Monday 26 December 2011

NBA - 25th December: 1st Day of the Season.

Yesterday, we had our 1st day of the NBA season. We had 5 games, all of them with high expectations.

1st - Boston Celtics 104 - 106 New York Knicks
2 of the best team clash and we had a game until the final. The game was decided by only 2 points.
"Carmelo Anthony scored 17 of his game-high 37 points in the fourth quarter to go along with eight rebounds as the Knicks overcame an 8-point deficit after three quarters to defeat the Celtics, 106-104, in front of a Christmas Day sellout crowd of 19,763 at Madison Square Garden. Anthony hit two free throws with 16.3 seconds left to cap the scoring. The Syracuse University product was one of four Knicks in double figures as Amar'e Stoudemire finished with 21 points, Toney Douglas had 19 and rookie Iman Shumpert had 11." @ nba.com

2nd - Miami Heat 105 - 94 Dallas Mavericks
Rematch from the NBA Finalists. The Miami Heat won the game by 11 points. A huge 1st win for the Heat.
"Dallas received a championship banner for Christmas. Miami, the team it defeated to win last season's NBA Finals, received a dose of revenge. LeBron James scored 37 points and Dwyane Wade added 26 as the Heat soured Sunday's season-opening celebration in Dallas and snapped a long regular-season losing streak to the Mavericks with a wire-to-wire 105-94 victory. Dallas, led by Jason Terry (23 points) and Dirk Nowitzki (21), had won 14 straight regular-season meetings against Miami dating back to 2004." @ nba.com

3rd - Chicago Bulls 88 - Los Angeles Lakers 87
A thriller win by the Bulls rallying from a 11-point deficit. The Lakers only have to blame themselves for not winning this game.
"The Bulls rallied from an 11-point deficit with 3 and 1/2 minutes remaining Sunday against the Lakers, taking the lead on a jump hook in the lane by point guard Derrick Rose with 4.8 seconds left at Staples Center, then holding on for the 88-87 victory when Luol Deng blocked Kobe Bryant's driving shot at the buzzer." @ nba.com

4th - Orlando Magic 89 - 97 Oklahoma City Thunder
A great win for one of the most electrifying/young team of the NBA.
"It was a Merry Christmas night in Oklahoma City as Thunder fans celebrated a 97-89 win by the home team over the visiting Orlando Magic. The Magic started the game shooting 88.9 percent (8-for-9) but the Thunder defense clamped down limiting Orlando to just 30.6 percent (22-for-72) the rest of the way. Magic center Dwight Howard torched the Thunder for a combined 79 points in two games last season. Tonight the OKC defense led by Kendrick Perkins held "superman" to just 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting. Ryan Anderson led Orlando with 25 points including six 3-pointers. " @ nba.com

5th - Los Angeles Clippers 105 - 86 Golden State Warriors
A easy win for one of the most talked team of the moment: Los Angeles Clippers!
"Chris Paul scored 20 points, eight in the final four minutes, and dealt nine assists in his debut with the Los Angeles Clippers to propel them to a 105-86 victory against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. Blake Griffin added a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds to help ruin Mark Jackson's maiden voyage as the Warriors' head coach. Chauncey Billups, also playing his first game as a Clipper, collected 21 points despite missing 13 of 19 shots and DeAndre Jordan -- who signed an offer sheet with the Warriors earlier this month before having it matched by the Clippers -- swatted a career-best eight shots. David Lee led Golden State with 21 points and 12 rebounds." @nba.com

Friday 23 December 2011

NCAA Football - Kellen Moore

College years
2007
During the 2007 season, Moore was redshirted.

2008
As a redshirt freshman in 2008, Moore led the Broncos to an undefeated regular season and the WAC championship while throwing 25 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in 12 games. In the final game of 2008, Boise State lost to Texas Christian University (TCU) in the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl, the first of two consecutive meetings for the non-Automatic Qualifying rivals. He was named WAC Freshman of the Year and Second-team All-conference after spectacular first season, guiding Boise State to 12-1 record and was named Boise State’s Most Valuable Offensive Player by vote of teammates. He was named to Phil Steele Publications’ Second team All-WAC and also voted to the Football Writers Association of America’s freshman All-America team.
He ranked 12th in nation in passing efficiency and 24th in total offense, averaging 265.85 yards per game and was first in WAC in passing efficiency (157.1) and second in total offense (265.8) and average passing yards per game (268.2). He completed 281 of 405 passes for 3,486 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

2009
In January 2009, Moore was ranked as the 37th best returning player in college football by College Football News.
Moore threw for a school record 39 touchdowns with only 3 interceptions to lead the Broncos to a 14–0 record, another WAC title, and an at large bid to the Fiesta Bowl vs. undefeated #4 ranked TCU. The 2009 Fiesta Bowl was highly controversial due to the decision to pit the two non-Automatic Qualifying schools against each other instead of having them face Automatic Qualifying teams. The BCS was criticized for the perception that the risk of both, or either, team defeating a "power conference" team was too great, and that the BCS had TCU and BSU face each other so that the damage of their participation would be minimized. He finished the 2009 regular season with the highest passer efficiency rating in Division I-A with a rating of 167.3. In his first two years as a starting quarterback, Moore did not lose a regular season game.
Moore started the 2010 Fiesta Bowl against widely favored TCU and played the entire game. He had no interceptions, fumbles, or muffed snaps. He led the team on a 4th quarter 78-yard touchdown scoring drive to take the lead for good and win the game 17-10.
He was named First-team All-American by CBSSportsline.com, a subsidiary of CBS Sports. He was named one of ten finalists for the Manning Award. He was also First-team All-WAC and the WAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2009 and finished 7th in Heisman voting for 2009.

