Guillain Barre Syndrome

Former Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel is undergoing treatment for a potentially debilitating disease called Guillain Barre Syndrome.

Desire Street Ministries, a non-profit, faith-based organization with which Wuerffel works said in a statement Wednesday that the former quarterback contracted the disorder from a stomach virus.

Spokeswoman Sara Pace said Wuerffel initially was hospitalized in Montgomery, Ala., and later transferred to Birmingham, but is now receiving outpatient treatment at a location that the family would like to remain private. He expects to make a full recovery.

The syndrome occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks parts of the nervous system.

Wuerffel played for Florida from 1993-96, then spent six season in the NFL with New Orleans, Green Bay, Chicago and Washington.

Derek Jeter

The Yankees plan to sit down with shortstop Derek Jeter on Tuesday afternoon and "if there is any doubt" about the condition of his strained right calf, he will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, according to a baseball source.
That would delay Jeter's pursuit of his 3,000th hit by at least two weeks. It would also diminish the likelihood of Jeter achieving the milestone at Yankee Stadium.
Jeter was injured while leaving the batter's box on a flyout in the fifth inning of the Yankees' 1-0 loss to the Indians on Monday night. Jeter immediately took himself out of the game and was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital for an MRI exam, which revealed a Grade 1 strain of the right calf -- the least severe form of the injury.
The Yankees host the Rangers for a three-game set beginning Tuesday before embarking on a six-game road trip to Chicago to face the Cubs and then on to Cincinnati. There will be no designated hitter for those interleague games.
"You can't play [short-handed] in those games," the source said. "If Jeter isn't ready to play, the Yankees feel they're going to need someone to take his place on the roster."
Jeter was "extremely sore" Monday night after suffering the injury, according to the source.

While a Grade 1 calf strain is the least severe, a similar injury sidelined Alex Rodriguez for 14 games last August.
Jeter picked up his 2,994th career hit on Monday. If he were to be placed on the DL -- and assuming he was ready to play June 28, the earliest possible date -- he would return in time for the Yankees' three home games against theMilwaukee Brewers. That series is followed by a six-game road trip -- three against the Mets at Citi Field and three against the Indians in Cleveland.
Jeter would need to get six hits in those three games against the Brewers to reach the 3,000-hit plateau in front of the Yankee Stadium crowd.

Ryan Sheckler

Here are the decisions of a 16-year-old skating wunderkind.
Win $150,000 one month and settle on a Mercedes as a starter vehicle. Win another $150,000 a month later, and wrestle between making a down payment on a house, buying an SUV, or perhaps doing both.
Such is the life of Nyjah Huston, the defending Street League DC Pro Tour champion who has only improved in the 2011 season. He continued his dominance Sunday at Sprint Center, winning his second consecutive event and grabbing his second $150,000 check in as many months.
“Usually he dominates,” Street League founder Rob Dyrdek said. “This time he had to fight for it.”
Huston entered Kansas City as the favorite not only because he won the season’s first event in Seattle, but also because he won the inaugural Street League championship a year ago.
A skater with Rastafarian dreadlocks draped down his back, Huston’s ability to gently land complex and difficult tricks made him stand out Sunday as much as his long hair.
He remained near the top of the crowded pack during the first three events against a competitive field that alternated leaders. But in the competition’s final leg Huston fell on his second of seven attempts. The skaters around him, meanwhile, kept piling up points.
He fell again on his fourth attempt and dropped to last place in the six-man final.
“I pretty much thought the other guys had it,” Huston said.

Heading into his final attempt, Huston needed to land his last trick for his second win of the year. Showing the poise of a skater who has been there before — and he has despite his youth — Huston smoothly landed the trick.
Huston scored an impressive 8.7 on his final attempt and slipped past the pack, including local favorite and fourth-place finisher Sean Malto.
Malto, who grew up in Leavenworth, now lives just eight blocks from the Sprint Center in the River Market district. On Sunday, he walked to the Sprint Center and prepared himself the best he could for performing in front of his home crowd.
“I didn’t know what it was going to be like for me,” Malto said.
From the start, he drew the loudest reactions. Chants of “Malto! Malto!” caught on, and a video of Malto skating around the city decked in Chiefs gear played twice.
Subsequently, those fighting Malto for the top spot also received the loudest cheers of any skaters who failed to land a trick.
“I’ve skated in these contests before, and there are a lot of pressures,” said Malto, 21. “The Kansas City stop, I knew it was going to be amazing. Me and my friends kept saying this is going to be awesome. But it blew out all of our expectations.”
Malto missed the league’s season opener in Seattle while rehabbing an injured knee, but he made sure to return in time for the tour’s first stop in Kansas City.
He actually led the event with two attempts to go. But in his final two attempts Malto couldn’t land his tricks and slipped to fourth.
“Obviously I was freaking out a little bit,” Malto said. “But at the end of the day, it’s all about fun. I made it to fourth place, and I’m happy with the results and everything.”

Dallas Morning News

Congrats to the Dallas Mavericks who have just defeated the Miami Heat to win their first NBA Championship!  The Dallas Morning News Reports:
As snow fell on a steamy June night, pigs suddenly grew wings and Maverick fans will wake up today and hit every green light on the way to work.
Yes, the Mavericks are NBAchampions.
The little franchise that never could, just did.
Anything’s possible.
The Mavericks whipped Miami 105-95 Sunday night to finish off a rugged, mesmerizing NBA Finals by beating the Heat 4-2 in the best-of-seven series.
It’s the first championship for the Mavericks, who have been in existence since 1980. It will validate the careers of Dirk Nowitzki , Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and everybody associated with the organization. It’s the first title of any kind for a Dallas sports team since the Stars won the NHLchampionship in 1999.

That it happened on Miami’s home court made it just a little sweeter. It was five years ago that the Heat danced and partied at American Airlines Centerin Dallas when the Mavericks lost by the same 4-2 series result.
Redemption has never tasted so sweet.

