Friday, November 19, 2010

Latest Sports Buzz

Latest Sports Buzz

Rugby Skirmish: All-Blacks Star McCaw Puts Heaslip Kneeing Incident In Past

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:45 PM PST

AHN Sports Staff

Auckland, New Zealand (AHN) – New Zealand All-Blacks captain Richie McCaw dismissed Jamie Heaslip’s kneeing incident from last June, as he prepares for another tough grind against the Irish Lions Sunday.

McCaw, 29, was hesitant to talk about the kneeing incident that happened in the June 12 test match between Ireland and New Zealand, insisting it was all in the past.

According to some accounts Heaslip, 26, failed to control his frustrations and twice attempted to knee the All Blacks captain in the match dominated by the Kiwis.

Referee Wayne Barnes did not miss Heaslip’s tactics and booted the player out in the 16th minute of the game.

Heaslip, who served a five-week suspension due to the incident, is expected to play rough once again, when Ireland tries to end a 23-game losing skid against New Zealand.

McCaw, who will likely set a record for 93 rugby tests for New Zealand this week, said he has no grudge against the Irish rugby player, claiming it was all forgotten.

“No way. It got dealt with then. I was asked about it a couple of weeks ago actually and I didn’t even remember it until it was brought up,” McCaw told Rugby Heaven.com.

McCaw, the two-time IRB Player of the Year, said he’s not sure if he will still play with New Zealand after next year’s World Cup.

Nevertheless, McCaw said he’s savoring every moment with the All Blacks, as he inches closer to ending a legendary rugby career.

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NFL Commissioner Likes Mike: Goodell Happy About Vick`s Success

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:45 PM PST

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Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

NY, NY, United States (AHN) – NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who reinstated Michael Vick in 2009 after suspending him indefinitely in 2007 following a dogfighting scandal, is reportedly “proud” of the way the Eagles quarterback has turned his life around.

Goodell, who suspended Vick in August of 2007 after the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback admitted bankrolling a dogfighting operation in Virginia, was never concerned about how the three-time Pro Bowler would bounce back on the field, the New York Daily News reported.

Goodell told the newspaper that he was most concerned with Vick, who once was one of the NFL’ biggest and highest paid stars, outside of football, and so far he has been impressed.

“He’s done terrific off the field. I’m proud of how he has responded,” Goodell told the Daily News.

“There are so many examples in our society of failure, people falling short. We need more success stories. I’m hoping Michael Vick will be a success story. People need to see that. People need to be inspired by that — a person made a tragic error and he’s overcome it,” added Goodell.

The commissioner also told the newspaper that he talks frequently with Vick either through phone calls or texts.

Vick, whose career was in ruins and his life in shambles, is now back on track, playing the best football of his career with the Eagles after six years with the Falcons, who released him following the dogfighting scandal.

The 30-year-old Vick, who had been involved in several off field incidents, has been a model citizen off the field since joining the Eagles in August of 2009.

Apart from speaking engagements about cruelty of dogfighting, the Eagles signal-caller has been working with the Humane Society of the United States.

Vick, dazzling in his return as a starting NFL quarterback, is coming off a spectacular performance against the Washington Redskins Monday night, throwing for four TD and running for two more in a 59-28 victory.

It was record-setting triumph not only for the Eagles but also for Vick, who became the first player in NFL history to record 300-plus passing yards (333), 50-plus rushing yards (80), four passing TDs and two rushing TDs in the same contest.

Vick is expected to carry that momentum in leading the Eagles (6-3) this week against the New York Giants (6-3) in a battle for NFC East supremacy.

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Michigan Holding Eight-Point Lead Over Bowling Green At Half

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:45 PM PST

John Raffel – AHN Sports Correspondent

Ann Arbor, MI, United States (AHN) – Freshman Evan Smotrycz scored 12 points in the first half to lead Michigan to a 39-31 halftime lead over Bowling Green Thursday night at Crisler Arena in non-league men’s basketball action.

