Sports Articles

2010-08-30 | Jim Murphy

The New York Jets received some bad news on the eve of the NFL regular season—linebacker Calvin Pace, the team’s best pass rusher in 2009 will need foot surgery and will miss the start of the 2010 campaign. Current prognosis has Pace out 4 to 6 weeks, though the Jets stressed that they’ll defer any sort of projection on his return until after the surgery is performed Monday. Renowned foot surgeon Robert Anderson will perform the procedure in Charlotte, North Carolina. Pace was injured in the third quarter of Friday’s 16-11 exhibition loss to the Washington Redskins.

2010-08-30 | Jim Murphy

Donovan McNabb hasn’t practiced since spraining his ankle in the Washington Redskins’ second preseason game. Now coach Mike Shanahan is publicly saying that his quarterback may not be ready for the regular season opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, September 12. McNabb sat out Friday’s preseason victory over the New York Jets, and won’t play in the Redskins’ final exhibition contest against the Arizona Cardinals.

2010-08-30 | Jim Murphy

Oakland Raiders’ starting quarterback Jason Campbell left Saturday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers with a stinger, but on Sunday it was revealed that a seemingly less significant injury could end up being more troublesome. While the stinger is not considered by the team to be serious, they are concerned about a wrist injury that will necessitate further X-rays and MRI testing early this week. Worst case scenario, the wrist issue could knock Campbell out of the lineup for Oakland’s regular season opener against the Tennessee Titans.

2010-08-27 | Jim Murphy

NFL owners along with league Commissioner Roger Goodell have expressed a desire to expand the season to 18 games from the current 16. During a five hour meeting in Atlanta this week there was no formal vote, but according to Goodell the owners expressed near unanimity in the longer schedule. The NFL Players Association is much less enthusiastic, and the debate over the proposed 18 game schedule could be a major issue as the league and players hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement after this season.

2010-08-25 | Jim Murphy

Now that Brett Favre is done inflicting his annual self imposed retirement drama on the football world, he’s trying to mend fence with coaching staff and teammates. Since returning to the Vikings the NFL’s biggest diva has held two closed door meetings to ‘clear the air’ and stress his ‘commitment’ to the success of the team. The first meeting was similar to last year’s meeting where Favre stressed his commitment to the Vikings and his teammates despite his antics of earlier this summer. This year, he called a second meeting to address a media report that he almost decided against coming back due to his disdain for head coach Brad Childress.

2010-08-25 | Jim Murphy

On a weekend that saw Manchester United’s primary rivals for English Premier League supremacy win their games in blowout fashion, the ‘Red Devils’ had to settle for a hard fought draw at Fulham. Man U played very well in the first half, but a sloppy effort in the second half allowed Fulham’s Brede Hangeland to head home the tying goal in the 89th minute. It was a case of too many missed opportunities for Man U, who missed a penalty kick in the 87th minute which gave Hangeland the opportunity to score the equalizer.

2010-08-25 | Jim Murphy

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco is known as one of the most tech savvy players in the NFL. He has his own iPhone and iPad application and is a frequent user of the Twitter social network. His Twitter usage has now landed him in trouble with the NFL and taken a hefty bite out of his wallet. Ochocinco was fined $25,000 by the league for sending ‘Tweets’ during the August 20 preseason game between the Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles.

2010-08-23 | Jim Murphy

It may only be the second week of NFL preseason action, but in Philadelphia there’s already cause for concern. Against a Cincinnati Bengals team never known for their intensity in exhibition games, the Eagles’ offense came completely unglued and all but handed a 22-9 victory to the home team. The Bengals hadn’t exactly ‘circled’ the game and despite the horrendous showing by the Eagles’ offense led by only 1 point at halftime and trailed at the start of the third quarter. They were able to pull away in the fourth quarter thanks to a one man rushing effort from backup Cedric Peerman, who scored two touchdowns and ran in a two point conversion.

2010-08-20 | Jim Murphy

It’s no secret that the Indianapolis Colts put little emphasis on the preseason NFL campaign, and that ennui was evident on Thursday night in Toronto where they took on the Buffalo Bills. Despite a halfhearted effort, the Colts hung around with the Bills for three quarters until Buffalo pulled away in the fourth to take a 34-21 victory in a game played at the Rogers Centre, home field of the CFL Toronto Argonauts. Buffalo evened their preseason record at 1-1 while Indianapolis dropped to 0-2.

2010-08-18 | Jim Murphy

The Seattle Seahawks opened a 20-7 lead at the end of the third quarter but had to withstand a furious comeback to outlast the Tennessee Titans 20-18 in the preseason opener for both clubs. The victory gave former USC head coach Pete Carroll a win in his Seattle head coaching debut and his first game back in the NFL since he left the New England Patriots in 2000. In the interim, Carroll became one of the most successful college football coaches of the decade as he restored the Trojans to the status of a national powerhouse.

2010-08-17 | Jim Murphy

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback rotation is in fairly good shape, but their preseason preparation has become a mess due to the suspension facing starter Ben Roethlisberger. ‘Big Ben’ will miss up to six games of the regular season, though he’s allowed to practice with the team and play in preseason action. Roethlisberger didn’t see any playing time in Pittsburgh’s 23-7 win over Detroit this past weekend but is expected to see action in the Steelers’ next game on Saturday against the New York Giants.

2010-08-16 | Jim Murphy

The New England Patriots opened up a 17-7 halftime lead but needed a Stephen Gostkowski field goal in the final minute to beat the New Orleans Saints 27-24 in the first preseason game for both teams. The Super Bowl Champions looked listless and their starting offense sputtered, but got back in the game behind their reserves in the late 3rd and early 4th quarters. New Orleans would tie the game on a Garrett Hartley field goal which would set up Gostokwski’s game winning strike with :53 seconds remaining.

