Kallas Remarks by Steve Kallas

What’s all the fuss about the fact that there are two 10-0 teams in the NFL? What is the relevancy of a team going 16-0 in the regular season? Why does anyone (other than the old-time Dolphins) really care?

LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PATRIOTS

It was an interesting season two years ago when the Patriots went 16-0 during the regular season and then 18-0 before the Super Bowl. And you had a feeling that, once Tom Brady drove them down the field to take the lead over the Giants late in the fourth quarter, this was going to be something unbelievable – 19-0.

But a funny thing happened on the way to immortality. Eli Manning drove the Giants down the field, David Tyree caught a pass with his helmet, the ill-fated Plaxico Burress got wide open in the end zone and the Patriots dream of perfection was shattered (Giant fans can only hope that the Super Bowl win wasn’t the only one of Eli’s career – but after Plaxico shot himself and ruined last year and the Giants debacle against Denver this past Thursday make them outsiders to make the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl, you have to face the reality that this might be it for this group of Giants).

WHAT ABOUT THE COLTS AND THE SAINTS?

Well, both teams had the Patriots as their big stumbling block on their way to perfection. The Colts have had a number of almost defeats and the Patriots thrashed them for three-and-a-half quarters. But the Colts came back like they have in the past and beat the Patriots very late in the game. While the Colts, with the Patriots behind them, have a good chance to go 16-0, it really doesn’t mean anything unless they go 19-0 (just ask the Patriots).

It says here that the Colts, even if they go undefeated in the regular season, won’t go undefeated in the playoffs. And if it’s Patriots-Colts again sometime in the playoffs in Indy (which it will be if they do play again), you have to like the Patriots chances to finish what they couldn’t the first time around.

The Saints have their Patriots obstacle in front of them on Monday night. As with the Colts, it’s a very tough match-up for the Saints (as it is for the Patriots). However, at 7-3 and with a commanding two-game lead in the AFC East (after ending the Jets season last week), this isn’t a must win for the Patriots.

But the Patriots do what the Patriots do and, with a little improvement on defense, they can not only beat the Saints but they can win the Super Bowl. Remember, whatever you think of fourth and two against the Colts, that wasn’t a playoff game. Will Belichick make the same call with the season on the line in the playoffs? Well, he dodged that question twice when asked. Maybe he will be forced to answer it in the playoffs – on the field.

Can the Saints go 16-0 if they beat the Patriots? Absolutely, as the toughest hurdle for both teams was (is) the Patriots

But, once again, so what?

DOES EITHER TEAM WANT TO LOSE ONE BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS?

Well, this question is usually discussed in college basketball when a team is around 20-0 and some feel it’s better to lose one during the pre-NCAA tournament schedule. It’s hard to believe that an NFL team of the quality of these two teams ever wants to lose one. Tedy Bruschi recently said on ESPN that, as a professional, he and his Patriot teammates wanted to win every game. They just couldn’t beat the Giants to attain sure-fire immortality.

So, it says here that the Colts and Saints don’t want to lose any game. But it also says here that neither will go undefeated during the regular season AND win the Super Bowl.

We’ll see what happens.

© Copyright 2009 by Steve Kallas.  All rights reserved.

I blog about a few things and fantasy football is one. You can search for my other FF posts to see how I’ve been doing in my inaugural year of playing the game that my new hubby has turned me on to.

I could say a lot about but, but for this week, suffice it to say that I’m in fourth place. Yep, the lady who only casually followed football for her whole life actually has a shot at getting to the play offs after just a few months of fantasy.

There are 12 teams in my league. Most are the hubby’s friends. One is my cousin. I had no clue what I was getting into with having to trade players, keep up with injuries and swap out running backs and wide receivers depending upon the opposing team. But somehow I’ve figured it all out. It also helps that I picked Tom Brady to be my quarterback. (And Hines Ward, Joe Addai and Marques Colston aint bad either.)

I’ve now got my anti-Internet dad involved because he’s intrigued by the thought of picking your own football team. And my sister just might come on board next year.. We’ll see. It seems that, for the casual fan, the concept of football becomes a bit more interesting when you can put some personal stakes in it. In exchange for playing though, you gain appreciation for your various teams. For example, I respect Denver’s game right now and find it interesting to watch little BB every week coach his team and do his thing.

I’m in it to win it. But now that basketball season started, there is NO WAY I’m getting involved in fantasy bball. That would just be too much… Waay too much.

File this fact away if the Superior Titans manage to take down the Bushwood Gophers in the Northbound Division finals:

There are grumblings in the Gophers’ clubhouse that general manager Dave Renbarger might not be giving complete focus to the playoffs, as a member of the front office leaked the Gophers’ tentative retention list plans to this Website.

If Bushwood goes on to win the championship, it may prove quickly forgotten, but if the Gophers go down, questions will be raised about why they were paying any attention at all to 2010 plans with ballgames still to be played in 2009.

Got your team’s retention thoughts ready? Send ‘em in and we’ll post.

To celebrate the Holidays I am going to post a free winning pick for every day of the week starting on Thanksgiving and going all the way to Sunday. I will also post some great sportsbook bonus so you can take advantage of some of the best in the business! Take time out to be thankful for everything in life and remember the troops that can’t be home on Thanksgiving.

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Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

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Free Pick for Thursday November 26th, Turkey day!

Texas @ Texas A& M

Texas has already clinched the Big 12 South and will play Nebraska in the

Happy Holidays!

Championship game but they can’t afford to get caught napping here. This will be no problem for Texas as they are focused on going to the Championship game after the loss last year that put them out. Texas A&M has flopped in six of nine as dogs of 20 points or more and in 10 of 12 ATS off a home win. The Longhorns have scored at least 41 points in their four previous road games this season. They are 23-12-2 ATS in November and get a blowout win here.

Play: Texas -21

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Free Pick for Friday November 27th

Alabama @ Auburn

Auburn enters this game with revenge after getting blanked last year. Alabama is going to the SEC Championship game against Florida so this game is a warm up. The Tigers have covered seven of 11 against Alabama and the home team is 4-1 ATS in the last five showdowns. The Crimson Tide dropped nine of 13 ATS when giving up more than 11 points on the highway. Auburn will not win but they will keep it close.

Play: Auburn +10

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Free Pick for Saturday November 28th

Arkansas @ LSU

The loss for LSU was a tough one that will linger over to this week. Arkansas has pulled off the upset against LSU the last two seasons. The Razorbacks are 11-6 as road dogs and the visitor is 6-3 in the past nine meetings. The Tigers are 2-14 as SEC home favorites and they have floundered in 27 of 34 ATS at Baton Rouge in November. Arkansas knows hwo to beat LSU and will do it again.

Play: Arkansas +3.5

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Free Pick For Sunday November 29th

Indianapolis @ Houston
Houston will be playing on a short week and they have to get Chris Brown in the right mindset for this game. Houston has cashed eight straight as home dogs and won six of those eight SU, the only two losses at the hands of the Colts by a total of four points. The Colts have struggled within the division, dropping 14 of 21 ATS, while the Texans are 6-2 at Reliant Stadium versus AFC-South citizens. Indianapolis has won six of seven at Houston, but failed in five of seven ATS. Houston finally gets the win against the Colts.

Play: Houston +3

(Courtesy of Dave Renbarger)

As founding members of the I-75 Mail League in 1980, Mike and Dave Renbarger have faced off against each other at the Strat table or computer hundreds of times over the past 30 years.  The rivalry has ebbed and flowed as the fortunes of the Drifters/Titans and Pickles/Gophers fluctuated accordingly. 

In 2008, things heated up during a tense playoff series.  The Gophers had a powerhouse team, won 103 games and finished 16 games ahead of the runner-up Titans in the standings.  Gopher Dave’s optimism was unbridled entering that series, but Titan Mike turned the tables on his brother, winning the series in six games to advance to the World Series, leaving Dave with an empty feeling after fielding the winningest team in franchise history.

Fast forward to 2009, and we find the teams in similar situations.  The Gophers remain a division-winning powerhouse, winning 100 regular-season games to earn a first-round playoff bye.  But the Titans improved their win total to 92, finishing eight games off the pace. More importantly, Superior won the season series between the teams, 11-9.

This playoff series had all the elements of a classic in the making as the Renbarger boys squared off for the first two games on Saturday night. Read on for a more detailed account as the teams split the first pair.

Game One:  Gophers 8, Titans 5 

Chase Utley was unstoppable, going 4-for-4 with 4 doubles and a walk, and surprise starter Gil Meche logged 7 strong innings to earn the victory as the Gophers drew first blood in the best-of-7 playoff.

Utley, who posted a meager .233 average during the regular season, was apparently saving himself for the playoffs as none of the four Superior pitchers could keep him off base.  And Meche, who led the staff with 16 wins but was viewed perhaps as a No. 2 or 3 starter for the playoffs by some, delivered a quality start in his most important outing to date.  He scattered six hits and two walks over his seven innings.

