Monthly Archives: December 2010

U of Minnesota asks fans for help in digging out TCF Bank Stadium

Posted on by

　

MINNEAPOLIS — Backed by dump trucks and loaders, dozens of workers hoisting shovels and blowers attacked the snowdrifts covering the University of Minnesota’s outdoor stadium Wednesday in a determined push to have it ready to replace the snow-damaged Metrodome for next week’s matchup between the Vikings and Bears.As the work began in earnest, NFL officials toured TCF Bank Stadium to make sure it was safe for fans and meets other league requirements. The two biggest concerns, according to assistant university athletic director Scott Ellison, were whether all the snow can be removed in time and whether the frozen field could be softened to a level that won’t hurt the players. 

The deflated Metrodome cannot be repaired in time for the Vikings' home season finale. (AP)  
The deflated Metrodome cannot be repaired in time for the Vikings’ home season finale.  

“I’m completely confident we can have a game here Monday night,” Ellison said after crews had already removed 26 truckloads of snow and totally cleared 17 of the 52 seating sections.

He said the NFL was developing a plan to treat the field with warming chemicals to soften it, and looking into laying a tarp across the playing field that would have some type of heating element underneath.The NFL will make the final call on where the game will be played. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press that “we support the plan to play the game at the University of Minnesota stadium and are assisting the Vikings and the university on preparations.”

The Vikings decided to hold Monday night’s NFC North game at the home of the Golden Gophers after inspectors said there wasn’t enough time to repair the dome’s tattered and deflated roof. It fell early Sunday under the weight of about 17 inches of freshly fallen snow, forcing the Vikings to play the Giants at Ford Field in Detroit this past Monday. University officials promised 16-hour days of plowing and shoveling — they asked for volunteers to work Thursday through Sunday — and were nervously eyeing a forecast that called for the possibility of another few inches of snow by Thursday night. Inside the stadium, workers shoveled snow onto long slides that snaked down the bleachers and poured it onto the field, where loaders scooped it into dump trucks.Ellison said the goal was to have the stadium game-ready by the end of the day Sunday.School officials, the Vikings and the NFL were negotiating a host of other logistical questions, from whether beer would be available at the normally dry stadium (undecided) to how a 50,000-seat stadium could accommodate 54,000 Vikings season-ticket holders (unclear).The team said it was “working to accommodate fans’ questions” but acknowledged it would take time to get the answers in such a “fluid situation.” Ellison said the school was looking into setting up more seats for the game — the Metrodome has a football seating capacity of about 63,000.Ellison said that owners of the Gopher stadium’s 38 luxury suites would have first right to use them at Monday night’s game.The outdoor game will be a test for Minnesotans no longer accustomed to braving the frigid December air to watch pro football. The last outdoor Vikings game at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, which the Metrodome replaced, was held on Dec. 20, 1981 — 29 years to the day before this Monday’s Vikings-Bears matchup. The Vikings lost that game to the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 10-6.Lester Bagley, the Vikings vice president for public affairs, predicted Monday’s game would go better for the team.

“We’re confident that we’re going to have a great experience,” Bagley told the AP. “It’s our celebration of our 50th season, and we’re going to end it the way we began. We beat the Bears in our first game, and we’re going to beat them again this year.”

Engineers from Birdair Inc., the Amherst, N.Y.-based manufacturer of the Metrodome’s roof, discovered damage Tuesday that was worse than initially expected. The company gave the dome’s owners, the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, two options to repair the damage: Mending the torn panels, a short-term solution that would leave the panels still needing to be replaced, or replacing the panels with new material, a more long-term solution that would also be more time-consuming.Commission spokesman Pat Milan said cold temperatures were slowing repairs and that it could be three to seven days before a timeline emerges for using the Metrodome again. The question is largely moot for the Vikings, since the Bears game is the home finale and Minnesota won’t make the playoffs.Wolter said it was not clear ow much it will cost to get TCF Bank Stadium ready for the game and then to host it. He said the Vikings vowed to cover the entire tab, and that the school has a budget of $250,000 for each Gophers game. The total cost with all preparations could reach $700,000 or more, he said.Workers at the campus stadium Wednesday were hired through temporary agencies, but as of Thursday the school planned to pay $10 an hour to anyone who showed up outside the stadium willing to work.Quintin Spencer of Minneapolis was manning a shovel in the parking lot of the Gopher stadium, helping empty the trucks carrying snow from inside the stadium. The 43-year-old said he’s been out of a steady job for several years and was happy to get paid for helping make a Vikings home game possible.

