Axford blows lead, Brewers fall to Cardinals 3-2

Milwaukee Brewers manager Ron Roenicke(10) takes the ball from closer John Axford (59) as catcher Martin Maldonado, right, looks on against the St. Louis Cardinals in the ninth inning of a baseball game Monday, July 16, 2012, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

By Chris Jenkins
AP Sports Writer / July 17, 2012 

MILWAUKEE—In what is shaping up as a rough season for John Axford, this might have been the worst moment yet.

And it might end up costing Axford his job as Milwaukee's closer.

Allen Craig hit a bloop RBI single off Axford to put St. Louis in front, and the Cardinals rallied to beat the Brewers 3-2 on Monday night.

"In all honesty, I couldn't feel anything," Axford said. "It was the most awful outing I've had all year."

Milwaukee was leading 2-0 going into the ninth but Axford struggled with his control right away, eventually loading the bases with two outs and surrendering a tying two-run single to Matt Holliday. Axford (2-6) then was lifted after giving up Craig's single, which dropped softly into shallow left field.

Axford left the game to a steady stream of boos from the crowd.

"It's kind of a `What have you done for me lately?,'" Axford said. "And if I'm not doing the job, they can say whatever they want."

Axford's sloppy inning wasted another strong performance by Mike Fiers, who pitched seven scoreless innings.

Manager Ron Roenicke acknowledged that Axford's role was up for review.

"We talk about it all the time," Roenicke said. "We talked about it just now, and we will again tomorrow."

And Roenicke isn't sure why Axford is struggling to find the dominant form he showed last season.

"I think he's got a lot going on upstairs," Roenicke said. "But he still seems to be the same guy. You talk to him before the game or batting practice, he seems to be the same guy. So I don't know what all the issues are."

Corey Hart hit his 17th homer for the Brewers, and Ryan Braun added an RBI double in the eighth.

Fiers continued his string of strong performances since he was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on May 29. He is 2-1 with a sparkling 0.76 in his last six games.

Monday's loss was another setback for the Brewers, who announced earlier in the day that ace Zack Greinke will skip his scheduled start Wednesday and isn't scheduled to pitch again until July 24 at Philadelphia.

Roenicke said Greinke was fatigued and thrown off his routine after making three straight starts -- a July 7 game where he was ejected in the first inning, another start the following day and again in the Brewers' first game after the All-Star break.

Greinke said before the game he was "fine" with Roenicke's decision but was reluctant to discuss it. Greinke has been subject to trade speculation in recent weeks, with the Brewers mired in fourth in the NL Central.

St. Louis had lost three straight after getting swept by Cincinnati in a weekend series. Jason Motte (4-3) claimed the win.

The Cardinals had a scoring chance in the fourth when Yadier Molina hit a one-out double and David Freese walked. But Fiers got Matt Carpenter to fly out to center -- allowing Molina to take third base -- then got Daniel Descalso to ground out.

Milwaukee had a chance with two outs in the fifth when a sharp grounder by Cody Ransom glanced off the glove of Freese at third base, allowing Ransom to take second base on a play that was ruled a double. But Descalso charged a soft grounder by Fiers and threw him out, ending the inning.

Descalso led off the seventh with a single, and Lynn remained in the game to hit. After taking a ball from Fiers, Lynn fouled off two bunt attempts then struck out on another bunt attempt. Rafael Furcal hit a grounder back to Fiers, who bobbled the ball but recovered in time to throw to first as Descalso took second. Fiers then got Skip Schumaker to line out, ending the inning.

Francisco Rodriguez relieved Fiers in the eighth and gave up a leadoff single to Holliday, but got out of the inning without giving up a run.

Braun then gave the Brewers some breathing room, doubling in Norichika Aoki.

NOTES: Holliday extended his hitting streak to 15 games. ... Brewers C Jonathan Lucroy is scheduled to begin a rehabilitation stint at Class-A Wisconsin on Thursday. Lucroy has been on the disabled list since May 28 with a broken bone in his right hand. ... The Cardinals purchased the contract of RHP Trevor Rosenthal from Double-A Springfield and transferred LHP Jaime Garcia to the 60-day DL.

