The Sports Xchange
INSIDE SLANT
It was rare when Chicago Bears special teams units or players came under fire during nine years with former coordinator Dave Toub, but just four games into this season new coordinator Joe DeCamillis is hearing questions about the punter and punt coverage unit.
To many teams, such a problem might be a sideshow. To a team like the Bears -- who thrived and sometimes won games solely because of special teams -- it is a serious problem. And considering they face the New Orleans Saints and dangerous Darren Sproles Sunday, it is an even bigger issue because field position is one of the ways they hope to keep the explosive New Orleans offense bottled up.
Punter Adam Podlesh experienced a disaster in Detroit, with poor punts of 40, 33 and 35 yards. He lacked hang time, as well. One of those led to a game-changing 57-yard Michael Spurlock return. "It's more timing than anything else," DeCamillis said about Podlesh. "I think he just got off on timing, so we'll keep working at it."
Nevertheless, the Bears have prepared for the worst. They had six punters in Tuesday, including former Viking Chris Kluwe and two punters who kicked for DeCamillis in Dallas, Brian Moorman and Mat McBriar.
"I mean you bring guys in during the year all the time," DeCamillis said. "It just one of those things that it happened to be then."
Podlesh knew the message before it was even delivered.
"They notified me, which I was appreciative of that, just to let me know -- not that it would have changed my thought process on anything," he said. "I kind of understood after what I put out there on the field in Detroit that I basically said to myself (then) 'I wouldn't be surprised if they were going to look at what was out on the market.' "
If the message needed to be reinforced, coach Marc Trestman did it.
"We've brought people in (to work out) almost every week since we've been here," he said. "But I don't think Adam needs anybody to come in to know that the next week he's got to punt better.
"We've all got to play better."
The Bears have given up 114 points this year, so their defense isn't in the same class as in years past. Last year it took seven games before they allowed 114 points.
Linebacker Lance Briggs underscored the gravity of the situation facing the Bears defense this week, and why Podlesh's punting and special teams coverage will be so critical against the NFL's second-ranked passing offense Sunday.
"To me it's kind of disgusting to see 40 points up on the scoreboard regardless of what went on and how it went up there," he said.
"Defensively, we haven't prevented a team from scoring fewer than 20 points this year yet, and that's not like us," he said referring to the fact that the lowest score against the Bears this year was 21 points (Cincinnati).
They need all the help they can get from special teams, and also from Jay Cutler and the offense.
"We have to fight to keep (New Orleans' offense) off the field as much as possible," Bears LT Jermon Bushrod said. "We have to play an all-around balanced game. We have to play together in all three phases, the offense, defense and special teams."
SERIES HISTORY: 26th regular-season meeting. Bears lead series, 13-12. The Saints haven't beat the Bears at Soldier Field since 2000. New Orleans won the last matchup, 30-13 in New Orleans in 2011, but lost four straight prior to that.
NOTES, QUOTES
--Rookie LB Jonathan Bostic's big hit on an onside kick in Detroit, and a questionable play by safety Major Wright in Sunday's game led Lions vice-chairman Bill Ford Jr. to call the Bears "a bunch of thugs."
The Bears laughed it off and even put their own twist on the "thug" comment.
"We're far from it," cornerback Tim Jennings said. "I wish we were."
After giving up 159 rushing yards to Detroit and 379 yards passing to Pittsburgh, the defense knows there is a need to re-establish its identity for toughness.
"We feel like we need to play better, and that's our emphasis this week, to get better," defensive coordinator Mel Tucker said. "We're never going to be satisfied. If you're not getting better, you're getting worse. It's a cliche but it's true."
--The Bears are hoping their ties to the Saints can help them with Sunday's game. Offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer was offensive line and coordinator in New Orleans under Sean Payton.
"It's a lot that he can help us with," CB Tim Jennings said of Kromer. "We face our offense each and every day at practice. It's the same style of offense (as New Orleans). "In practice and what I see on film with the Saints, it's alike. It's so much alike.
"So we get our tendencies here in practice. Trust me. that's what we kind of face. We do competition drills, one on ones, against our ones. And I think that's going to help us out tremendously for this game on Sunday."
BY THE NUMBERS: 3 -- Number of times the Bears have beaten the Saints at Soldier Field with Drew Brees at quarterback without a loss. That includes the NFC title game after the 2006 season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "He's got three big guys inside, they're thick, and they're very good football players inside, so he's intent on stopping the run first even with five, even with (Kenny) Vaccaro playing the Sam linebacker position, who has the ability to do that. He's not saying, 'Come on, run the ball, we're going to defend the pass.' He's stopping the run first." -- Coach Marc Trestman on Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan using a 3-3-5 look on defense.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
PLAYER NOTES
--DE Corey Wootton moved inside to three-technique tackle, DT Nate Collins moved over to nose and NT Stephen Paea moved to three-technique at times against Detroit. The Bears also used newly acquired Landon Cohen there. But the moves all seemed to backfire. They'll keep on xperimenting to find a way to compensate for losing Henry Melton.
"I feel like, as a unit, especially u p front, we haven't gelled or clicked together as much as we'd like to," Wootton pointed out.
--It won't be out of the question for the Bears to start working middle linebacker D.J. Williams into the nickel package.
"Only time will tell but he can play in the nickel package if we rep'd him in there and we would like to get him in there as well," Tucker said. "We'll see how the game plan unfolds but he's a guy we feel good in the game in base or nickel."