“That’s a real good thing,” Spencer said. “I just hope they win, so that a part of this memory is that they won the game.”

Bulls win in Toronto, Noah to have surgery

Posted on by

 

TORONTO—Carlos Boozer had a season-high 34 points and 12 rebounds, and the Bulls won their seventh straight game by beating the Toronto Raptors 110-93 on Wednesday night.Luol Deng added 19 points, Joakim Noah had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Derrick Rose dished out 11 assists for the Bulls, who never trailed and led by as many as 29.Noah will have surgery to repair a torn ulna collateral ligament in his right thumb. The surgery will be performed tomorrow morning by Dr. Mark Cohen and Dr. John Fernandez of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush University Medical Center.Noah was first injured in the Nov. 27 game at Sacramento, and he has played the last two weeks with ongoing discomfort and slight functional impairment. Additionally, Noah has had significant sprains of his right index and middle fingers, which will not require surgery.Kyle Korver scored 13 points and Ronnie Brewer had 10 as the Bulls matched their longest winning streak since a seven-game run from Nov. 25 to Dec. 8, 2006. Leandro Barbosa scored 21 points for Toronto, which lost for the sixth time in seven games. Jerryd Bayless had 20 and DeMar DeRozan and Joey Dorsey each scored 12.Making his first career start in place of Andrea Bargnani, who missed his first game of the season with a sore left knee, Ed Davis had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors.Trailing 91-64 to begin the fourth, Toronto closed the gap with a 12-2 run, cutting it to 93-76 on a layup by Barbosa with 7:21 remaining.Taj Gibson ended the spurt with a dunk and the Raptors were unable to get any closer, allowing the Bullsto close out a comfortable win.Rose started for the Bulls despite a sprained right wrist and bruised right elbow, sustained when he fell hard in the fourth quarter of Monday’s victory over Indiana. Noah also started despite lingering pain in his sprained right thumb.Up 23-18 after one quarter, the Bulls got 12 points from Boozer and 10 from Korver in the second, building a 63-44 lead at halftime.Boozer scored 14 points in the third as the Bulls took a 91-64 lead into the final quarter.The Bulls outrebounded Toronto 47-37.

NOTES—Jose Calderon (left foot) missed his fourth straight game for Toronto while Peja Stojakovic (left knee) sat out for the 10th game in a row. … Boozer’s previous best this season was 29 points, set Dec. 6 against Oklahoma City. … DeRozan is the only Toronto player to start all 26 games this season.

Demons beat UWM behind Freeland

Posted on by

ROSEMONT—Tony Freeland scored 14 points and Cleveland Melvin added 11 as DePaul defeated Milwaukee 61-47 on Tuesday night.DePaul (4-6) trailed by as many as nine in the first half, but came back to take the lead for good on a 10-0 run.Trailing 23-19 late in the first half, Mike Stovall had a jumper for DePaul and made a pair of free throws to tie the game at 23. Melvin’s basket gave DePaul a 25-23 lead, its first of the game, and his jumper capped the run to give the Blue Demons a 29-23 lead.Anthony Hill and Ja’Rob McCallum led the Panthers (5-7) with 10 points each. Milwaukee committed 20 turnovers.