Club

In the end, there was no play, and also no re-enactment of that day at the All England Club in 1996 when Richard sang acappella in the rain. So this smart bit of west London will today come as close to a People’s Monday as it has done since the 1980s.
Though Murray and Tsonga did compete against each other, it was only backstage with a game of table tennis in the players’ lounge, a match which the Frenchman won by two sets to one. The hoped-for ‘windows’ in the weather kept on shutting, either with skinny drizzle or with fat, engorged raindrops, and it was just after 5.30pm that the title match, which was supposed to start at noon, was postponed for the day.
Anyone who had bought a ticket for the expected Sunday conclusion to the Aegon Championships will be given a full refund. Admission will be just £10 for Monday's scheduled 12.30pm start, with the 2009 champion attempting to become the first British man to win multiple titles at the Queen’s Club tournament since Sir Francis Gordon Lowe, a second baronet and the son of an MP.
Those were the days when a pre-tournament form guide and a copy of Debrett’s were one and the same thing. Lowe won his first two titles in 1913 and 1914, and his third in 1925. Tsonga, a former Australian Open finalist, and tennis’s best Muhammad Ali lookalike, will be trying to become the first French champion since this tournament began in 1890.
The All England Club installed a retractable roof over Centre Court to avoid this kind of tedium. Some spent this soggy Sunday looking through the Queen’s history books, to discover that the only two previous finals to have been played on a Monday were John McEnroe’s victory over the Paraguayan Victor Pecci in 1979, and Boris Becker’s defeat of Jimmy Connors in 1987. Others stood on the drinking terrace looking out at the British summer.
In the players’ lounge, Murray passed an afternoon eating strawberries, discussing which brand of British car should be considered the greatest, and also contemplating whether the players should be signing autographs, doing on-court interviews or perhaps even leading a singing session.

The absent Novak Djokovic, who withdrew from this tournament, responded to Murray over Twitter by putting forward the idea of a putting contest on the grass or perhaps a ’chipping-into-the-flower beds’ competition. It was that sort of day.
Tsonga, who will be hoping to achieve the British one-two of beating James Ward and Murray in successive rounds, was playing Jenga. And then he was playing ping-pong.
“It has been a very frustrating day,” said the tournament director Chris Kermode. “But the weather for Monday looks promising.”
Promising, but not great. So long as the British summer does not hijack another day, Murray will this afternoon have a rematch of last summer’s meeting with Tsonga in the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon Championships.
Murray won that match, but Lady Luck was wearing something tartan that day. Tsonga took the first set and at 5-5 in the second set tie-break, when he had the chance to smash an overhead, he instead let the ball drop and it landed in the court. Murray went on to win the match in four sets.
Tsonga has played some decent tennis at Queen’s, though it has to be said that Rafael Nadal was looking tired in their quarter-final, and in the semi-final the player from Le Mans came within a point of being taken to a third set. Should Murray on Monday play anything like he did in obliterating Andy Roddick 6-3, 6-1 inside an hour on Saturday afternoon, it will be the Scot who will hold up what must be the largest trophy in tennis.
Murray needs this final to finish this afternoon, as he is taking part in a go-karting competition this evening.

24 Hours Of Le Mans

Team Audi lost two of is R18 TDIs to crashes, but its remaining car passed Peugeot to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans marathon race in France today.
The top U.S. car was Corvette #73 -- driven by Olivier Beretta, Tommy Milner and Antonio Garcia -- completed 314 laps in the 24 hours to finish 11th overall and first in the GTE Pro class. The 'Vette finished in the class 2 minutes and 29 seconds ahead of the runner-up Ferrari. It was the 7th class win at Le Mans for Corvette Racing and its first in GTE Pro.
The Audi #2 car -- driven by Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fassler and Benoit Treluyer -- finished 355 laps for the overall win. That gave Audi its 10th Le Mans title and another with a diesel -- Audi did it first in 2006. Audis 10 Le Mans wins put it second among makers, behind Porsche's 16 and Ferrari's 9.
The Audi winner had won the pole position and finished 355 laps in the 24 hours of the race, beating Peugeot #9 -- driven by Simon Pagenaud, Pedro Lamy and Sebastien Bourdais -- by 13.854 seconds.
"It's absolutely fantastic to win like this," Treluyer told the Associated Press. "You need good opponents to have a great victory. With Peugeot, we had rivals who were really strong."
Peugeots also finished third (2 laps back) and fourth (4 laps back), much better than last year when Audi finished 1-2-3 and no Peugeot finished.
"Last year, we had some problems with the car in terms of speed," Treluyer told France 2 television. "We had a very reliable car (...) but we lacked a bit of speed. The goal this year was to get a faster car without losing reliability. And we made it."
The third- and fourth-place Peugeots had passed the winning Audi overnight but crashes of the Lola-Toyota #13 and Ferrari #59 cars brought out the safety car in the 15th and 16th hours and the Audi closed on them.
In the 19th hour, Lotterer clocked the fastest lap in 3 minutes, 25.289 seconds on the 13.6K circuit to build a lead.
More details from the AP:

Audi #2 managed to adapt to the weather and keep its lead when rain started in the 21st hour, forcing drivers to switch tires.
Peugeot #9 was slower than the Audi, but the French team had a strategy based on lower fuel consumption. But although the Peugeot made only 28 pit stops compared to the winning Audi's 31, it wasn't enough to make up for the Audi's greater speed.
Lotterer and Pagenaud made their last pit stops at the same time, but Audi#2 came out of the pits ahead of of them to keep the lead.
"We were beaten by a competitor stronger than us," Bourdais told LeMans race's website. "Audi has developed a highly reliable and fast car. We chose to work on reliability. The objective is met, but we missed by 13 seconds at the finish."
The surviving Audi, after the crashes left it the lone Audi on the track, was under heavy pressure from three Peugeots throughout today.
Defending champion Mike Rockenfeller's Audi #1 was in second place in his Audi in the eighth hour when he tried to pass the slower Ferrari #71 driven by Robert Kauffman. He was bumped by the Ferrari and slid in darkness to smash into a guardrail. He was able to get out before the car caught fire and had cuts and grazes.
Allan McNish's Audi #3 also had collided with a Ferrari barely 50 minutes into the race. He was in second place and trying to pass the slower Ferrari #58 driven by Anthony Beltoise -- who already trailing by two laps -- when they came together and the Audi disintegrated against a tire wall in a spectacular crash. McNish was unhurt.
"There are unfortunately those two racing incidents that have dealt a blow to Audi," Treluyer said. "I spare a thought for (Rockenfeller) who is at the hospital. I'm really sorry for him. I really wish he could be here. All the drivers took part in the development of the car. So it's a victory of the whole team and not just our victory."
A total of 56 cars started the 79th edition of the French endurance race, but 28 did not finish.

