Home Blog Page 669

Andy Murray Taking On Kei Nishikori: 2015 Madrid Open Semi-finals

Jackie Warner
-
0
Andy Murray Taking On Kei Nishikori: 2015 Madrid Open Semi-finals

andy murray vs kei nishikori 2015 madrid open semi finals

Andy Murray is continuing to coast on exhaustion fumes, but it’s certainly working for him as he’s beaten Canadian Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-5 on Friday at the 2015 Madrid Open and will go on to face Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals.

The event doctor diagnosed Raonic with a pinched nerve in his right foot after the match. The Thornhill, Ont., native is scheduled to play at the French Open, which begins May 24.

“It was a good match for what it was,” said Raonic. “I just tried to fight through, considering the situation. I tried to make the most of the opportunities and considering everything, it was pretty good.

andy murray taking on kei nishikori 2015 madrid open

“I want to make sure that the next time I step out on court, I’m 100 per cent and can make the most of the challenges ahead of me.”

World No. 3 Murray hit 19 winners and saved all five break points faced in the one hour 41-minute match. In Madrid for a ninth time and a champion in 2008, Murray reached his 23rd ATP World Tour semifinal. He will next face last year’s runner-up Kei Nishikori.

“I feel like I’ve been moving well,” said Murray. “The first couple of weeks on the clay, I tried to work on it quite a lot in my training block before I started playing the tournaments.

“Because I feel healthy this year, I’m not worrying about my back or worrying about things when I am put in difficult positions on court. That obviously gives me a bit more confidence in the movement.”

kei nishikori vs andy murray 2015 madrid open semi finals

In the last match of the day, the fourth seed Kei Nishikori beat David Ferrer 6-4, 6-2.

Nishikori hit 22 winners and capitalized on five of his six break point opportunities in the 72-minute match. The Japanese star extended his unbeaten record on clay this year to eight matches as he reached his fifth ATP World Tour semifinal.

Earlier Friday, Serena Williams was beaten in the semifinal of the women’s tournament, a short time after Maria Sharapova also lost.

Petra Kvitova defeated the top-ranked Williams 6-2, 6-3, while Svetlana Kuznetsova ousted Sharapova 6-2, 6-4.

The victory was Kvitova’s first against Williams, a 19-time Grand Slam champion.

“I’m just exhausted today,” said Williams, who had her serve broken six times. “But it’s really good preparation for Roland Garros.”

Kuznetsova beat Sharapova for the first time in seven years, breaking her opponent’s serve three times and saving the one break point she faced.

“I’m just happy to be in the final,” said Kuznetsova, who had never before even reached the semifinals at the Madrid tournament.

Sharapova, who could have returned to No. 2 in the rankings with a victory, said she wasn’t able to take advantage of Kuznetsova’s second serves like she had done previously.

“Today she had much more pop on her ball than I did, while I felt my shots were a bit too flat,” Sharapova said. “I also think the court and the bounce, with the altitude here, meant her spin was getting really high.”

Kuznetsova, who will be playing in her first final in nine months, is 1-3 against Kvitova but beat the Czech on clay last year at the French Open in their last meeting.

Novak Djokovic Vying For Fourth Title With Big Four: 2015 Rome Open

Jackie Warner
-
0
Novak Djokovic Vying For Fourth Title With Big Four: 2015 Rome Open

novak djokovic big four 2015 rome open

Novak Djokovic has rested after pulling out of the 2015 Madrid Open, and he’s raring to get his fourth title at the 2015 Rome Open along with his fellow Big Four tennis stars: Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. Nadal and Murray have been killing it at the Madrid Open and look like they could wind up head to head in the finals before taking on the Serbian number one ranked tennis player in the world.

Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal lead a stellar field, including nine of the Top 10 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings, at this year’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia, the fifth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the year.

Bidding for his fourth title in Rome, defending champion Djokovic will open his campaign in the Italian city in the second round against the winner of Italian wild card Luca Vanni andNicolas Almagro, who has 12 ATP World Tour titles to his name, all on clay. The World No. 1 has a 29-5 match record in Rome and will look to win his fourth title in a row, following victories in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo.

A quarter-final against fifth seed and recent Barcelona champion Kei Nishikori, who will open against the winner of Ernests Gulbis and young gun Jiri Vesely, looms for the top-seeded Serb.

tennis big four hit 2015 rome open images

Third seed Murray lies in Djokovic’s half of the draw. Two weeks after winning his first clay-court title in Munich, Murray will open his campaign against the winner of Jeremy Chardy and Lukas Rosol. Seventh seed David Ferrer, who will open against the winner of Richard Gasquet and a qualifier, has been drawn into Murray’s quarter.

Second seed Federer, a runner-up three times, will look to hoist the Rome trophy for the first time when he starts in the second round against the winner of Italian wild card Paolo Lorenzi and Pablo Cuevas. The World No. 2 hopes to regain momentum after a second-round loss to Nick Kyrgios in Madrid.

Federer’s quarter-final foe could be sixth seed Tomas Berdych or tenth seedGrigor Dimitrov, who opens against Jerzy Janowicz in the first round. A semi-final against 46-time clay-court titlist Nadal looms for the Swiss.

The fourth-seeded Spaniard hopes to hoist his eighth trophy in Rome. A runner-up to Djokovic last year, Nadal will open against the winner of Adrian Mannarino and a qualifier in the second round, with a potential quarter-final against eighth seed Stan Wawrinka.

