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"The only disability in life is a bad attitude." ~ Scott Hamilton, Retired figure skater and Olympic gold medalist
Germany-USA could result in a controversial 'Biscotto' scenario.
By Ryan Bailey
The United States national team will face Germany in Recife on Thursday in the final round of games of Group G.
Jurgen Klinsmann's side can still reach the knockout stages of the World Cup if it loses to the European giants, but both sides are guaranteed to progress if they draw.
This has led many to believe the two sides could play out a "Biscotto."
This is the Italian word for "biscuit" or "cookie," but it also refers to the slightly less delicious scenario in which two teams in a major tournament deliberately play for a result that is mutually beneficial.
One of the most famous examples of a Biscotto occurred at the 1982 World Cup, when West Germany faced Austria in the final match of the first group stage. Going into the game, the European neighbors were fully aware that a West German victory of one or two goals would ensure safe passage to the next stage for both teams, while knocking Algeria and Chile out of the competition.
Well, guess what happened? Germany went up 1-0 after 10 minutes and neither side made any serious attempts to change that scoreline for the remainder of the game. Hence, they both qualified for the next stage.
The Italians — who are no strangers to the concept of predetermining the outcome of a game — were scorned by a Biscotto at Euro 2004. In the final round of Group C, Denmark and Sweden faced each other, knowing that a draw would suit both and eliminate Italy on goal difference.
Unfortunately for the Azzurri, the Scandinavians played out a 2-2 draw which eased them both into the quarterfinals.
Although it seems underhand, a Biscotto does not necessarily come about by a predetermined agreement between two sides. When national teams meet knowing that a draw will benefit both sides, the motivation to push forward for the win rapidly — and somewhat understandably — decreases.
There has been much speculation that the USA and Germany might be encouraged to split the points on Thursday, particularly because coaches Klinsmann and Jogi Loew are good friends. When this idea was mooted in the post-match press conference following the Portugal draw, however, Klinsmann was quick to dismiss it. From FTW:
“The U.S. is known to give all they have in every single game,” said Klinsmann, adding: “Otherwise Mexico wouldn’t be here.”
Klinsi was referring to the USA's qualification match with Panama which it won to help Mexico reach the tournament, despite having nothing to play for. Of course, there is a little more at stake this week.
The USMNT might not be playing for a draw, but don't be too surprised if that's the way the cookie crumbles...
Draw with Germany? That's just dumb.
By Dan Wetzel
Since both the United States and Germany need nothing more than a tie in their final game of group play to advance to the knockout round of the World Cup, and since they face each other Thursday afternoon, and since Jurgen Klinsmann used to play and coach for the Germans, and since his former assistant is now their head coach, there is a sizeable school of thought not just that the two teams will conspire to draw but that they should.
That leaves the U.S. program in the unenviable position of trying to disprove a negative while no one trusts what it says. They throw up their hands and point to the qualifying process of the last two World Cups and note that in the last game, with their spot already assured and nothing to play for but "American mentality," they went all out and affected the field. Fair enough, but that's a slightly different scenario.
"We want to win the game to finish top of the group," Gulati said. "So [a contrived result with Germany] is just not going to happen."
*****
Players rarely last through more than a couple of these tournaments. So they want to take one of the just four or five games that truly matter until 2018 – and perhaps the last for Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, et al – and not try to win?
Draw with Germany? That's just dumb.
By Dan Wetzel

Since both the United States and Germany need nothing more than a tie in their final game of group play to advance to the knockout round of the World Cup, and since they face each other Thursday afternoon, and since Jurgen Klinsmann used to play and coach for the Germans, and since his former assistant is now their head coach, there is a sizeable school of thought not just that the two teams will conspire to draw but that they should.
This kind of wink-and-nod deal making (or outright plotted result) isn't new in soccer. The Germans may be the most famous examples, particularly back in the 1980s. And there is a group of American soccer followers who pretty much blindly believe anything that is done by Europeans should be hailed as ingenious, should be emulated in all ways and any criticism of it is the work of the uninitiated or ignorant.
Yeah, well, here's what fixing Thursday's match would be – lame … pathetic … uninspiring … pitiful … and, most importantly, completely nonsensical in the interest of actually benefitting the American team.
For the record, Klinsmann, U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati and a host of players all shot down the concept, repeatedly and directly, when it was first broached after the U.S. tied Portugal 2-2 on Sunday night. Some did so with a measure of anger.
"[Klinsmann has] answered it about 35 times," Gulati said bristling at the fact he had to even discuss the very concept. "Let me answer it real quick. That may have been the mentality in 1982. It is not the mentality of the U.S. team. We're going into that game to win the game. Full stop."
Of course, fair or not, what else are these guys going to say? Even if they were plotting out an easy, kick-it-back-and-forth tie, match fixing would call for massive FIFA suspensions and sanctions, not to mention possible criminal prosecution. No one is going to admit it. No one ever does. Yet it happens, or sure looks like it happens, in international soccer.
That leaves the U.S. program in the unenviable position of trying to disprove a negative while no one trusts what it says. They throw up their hands and point to the qualifying process of the last two World Cups and note that in the last game, with their spot already assured and nothing to play for but "American mentality," they went all out and affected the field. Fair enough, but that's a slightly different scenario.
So Gulati kept talking about how our culture would reject such a tactic.
"Was it at the Olympics that some badminton players got suspended?" said Gulati, mentioning a game fixing scandal centered on the Chinese at the 2012 Games. "It's not the mentality of the U.S."
The players scoffed at the entire concept, something of a smack in the face that they might not play to win.
"It's not going to happen," defender Matt Besler said. "It's not going through the players' minds at all. We don't think of scenarios, we think about ourselves. We have our head down and we're trying to win games. That's all we're thinking about."
The opposition to an arranged draw here isn't some Pollyanna view that result fixing is somehow un-American. Business, politics, the legal system and so on in our country often is commonly rigged with backroom deals or clearly understood favor. It's actually part of the American way. And there are all sorts of examples across American sports of tanking and so on.
The Republic won't crumble because of a soccer game.
And while it'd be nice if the national team stood for something, at least something other than a dodgy tradition, it's more effective to look at this pragmatically.
This deal is an absolute dud, a heist. It is so vastly superior for the Germans, actually so tilted in their direction that if it went down they should don ski masks for Thursday's game and Klinsmann should have his sanity, if not loyalties, questioned.
A tie does put both teams through. However, Germany, by virtue of goal differential, would win Group G. The U.S. would come in second. This isn't equal. This isn't even close to equal.
The Americans would be forced to play Belgium, the expected champion of Group H and one of the top five favorites to win the entire World Cup.
They would do it in Salvador, a beach town in the northern part of the country and thus likely their fourth consecutive game in conditions that would be warm and thick (forecast: 70 percent humidity). The U.S.'s first three games were expected to range from extremely draining to straight up hellacious. They are already in desperate need of some cool, dry air.
Beat Germany, win the group outright and the U.S. instead would get to play either Algeria or Russia, both of whom have already lost to Belgium and are far lesser opponents. The Americans' chances of winning and making the Round of Eight would suddenly be quite good.
Moreover, the game would be in Porto Alegre, in the southern most part of Brazil, a benefit here in winter that would help both immediately and long-term if the U.S. advanced. The only downside – the only downside – is that the game would come with one fewer day of rest.
Looking far ahead, winning the group would set up a possible quarterfinal against France. With second place, if they could upset Belgium, the Americans would likely get Argentina. Again, advantage goes to beating Germany and winning the group.
The U.S. is well aware of all of this. It understands it could really use a victory. It's one reason why Monday's draw with Portugal stung so much.
"We want to win the game to finish top of the group," Gulati said. "So [a contrived result with Germany] is just not going to happen."
Then there is the off-the-field concerns, most notable lost opportunity. The national team plays just three to five World Cup games every four years. That's when it has the country's rapt attention.
Players rarely last through more than a couple of these tournaments. So they want to take one of the just four or five games that truly matter until 2018 – and perhaps the last for Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, et al – and not try to win?
Tank in the World Cup? Maybe they should just take the field in Philadelphia 76ers jerseys.
It's difficult to claim something is a beautiful game if teams are dismissive of the result in the biggest games of players' careers. That may be the culture of soccer, but if so, it's one sorry, feeble part.
It's worth noting that even with a loss the U.S. can still advance, and even likely will advance. This isn't an either/or proposition.
