This time, Hamilton does what is needed

Posted on Monday 3 November 2008

 

This time he succeeded: Lewis Hamilton became the youngest world champion in the 58-year history of Formula One after finishing fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix, the final race of the Formula One season.

Last year Hamilton squandered a seven-point series lead in the last race and lost the title by a single point to Kimi Raikkonen.

On Sunday, Hamilton started from fourth on the grid while his closest rival in the championship, Felipe Massa, started from pole position. But again Hamilton led by only seven points and had to finish fifth or higher. Massa had to finish first or second and hope that Hamilton was no better than sixth.

It was a nail-biting trial from the beginning, with a deluge three minutes before the start causing changes of position and team strategies. But Hamilton proved that he could hold it all together and finish exactly where he needed to.

In a wild last lap in the rain, Hamilton dropped out of fifth. As Massa crossed the finish line, his team at first told him he had won the title. But then Hamilton passed Timo Glock on the final stretch and a Ferrari engineer told Massa he had not won the title.

“The most dramatic race of my whole life,” Hamilton said. “It’s pretty much impossible to put into words.

“It’s been a long journey, but I’ve always had the support of my family, the team, our partners and the fans.”

For Massa it was a bittersweet result, as he, too, did all that he could to win the title. Starting from pole position, the Brazilian controlled the race from the start to take his 11th career victory, his second in Brazil.

“The race was just perfect, we did everything fantastically,” Massa said. “It’s a really emotional day for me.

“You come here and do everything perfect with the championship, but the race finishes with the checkered flag and unfortunately we missed one point - but that’s racing.”

It was only Hamilton’s second season in the sport, and his 35th race. He has nine victories and has finished on the podium 22 times. Hamilton ended the season with 98 points, to 97 for Massa.

The previous youngest world champion was Fernando Alonso, who won the title at age 24 in 2005. Hamilton is 23.

The constructors’ title went to Ferrari, which finished with 172 points, to 151 for McLaren.

After his failure to win last year, Hamilton was criticized for cracking under pressure, and his ability to win the title was put under question.

The race on Sunday buried any such doubts.

Just before the race started, with the cars sitting on the grid, the skies opened in a torrential shower that inundated the track. The start was delayed for 10 minutes to give the teams time to put rain tires on the cars.

Although both Massa and Hamilton made good starts and held position, a couple of accidents farther down the pack brought out the safety car to neutralize the race while the debris was cleaned up. The race restarted after Lap 4.

After eight laps many of the cars began to enter the pit lane to change their tires from the rain tires to dry-weather tires.

This shook up the order. But through it all, both Massa and Hamilton drove exemplary races, doing all they had to hold the necessary positions.

Not even the two pit stops would loosen their hold on just the position they needed to win the title.

Then, with five laps left, the rain began to fall again and the leaders all stopped to put on rain tires again.

Massa held on for one lap and stopped with four laps left. He returned to the track still in the lead with Hamilton in fifth.

Sebastian Vettel, in a Toro Rosso, passed Hamilton, pushing him down to sixth. The British driver was on his last lap and the title was slipping away again. He reacted. In the final meters, he passed Glock, finished fifth and took the title by that single point that he needed.

“Before it started to rain I was quite comfortable, and I was just focused on having a clean race,” said Hamilton. “Then it started to drizzle and I didn’t want to take any risks, but Sebastian got past me and I was told that I had to get back in front of him. I couldn’t believe it. Then at the very last corner I managed to get past Timo. It was just amazing.

“I was shouting, ‘Did I win? Did I win?’ Then they told me when I was on the corner and I was ecstatic. It’s a dream.”

Throughout the weekend, Hamilton had been under pressure not only in his performance on the track but also outside of his car. As the first black driver in the sport, he had been subject to racist comments on a Web site of fans of Alonso, who had been Hamilton’s teammate at McLaren last year.

At the Interlagos circuit outside São Paulo, he and his father were booed by the local fans on just about every appearance in the McLaren garage or on the giant television screens encircling the track.

Local television presenters had played practical jokes on him like throwing an effigy of a black cat at him. But Hamilton kept his head in all conditions, saying of the cat, “I took it is a good luck, because I think in the U.K. black cats are quite lucky.”

Few drivers divide opinion as much as Hamilton. Although he is considered by people close to him to be quiet and polite, many fans accuse him of arrogance and dangerous driving. He has occasionally been criticized by his fellow drivers, but some people say this is  envy.

