CS&T/AllsportsAmerica Friday Sports News Update and What's Your take? 10/24/2014.

Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica

"America's Finest Sports Fan Travel Club, May We Plan An Event Or Sports Travel For You?" 

Sports Quote of the Day:

"The man who tried his best and failed is superior to the man who never tried." ~ Bud Wilkinson, Football Player, Coach, Broadcaster and Politician.

Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Bears must trust Jay Cutler less, Matt Forte a lot more.

By Vinnie Iyer

Matt Forte (Getty Images)

Jay Cutler the gunslinger, isn't working in Chicago. It never really has. 

Jay Cutler the caretaker? That's something the Bears have to adopt now to save their season.

They've done everything they can to cater to the mercurial quarterback, with the hiring of Marc Trestman standing out as Exhibit A. But Trestman can't afford to keep trusting Cutler to be an efficient passer and consistent leader, and still expect to win enough games to make the NFC playoffs.

The Bears have thrown the ball 63 percent of the time this season. Cutler has averaged 40 dropbacks through seven games. Meanwhile, Matt Forte and the running game has averaged just 20 attempts per game.

They're feeding Forte plenty in that passing game, as his 436 yards on 53 receptions almost matches his 448 yards on 111 rushing attempts. 

The ball needs to be in Cutler's hands less and into Forte's belly a lot more. 

The Bears' revamped offensive line, the same that run-blocked Forte to 4.6 yards per carry last year, has had some injury issues, but those have gone away and they had their starters all back together in Week 7.

But against the Dolphins at home in the first half, they still ran the ball only twice with Forte in contrast to 15 dropbacks for Cutler. The result was a 14-0 Miami lead in an eventual 27-14 Miami win.

Then came the Bears' opening drive of the second half: five Forte runs to help set up a short TD pass to Forte.

We get Trestman is a passing guru, and Culter has maybe the two most talented wide receivers in the league, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. But their pass-happy game of pitch and catch has grown tiresome. Cutler can't handle the volume, because the increased opportunities for mistakes are outweighing the chances for big (or just positive) plays.

We also don't like the whole notion of throwing to Forte as "an extension of the running game." It's not. This is Chicago, where Sweetness used to show his toughness pounding between the tackles.

Get those big uglies to push and get more black and blue up front. So this team needs more attitude, physical play and consistency? Nasty run blocking does just that.

Heck, Bill Belichick — venerable coach of their Week 8 opponent, the Patriots — just gave them another reminder of how good things come from feeding Forte.

"They’ve got a great runner and one of the best backs in the league, maybe the best back in the league,” Belichick told reporters Wednesday. “He’s tough, great vision, great balance. He definitely has the ability to turn nothing into something in a hurry, and he can turn something into a lot in a hurry, too. Hard guy to tackle, does a good job of creating space for himself and finding openings, getting to places where there are fewer defenders and then taking advantage of it.”

There will be a temptation for Trestman to let Cutler rear back and fire a ton more times in Sunday's game at New England. The thinking might be, Tom Brady is the other quarterback and "we've got to let Cutler loose again" in a potential shootout.

Wrong. Just look at the what the Jets did in Week 7. Their quarterback was struggling, and the entire offense was dysfunctional. They went to ground-and-pound against the Patriots to have a chance, rushing for 218 yards on 43 carries. They only fell, 27-25, because they couldn't finish in the red zone.

The Bears can. That's the biggest positive for Cutler and the offense so far. They are No. 6 in that category, thanks to having Forte and big targets such as Marshall, Jeffery and tight end Martellus Bennett.

The unwise approach is calling upon a struggling Cutler to force the ball into Marshall and Jeffery with Darrelle Revis ready to clean up at cornerback.

The Patriots are No. 1 against the pass, but No. 24 against the run. They don't have linebacker Jerod Mayo anymore, and end Chandler Jones was added to the shelf for the shorter term. It's set up for the Bears to win by running Forte often.

At 3-4, this is just one of many games the Bears need to win soon to be a factor in the NFC race again. After the Patriots, they get the run defenses of Green Bay (No. 31), Minnesota (No. 19) and (No. 25). It's a critical stretch that gets a lot tougher at Thanksgiving and beyond.

Running the ball with Forte as a more balanced team not only takes pressure off Cutler that he obviously can't handle, but also helps out a defense that's dealt with a lot of back seven injuries.

That's how the Bears must try to win games, because a lot of Cutler just isn't cutting it.

British Government pushing harder for NFL team in London. What's Your Take?

Associated Press

Derek Carr (Getty Images)

The British government wants an NFL team based in London.

George Osborne, the British treasury chief, told the Evening Standard newspaper on Wednesday that the government will do whatever it can "to make this happen."

The NFL has been playing regular-season games at Wembley Stadium every year since 2007, and this season there are three games on the schedule. But they haven't yet announced any plans to put a team permanently in the British capital.

"We warmly welcome the chancellor's strong support for the possibility of an NFL team in London and look forward to welcoming him to a game at Wembley over the next few weeks," the NFL said in a statement. "Our key priority is to continue to build our fan base in the U.K. so that there is strong demand for any future plans in London."

Detroit and Atlanta will play Sunday at Wembley, the home of England's national soccer team. Last month, the Miami Dolphins beats the Oakland Raiders 38-14, and next month, the Dallas Cowboys will face the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While there has been much talk over the last few years, feasibility of a franchise in London is uncertain. So is how many players would want to join a team so far away from the rest of the league.

"This is primarily a decision for the owners of the clubs and the NFL organization, but I've said to the NFL that anything the government can do to make this happen we will do, because I think it would be a huge boost to London," Osborne said.

The Jaguars also played at Wembley last year, losing to the San Francisco 49ers, and are slated to keep coming to London over the next two seasons. They are owned by Shahid Khan, who also owns English soccer club Fulham.

Because of Khan's plan to keep his franchise in the British sports fan's consciousness, the Jaguars have often been rumored as the most likely team to relocate to Britain.

Osborne, however, would not speculate on which team might pick up and move abroad.

"There are 32 teams in America — and one of them could be a London team. That's a serious prospect," Osborne said. "It's not going to happen overnight but over the next few years. I just think it will cement London as a global sporting capital as well as a global financial and business and cultural capital."

Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: There was a television show in the 50's called the "$64,000 Dollar Question?" In today's economic climate, it would be called the $ Million Dollar + Question? And the questions are, Do you think the NFL should expand to London? Is the world ready for American football? Will it be able to eventually compete with soccer? We'd love to know what you think, what's your take?  

Just go to the comment section at the bottom of this blog and express your opinion.

How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Neal's hat trick hands Blackhawks first regulation loss.

By Tracey Myers

Jonathan Toews #19 of the Chicago Blackhawks battles for the puck against Paul Gaustad #28 of the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on October 23, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)

The final 20 minutes the Chicago Blackhawks were playing more like themselves. They were pushing the pace, firing shots and getting traffic around Pekka Rinne.

In a way, it almost made up for the first 40 minutes. Almost.

Andrew Shaw scored a late goal to bring the Blackhawks within one, but it wasn’t enough against James Neal’s hat trick as the Nashville Predators won 3-2 on Thursday night. It was the Blackhawks’ first regulation loss of the season, and the first time they allowed a third-period goal this season.

Ben Smith also scored for the Blackhawks, who got the push and response they were looking for in the third period when they switched up lines. But Pekka Rinne stopped several key chances late; he stopped 30 of 32 for the victory.

“I liked our last 20 (minutes), our best by a mile,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “I didn’t like the goals we gave up. They were preventable. Certainly they came at us hard and they’re going to get their turn in this building. But you get down by two you put yourself in a bad spot.”

