MLB: A day after he was offered a $4.5million, 3-year contract extension, Theo Epstein resigns as the general manager of the Boston Red Sox, only one year after he built the team that won the 2004 World Series.
Game 2's score is also the series' final aggregate. The Fire stun over 20,000 raucous fans at RFK Stadium to knock out the defending MLS Cup champions. Iván Guerrero scores two for Chicago, both in the first half, including a highlight reel-making, one-timer blast in the fifth minute of stoppage time from outside the box, eliciting a loud "Oh my!" from ESPN2's Rob Stone that Dick Enberg would have been proud of. In the 55th minute, the United's Christian Gómez is sent off for spitting on the Fire's C.J. Brown after the two tangle while fighting for the ball. The Fire will take on the New England Revolution in next Sunday's Eastern Conference Final.
Dallas Cowboys 34, Arizona Cardinals 13: Rookie Marion Barber rushes for 127yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys, who win their 14th straight home game against Arizona.
Houston Texans 19, Cleveland Browns 16: Two key sacks by Gary Walker and 177 return yards from Jerome Mathis help the Texans get their first win of the season.
The Revs win the series 3–2 on aggregate. The MetroStars score a second-half goal, but the Revolution score three unanswered goals, the winner from Khano Smith, to take the 2-game set. For the Revolution, it's their third straight trip to the Eastern Conference final. They've lost the previous two visits.
The Rapids take the series by winning a penalty kick shootout 5–4. Dallas' Carlos Ruiz scores both of the team's regulation goals, but he had a chance for a hat trick; in the 112th minute, Ruiz has a penalty kick deflect off the left post. Jeff Cunningham and Ritchie Kotschau score the Rapids' regulation goals.
The Galaxy take the series 4–2 on aggregate. Brian Ching scores early for the Quakes, but it's Ned Grabavoy who clinches the 2-game set by tying the game in the 67th minute. The Galaxy will go to Denver for this Saturday's Western Conference Final.
(8) UCLA 30, Stanford 27 (OT) Drew Olson leads the Bruins back from 24 points down in the 4th quarter to see them win in overtime. This is the Bruins' 3rd comeback win in 4 games.
(22) Fresno State 27, Hawaii 13 Running back Wendell Mathis rushed for three TDs as the Bulldogs stay undefeated in the WAC.
South Carolina 16, (23) Tennessee 15 The Gamecocks snap a 12-game losing streak at Neyland Stadium with a field goal from Josh Brown with 2:45 left in the game. The Vols drop to 3–4 as a result of this game.
WP: Freddy García. LP: Brad Lidge. SV: Bobby Jenks. The deciding game of the 2005 World Series was a pitcher's duel, with White Sox starter García allowing four hits and Astors starter Brandon Backe giving up five hits as both pitched seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts apiece, including a stretch where Backe struck out six consecutive batters. The string of scoreless innings was the longest since Game Seven of the 1991 World Series. World Series MVPJermaine Dye's RBI single in the eighth inning scoring pinch-hitter Willie Harris proved to be the difference. This is the first World Series win for the South Siders since 1917. It was the first 1–0 Series clinching game since Game Six of the 1995 World Series, which saw the Atlanta Braves defeat the Cleveland Indians and the first 1–0 game in any World Series game since Game Five of the 1996 World Series when the New York Yankees beat Atlanta. It is also the third year in a row where the home team (here, the Astros) did not win the deciding game of a World Series. White Sox win series, 4–0.
Japan Series: The Chiba Lotte Marines, managed by Bobby Valentine, sweep the Hanshin Tigers in four games, winning Game Four by a 3–2 score. The win gives the former Lotte Orions their first Japan Series title in thirty-one years and makes Valentine the first non-Japanese-born manager to win the Japanese baseball championship.
