Y! Sports Blogs

  • Weird, wild and prolific numbers from Saturday's action.

    Nevada piled up 574 yards on 61 carries in a 63-20 obliteration of New Mexico State, the highest single-game rushing total for any team this season, and became the first team in Division I-A history to produce three different 1,000-yard rushers in the same year, Vai Taua, Colin Kaepernick and Luke Lippincott. The Wolf Pack now own the top four single-game rushing performances for the year and lead the nation in rushing average by almost 60 yards per game over No. 2 Georgia Tech. The Pack's 7.8 yards per carry for the season is also nearly two full yards better than No. 2 UAB (5.9 per carry).

    On a related note, their eighth straight win represents the longest winning streak at Nevada in 18 years, which goes on the line Friday night at undefeated Boise State. Winner takes the WAC.

    Beleaguered Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus completed 13 of 16 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions in his final home game, a 31-13 romp over Rutgers for Doug Marrone's first Big East win as the Orange's head coach.

    Texas Tech rang up 549 total yards in its 41-13 win over Oklahoma, almost 200 yards more than OU has allowed in any other game this year and one yard shy of the highest single-game total against the Sooners in Bob Stoops' 11-year tenure (Kansas State hit 550 last October). It was also the first time an OU defense under Stoops allowed 40 points to a team ranked outside of the top 12 at kickoff.

    Houston scored touchdowns on eight of its first nine possessions, seven of them on drives covering at least 65 yards, in a 55-14 win over lame-duck Memphis. UH quarterback Case Keenum was his typically prolific self with 405 yards passing, five touchdowns and no interceptions, and the Cougars rolled up 689 total yards despite touching the ball only once (and punting) in the fourth quarter. Nine different Houston receivers had at least three receptions for the game.

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  • Sun Nov 22, 2009 10:37 am EST

    Sunday Spotlight: Nnamdi vs. Ocho

    While most of the cornerback/receiver battle talk will focus on Randy Moss and Darrelle Revis today, there's another interesting matchup of top talents in the Bay Area when Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco goes up against Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. Ochocinco has been one of the prime instigators in the Bengals' resurgence this year, proving to be nearly impossible to cover on middle-to-long perimeter routes. The stats tell the tale -- Ocho's been targeted 80 times and has caught 46 balls, giving him a 58 percent catch rate consistent with other deep threats like Atlanta's Roddy White and Dallas' Miles Austin.

    He's helped Cincy's new power running game as much as he's benefited from it, as his ability to get downfield prevents defenses from committing too much to what's going on in the backfield. Chad caught 10 passes against the Bears a month ago, but he only grabbed seven passes combined against the Ravens and Steelers since, and the Steelers doubled him as much as possible. You'd think he'd go off against the pathetic Raiders, but there's the small matter of one Nnamdi Asomugha on the other side of the ball.

    For those in the know, Asomugha's been regarded as perhaps the best at his position in the game -- about the closest we've seen to a (wait for it!) shutdown corner since Deion Sanders turned his side of the Cowboys' defensive backfield into a vacant lot in the mid-90s. For the 2008 season, Football Outsiders charted Asomugha as the primary target 32 times, which ranked 96th -- an incredible number for a cornerback who started 15 games. When Asomugha did allow a catch, opposing receivers gained an average of 0.7 yards after catch, making him the only DB with 15 or more targets to allow less than a yard after catch on average.

    These two last faced off on December 10, 2006 in Cincinnati, and it'd probably be fair to say that Nnamdi won a split decision on points. Chad caught five balls for 101 yards (including a 42-yarder), but Nnamdi brought in two interceptions in a 27-10 Bengals win. When asked about his adversary this week, Chad told the media that Nnamdi doesn't trash-talk -- he just locks down.

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  • Even after spending much of the UFC 106 postfight press conference complaining about how he got robbed in losing a split decision to Forrest Griffin, Tito Ortiz sent out one last tweet in the late Las Vegas night.

    It may have been ring rust and fatigue that did in Ortiz in his comeback fight aftr 18 months away recovering from back surgery, but Tito still had his best tool, his mouth,  working in peak condition.