Besides, is advancing to the knockout stage alone really the only goal? The Americans aren't going to sweep through and win the Cup, so this concept that just getting into the elimination round is all that matters and anything can happen is folly. That's the NFL playoffs, not the World Cup.
Germany might be able to think this way, but not the Americans.
The best part of the World Cup are the opportunities, in this case a head-on matchup with a world power, both sides in top shape, everyone watching and the chance to prevail. It's a rare, precious moment.
The U.S. is a developing soccer country. As such, defeating powerhouse Germany to win the vaunted "Group of Death" would be a far, far bigger deal – a far, far more celebrated moment of glory – than just reaching the elimination stage and then getting promptly eliminated by Belgium.
After all the fighting and scraping, all the sacrificing and dreaming, all the considerable effort that the American players have put forth in this tournament and it should end with a handcuffed effort just so U.S. Soccer could claim some empty barometer of success of getting out of group play, and then walk into a Belgium buzzsaw and hope for a miracle?
This is just stupid.
While U.S. Soccer does not have a rich history of success at the international level, it does have a well-established identity around the globe. It's known for its great fight, great determination and great heart. It's gritty and tough and what it lacks in skill, it makes up for in effort. You never get an easy game against the U.S. It's a legacy built over the decades.
Klinsmann loves to talk about how he wants a team that reflects the nation's personality and those qualities are certainly among the ones that Americans like to see in themselves. So too is the idea of self-determination and confidence that can exceed reason.
To work the corners of some dubious soccer tradition is spit in the eye of all of that, not to mention the players and coaches that have come before.
"The U.S. knows only how to give everything it has in every game," Klinsmann said. "We have that fighting spirit and that energy and determination to do well in every single game."
He looked like he was already sick of the topic. The international press kept asking anyway.
"Our goal is to beat Germany," he said emphatically.
It better be.
FIFA World Cup Scores. June 23, 2014 - June 24, 2014.
ESPN.com

Monday, June 23, 2014
Group A
Cameroon 1
Brazil 4
Croatia 1
Mexico 3
Group B
Australia 0
Spain 3
Netherlands 2
Chile 0
Wednesday, June 24, 2013
Group C
Greece 2
Ivory Coast 1
Japan 1
Colombia 4
Group D
Costa Rica 0
England 0
Italy 0
Uruguay 1
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Dialogue is key with Blackhawks logo.
By Jon Greenberg
Like many 20-somethings in this city, Anthony Roy is a hockey fan. In theory, he's in the perfect demographic for the Chicago Blackhawks. He's 28, a professional and a Canadian-Chicagoan.
"Hockey's in our blood," he said to me in a phone conversation. But as the Blackhawks thrive, the computer programmer from the city and Manitoulin Island can't bring himself to go to the United Center.
"I haven't been to a game in a while," he said. "I'm not really into it lately. Going to a game, I have to get mentally prepared for it. Do I really want that stress in my life?"
See, Roy is a Native American hockey fan living in a hockey-crazy city, and his favorite team has an Indian head on its sweater. So, it's complicated.
While the Washington Redskins' brand is imploding, the Chicago Blackhawks' identity has never been stronger, especially in Chicago. Blackhawks jerseys are as ubiquitous as parking tickets on the streets of our city.
That's good, right? Well, it depends.
Roy, an Ojibwe and a member of the M'Chigeeng First Nation, wishes the Blackhawks would've changed their logo when the team reinvented itself. Of course, they didn't. Why would they? There were little to no protests for a team no one cared about.
Now, thanks to two Stanley Cups and the team's outsize success, the Indian head is everywhere. Roy doesn't have to go to a game to see it. He just has to live in Chicago.
"Being a Native American here, it's a trigger," Roy said. "It's a sea of floating dead Indian heads."
I've written a number of stories about the Blackhawks blanketing the city in their marks. But I never thought of it like that. You probably haven't, either. That's OK. It's easier not to think.
What do you feel when you put on a Blackhawks hat or a sweater?
You probably feel pride. You probably like the bright colors and the bold design and you think it represents Chicago. You love the Blackhawks. It's a resurgent team that has recaptured and grown its fan base.
When it comes to his team, Roy has a clear cognitive dissonance. He loves the Blackhawks. He has owned Blackhawks gear. But more and more, he just hates the logo. What does he feel?
"I like the team," Roy said. "It's the imagery. It's almost like I have to do what everyone else is doing: turning off my brain. "When I go to a Chicago Wolves game, it's a totally different environment. I feel like I can let my hair down. Not having a race-based logo is such a difference for indigenous people. Why broadcast it?"
Everyone knows the "Black Hawks" (it became one word in 1986) were named for the military unit of the team's original owner, Frederic McLaughlin. The unit was named after Sauk Chief Black Hawk. That's appropriation that was widely used at the time by the military and sports teams. Indians as warriors is one of our oldest stereotypes.
This is a sensitive subject for some sports fans, so let's be clear: The Blackhawks are not the Redskins. Their name is not a slur. The Blackhawks are not the Cleveland Indians. Their logo isn't a cartoonish, leering Indian.
Popular or not, let's also be clear that the famed Blackhawks logo represents the same kind of cultural appropriation that Native American groups have been fighting for decades.
"Imagery," Roy said. "It's native appropriation. The thing is, this logo looks like my family."
You might say, "We're honoring [them]!" You're not, though. You're borrowing them. Not out of malice, mind you, but it's not an honor to some.
While there hasn't been much of a stir over the Blackhawks logo in the wake of the continued, hot-as-hell debate over the validity of the Redskins name, that doesn't mean there aren't people who are troubled by the Blackhawk logo.
In recent years, Roy, a budding activist and lecturer, has been a willing source when this story pops up in the news. He created a Facebook page called "This should be the Blackhawks Logo!" It uses the image of a fierce-looking black hawk with red, green, orange and yellow feathers.
That old drawing was done by Mike Ivall, a graphic designer and hockey photographer in Canada who is an Ojibwa. Ivall has said in interviews he didn't create the logo out of malice for the current one and has also created second and third logos that would look amazing on a Hawks jersey, if the team was so inclined.
To be fair, some Native Americans -- in Chicago and around North America -- are fine with the current Blackhawks logo. Some are not. No one speaks for an entire people.
"There's always a divide," Roy said.
For their part, the Blackhawks are careful not to use any Native American culture for entertainment purposes -- no Indian mascot, no Indian cheers. When former Blackhawks coach Denis Savard came up with that catchphrase, "Commit to the Indian," the team never co-opted it.
But fans still show up to games in headdresses. There aren't many, but they do.
The Blackhawks have, both publicly and privately, connected with the local Native American community for education and philanthropy. They smartly saw the benefits in a positive relationship with the Chicago-based American Indian Center. They haven't been combative or condescending, like some in Washington.
This story has popped up in the past five years as the team's popularity has grown. This time, the Blackhawks chose not to comment when I broached the subject over email.
In 2011, team officials talked to the Chicago Tribune about their outreach.
Last year, they sent a statement to USA Today which read, in part: "Through a genuine and ongoing dialogue we continue to learn about the needs of the native people in our community, display a reverence for their culture and their traditions, and understand the need for constant communication regarding the use and the depiction of native marks."
Roy, a grassroots activist, has never spoken to the team about his concerns over the logo.
But Joe Podlasek, a longtime advocate for Native Americans, has a relationship with the team. He used to push for a logo change. Now, he's accepted it.
"My goal is not to remove all Native images," he wrote in an email. "But for those that are respectful, to put an educational process behind them and share opportunities. Without that piece, nothing will change in the long run and history will repeat itself in generations to come."
Podlasek, the former executive director of the American Indian Center, now runs the Trickster Art Gallery in Schaumburg, Illinois, and serves as vice president of the National Urban Indian Family Coalition. He got in touch with the Blackhawks during the 2010 season and was pleased that the leadership of the team reached out to him, not its lawyers.
Podlasek said his view changed "because of open-minded leadership with the Chicago Blackhawks. Concepts can change as we all learn and grow and that is what the world is about, respect, communication and engagement can either create partnerships or draw the line."
He said the local Native American community probably runs "70-30" in favor of the logo. He owns Blackhawks gear, as does his family. He was also a voice in decrying Chief Illiniwek, the deposed University of Illinois mascot. He calls the Redskins name "derogatory." This is different.
"The Blackhawks have been really genuine and open about meeting with the community and investing in the community," Podlasek said in a phone conversation. "More importantly, they're interested in learning about our culture and heritage rather than assuming what they've learned in the past is right."
