Catch of the year

 

With two outs in the ninth inning, Lower Columbia College outfielder Derrick Salberg leapt over the fence to make a game-ending catch in a 4-2 victory against Everett Community College in Longview, Wash., on Friday.

"When I saw it coming I told myself I was going to get it," Salberg told the Longview Daily News. "I wasn't doing well at the plate so I was going to make up for it with defense. It hurt when I landed on my back, but the adrenaline took the pain away because I saved my team a victory."

As seen on Yardbarker.com.

 

Previous  Bobsledder gives up Olympic dream to serve his country

 

Bobsledder gives up Olympic dream to serve his country

After serving as a fire team leader deep in the mountains of Afghanistan, bobsledding just wasn't the same for John Napier.

So, nearly two years after a life-changing, five-month stint with the Vermont National Guard in the midst of a foreign war, the No. 2 driver on the U.S. bobsled team has decided to give up the only life he's ever known to pursue a career in the military.

"It kind of changed me being over there," Napier said this week. "I loved it and I loved being with the guys. Since I've been home, I've missed that life. There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss being over there and being with the guys I was with."

Napier told his teammates last week that he was leaving to concentrate on becoming a member of a special forces unit.

"We back the guy up. He's a patriot," said Darrin Steele, chief executive officer of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.

The 25-year-old Napier volunteered for the tour in Afghanistan after competing in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, where he drove USA-2 to a 10th-place finish in the two-man race but crashed in the four-man event.

Napier was deeply affected by his military sojourn. On his second day, he went on a 10-kilometer dismounted movement at 10,000 feet, and on the third day it was 12 kilometers, all the while encountering contact with enemy troops.

"It really did give me some great perspective," said the 6-foot-4 Napier, who dropped about 30 pounds during his military tour and never regained it all. "I started bobsledding at such a young age. I love the sport, but I see myself being in the military. I would like to be in one of the more elite fighting forces if I meet the requirements and if they accept me. Right now, it's just a process of me training and trying to get into shape and seeing if I'm up to par and good enough to be accepted in one of those units."

Napier, a native of Schenectady, N.Y., began bobsledding when he was 8. He grew up near the track used in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. His late father, Bill, was a bobsledder and also served as president of the federation.

John Napier won a World Cup gold medal in November 2009 in a two-man race on his home track and finished fourth overall in four-man and eighth in two-man on the World Cup circuit in 2009-10.

Source: The Associated Press

(Photo: John Napier at the 2010 Winter Olympics, by Michael Sohn | The Associated Press)

 

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Previous  Iverson helps lead 76ers to win over Celtics

 

Iverson helps lead 76ers to win over Celtics

Sounds like a headline from a decade or so ago, doesn't it? With the Philadelphia 76ers facing a must-win Game 6 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, the team invited its former leader back Wednesday night for inspiration.

Allen Iverson presented the game ball to cheers from the crowd - thousands of whom were wearing his No. 3 jersey. The Associated Press noted that Iverson's eyes watered up during the game when he was shown on the big screen as the crowd went wild and chanted, "MVP!"

During an in-game interview, Iverson said that even though he has come to accept the fact that he may never play in the NBA again, he hasn't given up on playing professional basketball somewhere.

The 76ers won 82-75 to come within a game of reaching their first conference finals since 2001, when Iverson led them all the way to the NBA Finals. Afterward, Iverson tweeted this:

 

You can always come home again!!! lockerz.com/s/211335766

— Allen Iverson (@_AllenIverson) May 24, 2012

 

(Photo: Iverson at Wednesday's game, by Matt Slocum | The Associated Press)

 

 

Next  Bobsledder gives up Olympic dream to serve country

Previous  Packers' Driver gives sports another win on 'Dancing with the Stars'

 

Packers' Driver gives sports another win on 'Dancing with the Stars'

He already has a Super Bowl ring, and now Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver can add the "Dancing With the Stars" mirrorball trophy to his awards collection.

Driver won the ABC dance show Tuesday, joining a long line of sports figures to hoist the glittery prize above their heads.

In 14 competitions since the series began in 2005, participants from the world of sports have won seven times, including four in a row from autumn 2006 to spring 2008.