2010-08-16 | Jim Murphy

The Cincinnati Bengals spotted the Denver Broncos a 14-0 lead before roaring back in the second half to win the NFL preseason contest by a final score of 33-24. Denver QB Kyle Orton looked very sharp in the first quarter, but most of the attention was focused on former Florida standout Tim Tebow who made his pro football debut. Tebow looked decent in limited action and scored a touchdown on the final play of the game to narrow Cincinnati’s margin of victory.

2010-08-16 | Jim Murphy

Sure, it’s only the first game of the preseason but when you’re off a year as bad as the Washington Redskins had in 2009 you take the positive wherever you can. On Friday night, the Redskins got the Donovan McNabb/Mike Shanahan era off to a good start with a 42-17 blowout victory over the Buffalo Bills. Washington spotted Buffalo a 3-0 lead before McNabb scored his first touchdown in a Redskins uniform to give his new team a lead they never relinquished. The Skins would go on to score five unanswered touchdown and build a 35-3 lead before the Bills tacked on some points in ‘garbage time’ to make the final score somewhat more respectable.

2010-08-12 | Jim Murphy

The New York Knicks made news last week by offering former team president and head coach Isiah Thomas a job as a ‘consultant’. On Wednesday, Thomas announced that he won’t be accepting a job and instead will remain in his current position as head coach of Florida International University. The Knicks’ decision to hire Thomas met with a good deal of criticism, since his reign with the team was not only unsuccessful on the court but controversial off the court including a well publicized sexual harassment lawsuit that cost the organization $11.6 million. Despite these struggles, Thomas has maintained a close friendship with Knicks’ owner Jim Dolan and that appears to be the basis for the team offering him a job.

2010-08-10 | Jim Murphy

The NFL preseason got underway on Saturday as the Dallas Cowboys faced off against the Cincinnati Bengals in the annual Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. In a defensive struggle contested mostly by both teams’ reserves the Cowboys forced four turnovers to take a 16-7 win. David Buehler kicked three field goals for Dallas, who also added a Brandon Sharpe interception return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The Bengals were shut out until the final minute of the game when Jordan Palmer hit Darius Hill on a one yard touchdown pass.

2010-08-10 | Jim Murphy

The New York Jets are taking a hard line with holdout All Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis. The team rejected a contract offer from Revis’ agent on Monday and is now planning for the NFL season under the assumption that he won’t be with the team. Revis is slated to make $1 million this season and while the Jets concur that he’s underpaid they’re not prepared to meet his demand that he become the highest paid cornerback in the NFL—a price tag that would exceed $15 million a year.

2010-08-09 | Jim Murphy

Considered by many to be the best running back and wide receiver to ever play in the league, Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice were inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame on Saturday night in Canton, Ohio. Smith and Rice headlined a group of seven inductees that also included John Randle, Dick LeBeau, Rickey Jackson, Russ Grimm and Floyd Little.

2010-08-05 | Jim Murphy

Despite a media frenzy over a series of text messages that Brett Favre allegedly sent to his Minnesota Viking teammates saying he planned to retire, the veteran quarterback maintains that he’s not made any decision on whether or not to return for another NFL season. Favre says that his position remains the same—that he’ll play if he’s healthy. He’s planning to have his surgically repaired ankle examined next week, and will make a decision on his pro football future based on that diagnosis.

2010-08-04 | Jim Murphy

Corey Hart had been the subject of trade rumors heading into the deadline, but on Monday the Milwaukee Brewers did just the opposite—they rewarded him with a long term contract extension. The 28 year old Hart agreed to a 3 year deal worth $26.5 million that’ll keep him in a Milwaukee uniform through the 2013 season. Hart is in the midst of a solid season, batting .288 with 23 home runs and 72 RBIs in 92 games.

2010-08-03 | Jim Murphy

It didn’t take long for Chris Bosh to respond to Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo’s assertion that he’d ‘quit’ on his former team last season. Bosh and LeBron James have signed with Miami to join Dwayne Wade, and the team has since become the NBA betting favorite to dethrone the LA Lakers as NBA champions. Both James and Bosh have taken their share of heat about how the move was handled, but on Friday Bosh denied Colangelo’s claims and insisted that he always ‘played hard’.

2010-08-03 | Jim Murphy

A flurry of reports in the UK media is suggesting that Chinese billionaire Kenny Huang is negotiating to take control of Liverpool. Huang isn’t looking to buy the club directly, but is instead bidding to the Royal Bank of Scotland to buy the club's £237 million debt. While this in itself wouldn’t give him control, it would provide Huang with what is being described as "a ridiculously large amount of leverage" to oust the English Premier League team’s current owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

2010-07-28 | Jim Murphy

Diego Maradona is out as Argentina’s national soccer coach, walking away from the job in a power struggle over the fate of his staff. The Argentina Football Association (AFA) had offered Maradona a new four year contract on the condition that he replace his entire staff. Maradona stood firm, stressing that he’d only return if his staff was retained. When that major difference in position couldn’t be resolved, the AFA declined to renew his deal under Maradona’s conditions and just like that the Argentina soccer legend was out.

2010-07-28 | Jim Murphy

LeBron James took his share of criticism for his NBA playoff performance, and that only intensified after his high profile free agent move to Miami. The most virulent attack came from the Cavs owner, Dan Gilbert, which brought about an admonishment from Rev. Jesse Jackson and a huge fine from NBA commissioner David Stern. Now the Toronto Raptors’ management is taking its shots at LeBron’s new teammate, Chris Bosh. His tone wasn’t quite as nasty as Gilbert’s but Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo has publically suggested that Bosh quit on the team during his final season as a Raptor.

