Sports Quote of the Day:
"There may be people that have more talent than you, but there's no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do." ~ Derek Jeter, New York Yankee Major League Baseball Player
It's On!!!!!
The 2013 NFL season has started. We wish your favorite team the best of luck, however, the greatest fan base from the number 1 sports city (Chicago) in America say, "Go Bears!!!" We're in this for the long haul. See you in the playoffs!!!
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Cutler, Marshall lead Bears over Bengals 24-21.
It's On!!!!!
The 2013 NFL season has started. We wish your favorite team the best of luck, however, the greatest fan base from the number 1 sports city (Chicago) in America say, "Go Bears!!!" We're in this for the long haul. See you in the playoffs!!!
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Cutler, Marshall lead Bears over Bengals 24-21.
ANDREW SELIGMAN
Sluggish for most of the afternoon, the Chicago Bears found their rhythm in time to make Marc Trestman a winner in his debut.
Jay Cutler passed to Brandon Marshall for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, helping the Bears rally for a 24-21 victory over the sloppy Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and giving Trestman a victory in his first game as an NFL head coach.
It wasn't quite the display the Bears were looking for after making some big changes in the offseason. But they made the most of a handful of big plays by Cutler and repeated mistakes by the Bengals.
The Bengals led by 11 in the third quarter and were up 21-17 early in the fourth when Tim Jennings jarred the ball from Mohamed Sanu following a reception and made the recovery.
Chicago took over at its 19 and got an 8-yard run from Matt Forte on fourth-and-inches at the Bengals 27 to keep the drive going. Cutler then found Marshall in the front corner of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown with 7:58 remaining.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (18) scores a touchdown reception past Chicago Bears.
Clearly, there's work to do. The offense seemed stuck most of the afternoon but came through in the end, with Cutler completing 21 of 33 passes. He also had two touchdowns to go with an interception.
Chicago Bears cornerback Charles Tillman (33) runs after intercepting a pass intended for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green.
Vontaze Burfict intercepted Cutler near midfield early in the fourth quarter, taking a shot to the right knee from Chicago's Kyle Adams.
Cincinnati took over at the Bears 40, but Sanu's fumble at the 17 led to a big swing.
NFL Scores, Week 1, 09/08/2013
Thursday, September 5 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | 27 - 49 | Denver |
Sunday, September 8 | ||
| Tennessee | 16 - 9 | Pittsburgh |
| New England | 23 - 21 | Buffalo |
| Atlanta | 17 - 23 | New Orleans |
| Tampa Bay | 17 - 18 | NY Jets |
| Kansas City | 28 - 2 | Jacksonville |
| Seattle | 12 - 7 | Carolina |
| Miami | 23 - 10 | Cleveland |
| Minnesota | 24 - 34 | Detroit |
| Oakland | 17 - 21 | Indianapolis |
| Cincinnati | 21 - 24 | Chicago |
| Arizona | 24 - 27 | St. Louis |
| Green Bay | 28 - 34 | San Francisco |
| NY Giants | 31 - 36 | Dallas |
Monday, September 9 | ||
| 6:55 PM EDT ESPN Philadelphia | @ | Washington |
| 10:20 PM EDT ESPN Houston | @ | San Diego |
By Franklin Steele
2014 Chicago Blackhawks, #11 out of 30, or better?
2013 Final Ranking: 19th (16.7%)
Key Players: Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews
Why It's Here: Great teams don't always lead to great power plays, yet the Chicago Blackhawks strike us as a team that is just too explosive in the offensive zone to continue to suck it up on the power play.
Patrick Kane dominated with the extra man and put up eight goals last year. Marian Hossa also put up some solid production, but out of Chicago's stars, only these two got it done.
Jonathan Toews has more to offer than two power-play markers. The same goes for Patrick Sharp, who only posted a single tally on the power play last season.
There's a lot of room for improvement here, and Chicago has the guns in place to make it happen. The 'Hawks have penalty killing down to an art. Now it's time to focus on the power play.
