CS&T/AllsportsAmerica Wednesday Sports News Update, 09/04/2013.

Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica

 

Sports Quote of the Day:

 

“People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to.”
~ George E. Allen, College Football Coach

Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! GM gives State of the Bears Address

 

By Michael C. Wright

Attention to detail set apart Phil Emery from the other candidates when the Chicago Bears started the search for a new general manager to replace Jerry Angelo.

That same trait impressed the fans when Emery took the podium during his first news conference of the 2012 offseason when he outlined the plan moving forward for the club. And nothing’s changed. Emery made that apparent Monday during somewhat of a State of the Union address regarding the Bears.

Chicago GM Phil Emery, pictured here talking with the media in January 2013, continues to stand by his commitment to improving the Bears' roster. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

 

Although longwinded at times, Emery laid out reasoning for all the club's recent roster activities, and the plans for the team as it moves into the future. Here’s a sampling from Emery’s opening remarks at Halas Hall:

 

“Want to talk a little about our roster composition and how it got to where it’s at today, restate our goals for our roster when I came in, how we’re working toward attaining those goals that were outlined for our team. No. 1 is we want to develop or have more offensive weapons for the quarterback. No. 2 is, in developing those weapons for a quarterback, we were going to become a quarterback-centered team, and we were going to need to develop the protection of the quarterback and those weapons that he had in terms of helping him with the protection, always having an outlet in the center of the field that he could see while he was undergoing pressure.

“We also wanted to address our defensive needs in terms of moving forward as we start to replenish our defense moving forward through our years is that we do it with sudden, dynamic players; high-level athletes that can make plays, just like the offensive weapons, guys that can hit home runs, guys on defense that can run down great athletes, and that’s what we set out to accomplish.

“Part of when you look at a roster is knowing what needs to improve or be fixed, and also know what isn’t broke(n) and doesn’t need to be tampered with. On our roster this year from 2012, the last two years moving forward, there’s 31 of the 53 (players) on the roster (who) are new people. So there’s been a 55 percent turnover. On offense that’s 18 of our 24. So that’s a 75 percent turnover on the offensive roster since January of 2012. Only 42 percent of those, 10 of the 24, are original Bears. On defense, little bit different story. Thirteen out of 25 or 52 percent turnover vs. the 75 percent; 68 percent, 17 out of 25 are original Bears. So we’re moving in the direction to improve the offense and slowly moving in the direction to add youth to the defense. I think our roster numbers speak to that. It speaks of the consistency of trying to work toward our goals to improve the weapons on our team, to improve the protection for our quarterback, to be quarterback centered and to slowly add youth and dynamic athleticism to our defense as our needs arise.”

What needs to improve, Emery said, is the team’s approach to building the roster with original talent, whether through draft picks or undrafted free agents. Emery came to that conclusion, in part, by studying Chicago’s roster in comparison with those of the rest of the NFC North.

Despite Green Bay's standing as a division rival, clearly Emery respects what the Packers have done.

“I was curious to in terms of retention of original players on the rosters, not only for our team but for teams in our division. I went through it and what I saw was we're 29 out of the 53 players that we have or roughly 55 percent are original Bears. They were on this team originally. The Green Bay Packers are 43 of 53. The Minnesota Vikings are 39 of 53, and the Detroit Lions are 27 of 53.

“I firmly believe the best way to build a team is your own original talent: your draft picks, your college free agents. It helps you in several ways. It helps you manage the cap, so that it gives you flexibility that when you do need a dynamic player to help you fill in, you are able to go and get them. 

You have the cap flexibility to go get that player, which can add to the consistency of your team winning year in, year out. It also gives your team a home-grown flavor for your fans and allows those players to be together longer to improve together, and to play together as a team for a longer period with more consistency. Now, that's not the only way to build a team. 

“When I came in here, I've already stated what our philosophy toward building is. What I'm saying is what we need to do in terms of continuing to improve our roster and our chances to gain and be in a position to win championships consistently is we need to retain more of our own players. We need to have more years like we had this year in terms of having a high number of picks and college free agents on the roster relative to what we brought in. We need to have that consistently. I need to do a better job of finding ways to gain more picks on draft day, and we need to do a better job as a college staff in our recruitment and retention of high-quality college free agents. That's how you produce rosters at these types of numbers: where the Packers are at, where the Vikings are at. How have they gone about it? They've had consistency in the front office. They've had consistency of coaching. They've had consistency of a philosophy moving forward. We've undergone a change. Change brings a different dynamic, obviously. But whether it's players that were on the roster when I was here, or the roster moving forward, what we want to do is consistently hit on our college picks. Now, the last two years we have a total of 14, five (picks) from last year and nine from this year. We need to have more years like this year to continue to build this roster to be consistent and be consistently in a spot where we can win championships.”

Emery said quite a mouthful here, but his remarks give you an idea of the plan of attack with the roster, and how the personnel department has gone about accomplishing the GM’s goals. The task seems arduous. But for Bears fans, Emery’s dogged effort to stick to his originally-stated goals, and the detail-oriented approach he’s used toward working the plan should provide some optimism.

Offensively, turnover has been high while on defense, the Bears have added youth in select spots to gradually replenish the unit.

Emery’s plans seem like they could take time to fully develop, but the 2013 season should provide at least a small indication of whether things are working.

We'll be checking back in with Emery this offseason for sure.

 

How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Chicago Blackhawks announce extension for G Crawford.

 

By AP-Sports

The Blackhawks and goalie Corey Crawford have agreed to a six-year contract extension.

Crawford started every playoff game for Chicago last season, helping the Blackhawks win their second Stanley Cup title in three years. He went 16-7 with an NHL-best 1.84 goals-against average in the postseason.

The Blackhawks announced the deal on Monday. The contract runs through the 2019-20 season.

