KUALA LUMPUR — Kei Nishikori, Asia's top player, will face a tough fight in the ATP Tour's Malaysian Open which begins on Monday.Nishikori, the third seed for the event at the Putra Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, is joined in draw by the in-form world No. 5 and top seed David Ferrer of Spain, and world No. 11 Juan Monaco from Argentina, the second seed.Rising star Nishikori, the world No. 17, receives a bye into the second round of the 28-player tournament as one of the top four seeds.But lying in wait for Nishikori, who reached the last four in 2011, is a likely semifinal against Monaco and, should he win that, a potential final against Ferrer.Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, ranked 19th in the world, completes the top four seeds."I was a losing semifinalist last year, and even then, it was difficult just to reach the top four," Nishikori said on Saturday."That shows how difficult this tournament is. I hope to do better this year, but there are three tough players to contend with. We shall see how it goes."Nishikori said recently in Singapore that he needed to emulate U.S. Open champion Andy Murray's new aggressive style of play if he is to challenge the top players in the men's game.Spaniard Ferrer is enjoying the best season of his life. He has won five titles on the ATP tour in 2012, reached Grand Slam semifinals at the U.S. and French Opens and the made quarterfinals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon.Ferrer took a week off after leading Spain into the Davis Cup final with victory over the Czech Republic in Gijon last Sunday.Monaco is making his Malaysian Open debut but comes to Kuala Lumpur with three 2012 ATP Tour victories under his belt.Brian Baker of the U.S., the world No. 62 who made a remarkable comeback in 2011 after six years out with multiple injuries that required five surgeries, also plays in the event which has a prize purse of $947,750.SEOUL — Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki beat injury-plagued Kaia Kanepi 6-1, 6-0 Sunday to win the KDB Korea Open.Wozniacki from Denmark needed only about one hour to defeat the third-seeded Kanepi of Estonia to win the tournament on Seoul's Olympic Park hard courts. It was Wozniacki's 19th career WTA victory.She defeated Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 in the semifinals while Kanepi advanced the finals after beating Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Showing posts with label tough. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tough. Show all posts
Monday, September 24, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
High-powered Pats pitted against tough Ravens
FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts — Tom Brady and the New England Patriots made it to the AFC Championship Game with a high-powered offense that piled up points and yards.
Strong track record: QB Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are favored to beat the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday's AFC Championship Game. APRay Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens got there with a hard-hitting defense that made it a major challenge for opponents to move the ball.On Sunday, one of those teams will advance to the Super Bowl because, most likely, of what they do best."We've got our hands full this week," Lewis said. "You watched what they did last week against Denver, just the way they came out and ran their offense, how efficient (Brady) was, how many different receivers he hit with the ball. I think their offense, is playing at a very high level."From start to finish, Brady picked apart the Denver defense in a 45-10 divisional playoff win.The Patriots (14-3) needed five plays to score on their first series on Brady's 7-yard pass to Wes Welker. It took them seven plays to reach the end zone on their second series on Brady's 10-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski. By halftime, Brady had thrown five of his six touchdown passes.He had plenty of time to survey the field as the Broncos put little pressure on him. The Ravens don't plan to let that happen."You don't want him back there just like, 'Oh, we're just going to play catch today,' " Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "You don't want him to zone in, get in his zone, so to say. So I think pressure is going to be crucial, but it's always crucial. But, particularly when you are playing these type of quarterbacks, it's pivotal."Brady's regular season was exceptional, even by his lofty standards. He threw for 5,235 yards, second most in NFL history, with 39 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and the league's third best quarterback rating of 105.6, behind only Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees.The Patriots, with Welker and Gronkowski doing most of the damage, were second in the NFL with 428 yards per game and third with an average of 32.1 points."It's a very clever offense," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. "It's well put together."Just like the Ravens defense.Baltimore (13-4) allowed the third fewest average yards, 288.9, and points, 16.6, this season. It had four takeaways in last Sunday's 20-13 divisional playoff win over the Houston Texans, the last by Ed Reed with 1:51 left. Lewis had a team-high seven tackles.
