ns sportswap

Sharks suffer another playoff letdown (AP)

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 09:18:11 +0000

Sharks suffer another playoff letdown (AP)

Shortly after his San Jose Sharks were swept out of the Western Conference final by Chicago, coach Todd McLellan tried to draw inspiration from the Blackhawks. Just one year after losing in five games to Detroit in the conference final, the Blackhawks are headed to the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1992 after outskating and outplaying the Sharks in the four-game sweep.

Brunson returns from overseas, reinstated by Spelbolag (AP)

The Minnesota Lynx have reinstated Rebekkah Brunson from the team’s suspended list after her overseas commitments came to a finish. The team says Brunson is expected to participate in practice Tuesday. The Lynx acquired Brunson in the Sacramento Monarchs dispersal draft. She has career averages of 8.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in six WNBA seasons.

WNBA Capsules (AP)

Angel McCoughtry scored 21 points, Erika DeSouza had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and the Atlanta Dream remained undefeated with an 86-77 victory over the New York Liberty on Sunday. Iziane Castro Marques scored nine of her 13 points in the final 5 1/2 minutes for Atlanta (4-0), which is off to the best start in the franchise’s three-year history.

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 10:32:06 +0000

Hockey bettors know where to get real time NHL Odds for free at SBR Forum

Tour Report: Woods adds Greenbrier to busy slate (PGA Tour)

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:36:09 +0000

Tour Report: Woods adds Greenbrier to busy slate (PGA Tour)
Tiger Woods is taking the next two weeks off and then is expected to play five of the next eight PGA TOUR events, including a new one on his schedule, The Greenbrier Classic. The third-year tournament announced Woods commitment in a press release on Monday. According to the schedule on his website, Woods will play the Memorial Tournament, U.S. Open, AT&T National, The Greenbrier Classic, British Open and World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Woods is coming off a disappointing two-week stretch where he missed the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship and tied for 40th at THE PLAYERS Championship. Woods also tied for 40th at the Masters, two weeks after breaking a 30-month victory drought at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. We are pleased and excited to have one of the all-time greats in the game join The Greenbrier Classics 2012 field, said Jim Justice, chairman and owner of The Greenbrier. Tiger is one of the biggest stars in all of sport and he brings significant attention to any event he enters. All involved with The Greenbrier Classic look forward to hosting Tiger on The Old White TPC Course as one of the professionals in this years field at Americas resort on Americas birthday. The Greenbrier Classic will be held July 2-8 at the Old White TPC Course at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.

Catchings happy to be playing again (The Associated Press)

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 14:18:09 +0000

Catchings happy to be playing again (The Associated Press)
SEATTLE (AP) Tamika Catchings was thrilled to be back on the court. While most of her teammates on the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team spent the winter playing overseas, she was rehabbing an injury to her right foot. Now that’s she healthy, Catchings is raring to go. She has been playing pickup basketball as much as she could, but there’s nothing like playing with her Olympic teammates. ”It’s great to be playing again,” she said after the two-hour practice Friday at Seattle University. ”It really feels good to be out here.” Catchings, who will be playing in her third Olympics this summer in London, suffered a torn plantar fascia in the second game of the WNBA Eastern Conference finals. Catchings and her Olympic teammates will have a whirlwind weekend in Seattle. They practiced Friday and play an exhibition game against China on Saturday. The U.S. will then scrimmage Japan on Sunday before breaking camp. ”It was a good first day,” U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said. ”What I really hope we get out of this weekend is a chance for our players to get used to being with each other and playing with each other. That’s the biggest thing we can get out of these few days.” The U.S. team has been forced to go with piecemeal training over the last few years because of the difficulty of getting everyone together. Between the WNBA season, players playing overseas in the winter and Auriemma’s college schedule, it’s been virtually impossible to get everyone in the same place at the same time. While Catchings is fresh, most of the other players are tired from their long seasons overseas. The WNBA is in the middle of training camp and their season starts next Friday. ”It’s good that we only went for a few hours today and then have a game tomorrow,” said Candace Parker, who spent her winter playing in Russia. ”It takes a toll on your body playing all those games. This is the perfect amount of time to get used to each other and coach’s system.” Auriemma’s system is familiar to half the team as six of the players are UConn graduates. Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, Maya Moore and Tina Charles all played for Auriemma. Charles didn’t really participate much in practice Friday as she was rehabbing a groin injury. Bird was sporting a face mask to protect her nose that was broken while playing this winter. ”It’s not my favorite thing to wear, but it allows me to play,” Bird said. ”I’ve broken it before so it’s not really an adjustment, it’s more of a nuisance.” This will be the only time the Americans are together before the WNBA takes a monthlong break from its season for the Olympics. The team will get together again on July 14. They will spend three days in Washington D.C. before heading to Manchester, England. The U.S. will then play in a tournament in Istanbul before returning to London at the start of the Olympics, which begin on July 27. ”It’s not ideal since other teams have been practicing for a lot longer, but it’s what we have,” said Bird, who will also be playing in her third Olympics. ”Every time you put the USA jersey on it’s an honor. I’m lucky I have had the opportunity to represent my country. Growing up there was no WNBA to look forward to, for me my dream was always playing in the Olympics.”