The 28-year-old Crawford was selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2003 draft. Crawford, who made his NHL debut in January 2006, is 83-43 with eight shutouts, a 2.40 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in 152 career games with the Blackhawks.

What We Learned: Blame your NHL owners for your team’s cap crunch, difficulty competing on.

 

By Ryan Lambert

 

Tony Gallagher's column yesterday was about the way in which the salary cap has had a negative impact on the ability of big-market, profitable teams to spend as they normally would on talent in the offseason, and what that essentially means for the fans in those markets.

(Gallagher equated it to a "screw you" from the NHL, which given the league's history with these kinds of gestures probably isn't all that far from the essence of the truth, even if it misses the mark somewhat.)

Contained within that column was the nugget that the Canucks and Tampa Bay Lightning are spending more or less the same amount on players this season.

The implication was that this was inherently unfair to the fans in the "traditional" (see also: money-making) (see also also: Canadian) hockey markets because you're paying, by Gallagher's count, $390 there to see a team of the same quality as someone paying $90 in Tampa, which seems a generous estimate of what a ticket to a Lightning game probably costs these days.

But what that misses, really, is the fact that these teams with their high revenues —remember, there are only a small number that actually make money every season, and thus can spend commensurately — didn't so much want to stick it to their fans.

 
Remember, the teams most vehemently behind the lockout were not Tampa and Florida and Dallas and the other relative have-nots when it comes to NHL revenues, which vastly outnumber the teams that make money and could have been far more vocal and held out for even more, but rather titans like the Bruins and Flames, whose owners were willing to sacrifice the competitive advantage they carried by being able to spend however much they wanted (though with rather disparate results in the case of those two teams).

Instead, they sacrificed that said it was due to the insipid need to have "competitive balance," and with all 30 teams having made the playoffs since 2005-06 they can say this was a feat they achieved and isn't that so nice that they did it just for you, the fans?

It's not a coincidence that six teams, then, most of which claim to be profitable (the Sharks, laughably, say they lost money in 2011-12) are actually above the salary cap right now.

Boston had to trade Tyler Seguin to Dallas to clear a little bit of cap space and will get a lot more flexibility when Marc Savard's hit is taken off their books.

Philadelphia bought out both Ilya Bryzgalov and Danny Briere and somehow still have the largest cap number in the league.

Pittsburgh continues to grow even more top-heavy and therefore more vulnerable when the postseason begins.

 
Detroit just doesn't know how to spend money on players correctly.

San Jose is still giving an odd collection of players an odder amount of money, and may be looking down the barrel of their last best Cup chance given that have the benefit of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle coming off the books at the end of this season.

Finally, Los Angeles is both barely over the cap and only carrying one notably bad contract (that of Robyn Regehr and his $3 million for each of the next two seasons).

Another thing you'll notice about those teams, apart from the fact that they're likely all money-makers, or at least in large U.S. markets, is that they're all pretty good, save for Philadelphia. The Toronto Maple Leafs, in the sport's biggest market and its most profitable team by far, is currently going through a significant amount of cap issues vis a vis its ability to re-sign both Nazem Kadri and Cody Franson to deals either player would actually accept. The Montreal Canadiens, likewise, spent next to nothing this offseason while the rest of its competition for divisional playoff spots beefed up.

Of course, the reality of the situation has nothing to do with competitive balance and is only tangentially related to getting the dizzying ascent of player costs under control.

Think about the motives for owners who have the financial ability to build the best teams possible and overspent so for years before the introduction of the salary cap.

What would the ability of (insert historically bad team in historically worse market here) to make the playoffs matter to them?

Let's be perfectly clear here: The reason that so many teams are within just a few million dollars of the salary cap, while relatively few ventured this close last season, is that owners of large clubs would like to recover at least a portion of the revenue losses they suffered last year during their self-imposed lockout by slashing the cap by a little less than $6 million.

Most likely lost more than that, of course, but they have a full 82 games to make it up, and that's getting 50 cents of every dollar on hockey-related revenues, rather than the previous 43. That's going to add up quickly, and though most expect the salary cap to blow up to $80 million within the next few years, it's more likely to only get so far as the $70 million-ish mark it was in 2011-12, meaning another year of owners making more than they had to spend prior to the most recent lockout.

So yes, this is a "screw you" to the fans in successful markets for sure, but only insofar as owners of those teams want to pocket more of the silly amounts of money spent at the rink every night.

That's not the NHL's way, so much as it is that of the owners, who have spent almost a full year a year straight at this point kicking fans in the nuts. But then, fans keep showing up to get kicked and don't think to wear a cup, so really, who's the actual problem here?

 

What We Learned

 

Anaheim Ducks: Somewhat lost in the Teemu Selanne return announcement and viral video is that Selanne said that another big reason he wanted to come back is so that he can play in the Olympics. If he makes the team (and why wouldn't he?) it will be his sixth Olympics. Sixth!

 

Boston Bruins: Milan Lucic said that the reason he started out so poorly last season was that he was finally getting paid big bucks. That and he spent the entire lockout eating churros. Pressure? Talk to his waistbands about it.

 

Buffalo Sabres: The Sabres still haven't signed Cody Hodgson, and the team isn't likely to be willing to shell out Adam Henrique money for him (even though he was their second-best point producer last season).

Calgary Flames: Flames draftee Patrick Sieloff spent pretty much the entire summer at various camps, whether they were Calgary's prospect camp or USA Hockey's World Junior camp, and is now headed for the Penticton Young Stars tournament this week. Will he make the big club this season? They might not have better options, which, you know, isn't good.

 

Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes' defense has long been one of the worst in hockey, and that status was bolstered by the addition of Andrej Sekera this summer, who thinks he has a "clean slate." All that really means, though, is a new fanbase to start watching through the cracks between their fingers every time he takes a shift.