Nascar Schedule

On the final weekend of this month, Infineon Raceway will host its most-attended annual major race when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and its popular Toyota/Save Mart 350 arrive in the Valley for the 23rd time on Friday, June 24, and runs through Saturday, June 25, and Sunday, June 26.
Measured in kilometers, with the race distance being 218.9miles or 110 laps around Infineon’s 1.99-mile road course, the Toyota/Save Mart 350 is the 16th race on the 36-race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule.
Last year, 46 drivers attempted to qualify, with the starting field in 2011 featuring 43 cars, which will make it the largest grid of any feature car race at Infineon Raceway.
Infineon’s most inclusive ticket package, the Track Pass, costs $399 and includes tickets to all major events, plus season-long VIP parking, a Pre-Race Pit and Track Pass for NASCAR, a garage pass for IndyCar and more.
Following the NASCAR happening, the Infineon Raceway 2011 Big O Tires major events season continues with the NHRA Division 7 Drag Racing weekend of July 22 to 24; the FRAM Autolite NHRA Nationals from July 29 to 31; the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend of Aug. 26 to 28; and the Classic Sports Racing Group Charity Challenge on Oct. 1 and 2.
To purchase individual or weekend tickets, the Track Pass or other special ticket packages, or for details on Wednesday Night Drags, Top the Cops, Drifting or for more general information, visitwww.infineonraceway.com, www.ticketmaster.com or call 800-870-RACE (7223).

INFINEON’S NASCAR SCHEDULE/TV COVERAGE

Friday, June 24 (Pick-n-Pull Pole Day): NASCARSprint Cup Series practice, noon to 1:30 p.m. (SPEED); NASCAR West Series qualifying, 1:50 p.m.; Pick-n-Pull Pole Day NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, 3:40 p.m., on SPEED at 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 25: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, 9:30 to 10:15 a.m., SPEED, 11:30 a.m.; DenBeste Happy Hour NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, 10:45 a.m. to noon, SPEED, 12:30 p.m.; Thunder Valley Casino Resort 200 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race, 12:45 p.m.
Sunday, June 26: Toyota/Save Mart 350, noon – TV-TNT, radio- KNBR 1050 AM (San Francisco), KHTK 1140 AM (Sacramento).

SMU

Having already broken down SMU’s offense heading into 2011-2012, we will now turn our attention to the defensive side of the ball.
SMU’s defense was very up and down last season. They play in a very offense-heavy conference, so it is hard to have great numbers but the goal is to limit points as much as possible. As a unit the gave up too many points for the amount of yardage and average per play numbers that they had. They do lose a few of players from the 2010 team as they head into 2011, so it will be a fairly new rotation, and one that will need to build on last year and improve.
Defensive End- At one end will be Junior Margus Hunt. This 6’8” Estonian is particularly known for his ability to block kicks. However, his pass rushing abilities are improving, and this junior season the coaching staff is hoping that he finally breaks out. On the other end, will be returning senior and All-Conference First Teamer Taylor Thompson. He has always demanded a lot of attention and came up with plays right when the defense needed it in 2010.
Nose Tackle- In his first season last year playing at Nose Tackle, Marquis Frazier played very well and improvement was seen as the season went on. Returning for his senior season, look for Frazier to be a part of a great front 7 and one that will need to play a key role in stopping the run against power teams such as TCU who SMU will play on September 30th in Fort Worth.
Inside Linebacker- The one starter will without a doubt be junior, Taylor Reed. Reed who had a team high 145 tackles last season was the heart and soul of the SMU defense. In order to fill Pete Flep’s shoes, I believe the job will go to either Victor Jones or Cameron Rogers. Either of these Juniors could win the job, but personally I believe that Rogers will end up getting the nod.

Outside Linebacker- On one side will be Ja’Gared Davis returning for his junior season after a break out season last year. He was named first team all conference after a season where he had 9 sacks and 16 tackles for loss while scoring two touchdowns. On the other side the Mustangs need to replace the great play of Youri Yenga. Personally, I believe that redshirt freshman John Bordano is the guy to fill that void. Bordano was highly touted coming out of high school where he was a top 40 inside linebacker prospect and amassed 197 tackles his senior year.
Cornerbacks- Richard Crawford returns at one corner for SMU. Last year, Crawford led the team with 4 interceptions and 12 pass break ups. Crawford was also the most effective punt returner on the team and will continue that role in 2011-2012. At the other corner the team loses Sterling Moore. I think the job will end up being either Keith Robinson’s or Chris Parks’ with sophomore Chris Parks finally winning the job
Safeties- Returning for his season will be Chris Banjo at Free Safety. Banjo started all 14 games last season for SMU and his season was good enough to be awarded second team All C-USA honors. Next to him at strong safety will be Ryan Smith. Smith, in his first season as a starter had some ups and down but began to play better and better as the year went to.
Best Strength- Last season SMU was one of the best in the Conference only giving up 3.7 yards per rush. Their 3-4 is led by a great corps of linebackers and an always improving defensive line. To be successful again this year a great defense against the run will be key to slow down several high powered offenses in Conference USA.
Biggest Weakness- Starting and ending the game well. The Mustangs gave up 57% of their points in the first and fourth quarters. Over the season they were outscored by a combined 46 points in these two quarters. In order to win both the close games and the big ones the defense is going to need to be better out of the gates and slam the door late.

Twins

The Minnesota Twins currently possess the worst record in Major League Baseball, which is not something that anybody expected going into the 2011 season. There is a pretty good reason for at least some of the team's difficulties, however. . .as loathe as people usually are to use injuries as an excuse for an underperforming team, in this case the Twins can make a pretty good case.
Here is the lineup that the Twins put on the field on Opening Day at the Rogers Centre in Toronto:
Denard Span, center field
Tsuyoshi Nishioka, second base
Joe Mauer, catcher
Justin Morneau, first base
Delmon Young, left field
Michael Cuddyer, right field
Jason Kubel, designated hitter
Danny Valencia, third base
Alexi Casilla, shortstop
Now. . .let's take a moment to compare this to the lineup that the Twins will put on out at Target Field this afternoon. . .Saturday, June 11. . .against the Texas Rangers.
Ben Revere, center field
Alexi Casilla, shortstop
Michael Cuddyer, first base
Delmon Young, left field
Rene Tosoni, designated hitter
Danny Valencia, third base
Brian Dinkelman, right field
Rene Rivera, catcher
Matt Tolbert, second base