Billie Jean King takes USTA’s case to Congress (Yahoo! Sports)

admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 10:36:11 +0000

Billie Jean King takes USTA’s case to Congress (Yahoo! Sports)
WASHINGTON (AP) Hall of Famer and women’s tennis pioneer Billie Jean King is asking members of Congress to help the U.S. Tennis Association with community outreach efforts. King is in Washington to meet with lawmakers and further the USTA’s efforts to develop local partnerships around the country. Speaking at the National Press Club on Wednesday, the owner of 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 27 more in women’s or mixed doubles said: ”Tennis has given me my platform … to continue my lifelong quest for equal rights and opportunities for boys and girls, men and women.” King says the USTA ”is more committed than ever to make tennis more accessible,” and has built or refurbished more than 25,000 courts in public parks or schools since 2005.

Stenhouse content to bide his time in Nationwide (The Associated Press)

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:54:09 +0000

Stenhouse content to bide his time in Nationwide (The Associated Press)
JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is perfectly happy biding his time in the NASCAR Nationwide series in 2012. Stenhouse knows Roush Fenway Racing is invested in his future – one that looks stronger than ever after a stellar start to the season. Stenhouse, the 2011 Nationwide points champion, told team owner Jack Roush in the offseason that another year in the series right below Sprint Cup would be the best thing for his long-term prospects. It’s been the right plan so far. The 24-year-old Stenhouse is five points clear of Elliott Sadler in the points lead heading into this week’s race at Darlington. ”I feel comfortable about where I am at Roush Fenway Racing. I wasn’t worried that if I didn’t get to Cup that I was going to be left behind or anything like that. Jack’s been patient with me and been supportive, so I had that behind me,” Stenhouse said Wednesday during a promotional tour of metro Des Moines ahead of the May 20 Nationwide race at Iowa Speedway. ”I felt like there was a lot that I could learn still in Nationwide.” It never seems that way at the short oval in Iowa, the site of Stenhouse’s first two career wins. Stenhouse earned his first career pole at Iowa in 2009. He then picked up his first career victory there last May, outdueling teammate Carl Edwards and Cup regular Brad Keselowski to snap a winless streak by Nationwide regulars that stretched past a year. He won again at Iowa in August. ”After the last couple of years running out at Iowa Speedway and, especially after last year having the success we’ve had there, I’m definitely excited to get back,” Stenhouse said. It was that victory last August that ensured Iowa’s burgeoning racing fan base wouldn’t forget Stenhouse either. It was a contentious run from the start, with Stenhouse annoying his more experienced teammate with what Edwards thought was overaggressive driving. Contact initiated by Stenhouse sent tempers flaring, and owner Jack Roush had to grab the radio and calm them down. It worked, but sage advice couldn’t stop Stenhouse’s engine from blowing up on the last lap with Edwards on his rear fender. Stenhouse’s No. 6 car spun and Edwards, blinded by the smoke, pushed it across the finish line first. It was one of the more dramatic finishes in recent NASCAR history, even though it was hardly the kind of 1-2 finish Roush had hoped for. ”It was crazy. It was one of those races that I’ll never forget. You don’t want them to end that way. It was exciting for the fans, exciting for everyone at home. Kind of killed me – I wasn’t sure if we were going to win or not,” Stenhouse said. ”It was tough on Jack’s pocketbook as well, because finishing first and second with two destroyed race cars and a blown motor is not profitable.” It’s been tough for Roush to stay mad at Stenhouse with the way he’s been running. In eight Nationwide races, Stenhouse has a pair of wins at Las Vegas and Texas and a series-high six top-5 finishes. Though he’s run just once in Sprint Cup, he said Wednesday he’s confident that more opportunities to race at the sport’s highest level will come this season. Stenhouse even said that Roush told him at Texas he’s holding a Cup spot for the No. 6 provided he can land sponsorship for it. For now, Stenhouse is content on chasing another Nationwide championship while absorbing all the lessons he can before making the leap to Cup fulltime. It’s not a move Stenhouse wants to make too soon. ”Looking at other guys that might have gone up a little too early and struggled a little bit and took a while to get going – I didn’t want to fall in that category,” Stenhouse said.

