Monday, November 15, 2010

Latest Sports Buzz

Latest Sports Buzz

Stuart Appleby Rallies To Win Aussie Masters, Tiger Finishes Fourth

Posted: 15 Nov 2010 03:15 AM PST

Tom Edrington – AHN Sports Reporter

Melbourne, Australia (AHN) – There were two popular, huge back-nine rallies during the final round Sunday at the Australian Masters.

One of those rallies was by Australia’s Stuart Appleby, who birdied the final two holes at the Victoria Golf Club to win the championship by a shot over Adam Bland.

The other was by TIger Woods, who had two eagles coming home, brought back those huge roars from the crowds and finished with a final round 65.

Tiger’s round matched Appleby’s and jumped him into solo fourth in the tournament.

Appleby birdied both the closing par fives for a six-under par 65, giving him a 10-under par total of 274 that was good enough to edge Bland by a shot.

Bland failed to biride the 17th and that would prove costly. His final round 73 put him in solo second at 275.

Daniel Gaunt closed with an even-par round of 71 and an eight-under par total of 276 that lifted him into third place.

Woods was stagnant at even par for the day through 12 holes but brought out a huge roar when he birdied the 13th then made an eagle two at the par four 15th.

He birdied the par five 17th and then holed at eagle putt at the 18th after reaching the green in two and gave one of his trademark fist pumps as the crowd roared its approval.

Woods’ 65 tied Appleby for low round of the day and gave him a seven-under par total of 277.

“It’s too little too late,” is how Woods described his finish. “I can do it in streaks but I haven’t done it for an entire round yet. I”m pleased with the progress.”

Appleby’s 65 was more conventional. He went bogey-free on the day with three birdies on each nine and won it with the back-to-back birdies to close his round.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Wade, LeBron Lift Heat Over Raptors; Bosh Nets 12 Vs. Ex-Mates

Posted: 15 Nov 2010 01:48 AM PST

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Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Miami, FL, United States (AHN) – Dwyane Wade scored 31 points and LeBron James added 23 points and 11 assists as the Miami Heat rolled to a 109-100 win over the Toronto Raptors Saturday.

The Heat jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never trailed, going up by as much as 18 on their way to the win.

Chris Bosh had 12 points against his former team and James Jones added 14 off the bench for Miami, which shot 50.6 percent from the floor.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 12 on 6-of-7 shooting and Udonis Haslem had 10 to go along with 10 rebounds.

Andrea Bargnani scored 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds and DeMar DeRozan chipped in 21 to pace Toronto.

The Raptors (2-8) head to Washington Tuesday. Miami (6-4) hosts Phoenix Wednesday.

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Richards Powers Flyers Over Panthers; Philly Inks Carter To 11-Year Pact

Posted: 15 Nov 2010 01:48 AM PST

Corine Gatti – AHN Sports Contributor

Philadelphia, PA, United States (AHN) – Mike Richards and Claude Giroux each posted two goals and the Philadelphia Flyers jolted the Florida Panthers 5-2 at Wells Fargo Center Saturday night.

Richards opened the scoring with a snapshot 12:44 into the first period for his fifth tally of the season. Scott Hartnell’s tip-in late in the period beat Panthers netminder Scott Clemmensen (37 saves) for a 2-0 lead.

The Flyers scored three-goals in the second before Florida answered.

Richards recorded his second goal with the extra man 7:46 into the second stanza, and Giroux’s bullet off a Jeff Carter pass for his second power-play goal of the period made it 4-0 Flyers.

Shortly after, Giroux scored again to make it 5-0.

Midway through the period, Cory Stillman finally put Florida on the scoreboard. Mike Santorelli tallied for the Panthers in the third to cap off their offense.

Sergei Bobrovsky (34 saves), spotting an injured Michael Leighton, won his ninth game for the Flyers.

He is tied for second in the league with wins as of Saturday.

Also, the Flyers inked forward Jeff Carter to an 11-year, $58 million contract extension. Carter, who was selected in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, had 33 goals last season.

His assist against Florida Saturday was his seventh of the season.

Philadelphia is 11-4-2 with the win, its second victory in a row.