2010
Kellen Moore led the Broncos to a 33–30 victory over Virginia Tech on September 6, 2010. The game was highly anticipated and received a 6.8 TV rating, nearly twice that of the next most highly watched game. Moore contributed 3 passing touchdowns in the game with a final game-winning strike to Austin Pettis with 1:14 remaining in the game. As a result of the victory, Boise State received 8 first place votes in the week 2 AP Poll, and it moved up to third in the Coaches' Poll. Moore was also mentioned by major sports media as a top candidate for the 2010 Heisman Trophy. After finishing the season with 3,506, 33 TD's and only 5 INT's, Moore was named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and was invited to the ceremony in New York City to become the first ever Boise State player to be a Heisman finalist. Moore finished 4th in Heisman voting. Moore was also a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, the Maxwell Award, and the Manning Award (all won by Cam Newton). Moore was named the Touchdown Club of Columbus Quarterback of the Year. Boise State was invited to the 2010 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, where they defeated Utah 26-3.

2011
On March 28, 2011 the Sporting News named Moore as the #1 player in their annual list of the top 25 players in the nation. He is ranked ahead of Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck and Oregon running back LaMichael James who both finished ahead of Moore in the 2010 Heisman voting. He only needed 8 wins during the 2011 season to pass Colt McCoy for most wins by a quarterback in NCAA history. He threw his 100th touchdown pass against Georgia during week one. Following an opening season win against Georgia in the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff, Moore was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, distributed only in the west.
With the Broncos defeat of Air Force on October 22, he tied former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy for the career wins record with 45 wins. On November 5, the Broncos defeated UNLV and Moore broke the record to become the FBS leader in career wins for a starting quarterback at 46.
He was one of three finalists for the Maxwell Award along with Andrew Luck and Trent Richardson (won by Luck). For the second year in a row, he was named the Touchdown Club of Columbus Quarterback of the Year and it was annouced that beginning in 2012 the award will be known as the Kellen Moore Award. He currently is first in the FBS in completion percentage. With the Broncos' 56–24 rout of Arizona State in the 2011 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Moore became the first quarterback in FBS history to win 50 games in his career.

NCAA Football - Matt Barkley will return next season to play for the Trojans

Barkley to Fight On at USC
Matt Barkley will return next season to play quarterback for the Trojans. Hear Barkley, coach Lane Kiffin and ESPN NFL Draft Insider Mel Kiper Jr. give their thoughts about the return.

Thursday 15 December 2011

NFL - Standings after Week 14


NCAA Football - Bowls



NCAA Football - Final Rankings

NCAA Football - SEC Final Standings

NCAA Football - PAC 12 Final Standings

NCAA Football - BIG 12 Final Standings

NCAA Football - ACC Final Standings

NBA - Clippers land Chris Paul from Hornets

"The Los Angeles Clippers have acquired guard Chris Paul in a trade with the league-owned New Orleans Hornets.

The Clippers will send guard Eric Gordon, center Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu and Minnesota's unprotected 2012 first-round pick to the Hornets for Paul. The Clippers will also receive two future second-round picks.

The deal required the approval of NBA commissioner David Stern." @ espn.com

Saturday 10 December 2011

NCAA Football - Robert Griffin III wins Heisman Trophy

"Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night.

Griffin beat out Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Wisconsin running back Montee Ball, LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu and Alabama running back Trent Richardson for the 77th edition of the award annually given to college football's top player.

Griffin finished with 405 first-place votes and 1,687 total points. He is the first player from Baylor to win the award.

Luck was second with 1,407 points." @ espn.com


Thursday 8 December 2011

MLB - Angels land both Pujols and Wilson

"Brace yourself, Baseball World. The Angels aren't kidding around.

That message was delivered loud and clear on Thursday morning, when they concluded their Winter Meetings by signing the top hitter of the last decade and the top pitcher of this year's free-agent class -- Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson.