Strong track record: QB Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are favored to beat the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday's AFC Championship Game. APRay Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens got there with a hard-hitting defense that made it a major challenge for opponents to move the ball.On Sunday, one of those teams will advance to the Super Bowl because, most likely, of what they do best."We've got our hands full this week," Lewis said. "You watched what they did last week against Denver, just the way they came out and ran their offense, how efficient (Brady) was, how many different receivers he hit with the ball. I think their offense, is playing at a very high level."From start to finish, Brady picked apart the Denver defense in a 45-10 divisional playoff win.The Patriots (14-3) needed five plays to score on their first series on Brady's 7-yard pass to Wes Welker. It took them seven plays to reach the end zone on their second series on Brady's 10-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski. By halftime, Brady had thrown five of his six touchdown passes.He had plenty of time to survey the field as the Broncos put little pressure on him. The Ravens don't plan to let that happen."You don't want him back there just like, 'Oh, we're just going to play catch today,' " Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "You don't want him to zone in, get in his zone, so to say. So I think pressure is going to be crucial, but it's always crucial. But, particularly when you are playing these type of quarterbacks, it's pivotal."Brady's regular season was exceptional, even by his lofty standards. He threw for 5,235 yards, second most in NFL history, with 39 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and the league's third best quarterback rating of 105.6, behind only Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees.The Patriots, with Welker and Gronkowski doing most of the damage, were second in the NFL with 428 yards per game and third with an average of 32.1 points."It's a very clever offense," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. "It's well put together."Just like the Ravens defense.Baltimore (13-4) allowed the third fewest average yards, 288.9, and points, 16.6, this season. It had four takeaways in last Sunday's 20-13 divisional playoff win over the Houston Texans, the last by Ed Reed with 1:51 left. Lewis had a team-high seven tackles.Thursday, December 8, 2011
NBA teams face tough, compacted schedule
NEW YORK — The Los Angeles Lakers will play games on the first three nights of the NBA season, the first of 42 back-to-back-to-back sets of games that teams will face during this lockout-shortened season.The NBA announced the compacted, 66-game schedule on Tuesday night, one that will require every team to play on three consecutive nights at least once.It will also force every team to navigate demanding stretches that are never seen during a full season, such as the nine games in 12 nights the Atlanta Hawks face starting with their Dec. 27 opener.The league's 66th season begins with five games on Christmas, including the Lakers hosting the Chicago Bulls. Los Angeles then visits Sacramento the next night before returning home to host Utah on Dec. 27.Teams will play 48 conference games and 18 against the opposing conference, meaning they play only three nonconference opponents home and away.The league did preserve its most storied rivalry, with the Lakers traveling to Boston for a Feb. 9 matchup before the Celtics open a stretch of eight road games in 13 nights in March with games on back-to-back nights in Los Angeles.Dallas and Miami also will play twice, following their NBA finals rematch on Christmas with a March 12 game in Miami. The Heat and Lakers also play twice.The NBA's only other shortened season was in 1999, which was 50 games long, featured 64 sets of back-to-back-to-back games and was plagued by sloppy basketball being played on fatigued legs. The NBA faces a similar predicament now after failing to reach a new labor deal in time to save the Nov. 1 start to the season.Instead, a tentative agreement was reached on Nov. 26. Lawyers for the owners and players are still finalizing the rest of the deal, with both sides expected to vote on it Thursday before training camps and free agency open on Friday.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Okajima exhibits poise in tough late-game situations
BOSTON — Carl Crawford knew he hit it well enough to reach the Green Monster, and he had one thought when rounded first base.
