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Sports Quote of the Day:
"Once you agree upon the price you and your family must pay for success, it enables you to ignore the minor hurts, the opponent's pressure, and the temporary failures." ~ Vince Lombardi, Legendary NFL Coach, Hall of Famer and Two time Super Bowl Winner
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Champ Bailey says Redskins nickname is tantamount to a racial slur. What's your take?
By Eric Edholm
Veteran cornerback Champ Bailey, who was drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1999 and spent his first five seasons with the team, says that its nickname should be changed because it's racially insensitive.
“When you hear a Native American say that ‘Redskins’ is degrading, it’s almost like the N-word for a black person,” Bailey said to USA Today. “If they feel that way, then it’s not right. They are part of this country. It’s degrading to a certain race. Does it make sense to have the name?”
Although other players have said similar things about the Redskins nickname, Bailey is one of the more high-profile players to take such a strong stand on the issue. Bailey, who spent the past 10 seasons with the Denver Broncos and signed with the New Orleans Saints this offseason, has an understanding and respect for the Redskins tradition but says it might be time to consider a change based on his reading of the current social climate.
“I don’t know where the name came from or how it came about, but the bottom line is that it’s still here in this day and age, and it makes no sense to have it,” Bailey said. “I love that organization, but when it starts peeling off old scabs and people are pitching a fit about it because it’s degrading to them, then you’ve got to make a change.”
A one-minute TV ad decrying the use of the Redskins name aired during Tuesday night's NBA finals game between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs. The public sentiment against the name — while difficult to quantify — appears to be growing, and yet the Redskins have asked for public support for the Redskins name from its fans, citing the intended respect and tradition of the name.
Bailey knows Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and says that he has dug himself deeper on the issue by pushing back.
Bailey knows Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and says that he has dug himself deeper on the issue by pushing back.
“I get it, he doesn’t want to change it,” Bailey said of Snyder. “But he’s making it worse than it should be.
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: We've presented several articles on this issue, "the Washington D.C. professional football team's name." We've stated our position and you've read other sports writers. players, sports management, celebrities and politicians positions. Now we would like to hear from the sports fans that read and follow this blog. Don't be bashful, we would really like to know what you think. Please go to the comment section and post your thoughts, Should the name be changed? What's your take?“[The Redskins franchise doesn't]t represent anything that name stands for. It’s a bad reflection of what they really stand for. It’s a bad name.”
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? LA Kings not concerned with Rangers’ Stanley Cup Final rally.
By Greg Wyshynski
They peppered Henrik Lundqvist with 41 shots. They dominated in possession. They were literally inches from tying or winning, only to see the pucks swept away from the goal line at the last moment.
The Los Angeles Kings were the better team in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, but they still lost the game.
The Rangers know the feeling.
“We outshot them 2-1, lost the game. Tonight, they outshot us 2-1 and they lost the game. It's about finding ways and tonight we found a way,” said Rangers winger Marty St. Louis.
“It was probably their best game of the playoffs that they've played against us. They threw everything they had at us. Our goaltender stood tall, gave us a chance,” said Rangers Coach Alain Vigneault after the 2-1 victory at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.
“He got, and we got, a few bounces. You need those. Maybe the luck is changing a little bit.”
Luck, bounces, karma, Hockey Gods … they all earned mentions in postgame comments by both teams – deservedly so when Game 4 contained two plays in which pucks beat Lundqvist but were swept away on the goal line.
But the Kings didn’t have time for the supernatural after Game 4. They felt they played well enough to win, and were confident they’d do just that headed back to Staples Center for Game 5 on Friday night.
“We would have liked to finish it tonight, but having the next game back home, that’s where we’re comfortable. We’re in front of home fans, at Staples Center, on good ice. We’re looking forward to it,” said defenseman Drew Doughty.
Even if the Rangers have new life?
“You know what, we’ve been in their position before, so we know what they’re going to bring, so that kind of helps us out, to prepare ourselves for that,” said forward Tanner Pearson.
Even if the Rangers are now getting the bounces?
"We're going to bounce back. Everybody's going to be better. We're going to be in front of our home crowd,” said forward Marian Gaborik.
Even if there’s this eerie parallel to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, wherein the Kings won the first two games in overtime and then pitched a shutout in Game 3 and then lost Game 4 with a chance to sweep?
