| Tom Verducci: Struggling Giants need pitching staff to repeat magic of 2010 and Panthers will start Clausen in preseason opener |
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The Giants were six games out of first place in the NL West last Aug. 18. Their comeback from that deficit gives them confidence that they can sprint to the finish again. But that confidence may be a false one. This team is far worse offensively than the 2010 version that won the division on the last day of the season en route to the World Series title. Yes, San Francisco is vulnerable to blowing the NL West to the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team that lost 97 games last year but which now leads the Giants by one game."I watched them get shut down by Jeff Karstens," said one scout, referring to the Pirates righthander who walked none and struck out nine Wednesday against the Giants, the first time Karstens had a game like that in 71 career starts. "Guys who saved them last year, like [Aubrey] Huff, [Pat] Burrell and [Andres] Torres, can't hit now. But the guy they really miss is [Buster] Posey. It's a completely different team without him. [Read the full article] TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida State University President Eric Barron says he's heard the rumors that the Seminoles are moving to the Southeastern Conference and says that's all they are at the moment - rumors.Barron said Friday that while he finds such speculation fascinating, he has not had any talks about Florida State bolting the Atlantic Coast Conference for the SEC. He says that the ACC "is a good conference."The Florida State president also says he will not speculate if FSU could move when there is no discussion about it.Florida State has largely dominated the ACC in football since joining the conference two decades ago, winning a dozen league titles and two national championships.Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.TALLAHASSEE, Fla. [Read the full article] INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Ohio State's hearing before the NCAA took only four hours. Now it must wait up to 12 weeks to find out how it will be penalized for rules broken by its football program.A memorabilia-for-cash scandal that resulted in player suspensions, coach Jim Tressel's forced resignation and the departure of star quarterback Terrelle Pryor also led to Ohio State's hearing before the NCAA's committee on infractions on Friday.No one from the public or media was allowed into the guarded meeting room in the ballroom of a downtown hotel.Apparently Ohio State officials felt the penalties they had self-imposed earlier - Tressel's departure, vacating the 2010 season including a victory in the Sugar Bowl and a two-year NCAA probation - were not enough to mollify the NCAA's version of judge and jury. [Read the full article] 
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