Saturday, June 26, 2010

Latest Sports Buzz

Latest Sports Buzz

USA vs Ghans to de facto match in World Cup 2010

Posted: 26 Jun 2010 01:25 PM PDT

USA vs Ghana

USA vs Ghana

The match between USA vs Ghana is considered to be one of the crucial matches for the African team.The last face off between these two teams happened in 2006 when Ghana won the match by 2-1 in 2006.

Ghana is the second team to reach the knockout round in its consecutive year after Nigeria who won the the match in1988.

London Donnovan have hisg aspirations to break the record of Cobi Jones and Earnest Stewart, as he would be appearing for the 11th time in the World Cup.

Africans have kept a pretty good record against CONCACAF teams, in which out of five matches they have drawn two of then and lost just one.

Moreover, with Ghana's reigning performance they have kept the score at 1-0 in defeating their opponents.

Id USA manages to defeat Ghans in this match, it would be after the memorable 1930 match.

Fingers crossed to the adventure.

D-Backs’ Edwin Jackson Tosses No-Hitter; Shakes Off Eight Walks

Posted: 26 Jun 2010 10:45 AM PDT

Edwin Jackson

Edwin Jackson

St. Petersburg, FL, United States (AHN) – It wasn’t pretty and it took a whopping 149 pitches to accomplish, but Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Edwin Jackson tossed MLB’s fourth no-hitter of the season in his team’s 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays Friday in St. Petersburg, FL.

Jackson walked eight batters and Stephen Drew committed an error at short to give the Rays several baserunners, but Tampa Bay could not get a bat on the ball.

Although Jackson is just 5-6 with a 4.63 ERA, he kept Rays batters off-balance and more consistently found the strike zone with his fastball as the game progressed.

Only one of his free-passes came after the third inning, and Jackson was helped out by a pair of fine plays by third baseman Mark Reynolds.

The D-Backs collected seven hits, including a pair from Kelly Johnson and Justin Upton, but only Adam LaRoche’s solo home run in the second changed the scoreboard.

LaRoche has 11 homers and 51 RBI on the season.

Jeff Niemann was the tough luck loser, allowing just six hits and a run over 7 1-3 innings.

Niemann’s season stats are impressive at 6-2 with a nifty 2.72 ERA.

Copyright © 2003 – 2010 AHN – All rights reserved.

Cubs Pitcher Zambrano Suspended After Clubhouse Tantrum

Posted: 26 Jun 2010 10:44 AM PDT

Carlos Zambrano

Carlos Zambrano

Chicago, IL, United States (AHN) – The Chicago Cubs suspended starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano indefinitely following his dugout outburst in the first inning of Friday's 6-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

The 29-year old Zambrano directed his outburst at Derrek Lee after the first baseman answered him back in the dugout.

The Cubs sent Zambrano home from U.S. Cellular Field to prevent further incident.

Multiple sources reported Zambrano even shouted at an NBC-affiliated reporter in the visitor's parking lot on his way out of the ballpark.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella said the ace pitcher was upset at the result of the first inning, though admitted Zambrano's actions were totally embarrassing.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry suspended Zambrano indefinitely for his behavior, saying he's becoming tired of the pitchers tirades over the past years.

Zambrano's dismissal from the game marked the first time since Piniella booted another mercurial player, former Cubs and current Seattle Mariners slugger Milton Bradley, at the same ballpark last season.

Aside from the suspension, Hendry also criticized Zambrano for "not playing up to the standards."

Zambrano was previously sent to the bullpen early in the season after an awful first four starts.

Zambrano has been struggling, going 3-5 with a 5.10 ERA, 52 strikeouts, and 25 saves.

Rumors circulated Zambrano, who’s entitled to $17.875 million this season, will probably be shipped to another team after the outburst, but Hendry cited the ace pitcher’s contract’s no-trade clause.

Copyright © 2003 – 2010 AHN – All rights reserved.

Sutherland Feeling Stress-Free, In Contention At Travelers

Posted: 26 Jun 2010 10:43 AM PDT

Kevin Sutherland

Kevin Sutherland

Cromwell, CT, United States (AHN) – Kevin Sutherland has enjoyed a couple of stress-free rounds at the Travelers Championship.

