Allen fined 5k

Tony Allen if the Memphis Grizzlies was fined 5,000 dollars for a violation if the league's anti-flopping rule.

A flagrant foul was called on Manu Ginobili for grabbing Allen's arm as he drove to the basket. Allen went down holding his head as if he were injured. As replay showed his head never made contact with the floor.

Allen would go on to make the free throws and send the game to overtime. The Grizzles couldn't come back as they lost 93-89 to the Spurs.

Rivers to Brooklyn?

The Brooklyn Nets have recently spoken to the Boston Celtics concerning Doc Rivers. The Nets are interested in having the Celtics coach on their team.

Doc Rivers still has 3 years and 21 million dollars on his contract.

The spot for Rivers opened up when Nets intern coach P.J Carlsimo was released after being knocked from the play-offs. I think that was the wrong move because he turned a team of nobodies into a team filled with somebodies.

I don't think Rivers will except the offer to coach the Nets. My reasoning is simple, he has coached the Celtics for as long as anybody can or wants to remember and he still has 3 years on his contract. Maybe after that he would take the Nets up in their offer.

By David B.

Crabtree- He out

The Sanfransisco 49ers fear the worst has come for wide reciever Micheal Crabtree. They fear that his achiles tendon may be torn, the incident occurred on Tuesday.

He having tests done to confirm the injury.

This would be very bad for the Niners to lose Crabtree. He had over 1000 yards on 85 receptions. He got the ball into the endzone nine times as well.

It used to seem that having this particular injury would be season ending to a football player. But, Baltimore Ravens Linebacker Terrell Suggs came back last year as well as Tampa Bay Defensive end, Da'quan Bowers.

If the Niners lose Crabtree they have a pretty large depth at wide reciever. They have veterans such as, Anquan Boldin, Mario Chalmers, and Kyle Williams. They also selected rookie Quinton Patton in the fourth round of the NFL Draft

Phillies Walk-off

The Philadelphia Phillies who as of lately couldn't buy a win looked like they would continue that tonight, until the Phillies turned around the game in the ninth inning coming into the inning down 2-1.

The Phillies needed somebody to light a spark and finish the game in the bottom of the ninth in Philadelphia. Erik Kratz who came in to replace Carlos Ruiz who left the game after straining his right hamstring running the bases in the second inning hit a homer to kick off the Phillies rally, that made it a 2-2 game. The very next hitter was Freddy Galvis and he hit one that he said he knew was gone off the bat to win the game on back to back homers.

The Phillies pitching also held up well with the win going to somewhat struggling relief pitcher Antonio Bastardo. Jonathan Pettibone left the game with a no decision through 7 innings and one earned run. The loss went to Reds relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman who gave up the two homeruns in the bottom of the ninth and he is 3-2.

Player of the Game

The player of the game was Freddy Galvis with no doubt in my mind he stepped up to the plate and was 2-4 with a walk-off homer and a single. Also he played great at a position that he doesn't usually play thirdbase. Micheal Young usually plays there and Freddy is moved around the field, but Young had to play first for the injured Howard and Galvis stepped turning a sweet double-play.

By David B.

Jurrjens' Comeback

The Baltimore Orioles have purchased the contract of Jair Jurrjens from Triple-A Norfolk, and the right-hander will start against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Orioles also placed outfielder Nolan Reimold on the 15-day disabled list with a right hamstring strain and recalled right-hander Jake Arrieta on Saturday.

In the 2011 season Jair Jurrjens couldn't go unnoticed he was 13-6 with a 2.96 ERA in only 23 games. Last year he was not nearly as impressive with an ERA of 6.89 and went 3-4 in 11 games.

Last year after his first ten starts going terrible for Jurrjens he ended up at the relief pitching spot with Atlanta, that didn't go well either in fact that was his last game in the MLB until now. He will pitch against the Rays today (Saturday) at 4:05 EST.

By David B.

