Beavers dominant in win over Bears

The Oregon State Beavers put in a solid night of football Saturday night, beating the California Golden Bears 31-14 in Berekely, California.

The Beavers led 7-0 after one, as Sean Canfield scored on a one-yard sneak. Justin Kahut added the PAT.

James Rodgers caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Canfield and Kahut converted, putting Oregon State up 14-0 in the second quarter. California responded with a touchdown from Jahvid Best, who scooted around the left end to score from 7-yards out. Best, who jumped over a defender to score, landed hard on his back, suffering a concussion on the play, forcing a 13-minute delay while emergency personnel tended to him. After the delay, which saw Best taken from the field on a stretcher and to a local hospital, Giorgio Tavecchio kicked the PAT, drawing the Bears to within 7, at 14-7. The Beavers got the points back on a Jordan Bishop 3-yard touchdown reception and Kahut extra point, leading 21-7 at halftime.

Kahut drilled a 24-yard field goal in the third quarter, putting Oregon State on top 24-7, heading into the final 15 minutes.

Jacquizz Rodgers, contained most of the night by the Bear defense, scored on a 24-yard run in the fourth. Kahut kicked the PAT and the Beavers lead was 24, at 31-7. California finally put together a scoring drive, with Kevin Riley passing to Verran Tucker for a 2-yard touchdown. Tavecchio kicked the PAT but the Bears could get no closer and Oregon State left town with the 31-14 win.

The Beavers dominated statistically. They led in first downs 23-14, in third down efficiency 11-of-18 to 4-of-13, while also converting the only fourth down attempt of the night. Oregon State won in total yardage 436 to 239, rushing yardage 94-39 and passing yardage 342-200.

Sean Canfield led the Beavers with 29-of-39 passing for 342 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. He also rushed for a touchdown. Jacquizz Rodgers carried the ball 25 times for 67 yards and 1 touchdown. Joe Halahuni caught 6 passes for 128 yards, James Rodgers and Jordan Bishop caught touchdown passes. Justin Kahut kicked 4 PATs and 1 field goal and Johnny Hekker punted 4 times for a 40.3-yard average, kicking 2 inside the 20. For California, Kevin Riley was 19-of-34 passing for 200 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, while being sacked twice. Jahvid Best rushed 9 times for 29 yards and a touchdown, Verran Tucker caught 6 passes for 74-yards and a touchdown and Giorgio Tavecchio kicked 2 PATs.

With the win, Oregon State goes to 4-2 in the Pac-10 and became bowl eligible at 6-3. The Bears slip to 3-3 in conference, 6-3 overall. In their last 39 home games, Cal is 0-7 combined against the Beavers and USC, 32-0 against everyone else.

Oregon State hosts Washington for the annual Dad's Weekend game on Saturday, November 14th. Kickoff at Reser Stadium in Corvallis is set for 3:30p.m. EST. The game can be heard on KPAM radio and the Beaver Sports Network. Fox Sports Net has the telecast.

Riders stop Stamps, win West

A solid effort from start to finish, including two touchdown passes from Darian Durant, led the Saskatchewan Roughriders to their first West Division title in 33 years, thanks to a 30-14 win over the Calgary Stampeders, in front of 30,945 fans at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan Saturday night.

The Riders were off and running just 4:50 into the game, as Durant connected with Chris Getzlaf for a 9-yard touchdown pass. Luca Congi converted, putting Saskatchewan up 7-0.

Burke Dales nailed a 50-yard punt single 19 seconds into the second quarter for Calgary, making it a 7-1 game. The Riders took control from there. Congi kicked a 37-yard field goal with 3:39 gone and Louie Sakoda blasted a 90-yard kickoff single 11 seconds later, putting Saskatchewan on top 11-1. It was 18-1 with 8:58 remaining in the half, as Durant hit Rob Bagg from 25-yards out and Congi converted. Henry Burris stemmed the tide a bit for the Stampeders, as he snaked in from a yard out and Sandro DeAngelis converted, cutting the deficit to 18-8. Congi's second 37-yard field goal, with just 6 seconds left, put the Riders on top at the half 21-8.

Calgary knocked 6 points off the spread with a pair of DeAngelis field goals in the third quarter, the first from 22-yards with 6:04 left, the second from 24 yards with 2:19 left, leaving the Saskatchewan lead at 21-14 heading into the final 15 minutes.

