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Dempsey, Brooks give US 2-1 win over Ghana.
By JIM VERTUNO (AP Sports Writer)
Clint Dempsey scored in the first minute and rookie substitute John Brooks scored a late game winner as the U.S. defeated Ghana 2-1 Monday in the World Cup opener for both.
The victory gave the Americans some revenge against the tiny West African county that knocked them out of the last two World Cups and put the U.S. and Germany on top of the Group G, with Ghana and Portugal at the bottom.
Dempsey's goal came on a low shot just a half-minute into the match. Ghana dominated much the rest of the game, and Andre Ayew leveled in the 82nd minute.
Just four minutes later, Brooks - a 21-year-old defender who came on at halftime because Matt Besler was injured - scored off a corner from Graham Zusi. It was the first time an American sub had ever scored in the World Cup.
''I said it to the bench minutes before, 'We're going to get some chances still,''' U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. ''So we are still in the game after the equalizer, we just need to kind of push and push and grind it out. That's what they did. Here comes a set piece we trained over and over and over that stuff. And he puts it in, so well deserved.''
Dempsey's goal made him the first U.S. player to score in three different World Cups and was the fastest ever scored by an American in the tournament.
Both goals were surprising. Dempsey's showed the kind of technical flair seldom seen from a squad that typically scores through set pieces. Brooks' game winner came after a long stretch in which the Americans were desperately trying to survive waves of attacks from Ghana.
DaMarcus Beasley, who became the first American to play in four World Cups, started the buildup to Dempsey's goal with a pass to Jermaine Jones, who fed it to Dempsey inside the penalty area.
With a nifty move to split defenders John Boye and Sulley Muntari, Dempsey sent the left-footed shot past goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey, where the ball bounced off the post and in.
Already ahead after the game had barely started, the Americans looked well on their way to erasing eight years of frustration caused by Ghana.
The Black Stars regrouped at halftime, and the U.S. looked punchless on the attack after losing striker Jozy Altidore to an apparent hamstring injury in the 21st minute.
Ghana applied relentless pressure on U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard and finally drew even when captain Asamoah Gyan flicked a backheel pass to Ayew, who used the outside of his left foot for a powerful shot.
Ghana was still pressing when Brooks, 6-foot-3, soared over defenders to get his head on the ball. Brooks, who plays for Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga, appeared shocked to have scored, raising his hands to his head before falling to the ground to be mobbed by his teammates.
''What I can say is it was a very tough game,'' Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah said. ''Playing at this level any little mistake can cost you dearly. We didn't deserve to get the first goal against us.''
World Cup 2014: No doubt Guillermo Ochoa is right goalkeeper for Mexico.
By Tom Marshall
Sorry, Jesus Corona. There is no longer any doubt over who should be Mexico’s starting goalkeeper: It’s Guillermo Ochoa.
During Mexico’s 0-0 Group A draw with Brazil on Tuesday, “Memo” Ochoa answered all doubters about just how good he can be. In all likelihood, he’ll now be given the nickname “San Memo” (Saint Memo) in his home country.
Ochoa told Mexican TV straight after coming off the field that this was his best performance of his career and he certainly captured the world’s attention on the biggest of stages.
“It was the game of my life,” he told TV Azteca.
Ochoa’s moment arrived in the 27th minute, when Neymar outleapt Rafa Marquez and steered a header toward the corner of the goal.
Mexico seemed to be to going behind before Ochoa scrambled across his line and didn’t so much push as claw the ball away. FIFA’s new goal-line technology showed some of it had crossed the white line.
The save wasn’t a million miles away from Gordon Banks' famous stop for England against Pele in 1970, which is widely considered the greatest save ever at a World Cup.
Neymar just stared in disbelief. One of the memes put together after the game was a photo of Neymar crying with the emotion of the Brazilian anthem with the words: “Mommy, Ochoa wouldn’t let me score.”
Ochoa made three other saves of top quality, but the one on Neymar was the ‘keeper’s favorite.
“It was the most difficult because at first I didn’t think he was going to win the header and then he got it off quickly,” continued Ochoa. “But in that moment, you don’t think, you react.”
Ochoa said that the process of only knowing who would be Mexico’s starting ‘keeper the week of El Tri’s Cameroon opener wasn’t ideal, but he never questioned he could make a difference.
“I never doubted my ability,” he said. “I always knew I could help the national team. I kept working and there are the results.”
It has not been an easy road for Ochoa, who debuted as a teenager for Club America under Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker.
The now-28-year-old was quickly called into the national team. He joined the Mexico squad at Germany 2006 and was the starter ahead of South Africa 2010, before Javier Aguirre made the surprise choice of Oscar “Conejo” Perez as his No. 1.
After the tournament, the player was desperate to become the first Mexican goalkeeper to play in Europe’s top leagues in the modern era, but was hampered when he failed a drug test for the 2011 Gold Cup. Although he was later cleared of all wrongdoing, the rumors about a good-sized European team coming for him dried up.
Ligue 1 minnow Ajaccio swooped and Ochoa moved overseas, but he was forced once again to fight to become Mexico’s first choice.
Now with his contract dwindling down this summer, Ochoa’s heroic performance — which was similar to ones he has shown against top French clubs — was the perfect time to show potential new teams just what he is made of.
“Memo can move from France, but he would waste time in obtaining the European Union passport,” Ochoa’s agent Jorge Berlanga told ESPN after the game.
Berlanga added that Ochoa’s performance was the “cherry on the cake” of the hard work he has delivered in France and that an offer from a French club and another team involved in the Champions League next season had been turned down.
Ochoa can sleep sound in the knowledge more will be coming in.
Unlike many Mexican players who are happy to pick up good wages in the Liga MX, Ochoa took a risk and tried his luck at establishing himself in Europe. It suddenly looks like it has paid off in a major way.
FIFA World Cup Scores. June 16, 2014 - June 17, 2014.