 

Chicago Blackhawks: I saw this headline about "Blackhawks' Stanton gets day with Cup" and I was like, "Who's that? A trainer?" And no it's some guy who played one game with them this season. So even if you play one game at the very end of the season and only take 24 shifts, you still get a day with the Cup. That's pretty cool I guess.

 

Colorado Avalanche: The Avs need to pull the trigger on that rumored-but-extraordinarily-unlikely Ryan Miller/Paul Stastny swap, says a guy who is wrong. What does either team have to gain from such a trade, really? The Avs — who have no chance of making the playoffs anyway — get a goalie a year from UFA status and of uncertain quality at this point in his career, and such a swap would largely invalidate the whole "We gave up way too much for Semyon Varlamov" trade with Washington given the Russian's alleged status as the team's Goalie of the Future or whatever. Meanwhile, Buffalo doesn't need a No. 1b-ish center who, likewise, is a year away from UFA status. Picks and prospects, sure send over Miller. Stastny? Ah just hang onto him.

 

Columbus Blue Jackets: Will Sergei Bobrovsky be the only reason the Blue Jackets compete for a playoff spot in the PatrickPlus? That depends on whether you think they'll be anywhere near that quality, which they won't be.

 

Dallas Stars: "Shawn Horcoff should rebound nicely in first season with Dallas Stars." Because that's what lots of 34-year-olds who haven’t broken 20 goals since 2008 do.

 

Detroit Red Wings: Jimmy Howard would really like to make the Olympic team this season but you gotta figure all he has to do is remain healthy to finish ahead of one of Craig Anderson and Ryan Miller.

 

Edmonton Oilers: Someone made a ranking of all 30 coaches and GMs in the league, and Craig MacTavish and Dallas Eakins finished last. You know, because Steve Tambellini and Ralph Krueger were bad at the jobs they now occupy. Here's a free tip to anyone making a list like this: If Jay Feaster and Bob Hartley aren't the lastest of the last, throw your list in the garbage, light the garbage can on fire, stick your head in the flaming garbage can, and jump from the nearest roof into a dumpster.

 

Florida Panthers: Best story of the week: Remember that Panthers minority owner who lost a bunch of money investing in porn sites? He claimed that was investment was made unwittingly, but now it seems like maybe it wasn't.

 

Los Angeles Kings: Fresh off two former hockey players whose names I forget and can't be bothered to look up winning the Amazing Race last season, CBS has now cast two Kings Ice Crew members in the new season. Spoiler alert: They are attractive blonde women. Brave choice from the producers.

 

Minnesota Wild: If he hits UFA status, should the Wild try to acquire Phil Kessel? Oh I don't know he's probably one of the world's premier goalscoring right wings so I guess they probably shouldn't because who likes guys who can score goals not me and definitely not Toronto and definitely definitely not Minnesota.

 

Montreal Canadiens: The Habs might extend a training camp invite to Brenden Morrow, likely because they need a big thing in the middle of the ice for their forwards to practice skating around.

 

Nashville Predators, America's Favorite Hockey Team: If the Preds don't succeed this season, is that gonna wrap 'er up for Barry Trotz's long and weirdly successful tenure in Nashville? Jeez I hope not. What a guy.

 

New Jersey Devils: The Devils re-extended their radio deal with New York station WFAN which is great news for 78-year-olds who don't watch the game on TV. I'll take your answer off the air.

 

New York Islanders: Evgeni Nabokov on rumors he would leave the Isles this summer: "To the KHL!? Did someone seriously write this?" That's hilarious incredulity.

 

New York Rangers: The Rangers are participating in that annual Traverse City rookie tournament, which will be streamed online starting Sept. 5. You'd think this is the kind of thing the NHL Network would cover due to the fact that they a) have done it in the past and b) have nothing better to show than the Bruins/Penguins series from this year all stupid afternoon. But given that this is the National Hockey League, and specifically their no-effort, awful television channel, we're talking about, of course they're not. Because why would they?

 

Ottawa Senators: Paul MacLean had some stuff to say about Daniel Alfredsson skipping town for a divisional rival and weirdly it was more than, "Who cares? We lost a 40-year-old and got Bobby frickin' Ryan instead. I'm doing cartwheels and giggling about it every day."

 

Philadelphia Flyers: Matt Read says he doesn't want to get traded by the Flyers, as has been rumored for some time now. Learn from history or be doomed to repeat it: Whatever you do, don't sign a long-term contract.

 

Phoenix Coyotes: The Coyotes and Mikkel Boedker are still working hard to get a contract signed for this season but you know how negotiations usually go for this team, eh?

 

Pittsburgh Penguins: Every once in a while I read a thing in getting WWL together where I feel like it is incumbent upon me to basically plead with you to read it because of its Cultural Importance and everything like that. Well here it is guys and gals (and yes I know this is old but lay off, it's August): "Scuderi's worth isn't going to show up on your average stat sheet. … Even advanced stats like The Corsii ratings don't measure how effective a player like Scuderi is at keeping opponents in check." Haha, jeepers. "The Corsii." Anyway, stick around for the comments.

 

San Jose Sharks: I think it's a fairly legitimate question as to whether Joe Thornton will make the Canadian Olympic team this season. I'm not sure he's one of the five best centers they'd be bringing. Crosby, Toews, Stamkos, Tavares, and Bergeron seem to have the inside track, do they not?

 

St. Louis Blues: On the other hand, the fact that Jay Bouwmeester appears to be a legitimate contender for that team doesn't bode well for gold hopes, you'd think. It's not that Bouwmeester is bad or anything like that; far from it in fact. However, that he might be in that country's top-8 should be a little worrisome.

