LONG BEACH >> Playing on U.S. soil is something the women’s national volleyball team doesn’t get to do very often.
So, with the chance to play in front of a home crowd, the top-ranked team did not disappoint in Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid on Sunday, sweeping No. 10 Turkey 25-21, 25-20 and 25-16 to go 3-0 in Pool E of the FIVB World Grand Prix.
“This has been pretty emotional, especially (Saturday when) it was sold out,” Rachael Adams said. “We don’t get to play in the USA often in big touaments like these, so I know each and every one of us during different moments took a step to appreciate what was going on.”
U.S. got off to a slow start against Turkey, trading leads until eventually pulling away.
“All three of these teams came out playing their best volleyball,” Kayla Banwarth said. “We had to make some adjustments mid-game. As a team, we’re pretty good at making changes mid-match. That helps us to ramp it up and keeping ramping it up and tuing it on.”
The USA did just that in the third set, jumping out to a 22-12 lead before eventually beating Turkey, 25-16, after Adams finished the game with two dominating points.
Kelsey Robinson and Nicole Fawcett combined for 24 kills and Adams led the team with five blocks.
“Right now I’m trying to take it one day at a time and one step at a time,” Adams said about thinking about the road ahead of the team heading to China and preparing for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Banwarth said that all these matches are all preparation for the competition the team will face in Rio for the 2016 Olympic Summer Games.
“We get to play against the best teams in the world and that’s always good,” Banwarth said.
On Monday, the team will travel to Hong Kong, China as they continue their jouey toward the WGP Finals that will be in Bangkok, China.
The team will continue to take it one day at a time as they prepare physically and mentally for the road ahead.
“We work with our sports doctor post-match about kind of debriefing individually and collectively,” Christa Dietzen said. “We write down three things we did well and three things you’d like to work on and get better, so being able to focus on those six things versus over however many points you got in a match or practice. You can only control of your approach and what you need to work on.”
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برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: دوشنبه 31 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 14:35
The Long Beach State men’s basketball program spent the weekend mouing and remembering former assistant coach Vic Couch who passed away on Friday at the age of 53 after a long battle with illness.
Head coach Dan Monson, who had Couch on his staff for 14 years, was remembering his friend and colleague by telling trading stories about Couch with his family.
“They were stories about (Couch) joking around,” Monson said. “He was so fuy. Not jokes out of a book, but just the way he looked at life was fuy.”
Monson remembers one road trip where a player asked if the team could stop at the fast food restaurant Wendy’s for dier. Couch said, “When you when-deez games.”
Former LBSU player Greg Plater was one of many 49er alumni to express their feelings on social media.
“Couch was a one of a kind spirit,” Plater said. “He had a special energy about him that made you feel comfortable to be yourself. He was one of the fuiest people I have ever met who could make light out of any situation with a huge smile and infectious laugh.”
Couch’s memorial is Monday June 27 (9 a.m.) Forest Lawn Memorial.
Over the weekend, Long Beach State Dirtbag sophomore Darren McCaughan was named second team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association, and shortstop Garrett Hampson made the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Team, becoming the first Dirtbags player to receive the honor.
McCaughan is the first Dirtbags player to me named ABCA All-American since Evan Longoria was a third-team selection in 2006. McCaughan was also the 2016 Big West Pitcher of the Year after going 10-1 with a 2.03 ERA in his first full season as a starter.
Hampson made just three errors in the regular season, finishing the year with a .982 fielding percentage. LBSU ranked 19th in the country with a .977 fielding percentage this season.
Earlier this month, Hampson was drafted by the Colorado Rockies with the 81st pick in the MLB Draft. He officially signed last week and was assigned to the Class A Short Season Boise Hawks.
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برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: دوشنبه 31 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 12:31
The Golden State Warriors host the Cleveland Cavaliers in a wier take all Game 7 in the 2016 NBA Finals series.
Viewing on a mobile device? Click here for live updates
Heisler: Nothing better than Game 7 with no one suspended
Sit back and enjoy Game 7 of the NBA Finals
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برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: دوشنبه 31 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 8:46
OAKLAND >> One game, one trophy. Nothing for the loser. It’s that cut and dry.
Except it really isn’t.
It’s not like this in sports. Not in the NBA. And, certainly, not in Game 7 of the Finals Sunday evening at Oracle Arena.
Someone will win the title, either LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers or Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, and for the players on the court, that’s the lone goal.
“We’ve got one game,” Golden State forward Draymond Green said. “This is what you live for. I mean, Game 7 in the NBA Finals? That doesn’t happen often.”
But for the people on barstools, the people dialing into sports talk radio stations, the people getting into the chair at Charles Blades Barber Spa in Oakland or Urban Kutz Barbershop in Cleveland, it’s about so much more.
While the players are trying to win a trophy, the result of Sunday’s game will help so many more people win their arguments. Maybe no game in NBA history has carried this kind of weight.
Waverly “Big Wave” Willis, the owner of Urban Kutz, says the chatter in his shop has been going “all the time” since the begiing of the Finals.
“The stakes are just so high,” he said in a phone interview.
It’s all anyone is talking about in Cleveland or across the country in Oakland.
As Blades closed up shop Saturday in Warehouse District, every “Happy Father’s Day” was spiced up with well wishes for “the game.”
Even the participants in what’s essentially the NBA’s Super Bowl haven’t been able to duck all the talk about “legacy” and “greatness.”
“It’s all about wiing the game,” Curry said Saturday. “I mean, we’ll worry about what either result means afterwards.”
But whatever the result “means” is what’s making this game so important, maybe the most important in league history.
It’s not capping some epic series with overtime games. It’s capping a series built for fan and media and opinions, one where people on both sides of the aisle have cried “rigged.”
Somehow without a single last-second shot, with more blowouts than last-minute closeouts, the Cavaliers and the Warriors have crafted a compelling series full of drama – the conclusion coming Sunday.
And when the buzzer sounds, the arguing, really can start.
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If Golden State can survive the Cavaliers push, they’ll have won back-to-back titles – just the 12th team to have done that. If Golden State can end their season with a victory, they’ll have won a NBA record 89 games in the regular and postseasons. No team ever has accomplished that.
They aren’t the dynasty of the 60’s Celtics, the 80’s Lakers or the 90’s Bulls, but facts are facts.
No team has ever won as much as the Warriors will have, and they’ll have gone through Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and LeBron James over 14 grueling games to get there.
And if they don’t?
“We broke the record but that don’t mean (expletive) if we don’t win it,” one of Blades’ customers put bluntly, an opinion Curry and Klay Thompson share.
“Yeah, pretty much because that was our goal from the begiing,” Curry said. “We’re here on Game 7 with a chance to do it. We’ve had two chances already and haven’t gotten it done. 48 minutes to do it. So if we come up short, we’ll all be very, very disappointed.
“No two ways around that.”
The walls of Charles Blades’ shop in Oakland have a poster of John Coltrane, a statue of Michael Jordan and a comic book with Muhammad Ali on the cover. That makes Blades an expert, or at least an aficionado, of greatness.
“I love this conversation,” Blades said.
While no one in the chairs or behind them was willing to go that far Saturday, they acknowledged the conversation is a worthy one.
If James can pull this off, he’ll surely be the Finals M.V.P. – an award he might even win if his team loses. He’ll have hunted the biggest game in NBA history, a 73-win team, and caught them. Sure, he’s had help with Kyrie Irving’s star-making tu in the playoffs, but otherwise, the supporting cast hasn’t done that much supporting with a couple of exceptions.
If James can finish this performance with an exclamation point, he’s still trailing Michael Jordan – but it won’t be by much.
He’s averaging 30.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 2.7 steals and 2.2 blocks against a great defensive team that’s just won 73 games.
No one ever can say they’ve done that.
“LeBron is just LeBron being LeBron,” Tyro Lue said, offering what’s actually incredible high praise. “We know he’s very capable of being special every single night.
“He’s been special for us.”
The question to Curry was simple enough on Saturday.
“Do you have to be great in this game?”
“I need to play my best game of the year if not my career because of what the stakes are,” Curry said without hinting that the task seemed too tall. “So that doesn’t mean scoring 50 points, though. That means controlling the tempo of the game. When I need to be aggressive, well, I need to be aggressive. But when I need to push the envelope, do it, but do it under control, do it within the schemes that we’re used to as a team. Focus on details on both ends of the floor.
“All those things go into having a great game, and I need to do that.”
Curry’s done those things for most of the year. He was the NBA’s first ever unanimous MVP after doing those things while his team won 73 games.
And he was probably going to keep doing those things in the playoffs if not for a knee sprain that’s certainly limited him since the first round.
While he’s not been as dominant as he was during the regular season, he’s still capable of a huge game, one he knows his team needs.
“Four out of the six games, I’ve played pretty well to my expectations, my standards,” Curry said. “So I need to take it up another notch for Game 7.
“And that’s what the greats do.”
Officially, Cleveland won a title in 1964 when the Browns won the “NFL Championship Game” two years prior to the invention of the Super Bowl.
So, it’s been awhile.
“A while?” Willis asked rhetorically with a laugh. “Try never.”
When it’s been as long as it has been for the major sports teams in Cleveland, a year or two?
It’s part of the reason why James decided to sign back with the Cavaliers two years ago. Still, on the eve of Game 7, James didn’t delve into the coection between him and his hometown.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position to do something special. You guys ask me the questions, but you guys know the answers to them,” he said. “I mean, if we win and we take care of business, that’s something that our city hasn’t had in a very long time. So that’s the obvious. You don’t need me to sit up here and talk about it…
“I came back for a reason, and that is to bring a championship to the city of Cleveland, to northeast Ohio and all of Ohio and all Cavaliers fans in the world. That’s been one of my goals. But I don’t add too much pressure on it. I go out and trust what I’ve been able to do, the work I’ve put into it, my teammates have put into it. And you go out there and see what happens.”
The Cleveland sports drought is littered with athletic tragedies, goal-line fumbles, late-iing blowups and even James’ own defection to Miami.
Now one man – an Ohio native nonetheless – can help put all that to an end.
This is the game that could make James the most beloved athlete in a city that claims Jim Brown.
If he wins, all is forgiven.
And then some.
No team in NBA history has ever come back from being down 3-1 in the Finals, and the Cavaliers are on the doorstep of making history. And, conversely, no team has ever given up a 3-1 lead in the Finals, and the Warriors are in position to do that.
“This series has been an emotional rollercoaster,” Willis said.
With so much at stake, how can it not?
When it ends, one team will be NBA champions. The season will be over. History will have been written.
“If you don’t feel pressure in a Game 7, you’re probably not human,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “I told our guys that. Of course they’re going to feel pressure. Of course there’s going to be some anxiety.
“But how lucky are we to feel that pressure?”
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 13:52
CYPRESS >> This afteoon, back home at the fairgrounds track his dad so loved, Monty Arrossa will attempt to defend the championship his horse won last year in the very race named after his late father.
And he’ll do so — in a sport where titles are frequently decided by nothing longer than a horse’s nose — nearly 800 miles away, at Los Alamitos Race Course, roughly a 12-hour drive from Jerome, Idaho.
“Dad would have wanted me to be here,” Arrossa says. “This would have been huge in my dad’s book. He would have loved this.”
Pete Arrossa died in March of 2015. For Father’s Day 2016, Monty is giving his dad the most precious of ties — two races of supreme significance, ruing neck-and-neck and finishing in a dead heat of remembrance and tribute.
A few hours after the conclusion of the Pete Arrossa Memorial, Monty will saddle Fire Fast Corona here in the Ed Burke Million Futurity, this son vying for the exact sort of crown his father always assured him he could win.
But that’s what our dads are for, right, to give us, as sons, a reason to dream and every reason to believe in those dreams? Even after he’s gone? In fact, especially after he’s gone?
“My dad was the push behind me,” says Arrossa, a lifelong horseman who has been training full-time for three years. “He always told me, ‘You can do it. If you go down there (to Los Alamitos) and work hard, you can make this happen.’ He was the one who drove me.”
So, while Arrossa’s mother, Lisa, and sister, Jamie, represent the family today in Jerome, Pete’s son will be trying to fulfill his father’s remarkably optimistic forecast in the largest race of his career.
To understand how big of an opportunity the Ed Burke is for Arrossa, consider that his richest victory yet came in a $300,000 race in Iowa. The Ed Burke has a purse of $1.1 million.
“We’ve joked that, back home, $100,000 is a huge futurity,” Arrossa says. “The fact this is $1 million more than that is just incredible.”
Yeah, this is a big deal, a really big deal for a guy from Shoshone, Idaho, a guy whose high school had 99 students — and that’s including seventh and eighth grades — and whose graduating class numbered 19.
Back then, all Arrossa wanted to do was train horses, while his parents preached the importance of pursuing an education.
It was in junior high that Arrossa’s father made him decide between playing basketball and working with horses because of the time commitment both required.
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“When you’re that age, that’s a horrible choice to have to make,” Arrossa says. “I chose horses, of course. Looking back, that was the best choice. It was really a no-brainer. That was my passion.”
Raised on a small horse farm – that’s a small farm with horses, not a farm with small horses – Arrossa leaed to rope and rodeo. He followed his father’s path into chariot racing, training and driving the two-horsed buggies to world championships in 2000 and 2001.
Along the way, he eaed a degree in education and a master’s in human resource training from Idaho State, eventually working for the labor department and in private business.
Arrossa never wavered, however, in his desire to be around horses, even when that proximity reached its most extreme moment.
About 10 years ago, while preparing for a race, Arrossa made the mistake of reaching for a horse’s tail that was about to become entangled.
The colt reacted in a way that suggested he had been spooked, by which I mean the kick cost Arrossa 13 of his teeth and his entire consciousness.
He remembers the surgeon holding his left hand and telling him: “I’m going to put you back together. It’s going to be OK.”
For a while, all of Arrossa’s meals had to first pass through a blender. He lost 40 pounds. The scar on his chin is still visible.