Williams had been in the nickel in off-season work and at the outset of training camp, but a calf injury cost him all of preseason and led the Bears to use James Anderson in nickel.
--DB Sean Cattouse, a Chicago native, was signed to the practice squad. He played alongside starting free safety Chris Conte at Cal. Running back Harvey Unga was cut.
INJURY IMPACT
--CB Charles Tillman is still suffering from a groin strain that kept him out of Wednesday's practice, but is expected to play Sunday. Trestman said Tillman was in better shape after Sunday's loss than following the win over Pittsburgh Sept. 22 when he suffered the injury. Zack Bowman continues to take snaps with the first team in Tillman's absence.
--DB Sherrick McManis has a quad injury but was able to practice on a limited basis Wednesday after missing Sunday's game, which proved a severe blow to coverage teams. His availability will be updated later in the week.
--S Anthony Walters pulled a hamstring against Detroit and was unable to practice Wednesday. Like McManis, he is key on special teams coverage units.
--NT Stephen Paea is suffering from turf toe and was held out of practice Wednesday. He played with the injury against Detroit and is expected to play Sunday against New Orleans.
--DE Julius Peppers has a chest injury coming off his best game this season, and was limited in practice on Wednesday. He's expected to practice later in the week.
--TE Martellus Bennett missed a portion of Wednesday's practice due to shoulder soreness. It's an injury lingering since the Week 2 win over Minnesota and not expected to keep him from playing Sunday.
GAME PLAN: The Bears will need to go back to their roots in this game to keep it from becoming the kind of shootout they can't win, like the one last week against Detroit.
They will need to use Matt Forte extensively in the running game and short passing game. Although New Orleans is unbeaten, the Saints struggled against winless Tampa Bay and the Bucs nearly pulled off the upset by relying on their running game and trying to take advantage of the Saints' gambling on defense. It resulted in big runs on what should be short plays. Tampa had nine pass completions and ran for 160 yards in the game.
The Bears must go more horizontal with the passing game and get the ball out of Jay Cutler's hands fast, using a game plan much like they did against Pittsburgh. Ball control is the best way to keep Drew Brees off the field. If the Bears can execute ball control, and play physical defense, the combination on their own natural grass field, outdoors where the Saints aren't as comfortable, can prove the formula for an upset.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Bears DT Nate Collins vs. Saints LG Ben Grubbs -- Collins' first start last week proved a disaster for the Bears' defensive front as there were gaping holes for Reggie Bush to exploit in the first half.
Facing another of the league's most effective passing teams this week, the Bears can't afford to yield huge chunks of rushing yards or they can expect a total cave-in.
At 6-foot-3, 310 pounds, Grubbs is a little lighter than Rob Sims, the player the 279-pound Collins faced last week. Grubbs was a reserve who stepped in when the Saints lost Carl Nicks in free agency. The Saints have yielded 12 sacks, so there may be opportunities for sacks. Collins goes against an offensive line that employs the same inside-out pass blocking approach that the Bears use, so the Bears should have an idea how to exploit it.
--Bears SS Major Wright vs. Saints TE Jimmy Graham -- Graham leads New Orleans with 27 catches and averages more per catch (17.0) than starting wide receiver Marques Colston. At 6-7, 260, Graham would be too much of a matchup problem for the Bears to put nickel defender Isaiah Frey on him.
The 6-foot, 204-pound Wright, who has two interceptions on the year, is about the best they can manage, but there may be plenty of single-safety coverage. So if Graham goes deep middle, Wright will have help. He'll need it. Detroit's tight ends exploited the Bears defense last week and Graham is well equipped to do the same.
--Bears LG Matt Slauson vs. Saints RDE Cameron Jordan -- Jordan leads the Saints with four sacks, although he's not coming off the edge in their 3-4 defense like he did in the 4-3. Instead, he's lining up between guard and tackle, like a three-technique, and moving around on the line.
It wouldn't even be unusual to see him on the left side matched up on Bears RG Kyle Long. But his usual spot has been the other side where speed-wise he'll have a big edge on Slauson. It's Jordan's effectiveness that has been a major reason for the fast start by New Orleans' defense. Slauson had trouble last week with Nick Fairly and the Bears' inside-out pass blocking scheme will be severely tested by Jordan and Ryan.
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Five Big Ways NHL Realignment Will Impact The '13 Season.
By Jesse Lawrence
After last-year’s lockout, the 2013-24 season is in many ways a fresh start for the NHL. With a 10-year collective bargaining agreement in place, the future is bright for the fastest sport on two legs.
According to Sports Business Journal, league executives expect an additional $1 billion of cumulative revenue over the next three seasons. The last full season generated 3.2 billion in revenue, so this would be the equivalent to a 10% annual increase.
Top 5 Ways NHL Realignment Will Impact The 2013 Season:
1. Change In The Wild Card Format
2. All Teams Play All Teams
3. More Original Six Match Ups
4. New Rivalries Grown, Old Rivalries Renewed
5. Season Ending Big Games
In addition to a new Canadian TV rights deal, the projected increase in revenue will be driven by higher ticket prices. Compared to the start of last season (in January), the average ticket price on the secondary market is up 14%. That is in part being driven by scheduling changes this year, which include a visit from every team in the league.
Additionally, the NHL has increased the number of outdoor games from one to six, as a result of the wildly-successful Winter Classic series, now in it’s sixth year. This year, there are six outdoor games being played from New York to LA, and the average price across all of those games is $456.