NIU edged UIC as Silas drops 40 on Flames

Posted on by

DE KALB—Xavier Silas scored 40 points Tuesday night and Northern Illinois held on to beat UIC 80-78.Silas was 8 of 18 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, and 22 of 24 from the free-throw line for the Huskies (3-4), playing for the first time in 12 days. Silas scored 28 points in the second half, including Northern Illinois’ last seven points from the foul line. UIC made it close on Corey Gray’s 3-pointer with 2 seconds to play for the final margin.No other NIU player finished in double figures.The Flames (4-7) jumped to a 15-2 lead and were ahead 33-29 at halftime. Silas had 12 points in the first half on 1-of-8 shooting and was 10-for-10 at the line.Darrin Williams led UIC with 16 points. Paul Carter and Robo Kreps scored 14 points apiece, Zavion Neely added 12 and Paris Carter had 10.

Late Avs goals beat Hawks 7-5

Posted on by

　

DENVER—Tomas Fleischmann and Matt Duchene scored one minute apart late in the third period to help the Colorado Avalanche rally for a 7-5 win over the Blackhawks on Monday night.Colorado trailed 5-4 with 2:24 remaining, but Fleischmann tied it by beating screened goalie Corey Crawford. Duchene added the game winner 60 seconds later, scoring for the second time in the game.Ryan O’Reilly added an insurance goal in the final seconds, with Crawford on the bench, as the Avalanche won their third straight game.Brandon Yip, Paul Stastny and Cody McLeod also had goals for the Avalanche, the NHL’s second-highest scoring team.The Avalanche chased starting goalie Marty Turco 40 seconds into the second period, but struggled to get anything past Crawford – until the final minutes. Craig Anderson stopped 27 shots for Colorado.Troy Brouwer scored twice for the Blackhawks, including the go-ahead goal with 8:17 remaining.Brouwer reached his stick up in front of the net and directed the puck past Anderson. Replay officials took a long look at the goal – making sure Brouwer’s stick wasn’t higher than the crossbar.Jack Skille, Bryan Bickell and Jeremy Morin also scored for the Blackhawks. This was a night Turco would rather forget. He allowed four goals on only 10 shots before being pulled.Down 4-3 in the final minute of the second period, the Blackhawks got even when Morin’s shot trickled through Anderson’s pads.It was an entertaining first period featuring a flurry of goals and some late fights.Yip scored 48 seconds in, the Avalanche’s quickest goal this season. Brouwer tied it during a power play, his seventh goal of the season.

NOTES—Colorado recalled D Kevin Montgomery from Lake Erie of the American Hockey League, but he didn’t play. … These teams will meet again on Wednesday night at the United Center.

Boozer and Rose help Bulls stay hot vs Pacers

Posted on by

 

Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Bulls to a 92-73 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, their sixth straight win.Derrick Rose added 17 points and 12 assists and he ignited a 10-0 run after returning from a rest midway through the fourth quarter that broke open a close game.It’s the Bulls first six-game winning streak since Nov. 25-Dec. 8, 2006.Brandon Rush and T.J. Ford both had 13 points for Indiana.The 73 points was a season-low for Indiana and it was the third straight game the Bulls held its opponent to a season-worst total.The Bulls held the los Angeles Lakers to 84 points on Friday and the Minnesota Timberwolves to 82 points on Saturday.

NU stays perfect with win over Long Island

Posted on by

EVANSTON—John Shurna scored 26 points and missed just one shot from the field as Northwestern’s winning streak reached six with a 81-65 nonconference victory over Long Island on Monday night. Juice Thompson added 16 points and JerShon Cobb 12 for the Wildcats, who at 6-0 are off to their best start since 1993-94 when they won their first nine games.Reserve Michael Culpo scored 22 points and Kenny Onyechi added 11 for the Blackbirds (6-4), who trailed by as many as 24 points with less than seven minutes to play before staging a late run.Shurna, who went 10 of 11 from the field, also had a pair of 3-pointers. NU was 10 of 26 from beyond the arc – the fourth time the Wildcats have had 10 or more 3-pointers in a game this season.

