SPORTS HITS

Well it took a long time, but the Philadelphia Phillies are World Series champions. After 50 hours and some horrible weather the Phillies came out in Game 5 and got two runs to stake closer Brad Lidge a 4-3 lead going into the ninth. Just like all season long Lidge was perfect again this night and the Phillies were World Series Champions. During the year the Phillies seen their ups and downs, but when it counted they got the job done. Cole Hamels was named the World Series Most Valuable Player which he deserved as no one pitched better than he did in the postseason.

For the Tampa Bay Devil Rays it was a bitter sweet loss for them. Yes they made their first World Series appearance, but had hoped for better results. The Rays are a very young ball club and will be back and should be proud of what they have accomplished. When you go from one of the worst teams to a World Series appearance you have to be real proud.

Greg Oden could only sit and watch after he sprained his foot early in the game as Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers rolled to an easy 96-76 win over Portland. Bryant tossed in 23 points and had 11 rebounds in the win for the Lakers. Meanwhile Greg Oden continued to have bad luck with health issues as he injured his right foot early in the game and had to sit out most of the game.

Greg Oden seems to be injury prone and for Portland fans I really hope that is not the case. Oden sat out all of last year with a knee injury and hopefully this latest setback will be short lived and he will be able to get back out on the court. You never want to see a guy like Oden get hurt again especially after he had to sit out all of last year. Let’s hope he can get back on the court as soon as possible and will be able to help his team this year.

Tuesday, October 28th

The Tennessee Titans withstood a quick start by the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning to get a 31-21 win and start the season at 7-0. This win was huge on many fronts, but the most important is now they have a four game lead on everyone else in their division. Peyton Manning threw two interceptions which did not help the Colts cause, but right now they are not real healthy and when you play a team that is playing as well as the Titans you need to be at full strength.

Tennessee has proven that they are one of the best teams i the NFL with this win. Kerry Collins managed the game like he always does and the Tennessee defense stepped it up when it was needed. With a four game lead in the division the Titans right now are sitting pretty, but hopefully they will not rest here and will keep playing hard all season long as you never know what could happen.

Joe Blanton used his arm and pitched six strong innings and than he used his bat to hit a home run to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 10-2 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Phillies have been getting it together as the series has gone along. Last night Jimmie Rollins and Ryan Howard had very good games and with good pitching they are very tough to beat in Philadelphia.

Now the Rays have their backs to the wall as they are in a 3-1 hole and must win tonight or they will be going home for the winter. The Rays seem to be pressing and need to relax more. It is tough as the Rays are very young and playing in a World Series for the first time is never easy. The Rays still have a chance, but they need to just play their game and let the chips fall where they may.

Colt McCoy did just enough and the Longhorn defense was able to come up with the plays they needed to stop Oklahoma State by a score of 28-24. McCoy was 38 for 45 and threw for 391 yards for the Longhorns. Meanwhile Oklahoma State and Texas combined for over 900 yards of total offense, but in the end it was the Texas defense that made the stop that counted.

You do have to tip your hat to the Oklahoma State Cowboys as they came to Austin Texas and played a very good game and had chances to win the game. I think we could hear from them before the season is over. next up for the no. 1 Longhorns will be the Texas Tech Red Raiders who are also undefeated. That should be a very interesting game as both teams have great offenses.

Friday, October 24th

 Tampa Bay Rays used small ball to drive in four runs and stop the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 4-2. Big Game pitcher James Shields kept the Phillies at bay all night long and David Price came in to finish the job for the Tampa Bay Rays. Meanwhile the Phillies had another awful night with runners nin scoring position. In fact the Phillies are now 1 for 28 with runners in scoring position. If they continue to do this the Tampa Bay Rays will be World Series Champions. The Phillies need to get Ryan Howard untrack as he has really struggled so far in the Series. The Rays now must at least win one game in Philadelphia if they want the series to come back to Tampa. It will be interesting to see how well they play in the cold of Philadelphia.  

Cole Hamels have been in a zone in this post season and that did not change at all when the first game of the World Series was done. Hamels pitched a wonderful game and Brad Lidge closed it out as the Phillies took Game One 3-2. The Phillies got a two-run home run from Chase Utley to give the Phillies a early lead and Hamels pitched out a bases loaded jam in the third inning as the Phillies looked like a club ready to play.

The Tampa Bay Rays played well, but they seem to be pressing a little bit. I also noticed that they were looking for the home run ball all the time which is something that you just cannot do if you want to win the World Series. The Rays got there by getting base hits and using the long ball as it came not trying to hit one everytime. The Rays now are in a must win situation as they cannot afford to go down 2-0 to the Phillies.

Brett Favre has been accused of giving away secrets about the Packers offense to the Detroit Lions before they played them. Now Favre denies any of this happened and the truth is we probably will never find out if he did or did not. My point on this issue is that many players do this all the time when they go to another team.

There is no league rule against it so even if he did it no rules were broken. I do not think we would hear about this and the only reason we are is because it is Brett Favre. If it was Joe Nobody this story would not being mention, but since it is Brett Favre it is a big news story.

From last place to first and now a World Series appearance the Tampa Bay Rays and their fans are in Ray heaven right now. The Rays used strong pitching from Matt Garza and the bullpen shut down the Red Sox for a 3-1 win over the defending Champions. Tampa Bay I must admit has really surprised me this year. I knew they had a lot of talent and putting it all together is sometimes tough, but this team seems to have everything going their way.

Next up for the Rays will be a Philadelphia Phillies team that is well rested and ready to take them on. The Phillies have strong pitching and a very good hitting lineup so this should be a very interesting World Series. I like the Phillies because of their pitching, but you never know.

The St. Louis Rams made it two straight wins as they beat the the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 34-14. Steven Jackson ran for 160 yards and scored three touchdowns for the Rams. The St’ Louis defense picked off Cowboys quarterback Brad Johnson three times who replaced the injured Tony Romo. The Cowboys are not playing well and I am sure that Jerry Jones will not put up with this for long. He was embarrassed at the way the Cowboys played and I am sure heads will roll in Dallas this week. I see Tony Romo starting next week as they cannot afford to lose again.