SB Nation Chicago: All Posts by Ryan Rosenblatt

Mark Appel Gets The Best Of UCLA As Bruins Lose 2-1

2013-05-25T07:14:52Z

Mark Appel is one of the best pitchers in the country and the likely No. 1 overall pick in next month's MLB Draft. On Friday night, he showed UCLA why, dominating the Bruins with eight innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits and striking out nine to lead Stanford to a 2-1 victory at Sunken Diamond.

No Bruin reached base more than once in the game as Appel dominated from the start. The game started with three strike outs swinging in the first, but lucky for UCLA, Adam Plutko was just as good in the early going. Every time Appel put up a great inning, Plutko answered him..

UCLA broke through in the third when Shane Zeile singled to open the frame and Pat Gallagher was hit by the next pitch. Brenton Allen bunted them over so when Brian Carroll grounded out to short, Zeile was able to score for a 1-0 Bruins lead.

Plutko didn't ease up with the lead. He needed just seven pitches to retire the side in the bottom half of the inning and didn't allow a man in scoring position in either of the next two innings either.

But Plutko ran into trouble in the sixth, and that proved to be his and the Bruins' undoing. A leadoff double was followed by a RBI triple to tie the game. From there, a simple sacrifice fly scored what would prove to be the winning run.

Plutko worked one more inning before exiting after seven wonderful innings, but he was no match for Appel. The Cardinal's hurler kept cruising until getting the hook after eight frames, but Garrett Hughes sat UCLA down in order to wrap up the game and earn Stanford the series opener.

The loss was a huge blow to the Bruins' Pac-12 title chances. They entered the weekend two games back of first place Oregon St. and when the Beavers lost on Friday, the Bruins were primed to move within a game, but they missed their opportunity. Now have to win their final two games and hope that Oregon St. loses each of their final two if they want to win a third consecutive conference title.

UCLA at Stanford Friday Baseball Thread: National Seed Hunting In Palo Alto

2013-05-25T02:00:06Z

The eighth national seed is up for grabs after Louisville went 0-2 in the Big East Tournament and UCLA is right in the running for it. Indiana is also in the race, despite no overly impressive series wins, but Mississippi St.'s hot finish to the season has them in the mix too. Still, the Bruins are right there and a series win, or ideally a sweep over Stanford this weekend gives them a compelling case.

Adam Plutko will start for UCLA tonight and he carries with him a 7-2 record and 2.60 ERA. He'll be opposed by Mark Appel, who may be the No. 1 overall pick in next month's draft. He's 9-4 with a 2.20 ERA this season and with Stanford needing a great weekend to have a chance at making the postseason, Appel will have to be at his best.

Tonight's game is on the Pac-12 Network so tune in at 7 p.m. for first pitch. If you don't get the channel, follow along on GameTracker. This is your open thread so have at it as the Bruins go national seed hunting.

Anthony McCoy injury: Seahawks TE tears Achilles, according to report

2013-05-24T19:13:34Z

Seattle Seahawks tight end Anthony McCoy tore his Achilles tendon and will miss at least six months, according to USA Today. The injury occurred during organized team activities, and surgery was already performed on the tear.

The Seahawks used a lot of two-tight end sets last season, earning McCoy plenty of playing time alongside Zach Miller. McCoy played in all 18 games and had 18 catches for 291 yards and three touchdowns. He played in all of the Seahawks' games in 2011 as well.

For more on McCoy's injury visit Seahawks blog Field Gulls

If McCoy does miss six months, he will not return until November. That makes him a likely candidate for the physically-unable-to-perform list, which would make him ineligible to play for the first 12 weeks of the season, but would open up a spot on the Seattle roster.

The Seahawks drafted Like Willson to be the team's third tight end, but he will have to take on a bigger role from Week 1 with McCoy out. Willson ran the 40 in 4.57 and 4.46 seconds at his pro day and is also a pitcher in the Blue Jays organization, so his athleticism isn't a question, but he will have to adjust to the NFL game quickly now with McCoy sidelined.