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Pacquiao Overwhelms Margarito In Dallas Super Fight

Posted: 15 Nov 2010 01:48 AM PST

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Shawn Krest – AHN Sports Correspondent

Dallas, TX, United States (AHN) – Manny Pacquiao won the WBC Junior Middleweight title with a dominating 12 round decision over Antonio Margarito Saturday night in Dallas.

The victory gave Pacquiao world championships in eight different weight classes, from 105 pounds to 154.

The superfight, held in the Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium, was billed as Pacquiao’s speed against Margarito’s power.

Margarito outweighed Pacquiao by six pounds at Friday’s official weigh in, but he entered the ring 17 pounds heavier according to the unofficial fight night weigh-in. Margarito was also four and a half inches taller and had an edge of half a foot in reach.

Pacquiao quickly showed, however, that size does not make a power puncher.

Margarito established his jab in the first two rounds, in an effort to keep Pacquiao at bay. The smaller man was able to easily dodge the jab and land power shots, almost at will.

Margarito cornered Pacquiao or trap him on the ropes on occasion, but Pacquiao was able to quickly scoot away before sustaining too much damage.

“I was hurt when I was against the ropes,” Pacquiao said afterward.

It was nothing compared to what Margarito endured. In the fourth round, Pacquiao battered him.

A barrage of lefts from the Filipino southpaw closed Margarito’s right eye, and on occasion in the round, it appeared that Margarito might go down.

Pacquiao landed two thirds of the power shots he threw in the fourth, landing more than 40 of them.

“Manny was very fast, and things were going good until I got cut (under the eye, in the fourth),” Margarito said.

By the middle of the fight, Pacquiao outlanded Margarito by a three-to-one margin.

Despite the relentless attack from Pacquiao, Margarito continued advancing and stalking into the late rounds. In the tenth, Pacquiao made a concerted effort to end the bout.

He landed 57 power shots in the round, compared to just nine for his opponent.

At one point, Pacquiao looked to the referee to urge him to step in and end the punishment.

Margarito’s left eye also began to swell during the tenth, and the referee checked his vision several times in the championship rounds of the fight.

After Margarito survived the tenth, Pacquiao pulled back for the final two rounds. “I felt pity for him,” he said.

“Manny carried him the last two rounds,” agreed Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach.

Pacquiao won the lopsided decision 120-108, 119-109, and 118-110. AHN’s unofficial card gave Margarito the eighth round, on the strength of a solid uppercut, giving Pacquiao a 119-109 victory.

Pacquiao moved to 52-3-2 on his career and won his thirteenth straight fight, dating back to 2005.

He won his second consecutive lopsided decision in the palatial stadium in Dallas, giving him more wins this year on the Dallas home field than the Cowboys.

Margarito fell to 38-7, losing for the second time in three bouts.

The start of the bout had some controversy, as Pacquiao’s handlers accused Margarito of drinking ephedrine, an illegal stimulant. They demanded an immediate urine test. Instead, both fighters were tested afterward.

Pacquiao made his case as the best fighter today, and speculation on a long-negotiated bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. began after the bout.

If that fight can’t be inked, speculation centered on Shane Moseley as Pacquiao’s next opponent.

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Adam Scott Three Ahead At Rain-Delayed Singapore Open

Posted: 15 Nov 2010 01:48 AM PST

Tom Edrington – AHN Sports Reporter

Singapore (AHN) – Adam Scott had begun his march to victory when darkness forced a halt to the final round of the Singapore Open.

The tournament will conclude on Monday because of a five and a half hour rain delay on Sunday with Scott leading by three shots over Ian Poulter and four over Kyung-nam Kang.

Scott, Poulter and Kang had played three holes when the rains interruped play. At that point Scott was tied with Poulter and Kang at 14-under.

When play resumed, Scott forged a three-stroke lead over Poulter and four over Kang and got to 17-under par with biridies at the fourth, sixth and eighth holes of the Serapong course.

Phil Mickelson was two-under for his final round through 13 holes and was at four-under overall.

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Carl Edwards Rolls In Phoenix; Wins Wypall 200

Posted: 15 Nov 2010 01:48 AM PST

Edward Lewis – AHN Sports Reporter

Avondale, AZ, United States (AHN) – Carl Edwards won the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Friday.

He followed it up Saturday by winning the Wypall 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race over runner-up and Chase contender Kevin Harvick.