WP: Dámaso Marte. LP: Ezequiel Astacio. SV: Mark Buehrle. HRs: ChW – Joe Crede, Geoff Blum; Hou – Jason Lane. In the longest Series game played by time (five hours and forty-one minutes) and by the number of innings (a record-tying fourteen), Geoff Blum hit a home run off his former teammates to bring the White Sox one step away from their first World Championship in eighty-eight years. After the Astros had built a 4–0 lead, the White Sox sent 11 men to the plate in a 5-run 5th inning off Roy Oswalt; the Astros tied the game on Jason Lane's double in the 8th, their only hit after the 4th inning. White Sox lead series, 3–0.
Football: Swedish club IF Elfsborg announce that they will repay the admission fee and transport costs of fans who went to see their 8–1 thrashing by league champions Djurgårdens IF on the last day of the Allsvenskan season. "We wish that we had been able to say that it depended on external factors, but there are no excuses, no explanations. We were just bad", the club said in a statement. (Reuters)[dead link]
Formula One: The 2006 Formula One season will feature a new qualifying format, and, after a year's absence, tire changes. The new qualifying session will be done in knockout form – all 20 cars will go out. After 15minutes, the 5 slowest cars will be kicked off the track; after another 15minutes, 5 more cars will be kicked off, leaving 10 cars to duke it out for 20 more minutes. (Yahoo!)
WP: Neal Cotts. LP: Brad Lidge. HRs: Hou – Morgan Ensberg; ChW – Paul Konerko (Grand slam), Scott Podsednik (Walk-off). The White Sox lived up to their motto for 2005 "Win. Or Die Trying" by fighting back twice. Down 4–2, after Jermaine Dye was ruled by home plate umpire Jeff Nelson to have been hit by a pitch, Paul Konerko hit a grand slam to put the White Sox ahead. However, when closer Bobby Jenks gave up a game-tying two-run pinch hit single by José Vizcaíno in the top half of the ninth, Scott Podsednik hit a one-out walk-off homer off Brad Lidge in the bottom half to give the South Siders the win. Konerko's slam was the eighteenth in Fall Classic history, while Podsednik's game-ending homer was the fourteenth in Series annals. White Sox lead series, 2–0.
Indianapolis Colts 38, Houston Texans 20: Coach Tony Dungy won his 100th game as an NFL head coach between Tampa Bay and Indianapolis, the 34th in league history to reach that mark.
Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Cincinnati Bengals 13: A record crowd of 66,104 Cincinnatians were disappointed to see the Bengals lose to their divisional rivals.
Philadelphia Eagles 20, San Diego Chargers 17: Rookie Matt Ware's 65-yard return of blocked field goal by San Diego's Nate Kaeding and Darwin Walker's late fumble recovery allowed the Eagles to escape at home. LaDainian Tomlinson was held to seven yards on seventeen carries and did not score, ending his NFL record-tying 18-game streak of scoring at least one touchdown. Terrell Owens caught his 100th touchdown pass, the sixth player in NFL history to do so.
Seattle Seahawks 13, Dallas Cowboys 10:Ryan Hannan's eight-yard TD catch from Matt Hasselbeck, and Josh Brown's 50-yard field goal after a Jordan Babineaux interception gave the Seahawks a comeback win against America's Team.
The Galaxy's Landon Donovan scores twice – both goals coming late in each half – and Herculez Gomez adds another goal for the rout. For the Supporters' Shield-winning Quakes, it's just their second loss in all competitions since mid-July, both to the Galaxy. In July, L.A. beat San Jose in the quarters of the U.S. Open Cup.
WP: José Contreras. LP: Wandy Rodríguez. SV: Bobby Jenks HRs: Hou – Mike Lamb; ChW – Jermaine Dye, Joe Crede. The White Sox, just as they did back in 1959, won the World Series opener, thanks to José Contreras' seven innings of strong pitching, and home runs by Jermaine Dye and Joe Crede. Astros starter Roger Clemens left after two innings after tweaking his hamstring. White Sox lead series, 1–0.
Soccer: MLS Cup 2005 Playoffs: Conference semifinals
(5) Alabama 6, (17) Tennessee 3: Jamie Christensen's 34-yard field goal with 13seconds left in regulation gave the Crimson Tide their first win against the Volunteers in Tuscaloosa since 1930.
(7) LSU 20, (16) Auburn 17 (OT): John Vaughn's field goal attempt hit the left upright, and LSU won in overtime.