By comparison, the average price across the league for this season is $168. At an average price of $456, Winter Classic tickets are not even the most expensive outdoor game. That distinction belong to the first-ever hockey game at Soldier Field between the Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins. Blackhawks tickets for that game have an average price of $672.
The Blackhawks have the second-most expensive average price of any team this year, behind only the Maple Leafs. Their $313 average price is also up 57% from last year, driven by increased demand to see the Stanley Cup champions. While the market has had a lot to do with that, so has the team. In August, they announced a 17% price increase from last year. It’s the second highest price increase in the last two years behind only the Kings. In the past, season ticket holders would have benefited most from that price increase.
Now, however, the teams are making sure they maximize profits. The Blackhawks move illustrates a new reality in the business of sports, which is that in addition to getting bigger, teams and leagues are also getting a lot smarter. For the Blackhawks, that price increase equates to almost $10 million in found money. As far as the league’s $1B estimate, the Blackhawks have already generated 1% of it…even before a single puck was dropped.
Steve Yzerman wants game misconduct penalties for fighting, so get ready for those.
What's your take?
By Greg Wyshynski
Steve Yzerman the team executive should probably have a conversation with Steve Yzerman the player.
When No. 19 was scoring boatloads of points with the Detroit Red Wings, he acknowledged and respected the role that a guy like the late Bob Probert played in the NHL. “He certainly kept everybody honest. Everybody, for the most part, just stuck to hockey when Proby was on the ice,” said Yzerman around the time of Probert’s funeral in 2010.
Now, granted, a lot’s happened since Yzerman’s playing days, and even since 2010. We’re in an era of player safety and concussion awareness, and era where Probert-types aren’t even seen on a majority of rosters anymore.
The times have changed, and Yzerman’s apparently changed with them. The GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning told Darren Dreger of TSN that it’s time to harshly crack down on fighting in the League.
"Yes, I believe a player should get a game misconduct for fighting," Yzerman told The Dreger Report. "We penalize and suspend players for making contact with the head while checking, in an effort to reduce head injuries, yet we still allow fighting.
"We're stuck in the middle and need to decide what kind of sport do we want to be.
Either anything goes and we accept the consequences, or take the next step and eliminate fighting."
Of course banning fighting would have its own consequences …
Would a game misconduct curb fighting? In some ways. The multiple bouts that we saw from George Parros and Colton Orr would be limited to one fight. You’d see fewer players with value beyond fighting – power forwards, defensemen – drop the gloves. It would lessen the frequency of fights in a game.
It wouldn’t get rid of it, though. Not at all. John Scott would simply play four minutes instead of six before battling the other team’s designated fighter.
But there are more serious repercussions here, too.
If fighting carries a game misconduct, how often would top six forwards and first pairing defensemen get harassed by a pest or a goon, knowing that any retaliation would mean they’re done for the night? Do you honestly think Milan Lucic isn’t getting poked and punched until he responds, likely in the first few shifts of the game, if it meant he’s done for the evening?
Oh, and let’s remember that as the game goes on, the game misconduct becomes less of a threat. The third period of these games would be like Thunderdome.
Dreger also gets some fighting ban talk from GM Jim Rutherford and Ray Shero in his post. Shero says a ban ‘should be considered’, but he’s also the guy who brought in Steve McIntyre to protect Sid.
But Rutherford and Yzerman on fighting? We don’t want to say Dreger knew the answers before asking the questions, so we’ll just leave this link to the NHL.com stats pages for major team penalties in 2011-12 here.
After reading this article, we'd love to know, what's your take on fighting in hockey. Does it enhance or hurt the game?
Just another Chicago Bulls Session... Chicago Bulls: Derrick Rose Creating Too Much Hype Surrounding His Return?
By Jeremy Sickel
COMMENTARY | It was inevitable that Derrick Rose's return to the basketball court would come with a certain hype -- a hype that would completely invade the NBA's daily news feed, in fact.
By the time the regular season begins, over 18 months will have passed since Rose's last noteworthy dribble.
The former MVP tore his ACL during Game 1 of the opening-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers back in April of 2012, beginning a long and very documented comeback -- a comeback that also puts added pressure on the Chicago Bulls to vault back to the top of the Eastern Conference.
But is there a chance all the chatter surrounding Rose's return could ultimately lead to disappointment in Chicago?
With Rose leading the way, the Bulls will certainly be in the discussion to supplant the Miami Heat atop the NBA's hierarchy. But expecting the point guard to pilot Chicago to its seventh title in his first year back is idealistic at best, though much of the propaganda has been self-inflicted.
It all started with Rose indicating in a video posted to CSNChicago.com that he thinks he is 100 percent.
"I think I am 100 percent. I think the training, I'm doing almost everything. Squatting, running, lifting, almost every other day. Just being back on the court after you have the ACL, you're kind of hesitant at first about how you step, what way you should step. Learning how to run, accelerate, accelerating while you run, while you're slowing down. For me, I'm reacting right now, where I don't have to think about anything. If I want to get to a spot, I'm going to get there, no matter what. It kind of feels good, having that feeling again."
"I think it's close. With the same team, the nucleus, that we have, we made it to the conference finals with a couple plays that could have easily changed the outcome.
Every player is getting better individually. I think everybody's healed up. We know how big it is. It's just going to take time for me to adjust back to my teammates because they're used to playing with each other."