Just another Chicago Bulls Session... Pitino, Payton, King, 9 others enter hoops Hall.
By Howard Ulman
Rick Pitino remembers the training meals at the pizza place where his Boston University teams ate more than 30 years ago.
Even Hall of Famers have to start somewhere.
That obscure beginning provided a foundation for a coaching career that took him to two NBA teams and three other colleges, all reaching the Final Four and two winning NCAA championships.
''Coaches don't get in the Hall of Fame,'' Pitino said Sunday at his induction. ''Players put them in the Hall of Fame and I've had a great journey along the way.''
It started for him as a head coach in 1978 just 90 miles east of Springfield Symphony Hall, where the ceremony was held for him and 11 other honorees.He had to ''learn the trade from the bottom'' at Boston University, Pitino said. There were those ''training meals,'' he said, and the time when champagne was served at Midnight Madness.
''Nine drunks showed up,'' he said, ''and no one else.''
He spent five years with the Terriers, then two as an assistant with the New York Knicks before spending the next two as head coach at Providence, leading the Friars to a surprising berth in the Final Four. He kept moving - two years as head coach with the Knicks, eight with Kentucky, four with the Boston Celtics and the past 12 with Louisville.
Just five months ago, he led the Cardinals to the championship.
''At BU, you learn how to build the right way. At Providence, I learned how to dream. I always thought anything is possible after coaching that team,'' Pitino said during his 20-minute speech, the last of the day. ''At Kentucky, I learned all about pressure every single day. It was unbelievable pressure and it was very difficult and that pressure brought out the best in everybody.''
Bird was enshrined in 1998.
Even Hall of Famers have to start somewhere.
That obscure beginning provided a foundation for a coaching career that took him to two NBA teams and three other colleges, all reaching the Final Four and two winning NCAA championships.
''Coaches don't get in the Hall of Fame,'' Pitino said Sunday at his induction. ''Players put them in the Hall of Fame and I've had a great journey along the way.''
It started for him as a head coach in 1978 just 90 miles east of Springfield Symphony Hall, where the ceremony was held for him and 11 other honorees.He had to ''learn the trade from the bottom'' at Boston University, Pitino said. There were those ''training meals,'' he said, and the time when champagne was served at Midnight Madness.
''Nine drunks showed up,'' he said, ''and no one else.''
He spent five years with the Terriers, then two as an assistant with the New York Knicks before spending the next two as head coach at Providence, leading the Friars to a surprising berth in the Final Four. He kept moving - two years as head coach with the Knicks, eight with Kentucky, four with the Boston Celtics and the past 12 with Louisville.
Just five months ago, he led the Cardinals to the championship.
''At BU, you learn how to build the right way. At Providence, I learned how to dream. I always thought anything is possible after coaching that team,'' Pitino said during his 20-minute speech, the last of the day. ''At Kentucky, I learned all about pressure every single day. It was unbelievable pressure and it was very difficult and that pressure brought out the best in everybody.''
Bird was enshrined in 1998.
By LARRY FINE
Serena Williams (Reuters/Mike Segar)
Serena Williams repeated as U.S. Open women's champion by holding off a battling Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7-5 6-7(6) 6-1 in a windblown final at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday.
Williams bounded in a series of joyous jumping jack leaps after Azarenka's backhand sailed long on the second match point of a thrilling, two-hour 45-minute final that earned her a fifth U.S. Open singles title that took her total to 17 grand slams.
The big-hitting American, who turns 32 later this month, became the oldest U.S. Open women's winner since tennis turned professional 45 years ago, eclipsing Australian Margaret Court, who was 31 years and 55 days when she won the title in 1973.
The triumph moved Williams to within one grand slam singles crown of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for a tie for fourth place on the all-time list behind Court (24), Steffi Graf (22) and Helen Wills Moody (19).
