SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Ryan Vogelsong tied a career high with eight strikeouts and the San Francisco Giants took a 5-1 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals through six innings in Game 6 of the NL championship series Sunday night.
Giants lead Cardinals 5-1 in Game 6 of NLCS (Yahoo! Sports)
21 Oct
2012
2012
Giants lead Cardinals 5-1 in Game 6 of NLCS (Yahoo! Sports)
21 Oct
2012
2012
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Ryan Vogelsong tied a career high with eight strikeouts and the San Francisco Giants took a 5-1 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals through six innings in Game 6 of the NL championship series Sunday night.
Nick Punto and wife hit AT&T Park to cheer on the Cardinals in the NLCS
21 Oct
2012
2012
SAN FRANCISCO — It's a funny thing about being married to a Major League Baseball player. If you ever wanted to go on a date with your husband, and let's say you wanted to go to a game with him, well ... he's usually working. Besides, sitting in the stands for a game probably isn't the first "fun" thing that comes to mind after you've spent the past eight months in baseball stadiums.
However, in part because her husband has many former teammates playing in the NLCS, Natalie and Nick Punto acquired tickets and attended Game 6 at AT&T Park on Sunday night. Natalie Punto says it's their first baseball game together — in which he wasn't playing — in 13 years. Punto was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals' World Series team in 2011, producing one of his best offensive seasons (in limited at-bats) as a utility man. He finished this past season with the Dodgers, so rooting against the Giants probably comes naturally to him.
In fact, Punto tweeted a photo from his flight to the Bay Area, and if you notice the ring, it leaves no doubt for whom he is rooting (and roosting):
On my way to watch my ex mates take on our division rival twitter.com/Shredderpunto/…
— Nick Punto (@Shredderpunto) October 20, 2012
Hey, be sure to read that seat-back card for instructions in case of a water landing.
Punto's nickname is "Shredder," in case you forgot or never realized. After cutting his teeth with the Phillies, Punto transitioned west where he became the ultimate Minnesota Twin. He was an Original Gangsta Piranha for Ron Gardenhire's bunch, terrorizing the White Sox and Tigers with his gritty play, his scrappy defense and his gritty and scrappy presence overall. He also married well, has three lovely children and isn't too jaded after all these years to enjoy a night with the wife at a ballgame. Good for the Puntos.
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Pats escape with an overtime win against the Jets (VIDEO)
21 Oct
2012
2012
When New England's Devin McCourty fumbled away a kickoff return just before the two-minute warning, some unlikely possibilities were suddenly on the table.
The much-maligned Jets had the ball already in field-goal range in a tie game and were looking at taking over first place in the AFC East. The Patriots were inexplicably staring down 3-4, with four very close, late, heartbreaking losses. And anyone who happened to still be alive in their survivor pools were going to get knocked out taking an 11.5-point favorite to win.
The Jets made a mistake. They didn't put the Patriots away when they had the chance.
New York's first two plays were runs up the middle that gained 3 yards, including the first one on a Wildcat play from Tim Tebow, even though Mark Sanchez was in the middle of a 328-yard passing day against a Patriots secondary that has been suspect, at best. The third and 7 pass call resulted in a sack. Big and bold Rex Ryan played for a field goal when he had the chance to knock out the Patriots and one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
When the Jets got that field goal with 1:37 left, taking all of 24 seconds off the clock, the only question was whether Tom Brady was going to win the game in regulation or simply lead a game-tying drive to send it to overtime. Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for 15 yards, then 12 more. He hit Danny Woodhead for a pair of completions that gained 27 more. The Patriots tied the game on a Stephen Gostkowski field goal. That should have surprised nobody.
New England won the toss in overtime, Brady led another drive that ended with a Gostkowski field goal, then Sanchez fumbled on the Jets' only possession to allow the Patriots to escape with a win. New England is in first place in the division at 4-3.
New York played a very good game. Statistically, the Jets played the Patriots nearly even across the board. New York had a great chance for the upset win and first place in the AFC East at the two-minute warning. Instead, the Jets let Brady and the Patriots hang around and beat them.
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Cardinals’ Holliday scratched with back tightness (Yahoo! Sports)
21 Oct
2012
2012
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Left fielder Matt Holliday has been scratched from the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup because of lower back tightness just before Game 6 of the NL championship series against the San Francisco Giants.
Holliday (back) scratched from Game 6 lineup – Matt Holliday | STL
21 Oct
2012
2012
Matt Holliday has been scratched from the Cardinals' lineup for Sunday's NLCS Game 6.
Matt Holliday’s bad back scratches him from NLCS Game 6
21 Oct
2012
2012
SAN FRANCISCO — In June, St. Louis Cardinals slugger Matt Holliday missed two games because of back spasms. With his back flaring up again Sunday night, Holliday has been reduced to a reserve role, if that, for Game 6 of the NLCS. The stakes are higher this time as the Cards, who lead the series 3-2, try to close out the San Francisco Giants for the second straight game.