There are six Italian players in the draw, with the most notable being World No. 31 Fabio Fognini, who will face American Steve Johnson in the first round, and Simone Bolelli, who will open against young gun Dominic Thiem.

Other notable first-round matches include: Ninth seed Marin Cilic vs Bucharest champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, No. 11 seed Feliciano Lopez vsNick Kyrgios, No. 12 seed Gilles Simon vs Jack Sock, No. 13 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Sam Querrey and No. 15 seed Kevin Anderson vs Florian Mayer.

Main draw play begins on Sunday at the Foro Italico.

Serie A Game Week 34 Review: Juventus retain the Serie A title

Luka Alario
-
0
Serie A Game Week 34 Review: Juventus retain the Serie A title

juventus wins serie a title soccer 2015

The Italian giants Juventus have won their fourth successive Serie A after dominating at the top of the table for the major part of the season. Allegri’s men are also doing very well in Europe this season. The Old Lady defeated the reigning European champions in the first leg of the semi-final in Turin. They’ll now travel to the Santiago Bernabeu with a 2 – 1 aggregate lead over Carlo Ancelotti’s side. All in all, a treble is still very much on the cards.

Juve went into the Champions League fixture with a positive feeling after being crowned the kinds of Italy. They won 0 – 1 at Sampdoria on Saturday courtesy of Arturo Vidal’s 32nd minute strike. After 34 matches, they have amassed 79 points, 15 more than their closest rivals AS Roma.

With two successive wins in the league, Roma seem to have returned to winning ways after losing to Inter at San Siro. Rudi Garcia’s side won 2 – 0 away at home against Genoa. Doumbia and Florenzi netted one each in their 17th win of the season.  Roma’s resurgence and Lazio’s 1 – 1 draw at Atalanta has allowed the Rome based club to climb back to the second spot on the league table.

Napoli played host to Milan on Sunday and the outcome was a 3 – 0 win for the hosts. Milan were reduced to ten men in the very first minute as the defender De Sciglio got his marching orders for tripping Hamsik in the penalty box. The send off didn’t help Inzaghi’s men at all, but it has now become a new record for the fastest red card in Serie A. The Rossoneri have dropped to the 11th spot in the league and they are more closer to the relegation threatened Parma than the champions Juventus.

AC Milan coach Inzaghi has asked his players to respect the Milan shirt and give it the honour it deserves. Before the big clash against Roma at the weekend, he said, “Anyone who wears the Milan shirt must always honour it.

juventus takes on serie a title week 34

“I think this team, despite the difficulties, has always done that, except in [a 2-1 defeat] in Udine, where we didn’t turn up.

“I think if you wear the Milan shirt, that in itself is a motivation. I don’t ask myself about motivation, and it’s important to remember what this shirt stands for.

“Regrets? Instead of growing as a team, we’ve got worse. In January and February we had a lot of problems and we lost our identity.

“We’ll try to do well in the next four games.”

The relegation battle seems to have died down as we’re approaching the finish line. We can clearly make out the teams who will go down to the Serie B, although they can still mathematically work their way out of the relegation pit. Parma were thrashed 4 – 0 by Cagliari and they will certainly not feature in the Italian top division next season. Despite the win at home, Cagliari are still six points away from safety. They are also behind Atalanta on goal difference, which can also be a very crucial factor on the final day of the season. Cesena are second from the wrong end of the table and the 3 – 1 loss at Fiorentina on Sunday didn’t help their cause.

2015 Madrid Open: Andy Murray vs Kei Nishikori Or David Ferrer

Jackie Warner
-
0
2015 Madrid Open: Andy Murray vs Kei Nishikori Or David Ferrer

andy murray returning to milos raonic 2015 madrid open

Andy Murray may have not gotten a chance to rest since winning the 2015 Munich Title, but that’s not stopping the British tennis star from knocking out fifth seed Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-5 Friday, putting him into the semi-finals. He’ll be facing either rising star powerhouse Kei Nishikori or David Ferrer. That winner will then be going up against either Tomas Berdych or Rafael Nadal. It’s going to be great games all the way to the finals 0f the 2015 Madrid Open.

andy murray vs kei nishikori or david ferrer for 2015 madrid open 2015

Second seed Murray showed no ill effects from having to play twice on Thursday by brushing aside his Canadian opponent, who was nursing a foot injury, with relative ease to take a step closer to winning his second clay-court title after success at last week’s Munich Open.

The Scot, who had lost three of his five prior encounters against Raonic, will play either Spaniard David Ferrer or Japan’s Kei Nishikori for a place in Sunday’s final.

Murray, who beat Spanish wildcard Marcel Granollers to set up a quarter-final clash with Raonic, started reasonably well but could not convert a break-point chance in the very first game as Raonic eventually held serve.

andy murray returning to milos raonic 2015 madrid open

A double fault from Raonic in the ninth game gave Murray his second break point of the first set and he promptly took it for a 5-4 lead when a fine return forced the big Canadian to arrow a groundstroke wide.

Murray, who beat Raonic in straight sets in their last encounter at the ATP World Tour Finals in London last year, then effortlessly held serve to win the first set 6-4.

Despite clearly struggling with a foot injury, Raonic started the second set brightly with his booming serve keeping Murray at bay but the Scot was every bit as impressive and neither offered a break point in their first two service games.