Smotrycz hit a pair of 3-pointers later in the half to give the Wolverines a 39-29 advantage.

Austin Calhoun paced Bowling Green with 14 points while Dee Brown has seven points.

Blake McLimans has nine points for the Falcons.

Michigan was struggling with the Falcons before Matt Vogrich nailed a three to give the hosts a 31-27 advantage late in the half.

Darius Morris has six points for Michigan, which is 6-of-11 in 3-point shooting. The Wolverines are 15-of-27 from the floor for 55.6 percent while the Falcons are struggling at 11-of-29 for 37.9 percent.

Michigan has a 19-15 edge on the boards.

Michigan entered the game at 1-0 while BG is 1-1.

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Flyers Offense Back On Track In Second Period

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:45 PM PST

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Ed Condran – AHN Sports Correspondent

Philadelphia, PA, United States (AHN) – Andreas Nodl, Jeff Carter, Scott Hartnell, Andrej Meszaros and Danny Briere scored and Nickolay Zherdev had a pair of goals, as the Flyers lead the Tampa Bay Lightning, 7-6 midway through the second period Thursday.

The Flyers chased Lightning goaltender Dan Ellis fifteen minutes into the game.

However, the bad news for the Flyers is that rookie goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who started his 12th consecutive game, had his shakiest start of the season allowing four goals.

Brian Boucher replaced the young Russian netminder at the start of the second period.

The five-goal period tied a Flyers record. It’s the third time in Flyers history that they have been part of a nine-goal period.

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North Carolina Dismantles Hofstra In 2010 Puerto Rico Tip-Off

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:45 PM PST

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

San Juan, Puerto Rico (AHN) – Harrison Barnes tallied 19 points and seven rebounds, as the North Carolina Tar Heels demolished the Hofstra Pride 107-63 in the first round of the annual Puerto Rico Tip-Off Thursday.

Leslie McDonald scored 16 points off the bench, while Justin Watts and John Henson tallied 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Tar Heels (2-0), who began the 2010-11 campaign with an 80-66 conquest of Lipscomb last Friday.

Henson also hauled in 11 boards, while Tyler Zeller, the top returning scorer for the program, finished with 11 markers and eight rebounds for the victors, who shot a whooping 56 percent from the field, including 12-of-17 (70.6 percent) from behind the arc.

The Tar Heels also dominated the battle of the boards, 49-27.

The Tar Heels will play the winner of Western Kentucky-Minnesota clash in Friday’s semifinals.

Charles Jenkins, the Colonial Athletic Association player of the year last season, logged a game-best 24 points, to go along with four boards and three steals, but it was not enough to help the cause of the Pride (1-1), who were off Saturday’s season-opening over Farmingdale State.

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Catching On: John Buck Anxious To Work With Marlins` Pitchers

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:45 PM PST

Corine Gatti – AHN Sports Contributor

Miami, FL, United States (AHN) – Newly acquired Florida Marlins catcher John Buck is looking forward to working with the team’s flame throwers next season.

The arms of Ricky Nolasco, Josh Johnson and Chris Volstad were part of the reason Buck reportedly joined the Marlins, although signing a three-year $18 million pact for three years didn’t hurt.

The Marlins jumped at the opportunity quickly, signing Buck just one minute past the midnight hour.

“I think that was by far, without a shadow of a doubt, the No. 1 thing that grabbed me,” Buck told the media Thursday.

“They’re power pitches who can locate. That’s nothing but excitement for a catcher.”

Buck, 30, played for Toronto last season after spending time with Kansas City (2004-2009).

He made the All-Star team and smashed 20 home runs in 118 contests with the Jays.

“It was no secret as we entered the off-season that one of the biggest things we wanted was to upgrade the catching position,” General Manager Mike Hill said at a news conference. “Immediately in seeing the available free agents, John’s name jumped off the page at us.”

