BASEBALL

It was Game 4 of the NLCS between the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals.  And the Brewers opted to put a veteran on the mound in Randy Wolf.  The Cardinals got out to the hot start behind home runs from Matt Holliday and Allen Craig.  But, in the 4th inning, the Brewers got a clutch hit from Yuniesky Betancourt — which brought a speedy Jerry Hairston Jr. to the plate.  The throw beat him to the plate, but an amazing slide helped Hairston avoid the tag and score the tying run.  Then, in the 5th, Ryan Braun showed up to the series in a big way by blasting a homer to put the Brewers up a run.  And from there, they wouldn’t look back.  Now, the series is tied 2-2.  Milwaukee 4, St. Louis 2.

And in the ALCS, the Detroit Tigers were staring elimination right in the face.  It was do-or-die against a very tough and red-hot Texas Rangers team.  This one was a back-and-forth game from the start.  Alex Avila and Delmon Young smacked home runs to give the Tigers the lead, but a solid hit from Josh Hamilton in the 5th inning brought in the typing run.  But in the 6th inning, the Tigers caught fire, hit some key RBIs and Delmon Young homered again to put the Tigers up 6-2.  In the late innings, the Rangers made a rally getting another home run from Nelson Cruz and an RBI from Michael Young, but… it simply wasn’t enough.  And the Tigers force a Game 6.  Detroit 7, Texas 5.

FOOTBALL

Finally, in the NFL, the Denver Broncos are looking to sell high on their Brandon Lloyd stock.  Lloyd was a #2 receiver at best for most of his career, but then he went to Denver last season and became a pro-bowler — something that nobody saw coming!  This year he has battled some injuries, and the Denver Broncos have decided to see what value they can get from him.  They’re clearly not contenders this season, and are trying to get a 3rd round draft pick for Lloyd.  However, it’s been rumored that Tennessee and Carolina have both expressed interest in Lloyd.  Those teams have a shot to make the playoffs (or in the Panthers’ case… a long shot, but a nice weapon for Cam Newton moving forward).  It will be interesting to see if Lloyd can continue his upward swing with another squad.

BASEBALL

FOOTBALL

In the NFL, it was Monday Night Football between the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions.  The Lions have been practically irrelevant for about 20 years.  This year, they’re 4-0, and were looking to stay perfect.  It was a slow going first half, but in the second half Detroit came alive.  Stafford lit it up for 219 yards and two touchdowns and Lions running-back Jahvid Best tore up on the ground for 163 yards and a TD.  The Lions are now 5-0, which they haven’t been since 1956.  The Lions remain tied for first place with none other than the defending Super Bowl champion Packers.  That face off will be a pivotal battle in the season.  Detroit 24, Chicago 13.

BASEBALL

A  super-exciting Game 2 between the Detroit Tigers and the Texas Rangers.  Detroit was hoping to even up the series, and the Rangers were trying to seal both home games.  The Rangers jumped out to an easy 2-0 lead in the first, and things stayed pretty status quo for a while.  Until, in the third inning, Ryan Raburn smacked a 3-run shot to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.  But, in the 7th inning, Nelson Cruz blasted a game-tying home run.  And in the 9th, the Tigers found themselves with the bases loaded, but they couldn’t capitalize.  This one would require… extra innings, always thrilling in a playoff game given the significant stakes.  This time, the Rangers found themselves with the bases loaded, and who’s up?  Yep, Nelson Cruz.  He walked right up to the plate, and after a couple pitches, crushed it to left field for a grand-slam.  Game over, and the Rangers take a 2-0 lead in the series.  Texas 7, Detroit 3.

And in the NLCS, the Cardinals were looking to equalize the series with their division rivals:  The Milwaukee Brewers.  The Brew-Crew owned Game 1, but you should never count out a team as polished as the Cards.  The Brewers have a saying this season called “Beast Mode” — signifying when a player is taking it to the ‘next level’.  None of the Brewers Beasts would do anything close to the dominance of Albert Pujols.  Pujols just continued to hit extra-base hit after extra-base hit.  He had 5 hits, one of which was a homer, and brought in 5 runs.  Just a magnificent performance from the best player in baseball.  The Cards destroyed the Brewers, and now the series heads back to St. Louis.   St. Louis 12, Milwaukee 3.

BASEBALL

The St. Louis Cardinals were facing elimination on Wednesday night against a very tough Philadelphia Phillies team.  But this team has that never-say-die spirit that would keep the battle tough.  The Phillies got up quick in the very first inning behind Chase Utley and Hunter Pence RBIs.  But, the Cardinals weren’t intimidated, thanks to an amazing clutch-hitting game from David Freese, including a 2-run home run.   There was even a squirrel that ran across home plate during a pitch — then ran up in the stands.  Fun for the kids.  The Cards just wouldn’t back down and got the pitching defense they needed to hold off the Phillies in Game 4.   Now, the series heads back to Philly for the elimination Game 5.  It should be very exciting to watch.  St. Louis 5, Philadelphia 3.

FOOTBALL

Brett Favre went on an Atlanta radio station and had some choice words for current Packer golden-boy Aaron Rodgers.  Favre said he was impressed with how well Aaron is playing, but was surprised he didn’t win a Super Bowl sooner.  Now that’s a knock.  Favre said that Rodgers had the ideal situation when he became the Packers starting QB (something Favre forced Rodgers to wait 4 years for), and a Super Bowl should have been inevitable.  In response, Rodgers swatted away Favre’s comment saying that he was really proud of his team for winning the Super Bowl, and it took 53 guys to do it.  And for those keeping score:  Favre has one super bowl, Rodgers has one Super Bowl… and one Super Bowl MVP.  When Favre won it, Desmond Howard was awarded the MVP award.