Rose should not be knocked for the confidence he displays in his teammates, but looking too far ahead will make it difficult to manage each game in a vacuum as he gets back into shape and tries to return to pre-injury form.
A persistent and ruthless approach has always been the crux of Rose's success on the court, thriving on his ability as a do-it-all point guard. And according to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson, Rose would even show no mercy to his own mother if she were to try to stand in his way.
DRose on his mindset: "If it's my Mom on the court, she's going to get killed."
- K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) October 2, 2013While obviously hyperbole brought on by him being the fiercest of competitors, Rose should be wary of peaking emotionally before the season even begins.
If Rose is indeed 100 percent, believes that the Bulls are title contenders and does intend to leave no prisoners on the court this season, his entire focus should be on an Oct 29 meeting with the Heat -- where a win could ultimately validate his absence.
U.S. lead Internationals by a point at Cup.
Reuters; Mark Lamport-Stokes
The United States needed a par on the final hole to grab the overall lead over the Internationals on the first day of the Presidents Cup after almost throwing away a commanding advantage following a lengthy weather delay.
Steve Stricker calmly pared the 18th hole to secure the decisive point that allowed the Americans to finish the opening fourballs leading by 3-1/2 points to 2-1/2.
At one point, the Americans led in all six encounters at Muirfield Village Golf Club but South Africans Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel inspired a late fight back by the Internationals.
Oosthuizen and Schwartzel came from two down after seven holes to beat British Open champion Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley 2&1 in a contest of high quality involving four former major winners.
Bradley put the Americans two up by sinking a six-foot eagle putt at the par-five seventh but the South Africans won the next two holes with birdies, Oosthuizen draining a 16-footer at the eighth and Schwartzel tapping in a two-footer at the ninth.
Oosthuizen then put the Internationals one up by knocking in a three-foot birdie putt at the par-five 11th, and his good friend Schwartzel sealed victory with a birdie at the 17th.
"Me and Charl played really well," said 2010 British Open winner Oosthuizen. "We did proper better ball. When he was out of the hole, I played well. When I was out of it, he hit some amazing shots."
Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion, agreed.
"We were nine under (par) combined, so we played really good golf," he said. "I felt like my good shots were really very good today.
"The two of us feel comfortable with each other. You don't get down on yourself with a bad shot, because you know those sort of things happen ... I think that's where we bond really well."
Steve Stricker calmly pared the 18th hole to secure the decisive point that allowed the Americans to finish the opening fourballs leading by 3-1/2 points to 2-1/2.
At one point, the Americans led in all six encounters at Muirfield Village Golf Club but South Africans Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel inspired a late fight back by the Internationals.
Oosthuizen and Schwartzel came from two down after seven holes to beat British Open champion Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley 2&1 in a contest of high quality involving four former major winners.
Bradley put the Americans two up by sinking a six-foot eagle putt at the par-five seventh but the South Africans won the next two holes with birdies, Oosthuizen draining a 16-footer at the eighth and Schwartzel tapping in a two-footer at the ninth.
Oosthuizen then put the Internationals one up by knocking in a three-foot birdie putt at the par-five 11th, and his good friend Schwartzel sealed victory with a birdie at the 17th.
"Me and Charl played really well," said 2010 British Open winner Oosthuizen. "We did proper better ball. When he was out of the hole, I played well. When I was out of it, he hit some amazing shots."
Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion, agreed.
"We were nine under (par) combined, so we played really good golf," he said. "I felt like my good shots were really very good today.
"The two of us feel comfortable with each other. You don't get down on yourself with a bad shot, because you know those sort of things happen ... I think that's where we bond really well."
FIRST POINT
Tiger Woods and Matt Kuchar earned the first point of the day for the U.S., hammering Argentina's Angel Cabrera and Australian Marc Leishman 5&4 in a match they led from the opening hole.
"We ham-and-egged it pretty good," said Woods.
"Kuch made a bunch of putts on the front nine, I got it rolling there for a little bit and on the back nine. It was him or me on each hole. We did pretty good."
Zach Johnson and PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner never trailed before beating South Africans Branden Grace and Richard Sterne 5&3 while Stricker and Jordan Spieth ended a birdie fest against South African Ernie Els and Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge with a hard-fought 1-up win.
However, the Internationals did well to salvage 1-1/2 more points from two of the earlier matches out.
Australian Jason Day sank a 22-foot birdie putt at the last to seal a 1-up win in tandem with Canada's Graham DeLaet over Hunter Mahan and Brandt Snedeker, after they had been three down after six holes.
Masters champion Adam Scott of Australia and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, who never led and trailed by two with four holes to play, fought back to square their match against Bill Haas and Webb Simpson.
The 21-year-old Matsuyama almost sank his approach at the last, his tap-in for birdie earning the Internationals a valuable half-point after they were clearly feeling the pressure in the match play format they prefer, as they have traditionally struggled in the foursomes.
Internationals captain Nick Price felt he had gained a valuable concession with four-balls featuring in the opening Cup session for the first time since the 1996 edition of the biennial team competition, and had been hoping for a fast start.
But it was the Americans who came charging out of the gate after former U.S. President George W. Bush had greeted both teams before they teed off at the par-four first in front of packed grandstands.
U.S. captain Fred Couples, who was given a cake by the International team for his 54th birthday, watched in delight as his players seized early control before play was suspended for just under an hour-and-a-half due to a thunderstorm.
