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środa, 5 czerwca 2013
Reprezentacja Polski w piłce nożnej zagra 2 lutego z Rumunia na stadionie w Maladze. Pierwszy sprawdzian biało-czerwonych w 2013 roku rozpocznie sie o godz. 20.45.
Rzecznik prasowy PZPN Pan Jakub Kwiatkowski zdementował swój poprzedni komunikat, jakoby „spotkanie z Rumunią będą mogli obejrzeć za darmo wszyscy chętni kibice reprezentacji”. W dzisiejszej rozmowie telefonicznej z redakcja TVHiszpania potwierdził ze organizator spotkania – Rumuński Związek Piłkarski zadecydował o płatnym wstępie na mecz w cenie 10 Euro. Bilety będzie można nabyć w kasach na stadionie.
Rzecznik prasowy PZPN Pan Jakub Kwiatkowski zdementował swój poprzedni komunikat, jakoby „spotkanie z Rumunią będą mogli obejrzeć za darmo wszyscy chętni kibice reprezentacji”. W dzisiejszej rozmowie telefonicznej z redakcja TVHiszpania potwierdził ze organizator spotkania – Rumuński Związek Piłkarski zadecydował o płatnym wstępie na mecz w cenie 10 Euro. Bilety będzie można nabyć w kasach na stadionie.
poniedziałek, 3 czerwca 2013
Marc Serota/Getty Images
Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson fired longtime agent Drew Rosenhaus on Sunday; for those of you who have “Didn’t want to pay him the money that he owes” in your office’s “Why will DeSean Jackson sever ties with Drew Rosenhaus?” pool, it looks like you’re going to be splitting the pot with whoever has “To work with Jay-Z”. Congrats!
As Rosenhaus learned firsthand, one great way to torpedo a business relationship is to request the agreed-upon remuneration for a service that has been provided. But that’s not the only way to go about it. Just or not, athletes will always find cause if they want to move on—and as these examples prove, it could be anything from failing to land sponsors to not being their mom.
Josh Reddick and the A’s have won 14 of their past 16 games to move into a playoff spot. (AP)
Don’t look now, but the Oakland A’s are the hottest team in baseball. On Sunday they snapped White Sox ace Chris Sale’s streak of 28 consecutive scoreless innings with a 2-0 victory, thus completing a three-game sweep and winning their 14th game out of their last 16. Thanks to that run, they’re positioned for another return to the postseason; at 34-24, Oakland leads the AL wild-card race and is second in the AL West behind the Rangers, just two games back.
What’s at least somewhat surprising — and yet so characteristic of general manager Billy Beane’s club — is that the A’s are getting it done while being led by a different cast of characters than last year. Of their five top hitters (in terms of OPS+) from the 2012 division winners, both Jonny Gomes and Chris Carter are now playing elsewhere, while Yoenis Cespedes (.224/.299/.448) and Josh Reddick (.165/.273/.262) have been slowed by injuries; the former missed the latter half of April with a left thumb injury, while the latter lost most of May to a right wrist sprain. Despite those setbacks, the team still ranks sixth in the league in scoring (4.67 runs per game) while playing in pitcher-friendly Oakland Coliseum.
Perhaps not surprisingly given the organization’s ahead-of-the-curve emphasis on on-base percentage, the A’s are third in the league in that category (.333) and first in walk rate (10.6 percent) despite ranking just ninth in batting average (.247). Of their 13 players with at least 80 plate appearances, nine have OBPs above the league average of .322, and with 2012 AL Manager of the Year Bob Melvin once again platooning and otherwise juggling players due to injuries, they’ve gotten OBPs of at least .339 from six of the nine positions.
Tops among the A’s hitters have been a trio who figured prominently in Sunday’s win. Josh Donaldson (.319/.392/.529 with eight homers) hit the sixth-inning sacrifice fly that ended Sale’s streak. Scoring on that play and again in the eighth inning was Coco Crisp (.284/.387/.477), who dashed home from first base on a hit-and-run play with Jed Lowrie (.314/.392/.441) at the plate, aided by an error by White Sox centerfielder Jordan Danks.
