SB Nation Philly: All Posts by Jonathan Krouner

Pierre Garcon injury: Redskins' receiver a long shot to play vs. Giants

2012-10-18T20:33:42Z

Robert Griffin III will likely be without one of his weapons this Sunday in the first NFC East clash of his career.

Wide receiver Pierre Garcon is a 'long-shot' to play against the Giants in Week 7, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said Thursday. Garcon took a pain-killing injection in his right foot on Wednesday that team doctors are hoping will lessen the pain enough for him to play.

Garcon has missed three of the Redskins' six games this season after catching an 88-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter of a Week 1 win against the New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately, for the Redskins that touchdown pass accounts for more than half of Garcon's receiving yardage this season.

Following Week 1, Garcon missed the next two games with a the right foot injury that has plagued him. He returned in Week 4, but caught just four passes in two games before missing the Redskins' Week 6 win over the Vikings.

This past off season, the Redskins signed Garcon to a five-year, $42.5 million contract with $21.5 million guaranteed.

This story was originally published on SBNation.com.

Pierre Garcon injury: Redskins WR a 'long-shot' to play this week

2012-10-18T20:02:36Z

Robert Griffin III will likely be without one of his weapons this Sunday in the first NFC East clash of his career.

This past off season, the Redskins signed Garcon to a five-year, $42.5 million contract with $21.5 million guaranteed.

Pitt basketball non-conference schedule ranked among nation's weakest

2012-10-18T19:42:14Z

The Pitt Panthers non-conference schedule is one of the lowest-rated in the country, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing according to SB Nation's Cardiac Hill.

The Panthers are likely to play Michigan and either Virginia or Kansas St. in the pre-season NIT, according to ESPN, but their next toughest non-conference game is against Detroit on Dec. 1.

Pittsburgh muddled through a 22-17 record last season, including a 5-13 Big East conference record, that landed the Panthers in 13th place in the hotly-contested Big East.

Cardiac Hill believes that the soft non-conference schedule will allow the Panthers' younger players to gain experience and develop chemistry before heading into the rigors of the conference schedule.

Cardiac Hill wrote:

Could it be stronger? Of course. Would I prefer to see another quality team or two in there? Absolutely. But when it's all said and done, with a lot of new parts this year (i.e. Steven Adams, Trey Zeigler, and James Robinson, most notably), playing some weaker teams up front to develop a bit of chemistry probably isn't the worst thing in the world. And after last season's nightmare, getting some wins under their belt might not be a bad little confidence booster.

The rest of the Panthers' non-conference schedule is listed below:

Mount St. Mary's (Nov. 9),Fordham (Nov. 12), Oakland (Nov. 17), Howard (Nov. 27), vs. Duquesne (Dec. 5 at Consol Energy Center), North Florida (Dec. 8), Bethune Cookman (Dec. 15), Delaware State (Dec. 19), Kennesaw State (Dec. 23)

Maryland football injury report: Three ruled out of Saturday's game vs. North Carolina State

2012-10-18T19:10:59Z

Maryland (4-2, 2-0) will be missing three key players when the Terrapins take on the N.C. State Wolfpack (4-2, 1-1) at College Park this Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU).

The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Barker reported via Twitter that the Terrapins will be without senior guard Bennett Fulper (turf toe) for the homecoming game against the Wolfpack. Junior Josh Cary will start in his place.

Also out Saturday for the Terps are safety Matt Robinson (groin) and wide receiver Kerry Boykins (hip/groin). Robinson could be back next week.

Freshman Anthony Nixon will start in place of Robinson alongside senior Eric Franklin. It's the third straight missed game for Robinson who missed all but three games last season.

Freshman running back Wes Brown's status is up in the air for Saturday's game. Brown leads the Terps with 150 yards rushing but, Maryland rushed for minus-2 yards in a 27-20 win over Virginia last week.

On Oct. 6, Maryland beat Wake Forest 17-14 in its first ACC game of the season. Maryland looks to improve to 3-0 in the conference this Saturday.

ALCS Game 4: Yankees keep A-Rod, Granderson on bench

2012-10-18T18:01:35Z

A night of sleep didn't convince Yankees' brass to insert struggling stars Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson into the lineup as the team attempts to avoid a sweep in Game 4 of the ALCS in Detroit (4 PM ET, TBS).

