Friday, February 29, 2008

Yankees 11-USF 4. Top 9th

Nice game for both teams. Sure to be remembered by every USF player.
What I saw from the Yankees today was experience. That consistent mentality comes from veterans like Jeter, Rivera and Posada.


One positive for the Bulls today was their pitching.

Yankees 9- USF 4. Eric Baumann Grand Slam. Bottom 6th.

Every Yankee starter left the game after the 4th inning,but that didn't matter to USF's pinch hitter Eric Baumann, who took a 1-2 pitch from Kei Igawa and snuck it over the left field wall for a Grand Slam.
Igawa is awfully inconsistent, he walked two, hit a batter and allowed the GS. I don't think he will last long on a team that is built to win now.
The Yankees scored four runs in the 4th after batting around the order for the second time today.
After Baumann's Grand Slam, The crowd of 10,516 went nuts and rose up to give Baumann a standing ovation. "USF! USF!" chants were heard for the first time in the game.

Chamberlain's time and Jeter gets plunked

Top of 3rd: USF 0-Yankees 5. Yankees score four in the second.
Joba Chamberlain finished his day's work today after facing six USF batters and retiring them in order after two innings, striking out two and throwing 22 pitches, 15 of them for strikes.
USF hitters were aggressive and tried to put the ball in play by going after favorable counts.
Highlight of the day so far: Jeter gets hit in the back with a hard fastball by USF pitcher Shawn Sanford in the first inning. Legends Field and half of New York held their breath for a second and Sanford was ready to run to safety at a nearby retirement community.

Jeter: 1-1. Run,RBI
Rodriguez: 1-2. 3 RBI.

-Martin Bater

Former Bull inks new deal

Former USF linebacker Kawika Mitchell — who was a member of the Giants Super Bowl championship team — will be playing in New York next season — only, in a new uniform.

Mitchell will be in Buffalo later today to sign a contract with the Buffalo Bills, according to the The Buffalo News.

Mitchell signed a five-year, $17.5 million deal with a $3.5 million signing bonus, according to espn.com.

He has totaled 380 tackles, eight sacks, and one touchdown in five seasons in the NFL.

-Joe Rienzi

Live at Legends Field

The Oracle is live at Legends Field for the first USF Bulls vs New York Yankees matchup since 1982. Shawn Sanford will start for USF against Yankee phenom Joba Chamberlain.
Sanford found out about starting today just an hour and a half before the game, and he was "overwhelmed".
I will be posting updates every couple of innings.

-Martin Bater

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Bulls find replacement for McCarney

The USF football team filled the hole in its coaching staff left by the departure of Dan McCarney to the University of Florida.

Kevin Patrick — who was a member of the USFcoaching staff from 1996-1998 — was hired today as the new assistant coach. He will be working with defensive coordinator Wally Burnham as the defensive ends coach.

“Kevin was with us before and did a great job as a coach and player,” USF coach Jim Leavitt said in a press release. “We are excited to have him back. He has a great amount of passion for the game and USF. He is a tremendous teacher and will do great things with the defensive ends. He will be tremendous asset to the defensive staff that Defensive Coordinator Wally Burnham oversees.”

Patrick played football at the University of Miami, where he was a member of the Hurricanes 1992 National Championship team.

-Joe Rienzi

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Bulls lose third straight thriller

The Bulls have lost their third straight game — 79-75 to the Seton Hall Pirates.

The game ended on a series of crazy plays. Senior center Kentrell Gransberry went to the free-throw with 15.2 seconds left, but missed both shots. The Bulls were unable to foul and a Pirates' player until just 3.6 seconds were left in the game. By then, the Bulls had no timeouts and couldn't muster a comeback.

Bulls in another close one

3:58 remains in the game, and USF trails by four, 69-65. The Pirates have used free-throw shooting to their advantage, making 5 of their last 6.

The Bulls are coming off of back-to-back one-point losses — and this game is shaping up to be another close one.

Bulls cut lead to three, Jones breaks record

There's 8:39 remaining in the game, and USF — who trailed by nine less than three minutes ago — is down by just three points, 62-59.

Dominique Jones also accomplished an individual feat tonight. He has scored 25 points so far tonight, and broken the USF freshman single-season scoring record.

Pirates pulling away in second half

There is 11 minutes remaining in the game, and another Pirate has decided to take over for Seton Hall. Senior Jamar Nutter has scored 14-of-18 Seton Hall points since halftime.

The Pirates are at the free-throw line with a 55-49 advantage. They get four free throws after a personal and then a technical foul was called on Bulls' sophomore forward Adamu Saaka. After being called for a blocking foul, Saaka was called for the technical for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Bulls trail 35-33 at the half

It's halftime here at the Sun Dome, and the Bulls go into the locker room facing a 35-33 deficit.

The last minute of the half was exciting, with both head coaches receiving warnings on the bench. The half ended with Dominique Jones being fouled behind the three-point arc with 0.7 seconds remaining. He hit all three free-throws, and finished the half with a team-high 14 points.

For the Pirates, Brian Laing has been playing lights-out ball. He came into the game averaging 19.4 points per game, but surpassed that total in the first 20 minutes of play. He ended the half with a game-high 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting.

On impressive team stat for the Bulls: they have 11 assists on 13 field goals in the first half.

Bulls keeping it close

The Bulls had a 10-2 run to tie the game 17-17, however, the Pirates have pulled away to a 26-21 lead with 7:26 remaining in the first half.

The Bulls found a way to stop Garcia, but senior forward Brian Laing is giving USF fits. He has scored 11 of the last 15 Seton Hall points.

Bulls trying to rally

After an 11-0 run gave Seton Hall a 15-6 lead, the Bulls have seemingly found some life.

Freshman guard Dominique Jones ended the run with a layup, then junior forward Jesus Verdejo made a 3-pointer to cut the Pirates' lead to four with 11:30 left in the first half. USF trails 15-11.

USF down early

Just over 4 minutes have gone by in the game, and USF finds itself down 9-6 at the first media timeout.

Early in the game, USF has a big problem to deal with. Pirates' sophomore center John Garcia — who averages 6.4 points per game — scored the first 6 points for Seton Hall.

-Joe Rienzi

Live Blog from the Sun Dome

I've got a treat from everybody who just can't wait until tomorrow to get their fix of USF basketball: a live blog from the Sun Dome.

Tonight, the Bulls (11-16, 2-12) host the Seton Hall Pirates (16-11, 6-8). This is the second meeting between the teams this year, as the Bulls lost 74-64 to Seton Hall back in January.

-Joe Rienzi

Monday, February 25, 2008

Back online...

After an incredibly long hiatus, the Oracle Sports Blog is back online. As the new Sports Editor, I would like to apologize for the extended period of time between posts. It was unacceptable to go so long between posts, but I have decided to make the blog a priority from this point forward. Again, I am sorry.

On a positive note, there will be a live blog from tomorrow night's basketball game against Seton Hall.

Be sure to check back for live blogs and updates on all USF athletics.

-Joe Rienzi