Some things you need to know about Texans and Texas teams involved in sports: • • • • • • • 1. Ejection allows Spurs to beat Mavs, even series at 2-2< For the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks, a late 3-pointer again decided the winner in the NBA playoff series. ... Boris Diaw hit a go-ahead 3-pointer as the top-seeded Spurs beat the Mavericks 93-89 in Game 4 to even in the first-round playoff series. ... While the games finish was similar to Game 3 when Vince Carters buzzer-beating 3-pointer put Dallas ahead two games to one, the play of the game turned out to be the ejection of Mavericks sub DeJuan Blair. ... Blair might well have been the star of the game had he not been ejected with 3:08 left for committing what officials called a “hostile act.” Dallas led at the time, 83-82, but eventually fell to the Spurs, 93-89. “It’s real disappointing because with me in the game our momentum was going great and when that happened and that got me out of there was a big deal,” Blair said. ... Battling for a loose ball with 3:08 left, Blair and Spurs forward Tiago Splitter entangled. Both tumbled to the court, with Blair falling backward and gesturing emphatically after getting called for his fifth foul. Replays showed Blair kicking out one of his legs, apparently in frustration of being called for the foul. ... After re-watching the play several times on a video monitor, officials determined that Blair’s kick was a “hostile act.” That earned him a technical foul and an automatic ejection. Blair said he never got an explanation from officials. After his ejection, he jogged off the court to a standing ovation, having contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds in 16 minutes. ... “It clearly was a reaction to the call,” said Blair, who played for the Spurs from 2009-2013. “Actually, I didn’t know because I was facing down there, so they are going to judge off of what they do.” ... Splitter said he felt a kick, but that it didn’t hurt much. Initially, Splitter didn’t believe the kick was on purpose. “I felt something, but at the moment I thought it was not(intentional),” Blair said. “After watching the video, it looks like it was intentional. He was excited. He has nothing against me. Hes a good kid. I know him. I dont know why he did it. ... After Blair’s ejection, Manu Ginobili, who had five assists, made the technical foul free-throw, then Tiago Splitter made both of his free-throws. The Spurs took an 87-84 lead, the Mavericks tied it at 87, but Blair’s presence on the court was missed down the stretch. ... “It killed us,” Monta Ellis said of Blair’s ejection. “I don’t think he did it intentionally. It was a very emotional game and, unfortunately, he got kicked out. Other than that, he did a great job.” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said Blair “gave us a lot of energy, a lot of force.” After the game, Carlisle had yet to see a clear replay of the play in question, but noted that Monday’s lead referee, Scott Foster, is one of the NBA’s best. ... “If he said that there was a technical foul there and an ejection, then there probably was,” Carlisle said. “They looked at it on film, too. So we have to avoid plays like that after the whistle. DeJuan is a smart player. That’s just an emotional reaction to something, but those are the kind of things you just have to avoid.” ... Dirk Nowitzki, who had 19 points, had a putback on a missed 3 by Ellis to get Dallas within 90-89 with 19 seconds to go. The Mavericks let nearly 10 seconds run off the clock before fouling Ginobili. Ginobili missed one of the free throws, giving Ellis a chance to tie on a driving layup. Ellis, who led the Mavericks with 20 points, missed again to finish a 6-of-20 shooting night. I had a good look at the end but it didnt go down, Ellis said. ... Tim Duncan had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Splitter added 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs. Tony Parker had 10 points of 5-of-14 shooting. Game 5 is Wednesday night in San Antonio. ... • • • • • • • 2. Darvish has short outing in 4-0 loss to Oakland< Yu Darvish had the shortest outing of his major league career, departing after only 3 1/3 innings in a 4-0 Texas Rangers loss to Oakland. ... Pitching against the Athletics for the second time in eight days, Darvish had his worst outing of the season while falling to 1-7 against the As in nine career starts. Darvish allowed four earned runs as his ERA against Oakland ballooned to 4.73 in 53 1/3 innings -- almost two runs higher than his 3.09 ERA against all other teams.... The Rangers offense was equally bad. Texas hitters managed only three hits -- singles from Leonys Martin, Robinson Chirinos and Alex Rios -- against Oakland starter Sonny Gray, who threw his first career complete game in a shutout effort. Chirinos got as far as third base