It had looked like it was going to be plain sailing for Williams after she won a difficult first set, boosted by a late break in the 11th game for a 6-5 lead and then served out a love game before racing to a 4-1 second-set lead. Williams, who earlier looked confounded by the gusty wind that affected service tosses and the direction of bounces off groundstrokes and was muttering to herself between points, finally settled into a rhythm in the second set.
"The wind was unbelievable," said the champion. "And it just got worse and worse and it never let up. But at this point you have to play under any circumstance."
She claimed the 4-1 lead after Azarenka double-faulted three times in the fifth and her U.S. Open repeat looked a certainty as she begun to find her range on her imposing service game that saw her serve broken only twice in six previous matches.
But Azarenka was not ready to capitulate."I think it was raising from the first point, the tension, the battle, the determination," the second seed said about the quality of the match. "It was really kind of like boiling the water. It felt from every point, it was raising the level." 'GREAT MATCH'The Belarusian showed her fight and took advantage of a string of Williams errors to break right back for 4-2 and rode that momentum.
Twice Williams served for the match, at 5-4 and again at 6-5, but Azarenka rose up to break the American's serve and force a tiebreaker.
Williams took a 3-1 lead but Azarenka won five of the next six points to seize a 6-4 advantage and sent the match to a third set when Williams belted a backhand long to lose it 8-6.
"I think I got a little uptight," Williams said about squandering her chances. "I wasn't playing smart tennis. (But) you have to keep fighting for everything." The third set stayed on serve until the fourth game when another double fault, her seventh of the match, sank Azarenka and handed Williams a 3-1 lead.
With the stadium crowd roaring their support for the home favorite, the American broke Azarenka two games later for good measure to make it 5-1 before she claimed victory when the Belarusian sent a backhand long on the second match point.
Williams blasted 36 winners in the match against 17 for Azarenka, and blasted nine aces against just two for the Belarusian, who won an impressive 10 of 15 points at the net when she stepped up the pressure on Williams.
"Victoria, you played unbelievable," said Williams at the trophy ceremony.
With the stadium crowd roaring their support for the home favorite, the American broke Azarenka two games later for good measure to make it 5-1 before she claimed victory when the Belarusian sent a backhand long on the second match point.
Williams blasted 36 winners in the match against 17 for Azarenka, and blasted nine aces against just two for the Belarusian, who won an impressive 10 of 15 points at the net when she stepped up the pressure on Williams.
"Victoria, you played unbelievable," said Williams at the trophy ceremony.
"What a great match and what a great person. Vika is such a great opponent, she's such a great fighter. It was never over until match point," added Williams. The top seed collected the $2.6 million top prize and pocketed an addition $1 million bonus for having won the U.S. Open run-up series of tournaments.
Azarenka said she had been beaten by the better player.
"It is a tough loss. But the best player deserves the win today. I gave it all again this year," said Azarenka, who lost 7-5 in the third set to Williams in last year's final.
"We gave it everything we got."
Azarenka said she had been beaten by the better player.
"It is a tough loss. But the best player deserves the win today. I gave it all again this year," said Azarenka, who lost 7-5 in the third set to Williams in last year's final.
"We gave it everything we got."
In the men's doubles final, Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek were convincing winners over Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares. The India-Czech pairing of Paes and Stepanek dominated the title match to record a 6-1 6-3 victory over their Austria-Brazil rivals.
Paes, 40, won his third U.S. Open doubles title and eighth major doubles title of his career. It was Stepanek's second major doubles win after claiming the 2012 Australian Open with Paes.
Stepanek, 34, said the win enabled them to qualify for an important goal.
"There is one thing we would like to achieve, and that's winning the world championships at the end of the year, because that's the trophy which is missing in Leander's showcase," the Czech said.
Paes, 40, won his third U.S. Open doubles title and eighth major doubles title of his career. It was Stepanek's second major doubles win after claiming the 2012 Australian Open with Paes.
Stepanek, 34, said the win enabled them to qualify for an important goal.
"There is one thing we would like to achieve, and that's winning the world championships at the end of the year, because that's the trophy which is missing in Leander's showcase," the Czech said.