Donaldson is the team’s regular third baseman. Lowrie, who was acquired from the Astros in a trade for Carter, has shared time at shortstop and second base with Eric Sogard and Adam Rosales, both of whom are better fielders. Crisp has shared centerfield with Cespedes and Chris Young as well as rotating through the designated hitter slot where Seth Smith (.278/.355/.443) has been the top contributor when he’s not patching the outfield. Thanks to Melvin’s mixing-and-matching, which also includes productive platoons at catcher (Derek Norris and John Jaso) and first base (Brandon Moss and Nate Freiman), A’s hitters have had the platoon advantage in 67 percent of their plate appearances, second in the league behind the Indians’ 69 percent. Oakland’s righty hitters have faced lefty pitchers in a league-high 27 percent of their total PA while producing a league-best 842 OPS under such circumstances via a .279/.385/.457 line.
Melvin’s charges haven’t sacrificed defense in the name of offense; the team ranks third in the league in defensive efficiency (.706), helping to offset the staff’s subpar strikeout rate (7.3 per nine). Overall, they rank seventh in the league in run prevention (4.12 per game), but that’s more on the strength of their bullpen than their rotation. Closer Grant Balfour, lefties Jerry Blevins and Sean Doolittle and righties Ryan Cook and Pat Neshek lead a unit that has produced the league’s best ERA (2.80), helping the team win 25 out of 26 games in which it has led after six innings, about three wins above expectations given the AL average winning percentage of .849 in such instances.
Melvin hasn’t had to juggle his rotation to the same extent as last year, when seven different pitchers made at least 13 starts and nine made at least six. Aside from the season-opening PED suspension of Bartolo Colon and injuries that have limited Brett Anderson to five starts, the unit has been intact all season, with Colon, A.J. Griffin, Tommy Milone and Jarrod Parker all taking the ball 11 or 12 times thus far. The starters are just 10th in the league in ERA (4.36), with Colon (3.33 ERA, 120 ERA+) the only one who’s been better than average. The rotund 40-year-old righty continues to pound the strike zone with uncanny consistency; he has a 42-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio and has delivered quality starts in all but two of his 11 turns.
Meanwhile, Griffin and Milone (both 4.04 ERA, 99 ERA+) have been close enough to average for government work, and Parker has delivered a 2.41 ERA over his last five starts, compared to a 7.34 mark across his first seven. On the whole, the unit’s 57 percent quality start rate is third in the league; they’re keeping the A’s in games far more often than not.
Melvin will have to hope that Griffin, Milone and Parker can curb their homer-prone ways, because unlike last summer, it doesn’t appear as though Anderson will be riding to the rescue anytime soon. He went on the DL with a right ankle sprain on May 1, a day after pitching 5 1/3 innings in relief in a 19-inning marathon from which he had originally been scrapped as a starter. After experiencing soreness in the same foot during a rehab stint in mid-May, he was diagnosed with a stress fracture that will at least cost him most of June and could require surgery; via an update on his status in the San Francisco Chronicle, Susan Slusser noted, “Experts estimate that athletes with foot stress fractures need surgery in more than 50 percent of cases.”
As for the key injuries on the offensive side, Cespedes and Reddick may be regaining their strokes. The former recently reeled off a 12-game hitting streak and is batting .274/.366/.500 over his last 15 games, numbers more or less in line with last year’s outstanding rookie showing. The latter returned to the lineup on Friday and collected three hits in the weekend series, including a double.
Just over one-third of the way through the season, the Oakland has benefitted from a bit of a soft schedule, going 9-0 against the Astros and 5-1 against the Angels but 20-23 against everyone else. A look at the expanded standings at Baseball-Reference.com shows that the A’s are actually just 11-19 against teams with records of .500 or above, compared to 23-5 agains those below .500. With 10 of their next 13 games against losing teams (the Brewers, White Sox and Mariners) the smooth ride may continue for a while, but eventually the A’s are going to have to show that they can hang with the tough teams while walking over the doormats. In the meantime, they’re again one of the game’s more surprising and fascinating teams
LeBron James was sensational in Game 7 of the 2012 Eastern Conference finals. (Issac Baldizon/Getty Images)
Monday night’s contest between the Heat and Pacers will mark just the fourth Game 7 of LeBron James’ 10-year career.
Here’s a quick side-by-side statistical look at how James has fared in his previous Game 7s compared to Bulls guard Michael Jordan and Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, plus Game 7 career highlights and lowlights for all three players.
