Posted by on August 30th, 2010 | No Comments »
St. Louis Cardinals face the Washington Nationals on Saturday night at the Nationals Park, WashingtonD.CC. The match is scheduled to be held on August 28, at 7:05 pm ET and will be telecast on WSH.
Since Kyle Lohse won two straight starts, it has been more than a year. Against the Nationals, the right-hander tries to win his fourth straight start Nationals and help the visiting Cardinals to a second consecutive victory Saturday night.
Nationals and help the visiting Cardinals to a second consecutive victory Saturday night. In his second start, Lohse (2-5, 6.47 ERA) gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings of a 10-2 win at Pittsburgh on Monday.
When Lohse allowed two runs two runs and struck out four in six innings of a 6-2 win over Washington, his other victory came May 17. In seven starts versus the Nationals franchise, he is 3-1 with a 4.82 ERA, and has given up two earned runs in 18 innings while winning his last three starts versus Washington.
The Cardinals (69-57) evened the four-game set with a 4-2 win Friday and snapped a three-game skid. As St. Louis remained four games behind first-place Cincinnati in the NL Central, Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday each homered. Including three straight to last-place teams, the Cardinals had lost 8 of 11.
Pujols twisted his ankle in Thursday’s series-opening loss and he had hit his 400th homer, connected for his 35th of the season and fourth in as many games at Nationals Park. With five home runs and eight RBIs in his last nine games versus Washington, the All-Star slugger is 17 for 33. With three homers against scheduled starter Livan Hernandez (8-9, 3.36), Pujols is a lifetime .343 hitter. Hernandez looks to bounce back from one of his worst outings of the season.
betED.com MLB/” target=”_blank”>MLB odds have made the Nationals –155 money line favorites for Saturday’s game against the Cardinals. Current MLB Public Betting Information shows that 64% of more than 528 bets for this game have been placed on the Nationals -155.
Filed under Baseball | Tags: MLB Preview, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals
Posted by on August 19th, 2010 | No Comments »
To race on the classic Infineon Raceway, in Northern California, the Indy Racing League travels to the beautiful Sonoma Valley. This weekend, by the sound of whirring Honda engines, the picturesque, quiet countryside will be invaded. On the last road course of the 2010 IRL season, Will Power is the heavy favorite to win.
This season, Power has dominated on the road courses and he has already wrapped up the first Mario Andretti Award this season. Throughout the IRL season, the new award will be given to the driver that scores the most points on road race courses.
For the overall IRL points title, Dario Franchitti is still on Power’s tail and after this last road race, he could begin making up ground on Power. When it comes to Infineon, Franchitti is no slouch. Franchitti will not lie down for Will Power in this last road race and he performs well on this track.
Ryan Briscoe will be other drivers to watch for in the Indy Racing League at Infineon and a driver that has fallen on hard times of late, Ryan Hunter-Reay. At this track, Briscoe driving for Pensk has run well and Hunter-Reay is just that good on a road course.
None can forget about Helio Castroneves. Over losing the Edmonton Grand Prix, Helio is just about over his anger and this would be a great bounce back spot for him to get back into Roger Penske’s good graces. Between Penske and Chip Ganassi if Scott Dixon is thrown in for good measure, the race boils down to a car owner battle. Hold on, once you strap into the lazy boy. This will be an unforgettable race.
Filed under Open-wheel racing | Tags: Dario Franchitti, Indy Racing League, Mario Andretti, Ryan Briscoe
Posted by on August 9th, 2010 | No Comments »
The Kansas City Chiefs will need a lot of improvement on both sides of the ball. It’s hard to imagine, but the Chiefs fared even worse than the Raiders did in 2009.
The Chiefs will be able to rely on the efforts of Jamaal Charles for the whole season in 2009. Last season the team gave Larry Johnson too many opportunities at the beginning of the season and paid for it as he never produced the way he was expected to. Charles stepped in and had an excellent season. Expect Charles, who is a favorite with NFL football betting, to be one of the top backs in the league in 2010.
The Chiefs will need help on defense in 2010. The team surrendered the most points on any team in the AFC last year and cannot duplicate that if they hope to contend. With such a porous defense they allowed every team they played to stay in the game.
Although the offense is not absolutely terrible, it cannot be relied on to outscore opponents in high scoring games on a weekly basis. It does little good to have a solid running back like Jamaal Charles if the defense lets the opponent score quickly in response after a time consuming drive.