The U.S. have dominated the Presidents Cup by winning seven times in nine editions, most recently with a 19-15 victory at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia two years ago.
The only success for the Internationals came in 1998 when the event was first staged in Melbourne. In 2003, the two teams battled to a 17-17 draw in South Africa.
Who’s Hot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup at Kansas?
By Paula Thompson
COMMENTARY | The Chase for the Sprint Cup heads to Kansas Speedway this weekend for the playoff's fourth event, the Hollywood Casino 400. Thus far, the 10-race Chase has been dominated by three drivers - Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch - while everyone else plays catch-up - or tries to. Will any of the drivers in positions four through 10 make a push, or will it be more of the same with the "big three" up front? Watch these drivers this Sunday, October 6, at Kansas Speedway.
Matt Kenseth - Look for Kenseth to be as strong as he's been the first three weeks of the Chase - he has, after all, won the past two races at the 1.5-mile track, including the April race from the pole. In 15 starts at Kansas, Kenseth has nine top 10 finishes as well as two poles. He currently has an eight-point lead on his closest competitor - not something to take lightly.
Jimmie Johnson - Another two-race winner at Kansas, "Five-Time" is nearly a given for a top-10 finish - he has 12 in 14 starts, along with three poles. Johnson came through last week with a win at Dover - his eighth at the track - and will be the driver to beat for the rest of the Chase, as the only remaining track where he doesn't have a win is Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Kyle Busch - Of the six drivers being profiled, Busch is the one who has the most trouble at Kansas - just two top 10 finishes in 12 starts, with an average finish of 22.4. He sits third in points, just 12 back of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kenseth, and has an average finish of 3.0 in the first three Chase races - but he's heading into a rough patch of the Chase, with wins at only three of the six tracks following Kansas.
Jeff Gordon - With two wins and 10 top 10 finishes in 15 starts, Gordon will be one to watch at Kansas. Tied with Kevin Harvick in points in the Chase standings (Harvick gets the edge due to his wins), he sits nearly a race behind Kenseth at 39 points back, but still within striking distance - not bad for a driver who made it into the Chase at the last minute.
Greg Biffle - Also a two-time winner at Kansas (there are five, with Tony Stewart being the fifth), Biffle is sixth in points, 41 points behind Kenseth, with top 10 finishes in the last two races (New Hampshire and Dover). Biffle has nine top 10s and a pole at Kansas in 14 races, and finished 19th in the April race.
Ryan Newman - Newman has one win and four top 10 finishes in 15 races at Kansas, with his win coming back in the fall of 2003 (Newman stands as the youngest winner at Kansas at 25 years, nine months, 27 days). Newman finished 14th in the April race, and has two top 10 finishes in the Chase's first three races (Chicago and Dover).
Down and out - Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne sit 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively, in Chase points, with Logano having the best Chase run of the three drivers - a third last weekend at Dover. Edwards had two top 12 outings at Chicago and New Hampshire before a 35th-place run at Dover, while Logano dug his hole in the first week at Chicago, finishing 37th; Kahne's 37th-place run at New Hampshire put him at the rear.
Source: "Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Hollywood Casino 400," NASCAR Media, September 30, 2013
A modern measure of baseball's relevance.
By Rob NeyerA modern measure of baseball's relevance.
Wednesday, I fisked a long New York Times column that argued for baseball's irrelevance. Thursday, National Public Radio's On Point program devoted an entire hour to the subject, and I was honored to join the show down the stretch. I've now said most of what I feel compelled to say, but just a couple of other items before we become immersed in some hot Division Series action ...
First, here's a gentleman named Howard Cosell, writing in 1969 about baseball's present and future irrelevance:
The modern leadership must realize that the inherent appeal of professional football lies in the characteristics of swiftness and violence. The inherent appeal of motor racing, which draws so many millions of people in the country every year, lies in swiftness and violence. The inherent appeal of basketball at both the professional and college levels lies, to a lesser degree, in its swiftness and to a very considerable degree, especially under the basket, its violence.
Baseball simply hasn't kept pace in this area...Yeah, that's the problem: Baseball just isn't swift enough or violent enough!
So yeah, that was almost 45 years ago. Now, an item from just this afternoon:
MLB Public Relations ✔ @MLB_PR
More people tweeted about baseball Weds than anything else on TV.
96,188 different people sent 207,830 total tweets during game.
Irrelevance, my ass.
TOM BENNETT (STATS European Football Writer)
Manchester City will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing week when they welcome Everton to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
"Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say you were beaten by the better team," said Richards. "We want to play again quickly and get it out of our system. We are used to being better than everyone else. Without being cocky, we are used to playing nice football but we got taught a lesson. It is disappointing to be on the receiving end.
"We have had two disappointing results. We don't like to lose two games back to back. We have got a winning mentality built into us. We have to put it right on Saturday. We are at home and we will give a good performance and hopefully get three points."
Everton (3-3-0) are the only remaining unbeaten team in the top flight, riding three straight wins to the top four in the table. Manager Roberto Martinez is pleased with his side's position having targeted such a rise, but is fully aware it is too early to be reading anything into league placings after just six games.
"It was a great target before, and now it's a great target to maintain for as long as we can," Martinez said. "But obviously we are in October and now is not the time to be looking at the table. Now is the time to keep those standards, to keep growing and keep all the players fit so we have that competition that is going to drive us until the end of the season."
