USA Softball ‘08: Wins Silver or Loses Gold?

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you, the US softball team lost the gold medal this morning in Beijing to Japan.

After being tested by Japan yesterday and just squeaking out a 4 to 1 extra-inning win, the American girls lost the gold medal game to the same Japanese team 3 to 1.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not taking anything away from team Japan and what they and their star pitcher Yukiko Ueno have accomplished. After losing in 9 innings(international softball games go 7 innings) yesterday to USA, they beat Australia in another marathon match 4 to 3 in twelve innings to earn their spot in the gold medal game. Ueno not only pitched in each of the three games, but pitched every inning in Japan’s three game gold medal run.

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But if you watched the championship game you know that the US women had every opportunity to win this game and squandered each one. In the first inning the ladies from the United States had the bases loaded and failed to score a single run. After that first inning the United States offense looked flat and completely unconfident at the plate.

Japan was able to score two runs in the forth inning but Crytal Bustos did what she does and hit a opposite field home run to narrow the Japanese to one run in the button of the inning. After Bustos’ solo shot (Bustos has been dubbed the “Babe Ruth of Softball”) the US seemed to regain their confidence and in the sixth inning had the bases loaded again with only one out. But the US ladies again let a “golden” opportunity slip away with two infield pop-ups to end the sixth inning still trailing by one.

In the top of the seventh the Americans committed two errors and Japan was able to push their lead to 3 to 1. After that the US women had lost all momentum and eventually the game. The US women’s softball team had won 22 straight games before losing what might be the very last softball game played in Olympic competition.

Softball was voted out of the 2012 games by the International Olympic Committee stating that the world was not competitive enough in the sport with a select few countries, namely Australia and the United States who have won medals every year the soprt has been held in the Olympics. Australia won the bronze in Beijing and this is the first time the United States has not won the gold.

-Shawn.

Shawn’s Pre-Draft Tips: 2008 Fantasy RB’s

If you are anything like me you are gearing up for your fantasy football (FF) draft. If you are just like me then you are also gearing up for your fantasy baseball playoffs, sorry, I had to throw that in there! 

Now depending on the league you are in you have to put more of an emphasis on certain positions, and of course I am talking about the RB position. So here are 5 tips on RB’s to take into your draft.

1. Draft Tomlinson!!! Okay, this is a given but there is no doubt that LT is the most consistent RB in football and in FF consistency in that position equals wins! And even though LT has not been the top point-getter in a season ever, he is always in the top five and almost always the top RB. Plus the running back position is the hardest to find a spot start for in any given week so they draw such huge importance. Basically this tip boils down to, if LT is available then you draft him. Last season I saw a draft result where Tomlinson went 5th!?!?!? 

2. Be weary of Steven Jackson. Not only is the Las Vegas born running back in the middle of a very public hold-out which has led him to miss all of the pre-season, but the Rams offense is also suspect if you ask me. Issac Bruce is gone and now no one is going to take that double-team of Torry Holt. Holt himself is entering his 10th season and reports of a stiff back for Holt is coming out of the Rams’ camp. Quarterback Marc Bulger has a banged up knee and shoulder and is coming off the worst statistical year of his career where he threw more interceptions(15) the touchdowns(11) in 2007. The Rams ineffectiveness to spread the field will cause them to run Jackson more, but defenses won’t have to cheat on the pass and running lanes might be harder for Jackson to find.

3. In deeper leagues (20 teams or more) don’t be afraid of the “two-headed monster” when it comes to your RB’s. And in smaller leagues don’t be afraid to hand-cuff your RB’s. I have been playing FF for 6 years now and started off with a mentality that if I had the number one guy I was all good right…WRONG!!! Running back is one of those position where injuries happen all the time (except for LT)! In leagues of twelve teams or less it is not a bad idea to draft your top RB’s back up in the later rounds. Just ask Priest Holmes owners in 2004 & 2005(Larry Johnson, 2,431 yds and 29 TD’s in two years as a back-up/split-back), Fred Taylor owners in 2006 (Maurice Jones-Drew, 941 yds and 13 TD’s while technically starting only one game), and Lamont Jordan in 2007 (Justin Fargas, 1,009 yds and 4 TD’s with 7 starts). For you deep leaguers, if you have one of those dreaded late first-round picks where you feel you have to pick up a second tier RB instead of a Carson Palmer or Plaxico Burress, DON”T!!! With all the coaches going with a two running back system now-a-days, there will be plenty of backs to pick up in the second round especially if you have a snake-style draft format. Here are a few teams that could fit the bill: San Fransisco (Gore & Foster), Miami (Brown & Williams), Seattle(Jones, Duckett & Morris), Jacksonville (Taylor & Jones-Drew), Chicago (Jones & Peterson) NY Giants (Jacobs, Ward & Bradshaw) , and even Minnesota(don’t sleep on Chester Taylor, not with A. Peterson’s injury history).

4. Best late round RB sleeper.Michael Turner has always been one of those guys where you would think “if he just gets his chance.” Backing up LT those chances were slim to none, but not anymore. Turner has the reputation of being a big play back and is now the starter in Atlanta. Against the Colts, in their 2nd pre-season game, Turner was the Falcons’ offense. In the two series that he played, Turner had 4 carriers and 115 YARDS!!! Even though defences will focus in on Turner and the running game, first year head Coach Mike Smith’s smash-mouth style of football will still guaranteeTurner plenty of carries. Combine that with the fact that the Falcons took Matt Ryan with their first-round pick (third overall) shows that Coach Smith will be committed to the passing game and stretching out the field to create more running lanes for Turner. I know Turner comes with risk but that is why I call him the best sleeper, not the best player.

