Sports Quote of the Day:
"The time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect." ~ Woody Hayes, Legendary Ohio State University Football Coach
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Bears stay unbeaten with 40-23 win over Steelers.
WILL GRAVES (AP Sports Writer)
The Chicago Bears are unbeaten. The Pittsburgh Steelers can't stop beating themselves.
Major Wright returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, and Julius Peppers picked up Ben Roethlisberger's fumble and raced 42 yards for a score in the fourth quarter as the Bears beat the reeling Steelers 40-23 on Sunday night.
Roethlisberger completed 26 of 41 passes for 406 yards, and threw two touchdowns to Antonio Brown, but the Steelers fell to 0-3 for the first time since 2000 thanks to an avalanche of mistakes. Pittsburgh committed five turnovers, four of which led directly to points by the opportunistic Bears.
Jay Cutler passed for 159 yards and threw a 17-yard touchdown strike to Earl Bennett
with just under 6 minutes remaining to give the Bears breathing room after the Steelers trimmed a 21-point deficit to four.
The Steelers trailed by three touchdowns in the first half but pulled within 27-23 on Shaun Suisham's 44-yard field goal with 10:43 to play.
Chicago's offense, which generated little after a 17-point outburst in the first quarter, responded behind Cutler.
The quarterback scrambled for 13 yards on third-and-10 to start the drive. Cutler then hit Brandon Marshall for 41 yards on third-and-12 to move into Pittsburgh territory.
Facing third-and-5 at the Pittsburgh 17, Cutler found Bennett in the back corner of the end zone.
Officials ruled the pass was incomplete, but the play was overturned after replays showed Bennett deftly dragged his right foot before sliding out of bounds.
Pittsburgh tried to get back into the game but Lance Briggs stripped Roethlisberger, and Peppers picked up the ball. The veteran defensive end followed a parade of blockers down the sideline for Chicago's second defensive score of the night and third in two weeks.
The Bears rode a pair of fourth-quarter comebacks to a 2-0 start. A rally wouldn't be required this time after the Steelers continued to bumble their way through a miserable September.
Roethlisberger's second interception on a late stat-padding drive was Pittsburgh's ninth turnover through three games. The Steelers defense, meanwhile, hasn't recorded a takeaway through 12 quarters.
It's a recipe that rarely leads to victory.
Chicago's defense isn't quite the snarling force it was when recently retired linebacker Brian Urlacher was running things, but the Bears make up for their lack of bark with a pretty feisty bite.
When opponents get loose with the ball, the Bears pounce.
The mistakes started early. Pittsburgh turned it over twice in the first half. D.J. Williams stripped Roethlisberger in the first quarter, leading to a 5-yard touchdown run by Matt Forte.
Chicago was up 17-3 midway through the second quarter when Roethlisberger threw off his back foot in the face of a blitz. The bail sailed into the hands of Wright, who sprinted down the sideline for a touchdown to give the Bears a commanding 21-point lead.
The score marked the second straight week and the 10th time since the start of the 2012 season the Bears returned an interception for a touchdown, easily the most in the NFL.
The Steelers, looking to avoid their second 0-3 start in the last 27 years, responded with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Brown with 6:35 left in the half to give Pittsburgh life.
It didn't last long. Wright jarred the ball loose from Felix Jones. Henry Milton recovered and Robbie Gould's second field goal pushed Chicago's lead to 27-10.
Pittsburgh, which came in ranked 31st in the league in total offense, finally got going.
Brown made a one-handed grab in the back of the end zone to get the Steelers within 27-20. Suisham's field goal pulled them within four before the Bears put the game away.
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Froese's 2 goals lead Blackhawks past Wings, 4-3.
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Froese's 2 goals lead Blackhawks past Wings, 4-3.
| Scoreboard | ||||||
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | ||
Chicago « | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
Detroit | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
Byron Froese scored his second goal 3:25 into the third period and the Chicago Blackhawks held on for a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in a preseason game Sunday.
Joakim Nordstrom and Garret Ross also scored for Chicago and Corey Crawford made 30 saves.
Tomas Tatar scored twice for Red Wings (2-3-0), Jonathan Ericsson added a goal and Gustav Nyquist had three assists. Jimmy Howard stopped 16 of 20 shots before being replaced by Jared Coreau early in the third period. Coreau made four saves.