It stayed a 7-point game until late in regulation, when the Riders would add 9 more points. The first two came as the Stamps, trapped deep in their own end, had Dales concede a safety touch with 2:44 left. Chris Czarka bulled into the endzone from a yard out with 1:07 to go and Congi converted. Calgary tried to respond, but were stopped at the 23 yard line as time expired, with Saskatchewan winning the game 30-14, capturing their first West Division title since 1976.

Darian Durant rebounded from a sub-par performance in Hamilton a week ago, going 24-of-36 passing for the Riders, good for 296 yards and 2 touchdowns, 1 each to Chris Getzlaf and Rob Bagg. Andy Fantuz caught 12 passes for 123 yards. Wes Cates ran 15 times for 54 yards, Chris Czarka scored the late touchdown on a 1-yard run. Luca Congi kicked 2 field goals and 3 converts, while Louie Sakoda had a kickoff single. For the Stampeders, Henry Burris was 15-of-25 passing for 221 yards, while throwing 1 interception. A Tate came in and completed 4-of-5 passes for 42 yards. Joffrey Reynolds rushed for 107 yards on 17 carries and Burris scored on a 1-yard sneak. Sandro DeAngelis kicked 2 field goals and 1 convert, and Burke Dales kicked a punt single. Calgary won the total yardage battle 417 to 408, but committed the night's only turnover.

Both teams finish the season at 10-7-1 for 21 points, but Saskatchewan wins the West crown after taking the season series against the Stamps with a 2-0-1 record. The Riders get a bye into the West final on Sunday, November 22nd and will await the winner of this Sunday's Edmonton vs. Calgary West Semi. Kickoff at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on the 22nd is set for 4:30p.m. EST. The live broadcast, with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri can be heard on 620 CKRM and the Rider Radio Network beginning at 3:30p.m. EST. The winner of that game plays in the Grey Cup Championshiop in Calgary on Sunday, November 29th at 6:30p.m. EST.

Sports Saturday

It's Saturday. That means liberal nap time, playing with Jimmy, yummy steak for dinner and plenty of sports on TV and the WWW at Chez Meissner.

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HUGE CFL West game in Regina today, between the Saskatchewan Roughrider and the Calgary Stampeders. The Stamps are currently first in the West by one game, but a Saskatchewan win would give them the division crown, because they would have won the season series. Kickoff is at 7:00p.m. EST on http://www.620ckrm.com/.

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The Oregon State Beavers look to remain in the Pac-10 hunt on the road against the Cal Bears. Kickoff is at 7:00p.m. EST on http://www.kpam.com/ and Fox Sports.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning hope to grab a big early-season road win at Montreal tonight. Faceoff is at 7:00p.m. EST on 620 WDAE and Sun Sports.

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We're also going to take a peak at Army vs Air Force, Navy vs Notre Dame and Northwestern at Iowa. Y'all have fun now, ya hear?!?!

OT power play goal pushes Sens past Lightning

A Jason Spezza power play in the final minute of overtime Thursday night gave the Ottawa Senators a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in front of 17,511 at Scotiaback Place.

An Alex Tanguay power play goal game Tampa Bay the lead 3:03 into the game, but the Senators responded with a Daniel Alfredsson goal at 5:02, tying the game 1-1 after one.

Ottawa took the lead with a Mike Fisher power play goal at 12:00 of the second, but the Lightning's Steven Stamkos scored a power play goal, tying the game 2-2 through 40 minutes.

After a scoreless third period, the game moved into overtime, where Spezza's power play goal with 43 seconds left in the extra session gave the Senators the 3-2 win.

The Senators outshot Tampa Bay 29-20. Pascal Leclaire had 18 saves for Ottawa, Antero Niittymaki made 26 stops for the Lightning. The Senators went 2-for-6 on the powerplay, while Tampa Bay scored twice in 7 power play chances.

Ottawa in now 7-4-2 for 16 points and second place, 3 behind Buffalo in the Northeast. The Lightning is second in the Southeast at 5-4-5 for 15 points, 7 behind Washington in the Southeast.

Tampa Bay plays at Montreal Saturday night, beginning at 7:00p.m. EST. The game can be heard on 620 WDAE and seen on Sun Sports.

