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. 
   kesmith Braves vs. Phillies. Currently living in South Philly, its best to hide the fact that I was raised a Braves fan. 06 Apr 2009 from web
2. 
   jeffsalkowski i'm almost glad the phillies are losing this game. at least all the bandwagon jumpers will give up now 06 Apr 2009 from web
3. 
   smelltheglove @retrophisch Braves are looking awfully good in this pre-opening day game. :) 06 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck in reply to retrophisch
4. 
   chandlerepp Looks like it's gonna be a great start to the season. For now, at least... #braves 06 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck
5. 
   katherine77 Huh. Are the Braves this good, or are the Phillies this bad? 06 Apr 2009 from web

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.)

Braves beat defending champs on Opening Night

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. 
   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! 05 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck
2. 
   Hazen Congrats to Ryan Briscoe on winning a great Indycar race at St. Pete...wish the SuperFans had been there to see it! 05 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

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_King Ryan Briscoe wins the IndyCar Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Danica Patrick is an idiot. 05 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck
2. 
   bluejayrock Hey ESPN, I no longer consider Danica Patrick crashing out of a race to be deserving of special mention 05 Apr 2009 from TwitterFox
3. 
   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? 05 Apr 2009 from web
4. 
   Allyson13 As much as I like Danica Patrick, she needs to chill and win some races 05 Apr 2009 from web

Briscoe wins race, but Patrick's crash draws attention

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. 
   morganlee0214 Woohoo my #Cavs won! =) Mo Williams was amazing! And of course LeBron! 05 Apr 2009 from TwitterBerry
2. 
   jimfisher Cavs back on track with solid win over Spurs. Guard play was excellent. 05 Apr 2009 from mobile web
3. 
   Fiorta Cavs won. Nice. It was looking shaky there for a few games. 05 Apr 2009 from web

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. 
   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? 04 Apr 2009 from twhirl
2. 
   Szczepanik The last three games prove how critical it is that the #cavs get home-court throughout. 05 Apr 2009 from web

Cavs return home to crush Spurs

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)

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

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. 
   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 04 Apr 2009 from web
2. 
   Copelandinho I Love Liverpool FC and Yossi Bennayoun coming straight out of Bethlehem 05 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck
3. 
   declanon Fulham 0-1 Liverpool -- Yossi Benayoun you little dancer. 05 Apr 2009 from TwitterGadget
4. 
   olagherej Oh liverpool fc, you got my heart racing. Good job yossi!! 05 Apr 2009 from web

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 Manchester United are feeling the pressure...of aaaalll those really heavy trophies that we're going to have to carry around. 05 Apr 2009 from web
2. 
   MikeMoffo After the big Liverpool win today, we're definitely tuning in to Manchester United vs. Aston Villa tomorrow. COME ON VILLANS!! 05 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck
3. 
   edesco4christ DO I REALLY CARE ABOUT MANCHESTER UNITED'S GAME TODAY? CERTAINLY, THEY WILL BE UNDER PRESSURE TO PERFORM TODAY. WOW!!! 05 Apr 2009 from web
4. 
   peyotemusic Is still celebrating Liverpool being top of the table, come on Villa do us a favour!!!!! 05 Apr 2009 from web

Late goal sends Liverpool to top of Premier League