When he was released from the hospital, the first place he visited was his ba. Just three weeks after the accident, Arrossa was driving chariots again.
“This is definitely my passion,” he says, uecessarily. “Whatever you do, you’re in the people business. I love horse people. And I love horses. In the darkest times of my life, I’ve always been able to tu to horses. They’re always happy to see me in the moing.”
That’s why he’s willing to wake up every day at 3 a.m., day after day after day, for so long now that Arrossa can’t remember a day when he slept past that time.
He remains as driven as he was back when he was 18 and guiding his first horse ever to a stakes victory.
Arrossa now has 10 horses at Los Alamitos and another 34 back in Jerome, where his operation is based.
Today, the focus will be on Fire Fast Corona and Time For Jesse Lee, the colt trying to repeat in the Pete Arrossa Memorial.
“Dad loved the races at Jerome,” Arrossa says. “It’s my hometown. Part of my heart will definitely be there.”
Meanwhile, the rest of Monty Arrossa will be here, right where his father always told him he could be.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 13:52
LOS ANGELES >> It was the Dodgers’ bullpen that needed some relief.
The group began Saturday having thrown five iings in each of the last two games. Plus, spaing the last seven days, it was used for a total of 25 2/3 iings, a workload that was the fourth largest in the National League.
So it did not help that Mike Bolsinger was pulled from his start in the third iing after allowing nine hits and five runs. The Dodgers’ relief pitchers were on the hook for six-plus iings.
Yet the Dodgers eaed their second straight win, 10-6, vs. Milwaukee. They compiled 14 hits and three home runs.
Chris Hatcher replaced Bolsinger. Manager Dave Roberts hoped to avoid using Hatcher in the first place after he threw two iings two nights earlier.
Hatcher threw 2 1/3 scoreless iings and even got his first career hit in the bottom of the third iing during a six-run rally, the most runs the Dodgers had scored in an iing this season.
Through the first three iings that lasted 99 minutes, the Dodgers and Brewers had combined for 13 runs and 18 hits.
Justin Tuer began the scoring during the six-run barrage when he pounded an 82 mph changeup by Chase Anderson into the left field bleachers. The 398-foot shot marked Tuer’s third home run in two games, pushing his slugging percentage over .400 for the first time since the first week of the season.
Anderson, the Brewers’ starter, was pulled three batters later when he walked Howie Kendrick.
Joc Pederson had two hits in the iing.
In total, the Dodgers had six hits, two of them for extra bases, including Tuer’s homer and a two-run double by Yasmani Grandal.
Kendrick had an opposite-field home run in the second for his first extra-base hit at Dodger Stadium this season.
Milwaukee got on the scoreboard early.
To begin the second iing, the Brewers saw five of their first six batters reach base by way of singles, adding two runs. At one point, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and assistant athletic trainer Neil Rampe came out for a mound visit. But Bolsinger stayed in the game. It was unclear what might have been ailing him.
Another two-run iing followed in the third after Ramon Flores’ two-run single. Bolsinger was done. He gave up five runs and nine hits over 2 2/3 iings. Since he replaced Alex Wood on the rotation in mid-May, the right-hander has a 6.83 ERA in six starts.
Bolsinger has pitched five or fewer iings in four of his six starts and has yet to pitch past the sixth.
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برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 13:52
Drew Moor scored on a diving header in the 79th minute in Toronto FC’s 1-0 victory over Los Angeles on Saturday night, the Reds’ first win in 11 tries against the Galaxy.
On a night that began with Moor cradling his newbo baby boy, clad in a No. 3 “Moor” sleeper, during the national anthems, the Toronto defender scored his 24th career goal. Benoit Cheyrou sent in a long ball that Eriq Zavaleta headed backward toward the net, placing it perfectly for Moor to launch past goalkeeper Brian Rowe. It was Moor’s 24th career goal.
Toronto (5-5-4) had been winless in its previous 10 games against Los Angeles, a stretch that included five Galaxy victories and five draws. The game marked the first victory for Toronto over the Califoia side at BMO Field since 2008, and the first meeting of the two teams at the stadium on Lake Ontario since March 2013.
The Galaxy (5-3-6) are winless in five games.
Both teams were missing star players. Toronto was without captain Michael Bradley, who is with the U.S. team in Copa America, and striker Jozy Altidore (hamstring injury), while the Galaxy’s Robbie Keane is playing for Ireland at the European Championship and former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard didn’t make the trip because of a hamstring injury.
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برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 12:49
LONG BEACH >> Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid is a few thousand miles away from Rio and it’s still more than a month until Brazil will host the 2016 Olympic Summer Games, but Saturday night’s match between the USA and Japan women’s volleyball teams had the feel of an Olympic medal match. Before a roaring capacity crowd, the No. 1 USA team elevated its game for an impressive sweep of No. 5 Japan, 25-16, 25-23, 25-21.
The USA improved to 2-0 in the FIVB World Grand Prix; Pool E of the WGP is taking place this weekend in the Pyramid.
“We love playing Japan, they’re a legendary program,” said head USA coach Karch Kiraly. “They fight with such heart, they never give up. And so we know we always have to be ready to play them.”
The USA beat Germany in four sets to open WGP play on Friday, but Kiraly wasn’t pleased with his team’s performance, pointing to the fact that he didn’t put his players in a hotel for their usual touament routine.
“We had players coming from their apartments after sleeping in their own beds,” he said. “You’re always going to get a better rest in your own bed, but with that comes a responsibility to prepare and be ready.”
Saturday, in front of a loud and rowdy crowd, the Americans looked much sharper. The USA led wire-to-wire in the first frame, going up 16-4 and taking the set somewhat anticlimactically on a video review of a block touch by Japan. In the second set, the teams traded the lead and Japan looked to even it up after taking a 23-22 lead. But the USA got kills from Kimberly Hill and a big spike from middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo to close it out. Once again in the third, the teams were tied at 21 before the USA pulled away with kills from Kelly Murphy and Jordan Larson to take the match and remain undefeated.
Akinradewo had 12 kills to lead the USA, backed up by 11 from Hill. Miyu Nagaoka led Japan with 16 kills. The USA outblocked Japan 9-2.
Kiraly said the crowd was a nice treat for his team, as well as helpful in preparing for the volleyball-crazy Brazilian culture.
“We’ve never hosted an FIVB touament in Southe Califoia,” he said. “It’s great, a lot of our players have friends and family here, and this crowd was something special.”
The USA will wrap up Pool E play with a 5:10 p.m. match against Turkey today back in the Pyramid. It’s then a quick tuaround with a Monday moing flight to China for Pool H, along with Germany, the Netherlands, and the host Chinese. Should the USA advance to the World Grand Prix championships, they’ll be held July 6-10 in Thailand.
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برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 12:49
OAKMONT, Pa. >> Shane Lowry kept his calm when he had a careless penalty stroke and walked off Oakmont after a long day with a two-shot lead in the U.S. Open.
Stalled by rain in the first round, the U.S. Open is nearly back on schedule and poised for a big finish.
Lowry, looking to give Irish golf a 10th major in the last 10 years, was at 5-under par with four holes to play in the third round when it was too dark to continue.
Andrew Landry, the 28-year-old qualifier in his first U.S. Open, was two shots behind.
Dustin Johnson had the 36-hole lead and opened with a birdie to start the third round. He began dropping shots and was three behind, along with Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia.
And still very much — and very suddenly — in the mix was Jason Day, who shot 69-66 on Saturday and was at 1-over 211.
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برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 12:49
Lionel Messi scored and added two assists in his first Copa America start this year to lead Argentina over Venezuela 4-1 on Saturday night in Foxborough, Mass., and into a semifinal against the host United States.
Messi’s goal in the 60th minute gave Argentina a 3-0 lead and was his 54th in inteational play, tying the national record set by Gabriel Batistuta, according to Argentina’s goveing body. The Barcelona star also took over the Copa America scoring lead with his fourth goal of the touament.
Argentina now has two days to rest before playing the U.S. in Houston on Tuesday night. The Americans have been off since beating Ecuador on Thursday.
With many in the Gillette Stadium wearing No. 10 from Messi’s national team and La Liga jerseys, the five-time FIFA Player of the Year started the game after playing a total of just 74 minutes in the three group stage matches. Just eight minutes in, he coected with Gonzalo Higuain on a long entry pass to make it 1-0.
Messi gathered it in from the sideline and lofted a long pass to Higuain, who split two defenders took the ball on a short hop and booted it in. Higuain scored again in the 28th to make it 2-0, picking up an errant backpass by Venezuela midfielder Arquimedes Figuera and sidestepping goalkeeper Dani Heandez before left-footing it into the net.
In the 42nd minute, Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero took out Josef Martinez’s legs with a headfirst dive. But on the resulting penalty kick, Luis Sejas tried to scooch it straight up the middle and Romero took a small stutter step to his left before catching it.
Messi made it 3-0 when he took a pass from Nicolas Gaitan just outside the 6-yard box.
Venezuela finally beat Romero in the 70th minute when Salomon Rondon headed the ball in, nicking the post on the way. But Messi assisted again on Erik Lamela’s goal a minute later to make it 4-1.
Argentina is 6-2-2 against the U.S., with the teams playing to a 1-1 draw in a 2011 friendly in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The last American win was in a 1999 exhibition in Washington, D.C.
Bautista also scored twice in an exhibition against Slovakia in 1995 that is included in FIFA’s records but not the national federation’s.
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برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 10:30
LOS ANGELES >> When the cords started feeling like handcuffs, Joe Blanton cut them.
He retired from pitching in 2014. He was 2-14 for the Angels in 2013 with a 6.04 ERA, so maybe the decision really wasn’t his. But he had options to go through the Triple-A wringer, pitch on hot, dusty Pacific Coast League nights with a jumpy baseball. He had put nine years in, been in regular rotations, won 16 games for Oakland one year, won a World Series with Philadelphia in ‘08.
He opted for the league of Real Life instead. He was 33.
“It was the first summer of my life without playing baseball,” Blanton said, smiling at the memory Saturday. “We were doing summertime things that people do. I was having fun doing them. I wasn’t watching baseball at all.”
What things? Dier outside with his wife LeeAndra and the three kids. Boating on the lake near his home of Gallatin, Te. Golfing and hanging out. Weird stuff like that.
And now he’s back in the world of clubhouses, hotels and daily evaluation. This time, Blanton is a Dodgers reliever, getting more prominent every day.
Blanton has given up 17 hits and nine walks in nearly 37 iings. Last year he pitched for Kansas City and Pittsburgh and was just as good. In his second life, Blanton is striking out more than one batter an iing. He never threatened to do that as a starter.
It was a gap year, like the one your son or daughter might take between high school and college. Blanton recommends it.
This is not a story of a guy giving in to baseball-homesickness. More like a guy whose head-butting was getting him nowhere. He decided to give the wall a break.
“It’s tough when you’re struggling,” Blanton said. “Looking back, you see guys struggle and you realize those four days (between starts) can be long.
“You’re searching to the point that it’s not beneficial anymore. You’re diving so deep to find it, it’s almost like you’re going backwards.”
Still, Blanton got to the final day of spring training in 2014 before the Angels cut him. The Athletics, who picked him in the first round of the “Moneyball” draft of 2002 and later traded him to Philly for three washouts, sent him to Sacramento. He started two games, looked down the road at six fallow months, and walked away.
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“My heart wasn’t in it,” he said. “I wasn’t throwing well. Maybe I’m better off if I just call it what it is and move on.”
And life was good. The Blantons toured the country in an RV, and Joe got more involved in a vineyard he’d bought in Napa. He and LeeAndra had taken their first vacation there, gotten married there. Now there are three acres planted.
Blanton’s comeback, unbeknowst to him, began when he started hanging with Zach Duke, a reliever who lived in Nashville and was rehabbing. He told Blanton he needed somebody to catch him. Blanton agreed, and they started catching each other. Then Blanton realized that his arm felt good, and the ball was doing what he asked it to.
Duke urged him to get back on the horse.
“I felt a little unfinished,” Blanton said. “Besides, guys are going to play as long as we can. It’s the only thing we know.”
Blanton and his agents put it out on the scouting grapevine. He was ready to be seen. The scouts converted on a junior college gym, and Blanton was good enough to impress the Royals. When he got to spring training, he ran into Ryan Madson, whom Blanton had known in Philadelphia and Anaheim.
“He had been out for three years,” Blanton said. “Two years he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and one year he didn’t do anything. We were in the same boat. It was kinda fuy to be together again. We helped each other out.”
Madson excelled for the Royals last year and has 12 saves for Oakland this year.
Blanton is not the same pitcher he was. Thanks to a move to the third base side of the rubber, he sharpened his slider. And the quick-hit nature of the bullpen suits him now. He says it isn’t a “chess game” like starting is, that he doesn’t have to set up hitters as much.
Blanton has thrown 1,680 major league iings with no surgeries. And he has taken a trip to baseball’s afterlife and discovered it’s a nice place to visit. And re-visit.
After all, the best thing you can give wine is time.
Three facts:
1. Joe Blanton pitched a career-high 230 iings for Oakland in 2007 and led the American League with 34 starts.
2. In 200 Blanton ecame the first pitcher in 34 years to hit a home run in the World Series. He also won Game 4 of the Series for the Phillies, who beat Tampa Bay in five games.
3. Blanton has given up 210 home runs, 13th most among active pitchers.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 10:30
ARCADIA >> If Saturday’s $200,000 Grade II Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita was the last time Southe Califoia racing fans are treated to watching Songbird run before the Breeders’ Cup in November, the brilliant 3-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro gave ’em something to remember.
Songbird, who missed the Kentucky Oaks after she spiked a low-grade fever shortly after wiing the Santa Anita Oaks, retued to the races in grand fashion, beating Bellamentary by 6 1/2 lengths to run her record to 8-0. She’s won her races by a combined 42 1/2 lengths.
Her jockey, Hall of Famer Mike Smith, called her “freaky” after the race.