“We’re not thinking about that,” said Doughty. “We’re going back home, where we won it last time, and hopefully we can do the same thing here.”
Even with the strong game they played, the Kings claimed they could do better, especially around Lundqvist.
“We could be harder,” said captain Dustin Brown, who scored their lone goal. “It’s the physicality, probably. I’m not talking about big hits, I’m talking about puck battles in front of the net. Getting in front of Lundqvist more. The physical part of the game is broad.”
Doughty believed that, once again, it was the Kings’ start that undid them. They’ve now been outscored by the Rangers 5-2 in the opening period. “We gave it a lot in the third period, but we slacked in the first. And that’s why we lost,” he said.
Now the Kings return to Staples Center, with a chance to hoist the Cup in front of their home fans.
Or witness the continuing rally of the New York Rangers, who are now 11-2 in their last 13 playoff games in which they’ve faced elimination.
“I don’t think we have any concern. It wasn’t like they had any great opportunities or anything like that,” said Doughty.
Neymar leads Brazil to 3-1 win over Croatia.
By TALES AZZONI (AP Sports Writer)
Neymar gave Brazil a winning start to its home World Cup, scoring twice to lead the host nation to an unconvincing 3-1 victory over Croatia in the opening game on Thursday.
In his 50th match with Brazil, the 22-year-old forward scored a goal in each half to help the hosts survive an early scare and escape disaster in front of a packed Itaquerao Stadium after Croatia had taken an early lead.
Marcelo found his own net while trying to clear a low cross by Ivica Olic in the 11th minute, but Neymar then showed why the nation's high hopes are all pinned on him.
He equalized in the 29th minute, clearing a defender in midfield before making a run toward the edge of the area and firing a perfectly placed low shot that went in off the post.
The game turned on a controversial penalty awarded by Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura in the 71st minute when striker Fred went down inside the area under minimal contact from defender Dejan Lovren.
Neymar scored from the spot for his 33rd goal with Brazil. The Barcelona star got a standing ovation when he was substituted near the end of the match.
''It's important to start these tournaments with the right foot, with a victory,'' Neymar said.
''I'm happy that I got to score, but the entire team deserves credit. We maintained our calm and showed we could battle back.''
The Croatians were furious.
''If that was a penalty, we should be playing basketball. Those kinds of fouls are penalized there,'' Croatia coach Niko Kovac said.
''That is shameful, this is not a World Cup referee. He had one kind of criteria for them and another for us. The rules were not the same,'' Kovac said.
As Croatia searched desperately for an equalizer, Oscar added to the lead in the first minute of injury time with a toe poke from just outside the penalty area.
Croatia had a few good chances toward the end and had a goal disallowed in the 83rd after the referee ruled Olic had fouled Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
The host nation hasn't lost the last nine times it played in the opening match. South Africa was held by Mexico to a 1-1 draw four years ago.
A draw would have been a huge disappointment for Brazil, which had won its opening match the last eight times. The five-time champion entered the home tournament having won 15 of its last 16 games, including five in last year's Confederations Cup, the warm-up tournament it won. The team hadn't been held to a draw in the opener since a 1-1 result against Sweden in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.
''The team didn't give up,'' Brazil defender David Luiz said ''We knew it would be hard but we played well and got that first goal and then the victory.''
The result kept Croatia without a win in its last five World Cup matches. Its last triumph was a 2-1 win over Italy in 2002. The Croats didn't play in South Africa four years ago.
The tournament finally got underway as planned after months of talk about the preparation problems that plagued Brazil since it was picked as host seven years ago.
The troubled Itaquerao, which wasn't fully finished for the opener, held up without major setbacks to fans or the match itself, although part of the lights atop the pitch went out a few times for brief periods in the first half.
Despite the support from most of the more than 62,100 fans in attendance, Brazil got off to a slow start and allowed Croatia to threaten early. It opened the scoring with one of its first chances as Marcelo failed to clear Olic's cross. The ball was slightly redirected by striker Nikica Jelavic before the Brazilian defender touched it backward into the goal.
''I stayed calm because if I let myself get down I would have hurt the team,'' Marcelo said. ''It's not the first time that this has happened, so you have to stay relaxed to help the team.''
The penalty kick was awarded when Fred appeared to be tugged inside the area by Lovren.