Wiggins sticking to Sky gameplan

By Justin Davis (AFP) –

Bradley Wiggins (AFP/File, Joel Saget)

PAU, France — For Bradley Wiggins, legendary climbs like the Tourmalet or the Aubisque don't have names: they are simply stretches of uphill road standing between him and an historic Tour de France victory Sunday.
Wiggins, the stand-out stage racer for the past year, will take a 2min 05sec lead over Sky teammate Chris Froome into the last two climbing stages of the race when it resumes on Wednesday.
With Italian Vincenzo Nibali in third at 2:23 and defending champion Cadel Evans of Australia even further off the pace, a British one-two on the Champs Elysees now looks likely.
First, however, comes two tough days in the Pyrenees.
On stage 16 the peloton tackles the Col d'Aubisque, the Col du Tourmalet, the Col d'Aspin and the Col de Peyresourde on the way to a downhill finish in Bagneres-de-Luchon.
Stage 17 begins in Bagneres-de-Luchon and takes in four climbs including the 11.7 km hike over the Port de Bales, before finishing with a 15.4 km ascension to Peyragudes.
For Wiggins, who grew up idolising Spaniard Miguel Indurain -- the first rider to win the race five times consecutively -- all notions of romance have to be shelved as he concentrates on the job at hand.
"It doesn't matter what the climb is called. It's just a name at the end of the day," he said on the race's second rest day Tuesday.
"At this stage of the Tour, whatever they put in front of you... ultimately it boils down to the same thing -- if you haven't got it physically you're going to get dropped on a day like yesterday."
While some in the race will be hoping for Wiggins to come under attack from Evans, Nibali and a few others, he is not about to change Team Sky's winning formula so far for Wednesday's epic.
"I don't think it's any more difficult than any other stage we've done to this stage," said Wiggins.
"We could sit here all day talking about scenarios... but we just see how it plays out on the road ultimately.
"Ultimately, it's about going out there tomorrow and averaging 400 watts (of power) for whatever climb, climb after climb, and rehydrating, and re-fuelling on the bike and that's what ultimately wins you bike races."
Sky's impressive pace-setting in the mountains has effectively left Evans and Nibali struggling to sustain the rare attacks they have thrown at the Briton.
Not surprisingly, Wiggins says he has nothing to fear.
"I don't really fear anything. It's just a case of going out and doing the performance. What is there to fear? At the end of the day it's just a bike race," he said.
"We'll go out there, do what we've done every day this year and whatever happens, happens."
Having dropped to fourth overall at 3:19, Evans -- an historic champion last year after twice finishing runner-up -- appears to have conceded defeat.
"They ride a continuous tempo that's leaving the climbers pretty empty when they get to the final. It's making it difficult to do stuff," he said.
As he prepares to start his ninth day in yellow on Wednesday, Wiggins had a word of encouragement for his rival.
"He's not given up once. He fights until the end of the line. And that's something to be admired," added the Englishman.
"A lesser man would have thrown in the towel, climbed off because he wasn't going to win. He's remained dignified and ever day he's gone out there as though he's still leading this race."