Pats blow Bears away 36-7. First half 33 points most ever allowed by Bears in any half at home

Posted on by
　
 

The Bears knew they would have to put some kind of pressure on Tom Brady and also not turn the ball over. In the first half, the didn’t and they did in those two departments,and the New England Patriots hammered the Bears 36-7 to bring the Bears five game winning streak to a grinding halt.Some marquee game huh? Since Green Bay lost 7-3 in Detroit, the Bears kept their one game NFC North lead on the Packers who will visit these Pats next week while the Bears will face the Vikings at a location not known at this time since the Metrodome’s roof collapsed causing Monday night’s Vikes-Giants game to be moved to Ford Field in Detroit.
With awful conditions, 26* temperatures and +9* wind chill factor with NW winds blowing at 32 MPH, the Bears won the toss,deferred and New England received and started on their own 31.After a five yard pass from Brady to Wes Welker, BenJarvus Green-Ellis was hit for a 3 yard loss,and Brady was then sacked by Israel Idonoje for a two yard loss.This was the Bears last ‘stop’ of the first half. Zoltan Mesko punted to Devin Hester who returned 17 yards to his 46.Matt Forte gained three on first down.He then picked six to the Patriots 45.But then on a pitch out, Forte lost two and Brad Maynard had to punt.It was downed by Corey Graham at the New England 15.The Bears had zero pass rush on Brady on the next two New England drives,and he burned the cover-two to a crisp. Brady started it by going right back to Welker for eight yards. Green-Ellis then hit a big hole off left guard for 12 to the Pats 34. After an incompleted pass that Julius Peppers broke up,Brady again threw an incomlepted pass.But with way too much time and no pass rush,Brady hit Welker for 17 and a first down at the Bears 48. Green-Ellis rushed for 2 on first down, then on a screen pass Danny Woodhead was hit by Brian Urlacher for a loss of 12.But on third down, again no pass rush and Brady hit Deion Branch at the Bears 34.Brady then hit Welker at the 20 and he broke two tackles and got to the ten for a first and goal. Woodhead gained three to the 7. Brady then tried to hit Branch,Urlacher deflected it and Chris Harris just missed a pick. On third down Brady hit Rob Gronkowski between defenders to make it 7-0 with 5:47 left in the first quarter. The kickoff was fumbled by Rashied Davis but Earl Bennett fell on it Bears 26.On first down, Jay Cutler threw his first pass,and hit Greg Olsen for six. Forte than ran around the left side,but Roberto Garza was called for holding,making it second and fourteen at the 18.Cutler could not any receivers and was sacked for a four yard loss back to the 14. Cutler kept the drive alive with a 19 yard pass to Johnny Knox at the Bears 33. Cutler again was flushed from the pocket,but this time he gained seven to his own 40. Fotre then slide threw a hole on the left side for five and a first down at the Bears 45. Forte ran off the left side for four,but on second down Forte was stopped for a gain of just two. Cutler tried to hit Bennett,but the pass was a bit over thrown and Maynard punted for the second time and it was downed by C.Graham at the 12 as the first quarter ended.Brady hit Welker on first down for 12 to the 25. Green-Ellis broke off an 11 yarder through a hole of the left side.On second down, Green-Ellis was slowed and tackled by Idonije for just a one yard gain. Brady hit Branch on second down for eight to the NE 45.Sammy Morris picked up the first down to his won 47.Brady’s first down pass was knocked down by Peppers,but he then found a wide open Welker on the left side for 19 to the Bears 34. Green-Ellis then busted through for nine. Woodhead picked up another first down by getting five to the Bears 20. Green-Ellis broke a tackle and only C.Harris prevented a TD. It became first and goal at the 3.Woodhead broke two tackles and scored to make it 14-0 with 10:16 left in the half. S.Graham’s kickoff was returned by Danieal Manning 33 yards to his 38. On first down,this game started to totally get out of control when Cutler hit Knox was was tackled by Devin McCourty,and fumbled as he was going down, Gary Guyton picked it up and ran untouched to score and make it 21-0. Lovie Smith did challenge the call on the field,but Referee Mike Carey ruled that Knox was on McCourty’s foot,rather than the ground as the ball came out,so the call stood and it was 21-0. Manning had another decent return,of 40 yards to the