Sports Quote of the Day:
"The Key to winning is poise under stress." ~ Paul Brown, NFL Football Coach and Team Owner
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Roster Cuts for all 32 teams as of August 25, 2013 at 8:58PM. More to come before Tuesday's Deadline!!!
NFL.com
Arizona Cardinals
OT Joe Caprioglio, K Dan Carpenter, WR Jarett Dillard, WR Nick Edwards, C Deveric Gallington, DE Cordian Hagans, LB Korey Jones, DT Jonathan Mathis, QB Caleb Terbush, C Scott Wedige, CB Ronnie Yell
Atlanta Falcons
TE Tim Biere, FB Devonte Campbell, LB Nick Clancy, TE Colin Cloherty, QB Seth Doege, DE Cam Henderson, T Jeff Nady, RB Donald Russell, S Troy Sanders, C Matt Smith, and DE Brandon Thurmond
Baltimore Ravens
RB Damien Berry, WR Rashaad Carter, G/T Jack Cornell, ILB Bryan Hall, G/T Ramon Harewood, CB Moe Lee, OT David Mims, DE Will Pericak, WR Gerrard Sheppard, WR Tommy Streeter, TE Visanthe Shiancoe, OLB Meshak Williams
Buffalo Bills
None reported.
Carolina Panthers
QB Colby Cameron, OT Bruce Campbell, P Jordan Gay, CB Nick Hixson, K Morgan Lineberry, WR Dale Moss, DE Louis Nzegwu, WR Kealoha Pilares, LB Ryan Rau, S Ricardo Silva, G Justin Wells, FB Michael Zordich
Chicago Bears
WR Devin Aromashodu, RB Curtis Brinkley, DT Eric Foster, OT A.J.Lindeman, C P.J. Lonergan, S Derrick Martin, DE Kyle Moore, TE Gabe Miller, TE Leonard Pope, DT Brent Russell, LB Patrick Trahan, P Tress Way, LB Lawrence Wilson, S Tom Zbikowski
Cincinnati Bengals
WR Jheranie Boyd, CB Terrence Brown, LB Jordan Campbell, DT Vaughn Meatoga, TE Richard Quinn, K/P Quinn Sharp
Cleveland Browns
None reported.
Dallas Cowboys
None reported.
Denver Broncos
WR Kemonté Bateman, CB Mario Butler, T Manase Foketi, QB Ryan Katz, LB Uona Kaveinga, CB Nigel Malone, WR Quincy McDuffie, WR Greg Orton, TE Deangelo Peterson, C/G Quentin Saulsberry, DE Lanston Tanyi
Detroit Lions
DT John Drew, G Derek Hardman, S Chris Hope, DB Domonique Johnson, CB Myron Lewis, DE Ronnell Lewis, WR Chaz Schilens, CB Ross Weaver, WR Cody Wilson
Green Bay Packers
WR Alex Gillett, QB Graham Harrell, WR Omarius Hines, RB Angelo Pease, DT Gilbert Peña, WR Justin Wilson
Houston Texans
None reported.
Indianapolis Colts
CB Johnny Adams, CB Allen Chapman, G Danous Estenor, DT Kellen Heard, P/K Brandon McManus, RB Davin Meggett, LB C.O. Prime, C Rick Schmeig, S Ashante Williams, CB Teddy Williams, WR Maurice Williams
Jacksonville Jaguars
OG Mark Asper, LB Maalik Bomar, LS Jeremy Cain, LB Jeremiah Green, DE J.D. Griggs, DE Paul Hazel, LS Luke Ingram, WR Jamal Miles, P Ken Parrish, S Ray Polk, CB Lionel Smith, OT Roderick Tomlin
Kansas City Chiefs
CB Vince Agnew, DE Miguel Chavis, WR Terrance Copper, OL Ryan Durand, OL Hutch Eckerson, DB Otha Foster III, OL A.J. Hawkins, DE Rob Lohr, Kamaal McIlwain, RB Jordan Roberts, WR Tyler Shoemaker, QB Ricky Stanzi, DB Neiko Thorpe, FB Braden Wilson.
Miami Dolphins
OL Jeff Braun, OL Chandler Burden, DT Chris Burnette, LB Alonzo Highsmith, WR Kenny Stafford
Minnesota Vikings
None reported.
New England Patriots
None reported.
New Orleans Saints
None reported.
New York Giants
TE Jamie Childers, TE Chase Clement, WR Brandon Collins, LB Aaron Curry, OL Austin Holtz, FB Ben Guidugli, OL Michael Jasper, LB Jake Muasau, DB Junior Mertile, DT Frank Okam, LB Etienn Sabino, DB Laron Scott, WR Terrence Sinkfield, DB Alonzo Tweedy
New York Jets
None reported.
Oakland Raiders
LB Keenan Clayton, WR Josh Cribbs, LB Eric Harper, FB Jon Hoese, WR Sam McGuffie, CB Cory Nelms, OG Andrew Robiskie, WR Tray Sessions, DT Myles Wade, WR Isaiah Williams
Philadelphia Eagles
TE Derek Carrier, WR Nick Miller, DT Eddie McClam, S Kenny Phillips, OT Nic Purcell, DL/OL Isaac Remington, TE Will Shaw, DL Daryell Walker, LS James Winchester, P Brad Wing, CB Eddie Whitley (waived/injured)
Pittsburgh Steelers
OT D'Anthony Batiste, RB Baron Batch, OL Justin Cheadle (waived/injured), OT Mike Farrell, WR David Gilreath, WR Tyler Shaw, CB Ryan Steed, LB Stevenson Sylvester, TE Peter Tuitupou, CB DeMarcus Van Dyke (waived/injured), QB John Parker Wilson, WR J.D. Woods and RB Jeremy Wright.
San Diego Chargers
RB Edwin Baker, C Colin Baxter, CB Greg Brown, S Tony Burnett, WR Deon Butler, OL Brandyn Dombrowski, QB Nathan Enderle, P Richard Kent, DL Jamarkus McFarland and TE Dallas Walker.
San Francisco 49ers
None reported.
Seattle Seahawks
None reported.
St. Louis Rams
None reported.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
None reported.
