Update from Events Around the World of Sports

Yu Darvish
So far this season in Japan, Yu Darvish is 3-1 with a 1.32 ERA. His WHIP is .74, and he has 29 K's in 34 innings, with only 18 H and 7 BB. Darvish has 2 CG's in 4 starts, and 1 SO. He has the Nippon Ham Fighters atop the Pacific League, at a record of 11-8.

Newcastle United
Most of the time, when you hear about a football club being relegated from the Premiership, its West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough, Derby County, Reading, etc. However, this season, one of the most historic, and generally successful clubs in England, Newcastle United, is in serious danger of being relegated. They're currently sitting in 19th place, when 18-20 get relegated. Some players you may have heard of on Newcastle United-Michael Owen, Geremi, Damien Duff, Shay Given, etc. To make some sort of comparision, if MLB had relegation, this would be kind of like if a team of the caliber of maybe the Cardinals or Mets got relegated I guess.

Bayern Munich
Jurgen Klinsmann was sacked today by Bayern Munich after he allowed them to drop to 3rd in the less than great German Bundesliga. Klinsmann was not quite finished with his 1st season at Bayern, and his sacking comes as a massive shock to the football world, as Bayern Munich is the undisputed best team (and the only team with any level of respectability) in the German Bundesliga, which, when compared to the Premiership, is like AAA compared to MLB.

Florida Marlins
Losers of 6 straight games since starting 11-1, the Marlins still remain 1.5 games ahead of 2nd place Philadelphia, but they are also starting a 3 game series @ Citi Field, then have to head to the friendly confines to battle the Cubs for 4 games. Considering the Marlins just got swept by Philly and the Pittsburgh Pirates, it's pretty tough to say that the beginning of the season was somewhat of a fluke. That is not to say that this isn't a talented team, as it certainly has a good core of young players that are built around arguably the best player in baseball. However, don't expect them to reclaim the division lead once they lose it in the next few weeks, considering their team just isn't that great.

Boston Red Sox
Here at IHOB we hate the east coast bias as much as the rest of you, but the BoSox deserve a mention here. Has anyone noticed that they're a whopping 10-0 in their last 10 games. Also, even more insane, 2 of those wins are from "Ramon Ramirez", 2 are from 53 year old Tim Wakefield, 2 by Justin Masterson, and 1 by the great Brad Penny. If the Red Sox can win 10 games in a row with pitchers like that, it should be interesting to see how well they do once Daisuke comes back. Also keep in mind that John Smoltz is on their roster, and if he comes back with anything in the tank, it would just be a ridiculous pitching staff.

San Francisco Giants
They've won 5 out of 6, and are starting to get some hitting production from the young Pablo Sandoval. Also, Barry Zito looked like vintage Barry Zito in his last start, lowering his season ERA to just under 8. Also, Matt Cain has looked monstrous this year, with an ERA of 2.08 and a record of 2-0.

World Cricket
Australia won a battle of the heavyweight national teams against Pakistan yesterday in Abu Dhabi, winning 198 for 7 to 171. Michael Clarke shined for Australia, as they beat a Pakistani team that is playing their first high profile international match since March's terrorist attacks in Lahore on the Sri Lankan national team.

Brief NFL Draft Thoughts
I really liked Denver's pick of Knowshon Moreno at 12th overall. Denver has had a great history of developing good RB's with limited physical gifts and potential, including Tatum Bell, Mike Anderson, etc. This would lead you to believe that a phenominally gifted athelete like Moreno, who also has an unmatched work ethic and intensity, will be able to really flourish in Denver, especially with Kyle Orton at QB, thus limiting their passing potential to some extent.

Also, San Fran made an excellent pick with Michael Crabtree at 10th overall, but anyone could tell you that.

The pick of Darrius Heyward-Bey, while certainly rather curious, was not nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be. He's freakishly fast, and should play well with young QB Jamarcus Russell, who's had no success whatsoever so far but may do well with such a fast vertical presence.

LSU Baseball has dropped to 5th in the nation with a 33-12 record. Geaux Tigers, win the CWS

Also, the obligatory Go Hawks tonight, finish off those Canadians.