“It goes with the territory,” said Ron Dennis, the McLaren Mercedes team director. “You are successful and young; you’re going to get criticized. Especially as an athlete.”

Last year Hamilton became the most successful rookie in the 58-year history of Formula One as he scored 12 podium finishes and four victories. But he lost the title after squandering a 17-point lead in the last two races.

Yet Hamilton was the best-trained driver ever to enter Formula One. He had been a protégé of the team since he was 13 years old, benefiting from financial assistance as he rose up the racing series hierarchy, winning every championship along the way.

On Saturday, when asked if his second season was more difficult than the first, Hamilton said: “I think this year maybe I’ve made more mistakes, but I’ve arrived at the last race of the season with the same amount of points as I did last year - so I guess that really answers the question.”

He may have made more mistakes, but not when it counted most.

Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd

Share This Post
kobe123 @ 9:31 am
Posted under: Uncategorized

Phillies beat Rays to win World Series

Posted on Thursday 30 October 2008

The Philadelphia Phillies ended their long wait for a World Series title with a short burst of baseball on Wednesday as they clinched the crown by completing a rain-suspended 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Phillies captured their first Fall Classic title since 1980 in a unique, three-inning finish as they resumed Game Five that was suspended in the middle of the sixth on Monday with the score tied 2-2 when the field became unplayable after rain.

The victory gave the Phillies a 4-1 triumph in the best-of-seven series and ended a dream season for the Rays, who rebounded from the worst record in the majors last season.

Pedro Feliz drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh, before reliever Brad Lidge struck out pinch-hitter Eric Hinske for the final out in the ninth, setting off a wild celebration as fireworks exploded over Citizens Bank Park.

After both teams scored in their first time at-bat once the game was re-started following a delay of exactly 46 hours, the Phillies took their decisive lead when Feliz singled through a drawn-in infield to cash in a lead-off double by Pat Burrell.

Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd

Share This Post
kobe123 @ 1:47 am
Posted under: Uncategorized

Phillies beat Rays to win World Series

Posted on Thursday 30 October 2008

The Philadelphia Phillies ended their long wait for a World Series title with a short burst of baseball on Wednesday as they clinched the crown by completing a rain-suspended 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Phillies captured their first Fall Classic title since 1980 in a unique, three-inning finish as they resumed Game Five that was suspended in the middle of the sixth on Monday with the score tied 2-2 when the field became unplayable after rain.

The victory gave the Phillies a 4-1 triumph in the best-of-seven series and ended a dream season for the Rays, who rebounded from the worst record in the majors last season.

Pedro Feliz drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh, before reliever Brad Lidge struck out pinch-hitter Eric Hinske for the final out in the ninth, setting off a wild celebration as fireworks exploded over Citizens Bank Park.

After both teams scored in their first time at-bat once the game was re-started following a delay of exactly 46 hours, the Phillies took their decisive lead when Feliz singled through a drawn-in infield to cash in a lead-off double by Pat Burrell.

Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd

Share This Post
kobe123 @ 1:46 am
Posted under: Uncategorized

So now what? Rays, Phils wait to resume Game 5

Posted on Tuesday 28 October 2008

PHILADELPHIA — Nobody won, nobody lost. So now what?

The Philadelphia Phillies could be three innings from a World Series championship. Or the Tampa Bay Rays could start a three-game winning streak.

“It’s just another little twist to the story of an unbelievable season,” Tampa Bay first baseman Carlos Pena said.

Suspended after 5 1/2 innings Monday night with the score tied 2-all, Game 5 of the World Series between the Rays and Phillies will resume in Philadelphia when the weather permits.

That could take awhile. More rain was expected Tuesday and perhaps after that, putting baseball’s showcase event on hold.

“I’m really not anticipating so many days into the future,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “I’m anticipating either tomorrow or the next day that this thing is going to happen.”

Whenever the teams get back on the field, it will be a strange scenario.

Play will pick up with the Phillies coming to bat in the bottom of the sixth and ace pitcher Cole Hamels due to lead off. So the first batter almost certainly will be a pinch hitter, ending Hamels’ outing.

“You’re not going to win against Mother Nature,” he said.

Hamels threw 75 pitches over six effective innings in wet, blustery conditions Monday night. If the Phillies score in the sixth and protect the lead for three innings, he would be credited with a win.

