GARY, Ind. (AP)
For as long as Friday night's 21-inning marathon between Kent State and Kentucky lasted at the NCAA Gary Regional, the game still fell four innings short of the Texas-Boston College affair in 2009.
Alex Miklos hit a go-ahead RBI triple in the 21st inning as the Golden Flashes outlasted Kentucky 7-6 in the second-longest game in NCAA tournament history.
''That might not have been the longest game in college baseball history, but it was certainly the best baseball game in college baseball history,'' Kent State coach Scott Stricklin said. ''There were so many twists and turns. The game was just unbelievable.''
The Golden Flashes (42-17) held the lead in the ninth and 18th innings, but the Wildcats (43-17) answered both times to extend it. Kentucky had numerous chances to end the game in extra innings, including having the bases loaded with one out in the 20th, but Kent State relief pitcher Michael Clark was able to get J.T. Riddle to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
''I got the one play that could get us out of that inning,'' Clark said. ''We would throw a punch and then they would throw a punch. It was a great game to be a part of.''
Each team used four pitchers that threw at least 60 pitches in the game. Kentucky reliever A.J. Reed started the game as the designated hitter and pitched the final nine innings of the game for the Wildcats. Clark threw the final three and two-thirds innings for Kent State and got the win while recording four strikeouts.
''This type of game is going to help us down the line,'' Clark said. ''We're riding on adrenaline right now, but once we get a meal, if anything is still open, we'll start to get focused on tomorrow's game.''
The Golden Flashes were two outs away from the victory in the ninth inning when Kentucky first baseman Luke Maile tied the game 5-5 with an RBI single that scored Austin Cousino. The teams played eight innings of scoreless baseball before Joe Koch gave Kent State a 6-5 lead with an RBI single. Kentucky catcher Michael Williams answered with a run-scoring double in the bottom of the 18th and the teams continued playing.
''It was a great game for the fans, two tremendous efforts out of the bullpen,'' Kentucky coach Gary Henderson said. ''Both sides pitched extremely well after the fourth inning. Forty-runners left on base, it was a very unique game.''
Miklos was an unlikely hero for the Golden Flashes as the freshman left fielder entered with the least amount of hits (35) in the starting lineup and with just a .271 batting average. Miklos came to the plate in the 21st inning having gone 1 for 7 and striking out three times. He hit a shot to the center-field wall that drove in Koch with the go-ahead run.
''I was just looking for something to work with,'' Miklos said. ''I'd say it's definitely the biggest hit of my career.''
Source: msn.foxsports.com
Finn shines in Middlesex triumph - ECB
Steven Finn did his hopes of receiving an England Test recall no harm with three wickets as Middlesex defeated Sussex at Lord's to claim their third LV= County Championship win of the summer.
Finn followed up his three first-innings scalps with 3-66 as Sussex were bowled out for 225 in their second innings. That left Middlesex with a target of 18 and they completed a 10-wicket victory 40 minutes after tea on the final day.
Middlesex looked like wrapping up proceedings early when they reduced Sussex to 101 for five prior to lunch.
They were delayed by Ben Brown's second half-century of the match, but when he and Naveed Arif departed in successive overs Sussex were heading for their second successive championship defeat.
Finn, who had already picked up Ed Joyce on the third evening, was taken for two fours by Chris Nash in his first over of the day but hit back in the next when he cleaned up the Sussex opener with a leg-stump yorker.
Finn struck again when Murray Goodwin was smartly taken low down at second slip by Ollie Rayner. It was Goodwin's ninth single-figure score in 11 innings this season.
England seamer Steven Finn finished with three second-innings wickets as Middlesex secured a 10-wicket victory over Sussex at Lord's
There was no respite for Sussex when Gareth Berg replaced Finn at the Pavilion End. Joe Gatting was leg before in the seamer’s first over and then Finn got in the act in the field, holding a two-handed catch when Luke Wright chased a wide ball from Berg and slashed to gully.
