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2008 AL Central Preview
2008-02-19 02:53:00
Projected Standings: 1) Detroit Tigers 2) Cleveland Indians 3) Minnesota Twins 4) Chicago White Sox 5) Kansas City Royals Projected Lineups: Projected Rotations: Detroit Tigers Curtis Granderson Placido Polanco Gary Sheffield Maguel Cabrera Magglio Ordonez Carlos Guillen Edgar Renteria Jacque Jones Ivan Rodriguez Justin Verlander Jeremy Bonderman Dontrelle Willis Kenny Rogers Nate Robertson Cleveland Indians Grady Sizemore Asdrubal Cabrera Travis Hafner Victor Martinez Ryan Garko Jhonny Peralta Jason Michaels David Delucci Franklin Gutierrez Casey Blake C.C. Sabathia Fausto Carmona Jake Westbrook Paul Byrd Cliff Lee Minnesota Twins Jason Kubel Branden Harris Joe Mauer Michael Cuddyer Justin Morneau Delmon ...
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Clemens Speaks Before Congress
2008-02-14 04:53:00
Roger Clemens testified before Congress today that the only injections he received from Brian McNamee, his former trainer, were the vitamin B-12 or the pain reliever Lidocaine. McNamee, on the other hand, insisted before a House panel that that he injected Clemens with only testosterone, the steroid Winstrol or human growth hormone. The committee’s ...
More About: Andy Pettitte

2008 NL Central Preview
2008-02-11 07:20:00
Projected Standings: 1) Milwaukee Brewers 2) Chicago Cubs 3) St. Louis Cardinals 4) Houston Astros 5) Cincinnati Reds 6) Pittsburgh Pirates Projected Lineups: Projected Rotations: Milwaukee Brewers Rickie Weeks J.J. Hardy Ryan Braun Prince Fielder Corey Hart Mike Cameron Bill Hall Jason Kendall Ben Sheets Dave Bush Jeff Suppan Yovani Gallardo Carlos Villanueva Chicago Cubs Alfonso Soriano Kosuke Fukudome Derrek Lee Aramis Ramirez Mark DeRosa Felix Pie Ryan Theriot Geovany Soto Chien-Ming Wang Carlos Zambrano Ted Lilly Rich Hill Jason Marquis Jon Lieber St. Louis Cardinals Cesar Izturis Rick Ankiel Albert Pujols Chris Duncan Troy Glaus Yadier ...
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2008 AL East Preview
2008-02-11 03:49:00
Projected Standings: 1) Boston Red Sox 2) New York Yankees 3) Toronto Blue Jays 4) Tampa Bay Rays 5) Baltimore Orioles Projected Lineups: Projected Rotations: Boston Red Sox Jacoby Ellsbury Dustin Pedroia David Ortiz Manny Ramirez Mike Lowell Kevin Youkilis J.D. Drew Jason Varitek Julio Lugo Josh Beckett Daisuke Matsuzaka Curt Schilling Clay Buchholz Jon Lester New York Yankees Johnny Damon Derek Jeter Alex Rodriguez Bobby Abreu Hideki Matsui Jorge Posada Jason Giambi Robinson Cano Melky Cabrera Chien-Ming Wang Andy Pettitte Phil Hughes Mike Mussina Joba Chamberlain Toronto Blue Jays David Eckstein Lyle ...
More About: Preview , Tampa Bay Devil Rays , Teams

2008 NL East Preview
2008-02-10 22:00:00
Projected Standings: 1) New York Mets 2) Philadelphia Phillies 3) Atlanta Braves 4) Florida Marlins 5) Washington Nationals Projected Lineups: Projected Rotations: New York Mets Jose Reyes Luis Castillo David Wright Carlos Beltran Carlos Delgado Moises Alou Brian Schneider Ryan Church Johan Santana Pedro Martinez John Maine Oliver Perez Orlando Hernandez Philadelphia Phillies Jimmy Rollins Shane Victorino Chase Utley Ryan Howard Pat Burrell Geoff Jenkins Pedro Feliz Carlos Ruiz Cole Hamels Brett Myers Kyle Kendrick Jamie Moyer Chad Durbin Atlanta Braves Kelly Johnson Matt Diaz Chipper Jones Mark Teixeira Brian McCann Jeff Francoeur Yunel Escobar Mark Kotsay John ...