Podlasek has helped forge a relationship between the team and Native American soldiers. The team has honored them before games, including in the playoffs. There is a wall at the Trickster Gallery dedicated to this connection.
The team has also invested with the American Indian Center, giving money and taking part in a dialogue.
Podlasek's goal is for Blackhawks fans to understand and respect that the team represents Native Americans and their past. That it's not just a logo, like a bear or a bull.
"Cultural education and awareness works!" he wrote in an email. "In the last three years there is now less than 1 percent of fans that wear the fake and misrepresentation costumes to the games, where it used to be over 35 percent, and families dressing their kids up too."
Certainly, there should be continued conversation about what constitutes an important part of the Blackhawks' identity and what is old-fashioned appropriation.
The first thing the Blackhawks should do is officially ban any "Indian costumes" from games. No more headdresses. If the fan disagrees, boot him out.
After that, they should think seriously about introducing more "alternate" logos (A fierce-looking bird? A soaring hawk?), which, frankly, would be a financial boon for the organization, and it would perhaps make fans like Roy feel more comfortable about embracing their team.
I don't think the team has to change its name. I don't think the team is actively trying to disrespect Native American culture. This isn't Washington.
But the logo offends some by its simple existence. It represents a time when people considered "Indians" to be mascots.
Times have changed.
Hasek among six elected into Hockey Hall of Fame.
CSN Staff
Dominik Hasek, who began his NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks and became one of the greatest goaltenders of all time, was one of six new inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday afternoon.
Also elected were Mike Modano, Rob Blake, Peter Forsberg, former coach Pat Burns and former referee Bill McCreary.
Hasek played his first two NHL seasons with the Blackhawks. A backup to Ed Belfour, Hasek played 25 games over the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons. Hasek played most of his career with the Buffalo Sabres before finishing with the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he won two Stanley Cups.
Modano spent all but one season of his 21-year career with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars, with whom he won his only Stanley Cup in 1999. Forsberg won two Cups with the Colorado Avalanche. He also played for Nashville and Philadelphia but eventually returned to and retired with the Avs in 2011.
The defenseman Blake played most of his career with the Los Angeles Kings. He helped Team Canada to a gold-medal victory in the 2002 Winter Olympics, as well as gold in the 1994 and 1997 world championships.
Burns, who died in 2010, coached 1,019 games with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. He led the Devils to a Stanley Cup in the 2002-03 season.
McCreary officiated more than 1,700 regular-season games in a career that began in 1984 and ended in 2011.
The 2014 Induction celebration will be held on Nov. 17 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! 32 things we choose to take away from NFL minicamps.
By Vinnie Iyer
It’s the short time of year when every NFL city becomes a ghost town, at least for its NFL players. Minicamps just ended, and those players can enjoy a month of freedom before everything heats up again for good in training camp.
Reading between the coachspeak and beyond, here’s what we’re taking and filing away during their summer vacations:
1. It’s really still Johnny Manziel’s job to lose. It’s just a matter of time, and with the Browns’ door going from ajar to wide open in spring, he’s still got plenty of it to slide past Brian Hoyer. MORE: Browns bad QB history
2. It still really is Teddy Bridgewater’s job to lose. A lot more so than Hoyer in Cleveland, Matt Cassel is the Vikings’ pre-camp No. 1 on the depth chart in name only.
3. Colin Kaepernick is about to pass a lot more for his money. A Vernon Davis no-show wasn’t enough to keep the 49ers from expanding Kap’s playbook and personnel right along with his wallet.
4. Von Miller is on track for a huge bounce-back. He’s slimmed, he’s rehabbed his knee well and he’s got DeMarcus Ware to help. He’s set up to be his old self after camp.
5. We’re not buying Michael Vick as a happy backup. Still don’t see him as a mentor type if he loses to Geno Smith, and what’s more troubling, is that he didn't have a great minicamp. That’s not the veteran No. 2 you want.
6. We’re buying Jay Gruden was the right guy for Robert Griffin III. We were skeptical about the Redskins’ still offensive-minded coaching change, but JG2’s focus on RG3’s passing and not all on running has been just what he needed.
7. The Eagles are just fine without DeSean Jackson. Sure, Jackson will make RG3 better, but Nick Foles really got three receivers to help replace him: a healthy Jeremy Maclin, Darren Sproles and highly acclaimed rookie Jordan Matthews.
8. The Saints are just fine without Darren Sproles. They won’t miss a beat without Sproles or Lance Moore, because rookie Brandin Cooks has shown he can do a lot of what both did. Khiry Robinson has made sure they haven’t lost the backfield speed, either.
9. Now that’s “Steeler football.” In an appropriate unintentional nod to late great coach Chuck Noll, Mike Tomlin and Dick LeBeau will make the running game and defense the team's bread and butter.
10. Tony Romo’s back better hold up. The possibility of losing to Kyle Orton in a staredown has the Cowboys potentially left with a much lesser backup in Brandon Weeden.
11. The Packers are putting the pep back in Julius Peppers’ step. As if moving from the rival Bears wasn't enough, Dom Capers has done everything to make Peppers’ pass-rush life easier. That’s tough to do with a 34-year-old in an unfamiliar 3-4.
12. We’re still worried about the Giants front- four. Justin Tuck is gone, Jason Pierre-Paul is still battling a bad back. Damontre Moore is being asked to do too much, and Mathias Kiwanuka is unhappy after a pay cut . That’s a lot to sort through in camp.
13. We’re worried less about the Lions’ front four. Ndamukong Suh will get paid at some point during or after camp, and the contract carrot is even bigger for Nick Fairley. A healthier shoulder will allow Ziggy Ansah to break out as expected.
14. The Bears’ receiving corps just got more dangerous. Alshon Jeffery was right in calling him and Brandon Marshall the best duo in the game . But just wait until the league gets the load of Marquess Wilson addeed to this explosive trio.
15. We’re expecting to see a much better Trent Richardson. He was terrible in 2013, but he also was in the tough position of being traded to the Colts in early midseason. A productive full offseason should help greatly.
16. We’re expecting to see a lot more of Andre Ellington. Bruce Arians may have been only slighltly exaggerating about the Cardinals giving him up to 30 touches a game. He’s that dynamic and that important to their entire offense.
17. The Patriots’ secondary is shaping up as a primary force. You already saw them copycat Seattle with Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner joining Devin McCourty. Now wait until Duron Harmon delivers his promise at strong safety.
18. The Texans need to work to make it work for Andre Johnson. You can bet naming vet Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starter before camp was a baby step. But given everything Bill O’Brien is trying to put on his receivers, they have to cater to Johnson to make him a happy camper.
19. The Ravens need a little more than fire from Steve Smith. Sure, it’s nice he’s brought needed fight (quite literally) to an offense led by stoic Joe Flacco, but it needs to come with Smith producing in more of a slot role.
20. Cam Newton and Kelvin Benjamin are at the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Unlike 5-9 Smith, the 6-5 Newton can see more eye-to-eye with the 6-5 Benjamin (quite literally), and that should make their pre-camp chemistry natural.
21. Let’s ease the pressure on Andy Dalton. The Bengals are doing that with a mix of more running game stability matched by more passing game diversity. There’s no reason to worry about getting paid, because there’s no one to push him.
22. Let’s curb our enthusiasm on Sammy Watkins (for now). Watkins can be awesome, and needs to be with what it took to get him, but patience, grasshopper. The Bills still claim to be a run-heavy offense and EJ Manuel continues to sort out plenty of bugs.
23. The Falcons can start to relax on Julio Jones. For Jones to be the game-changing receiver he is, that foot can’t bother him one bit , and he should come out of camp looking better than ever.
24. The Chiefs look really smart drafting Dee Ford. A deemed luxury non-offensive pick, he has become a defensive necessity with Tamba Hali’s continued conditioning concerns and Justin Houston’s lingering holdout. It doesn’t hurt that Ford has been a lights-out freak so far as a rookie.
25. The Dolphins already regret signing Knowshon Moreno. After he lost major ground to incumbent running back Lamar Miller early, we’ve found out about his undisclosed injury late before camp. What was that $3 million for again?
26. Meet Toby Gerhart, the Jaguars’ Marshawn Lynch. Here’s some running money spent well ($4.5 million), because Gerhart, Adrian Peterson’s former ace understudy, has exceeded expectations as a power runner and underrated receiver. That’s only made them more comfortable giving him a heavy load early.