ESPN.com
Monday, June 16, 2014
Group F
Iran 0
Nigeria 0
Group G
Germany 4
Portugal 0
Ghana 1
United States 2
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Group A
Brazil 0
Mexico 0
Group H
Belgium 2
Algeria 1
Russia 1
South Korea 1
Group F
Iran 0
Nigeria 0
Group G
Germany 4
Portugal 0
Ghana 1
United States 2
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Group A
Brazil 0
Mexico 0
Group H
Belgium 2
Algeria 1
Russia 1
South Korea 1
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! How the Bears can follow Spurs' model to multiple championships.
By John Mullin
When Phil Emery spoke at the outset of his tenure about winning “championships” – plural – he had ample NFL organizational models to emulate whether on a divisional, conference or Super Bowl level: Green Bay, New England, any team with Peyton Manning on it.
But the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs may provide a template for the strategy that is taking shape through Halas Hall. The intriguing aspect for the Bears is that Emery and the organization have, in fact, set themselves up for both a present and a future, both obviously only on paper right now and both annually dependent on the vagaries of catastrophic injuries.
Most important, however, is the manner in which San Antonio and players made the situation work with both skills and economics.
The Spurs, like the Packers with Brett Favre-Aaron Rodgers and the 49ers with Joe Montana-Steve Young successions, won championships beyond one individual as the Michael Jordan Bulls did. All of San Antonio’s five championships came with Tim Duncan but he was a bridge between the David Robinson titles (1999, 2003) and the ones with Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker (2007, 2009, 2014).
The Bears should have had a San Antonio-esque situation with the 1984-and-beyond team that went from being the NFL’s best and youngest to one watching Super Bowls instead of playing in them, for multiple reasons. That’s old news and another story.
What isn’t is the manner in which Emery and the Bears built for a Super Bowl window both immediately as well as longer term, with a defensive re-tool that includes Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston, Jeremiah Ratliff, Charles Tillman and Willie Young - some with one-year, some with multi-year deals - and a draft pipeline that includes the projected successors to Tillman (Kyle Fuller) and at defensive tackle (Ego Ferguson, Will Sutton).
Nothing involving rookie draft choices assures anything, but the concept is clear, and it’s not too dissimilar to what the Packers did in drafting Rodgers when they had Favre; the 49ers acquiring Young while Montana was in place; or the Spurs when they were drafting Ginobili in the 1999 second round and Parker in the 2001 first. Those were in place when Robinson retired.
But the Spurs also were able to put additional talent around Duncan in particular because of his and others’ contract philosophies that left them extremely well-compensated but without strangling the organization as situations in Miami and LA are doing.
A source confirmed for CSNChicago.com that Brandon Marshall did his Bears extension without waiting one more year for free-agency leverage, and that he expressly approached his situation with the intent of being part of a sustainable high-end entity instead of grinding out every last dollar from the team and the market.
Jay Cutler’s deal was a market figure but with flexibility for the Bears as well, and the two sides worked the deal ahead of the free-agency market opening. Jared Allen had more lucrative options than Chicago.
It’s indeed all theory and doesn’t ensure “championships” if only because as long as Rodgers is in Green Bay, and until the Bears can rip the crown off the Packers’ heads, it’s just talk. As well planned out as the Spurs were, it didn’t mean Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki weren’t getting paid, too. But even when the Spurs weren’t winning NBA titles, they were winning divisional ones (11 from 1999-2014) and another conference one (2013).
For the Bears, the championships plan may have to be wild cards. But that’s a “championship” of a sort and advances them beyond 16 games, which is where championships lie.
By Greg Wyshynski
The ice has been melted down. Hockey’s Holy Grail has been raised by everyone from the Conn Smythe winner to the Los Angeles Kings’ front office interns. The last drops of Moet on the dressing room floor have been mopped.
The 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs have been over since Friday night, leaving some time for perceptive reflection on this query:
Was this the best NHL postseason in decades?
I had this conversation with a number of veteran hockey writers while covering the playoffs – men and women who have watched more puck than I’ve taken breaths on this celestial rock. Unanimously, they praised these playoffs as some of the most well-played, unpredictable and entertaining they could recall.
There’s some supporting evidence for this. Twelve of the 15 playoff series went six games or more, with the Boston Bruins’ five-game win over the Detroit Red Wings, the Montreal Canadiens’ sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Kings’ win over the Rangers in the Final finishing early.
Seven series went seven games; five of them featured comebacks by the eventual winning team in which they were down at least 3-2 in the series. The Rangers rallied from 3-1 down to the Penguins. The Kings, of course, became only the fourth team in NHL history to rally from an 0-3 hole to win a playoff series, as the expense of their rivals the San Jose Sharks in Round 1.
The Kings played the Sharks and the Ducks – their two geographic rivals – before taking on the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks that eliminated the Kings in the 2013 conference final. Their series culminated in a classic, insanely chaotic overtime win in Game 7 – one of three road Game 7 victories for the Kings, an NHL record.
The Rangers? They needed seven games to oust Philly, and then another seven to eliminate Sidney Crosby and the Penguins – two classic division rivals. That’s after Columbus won its first-ever playoff games and gave Pittsburgh a memorable scare. Oh, and Montreal upset their arch rivals from Boston in a seven-game thriller, culminating in Milan Lucic threatening to kill everyone.
The quality of hockey was incredible (thanks, Western Conference!). The tension was off the charts. The series were anything but predictable, sometimes in victors but always in methodology. We had suspension controversies and questionable calls. We had water bottle squirting become a thing. And we had a moment of striking humanity as a star player lost his mother, he played the next game and his team rallied around him to go on a run that lead to them to the Cup Final.
And that’s not even mentioning the three overtime games in the Stanley Cup Final, including the double-overtime one that ended the postseason.
Exhale …
Why were the playoffs so damn good? The luck of the draw would be one explanation, but that would ignore the fact that the NHL made its own luck.
The new playoff format – shifting the League from a 1-through-8 conference based setup to a divisional playoff format complete with wild card teams – was created to force rivalry series in earlier rounds. And it’s rivalry series we got.