2010-07-27 | Jim Murphy

2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra pulled away late to outclass a lackluster field in the $400,000 Lady’s Secret Stakes on an oppressively hot and muggy day at New Jersey’s Monmouth Park. It was Rachel’s second straight stakes win following a pair of narrow losses to start the 2010 season. The performance was solid but unspectacular in a race that had been ‘made to order’ for one of the sport’s superstar mares. To secure Rachel Alexandra’s participation Monmouth moved the race from its original date (August 1) and sweetened the original a purse of $150,000. The additional $250,000 was contingent on Rachel Alexandra competing in the race. The distance was also lengthened from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/8 miles.

2010-07-22 | Jim Murphy

With the obvious exception of venerable Churchill Downs—the home of the Kentucky Derby—few horse racing venues can boast the tradition of Southern California’s Del Mar Racetrack. On Wednesday, the troubled Southern California horse racing industry received a much needed boost with the opening of the 71st summer meet at Del Mar. A huge crowd of 45,309 broke the opening day attendance mark for the track and created a party atmosphere and a welcome positive vibe in the Southern California racing scene.

2010-07-20 | Jim Murphy

With superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk the target of overtures from all over the world, the New Jersey Devils decided to secure his services for the longterm by signing him to a 17 year deal worth a reported $102 million (US). This means that Kovalchuk’s contract will be on the books until the 2026-27 NHL season at which point he’ll be 44 years old. The former Atlanta Thrashers’ draft choice was also courted by the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and New York Islanders, as well as SKA St. Petersburg from Russia’s KHL league.

2010-07-19 | Jim Murphy

On paper, Sunday’s matchup between the Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Stadium looked like an insignificant battle between two National League also-rans. As it turned it, the result suggested that there may be some hope for the long struggling Pittsburgh fans while the Astros could be more of a mess than their record suggests. The Pirates continued their recent offensive productivity, clubbing 19 hits, and Paul Maholm threw a 3 hit, complete game shutout as Pittsburgh routed Houston 9-0.

2010-07-19 | Jim Murphy

The pre-tournament hype billed the 139th British Open at St. Andrews as the likely spot for Tiger Woods’ return to dominance. Instead, it was dominated by one of the more unlikely competitors in the sport. 27 year old South African Louis Oosthuizen won his first major tournament and did so in a manner almost as impressive as Tiger Woods’ performance on this course 10 years ago. Oosthuizen led for the final 48 holes and was never seriously challenged as he shot a -16 under par 272. That was 7 strokes better than second place Lee Westwood and eight better than Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey who tied for third.

2010-07-16 | Jim Murphy

Landon Donovan raised his international stock with a spirited performance for the USA national team at the recently concluded World Cup. That doesn’t mean he’ll be shipping off to the Premier League or Serie A. On Thursday, Major League Soccer (MLS) commissioner Don Garber emphasized that the United States’ top professional league wouldn’t be accepting transfer offers for Donovan. Garber said that he’d be receptive to loan offers during the MLS off-season, but that his league plans to build around Donovan’s higher profile in his native country.

2010-07-15 | Jim Murphy

He was known as ‘The Boss’ and unlike Bruce Springsteen the sobriquet wasn’t a rhetorical excess taken by a fawning critic—he was the real deal. New York Yankees owner and all around icon George Steinbrenner died Tuesday at the age of 80 following a massive heart attack. Among many other accomplishments, he was best known for taking a floundering Yankees franchise and transforming them into one of the most dominant teams in sports—both on and off the field.

2010-07-13 | Jim Murphy

The baseball world is mourning the death of a man once described by Joe DiMaggio as ‘the voice of God’—legendary New York Yankees’ field announcer Bob Sheppard has passed away at the age of 99. Sheppard started with the Yankees in 1951 and over the next 50 years became part of the Yankee Stadium experience. He continued with the team until 2007, when he retired due to a bronchial infection. He was revered by the Yankees organization and fans to the point that he has a plaque in his honor in ‘Monument Park’ along with greats like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

2010-07-13 | Jim Murphy

Belmont Stakes winner Drosselmeyer has been taken out of training and will be sidelined indefinitely due to a nagging ankle problem. The current prognosis is that the three year old will be out of action for the rest of the year, but as of now the issue isn’t considered career or life threatening. Drosselmeyer missed the Kentucky Derby since he didn’t have enough graded stakes race winnings to make it into the large field, but rebounded in the Belmont to give trainer Bill Mott his first victory in the event.

2010-07-12 | Jim Murphy

For a team that had made narrow victories a World Cup trademark, Spain’s victory over Holland came in a very fitting fashion. Andres Iniesta scored in the 116th minute of play to break a scoreless tie and give Spain a 1-0 win and their first ever World Cup championship. It was Spain’s fourth consecutive 1-0 victory—a fact that underscored the gritty manner in which the team fought throughout the tournament.

2010-07-07 | Jim Murphy

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar survived a brutal first round beating from challenger Shane Carwin this past weekend before turning the tables in the second en route to a submission victory to successfully defend his crown in the main event of UFC 116. Lesnar was making his first return to action since a layoff due to a serious health problem, but by fight time his only issue was the powerful uppercuts of his opponent. Carwin was able to put Lesnar down but couldn’t finish him off, and by the second had ‘punched himself out’ to set up the former WWE superstar’s eventual victory.

2010-07-05 | Jim Murphy

In the first of two World Cup semifinal matches for Tuesday surprising Uruguay will try and turn back the formidable challenge of Netherlands. The Dutch team shocked tournament favorite Brazil with two second half goals to advance to the semifinals by a 2-1 score, while Uruguay outlasted Ghana on penalty kicks. For Uruguay, it’s their first trip to the semifinals in forty years while Netherlands reached the championship game in 1974 and 1978, losing both times.

