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You've got Charleston Southern Buccaneers to get beyond the distractions

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"You've got updates to get antwan ivey details beyond the distractions of the flyovers, the extra media, that kind of stuff, and look at it as a game. You still have to make pitches. "Lackey's first big-game lesson came during the pennant race in 2002, when he got too keyed up for a Sept. 11 start against Oakland and gave up five runs in 4 1/3 innings of a 6-5 win. "I put too much pressure on myself, I tried too hard to be too fine, and it didn't go very well," Lackey said. "I learned a lot from that game, that you have to stay to your strengths, that you can't try to do too much. "When Scioscia told him after the Angels' dramatic World Series Game 6 victory over the Giants that he would start the next day, Lackey doesn't recall being nervous. "I was excited, and I didn't want to mess it up for some of the older guys who'd been around for a while," Lackey said. "A couple guys came over and told me they were confident in me, and that made me feel more comfortable. "Does Lackey ever wonder how his career would have turned out had he gotten shelled in Game 7?"Well, the next two years were really up and down, I was still learning on the job, I'd have a good month and a down month," Lackey said "So Game 7 didn't exactly catapult me straight to success. But it definitely gave me the confidence to know I could do that. "Lackey went a combined 24-29 with a 4. 65 ERA in 2003 and 2004, seasons marked by his penchant for allowing a walk, an error, a bloop hit or a bad pitch to snowball into huge innings.

It reminded Lackey's father, Derran, of what Lackey was like at Abilene (Texas) High. "Even though John was an all-state baseball player, he did not have the demeanor to pitch in high school," said Derran Lackey, now the varsity baseball coach at Horn High in Mesquite, Texas . "He wasn't able to control his emotions, and even as a young major leaguer, it took him time to get his composure together. "He wanted everything to be perfect He was a little immature, like most kids bay buccaneers gift . He didn't understand that if someone makes a mistake, you can't do anything about it. "If you've seen Lackey react in disgust when a teammate doesn't make a play that could have been made, it's apparent he still struggles a bit in this area. But part of his maturing process was learning how to let that frustration roll off his back, which he began doing a better job of in 2005, when he went 14-5 with a 3. 44 ERA, and 2006, when he went 13-11 with a 3. 56 ERA and emerged as a staff ace. Add to that growth an expanded repertoire -- he now changes speeds on his curve to give it two looks and has added what Washburn calls a "two-seam come-backer," a pitch that, unlike his cut fastball, tails from the outside back over the plate to right-handers and from the hands of left-handers toward the plate -- and the result is a finished product in 2007. Lackey probably will get Cy Young Award votes after a season in which he was 19-9 with an AL-leading 3. 01 ERA and 179 strikeouts and 52 walks in 224 innings bay buccaneers gifts . And, good for Scioscia, two complete games. "You could see his rookie year that he had the makeup and the stuff to be one of the best in the game, but that process doesn't happen overnight -- he's worked his butt off over the years," Washburn said brown nfl . "He's getting pretty darn close to becoming the complete package. "And to think, it might never have happened if Lackey, goofing off one day in practice during his freshman year at the University of Texas Arlington, hadn't hurled a ball from the left-field line over the right-field fence. Pitching coach Ron Liggett, now an economics lecturer at the school, noticed the arm of the team's first baseman and took him over to a bullpen mound. Lackey threw 14 innings that season, hitting 90 mph in his first appearance, and after going 10-3 with a 4. 23 ERA the following season at Grayson County College, Lackey was a second-round pick of the Angels in 1999, a pitcher with low mileage and a high ceiling. The Angels loved Lackey's size and athleticism -- he was a star quarterback and power forward, as well as a power-hitting first baseman, in high school -- and it was evident Lackey, the son of a former college infielder, was a fierce competitor. "My dad always encouraged me to go out there and get after it, whatever it was," Lackey said. "We always played hoops in the driveway, and he never let me win .

