Jumat, 30 September 2011

How Bout That For Your Second Career Start?

By now everybody has heard about the monumental collapse of the Red Sox and the amazing play of the Rays that landed them the AL Wild Card spot. On September 3rd the Red Sox lead the Rays by 9 games but the Rays roared all the way back to pull within even of the Sox on the last day of the season. After trailing 7-0 after seven innings and failing to produce offensively with minor league pitchers like Dellin Betances and George Kontos pitching for the Yankees, the Rays sparked a furious comeback to win in extra innings shortly after the Red Sox had fallen to the Orioles in Baltimore 4-3. The Rays were obviously fatigued by the long month of baseball and the crazy ups and downs of the last night of the season. The Rays arrived at Rangers Ballpark at 4:30 the next day, about 24 hours before their playoff game there the next day. Rays manager Joe Maddon said, "It really draws a lot out of you. It's difficult to bring everything together from the conclusion of the last night to this curren moment. We celebrated. As we should have. We had some benign conversations on how to shape the roster. We're not even there yet." With all of the emotions and the lack of rest for the Rays, many people doubted their chances in game 1 on the road against the AL West champion Texas Rangers, whose potent lineup scored the 3rd most runs in the MLB during the regular season. Further questions were raised when Joe Maddon tabbed Matt Moore as his game 1 starter. However, Moore showed why he is touted as one of the top pitching prospects and one of the top 10 overall prospects according to Baseball Prospectus. More importantly, Moore has put the Rays in a great early position to advance to the ALCS.

To many people, the move to start a rookie, who has only started one game in his career, was not the best option for Joe Maddon. Maddon could have gone many other ways instead of throwing such an inexperienced pitcher onto the mound in such a pressure situation. Maddon could have called on his best pitcher all year, James Shields, to pitch on three days rest. Shields had been great the entire regular season for the Rays posting the third best ERA in the AL at 2.82. If Maddon felt that he wanted to save Shields until game 2 when he would be fully rested and at full strength, he could have also gone with established starter Wade Davis, who had pitched 8 innings and allowed just 2 runs in his last start. Another element that made many people disagree with the decision was that the left handed Moore would be throwing to a Texas lneup that is entirely made up of right handed batters aside from Josh Hamilton. 

Although there were obvious risks in starting a guy with such limited experience, Moore showed in his only start of the season against the Yankees on September 22nd that his stuff is good enough to frustrate any team on a given day from the Yankees to a great hitting team like the Rangers. Moore's combination of a mid 90's fastball and a devastating changeup makes him a difficult pitcher to hit against. In that game against the Yankees, Moore pitched 5 solid innings and let up no runs, while adding 11 strikeouts. After that game Joe Maddon said, "His composure, Yankee Stadium, throwing strikes, all those things speak to the makeup of Matt Moore." That statement by Maddon describes the reasoning behind why he chose Moore to start game 1 of a huge playoff series.

Moore definitely did not let his manager down by pitching an unbelievable game to give the Rays a 1-0 lead over the Rangers and a huge road victory. Moore pitched 7 innings of 2 hit baseball, while allowing no runs with 6 strikeouts. Moore got a big lift from his Rays offense as well, which clearly lifted a lot of pressure off of the 22 year old. By the time Moore came out to pitch in the bottom of the 3rd, the Rays already lead the Rangers 6-0. The early 6 run lead took the crowd out of the game as well and eased the nerves that Moore was feeling at the beginning of the game. Moore said, “I may have looked a little more clam than I was, especially early. The first inning, I had a little bit of nerves and adrenaline going. But these guys made it really easy for me, putting up those numbers. Looking up there are the fourth, I think it was 8-0, it was just a matter of throwing strikes and getting out of the innings as fast as possible.” Moore was also able to keep his pitch count down including having 2 half innings where he made less than 10 pitches, so he was able to last 7 innings and give a tired Rays bullpen a much needed extra day of rest. The Rays closer, Kyle Farnsworth, who had pitched in every Rays game except one since September 24th, got an extra day of rest with the Rays up 9-0 coming into the bottom of the 9th. Now that’s what you call an impressive second major league start.