Energetic effort: Angels center fielder Peter Bourjos can't reach a three-run homer by Chicago's Carlos Quentin in the seventh innning on Monday. The White Sox beat Los Angeles 8-0. AP"I saw him and I was yelling, 'Go, go,' " Crawford said after his double off the left-field wall scored pinch runner Jose Iglesias on a close play at the plate in the 11th inning, lifting the Red Sox to a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.Crawford, who was hitting just .135 a little over a week ago, had a game-ending single May 1 when the Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners. Now, he's starting to enjoy his time with the Red Sox a lot more."It's always nice to get walkoffs," he said, breaking into a brief smile. "I'll take 'em all the time."The double was Crawford's only hit of the night, but extended his hitting streak to nine games after his dreadful start. He's now hitting .211."He's still settling in," Boston catcher Jason Varitek said.The Red Sox closed out their longest homestand of the season at 6-5.Hideki Okajima (1-0) pitched two innings, getting out of a two-on, one-out jams in each, for the win."He had been rested for a few days, which is good, because we'd leaned on Matt Albers and Daniel Bard a little bit and wanted to stay away from them," Francona said of using Okajima two innings. "He did a good job."Closer Jonathan Paplebon, who blew his first save opportunity of the season, was more than happy to talk about Crawford's recent success."I think we're seeing a guy that goes out there, that's a great athlete and is doing what he can to pick up the ballclub," he said.Boston beat Minnesota in the final three games of a four-game series, and won for the 11th time in 12 games in Fenway Park."He probably didn't get out as far as he could have, but he was probably running about as fast as he'll ever run," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of Iglesias, who was called up Sunday when Marco Scutaro was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained oblique. Tigers 10, Blue Jays 5In Toronto, Max Scherzer won his sixth consecutive decision, Victor Martinez hit a two-run homer and Detroit beat the hosts.Scherzer (6-0) has not lost in eight starts this season. His season-opening winning streak is the longest by a Tigers pitcher since Jeremy Bonderman won eight straight in 2007. Athletics 7, Rangers 2In Arlington, Texas, Trevor Cahill pitched seven strong innings to earn his sixth straight win to start the season and Josh Willingham homered and drove in five runs and Oakland beat the Rangers.Cahill (6-0) matched the major league lead with his sixth victory, and equaled his career best by winning his seventh consecutive decision. The 23-year-old right-hander struck out seven, walked one and allowed five hits. He became the Athletics' first 6-0 starter in 21 years. White Sox 8, Angels 0In Anaheim, Edwin Jackson pitched seven superb innings for his first victory in more than a month, Carlos Quentin homered and drove in five runs, and Chicago routed Los Angeles. NATIONAL LEAGUE Pirates 4, Dodgers 1In Pittsburgh, Neil Walker hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and the surging Pirates beat Los Angeles to move above .500 in mid-May for the first time in seven years.Garrett Jones led off the eighth with a walk before Walker laced a shot into the right-field corner off Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley (2-2). Jones scored all the way from first to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead.Lyle Overbay and Ryan Doumit followed with a pair of run-scoring doubles to make a winner out of Jose Veras (1-1).The Dodgers have lost seven of nine, and lost their cool in the eighth with the score tied at one Rockies 2, Mets 1In Denver, Chris Iannetta broke a seventh-inning tie with a homer that barely cleared the left-field wall and Colorado snapped its four-game skid with a win over New York. Phillies 6, Marlins 4In Miami, Philadelphia turned four double plays behind Joe Blanton, who came off the disabled list to pitch five innings and earn his first win of the season by helping to beat Florida. Brewers 4, Padres 3In Milwaukee, Zack Greinke struck out nine over six effective innings in his home debut and Rickie Weeks homered, lifting the Brewers over San Diego. Reds 6, Astros 1In Houston, Travis Wood hit a three-run homer and pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning to lead Cincinnati over the Astros.
Energetic effort: Angels center fielder Peter Bourjos can't reach a three-run homer by Chicago's Carlos Quentin in the seventh innning on Monday. The White Sox beat Los Angeles 8-0. AP"I saw him and I was yelling, 'Go, go,' " Crawford said after his double off the left-field wall scored pinch runner Jose Iglesias on a close play at the plate in the 11th inning, lifting the Red Sox to a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.Crawford, who was hitting just .135 a little over a week ago, had a game-ending single May 1 when the Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners. Now, he's starting to enjoy his time with the Red Sox a lot more."It's always nice to get walkoffs," he said, breaking into a brief smile. "I'll take 'em all the time."The double was Crawford's only hit of the night, but extended his hitting streak to nine games after his dreadful start. He's now hitting .211."He's still settling in," Boston catcher Jason Varitek said.The Red Sox closed out their longest homestand of the season at 6-5.Hideki Okajima (1-0) pitched two innings, getting out of a two-on, one-out jams in each, for the win."He had been rested for a few days, which is good, because we'd leaned on Matt Albers and Daniel Bard a little bit and wanted to stay away