Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — United States midfielder Clint Dempsey scored an historic goal in the 55th minute Wednesday against Italy in Genoa, making it the first time ever the U.S. has come away with a victory against Italy.
The two teams have met a total of 11 times, with Italy winning the last 10 matches. The 10-game skid was the most against any country for the U.S. without a victory. Additionally, it is the first time the U.S. has beaten a country with a World Cup title since 2002 when the U.S. beat Uruguay.
Over the years, the U.S. soccer team has had its ups and downs, with emphasis heavily on the latter. With a strong victory on the road, many are wondering if Wednesday's win was just a fluke or if the U.S. team is improving. This could be the first step in the right direction for new coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
Jeremy Evans gets his own day
Jeremy Evans has officially joined the ranks of former Jazz greats John Stockton and Karl Malone, obtaining his own declared day — Leap Day — pronounced by Governor Gary Herbert. Coming away from All-Star weekend as the Sprite Slam Dunk contest victor, with 29 percent of the more than five million votes cast, Gov. Herbert declared February 29, 2012 as Jeremy Evans Day. Gov. Herbert presented the official declaration to Evans Wednesday night as the Jazz took on the Houston Rockets.
An excerpt from the declaration reads: "As residents of the State of Utah, we are tremendously proud of Jeremy for becoming the first Utah Jazz player to win the NBA slam dunk contest and literally personify our state slogan, ‘Life Elevated.' "
T-Dub dunks over ESPNs Michelle Beadle
Watching Blake Griffin dunk a basketball is as entertaining as basketball can get. However, Terry Cournoyea — T-Dub as he likes to be called — is only 5'9" and could give even the best dunkers in the NBA some competition. His skills recall the memory of 5'7" Spud Webb who won the the 1986 slam dunk contest.
T-Dub's latest dunk highlights include last year's winning dunk by Griffin over a Kia and a clear hop over ESPN SportsNation's Michelle Beadle. Although short, T-Dub clears Beadle without laying a finger on her.
MLB expanding to 10-team playoffs?
Sources close to Major League Baseball and its players' association say the league is close to implementing a 10-team playoff system. The new playoff system was tentatively agreed upon in the league's labor agreement last December if both sides could come up with a way to include another playoff series in the already compact postseason.
#poll
If agreed upon, MLB will implement the playoff change starting this upcoming October. The hypothetical format would classify the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds in each league as the wild card teams, with each league's division winners given a first-round bye. Whether the wild card series will be a one-game playoff or more is unknown at this time.