Indeed, the Blackhawks were in a very bad spot barely two minutes into the third period, when Neal’s rebound shot gave the Predators a 3-1 advantage. It was the Blackhawks’ wake-up call, and their revamped lines – including Kris Versteeg and Patrick Kane with Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa with Andrew Shaw – responded. They just didn’t respond quite enough.

 "There were times we were playing really well. We were generating a lot, working for chances down low,” Jonathan Toews said. “Our first goal showed the type of goal we want to score, especially against a team like that. But we didn’t do it often or consistent enough. We got behind and that’s a team that likes to hang in there; it’s not easy to come from behind against a team like that. We couldn’t find a way. One power play and it wouldn’t go in for us. It was kind of the same story late in the third.”

The Predators came out charged and firing in the first period, with Antti Raanta holding them at bay. Despite being outplayed early, the Blackhawks took the lead. Off Marcus Kruger’s attempted wraparound, Smith was there on the second-chance effort for a 1-0 lead. But with just 48 seconds remaining in the first period Neal came with his first, a snap shot that beat Raanta stick side and tied the game 1-1.

“Hit the stick. (It was) a little bad luck and a little bit not-so-good reaction; bad goal,” said Raanta, who stopped 24 of 27 in the loss. “But he made three goals, so he played a great game.”

The Blackhawks had just one power play, and they did everything but score on it. They were in the Predators’ zone for nearly the entire two minutes. They had four shots. About a minute later the Predators, perhaps feeling momentum from that kill, struck again. It was Neal again, this time with a blast that hit below the crossbar and landed behind Raanta. 

Despite two ho-hum periods the Blackhawks were right there at the end, nearly finding the equalizer. Their final 20 minutes were a reminder of what they can do when they’re playing well. It was just too little, too late.

“As much as you want to, we didn’t get the two points,” Toews said. “We can feel good and know that in situations like that we can really press, put pressure on teams. But we need better than that regardless of the situation. Obviously it wasn’t good enough.”

What motivates Patrick Kane? (Puck Daddy Interview).

By Josh Cooper

Oct 21, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) shoots the puck against the Philadelphia Flyers during the third period at United Center. The Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0. (Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports)

Sometimes it’s hard to believe Chicago’s Patrick Kane is just 25 years old just by his list of his on-ice accomplishments.

He’s scored a Stanley Cup winning goal – in overtime no less. He has won a Conn Smythe Trophy. Oh yeah, and he’s a millionaire – his next contract signed this summer and kicking in next year will pay him $84 million over eight seasons, starting in 2015-16.

Still there is a sense of youth with Kane. He sometimes seems cursed to always at very least look his age, or younger – who could forget his Abe Lincoln beard from the 2013 playoffs.

And there is that stigma of immaturity that always haunts him.

Anyway, we had a chance to sit down with Kane before Chicago’s Thursday’s game against Nashville – oddly the last two teams in the Western Conference yet to lose in regulation.

Q: Now that (former Flyers) defenseman Chris Pronger is working for the NHL, do you think you will get your Stanley Cup puck back? (Kane’s winner in Game 6 of the 2010 Cup Final against Philly has never been found. It has been surmised that Pronger is the one who stole it).

Kane: (Laughs) I don’t know if he was the one who took it. I know he was the one who was taking the pucks in all the games in the finals. He would probably be the first culprit, but I actually think it was one of our guys from the team who took it back in 2010. I’ll try to hunt that one down.

Do you still think about the fact that you don’t have the puck? I mean, this is basically an achievement every little kid dreams of playing in their driveway.

Yeah, I mean it’s different. If we had the puck in the first place it would probably go to the Blackhawks because it had been 49 years since we had won a championship. But it’s something at some point in time you hope shows up just for the sake of seeing it. Who knows if that will be the puck or where it has been? What are you going to do about it now? It is kind of in the past and I think we still have the moment to live on and the uniqueness of scoring that goal … whether the puck was in or not is a pretty amazing story.

At a young age, you’ve accomplished pretty much everything a hockey player can. You scored a Stanley Cup winning goal. You’ve won a Conn Smythe Trophy. What still motivates you?

It’s easy to be motivated around here because there are so many guys in our locker room who have that ‘never say die’ attitude. I think it wears off on us. I think the big thing is you really have one chance to do this … to play hockey for a living, you have one chance at your career and you have to take full advantage of it. I still love playing the game and it’s amazing we can do this as a so-called ‘job’ and it’s amazing we can come to the rink every day and play the game we love. We don’t take it for granted. We keep improving every year and take advantage of it.

You signed a long-term contract extension this summer. How do you not stay complacent in spite of having such financial and job security?

It’s nice and amazing to be a part of this organization for another nine years, including this one. I think both of us wanted to be in this situation where we’re here for a long time, and we both wanted to have that. I think with signing that deal and being here for eight years and the amount it was at … I think you have to prove yourself every day and every game to kind of live up to that. It’s just there and it’s something you know is there. I guess it’s obviously very nice and honoring we get to be a part of this organization for a long time. But you have to prove to everyone that you made the right decision by keeping you around.

Around the United Center, there are statues of Blackhawks legends. Ever think of what a Patrick Kane statue would look like?

We do the bobblehead with my mouthguard hanging out of it or some kind of celebration going on. Maybe it will be something with that.  

How 'bout them Chicago Bulls Session… Report Joakim Noah's knee will be an issue all season.

By Dan Feldman

The Bulls depended on Joakim Noah last season, carrying them while Derrick Rose missed most of the year and after Luol Deng got traded.

Noah did so much to lift the Bulls to 48 wins, he finished fourth in MVP voting.

But that heavy workload took its toll. Noah played through knee pain the second half of the season, and he underwent “minor” surgery in the offseason that didn’t sound so minor.

Where does Noah stand now?

 Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times:

“Jo’s [left] knee is going to be an issue all season,’’ the source said. “He has played through pain before with the plantar [fasciitis], but this is completely different, a different level.’’

According to the source, Noah entered camp “panicked’’ that he wouldn’t even be able to start the season in the lineup, let alone participate in camp like he has.

I’m not sure we should trust this source.

As the quoted paragraph shows, this source has already overreacted to the extent of the injury once. Noah has played in six of Chicago’s seven preseason games, including a combined 48 minutes in a back-to-back Sunday and Monday. Perhaps, the source is overreacting again.

And the source – described as “a member of the Noah camp” – has incentive to exaggerate the extent of the injury, which the Bulls have downplayed. The more serious of an injury Noah is playing through, the more heroic he seems. Maybe Cowley has developed such a strong relationship with this source that the information is reliable, but the report is hardly infallible.

However, when I asked a doctor about Noah’s “minor” surgery, Benjamin Wedro of MD Direct explained:

The injury can be acute or chronic. In the chronic injury, there is degeneration and wafting away of the cartilage tissue. It is a bigger deal when parts of the remaining cartilage is removed. 

It may be relatively minor, but there is no such thing as minor surgery. The risk of developing arthritis later in life increases.

The Bulls – who kept Taj Gibson and added Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic – have plenty of depth at power forward and center. They can ease the burden on Noah – or, if Tom Thibodeau gets his way, play him 48 minutes per game. (I kid, I kid.)

I wouldn’t freak out about Noah’s health right now, but it’s worth monitoring. Consider this report a reason to keep your eyes pealed for further warning signs.

Royals back in business after business-as-usual Game 2 victory.

By Ryan Fagan

Lorenzo Cain (Getty Images)

The sixth inning of Game 2 of the World Series had a pretty familiar feel for the Royals and their fans at Kauffman Stadium.