Tennessee Titans
None reported.
Washington Redskins
None reported.Chicago Ball-hawking defense picking up where it left off.
By Larry Mayer
Having seen the Bears defense thrive in recent seasons, Mel Tucker opted to keep the same scheme and terminology in place when he was hired as defensive coordinator in January.
Judging by the ball-hawking unit's performance this summer, Tucker made the right decision. After leading the NFL with 44 takeaways last season, the Bears have picked up where they left off, generating four takeaways in each of their first three preseason games.
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| Mel Tucker |
"That was very important to us. They didn't come in here and change a whole lot," said cornerback Tim Jennings. "They kept us in play to make plays more often and didn't try to change anything.
"That's one thing that coach Tucker emphasized a lot. He's a players' coach and wants us to go out there and play our hearts out, and try to put us in the best opportunity to get the ball back to the offense as much as we can. The guys that we had in here were able to come in and pick up where we left off."
In the first half of Friday night's preseason win in Oakland, the Bears' first-team defense held the Raiders to three points, 92 total yards and 0-of-6 on third down.
The starting unit also picked off two Matt Flynn passes, including one by Jennings, who made his first trip to the Pro Bowl last season after leading the NFL with nine interceptions.
"I wanted to try and do something like that [Friday night]," Jennings said. "Going into the season, I feel pretty healthy and want to go out there and do my assignments and make some plays."
Tucker has also incorporated his own wrinkles on defense, such as well-timed blitzes that led to two interceptions and a Charles Tillman sack against the Raiders.
Middle man: Jon Bostic continued to shine against the Raiders, recording a team-high eight tackles. But the rookie middle linebacker knows he must keep getting better.
"I felt a lot more comfortable, but I can still see there's a long way for me to go," Bostic said. "I'm not where I want to be. I critique myself real hard so every time I get back to the sideline, I'm making sure that I'm talking to D.J. [Williams], asking D.J. what he's seeing, letting coach make adjustments. I'm a little bit more comfortable out there, but there's still a long way for me to go."
Bostic showed his athleticism and playmaking ability when he dropped running back Rashad Jennings for a one-yard loss and helped fellow linebacker James Anderson chase down quarterback Terrelle Pryor for a five-yard loss.
"I played some runs a little bit faster," Bostic said. "I was confident in my run fits, especially when we were playing cover-two. You've just got to keep coming along. It's a long ways for me to go. I'm not where I want to be. I know for the season I'm going to need to be way ahead of where I'm at now. I've got to make sure to make these adjustments and make sure those things carry over this week and into next week's game."
Helping hands: Matt Forte turned a short swing pass into a 32-yard touchdown against the Raiders thanks in large part to downfield blocks by Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett.
"Coaches have been harping on our receivers," Forte said. "That's how you get big plays, blocking downfield, and on that one swing pass to me that I scored on, [Jeffery] locked the dude down on the outside. Martellus blocked two people on that play. If I don't have those guys, it's a nice play but I don't score."
Rookies on the rise: Jay Cutler has no qualms about lining up behind two rookie linemen, especially after right guard Kyle Long and right tackle Jordan Mills once again excelled with the starting unit in Oakland.
"They played well," Cutler said. "They get better and better each week. The thing about them is they want to do it. They're excited about it. It matters to them and they're getting better. I felt really comfortable back there. I thought they did a great job of getting me a good pocket, letting me step up."
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? No advantage given to Blackhawks' Olympic hopefuls.
By Aaron Vickers
The Chicago Blackhawks participating in Canada's national men's team orientation camp this week will have no competitive advantage when it comes to cracking the Olympic roster, coach Mike Babcock said Sunday.
The chemistry between Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews alongside goaltender Corey Crawford will gain the reigning Stanley Cup Champions no special consideration.
"I haven't thought anything about that," Babcock said at a press conference. "Guys that play with us are going to be on the team, guys that can skate and that can take care of the puck and guys that play 200 feet are going to play for us."
Keith, Seabrook and Toews helped Canada to the gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, but with no on-ice activities at this camp, the group will have to wait until the NHL regular season to make a lasting impression.
"Obviously this isn't an evaluation camp at all," Babcock said. "This is an opportunity to know one another, get some details of how we're going to play, and understand what it's going to take to be on the team. We'll explain that to them, and then in the end, the management team is going to watch them very closely over the first three months.
"The truth is whoever is playing best will be on the team."
Just another Chicago Bulls Session... UCLA’s Alford: Snell always early to work on his game.
By Adam Fluck
UCLA coach Steve Alford recalls coaching Bulls first round draft pick Tony Snell at New Mexico and shares why he believes his former player has what it takes to make an impact at the NBA level.
Not that he needed one, but for the last three years former New Mexico men’s basketball team coach Steve Alford got an almost daily signal when practice was about to start.
That’s because he could hear the ball bouncing off the hardwood and swishing through the net. He didn’t have to look to see which player had arrived before everyone else.
“The thing I’ll remember most about Tony is that he literally was usually the first one to practice,” said Alford in a phone interview this week. “I always knew practice was 20 to 30 minutes away by when Tony came into the gym. He was always early to work on his game.”
This work ethic is one of several reasons Alford believes Snell, whom the Bulls selected with the 20th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, will be successful as he begins the next chapter of his basketball career.
Just as Snell decided to forego his senior season, Alford has also moved on, currently preparing for his first season at UCLA. Recruiting commitments prevented him from watching Snell in action at the NBA Summer League last week in Las Vegas, but he kept tabs on his former player as he averaged 11.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in five games and the Bulls went 4-1.
It wasn’t that long ago Alford recruited Snell, whose versatility caught the coach’s eye in a hurry.
“When we were recruiting him, we saw that he was long, athletic, and had a very good skill set,” said Alford of Snell. “In high school, he was one of those guards who could play multiple positions. Fortunately, in the three years we had him at New Mexico, he continued to develop. He matured as a person and he matured in the game. It worked out perfectly, not just for New Mexico, but for him as well.”
Upon arrival in Chicago, Snell credited Alford for helping him improve in areas such as footwork, defense and mental toughness.
