Elon Phoenix vs. North Carolina A&T

Be sure to tune into WSOE’s broadcast of the Elon University Phoenix as they host the North Carolina A&T Aggies tomorrow at 4:00 PM at Latham Park. The game will be called by Matt Curry and Eli Kaufman. WSOE’s coverage will begin at 3:45 PM, and can be listened to at WSOE 89.3 FM and also online through the “listen live” feature. To read live blog updates from the game click on the link below.

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MLB: Red Sox reportedly sign Lackey

By Craig Filazzola, WSOE Sports Director

According to ESPN and other sources, starting pitcher John Lackey has signed with the Boston Red Sox.  This is a 5-year, $85-million deal for the 31-year-old right-hander.  Lackey took a physical for the Red Sox on Monday.   

Red Sox fan Eli Kaufman and Yankees fan Christian Binder discuss the move.

Eli Kaufman – It’s a good indication that Theo Epstein and the owners aren’t just going to sit back and not make any moves this offseason

Christian Binder –  I don’t know why they’d want to sign Lackey. Your staff is good enough already. How about filling the holes in your outfield or figuring out who’s playing the infield corners? If Mike Lowell is going away, you can only play Kevin Youkilis at one position and forget about David Ortiz playing first. You could play Victor Martinez at first, but do you really want Jason Varitek playing every day? Bigger problems than Lackey.

Eli Kaufman – Good pitching beats good hitting. The fact that we are looking at Lackey might mean we are shopping Clay Buchholz, so we might end up getting a third or first baseman.

Christian Binder – Nobody’s trading corner infielders, but you might sign Adrian Beltre (yippee). I mean, you don’t lose anything by signing Lackey, but if I were Theo, I’d try to sign Matt Holliday before Lackey or Beltre, because you know Jason Bay is as good as gone. Unless you want Josh Reddick playing left. Plus, Ellsbury is a sub-par centerfielder who is more suited in left, so in reality, you need a centerfielder.Eli Kaufman – 1. Jacoby is not subpar!!!! 2. We are going to get a corner infielder, whether its Beltre, who hit 25 homers the year before last, Adrian Gonzalez, Miguel Carbrera, or anyone. You never know with Theo. He always makes these crazy random trades

Eli Kaufman – 1. Jacoby is not subpar!!!! 2. We are going to get a corner infielder, whether its Beltre, who hit 25 homers the year before last, Adrian Gonzalez, Miguel Carbrera, or anyone. You never know with Theo. He always makes these crazy random trades

Christian Binder – 1. Yes. He’s a below-average defensive centerfielder.  2) Beltre was awful this year. Adrian Gonzalez isn’t going anywhere, and you’re crazy to think that the Tigers would even entertain the notion of trading away their best player after they traded away Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson.

Eli Kaufman – 1. Agree to disagree. Watch a highlight tape.  2. Beltre was injured this year. He didn’t play a full season. The monster will help him out a lot. He’ll be like a younger Mike Lowell, and that’s the thing, the Tigers know they need to rebuild. Although both teams claim they won’t trade certain players, we both know that they get traded all the time. 3. The Sox have to pick and choose which players they feel they can get with the money they have. We don’t have Yankee type cash. Maybe Holliday doesn’t want to come to Boston. Who knows?

Christian Binder – Haha. I’ll agree to disagree, but of course a highlight tape is going to show all the good plays! Fair enough on the rest of your points. Touché. 

Eli Kaufman – Well played sir. Well played. The Sox are so unpredictable it’s tough to really know what’s going to happen in beantown.