As they have done with great regularity this month, the Royals cobbled together a game-changing string of hits and runs to pull ahead in a very important contest. This particular grouping of Kansas City goodness resulted in five runs, more than enough for the Royals’ dominant bullpen trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland to lock down a 7-2 victory against the Giants that sends the World Series to San Francisco tied at one win each.

It was quite an emphatic way to respond to the relatively ridiculous questions that were being asked after — gasp! — the Royals lost the opener of the World Series. 

“I mean, I guess with the run we were on no one was expecting us to lose, but that happens,” Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain told Sporting News after Wednesday’s victory. “I guess you can’t win them all. We lost yesterday, but we all came into the clubhouse after the game and we all said to each other, ‘Keep your heads up and we’ll bounce back.’ And we did that in a huge way tonight.”

Turns out, the sky wasn’t falling after the Royals had their eight-game postseason winning streak snapped. Go figure.

And even when the sky starts falling, that doesn’t mean it’ll completely collapse. This group of Kansas City newbies — 21 of the 25 guys on the World Series roster had never played in a postseason game before — learned that lesson in the wild-card game.

Ask anyone in the Kansas City clubhouse, and they’ll tell you the same thing. Call it confidence or maturation or whatever you want. The Royals believe that coming back from a four-run deficit in the eighth inning of the wild-card game against the A’s matters, so it does matter. Their perception is their reality.

“I feel like everybody goes through a growing point, or a point at which they feel confident in their abilities once they’ve gotten here,” left-hander Jason Vargas told SN during Monday’s media day.

“And I think a lot of guys who were probably a little bit unsure of their place have really matured and seen that their abilities are more than enough to put the team on their back and help us to get where we want to go.”

So even though the Royals lost the World Series opener, they didn’t lose the talent that helped bring them to the World Series. They didn’t lose their belief, either.

Which is why, when they had an opportunity to even the series in that sixth inning, they capitalized. Maybe more important, guys who had struggled succeeded in a huge situation.

Billy Butler, who was batting .233 in the postseason heading into Wednesday’s game, came through with an RBI single that plated Cain to put Kansas City ahead 3-2. Two batters later Salvador Perez, who was at .135, delivered a two-run double. And then Omar Infante, who was at .188, smoked a two-run homer over the wall in left field. 

“We showed them we have fight in us, and I think they knew that,” Butler said. “But we stepped up big there as a team.”

And everything about that Butler quote has a familiar feel to it.

At 1-all, World Series moves to quirky Giants park.

By Ben Walker

Eric Hosmer loaded up, launched a long fly and watched it sail toward McCovey Cove. Way out there in right field, near the 421-foot mark, the ball bonked off the brick wall.

No splash shot.

"We were definitely trying to hit 'em," the Kansas City first baseman said. "We took turns trying, but no one did."

Even so, Hosmer liked what he saw during a workout Thursday as many Royals got their first look at San Francisco's waterfront ballpark.
 

Starting in Game 3 of the World Series on Friday against the Giants, they might also discover what makes AT&T Park so unique.
 

"It's a little quirky out there," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said.
 

Just wait until someone trips over a bullpen mound chasing a foul ball. Or somebody loses a fly in the mist that wafts above shallow center. Or those swirling winds turn a routine popup into an all-out scramble.

Who knows? Might even get a crazy carom off that odd-shaped brick facade on the right-field wall, resulting in the first Series inside-the-park home run since 1929.

"With that brick wall and that chain-link fence, the ball go could go anywhere," Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain said.

Tim Hudson starts for San Francisco against Jeremy Guthrie as the Royals play their first game in San Francisco since 2005, when they took two of three. Buddy Bell was their manager back then, Tony Graffanino batted third and Jeremy Affeldt was in the bullpen.

The 35-year-old Affeldt now pitches for the Giants and came on in relief Wednesday night in a 7-2 loss. He said he figured the Royals could handle the new park.

"That's an athletic team over there. So I think they can make adjustments. I don't think we'll go in thinking that they're at a disadvantage because of not being at our ballpark," he said.

Seven players on the Royals' 25-man roster have played at AT&T Park with other teams. Of the most frequent visitors, Josh Willingham has hit .352 with five homers in 16 games and Omar Infante has batted .307 in 19 games, STATS said.

Among the pitchers, Guthrie did fine in two starts and Jason Frasor made two relief appearances.

Cain played one game at the stadium in 2010 when he was with Milwaukee. The AL Championship Series MVP practiced with coach Rusty Kuntz to gauge the bounces.

"You have no idea of where it's going," Cain said.

Good luck, Giants designated hitter Michael Morse said.

"It's a big park; right field is tricky. The wind does a lot of different things in the outfield, so our guys are used to it," he said. "It's tough. It's tough out there. But everybody's a professional. I don't think it will be a factor."

One thing will change, for sure. With no designated hitter in the NL park, Morse and Kansas City's Billy Butler will lose their spots — Morse drove in a run during a 7-1 win in the opener, while Butler already has three hits and a pair of RBIs.

With tight foul ground, gusts that whip off the bay, twilight starts and pesky seagulls that hover around in the late innings, a lot of balls become adventures in San Francisco. In 2007, Ichiro Suzuki hit the first inside-the-park home run in an All-Star game when his shot off the right-field wall took a weird ricochet.

There have been nine inside-the-parkers in World Series play. Lou Gehrig and Casey Stengel are on the list, and Mule Haas of the Philadelphia Athletics hit the last one.

Plus, postseason is frequently a weather adventure in the Bay Area. Players need to pack for all sorts of conditions — short sleeves, hoodies, hats and gloves.

During the NLCS, Bochy said the teams played in the toughest winds of the season. Right fielder Hunter Pence had no chance trying to track a fly ball by St. Louis' Kolten Wong that landed for a triple.

"You play this game, you play in a lot of different ballparks and you find a way to adjust," Pence said this week. "I think everyone's going to enjoy it."

Why no one cares about the World Series anymore?!?!?!?!? Do you as a diehard baseball fan believe this?

By Michael Santoli

This year’s World Series has great characters and storylines. So why are so few Americans captivated by the drama?

The dynamic, too-young-to-worry Royals that brought Kansas City its first pennant since 1985 and the colorful, resourceful San Francisco Giants back to their third Series in five years have split the first two games.

Yet the ratings for Fox’s game one broadcast were the lowest for a Series opener since the Fall Classic was first televised in 1947, continuing a steady, decade-long slide in the television audience for postseason baseball.

Have Americans, in their 21^st century over-stimulated haste, at last lost their patience for the leisurely pace of the game?

“It has now become widely acknowledged,” says Yahoo Finance contributor Henry Blodget in the attached video, “that even Major League Baseball is starting to recognize just the pace of the game takes forever.” While he notes that some game-hastening rules are being tested in the minor leagues, in the majors long breaks, tedious pitcher rituals and TV cutaways cause games to drag.

This year the typical game in the majors this season exceeded three hours, the longest average duration ever. Three decades ago, games were almost a half-hour shorter. MLB, an otherwise thriving industry in terms of attendance and revenues, understands this problem and its newly elected Commissioner Rob Manfred has assigned a committee to figure out ways to quicken the pace of play.

Blodget notes that pro football continues to dominate in TV mindshare, with its built-for-TV physical drama and mayhem, augmented by runaway interest in fantasy football and gambling. Tellingly, the NFL’s Thursday night regular season game last week drew 25% more eyeballs than did World Series game one.