 

Sports winners on 'Dancing with the Stars'

Season	Winner	Sport
Autumn 2006	Emmitt Smith	NFL
Spring 2007	Apolo Anton Ohno	Speedskating
Autumn 2007	Helio Castroneves	Indycar auto racing
Spring 2008	Kristi Yamaguchi	Figure skating
Spring 2009	Shawn Johnson	Gymnastics
Spring 2011	Hines Ward	NFL
Spring 2012	Donald Driver	NFL

In addition, four others have finished second: Jerry Rice (NFL, winter 2006); Jason Taylor (NFL, spring 2008); Warren Sapp (NFL, autumn 2008); and Evan Lysacek (figure skating, spring 2010).

 

(Photo: Donald Driver and partner Peta Murgatroyd in performance earlier this season, by Adam Taylor | AP Photo | ABC)

 

 

Next  Iverson helps lead 76ers to win over Celtics

Previous  The week in review: the week ahead

 

The week in review: the week ahead

 

7 UP (OR DOWN)

Kerry Wood

So long, Kid K. ... So much potential. So many injuries.

         _____

Larry Bird

Rare triple play of NBA MVP, Coach of the Year and now Executive of the Year.

         _____

Albert Pujols

Hit two homers this week – up to three this year.

         _____

I’ll Have Another

He didn’t horse around Saturday: two down, one to go. He even has his own Twitter account.

         _____

Big Ten Network

Named Ndamukong Suh its best defensive lineman of the 2000s – though he never played one Big Ten game.

         _____

Miami Heat

It’s losing to the Pacers and its coach and iconic star are feuding.

         _____

Old Dominion

Instead of playing James Madison and William and Mary, the Monarchs will soon take on Texas-El Paso and Louisiana Tech. Good move? We’ll see.

 

7-DAY PLANNER

TODAY | WNBA

Phoenix at Minnesota  The defending league champion Lynx open their season (12:30 p.m., WVEC).

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MONDAY | NBA PLAYOFFS

76ers at Celtics  The series is tied 2-2 and shifts back to Boston (7 p.m., TNT).

_____

TUESDAY | BASEBALL

Nationals at Phillies  Washington heads to Philly to take on its “new” rival and ace Roy Halladay (7 p.m., MASN).

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WEDNESDAY | HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL

Southeastern District title game  At Nansemond River (6 p.m).

_____

THURSDAY | HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL

Beach District title game  At Landstown High (7 p.m.).

_____

FRIDAY | GOLF

Senior PGA Championship  It’s cut day for the Champions Tour’s first major (noon, The Golf Channel).

_____

SATURDAY | BASEBALL

Durham at Tides  The first of a two-game series at Harbor Park (7:15 p.m.).

 

Next  Packers' Driver gives sports another win on 'Dancing with the Stars'

Previous  Golfer shoots a 55

 

 

Golfer shoots a 55

An Australian golfer has shot a 55 at a par-71 course in Oklahoma.

Rhein Gibson, 26, had two eagles and 12 birdies during his round last Saturday at River Oaks Golf Club in Edmond, Okla.

Gibson, who said he had played the 6,697-yard course hundreds of times before, shot a 60 there a week earlier. He is a member of the Golfweek National Professional Tour — a "mini tour" that golfers play in to prepare for the PGA's qualifying school.

According to USA Today, Gibson will enter the pre-qualifying stages of Q School in September and October to try to earn a spot on the Nationwide or PGA Tour.

The lowest 18-hole score in a PGA Tour event is 59, so Gibson should have no problem qualifying, right?

 

Next  The week in review: the week ahead

Previous  Alabama fan indicted after simulated sex act on LSU fan

 

Alabama fan indicted after simulated sex act on LSU fan

An Alabama fan was charged Thursday with sexual battery in New Orleans after authorities say he was captured on video performing a simulated sex act on an unconscious LSU fan after the BCS championship game.

An Orleans Parish grand jury indicted 32-year-old Brian H. Downing on one count each of sexual battery of a male victim and obscenity.

A video that went viral on the Internet is believed to have been taken at a fast-food restaurant in New Orleans after Alabama defeated LSU on Jan. 9. A man wearing Crimson Tide attire appears to be "placing his genitals on an LSU fan's face. The LSU fan appears to be heavily inebriated and practically unconscious," a police statement said.

Authorities say that Tide fan was Downing of Smiths Station, Ala., who had been booked on charges of sexual battery and obscenity. The court set bond at $50,000.

"While we're obviously disappointed, we remain confident in our defense," said Downing's attorney Michael Kennedy.

Kennedy said he hoped the case would be brought to a quick resolution.

"It's my impression that the state is anxious to get this done," Kennedy said. "There is no resolution on the table at this time, but we hope to get something done quickly."