27. Meet Christine Michael, the Seahawks’ new Marshawn Lynch? OK, not yet, but Seattle’s strongly suggested its backfield is morphing into more of a committee. That hasn’t sat well with a high-mileage 28-year-old, and he couldn’t afford to miss minicamp because his team has gone gaga for Michael.
28. The Titans won’t give Jake Locker all kinds of time. We know this is his last chance in Tennesssee with no option picked up, but how long will it last? If he doesn't stay healthy and impress in camp, Ken Whisenhunt may soon settle for hand-picked backup Charlie Whitehurst.
29. The Rams will give Sam Bradford all kinds of time. They are paying him a lot one more time to see if he’s worth it, and they have to be patient and optimistic, because there’s no other option. Obvious health concerns aside, they are expecting him to be more effective .
30. The Raiders won’t rein in Derek Carr’s ascent. There’s been a lot of praised heaped on Matt Schaub, but they also can’t ignore how quickly rookie Derek Carr has a) ascended to No. 2 before camp and b) how much more upside comes with starting Carr after camp.
31. The Buccaneers’ defense just needs it safeties healthy to dominate. Lovie Smith and Leslie Frazier need Mark Barron (hamstring) and Dashon Goldson (foot) to be their Tampa 2 anchors behind a strong front seven, but they’ll need to wait to see how it all comes together in camp.
32. The Chargers’ defense needs something real from Manti Te’o. Coming off a lost rookie season, Te’o is trying to get healthy again after foot surgery. It would be nice if he could show in camp that he’s ready to do a lot more in Year 2.
Bears sign safety Adrian Wilson, tight end.
AP Sports
The Chicago Bears have signed five-time Pro Bowl selection Adrian Wilson and veteran tight end Jeron Mastrud.
The Bears signed Wilson on Monday to compete for the team's strong safety position. The 34-year-old Wilson, who was with the New England Patriots, missed all of last season after a preseason Achilles tendon injury. However, team officials said they were impressed with Wilson's health, athleticism and ball skills during a workout Monday.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Wilson is one of 13 players to have 20 or more interceptions and 20 or more sacks in their career since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
Mastrud started 12 of 16 games for the Oakland Raiders last season. The 26-year-old caught six passes last year for 88 yards.
Wilson and Mastrud were signed to one-year contracts.
Just another Chicago Bulls Session… What Carmelo Anthony says he's looking for in free agency.
By Mark Strotman
Carmelo Anthony opted out of his deal with the New York Knicks on Monday, making the 29-year-old the most coveted free agent on the market.
And in an interview with VICE Sports (video above) recorded earlier in the month, the seven-time All-Star discussed, in part, what he's looking for in the team and city he ultimately chooses.
And for Anthony, who grew up in Baltimore and has spent the last four seasons in New York, his decision will factor in more than simply the team.
"The average person just sees (an) opportunity to say that, 'Oh, Melo should go here, Melo should go there; Melo should do this, Melo should do that.' But they don't take into consideration the family aspect of it," he said. "Your livelihood, where you're going to be living at. Do you want your kids growing up in that place and that city? Do I want to spend the rest of my career in that situation, in that city? So all of that stuff comes into play."
During the basketball season Anthony's wife, La La Vasquez, indicated that she and the couple's 7-year-old son, Kiyan, were happy in New York. Reports last week noted that Anthony had begun doing his homework on both the Bulls and city of Chicago, asking a "high-profile person" what it's like to live and be famous in the Windy City.
Anthony also alluded in the interview to the fact that he's more interested in finding a talented roster, rather than simply teaming up with another superstar or two.
"As far as player personnel goes, I would love to be involved in that. At the end of the day you're creating a family. You can't create a bond with somebody that's not going to fit in with you or not going to be there when you need them the most and don't understand the game and how to win and situations in the game and things like that," he said. "As much as it has to do with having the top guys on the team, superstars per se, you need the rest of your soldiers. You need guys that are going to go out there and put their life on the line for you because it's a war, it's a battle."
Anthony can officially begin speaking with teams July 1. The Bulls, Rockets, Knicks and Mavericks have been linked to him, and a handful of other teams likely will pop up in reports over the coming days.
Bulls reportedly make offer to Timberwolves for Kevin Love.
By Mark Strotman
Though the Bulls have been listed among the teams considering trading for Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love, there haven't been many concrete reports about what they'd be willing to give up for the three-time All-Star.
Until now.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford released a two-round mock draft Monday night, and included in his analysis on the Timberwolves' first-round selection was a note that the Bulls "are offering Taj Gibson, Tony Snell, plus Nos. 16 and 19" in exchange for Love.
Of all the reported trade offers teams have proposed, this one could be the most enticing. The Warriors reportedly offered David Lee and Klay Thompson but have since wavered on letting go of the latter 24-year-old shooting guard. The Celtics hold both the Nos. 6 and 17 picks in Thursday's draft and have dangled young forwards Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk in a deal. The Cavaliers, Nuggets, Rockets and Suns also have been linked to Love.
But the Bulls' offer includes the best of both worlds for a Timberwolves team that surely would be in a rebuilding phase if they deal love: two top-20 draft picks (in addition to their No. 13 pick), a young wing player in Tony Snell who showed some promise in the second half of the season as well as Gibson, who's coming off a career year in which he averaged 13.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 29 minutes per game. Assuming the Bulls use the amnesty provision on Carlos Boozer this summer, Gibson is currently in line to start at power forward alongside Joakim Noah.
Last week a report surfaced that Derrick Rose preferred Love to Anthony.
Bulls could be high on these 5.
By K.C. Johnson, Chicago Tribune reporter
Though they are trying to move 1st-round picks before NBA draft there are several shooters who might fit nicely.
Gar Forman didn't just get hired by Jerry Krause. He learned some tricks from "The Sleuth," at least in terms of keeping the Bulls' business private.
That's why Forman's offering at last month's NBA draft combine that the Bulls could trade one or both of their first-round picks to try to create more salary cap room was surprising.
Forman also said the Bulls could stash a draft pick overseas, as they have done with Nikola Mirotic. He even acknowledged the Bulls could "move a pick or two picks into the future."
None of this sounds like an executive prepared to add two traditional rookies to next season's Bulls. It's no secret the Bulls have offered their 16th and 19th picks in Thursday's draft in a package to virtually every team in the lottery in the hopes of moving up.
Which player represents the Bulls' preferred target remains, in a development Krause would enjoy, unknown. But even though the Bulls have been linked to point guards Shabazz Napier and Elfrid Payton and worked out big man Adreian Payne this week, the best bet remains a wing shooter.
Here, with comments based on interviews with executives who have scouted them, are five players who make sense for the Bulls:
Doug McDermott, 6-8, 218, SF, Creighton: As a four-year player, he fits the mold of players Forman and executive vice president John Paxson typically draft. His shooting ability is unquestioned. His defense and athleticism is. One executive who scouted him called fellow Creighton product Kyle Korver, to whom McDermott has drawn some comparisons, a more well-rounded player. But McDermott, who averaged 26.7 points, is more than a shooter, able to score in a variety of ways.
Nik Stauskas, 6-6, 207, SG, Michigan: As in McDermott's case, some mock drafts list him as a lottery pick so the Bulls would have to be successful in moving up to snag him. He's another knockdown shooter who connected at 44 percent from beyond the arc in his two college seasons. One scout raised concerns about his speed to get open off screens, wondering if he could develop more than a spot-up shooting game. But his fiery competitiveness seemingly fits the Bulls' culture.
Gary Harris, 6-4, 205, SG, Michigan State: He's a willing defender with a toughness and coachability about him that again would seem to fit the Bulls. One scout called him a "glue guy" who is comfortable playing a team-oriented game and lauded his ability to move the ball and make good decisions. Some question marks are his relatively small wingspan and discomfort finishing in traffic. But he fits the big-program, been-coached-hard traits the Bulls often favor.
Rodney Hood, 6-8, 208, SF, Duke: Can the Bulls really add another Blue Devils product? Beyond his ability to knock down 3-pointers, at least at the college distance, Hood can spot-up and elevate quickly off screens, said one scout who has watched him extensively. Hood isn't considered a strong rebounder, but the Bulls are strong enough in that department to survive.
James Young, 6-7, 213, SG-SF, Kentucky: At just 18, he may be too raw for the Bulls' taste after one season under John Calipari. But he also has either the dreaded or delicious upside, depending on how he pans out. A scout said his shot selection must improve, but he loves Young's release. For now, he's more of a shooter than ball-handler and driver, but, again, he's raw. Young proved in Kentucky's NCAA title-game victory that he's not skittish in big moments.