Lightning split two road games

The Tampa Bay Lightning opened a stretch of 6 games in 8 away from home, by splitting a pair of games to start this week.

On Monday, Philadelphia cruised to a 6-2 win. The Flyers led 2-0 after one, on goals by Mike Richards at 8:29 and a power play marker by Scott Hartnell at 19:15. Jeff Carter scored at 3:30 of the second to put Philadelphia up 3-0. The Lightning responded with a goal by Steven Stamkos at 5:18 to trail 3-1, but then gave up two goals in less than a minute. David Laliberte scored at 6:24 and Mike Richards at 6:59, giving the Flyers a 5-1 lead after two. Jeff Carter scored on the power play, his second goal of the game at 8:56 of the third to make it 6-1 Philadelphia, before a Tampa Bay goal by Jeff Halpern at 14:57 made the final 6-2. The Flyers outshot the Lightning 31-28. Ray Emery had 26 saves for Philadelphia, while starter Mike Smith and former Flyers goaltender Antero Niittymaki split time in the Tampa Bay net, combining for 25 saves for the Lightning. The Flyers, 7-4-1 on the season, were 2-for-4 on the power play, Tampa Bay 0-for-2. Attendance at the Wachovia Center was 18,667.

The Air Canada Centre was the scene for a Tuesday match between the Lightning and the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs. Vinny Lecavalier's second goal of the season, a put-back of a rebound at 18:34 of the second, gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead through 40 minutes. Ian White tied it for the Leafs at 5:04 of the third with a power play goal. Then, in overtime, Ryan Malone batted the puck out of mid-air and into the net at 2:21 of the extra session, giving the Lightning their first road win of the season in six road games, 2-1. The loss was Toronto's third straight in overtime, kept them winless at home at 0-4-2, and dropped their season record to 1-7-5. The Leafs outshot Tampa Bay 41-32. Antero Niittymaki made 40 saves for the Lightning, Jonas Gustavsson had 30 stops for Toronto. Tampa Bay was 0-for-4 on the power play and 7-of-8 obn the penalty kill.

The Lightning are now 5-4-4 for 14 points, good for second place in the Southeast Division, 6 points behind leader Washington, 1 point ahead of third place Atlanta. Tampa Bay continues their week-long road swing with a 7:30 EST Thursday game at Ottawa and a 7:00 EST Saturday game at Montreal. Both games can be heard on 620 WDAE and seen on Sun Sports. The Lightning return home to host Minnesota on Thursday, November 12th and Los Angeles on Saturday, November 14th. Both games at the St. Pete Times Forum start at 7:30p.m. EST.

Monday Morning Meissnervations

Happy Monday to you, Happy Monday to you, Hap....Oh, you get the idea. :-)

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The Yankees are one win away from another World Series title. They beat the Phillies 7-4 last night, with a 3-run 9th inning. Brad Lidge was on the mound for Philadelphia with 2 outs, nobody on and an 0-2 count on Johnny Damon. Damon nipped a fould tip that the catcher couldn't handle and then, on the ninth pitch of his at bat, got a base hit. On the second pitch to Mark Teixeira, Damon swiped second, then continued onto third without stopping, when he noticed that, because the Phillies were over-shifted against Teixeira and no one was covering third. (How does a team get to the World Series, then make a little league mistake like that?) Lidge said: "It was kind of a weird play. We were kind of out of sorts." (Gee, ya think?) Alex Rodriguez hit an RBI double and Jorge Posada drilled a two-run single, Mariano Rivera closed out Philadelphia in the bottom of the ninth and it was all over.

The Yankees can wrap it up in Philadelphia tonight.

BTW: I seem to recall last night's first pitch being scheduled for 7:57, but not actually getting thrown 'til around 8:15. What the heck is up with that? You expect the time to be off by 2 to 5 minutes, that's routine. But, nearly 20 minutes? That's just disrespectful to the fans, both in the ballpark and watching on TV or listening to the radio.

Even though I live in the Eastern Time Zone, these games are on way too late for me, as well as a lot of people. (There's a great reason to move back west!) TV controls virtually everything in big-time sports. Anyone who says different is just flat-out lying.

First pitch tonight is scheduled for 7:57 once again. Anyone wanna make book on when it really gets thrown?