But surely the syrupy, contemplative cadence of ballgames isn’t the only explanation for softer TV ratings. Games are not appreciably longer now than they were a year ago, when the first Series game between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals drew 15% larger TV audience than this year’s opener.

The match-up of two smaller-market teams without many nationally recognized stars is likely also sapping viewer interest. For as enjoyable as the Royals’ unlikely sprint into the Series has been, Kansas City is the 31^st-largest TV market in the country and the team lacks either a national following or brand name superstars.

Sure, the San Francisco Bay area is a top-ten TV market. But it sprawls, is split between the Giants and Oakland A’s and the team’s brand hasn’t travelled as well nationally, the way the Red Sox, Cardinals, Dodgers and Yankees have. Baseball has always been a more local game, the season-long team narrative playing out city-by-city rather than followed by a single national audience.

This year there wasn’t enough buildup of interest in either of these teams to generate much collective suspense over the culmination of the long season in October.

The bigger story here might be the secular decline of live, primetime television viewing (for nearly everything but football).

It’s worth noting that, even with the relatively weak ratings Tuesday night, Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.’s (FOX) Fox led all networks in viewership among the heavily targeted 18-to-49 year old demographic.

This secular challenge of trying to gain notice in a crowded field of on-demand viewing, copious entertainment options and a fragmented audience pool is one Major League baseball needs to get serious about addressing. It’ll take more than a blue-ribbon commission about forcing pitchers to deliver the next pitch a few seconds faster.

We'd love to know what your thoughts are, Just go to the comment section at the bottom of this blog and express your opinion.

Take our poll: Should Pete Rose be in the Hall of Fame?

CBS News    

                                                                                      

                                                                                             
No matter what you think of Pete Rose, you can't deny what an electric moment it was on September 11th, 1985, when Rose became baseball's all-time major league hit leader -- a record that still stands today.

And yet, the debate over whether his cardinal sin -- gambling on baseball -- should keep him out of the Hall of Fame for life remains as fierce as ever, as correspondent Lee Cowan explains in a profile of Rose, to be aired on CBS' "Sunday Morning" October 19.

Rose had not only bet on baseball, but he bet on his own team, while he was managing (never to lose, he says, always to win).

Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti first exiled Rose as punishment for gambling. His successors, Fay Vincent and Bud Selig, later upheld Rose's banishment.

"He was such a great ballplayer, and he cared about the game, but he cared about the money even more," Vincent told CBS News' Cowan.

Gambling had been the third rail of baseball ever since the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series in 1919. "There's something about redemption that is important to Americans," said Vincent. "We believe in it. We believe in confession and redemption.

"Baseball does not."

When asked by Cowan if he feels he will ever get into the Hall of Fame, Rose said yes.

"I don't know if I'm going to live to see it," Rose said. "Someone, at some period of time, will feel it in their heart to give me a second chance. I might be six feet under, but that's what you have to live with."

Take our poll!

Do you feel Pete Rose should be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, or not?

Should the former star ballplayer be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame despite being banned for life for betting on games?

Yes - What Rose did after his playing career ended shouldn't take away from his achievements on the field.

No - Do the crime, do the time. "Banned for life" means just that.

To Vote: Just go to the comment section at the bottom of this blog and type, PR-Yes, if you think he should be in the BBHOF or PR-No, if you think he should not get into the BBHOF. We will post the voting results at our first printing after the World Series. Thanks in advance for your participation.

The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica editorial staff.

Golf: I got a club for that PGA president refers to Poulter as 'lil girl'.

By DOUG FERGUSON (AP Golf Writer)

The PGA of America president referred to Ian Poulter as a little girl on two social media accounts Thursday evening for his criticism of the jobs Nick Faldo and Tom Watson did as Ryder Cup captains.

Faldo, with six majors regarded as Britain's greatest player, was captain of the last European team that lost the Ryder Cup in 2008. Watson, who has five British Open titles among his eight majors, was captain of the U.S. team that lost at Gleneagles last month.

Poulter, a European stalwart with a 12-4-2 record in the Ryder Cup, criticized both in his book, ''No Limits,'' which was released this week.

PGA President Ted Bishop was with Faldo on Thursday at The Greenbrier for the ''Faldo Series'' junior program when he tweeted to Poulter, ''Faldo's record stands by itself. Six majors and all-time RC points. Yours vs. His? Lil Girl.''

In a separate posting on his Facebook page, Bishop lamented that athletes who had ''lesser records or accomplishments in a sport never criticized the icons.'' He mentioned Watson's eight majors and 10-3-1 record in the Ryder Cup, and Faldo's six majors and record with most Ryder Cup points in history getting ''bashed'' by Poulter.

''Really? Sounds like a little school girl squealing during recess. C'MON MAN!''

Bishop did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press asking about the tone of his tweet.
 

Poulter was traveling to China. Before leaving, he tweeted, ''I guess we can only have opinions if you won a major or 6.''

Watson benched Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley for both sessions on Saturday at the Ryder Cup as the Americans fell behind. He also played Webb Simpson, one of his captain's picks, only once. Europe won 16 1/2-11 1/2, its eighth win in the last 10 Ryder Cups.
 

Mickelson indirectly criticized Watson in the closing press conference by saying the Americans had strayed from a winning formula and there was no room for player input under Watson's captaincy. Watson later wrote an ''open letter'' accepting responsibility for his style.
 

Poulter in his book said that Watson's decision-making ''completely baffles me.'' He was referring to benching Mickelson and Keegan Bradley on Saturday.
 

Faldo stirred up the European team on Friday when he said during his Golf Channel commentary that Sergio Garcia was ''useless'' in 2008 during the European loss at Valhalla and that he had a ''bad attitude.'' Faldo later explained in an interview with the AP that Garcia has emotional and physical problems and at one point told Faldo he didn't want to play.
 

''Faldo has lost a lot of respect from players because of what he said,'' Poulter said in his book. He noted that it was Europe's only loss in the last 15 years and Faldo was the captain. ''So who's useless? I think Faldo might need to have a little look in the mirror.''

 
Poulter was a captain's pick that year.

Bishop's two-year term as president expires next month at the PGA annual meeting. Bishop chose Watson as the Ryder Cup captain - at 65, the oldest in Ryder Cup history. He recently announced a task force to help solve America's recent losing streak in the Ryder Cup.

Heart transplant survivor Compton among early leaders at Sea Island.

CBSSports.com wire reports

Erik Compton is happy with where he is in golf, and he's not referring to his 5-under 65 on Thursday for a share of the lead in the McGladrey Classic. 
 
A return to Sea Island provides an occasion to take stock of how far he has come in the past 13 years, and what Compton refers to as the "hurdles" he didn't anticipate.

There's a medical term for these hurdles. It's called a second heart transplant.
  
"I'm almost 35 years old. I've had a good career in golf, really," he said. "Even though I've had some time off, I've been able to support myself and have a good life."
  
Compton remarkably earned a PGA Tour card only four years after he drove himself to the hospital while suffering a heart attack, dodging death until he received a second transplant. He now is in his fourth consecutive season on golf's toughest circuit, and he has shown steady improvement.
  
The next step is to win, and Compton has been around long enough not to get overly excited about a good start.
  
He opened with a pair of birdies in the morning chill on the Seaside Course at Sea Island, dropped only one shot and joined Sea Island resident Brian Harman, Michael Thompson and Will MacKenzie in the lead.
  
Chesson Hadley was among six players one shot behind. More than half of the field was at par or better on a gentle day for scoring.
  
"I expect I should win this year. That's a goal of mine," Compton said. "It's always been a goal, but I think every time I get on the course it becomes more of a realistic expectation."