Skipper Michael Yardy also got out to a poor shot, pulling a short ball from Toby Roland-Jones straight to deep square-leg.
Finn returned after lunch and should have been celebrating again when Arif was badly dropped in the gully by Eoin Morgan on nought. He eventually got off the mark with a boundary off the 34th ball he faced and gradually Sussex's seventh-wicket pair mounted a recovery of sorts.
Brown twice pulled Roland-Jones for two of the eight fours he collected in a two-hour 53 as he and Arif added 63 in 25 overs, seven of which were bowled by Finn at a cost of just five runs.
Just when Middlesex were getting frustrated Berg went round the wicket to have Arif well caught low down at slip by Dawid Malan and in the next over Brown, having reached his fifty off the previous ball, mis-judged a reverse sweep at off-spinner Rayner and gave a simple catch to slip.
Steve Magoffin enjoyed himself either side of tea with 37, including six fours and a six off Malan, but the occasional leg-spinner picked up the last two wickets with Magoffin and Monty Panesar holing out.
Source: www.ecb.co.uk
Kent, Wiles, Miller and O'Connor Win 2012 BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer Award - Yahoo Finance
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The 46th annual BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer Award has been presented to engineers Mark Kent and Matt Wiles from General Motors (GM) and Steve Miller and Steve O'Connor from Ilmor Engineering for the Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Engine. Designed for fuel efficiency, performance and low friction, the 2.2-liter twin-turbo engine has demonstrated superior fuel economy while posting four wins in the first four IZOD IndyCar® Series races of the 2012 season.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120521/DE10277 )
GM's first IndyCar engine since 2004 was built through a collaborative effort, uniting GM's experience in E85 fuel and direct injection with Ilmor Engineering's race engine design expertise. GM's goal was to develop new technologies for a powerful fuel-efficient engine that could be transferred to production cars. To boost performance and throttle response, the engine uses twin turbochargers. The production-car based Hitachi fuel delivery system was enhanced with six high-pressure direct injectors in the heads and six lower-pressure injectors in the plenum. Operating at up to 12,000 RPM, this is the highest revving direct injection engine in racing competition today. Computer models and empirical testing led to a technology breakthrough in the placement of the injectors that could be utilized in production cars. Special coatings in the engine and exhaust system reduce friction and improve fuel economy. Compression ratios and piston shapes were also designed for optimal thermodynamics. A pool of engines has been produced to support Team Penske, Andretti Autosport, KV Racing Technology, Ed Carpenter Racing, Panther Racing, Dragon Racing, and Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing this year.
Presented by engineers to engineers, the BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer Award recognizes individuals for innovation and engineering excellence in the field of race car design, specifically related to the annual Indianapolis 500 race. BorgWarner sponsors the prestigious $10,000 award to be presented by the Indiana Section of SAE International. The winners are also honored at an awards banquet, and their names are immortalized on the Schwitzer trophy on permanent display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
Initiated in 1967, the award memorializes Louis Schwitzer, a true automotive pioneer who had close ties to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) at its very beginning a century ago. Both an engineer and professional race car driver, Schwitzer won the first auto race at the IMS in 1909 and designed the "Marmon Yellow Jacket" engine that powered the Marmon Wasp to victory at the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. After working in the automotive industry for many years, he founded the Schwitzer Corporation, which produced innovative cooling fans, water pumps and turbochargers. In 1999, the Schwitzer Corporation joined BorgWarner. Throughout his career, Schwitzer enjoyed numerous technological accomplishments, supported higher education, led the IMS technical committee for many years and maintained a strong association with SAE.
BorgWarner continues his legacy of technology leadership as the official turbocharger supplier of the IZOD IndyCar® Series. The engine of every car in the 2012 field will be boosted by BorgWarner's new line of EFR (for "Engineered For Racing") turbochargers, which feature Gamma TiAl (titanium aluminide) turbine wheels, ceramic ball bearings and stainless steel turbine housings.