Joe Girardi will trot out the same lineup he originally posted for Game 4 prior to Wednesday night's rainout. Tigers manager Jim Leyland will follow suit.

Yankees' ace CC Sabathia faces off against the Tigers' Max Scherzer, but Wednesday's cancellation could mean that Sabathia won't be able to go in Game 7, should the series get that far. But, that's a problem the Yankees would love to have.

Full lineups are below:

New York Yankees:

1. Ichiro Suzuki, LF
2. Nick Swisher, RF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Robinson Cano, 2B
5. Raul Ibanez, DH
6. Eric Chavez, 3B
7. Russell Martin, C
8. Brett Gardner, CF
9. Eduardo Nunez, SS

Detroit Tigers:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Omar Infante, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 3B
4. Prince Fielder, 1B
5. Delmon Young, DH
6. Jhonny Peralta, SS
7. Andy Dirks, LF
8. Avisail Garcia, RF
9. Gerald Laird, C

Report: Nicklas Backstrom signs with KHL's Dynamo Moscow

2012-10-18T17:24:50Z

Washington Capitals' star center Nicklas Backstrom is the latest casualty of the NHL's ongoing lockout.

Backstrom agreed to terms with the Moscow Dynamo, the premier team of Russia's KHL, according to Swedish news outlet SVT Sport. Backstrom will fly to Moscow on Thursday night and join Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin, who recently agreed to terms with the Russian club.

In 46 games played last season, Backstrom tallied 14 goals to go along with 30 assists. Backstrom missed nearly three months after taking an elbow to the head against Calgary on Jan 3. Prior to the injury, Backstrom had played at least 77 games in all four of his NHL seasons, including all 82 in his first three.

In two playoff series last season, Backstrom scored two goals and tallied six assists. The Capitals fell to the New York Rangers in the conference quarterfinals in seven games.

Backstrom, who's played his entire five-year career in Washington, signed a 10-year, $67 million contract extension with the Caps in May 2010.

For more on the Capitals, check out Japers' Rink.

Syracuse vs. UConn odds: Cuse a 4-point favorite at home

2012-10-18T16:55:07Z

The Syracuse Orange opens as a 4-point favorite over the Connecticut Huskies, according to OddsShark, as the conference foes prepare to do battle this Friday night in the Carrier Dome (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Syracuse (2-4, 1-1) is coming off an 8-point loss to undefeated Rutgers last Saturday in New Jersey. Meanwhile, UConn (3-4, 0-2) looks to get back on track after suffering back-to-back conference losses. In last week's game the Huskies blew a 14-0 first quarter lead and lost 17-14 to Big East newbie Temple. Two weeks prior, Rutgers manhandled UConn, 19-3.

UConn took last year's match up 28-21 in East Hartford behind 152 yards on the ground from freshman running back Lyle McCombs.

The total for Friday night's Big East clash is 43.5 points, and could prove to be a defensive battle as Syracuse ranks 96th (of FBS schools) in scoring while UConn ranks 111th.

Despite its low output, Syracuse has shown off an explosive offense at times behind quarterback Ryan Nassib and play making wide receiver Marcus Sales. The Orange have put up 318 yards per game through the air, which is 11th-best in the nation.

Rutgers vs. Temple odds: Rutgers opens as 5.5-point favorite

2012-10-18T16:32:20Z

The No. 15 Rutgers Scarlet Knights open as a 5.5 point favorite, according to OddsShark, as they prepare to take on the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field this Saturday (12 p.m. ET, Big East Network).

Last week, the Scarlet Knights improved their record to 6-0 (3-0 Big East) with an 8-point win over the Syracuse Orange in New Jersey. Meanwhile, Temple (3-2, 2-0 Big East) manufactured a 17-14 overtime comeback win over the Connecticut Huskies.

The total for this Saturday's match up is 41.5, with Rutgers averaging 25 points per game and Temple averaging 27 points. Rutgers defense ranks third among FBS schools, allowing just 11.5 points per game and hasn't allowed an opponent to score more than 15 points in its first three conference games this season.

In its first season back in the Big East, Temple will look to announce its presence in the conference with a statement victory over the undefeated Scarlet Knights. The winner of Saturday's contest will stand alone in first place in the Big East standings.