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	<title>Sports &#187; Eric Dodds &#124; TIME.com</title>
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	<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com</link>
	<description>Where sports is on the mind</description>
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		<title>Sports &#187; Eric Dodds &#124; TIME.com</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com</link>
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		<title>Why Rafael Nadal Will Win the French Open (In Case It Wasn&#8217;t Otherwise Obvious)</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/05/23/why-rafael-nadal-will-win-the-french-open-in-case-it-wasnt-otherwise-obvious/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/05/23/why-rafael-nadal-will-win-the-french-open-in-case-it-wasnt-otherwise-obvious/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 10:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Tennis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andy Murray]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Ferrer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[French Open]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Juan Martin Del Potro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[novak djokovic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pete Sampras]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rafael Nadal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roger Federer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roland Garros]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2346381</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I spent parts of two summers working at the French Open during the height of Rafael Nadal&#8217;s first Roland Garros reign in 2007 and 2008. Both years, before even the first match was played, anyone who&#8217;d been at the previous French Open knew who was going to walk away with the men&#8217;s title. The running joke was how long it would take for people to start talking themselves into Roger Federer as a potential threat to Nadal&#8217;s crown. At the time, Federer was the best tennis player in the world and at the peak of his run to set a new all-time record for Grand Slam titles. But for anyone who watched the two play their early-round matches on Paris&#8216; fabled red clay, the discussion was a nonstarter. Rafa beat Roger in four sets in the 2007 final and dominated him at the same stage in straight sets the following year (they also contested the 2006 final, which Nadal took in four). Nadal was the king of clay, the Rajah of Roland Garros. Those monikers still remain appropriate today. Simply put, there is no justifiable reason for anyone to pick a men&#8217;s tennis player other than the 26-year-old Nadal (he&#8217;ll turn 27 during the Grand Slam) to win the 2013 French Open, which begins this Sunday in Paris. Any alternative narrative evaporated when Nadal dispatched longtime foe Federer 6-1, 6-3 in a tidy 69 minutes to win the Rome Masters 1000 title last Sunday. It&#8217;s possible that Rafa has slipped to the backs of sports fans&#8217; minds since he hasn&#8217;t participated in — let alone won — a Grand Slam event since falling in the second round at Wimbledon a year ago, but there&#8217;s little question that he&#8217;ll once again be the primary concern of every player on tour come Sunday. (MORE: The Return of Rafa: What Nadal’s Recovery Means for Men’s Tennis) Since returning from injury in February, Nadal holds the best record in men&#8217;s tennis at an imposing 36-2. One of those losses came in the finals of his<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2346381&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Tennis</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/tennis-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/nadal-french-cropped.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">2012 French Open - Day Sixteen</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">edodds19</media:title>
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		<title>The Decline of Doc: Is the End Near for Roy Halladay?</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/05/08/the-decline-of-doc-is-the-end-near-for-roy-halladay/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/05/08/the-decline-of-doc-is-the-end-near-for-roy-halladay/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2013 09:00:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Philadelphia Phillies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Randy Johnson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roy Halladay]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2346139</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For the last decade, Roy Halladay has been—with little question—the best pitcher in all of baseball. Sure, there have been other challengers to his dominance: Johan Santana, Tim Lincecum and Justin Verlander, to name a few. But since 2003, none has been able to match Halladay&#8217;s durability, consistency and longevity. Those days, however, certainly appear to be at an end. As early as last season, something seemed wrong with Doc Halladay, who&#8217;s a few days short of 36. Coming off his greatest statistical season yet in 2011 (2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 6.29 strikeout-to-walk ratio and an 8.9 WAR over 233 innings for the Phillies), he stumbled for the first time since his forgettable 2004 campaign in Toronto. He failed to crack 220 innings pitched—a feat he&#8217;d accomplished every year since 2006—and managed just a 0.9 WAR. Much of the blame was placed on his injured right shoulder, which landed him on the disabled list for nearly two months and limited him to only 156 innings on the mound. (MORE: The Final 42: Looking Back At Mariano Rivera’s Phenomenal Career) His struggles this spring, however, have changed the narrative. Halladay allowed five or more earned runs in his first seven starts, and in each one of them failed to get past the fourth inning. He&#8217;s