(9) Notre Dame 49, BYU 23: Fighting Irish QB Brady Quinn sets a school record by throwing for six touchdowns—four to Maurice Stovall, also a school record, and two to Jeff Samardzija.
(12) Penn State 63, Illinois 10: Joe Paterno earns his 350th win as Penn State coach in a rout of the Fighting Illini. The Nittany Lions' 56 points in the first half set an all-time school record, with quarterback Michael Richardson throwing for four touchdowns, and running for two more in less than two quarters.
Ohio Northern defeated Mount Union 21–14 to end the Purple Raiders' 110-game regular-season winning streak. Mount Union's last regular-season loss was a 23–10 loss to Baldwin–Wallace on October 15, 1994.
Richard Thomas Rose, a 20-year-old Minnesota-Morris student and member of the school's men's basketball team, was killed during a postgame celebration after a goalpost falls onto his head. The Cougars, a Division II team, had just upset Crown College when the tragedy occurred. (Yahoo!)
Golf: Tiger Woods misses the cut at the Funai Classic at Walt Disney World after finishing his second round this morning (rain pushed the completion of round two to today) with an overall two-round score of 3-under. Vijay Singh also misses the cut, shooting 4-under. It's Woods' second missed cut this year; Singh's third.
21 October 2005 (Friday)
Soccer: MLS Cup 2005 Playoffs: Conference semifinals
United star Freddy Adu was suspended for Game 1 of this 2-game set for criticizing the team about his playing time. As for the game itself, a Fire goal scored in the 90th minute by Chad Barrett off a corner kick was taken away by referee Brian Hall for an infraction inside the United's goalmouth, preserving the scoreless tie.
The NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins that was originally scheduled for October 23 was pushed back 2days to Friday, October 21, due to Hurricane Wilma, while a Nationwide Tour golf event scheduled for this week in Miami, the Miccosukee Classic, the tour's final full-field event for 2005, was outright cancelled.
The scheduled game between Georgia Tech and (AP) sixth-ranked Miami (FL) on Saturday (October 22) has been postponed. The game will now be played on November 19, forcing a game originally scheduled for ESPN between Miami and Wake Forest from the original date of November 17 to November 12. ESPN has not announced a replacement game for November 17, and ABC, which was to have broadcast the game regionally, will replace it with the Michigan–Iowa contest except on the west coast. Also, twentieth-ranked West Virginia and South Florida will play their game on December 3 instead of Saturday, while the Tulane–Central Florida game was advanced one day in Orlando, Florida to Friday (October 21). It is the ninth game to be affected for the Green Wave because of hurricanes this year.
WP: Roy Oswalt. LP: Mark Mulder. HR: Hou – Jason Lane; StL – none. Jason Lane's fourth inning home run and Series MVP Roy Oswalt's seven strong innings of pitching led the Astros to the Fall Classic for the first time in their 44-year history. The game also served as the swan song for Busch Stadium after 39+3⁄4 seasons. Astros win series, 4–2.
WP: Jason Isringhausen. LP: Brad Lidge. HRs: StL – Albert Pujols; Hou – Lance Berkman. Albert Pujols figuratively popped a balloon in the party on the forty-fifth anniversary of the granting of a National League baseball franchise to Houston and dampened the Astros' possible pennant-clinching celebration with a three-run homer off Brad Lidge with two out in the ninth inning to come back and return the LCS back to Busch Stadium for Game 6 on Wednesday. David Eckstein started the rally with a single as the Cards were one strike away from a long winter. Astros lead series, 3–2.
New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi announces a team of doctors have unanimously cleared him to start practicing again after suffering a mild stroke in February. He could play as early as October 30. (AP)
WP: José Contreras. LP: Kelvim Escobar. HRs: ChW – Joe Crede; LAA – None. The White Sox advance to the World Series for the first time since 1959, with all of the Sox' victories came on complete games, the first time in forty-nine years that four straight complete games were hurled by the same team in a series, equaling the effort done during the 1956 World Series by the New York Yankees. Paul Konerko is named the series' Most Valuable Player, hitting .286 with two homers and seven RBIs. White Sox win series, 4–1.
