Froch Wins American Debut

By Jorge Bannister
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

LEDYARD, Conn. — When referee Michael Ortega stepped in and stopped the fight with 14 seconds left in the 12th and final round, Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor was left wondering, “What the Froch just happened?”

Englishman Carl Froch (25-0, 20 KO) flew across the pond for his first “big” fight, and handed the Little Rock, Ark., native a 12th-round TKO with 14 seconds left to retain his WBC Super Middleweight title at the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods.

Taylor (28-3-1) was dominating through the first eight rounds. He was trailing in the first half of the eighth before he landing a double left hook to the body of Froch and took over from there. Taylor ended the round with a four-punch combination and then a left uppercut just before the bell. After the bell rung, Taylor waved Froch to his corner with his right hand yelled, “Let’s Go!”

Big mistake.

“I had some sloppy footwork and he caught me with some big right hands, then he landed a great left uppercut,” Froch said. “He then waved me off while yelling something, trying to get in my head and lower my confidence — it only pumped me up.”

Froch went on to win the 9th, 10th and 11th rounds. At that point, Taylor was up, 7-4, in the scorecard, according to Fan Fanatic Sports and judges Nobuaki Uratini and Omar Minton. Judge Jack Woodburn saw it 106-102 in favor of Froch.

In the 11th, Froch’s blows were finding their way through Taylor’s guard and landing flush, snapping Taylor’s head back with each punch landed.

The 12th was similar. Froch was landing clean shots, and Taylor matched him for the first five punches but just ran out of steam. Taylor had nothing behind his punches, which were flying wide, and had no legs to him. Froch dominated from there and knocked Taylor down with a right hand to the jaw in the corner.

Early in the fight, Taylor was dominant. He knocked Froch down for the first time in the Englishman’s career. Taylor landed an overhand right to the side of Froch’s head, sending "The Cobra" to the mat.

Do you Tweet? FFS Story makes Patriots News Twitter Page

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

No, I am not talking about Sylvester and Tweety Bird.  I am talking about Twitter, the website service that is sweeping the world.  The New England Patriots are the latest addition as they were tweeting all weekend long during the draft.  It was one of the most interesting stories of the weekend because the Patriots would announce their draft, or trades, on their Twitter page before they were announced at the draft in New York.  The Pats organization announced they were going to do this last week, and there were over 6,000 die hard Patriots fans & media members following the announcements.  

I was one of them and thought it was a brilliant way to reward Patriots fans. It was hard for me to be around the computer all day on Saturday & Sunday, but I was able to keep track of their movements on my phone through Twitter as well. Announcing the draft picks and trades via Twitter is an unusual practice for an organization that hold team information like it's gold in Fort Knox.  I have been a holdout for Twitter.  I didn't see a good use for me to follow someones daily life, but now I can see how the site can be useful.  I will certainly make the Pats Twitter page, and their news site page a bookmark of mine.  

New England Patriots picks up FFS Story:

The Patriots have posted a small blurb and link to one of the Ron Brace stories Chad wrote over the weekend.  If you click on the link above, and go to the 2nd page of stories, you'll see it. We've been working hard at FFS to provide solid content and get noticed as much as possible, so we're excited about the exposure. 

Fantasy Baseball: Garner's Greatest Top 25

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

(Garner's Greatest Top 25 combines past and current performance and projections throughout the season to create the top 25 best players that will help lead your team to a fantasy baseball championship. The top 25 will change from week to week so be prepared for some surprise picks and players you just might no agree should be on the elite list.)

Player rising; Players falling

1. Albert Pujols, 1B, STL (previous 1) Numbers always there at end of year.

2. Ian Kinsler, 2B, TEX (3) Seven bombs already.

3. Jose Reyes, SS, NYM (5) Just does too much to bump him way down.

4. Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA (4) When he catches fire, watch out.

5. Grady Sizemore, OF, CLE (7) Why can't he hit .300?

6. Evan Longoria, 3B, TB (9) Getting better by the day.

7. Chase Utley, 2B, PHI (12) No. 18-ranked player in Yahoo!

8. Miguel Cabrera, 1B, DET (2) Just not as hot as last few weeks.

9. David Wright, 3B, NYM (6) Where's the power, David?

10. Ryan Braun, OF, MIL (14) .359 and 4 HRs, starting to believe in his talent.

11. Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI (10) I just love his power production.