from them," Francona said of using Okajima two innings. "He did a good job."Closer Jonathan Paplebon, who blew his first save opportunity of the season, was more than happy to talk about Crawford's recent success."I think we're seeing a guy that goes out there, that's a great athlete and is doing what he can to pick up the ballclub," he said.Boston beat Minnesota in the final three games of a four-game series, and won for the 11th time in 12 games in Fenway Park."He probably didn't get out as far as he could have, but he was probably running about as fast as he'll ever run," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of Iglesias, who was called up Sunday when Marco Scutaro was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained oblique. Tigers 10, Blue Jays 5In Toronto, Max Scherzer won his sixth consecutive decision, Victor Martinez hit a two-run homer and Detroit beat the hosts.Scherzer (6-0) has not lost in eight starts this season. His season-opening winning streak is the longest by a Tigers pitcher since Jeremy Bonderman won eight straight in 2007. Athletics 7, Rangers 2In Arlington, Texas, Trevor Cahill pitched seven strong innings to earn his sixth straight win to start the season and Josh Willingham homered and drove in five runs and Oakland beat the Rangers.Cahill (6-0) matched the major league lead with his sixth victory, and equaled his career best by winning his seventh consecutive decision. The 23-year-old right-hander struck out seven, walked one and allowed five hits. He became the Athletics' first 6-0 starter in 21 years. White Sox 8, Angels 0In Anaheim, Edwin Jackson pitched seven superb innings for his first victory in more than a month, Carlos Quentin homered and drove in five runs, and Chicago routed Los Angeles. NATIONAL LEAGUE Pirates 4, Dodgers 1In Pittsburgh, Neil Walker hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and the surging Pirates beat Los Angeles to move above .500 in mid-May for the first time in seven years.Garrett Jones led off the eighth with a walk before Walker laced a shot into the right-field corner off Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley (2-2). Jones scored all the way from first to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead.Lyle Overbay and Ryan Doumit followed with a pair of run-scoring doubles to make a winner out of Jose Veras (1-1).The Dodgers have lost seven of nine, and lost their cool in the eighth with the score tied at one Rockies 2, Mets 1In Denver, Chris Iannetta broke a seventh-inning tie with a homer that barely cleared the left-field wall and Colorado snapped its four-game skid with a win over New York. Phillies 6, Marlins 4In Miami, Philadelphia turned four double plays behind Joe Blanton, who came off the disabled list to pitch five innings and earn his first win of the season by helping to beat Florida. Brewers 4, Padres 3In Milwaukee, Zack Greinke struck out nine over six effective innings in his home debut and Rickie Weeks homered, lifting the Brewers over San Diego. Reds 6, Astros 1In Houston, Travis Wood hit a three-run homer and pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning to lead Cincinnati over the Astros.Saturday, April 23, 2011
Chelsea's play making it tough to fire Ancelotti
LONDON — Carlo Ancelotti is giving Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich a problem.
All informed reports suggest the Russian billionaire is set to make Ancelotti his next ex-manager this summer, but Chelsea keeps winning. Wednesday's 3-1 victory over Birmingham saw the Blues move above Arsenal into second place, six points behind Manchester United, which must play both the London powerhouses in the coming weeks.
Could Abramovich really sack Ancelotti if Chelsea retains its title?
At any other club the question would not even be asked, but Abramovich is a man unbothered by compensation and has shown to have bouts of unpredictable knee-jerk reactions.
Chelsea, six wins from its last seven league games, plays relegation-threatened West Ham Saturday after United takes on in-form Everton.
On Sunday, Arsenal travels to Bolton where it can expect a reaction from the home side's 5-0 thrashing by Stoke in the F.A. Cup semifinal a week ago. Most neutrals would consider a humble bet on Chelsea winning the best investment.
Ancelotti appears to have, at least temporarily, given up on ?50 million Fernando Torres, whose appearances as a substitute against Birmingham made it 13 games and almost 900 minutes without a goal since his transfer from Liverpool.
The Italian has restored Didier Drogba to the focal point of the attack and he is showing all the hunger, passion, power and leadership qualities lacking in Torres' game.
As much as anything the team seems more comfortable without Torres and has belatedly displayed the qualities that saw it complete the double last season. Even if Chelsea (or Arsenal) wins every game, it still needs United to slip up elsewhere, with Everton the chasing pack's best hope of upsetting the Reds.
United also has the distraction, albeit one Chelsea and Arsenal would like, of a Champions League semifinal against Schalke. Manchester City showed in the F.A. Cup semifinal that United is beatable, and how impotent it was without the suspended Wayne Rooney, who is available again against his former club Everton.
One thing is clear: Chelsea will not relinquish its English crown without a fight even though Ancelotti conceded: "I would rather be in United's place."
Chelsea has banned further questions about Ancelotti's future but there is little more he can say. He has given the impression of someone who knows his days are numbered, his philosophical attitude no doubt influenced by the ?5 million payoff he would receive.