Croatia made a clean sweep of the junior singles titles when Borna Coric and Ana Konjuh posted victories at Flushing Meadows. The fourth-seeded Coric beat Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis 3-6 6-3 6-1 in the boys' final before second-seeded Konjuh beat U.S. wildcard Tornado Black 3-6 6-4 7-6(6).
Coric, 16, said the U.S. Open would be his last junior tournament.
"I've won the slam" he said about his Sunday victory. "That was the goal at the beginning of the year."
Coric has been named to Croatia's Davis Cup team for the tie next week against Britain at Umag.
Coric, 16, said the U.S. Open would be his last junior tournament.
"I've won the slam" he said about his Sunday victory. "That was the goal at the beginning of the year."
Coric has been named to Croatia's Davis Cup team for the tie next week against Britain at Umag.
By Shane Bacon
Golf's governing bodies have made it clear that an anchored putter is a big problem and we have a countdown until they are outlawed on the PGA Tour, but that might not be the biggest problem, according to one former major winner.
Bubba Watson, the 2012 Masters champion, told the organizers of the Asian Tour's Thailand Golf Championship that he thinks that slow play is the biggest problem in golf and needs to be addressed ahead of the anchored putter and the hot golf ball.
Bubba Watson, the 2012 Masters champion, told the organizers of the Asian Tour's Thailand Golf Championship that he thinks that slow play is the biggest problem in golf and needs to be addressed ahead of the anchored putter and the hot golf ball.
"Slow play is a problem on the PGA Tour, and I think that's our biggest concern."
We are worried about putters and golf balls and all these things, but I think we should be more concerned about slow play and speeding the game up, not just for pros but for amateur golfers, as well," Watson said. "Nobody wants to play a game that takes five and a half hours to play. We want everybody to be able to play and go a lot faster."
I tend to agree with Watson here, especially with the way not just the pros play the game, but collegiate players, mini tour golfers and just about anyone that doesn't have something short of a shot clock in charge of their game.
Golf needs to be faster, plain and simple. The pros need to be better at it, we need to be better at it and it's really hurting the way we play, and view golf as a whole.
I've always said that the two things that random golfers really, really care about is pace of play and conditions of the greens. Think about it, if you play a golf course with beat up greens or the round takes six hours, you're miserable, right? Everything else can be bad and it isn't going to totally ruin your day, but those two really make your golfing experience much worse.
I'm not sure how you can curb the slow play of amateurs paying to play certain golf courses, but the USGA and R&A need to figure out a way to get the pros to move quicker on the golf course because Bubba isn't the only one that sees it as a big problem in the very near future.
NASCAR investigating Bowyer spin at Richmond.
By Jenna Fryer
With one suspicious snap of the steering wheel, Clint Bowyer changed the outcome of a race and maybe the championship, too.
Accidental or intentional, his spin in the closing laps at Richmond International Raceway set in motion a chain of events that has shrouded the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship and raised many questions about the potential for a race team to manipulate pivotal moments of a race.
Now NASCAR is reviewing evidence to determine if Michael Waltrip Racing deliberately altered Saturday night's race, potentially costing both Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon spots in the Chase, to benefit MWR driver Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR President Mike Helton told The Associated Press before Sunday's Truck Series race at Iowa that officials in the scoring tower did not immediately see anything to believe Bowyer's spin with seven laps remaining at Richmond was suspicious. The spin came while Newman was leading and brought out the caution that set in motion a chain of events that cost Newman both the race and a berth in the 12-driver Chase field. He was battling Truex for the final spot.
''We didn't see anything that indicated that anything like that was taking place. And it's natural when everything was as close as it was between who was going to get in and not go in to scratch your heads and try to figure out and wonder why,'' Helton said. ''But we didn't see anything initially (Saturday) night that indicated that, but certainly we'll go back through all the video and everything to be sure, because we take the responsibility very serious to be sure that it's - that everybody has had a fair chance. ''But an ESPN replay that included communication between Bowyer and his team implied the spin was deliberate.
