Tuesday, November 17, 2015

NCAAB: Tar Heels Host the Terriers on Wednesday

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NCAAB: No. 1 Tar Heels Host Upset-Minded Wofford

North Carolina Tar Heels won their home opener against Fairfield. North Carolina is ranked No. 1 in the country after opening their campaign with two straight wins. They have scored 183 points in their first two games. However, the Wofford Terriers have a lot of fight in them; UNC will have to pick up their game in this early-season contest. They welcome the Wofford Terriers to Chapel Hill on Wednesday night.
The Terriers hail from the Southern Conference and are coming off an 83-74 loss at Missouri to open their season. Fletcher Magee came off the bench to drop 22 points for the Terriers while Justin Gordon added 19 points and six boards for Wofford, who shot just 38.2% from the field.
After routing Temple, the Tar Heels romped to a 92-65 win over Fairfield in their home opener. Nate Britt was the high man with 17 points off the bench while Brice Johnson had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Tar Heels. Even without injured star guard Marcus Paige, the Tar Heels have scored 183 points in two wins over Temple and Fairfield. Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson have averaged double-doubles while Nate Britt is picking up the scoring slack in the absence of Paige. Wofford fell to Missouri in their season opener and have a very tough schedule to open the season. They won’t be afraid of North Carolina, even on the road. UNC, who are without injured guard Marcus Paige, forced 19 turnovers while shooting 50% from the field. Britt was one of five Tar Heels in double figures, but UNC shot 18-of-32 from the foul line, so that needs to be improved.
This is the first time that these two schools have met in men’s basketball since 1926.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

NCAAF: No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners at No. 6 Baylor Bears

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NCAAF: Oklahoma Sooners-Baylor Bears in Big 12 Showdown

The top two teams on ESPN’s Football Power Index will meet this Saturday in a critical Big 12 matchup. The Sooners are 3-point road dogs for this contest. Baylor will be starting freshman and blue-chip quarterback Jarrett Stidham for just the second time in place of the injured Seth Russell, who’s out for the year with a fractured neck.  Stidham played well last week against the Kansas State Wildcats in a 31-24 victory. Oklahoma, meanwhile, ranks No. 1 on ESPN’s Football Power Index, one spot ahead of Baylor. Since their loss to the Texas Longhorns in the Red River, the Sooners have pummeled their last four opponents by a combined score of 232-50. The matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and Baylor Bears will start at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 14, 2015, at McLane Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ABC.
The Oklahoma Sooners and quarterback Baker Mayfield have showed they aren’t afraid of a shootout. The Sooners are tied for second in the country with 46 points per game and Mayfield’s completing 70.2 percent of his passes for 2,812 yards and 28 touchdowns, most recently torching Iowa State for his fifth 300-yard game of the season. Watch for the Sooners to unleash Samaje Perine early. He’s totaled 185 yards and three scores in the past two games and lit up Texas Tech for 201 yards before that. Oklahoma is No. 16 overall in points allowed at 18.1 per game, and the Sooners have played a tougher schedule than the Bears going into Week 11.
The Baylor Bears is undefeated and right in the running for a playoff berth, but had its share of doubters even before starting quarterback Seth Russell was lost for the year with a neck injury. It appears freshman Jarrett Stidham could be a solid replacement. He threw for 419 yards and three touchdowns in his first start last week, but the Kansas State defense is one thing, the Oklahoma defense another. The Bears embarrassed Oklahoma in Norman last season 48-14. Baylor’s secondary is led by Big 12 interception leader Xavien Howard and is second in the conference in pass defense allowing just 223.8 yards per game.

Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks, Week 10

Arizona Cardinals cornerback Jerraud Powers, top, breaks up a pass intended for Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Arizona Cardinals in control but Seahawks have chance to catch up

The Seattle Seahawks are coming off a bye and enter a very critical matchup against the NFC West leading Arizona Cardinals, who are 6-2. Their key offensive players will have to be at the top of their games after some time off. Seattle may be just 4-4, but can win the NFC West by winning out. The matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks is scheduled for Sunday, November 15, 2015, at 8:30 p.m. ET at CenturyLink Field. The game will be televised on NBC.
The Arizona Cardinals offense is very good and may be the most well-rounded in the NFL. The Cardinals rank in the Top 10 in the rush and in the pass, and they’re doing all of this with a running back Chris Johnson and the quarterback Carson Palmer. Palmer can be hot or cold though. Palmer’s history working with head coach Bruce Arians is excellent, as he now has 33 TDs against just nine picks in 14 games under center in this offense The raw numbers for Palmer are better across the board and he’s doing all of this thanks to the his  outstanding receivers headlined by future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald and an oncoming Michael Floyd.
The Seattle Seahawks have had a full bye week to try to draw up schemes to allow Russell Wilson plenty of time to throw the football. This year, the lack of time Wilson has had in the pocket has forced him into more bad throws than he usually makes. This ground game looks merely above average with Marshawn Lynch this year, and Wilson has been sacked 31 times this year. The Seahawks passing game ranks just No. 28 in the league this year. The good news for Seattle is that the Arizona’s pass rushers aren’t particularly great. If the Seahawks didn’t fix their offensive line problems in their bye week, they may have some trouble against a Arizona defense, which is keeping teams down to 312.8 yards and 19.1 points per game.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