More About: Preview , Teams , East

Bedard to Mariners ? Finally Completed
2008-02-08 22:26:00
Erik Bedard’s trade to the Seattle Mariners seems to have finally been completed. This deal has been in talks for a couple of months now and has been announced as on & off several times. The Orioles are expected to acquire Adam Jones , George Sherrill, Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio and Tony Butler for Bedard. Bedard ...
More About: Teams , Baltimore Orioles , Finally

NY Giants - Super Bowl Champions
2008-02-07 23:41:00
In one of the most significant upsets in Super Bowl history, the NFC champion New York Giants (14-6) defeated the AFC champion New England Patriots (18-1) by the score of 17-14.Had the Patriots won this game, they would have completed a the first perfect season in the NFL since the 1972 Miami Dolphins and the ...
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New York Mets land a Johan
2008-01-31 16:22:00
After months of discussion about whether or not the Minnesota Twins would trade the highly sought after ace, Johan Santana, and if so, where would he land, the New York Mets landed the south paw. The Mets and Twins agreed to swap Santana for outfielder Carlos Gomez and minor-league pitchers ...
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Patriots one win away from a perfect season
2008-01-21 04:39:00
Despite quarterback Tom Brady, 2007 NFL MVP, throwing three interceptions Sunday in the AFC championship game against the San Diego Chargers, the New England Patriots squeeked by with a 21 - 12 win to move on to the Super Bowl XLII. Running back Laurence Maroney carried the ball 25 times amassing 122 yards rushing and ...
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Baseball Season Well Under Way - AL East
2007-05-28 21:40:00
As we approach the completion of May, Major League Baseball completes the first third of the 2007 season. Lots of baseball remains, but yet the standings are beginning to shape up and we begin to see who are contenders and who aren’t. In the American League East, the Boston Red Sox are in control and hold ...
More About: Tampa Bay Devil Rays , Teams , Season

Passing of a Ball Player
2007-05-01 06:26:00
It’s been a long time since I’ve wrote an article and my, my there’s alot to be writing about. The Buffalo Sabres are making their way through the playoffs in route of their goal of winning the Stanley Cup, the 2007 NFL Draft just came to a close, the Kentucky Derby is rapidly approaching, and ...
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Down Goes Duke
2007-03-16 06:49:00
In front of a packed HSBC Arena, in Buffalo, NY, the Duke Blue Devils faced off against the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Rams in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Basketball Tournament. Duke was coming off of 9 straight years of reaching at least the sweet sixteen, while this was only VCU’s third trip ...
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Purple Eagles Snubbed
2007-03-15 15:38:00
The NCAA tournament selection committee wrapped up the field of 65 teams Sunday evening and many teams waited anxiously to find out what draw they selected and who they would be playing in the first round, or in some cases, whether they made the field at all. Among those team was the Niagara Purple ...
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Running Back Roundtable
2007-03-11 05:11:00
This off-season has been a volatile year for running backs. Four big name backs have switched teams already, but this year’s draft class isn’t the strongest its been in most recent years. Outside of Adrian Peterson, former Oklahoma Sooner and known as the draft’s best running backs in most team’s opinion, there is very few ...
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Sabres? Deals Improve Playoff Chances
2007-03-04 21:14:01
Buffalo Sabres’ general manager Darcy Regier had his hands full right up until Thursday’s NHL trade deadline. Earlier in the season it seemed as if they would be ok to stand pat going into the playoffs. But a string of unexpected injuries has pushed Regier’s hand a bit. Tim Connolly’s concussion from a clean, open-ice check from Ottawa Senators forward Peter Schaeferinin in Game 2 of last year’s 2nd round playoff series against Ottawa put him on the long-term reserve injured list and his timetable for return has been delayed several times due to post-concussion symptoms and a stress fracture just below his knee. The injury bug began this season on February 8th in a game against the Ottawa Senators when Sabres’ center Paul Gaustad was cut on his upper right ankle by a skate blade. Gaustad ’s injury required surgery and he will miss the remainder of the season for Buffalo. On February 10th, Jaroslav Spacek broke his left hand in a game against...