Bowyer was shown the video after the race and denied he spun intentionally, a claim he repeated throughout the post-race activities.
''We had a flat tire or something. It just snapped around,'' Bowyer said, later adding, ''I know it's a lot of fun for you guys to write a lot of wacky things. Go ahead if you want to, get creative. But don't look too much into it.''
In-car audio framed the situation as his crew goading him into spinning his car to bring out the yellow in an effort to prevent Newman from winning the race.
''Thirty-nine is going to win the race,'' Bowyer was told over his radio.
''Is your arm starting to hurt?'' crew chief Brian Pattie asked. After a pause, Pattie said, ''I bet it's hot in there. Itch it.''
Bowyer's car then spun.
NASCAR did not have access to that footage until well after the race, and it is presumably among the materials Helton was reviewing Sunday.
Also, it became apparent early Sunday morning that Bowyer and teammate Brian Vickers further aided Truex by taking a dive over the final three laps.
When the race resumed with three laps to go, four-time series champion Jeff Gordon was poised to claim the 10th spot in the Chase, and Joey Logano was ahead of Truex in position to claim the second wild-card.
But Bowyer and Vickers both made pit stops in the final three laps that allowed Logano to improve his finishing position and move ahead of Gordon to claim the 10th Chase berth. That bumped Gordon from contention and freed the wild card for Truex.
Gordon was not eligible for the wild card.The AP reviewed team communications for both Bowyer and Vickers on Sunday, and Vickers was told by MWR general manager Ty Norris to pit because ''we need that 1 point.''
''We're probably going to pit here on green,'' Norris says.
''Are you talking to me?'' a surprised Vickers asks.
Vickers continued to question the call, at one point asking, ''I don't understand, pit right now?''
''You've got to pit this time. We need that 1 point,'' Norris replies.''10-4. Do I got a tire going down?'' Vickers asked.
Vickers then pitted as the field went green. When he asked after if his crew found anything with the tire, Norris replied, ''I'll see you after the race, Brian, I owe you a kiss.''
Bowyer's radio communication was not as verbose, but he had already pitted twice after his spin, once to change the tire and once for Pattie to double-check for any damage. The team then called him down pit road a third time with no explanation just as the field went green.
It's not uncommon in NASCAR for teammates to help each other with track position, so on its face, the calls for the two MWR drivers to pit aren't that egregious. But added with Bowyer's spin, fans were crying foul over MWR's actions, especially since it cost both Gordon and Newman spots in the 10-race Chase that begins Sunday at Chicago.
Waltrip, calling the Truck race Sunday at Iowa for Fox Sports 1, declined to comment to AP.Gordon posted on Twitter that he felt bad for both himself and Newman.
''Was feeling pretty bad about missing the (hash)Chase but after seeing all the details coming out now I feel even worse for (at)RyanNewman39,'' he tweeted on Sunday.
Newman downplayed the significance of Bowyer's spin on Saturday night because he said he still had a chance to win the race if his pit crew had delivered after the caution.
''They are teammates. I don't know if (Bowyer) looked at the scoring pylon, knew I was leading, it doesn't matter,'' Newman said. ''If that was the case, I'll find out one way or the other. At the same time, we still had the opportunity to make our own destiny and win it on pit road, and we didn't.''
Short-handed U.S. men's team hoping '12th man' in Columbus makes a difference against Mexico.Newman downplayed the significance of Bowyer's spin on Saturday night because he said he still had a chance to win the race if his pit crew had delivered after the caution.
''They are teammates. I don't know if (Bowyer) looked at the scoring pylon, knew I was leading, it doesn't matter,'' Newman said. ''If that was the case, I'll find out one way or the other. At the same time, we still had the opportunity to make our own destiny and win it on pit road, and we didn't.''
By Martin Rogers
The United States men's national team believes it can use one of the most passionate crowds in American soccer to intimidate its biggest rival Mexico and book a place in the World Cup on Tuesday.