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Tournament Info
Rugby World Cup 2011
Match: Australia/Wallabies vs Russia (Pool-C)
Kick off: 15:30 (Local/NZ),Satday,Oct 01
Venue: Trafalgar Park,Nelson,New Zealand
Status: Live/Repeat

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Kamis, 29 September 2011

The Madness Of The Last Night Of The Season

If you go on twitter, you will be able to find tweets like these that describe the final night of the MLB season: Buster Olney said, "Anybody remember a better series of regular-season games on one day?" Andrew Siciliano said, "One of the most incredible, amazing. shocking nights I've ever seen." Joel Sherman said, "Has there ever been a better 2 hours in MLB history than the last 2 hours. My hand has cramped from hitting my remote on baseball package." Kevin Millar said, "It was an absolute honor to be a fan of baseball tonight. Amazing, crazy, wild and much props to the teams who won! Show time." Aaron Boone said, "Wow! Gotta be the most dramatic final day of a regular season ever. Couldnt script the events of tonight." Trey Wingo said, "Tonight.. is why I don't watch reality TV. Sports... is the ultimate reality show. unscripted.. you just never know." Coming into the final night of baseball's regular season, the Red Sox had lost a 9 game lead in the AL Wild Card as the Rays had come back to tie it up in the standings. In the NL, the St. Louis Cardinals had come back from 8.5 games to tie the Atlanta Braves for the NL Wild Card lead. With the final two-playoff spots available, and the two biggest collapses in MLB history on the line, the final night of baseball was the most dramatic, unbelievable single night that any MLB fan has ever been apart of. Here is my reaction to the events on my twitter page:

6:00: The Rays were 9 games behind the Red Sox on September 1st and are now heading into the final game of the season tied with the Bo Sox. (In that span the Red Sox have been 7-19, while the Rays have been 16-10)

6:00: The Cardinals were 8.5 games behind the Braves on September 1st and are now heading into the final game of the season tied with the Braves. (In that span the Braves have been 9-17, while the Cardinals have been 17-8, including a 12-2 stretch from September 6th to September 21st)

6:00: Pitching matchups in the AL: Jon Lester (15-9, 3.49 ERA for the Red Sox) vs Alfredo Simon (4-9, 4.96 ERA for the Orioles), and David Price (12-13, 3.35 ERA for the Rays) vs Betances (0-0, 27.00 ERA for the Yankees)

6:00: Pitching matchups in the NL: Tim Hudson (16-10, 3.23 ERA for the Braves) vs Joe Blanton (1-2, 5.03 ERA for the Phillies), and Chris Carpenter (10-9, 3.59 ERA for the Cardinals) vs Brett Myers (7-13 with 4 consecutive wins in September, 4.31 ERA for the Astros)

7:00: What a night for baseball fans.

7:00: Two home runs later and Ryan Lavarnway is batting 5th for the Sox tonight. Need a big start from Lester. (Lester has lost his previous three starts and has allowed at least 4 runs in each of those starts)

7:21: Big error by Ben Zobrist at second to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead. The question remains though how Dellin Betances will pitch tonight. (It was just Zobrist's 6th error all season at second base)

7:54: Red Sox nation has to be loving Mark Teixeira right now. Huge grand slam for Tex to give the Yanks an early 5-0 lead. (Texeira has 110 RBI's for the 6th time in his career and the Sox, scoreboard watching, are feeling optimistic)

7:55: Michael Bourn is the fastest guy in the MLB. Huge stolen base off Hamels to put himself in scoring position. (The steal gives Bourn his 61st on the year, which is 21 more than any other National League player)

8:03: Big home run by Dan Uggla to give the Braves a 3-1 advantage in the bottom of the 3rd. Phillies have two runners on right now though. (Gives Uggla more than 35 home runs for the first time in his career and more importantly, gives Tim Hudson a two run lead)

8:20: A bad mistake by Alfredo Simon to give the Sox their 2nd run off of a balk. Scuarto got inside of Simon's head down at third.

8:28: Five runs in the first for the Cards to put the pressure back on the Braves. Pujols, Berkman, Freese, Schumaker, and Punto all with RBI's.

8:35: Tex hits his second home run to give the Yanks a 6-0 lead and a few seconds later Pedroia hits a solo shot to give the Sox a 3-2 lead. (The 6 runs that Price has allowed is the most he has ever allowed in one start in his MLB career)

9:25: Jonny Venters looks wild in the 8th with 2 walks and a HBP but he comes up huge with the bases loaded to strike out Ibanez and keep the lead.