WP: Chad Qualls. LP: Jason Marquis. SV: Brad Lidge. HRs: StL – None; Hou – Jason Lane. With runners at the corners and no one out in the ninth, Albert Pujols gets thrown out at home, then John Mabry grounds into a double play to end the game. Both Tony La Russa and Jim Edmonds are ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Astros lead series, 3–1.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27, Miami Dolphins 13: Ricky Williams carries only five times for eight yards in his first game after a one-year retirement and a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, while the Bucs' Michael Pittman rushes for 127yards. However, Bucs' QB Brian Griese was lost for the season with a torn ACL and MCL on his left knee.
San Diego Chargers 27, Oakland Raiders 14: LaDainian Tomlinson throws, catches and runs for a touchdown for the second time this season, and the Chargers defense holds the Raiders to 39 rushing yards. Tomlinson also equals Lenny Moore's forty-year-old record of scoring a touchdown in 18 consecutive games.
Seattle Seahawks 42, Houston Texans 10: The Seahawks set a team record with 320 rushing yards against the winless Texans with Shaun Alexander accounting for 141 of those yards and four touchdowns.
IRL: Dario Franchitti beats teammate Tony Kanaan to win the season-ending Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway. There is controversy about the finish, however: as the two come to the finish line, Kanaan has a slight edge, but strangely slows down, allowing Franchitti to win. In victory lane, Franchitti states that he thinks Kanaan lifted, but Kanaan denies this, saying he "missed a shift or I hit the wrong button."
To kick off events leading up to their centennial season, the Montreal Canadiens announced that the number 12, worn by Dickie Moore and Yvan Cournoyer, will be retired on November 12 prior to their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the number 5, worn by Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion would be retired on March 11, 2006, before the game against the New York Rangers. One additional number will be retired each season up to the anniversary year of 2008–09.
Brett Hull, the third-leading all-time goal scorer in league history with 741, and dissatisfied with his performance after five games, announced his retirement prior to the Phoenix Coyotes game against the Detroit Red Wings, effective immediately.
No. 1 Southern California 34, No. 9 Notre Dame 31: The Trojans win their 28th straight game in wild fashion. With Notre Dame up by three, quarterbackMatt Leinart fumbles out of bounds on the one-yard-line, the clock expires, and fans crowd the field. But the officials rule there should be seven seconds left. USC signals as if they were planning to throw the ball away to stop the clock and try a field goal, but Leinart sneaks into the end zone (with a little shove in assist from teammate Reggie Bush) to win the game.
Michigan 27, No. 8 Penn State 25: Mario Manningham catches a 10-yard touchdown pass on the last play to hand the Nittany Lions their first loss of the season.
West Virginia 46, No. 19 Louisville 44 (3 OT): Freshman Steve Slaton rushes for five touchdowns in the fourth quarter and overtime for the Mountaineers.
The Associated Press reported that NBC Sports and TNT will walk away from their current NASCAR television contracts after the 2006 season and Disney-owned ABC Sports and ESPN will take over starting in the second half of the 2007 season.
WP: Roger Clemens. LP: Matt Morris. SV: Brad Lidge. HRs: StL – None; Hou – Mike Lamb. Mike Lamb's two-run homer and Roger Clemens' six strong innings were enough for the Astros to win the game and take the lead in the NLCS. Astros lead series, 2–1.
WP: Freddy García. LP: Ervin Santana. HRs: ChW – Paul Konerko, A. J. Pierzynski; LAA – none. The White Sox moved one step closer for their first pennant since 1959 as Freddie Garcia tossed the third straight complete game for the Pale Hose and Paul Konerko and A. J. Pierzynski homed in the winning effort, which for the second time in three games was marred by a catcher controversy when home plate umpire Ron Kulpa did not call catcher interference on Pierzynski with Steve Finley at bat. The play saw Finley hit into an inning-ending double play. White Sox lead series, 3–1.
