Baily's Sports & Stuff

49ers football poem With every score and every play, Comes the opponents great dismay. At the end or the beginning, The 49ers are sure to be winning. From every aspect of the game, The Niners are perfectly arranged. When the game is towards the end, The 49ers comprehend. When the clock hits double-zeros, The Niners are once again heroes. The season is now on the line. But the Niners have talent-they'll do just fine. The Super Bowl is now at stake. A prize the Niners are sure to take. Arizona Diamondbacks at San Francisco Giants (brief) With 2 runners on and Pat Burrell up, Ian Kennedy knew he needed to pitch carefully. So he decided a breaking ball would be a good pitch to go ahead on the count. Not exactly. Burrell smacked the ball deep into left field for his second key homer in 5 games as the Giants held off the Diamondbacks 3-1 despite only 5 hits. On the second pitch of the game, Stephen Drew hit a breaking ball deep into right field, and the Diamondback...

Major league baseball this year has been just as tight as it always is. And when champagne bottles and locker room parties are involved, you know you have at least a division champion. The Yankees, Rays, and Reds all clinched playoff spots with wins last night, and the Giants got a step closer to clinching last night. Let's break down what happened. Rays at Orioles Champagne bottles. A whole team jumping up and down. Everyone smiling, spraying each other. What does this mean? Playoffs. David Price shut out the Orioles through 8 innings and the Rays clinched a playoff spot. Tampa Bay, a half game ahead of the Yankees, got homers from Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena. The Rays, who made the World Series 2 years ago, used 8 K's from David Price. Price allowed just 1 runner past second base, and no one scored for Baltimore. Tampa won 5-0. Astros at Reds Jay Bruce walked off the Astros and gave Cincinnati their first playoff bid since 1995 as the Reds beat the ...

Aaron Rodgers was ready to lead Green Bay on a game-winning drive. He was ready to lead Green Bay to 3-0. And he was leading them downfield. Then he threw a pass to James Jones. Jones ran, then he got cornered by Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher. Urlacher knocked the ball out, Chicago recovered and that led to the game-winning field goal in a 20-17 victory over Chicago. The Bears are now 3-0. Chicago got the rock first, and they went on a nice 51 yard drive. However, the drive ended with Robbie Gould missing a field goal, and Green Bay got the ball. Deep passes to Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley set up Aaron Rodgers' TD pass to Greg Jennings on a slant. Rodgers threw the ball perfectly, Jennings caught it and Green Bay was up 7-0. Cutler led Chicago into Packers territory again, but this time he got intercepted. At the end of the first quarter, Green Bay led 7-0. In the second, Chicago kept going. Cutler scrambled 16 yards around the left end on 3rd and 15, and then th...

The Oakland Raiders finally had a chance to show what they're made of; what they can do. They had a great chance to become 2-1. All Sebastian Janikowski had to do was make a 32 yard field goal straight down the middle. And then he missed. Janikowski hooked the kick left, and Oakland fell 24-23 in Arizona. The Cardinals improved to 2-1 with another cheap win, and the Raiders dropped to 1-2. Oakland plays Houston next week, while Arizona travels to San Diego to face the 1-2 Chargers. The game got dramatic early, with La-Rod Stephens Howling returning the kick. Stephens Howling read his blocks, broke a tackle and raced down the sideline, sending the stadium into cheers. Arizona led 7-0 early. But that wouldn't last long, for Bruce Gradkowski led Oakland downfield. The Raiders were at the Arizona 22 yard line when Gradkowski found Zach Miller for 6 points. 3 field goals were made in the first, with Oakland making 2 for a 13-10 lead. However, in the second, Beanie Wells go...

UCLA at Texas Once UCLA got blown out 35-0 by Stanford and dropped to 0-2, many people thought the Bruins were nothing. And with Houston and Texas coming up, people thought UCLA would drop to 0-4. But that didn't happen. Jonathan Franklin and the UCLA defense dominated as the UCLA Bruins beat Texas 34-12. Texas played their worst game in a long time, turning the ball over 5 times. UCLA took advantage of that to dominate. Texas scored first, but a muffed punt set up a UCLA touchdown pass. The Bruins then got 2 field goals, and they led 7-3. 2 field goals put them on top 13-3 at halftime, and suddenly Longhorns fans realized they might lose. UCLA added to their fear as Jonathan Franklin ran 11 yards for a touchdown, and later in the third Kevin Prince found a hole and took it 38 yards for a score. UCLA led 27-6 after 3. Late in the game, fans were heading for the exits when Texas had 5 minutes left down by 21. Texas finally scored a touchdown, but UCLA answered, winning 34-1...