“Those were the areas we felt he needed to improve on,” said Alford. “To his credit, he was highly, highly coachable, as coachable of a kid as I’ve ever had. As I mentioned before, he was first in the gym and the last to leave, a tireless worker. So it’s not surprising that each year he got better and better. That’s a tribute to him. If you look at him as a freshman to a sophomore to a junior, he just kept getting better. It’s a tribute to how hard he works at his game.”
As a freshman, Snell averaged 4.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game. Those numbers increased across the board the next year, when he posted 10.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 25.6 minutes per game. While his scoring increased again as a junior (12.5 ppg), he also proved early on that year he was capable of taking – and making – big shots.
In the Lobos’ third game of the season, Snell drilled a three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to give New Mexico a 70-69 come-from-behind victory over George Mason in the Paradise Jam.
“We were down and out in that game and he made a shot to win it for us,” recalled Alford of Snell, who finished with 27 points that night. “Then the next night we beat UConn to win the tournament championship. He had several games like that for us where he made big shot after big shot.”
Never was that more true than on March 16, 2013, when New Mexico hosted UNLV with the Mountain West conference championship on the line. Again it was Snell who stepped up, recording 13 straight points during a second-half run and finishing with 21 in the game, including 5-of-7 from three-point range, as the Lobos knocked off the Runnin’ Rebels to enter the NCAA Tournament with a 29-5 record.
“He obviously had big moments and big games for us,” said Alford. “But more than anything about Tony, I’ll remember who he was as a person and how coachable he was.”
Gar Forman and John Paxson were on hand at the Mountain West Tournament to watch Snell, a player whom they had been scouting all season long. Then, following the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, Snell was in one of the first workouts the Bulls hosted. Obviously, the team liked what it saw.
“There were a lot of phone calls in the weeks leading up to the draft so I knew Tony was doing well in his workouts,” said Alford. “I think when Tony made the decision to stay in the draft, the workouts were a big key for him, and he had a lot of confidence going into those. It’s a great credit to him because those are like on the job interviews and they aren’t easy. There’s a lot of pressure, but he obviously handled them very well.”
While the first thing that jumped out to Forman and his staff was the fact that Snell could shoot the ball, Chicago also became enamored with his length, wingspan and overall skill set. But he also possesses the intangibles so many teams desire—work ethic and the ability to maximize potential. They are all reasons why Alford sees Snell fitting in so well.
“I think he’s just like a lot of what the Bulls are about—a high character guy who is big on integrity. He’s very coachable and he can be a very good defender because he’s versatile,” said Alford. “He’s going to be one of those role guys who will complement his teammates and he’ll buy in from Day 1 what the Chicago Bulls organization is all about.”
This offseason, the Bulls have been all about shooting, placing a heavy emphasis on that with the drafting of Snell and Erik Murphy in addition to the signing of free agent Mike Dunleavy, all of whom will complement former NBA MVP Derrick Rose as he returns to the lineup. The team wants to give Rose an open court with which to work, and having threats to score from the perimeter will do just that.
“He can definitely space the floor,” said Alford of Snell. “He’s got a great skill set and probably the best part of that skill set is his ability to shoot the ball and make shots. He was the best shooter on our team last year and he makes big shots. He’s not afraid to take big shots. But I think one of the reasons he is such a good shooter is that he takes good shots. He doesn’t take bad shots.”
Snell returned home to the Los Angeles area following summer league, but he won’t be there long. He plans to resume workouts at the Berto Center next week until he heads to New York for the NBA’s rookie transition program in early August. Upon its conclusion, he’ll be back in Chicago to work with Thibodeau and the Bulls off and on until training camp is underway.
As for what to expect from Snell at the NBA level, Alford believes he’ll have a long career. And when his former player calls to talk, he’ll simply reinforce some of the things that have helped Snell get to this point.
“The advice I’ll be giving him is the same as what I told him going into each of the years at New Mexico—continue to develop, which you do first and foremost by listening and having a maturity about you whether it’s a good day or bad day. If you can take something out of it, it’s about growth. He’s been able to do that over the last three years and I think he will continue that maturation process.
“If he listens and works, he’ll see growth,” added Alford. “When that happens and Tony sees that, he is going to get more and more confident. But that’s what he needs to do at the professional level. He’s a winner and he’ll compete. He gets those types of things. I think he’s got the potential to have a long and very good pro career.”
Lateral Hazard: Measuring Tiger Woods' quantity vs. Adam Scott's quality.
By Brian Murphy
That little patch of grass between the Nike swoosh on Tiger's golf ball and the 18th hole at Liberty National Golf Course on Sunday (maybe, what, three-quarters of an inch?), was that the difference between Adam Scott and Tiger Woods winning PGA Tour Player of the Year?
Could be. The whole scene was enough to make a world number one player grimace twice – first from the kind of back spasm a soon-to-be 38-year-old suffers; second, because his golf ball stayed one rotation away from forcing a playoff with Scott, the man who right now appears to be the lead horse in the POY race, which is determined by player vote.
After all, here is the New Math: Tiger's five wins are not equal to Scott's two wins. Nope. Not when one of the two wins is the Masters, and second of the two wins is the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs. That math is made more striking when the second win is one stroke ahead of the guy with five wins – none of which is a major or a Fed Ex playoff leg.
Now, just think if Tiger, doing that Willis Reed thing we've seen him do through the years, walking stiffly, making obvious his pain, had rolled home that 20-footer from the fringe for birdie, then gone on to win the playoff hole against Scott. We'd be looking a guy who birdied the final three holes at Liberty National, just three holes after falling to his knees on the 13th fairway with what he later admitted was a crippling back spasm. We'd be looking at a guy with six (!) wins in 2013. We'd be looking at a guy with career win No. 80, two short of tying Sam Snead.
In that case, one could argue, six wins are greater than one win, even when the one win is the Masters.