Superior starter Ben Sheets was victimized by three solo homers (by Hanley Ramirez, Chipper Jones and Mike Cameron) as the Gophers built a 5-2 lead after five innings.  Bushwood extended the lead to 8-3 against the Titan bullpen through the 8th, but things still got tense for the Gophers in the 9th. 

After the Titans scored twice with no outs to move to within striking distance, they put two more runners on and called upon the fearsome Cody Ransom to face Gophers closer Bobby Jenks with two outs.  Gopher Dave quickly yanked Jenks for his lefty (BJ Ryan), and Titan Mike countered with the only-slightly-less-fearsome Steve Pearce.  Ryan fanned Pearce on a 1-4 roll (1-5 was a straight homer), and the Gophers were in the win column.

[1]BOXSCORE: 2009 Superior Titans At 2009 Bushwood Gophers            11/10/2009

[1]  Titans             AB  R  H RBI AVG     Gophers            AB  R  H RBI AVG
  B.Giles LF          2  0  0  0 .000     H.Ramirez SS        5  2  2  1 .400 
H-C.Coste PH          1  0  0  0 .000   D-G.Laird C           0  0  0  0 —- 
  B.Upton CF          5  0  1  1 .200     C.Jones 3B          4  1  2  1 .500 
  J.Mauer C           5  0  3  1 .600   C-M.Izturis PR,SS     0  1  0  0 —- 
  A.Ethier RF         4  2  2  0 .500     A.Pujols 1B         4  0  0  1 .000 
I-C.Ransom PH         0  0  0  0 —-     C.Utley 2B          4  3  4  11.000 
J-S.Pearce PH         1  0  0  0 .000     R.Ludwick RF        5  0  2  1 .400 
  M.Cabrera DH        4  1  2  3 .500     C.Granderson LF     4  0  0  0 .000 
  C.Delgado 1B        4  0  1  0 .250     R.Doumit C          3  0  1  1 .333 
  H.Kendrick 2B       4  0  0  0 .000   E-T.Metcalf 3B        0  0  0  0 —- 
  C.Guillen 3B        3  1  0  0 .000     J.Thome DH          3  0  0  0 .000 
  J.Hardy SS          3  0  1  0 .333   A-T.Wigginton PH      0  0  0  0 —- 
F-J.Gerut PH          0  0  0  0 —-   B-R.Winn PH           1  0  1  11.000 
G-E.Encarnacion PH    1  1  1  01.000     M.Cameron CF        3  1  1  1 .333 
                     — – — —                            — – — —     
[1]         Totals      37  5 11  5                 Totals      36  8 13  8

A-Pinch Hit For Thome In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Wigginton In 7th Inning
C-Pinch Ran For Jones In 8th Inning
D-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Ramirez In 9th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Doumit In 9th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Hardy In 9th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Gerut In 9th Inning
H-Pinch Hit For Giles In 9th Inning
I-Pinch Hit For Ethier In 9th Inning
J-Pinch Hit For Ransom In 9th Inning

Titans………. 0 0 0  2 0 1  0 0 2  -  5 11  0
Gophers……… 1 0 2  0 2 0  1 2    -  8 13  1

[1]Titans (0-1)             IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
B.Sheets LOSS(0-1)        6       9   5   5   2   7   3   7.50  A1 D3
W.Ohman                   0 2/3   1   1   1   1   1   0  13.50  D4 D7
J.Devine                  0 2/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D8 E1
K.Gregg                   0 2/3   2   2   2   1   0   0  27.00  E2
[1]Totals                    8      13   8   8   4   9   3

[1]Gophers (1-0)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
G.Meche WIN(1-0)          7       6   3   2   2   6   1   2.57  A1 D1
K.Wood                    0 2/3   1   0   0   0   2   0   0.00  D2 D4
G.Geary HOLD(1st)         0 2/3   1   1   1   1   1   0  13.50  D5 D8
C.Breslow                 0       1   1   1   0   0   0   —-  D9 D9
B.Jenks                   0 1/3   2   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  E1 E3
B.Ryan SAVE(1st)          0 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  E4
[1]Totals                    9      11   5   4   3  10   1

ATTENDANCE- 45,695 DATE-  TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
T- 3:00
LEFT ON BASE- Titans: 8  Gophers:10
DOUBLE PLAYS- Titans: 0  Gophers: 1
ERRORS- C.Jones
DOUBLES- J.Mauer(1st), A.Ethier(1st), H.Ramirez(1st), C.Utley-4(4th)
HOME RUNS- M.Cabrera(1st), H.Ramirez(1st), C.Jones(1st), M.Cameron(1st)
STOLEN BASES- C.Guillen(1st)
SACRIFICE FLIES- A.Pujols
WALKS- B.Giles-2, C.Guillen, C.Jones, C.Utley, C.Granderson, M.Cameron
HIT BY PITCH- R.Doumit
STRIKE OUTS- B.Giles, B.Upton-3, J.Mauer, A.Ethier, S.Pearce, M.Cabrera,
             H.Kendrick, C.Guillen, H.Ramirez, C.Jones, A.Pujols-2, R.Ludwick-2,
             C.Granderson, R.Doumit, M.Cameron
GIDP- A.Ethier
WILD PITCHES- G.Meche

Second baseman Chase Utley had 4 hits and scored 3 times as the Bushwood
Gophers topped the Superior Titans by a score of 8 to 5 at Wrigley
Field.

Bushwood set the tone of the game in the first inning scoring one runner using
2 hits.  Hanley Ramirez ripped a solo home run (his 1st of the season).
Chipper Jones was a strikeout victim, unable to help out.  One out later,
Utley came to the plate and doubled.  Superior had a chance in the 9th but
they came up short. 

Gil Meche(1-0) went 7 innings allowing 3 runs for the victory. B.J. Ryan got
the save, his 1st.  The loss was charged to Ben Sheets(0-1).  He was touched
for 3 homeruns in his 6 innings of work.

Game 2:  Titans 8, Gophers 4

Gophers Mgr. Renbarger wore a smug look on his face entering Game 2, secure in the knowledge that he was sending his undisputed ace to the hill with a win already in hand.  Rich Harden, owner of the best starter card in Strat, went 14-3 in 22 regular season starts.  Two of his losses came in March and the other in April, meaning Harden had only lost one of his last 19 outings. 

Make that two of 20.

The Titans wasted little time, striking for four runs in the second inning, using an odd assortment of hits and walks, and including a bunt single for good measure.  Harden, teetering on the edge of endurance early, regained his balance for a nice spell before allowing four more runs in the sixth to settle the issue.

Meanwhile, Ervin Santana and three relievers held the vaunted Gophers attack to just six hits and two walks to square the series heading back home to the pitcher-friendly confines of Superior.

The Game 3 pitching matchup is an interesting one:  Superior’s Ricky Nolasco vs. Bushwood’s Hiroki Kuroda.  The Titans snapped up Nolasco with their first pick of the March draft (No. 7 overall) and he responded with 9-12 record and a nifty 3.86 ERA.  The righty is especially effective at home, where the large collection of diamonds on his card rarely hurt him.  The Gophers were delighted that Kuroda’s name was still on the board when they finally made their first draft pick at No. 24 overall in March, and Hiroki proved to be a valuable starter, going 12-10 with a 4.78 ERA in 31 starts. 

Which starter has the most left at the end of a long season?  A World Series berth could be waiting for the winner when this series resumes, most likely on Wednesday.

[1]BOXSCORE: 2009 Superior Titans At 2009 Bushwood Gophers            11/11/2009

[1]  Titans             AB  R  H RBI AVG     Gophers            AB  R  H RBI AVG
  J.Gerut CF          3  0  1  1 .333     H.Ramirez SS        3  2  1  0 .375 
E-H.Kendrick PH       1  0  0  0 .000     C.Jones 3B          3  0  1  1 .429 
F-R.Santiago 2B       0  0  0  0 —-     A.Pujols 1B         4  0  0  0 .000 
  B.Giles LF          4  1  3  2 .500     C.Utley 2B          3  0  1  1 .714 
  A.Ethier RF         4  0  0  1 .250     R.Ludwick RF        4  1  1  1 .333 
  M.Cabrera DH        5  0  0  0 .222     C.Granderson LF     2  1  1  0 .167 
  C.Delgado 1B        4  1  1  1 .250   C-T.Wigginton PH,LF   2  0  0  0 .000 
  J.Mauer C           3  1  0  0 .375     R.Doumit C          4  0  1  1 .286 
  J.Hardy SS          4  1  1  0 .286     J.Thome DH          2  0  0  0 .000 
  K.Johnson 2B        4  2  2  2 .500   D-R.Winn PH           2  0  0  0 .333 
G-B.Upton CF          0  0  0  0 .200     M.Cameron CF        3  0  0  0 .167 
  C.Guillen 3B        1  1  0  0 .000                                         
A-B.Sheets PH         1  0  1  11.000                                         
B-C.Ransom PR,3B      1  1  1  01.000                                         
                     — – — —                            — – — —     
[1]         Totals      35  8 10  8                 Totals      32  4  6  4

A-Pinch Hit For Guillen In 6th Inning
B-Pinch Ran For Sheets In 6th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Granderson In 6th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Thome In 7th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Gerut In 8th Inning
F-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Kendrick In 8th Inning
G-Subbed Defensively (CF) For Johnson In 8th Inning

