Times wires
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Rockies 5, Mets 2
NEW YORK — Wilin Rosario hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, and the Rockies won for the seventh straight time at Citi Field. Last-place Colorado won its fourth in a row overall and eighth in 11 games.
Times wires
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Braves 5, Nationals 1
WASHINGTON — Kris Medlen pitched seven shutout innings and Martin Prado hit a two-run double to help the Braves end a four-game skid. Atlanta has won 16 straight starts behind Medlen dating to May 2010. More importantly, the Braves halted the Nationals' three-game winning streak. Atlanta, which leads the National League wild-card chase, moved within six games of East-leading Washington.
Times wires
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Tennis
Referee Charged in husband's death
LOS ANGELES — Longtime referee Lois Ann Goodman, 70, was arrested Tuesday in New York on a felony warrant, charging her with killing her 80-year-old husband in April. She was charged with murdering Alan Goodman in their home in Woodland Hills, Calif. Prosecutors allege she bludgeoned him with a coffee mug April 17.
Lois Goodman told police she had been out all day refereeing and found her husband unresponsive in bed. "She said she surmised he had fallen down the steps, had a heart attack and managed to get back upstairs to the bed," according to Lt. David Storaker of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Los Angeles County Coroner's Office spokesman Ed Winter said an autopsy revealed Alan Goodman had "multiple sharp force injuries about the head." After a search warrant turned up more evidence inconsistent with her story, the case was ruled a homicide. If convicted, Lois Goodman could be sentenced to life in prison.
She was arrested as she was getting on a bus to the U.S. Open, where she was scheduled to work Monday.
More Tennis
Federer, Azarenka tops for U.S. Open
Roger Federer is the top-seeded man and Victoria Azarenka the top-seeded woman at the U.S. Open as the U.S. Tennis Associated released its rankings.
The draw is today, and play begins Monday.
Boxing
Pacquiao moves fight
Manny Pacquiao, who was scheduled to fight Nov. 10, will instead face an unnamed opponent Dec. 1 because of re-election issues in the Philippines, ESPN.com reported. Pacquiao must file for candidacy for his congressional seat in October and does not want to alter training to do so.
Tapia death: Former champion Johnny Tapia died from heart disease and high blood pressure, not an overdose, said his widow, Teresa. She said a newly released report showed the death was accidental and the result of heart problems and the onset of Hepatitis C.
Little League
Tennessee in U.S. final; Japan advances
Cole Carter had an RBI single after Jake Rucker scored the tying run on a throwing error as Goodlettsville, Tenn., scored twice in the top of the sixth to beat San Antonio, Texas, 4-3 and advance to Saturday's U.S. bracket final at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
Tennessee awaits the winner of today's San Antonio-Petaluma, Calif., elimination game.
Japan reached the international bracket final with a 4-1 victory over Panama, which plays Mexico today in an elimination game.
Et Cetera
NHL: Forward Taylor Hall signed a seven-year, $42 million extension with the Oilers. … Collective bargaining talks in Toronto were canceled after executives from the league and players union met to discuss the status of the negotiations. Talks will resume today.
Times wires
Times wires
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
White Sox 2, Yankees 1
CHICAGO — Chris Sale struck out 13 in 7⅔ for his 15th victory, Alex Rios hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth and the White Sox earned a three-game sweep in a meeting of AL division leaders. The former Florida Gulf Coast University star outpitched New York's Phil Hughes, allowing just Derek Jeter's solo homer in the sixth, the Yankees star's third homer in as many nights. New York's East lead over the Rays fell to three games, its smallest since before play on June 26.
Times wires
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Angels 7, Red Sox 3
BOSTON — Jered Weaver rebounded from a terrible start against the Rays by pitching seven solid innings, helping hand the Red Sox their sixth loss in eight games. Boston is 8½ games out of an AL wild-card spot and 1½ behind the Mariners, who are in last place in the AL West. The Angels have won the first two in a three-game set at Boston.
