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“Most great people have attained their greatest success one step beyond their greatest failure.” ~ Napoleon Hill, Author
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Bears: Making sense out of 'Clausen vs. Palmer'.
By John Mullin
Marc Trestman’s irritation was palpable, and understandable: A reporter referenced a news story stating that Trestman had Jordan Palmer ahead of Jimmy Clausen in the competition for the No. 2 quarterback job.
“That couldn't be,” Trestman said. “I've never said anything to that at all. I've said that it's a competition, that it's an open competition, and I also said, I'm certain that I said even at the initial press conference, 'Let's not say that David Fales is out of the competition to be the No. 2 either.
“But the process is that Jordan and Jimmy are going to continue to battle. Matt's going to move them around in different situations with 2’s and 3’s, and Fales is going to continue to get his reps as you saw today and we'll continue to evaluate through camp and that's always the way it's been. I've never been asked a question in two years like that but my answer is as simple as it can be and that is that it's a competition. I haven't even thought about at this point who that guy would be.”
Indeed, coaches have been clear in cautioning about assigning excessive significance to whether Clausen or Palmer took which reps with which unit in practice. Fales is part of the discussion, as Trestman clarified, but realistically the rookie would need stunning performances in preseason games, with decreasing reps as preseason goes on to work his way up the depth chart.
Right now only one “indicator” stands out as far as which of the two veterans has any advantage, and that’s one that could be eclipsed by game performances. That indicator was pre-camp, from GM Phil Emery rather than Trestman. And given that Trestman didn’t anoint Jay Cutler as the franchise quarterback when he was hired, he certainly isn’t likely to be anointing anyone as Cutler’s understudy just yet.
But a talent assessment by Emery was the clue to a starting perception of Clausen:
“I said, ‘Ya know what Marc, I’ve seen [Clausen] work out twice since he’s been in the league,’ Emery said. “Once was his rookie workout. And I thought, ‘That guy’s an NFL player.’ And then he came back a couple years later and threw to the tight end who’s in Minnesota from Notre Dame and I said ‘Who is that guy?’ Someboyd said, ‘That’s Jimmy Clausen.’ I said, ‘That’s Jimmy Clausen?’
“I could see why. That all looked good and that looked unified. That guy’s a pro. And he came in and did the same thing. So someone that hits our eyes and comes in here and shows us that he has something that can help our team and help the competitive level, we’re all in for that competition.”
If Palmer has one intangible working against him, it is that he is 30, which is getting beyond the reach of “potential.” Clausen is 26. He arguably still has some, which is part of why the Bears signed him.
Misunderstanding commitments to draft picks
All of this gets to something that is frequently misunderstood where draft choices are concerned, and Clausen was a No. 2 pick of the Carolina Panthers and obviously held in high talent regard by Emery.
Critics will argue that the reason a team stays with one player over another because of draft position (and the money that goes with that). In fact, the reason why a player is drafted is because of a perception of one player’s higher talent level.
Meaning: The draft choice may be accorded more time to demonstrate that talent, and may get the nod in a position battle because of upside. It is rarely purely a money decision in the longer term; the reason the money was paid was based on the talent assessment, which led to the draft selection.
Clausen was a second-round draft choice for a reason, and it was apparent that Emery was still seeing the reasons for that lofty draft status.
“Jimmy made a lot of progress between his last year and his second to last year he was in college in terms of his overall accuracy, his deep ball,” said Emery, who called Clausen’s Bears workout “as good a quarterback workout that we’ve seen since I’ve been here.
“I think he grew from a leadership perspective. I think his focus grew. He always showed me he could be creative and make some plays on his own. I don’t think mobility is his biggest asset but I definitely saw a player that knows how to get out of the way and get the ball off in time, and a mentally tough player that will take a hit to deliver the ball with accuracy and precision.”
Rookie punter the star at Chicago Bears' training camp.
By NBC Sports
It isn’t every day that a punter is the star of a training-camp practice. Then again, it isn’t every day that a punter, and a rookie one at that, launches tight spirals going more than 70 yards in the air.
But Pat O’Donnell has established that he doesn’t appear to be just another punter, the only one taken in the 2014 draft, by the Bears in the sixth round.
O’Donnell’s first punt Sunday, a massive boot landing well beyond returner Chris Williams’ reach, drew appreciative whoops from major portions of the Olivet Nazarene crowd estimated at more than 9,500. By the time his turn came around again, fans started a low roar, accompanied by pounding on the metal bleachers, all accompanying a first-of-its-kind rhythmic chant:
“Mega-punt! Mega-punt! Mega-Punt!” right up to the moment of O’Donnell’s effort. When he got one off that wobbled down short of the city limits, the result was a good-natured groan.
“It’s good to have the fans involved, like we are,” O’Donnell said.
“It’s good to have the fans involved, like we are,” O’Donnell said.
Special-teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis wasn’t so sure: “That’s a first. That’s obviously a first. I was thinking, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me over there.’ It was ridiculous. Let’s keep the kid’s feet on the ground so far. No, never.”
O’Donnell said his longest punt was as a senior at Miami: 73 yards from scrimmage, meaning 86 yards in the air.
One-time Bears punter Todd Sauerbrun, a second-round pick in 1995 and also a true power-punter, arrived for his first training camp in with the license plate “HANGTIME.” Might O’Donnell change his car ID to “MEGA?”
"Not just yet,” he said, laughing.
O’Donnell is in a solid competition with Tress Way, who wasn’t able to match the moonshots of O’Donnell on Sunday. Coaches have had O’Donnell also do some kickoffs, until now the job of Robbie Gould but something that could involve O’Donnell, who stands 6-4, 200 pounds.
“I’m just looking at what the coach has to say right now,” said O’Donnell, who kicked off for three years in college. “Right now that’s Robbie’s job and whatever coach needs me to do, work it different days.”
OC History: NFC North.
By Chet Gresham
Chicago Bears
Like the Packers, the Bears lost their star quarterback for a decent amount of time, but backup Josh McCown didn’t miss a beat as far as offensive output. This was Marc Trestman’s first season back in the NFL since he was with the Raiders in 2003, where he had mixed results, but when his offense was on, like it was in 2002, it led the league in passing. And last season he, like McCown, didn’t miss a beat as the Bears finished second in total points scored and fifth in passing touchdowns and total yards.
If you add Josh McCown and Jay Cutler’s stats together you get 4,281 yards, 32 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. That would put Jay McCown squarely in the top five fantasy quarterbacks for last year. If Cutler could have done that on his own, we would have had ourselves a guy going in the top 10 of ADP rather than 14th. Of course injuries have been a big problem for Cutler, so that is factored into his ADP somewhat, but we can see the upside is there in this offense.
In 2012 we saw Brandon Marshall get an insane number of targets in what was an extremely telegraphed offense in that regard. Trestman kept up the passing, but the emergence of Alshon Jeffrey allowed both Marshall and Jeffrey to shine, with both gaining over 1294 yards and scoring a total of 19 touchdowns. There wasn’t much room for a third wide receiver with tight end Martellus Bennett and running back Matt Forte combining for over 1350 yards receiving.
Going into last season the talk about Trestman’s offense from the good old days was his proclivity of passing to running backs. So the PPR hype for Matt Forte was out of this world, and amazingly he ended up catching 74 passes for 594 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing 289 times for 1339 yards and nine touchdowns. Trestman’s offense is perfect for the multi-talented Forte and it looks like age or injury or both will be the only things that could slow him down in this offense now.
Bennett saw 89 targets last season, which puts him around eighth for tight ends. That’s a respectable number when you consider the huge volume Forte, Marshall and Jeffery get in this offense. He finished as the tenth best fantasy tight end and it’s pretty safe to put him in that 8-10 area this season.
Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
Tom Clements was promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator in 2012. Not a bad job to have when Aaron Rodgers is your quarterback. They run a west coast style offense with Rodgers and when Rodgers is healthy they pass around 57% of the time. Last season when Rodgers was hurt, they ran the ball more with their rookie Eddie Lacy and finished ranked 7th in total rushing yards whereas they had finished 20th and 27th the two seasons before. Last season was a convergence of them finally getting a somewhat healthy go to running back and also losing their star quarterback for seven games. In a perfect world they hope to move the ball with Rodgers as their focal point and let Lacy feast on defenses more worried about getting beat through the air unlike last season when teams knew Lacy was going to get the ball, a lot.