Titans………. 0 4 0  0 0 4  0 0 0  -  8 10  1
Gophers……… 0 1 1  1 0 0  0 1 0  -  4  6  0

[1]Titans (1-1)             IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
E.Santana WIN(1-0)        5 2/3   5   3   3   0   6   1   4.76  A1 C5
W.Ohman                   1 1/3   0   1   1   1   1   0   9.00  C6 D1
J.Devine                  1 1/3   1   0   0   1   2   0   0.00  D2 D6
D.Marte                   0 2/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D7
[1]Totals                    9       6   4   4   2  10   1

[1]Gophers (1-1)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
R.Harden LOSS(0-1)        6 1/3   8   8   8   5   7   2  11.37  A1 D4
C.Breslow                 0 2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0  13.50  D5 D6
K.Wood                    1       1   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D7 E1
B.Jenks                   1       1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  E2
[1]Totals                    9      10   8   8   5   8   2

ATTENDANCE- 46,385 DATE-  TIME- Night WEATHER- Good
T- 2:53
LEFT ON BASE- Titans: 5  Gophers: 4
DOUBLE PLAYS- Titans: 2  Gophers: 2
ERRORS- C.Guillen
DOUBLES- J.Hardy(1st), K.Johnson(1st), C.Ransom(1st), H.Ramirez(2nd),
         R.Doumit(1st)
TRIPLES- B.Giles(1st), K.Johnson(1st)
HOME RUNS- B.Giles(1st), C.Delgado(1st), R.Ludwick(1st)
STOLEN BASES- K.Johnson(1st)
WALKS- J.Gerut, B.Giles, A.Ethier, J.Mauer, C.Guillen, H.Ramirez, C.Jones
HIT BY PITCH- C.Utley
STRIKE OUTS- J.Gerut-2, H.Kendrick, A.Ethier-3, M.Cabrera-2, A.Pujols, C.Utley,
             R.Ludwick-2, T.Wigginton, R.Doumit-2, J.Thome, M.Cameron-2
GIDP- B.Giles, M.Cabrera, A.Pujols-2

Brian Giles went deep and had 2 RBI as the Superior Titans outscored the
Bushwood Gophers 8 to 4.

Ervin Santana(1-0) pitched a solid game.  He was reached for 5 hits and no
walks in 5 and 2/3 innings.  Santana racked up 6 strikeouts.  Superior
out-hit Bushwood for the game, 10 hits to 6. 

Rich Harden(0-1) was the losing pitcher.  He was knocked around, surrendering
8 runs in 6 and 1/3 innings.

Despite their Cinderella status, the Antelope Valley College soccer team knows it has the defensive unit to compete with the likes of Ventura in the postseason.

“We are the underdog, but we are not (tired for) third in the state in (goals allowed) for nothing.” Marauders coach jerry Stupar said. “There is nobody that can come roll over us.”

Number 15 seeded AVC’s defensive fortitude will be tested as much as it has been all season when it travels to play #2 Ventura tonight at 7PM in the regional quarterfinals. Undermanned in terms of depth and in an unfamiliar postseason setting, the marauders (16-3) will try to advance by relying on the style that has carried them to a record setting season.

“We have to work hard for the whole 90 minutes to not give up anything.” sophomore stopper Shannon Cox said, “Hopefully we can hold them off and get one in.”

While AVC is embarking on its first ever postseason contest, Ventura has never missed the playoffs in 14 seasons as a program. Until being narrowly beat out in the Western State conference North Division race by #4 Moorpark this year, the Pirates (16-3-1) had won a conference title every season. Ventura’s only coach Steve Hoffman had lost just 36 games entering the year. Only seven more than AVC lost in the two seasons leading up to Stupar’s arrival in 2008.

The Pirates have been in such a lofty perch as recently as last season, when they earned the #2 seed. However, Ventura was upset by #7 San Diego Mesa in the semis.

“We’ve got what we wanted,” Hoffman told the Ventura County Star. “We were there last year, hopefully we learned something.” The Marauders hope they haven’t. “I’m hoping the come out complacent on us, they come out like they’re going to have an easy seed against us, like it’s going to be easy for them.” Stupar said. “And we’re going to come out strong.”

Ventur’s offense isn’t shrouded in much mystery. Its succes hinges on midfielder Jazmarae Strozier, who is tied for the state’s goal lead with 27. Her main partner is forward Alyssa McDonald who has 18 assists, which tells Stupar “we know who is feeding who all day long.”

To neutralize Strozier as best as possible, Stupar is toying with the idea of having one of his defenders, likely sophomore Chelsea Porter, mark her throughout and starting Cox, a team captain, at sweeper. If enacted, Cox’s move back will be just a temporary solution, with the Marauders, who won’t have the fortune of substituting as often as the Pirates, needing maximum effort from all their starters for the entire match.

“Our offense is going to have to do what it does, get at least one or two goals, while our defense continues to do what it’s done all year long,” Stupar said.

While unable to knock off Foothill Conference champion San Bernardino Valley in the regular season, the Marauders are pulling confidence from their two meetings. The #3 Wolverines took the first match with a late goal on a questionable non-off sides call and, after surrendering three first half goals in the rematch, AVC, outplayed San Bernardino Valley in the second while outscoring them 1-0. Plus AVC pulled up a defender and spent that final period in a 3-4-3 formation and still held the State’s second leading scoring team scoreless for 45 minutes.

“If we play the way we did (then), we will contend with Ventura and have the opportunity to beat them, “Stupar said. “The question is if we can play at that level the entire match.”

After 10 seasons without a playoff appearance, AVC will see that answered tonight.

After spotting Savannah an opening-game victory, the Detroit Demolition Dogs have reeled off three wins in a row in the Southbound Division finals and stand one game away from advancing to the I-75 League World Series.

Savannah won Game One, 6-5, on Melvin Mora’s two-out, two-run pinch-hit double in the ninth.

But Detroit rebounded vigorously. The Demo Dogs rocked CC Sabathia for six runs in 4+ innings of work en route to a 6-4 Game Two win.  Carlos Pena’s pinch-hit grand slam paved the way for a 10-7 Game Three win, and Detroit used seven pitchers to outduel Tim Lincecum 4-3 in a Game Four victory.

Needing three wins in a row, Savannah will send Sabathia back to the mound for Game Five, while Detroit will counter with Dave Bush. Read on for more details as provided by Ken Kuzdak.

Game Four: Detroit 4, Savannah 3

    With their backs to the wall and Mgr.Steve Hart thinking this was a best of 5 series, game 4 was a rematch of game 1 pitchers Tim “Toking” Lincecum and the Dogs’ A.J Burnett.  Like game one, the Scorpions take a 2-0 lead.  But paced by Nate Mclouth’s 3 doubles and Maggs 3 hits and Phillips’ triple. The Dogs score 4 runs in the first three innings to take a 4-3 lead and that would be all they need. 

     It took 7 Detroit pitchers to outduel one Tim Lincecum but the Dogs prevailed.  Also like game one, Mora pinch hit against Saito in the 9th with a chance to win the game but was retired to end the game as Takashi earns his second save.  The Detroit Demolition Dogs take the series 3-1 and move on…no wait Steve, it is a best of seven series.  Game 5 (TBA) will feature Dave Bush vs. CC Sabathia.  

PLAYOFF BOXSCORE: 2009 Savannah Scorpions At 2009 Detroit Demolition Dogs  11/14/2009

[1]  Scorpions            AB  R  H RBI AVG Demolition Dogs   AB  R  H RBI AVG
      N.Markakis CF       4  0  1  0 .286     N.McLouth CF       4  1  3  2 .583 
      B-G.Kapler PH,RF  1  0  1  0 .500     I.Suzuki RF           3  0  0  0 .083 
     T.Glaus 3B             3  1  1  0 .167     C.Pena 1B             4  0  0  0 .111 
     J.Drew RF               3  1  1  0 .222     M.Ordonez LF       4  1  3  1 .444 
    D-M.Byrd PH,CF       0  0  0  0 .000     R.Howard DH        4  0  0  0 .125 
    J.Votto 1B                5  0  1  2 .250     A.Beltre 3B          3  1  0  0 .200 
    C.Lee DH                4  1  1  0 .500     B.Phillips 2B         4  0  2  1 .400 
    D.Dejesus LF          3  0  1  0 .333     I.Rodriguez C        3  1  1  0 .333 

 A-R.Spilborghs PH,LF  2  0  1  0 .500   E-Y.Molina C          1  0  0  0 .222 
   J.Saltalamacchia C  3  0  1  1 .333     M.Tejada SS          3  0  0  0 .000  
   F-C.Iannetta PH       1  0  0  0 .000   C-J.Wilson SS         0  0  0  0 .333 
  Y.Escobar SS          4  0  2  0 .500                                         
   P.Polanco 2B          3  0  0  0 .200                                         
  G-M.Mora PH            1  0  0  0 .500                                         
                     — – — —                            — – — —     
[1]         Totals                37  3 11  3                 Totals      33  4  9  4