Compton first played Sea Island when he competed in the SEC Championship while at Georgia in 2001. A few months later, Compton played in the Walker Cup at nearby Ocean Forest.
 
The first hurdle when he turned pro was realizing that "everybody out here is really, really, really, really good." The more serious hurdle was his heart.
  
Compton had his first transplant when he 12 because of cardiomyopathy, an enlarging of the heart that hinders its ability to pump blood. He had his second in 2008 and ended that year by making the cut in the final PGA Tour event.
  
His story never gets old, and Compton is happy to tell it, especially if that means bringing attention to the "Donate Life America" campaign. He prefers to look ahead, at the next shot, the next tournament, trying to get the most he can out of his game, just like the guys he is trying to beat.
  
Compton has reached the FedEx Cup playoff the last two seasons and advanced to the third round at the BMW Championship last month. In the short offseason, he spent more time in the gym trying to get stronger at the recommendation of former Miami Heat guard Ray Allen.
  
"I went to the gym with him a couple of times and played him for some money games in Miami," Compton said. "He was just trying to motivate me to get in better shape. So I worked out a little bit. And then just played five or six rounds with him before I went back on the road."
  
Easy money? Compton smiled.
  
"I got him five ways one day," he said without mentioning a dollar amount.

Compton played on that Walker Cup team with 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover along with Bryce Molder and D.J. Trahan, who both went on to win on the PGA Tour. The Britain & Ireland team featured former world No. 1 Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell, the U.S. Open champion at Pebble Beach.
  
Compton's hopes were not much different from theirs -- turn pro, win tournaments.
  
"I think when I was younger, I had some unrealistic expectations," he said. "I knew I was a good player. I obviously had some hurdles that I had to deal with in front of me, which I didn't see coming. I didn't know I was going to have to deal with that."
  
What's real to him now is being a PGA Tour regular. He's going to the Masters next year for the first time, courtesy of his runner-up finish in the U.S. Open. That remains his biggest highlight in golf.
  
What's next? He's curious to find out. Compton is learning not to swing so hard to take advantage of his putting stroke.
  
"I just want to get the ball in play and hit on the green and see where I can go," he said.

"And that's difficult to do in four days, and it's proven difficult for a lot of guys who have never won on tour who have great careers. I happen to be one of those guys right now, and I feel like if I can do the things like I did today and get out of my own way, there's no reason I shouldn't continue to progress in this game."

Divots
  
Mark Anderson had the first ace in tournament history, a 4-iron from 212 yards on No. 3. ... Matt Kuchar and Webb Simpson were in the group at 67, while defending champion Chris Kirk opened with a 68. ... McGladrey extended its title sponsorship through 2020.

NASCAR Roundtable: Is payback possible at Martinsville?

By Zack Albert, Kenny Bruce and Alan Cavanna

1. The Eliminator Round consists of three very distinct tracks with the shortest on the schedule (Martinsville), a 1.5-miler (Texas) and a relatively flat 1-mile oval in Phoenix. Do any of the three stand out as more likely to adversely impact the Chase drivers?

Alan Cavanna: They'll all have their challenges, but I think the biggest may be the first one. You can find trouble in Martinsville on the track and in the pits. One small thing can put you in a big hole right away.

Zack Albert: Two potential schools of thought here. In terms of track, I think Martinsville is so difficult to figure out that it's very particular with who runs well there. On the other hand, Phoenix will be so much of a pressure-cooker with the final four drivers trying to lock into the Homestead championship finale that it could be an anything-goes type of race.

Kenny Bruce: I want to say that Martinsville, with its slower speeds, isn't as much of a risk for those guys. Typically damage there is minimal, with teams being able to fix most problems and still be in the hunt. Then I remember the run-in between Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch earlier this year, with Keselowski eventually finishing 38th. So it definitely can happen.

Cavanna: My mind goes right back to Clint Bowyer's dive-bomb a few years ago at Martinsville that took out the 24 and 48. We won't see those moves at other tracks. But at Martinsville drivers will try. And who won that day? Current Chase surprise Ryan Newman.

Bruce: After being at Talladega and witnessing the added pressure of it being a cutoff race, I have to agree with you Zack. The pressure will be there in all three, but at Phoenix it could be incredible.

Albert: The spring race at Phoenix wasn't particularly nutso, but pressure works in mysterious ways.

Cavanna: I agree about the Phoenix factor. At the very least we'll have five drivers competing for one at-large spot, possibly more.

Bruce: If you think about it, all three tracks have had their share of memorable moments. The Bowyer incident, as you mention, Alan, at Martinsville; Gordon and Jeff Burton at Texas and Gordon and Bowyer at Phoenix. Hey, what is it with Gordon and Bowyer?

Albert: Doesn't the 15 still owe the 24 one?

Bruce: Possibly, Zack. If Martinsville was truly the site of paybacks, we could see a record number of cautions. Fortunately, I think some folks have too much at stake to get in the middle of a meltdown.

Cavanna: I hope Gordon isn't a San Francisco Giants fan. A new rivalry may have started with Bowyer's Royals.

2. Team owner Roger Penske said after Talladega that he thinks other drivers are jealous of Brad Keselowski because of his driver's success this season. So, are others jealous of Bad Brad?

Cavanna: I don't think you'd ever hear a driver say they're jealous of BK. I think some might be annoyed with him. And deep down, some of that has to be rooted in jealously.

Albert: I think there's an element of every driver wanting to be the top dog. I think there may be some jealousy of the team he's with, but I don't know if it reaches a more personal level.

Cavanna: At some point, I think it does Zack. In the hierarchy of the garage, Brad K. stepped over a lot of people who seemed to be next up to be crowned champion. Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch are all still searching for that first title.

Bruce: Either they were laying it on thick earlier this week, or the other Chase drivers respect and admire what Keselowski has been able to accomplish since coming into Sprint Cup. Maybe they aren't fans of the way he carries himself, or the way he races in some instances, but they all know how difficult it is to be successful in this sport. Even Matt Kenseth said he admired how Brad came up through the ranks and what he's done. As you said, Alan, I think "annoyed" is a better description of how others feel about him at times.

Albert: True, admirable. And the success without a perceived paying of dues can ruffle feathers. But actual respect only goes so far through all of Keselowski's outspoken nature in his comments through the years and the on-track antics in the Charlotte cool-down lap.

Cavanna: I get the feeling some hoped BK would be an annoying fly they could swat away. But that doesn't appear to be happening.

Bruce: Take his personality out of the equation and you have a driver that has won six times this year, won five poles and is considered one of the favorites for this year's title. Stout stuff. But as Zack noted, it's the "other" items that perhaps have some people questioning his position in the sport.

Albert: Keselowski said in his 2012 championship speech in Las Vegas, "As a champion, I want to be your leader, and I want to help you make it happen." Are we there yet?

Bruce: Well, maybe not just yet, Zack, but we could be getting there. Keep the cameras rolling, just in case.

Cavanna: I don't think so Zack, and part of it may be other drivers' personal feelings toward him. It's like a reality TV show competition; you have to play both the professional and social game to win.

3. We mentioned Martinsville earlier. What is the likelihood that we will see payback in some form or fashion this week when the series heads up the interstate for this weekend's race?

Cavanna: Payback just doesn’t seem worth it if you’re a Chase driver. Let's say Hamlin takes a cheap shot at Keselowski during the race. Then what? It certainly wouldn’t be over. Keselowski would have nothing to lose by coming back a getting Hamlin the week after. It'd be lose-lose for both of them.