Knick Top Pacers

The Knicks have been trailing the Pacers all series long,although they are still down 3-2 in the series they have all the momentum going into game 6. Carmello Anthony is coming off a hot game with 28 points and 6 rebounds in the Knicks game 5 win.

Anthony didn't do it alone as usual his point guards Raymond Felton and J.R Smith had a total of 25 points 13 for Smith 12 for Felton. Smith also had 5 rebounds and 3 steals, while Felton had 3 steals and 4 assists.

Chris Copeland a fairly unknown name had a hot hand in this game going 3-4 from long range and had 13 points in only 19 minutes to help the Knicks top the Pacers.\

David West and Paul George took the spotlight yet again for the Pacers, George had 43 minutes leading his team while West was a close second with 39 tied with DJ Augustin this game. Paul George made a huge difference in this game with 23 points and 6 assists. David West didn't go unnoticed either with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Pacers couldn't stay in the this one losing by 10 85-75. After this game 5 the Knicks trail the Pacers 3-2 in the series.

By David B.

Zambrano Reporting to Clearwater

The Phillies were looking to add to their pitching stockpile after losing veteran Roy Halladay to a shoulder injury. John Lannan, another member of the team's Opening Day rotation, is expected to be out until June with a knee injury.

Carlos Zambrano was who they decided on for reasons that are questionable and unknown. Zambrano was signed to a minor league deal with the Phils' and the three time All-star will be in Clearwater, Florida for extended Spring Training as he hasn't pitched since last September.

The deal includes an out clause for Zambrano in early July if the Phillies don't add him to the big-league roster by then.

"We're just looking to add some starting pitching depth and some experience," said Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock. "No promises were made. It's low-risk and hopefully high-reward. "We got positive feedback from everybody who has interacted with him recently,'' Proefrock said. "We did our due diligence. It's just good business.

The slumping Phils' might need this one thing to add some veteran pitching to their squad.

By David B.

Harper Can't Stay Healthy

The Nats' Bryce Harper has just come back from an injury to his toe and now this.

Bryce Harper hit the scoreboard wall face-first while tracking a ball hit by A.J. Ellis in the outfield over his left shoulder. He never looked at the wall and when he finally turned, he was on top of it. The impact sent Harper's cap flying as he bounced off the wall and crumpled to the ground, with Ellis getting a triple.

Harper didn't come back to the game as the Nats' won by a score of 6-2 over the Dodgers. 

"As the ball kept going, I was like, 'Is he going to stop?'" Nationals center fielder Denard Span said. "He looked like he didn't get a good jump at all, like he was surprised the ball was hit to him. I thought he was going to jump and brace himself. As soon as he ran into it, his body locked up."

Harper laid on his back for minutes which seemed like hours due to the wonder of pain he was in. 

Tigers Lose Jackson

The Detroit Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson has been put on the 15-day disabled list because of a pulled right hamstring.

Jackson was placed on the DL reluctantly and it is retroactive until Sunday. The move was made official today (Monday). When Jackson missed a game against Cleveland following the injury was when the topic of the DL first came up. The Tigers recalled outfielder Avisail Garcia from Triple-A Toledo to replace Jackson for now.

Jackson is hitting .272 and leads his Tigers with 5 steals this year and his range in center field on defense will be missed most of all. As if that weren't enough they will have to replace him at the leadoff spot and Jackson was clearly the man for the job on this team with very little contact hitters with speed.

Garcia, the temporary replacement for Jackson, hit .319 in 47 at-bats toward the end of last season, playing well enough that he made Detroit's postseason roster.

By David B.

Craig and Wainwright Take it to the Rockies

The Cardinals took a beat down to the Cardinals and couldn't be stopped. They had a total of 13 hits and allowed only 2 hits. Adam Wainwright lead the Cardinals today being the only pitcher to take the hill for them in his first 9 inning shutout of the year. He struck out seven and allowed 2 hits.

The Rockies hits were manufactured by Dexter Fowler and Nolan Arenado and those hits didn't appear until the eighth inning, leaving Wainwright with an eight inning no-hitter. The Cardinals were just as disappointing on offense going 4-15 with runners in scoring position (RISP) and only scored 3 runs.