In other words, the Angels and first-year general manager Jerry Dipoto have snatched a no-doubt Hall of Famer still very much in his prime and an ace from the division-rival Rangers, adding them to a team that has missed the playoffs in back-to-back years but still won 86 games in 2011."
@ mlb.com

Sunday 4 December 2011

NCAA Football - Tyrann Mathieu

Tyrann Mathieu Bio



Courtesy: LSUsports.net
Release: 07/13/2011

2011 Cotton Bowl Defensive Most Outstanding Player
2010 First Team Freshman All-America (Football Writers, Rivals.com)
2010 Freshman All-Southeastern Conference (Coaches)

An outstanding player who plays well beyond his size ... A fan favorite with tremendous heart and talent ... Has a knack for finding the football and coming up with big plays ... Has some of the best pure football instincts of anyone on the team ... Created a total of 10 turnovers (5 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions) during his freshman season with the Tigers in 2010 ... Great speed and quickness ... Will take over at one of the cornerback positions for the departed Patrick Peterson in 2011 ... Will shift to nickel back when the Tigers go to their other defensive packages ... Has the ability to create plays at a variety of spots on the field ... Received the Alvin Roy Fourth Quarter Award for Outstanding performance in LSU offseason program and the Toby Caston Performance Award for Outstanding Performance in Spring Drills ... One of two sophomores in the nation named to the 2011 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List.

FRESHMAN SEASON (2010)
Made an immediate impact as a true freshman, serving as a reserve cornerback and as the nickel back ... Played in all 13 games with one start at left cornerback against Louisiana-Monroe ... Ranked first in the SEC and fifth nationally with five forced fumbles and tied for first in the conference in fumble recoveries with three ... Led the team with seven pass breakups ... Fourth on the team in tackles with 57 ... Was an absolute playmaker on the season with 8.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, seven pass breakups, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions ... Earned Cotton Bowl Defensive Most Outstanding Player award after the best game of his young career in which he recorded seven tackles, one tackle for loss, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception, one sack and one pass breakup ... Narrowly missed his career high in tackles with eight at Arkansas to go along with a sack and two tackles for loss ... Credited with six tackles, 0.5 TFL, one pass breakup that led to an interception and one QB hurry versus Ole Miss ... Recorded four tackles and one PBU versus Alabama, and his PBU led to Kelvin Sheppard's interception ... Tremendous effort at Florida where he recorded two solo stops, forced a fumble that he recovered and broke up a pass ... Made his first career interception and his first career fumble recovery against West Virginia ... Was great against Mississippi State as he tallied four tackles, one six-yard sack, a forced fumble and a PBU ... Outstanding in his first game as a Tiger, recording nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble in the opener against North Carolina ... Showed great instincts and knowledge of the game during the fall and earned the No. 2 spot at right cornerback behind Patrick Peterson.

HIGH SCHOOL
One of the top defensive back prospects in the state ... A member of the Rivals 250 and rated as the 13th-best cornerback in the nation by Rivals.com ... Rated the No. 9 prospect in the state of Louisiana by Rivals.com ... Named to the New Orleans Times-Picayune 2010 Blue-Chip List, the Baton Rouge Advocate Super Dozen and the Mobile Press Register Super Southeast 120 ... Also a SuperPrep All-American ... Participant in the inaugural Team USA vs. The World game ... Recorded 32 tackles, five interceptions, one sack and one fumble recovery as a senior ... Coached by David Johnson.

PERSONAL
Full name is Tyrann D. Mathieu ... Born May 13, 1992, in New Orleans, La. ... Parents are Tyrone and Sheila Mathieu ... Has four siblings - Tyrone, Devon, Corey and Kerry.

CAREER HIGHS
Total tackles: 9 vs. North Carolina, 2010
Tackles for loss: 2 at Arkansas, 2010
Sacks: 1, four times (Last: vs. Texas A&M, 2010)
Interceptions: 1, twice (Last: vs. Texas A&M, 2010)

NCAA Football - Heisman Candidates














NCAA Football - LSU steamrolls into BCS title game

Tyrann Mathieu returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown and set up two other scores with a fumble recovery and another dazzling return, leading No. 1 LSU to a 42-10 rout of No. 12 Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday.

The Tigers (13-0) locked up a spot in the Jan. 9 BCS title game in New Orleans, a trip they might've gotten even with a loss to the Bulldogs (10-3). But, after a dismal first half in which they managed only 12 yards and failed to pick up a first down, they outscored Georgia 35-0 during the final two quarters.

Mathieu, the fearless sophomore known as "Honey Badger," sparked the comeback from a 10-0 deficit with his punt return for a touchdown midway through the second quarter.

Thursday 1 December 2011

NBA - The lockout is OVER

"The doors are open. The players are back in gyms around the NBA. And so too are the rumors that make this time of year unlike any other on the calendar, even if it is a few months late.
Outside of the trade deadline, there is no better time to soak in the sort of drama we’re experiencing in these days leading up to the union being reformed, the new collective bargaining agreement being finalized and the start of training camp and free agency. All we need is a big top and a ringmaster to conduct the ceremony of this player or that player being sent here or there. This is the circus that is the NBA unleashed from its 149-day lockout.
Today’s version offers more theories on some of the players mentioned in this space yesterday and some interesting, high-profile additions to the list. The fun never stops …"
by Sekou Smith: http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2011/12/01/the-gym-is-open-the-nba-unleashed/?ls=iref:nbahpt1