The Croats insisted Fred wasn't touched and at least five Croatian players swarmed around Nishimura of Japan to protest.
Neymar converted his shot from the spot even though Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa touched the ball and nearly made the save.
Neymar had received a yellow card in the 27th for elbowing Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric.
Lineups:
Brazil: Julio Cesar, Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo, Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho (Hernanes, 63), Oscar, Neymar (Ramires, 88), Hulk (Bernard, 68), Fred.
Croatia: Stipe Pletikosa, Sime Vrsaljko, Darijo Srna, Dejan Lovren, Vedran Corluka, Ivan Rakitic, Nikica Jelavic (Ante Rebic, 78), Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Ivica Olic, Mateo Kovacic (Marcelo Brozovic, 61
World Cup Soccer: Jurgen Klinsmann tells U.S. players to pursue World Cup fame and fortune.
By Martin Rogers
Jurgen Klinsmann has told his United States players that the tantalizing possibility of fame and fortune awaits them as they head into the start of the World Cup.
Apart from a handful of exceptions, the Americans are one of the more low-key teams in the tournament, but Klinsmann stressed that the biggest show in soccer provides the perfect chance for several members of his squad to turbo-charge their careers.
"This is now the stage for our players to prove they are ready for the next level or next two levels in their careers," said Klinsmann looking ahead to the team's first group game against Ghana in Natal on Monday. "There is no better showcase than a World Cup so whoever steps on the field this an opportunity to embrace it, give it a smile and give it a go."
There have been countless examples of players who shine at a World Cup securing lucrative – and often overpriced – transfers to bigger clubs in its aftermath. For the U.S.'s Major League Soccer contingent, in particular, it could be a chance to greatly increase their status and wage packet.
As things stand, Klinsmann's group is relatively inexperienced. Only five members of the 23-man roster have played in a World Cup, while MLS All-Stars Matt Besler ($200,000) and DeAndre Yedlin ($92,000) are on tiny salaries, at least by pro soccer standards.
Of the squad only DaMarcus Beasley and Jermaine Jones have played at the highest level of club soccer, the UEFA Champions League, a statistic that Klinsmann is determined to change.
"We have talked about it for a couple of years," Klinsmann said. "Our wish, our goal, is to get as many players as possible playing in the Champions League because on the club level that is the crème de la crème, it is where you want to be, to have that confidence and experience of playing among the best players in the world.
"I think we have very special players on our team that can play there, players that can make it to that level. Right now the statistics prove we are not there yet."
While players might make the right noises about being solely focused on the task at hand, there is no doubt that the World Cup does create a false economy in club soccer.
Manchester United moved quickly to snap up Mexico's Javier Hernandez just before the last World Cup in 2010, paying around $9 million to Chivas Guadalajara. It was smart business; after Hernandez had a strong tournament in South Africa, the price tag would likely have tripled had the move not already been inked.
In terms of pedigree, the U.S. might be the weakest team in Group G. Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo needs no introduction while the entire Germany squad plays at the top level. Even Ghana has no shortage of elite quality, namely outstanding winger Andre Ayew.
But the U.S. doesn't mind the role of underdog and neither does Klinsmann. The coach's demeanor has changed since his arrival in Brazil in that his language is different, just like it was when he led Germany into the 2006 tournament.
At training camp in Stanford, Klinsmann's tone was more mellow, the wording generally about organization and process. Now it takes the form of a rallying cry, presumably aimed at firing up both the players and the fans back home.
"This is probably the most difficult group in the World Cup and we cant wait to get it started," Klinsmann said. "We respect every opponent and every player that we will face in the group stage games and we know about their strengths – but we also know about their weaknesses.
"We feel very confident going into this game against Ghana but we also know what Ghana represents as one of the top nations in Africa. We are eager to challenge them and go eye-to-eye with them now and once those three games are played you can make your judgment."
Judgment day draws nearer for Klinsmann. Opportunity knocks for his players.
Just another Chicago Bulls Session… Spurs blowout Heat on road for second straight game to move within one win from NBA Finals crown.
By Marc J. Spears
Dwyane Wade looked lost. LeBron James looked around for help that never came. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs looked like a machine – again.
Game 4 of the NBA Finals was another Spurs blowout, 107-86, a victory that puts them one win from the franchise's fifth NBA title. No team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals.
