Patriots acquire WR Moss from Raiders

The Oakland Raiders cut ties with Randy Moss after two unproductive seasons, sending the former Pro Bowl receiver to the New England Patriots for a fourth-round draft pick.

Moss was disgruntled for most of his two seasons in Oakland, and said frequently last season he thought he'd be better off with another team. He wanted to be dealt either to New England or Green Bay and got his wish.

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If Randy has anything left, this could be a good deal for the Pariots. They need more ammunition to chase Indy in the AFC. They may have gotten it!

Bulls sweep the champs

The Chicago Bulls did something today that no NBA has done in 61 years. They swept last years NBA champs 4-0 in the first round. The last time this was done was when the Warriors were beaten by Syracuse 2-0 in the first round.

Miami didn't make it easy for the Bulls. They came out and played inspired ball by going to Shaq numerous times in the post for easy dunks. The Heat played inspired defense as well limiting the bulls to about 35% shooting and went on to take the first quarter lead 28-23

With Kirk Hinrich and Ben Wallace on the bench with two fouls each, the Bulls gained 1 point on the Heat in the second quarter despite the fact that Miami was shooting over 50% and the Bulls about 35%. Add to the fact that Deng was struggling. Posey was doing a nice job on him and Nocioni was 1-7 in the first half. Yet the Bulls hung around do to some torrid 3 pt shooting!

The third quarter, the Bulls kept plugging away at the Heat until they outscored Miami 24-16 to take a 4 point lead going into the 4th quarter. Chicago managed to get their shooting percentage above 40% with Deng and Gordon doing most of the damage.

the 4th quarter was all Bulls. They were quicker to the ball time and time again and showed they wanted the game and series much more than Miami. The last couple of minutes the Bulls made one steal after another to seal the deal.

Miami tried to use the shack-a-hack on Ben Wallace but it back fired on them. During one stretch of the 4th quarter Ben made 6 straight free throws.

Ben Gordon lead the Bulls with 24, Luol Deng added 22 and 12 rebounds and 4 steals.

Wade had 24 for Miami, 10 assists but he had 7 turnovers. Oneal had 16, Mourning 14. Posey had 18 rebounds.

Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock killed in car crash

Josh Hancock, a key member of the bullpen that helped the At Louis Cardinals win the World Series last season, was killed in a car crash early Sunday.

The Cardinals postponed their home game Sunday night against the Chicago Cubs.

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Cards continue to struggle, lose to the Cubs 8-1

Adam Wainwright went just 4 and 1/3 innings and struggled for the third straight game as the Cards lost to the Cubs 8-1. It didnt help anything by the fact that the Redbirds bats we silent once more.

Jacque Jones started off the fifth with a double to left-center field. Catcher Henry Blanco followed with an RBI double. Left fielder Chris Duncan almost made the catch, but couldn't come up with it and crashed into the wall, knocking him off his feet.

After a sacrifice bunt by the pitcher, Wainwright walked Alfonso Soriano on five pitches. Ryan Theriot came up with an RBI single, followed by an RBI double by Derrek Lee. After an intentional walk to Aramis Ramirez, Wainwright was lifted for left-handed reliever Tyler Johnson. Johnson got Floyd to hit into a fielder's choice that scored a run, and then gave up an infield single to Mark DeRosa to load the bases.

Jones, batting for the second time in the inning, tripled to clear the bases and break the game open at 7-0.

The Cardinals had just 7 hits for the game. Albert Puhols had home run #6 in the 7th inning off of Carlos Zambrano.

WP Zambrano 2-2
LP Adam Wainwright 1-2

Adam has an ERA of 9.77 the last three game he has pitched.

Marquis loves playing the Cardinals.

Jason Marquis is 3-1 for the season for the Chicago Cubs. Two of those victories has come in the last week against his old team, the St. Louis Cardinals. Marquis' Cubs defeated the Cardinals 5-3 on Friday behind home runs by Aramis Ramirez and Felix Pie.

His new team gave him plenty of run support in the fourth. Derrek Lee doubled to lead off, the first hit off Cardinals starter Anthony Reyes (0-4), and Ramirez followed with his fifth home run to go ahead, 2-1. Ramirez now has 125 home runs with the Cubs, and needs one more to tie Andy Pafko for 13 on the team's all-time list.

Two outs later, Mark DeRosa doubled and Pie belted his first homer off a 1-0 pitch from Reyes. Maybe Pie's blast can get things going for the Cubs outfielders. Going into the game, Pie, Alfonso Alfonso Soriano and Matt Murton had one home run and four RBIs combined.

The Cardinals managed 9 hits including a home run of their own by catcher Yadier Molina.