In September, the MLB Pennant Race heats up. Every game matters, and to lose a game is like to lose a job to die-hard fans. So, let's break down where teams are at in the pennant race. AL East 2 teams are still in this race. Although the loser has great chances of winning the Wild Card, the AL East is what is important. The Rays have won 2 straight in New York after the Yankees took the first 2 games. New York plays host to Boston, while the Rays host Seattle. Prediction: Yankees win AL East AL Central With a team effort, the Minnesota Twins dominated the second half and won the AL Central with ease, clinching a playoff spot. The White Sox and Tigers, the division runners-up, are out of the playoffs and playing the rest of the season for improvement and testing young prospects. AL West With Josh Hamilton, Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero and more good players, the Rangers finally showed up. The Rangers have had success against teams like the Red Sox and Yankees, and they ...

Drew Brees lofted the ball 30 yards into the San Francisco air. And while Niners cornerback Dashon Goldson overran the ball, Marques Colston turned around and took the ball. Goldson knocked it out, only to have Colston take it before it touched the ground. That 30 yard completion set up Garrett Hartley's game-winning field goal with no time left as the Saints beat the 49ers 25-22. Hartley made 46, 37, and 19 yard field goals. Early in the game, center David Baas had a horrible snap. To save a New Orleans touchdown, Alex Smith hit the ball out of bounds. The Saints got the ball, and Drew Brees found Reggie Bush over the middle for a touchdown. Late in the quarter, San Francisco got good field position. They drove 27 yards down to the Saints 27, and it was second and 10. Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams decided to do a corner blitz, and speedy Malcolm Jenkins pressured Smith unblocked. Smith threw a high pass to Frank Gore, who tipped the ball into Saints safety Roma...

Houston at Washington A blocked field goal. A missed Hail Mary. An amazing 4th down grab. Gary Kubiak icing the kicker. And Neil Rackers' 35 yard game-winning field goal. All of those could define Houston's shocking comeback win over Washington. Houston rallied from a 27-10 third quarter deficit to send the game into overtime, where Neil Rackers nailed a 35 yard kick, his third field goal of the day. Graham Gano made 2 field goals to get Washington started, but Matt Schaub threw a touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones. However, Donovan McNabb led 2 Redskins TD drives, and Clinton Portis punched the ball in from the 1 twice. Washington led 20-7 at halftime. Neil Rackers opened the third off with a 47 yard field goal, but then Donovan NcNabb found Chris Cooley, who had lots of space. Cooley ran into the end zone, and with 18 minutes of football left, Washington led 27-10. But Houston was well on their way to cutting that deficit open. Arian Foster got a screen pass on 3rd and 1...

Arizona State at Wisconsin Wisconsin blocked an extra point with 4:09 left as the 12th ranked Badgers beat Arizona State 20-19. Wisconsin went up 3-0 early, but Omar Bolden returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Both teams exchanged field goals, and right before halftime, Scott Tolzien hit Lance Kendricks for a 14 yard score, and Wisconsin led 13-10. But on the ensuing kickoff, Kyle Middlebrooks found a hole and broke through it. Middlebrooks looked to have 6 points, but Shelton Johnson made an amazing tackle at the 1 yard line. In the third, with the score tied at 13, John Clay broke through a hole for a 19 yard TD run. No one would score until Cameron Marshall burst into the end zone to score a touchdown. The PAT would tie the game. But safety Jay Valai burst off of the line and blocked the kick, and that would be the difference. Wisconsin improved to 3-0 with the win, and the Sun Devils dropped to 2-1. Clemson at Auburn When Clemson took a 17-0 lead on Ja...

San Francisco knew they needed to win to get in control of their own destiny. They needed to win to take 1st place in the NL West. Jonathan Sanchez, Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey, Jose Gullien and the rest of the Giants realized that. Sanchez struck out 12 and allowed just 4 hits in 7 innings as the Giants dominated the Dodgers to take the series 2-1, and more importantly, the NL West division lead. A throwing error by Juan Uribe gave Los Angeles the early 1-0 lead, but a triple by Aubrey Huff and a double by Buster Posey evened the score at 1. In the third, with 2 runners on, Aubrey Huff came up. Huff took a slider over the Levis Landing wall and the Giants took a 4-1 lead, and then Buster Posey followed with a solo homer to give SF a 5-1 lead. The next inning, SF loaded the bases, then Freddy Sanchez walked in a run. After 4 innings, the Giants had a 5 run cushion. Russ Mitchell homered for the Dodgers in the top of the fifth, but the value from that blast was taken away when J...