Rodgers has been an elite quarterback for a while now and that isn’t going to change this season, especially if Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Jarrett Boykin can stay healthy. When healthy Rodgers is a top three fantasy quarterback without fail.
Of course the problem recently has been injuries to receivers and Rodgers himself. Nelson was injured in 2012 and Rodgers, Cobb and Jermichael Finley were injured much of 2013. And this offense easily allows for three receivers to put up good fantasy numbers on a weekly basis. In ’11 there were four receivers that topped five touchdown receptions while the tight end Finley had eight. In ’12 the top three receivers topped seven touchdowns each and 745 yards each. And last season, even with Rodgers out for a big chunk, the top three receivers topped 681 yards, with Nelson going over 1300. Of course the touchdowns declined without Rodgers, but thankfully he is back. Assuming health this gives high ceilings to Nelson, Cobb and Boykin, especially without a dynamic tight end to take away many looks.
Eddie Lacy rushed for 11 touchdowns last season, which is more than the total amount of rushing touchdowns Packers’ running backs had total in the two previous seasons. They had TWO in ’11. TWO. And that came with Lacy facing stacked boxes for many of those games. This season we can expect a bit more passing from Green Bay, but that shouldn’t stifle Lacy much as he’ll have more room to run and plenty of goal line chances. He also had 35 receptions last season and that number should rise with a healthy Rodgers. Health really is the only thing that could derail this offense in 2014.
Detroit Lions
The Lions hired head coach Jim Caldwell, who was the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens the last two seasons and the Saints quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi to be their offensive coordinator. Lombardi was also the “offensive assistant” before becoming the quarterbacks coach, so has an intimate knowledge of Sean Payton’s system, a system that set many passing records.
In many ways the transition from the Saints to the Lions will be smooth(ish), with running backs who can catch the ball and an offense used to passing a lot, but there will also be a big drop off from Drew Brees to Matthew Stafford, especially in the realm of accuracy. Brees has a career 66% completion percentage compared to Stafford’s 59.5%, and this is where Lombardi should be able to help Stafford. A more spread out offense and a focus on fundamentals should allow Stafford to have his best completion percentage season to date.
Over the last three seasons the Saints have been first or second in passing yardage and have thrown an average of 63% of the time. Matthew Stafford has plenty of experience throwing the ball many, many times, but a large percentage of those passes went to one Mr. Calvin Johnson. Lombardi should help him spread the ball around much more effectively. Last year Brees completed 446 passes; 86 to Jimmy Graham, 77 Pierre Thomas, 75 Marques Colston, 71 to Darren Sproles, 37 to Lance Moore and 32 to Kenny Stills. And you will see this from Drew Brees in every game. Even with Jimmy Graham as his main target, he never will focus in on him as much as Stafford has focused on Calvin Johnson throughout his career. Does this mean Johnson will see less targets? I can’t really see how not, but he surely will see less defenders, plus the acquisition of Golden Tate and rookie tight end Eric Ebron added to Joique Bell and Reggie Bush, should fit Lombardi’s scheme well, which will help production, as in scoring touchdowns.
The Lions put up quite a few yards, but the Saints have been much more productive. Over the last three seasons the Lions had 43 more rushing/passing attempts than the Saints, but 29 less touchdowns. Lombardi should be able to make them a more efficient offense.
Of course that efficiency starts with Stafford. I’ve already talked about his completion percentage, but he has shown us, at least in 2011, that he does have the ability to be extremely productive and he completed 63.5% of his passes for over 5,000 yards and 41 touchdowns. Those are getting mighty close to Breesian. Of course, the last two seasons were fall-offs in every category. And that’s where Lombardi comes in. We know Stafford will still get his 650 attempts, which sets him up for good fantasy numbers even if he’s not playing great, but the new offense gives him an upside that harkens back to his 2011 season.
Right now the top two wide receivers are strong, with the superhero Calvin Johnson and the versatile Golden Tate, but the third receiver has yet to step up. That spot may be somewhat of a rotating position, so unless someone really manhandles the job, it looks like Tate and Johnson will get the most wide receiver targets funneled their way. Lance Moore, as the #2 WR in New Orleans put up good numbers in his only 16 game season with 1041 yards and six touchdowns. Of course, this was with Marques Colston and Jimmy Graham ahead of him in the pecking order. With rookie Eric Ebron at tight end, Tate could be in line for a higher ceiling than Moore’s.
Ebron of course isn’t Jimmy Graham, but wherever the talent lies is where this offense accentuates. If Ebron were to prove his ability, he has a shot in this offense. Of course they also have Brandon Pettigrew and Big Joe Fauria, but Ebron has more tools and a higher upside. We know the offense didn’t make Jimmy Graham. It was a combination of his amazing ability and an extremely productive offense that keeps teams on their heels.
Last, but certainly not least are the running backs. Last season Detroit put together great running back numbers with the duo of Reggie Bush and Joique Bell, especially in the receiving game, where each topped 50 receptions and 500 yards. But amazingly the Saints topped even those numbers with Sproles and Thomas who topped 70 receptions each, 1100 total yards and five touchdowns. Over the last three seasons the Saints lead the league in running back targets while the Lions rank fourth. That doesn’t seem like much of a difference, but the Saints targeted running backs 591 times to the Lions’ 416 times and had close to 1000 more yards and 15 more receiving touchdowns. The Saints also had 36 more rushing attempts during that period and 587 more rushing yards. This is all very good news for Bush and Bell, who should once again both have plenty of overall opportunities to put up numbers.
Will the Lions be able to match the Saints’ numbers? That would be a tough task for any team, but they are in a better position with Lombardi to be much more efficient and in turn more consistent. In yearlong leagues that is a key piece of the puzzle.
Minnesota Vikings
Welcome Mr. Norval Turner to team number three in the last three years. Does that mean he’s no good? Nah, he has his deficiencies as a head coach, but as an offensive coordinator he can get the job done. Just think, we were all streaming Brian Hoyer last season and Josh Gordon was putting up insane numbers when he had absolutely nobody to take coverage away from him. Turner now gets one of the greatest running backs of all time to work with and we know what he’s done in the past with one Mr. Emmitt Smith and Mr. LaDainian Tomlinson. He even got Terry Allen to 1353 yards and 21 touchdowns with Gus Frerotte at quarterback in Washington. So yes, he knows how to get the best out of his running backs (unless they are 75 year old Willis McGahee).
This Vikings team is all over the map. They have Peterson, who is still a top back, Greg Jennings, who is past his prime, Cordarrelle Patterson, who is a playmaker to be sure, but still raw, Kyle Rudolph, who should be primed for a big year, but has had little help in the quarterback department so far and a quarterback to be named later with Matt Cassel probably the starter Week one, but first round pick Terry Bridgewater more than likely starting sooner than later. That truly makes Adrian Peterson the only stable player on the team.
Peterson is 29 years old and coming off a year where he wasn’t quite as good as he’s raised our expectations. But if you are going to bet on him to put together another huge season, then Turner is the coordinator to bet on. He’s already said he wants to pass the ball more to Peterson. Peterson’s biggest reception total was 43 in 2009 and he has averaged just 22.9 each season. In the meantime in ’11 Turner gave Ryan Mathews, Mike Tolbert and Curtis Brinkley 111 receptions, with Tolbert and Mathews topping 50. In ’12 Ronnie Brown had 49, Mathews had 39 and Jackie Battle had 15. And last year with a dearth of running backs in Cleveland, Chris Ogbonnaya still managed 48 receptions. Peterson may not be the great Ronnie Brown, but I think he can manage his high in receptions this season without any trouble.
The passing game beyond Peterson will be tougher to get a handle on. We saw what he did with Gordon last year, even with a so-so quarterback, so I’m not completely dismissing Jennings or Patterson, we just know that there will be trouble at the quarterback position and that usually means inconsistency for the outside wide receivers. If Patterson were a more seasoned route runner I would be much more willing to believe Turner could turn him into Gordon 2.0, but that has yet to be seen and unlike in Cleveland where Gordon and Jordan Cameron were the only offense, the Vikings have Peterson and Kyle Rudolph, two positions Turner has used well in his day.