Jhoulys Chacin got the loss for the Rockies in his start and he is now 3-2, he went 5.0 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 8 hits. Josh Outman and Wilton Lopez were the relievers for the Rockies and they gave up a combined 5 hits in a total of 3 innings split 1.2 and 1.1. Outman gave up an earned run as well as 3 hits.

Player of the game

The hitter of the game was definitely Allen Craig, but the player of the game has to Wainright for his outstanding pitching performance. Craig got up to the plate 3 times got a hit each one. He recorded his 27th RBI as well this game on a triple. Wainwright went all nine innings without a run and didn't give up a hit until the eighth inning.

By David B.

QB Controversy

  The New York Jets have had issues in the past seasons, but none greater than the issue for this upcoming 2013 season. The Jets have released Tim Tebow and Tebow is still without a team. The only place for Tim Tebow to go is either to the Jacksonville Jaguars or the Canadian Football League (CFL). Now, the Jets have four quarterbacks fighting for the starting job. The quarterbacks are Geno Smith, Mark Sanchez, Greg McElroy, and David Garrard. Geno Smith was drafted by the Jets in the second round in the recent draft. Mark Sanchez has been in New York for a while, and has been starting to slump for the last two or three seasons. Greg McElroy stepped up big last year when both Sanchez and Tebow were injured. McElroy is a very talented quarterback who understands the game. David Garrard has been flying around the league and hasn't been doing great. Garrard was on the Jaguars but didn't fulfill their hopes. Now, the battle for the starting quarterback positing has begun. 

  Mark Sanchez has had job security ever since he was drafted out of USC. The reason he has job security is because of head coach, Rex Ryan. Rex Ryan has been defending and protecting Sanchez for far too long. For example, last season was clearly the time for Tim Tebow to step in and make some plays. Last season, Tebow hardly played. Also, Greg McElroy was a last resort quarterback last season and he had a superb performance. The next game, however, Rex Ryan started Mark Sanchez. Now, the job security will not be available for Sanchez. I am predicting that Rex Ryan will either be fired in the middle of the season, or the end of the season. Either way, the Jets will still be looking for someone. Geno Smith will help the Jets bring back the wildcat formation and will help confuse defenses. David Garrard will also help in these costly situations. I believe Mark Sanchez will also lose his starting quarterback job soon. The upcoming 2013 season for the New York Jets is a rebuilding season. By Ameen I.

Bryce Harper Out of Line-up

The Nationals are missing possibly their two best outfielders in Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth. Harper sat for two straight games including Saturday due to an ingrown toenail removal process. Werth was placed on the 15 day disabled list with a strained right hamstring.

Werth's roster spot was taken by outfielder Eury Perez, who was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse before Washington hosted the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

Harper posted two images to Twitter, one of his toe with no nail and very bloody. The other was of a full toenail not attached to his foot at all.

Harper was expected to play in today, Saturday's, game by manager Davey Johnson of the Nationals but, Harpers toe was still 'tender'.

After Friday night's 7-3 victory over Chicago, Werth said: "It's one of those things I feel bad; the team has been playing with 24 guys for over a week now. We feel like we're close and I feel like it's really not that severe. But it's one of those things you go out there with the way it is, and you might make it severe pretty quickly. Erring on the side of caution, but at the same time at this point I think it's necessary.

The replacement for Werth, Perez, has been excelling in triple-A for Syracuse with 17 runs, a .346 batting average, as well as 7 steals all in only 23 games.

Perez appeared in only 13 games for the Washington Nationals in the 2012 season getting only 5 at bats with 1 hit.

Bulls Missing Top Players

The Bulls will be missing some of their top players, as expected they will be missing point guard Derrick Rose. Also Big Man Kirk Hienrich will be absent for the game as well as guard and forward Luol Deng.

The Heat won the second game of the series with ease and lost game 1 to the Bulls making it a tied series at one and one. This game 3 will be the deciding Zgame of the series choosing who will go ahead with the momentum.