The Spurs didn't set any shooting records on Thursday night at AmericanAirlines Arena but they were just as dominant as they were in Game 3's wipeout. The defeat marked the first time Miami lost consecutive playoff games since the 2012 Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics.
San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard followed his strong Tuesday performance with a team-high 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Tony Parker had 19 points.
James carried the Heat with 28 points, 19 of which were scored in a third quarter that saw the Spurs push their lead to 24 points. Wade missed nine of his first 10 shots en route to a 10-point performance.
The Heat had a better start Thursday, but it wasn't saying much. The Spurs jumped to a 13-4 lead after Danny Green made his second 3-pointer at 7:12. San Antonio finished the first quarter ahead 26-17 after shooting 55 percent from the field. It was a far cry from their record first-half performance of Game 3, but Miami struggled early, missing nine of 14 first-quarter shots from the floor.
The Spurs increased their lead to 14 in the second quarter with a Manu Ginobili 3-pointer at the 5:29 mark. Nine seconds later the frustrated Heat called timeout. It didn't slow down the Spurs who stayed hot with an 13-5 run, capped by Leonard's putback slam.
The Heat heard boos as they went into the locker room at halftime down 55-36. It would've been worse had James not hit a desperate triple to close the half.
Miami shot 35.3 percent in the first half with zero fast break points. James led the Heat with nine first-half points on 3-of-7 shooting. He briefly exited the game – 40 seconds of action – with a reported stomach ailment before returning.
Looking for a spark, the Heat started shooting guard Ray Allen in the second half over forward Rashard Lewis. Allen had six points on two 3-pointers off the bench in the first. James, however, carried the load as he scored 10 points during a 12-6 run to trim Miami’s deficit to 61-48 with 7:56 left in the third quarter.
The Spurs responded strong with a 12-1 run, finalized by a Leonard 3-pointer to go up 24 with 3:49 remaining in the third. The Heat called a timeout one second later and the crowd responded with more boos.
Last year, the Spurs had two chances to clinch the title but failed in Miami. This time, they get three shots at it, the first on Sunday in San Antonio for Game 5.
Hall of Fame celebrates the game in all manner of ways.
Everyone from players and managers to scouts and broadcasters honored at museum.
By Richard Justice | Archive
It's a magical place. In the end, it's really that simple. It soothes the soul, restores the spirit.
If you've been here, you understand. Something changes when you walk through the doors of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Sure, some of it is the idyllic setting, a stone-and-brick structure at the end of Main Street in a village so lovely that it looks a lot like it did when the Hall of Fame first opened its doors 75 years ago today.
There is no such thing as a bad day here. Here the story of baseball is told through its people and teams and ballparks and eras.
It's told with artifacts and photographs, with uniforms and hats and lockers. It's where you walk slowly, allowing the memories to wash over you.
No matter how many hours you've spent here, there's something restorative about the experience. You can never see it all, at least not in one visit, probably not in a dozen visits.
Other than the stately hall where the 306 plaques are aligned along the wall, the Hall of Fame is constantly changing.
This year's additions are a Babe Ruth gallery, right around the corner from one honoring Henry Aaron.
There's also a series of photos taken by Osvaldo Salas in the 1950s. He had his run of New York's four ballparks and focused his work on African-American and Latin American players before returning to his native Cuba and becoming Fidel Castro's personal photographer.
Salas' collection hasn't been widely seen until now, and there are stunning images. For instance, a young Henry Aaron, smiling and innocent.
Frank Robinson is here, too, very young with an expression that exudes both strength and defiance.
To see the young Frank is to grasp how he played and to understand the demands he placed on himself and his teammates.
Jackie Robinson, younger than you've probably ever seen him in a Dodgers uniform, lingers at a batting cage holding a home movie camera. Graceful as always. Forever strong.
There's a shot of three young New York Giants -- Willie Mays, Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson, Major League Baseball's first all-black outfield -- posed together in the dugout.
There's another of Roberto Clemente, pensive and serious, looking over his left shoulder. To look at that photo is to understand some of the determination and perseverance that got him here.
Along the walls, there are quotes from those who have passed through these doors.
"I gave my life to the game, and the game gave me everything." -- Minnie Minoso.