An errant Raonic volley gave Murray the chance to break for a 3-2 lead but his serve rescued him and a strong forehand return on Murray’s second serve gave Raonic two break points – his first of the match – in what turned out to be a lengthy sixth game.

Murray saved the first with a huge forehand groundstroke and was let off the hook when Raonic, not for the first time in the match, skewed his forehand wide of the mark.

Raonic found success at the net to secure another break point but Murray showed his class with an exquisite lob to save before, after another couple of missed opportunities, Raonic fired a backhand into the net to allow Murray to finally draw level at 3-3.

Murray, who won the Madrid title in 2008 in the final year it was an indoor tournament before switching to clay, kept pace with Raonic by holding his next two service games before breaking to love for a 6-5 lead and the chance to serve for the match.

Raonic pulled out all the stops to prevent defeat but, after missing his first match point opportunity, Murray wrapped up victory in one hour and 41 minutes when Raonic fired long to record his 32nd unforced error of the match.

When Truth & Justice Becomes Big Business

Marius Manuella
-
0
When Truth & Justice Becomes Big Business

police smiling arresting protestor 2015

Nowadays, the truth often hurts and justice can be costly. It hurts that the very persons who are sworn to serve and protect the people are the ones who cause harm. When justice is denied, it hurts so much that frustrated people take to the streets to demand truth and justice, but end up causing more harm and damage thus becoming costly. These are the lessons learned from casualties such as Rodney King of Los Angeles, California; Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri and Freddie Gray of Baltimore, Maryland.

freddie gray arrest death 2015

The problem with such incidents is that the perpetrators are the very people tasked to uphold the law and with the law on their side, any shortcomings or excesses on their part are easily pushed aside leading to grave abuse of authority. Now with the advent of social media, people have become much more aware of excesses by police officers since the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles that occurred more than 20 years ago. That was one video that went viral without much help from the Internet. Now with the help of the internet more and more abuses by police officers have become mainstream and people won’t stand for them any longer. The result was Ferguson and more recently, Baltimore.

taser profiting from police assaults 2015

Remember Rush Hour 2? When Chris Tucker said follow the ‘rich white man’? How about Superman 3 when some guy said that someone’s getting rich out problems such as the oil shortage. Some people can get rich out of anything and the riots in Baltimore and the unrest in Ferguson are no exception. Except in this case, the people getting rich here aren’t doing it intentionally. They’re just in the right place at the right time and the right industry. These people are the ones in charge of companies called Taser, a company from Scottsdale Arizona that manufactures stun guns and body cameras for law enforcement officers; their competitor Digital Ally and other manufacturers of body cameras and dash cams. Twitter, who recently bought the Periscope live streaming app, the makers of Meerkat and American Civil Liberties Union which spreads its Mobile Justice CA app also stand to benefit from these incidents.

taser cities move with deputy body cameras 2015

To avoid repeats of civil unrest due to alleged police abuse, some technology is needed such as dash cams on police and civilian cars, body cameras on police, stun guns to aid in arrests of unarmed uncooperative suspects as well as cellphones with offline and live streaming recording apps. Most of these technologies are needed to record incidents of arrests and pursuits to aid in the pursuit of the truth and attain proper justice. These technologies will make sure whether or not a violation was done when a police officer pulls over a civilian; whether or not the next Michael Brown is unarmed; whether or not there was provocation from the next Rodney King or whether or not grave abuse of authority was involved in the next Freddie Gray case. In Russia, most motorists already own a dash cam because of rampant police abuses and a bill for mandatory dash cams is also being proposed for the same reason.

taser police cameras 2015

Vendors of these technologies grabbed the attention of Wall Street especially Taser when it was announced that the company and its competitor Digital Ally were going to be tapped by the Department of Justice to provide body cameras to police officers nationwide. Stock Prices for Taser rose to 160 percent in the wake of the Ferguson unrest. The search for truth and justice just became an overnight industry. Once equipped with body cameras, police officers are required to turn them on when performing inspections, arrest and other police operations. These cameras are supposed to make sure police officers don’t abuse their authority as well as document police operations as events unfold. Taser’s taser guns can keep trigger-happy officers from shooting and killing unarmed suspects.

Such programs are already in place in some cities such as San Diego and Los Angele California, New Orleans, Fort Worth Indiana and Charlotte Massachusetts provided for by Taser. The company is also established in over 3,000 law enforcement agencies worldwide. The new proposal to equip every officer in every state increases their portfolio as well as other players in the industry.

So like everything else, tools for the search for truth and justice can cost a pretty penny and there are companies that benefit from unfortunate pitfalls in civil liberty such as Baltimore and Ferguson. But let’s not resent Taser, Digital Ally and other companies for getting rich from that supplying the tools that can help in that search. Unlike free apps such as Mobile Justice CA, body cams and stun guns provided by these companies are pretty expensive. They just profit in a more positive way unlike weapons manufacturers that reap profits during wartime.

police anti riot protection 2015

We can thank a simple camcorder for opening the country’s eyes to a case of social injustice. Now more eyes will be on law enforcement to ensure that the law will be properly enforced and that its officers actually serve and protect. Without recording equipment, abusive police officers should consider themselves lucky they’ve yet to accost an innocent yet unhinged non-white, green beret, fresh from Afghanistan who just wandering into town. This is easily one of the stories that I’m sure VICE Media will pick up on as they are the few that aren’t afraid to show who profits from our fears.