I think that the Heat will take advantage of the banged up Bulls like they did last game, they won by 39 points the Bulls largest ever playoff loss.

Big Papi 'Defends' Himself

The Red Sox's big hitting slugger tells Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (ESPNSports.com in English) that he believes Shaughnessy's suspicions are grounded in race. Ortiz says:

"Yesterday, the guy came to see me and asked some questions about steroids, and when you see the writing, it basically focuses on the fact that I'm Dominican and that many Dominicans have been caught using steroids. And what about the Americans?" Ortiz said.

"If you're from the Middle East, because there are some people there who put bombs and terrorize civilians, I have to see you like that, as well? If you are a white American, I have to call you a racist because white Americans were in the Ku Klux Klan?

"The thing that stung me was his statement about Dominicans. You mean that in Dominican Republic there are no players who try to do things right? We are all in the same boat. And the people here who have been caught, does that put everyone here in the same boat?"

 

In all fairness Ortiz went a little overboard with that, but to be totally fair Shaughnessy did write this:

But you fit all the models. You are from the Dominican Republic. You are an older player. Older players don't get better. You've had injuries consistent with steroid use. You showed up on the list from 2003. You fit all the formulas.

Shaughnessy did back-up his information about race with some facts, he mentioned that most U.S born players are much healthier and are much more fit. He was trying to protect the steroid use in the Dominican Republic but, bringing Ortiz's race and nationality was going way too far.

By David B.

Athletics Fall on a Mistaken Call

During the Athletics-Indians game there was a peculiar call that lost the game for the Athletics. There was a clear homerun that went over the yellow line and even after review the umps ruled it inside the park. That call stopped the game from going to Extra Innings and giving the A's a chance to comeback.

The MLB has acknowledged the call as an "Improper Call." The ball was hit by Adam Rosales and he got a double on the play and he would end up being stranded with the bases loaded in the ninth inning with his Athletics losing by one on a grounder to the pitcher.

After the game, A's manager Bob Melvin said that the umps clearly made the wrong call. He was ejected for telling them that during the game and he was the one he got them to initially review the play.

"I don't have much to say about it," he said. "I'm not going to talk to them about it. If they want talk about it's one thing, but I'm just going to take the lineup card out."

By David B.

JA Happ Returns from the Hospital.

JA Happ who was hit by a line drive in the head was luckily released from the hospital today only a day after the injury. The injury is similar to a boy in the Little league World Series who was hit by a line drive and he saved himself with the brim of his hat taking most of the impact. For Happ, there was no brim just his skull.

"I don't remember seeing it," he said. "Just immediate loud ringing in my ear. Just pressure on my ear, and I was on the ground. That was kind of it. It took me a few seconds to kind of figure out what was going on, but I do remember them being there ... the coaches and Gibby (manager John Gibbons) and obviously, the trainers. I was coherent and talking pretty quickly."

Happ has a skull fracture and was put on the 15 day DL and does not know when he will be able to pitch again, except that he will eventually.

To prevent these dangerous and in some cases life threatening injuries by having multiple companies design headwear for the pitchers. There are up to 12 companies working on it, but so far there has been no luck in finding a sufficient model.

By David B.

Happ Video

Youtube.com Watch and pray as JA Happ sadly gets hit in the head with a line drive.

Helton Arrested for DUI Charges

Todd Helton of the Colorado Rockies a respected player at that, has been sentenced to a year of probation and 24 hours community service due to driving while impaired. He was first arrested on February 6th and said he had had two glasses of wine to the officer.

His court-date was today and he pleaded guilty and apologized for his actions in a suburb of Denver.

 He had been charged with driving under the influence and careless driving after his Feb. 6 arrest. The charges luckily for him were dropped by prosecutors. 

Todd Helton is a career .320 hitter and a three-time winner of the Gold Glove. He is hitting only .267 this season though.

Halladay Put on the DL

The main source of trouble for the Philadelphia Phillies stated where it was definitely least expected. The source may have been stopped though, Roy Halladay has had a lot of trouble pitching. He was put on the 15 day D.L for a sore shoulder.