Tatar opened the scoring 7:29 into the game and Froese answered 1:49 later.
Nordstrom's tally came with 2:54 left in the first.
Ross and Froese scored less than a minute apart early in the third.
Tatar got his second goal, on the power play, with 7:02 left and Ericsson's goal came with 41 seconds to go.
Just another Chicago Bulls Session... "The time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect."
By Kelly Dwyer
Derrick Rose can hide in the Chicago Bulls' game room no longer (Getty Images)
During the 2012-13 season, Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose frustrated Bulls fans and also local media by refusing to speak with the press about his ongoing recovery from an ACL tear suffered in the first round of the 2012 playoffs. Rose raised a few eyebrows midseason by granting an interview with USA Today, instead of speaking with any number of the team’s respected local beat writers, dutiful sorts that work with the team daily.
The NBA, in reviewing its media guidelines for the 2013-14 season and beyond, has decided to enact a ‘Derrick Rose Rule’ of sorts, demanding that players speak with the press (and, by extension, their fans) even if they’re on the pine with a long-term injury. The Associated Press’ Brian Mahoney spoke with NBA senior vice president of communications Tim Frank to discuss the changes:
The NBA, in reviewing its media guidelines for the 2013-14 season and beyond, has decided to enact a ‘Derrick Rose Rule’ of sorts, demanding that players speak with the press (and, by extension, their fans) even if they’re on the pine with a long-term injury. The Associated Press’ Brian Mahoney spoke with NBA senior vice president of communications Tim Frank to discuss the changes:
"It was time to take a fresh look," Frank said. "We've basically had the same rules for 30-plus years and with the changing media landscape it was clear there were redundancies and we needed to adjust."
Players frequently didn't talk when injured, and in the case of recent late-season injuries to Derrick Rose and Kevin Garnett, their teams' seasons ended before they ever spoke to reporters after getting hurt. The new rules require a player with a long-term injury to meet with the media within a week of the diagnosis, if medically possible, and speak once a week after he returns to practice, even if he hasn't resumed playing in games.
I can tell you first hand that Frank is very, very good at his job, and he’s not exactly asking injured types to go through the ringer in speaking to the press at every game they attend. Frank and the NBA also limited the amount of time players have to be available to reporters prior to the game from 45 minutes down to 30. Pre-game quotes from players are a huge help to working newspaper reporters as they write up secondary stories on deadline before and during that night’s games, but players routinely dodge the press prior to the game to receive “treatment” in a trainer’s room that is off limits to reporters. Kevin Garnett’s career-long hesitancy to co-operate in a timely manner pre and postgame to NBA reporters on deadline has been in place since the 1990s.
As an NBA scribe whose loyalties remain with the Chicago Bulls as a basketball fan, I stayed staunchly on Derrick Rose’s side as he took as much time as he saw fit to return to the court following his ACL tear. That said, his refusal to speak with the press during his rehabilitation left both reporters in a lurch, and his fans frustrated at the ongoing silence.
With Rose returning to Bulls practice just after the All-Star break, his ongoing press boycott hurt his image more than it helped, as even his most ardent supporters (like, perhaps, the guy typing this out) were at the very best dubious and at the very worst disappointed in how the entire 13-month process following Rose’s injury, Chicago’s rebuilding, the regular season and playoff run went down.
A little more transparency, even if it’s rife with clichés and go-to throwaway quotes, always helps. And as a fan, more than an NBA analyst, I appreciate Tim Frank and the NBA’s move toward increased communication between NBA players, and their supporters.
Lateral Hazard: Blessed by golf gods, Henrik Stenson lands $11.4 million payday.
By Brian Murphy
Henrik Stenson wasn't the most jovial guy after having won $11.4 million. (AP)
A relaxed and somewhat chatty Tiger Woods wrapped up his 2013 season with media after the Tour Championship on Sunday, when he made mention of a streak he had in 2007 where he "made everything" and won a lot. He said the same was true with Luke Donald on his ascent to No. 1, that he made putts and couldn't hit a bad shot; and same with Rory McIlroy, too, when he soared to No. 1. So I guess that Tiger Theory is as good a way as any to explain the Henrik Stenson Phenomenon that seems to have visited golf from an alternate galaxy.