surrendered nine home runs in those seven starts—the second-most in the National League and a highly uncharacteristic development for a pitcher who ranks 10th in home runs allowed per nine innings among all active pitchers. The two mile-per-hour drop in at-bat-ending fastballs that arrived in 2012 hasn&#8217;t reversed itself. Diagnoses of &#8220;shoulder injury&#8221; have turned to lamentations of &#8220;shoulder fatigue,&#8221; and with them increasingly persistent questions of whether Doc&#8217;s arm has any juice left in it. Following his abysmal performance against the lowly Marlins on May 5 (2.1 IP, 4 H, 9 ER, 4 BB, 4 K), Halladay is back on the disabled list, this time with &#8220;shoulder inflammation,&#8221; which, just as often as not, is code for &#8220;he&#8217;s hurt and not performing, but we&#8217;re not quite<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2346139&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Baseball</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/baseball-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/roy-halladay-cropped.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Philadelphia Phillies v Cleveland Indians</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">edodds19</media:title>
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		<title>Cano Joins Jay-Z: Does Scott Boras Have A Yankees Problem?</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/04/03/cano-joins-jay-z-does-scott-boras-have-a-yankees-problem/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/04/03/cano-joins-jay-z-does-scott-boras-have-a-yankees-problem/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:30:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2345414</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For nearly three decades, the New York Yankees and baseball super-agent Scott Boras have enjoyed a mutually beneficial—and lucrative—relationship. Boras represented players who stood to earn the sport&#8217;s largest contracts and the Yankees had the most money to spend. It was a perfect match. In 1991, Boras scored what was then the largest-ever signing bonus ($1.55 million) for his client, Brien Taylor. That was only the beginning. Bernie Williams, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano all negotiated contracts with the Yankees through Boras. In recent years, however, the cracks have begun to show. The first came when Rodriguez dropped Boras near the end of the 2010 season, saying: &#8220;Some of the things I needed 20 years ago, I don&#8217;t really need right now.&#8221; Next was Teixeira just six months later—and fewer than three years removed from the eight-year, $180 million contract Boras had negotiated for the all-star first baseman. Now, Cano has jumped ship to join Roc Nation Sports, a new agency founded by Jay-Z (and affiliated with Creative Artist Agency&#8217;s sports division). Cano will serve as the centerpiece for the fledgling agency and, more importantly, is eligible for free agency at the conclusion of the 2013 season. As Grantland&#8217;s Jonah Keri points out, the 30-year-old second baseman is by far the most attractive prospective free agent and is likely to command an annual salary well above $15 million due to him in 2013. (MORE: 2013 Baseball Preview: Do the Yankees, Red Sox or Phillies Have Any Chance?) Much has been made of the new Cano/Jay-Z partnership and what it means for the Yankees&#8217; chances of signing the four-time all-star (Jay-Z is friends with Rodriguez and a lifelong Yankees fan), but the more intriguing question is what the move means for Boras. While it certainly isn&#8217;t a good sign that so many of his New York clients have left him, it&#8217;s not quite as disconcerting for baseball&#8217;s most notorious agent as it would have been even five years ago. First, though his stable certainly isn&#8217;t what it once<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2345414&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/04/03/cano-joins-jay-z-does-scott-boras-have-a-yankees-problem/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Baseball</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/baseball-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/cano-model-cropped.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Victoria&#039;s Secret Celebrates Opening Day &#38; The New MLB Pink Collection</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">edodds19</media:title>
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		<title>How Will Tim McCarver Be Remembered?</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/28/tim-mccarver-to-step-down-after-2013-season/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/28/tim-mccarver-to-step-down-after-2013-season/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Mar 2013 09:45:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Keeping Score]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports Media]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2345271</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When a Hall of Fame broadcaster who analyzed more World Series than anyone in history left his post, you might expect some sorrow. That does not appear to be the case for Tim McCarver. The much-maligned color commentator announced yesterday that he would be stepping down from the booth after 18 seasons with Fox Sports. Though he hasn&#8217;t ruled out a return to broadcasting, McCarver said &#8220;it&#8217;s time to cut back.&#8221; For many fans, his departure from baseball&#8217;s most prominent commentating position is a welcome one. McCarver made his move to the booth in 1978 after a 21-year playing career, most of it with St. Louis and Philadelphia. Though he called games for the Phillies, Mets, Yankees and Giants over the course of his broadcast career, he was best known for his role on the national stage, most of which he spent alongside play-by-play announcer Joe Buck. For the most part, especially in recent years, it&#8217;s been a role that has earned him substantial criticisms for a variety of gaffes. In addition to a handful of incidences where he mispronounced players&#8217; names—sometimes repeatedly—he also miscounted the number of letters in the word &#8220;strike&#8221; and seemed to believe that San Francisco Giants fans used to chant &#8220;Barry! Barry! Barry!