You may have heard of Bryce Harper - he's the kid that's looking to skip his final two years of high school in order to enroll in junior college and get his MLB baseball career underway ahead of schedule.
If you missed the Sports Illustrated article on this kid, all you need to see is the home run show he put on during the 2009 Power Showcase in Tampa to see what this phenom can do.
When I look back at the 2009 U.S. Open my first thought won’t be of Phil Mickelson’s mission for Amy, or Ricky Barnes’ final-round collapse.
I won’t marvel at Lucas Glover’s 18-hole high-wire act, Farmingdale, Long Island’s biblical weather, or Tiger Woods’ inability to make even half of the putts he’s used to during a major.
Instead, my memory of June 22, 2009 will begin with the re-emergence of a golfer whose presence hadn’t been felt on tour since 2001 – David Duval.
Despite playing the first three holes of his final round four over par, the one-time world’s number one managed to turn his fortunes around.
Before letting +4 for the day turn into +10, the 6-foot tall Jacksonville, FL native re-gathered himself and birdied the par-5 fourth.
Fast-forward a few hours and all of a sudden three straight birdies on 14, 15, and 16 gave Duval a shot at his second major championship
Pitching and defense – that was how North Carolina was supposed to slay the mighty East Carolina lineup.
With all nine players in the Pirates’ lineup sporting .300 averages, and two-thirds of them boasting OBPs of over .400, the Tar Heels weren’t supposed to be able to outscore the Conference USA champs.
But that’s exactly what Mike Fox’s team did – and it wasn’t the usual suspects doing most of the damage.
Fox admitted after the game that the North Carolina offensive philosophy consists mainly of making sure the other seven guys are on base for future MLB first round pick Dustin Ackley and fellow standout Kyle Seager.
If you were to look at the box scores from Carolina’s super regional sweep over ECU, however, the bottom of the order was doing quite a bit of damage, not just the usual suspects at the top.
“That’s what it takes in the playoffs,” Ackley said. “You
For a pitcher that many think will hear his name called within the first few minutes of the 2009 MLB draft, Alex White had a lot of questions surrounding his Saturday start against East Carolina.
Would the 6-foot-3 junior return to form after consecutive outings that saw him allow 13 earned runs in just seven innings against Virginia and Coastal Carolina?
Could the Greenville native put the mental side of facing his hometown team aside in time to avenge his poor 2007 postseason start against the Pirates that saw the righty give up seven runs in five innings?
Would his ailing hamstring and the blister on his pitching hand heal enough to allow Carolina’s stud hurler to be the pitcher the Heels need him to be?
After throwing 8.1 innings of one-run ball in his team’s Game 1 win of this weekend’s Super Regional, the answers to those questions were a resounding “yes.”
Fox gave his stud a chance to get one more out in front of the crowd, and he delivered with a strike out.
Not much else to say about Alex White - 8.1 innings, one run, and 12 K's to put your team one win away from the College World Series - not bad.
Bot 8 - Seager having a monster day:
The Heels' third baseman is 4-5 with a home run, a run scored and two RBIs on the day.
His blast over the right field wall didn't do much to change the outcome - it's now 10-1 Heels - but it's hard to tell a kid not to try when he's in front of his home crowd in the NCAA Super Regional.
Top 8 - ECU sick of Alex White:
If there is anything good about today's game for the Pirates, it's that they won't have to face White again this seaosn.
What a performance by the Heels' starter - after looking as though he might be gone after five innings or so, he tosses eight
Chad LaRose positions himself for a shot on goal. Photo by Mike Hurst.
Now that the Hurricanes’ season had come to an end, it’s already time for Caniacs to start contemplating the decisions the team faces in the offseason.
Here are a few things, in no particular order of importance, that will keep Jim Rutherford and his staff busy over the next few months:
1.) Rod Brind’Amour:
Say what you will about Brind’Amour’s numbers, the most important thing that he brings is measured in exactly one letter, as in the letter “C” that is sewn onto the front of his jersey.
The captain’s regular season numbers weren’t fantastic and his postseason stats were a step down from that, but his value to a team comes in the form of leadership.
That being said, you wonder if Brind’Amour will call it quits. The 20-year veteran will turn 39 in August and given the amount of abuse he puts his body through to be one of the most fit guys in the league, he may decide
Eric Staal and Sergei Samsonov celebrate the Staal goal. Photo by Mike Hurst.
When the Carolina Hurricanes lost to Pittsburgh Tuesday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, it marked the end of the team’s 2008-2009 season.
But while it might be hard for the players, coaches, and even some of the fans to digest right now, the conclusion is hardly a disappointing one.
Several months ago, the Canes were listless, losing and lacking for a head coach.
After a stretch of four losses in five games to end the month of November, the franchise decided it was time for a change behind the bench.
It was then that team President and General Manager Jim Rutherford summoned his inner George Steinbrenner and hired Paul Maurice, the very man he fired as a head coach just five years ago, and, after getting canned by interim Maple Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher in May of 2008, a guy that was relieved of his duties for the second time in three years.
Needless to say, the move didn’t instill much confidence.
Even though the Canes are down three games to none in the Eastern Conference finals, don’t expect Carolina to fold.
“It’s a new opportunity for us, really,” said team captain Rod Brind’Amour.
“We know we’re not going to roll over, nobody rolls over. When we’ve had to win, we’ve come up with games…we don’t have a tomorrow if we don’t. It’s a great opportunity for us to stand up and make a stand.”
After being down 2-1 with 80 seconds left in their season against New Jersey, and facing elimination in Game 7 on the road one round later in Boston, Paul Maurice’s players know what it’s like to face adversity, and relish the opportunity to overcome it.
“We’ve shown [the ability to come back] in these playoffs,” Eric Staal said after the Canes’ practice Monday afternoon. “We’ve shown it this season – if I was going
Everything seemed to be going right for Carolina at the beginning of Game 3 Saturday night at the RBC Center.
Matt Cullen had just put the Hurricanes up 1-0, the crowd was on its feet, and the 2-0 series deficit the team faced suddenly seemed less daunting by the second.
Minutes later, however, Patrick Eaves took a penalty for slashing Craig Adams, and suddenly, one Sergei Gonchar to Sidney Crosby to Evgeni Malkin sequence later, the game is tied at one.
Still though, you got the feeling that the Canes had some bounce in their step – if they could just stay out of the penalty box, they could make this a 2-1 series.
Then, in one fateful minute, the final minute of the first period, all of that changed.
Well, if you want to get technical, it only took 31 seconds.
First Crosby struck when he charged the net and chipped a backhand past Cam Ward off of a beautiful backhand, cross-ice, saucer pass from Bill Guerin.
Anyone who lines up to play the Pittsburgh Penguins knows that their game plan has to start with trying to limit the team’s two All-World players, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Enter the cliché “easier said than done.”
The Carolina Hurricanes began Game 2 of their Eastern Conference finals series with the Pens knowing full well what they had to do, but, quite simply, they weren’t able to do it.
“We didn’t shut them down – that’s my responsibility, Tim Gleason said after his team’s 7-4 loss. “I know it’s a team, but I take pride in what I do and we have to be stronger back there. One way or the other, we have to shut down those guys…we have to do a better job.”
After “only” allowing Crosby and Malkin to combine for three points in the Canes’ Game 1 loss Monday night, the postseason’s top two scorers tallied a total of six in Game