Yep. That little patch of grass. Three-quarters of an inch. The difference between rose petals tossed towards a gritty Tiger comeback; and a Steve Williams bro-hug for the 2013 Flavor of the Year Scott, the impossible-to-dislike Aussie who employs as his caddie the impossible-to-like Kiwi. Not only is Scott now No. 2 in the world, he is the kind of guy who is gracious and thoughtful enough to use his 30 post-tournament seconds on CBS to give a shout out to his newborn niece, Olivia – the sort of quality that endears one to Scott and helps you overlook the fact that he putts with some sort of alien contraption that goes up to his neck and requires the kind of grip better used on an oceanic oil platform.
There is still time for Tiger to leave his mark on 2013. There are still three stages of the FedEx Cup playoffs to go, starting with the second stop this Friday at TPC Boston for the Labor Day finish. Tiger wouldn't say if he'll be healthy enough to play, but one might imagine the guy who uses drama as adrenaline wouldn't miss it. He has a damsel to please, too. His main squeeze, Lindsey Vonn, tweeted out moments after Tiger's final-round 69 was one stroke shy: "Proud of my man for fighting back. He's the toughest person I know. #fighter #nothingcanholdhimdown."
A cynic might say major championship events of the last five-plus years have held him down, but that would only be a cruel reminder. Right now, it's Adam Scott's world, and Tiger has work to do if he wants to salvage 2013's major-less campaign with an ongoing record 11th Player of the Year. It's a game of inches, after all. Sometimes less than an inch, even.
SCORECARD OF THE WEEK
66-65-70-78 – 5-under 279, Matt Kuchar, tie-19th, The Barclays, PGA Tour Fed Ex Cup playoffs, Liberty National GC, Jersey City, N.J.
Philosophical question: When you are known for your infectious grin on the golf course, are you allowed to not grin when you completely and totally implode on the doorstep of victory?
Matt Kuchar, feel free to scowl.
The guy everyone calls 'Kooch' because we all feel like we know him because he's always so easy and breezy and smiley on the golf course went south on Sunday. Kooch pretty much watched his golf game end up somewhere in the swamps of Jersey. As a Jersey guy named Springsteen might sing to that thought: May the Lord have mercy.
One of the more curious facts about Adam Scott's win was that he started his final round six shots off the lead, with some serious names ahead of him. Among those names was the guy six shots ahead of him, Kuchar, who already has two wins in 2013.
How unusual was Kuchar's train wreck, which began with a bogey on No. 1, moved swiftly and earnestly with a triple bogey on No. 9, then asserted its argument with bogeys on Nos. 10, 13, 15 and 17 before an almost comical birdie at the last hole?
Consider: It was Kuchar's worst final round of 2013. It was starkly uncharacteristic of a player who ranked top-30 on Tour in final-round scoring average (70.11). And it was only better than Josh Teater's 79 and Jonas Blixt's 81 in the entire field Sunday.
Plus, Blixt had an excuse, since he was distracted by dressing in Rickie Fowler's all-orange outfit in some sort of ill-conceived stunt because he was paired with Fowler.
(Quick side note on Blixt dressing like Fowler to show solidarity with his Puma brother: A buddy once told me that he and his friends got an adrenaline rush in college and thought it would be hilarious to hop in the car in L.A. and drive to Vegas to party all night – while dressed like Mr. Furley from "Three's Company". You know, the vest and the polyester and the scarf and all that. True story. As my buddy said to me: "Once we got to Vegas, let me assure you – there was nothing hilarious or cool about being dressed like Mr. Furley from 'Three's Company'.")
That's how I sort of felt about Blixt's all-orange. Hey, it's a scream if you shoot 65. But let me assure you – there is nothing cool about being dressed in all-orange when you shoot 81 on a Sunday at a FedEx Cup event. To Blixt's credit, he delivered a droll tweet after the round: "Not wearing orange again …"
It's the ellipses after the tweet that makes it, full of possibility as to what he left out.
Anyway, back to Kuchar. I'm in a fantasy betting league, and one of our challenges was to select a top-25 player from the FedEx Cup rankings, other than Tiger, for the four-tournament duration. It was almost a stampede in the league to draft Kuchar, who seems born for these kinds of events; no major championship pressure, consistency rewarded, et cetera. And then, the Sunday 78. The plummet from tie-1st to tie-19th.
There's almost no explaining how a guy that steady can go that sideways. Except, you know, it's golf. And golf is hard.
BROADCAST MOMENT OF THE WEEK
"That's a hypothetical. Right now, I'm not feeling my best." – Tiger Woods, to CBS' Matt Gogel, about whether his back felt good enough to play Friday at TPC Boston.
Credit to two people here. One, to Gogel, who is not exactly Mike Wallace in those on-course interviews. But here, he asked Tiger what treatment his back would need, and when Tiger did what he's been doing since age 10 and completely blew off the question by recounting his back nine, Gogel re-loaded and asked again.
Will you play in the next event, he asked?
Nice work, young Jedi! Tiger, having fired his non-answer bullet, gave the above answer, then didn't do any more media. So, we at least have that on record.
The second hat-tip goes to Golf Digest's Sam Weinman, a sharp cookie who accurately tweeted out: "Actually, Tiger, a hypothetical would be: Suppose there was a golf tournament next week. Now, suppose you were asked to play . . . "
Rimshot! He's right, of course. We all expect more from our Stanford products, right? Maybe if Tiger had stayed long enough to graduate, he'd differentiate between a hypothesis and a question from Matt Gogel.
MULLIGAN OF THE WEEK
On a day of so much wreckage – Gogel's 78, Gary Woodland's failed three birdie tries on 16, 17 and 18, Kevin Chappell's back-nine lead disintegrating into a 7-over finish over his final eight holes – the mind still drifts back to Tiger.
After the back spasm on the 13th fairway – on a swing that sent his ball into an algae-ridden swamp, no less – he spent the next six holes curtsying to remove his ball from the cup. He was clearly not right, and yet here he came with those birdies on 16 and 17 and then the roll from the back fringe on 18.
So close, and yet so far.
Nick Faldo had surmised on CBS that Tiger's back was so tender, we wouldn't have seen the trademark Tiger fist pump had the final birdie fallen on 18, but I'm not so sure. The frustrated shut of Tiger's eyes as his ball stubbornly stayed above ground showed how much it hurt. Had it fallen, the adrenaline rush might have overcome any pain, and we might have seen the kind of Tiger reaction we hadn't seen since Torrey Pines in '08, the holy-moley-am-I-hurting-but-man-does-this-feel-sweet body spasm of joy.