Futures Game 2014: MLB announces rosters for All-Star event.
By Justin McGuire
Major League Baseball has announced the rosters for the 2014 All-Star Futures Game, which will be played at 5 p.m. ET Sunday, July 13 at Target Field.
U.S. Roster
Pitchers
Christian Binford (Royals), Wilmington Blue Rocks (Carolina League/A); Lucas Giolito (Nationals), Hagerstown Suns (South Atlantic League/A); Marco Gonzales (Cardinals), Springfield Cardinals (Texas League/AA); Hunter Harvey (Orioles), Delmarva Shorebirds (South Atlantic League/A); Daniel Norris (Blue Jays), New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Eastern League/AA); Henry Owens (Red Sox), Huntington Beach, CA Portland Sea Dogs (Eastern League/AA); Braden Shipley (D-backsI), Visalia Rawhide (California League/A); Robert Stephenson (Reds), Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Southern League/AA); Noah Syndergaard (Mets), Las Vegas 51s (Pacific Coast League/AAA); and Jake Thompson (Tigers), Rockwall, TX Lakeland Flying Tigers (Florida State League/A).
Catchers
Justin O’Conner (Rays), Charlotte Stone Crabs (Florida State League/A); and Kevin Plawecki (Mets), Binghamton Mets (Eastern League/AA).
Infielders
Mookie Betts (Red Sox), Pawtucket Red Sox (International League/AAA); Kris Bryant (Cubs), Iowa Cubs (Pacific Coast League/AAA); JP Crawford (Phillies), Clearwater Threshers (Florida State League/A); Joey Gallo (Rangers), Frisco RoughRiders (Texas League/AA); Micah Johnson (White Sox), Charlotte Knights (International League/AAA); Peter O’Brien (Yankees), Trenton Thunder (Eastern League/AA); D.J. Peterson, D.J. (Mariners), Jackson Generals (Southern League/AA); and Corey Seager (Dodgers), Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (California League/A).
Outfielders
Josh Bell (Pirates), Bradenton Marauders (Florida State League/A); James Ramsey (Cardinals), Springfield Cardinals (Texas League/AA); Hunter Renfroe (Padres), San Antonio Missions (Texas League/AA); Michael Taylor (Nationals), Harrisburg Senators (Eastern League/AA); and Jesse Winker (Reds), Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Southern League/AA).
World Roster
Pitchers
Alfonso Alcantara (Angels), Santo Domingo, D.R., Burlington Bees (Midwest League/A); Jose Berrios (Twins), Bayamon, P.R., Fort Myers Miracle (Florida State League/A); Edwin Escobar (Giants), La Sabana, Venezuela, Fresno Grizzlies (Pacific Coast League/AAA); Domingo German (Marlins), San Pedro de Macoris, D.R.,Greensboro Grasshoppers (South Atlantic League/A); Tayron Guerrero (Padres), Bocachica, Colombia, Lake Elsinore Storm (California League/A); Jorge Lopez (Brewers), Cayey, P.R., Brevard County Manatees (Florida State League/A); Francellis Montas (White Sox) , Sainagua, D.R., Winston-Salem Dash (Carolina League/A); Enny Romero (Rays), Santo Domingo, D.R., Durham Bulls (International League/AAA); Luis Severino (Yankees), Sabana Del Mar, D.R., Tampa Yankees (Florida State League/A); and Julio Urias (Dodgers),Sinaloa, Mexico, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (California League/A).
Catchers
Jorge Alfaro (Rangers), Sincelejo, Colombia, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Carolina League/A); and Christian Bethancourt (Braves), Panama City, Panama, Gwinnett Braves (International League/AAA).
Infielders
Javier Baez (Cubs), Bayamon, P.R., Iowa Cubs (Pacific Coast League/AAA); Carlos Correa (Astros), Ponce, P.R., Lancaster JetHawks (California League/A); Maikel Franco (Phillies), Auza, D.R., Lehigh Valley IronPigs (International League/AAA); Rosell Herrera (Rockies), Santo Domingo, D.R., Modesto Nuts (California League/A); Francisco Lindo, (Indians), Caguas, P.R., Akron RubberDucks (Eastern League/AA); Renato Nunez (A's), Valencia, Venezuela, Stockton Ports (California League/A); Jose Peraza (Braves), Barinas, Venezuela, Mississippi Braves (Southern League/AA); and Kennys Vargas (Twins), Canovanas, P.R., New Britain Rock Cats (Eastern League/AA).
Outfielders
Dariel Alvarez (Orioles), Camaguey, Cuba, Bowie Baysox (Eastern League/AA); Gabby Guerrero (Mariners), Nizao, D.R., High Desert Mavericks (California League/A); Steven Moya (Tigers), Rio Piedras, P.R., Erie SeaWolves (Eastern League/AA); Dalton Pompey (Blue Jays), Ontario, Canada, Dunedin Blue Jays (Florida State League/A) and Domingo Santana (Astros), Santo Domingo, D.R., Oklahoma City RedHawks (Pacific Coast League/AAA).
All eyes on Tiger as return nears at National.
By Jim Slater
Tiger Woods made final preparations Monday for his return to competitive golf after a three-month injury layoff, a test at Congressional Country Club that could herald a British Open appearance.
On the same day he sank to fifth in the world rankings, Woods hosted a private pro-am event for club members ahead of the $6.5 million US PGA National, which begins Thursday at the difficult 7,574-yard layout in suburban Washington.
"I will be a bit rusty but I want to play myself back into competitive shape," Woods said in announcing he would play this week. "Excited for the challenge ahead."
Woods, who won the National in 2009 and 2012, has a Tuesday practice round and will tee off at 6:30 Wednesday morning in a pro-am event for the tournament, which benefits his charity foundation.
"You just have to take it day by day," said Sean Foley, Woods' swing coach. "There's really not a whole lot to it. It's just seeing how he feels day to day, warming up and playing the course."
If Woods plays well at the National, he is expected to play in the British Open, which starts July 17 at Royal Liverpool, where he won the 2006 British Open.
Woods, 38, would then be only three weeks from the year's last major event, the PGA Championship at Valhalla, where Woods won the 2000 PGA Championship.
The 14-time major champion, chasing the all-time record of 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, missed the Masters and US Open after undergoing a March 31 microdiscectomy, back surgery to ease pressure on a pinched nerve.
Woods, overtaken for world number one by Adam Scott last month and passed by Matt Kuchar for fourth in the rankings on Monday, has not played since March 9 at Doral, when he fired his worst career final round, a 78, while nagged by back pain.
There is concern Woods, whose 79 career wins are three shy of Sam Snead's PGA record, might be trying to return too soon after the surgery over the hilly par-71 course with dense rough.
"I'm just hoping that he doesn't push it too early, too soon and re-injure himself," said Australian Jason Day, who admitted that his playing this year's Masters before a left thumb injury was fully healed was a setback in his recovery.
"As long as he's 100 percent healthy, it's good for him to come back. It's good to get those competitive juices flowing again. There's nothing quite like tournament golf. He definitely needs to play a tournament before Royal Liverpool.
"The golfing world needs Tiger Woods. It's great to have him back."
Other rivals agree that golf needs Woods to bring back some absent spark.
"Normally I don't watch golf but I'll watch when Tiger is playing," reigning Masters champion Bubba Watson said.
"No matter if he misses the cut, no matter if he just finishes middle of the pack, it's a great thing for golf that he's back."
- 'Golf needs Tiger' -
US television ratings have sagged in the absence of Woods, even for major events.
"Every time he's in the field, the event is different," said 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley.
"That might not be the right thing to say, but it's really exciting when he's out there. We need Tiger. The whole tour needs Tiger and golf needs Tiger."
Kevin Streelman, who birdied the last seven holes Sunday to win the Travelers Championship, says with Woods back, "It's a different feel."
"Obviously attendance is higher, excitement around the town is greater. It's just great for golf. He's a great ambassador, a great talent and everyone likes to watch him play."
Spain's Sergio Garcia expects Woods at the British Open.
"It's interesting to see how he's feeling," Garcia said. "He wants to be as ready as possible for the British Open. It's very nice to see him come back and hopefully he stays healthy."
NASCAR: Power Rankings: How much does Carl Edwards vault up the standings?