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Richard Seymour rumors: 'Nothing serious' with Falcons right now, according to report

2013-05-24T18:47:47Z

Richard Seymour is still a free agent, but it doesn't appear as if the Atlanta Falcons are a possible destination for him at the moment. The Falcons have shown interest in the veteran defensive tackle before, but as of right now it is an unlikely landing spot, according to Ian Rapoport.

#Falcons have expressed interest in Richard Seymour in the past. That's the closest team to where he lives But there is nothing serious now
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 24, 2013

On Thursday night, reports emerged that the Falcons and Seymour were in talks, but it appears nothing will come of them, based on Rapoport's information.

For more on the Falcons visit: The Falcoholic

The Falcons may show more interest in Seymour after June 1, when money owned to Tyson Clabo will come off of the books. Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff was in New England when Seymour was too, so Seymour in Atlanta makes sense. The question is how much Seymour would cost.

It has been rumored that Seymour will not take a significant pay cut from what he earned last year with the Raiders, but that remains a rumor.

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2013 Indy 500: Indy Lights Freedom 100 ends in incredible photo finish

2013-05-24T18:02:26Z

The Indy Lights Freedom 100 set an Indianapolis Motor Speedway record for the closest finish in the track's history as Peter Dempsey grabbed the win in a photo finish. Dempsey came on late and edged out three challengers to take the race by 0.0026 seconds, the closest finish in IMS history.

Carlos Munoz led the most laps in the race and Sage Karam was pushing him for most of the last two laps, but Gabby Chaves then came on to make it three-wide in a wild final lap. Finally at the end, Dempsey came out of nowhere on the outside and barely picked up the win in a four-wide finish.

Here's a picture of the Indy Lights finish: twitter.com/JennaFryer/sta…
— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) May 24, 2013

Chaves finished in second place, followed by Karam and Munoz fell to fourth place.

Dempsey won by inches, over 100 miles and from coming out of nowhere. The Indianapolis 500 is still to come on Sunday, but the craziest finish of the weekend and closest finish in speedway history is already in the books.

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Ron Jaworski believes Chip Kelly's offense won't work in the NFL

2013-05-24T17:21:28Z

The Philadelphia Eagles believe Chip Kelly's offense is going to be a success in the NFL, but Ron Jaworski doesn't feel the same. The former Eagles quarterback and current ESPN NFL analyst told 97.5 The Fanatic (via Phillymag.com) that he doesn't think Kelly's offense is going to fare well in the pros.

For more on Kelly's offense visit Bleeding Green Nation

"It’s going to be interesting to see if this style of offense projects to the NFL," Jaws said during an interview with Harry Mayes and Nick Kayal. "I’m going to say no."

"I just don’t see NFL passing concepts in this offense. It’s a movement offense by the quarterback, off the run-action, off the read-action. A lot of short, quick passes, dart routes, bubble screens. Very few plays down the field with NFL passing concepts."

Jaworski made these comments after watching a handful of Oregon's games from last season. The question is whether Kelly's Eagles offense will mirror his offense at Oregon. He hasn't let slip exactly what his Philadelphia offense will look like yet.

But the key concern for Jaworski is the lack of practice time limits in the NFL, where teams can practice all day, study tape and prepare for Kelly's offense.

"It’s easy to say, ‘Yeah, it worked in college,’ " he said. "But then I looked at a game like Stanford. Stanford, a good defensive football team, shut them down. I hope it works. I like the innovation, but I think it’s going to be very difficult.

"The NFL is a different league with fast players that have all week to prepare for you. At the collegiate level, you have 20 hours to prepare for that Oregon offense. Take out three hours of game time. You’ve got 17 hours in the course of a week to practice and prepare for that style of offense. It kills you in college. But in the NFL, these guys work 17 hours a day. A day, not a week – 17 hours a day getting ready, so there’s no secrets."

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Stanley Cup Playoffs 2013, Penguins vs. Senators Game 4: Time, TV schedule and more

2013-05-22T16:25:46Z

The Ottawa Senators were 29 seconds away from going down 3-0 and they were shorthanded, too, but Daniel Alfredsson came to the rescue. The captain barreled down the middle and redirected a shot past Tomas Vokoun to force overtime. It took a second overtime before the Senators finally won it, but however they did it and however many heart attacks they caused, Ottawa had a win to get them back in the series.