More About: Play , Chance , Deal , Improve , Rove

History of a Baseball Fan
2007-03-03 21:13:03
Well with the loom of the upcoming baseball season, I am anxious to start talking about baseball, but there hasn’t been any news worth writing about as of yet. So in preparation for the season I would like to highlight my life as a baseball fan and how I came to where I am today. My father was a huge baseball fan and a huge New York Yankee fan. Was I simply to follow in his footsteps? Anybody who knows the relationship between me and my father would tell you no. Either way it turned out I was most likely to have a small rivalry between our two favorite teams, but my favorite team was to be decided by fate, not by genes. It started way back in 1986. My first baseball memory wasn’t a game, but a single play. It happened in Game 6 of the World Series in the bottom of the 10th inning. With Met’s left fielder Mookie Wilson at the plate and Boston was 1 out away from breaking the “Curse of the Bambino” and becoming World Series champions for the first time si...
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Injury Bug Continues for Sabres
2007-02-21 21:05:02
With Maxim Afinogenov out for six to eight weeks, it seemed obvious who the Buffalo Sabres would choose to shoot in theri overtime shootout. The obvious choices would be Daniel Briere, Thomas Vanek, & Ales Kotalik. When Kotalik didn’t come out to shoot and instead was newcomer Drew Stafford shot, I was a little bit confused. After the Sabres sent out eight shooters and Kotalik was still nowhere to be found, it was clear there was something wrong. Apparently I wasn’t paying too much attention during the game because he left the game during the second period due to a sprained MCL. It seems he will miss at least four to six weeks. He had been having a good season thus far with 14 goals and 36 points in 59 games.
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Max Out for at Least a Month
2007-02-18 21:03:06
Buffalo Sabre’s winger Maxim Afinogenov fell on his wrist, in their home game against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night, breaking his scaphoid bone in his shooting wrist. Afinogenov has 23 goals, 34 assists, and a plus-17 rating this season. He already had more goals then in any other season in his career and was on pace for his best season by far. Instead he will miss the majority, if not all, of the remaining games in the season. His lightning speed, excellent puck control, and quick bullet shot will certainly be missed by the Sabres. We can only hope he will return for the playoffs. The main reason why Buffalo didn’t win the Stanley Cup in 2006 was due to injuries.
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Game Over ? Or Is It?
2007-02-15 09:00:07
Tuesday evening, in NCAA basketball action, the Buffalo Bulls hosted the Bowling Green Falcons at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY. The two Mid-American Conference teams were meeting for the second time of the year. Their previous meeting, on Sunday January 7th, resulted on a 74-73 home win for the Falcons. Bowling Green, despite senior guard & team leader, Martin Samarco, having an awful night shooting 6 of 26 from the field and 2 of 16 from three point territory in a 17 point effort, led most of the game. In the closing seconds of the game, Buffalo missed a key opportunity to tie the game when Bull’s forward Parnell Smith forced an off-balance, desperation attempt, not even touching the rim and seemingly losing the game. What happened in the next few minutes was confusing and quite humorous. Everybody in the arena believed the game was over. Bowling Green ran off the court and into the locker room believing they had won the game. Coach Dan Dakich later claimed a referee indi...
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Schottenheimer Dismissed
2007-02-13 20:58:02
Well, just as I called for in Conference Final Predictions, Marty Schottenheimer was fired as head coach of the San Diego Chargers. His clear incompetence to coach an NFL playoff game was again displayed in ther playoff game against the New England Patriots. His sheer inability to manage a team was evident by the loss despite a tremendous effort from San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson. He placed the game in the hands of inexperienced quarterback Phillip Rivers, while pitting him into a shootout with Tom Brady, the best playoff quarterback since Joe Montana, rather then putting the game in the hands of the league’s most valuable player, in Tomlinson. Apparently, this wasn’t even the team’s problem with Schottenheimer. After the season, the team’s staff was depleted after the loss of Rob Chudzinski, Cam Cameron, Wade Phillips, and Greg Manusky. Team president Dean Spanos said the losses were a result of a “dysfunctional” and “untenable...