2010-07-01 | Jim Murphy

The second quarterfinal game on Saturday will match pre-World Cup betting favorite Spain against surprising Paraguay. Spain got off to a poor start in group play, losing to Switzerland 1-0 in their opening match. They recovered to win their next two games, however, and outlasted Portugal 1-0 in the first game of the knockout round. Paraguay wasn’t considered much of a threat entering the tournament, but looked very tough defensively in the opening round with a win and two draws. They allowed only one goal in those three games—and that was due to a goalkeeper error. Aside from that miscue, their tenacious defense has been nearly impenetrable and could cause problems for the Spaniards here.

2010-06-24 | Jim Murphy

One of the marquee matchups of the World Cup group stage is this clash between Brazil and Portugal, but with both teams assured of a place in the final 16 it could be more of an exhibition game than anything else. Brazil struggled a bit with North Korea before finding their form against the Ivory Coast. Portugal opened with a draw against the Ivory Coast, but exploded in their second game with a 7-0 drubbing of North Korea that has given them an almost insurmountable goal differential advantage.

2010-06-22 | Jim Murphy

Argentina is dominating Group B play, but with no other team stepping forward to claim the runner up spot the race is wide open for the second ticket to World Cup knockout rounds. South Korea has the inside track at advancing and they can clinch the #2 spot in group play with a victory over Nigeria. Oddly enough, Nigeria is also still alive for the knockout round as well despite losing their first two games—in fact, they’ve got a very realistic chance of advancing if they can earn a victory here. All they need is for Argentina to beat Greece by more than one goal—a very likely scenario—and a win will see them though to the next round.

2010-06-22 | Jim Murphy

Germany’s loss to Serbia really shook things up in Group D and the fight to move on to the second round is wide open. Serbia and Germany are tied for the #2 spot with 3 points apiece, Ghana leads with 4 points and Australia brings up the real with 1. Nevertheless, all four teams are technically alive heading into the final game in group play. Ghana/Germany will take place at the same time as this game, meaning that nothing will be settled before this matchup begins.

2010-06-15 | Jim Murphy

Slovenia held of a feisty challenge from Algeria before striking late to secure a 1-0 victory in the World Cup opener for both teams. Algeria’s Abdelkader Ghezzal was ejected in the 72nd minute of play, and Slovenia quickly took advantage of their undermanned opponent to set up Robert Koren’s game winning goal in the 79th minute. With the United States and England playing to a 1-1 draw on Saturday, Slovenia finds themselves atop the Group C standings following the opening weekend of play. With a population of just over 2 million, Slovenia is the smallest nation in the entire World Cup field.

2010-06-14 | Jim Murphy

Heading into the 2010 World Cup, the biggest concern among England fans was their goaltending situation. That proved to be prescient as the USA took advantage of a blunder by goalkeeper Robert Green to salvage a 1-1 draw in the Group C opener for both teams. England got on the board quickly with Steven Gerrard’s goal just four minutes in to give his team a 1-0 advantage. They held that lead until Green’s miscue allowed the USA to even the score on Clint Dempsey’s goal right before halftime.

2010-06-07 | Jim Murphy

After falling short of the money winnings needed to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, the Bill Mott trained Drosselmeyer gained some degree of vindication by pulling an upset victory in the Belmont Stakes. With Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith aboard, Drosselmeyer outlasted a hard charging Fly Down to take the win in the third leg of the Triple Crown by ¾ of a length. First Dude finished third, while Game On Dude took fourth. Prerace favorite Ice Box was never in contention and wound up finishing 9th.

2010-06-07 | Jim Murphy

There’s an old saying that ‘money isn’t everything’ and that’s apparently the case for Liverpool striker Fernando Torres. Reports indicate that Manchester City is prepared to offer Torres the richest contract in European soccer history, but that he’ll decline their offer in hopes that he can work out a deal with Chelsea. Every indication is that Manchester City will be willing to outbid any offer that Chelsea tenders, but Torres is hoping to play a key role in Champions League action. Torres is currently in South Africa with Spain’s national team preparing for World Cup action.

2010-06-01 | Jim Murphy

England will head into World Cup play having won both of their tune up matches, though neither victory provided the team or their fans with much confidence. This weekend England struggled with an overmatched Japan side, but escaped with a 2-1 victory in a bizarre contest in which all three goals were scored by the Japanese—two into their own net. The win over Japan followed an uneven 3-1 victory over Mexico at Wembley Stadium.

2010-06-01 | Jim Murphy

The United States soccer team has arrived in South Africa and is preparing to start World Cup play. This may be the most talented US team in recent history, but there are plenty of questions after a couple of uneven efforts in warm up games. The 23 man roster and a host of coaches left Washington-Dulles International Airport on Sunday and after a day of rest will resume practice. The US will open Group C play on June 12 against the stiff challenge of an England team that is considered one of the favorites to win the tournament.

2010-05-26 | Jim Murphy

Steve Nash had surgery on Monday to repair a broken nose, but it didn’t appear to cause him any problems in the Phoenix Suns’ 115-106 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals. Nash had 15 points and 8 assists as the Suns tied the best of seven series at two games apiece. Game 5 is set for Thursday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

2010-05-25 | Jim Murphy

England faces some very high expectations heading into next month’s World Cup—soccer betting odds indicate that they’re the third favored choice to win the tournament. For that reason, there wasn’t much celebration over a 3-1 victory over Mexico in a tune up match at London’s Wembley Stadium. Despite a convincing victory, British media is making more of the ‘Three Lions’ slow start to the contest and voicing concern that a similar performance in South Africa could be fatal.

2010-05-24 | Jim Murphy

Inter Milan wrapped up their most successful season in history on Saturday, beating Bayern Munich 2-0 to clinch the Champions League title. Diego Milito scored both goals for the Italian side, who became the first team in their country’s history to win three championships in one year as they added the Champions League crown to their Coppa Italia and Serie A titles. Internazionale’s inimitable field general Jose Mourinho became only the third coach to win the European title with two different clubs.