A-Pinch Hit For Dejesus In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Markakis In 8th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Tejada In 8th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Drew In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Rodriguez In 8th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Saltalamacchia In 9th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Polanco In 9th Inning

Scorpions…….    2 0 1  0 0 0  0 0 0  - 3 11  1
Demolition Dogs. 1 2 1  0 0 0  0 0    -  4  9  0

[1]Scorpions (1-2)            IP     H   R  ER W  K  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
T.Lincecum LOSS(0-1)      8       9   4   4   2  13   0     5.17  A1
[1]Totals                          8       9   4   4   2  13   0

[1]Demolition Dogs (2-1)    IP       H  R ER W  K  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
A.Burnett WIN(1-0)           5 2/3   7   3   3   5   4   0   4.76  A1 D2
C.Villanueva HOLD(2nd)    0 2/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   6.75  D3 D5
R.Tejeda HOLD(2nd)        0 2/3   1   0   0   2   1   0   0.00  D6 D9
G.Sherrill                          0       1   0   0   0   0   0   5.40  E1 E1
C.Durbin HOLD(2nd)        0 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  E2 E2
C.Qualls HOLD(1st)        0 2/3   1   0   0   1   1   0   0.00  E3 E6
T.Saito SAVE(1st)           1       0   0   0   0   1   0   6.75  E7
[1]Totals                         9      11   3   3   8   9   0

ATTENDANCE- 47,644 DATE-  TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
T- 2:56
LEFT ON BASE- Scorpions:15  Demolition Dogs: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Scorpions: 1  Demolition Dogs: 0
ERRORS- Y.Escobar
DOUBLES- J.Votto(2nd), R.Spilborghs(1st), Y.Escobar(1st), N.McLouth-3(4th),
         I.Rodriguez(1st)
TRIPLES- B.Phillips(1st)
STOLEN BASES- D.Dejesus(1st), B.Phillips-2(2nd)
WALKS- T.Glaus-2, J.Drew, M.Byrd, C.Lee, J.Saltalamacchia, Y.Escobar, P.Polanco,
       I.Suzuki, A.Beltre
STRIKE OUTS- N.Markakis-2, T.Glaus, J.Drew, J.Votto-2, R.Spilborghs,
             J.Saltalamacchia, C.Iannetta, N.McLouth, I.Suzuki, C.Pena-2,
             M.Ordonez, R.Howard-2, A.Beltre-2, B.Phillips-2, Y.Molina,
             M.Tejada
GIDP- C.Pena

47,644 fans were treated to a fine game at Bank One Ballpark as only one run
separated the combatants at game’s end.  The Detroit Demolition Dogs won by
the slimmest of margins, 4 to 3.

Detroit took the lead for keeps in the bottom of the 3rd inning scoring a
single run using 2 hits.  Magglio Ordonez lashed a single.  One out later,
Adrian Beltre followed, but he was set down on strikes.  Brandon Phillips
then tripled.  That was all the offense they were to need.  The pitchers took
over after the 3rd inning as neither team was able to score again. 

The win was credited to A.J. Burnett(1-0) who went 5 and 2/3 innings allowing
3 runs. Takashi Saito earned the save, his 1st.  The loss was charged to Tim
Lincecum(0-1).  Despite the loss, he struckout 13 Detroit batters in 8
innings. 

Game Three: Detroit 10, Savannah 7

    With Cole Hamels and Josh Beckett squaring off in game 3, fans expected a low scoring pitchers duel-NOT!  The Demoliton Dogs score 4 runs in the first (led by another Brandon Phillips homerun) only to see Sav. tie tie game with 4 in the 4th capped by a Carlos Lee 3 run bomb.  

    Sav. score 3 more in the top of the 5th for a 7-4 lead, but with the bases loaded in the bottom half of the fifth and Ramon Ramirez now in for Sav., pinch hitter Carlos Pena crushes the grand slam (on a solid 2-9 roll) for the 8-7 lead.   The Detroit bullpen squashes the Scorpions the rest of the way for a 10-7 Demolition Dog win and a 2-1 series lead.

PLAYOFF ]BOXSCORE: 2009 Savannah Scorpions At 2009 Detroit Demolition Dogs  11/13/2009

  Scorpions            AB R  H RBI AVG     Demolition Dogs   AB R H RBI AVG
  M.Byrd LF              2  0  0  0 .000         I.Suzuki RF            5  0  0  0 .111 
D-D.Dejesus PH        0  0  0  0 .333        E.Renteria SS        3  1  1  0 .333 
E-G.Kapler PH,LF     2  0  0  0 .333        B-J.Wilson SS        2  0  1  0 .333 
  N.Markakis CF       5  0  1  0 .300        A.Soriano LF,2B      5  3  3  1 .600 
  T.Glaus 3B            5  1  1  0 .111        N.Garciaparra 1B     1  1  0  0 .000 
  J.Drew RF             3  2  1  0 .167        C-M.Ordonez LF      2  0  0  0 .200 
  J.Votto 1B             4  2  1  1 .286       M.Reynolds DH        3  2  0  0 .000 
  C.Lee DH              4  2  3  4 .625       B.Phillips 2B            2  1  2  3 .333 
  P.Polanco 2B        4  0  1  2 .286       A-C.Pena PH,1B      2  1  1  4 .200 
  C.Iannetta C          4  0  0  0 .000       A.Beltre 3B             3  1  1  0 .286 
  Y.Escobar SS        4  0  2  0 .500      N.McLouth CF         4  0  2  0 .500 
                                                         Y.Molina C              4  0  1  1 .250 
                     — – — —                            — – — —     
[1]         Totals      37  7 10  7                 Totals      36 10 12  9

A-Pinch Hit For Phillips In 5th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Renteria In 6th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Garciaparra In 6th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Byrd In 6th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Dejesus In 6th Inning

Scorpions…….    0 0 0  4 3 0  0 0 0  -  7 10  1
Demolition Dogs. 4 0 0  0 4 0  1 1    – 10 12  1

[1]Scorpions (1-1)          IP       H   R ER W  K  HR  ERA  SCORESHEET
C.Hamels                      4 1/3   6   7   7   4   2   1  14.54  A1 C5
R.Ramirez LOSS(1-1)     2 1/3   5   2   2   1   4   1   4.91  C6 D9
S.Downs                       1         1   1   0   0   0   0   0.00  E1 E4
M.Adams                      0 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  E5
[1]Totals                       8        12 10   9   5   7   2

[1]Demolition Dogs (1-1)    IP    H  R  ER W  K  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
J.Beckett                       4 1/3  10  7   7   3   2   1  14.54  A1 C7
C.Durbin WIN(1-0)          0 2/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  C8 C9
G.Sherrill HOLD(2nd)      1 1/3   0   0   0   1   1   0   5.40  D1 D5
R.Tejeda HOLD(1st)        1 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D6 E1
C.Qualls SAVE(1st)        1 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  E2
[1]Totals                          9      10   7   7   4   5   1

ATTENDANCE- 47,135 DATE-  TIME- Night WEATHER- Good
T- 2:52
LEFT ON BASE- Scorpions: 7  Demolition Dogs: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Scorpions: 0  Demolition Dogs: 1
ERRORS- G.Kapler, Y.Molina
DOUBLES- C.Lee-2(2nd), E.Renteria(1st), J.Wilson(1st), A.Soriano-2(2nd),
         B.Phillips(1st), N.McLouth(1st)
HOME RUNS- C.Lee(1st), B.Phillips(1st), C.Pena(1st)
WALKS- M.Byrd, J.Drew-2, J.Votto, N.Garciaparra-2, M.Reynolds-2, A.Beltre
STRIKE OUTS- N.Markakis-2, T.Glaus, C.Iannetta-2, E.Renteria, M.Ordonez,
             M.Reynolds-2, C.Pena, A.Beltre, N.McLouth
GIDP- T.Glaus

Chad Qualls performed beautifully in relief as the Detroit Demolition Dogs
topped the Savannah Scorpions by a score of 10 to 7 at Bank One
Ballpark.

Detroit had 4 runs cross the plate in the 5th inning.  The key offensive
moment was provided by Carlos Pena who made the Detroit fans a happy lot when
he emptied the bases with a Grand Slam homerun (his 1st of the season).
Qualls was perfect in relief and gained credit for his 1st save. 

The winning pitcher was Chad Durbin(1-0) who allowed no runs in 2/3 of an
inning. Ramon Ramirez(1-1) was given the loss in relief.  He gave up 5 hits
and 1 walk in 2 and 1/3 innings 

Game Two: Detroit 6, Savannah 4

Brandon Phillips and Adrian Beltre hit back to back homers in the 3rd and CC Sabathia

 gives up 6 runs in 4 innings.  Shaun Marcum pitches 4 hit ball for 7 innings letting Robinson Tejada and Saito save the win and even the series at a game a piece.