Times wires
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Cardinals 4, Astros 2
ST. LOUIS — Kyle Lohse allowed three hits over seven innings to earn his seventh straight win for the Cardinals. Lohse retired his last 14 batters while improving to 7-0 with a 2.21 ERA in 12 starts since he lost 3-2 to the Royals on June 15. St. Louis has won consecutive games to grab a half-game lead on the Pirates for the National League's second wild-card spot. The Astros are 0-3 under interim manager Tony DeFrancesco.
Times wires
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Rangers 12, Orioles 3
ARLINGTON, Texas — Adrian Beltre hit three home runs, two in a nine-run fourth, and had five RBIs for the Rangers. Beltre hit his first homer leading off the second against former teammate Tommy Hunter. He connected again off Hunter for a two-run shot with none out in the fourth. He hit another two-run drive with two outs off Kevin Gregg.
Times wires
Thursday, August 23, 2012
D'backs 3, Marlins 0
GamE 2
PHOENIX — Wade Miley pitched eight innings to earn his 14th win as the Diamondbacks earned a doubleheader sweep. Miley, who struck out the side in the eighth, leads all qualifying major-league rookies with a 2.80 ERA. Paul Goldschmidt singled in a run in the first and doubled and scored in the fourth for Arizona, which salvaged a split of the four-game series and remained four behind Atlanta in the NL wild-card chase.
Times wires
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Giants 8, Dodgers 4
LOS ANGELES — Joaquin Arias hit a two-run homer in the first, run-scoring double in the sixth and two-run double in the seventh as the Giants completed a three-game sweep. After losing his first two starts of August, Matt Cain is 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA, 17 strikeouts and one walk over 221/3 innings in his past three.
Todd Foley, Times Correspondent
Saturday, September 1, 2012
TAMPA — Berkeley Prep bent but it didn't break in the key moments.
The Buccaneers made big plays at the right time on defense, and moved the ball on the ground and in the air well enough in a 28-6 victory against Winter Park Trinity Prep on Friday.
"It ended up being a great win for us to start the season," Berkeley Prep coach Dominick Ciao said. "Trinity is a tough team, and we had to play for four quarters."
Berkeley gained 6 to 7 yards every time it ran the ball, and quarterback Brad Mayes rarely missed a receiver all night. But several big drops and three fumbles allowed the Saints to hang around.
So much so that Trinity looked as if it was going to cut the Berkeley lead to a point in the third quarter. The Saints had converted a fourth-down play and had the ball at the Buccaneers' 9-yard line. On the next play, however, the Bucs forced a Trinity fumble and recovered.
"That was a big play in a crucial situation," Ciao said. "That recovery changed the game."
Berkeley stopped two other long drives by Trinity with interceptions.
On offense, Chris Williams was a workhorse. Despite leaving the game midway through the fourth quarter with what Ciao thought were cramps, Williams still managed 28 carries for 158 yards with a touchdown.
Working off the success of the running attack, Mayes threw the ball accurately (7-for-10) for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Max Martinez, Times Correspondent
Saturday, September 1, 2012
ST. PETERSBURG — Dual-threat quarterback Ryan Davis accounted for 202 of Northeast's 311 yards en route to a win over Dixie Hollins.
Jalin Hubbard returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a Vikings touchdown.
And James Swain returned an interception 14 yards for a score in the second for Northeast.
Meanwhile, Davis repeatedly ducked, dipped and dodged his way out of collapsing pockets and scrambled for first downs. He finished with 85 yards on 14 rushes and 117 yards and a touchdown on 8-for-14 passing, spreading the ball to seven receivers.
Only running back Keith Harrington could outrun Davis, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
Injuries continued to plague the Rebels.
Starting running back Deondre Lambert, who scored late in the first half on a 4-yard run, went down with a knee injury on the first play from scrimmage in the second half while trying to break a tackle.
He was treated by paramedics on the field and taken off on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. His status was unknown.