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Super Sunday Revisited
2007-02-12 08:57:05
The 2006 NFL season and the 2006-2007 NFL playoffs all came down to one game on Sunday evening. The Indianapolis Colts led by Peyton Manning vs. the Chicago Bears led by Brian Urlacher was the game. The beginning of the game didn’t look very good for the Colts as Chicago returner Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for the first opening kickoff returned for a touchdown in Super Bowl history. After an early Peyton Manning interception by Chris Harris, the Colts settled down and dismantled the Bears. Indianapolis’s two running backs, Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai, combined for 190 yards rushing and Addai also contributed with 10 receptions for 66 yard, tying a Super Bowl record for number of receptions and setting a Super Bowl record for the number of receptions by a running back. While Super Bowl announcers, Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, contemplated a co-Super Bowl MVP Awards to running backs, Joseph Addai & Dominic Rhodes, the Super Bowl MVP Award was ...
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Buffalo Sabres - Out of a Slump?
2007-01-31 20:49:01
The night of Tuesday January 30th, 2007 the Buff alo Sabres squared off against the Boston Bruins at home coming off of a three game losing streak, which tied their season long. Martin Biron, the Sabre’s backup goaltender, minded Buffalo’s net, giving a slumping Ryan Miller a rest. The Sabres simply outclassed the Bruins from the start of the game. Buffalo left winger Thomas Vanek started off the scoring on the power play two minutes and fifteen seconds into the game, with assists from Jason Pominville and Maxim Afinogenov, and Buffalo didn’t look back. Buffalo center and the NHL All-Star Game MVP, Daniel Briere, in his first home game since the All-Star Game, scored his second career hat trick in the win. Biron put in a 25 save effort, while winning his first game since January 6th. This was Buffalo’s sixth straight home win against Boston.
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2007 BCS Final Rankings
2007-01-28 20:47:01
Due to increased traffic looking for BCS ranking information, I’ve decided to post 2007 final poll information. Before we get into the actual final rankings, I will describe each poll, just in case you’re not sure what each really is. The AP Poll, or Associated Press Poll, is compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation. Each voter provides his/her own ranking of the top 25 teams in the nation. Each of the individual rankings are then combined to produce the national ranking by giving a team 25 points for a first place vote, 24 points for a second place vote and so forth down to one point for a twenty-fifth place vote. Ballots of the voting members in the AP Poll are made public. The following 65 sportswriters and broadcasters (and their corresponding affiliate) voted in the AP Poll for NCAA football for the 2006-2007 season. Greg Archuleta, Albuquerque Journal Steve Batterson, Quad City Times Harold Bechard, Hutchinson News David Birkett, The Oakland Press Ki...
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The London Dolphins?
2007-01-28 20:47:01
Earlier this month, the NFL announced that six teams were being considered as the team that gives up a home game during the 2007 season with the site to be either Great Britain or Germany. The teams being considered were the Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Miami Dolphin s , the New Orleans Saints, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Seattle Seahawks. This angered me as a NFL fan, a Buffalo Bills fan, and most importantly as a Buffalo region resident. Each NFL team only gets 8 home games, and many locales, stadium ushers, parking lot attendants, concession vendors, security guards, and local businesses rely on the employment and business generated from their corresponding team’s home games. The Dolphin’s have been choosen to be the team to lose their home game this year. Their opponent will be either the NY Giants or the Buffalo Bills. I would assume the NFL would choose the Giants as their opponent since it would be a non-conference game and not have as much import...
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Daniel Briere - NHL All-Star Game MVP
2007-01-25 08:44:01
I admittedly didn’t watch much of the NHL All-Star Game , I missed the 1st period because I was at the Buffalo Bulls basketball game against the Mid-American Conference leader, the Toledo Rockets, and I had the remainder of the game on in the background while I worked. I found it interesting that throughout the 3rd period of the game the announcers were constantly talking to Dallas Stars’ goaltender, Marty Turco, while he minded the Western Conference’s net. It was pretty humorous to hear him in mid-conversation when a sudden offensive rush quickly ended his talkative nature or when he told Ottawa Senator winger, Dany Heatley, to go somewhere else to celebrate after scoring and being congratulated by his teammates in front of the net about two minutes into the period. After the conclusion of the game, I was surprised to hear Buffalo Sabres center, Daniel Briere, being announced the Most Valuable Player of the game after scoring only 1 goal in a losing effort as the...