Plus, then we would have had a Tiger-Adam Scott playoff, with Steve Williams there and all that. Fun, denied.
So let's go back out to the back fringe of 18, give Tiger another roll, remind him to give it one extra iota of oomph and ... give that Tiger a mulligan! Then, let the celebration begin.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Onward the top 100 players in the rankings go, to TPC Boston for Leg 2 of this four-tournament FedEx Cup playoff, starting Friday for a Labor Day finish. My stance on the FedEx Cup has been consistent for the last few years: I will never hardly remember who won a FedEx Cup; I have trouble firing up for a guy winning a $10 million jackpot when that's really the only thing he's playing for; these events have none of the majesty or prestige of the majors and never will ... and yet, I am thankful the PGA Tour came up with something (in this case, $$$) to keep the best players playing into September.
After all, 10 years ago at this time, Phil Mickelson would be off doing Philly Mick things, like working on a machine that reverses the process of aging, or studying the San Diego Chargers depth chart. Instead, we got to enjoy Lefty's sterling Sunday charge at Liberty National on Sunday, a 65 that ended just two strokes shy of a playoff. That'll work for my couch potato viewing experience.
Will Tiger play? The bet here says he will. And we don't traffic in hypotheticals around here; only solid conjecture.
Are you ready for some football? No seriously, are you ready for some football?
If you are, please read the link below!!!
Link: http://allsportsamerica.blogspot.com/2013/07/are-you-ready-for-some-football-no.html
Remember, (1) Competition breeds excellence, (2) You can't win ($$$) if you aren't in and (3) The odds are better than the Lottery!!!
Kenseth holds off Kahne to get 5th win of season.
By
Kasey Kahne was fed up with all of Joe Gibbs Racing by the time contact with Matt Kenseth ended his race at Watkins Glen earlier this month.
Remember, (1) Competition breeds excellence, (2) You can't win ($$$) if you aren't in and (3) The odds are better than the Lottery!!!
Kenseth holds off Kahne to get 5th win of season.
By
Kasey Kahne was fed up with all of Joe Gibbs Racing by the time contact with Matt Kenseth ended his race at Watkins Glen earlier this month.
It was the fourth time a JGR driver had wrecked Kahne, and he took to Twitter to voice his displeasure, posting: ''Headed to Joe Gibbs Racing to talk to whoever will come out front.''
But when Kahne had his chance Saturday night to right all of those wrongs, he passed on retaliation.
A clean racer to his core, he trailed Kenseth for a dozen laps around Bristol Motor Speedway, trying every which way possible to pass him without wrecking him and failing miserably. Kenseth ended up with his Sprint Cup-leading fifth win of the season, and Kahne settled for a disappointing second.
''I don't know,'' sighed Kahne, winner of the spring race at Bristol. ''I just ... I think at the end of the day, I just don't wreck people. I just didn't get it done and I'm upset with myself for not figuring out how to win.''
It's the third time this season Kahne has finished second behind Kenseth, who wrapped up at least a wild-card berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
''Kasey's as good as they get and he's a clean driver,'' Kenseth said. ''He raced as hard as he could, we ran out of room off (turn) four, we were both digging as hard as we could to try to get it. Kasey's just an unbelievable talent, he wanted it bad. We raced as hard as we could race and used every inch of race track.''
Kahne, meanwhile, is still hoping just to make it into the Chase. With two wins on the year he's in pretty good shape, but he's only eighth in the standings with two races remaining to set the 12-driver field.
''I needed a win bad, but I also needed a finish,'' Kahne said. ''I just basically ran as hard as I could, tried to pass him two different times and ran on his bumper and hoped he'd screw up, and he really never did.''
After Kahne passed Juan Pablo Montoya for second, he set his sights on Kenseth and tried numerous times over the final dozen laps - ''It felt like 112,'' Kenseth said - to make the pass, but never could make it stick. He went for the bump and run on the last lap and missed, and has to settle for second.
''I had a better car. I just couldn't clear him,'' Kahne said. ''There was a couple shots I took, and I had to have been close, but I could feel him on the right side of my car, and I just didn't clear him. I didn't figure out how to get by. It's disappointing not to win here. I thought we had the best car the last 200 laps, and it was a lot of work.''
Montoya, who learned two weeks ago he won't be brought back to Chip Ganassi Racing next season, was third. Although he could use a win, especially on an oval to prove he belongs in NASCAR, he said he was pleased with the result - especially since he came back from an early speeding penalty.
''To be honest with you, where we are with the team and the result, it's pretty good,'' he said. ''I'm still running until the end of the year with (sponsor) Target, and I want to make sure I can do the best for them.''
Brian Vickers was fourth, followed by Joey Logano, Paul Menard and Jeff Gordon.
Marcos Ambrose was eighth and Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top 10.
With two races remaining, at Atlanta and Richmond, to set the Chase field, only points leader Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer and Kenseth have locked up berths. The rest of the top 10 in points are Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt, Kahne, Biffle and Logano.
Defending series champion Brad Keselowski is 11th, four points out of 10th and not in Chase contention because he's winless so far on the season. Keselowski admitted he's not breathing easy the next two weeks.
''If you're not in right now, I don't care if you're running eighth or you're running 13th, every team is worried and concerned - not just mine,'' he said. ''I'm not going to be out of the worried zone unless I make it or it's over. That's my job as a race car driver.
I care about my team. We've got two races left. I think they'll be good race tracks for us.''
The two drivers currently in position for the wild-card berths are Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr., who maintained his position despite finishing 35th when he was collected in an accident that began on a restart when pole-sitter had his tire cut by contact with Vickers. Also caught in the accident was Harvick, who drove his battered car into Hamlin's pit, and Hamlin responded by intentionally shoving it out of the way.
An animated Harvick had to talk his way past a NASCAR official to get to Hamlin's car window, where the two quickly came to a resolution.
''He was under the impression that I caused it. He didn't see the replay,'' Hamlin said. ''I talked to him. Luckily, we were able to talk right away and hash it out.''