Celebrity Gossip Roundup: Zayn Malik Frumps, Kylie Jenner Pumps & Chris Brown Jumps

Julie Wein
-
0
Celebrity Gossip Roundup: Zayn Malik Frumps, Kylie Jenner Pumps & Chris Brown Jumps

celebrity gossip kylie jenner mariah chris brown lady gaga 2015 images

In this week’s celebrity gossip roundup Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara has publically stated that she refuses to hand her embryos over to Nick Loeb, her ex fiancé. The actress reportedly had to take a break from promotional work on her upcoming movie release, Hot Pursuit, to deal with the situation. When the couple was together Vergara had her embryos frozen and Loeb is now reportedly trying to capitalize on that. He wants ownership of her frozen embryos because he still wants the children that would result from them to be born. According to Vergara, Loeb is just using her fame to get attention for himself.

sofia vergara nick loeb embryo battle 2015 celeb gossip

Chris Brown recently arrived at his L.A. home fresh off a Las Vegas trip only to find that a woman had seemingly broken into his home while he was gone, left clothes all over his house and spray painted the words “I love you” on the counters in his kitchen. The woman was found sleeping in Brown’s bed and was promptly arrested. Brown reported that the woman threw away clothes belonging to his daughter. He called her a crazy fan on his Instagram account and decided that shaming her publicly was the best way to handle the situation. Sadly, if this woman has mental issues, Brown has done his usual assault without thinking.

chris brown instagram shames amira kodcia ayeb for breaking into his house 2015 gossip

His troubles continue as he recently punched a man in the face during a basketball game he was participating in in Las Vegas. The two had a verbal altercation and then Brown was believed to have assaulted the man. His publicist denies that this is what happened and claimed and uninvited man had come into Brown’s private basketball court and caused interferences and that Brown supposedly had no contact with the individual. And then suddenly the person who filed the charges, dropped them just as quickly. The power of the Brown is everywhere.

chris brown basketball fight ends quickly 2015

This week marked the beginning of Mariah Carey’s new long term show at the theatre in the Caesar’s Palace Hotel & Casino.  The crowd for her first show consisted of 41,000 people. The show is expected to run for 18 weeks.

mariah carey las vegas show boom 2015

Fans of the TV show “The Mindy Project” are upset with the Fox Network for canceling it, but there may be hope for this fan favorite yet. Hulu is in talks to keep the TV series in production for an additional two seasons. The Mindy project ran for three seasons on Fox.

mindy project cancelled but may get picked up on hulu 2015 gossip

One Direction is seeing its fair share of drama as arguments continue between Louis Tomlinson and former One Direction band member Zayn Malik. The two have been attacking each other on Twitter and their fans have had a front row seat to the action.

one direction zayn malik fight twitter with louis tomlison gay 2015 gossip

Though she is only 17 years old, Kylie Jenner has reportedly had a procedure done to plump up her lips. This has been the subject of recent episodes of the family’s reality series, Keeping Up with The Kardashians. When the media asked sister Khloe about this, she said she wouldn’t say either way if Jenner had undergone the procedure. Funny, she didn’t mention this while so many kids were trying to get her lips by taking the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge. Just as an Kardashian has proved, you’ll lie and lie until you finally have to fess up. She’s learned so much from her sisters and that succubus mother Kris Jenner.

kylie jenner admits to lip surgery to plump 2015 gossip

Kylie is also in hot water after she posted a picture on Instagram that she clearly took while she was driving her car. Once she posted it she got comments from her fans scolding her for doing so and stating that other people have been killed doing the same thing she had done. When will kids realize this is the worst type of person to look up to because if other kids start doing it and are killed, she won’t say a word because she’s obviously above it all. How many kids willhave to die because of you Kylie? Really????

kylie jenner snapchats instagram while driving 2015 celeb gossip

Irina Shayk and Bradley Cooper, both recently single, have been spotted throughout Manhattan, locking lips on more than one occasion. The two were reportedly headed to Broadway to see a show when they were spotted making out. The two recently attended the Met Gala Party thrown by Rihanna, where they were also seen making out. Hopefully she enjoys his fondness for feet because it’s driven many many many other women away quickly.

bradley cooper kissing irina shayk dating 2015 gossip

Adele celebrated her 27th birthday by dressing up as George Michael for some odd reason. She completed the look with his classic aviator glasses and a beard that looks just like his. Adele tweeted pics of her in the getup, which got her a tweet from George Michael himself in which he said he was flattered.

adele does george michael for birthday 2015adele does george michael for birthday 2015

Lady Gaga recently stood up for fellow singer Justin Bieber when she took a picture of the two together at the recent Met Gala and tweeted it, telling her fans he is a sweet guy. In return Bieber tweeted to Lady Gaga and thanked her for being kind to him.

lady gaga stands up for douche justin bieber 2015 celeb gossip

Tiger Woods recently weathered a rough break up with girlfriend Lindsey Vonn. The couple had been together three years and when they broke up Woods told the press it was rough and he had been trouble sleeping due to the breakup and the anniversary of the death of his father, whom he was very close to. Both Vonn and Woods recently made public statements confirming that they had broken up but that their busy careers were keeping them from being together.