Reds 1B Votto needs knee surgery, out 3-4 weeks

By JOE KAY, AP Sports Writer

CINCINNATI (AP) — Reds first baseman Joey Votto will have surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee, leaving the NL Central leaders without their best hitter for the next three to four weeks.
The 2010 National League MVP hurt the knee while sliding into third base June 29 in San Francisco, but has continued playing. Votto started for the NL in the All-Star game last Tuesday.
A medical exam Monday night detected the tear and Votto will have arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday.
General manager Walt Jocketty said Votto didn't have an MRI earlier because the first baseman didn't think he needed one.
"He didn't request it until then," Jocketty said. "He said it wasn't a problem until the last couple of days."
Votto decided to have the surgery. Jocketty said it's a simple procedure that takes only 20 to 30 minutes.
"It is in my best interest and in the best interest of the team to do it now so that I can be healthy during the last two months of the pennant race," Votto said in a statement.
Votto is batting .342 with 14 homers and 49 RBIs. He leads the NL in doubles, walks, on-base percentage and extra-base hits.
"We'll see what we can do internally, initially," Jocketty said. "But it's going to be difficult to replace Joey Votto."
He went hitless in his first two games back from the All-Star game then had a single and an RBI double during a 4-2 win over St. Louis on Sunday night that moved the Reds into sole possession of first place in the NL Central.
The Reds didn't immediately make a move to replace him on the roster.
Cincinnati has been in first place for 46 days because of its pitching and the NL's top defense. The Reds have used only five starters, a modern franchise record this deep into the season, and their bullpen is the best in the league.
The offense has struggled, ranking in the middle of the league, and the loss of Votto costs the team its most consistent hitter.
Votto was named MVP after the Reds' run to the NL Central title in 2010, but Cincinnati got swept by Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs.
He received a 10-year contract extension before the start of this season that added $225 million to his deal.
Now, the Reds will find out just how much he means to the franchise. They lost their first game without him, 5-3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.
"He's an MVP, a Gold Glover. What more can you ask in a guy?" said Todd Frazier, who filled in at first base. "Injuries are huge in baseball. He's got that presence. Whenever he is out there, he can do damage."
Reds starter Bronson Arroyo saw Votto shortly before the game and got the bad news directly.
"He looked funny," said Arroyo, who lasted only three innings. "I said, 'Are you playing?' He said, 'No, I need surgery.' At this time of year, if we can keep pressure on the other teams in our division and stay in the race — if we can weather the storm — he could give us a lift when he comes back."
Instead of having a mainstay at first base and the No. 3 spot in the order, manager Dusty Baker will have to get creative. There's no obvious replacement on the roster or in the minors.
Baker's first inclination was to have Frazier, who is Scott Rolen's backup at third base, play more at first.
"That's a good possibility," Baker said. "He'll play some third, some first. (Miguel Cairo) will play some first. He's an outstanding first baseman. We'll mix and match depending on offensive and defensive matchups."
The challenge is to stay in contention until he gets back.
"We've got the guys who can do it," right fielder Jay Bruce said. "The pressure's on, but we've got to step up. I'm confident that we have those guys on the team.
"Look at the Dodgers. They lost Matt Kemp, but they weathered the storm. It's early enough that we can weather the storm."