after he singled in the sixth inning and moved up two wild pitches. ... Oakland and Texas entered tied for the AL West lead and the leagues best record at 15-10. The Rangers, shut out for the first time this season, had swept a three-game series in Oakland last week. ... The only other time Darvish did not pitch at least five innings in his major league career was May 21, 2012, when he went four innings in a loss at Seattle. His streak of 56 consecutive five-inning starts was the longest in Rangers history. ... Darvish is winless his last nine home starts. The first few innings I thought he mixed (pitches) pretty good, Texas manager Ron Washington said. I thought he tried to throw everything at them. ... They found a way to put balls in play. They found a way to score runs. ... Tuesdays Game 2 features a matchup of southpaws. Martin Perez (4-0, 1.42), who has thrown 26 consecutive scoreless innings his last three starts, faces Oaklands Scott Kazmir (3-0, 1.62 ERA). Kazmir played at Houston Cypress Falls HS. ... • • • • • • • 3. Porter greets former team as Nationals visit Minute Maid< Bo Porter will face his former team for the first time since becoming the Astros manager before the 2013 season when the Washington Nationals visit Minute Maid. ... Porter was the Nationals third-base coach in 2011 and 2012. The 2012 team won the National League East title. Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon (Houston Lamar HS and Rice) will play in Houston for the first time since he became a big leaguer last season. At Rice, Rendon hit .371 with 52 home runs and 194 RBIs. With the Nations, Rendon is hitting .298 with three home runs and a team-leading 17 RBIs. ... Jarred Cosart (Houston Clear Creek HS) goes for the Astros in the series opener. Hes 1-2 with 6.12 ERA. After a rough outing on April 18 in Oakland when he allowed seven earned runs in a third of an inning, Cosart bounced back Wednesday against Oakland, allowing only two runs and four hits in 6 2/3 innings. He was in line to get the win, but the bullpen allowed three runs in the ninth in a 5-3 loss. ... Houston is riding a two-game winning streak but the Astros are only 9-17 the year. Last season, the Astros went 51-111. Houston center fielder Dexter Fowler enters the series on an eight-game hitting streak after a first-inning single Sunday against Oakland. ... The Astros have hit 29 home runs this season. They are 9-7 in games in which they homered, and have not won a game when they did not have a round-tripper. ... • • • • • • • 4. Baseball Briefs: Duke gets win for Brewers in 12th< Zach Duke (Waco Midway HS) pitched two scoreless inning to get the win as Milwaukee beat St. Louis 5-3 in 12 innings. ... Its only April and Huston Street (Austin Westlake HS and UT) has his 10th save. He struck out two and allowed no runners in a scoreless ninth as San Diego beat San Francisco 6-4. ... After allowing one run in five innings on Friday, the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (Dallas Highland Parks HS) will make his second rehab start on Wednesday for Double-A Chattanooga. ... The Astros have traded pitcher Lucas Harrell to Arizona for a player to be named later or cash. In 2012, Harrell led the Astros with 11 wins on a team that won 55. He struggled in 2013, going 6-17 with a 5.86 ERA. Harrell started the season with an 0-3 record with a 9.49 ERA in three starts. ... Cincinnati pitcher Homer Bailey (Giddings HS) joined manager Bryan Price in being ejected in the first inning of Sunday’s game against Atlanta after a replay ruling went against them. Price protested when a video review went against the Reds and Bailey was tossed for arguing from the Reds’ dugout. ... In 1986, Texan Roger Clemens set a major league record with 20 strikeouts as the Red Sox beat the Mariners 3-1. ... • • • • • • • 5. Sports Notes: Sources say Thomas, Seahawks agree on new contract< Sources say Earl Thomas (West Orange-Stark HS and UT) and the Seahawks have reached agreement on a $40 million, four-year contract extension. Thomas was Seattles second-leading tackler last season and added five interceptions. ... Browns GM Ray Farmer has confirmed that Vince Young (Houston Madison HS and UT) is among the QB participating in tryouts at their upcoming minicamps. ... Players from the Spurs and Mavericks wore black socks in support of the Los Angeles Clippers as the NBA investigates racist comments that owner Donald Sterling is alleged to have made in a taped conversation. ... • • • • • • • 6. FYI: This blog features Texas teams and athletes with Texas connections. It is compiled by retired newspaper journalist Bob Sonderegger (anglebob61@yahoo) who covered many of the teams mentioned. Your comments or additions are welcome.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 17:18:33 +0000
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