5. Remember when you draft the RB position you are drafting that player’s offense more so then any other position. Running backs rely on a good offense for everything. Even if the game is a blowout, quarterbacks still air-out the ball, maybe even more so, while the runnig back will often become an extra blocker more than a extra reciever.And if your running back is on a good offense then expect a lot more garbage yards late in the game as a team runs the ball to kill the clock.

 

If you have any fantasy questions just leave a comment or e-mail me at shawn@silverbulletsports.com and I will address it in a future post.

-Shawn.

YOU’RE OUT!!!

Were you crushed by the poor overall performance of the USA baseball team in the Olympics this year? Well don’t worry, because I garuntee there will not be a repeat performance by the team in the 2012 London Olympics, I’m 100% sure of it!!!

In 2005 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted on weather baseball should be admitted in the 2012 Games. The news has only become highly publicized because of the Beiging Games, but by a vote of 46 to 42 the IOC decided to exclude baseball from the London Games. Also excluded from the London Games, by a vote of 47 to 43, was softball. Despite the similarity of the two sports, and the fact they are both out in 2012, the reasons for the two sports dismissal are quite different.

The main reason for baseball’s ousted,the IOC says, there is not proper representation of the worlds finest athletes in the Olympics. The main culprit for this…drum-roll…Major League Baseball (MLB)! The IOC claims that because the MLB has such a diverse group of of the sports talent, that the league should suspend play so the world can be better represented during the Olympics. The Japanese baseball league, also known as Nippon Professional Baseball, is already suspending its play for the Olympics so why not MLB??? I will tell you why…$$$, and who can blame them.

Remember the 2006 World Baseball Classic? Major League Baseball finally let its players participate in a international baseball tournament because the tourney took place just prior to its pre-season (the Baseball World Cup has been going on since 1938 and MLB players have never been permitted to play) . Do you remember what happen afterthat tourney? Major league players started the season on the disabled list. Pitchers came into camp with thrown-out arms and bum-shoulders, and some field players were already complaining of bumps and bruises. If I am a baseball owner and am spending $20 million dollars for a player like Alex Rodriguez, I want him playing FOR ME! And if he does get hurt it better be while busting his hide in winning my team win a championship!

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for representing your country and all, but if I have that much money invested in anything, I am going to protect my investment. You might be saying; “Well what about the NBA, they let their players play in the Olympics?” Well, their season is just concluding, the players bodies are already battle ready and if injured they have a lot of time to heal before the start of next season. An injured baseball player would have to go back to potential playoff race!!!

Softball was dismissed for a totally different reason then baseball. The IOC deemed that the rest of the world was not competitive enough with a select few countries, the USA being one of them. Softball has been a sport in the Olympics since the 1996 Atlanta Games and the United States and Australia have won a medal in every game since (USA has always won gold).

Even though the reasons for the veto of these sports seem legitimate, many reports suggest a European influence within the IOC might also be to blame. The two sport are primarilyplayed in the Americas and Asia and the two sports were invented in the USA.

Baseball was introduced in the 1984 Los Angeles Games and became a medaling event in 1992. The Beijing Games hosted 28 events and the London Games intended to do the same. Some of the events listed to fill-in are golf, karate, rugby, squash and roller sports (whatever those are).

Baseball and softball can be reinstated into the 2016 games and will be voted on by the IOC in 2009.

-Shawn.

Dan’s take:

The NHL always allows for an Olympic Break and I think it’s a nice change of pace every four years. I will say that Hockey has a different talent pool than Baseball or Softball, but the players genuinely WANT to play for their countries.  I like the idea of the league itself giving the players the time to take part in some national pride.

While there’s no doubt the big business of baseball in the States controls this decision, I don’t think it’s that big a risk. The players could just as easily injure themselves in the ten games they’re playing on their respective MLB club.

Equally as frustrating is the lack of exposure baseball is getting at the games. I find it very hard to find a game to watch, and many times not at the time or place that NBC lists them. Softball is getting better props and getting live coverage everyday. San Francisco Giant Nate Schierholtz deserves more.

-Dan.

Olympic Roundup & Standings: Sunday 08.17

Time for the daily roundup. Don’t forget to read a great post by Shawn, “Spiking the Competition” posted yesterday.

BASEBALL: The US Team is off today and is preparing for a match up with China early tomorrow morning. Standings remain the Same. See below.

BASKETBALL: The US WOMEN took it to New Zealand this morning 96-60. The win keeps TEAM USA undefeated heading into the knockout rounds.

FINAL STANDINGS

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	Avg	Pts
USA	5	5	0	491	276	2	10
China	5	4	1	358	346	0.986	9
Spain	5	3	2	350	354	1.009	8
Czech Republic	5	2	3	353	326	1.174	7
New Zealand	5	1	4	320	423	0.795	6
Mali	5	0	5	255	402	0.644	5

Beating out the Chinese Team sets up a date with Korea on Tuesday.

