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Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (68) Democrats Secure 60 Votes for Cloture
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
He'll play Djokovic for Masters Cup
Published on Sunday, Nov 16, 2008
From Beacon Journal wire services
With everyone tired and aching after a long season, Nikolay Davydenko might be at his best. He knows how to take advantage of a weary opponent.
The Russian reached the Masters Cup final with a 7-5, 6-2 victory Saturday in Shanghai, China, over Andy Murray, who seemed exhausted from his upset of Roger Federer a day earlier.
''Murray was very tired,'' Davydenko said, adding that the Scotsman looked as if he were ready ''to die.''
Davydenko will play for the title today against Novak Djokovic, who earlier rallied to oust France's Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Now, Davydenko gets another opponent who is less than fresh — Djokovic needed nearly three hours to defeat Simon.
Murray went all out against Federer, even though he already had clinched a spot in the semis. He added that he gave 100 percent against Davydenko, but getting to bed at 2:30 a.m. after defeating Federer didn't leave much left in his tank.
''I beat probably the best player of all time,'' Murray said. ''I have no regrets about doing that. To beat him . . . means a similar amount to winning a tournament like this. Ideally, I would have liked to have beaten him easier . . . and given myself a slightly better chance to prepare for this match.''
Murray often looked as if he were trudging through mud. He had only seven winners to 33 for Davydenko, who last played on Thursday, giving him plenty of time to recover.
''I don't want to try to make excuses,'' Murray said. ''He played much better than me. I did the best that I could with what I had. My legs just weren't like they were in the rest of the matches. I wasn't getting the balls . . . that I usually do.''
The final will be a rematch of a round-robin match this week, when Djokovic edged Davydenko in a 7-5 third set. Despite consistently being ranked in the top five, Davydenko has never reached a Grand Slam final. He's been to the Masters three times before, with his best showing a semifinals loss in 2005.
Golf: Sorenstam gains ground
• Annika Sorenstam made up 5 strokes on leader Angela Stanford in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, shooting a 5-under 67 to cut her deficit to just a stroke with one round left in Guadalajara, Mexico. Making her second-to-last start before leaving the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam eagled the par-5 10th and added six birdies. Stanford followed opening rounds of 68 and 66 with a 72. Australia's Katherine Hull (66) was 2 strokes behind.
• Chapchai Nirat of Thailand took a 2-stroke lead at the Singapore Open, which was called because of darkness before roughly half the players could finish the third round in Singapore. Nirat had three birdies and an eagle in 12 holes to move to 9 under, 2 strokes ahead of Simon Dyson of England, Thomas Bjorn of Denmark and Lam Chih Bing of Singapore. American Phil Mickelson shot 4 under through 14 holes, putting him 4 strokes behind the leader. Ireland's Padraig Harrington shot a 5-under 66, also leaving him 4 shots behind with Ernie Els, Rory McIlroy and Jeev Milkha Singh.
• Erik Compton, playing six months after a second heart transplant, failed to advance by 1 shot in the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying after he closed with a 1-over 73 in Brooksville, Fla. Compton was tied for 13th going into the final round at Southern Hills Plantation Club, but had two bogeys in the opening three holes and never quite caught up. Only the top 20 and ties advance to the final stage of Q-school next month in California. Todd Demsey, who returned to the PGA Tour this year after surgery to remove a golf ball-sized tumor from his brain, closed with a 68 to share medalist honors with Camilo Benedetti at 13-under 275.
Other: Vonn wins opening slalom
• American Lindsey Vonn picked up where she left off last season, winning the World Cup slalom opener in Levi, Finland. Vonn, who won her first overall World Cup title last season, had a combined time of 1:47.98 on Levi's Black Course. Vonn led Nicole Hosp of Austria by 0.22 seconds after the first run and ended up beating runner-up Maria Pietilae-Holmner of Sweden by 0.40.
• American swimmer Peter Marshall broke his own world record in the 100-meter backstroke on the first day of the short-course World Cup meet in Berlin. Marshall clocked 49.64 seconds, 0.30 faster than the record he set earlier in the week in Stockholm — where he also broke the 50 backstroke record.
• SCP Auctions bought a full Babe Ruth 1938 Brooklyn Dodgers road uniform for $310,500 at auction at the Louisville Slugger Museum. SCP Auctions said that the uniform, the last professional uniform worn by Ruth, was purchased on behalf of a client who is an avid collector of Ruth memorabilia. Ruth was a first-base coach for the Dodgers during the 1938 season, his final season in baseball.
• Henry Burris helped the Calgary Stampeders advance to the Grey Cup, throwing for 236 yards and a touchdown and running for another score in the a 22-18 win over the visiting British Columbia Lions in the CFL's West final. The Stampeders, in the Grey Cup for the first time since winning the 2001 title, will meet host Montreal on Nov. 23. The Alouettes beat Edmonton 36-26 in the East final. Former Ohio State player Ken-yon Rambo had a 22-yard touchdown catch for the Stampeders.
From Beacon Journal wire services
Get the full article here.
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