lindsay vonn dumps tiger woods 2015 gossip

Glee cast member Kevin McHale has acknowledged that the series was cancelled due in part to the death of late cast member Cory Monteith, from a drug overdose. Since Cory’s character was one of the two main characters the show simply couldn’t survive without him. He denied rumors that a spinoff of Glee would be created, siting that not many people were watching it anymore by the time it was cancelled by the network.

kevin mchale glee died when cory monteith died 2015 gossip

Britney Spears recently announced during an interview on the Ellen DeGeneres show that the length of her Las Vegas show’s run was going to be extended. The singer talked about her recent ankle injury that caused her to have to cancel some scheduled performances of her Las Vegas show.

britney spears las vegas show exteded 2015 gossip

Amy Adams is a blushing bride after having recently wed fiancé Darren Le Gallo. The couple was married in a secret ceremony in California this past weekend. Only family and close friends were in attendance at the wedding. The couple had reportedly delayed this wedding for a while in order to accommodate Amy Adams’ work schedule.

amy adams weds darren le gallo 2015 celeb gossip

Andy Roddick and Brooklyn Decker are expecting a baby, which will be the couple’s first child. In a recent People article about the baby the editors listed Andy Murray as her husband rather than Andy Roddick. On her Twitter account, Decker joked that she hoped Murray’s wife knew about this sudden change in his life.

andy roddick baby with brooklyn dekker 2015 gossip

That’s it for this week’s gossip.

Tomas Berdych vs Rafael Nadal After Ousting John Isner: 2015 Madrid Open

Jackie Warner
-
0
Tomas Berdych vs Rafael Nadal After Ousting John Isner: 2015 Madrid Open

It took over two hours, but Tomas Berdych ousted John Isner from the 2015 Madrid Open lining him up to go against Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. It was an evenly matched game and well worth the watch as the two champs fought hard to the end to stay in the open.

Tomas Berdych fought back from the jaws of defeat on Friday for a semi-final clash against four-time former champion Rafael Nadal at the Mutua Madrid Open.

toms berdych vs rafael nadal 2015 madrid open

Sixth seed Berdych saved one match point at 5-6 in the second set tie-break en route to a 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(1) victory over John Isner, the No. 16 seed.

It was Berdych’s 30th match win of the season, which has seen him reach the quarter-final (or better) at all eight of the tournaments he has played.

tomas berdych vs john isner 2015 madrid open

Berdych saved one match point when Isner was unable to return a first serve into court. Berdych then took a 7/6 lead in the second set tie-break, which Isner recovered by serving an ace, his 21st. Berdych went on to attack a forehand, then heads to the net, before playing a fine forehand volley winner for 8/7 – a second set point opportunity. Isner struck a crosscourt forehand wide to send the pair’s ninth meeting into a third set.

Isner had been bidding to follow in the footsteps of Robby Ginepri, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the 2005 semi-finals. He struck 29 aces, but Berdych won 86 percent of his first service points and hit 11 aces for victory in two hours and 10 minutes.

National League MLB Week 4: Cardinals & Dodgers Top Mets Record

Peter Tebin
-
0
National League MLB Week 4: Cardinals & Dodgers Top Mets Record

national league week 5 mlb recap images 2015

The first month of the 2015 Major League Baseball season is in the books with another impressive week around the National League. The entire league took a big flip over the past week as the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers each put together a stretch run to top the New York Mets with the top two records.

The Mets and Dodgers each finished the week with 16 wins while the Cardinals posted the best record in the National League with an 18-6 record. The Cardinals might be the hottest team not only in the National League but overall in baseball over the past week.

Over the course of the past week the Cardinals posted a 6-1 record with their only loss coming last Monday against Cole Hamel and the Philadelphia Phillies. Following the loss to the Phillies, the Cardinals dominated the remainder of the four games series with the Phillies before sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Here is a quick overview of each division in the National League.

East Division: The National League East division started to take a little more shape to what we kind of expected entering the 2015 Major League Baseball season. The Nationals played much better baseball while the red hot New York Mets seemed to cool down after one of the best starts in all of baseball.

After an opening win on Monday against the Miami Marlins 3-1, the Mets offensive struggled to produce over their next six games losing back to back games to the Miami Marlins before losing three of four to the Washington Nationals. In that stretch the Mets managed to score only seven runs in the two wins while allowing just one run. In the teams five losses the Mets managed to score just five runs while allowing 21 runs.

While the Mets struggled, the Nationals and Miami Marlins were able to gain some ground after a solid week of play. The Nationals picked up two of three from the Atlanta Braves before taking three of five from the Mets. The Marlins on the other hand took two of three at home over the Mets before taking two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Currently the Mets sit atop the division followed by the Braves, Marlins, Nationals and Phillies.

Central Division:  This has been a crazy start for nearly every team in the National League Central Division. This includes the red hot St. Louis Cardinals who seem to be unbeatable while the Milwaukee Brewers have struggled all season to win games leading to a managerial change.

As we looked around the division over the past week the only team that stood out was the Cardinals. The Cardinals picked up an impressive six wins in seven contests to take a commanding lead of the division. Outside of the red birds from St. Louis the entire division continues to struggle.

After an impressive start to the season the Chicago Cubs managed to go 3-3 in six games despite scoring only 25 runs including four games with three or fewer runs. The Cincinnati Reds made up some ground going 4-3 while the Pittsburgh Pirates played to a 1-5 record including a three game sweep over the weekend in St. Louis.