Crew Stadium will host the most critical fixture of the qualifying campaign thus far, as a victory over El Tri would almost guarantee a spot among the world's best in Brazil next summer.
Despite holding just over 24,000, the venue makes up for its smaller capacity with a vocal and raucous atmosphere whenever the national team plays here – which it invariably does for its most important matches.
With Mexico struggling desperately and having fired head coach Jose Manuel de la Torre after a humiliating home defeat to Honduras on Friday, U.S. captain Clint Dempsey wants to give CONCACAF's traditional power no let up.
"It is always important that the 12th man plays their role and makes it difficult for the opposition, make them feel nervous and not be confident on the ball," Dempsey said.
"Columbus has always been good to us and hopefully it wont be any different this time around." The U.S. has played Mexico three times in qualifiers at Crew Stadium and won 2-0 on each occasion, in 2001, 2005 and 2009.
Without a true national soccer home like many other nations, U.S. soccer moves qualifying games around the country and the thinking behind hosting Mexico in Columbus is manifold. The area has a low Mexican population, which can be of serious significance.
When the two teams met in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final in Los Angeles in 2011, the crowd was estimated as being 85 percent pro-Mexican – and Mexico racked up a 4-2 victory.
"No other city I have seen [the national team] play in can compare [with Columbus]," said supporter Marc Rigby. "Not even the incredible atmosphere in Seattle."
The weather also plays a part, with the region offering chillier temperatures that are less familiar for Mexican players. That factor played heavily in the past, with matches staged in February and November, much less so in early September.
Then there is the venue itself. Crew Stadium was the USA's first soccer-specific stadium, built in 1999 as the brainchild of the late Lamar Hunt. Columbus has always been a strong soccer town and supports the Crew, its MLS team, loyally and noisily.
"The atmosphere at Crew Stadium for a national team match makes your spine tingle," said fan Nick Lohr, from the Columbus chapter of the American Outlaws, a national collective that has emerged in recent years as the biggest and most passionate U.S. fan organization.
The Outlaws have modeled themselves on the kind of passionate support most often seen in European or South American soccer, with constant chanting, singing and cheering, specifically aimed at giving their side the advantage and rattling the opposition.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, the atmosphere will be an 11," added U.S. fan Trent Reed.
The rivalry between Mexico and the U.S. has grown steadily in recent years but there has rarely been more on the line than Tuesday. The U.S. has performed well in qualifying and stands on the brink of reaching its eighth straight World Cup finals, despite losing 3-1 in Costa Rica on Friday.
Despite likely missing influential midfielder Michael Bradley through injury and Matt Besler, Jozy Altidore and Geoff Cameron through suspension, the home side is the favorite going into the contest.
Mexico, on the other hand, is gripped with panic. A haul of just eight points from seven games led to De La Torre's release and a defeat to the U.S. would leave it in serious danger of missing out. The top three in CONCACAF progress directly to Brazil, with the fourth-placed finisher set to face New Zealand in a home-and-home playoff.
Given the general level of hatred between the teams, it is safe to assume the American players would take extra satisfaction from worsening Mexico's plight.
However, a wounded team is a dangerous beast, and head coach Jurgen Klinsmann knows it.
"[The Mexicans] are now absolutely with their back against the wall," Klinsmann said.
"We approach the game wanting to win at any cost and on Tuesday night it is going to be very intense."
The Associated Press NCAA Top 25 Collegiate Football Poll.