Losing pitcher was Anthony Reyes 0-4. He went 6 innings allowing 4 hits, 4 runs including the two home runs. He had 2 base-on-balls and also had 5 strike outs.

Bulls go up 3-0

The Bulls are one win from sending the defending NBA champions home for the summer.

Ben Gordon scored 27 points, Luol Deng added 24 and 11 rebounds and Chicago used a 15-2 fourth-quarter run to seize control of a 104-96 victory over the Heat in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Friday night.

Chicago started the game out controlling the tempo and continuing their hot shooting from the first game by hitting 60% from the field to take a 29-23 first quarter lead. Deng led the way while Gordon sat on the bench with two personal fouls.

The second quarter was different. At one time in the game the Bulls made 11 turnovers while Miami didn't make none. It was then that Miami made their run by taking a 52-45 halftime lead.

The game had similarities from the playoffs last year. The Bulls had a chance to go up 3-2 in the series but Miami made a comeback being lead by Wade. This game was no different. Dewayne Wade and Antoine Walker lead the charge.

The Bulls struggled through the first half of the 3rd quarter; however, by the end of the period they had managed to cut the lead to just 4 points.

The fourth quarter was all Chicago. The Bulls outscored Miami by 12 points to take the win.

Kirk Hinrich had 22 points for Chicago. The Bulls out rebounded Miami 44-33.

Miami was lead by Wade with 28, Oneal had 23 and 13 rebounds.

Cardinals Take Series Against Reds

St Louis came from 4 runs down on Thursday to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 7-5. The amazing thing about this win was the fact they did it with 15 singles and no extra base hits!

Keisler went just 3 1/3 innings allowing 6 hits and 4 runs. Two of those runs were home runs given to Ross and Phillips.

Winning pitcher was Springer 1-0 and Isringhausen with his 6th save of the season. Lohse was the losing pitcher 1-1.

Shumaker had three hits for the Cardinals while 4 additional batters had two hits each.

Pujols helps Cards defeat the Reds 5-2

Albert Pujols delivered another game winning hit in less than a week for the Cardinals as he had a game winning two-run double in the 8th inning to seal the victory for the Cards.

It didn't hurt that Looper went 7 innings for St. Louis allowing just 3 hits, 1 run and that was a home run to Hamilton in the 6th inning.

The winning pitcher was Flores 1-0. Losing pitcher was Saarloos 0-2.

Carlisle won't return as Pacers head coach

Rick Carlisle is stepping down as coach of the Indiana Pacers, team president of basketball operations Larry Bird announced Wednesday.

Bird said he and Carlisle "mutually agreed its time for him to move on ," Bird said. "It's time to close the chapter on this season and move forward. "

Carlisle echoed Bird's comments, saying he will consider an option to return to the team in a front office capacity. He also said he would like to coach again.

"I think it's time for another voice here," Carlisle said, addressing the media after Bird. "When you know it's time, you know it's time."

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Reds Beat Cards 10-3

Yesterday I mention that this game worried me. It looked like my fears materialized. The Reds destroyed the Cardinals 10-3 to make the Cardinals home record go to 1-7 in the early season.

Wells did not have his control. He pitched just 4 2/3 innings, giving up 8 earned runs.

Perhaps as a sign or an omen, the game was delayed 50 minutes due to a thunderstorm. Maybe they should have called the game all together because once the game started, it was clear that this was not to be the Cardinals day.

The Cardinals bats, once again were not to be found. This game made the 14th game in the 19 played where they scored below 4 runs.

Harang, as I had feared, mastered the Cardinals through 7 2/3 innings, giving up just 2 runs.

The Redbirds managed 10 hits. Spiezio, Molina, and Rolens all three had 2 hits each. We had no home runs.

Cincy on the other hand pounded out 17 hits. Wells gave up 9 of those hits. The Reds had 3 home runs. All off of Wells, who up until that game had allowed just 1 home run all season long. Gonzalez had two and Griffey had 1.

Harang went to 3-0 for the season while Wells fell to 1-4

Preview for Today's Game.

Arroyo 0-2 faces Looper 3-1. Arroyo has an ERA of 3.25 while Looper is at 2.08.

The game is on Fox Sports Midwest 7:10 CT.

Carpenter Begins Throwing.

Chris Carpenter threw a baseball for the first time in two weeks yesterday.

Bulls Defend Home Court, Rout the Heat

The Chicago Bulls, the team with the younger legs, hustle and even more desire routed the Miami Heat 107-89 to take a 2-0 advantage in a best of 7 series. From the outset, Miami came out with more desire and focus than they showed in game one and tried to push the issue but the Bulls hot shooting would have none of it.

