The Sports Mac: The Daily Fives For September 5, 2010

Top Five Stories From Yesterday

1.    The first big Saturday of college football gets underway with No. 6 Texas Christian and No. 24 Louisiana State winning big non-conference match-ups.

2.    A myriad of NFL cuts on Saturday as teams trim their rosters before the season starts. The biggest move was made by the Cardinals, who released former first-round pick Matt Leinart.

3.    The gap in the NL West gets closer as the Padres drop their ninth game in a row, which allows the Giants to get within two games of the lead after rallying to beat the Dodgers.

4.    Roy Halladay gives up four home runs in a game for the first time, but the Phillies win again. and stay one game behind Atlanta in the tight race in the NL East.

5.    Sources report that Albert Haynesworth will not start in the Redskins opener vs. the Cowboys in Week 1.

Top Five Games From Yesterday

1.    CFB: Jacksonville State 49, Mississippi 48, 2OT: The Gamecocks rally from a 21-point halftime deficit to come back and stun the Rebels with a two-point conversion in the second OT.

2.    MLB: Giants 5, Dodgers 4: Juan Uribe hits a game-winning two-run homer in the top of the ninth as San Francisco rallies from four runs down to defeat LA and get within two games of the division lead.

3.    CFB: Kansas State 31, UCLA 22: The Wildcats get a 35-yard TD run from Daniel Thomas with under a minute remaining to seal the season-opening victory over the Bruins.

4.    CFB: No. 7 Oklahoma 31, Utah State 24: The Sooners have to hold off a pesky Aggie team, getting a interception in the last five minutes to hang on for the win.

5.    CFB: Northwestern 23, Vanderbilt 21: The Wildcats hold on for a season-opening road win by stopping a Commodore two-point conversion attempt with under 2:30 remaining to play.

Top Five Performances From Yesterday

1.    T.J. Yates, North Carolina QB: 28-for-46 for 412 yards and three TDs in North Carolina’s 30-24 loss to LSU.

2.    Jim Thome, Twins DH: 2-for-2 with two homers and four RBI in MIN’s 12-4 win over TEX.

3.    Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State RB: 21 carries for 257 yards and four TDs in Oklahoma State’s 65-17 win over Washington State.

4.    Jair Jurrjens, Braves SP: Zero runs on three hits with seven K’s over seven innings, and the victory in ATL’s 2-0 win over FLA.

5.    Jheranie Boyd, North Carolina WR: Six catches for 221 yards and a TD in North Carolina’s 30-24 loss to LSU.

Five Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

1.    New Mexico Lobos: Out-gained 720 to 107, and committed five turnovers in their 72-0 loss to No. 11 Oregon.

2.    C.J. Lewis, Rangers SP: Nine runs on eight hits over 3.2 IP in TEX’s 12-4 loss to MIN.

3.    Memphis Tigers:  Out-gained 569 to 237, and committed two turnovers in their 49-7 loss to Mississippi State.

4.    Jonathon Broxton, Dodgers RP: Two runs on three hits in one inning in LAD’s 5-4 loss to SF.

5.    Kansas Jayhawks: Commit three turnovers and manage just 293 yards, and three points on offense in their 6-3 loss to FCS North Dakota State.

Top Five Events To Follow Today

1.    NCAA CFB: Tulsa (0-0) at East Carolina (0-0), 2:00 PM, ESPN: Big conference game for the season opener for two Conference USA favorites.

2.    MLB: Reds (79-56) at Cardinals (70-63), 2:00 PM: St. Louis tries for the series win and creeps a little closer in the division; (Bailey (CIN) vs. Carpenter (STL))

3.    MLB: Rangers (75-60) at Twins (79-57), 2:00 PM: Minnesota looks for the series sweep; (Wilson (TEX) vs. Blackburn (MIN))

4.    NCAA CFB: Texas Tech (0-0) at Southern Methodist (0-0), 3:30 PM, ESPN: Tommy Tuberville’s first game as Red Raider coach will be an intriguing affair against an improving Mustang squad.

5.    MLB: Giants (75-61) at Dodgers (69-67), 8:00 PM, ESPN: San Francisco looks to continue its march to the top of the NL West; (Good match-up: Sanchez (SF) vs. Kuroda (LAD))

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