It was a long and disappointing night for Kurt Busch, who started second in his effort to make the Chase for single-car team Furniture Row Racing. But a vibration dropped him from first to fifth, then sent him to pit road for a repair. He was then flagged for speeding, the pit stop was slow, and by the time he served his penalty for speeding he had dropped three laps to 39th place.
Then he made contact with Josh Wise to cause damage to his car, sending him back to pit road. The original vibration wasn't fixed, and Busch had to go behind the wall for a length repair. He wound up 31st and dropped three spots in the standings to 12th.
''When you are 20 laps down there is nothing you can do,'' he said. ''We are not out. My thoughts all through the race were we just have to go to Atlanta and Richmond and win them both. We have two races to go and I heard we are only five points out of 10th.''
Real Madrid to pay record fee for Gareth Bale.
By Martin Rogers
Gareth Bale will officially become the most expensive player in soccer history this week after Real Madrid ended a summer of speculation by agreeing to a record deal for the Welsh winger, according to sources connected with the negotiations.
Bale has been on Madrid's wanted list for months but Tottenham's stance of holding out for the maximum amount delayed the transfer past the start of the new European season, which held its second round of matches this weekend.
The 24-year-old emerged as a legitimate international star over the past two seasons, with his age, physical power and outrageous skill set positioning him as Madrid's most sought-after target.
Bale will be unveiled at a press conference likely on Tuesday, having spent the last few days holed up in his agent's apartment in Marbella, according to London's Daily Telegraph, which along with the Daily Mail was the first to report the conclusion of discussions.
Once the contract is finalized, Bale is expected to receive a six-year contract worth around $15 million a year. Tottenham has offered Real a series of discounts if they make early repayments on their scheduled plan of three-staged deposits.
Bale was happy to stay at Tottenham until the middle part of the off season, but once the reality of the opportunity to play for one of the world's biggest clubs sank in, he informed the London club of his wish to leave.
He is due to be formally unveiled as a Madrid player at an event in the Bernabeu Stadium on Tuesday, with the Spanish press having reported that a special stage has already been erected.
It did so in the only way it knows how: by spending money.
There will naturally be big expectations for Bale, though his temperament seems strong enough to give him a chance of success at one of the toughest clubs of all. A level-headed character, he has shown maturity at each stage of his career, even dating back to when he was made the captain of Wales' Under-21 team at the age of just 16.
Nomar Garciaparra thinks proven PED users should be booted from the Hall of Fame.
By Bill Baer
Former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra spoke at length with Jesse Spector of Sporting News. One of the big topics they touched on was the inclusion of players proven or implicated to have used performance-enhancing drugs getting into the Hall of Fame. Nomar thinks they should be booted out if they have been proven to have cheated.
From Spector’s column:
Japan beats California 6-4 for Little League World Series title.
The Associated Press
The victory lap around Lamade Stadium never gets old for Japan, nor does the players' ritual of scooping up some souvenir dirt near the mound after another Little League World Series triumph.
A perennial power in youth baseball, Japan rallied past Chula Vista, Calif., 6-4 on Sunday to win its ninth title and third in four years, the only disappointment in that recent span a loss in 2011 to Huntington Beach, Calif.
Ryusei Hirooka won this one with a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning and Shunpei Takagi hit two solo home runs to help keep the Tokyo team undefeated in the tournament.
"In all honesty, I'm really happy," said Japan manager Masumi Omae, who also led the 2003 Japan team to the World Series title. "I definitely always dreamt about coming back to win again. To be able to trust the kids and their abilities is something I'm most proud about."
Facing one last threat in the sixth, the Japanese players erupted in glee, tossing Omae in the air near the mound after his slick fielders had turned a game-ending double play.
"Wanting to be World Series champs is all we've talked about for the last two years," Takagi said. "I was thinking, just get a hit at the plate. The outcome was two homers, so I was really happy."
It was the 14th championship game for Japan and 23rd for California, which has won seven World Series titles.
Giancarlo Cortez had a two-run single and Grant Holman an RBI single for Chula Vista.
Trailing 4-3 after Cortez's clutch single in the fourth, Japan tied it on Takagi's second homer and won it when Hirooka lined a 2-2 pitch down the left-field line after not being able to sacrifice the runners up a base.
"My mind was full, trying to get the bunt down," Hirooka said. "When I didn't get (the bunt) down, my mind was blank. I'm just so happy I could get a hit to help our team win."
California beat Westport, Conn., 12-1 in the U.S. championship game Saturday, while Japan edged Mexico 3-2 for the international title.
The Americans left 12 runners on base in a game that was there for the taking.
"We left some opportunities out there, but give Japan credit," Chula Vista manager Rick Tibbett said. "They made some great defensive plays."
Unbeaten, too, entering the game, Chula Vista struck early to send a message that it would be a tense affair.
Keyed by the shaggy-haired duo of Micah Pietila-Wiggs and Jake Espinoza at the top of the order, California scored twice in the top of the first against Japan starter Kazuki Ishida to put the pressure on. Pietila-Wiggs was hit by a pitch leading off and Espinoza lined a double down the left-field line. Pietila-Wiggs came around to score on a passed ball and Holman singled home Espinoza.
California received a scare when Cortez was hit by a pitch in the helmet during the first inning and departed for a pinch-runner after being examined on the field. Ishida went over to shake Cortez's hand and apologize, and Cortez returned to play his position when Chula Vista took the field for the first time.
Holman, who pitched a no-hitter in the World Series, hadn't pitched since Wednesday and was shaky at the outset, walking two of the first three batters he faced and throwing a wild pitch as Japan quickly mounted a threat of its own and tied the score.
Takuma Gomi, whose dramatic solo home run in the top of the sixth had given Japan a 3-2 victory over Mexico in the international championship Saturday, lined an RBI single. A botched throw in from the outfield on the hit sailed wide of home plate, allowing Takagi, who had walked, to score the second run.
California escaped further damage when Kyousuke Kobayashi singled to centre and Espinoza threw out Gomi at home.
The West champions mounted another threat in the second, loading the bases with two outs. But Holman struck out, waving his bat ever-so-slightly at a pitch that was low and outside and shaking his head in dismay at the call.