SF mayor's stop-and-frisk talk creates controversy

By TERRY COLLINS

Associated Press

Marcio Jose Sanchez

People rally outside of city hall in opposition to a proposed stop-and-frisk policy in San Francisco, Tuesday, July 17, 2012. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee's floating of a controversial stop-and-frisk policy used in other major cities, including New York, has sparked a backlash from several city supervisors and concerns, particularly among the African American and Hispanic communities.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Mayor Ed Lee said he wanted to spark a discussion about a spike in violent crime when he mentioned that he was considering a controversial stop-and-frisk policy used by police in New York, Philadelphia and some other big cities.
Instead, he has heard an outcry from city officials, civil liberties groups and residents who were shocked that the mayor would explore such a strategy in the international tourist mecca known for its uber-liberal outlook.
Stop-and-frisk policies allow police to stop, question and pat down anyone who appears suspicious. Critics say it can lead to racial profiling and a violation of civil rights requiring probable cause for such searches.
Lee recently told a newspaper editorial board that San Francisco police officers need stop-and-frisk authority to get guns off the streets, and he was willing to consider what other cities were doing after his city was wracked by 10 homicides in June - the city's deadliest month in nearly four years.
The backlash grew last week when Supervisor Malia Cohen introduced a resolution supported by five of her colleagues opposing the idea. Instead, she wants anti-crime strategies that she says do not encourage racial profiling and violate the 4th Amendment.
"It is a policy that is unnecessary, unwanted and let's not forget, unconstitutional," Cohen said Tuesday as she stood on the steps of City Hall with dozens of other opponents during a noontime rally.
They later delivered a petition with more than 2,200 signatures to the mayor's office expressing their disgust with the strategy.
"It's not an African-American issue, it's not a Latino issue," said Theo Ellington, 23, the rally organizer and president of the Black Young Democrats of San Francisco. "It's a quality of life issue."
Cohen, an ardent Lee supporter whose district includes a large population of black and Asian residents, said she understands the mayor's concerns but believes she has enough board votes to formally reject any proposal.
"I believe he was raising awareness," Cohen said. "But to actually say something sensational like that, people are stopping and listening now. It is a loaded term."
She said the discussion should be about overall public safety in San Francisco.
On Tuesday, Lee, the city's first Asian-American mayor, clarified his previous comments, saying he is not considering a policy that would violate anyone's constitutional rights and result in racial profiling. He said he has met with community leaders, clergy and police on how to reduce violence.
The spike came after the city's violent crime rate dropped in 2011 for a third straight year, hovering at lows not seen since the 1960s and mirroring a current national trend.
"We share grave concerns about gun violence and its disproportionate impact on communities of color and youth in San Francisco," Lee said. "We need to do more."
However, the New York-based nonprofit Communities United for Police Reform recently urged Lee "to exhibit serious caution in replicating a system that is broken and that will undoubtedly negatively impact the people of San Francisco."
In addition, the Coalition for a Safe San Francisco sent Lee a letter signed by 50 organizations that says "stop-and-frisk would be a grave and major step backwards for San Francisco."
In New York City last year, police reported stopping nearly 700,000 people, with 88 percent of those encounters resulting in no arrests or citations. The majority of those stopped were black and Latino, and more than half were between the ages of 12 and 24.
Critics say the tactic in New York is illegal and humiliating.
San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr, who was apparently caught off guard by Lee's initial comments, has said while he and the mayor may differ on some tactics to reduce violence, everything is on the table for discussion.
"He doesn't want to rule out anything. He's willing and of the desire to do anything to reduce gun violence," Suhr said. "I told him that we make all of our detentions in San Francisco based on reasonable suspicion."
On Tuesday, Lee said that as a former human rights director and a civil rights attorney, he views the 4th Amendment as sacrosanct and will continue having discussions and looking at different anti-crime strategies.
"I will not support, nor will I put forward any proposal that will violate such protections, but I am willing to move forward with bold ideas that get to results," Lee said.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/17/3710096/sf-mayors-stop-and-frisk-talk.html#storylink=cpy

Dark Knight Rises 'critic' is banned from Rotten Tomatoes

US blogger Eric D Snider posted negative review on aggregator site despite never having seen Christopher Nolan's new film