Rudolph is talented and it showed in 2012 when he scored nine touchdowns on 53 receptions. And then last year he was on pace for 60 receptions and six touchdowns when he was injured. Not great numbers, but okay. This year we will look for a big jump for Rudolph based on Turner’s presence. We’ve seen what he did with Antonio Gates and then Jordan Cameron last year. Gates led the Chargers in receptions every year he wasn’t injured and some years when he was. With a question mark at quarterback it’s hard not to believe Peterson and Rudolph will be the workhorses of the offense, while Jennings will be the reliable outside receiver and Patterson the wildcard to keep teams off balance.
By Tracey Myers
Andrew Shaw hasn’t forgotten the lessons he learned in his Belleville, Ont., upbringing, be it from the town’s working mentality — or his father’s putting him to work in the summers.
“I did all the brutal jobs, the jobs you pay a guy five dollars an hour to do,” Shaw told Pat Boyle. “As a kid I’d be carrying lumber, holding stuff in a pail. But I think it was good. It made me grow (into) who I am today.”
Shaw talked of his blue-collar upbringing and how it shaped him with Boyle for an Inside Look, which will air at 5 p.m. Thursday on CSNChicago. For Shaw, life in Belleville (pop. 49,500) had its fun and its hockey. It also had its work. His father, Doug, a contractor, made sure Andrew always had that put-the-work-in mentality, and it resonated through the years.
“I always saw my dad work extremely hard for me and my brothers to play hockey,” Shaw said. “Just (to) have the average job, punch in at 7 in the morning, they worked hard and I think it wore off on me. I saw what it takes to get by in this world and I've always push myself to work as hard as I could.”
It’s a mentality that’s been evident in Shaw’s hockey career, from his Chicago Blackhawks’ debut until the present day. There’s been no such thing as settling and no such thing as being satisfied with where his game is at a given time. Work, work and work some more.
The big payoff came on June 24, 2013 when Shaw and the rest of the Blackhawks hoisted the Stanley Cup, the team’s second in four seasons and Shaw’s first. Shaw took that Cup to several places when had his day with it in Belleville later that summer. One visit was to a local hockey equipment shop and to its owner, who used to give the Shaws deals so they could afford Andrew’s hockey equipment.
“He'd give us free skate sharpening, free sticks in there, you can't put a price on it, he always helped us anyway he could, so that's why I felt like I owed him, if it wasn't for him I don't know where I'd be as well,” Shaw said. “I've done a lot in my career, so I’ll continue to give back to him.”
Shaw will keep giving to Belleville and his family, since they both gave him plenty along the way.
What We Learned: Breaking down Central Division, NHL Group of Death.
By Ryan Lambert
Things have calmed down considerably in the free agent market. Rosters at this point are more or less set, and we can therefore go about taking stock of who did what this summer, and what that means for the season that's currently still three or so months away.
It's pretty tough to make the case that any single division improved more than the Central, and given the league's new playoff format, those several teams that took huge steps forward might find that it's not going to be enough for them to get things together and actually make the postseason.
We can all more or less agree that Chicago, which made only one significant move in bringing aboard bargain-basement Brad Richards and letting Michal Handzus walk, not only is the best team for this coming season as it was for the prior one, but also improved marginally. That top spot in the Central, and perhaps the whole of the Western Conference or even NHL, is very much spoken for.
But then there's the matter of everyone else. The race to get into the bottom two to five spots in the West's playoff picture — though banking on the higher side there seems foolish — is going to look like when all three Stooges try to go through the same door at once. St. Louis, Dallas and Minnesota all seem very likely contenders for those spots, having either remained good from last season or improved in this summer signing period. Dallas has clearly taken the largest step forward in adding Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky, but they also have a lot more ground to make up in terms of the point gap from last season; getting into the playoffs with 91 points is barely an accomplishment.
The Blues are obviously in the best position, having added Paul Stastny and despite the loss of Vladimir Sobotka. Their biggest need was an additional top-six forward, and they added one. The decision to stick with someone who isn't Ryan Miller, meanwhile, seems a prudent one in goal.
As for Minnesota, there's still a lot to dislike about this team. Depth and goaltending remain issues that need to be proven out if anyone's going to believe they're a contender for anything any time soon. But 98 points last season does sort of seem like a fluke. One can't imagine that Josh Harding continues to post a save percentage north of .915 or so, and the rest of that cast doesn't do much to inspire confidence.
But as with a few divisions last season, the importance of finishing second versus third or fourth or, if you're really unlucky, fifth is massive in the Central. Finish third and you probably play a 100-point team that's considerably better than you are. Finish fourth and you play either the Blackhawks or (probably) Kings. A lot of people seem to think it's likely that the Central sends five teams to the playoffs, and successfully holds the fourth team in the Pacific out, but it's tough to see where that would be the case; it happened last year mainly because the Canucks were pitiful under John Tortorella. While they haven't exactly taken a step forward so far with Jim Benning at the controls, they haven't taken a step back either, overall. It's not outside the realm of possibility that Anaheim and Vancouver duke it out for a wild card spot. Both, certainly, are better than Winnipeg, Nashville or Colorado, full stop.
Of course, all this comes with the caveat that Chicago could falter as it did last season and somehow not end up first in the division, but that doesn't seem likely. Big problems with special teams was what did them in last season, but it's hard to imagine the power play finishes 10th in the league again this year, or the PK 19th. It's also difficult to envision the Avalanche doing anything but crashing and burning after a full year of cheating death in terms of possession; they were sixth in goal differential in their own conference and yet finished second in points. That doesn't happen often, especially not when your percentages are in the league's toilet.
If it's between St. Louis and Dallas for the second spot (and it probably is), though, then it's tough to see Dallas making a 20-something-point jump without a “2013 Maple Leafs” measure of luck stirred in. No team in the league improved as much as Dallas did this summer, but even no improvement from the Blues would have left them pretty tough to squeeze past. Even with unproven rookie Jake Allen in net, it's not like things are ever going to go especially badly for them, not with that lineup and depth. A worst-case scenario for the Blues is probably in the 105-point range, which you can't be too unhappy with at the end of the day.
Then there are the Stars, who could be a 100-point team if things go right. They're clearly counting on some internal improvement from the kids, especially on the blue line, to make their planned improvement. Minnesota's not far behind them, though, in both the overall quality and “expecting young players to make a jump” departments. For me, these are the two most fascinating teams in the West this season. Everyone else seems to be a known quantity, more or less.
Not that any of this really matters, of course. It's probably going to take more than moderate improvement to be better than Chicago over 82 games, or again in seven when the playoffs roll around, and even then, that doesn't make you elite. But getting closer is the goal, and Dallas and St. Louis have certainly made that step.
What We Learned
Anaheim Ducks: Saku Koivu is selling his home near Anaheim for $6.6 million. Say, Ryan Kesler's due $10 million over the next two seasons. Hint hint.
Arizona Coyotes: Y'know, when you look at it all laid out like this, the Coyotes' only additions this offseason being Sam Gagner (a player who's pretty good but was always getting unduly flogged in Edmonton for one reason or another), BJ Crombeen, Joe Vitale and Devan Dubnyk, you have to say that Don Maloney didn't have a very good summer. Another year without playoffs in the desert. What fun.
Boston Bruins: Loui Eriksson moving to the Bruins' “first line” is a little misleading because he was on it last year. Patrice Bergeron plus Brad Marchand plus (anyone) equals “first line.” They're better at all aspects of the game than David Krejci and Milan Lucic, not that you'd know it in this town. That Claude Julien gives more minutes to Lucic and Krejci is a major failing of Claude Julien's. It's really that simple.
Buffalo Sabres: Pretty alarming, isn't it, that Luke Adam had to sign a two-way deal? What happened to that dude? Pre-lockout he looked like he could be a decent contributor, but he's just dropped off a cliff.