Contact Information:
Craig Filazzola
WSOE Sports Director
cfilazzola@elon.edu

Eli Kaufman
WSOE Sports
ekaufman@elon.edu

Christian Binder
WSOE Sports
cbinder@elon.edu

SPORTS TIME: 11/3 Show Recap

By Eli Kaufman, WSOE Sports

Sports time on Tuesdays is always an interesting experience.  Craig Filazzola, David Aneser, Matt Curry, and Russell Varner talked about the wide world of sports.  The topic of choice was the World Series, as it’s getting interesting with the New York Yankees up three games to two on the Philadelphia Phillies. The Panelists discussed both bullpens and come to the conclusion that neither bullpen has been sharp.  Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain have struggled for the Yanks, while Brad Lidge and Mike Madson have struggled for the Phillies.  Mark Texiera has clearly been having some offensive problems this series.  His numbers are way down as compared to his numbers earlier this postseason.  Chase Utley has been unstoppable, tying a man they called Mr. October, Reggie Jackson, for the most homeruns in a world series.  All three panelists picked the Yankees to win it, we’ll see as this series begins to get intense.

NFL was the next topic discussed.  Monday Night Football was interesting this week as usual.  The undefeated New Orleans Saints beat a good Atlanta Falcons team, which begs the question; will they have an undefeated season?  The Saints have a few tough games left, including a tough one at Atlanta, and a difficult game against the New England Patriots.  The Colts are the only other undefeated team in the NFL.  Possibly a potential Super Bowl matchup? We’ll see.  Brett Favre came back to Lambeau Field, with the Minnesota Vikings for the first time since leaving the Green Bay Packers. Favre was greeted with boo’s from the Lambeau crowd, but was able to carry the Vikings to the win with his four touchdown passes against a pretty good Packers defense.

Elon football traveled to Wofford to take on the Wofford Terriers.  The Terriers crushed the Phoenix last year and Elon returned the favor this year with a 34-6 crushing.   The football team will take on the struggling Western Carolina Catamounts who have a 1-7 record so far this season

The Elon basketball team beat Washington & Lee, 87-62 in an exhibition game last night.  Russell Varner joined the show and he was naturally pumped at this good showing, as he seems to have taken quite a liking to Adam Constantine who was able to contribute 17 points in the win.  The basketball team will host Greensboro College on Monday, November 9, in what will be their final exhibition game.

College Football Picks:
Army at Air Force     Russell: Air Force   David: Air Force   Craig: Air Force
LSU at Alabama     Russell: Alabama   David: Alabama   Craig: Alabama
Ohio State at Penn State   Russell: Penn State   David: Penn State   Craig: Penn State
USC at Arizona State   Russell: USC   David: USC   Craig: USC
Oklahoma at Nebraska   Russell: Nebraska   David: Oklahoma   Craig: Nebraska

NFL Picks
Arizona at Chicago     Russell: Arizona   David: Chicago   Craig: Chicago
Baltimore at Cincinnati     Russell: Baltimore   David: Baltimore   Craig: Baltimore
San Diego at New York Giants     Russell: San Diego   David: San Diego   Craig: New York
Dallas at Philadelphia     Russell: Philadelphia   David: Dallas   Craig: Philadelphia
Pittsburgh at Denver     Russell: Denver   David: Denver   Craig: Pittsburgh

Contact Information:
Eli Kaufman
WSOE Sports
ekaufman@elon.edu

SPORTS TIME: 10/27 Show Recap

By Eli Kaufman, WSOE Sports

Sports Time is always an eventful and humorous occasion, but even more so today, as Craig Filazzola, David Aneser, and Russell Varner talked sports.   Baseball was naturally the first topic discussed as the World Series starts tomorrow pitting the New York Yankees against the Philadelphia Phillies.  It should be an interesting series, as Alex Rodriguez has been knocking the cover off the ball and Pedro Martinez will start game 2 for the Phillies at Yankee Stadium.

World Series Picks:
Craig – Yankees in 5 games
David – Yankees in 6 games
Russell – Yankees in 7 games

NFL was the second topic of choice.  As we are in North Carolina, the Panthers were discussed.  After Russell announced he was at the Panthers game in which they lost to the Bills, David replied, “Did you catch any Delhomme interceptions?”  Delhomme has been struggling but one has to remember, he’s playing with a horrible team.  Other football games that were discussed was the exciting Saints vs. Dolphins game in which the Saints came from behind to win it.

