Nina's Sports Bad Boys Blog World

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Surging M's beat Rivera, Yanks 5-4 in 12 (AP)

SEATTLE (AP)?Adam Kennedy (notes) knew the cutter was coming from Mariano Rivera (notes). He just happened to drop it in the perfect spot.

Kennedy scored pinch-runner Luis Rodriguez (notes) with a bloop single off Rivera in the bottom of the 12th inning and the Seattle Mariners won for the ninth time in 10 games with a 5-4 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday night.

It was the fifth game-winning hit in Kennedy?s career and kept Seattle rolling on a night that ace Felix Hernandez (notes) was knocked around early and a misplayed fly ball by Ichiro Suzuki (notes) led to extra innings.

Yet, the Mariners found another way to win as Kennedy fought off Rivera?s famed cutter and dropped it in front of Curtis Granderson (notes) in center field to set off a late-night celebration.

?In that situation Adam is such a good hitter and with Mariano out there you know what is coming,? Seattle designated hitter Jack Cust (notes) said. ?So when he bears down I?ll take (Kennedy) with the game on the line anytime.?

Kennedy had little success against Rivera in the past getting just one hit in 13 at-bats against the Yankees? closer.

Seattle handed Rivera (1-1) his first loss since Sept. 11, 2010 against Texas in appearance No. 1,001 for the Yankees star. The Mariners are now in second-place in the AL West and have surged back from being seven games under .500 less than two weeks ago.

Rivera?s inning started as most do, getting a broken bat grounder from Chone Figgins (notes), before Justin Smoak (notes) blooped a single to left that Brett Gardner (notes) barely missed on a diving attempt. Cust then came up with the big blow, going the other way with a backdoor cutter that Rivera left up and dropping a double just inside the left field line. Smoak raced to third with just one out.

?He was trying to backdoor the cutter. He likes to come in with it and once he comes in he likes to freeze you away which he?s done to me before,? Cust said.

Rivera thought it was a good pitch, but didn?t make excuses afterward.

?I made good pitches and the ball found places,? Rivera said. ?You can?t do anything about that. I wish we were still playing.?

Miguel Olivo (notes) drove in three runs for the Mariners, including a two-run double in the fourth off Yankees? starter Ivan Nova (notes). Brendan Ryan (notes) also had an RBI single.

The attraction on this night was the chance to see Seattle ace Felix Hernandez go for a fifth straight win against the Yankees. Last year, he was 3-0 and allowed just one earned run versus New York.

That total was matched in the second inning when Robinson Cano (notes) homered. Mark Teixeira (notes) gave New York a 3-1 lead with a two-run shot in the fourth after Hernandez failed to sneak a 2-0 fastball past the Yankees? slugger.

But Hernandez was still in line to get his sixth win of the season into the seventh before Suzuki?s mistake. Derek Jeter (notes) walked on a 3-2 pitch with two outs and Granderson eventually worked a 3-2 count as well, then hit a fastball to deep right field.

Suzuki raced back to the warning track and jumped at the wall, but misjudged the depth of Granderson?s hit and didn?t need to jump. Suzuki whiffed and the ball bounded back into the field, Jeter scored and Granderson raced around to third.

It stayed tied into the 12th, even though both teams had chances in the late inning and in extras.

Seattle went to closer Brandon League (notes) to begin the 10th and he started with groundouts by Granderson and Teixeira, before giving up consecutive singles by Alex Rodriguez (notes) and Cano to put runners at the corners with two outs. Russell Martin (notes) drove a 2-1 pitch to right-center field, but Suzuki was able to run it down to end the threat.

Nick Swisher (notes) singled with one out in the 11th off reliever David Pauley (notes) (4-0) who got the win for the second straight night. Swisher was replaced by pinch-runner Chris Dickerson (notes) and advanced to second when Brett Gardner hit a liner back to the mound that Pauley knocked down and threw to first in time.

Jeter then stepped in but hit a weak grounder to short to end the inning.

?It?s been fun,? Pauley said of Seattle?s recent run. ?It?s been a lot of fun.?

NOTES: Four different fans, including a streaker, ran on the field in the late innings. All were tackled by security and removed from the stadium. ? Former Mariners Edgar Martinez and John Olerud were honored as inductees to the Washington state sports hall of fame during a pregame ceremony. ? New York?s game against Minnesota that was rained out on April 6 will be made up on Monday, Sept. 19 at Yankee Stadium.

Tim Booth can be reached at: http://twitter.com/tjbooth7

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/top/SIG=11jhjfoi0/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=310528112

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Saturday, May 28, 2011

Jets D-linemen plan to gather for workouts next week in N.J.

Source: http://www.nfl.com/goto?id=09000d5d8201001e

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Pouha says Jets defensive linemen plan workouts

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Jets' defensive linemen have been lifting weights and running while the NFL's labor dispute drags on. Well, now they're ready to hit something.

Sione Pouha and Mike DeVito told The Associated Press on Saturday they plan to gather in New Jersey sometime next week with the team's other defensive linemen, including Ropati Pitoitua and possibly first-round pick Muhammad Wilkerson and third-rounder Kenrick Ellis.