KNOCKOUT BRACKET

Quarterfinals (2008-08-19)

Semifinals (2008-08-21)

Gold medal game (2008-08-23)

A2

Russia

B3

Spain

B1

USA

A4

Korea

B2

China

A3

Belarus

Bronze medal game

A1

Australia

B4

Czech Republic

The Men will conclude their round robin play with Germany tomorrow at 5:00am.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: One women’s team is eliminated in the Quest for Sandy Gold in Beijing. The duo of Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs fell in straight sets to the Chinese in their quarterfinal matchup. Misty May and Kerri Walsh had no problems with one Brazilian team and now will face the other team in the Semi-Finals.

UPDATED BRACKET:

Quarterfinals							Semifinals							Gold Medal Game
	1	Tian Jia – Wang (CHN)	21	21
	14	Schwaiger – Schwaiger (AUT)	12	12
								1	Tian Jia – Wang (CHN)
								4	Xue – Zhang Xi (CHN)
	5	Branagh – Youngs (USA)	17	13
	4	Xue – Zhang Xi (CHN)	21	21
	10	Barnett – Cook (AUS)	22	14
	6	Talita – Renata (BRA)	24	21
								6	Talita – Renata (BRA)
								2	Walsh – May-Treanor (USA)						Bronze Medal Game
	3	Larissa – Ana Paula (BRA)	18	15
	2	Walsh – May-Treanor (USA)	21	21

The Men’s Quarterfinal matches are set for Tonight and Tomorrow Morning.

FOOTBALL: The Women’s Semifinal Matchup with Japan is on deck tomorrow at 5:00am.

FIELD HOCKEY: We’re still waiting to see what happens against Great Britain tomorrow as the US Women fight to keep their medal round hopes alive. That game coming up tomorrow at 3:00am.

SOFTBALL: TEAM USA in yet Another Mercy Rule win. They beat up on the Netherlands 8-0 (5 inn.) They will wrap up their Round Robin play against China tonight at 9:00pm. PST. TEAM USA has already clinched their spot in the Elimination Round . The USA has wOn the Gold Medal every year since Softball has been played at the Olympics.

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB	Tiebreaker
United States	6	0	44	1	1.000	-	-
Japan	5	1	17	13	.833	1	-
Australia	4	2	21	9	.667	2	-
Canada	3	3	17	17	.500	3	-
China	2	4	19	12	.333	4	-
Chinese Taipei	2	4	8	19	.333	4	-
Venezuela	2	4	13	26	.333	4	-
Netherlands	0	6	4	46	.000	6	-

GYM VOLLEYBALL: TEAM USA has already played Poland in Women’s Volleyball but I won’t spoil it, since it hasn’t aired on NBC yet. The Men’s team will take on Japan tomorrow morning.

-Dan.

Olympic Roundup & Standings: Saturday 08.16

Another Round of updates from Beijing.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT A GREAT ARTICLE HERE ON THE BULLET: SPIKING THE COMPETITION by SHAWN CAMILLERI

(Also available below this post)

Let’s do the roundup:

BASEBALL: It’s a victory for TEAM USA! The R,W, and B beat our neighbors to the North 5-4 last night. Brian Barden went 2-for-5 with a double and a homerun. The win brings the USA into the mix in the standings again.

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB	Tiebreaker
Cuba	4	0	17	12	1.000	-	-
South Korea	3	0	14	10	1.000	½	-
United States	2	2	23	17	.500	2	-
Japan	2	2	17	10	.500	2	-
China	1	2	12	23	.333	2½	-
Canada	1	3	20	13	.250	3	-
Chinese Taipei	1	3	13	15	.250	3	-
Netherlands	1	3	6	22	.250	3	-

Up Next for TEAM USA is China very early Monday Morning.

—–

BASKETBALL: Team USA cannot be beat in these Olympics it seems. Both the Women and Men’s teams destroying Spain. The Boys beat the current world champions, 119-82. They will take the #1 seed into the knockout round no matter how they far against Germany on Monday

Team	Pld	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	Avg	PD	Pts
USA	4	4	0	1.000	409	297	1.377	+112	8
Spain	4	3	1	.750	320	319	1.003	+1	7
Greece	4	2	2	.500	324	298	1.087	+26	6
China	4	2	2	.500	289	309	0.935	-20	6
Germany	4	1	3	.250	273	284	0.961	-11	5
Angola	4	0	4	.000	271	379	0.715	-108	4

Tournament knockout bracket to be completed by Monday. The U.S. Women to take on New Zealand early tomorrow. .

—–

BEACH VOLLEYBALL:

The Men’s Round of 16 match results are in. Rogers/Delhausser(#1 seed) began the tourney against Switzerland. They won in three sets. The Gibbs/Rosenthal duo easily dispatched Spain in 2 Sets. So NOW the tournament bracket.

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Gold Medal Game

Klemperer – Koreng (GER)

Rogers – Dalhausser (USA)

Nummerdor – Schuil (NED)

Geor – Gia (GEO)

Ricardo – Emanuel (BRA)

Gibb – Rosenthal (USA)

Bronze Medal Game

M. Araujo – Fabio Luiz (BRA)

Gosch – Horst (AUT)

TEAM 1 is scheduled at 7 PM tomorrow night.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL – WOMEN: The Two team’s Quarterfinal matches are set for later tonight and early tomorrow morning. Both teams will look to advance to the Semifinals. See the Bracket below.