By Nick Bromberg
1. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 1): Johnson finished seventh on Sunday and led a single lap. He was third late in the race, but the tires were simply worn and he held on for a top 10, though he was the lowest-finishing driver from Hendrick Motorsports. IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER SLUMP? Look for that piping hot take sometime this week.
2. Jeff Gordon (LW: 3): Gordon moves to second by finishing second. Had he not overdriven a corner with about five laps to go, he might have been able to catch Edwards, but we're going to consider this the road course version of what happened to Gordon at Kansas. While on his way to the checkered flag there, he cautiously slid through turns three and four, which made the margin of victory over Kevin Harvick look much closer than it was.
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 2): The penalty for Junior's best-ever Sonoma finish? Moving down a spot in Power Rankings. We are so cruel. Evil. Despicable. Every Sonoma race has a battering ram and that battering ram happened to be the No. 88 on Sunday. We don't say that with scorn, either. With the way that road courses have become, it's a product of the racing. It's not like Junior has a pattern of being destructive on road courses.
4. Carl Edwards (LW: 11): This is a season of bad "good" seasons. OK, maybe bad is an overstatement, but Edwards certainly fits the category we're trying to explain. What's been the storyline of Edwards' season outside of his contract status? The lack of speed he and his teammates have had. But here he is with two wins and he's sixth in the points standings. You can certainly be successful and not doing as well as possible -- Edwards is proof of that -- but it just seems like a bit of a disconnect.
5. Kevin Harvick (LW: 5): Speaking of disconnects, here's another guy. He's got two wins, solidly in the Chase and has been one of the fastest cars around and the storyline around Kevin Harvick is "what is going to happen next?" Like at Sonoma, when he led laps, had a fast car and then got caught up in a crash after he was back in the field because of pit strategy and caution flags.
6. Jamie McMurray (LW: 10): McMurray started on the pole and finished fourth even if he didn't feel like a contender for the win after he was passed for the lead by A.J. Allmendinger. And if we want to continue the disconnect theme, doesn't it feel that McMurray is having a better season than he's having? He's still only 19th in the points standings. I guess we can blame the All-Star Race for that.
7. Paul Menard (LW: 9): Two straight top fives for Paul Menard? Yes, you're not hallucinating. It's the power of the sideburns. Save for the win at Indianapolis, this may be the best two-week stretch in Paul Menard's career. If he keeps this up, he'll be Chasing, assuming we don't go on a crazy run of first-time winners in the near future.
8. Joey Logano (LW: 6): Logano couldn't even make it an entire lap before his car was beat up. The nose of his Ford was caved in on the first lap and then, much like his teammate Brad Keselowski, he lost the handling on his car. But thanks to the caution flags, he was able to salvage a top-20 finish out of the race and maintain his position in the points.
9. Brad Keselowski (LW: 5): Keselowski drops four spots after getting spun by Kyle Busch and having an ill-handling car for most of the day. While it'd be fun to think of the incident between Busch and Keselowski as a renewal of their rivalry, Keselowski said on the radio after the spin that he deserved to spin out, and heck, he came down to defend his position on Busch in the first place.
10. Matt Kenseth (LW: 7): Kenseth's crash wasn't his fault by any means and it lamost happened a couple of turns earlier. Had TNT not cut away from the first contact between Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr., the crash would have likely happened while cameras were focused on the two. Instead, as soon as Junior moved Kenseth out of the way in turn four, TNT left for the front of the pack and had to immediately come back after Kenseth was being launched into the tires.
11. Kasey Kahne (LW: 12): Here comes Kasey Kahne? He's up to 16th in the standings after finishing sixth at Sonoma, and his sixth-place finish is even more impressive when you realize that he started 30th. Kahne is the From the Marbles pick to win at Kentucky, so don't be surprised if he finishes 25th because of our jinx.
12. Ryan Newman (LW: NR): Newman gets the final spot in Power Rankings because he's eighth in the standings after finishing 11th on Sunday. Did you know he's 8th in the standings? That's despite no top-five finishes, either. Consistency rules more than ever in this points format.
Lucky Dog: Casey Mears' car looked destroyed after he suffered severe front-end damage in a stack-up in turn four, but he ended up 13th.
The DNF: A.J. Allmendinger led 35 laps, had the best car of the weekend and finished 37th.
Dropped Out: Kyle Larson
Gaughan silences critics at Road America.
By Zack Albert
In doing his best impersonation of a shark when he "smelled blood" in the late going last weekend at Road America, Brendan Gaughan proved at least two points for himself and his team, paying a fitting tribute in the process. In doing so, it placed the typically voluble driver in an uncharacteristic spot -- at a loss for words.
The flood of emotions was free-flowing in Victory Lane after the 38-year-old veteran's first NASCAR national series win since 2003. It was a popular triumph for the jubilant Richard Childress Racing No. 62 Chevrolet crew and for a driver who has paid his dues in a NASCAR career that began almost 17 years ago.
Perhaps more important was the validation he received when RCR enlisted him for driving duties during the 2012 season.
"I told Richard (Childress) that I just wanted to come here and prove that I could still win races and still be a race car driver, and since I moved here in 2012, it's been some of the best racing years of my life," said Gaughan, who navigated a rainy road course and held off late-charging Alex Tagliani in the Gardner Denver 200 Fired Up by Johnsonville. "And to be reunited with (crew chief) Shane Wilson, to do it with Shane in Victory Lane and to do it with the Richard Childress Racing organization, it's just ... I'm floored right now. I'm so happy. I'm speechless for a change, and that doesn't happen often for me."
Gaughan and company will aim to make it three wins in a row for the Welcome, North Carolina-based team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in Friday night's John R. Elliott Hero Campaign 300 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Kentucky Speedway. The team has enjoyed recent success at the 1.5-mile track with Austin Dillon sweeping both Nationwide races in the Bluegrass State in 2012 and Ty Dillon prevailing there in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series last season.
Past Kentucky laurels aside, the RCR Nationwide program aims to build momentum off Paul Menard's victory at Michigan the previous week, then Gaughan's masterful drive in Wisconsin. And if the performance upswing isn't motivation enough, there's always the bubbly presence of Gaughan to fuel team chemistry.
"We needed it, for sure, just because of the way we started the year off," said Mike Dillon, Richard Childress Racing's vice president of racing operations. "We haven't performed the way we wanted to, and the last couple races, really we've gotten some things going here, obviously. ... Then to have Brendan Gaughan as part of your organization and one of your drivers, the attitude that he brings to the track and to the shop, every time he's around. It's a great feeling and how you're supposed to be."
Crew chief Wilson was partnered with Gaughan for the driver's heyday of 2002-03, when he won eight truck series races. The two were reunited in 2013 at RCR, helping Gaughan to a seventh-place finish in the truck standings, his best effort since his earlier glory years.
When Childress moved its truck series platoon up to the Nationwide Series for 2014, it seemed only logical to keep the driver-crew chief pairing intact.
"It was really pretty awesome to make it happen, because once they've gotten back together, it's been a joy to watch and be a part of it," Dillon said. "We're real excited."
Gaughan competed heavy-hearted in the earlier portions of the season when his grandfather died March 12 in Las Vegas. In a touching tribute, the name of John "Jackie" Gaughan was in place above the driver's side door when Brendan Gaughan ended his winless drought at Road America.
It's a big reason he fought back tears in post-race interviews.
"Just a lot of things," Gaughan said about the release of emotion. "I feel like I've been letting the team down a lot lately. My focus has not been where it needs to be all the time. It's been a very difficult year for me on many levels and to have my grandfather's name on the car ... it was an honor for me, and my first win in over a decade and I got to have my grandfather honored and memorialized on it, that's as important as it can be to any grandson."
Wimbledon at a glance.
AP Sports
A look at Wimbledon on Tuesday:
Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 73 degrees (23 Celsius).
Men's Seeded Winners: No. 2 Rafael Nadal, No. 4 Roger Federer, No. 5 Stan Wawrinka, No. 8 Milos Raonic, No. 9 John Isner, No. 10 Kei Nishikori, No. 13 Richard Gasquet, No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 15 Jerzy Janowicz, No. 19 Feliciano Lopez, No 22 Philipp Kohlschreiber, No. 23 Tommy Robredo, No. 24 Gael Monfils, No. 30 Marcel Granollers.