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Brady vs. Manning Chapter 8
2007-01-23 14:42:01
Tom Brady and Peyton Mann ing have quite a history against each other. In their first 5 meetings, 2 of which were playoff games, Brady and the Patriots prevailed. In their final 2 meetings, both regular season games, Manning and the Colts were the victors. Those 7 games meant nothing tonight, as the two teams faced off to determine who would be the AFC representative at Super Bowl XLI in Miami. Peyton Manning and the Colts had something to prove, having bad playoff experience after bad playoff experience. In last years playoff, the previously most accurate kicker in the NFL, Mike Vanderjagt, missed a pretty easy kick in the AFC Championship game last year against the Pittsburgh Steelers as time expired which would have given the Colts the nod onto Super Bowl XL. This year they replaced Vanderjagt with ex-Patriot Adam Vinatieri, who is widely considered the most clutch kicker currently in the NFL, if not in NFL history. I didn’t expect how poorly Indianapolis would come out of t...
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Welcome Sports Fan
2007-01-23 02:41:01
Hi and welcome to my sports blog. Reading this will give you a glimpse into my opinions on sports. From my most passionately followed sport of baseball, to my occassional trip to the horse track, and everything in between. There may be quite a bias on local Buffalo, NY sports, like the Buffalo Sabres, the Buffalo Bills, Triple-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, the Buffalo Bisons, NCAA basketball & football teams of my alma mater, The University of Buffalo, and the occassional trip to Fort Erie Race Track in Fort Erie, ON (a short drive into Canada for me). There may also be a bias on my only favorite team not local to me, the New York Mets. Despite these biases I still closely follow Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NHL, NCAA Hoops, NCAA Football, and many other sports. The NBA doesn’t quite hold the focus that I have on the other sports because to be frank, I think basketball loses its appeal after the college level. The game turns to all offense, “how many ...
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The Fight in the Dog
2007-01-23 02:41:01
Like the old saying goes, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog”. The dog in this case was the underdog of the BCS Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl, the Boise State Broncos. The Bronco’s, 2006 Western Athletic Conference champions, were one of only two undefeated teams in Division IA football, the other being the number one ranked team in the country, the Ohio State Buckeyes. Most people outside of the Bronco’s home state of Idaho didn’t give them much of a chance against the very prestigious, highly recruited program of the Oklahoma Sooners. The Bronco’s, led by senior quarterback Jared Zabransky, shocked them all by coming out and taking an early lead. With five and a half minutes remaining in the third quarter, well in contol with a 28-10 lead, the Bronco’s forced Oklahoma to punt and made their first big mistake. A stray bouncing punt hit freshman wide receiver Aiona Key in the back of the foot...
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Wild Card Weekend
2007-01-23 02:41:01
After this weekend’s NFL Wild Card games, only 8 teams remain in the bid for a trip to Miami for Super Bowl XLI. My predictions for the opening playoff week were nearly perfect, flawed by a failed botched hold by Tony Romo on a 19-yard field goal attempt by Martin Gramatica which would have given the Dallas Cowboys a 23-21 lead over the Seattle Seahawks, the defending NFC champions with about a minute remaining. Though Romo took full responsibility for the loss following the game, he was a big reason that the Cowboys even made it this far, having turned their season around by winning five of his first six starts after replacing Drew Bledsoe and blossoming into a Pro Bowl selection. Romo certainly wasn’t the only player to deserve a piece of the loss. The Dallas defense made an impressive stand in the shadow of their own end zone to hold onto a 20-13 lead with less than 7 minutes remaining in the game. On the subsequent series, the first play from scrimmage resulted in a ...
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BCS Final Rankings
2007-01-23 02:41:01
Well, Florida defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes in the BCS National Championship Game. This leaves the only undefeated team in the nation, the Boise State Broncos, left out in the dark when deciding this year’s national champion. In the BCS poll, Ohio State still finished number 1 in the country. Does this make any sense? Can you believe that the computer rankings that are used to evaluate all the teams in the nation to determine who plays in bowl games and who doesn’t ranked Ohio State, who lost to Florida in their final game ahead of Florida? This same computer poll left Boise State, the only undefeated team in the nation, as low as 8th. Let me give you a moment to let this set in … 8th!!! Of course neither the associated press or the coaches polls gave Florida the unjustice of not winning the national title after beating the number one school in the country, but they still left Boise State out in the cold. In the Coaches Poll, the Florida Gators received all 63 v...
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