Finally, in college football, becoming the starting quarterback at the University of Texas practically makes you a celebrity in the state.  It’s a position that every Texas High School quarterback wants to strive for.  After the Colt McCoy era, the heir apparent was set to be Garrett Gilbert.  Gilbert even played most of the National Championship against Alabama when McCoy went down.  Last year, however, Gilbert underperformed.  And this year… same thing.  Such a lackluster performance, that head coach Mack Brown benched him in favor of Colt’s brother Case McCoy.  Gilbert got injured as well and has decided he has no choice but to transfer.  He won’t get the limelight chance at Texas he was hoping for, and will hope to land a starting gig at a somewhat major school so he can show the pro scouts what he can do.

BASEBALL

The New York Yankees were on the brink of elimination heading into Game 4 against Detroit.  And you can bet that the Tigers crowd wanted to do away with the Yanks IN Detroit.  Fortunately for them, the Yankees put A.J. Burnett on the mound, a pitcher who gives up a lot of runs and makes NY fans extremely nervous.  He would have all the pressure on him in this one.  However, Burnett pitched quite well. He gave up a homer, but it was only a solo shot (rare for Burnett, as he usually gives up 2 or 3 run homers).  He left in 5 innings, with the Yankees up 4-1.  And then… the Yankees bats got hot!  Each inning they put up a few runs to keep piling on the lead.  And the Tigers just couldn’t get anything going.  They were way too anxious and nervous to get the win that they seemingly completely blew the game.  The series is now tied at 2 and headed back to NY.  NY 10, Detroit 1.

And in St. Louis, the Cards were hoping to take the series advantage with the battle back on their turf.  However, it’s really tough to beat the Phillies, especially when they have their THIRD ace on the mound in Cole Hamels — a man who used to be their #1 until they brought in Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.  Hamels gave a terrific performance, allowing just 5 hits in 6 innings AND striking out 8 Cards, and the Phillies held the lead the majority of the way.  But, in the 9th, Yadier Molina hit a clutch single that brought in Alber Pujols and put the Cardinals down by only 1.  Unfortunately, they just couldn’t get another run, and the Phillies held on for the series lead.  Game 4 is tonight.  Philadelphia 3, St. Louis 2.

In Tampa, the Rays found themselves down 2-1, and needed a win to extend the series.  Remember, this team launched a 6-week campaign to try and just get into the playoffs.  They were even able, in the last game of the season, to jump ahead of the mighty Boston Red Sox for the wild card spot.  Surely they at least wouldn’t lose the series on their home turf.  They kept it close the whole way, but in the 7th Adrian Beltre homered for the second time to give the Rangers a 4-2 lead.  The Rays tried to get a rally going in the 9th, and did get another run, but just couldn’t get that extra kick to give them a tie.  And with that, the Rangers win, and head back to their second straight American League Championship Series.  Texas 4, Tampa Bay 3.

Finally, in Arizona, the Diamondbacks trailed 2-0 and faced elimination.  The Brewers simply have their number.  But remember, this is a team, like the Rays, who had a horrific start to the season and then found their form in the second half.  They have a terrific offense that is very hard to beat if they get hot.  And last night, they got hot.  Miguel Montero had some clutch hitting to give them a few runs, but the big blast came in the 5th inning when Paul Goldschmidt broke the game open with a 3-run homer.  That gave the D-Backs a 7-1 lead, and the Brewers simply couldn’t come back.  The D-Backs can tie up this series tonight, and then head back to Milwaukee with all the momentum.  Arizona 8, Milwaukee 1.

BASEBALL

First up it was the pivotal Game 3 between the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays.  Now the series was in Tampa, and they were looking to gain the series advantage.  And remember, the first round is only best 3 out of 5 (strange for a sport that plays 162 games to get there and then it’s decided by only 3 losses.  But anyway… the Rays got off to a good start when Desmond Jennings hit a solo home run shot to give them the early lead.  Then, a clutch home run from Mike Napoli of the Rangers and another key single from Josh Hamilton gave the Rangers a 4-1 lead. The Rays gave a pretty decent rally, getting another homer from Desmond Jennings in the 8th inning to make it a one-run game.  But, in the end, the Rangers held on for the victory and a 2-1 lead in the series.  Texas 4, Tampa Bay 3. Next up, it was yet another pivotal Game 3 between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers with the series back in Detroit.  And the Tigers were saving their ace pitcher Justin Verlander for this one.  Then again, the Yanks put their big dog C.C. Sabathia on the mound.  The Yankees got out to an early 2-0 lead behind clutch hits from Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez that drove in runs, but then Detroit turned on their engines and made it a 4-2 game.  But in the 7th, Brett Gardner hit a beautiful shot to drive in 2 RBIs and tie the game.  The Tigers, however, left Verlander on the mound and he was able to keep the Yankees in check.  All worth it because the Tigers got a solo home run from Dmitri Young in the 7th inning to give the Tigers a leg up… and that’s all they would need to take a 2-1 lead in the series.  Detroit 5, NY Yankees 4. FOOTBALL Finally, it was Monday Night Football between the Peyton Manning-less Indianapolis Colts and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  The Colts even made a change at QB, benching veteran Kerry Collins in favor of long-time back-up Curtis Painter.  Funniest thing is the Colts are used to Manning calling all the plays out there.  He’s basically their offensive coordinator.  With him in the box, head coach Jim Caldwell became more of a factor.  Surprisingly, the Colts put up a decent fight, getting 2 touchdowns from Pierre Garcon. The game was tied midway through the 4th quarter, but then Buccaneers running-back LeGarret Blount burst out a big run for a touchdown.  That was all they needed to ice the game and get out with a win.  The Bucs may finally be on the upswing.  Tampa Bay 24, Indianapolis 17.