Buck, initially drafted by the Houston Astros in 1998, could get a bulk of the starts, since John Baker will be coming off elbow surgery.

Catcher Ronny Paulino might be out of the picture for good.

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Smotrycz Scores 14 Points; Michigan Remains Undefeated

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:45 PM PST

John Raffel – AHN Sports Correspondent

Ann Arbor, MI, United States (AHN) – Evan Smotrycz scored 14 points and had seven rebounds to spark Michigan past Bowling Green 69-50 Thursday night in non-league men’s basketball action.

Smotrycz scored 12 points in the first half to power Michigan to a 39-31 halftime lead.

The Wolverines, 2-0, had an 11-1 scoring binge to start the second half.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored to open the second half and Zach Novak added a 3-pointer late to give Michigan a 44-32 advantage with 17:16 to play.

Blake McLimans’ jumper gave Michigan a 46-32 lead moments later. That was followed by Colton Christian’s field goal and a bucket by Hardaway for an 18-point lead and Michigan’s domination continued.

The Wolverines continued to maintain comfortable leads for the rest of the game. Hardaway put the game away with 2:10 to play on a 3-pointer for a 66-46 advantage.

Hardaway’s dad is the five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway. The younger Hardaway had nine points.

Smotrycz hit a pair of 3-pointers late in the first half to give the Wolverines a 39-29 advantage.

Austin Calhoun led Bowling Green with 16 points.

Michigan was struggling with the Falcons before Matt Vogrich put in a three to give the hosts a 31-27 advantage late in the first half.

Michigan was 6-of-11 in 3-point shooting in the opening half and 8-of-17 for the game.

Bowling Green fell to 1-2.

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Bjorklund Nets 26 As Tennessee Escapes Virginia

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:45 PM PST

Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Knoxville, TN, United States (AHN) – Angie Bjorklund had 26 points, five rebounds and four assists as the Tennessee Lady Volunteers took care of the Virginia Cavaliers 85-73 on Thursday night.

Shekinna Stricklen added 15 points and Meighan Simmons scored for Tennessee, which led just 41-39 at the half.

The Lady Vols scored the first five points of the second half and ran away with stingy defense and blistering 48.3 percent shooting.

Virginia shot impressive 45.5 percent, including 50.0 percent from three, but committed 22 turnovers in a sloppy performance.

Ariana Moorer scored 24 points and Paulisha Kellum added 18 for Virginia (2-1, 0-0 ACC), which hosts Longwood Sunday.

Tennessee (3-0, 0-0 SEC) hosts Arizona State in a first-place tie atop the Southeastern Conference.

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Ravens Familiar With Panthers New Quarterback St. Pierre

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:45 PM PST

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Charlotte, NC, United States (AHN) –  Though surprised like many by the Panthers’ move in naming Brian St. Pierre as starting quarterback, the Baltimore Ravens will have a chance to get reacquainted with a familiar face at quarterback in their Sunday encounter with Carolina.

After losing Matt Moore to a season-ending shoulder injury, and with rookie Jimmy Clausen dealing with a concussion, the Panthers inked journeyman Pierre to the practice squad last week.

On Tuesday, St. Pierre, who was never able to rise above No. 3 quarterback in Pittsburgh, which originally picked him in the 2003 draft, or in Baltimore or Arizona, he was promoted to the Panthers’ 53-man roster.

Despite his eight-year career in the NFL, St. Pierre is viewed by many as lacking real NFL experience.

A former starter at Boston College before being selected by the Steelers, St. Pierre was the third quarterback in the Raven’s final four contests of 2005.

He was also the third quarterback for the Cardinals when they advanced to the 2008 Super Bowl.

St. Pierre went four consecutive seasons without throwing a pass before a brief stint for Arizona last season. He had last practiced in January as he concluded his stint with the Cardinals.

He has thrown just five passes in eight NFL seasons, going 2 of 5 for 12 yards, a touchdown and an interception while playing for the Steelers, Ravens and Cardinals.

