ESPN pulls Song from Monday Night Football
The Hank Williams Jr. song that has opened Monday Night Football for 20 years was not part of the opening of this week’s Indianapolis-Tampa Bay game after Williams made controversial comments about President Barack Obama. Monday morning on Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends” show, Williams compared Obama to Adolf Hitler. In a statement, ESPN [...]
61-Year-Old Plays College Football
After the recession forced Alan Moore out of a 37-year career in civil construction, he kicked back — by becoming a kicker for an Alabama college football team at age 61. On Saturday, Moore, referred to as “Pops” by his Faulkner University teammates, will have his first chance to kick in public for the small [...]
U.S. Open: Federer advances to quarterfinals; Wozniacki outlasts Kuznetsova
AHN Sports Staff NY, NY, United States (AHN Sports) – Roger Federer advanced to the quarterfinals of a 30th straight major tourney, toppling 36th-ranked Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 in a match that ended early Tuesday morning. R-Fed won the first five games and collected 14 service aces in all, despite the odd time of the match. “Other sports start at 8 in the morning, like golf. It’s crazy how our schedules change all the time. As tennis players, it makes it extremely difficult to be on your ‘A’ game every single day,” Federer said after the match. Federer goes on to play Paul Tsonga, a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 winner over an overmatched Mardy Fish. Tsonga toppled Federer in the U.S. Open quarters, despite dropping the first two sets. In women’s play, No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki posted a 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-1 victory over No. 15 Svetlana Kuznetsova. Serena Willams continued her strong play, toppling Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-4. Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
Doug Fister fans 13 as Tigers extend AL Central lead with win over Indians
John Nestor – AHN Sports Correspondent Cleveland, OH, United States (AHN Sports) – Doug Fister set them down and Victor Martinez sent one out to lead the Detroit Tigers to another victory over the Cleveland Indians. Fister recorded a career-high in strikeouts and Martinez added a big home run in Detroit’s 4-2 victory Monday afternoon. Fister fanned 13 indians in eight innings to help Detroit continue its dominance of Cleveland. The Tigers now have a 7 1/2 game lead over the Indians in the AL Central and have won five straight in the season series. Fister (7-13) allowed two runs and four hits and one walk. Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his 41st consecutive save. Martinez hit a three-run homer off of Ubaldo Jimenez (8-11), who gave up a one-out single to Delmon Young and a walk to Miguel Cabrera before Martinez homered to right in the fourth inning. Cabrera drove in Detroit’s final run in the eighth with a fielders choice. Cleveland’s Grady Sizemore played for the first time in six weeks and had an RBI groundout in the fifth. Kosuke Fukudome hit a solo home run in the eighth. Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
Saints extend coach Sean Payton’s deal through 2015
AHN Sports Staff New Orleans, LA, United States (AHN Sports) – The New Orleans Saints apparently approve of the job coach Sean Payton has done, extending his pact through the 2015 season. Payton led the Saints to the NFC South title in 2006 and the Super Bowl crown three years later with a win over Indianapolis. Saints owner Tom Benson indicated he is pleased to have Payton, who boasts a 53-33 overall mark, locked in to the organization. “I am very pleased to announce this contract extension today for Sean that will run through the 2015 season,” a statement from team managment read. “Our goal is to continue to build a TRADITION of winning here in New Orleans and Sean represents that tradition.” Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
Brett Lawrie’s solo shot in 11th lifts Jays over BoSox
AHN Sports Staff Toronto, ON, Canada (AHN Sports) – Brett Lawrie blasted a solo home run in the 11th inning, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays to a 1-0 win over the Boston Red Sox in a Monday afternoon contest. Lawrie has eight homers and 21 RBI since being called up on August 4. The Red Sox lost the game and starter Josh Beckett after just 3 2-3 innings due to a sore ankle. Boston’s 1-through-6 hitters had just three hits in 26 at-bats. The Jays were just about as poor offensively, collecting just six base-knocks despite improving to 70-71 on the season. Boston fell to a still outstanding 84-56, but is 2.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East. New York edged the Orioles 11-10 earlier in the day. Dan Wheeler took the loss for the Red Sox, while Shawn Camp notched the win. Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