Manchester City are without Jack Rodwell (muscle strain) and Martin Demichelis (knee) through injury, while Everton have doubts over Kevin Mirallas (ankle), Steven Pienaar (knee) and Antolin Alcaraz (groin).
The Toffees took four points off Manchester City last season - the most of any team in the Premier League. No team has such a strong record against the Citizens as Everton of late, with the Merseyside club winning nine of the last 12 Premier League meetings and losing just one of the last six at the Etihad. City have kept just a single clean sheet in their last 15 league meetings with Everton.
City are looking to avoid their first back-to-back Premier League defeats since October 2010, but will be confident of doing so after picking up eight wins from their last nine home games. They have scored at least once in 52 straight matches at the Etihad stretching back to November 2010 - the longest active streak in the Premier League - and have kept nine clean sheets in their last 13 there.
An Everton win would achieve their first run of four straight league victories since 2008.
Will Alabama case force NCAA to investigate? Or surrender?
By Dave Wetzel
Back in the old days – say 2011 – the University of Alabama might be nervous after another report of a star player receiving an extra benefit in violation of NCAA rules.
On Thursday, it was word from TideSports.com that assistant strength and conditioning coach Corey Harris was placed on administrative leave for providing a loan over the summer to star safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. The report also says Harris was found by the Alabama compliance department to have ties to a sports agent.
It was just Wednesday that Clinton-Dix was suspended indefinitely for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
These aren't outside allegations. These are the conclusions of the school itself.
This comes on the heels of last month's Yahoo! Sports detailed story about how former player Luther Davis had ties to sports agents and financial planners and provided a series of "impermissible benefits" to star lineman D.J. Fluker, now of the San Diego Chargers, among other SEC players. The school is looking into that one.
That's smoke from two sports agent stories on top of each other, one coming from a currently employed staff member.
Predicting the actions of the ever-unpredictable NCAA is always fraught with danger.
But back when the NCAA had a full, aggressive enforcement staff, when it still liked flexing its muscles, when it wasn't under such assault from lawyers and the public alike – you know a couple years ago – it stands to reason it would've sent a team to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take a look at the Crimson Tide.
There was a period when the NCAA seemed to revel in drilling any program for any player who took anything from anyone, especially an agent. Entire basketball seasons have been vacated for as much, and that's when the NCAA ruled no one at the school knew anything. This time, the alleged potential runners are a recent player (by definition, also a booster) and an employee of the program.
Yet, now? Well, who knows if the NCAA does a dang thing?
Yahoo's opposition to amateurism, the NCAA rulebook and the association's history of selective enforcement is long-standing and repeatedly stated.
You don't have to believe in any of that to not sit back with some popcorn and wonder what will happen next on this one.
The NCAA does care about the rules. It gets them out of workman comp cases and taxes and all sorts of other things. It's why the NCAA cracks the whip. There's big money in enforcement.
Yet, this could be the watershed moment when the NCAA just stops even pretending to try. It could be the case where the NCAA just throws up its hands and admits it no longer had the resources or the resolve to enforce some of the rules it once considered sacred.
There are endless examples of the NCAA supposedly looking the other way on a cash-cow program through the years, but of late there's also plenty of proof that was no longer true.
Southern California, Ohio State and Penn State football are all massive presences in college sports. They all got hit hard after aggressive investigations and bold decisions for various scandals. Meanwhile, Memphis basketball saw a national runner-up basketball season get wiped out for playing an ineligible player the NCAA itself twice ruled eligible.
There was talk of "strict liability" from then infractions chair Paul Dee, the late athletic director from Miami. There were lectures that high-profile players demand high-profile monitoring. Penn State didn't even get a run through the enforcement process, it just bulldozed into a settlement.
There was little wiggle room allowed. The NCAA meant business.
The Alabama deal isn't outrageous. Plane tickets. Cash. Gifts. Small loans. Whatever.
It's the same stuff as ever: predictable and virtually impossible to prevent from occurring.
By NCAA thinking, however, those alleged benefits could be significant because it's not always the monetary value that matters. It's who provided it and why.
Clinton-Dix's benefit was fairly minimal, and his suspension will likely be four games, at most. But how do you excuse the behavior of an athletic department employee who most certainly knew the rules?
This isn't some out-of-town booster or shadowy agent. He's part of the program. If you can't be cited for failing to control the people internally, then what's the point?
That's part of what doomed Ohio State – it wasn't the memorabilia-for-tattoo swap that was the big deal, it was head coach Jim Tressel knowing about it, lying about it, covering it up and playing the guys anyway.
Then again, the NCAA said no one at Memphis knew Derrick Rose might have fixed his SAT, but it pulled that Final Four banner down anyway.
So, yes, in the old days of a couple years back, this would have meant a full-on investigation and, if the allegations were proven, the prospect of little leniency.
Maybe not vacating victories and titles, but, well, something.
It's why there are plenty of bitter fans from past-sanctioned programs demanding that mighty Alabama gets the same treatment their favorite team did. Even if those same fans generally howled about how unfair their own program was treated in the first place.
This in undeniably a new day, though, new winds of change circling college sports like a tornado. The entire operation has been undone by overextension in the Nevin Shapiro and Jerry Sandusky cases.
Does the NCAA have a spine anymore?
So maybe the Tide won't get put under the same intense microscope.
Maybe the NCAA just can't even investigate this stuff anymore.