Calgary Flames: Karri Ramo was pretty effectively put on notice by Flames brass this summer. First they bring in Jonas Hiller to take his No. 1 job — which it must be said Ramo didn't do badly with in his first season, given the circumstances — for the next two years, then they give AHL starter Joni Ortio a two-year deal that guarantees a one-way in 2015-16.
Carolina Hurricanes: Bill Peters says Eric Staal's power play output last season was “unacceptable.” Would you believe he scored just one time on the man advantage? He had more shorties than that. Good lord. (Another guy that had only one power play goal last season? Evander Kane. Five or six more of those and I doubt any of these rumors come up.)
Chicago Blackhawks: Growing up, Brad Richards dreamed of being the starting goaltender for the Blackhawks, and I don't blame him. Look what they pay their goalies when they're not even good.
Colorado Avalanche: While riding his bike last week, Cory Sarich was hit by a car and broke multiple vertebrae. Horrible news but he's apparently doing much better already. He wants to continue his playing career, which, I dunno...
Columbus Blue Jackets: Question posited by someone who I'm pretty sure is a Blue Jackets fan: “Is Sergei Bobrovsky truly the goalie of the future?” Hmm, a 25-year-old who has a .926 save percentage with the team over 96 appearances, and already has a Vezina to his name? Nah, it's probably Oscar Dansk.
Dallas Stars: One point of concern for the Stars is the workload Kari Lehtonen has pulled the last few seasons because of how bad his backups have been. This time around they have Anders Lindback and maybe, like, Jack Campbell or Jussi Rynnas. So, no?
Detroit Red Wings: Danny DeKeyser says “there won't be any problems” getting his new contract done before camp. No kidding. If they gave Danny Cleary another year, DeKeyser might be able to pull a max contract.
Edmonton Oilers: If the Oilers try to use their organizational depth to fill their hole at center, they're not really approaching things very wisely.
Florida Panthers: It's looking like Jimmy Hayes and the Panthers will indeed go to arbitration this week. There goes that chance of signing Kevin!
Minnesota Wild: Well sure they're never going to win a Stanley Cup, but Stephane Veilleux will lead the Wild to ping pong glory.
Montreal Canadiens: Please stop asking PK Subban about contract negotiations. He doesn't appreciate it.
Nashville Predators, America's Favorite Hockey Team: Kevin Fiala is one of the growing number of high-quality Swiss players in the NHL. Thanks a lot.
New Jersey Devils: One of the things that doomed the Devils (not rhyming with Farty Frodeur) was the fact that they didn't win their first seven games of the season. That's gotta change this year. Probably will, too.
New York Islanders: Kevin Poulin will be back for another season on Long Island. After he went .893 in 28 appearances last season, they basically had to re-sign him.
New York Rangers: The award Derick Brassard wanted to play his prove-it year with the Rangers as their presumptive No. 2 center was $4.95 million. Glen Sather talked him down to $25 million over five seasons. Now THAT'S negotiating!
Ottawa Senators: The Senators plan to meet with the agents for Bobby Ryan and Clarke MacArthur about extensions in the coming week. “How does league minimum sound?”
Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers neither improved nor took a step back this summer. Given the way the rest of the division improved, though, that's tantamount to taking a step back. Gonna be a tough season in Philly, one suspects.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Now this is a fascinating question: Will this be the last season in Pittsburgh for Marc-Andre Fleury? Pretty easy to see this going either way, really.
San Jose Sharks: Dude, they didn't run over your dog. They beat you in hockey four games in a row. It happens.
St. Louis Blues: The Blues' success, ultimately, rests on whether Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz can become even better offensive weapons. They both averaged about one goal every three games last season, which will need to improve.
Tampa Bay Lightning: This was a fairly good look at the youth in the Lightning system. Shocking to see Jonathan Drouin at the top of the list. Shocking.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Loved this look at the Kyle Dubas hire from Fluto Shinzawa, which included the shocking new idea that maybe you don't need to have been in the NHL to make player evaluations, because other major business executives don't need to know how to make the products their companies sell.
Vancouver Canucks: Jake Virtanen signed Sunday. He's going to do very well at World Juniors this season.
Washington Capitals: Expecting Joel Ward to be a driver of success with the Caps this season is asking a lot. Or, if you prefer, the impossible.
Winnipeg Jets: When you're trying not to spend a lot of money, maybe giving a bunch of money to bad players is not a good idea. Just a thought. Kevin Cheveldayoff really ought to be fired. This is a catastrophe.
Gold Star Award
Kyle Dubas is going to save the Maple Leafs! (As long as he doesn't get hit with the shrapnel when Dave Nonis and Randy Carlyle are canned next summer, or earlier.)
Minus of the Weekend
Kyle Dubas is a nerd and an idiot. I think the Maple Leafs are good. Put the calculator away stats boy!!!!
Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Week
To STL: Claude Giroux, Braydon Coburn
To PHI: Alex Pietrangelo, David Backes
To PHI: Alex Pietrangelo, David Backes
Don't bother bringing the mistletoe to bed.
Just another Chicago Bulls Session… Despite long layoff, Derrick Rose's confidence high.
By Aggrey Sam
Derrick Rose has consistently talked about blocking out the negativity surrounding his two season-ending knee injuries and the outcry in the wake of his respective recovery processes.
But the former league MVP admitted Monday, after the first practice of USA Basketball training camp in preparation for the upcoming FIBA World Cup in Madrid, that he’s heard the criticism.
“Just with the second injury, of course people are going to have stuff to say. But I can’t get mad at them. I can’t. I’ve got too many positives going on. I’ve got my son, I’ve got my family. Of course I had a second injury, but that rehab took care of that. So just trying to put all that behind me and today is the start of a new day,” Rose explained. “I can’t get mad at that, man. People are going to say anything, so for me, just try to take it in, try to use it when I work out, use it as motivation, and go out there and just try to prove people wrong. I know how special I am as a player and I know what I still can do.”
USA Basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski, a Chicago native, was taken aback when informed about a faction of the city’s sentiments about the hometown hero.
“No, I wasn’t aware. That’s ridiculous. He’s one of the great people and one of the great players. To get multiple injuries like that can defeat anybody mentally and I don’t see that,” said the longtime Duke University head coach. “He should be applauded for what he’s doing. I’m a Chicagoan and very happy that he’s back, not just for USA, but for the Bulls.”
Rose, known for his humility, seems to be more outwardly expressing his confidence that he can return to his previous form, silencing the doubters.
“I’m there, man. I’m not worried about that. My confidence is very high. That’s the only thing you might see this year, that my confidence level is through the roof,” he said. “I really think that I’m a special player in my mind and I still have youth. I’m only 25, man. So just doing everything I’m supposed to do in rehab, just strengthening everything, taking it one day at a time and getting the most out of every day. That’s what I’ve been preparing for, this moment.”
Asked where that level of belief comes from, Rose’s answer had less to do with basketball than something off the court: “P.J.,” his toddler son.
“I’ve got somebody that’s looking up to me, man. All I can do is try. Go out here and at least try, not give up and usually, when I play the way that I normally play, something positive comes out of it,” the Chicago native explained. “Knowing how much work I put into my game. Every day, working my a-- off, torturing my body every single day.”
“I sat out for two years. Of course it’s hard, but at the same time, I know it’s a chance for me to really work on my whole body. Get my legs strong, get my upper body strong and just take advantage of it, and I’m happy that the Bulls, they really went after it and got [Bulls’ director of athletic performance] Jen Swanson,” Rose continued. “She’s been doing a great job of making sure that I’m coming in every day, stretching and just trying to get my flexibility right throughout my whole body.”
The aforementioned Swanson will travel with USA Basketball to monitor Rose—Bulls’ All-Star center Joakim Noah is also in Las Vegas, working out individually and also checking in with Swanson after his offseason knee surgery—with whom she built a relationship during his California-based rehabilitation from a torn left ACL in 2012.
Having suffered two major injuries, Rose is able to now reflect on where he was in earlier stages of his career.
“My confidence was high, but I didn’t know how good I was. Like you know how good you are, but I didn’t know. But now my confidence is crazy. I know how hard I work and I believe I’m one of the hardest workers in the league,” the 25-year-old said about his state of mind before his ACL injury. “I think when I came back last time, I wanted it too bad. I was trying to force the game and this time around, just trying to let the game come to me. Of course be aggressive, but at the same time, have control of the game and be smarter, and being able to run the team at the point-guard position.