9:54: Just like Venters, Craig Kimbrel has been very wild in the 9th, as he's walked Ben Francisco and Jimmy Rollins to load the bases. (Venters gets his 35th hold of the season, which is the 2nd most in the NL)

9:56: Blown save for Kimbrel, as Utley hits a sac fly out to left field. The Braves will have to move on quickly because there are still men on. (Kimbrel's 8th blown save of the season, 3 of which have come in September, including 2 in his last 3 appearances)

9:58: The Braves are in deep trouble. They've brought in Kris Medlen, who has made just one appearance all season after coming back from injury. (Medlen has missed 13 months after having Tommy John surgery)

10:03: How bout that for your second start of the season. Medlen comes in and gets Michael Martinez to pop out to third with the bases loaded.

10:10: Valverde gets his 49th save in 49 opportunities for the Tigers. Waiting on the Rangers to see where their final position in the AL will be. (Dating back to last season, Valverde has saved 51 consecutive games)

10:18: Don't forget about an AL Wild Card playoff so quickly. The Rays have the bases loaded and have cut the Yanks lead to 7-2 in the 8th.

10:21: Red Sox nation can breathe somewhat easily for a minute. Luis Ayala gets Desmond Jennings to strike out and then gets BJ Upton to fly out to left.

10:23: I take that last post back. Evan Longoria hits a three-run home run to bring the Rays to within 1 run of the Yanks at 7-6. (Ayala lets up his first runs in all of September on the Longoria home run)

10:27: Damon pops up to second to end the threat and the Rays go into the top of the 9th down 7-6. Who will come in in the 9th for the Yanks?

10:28: Cards finish off the Astros with an 8-0 victory. Chris Carpenter pitches a complete game 2-hit shutout with 11 K's. (Carpenter allows 1 run or less for the third straight start and finishes the season with a sub 3.50 ERA for the 4th year in a row)

10:47: Down to their last pitch, Dan Johnson hits a solo home run off of Cory Wade to complete the Rays comeback and tie the game at 7 in the 9th. (It was Johnson's first hit since April 27. He had been hitless in his last 20 plate appearances. Johnson's .108 batting average coming into the at-bat was the lowest among any position player with at least 50 plate appearances. Talk about a good time to get out of a horrible slump)

10:50: With the Rangers 3-1 victory over the Angles, they clinch the 2nd best record in the AL and the Tigers finish with the 3rd best record. (The Rangers capture their 5th division title, and 2nd in a row.)

10:50: Therefore, the Rangers will play the AL Wild Card winner (the Red Sox or the Rays) and the Yanks will open with the Tigers.

10:58: The Red Sox have to be frustrated that they are coming back onto the field after the rain delay with the Rays and Yanks now going into extra innings.

10:58: Just remember that the Rays haven't knocked off the Yanks yet and that they still have to go out and score more runs in extras.

11:05: With the Brewers 7-3 victory over the Pirates, they clinch the 2nd best record in the NL and the Diamondbacks finish behind them in 3rd. (The Brewers capture their 1st NL Central division title)

11:05: Therefore, if the Cardinals win the NL Wild Card, the Brewers will play the Diamondbacks and the Phillies will play the Cardinals.

11:05: If the Braves win the NL Wild Card, the Brewers will play the Braves and the Phillies will play the Diamondbacks.

11:13 To the 13th we go in Atlanta, as Martin Prado grounds out to third with the winning runner 90 feet away from home. (The horrible month for Prado continues as he is batting just .236 in September)

11:18: Rays bring in Brandon Gomes in the 11th, who has allowed just 1 earned run in September during 11 appearances.

11:24: Bard finally catches a break in a month where he has allowed 13 earned runs in 11 appearances, as Guerrero and Wieters just miss home runs.

11:28: The Phillies go up 4-3 in the 13th as Hunter Pence drives in Brian Schneider on a bloop single by Freddie Freeman at first. (That's why the Phillies acquired Pence from the Astros before the trading deadline)

11:40: Tough way for Freddie Freeman to end his great rookie season, as he grounds into a double play and the Braves fall in 13 to the Phillies and complete a monumental collapse. (The Braves 8.5 game lead was the largest lead for a team to not make the playoffs since 1964 when the Phillies led the Cardinals by 8.5 games and missed out on the playoffs.)