Max Martinez, Times correspondent
Rodney Page, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, September 1, 2012
This was a costly win for the Blue Jackets. Senior quarterback Colby Robinson went down on the second series of the game with a knee injury. AFA coach Chris Miller said he does not know the extent of the injury but said Robinson will get an MRI exam on the knee Tuesday.
The Blue Jackets scored on a 70-yard run by Todd Macon and a 75-yard run by Napoleon Maxwell. Backup quarterback Jestin Green hit Brad Hyman-Muhammad on a 50-yard touchdown pass for the other score. AFA missed two extra points and a two-point conversion.
"Our defense really won the game for us tonight," Miller said. "That's the strength of this team right now."
Rodney Page, Times staff writer
Jacob Stewart, Times Correspondent
Saturday, September 1, 2012
GULFPORT — Countryside demolished Boca Ciega 37-7 in its opener Friday, pounding its opposition on offense and swarming on defense. Led by senior backfield teammates Ryan Yates and Michael Jerrido, the Cougars tore through gaps large and small on their way to 213 yards rushing.
The Cougars trailed 7-0 early in the second quarter, when Yates took his first carry 27 yards to give his offense its first new set of downs. They kept calling his number in big spots, as he finished with seven carries for 60 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown plunge.
"Being the senior leader that I am, I just took the ball and tried to turn the game around and set the tempo," Yates said.
While Yates set the pace for the offense, the defense was busy ball-hawking. Countryside forced six turnovers and stopped the Pirates at the line of scrimmage.
With the game back on track and a 17-7 halftime lead, Jerrido put on a clinic in the second half. The halfback scored two touchdowns and finished with 81 yards on 12 carries.
"They just told me to keep my head forward and keep moving," said Jerrido. "They keep giving (big holes) to me, and I'm going to keep running."
Jacob Stewart, Times correspondent
Rodney Page, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, September 1, 2012
The Crusaders lost in Orlando despite TJ Franklin's 123 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Matt Wylie scored Canterbury's other touchdown on a 2-yard run. Canterbury trailed 12-7 at halftime but gave up 22 second-half points.
Times staff
Phillip Haywood, Times Correspondent
Saturday, September 1, 2012
ST. PETERSBURG — The Lakewood offense came out a little flat Friday, but the defense was solid in a 46-0 shutout of Seminole.
The Spartans gave up 13 total yards in the first half along with one first down but led just 8-0. In the second quarter the Spartans exploded for 24 points. Jocqui Ellison scorched the Warhawks with a 65-yard touchdown, then Zamarie Johnson broke free for a 40-yard score. The defense kept the heat on with a blocked punt that set up Shaquill Griffin's TD. Rodney Adams hauled in a 59-yard TD from Tracy Johnson as the Spartans went up 34-0. Johnson added two TD passes, completing 10 of 14 for 168 yards.
"We really played together tonight as a team, but we still have a long way to go," Lakewood coach Cory Moore said. "Also we were missing nine starters."
Phillip Haywood, Times correspondent
Lauren Burg, Times Correspondent
Saturday, September 1, 2012
SEMINOLE — In a game marred by mistakes and sloppy play, senior Adnan Karic kicked a 32-yard field goal and the Pinellas Park defense posted a safety to hold off Osceola 19-14 on Friday.
Patriots senior Pierre Johnson rushed six times for 75 yards, the highlight a 42-yard run in the second quarter. Senior quarterback Taron Williams was 5-for-9 for 46 yards and a touchdown, a 20-yarder to Dylan Brown that gave the Patriots the lead.
Senior defensive back Keith Dunigan registered the safety.
"It was just one of those games that someone had to win and someone had to lose. We were lucky enough to come out with the win," Pinellas Park coach Kenny Crawford said.
Osceola was led by Daviel Clarke (54 yards, TD) and Andra Walls (62 yards).
Lauren Burg, Times Correspondent
Times wires
Saturday, September 1, 2012
LONDON — St. Petersburg's Brad Snyder, a former Navy lieutenant who lost his sight in an IED explosion while serving in Afghanistan in September 2011, won a swimming gold medal in the men's 100-meter freestyle at the Paralympics on Friday.