Matt Carpenter, who came off the bench in Game 3 to hit a go-ahead home run after Carlos Beltran went down with a leg injury, takes Holliday's place in the lineup and will play first base. Cards manager Mike Matheny has moved Allen Craig to left field and the cleanup spot, which usually is Holliday's. Carlos Beltran, usually No. 2 in the order, is hitting third.
[Related: Barry Zito enjoyed Giant resurrection in Game 5 of the NLCS]
Holliday, who is batting .222 with a home run, a double, seven RBIs and 10 strikeouts in 45 postseason at-bats, also has been dealing with a family crisis. His mother, Kathy Holliday, underwent surgery for colon cancer in St. Louis on Thursday, hours before Game 4. Holliday told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that a lot has been on his mind since his mom was diagnosed during the final segment of the NLDS against Washington:
"It's been hard. This week's been hard," Holliday said. "It's part of life, part of being a big boy. You've got to deal with what happens in your life. I wish it wasn't. But it's part of it. She's doing good and we've had great support."
Aware of Holliday's personal situation, the Cardinals clubhouse said little publicly out of respect. It wasn't until the clubhouse thinned almost an hour after Thursday's win that the left fielder addressed it at any length.
"He's a brother to us," offered third baseman David Freese. "We're all here for him. He knows that."
That's simply brutal for Holliday, who has seemed distracted in some moments during the series.
The Cardinals usually seem to make do, even without a major cog like Holliday, who batted .295/.379/.497 with 27 homers (and a career-high 132 strikeouts) in 157 games in the regular season. But they're reaching a critical point against the Giants, who have home-field advantage for (up to) the next two games. San Francisco also is 4-0 this postseason when facing elimination.
Holliday also felt back spasms in September, but but didn't miss any time. He said then that his pains came on a different side. The Cardinals have yet to specify which part of Holliday's back is bothering him. We'll see if he is up to pinch hitting later on.
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Maurkice Pouncey, Brian Leonard headline Steelers, Bengals inactive lists
21 Oct
2012
2012
Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey is inactive for Sunday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Pouncey had been listed as "questionable" with a knee injury that kept him out of, or limited during, this week's practices. The first sign that Pouncey might not be available came on Saturday when the club activated center/guard John Malecki to provide depth along the interior of the line, which will not start Doug Legursky at the center position.
The Steelers had already ruled out running back Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman, leaving the duties in the backfield to Jonathan Dwyer, Baron Batch and rookie Chris Rainey, who have combined for 119 yards on 47 carries this season.
Pittsburgh will also be without starting right tackle Marcus Gilbert and safety Troy Polamalu, who has played in only two games due to a calf injury.
For the Bengals, running back Brian Leonard has been deactivated after being listed as "doubtful" with a rib injury.
Pittsburgh: QB Charlie Batch, RB Rashard Mendenhall, RB Isaac Redman, OT Marcus Gilbert, OC Maurkice Pouncey, LB Chris Carter, S Troy Polamalu
Cincinnati: RB Brian Leonard, WR Armon Binns, TE Richard Quinn, DT Brandon Thompson, LB Dontay Moch, CB Jason Allen, CB Dre Kirkpatrick
So this is odd: Joe Gibbs fired up the Cowboys with a pregame speech
21 Oct
2012
2012
There are certain rivalries you just don't mess with. Michigan-Ohio State. Auburn-Alabama. Yankees-humankind. And in that mix, we'd certainly add Cowboys-Redskins. Though the rivalry has cooled somewhat with time, and the abysmal record of both participants, Dallas-Washington remains one of the NFL's iconic face-offs.
So with that in mind, what the heck was Redskins legend Joe Gibbs doing speaking to the Cowboys Saturday night in preparation for their Carolina game?
If you know Gibbs, you know the answer: He's a devout Christian, and even the Cowboys-Redskins rivalry didn't keep him from speaking at the team's chapel session. That, and he and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones are apparently friends, which is worth a reality show in itself.
As USA Today reported, Gibbs, who now lives in Charlotte to run his NASCAR team, told some of his own end-of-game misadventures to a team beset with clock-management misfires. Gibbs once called a timeout he didn't have in an attempt to ice the opposing kicker; the ensuing 15-yard penalty allowed the kicker to win the game.
"If Joe Gibbs can screw it up," several Cowboy players apparently told Jones, "anybody can screw it up," which doesn't exactly seem like the best way to defend yourself to the guy who signs your checks.
Regardless, something may have sunk in; the Cowboys beat the Panthers 19-14 in a game that included some late-game heroics by quarterback Tony Romo et al. And clock management was not an issue, at least not for the Cowboys.
Joe Gibbs motivating the Cowboys. Somewhere, the Hogs are weeping.
Gabbert leaves Wk 7 with left shoulder injury – Blaine Gabbert | JAC
21 Oct
2012
2012
Blaine Gabbert was knocked out of Sunday's game against the Raiders with a left shoulder injury.
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