Hoffman gets 600th save, Brewers beat Cards 4-2

MILWAUKEE (AP)—In a season that didn’t go as planned for Trevor Hoffman(notes), baseball’s career saves leader added another milestone to his illustrious career.
Hoffman earned his 600th save Tuesday night, closing out the Milwaukee Brewers’ 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
A few months ago, Hoffman couldn’t have been sure this day nfl throwback jerseys
would come. The 42-year-old reliever lost his job as the Brewers’ closer in May after a string of bad outings.
“Unfortunately, I was part of the problem this year in not getting my job done early and getting some momentum going,” he said.
Hoffman has pitched better of late with a 2.63 ERA in his last 29 appearances and has been getting ninth-inning work as the team tried to help him reach No. 600.
“September isn’t the idea of what I had of walking into this room and talking about this. Nonetheless, it doesn’t take any of the edge off by any means,” said Hoffman, who had an 11.65 ERA in his first 18 appearances this year.
“It almost enhances the idea of being disciplined, and really if you love the game it’s going to love you back,” he added. “It tests you in a lot of different areas and a lot of different ways, but I’m truly privileged to be here talking to you about this.”
Four people were ejected by the umpires, including a fan, on a night that ended with Hoffman being carried off the field by his teammates.
Milwaukee manager Ken Macha was tossed in the second inning, but watched the game from the clubhouse. He said pitching coach Rick Peterson came in to ask him about the ninth inning, and he told him to send Hoffman to the mound.
“I wasn’t too concerned about the phone ringing (in the bullpen),” Hoffman said. “I had a pretty good idea I was going to get that call. I knew I was going to get that opportunity. It kind of felt like old times.”
The right-hander entered in the ninth to his traditional music, “Hells Bells” by AC/DC, and gave up a bloop single to Colby Rasmus(notes). Pinch-hitter Randy Winn(notes) then grounded into a double play.
Hoffman got pinch-hitter Aaron Miles(notes) on a grounder to shortstop for the final out and raised his arms in triumph as teammates rushed to mob him near the mound.
“He’s one of the best relievers the game’s ever seen,” Miles said. “I always look forward to competing against him in the ninth inning. Congratulations to him.”
Hoffman’s wife, Tracy, and three sons, Brody, Quinn and Wyatt, also ran onto the field to hug him and the crowd roared during a standing ovation. Brewers players hoisted Hoffman on their shoulders and carried him toward the dugout.
It was Hoffman’s ninth save in 14 chances this season and 600th in 676 career opportunities. He earned his first save for Florida in 1993, then spent most of his career with the San Diego Padres before joining the Brewers last season.
Hoffman stayed in the dugout to receive congratulations from teammates and was given a large painting of himself pitching at Miller Park by Macha and general manager Doug Melvin. Fireworks went off and the No. 599 was peeled off to reveal `600’ on a sign next to the Brewers’ bullpen in left-center.
“They went wild when I got up in the Minnesota Vikings jersey
bullpen,” Hoffman said. “It culminated in a crescendo on that last out.”
He said he hasn’t decided whether he’ll return to pitch next season or retire.
“As far as the future goes, I’m going to continue to grind until Oct. 3 and we’ll make a decision then,” he said.
Hoffman passed Lee Smith as the career saves leader, earning No. 479 while pitching for San Diego against Pittsburgh on Sept. 24, 2006.
Mariano Rivera(notes) of the New York Yankees is second in major league history with 555 saves.
Casey McGehee(notes) had a single and double with three RBIs for Milwaukee in a game that featured four ejections: Macha, Milwaukee center fielder Chris Dickerson(notes), Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan and a fan.
In the bottom of the seventh, plate umpire Bob Davidson stopped the game and ejected a fan for heckling Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina(notes). Davidson walked to the seats near the backstop netting and motioned for the fan, who was wearing a T-shirt with a Brewers logo on it, to leave his seat.
An usher motioned him away, and the fan stood and posed with his arms extended in the air in a V shape while drawing loud cheers from the crowd.
Sean A. Otto, 44, of Waukesha, was handcuffed at the ballpark and cited for disorderly conduct by Milwaukee police.
In the second, Macha was tossed by second base umpire Tim Timmons while arguing an interference call that cost the Brewers a run.
Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan was ejected from the dugout by Davidson in the third for arguing balls and strikes.
In the fifth, Dickerson was called out on strikes and slammed his helmet to the ground while walking back to the dugout, prompting an immediate ejection from Davidson.
“It was an interesting evening,” Macha said. “One coach, one manager, one player and one fan. Everybody got thrown out.”
Brewers starter Chris Narveson(notes) (11-7) pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out nine.
Narveson said it was a special win because it included Hoffman’s milestone.
“To look up and see that he’s got his 600th save and you were the guy that started the game—it’s a great feeling,” Narveson said.
St. Louis starter Kyle Lohse(notes) (2-7) went five innings, giving up four runs and seven hits. In four starts since returning from the disabled list, he is 1-3 with a 10.31 ERA.
“Tough way to lose,” Lohse said. “It’s frustrating to give up the two-out hits again.”
Milwaukee won for only the second time in eight games.
Notes: Lohse spent 84 days on the DL and had surgery on his right forearm for nerve compression. … The Cardinals recalled 3B Tyler Greene(notes) from Triple-A Memphis before the game. He started and went 0 for 2 with an intentional walk. … Narveson was a second-round draft choice of Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
the Cardinals in 2000.