Chargers at Chiefs When San Diego forced a 3 and out, didn't allow anything on KC's next possession and then scored, Chiefs fans though they were going to see the same story. They were wrong. Tony Moeaki and Dexter McCluster made big plays in their NFL debut, Jamaal Charles scored a touchdown as the Chiefs beat San Diego 21-14. On the fourth possession on the game, San Diego drove downfield and Phillp Rivers found Antonio Gates on a slant. Gates was easily in the EZ, and San Diego led 7-0. But that lead wouldn't last long. Just a few plays later, Kansas City struck back. Jamaal Charles got a hole down the left side, and he took it, scoring from 56 yards out. The score was tied. When San Diego had the ball, San Diego gave the ball to rookie Ryan Mathews, who ran 15 yards. But Derrick Johnson made a heads-up play to knock the football out of Mathews' hands. Brandon Carr picked up about 16 yards on the recovery. The Chiefs quickly got down to the 4 yard line, ...

Dallas at Washington A Hail Mary call. A holding call. A field goal attempt late. A key run. All of those could be words to describe the Redskins thrilling win over the Cowboys. Alex Barron was called for holding on the last play of the game and the Redskins beat the Cowboys 13-7. Many plays happened that defined the game. Late in the first half, with Washington leading 3-0, Dallas had the ball at their own 36 with about 5 seconds left. Tony Romo threw a short pass to Tashard Choice, and he got surrounded by 3 Redskins. Lorenzo Alexander knocked the ball out, and DeAngelo Hall scooped it up for a touchdown. This was Donovan McNabb's debut as a Redskin, however, it wasn't his best game. In the third quarter, with 4th and 4 at about the 17, Graham Gano made a field goal. But an offsides gave the Redskins a first down, and they chose to accept it. However, they would regret. McNabb was intercepted, the Cowboys had momentum and Tony Romo found Miles Austin for an easy 6. S...

Oregon vs Tennessee Kenjon Barner, Cliff Harris and LaMichael James all made great plays to lead a 48-13 win over Derek Dooley's Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols led 13-3 midway through the second quarter, but the Ducks tied it at the half, and outscored Tennessee 35-0 in the second half. Oregon didn't get a single offensive play before Tennessee could pick up 2 field goals, and after a touchdown Tennessee led 13-3 and the Ducks were in trouble. But Oregon got a quick field goal, and then Darron Thomas threw a TD to David Paulsen. The game was tied 13-13 at the half. In the third, LaMichael James turned it on. He broke tackles that would have pushed Oregon back 4 yards, outran 4 guys down the left sideline, broke another tackle and dove into the end zone for a 72 yard touchdown. Later in the quarter, QB Matt Simms threw up a floater that Cliff Harris took. Harris raced 76 yards for the score. Thomas threw another touchdown pass, and Kenjon Barner used his speed for an easy...

West Virginia vs Marshall (brief) Marshall was 0-9 against West Virginia. The Thundering Herd won a bowl game, but they had not had a lot of success for a while. The wait may be over; well, it almost was. West Virginia rallied from down 15 points midway through the fourth quarter to beat the Thundering Herd 24-21. Geno Smith led 2 touchdown drives late. Marshall took a 14-3 lead on a 96 yard touchdown completion, and then they took a 21-6 lead. The Herd looked to look the game up when they had the ball inside the Mountaineer 10, but they fumbled. Screen passes helped Geno Smith set up a touchdown, and then the Mountaineers got the ball back. They ran the same offense, and Smith hit Will Johnson for the TD in the very back of the end zone. He hit Jock Sanders for 2, and it went into OT. Tyler Bitancourt made a field goal, but Marshall had a chance. They kicked a 40 yard field goal, but it just missed to give the Mountaineers a shocking win. NL West race Giants vs Padres T...

Drew Brees completed 27 out of 36 passes for 237 yards and a TD as the Saints beat the Vikings 14-9. Although both defense did well, kicking and catching the football (I know) were issues for the Saints. Drew Brees and the Saints had a great first drive. Brees found his men at the right time, he executed perfectly and the result was a 29 yard score on a stop and go route to Devery Henderson. No one could score until Ryan Longwell hit a 41 yarder with 5:28 in the second, and the Vikings got the ball back. But Brett Favre threw a terrible pass, and Jonathan Vilma picked it off. However, Garrett Hartley missed a 46 yard kick, and it was still 7-3. With the momentum on their side, Brett Favre and Visanthe Shiancoe came up huge. Shaincoe caught 2 straight passes for 53 yards and a touchdown, and even though the PAT was blocked, Minnesota led 9-7. But in the third, that would change. Drew Brees completed 3 passes for 38 yards, and the Saints got a lot out of Pierre Thomas. Thomas...