Maybe the old days are over. And if they are, well, good riddance. It's about time we got on with some new ones, because it's tough to be outraged about a repaid loan of less than $500 to a key player in a hugely profitable football program.
Time will tell. That's what's interesting about this case, not the allegations against Alabama. They could come up at any school. They are partially a result of a rulebook that makes no sense. They stem from a concept of amateurism that was always bankrupt.
That's always been the case, though. The NCAA never used to care.
Alabama may be the test to see if it still does.
2013 Presidents Cup: Pairings, match schedule for Friday Foursomes.
By Brendan Porath
With the USA ahead one point, the lineups are now set for Friday Foursomes, a format the Americans have dominated.
The pairings and order are set for the second day at the 2013 Presidents Cup. Nick Price did not change a single pairing from Day 1 at Muirfield Village, but he did switch up the order a bit, deciding to anchor things with the duo of Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama.
American captain Fred Couples split up the first two groups from Thursday, placing Bill Haas with Hunter Mahan and Webb Simpson with Brandt Snedeker. Those are four of the more versatile and interchangeable guys on the American roster, with the other eight players pretty firmly locked into partnerships.
The format will change on Friday, transitioning from Four-ball to Foursomes, where the International team has typically had tremendous trouble staying competitive. It's an alternate shot system, with the two-man team playing one ball and each player getting nine tee shots (if the match goes 18 holes).
The International side faces great roster turnover from one Presidents Cup to the next, whereas the American side plays Foursomes every year with the Ryder Cup mixing in. Flying in from all over the world for the event, it puts an extra burden on the foreign players. When these guys, who are control freaks about every circumstance on every shot, have to now play a different ball with potentially different feel and distance control, it can get ugly. Nick Price admitted as much when announcing the pairings, so a draw tomorrow would be considered a success for the Internationals.
With that history under this format in mind, here's the lineup for Friday afternoon. The first group is scheduled to go off around 1:10 p.m. ET, with the last tee time approximately scheduled for 2:05 p.m. There are six more points up for grabs.
Match One
Manchester City will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing week when they welcome Everton to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Manuel Pellegrini's City (3-1-2) were comfortably beaten by European champions Bayern Munich on Wednesday and still reeling from a shock 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League last weekend, but defender Micah Richards is keen to get back playing again as soon as possible.
"Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say you were beaten by the better team," said Richards. "We want to play again quickly and get it out of our system. We are used to being better than everyone else. Without being cocky, we are used to playing nice football but we got taught a lesson. It is disappointing to be on the receiving end.
"We have had two disappointing results. We don't like to lose two games back to back. We have got a winning mentality built into us. We have to put it right on Saturday. We are at home and we will give a good performance and hopefully get three points."
Everton (3-3-0) are the only remaining unbeaten team in the top flight, riding three straight wins to the top four in the table. Manager Roberto Martinez is pleased with his side's position having targeted such a rise, but is fully aware it is too early to be reading anything into league placings after just six games.
Manchester City are without Jack Rodwell (muscle strain) and Martin Demichelis (knee) through injury, while Everton have doubts over Kevin Mirallas (ankle), Steven Pienaar (knee) and Antolin Alcaraz (groin).
The Toffees took four points off Manchester City last season - the most of any team in the Premier League. No team has such a strong record against the Citizens as Everton of late, with the Merseyside club winning nine of the last 12 Premier League meetings and losing just one of the last six at the Etihad. City have kept just a single clean sheet in their last 15 league meetings with Everton.
City are looking to avoid their first back-to-back Premier League defeats since October 2010, but will be confident of doing so after picking up eight wins from their last nine home games. They have scored at least once in 52 straight matches at the Etihad stretching back to November 2010 - the longest active streak in the Premier League - and have kept nine clean sheets in their last 13 there.
An Everton win would achieve their first run of four straight league victories since 2008.
Will Alabama case force NCAA to investigate? Or surrender?
By Dave Wetzel
Back in the old days – say 2011 – the University of Alabama might be nervous after another report of a star player receiving an extra benefit in violation of NCAA rules.
On Thursday, it was word from TideSports.com that assistant strength and conditioning coach Corey Harris was placed on administrative leave for providing a loan over the summer to star safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. The report also says Harris was found by the Alabama compliance department to have ties to a sports agent.
It was just Wednesday that Clinton-Dix was suspended indefinitely for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
These aren't outside allegations. These are the conclusions of the school itself.
This comes on the heels of last month's Yahoo! Sports detailed story about how former player Luther Davis had ties to sports agents and financial planners and provided a series of "impermissible benefits" to star lineman D.J. Fluker, now of the San Diego Chargers, among other SEC players. The school is looking into that one.
That's smoke from two sports agent stories on top of each other, one coming from a currently employed staff member.
Predicting the actions of the ever-unpredictable NCAA is always fraught with danger.
But back when the NCAA had a full, aggressive enforcement staff, when it still liked flexing its muscles, when it wasn't under such assault from lawyers and the public alike – you know a couple years ago – it stands to reason it would've sent a team to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take a look at the Crimson Tide.
There was a period when the NCAA seemed to revel in drilling any program for any player who took anything from anyone, especially an agent. Entire basketball seasons have been vacated for as much, and that's when the NCAA ruled no one at the school knew anything. This time, the alleged potential runners are a recent player (by definition, also a booster) and an employee of the program.
Yet, now? Well, who knows if the NCAA does a dang thing?
Yahoo's opposition to amateurism, the NCAA rulebook and the association's history of selective enforcement is long-standing and repeatedly stated.