&#8221; for singer Barry Manilow, rather than slugger Barry Bonds. The first miscue took place during the 2011 World Series, while the latter occurred during last year&#8217;s Fall Classic. By all accounts, they were not isolated incidents. Despite the criticism heaped upon McCarver, his enthusiasm for the game was undeniable, as were his accomplishments: 23 World Series broadcasts, 20 All-Star Game broadcasts and the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award. Now we&#8217;ll find out whether those accolades—or public perception—will define his legacy.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2345271&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Sports Media</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/sports-media/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/mccarver-buck-cropped.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Nike FuelBand Event</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/4c12eab4188a8601a13981ffbc62efa0?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">edodds19</media:title>
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		<title>The Return of Rafa: What Nadal&#8217;s Recovery Means for Men&#8217;s Tennis</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/19/the-return-of-rafa-what-nadals-recovery-means-for-mens-tennis/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/19/the-return-of-rafa-what-nadals-recovery-means-for-mens-tennis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:00:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Tennis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[French Open]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rafael Nadal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roland Garros]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2345062</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There are few certainties in the sports world: gold medals for Usain Bolt, a few good upsets in the NCAA tournament, endless discussion of all things Tim Tebow. And Rafael Nadal winning the French Open as long as he&#8217;s healthy. Nadal has seven French Open titles and is 52-1 lifetime at Roland Garros, his lone loss coming in the fourth round of the 2009 tournament against Robin Soderling while struggling with knee ailments that have followed him for much of his career. His dominance on clay—especially on the outskirts of Paris—is undisputed and historic. In the 12 years since he turned pro in 2001, the Spaniard has lost only 20 matches on clay, while winning 266 (a .930 winning percentage). As recently as late January, however, there were doubts about whether Nadal would successfully defend—or even attempt to defend—his 2012 title at Roland Garros. The 26-year-old pro had not played a professional match since losing in the second round at Wimbledon nearly six months earlier. First it was the ever-troublesome knees, then a stomach bug knocked him out of the Australian Open in mid-January. Nadal fell out of the top four in the ATP rankings for the first time since 2005 (the same year he won his first French Open title). Pundits began to wonder aloud whether this was the beginning of the end for the &#8220;King of Clay.&#8221; (MORE: Andy Murray Takes U.S. Open, Notches Another Win for Great Britain) But then he got back on the court. After losing in the finals of his first tournament of the 2013 season, Nadal has won 14 consecutive matches and three titles. The first two titles came on clay (the latter of which was capped by a commanding 6-0, 6-2 win over fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, who had taken Nadal&#8217;s place in the top four), but the third—last weekend&#8217;s ATP World Tour Masters 1000 at Indian Wells, Calif.— marked his first hard court tournament win in nearly two years. On his way to the million dollar purse, Nadal defeated Tomas Berdych,<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2345062&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Tennis</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/tennis-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/nadal-cropped.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">2013 BNP Paribas Open - Men&#039;s Final</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">edodds19</media:title>
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		<title>Here&#8217;s the Best Alley-Oop of the NBA Season</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/11/heres-the-best-alley-oop-of-the-nba-season/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/03/11/heres-the-best-alley-oop-of-the-nba-season/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:54:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Basketball]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2344967</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last night, during the second quarter of the Clippers&#8217; dominant 129-97 victory over the Pistons, point guard Chris Paul lobbed a pass to DeAndre Jordan, who promptly dunked the ball over and through the outstretched arms of Detroit&#8217;s Brandon Knight. And in case you were worried about degree of difficulty (after all, Jordan is 6&#8242; 11&#8243; while Knight stands just 6&#8242; 3&#8243;), the Clippers center is left-handed, but used his right to dunk the ball. The news isn&#8217;t all bad for Knight though—he was able to have a little fun with his posterization after the game, tweeting: &#8220;It wasn&#8217;t in the scouting reports that the clippers threw lobs lol.&#8221; All right, enough talk. Just watch the season&#8217;s best alley-oop. (via Deadspin)<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2344967&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Basketball</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/basketball-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/deandre-jordan-cropped.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Detroit Pistons v Los Angeles Clippers</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">edodds19</media:title>