“My appreciation for the game, it’s like through the roof, man. Me having the ability to go places, my family’s good, my friends are all right,” he continued. “Just the game, what it did for me and my family and friends—like me working hard every day and trying to give the game my all, that’s the least I can do.”
A theory that has been whispered is that Rose is simply using the training camp as a way to test himself—not entirely implausible, given the number of marquee players declining invitations—but the 2010 FIBA World Championships gold medalist insisted that he’s committed to playing in Spain, as long he’s selected for the team.
“I’m here, man. I’m really trying to make it. But if they decide to go another way or another direction, it’s no hard feelings or I wouldn’t feel mad about it. I’m just happy that I have the opportunity to come here and showcase my talent in front of everyone,” Rose said.
But as much anticipation as outsiders have had about Rose’s return and matching up with fellow elite point guards, the Bulls floor general was nonchalant about the situation.
“I’ve been preparing for this for a long time. It’s probably big to everyone else because they probably haven’t seen me, but I dedicated my whole summer for this moment,” he explained. “I’m not really trying to play for anybody. I’m trying to play for myself.”
NBA players union elects new executive director.
By BRIAN MAHONEY (AP Basketball Writer)
NBA Players Association Logo (Courtesy of Yahoo.com images)
Michele Roberts has watched basketball for as long as she can remember. It was an easy choice growing up in a home with one TV and two older brothers.
When she saw an interview last year with an NBA player and noticed how passionately he talked about trying to improve his embattled union, she wanted to be more than a fan. She wanted to be involved.
That got her started toward becoming the first woman to lead a North American pro sports union.
Roberts was elected early Tuesday morning as executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, and the Washington trial lawyer is eager to provide the leadership it needs after a few difficult years.
''They were looking for, not a man, not a woman, they were looking for a personality,'' Roberts said in a phone interview. ''I think I'm that personality and I intend to be what I have been in my entire practice, singularly devoted to this union. And that's what they were looking for.
''Someone, whether it be a boy or a girl, who understood that this was their union, and they intended to run it, and they were looking for someone who appreciated that and was not going to deviate from that.''
Roberts received 32 of 36 votes at a meeting of players in Las Vegas, defeating tech industry CEO Dean Garfield and Dallas Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery in the final vote.
It capped a long and arduous process to replace Billy Hunter, who was ousted in February 2013. Roberts was one of the finalists initially offered to the rank-and-file during All-Star weekend in February, but the process was re-opened under another search committee at the urging of some players and agents.
More than 100 players reconvened in Las Vegas this week, and after some tense moments leading up to the vote, Roberts emerged as the winner.
''Obviously I would've preferred that it happen sooner rather than later, but I completely understood when there were questions raised about the process,'' Roberts said. ''Frankly, I would not have wanted them to ignore those questions and not affirmatively address those concerns. I wanted the job in February, but I wanted the job where there would be no questions about the fairness or the process, so I completely endorsed the executive committee to address these questions, and they did and now best I can tell they're very pleased.''
The players considered more than 300 candidates during their 17-month search before picking Roberts, who has been called the finest trial lawyer in Washington by ''Washingtonian Magazine.'' She said her new job will feature straight, honest talk, just like she delivers to a jury, and strategizing, things that have made her such a successful lawyer.
The search to replace Hunter, who led the NBPA from 1996 until a review of the union was critical of his business practices, leaves players with less than two years to prepare for the next potential collective bargaining talks. Either the union or the league can opt out of the current agreement in 2017.
The union has struggled for years with in-fighting and a lack of organization, and the players took a significant cut in their guarantee of basketball-related income - 57 percent to about 50 percent, a drop of hundreds of millions annually in salary costs - in the contentious lockout in 2011. League revenues are on the rise, a new TV contract is set to be negotiated in 2016 and franchise valuations are skyrocketing.
''As far as I'm concerned, preparations for CBA negotiations started yesterday,'' Roberts said. ''It's at the top of my list of things that I've been instructed to begin the process of preparing for, and sure it's a lot to do, but I've never been shy about hard work and long hours, so we'll get it done. We'll be ready.''
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver congratulated Roberts in a statement, saying he looked forward to working with her ''to ensure the continued health and growth of our game.''
''The partnership between our players and teams is the backbone of the league, and we are eager to continue working with the Players Association to build this relationship,'' Silver said.
The fallout from the lockout and the Hunter ouster left the union reeling. But it also made Roberts want to get involved, which will bring the New York native back home.
''The more I thought about it,'' she said, ''the more I thought that would be a great opportunity to do something really important.''
Bulls rookie Doug McDermott already a USA Basketball veteran. (Watch this rookie, he's going to shock a lot of people with his play!!!!!)
By Aggrey Sam
Despite being a rookie, Bulls’ first-round draft pick Doug McDermott is already a veteran of USA Basketball, having played twice in his summers while at Creighton, including last year, when he worked out with the Select Team during its mini-camp, one of only two college players to do so.
The sharpshooting forward was selected to be on this year’s edition of the Select Team, coached by Northwestern head coach Chris Collins, and coming off not only his record-setting college career, but a first-team all-NBA Summer League outing, he was a marked man in the portion of Tuesday’s practice the media was allowed to view. In the five-on-five scrimmages, defenders stayed glued to McDermott, something he’s dealt with since his college days.
But McDermott, who plans to attend the NBA’s Rookie Transition Program next weekend, then return to Chicago shortly thereafter to work out prior to Bulls training camp, has enjoyed the experience.
“Oh, it’s been great. Just going against some of the best guys in the world. It’s definitely a challenge, but it can only help a guy like me, who’s just getting his NBA career started,” McDermott explained. “Yeah, it’s a little different now that I’m up in the NBA now. Obviously there’s a lot of good players here, so it’s hard at times. But it’s definitely helpful.”
McDermott, who said he feels “100 percent” after missing the Bulls’ final summer-league game with a left-foot injury, claimed he’s been unfazed by trade rumors circulating that he could be dealt to Minnesota in a package that would bring All-Star power forward Kevin Love to Chicago.
“I didn’t really pay attention to it much. I think rumors happen a lot. There’s been a lot this offseason. So you’ve just got to stay patient. You can’t really read into that stuff. I’m just focused on what I can do to become better,” he said. “To be honest, I get asked about it. I don’t really ask anyone. I try to stay off Twitter and I think a lot of people ask me or text me through my friends. But I just ignore it. Whatever happens, happens.”
Of course, McDermott shared his take on how his new teammate, Derrick Rose, has looked in the sessions.
“Yeah, he’s looked really good. He’s one of the best players here and he’s definitely showed that the last couple days, so it’s great to see obviously,” he said. “It makes it a lot easier because he draws so much attention. He’s an unselfish guy to play with and he’s going to find you. He makes some really good decisions with the ball.”
White Sox Reinsdorf: If Abreu keeps up pace, 'he'd go in' HOF.
By Dan Hayes
He’s not calling him a Hall of Famer because he knows how many obstacles Jose Abreu has to overcome to get there.
It’s also hard to say a player who is only four months into his career is destined for Cooperstown. But were Abreu to continue to perform as he has so far, White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf could see him follow in the footsteps of Frank Thomas and get into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
“It’s pretty hard to anoint a guy in his first year, especially because to get the 10 years in he needs, he’s going to have to play until he’s 37,” Reinsdorf said. “But if he were to put up the numbers he has put up so far this year for 10 years, sure, he’d go in.”
Abreu has been fantastic through the team’s first 106 games.
He entered Tuesday with a .294/.344/.619 slash line, 30 home runs and 79 RBIs in 393 plate appearances. Abreu entered the series opener against the Detroit Tigers riding a 17-game hitting streak with hits in 35 of the past 36 contests.
“He measures up against anybody in the league,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “Him being a rookie, he’s not necessarily a young guy, but when you’re doing that your first time through the league, it’s pretty impressive.
“Pitchers make adjustments, he makes adjustments. That’s been the impressive part of him — it’s not a one-week thing.”