The 37-year-old Swede is the latest to have the golf gods pull him aside, give him a wink and say: "This, kid. This is your time. Enjoy it, because we won't be saying this to you for the rest of your life. This is what we do. We come, we reward those who find something in their swing and in their brain, we let you roll, we get you paid, and then eventually we'll come pull the rug out from under you. Just ask your pal Rors."
Presto! Henrik Stenson, the guy who endured two career slumps so mighty you thought he'd fallen off the face of the Earth; the guy who famously played a golf shot in his boxer briefs; the guy who has a simmering temper below his stoic Scandinavian mug is, after a Tour Championship and FedExCup playoff triumph, all of a sudden King of the Golf World.
Want to hit a green in regulation? Stenson's your man, leading all players at East Lake, just as he did in two of the other three FedExCup events. Want to rank first on the PGA Tour in ball striking? Stenson's your man. Want to go wire-to-wire at the Tour Championship, with the pressure of a $10 million prize and a side bonus of $1.4 million for winning the event? Stenson's your – very wealthy – man.
All this from a player who had two PGA Tour wins in his career, and no majors. Yeah, it happens this way sometimes. As the ad guy once said: These Guys Are Good, and in any given hot stretch, One Guy Can Be Really Good.
Still, it's been a two-month blitzkrieg nobody saw coming. Stenson identified his swing clicking at the Scottish Open, where he finished tie-3rd behind winner Phil Mickelson. Since then, his tournament finishes:
• British Open: 2nd.
• WGC-Bridgestone: Tie-2nd.
• PGA Championship: 3rd.
• FedExCup Barclays: tie-43rd.
• FedExCup Deutsche Bank: 1st.
• FedExCup BMW: tie-33rd.
• FedExCup Tour Championship: 1st.
• WGC-Bridgestone: Tie-2nd.
• PGA Championship: 3rd.
• FedExCup Barclays: tie-43rd.
• FedExCup Deutsche Bank: 1st.
• FedExCup BMW: tie-33rd.
• FedExCup Tour Championship: 1st.
Any questions?
And as we learned more about Stenson, we understood his expectations for himself ran pretty high, despite his placid exterior. When he struggled to that tie-33rd at Conway Farms, he snapped the head off a driver in anger. Then, we found out from Golf.com that he also trashed a locker in the clubhouse, too.
Henrik Stenson: golf rock star. His motto might as well be: "Either I play well, or I'm going Keith Moon up in this piece, destroying property."
So if you were the guy who said in January, at your Fantasy Golf draft, while the trade winds of Kapalua buffeted the young lovers Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky (remember that start-of-year gallery buzz? Now our paramours are engaged!), that Stenson was your pick to win the FedExCup then just stop right now. Because nobody said that. Not even Stenson.
Something clicked in the summer of 2013, and it was fairways and greens, ahoy. He called it "an incredible run ... I'm speechless." He also reflected on his two career dips, falling to 230th in the world at one point, and said: "One should never give up.
Always keep on trying harder. I managed to come out of some big slumps. Hang in there. Try your best, good things will come your way."
You going to doubt Dr. Feelgood? He's got $11.4 million reasons for you not to.
What’s old is new again: Matt Kenseth beats Kyle Busch at New Hampshire.
By Nick Bromberg
(Getty Images)
Two weeks, two Chase wins for Matt Kenseth.
Kenseth won Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the second race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, much like he won the first Chase race at Chicagoland a week earlier, pulling away from teammate Kyle Busch on the final restart and beating him to the finish line.
Busch got close to Kenseth's bumper over the last few laps but didn't get close enough to come close to making a pass.
An emotional Kenseth called Loudon one of his worst performing tracks in victory lane, but he was not poor on Sunday. After staying near the front, he took the lead for good with 93 laps to go and wasn't passed on the track since.
It was Kenseth's first win at New Hampshire after finishing ninth in the spring. Before Joining Joe Gibbs Racing at the beginning of the season, he had one top 10 finish in the past five seasons at the flat one-mile track.