The Hall of Fame tells baseball's story from every angle. Another recent addition pays tribute to scouts, the unheralded heroes of every great organization. They spend their lives traveling thousands and thousands of miles to watch games in heat and snow, to see high school games, college games, you name it.
One scout told me that he'd once held his son and a baby bottle in one hand while balancing a radar gun in the other. The Hall is paying its respect to these men with a display of their notebooks and stopwatches and the rest.
There are also 13,000 scouting reports, including one from someone who watched a 16-year-old Bob Feller for the first time and declared that he was watching maybe the greatest arm in baseball history.
Sometimes, scouts oversell their prized finds. Sometimes, though, as with Feller, they get it just right.
Mel Didier's advance report on the 1988 World Series is on display, too. His work was so nuanced that he alerted left-handed hitters that Oakland's Dennis Eckersley liked to throw them a backdoor slider on full counts.
Kirk Gibson had that information in his mind when he went to bat in the bottom of the ninth of Game 1, and you know the rest.
Tommy Lasorda's report on Tom Seaver notes that the young guy has "plenty of desire to pitch and wants to beat you."
"Baseball is a ballet without music." -- Ernie Harwell, 1955.
There's the glove Harry Brecheen wore to win three World Series games in 1946. There's the jersey Roy Halladay wore when he threw a postseason no-hitter against the Reds in 2010 and the bat Aaron Boone used to hit the home run that won the 2003 American League Championship Series for the Yankees.
Lou Brock's record-setting shoes are here. And Ozzie Smith's glove. And Rod Carew's bat. And Brooks Robinson's helmet. And Nolan Ryan's caps from each of his seven no-hitters.
There's the uniform Aaron wore when he hit No. 755. His Presidential Medal of Freedom is also on display. There are turnstiles and seats and ticket stubs. Ted Williams' shoes and baseballs and bats on display.
President Roosevelt's confidential 1942 letter to Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis is on display. In it, Roosevelt urges the owners to keep the game going despite the war, having determined that it would be good for the country's spirit to have a diversion.
Ebbets Field's 1912 cornerstone is displayed, and so is a section of Bill Veeck's exploding scoreboard. There's a Phillie Phanatic costume and small replicas of the Brewers' racing sausages.
Hilda Chester even has a statue. Haven't heard of her? She was the woman who cheered for and occasionally taunted the Brooklyn Dodgers. Hilda surely would be pleased that the Hall of Fame has an entire section devoted to women in baseball, not just the women's professional leagues, but the women who have held an assortment of jobs up and down the mastheads.
Public-address announcers get their due, too, from Bob Shepherd of the Bronx to Bob Casey of the Twin Cities to Rex Barney of Baltimore. They all contributed to the richness of the ballpark experience, and the Hall hasn't forgotten them.
Harry Caray's voice echoes through the Hall, and so does that of Russ Hodges and Red Barber and Vin Scully. They're all part of why we love baseball, too.
John Fogerty loaned the Hall the bat that was fashioned into a guitar for his iconic song "Centerfield." He, too, contributed something lasting to the game.
Cooperstown comes alive each July when the sidewalks are packed and dozens of Hall of Famers return to help induct a new class. The Hall of Fame is a living, breathing museum every single day of the year, a joyous experience.
Martin Kaymer seizes US Open lead with 65.
By PAUL NEWBERRY (AP National Writer)
There was something unusual in the opening round of the U.S. Open.
A bunch of scores in the 60s.
His confidence spurred by a win at The Players Championship, Kaymer birdied three of the last five holes Thursday for a 5-under 65, the lowest score from any of the three Opens played at Pinehurst No. 2.
The German got up and down for par at the 18th hole, rolling in a testy 6-foot putt to beat the 66 shot by Sweden's Peter Hedblom during the second round in 2005.
Kaymer beat a loaded field at The Players last month, snapping a stretch of 29 tournaments without a victory stretching over 18 months.
''I needed a win,'' Kaymer said. ''Whether it was The Players or a regular PGA Tour event, I just needed it for my confidence, for all the hard work I've put in the last couple of years.''
Ten other players were in the clubhouse at 69, meaning there were more under-par rounds in this opening round than the last two years combined.
At Merion a year ago, only five players broke par on Thursday.
At Olympic Club in 2012, there were just six scores in the 60s.