NCAAF: No. 2 LSU at No. 4 Alabama in SEC Showdown

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NCAAF: LSU Tigers Burning Bright, But Bama Favored by Six

The LSU Tigers (7-0) have their hands full this Saturday against the Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1). Alabama will have home-field advantage at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Alabama is a 6-point home favorite with an outstanding run defense to counter LSU’s Heisman favorite, running back Leonard Fournette.
The college football season is full of important games during this upcoming week 10.  None more important than Saturday’s SEC showdown between the No. 2 LSU Tigers and the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide.  The showdown is scheduled to start at 8:00 PM ET and broadcast on CBS.
The LSU Tigers go into this game undefeated at (7-0), but while the AP poll has them two spots ahead of the Crimson Tide (7-1), the advanced stats suggest that Alabama is the better team, both on offense and defense. LSU might also be missing cornerback Tre’Davious White on Saturday. White hurt his knee two weeks ago and is not quite all the way there yet during Wednesday’s practice. Alabama’s outstanding run defense which allowed just 2.6 yards per carry this year could prove problematic for Tigers running back Leonard Fournette.
Both teams had the bye week to prepare for this Saturday’s game. The LSU Tigers haven’t played on the road since Week 4 with a 34-24 victory over the Syracuse Orange. Four of the last six games between Alabama and LSU have been decided by a touchdown or less. On paper, this figures to be another close one. Alabama doesn’t blow many teams out, and LSU’s running game should keep the Tigers in the game until the end.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Tennis: Djokovic Seeks Paris Masters Three-peat

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland during their quarter final match, at the Paris Masters tennis at Bercy Arena in Paris, France, Friday, Nov. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Tennis: Djokovic on the Prowl at Paris Masters

World’s No. 1 is looking for his fourth career title and his third in three years at this week’s Paris Masters which is an indoor hard-court tournament. He claimed his ninth trophy of the season at last month’s Shanghai Masters.  Djokovic has already advanced to the third round, where he’ll meet No. 14 Gilles Simon on Thursday at 4:00 AM ET. Novak Djokovic is the undisputed King of Tennis, and he’s back in action this week at the Paris Masters . The three-time and defending champion had a bye into the second round, then advanced to the third with Tuesday’s straight-sets win over Thomaz Bellucci.
Djokovic is a heavy favorite to get past Simon and into the quarterfinals. They’ve met 10 times in men’s singles action, with Djokovic winning each of their last nine matches after losing on the indoor courts of Marseilles back in 2008. It is the players themselves who are making this year’s Paris Masters rather special. The Paris Masters is only the third of the nine ATP1000 tournaments this year to feature the top eight men.  Also, it is the first time since 2008 that the only indoor Masters of the year has boasted all eight of the top players in its draw. Among the other players advancing to the third round are No. 4 Stan Wawrinka, plus 2012 champion and No. 8 seed David Ferrer. All the top men’s seeds are present for this prestigious Masters 1000 event, including No. 2 Andy Murray, No. 3 Roger Federer and No. 7 Rafael Nadal. Federer is the only member of that threesome to win the Paris Masters in 2011.  Nadal fell to David Nalbandian in the 2007 finals.
Many eyes will be on Djokovic, in a year of recurrent highs, of title after title, of dominating the rankings, the Masters and the Grand Slams. This year, he has already reached the final of 13 tournaments in a row, won nine titles, including three Grand Slams and 73 of 78 matches.
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Monday, November 2, 2015

Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9

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Browns return to Cincinnati after losing three straight

The start of Week 9 for the NFL we’ve got an AFC North battle between the Browns and the Bengals. Cleveland (2-6) lost to the Cardinals in their last game, while Cincinnati (7-0) came away with a win over the Steelers in Week 8. The Bengals keep finding ways to win and remained unbeaten while increasing their lead in the AFC North with a comeback win at Pittsburgh. The Browns keep on losing, falling for a third straight time this last Sunday. The game between the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals is scheduled for Thursday, November 5, 2015, at 8:25 p.m. ET at Paul Brown Stadium. The game will be broadcasted on the NFL Network.
The Cincinnati Bengals improved to 7-0 for the first time in team history thanks to another comeback drive by quarterback Andy Dalton. After throwing two interceptions early in the second half, Dalton tossed a nine-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green with just under three minutes left that gave Cincinnati its first lead of the game. The Bengals used a balance of runs and passes on their final drive to spark the comeback. The Bengals running back Giovani Bernard had a big gain out of the backfield to put the offense in position for the go-ahead score. Fourth quarter comeback drives are starting to become the norm for Dalton, who now has three game-winning drives this season.  Cincinnati opened as a 10.5-point favorite and that line looks manageable against a team that has no identity.
The Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown got roughed up again in the second half against Arizona. McCown had a great first half throwing three touchdown passes in the first 30 minutes for the first time in his career. McCown took another shot in the second half against the Cardinals and was not effective after Kevin Minter hit him. The Browns coaching staff is showing no confidence in Manziel and McCown just doesn’t have enough to carry them. The Browns are 2-6 and relying on  McCown who is a 36 year old quarterback. McCown has put up good numbers, but he also has gone 2-15 in the past two years as a starter.
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