Sure, these emotional matchups didn’t lead to the really cool stuff like line brawls – we can’t expect the inert, placatory brand of NHL hockey in the regular season to suddenly change course in the playoffs, can we? – but they did lead to some outstanding lengthy battles. Is it coincidence that the Flyers pushed the Rangers to seven? Or that the Blackhawks and Blues played six overtime periods in six games? Or that the Kings staged their historic rally against a team they collectively loathe?
What about this notion: That the Western Conference, which produced the best hockey and best teams in the tournament, stayed fresher because of the new format. Chicago played St. Louis and then Minnesota, instead of San Jose and then maybe L.A in the second round. LA stayed in California for two rounds.
Curious why the Kings weren't "The Skating Dead" by the end of their series with the Rangers? It's because, for the first time in NHL history, the California team didn't have a travel disadvantage.
(And the whole format helped TV viewers, too.)
Maybe this is all the playoff format, maybe not; but compared to what might have been, there’s no question the pieces fit better than had the format not changed.
The Conference Format
The two tests for this format vs. the previous one:
1. Did the divisional format reduce or increase the drama in the playoffs races?
2. Would the conference format have offered better playoff matchups?
We previously covered the playoff races back in early April and found that (a) there were just as many teams in the hunt as there would have been under the conference format but (b) the number of moving parts were reduced. The four non-wild card series were locked in place with roughly six games left on the schedule.
How would the playoff format have looked under the conference setup?
Under the previous format and assuming two division, Boston still plays Detroit, Pittsburgh still plays Columbus, Anaheim still plays Dallas and Colorado still plays Minnesota. But then we have some deviations: The Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers swap first-round dance partners, as do the Chicago Blackhawks and the Los Angeles Kings.
Now, should we decide to get “what-iffy” in the Eastern Conference, perhaps the Flyers advance past a Ben Bishop-less Lightning team and the Rangers still oust the Canadiens. (Something they may have done with or without a healthy Carey Price.) Assuming we’re still re-seeding, it would have been Boston and the Flyers and the Penguins and the Rangers in the semifinals, with the latter matchup obviously happening under the current format too.
In the West … well, we’re still losing two damn good teams between the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks. Based on what we’ve seen, it’s entirely possible the Kings and Hawks still advance, with LA taking on Anaheim and Chicago battling Minnesota, like they did in the current format.
But again, that’s if these series were played in a vacuum.
Are these matchups more equitable than the ones we ended up with? Probably.
Are they more compelling? No, considering the traditional rivalry series the new format yielded in the first round for the Rangers, Kings and Blackhawks.
So for this season, the new playoff format bettered the old.
Save for one, nagging complaint.
One Nagging Complaint
The Boston Bruins were totally boned by the NHL.
They were a 117-point team. They were eliminated by a 100-point team while a 96-point team played the Pittsburgh Penguins on the other side of the bracket.
The NHL’s slavish obsession with creating its own March Madness-style tournament – bracketed matchups without reshuffling the teams based on points – ends up doing two things that no playoff format should seek to do:
1. It doesn’t protect the highest seeds, i.e. the best teams in the tournament, by giving them the easiest path to the championship rounds.
2. In failing to do so, it further devalues a regular season that’s already bemoaned by fans as being too long and inconsequential when over half the league makes the postseason.
As Ryan Lambert put it on Puck Daddy in April: “I guess having the ability to fill out a bracket is a thing some sports fans (see also: Not necessarily hockey fans) like, but in no longer re-seeding after each round, and committing to this ludicrous divisional playoff format, the league all but insured that there's likely to be some bad teams still playing while good ones are told to pack their things and hit the golf course.”
Luckily for the NHL, it’s got more than a few good ones to rely on.
But yeah, fix the re-seeding issue. Because 117 points should get you something more than a regular-season conference champions banner and terrible draft position.
Yeah, Sure, Jury’s Still Out
Look, it’s one postseason. Maybe next year we get a collection of 5-game series and sweeps between mismatched opponents that have no natural rivalries. Maybe this gonads-to-the-wall Stanley Cup Playoffs was the outlier.
The jury’s still out. The general managers will, undoubtedly, find reasons to gripe about this postseason. (Although the HRR must have been the GDP of Ghana.)
But for someone that was super skeptical abut the NHL ruining a good thing, I’m willing to consider they they’ve improved upon perfection.
NHL reportedly will downsize outdoor games next year.
By Tracey Myers
Is the NHL downsizing its outdoor-game plan? That may be the case, and, at least in this opinion, it’s not a bad idea.
John Shannon of Sportsnet.ca tweeted yesterday that he expects the NHL to have just two outdoor games during the 2014-15 season.
That’s quite a downgrade from the 2013-14 campaign when there were six (the Winter Classic, Heritage Classic and four Stadium Series games).
When the NHL announced it was having those six outdoor games late last summer, I wrote in this space that it was too much. Most fans love them and the NHL, still somewhat licking its wounds off the previous season’s lockout, gave the fans what they wanted. It’s also, obviously, great revenue. Each game, be it in the blizzard conditions of Michigan and Chicago or the balmy ones of Orange County, drew tremendous crowds. Still, by the time the final outdoor game was played on March 2 – the Heritage Classic, which turned into an indoor game because of weather – the nostalgia had worn off completely. At least it did for me. Every idea can be overdone, and this one was.
So now, it’s looking like it’s back to two games, including the Winter Classic that will be hosted by the Washington Capitals at an outdoor facility to be named later. Perfect. Just enough to still whet the appetite, leave us hungry for more, but not overstuff us.
Yes, those outdoor games are entertaining and, in some cases, downright pretty – we all remember the snow-globe setting at Soldier Field on March 1, when the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in their outdoor spectacle. Still, everything in moderation; two is enough.
NHL reportedly will downsize outdoor games next year.
By Tracey Myers
Is the NHL downsizing its outdoor-game plan? That may be the case, and, at least in this opinion, it’s not a bad idea.