No one expected Pinehurst to stay this inviting through the weekend.
''There was some moisture on the greens and you were able to hold shots,'' Na said. ''I was able to capitalize on a good tee time. But there's a long way to go. Obviously, I'm 2-under par right now, but at the end of the tournament even par is going to win this championship.''
That's still a good bet.
The last two Open champions finished over par.
Phil Mickelson got off to a strong start as well in his bid for the career Grand Slam, attacking the course with deft iron shots on the way to a 70.
McDowell, who won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2010, was as steady as can be on this Donald Ross masterpiece, which has undergone a drastic makeover to restore its rustic look, with patches of natural vegetation - better known as weeds - taking the place of thick, lush rough.
The Northern Irishman bounced back from his only bogey at No. 4 with an eagle 3 at the par-five fifth hole. He added another birdie at the 14th and the rest of his card was filled in with pars, just the sort of solid, mistake-free golf that is required in the U.S. Open.
''You don't have to strike it amazing around here,'' McDowell said. ''You just have to position the ball correctly at all times.''
Na also made an eagle at No. 5 on the way to the best Open round of his career. He missed the cuts in 2010 and 2011, and finished 9 over at his last Open two years ago.
After thick cloud cover made things easier for the morning players, the blistering sun broke through and the temperature climbed to 90 by mid-afternoon. Still, there were low scores to be had, with 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Henrik Stenson among the big group at 69.
Not everyone was thriving. The world's top-ranked player, Adam Scott, shot 73. Masters champion Bubba Watson sprayed shots all over the place on the way to a 76.
Spieth was in the thick of things again, making four birdies to put himself in contention at another major championship. He was tied for the lead heading to the final round of both the Masters and The Players Championship, but couldn't close out either on Sunday. It seems just a matter of time before the young Texan claims a career-defining triumph.
Maybe it will be at Pinehurst.
''I had a lot of fun today. You don't normally say that at the U.S. Open,'' Spieth said. ''I was able to get into the flow early, and able to keep it going. One-under - I would take that four times.''
Mickelson already has five majors, but this is the one he wants more than any other. Lefty has been the runner-up a record six times in this event, denying him the only big title missing from his resume. He has changed his grip to deal with a shaky putter, hoping that would help bring his first victory since capturing the British Open last July.
''This is a golf course where I get similar feeling to Augusta,'' Mickelson said. ''You don't have to be perfect. You always have a chance. It is challenging. There are difficult shots. But they're manageable.''
In recent weeks, Mickelson has been linked to an insider trading investigation. Clearly, he was able to stay focused on the course.
''I haven't done anything wrong,'' he said. ''I'm willing to help out and would love to help out any way I can with the investigation.''
Rory McIlroy, who won the 2011 U.S. Open in a rout at Congressional, opened with a 71.
Defending champion Justin Rose, who held off Mickelson a year ago at Merion, shot 72. There hasn't been a repeat winner in this championship since Curtis Strange in 1988-89.
Instead of going faster, Martin Truex Jr. wants to see speeds decrease at Michigan.
By Jerry Bonkowski
Race car drivers are supposed to like to go fast. In most instances, the faster, the better.
But NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Martin Truex Jr. isn’t of that mindset – at least when it comes to Michigan International Speedway.
He’s hoping that NASCAR’s fastest non-restrictor plate oval starts to wear down and ultimately slow down in the process.
“I am not sure about Michigan,” Truex said in a team media release. “Since the track was repaved (prior to the 2012 season) it changed the style of racing there. The track is just too fast right now.”
Indeed, in the first Cup event after the repaving, Marcos Ambrose didn’t just break the former track record (194.232 mph by Ryan Newman in 2005), he shattered it by more than 9 mph (203.241 mph) during qualifying in June 2012.
Ambrose’s mark at the two-mile oval stood for a little over a year until Joey Logano eclipsed it with a qualifying run last August of 203.949 mph.
At the same time, drivers are also coming close to 220 mph on the front and back straightaways.
“I am hoping the new pavement is wearing out a little to slow us down,” Truex said. “I enjoyed the old asphalt at Michigan where you could run all over the place.”
Truex’s hopes may come true. The area around MIS went through a brutal winter and it’s likely the track did experience some weathering that potentially will slow cars down there this weekend. To what extent they’ll slow down remains to be seen.