Playoff BOXSCORE: 2009 Detroit Demolition Dogs At 2009 Savannah Scorpions

  Demolition Dogs         AB  R H RBI     Scorpions              AB  R  H RBI
        I.Suzuki RF             5  1  1  0        N.Markakis CF         4  0  1  0
       E.Renteria SS          3  0  1  0        T.Glaus 3B               4  0  0  0
       B-J.Wilson SS          2  0  0  0        R.Spilborghs LF        4  0  0  0
       A.Soriano LF            5  0  0  0        J.Drew RF                2  0  0  1
       N.Garciaparra 1B      3  1  3  0        J.Votto 1B                4  1  1  1
       C-C.Pena 1B            1  0  0  0        C.Lee DH                  4  0  0  0
       M.Reynolds DH         2  0  0  0       C.Iannetta C              4  2  2  1
       A-R.Howard PH         2  1  0  0       Y.Escobar SS            3  1  0  0
       B.Phillips 2B             4  1  2  2       P.Polanco 2B             3  0  1  1
       A.Beltre 3B               2  2  1  2       D-M.Byrd PH              1  0  0  0
       N.McLouth CF           4  0  1  0                                        
       Y.Molina C                4  0  1  1                                        
                           — – — —                            — – — —
[1]         Totals            37  6 10  5           Totals            33  4  5  4

A-Pinch Hit For Reynolds In 5th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Renteria In 5th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Garciaparra In 5th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Polanco In 9th Inning

Demolition Dogs.  1 1 3  0 1 0  0 0 0  -  6 10  1
Scorpions…….     0 1 0  1 1 1  0 0 0  -  4  5  1

[1]Demolition Dogs          IP   H   R ER W  K  HR  SCORESHEET
S.Marcum WIN             7       4   4   3   6   4   2    A1 D5
R.Tejeda HOLD             1       0   0   0   0   3   0    D6 D8
T.Saito SAVE               1       1   0   0   0   2   0    D9
[1]Totals                       9       5   4   3   6   9   2

[1]Scorpions                IP       H   R ER W K  HR  SCORESHEET
C.Sabathia LOSS         4        8   6   5   1   3   2  A1 C4
J.Johnson                    4        2   0   0   0   2   0  C5 D9
D.Oliver                       0 2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0  E1 E2
J.Nathan                     0 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0  E3
[1]Totals                    9        10   6   5   1   5   2

ATTENDANCE- 41,599 TIME- Night WEATHER- Good
T- 2:52
LEFT ON BASE- Demolition Dogs: 6  Scorpions: 8
DOUBLE PLAYS- Demolition Dogs: 0  Scorpions: 0
ERRORS- N.McLouth, T.Glaus
DOUBLES- N.Garciaparra, C.Iannetta
HOME RUNS- B.Phillips, A.Beltre, J.Votto, C.Iannetta
SACRIFICE FLIES- A.Beltre
WALKS- A.Beltre, N.Markakis, T.Glaus, R.Spilborghs, J.Drew-2, Y.Escobar
STRIKE OUTS- I.Suzuki-2, E.Renteria, R.Howard, B.Phillips, T.Glaus-3, J.Drew,
             J.Votto, C.Lee, C.Iannetta, Y.Escobar, M.Byrd
WEB GEMS- Bot 6th: Ichiro Suzuki robbed Nick Markakis of an extra base hit.

Game One: Savannah 6, Detroit 5

Wild game 1 goes down to the last batter.   Sav. jumps out to a 2-0 lead off Burnett but McLouth answers with a 2 run homer off Lincecum.  Both teams score a run in the 5th then Detroit gets 2 more in the 8th off Lincecum (seen smoking some funny looking cigg in the dugout between innings).  Sav. answers again with a run to make it 5-4 going into the bottom of the 9th.  With 2 on and 2 out, pinch hitter Mora stings Saito with a 4-8 double and scores Markakis and Drew to win game 1.

BOXSCORE: 2009 Detroit Demolition Dogs At 2009 Savannah Scorpions  11/10/2009

  Demolition Dogs    AB  R  H RBI AVG     Scorpions            AB  R  H RBI AVG
  N.McLouth CF        4  2  2  2 .500           N.Markakis CF       5  1  2  1 .400 
  I.Suzuki RF            4  0  1  1 .250              T.Glaus 3B          4  0  0  0 .000 
  C.Pena 1B             3  0  0  0 .000             J.Drew RF             3  1  0  0 .000 
  M.Ordonez LF        3  1  1  0 .333           J.Votto 1B              3  0  1  0 .333 
  R.Howard DH         4  0  1  1 .250           B-G.Kapler PH,LF   1  1  1  01.000 
  A.Beltre 3B          4  0  1  1 .250              F-M.Mora PH         1  0  1  21.000 
  B.Phillips 2B        4  0  0  0 .000             C.Lee DH                4  1  2  0 .500 
  Y.Molina C           4  1  1  0 .250             D.Dejesus LF          3  0  1  0 .333 
  M.Tejada SS         2  1  0  0 .000           C-J.Cantu PH,1B      1  0  1  11.000 
A-J.Wilson SS         1  0  0  0 .000           P.Polanco 2B          3  1  1  0 .333 
                                                             J.Saltalamacchia C   3  0  1  1 .333 
                                                             D-M.Byrd PH           1  0  0  0 .000 
                                                             E-C.Iannetta C         0  0  0  0 —- 
                                                             Y.Escobar SS         4  1  2  1 .500 
                     — – — —                            — – — —     
[1]         Totals      33  5  7  5                 Totals                    36  6 13  6

A-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Tejada In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Votto In 8th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Dejesus In 8th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Saltalamacchia In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Byrd In 9th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Kapler In 9th Inning

Demolition Dogs. 0 0 2  0 1 0  0 2 0  -  5  7  0
Scorpions…….    0 2 0  0 1 0  0 1 2  -  6 13  0

[1]Demolition Dogs (0-1)    IP      H   R  ER W SO HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
A.Burnett                         5 2/3   8   3   3   3   6   1      4.76  A1 C7
C.Qualls                          1 1/3   1   0   0   0   1   0    0.00  C8 D3
G.Sherrill HOLD(1st)         0 1/3   1   1   1   0   1   0    27.00  D4 D5
C.Durbin HOLD(1st)          0 1/3   1   0   0   0   1   0    0.00  D6 D7
C.Villanueva HOLD(1st)     0 2/3   1   1   1   0   0   0   13.50  D8 E1
T.Saito LOSS(0-1) BS(1st) 0 1/3   1   1   1   1   1   0   27.00  E2
[1]Totals                           8 2/3  13   6   6   4  10  1

[1]Scorpions (1-0)            IP       H   R ER W  K HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
T.Lincecum                     7 2/3   7   5   5   3  10  1     5.87  A1 D6
R.Ramirez WIN(1-0)        1 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0     0.00  D7
[1]Totals                          9       7   5   5   3  10   1

ATTENDANCE- 48,897 DATE-  TIME- Night WEATHER- Good
T- 2:49
LEFT ON BASE- Demolition Dogs: 5  Scorpions: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Demolition Dogs: 1  Scorpions: 1
DOUBLES- A.Beltre(1st), N.Markakis-2(2nd), J.Votto(1st), G.Kapler(1st),
         M.Mora(1st)
TRIPLES- N.McLouth(1st)
HOME RUNS- N.McLouth(1st), Y.Escobar(1st)
STOLEN BASES- P.Polanco(1st)
WALKS- N.McLouth, C.Pena, M.Ordonez, T.Glaus, J.Drew-2, P.Polanco
HIT BY PITCH- M.Tejada
STRIKE OUTS- N.McLouth, I.Suzuki, C.Pena, M.Ordonez-2, R.Howard-2, B.Phillips,
             Y.Molina, M.Tejada, N.Markakis, T.Glaus, J.Drew, C.Lee, D.Dejesus,
             P.Polanco-2, J.Saltalamacchia-2, Y.Escobar
GIDP- A.Beltre, J.Drew

Tim Lincecum racked up an impressive total of 10 strikeouts and Yunel Escobar
touched them all at Dodger Stadium as the Savannah Scorpions pulled off a
dramatic comeback beating the Detroit Demolition Dogs by the count of 6 to
5.

Savannah came through with the game-winning runs in the 9th inning scoring 2
runs on 2 hits.  After an out was recorded, Nick Markakis started the rally
when he doubled scoring the final run of the inning.  Savannah had 13 hits
for the game and Detroit had 7. 

Ramon Ramirez(1-0) got credit for the victory, pitching 1 and 1/3 innings and
allowing no runs. Takashi Saito(0-1) was charged with the loss in relief.

Steve Hart was all smiles after the ballgame, ‘It sure was looking pretty dim
there for a while, but our guys never gave up – and neither did our fans -
they kept cheering us on.  What a sweet win!’

Anyone that wants to skydive for the first time trying to became an experienced skydiver have to first understand the basic rules and all the risks that exist in skydiving. Doing it, the level of risks in this sport will be greatly reduced.

Like all extreme sports, this one has an age restriction too, set at 18 years. Not even a parent can’t sign documents in order for a minor to jump. 18 years or older, no exceptions here. In order to be 100% sure that your landing will not bring up any problems, you must weight not more than 250 pounds.