“If there was someone in front of her to make her focus and make her run, there’s no telling how fast she’d run,” he said after the 1-9 favorite ran the 1 1/16 miles against four other sophomore fillies in 1:42.63.
For the first time in her career, Songbird sat off the pace, letting Bellamentary have the lead through a 22.97 opening quarter mile and a 45.95 half mile. She took the lead just past midway down the backstretch and was never threatened as Smith gave her a long, loose rein.
Said Smith: “I knew she was going to fire today. I just tried to stay out of her way. She has wings on her hooves, I swear. She just goes into stealth mode.”
There are some who believe Songbird is the best 3-year-old in the country, male or female.
How about it, Mike? Is Songbird ready to take on the boys?
“She’s been ready for a long time,” he said.
So now, ready or not, Songbird will be heading east to tackle the top 3-year-old fillies on the other coast, the likes of Carina Mia, Cathryn Sophia, Go Maggie Go and Rachel’s Valentina.
“The races that are coming up for her (in Califoia) really don’t fit what we want to do with her, so we’ll probably be back east,” trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said.
Hollendorfer said Songbird will train at Del Mar and then in all likelihood ship to Saratoga for a pair of Grade I classics for fillies — the $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (1 1/8 miles) on July 24 and the $600,000 Alabama Stakes (1 1/4 miles) on Aug. 20.
Hollendorfer said it’s doubtful Songbird would run in the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 31. Her owner, Rick Porter of Fox Hill Farms, has said repeatedly he doesn’t want to run his filly against the boys until her 4-year-old campaign.
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“Mr. Porter likes having input on these things, so we’ll talk it over and make a plan, see what happens,” he said. “I wouldn’t think we’d go to the Haskell, but there are plenty of races for her, and we’ve talked about several of them.
“We’ll stick with the girls for now and see what happens.”
Though Songbird was coming in off a two month-plus layoff, Hollendorfer was cautiously optimistic she would run well.
“You always wonder if your horse is going to come back just like they were before,” he said. “You have a little anticipation, but she showed us in the moings that she was doing great and that we wouldn’t have to worry about that.”
He said Songbird’s win from off the pace was not by design.
“Mike was going to go, and then if somebody went then he was going to make his judgement,” Hollendorfer said. “So when (Martin) Garcia (aboard Bellamentary) went, then he decided to wait a little bit off. He knew that our filly was well within herself and that’s why he kind of took the lead earlier than he needed to. She was going easy. That’s why he did that.”
It tued out to be a nice birthday gift for Hollendorfer, who tued 70 on Saturday.
“This is a pretty good one,” he said.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 10:30
Todd Gurley’s voice was cracking.
Fourteen months ago, he stood in Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre as the Rams’ pick at No. 10 overall — the highest-drafted ruing back in three years. He had recovered from a to ACL, from an NCAA suspension, and emotions gripped him. In that moment, he had climbed a mountain.
That Gurley was a first-round pick at all speaks to his obvious talent, hype he backed up by totaling the third-most rushing yards in the NFL last season. A week ago, he posted a picture of himself in front of the Hollywood sign, along with the caption, “Love Life.” As the Rams re-root in Los Angeles, he has become their most marketable face, one who only needs to utter eight words in a Carl’s Jr. commercial.
“We all give him a hard time,” said Chase Reynolds.
Reynolds has carved a tougher path to the NFL — that of the undrafted free agent. Curiously, it’s a jouey that almost the entire non-Gurley depth chart has taken.
The only other drafted ruing back on the roster is Tre Mason, who has been absent from all of offseason workouts following his March arrest on drug and traffic charges. Head coach Jeff Fisher said during OTAs this month that the Rams have to “prepare ourselves that Tre’s not going to be here.”
Take out the former third-round pick, and here’s who the Rams are working with: Bey Cuingham, a capable kick retuer whom they signed out of Middle Teessee State in 2013; Reynolds, a Montana product who initially signed with the Seahawks in 2011 before joining the Rams that summer; Malcolm Brown and Aaron Green, who went undrafted out of Texas and TCU, respectively, last year and this year.
A draft-day pedigree is hardly a prerequisite for successful ruing backs. Mike Shanahan has a long history of plugging players into his zone-read blocking scheme, most recently coaxing 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns out of Alfred Morris in 2012. In Houston, Arian Foster totaled 6,309 rushing yards and 53 touchdowns over six seasons, making four Pro Bowls along the way. And in Seattle, Thomas Rawls is set to succeed Marshawn Lynch after chipping in 830 yards as a rookie.
And while the Rams have a bonafide star in Gurley, they still need their reserves to contribute. Cuingham, who was careful to note that he prepares himself like a starter, attributes his success in part to finding his niche. After a to patella tendon sank his draft stock, he found a spot with the Rams, one of just two teams to attend his pro day. He has yet to clear 300 rushing yards in a season, but has tued his last 60 kickoff retus into 1,677 yards.
“It’s kind of finding your role on the team,” Cuingham said. “Whether it be a third-down back, whether it be special teams — finding your role and being the best you can. I kind of understand what I’m expected to do here.”
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Ruing backs coach Skip Peete added: “You target guys that you feel like have the qualities and abilities that fit the system.”
Reynolds has made himself valuable too, re-signing with the Rams this past offseason despite zero career carries. He has stuck around in the pros by virtue of his work in kick and punt retu coverage. Even as younger players push him for his spot, he doesn’t shy away from lending them a hand.
“We’ve all been in that spot,” Reynolds said. “We’ve all been that guy who comes in. It’s a hard world to come into and be a part of. We all do a good job of getting around, lifting a guy up and helping him out. ‘Hey, ask me questions, I’ll let you know anytime.’ I mean, you’re almost grooming him to take your job.”
When it comes to identifying and signing undrafted ruing backs, Rams general manager Les Snead noted two key points. If the player doesn’t have speed — one of the most common reasons for lowered draft stock — you look for vision. And if he’s fast? You have to figure out whether he has a flaw “that may be too fatal.” Hit the right balance often enough, and it sometimes becomes easier to convince new free agents to sign on.
That the Rams are relying on so many once-unheralded names could, on one hand, be seen as an uncomfortable position. But could it also indicate a successful scouting strategy?
“Maybe,” Snead said. “Time will tell, right?”
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 8:07
Ethan Hanson has a pretty good grasp on the things he identifies to be his strengths and weaknesses.
Having passion, resourcefulness, research ability and an understanding of sports history and culture is an impressive start for the 23-year-old from Chatsworth who plans to enter Cal State Northridge this fall and pursue a degree in sports broadcasting, as well as go after a teaching credential.
“Most of all, and I think the most important thing, is I’m always wanting to lea and try to do things to better my skills,” he says. “I feel as though you can take 100 broadcasters to a game and each person has a different and unique approach. Some things may work, some things may not. At the end of the day you have to be open enough to listen and lea from others who have comes before me.”
As far as what he feels a need to work on: “I tend to be a little too high energy at times, I would say. As professor of broadcasting at Fordham University Bob Ahrens would say to me, ‘Not everything is a Game 7.’”
He also acknowledges, as many do leaing this craft, having some stage fright, which can manifest into a stuttering issue. He copes with that by taking singing classes.
“By performing in front of other people, it makes me more at ease when I broadcast a game,” he says. “Plus, that’s actually another talent I have. I’ve been told by numerous artists I’m an above-average singer.”
When you eventually factor in that Hanson happens to live with Asperger’s Syndrome on the autism spectrum, strengths and weaknesses tend to be redefined. It speaks to both categories, and to neither. It’s an aoyance, and it’s what motivates him.
Ultimately, it’s another reason why anyone would want someone like Ethan Hanson to succeed.
When Hanson was 3, doctors told his mother that he would never be able to function socially. An Asperger’s diagnosis focuses on difficulty with social interaction, repetitive speech, difficulty understanding nuances and lacking of eye contact.
“But that can be just a stereotype,” Hanson will say with a laugh. “Like, white men can’t jump.”
Hanson does admit that he’s guilty of all the above at some time or another. He doesn’t know how to ride a bike, he says, because it makes him nervous. Same with driving a car.
Yet, to cover games for the last few years while attending Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Hanson has mastered public transportation and Uber. He once took five busses to call a Brahams’ baseball playoff game in Cerritos this season. Hanson ended up doing nearly 100 athletic events for the site.
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Arriving early to an event starts with finding the right Wifi coections to link up with the school’s website. Because of Hanson, Pierce has a streaming audio system in place, one he created, just as he did when attending El Camino Real High.
Bob Lofrano, the Pierce athletic director for the last nine years, says Hanson has been up front about Aspergers “because he accepts it as part of him and doesn’t see it as a boundary. Nor should it be.”
Lofrano marveled at how Hanson would call a basketball or volleyball game at the Pierce College gym, going all the way up to the top of the bleachers to reach an old aouncing booth that hadn’t been used since the days Dey Crum coached there.
“Ethan would always figure it out,” said Lofrano. “He’s not afraid. All he needed was to open the door for him and he had free run of the place. The athletic department offices have been like his second home on campus. Whatever help I’ve tried to give him, he’s always responded well and with respect.
“You want to pull for guys like him.”
Sam Farber, whose broadcasting career has included play-by-play on Inland Empire minor league baseball and Cal State Northridge sports, was at the Rams’ Oxnard camp recently collecting interviews for KNX news radio. He saw Hanson faced with an issue tying to get to the practice field to work on a story he was writing for the CaliSportsNews.com website.
In suit and tie, Hanson had come all that way to set up his interview, only to have the Rams explain their policy did not give access to websites.
“I had seen him out there before and could tell it was a frustrating thing for him,” said Farber. “He always acts professionally. I didn’t want to see him get discouraged over a miscommunication that we all lea about the hard way coming up in this business.”
At that point, Farber didn’t know of Hanson’s Asperger condition. Once told of it, he was more impressed.
“It’s great how sports can coect people and clear the lines for someone like Ethan,” said Farber. “If this is his dream, to work in sports, it’s a tribute to how hard he works at it. I don’t see him as someone who ‘can’t,’ no matter what the hurdle. This career is difficult enough because there are only so many jobs out there. But if you have the right work ethic, like Ethan does, it will always push you in the right direction.”
All through school, Hanson maneuvered without being placed in an Individualized Education Program (IEP), something his mother, Pam Hanson-Medina, did not want for him. He eventually enrolled in martial arts classes at age 13 to lea discipline and build confidence.
He has also been surrounded by sports for as long as he can remember – older sister, Lara, excelled in basketball and played at Fordham, and a younger brother, Josh Medina, is a junior baseball standout at Chatsworth High. Ethan says that it’s “probably the best thing for someone with Aspergers” because sports is a great equalizer and it feeds into his competitive nature.
“Plus, you’ve also got to develop a sense of humor,” he said. “You can’t get mad at everything.”
Recent time in New York living with his sister and doing sports marketing work at Fordham also expanded his view of the world. Lara has posted YouTube clips of her brother’s broadcasting work at Pierce.
Hanson was just 6 when he met the late Chick Hea at the Forum back in the late 1990s, where Hea was calling a WNBA Sparks game, but it was a moment Hanson pinpoints as when his desire to get into sportscasting started. He writes on his Tumblr.com biography that since meeting Hea, he was “able to find my voice and communicate with the world.”
The voice has led to him, as he notes on his Twitter account, doing a sports-talk show for KPCRadio.com, working as a social media director for the SoCal Valley Halos travel baseball team and doing some play-by-play for the Ventura County Fusion soccer team.
The former sports editor of the Pierce College Roundup newspaper has also been writing for the Daily News, Ventura County Star and Santa Clarita Signal.
While open about his Asperger’s, Hanson cares enough to not have it define him as he navigates the joualism world.
“Here’s the thing,” Hanson says. “People now ask me if I can mentor their children (who have Asperger’s.). The first thing I say to them: Everyone like me has strengths and weaknesses in life. I can memorize things on the fly, sometimes things very random. I am a fierce competitor – autism or not. There’s a dog in me.
“Also, I lose things all the time. I’m still waiting for a new ID because I fell asleep on a bus and lost it. My room is a mess. I’m unorganized.
“Maybe I’m a little bit weird. I dress a little bit bizarre. I raise my hand in class too much, maybe ask too many questions, change the subject, can be a little random. But I don’t want to make any excuses for any of that. It’s a jouey. I truly believe in this life that those who grind and go through tough times eventually get somewhere.
“I remember a quote I once read in a book: The seed that goes through a storm and blooms into a tree becomes much more sturdy than one raised in a perfect environment and doesn’t know how to deal with adversity.”
More media notes at www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth
• One more Father’s Day media-related gift consideration, if time permits: “18 Holes With Bing: Golf, Life and Lessons from Dad,” by Nathaniel Crosby, with Golf Digest writer John Strege (Dey Street Books, 224 pages, $22.99). Nathaniel Crosby, the 1981 U.S. Amateur golf champion and ’82 U.S. Open low amateur who will tu 55 this fall, was in high school when he heard the news that his famous father, Bing, had died of a heart attack after a round of golf while on vacation in Spain. “For some reason, probably to be alone with my thoughts, I went over to Burlingame (Country Club, near his school in Northe Califoia) that afteoon and played golf. Dad would have been okay with that.” A short time later, Nathaniel’s mother assigned him to become the host of the PGA’s Bing Crosby National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, to carry on his tradition. Here, Nathaniel can vouch for his father’s love of the sport and appreciate how the game bonded them.
• If this Justin Tuer-Yasmani Grandal dugout episode during Thursday night’s Dodgers-Brewers game at Dodger Stadium becomes a major marking point in the 2016 season, it’s unfortunate to some degree that SportsNet LA’s comprehensive coverage did not capture it on video, nor did Vin Scully mention it happening on that telecast. It was not addressed on the SNLA broadcast Thursday until the post-game show when the few media members who saw it and tweeted it out, including the SCNG’s J.P. Hoostra, brought it up in manager Dave Roberts’ press conference. As for conspiracy theorists who surmise the Dodgers somehow nixed its owned-chael from showing something that could have put the team in an unflattering light, SNLA sources say they simply didn’t see it happen between iings review or else they would have shown the video. The Brewers’ TV feed did not have it, either, nor did any photographers present.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 8:07
Cristiano Ronaldo experienced a night to forget on his record 128th Portugal appearance Saturday at Paris, missing a late penalty in a 0-0 draw against Austria that left his team winless after two matches at the European Championship.