All signs point to the chiefs sitting at the bottom of the AFC West. Every other team looks to be better on both sides of the ball than the Chiefs and they will struggle to compete unless some players step up and play at a level that they have not played at to this point.
Filed under Nfl | Tags: Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs, Larry Johnson, Nfl
Posted by on August 3rd, 2010 | No Comments »
UFC UK president Marshall Zelaznik admits that the winner of Saturday’s welterweight rematch between Thiago Alves and Jon Fitch will have a big impact on the future of UFC 117 main event. To Fitch, Alves bids to avenge his 2006 when the pair finally shares a ring for a second time at UFC 117. In the past, a knee injury and a failed CAT scan have both led to Alves postponing the fight. However, at the top of the 170lb division, both men are ready for a significant battle.
Including Hardy, Alves and Fitch are one of four of five fighters who are battling to be considered a future contender to Georges St-Pierre’s title.
Champion fights Josh Koscheck in December; Hardy is yet to fight either man in his UFC career. For the winner of Alves/Fitch, it would follow a logical path to fight the winner of Hardy/Condit. Certainly, an encounter between Alves vs. Hardy would whet the appetite of MMA fans for sure. Zelaznik confesses that particular bout isn’t far away.
Zelaznik told, “Thiago Alves is a bit tied up with Jon Fitch right now, but as I fan I can definitely see it happening and Alves could be in line for Hardy in his next couple of fights. Right now Hardy fights Carlos Condit, and I think if you look at Carlos’s wins, he ends things by stoppage. These are guys vying for a shot at the title, as are Alves and Fitch, so I can definitely see it playing out in the future”.
Filed under MMA | Tags: Jon Fitch, Marshall Zelaznik, Thiago Alves, UFC 117
Posted by on July 28th, 2010 | No Comments »
In Oakland, CA on August 7, 2010, Rick Story and Dustin Hazelett will fight. This fight will be a part of the UFC 117 event. Entering this fight, both of these fighters are coming from very different angles as they have had varied levels of success recently.
As of late, UFC betting star, Rick Story has been enjoying a lot of success. He seems to be on track to find his way in the top level of his division and he has won three fights in a row. A win will could easily place him in the top 5 spots of the division. He has won 10 fights while losing three, to this point in his career.
As of late, Hazelett is on the way. In his last fight at UFC 10, he specifically ran into some problems. In his last fight, he was knocked out by Paul Daley, although he has generally seen success in his career. In doing so, Daley even earned a “knockout of the night” award. To bounce back, he will need to do something. If Hazelett hopes to find his spot to get his opponent on the ground, he will at least need to hold his own, although it is clear that his strength isn’t stand up fighting.
In this matchup, it looks as though Rick Story will be the favorite, even though these fights have different styles. To win the fight, look for him to come in with the necessary momentum.
Filed under MMA | Tags: Dustin Hazelett, Rick Story, UFC, UFC betting
Posted by on July 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
To the Arizona Cardinals, the importance of preparation has become very apparent, with the wide receiver Anquan Boldin’s departure and quarterback Kurt Warner’s retirement. The minicamp was a big part of their preparation, which was held from April 30 to May 2.
The minicamp for the Cardinals was summed up by Coach Ken Whisenhunt by saying the following: “When you get to the fifth practice and you’ve installed a lot and you see their heads are spinning, you see the challenge in front of you. You do not come out of it too high. I am excited about our young players and what they can do for us. (Minicamp) is a great evaluation tool but it’s one step in the process. You get excited for the OTAs because you can build on it.”
The first pick of Cardinals was used on nose tackle Dan Williams. He became a part the organization and he received a warm welcome. On Saturday night, a rookie dinner was hosted by President Michael Bidwill and Whisenhunt, owner Bill Bidwill. With former players, the three of them joined to explain to the rookies how to make it in the league. Among the former players was Michael Bankston, former defensive lineman, and he offered Williams advice whenever he needs it and gave Williams his phone number.
Wide receiver was the one position that received a fair amount of attention at the minicamp. In the third round, Andre Roberts was selected by Arizona. Additionally, from the practice squad, the Cardinals have two holdovers vying for the open spot: Ed Grant and Onrea Jones.
Arizona’s failure to solve their problem at quarterback was one area of concern. To identify a viable replacement for Bryant McFadden, Whisenhunt hoped to use minicamp as an opportunity. Whisenhunt made no determination and for the future, he acknowledged that the team would look at adding a veteran cornerback.