12. Alfonso Soriano, OF, CHI (11) One week he's good, the other bad.

13. Kevin Youkilis, 1B, BOS (NR) Hitting .444 with 5 HRs, can't ignore anymore.

14. Johan Santana, SP, NYM (16) Eye-popping numbers (0.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP). Seriously?

15. Josh Hamilton, OF, TEX (8) OK, Josh, you can start hitting.

16. Roy Halladay, SP, TOR (19) Is there a doctor in the house. He's so dependable.

17. Carolos Beltran, OF, NYM (15) A .415 BA, hope power and steals are coming.

18. Nick Markakis, OF, BAL (25) .377 average, 20 runs scored and No. 7 rank. 

19. Tim Lincecum, SP, SF (24) Legit ace is back dealing.

20. Jimmy Rollins, SS, PHI (17) Close to falling out of top 25.

21. Mark Teixeira, 1B, NYY (13) Slow starter, no kidding.

22. Matt Kemp, OF, LAD (NR) Coming into his own. Don Mattingly was right about him.

23. Manny Ramirez, OF, LAD (22) Only a matter of time before Manny puts on a show.

24. Tori Hunter, OF, LAA (NR) Hunter is swinging good stick (7 HRs).

25. Victor Martinez, C-1B, CLE (NR) Welcome back, 5 Hrs, .405 average. He's healthy.

Dropped out: B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford, Lance Berkman.

ALIVE

Andre Ethier, OF, LAD -- Ethier probably could have been had as a free agent before the season, but good luck now. As of Saturday, he had 5 HRs, 20 RBIs, a .308 BA and was ranked No. 12 overall. He's clearly put it all together. Another Mattingly project. 

Mike Lowell, 3B, BOS -- Lowell looks like he's just fine from hip surgery last season. The BoSox third baseman has 4 HRs and a whopping 22 RBIs. Not bad from a guy that's owned in only 64 percent of leagues.

DEAD

Chone Figgins, 2B-3B, LAA --I'll be the first to admit that I love Figgy, but there's nothing to love about his play right now. Figgins has only a .227 average and 2 RBIs, but at least he's got 7 steals. That's keeping him from getting dropped in a lot of leagues.

Cole Hamels, SP, PHI -- I warned you to stay away from him in the preseason due to that arm injury, but did you listen? Listening now? Something has got to be wrong (9.69 ERA, 1. 92 WHIP). He's got stiff stats right now. 

(Coming Wednesday: Between the White Lines by Jim Ingram)

Ellsbury Figures It Out

By Erik Pesta

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

What a weekend! With a 10-game win streak, the Sox have shown us that they have what it takes to compete in baseball's toughest division. Friday night was probably the best game, with Jason Bay tying things up with a monster ninth inning homerun to left center, and Kevin Youkilis winning it in extra frames with a huge blast of his own. But the play of the weekend just may have involved the birth of a superstar. Jacoby Ellsbury really has a shot at being a special player, and last night showed us why. There were a couple of things that went through my mind when he electrified the Fenway crowd with his steal of home plate:

1. I can't believe Pettitte didn't check the runner. Hasn't he been pitching for like 50 years?

2. Ellsbury is figuring out how to best use his speed to his advantage. Getting on however he can, stealing bases, disrupting the other team's pitchers, and being an all-around nuisance.

When he arrived on the scene a couple years ago, his incredible 2007 World Series performance set some pretty lofty expectations that he could never realize in 2008. While he didn't exactly flounder, he certainly fell short of what Sox fans had hoped. Yes, he led the A.L. in steals and finished third in Rookie of the Year balloting, but he had a poor on base percentage for a guy who leads off one of baseball's most prolific offenses. To be honest, his OBP is still poor, but he's growing up before our eyes. Terry Francona could be seen in the dugout after the steal, smiling from ear to ear and hugging Ellsbury before giving him a smack on the butt and sending him on his way. He looked like a proud father. It was a genuine moment, and you could see it on both of their faces. He's still just a kid, but he's starting to get comfortable in his role and sometimes, that's all it takes. Throw in his stellar defense and it's easy to see why we expect so much from him.

Tonight, the Sox take aim at last year's A.L. Cy Young winner, who hasn't exactly followed up 2008 the way he wanted. Cliff Lee enters the series with a 1-3 record and an ERA of 5.25. Conversely, Tim Wakefield has been on a roll of late, and hopes to continue baffling hitters with his signature knuckler.