As goalkeeper Robert Almer dived to his left, Ronaldo struck the spotkick in the opposite direction but it crashed against the post in the 79th minute.
Ronaldo then thought he had netted his 59th Portugal goal about five minutes later, but it was ruled out for offside.
It summed up a frustrating night at the Parc des Princes for the Portugal captain, who is still waiting to score in a record fourth European Championship.
If his team struggles again in its final Group F game against Hungary, Portugal could be going home early after also drawing its opening game against Iceland. Austria is off the mark after opening with a loss to Hungary.
There was a brief security scare after the final whistle when a fan rushed onto the field to approach Ronaldo. A steward intervened, but Ronaldo allowed the fan to pose for a selfie.
Ronaldo won’t want any pictures to remember this game. It was a landmark match but not a memorable one for the Real Madrid forward.
It was all Portugal but all frustration.
Austria goalkeeper Robert Almer was the initial barrier, blocking Nani’s shot and tipping Vieirinha’s effort wide in quick succession.
After belittling Iceland’s modest ambitions after last week’s draw, Ronaldo wasn’t living up to his own high standards.
Nani’s interplay with Raphael Guerreiro on the left flank led to the ball being squared invitingly to Ronaldo but he sent the shot wide in the 28th.
Ronaldo clasped his hands and looked up to the skies. The anguish was etched on his face and was there again 10 minutes later. Presented with another opening by Ricardo Quaresma, Ronaldo shot straight at Almer.
It was a strong performance by Almer, who tued Joao Moutinho’s shot over after Nani header’s came off the post before the break.
The second half opened with Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio called into action for the first time, tuing Stefan Ilsanker’s shot away.
But Ronaldo couldn’t beat Patricio’s opposite number. Two free kicks hit the Austrian defensive wall making it 36 such touament set pieces Ronaldo has failed to score from and a header was saved.
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Even when Ronaldo was hauled down in the penalty area by Martin Hinteregger, Ronaldo couldn’t seize the opening as his spotkick struck the post.
Belgium 3, Ireland 0 >> After a poor start to the European Championship, Belgium began living up to its promise with a resounding victory over Ireland at Bordeaux, France.
Romelu Lukaku scored two second-half goals as Belgium’s much-vaunted attack finally sprang to life after a disappointing display in the opening 2-0 loss to Italy.
“I’m very happy for the team, you know,” Lukaku said. “I think it was very important for us to win today, to deliver a good performance after the game against Italy, which was a setback.
“Sometimes you need a setback, because we have a young squad. It’s good because we faced the reality. We knew that Italy’s a good side, they showed it against us. Now we are awake and have to become even better after the performance of today.”
Having earlier wasted a series of chances, Belgium one of the touament favorites started the second half strongly and it wasn’t long before the team went ahead.
Lukaku struck in the 48th minute after a swift counterattack that owed much to Kevin De Bruyne’s burst down the right flank. Lukaku controlled De Bruyne’s square pass before driving the ball low into the bottom left coer from the edge of the penalty area.
Axel Witsel doubled the score in the 61st, when he jumped above Ireland midfielder James McCarthy to crisply head in Thomas Meunier’s cross for his first inteational goal in nearly two years.
Ireland went on the attack in an attempt to claw back the arrears, but the team was once again caught out by a pacey Belgian counterattack. Eden Hazard raced down the right from inside his own half before squaring for Lukaku, who slotted the ball past Ireland goalkeeper Darren Randolph in the 70th.
Witsel, who was named man of the match, said the first goal was the key.
“What’s important is the team’s mentality,” he said. “We didn’t give them anything in the first half. At halftime, we spoke a lot about passion.”
Witsel heaped praise on Lukaku, saying his teammate should have been named man of the match instead, for his two goals.
“We chose to play on the ground, to play short passes, and that’s how we managed to find the advantage tonight,” Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said. “I think we came up with the right strategy. I congratulate the players for their selflessness.”
The defeat against Italy had raised renewed question marks over whether Belgium’s supposed “golden generation” of players could deliver on a touament stage.
“I think individually they are as talented a team as any in the competition,” Ireland coach Martin O’Neill said.
Belgium now has three points from its two games in Group E, while Ireland has one. Belgium plays Sweden next and a draw would most likely seal the team’s qualification to the round of 16.
Ireland meets Italy, which has now won the group. Ireland will likely need to beat Italy to stand a chance of advancing.
“We have a game to win and we have to throw everything into it,” O’Neill said.
In the 24-team format that’s being used at Euro 2016 for the first time, four third-placed group teams will qualify for the round of 16.
Hungary 1, Iceland 1 >> Birkir Saevarsson scored a late own-goal to hand Hungary a draw with Iceland at Marseille, France, in another touament match affected by crowd trouble.
Saevarsson tued a cross from Nemanja Nikolic into his own net as Iceland was headed for its first victory at a major touament.
As the players celebrated the 88th-minute equalizer, Hungarian fans threw flares onto the field and into a group of nearby police officers, delaying the restart.
Iceland took the lead in the 40th minute when Gylfi Sigurdsson scored from the penalty spot, hitting the ball low and hard to veteran goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly’s right.
The penalty followed a chaotic scramble in the area after Kiraly caught, then dropped, a cross from Joha Gudmundsson. In the ensuing melee, Russian referee Sergei Karasev ruled that defender Tamas Kadar had fouled Aron Guarsson.
Iceland veteran Eidur Gudjohnsen nearly scored a wier with the final kick of the match, but his low shot from the edge of the box was deflected wide.
Hungary now has four points in Group F and looks set to qualify for the round of 16. Iceland has two points and next plays Austria.
Before the match, Hungarian fans clashed with stewards and a small group of French police as they forced their way over a fence in a coer section of the Stade Velodrome in an attempt to cross into another stand and join a hardcore fan group behind the goal.
A flare was later waved during the national anthems in the Hungarian end, which was packed with supporters in black t-shirts, and a firecracker was thrown onto the field from the same part of the stand after the referee awarded the penalty.
Another flare was lit after the final whistle when Hungarian players ran to celebrate with supporters.
Hungary is likely to face a significant fine from UEFA after repeated crowd trouble, a day after fighting and flare-throwing by Croatian supporters.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 8:07
For warm-ups, they run a layup line and shoot hoops on a portable basket they drag onto the sand. They call their tent the Forum Club. Under a cadet blue sky, the toned bronze renegades of Manhattan Beach volleyball draw the attention of thousands of onlookers as they rush onto the sand, bearing the symbols of their peculiar faith.
They wear afro-style wigs and golden Lakers jerseys in strict adherence to the scripture that guides their devotion: the ’80s Chevy Chase comedy film “Fletch.”
In the middle of the highly competitive and even more irregular spectacle that unfolds every July, the Charlie Saikley 6-Man Beach Volleyball Touament, is an easily recognized 6-foot-8 player who is a menacing protector on the front line and an able passer, just as he was as an NBA player.
The coiled aubu mop is cropped tighter than when he was a basketball player, but Luke Walton remains the portrait of a laidback beach bro.
“A slow-talking Califoian,” says Bruce Fraser, a Golden State Warriors assistant.
“Every time I see Luke,” longtime Lakers trainer Gary Vitti says, “it’s always at the beach and he’s always full of sand.”
This is the man who late Sunday night, one way or another, will become the 26th head coach of the Lakers. Following Game 7 of the Finals, Walton, the Golden State Warriors lead assistant coach, will either celebrate the culmination of one of the greatest seasons in NBA history, or mou his team’s historic collapse from a commanding 3-1 series lead. Either way, he will gather himself, and tu his attention to the challenges facing his new team.
Walton is uniquely positioned to confront them.
For generations, the organization has embodied Hollywood. The Lakers are Magic and Showtime, a courtside halo of stars of television and film.
The most Hollywood thing about Walton, however, might just be the fact that he plays on a party-loving volleyball team that celebrates a cult classic.
Instead, he represents the other pillar of L.A.’s glamorous reputation: the beach.
Walton, who declined to be interviewed amid the Warriors playoff run, is the laid-back third son (of four) of basketball’s hippie hero, Bill Walton. By association, he elicits the same hazy images as his dad: a tie-dyed Deadhead hanging out in a backyard teepee. His contribution to the Warriors’ coaches music playlist includes the Grateful Dead.
“If you were first to meet him you’d think, ‘That’s the biggest hippie stoner I’ve ever seen in my life,’” says Day Boehle, who owns Fonz’s, a popular Manhattan Beach restaurant that Walton frequents. “Because he’s like, ‘Hey man, basketball’s cool.’ He’s that kind of guy.”
Walton might be the video game generation’s first NBA head coach, but he’s hardly Jeff Spicoli, tumbling out of his smoke-filled van on the first day of classes at Ridgemont High.
His easygoing nature is balanced out with a fierce competitiveness. He once played through a broken hand to help his volleyball team to the final of a Labor Day touament in Hermosa Beach.
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“He plays it like it’s a professional sport,” says Nate Walton, one of Luke’s three brothers, “because he gets really into the competition of it.”
As a Warriors assistant the last two seasons, star players confided in Walton as a friend but regarded him with the ultimate respect when he served as the interim head coach for 43 games last season.
For a Lakers organization that spent the last several years gazing wistfully into its storied past – paying a premium so Kobe Bryant could enjoy a farewell tour and trotting out legends Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when Byron Scott was hired as head coach in 2014 – Walton might just bring a cultural revolution.
“He’s not Pat Riley,” Nate Walton says, referencing the coach who defined the Lakers’ 1980s championship era with power suits and slicked-back hair, polished tributes to precision and fortitude.
Walton’s brother, who holds degrees from Princeton and Stanford, sees the Lakers’ decision to hire his brother as consistent with a cultural shift throughout society, one spurred on by the tech industry across the San Francisco Bay from Oakland, where formal is out and creative and unique is in.
“You could make an argument,” he says, “that the big-wig in the suit is no longer what’s cool. It’s the guy who’s wearing a hoodie and stays true to himself.”
When Walton’s 11-year playing career ended in 2013 after two seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he retued to his adopted home of Manhattan Beach, the affluent surfer’s enclave nestled 2 miles south of the Lakers’ El Segundo headquarters and about 20 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles. That summer, he married his longtime girlfriend, former Arizona volleyball player Bre Ladd.
He filled his time with the retired NBA player’s version of odd jobs: A player development gig with the Lakers’ D-League affiliate, and some work as a studio analyst for Time Waer Cable SportsNet.
Walton, then 33, forged a daily routine of working out with former Heisman Trophy wier Matt Leinart, whose NFL career ended the same year. The two trained as if they were still professional athletes, “because that’s what we know,” Leinart says.
Walton practiced yoga at a studio owned by Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson, a college teammate and the best man at his wedding. Walton and Leinart assembled a team of friends to play in a recreation basketball league that draws many former college players.
“It’s not like we were in some slouch league,” Leinart says.
Walton mostly coasted, pulling up for 3-pointers in transition, playing casual defense. When an opponent on one of the league’s better teams managed to get under Walton’s skin, however, he responded with a 36-point half in a semifinal playoff victory.
They went on to win the league title, with Walton hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer in the championship game and sealing the victory with a game-wiing steal.
That this championship was celebrated at a pizza parlor rather than with a parade through downtown Los Angeles didn’t matter. Even in childhood, Walton’s competitiveness came out in board games, video games, and ping-pong.
“I’ve played all those things with Luke hundreds of times,” Nate Walton says, “and it’s always the same level. He’s not laid back at all when it comes to the competition.”
While much of that is passed down from Walton’s famous father, his mother, Susie Walton, is a former athlete, as well. When she lost five straight volleyball matches last month, she says she stewed for hours. She nurtured that drive in her son, who as a kid growing up in San Diego would play board games against himself if no one accepted his challenge.
“He’s really one of the biggest competitors I’ve been around,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers says, “and also one that’s been able to calibrate appropriately the place that basketball has in our lives.”
Walton’s second-grade teacher told Susie that she should let Luke win at games, to build self-esteem. Told this, a young Luke scowled and said, “Play me.”
“His dad taught him to play chess,” Susie says. “(Luke) could see three or four moves out. He has that thing about him, where he can see something and see what can happen as a result of what’s going on in that moment, and I think that’s one of his favorite parts of coaching. Watching what other teams do with their players and then matching it. Like chess.”
Walton and his brothers did not grow up lounging on the beach. It was a place to go swimming. Nate Walton says the idea of Luke as a beach bum is a misconception.
“There’s a simplicity to Luke’s interests that is pretty refreshing,” he says. “He likes the simple things, generally, in life.”
Hanging out with his wife and 2-year-old son, Lawson. Walking the dog. Wearing sweats and watching movies. He is nothing if not a creature of habit.
As a player, he and other young Lakers like Devean George, Brian Cook and Kareem Rush comprised the “bench mob,” a gang of friends who on the night before a road game religiously went to dier and a movie.
From Toronto to Indiana to Cleveland. From Memphis to San Antonio. They were so rigid about their relaxation routine that if no new movie appealed to them, they would go to the theater and watch one they had already seen.
That first year, 2003-04, George estimates they saw “Along Came Polly” eight times in theaters.
“It was crazy how many times we saw that thing,” says George, who retired in 2010.
Volleyball fits neatly into Walton’s new routine. Along the way, he’s become a formidable player.
During that gap year hanging out with Leinart, Walton became more and more committed to volleyball, playing nearly every day and embracing a sport that was easier on his body than basketball; a game his chronically aching back allowed him to play.