About BorgWarner
Auburn Hills, Michigan-based BorgWarner Inc. (BWA) is a technology leader in highly engineered components and systems for powertrain applications worldwide. Operating manufacturing and technical facilities in 59 locations in 19 countries, the company develops products to improve fuel economy, reduce emissions and enhance performance. Customers include VW/Audi, Ford, Toyota, Renault/Nissan, General Motors, Hyundai/Kia, Daimler, Chrysler, Fiat, BMW, Honda, John Deere, PSA, and MAN. For more information, please visit www.borgwarner.com.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
Harper, Tory MPs challenge Peter Kent on climate science, letters indicate - The Vancouver Sun
OTTAWA — While scientists and environmentalists criticize him for doing little to fight climate change, Environment Minister Peter Kent also has been questioned by his Conservative party colleagues, including the prime minister, about whether the scientific evidence is real and requires a government response.
A series of letters signed by Kent have revealed he has faced many questions from colleagues in recent months about whether Canada needs to take action to reduce consumption of fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline that produce heat-trapping pollution and other toxic emissions in the atmosphere.
But in each of the letters, released through access to information legislation, Kent defended scientific evidence, while dismissing myths such as a suggestion from one Conservative that volcanoes were a major contributor to global warming.
"Even major volcanic eruptions emit only a very small fraction of carbon dioxide compared to annual human emissions," Kent wrote in a Sept. 6, 2011 letter to one colleague that noted volcanic ash can cause short-term cooling in the atmosphere, lasting up to three years. "Volcanoes, in short, are not a major contributor to global warming.
Although Environment Canada's access to information office removed the name of this "colleague" who wrote to Kent about volcanoes after receiving an article from a constituent, the letters revealed the names of other MPs who had asked the environment minister to respond to similar questions from constituents casting doubts about scientific research on climate change.
They included Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Ontario MPs Barry Devolin and Terence Young and B.C. MP David Wilks — who recently sparked controversy for suggesting he didn't fully support the government's budget legislation.
Kent also used his letters to defend the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which has been targeted by climate change contrarians for more than a decade.
"The intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report, published in 2007, concluded that the climate system is clearly warming, as shown by increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level," Kent wrote in a July 14 letter sent in response to questions raised by someone who had contacted Wilks. "The report also concluded that it is very likely that emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are responsible for most of the observed warming since the mid-twentieth century, and that a human influence is now evident in many other aspects of the Earth's climate."
When asked about the letters last week, Kent said that having debates and being challenged demonstrates the "vitality of any government."
He also said the caucus represents a broad range of opinions in the Canadian public about the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity on the climate.
"But I think that those are fair discussions," Kent said. "I'm glad to sit down with anybody and talk about what we know about observed science about historic data measurement, analysis and the fact that there are still many unknowns."
Harper has cast doubts, in the past, on the ability of climate scientists to accurately predict trends, but has publicly avoided making controversial statements about the issue in recent years.
"I have said many times that climate change is a great problem for the world," Harper said last December in response to questions from Liberal leader Bob Rae about plans to withdraw from the international Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
Harper also has slammed the Kyoto agreement, the world's only legally-binding treaty on global warming, for having imposed "stupid targets" for Canada.
The prime minister recently appointed senators such as Bert Brown and former Olympic alpine skiing champion Nancy Greene Raine who have used their new platform in the Senate to question an overwhelming body of scientific research and evidence about human-induced climate change.
The offices of Harper, Devolin, Young and Wilks did not respond to requests from Postmedia News seeking comment.
But Kent said he and his government are convinced about the reality of scientific evidence and are committed to taking a realistic and responsible approach to tackling the challenges of air pollution and climate change with its own goal of reducing Canada's annual greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020.