Now the Senators prepare for Game 4, trailing the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in the Eastern Conference finals, but alive once again. Now they have to get even or risk being eliminated in Game 5 back in Pittsburgh.

As dramatics and satisfying as their Game 3 win was, the Senators still have plenty of work left to do.

The Penguins know that as close as they came to pushing the Senators to the brink in Game 3, they are still sitting pretty. They went to Ottawa looking for a split, which would allow them to win the series back at home, and that's still on the table.

Winning at Scotiabank Place is easier said than done, though. The Senators are 3-0 at home this postseason and can put a scare in the Penguins if they can stay perfect in Game 4.

Do the Senators have any magic left?

In Game 3, the Senators left it until there were just 29 seconds left to tie the game and then needed double overtime to win it. As dramatic as that may have been, it was just more of the same for Ottawa, who have been mounting late comebacks all playoffs. At some point that magic has to run out, you would think. But maybe this Senators team is different? We'll see if they have any fairy dust left in Game 4.

Will the Penguins' power play get back on track?

The Penguins power play had been amazing in the postseason, scoring on 10 of 31 opportunities heading into Game 3, but the Senators shut them down at Scotiabank Place. Now Pittsburgh has to get back on track with the man advantage and that begins with getting bodies in front of net. Craig Anderson had clear looks at too many shots and when the Sens goalie did give up the rare rebound, there were no Penguins to pounce on it. That has to change in Game 4 for Pittsburgh.

How is Jason Spezza coming along?

Jason Spezza returned to the ice for the first time since the fifth game of the regular season in Game 3 and while he managed four shots, he wasn't the dominant player that he was a year ago. It's ridiculous to expect him to be his old self coming off of back surgery, but the Senators need him to be and impact player. For Game 4, they will take an improvement on the guy they saw in Game 3. Just one big play from him could be the difference.

Game Time: 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday

TV information: NBCSN, CBC, RDS

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UCLA Finishes Home Slate In Style, Beats UCSB 2-1

2013-05-22T07:57:22Z

UCLA's home season started with a disappointing extra innings loss, but they made sure that it would end much better with a 2-1 win over UC Santa Barbara. Now their regular season home slate is in the books, and a 24-9 home mark with it, leaving the Bruins with one goal -- a strong final weekend at Stanford and a return to Jackie Robinson Stadium next week for the Regionals.

The Bruins' spot at a Regional host is just about locked up, but a national seed is still on the table and a return to Jackie Robinson Stadium for the Super Regionals would suit 37-15 UCLA just fine.

Whereas the bullpen let UCLA down on February 15 when the Bruins started their season, it was spot on against the Gauchos. After Cody Poteet worked six innings of one-run ball, the bullpen locking things down. James Kaprielian tossed a scoreless frame and Zack Weiss followed with one of his own before David Berg slammed the door to pick up his 17th save.

Poteet ran into first inning trouble when a two-out RBI single put UCSB in front, but he was nearly perfect from there on out. The freshman walked one in the second inning, but that was the only other Gaucho that reached against Poteet.

With Poteet cruising, the Bruins didn't need much offense and they didn't get much, totaling just six hits in the game. They ran themselves out of the first inning when they were twice caught stealing, but Pat Valaika tripled to start the second and Kevin Williams singled him home to tie the game at 1-1.

From there on, UCLA struggled to do much at the plate. They ran themselves out of the fourth, but were otherwise inept until the sixth, when they finally got back on the scoreboard.

Brian Carroll and Kevin Kramer singled to start the frame and after an Eric Filia sacrifice bunt, Carroll was standing just 90 feet away. All Valaika had to do was lift a fly ball deep enough for the speedy Carroll to tag, which he did, and the Bruins took a 2-1 lead.

With the lead in hand, UCLA pulled Poteet and turned the game over to the bullpen, which finished the game with ease, and the Bruins' home slate in style.