If Japan had a plan, it likely was to make the hard-throwing Holman work, and the tall right-hander did just that. When he struck out Sho Miyao looking to end the second inning, he had thrown 50 pitches. Not a good omen for the West champions with a maximum of 85 allowed and Nick Mora, the hero of Saturday's win over Connecticut with a 10-strikeout, two-hit performance, ineligible to pitch.
Ishida wasn't faring any better. After three innings he had thrown 69 pitches, struck out five, walked three, and hit three batters.
Japan took a 3-2 lead when Takagi led off the bottom of the third by slamming a home run over the right-field fence on an 0-1 pitch. A smile on his face, Takagi raised his right arm in triumph as he rounded the bases and was mobbed by his teammates after crossing the plate.
Holman avoided further damage by striking out pinch-hitter Tatsuki Nagano and getting pinch-hitter Seiya Nishino to ground out to first with two runners on. When he went to the dugout, Holman had only three pitches left to reach the maximum of 85 and was through on the mound for the day.
"We certainly expected to get more than three innings from Grant," Tibbett said. "From the first inning, you could tell he was leaving pitches up. Once it took him 28 pitches to get through the first inning we knew somebody else would probably finish the game."
The Japanese pitchers kept the hot-hitting Pietila-Wiggs off-balance at the plate, but after getting fooled by a pitch in the top of the fourth he laced a ground-rule double down the left-field line.
Espinoza followed with a bloop single to left and took second on the throw in.
Ishida then hit Mora to load the bases, tying the World Series record for most hit batsmen in a game, and Keita Saito came on in relief.
Batting with the bases loaded, Holman, who hit a grand slam earlier in the World Series, grounded to third and Japan got the forceout at home for the first out.
A day earlier, Japan twice escaped big jams in the win over Mexico, once with the bases loaded and nobody out. This time it failed as Cortez laced a two-run single to left field for a 4-3 lead.
Ricky Tibbett relieved Holman in the fourth and retired the side in order, striking out two, as Chula Vista crept that much closer to the title.
Patrick Archer walked leading off the fifth and Dominic Haley reached on an error by first baseman Kensuke Tsuchida to give California a chance to extend its lead.
Wiggs then laced a shoulder-high fastball down the left-field line for a single to load the bases, the ball hit too hard for Archer to score from second. That proved critical. Espinoza lined to left and Archer was doubled up at home on a strong throw by Gomi, and Mora struck out, stranding another two runners.
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Real Madrid to pay record fee for Gareth Bale.
By Martin Rogers
Gareth Bale will officially become the most expensive player in soccer history this week after Real Madrid ended a summer of speculation by agreeing to a record deal for the Welsh winger, according to sources connected with the negotiations.
The Spanish club is expected to pay around $134 million in cash to Tottenham Hotspur, Bale's English Premier League team, breaking the $124.6 million transfer fee they spent on Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.
The 24-year-old emerged as a legitimate international star over the past two seasons, with his age, physical power and outrageous skill set positioning him as Madrid's most sought-after target.
He will likely never play in a World Cup due to the weakness of the Wales national team, but Real hopes it is buying a player that will greatly enhance its push for the Spanish La Liga title as well as the Champions League crown.
As matters dragged on, Tottenham's hardball bargaining stance raised the real possibility that the switch may not take place at all. Discussions took place in a variety of venues including London, Madrid and even Miami, involving senior figures from both clubs and Bale's agent, Jonathan Barnett.
Bale will be unveiled at a press conference likely on Tuesday, having spent the last few days holed up in his agent's apartment in Marbella, according to London's Daily Telegraph, which along with the Daily Mail was the first to report the conclusion of discussions.
Once the contract is finalized, Bale is expected to receive a six-year contract worth around $15 million a year. Tottenham has offered Real a series of discounts if they make early repayments on their scheduled plan of three-staged deposits.
Bale was happy to stay at Tottenham until the middle part of the off season, but once the reality of the opportunity to play for one of the world's biggest clubs sank in, he informed the London club of his wish to leave.
He is due to be formally unveiled as a Madrid player at an event in the Bernabeu Stadium on Tuesday, with the Spanish press having reported that a special stage has already been erected.
After being soundly beaten in the Champions League semifinals, finishing 15 points behind Barcelona in the La Liga title race, then seeing Barca secure the signature of Brazilian wunderkind Neymar, Madrid had to react.
It did so in the only way it knows how: by spending money.
In the early 2000s Real began its habit of trying to buy the best available player in the world each summer, snagging the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and David Beckham. That approach is no longer an annual affair, but Madrid still can flex financial muscle harder than anyone.
There will naturally be big expectations for Bale, though his temperament seems strong enough to give him a chance of success at one of the toughest clubs of all. A level-headed character, he has shown maturity at each stage of his career, even dating back to when he was made the captain of Wales' Under-21 team at the age of just 16.
Spain will provide new and different challenges, much of which may be decided by how quickly he builds a playing relationship with Ronaldo, who will move to a more central attacking role.
Even among a roster stacked with such superstars though, there will be no averting the glare of the spotlight for Bale. Such is the price that comes with the price tag, such is the focus that accompanies the man deemed soccer's most valuable.
Nomar Garciaparra thinks proven PED users should be booted from the Hall of Fame.
By Bill Baer
Former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra spoke at length with Jesse Spector of Sporting News. One of the big topics they touched on was the inclusion of players proven or implicated to have used performance-enhancing drugs getting into the Hall of Fame. Nomar thinks they should be booted out if they have been proven to have cheated.
From Spector’s column:
For me, I don’t understand why you can’t go back. If you find that out and you find out the truth — you can’t go off assumptions, but when you find out the truth, why can’t you take a person out of the Hall of Fame if you found out he was taking PEDs? I don’t see why that’s so horrible to do. Or, if they had an award, I know they do it in the Olympics, they take away gold medals and things when they later find out. I don’t see why that’s so hard. I mean, they took away the Heisman Trophy, as well. There’s a lot of different ways people can go about it and say that it can still be done.Using an eraser on baseball history opens up a pandora’s box. Once you get the steroid cheaters out, is that it, or do you go after amphetamine users? Spitballers? What about other morally-questionable inductees — the wife-beaters, the racists, the drunks? By itself, Garciaparra’s wish certainly makes sense, but unfortunately it raises more questions than it answers.