Albert: If we're going to see any, it's most likely going to be at Martinsville. Still, let's remember back to the spring when Keselowski leaned on Kurt Busch – it ultimately didn't matter since Kurt went on to win the race. So sometimes purposeful retaliation doesn't have all that much effect beyond the principle of the thing.

Bruce: Payback comes in all forms and fashions, Alan. As Kevin Harvick noted earlier this week, payback isn't always about wrecking someone. At a track such as Martinsville, you can make it extremely difficult for another guy to get around you. You can be a pain on pit road. It doesn't even have to be in the actual race - you can annoy someone during practice if that's your goal.

Albert: Or you can sneak into the infield concession stand and spike their hot dogs.

Bruce: I know NASCAR cautions drivers each week during the Chase to "let the race play out" and not get involved in paybacks or things of that nature, but there's an awful lot that goes on out on the track that doesn't always come to light. Is that a P3 penalty, Zack? Or a guarantee that your car will be the random after the race?

Albert: Doctoring hot dogs certainly falls under the heading of "actions detrimental to stock-car racing." At least a P3, season-ending probation and cutting off the supply of Goody's to the pit box.

Cavanna: Excellent point, Kenny. We've seen Hamlin and Harvick have issues at Bristol. And I can remember a few drivers making it tough on Logano in the pits in the past. I forgot about those little things.

Bruce: A driver never forgets, Alan. Just as Jimmy Spencer.

Cavanna: Still, if you’re a driver with unsettled business, I'd be working the phones and text messages before Sunday. I think we saw some of that happen with Logano and Danica Patrick.

Bruce: Which may or may not be settled, depending on whom you ask.

El Clasico predictions: What will be the result of Real Madrid vs. Barcelona?

By Yahoo Sports Staff

The two richest sports teams on the planet reunite in the biggest rivalry in club soccer – El Clasico – when Real Madrid takes on Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

Yahoo's soccer editors around the globe looked into their crystal ball to predict the match result. Check out their predictions below.

EL CLASICO - REAL MADRID VS. BARCELONA
Expert	Match Prediction, Man of the Match
Sergio Cortina, Yahoo Deportes	Real Madrid 3-2 Barcelona: Barcelona are top of the La Liga table, but Real Madrid seem more dangerous at this point, especially after their display at Anfield in Champions League without Gareth Bale. Cristiano Ronaldo will score and could be the key man. Man of the Match: Cristiano Ronaldo
James Dickens, Yahoo UK	Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona: Ronaldo will score but Luka Modric will be the star by dictating the tempo of the game from midfield. Luis Suarez won't be match fit, so I doubt he will last more than an hour. I expect Modric, Isco and James Rodriguez to support Ronaldo to tip it in Real's direction. Man of the Match: Luka Modric
Eric Fong, Yahoo Mexico	Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona: Iker Casillas will have a great game (it's time for that) and Chicharito could be the key to the game in the last minutes coming off the bench. Man of the Match: Iker Casillas
Joe Lago, Yahoo Sports (U.S.)	Real Madrid 3-3 Barcelona: Ronaldo will lead another impressive attacking display that will feature James's best game in a Real Madrid shirt. Unfortunately for Los Blancos, Casillas will give up a late equalizer. Fortunately for Barca, Suarez will not bite anyone. Man of the Match: Cristiano Ronaldo
Ian Nolan Yahoo UK	Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona: It is clicking into place for Real right now; Barça is trying to find their rythm. I expect the Suarez factor to actually slow Barça down while they look for a way to effectively accommodate Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar. Man of the Match: Cristiano Ronaldo
Karel Rodriguez, Yahoo Spain	Real Madrid 3-2 Barcelona: With neither defense at an oustanding level, expect a match with goals and opportunities. Real Madrid will give the ball to Barcelona and try to kill them on the counterattack. Isco will be the key on defense and the fast-paced offense. Man of the Match: Isco
Fernando Vives, Yahoo Brazil	Real Madrid 3-2 Barcelona: Ronaldo is amazing right now and Real seems more organized than Barça at this point. Suarez will score at least one time, but Real will win. Man of the Match: Cristiano Ronaldo
Trevor Wilker, Yahoo Canada	Real Madrid 2-3 Barcelona: Without Bale, Ronaldo will carry Real with two goals. But with Casillas in goal, I expect Messi, Neymar and possibly Suarez (off the bench at 60 minutes) to see Barca edge this one. Man of the Match: Neymar

Soccer: US Falls To Its Lowest Spot In 16 Months In The New FIFA Rankings.

By Tony Manfred

It's a six-spot drop from September.

 

It's not a huge deal. FIFA's rankings are horribly flawed and don't take into account meaningful metrics like margin of victory.

In addition, the U.S. has spent its post-World Cup friendlies trying to incorporate new players into the team. Since losing to Belgium in Brazil the U.S. has played three friendlies, beating the Czech Republic 1-0 and drawing both Ecuador and Honduras 1-1.

 

During that same period, a bunch of European teams were able to amass FIFA ranking points while playing Euro 2016 qualifiers (which are worth more 2.5-times more points than friendlies).

 

So yeah, don't freak out too much. Soccer fans would love to ignore these rankings entirely, but FIFA uses them to determine World Cup groups, so they aren't entirely irrelevant.

The U.S. plays Colombia and Ireland in its next round of friendlies in November. Its next meaningful competition is the 2015 Gold Cup next summer.

Here's the top-30 (full ranking here):

1. Germany
2. Argentina
3. Colombia
4. Belgium
5. Netherlands
6. Brazil
7. France
8. Uruguay
9. Portugal
10. Spain
11. Italy
12. Switzerland
13. Chile
14. Croatia
15. Algeria
16. Costa Rica
17. Mexico
18. Greece
19. Ukraine
20. England
21. Romania
22. Czech Republic
23. USA
24. Slovakia
25. Ivory Coast
26. Bosnia and Herzegovina
27. Ecuador
28. Iceland
29. Austria
30. Russia

SEC teams not done knocking each other off.

By JOHN ZENOR (AP Sports Writer)

Alabama head coach Nick Saban, left, yells during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M, Saturday, Oct, 18, 2014, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

All the hand-wringing over the SEC's near-monopoly of the top 5 might well prove a moot point.

The Southeastern Conference will take care of the matter internally since nobody heaps more abuse on league teams than the SEC itself.

In the SEC West, No. 1 Mississippi State, No. 3 Mississippi, No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Auburn are jockeying to win the nation's toughest division. But four more head-to-head matchups among them remain to shake things out.

No. 9 Georgia (4-1 in SEC games) sits in the East drivers seat but Missouri (2-1) and surprising Kentucky (2-2) also are in the mix going into the second half of the season.

Alabama safety Landon Collins doesn't shy from peeking at the competition in a league that's the first to have four teams in the Top 5 and has won seven of the last eight national titles.

''We look at it all the time,'' Collins said. ''We've got so many big teams in our conference. Every given Saturday, you don't know who's going to win. Because I mean, everybody's coming with their A-game and everybody's trying to get to those top four spots, you know?''

That would be the four-team College Football Playoff. But first things first.

The West could come down to the Egg Bowl since the Bulldogs (3-0) and Rebels (4-0) are the only remaining unbeaten teams. They've each still got at least one huge challenge from their division brethren before they even get to that point. Mississippi State has beaten Auburn (2-1), but still must face the Crimson Tide (3-1) at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Nov. 15. Ole Miss topped 'Bama but hosts Auburn next Saturday.

The Tigers also face Georgia, their traditional rival from the East. Not to mention the Iron Bowl, which featured two teams in national title contention last season and one of college football's most fantastic finishes.