That's nearly two-thirds of the Minnesota starting lineup that is out with injury concerns, and one guy that was in the Opening Day lineup that's at a different defensive position. This doesn't includeJim Thome, who is out with back and quadriceps problems. And it doesn't even begin to touch on the pitching staff, where Francisco Liriano, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, and Joe Nathan(among others) have all spent time on the disabled list. Not to mention that Justin Morneau hasn't been truly healthy all year, and will be seeing a wrist specialist early next week.
We aren't even two and a half months into the 2011 season, and the Minnesota Twins have already used nineteen different pitchers. In the absence of Mauer, the team's two catchers are hitting a combined .189 (31-for-164), and the Twins were even giving time at catcher to something named Steve Holm (not to be confused with Steve Holt!) for a spell. For crying out loud, today's lineup features Rene Tosoni, he of the thirty career home runs. . .in five minor league seasons. . .batting in the fifth spot and serving as the designated hitter.
Sure, the Twins are still 11 games out in the American League Central, but at this point the division certainly doesn't appear to have a dominant team. The Cleveland Indians, who not long ago had the best record in baseball, have dropped seven out of their last eight to come back to the pack, and none of the other three teams in the division have been terribly impressive.
Also, it sounds as though the Twins are finally getting healthy. . .Mauer is catching regularly at Fort Myers and could be back in the lineup in a week or so, Nishioka is playing regularly in his rehab assignment, and Thome and Kubel could be back shortly as well.
Can the Twins make up eleven games on the Indians? I don't know. . .we haven't seen much of the Twins this year, as the roster for much of the season has more closely resembled the Rochester Red Wings than the Minnesota Twins. However, if everybody gets healthy, you never know. I'm not going to say it's likely, but I'm also not going to count out a Ron Gardenhire-coached team when the chips are down, either. If the Twins can keep getting healthy, and possibly stayhealthy for a while, it's a distinct possibility.

Montreal

Sebastian Vettel's grip on the Formula One season is beginning to resemble a stranglehold after he took pole position for the sixth time in seven attempts.
Even Vettel's crash into a wall during Friday's qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix did not sufficiently damage his car or his confidence to prevent him coming out on top again, ahead of the Ferrari pair of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.
"Thank you, thank you. Thanks for fixing the car on Friday after I stuffed it into the wall," he screamed at this Red Bull pit crew. "We made up some ground from last year. Now I feel comfortable here."
It was in Montreal last year that Red Bull lost out on pole for the first time in the season. This is not considered to be one of their best circuits, which must be deflating for everyone else.
It was a disappointing afternoon for the McLaren pair of Lewis Hamiltonand Jenson Button, traditionally so strong on this challenging circuit. Hamilton was fifth, with Button two places behind in seventh. The Mercedes of Nico Rosberg divided the British pair.
This, though, was hardly a disaster for McLaren, because their cars were set up for a wet race, with rain as well as strong winds forecast for race day.
Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner said : "We've gone for a set-up which covers both eventualities. We didn't expect to get pole here, so it's a surprise to get it at one of our weakest circuits. A fantastic performance from Seb."
The only disappointment for Red Bull was that Mark Webber had more issues with Kers and missed the morning practice session. He will start from fourth on the grid.
This old-fashioned track, with long straights, challenging chicanes and slow corners, plus lots of tyre wear due to heavy breaking, usually suits McLaren, who finished one-two last year, with Hamilton edging out Button.
"This is a circuit where McLaren have always gone well," Button said. "Monaco really showed that we have a strength on mechanical circuits. We should be good here. Lewis is always very, very fast here. His team-mates have never out-qualified him here. It was great last year. I really enjoyed the race, fighting with Fernando Alonso [of Ferrari] and ending up second just behind Lewis. There will be a lot of stops, four or five stops."

For Button, tracks like this present a different challenge from some of the newer circuits. "On some tracks you can hammer it down to the corner, brake where you think it's right, even if it's a little bit late, lock up and you can run wide and get away with it. But here there are quite a few places where you don't have the run-off, you don't have the escape if you've made a mistake. But that's great. Monaco is great for that, within reason, and here's the same.
"It brings some of the excitement back, because you have to work up to the limit. It's a different way of driving. And Suzuka is a little like that too.
"The old style circuits will bite you if you are too confident. You could say the same for Spa and probably Silverstone. Even though they've got more run-off they're still the same. Even Hungary. We all find the limit in the end, it's just how we go about it."
For Hamilton, who also won his first grand prix here in 2007, it is tracks like this that allow the outstanding drivers to separate themselves from the good.
"You can excel more than others at tracks where you are prepared to take more risks," he said. "It's whether, in your own mind and heart, you are prepared to take more risks than the driver next to you.
"On another circuit, with more space, everyone can take the same risk, or go to the 100 per cent line. But on circuits like this, their limit is lower than others.
"It's the chicanes here, mostly, bumping over the kerb and having the confidence to get back on the power knowing you're not going to spin into a wall. Every time you get back on the power you think shoot, I could be in the wall. I think I touched the wall last year. It's very easy to do when the track is as slippery as this, but when you can pull it off it's time in the bag. If you can get on that power a little earlier it makes all the difference."
For a moment, Hamilton seemed anxious to say how well McLaren were doing this season. "It's easy to say that these are hard days for us. But you have to pull away from it and put things in perspective. We're second in the championship and we're the second quickest team. It's worse for people further behind. So we're not in a bad position."
But two minutes later Hamilton's competitive instincts emerged. "I love winning, I need to win. It's not the records necessarily. They come automatically when you win. It's winning. I want to win more. I don't win enough.
"That's what I wake up for, it's the only reason I train and eat healthily. It's the only reason why I keep my mind set on the game. It's to win. I don't want to finish anywhere else. I feel I'm one of the top drivers here.
"I've been at the top for the past five years. But I want the world championship. I want to be considered a world champion."
After winning two of his three races here, Hamilton is one of the favourites to win on Sunday. And he must do so to maintain his slim chances of a second title.

Full Tilt Poker

During the World Series of Poker, poker is everything and consumes all focus. Playing for bracelets and obscene amounts of prize money is commonplace. When a player emerges from the masses to hold up their bracelet high, it often is the biggest moment of his or her life. The same statement might not apply for David Diaz, who defeated a field of 1,340 players in the $1,500 Triple Chance Event 12 at the 2011 WSOP. His victory over this massive field was netted him $352,808, but this was not the biggest victory of his life.
"I had cancer when I was four-years old," he said after his win. "I had family that lived in New Jersey -- my Aunt Rosa and Ramon. They brought me down to Memphis because that was the only hospital [St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis] for children that had been treated with that type of thing. They pretty much saved my life. … [It was a] great hospital. They saved my life, and saved a lot of kids lives."
Diaz, 26, was born in Honduras, but moved to the U.S. for treatment. He recovered fully and as he grew up, decided to play poker. Now a professional poker player for the last five years, Diaz has reached the pinnacle with his first bracelet win.
"It feels great," he said. "I can't even take it all in yet."
This was the Memphis resident's second career WSOP final table (he previously finished sixth in $1,500 six-handed eventin 2010), and he wouldn't let this second chance pass him by. Diaz eliminated Anders Meli and locked up the bracelet to the exhilaration of his friends watching tableside. This was the biggest cash of his career.
Through 12 events, Diaz is the 12th first-time WSOP bracelet winner. Fourth-place finisher Bill Chen was the only player at the final table who had previously won a bracelet. Chen was a two-time bracelet winner in 2006.
This event likely saw one of the biggest increases in terms of year-over-year participation, as there were 965 players a year ago compared to the 1,340 in this event. The key difference in 2011 was the price point, $1,500 in 2011 versus $3,000 in 2010. The "Triple Chance" format enables players to add on to their stack twice any point in the tournament during the first four levels.