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		<title>Combine Collapse: More Trouble for Manti Te&#8217;o</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/02/27/combine-collapse-more-trouble-for-manti-teo/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/02/27/combine-collapse-more-trouble-for-manti-teo/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:00:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2344788</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As you may have heard by now, former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te&#8217;o had a rough go of it at the NFL scouting combine on Monday. He ran a slower-than-expected 4.82 in the 40-yard dash and weighed in at just 241 pounds (after being listed at 255 during his senior season in South Bend). While NFL coaches and general manages might have been willing to forgive one of the two, they&#8217;re less likely to feel enthused about a prospect who is both slower and smaller than they had initially believed. Just ask John Harbaugh. The disappointing combine performance marks the latest setback in Te&#8217;o's 2013 draft preparation. After a stellar senior season in which he led the Fighting Irish to the BCS title game, Te&#8217;o has done little to establish himself as a top-flight linebacker. First, he underwhelmed in the national championship game on Jan. 7 against Alabama—a game that Notre Dame lost 42-14, in no small part due to a lackluster performance on defense. Later that month, scandal broke when it was revealed that Te&#8217;o was embroiled in an elaborate hoax involving his much-publicized dead girlfriend—who ultimately proved to be neither dead nor real in the first place. (MORE: Seven Recent Revelations in the Te’o-Kekua Fiasco) These incidents, while certainly not Te&#8217;o's finest moments, did little to diminish his standing as one of the draft&#8217;s top defensive players. As of three weeks ago, ESPN&#8217;s Mel Kiper Jr. had Te&#8217;o going in the first round at No. 13 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kiper wasn&#8217;t alone in his assessment. NFL talent evaluators seemed inclined to dismiss Te&#8217;o's January lapses as isolated incidents, but in a league that increasingly relies on hard data to make personnel decisions, Monday&#8217;s results could prove damning to Te&#8217;o's first-round hopes. Of course, it&#8217;s still too early to say just how far the reigning Heisman trophy runner-up will fall in April&#8217;s draft. Notre Dame&#8217;s pro day is a month away (March 26), so Te&#8217;o will have ample time to add at least a little heft and speed. If he<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2344788&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">2013 NFL Combine</media:title>
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		<title>Stats vs. Team Spirit: The Importance of the Justin Upton Trade</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/02/20/stats-vs-team-spirit-the-importance-of-the-justin-upton-trade/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/02/20/stats-vs-team-spirit-the-importance-of-the-justin-upton-trade/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:06:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2344653</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When Chipper Jones retired at the end of the 2012 season, it was expected that the large leadership void he left behind in the Atlanta Braves clubhouse would be filled by popular seven-year veteran Martin Prado. On Jan. 24, the Braves traded Prado and four prospects to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for all-star outfielder Justin Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson. By nearly all accounts, the Braves GM Frank Wren had scored a coup, acquiring one of the game&#8217;s brightest young stars for only nickels on the dollar. But then some old doubts began to creep in. Every baseball season—and for that matter, offseason—the inexplicable debate over the comparative worth of statistics and intangibles rages on. Despite substantial evidence to support the value of advanced metrics like WAR, UZR and VORP, the so-called &#8220;Old Guard&#8221; of baseball thinkers continues its quest to belittle &#8220;new&#8221; stats and those who endorse them. In recent years, the vitriol has subsided somewhat but the underlying question of the debate remains the same: Are the numbers more important than intangibles and chemistry? (MORE: Details Emerge of Girlfriend Murder Case Against ‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius) The Braves certainly hope so. Even if this trade doesn&#8217;t shape the entire course of the baseball season, it—more than any other this offseason—will serve as the latest referendum on a familiar argument. Though Prado was beloved in the clubhouse and put together a solid 2012 campaign (5.4 WAR, or &#8220;wins above replacement&#8221;—a measure of how many more wins an individual player contributes over a minor-leaguer), there&#8217;s little question that Upton is the superior talent. The first overall pick in the 2005 amateur draft, Upton had his best season in 2011 when he hit .289 with 31 home runs and compiled a 5.7 WAR. His 2012 campaign was less remarkable (due in part to a nagging thumb injury sustained in April), but Upton is only 25 and only beginning to enter his prime, whereas Prado, at 29, is likely most of the way through his. Then there are those other numbers—the<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2344653&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">Colorado Rockies v Arizona Diamondbacks</media:title>
