April 5, 2009

White Sox Opening Day postponed

Per MLB.com, the Chicago White Sox have postponed their Opening Day game against the Kansas City Royals due to predicted snow accumulation anywhere from 1-to-4 inches during the hours before the game. The pitching rotations will not be altered for the Sox, Mark Buehrle will still make his seventh Opening Day start to tie franchise leader Billy Pierce. Opening Day will occur on Tuesday at 1:05 p.m CT.

The Twitterverse is buzzing about the game being snowed out:

  1. davegolbitz
    oyboy (Omaha, Nebraska) Not that I necessarily care about the White Sox (or the the Royals), but it's the principle. Opening Day should not be snowed out.
  2. bsleet
    bsleet (Chicago, Illinois) Chitown does it again with snow cancelling White Sox opening day... hope the IOC is gone
  3. Colleen Marie
    Coll_aka_Aubrey (Chicago, Illinois) ugh stupid weather! they already canceled the White Sox opening day game tomorrow! grrr! i loveee me some baseball! especially my white sox!
  4. Katherine Toole
    DetTigerfan22 (Detroit, Michigan) The White Sox home opener is postponed. Can you imagine the chaos of having to push back opening day? I don't envy them.
  5. Curt Mercadante
    curtmercadante (Chicago, Illinois) White Sox opening day cancelled due to winter weather? C'mon, guys, it's Chicago! Play the game!
  6. Sujal
    UtesFan89 (Salt Lake City, Utah) Hm... Royals/White Sox game for tomorrow postponed. Talking about a disappointing opening day for some fans.
  7. sarah_walavich
    sarah_walavich (Chicago, Illinois) I'm THRILLED that the Blackhawks just won, but [expletive], postponing WHite Sox opening day is sooooo not conducive to my schedule right now.




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Louisville, UConn advance to first all Big East championship game

Per ESPN.com, the Louisville Cardinals women's basketball team defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 61-59 Sunday night to advance to the championship game.

Louisville was down 12 points at halftime but got a boost from Angel McCoughtry who scored 14 of 18 points in the second half along with 11 rebounds. The Cards got back in the game with a 15-1 run while the Sooners' shooting percentage went down to 26.9 percent in the second half.

Louisville ended the career of four-time All-American Courtney Paris who is the NCAA's all time best rebounder and the first player to block at least 100 shots in her four years at Oklahoma.

Paris promised if the Sooners failed to reach the championship game, she would pay back her four-year-scholarship. She ends her collegiate career without ever playing in a national championship game.

Per ESPN.com, Connecticut defeated Stanford 83-64 to continue the Huskies' perfect season and advance to its first title game in five years.

Renee Montgomery scored 26 points and Maya Moore added 24 for the Huskies' easy win over the Cardinal. UConn is vying for its third undefeated season and sixth national championship.

Fans twittered their reactions to the game:

  1. Tara Daniels
    Husker_tj Watched the Oklahoma women lose to Louisville. C. Paris of OU promised to pay back her tuition if OU didn't win the Championship. CHECK!!
  2. Brian Wilkey
    bnwilk01 At least the Louisville women made it to the NCAA title game...GO CARDS!!!
  3. Keegan Smith
    guitarbassfire Louisville scares me. Seeing the same team three times is never good.
  4. Tim Moore
    Sundance09 Louisville v UConn. Will third time be charm for UofL?
  5. Brent Marshall
    Webbman The UConn ladies team is awesome. They just gave Stanford a beatdown. I don't see them even getting slowed down by Louisville. We'll see...
  6. ryanoneil
    ryanoneil Sometimes, being a fan of the UConn women's basketball team feels like rooting for Google. #uconn #finalfour #awesome
  7. Jules
    Julesty Way to go L'ville...wanted Standford to win but I guess Uconn will do I'll watch the game between them but don't care who wins
  8. Cyteria
    CoCoGurl87 UCONN does it again, I thought the game was gonna be a close one but the Huskies never cease to amaze me


Louisville will face UConn in its first appearance in the championship game on Tuesday, April 7 at 8:30 ET. This game marks the first all-Big East final in NCAA women's basketball history.


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Braves beat defending champs on Opening Night

On a night of celebration at Citizens Bank Park, the Philadelphia Phillies could not build on the momentum of their World Series run from last October. Per the Philly.com, the Atlanta Braves beat the reigning MLB champions 4-1 on Opening Night of the 2009 Major League Baseball season.

Newly acquired Braves pitcher Derek Lowe threw 8 shutout innings giving up only 2 hits and striking out 4, while Braves veteran third baseman Chipper Jones went 2 for 4 with a double.

The Phillies went a combined 4 for 31 at the plate with 6 strikeouts. In 6.0 innings, starting pitcher Brett Myers gave up 4 earned runs on 8 hits, 3 of them going for home runs. Despite bringing the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, the Phillies offensive woes continued as Raul Ibanez struck out swinging to end the game.

Twitterers from Philadelphia and Atlanta shared their thoughts on the season opener for these NL East rivals:

  1. Karen Smith
    kesmith Braves vs. Phillies. Currently living in South Philly, its best to hide the fact that I was raised a Braves fan.
  2. jeffsalkowski
    jeffsalkowski i'm almost glad the phillies are losing this game. at least all the bandwagon jumpers will give up now
  3. Ryan Rauber
    smelltheglove @retrophisch Braves are looking awfully good in this pre-opening day game. :)
  4. Chandler Epp
    chandlerepp Looks like it's gonna be a great start to the season. For now, at least... #braves
  5. Katherine
    katherine77 Huh. Are the Braves this good, or are the Phillies this bad?