—–

FOOTBALL: The big game between USA and JAPAN in the Women’s Semifinal will go off tomorrow at 5:00am PST. As mentioned TEAM USA already beat Japan in the tournament. The win could set up a gold medal match with Brazil or Germany.

—–

FIELD HOCKEY: The U.S and New Zealand was a crucial match for Team USA as they need a full six points to even have potential into the Medal round. They got the effort they needed. USA destroys New Zealand 4-1. USA’s Keli Smith scores two goals in the win: 1 Field Goal and one off a Penalty Corner.

Updated Standings

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Germany	9	4	3	0	1	11	8	+3
Argentina	8	4	2	2	0	10	5	+5
Great Britain	7	4	2	1	1	7	9	−2
USA	5	4	1	2	1	9	8	+1
Japan	4	4	1	1	2	5	6	−1
New Zealand	0	4	0	0	4	4	10	−6

Now, the United States plays England, so if they win outright they would leapfrog the Brits. They would need a big victory over GB and a loss by Argentina who wraps up their play against Argentina. It doesn’t look good, but if New Zealand can beat Argentina 1-0. The US would only need to beat England by 5. HA!

—–

SOFTBALL: The US team gets another Mercy Rule win. They beat up on Chinese Taipai 7-0 in 5 innings late last night. Jennie Finch on the Bump for TEAM USA, Jessica Mendoza hits a homerun in the 3rd inning, part of a 5-run 3rd for USA.

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB
United States	5	0	36	1	1.000	-
Japan	4	1	12	11	.800	1
Australia	3	2	17	9	.600	2
Canada	3	2	17	13	.600	2
China	2	3	18	10	.400	3
Venezuela	2	3	11	21	.400	3
Chinese Taipei	1	4	6	18	.200	4
Netherlands	0	5	4	38	.000	5

USA has clinched a spot in the Semi-finals. The Softball page playoff system is different but an interesting twist in this tournament. (though, it really won’t affect the USA too much if they win out.)

—–

GYM VOLLEYBALL:

MEN: Check out Shawn’s Article Below as he discusses the great journey of the US Men’s Volleyball team. The Men swept China in dominating fashion and now have a match with japan to wrap up round robin play. The US Men are already into the knockout round by way of their 4-0 record.

Rk	Team	Points	Played	Won	Lost	PW	PL	Ratio	SW	SL	Ratio
1	United States	8	4	4	0	385	320	1.203	12	4	3.000
2	Italy	7	4	3	1	332	297	1.117	10	4	2.500
3	Bulgaria	6	4	2	2	348	358	0.972	7	8	0.875
4	China	6	4	2	2	341	385	0.886	7	10	0.700
5	Venezuela	5	4	1	3	339	353	0.960	7	9	0.778
6	Japan	4	4	0	4	341	373	0.914	4	12	0.333

Shouldn’t be a problem for the men who have secured a top seed in the tournament.

WOMEN: The women are 3-1 in their respective pool and will qualify for the knockout round, just maybe not as dominating as the men. They wrap up their round-robin with Poland.

Rk	Team	Points	Played	Won	Lost	PW	PL	Ratio	SW	SL	Ratio
1	Cuba	8	4	4	0	351	312	1.125	12	3	4.000
2	United States	7	4	3	1	357	338	1.056	9	7	1.286
3	China	6	4	2	2	391	341	1.147	10	7	1.43
4	Japan	6	4	2	2	337	313	1.077	7	8	.875
5	Poland	5	4	1	3	338	343	0.985	7	9	0.778
6	Venezuela	4	4	0	4	203	320	0.649	1	12	0.008

-Dan.

Spiking the Competition!!!

yahoo images

With Micheal Phelps dominating the Olympics and headlines since the start of the Beijing games, many other great story lines are being lost in his wash.

Take the U.S. Men’s Volleyball team. Undoubtedly the saddest story to come out of this years games was the attack on the in-laws of Men’s Volleyball Coach Hugh McCutcheon, Todd and Barbara Bachman. Todd Bachman was killed during the attack and Barbara was stabbed but is now in a Minnesota hospital in fair condition after undergoing eight hours of surgery in Beijing.

Coach McCutcheon missed the first three games of these Olympics to be by his family’s side during this time, something even the biggest sport fan can appreciate. During the three-game span his team had gone undefeated winning each match in dominating fashion. McCutcheon was back on the sideline Saturday morning to see his boys take on host team China in a sold out Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium.

When introduced, the pockets of American fans spread out throughout the crowd gave McCutcheon a standing ovation. Despite the sentimental reunion, many volleyball experts wondered if the reunification of coach and team would hurt the play of the U.S. team. Not even picked to be a serious medal contender, many believed the spectacular play of the American team to be rooted from a “win one for the gipper” mentality the team had picked up since the tragedy of their coach (the incident happened the first day of the games).

The Americans showed no signs of a reunion hangover as they easily dispatched their opponents in a convincing sweep 25-22, 25-12, 25-18. During the match the U.S. team wrote “TB” and “BB” on their sneakers in honor of there coach’s family.

After the match, and many hugs and high-fives, Coach Mccutcheon said it was his mother-in-law who was the biggest proponent that he stay in Beijing saying “She was extremely encouraging. She was adamant that I stay. She assured me she’s going to be good.”