That will likely change over the weekend, but only because he is playing so well.

Sutherland is at 10-under-par 130 after 36 holes at TPC River Highlands and is alone in second place, four shots behind Justin Rose.

Sutherland has carded a pair of bogey-free 65s and is the only player other than Rose that is double-digits in the red.

Sutherland had one birdie on his front nine and finished strong with four more coming in.

“I played solid today, no bogeys, five birdies, a pretty low-stress round,” Sutherland said. “It was an easy day and those are always nice. They don’t come as often as you like, but it was nice to have that day today.”

Saturday is a new day and maybe Rose will cool down, but maybe not. The Englishman has 15 birdies and just one bogey through two rounds and Sutherland has 10 with no bogeys.

Chances are someone is going to make some birdies and post a low number over the weekend.

Sutherland seems to think that’s what it will take.

“I was just trying to go out there and make as many birdies as I could,” Sutherland said. “That’s what it’s going to take this week. The course is in great shape. There hasn’t been much wind and the greens are soft, so the scores are going to be good. So you’re just going to have to make a bunch of birdies.”

Sutherland will get the chance to go birdie-for-birdie with Rose in the final group on Saturday.

Sutherland has a good track record here with three top-10s and eight top-20s in 14 appearances and he is looking forward to the challenge.

“I’ve actually played with Justin four or five times this year and I’m looking forward to it,” Sutherland said. “He’s an enjoyable guy to play with. He’s playing terrific golf and has been playing terrific golf all year.”

Sutherland on the other hand has mainly been playing well for the last two rounds. He had three top-20s including a pair of tied for 15th to start the season but has had just one top-10 all year.

His best finish in his last four events is a tie for 38th with two missed cuts.

However he does have his record at TPC River Highlands to fall back on.

“This year hasn’t gone as I would have hoped,” Sutherland said. “It’s been a strange year. I got off to a nice start but it hasn’t translated into anything the rest of the year. I’ve always liked this course and I’ve always enjoyed coming here and so I’m hoping this will be the start up of a good summer.”

Copyright © 2003 – 2010 AHN – All rights reserved.

NHL Draft: Taylor Hall overtakes Tyler Seguin as first pick for Oilers

Posted: 26 Jun 2010 03:53 AM PDT

Taylor Hall

Taylor Hall

The Edmonton Oilers have selected Taylor Hall as their first pick at the NHL draft on Friday night.

Tyler Seguin, Hall's teammate at Ontario Hockey too was considered as the possible pick, but the Oilers finally zeroed in on Hall. The 18 year old Windsor Spitfires star seemed to have impressed the Oilers management with his toughness and talent.

He’s such an imposing young man. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more focused, competitive athlete. He was the best player on a good team for a long time”, remarked general manager Steve Tambellini about their choice.

Oilers does not boast of a dominating position within the league, but seemed hopeful of a revival post the new draft pick. Meanwhile, Hall also expressed that he is not worried about the team's past record.

“They’re such a great franchise with so much history behind them. With the five (Stanley) Cups they won, it will mean a lot to me to join their organization and hopefully bring another one up there”, added Hall.

Seguin was later chosen by Boston Bruins at the no. 2 pick. Taylor Hall shall now join the group of the other three OHL players selected as the no.

picks, Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos and John Tavares.

USA vs Ghana World Cup 2010: Getting Over with Draw Fever

Posted: 26 Jun 2010 12:44 AM PDT

usvsghana

usvsghana

The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is about to go through its crucial period with the beginning of the Round of 16 on Saturday.

Starting the final rounds are Uruguay and Korea Republic in the former part of the day for two ties. Reviving as the world best after a 20-year nonexistence and supported by the Diego Forlan, La Celeste were in perfect form in Group A.

Gathering two wins and a tie, and scoring 4 goals and surrendering none, they did much to modify their picture as a exclusively aggressive, battling division. The South Koreans in the meantime have played some vigorous, stimulating football and created a noteworthy menace to the in-form South Americans.