John Shannon of Sportsnet.ca tweeted yesterday that he expects the NHL to have just two outdoor games during the 2014-15 season.
That’s quite a downgrade from the 2013-14 campaign when there were six (the Winter Classic, Heritage Classic and four Stadium Series games).
When the NHL announced it was having those six outdoor games late last summer, I wrote in this space that it was too much. Most fans love them and the NHL, still somewhat licking its wounds off the previous season’s lockout, gave the fans what they wanted. It’s also, obviously, great revenue. Each game, be it in the blizzard conditions of Michigan and Chicago or the balmy ones of Orange County, drew tremendous crowds. Still, by the time the final outdoor game was played on March 2 – the Heritage Classic, which turned into an indoor game because of weather – the nostalgia had worn off completely. At least it did for me. Every idea can be overdone, and this one was.
So now, it’s looking like it’s back to two games, including the Winter Classic that will be hosted by the Washington Capitals at an outdoor facility to be named later. Perfect. Just enough to still whet the appetite, leave us hungry for more, but not overstuff us.
Yes, those outdoor games are entertaining and, in some cases, downright pretty – we all remember the snow-globe setting at Soldier Field on March 1, when the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in their outdoor spectacle. Still, everything in moderation; two is enough.
Just another Chicago Bulls Session… Derrick Rose could play if season began now.
By Dan Feldman
Derrick Rose got off crutches, practiced with the Bulls and biked around Washington, D.C.
Now, he’s capable of doing something he’s done just 10 times in the last 780 days.
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:
Rose has had no setbacks and, if the season started tomorrow, would be fine to play.Rose will have a few months to prepare for the season, but if he’s already ready, that bodes well.
With two first-round picks, the flexibility to pursue Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love and Rose getting healthy, the Bulls could improve greatly this offseason.
Of all Chicago’s possible changes, Rose might be the biggest wildcard. It’s just been so long since he’s played at an elite level.
If he’s truly ready to roll, Rose won’t need to wait until training camp to really test his knee. He’s a strong candidate to represent the United State in the FIBA World Cup this summer.
Heck, if he’s as healthy as Johnson says, Rose is essentially a lock to make the team.
The San Antonio Spurs? Gone till November. Sadly.
By Kelly Dwyer
San Antonio was, rightfully, all smiles as it celebrated its well-earned 2013-14 NBA championship on Sunday evening. These aren’t levels that should be really be judged, but it was hard to recall a giddier Finals champion than these Spurs, even counting their combatants from Miami – who in one fell swoop downed the doubters and kept their expected longtime adversaries from Oklahoma City at bay in winning a ring in 2012.
Oklahoma City was supposed to return to the Finals for the next, oh, seven or eight years following that, but it has been the Spurs who have represented the West in the two seasons since. San Antonio was so, so close to downing the Heat last season, and it makes sense their cheeks hurt from smiling on Sunday night as they climbed all the way back to avenge what could have been a career-altering set of the bummers in the wake of missing out on the 2013 title.
A brand new set of bummers doesn’t exactly await these Spurs, but they do face some tough questions heading into the 2014 offseason. Tim Duncan hasn’t fully (much less legally) signed off on playing through the final year of his contract for next season, and even though Duncan’s legacy is secure and he’s not in it for the money, it’s hard to see him walking away from $10 million. Especially once one considers the fact that Duncan, even at age 38, is still very much worth $10 million next season if things hold up or (as expected) decline slightly.
Unless Gregg Popovich has some nasty reaction to the way Tony Parker started Sunday’s Game 5, missing his first 10 shots along the way, the Spurs will secure the final year of his deal in which he’s set to make $12.5 million, while Manu Ginobili ranks as the team’s fourth-highest paid player with a guarantee of $7 million for next season.
Comparing the relative pay cuts each of San Antonio’s Big Three took in order to keep this thing together to Miami’s potential for pay cuts for LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade isn’t fair. With the possible exception of Parker over Wade on some evenings, Miami’s trio is better, and they’re already to be commended for taking smallish pay cuts during the 2010 offseason to make this work. San Antonio may have a 15-year dynastic run and they may have just topped the Heat in five stunning games, but Miami has made four straight Finals – something San Antonio wasn’t able to do during its 2010-14 run, or any other span.
San Antonio already has the edge over Miami in terms of flexibility, but once again Miami has the space to try something spectacular over its offseason. If the Heat’s stars are really serious about pay cuts, they could scare people all over again.
The Spurs? They’re the champs and to be respected as such, but things won’t be as boffo.
Once again, San Antonio will have to trim around the edges in order to find the sort of depth and versatility needed to play 7 1/2 months of killer basketball once again. Assuming Parker and Duncan stay, the Spurs will have to have the sort of respectful free-agent negotiations they enjoyed with their stars as they talk to Boris Diaw, a free agent who could make more elsewhere as the Spurs attempt to re-tool. San Antonio’s best hope is that potential free-agent suitors might be scared off at a less-enthused Diaw playing for more money away from Parker and coach Gregg Popovich’s system, which could lessen his market value. San Antonio can’t exacerbate that and potentially hurt his feelings by throwing too low an offer at a big man who at times seemed to save their season.
Free agent Matt Bonner, sadly, is probably out, Austin Daye’s contract will probably be declined, and San Antonio will once again hope that internal development from Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter could put this team over the top in 2014-15.
Then, we have the Patty Mills Question.
San Antonio stuck with Mills as he figured out a role in this league as a shoot-first point guard off the bench, and his style of game figures to translate better to different teams more than Diaw’s would, and his skills (he can handle the ball and chase guards away from the ball defensively when motivated) would also seem to work in other environments better than the somewhat combustible ex-Spur Gary Neal’s did. Mills will get offers.
And San Antonio, frankly, should play along. The guy can score, he’s been improving month by month since entering 2013-14 with a slimmer frame, and in a way he’s the anti-Diaw – a guy who is (rightfully) only looking for his own shot once the play breaks down.