Oudin, star at ’09 US Open, gets French wild card (Yahoo! Sports)

admin — Tue, 08 May 2012 02:18:28 +0000

Oudin, star at ’09 US Open, gets French wild card (Yahoo! Sports)
Melanie Oudin was introduced to the world – and to the notion of outsized expectations – when she was an unseeded and unknown 17-year-old from Marietta, Ga., who upset Maria Sharapova during a captivating run to the 2009 U.S. Open quarterfinals. The going’s been rough since: a 2-8 record at Grand Slam tournaments, plenty of other early exits elsewhere, too, and a ranking that dropped from a high of 31st to 370th. She didn’t even get into the Australian Open in January after losing her opening match in qualifying. Now 20 and trying to work her way back, Oudin is heading to the main draw of the French Open this month after earning a wild card at low-level clay-court tournaments in the United States. ”There’s always ups and downs in everyone’s tennis career. For me, this was definitely the down part of my career. Hopefully there won’t be too many other down parts. But what matters is how you come out of your downs,” Oudin said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Monday, the words delivered in that familiar rat-a-tat style of hers. ”Ups are always great. But what really makes you a great tennis player is how you deal with the losses and come out of a slump.” The kid whose shoes were stamped with the word ”Believe” during those magical, memorable two weeks in New York more than 2 1/2 years ago is using that mantra again. For whatever ups and downs Oudin already has lived as a pro tennis player – at ages when some people are in high school or college – she sounded a positive note Monday. ”I’ve handled myself well. I’ve really tried to keep going. Not getting down on myself. Never giving up. And playing tennis again for the reasons I love play: Not for the winning and losing, but because I love to play and I love competing and playing in all the tournaments,” Oudin said. ”I’m definitely doing better now. I feel like my game is coming into place again and I’m starting to get more confidence. I’m going in the right direction now.” She’s 270th in Monday’s WTA rankings, too low to even get invited to the qualifying rounds for the French Open, the year’s second Grand Slam tournament. But the U.S. Tennis Association gets two wild cards for Paris that it can hand out however it wants (the French federation gets a pair for the U.S. Open in exchange). This year, the USTA awarded those wild cards based on results at recent events. Brian Baker of Nashville, Tenn., got the men’s invitation, and Oudin got the women’s, thanks in large part to winning a USTA Pro Circuit title at Charlottesville, Va. ”It’s really good for me to come through and win a tournament, because I hadn’t won a tournament in a while,” Oudin said. ”I definitely see it as an accomplishment. Getting the main-draw wild card gives me a huge opportunity to do well and hopefully I can get some matches there and get my ranking back up.” She started training with USTA coaches in Florida in October, then moved to New York to work with Jay Gooding and Jorge Todero of the USTA a little more than two months ago. Their focus is on fitness and confidence, more than any particular stroke. ”She’s already been there and done that. She was up to 30th in the world. She was playing at a high level for a year or two. Tennis is not the issue. It’s mental and physical,” Gooding said. ”She’s already proven that she could do it, and as long as she got her head back in a good place, she knew she could start winning again.” Whatever progress is being made now, the real goal is to start off 2013 fresh as Oudin moves into what Gooding referred to as ”her second career.” ”What we want to learn from is what she did after the U.S. Open that year. She could have managed her schedule a bit better. She played too much. Got a little burned out. Did a little too many media commitments, maybe,” he said. ”It’s not like she’s the first to ever go through that. It happens a lot, where people skyrocket up and then the next year is the difficult one. Having that experience, maybe she can do things a little bit different.” Instead of looking at what happened in 2009 as a burden, Oudin is trying to find inspiration from it. ”It’s something I’ll always be able to look back on and feel like: I did this, and I can do it again. It’s something I can work toward. And I’m really looking forward to having another great run like that again. I just don’t know when it will come. Just like I didn’t know that was going to come out of nowhere,” she said. ”I just have to keep working hard,” Oudin added, ”and remember that I can compete with the best in the world.” — Howard Fendrich can be reached at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Fantasy: Different ‘horses’ for portions of season (NASCAR.com)