| RANK | SCHOOL (FIRST-PLACE VOTES) | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama (57) | 1-0 | 1,494 | 1 |
| 2 | Oregon (1) | 2-0 | 1,385 | 2 |
| 3 | Clemson (1) | 2-0 | 1,332 | 4 |
| 4 | Ohio State (1) | 2-0 | 1,327 | 3 |
| 5 | Stanford | 1-0 | 1,271 | 5 |
| 6 | Texas A&M | 2-0 | 1,133 | 7 |
| 7 | Louisville | 2-0 | 1,105 | 8 |
| 8 | LSU | 2-0 | 1,075 | 9 |
| 9 | Georgia | 1-1 | 1,036 | 11 |
| 10 | Florida State | 1-0 | 1,011 | 10 |
| 11 | Michigan | 2-0 | 872 | 17 |
| 12 | Oklahoma State | 2-0 | 834 | 13 |
| 13 | South Carolina | 1-1 | 829 | 6 |
| 14 | Oklahoma | 2-0 | 675 | 16 |
| 15 | Miami (Fla.) | 2-0 | 615 | NR |
| 16 | UCLA | 1-0 | 488 | 18 |
| 17 | Northwestern | 2-0 | 452 | 19 |
| 18 | Florida | 1-1 | 405 | 12 |
| 19 | Washington | 1-0 | 392 | 20 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 2-0 | 378 | 21 |
| 21 | Notre Dame | 1-1 | 333 | 14 |
| 22 | Baylor | 2-0 | 295 | 23 |
| 23 | Nebraska | 2-0 | 277 | 22 |
| 24 | TCU | 1-1 | 170 | 24 |
| 25 | Mississippi | 2-0 | 78 | NR |
Dropped out: No. 15 Texas, No. 25 Southern California.
Others receiving votes: Arizona State 64, Michigan State 26, Fresno State 26, Texas 26, Northern Illinois 21, Virginia Tech 15, Brigham Young 14, Georgia Tech 10, Illinois 9, Arizona 9, Bowling Green 7, Penn State 7, Boise State 3, Tennessee 1.
Baseball-Highlights of Sunday's Major League Baseball games.
Reuters
Yankees 4, Red Sox 3
In a crazy ending to a crazy series, Ichiro Suzuki scored the winning run on a wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning as the New York Yankees overcame Mariano Rivera's blown save and salvaged the finale of their series against the Boston Red Sox with a 4-3 victory at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees recorded their seventh walk-off win of the season and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was their first on a wild pitch since Thurman Munson scored on one by Cleveland's Jim Bibby on Sept 27, 1977.
Rivera's two blown saves were prominent among things considered unbelievable during this series. The Red Sox won the first three games by blowing a five-run lead before winning Thursday. They rallied from a five-run deficit Friday and on Saturday nearly blew a nine-run deficit.
- - -
Cardinals 9, Pirates 2
Twenty-two-year-old rookie Michael Wacha, making the sixth start of his career, worked seven scoreless innings in pitching the St Louis Cardinals to a 9-2 victory and a sweep of their three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Cardinals came into the series a half-game behind the Pirates in the National League Central and finished it with a 1 1/2 game lead, thanks mainly to the performances of their three starting pitchers.
The Pirates came into the series needing just one win for their 82nd victory of the season, and their first winning year since 1992, but could not get that win in St Louis as their losing streak reached four games, tying their longest streak of the season.
- - -
Phillies 3, Braves 2
Cole Hamels tossed eight innings of two-hit ball as the Philadelphia Phillies swept the Atlanta Braves with a 3-2 home win.
Hamels made just two mistakes - both resulting in long home runs by Evan Gattis - but Hamels was aided by Darin Ruf's tie-breaking home run.
The Braves lost all three games of the series by one run, and have lost four in a row overall, but still have a large 12 game lead in the National League East.
- - -
Rangers 4, Angels 3
Alex Rios drove in two runs with a home run and double to lead the Texas Rangers to a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium.
The Rangers trailed 3-2 going into the seventh inning and were in danger of being swept and falling farther behind the Oakland A's in the American League West, but they rallied for two runs.
- - -
Brewers 3, Cubs 1
Chicago Cubs right-hander Scott Baker made his first big league start in nearly two years, pitching five innings of two-hit, scoreless baseball.
In the end, Baker didn't factor in a decision as the Milwaukee Brewers scored three times in the seventh in a 3-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
- - -
Padres 5, Rockies 2
Pinch-hitter Nick Hundley hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh inning to rally the San Diego Padres to a 5-2 over the Colorado Rockies.