2010-05-21 | Jim Murphy

The Los Angeles Galaxy have dominated the early play in the US Major League Soccer season, posting the league’s best record with an impressive +14 goal differential. Despite this success, they approached their road game at struggling FC Dallas with some trepidation. The Galaxy are without their two best players, as Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle are away with the United States national team preparing for World Cup competition. While it certainly wasn’t ‘a game for the ages’, the Galaxy were able to take care of business and eke out a 1-0 victory. Mike Magee provided the only goal of the contest, which enabled his team to remain undefeated on the season.

2010-05-20 | Jim Murphy

Despite being outplayed by Atletico Madrid, Sevilla used a goal early in the game and another in stoppage time to win the Copa Del Rey by a final score of 2-0. Madrid defeated English Premier League entrant Fulham last week to win the Europa League title, but were unable to add Spain’s top club championship to their collection. Sevilla ended their season very strong as well, earning Champions League qualification on the final weekend of La Liga play.

2010-05-18 | Jim Murphy

It’s nothing unusual for a player to want to rework his contract or request an extension after the season is over. AC Milan’s Oguchi Onyewu—who goes by the nickname ‘Gooch’—did just that, approaching team management and working out a one year contract extension. What is usual is that Onyewu asked to play the additional year for free. AC Milan agreed to those terms, extending Onyewu’s deal and honoring his request that he not receive a salary for the final year on his contract.

2010-05-17 | Jim Murphy

In a matchup between the top and bottom team in the English Premier League, Chelsea defeated Portsmouth 1-0 to win the FA Cup. It was far from an easy victory, and although Chelsea dominated play they squandered numerous chances to extend the score including a missed penalty kick. Portsmouth also missed a penalty kick that could have drastically changed the outcome of the game. Ultimately, the deciding goal was scored by Chelsea’s Deider Drogba at the 59 minute on a 20 yard free kick.

2010-05-17 | Jim Murphy

After a series of setbacks for David Beckham in his recovery from a torn Achilles’ tendon there was good news this weekend—his rehab is coming along ahead of schedule. The former England captain is now expecting to return to action in September, which will allow him to compete in a good portion of the US Major League Soccer season. Originally, the prognosis was that he’d miss the entire MLS season but according to Beckham he’s now two months ahead of schedule in his recovery from the injury.

2010-05-17 | Jim Murphy

Inter Milan experienced some anxious moments against relegation bound Siena on Sunday, but after a scoreless first half were able to secure victory by a 1-0 margin. Diego Milito’s goal at 57 minutes was the only score of the game but it was all Inter Milan needed. The win also gave them the Serie A title by 2 points over AS Roma, who also won on Sunday. Inter has now won five straight Scudetto titles and can win their third major championship of the year if they can defeat Bayern Munich in the Champions League finale.

2010-05-14 | Jim Murphy

Wayne Rooney has been hampered by a spate of injuries in the past several months, and most recently limped off the pitch late in Manchester United’s final game with a flare up of his groin injury. On Thursday, he sought to ease concerns that he won’t be in top shape for England’s World Cup run which begins on June 12 against the USA. Rooney emphasized that he’s fine despite his early exit from the Premier League finale and added that he expects to play in England’s World Cup warm up games as well.

2010-05-13 | Jim Murphy

The Super Saver secret is out, and Preakness betting fans shouldn’t expect anything near the 8-1 price they got for his win in the Kentucky Derby. The field for the second leg of the Triple Crown was finalized Wednesday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland and post positions assigned to the twelve horses entered in the field. Super Saver drew post position #8, and has been installed as the morning line favorite in the May 15th race.

2010-05-12 | Jim Murphy

While the elite teams of the English Premier League aspire to championships and European tournament play, the lower level clubs are often content with mere survival. This season, however, avoiding relegation wasn’t enough for West Ham United. On Tuesday, team manager Giafrance Zola was ‘released from his contract’ following a meeting with managing director Karren Brady. According to team owner David Sullivan, the club is now looking to move quickly in naming a successor.

2010-05-10 | Jim Murphy

Less than a month ago, Eskendereya was on top of the horse racing world as the presumptive favorite in the Kentucky Derby. Then came the shocking news that he would not be running in the race due to a leg injury, but owner Ahmed Zayat and trainer Todd Pletcher said that the horse’s future in the sport would be determined at a later date. This past weekend, Zayat announced that Eskendereya would be retired to stud and that he’d sold an interest in his equine investment to Jess Jackson, best known as the principle owner of super filly Rachel Alexandra and two-time Horse of the Year Curlin.

2010-05-10 | Jim Murphy

Chelsea needed a win over Wigan to clinch the Premier League title, and the Blues scored early and often to wrap up the championship with an 8-0 rout. Didier Drogba scored a hat trick to win the Premiership goal scoring title with 29, 3 more than Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney. Chelsea finished the season with 103 goals and became the first team to exceed one hundred for the season since Tottenham did it in 1963-64.

2010-05-10 | Jim Murphy

Bayern Munich clinched their 22nd German Bundesliga soccer title on Saturday, using a 3-1 victory over relegation bound Hertha Berlin to claim the crown. As it worked out, they didn’t even need the victory. Bayern entered the contest leading the league by three points, and would have won the title regardless of their game’s outcome due to second place Schalke’s scoreless draw with Mainz. Bayern Munich also held a 17 goal advantage over their rivals, meaning they would have won the tiebreaker had the top two teams finished with the same number of points.

2010-05-07 | Jim Murphy

The Detroit Red Wings entered Thursday’s home game against the San Jose Sharks with their backs against the wall, trailing 3 games to none in their best of 7 Western Conference Semifinal series. Thanks to a career game from Johan Franzen, Detroit lives to fight another day. Franzen scored four goals and added two assists as the Wings used a five goal first period to rout the Sharks 7-1. The series now shifts back to California for Game 5 on Saturday.