You need to be in good health even if skydiving is not very demanding from this point of view. If you can pull your chute line, you can skydive at it’s best, and this was never a problem for people.

Some teachers could let you do your first jump all alone if you want. Usually you can make your first jump after 5 to 6 hours of ground training. You can do your ground training and your first jump in the same day.

You should never wear clothes that will limit your moves, sandals or open toed shoes. You should always wear clothes you best feel in and running shoes. You can also bring with you glasses or contacts, the goggles you will be provided with, will fit over with no problem. Your skydiving jump will consist of 30 seconds of free fall and 30 second to land.

Most people feel the free falling like a great flying experience.

Even if skydiving as a sport, envolves risks, if you are good trained you can call skydiving a very safe sport because bad injures and death are unlikely.

You will just have to learn learn and learn all you can about this great extreme sport and you will do great. Discuss every aspect of this sport with your friends, family or any other experienced skydiver and you will grow in knowledge, you will develop your skills and in the same time you will be more secure of yourself.

Hockey fans love to kick back and watch their favorite teams duel it out on the ice. Yet, there are very few countries that even have a hockey team. Canada and America citizens are proud to have their hockey teams. Some are so fanatical that will attend every game and even if that is not possible; they will watch all the games they can. I am one of these kinds of fans.

If I can’t watch them on TV, then I watch live NHL games online.

As a kid in school, I have been in awe with this sport. It was interesting to watch and one year I tried out and played on the school’s team. There was even a time when I tried to go into the big leagues. However, I must have not been good enough so I pass the time by watching my favorites teams battling it out. This is how I am satisfied with this fact.

However, I have come to realize that I cannot watch every single game. There are matches I wish I can watch but due to my daytime job, I have this hole that needs to be filled. One time, I made the mistake of allowing a friend to record a game for me. When my friend handed me the tape, he could not help but tell me each play of the game, what team did what and what the ending score was. Talk about a real disappointment. There was no need for me to watch the game anymore.

Now, I no longer have to worry about this. I recently found Satellite TV for Free software program that will allow me to watch all my hockey games anywhere I want by the use of my personal computer. I found this site quite by accident but I can download all kinds of things not just sports. Talk about a good deal.

I don’t have to worry with satellite dishes or hooking up cable lines to my television sets. All I require is my computer and a broadband connection to the Internet. I connect to the site, sign in and get the games I want to watch. I will never use my television set to watch NHL games again.

Many NHL sports fans will be relish the Satellite TV for PC software. They may even have to fight with those that do not watch sports. There are even cartoons, movies and others shows available on one of the 3,000 channels that are available to watch. With all those channels, there is no need for a VCR and videotape.

Lots of news from the Sharon Band Program today!

MP Playoff Game – Our Sharon Tigers have advanced to the District 10 Championship game! The game will be held this Friday, Nov. 27 @ Slippery Rock University. We will meet at 3pm in order to play for the team’s send-off. Immediately following, we will have a brief rehearsal in the stadium and then prepare to leave for the game at approximately 5pm.

Jazz Ensemble rehearsals will begin on Monday Dec. 14 at 3:30pm. If you would like to participate in jazz ensemble, but do not have it scheduled, please see Mr. Butchy.

Pep Band’s first rehearsal will be on Monday, Dec. 7 at 3:30pm. We need to prepare for the Winter Sports Meet the Tigers Night which will be held on Wed., Dec. 9 at 6:45pm. We will be playing before and after the event. If you would like to play in Pep Band and have not signed up with Mr. Butchy, please see him ASAP.

Don’t Forget! The Middle and High School Band’s Winter Concert will be on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 7pm! Click here for more information!

Last week the SF Mechanics squared off against the Miami Sharks in the Division finals, with the winner going on to meet the winner of the New York – New Jersey match (New York ended up advancing). While the final score was 2.5-1.5 in favor of the Sharks, we weren’t really in serious danger of being in the match. With draw odds and white on boards 1 and 3, we went into the match with high hopes, but as it was, history repeated itself and for the 3rd time, we lost in the playoffs with draw odds to Miami. I say we kick them out of the Western Division!

Here are the positions from our match after 15 moves (of course, we all reached this mark at different times):

Board 1: Kraai – Becerra

On board 1, Jesse was worse against Becerra’s surprise Grunfeld. Black equalized pretty quickly in the opening, but it wasn’t too bad for White. Unfortunately, Jesse found it difficult to back up the weakening f2-f4 thrust and soon shed the e3-pawn for no compensation. He was only saved when Becerra took a draw in a winning Rook and Pawn endgame to clinch the match for Miami.

Board 2: Lugo – Bhat

On my board, I was doing alright. Lugo surprised me with the Two Knights, but after some slightly non-standard maneuvers, I had played …c6. With …d5 soon to follow, I thought I had equalized. White doesn’t really have any kingside initiative, and after the pawn exchanges on d5, White has fewer pawn islands, but he can’t get at the d5-pawn so easily and his queenside pawns are a little weak.

Board 3: Pruess – Moreno Roman

On board 3, David was pretty much lost against Moreno Roman. David likes to play the King’s Gambit (even though Fischer refuted it ages ago!), and every so often, he produces a brilliancy like he did in France a month ago against GM Bogdan Lalic (take a look at the game here). Unfortunately, this time, he was on the receiving end of a miniature, as he allowed …Qh4+ in the opening and then had to defend against a furious onslaught. I’m not sure if the position was defensible to begin with, but from the above diagram, it ended in another move after 16.Qe1 Ng3.

Board 4: Rodriguez – Liou

On board 4, Yian was keeping it together against Rodriguez. With a big time advantage and a position that was about equal, I figured we’d have to rely on our two relatively equal positions to turn into wins. Sadly, after 16.Rxh8 Bxh8 17.Nd3, Yian allowed White to favorably change the structure by playing 17…Bg6. Now 18.Nxe5 dxe5 19.g4 (19.e4 looks even better) Qh7? 20.gxf5 Bxf5 21.e4 netted White a pawn, and Rodriguez cleaned up in a nice fashion. Instead of 17…Bg6, 17…Nc6 looks quite reasonable for Black.

Thanks to a little tactic, I turned my equal position into a clearly better one:

I played 20…h5! here, and Blas took a wrong turn with 21.Nh2. After 21…Bf6, Black is hitting the b2-pawn, but more importantly, he is threatening to play 22…Be5, trapping the knight on h2. White would have no choice but to give up his g-pawn then with 23.g3, but that’s a rather important pawn. Thus, Blas played 22.Qf2, but after 22…Be5 23.Nf3 Bg3, he lost the exchange. Instead of 21.Nh2, he could have played 21.Nf2, which is a little better. Still, I think Black’s position is better after 21…Bf6 22.c3 d4!. I ended up winning this game, but the finish of this game took place after the match was already put away by Miami.

So, as has been the case most years except for 2006 (when we won it all), we wait for next year. I think the team could have done better this season, but we did alright given the fact we were piecing together a lineup for pretty much every match.

From a personal standpoint, I was satisfied with my play. I lost my first two games of the year (the game against Stripunsky was a bad one, but the game against Barcenilla was pretty good and I should have won that one), but then scored 3.5/4 the rest of the way. Thanks to the 2 losses in 6 games, this was the first time in 5 years that my performance rating in the league was below 2550 FIDE. I clocked in at 2495 FIDE, marginally above my 2492 FIDE rating average for the season. Team captain John Donaldson has recapped the team’s performances in more detail at the team blog.

The finals match is scheduled for December 7th, and features Miami and New York. My guess is that New York will carry the day. With a double-GM lineup and then the underrated (for the league) Yaacov Norowitz on board 4, they seem to have the more dangerous lineup. Still, Miami has scored some big upsets themselves to get to the finals, so it won’t be an easy match.

This blog entry will be short and sweet. Just like that win.

With another victory this week over the San Francisco 49ers, the Packers have moved into playoff contention. At 6-4, their record ties them with only the New York Giants, good enough for a wild card berth at this point. They might also be tied with the Eagles, but the outcome of the Eagle’s game against the Bears has not yet been decided. With 6 games left to play, the next few weeks will be critical. A few more victories would put Green Bay in control of its own destiny. Let’s hope the team doesn’t have a letdown due to the close win this week. They are on a short week, playing the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving this Thursday.

If 49ers fans are feeling down, maybe feeling a little bitter after that loss, they should grab some San Francisco sourdough bread, a bay area specialty. They can use it as comfort food. It’s really quite good. They can also grab some extra napkins to dry their tears. My step-brother Kyle is a 49ers fan – maybe I’ll offer him a loaf. He was at the game. I wonder how that went down… he was probably booed by the Green Bay fans. Nothing a little sourdough bread can’t fix. “Hey Kyle, why don’t you shove this sourdough bread in your sourpuss?” Ha-ha.

This victory was vindication for Aaron Rodgers, as the 49ers passed him over for Alex Smith in the 2005 draft. He had something to prove this week, and it showed. I think he had the last laugh, as he put up some big numbers and guided the Pack to a second straight win. If he keeps playing like that, I like the Packers chances to make the playoffs. It was also nice to see a better performance out of our offensive line, which enabled Ryan Grant to have a 100-yard rushing day. The balance on the offense was a big key to the Pack’s win.