Tim Lincecum struck out 11, allowed 3 runs in 6.2 innings as the Giants beat the Diamondbacks 6-3. Lincecum broke down in the 7th, but his outing in the first 6 innings was very impressive. Lincecum started the game 13 up, 13 down. He used the fastball to get ahead of the count, and the change-up and the splitter got 11 Diamondbacks striking out. Lincecum's dominance early was mainly at the mound, but after 4.1 perfect innings, Lincecum gave up a base hit to Miguel Montero. However, another strikeout on the splitter and a grounder to shortstop ended the inning. Already up 4-0, the Giants decided to give Lincecum some more comfort. So Buster Posey singled to left, and then Pat Burrell got a good piece of an outside curveball for a home run. The Giants led 6-0. Lincecum got another split strikeout, and he got out of the 6th having faced just 19 batters. However, in the 7th, Lincecum broke down. Kelly Johnson hit a leadoff triple down the 3rd base line, then Chris Young homere...

Here's a nice college football question. If your team was down by 4 with 2 minutes left, no timeouts left and the ball at you're own 20, who would you pick? Kellen Moore stated his case. Moore drove Boise State 56 yards in 5 plays as Boise State beat Virginia Tech 33-30. The Broncos started the game off great, taking a 17-0 lead after 1 quarter. But they ended up needing to rally to pick up the W. Boise State kicked a field goal to get things started, and then they forced the Hokies to punt. But on the punt, WR Austin Pettis came around the end unblocked and he got a piece of the punt. Pettis ended up catching a TD pass from Kellen Moore that you could tell they worked on in practice. On Boise's next drive, they started at their own 22. After a first down, they were forced to 3rd and 25 at their own 24. Doug Martin took the handoff and raced 23 yards, and a running into the kicker penalty gave Boise new life, Jeremy Avery rushed for 22 yards on the drive, and T...

So college football has finally started, and it had a lot of close games and upsets. Why don't we start with the close games, and then get to the thrillers. #25 Oregon State vs #8 TCU The Mountain West has had a long argument against the NCAA trying to get an automatic bowl bid, and they probably will in a year or two. But until then, they have to earn it. TCU is on their way. Andy Dalton ran for 2 touchdowns and threw for another as TCU beat Oregon State 30-21. Ed Wesley ran for a touchdown, breaking tackles, and a high snap gave TCU a safety. Oregon State struck first on a Ryan Katz TD pass, but Dalton hooked up with Skye Dawson on a 51 yard pass to set up a TD. But in the second, Katz threw another deep TD, but Dalton hooked up with Jeremy Kerley to tie the game. Right before the half Ed Wesley broke 2 tackles to score, and give TCU the lead at the half. But it didn't last long, as James Rodgers and Jacquizz Rodgers combined to set up a TD that tied the game. Ho...

Utah vs Pittsburgh The Utah Utes finally got to experience what it's like to win a season opener against a Top 25 team. They finally realized what it was like to get a good season started against a good team. Brian Blechen intercepted a bad pass by Tino Sunseri in overtime, and Utah beat Pittsburgh 27-24. Joe Phillps kicked a 21 yard field goal to end the game, and to get a big season started for Utah. The Utes host TCU and BYU this year. Pittsburgh struck first, and Dion Lewis ran for a touchdown 3 minutes into the second quarter. That lead didn't last too long though, for Jordan Wynn led a nice drive, and he hit Jeremy Brooks in the end zone to tie it. Utah forced a turnover, and Wynn hooked up with Brooks again to take a 14-7 lead. In the third quarter the teams traded field goals, and Utah led 17-10 going into the fourth. Hutchins nailed another kick, and the Panthers were back within four. But Jordan Wynn had an answer. He hooked up with DeVonte Christopher o...

Colorado Rockies vs San Francisco Giants In another duel between Tim Lincecum and Ubaldo Jimenez, one needed to end their struggles. Lincecum had lost 5 games in a row, while Ubaldo had went weeks without a win. This was huge for the pennant race. Both pitchers allowed nothing until Carlos Gonzalez homered in the fourth inning to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead. Ubaldo had a no-hitter going until Jose Gullien singled to lead off the 5th inning. Buster Posey then walked, and after a strikeout Mike Fontenot tied the game with an RBI single. Ubaldo allowed some base runners, and the Giants were in a good situation in the seventh. But Pablo Sandoval struck out, and Miguel Olivo caught Buster Posey stealing second. The inning was over. On the other hand, it looked like Lincecum was finally back. Only 3 batters got hits off of him, and he only walked one batter. He finished the eighth, and exited the game allowing only 5 hits and 1 run, and striking out 9 batters. His last pitch was a str...