Shaq scored the first points of the game when he was fouled by Wallace. The refs and the league heard Shaq complain the last couple of days so they gave him one on that one. The Bulls closed the quarter with Nocioni scoring 7 points in less than 11 seconds, including a quarter ending three. The Bulls led, 31-21 after 1.

Miami made a run in the second quarter and that was expected. I mean after all, they are the world champs. They outscored the Bulls 31-24. At one point during the comeback, Steve Kerr said, "It's nervous time for the Bulls." I begged to differ. Good teams make runs and good teams answer. The game was tied at 48-48 and the Bulls went on to take a 55-52 First half lead.

Before the second half began, Steve Kerr once again said, "It's Miami's game to win." Again, I didn't see that from what I had been watching. Kapono hurt us in the first half. He hit jumper after jumper and the Bulls had no answer for him. They came out in the second half and buried the Heat! it started with consecutive baskets by Hinrich and Brown, Miami called time. After the timeout, Wallace made back to back blocks. Deng hit jumper to make it 61-52. Wade answered with a two and Gordon scored as well. Kirk hit a 3 to make it 66-55 that was at the 8:46 mark. At that part of the game the Bulls were 7-9 in threes! They were also shooting 54% for the game.
After the time out, Brown scored for the Bulls to make it 68-55. Gordon then came back and hit a 3 and for all practical purposes the game was over. Miami managed to cut it to 9 at one time but the Bulls answered and won by 18.

The Bulls shot 55% for the game. Sixty-five percent in threes! (11-17). They out rebounded Miami 38-30.

Bulls leading scorers were:

1. Gordon 27
2. Deng 26...at one time Luol was 1-7.
3. Hinrich 14
4. Brown and Nocioni 10 each.

The Heat was lead by:

1. Wade 21
2. Shaq 17
3. Kapono, Walker, and Posey 11 each.

It is interesting to note. Gary Payton did not play for the Heat.

Game 2: Bulls Looking to go up 2-0

The Chicago Bulls take on the visiting Miami Heat in game two of the best of 7 series tonight at 8:00 PM Eastern time on TNT.

The Bulls are a confident bunch going into tonight's game, and why shouldn't they be? The took 3 or 4 regular season games against the Heat including the 108-66 shellacking they gave them on national TV in the very first game of the year.

Make no mistake about tonight's game, the Heat will come in with a different game plan. They will make adjustments and try and do things better. They will also try and control the tempo. If they are successful at doing that, it could spell trouble for the Bulls. That being said, Miami controlled the tempo of game one to a certain point, then the Bulls started to run more and increased the tempo. When they did that they outscored the Heat during one stretch 25-4! Look for the Bulls to run once more. They young legs gave Miami fits last year in the playoffs, and in 4 of the 5 games they have played this year.

We need Kirk to be on tonight. He needs to stay out of foul trouble and hit the jay when needed. When he does that, it stretches the defense. If he doesn't do that, then Miami will no doubt have an easier time in guarding Gordon and Deng.

We need Deng to continue to be aggressive. He was magnificent during game 1. The Bulls penetrated and moved the ball and that made Deng's game easier. Time after time he hit the open jumper!

Want a place to go before, during, and after the game to discuss the game? Come join us at Bulls Forum at Basketballforum.com

The Reds and Harang to Face the Wells and the Redbirds

The game is scheduled for 7:10 CT this evening. Its the 9-10 Reds at the 8-10 Cardinals. The Redbirds are 1/2 game behind Cincinnati.

I am worried about this game for a number of reasons. First Harang is 2-0 with an unspectacular ERA of just 4.37; however the Reds have enough production to possibly give the Harang another win. Another reason why I am worried about this game is the fact that the Cardinals are just 1-6 at home. So far in the young season the Cards are better on the road than they are at home, and remember this; the team has been struggling with the bat in many games so far this season. If their bats are silent tonight, then it could possibly be a loss.

On a good note, the Cardinals are going with pitcher Kip Wells. Though his record is 1-3, he has a very good ERA of 3.12. He has given up just 1 home run in 26 innings. Wells has done all that is asked of him. Its the team that has not supported him with run production. Maybe that will change tonight.

The probable lineup for tonight may be:

1. SS David Eckstein .239
2. LF Chris Duncan .323
3. 1B Albert Pujols .229
4. 3B Scott Rolen .268
5. CF Jim Edmonds .212
6. RF Preston Wilson .250
7. C Yadier Molina .213
8, 2B Adam Kennedy .204

Tyrus Thomas Highlight From Game 1

I have no doubt in my mind that when it's all said and done, Tyrus Thomas will be thought of as one of the better players to ever play the game. I say this with the idea that injuries will not cut his career short.