11:40: The NL playoff matchups are set for Saturday. Phillies-Cardinals and Brewers-Diamondbacks.

11:50: Papelbon tries to get the save for the Sox in the 9th. The Yanks and the Rays head to the 12th after Desmond Jennings pops up with runners on base.

11:55: With no outs and runners on first and third, Longoria fields a grounder to third and inexplicably, Greg Golson of the Yanks gets caught off third base and is tagged out. (In just Greg Golson's 9th game of the season, he makes a horrible mistake that could cost the Red Sox dearly)

12:02: One pitch away from extending their season, Papelbon gives up a double to Nolan Reimond and then a single to Roberto Adindo as the O's win. (Papelbon blows just his 3rd save of the season, but it's in the most important game of the year)

12:05: Longoria, who hit the big three run home run in the 8th, hits a walk off solo home run in the 12th to send the Rays into the playoffs. (The home run completes the collapse for the Boston Red Sox, who led the Rays by 9 games on September 1st)

12:05: The AL Playoff matchups are now set: Yankees-Tigers, Rangers-Rays.

Post-Game: What an unbelievable night of baseball. We've never seen a night like this in MLB history. Just when you think you've seen it all....

Post-Game: The Red Sox are going to have the longest, hardest off season of any team in MLB history after losing a 9 game Wild Card lead.

Post-Game: Nobody can really put this day into perspective. The collapses of Red Sox and Braves will go down in baseball infamy.

Post-Game: The Yanks had runners on first and third with no outs, and Papelbon had just struck out two guys and was one out away from the victory. Funny how things can change so quickly. Golson gets tagged out between 3rd and home for the Yanks, and then Papelbon lets up a double and then the walk-off single to Andino. Longoria hits a walk-off home run to send the Rays to the playoffs and complete the worst 5 minutes of a Sox fan's life.

Post-Game: What a horrible finish for the Sox and just a terrible year for Carl Crawford. How weird is it that the final ball of the season finds Crawford, and he can't corral in left?

Post-Game: Everyone's reaction is the same - WOW! This night in baseball will always be remembered.

Rabu, 28 September 2011

Draw completed for 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship



Defending champions China were drawn with fellow East Asian team Chinese Taipei, Middle Asia’s India and SEABA’s Malaysia in Group A for the Preliminary Round of the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship to be held in Nha Trang City in Vietnam from Oct 18-28, 2011.

The draw was conducted at the Media Conference Room at the Wuhan Sports Center in Wuhan (China) on Sunday, the final day of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship.

Group B involves Korea, who lost to China in the final of the inaugural FIBA Asia U16 Championship at Johor Bahru (Malaysia) two years ago, along with two WABA teams Iraq and Lebanon and Uzbekistan.

Iran, the bronze medalists from Johor Bahru lead the fray in Group C also comprising Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Japan.

With only 15 teams in fray, Group D will see only three teams and all-SEABA affair – Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

“It is a great significance that we are conducting this draw for the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship on the final day of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship,” said FIBA Asia president Sheikh Saud bin Ali Al-Thani who presided over the draw proceedings.

“The 26th FIBA Asia Championship will decide the champion team of FIBA Asia, while the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship will throw up the stars for the future,” he said.

FIBA Asia will run a special event website http://nhatrang2011.fibaasia.net during the event.

Groupings for the Preliminary Round

  • Group A: China, India, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei
  • Group B: Korea, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Lebanon
  • Group C: Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan
  • Group D: Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam

    India’s U16 side qualified for the championship after defeating Nepal and Sri Lanka in qualifiers in New Delhi in August

    About 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship

    The 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship is the qualifying event for the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship to be played in Lithuania from July 17-26, 2012.

    The top two teams from the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship will represent FIBA Asia at Lithuania.

    System of Competition

    The 16 teams are pooled into four groups of four teams each for the Preliminary Round.

    The top three teams from each group will advance to the Second Round, and will be drawn into two groups of six teams each.