That would make him 5-0 in five starts this postseason, an unprecedented accomplishment.

“We’ve got to look at it as a 0-0 game and come out and win it,” Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett said.

Tampa Bay starter Scott Kazmir is already out of the game, but every other player is available. Kazmir was chased after walking six batters in four-plus innings.

Grant Balfour relieved for the Rays and escaped a fifth-inning jam. No telling what pitching move Maddon might make, but he said he’ll likely keep the game in the hands of his relievers.

“We’ll probably utilize our bullpen. We have a pretty rested bullpen, based on today’s events,” he said. “Grant is in the game as of right now.”

Maddon said he’ll save “Big Game” James Shields to start a potential Game 6 at Tampa Bay and Matt Garza for Game 7 - even though Shields would be fully rested by Tuesday.

“We don’t want to utilize those pitchers tomorrow or the next day,” Maddon said.

The rain gives Hamels a chance to come back later in the series, if it lasts long enough.

In the meantime, fans holding Game 5 tickets can use them again whenever the game resumes.

“They may say it’s cheap. But anyway you can get one, you get one,” Rays reliever J.P. Howell said. “We’re glad to be able to play another day.”

Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd

Share This Post
kobe123 @ 1:21 am
Posted under: Uncategorized

Jennifer Hudson Offers $100,000 for Missing Nephew’s Return

Posted on Sunday 26 October 2008

Jennifer Hudson Offers $100,000 for Missing Nephew's Return

Two days after her mother and brother were fatally shot at home in Chicago, Jennifer Hudson and her family have offered a $100,000 reward for the safe return of her missing 7-year-old nephew Julian, gone since Friday.

“Jennifer and her family appreciate the enormous amount of love, support and prayers they have received while she and her family try to cope with this tragedy and continue the search for Julian,” said a statement from Hudson’s rep Lisa Kasteler. It also offered a reward and asked the public to give any available information to the Chicago police. “We ask that all inquiries be directed to the Chicago Police Department, Area 1 Detective Division at 312/747-8380.”

As investigators continued looking for forensic evidence at the south side home of Darnell Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson, 29, the FBI confirmed to PEOPLE that they are also assisting with the investigation.

“I can confirm that we have been asked to provide assistance to the Chicago police department to assist in the search for 7-year-old Julian King,” said Ross Rice, special agent and spokesman for the Chicago office of FBI.

When asked whether they had any promising leads, Ross declined to comment. “The key word there is assisting. It is still a Chicago police investigation, both the murder and the kidnapping, and any announcements would be best to come from them.”

After her sister Julia’s impassioned plea for the return of her son at a press conference on Saturday, Hudson took to her Myspace page to thank fans for the outpouring of support on Sunday.

“Thank you all for your prayers and your calls,” she wrote on the Web site. “Please keep praying for our family and that we get Julian King back home safely. If anyone has any information about his whereabouts please contact the authorities immediately. Here is a picture of Julian and what he was last seen wearing. Once again thank you all for being there for us through this tough time.”

Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd

Share This Post
kobe123 @ 10:46 pm
Posted under: Uncategorized

Treasury 10-Year Notes Head for Biggest Weekly Gain in a Decade

Posted on Friday 24 October 2008

Treasuries rose, sending 10-year notes to their biggest weekly gain in a decade, as spreading financial turmoil wiped out more than $10 trillion of stock- market value worldwide this month.
“Bonds are the instrument, par excellence, to profit from the crisis,” Societe Generale SA said in a report. U.S. government securities returned 1.6 percent so far in October, the most since January, according to Merrill Lynch & Co.’s U.S. Treasury Master index, as tumbling stocks and credit markets spurred demand for the safest assets.
“The stock market is still depressed,” said Hiroyuki Bando, chief manager for fixed income, equities and currencies in Tokyo at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp., part of Japan’s biggest bank. “There’s uncertainty and anxiety. That’s supportive for Treasuries.”
The yield on the 4 percent note due in August 2018 fell 7 basis points to 3.61 percent as of 6:19 a.m. in London, according to BGCantor Market Data. The price advanced 20/32, or $6.25 per $1,000 face amount, to 103 5/32. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. Two-year rates declined 5 basis points to 1.54 percent.
The 10-year yield fell 32 basis points this week, the most since October 1998, on speculation government and central bank efforts to revive lending won’t avert a global slowdown. On Oct. 15, 1998, the Federal Reserve unexpectedly cut interest rates to prevent a credit crunch at the time from pushing the U.S. into a recession.
Paulson Announcement
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is preparing to take stakes in regional U.S. banks to halt the freeze of credit to businesses and households, according to a person briefed on the matter.
The announcement may come as soon as today, the person, who was briefed by bankers and Treasury officials, said on condition of anonymity.
This year’s credit-market meltdown prompted Fed officials to make an emergency reduction in rates on Oct. 8, and they will cut again when they meet on Oct. 29, futures contracts indicate.
Futures on the Chicago Board of Trade show a 92 percent chance policy makers will lower their target for overnight bank loans, now 1.5 percent, by a half-percentage point, up from 46 percent odds a week ago. The rest of the bets are for a quarter- point reduction.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of regional shares fell 4.8 percent to its lowest level since May 2004. U.S. stock futures also declined. The yen rose to the highest versus the euro since 2002 as investors pared holdings of higher-yielding assets.
“The financial crisis is now morphing ever more clearly into an economic one,” Ciaran O’Hagan, a fixed-income strategist in Paris at Societe Generale, said in a report yesterday. “That leaves spread markets still going in only one direction — south.”
Debt Increase
Shorter-maturity U.S. notes lagged behind longer maturities after the Treasury said yesterday it plans to sell $34 billion in two-year securities on Oct. 28 and $24 billion of five-year debt on Oct. 30. The government is expanding its debt sales to finance a $700 billion financial rescue plan that includes buying equity stakes in U.S. banks and purchasing soured assets from financial firms.
Thirty-year bond yields fell 8 basis points to 3.97 percent. They declined as far as 3.94 percent yesterday, near 3.89 percent on Sept. 16, the least since the U.S. reintroduced the security in 1977.
The difference between two- and 30-year Treasury yields narrowed to 2.43 percentage points from 2.71 percentage points on Oct. 17.
Money Markets
The difference between the rate banks charge for three-month dollar loans relative to the overnight indexed swap rate, the so- called Libor-OIS spread, widened to 2.54 percentage points from 2.52 percentage points yesterday. The spread has narrowed from 3.66 percentage points on Oct. 10.
Paul McCulley, an investor at Pacific Investment Management Co., home to the world’s biggest bond fund, said the Libor-OIS spread may be the best way to measure improvement as the Fed expands programs to unfreeze credit markets.
“It’s still telling you that the global financial system is a patient in the ICU and the doctor’s still got work to do,” he said yesterday in a Bloomberg Television interview from Newport Beach, California.
Borrowing costs for developing nations approached a six-year high after Standard & Poor’s yesterday lowered Russia’s long-term sovereign credit rating outlook.
An index of emerging-market bonds compiled by JPMorgan Chase & Co. yielded 8.36 percentage points more than Treasuries, near the most since November 2002.
“We still have the economy that is slowing, and the Treasury market’s responding to that concern,” said Sean Simko, who oversees $8 billion at SEI Investments Co. in Oaks, Pennsylvania. “There’s definitely concern that markets abroad are going to follow suit and be impacted more than expected,” he said yesterday.
Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd

Share This Post
kobe123 @ 1:41 am
Posted under: Uncategorized

India successfully launches first moon mission

Posted on Thursday 23 October 2008

 India successfully launched its first lunar mission Wednesday, marking a major boost for the country’s space programme and a new step in the fast-developing Asian space race.

Cheers rang out at mission control as the unmanned lunar orbiting spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 was launched with an Indian-built rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on the southeastern coast.

Officials said the lift-off, which took place in cloudy skies at 6:22 am (0052 GMT), was a “great success”, with the rocket placing the craft into a transfer orbit around the globe within 19 minutes.

“Our scientific community has once again done the country proud and the entire nation salutes them,” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a message from Japan, where he was on an official visit.

The head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Madhavan Nair, said it was a “historic moment” for the country.

“It has been a remarkable performance by the launch vehicle,” he said of the lift-off from the national space centre in the state of Andhra Pradesh, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Chennai.

ISRO is sending the Chandrayaan-1 on a two-year orbital mission to provide a detailed map of the mineral, chemical and topographical characteristics of the moon’s surface. It is expected to reach lunar orbit in 15 days.

The mission, which will also include the sending of a probe onto the lunar surface, will cost India 80 million dollars.