West Division: The final decision we have kept a good eye on this season is the National League West division that has the potential to have as many as five teams fighting for at least one playoff spot. Currently the heavy favorite Los Angeles Dodgers sit atop the division as many expected entering the season.

The one team to keep an eye on over the new few weeks is the San Francisco Giants. After somewhat of a slow start the Giants went 4-2 last week with a three game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels at home after picking up one of three from the Dodgers.

Two teams that have disappointed of late are the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rockies started off the week with a 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks before losing five straight games including being swept over the weekend in San Diego. The Diamondbacks on the other hand took two of three from the Rockies before being swept themselves over the weekend by the Dodgers.

Now that we have taken a look at each of the divisions around Major League Baseball we can take a look at a few individuals. Here is our list of top individual performers over the fourth week of the season in the National League.

charlie blackman rockies top man for national league mbl 2015 week 4

Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies: The Rockies outfielder has been red hot of late for the club including 10 hits in 23 at bats last week. In that stretch the Rockies outfielder also added five runs scored, two doubles, three home runs and five runs driven in.

dee gordon diving for top man status of marlins week 4 national league mlb 2015

Dee Gordon, Miami Marlins: There might not be a hotter hitter in the game of baseball than the Marlins second baseman. Gordon has been on a tear of late picking up at least a hit in each of his last ten games. This includes 12 hits last week in just 18 plate appearances. The power potential might not be there but he added five runs scored, a double, a triple and five stolen bases.

Paul Goldschmidt hot top man for diamondbacks national league mlb 2015

Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks: While the Diamondbacks continue to struggle this year the team’s first baseman continues to swing a hot bat. This includes a six game hitting streak that started last week against the Rockies. In that six game stretch, Goldschmidt picked up five multi hit games with five runs scored, four doubles, one home run and six runs batted in.

American League MLB Week 4 Sees New York Yankees Surging

Peter Tebin
-
0
American League MLB Week 4 Sees New York Yankees Surging

american league mlb week 4 recap images 2015

The Major League action is heating up in the American League as we have seen a surge from the New York Yankees. The same Yankees team that many experts predicted at the beginning of the season could finish as far back as last place in the division with major concerns over the teams pitching rotation.

cc sabathia rough week with ny yankees mlb american league 2015

That hasn’t changed as C.C. Sabathia has struggled and Masahiro Tanaka has found himself on the disbled list. Nonetheless the Yankees found a way to put some wins up on the scoreboard over the past week. In all the Yankees managed to go 5-1 last week with a three game sweep over the Boston Red Sox.

Masahiro Tanaka ny yankees disabled list american league mlb 2015

As we compare the American League to the National League the one key difference might be the talented depth that each of the three divisions will throw out each week. This all shows up when the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers continue to battle it out in the Central while the Houston Astros have dominated the American League West division.

Here is a quick overview of each division in the American League.

East Division: Starting on the East Coast we get a chance to look back at one impressive performance by the New York Yankees. Yes we said it correctly as the team continues to ride one of the hottest streaks we have seen from this team in a long while.

The Yankees managed to pick up five wins in six chances last week to move to the top of the AL East while the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays continue to fall down the standings board. While the Yankees continue to surprise many to start the season the biggest surprise in the division has been the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays have pitched themselves to second place in the division despite struggling to produce runs over the past week resulting in four losses last week but still manage to find themselves in second place. In those six games, the Rays managed to score just 15 runs. The Baltimore Orioles sit in third followed by the Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays in the standings.

Central Division: Moving over to the central part of the country we have all been promised what looks to be one great cat fight to the finish. The two teams currently sit with a dead even record after the Royals played to a 4-3 record including splitting two of four with the Detroit Tigers.

While the Royals are one of those two teams, the Tigers are the second team fighting for the division after posting the same identical 4-3 record. The Tigers started off the week taking two of three from the red hot Minnesota Twins before splitting a best of four series with the Royals.

As far as one of the big surprise stories around baseball that belongs to the Twins. No one saw the Twins being a team to compete this offseason despite being written off by many of the experts. After losing the opening game against the Tigers, the Twins were able to win four of their next five games.

On the bottom of the division sit the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians. Two teams many featured as a team that could fight for a chance to play in the post season.

West Division: Continue our drive across the country landed us out West with a divison that has saw the Houston Astros play some of the best baseball in the entire league. The league also completed a blockbuster trade that saw the former Texas Rangers outfielder traded from the Angels to the club for a player to be named later.

The Rangers will need his prescience in the lineup after starting at the bottom of the AL West division. In between the top and the bottom sit three ball clubs who are all under the five hundred mark and were expected to compete this season. Of those three the biggest concern might be with the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners added a few new pieces to the lineup including the former AL Home Run Champ from a year ago to bolster the lineup. In the end the Mariners continue to be outscored by opponents by 25 runs over the first few weeks of the Major League Baseball season.

Before we move on from the American League West division we wanted to take a little deeper look into this Astros success. The Astros posted seven straight wins last week including a three game sweep over the San Diego Padres before a four game sweep over division rivals the Mariners. In that seven game stretch the Astros pitchers allowed 24 runs while the offense broke out for 55 total runs.