San Antonio, technically, will have just about double-figure cap room entering this summer, but they also have Diaw, Mills, a guaranteed first-round draft pick (provided they don’t deal it for a spate of seconds), the respective cap holds for those players and a few other roster spots to fill out. And, as it was last year and in just about every season since we started wondering if the team’s legs could make it until June, we’ll just wait things out.
Good thing we never get tired of waiting for these guys to come back. Enjoy your summer, champs.
Thank you, Tony Gwynn, for being a true professional and an even better person.
By Tim Brown
Tony Gwynn holds his Hall of Fame plaque following his induction into Cooperstown. (REUTERS)
The people came to upstate New York, to the field on the outskirts of a town synonymous with the game itself. They'd come for a baseball ceremony. They'd come on a pilgrimage.
So they filled this town, and they filled this field, and they filled the shady places beneath the trees, and they filled the knolls under the sun and fanned themselves with programs. Then they filled their hearts, for the very reason they came.
That glorious summer, they'd come for the Iron Man, Cal Ripken Jr., and they'd come for Mr. Padre, Tony Gwynn, because they appreciated the ballplayers they were and they loved the men they were. A woman held up a California license plate that read, "MR PADRE." From the crowd, men in yellow and brown jerseys chanted, "TOE-nee! TOE-nee!"
That glorious summer, they'd come for the Iron Man, Cal Ripken Jr., and they'd come for Mr. Padre, Tony Gwynn, because they appreciated the ballplayers they were and they loved the men they were. A woman held up a California license plate that read, "MR PADRE." From the crowd, men in yellow and brown jerseys chanted, "TOE-nee! TOE-nee!"
There'd once been a way to play the game. There was a way to conduct oneself. In the summer of 2007, the people went to Cooperstown to touch those men and their values, to relive the careers that were so special, to say thank you.
Now seven years later, Gwynn is gone.
At 54, he died early Monday morning in Poway, Calif.
So we say it again to Tony Gwynn, in case he didn't hear it the first time or the countless times since: Thank you.
Thank you for your heart, your professionalism, your loyalty, your toughness and your genuine laugh, which, cruelly, we will not hear again. Thank you for teaching us the craft, for sitting at your locker and making it sound so hard, for standing in the box and making it look so easy. Thank you for the back of your baseball card, which stacks "SAN DIEGO" on top of "SAN DIEGO" on top of "SAN DIEGO," on and on, and stacks batting titles on top of batting titles, on and on. And for the back of your jersey, No. 19, which never changed, and the front of your jersey, which always read the same. Thank you for playing for the little guy and making it look good. Thank you for your son, Tony Jr., a kind and thoughtful young man whose sole failure as a ballplayer was to be born to one of the greatest hitters to ever grip a bat. Thank you for having us out to those ballgames, and for having us all up to Cooperstown that day and for making us feel good about our game.
We'll be back this summer, next month, and for a moment the place will be packed for you again. It will be alive again with tales of who you were, and how you played, and how you hit. Especially who you were.
The words we'll put to the memories will be yours, too. Inescapable that afternoon seven years ago was the symbolism of Gwynn and Ripken together on a stage in an era that otherwise stood for gluttony and greed and chemical shortcuts. This was about dignity. This was about being decent, and caring as much for the how of the game as for the what of the game.
"I think so. Honestly, I do," you said that day. "I think fans felt comfortable enough with us they could trust us. They could trust the way we played the game, especially in this era of negativity. Apparently the writers felt that way, too. There's no way I'm a 97-something-percent guy."
That's 97.6 percent, and you were right. That's too low.
"We make a big deal about work ethic," you said, "about trying to make good decisions and doing things right. And you know what? That's what we're supposed to do. When you sign your name on the dotted line, there's more than just playing the game of baseball. I think if you look out here today, you see all these people out here today, they love the game too. … Those people who pay to watch you go out and play, you've got to be responsible and make decisions and show people how things are supposed to be done."
Take the upper-deck home runs. Take the 98-mph fastballs. Take the overstuffed men and their overstuffed records and their overstuffed legacies. The most beautiful sight in the Tony Gwynn era was the man in the Padres uniform, left-side batter's box, him growing paunchy with age, his hands still wired and supple. Watch them try to beat him with the big fastball away, and watch his hands wait, wait, wait and then watch his bat flash, and watch the baseball come off the barrel hard and low and past the third baseman, past the shortstop. And watch him churn toward first base, another hit on his way to 3,141 of them, another couple points toward a career .338 batting average.
Cancer has no 5.5 hole. So Gwynn is gone today too soon, and we'll remember the 20 years he put in, and how special they were.
And we'll remember too that you could add up all those numbers he posted and they'd never amount to all those decisions he made. That was the greatness of Tony Gwynn.
So, thanks. Thanks for everything.
Admit it Tiger Woods haters, you miss him.
By Brian Murphy
At Whistling Straits in 2010, it was Dustin Johnson's inability to read the local rules on bunkers that will live forever, not Kaymer's playoff win over Watson.
Fowler tied Compton in the "Non-Martin Kaymer Division," and that makes his second consecutive top-10 at a U.S. Open, including last year's tie-10th at Merion. Throw in his impressive tie-5th at the Masters in April, and nobody has played the first two majors of the year better than Fowler – except for the two guys who won, Watson and Kaymer.
Admit it Tiger Woods haters, you miss him.
By Brian Murphy
The greatest player of his generation – and perhaps the greatest player of all time – sat out these last two major championships and watched Bubba Watson and now Martin Kaymer do what he used to do.
It's killing most of us golf fans, too, so scoot over on that couch, Tiger.
Martin Kaymer is a golfer's golfer. He's got a gorgeous, airtight golf swing. He's humble and gracious. He is piling up career milestones, adding a U.S. Open win by eight strokes at Pinehurst No. 2 to go along with his 2010 PGA Championship, his 2014 Players Championship and his holding of the world No. 1 ranking back in 2011. He probably doesn't have an enemy in the golf world. Bravo to the 29-year-old German. He's a classy player.