Women's Seeded Winners: No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 3 Simona Halep, No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 5 Maria Sharapova, No. 9 Angelique Kerber, No. 11 Ana Ivanovic, No 13. Eugenie Bouchard, No. 15 Carla Suarez Navarro, No. 16 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 19 Sabine Lisicki, No. 20 Andrea Petkovic, No. 24 Kirsten Flipkens, No. 25 Alize Cornet, No. 31, Klara Koukalova.
Women's Seeded Losers: No. 7 Jelena Jankovic, No. 14 Sara Errani, No. 21 Roberta Vinci, No. 26 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, No. 28 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 29 Sorana Cirstea.
Stat of the Day: 700 - Career match wins for Nadal, after his 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Martin Klizan. Nadal is the 11th man in the Open era, which began in 1968, to reach that total.
Quote of the Day: ''I mean, it's ridiculous.'' - Britain's Daniel Smethurst, describing Isner's serve, which reached 139 mph (224 kph) and accounted for 26 aces in the American's 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
On Court Wednesday: No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. Radek Stepanek, No. 3 Andy Murray vs. Blaz Rola, No. 6 Tomas Berdych vs. Bernard Tomic; No. 2 Li Na vs. Yvonne Meusburger, No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Casey Dellacqua, No. 6 Petra Kvitova vs. Mona Barthel.
Wednesday's Forecast: Mostly sunny, with a high of 68 degrees (20 Celsius).
Online: http://www.wimbledon.org
By John U. Bacon
This spring, the Michigan athletic department admitted what many had long suspected: Student football ticket sales are down, way down, from about 21,000 in 2012 to a projected 13,000-14,000 this season.
The department has blamed cell phones, high-definition TV and student apathy sweeping the nation. All real problems, to be sure, but they don't explain how Michigan alienated 40 percent of its students in just two years -- and their parents, too.
How did Michigan do it? By forgetting why we love college football.
The Students Are The Future
Dave Brandon, the former Domino's Pizza CEO-turned-Michigan athletic director, has often cited the difficulty of using cell phones at Michigan Stadium as "the biggest challenge we have." But when Michigan students were asked in a recent survey to rank seven factors that would influence their decision to buy season tickets, cell-phone coverage was seventh -- dead last.
What did they rank first? Being able to sit with their friends.
But Brandon did away with that last year, with a new student seating seating policy. Instead of seating the students by class -- with the freshmen in the end zone and the seniors toward the 50, as Michigan had done for decades -- last year it was first come, first served. If you wanted to sit together, you had to walk in together. (They also raised the price from $195 for six games in 2013 to $295 for seven games.)
The idea was to encourage students to come early, and come often. Thousands of students responded by not coming at all.
This was utterly predictable -- and I predicted it, 13 months ago, in this column.
Since the mid-70s, TV networks have loved showing blimp shots of the sold-out Big House -- one of college football's iconic sights. Now, with the student section still half empty at kickoff, they don't show any.
The idea was to encourage students to come early, and come often. Thousands of students responded by not coming at all.
This was utterly predictable -- and I predicted it, 13 months ago, in this column.
Since the mid-70s, TV networks have loved showing blimp shots of the sold-out Big House -- one of college football's iconic sights. Now, with the student section still half empty at kickoff, they don't show any.
Working with student government leaders, the athletic department revised the policy for the 2014 season, giving the best 6,000 seats to the best "frequent fliers" from 2013, and allotting the rest by class. But it was apparently too little, too late, as some 6,000 Michigan students decided to drop their tickets for 2014 anyway.
Insult to injury: Most college teams now play their biggest rivals on Thanksgiving weekend, when many students have gone home.
If the students don't love college football now, when it's half-price, will they love it more when they're paying twice that?
"We know who our competitor is," Brandon often says. "Your 60-inch, high-definition TV."
If that's true, maybe they shouldn't have increased seat prices by an average of $100 each since Brandon took over in 2010. Perhaps they should stop charging six bucks for a hot dog, five bucks for popcorn and four dollars for water. Maybe they shouldn't make their paying customers wait 20 minutes to get to their seats, another 20 to buy that six-dollar hot dog, and 20 more to visit a bathroom – marking an hour waiting in line for things fans at home can get in a minute.
Of course, every college football season-ticket holder's most hated delay is TV timeouts. Because just about every major college game is televised, ticket holders have to endure about twenty commercial breaks per game, plus halftime. That adds up to more than 30 minutes of TV timeouts -- about three times more than the 11 minutes the ball is actually in play.
To loyal fans, who sit in stadiums that are often too hot in September and too cold in November and too rainy in between, this is as galling as taking the time, money, and effort to drive downtown to a local store, only to have to wait while the clerk talks on the phone with someone who didn't bother to do any of those things.
I'm amazed how eagerly universities have sold their souls to TV. It wasn't always this way. Michigan's legendary coach, Bo Schembechler, often said, "Toe meets leather at 1:05. If you want to televise it, fine. If you don't, that's fine too."
Bo's boss, Don Canham, backed him. For years, TV was dying for a night game at the Big House. Canham wasn't. So, they compromised -- and didn't have one.
If season-ticket holders want night games, give 'em what they want. But nobody likes waiting for TV to decide when your favorite team is going to play that week -- especially fans flying in from far away.
Why do the people who run college football let TV spoil your day at the stadium? TV doesn't make spectators at the Indy 500, the Masters or the World Cup wait for their ads -- yet those events still make billions. If the TV whizzes can't figure out how to make a buck on football without ruining the experience for paying customers, those fans will figure it out for themselves, and stay home.
While TV is running ads for fans at home, college football stadiums too often give their loyal season-ticket holders not the marching band or -- heaven forbid -- time to talk to their family and friends, but rock music and, yes, ads! To its credit, Michigan doesn't show paid advertisements, but the ads it does show -- to get fans to host their weddings at the 50-yard line, starting at $6,000, and their corporate receptions in the skyboxes, starting at $9,000 -- Michigan fans find just as annoying.
Yes, advertising in the Big House does matter. Americans are bombarded by ads, about 5,000 a day. Michigan Stadium used to be a sanctuary from modern marketing, an urban version of a National Park. Now it's just another stop on the sales train.
Everything the ticket holders spend hundreds of dollars to wait for and pay for, they can get at home for next to nothing – including the ads -- plus better replays. They can only get the marching band at the Big House.
Survey after survey points the finger for lower attendance not at cell phone service or HDTV, but squarely at the decisions of athletic departments nationwide. Fans are fed up paying steakhouse prices for junk food opponents, while enduring endless promotions. The more college football indulges the TV audience, the more fans paying to sit in those seats feel like suckers.
Yes, Michigan's athletic department has always followed basic business practices, but it has never been run strictly as a business -- until now. The proof is the wait list, which former athletic director Don Canham grew by the thousands. Canham was a multi-millionaire businessman in his own right. If he wanted to "maximize revenue," he knew he could increase the price to meet demand, just like hotels do. But he didn't, because he believed that would dispel the magic of Michigan Stadium.
Brandon's predecessor, Bill Martin, introduced Personal Seat Licenses to the Big House, but only after the nation's next 19-biggest stadiums had already done so. Even then, the PSL program was relatively moderate, he spared the fans in the endzones, and he lowered ticket prices after the 2008 recession. Even after the team finished 3-9 in 2008 and 5-7 in 2009, Michigan's wait list remained robust.
"Just because you can charge them more," Martin told me, "doesn't mean you should. You're not there to ring up the cash to the nth degree. It's a nonprofit model!"
In Brandon's first four years, he has increased the operating budget from $107 million to $147 million. That does not include the building program, most recently estimated at $340 million. In Brandon's defense, he has generated a $5 million surplus (down from $9 million a year ago) and the buildings will benefit all Michigan's teams, not just football and basketball. But his budget also includes his $1 million salary, almost three times what Bill Martin paid himself -- and yes, the AD does pay himself -- plus Brandon's $300,000 annual bonus, which contributes to a 72-percent increase in administrator compensation; not to mention an 80-percent increase in "marketing, promotions and ticketing"; and a 340-percent increase in "Hosting, Food and Special Events."
OK, you start dictating terms to TV networks, they might cut back on the cash -- though I doubt it. But even if they did, what would that mean? Perhaps Michigan's rowing team would have to make do with a $20 million training facility, instead of a $25 million one. Maybe Michigan head coach Brady Hoke would have to get by on $2 million a year, instead of $4 million. Perhaps Brandon might just have to feed his family on $300,000 a year, instead of $1.15 million.
I think Michigan could somehow survive these deprivations. It would be worth it if, in the bargain, the university get its soul back.