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Rough ride for Canada's team Saturday, losing 24-6 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Saskatchewan got little from quarterbacks Darian Durant and Steven Jyles and their scoring offense was a field goal from Luca Congi and three punt singles from Louis Sakoda. Turns out though, that the game was virtually meaningless, because BC lost to Calgary. As a result, the Riders clinched second in the West and with it, a first round home playoff game. And, a win over Calgary this Saturday, will give Saskatchewan their first division title in 33 years.

Kickoff at Mosaic Stadium this coming Saturday is 7:00p.m. EST. The live broadcast on CKRM and the Rider Radio Network begins an hour earlier. The link to listen is on the right side of this blog.

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The Oregon State Beavers made a few hearts skip a beat Saturday. They looked pretty dominant against UCLA, building a 19-3 lead 4:50 into the 4th quarter, then needed a James Rodgers 17-yard touchdown run with 44 seconds left to regain the lead that had completely disappeared, winning the game 26-19. And, to no one's surprise, the Rodgers Brothers were spectacular. Jacquizz rushed 25 times for 111 yards, caught 7 passes for 91 yards and threw a 14-yard touchdown pass. (Wildcat offense anyone? Nope, it's the "Wild Beaver!") James rushed 4 times for 17 yards and the winning touchdown, and caught 10 passes for 116 yards. Justin Kahut kicked 4 field goals and 2 PATs and Johnny Hekker punted 4 times for a 45-yard average, kicking 3 inside the 20. Sean Canfield was 25-of-34 passing for 314 yards. I never thought Derek Anderson had a chance to play in the NFL, but even though it's Cleveland, he IS there. With the numbers, including a chance to set the all-time school completion percentage record, Canfield may have a good chance to play on Sundays next year.

Beavers are in Berkeley next Saturday to play the Cal Bears. Kickoff at 7:30p.m. EST. Radio on KPAM and the Beaver Sports Network, TV on Fox Sports Net.

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Speaking of Beaver quarterbacks, Lyle Moevao's college football days may be over. After getting into just one play so far this season, after recovering from off-season rotator cuff surgury, (the same operation Canfield had a year ago) Lyle tore some ligaments (ankle, I think) in practice and is done for the year. An attempt to get a medical redshirt (or whatever it's called) will be made, so thatMoevao can play one more year, but apparently athletic department officials aren't confident it will be granted.

Moevao may not be NFL quality, but whatever he does post-college, he'll likely be successful at. He's a class guy.

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BTW: Jimmy's new word this past week is "Cookie." Garsh he's cute!











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The Tampa Bay Lightning beat Ottawa last Thursday 5-2. Steven Stamkos continued his hot play, scoring twice. He has 10 goals this season, not bad for a guy Barry Melrose labeled as not ready for the NHL last season. On Saturday, the New Jersey Devils won their second shoot out of the season in Tampa, taking the game 2-1. The Lightning are something like 0-for-13 on shoot out chances this season and have lost all three shoot out games they've played so far this season.

Lightning at Flyers tonight. Faceoff is at 5:00p.m. EST. WDAE has the radio call, Sun Sports the telecast.

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In the NFL, Brett Favre was roundly booed before the game but got the last laugh, throwing four touchdown passes in Minnesota's 38-26 win at Green Bay(But boy, did the brauts my wife grilled ever taste good!). Baltimore handed Denver their first loss of the season yesterday, winning 30-7. Indianapolis remained unbeaten with an 18-14 win over San Francisco, and Miami beat the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets 30-25 thanks to Ted Ginn, Jr. who ran back two third quarter kickoffs for touchdowns(The first player to do that since 1967), one 100 yards, the other 101.

Houston is 5-3 after a 31-10 win over Buffalo, Chicago throttled Cleveland 30-6, Dallas rolled past Seattle 38-17 and Philadelphia blasted the Giants 40-17(The Giants started 5-0, but looked horrid in losing their third straight game yesterday.

St. Louis won their first game of the season, beating Detroit (YAAAAAAAAWN) 17-10, San Diego topped Oakland (Gee, what a surprise) 24-16, Tennessee won their first game on the year, beating Jacksonville 30-13 (Yawn again) and Carolina won at Arizona 34-21.

And in Monday Night Football, Philadelphia beat Washington last week 27-17. Tonight, New Orleans will try to stay unbeaten, as they host Atlanta.

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That's it for today, Errands to run and another week of physical therapy and doctor's visits to get started. Have a great week y'all!