But it says something about Kaymer's ability to hold the public's imagination when both of his major championship wins were marked more by someone else's story.
At Whistling Straits in 2010, it was Dustin Johnson's inability to read the local rules on bunkers that will live forever, not Kaymer's playoff win over Watson.
And at Pinehurst No. 2, it was the goosebump-inducing story of two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton's run to a tie for 2nd that caused the biggest cheers in the North Carolina forest.
Kaymer has tied his idol and countryman, Bernhard Langer, with two career majors, and that's a big deal. But it's going to take a lot more from Kaymer – and more importantly, from the rest of the current best players in the world – to save the sport from slipping into pre-Tiger obscurity.
We had high hopes for Phil Mickelson this week. He'd have owned the sports world, vied for headlines with Lionel Messi and Mario Balotelli, had he made an historic run at the career Grand Slam at Pinehurst in an event he so dearly covets after six runners-up. But Philly Mick still can't make the short putt in 2014, and he finished tie-28th, failing to break par in any of his four rounds.
We had high hopes for Rory McIlroy this week. He's not just a heartbreaker; he could have been a dream-maker, too, had he made a run at his third major championship and second U.S. Open at the tender age of 25. But Rory, despite a Friday 68 to titillate us, went 73-74 on the weekend and enters the summer nearing the two-year anniversary of his last win on U.S. soil.
We had high hopes for world No. 1 Adam Scott, and he played well, a Sunday 69 netting him a tie-9th. That's four straight majors with a top-15 finish, a strong follow-up to his 2013 Masters.
But you know what Tiger Woods would call that?
Loserville, population one.
All the media and fans who piled on Tiger in the depths of his personal crisis; all the media and fans who call out Tiger for poor sportsmanship and foul language; all the media and fans who root against Tiger just because they don't like domination and they don't like his face and they don't like him threatening Jack, here's a memo:
You miss the guy. Admit it. We all do.
Now, more than ever.
It's not the same without you, Tiger. Nobody's making back-nine runs. Nobody's forcing everyone to always check the leaderboard. Nobody's coming up to us at every party and social gathering like back when you were playing, and inevitably ask: "The U.S. Open? How'd Tiger play today?"
We don't know. And we won't until you come back. For now, it's Kaymer in a runaway, and that'll have to do.
SCORECARD OF THE WEEK
70-70-67-72 – 1-under 279, Rickie Fowler, tie-2nd, 114th United States Open Championship, Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst, N.C.
Look who's growing up, bit by bit. If this keeps up, we may see a young man from Southern California, clad in orange from head to toe, kissing a major championship trophy sometime soon.
Like Kaymer, it's hard to find anyone in the golf world who doesn't like Rickie Fowler. Not at all a silver-spoon kid, he's a former dirt biker with a homegrown swing that has found its rough edges polished of late by the great swing coach Butch Harmon. The results are striking.
Fowler tied Compton in the "Non-Martin Kaymer Division," and that makes his second consecutive top-10 at a U.S. Open, including last year's tie-10th at Merion. Throw in his impressive tie-5th at the Masters in April, and nobody has played the first two majors of the year better than Fowler – except for the two guys who won, Watson and Kaymer.
The cynic will say that Fowler is like so many other great players, always a bridesmaid never a bride. (And imagine a bride in Oklahoma State orange, head to toe. Although, come to think of it, it's probably happened in Stillwater, Okla., I'd guess.) They will point to Fowler's 124 starts with only one win. They will say he has yet to cash in on that hand-eye coordination when it matters most.
I'll counter with this: Rickie Fowler is 25 years old, and one of the most exciting young talents in the game. He is trending in the right direction. Harmon's teachings are gradually moving him toward his goal, and in this now-now-now world, we all have to remember: gradually moving and trending are good things. Breathe, young Rickie. Breathe. Can't wait for your British Open at Hoylake.
MULLIGAN OF THE WEEK
That said …. Rickie, step on up.
Fowler came to the fourth hole at Pinehurst No. 2 alongside Kaymer, in the final pairing, needing something good. Kaymer had just birdied No. 3 to extend his five-shot lead to six. But as I was just saying to my good friend Greg Norman, we all know six-shot leads are just a few holes away from immolation. It's golf, baby.
So. It's a par-4, No. 4 at Pinehurst No. 2. A long par-4. It's 528 yards, but that's OK because Fowler can bomb it right alongside Kaymer. They're almost identical in driving distance stats, both around 295 off the tee.
Except … Rickie made mincemeat of the hole.
He drove it wrong. He hit his second well right of the green. His third, needing to get on the green for any chance, missed the slope badly and rolled off. His fourth was forgettable. His fifth was miles away. His sixth, a long putt to save face, somehow went in. Some thought it a "good" double bogey, considering the length of the putt. Others thought it was goodnight, Rickie.
He fell eight behind Kaymer, and finished eight behind Kaymer.
It was Fowler's only double-bogey in 72 holes, an impressive feat in a tournament where only three of 156 players finished under par. But it can't happen at a U.S. Open, especially on a Sunday.
So let's go back out to No. 4 tee, remind Fowler that he's only six back and he can cut it to three or four with some birdies and smart play, remind him to breathe, re-tee and … give that man a mulligan!
BROADCAST MOMENT OF THE WEEK
“The wheels could be wobblin' right now.” – Johnny Miller, NBC, after Martin Kaymer's drive on No. 8 at the U.S. Open.
God bless Johnny Miller. My goodness, how we will miss him.
There was simply no way the "wheels" were "wobblin'" on Kaymer, who had a massive lead when he missed the fairway on No. 8, but Miller and NBC were so hellbent on injecting any sort of mystery and drama into a mystery- and drama-free final round, Miller pulled out all the stops. He later said Kaymer's face looked "ashen" after a bogey on No. 10. Kaymer looked so ashen, he won by eight strokes.
The larger point is, nobody in golf entertains like Johnny Miller. Nobody. Not David Feherty, as good as he is. Not Gary McCord, as good as he is. Certainly not Nick Faldo. Not Peter Kostis, even with the Konica Minolta camera thingy. Not Gary Koch, not Mark Rolfing, not even the very entertaining Peter Jacobsen.