He had leaed the fundamentals of the sport as a child from Greg Lee, the beach volleyball legend who was a UCLA basketball teammate of Bill Walton’s, but he did not take it up seriously until years later, late in his playing career with the Lakers. In doing so, he carried on a tradition of hoops stars keeping their competitive juices pumping on the sand. Players like his father and Wilt Chamberlain were fixtures.
“That whole era of hippie basketball players were all volleyball players,” says Boehle, the Manhattan Beach restauranteur. “Well, what better place than the beach volleyball capital of the world?”
Boehle sits in mesh shorts and a golf shirt in his restaurant, hours before it opens for dier service. His chair groans as he rocks on its back legs and describes the stream of sports celebrities that have come through since it opened in 1997. Tiger Woods used to be a regular. Phil Jackson and Jeanie Buss are known to stop by. Over the years, Fonz’s has been a hangout for Walton and his buddies. Walton always orders a rib-eye steak or a wedge salad.
“Hey, that was Mia Hamm,” Boehle says, nodding toward the restaurant’s bay window as the former soccer star strolls by. She and her All-Star husband, Nomar Garciaparra, used to come in frequently, he says.
The area provides a comfortable, fulfilling lifestyle and, for someone who has collected an NBA salary for 11 years, one that is easy to maintain. Perpetual summer, however, has its limits.
“There comes a point,” Leinart says, “and I think a lot of athletes are the same, where it’s just hard to stay idle for too long. You want to do something. You want to feel like you’re being competitive. You want something that challenges you.
“You could always tell coaching is something he wanted to do.”
Five months have passed since Walton’s stint as the Warriors’ interim head coach, when Steve Kerr missed the first 43 games of last season after offseason back surgery caused a spinal fluid leak. Kerr tabbed Walton, a second-year assistant, to be his temporary replacement. Walton guided the Warriors to an NBA record with 24 straight wins to start the season and was named coach of the month in November. They went 39-4 before Kerr retued.
It was early in the season that fans and analysts began speculating about Scott’s future and whether Walton could eventually be the man to replace him. Scott and the Lakers were aimless, compiling losses at a record rate. The man hired to guide the Lakers through the end of Bryant’s career was being second-guessed on a nightly basis by the national media and sometimes his own players.
He openly criticized No. 2 overall draft pick D’Angelo Russell and regularly lamented his own struggles to communicate with young players. He had an old-school mentality, honed under the watch of his drill sergeant mentor, Riley.
“If you’re asking a guy every day to just hit this button,” says Devean George, Walton’s former Lakers teammate, “and you’re going off on somebody every day, it kind of becomes noise. As opposed to people actually hearing your message.”
Walton, meanwhile, was seamlessly communicating Kerr’s directives to the record-setting Warriors. Players admired his command and thoughtfulness.
“Obviously, we can be friends and whatever,” All-Star forward Draymond Green says. “You can talk to me and I can talk to you, but at the end of the day, business is business. He does a great job of balancing that. I don’t think it’s a very easy thing to do.”
The skill can be traced down the Califoia coast to Walton’s native San Diego, where as a fifth-grader he played in a three-on-three touament. Most kids linked up with friends from school or their neighborhood.
“Luke wasn’t like that,” Nate Walton says. “He had the best point guard from the bad neighborhood and he had the best player from Tijuana.”
Not only was Walton focused on assembling a team that would win, but he was comfortable being inclusive of different people and their unique personalities.
“It’s the reason he can relate to Draymond Green, to Klay Thompson,” Nate Walton says, “and hopefully why he’ll be able to relate to all these guys on the Lakers.”
With the Warriors, Walton was part of the new wave, a personification of Golden State’s joyful, democratic style of play. After decades of setting NBA trends, the Lakers decided their path back to relevance involved breaking off a branch of the defending champs’ culture and planting it at the front of their bench.
On April 24, after a 17-65 season, the Lakers informed Scott he would not retu as coach. Five days later, Walton was aounced as his replacement.
With the Warriors’ season wrapping up, Walton will step into one of the most high-profile jobs in all of sports. His father, however, remains the family’s most recognizable member.
Prior to Game 5 of the Weste Conference finals at Oracle Arena, Bill Walton, 63, arrives in a blue hooded sweatshirt with the team’s golden Bay Bridge logo stamped on the front.
He sits courtside during pregame warm-ups, and quickly draws a crowd.
The elder Walton might be more famous now for his outlandish television commentary and Deadhead image than his NCAA and NBA championships or his 1978 NBA MVP trophy. The garrulous giant’s once-scraggly red hair has tued white. When he meets someone new, he introduces himself with a handshake and thunders, “I’m Bill.”
With a smile, he politely declines an interview about his son.
“I’m just a dad,” he says. “This is his story.”
Luke Walton was never an awesome leaper or an especially quick basketball player. Like his father, however, he had a keen understanding of the sport. He knew the angles and could deliver the right pass on time.
“He was able to anticipate cuts and movements,” says Jarron Collins, a Warriors assistant coach who played against Walton in high school, college and in the NBA. “He saw the game.”
But the NBA? After an all-conference career at Arizona, Walton declared for the 2003 draft, considered one of the best in NBA history with superstars LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade all going in the first five picks.
With pick No. 33, the Lakers, whose streak of three championships had ended that spring, selected Walton. Phil Jackson and the Lakers saw him as an ideal fit for the triangle offense, which, to function, requires savvy, versatile big men.
“If we didn’t run the triangle, he wouldn’t have been very successful,” Vitti says.
As a rookie, it was impossible for Walton to mask his limitations while playing with future Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton.
“He really wasn’t very gifted, other than his height,” Vitti says. “He couldn’t run, he couldn’t jump, he couldn’t shoot. You know what I mean? But he could play, and he competed at a very high level.”
Walton spent nine of his 11 seasons in the NBA with the Lakers, posting modest averages of 4.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He helped them win championships in 2009 and ’10.
From a personality standpoint, Walton was a revelation to a Lakers locker room weighed down by dueling egos and titanic personalities. Immediately, Walton had a way of defusing tense situations.
“He makes everybody around him feel very comfortable and feel very important,” says Alex McKechnie, who was the Lakers athletic performance coordinator from 2003-11 and now works for the Toronto Raptors.
Even then, Walton was the “sarcastic joker,” George says, always needling teammates before reverting to his mellow comfort zone.
“Even if you hear how he talks,” George says, “he’s just like, ‘Whatever, Dev.’”
George mimics Walton’s distinctive speech when saying this. He drops his delivery to a grating, rasping growl, like gravel crunching under the tires of a big rig.
In a city where celebrities are molded out of big personalities and pro athletes chase their own reality shows, Walton was an outlier. He was the only player in the locker room who, when injured, was not only tended to by the team’s training staff, but also received an alteative healing method that involves balancing out energy frequencies in his body.
“That really makes it sound too woo-wooey,” Susie Walton says, “and it’s not.”
She leaed of the practice, called radionics, when Bill played for the Boston Celtics from 1985-87. A practitioner called the team and said she believed she could help the fragile center with his ongoing host of injuries.
The elder Walton was not interested, but Susie was. For years, she made sure her sons received the treatment for various maladies, including Luke’s basketball injuries.
“I don’t know if my boys 100 percent believed in it, but they would let me do it,” she says.
George says the rest of the Lakers never minded Walton’s alteative tendencies.
In an NBA locker room, he says, “different is good.”
“I think the best thing anyone could say about a person is that they’re eccentric,” says Ron Adams, the Warriors’ veteran assistant coach. “It’s taken as a pejorative word at times, but eccentricity is a nice word. And he’s a good eccentric person.”
That’s a quality that coects Walton with the coach he spent the majority of his Lakers career playing under.
As Walton’s injuries piled up, causing him to miss significant time each season, Phil Jackson began warming to Walton as a future coach. Jackson took Walton under his wing, allowing him to sit in on coaches meetings and help game plan, the way former Knicks coach Red Holzman had done with Jackson when he was a young player.
Kobe Bryant teased Walton that he was the next Zen Master.
“He was an average player with a messed-up back,” Bryant cracked last season when Walton was at the Warriors’ helm. “I said, ‘Dude is this is not Phil. ... Dude, you’re a hippie, 6-9 or whatever it is.’ I used to rib him all that time about that. But honestly, he always had a brilliant mind, understanding flow and tempo and spacing and how to manage a team the right way and things like that.”
“I think Phil saw a lot of himself in Luke,” Bryant said.
The members of Team Fletch shed their wigs and jerseys late on a July afteoon and splash into the Pacific, soaking up the satisfaction of a championship.
With Walton subbing in to block and deliver powerful kill shots last summer, the team won its fourth title in 20 years.
A year ago, Walton coached the Warriors’ summer league entry in Las Vegas. It was his first experience as a head coach, but his responsibilities devoured time he would have spent on the beach playing volleyball in the past. He eventually found his way back to the sand.
The demands of coaching will only grow now that he is guiding the Lakers. And he will soon have even less spare time. His wife, Bre, is due with the couple’s second child this month. In his first true head coaching job, Walton’s friends expect he will throw himself completely into the work and temporarily retire from the Manhattan Beach social scene.
“We’re not going to see him as much anymore,” Leinart says, “but we’re all excited for him, obviously. To us, he’s just Luke, and everyone’s really pumped for him.”
When Walton finds a break in his schedule, however, his buddies anticipate they will receive the occasional text message, begging them to meet him at the beach for a game. And they’ll find it hard to resist.
“You’ll feel like you’re breaking Luke’s heart,” says Chris McGee, the Lakers television network studio host and a founding member of Team Fletch. “You’ll do whatever you can to get there. He just knows how to get you to tell your wife, ‘I’ve got to go play volleyball for an hour and a half.’”
The image of Walton on the beach could raise some eyebrows. Even coaches, however, need to exercise. To compete.
“He’s going to be out there playing volleyball,” says Fraser, the Warriors’ development coach. “But he’s got substance and intellect. He’s going to be watching film at night and other times. He’s going to be prepared.”
Come the end of July, the old crew will pull out their classic Lakers gear and their wigs and retu to the sand next to the Manhattan Beach Pier.
Don’t be surprised if Walton is among them.
He already helped his team restore its championship pedigree. Now there is a legacy to preserve.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: يکشنبه 30 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 3:49
LONG BEACH >> The top-ranked USA women’s volleyball team is in Southe Califoia for the weekend as the Americans play host to the FIVB World Grand Prix, with Pool E matches against Japan today and Turkey on Sunday. Friday evening, the USA faced No. 11 Germany to start World Grand Prix action. The No. 1 Americans made a statement to start off what they hope will be an historic summer, topping the Germans 25-17, 24-26, 25-10, 25-23.
Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid is playing host to all four teams this weekend, as part of the second week of the World Grand Prix.
The Americans opened strong on Friday, taking control of the first set early and cruising to a 25-17 win that saw them hit over .500 while holding Germany to under .100. Karsta Lowe led the way with five kills on six swings. In the second set, the USA looked to move into a 2-0 position and led 22-19, but after going up 24-23, yielded three straight points to allow Germany to tie the match. Jana Franziska Poll led the way for Germany with seven kills.
The USA roared back in the third set behind huge swings from Lowe and Kimberly Hill, who powered a dominant American attack.
The fourth set was a see-saw battle with the USA leading the way late in the frame but barely holding off Germany, as the Germans pulled within a point four times and held off match point three times before the USA finally ended the set and the match on a big swing from Lowe.
Lowe led the way with 18 kills while Hill finished with 15. Poll had 12 kills to lead Germany.
Tonight will see an even stiffer challenge for the USA when it hosts No. 5 Japan at 7:10 p.m.
There will be plenty of opportunity for the fans to enjoy the atmosphere before tonight’s match against Japan by taking part in the VOL-B-QUE event outside the Pyramid. Hailed as the largest tailgate party in the country, fans are encouraged to dress in red, white and blue for an afteoon of music and games, including volleyball on the lawn. Tickets are available for $10 for walk-up fans.
The USA won’t have much time to recover from the matches in the Pyramid. Monday, the Americans are off to Hong Kong for the next round of play. The championships for the World Grand Prix will be in Thailand this year, just a month before the Olympics begin in Rio.
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برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 16:48
LOS ANGELES >> Like leaving the last Oreo in the sleeve, this is not going to be easy.
But the Dodgers remain committed to keeping a goveor on Julio Urias’ workload this season, a vow of abstinence that has become more difficult to stand by with each of his five big-league starts. Urias keeps getting better, a trend that led to five scoreless iings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.
But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled him after those five iings and 85 pitches this time, a decision that quickly became lamentable. The Brewers scored twice against Dodgers relievers in the sixth iing and it took Justin Tuer’s second home run of the game (in the eighth iing) and his game-wiing RBI single in the 10th to recover a 3-2 Dodgers victory.
Urias is likely to make just one more start in the big leagues – for now – if the Dodgers stick to their vow to rein in his iings and keep him around 100 for the season. On Thursday, Roberts guaranteed only two more starts for Urias, saying “we’ll go from there” after that.
That second start would come Wednesday against the Washington Nationals with a summer vacation awaiting Urias on the other side.
By then, Urias might be the second-best pitcher in a Dodgers’ rotation that is consistently leaving a lot of work for the bullpen. Their relievers have thrown 25-2/3 over the past seven games, enough work to tax even an eight-man bullpen.
Urias struck out seven in his five iings Friday, pitching out of trouble in each of the first three iings. He stranded a ruer at third base each time while nursing a 1-0 lead for the second consecutive start.
The 19-year-old left-hander’s best iing was his last. He retired the side in order in the top of the fifth. But when his spot in the batting order came up in the bottom of the iing, Roberts sent up a pinch-hitter.
Reliever Louis Coleman replaced Urias in the sixth and quickly gave up back-to-back doubles (to trade-rumors stalwarts Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy) and the lead along with them. The Brewers took the lead when Chris Carter’s RBI single made it three consecutive hits.
That was enough against a Dodgers’ offense that had another unproductive night at home.