The evening game will see USA, the Group C champions in front of a much-inconsistent England side, and Ghana, who framed out Serbia in their pool and furnished Germany a firm assessment before moving down 1-0. This is the Americans' fourth emergence in the previous 16, an additional shot in the arm for a progressively more admired sport Stateside, while the Black Stars are holding the expectations of an intact continent as they hunt to attain the quarter-finals for the first time ever.

Standing by the principal support at South Africa 2010, the Stars and Stripes fragmented and struggled their way to revive again, coming from the rear against both England and Slovenia and grabbing a last-huff champion against the Algerians.

Coach Bob Bradley has planned many new players into a well-oiled region that has rewarded the pledge it showed in realization the FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009.

Their Achilles heel is the defense, which has placed stiff in front of high balls but seems helpless when charged at pace, a warning they can anticipate from the Ghanaians. CAF African Cup of Nations finalists, the Black Stars have harmonized their routine at Germany 2006, illustrating vigor from a portable and inventive defense and a midfield division that unites class and industry.

As compared to the Americans however, the lone African representatives have been inconsistent up front, scoring only 2 goals that too from the penalty spot.

Uruguay's captivating draw with the South Koreans hints an interesting sub-plot when free-scoring Forlan and the hard-running Park tested their goal-scoring abilities. The Uruguayan hit 17 goals during his less-than-creative magic with Manchester United, where the South Korean is having more achievement, on getting the similar goals and making the Old Trafford Faithfull's respect with his performance rate.

Though their ways did not cross at the Theatre of Dreams, they should both establish leading players at Port Elizabeth Stadium.

World Cup: Spain Survives With Win Vs. Chile; Portugal Books Last-16 Spot

Posted: 25 Jun 2010 06:17 PM PDT

Andrew Lawn – AHN Sports Correspondent

Pretoria, South Africa (AHN) – World Cup favorites Spain survived a scare to progress into the last-16 of the tournament after a 2-1 win over Chile Friday.

Chile follow their victors into the knockout stages after Switzerland could only draw 0-0 with Honduras.

Spain, expecting a Switzerland win that never came, went into the game thinking they required a win to progress and started nervously.

Chile, which impressed in this tournament with wins over both Honduras and the Swiss earlier, possessed the ball well and looked likely to break the deadlock.

That is until Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo had a rush of blood to the head and steamed out of his goal hoping to clear a dangerous looking through ball.

Clear the ball he did, but sadly for Chile only as far as Spanish marksman David Villa.

Villa notched his third of the tournament with a stunning first time shot from 40-yards which looped over the now stranded Bravo.

Twelve minutes later, Andres Iniesta made it two with a clever slide rule finish as Spain’s famous pass and move football finally clicked into gear.

In the build up to the goal Spanish striker Fernando Torres tripped over the feet of Marco Estrada.

The referee, seeing something no-one else did, saw fit to hand out a second booking to Estrada for the incident, and the Chilean was harshly dismissed.

Down to ten men and two goals adrift of the reigning European Champions the game looked up for Chile.

The side dug in and managed to pull a goal back just after the break through substitute Rodrigo Millar’s deflected effort.

With Switzerland unable to break down Honduras, a truce descended on the Spain – Chile game with both sides knowing they’d go through with the results as they stood, resulting in a dreadfully dull last 15 minutes.

Spain will meet neighbors Portugal in the last-16 whilst Chile face fellow South Americans Brazil.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Federer Wins In Straight Sets; Clijsters-Henin Set Up Fourth Round Clash

Posted: 25 Jun 2010 06:17 PM PDT

AHN Sports Staff

Wimbledon, United Kingdom (AHN) – No.1 seed Roger Federer of Switzerland progressed into the next round of the Wimbledon Open Friday with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over Arnaud Clement of France on Centre Court at All-England Club.

After dropping three sets in the first two rounds, Federer was virtually flawless Friday morning as he unloaded 7 aces and 29 winners in the match.

Clement, 2001 Australian Open runner-up, was no match against Federer’s all-around mastery, tallying only five aces and 17 winners in three-sets.

“This felt much better,” Federer told reporters Monday. “Right off the bat I got the early break. Same thing in the second set. From then on, it was a race to the finish line.