Michigan State lineman sets ambitious goals in pursuit of Big Ten football title
John Raffel – AHN Sports Correspondent East Lansing, MI, United States (AHN Sports) – Jerel Worthy is gaining attention as a defensive tackle this season for the Michigan State Spartans. But the 6-foot-3, 310-pound junior is trying to have that attention focused solely on his team as the Spartans pursue another Big Ten Conference title. Worthy, who blocked an extra point attempt in Michigan State’s 28-6 win over Youngstown State in Friday’s season opener, is in his third season as the starting defensive tackle. “You just have to read your keys and play better,” said the native of Huber Heights, Ohio. “You can take a lot from this game. You can always improve. If we play to the best of our abilites, we probably could have won this game by a lot more. “If you read your keys and take your time, you have 11 guys running to the ball, you can have a lot of success.” He was named to the preseason watch lists for the Bednarik, Lombardi and Nagurski awards along with the Outland and Lott IMPACT trophies. He was also on the watch list by College Football Performance awards for the Defensive Lineman of the Year trophy. Other publications have him ranked among the nation’s top draft-eligible defensive tackles. “For his first game Friday night, I thought I did pretty well,” Worthy said. “There were a lot of plays when they were running away from me a lot. But that’s to be expected. We need to work together as a unit and make sure we have four guys working as a unit. The defensive double teams shouldn’t be aproblem. It just gives another guy a chance to make a play.” Coming into this season, Worthy had played in 26 career games with 24 starts at defensive tackle. He had 77 total tackles, including 33 solo, plus 17 tackles for loss and 76 yards and 8.5 sacks for 50 yards. As a sophomore, Worthy led all MSU defensive linemen with 40 tackles including eight for losses and a team-high 4.0 sacks. “We can improve,” Worthy said after the victory against Youngstown. “We won by 22 points but at the same time, we could have won by 40 points. The offense has to improve. We have to work together and work hard to get better.” Worthy said his team needs to improve significantly in upcoming weeks. “We have a ways to go,” …
Lopsided loss to Tigers puts White Sox in deeper hole in AL Central race
John Raffel – AHN Sports Correspondent Detroit, MI, United States (AHN Sports) – Mark Buehrle was hoping to help the Chicago White Sox get back in the American League Central Division pennant race. Instead, Buehrle sustained the shortest outing of the season against the first-place Detroit Tigers. Miguel Cabrera belted a two-run homer and added a two-run double to lift the Detroit Tigers to an 18-2 rout over the Chicago White Sox Sunday night at Comerica Park. Andy Dirks homered and had four RBIs, while Jhonny Peralta drove home three runs and Victor Martinez and Alex Avila both added a pair of RBI singles for the hot-hitting Tigers, who completed a three-game sweep over Chicago. The Tigers collected 24 hits off White Sox pitching. Buerhle, 11-7, allowed eight runs on 10 hits while striking out four in 3.1 innings. “It was one of those games where I don’t think it mattered who pitched,” Buerhle said. “They had everything working for them. They were hitting the ball pretty hard. You make a mistake and they crushed it, make a good pitch and they find the holes. It’s a part of the game.” Cabrera’s home run in the sixth inning traveled an estimated 424 feet over the center field fence and raised his home run and RBI totals to 26 and 92. Martinez drove home his first run in the bottom of the first inning. In the bottom of the third, he collected another RBI single for a 2-0 lead. The Tigers added two more runs in that inning off Buehrle on an RBI single from Alex Avila and a White Sox throwing error. The Tigers scored five times in the fourth, starting with Delmon Young’s RBI single, followed by Cabrera’s two-run double. Avila and Peralta both followed with RBI singles in that inning for the 9-0 lead. Peralta added a two-run double in a seven-run sixth inning and scored on Brandon Inge’s RBI single. Dirks singled home two more runs. Cabrera followed with his two-run home run. Avilia had four hits to establish a career high. Dirks added a two-run homer, his seventh of the season, in the eighth. In the top of the ninth, the White Sox scored on Donny Lucy’s RBI single and Alex…