Game 7 Highlights
Michael Jordan: MJ famously never needed a Finals Game 7 to secure his six championships. His 42-point outburst against the Knicks in the 1992 Eastern Conference semifinals pushed the Bulls into the Eastern Conference finals, where they defeated the Cavaliers in six games. From there, Chicago defeated Portland in the 1992 Finals to repeat as champions for the second title of Jordan’s career.
Jason Kidd made the All-Star team in 10 of his 19 seasons. (Paul K Buck/AFP)
Ten-time All-Star Jason Kidd retired Monday after 19 NBA seasons.
The 40-year-old Kidd, who signed a three-year, $9.3 million with the Knicks last summer, announced his decision in a statement released by the organization.
“My time in professional basketball has been an incredible journey, but one that must come to an end after 19 years,” Kidd said. “As I reflect on my time with the four teams I represented in the NBA, I look back fondly at every season and thank each every one of my teammates and coaches that joined me on the court.”
Kidd, the No. 2 pick in the 1994 draft after earning All-America honors as a sophomore at Cal, played for the Mavericks, Suns, Nets and Knicks. The 1995 co-Rookie of the Year finishes with career averages of 12.6 points, 8.7 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals. Kidd made the All-NBA first or second team six times and the All-Defensive team nine times. He also won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2000 and 2008 Olympics and he received the NBA’s sportsmanship award twice.
“I think it is the right time,” Kidd told ESPNNewYork.com. “When you think about 19 years, it has been a heckuva ride. Physically, I want to be able to participate in activities with my kids, so it has taken a toll. It is time to move on and think about maybe coaching or doing some broadcasting.”
Regarded as one of the greatest all-around point guards in NBA history, Kidd ranks No. 2 all time in assists and steals, trailing only Jazz Hall of Fame guard John Stockton in both categories. He won the 2011 championship with the Mavericks and went to the 2002 and 2003 Finals with the Nets. Kidd leaves the NBA having earned more than $187 million in contracts.
“Anybody who wants to learn to play point guard should study Jason Kidd,” former NBA point guard Mike Bibby told Sports Illustrated in 2000. “Nobody does everything a point guard needs to do as well as he does.”
“Jason’s value to the Knicks and the National Basketball Association cannot be quantified by statistics alone,” Knicks GM Glen Grunwald said in a statement. “Everyone here in New York saw firsthand what a tremendous competitor he is and why Jason is considered to be one of the best point guards, and leaders, the game has ever seen.”
Kidd, one of the NBA’s oldest players this season, averaged six points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 76 games. He went scoreless in the Knicks’ final 10 playoff games, shooting 0-of-17 in that stretch. He told ESPNNewYork.com that those struggles didn’t influence his decision.
“[I] didn’t come into the league as a shooter or scorer and I guess I won’t be leaving as one,” Kidd said. “I just tried to play the game the right way. As you get older, Father Time is undefeated. The ball just wouldn’t go in for me at the end. I thought I had a great season.”
Kidd’s announcement comes two days after Grant Hill, with whom Kidd shared the 1995 Rookie of the Year award, announced his retirement. Miami’s Juwan Howard is now the only active player from the 1994 draft, which had a top five of Glenn Robinson (who retired in 2005), Kidd, Hill, Donyell Marshall (who retired in 2009) and Howard.
Victor Oladipo made huge strides on offense as a junior at Indiana last season. (Andrew Hancock/SI)
Victor Oladipo is coming off perhaps the best junior breakout season since UConn’s Kemba Walker exploded back in 2010-11. Already well established as a lockdown perimeter defender, Oladipo made huge strides on the offensive side of the ball this past season, and that has catapulted him high into the lottery — possibly as high as the No. 2 overall pick.
It’s easy to look at Oladipo’s progression from three-point range as a barometer of his expanded game. After making just 18-of-74 threes in his first two seasons, Oladipo knocked down 30-of-68 (44.1 percent) this past season, and showed the ability to make pressure ones, like the one that iced the Round of 32 NCAA tournament win over Temple. Of course, NBA shooting guards have to be able to shoot from deep, but Oladipo brings so much more to the table than that, both in transition and in halfcourt sets.
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