The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Cardinals beat Brewers to reach World Series Posted: 17 Oct 2011 05:51 AM PDT MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, Oct 17 — The St Louis Cardinals advanced to the World Series yesterday after a 12-6 victory over Milwaukee in Game Six sealed the National League Championship Series. The Cardinals will play American League champions Texas Rangers, who travel to St Louis for Wednesday's opener of the best-of-seven Major League Baseball championship. St Louis scored four runs in the first inning, one in the second and another four in the third to seize a 9-4 lead and were never headed as they clinched the series 4-2 and booked their first return to the Fall Classic since winning it in 2006.  St Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols (right) joins relief pitcher Jason Motte (centre) and catcher Yadier Molina (on ground) as they celebrate advancing to the World Series. — Reuters pic Third baseman David Freese, who belted a three-run blast in the first inning, was named NLCS Most Valuable Player after notching three home runs, nine RBIs and hitting .545. Freese's homer followed an RBI single by Lance Berkman to put the Cardinals ahead 4-0. The outburst continued a St Louis trend as the Cardinals scored first in every game, putting runs on the board four times in the first inning during the series and scoring in the second inning of the other two games. "They were unbelievable in the first inning," said Brewers manager Ron Roenicke. "We couldn't get away with anything. We just never had a chance to get into our comfort zone, get into our rhythm. They just didn't let up on us." Early action The early action felt like a home run derby as six were hit in the first three innings and nine of the first 10 runs came from round-trippers. Corey Hart homered in the first for Milwaukee, Rafael Furcal matched his solo homer in the second, while in the Brewers' half of the second, Rickie Weeks and Jonathan Lucroy cleared the fences to bring the home team within one at 5-4. Albert Pujols's blast leading off the third made it 6-4 and the Cardinals added three more runs on a sacrifice fly by Nick Punto and a two-run single by pinch-hitter Allen Craig. After a sloppy showing in Friday's Game Five in St Louis, in which Milwaukee committed four errors in a 7-1 loss, the Brewers were once again loose in the field with three miscues. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa used five relievers to secure the victory. In all, St Louis relievers pitched a remarkable 282/3 innings against just 241/3 innings by the team's starters. "They pitched with a lot of heart," La Russa said. "You don't get in the postseason unless you have great starting pitching. But it was a unique and weird situation; the starters couldn't make a mistake and get away with it." Freese, who went 3-for-4 to pace the Cards' 14-hit attack, saluted the team's relief corps. "I wish we could do eight or nine of these and give them to the bullpen," he said while clutching the MVP trophy. "What they did, they really deserve this award." Left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski registered the win, while Milwaukee starter Shaun Marcum, who was tagged for four runs in his lone inning of work, took the loss. Jason Motte closed it out in the ninth, setting off a group hug and chant of "Happy Flight, Happy Flight", in the middle of the diamond, repeating a theme that brought the Cardinals wins in their last 17 games on travel days. The Cardinals now travel home for the World Series opener after winning their 18th National League pennant. St Louis, who trailed Atlanta for the wild card by 101/2 games with one month to play, clinched the playoff berth on the last day of the regular season. "They never quit," said La Russa. "Once they got going, the guys played every game as if it were the last game of their lives." — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| NBA lockout puts star focus on Euroleague Posted: 17 Oct 2011 03:47 AM PDT BELGRADE, Oct 17 — The cancellation of the first two weeks of games in the US National Basketball League (NBA) has left Europe's Euroleague, albeit temporarily, as the world's top club competition promising an exciting season. League owners and players in the NBA have been unable to resolve a labour dispute, meaning that the season will not start before November 14 and more games are under threat with a collective bargaining agreement still looking distant.  Star quality of Europe: Panathinaikos players celebrate after defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Euroleague final in Barcelona, May 8, 2011. — Reuters pic But Jordi Bertomeu, the Euroleague's chief executive officer, warned the exodus of NBA players to Europe was only temporary as most of them had pledged to return when the lockout across the Atlatnic ended. "Teams that have decided to sign players knowing they are likely to leave understand the risks, both good and bad," Bertomeu said on the Euroleague's official website. "The good one is that such a player will help win games while he's here, the bad one is that team chemistry will be difficult to maintain when a player leaves. "But fans new and old can expect to see great basketball, first and foremost. "The way our competition is structured, with almost no games that do not impact the standings in some way, the teams are playing for survival from the opening night." The top four teams from each of the four preliminary pools of six will advance to the second stage, featuring four groups of four, where the top two teams from each group will qualify for the business end of the competition. The knockout stage begins with best-of-five quarter-final series from which the winners advance to the Final Four, with this season's showpiece tournament set for Istanbul in May. Clear vision Anadolu Efes Istanbul, who were already boasting a stack of top European performers, have welcomed former Los Angeles Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, who joined the Turkish contenders from the New Jersey Nets. The Slovenian, part of the Lakers roster that won the NBA titles in 2009 and 2010, was delighted to have arrived at one of the favourites to reach this season's Euroleague Final Four in their own Sinan Erdem Arena. "I am very excited to be with a team with a great history, with a clear vision where they want to be in the Euroleague and what they want to accomplish," Vujacic said. "It's going to take a lot of hard work to adjust to the European game and adapt to it, but seven years in the NBA, 61/2 of them with the Lakers, helped me mature as a player and a person. "Like the NBA, it's a long season in the Euroleague; it's a marathon and not a sprint so what matters is not how you start but how you finish," said Vujacic, who signed a one-year deal with Efes with an option to extend. Efes start their campaign with tricky tie on Thursday at Serbian champions Partizan Belgrade, whose Pinoir Arena resembles a cauldron and is one of the most intimidating away courts for any opponents. Defending champions Panathinaikos Athens, whose squad has remained virtually intact, are at home to Spaniards Unicaja Malaga while last season's finalists Maccabi Tel Aviv are away to Emporio Armani Milan. Real Madrid, who have signed Dallas Mavericks forward Rudy Fernandez until the NBA lockout ends, visit Belgian champions Belgacom Spirou while bitter Spanish rivals Barcelona travel to Slovenians Olimpija Ljubljana. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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