Tuer’s solo home run in the first iing was their only run against Brewers starter Zach Davies. Davies wasn’t even pressed by Dodgers hitters for most of the night. He retired 12 of 13 at one point. The Dodgers didn’t get another ruer past first base until the sixth iing when two singles and an errant pickoff throw by Davies put ruers at second and third with two outs. Trayce Thompson grounded out to end that threat.
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After the first iing, Davies retired the Dodgers on 15 pitches or less in each of the next six iings.
The offense came back in the eighth after Davies left the game when Tuer added a second home run, a towering shot into the home bullpen, off Brewers reliever Tyler Thoburg. Tuer’s fifth home run in his past 12 games (after just three in his first 55 games) tied the game, 2-2.
In the 10th, they put together the wiing rally.
Will Venable led off with a ground-rule double down the right field line and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by A.J. Ellis. After the Brewers intentionally walked Chase Utley and Corey Seager to load the bases, they went to a five-man infield. It didn’t matter. Tuer lined the game-wiing single into left field.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 16:48
LOS ANGELES >> Like leaving the last Oreo in the sleeve, this is not going to be easy.
But the Dodgers remain committed to keeping a goveor on Julio Urias’ workload this season, a vow of abstinence that has become more difficult to stand by with each of his five big-league starts. Urias keeps getting better, a trend that led to five scoreless iings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.
But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled him after those five iings and 85 pitches this time, a decision that quickly became lamentable. The Brewers scored twice against Dodgers relievers in the sixth iing and it took Justin Tuer’s second home run of the game (in the eighth iing) and his game-wiing RBI single in the 10th to recover a 3-2 Dodgers victory.
Urias is likely to make just one more start in the big leagues – for now – if the Dodgers stick to their vow to rein in his iings and keep him around 100 for the season. On Thursday, Roberts guaranteed only two more starts for Urias, saying “we’ll go from there” after that.
That second start would come Wednesday against the Washington Nationals with a summer vacation awaiting Urias on the other side.
By then, Urias might be the second-best pitcher in a Dodgers’ rotation that is consistently leaving a lot of work for the bullpen. Their relievers have thrown 25-2/3 over the past seven games, enough work to tax even an eight-man bullpen.
Urias struck out seven in his five iings Friday, pitching out of trouble in each of the first three iings. He stranded a ruer at third base each time while nursing a 1-0 lead for the second consecutive start.
The 19-year-old left-hander’s best iing was his last. He retired the side in order in the top of the fifth. But when his spot in the batting order came up in the bottom of the iing, Roberts sent up a pinch-hitter.
Reliever Louis Coleman replaced Urias in the sixth and quickly gave up back-to-back doubles (to trade-rumors stalwarts Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy) and the lead along with them. The Brewers took the lead when Chris Carter’s RBI single made it three consecutive hits.
That was enough against a Dodgers’ offense that had another unproductive night at home.
Tuer’s solo home run in the first iing was their only run against Brewers starter Zach Davies. Davies wasn’t even pressed by Dodgers hitters for most of the night. He retired 12 of 13 at one point. The Dodgers didn’t get another ruer past first base until the sixth iing when two singles and an errant pickoff throw by Davies put ruers at second and third with two outs. Trayce Thompson grounded out to end that threat.
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After the first iing, Davies retired the Dodgers on 15 pitches or less in each of the next six iings.
The offense came back in the eighth after Davies left the game when Tuer added a second home run, a towering shot into the home bullpen, off Brewers reliever Tyler Thoburg. Tuer’s fifth home run in his past 12 games (after just three in his first 55 games) tied the game, 2-2.
In the 10th, they put together the wiing rally.
Will Venable led off with a ground-rule double down the right field line and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by A.J. Ellis. After the Brewers intentionally walked Chase Utley and Corey Seager to load the bases, they went to a five-man infield. It didn’t matter. Tuer lined the game-wiing single into left field.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 14:30
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. >> David Ospina made an outstanding flying kick save in a shootout, Christian Cueva sent Peru’s final attempt over the crossbar and Colombia reached the Copa America semifinals for the first time since 2004 with a 4-2 victory on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie Friday night.
James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado and Dayro Moreno converted the first three penalty kicks for Colombia, beating goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, and Raul Ruidiaz, Renato Tapia made the first two for Peru.
Hoping to stay even after three rounds, Miguel Trauco sent a kick down the middle as Ospina dived to his left. The Arsenal goalkeeper, parallel to the ground, raised his trailing right leg to kick the ball away.
Sabastian Perez converted Colombia’s fourth kick, and Cueva had a nervous look on his face as he walked up to the penalty spot and exhaled deeply.
Cueva skied his kick over the crossbar. Colombian players ran out to celebrate with Ospina, who pumped both arms several times. Cueva contorted his face in pain and covered it with both hands. Ospina walked over the Cueva to console the 24-year-old midfielder.
Third-ranked Colombia, which won its only Copa title at home in 2001, plays Wednesday in Chicago against the wier of Saturday night’s quarterfinal between Mexico and defending champion Chile. The United States faces Argentina or Venezuela at Houston on Tuesday in the first semifinal of the expanded touament, played with 16 nations from throughout the Americas to celebrate the event’s 100th aiversary.
Before a sellout crowd of 79,194 at MetLife Stadium, Ospina also made an outstanding save in the second minute of second-half stoppage time. Cueva took just the second coer kick for Peru of the night and Ospina leaped to tip Christian Ramos’ header over the crossbar.
Ranked 48th, Peru had advanced from the group stage with a controversial goal on a hand ball that knocked out Brazil.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 14:30
ANAHEIM >> The difference between the majors and minors, in some ways, can be undetectable, the rubber and home plate separated by the same 60 feet, 6 inches in both Anaheim and Albuquerque.
In other ways, the difference can be subtle, like a tiny punctuation mark. Or sizable, like what that tiny punctuation mark means.
“The first time I got called up,” A.J. Achter says, “was the first time I had a paycheck with a comma in it, besides my signing bonus.”
That was in September 2014, the reliever debuting for Miesota with a 1-2-3 ninth iing to clinch an 11-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Afterward, Achter celebrated by having dier with his parents, Rod and Cindy, and his then-girlfriend, Kaiti Nester. In another career first, he was able to pick up the tab, successfully closing out a happy occasion for the second time in one night.
“We got paid like two days after I was called up,” Achter says. “I made more money in those two days than I made pretty much the whole season in Triple-A.”
Now property of the Angels, Achter knows the difference between the majors and minors better than all his teammates, knows that, as property, he really can be bought and sold.
Entering the weekend, he had been demoted and promoted four times since just the latter part of spring training, Achter’s volatile status the perfect representation of a roster that has been unstable enough to excite a Geiger counter.
The Angels, since April 1, have used the disabled list 11 times and designated 10 players for assignment, including Achter, who cleared waivers last month and opted to stay with the organization by retuing to Triple-A Salt Lake. Yet again.
Every baseball team goes through persoel changes during the course of a season, yes. These things are no more permanent than an elbow ligament that’s always one pitch away from becoming spaghetti.
The Angels, however, have experienced an almost comical influx of in flux.
By comparison, the Dodgers, who also feature a standing-room-only disabled list, have designated just three players for assignment. Although, when one of them, Carl Crawford, is still owed nearly $35 million, the situation can seem worse than that.
“It’s frustrating because as a competitor you want to compete at the highest level possible,” Achter says. “I feel like I’ve shown glimpses of being able to compete up here. At the same time, you understand the way things work and the decisions that have to be made.”
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This is nothing new, not for someone who has been pitching against the wind his entire professional career. Achter was drafted in 2010 in the 46th round, a position deemed so uecessary that baseball has since eliminated it, capping its draft at 40 rounds.
There were 1,394 players selected before Achter, who also once was rejected by the Cape Cod League.
In the span of barely a month during the offseason, he belonged to three different organizations, finally ending up with the Angels as a December waiver claim.
“It’s kind of crazy the way everything has worked out,” Achter says. “But I come from a family of fighters. Nothing in my career ever has been handed to me.”
Rod Achter was a football player, a receiver at Toledo good enough to be drafted by the Vikings in 1983. He was taken in the ninth round, a round that also no longer exists.
In his first training camp, Rod lost out to a player who was drafted well before him. He also had tryouts with the Bengals and Jets, but all his NFL experience was limited to the preseason, including the touchdown pass he caught from Boomer Esiason.
Rod eventually made it in the CFL, playing with Ottawa, which isn’t bad but still isn’t Lambeau Field on a Sunday.
“If there’s anyone who understands the business side of this,” Achter says, “it’s my dad.”
The same could be said of Kaiti Nester, who is now Achter’s fiancée, the two plaing to marry during the upcoming offseason.
They share a condo in Salt Lake City, at least they do when they aren’t sharing a hotel room near Angel Stadium, Achter living on the road even when his team is playing at home.
“This is the first year Kaiti has been with me,” he says. “She has to live with all the changes, too. She’s been awesome about it.”
The couple might have a family one day. For now, they have a Shih Tzu, Izzy. The dog is named after Tom Izzo, Achter and Nester having both attended Michigan State.
Izzy is currently living with Nester’s parents, the dog-sitting in-laws bringing something at least semi-certain to a situation that otherwise lacks any certainty.
“Whether it’s another day or another month, I try to take every day in stride,” Achter says. “I’m thankful I’m mentally strong enough to get through the issues and stay ready to go. There could be a lot of up and down still to come.”
But that’s baseball, an every day game that can change every night, a sport in which some players make the headlines while others make the transaction wire.
For now, it’s more of the latter for Achter, whose wavering, wandering career reads like a run-on sentence, one that could use a few more commas.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 14:30
Vic Couch, a 14-year assistant coach with Long Beach State men’s basketball head coach Dan Monson, passed away after a long battle with illness, Monson confirmed Friday.
“He was a special guy,” Monson said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Couch family.”
Couch played at Santa Clara and coached at four schools, including St. Anthony in Long Beach, before joining Monson’s staff at the University of Miesota. He was the top recruiting assistant at LBSU from 2007-2014.
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برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 11:32
LOS ALAMITOS >> The competitive equity era is officially underway for the CIF Southe Section, which released the new playoff divisions for fall sports on Friday afteoon.
This year the CIF-SS will be shuffling divisions for almost all of its team sports based on their new model, which measures performance over the prior two seasons rather than using enrollment size or league placement.
The impact was felt deeply by Long Beach football teams. The Moore League, which had previously been part of the top division, was spread out from Division 1 down to Division 12.
St. John Bosco and Long Beach Poly are now the only two area schools in Division 1. Only 18 teams are in the division, which will fill out a 16-team playoff bracket. All of Bosco’s Trinity League opponents are also D1.
“I think they did a great thing by condensing the division the way they did it,” said Braves head coach Jason Negro. “We embrace more competition, for us it’s a blessing.”
Negro is in favor of a true Open Division where a committee would select the 16 best teams at the end of every season.
“This is as close as you could get to that without actually doing it,” he said.
For Poly, it’s proof that the Jackrabbits are the last of the Moore League powerhouses, something that left many feeling wistful but more optimistic about playoff chances.
“I think this is a reflection of a school district that’s not supporting football programs and athletics in general,” said Poly coach Antonio Pierce.
Every other team in the league dropped at least three divisions: Lakewood to Division 4, Wilson to Division 6, Cabrillo and Millikan to Division 7, Jordan to Division 8, and Compton to Division 12.
“It is what it is,” said Bruins coach Mark Ziegenhagen. “It’ll be nicer for us obviously because we’ll have a chance to win some playoff games. Maybe one day the Moore League can be back up there, but we’ve got to prove we can win in our division first.”
“This gives us a chance to compete,” said Compton coach Calvin Bryant, whose team dropped 11 divisions with the move. “We still have to make the playoffs, though.”
There are no Division 2 teams in the area, while Los Alamitos and defending Division 3 state champions La Mirada are both in Division 3.
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The Matadores will have a tougher road to a CIF-SS title this year, which head coach Mike Moschetti was excited about.
“I love that CIF is doing this,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to get your program into the Division 1 playoffs and compete for a Division 1 championship.”
Other area schools (in order of CIF-SS power rankings):
Division 4: Downey, Lakewood, Dominguez
Division 6: Paramount, Wilson
Division 7: Cabrillo, Warren, Millikan
Division 8: Jordan
Division 9: Mayfair, Norwalk, Lynwood
For the complete list, visit PressTelegram.com/sports
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 11:32
LOS ALAMITOS >> While football is grabbing most of the headlines for the CIF Southe Section’s new competitive equity playoff model, nearly every sport in the CIF has been completely reorganized by the new divisional system. New divisions for girls volleyball, boys water polo, and girls teis were also aounced.
“I like it,” said longtime Lakewood volleyball coach Mike Wadley. “I know there was a lot of thought put into it and it was interesting looking at it and giving input.”
Wadley serves on the CIF-SS volleyball advisory committee, so he saw the rankings ahead of time.
“A lot of the talk wasn’t Division 1 or Division 2 — those were pretty cut and dry. It’s the lower divisions.”
Not all of the data was available, Wadley added, because some coaches haven’t added their information into the CIF-SS system yet, leaving room for changes. For example, Cabrillo won’t be eligible for playoff competitions at the moment because they haven’t entered their data into the CIF’s website.
Locally there weren’t many surprises in volleyball. Lakewood, Los Alamitos, Long Beach Poly, and Wilson are all in Division 1, while Compton and Millikan fall to Division 2. St. Joseph and Downey are in Division 3.
In boys water polo, Long Beach Wilson and Los Alamitos are the top teams in the area and they’re in Division 2, along with strong programs such as Murrieta Valley, JSerra and Agoura. According to the CIF-SS power rankings, the Bruins were five spots away from making it into Division 1, where they advanced to the second round in each of the last two seasons under head coach Jeff Nesmith.
“I’m a little surprised,” Nesmith says of the move down in divisions. “It’s double-sided because we’re excited at the opportunity to play in this new division, but we take pride in being in Division 1 so it’s a program goal to get back there.”