The U.S. team has clinched their way into the Quarterfinals of the Olympic games but still have one more preliminary game against Japan on Monday, August 18th.

-Shawn.

Olympic Roundup & Standings: Friday 08.15

UPDATES from BEIJING

BASEBALL: A marathon game between Cuba and the United States hands the Red, White and Blue their second loss. The defending Gold Medal winner Cubans scored two runs in the top of the 11th to win it. I still have not seen a baseball game on TV, It’s starting to piss me off. If NBC can’t stick to it’s schedule how does it expect us all to stick around for it’s coverage.

LATEST STANDINGS:

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB	Tiebreaker
Cuba	3	0	16	12	1.000	-	-
South Korea	2	0	9	7	1.000	½	-
Japan	2	1	14	5	.667	1	-
China	1	1	8	17	.500	1½	-
United States	1	2	18	13	.333	2	-
Canada	1	2	16	8	.333	2	-
Chinese Taipei	1	2	13	14	.333	2	-
Netherlands	0	3	0	18	.000	3	-

Top Four Advance to knockout round.

—–

BASKETBALL: Only the women have played Spain so far and this wasn’t much of a contest. USA’s Lisa Leslie with a double-double and the USA Women are on autopilot as they head into the Quarterfinals. Up next: New Zealand Sunday morning.

Team	Played	Won	Lost	PF	PA	Avg	Points
USA	4	4	0	395	216	1.876	8
China	4	3	1	279	303	0.894	7
Spain	4	2	2	271	307	1.009	6
Czech Republic	4	2	2	290	247	1.174	6
New Zealand	4	1	3	260	327	0.795	5
Mali	4	0	4	228	334	0.630	4

Nothing more can happen in this group, so the New Zealand game is pretty minor.

—–

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: The women’s beach volleyball Round of 16 is underway, and the USA didn’t disappoint. Both teams demolished the opposition and it’s startiong to look really good for the American teams. The draw for the knockout tournament is in. May-Traenor and Kerri Walsh should have smooth sailing and could face Branagh and Youngs for the Gold.

Quarterfinals							Semifinals							Gold Medal Game
	2	Tian Jia – Wang (CHN)
	14	Schwaiger – Schwaiger (AUT)
	5	Branagh – Youngs (USA)
	4	Xue – Zhang Xi (CHN)
	10	Barnett – Cook (AUS)
	6	Talita – Renata (BRA)
															Bronze Medal Game
	3	Larissa – Ana Paula (BRA)
	1	Walsh – May-Treanor (USA)

The Men’s side of the coin has set them up for Round of 16 play before we get to the eight-team bracket. One pair gets Switzerland and the Other, Spain. shouldn’t be a problem for the USA who should advance into the bracket easily.

—–

FOOTBALL: or Soccer. The US Women scored in Extra Time to catapult them into a semifinal matchup with Japan. The US Women have already defeated Japan 1-0, That was back on August 9th. Either way, the game should be a nice test before the US women go for the GOLD.

The Bracket:

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Gold medal match

F1

Brazil

2

G2

Norway

1

F1

Brazil

F2

Germany

E2

Sweden

0

F2

Germany

2

G1

USA

2

E3

Canada

1

G1

USA

Bronze medal match

G3

Japan

E1

China PR

0

G3

Japan

2

—–

FIELD HOCKEY: The US women have the weak New Zealand sqaud next. They will need a victory here and over Great Britain to have hopes of advancing to the Medal Round.

—–

SOFTBALL: Two big wins, first over Japan and then over the rain-shortened game against Canada. UP next Chinese Taipei.

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB
United States	4	0	29	1	1.000	-
Canada	3	1	17	11	.750	1
Japan	3	1	9	11	.750	1
Australia	2	2	9	9	.500	2
China	2	2	18	7	.500	2
Chinese Taipei	1	3	6	11	.250	3
Venezuela	1	3	9	21	.250	3
Netherlands	0	4	4	30	.000	4

It’s almost disgusting how good TEAM USA is….

—–

GYM VOLLEYBALL: The Men’s win over Bulgaria clinches their spot in the Quarterfinals. They have two more matches against China and Japan.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL:

Rk	Team	Played	Won	Lost	Points
1	United States	3	3	0	6
2	Italy	3	2	1	5
3	Bulgaria	3	2	1	5
4	China	3	2	1	5
5	Venezuela	3	0	3	3
6	Japan	3	0	3	3

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL:The women’s only loss to Cuba will be okay as the girls clinch semifinals as well. They escaped a brutle slug-fest against China, a 5 set nail biter goes to the Americans.

Rk	Team	Played	Won	Lost	Points
1	Cuba	4	4	0	8
2	United States	4	3	1	7
3	China	4	2	2	6
4	Japan	4	2	2	6
5	Poland	4	1	3	5
6	Venezuela	4	0	4	4

Enough!

-Dan.

Olympic Roundup & Standings: Thursday 8.14

Okay, so we’ve got some new updates from across the globe.

Let’s start with

BASEBALL: Two rain delays left the game with a USA lead 7-0 into the bottom of the ninth. The excessive rain forced officials to call the game with the Netherlands rallying. Nevertheless, USA gets it’s first win of the tournament and is now set to face Cuba later today.