Downing remains "fairly upbeat considering the situation," Kennedy said.

Downing was fired from his job after the video was posted, the attorney said, and has been unable to find another because of charges pending against him.

Source: The Associated Press

(Photos: An image from the video released by New Orleans police; Brian Dowling during his arrest on Jan. 19, by Gerald Herbert | The Associated Press)

 

Previous  Mom going to jail for threatening Little League official

 

Mom going to jail for threatening Little League official

Today's buzz theme is threats, lies and videotape.

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Threats over not making the team

A suburban New York mother will spend 60 days in jail after admitting she threatened a Little League official and his family because her boy didn't make a summer baseball travel team.

A Nassau County judge also imposed five years' probation for Janet Chiauzzi of East Meadow, N.Y. She previously pleaded guilty to stalking and filing a false instrument. Three other charges were dismissed.

Police say when one of her two sons didn't make the team, she wrote "letters of a threatening nature" to the East Meadow Little League official and his young son. Police say the letters also mentioned the official's wife and daughter.

A judge called the threats despicable.

_____

Lies about catching record fish

A Colorado teenager has been stripped of his record for a 31-pound, 8-ounce striped bass after he admitted he lied about where he caught it.

Isaac Sprecher, 18, of Longmont, Colo., says he was immature for contending he caught the fish at northwest Longmont's McIntosh Lake, when he'd actually reeled it in from a pond at Pella Crossing, a Boulder County Open Space area with catch-and-release rules.

According to the Longmont Times-Call, state wildlife managers verify all claims for fish records and they smelled something fishy about Sprecher's claim.

The state's official striped bass record-holder remains a 15-pound, 11-ounce fish caught in 2009 in Pueblo County.

_____

Videotape of stolen mascot

A 250-pound bobcat statue swiped from a South Carolina high school turned up on the football field of a rival in what appears to be a kidnapping by pranksters.

Authorities say the Bluffton High bobcat mascot was found at Hilton Head High on Thursday, the same day the pranksters released a video showing a masked youngster holding a BB gun to the statue's head. The voice on the video warned "We have your kitten. If our demands are not met, it dies."

The mascot has since been returned to Bluffton High. Police say school administrators want the case investigated with an eye to possibly pressing charges to discourage such pranks in future.

But school athletic officials say they're just glad the bobcat is home.

Source: The Associated Press

 

Next  Alabama fan indicted after simulated sex act on LSU fan

Previous Tempers flare when Wright is taken out of game
 

Tempers flare when Wright is taken out of game

David Wright was ready to take one for the team. Terry Collins was not.

So the New York Mets manager pulled his star third baseman. And Wright didn't like it one bit.

The two had a heated discussion in the dugout when Wright was due to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning of the Mets' 8-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. In the top of the inning, Mets reliever D.J. Carrasco had been ejected for hitting NL MVP Ryan Braun with a pitch after Rickie Weeks homered.

"In this game there are unwritten rules and one of the unwritten rules is 'you hit my guy, I'm hitting your guy.' They're not hitting my guy tonight," Collins said. "He said, 'If somebody should be hit, I want it to be me.' I said it's not going to be you."

To that point, Wright was 2-for-2 off the Brewers' Zack Greinke, who was still in the game. Wright had a double and a broken-bat single, with a shard of wood whirling past the pitcher. The slugger from Chesapeake's Hickory High School is leading the majors with a .408 batting average.

Wright didn't intend to become so animated, where others could see.

"I probably should have picked a better spot for it, but in the heat of the moment I got my stuff on and Terry kind of got me at a moment where I was upset with the situation and got me at a moment that I was pretty hot," Wright said. "It wasn't directed at Terry at all."

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke disagreed with the decision: "I didn't like it. I don't understand it."

But Braun, who had a pink welt on his left triceps, understood both sides of the argument.

"I respect the fact that he wanted to stay in the game," Braun said. "I don't fault them for making that decision at all."

Source: The Associated Press

(Photo: David Wright's bat shatters on a fourth-inning single during Tuesday's game against the Brewers, by Kathy Willens | The Associated Press)

 

Next  Mom going to jail for threatening Little League official

Previous  Little Leaguer turns unassisted triple play

 

Little Leaguer turns unassisted triple play

 

The shortstop catches a fly ball, runs to touch third base to force the runner, then runs back to tag the runner coming from second base.

As seen on Yahoo sports

 

Next  Tempers flare when Wright is taken out of game

Previous  Red Sox pitcher too hurt to play, but OK for golf?