    In the Second Round, each team will carry forward the results against the other qualifying teams in their Preliminary Round group and will play against teams qualifying from the other Preliminary Round group. The top four teams from each Second Round will qualify for the Quarterfinals, from which stage it will be a knockout.
  • Senin, 26 September 2011

    NF Railway organises invitational basketball tournament in Assam



    Six top Indian basketball clubs, featuring some famous names, will be in Maligaon in Guwahahi (Assam) this week for the an All India Invitational Basketball Championship organised North-East Frontier Railway Sports Association (NFRSA). The tournament (September 25-29th) at the NFRSA Indoor Stadium will be one of the biggest basketball showcases in the North-East of India.

    The participating teams are: ONGC (Dehradun), Indian Overseas Bank (Chennai), BSF (Jalandhar), Rail Coach Factory (Kapurthala), Assam Regiment (Shillong) and hosts NFRSA. The six teams have been divided into two groups and the championship will be conducted on a league-cum-knock-out basis.

    Here's more via The Assam Tribune Online:

    Leading national level cagers, who also represented the country in international championships like Arjun Singh, Gagan Deep Singh, Suresh Kumar, Pratham Singh, Hanuman Singh, Virendra, Murali Krishna are representing their respective teams in this tournament which has been recognised by Basketball Federation of India.
    The six teams have been divided into two groups and the championship will be conducted on a league-cum-knock-out basis.

    RWC 2011 Canada vs Japan Live on Sep 27

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    Tournament Info

    Rugby World Cup 2011

    Match: Canada vs Japan (Pool-A)

    Kick off: 17:00 (Local/NZ),Tuesday,Sep 27

    Venue: McLean Park,Napier,New Zealand

    Status: Live/Repeat

     

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    All Rugby Lovers are most welcome To watch Here Canada vs Japan Live on Online TV.Enjoy this exciting Rugby match between Canada vs Japan on Sep 27,Tuesday 2011 and Time 17:00(Local/NZ) Live Coverage Here.You can watch all the Rugby World Cup 2011 matches  stay at your home or office via Internet.Join US! click below link and get 100% HD Quality Video to enjoy Rugby World Cup match Canada vs Japan. 


    Click Here To Watch>>> Canada vs Japan Live


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    Tournament Info
    Rugby World Cup 2011
    Match: Canada vs Japan (Pool-A)
    Kick off: 17:00 (Local/NZ),Tuesday,Sep 27
    Venue: McLean Park,Napier,New Zealand
    Status: Live/Repeat


    image


    Watch Canada vs Japan Live with the exclusive software with live support. HD Quality Live streaming is available here.Watch all the Rugby big games with fast and easy setup without needed any extra hardware and get the updates of the match, score summery, winner of the match, exciting clips, latest news, interviews, videos and highlights on your computer."This Software is absolutely amazing....."Catch the match live here it provide crystal clear HD video and smooth clear sound.So Don't be hesitate Follow every sport and your favorite team 365 days a week, 24/7!

    Minggu, 25 September 2011

    2011 FIBA ABC Review: China win final over Jordan; India end 14th



    Oh, it was all good just a few weeks ago. In India's first game at the 2011 FIBA Asia Basketball Championship, we held a seven point lead in the final quarter over Lebanon, a team ranked 26 places above us in the FIBA world rankings. We ended up losing that game, by the way, and then, losing everything else that came in our way. A week later, our campaign ended with a loss to Indonesia as we finished the championship at 14th place. That was a depressing finish to my cautiously optimistic hopes before the tournament. Now, the tournament is over, and after weeks of unpredictable and exciting basketball, there is a familiar name at the top of the rankings.

    In front of an electric crowd in Wuhan, hosts China rose to the top of FIBA Asia after a silver medal two years ago by edging out the tough Jordan side 70-69 in a classic final of the championship on Sunday. Led by tournament MVP Yi Jianlian, China claimed the gold medal and booked their place in the 2012 Olympic Games basketball tournament in London.

    The final win was a culmination of a perfect 9-0 record in the competition. China lifted the FIBA ABC trophy for the 15th time.

    Jordan walked out of the arena with their heads held high having entered the gold medal game for the first time. Jordan did extremely well beyond expectations to keep the contest even till the final buzzer. Despite finishing 2nd in their preliminary round group, and fourth in the second round group, Jordan did the impossible by defeating last year's champs Iran in a classic Quarter Final and then getting a win over a strong Philippines side in the Semis.