“Today what we have charted is a remarkable journey for an Indian spacecraft to go to the moon and try to unravel the mysteries of the Earth’s closest celestial body and its only natural satellite,” Nair said.

India is hoping the mission will boost its space programme into the same league as regional powerhouses Japan and China, and Nair said ISRO was aiming at a manned space flight by 2015, with work on a two-person capsule already underway.

As well as looking to carve out a larger slice of the lucrative commercial satellite launch market, India, Japan and China also see their space programmes as an important symbol of their international stature and economic development.

The launch was carried live on most Indian television channels — with one channel using the theme music for “Star Wars” to accompany the countdown.

Some critics, however, have questioned whether it makes sense to spend so much money on space when hundreds of millions of Indians still live in dire poverty.

India started its space programme in 1963, developing its own satellites and launch vehicles to reduce dependence on overseas agencies.

It first staked its case for a share of the commercial launch market by sending an Italian satellite into orbit in April last year. In January, it launched an Israeli spy satellite in the face of Iranian protests.

But it still has a long way to go to catch up with China which, together with the United States, Russia and the European Space Agency, is already well established in the commercial launch sector.

Chinese officials have spoken of a manned mission to the moon in the future, after following the United States and the former Soviet Union last month by carrying out a space walk, and wants to establish an orbiting space lab.

Japan has also been boosting its space programme and has set a goal of sending an astronaut to the moon by 2020.

Japan’s first lunar probe, Kaguya, was successfully launched in September last year.

In addition to the commercial ramifications, the development of a space race in Asia has security implications, with the potential for developing military applications such as intelligence gathering and space-based weapons. Maple story meso

Earlier this year, Japan scrapped a decades-old ban on the military use of space, hoping to remove any legal obstacles to building more advanced spy satellites. cheap ffxi gil

South Korea, a late starter in the space race, has launched three commercial satellites since 1995 and launched its first military communications satellite in 2006.warhammer gold

Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd

Share This Post
kobe123 @ 1:24 am
Posted under: Uncategorized

Sarah Palin draws praise for “SNL” spot

Posted on Monday 20 October 2008

Actor Alec Baldwin on Monday called Sarah Palin “a good sport” for confronting her comedy double Tina Fey on “Saturday Night Live” — and the Republican vice-presidential candidate said she’d do it again “in a heartbeat.”

After weeks of being lampooned by comedian Fey, Palin’s appearance on the late night sketch show gave “Saturday Night Live” its best ratings in 14 years, drawing roughly 14 million viewers, according to early estimates by TV network NBC.

 

Baldwin, who pretended to mistake Palin for Fey in one sketch, defended the decision to invite her on the program.

 

“When you come on a show like that, you are prepared in advance to get worked over. Palin knew that. Palin came on to be a good sport. And she was. She was polite, gracious. (More so than some of the famous actors who come through there, believe me.)” Baldwin wrote in a blog on The Huffington Post.

 

Palin was a surprise running-mate pick by Republican presidential nominee John McCain and has been a big hit with conservative Christians for her no-nonsense folksy style.

 

But on “Saturday Night Live,” Fey’s parodies of Palin in the vice presidential debate and struggling in TV interviews have been a hit with the show’s fans on TV and online.

 

In one of Saturday’s sketches Palin, the governor of Alaska, participated in a mock press conference but wouldn’t take questions from reporters, and she later pumped her arms to a rap song featuring a moose being shot.

 

Palin said afterward that she had a great time on the program and told WWOR-TV in New York on Sunday, “I would do that again in a heartbeat.”

Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd

Share This Post
kobe123 @ 10:08 pm
Posted under: Uncategorized

Rays Head to First World Series

Posted on Sunday 19 October 2008

 

The doubts have smothered the Tampa Bay Rays all season. From arduous games to demanding tests, the Rays were expected to fade away. Sooner or later, the inspirational Rays would go home. But the Rays are not going home after all. They are going to the World Series.

 

Matt Garza would not let the Rays fizzle against Boston and would not let their special season evaporate as he powered them to a 3-1 victory in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Sunday night. Garza pitched superbly into the eighth inning and outperformed Jon Lester for the second time in a week.

The Red Sox, the resilient defending champions, were unable to complete the type of stylish comeback that has symbolized them. After rallying from a three games to one deficit to even the series, the Red Sox were hoping that Lester could guide them. But Garza and the Rays were better. Boston is 9-2 in elimination games since 2004.