Japan beats California 6-4 for Little League World Series title.
The Associated Press
The victory lap around Lamade Stadium never gets old for Japan, nor does the players' ritual of scooping up some souvenir dirt near the mound after another Little League World Series triumph.
A perennial power in youth baseball, Japan rallied past Chula Vista, Calif., 6-4 on Sunday to win its ninth title and third in four years, the only disappointment in that recent span a loss in 2011 to Huntington Beach, Calif.
Ryusei Hirooka won this one with a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning and Shunpei Takagi hit two solo home runs to help keep the Tokyo team undefeated in the tournament.
"In all honesty, I'm really happy," said Japan manager Masumi Omae, who also led the 2003 Japan team to the World Series title. "I definitely always dreamt about coming back to win again. To be able to trust the kids and their abilities is something I'm most proud about."
Facing one last threat in the sixth, the Japanese players erupted in glee, tossing Omae in the air near the mound after his slick fielders had turned a game-ending double play.
"Wanting to be World Series champs is all we've talked about for the last two years," Takagi said. "I was thinking, just get a hit at the plate. The outcome was two homers, so I was really happy."
It was the 14th championship game for Japan and 23rd for California, which has won seven World Series titles.
Giancarlo Cortez had a two-run single and Grant Holman an RBI single for Chula Vista.
Trailing 4-3 after Cortez's clutch single in the fourth, Japan tied it on Takagi's second homer and won it when Hirooka lined a 2-2 pitch down the left-field line after not being able to sacrifice the runners up a base.
"My mind was full, trying to get the bunt down," Hirooka said. "When I didn't get (the bunt) down, my mind was blank. I'm just so happy I could get a hit to help our team win."
California beat Westport, Conn., 12-1 in the U.S. championship game Saturday, while Japan edged Mexico 3-2 for the international title.
The Americans left 12 runners on base in a game that was there for the taking.
"We left some opportunities out there, but give Japan credit," Chula Vista manager Rick Tibbett said. "They made some great defensive plays."
Unbeaten, too, entering the game, Chula Vista struck early to send a message that it would be a tense affair.
Keyed by the shaggy-haired duo of Micah Pietila-Wiggs and Jake Espinoza at the top of the order, California scored twice in the top of the first against Japan starter Kazuki Ishida to put the pressure on. Pietila-Wiggs was hit by a pitch leading off and Espinoza lined a double down the left-field line. Pietila-Wiggs came around to score on a passed ball and Holman singled home Espinoza.
California received a scare when Cortez was hit by a pitch in the helmet during the first inning and departed for a pinch-runner after being examined on the field. Ishida went over to shake Cortez's hand and apologize, and Cortez returned to play his position when Chula Vista took the field for the first time.
Holman, who pitched a no-hitter in the World Series, hadn't pitched since Wednesday and was shaky at the outset, walking two of the first three batters he faced and throwing a wild pitch as Japan quickly mounted a threat of its own and tied the score.
Takuma Gomi, whose dramatic solo home run in the top of the sixth had given Japan a 3-2 victory over Mexico in the international championship Saturday, lined an RBI single. A botched throw in from the outfield on the hit sailed wide of home plate, allowing Takagi, who had walked, to score the second run.
California escaped further damage when Kyousuke Kobayashi singled to centre and Espinoza threw out Gomi at home.
The West champions mounted another threat in the second, loading the bases with two outs. But Holman struck out, waving his bat ever-so-slightly at a pitch that was low and outside and shaking his head in dismay at the call.
If Japan had a plan, it likely was to make the hard-throwing Holman work, and the tall right-hander did just that. When he struck out Sho Miyao looking to end the second inning, he had thrown 50 pitches. Not a good omen for the West champions with a maximum of 85 allowed and Nick Mora, the hero of Saturday's win over Connecticut with a 10-strikeout, two-hit performance, ineligible to pitch.
Ishida wasn't faring any better. After three innings he had thrown 69 pitches, struck out five, walked three, and hit three batters.
Japan took a 3-2 lead when Takagi led off the bottom of the third by slamming a home run over the right-field fence on an 0-1 pitch. A smile on his face, Takagi raised his right arm in triumph as he rounded the bases and was mobbed by his teammates after crossing the plate.
Holman avoided further damage by striking out pinch-hitter Tatsuki Nagano and getting pinch-hitter Seiya Nishino to ground out to first with two runners on. When he went to the dugout, Holman had only three pitches left to reach the maximum of 85 and was through on the mound for the day.
"We certainly expected to get more than three innings from Grant," Tibbett said. "From the first inning, you could tell he was leaving pitches up. Once it took him 28 pitches to get through the first inning we knew somebody else would probably finish the game."
The Japanese pitchers kept the hot-hitting Pietila-Wiggs off-balance at the plate, but after getting fooled by a pitch in the top of the fourth he laced a ground-rule double down the left-field line.
Espinoza followed with a bloop single to left and took second on the throw in.
Ishida then hit Mora to load the bases, tying the World Series record for most hit batsmen in a game, and Keita Saito came on in relief.
Batting with the bases loaded, Holman, who hit a grand slam earlier in the World Series, grounded to third and Japan got the forceout at home for the first out.
A day earlier, Japan twice escaped big jams in the win over Mexico, once with the bases loaded and nobody out. This time it failed as Cortez laced a two-run single to left field for a 4-3 lead.
Ricky Tibbett relieved Holman in the fourth and retired the side in order, striking out two, as Chula Vista crept that much closer to the title.
Patrick Archer walked leading off the fifth and Dominic Haley reached on an error by first baseman Kensuke Tsuchida to give California a chance to extend its lead.
Wiggs then laced a shoulder-high fastball down the left-field line for a single to load the bases, the ball hit too hard for Archer to score from second. That proved critical. Espinoza lined to left and Archer was doubled up at home on a strong throw by Gomi, and Mora struck out, stranding another two runners.
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