Federer’s fourth round opponent will be 2010 French Open semifinalist Jurgen Melzer of Austria, who have been surging this ATP season.

Meanwhile, Kim Clijsters of Belgium also booked a spot in the fourth round by blasting Maria Kirilenko of Russia 6-3, 6-3 on Court No.2

Clijsters fired five aces and 20 winners to overwhelm her Russian opponent in just over an hour.

Clijsters will play rival and compatriot Justine Henin, who defeated Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-1, 6-4.

“It’s a great opportunity for both of us,” Henin said of her next match against Clijsters. “I mean, to play each other again in a grand slam, I think it’s something we couldn’t expect a year ago.”

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Montoya Takes Pole At New Hampshire

Posted: 25 Jun 2010 06:17 PM PDT

Edward Lewis – AHN Sports Reporter

Loudon, NH, United States (AHN) – Juan Montoya hadn’t won a pole all season but after winning one at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last year he figured he had a good shot Friday when he captured the front spot for Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

Montoya, who set the track record at New Hampshire last September, turned a lap of 132.337 mph to top the likes of Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch, who qualified second and third respectively.

The Columbia native managed two front starting positions a year ago, but Friday was his first of the season as he battles to try and earn a spot back in The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

“It was a good lap until turn three when I got sideways, I got sideways and got on the gas and I thought they are going to kill me. I am about to press the button and say ‘Sorry guys, I got loose’ and they say good job. I’m like ‘Oh, thank you’,” said Montoya.

“I nailed one and two and made such a big gap that even with the mistake in three, we were good enough to get the pole so I was pretty happy.”

The Chevrolets of Mark Martin and Ryan Newman rounded out the top-five qualifiers while David Reutimann, Joe Nemechek, Sam Hornish, Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson, fresh off of first road-course win, rounded out the top-10 qualifiers.

Casey Mears, who was relieved of his driving duties by Red Bull Racing a couple of weeks ago, qualified the No. 36 Chevrolet of Tommy Baldwin Racing 23rd, while Reed Sorenson, the newest driver in the No. 83 Red Bull entry, qualified 29th.

Max Papis made the race by qualifying his No. 13 Toyota 32nd and J.J. Yeley got the No. 46 Dodge of Whitney Motorsports in the show by qualifying 35th.

Dave Blaney, Michael McDowell, David Stremme, David Gilliland, Andy Lally, Kevin Conway, Bobby Labonte and Todd Bodine were the final drivers to secure a spot in the 43-car field while Travis Kvapil and Mike Bliss both failed to make the race.

“We were really tight in practice and got the car to turn a lot better in the center, but that just killed our forward drive. It was really tough to get the power down, so that hurt our lap. We were looking for something around a 29.40 or 29.50, so we missed our mark by a little bit there, but the good thing is that in race trim we were halfway decent on old tires,” said Conway.

“That at least gives a direction to start tomorrow in the two practices, but everywhere we go for this qualifying deal when you get to the race track and have an hour-and-a-half to figure it out, and then you have to go qualify against the best in the world makes it pretty tough.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Debbie Yow Hired As New N.C. State Athletic Director

Posted: 25 Jun 2010 06:17 PM PDT

Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Raleigh, NC, United States (AHN) – Debbie Yow, former Maryland athletic director and sister of late Wolfpack coach Kay Yow, was hired Friday to take over as athletic director at N.C. State.

Debbie’s sister Kay had a Hall of Fame career coaching N.C. State’s women’s basketball program before succumbing to a very public battle with cancer in 2009.

Their other sister Susan was the first All-American woman’s basketball player for the Wolfpack in 1976. She is the current head coach of the Belmont Abbey Crusaders women’s basketball team

Yow helped guide the Maryland athletic program to 17 national titles during her 16-year tenure, including men’s basketball (2002) and women’s basketball (2006).

She played for Elon from 1972-74 and also coached the Kentucky’s first women’s team from 1976-80 and the Gators from 1983-85.

The talented director was awarded a five-year contract with a $350,000 salary and a supplemental income of $100,000. She assumes full duties July 15.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
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