With the win, Kenseth joins Tony Stewart in 2011 and Greg Biffle in 2008 as the only drivers to win the first two races of the Chase. In 2011, Stewart went on to win the championship, winning three other races.
It's Kenseth's seventh win of the season, and he now leads Busch by 18 points in the Chase standings., despite his teammate finishing second to him in both of those Chase races. Perhaps most strikingly, Kenseth leads fourth place Carl Edwards by 36 points, which is 36 positions on the track, minus a lap led or two. Jimmie Johnson is third, four points behind Busch. Is it already a three person race to the Chase?
While it may be a bit premature to officially declare that, if it was, it wouldn't be the most surprising development in the world. Kenseth, Busch and Johnson have been the strongest drivers in the series this season and have combined for 14 wins in 28 races. Though if Kenseth keeps this pace, even Johnson and Busch won't have a chance.
Jurgen Klinsmann: USMNT making progress but have to "be realistic" about 2014 World Cup.
MLSSoccer.com
The US national team are “raising the bar” and learning how to compete with the world's best, but they won't be raising the World Cup trophy in Brazil next summer, said head coach Jurgen Klinsmann on Saturday night.
Speaking to NBC Sports Network's Russ Thaler and Kyle Martino at halftime of the LA Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders match at StubHub Center, Klinsmann was his usual upbeat self as he discussed the impressive progress made by the USMNT during his two-plus years in charge – until Thaler put him on the spot with the final question of the brief interview.
“We're just growing in terms of what our demands are. We are raising the bar,” said Klinsmann of the US, who have qualified for Brazil 2014 with two games to spare.
“We say we want to compete with the best in the world one day, we want to get into the top 10 in the world.
“We asked the players to step it up, and we threw them in the cold water – and they were swimming in the cold water here and there.”
But when asked whether his team, when playing at its best, can win the world's most popular tournament, Klinsmann showed the limits of his optimism.
“No, you've got to be realistic,” he said. “I mean, I think we have the potential, obviously like in the past, to get out of the group stage – it depends, obviously, who you have in your group – and then it's all down to 50-50 games. Then you give the real battles in the knockout stage.
“But why not going a bit further than you ever did before? Why not giving the big nations, whoever that is, a real battle? And that's why we play those friendlies in Italy or we play in Bosnia or wherever against top teams in the world, and we showed that we can compete there. So why not in the World Cup?”
Clearly not content with the team's status quo, Klinsmann underlined his intentions to go full bore in search of a maximum six points from next month's qualifiers despite the US having already booked their place in Brazil, and hailed the contributions MLS has made to the national team under his watch.
“It's very important that your domestic league gets stronger and stronger, and we all have to help in doing that. So I'm not afraid of bringing MLS players in, giving them a chance and telling them, 'listen, if you make a mistake, so what? It's no problem. We all make mistakes,'” he said.
“The growth of MLS is crucial to the national team – [and] our success is crucial for soccer in the entire country. I call the national team the locomotive of soccer in the country, and therefore you work hand in hand.”
“It's very important that your domestic league gets stronger and stronger, and we all have to help in doing that. So I'm not afraid of bringing MLS players in, giving them a chance and telling them, 'listen, if you make a mistake, so what? It's no problem. We all make mistakes,'” he said.
“The growth of MLS is crucial to the national team – [and] our success is crucial for soccer in the entire country. I call the national team the locomotive of soccer in the country, and therefore you work hand in hand.”
NCAA Associated Press Top 25 Football Teams, 09/22/2013.