I've come to believe it's not scandal that will bring down college athletics, but greed. How long can these numbers, fueled by increasingly unhappy fans, continue to skyrocket before they come crashing down to earth?
All that money comes from someone -- and that someone is you, the fans. Tickets used to be underpriced, and you knew that when you scalped them for more than you paid. Now they're overpriced, and you know that when you try to sell them through Michigan's Official Scalper, StubHub, and get far less.
The wait list is long gone. The department has been sending wave after wave of emails to former ticket holders, retired faculty members and even rival fans to assure them, "The deadline has been extended!" Beg your former customers to come back five times, and you don't have a deadline, and you don't have a wait list.
This fall Michigan is in danger of breaking its string of 251 consecutive games with 100,000-plus paid attendance, which started in 1975. The college football world should take note. Michigan boasts the most living alumni in the world, roughly 500,000, and the second biggest fan base, of 2.9 million, behind only Ohio State's.
Michigan fans are not the canaries in the coal mine. They are the coalminers. The people who run college football should take note.
Michigan's biggest problem is not knowing who its customers are, what they're like and what they want.
Brandon often says, "We all think of every home Michigan football game like a miniature Super Bowl."
I don't know any Michigan fans who think that. Quite the opposite, they think Michigan football games are the antidote for the artificial excess of the Super Bowl -- as do most college football fans.
In 2005, then-athletic director Bill Martin commissioned a survey that revealed more than 50 percent of Michigan season-ticket holders had been buying them for more than two decades, but only 9 percent of them also bought season tickets to any professional team. This tells us a basic truth:
Michigan football fans don't just love football. They love Michigan football -- the history, the traditions, the rituals -- the timeless elements that have grown organically over decades. They are attracted to the belief that Michigan football is based on ideals that go beyond the field, do not fade with time, and are passed down to the next generation -- the very qualities that separate a game at the Big House from the Super Bowl.
After the 2013 Notre Dame game, Brandon said, "You're a 17-18 year old kid watching the largest crowd in the history of college football with airplanes flying over and Beyonce introducing your halftime show? That's a pretty powerful message about what Michigan is all about, and that's our job to send that message."
Is that really what Michigan is all about? Fly-overs, blaring rock music and Beyonce? Beyonce is to Michigan football what Bo Schembechler is to -- well, Beyonce. No, Michigan is all about lifelong fans who've been coming together for decades to leave a bit of the modern world behind -- and the incessant marketing that comes with it -- and share an authentic experience fueled by the passion of the team, the band and the students. That's it.
In his speeches, Brandon often mentions he's served as the CEO for three Fortune 500 companies -- the apotheosis of a recent trend among major programs such as Oregon, Notre Dame and Penn State, who've passed over experienced athletic directors to hire outside business gurus.
But if Brandon knows so much about business, why does he know so little about the people who've been filling the Big House for decades?
When the late Michigan broadcaster Bob Ufer said, "Michigan football is a religion, and Saturday is the holy day of obligation," he was on to something.
If the people running college football see their universities as just a brand, and the athletic departments merely a business, they will turn off the very people who've been coming to their temples for decades. Athletic directors need to remember the people in the stands are not customers. They're believers. Break faith with your flock, and you will not get them back with fancier wine.
If you treat your fans like customers long enough, eventually they'll start behaving that way, reducing their irrational love for their team to a cool-headed, dollars-and-cents decision to buy tickets or not, with no more emotional investment than deciding whether to go to the movies or buy new tires.
After a friend of mine took his kids to a game, he told me, "Michigan athletics used to feel like something we shared. Now it's something they hoard. Anything of value they put a price tag on. Anything that appeals to anyone is kept locked away -- literally, in some cases -- and only brought out if you pay for it. And what's been permanently banished is any sense of generosity."
After Brandon became Michigan's 11th athletic director in 2010, he often repeated one of his favorite lines: "If it ain't broke ... break it!"
You have to give him credit: He has delivered on his promise.
College recruiting: Next promise could be paycheck.
By TIM DAHLBERG (AP Sports Writer)
They come calling with promises of a good education, a chance to play on television and some of the best facilities that money can buy.
There may come a time, though, when recruiters chasing the best high school football and basketball players offer something else: a nice paycheck to take with them as a parting gift when their college days are over.
Football players could get several hundred thousand dollars. Basketball players would do even better, perhaps becoming millionaires even if they never play a day in the NBA. Under some scenarios they could take the payments in lieu of what they would have gotten for tuition and room and board. They would be college employees of a sort, able to take classes if they wish or simply play sports.
And the NCAA might still be able to take the high road and continue to run big-time college sports as ''amateur'' programs.
''There's nothing inherent in the word amateurism that says increasing substantially the amount paid athletes would violate the principle of amateurism,'' said Stanford economics professor Roger Noll, who testified on behalf of the plaintiffs. ''There's no reason to believe that.''
It's all theoretical, of course, based on models that may never come into play. But just what the future of big-time college athletics may look like if the NCAA loses a landmark antitrust suit is beginning to come into focus as attorneys representing former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon and others press their case in a federal court trial.
No one expects the current system run by the NCAA to be completely blown up. But at a time when billions of dollars are flowing into college sports there is little dispute that players will get a bigger chunk of the pie.
That may come as soon as next year when the five major conferences move to separate themselves from football programs that aren't nearly as profitable and give athletes more money and greater benefits. Among the proposals is more money to cover the full cost of attending school and better medical and travel benefits.
Whether the extra money will amount to covering laundry expenses and date nights or comes to a much larger payment may depend on how successful O'Bannon's attorneys are in winning a ruling that the NCAA is acting illegally by not allowing players to profit off the use of their names, images and likenesses in television broadcasts and videogames.
If the plaintiffs win, lawyers have hinted in broad terms how they see college sports changing. The NCAA would still run athletics, but Division I basketball and Bowl Subdivision football players would be allowed to band together to seek payment for the use of their names and images in television broadcasts and videogames. Those payments would go into a trust fund, with players getting equal shares when they leave school.
University of San Francisco economics professor Daniel Rascher testified that using something akin to the professional model - where players get something close to the 55 percent of broadcast revenues NFL players currently receive - a football player at Vanderbilt might get $325,000 over a five-year period because of the lucrative television contracts in the Southeastern Conference.
A basketball player at a Pac-12 school like Oregon, he said, would do even better, perhaps walking away with more than $1 million by the time his career is over because there are fewer teammates with whom to split the money.
If players are allowed to be paid - even if that money is put in a trust to be given out only when they leave school - coaches and other recruiters would surely begin emphasizing how much an athlete might look forward to at the end of his college career. The money would be doled out to each player equally, but that doesn't mean every school would offer the same amount.
Some smaller conferences may refuse to offer anything at all, believing the concept of amateurism is too important to lose. But at the top levels of college sports it's hard to imagine schools not joining in and risking the loss of the best recruits.
''It would pain me greatly as a university president and I would try to protest that but we would probably continue to compete in football and basketball,'' University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides testified. ''I think our fans and board of trustees would probably replace me if I decided to drop out of that type of competition.''
NCAA attorneys have suggested paying athletes would lead to a competitive imbalance, where the richer schools got all the best athletes. But Rascher said big and smaller schools rarely compete for the same athletes now and, when they do, the big schools almost always win.
Former Vanderbilt linebacker Chase Garnham testified that he would have been interested in the money had he had a choice. Garnham said it would only be natural for an athlete to go where the money is if everything else was comparable.
''If I was a recruit, that's what I would do, yes,'' Garnham said.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Wednesday, June 25, 2014.
MemoriesofHistory.com
1918 - Babe Ruth became the second American League player to hit a home run in four consecutive games.
1921 - Jock Hutchinson became the first U.S. citizen to win the British Open.
1968 - Bobby Bonds (San Francisco Giants) hit a grand-slam home run in his first game with the Giants. He was the first player to debut with a grand-slam.
1985 - ABC’s "Monday Night Football" began with a new line-up. The trio was Frank Gifford, Joe Namath and O.J. Simpson.
1985 - New York Yankees officials enacted the rule that mandated that the team’s bat boys were to wear protective helmets during all games.
1997 - The NHL officially approved expansion to 30 teams by the year 2000 with the announcement of new teams in Atlanta, Columbus, Minnesota and Nashville.
2002 - Muhammad Ali received a humanitarian award at the second annual BET awards.
2003 - Todd McFarlane bought Barry Bonds 73rd home run ball at auction for $517,500.
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