One twitterer posted a picture from inside Citizens Bank Park during pre-game festivities:























(Posted by @andrewrosenthal, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa., on April 5, 2009.)



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Briscoe wins race, but Patrick's crash draws attention

Per TampaBay.com, Ryan Briscoe won the Honda Grand Prix on Sunday in St. Petersburg, Fla. It marked his first IRL win of the season.

This photo by @airimie was taken just before the race started.



@gtrspeed provided another look from pit lane with this TwitPic.



Fans were quick to congratulate Briscoe on strong start to the racing season.

  1. Aaron Musick
    AaronMusick Congrats to Ryan Briscoe winning the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersberg! Was great to see him win! Hope Helio's back for Long Beach!
  2. Hazen
    Hazen Congrats to Ryan Briscoe on winning a great Indycar race at St. Pete...wish the SuperFans had been there to see it!

Despite Briscoe's win, however, the majority of attention on Twitter and other sports news sites was Danica Patrick's crash with Raphael Matos, per ESPN.com. As a result, Patrick finished 19th and Matos 20th in the 22-car field, and both drivers were left pointing fingers at each other. Racing fans on Twitter, however, were pretty clear who they thought was to blame.

  1. Johnathon Newton
    Johnathon_King Ryan Briscoe wins the IndyCar Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Danica Patrick is an idiot.
  2. Steve Young
    bluejayrock Hey ESPN, I no longer consider Danica Patrick crashing out of a race to be deserving of special mention
  3. Erikson Conkling
    DemTribune08 Just a quick observation about Danica Patrick: I love the fire in her belly, but does she have to throw a hissy every time she crashes out?
  4. Allyson M. W. Dyar
    Allyson13 As much as I like Danica Patrick, she needs to chill and win some races



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Cavs return home to crush Spurs

Eager to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers dismantled the San Antonio Spurs 101-81.

From Yahoo! Sports, The Cavaliers bounced back from a dismal 29-point loss in Orlando, and league's best home team improved its home record to 38-1.

LeBron James (@real_lebron) finished with 38 points, and Mo Williams and Delonte West added 22 each. Tony Parker scored 24, but got little help from teammates Manu Ginobili (@manuginobili) or Tim Duncan.

Across Twitter, Cav fans expressed as much relief as they did joy over the win.

  1. Morgan Puskas
    morganlee0214 Woohoo my #Cavs won! =) Mo Williams was amazing! And of course LeBron!
  2. Jim Fisher
    jimfisher Cavs back on track with solid win over Spurs. Guard play was excellent.
  3. Frank Fiorta
    Fiorta Cavs won. Nice. It was looking shaky there for a few games.

The playoffs loom large, and the Cavaliers hold home-court advantage at the moment. Playing at home could be key for Cleveland; the Cavs are 0-2 this season at Boston and Orlando, the two teams within striking distance in the standings of Cleveland.

  1. Brian White
    ColumbusSports Cavs road record this year against Lakers, Celtics and Magic: 0-5. Think home court advantage won't be vital for them to get?
  2. Mark Szczepanik
    Szczepanik The last three games prove how critical it is that the #cavs get home-court throughout.




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Featured TwitPic: Murray vs. Djokovic from 'the cheap seats'


"View from the cheap seats. Murray up 5-1 first set." (Posted by @daveroark, Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, Fla., April 5, 2009)


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Late goal sends Liverpool to top of Premier League

Liverpool needed every bit of time to get the job done against Fulham, but Yossi Benayoun's goal in injury time gave the Reds a much-needed 1-0 victory and kept the team's league title hopes alive.

Per ESPN's Soccernet, Liverpool dominated play in the first half but squandered one chance after another to put the ball past goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. On four separate occassions, Liverpool's efforts were denied by the woodworking before Benayoun's right-footed strike placed the Reds atop the Premier League.

Fans of the boys from Anfield were singing the team's praises across Twitter.

  1. Ed Lee
    edlee and here is THAT goal from yossi benayoun that sent the red half of liverpool absolutely crazy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO9_Mvc8Q1w
  2. Dan Copeland
    Copelandinho I Love Liverpool FC and Yossi Bennayoun coming straight out of Bethlehem
  3. Declan ONeill
    declanon Fulham 0-1 Liverpool -- Yossi Benayoun you little dancer.
  4. Jimi Olaghere
    olagherej Oh liverpool fc, you got my heart racing. Good job yossi!!

With the victory, Liverpool now leads Manchester United by two points and Chelsea by three. The Red Devils, however, still have two games in hand over the other two squads and can take back the top spot with a win over Aston Villa.

  1. DoctorRif
    DoctorRif Manchester United are feeling the pressure...of aaaalll those really heavy trophies that we're going to have to carry around.
  2. MikeMoffo
    MikeMoffo After the big Liverpool win today, we're definitely tuning in to Manchester United vs. Aston Villa tomorrow. COME ON VILLANS!!
  3. AVWENAGHA EDESIRI
    edesco4christ DO I REALLY CARE ABOUT MANCHESTER UNITED'S GAME TODAY? CERTAINLY, THEY WILL BE UNDER PRESSURE TO PERFORM TODAY. WOW!!!
  4. Mark Bridge
    peyotemusic Is still celebrating Liverpool being top of the table, come on Villa do us a favour!!!!!



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