“But give credit to the track for making improvements with the repave,” Truex said. “We’re professionals and it’s our job to deal with the track conditions.”
Truex has struggled this season, his first with Furniture Row Racing after being forced out at Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of last season because there wasn’t enough sponsorship for 2014.
But despite some of the gloom he’s had to endure thus far this season, Truex is seeing some light: he has a pair of top-10 finishes in his last two starts (sixth at Dover and ninth at Pocono).
“I feel our Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet will be good at Michigan due to our recent gain in speed,” Truex said. “We have some momentum right now and need to build on that. Things are much brighter with our Furniture Row team than they were earlier in the season.”
Truex has just two wins in his Sprint Cup career, but MIS has afforded him several opportunities to take another checkered flag. He had back-to-back runner-up finishes in spring and summer of 2007, and was third in this weekend’s race last season.
If and when he earns his third Cup win, Truex wouldn’t mind if it was at MIS.
“We had top-10 cars all year but we were not able to finish races,” Truex said. “The last two weeks we finished the races and got some decent results. We’re gaining but still have a ways to get to where we want to be.
“We still need to get that victory to make the Chase. And the progress we’ve made lately gives us more optimism to nail down that win.”
Sign of things to come? --- Gene Haas goes from calling Danica Patrick a 'long shot' in F1 to 'a dream driver'.
By Jerry Bonkowski
A week ago in Montreal while preparing to watch Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, Gene Haas said that while Danica Patrick racing in Formula One “would be great for America,” he also called such a prospect “kind of a long shot.”
One week later, Haas is talking more like Patrick may be a potential second driver on his two-car F1 team set to debut in 2016.
In an interview with Formula1.com, Haas appeared to scale back significantly on his doubt of Patrick racing in F1 to a much more positive tone.
“Danica Patrick in one of our cars would be the dream driver,” Haas said.
“She surely fits the bill,” Haas added. “She is a woman in a man’s sport that would attract a lot of attention. She weighs about 50 kilos (roughly 110 lbs.) – which these days sounds fantastic – so indeed she’s got a lot of attributes that would be good to have.”
Haas already co-owns Stewart-Haas Racing, for which Patrick is contracted to race the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for through the 2015 season.
But with Haas’ plans to go F1 racing the following year, Patrick could very well be in the right place at the right time contractually – she could sign a new deal to race in F1 right after her NASCAR deal expires – to become one of the biggest stories the international open-wheel circuit has ever had.
And Haas did little to deny that as a possibility. Consider his answer when asked if he would consider a woman driving for him in F1:
“Definitely, but realistically the first driver is going to be a current F1 driver who knows the ins and outs of the sport, to help us sort out what we have to do and who can give a lot of feedback,” Haas said. “In that mold would be driver number one. Driver number two would be American.”
So is it too much of a stretch to think that driver number two would be an American woman, perhaps?
Emmert says NCAA, power conferences not that far apart.
By The Sports Xchange
NCAA president Mark Emmert said Wednesday he remains confident that the NCAA and the five power conferences are not that far apart in what they want to get accomplished in a new governance structure.
Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive recently talked about the possibility of the five power conferences (the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and Pac-12) and Notre Dame essentially breaking off from the rest of Division I to form their own Division 4.
But Emmert told USA Today Sports he doesn't think that will be necessary, following a meeting with more than 100 athletic directors Wednesday at the National Association of College Directors of Athletics convention in Orlando, Fla.
"The reality is, they're not that far apart on the various ends of that and I'm pretty confident the whole thing is going to work out and probably be successful," Emmert told USA Today.
The NCAA is trying to focus on an autonomous structure for the power five conferences that would give them voting independence on specific issues.
According to USA Today, the NCAA steering committee, made up of eight college presidents, drafted a proposal last month calling for a two-thirds supermajority for autonomous votes to pass, plus simple-majority approval from four of the five conferences.
Slive, as well as Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, have called for a lower threshold. Slive said 60 percent and three conferences would be acceptable.
"I'm sure that the steering committee will find a sensible compromise," Emmert said.
A final version of the proposal is expected to go to a vote of the NCAA's Board of Directors on Aug. 7.
By TIM DAHLBERG (AP Sports Writer)
A former president of CBS Sports says he fears the popularity of college sports would suffer if athletes receive money to play because fans enjoy the concept of young people playing sports for the love of the game.
