SI Extra: The Brewers Look Beatable; Remembering Phil Rizzuto; College Football’s Year of the Back Wednesday, August 15, 2007 By Mark Beech and David Sabino Sputtering Brewers Give Hope to Cardinals, Cubs The Brewers have gone flat and the NL Central race is now wide open. Milwaukee has led the division ever since it raced to a 24-10 start but has gone 38-47 since, and frittered away all but 1 1/2 games of its lead. The latest downturn came at Miller Park last night, where the Brewers lost 12-4 to division rival St. Louis, who is suddenly within 4 1/2 games of first place, despite a 56-60 record. As it has been all year for Milwaukee, pitching was the problem. The rotation has been hampered by an injury to ace Ben Sheets, as well as the inability of any starter to throw much more than six innings a game. Last night lefthander Chris Capuano surrendered seven runs in only 4 1/3 frames, despite being staked to a three-run lead on first-inning homers by Prince Fielder and Geoff Jenkins. The only good news in Milwaukee was that the second-place Cubs, who trail the Brewers by two games, also lost, 6-5 to the Reds. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/recaps/2007/08/14/17281_r ecap.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter • HOF Rizzuto dies at age 89 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/08/14/remembering.ph ilrizzuto/index.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter • Braves Cox sets ejection record http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/08/14/bc.bbn.cox.eje ction.ap/index.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter • Tigers reclaim Central lead http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/08/14/bc.bba.tigers. indians.ap/index.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter • Heyman; Tigers’ No. 1 gets record deal http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/08/14/tigers.draft/i ndex.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter
Inside SI: Hart, McFadden and the Best Group of Backs in 30 Years SI’s annual College Football Preview declares that 2007 is the year of the running back. And with a deep stable of tailbacks, including Mike Hart of Michigan and Darren McFadden of Arkansas, the game has its best collection of rushers since the late 1970s. “Following an era in college football that could fairly be described as the Quarterback Cult-passers have won six of the last seven Heisman Trophies-the most dominant players heading into this season are running backs,” says SI’s Austin Murphy. “Seven of the top 10 rushers from a year ago return, and there hasn’t been such a constellation of star ball carriers since the late 1970s, when the careers of Marcus Allen, Earl Campbell, Tony Dorsett, George Rogers, Billy Sims and Charles White overlapped. But just because we’re entering the year of the running back doesn’t mean some of these guys won’t be throwing the ball (See: McFadden, Darren).
One of the fan-friendly developments in the college game is a move away from Neanderthal, power football to more imaginative schemes.” http://si.com/2007/magazine/cover/?eref=sixtra_newsletter • 2007 College Football TV schedule http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/ncaa/08/05/tv.schedule/i ndex.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter • McCartney: These freshmen will have major impact http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/cory_mccartney/08/13/impa ct.freshmen/index.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter • Top 20 Games http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0708/top.cfb. games.watch/content.1.html#?eref=sixtra_newsletter
Verducci: My Dream Team SI’s Tom Verducci has selected a roster of current and former majorleaguers for his alltime Dream Team for SI.com. “My 25-man roster includes seven active players—five of them pitchers,” says Verducci. “That seems counterintuitive for a hitter-friendly era that will go down in history for its performance-enhancing drugs, retro (smaller) ballparks and infatuation with the home run. But that's all the more reason to appreciate what Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and Mariano Rivera have done…. I picked the guys I thought to be the best at their position—and yes, that means leftfield, centerfield and rightfield, not three generic "outfield" spots.” http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/dreamteams/08/06/mlb.allt ime/index.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter • Today’s Best http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/dreamteams/08/06/mlb.curr ent/index.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter • Five Years from Now http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/dreamteams/08/06/mlb.futu re/index.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter
Jones’s Injury Won’t Stop Him Running back Thomas Jones strained a calf muscle last Sunday, leaving his status in doubt for the beginning of the regular season. But SI’s Peter King says Jets fans can rest easy. “I wouldn't be too worried about Thomas Jones and his strained calf muscle, even though he looked like Walter Brennan gimping around the practice field,” says King. “First, he's always been a tough guy who plays through injuries. And second, anything that gets Leon Washington on the field more is a very good thing. He's a poor man's Reggie Bush. Don't laugh. Just watch this guy the next couple of years.” http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/08/14/mmqbte/i ndex.html • Banks: Vick’s legal options narrowing
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/don_banks/08/14/vick/inde x.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter • Raiders coach in hospital http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/specials/preview/200 7/08/14/raiders.kiffin.ap/index.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter
SI Time Capsule: Penn State’s Jordan Led by linebacker LaVar Arrington, Penn State was SI’s preseason No. 1 in 1999. “[Arrington] came to State College as the Parade national high school player of the year, a 6’3”, 230-pound linebacker-running back from North Hills High in Pittsburgh and one of the first to commit in [coach Joe] Paterno’s terrific recruiting class of ’97,” said SI’s Tim Layden in the Aug. 16, 1999, issue. “Illinois coach Ron Turner compares him to Michael Jordan. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr compares him with Lawrence Taylor.” The Nittany Lions finished the season 10-3 and ranked 11th—Florida State won the national championship—but Arrington would go on to be the second overall pick in the 2000 NFL draft. http://si.com/si_online/covers/?eref=sixtra_newsletter
Photographs by Peter Read Miller (Hart, Arrington); AP (Johnson); Getty Images (Jones)
SCORES CENTRAL • Baseball http://si.com/baseball/mlb/scoreboards/today//?eref=sixtra_newsletter • WNBA http://sports.si.cnn.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=cnnsi&page=baskw/scores/live/scoreboard.aspx?date=?eref=sixtra_newsletter • Premiership http://sports.si.cnn.com/default.asp?c=cnnsi&page=soceng/scores/s_summ.htm?eref=sixtra_newsletter
MORE FROM SI.COM • Report: NBA ref Donaghy to plead guilty http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/08/14/donaghy.ap/i ndex.html • King: MMQB Tuesday Edition http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/08/14/mmqbte/i ndex.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter • Bonds in Atlanta, but Aaron’s not http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/08/14/bc.bbn.bonds.a tlanta.ap/index.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter
• Heyman; Tigers’ No. 1 gets record deal http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/08/14/tigers.draft/i ndex.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter • Wahl: Beckham’s injury and more http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/grant_wahl/08/14/soccer.b ag/index.html?eref=sixtra_newsletter • Shipnuck: Tiger’s hot, Sergio’s not http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1652760,00.html?ere f=sixtra_newsletter
TELLING NUMBER 0 Runs scored by the Yankees last night in a 12-0 loss to the Orioles. New York had scored 116 runs in its previous 10 games, a team record. Baltimore’s Aubrey Huff drove in five runs, four scoring on a grand slam. Before the national anthem there was a moment of silence for Phil Rizzuto, the Yankees’ Hall of Fame shortstop and longtime broadcaster who died at age 89 on Monday night. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/08/14/bc.bba.orioles .yankees.ap/index.html
DID YOU KNOW? White Sox closer Bobby Jenks tied a major league record on Sunday when he retired his 41st consecutive batter. The record was set in 1972 by the Giants’ Jim Barr who retired the last 21 Pirates on Aug. 23 and the first 20 Cardinals on Aug. 29. Jenks broke the AL record of 38 set by David Wells of the Yankees in 1998. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/teams/white_sox/?eref=six tra_newsletter
ALSO IN THIS WEEK’S SI Alan Shipnuck on Tiger Woods’s PGA Championship win; Rick Reilly examines the Madden 08 player ratings; Richard Hoffer on the joy of Rick Ankiel and Tom Verducci on putting the home run record aside. http://si.com/2007/magazine/cover/?eref=sixtra_newsletter