Johnny Miller is to golf what John Madden is to football and Dick Vitale is to basketball and Bob Costas was to "BASEketball." He's iconic and good and instructive and infuriating and funny and always ready to press the panic button on some player choking. It will so not be the same without him next year, when FOX does the U.S. Open.
Johnny Miller, we will miss you, and your stories of your Sunday 63 at Oakmont, and your insistence that every chip is "makeable" and your insightful guesses on club choices and hole strategies and usually – usually, not always! – knowing when a player's flop sweat is just starting to glisten on camera.
You did San Francisco golf proud, Johnny. See you down the road.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
As we all huddle and try to draft a super-secret plan for a competitive British Open next month at Hoylake to sate us after two blowout wins in majors, the PGA Tour heads to Connecticut. Surely you remember last year at TPC River Highlands, when Ken Duke outdueled Chris Stroud. Or, perhaps you don't. We'll see what we can cook up for you, golf fan. You deserve some entertainment.
Chambers Bay starts 1-year countdown to US Open.
By TIM BOOTH (AP Sports Writer)
Finally, Chambers Bay is on the clock.
It feels longer than six years ago that the 2015 U.S. Open was awarded to the public golf course along Puget Sound that will be the host for the first championship played in the Pacific Northwest.
But once Martin Kaymer was handed the championship trophy at Pinehurst No. 2 on Sunday, the focus of the USGA shifted to the opposite corner of the country.
While Pinehurst, Oakmont, Pebble Beach and Olympic all have significant history with the USGA, Chambers Bay is an infant with no backstory on hosting major events outside of the 2010 U.S. Amateur.
Power Rankings: The only driver that can unseat Jimmie Johnson? Jimmie Johnson.
By Nick Bromberg
1. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 1): Only a true Vader-hater could make a case for Johnson dropping from the top spot after his Michigan win on Sunday. While it's impressive that Johnson was able to cross Michigan off the list of tracks he hadn't won at, it's imperative to also remember that he hasn't exactly been terrible there. He just has had some crappy luck. He had no such crappy luck on Sunday.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 2): After finishing seventh, Junior said his team should have finished three or four spots better than they did. And he's probably right. He had a top-five car but as the strategy wheel spun around in the final third of the race, Junior's need for tires put him back in the pack. But hey, he's disappointed about a seventh place finish, just like another driver coming up soon was disappointed about getting second.
3. Jeff Gordon (LW: 3): We'll also continue the theme with Gordon, who said he felt sixth place wasn't indicative of the car that he had on Sunday. But guess what? That fabled track position reared its ugly head and Gordon never head it. Track position has always been a factor at Michigan, but without significant tire wear, its importance is exponentially more than it once was. We're starting to move forward with our ideas for the Sandpaper Titan to manually age tracks. We'll be like the anti-Neutrogena wrinkle cream of NASCAR.
4. Kevin Harvick (LW: 4): Our From the Marbles sources told us that Harvick was singing this on the entire flight home from Michigan. "Clap along if you feel like second really stinks. Because I’m not happy. Clap along if you feel like happiness is a win. Because I'm not happy. Clap along if you know why I was really mad. Because I’m not happy. Clap along if you feel like I should have five or six wins."
5. Brad Keselowski (LW: 5): This is a really, really, really boring top five this week. That's what happens when the top five drivers finish in the top six. After the race, Keselowski (who finished third), said that the Hendrick-powered cars were a full-season ahead on horsepower compared to the rest of the field. It was clear on Sunday, as they led 163 of the race's 200 laps. Is the only thing that could derail their advantage anytime soon a significant engine format change for 2015?
6. Joey Logano (LW: 8): We needed to shake things up and this was about as shaky as we could get. Logano finished ninth and led 29 laps, though none of them were after lap 141, when he was passed by Kevin Harvick for the lead. It's becoming more and more clear that if there's a team and program able to compete with the Hendrick cars (and Kevin Harvick) for the title, it's Team Penske.
7. Matt Kenseth (LW: 6): Kenseth's relative lack of intermediate track speed is a symbol of how JGR feels they're a bit behind. And we say relative simply because when compared side-to-side, the only thing that's striking is his lack of wins. At non-restrictor plate Darlington-sized tracks and above this year he's finished 10th, 4th, 7th, 4th 10th, 3rd and 14th. Last year at those same tracks he was 1st, 7th, 12th, 1st, 1st, 15th and 6th.
8. Kyle Larson (LW: 10): Did Larson inspire a new wave of potential bumper damage for benefit with his Michigan performance? Rear-bumper damage isn't exactly groundbreaking (See Knaus, Chad at Talladega in 2011), but maybe Larson's run to eighth will usher in a new trend of purposeful spins necessitating a demolition of the back bumper cover. (Are you lost after reading the above graph? After spinning on lap 7, Larson had damage to the back bumper that could have been beneficial in terms of downforce and being able to create more speed.)
9. Paul Menard (LW: NR): Win a Nationwide race and finish fourth? Welcome to Power Rankings, PFM. After finishing third at Las Vegas and his Sunday finish at Michigan, Menard has the only top-fives for Richard Childress Racing all season. But they've been damn consistent. If the Chase started today, Menard and Ryan Newman would both be in and Austin Dillon would be just nine points out.
10. Jamie McMurray (LW: 10): Speaking of bumpers, McMurray didn't have a rear bumper at Pocono. Maybe this is a Ganassi thing? His car was intact on Sunday and he finished 12th. For as good as McMurray has looked in stretches this year, he's in a position where he's going to need a win to get to the Chase.
11. Carl Edwards (LW: 7): Sunday, the first time since 2000 that no Roush cars finished in the top 10 at Michigan. How crazy is that? Greg Biffle was 20th, Edwards was 23rd and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was 27th. If you're one of the people wondering if Edwards' finishes and his team's speed are impacting his contract negotiations, well, you're probably leaning towards a different team for 2015 at the moment.