Filed under Nfl | Tags: Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals, Bryant McFadden, Dan Williams, Ken Whisenhunt
Posted by on July 8th, 2010 | No Comments »
The rumors have been flying that the Philadelphia Eagles might be on the verge of releasing backup quarterback Michael Vick. Vick’s past legal troubles have been well documented, but the latest incident where a person was shot at a birthday party in Virginia Beach hosted by Vick is being looked at closely.
Vick has claimed on more than one occasion that he had nothing to do with the shooting. Vick claims he left twenty minutes before the shooting occurred, security tapes show it may have been three minutes before the incident. Other partygoers say it was Vick’s brother Marcus who was involved.
Whatever the case, Vick has been on thin ice with the NFL and the Eagles since his return to professional football. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told Vick before he was reinstated that his margin for error was “extremely limited” when it came to off the field problems. Even lying could put Vick in trouble again.
The Eagles may be looking for a way to cut Vick since he is due to earn $5.2 million this season and Kevin Kolb is expected to be the starter in Philadelphia. Last season, Vick was a model citizen both on and off the field. He even won the Ed Block Courage Award, which is an annual award presented to players in the NFL voted on by members of their own organization who prove to be role models that inspire and show good sportsmanship.
Filed under Nfl | Tags: Ed Block Courage, Philadelphia Eagles, Roger Goodell
Posted by on July 1st, 2010 | No Comments »
The Netherlands, World Cup odds favorite have consistently produced many of the world’s top players and have enjoyed a long, decorated soccer history.
Yet, as a team, they are best known for not winning a World Cup ever. Brazil, who conversely has won more World Cups than any other team, they will be facing on Friday.
If the Dutch squad wants to get past top-ranked Brazil, then they will have to overcome internal turmoil. Dutch legend Johan Cruyff criticized the team’s lack of style and he was who led to the Netherlands to their first World Cup finals appearance in 1974. Additionally, Coach Bert Van Marwijk recently had to call a team meeting following reports from the Dutch media that quoted angry striker Robin van Persie as saying that teammate Wesley Sneijder should have been subbed out instead of him against Slovakia in their second round win. Van Marwijk insists that they are ready to move forward and all is well.
Expect the Brazilians to capitalize, if there is any disunity amongst the Dutch squad. In the Round of 16, all cylinders were firing in Brazil’s 3-0 win over Chile. They have been one of the best teams in the tournament and are validating the top ranking FIFA assigned to them prior to the tournament.
In some of two recent World Cup tournaments, Brazil has faced Netherlands. In the 1994 quarterfinals en route to their fourth World Cup, they eliminated Netherlands 3-2 and beat them on penalty kicks in the 1998 semifinals before losing to host France in the final.
On Friday, fans will likely be treated to a special match. Robinho, Brazilian star has deemed it worthy of a World Cup Final. “It’s a world football classic,” Robinho said. Netherlands just may pull off an upset, if Netherlands can keep the ball on Brazil’s side and prevent their attack, even though Robinho’s team will be the slight favorite.
Filed under Soccer | Tags: FIFA, Johan Cruyff, Robin van Persie, Soccer
Posted by on June 25th, 2010 | No Comments »
The Cincinnati Bengals Mini Camp seems to have been a success. Marvin Lewis, the head coach of the Bengals seems to have been pleased with what took place during the rookie minicamp. This is good news for the Bengals.
One of the players that has been impressive has been Jermaine Gresham. Gresham is the first round pick of the Bengals from the 2010 NFL Draft that recently took place.
Gresham, a tight end from Oklahoma, has managed to progress faster than anyone could have hoped. Certainly the Bengals hoped that he would make a good impression from the start, but he has really come around faster than the team could have hoped for.
After his impressive showing at mini camp there is a lot of talk surrounding him. Many assume that he will make his way to the starting lineup for the 2010 season. If Gresham can make an impact for the Bengals he will be a big key for the team. The Bengals do have some established receivers to throw to, but another weapon on offense really could help settle Carson Palmer, who has been up and down over the years with injuries.
The Bengals did have two draft picks that missed time during the mini camp with injuries, but the rest showed up and seemed to perform in the manner that was expected for the team. The players that were injured were linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy, who missed Sunday with a foot injury and Dezmon Briscoe, who missed the entire mini camp with a groin injury.
Filed under Nfl | Tags: Cincinnati Bengals, Jermaine Gresham, Marvin Lewis