    For China, Yi accounted for 11 of his team-high 25 points in the third quarter. Yi also had 16 points in the final. Yi continues to confound me, as he is such a dominant force back home but a super-flop in the NBA. Supposed to be China's next big thing after Yao, Yi has bounced around 3 NBA teams in the past four years, and has put up just 8.5 ppg in the course of his career, where he has never been able to earn major NBA minutes. He had his worst year with the Wizards last season, playing only 17.7 minutes a game and putting up just 5.6 ppg. He comes back home and completely DOMINATES Asia, averaging 16.6 ppg and 10.8 rpg as MVP of the championship.

    Rasheim Wright was at the vanguard of the Jordanian cause in the Final with a game-high 26 points.

    Earlier on Sunday, the 3rd/4th place match-up between Korea and Philippines was also a nail biting affair, won by Korea 70-68. Sungmin Cho led the way for Korea with 20 points. The high-scorers for Philippines were Marcus Douthit (27) and Jim Alapag (17).

    Final Standings:

  • 1. China
  • 2. Jordan
  • 3. Korea
  • 4. Philippines
  • 5. Iran

    All Tournament Team:

  • PG: Osama Daghles (Jordan)
  • SG: Takuya Kawamura (Japan)
  • SF: Samad Nikkah Bahrami (Iran)
  • PF: Yi Jianlian (China) - MVP
  • C: Hamed Haddadi (Iran)

    Meanwhile, the Indian contingent completed the tournament with a 1-4 record to end at 14th place. That record is misleading, by the way, because India didn't exactly 'win' a single game at the tournament: we were handed a victory in our 13-16 classification game over Qatar without even playing them. Qatar were made to forfeit their games after their players 'deliberately lost' a couple of earlier games after five of their players were disqualified without proper nationality documentation.

    And we started off as well as we possibly could! Grouped with tough Lebanon and Korea, and with Malaysia, a team we were expected to beat, India needed just one win to move on to the next round. India played without a consistent starting lineup: Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Jagdeep Singh, and Yadwinder Singh were our regular starters, and the other two places were rotated between Hareesh Koroth, TJ Sahi, and Trideep Rai.

    We almost got our one win unexpectedly, against Lebanon. After trailing by 13 at the end of halftime, India went on an epic third quarter run, perhaps the finest quarter of basketball played by the Indian men's team in recent history, as they outscored the superpower Lebanon 32-14 behind a barrage of three and two pointers by Hareesh Koroth and TJ Sahi.

    Less than two minutes away from the final buzzer, India held a one-point lead and were on the verge of making history. But a heroic performance by Lebanon's Jean Abd El Nour denied India its chance at history, as Lebanon survived to win 71-68. El Nour scored eight of his game-high 24 points in the dying minutes of the game to defeat the enthusiastic Indian outfit.

    Hareesh Koroth had 20 points for India and TJ Sahi added 18.

    The game against Malaysia the next night was to be our make or break game: we are ranked much higher than them, and if we had won, we would've immediately improved to our 13th place ranking from 2009 and had a chance to move into the final 12. But an end game burst by Malaysia saw them emerge as 71-67 winners and virtually clinched their place in the second round, giving India another last-minute heartbreak.

    The game swung back and forth like a pendulum: India fell back once again at halftime in this match-up trailing to their opponents by 16 points at the break. But once again, India showed their third-quarter resolve, outscoring Malaysia 24-12 in the period and bringing the game close again. The fourth quarter see-sawed between both the sides, and with the game tied in the final minutes, lower-ranked Malaysia made a final run to edge out a close win.

    Malaysia were led by Ban Sin Ooi, who scored 20 points in the game, although the game's best individual performance came from India's experienced big man Jagdeep Singh Bains, who had a heroic 25 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

    We were never expected to challenge Korea in our final group game, and we didn't: Korea scored the first eight points of the game and only grew in strength thereafter before romping through for a 84-53 win against India on Saturday to complete their Group A engagements with an all-win record. It was India's third consecutive loss in the tournament, which saw them finish at the bottom of the group and eliminated from the second round.

    Trideep Rai’s 11 points was the only double digit score for India. Despite the disappointment, coach Natt looked at the positives after the game and commented: "We have a long way in terms of going anywhere in Asian competitions. But I think we are making a start with this young team."