www.cbssportsline.com
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The Sporting News
| East Division | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | RS | RA | Streak | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | x-Boston | 95 | 62 | .605 | - | 53-28 | 42-34 | 807 | 625 | Won 1 | 6-4 |
 | Tampa Bay | 86 | 69 | .555 | 8.0 | 50-30 | 36-39 | 656 | 617 | Won 3 | 7-3 |
 | NY Yankees | 82 | 74 | .526 | 12.5 | 46-32 | 36-42 | 636 | 646 | Lost 1 | 4-6 |
 | Baltimore | 81 | 74 | .523 | 13.0 | 42-33 | 39-41 | 710 | 668 | Lost 4 | 4-6 |
 | Toronto | 71 | 84 | .458 | 23.0 | 38-40 | 33-44 | 679 | 722 | Lost 1 | 4-6 |
Central Division | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | RS | RA | Streak | L10 | |
 | Detroit | 91 | 65 | .583 | - | 51-30 | 40-35 | 782 | 606 | Lost 1 | 7-3 |
 | Cleveland | 86 | 70 | .551 | 5.0 | 49-30 | 37-40 | 696 | 641 | Won 4 | 8-2 |
 | Kansas City | 82 | 73 | .529 | 8.5 | 44-37 | 38-36 | 620 | 576 | Won 1 | 6-4 |
 | Minnesota | 65 | 90 | .419 | 25.5 | 31-43 | 34-47 | 588 | 741 | Lost 4 | 2-8 |
 | Chi White Sox | 61 | 94 | .394 | 29.5 | 35-41 | 26-53 | 573 | 688 | Won 1 | 3-7 |
West Division | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | RS | RA | Streak | L10 | |
 | x-Oakland | 93 | 63 | .596 | - | 52-29 | 41-34 | 723 | 598 | Won 4 | 8-2 |
 | Texas | 84 | 71 | .542 | 8.5 | 39-35 | 45-36 | 682 | 608 | Lost 1 | 3-7 |
 | LA Angels | 76 | 79 | .490 | 16.5 | 37-41 | 39-38 | 706 | 699 | Lost 1 | 7-3 |
 | Seattle | 68 | 88 | .436 | 25.0 | 33-42 | 35-46 | 597 | 724 | Won 1 | 3-7 |
 | Houston | 51 | 105 | .327 | 42.0 | 24-54 | 27-51 | 599 | 807 | Lost 9 | 1-9 |
National League
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x-Division Champ; y-Clinched Playoff Spot
Fever sweep Sky to move on to Eastern final.
AP Sports
Even after winning the regular season series with Chicago, the defending WNBA-champion Indiana Fever weren't taking anything for granted in their first-round playoff series against the Sky.
''What we did in the regular season really doesn't matter,'' Fever coach Lin Dunn said of her team's 3-1 record against the Sky in the regular season. ''I think the upper hand we had was experience. Postseason experience, championship experience. Don't underestimate the value of that.''
That postseason experience paid off Sunday with the Fever rolling past rookie of the year Elena Delle Donne and the Sky 79-57 to complete a two-game sweep of the conference's top seed. It's the third consecutive postseason series win over a higher-seeded opponent for the Fever (18-18), including in last year's Eastern Conference and WNBA finals.
The drive for a repeat will continue against either Atlanta or Washington, who play the decisive game in their series Monday night. The winner of that series will host Game 1 of the East final on Thursday.
Dunn and the Fever knew they would have to rely on their defense against the Sky (24-12), who boast a formidable offensive trio in Delle Donne, Sylvia Fowles and Epiphanny Prince, and Indiana forced the three into a combined 11-of-34 performance from the field.
''We came into this series knowing Chicago had three good players, and we had to defend at a high level,'' Indiana's Shavonte Zellous said.
Fowles had 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Prince and Delle Donne each scored 10 for Chicago, which was 17-of-57 from the field overall. The high-scoring Delle Donne had no points in the second half.
''I'm looking at some areas of play where we were absolutely dominated,'' Sky coach Pokey Chatman said, also mentioning rebounding. ''It manifests itself in stagnating offensively.''
Tamika Catchings had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Fever - her 20th double-double in 49 career playoff games. Catchings also moved into second on the league's all-time list for playoff rebounds. She is already the WNBA's leader in playoff free throws and steals and is third in scoring.
It was the first playoff series for the Sky franchise.''They're going to be a team to deal with in the future,'' Dunn said.
Chicago missed it first six shots from the field and still jumped out to a 6-3 lead thanks to six free throws, but Catchings answered with a 6-0 run of her own that put Indiana ahead for good.
Erlana Larkins added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Fever, and Zellous, the WNBA's most improved player, scored 10.
The Fever's 47-27 halftime lead was their largest in postseason history and biggest this season.
Chicago opened the second half with a 5-0 run, but Catchings scored on a layup, was fouled and hit the free throw to put Indiana up 50-32. The Sky would get no closer than 18 the rest of the way.
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