Now that we have taken a look at each of the divisions around Major League Baseball we can take a look at a few individuals. Here is our list of top individual performers over the fourth week of the season in the American League.

astros evan gattis hot top for american league mlb 2015

Evan Gattis, Houston Astros: The Houston Astros continued their hot streak last week picking up seven straight wins. Much of the team’s success can come from the temas hot streak at the plate including from one of the teams top offseason pickups. Gattis picked up seven hits in those seven games with four home runs and 12 runs driven in.

nelson cruz still topping seattle mariners american league mlb men 2015

Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners: Cruz continues to smash the ball this season as he currently leads Major League Baseball in home runs. Four of his league high 14 homeruns came last week. Despite his success at the plate the Mariners continue to struggle to put wins up on the season. Cruz in all picked up 12 hits last week in 24 at bats.

Rafael Nadal Bumps Grigor Dimitrov For 2015 Madrid Open: Berdych Or Isner Next

Jackie Warner
-
0
Rafael Nadal Bumps Grigor Dimitrov For 2015 Madrid Open: Berdych Or Isner Next

rafael nadal beats grigor dimitrov moves to 2015 madrid open semi finals

Rafael Nadal definitely is trying to close the gap between himself and Andy Murray on the rankings chart as he bumped another player out of the 2015 Madrid Open putting him in the semi-finals. Grigor Dimitrov was his latest conquest who did not go down easily. The match lastest nearly two hours ending with Rafi’s victory 6-3, 6-4. Nadal is now only one match win away from reaching the Mutua Madrid Openfinal for the seventh time.

The third seed and four-time champion improved to 38-8 at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament Friday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 10th seedGrigor Dimitrov in one hour and 49 minutes.

Dimitrov came under pressure right from the start, including a 14-point opening game. Despite breaking to Nadal to love in the fourth game, the Bulgarian dropped to 2-4. Nadal’s service rhythm returned and, with his trusted old racquet frame, found his groundstroke in long rallies to leave Dimitrov few opportunities to make inroads. At 3-5, Dimitrov saved two set points from 15/40, but struck a forehand into the net on Nadal’s third opportunity to end the 50-minute set.

rafael nadal rafi serving to grigor dimitrov madrid open 2015

Dimitrov played closer to the baseline in the second set, narrowing down Nadal’s angles. He broke and then withstood one break point in a 12-point fourth game for a 3-1 lead. But Nadal took advantage of mid-court balls, taking his chances to get back on level terms. He went on to save one break point at 4-4, 30/40, then converted his second match point chance in the next game when Dimitrov mis-timed a forehand wide.

Nadal is now 56-11 in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-finals and will next play sixth seed Tomas Berdych or No. 16 seed John Isner on Saturday.

Dimitrov, 23, was bidding to reach an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final for a third time, having reached the stage at Rome (l. to Nadal) and Toronto (l. to Tsonga) last year.

Cowboys Greg Hardy: Master of Foot In Tweet Award

Shane Mclendon
-
0
Cowboys Greg Hardy: Master of Foot In Tweet Award

dallas cowboys greg hardy foot in mouth tweet awards 2015

One would think that the Dallas Cowboys Greg Hardy is actively trying to end his own career. He seemingly cannot get out of his own way. After missing all but one game last year due to his domestic violence charge, he found a way onto the Cowboys roster with a nice new contract. A fresh start for a guy that would have been out of the league had he not been such a force on the defensive line.

However, that fresh start isn’t going so smoothly. He has already had an altercation with a teammate during practice and been called a woman beater by said teammate. Now Hardy has done some more damage to his already stained reputation via Twitter. This genius decided it was a good idea to tweet the following in response to a tweet about Carolina’s “twin towers” combo at wide out:  “didn’t the twin towers get blown up lol.” Just let that soak in for a moment. The guy had to think the thought, make the conscious decision that others would find it just as humorous as he himself, then take the time to tap it out on his phone and hit send.

greg hardy tweets cause problems for dallas cowboys 2015

I don’t know how else to say it, Greg Hardy is a simpleton. He gets suspended for allegedly beating his girlfriend, is fortunate enough to have a contending team like Dallas pick him up with all his baggage, then decides to share his comedy routine involving the 9/11 attacks with the Twitterverse. Jameis Winston thinks Hardy needs to get his act together. Dallas’ newest defensive star is the perfect example of a high profile athlete living in his own bubble and not having a clue about the real world around him.

Since hardy is off to such a poor start in Dallas, clearly the team needs some guidelines to keep him on the straight and narrow. The only news Hardy needs to make is quarterback sack headlines. So I have ten tips for the Cowboys that may help keep their high profile free agent in check.

10. It would be best to ban Hardy from the Dallas Zoo. A guy like this could find it entertaining to club some baby seals to death in front of onlookers. Sound crazy? In his mind it’s OK to “LOL” at his own twin towers joke. Attacking small cuddly animals at a zoo is probably not out of bounds either.

9. Dallas should try and get a league exemption for some medical marijuana for Mr. Hardy. I know the NFL doesn’t want its players on the hippie lettuce and altering their state of mind. But Greg Hardy’s normal state of mind isn’t good for anyone. Some mary jane might actually heal this confused fellow and allow him to blend in with normal human beings.

8. Hardy will need a full time babysitter to keep him out of trouble and “fix” things when he screws up. Former Cowboy Charles Haley would be the perfect Winston Wolf to keep Hardy between the lines.