"The prime minster's signature on the Copenhagen Accord (on climate change) reflects that reality," Kent said. "We are committed to do our part. Our small part, but our part to address climate change and reduce GHGs and short-lived climate forces."
Green Party leader Elizabeth May said she has personally tried to reach out to Conservatives in Parliament to debunk climate myths that she believes are being spread through propaganda funded by industry.
"Of course there's a concerted global multibillion-dollar effort to lie about climate science," May said. "The biggest worry I have is (regarding) the member of his caucus who doesn't understand climate science who is currently the prime minister. That's the biggest worry I have, because I cannot find any evidence that the prime minister of Canada has ever had a briefing on climate science from any of the prominent climate scientists in Canada, in or outside of government."
mdesouza@postmedia.com
Source: www.vancouversun.com
England 1 Belgium 0: match report - Daily Telegraph
After the conservative line-up he sent out in Oslo, this was a bolder selection from Hodgson, especially against an expansive Belgium team. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was given his first start on the left of midfield and Welbeck was brought in to bring pace to the attack. It certainly put a sold-out Wembley in a positive frame of mind, hoping to see the team off in style before they left for Poland and Ukraine.
The Belgians fans contributed to a festive atmosphere – even convincing a normally recalcitrant Wembley crowd to join a Mexican wave – and it was reflected with a fairly open approach from both sides. Any sense that this was going to live up to the name friendly was soon spoiled, though.
Dries Mertens, the PSV winger, went chasing after a ball in behind the England defence. Gary Cahill had the run on him but was expecting Joe Hart to sweep up. The moment’s hesitation might have given Mertens a chance to exploit a mistake but instead he cynically pushed Cahill in the back, sending him crashing at speed into Hart. The referee, Peter Rasmussen, booked him for what was a cowardly and dangerous act.
Cahill had his jaw and cheekbones examined before being withdrawn, Joleon Lescott coming on. It was hard to feel sympathy for Mertens when Glen Johnson went in hard on him minutes later. Luckily it seemed Cahill was not seriously hurt.
The pattern of the game was begin to emerge. England were, creditably, trying to build from the back but the Belgian defence, led by Thomas Vermaelen after Vincent Kompany was injured in the warm-up, was holding a very high line. England were reduced to optimistic balls over the top and efforts on the counter.
Oxlade-Chamberlain had two decent chances when England did get in behind. He slipped as he tried to strike the first, a pull-back from James Milner on the right and then watched his shot fade away from the far post from the second, set up by Welbeck.
England’s defence, by contrast, was almost standing on Hart’s toes, crowding the area with bodies and challenging Eden Hazard to unpick them. While it invited pressure, there were few clear openings early on and Alex Witsel’s long ranger was the only effort struck in anger. Otherwise, they sought to use Marouane Fellaini’s size and power to cause problems, looking to hit him direct when necessary.
Just when things were going a bit flat, England took the lead. Welbeck started and finished it. He closed down Moussa Dembele, allowing Gerrard to make a good tackle and then set off for goal after Ashley Young had picked up the ball. The United forward passed it into his club-mate’s stride but there was still plenty for Welbeck to do. His finish was outstanding, lifting the ball delicately up and over Simon Mignolet with his left foot, for his first England goal.
Gerrard almost made it a second before the break. When Young had prodded the ball into his path he tried to pass it into the bottom corner only for Timmy Simons to block. The rebound came straight back to the England captain whose second effort was stopped by Guillaume Gillet.
The second half was still young when Hodgson decided to take off Welbeck. The United striker went straight down the tunnel for the dressing room, presumably for some treatment on the ankle injury he has been struggling with. That meant Wayne Rooney coming on but even he striker struggled to bring more balance to England’s attacking play. Young, while he made the assist, does not have an instinctive understanding of the second striker’s role and would be better out wide.
With an hour played Belgium had two good chances as England grew sloppy. Hazard tried to beat Hart from range but the goalkeeper had a good read on the flight of the ball. Then the new Chelsea player fed the ball into Fellaini but he could not get enough power on his shot.