Testifying in a landmark antitrust case brought against the NCAA, Neal Pilson said giving athletes money for the use of their images on television broadcasts might also set off a ''land rush'' among conferences and schools to spend whatever is needed to attract the best football and basketball players.
''I have a substantial concern it would change the fabric of the sport,'' Pilson said. ''A significant number of people in the public see one concept of college sports being that young people are playing for the joy of the game would convert into a sense that, well, this is just another professional sport.''
Pilson, who said he spent 20 years trying to figure out what sports the American public wanted to watch while at CBS, said he believes fans have an appreciation of college sports that are rooted in the fact that athletes compete on behalf of long established schools and do so without demanding anything more than scholarships and room and board.
Paying them for the use of their names and images as sought by the plaintiffs in the trial, he said, would change the way college sports are perceived by the general public.
Under cross examination, though, Pilson acknowledged that he wasn't sure how much money athletes would have to be paid to negatively influence fans, or if paying them only after they were done with school would be an issue. Still, he said, the idea of paying players could be a real game changer.
''If the Boston College basketball team will share revenues from television and, lo and behold, each member of the Boston College basketball team is entitled to $200,000, I just think that's a negative,'' Pilson said. ''I think that's a problem for the public.''
Pilson's testimony came on behalf of the NCAA on a day when dueling television experts took the stand for both sides on the fourth day of the trial. Plaintiffs led by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon are seeking an injunction that would allow players to be paid for the use of their names, images and likenesses (NILs) in broadcasts and videogames.
The trial comes as billions of dollars in new revenues are being generated in television contracts, and is part of an assault on so-called ''amateurism'' rules that has prompted the five biggest college conferences to propose new and additional benefits to players. The NCAA has said it will go along with those changes, but balks at giving players any money for their NILs, even if they are put in a trust fund until after the athletes graduate.
Earlier, media consultant Edwin Desser testified for the plaintiffs that the NILs now controlled by schools and the NCAA have tremendous value that could be negotiated on behalf of the athletes much like they are in professional leagues. Desser said the lines are already blurred between college athletics and professional sports.
''The telecasts go on the same networks, produced by the same people, and the contracts have the same provisions,'' Desser said. ''They exist in an ecosystem that is the same. College sports programs and pro sports programs compete for the attention of fans, compete for the attention of advertisers, and compete for the attention of television networks that connect them.''
Pilson, who left CBS in 1995 to form his own television sports consulting company, said college sports has a loyal audience that has grown in importance as the number of hours of nationally televised sports has grown, from about 1,000 a year when he got in the business in 1976 to more than 100,000 hours today.
But he said that audience, at least on the college level, is more interested because of the schools themselves, not the players, who rarely play more than one or two years on television themselves.
''The loyalty of the audience isn't for the most part to the players; it is to the sport and the institution,'' Pilson said. ''If Texas lined up to play Oklahoma and you took the uniforms off them and said one will be green and one will be blue, I don't think you have a game.''
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, June 13, 2014.
MemoriesofHistory.com
1912 - Christy Mathewson got his 300th career win.
1940 - The Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox became the first teams to play at Cooperstown's Doubleday Field.
1948 - The New York Yankees officially retired Babe Ruth's #3 and sent it to the Hall of Fame.
1978 - The NHL Board of Governors unanimously agreed to a merger of the Cleveland Barons and the Minnesota North Stars.
1989 - The Detroit Pistons won their first National Basketball Association title. They beat the L.A. Lakers in four games.
1991 - In the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament a spectator was killed when lightning struck.
1994 - O.J. Simpson was questioned by Los Angeles police concerning the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
1996 - Cal Ripken (Baltimore Orioles) tied Sachio Kinugasa's record of 2,215 consecutive games played.
1997 - Vladimir Konstantinov and Viacheslav Fetisov, both of the Detroit Red Wings, were severely injured in a car accident.
1997 - The Chicago Bulls won their fifth championship in seven years.
2000 - Julius "Dr. J." Erving issued a public appeal for help finding his 19-year-old son, Cory. Cory had been missing since May 28, 2000. His body was found July 6, 2000.
2002 - The Detroit Red Wings won their 10th Stanley Cup. After the game, Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman announced his retirement.
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