So all that speculation - or disgust, in some circles - that the West could have multiple teams in the first playoff is premature, though certainly not outlandish. After all, Alabama won the 2011 national title after losing to LSU and finishing second in the division before claiming the rematch with Les Miles' Tigers.

''It's the best conference in college football, probably by a long shot, so whoever wins the West will have a big advantage,'' predicts Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.

Plenty of time to beat up on each other, though. The Saturday-to-Saturday grind of the SEC will continue to take its toll. It's what Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen calls ''the cumulative effect of this conference.''

''Can the champion of any conference beat any one of those four teams?'' Mullen said. ''You know what, there's probably a couple teams in every conference that in one game could beat any of those four teams. But what our league is about, and what our guys have to understand, is it's not one week, it's every single week.''

It's not just lip service. Arkansas hasn't won a league game yet but pushed Alabama to the limit in a 14-13 game.

Maybe an East team can upset the Western Division hierarchy even before the SEC championship game.

''Everybody in our division has a really good team and we all have to play each other,'' Tide coach Nick Saban said. ''I don't remember it ever being like that. You know, when I first came into the league it was always Florida, Georgia and Tennessee on the other side. They always seemed to be a little bit better than everybody else, even better than some of the people on our side of it, the West side.''

In the less-publicized East, Georgia has already drubbed Missouri 34-0. Missouri then easily beat Florida 42-13.

Kentucky (5-2, 2-2) still plays both of them with a chance to make up ground.

''You just don't know what to expect so you better prepare for a true battle and then try to follow through with everything,'' Georgia coach Mark Richt said.

Mississippi State and Kentucky are trying to buck history and preseason expectations. Picked to finish last in the East, Kentucky hasn't won an SEC title since sharing the championship with Georgia in 1976. Mississippi State hasn't been SEC champion since 1941 and was picked fifth in the West.

''We aren't the same teams anymore,'' running back Mikel Horton. ''We're fighting for a new stand and a new history for our schools.''

Kiffin facing rocky reception in return to Neyland.

By STEVE MEGARGEE

In this Sept. 20, 2014, file photo, Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, center, talks to running back Derrick Henry (27) before an NCAA college football game against Florida in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Kiffin makes his return to Knoxville on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014, when the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide play the Volunteers. Kiffin coached at Tennessee for just one year before leaving for Southern California three weeks prior to National Signing Day. Although nearly five years have passed since Kiffin's hasty exit from Tennessee, Vols fans still haven't forgiven him. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin isn't talking as the former Tennessee coach prepares to make his much-anticipated return to Knoxville.

He has no choice.

Alabama coach Nick Saban's policy of keeping his assistants off limits to the media during the regular season means Kiffin isn't sharing his emotions as he heads back to a town that hasn't forgiven him nearly five years after his messy departure. Kiffin coached Tennessee for just one season before leaving for Southern California three weeks prior to National Signing Day.

''We had a great year there,'' Kiffin said in August, the only time he's spoken to reporters since coming to Alabama. ''The people were phenomenal there. (I) really loved being there. It was just a unique situation that came about. You can't look back.''

Tennessee fans also want to move forward, but they haven't forgotten the past.

''I think all Tennessee fans didn't appreciate it one iota - the timing and the way in which he left,'' said Jeff Hagood, president of the Knoxville Quarterback Club. ''And I don't think those feelings have dissipated very much at all.''

Still, as No. 4 Alabama (6-1, 3-1 SEC) gets ready for Saturday's game at Tennessee (3-4, 0-3), both teams are downplaying Kiffin's return. None of the current Volunteers played for Kiffin.

''I think it's only a distraction if you allow it to be a distraction,'' said Saban, who has had to deal with a similar situation himself.

In 2008 he took Alabama to LSU for the first time. He had coached the Tigers from 2000-04. Alabama beat 27-21 in overtime.

''It was very negative, getting hung in effigy and burned at the stake and just about everything that could happen happened,'' Saban said. ''The way I tried to manage that with the players is to let them know that that was going to happen and to not be affected by it, and that it would probably be pretty rowdy when we got off the bus to go to the locker room, but that would really have nothing to do with what happened in the game.''

Tuning out the outside noise would be good for both teams with all the bad blood in Tennessee regarding Kiffin.

Tennessee went 7-6 under Kiffin in 2009. He raised optimism by taking shots at the Vols' biggest rivals and landing heralded recruits.

''I think in two or three years, we would have built a dominant program back to where Tennessee was the years that Coach (Phillip) Fulmer was there and Coach (Johnny) Majors was there,'' said Ed Orgeron, Kiffin's defensive line coach at Tennessee.

But then it all suddenly ended.

Kiffin announced his departure at a late-night media gathering amid reports his assistants were calling Tennessee recruits and attempting to bring them to USC. Students burned mattresses and gathered around the athletic department building in protest.

Oregeron said this week the move to USC was a ''hard decision'' and indicated he wished that last night at Tennessee had gone differently.

Kiffin went 28-15 in 3 1/2 seasons at USC before getting fired last October. Saban hired him in January.

''For me personally, it's been a while ago,'' said Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Luke Stocker, who played for Tennessee from 2007-10. ''A lot of things in my life have developed since then. I guess you could say time heals all wounds. I'd like to think he probably did what he felt was best for his family. It obviously hurt a lot of people at Tennessee - players, fans, whatever. But as a program, we've moved on.''

Well, Tennessee has tried to move on.

The Vols are on probation through Aug. 23 due to violations committed by Willie Mack Garza, an assistant on Kiffin's staff. Tennessee has endured four straight losing seasons since Kiffin's departure. A political action committee recently sent out a mailer comparing a Tennessee state representative running for re-election to Kiffin because both are ''all talk.''

Tennessee officials want to make sure Neyland Stadium's sellout crowd isn't too hostile to Kiffin, who works on the sidelines rather than in the coaches' box.

After Tennessee fans made profane chants Oct. 4 during a 10-9 loss to Florida, students received an email from chancellor Jimmy Cheek calling their language ''totally unacceptable. Tennessee coach Butch Jones said this week that ''It is important that they understand what they represent. They represent a brand.''

The president of the Knoxville Quarterback Club believes fans will control their emotions.

''Tennessee people are warm people and inviting people by nature,'' Hagood said, ''so I think the vast majority of fans will receive Kiffin very negatively in their hearts and thoughts, but their actions will not be offensive.''

Why the UNC scandal is NCAA President Mark Emmert’s chance at redemption.

By Dan Wetzel

This is NCAA President Mark Emmert's chance to assert some control.  (AP)

NCAA President Mark Emmert has kept a low profile of late, or at least as low of a profile as his position allows. It’s likely for the best.

Next week marks the start of his fifth year on the job, a tenure that began with big ideas and bold talk but has descended into controversies, calls for his firing/resignation and general angst as the public and legal tide has turned against the NCAA model of amateurism.
 

They’ve overwhelmed the moderate (yet notable) reforms Emmert has worked to install. Yes, most came under extreme threat, legal or otherwise, but still.

These days, many see the NCAA on the verge of collapse, a once great bully on the last days of relevance. Emmert is merely the captain of the Titanic.

It doesn’t need to be this way. It probably shouldn’t be this way.

There is ample and overdue room for wholesale change, but the need for a central governing body on college athletics remains. And so too does a place that upholds basic standards of reasonable behavior, because left to their own devices, college sports can reach some awful, horrible depths.