    Watch Tito Ortiz in all his glory during the UFC 106 postfight press conference:

    Ortiz said he got robbed at least 10 times during the postfight presser at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. He opened the conference by saying Dana White robbed of his Fight of the Night bonus:

    "How the [expletive] are you giving him Fight of the Night," asked Ortiz when White announced the winners were Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson.

    White responded, "Here we go again. We're back!"

    Ortiz went to explain why he won the fight (1:50 mark):

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  • Sun Nov 22, 2009 9:55 am EST

    Sunday Scene, Week 11

    http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_fantasy_experts__21/ept_sports_fantasy_experts-211591008-1258859529.jpg?ymJAkPCDJ9YdKqZn

    Pregame

    Welcome to Handcuff Week, everyone. We salute those who are starting some combination of Ladell Betts(notes), LeSean McCoy(notes), Bernard Scott(notes), Jason Snelling(notes) and/or Justin Forsett(notes).

    For pregame updates, please join us in the chat window over at Fantasy Football Live, beginning at noon ET. We already know that Reggie Bush(notes) (knee) is reportedly out, Kyle Orton(notes) (ankle) needs a "medical miracle" in order to face the Chargers, and Steve Slaton(notes) (not Ryan Moats(notes)) will start at running back for the Texans on Monday night.

    A few links while you wait for games to kick: Week 11 position ranks, NFL Skinny, Fantasy Freak Show podcast, Rest-of-season ranks, Flames/Lames.

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    Photo via Getty Images

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  • South Florida coach Jim Leavitt looked a little worse for wear following his team's 34-22 win over Louisville Saturday, but the St. Petersburg Times reports those are the good kind of facial scars:

    Asked about the injury, Leavitt deadpanned that he "fell in the locker room," but his players revealed a familiar Leavitt halftime motivation: headbutting players while they still have their helmets on.

    "He was fired up. He grabbed somebody -- I think it was (walk-on linebacker ) LaDre Watkins," safety Nate Allen said. "He headbutted him and fell backwards. I couldn't help but laugh, because that's the best one I've seen. ... We were fired up about that one."

    Maybe Leavitt should get together with former opponent and fellow self-assailant Owen Schmitt to compare notes.

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  • Sun Nov 22, 2009 8:58 am EST

    Fantasy Football Live, Week 11

    If you're in need of last-minute advice for Week 11 (lineup decisions, financial dilemmas, recipes, etc), please consult the accredited experts of Fantasy Football Live. The show kicks off on Sunday at noon ET.

    Click here to submit questions.

    While you wait, please enjoy a sit/start video…

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  •  

    No. 1 star: Stephane Robidas, Dallas Stars

    After Brian Rolston opened the scoring for the New Jersey Devils, it became the Robidas Show for the rest of the first period: Primary assists on goals by Warren Peters and Mike Ribeiro, and then a power-play goal of this own. Tom Wandell's goal in the third gave the Stars the lead again after a Devils' rally, and it was Robidas that finished off the scoring with his fifth of the season for a 5-3 Dallas victory. It was the defenseman's second career two-goal game and first four-point night.

    No. 2 Star: Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames

    Iggy now has 15 goals on the season, 11 coming in November, as his hat trick helped the Flames to a 5-2 victory at the Los Angeles Kings. As usual, Iginla's contributions to the win went beyond the score sheet, as Coach Brent Sutter said he was "just rock solid in a lot of areas."

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  • It was another frustrating mixed martial arts main event to score at UFC 106. Forrest Griffin got a split decision win over Tito Ortiz 29-28, 30-27 and 28-29. Ortiz scored more takedowns and did some solid damage on the ground, including opening a nice cut over Griffin's left eye. Griffin threw more shots throughout the fight and was most effective in the final two minutes of the fight when he landed often. Before that, how many headshots did he actually land?

    A look at the photo gallery provided by Getty Images shows an awful lot of blocked shots. Getty uploaded 11 photos of Griffin throwing a kick or punch at Ortiz' head. Tito is shown blocking 10 of them. This is only a small sample but it certainly proves the fight is worth another look.

    UFC president Dana White said the 30-27 for Griffin was "crazy, outrageous and insane," and anyone who saw it that way was "out of their mind." Griffin asked Ortiz in the cage right after the fight if he had been on his back too often to win the fight.