Halladay took a huge beatdown from the Marlins in a 14-2 loss. He gave up a total of five runs in the first inning of the game and he couldn't stop throwing the ball over the plate. The outing before that he gave up 3 homers in 3 1/3 innings to the Indians.

"It's not something that I had before," Halladay said Sunday. "It's something new this year. I felt good all spring. I had soreness in there and just wasn't able to get rid of it."

Halladay claims the pain started on April 24th after his start against Pittsburgh before playing the Indians or the Marlins.

Halladay's terrible season shows up on paper as well, with a record of 2-4 and an 8.65 ERA.

King Takes His Throne

LeBron James was named MVP last year, his third. He has been leading the Miami Heat ever since he came to South Beach. LeBron has been on camera constantly, reporters asking him questions too. He keeps his composure and doesn't allow the media to get into his mind during games. Last season, on a telecast of a Heat game, a reporter reported that before every game LeBron James reads a book to calm his mind. This is indeed a very smart idea, and it also calms down the rest of the team. Many people appreciate that LeBron doesn't brag too much or hog the media.
Many things show how amazing King James really is... And now, he has shown in a fourth time. LeBron James has been announced the MVP. LeBron is well deserved of it and is one of the best to play this game. He has also lead the Heat to a 27 game win-streak this season. He received 120 out of 121 votes to win this award. LeBron James is in the prime of his career where he can easily stay healthy and stay on the court for longer periods of time. He shows maturity on the court and handles the media very well. I think this is very well deserved and there is still many more things to see from Lebron James. By Ameen I.

Darvish K's 14

Yu Darvish struck out 14 and Adrian Beltre hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning as the Texas Rangers beat Boston 4-3 Sunday, completing a three-game sweep and matching the Red Sox for the best record in the majors.

The ninth inning went a like this it led with a 2 out single by Elvis Andrus off of Clayton Mortensen then, Adrian Beltre lined a steaming shot to right-center field and scored Andrus. Lance Berkman was walked intentionally and then the final out was recorded.

Darvish did not get a win or a loss as he came out of the game in the fourth inning with a tied score. The Rangers closer Joe Nathan shut down the Red Sox and got the save.

By David B.

The Deer Caught in Headlights Gets Away

The Brooklyn Nets took their last loss of the season yesterday on Sunday, they lost to the Chicago Bulls in game 7 after winning game 6. The Nets were devastated after losing by only three points after becoming by far the most improved team going from a losing record to the playoffs.

“When we won Game 6, we felt like it was our series,” Nets point guard Deron Williams said, "It's disappointing"

The Bulls simply outplayed the Nets, the Bulls were not healthy missing Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, and Kirk Heinrich, and Taj Gibson played limited minutes and didn't start. The players that did play played amazing though.

Joakim Noah had a double-double with 24 points and 14 rebounds, he had a ton of enthusiasm and carried this team the whole game. Marco Belinelli a sharpshooter had 24 points and shot 50% from behind the arc. Jimmy Butler didn't have much to show for this game except that he played every minute of it 48 minutes. Butler had 9 points and 5 rebounds. Carlos Boozer played only 29 minutes, but had 17 points and 7 rebounds. All for the Bulls.

The Nets didn't have as good of a day as the Bulls had, Their sharpshooter was cold and their big men couldn't stop Joakim Noah today. Joe Johnson, a supposed sharpshoot was 2-12 from the field and had 6 points. Their whole team had 4 blocks compared to the Bulls 7, and this shole Nets team hopped on the shoulders of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, and Gerald Wallace. All of them had double digits in points. Wallace with 19 , but a big man like him has to get more than 2 rebounds. Lopez played exception with 9 rebounds and 21 points, and as usual I have nothing bad to say about Williams who had 7 assists and 24 points. Their biggest man Reggie Evans had the 13 rebounds they needed him to, but only 2 points and he didn't even take a shot!

