THURSDAY SPORTS: Red Sox win Fall Classic; Razorback C-Team plays for region crown; Powell lands award

champsThe Boston Red Sox are the champions of baseball after beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 Wednesday night to win the World Series 4 games to 2 for their third title in 10 years. Making it all the sweeter for Boston, this was the first time they’d won the championship at home in Fenway Park since 1918, and they earned the title after finishing in last place last year, joining the 1991 Minnesota Twins as the only teams to win the World Series one season after finishing in last place. Shane Victorino got Boston on the board first with a three-run double in the third inning, then Stephen Drew got a solo home run in the fourth, followed by two RBI singles in the same inning by Mike Napoli and Victorino. The Cardinals’ lone run came on an RBI single by Carlos Beltran in the seventh inning off of Red Sox starter John Lackey, who became the first pitcher to start and win a World Series clincher for two different teams, having previously done it in Game 7 for the Los Angeles Angels in 2002. The win was put away by Boston closer Koji Uehara on a Matt Carpenter strikeout for the final out.  David Ortiz was named the World Series MVP after batting .688 with two home runs, six RBIs and eight walks. He is the only player remaining from the 2004 Red Sox team that broke the “Curse of the Bambino” by winning the championship for the first time since 1918.

After the Boston Marathon bombings in April, the Red Sox have worn “Boston Strong” logos on their left sleeves and put up a large emblem on the “Green Monster” left field wall as a reminder of what the city went through and its resilience.

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The Walhalla Middle School C-Team will be going for a football championship Thursday evening, when they head to unbeaten Liberty. The Razorback squad has only one loss on the season. The game at Liberty for the region championship will kick-off at 5:30 PM.

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Furman University’s Landon Powell has been named the recipient of USA Baseball’s Volunteer Coach of the Year. Powell was an All-SEC performer at South Carolina, where he played for coach Ray Tanner. He joined the Paladin coaching staff as a volunteer in August.

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Senior Gamecock quarterback Connor Shaw returned to practice on Wednesday after missing Monday and Tuesday’s workouts due to illness. Running back Brandon Wilds was also full-go at practice for the first time since dislocating his elbow in South Carolina’s in over Central Florida.

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One of the Southern Conference’s most intense rivalries will draw to a close this Saturday when Furman travels to Statesboro, Ga., to face Georgia Southern in a 1:00 p.m. game at Paulson Stadium. Saturday’s contest will mark the final meeting between the Paladins (3-5, 2-2 SoCon) and Eagles (4-3, 2-3 SoCon) as league foes as Georgia Southern, a member of the league since 1993, has entered NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) transition status to join the Sunbelt Conference beginning in 2014. Coverage of Saturday’s game will begin at 12:00 PM on 96.3 WGOG.

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Furman men’s basketball begins the head coach Niko Medved era on Friday night when it hosts the North Greenville Crusaders for an exhibition game on YP Court at Timmons Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Clemson men’s basketball team will hold its only public exhibition Friday when it plays host to Francis Marion University of Division II. The contest will be held at 7:00 PM in Littlejohn Coliseum, and admission will be free to the event.

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In the NBA Wedneday, Dwight Howard had 17 points and a career-high=tying 26 rebounds in his Houston debut, James Harden added 21 points and the Rockets cruised toa 96-83 win over the Charlotte Bobcats. Elsewhere, Monta Ellis started his Dallas career with 32 points, Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 and the Mavericks spoiled Mike Budenholzer’s coaching debut wiht a 118-109 win over the Atlanta Hawks.