    Meanwhile over at Bloody Elbow, writer Mike Fagan suggested Glenn Trowbridge, the judge who scored it 29-28 for Ortiz, was incompetent:

    Someone needs to take away Glenn Trowbridge's judging license. A card of 29-28 Ortiz is atrocious. Absolutely atrocious. I personally had the fight 30-26 Griffin (pictured on the right), though I find 30-27 and 29-28 Griffin acceptable as well. 

    This makes it three straight main events where fans walked away split on a definitive winner. UFC 104 featured a close win by Lyoto Machida over Mauricio Rua (48-47 on all cards) and at UFC 105 Randy Couture edged Brandon Vera (29-28 on all cards).

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  • Oregon 44, Arizona 41 (Overtime). I suspect that if you'd given Arizona the broad script of this game, the Wildcats probably would have taken it. The Ducks passed more than they ran, with Jeremiah Masoli's somewhat unpredictable arm launching a career-high 45 attempts; they went six straight possessions in the second and third quarters with no points and only a single first down; and 'Zona ripped off 17 unanswered points over the same span for a double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter. Under most circumstances, that's a winning script.

    Whatever remained of the 'one-dimensional' charge against Masoli, though, flitted harmlessly away on the Ducks' two fourth quarter touchdown drives, on which he was 12-for-18 for 111 yards, converted a pair of third-down runs and connected on a do-or-die pass to move the sticks on fourth down just two plays before drilling the tying touchdown to Ed Dickson with six seconds on the clock. In overtime, he lobbed his third touchdown pass under pressure in the first frame and set up his own number on the winning run by firing a 23-yard strike to Dickson on the first snap of the second. Roughly half of Masoli's 345 total yards came in the fourth quarter and in overtime, and to all the other arrows in quiver, you can now add "clutch" after the first fourth quarter comeback of his career.

    Still, that won't do much for him if it doesn't carry over in two weeks, when the Ducks get Oregon State in Eugene for the de facto, winner-take-all Pac-10 Championship game for an automatic trip to the Rose Bowl, one of the most improbable sentences typed in this or any other season. Even in their cozy, raucous home lair, the Ducks are guaranteed of nothing in the Civil War, but there's no questioning their resiliency after a night like this: Arizona was out with daggers to take the leap forward into the conference's elite, and plenty of would-be contenders -- UCLA in 2005, Cal in '06, Oregon itself in '07 -- have bitten the dust in Tucson against lesser Wildcat outfits than this one under Mike Stoops' watch. The Ducks come out licking some wounds in their secondary after being stung for 311 yards and four touchdowns by 'Zona quarterback Nick Foles, but this seemed like the kind of game only a Rose Bowl-worthy team comes out of at all.

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  • The Detroit Red Wings are expecting defenseman Niklas Kronwall(notes) will be out at least two weeks with a "a second-degree, possibly third-degree MCL sprain to his left knee" after a knee-on-knee hit by Montreal Canadiens tough guy Georges Laraque(notes) on Saturday night -- at hit Wings players and management have condemned as dirty.

    Here's the hit, which came after Laraque had already been whistled for a high stick on Darren Helm(notes) that got him a double-minor:

    The three penalties Laraque earned resulted in two power-play goals for the Red Wings, so there was some measure of revenge (to go along with winning the game in the shootout, 3-2). The question is now whether there will be something more coming Laraque's way, as everyone from the Detroit media to Don Cherry called it dirty. Laraque, however, was defiant after the game, according to the AP:

    "There were four refs on the ice and they didn't call anything," Laraque said. "If they called a match penalty it would be different. There was no intent. There was no reason why I would try to go and hurt him. It was a pure accident, that's why they called it tripping, so I'm not worried at all."

    George Malik has more. As he points out, it's a significant player for the Wings with a previous history of knee injuries; factor in that Laraque has a suspension history, and it's likely we'll see something more from the NHL.

    But beyond the mandatory criteria for the NHL Wheel of Discipline: It's a dirty hit that deserves further sanction, and that's the case whether Kronwall was injured or not. Laraque's got a reason to worry here.

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