Utah State fan well enough to dislike BYU

Utah State fans might not be in the best of moodsafter BYU chose not to join them as rivals in the WAC, but let's keep some perspective here.
Their fearless leader, superfan "Wild" Bill Sproat, is out of the hospital now football jerseys
after suffering through a serious episodewith an enlarged heart. Apparently, he's ready to give up his big body for the sake of a few missed free throws once again, blogging that he'll attend games even if he has to come in a wheelchair.
In the entry, Sproat wrote that even through the worst of San Diego Chargers jersey
his hospital stay, it was so important to express his Aggie pride that he couldn't hide his distaste for BYU.
My heart stopped and I had no pulse for seven minutes. After a few minutes of CPR, right before they were about to hit me with the defibrillator, I woke up and the first thing out of my mouth was, "there better not be any BYU fans in here, if so I think I'd rather die!" That gave the doctors and nurses a little shock. I really don't hate BYU, I just don't think they should be allowed to breathe the same air as the rest of us
As for Sproat's thoughts on expansion that Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
has seemingly left the WAC reeling? Let's just say the conference has found its new cheerleader.
I am not worried, the WAC has something MWC will never have … ME!

For now, no divisions in Big Ten hoops

Yesterday, as Andy Katz broke the news delineating the Big Ten's new football divisions, one question remained unanswered: Would the Big Ten use its divisions for basketball, too?
Fortunately, after the dust settled, Big Ten commissioner nfl jerseys
Jim Delaney (sort of) cleared up that little point:
For now there are no plans for divisions in other sports. Delany said he sees no benefit to basketball divisions, but if conference leaders decide they want them, they would have to be drawn differently.
Delaney told reporters that basketball would "chart its own course" schedule-wise, which probably won't happen until the Big Ten meetings in May, according to Andy Katz's discussions with Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi. The Bloomington Herald-Times' Dustin Dopirak summarized Delaney's quotes as such:
Delany said the divisions do not apply to basketball, and that Seattle Seahawks jersey
he does “not see any compelling reason,” to have divisions in basketball at all because the dynamic of the sport is so much different from football.
In other words, neither Delaney nor the Big Ten athletic directors are ruling out the possibility of using divisions for basketball if that's what the majority of member institutions want. So it could still happen. But for now, the hoops divisions are theoretical, and Delaney himself doesn't seem all that fond of the idea.
This is good news. The divisions revealed yesterday -- Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern in one; Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana in the other -- make sense for football purposes, but they're radically imbalanced where basketball is concerned. That's the case whether you look at recent history or traditional prestige. They're just not very equal.
Big Ten fans will be pleased to hear this news, and cautiously optimistic that the majority of San Francisco 49ers jersey
coaches and athletic directors are happy with the basketball schedule as-is. There's nothing wrong with divisions in and of themselves, but these divisions? For college hoops? No thanks, guys.