Lindstrom faces Garcia
Matt Lindstrom faced Avisail Garcia in a simulated game and while they’re both close to a rehab assignment no announcement is expected while the team is in Detroit, Ventura said.
Lindstrom said he has made significant strides the past two weeks in regard to mobility and is closer to a return than Garcia. Ventura said Lindstrom, who suffered an ankle tendon injury in May, is expected to throw another simulated game at home before any decision is made.
Garcia, who tore his left labrum in April, continues to progress but the White Sox still won’t push him. Ventura would love for the outfielder to return but only if everything is in order.
“Where he’s at right now you expect at some point to be able to see him,” Ventura said. “But I’m sure he’ll get home and doctors will look at him again and everybody has to make sure he’s 100 percent when he goes out there.
“I don’t think we’re going to be pressing that he has to make it here. But if he’s totally healthy and he’s ready to go I know I would be happy to see him.”
Other notes
— Prospect Chris Beck has been promoted to Triple-A Charlotte. Beck, the team’s second-round pick in 2012, went 5-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 20 starts at Double-A Birmingham.
— Hawk Harrelson will miss all three games of the Detroit series for personal reasons.
Stacked farm system offers Chicago Cubs hope.
By LUKE MEREDITH (AP Sports Writer)
It's tempting for Chicago Cubs fans to pay as much attention to Triple-A Iowa as the struggling big league club.
Iowa's lineup is a daily reminder that Chicago's future might be as bright as any team in baseball.
The recent promotion of Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, who is ranked 54th on MLB.com's list of the top 100 prospects in baseball, has given the I-Cubs a lineup that's the envy of baseball. With Soler slotted fifth behind middle infielder Javier Baez (ranked No. 6 by MLB.com) and third baseman Kris Bryant (No. 4), Iowa has a heart of the order that's as promising as any Triple-A team in recent memory.
The Double-A Tennessee Smokies are stacked as well, with Addison Russell (No. 7) and Albert Almora (No. 41) providing hope that Chicago's streak of consecutive losing seasons could be over by 2015.
''We were ranked the top system in baseball,'' Cubs president Theo Epstein said. ''That is nice to the extent it reflects a lot of hard work by scouts and player development people as well as the players themselves. It really doesn't mean anything. We are in last place, so almost by definition, our work lies ahead of us.''
The Cubs have largely resisted the urge to rush their top prospects to the big leagues, with the exception of the recent call up of Arismendy Alcantara.
Bryant's performance as a first-year pro has undoubtedly tested that patience.
Bryant, the No. 2 pick in the 2013 draft, has hit 33 home runs in just 380 at-bats, with 30 doubles, 87 RBI and an OPS of 1.112 between Tennessee and Iowa entering Tuesday's game at New Orleans.
Though Bryant, 22, likely still won't see Chicago until 2015 at the earliest, that's fine by him for now.
''If I'm focusing on that, then I'm not really playing as hard as I can here,'' he said. ''Something I told myself going into the year is to not focus on getting called up or promoted to a different level. Just go up there and take it day by day.''
Chicago's measured approach has helped Baez mature into an elite middle infield prospect. Iowa manager Marty Pevey said he's seen Baez's intensity and concentration levels exponentially grow since April.
Baez is set to play mostly at second base for the rest of the year, with Chicago's Starlin Castro seemingly blocking his path. But Pevey believes Baez has the tools to be a shortstop in the majors.
Baez, 21, is hitting .258 with 19 home runs and 73 RBI for Iowa. But Baez's average has improved every month, and he's hitting .301 with eight home runs in July.
''Let me tell you something. This cat can play some frigging shortstop,'' Pevey said. ''We have a really good shortstop in the big leagues, but Javy Baez is an extremely good shortstop.''
Soler's path to Chicago has been slowed somewhat by injuries since signing a nine-year, $30 million contract in 2012. But after hitting .415 with six home runs in just 65 Double-A at-bats, the Cubs were convinced the 22-year-old was ready for Iowa.
''He said, 'Now is my time.' And he just went out and made a statement,'' Epstein said. ''It wasn't just the numbers, but the quality of at-bats he was having. He was laying off the tough breaking pitches. He wasn't being overly aggressive. He was doing a much better job of getting the ball in the air and elevating the baseball. He's on a mission.''
Chicago's farm system is weighted more toward positional talent, and there are redundancies at multiple positions. That could push the Cubs to trade some of their elite prospects for arms to help the big league club when it is ready to contend in the NL Central.
But the idea of building a perennial contender from the ground up has many Cubs observers shifting their gaze southwest to Des Moines, with players like Bryant and Baez on the verge of joining former Chicago farmhands like Castro and Anthony Rizzo at Wrigley Field.
''True baseball fans like young players. They like following players around the whole journey, players who are homegrown and they get to know,'' Epstein said. ''If all goes according to plan, we will be able to provide them with that experience, maybe a whole group of players they can get to know for a decade.''
Golf: “I got a club for that…” Teeing Off: The new Big Three: Tiger, Phil and ... ?
By Jay Busbee
Jim Furyk hits his approach to the 18th green during the final round of the RBC Canadian Open at the Royal Montreal Golf Club on July 27, 2014 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Charles Laberge/Getty Images)
The new Big Three. You know Arnie, Jack and Gary. You know Tiger and Phil. Is there a third member of the latest Big Three, or are the contenders merely pretenders?
Bacon: Last weekend saw Jim Furyk, now 44, miss out on another shot at a PGA Tour title at the Canadian Open. Furyk, one of the stalwarts on the PGA Tour over the last two decades, hasn't won on tour since 2010, and while his slump continues, I simply ask, of this fading generation, where does Furyk rank in terms of the best players of that group? Tiger Woods is one, Phil Mickelson is two, and while Ernie Els has a great case as the third, is Furyk right behind those huge names?
Busbee: "Right behind" in a list, "five holes behind" on a golf course. This is not meant as a dismissal of Furyk in any way; he's a major winner and has an outside shot at a Hall of Fame berth. But he's a lot closer to the median golfer than outliers like Woods and Mickelson. Had he played in another era, Furyk probably would have beaten the world. He'd have been one of the two or three guys always challenging Nicklaus or Palmer, or absolutely dominant in the pre-Tiger '90s. But now? He's a distant shadow. That's not his fault, obviously, but that's the way it is when you're playing behind a pair of legends. How about your perspective?
Bacon: I think when we look back at Furyk's career, we will be wondering how in the world he didn't win more. The guy has finished in second place 28 times in his career include three this season! That's incredible! Do you think this is a situation where he actually does fall apart down the stretch, or just bad luck when he's in contention (like Tim Clark firing a back-nine 30 to get him by a shot on Sunday at the Canadian Open)?
Busbee: I would like to see a statistical study determining whether players do or don't really fall apart on the back nine on Sunday. It's been proven statistically that there's no such thing as a clutch hitter, and that home-field advantage is mainly a result of ref intimidation. I wonder, are we biased against Furyk because of his high-profile miscues? Or is it much easier to get to second place than to win? Would be fascinating to find out.
I was at the Tour Championship when he needed to get up and down from the sand on the 18th at East Lake to win $10 million, and he did so with ease. But then he's had so many opportunities exactly like you mention where he DIDN'T get the job done. Obviously he's right up there with the next tier of greats of this era. But who else besides Els belongs there? You gotta go Vijay, yes?
Bacon: It's easy to forget how much of a monster Vijay was in his prime. The guy won NINE times in 2004!
I think Vijay has to be No. 4, with Furyk a distant No. 5. Is that close? Would you put anyone else in the conversation?
Busbee: I think you're right. Anybody else we start bringing up based on record alone (Padraig Harrington, Angel Cabrera) has had such a spotty record outside of their highlights that it's tough to justify putting them on the list.
Unless, of course, we look forward. At what point do you think Rory McIlroy cracks this list? Or do we start a new one for him?
Bacon: I think he's in a new generation of golfers that includes (Rickie) Fowler, Dustin (Johnson), Zach Johnson and Bubba (Watson). While the ages might not match up, I feel like all those guys came around at the same time and have won together at a consistent rate.