7. The Cowboys would be wise to find some semi-pro football league for Hardy to play in until his suspension is over. That will keep him busy and hopefully out of trouble. They could tell him these are real games that count toward the regular season and I doubt this guy will know the difference.

6. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop so Hardy needs to be kept busy. Perhaps Dallas can get him hooked on the hottest new video game, something violent of course. Or maybe set him up with the best of Netflix and HBOGO on a nonstop binge watch of some shows in his down time. Watching “House of Cards” will be a safer use of Greg Hardy’s time.

5. It’s probably best if Jerry Jones and Hardy don’t hang out together. Jones isn’t known as the best decision maker himself and any time spent in the company of Hardy just ups the chances of lawsuits for both guys.

4. A filter on Hardy’s internet is a must. Dallas could set up a gadget to make his tweets, Instagrams, and Facebook posts go nowhere near the real internet. Or they could hire a couple of overseas freelancers to monitor his activity 24/7 to head off any stupidity that he sends out to the public.

3. Charity events are nice things for pro athletes to participate in normally. However I can see Greg Hardy saying something harmful to a sick kid at a hospital visit or ruining a “Make a Wish” opportunity for a fan. Nice things are not his cup of tea I’m afraid.

2. A service dog could be the answer for a guy who can’t stop derailing his own career. They have dogs that help the blind of course and even canines that help people with emotional troubles. Hardy could use such a dog to alert him when he is about to get himself in trouble. A bark as a warning and a bite when he is almost over the edge of stupidity could save his career over time.

1. No media contact at all. Who knows what this imbecile will say when he is asked a tough question. The twin towers remark was offered up all on his own. Jerry Jones will be better off paying the fines for Hardy’s media silence than the owner will be if Hardy is available to share his brilliant thoughts on a daily basis with the media.

It does appear that Hardy has decided to take a long break from Twitter as the above Tweet response puts it pretty bluntly.

Bundesliga Game Week 31 Review: Bayern Munich clinch 25th league title

Luka Alario
-
0
Bundesliga Game Week 31 Review: Bayern Munich clinch 25th league title

bayern munich clinch title bundesliga

Pep Guardiola has won his second league title in Germany after dominating throughout the season in the Bundesliga. The German champions lost in the semi-final of the DFB Pokal to Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund, thereby giving up the opportunity to win yet another treble.

Bayern’s CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge congratulated the team after sealing the Bundesliga title. He said, “It is something magnificent to defend our title and I can only congratulate our coach and players.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge bayern munich bundesliga 2015

“They did it extremely well in a year after a World Cup where many of our players were competing.”

He continued and said that there will be big celebrations at the right time.

“Have no doubt, we will have big celebrations,” Rummenigge said. “But everything at the right time. Then we will party.”

The club legend and the honorary president also showed his happiness on winning the 25th title.

“You can compare the 25th title to a silver anniversary,” Franz Beckenbauer said. “They played an outstanding first half of the season despite the energy-sapping World Cup. A 25th title needs special mention.”

Javi Martinez, who joined Bayern Munich in 2012, was ecstatic with the prospect of winning his third Bundesliga medal.

The 26-year-old midfielder wrote on twitter: “It’s amazing to win three league titles in three years with Bayern. Today is a very happy day.”

The German giants have lost only twice this season and have conceded only 15 goals in 31 games.

On Saturday, the Bavarians lost 2 – 0 to Bayer Leverkusen. They have nothing to lose in the league now and their whole attention would be towards the Champions League clash with the Spanish giants Barcelona.

The race for the runners-up spot has picked up more pace. Wolfsburg were held by Hannover in a 2 – 2 draw and they can’t afford more slip-ups in the remaining three games. Borussia Monchengladbach got a hard earned victory at Hertha BSC. Monchengladbach’s Traoré netted in the 85th minute to allow his side to catch-up with the second place Wolfsburg. Only two points separate these two teams and with three games remaining, anything is possible.

With a win over Bayern at the weekend, Bayer Leverkusen also keep up the pace and they are only two points behind Monchengladbach. Leverkusen are guaranteed of a top four finish this season but they can also challenge Monchengladbach for the top three spot before the curtains are brought down. Leverkusen are now unbeaten in their last ten league games.

Things are still very tight at the bottom. None of the teams in the bottom half of the table are safe from relegation. Although Stuttgart seem to be heading to the lower division. After 31 games, Stuttgart are at the foot of the table, three points behind their closest competitors, Hannover and Freiburg. Paderborn have a crucial fixture at the weekend, while Freiburg and Hamburg will fight it out on Friday.

1...668669670...770Page 669 of 770

EDITOR PICKS

POPULAR POSTS

POPULAR CATEGORY

ABOUT US

Latest movie tv news, celebrity gossip, sports tech news for geeks from the Movie TV Tech Geeks crew. ALL NAMES, TRADEMARKS AND IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. AFFILIATE LINKS USED WHEN AVAILABLE. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. You can learn more here: https://movietvtechgeeks.com/movie-tv-tech-geeks-privacy-policy/ethical-conduct/ If you feel an image was used without consent, please use our Contact Us section to let us know. All images used are sent to us by marketing departments at agencies, movie studios and people we interview. Copyright trolls need not bother us.

Contact us: curt@movietvtechgeeks.com

© Indie Genius Productions 2021