Standings

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB	Tiebreaker
Cuba	2	0	11	8	1.000	-	-
South Korea	1	0	8	7	1.000	½	-
Canada	1	1	16	7	.500	1	-
United States	1	1	14	8	.500	1	-
Japan	1	1	8	5	.500	1	-
Chinese Taipei	1	1	6	6	.500	1	-
China	0	1	0	10	.000	1½	-
Netherlands	0	2	0	12	.000	2	-

Top Four teams qualify for Medal round.

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BASKETBALL: Both teams are crushing opponents and the Men seem to have the Redeem Team mentality locked up. No one has been close to either team in round-robin team. Is there any competition in this tournament. Up Next both teams to face Spain over the next two days.

USA MEN and WOMEN have qualified for the Quarterfinals already.

MEN STANDINGS:

Team	Pld	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	PD	Pts
USA	3	3	0	1.000	290	215	+75	6
Spain	3	3	0	1.000	238	200	+38	6
Germany	3	1	2	.333	218	225	-7	4
Greece	3	1	2	.333	222	237	-15	4
China	3	1	2	.333	230	254	-24	4
Angola	3	0	3	.000	210	277	-67	3

WOMEN STANDINGS:

Team	G	W	L	Pts
USA	3	3	0	6
China	3	2	1	5
Spain	3	2	1	5
Czech Republic	3	1	2	4
New Zealand	3	1	2	4
Mali	3	0	3	3

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BEACH VOLLEYBALL-WOMEN: We’re in the playoffs now and the USA teams have dominated the fields here as well. The May-Treanor/Walsh team has been superb as expected.

FINAL STANDINGS – WOMEN

Pool B

Rk	Team	Points	Won	Lost	PW	PL	SW	SL
1	Walsh – May-Treanor (USA)	6	3	0	126	85	6	0
2	F. Grasset – L. Peraza (CUB)	5	2	1	116	116	4	2
3	Håkedal – Tørlen (NOR)	4	1	2	108	111	2	4
4	Teru Saiki – Kusuhara (JPN)	3	0	3	88	126	0	6

Pool E

Rk	Team	Points	Won	Lost	PW	PL	SW	SL
1	Branagh – Youngs (USA)	6	3	0	139	129	6	1
2	Pohl – Rau (GER)	5	2	1	117	115	4	2
3	Esteves Ribalta – M. Crespo (CUB)	4	1	2	130	117	3	4
4	Kadijk – Mooren (NED)	3	0	3	107	132	0	6

PLAYOFFS:

Team 1 will face Belgium in a round of 16 match.

Team 2 will face Cuba.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL-MEN: The Playoffs are ahead as well, here. Not quite as dominating a performance as on the women’s side. But the Gibbs/Rosenthal team should make a case for Gold in Beijing.

FINAL STANDINGS – MEN

Pool F

Rk	Team	Points	Won	Lost	PW	PL	SW	SL
1	Gibb – Rosenthal (USA)	6	3	0	142	111	6	1
2	Asahi – Shiratori (JPN)	4	1	2	147	151	3	5
3	Boersma E. – Ronnes (NED)	4	1	2	125	137	3	4
4	Brink – Dieckmann Ch. (GER)	4	1	2	106	121	2	4

Pool B

Rk	Team	Points	Won	Lost	PW	PL	SW	SL
1	Samoilovs – Pļaviņš (LAT)	5	2	1	139	134	4	3
2	Rogers – Dalhausser (USA)	5	2	1	121	92	4	2
3	Heyer – Heuscher (SUI)	4	1	2	120	129	3	4
4	Conde – Baracetti (ARG)	4	1	2	99	124	2	4

Playoff matchups have not been determined.

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FOOTBALL: or Soccer. Well, the Men are done as they faded to Nigeria early yesterday morning. The women are still alive and have a date with Canada early Friday.Tough break for the men who really needed a win or draw against Nigeria.

WOMAN’S KNOCKOUT BRACKET

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Gold medal match

F1

Brazil

G2

Norway

E2

Sweden

F2

Germany

G1

USA

E3

Canada

Bronze medal match

E1

China PR

G3

Japan

WOMEN’S FINAL STANDINGS

Group G

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
USA	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6
Norway	3	2	0	1	4	5	−1	6
Japan	3	1	1	1	7	4	+3	4
New Zealand	3	0	1	2	2	7	−5	1

MEN’S FINAL STANDINGS

Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Nigeria	3	2	1	0	4	2	+2	7
Netherlands	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1	5
USA	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
Japan	3	0	0	3	1	4	−3	0

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FIELD HOCKEY: The USA Women are in trouble if they can’t pull off two straight wins and somehow wiggle their way back into contention. It was  virtual must-win against Germany yesterday and Team USA floundered to a 4-2 loss. A controversial missed call noted by NBC commentators would not have made a difference in this loss. Up next: NEW ZEALAND.

Pool B

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Germany	9	3	3	0	0	11	4	+7
Argentina	5	3	1	2	0	6	5	+1
Japan	4	3	1	1	1	4	4	0
Great Britain	4	3	1	1	1	5	8	−3
USA	2	3	0	2	1	5	7	−2
New Zealand	0	3	0	0	3	3	6	−3

Looking at the standings, It doesn’t look good for a medal round as only the top two will advance to the knockout stage.  With 2 wins, Team USA would have 8 points and would leapfrog England. Japan and Argentina still both have to play Germany, so it’s not completely unheard of.