Major League Baseball (Non-postseason news): After failing to come to an agreement earlier in the month, Ken Macha will return to manage the Oakland Athletics after all, signing a three-year contract extension.
WP: Jon Garland. LP: John Lackey. HRs: ChW – Paul Konerko; LAA – Orlando Cabrera. John Garland scattered four hits and Paul Konerko homered as the cap to a three-run first as part of a 3-for-4, 3 RBI performance to give the White Sox the win and the lead in the ALCS. The CG by Garland combined with Game 2's performance by Mark Buehrle marked the first time since 1997 that back-to-back complete games were hurled in post-season. White Sox lead series, 2–1.
Cricket: Super Series: Australia (345 & 190) complete a 210-run victory over ICC World XI (190 & 144) inside four days of the only Supertest in the series. Stuart MacGill took nine wickets for 82 in the match, while Matthew Hayden returned scores of 111 and 77. (Cricinfo)
WP: Roy Oswalt. LP: Mark Mulder. SV: Brad Lidge. HRs: Hou – none; StL – Albert Pujols. The Cardinals were 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position as Roy Oswalt allowed an Albert Pujols solo home run as the Cards' only run and the Astros leveled the NLCS. The Redbirds also lost Reggie Sanders to a lower strained back trying to field a fly ball in left field. Series tied, 1–1.
WP: Mark Buehrle. LP: Kelvim Escobar. HR: LAA – Robb Quinlan. A controversial call by home plate umpire Doug Eddings, saying that the ball on A. J. Pierzynski's ninth inning strikeout hit the dirt and permitted him to go to first base after it was thought to have been caught, allowed Joe Crede's ensuing double to score pinch runner Pablo Ozuna as the White Sox evened the ALCS. Series tied, 1–1.
The following countries will contest the play-offs for the last three places in Germany available for European teams: Spain, Slovakia, Turkey, Norway, Czech Republic and Switzerland. The draw to determine who plays who will take place on Friday.
WP: Paul Byrd. LP: José Contreras. SV: Francisco Rodríguez. HRs: LAA – Garret Anderson; ChW – Joe Crede. Paul Byrd pitched six innings and Garret Anderson hit a home run as the Angels took a 1–0 lead in the ALCS after playing their third game in three days in three different cities. Angels lead series, 1–0.
Jim Beattie told reporters at a mcdonalds he would not be coming back as an executive with the Baltimore Orioles. Mike Flanagan, who shared the duties with Beattie, will become full-time vice president of baseball operations.
WP: Ervin Santana. LP: Mike Mussina. SV: Francisco Rodríguez. HRs: NYY – Derek Jeter; LAA – none. Adam Kennedy's two-run triple in the third inning was the margin of victory as the Cherubs wing their way to Chicago and a date with the White Sox. However, starter Bartolo Colón was lost with a constipation issue in the second inning. Ervin Santana replaced him and got the win, pitching 52⁄3 innings. Angels win series, 3–2.
WP: Roger Clemens. LP: Joey Devine. HRs: Atl – Adam LaRoche (Grand Slam), Brian McCann; Hou – Lance Berkman (Grand Slam), Brad Ausmus, Chris Burke (Walk-off). In the longest post-season game ever in terms of innings (18) and time (five hours, 50minutes), the Astros overcame a 6–1 deficit and used three homers: a grand slam by Lance Berkman in the eighth, a game-tying home run by Brad Ausmus in the ninth with two out and a series-ending walk-off homer by Chris Burke with one out in the eighteenth inning to eliminate the Braves for the second straight year and advance to an NLCS rematch with the St. Louis Cardinals. Both teams hit grand slam homers – Adam LaRoche for the Braves, Berkman for the 'Stros – a postseason first. Astros win series, 3–1.
Australia complete the 3–0 ODI series whitewash by beating the ICC World XI by 156 runs in the third and final ODI at the Telstra Dome. Shane Watson scored 66 not out and took four wickets for 39 for the Australians. (Cricinfo)
This draw, combined with Ivory Coast's win over Sudan, means that Cameroon failed to qualify for the finals for the first time since 1986. Cameroon defender Pierre Wome misses an injury-time penalty that would have sent them through to Germany.