That said, if Rory ever faces Tiger in a major and beats him (think Tom Watson at Turnberry taking down Jack Nicklaus) we might start seeing those two as generational competitors and we could watch their careers overlap in a sense.
Power Rankings: Everyone is chasing Jeff Gordon.
By Nick Bromberg
1. Jeff Gordon: Sunday's race winner is also the points leader. And that race win was his fifth at Indianapolis, making him the winningest driver at the track. If you're complaining about Gordon's position here, then you have some serious issues. Or you simply like to complain. Those could be tied together, so you may want to have that checked out. (Why yes, we're feeling feisty today.)
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Junior made up 14 positions throughout Sunday's race, which is the fourth-biggest jump of anyone. Usually, there are a fair amount of drivers who can move through the field during a race. But with Indy, it's almost impossible and why you saw the varying pit strategies throughout the race. We did chuckle when we saw the tweet from Junior's mother, however.
3. Brad Keselowski: Yes, we're going by chalk with the points standings so far, but here's the reasoning for Keselowski being in third. His run was thwarted by an ill-timed caution and he had to race his way back onto the lead lap. Thankfully he had a fast car, but it was a process made extremely difficult because of the importance of track position at Indianapolis. Keselowski ended up 12th, when he might have been top-five if it wasn't for the crazy pit stop cycles.
4. Jimmie Johnson: Example of how high Jimmie Johnson's standards are Volume 100: Johnson finished 14th and was a relative non-factor, but it felt like he finished 30th. He was off most of the day and really never climbed anywhere after starting 11th. There aren't many times that happens over the course of a season.
5. Matt Kenseth: Funny how the "Will Matt Kenseth win a race this year?" questions haven't nearly cranked up to the intensity that the questions about Johnson were at before he won a race. Maybe people have realized that Kenseth won't likely miss the Chase, especially with more fourth-place finishes? On that note, the only way a driver without a win misses the Chase is if the rest of the races before the Chase are won by first-time winners. And if that happens, one of them is going to be Kenseth, right?
6. Kevin Harvick: This was the first time that Harvick has finished lower than second after starting on the pole. The bright side is that Harvick didn't have any crazy pit miscues or bad luck to lose the race on Sunday. The bad news is that his team never got the car any better than it was on Saturday. Oh, and did we tell you it's hard to pass at Indianapolis?
7. Kyle Busch: That was a bit of a "where did he come from?" second place finish, wasn't it? Busch was pretty good throughout the race but wasn't great. He didn't lead any laps, but he stayed near the front of the field. And in fact, he was the only driver who started in the top 15 to makemore than a seven-position leap throughout the race.
8. Joey Logano: Logano's out-of-the-box pit strategy turned out to not be so crazy. He set off a strategy play by nearly every other team as teams started copying the strategy of working the race backwards to stop as few times as possible because of the impact of clean air at Indianapolis. And it paid off with a fifth-place finish thanks to Kasey Kahne's sputtering engine.
9. Denny Hamlin: The biggest what-if moment of the race comes from Hamlin. The last 30 laps may play out a lot differently if he doesn't have to pit early for fuel after his team didn't get the tank full on a pit stop. But there may be a second what-if moment as well if NASCAR penalizes Hamlin for issues with the rear firewall block-off plates that it found during inspection.
10. Ryan Newman: The defending race winner started fourth and finished 11th. Sadly – well, for our sake of hoping for a crazy statistical anomaly – Newman has finally recorded a top-five finish this year. After going through the first 16 races of the season without a top five and being in Chase contention, Newman has two in his las four races.
11. Carl Edwards: Are we going to look back at Edwards' 2014 and realize it was a bigger achievement than we thought given the level his Roush teammates are performing at? Neither Greg Biffle or Ricky Stenhouse Jr. look like they're going to win a race at any point this season and Edwards has two wins. Plus, he's nine spots ahead of Biffle in the standings and 19 ahead of Stenhouse.
12. Kyle Larson: Larson didn't seem too in awe of Indianapolis after finishing seventh. When he was asked about his first "Brickyard experience" he had a simple answer: "Yeah, I don't know. It was kind of just like any other race." Of course, Larson did go on to talk about the intensity of restarts, but that's pretty common at other tracks too.
Lucky Dog: Austin Dillon. After finishing 10th, Dillon still holds the last Chase spot ahead of Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart and others. How crazy would it be if Dillon makes the Chase over those two names?
The DNF: Danica Patrick's broken axle made for a pretty sweet burnout.
Man United edge Inter on penalties.
AFP; By Jim Slater
Manchester United remained unbeaten under new Dutch manager Louis Van Gaal on Tuesday, defeating Inter Milan 5-3 on penalty kicks after playing to a goal-less draw.
Inter's Marco Andreolli slammed a shot off the crossbar in the shootout to leave Manchester United ahead 4-3 and captain Darren Fletcher followed with the decider for the English Premier League side.
United began the pre-season American tour with a 7-0 romp over the host Lops Angeles Galaxy last Wednesday, then followed by edging AS Roma 3-2 at Denver three days ago.
United will continue the training campaign with a match Saturday against Real Madrid at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where a US record football crowd of more than 100,000 is expected.
A total of 61,238 at the home of American football's Washington Redskins watched the star European sides struggle to establish consistent pressure.
Chants for "Chicharito" were rewarded with striker Javier Hernandez's insertion by Van Gaal in the 78th minute.
Fredy Guarin, the Colombian midfielder for Inter who has been linked to a possible transfer deal for Hernandez, entered in the 84th minute.
Guarin blasted a free kick in the 85th minute that forced a leaping right-handed save by United second-half goalkeeper David De Gea.
Wilfried Zaha, the Ivory Coast winger given a second-half opportunity for United, missed on the near side in the 90th minute in the final solid chance before the penalties.
United defender Phil Jones produced the first scoring chance in the 10th minute but his header off a corner kick was rescued from just beside the right goalpost by Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.
A tightly marked Wayne Rooney spun left and fired a right-footed shot from just outside the penalty area in the 18th minute that sailed just over the crossbar.
Jones and Chris Smalling each blocked a shots at the top of the penalty area in the dying seconds of a scoreless first half.
United had a reunion of sorts with former captain Nemanja Vidic, now playing for Inter.
The 32-year-old Serbian defender spent eight seasons at Manchester United, serving as captain from 2010 until his contract ended last month and he joined the Italian club.
Vidic cleared a centering bid from Shinji Kagawa in the 63rd minute, shortly after the Japanese star was denied on a give-and-go move with teammate Nani.
Tom Cleverly had a chance in the 71st minute but a right-footed flick of a bouncing ball sailed over the crossbar and Nani's blast in the 75th went directly into the keeper's arms.
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Fitzgerald: Union push unified Northwestern.
By ANDREW SELIGMAN (AP Sports Writer)
No matter how this season unfolds, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald insisted there is no more unified team than his Wildcats.
For that, he credits the push for them to unionize.
Fitzgerald said he's ''proud of the maturity'' his players displayed the past few months.
As the Big Ten opened its annual two-day media event on Monday, some big story lines hung over the college landscape.
A four-team playoff system to determine a national champion is being implemented and the conference would love to be represented in it. Ohio State, for one, hopes to be in the picture after going 24-2 overall and 16-0 in regular-season conference play in its first two years under coach Urban Meyer. So does Michigan State after beating the Buckeyes in the conference championship game and winning the Rose Bowl.
A four-team playoff system to determine a national champion is being implemented and the conference would love to be represented in it. Ohio State, for one, hopes to be in the picture after going 24-2 overall and 16-0 in regular-season conference play in its first two years under coach Urban Meyer. So does Michigan State after beating the Buckeyes in the conference championship game and winning the Rose Bowl.
There's the push by the five power conferences - the Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12 - for autonomy to make their own NCAA rules. The NCAA's board of directors will vote Aug. 7, and commissioner Jim Delany expects it to pass.
There are two new members in the Big Ten, with Rutgers and Maryland joining the conference.
And, of course, there's the union movement. At the center of it is Northwestern, with former quarterback Kain Colter leading the push to form the first one for college athletes.