Almost every game since the all-star break, I could almost say that Thomas has had a spectacular play every game. The first playoff game with the Miami Heat is not exception! Enjoy!

Want to Blog Here?

Many of you are welcomed to join me. Especially those of you that know me. We can make this site one of the best on the Internet. I plan on promoting this blog heavily as time goes on.

If I don't know you leave comments and email address here and I will need a sample of your work in order to be approved.

Cardinals Bats Shine!

Going into Sundays game with the Chicago Cubs the entire St Louis Cardinal team was batting just .227 with only 10 home runs. Sunday was to be different. The Cardinals pounded out 17 hits that included 4 home runs to beat the Chicago Cubs 12-9 in 10 innings. It took a three run home run by Albert Pujols in the10th inning to seal the win.

With this win the Cards win the series 2-1 and are now 8-10, three games out of first place.

Adam Wainwright started for the Cards, but he had trouble with his curve ball and was pulled in the 6th inning after going 5 and 1/3 innings, 12 hits and 7 earned runs. He gave up 3 walks and had 7 strike outs while allowing 2 home runs.

Jason Isringhausen was the winner with Tyler Johnson getting the save.

Going into Sundays game the main part of the Cardinals lineup was just not doing the job so far!
Pujols was batting just .203, Rolen .200, Edmonds .191, Spiezio .172, Kennedy, .196! You don't win many games with that many players in a slump. So, as you can see, it was a pleasure to see the Cardinals snap out of it, even if its just for one game! These players had 12 of the Cardinals 17 hits! Including 5 by Scott Rolen!

I hope this is a glimpse of good things to come.

Bulls Up 1-0

Two words, Luol Deng. The 6-9 220 lb forward from the Sudan, showed the world why John Paxson never traded him at the trading deadline last Feb. Deng has rewarded Paxsons decision every since that day including yesterdays game against the world champion Miami Heat. Deng led the Bulls with 33 points as the Chicago Bulls defeated Miami 96-91 to go up 1-0 in the best of 7 playoff series!

Deng had some help. No doubt about it. Gordan 24 points and 11 assists. Nocioni added 17 including 2 big free throws with 19 seconds left in the game. Ben Wallace stepped up his overall game and added 14 rebounds!

This was a good win for the Bulls but make no mistake, the series is not over. Not yet. Last year the rolls were reversed. The Bulls played the Heat and Miami had the home court advantage. The Heat won in 6 games but the Bulls were harder for them to handle than the rest of the teams they faced on their way to championship! I look for this series to be emotional as well and being a Bulls fan, I hope for a different out come than the one last year.

One point to bring up is the fact that Kirk Hinrich was in foul trouble most of the game, yet the Bulls won anyway despite Kirks poor performance of just 2 points with 1-7 shooting from the field. He will not play this badly the rest of the playoffs. That has to be a plus for the games to come.

P.J. Brown the long time veteran forward that was brought to the bulls for Smith and Chandler also had a bad game. Playing just 13 minutes he had 2 points and 5 rebounds. I look for Brown to be more of a factor in future games. He was brought here for the playoffs, now its time for him to show up.

The next game is Tuesday.

A Little Bit About Myself

As the title of the blog implies, I am "Truebluefan." So the obvious question is who is Truebluefan?
I am a long time sports fan of all of the major action sports being played in the USA. It doesn't matter if its professional, college, high school or even grade school, I like all major sports.

So what's with the name Truebluefan? First off, that does not mean I love the Kentucky Wildcats. Their colors are blue and white, but I used their phrase to apply to teams that I am loyal to in real life. Two of those teams are Chicago Bulls and the St Louis Cardinals. I have followed these teams every since I was young and will always be loyal to them.

At the time of this writing I am an administrator for the Verticalscope Network. They have a network of message boards that go from basketball all the way to automobiles! If people want to talk about it, more than likely they have a message board for it! It is at these 4 message boards that I help run, I post my feeling of what is going on in the sports world. So I thought I would evolve my thoughts into a blog. It seemed the natural thing to do.

As you can tell I am not an English major! I have never claimed to be one. But I love to write. bad grammar and all. So if you can look past my English, it is my hope that you will enjoy my thoughts in the days, weeks and months ahead.

I encourage you to leave your comments. Rather you agree or disagree with me, that's fine. Opinions is what makes the world go around.

Last but not least, I welcome all of you to join me in the Verticalscope Network at the four forums I help run. The forums are listed in the link section. Look forward to seeing you there.