12. Kasey Kahne (LW: NR): Is this the finish that gets Kasey Kahne going? His season has been abysmal, especially when compared to his teammates occupying the top three positions in the points standings. But he's won before at Sonoma, run well at Kentucky and won at New Hampshire. He's got a good stretch coming up.
Lucky Dog: The third-highest finishing Ford at Michigan? Juan Pablo Montoya in his first NASCAR race of the year.
The DNF: A problem on the left-rear hub meant a 41st-place finish for Kyle Busch.
Dropped out: Busch, Denny Hamlin.
Georgia player's dad on recent transfers: 'It's not the system, it's the kids'.
By Sam Cooper
When Georgia has been in the news this offseason, it’s usually been for all the wrong reasons. With several players leaving the program due to a myriad of off the field incidents, the most recent being starting safety Tray Matthews, some began to look at head coach Mark Richt and wonder if he had a handle on his program.
Kevin Bailey, the father of current Bulldogs defensive end Sterling Bailey, reached out to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to defend Richt and the Georgia coaches.
He had a lot to say.
“When I read some of the things said, it just made me sick to my stomach,” Bailey said. “That young man (Matthews) needs to realize who opened doors for him first. I’m speaking as a member of the Georgia Bulldog family, of the Bulldog Nation, because my son goes to school down there, too. I love Tray. I love his mom and dad, too. We’re good friends. But the comments I read made me feel like they were putting down the University of Georgia, the system and the coaches. Not one time did I see it mentioned what Coach Richt or the other coaches have done for him. That’s what made me mad.
“Coach Richt and the coaching staff opened their arms to this kid. They welcomed him into the Bulldog Nation and they stood behind him. For him to come out like that and make it seem like the University of Georgia had done him wrong, that’s what makes me so mad. Same with Shaq Wiggins and the other kids who had the opportunity to play at the University of Georgia. They leave and transfer and get dismissed from the team and they blame it on the school system. It’s not the system; it’s the kids. If you come and do what you’re supposed to do and do it right, you wouldn’t get in trouble and things like this wouldn’t come about.”
It’s hard to disagree with Bailey’s sentiment here. Each player was given the chance to succeed at Georgia, but could not seem to avoid trouble.
Matthews was one of four Georgia players who were arrested in March for attempting to deposit their student tuition checks twice. Matthews reportedly electronically deposited his checks using a mobile application, then took the checks to a bank and tried to cash them. Matthews, who recently announced he'd be attending Auburn, was then dismissed following a classroom incident earlier in June.
Earlier in the offseason, fellow starting safety Josh Harvey-Clemons was booted from the team after multiple violations of the program’s marijuana policy. Cornerback Shaq Wiggins also opted to transfer citing playing time concerns. Both players landed at Louisville.
Additionally, wide receiver Uriah LeMay, one of the players arrested with Matthews in the checks incident, also transferred and reportedly landed at Charlotte.
The Bulldogs are coming off an injury-plagued 8-5 campaign in 2013 and open the 2014 on August 30 against Clemson.
Report: Mark Emmert to testify at O'Bannon trial on Thursday.
By Rob Dauster
NCAA president Mark Emmert is scheduled to testify in the O’Bannon v. NCAA trial on Thursday, according to a report from USA Today.
His appearance will not take the form of a typical cross-examination, however. As explained by the paper:
during a pre-trial conference there was an exchange between [U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken and the NCAA’s lead attorney Glenn Pomerantz in which the ground rules for Emmert’s appearance were made clear.
Pomerantz said, “We would agree that even if I don’t question Dr. Emmert about a certain subject matter when he testifies in our case, that they are free to go beyond the subject matter because that’s their examination in the case.”
Wilken replied, “That goes without saying.”
Pomerantz added, “That’s fair game and we understand that. … Let us do our full direct (examination) during our case. Let him respond to whatever they might have done in their case.”Emmert’s appearance on the stand will be one of the seminal moments in a case that is the strongest legal attack against the NCAA’s business model to date. The president of the NCAA will defend, under oath, amateurism and the organization’s ability to cap the compensation that collegiate athletes are allowed to receive at a scholarship.
Heat, not Spurs, favored to win 2015 championship.
By Stephen Campbell
Fresh off the San Antonio Spurs' NBA Finals victory over the Miami Heat, the LVH Superbook has released its odds regarding who will hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy next season with the Heat topping the list at 5-2.
With the most uncertain offseason in recent NBA history ahead (Miami's "Big Three" can all opt out of their contracts and become free agents and it's looking more and more likely that Carmelo Anthony is done in New York) the landscape of the Association could look very different next year. LVH's full NBA Futures list goes as follows:
HEAT 5-2
THUNDER 9-2
SPURS 9-2
CLIPPERS 10-1
PACERS 12-1
BULLS 12-1
WARRIORS 20-1
ROCKETS 20-1
BLAZERS 30-1
WIZARDS 30-1
NETS 40-1
GRIZZLIES 40-1
MAVERICKS 40-1
NUGGETS 50-1
RAPTORS 50-1
KNICKS 50-1
WOLVES 50-1
PELICANS 50-1
LAKERS 60-1
CELTICS 60-1
CAVALIERS 60-1
SUNS 60-1
HORNETS 60-1
HAWKS 60-1
JAZZ 100-1
KINGS 100-1
PISTONS 100-1
MAGIC 100-1
76ERS 200-1
BUCKS 300-1
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Wednesday, June 18, 2014.
MemoriesofHistory.com
1953 - Seventeen major league baseball records were tied or broken in a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers.
1960 - Tom Sheehan (San Francisco Giants) became the oldest first-time manager in major league baseball. Sheehan was 66 years, 2 months and 18 days old.
1975 - Fred Lynn (Boston Red Sox) hit three home runs, a triple and a single in a game against the Detroit Tigers. He collected 10 RBIs.
1986 - Don Sutton won his 300th game in major league baseball.
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