“This was the best race car I’ve ever had,” Edwards said. “This car was so easy to drive and fast in the corners. I’ve really got to thank Mike Beam, Jack Roush and the guys back in the shop who built the car. I’m really blessed to have the crew that I have, every one of our stops today were great.”

Edwards led 153 of 200 laps at the one-mile track on the way to his fourth victory of the season and the 29th of his career. The victory was Edwards second consecutive in the series.

Joey Logano finished third, followed by 2010 series champion Brad Keselowski and Reed Sorenson

Aric Almirola, Colin Braun, Justin Allgaier, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Steve Wallace rounded out the top 10 while IndyCar star Danica Patrick finished 32nd, seven laps down, in her 12th Nationwide start.

“My guys do a good job every week and this week was no different. They gave me a great race car. We qualified third and had a top-10 finish. Unfortunately, with about 50 laps to go, the handling fell off and the car got pretty tight. I was trying to hold my own,” Allgaier said.

“Unfortunately, he (Aric Almirola) got to us. I knew he was there. We were able to maintain on the outside. I felt like it was going to be a clean race. We ran down into (turn) one and he kind of drove straight. He came down afterwards and said I was chopping him off, but we had the same issue at Charlotte. I don’t race that way. That’s the part that’s unfortunate. I hate it. We tore up a race car when we shouldn’t have.”

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Okami Earns UFC Middleweight Title Shot With Win Over Marquardt

Posted: 15 Nov 2010 01:48 AM PST

Shawn Krest – AHN Sports Correspondent

Oberhausen, Germany (AHN) – Yushin Okami earned a shot at the UFC Middleweight title with a win over Nate Marquardt in the main event of UFC 122 Saturday night in Oberhausen, Germany.

The two fighters engaged in a tactical bout that had the crowd voicing its displeasure at times. Okami and Marquardt exchanged takedowns in the first round.

Marquardt added two guillotine choke attempts, while Okami landed a solid right hand against the cage and clinched the round with a second takedown in the final ten seconds.

In the second round, Marquardt scored an early takedown and got the better of an exchange of stand-up blows. Marquardt spent most of the final round backing up, while the more aggressive Okami landed the better blows.

Okami earned the decision on all cards, with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28, with his increased level of aggression in the final round deciding the fight. AHN’s unofficial scorecard had it 29-28 for Okami.

With the win, Okami earns a title shot against the winner of champion Anderson Silva’s next defense, against Vitor Belfort. That bout is scheduled for early 2011 at UFC 126.

“I want to fight Anderson Silva, and I want to become Middleweight Champion,” Okami said afterward.

Okami was the last fighter to defeat Silva. The two faced off in an MMA tournament in Hawaii in January, 2006, where Silva was disqualified for delivering an illegal upkick that knocked Okami out. Silva has won all 13 fights he’s had since.

Okami moved to 26-5 with his third straight win. Marquardt fell to 30-10-2 with his second loss in three fights. Silva knocked Marquardt out in the first round of a title bout at UFC 73 in 2007.

The co main event was cancelled when Alessio Sakara suffered from flu-like symptoms on the day of the fight. His bout with Jorge Rivera will be rescheduled.

In other bouts, German fighter Dennis Siver earned submission of the night with a rear naked choke submission of Andre Winner at 3:37 of the first round.

Siver moved to 17-7 with his ninth career submission. Winner lost his second straight, getting choked out for the first time since 2007. He has won just twice in his last seven bouts and is 11-5-1 for his career.

Siver’s fellow countryman Peter Sobotta wasn’t as fortunate, losing a unanimous decision to Amir Sadollah. Scores were all 30-27.

Sadollah is 4-2, Sobotta 8-4 with his third straight loss. Out of the 27 judges scorecard rounds over that period. Sobotta has won just one.

Despite injuring his hand, Krzysztof Soszynski won a unanimous decision over Goran Reljic, 30-27 on all cards. Soszynski moved to 22-10-1, while Reljic dropped to 8-3 with his third straight loss.

In a slugfest, Duane Ludwig won a split decision over Nick Osipczak. Ludwig suffered cuts by both eyes after Osipczak scored knockdowns and ferocious ground & pound late in the first round.