Oregon State needs a cool Katz

ARLINGTON, Texas -- At some point tonight, Ryan Katz will look up at the world largest video screen that hangs over the Cowboys Stadium field and he will watch a replay of himself.
Wonder what he will see? A pretty TD pass. Or a football jersey
wobbly interception. Maybe a little of both.
No matter what a young quarterback looks like during fall camp, you just don't know how he will perform when the lights go on and the game counts. And this is a heck of a "bright lights, big city" venue.
If Katz keeps his cool and plays like the guy who's raised more than a few impressed eyebrows in Corvallis, the Beavers have a good chance to upset No. 6 TCU tonight.
If he gets rattled, throws late or early or off target, then it could be a long night.
While playing TCU in Texas operates as a road game, noise probably won't be an issue. No more than 40,000 folks will be here and that will not fill up half of this HUGE stadium, and there's a good contingent of Orange-clad Beavers down here anyway.
Nor will the Texas humidity be an issue. The roof is closed.
So it's going to be all about, as coaches say, execution. Who's going to make plays?
TCU counters the green Katz with 29-game winner Andy Atlanta Falcons jersey
Dalton, an efficient, athletic quarterback who's trying to put a bad night in the Fiesta Bowl behind him.
Dalton's supporting skill, however, won't be as good as Katz's. The Rodgers brothers, running back Jacquizz Rodgers and receiver James Rodgers, are the two best places for Katz to look for help. Both can turn a modest-looking play into something full of sound and fury signifying a TD.
The Beavers have some defensive questions. For one, they struggled to pressure opposing QBs last year. Dalton's too good to be allowed to feel comfortable in the pocket.
Then there's the run defense. The Beavers are breaking in a new middle linebacker -- Rueben Robinson probably gets the first snap but Tony Wilson likely will split time with him -- and end Taylor Henry is trying to play through a sprained ankle. The Horned Frogs top-two running backs, Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker, combined for 1,300 yards last year and both averaged over six yards per carry. Four starting offensive linemen from 2009 are back.
If Katz is as cool as advertised, and the defense can get Arizona Cardinals jersey
to Dalton, the Beavers could do something they rarely do: Start a season fast.
A win also would send a message that the Beavers are eyeballing their first Rose Bowl since 1965.

Instant analysis: Notre Dame 23, Purdue 12

How the game was won: The Irish couldn't quite deliver the knockout punch, but they controlled the game through -- surprise -- defense and the running game. A pair of interceptions helped keep Purdue's offense at bay, Notre Dame for the most part prevented the big nfl jerseys
play and kept its own mistakes to a minimum.

Turning point: Notre Dame's defense came out breathing fire in the second half, sacking Robert Marve three times in Purdue's first eight snaps. The Irish converted the resulting good field position with a Dayne Crist touchdown pass to T.J. Jones for a 20-3 lead that proved insurmountable.

Player of the game: Armando Allen ran 18 times for 93 Buffalo Bills jersey
yards and a touchdown. His 38-yard punt return in the third quarter also set up Notre Dame's other touchdown.

What it means: Brian Kelly got a win in his debut. And while it might not have been a smashing performance, the team looked solid in all three phases of the game and ensured that the season got off to a good start with next week's showdown against Michigan looming.

Unsung hero of the game: Irish tight end Kyle Rudolph, who Baltimore Ravens jersey
was slowed much of the preseason with a hamstring injury, had five catches for 43 yards. He also provided good blocking in the running game to help free Allen and Cierre Wood.

Instant analysis: Michigan 30, Connecticut 10

Robinson was nothing short of brilliant in his first career start, complementing his track-star speed with shocking accuracy in the passing game. He set the Michigan single-game quarterback rushing record in the third quarter and made several clutch throws on nfl throwback jerseys
third downs to seal a 30-10 win against Connecticut.

This is how Rich Rodriguez's offense is supposed to work, with a trigger man that drives defenses nuts. Can Robinson replicate this against superior competition, beginning next week at Notre Dame? We'll find out, but he's certainly fun to watch.

Michigan's defense still has some issues, but it applied steady pressure on Zach Frazer and made several big plays, none bigger than J.T. Floyd's forced fumble against USC transfer D.J. Shoemate after Connecticut appeared to be set up for first-and-goal. Chicago Bears jersey
Better quarterbacks likely will capitalize on the Wolverines' secondary in the coming weeks, but Rodriguez has to be pleased with the front seven.

The Wolverines really seemed to feed off the momentum from the opener, jumping on Connecticut and never truly looking back.

I'm heading down for interviews but will Carolina Panthers jersey
be back with much more from the Big House.

Marlins C Baker to undergo elbow surgery

MIAMI (AP)—Florida Marlins catcher John Baker(notes) will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair an injury to his throwing elbow that sidelined him for most of this season, meaning he might not play again until 2012.
Dr. James Andrews will perform the reconstructive surgery Friday, the Marlins said.
Baker has been sidelined since May 12 and had hoped to nfl throwback jerseys
return this year, but he endured repeated setbacks in rehabilitation. He played in only 23 games and batted .218.
Reserve infielder Donnie Murphy(notes) underwent surgery Thursday to repair a dislocated right wrist. He was injured making a tumbling catch in Wednesday’s win over Washington.
Murphy was recalled from the minors in nfl throwback jerseys
July and gave the Marlins a spark with two walk-off hits.