Bears 45.Chester Taylor on first down lost a yard to the 44.Cutler,again had no open receiver and ran for twelve,but holding was called on Brandon Manumaleuna and it became second and 21. After two incompleted passes, Maynard punted for the third time, and Julian Edelman picked his way for 42 yards to the Bears 30.Two running plays set up a third and four,on which Green-Ellis got the first down to the Bears 20.On first down,Brady’s pass was broken up by Nick Roach.Woodhead on a draw play gained three to the 17.Brady hit Woodhead for four,and on fourth down, Shayne Graham kicked a 30 yard field goal that barely made it into the stiff wind over the cross bar.On first down, Cutler fumbled the snap and it was recovered by Jerod Mayo at the Bears 9.After a two yard pickup by Woodhead,Brady threw an incompletion,and on third down, the Bears actually rushed Brady and forced him to throw one into the ground. S.Graham then booted a 25 yard field goal to turn this into a 27-0 rout.Another Bears three and out forced Maynard to punt and Edelman went all 71 yards,yet only a holding call on the Patriots nullified it and the ball was placed at the NE 20.On the last play of the half,the Bears were caught napping when Brady threw to Branch who side stepped two Bears defenders and ran down the west sideline 59 yards to score on the last play of the half. Graham’s PAT was wide right,but it was 33-0 at halftime and a good majority of spectators headed for the exits. This was also the most points the Bears have ever given up in any first half.
Manning returned the second half kickoff 25 yards to his own 35,but the Bears went three and out. Maynard bobbled the snap,picked it up and he got a short squib kick to the NE 37 for just 19 yards. Brady quickly hit Branch at the Bears 43 for twenty yards.Green-Ellis then ran on the left side for 13 to the 30.Brady then hit Gronkowski for 15 to the fifteen, and then hit him again at the 11. Green-Ellis was stopped for no gain, and on third down, missed on a pass to Green-Ellis. Graham then kicked a 29 yard field goal.Hester returned the kickoff 61 yards to the Pats 35.On a screen pass Cutler hit Forte for 32 yards to the NE three yard line.After an incompleted pass, Forte got to the 1 yard line.Taylor then scored around left end to finally get the Bears on the scoreboard. The Patriots again moved the ball but on a fourth downb,were stopped and the Bears took over at their own 28.Cutler started hitting receivers and thanks also to a pass interference on Darius Butler,the Bears got a first down at the NE 26.Cutler then threw an interception right to Guyton as the Pats took over at their 30. The third quarter ended with the Patroits ahead 36-7,although the Bears won that quarter 7-3. Too bad this isn’t the old CBA.The Bears held again,forcing a Mesko punt for just the second time in the game and he kicked it into the end zone,giving the Bears the ball at their twenty.They drove down to the New England ten for a first and goal.after a 33 yard Cutler to Bennett pass. On second down, Cutler scrambled and threw a pass right into the hands of Brandon Meriweather to end that scoring chance. The game ended with no additional scoring.

NOTES—The Patriots had as many points in the first half(33)as the Bears had net yards(also 33)…..They only announced that there were 6,186 no shows of the 62,347 tickets sold for this game.In the final two minutes,there were no more than 4,000 left in Solder Field……Brady was 27-40 for 369 yds, 2 TD and 0 Interceptions.His QB rating was 113.4….Cutler was 12-26 for 152 yds, was sacked twice and had a Passer Rating of 32.9.

LES

Packers fall to Lions 7-3, Rodgers out with another concussion.

Posted on by

DETROIT—The Bears will stay in first place this week. Drew Stanton threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Will Heller midway through the fourth quarter, and the Green Bay Packers couldn’t come back without an injured Aaron Rodgers in the Detroit Lions’ 7-3 win Sunday.Detroit (3-10) snapped a five-game losing streak and a 19-game skid against the NFC North, the NFL’s worst slump within a division since the merger four decades ago.Green Bay (8-5) lost Rodgers and a game it desperately needed to win for playoff positioning. The star quarterback was knocked out in the second quarter with his second concussion this season.Matt Flynn got Green Bay to the Detroit 31 before turning the ball over on downs with an incomplete pass into the end zone just past a diving Greg Jennings in the final minute.