Other notable finishers included Sam Trickett (16th), J.C. Tran (28th), Andy Black (30th), Cliff Josephy (37th) and Carlos Mortensen (40th).
Below are the complete results of Event 12 at the 2011 World Series of Poker:
Event 12: Triple Chance no-limit hold 'em
Buy-in: $1,500
Entries: 1,340
Prize pool: $1,809,000
Players in the money: 144
1. David Diaz ($352,808)
2. Anders Meli ($218,183)
3. Andrea Dato ($138,044)
4. Bill Chen ($100,200)
5. Corey Hastings ($73,915)
6. Richard Trigg ($55,355)
7. Justin Sternberg ($42,059)
8. Nicholas Rampone ($32,381)
9. Matthew Henson ($25,253)
10. Steve Watts ($19,953)
11. Daniel Smith ($19,953)
12. Denis Gnidash ($19,953)
13. Daniel Quesada ($15,973)
14. Anthony Fung ($15,973)
15. Amritaksha Basu ($15,973)
16. Sam Trickett ($12,952)
17. Bradley McFarland ($12,952)
18. Mats Gavatin ($12,952)
19. Jesse Cohen ($10,636)
20. Brandon Poe ($10,636)
21. Jesse Cohen ($10,636)
22. Bryan Pimlott ($10,636)
23. Martins Adeniya ($10,636)
24. Reed Hensel ($10,636)
25. Jordan Siegel ($10,636)
26. Getty Mattingsley ($10,636)
27. Cyriel Dohmen ($10,636)
28. J.C. Tran ($8,846)
29. Mikhail Lakhitov ($8,846)
30. Andy Black ($8,846)
31. Brian Benhamou ($8,846)
32. Salman Behbehani ($8,846)
33. Arthur Lim ($8,846)
34. Peter Hernandez ($8,846)
35. Marios Savvides ($8,846)
36. Ross Marrinson ($8,846)
37. Cliff Josephy ($7,453)
38. Dan Martin ($7,453)
39. Eric Ford ($7,453)
40. Carlos Mortensen ($7,453)
41. Ben Tollerene ($7,453)
42. Luke Schwartz ($7,453)
43. Eric Guth ($7,453)
44. Raphael Doromal ($7,453)
45. Gavin Polone ($7,453)
46. Tyler Kenney ($6,331)
47. Fabrice Halleux ($6,331)
48. Justin Chan ($6,331)
49. Vincent Vanderfluit ($6,331)
50. Robert Koss ($6,331)
51. Jason Helder ($6,331)
52. Ganesh Letchumanan ($6,331)
53. Joshua Bergman ($6,331)
54. John Myung ($6,331)
55. Kenneth Martin ($5,445)
56. Michail De Gilio ($5,445)
57. Donald Boivin ($5,445)
58. Matt Glantz ($5,445)
59. Antoine Amourette ($5,445)
60. William Givens ($5,445)
61. David Cairns ($5,445)
62. Jeremy Cate ($5,445)
63. Richard Anthony ($5,445)
64. Nick Davies ($4,739)
65. Ty Reiman ($4,739)
66. Matt Sterling ($4,739)
67. Shane Sigsbee ($4,739)
68. Jesse Yaginuma ($4,739)
69. Christopher Johnson ($4,739)
70. Brett Shaffer ($4,739)
71. Alan Brodsky ($4,739)
72. Scott Fawcett ($4,739)
73. Mikhail Yakovlev ($4,178)
74. Paul Dewald ($4,178)
75. Blake Cahail ($4,178)
76. Mark Buford ($4,178)
77. Torrey Reily ($4,178)
78. Anh Van Nguyen ($4,178)
79. Toni Ojala ($4,178)
80. Ted Forrest ($4,178)
81. Jonathan Karamalikis ($4,178)
82. Joel Bullock ($3,726)
83. Tad Jurgens ($3,726)
84. James Mackey ($3,726)
85. Jeff Blenkarn ($3,726)
86. Ryan Olson ($3,726)
87. Craig Gray ($3,726)
88. Regis Merault ($3,726)
89. Phillippe Plouffe ($3,726)
90. Ray Henson ($3,726)
91. Dolph Arnold ($3,382)
92. Chad Winters ($3,382)
93. Jose Severino ($3,382)
94. Matthias De Meulder ($3,382)
95. Kiril Rabstov ($3,382)
96. Gaetano Buda ($3,382)
97. Randall Cohen ($3,382)
98. Stephen Williams ($3,382)
99. David Gutfreund ($3,382)
100. Andy Philachack ($3,075)
101. Eric Ladny ($3,075)
102. Mihai Manole ($3,075)
103. Sam Abueid ($3,075)
104. Justin Pechie ($3,075)
105. Warren Watson ($3,075)
106. Jeffrey Ust ($3,075)
107. Michael Carlson ($3,075)
108. Nicholas Goedert ($3,075)
109. Isaac Haxton ($3,075)
110. Shawn Busse ($3,075)
111. Henrik Tollefsen ($3,075)
112. Cody Scherer ($3,075)
113. Benjamin Eilers ($3,075)
114. Nichoel Peppe ($3,075)
115. Matt Widdoes ($3,075)
116. Paul Deng ($3,075)
117. Anthony Moses ($3,075)
118. Kenn Pluard ($2,822)
119. Gabriel Alarie ($2,822)
120. Daniel Ivers ($2,822)
121. Simon Charette ($2,822)
122. Danny Wong ($2,822)
123. Brett Schwertley ($2,822)
124. Darryll Fish ($2,822)
125. Jesse Vilchez ($2,822)
126. Craig Vergotz ($2,822)
127. Silveira Recife ($2,822)
128. Kenneth Mattox ($2,822)
129. Stephen Reynolds ($2,822)
130. Dean Hamrick ($2,822)
131. Gal Yifrach ($2,822)
132. David Zeitlin ($2,822)
133. Binh Nguyen ($2,822)
134. Michael Mitchell ($2,822)
135. Douglas Foster ($2,822)
136. Erik Torgersen ($2,822)
137. Eugene Castro ($2,822)
138. Kristopher Bradshaw ($2,822)
139. Flamino Malaguti ($2,822)
140. Pascal LeFrancois ($2,822)
141. Ronnie Satterfield ($2,822)
142. David Sklansky ($2,822)
143. Nicholas Cherry ($2,822)
144. Paul Fehlig ($2,822)

Jamaica vs Guatemala

Jamaica vs Guatemala

Jamaica in first game against Granada play very well easy ewin 4-0.Jamaica was able to score more goals. Offensively are verystrong. They have several players making a difference in this tournament.
Guatemala in the first game with a lot of luck drew 0-0 against Honduras. What is important to them are two important defensiveplayers suspended Cabrera i Medina. For this match they have problems in the last line.
Guatemala will play defending footbal and on counter-attack. Jamaica will have possession of the ball and with the problems inGuatemala's defense,  Jamaica have nice chance to score.