The Rays navigated through a tense eighth to assure themselves of playing host to the Phillies in the opener of the World Series on Wednesday night. David Price, the Rays’ fifth pitcher in the inning, struck out J. D. Drew with a 97-mile-per-hour fastball to leave the bases loaded. Price screamed into his glove after notching the biggest out of the season. Price then finished off the Red Sox in the ninth.

Garza allowed one run and two hits while striking out nine in seven-plus innings. Lester surrendered three runs in seven innings.

By advancing to the World Series, the Rays are engineering one of the best worst-to-first stories in baseball history. Only the 1991 Braves lost more games in the season before they shockingly rushed into the World Series. The Braves lost 97 games in 1990, one more than the Rays lost a year ago.

If the Rays had lost Game 7, the number seven would have haunted them in the off-season. The Rays had a 7-0 lead in Game 5 and were seven outs away from clinching the A.L.C.S. But the Red Sox scored eight runs to win, then won Game 6, too. Since the Rays avoided a collapse and prevailed in Game 7, it is a lucky number for them now.

Willy Aybar’s homer on a 3-2 cut fastball from Lester in the seventh was so pretty to him that he stopped for a second and admired it. Yes, the Rays were feeling good about themselves. The ball soared deep into the left-field seats, causing the Rays to erupt in their dugout and giving them a 3-1 lead.

Aybar nearly hit a home run to start the fifth. He belted a shot off the left-field fence for a double, and Dioner Navarro followed with a slow grounder to shortstop. It was hit in front of Aybar and forced him to remain on second, but Alex Cora did not have a play at first so Navarro had an infield single.

With runners on first and second and no outs, Baldelli was in a likely bunting situation. But Baldelli has 13 sacrifice bunts in his career, including only one in the last three seasons. He was not at the plate to bunt. He was there to hit. He was there to possibly be a hero.

Baldelli swung and missed, then hit a long foul ball to left to fall behind 0-2 in the count. At that point, it looked as if the Rays should have asked Baldelli to bunt. But Baldelli coolly smacked Lester’s next pitch past the shortstop to put the Rays in front, 2-1. For Baldelli, who missed more than four months of the season because of a mitochondrial disorder, it was one of the sweetest hits of his career.

Once the Rays took the lead, the Red Sox tried to mount a comeback in the sixth. After Dustin Pedroia’s 11-pitch at-bat ended with a walk, Garza struck out David Ortiz on a 3-2 fastball and Pedroia was thrown out at second by Navarro to end the inning.

Garza gave up Pedroia’s homer in the first and then silenced the Red Sox. Garza had beaten Lester in Game 3 at Fenway Park and Lester said that he was anxious to start again and “prove to yourself and to everyone that can you can pitch.” Lester was being tough on himself. Everyone knows that he can pitch. Lester was simply ineffective while allowing four earned runs in a 9-1 loss to Tampa Bay.

The first nine Rays did nothing against Lester as he held them without a hit while striking out four. Akinori Iwamura lined a single to left field to begin the fourth. B. J. Upton struck out and Carlos Peña grounded into a force out.

With Evan Longoria batting, the Rays needed rappelz gold a two-out hit. Lester fooled Longoria with a curveball, but did not have as much success with a 2-2 fastball. Longoria reached out and slapped the ball to right field. J. D. Drew bounced his cutoff throw to Pedroia, whose throw home was wide of the plate and did not get a sliding Peña. Peña pumped his fist after the Rays made it 1-1. buy warhammer gold

The Red Sox had won two straight do-or-die games and put the pressure back on Tampa Bay. They knew that if they scored first, it would be even more uncomfortable for the Rays. That is exactly what the Red Sox did when Pedroia, the second batter, smashed a home run into the first few rows of the left-field seats in the first. wow gold

As soon as Pedroia’s ball disappeared, Garza trudged toward the plate in search of another one. He wanted a new ball, a new start. The emotional Garza sword of the new world vis looked angry, which he exhibited by twice kicking at the dirt on the mound. He let the Red Sox grab an early lead, something the Rays dreaded. But the Red Sox never scored again so the Rays are going to the World Series.Silkroad gold

Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd

Share This Post
kobe123 @ 11:57 pm
Posted under: Uncategorized

On cue, Drew caps remarkable Sox rally

Posted on Friday 17 October 2008

BOSTON — For all the talk the Red Sox had about belief heading into their latest dire situation — down, 3-1, in the American League Championship Series — what they wound up creating was utter disbelief.

