Major Leaguers Win Opener in Taiwan

The World Series may be over, but baseball is not as a group of Major Leaguers are in action in Taiwan for a 5-game series against the Taiwanese National Team. The series kicked off on Tuesday night with the Major League Stars cruising to a rain-shortened 7-0 win. Curtis Granderson delivered the big blow as he crushed a hanging slider from Yao-Hsun Yang into the right field bleachers for a grand slam in the 3rd inning giving the Major Leaguers a 4-0 lead. An inning later Miami Marlins outfielder Emilio Bonifacio delivered a two-run single to make it 6-0 while Michael Morse delivered a double to the wall in left-center in the 5th to make it 7-0.

Photo Credit: newsday.com

That was more than enough run support for Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie who started and went 3 scoreless innings before giving way to the bullpen. Angels reliever Trevor Bell and Detroit's Phil Coke would each add a scoreless inning in relief before the game was called in the middle of the 6th due to rain. 23 year old Boston farmhand Che-Hsuan Lin led Taiwan with a pair of hits including a double that Bonifacio lost in the lights in a losing effort.

Here's a look at the Box Score for Game 1:

Major League Baseball

Taiwan

The Solution to Chicago's Managerial Quest

So at the request of the blog's favorite Cubs fan - obligatory Ellen McElligott shoutout - I was asked to take a look into the Cubs search for a new manager. If you haven't heard already, Mike Quade was fired yesterday leaving a vacancy in the Cubs dugout. A number of names have been kicked around including Terry Francona, Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux (Greg's big brother), Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum, Phillies bench coach Pete Makannin, Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale, Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar and Rays bench coach Dave Martinez. But I have an outside-the-box solution for Chicago. You ready?

Photo Credit: bleacherreport.com

Bobby Valentine.

According to ESPN, this is what new General Manager Theo Epstein is looking for: "The next manager must have leadership and communication skills; he must place an emphasis on preparation and accountability; he must establish high standards and a winning culture; he must have integrity and an open mind; and he must have managerial or coaching experience at the major league level."

Bobby Valentine has over 1100 wins at the Major League level - he's won more than he's lost, led the Mets to the 2000 World Series, and won a Japan Series title with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2005 - their first championship in over 30 years. So obviously he's shown that he's a winner.

Photo Credit: stamfordadvocate.com

But here's what I think separates Valentine from the other candidates. Bobby Valentine was a manager in New York City. Sure, I know the Mets aren't the Yankees, but you're kidding yourself if you don't think they face some serious pressure from the fans and the media in a position like that. And Valentine didn't just manager in New York, he WON in New York. Chicago is a similar situation. The Cubs need someone who can handle the fact that every move he makes is going to come under scrutiny. No disrespect to some of the smaller market teams, but it's a lot harder to manage the Chicago Cubs than it is the Kansas City Royals. Shoot, I bet you can't even name the Royals manager (it's Ned Yost).

No disrespect to the other guys in the conversation, but other than Francona and Sveum, none of them have managed at the big league level and Sveum has only managed 12 games. I realize that once upon a time Joe Torre and Bobby Cox had never managed at the big league level either, but neither of them were winners right out of the gate. Cox's Braves finished in last place in his first two seasons in Atlanta while Torre endured 5 straight losing seasons to start his managerial career while with the Mets. I don't think you want to throw someone into this situation in Chicago that hasn't at least figured out what kind of manager they're going to be. The Cubs need to win right now, and they need someone who is prepared to do that. So I vote for Bobby. Is that realistic? Maybe not, but I'd be shocked if they didn't bring in someone with a similar resume. It will be interesting to see how this situation unfolds in the coming weeks.