 

Tampa Bay Lightning: Mattias Ohlund confirms what most of us already knew: He's almost certainly done playing hockey. He's not going to officially retire, though, because he's still $6.75 million through the end of 2015-16.

 

Toronto Maple Leafs: "With a reduced salary cap, Leafs to get younger next season." Well, that's one way to spin it. Say, have they signed that 22-year-old guy yet?

 

Vancouver Canucks: Two former Canucks, Dave Babych and Garth Butcher, now have sons on the same line in the BCHL. Their coach is Stan Smyl's little brother. How many people even live in British Columbia? I mean honestly.

 

Washington Capitals: Dynamo Moscow's management will try to talk Alex Ovechkin into returning to the KHL in a very Kovalchukian fashion. Boy oh boy.

 

Winnipeg Jets: "For first time in years, Jets facing a 'normal' season." You know, because two years is indeed plural. (And incidentally a normal season for the Jets includes missing the playoffs, so that sounds just about right.)

Gold Star Award 

 

For some reason I was watching bad hockey videos this weekend and this made me laugh way, way too hard. (May need YouTube sign-in to view.)

 

Minus of the Weekend

Ryan Haslett of HometownHockey.ca took 17 hours to turn in this story about the Wild's new white sweaters, having short-circuited no fewer than a dozen keyboards thanks to all the joyful weeping he did while writing it. "The creative design team that works for the Wild should sit down with the 29 other NHL teams. It should be in a classroom setting and the Wild can lecture the other teams on how to create a proper hockey sweater." It's a fine sweater, but get a grip, man.

Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Week

User "VoicexOfxReason" is trying to help the Leafs' cap crunch.

To Calgary: Cody Franson, JM Liles, Joe Colborne, 2014 1st 

To Toronto: Mark Giordano, 2nd 2014 or 2015 (Flames choice), Ryan Howse 

 Signoff

Any alien can inject someone with their space juice, but it takes a real man to be a father.

 

Just another Chicago Bulls Session... Why Luol Deng Is Primed to Have a Monster Season for Chicago Bulls

By  Kelly Scaletta (Featured Columnist)
 

 Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

 

Luol Deng is primed for a monster season, and that is the most overlooked aspect of why the Chicago Bulls will have a championship run in 2013-14.

Not least among the reasons why is health. Sometimes as NBA fans we gloss over health problems of players as something that comes with the job. We diminish what they experience by citing how we go to work sick all the time.

Last week, while writing an article, I went to go make a snack in the kitchen. In the ensuing cleanup, unaware to the danger skulking on the sponge, I was bitten, hard, by a mean and nasty Texan sugar ant, right on the tip of my right index finger.

I dug through the pain though. I played hurt. I finished that article, even though every time I had to type a “Y” or an “H” I was viciously reminded of the memento my little friend had left for me. I did it for my readers and my fans. That’s just the way I roll.

What’s playing basketball for two months with a broken thumb, or 1.5 years with a torn ligament in your wrist compared to a sugar-ant bite!?

If I can do it, so can Deng.

When Deng got “sick” (I guess that’s what we’re calling life-threatening illnesses nowadays) last postseason he was accosted by fans on twitter, and in defending himself, he let them know that he’d played through a fractured thumb for a part of the season.

Have you thought about what that must be like, playing with a broken thumb? How many times must he have banged it, jarred it, hit it wrong or put pressure on it while shooting? My guess is a lot. And that’s just one aspect of the pain he was experiencing, and doing so without so much as a gripe.

While he didn’t exactly specify when it happened, it’s worth noting that over the period between January 18 and March 23, he shot .392 from the field and .253 from deep. Over the rest of the season, he shot .444 overall and .354 from three.

I’m guessing his thumb injury was nestled in that little valley.

Starting on March 24, Deng’s numbers started to spike a little bit. He shot only .438 overall, but he was .379 from deep. His effective field goal percentage was .500 for the rest of the season, compared to a miserable .418 the previous two months.

Part of what happened to make that a fateful day in the life of Deng is that there were indications that his thumb (provided my guess on when he was injured is correct) had already started to heal. He’d just made seven of 14 attempts against the Pacers the game before.

 

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images            

But something else happened too. Jimmy Butler was inserted into the starting lineup as the shooting guard, and that made a difference. Suddenly, Deng was not the only two-way-wing threat the Bulls had. With Butler shooting the lights out, knocking down threes at a .529 clip as the starting 2, Deng wasn’t commanding as much defensive attention.

Things still weren’t great though. The thumb may have been healed, but the ligament in his wrist was not.

That should rectify itself over the summer, now that he has sufficient time to heal.

That’s time he didn’t have last year, because of his playing in the Olympics for his home country, Great Britain.

The last two seasons he’s played almost as many minutes as Methuselah lived. By the end of the season he was worn down and tired, and the ramifications were evident in the postseason.
  

Chris Chambers/Getty Images

Enter Mike Dunleavy, Chicago’s key free-agent acquisition from the summer. Dunleavy will play a massive role for the Bulls this year, just by playing at all.

Gone are those days of playing 40 minutes a night. Hello 35 minutes a night!

Dunleavy has a solid, all-around game, is a veteran presence who plays good team defense and has a high basketball IQ. He’s the type of player that Bulls’ head coach, Tom Thibodeau, hasn’t had the luxury of yet—the type he can trust to navigate the team while Deng sits.

In the five seasons prior to Thibodeau’s arrival, and the corresponding boon in minutes, Deng played 35.4 minutes and shot .474 from the field. If he can see his minutes go down, a less fatigued Deng should shoot better.
  

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Finally, Derrick Rose, as you may have heard, is back, and Deng is a better player when he’s on the court with Rose. Based on data form NBA.com/STATS, over the two-year span of the 2011 and 2012 seasons, Deng shot .454 overall, .370 from deep and had an effective field-goal percentage of .510 while on the court with Rose.