The Elon Phoenix has been playing some incredible football.  They moved up to 6^th in the country from their previous spot of 7^th after a whooping of the Chattanooga Mocs this past weekend.  Kick returner and defensive back Karlos Sullivan earned defensive player of the week and Senior AJ Harris earned special teams player of the week.  The team is in position to make the playoffs and to possibly host a playoff game.

NCAA Football Picks:

West Virginia @ South Florida     Matt: South Florida   Russell: West Virginia   Craig: West Virginia

Georgia @ Florida     Matt: Florida   Russell: Florida   Craig: Florida

Texas @ Oklahoma State     Matt: Texas   Russell: Texas   Craig: Texas

USC @ Oregon     Matt: USC   Russell: USC   Craig: USC

Ole Miss @ Auburn     Matt: Auburn   Russell: Ole Miss   Craig: Auburn

NFL Picks:

New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles     Matt: Giants   Russell: Eagles   Craig: Giants

Denver Broncos @ Baltimore Ravens     Matt: Ravens   Russell: Broncos   Craig: Ravens

San Francisco 49ers @ Indianapolis Colts     Matt: Colts   Russell: Colts   Craig: Colts

Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints     Matt: Saints   Russell: Saints   Craig: Saints

Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers     Matt: Vikings   Russell: Vikings   Craig: Vikings

Join us again next Tuesday at 4:10 p.m. on the radio at 89.3 FM or here by clicking the “Listen Live” page.

Contact Information:
Eli Kaufman
WSOE Sports
ekaufman@elon.edu

NFL: Crabtree end holdout, signs with Niners

By Eli Kaufman, WSOE Sports

The San Francisco 49ers and 1^st round draft pick Michael Crabtree have finally agreed to a contract.  After holding out for the whole preseason and part of the regular season, the rookie receiver decided to accept the clubs’ six year offer early Wednesday that was similar to what was on the table in July.

Crabtree adds a lot of firepower to a pretty explosive team.  Quarterback Shaun Hill will have another weapon to utilize, on top of halfback Frank Gore, tight end Vernon Davis, and emerging halfback Glen Coffee.  This move also gives San Francisco a balanced offensive attack, as it has relied heavily on the run so far this year.

I’d expect Crabtree to get playing time in the coming weeks, and make an immediate difference.  Whether he’s making catches or not, a receiver of his caliber warrants so much attention from defenses that he’ll allow other receivers to get open.  He adds some major star power to a San Francisco team whose stock is quickly rising.

Contact Information:
Eli Kaufman
WSOE Sports
ekaufman@elon.edu

NCAA Football: Duck Hunting

By Eli Kaufman, WSOE Sports

It was an eventful first week of college football, that included upsets, injuries, close calls, and a strong right hook. Oregon University’s star halfback LeGarrette Blount was suspended for the remainder of the season after punching Boise State Linebacker Bryon Hout after Hout taunted Blount during Boise State’s postgame victory celebration.  After the incident, Blount had to be restrained by coaches, teammates, and fans, as the screaming Boise State fans yelled at Blount as he entered the locker rooms.  Blount did issue an apology after the game, but that wasn’t enough to avoid a harsh suspension.

Oregon Coach Chip Kelly commented on the punishment on blog.oregonlive.com.  “He will be on the team, he just won’t play on Saturdays,” Kelly said.  “Blount needs the team and structure and we won’t just throw him out on the street.”  This should come as good news for Blount, as he was projected to be a second round draft pick in next years NFL Draft, and NFL scouts say that Blount may still get drafted, just much later in the draft.

Oregon entered the game as the sixteenth ranked college football team in the country.  Their ranking will almost certainly go down after the disappointing loss to Boise State. Without their star running-back, it looks like The Ducks will have their hands full this season.

Contact Information:
Eli Kaufman
WSOE Sports
ekaufman@elon.edu