"It is really hard to imagine I've come this far in a year," Snyder told the U.S. Olympic Committee. "People will ask me, could I imagine being in the Paralympics a year after being in the hospital, and I'll tell them absolutely not. This whole journey has been one foot in front of the other. Each step has held an immense degree of uncertainty, even down to (Friday) morning."
Snyder, 28, who was a standout swimmer at St. Petersburg's Northeast High, set a Paralympics record in winning his morning heat in 57.18 seconds. Swimmers are classified according to how their impairment affects their ability to perform each stroke. His race classification was for swimmers with little or no sight.
"I didn't know how the swim would go or how my nerves would be in front of all the people," he said. "It even carried into (Friday night's final), but to be able to come out and perform and get to the wall is an amazing feeling."
Snyder won in 57.43, 1.18 seconds ahead of China's Bozun Yang. South Africa's Hendri Herbst got the bronze (59.60).
Snyder has six more events at the Games. He is back in the pool Saturday.
Times wires
Saturday, September 1, 2012
A's 20, Red Sox 2
OAKLAND, Calif. — Josh Reddick capped a nine-run seventh with his first career grand slam for the A's. Oakland scored its most runs since a 23-2 win against Texas on Sept. 30, 2000. It was Boston's worst loss since 22-1 to the Yankees on June 19, 2000.
By Antonya English, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, September 1, 2012
GAINESVILLE — It was supposed to be the game that settled the starting quarterback issue once and for all for Florida. Instead, the competition rolls on.
The No. 23 Gators muddled along for three quarters before two big plays — one on offense, one on defense — helped them to a 27-14 victory over Bowling Green in front of 84,704 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel played most of the first quarter and into the second quarter as well as the entire second half. He finished 10-of-16 for 114 yards and one touchdown.
Jacoby Brissett played just three possessions in the second quarter, one of which consisted of one play, finishing 3-of-5 for 31 yards.
And still the question remains: Who is Florida's starting quarterback?
"I haven't made that decision," coach Will Muschamp said. "We felt like Jacoby did a great job. There's nothing he wasn't doing. I felt like the rhythm of the game dictated that we were going to need some movement as far as some boots and nakeds and movement in the pocket. And I felt Jeff gave us that better opportunity."
The best-laid plan Muschamp and first-year offensive coordinator Brent Pease created didn't unfold.
Brissett and Driskel were supposed to play one quarter each. Then a staff halftime evaluation would determine who would play the remainder of the game.
But Driskel was in on 11 plays in the second quarter because he was two plays into a drive when the first quarter ended.
"We tried to be fair to everybody," Muschamp said. "We gave Jeff the first quarter and Jacoby the second quarter.
"And based on the flow of the game, that's what presented itself. We'll evaluate the film (today), and then we'll go from there."
Driskel's crowning moment came early in the fourth with the Gators hanging precariously to a 17-14 lead. Driskel threw a 10-yard out route to senior Frankie Hammond, who dodged a defender then ran 40 yards for a touchdown and a 24-14 lead.
"Jeff threw a pretty good ball. And I just turned outside, and I felt him wrapping (arms) on me. And I tried to just keep my balance," Hammond said. "Once I got upfield, I saw green grass and just ran to it and tried to get in the end zone."
The touchdown drive was set up by a 31-yard interception return by sophomore Marcus Roberson, who caught a tipped pass intended for Shaun Joplin after Bowling Green reached the Florida 23.
"It was a drop slant, and I was able to just stay focused on the ball," Roberson said. "I was lucky enough to catch the interception.
"It felt good. It was a momentum-shifting point in the game. They were about to drive it in, and I was happy to help the team."
The motions and shifts that were supposed to distinguish this new Florida offense under Pease from last season's under Charlie Weis didn't materialize. But Muschamp said that was mostly on his orders.
