Champions League Recap and MLB Playoffs

Yesterday was a little bit of a slow sports day. There were some big matches throughout the day, however there weren't as many as we sometimes may see. However, it was a good one nonetheless. The day started off with the last round of Champions League games for Matchday 3. Some of the notable fixtures included: Manchester United 1 Bursaspor 0, Inter Milan 4 Tottenham 3, and Barcelona 2 Copenhagen 0. In Manchester, as well as everywhere else in the soccer world, the lead story of the day was once again the Wayne Rooney story. In the last couple days, Sir Alex Ferguson has responded to the initial reports, and yesterday Rooney also made a statement regarding the issue. (Tomorrow, I will write my full reaction on this) However, there was an important match to play and United looked to prove they could be fine without Rooney. Bursaspor is not a powerhouse team by any means, but it was vital for United to get the win after a couple draws in a row in domestic play. With a game at Stoke this coming weekend, Ferguson fielded a young squad with the likes of Macheda, Rafael, Smalling, and Anderson. United started strong and after only 7 minutes got a goal from Nani. It was a great strike from about 20 yards out and the keeper really had no chance to save it. The rest of the game was a little bit of a bore, with United controlling the possession but not creating many chances. Late on, Gabriel Obertan and Javier Hernandez brought a little spark to the team but weren't able to finish anything off. Overall, it was a solid performance, especially on the defensive side for United.

The next match, and by far the most exciting, took place at the San Siro, in Milan. Inter started the match by getting a goal from Javier Zanetti after just 1 minute. A few minutes later, Spurs' keeper Gomes took down Biabiany in the box and was sent off. To add to the troubles, it was also a penalty kick and Samuel Eto'o scored go up 2-0. By halftime, the game was at 4-0. Inter were absolutely cruising in this match and at this point, it was just damage control by Tottenham. Early on in the second half though, Spurs midfielder, Gareth Bale, scored a magnificent goal after making a run over half of the field and then firing low past Julio Cesar. As injury time approached, Bale netted almost an identical goal as his first one to get the game back to 4-2. Soon after that, he finished his hat trick by netting his third. Unfortunately for Spurs, there was only one minute left in the game after Bale's last goal, and Inter just held out to get the win. It was a wonderful hat trick by the young Welshman, and Spurs have to be happy with the result in the end. They will get Inter at White Hart Lane in just a fortnight, with a full squad and their star players, Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric, back in the lineup.

The last game didn't have much to talk about, Between Barcelona and Copenhagen. It was a great match and Copenhagen did have their chances to score. They hit the post once, and missed a couple sitters. However, in the end, Messi finished with 2 fine goals and Barcelona took all the points to go top of their group.

The MLB Playoffs continued yesterday, with both matchups taking place. So far, the playoffs have been very entertaining and today's games were no exception. The first game of the day was the Yankees vs Rangers, in Arlington, Texas. The Yankees sent their ace, CC Sabathia to the hill, looking to extend the series back to New York for a sixth game. Early on, the New York side was able to hit CJ Wilson all over the park. In the 3rd inning, Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano hit back-to-back HRs to get the Yankees going. From there on out, the Yankees avoided any major slip ups and CC was able to scatter a bunch of Rangers' hits. The Yankees won the game 7-2 and look to Game 6 starter Phillip Hughes to extend the series even more.

The late game was Game 4 of the NLCS between the Philadephia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants. Both teams sent fairly young pitchers to the mound, and the Giants were able to get on the board first. They led 2-0 going into the 5th inning and the Phillies were able to take the lead with 4 runs after some big hits from Shane Victorino, and Placido Polanco. The Phillies were looking to even up the series, but couldn't hold the lead for long. Over the next two innings, the Giants were able to score 3 runs and take the lead back heading into the last few innings. The Giants' bullpen, with a few guys promoting "Fear the Beard" with their big black beards, is usually very solid, but Sergio Romo gave up a run in the top of the 8th inning and it allowed the Phillies to tie the game. Going into the 9th inning, the Giants brought on their closer, Brian Wilson to face a strong Phillies lineup. He was able to get all 3 batters out that he faced and set up a dramatic conclusion in the bottom of the ninth. Roy Oswalt, one of the three Phillies aces, came out of the bullpen to pitch the 9th inning. After getting the first batter out, he gave up a single to Aubrey Huff and then a double to young Buster Posey. Juan Uribe, who had just recently came into the game in the 9th inning, was able to recover from a missed call by the home plate umpire after he was hit on the hand by an Oswalt pitch, but the umpire called it a foul ball. Two pitches later, Uribe hit a fly ball to left field to allow Huff to come in on the sacrifice fly to win the game. It was bedlam in San Francisco as they won the game 6-5 and took the lead in the series 3-1. They will look to close out the Phillies tonight, as they send their ace Tim Lincecum to the mound to face the best from the Phillies, Roy Halladay.