• Ben Child
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 17 July 2012 12.25 EDT
  Batman's revenge ... a critic was banned from Rotten Tomatoes for posting a negative review of The Dark Knight Rises – he had not seen the film. Photograph: Ron Phillips
  It must have seemed like a surefire method of attracting new visitors to your website: take the year's most heavily anticipated movie, and post a negative review linked to the popular aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. The only problem for US blogger Eric D Snider of the Snide Remarks site is that he had not seen The Dark Knight Rises, and was therefore in no position to comment on it.
  Rotten Tomatoes yesterday took the rare step of banning Snider from the list of critics whose reviews contribute to its aggregator scores for forthcoming movies. His crime has since been referred to elsewhere in the blogosphere as a form of "countertrolling" because the critic knew full well his verdict would cause consternation among vocal fans of film-maker Christopher Nolan who use the site. Rotten Tomatoes was later forced to temporarily disable comments on all The Dark Knight Rises reviews due to fan ire – though not as a direct result of Snider's verdict.
  Snider's felony was compounded by the fact that he used his Rotten Tomatoes critic's login to suggest his review was being hosted on the website film.com, whereas it was actually linked to his own site.
  "In our opinion, by knowingly posting a link that isn't a review (and he hadn't seen the movie), Snider has abused our trust, and therefore, his reviews will no longer apply to the Tomatometer," wrote Rotten Tomatoes editor-in-chief Matt Atchity in a blogpost explaining the decision to ban the critic. "If a critic abuses our trust by linking to something that's not a review, we will take action up to and including removing them from the Tomatometer. If a critic doesn't take their reputation seriously, then neither will we."
  Snider had initially posted: "The Dark Knight Rises is easily the most disappointing Batman film so far – and I'm including [Joel] Schumacher's Batman and Robin in that statement. Nolan has finally lost his touch."
  When readers clicked the link to view the full review, they were informed: "Just kidding! I haven't seen The Dark Knight Rises yet. It's probably very good! I just wanted to post a negative quote on Rotten Tomatoes and see how many idiots would type angry words at me without actually clicking the link to read the review. 'You ruined this movie's RT score!' is a dumb complaint that is only made by dumb people."
  Snider later removed the offending review, but not before Rotten Tomatoes and other sites had screengrabbed it as evidence. He has since tweeted: "I apologise to those I offended who like to respond angrily to reviews they've only read one sentence of, of movies they haven't seen."
  The critic can, at least, take solace in the fact that his verdict would not – after all – have singlehandedly ruined The Dark Knight Rises' 100% "fresh" rating on the site. So far, three critics out of a total of 35 have now given the final instalment in Nolan's Batman trilogy a negative review: Christy Lemire of the Associated Press, Chris Tookey of the Daily Mail and Marshall Fine of the Hollywood & Fine blog.
  
  

Daily News Sports Photos of the Day: Tigers following Tiger Woods at the British Open

Plus: Dark skies over Olympic Stadium, and imposing messages in the sky over State College.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Tuesday, July 17, 2012, 7:09 PM

Updated: Tuesday, July 17, 2012, 7:17 PM

They must be Phil Mickelson fans. Spectators dressed as tigers walk around the Royal Lytham & St Annes golf club ahead of the British Open Golf Championship, where Tiger Woods looks to win a 15th major tournament.

Paolo Giovannini/AP

Double-amputee sprinter, South African Oscar Pistorius, gets in some stretching before a training session in Lignano Stadium, Udine, Northern Italy. Pistorius, known globally as the Blade Runner, will be running the 400 meters race at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Nabil K. Mark/AP

The famous bespectacled statue of the late Nittany Lions’ football coach Joe Paterno continues to be the target of threats, the latest of which came Tuesday, when a plane flying over State College was dragging a banner with seven ominous words: “TAKE THE STATUE DOWN OR WE WILL.”

Ian Willms/AP

Hey, you on the left, don't we know you from somewhere? Former Knicks guard Landry Fields shots off his new colors, Raptor Red, at a press conference in Toronto on Tuesday afternoon.

Michael Regan/Getty Images

Hopefully this isn't a bad omen. We already heard the story about a 32-mile traffic backup in London and athletes getting lost for hours on their way to the Olympic Village. Now we have threatening skies over the Olympic Stadium. What's next? Frogs?

MONTSERRAT T DIEZ/EPA

Hold on tight. IRC 0 class sailboat Mini Maxi Bella lead by Hap Fauth (l.), during the second stage of the 31st edition of the King's Cup Boat Race, held in Palma Majorca Bay, Spain.

OLIVIER HOSLET/EPA

Climbers make their way at the Aiguille du Midi at an altitude of 3,842 meters, a part of the Mont Blanc mountain near France's Chamonix ski resort. The Mont Blanc mountain, the highest mountian in Europe with 4810 meters, is a dangerous place. In June nine climbers were been killed and eight injured in an avalanche near the Chamonix ski resort.

ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images

Who knew water polo was such a rough sport. Hungary's Tamas Kasas (r.) is fouled by Australian defenders during their Vodafone Cup match in Budapest

PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images

Hey buddy, got any body oil I can use? A competitor looks on as he stands on stage during the 2012 International Bodybuilding and Fitness Invitation Championship in Hong Kong. Participants, use tanning products and oils to darken their skin and increase shine as they display their best shaped muscles to a panel of judges who assign points based on their appearance.