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		<title>In Tennis, Are Injury Timeouts Just Cheating?</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/01/25/in-tennis-are-injury-timeouts-just-cheating/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/01/25/in-tennis-are-injury-timeouts-just-cheating/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:43:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Tennis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Australian Open]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patrick McEnroe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sloane Stephens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Victoria Azarenka]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2344036</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;It&#8217;s horrendous for our sport and for our game.&#8221; Those were the harsh words that former U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe had for tennis&#8216; injury timeout rules in the wake of Victoria Azarenka&#8217;s semifinal victory over American upstart Sloane Stephens at the Australian Open. After winning the opening set of the match 6-1, Azarenka held a 5-3 lead and was serving for the match. Then, quite simply, she choked. Repeatedly. Five squandered match points later, Stephens had narrowed Azarenka&#8217;s lead to 5-4 and was back on serve. That&#8217;s when things got shady. Azarenka—currently the top-ranked player in women&#8217;s tennis—requested a medical timeout. But how and why did she get hurt? No one knew. Ten minutes later, she was back on the court and Stephens&#8217; momentum was gone. The world No. 1 broke back to win the next game and the match 6-1, 6-4. (MORE: Say Hello To Sloane Stephens, The U.S. Teen Who Beat Serena Williams) In the on-court interview after the match ended, Azarenka said: &#8220;Well I almost did the choke of the year right now. At 5-3 having so many chance, couldn&#8217;t close it out. I&#8217;m glad I could just turn it around. I just felt a little bit overwhelmed realizing that I&#8217;m one step from the final and nerves got into me for sure.&#8221; In subsequent interviews, Azarenka added physical symptoms—first chest pain, then back pain—to the mental ones she had mentioned earlier, but did little to downplay the notion that she had used a bit of gamesmanship to help close out the victory. The outcry in the tennis world was swift. Though Stephens was reticent to levy accusations at the 2012 Australian Open champ, her coach didn&#8217;t pull any punches: &#8220;I thought it was very unfair — cheating within the rules,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It was unsportsmanlike. I don&#8217;t think you should be able to leave the court before the opponent serves for 10 minutes for whatever reason. You&#8217;d better have something pretty good. I think there&#8217;s a gray area in the rule book that shouldn&#8217;t be<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2344036&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Tennis</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/tennis-2/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/victoria-azarenka-cropped.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">TENNIS-AUS-OPEN</media:title>
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		<title>LeBron James Named Sports Illustrated&#8217;s 2012 Sportsman of the Year</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2012/12/03/lebron-james-named-sports-illustrateds-2012-sportsman-of-the-year/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2012/12/03/lebron-james-named-sports-illustrateds-2012-sportsman-of-the-year/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Dec 2012 20:20:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Dodds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Basketball]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2343113</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[LeBron James can add another accomplishment to his ever-growing list: Sports Illustrated  Sportsman of the Year. The Miami Heat forward was named NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP and won both the NBA Championship and an Olympic Gold Medal in 2012. He becomes only the sixth professional basketball player to be named Sportsman, following the footsteps of teammate Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell. According to the magazine, since 1954 the honor has been awarded &#8220;to the transcendent athlete, coach or team who by virtue of their athletic achievement and comportment took us all to a higher place.&#8221; Though some NBA fans—especially those in Oklahoma City and Boston—may disagree with that last bit, there&#8217;s no denying James&#8217; impressive accomplishments this year. You can read the excellent story, by SI senior writer Lee Jenkins, here. (MORE: True Team: How LeBron James and the Miami Heat Took the NBA Title) After seven seasons spent in Cleveland—not far from his hometown of Akron—James, 28, still had yet to capture an NBA championship, and announced his move to Miami in an ill-advised television event. In spite of playing alongside the best supporting cast he&#8217;d ever had, including Wade and seven-time all-star Chris Bosh, James fell short in his first season with the Heat, losing in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks. James&#8217; performance in the Finals was thoroughly underwhelming, falling well short of his career averages in the six-game series. By and large, critics placed the blame for the team&#8217;s shortcomings squarely on the Akron native&#8217;s shoulders. Things changed last season. James and the Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, finally living up to the lofty expectations that had been set for the team when James was first acquired. The newly-minted NBA Finals MVP then led the U.S. to an Olympic Gold Medal in London, capping off a truly remarkable 2012 campaign.  James became the second professional basketball player to be named NBA Finals MVP, regular season MVP and win a gold medal in the<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2343113&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">San Antonio Spurs v Miami Heat</media:title>
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