Like I said, the Packers play the Lions this Thursday in Detroit. Go Pack!

This week’s winner: Aaron Rodgers

This week’s loser: Alex Smith

It’s such a big difference between this year and last. Without Columbus in the game, I have only half paid attention to the run up to this year’s Cup. It’s also tough to watch because it’s such a missed opportunity for the Crew. No team in the league stands out, only 9 points separated top from bottom. This was a real chance to do the back to back “Double”.

I have no real rooting interest in the game. Both would be flawed champions; that’s the effect of parity in MLS. It should be an interesting game, the teams are evenly matched. Donovan may play his last game in MLS tonight. Seattle and their fans are hosting a great party. Even if it won’t be a great week for the Crew, it’s a great night for MLS. I hope the game can match the storylines.

Well, I’m happy to say that I correctly predicted every game for the first round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoffs.

With that said, it’s time to predict the second round, which has some intriguing matchups, including rematch from last year’s quarterfinals between La Habra and El Dorado.

Here are my thoughts on the upcoming games this Friday.

La Habra at El Dorado: Both teams come into this game having routed their first round opponents. The Highlanders cruised to a 56-10 win over Kennedy, while El Dorado beat down Santa Ana Valley 42-14. The game is being played at Valencia High, which would be a home game for the Golden Hawks, but that won’t help them against the dangerous passing attack of La Habra quarterback Cody Clements, who has developed quite a liking for sophomore receiver Brett Bartolone. La Habra’s defense is arguably the best in the bracket and should be able to shut down El Dorado’s passing game while limiting running back Brock Dunn’s yardage.

El Toro at Cypress: Cypress is the only higher-ranked team that gets a home game this week and that should have a great impact in beating El Toro. The Chargers snuck away with a 14-7 win over Villa Park in the first round to set up this matchup while Cypress, behind the efforts of running back Akeeli Muhammad, sent Troy packing with a 44-14 win. Look for Muhammad to have another big game and if somehow El Toro can slow him down, quarterback Zack Ortiz completes over 60 percent of his passes, so Cypress could easily turn to him.

Trabuco Hills at Pacifica: The Mariners may have surprised some people when they beat Fullerton on the road last week. Not me. After watching Fullerton for two straight weeks, they didn’t look as strong as everyone thought they were, especially in their 52-21 loss to La Habra. Pacifica is a big, physical team, but they’re slightly over-matched against Trabuco Hills. The Mustangs’ offense is one of the best in Orange County and they should be able to ride that into the semifinals.

Tustin at Huntington Beach: Tillers running back Anthony Wilkerson led all of Orange County last week with 329 rushing yards. I don’t know what’s in the water at Tustin High, but their kids are powerful and shouldn’t have much of a problem running through the Oilers. Don’t forget about A.J. Rafter and the Tustin defense, they can cause plenty of turnovers. Huntington Beach comes in after a 21-10 win over a less-than-stellar Anaheim squad, while Tustin recorded a 31-14 win over a similar Valencia team.

If all goes according to plan, the semifinals would then be La Habra vs. Cypress and Trabuco Hills vs. Tustin.

Decatur defeated the Heroes 4 to 2 and moved into the second round of the playoffs

TREINO CANCELADO PARA DOMINGO, 22/11/2009
As chuvas na madrugada infelizmente deixou o campo sem condições para um treino que vale a pena.

LGB PLAYOFFS 2009
sábado e domingo, dias 5 e 6 de dezembro
Campo Esportivo da AFGD (Digicon)
Distrito Industrial, Gravataí-RS

Pedimos a disponibilidade de todos os jogadores nestas datas, pelo menos para nossas partidas. Nossa semifinal será realizada da manhã no sábado, e o final no domingo também será da manhã. Nos somos os mandantes, então támbem haverá perparações e desmancho do campo em que precisaremos ajuda. Hão planos para outras actividades, mas a programação e a agenda ainda estão sendo definidas. Terão oportunidades para confraternização com os outros times, e tem ideia de fazer algumas competições como “Home Run derby”, o arremesso mais rápido, o corredor mais rápido, etc. Aguarde maiores informações em breve.

Welcome to Civil Discussion, where I, Ed Honcho, discuss some of today’s hot button issues with an esteemed contemporary. And I have a treat for you, loyal readers, for my very first installment. That’s right, none other than the legendary Secretariat Jones has agreed to a duel of words. Typically, Mr. Jones and me tell each other fairy tales, which we have a deep passion for, along with Mad-Libs, Hummel plates and steins of mead. But not today. Today we discuss the BCS. And despite the fact that we share given names of equine origin and regularly finish each other’s equations, we fall on very different sides of this dispute. Exactly opposite sides, in fact. Let’s see which one’s better.

Ed Honcho: Good evening, Mr. Jones, and thank you for joining us today.

Secretariat Jones: It’s my pleasure, really. I’m just happy to be included.

Ed Honcho: Of course you are. Now, let’s get right to it. You believe the B(C)S is fine the way it is. Can you explain yourself?

Secretariat Jones: Yes, but not without first pointing out that I found your reply to my original statement… you know, when I said “I’m just happy to be here”… to be most condescending, especially for a “civil” discussion.

Ed Honcho: Noted.

Secretariat Jones: Thank you. Now, my feeling is that the current system is no different than the playoff that you and others long for. It’s just that, rather than a postseason tournament, the tournament begins in week one. Now…

Ed Honcho: If I may interject for a moment. Were a tournament to begin in week one, then a loss would eliminate any team. And yet we’ve had many one loss champions.

Secretariat Jones: Then let’s call it a double elimination tournament.

Ed Honcho: Well, you know I’m going to bring up 2007’s national champion, LSU, and their two losses.

Secretariat Jones: A rare occurrence. So rare, in fact, that it’s happened only one time before, in 1960, when Minnesota won a title with two losses, despite losing the Rose Bowl.

Ed Honcho: “Rarely” and “never” are, as you should be aware, mutually exclusive. This clouds our perception of your viewpoint, but let’s move forward…

Secretariat Jones: I’m conscious of the difference between the words “never” and “rarely”. Somewhat patronizing the way you handled that, to be honest.

Ed Honcho: Noted.

Secretariat Jones: Thank you. Now, in addition to de-valuing the regular season, a playoff would also wreak havoc on the schedules and lives of those involved. They are, after all, supposed to be students first, and athletes second.

Ed Honcho: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I see your point, and I raise. The students are there for an education alright… an education in how best to prepare oneself for the NFL. Especially at the elite college level. Some of them… maybe even most of them… come out of it with a complementary degree, but that’s not what they came for. They came to advance their careers in their chosen field… football, and who can blame them. That’s what college is for.

Secretariat Jones: I think you’re trivializing…

Ed Honcho: Shut up for a second. You also contend that a playoff would wreak havoc on their schedules. Then how, pray tell, do high schoolers do it? How do NAIA-level players do it? Division III-level players? Division II-level players? Football Bowl Subdivision-level Players? Football Championship Subdivision-level players?

Secretariat Jones: OK, so that’s how you want to do this? Two can play, my friend. Two can play. And to answer your question, the difference is in the element of exposure… that is, none of those levels have the amount of exposure or pressure that Division I players would face. They wouldn’t be pestered by ESPN, they wouldn’t have their every move scrutinized, they wouldn’t be nearly as distracted… idiot.

Ed Honcho: It’s all relative. A high school championship is every bit as important to the players and communities involved as a national championship. Moreso, in some cases. And to think that they wouldn’t be distracted? Only someone who’d never experienced high school success would say such a thing.

Secretariat Jones: I was All-District on our state championship team! I had the scholarship offers! You rode the damn bench!

Ed Honcho: Now, now, Mr. Jones. No need to resort to lies and facts just to scrape for bits of truth. This is civil discussion, remember?

Secretariat Jones: Uh-huh, well, OK. But you’re not being very civil.

Ed Honcho: I haven’t raised my voice once.

Secretariat Jones: We’re writing!

Ed Honcho: See, there you go again, yelling and exclaiming. Please, Mr. Jones, keep it together. Now, what say you on the issue of improving teams? Namely, those that come together as the season progresses to become a formidable force… sometimes the consensus best team? Why should they be shut out because they lost early when they were still coming together?

Secretariat Jones: Well, because they lost.

Ed Honcho: See, it’s this attitude that causes everyone to schedule patsies in the early season. Don’t risk losing as your team is coming together. It’s an unintended consequence of your beloved system, and it’s why we’re left with Oklahoma vs. Idaho St. and Florida vs. Charleston Southern.

Secretariat Jones: For most of the national title contenders, making it through their conference schedule is enough.

Ed Honcho: Utterly ridiculous. It’s that thinking that leaves us with Texas, who may enter the title game without having beat a ranked team (if Oklahoma St. loses to Oklahoma next week). Conferences can have down years at any time. And, it excludes teams from weaker conferences, like TCU and Boise St., from getting their fair shake, since no one will play them in the non-conference season.

