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Last Word On Sports

Sports News Since 2011. Honestly.

Last Word On Sports Logo

Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Day: September 17, 2011

The Boston Red Sox: Down the Stretch in 2011

Posted on by Grant Alexander

Wow, what a season! And good thing for my blood pressure, It’s not over yet! Going into the 2011 campaign, The Boston Red Sox were dubbed the best Red Sox team of all time. Everybody was expecting big things this year after signing franchise players like, Carl Crawford, and Adrian Gonzalez. But 12 games into the season, everything came crashing down.

The Red Sox started the 2011 season by going 2-10 in their first 12 games, and were the sole occupants of the AL East basement. Things were looking bleak, and skeptics were a’plently. When all of a sudden they broke out of their funk and started winning games. They won 8 of their next 9 and finished the month 11-15. They continued to roll winning 32 of their next 45 and climbed all the way up into first place in the division. Maybe this really was the team destined to restore greatness in beantown? Que the breakdown. Like the 5:45 to Union, the injury bug arrived right on time in Boston. And the surging Red Sox dropped 6 of the next 7, and found themselves in a battle for first with their biggest division rivals. They keep pace with the Yankees going 20-6 through the month of July despite the injuries. And while narrowly holding the top spot over New York in the beginning of August, the second wave of injuries hit. Suddenly their DL list looked like their starting line-up, and their starting line-up looked like a minor league team.

Things went from bad to worse, as Josh Beckett, the Red Sox best pitcher, joined the rest of his team on the injured list. And since his departure, The Red Sox have dropped faster than a Randy Johnson slider. They fell out of the division race by dropping 9 of 11 and 5 straight. And are currently holding on to the wild card spot by only 4 games over the surging Rays. They finally got a day off to try and stop the bleeding, before a 10 game home stand. And of their remaining 16 games, 4 of them are against the Rays…

Can the Red Sox pull it together and solidify a playoff spot?

Can they get healthy enough to make that postseason spot count?

Can they become that team of destiny Red Sox Nation was anticipating in pre-season?

My faith has been beaten, but not broken.

And this Red Sox fan thinks they can.

What do you think?

College Football Week 3 Picks

Posted on by Lindsay Higgins

I can’t wait until more teams are in conference play and more of these picks require thoughtful analysis on my part. Anyway…

#18 WVU @ Maryland: Maryland looked good but not great against Miami. West Virginia should handle them.

#21 Auburn @ Clemson: Auburn didn’t look like defending BCS champions against Utah State, and they barely held off Mississippi State. Then again, Clemson only beat Wofford by eight points. Regardless, I’m taking the Clemson Tigers over the Auburn Tigers.

LA-Monroe @ #23 TCU: Louisiana-Monroe has the best team name in college sports, but the Ragin’ Cajuns  aren’t going to beat the Horned Frogs

#7 Wisconsin vs. Northern Illinois: Wisconsin’s backups will see some garbage time late in this game with a convincing lead.

Washington @ #11 Nebraska: Washington has improved from their 0-11 season, but they’re not going to beat the Huskers.

Missouri St. @ #12 Oregon: Oregon will continue to atone for the LSU debacle.

#15 Mich. St. @ ND: They couldn’t beat the Wolverines, they’re not gonna beat Sparty.

Tennessee @ #16 Florida: Haven’t seen the Gators or Vols yet this season, but something tells me to take the upset here. Vols win.

#23 Texas @ UCLA: Even with platooning quarterbacks, Texas should take this one.

Arkansas St. @ #13: Virginia Tech: Hokies (what exactly is a Hokie?), easily.

Navy @ #10 S. Carolina: Georgia came closer to stopping Alshon Jeffery and Marcus Lattimore than Navy will.

Idaho @ #9 Texas A&M: A&M has looked strong, and Idaho is a non-AQ team. Draw your own conclusion. (For the record, I’m picking the Aggies).