In a comeback that goes up there with any in the history of postseason play, the Red Sox pulled out a season-saving 8-7 triumph over the Rays in a Game 5 instant classic that can go down in the category of near miraculous.

A game that ended when J.D. Drew hit a screaming liner over the head of Tampa Bay right fielder Gabe Gross for a single that scored Kevin Youkilis with two outs in the bottom of the ninth seemed all but over entering the bottom of the seventh, when the Red Sox trailed, 7-0, against the red-hot Rays.

Somehow, though, it wasn’t over. And for those who still don’t believe it, the Red Sox and Rays will indeed play Game 6 Saturday night at Tropicana Field.

“We didn’t want to go down 7-0,” Drew said, “but there’s a lot of fight in that dugout, and a lot of guys knew as soon as we got some runs on the board we could get something going.”

“We were down by a lot of runs, and like I said before, we never give up,” said David Ortiz, who bounced out of his slump in monumental fashion. “We keep on fighting, we keep on playing. We won tonight and we’re going to try to keep on winning.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the comeback was the second largest in postseason history, eclipsed only by the Philadelphia A’s rallying from 8-0 down to beat the Cubs in the 1929 World Series.

“A playoff game facing elimination, we’re down by so much,” said center fielder Coco Crisp, who had one of many key hits during the rally back. “To come back and win it in the ninth with a walk-off like that from J.D., it’s pretty much the most amazing game I’ve been a part of.”

Can the Red Sox come back from the brink and ride the wave right into the World Series, like they did in 2004 when they came back from a 3-0 hole against the Yankees and against last year when they bounced back from a 3-1 deficit to the Indians?

Youkilis hit a spinning grounder to third that looked for an instant like it might end the inning. In a hurry to make a play, Evan Longoria fired to first, but his throw went into the stands, where it was caught by Red Sox medical director Thomas Gill. The play was ruled a hit and an error.

The Rays walked Jason Bay intentionally, putting the game in Drew’s hands. The left-handed hitter worked the count to 3-1 and then bashed one to right. Gross never had a chance, as the ball just seemed to keep rising. Ultimately, it landed deep on the outfield grass. Youkilis roared home, and the Red Sox all mobbed each other at home plate.

“I hit it really well,” said Drew. “I thought [I hit] well enough to get it over his head, but it’s so deep in right field here. [I] didn’t know if he would catch it or not.”

So instead of packing up their lockers for the winter, the Red Sox gathered their bags for a flight to Florida.

“In baseball, you believe everything is possible,” Kotsay said. “You’ve got to be an optimist and know that until the last out, anything is possible. I wasn’t completely baffled that we tied it up, but at the same time, realizing the accomplishment and what it took to get there. As a club, we all fought together and got this thing done.”

For the third consecutive game, the Rays did a lot of damage early.

Daisuke Matsuzaka became the third consecutive Boston starter to plant the offense in a 5-0 hole entering the bottom of the third inning, allowing Rays left-hander Scott Kazmir (six shutout innings) to get into a comfort zone.

After Akinori Iwamura led off the game with a single to right, Upton smashed Matsuzaka’s 90-mph offering just over the Green Monster for a two-run homer.

The Rays again did their thing in the third. Pena unloaded for a two-run homer down the line in right. It was the third consecutive game Pena put one into the seats. Longoria followed up Pena by putting one over the Monster to make it 5-0. Not only that, but he topped Pena, homering for the fourth straight game to set an ALCS record.

As a last line of defense, Red Sox manager Terry Francona went to closer Jonathan Papelbon with two on and nobody out in the seventh. But not even that worked. After a double steal, Papelbon surrendered a two-run double off the Monster to the ridiculously hot Upton, making it 7-0. The runs were charged to Manny Delcarmen, however, keeping Papelbon’s record postseason scoreless-inning streak alive — which he would extend to 24 with his two scoreless frames.

Just when all seemed lost, the Red Sox pulled out a comeback for the ages.

“I mean, a loss and we stay home,” Francona said. “I can’t say [most of] the game was exciting, because the first six innings, we did nothing. They had their way with us every way possible. And then this place became unglued, and we’ve seen that before. But because of the situation we’re in, it just — that was pretty magical.”

Cool site: http://kobe.blogpico.com :sent by ur frnd

Share This Post
kobe123 @ 8:02 am
Posted under: Uncategorized