Ludwig turned things around with a huge third round, however, earning the victory 29-28, 29-28, 28-29. AHN was in the minority with a 29-28 card in Osipczak’s favor.

Ludwig snapped a two-fight skid and won for just the second time in five outings, moving to 20-11. Osipczak lost his third straight, falling to 5-3.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Federer Falls To Monfils; Soderling Awaits In BNP Paribas Masters Final

Posted: 14 Nov 2010 06:47 PM PST

Corine Gatti – AHN Sports Contributor

Paris, France (AHN) – Roger Federer was stunned by No 12 seeded Gael Monfils 7-6 (7), 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4) in the semifinal match at the BNP Paribas Masters Saturday.

Monfils, 24, was shaky during the second-set tiebreaker, but found his confidence in the third tiebreaker to defeat Federer, who missed five match points and committed 42 errors

Many of the miscues were displayed in the third-set tiebreaker.

“Tough match. Obviously very much a serving contest,” Federer told the UK’s Observer. “This is where I have some regrets: I don’t even remember if he played well or if I played bad. I was feeling good in this tournament until now. Of course this hurts. Maybe on breakpoints I could have played better, maybe on one or two.”

Monfils was down 2-0 in third, but built his momentum in the seventh game breaking Federer’s serve for a 4-3 lead.

Again, Federer was haunted by errors that cost him needed points, and the crowd favorite Monfils celebrated the biggest victory of his career.

The Frenchman will be given the platform to win his first career Masters Title Sunday vs. Sweden’s Robin Soderling, 26.

Soderling, who defeated Michael Llodra in the semifinal 6-7 (0), 7-5, 7-6 (6) Saturday has a 2-0 record against Monfils.

Monfils lost to Soderling earlier this month and in 2005 in Milan.

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Torrence Interception Return Sparks Ohio State Past Penn State

Posted: 14 Nov 2010 06:47 PM PST

Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Columbus, OH, United States (AHN) – Devon Torrence returned an interception 34 yards for a score to put the Buckeyes ahead for good in the third quarter and Matthew McGloin added another pick six in the fourth as Ohio State trounced the Penn State Nittany Lions 38-14 Saturday.

The Buckeyes trailed 14-3 at the break before going on to score 35 unanswered in the second half. Dan Herron started the rally with a 5-yard touchdown run 10:27 into the half, finishing with a season-high 190 yards rushing.

Terrelle Pryor went 8-for-13 for 139 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for the Buckeyes. Pryor added nine carries for 50 yards as Ohio State outgained Penn State 315-114 on the ground.

Penn State’s Matthew McGloin went 15-for-30 for 159 yards, two touchdowns and those two costly interceptions.

Ohio State (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten), No. 9 in the BCS standings, is tied with Michign State (No. 11) and Wisconsin (No. 7) atop the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes face a big challenge at No. 13 Iowa Saturday. Penn State (6-4, 3-3 Big Ten) hosts thhe Indiana Hoosiers.

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Newton, McCalebb Keep Auburn Perfect With Hard-Fought Win Vs. Georgia

Posted: 14 Nov 2010 06:47 PM PST

Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Auburn, AL, United States (AHN) – Cameron Newton threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, while Onterio McCalebb added three scores on the ground as the BCS No. 2 Auburn Tigers battled for a tough 49-31 win over the Georgia Bulldogs Saturday.

Newton’s eligibility was confirmed just prior to the game after reports his father requested money for his son to attend Ole Miss. The NCAA investigation is ongoing.

With controversy swirling around Heisman frontrunner Newton, the Tigers fell behind 21-7 and it looked like the distraction may cripple their National Title hopes.

But, in a game that featured four lead changes and three ties, Auburn would get on Newton’s back and go on to outscore Georgia 42-10 over the final three quarters.

Newton went 12-for-15 for 147 yards in the air and added 30 carries for 153 yards on the ground. McCalebb finished with 12 carries for 71 yards.

Freshman quarterback Aaron Murray looked impressive for Georgia in throwing for 273 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. A.J. Green had nine catches for 164 yards and two of those scores.

Auburn (11-0, 7-0 SEC) is far from in the clear with last year’s national champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide, waiting in Tuscaloosa Nov. 26.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
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