Los Alamitos was one spot away from being the top team in Division 3, and is the only Sunset League member in Division 2.
San Gabriel Valley League powerhouse Cerritos stays in the top half of the pack in Division 4, along with St. John Bosco out of the Trinity League and Long Beach Poly and Millikan out of the Moore League. Lakewood is in Division 5 and Jordan is in Division 6, with Downey and Warren out of the SGVL. Artesia, Cabrillo, Gahr and Paramount are all in Division 7.
In girls teis, Los Alamitos stays in Division 1 as the 21st overall team in the power rankings. Long Beach Poly and Cerritos are in Division 2, while Warren and Wilson narrowly missed the cut and land in Division 3 along with Lakewood, Millikan and Downey. In Division 4, Norwalk, Mayfair, Lynwood, Gahr, Paramount, Bellflower, St. Joseph, Compton, La Mirada and Artesia are in a 93-team field. Valley Christian is in Division 5.
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برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 11:32
OXNARD >> As the final ho sounded Thursday to wrap up the Rams’ offseason workout program, it was impossible not to look ahead.
The next time the Rams gather as a team, it will be at training camp in late July in Irvine.
Two weeks later, they’ll open the preseason against the Dallas Cowboys at the Coliseum. A month beyond that, they’ll kick off their first season back in Los Angeles against the San Francisco 49ers.
It’s full steam ahead, to say the least.
But depending on which sideline you stood during the Rams’ Organized Team Activity practices, it’s either moving too fast or not fast enough.
Despite parting ways with veteran leaders Chris Long and James Laurinaitis and losing starting coerback Janoris Jenkins and safety Rodney McLeod to free agency, the defense looked deeper, younger and more agile.
The offense looked like a work in progress under new coordinator Rob Boras in his first full season in charge. With a new playbook, trying to get rookie quarterback Jared Goff up to speed, and new faces in the wide receiver and tight end corps, the offense looked uncomfortable and tentative at times.
That said, here are some observations out of OTAs and some issues to keep an eye on moving forward:
There were legitimate conces upon losing Jenkins and McLeod. Privately, though, the Rams expressed confidence not only in potential replacements, but also in development and scheme to adequately replace them.
That confidence so far has been justified by the numerous interceptions the defensive backfield forced over the three-week session and the emergence of certain players.
Lamarcus Joyner appears poised to take a step forward as a slot coerback. E.J. Gaines, on target to be ready by training camp, is expected to start alongside Trumaine Johnson. Free-agent pickup Coty Sensabaugh provides veteran leadership.
At safety, Maurice Alexander drew raves from defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and will compete with Cody Davis and Christian Bryant to replace McLeod. And when T.J. McDonald retus during training camp, the back end of the defense will be that much stronger.
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The Rams felt so comfortable about Alec Ogletree making the move from weakside linebacker to inside they released Laurinaitis, their all-time franchise-leading tackler. Nevertheless, Ogletree’s transition was worth monitoring during OTAs, especially the added responsibility of communicating alignment and defensive calls to his teammates. If any conces lingered, the fourth-year veteran from Georgia eliminated them with a sensational offseason that drew praise from Williams and head coach Jeff Fisher. The Rams could have a star at middle linebacker.
The Rams were ecstatic when South Carolina wide receiver Pharoh Cooper fell to them in the fourth round. His performance during OTAs explains why, and it had Fisher predicting Cooper will soon be a household name. Cooper is a bigger version of slot receiver Tavon Austin, and while he might not be as fast and quick as Austin, it’s more than adequate to make an immediate impact in the NFL. Cooper impressed with his ability to pick up the playbook, and was getting first-team reps by the second week of OTAs. Cooper and Austin on the field at the same time won’t just take some pressure off Goff or Case Keenum, it will mean more room for star ruing back Todd Gurley.
“Conce” might be a bit strong considering Goff is a rookie quarterback just finishing his first OTA session. But if anyone thought the top pick in the draft would just waltz in and assume the starting job, the last three weeks quickly proved otherwise. Goff finished OTAs with four interceptions in the final practice, three of which looked entirely on him as he overthrew one receiver, threw to the wrong shoulder to another and didn’t see a lurking Joyner as he threw to what he assumed was a wide-open receiver.
It was a disappointing finish to an uneven OTA session. While Goff flashed the strong arm, quick release and great footwork that made him the top pick overall, it’s clear it will be quite the process making the transition from Cal to the starting job.
Which is why Fisher reiterated that Keenum, not Goff, goes to training camp as the starting quarterback.
The Rams have been seeking a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver almost as long as they’ve been looking for their franchise quarterback. They hope they have their quarterback in Goff, but the search continues for the wide receiver.
They’re set in the slot with Austin and Cooper, and dependable possession receivers should emerge from Key Britt, Brian Quick and rookie Nelson Spruce. But no one seemed ready or able to step up as a dynamic, sure-fire, go-to threat who can command the red zone or take the top off a defense. There is hope rookies Mike Thomas and Duke Williams can develop into that sort of threat, but it will take time for either to get there.
Given the lack of full pads in OTAs, it’s difficult to assess the offensive line. For now, the primary positive takeaway is third-year left tackle Greg Robinson reported no conces with the lingering foot issue that affected his 2015 season, and left guard Rodger Saffold was mostly healthy after retuing from shoulder surgery. That said, with the offensive line being counted on so heavily as difference maker, it’s going to be a while before we get a definitive answer.
Will Robinson emerge as the dominant tackle so many predicted when he was drafted second overall in 2014? He and a healthy Saffold can solidify the left side of the line and make life easier on Goff or Keenum and Gurley. With Tim Baes solidifying center, Jamon Brown retuing at right guard and Rob Havenstein building off his All-Rookie season at right tackle, the pieces are in place for an average to above-average line. Now the group must stay healthy and show it on the field.
The Rams, like every other NFL team, are officially off until training camp in late July. But there is one key difference: While the 31 other teams have a workout facility players can utilize for conditioning, weight training and rehab, Rams players will have to find alteative sites. The Rams have to clear out of their temporary practice site in Oxnard on June 24, and their in-season practice facility at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks won’t be up and ruing until after training camp begins. It’s one of the challenges for a team moving across country and setting up shop in a new city on the fly.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 10:26
OAKLAND >> On Friday afteoon Tim Lincecum sat at the confluence of the known and the unknown.
He was wearing a bright red Angels uniform, having just dressed for the first time in a clubhouse in which he barely knew any of his teammates.
Then he stepped out into the visitors dugout at the Oakland Coliseum, where he was greeted by one familiar face after another.
The much-anticipated retu of the former Cy Young Award wier will come Saturday #today for print# on the mound at the Coliseum, just across the San Francisco Bay from the city where he became a star.
“It’s close to home,” Lincecum said as he sat amid a thicket of cameras, recorders and microphones. “I know I’ll have a lot of people here who supported me in the Bay Area. I know I’ll be lucky in that regard.”
Ever since the Angels signed Lincecum, coincidence has brought him through baseball version of “This Is Your Life,” the iconic 1950s TV show in which subjects would enjoy a look at where they have been.
Lincecum’s first Triple-A start was in Tacoma, near where he grew up in Seattle. His third outing was in Fresno, where he pitched for the Giants’ Triple-A team on his way up the ladder.
And now, when he starts against the A’s on Saturday, he will be in park where he’s pitched 28 iings with a 1.93 ERA, visiting regularly while pitching for the A’s interleague rivals. He is certainly to get a friendly reception from Giants fans who drop into the Coliseum to show their appreciation for his part in three World Series titles.
Lincecum, however, isn’t just coming back to doff his cap and wave.
He insists he can still pitch.
“I don’t want to go over there and roll over,” he said. “I want to go out and give my team a chance to win every day. I think that’s what all starters do.”
The Angels have some expectations, evident by the roughly $2 million they guaranteed him before he even threw a big league pitch.
“He’s not where he was four or five years ago, but he has plenty of fastball to be effective,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “The way he can change speeds and throw his curveball, he has plenty. We’re excited to see what he can do.”
Lincecum himself wasn’t even sure back on May 6, when he took the mound in board shorts to showcase his talents for scouts. He had spent all winter without a job, with teams no doubt conceed about his four-year decline in performance as well as his health.
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Lincecum admitted he was still “apprehensive” about the hip surgery he had undergone last September.
“I never had to do that before,” he said. “I’m trying to go on the hip the same way that I did before or even close to that. What I found in my last few starts is it’s not back to the way I used to be, but pretty close.”
Before surgery, Lincecum’s hip wasn’t just painful, but it had caused him to gradually alter his mechanics.
During his best years, from 2008 to 2011, he twisted and contorted his body, unleashing powerful fastballs, big breaking curves and a tantalizing changeup. In the years after, though, his hip didn’t allow him to rotate the way he wanted. The result was an ugly 4.68 ERA over the past four seasons.
Now, he feels he’s getting back to the mechanics that helped him to those two Cy Youngs.
The jury is certainly out on that question. In his three Triple-A starts, he gave up seven runs in 17 iings. All seven came in his first two games, though. In the third game – which wasn’t originally plaed, but added when Lincecum felt he needed one more tuneup – he pitched seven scoreless iings, allowing one hit.
“I just feel a little more confident in my stuff,” Lincecum said.
The minor league games not only gave Lincecum a chance to renew his confidence in his stuff, but remind him how much he missed being in the majors. He last pitched in the majors June 27, 2015.
Although it took him a year to get back, it took less than a month from when the Angels signed him.
“I’m very lucky to have this opportunity to be starting back here so quickly,” he said. “It’s a long time coming. I’ve worked very hard and I had a team that recognized that hard work. So here we are.”
Slowly but surely, the Angels are getting their lineup back.
With Daniel Nava’s activation from the disabled list on Friday, the Angels have all nine of their opening day starters active again.
Nava, who had been out with a groin injury, started in left field. Scioscia said the plan is for Nava to start against most righties.
Since the Angels also want to give continued opportunity to Jefry Marte, that leaves Marte and C.J. Cron fighting for one spot in the lineup, at DH or first base. Against lefties, both will probably start.
“There will be enough at-bats to go around,” Scioscia said.
The Angels are down to just two injured position players. Catcher Geovany Soto, who had knee surgery, could begin a rehab assignment next week. Cliff Peington, out with a hamstring injury, is rehabbing in Arizona, not yet cleared for baseball activities.
Scioscia said Nick Tropeano would likely need at least one outing after Saturday’s scheduled simulated game before he can retu to the Angels rotation. That means the Angels have about a week and a half before they face the prospect of having six starters. Tropeano is out with a shoulder problem. ... The Angels optioned Al Alburquerque to make room for Nava, leaving them with an 11-man pitching staff. They are likely to take a position player off the roster on Saturday to make room for Tim Lincecum. Todd Cuingham and Shane Robinson are the most likely candidates. Both players are out of options.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 10:26
Track and field’s global goveing body has decided that Russian track athletes will not be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games later this summer in Rio de Janeiro because of the country’s failure to comply with inteational anti-doping guidelines after it was revealed that top Russian athletes, coaches and officials were involved in a state-sponsored doping program.
In aouncing the decision, IAAF president Sebastian Coe said that while Russia’s anti-doping program has made some progress in recent months Russian athletes “couldn’t credibly retu to inteational competition without undermining confidence of their competitors and the public.”
The IAAF council’s unanimous decision Friday in Viea not to lift a ban preventing Russian athletes competing inteationally only impacts track and field athletes. The IAAF on Friday also approved measures that individual Russian athletes and whistleblowers would be allowed to compete in Rio if they pass through stringent drug testing conducted on behalf of the IAAF.
Because “the (Russian) system is tainted from the top level and down we can’t trust that what people might call clean athletes are actually clean,” said Rune Andersen, chairman of an IAAF task force monitoring Russia’s anti-doping program and track federation in recent months.
The Inteational Olympic Committee will consider whether to ban all Russian athletes during a Tuesday meeting at the IOC’s headquarters in Lausae.
The decision by the IAAF’s 27-member council follows a series of devastating reports in recent month from an independent investigation commissioned by the World Anti Doping Agency and media exposes that revealed a doping program that included Russian Olympic champions and was implemented by the very officials hired to detect cheating.
The IAAF on November 17 provisionally suspended Russia from competing in or hosting inteational track events after the release of a 325-page report from the independent investigation commissioned by WADA and led by Dick Pound, the former WADA president, outlined “a deeply rooted culture of cheating,” a state-sponsored doping program” in which Russian athletes were tipped off about upcoming drug tests, and Russian anti-doping agency employees routinely accepted bribes to cover up positive tests.
Moscow drug testing lab officials admitted to intentionally destroying more than 1,400 drug test samples a few days before a WADA inspection, according to the Pound report.
While Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko in recent weeks and months has both apologized for the scandal and pointed out doping issues in other countries, in particular U.S. sprinting, IOC vice president John Coates of Australia insisted the ban remain in place, calling the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and track federation “rotten to the core.”
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IAAF president Sebastian Coe said Russian officials had to prove the nation’s drug testing program is in compliance with WADA in order for goveing body to lift the inteational ban.
But “Play True—Update on the Status of Russia Testing,” a WADA follow up report on Russia anti-doping practices released just this week, said that between November 18 and May 29 736 required tests of Russian athletes conducted on behalf of WADA and the IAAF were cancelled or declined. During that same period Russian athletes tested positive 52 times. Testers repeatedly found it hard to locate Russian athletes. Although athletes are required to provide officials with their whereabouts to facilitate out of competition testing, one Russian athlete could not be located for nine weeks. Another athlete’s whereabouts at the time of the report’s publication remained unknown.
The IAAF task force, Andersen also said, found a the “deep-seeded culture of tolerance or worse appears not to have been changed to date.” Andersen said RUSADA was still 18 to 24 months away from being in compliance with WADA guidelines.
