn't finished higher than fourth this year.
“We have to have a win to get in the Chase, that is obvious,” Biffle said. “Here, Bristol and Atlanta are good tracks for us. I think this is probably our best, and this may be our best opportunity — here or Atlanta. This is a huge deal for us and huge momentum for us going into Sunday.”
Matt Kenseth was second in qualifying, and Ryan Newman was third. Denny Hamlin, who held off Kenseth to win in Michigan in June, was fourth.
Kenseth will start in the top 10 for the sixth time this year. He's fifth in the points standings.
“We had a lot of speed, and honestly I wish I wouldn't have watched Greg's lap and saw his lap time,” Kenseth said. “If I hadn't tried so hard I might have had a shot at it. That is pretty fast.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified eighth, and points leader Kyle Busch was 17th.
Busch finished third here in June.
“Wish we would have had a better lap, but we will work on it tomorrow in race trim and hope we can run like we did here in June and have a shot to win,” Busch said.
Newman posted his ninth top-10 start of the season — and when he showed up for his news conference afterward, he couldn't avoid being dragged into the Biffle-Said dispute.
“I've never had an issue with Boris,” Newman said. “I read some of the things that he said. I don't think he's out of line in the things that he said, and I agree with some of the things that Biffle said as well. But, it's a competition out there, and it becomes a more sensitive issue when you have somebody who isn't full time in this series.”

2011年5月3日星期二

Summer treats..

I'm cheating a bit here....I made this for the new year's party, and I always intended to share this with you, but never got around to it. So since I have now decided to put up a post every day, you might see some pictures that arent recent...but since this particular dessert is eaten cold, it's perfect for the summer...


Strawberry and vanilla Pana cotta
Recipe(serves 4):

For the set cream - 
300 ml cream
1.5 sheets of gelatin or 1 tsp of gelatin granules
50 ml sugar
vanilla bean

Soak the gelatin leaves or in case of granules, mix them in 1/4 cup of hot water until dissolved and allow it to set.
Meanwhile boil the cream with sugar and the vanilla bean. After the sugar dissolves, remove the bean and add the gelatin leaves (or set gelatin) and mix until dissolved. Pour it in serving glasses and allow to set.

For the strawberry topping:
250 gms strawberries
1 tsp of demerera sugar syrup(boil demerera sugar with half a cup of water until syrup consistency)

Blend half the strawberries in this syrup coarsely. Cut up the rest and mix with the blend.

Put it on top of the set cream and chill further. Decorate with white chocolate shavings. Enjoy!!