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SOFTBALL: The rain quieted the matchup between USA and Canada last night, so there isn’t much here.  They will play a double header today.

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB
Japan	3	0	9	4	1.000	-
Canada	2	0	15	3	1.000	½
United States	2	0	14	0	1.000	½
China	2	1	18	6	.667	1
Australia	1	2	6	8	.333	2
Chinese Taipei	1	2	5	8	.333	2
Netherlands	0	3	4	22	.000	3
Venezuela	0	3	1	21	.000	3

Nothing to be too worried about, here though. The USA should make the top four in this group and advance to the Semi-Finals.

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GYM VOLLEYBALL:

Admittedly, I haven’t been paying as close attention to the indoor volleyball, but the United States is in the mix here. Both the MEN and WOMEN were off yesterday. The men played earlier this morning against Bulgaria, but will not air on NBC until tonight, so I will not spoil.

For updated Men’s Standings, go here

WOMEN’S STANDINGS

Pool A

Rk	Team	Points	Played	Won	Lost	PW	PL	Ratio	SW	SL	Ratio
1	Cuba	6	3	3	0	276	251	1.100	9	3	3.000
2	China	5	3	2	1	288	230	1.252	8	4	2.000
3	Japan	5	3	2	1	266	238	1.118	7	5	1.400
4	United States	5	3	2	1	246	235	1.047	6	5	1.200
5	Poland	3	3	0	3	263	299	0.880	4	9	0.444
6	Venezuela	3	3	0	3	159	245	0.649	1	9	0.111

Top four teams advance so USA is on the fringe but still hanging on. They will play China in the early morning hours tomorrow.

THAT’S ALL FROM HERE. WOMEN’S SOCCER LIVE ON USA TOMORROW MORNING 3:00am!!!

-Dan

Standings and Brackets courtesy: Wikipedia.

Olympics: What a show! USA vs. S. Korea

In the final go around for baseball in the Olympic summer tournament, how much more could you ask for in an opening day game featuring Team USA.

An exciting finish for TEAM USA even if they were on the losing side of the coin. Trailing 5-6 in the top of the ninth, Matt Brown stands in for a battle with S. Korea pitcher Suk Min Yoon. Brownie smacks a line drive into left center and drives home two runs (Brian Bardon and Dexter Fowler). USA goes up 7-6 into the Bottom of the 9th inning.

S. Korea didn’t concede so easily though. Jeff Stevens came into try and close it out for Team Stars and Stripes. BUT he gives up a rally starting double to Keun-Woo Jeong–the innings first batter. The the pinch hitter Hyun-Soo Kim (a stud in the Korean League) up to the plate. His groundout pushes Jeong over to third.  Ko Youngmin up for SK, with one out and he pops up a bunt foul

Here’s a question… This is where it gets weird. Korea sends up a different hitter in the at bat who takes over with one strike. The batter Taekkeun Lee, who -surprise, surprise- a infeild ground ball to second. USA’s Jayson Nix goes home with it and the play at the plate isn’t close, and they don’t get the out at 1st. Game tied 7-7.

And then we got problems… Stevens throws the ball away on a pick-off attempt, and Lee takes not one, but two bags on the USA error. He stands at 3rd with one out. Then the game winning Sacrifice Fly by Jongwook Lee who was the next batter. SK wins 8-7.

Nix’s choice to go home allowed the winning run to remain on the bags, and Stevens throw away allowed the sacrifice to be set. It’s a really tough way to open this tournament.  Up next the Netherlands.

TOP FOUR ADVANCE TO THE KNOCKOUT ROUND.

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB	Tiebreaker
Canada	1	0	10	0	1.000	-	-
South Korea	1	0	8	7	1.000	-	-
Chinese Taipei	1	0	5	0	1.000	-	-
Cuba	1	0	4	2	1.000	-	-
Japan	0	1	2	4	.000	1	-
Netherlands	0	1	0	5	.000	1	-
United States	0	1	7	8	.000	1	-
China	0	1	0	10	.000	1	-

2008 Olympic Games TV Schedule (for the Bay Area)

LAST UPDATED: Sunday 8/17 10:30am PST NOTE: Channel/Time for US Soccer Semifinal

It was great excitement that I am finally acknowledging the Summer Olympics and the final go-around for Baseball and Softball at the Games. As I opened by morning Newspaper, looking for when some of the games would be played… I found a list of crap. All these sports playing for seven hours? How can anyone sift through all this. And even more, understand the tape delay and the confusing NBCOlympics.com TV schedule.

So it is without sanity that I have attempted to sift through some of these schedules, focusing only on a select few. The aim here was to find when we could see Team USA Live in soccer, baseball, etc.and then particularly point this schedule towards the San Francisco Bay Area. NBC11 couldn’t pull it off either.

There are some vague spots but that’s as far as I can figure out. I will try to update the schedules as playoff matchup become available and if they release certain times of particular telecasts.

NOTE:

TD= tape delayed, but presented live.

