07/04/2009 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casey McGehee finished with four hits, a double short of a cycle, and drove in five to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to an 11-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Mike Cameron was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and four total RBI for the Brewers, who had lost the first two contests of this four-game set and dropped three in a row overall.
J.J. Hardy homered and finished with two of the Brewers' 14 hits, while also scoring twice.
Braden Looper (7-4) allowed two runs on six hits and three walks over six innings. Both his runs allowed came on Milton Bradley's two-run homer in the third inning.
Aside from Bradley's homer, the Cubs had only six singles and hit into three double plays, as they had a three-game win streak broken.
Chicago starter Rich Harden (5-5) surrendered seven runs on eight hits and a walk in two-plus innings, and took the loss.
The Brewers struck for five runs in the first inning, which Craig Counsell began with a single. Ryan Braun later doubled to put runners in scoring position, and after Harden intentionally walked Prince Fielder, McGehee hit a two-run single to center.
Cameron followed with a homer to left-center for a 5-0 Milwaukee lead.
Hardy's solo homer in the second made it a six-run game, and the Brewers went up 7-0 in the third. McGehee led off with a triple and scored on Cameron's double.
Bradley's two-run shot in the home third, after Derrek Lee hit a leadoff single, got the Cubs within five. Chicago did not have another hit until Mike Fontenot's single with two outs in the ninth, allowing the Brewers to take further control.
Hardy scored on a passed ball in the fourth, and McGehee followed with an RBI single to push Milwaukee's lead to 9-2. McGehee's two-run homer in the sixth made it an 11-2 game, and he had a chance to go for the cycle in the eighth, but grounded into a double play.
Game Notes
Harden allowed a season-high in earned runs and had his shortest outing of 2009...Cameron's homer was his 14th this season, while Hardy hit his ninth and McGehee belted his sixth...Bradley's HR was his sixth of the year. He also walked twice...The Cubs still lead the season series, 5-4.
<< New jockey for Mine That Bird on the horizon
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chip Woolley, trainer of Kentucky Derby
winner Mine That Bird, indicated Saturday that an announcement on a new rider
for the three-year-old could come as soon as Sunday morning. Earlier in the
week Ca
<< D'Backs activate Petit off DL for Saturday start
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have activated
right-hander Yusmeiro Petit from the 15-day disabled list to start Saturday's
game versus Colorado.
Petit has been shelved since May 9 with a right shoulde
<< Nestor/Zimonjic beat Bryans for Wimbledon doubles crown
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Canadian Daniel Nestor and Serbian Nenad
Zimonjic repeated as men's doubles champions at Wimbledon Saturday, beating
the top-seeded American twin Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, in four sets.
Nestor and
<< Echenique birdies the last for the lead in Paris
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Overnight leader Rafa Echenique birdied the
last hole Saturday to hold on to his spot atop the leaderboard after the third
round of the Open de France.
Echenique shot a one-under 70 and finished 54 holes at
Woodward's ninth-inning hit sends M's past Sox >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Woodward knocked in the deciding run in
the ninth inning as Seattle clipped Boston, 3-2, in the middle
contest of three at Fenway Park.
Russell Branyan added a pair of RBI for the M
Callaspo and KC snap ChiSox winning streak >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alberto Callaspo went 2-for-3 and hit the
go-ahead two-run single in the sixth inning, as the Kansas City Royals came
back to top the White Sox, 6-4, and snap Chicago's seven-game win streak.
Callaspo
Mike Smith back on Mine That Bird >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eclipse Award winning jockey Mike Smith has
regained the mount on Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. Smith has a two-
race commitment to ride the gelding starting with the West Virginia Derby on
Saturda
Wang leaves game >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang left
Saturday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays with a shoulder injury.
Wang departed in the sixth inning with a right shoulder strain, and is
scheduled to
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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