We had a pingpong table growing up, and he used to wear me out I dunked on him one time when I was in high school . We started playing H-O-R-S-E after that. "Said Derran Lackey: "I was not one of those dads who would let him win. "Lackey zoomed through the minor league system, and by July 2002 he was a 24-year-old rookie pitching in a pennant race and getting his first taste of the major league lifestyle. It was that summer that Dennis Cook, a veteran reliever on the 2002 Angels, noticed Lackey's affinity for the night life and told the kid something that still resonates with Lackey. "He said do whatever you want at night, have fun," Lackey said, "but if you're going to hoot with the owls, you better get up and soar with the eagles. "That advice helped push Lackey to develop a grueling between-starts routine that has improved his endurance and a work ethic that has turned him into such a team leader that last spring training, Scioscia had Lackey address about 100 Angels minor league pitchers. Using the Tempe Diablo Stadium as his platform, Lackey was the pitching professor, the sage tutoring the kids on preparation, between-starts routines and in-game management. "It was cool that he thinks enough of me to give me the opportunity to speak to those guys," Lackey said buccaneers . "It was weird to see myself as a veteran, but we've had a lot of turnover in the clubhouse, and I'm one of the long-tenured guys here. "Knowing Lackey, he probably refused to leave the mound that day until he was finished. --mike. digiovanna buccaneers dvd . AS autumn nears and hurricanes threaten tropical cruises and resorts, many Americans turn to low-cost golf vacations and mid-priced foliage tours. In late summer and early fall, golf is unusually low-priced in several key locations, including Palm Springs. In winter, you'd pay as much as $135 per round at the Golf Resort at Indian Wells; in August and September, the same round will cost $45 midweek on the resort's East Course ( golfresortatindianwells ). Other great deals can be found in Myrtle Beach, S. C. , which has more than 100 public golf courses, said to be the largest concentration in America Go to golfholiday for a list of seasonal specials charleston southern . Among those offered in August are a $99 special that offers three rounds at various courses; and another that includes an overnight motel stay and one round of golf starting at $39. Other deals can be found in Auburn and Opelika, Ala. , which have many challenging, scenic courses, for which you'll pay $129 for three days of unlimited golf ( rtjgolf ). These are part of the popular Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, laid out by the famous master of courses and considered one of his greatest achievements. Starting Oct.

15, a similar bargain can be found at John Jacobs' Golf School at the Painted Mountain Golf Resort in Mesa, Ariz ( jacobsgolf ) . As little as $845 will buy you three nights' lodging, meals, two cocktail parties and five hours of instruction per day for three days. Throughout autumn, if you're willing to wait until the day before or the morning of play to book your tee times, you can save up to 60% on greens fees by using such websites as teetimeamerica or lastminutegolfer . In a recent scan of these sites, an associate found courses in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. , that usually charge $139 with rates of $43; $77 greens fees in Charlotte, N. C. , selling for $54; and $65 greens fees in the Seattle area marked down to $35. New England fall foliage tours -- in your own car or a rental -- are another popular seasonal trip for Americans charleston southern basketball . For budget accommodations, try using bed-and-breakfast rooms in private homes listed at bedand-breakfast , CraigsList or the tourist offices of the areas you plan to visit. How can you determine when the foliage will be at its peak? Traditionally, the best time for Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont is the last week in September and the first two weeks in October charleston southern football . If you're planning on visiting Massachusetts, upstate New York, Connecticut or Rhode Island, the time right around Columbus Day is usually prime. Don't forget that the colors will be changing in other areas too charleston southern football schedule . Aspen, Colo. , sees a big dip in tourism in the fall but gets stunning colors. There are also fine colors near Traverse City, Mich. , and in Asheville, N. C. . DENVER -- Matt Holliday was on his back, staring into an October sky the likes of which he had never seen. For the first time in 12 seasons, the Colorado Rockies were headed to the playoffs. While a bloody and dazed Holliday recovered from a home-plate collision that resulted in the deciding run of the Rockies' 9-8 victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night, his teammates were down the first-base line leaping into each other's arms, celebrating the 13-inning triumph in a one-game playoff for the National League wild card. The Rockies moved on to a divisional series that starts Wednesday in Philadelphia, thanks to a comeback that was as improbable as the furious season-ending surge in which they won 14 of their last 15 games. Put at a two-run deficit by a home run from San Diego's Scott Hairston in the 13th, the Rockies started the bottom of inning with three consecutive extra-base hits off Padres closer Trevor Hoffman.

Among them was a triple off the top of the right-field wall by Holliday that scored Troy Tulowitzki and tied the score, 8-8. Two batters later, Jamey Carroll flied out to right field and Holliday was on his way home. "I just reacted," Holliday said Charleston Southern Buccaneers - athleticsite . "I didn't think about it. "Trying to outrun a throw by Brian Giles, Holliday dived into home plate, which Padres catcher Michael Barrett was trying to block with his leg charleston southern soccer . The man whose plate appearances elicited chants of "M-V-P!" from the full house of 48,404 fans admitted to not knowing if he ever touched the plate Charleston Southern Buccaneers - csusports . "To be honest, I don't remember it," said Holliday, who was cut on his chin and left hand charleston southern sports . "I was dazed. "The moment that Holliday couldn't recall was the moment the Rockies had long waited for, the moment they sacrificed entire seasons to reach. But it was possible only because the Padres lost the last two games on their schedule to make the playoff necessary. The Padres didn't hold back Monday, throwing presumptive Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy, only for him to give up six runs and 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings charleston southern univ . He allowed two home runs, to Yorvit Torrealba and Todd Helton Charleston Southern Buccaneers . The Padres trailed only 6-5 at the time of Peavy's exit because of a five-run fifth that included a grand slam by Adrian Gonzalez. Charleston Southern Buccaneers tickets The Padres tied the score in the eighth on a double by Giles that Holliday appeared to misjudge in left. The hit drove in Geoff Blum. A controversial call in the seventh deprived the Rockies of the separation that could have spared them extra innings, as a line drive by Garrett Atkins either hit the top of the left-field fence or barely cleared it.