It is difficult to find anyone who believes Ancelotti is not the right man for the job, though in the past week Harry Redknapp, Jose Mourinho, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten have all been "set" to take over this summer according to various "exclusives."
Abramovich, or rather his millions, have made Chelsea into the force it is, but he appears to be so obsessed about winning the Champions League he will continue to fire managers until his ambition is achieved.
* * *
ARSENAL, YET again, showed it lacks the backbone to be the champion by throwing away leads against Liverpool and Tottenham. The 3-3 draw with Spurs on Wednesday was the game of the season, with Arsenal playing some breathtaking football. But its display at White Hart Lane mirrored a season of frustration and underachievement.
With Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott running riot, the Gunners led 3-1 after 40 minutes. Yet again they were unable to hold on to a lead and see the game out, the second time this season they have squandered a two-goal advantage against their North London rivals.
They were also ahead against Liverpool last Sunday, almost impossibly, they threw away a four-goal lead at Newcastle and they lost the League Cup final 2-1 after scoring the opening goal against Birmingham.
The current Premier League is not one of vintage quality, and Arsenal, five draws in its last six matches, looks like it has missed a golden opportunity to win the title.
In contrast, Spurs have picked up 22 points from losing positions this season.
Under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal has played the best football in England, but six years without a trophy (assuming it does not win the title) has understandably seen some of his methods questioned. Arsenal has the beauty, but it also needs some of the best players like Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Patrick Vieira provided.
The frailties that are obvious to others have been ignored by Wenger. Arsenal looks to have a goalkeeper of stature in Wojciech Szczesny, but Wenger should have invested in a top-class e_SSRqkeeper rather than persist with Manuel Almunia for the last three years. Wenger has signed cultured, ball-playing defenders who lack the physical or mental strength John Terry gives Chelsea or Nemanja Vidic gives United.
Producing players rather than buying them is an admirable policy, but Wenger has failed Arsenal by not investing in a superstar or two. It is difficult to think of anyone who could do a better job for Arsenal than Wenger, though the Frenchman needs to change his transfer policy or else the years without a trophy will continue.
Wenger, the Arsenal players, the Arsenal fans . . . just about everybody knows the Gunners appear to have thrown away a Premier League title that was well within their grasp. Six years and counting.
Christopher Davies was a longtime Premier League correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph.
All informed reports suggest the Russian billionaire is set to make Ancelotti his next ex-manager this summer, but Chelsea keeps winning. Wednesday's 3-1 victory over Birmingham saw the Blues move above Arsenal into second place, six points behind Manchester United, which must play both the London powerhouses in the coming weeks.
Could Abramovich really sack Ancelotti if Chelsea retains its title?
At any other club the question would not even be asked, but Abramovich is a man unbothered by compensation and has shown to have bouts of unpredictable knee-jerk reactions.
Chelsea, six wins from its last seven league games, plays relegation-threatened West Ham Saturday after United takes on in-form Everton.
On Sunday, Arsenal travels to Bolton where it can expect a reaction from the home side's 5-0 thrashing by Stoke in the F.A. Cup semifinal a week ago. Most neutrals would consider a humble bet on Chelsea winning the best investment.
Ancelotti appears to have, at least temporarily, given up on ?50 million Fernando Torres, whose appearances as a substitute against Birmingham made it 13 games and almost 900 minutes without a goal since his transfer from Liverpool.
The Italian has restored Didier Drogba to the focal point of the attack and he is showing all the hunger, passion, power and leadership qualities lacking in Torres' game.
As much as anything the team seems more comfortable without Torres and has belatedly displayed the qualities that saw it complete the double last season. Even if Chelsea (or Arsenal) wins every game, it still needs United to slip up elsewhere, with Everton the chasing pack's best hope of upsetting the Reds.
United also has the distraction, albeit one Chelsea and Arsenal would like, of a Champions League semifinal against Schalke. Manchester City showed in the F.A. Cup semifinal that United is beatable, and how impotent it was without the suspended Wayne Rooney, who is available again against his former club Everton.
One thing is clear: Chelsea will not relinquish its English crown without a fight even though Ancelotti conceded: "I would rather be in United's place."
Chelsea has banned further questions about Ancelotti's future but there is little more he can say. He has given the impression of someone who knows his days are numbered, his philosophical attitude no doubt influenced by the ?5 million payoff he would receive.
It is difficult to find anyone who believes Ancelotti is not the right man for the job, though in the past week Harry Redknapp, Jose Mourinho, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten have all been "set" to take over this summer according to various "exclusives."