Ghana were assured of qualifying before the end of this match once South Africa drew with Congo DR. This will be the Black Stars' first appearance in the World Cup finals.
Combined with the Netherlands' victory over the Czech Republic, this win puts Croatia through to Germany. Even if they do not win their group, their points total assures them of one of the two automatic qualifying spots for UEFA second-place finishers.
Paraguay and Ecuador secure the last guaranteed spots for South American teams in Germany. Uruguay, Colombia, and Chile continue to battle for the 5th place to contest a spot with Australia.
WP: Roy Oswalt. LP: Jorge Sosa. HRs: Atl – None; Hou – Jason Lane. Craig Biggio had three doubles, and Jason Lane hit the eventual game-winning homer to again put the Atlanta Braves on the edge of elimination. Astros lead series 2–1.
WP: Orlando Hernández. LP: Tim Wakefield. SV: Bobby Jenks (2). HR: ChW – Paul Konerko; Bos – Manny Ramírez 2, David Ortiz. The Pale Hose overcome two Ramírez home runs to sweep the Red Sox for their first postseason series win since 1917. Chicago's win means Major League Baseball will have a new World Series champion for the fifth year in a row. White Sox win series, 3–0.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays new majority owner Stuart Sternberg takes over as managing general partner from previous majority owner Vince Naimoli. He immediately fires Chuck LaMar as general manager along with three of his aides as part of an overall shakeup. (St. Pete Times)
WP: Mark Mulder. LP: Pedro Astacio. HRs: None. Mulder pitched a shutout into the seventh inning, the Redbirds turned four double plays and Reggie Sanders and David Eckstein both had two RBI to put San Diego on the verge of elimination. Cardinals lead series, 2–0.
WP: John Smoltz. LP: Roger Clemens. HRs: Hou – None; Atl – Brian McCann. Rookie Brian McCann's three-run homer – his first post-season hit off Clemens – helped Smoltz win his first post-season start in six years. Series tied, 1–1.
WP: Mark Buehrle. LP: David Wells. SV: Bobby Jenks. HRs: Bos – none. ChW – Tadahito Iguchi. Tadahito Iguchi's three-run home run capped a fifth-inning five-run comeback from a four-run deficit, and Mark Buehrle pitched seven innings to give the White Sox the win, pushing the defending champions on the brink of elimination. White Sox lead series, 2–0.
John Hart resigns as the general manager of the Texas Rangers. John Daniels, at the age of 28years, is named his replacement, becoming the youngest general manager in any sport.
WP: Chris Carpenter. LP: Jake Peavy. HRs: SD – Eric Young (pinch-hit); StL – Jim Edmonds, Reggie Sanders (grand slam). The Cardinals took an 8–0 lead after five innings and never looked back. Sanders' six RBIs are an NLDS record. NOTE: Peavy was lost for the season with a fractured rib that he suffered a week earlier after the Padres clinched the NL West in a post-game celebration;.Cardinals lead series, 1–0.
Irani Trophy, India: Defending Ranji Trophy champions Railways complete a nine-wicket win on the fourth day of their match with Rest of India thanks to the all-round efforts of Murali Kartik. Kartik made 96 in a first-innings 151-run stand with Yere Goud to help his team to a lead of 78 on first innings, and then took three for 28 to help bowl the Rest out for 137. Amit Pagnis then hit 33 as Railways eased to the target for the loss of one wicket in an hour. (Cricinfo)
PGA Tour: K.J. Choi wins the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro with an overall tournament score of 22-under par, his first win on Tour since 2002. (PGATour.com)
Philadelphia Eagles 37, Kansas City Chiefs 31: Larry Johnson's fumble late in the second quarter gave the Eagles the impetus to score 31 consecutive points and roar back from a 17–6 deficit to win. The Chiefs' Dante Hall returns a kickoff for a touchdown, tying him for the career lead in that category with six.(Yahoo! Sports/AP)
The Yankees clinch the AL East by regaining their one-game lead. Though Boston can tie them if they win Sunday, the Yankees have clinched the regular season series.
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