Ryan Sheckler

More than 1,000 skate fans filled Etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest to watch some of the nation's top pros ride the rails and catch big air Saturday in a skate contest that raised funds for Autism Speaks.
The event, hosted by professional skateboarder Ryan Sheckler and Etnies, featured 30 skaters who competed for a total prize purse of $15,000 in three best-trick contests. The contests included three jam sessions and the rider with the best tricks on each of the park's obstacles won the event. The event is the Sheckler Foundation's second annual Skate for a Cause.
"I just think it's great to be able to help kids with autism," said Sheckler, 21, of San Clemente. "I used to live next door to a child who had autism. She was always happy and really smart. We're just going out there to have fun and give a great day to the kids."
Riders came from all over to participate.
They included Billy Marks, Brandon Biebel, Chad Bartie, Chris Cole, Colin McKay, Corbin Harris, Danny Way, Dave Hackett, Fabrizio Santos of Santa Ana, Greg Lutzka of Mission Viejo, Jake Brown, James Craig, Jason Ellis, Joey Brezinski, Jordan Hoffart, Jose Rojo, Kurtis Colamonico, Kevin Roma, Kyle Leeper, Lance Mountain, Neal Mims, Pat Duffy, PJ Ladd, Rob Dyrdek, Ronnie Creager of Yorba Linda, Ryan Decenzo of Huntington Beach, Ryan Sheckler of San Clemente, Sasha Steinhorst, Sean Malto, Sean Sheffey, Shane O'Neill, Shane Sheckler of San Clemente, Steve Caballero, Tony Tave, Torey Pudwill and Tyler Hendley of Mission Viejo.
Don Brown, senior vice president of marketing for Etnies, said he was proud to help sponsor Sheckler's event.
"When Etnies first started 25 years ago, it was always important for us to give back to the community," Brown said. "I first sponsored (Sheckler) when he was 7 years old. It's been great to see him grow up and take skateboarding to a whole new level, and he's doing it for a great cause."
The event also included demonstrations and a carnival with games and activities. Hundreds of kids, ages 2 and up, tried their hand at skate-oriented games at the festival.
Twin sisters Skylar and Starla Thomas, 8, of Aliso Viejo, won skate T-shirts after knocking down cans in an agility contest. Both girls skate but Skylar is the more daring, the sisters agreed.

"It's neat when she does a flip," Starla said about Skylar. "She's the better one. I skate, but ride around on a scooter, too."
Both couldn't wait to see Sheckler skate.
Breanna Henderson, from Portola Hills, came with her mother and brother. They wanted to watch Greg Lutzka, who lives next door to Breanna's great grandma in Mission Viejo.
But Breanna's main reason to come was to support Autsim Speaks. Her mom works with children with autism and she's Big Buddy afterschool at Trabuco Mesa Elementary in Rancho Santa Margarita.
"It's neat to be around them because they're really fun," she said about children with autism. "They love to work with me and they sometimes listen to me more than the teachers. I get to play teacher sometimes."

Andy Irons

When surfing superstar Andy Irons was found dead in a hotel room in November, dengue fever was initially suspected. Irons had withdrawn from a competition in Puerto Rico, saying he had contracted an illness while in Portugal.
Now we know that one of the world's great surfers died at age 32 from a heart attack caused by atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, a condition that normally doesn't present until the late 40s.
But that's not the end of the story: According to the long-delayed autopsy report, a secondary cause of Irons' death was "acute mixed drug ingestion." Irons had cocaine and methamphetamine in his system, according to a toxicology report. After Irons was found dead in his room at an airport hotel in Dallas, while on a layover before heading home to Hawaii, police found a prescription anxiety medication in his room, as well as a sleep aid and methadone, a narcotic used to ease the withdrawal from opiate addiction.
Irons' death shocked the surfing world. In Orange County, an emotional paddle-out was held in mid-November in Huntington Beach, and thousands turned out to honor him. View a slide show of the paddle-out.
The autopsy report was provided to The New York Times by a publicist for Irons' family. The report was conducted by the Tarrant County (Texas) Medical Examiner's office and won't be publicly released until June 20.
The report was delayed out of concern for Irons' widow Lyndie, who was eight months' pregnant with their son Andy Axel Irons at the time of the surfer's death.
A statement released by the family and posted on our beach blog attributes Irons' death to natural causes. The family had asked Dr. Vincent Di Maio, a forensic pathologist from San Antonio, to review the autopsy, and he disputed the finding that drugs played a role.

From the family's statement:
As we are not doctors, we have no choice but to accept that two respected pathologists have come to different conclusions about a secondary contributing cause of death.
However, the family would like to address the findings of prescription and non-prescription drugs in Andy's system. Andy was prescribed Xanax and Zolpidem (Ambien) to treat anxiety and occasional insomnia -- a result of a bipolar disorder diagnosed by his family doctor at age 18. This is when Andy first began experiencing episodes of manic highs and depressive lows. The family believes Andy was in some denial about the severity of his chemical imbalance and tended to blame his mood swings on himself and his own weaknesses, choosing to self-medicate with recreational drugs.
Members of his family, close friends, and an industry sponsor intervened over the years to help Andy get clean, but the effort to find balance in his life was certainly complicated by his chemical makeup.

