4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2006
>> NFL
JAMES A. FINLEY/ASSOCIATED PRES
Denver Broncos starting quarterback Jack Plummer changes the play at the line of scrimmage on the STL. Rams defense in the second quarter of an NFL football game Sunday in St. Louis. Plumer maintains that his struggles in the game were temporary, and he will be ready on Sunday.
Plummer struggles in opener
BY ARNIE STAPLETON ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — Jake Plummer insists it's not time to dust off the old "Jake the Snake" moniker.
Denver's quarterback said he hasn't reverted to his old reckless ways even though he had four turnovers in the Broncos' season-opening loss at St. Louis.
He threw just seven interceptions last season, when he led the Broncos to the cusp of the Super Bowl, so he understands why people might think he's going backward now.
"For one game, if I did (revert), then I guess it is a fair assessment," said Plummer, who threw three interceptions and also lost a fumble
in the 18-10 loss.
Plummer called it an aberration, not a digression.
"I'm going to bounce back," he pledged. "I've bounced back from worse games than that. I feel the two throws that I made on the move, I could make better throws. I've made those plays a hundred times. But that's just the pressure I've got to put on myself to make a more accurate throw, to make those plays."
Plummer needn't worry about losing the locker room. His teammates have his back.
"I haven't lost any confidence in Jake," safety Nick Ferguson said, echoing the sentiment in all corners. "Being a Bronco quarterback comes with a lot of scrutiny. There is more
pressure. Jake has been there before.
He's bounced back before and will
bounce back again."
Even cornerback Ty Law of the Kansas City Chiefs, who visit Invesco Field on Sunday, came to Plummer's defense, saying: "You can't blame Jake for everything that happened. Sometimes you just get bad breaks."
Or have poor protection or your receiver mistimes his jump.
Still, Plummer threw off is back foot on his first interception, overthrew a wide open receiver on his second one and inexplicably threw into heavy coverage on his third, negating all the good things Denver's defense did in holding the Rams out of the end zone on five trips inside the 20.
A nearly perfect day
》 MLB
ASSOCIATED PRESS
White Sox 9, Angels 0
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Freddy Garcia pitched perfect ball until Adam Kennedy singled with two outs in the eighth inning, and the White Sox defeated the Angels. Garcia (14-9) retired the first 23 batters before Kennedy cleanly lined the 100th pitch to center field on a 3-2 count.
Garcia came close to the first perfect game in the majors since Randy Johnson did it for Arizona at Atlanta on May 18, 2004. There have been only 14 regular-season perfect games in the majors since 1900.
The White Sox moved within 1 1/2 games of Minnesota for the AL wild card race. The Angels began the day on the fringe of the AL West and wild card chases.
In control the whole way, Garcia (14-9) struck out three and walked none in eight innings. Neal Cotts pitched a perfect ninth to complete the one-hitter.
Pirates 2, Brewers 1, 2nd game
Pirates 2, Brewers 1, 2nd game
PITTSBURGH — Ben Sheets took a perfect-game bid into the seventh inning before Chris Duffy led off with a single, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Wednesday to split a doubleheader.
In the opener, Freddy Sanchez got three hits and Ian Snell struck out 10 as Pittsburgh won 6-3. Sheets (5-6) gave up two hits and struck out 10 in eight innings. He did not walk a batter. One pitch after Duffy singled, Sheets picked him off first base.
Geoff Jenkins and Prince Fielder homered as the Brewers won for only the second time in their last seven games and fourth time in their last 19. Ryan Doumit homered in the Pirates' eighth.
Twins 1, Athletics 0
MINNEAPOLIS — Rookie Francisco Liriano's highly anticipated return to the Minnesota rotation came to a sudden halt because of elbow problems Wednesday. Dan Haren pitched eight shutout innings, leading the Oakland Athletics over the Twins 1-0.
Pitching for the first time in more than a month, Liriano slumped off the mound in the middle of the third inning. Trainers and manager Ron Gardenhire immediately Rushed out to attend to the All-Star lefty and a hush fell over the crowd.
Matt Garza (1-5) pitched well in emergency relief, but he was out dueled by Haren (14-11). Huston Street picked up his 32nd save.
The Twins, leading the AL wild-card race, announced later that he had pain in his left elbow.
ATLANTA - Left fielder Matt Diaz missed David Dellucci's line drive in the eighth inning, allowing two runs to score as the Phillies rallied from an early five-run deficit to beat Atlanta in the first game of a doubleheader.
SEATTLE — Gregg Zaun hit a grand slam during a nine-run fourth inning and also had a solo home run, leading A.J. Burnett and the Blue Jays over the Mariners.
Blue Jays 10, Mariners 0
John Hattig, who last month became the first player from Guam in the major leagues, hit a three-run double for his first career RBIs.
Toronto took two of three at Safeco Field and won a season series at Seattle for the first time since May 2001.
The Phillies began the day two games behind San Diego in the NL wild-card race.
Cha Seung Baek (3-1) allowed five runs on seven hits in 3 1-3 innings.
Burnett (8-7) allowed six hits in eight innings. He struck out a season-high 11, walked two and hit a batter.
Zaun matched career highs with five RBIs in a game and 11 home runs in a season.
The Braves led 5-0 after two innings. Despite Gold Glove center fielder Andruw Jones robbing Ryan Howard of an early grand slam, the Phillies came back with three runs in the third and three in the eighth. The Braves committed two errors in the eighth, allowing two unearned runs.
Phillies 6. Braves 5. 1st Game
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NFL
League clarifies rules on sliding
Green sustained a serious concussion last Sunday after a hit by Geathers and will miss at least two or three games.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The NFL absolved Cincinnati defensive end Robert Geathers on Wednesday for his hit on Kansas City quarterback Trent Green, emphasizing quarterbacks are responsible for avoiding hits by sliding.
"The injury was unfortunate and has drawn much commentary, but it is not a foul," Ray Anderson, the NFL's senior vice president, said in a statement.
Anderson said a review of the play in Kansas City showed Green started "a late slide" as Geathers prepared to tackle him. At the same time, Geathers was blocked in the back by a Chiefs player, was no longer in control of his body and twisted to avoid driving his helmet into Green or hitting him helmet-to-helmet.
Since the hit, the Cincinnati Bengals lineman has been put in an uncomfortable position, watching all the replays and explaining why the play turned out that way.
Geathers' right shoulder, however, hit Green's shoulder and drove Green's head into the ground.
"it couldn't have done anything different," he said Wednesday, choosing his words carefully and sparingly.
That one shoulder-down hit has become the signature moment of Geathers' brief career.
A fourth-round draft pick from Georgia in 2004, Geathers lost his starting job this season and was relegated to rushing the passer — what he does best. He had six tackles and a pair of sacks Sunday, overshadowed by one play.
In a memo sent to all 32 teams Anderson said: "On sliding quarterback plays, the responsibility of defenders is to avoid a sliding quarterback while the responsibility of the quarterback is to use the protection properly. This rule will continue to be strictly enforced, and violations are likely to result in disciplinary action."
He cited a play in the Seattle-Detroit game as an example of an illegal hit. In that case, Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck broke out of the pocket and began a slide. Lions rookie linebacker Ernie Sims, who had the opportunity to avoid contact, drove his helmet into Hasselbeck while another defender, Cory Redding, jumped over the quarterback.
Anderson said quarterbacks who want to take advantage of the protection of a slide must start it before the prospect of imminent contact.
Sims drew a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. Anderson said the play is being reviewed for a possible fine.