**=PART OF A BLOCK OF PROGRAMMING, NOT NECESSARILY LIVE, could go to the next day.

BASEBALL:
Wed 8/13 vs Korea 3:00am RESULTS: USA 7, S. Korea 8
Wed 8/13 vs Netherlands 7:30pm RESULTS USA 7, Netherlands 0
Thu 8/14 vs Cuba 8:30pm RESULTS: USA 4, Cuba 5 (11 inn.)
Fri 8/15 vs Canada 7:30pm RESULTS: USA 5, Canada 4
Mon: 8/18 vs China 4:00am TV: 9am to 2pm, MSNBC**
Tue: 8/19 vs Taipai 4:00am TV: 2am to 2pm, MSNBC**
Wed: 8/20 vs Japan 4:00am TV: 2am to 2pm, MSNBC**

Playoffs TBD

BASKETBALL:
Sat 8/9 (W) vs. Chech Republic 5:00am RESULTS: USA 97, Czech 57
Sun 8/10 (M) vs. China 7:15am, RESULTS: USA 101, China 70
Mon 8/11 (W) vs, China 5:00am RESULTS: USA 108, China 63
Tue 8/12 (M) vs. Angola 5:00am RESULTS: USA 97, Angola 76
Wed 8/13 (W) vs. Mali RESULTS: USA 97, Mali 41
Thu 8/14 (M) vs. Greece 5:00am RESULTS: USA 92, Greece 69
Fri: 8/15 (W) vs. Spain 5:00am RESULTS: USA 93, Spain 55
Sat 8/16 (M) vs. Spain 7:15am RESULTS USA 119, Spain 82
Sun: 8/17 (W) vs. New Zealand 7:15am TV: TD, 10:15am, NBC
Mon: 8/18 (M) vs. Germany 5:00am TV: LIVE, USA

PLAYOFFS TBD

BEACH VOLLEYBALL:

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE:

MEN-QUARTERFINALS:

Gibbs/Rosenthal vs. Brazil   MON 8/18 6:00am TV: MSNBC 9:00am – 2:00 pm

Rogers/Delhausser vs. Germany   Sun 8/17 7:00pm TV: TD, (Mon) 12:30am- 2:00am, NBC

WOMENS SEMIFINALS:

Walsh/May-Treanor   vs Brazil   Monday 8/18 7:00pm TV: TD, 10:00pm NBC

WOMEN’S QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:

China 2, Branagh/Youngs 0. (Team 2 eliminated)

Walsh/May-Treanor 2, Brazil 0

SOCCER

WOMENS SEMIFINAL: vs. Japan Mon 8/18 5:00am TV: LIVE, MSNBC

WOMENS QUARTERFINAL RESULTS: USA 2, CANADA 1

MEN ELIMINATED

FEILD HOCKEY
Sun 8/10 vs. Argentina 3:30am USA 2, Argentina 2
Tue 8/12 vs. Japan 3:00am RESULTS: USA 1, Japan 1
Wed 8/13 vs. Germany 7:30pm RESULTS Germany 4, USA 2
Fri 8/15 vs. New Zealand 5:30pm RESULTS: USA 4, New Zealand 1
Mon 8/18 vs. Great Britain 3:00am TV: LIVE, USA
Playoffs TBD

SOFTBALL
Mon 8/11 vs. Venezuela 9:00pm RESULTS: USA 11, Venezuela 0
Tue 8/12 vs. Australia 9:00pm RESULTS: USA 3, Australia 0
WEd 8/13 vs. Canada 9:00pm RESULTS: USA 8, Canada 1
Thu 8/14 vs. Japan 9:00pm RESULTS: USA 7, Japan 0
Fri 8/15 vs. Taiwan 9:00pm RESULTS: USA 7, Chinese Taipai 0 (5 inn.)
Sun 8/17 vs. Netherlands 4:30am RESULTS USA 8, Netherlands 0 (5 inn.)
Sun 8/17 vs. China 9:00pm TV: LIVE, CNBC

PLAYOFFS TBD

GYM VOLLEYBALL
Sat 8/9 (W) vs. Japan 7:00am RESULTS: USA 3, Japan 1
Sat 8/9 (M) vs. Venezuela 9:30pm RESULTS: USA 3, Venezuela 2
Sun 8/10 (W) vs. Cuba 9:30pm RESULTS: Cuba 3, USA 0
Mon 8/11 (M) vs. Italy 9:30pm RESULTS: USA 3, Italy 1
Tue 8/12 (W) vs. Venezuela 9:00pm RESULTS: USA 3. Venezuela 1
Thu 8/14 (M) vs. Bulgaria RESULTS: USA 3, Bulgaria 1
Fri 8/15 (W) vs. China 5:00am RESULTS: USA 3, China 2
Fri 8/15 (M) vs. China 5:00pm RESULTS: USA 3, China 0
Sat 8/16 (W) vs. Poland 9:30pm TV: Sunday 2pm – 6pm, NBC**
Mon 8/18 (M) vs. Japan 7:00am TV: TD, 10:00am, NBC
Playoffs TBD

I know that’s not all the events but those are the ones that you might want to watch LIVE! Most other events will give you highlights throughout the day, You can watch Universal HD all day long for highlights as well.

-DAN

P.s. Has it occurred to anyone that we here in West Coast get shafted on these major television events. Whether it’s the Emmy’s or the announcement of who is this year’s American Idol, we always get the three hour boot. Understandably, the networks must cater to the East Coast, and I surely don’t want to watch EVERYTHING at 5:00 Local Time.