Concord

Few if any know for sure that such a thing called the Bermuda Triangle actually exists, but South Rowan's American Legion team can painfully attest to the reality - at least for one night - of a Concord Triangle, because it fell victim to it.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game, a sky-high popup disappeared from the sight of at least two South players and fell in between a total of three, allowing the winning run to score for Concord in a 6-5 decision Wednesday night at Central Cabarrus High School.
It was a brutal ending to another disappointing loss for South (2-7, 2-4). Desperate for any signs of good fortune, it got some early with a few gift runs in a four-run first inning, but it went to waste as a a trio of Concord homers erased the deficit and South's offense went into shutdown mode.
"We've been in a lot of ballgames and just keep coming up short," South coach Michael Lowman said. "It's getting frustrating for me and I know (the players are) frustrated, but we just have to play better and find a way to win.
"There's time, but as they say it's getting late early. Every game we're letting one slip by."
This one slipped away in most unusual fashion.
Concord's A.J. James greeted South reliever Dillon Atwell with a single to begin the ninth. James was sacrificed to second and moved to third on a groundout. Cleanup hitter Brandon Porter then sent the first pitch from Atwell high into the dark sky. It started out in foul territory down the third-base line, but drifted back into the field of play before landing in shallow left, about 10 feet inside the line and in between left fielder Dylan Walker, shortstop Gunnar Hogan and third baseman Jacob Dietz.
"I just thought it was going to be a whole lot more toward the fence," Hogan said. "I started running back into fair territory and then I just lost it. It was just so high."
How high?
High enough that James had easily crossed the plate with the winning run by the time the ball hit ground.
"That was a big-league popup," Lowman said. "It was up there a long time. It's a much easier play for Dylan than Gunnar but he just said he didn't see it off the bat and got a late break and that was it.
"It kind of sums up not only the game, but the season so far."

For Concord (4-2, 3-2), it was a bit of redemption after being on the losing end of a game decided in the ninth Tuesday night against Rowan.
"A win's a win anyway you can get so we'll definitely take it," Concord coach Jaymie Russ said.
Concord mostly has starting pitcher Jamey Lee to thank for it. The righthander who just finished his freshman season at Catawba Valley Community College shook off three unearned runs in the first and made South's hitters look bad the rest of the way.
"He did an amazing job of settling down and going right back at them," Russ said.
Nine of Lee's strikeouts came in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings alone.
"We just swung at bad pitches and didn't really have good approaches at the plate after the first inning," Hogan said. "He was getting us to swing at the curveball in the dirt. That was bascially it."
Lowman called Lee's work in the seventh the biggest inning of the game.
It was tied at 5-5 when Kyle Bridges dropped a leadoff double down the left-field line, setting it up for the middle of the order. But Lee got Maverick Miles, Joseph Basinger, Dietz to chase pitches and avoid any damage.
"He really went to that breaking ball when he got in trouble and we kept chasing it and kind of got him off the hook," Lowman said.
"When we put the ball in play in the first they made some errors and then we just kind of quit putting the ball in play. But he did do a good job of settling in. He probably had the best breaking ball we've seen."
South still had a chance to break the tie in the top of the ninth. Cliff issued a pair of walks with two outs, but Basinger flew out to right field.
There were four home runs in the game, but two of them took advantage of the short dimensions down the line.
James hit two of the four, driving solo shots to left-center in the first and down the left-field line in the fourth. Ethan Ledbetter hit a two-run shot to a spot similiar to the latter in the third.
After James' second homer tied it the game at 4-4, a misplay in the outfield gave Concord an extra base and led to the go-ahead scoring on a two-out single.
Walker quickly tied it back up with the lone South homer leading off the sixth.
The three homers were about the only damage South starter Jesse Park allowed in eight innings.
"Jesse pitched great," Lowman said. "He did as much as he can do. He competed for eight innings and gave us a chance to win the ballgame."

Scotty Mcknight

It looks like we all might have confused which NY Jets player Hayden Panettiere has the hots for.
The Scream 4 star may have found a new man, but not in quarterback Mark Sanchez, as was previously reported but his pal and teammate Scotty McKnight is the football dude who caught her eye.
The 23 year-old athlete and 7th round draft pick for the Jets this year is a childhood friend of Sanchez and as the actress told USWeekly, she’s become close friends with Sanchez and his pals.
“I’m a huge Jets fan and became very good friends with Mark and his buddies,” the actress said. “I’ve always been that girl who has a lot of dude friends. I’m into sports so we have a lot in common.”

Panettiere recently split from her boxer boyfriend of two years, Wladimir Klitschko and the two have said they “respect” each other still.

Lenny Dykstra

The fall from grace of Lenny Dykstra continues to get worse.

As a Philadelphia Phillies fan, I remember how great Lenny was for the team, especially in 1990 and 1993. But those days have never seemed so long ago. 2011 has brought a series of legal problems to the already long list of them. Things only got worse on Monday, June 6. Dykstra was placed in jail in California on drug and car theft charges.

Dykstra was arrested in April in connection with bankruptcy fraud and grand theft auto. At the time, the auto charges seemed shaky. That has changed. Dykstra is being charged with trying to lease cars though fake information and a fake business. That has led to grand theft auto charges and identity theft charges. He is also booked on drug charges since cocaine and ecstasy were found in his home. All told, Dykstra was charged with 25 misdemeanors and felonies. He is being held on bail for $500,000 with another hearing set later in the week.

Phillies fans remember Dykstra as "The Dude" or "Nailz." He was a dynamic personality and one of the best players on the 1993 team that reached the World Series. Dykstra nearly won the MVP that year. He was also a key part of the 1986 New York Mets championship team, though Phillies fans would like to forget about that. Dykstra was a popular player in Philadelphia, but people have always known he had a shadier side. He wasn't the warmest player, and people remember his past legal issues. The most obvious was a drunk driving accident that took place during the height of his playing career. Dykstra was never the same player after 1993, but fans still loved him.

It was already looking grim for Dykstra after his bankruptcy fraud charge. These latest charges, if true, are likely to make him go to jail even longer. If Philadelphia honors the 20th anniversary of the 1993 team in a couple of years, Dykstra is likely to be in prison when it happens. Things are only going to get worse to Dykstra before they get better.

With every passing charge, it's getting harder and harder to remember how great he was.

MLB Draft

It would be hard to say that everything went according to plan for the Boston Red Sox on the first day of the 2011 MLB Draft, but that’s far from being a negative.
After all, they likely did not plan to draft Matt Barnes with pick no. 19. He was expected to have been gone by most in the top-15, if not the top 10. Some had him pegged to go as high as Washington at sixth overall, but somehow Rendon dropped, and things fell into place for the Sox to get a top college arm. Not according to plan, but certainly a more-than-acceptable result.
A team with both deep pockets and a deep farm system, the Sox are rarely in dire need of cheap-but-average talent, allowing them to use the draft to aim high. They did exactly that in Day One this year. Barnes represents a potential front-line starter with a strong fastball – curveball combination that just needs an improved changeup to complement it.
Grade: A | A top-10 talent at number 19 isn’t a hard pick to evaluate. But their first pick might not be quite as exciting as their second.
Coming in at just six-foot-one and 175 pounds, Swihart doesn’t have a prototypcial catcher’s build. But behind the plate is where he plays right now, and with Theo Epstein calling him an “up-the-middle” player, it seems likely that’s where he will stay. If that’s the case, than it seems entirely likely that Sox fans have finally found their catcher of the future given Swihart’s big bat and powerful arm. Despite having been almost forced into taking Barnes on the basis of his availability, the Sox were still able to nab essentially the perfect pick for them.
Grade: A | The only question is whether or not he can stay behind the plate—many think he’s quite likely to—but he has the bat to play at third or the outfield even if he doesn’t.
The supplementary picks were a bit less unanimously praise-worthy at the time, but based on the way the rest of the supplementary round fell, look much better in retrospect. Henry Owens, a lanky high-school lefty, could have top-of-the-line stuff if he can meet his projections and fill out, while Jackie Bradley Jr. once represented one of the top talents in the draft before an injury-hampered 2011 season brought him down.
Owens Grade: B+ | Far from a surefire thing, but if the Sox put in the time and he puts in the effort, Owens should be looking like a smart grab in a few years.