2010-05-06 | Jim Murphy

Inter Milan’s Diego Milito scored the only goal of the match to hand AS Roma a 1-0 defeat and give his team their sixth Coppa Italia championship and first under team manager Jose Mourinho. Internazionale controlled play in a very tactical game, scoring their eventual game winner right before halftime and easily handling Roma in the second half. This is the first of a potential three championship season for the team—they have a two point lead over Roma in Serie A play and will compete in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich later this month.

2010-05-04 | Jim Murphy

Chelsea’s lead in the English Premier League standings may be down to only a single point, but they have now jumped their biggest remaining hurdle as the season winds down. On Sunday, Chelsea capitalized on a mistake by Liverpool in the first half en route to a 2-0 victory at Anfield. Although Manchester United also won on Sunday, Chelsea’s fate is in their hands and they can clinch the Premiership title with a home victory over Wigan in their final game.

2010-04-28 | Jim Murphy

Following Inter Milan’s 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals, many observers suggested that the tactical superiority of Internazionale’s manager Jose Mourinho over his Barcelona counterpart Pep Guardiola would be the difference in the series. That proved to be the case in the second leg, as Inter Milan neutralized Barcelona’s feared offensive attack despite playing a man down for much of the game. Barcelona won the contest 1-0, but Inter Milan advanced to the Champions League final by virtue of a 3-2 aggregate advantage. They’ll now face Bayern Munich on May 22 at Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

2010-04-27 | Jim Murphy

Todd Pletcher may have lost his best chance for a Kentucky Derby victory with the unfortunate withdrawal of pre-race favorite Eskendereya due to injury, but he’s clearly trying to make the best of a bad situation. On Monday, Pletcher confirmed that he’ll enter filly Devil May Care in the Derby and not Friday’s Kentucky Oaks as originally planned. Jockey John Velazquez, who was originally slated to be aboard Eskendereya , will ride Devil May Care in the Derby.

2010-04-27 | Jim Murphy

With the field for this weekend’s big horse races beginning to take shape, oddsmakers are now in a position to start setting numbers for the public to bet. Now that Todd Pletcher’s filly Devil May Care has been confirmed for Saturday’s Derby, the early line favorite for Friday’s Kentucky Oaks will be Blind Luck. Churchill Downs linesmaker Mike Battaglia has set the price on Blind Luck at 6-5 for the 1 1/8 mile Kentucky Oaks which will be run for the 136th time this year.

2010-04-26 | Jim Murphy

While much of the attention heading into Kentucky Derby week has been focused on current favorite Eskendereya or the Bob Baffert trained Looking At Lucky, another possible winner may have caught the attention of horse racing enthusiasts. On Friday morning, Paddy O’ Prado turned in a sensational workout on a sloppy Churchill Downs track completing five furlongs in a sizzling 58.44 seconds. That represents the best time of 21 Derby hopefuls that have worked out at Churchill Downs in advance of ‘The Run For The Roses’.

2010-04-26 | Jim Murphy

Horse racing enthusiasts awoke Sunday morning to the shocking news that presumptive Kentucky Derby betting favorite Eskendereya was out of the race due to a leg injury. His withdrawal may open the door for several horses ‘on the bubble’ to compete, but much depends on what trainer Todd Pletcher decides to do in terms of a replacement in the field. Pletcher has run 24 horses in the Kentucky Derby without a win, and most equine experts considered Eskendereya his best chance of victory to date.

2010-04-26 | Jim Murphy

Chelsea’s seemingly insurmountable advantage atop the English Premier League table shrunk to a single point following last week’s loss to Tottenham Hotspur. After Saturday’s Manchester United victory over the same Tottenham team, the Blues were briefly in second place pending Sunday’s home contest against Stoke City. Chelsea responded in impressive fashion, clearly intending to make a statement as they ripped their opponents 7-0 to regain their spot atop the standings.

2010-04-20 | Jim Murphy

Barring some highly unusual circumstances, the Kentucky Derby favorite come post time will be the Todd Pletcher trained horse Eskendereya. Eskendereya vaulted to the top of the three year old class with a dominating performance in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct where he posted a Beyer Speed Figure of 109. Before Eskendereya’s ascendance to the top of the Derby field, most observers considered Looking At Lucky the horse to beat, and he’s still a very strong contender.

2010-04-19 | Jim Murphy

What looked for most of the game like a lost opportunity for Manchester United to keep pace with English Premier League leading Chelsea turned into an amazing victory as Paul Scholes scored near the end of stoppage time to break a scoreless deadlock and give his team a 1-0 victory over Manchester City. Combined with Chelsea’s loss to Tottenham Hotspur later in the day, the win pulled Manchester United to within a single point of the Premiership lead.

2010-04-19 | Jim Murphy

Inter Milan outplayed Juventus for most of their Serie A matchup on Saturday, dominating the shots on goal and time of possession tally but couldn’t get a goal until late in the contest. Ultimately, they’d score twice in the final twenty minutes of play to earn a 2-0 victory over a feisty Juventus team that played the entire second half with only ten men due to Mohamed Sissoko’s red card booking in the 37th minute. The win allowed Inter Milan to keep pace with Series A leading Roma, though they remain one point behind after this weekend’s action.

2010-04-19 | Jim Murphy

Chelsea entered the weekend seeming to be in complete control of the English Premier League title. They ended the weekend holding on to a precarious one point margin over a resurgent Manchester United team after they were dominated by host Tottenham Hotspur en route to a 2-1 loss. The result, combined with Manchester United’s last second win over Manchester City completely altered the dynamics of the Premiership championship battle.

2010-04-15 | Jim Murphy

The San Jose Sharks have a reputation for being a team that plays well in the regular season and struggles in the playoffs. Last year, for example, San Jose finished the regular season with the best record in the NHL only to be dumped from the playoffs in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks. Still, it’s hard not to feel sorry for the team after a tough game 1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. With the game tied 1-1 in the final minute of regulation, a centering pass by Colorado’s Chris Stewart took a bad bounce off of San Jose defenseman Rob Blake’s skate and into his own net giving the Avalanche a 2-1 victory.