Despite his unimpressive resume, Panthers coach John Fox chose St. Pierre for his experience over rookie Tony Pike as the best alternative for the struggling Panthers (1-8).

Meanwhile, the Ravens defensive end Cory Redding indicated that Baltimore, which is among the top-10 in defense in the league, will not alter it’s defensive schemes in relation to the quarterback moves by the Panthers.

“It doesn’t make any difference to us,” Redding told the Baltimore Sun.com. “If it’s a rookie or a veteran, it doesn’t matter. Guys go out there to compete with pride, and he’s going to go out there and do what’s best for his team to try and win.”

Baltimore (6-3) is aiming to bounce back after a 26-21 loss to Atlanta that ended their two-game winning streak.

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Smotrycz Adds 14 Points; Michigan Prevails Against Bowling Green

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:45 PM PST

John Raffel – AHN Sports Correspondent

Ann Arbor, MI, United States (AHN) – It was a battle of two young men’s basketball teams Thursday night with Michigan playing more like a seasoned ball squad at critical times.

Freshman Evan Smotrycz scored 14 points and had seven rebounds to spark Michigan past Bowling Green 69-50 in non-league men’s college basketball action.

The Wolverines, who don’t have a senior on the roster, shot 26-of-54 from the floor for 48.1 percent and 8-of-17 in 3-pointers. The Falcons were 16-of-54 from the floor for 29.6 percent and 2-of-14 in threes.

Darius Morris scored six points but had an outstanding floor game with 11 assists for Michigan.

Michigan coach John Beilein was especially happy with his team’s defense.

“In the last couple of days, you could see things settling on defense,” he said. “I still don’t like the 13 turnovers we had and when they made their shots. Bowling Green was a very talented team in the first half. Our defense is improving each day.”

Smotrycz scored 12 points in the first half to power Michigan to a 39-31 halftime lead.

The Wolverines had an 11-1 scoring binge to start the second half.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored to open the second half and Zach Novak added a 3-pointer late to give Michigan a 44-32 advantage with 17:16 to play. Blake McLimans’ jumper gave Michigan a 46-32 lead moments later. That was followed by Colton Christian’s field goal and a bucket by Hardaway for an 18-point lead and Michigan’s domination continued.

The Wolverines continued to maintain comfortable leads for the rest of the game. Hardaway put the game away with 2:10 to play on a 3-pointer for a 66-46 advantage.

Hardaway’s dad is the five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway. The younger Hardaway had nine points.

The Falcons are also dominated by underclassmen.

“We had two young teams playing tonight,” said Bowling Green coach Louis Orr. “One of the struggles that our team has has been on defense. I’ll give Michigan credit, they shot the ball well.”

Smotrycz hit a pair of 3-pointers late in the first half to give the Wolverines a 39-29 advantage.

Jordan Morgan had 12 points for Michigan and eight rebounds.

Austin Calhoun from nearby Southfield, Mich., led Bowling Green with 16 points while Scott Thomas added nine rebounds. But Calhoun only only had two points in the second half.

“That kid from Southfield was hurting us one-on-one,” Beilein said. ‘We did a good job on him in the second half.”

Michigan was struggling with the Falcons before Matt Vogrich put in a three to give the hosts a 31-27 advantage late in the first half.

“Our post defense is getting better,” Beilein said. “Everybody has a different way of getting the ball in the post. I thought we did OK. I hope we can be versatile in our defensive approach.”

Michigan was 6-of-11 in 3-point shooting in the opening half.

“You have to defend the 3-point line and get back in transition,” Orr said. “Michigan shot well in threes. “They spread you out.”

“This year, the officials are supposed to allow more freedom of movement,” Beilein said. “We have to teach our guys how to play without fouling.”

Michigan improved to 2-0 while BG is 1-1.

“There’s a lot of healthy maturing that goes on when you have a team like ours,” Beilein said.

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