You don't have to believe in any of that to not sit back with some popcorn and wonder what will happen next on this one.
The NCAA does care about the rules. It gets them out of workman comp cases and taxes and all sorts of other things. It's why the NCAA cracks the whip. There's big money in enforcement.
Yet, this could be the watershed moment when the NCAA just stops even pretending to try. It could be the case where the NCAA just throws up its hands and admits it no longer had the resources or the resolve to enforce some of the rules it once considered sacred.
There are endless examples of the NCAA supposedly looking the other way on a cash-cow program through the years, but of late there's also plenty of proof that was no longer true.
Southern California, Ohio State and Penn State football are all massive presences in college sports. They all got hit hard after aggressive investigations and bold decisions for various scandals. Meanwhile, Memphis basketball saw a national runner-up basketball season get wiped out for playing an ineligible player the NCAA itself twice ruled eligible.
There was talk of "strict liability" from then infractions chair Paul Dee, the late athletic director from Miami. There were lectures that high-profile players demand high-profile monitoring. Penn State didn't even get a run through the enforcement process, it just bulldozed into a settlement.
There was little wiggle room allowed. The NCAA meant business.
The Alabama deal isn't outrageous. Plane tickets. Cash. Gifts. Small loans. Whatever.
It's the same stuff as ever: predictable and virtually impossible to prevent from occurring.
By NCAA thinking, however, those alleged benefits could be significant because it's not always the monetary value that matters. It's who provided it and why.
Clinton-Dix's benefit was fairly minimal, and his suspension will likely be four games, at most. But how do you excuse the behavior of an athletic department employee who most certainly knew the rules?
This isn't some out-of-town booster or shadowy agent. He's part of the program. If you can't be cited for failing to control the people internally, then what's the point?
That's part of what doomed Ohio State – it wasn't the memorabilia-for-tattoo swap that was the big deal, it was head coach Jim Tressel knowing about it, lying about it, covering it up and playing the guys anyway.
Then again, the NCAA said no one at Memphis knew Derrick Rose might have fixed his SAT, but it pulled that Final Four banner down anyway.
So, yes, in the old days of a couple years back, this would have meant a full-on investigation and, if the allegations were proven, the prospect of little leniency.
Maybe not vacating victories and titles, but, well, something.
It's why there are plenty of bitter fans from past-sanctioned programs demanding that mighty Alabama gets the same treatment their favorite team did. Even if those same fans generally howled about how unfair their own program was treated in the first place.
This in undeniably a new day, though, new winds of change circling college sports like a tornado. The entire operation has been undone by overextension in the Nevin Shapiro and Jerry Sandusky cases.
Does the NCAA have a spine anymore?
So maybe the Tide won't get put under the same intense microscope.
Maybe the NCAA just can't even investigate this stuff anymore.
Maybe the old days are over. And if they are, well, good riddance. It's about time we got on with some new ones, because it's tough to be outraged about a repaid loan of less than $500 to a key player in a hugely profitable football program.
Time will tell. That's what's interesting about this case, not the allegations against Alabama. They could come up at any school. They are partially a result of a rulebook that makes no sense. They stem from a concept of amateurism that was always bankrupt.
That's always been the case, though. The NCAA never used to care.
Alabama may be the test to see if it still does.
2013 Presidents Cup: Pairings, match schedule for Friday Foursomes.
By Brendan Porath
With the USA ahead one point, the lineups are now set for Friday Foursomes, a format the Americans have dominated.
The pairings and order are set for the second day at the 2013 Presidents Cup. Nick Price did not change a single pairing from Day 1 at Muirfield Village, but he did switch up the order a bit, deciding to anchor things with the duo of Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama.
American captain Fred Couples split up the first two groups from Thursday, placing Bill Haas with Hunter Mahan and Webb Simpson with Brandt Snedeker. Those are four of the more versatile and interchangeable guys on the American roster, with the other eight players pretty firmly locked into partnerships.
The format will change on Friday, transitioning from Four-ball to Foursomes, where the International team has typically had tremendous trouble staying competitive. It's an alternate shot system, with the two-man team playing one ball and each player getting nine tee shots (if the match goes 18 holes).
The International side faces great roster turnover from one Presidents Cup to the next, whereas the American side plays Foursomes every year with the Ryder Cup mixing in. Flying in from all over the world for the event, it puts an extra burden on the foreign players. When these guys, who are control freaks about every circumstance on every shot, have to now play a different ball with potentially different feel and distance control, it can get ugly. Nick Price admitted as much when announcing the pairings, so a draw tomorrow would be considered a success for the Internationals.
With that history under this format in mind, here's the lineup for Friday afternoon. The first group is scheduled to go off around 1:10 p.m. ET, with the last tee time approximately scheduled for 2:05 p.m. There are six more points up for grabs.
Match One
Jason Day / Graham DeLaet vs. Phil Mickelson / Keegan Bradley
Match Two
Ernie Els / Brendon de Jonge vs. Hunter Mahan / Bill Haas
Match Three
Branden Grace / Richard Sterne vs. Steve Stricker / Jordan Spieth
Match Four
Angel Cabrera / Marc Leishman vs. Webb Simpson / Brandt Snedeker
Match Five 2:06 p.m.
Louis Oosthuizen / Charl Schwartzel vs. Matt Kuchar / Tiger Woods
Match Six
******************************************************************************
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