Real Salt Lake and Sporting KC advance to MLS Conference Finals

KANSAS CITY 2 COLORADO 0 - Sporting KC wins 4-0 on aggregate goals

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

There will be a new champion in Major League Soccer this year. The Colorado Rapids were eliminated from the MLS postseason today following their second consecutive 2-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City. Injuries were something that the Rapids dealt with all year long, but in addition to the losses of Jamie Smith (torn ACL) and Pablo Mastroeni (concussion), Colorado lost Caleb Folan (sprained knee/ankle), Kosuke Kimura (fractured foot) and Drew Moor (separated shoulder) in the first leg, and just didn't have enough horses left to make another run. French defender Aurélien Collin deflected in a free kick by Graham Zusi in the first half, and rookie C.J. Sapong headed in another Zusi free kick in the second to remove any doubt of Sporting's advancement to the Eastern Conference Finals. Kansas City will take on the winner of the Houston Dynamo - Philadelphia Union matchup which will conclude tomorrow. The Dynamo currently own a 2-1 aggregate lead.

SEATTLE 2 SALT LAKE 0 - Real Salt Lake wins 3-2 on aggregate goals

Photo Credit: mlssocer.com

Seattle completely dominated the run of play in the second leg outshooting Real Salt Lake 22-4 and forcing goalkeeper Nick Rimando into making 13 saves, but the three goals they allowed in the first leg were just too much to overcome. Osvaldo Alonso got the Sounders on the board with a penalty and five minutes later Lamar Neagle made things really interesting with a goal of his own, but the Sounders couldn't put a third shot past Rimando and fell just short. With the win, Real Salt Lake will advance to the Western Conference Finals where they will take on the winner of the Los Angeles - New York series. The Galaxy currently lead 1-0 with the second leg set for tomorrow night.

2011 Gold Glove Winners Announced

The 2011 Gold Glove Winners were announced yesterday with a number of teams getting multiple selections. The Red Sox and Dodgers each led their respective leagues with three members getting selected, while the Reds and Orioles each had a pair of winners. Overall a lot of new faces as 9 players won the award for the first time as some fairly big names were displaced from the winner's circle this year including Derek Jeter, Joe Mauer, Ichiro Suzuki, Mark Teixeira, Carl Crawford, Michael Bourn and Albert Pujols. Here's a look at your 2011 winners:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

PITCHER - Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox, 3rd Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

CATCHER - Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles, 1st Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

FIRST BASEMAN - Adrian Gonzalez - Boston Red Sox - 3rd Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

SECOND BASEMAN - Dustin Pedroia - Boston Red Sox - 2nd Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

THIRD BASEMAN - Adrian Beltre - Texas Rangers - 3rd Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

SHORTSTOP - Erick Aybar - Los Angeles Angels - 1st Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

LEFT FIELD - Alex Gordon - Kansas City Royals - 1st Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

CENTER FIELD - Jacoby Ellsbury - Boston Red Sox - 1st Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

RIGHT FIELD - Nick Markakis - Baltimore Orioles - 1st Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

NATIONAL LEAGUE

PITCHER - Clayton Kershaw - Los Angeles Dodgers - 1st Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

CATCHER - Yadier Molina - St. Louis Cardinals - 4th Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

FIRST BASEMAN - Joey Votto - Cincinnati Reds - 1st Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

SECOND BASEMAN - Brandon Phillips - Cincinnati Reds - 3rd Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

THIRD BASEMAN - Placido Polanco - Philadelphia Phillies - 3rd Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

SHORTSTOP -Troy Tulowitzki - Colorado Rockies - 2nd Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

LEFT FIELD - Gerardo Parra - Arizona D-Backs - 1st Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

CENTER FIELD - Matt Kemp - Los Angeles Dodgers - 2nd Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