2010-04-12 | Jim Murphy

Last week Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson challenged his team to win all of their remaining games to help bolster their chances at overtaking Chelsea for the English Premier League title. His quest got off to a poor start this weekend as Man U dominated play but was unable to score, coming away from their matchup against the Blackburn Rovers with a 0-0 draw.

2010-04-12 | Jim Murphy

While Manchester United, Chelsea and the other teams at the top of the English Premier League are competing for the championship, the teams at the bottom of the table are fighting for survival. The bottom three teams will be relegated to the Football Championship league, and with lowly Portsmouth already tabbed for demotion two more teams are trying to avoid the same fate. On Saturday, Burnley kept their hopes to avoid relegation alive with a 4-1 away rout of fellow cellar dwellers Hull City.

2010-04-12 | Jim Murphy

Liverpool has struggled to score goals for much of the Premier League season, and it was more of the same on Sunday. Despite an overwhelming time of possession and shots on goal advantage, Liverpool was unable to put a ball past Fulham goalie Mark Schwarzer and had to settle for a scoreless home draw. Liverpool played without their best scoring threat, striker Fernando Torres, who missed the game due to a knee injury.

2010-04-12 | Jim Murphy

The 136th annual Kentucky Derby is several weeks away, but most horse racing pundits are of the opinion that Wood Memorial winner Eskendereya will enter the Churchill Downs starting gate on May 1st as the favorite. There are a number of other solid horses expected to make ‘The Run For The Roses’, but none have been as impressive as Eskendereya in this spring’s Derby prep races. In fact, many of the races that typically produce Derby winners have produced upsets and unlikely winners this year further solidifying Eskendereya as the top choice of horse race betting enthusiasts.

2010-04-09 | Jim Murphy

Liverpool has struggled away from home all season, and for that reason there was little concern after the English Premier League team dropped the first leg of their Europa League quarterfinal set in Portugal. Liverpool rewarded their supporters’ calm with a dominating home performance on Thursday as they ripped Benfica 4-1 to advance to the semifinals with a 5-3 aggregate margin. Liverpool will now face Spain’s Atletico Madrid for the right to advance to the finals.

2010-04-08 | Jim Murphy

The Toronto Raptors were ‘two time losers’ against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They lost the game 113-101 to the NBA’s best team. More significantly, they lost leading scorer Chris Bosh to a nasty facial fracture that required surgery. Bosh’s status for the rest of the remaining regular season schedule and the playoffs is unknown at this time, but the team is expected to update his condition and prognosis in the next 24 hours.

2010-04-05 | Jim Murphy

When Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney injured his ankle in last week’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, the entire British Commonwealth held their breath. He’s not only the defending English Premier League champions’ top offensive weapon but was expected to spearhead the attack of England’s World Cup team this summer. There was great relief when it was revealed to be only ‘ligament damage’ that would have Rooney out of the lineup for 3 to 6 weeks. This weekend, however, there was a shocking development—sources close to the team suggest that Rooney is ‘40% likely’ to return for Wednesday’s rematch with Bayern Munich.

2010-04-05 | Jim Murphy

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Manchester United. Off of a loss in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal matchup with Bayern Munich—in which they lost striker Wayne Rooney to injury—Man U has now lost the Premiership lead in a defeat to their arch rivals Chelsea. They were thoroughly outplayed by Chelsea in the first half of Saturday’s game, but it took a controversial Deider Drogba goal late in the game to provide the final 2-1 margin of victory.

2010-04-05 | Jim Murphy

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame will announce their new inductees on Monday, and among those receiving the sport’s top honor will be a couple of former NBA superstars and an influential owner. Utah Jazz great Karl Malone, the Chicago Bulls’ Scottie Pippen and Los Angeles Lakers’ owner Jerry Buss will be announced as three of the Hall of Fame’s newest members at a press conference in Indianapolis in conjunction with the NCAA Final Four.

2010-03-31 | Jim Murphy

Manchester United scored just two minutes into their Champions League quarterfinal game with German side Bayern Munich, but were dominated the rest of the way. Things really fell apart for the English Premier League leaders as the game drew to a close. Munich tied the game at the 76 minute mark, and then nailed the winning goal in injury time as Man U’s superstar striker Wayne Rooney lay injured on the field. The 2-1 victory gives Bayern Munich a margin for error as the series shifts to Old Trafford for the second leg next week.

2010-03-29 | Jim Murphy

Despite a late race flat tire that necessitated an unplanned pit stop, Denny Hamlin raced like a madman down the stretch and took the checkered flag at Monday’s Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 NASCAR race at West Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway. The race had been originally scheduled for Sunday, but was moved to Monday due to torrential rains. It was Hamlin’s third career victory on the oldest track on the NASCAR circuit.

2010-03-29 | Jim Murphy

UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre once again demonstrated why he’s considered by many to be the best ‘pound for pound’ fighter in the sport on Saturday night as he dominated tough Brit Dan Hardy wire to wire to earn a lopsided unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC 111. A powerful striker known for his wild Mohawk haircut and cocky attitude, Hardy spent most of the fight on his back or in painful submission holds which he somehow survived to go the distance. It was GSP’s fourth defense of his title, with each one more impressive than the last.

2010-03-29 | Jim Murphy

In the classic Paul Newman hockey film ‘Slap Shot’, the fictional Charlestown Chiefs struggle to keep their team afloat in a dying ‘Rust Belt’ city. Newman’s character, Reggie Dunlop, starts a rumor that the team is moving to Florida to motivate his players. At the end of the film, however, the owner folds the Chiefs as a tax write off. Now the real life team that inspired the movie is experiencing much of the same—the Johnstown (Pennsylvania) Chiefs are moving south to Greenville, South Carolina.