When Rose was sitting, Deng shot .414, .317 and .454 respectively. His actual field goal-percentage with Rose was the same as his effective field-goal percentage without Rose. Deng is definitely better Rose is dishing him the ball.

Let’s run this down then. When Deng is not mangled, he’s better. When Deng plays with Butler, he’s better. When Deng is not playing marathon minutes, he’s better. Finally, when he’s playing with Derrick Rose, he’s better.

That checklist is filled out for next season. All of those things will be true, which by every principle of sound logic suggests that Deng is in for a monster year, provided he can stay healthy.

His overall numbers shouldn’t change that much, around 17 points, three assists and six rebounds per game. But his minutes will be down, and his efficiency will be up. Look for him to shoot .470 from the field, and .370 from deep.

There will be those who point to his contract year, but that won’t be the reason for his big season. It will be because he’s finally right, and he finally has the right situation.

 

Lateral Hazard: Henrik Stenson pressuring Tiger Woods for $10 million FedEx Cup prize.

 

By Brian Murphy 

Bad enough that Tiger Woods endured another season without winning a major. Now somebody's coming for his wallet.

That somebody would be the sweet-swinging Swede Henrik Stenson, who obliterated TPC Boston with an avalanche of consistent ball-striking and won the Deutsche Bank Championship on Labor Day, moving past Tiger for the No. 1 spot in the FedEx Cup playoffs with only two legs left. Oh, by the way, the guy who wins the FedEx Cup wins $10 million, more money than Dr. Evil could have ever dreamed.

With five wins this year and the No. 1 spot in the FedEx Cup standings well in hand when the playoffs opened, you'd think Tiger was in line for a third FedEx Cup playoff win, to match 2007 and 2009. Ten million would be a welcome salve for a year in which Jack Nicklaus' ghost stiff-armed Tiger yet again.

But Stenson is coming strong. He attacks the game with the fearlessness of a guy who has stared into the abyss, only three years ago falling from the world's top 10 to 230th on the planet when his game left him amid mental strife. Stenson lost a large chunk of his personal fortune to a Ponzi scheme, and the ensuing stress sent his game sideways.

Time, sports psychology and an incredible ability to hit golf balls onto greens in regulation (No. 1 on Tour) cured Stenson. He's back in the world's top 10. Plus, how can the pressure of the FedEx Cup playoffs affect a guy who once stripped to his boxer briefs in 2009 to play a water shot? He's not just bringing sexy back, he brought his game back, too.

A final-round 66 by Stenson spoke to all that, and capped off a blistering summer of golf by the stoic Scandinavian. After having to play his way into the top 50 of the world rankings at the last minute for a Masters invite, here's what Stenson has done when the stakes are highest:

• Tie for 18th at the Masters.

• Tie for fifth at the Players Championship.

• Tie for 21st at the U.S. Open.

• Second at the British Open.

• Tie for second at WGC-Bridgestone.

• Third at the PGA Championship.

As he told NBC's Steve Sands after the round, he was looking to cap all those big-paycheck, no-glory finishes off with a win, and got it without much worry when 54-hole leader Sergio Garcia ordered up a "Sergio Garcia Sunday Special" and faded into irrelevance, and when the always-game Steve Stricker's 67 left him two strokes shy of Stenson. The only concern came when Stenson missed the 17th green, bringing into question possible nerves. He answered those by jarring his bunker shot for a birdie, extending his lead, and sending golf writers to their laptops penning odes to Stenson's game, unearthing gems like: Did you know he is top-10 in driving accuracy? And fourth on Tour in scoring average? One scribe even posted a link to ABBA's "Super Trouper" on Twitter to pay tribute, to connect Swedish greats. So yes, Labor Day frivolity was had.

Sure, Tiger can still regain the top spot when the playoffs resume a week from Thursday at the BMW Championship, but the way Stenson is swinging it, I wouldn't be so sure. The only chink in Stenson's game right now is a balky putter, but Tiger's no great shakes either after his Sunday 73 and tie-65th. After all, Johnny Miller on NBC needled Tiger about needing another putting lesson from Steve Stricker. If Johnny's back into pulling-wings-off-flies mode, can't wait for the next installment.

SCORECARD OF THE WEEK

67-66-72-62 – 17-under 267, Jordan Spieth, tie-4th, FedEx Cup Deutsche Bank Championship, TPC Boston, Norton, Mass.

To refresh some key factoids about Jordan Spieth: He's 20 years old. He won the John Deere earlier this summer. He lost a thrilling playoff at Greensboro, or he'd have two Ws already. He's finished top-20 in his first two FedEx Cup playoff events. He's 10th (!) in FedEx Cup points, ahead of players like Jason Dufner, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley and Jim Furyk. He has clinched a spot at the Tour Championship, and becomes the first player since Tiger Woods in 1996 to go from starting the year with no status on Tour, to the Tour Championship.

Did I mention he's 20 years old? I did.

When Spieth won the John Deere, he became the youngest winner on Tour since 1931, so the former Texas Longhorn has a little history as his caddie, too.

And then finishing birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle for a Sunday 62? Two days before Fred Couples is set to make his captain's picks for next month's President's Cup at Muirfield Village? You can add "timing" to the kid's skill set, too.





Jordan Speith shot a 62 in the final round at the Deutsche Bank Championship (USA Today).

You can almost see Cap'n Freddie, lying on his couch on Sunday, flipping the remote back and forth from TPC Boston to the Yankees-White Sox game to a DVR'ed recording of the Washington Husky-Boise State game from Saturday night back to TPC Boston, then texting assistant captains Jay Haas and Davis Love III with: "Dudes … I've been sorta channel-surfing … Should we take this Spieth kid, or what? … and what time is the Florida State-Pitt kickoff?"