The WADA report also details how one Russian track athlete tried to conceal a container of clean urine inside herself in attempt to provide a clean urine sample.
WADA officials also said testing crews trying to test athletes, especially in military cities, were routinely intimidated, delayed and threatened with expulsion by FSB agents and other security persoel.
The WADA report came after Grigory Rodchenkov, the former Russian drug testing lab director and the person most responsible for detecting doping violations recently told the New York Times he he helped top Russian athletes dope in the months leading up to the 2012 and 2014 Olympic Games in by providing them three-steroid cocktails on a regular basis.
Rodchenkov also said during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi he snuck back into the drug testing lab in the middle of the night with the aide of the FSB, Russia’s successor to the Soviet-era KGB, to switch tainted urine samples from doped athletes for clean ones collected from them months earlier. Rodchenkov was provided with a spread sheet of athletes on the doping program a few weeks before the Sochi Games. During the Olympics a Russian sports ministry official would provide him with a list of medal-wiing athletes who needed their post-competition urine samples switched with clean samples. The scheme was part of a doping operation that had been plaed years in advance of the Games.
IOC officials expect weightlifting’s inteational goveing body to issue a similar ban of Russian athletes.
Coates, the president of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, told reporters this week he expected the IOC next week to consider setting up a procedure in which individual Russian athletes could appeal Olympic bans.
“We will look at the next step for us,” Coates said. “The debate next Tuesday will be on the issue of individual justice and rights.
“I would think there would be appeal opportunities, I would imagine for someone who can establish their individual integrity. It may be that our meeting next week will set some guidelines for the inteational federations who again would have the task of deciding if there’s any individual within a federation that they’ve put out who ought to be allowed in, what hurdles that person would need to have to jump.
“My guess is they’d have to establish they were regularly tested outside of Russia by an anti-doping authority and the samples were analyzed outside of Russia on a regular basis.”
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 9:25
LONG BEACH >> The United States Golf Local Leagues is a one-of-a-kind youth sports organization. The game of golf may be built on individual accomplishments, but the dedicated group of volunteers and parents of the Long Beach affiliate are teaching a team-first attitude that is producing a better experience, and better golfers.
“We’re about teamwork, respect and integrity while actively teaching these kids the game of golf, including the rules and etiquette,” USGLL president and creator Kevin Flanagan said. “They’re not in front of the video games, they’re at the golf course with their shirts tucked in.”
The 70 young golfers from ages 6-14 will be back at Recreation Park 9 Golf Course today for the eighth aual championship round. Tee times start around noon, and the Tour Championship will be on the line at 3 p.m. when the Stingrays and Beachcombers battle for the crown. Each team has five young golfers, and just like the entire season, they will crown a champion with the match-play format like the Ryder Cup, where teamwork is paramount.
“It’s really good for begiers,” LBGLL golfer Andrew Hoekstra, 14, said of match play. “You can help each other as teammates, and it can be a stepping stone to other touaments.”
“There’s more pressure in match play,” LBGLL golfer Sebastian Vallejo, 13, added. “I have an advantage (in other individual touaments) if my opponent hasn’t played like we do.”
After years of working as a local golf instructor, Flanagan saw wasteful youth golf programs everywhere. In October 2007, C.J. Heessey, Frank Jordan and Keith Davis joined him to put together a plan for the Long Beach Golf Commission. The first 10-week schedule for the USGLL was in full swing by the spring of 2008. The 2016 total enrollment is up by almost 20 percent from last season.
“We’re out here creating a cool golf experience,” LBGLL president Marc Sullivan said. “The behavior and maturity of our kids on the course is better than ever.”
After the regular season concludes today, the Long Beach All-Stars will start preparing for the seventh USGLL National Championship at the Vestal Hills Country Club in Binghamton, N.Y.
Along with strong sponsorships from The Port of Long Beach and Farmers & Merchants Bank, the LBGLL family has already started fundraising to send the All-Star team across country. On July 24, the LBGLL is hosting a shotgun touament where kids and their families will be cooking up original hamburger recipes for sale.
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On any given Saturday or Sunday at Rec Park 9, LBGLL golfers will be at par-3 third hole. For a $5 donation, anyone on the course can challenge the youngsters to a closest-to-the-pin competition. Wiers will receive a sleeve of golf balls.
“We don’t give many (sleeves) away,” LBGLL Director of Coaches Steve Hoekstra said of the competition. “Our kids can really play.”
The public is invited to watch the golfers tee off today, and the LBGLL is accepting any donations. Read more tomorrow about the Tour Championships and some local golfers who are better for their USGLL experience.
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 9:25
Joe Smith Jr. is 21-1 with 17 knockouts and proud owner of a knockout ratio of 77 percent. Apparently, that doesn’t cut any ice with Andrzej Fonfara.
“I know he has a big punch, because he wins fights by knockout,” said Fonfara, who will take on Smith in the light heavyweight main event Saturday from UIC Pavilion in Chicago (on NBC, 5:30 p.m.). “But who has he knocked out? The guy who was a little bit better, Will Rosinsky, he went the distance (with Smith). He has heavy, wide punches and we will be ready for him.”
Smith, of Long Island, N.Y., wasn’t quite as direct at Thursday’s final news conference. He did predict victory, however.
“Our styles are going to make for an exciting fight,” Smith said. “I expect a war, but I’m prepared for anything. All I know is, I’m going to end the night with my hand raised.”
This is a big fight for both guys. Neither has won a major title, but Fonfara at least challenged Adonis Stevenson for his light heavyweight championship, only to lose a unanimous decision in May 2014.
Fonfara (28-3, 16 KOs) would seem on the brink of another shot, as he is ranked as high as No. 2 by one of the four major goveing bodies. He can’t afford to lose to Smith, who, his solid record notwithstanding, is not ranked in the top 15.
That’s all the more reason for the more heralded Fonfara to treat this like a title fight because Smith has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“I’ve been in a lot of fights, I’ve been the favorite and I’ve been the underdog,” Fonfara said. “I know this is a big fight for Joe Smith and that he’s trained very hard. He is going to be very motivated. But I will be, too, and I will be ready on fight night.”
Smith knows he can greatly improve his career with an upset of Fonfara.
“I’m very excited for this fight and opportunity,” he said. “I’m here to prove myself to all those who think I shouldn’t be here. I’m taking the victory home. I want to prove it to the world.”
Smith, 26, can’t wait to thrown down with Fonfara.
“I’m amped up to get in the ring with a high-quality fighter like Andrzej Fonfara, and put on a show,” Smith said.
Fonfara is from Chicago via Poland, so he’ll have the home-ring advantage.
Movie sequels often bomb, but rematches in boxing sometimes are better than the first fight. To that end, Juan Carlos Payano of Miami believes he is going to be even better than when he defended his bantamweight world title with a split decision over Rau’shee Warren in August.
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Payano (17-0, 8 KOs) and Warren will square off again Saturday undeeath Fonfara-Smith. Payano’s belt will again be on the line.
“I had a great training camp and everyone will see the improvements I’ve made since I fought Warren last August.” Payano said. “I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses. I’ve put in a lot of work during this training camp to better myself and I feel I’m at the top of my game right now.”
Payano, 32, delivered a waing.
“I’m going to leave everything in the ring on Saturday night,” said Payano, originally from the Dominican Republic. “I have the blueprint to beat Warren. I’ll be ready for war. There is no doubt in my mind that my hands will be raised in victory once again. Warren is in trouble.”
Warren, 29, of Cinciati, is 13-1 with four knockouts. He was talking big Thursday.
“I doubt it’s going 12 rounds. I want Payano to know that. I’m going out to get what I deserve. I feel like I won it the first time and I’m coming to take it home.”
One judge favored Warren by a 115-109 count the first time around, but the other two had Payano wiing 113-111.
Abner Mares of Hawaiian Gardens was supposed to challenge Jesus Cuellar for his featherweight world title June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn undeeath the welterweight title fight between Keigh “One Time” Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) and Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs). But Mares-Cuellar was canceled Friday because Mares has an undisclosed medical condition. No other explanation was given. Thurman-Porter will still take place and will be televised by CBS. ... In case you missed it, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez of Mexico was ordered by a Miami-Dade (Florida) jury to pay former promoter Felix “Tutico” Zabala Jr. of All-Star Boxing $8.5 million. Zabala had sued Alvarez for breach of contract and unjust enrichment and Alvarez’s current promoter - Golden Boy Promotions - for tortuous interference. But Golden Boy was not held libel. ... Dominic Breazeale (17-0, 15 KOs), a 2012 U.S. Olympian from Alhambra, on June 25 will get his first shot at a major title when he challenges Anthony Joshua (16-0. 16 KOs) of England for his heavyweight championship at O2 Arena in London (on Showtime).
برچسب: نویسنده: جمشید رضایی تاريخ: شنبه 29 خرداد 1395 ساعت: 7:04
OXNARD — As the final ho sounded Thursday to wrap up the Rams’ offseason workout program, it was impossible not to look ahead.
The next time the Rams gather as a team, it will be at training camp in late July in Irvine.
Two weeks later, they’ll open the preseason against the Dallas Cowboys at the Coliseum. A month beyond that, they’ll kick off their first season back in Los Angeles against the San Francisco 49ers.
It’s full steam ahead, to say the least.
But depending on which sideline you stood during the Rams’ Organized Team Activity practices, it’s either moving too fast or not fast enough.
Despite parting ways with veteran leaders Chris Long and James Laurinaitis and losing starting coerback Janoris Jenkins and safety Rodney McLeod to free agency, the defense looked deeper, younger and more agile.
The offense looked like a work in progress under new coordinator Rob Boras in his first full season in charge. With a new playbook, trying to get rookie quarterback Jared Goff up to speed, and new faces in the wide receiver and tight end corps, the offense looked uncomfortable and tentative at times.
That said, here are some observations out of OTAs and some issues to keep an eye on moving forward:
There were legitimate conces upon losing Jenkins and McLeod. Privately, though, the Rams expressed confidence not only in potential replacements, but also in development and scheme to adequately replace them.
That confidence so far has been justified by the numerous interceptions the defensive backfield forced over the three-week session and the emergence of certain players.
Lamarcus Joyner appears poised to take a step forward as a slot coerback. E.J. Gaines, on target to be ready by training camp, is expected to start alongside Trumaine Johnson. Free-agent pickup Coty Sensabaugh provides veteran leadership.
At safety, Maurice Alexander drew raves from defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and will compete with Cody Davis and Christian Bryant to replace McLeod. And when T.J. McDonald retus during training camp, the back end of the defense will be that much stronger.
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The Rams felt so comfortable about Alec Ogletree making the move from weakside linebacker to inside they released Laurinaitis, their all-time franchise-leading tackler. Nevertheless, Ogletree’s transition was worth monitoring during OTAs, especially the added responsibility of communicating alignment and defensive calls to his teammates. If any conces lingered, the fourth-year veteran from Georgia eliminated them with a sensational offseason that drew praise from Williams and head coach Jeff Fisher. The Rams could have a star at middle linebacker.
The Rams were ecstatic when South Carolina wide receiver Pharoh Cooper fell to them in the fourth round. His performance during OTAs explains why, and it had Fisher predicting Cooper will soon be a household name. Cooper is a bigger version of slot receiver Tavon Austin, and while he might not be as fast and quick as Austin, it’s more than adequate to make an immediate impact in the NFL. Cooper impressed with his ability to pick up the playbook, and was getting first-team reps by the second week of OTAs. Cooper and Austin on the field at the same time won’t just take some pressure off Goff or Case Keenum, it will mean more room for star ruing back Todd Gurley.
“Conce” might be a bit strong considering Goff is a rookie quarterback just finishing his first OTA session. But if anyone thought the top pick in the draft would just waltz in and assume the starting job, the last three weeks quickly proved otherwise. Goff finished OTAs with four interceptions in the final practice, three of which looked entirely on him as he overthrew one receiver, threw to the wrong shoulder to another and didn’t see a lurking Joyner as he threw to what he assumed was a wide-open receiver.
It was a disappointing finish to an uneven OTA session. While Goff flashed the strong arm, quick release and great footwork that made him the top pick overall, it’s clear it will be quite the process making the transition from Cal to the starting job.
Which is why Fisher reiterated that Keenum, not Goff, goes to training camp as the starting quarterback.
The Rams have been seeking a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver almost as long as they’ve been looking for their franchise quarterback. They hope they have their quarterback in Goff, but the search continues for the wide receiver.
They’re set in the slot with Austin and Cooper, and dependable possession receivers should emerge from Key Britt, Brian Quick and rookie Nelson Spruce. But no one seemed ready or able to step up as a dynamic, sure-fire, go-to threat who can command the red zone or take the top off a defense. There is hope rookies Mike Thomas and Duke Williams can develop into that sort of threat, but it will take time for either to get there.
Given the lack of full pads in OTAs, it’s difficult to assess the offensive line. For now, the primary positive takeaway is third-year left tackle Greg Robinson reported no conces with the lingering foot issue that affected his 2015 season, and left guard Rodger Saffold was mostly healthy after retuing from shoulder surgery. That said, with the offensive line being counted on so heavily as difference maker, it’s going to be a while before we get a definitive answer.
Will Robinson emerge as the dominant tackle so many predicted when he was drafted second overall in 2014? He and a healthy Saffold can solidify the left side of the line and make life easier on Goff or Keenum and Gurley. With Tim Baes solidifying center, Jamon Brown retuing at right guard and Rob Havenstein building off his All-Rookie season at right tackle, the pieces are in place for an average to above-average line. Now the group must stay healthy and show it on the field.
The Rams, like every other NFL team, are officially off until training camp in late July. But there is one key difference: While the 31 other teams have a workout facility players can utilize for conditioning, weight training and rehab, Rams players will have to find alteative sites. The Rams have to clear out of their temporary practice site in Oxnard on June 24, and their in-season practice facility at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks won’t be up and ruing until after training camp begins. It’s one of the challenges for a team moving across country and setting up shop in a new city on the fly.
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