Abramovich, or rather his millions, have made Chelsea into the force it is, but he appears to be so obsessed about winning the Champions League he will continue to fire managers until his ambition is achieved.
* * *
ARSENAL, YET again, showed it lacks the backbone to be the champion by throwing away leads against Liverpool and Tottenham. The 3-3 draw with Spurs on Wednesday was the game of the season, with Arsenal playing some breathtaking football. But its display at White Hart Lane mirrored a season of frustration and underachievement.
With Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott running riot, the Gunners led 3-1 after 40 minutes. Yet again they were unable to hold on to a lead and see the game out, the second time this season they have squandered a two-goal advantage against their North London rivals.
They were also ahead against Liverpool last Sunday, almost impossibly, they threw away a four-goal lead at Newcastle and they lost the League Cup final 2-1 after scoring the opening goal against Birmingham.
The current Premier League is not one of vintage quality, and Arsenal, five draws in its last six matches, looks like it has missed a golden opportunity to win the title.
In contrast, Spurs have picked up 22 points from losing positions this season.
Under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal has played the best football in England, but six years without a trophy (assuming it does not win the title) has understandably seen some of his methods questioned. Arsenal has the beauty, but it also needs some of the best players like Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Patrick Vieira provided.
The frailties that are obvious to others have been ignored by Wenger. Arsenal looks to have a goalkeeper of stature in Wojciech Szczesny, but Wenger should have invested in a top-class e_SSRqkeeper rather than persist with Manuel Almunia for the last three years. Wenger has signed cultured, ball-playing defenders who lack the physical or mental strength John Terry gives Chelsea or Nemanja Vidic gives United.
Producing players rather than buying them is an admirable policy, but Wenger has failed Arsenal by not investing in a superstar or two. It is difficult to think of anyone who could do a better job for Arsenal than Wenger, though the Frenchman needs to change his transfer policy or else the years without a trophy will continue.
Wenger, the Arsenal players, the Arsenal fans . . . just about everybody knows the Gunners appear to have thrown away a Premier League title that was well within their grasp. Six years and counting.
Christopher Davies was a longtime Premier League correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Lack of action makes it tough for Albirex BB
The Niigata Albirex BB will enter the postseason after a remarkably light schedule in recent weeks. So light in fact that it's easy to forget when the team actually played games in back-to-back weeks.That occurred the final weekend of February and first weekend of March.The Albirex (19-19), making preparations for this weekend's final regular-season series against the brilliant Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix (39-5), had 12 of their final 16 games canceled due to the aftermath of March 11 earthquake, which caused three Eastern Conference foes - the Sendai 89ers, Saitama Broncos and Tokyo Apache - to end their seasons early.It remains to be seen if Niigata coach Masaya Hirose's club will struggle to elevate its game due to an unnatural amount of free time and lack of competition in the latter stages of the season. But Hirose has had ample time to conduct practices and individual workouts to prepare his charges for the postseason, as well as make veteran post player George Leach, who joined the team after Saitama pulled the plug on its season, familiar with the team's playbook.Leading scorer Julius Ashby (16.6 points per game), Yuichi Ikeda, among others, will need to play consistent, aggressive basketball to carry the team to the Final Four on May 21-22 at Ariake Colosseum.The Albirex, idle since April 3, are 1-3 against the Phoenix in 2010-11.The Eastern Conference's playoff picture is as follows: Hamamatsu is the top seed, while Niigata is No. 2. The No. 3 seed Akita Northern Happinets (17-31) will face the Albirex in the opening round, while the fourth spot belongs to the Toyama Grouses (12-30), who have the daunting task of facing the defending champion Phoenix in the playoffs. Both series are set for May 7-8.In the Western Conference, the playoff picture won't be finalized until after the completion of Sunday's games. Here's a rundown on the top six Western teams before the weekend series begin:* Ryukyu Golden Kings (32-16) * Osaka Evessa (31-17)* Rizing Fukuoka (29-19)* Shiga Lakestars (28-20)* Kyoto Hannaryz (26-20)* Shimane Susanoo Magic (24-24)The top two West seeds will earn a bye until the Western Conference semifinals, while Nos. 3 and 4 will play host to the fifth- and sixth-place teams in series scheduled