It's as simple as this, Cap'n: Dustin Johnson and Jim Furyk and Bubba Watson would each make a fine captain's pick, but you have to do us all a solid and take only one of those guys. Make room for Jordan Spieth, who would add some serious sizzle to an event that, ahem, doesn't always sizzle. Do the right thing, Boom Boom!

BROADCAST MOMENT OF THE WEEK

"This was pretty much a total collapse … You saw that tee shot on No. 4 … I hate to say it, but he was choking." – Johnny Miller, NBC, on Sergio Garcia's tumble from 54-hole leader to final-round 73 and tie-4th, five shots behind Stenson's winning number.

Do you really hate to say that Sergio was "choking," John? Because I think I know, and you know, that you don't hate to say that. And more power to you. You make it entertaining, and keep it honest, and probably spur a shot or two in the Johnny Miller Drinking Game viewer contest, in which the viewer does a shot if Johnny drops a signature line like "This is makeable, Rog" or "He's feeling his nerves" or the simple beauty of the word "choking."

Despite five top 10s in 15 PGA Tour starts this year, El Niño remains winless in 2013. Worse, he is embellishing his reputation as the ultimate fader. If this guy were a baseball closer, his nickname would be "Gas Can" for the ninth-inning leads he'd torch.

 

Garcia led at the Deutsche Bank after both the 36- and-54-hole marks, then shot a Sunday 73 that was better than only six other players in the 76-player field. If you think that's an accident, think again.

Sergio's scoring average before the cut is 69.96, a scintillating eighth on the PGA Tour. Sergio's scoring average in the final round, even before this past Sunday, is 72.33, a leaden 165th on the PGA Tour.

If Sergio were a Thursday-Friday stock, you'd go Al Czervik from "Caddyshack" and "Buy, buy, buy!" If Sergio were a Sunday stock, you'd also go Al Czervik from "Caddyshack" and "Sell, sell, sell!"

MULLIGAN OF THE WEEK

 

Sergio Garcia collapsed with a 73 in the final round. (USA Today)

Sometimes trying to follow the Tour's "projections" of who advances in the FedEx Cup playoffs and who fails to advance reminds me of my high school advanced algebra class, where I had no clue what the answer was until I snuck a look at my buddy Sandy's paper after he solved the problem.

Same with the FedEx Cup. Just wake me when you've done the math, and tell me who's in, who's out.

That said, we had a rare moment of clarity on Sunday at TPC Boston. K.J. Choi stood over a par putt on the 18th hole, and NBC's Dan Hicks informed us that if Choi made the putt, he'd advance to next week's BMW Championship for the top 70 players. If Choi missed it, he was out, and Ernie Els was in.

Even I could follow that math.

Choi missed the putt. He actually bogeyed the final hole, a reachable par-5, to miss the next leg of the playoffs by a stroke. He earned a scolding admonition from Johnny Miller for his trouble, and the Big Easy was headed to the Windy City.

So, let's go back out to the 18th green at TPC Boston, remind Choi that most players are making birdie on this hole with a degree of ease, remind him that he still has a shot at $10 million if he makes the putt, and remind him that Miller is ready to tsk-tsk him if he misses it and … give that man a mulligan!

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

It's pretty simple: We head to our couches for NFL opening Sunday.

The Tour wisely takes the week off, to avoid being lost in a tsunami of sports fans checking their smart phones to see how their fantasy football teams are doing, those same fans barely even realizing the sport of golf exists.

The playoffs resume a week from Thursday for the top 70 players, but don't be fooled – they'll be checking their smart phones to see how their fantasy football teams are doing that week, too.

 MLB announces the playoff schedule.

By Craig Calcaterra

 

               

 

We knew it was all going down in October. Now we know specifically when. From MLB:

Tiebreakers and Wild Card Games:

• Sunday, September 29: Last day of the regular season
• Monday, September 30: any tiebreakers, if necessary
• Tuesday, October 1: National League Wild Card Game
• Wednesday, October 2: American League League Wild Card Game

Division Series:

• Thursday, October 3: Both National League Division Series begins
• Friday, October 4: Both American League Division Series begin, NLDS continues
• Wednesday, October 9: Game Five of both NLDS, if necessary
• Thursday, October 10: Game Five of both ALDS, if necessary

League Championship Series:

• Friday, October 11: Game one of NLCS
• Saturday, October 12: Game one of ALCS
• Saturday, October 19: Gave Seven of NLCS, if necessary
• Sunday, October 20: Game Seven of ALCS, if necessary

World Series:

• Wednesday, October 23: Game one of the World Series in the American League city
• Saturday, October 26: Game three of the World Series in the National League city
• Thursday, October 31: Game seven of the World Series, if necessary

As for the broadcasts:

• Tiebreakers, if necessary: TBS
• NL Wild Card Game: TBS
• AL Wild Card Game: TBS
• ALDS and NLDS: All games except two on TBS, two games on MLB Network
• NLCS: TBS
• ALCS: Fox
• World Series: Fox

After that you’re on your own until spring.

Only 5 spots still up for grabs in Chase field.

 

JENNA FRYER (AP Auto Racing Writer)

And then there were five.

 

Five spots, that is, still up for grabs in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Among those jockeying for one of the coveted berths is Martin Truex Jr., who gamely finished third Sunday night at Atlanta while driving with a broken right wrist.

Truex had to drive through the field from 18th after an unscheduled pit stop with just more than 100 laps remaining to check on a potential loose wheel. Most impressive was this: Truex's cast appeared to be melting late in the race.

''The cast just inside my hand here got all soft,'' he said. ''You can see it moves real soft like there's nothing there and it's kind of broke right here between my thumb. It hurts like hell when you're in there just steering the car.