He wanted the power running game that was nearly nonexistent last season. And with senior Mike Gillislee having a career day, he wanted to stick with him. Gillislee rushed 24 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns.
As for the quarterback situation, Driskel said he was pleased overall with his play but has no idea what will happen this week, when the Gators prepare to travel for their SEC opener against conference newcomer Texas A&M.
"I'm not worried about that right now," Driskel said. "My main focus is just getting the win, and that's what we did. I'm not worried about the rest. Give credit to Bowling Green. They played well, and we were just happy to come out with a win. That was our goal."
Antonya English can be reached at english@tampabay.com.
By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, September 1, 2012
TORONTO — The pain of Friday's loss was still evident the morning after in the Rays clubhouse, certainly in how bruised and battered Elliot Johnson was from being thrown out at the plate trying to score the tying run.
But by Saturday afternoon, the Rays — stunningly — were going through the exact opposite experience, celebrating a thrilling 5-4 victory when centerfielder B.J. Upton threw out Toronto's tying run at the plate for the final out.
"That's walkoff plays at the plate, how about it, two days in a row," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "It feels much better when you're on this side of things."
The happy ending, the first under such circumstances in Rays history, capped an eventful afternoon. Jeff Niemann made a successful return to the mound then a concerning fourth-inning departure with what was described mysteriously only as "arm tightness," Matt Joyce reintroduced himself as a hitter with a two-run double and a homer and Fernando Rodney bailed out the bullpen on a rare bad day by battling to get five outs for his 40th save, and an interesting notation that came with it.
And the Rays actually won a one-run game, having lost their past seven and 11 of 12, while improving to 72-61, moving back to within 1½ games of the Orioles for the second wild-card spot and staying within 4½ games of the division-leading Yankees, whom they host starting Monday.
"I'm really proud of our guys," Maddon said. "We've lost some really harsh games over the last 10 days and we keep coming out and playing, keep believing to the very end."
And what an ending it was.
Rodney, not sharp in getting the final two outs of the eighth when Joel Peralta faltered, walked Omar Vizquel to open the ninth. A bunt and flyout left Vizquel on second with two outs, and he came around third as fast as a 45-year-old can when Colby Rasmus lined a single to center.
Upton knew he couldn't catch it, but he played the short hop off the tricky turf and unleashed a laser throw — "a 300-foot strike," Jays manager John Farrell called it — that was on line to catcher Jose Molina but up a bit.
"I just let it go," Upton said. "I knew I had a pretty good line, I was just hoping it wasn't too high for him. Luckily, it wasn't."
Molina, whom Maddon had just put in the game in part for his defense, took it from there, a textbook job of grabbing the ball and blocking Vizquel, who was trying to slide around him, off the plate, then using squatter's rights to keep him there as he applied the tag.
"He's got to make a good throw to give me a chance to tag him and I did. That's all there is to it," Molina said. "I was trying to stop him from scoring and I did, and we won the game."
Umpire Jordan Baker peered in to make sure Molina still had the ball and made the out call. Seconds later, Rodney did the same, a bit more emphatically, before shooting his celebratory imaginary arrow.
"Payback," Rodney said.
For most of the afternoon, it didn't seem like the game would come down to the end. Niemann, starting for the first time since his right leg was broken by a line drive May 14 on the same Rogers Centre mound, zipped through three innings. And the Rays took a 4-0 lead, on a homer by Ryan Roberts, a two-out double by Ben Zobrist then, with the bases loaded, a double by Joyce, who'd been in a 5-for-44 skid.
The Jays got two off J.P. Howell, who was admittedly unprepared to take over when Niemann left in the fourth, then after Joyce's eighth-inning homer made it 5-2, two off Peralta in the messy eighth.
The two games are the only this season in the majors, per Rays research, to end with the tying run thrown out at home, and they happened in an 18-hour span between the same teams. "Unheard of," Joyce said.
Not that they minded making this kind of history.
Said Maddon: "Fernando gets his 40th save and B.J. gets his first."
Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@tampabay.com.