2010-03-22 | Jim Murphy

Josh Barnett has kept a low profile in the MMA world ever since his failed drug test last summer set in motion a chain of events that led to the demise of Affliction’s MMA promotional efforts. He’s still appealing that ruling, but in the meantime has stayed out of the public eye for the most part. Aside from a couple of pro wrestling matches in Japan for Antonio Inoki’s IGF promotion, he’s been out of action completely. He made his long awaited return to MMA competition on Monday in Yokohama, Japan with a one sided submission victory over K-1 veteran Siala-Mou "Mighty Mo" Siligia in the semifinal match at DREAM 13.

2010-03-22 | Jim Murphy

When Cleveland Cavaliers backup center Zydrunas Ilgauskas was traded to the Washington Wizards in mid February, most observers felt that he’d wind up back with his old club once the NBA mandated 30 day period had elapsed. The Cavs received talented forward Antawn Jamison in return, though the Wizards quickly worked out a buyout deal with Ilgauskas. Despite overtures from several NBA teams, Ilgauskas has remained unsigned but that should change within the next day or so—if not sooner—and he’ll be back in Cleveland as soon as Tuesday.

2010-03-17 | Jim Murphy

During his tenure at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho never lost an English Premier League home game. After leaving the team in a conflict with management and taking over Italian Serie A side Inter Milan, he’s still got the magic touch on the pitch. Leading 2-1 from the opening leg victory in Milan, Inter needed only a draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to advance in Champions League play. They did even better, as Samuel Eto'o scored late in the game to give Inter Milan a 1-0 victory in the game and emphatically eliminate Mourinho’s former club from the tournament.

2010-03-17 | Jim Murphy

Before performing surgery on David Beckham’s injured Achilles’ Tendon, Dr. Sakari Orava suggested that there was a remote possibility he could return in time for England’s World Cup bid. After the 50 minute operation, he reserved his initial assessment and confirmed that there was no possibility for the former England captain to return to action so soon. The new prognosis means that a best case scenario for Beckham is to recover in time to play in some of the LA Galaxy’s MLS games.

2010-03-17 | Jim Murphy

A frequent complaint of college basketball fans is that some teams pad their record with painfully easy non-conference schedules. No one is saying that about Arkansas-Pine Bluff. After starting the season 0-11 against a downright brutal non-conference schedule, they recovered to win the SWAC Championship. Their persistence has been rewarded with a NCAA tournament date against #1 seeded Duke, earned by virtue of a 61-44 victory over Winthrop in the play-in game held in Dayton, Ohio.

2010-03-15 | Jim Murphy

While Manny Pacquiao wasn’t able to close the show with a crowd pleasing knockout, his domination of Joshua Clottey at Cowboys’ Stadium on Saturday night couldn’t have been more complete. Panama’s answer to the Warner Brothers’ ‘Tasmanian Devil’ came very close to pitching a twelve round shutout en route to an easy unanimous decision victory. The official scorecards read 119-109, 119-109 and 120-108. Boxing and MMA news website THE SAVAGE SCIENCE had the fight scored 119-108, giving Clottey the 12th and final round.

2010-03-15 | Jim Murphy

David Beckham has been ruled out of the 2010 World Cup following a torn Achilles tendon, and his career beyond that is currently in doubt. The former England captain suffered the injury in the closing minutes of AC Milan’s home game against Chievo Verona on Sunday. A visibly shaken Beckham left the San Siro on crutches and will reportedly fly to Finland for medical treatment early this week.

2010-03-15 | Jim Murphy

Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, horse racing’s two super fillies, have been in a dance around each other and toward each other for the past year as if they were heavyweight prize fighters. The comparisons are inevitable, but the 2009 Horse of the Year (Rachel) and runner up (Zenyatta) have yet to face each other on a racetrack. Both had been entered in the April 9th Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn—with a $5 million purse at stake apropos of such an epic encounter. On Sunday, however, Rachel Alexandra’s management announced that they wouldn’t be running at the Apple Blossom after all.

2010-03-12 | Jim Murphy

It hasn’t been a good week for Liverpool supporters. Already smarting from an upset loss to relegation candidate Wigan in English Premier League action, Liverpool opened their Europa League quarterfinal series against Lille with a 1-0 loss in France. It was Liverpool’s first loss in their past six visits to France and left the team in the hole for the second half of the aggregate score series to take place at Anfield next Thursday.

2010-03-12 | Jim Murphy

English Premier League entrant Fulham was hoping to emerge from their Thursday quarterfinal matchup against Juventus at Stadio Olimpico di Turin in good shape to advance to the semifinals. Juvie had struggled at home of late, and a confident Fulham side hoped to add to these woes. It didn’t quite work out that way, however, as Juventus scored just nine minutes in and led 3-1 at halftime. Fulham was unable to cut into that margin after the break leaving them with a two goal deficit heading into the second half of the aggregate score series back in England next week.

2010-03-12 | Jim Murphy

There was some trepidation among Arsenal fans as the Gunners headed into the home half of their Champions League showdown with FC Porto. They were behind 2-1 on the aggregate score after a loss in Portugal, and the team hadn’t been able to overcome a first leg deficit in European Cup action since 1978. Any concern quickly proved to be unwarranted as Arsenal came out blazing and destroyed FC Porto 5-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.

2010-03-11 | Jim Murphy

After winning the first leg of their Champion’s League series with AC Milan 3-2 at the San Siro last week, Manchester United had a margin for error as they returned home for the rematch. They didn’t need it—Wayne Rooney scored twice as Man U easily advanced to the next round with a 4-0 destruction of Milan. Rooney had scored two goals in the first leg of the matchup as well, further enhancing his growing reputation as one of the best offensive players in European soccer.