Olympic Preview - Rowing

Rowing can provide us with many exciting moments at the Olympics, as witness Canada's surprise, come-from-behind silver medal in the 2012 Coxed Eight final.  (In fact, they fell less than an oar's length short of the gold.)   

The medal was particularly sweet for Canada's Jeremiah Brown, who had only taken up rowing less than four years earlier.  Who could not be totally wowed by that?

full story: Click here: Canada wins silver in men's eight rowing

Name: Jeremiah (Jerry) Brown

Date of Birth: November 25, 1985 (Sagittarius)

Hometown: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Height/Weight: 6'6"/234 lbs

Sport: Rowing

--- 2012 Olympic gold medalist, Coxed Eight

Romania: Gymnast Marian Drăgulescu

One of the most resilient figures in the world of gymnastics, and in all of sports, would have to be the great Marian Drăgulescu of Romania.  Winning his first world championship in 2001, he is still going strong and just took home a silver medal from the world championships in November.  Watch for him as shoots for Olympic gold this year.

Name: Marian Drăgulescu

Date of Birth: December 18, 1980 (Sagittarius)

Hometown: Bucharest, Romania

Height/Weight: 5'4"/141 lbs

Sport: Gymnastics

--- World Championships gold medalist, Vault (2001, 2005, 2006, 2009)

--- World Championships gold medalist, Floor (2001, 2002, 2006, 2009)

--- World Championships silver medalist, Vault (2003, 2015)

--- Olympic silver medalist, Floor (2004)

Gymnastics Worlds featuring Greece's Eleftherios Petrounias

by Rexswimguy:

The FIG world championships in gymnastics finished up earlier this month, sportsfans, giving us some interesting insight.  We've gotten so used to China's dominance of this sport in recent years, that Japan's dominance at this year's championships can't help but surprise.  Oh, well, it's nice to see a more even playing field going into an Olympic year, so stay tuned.

... plus a top gymnast whose career seems to be going into overdrive as we head into an Olympic year is Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece.  He won both the European Championships and the World Championships in the Still Rings competition this year, so watch for him.

Name: Eleftherios Petrounias

Date of Birth: November 30, 1990 (Sagittarius)

Hometown: Nea Smyrni, Greece

Height/Weight: 5'5"/137 lbs

Sport: Gymnastics

--- 2015 World Championships gold medalist, Rings

--- 2015 European Championships gold medalist, Rings

Columbus Day in USA

It's Columbus Day here in USA, so think Italian.  And, we have so many great Italian divers to be thankful for too, e.g. Michele Benedetti wrapped in the flag:

Name: Michele Benedetti

Date of Birth: December 17, 1984 (Sagittarius)

Hometown: Rome, Italy

Height/Weight: 5'10"/150 lbs

MLB Update 10-10-15

Our weekend is mapped out for us, baseball fans, as we have a National League playoff doubleheader on Saturday, followed by an American League playoff doubleheader on Sunday.  Who could ask for more?

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2015 Major League Baseball - Division Series

(Eastern Time)

Saturday, October 10

5:37 PM: Chicago Cubs @ Saint Louis Cardinals, TBS

9:07 PM: New York Mets @ Los Angeles Dodgers, TBS

Sunday, October 11

4:10 PM: Kansas City Royals @ Houston Astros, MLBN

8:10 PM: Toronto Blue Jays @ Texas Rangers, FS1

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It's also an exciting time for David Wright fans, as he makes his first post-season appearance in nine (long) years this week.  His late-season comeback is a miracle in itself, after being on the disabled list for much of the season, so watch for him tonight.

Name: David Wright

Date of Birth: December 20, 1982 (Sagittarius)

Hometown: Norfolk, Virginia, USA

Height/Weight: 6'0"/206 lbs

Team: New York Mets

Position: Third Base

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

MLB Debut: July 21, 2004

 

MLB Chicago Cubs Javier Báez

Sunday Night Baseball takes us to Wrigley Field this week, where the Pirates will take on the Cubs.  Both of these teams have already clinched a post-season berth, so it could give us an interesting preview of the playoffs.

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2015 Major League Baseball - Regular Season

Sunday, September 27   (Eastern Time) 8:00 PM: 

Pittsburgh Pirates (95-60) @ Chicago Cubs (89-65), ESPN

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Tonight could also be your first opportunity to see second baseman #9 Javier Báez in action since his exciting return to the majors this month.  He can truly be a sparkplug at bat, but he's even more feared for his prowess on defense.  Do watch for him tonight.

Name: Javier Báez

Date of Birth: December 1, 1992 (Sagittarius)

Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Height/Weight: 6'0"/190 lbs

Team: Chicago Cubs

Position: Second Base

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

MLB Debut: August 5, 2014

Tools of Cardinal's Matt Carpenter vs. Pirates: Baseball Tonite

Sunday Night Baseball brings us the battle for the National League Central tonight, as the Pirates visit the Cardinals.

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2015 Major League Baseball - Regular Season

Sunday, September 6

(Eastern Time)

8:00 PM: Pittsburgh Pirates (80-54) @ Saint Louis Cardinals (87-48), ESPN

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And, the Cardinals have the top record in all of MLB, and their top slugger is #13 Matt Carpenter, who leads his team in both RBIs and home runs.  Do watch for him in action tonight.

Name: Matt Carpenter

Date of Birth: November 26, 1985 (Sagittarius)

Hometown: Galveston, Texas, USA

Height/Weight: 6'3"/200 lbs

Team: Saint Louis Cardinals

Position: Third Base

Bats/Throws: Left/Right

MLB Debut: June 4, 2011