Knicks Down 2 BIG Players

After the Knicks lost Amar'e Stoudemire since March 7th they have gotten by without him, and have won a playoff series against the Celtics. Meaning they moved on to play the Pacers in the second round. 

He underwent a form of surgery to remove debris from his right knee. He scheduled to return game three of the second round series and will most likely play limited minutes, but more than David Lee's 1:27 that he played for morale support of the Warriors. 

Knicks coach Mike Woodson mentioned "If he feels fine after Friday then I think we will play him Saturday."Also, "If he's right he can help us a lot. There's no doubt," Woodson said.

At the same time the Knicks are dealing with a bigger loss, 10 year NBA player, Carmelo Anthony, will miss  game 1. Anthony has been experiencing intense shoulder pains and the Knicks have decided it's best if he sat the first game out. 

The opener of the series is scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday) at 3:30 EST. 

By David B.

MLB Issues Fines Left and Right

The Tampa Bays Rays pitcher David Price and umpire Tom Hallion's situation has escalated to a whole new level. With fines given left and right.

Price, Jeremy Hellickson, and Matt Moore all pitchers on the Rays have been fined a whopping $1,000 for their involvement in the incident. Hallion also got a fine, but the value has not been released to the media.

The dispute started when Price accused Hallion of swearing at him in the seventh inning after the left-hander seemed angry on the mound in reaction to a pitch he thought the umpire had missed. Price claims that Hallion shouted "throw the [expletive] ball over the plate."

Hallion denied these accusations and completely called the Cy Young Award Winning pitcher a "liar." This slipped from his mouth during a pool interview about the interruption in the Rays game.  

Joe Torre the current MLB Vice President issued the fines to the out of control people with the assistance of Peter Woodfork, overseer of umpires, and Joe Garagiola the Head of Player Discipline. The fines that were given to the players were reportedly from their outrageous twitter comments. Hallion was fined for his involvement and his language during the press conferences.

By David B. 

Pitching the Phillies?

Some people say that having a lot of very experienced players and veteran baseball players is a good thing. If you know as much about the Phillies as their starting pitcher Cliff Lee, then you wouldn't agree with them. The Phillies have lost twice in their past two games against the Indians, one a devastating 14-2 blow and the other one that they just blew. They had a 6-0 lead and they blew it!

The Phillies have many veteran players, from a struggling Roy Halladay, to a suddenly well hitting Ryan Howard. Roy Halladay has had a full career during his many years he has dropped a lot of velocity on his fastball now throwing it in the high eighties. That is exactly what the opposing teams want, he was pounded for 8 runs in only 3 full innings and was pulled in the fourth. He gave up 3 solo shots and a two RBI base hit to right field. He has lost his speed, he has lost his game.

The Phillies as a team produced the second worst ERA in the NL with a 4.51 team ERA, that is awful. Cole Hamels who was expected to have a fantastic season has started with a 4.78 ERA and a 1-3 record. On the Phillies Cliff Lee's 3.46 ERA is great compared to the other ERA's above 4.00, like Halladay and Hamels and many more. My main point is that the Phillies pitching is killing their spirit and whole team Cliff Lee agrees.

"We have to have a little more pride than that and figure out a way to at least get back into games and make it somewhat competitive. Both games, it was never close," Cliff Lee mentioned in a multi-media interview.

A's Add 2 to the DL

The Oakland Athletics have taken two big hits to their roster today (Wednesday) with Coco Crisp and Brett Anderson dropping to the 15 day disabled list.

Outfielder, Coco Crisp sprained his left hamstring attempting to beat out an infield single in the 13th inning of the Athletics win over the Angels in 19 innings. Left handed relief pitcher, Brett Anderson, tried to field a ground ball in the 18th inning of the same game on Monday and injured his right ankle.

Crisp has had a great season so far, he is hitting .283 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 24 games and is second in the AL with 24 runs. Anderson isn't having the start he would have desired for this season with a 6.21 ERA in six games, but he seems to be improving.

By David B.

The Full Scoop on Jason Collins

Youtube.com