There was concern when John Terry was withdrawn, Phil Jagielka coming on. The substitution of the controversial Chelsea captain was met with a mixtures of boos and clapping and he went straight down the tunnel, presumably to receive treatment. He might not enjoy unequivocal support, but Hodgson can ill-afford to lose him.
As the game drew to a close it became stretched – and with it more entertaining. Gillet, the Belgium right-back, hit a superb shot from range that Hart could only watch as it hit the top of the post. England responded in kind, Jermain Defoe, on for Young, jinking to his right in the box and sending a shot against the far post. Defoe then hit the side-netting after a crisp England counter to show effective he might be off the bench in the coming weeks. Hodgson will need every tactical weapon he can lay his hands on.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Middlesex ease to Hove win - SkySports
Middlesex claimed a 10-wicket win over Sussex on the final day at Hove to consolidate fourth place in Division One table.
Openers Sam Robson and Chris Rogers knocked off a victory target of 18 early in the evening session after Middlesex's bowlers had combined to bowl out Sussex for 225 in their second innings.
Seamers Steven Finn (3-66), aiming to push his claims for a spot in England's side for the third Test against West Indies next week, and Gareth Berg (3-53) each finished with three wickets, while part-time leg-spinner Dawid Malan picked up 2-19.
Sussex slumped to 101-5 at lunch before Ben Brown (53) and Steve Magoffin (37) provided some lower-order resistance to take their side back into credit.
But Malan claimed the last two wickets in consecutive overs to leave Middlesex plenty of time to complete their third victory of the season and earn a 23-point haul.
Day Three
Solid contributions all the way down the order allowed Middlesex to claim a first-innings advantage of 208 over Sussex on day three at Hove.
The visitors advanced from 229-3 to 491 all out, although the day did not start so positively when Chris Rogers, on 93 overnight, missed out on a century.
Rogers was lbw to Luke Wright for 98 in the fifth over but Eoin Morgan (74), John Simpson (34), Gareth Berg (45), Ollie Rayner (69) and Toby Roland-Jones (52) all chipped in with useful runs.
Rayner and Roland-Jones rammed home their side's advantage with a ninth-wicket stand of 76, while part-time spinner Chris Nash picked up 3-45 in 10 overs after his belated introduction to the Sussex attack.
Middlesex paceman Steven Finn removed Ed Joyce before bad light ended play 12 overs early with Sussex on 34-1 in their second innings, a deficit of 174 heading into the final day.
Day Two
Stand-in skipper Chris Rogers led a strong Middlesex reply on day two against Sussex at Lord's.
The Australian opener finished on 93 not out in a Middlesex total of 229-3, a deficit of 54 with plenty of batting still to come.
Rogers, captaining Middlesex in the County Championship for the time being to allow Neil Dexter to focus on his batting, was given good support from Joe Denly (67) during a second-wicket stand of 145.
And he was later joined by Eoin Morgan (52no) in an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 77.
Sussex had gone from an overnight 242-8 to 283 all out in the morning session, Middlesex seamer Tim Murtagh finishing with 5-55.
Day One
Ed Joyce and Ben Brown led a Sussex fightback after Middlesex had threatened to bowl them out cheaply on day one at Lord's.
Tim Murtagh took three early wickets with the new ball after Sussex skipper Mike Yardy had won the toss and elected to bat, and finished with figures of 4- 41.
Steven Finn also picked up two wickets as Sussex slumped to 33-4 and 66-5 before Joyce and Brown began the recovery. Finn, by the close, had 3-65.
Joyce made 77 in a partnership of 81 with Brown, who went on to add 63 with Naveed Arif Gondal before falling for 70 as Sussex reached 242-8 by the end of play. Gondal made 38.
Source: www.skysports.com
No comments:
Post a Comment