S.F. Austin @ #19 Baylor: Baylor should be coming back down to earth after their upset of TCU in Week 1, but I still don’t see them losing to Stephen F. Austin.

Florida A&M @ #20 S. Florida: The Big East is wide open and I expect South Florida to stay in the race by winning here.

#22 Arizona St. @ Illinois: For some reason, my gut is telling me to take the upset. (Either that, or to cut back on the Taco Bell). Either way, I’m picking the Illini.

North Texas @ #2 Alabama: Do I really need to pick this one? The Crimson Tide will be a tsunami to the Mean Green.

Troy @ #14 Arkansas: The alma mater of three current NY Giants- DE Osi Umenyiora, WR Jerrel Jernigan and K Lawrence Tynes- won‘t be able to hold off the Razorbacks.

#8 Oklahoma State @ Tulsa: No upset here, I’m taking the ‘Pokes.

#6 Stanford @ Arizona: This may not be the rout many are probably expecting, but Stanford will prevail.

#17 Ohio St. @ Miami: Also known as the Impermissible Benefits Bowl. Winner- which will be Ohio State- gets a trophy shaped like a yacht and a coupon for a free tattoo.

And now, what you’ve skimmed the rest of this entry to get to…

#1 Oklahoma @ #5 Florida State: Chief Osceola versus Boomer Sooner. I like both of these teams offensively, but I think Oklahoma’s defense is the stronger of the two. Oklahoma in a close one.

Battle on the Bayou – Preview

Posted on by Mark Modeski

Tonight’s Ultimate Fight Night 25 takes place New Orleans – not the biggest UFN of the year, but still some interesting match-ups. Here’s the main card as it stands (compliments of Sherdog.com):

Jake Shields (171) vs. Jake Ellenberger (170)
Court McGee (184.5) vs. Dongi Yang (186)
Jonathan Brookins (145.5) vs. Erik Koch (146)
Alan Belcher (186) vs. Jason MacDonald (185)
Cody McKenzie (155.5) vs. Vagner Rocha (155.5)
Evan Dunham (156) vs. Shamar Bailey (156)
Matt Riddle (171) vs. Lance Benoist (170.5)
Ken Stone (136) vs. Donny Walker (135.5)
Clay Harvison (170) vs. Seth Baczynski (171)
T.J. Waldburger (171) vs. Mike Stumpf (171)
Mike Lullo (146) vs. Robert Peralta (145.5)
Justin Edwards (171) vs. Jorge Lopez (171)

I am not going to breakdown every fight on this card, but as mentioned there a couple I want to talk about that I think could have some excitement to them…

Main Event: Shields v. Ellenberger: First off, my gut tells me that this fight will likely be a snooze-fest; but, my gut has been known to be wrong from time to time. I am going to call Shields in this fight, at any rate. He showed extremely improved stand-up against GSP, and his ground game is one of the tops in any division. Decision, Shields 30-27.

Co-Main Event: Court McGee v. Dongi Yang: Court McGee has been a fighter that has started to gain some respect from me. I wasn’t a fan of his on TUF, but his fights since have been exciting to watch; he always comes out with heart, and has proven he can finish fights. I don’t know much about Yang, but he could be a surprise upset in this one, nonetheless. I’m still calling McGee in this one. 2nd round TKO for McGee.

Jonathan Brookins v. Erik Koch: I am going to keep this one simple – Brookins by submission. 3rd round submission, Brookins.

Jason MacDonald v. Alan Belcher: I may be looking the most forward to this fight over any other. I am really glad to see both these guys back in action; both are always guaranteed to put on a good show. I give the striking edge to Belcher, but MacDonald has a fantastic ground game. I am going to give this one to MacDonald – I think he’ll take this one to the ground and end it from there. 3rd round submission, MacDonald.

While most probably don’t have high expectations for this card, sometimes a card such as this one can end up being the best. There are a lot of young guys on this card who are determined to make name – look for finishes, and lots of them. When all is said and done, even if it ends up being horrible, it’s a free card.

…and that is the last word.