''As I look back and reflect upon the experiences that our young men went through and our entire football program went through, that's what jumps out to me is their maturity,'' Fitzgerald said. ''As we visited throughout the whole offseason, I believe there's no more unified football program in the country. We've been through more since probably January than most, and it's been nothing but a positive and nothing more than unifying in our locker room and throughout our entire football program. So I think we're a leg up from that standpoint.
''And as I look at where we go in the future, hopefully that will just be something that we can draw upon.''
Fitzgerald said he has talked to Colter ''a handful of times, especially at graduation'' in recent months.
Asked if they discussed the union movement, Fitzgerald laughed and said, ''No.''
A regional director of the National Labor Relations Board ruled in March that Northwestern's full scholarship players can bargain with the school as employees, sending shockwaves through the sports landscape.
It's not clear if the Wildcats support unionization. They voted in April on whether to form the first union for college athletes, but the result is not known because the NLRB impounded the ballots pending an appeal by the university and a possible court fight. The school urged the NLRB to overturn the ruling this month, holding up the football program as exemplifying the university's integration of athletics and academics.
Either way, this was seen by many as a step toward the end of the traditional ''student-athlete era.'' If unionization is inevitable at another school even if it fails at Northwestern, well, Delany isn't sure it is.
''Whether or not it's got legs in other places around the country - it's hard to predict or project,'' he said. ''I would say even at the outset for the most part, these matters of labor are really state-by-state especially for public institutions.''
Even so, it's at least being discussed elsewhere. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said there were some conversations with athletic director Gene Smith but none since the spring.
''We had a conversation with our team about it,'' Meyer said. ''Gene Smith thought it would be important because they might be getting contacted. I asked the guys here (Jeff Heuerman, Braxton Miller, Michael Bennett), 'Is there something going on; do I need to be aware of it?' And the relationship is so close, there was nothing to it. So we moved on.''
For Northwestern, it's an issue that lingers.
''This was a little more than Xs and Os,'' linebacker Collin Ellis said. ''This is life. This is, 'What do you value?' "
What could have been a divisive issue for the football team had the opposite effect, Fitzgerald said.
''As you look at (players' comments), it was nothing negative about anything about our program,'' he said. ''It was the maturity they showed to shed light on some things that maybe they had heard about what may be happening at other institutions.''
Players who would have assumed more vocal leadership roles in training camp stepped up sooner. One was quarterback Trevor Siemian.
He made his feelings clear in the spring, saying he did not support unionization.
''It helped people connect in different ways than they had,'' Siemian said. ''On a higher level, I think.
We were talking about some things that have a significant impact on the landscape of college football. I'm 22, and talking to 17 and 18-year-old freshmen about things that probably weren't brought up in a (high school) locker room. We're connecting all over the place. In that sense, doing it, you get to know people more, get to know what makes them tick.''
NCAA settles head-injury suit, will change rules.
By MICHAEL TARM (Associated Press)
The NCAA agreed on Tuesday to help athletes with head injuries in a proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit that college sports' governing body touted as a major step forward but that critics say doesn't go nearly far enough.
The deal, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, calls for the NCAA to toughen return-to-play rules for players who receive head blows and create a $70 million fund to pay for thousands of current and former athletes to undergo testing to determine whether they suffered brain trauma while playing football and other contact sports.
A lead attorney for the plaintiffs who spearheaded nearly a year of talks culminating in the agreement said the provisions would ultimately improve players' safety and leave open the possibility of damage payments later.
''I wouldn't say these changes solve the safety problems, but they do reduce the risks,'' Chicago attorney Joseph Siprut said. ''It's changed college sports forever.''
Others strongly disagreed.
Unlike a proposed settlement in a similar lawsuit against the NFL, this deal does not set aside any money to pay players who suffered brain trauma. Instead, athletes can sue individually for damages; the NCAA-funded tests that would gauge the extent of neurological injuries could establish grounds for doing just that.
One plaintiffs' attorney not involved in the negotiations called it a ''terrible deal'' that lets the NCAA off the hook far too easily. Jay Edelson called the agreement ''window dressing,'' saying the NCAA will be able to settle one-off suits for several thousand each. He estimated that a single, class-action damages settlement could have been worth $2 billion to players.
''Instead,'' he said, ''it's worthless.''
The settlement is primarily directed at men and women who participated in basketball, football, ice hockey, soccer, wrestling, field hockey and lacrosse.
There is no cutoff date for when athletes must have played a designated sport at one of the more than 1,000 NCAA member schools to qualify for the medical exams. That means all athletes currently playing and those who participated decades ago could undergo the tests and potentially follow up with damage claims.
Tuesday's filing serves as notice to the judge overseeing the case that the parties struck a deal. At a status hearing later in the day, U.S. District Judge John Lee said he wanted more time to consider whether to give the deal preliminary approval. If he does, affected athletes will have a chance to weigh in before Lee decides about granting a final OK.
The NCAA, which admits no wrongdoing in the settlement and has denied understating the dangers of concussions, hailed the deal.
''This agreement's proactive measures will ensure student-athletes have access to high quality medical care by physicians with experience in the diagnosis, treatment and management of concussions,'' NCAA's chief medical officer Brian Hainline said.
Siprut added that stricter rules and oversight should help ensure the viability of football by allaying fears of parents now inclined to not let their kids play.
''Absent these kinds of changes, the sport will die,'' he said.
To keep the NCAA from having to hold unwieldy talks with multiple plaintiffs, 10 lawsuits filed nationwide were consolidated into the one case in Chicago, where the first lawsuit was filed in 2011.
The lead plaintiff is Adrian Arrington, a former safety at Eastern Illinois. He said he endured five concussions while playing, some so severe he has said he couldn't recognize his parents afterward.
Another named plaintiff is former Central Arkansas wide receiver Derek K. Owens. His symptoms became so severe he dropped out of school in 2011, telling his mother: ''I feel like a 22-year-old with Alzheimer's.''
Among other settlement terms, all athletes will take baseline neurological tests to start each year to help doctors determine the severity of any concussion during the season; concussion education will be mandated for coaches and athletes; and a new, independent Medical Science Committee will oversee the medical testing.
Robert Cantu, a Boston-based clinical professor of neurosurgery and a longtime critic of the NCAA, said the deal is a huge shift by the organization.
''It'll make collision sports much safer,'' said Cantu, who was one of the plaintiffs' experts.
But former UCLA linebacker Ramogi Huma said it's all for show.
''It takes some of the things many of us have been advocating for and pretends to address it,'' Huma, president of the College Athletes Players Association, said.
Plaintiffs' filings say the number of athletes who may require testing to learn if they suffered long-term damage runs into the tens of thousands. They cite NCAA figures that from 2004 to 2009 alone, 29,225 athletes suffered concussions.
Internal emails unsealed in the lawsuit illustrate how pressure mounted on the NCAA over the issue.
In a Feb. 23, 2010, email, the NCAA's director of government relations, Abe Frank, wondered whether debates about new safeguards for young children playing contact sports would crank up the pressure on the NCAA to do more.
David Klossner, NCAA's then-director of health and safety, responded bluntly a few hours later: ''Well since we don't currently require anything all steps are higher than ours.''
Later that year, the NCAA established a head-injury policy that states that athletes should be kept from play for at least a day after a concussion. It also requires each school to have a concussion management plan on hand.
But plaintiffs blamed a tendency of some teams to hurry concussed players back into games, in part, on the NCAA's lax enforcement of the policy.
In a 2012 deposition, asked if any schools had been disciplined for having subpar concussion plans, Klossner said, ''Not to my knowledge.''
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Wednesday, July 30, 2014.
MemoriesofHistory.com
1930 - Uruguay won soccer's first World Cup. They beat Argentina 4-2.
1966 - England's soccer team won the World Cup.
1968 - Ron Hansen of the Washington Senators made the first unassisted triple play in the major leagues in 41 years.
1971 - U.S. President Nixon gave the keynote speech at a banquet honoring seven new inductees into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
2001 - Former Dallas Cowboy receiver Michael Irvin entered an innocent plea for a felony charge of possession of less than a gram of cocaine. The charges stemmed from Irvin's arrest August 9, 2000.
2001 - Lance Armstrong became the first American to win three consecutive Tours de France.
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