RIGHT FIELD - Andre Ethier - Los Angeles Dodgers - 1st Award

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

MLS Playoff Update

LOS ANGELES 1 NEW YORK 0

Photo Credit: lagalaxy.com

The Galaxy are loaded with big names- Robbie Keane, David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Juninho... all of whom are capable of delivering goals on offense. On Sunday they relied on a different weapon as the versatile Mike Magee, who has literally played every position for the Galaxy this year, got on the end of a Beckham cross in the 15th minute for the only goal of the game. Josh Saunders and the Galaxy defense took care of the rest as Saunders turned away 5 shots in his first career playoff start en route to his 9th shutout this season. As if there wasn't enough drama in the 1-0 match, a postgame melee broke out after New York's Rafa Márquez appeared to hurl the ball at Landon Donovan following the final whistle. The resulting fracas led to red cards to both Márquez and Juninho, both of whom are out for the next game. The series now heads back to Los Angeles with New York needing a win to advance. The Red Bulls drew 1-1 with the Galaxy in their only trip to L.A. this season.

KANSAS CITY 2 COLORADO 0

Photo Credit: sportingkc.com

The defending champs find themselves in a big hole after the first leg of their conference semifinal matchup against Sporting Kansas City. Teal Bunbury took a pass from Julio Cesar and beat Matt Pickens in the 49th minute to break a scoreless tie, and then added a penalty kick goal ten minutes later to make it 2-0 and that would be it for scoring. Colorado, who lost midfielder Jamie Smith to a torn ACL in Colorado's wild card win over Columbus, lost three more players Sunday- Caleb Folan left with a knee injury, Kosuke Kimura a foot injury and defender Tyrone Marshall was sent off on the play that set up Bunbury's penalty. Now the series heads to Kansas City with Colorado more or less in need of a miracle to advance and successfully defend their title.

HOUSTON 2 PHILADELPHIA 1

Photo Credit: houstondynamo.com

29 year old Calen Carr, who scored just once in four starts during the regular season, picked a great time to score goal number two as he broke a 1-1 tie in the 30th minute giving the Dynamo a 2-1 lead in the first leg of their conference semifinal matchup with the Union. Andrew Hainault headed home a Brad Davis cross in the 5th minute to give Houston an early lead, but Frechman Sebastien Le Toux equalized almost immediately for Philadelphia scoring not even two minutes later. But Carr's goal would put Houston up for good and goalie Tally Hall would take care of the rest making 10 saves in his first postseason start and extending the Dynamo's unbeaten streak to 7 games. Philadelphia must now win on the road as the series heads to Houston for the second leg.

Fantasy Football Week in Review - Week 8

Well, the boys bounced back nicely this week with a convincing 40 point win as we put up about 70 more points than we did in Week 7. My starting receivers, who have struggled pretty much all year, combined for 4 touchdowns, LeSean McCoy had a career day running the ball, and pretty much everyone was at least moderately productive. We almost swooped in on the waiver wire and grabbed Julio Jones for Week 9. We'll see if that's the move that can catapult us through the first round of the playoffs this year. At 6-2, I have to say I like how things are shaping up for us. Big showdown against the first place team this coming week which will show us how we stack up against the league's elite.

Here's a look at who the top performers were at each position in Week 8:

QB - Matthew Stafford threw for 267 yards and 3 touchdown passes as the Lions got back in the win column with a 45-10 dismantling of Denver. Fantasy Points: 24

Photo Credit: bleacherreport.com

WR - Antonio Brown might not be the most heralded of the Pittsburgh receivers, but he stepped up in Hines Ward's absence catching 9 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown and also tallying 93 return yards in Pittsburgh's 25-17 win over New England. Fantasy Points: 22

Photo Credit: upi.com

RB - Ray Rice only ran for 63 yards but found the end zone 3 times and also caught 7 passes as Baltimore pulled off a huge come from behind win against the Cardinals. Fantasy Points: 29

Photo Credit: nbcsports.msnbc.com

TE - Jimmy Graham finally missed out on the top spot as Philly's Brent Celek hauled in 7 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles routed Dallas 34-7. Fantasy Points: 17

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

K - San Diego's Nick Novak connected on 4 more field goals, but also missed a 52 yarder (his first miss of the year) in an overtime loss to the Chiefs.  Fantasy Points: 15

Photo Credit: fr.sports.yahoo.com

DEF - Detroit's defense harassed Tim Tebow and company all day to the tune of 7 sacks, an interception and two fumble recoveries. The Lions D also accounted for a pair of touchdowns in their 45-10 rout. Fantasy Points: 29

Photo Credit: detnews.com

IDP - While there weren't a lot of bright spots for the Cowboys on Sunday night, linebacker DeMarcus Ware was one of them. Ware finished with 11 tackles (10 solo) a forced fumble and 4 sacks. Fantasy Points: 20.5

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

YEAR-TO-DATE LEADERS
QB - Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay - 189 points
WR - Calvin Johnson - Detroit - 164 points
RB - Darren Sproles - New Orleans - 136 points
TE - Jimmy Graham - New Orleans - 122 points
K - Jason Hanson - Detroit - 88.5 points
DEF - Detroit - 99 points
IDP - George Wilson - Buffalo - 74.5 points


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Top Tens - 11/1/11

Men's Tennis Rankings

1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - 13295 points
2. Rafael Nadal (Spain) - 9500 points
3. Andy Murray (Great Britain) - 7200 points
4. Roger Federer (Switzerland) - 5185 points
5. David Ferrer (Spain) - 4300 points
6. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) - 2940 points
7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) - 2890 points
8. Mardy Fish (USA) - 2875 points
9. Nicolas Almagro (Spain) - 2370 points
10. Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) - 2305 points

Out: Robin Soderling (13), Gael Monfils (14)



Women's Tennis Rankings

1. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) - 7485 points
2. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) - 7370 points
3. Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) - 6520 points
4. Maria Sharapova (Russia) - 6370 points
5. Li Na (China) - 5720 points
6. Samantha Stosur (Australia) - 5585 points
7. Vera Zvonareva (Russia) - 5435 points
8. Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) - 5250 points
9. Marion Bartoli (France) - 4710 points
10. Andrea Petkovic (Germany) - 4580 points



COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS - AP Top 25
*USA Today Poll Ranking in Parentheses

1. LSU 8-0 (1) - BYE
2. Alabama 8-0 (2) - BYE
3. Oklahoma State 8-0 (4) - W 59-24 vs Baylor
4. Stanford  8-0 (3) - W 56-48 @ #20 USC, 3OT
5. Boise State 7-0 (5) - BYE
6. Oregon 7-1 (6) - W 43-28 vs Washington State
7. Oklahoma 7-1 (7) - W 58-17 @ #8 Kansas State
8. Arkansas 7-1 (8) - W 31-28 @ Vanderbilt
9. Nebraska 7-1 (9) - W 24-3 vs #11 Michigan State
10. South Carolina 7-1 (10) - W 14-3 @ Tennessee



COLLEGE FOOTBALL BCS STANDINGS

1. LSU 8-0
2. Alabama 8-0
3. Oklahoma State 8-0
4. Stanford 8-0
5. Boise State 7-0
6. Oklahoma 7-1
7. Arkansas 7-1
8. Oregon 7-1
9. South Carolina 7-1
10. Nebraska 7-1



ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE LEADING SCORERS

1. Robin Van Persie (Netherlands) - Arsenal - 10
2. Wayne Rooney (England) - Manchester United - 9
2. Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 9
2. Edin Dzeko (Bosnia-Herzegovina) - Manchester City - 9
5. Demba Ba (Senegal) - Newcastle United - 8
6. Rafael Van der Vaart (Netherlands) - Tottenham Hotspur - 6
7. Frank Lampard (England) - Chelsea - 5
7. Mario Balotelli (Italy) - Manchester City - 5
9. Gabriel Agbonlahor (England) - Aston Villa - 4
9. Daniel Sturridge (England) - Chelsea - 4
9. Luis Suárez (Uruguay) - Liverpool - 4
9. Javier Hernández (Mexico) - Manchester United - 4
9. Danny Graham (England) - Swansea City - 4



NFL LEADING PASSERS

1. Drew Brees - New Orleans - 2746 yards
2. Cam Newton - Carolina - 2393 yards
3. Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay - 2372 yards
4. Tom Brady - New England - 2361 yards
5. Ben Roethlisberger - Pittsburgh - 2302 yards
6. Matthew Stafford - Detroit - 2179 yards
7. Eli Manning - New York Giants - 2127 yards
8. Matt Schaub - Houston - 2118 yards
9. Philip Rivers - San Diego - 2084 yards
10. Tony Romo - Dallas - 2084 yards



NFL LEADING RUSHERS

1. Adrian Peterson - Minnesota - 798 yards
2. LeSean McCoy - Philadelphia - 754 yards
3. Maurice Jones-Drew - Jacksonville - 740 yards
4. Fred Jackson - Buffalo - 721 yards
5. Frank Gore - San Francisco - 675 yards
6. Matt Forte - Chicago - 672 yards
7. Michael Turner - Atlanta - 621 yards
8. Darren McFadden - Oakland - 614 yards
9. Arian Foster - Houston - 532 yards
10. Ryan Mathews - San Diego - 509 yards



NFL RECEIVING LEADERS

1. Steve Smith - Carolina - 918 yards
2. Wes Welker - New England - 824 yards
3. Calvin Johnson - Detroit - 804 yards
4. Mike Wallace - Pittsburgh - 800 yards
5. Jimmy Graham - New Orleans - 713 yards
6. Greg Jennings - Green Bay - 677 yards
7. Larry Fitzgerald - Arizona - 603 yards
8. Hakeem Nicks - New York Giants - 575 yards
9. Pierre Garcon - Indianapolis - 569 yards
10. Dwayne Bowe - Kansas City - 558 yards



NHL POINTS LEADERS

1. Phil Kessel - Toronto - 18
2. Thomas Vanek - Buffalo - 15
2. Claude Giroux - Philadelphia - 15
2. Jason Spezza - Ottawa - 15
5. Anze Kopitar - Los Angeles - 14
5. Jason Pominville - Buffalo - 14
7. Joe Pavelski - San Jose - 13
7. Milan Michalek - Ottawa - 13
7. Daniel Sedin - Vancouver - 13
7. Henrik Sedin - Vancouver - 13
7. Erik Karlsson - Ottawa - 13



NHL TOP GOAL SCORERS

1. Phil Kessel - Toronto -10
2. James Neal - Pittsburgh -9
3. Thomas Vanek - Buffalo - 8
3. Joe Pavelski - San Jose - 8
3. Milan Michalek - Ottawa - 8
6. Claude Giroux - Philadelphia - 7
6. John Tavares - Islanders - 7
8. 6 tied with 6 



FIFA MEN'S RANKINGS (10/19/11)

1. SPAIN
2. NETHERLANDS
3. GERMANY
4. URUGUAY
5. BRAZIL
6. ITALY
7. ENGLAND
8. PORTUGAL
8. GREECE
10. ARGENTINA



FIFA WOMEN'S RANKINGS (9/23/11)

1. USA
2. GERMANY
3. BRAZIL
4. JAPAN
5. SWEDEN
6. ENGLAND
7. FRANCE
8. KOREA DPR
9. CANADA
10. AUSTRALIA



NCAA PRESEASON COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
*ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll

1. North Carolina
2. Kentucky
3. Ohio State
4. Connecticut
5. Syracuse
6. Duke
7. Vanderbilt
8. Louisville
9. Memphis
10. Florida








Photo Credits (in order of appearance):

tennisnow.com
bbs.chinadaily.com.cn
sports.hsn.com
sports.hsn.com
zimbio.com
worldbestsports.com
theheismanwinners.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
justsoccerjerseys.com 
palmbeachpost.com
forums.puzzlepirates.com


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