admin — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:36:15 +0000

Fantasy: Different ‘horses’ for portions of season (NASCAR.com)
Gordon’s run at Martinsville just one example of driver predictability. Jeff Gordon (Autostock) At Martinsville, an often repeated truism goes: There are horses for courses. Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson proved just how accurate that was last weekend in the Goodys Fast Relief 500 by alternately dominating before a late accident robbed them of good finishes. Gordon earned the top driver rating of 133.0 (out of a perfect 150.0) during the race, Hamlin was fourth-best at 111.5 and Johnson was fifth at 109.4. Late in the race, the three engaged in a spirited battle that may have shown the best competition of the season. Even better from a fantasy-gaming point of view, these drivers were predictably strong and they were profiled as favorites in the weekly preview. Just as there are horses for courses, there are drivers who are predictably strong at certain points of the season. Even with the current playoff-style Chase, it pays to get off to a good start. On the strength of five consecutive top-15s, Greg Biffle has a 47-point advantage over the driver in 11th in the standings. It is not an insurmountable lead by any stretch of the imagination, and much can happen in the 21 races before the Chase begins, but it allows the driver and team to gamble to a certain degree. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is another driver who came off the hauler fast at Daytona and has not looked back. He too has swept the top 15 and built a 41-point margin over 11th place in the standings, and that lifts a load of concern from his shoulders. Only one of those two drivers has traditionally been much stronger during the first half of the season, which is why expectations need to be adjusted week to week. But to be successful in fantasy games, it pays to study the trends. Strong Starters Earnhardt is off to a great start in 2012, and it seems inevitable that he will snap his winless streak sometime before the series hits the halfway point with a return to Daytona in week 18 of the season. Junior has historically been much better in the first half of the year than at its end. In 435 starts through the end of 2011, he earned 61 percent of his 18 victories before the halfway mark. He also has scored 58 percent of his top-fives and 57 percent of his top-10s in that span, which made him a predictably strong starter. While he has been strong most often early in the year, his average finish of 7.8 during the first five races has been atypical. His career average finish through 2011 has been about twice what hes experienced this season at 15.4 in the first 18 races of each year. He cools off in the closing months and loses 2.6 positions to his average finish in the last 18 weeks. Kyle Busch is another typically strong starterat least in reference to victories. During his career, he has amassed 23 Cup wins and nearly two-thirds of those came in the first 18 weeks of the season. The ratio of his top-five and -10 finishes is much narrower than Earnhardts, however. In 257 starts, he earned only 51 percent of his top-10s in the first part of the year and 54 percent of his top-fives. That should be regarded by fantasy owners as both good and bad news. On one hand, it means that he is marginally stronger at this stage of the schedule with an average finish of slightly better than two positions per race. But it also means that he has been more uneven in the spring events, which makes him less predictable. Paul Menard has been less successful overall than Earnhardt and Busch, but his percentages are largely the same. For the past couple of years, he has gotten off to a strong start at Daytona and kept that momentum during the early season. Four of his six top-fives have come in the first 18 races of a year, and that has allowed him to stake a brief claim to Chase contention. He levels off relatively soon, however, and his 19 top-10s are almost evenly spread between the spring and fall. Strong Finishers Some other drivers are much better in the fall than spring. There is a reason why Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart battled for the championship last year, as they both had strong runs during the Chase, but neither of them could be described as surprisingly stout during the second half of the season. Statistically, Edwards improves his average finish by nearly two positions per race in the final 18 events of the year. Fifty-three percent of his top-fives have been earned as the season crests the hill, and 12 of 19 wins have come with the season finale firmly in sight. Stewart has a long reputation for running stronger in the fall than spring. His surge usually starts late-summer and carries through until the end of the season. Last year, he was able to parlay that tendency into the third championship of his career. He entered this season with 44 Cup victories and, amazingly, 30 of those were earned in the second half of the season. However, hes added two more wins so far in 2012, which gives him an inside track to taking one of the wild card slots in the Chase even if he slips from his third position in the standings. He provides a lesson to fantasy owners: momentum is sometimes more important than statistics. Clint Bowyer is also well-known for late-season surges. His qualification for the 2007 Chase was a pleasant surprise since it came in his sophomore season. He immediately set out to prove he belonged with the elite drivers by winning that Chases first playoff race in New Hampshire. In the next six races that season, he earned two more runner-up finishes and swept the top 12, which solidified his reputation. His last two Cup victories have also been earned in the fall and four of Bowyers five wins have come in the final 18 races. Like Stewart, however, he is showing how strong he can be in the opening weeks with five top-15s in the first six races of 2012. Fantasy owners will want to use him while he has momentum on his side, but they will also want to keep a close eye on the No. 15 as the Chase looms.