Tigers expect to lose standout hitter Boesch for rest of season due to thumb injury
John Raffel – AHN Sports Correspondent Detroit, MI, United States (AHN Sports) – The Detroit Tigers are in command of the Central Division race in the American League. But one of their top hitters all season has been relegated to the role of dugout cheerleader. Tiger manager Jim Leyland confirmed on Sunday that outfielder Brennan Boesch, who has been batting just slightly below .300 all season and has 16 home runs, plus 54 RBI, will likely be undergoing surgery on his thumb soon to repair ligament damage “We’ll be without him the rest of the way, it looks like,” Leyland said, adding that the team’s medical staff would make the final decision. The good news is it appears the surgery, which could be done as early as this week, can likely make Boesch as good as new come spring training 2012. But the Tigers would have preferred keeping his bat in the lineup. Last season as a rookie, Boesch was hitting .360 near the All-Star break. But his numbers fell by more than 100 points in the second half of the season for a final average of .256. He had been far more consistent for this season. Boesch sustained the injury in mid-August. On Aug. 24, he took himself out of a game against Tampa Bay. Since then, he has been in one game as a pinch-runner. Boesch had tried wearing a special splint and tried other ways of playing through his injury but had no success. “I moved on to a protective pad that didn’t work,” he said. “I wasn’t able to do the thing to allow me to compete. We tried everything we could. It’s the most frustrating thing I’ve had to deal with, but it’s a part of the game. Boesch is confident of a quick recovery following surgery, although most likely not in time to play in the playoffs if the Tigers qualify. “From what I’ve been told, it’s a very quick process,” he said. “Within five weeks, I should feel pretty normal and should have a bat in my hand after that. I’ll have the full offseason to recover and will be back for next year. “Even is we had the surgery early on, the timetable was such that….Gary Sheffield was the last guy the Tigers had something of this nature. Based on where he was at, the time frame would allow me (to return) even with the surgery. There’s a process to get back to Major League opportunities. To swing a bat with any type of force takes some time.” Boesch said initially he didn’t think the injury would get to this point. “When it happened, the doctor outlined two different things,…
Day hoping to see the light at Deutsche Bank Championship
John Nestor – AHN Sports Correspondent Norton, MA, United States (AHN Sports) – Jason Day is playing well this week at TPC Boston and that’s no surprise since it’s a big event. Now all that’s left for him to do is win. The young Australian posted his third consecutive rounds in the 60s Sunday and heads into the final round just a shot off the lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship. A 4-under-par 67 moved Day to 10-under 203 and just a shot behind Bubba Watson. Day is not the only player with a chance Monday as 23 players are within four of the lead, but he has as an impressive resume here and in big events this season. Last year Day fired a career-low 63 in the second round here and finished tied for second. He is playing this event for the fourth consecutive time and has been over par just twice in 15 rounds. “I really like the golf course, I think it sets up really nice for me,” Day said. “I feel really good about my game right now.” As he should. Not only is he in the running to win the second event in the FedEx Cup Playoffs but he is yet again playing well in a big-time event. Day was second at both the Masters and U.S. Open and fourth at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. He also tied for sixth at the Players Championship and seems to have a penchant for performing well in the spotlight. On Sunday he got off to a fast start with an eagle at the par-5 second hole but followed it up with a bogey. That was Day’s lone mistake as he added birdies at eight, 17 and 18 to put himself firmly in contention. “It’s exciting. It’s always good to be in contention, especially in a playoff event,” Day said. ‘I know a win would obviously propel me up the FedEx Cup rankings but first thing first. I’m going to go back and just rest up and just try and relax and mentally prepare to play tomorrow.” Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved