Wednesday, April 3, 2013

4/3: Yu!, etc.

Greetings! My apologies for the absence on Tuesday morning as it's been a crazy few days. The Braves are 1-0 and everything is lovely. Let's get to it.
  • Our first MLB Round-up of the season (!) leads with Yu Darvish. The Texas fire-baller went 8 and 2/3 innings with a perfect game before surrendering a ground-ball hit through the middle (by Marwin Gonzalez) that broke things up. Darvish was insanely good throughout, getting 27 swing-and-misses and striking out 14 Astros, but he was one pitch away. At any rate, he was tremendous. Elsewhere, the Blue Jays got off to a slow start behind RA Dickey as they lost 4-1 to the Indians. Dickey pitched well for the most part, but a 2-run homer by Asdrubal Cabrera proved to be huge. Baltimore used a 5-run explosion against Tampa Bay reliever Jake McGee to grab a 7-4 win. David Price was on the hill for Tampa and he allowed only 2 runs, but McGee's blow-up cost Tampa the win as Baltimore got a 3-run homer from Chris Davis to blow things open. Finally, Madison Bumgarner tossed 8 shutout innings of 2-hit ball in route to a 3-0 win over the Dodgers. He's a stud. 
  • Two crazy NCAA hoops stories. First, Rutgers head coach Mike Rice was shown on video throwing balls at players and yelling slurs in a wild display. Nothing ever "shocks" me as far as outrageous behavior, but this is certainly across the line, and they'll be some action forthcoming. Then, Ed Rush, a former NBA official and current Pac-12 referee chief, has been accused of offering $5,000 or a trip to Cancun to the referee who gave a technical to Arizona's Sean Miller during the conference tournament. This is a "he said, she said", but if it's true, he should be immediately be fired, whether he was kidding or not. Insane. 
  • In the NBA, Carmelo Anthony dropped 50 points on the Wade-less/Lebron-Less Heat in a 102-90 win for New York. Melo scored the 50 on just 26 field goal attempts, as he managed to knock down 7 of 10 triples, as well as 7-8 from the line on the night. Really impressive display by him even without the opposition of LBJ, as he drew an assignment from Shane Battier for much of the night, and it didn't phase him. John Wall led the Wizards to a 90-86 win over Chicago, as Wall went for 27 points, 8 boards, and 9 assists. Wall has been ridiculous for much of the 2nd half, as it looks like may be making the leap to elite status. Finally, the Lakers got a crucial, 20-point victory over Dallas, 101-81. Kobe Bryant went for a 23/11/11 triple-double in the win and Dwight Howard had 24 points and 11 rebounds. s
  • Carson Palmer is an Arizona Cardinal. The Cards snatched him up for the price of a 7th-rounder, and despite his decline, that's a coup for Arizona as he's a certain upgrade from the Skelton/Kolb/Lindley mess last year. As for Oakland, I've given up trying to figure that out, but they may be going with Terrelle Pryor. Yep, you read that right. 
  • The NFC Champions got even scarier, as the Niners signed Nnamdi Asomugha to a 1-year deal. Just a couple of years ago, he was considered a "1-A" to Darrelle Revis for the best corner in the league, and they got him for nothing. Steal. 
What to watch for on Wednesday...
  • 2:00 - MLB - Kansas City @ Chicago White Sox (WGN) - Ervin Santana vs. Jake Peavy - Nothing quite like some WGN baseball at 2:00 on a Wednesday. Peavy was tremendous last year, and we'll see whether he can replicate that in 2013. 
  • 7:00 - MLB - Philadelphia @ Atlanta (FSS) - Roy Halladay vs. Paul Maholm - I am all-in on Maholm this year, and Halladay was an absolute mess in Spring Training. 
  • 7:00 - NBA - New York @ Atlanta (ESPN) - It's an All-Atlanta 7 o'clock window! National TV for the Hawks is a rarity, and at least they get NYK coming off the back-to-back. 
  • 10:00 - NBA - Memphis @ Portland (NBATV) - Tough spot for Memphis, as no one likes to play in the Rose Garden, but the highlight is return of John Hollinger. Bike lanes!
  • 10:00 - MLB - San Francisco vs. LA Dodgers (ESPN2) - Tim Lincecum vs. Josh Beckett - Speaking of absolute messes, Tim Lincecum was an abject disaster last year, and they need him to bounce back in a big way, while Josh Beckett was better after a change of scenery last season and looks to keep it going. 
Enjoy!

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