  

''When you're steering back and forth here and you're out of control and you're holding on and you're sawing on the wheel and all the tires, it felt like every time I moved it, somebody was hitting it with a hammer.''

But Truex, with one win on the season and 13th in points, is in decent shape headed into Richmond, where the Chase field will be decided Saturday night. He's holding down the second wild card, while Kasey Kahne has clinched at least the first wild card because he's got two wins.

Not in as a great a position is four-time Jeff Gordon, who is winless on the year and still trying to sneak inside the top 10 in the standings. He moved a notch closer Sunday with a sixth-place finish, but trails Kurt Busch by six points for the 10th and final spot.

Based on the aggression Gordon showed early and often Sunday at Atlanta, he'll be charging hard at Richmond after a spot in the Chase.

There was some post-race tension between Gordon and Carl Edwards that apparently began when Gordon slid in front of Edwards early in the race to claim position. It triggered hard racing between them for the remainder of the race that Gordon tried to discuss with Edwards after in two different conversations.

''I have a problem with a guy when I apologize for sliding him and he proceeds to tell me all the things that I did wrong in the race,'' Gordon said after the first conversation with Edwards. ''I didn't hear him apologizing for any of the things that he did. I tried to have a regular conversation and that didn't seem to be possible with him.''

Edwards was angry that Gordon cut him off early in the race.

''We don't agree on what happened and finally he got frustrated enough with the conversation that he just walked away, which might be smart,'' Edwards said. ''He just slide-jobbed me and I thought it was really out of character for him and I didn't understand what was going on there. I did everything I could not to wreck us both.''

The two had a second conversation in the motorhome that seemed to satisfy both on how they'll race each other at Richmond. Edwards is already locked into the Chase field but every position will count for Gordon, who will be battling with such winless drivers as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Busch, and defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski for a spot in the Chase.

None is in as much trouble as Keselowski, who is poised to become the first defending champion since Tony Stewart in 2006 to fail to make the Chase the year after winning the title.

Keselowski, who was already on dangerous ground, dropped to 15th in the standings Sunday night when his engine failed 18 laps from the finish. He's now 28 points out of 10th, winless on the year, and could miss the Chase even if he wins Saturday night at Richmond.

''We don't dictate our own fate, which is never good,'' Keselowski said. ''Obviously, we have the speed and performance to get there, but we haven't put together the execution or the luck. There's only so much you can control.''

 

Racing's secret ingredient: Synthetic oils.

 

NASCAR.com

 

Few companies have been involved in motorsports as long as ExxonMobil, the makers of Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil. The Mobil 1 brand's history in motorsports officially began in 1978. From that time, the presence of Mobil 1 technology on race tracks and circuits has grown by global proportions.

Today, synthetic oils are the standard for a variety of lubrication needs for teams competing in NASCAR. Down to the molecular level, synthetic oils are specially formulated to withstand extreme temperatures, flow quickly to protect critical car parts and work to maximize efficiency and performance.

With ExxonMobil renewing Mobil 1 as the Official Motor Oil of NASCAR and the Official Lubricant Technology Partner of NASCAR, we'll detail the development of Mobil 1 synthetic oil in the sport of stock car racing, which is now chosen by more than 50 percent of teams in NASCAR's top three series.

The early days in NASCAR

The origin of Mobil 1 synthetic oil in NASCAR begins in the 1987 season with Rusty Wallace's No. 27 car owned by motorsports legend Raymond Beadle. The relationship started small with an associate sponsorship and using off-the-shelf Mobil 1 15W-50 synthetic motor oil in Wallace's engine. Fully synthetic 15W-50 oil was especially adaptable to racing because of its ability to stand up to extreme engine stress conditions where conventional oil may not perform.

At the time, synthetics were relatively new in motorsports. But it wasn't long until the Mobil 1 team showed its first success in NASCAR. On the winding road course of Watkins Glen in August of 1987, Wallace drove to victory lane and gave Mobil 1 oil its first NASCAR win. Running in all 29 races that season with Mobil 1, Wallace went on to earn two wins, nine top-five and 16 top-ten finishes.

It was only two seasons later, in 1989, that Rusty Wallace edged out Dale Earnhardt to win the NASCAR Winston Cup Series points standings and give Mobil 1 oil its first stock car championship. If not already, Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil had officially established itself on the NASCAR circuit.

Developing synthetics on the track

In 1991, Rusty Wallace joined the rejuvenated Penske Racing South organization and took Mobil 1 oil with him. The move joined the Mobil 1 team with Penske's NASCAR and open-wheel teams. It was then that ExxonMobil deepened its lubrication technology relationship to test and develop new lubricants on Penske racecars.

Analyzing the engine and oil after each race, engineers with Mobil 1 and Penske began to notice the significant advantages of synthetic motor oils. Synthetics provided outstanding wear and high-temperature protection, helping to maintain the performance of the car in grueling race conditions. Mobil 1 oils reduce frictional loss in the engines to maximize fuel mileage, increase horsepower and turn more RPMs.

Realizing the mutual benefit of running Mobil 1 oils, the Penske Racing organization grew its relationship with ExxonMobil by introducing the No. 12 Mobil 1 Dodge with driver Jeremy Mayfield in 1998. The first primary sponsorship for the Mobil 1 brand in NASCAR showed how a company can benefit from showcasing its products not only on the racecar, but inside of the racecar. Drivers Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish Jr. would also pilot the Mobil 1 machine in the No. 12 and No. 77 Penske cars, respectively, before ExxonMobil transitioned to its current partnership with Tony Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing.

Tony Stewart's crew adjusts his car during a pit stop.

Newman, now in his second stint with Mobil 1, addressed the topic of automotive product manufacturers partnering with NASCAR teams in a 2003 interview. "It holds true that the best drivers are using the best products," Newman said. "In order to win, you need to be able to push everything to the limit, and Mobil 1 has allowed my car and my team to perform at a higher level and to race in ways we never could before."