for either April 27-28, 29-30 or April 30-May 1, depending on which teams wind up as the third and fourth seeds.If two teams finish with identical records, the league uses a cumulative point differential as the tiebreaker, meaning the difference in average points scored vs. points allowed weighs more heavily than a team's head-to-head record against a foe.One thing is certain: The Evessa, the league's only team with multiple titles (three), wants to avoid having to play on the road in the opening round. So Osaka, two games ahead of Fukuoka in the standings, must avoid getting swept by the Rizing this weekend and face the possibility of statistics determining which team is the No. 2 seed. This season, the Evessa and Rizing are 2-2 against each other."Considering the injuries and the roster changes we've made this season, entering the postseason as a possible No. 1 or 2 seed is quite an accomplishment," Osaka forward Lynn Washington said. "(Coach) Ryan (Blackwell) has done a good job with trying to keep everyone focused during these trying times. Out of these next two games we have to win at least one to lock up the 2 seed. We want to play at home in the playoffs."Asked to assess the team's current status a week before the playoffs start, Washington said: "The improvements we are making are for the sake of team chemistry. We are again dealing with a 'meshing process' with our team now. However, things are going smooth."If the Evessa secure a top-two spot, they'll be off until May 7-8, when the West's playoff semifinals will be held.Upcoming games: The rest of the final week of the regular season features the following matchup: Toyama vs. Akita, Kyoto vs. Shimane,Miyazaki vs. Ryukyu and Takamatsu vs. Shiga.Impressive play: Nobody believes Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf is the same explosive scorer he was during his All-American days at Louisiana State, when, then still known as Chris Jackson, he garnered nationwide attention for scoring 30-plus points game after game with ease. But he still remains a steady offensive force for the Kyoto Hannaryz.Now 42, Abdul-Rauf is scoring 15.1 ppg and still has near-automatic success at the free-throw line (80-for-90). In the Hannaryz's series-finale win over the Golden Kings last Sunday, the veteran guard had 17 points, five assists and four steals.The former NBA standout has 12 20-point games this season, his second in Japan. He has 108 assists and 55 turnovers. Blessed with terrific shooting mechanics and a never-ending commitment to fitness, Abdul-Rauf defies the notion that a 40-something guard can't succeed at the pro level anymore.Exhibit A: He is 212-for-421 on 2-point shots. What's more, he has knocked down 37 3-pointers to keep defenders honest.This week, New York Post columnist Peter Vecsey highlighted Abdul-Rauf's solid play this season in his comprehensive column, featuring many tidbits that don't get published in print or online, that circulates among league insiders and subscribers.Tough finish: The Oita HeatDevils lost their 11th straight game last Sunday, a two-point setback to Shimane, to close out the season. The HeatDevils went 16-32 under L.J. Hepp and his replacement, Tony Hanson, who began the season as the assistant coach. Matt Lottich scored a team-best 16.0 ppg. Damian Johnson averaged 15.9 and Kimitake Sato scored 11.1.Around the league: The Japan Basketball Association's 42-man provisional roster for this summer's East Asian and Asian Championship tournaments was announced recently, and it didn't surprise most observers that only two bj-league players, Shimane guard Takumi Ishizaki and Hamamatsu center Atsuya Ota, were named to the roster.Said one league insider, "They expand to 42 and still can't give (Shiga guard Masashi) Joho, (Tokyo guard) Cohey (Aoki) or J. (Saitama forward Kazuya Hatano) a chance?" ...The Tokyo Apache are hosting a fundraising event on Sunday afternoon from 1 to 4 at Okubo Park in Shinjuku ward. All-Star guard Cohey Aoki, known for his sharpshooting skills, will lead the Apache Shooting Challenge, a 90-second drill in which participants take shots from various locations on the court. The drill helps individuals measure their shooting range and accuracy.To participate in the event, individuals are asked to make a donation to help the team's disaster relief efforts, which will aid victims of the March 11 earthquake.Apache players Darin Satoshi Maki, Takanori Goya, Reina Itakura, Tomoya "Chomo" Nakamura, Kensuke Tanaka and Minoru Kimura will also be on hand for the festivities. ...Expansion talk: A league source passed along the following details via e-mail: "On April 19 the Kagoshima Pro-Basketball organization will officially become Kagoshima Pro-Basketball Inc. They almost joined the bj-league for 2011-12, but now looks like they are seriously trying for the next round of expansion." Stay tuned.Do you have a story idea about the bj-league?Send an e-mail to edward.odeven@japantimes.co.jp
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)