Rotoworld: Oregon RB LaMichael James and Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon among top 10 players who are being overhyped for the 2012 draft.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
The Detroit Red Wings equaled an NHL record with their 20th straight win at home, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 Sunday night on the strength of Johan Franzen's tiebreaking goal early in the third period.
PBT: Boston's Rajon Rondo continues to be named in trade talks, which is madness. The Celtics guard creates offense and makes everyone around him better, which was evident in Sunday's win over the Bulls.
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods both greeted Sunday with unbridled optimism. But the day would end happily only for Mickelson.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
Reuters
BOSTON - The Red Sox are going back to the World Series, and they can thank a bunch of guys who weren’t even in the majors when Boston won it all three years ago.
Rookie Dustin Pedroia hit his first postseason homer and drove in five runs on Sunday night as the Red Sox completed another October comeback and beat the Cleveland Indians 11-2 in Game 7 of the AL championship series. Japanese imports Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima combined for seven strong innings, and Jonathan Papelbon finished things off.
“Young guys like Pedroia played a big part in this series,” Boston manager Terry Francona said after his team won its third consecutive game since falling behind 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. “It’s not over. We deserve a little bit tonight to celebrate. This is a special time and a special place, but it’s not over.”
Next up: the streaking Colorado Rockies, who have won 10 consecutive games — seven in the playoffs — and 21 of 22. ALCS MVP Josh Beckett will face Jeff Francis in Game 1 at Fenway park on Wednesday night.
“The Rockies are on a magical run and we are going to have our hands full. We’re going to try and represent the American League the best we can,” Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. “We haven’t grown up any since ’04. That’s part of what keeps these guys so good. It keeps us all loose and we never stop believing.”
Colorado outscored Boston 20-5 in winning two of three during an interleague series at Fenway in June.
The Red Sox did even better in winning the last three games against Indians, outscoring them 30-5 in that span. Boston also got some help by a key blunder by an Indians base coach when Cleveland trailed just 3-2 with a chance to tie the game.
“We won three games in a row and they won three in a row,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “I’m disappointed, obviously, we weren’t able to finish it off.”
While Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz and Beckett helped the Red Sox win their 12th pennant, the Indians only added more misery to a city that hasn’t celebrated a World Series championship since 1948.
Cleveland was a double-play grounder from winning the crown at Florida in 1997. They appeared to take control of this series with three consecutive victories, but aces C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona couldn’t win a single game between them.
“We fell short, but we learned a great deal in this postseason,” Wedge said.
Jake Westbrook settled down to offer a solid outing in Game 7, and still the Indians came up short. They had a chance to tie it at 3 in the seventh inning, but third-base coach Joel Skinner mistakenly held up speedy Kenny Lofton as he rounded the bag.
With runners at the corners, Casey Blake grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Then, the Red Sox blew it open. Pedroia, who hit a two-run homer to make it 5-2, hit a three-run double and Kevin Youkilis launched a bottle rocket, a two-run drive off the giant Coke bottle above the Green Monster.
Papelbon pitched two innings for the save, finishing things off when center fielder Coco Crisp raced back into the center-field triangle, crashing into the wall to catch Blake’s drive. Crisp was still on the ground when Papelbon chucked his glove into the air and then waited, crouching, for catcher Jason Varitek to leap into his arms.
The Red Sox poured out of the dugout for their first playoff clinching celebration at home since the first round in 2004.
“The champagne tastes sweeter at home,” they chanted in the clubhouse later.
|
Twenty minutes after the last out, the ballpark still full, slugger David Ortiz walked onto the field carrying the AL trophy. He walked to the mound, held the prize up in the air for the crowd to see and then planted it on the ground like an explorer claiming new territory.
The ballpark hushed when Ortiz picked up a microphone to address the crowd, but bedlam returned when Papelbon reprised his Irish step dance from the regular-season clincher. Players took their turns posing for pictures with the trophy while their kids ran the bases.
“We’ve never been through this. This is on the biggest stage,” Pedroia said. “We worked too hard all year long to have our season get cut short. Nobody wanted to go home, nobody wanted to say goodbye to everybody. So once we got that win in Cleveland, brought us back here, we started to believe.”
Boston kept the bases busy early against Westbrook, but three double plays in the first four innings kept the Indians in the game while their starter settled down. The Red Sox scored once in each of the first three innings, and Matsuzaka retired the first eight batters he faced.
Cleveland cut the deficit to 3-2 through five, then had a chance to tie it in the seventh when Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo dropped Lofton’s seemingly harmless popup in shallow left. Lugo drifted back, tracking the ball with his glove in the air and holding off incoming left fielder Ramirez with his right hand.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
HardballTalk headlines |
 | Interactive |
 |
 | Slideshow |
 | Unbreakable records in baseball A look at the most unbreakable records in baseball including Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters. |
| Slideshow |
 | The top tools of baseball You hear a lot about the tools of baseball, but who are the best hitters, fielders and pitchers? We break it down. more photos |
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.