Synthetics for every moving part

Today, synthetic lubricants play an integral role in racing in addition to engine performance. In fact, Mobil 1 and Mobil lubricants touch every major moving part of Tony Stewart's No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevy. This includes lower friction synthetic gear oils, spline shaft grease, advanced chassis lubricants and precision power steering fluid.

Each of these products plays an important role in making the car more efficient and reliable. Mobil 1 gear oils, for example, reduce friction in the transmission, which translates to quicker shift times and improved restarts. Similarly, Mobil 1 chassis lubricants reduce friction in the suspension components, providing maximum tire grip as well as helping to reduce steering compliance to give the driver an edge behind the wheel.

Engineers from ExxonMobil and SHR have formed a close working relationship to deliver more performance and enhance results of the No. 10, No. 14 and No. 39 cars on the track. Building on Tony Stewart's 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship, ExxonMobil and SHR teams are a blend of chemistry and engineering that is helping to advance the science of synthetic oils. Ultimately, the knowledge and technology the team achieves through racing ends up in the synthetic oils found at local auto parts stores, quick lubes and mechanic shops.

Tony Stewart meets with Mobil 1 lubricant engineers at Dover International Speedway.

 

"Throughout the year, Stewart-Haas Racing saw real progress from the technology partnership with Mobil 1 in regard to fuel mileage, engine efficiency and reliability," said Tony Stewart, reflecting on his Sprint Cup Championship. "Mobil 1 engine oil, chassis lubricants, gear oil ? even the power steering fluid ? helped get us to the end. It's about reducing friction, heat and rolling resistance, and standing here as Sprint Cup Champion, I'd say Mobil 1 did a great job of giving me what it takes to win."

Sermanni compares four-goal hero Leroux to Drogba.

By Seth Vertelney

 

Mexico's defender Bianca Sierra (3) watches as United States midfielder Lauren Holly (12), forward Abby Wambach (20) and Sydney Leroux (2) celebrate Leroux's first goal in the first half of an international friendly soccer match at RFK Stadium Tuesday, September 3, 2013, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 

 

Sydney Leroux has drawn many comparisons in her burgeoning career, but Tuesday night likely brought about one never heard before.

“She’s a bit like Didier Drogba,” U.S. head coach Tom Sermanni said after Leroux scored four times in the first half of a dominating 7-0 win over Mexico.

“To play against her is a real problem as a defender,” Sermanni added. “She’s just nonstop. She’s an amazing physical presence, she’s always in there looking to score goals, she holds the ball up well, she’s always involved in the game.”

The 23-year-old striker was at her best Tuesday night, using her speed and strength to blow past defenders for one goal, her physicality to tower above a defender for another, and her instincts to latch on to rebounds for two more.

“You never think you’re going to score four goals,” Leroux said. “It ended up working out and I was in the right place at the right time.”

Leroux and her teammates looked much sharper than Mexico during the route, and much of that could be chalked up to the NWSL, where almost the entirety of the U.S. roster plies their trade.

“I think for a lot of the players like Syd who’ve been – if you like – fringe national team players, they haven’t played a lot of competitive matches over the last couple of years,” Sermanni said.

“I think playing week in, week out in the league where your games and results are important, and where they’re important players to the team has helped a lot of the players as well as Syd,” Sermanni added.

Leroux scored 11 goals for the Boston Breakers in the inaugural season of the NWSL, good for second place on the league leaderboard.

“I think the NWSL was great for me,” Leroux said. “Here [national team] you don’t always get 90 minutes, and so in Boston I got to play a lot and I got to learn a lot and I was playing as much soccer as possible.

“To get a lot of goals in a season and to kind of figure my stuff out was very good for me.”

The Portland Thorns won the inaugural NWSL crown last weekend, meaning the offseason now begins for almost all the American women. Unlike in previous years, however, Leroux and company will hit the ground running as they continue on with their national team.

 

Klinsmann: 'We're here to play' against top European sides.

 

By Keith Hickey

 

 Klinsmann: 'We're here to play' against top European sides.

U.S. men's national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann has thrown down the gauntlet to his players and the European sides they will have to overcome if the Americans are to take the next step in international competition.

Before the arrival of the German-born former striker as manager, the Americans were notoriously weak in Europe. The Yanks posted a dismal 2-8-1 record playing in Europe between 2006 and Klinsmann's arrival in 2011. Although it wasn't much different at first under Klinsmann, with losses in France and Belgium, the U.S. players eventually found their feet away to European opposition. Since Nov. 11, 2011, the USA has beaten Slovenia 3-1 and Italy 1-0, drawn 2-2 with Russia and posted this most recent 4-3 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

It's all part of the strategy. Klinsmann wants his team to be able to walk into stadiums with intimidating atmospheres, play against high-quality opposition, and proactively assert themselves on opponents. It's a radical departure from past American tactics against top sides, which relied heavily on heroic defending and opportunistic counterattacks.

"It's good for the guys to see we can come to Europe and we're not here to defend," he said after the match, in which the U.S., led by Jozy Altidore, overturned a 2-0 halftime deficit to claim victory. "We're here to play eye-to-eye."

Ultimately, he was pleased with what he witnessed.

"I think everybody here in Bosnia saw that the second half we dictated the tempo and kept the rhythm going. The passing in moments was fun to watch.

"I think [the players] deserve a huge, huge compliment. It's a test game and a friendly where you want to see certain things from new players coming in and where your top players are right now, especially at the beginning of the European season. You don't really know where you stand but I think they showed amazing character."

The next game for Klinsmann's side, now looking for a world-and-program-best 13th straight win, is away to Costa Rica in a World Cup qualifier on Sept. 6.

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