    Out of the Second Round and forced to settle for 13-16 qualification, India got a lucky break when we were handed a 20-0 win against Qatar because of the forfeit. We played Indonesia in the 13/14th place match, a team that, with all of our revamped efforts we should've defeated. But like our effort against Malaysia earlier, we once again came up short. India trailed most of the way in the competitive game and failed to close the gap between the two sides, as Indonesia won 84-75.

    India’s sharp-shooter Hareesh Koroth continued his bright showing at the championship, with 22 points off the bench to lead all scorers in the game. India were close the whole game, and trailed by just seven points at halftime. Indonesia continued to slowly extend their lead, and a decent fourth quarter by the Indian side was a little too late to prevent the loss.

    This tournament was the first large scale international exposure for the Indian team under new NBA coach Kenny Natt. Despite the low ranking, India showed flashes of their potential under the new coach, highlighted with the near-upset of Lebanon in their first game. It's tough to say why we under-performed against Malaysia and Indonesia, but perhaps the near-slaying of the giants Lebanon, and the eventual loss, may have been crushed the players' spirits a bit.

    This tournament also gave the chance to several young Indian players to gain valuable experience, and the likes of Amjyot Singh and Amrit Pal Singh stepped up to make their contributions to the squad. Amjyot is the one player who really excites me for the future: playing limited minutes of the bench, Amjyot led India in rebounding (7.3 rpg) and had several important hustle points. Amjyot also averaged 1.8 blocks per game, good enough for second-place in the tournament, only to Iran's Hamed Haddadi, who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies!

    With 1.8 steals per game, India's TJ Sahi finished at joint first place with Sun Yue (China), Osama Daghles (Jordan), and Ibrahim Ahmad (UAE) in steals average.

    Our best player was Hareesh Koroth, who led the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and was our only consistent scoring threat. Jagdeep Singh played pretty well, too, averaging 12.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg in the championship.

    The biggest disappointment was Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, our former captain and a personal favourite of mine. Playing major minutes, and usually, a major offensive force, Vishesh had 17 points TOTAL in the tournament, averaging just 4.3 points per game shooting an awful 16 perfect from the field. Ugh!

    All the stats above, by the way, were compiled by Siddharth Sharma for SportsKeeda.

    At the end, our ranking actually fell one place from 13th to 14th this year. So, where do we go from here? I made a note in a post last week about India's glaring weakness - the point guard position - and Coach Kenny Natt's desperate need to find a consistent general to lead our side. Beyond that, the future doesn't look too bad for us, actually. This tournament ended on a sad note, but we have a *very* young squad who will only get stronger with this experience. I am talking about our young under 20 bigs Amjyot and Amrit Pal who are on a fast-track to improvement. And of course there's 15 year old Satnam Singh Bhamara, who got limited minutes in the tournament but will be better off with the exposure of this big stage.

    Natt had only a few months with this team to not only raise the talent level of the players at hand, but to also attempt to change the culture and improve the system of hoops in India. With this championship over, he now has two more years until the next one, two more years to train the future crop of Indian players, and to help us make that long-awaited 'baby step' improvement on the international stage.

    Congrats for the win China; and India will be looking forward to 2013.
  • Sabtu, 24 September 2011

    Austrian Golf Open live stream via Online Golf TV

    All Golf Lovers are most welcome To watch Here Austrian Golf Open Live on Online TV.Enjoy this exciting  Austrian Golf Open  (Sep 22-Sep 25) Live Coverage Here.You can watch it stay at your home or office via Internet.Join US! click below link and get 100% HD Quality Video to enjoy  Austrian Golf Open.

     

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    TOURNAMENT INFO
    Location : Diamond Country Club,Lower Austria, 35km west of Vienna, Austria
    Tour(s) : European Tour
    Course(s): Diamond Country Club
    Par: 72
    Length: 7,386 yards (6,754 m)
    Tour(s): European Tour
    Format: Stroke play
    Prize fund: €1,000,000
    DATE : September 22-25, 2011
    Current champion:   José Manuel Lara

     

     

    Watch Austrian Golf Open  Live with the exclusive software with live support. HD Quality Live streaming is available here.Watch all the big games with fast and easy setup without needed any extra hardware and get the updates of the match, score summery, winner of the match, exciting clips, latest news, interviews, videos and highlights on your computer."This Software is absolutely amazing....."Catch the match live here it provide crystal clear HD video and smooth clear sound.So Don't be hesitate Follow every sport  365 days a week, 24/7!

     

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