Bradley Grade: B- | Bradley has plenty of potential to be a good player, but the injury issues hold him down.
At the time these picks were made, it seemed that the Sox had missed out by drafting these two. Not because they were bad, but because players like Josh Bell (one of the top talents with huge power, but a tremendously difficult sign), Daniel Norris (LHP expected to be drafted top-15 by many) and Andrew Susac (top college catcher) still available. But with all three of these players still waiting for their name to be called, it’s hard to fault the Sox for passing on guys who they (along with the rest of the teams) either have reason to shy away from, or expect to be around for picks no. 81 or 111.
In many ways, 2010 set the bar for Red Sox drafts, as the team came away with a remarkable stockpile of high-ceiling talents. While Owens and Bradley may not have the same excitement to their names a Ranaudo-like pick of Josh Bell would, it’s also worth noting just how much more impressive the first two picks were this time around. While Kolbrin Vitek and Bryce Brentz both came as solid picks, Matt Barnes and Blake Swihart seem the more impressive duo. All-in-all, it’s a good start to what will hopefully be the new benchmark.

Bryce Harper

There has been quite a response since the post of that Bryce Harper home run trot this morning (the video is embedded below).  It has me thinking about the curious beast that is Bryce Harper and what, if anything, we can take from that little episode.
First, let me be clear: I’m not trying to be a moralizing old coot here.  The blow-the-kiss thing is not, in and of itself, a big deal. I know he’s 18. I know that 18-year-olds are brash and arrogant by design and that Harper himself is known to be that way too.  But Bryce Harper is a different kind of 18-year-old than one usually sees and he’s even different than one baseball usually sees. This makes him a special case whether he likes it or not.
Baseball has a socialization process. Many players play in college and have had a couple of years to learn to live as a quasi-adult. The ones who don’t go to college have at least had a year or two more of high school than Harper has had, and they start out in half-season leagues, only getting up to the South Atlantic League, where Harper plies his trade, when they’re 20, 21 or even older.  During that journey, these kids have a chance to mature a bit.  It’s a chance that Harper has not had.
But his age and lack of professional or college experience doesn’t excuse Harper’s behavior either.  Indeed, by virtue of his talent, and by virtue of the considerable efforts of himself, his parents, his advisor Scott Boras and others, Harper has leapfrogged the normal socialization process to get where he is now. It was his choice — and a smart one given his talent — to put himself in league with boys bigger than he.  And he has been rewarded handsomely for it.
But it is incumbent upon him, therefore, to do everything he can to act the age of the player he’s being paid to be, not the age he really is. That just seems like part of the deal to me. Big boy bucks for big boy production and, by extension, big boy behavior.
Harper is a very special talent and, as such, people are going to be gunning for him.  Testing him.  A teammate of the pitcher he blew that kiss to hit Harper with a pitch the other day.  That sucks, and it certainly explains Harper’s response yesterday.  But it was the wrong response. The way to fight back is by depositing pitches in the seats and showing those who would try to take him down that he can’t be intimidated and that they — as insignificant barriers on his way to glory — don’t even show up on his radar screen.  That’s a kind of high road that does not require false humility or the dulling of an edge. It’s the kind of thing, actually, that would turn him into a cold-blooded assassin.  It’s also how he will be expected to handle this sort of thing when he reaches Double-A, Triple-A (if he even stops there) and the majors. Which he’ll be doing well before any of his peers, assuming he has some.

I don’t know who the biggest adult or the former player with the most gravitas is in the Washington Nationals organization. But whoever he is, he needs to have a friendly talk with Harper about how, for as unfair as it may seem, he is a unique case and as such, he has to leave his brash and arrogant 18-year-old self behind and let his bat do the talking for him.  Because if he doesn’t, he’s going to represent a serious case of arrested development by the time he reaches the bigs.
And again, this idea doesn’t appeal to me because I’m an old man who wants arrogant punks like Bryce Harper off my lawn. It’s because I want to see Bryce Harper fulfill the promise he has with as little bullshit as possible.  I want this kid to be everything he can be and more, because if he is, he’ll be able to do things no one else has ever done.

India vs West Indies Live

India vs West Indies first ODI cricket match seems to be going WI way. West Indies scored 214 runs while India was struggling at 73 for the loss of 3 wickets
India vs West Indies first one day international was thought to be going India’s way after the Indian bowlers restricted the hosts to a mere 214 runs. Had it not been for two West Indian players who scored half centuries, they would have been bowled out for less than 150 runs.

Had it not been the timely contribution from Samuel and Sarwan who scored 55 and 56 runs respectively, India would have won the match very easily. But the two batsmen made the match very competitive. Besides the two, the third highest scorer for the host team was DJ Bravo who scored merely 22 runs.

Indian bowlers bowled super spells. Harbhajan was the main tormentor of the hosts. He scalped 3 wickets and gave away just 32 runs in his ten over spells. Praween Kumar, Munaf Patel and stand in captain Suresh Raina scalped two wickets each.

Indian bowlers bowled very good line and length and didn’t allow the hosts to score freely. In his first five overs Praween gave away just 9 runs.

But Indian beginning was not good either. India lost three quick wickets including that of Badrinath, Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel. Virat was being thought to be the best batting performer for India and his early loss might have destroyed the confidence of the inexperienced Indian batting side.

Patel scored 13 runs while Kohli could manage no more than two runs. Badrinath could manage just 17 runs before being bowled out.

Dhawan seems to have given some credibility to the depleted Indian batting line up. He is playing at 34 runs after facing 52 balls while Rohit Sharma was playing at 8 after facing 14 balls.

After 22.3 overs Indian score was just 77 runs for the loss of three very important wickets.