Giants RB Brown suspended for PEDs by NFL 4 games (Yahoo! Sports)

admin — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:54:17 +0000

Giants RB Brown suspended for PEDs by NFL 4 games (Yahoo! Sports)
NEW YORK (AP)The NFL has suspended New York Giants running back Andre Brown for the first four games of the 2012 season for violating the league policy on performance enhancing substances. The NFL announced the suspension Friday. Brown is eligible to participate in all offseason and preseason practices and games. Brown was on the Giants practice squad last season and did not play. He was originally drafted by New York in 2008 in the fourth round out of North Carolina State. In 2010, he was with Carolina, Denver, Indianapolis and Washington, but was active for only four games. The Giants signed him to the practice squad before the 2011 season.

Watson has 20 points, leads Bulls over 76ers 89-80 (Yahoo! Sports)

admin — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 20:36:09 +0000

Watson has 20 points, leads Bulls over 76ers 89-80 (Yahoo! Sports)
CHICAGO (AP)C.J. Watson scored 20 points and Joakim Noah added 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to an 89-80 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. The Bulls overcame an early 14-point deficit without Derrick Rose, who missed his third straight game with a strained groin. Even with the reigning MVP missing 13 games this season, the Bulls still have the best record in the NBA at 37-10. The Bulls are 9-4 without Rose. Jrue Holiday led the 76ers with 30 points, who dropped its third straight overall and have lost seven of nine on the road. Holiday got little help as Andre Iguodala was held to seven points and Elton Brand to seven. Chicago went on a 14-3 run in the third quarter to take the lead. Carlos Boozer made a pair of free throws to tie the game then Watson made a 3-pointer to give Chicago its first lead, 52-49. Omer Asik had a tip-in as time expired at the end of the quarter to increase Chicagos lead to 64-59. Kyle Korver made a jumper and after Asiks free throw, Korver made a 3 to increase the lead to 71-63. Things started to unravel for the the 76ers as Spencer Hawes was called for a techincal after an offensive foul and Evan Turner was also called for technical after he argued what he thought shouldve been a goaltending call. Holidays basket got the Bulls to 79-75 with 3:30, but the Bulls answered with a 10-2 run led by Noah, who had eight points in the span. The Bulls outrebounded the 76ers 53-39. The 76ers came out with more urgency than they did in a loss to the Heat on Friday night. The 76ers jumped out to a 11-0 lead. Holiday scored nine of Philadelphias first 13 points. The Bulls didnt score in the first quarter until Boozer hit a jumper with 6:49 left. The Bulls couldnt convert on its first seven shot attempts. Lou Williams layup gave the 76ers a 24-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. Ronnie Brewers layup as time expired at the end of the second quarter got the Bulls to 44-38. Holiday scored 15 points in the first half for the 76ers. Watson and Gibson led the Bulls with eight apiece. Iguodala was held to two points in the first half on 1-of-4 shooting. NOTES: The Bulls wore green uniforms in honor of St. Patricks Day. Andres Nocioni did not make the trip with the 76ers for Saturdays game at Chicago. Nocioni was with the 76ers in last nights 84-78 loss to Miami, but did not play. According to a 76ers spokesman, Nocioni is still on the active roster, but the team is allowing him to explore other options. His official status is that I dont know if the paperwork is done, but weve worked out a deal with him to allow him to either go on with another team maybe, or if not, I talked to him last night, go to Argentina and get ready for the Olympics, 76ers head coach Doug Collins said.