"We were talking and it was like, 'Dude, we've got to put something together,"' Pouha said. "All of us have been lifting and running and working out. That's one thing. Doing actual drills, making blocking reads and punching sled bags, well, that's another thing."

The players have made arrangements to bring in blocking sleds and add the physical element they've been missing in the absence of organized team activities because of the lockout. They also might review defensive plays from last season and reacquaint themselves with one another.

"It's great to get together as a unit," DeVito said, "so that we can start working together, getting our rhythm and timing right and to work that unity that is so important to have if you want a great defensive line."

Quarterback Mark Sanchez gathered several offensive players in Southern California earlier this month for his "Jets West" camp, and recently said the entire team expects to work out together in June if the lockout continues.

Pouha said no specific plans had been made yet in terms of gathering the entire team.

"I'm sure Mark will let all of us know," he said. "But in terms of the D-line, that's our plan, to get together. Nothing like an OTA, but to work on drills and get that fusion as a unit."

Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/nfl/05/28/jets.d.linemen.workout.ap/index.html?eref=si_latest

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Faine pens fan letter clarifying criticism of Bucs workouts

Source: http://www.nfl.com/goto?id=09000d5d8200e958

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Harrison, Woodley up in arms over so-called 'Steelers rule'

Source: http://www.nfl.com/goto?id=09000d5d82002dea

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Hall of Famer Carter's tumor likely malignant

NEW YORK (AP) � Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter has a brain tumor that is likely cancerous.

By Jim McIsaac, Getty Images

Gary Carter, seen here at the last regular season baseball game ever played in Shea Stadium in September 2008, has a brain tumor that "appears to be malignant."

By Jim McIsaac, Getty Images

Gary Carter, seen here at the last regular season baseball game ever played in Shea Stadium in September 2008, has a brain tumor that "appears to be malignant."

Doctors performed biopsies on a tumor in Carter's brain on Friday morning and Duke Medicine says in a release that preliminary results show it "appears to be malignant."

"Once the pathology report is available, which will take several days, we will discuss treatment options with Mr. Carter and his family," said Doctors Allan H. Friedman and Henry S. Friedman, the co-deputy directors of The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke.

"In the meantime, Mr. Carter is in excellent spirits and good physical condition. He is resting comfortably, surrounded by his family. We hope that his friends and fans will continue to pray for Mr. Carter and his family during this time."

The 57-year-old Carter, who just completed his second season as Palm Beach Atlantic University's baseball coach, announced last Saturday that an MRI had revealed four small tumors on his brain. The Duke Medicine release says the biopsies were performed on a single tumor.

DAILY PITCH: Carter diagnosed with brain tumors

Carter hit .262 with 324 homers and 1,225 RBI in 19 seasons in the majors. The 11-time All-Star played his last game with the Montreal Expos in 1992 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.

The effervescent Carter, nicknamed "Kid," is perhaps best known for helping the Mets win the 1986 World Series. He had 24 homers and 105 RBI that year, then drove in 11 runs in the postseason.

"We have to wait and see what kind of treatment there is. We are praying for him and his family," said Mets first base coach Mookie Wilson, a former teammate of Carter's. "It's tough for any of us. Gary was one of the happiest guys in the world every day. That's why they called him the Kid."

Wilson said he has texted Carter since hearing about the tumors last weekend but hasn't spoken with him.

"It's shocking. We're pretty much the same age. It could happen to any of us," Wilson said. "We know he's a competitor and I think that gives him an edge."

Posted | Updated

Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/Q82qyhmDjCY/2011-05-28-gary-carter-brain-tumors_N.htm

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NFL, Cowboys want Super Bowl seat suit tossed

DALLAS (AP) -- The NFL and the Dallas Cowboys have asked a federal court judge to dismiss the class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Super Bowl ticket holders who wound up with no seats for the game.

About 1,250 temporary seats at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington were deemed unsafe just hours before the Feb. 6 game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. That forced about 850 ticket holders to move to new seats and 400 others to watch the game from standing-room locations.

A 26-page motion filed by the league and the team on Thursday says the ticket holders aren't entitled to compensation beyond what they've already been offered. It also says the ticket holders weren't defrauded as a result of the fiasco.

The motion states that the NFL could revoke ticket-holding privileges as long as it provided a refund. In this instance, the league said it went "beyond its contractual obligations" when it offered displaced fans the actual prices they paid for their tickets as well as all documented travel, lodging and meal expenses

According to the motion, the NFL and the Cowboys didn't know until just before the game that the temporary seats would be inadequate and worked into the afternoon that day to deal with the issue.

"Defendants had nothing to gain by tricking ticket holders," the filing says. "With the eyes of the world focusing on the Super Bowl, it is implausible to suggest that defendants intended what would obviously be a public relations nightmare."

Michael Avenatti, a Los Angeles attorney who is representing the ticket holders, said the motion represents flawed thinking by the league and the team.

"The defendants have a fundamental misunderstanding of what their obligations are under the law," he said.

Avenatti said more than 3,000 people are covered by the class action, which includes ticket holders who discovered at the game that their seats did not allow them to see the stadium's giant video board.

Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/nfl/05/27/super-bowl-seating.ap/index.html?xid=si_nfl

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