The Padres (65-77), who won their third straight, swept the Rockies (66-78) for the first time in San Diego since September 2006. Colorado dropped its third in a row and suffered its sixth setback in the past seven games.
- - -
Athletics 7, Astros 2
The Oakland Athletics battered Lucas Harrell around in a 7-2 victory over the Houston Astros. The Athletics won for the eighth time in 10 games and maintained their lead in the American League West over the Texas Rangers.
Seth Smith delivered the biggest, and final, blow, with a three-run homer to cap Oakland's seven-run third inning. All seven of Oakland's runs in the inning came with two outs.
The A's have hit a major league leading 44 homers over the past 30 games, dating back to Aug. 9.
- - -
Blue Jays 2, Twins 0
Pitcher Esmil Rogers was lights-out and shortstop Jose Reyes had a key hit in Toronto''s 2-0 win over the Minnesota Twins, as the Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep.
The Jays have won eight of their past 10 games, while the Twins have lost a team-record 10 straight games at home. Their last win at Target Field was against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 15.
- - -
White Sox 4, Orioles 2
For the second day in a row, the Chicago White Sox watched the Baltimore Orioles mount a rally in their last at-bat. This time, however, the White Sox held on and avoided making some unwanted history.
Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer and rookie Andre Rienzo pitched into the seventh inning as Chicago snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Orioles.
The White Sox (57-85) finished their road swing 1-9 and avoided becoming the ninth team in major league history to post a winless road trip of 0-10 or worse, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
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Royals 5, Tigers 2
Eric Hosmer hit a three-run homer and Bruce Chen pitched seven effective innings as the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 5-2.
The Royals rallied from a two-run deficit and took two of three from the first-place Tigers after losing 16-2 on Friday. Hosmer has hit 15 of his 16 home runs since June 1. He also has 118 hits, the most in the majors since June 1.
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Nationals 6, Marlins 4
Wilson Ramos homered and drove in two runs, Ian Desmond also drove in a pair of runs and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 6-4.
Stephen Strasburg (7-9) allowed four runs and four hits while striking out seven in six innings for the Nationals, who have won four of five.
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Mets 2, Indians 1
Eric Young's RBI double with two outs in the top of the ninth inning drove in the go-ahead run, and the New York Mets went on to beat the Cleveland Indians 2-1 on Sunday, snapping Cleveland's four-game winning streak.
Daisuke Matsuzaka started for New York and pitched into the sixth inning, allowing one hit. Matsuzaka spent most of this season pitching for Cleveland's Class AAA Columbus affiliate.
The Indians granted him his release on Aug. 20 and two days later he signed with the Mets. In his first three starts with New York Matsuzaka was 0-3 with a 10.95 ERA. He was a completely different pitcher on Sunday, retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced.
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Giants 3, Diamondbacks 2
Angel Pagan hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the 11th inning to lift the San Francisco Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It was the third time this season Pagan delivered a walk-off hit.
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Rays 4, Mariners 1
The Tampa Bays ralled late to beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1.
The Rays were shut out through the first seven innings, but Sean Rodriguez drove home the go-ahead run as Tamps scored three runs in the eighth and added another for good measure in the ninth.
The Rays finished their three-stop road trip with a 3-7 record, but remain well placed for an American League wild card play-off berth.
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Reds 3, Dodgers 2
The Cincinnati Reds left it late to edge the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 in the final game of a three-game series.
Jay Bruce homered twice off left-hander Clayton Kershaw, while Ryan Hanigan doubled in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Zack Cozart with the winning run at Great American Ball Park.
With the victory, Cincinnati (82-62) remain 1 1/2 games behind first-place St Louis in the National League Central.
The magic number for Los Angeles (83-59) to clinch the National League West remains 10.
Aroldis Chapman (4-5) struck out two in the ninth to claim the victory. Ronald Belisario (5-7) took the loss.
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