Secretariat Jones: OK, Mr. Hotshot, what’s your solution?

Ed Honcho: It’s Mr. Honcho, and I’m glad you finally asked. Take the top 8 teams, and they can be decided by the BCS for all I care, but take the top 8 teams and throw them in a single-elimination tournament, beginning in mid-December and ending around the same time as the current bowl games. Make insane amounts of money, increase exposure to the game, everyone’s happy. Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

Secretariat Jones: But the controversy over who gets the #8 spot will be intense.

Ed Honcho: Oh, less so than who deserves to be in the national championship game now? It’s better to have a squabble over the #8 spot than the #1 spot, wouldn’t you say?

Secretariat Jones: No

Ed Honcho: Now you’re just being contrarian, and dare I say, childish, just for the sake of it.

Secretariat Jones: Hey! I’m a guest here.

Ed Honcho: And not a very good one, if I’m honest. Quibble here, quibble there… oh, you’re not being nice to me, stop being so condescending, my girl-parts hurt, wah….

Secretariat Jones: YOU GO TO HELL, I WAS DOING YOU A FAVOR!

Ed Honcho: More like a disservice.

Secretariat Jones:  THAT’S IT! I’M ON MY WAY OVER THERE!

Ed Honcho: Bring it, douchebag.

And that’s been Civil Discussion! Special thanks to our guest Secretariat Jones, what a sport that guy is. I hope you enjoyed it, and keep your eyes peeled for our next installment, when my next opponent and I go toe to toe on matters of the gravest importance.

From OC Varsity – In a high-scoring overtime thriller, Segerstrom came away with a 41-35 victory over Mayfair of Lakewood on quarterback Brian Murrietta’s 3-yard touchdown run.

Murrieta had a 56-yard touchdown run on the fifth play of the game, to go along with 108 yards passing on 13 of 21 attempts.

Running back Matt Navarro rushed for 112 yards and four rushing touchdowns of 17, 1, 5, and 4 yards.

He had two crucial touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to tie the score, 35-35, after his team was down two touchdowns.

Navarro scored his last touchdown after a pass interference call, and that sent -the game in overtime.

“We have 33 seniors and at halftime we said it was up to them; they were going to lead us and they did it.” Jaguars coach Mike Maceranka said.

“They came back, and our senior leadership was key tonight.”

In overtime, Mayfair had a four-and-out and the Jaguars relied on their running attack to push the ball downfield.

“It (the win) is huge; this year our theme was the next step, we wanted to win our league and last year we made the playoffs but we lost so we wanted to get to the next step, which was to get to the next round,” Maceranka said. “This is huge for our school.”

By Simon Liang
OC Varsity

***

Segerstrom is the only Santa Ana school remaining in the CIF playoffs.

Santa Ana lost in the first-round to La Mirada, 44-3.

El Dorado defeated Santa Ana Valley, 42-14, to advance to the second-round of the CIF playoffs.

Mater Dei lost in the first round of the CIF playoffs to Bishop Amat of La Puente, 28-21, to end the Monarchs’ season.

It was a cold night in Boulder for 5A football. As temperatures dropped so did the chances for Columbine to advance to the next round of play offs. The game was close. Both teams were held to a touchdown apiece. It was the Fairview field goal that would ultimately make the difference.

I always like to make fun of the photographers who convert all their digital images to black and white. If you want black and white, shoot film. Well after color correcting these images for pre-press, I think I kind of like the way they look. So make fun of me if you want but sometimes black and white can help “color” a photo story, especially if your team loses.

As far as technique is concerned, I used the old strobe on a rope for most of the action stuff and then boosted my ISO and ditched the strobe to shoot the after game reaction shots. Most action photos were somewhere around ISO 800, 1/250th of second, f4 with the strobe set to manually sync at 1/4 power. The after game shots were anywhere between ISO 1600 and 2500 with shutter speeds and aperatures hovering in the 1/125th to 1/60th and f2.8 to f4. It was a pretty dark field.

Probably one of the best moments of the game was when a sideline-shooting-soccer-mom asked me if I could help her “set her camera’s numbers.” Good stuff. A big thanks to the Daily Camera’s Kasia Broussalian for keeping me entertained on the sidelines. Its always a pleasure to shoot along side some one with a good attitude in this industry.

From OC Varsity – Santiago literally ground out Costa Mesa’s season Friday, calling 50 offensive rushing plays against 11 passing plays to control the clock and seize a 24-6 victory in a first-round CIF-SS Southern Division playoff game at Bolsa Grande High.

Spearheading the Cavaliers attack was Brian Perez, who amassed 203 yards and bookend 41-yard touchdown runs on 24 carries before leaving late because of a knee injury. Julian Martinez’s 34-yard fourth-quarter scoring run iced the game with 1:14 left and gave him 138 yards on 23 carries.

“We wanted to establish the run and get the lead, and once we did, we got conservative and made sure we got the win,” said Santiago Coach Aaron Shahrestani, whose team improved to 9-2 and earned a quarterfinal home game against No. 2 seed La Mirada.

The Cavaliers’ possession advantage minimized the usually potent air attack of Costa Mesa (6-5), although Brian Waldron hauled in 10 passes from Todd Davis for 130 receiving yards in the final game for both seniors.

Josh Erno’s 7-yard scoring run with 3:47 left in the game allowed the Mustangs to avoid being shut out.

By Andy Eiser
OC Varsity

***

Santiago’s next opponent will be No. 2 seeded La Mirada, the Suburban League Champion, who defeated Santa Ana 44-3 in their first round playoff game.

Name your game in college football!

I have all of the games in college football covered.  Do you want to get research, insight, and picks on all the game but you don’t have time? I am here to help.

Send me the game you want covered and I will give you a pick on the game with a detailed write-up on why!

If it is a big game like Ohio St vs Michigan or Oregon Vs Arizona I have you covered.

If the game is a low key game without all the fanfare but you want information and a winning pick I can do that too! Not everyone will cover SMU and Marsahall but if you want the pick and the game written up and the stats and the trends to go along with it, I will cover all of them.

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Here is an example of one of the free picks for tomorrow.

Free College Football Sports Betting Pick for Saturday November 20th

TCU Vs Wyoming

TCU showed the world last week that they deserve the top ranking they have. They jumped to #4 in the country and with that came an inflated line. TCU has struggled a bit on the road in November (4-9-1 ATS). Wyoming is 13-5 ATS off a SU win and 5-1 ATS at home with revenge off a straight up and ATS win. Letdown is a real possibility with this inflated line.

Play: Wyoming +31.5

15 Team Teasers and parlays!!

This is an idea I came up with in the fall of my sophomore year in college. It came to me when I was watching every sports analyst with any interest in college football try to make brackets for playoffs a la March Madness. Most of these analyst agree that the best fit would be a 16 team format and that works but it still doesn’t bring the hype as March Madness does by having 64 teams. Having a 64 team college football tournament would be impossible and take way too long. Losing the bowl sponsorships is another reason why the NCAA does not want to part ways with the college bowl season. Now how do you incorporate all of this into a crazy college football season playoffs system.

First you do not even begin with the playoff system; it starts with the regular season. Every year it is always hard to judge who actually the best is because some teams play one or two more games. Other teams do not play in a Conference Championship Game. To make it a bit easier on everyone, cut the season down to 10 games FOR EVERYBODY. Make it a 10 game in 11 week season, every team would get a bye week and the 11 weeks would end a week before Thanksgiving. For the 2009 season if the season started Sept. 12th it would end Nov. 21. Now with the next week being Thanksgiving, this gives the NCAA a chance to hype a conference championship week and what better thing to have during all the days around Thanksgiving. Also every conference would have to have a championship game because this will help to even the playing field for ranking teams. At this point in the season if your team has played 11 games you got to play in a conf. championship game.

Now we have made it to the first week of December and it is time for playoff season. The playoff season will consist of 32 teams. Why 32, because it gives every team in the top 25 a chance to win also the reason why each conf. would need a championship game, there are 11 conf. which would give every conf. winner an automatic bid into the tournament just like in March Madness. Now with the 21 spots remaining, those teams will be voted in by the committee of writers who will come up with the AP top 25 every week, NO MORE COMPUTER RANKINGS. When the brackets are filled out and ready to go we begin the tournament.

The higher seed will get home field advantage thru the first 3 rounds, leaving the final four and championship rounds to be played in a neutral site. After the first 4 rounds have been completed, on the calendar it brings us up to a week before New Year’s Day. Making it perfect for having the one final game in college football at 8pm New Years Day.

Now don’t forget about all of those Bowl Sponsorships those are not going to go unnoticed. During the entire playoffs there would be 31 TOTAL games and there are currently 34 Bowl games. If NCAA cut their deals with 3 Bowl Sponsors they would be able to have each game in the playoffs still be sponsored. As the teams get fewer the Bowls will become bigger leading up to the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl…etc and one of those Bowls will be rotated for the Final game each season.

The only problem is all of this would occur during finals and sports are usually on hold during Finals but I think in the grand scheme of things there would be a way to work around it.