The University of North Carolina on Wednesday presented Emmert a golden opportunity to reassert a modicum of control, authority and the NCAA’s moral core when it released a detailed investigation by Kenneth Wainstein that essentially concluded it’s been cheating its Tar Heels off for the better part of two decades.

It is the unexpected chance for the rebirth of Mark Emmert and, perhaps, of the organization he runs.

Kenneth Wainstein holds up a report detailing accounts of academic fraud at UNC. (Getty)

----------

North Carolina’s sins here go far beyond the scope of a traditional NCAA case. This isn’t about fancy cars in the player’s parking lot or an agent offering a budding pro some Champagne Room money or some old alum doling out a hundred dollar handshake to a potential recruit.

Those are acts in which a rich person gives a poor(er) person money, an act that in virtually any other segment of society is met with affirmation.
 

The NCAA bans those in the spirit of leveling playing, but it’s also/mostly about controlling all revenue. It rings hollow as additional billions roll into the overall enterprise, but the player is still getting the same deal from the 1920s: tuition, room and board.
 

The UNC situation cuts to the core of college athletics and the base point for the NCAA’s own longstanding public relations campaign (student-athletes going pro in something other than sports).

It is, you could say, the one thing that is almost universally agreed upon.

Educate the players. Or at least try.
 

For too many athletes, the chance at a college education is a currency they struggle to cash. They arrive unprepared, disinterested or just incapable, like plucking a kid from elementary school ballet class, enrolling them in Juilliard and expecting them to succeed like the others.

That doesn’t mean a school that’s made the devil’s deal of admitting them should give up on them, not attempt to educate them on some levels, not try to push them to be better.

 

Carolina shouldn't brazenly, blatantly and systematically run an assembly line of eligibility. There have been too many success stories to not make an attempt.
 

For 18 years and over 1,000 student-athletes, including huge swaths of football and basketball players, UNC ran classes that were designed to require little to no academic work. It included academic advisers essentially telling the instructor the grade necessary to maintain eligibility. This was true even in cases when everyone suspected/knew the student in question submitted false or recycled papers for the minimal work required.
 

So they knew kids were cheating … in a fake class, no less … and they just calculated the needed grade to keep playing and then gave it to them.
 

Lux libertas, indeed.

----------

Sadly, it wasn't about academics for UNC athletes. (AP)

The extent of this thing is so preposterous that it rocked even within the glazed-over eyes of a post-Nevin Shapiro world of college athletics.

After all, at one point, there was even a PowerPoint presentation about it.

 It occurred in November 2009 and was led by Beth Bridger of the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes, and when they say “support” at UNC, boy, do they mean support.

The athletic department was facing a crisis because Deborah Crowder, the manager of the African and Afro-American Studies Department, was retiring and with it was the guarantee of essentially no-work classes.

(An aside: For all she did through the years for UNC athletics, Crowder needs to have her jersey hanging from the Smith Center rafters. Her number can be “4.0?”)

The Academic Support people wanted to “ring the alarm bell” for how dire this Crowder retirement could be, so Bridger stood in front of a room full of football coaches, including head man Butch Davis, and delivered the PowerPoint.

It included a screen that read:

We put them in classes that met degree requirements in which:

• They didn’t go to class

• They didn’t take notes, have to stay awake

• They didn’t have to meet with professors

• They didn’t have to pay attention or necessarily engage with the material

It concluded:

• THESE NO LONGER EXIST!

----------

 

In the long, illustrious annals of NCAA infractions hysterics, this is comic gold. So over the top it’s hard to believe.

The presentation noted that on average, players were receiving a 3.61 in the no-show classes and a 1.91 in “real” classes, so without Crowder, GPAs would plummet (and, predictably, did). The PowerPoint was later forwarded to others in the athletic department, including a senior associate AD.
 

These aren’t the actions of a rogue employee or a tutor overstepping the line between helping and doing. This isn’t one or two people. These aren’t coaches and administrators conveniently not asking or wondering why an at-risk kid suddenly got straight A's, all so they could play even dumber than usual (well, daggum it, Roy).
 

This isn’t even anyone trying to keep a secret.
 

This was flat-out, full-on cheating. It’s not just breaking UNC and NCAA rules, but the basic tenants of college sports. This was an institutionalized way for students to maintain eligibility and win bowl games and Final Fours while not teaching them a damn thing.
 

And it went on for 18 years.

----------

 

Emmert and the NCCA need to stand for something. (AP)

There’s more, of course, 131 pages of more. The big picture however is clear and comes without much of a defense.

Other schools do it? Blame the dumb kids? Regular students eventually heard about the scam and took the classes, too? The TV announcers always said we did it “the right way”? Dean Smith is a cool dude? M.J. went there? We have sweet blue uniforms?

Whatever.

Emmert has been beaten to a pulp during his time in Indianapolis and most of it was self-inflicted.

Here’s his chance to punch back. This isn’t inserting himself into a scandal such as Penn State that was best left to courts of law. This isn’t repeating the tired argument over the value of amateurism.

If Emmert, at 61, still has the old fire he started the job with, if he still has the belief that NCAA rules count for something, if he still believes in college sports and the good it can produce, it he still holds the confidence to walk into a fight and throw haymakers, then this is the weakling waiting to be made an example.

Multi-sport postseason bans? Fines? Scholarship reductions? Death penalty? It all should be on the table.

Here’s the chance for the enforcement process to be strong, authoritative and actually applauded.

A school gave up on educating its students in pursuit of athletic glory.

They didn’t … have to stay awake.

Because if the NCAA doesn’t stand up to that, then why would it and its president stand at all anymore?

Breeders' Cup Classic draws crowded field.

By BETH HARRIS (AP Racing Writer)

Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome and undefeated Shared Belief will face off in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic next week, with Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist also in the overcrowded field.

They are among a record total of 201 horses, including five defending champions, which were pre-entered Wednesday for the $26 million, 13-race Breeders' Cup world championships being held for the third straight year at Santa Anita on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

Fifteen horses - one more than the limit - were pre-entered for the 1 1/4-mile Classic, which will be shown live in prime time next Saturday on NBC.

Trainer Art Sherman will saddle California Chrome, who finished fourth in the Belmont behind winner Tonalist in losing his bid to become horse racing's first Triple Crown winner in 36 years. After an extended break, Chrome returned to racing in the Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 20 and finished sixth behind winner Bayern.

Bayern represents Bob Baffert's latest attempt to win the Classic. The Hall of Fame trainer is 0 for 12, including losses by now-retired Game On Dude the last three years. Bayern also won the Woody Stephens and the Haskell Invitational.
 

Shared Belief is 7-0 and a victory in the Classic would make him a favorite for Horse of the Year honors. He missed the Triple Crown series with foot issues, but has dominated racing during the second half of this year with victories in the Pacific Classic and the Awesome Again. Co-owned by sports talk host Jim Rome, Shared Belief could also claim champion 3-year-old honors with a win in the Classic.
 

Final entries and the post-position draw will be Monday at Santa Anita, which is hosting the event for the eighth time. Thirty-eight foreign horses were pre-entered.
 

After beating California Chrome in the Belmont, Tonalist went on to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup last month.
 

Also pre-entered for the Classic was Travers winner V.E. Day; Candy Boy; Toast of New York; Cigar Street; Footbridge; Gold Cup winner Majestic Harbor; Whitney winner Moreno; Prayer for Relief; and Ziro.
 

The headline race on Oct. 31 will be the $2 million BC Distaff for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles.
 

Untapable won her first four starts this year, including the Kentucky Oaks and Mother Goose before finishing fifth in the Haskell.
 

Among her rivals will be Close Hatches, who also won her first four races this year and then finished fourth in the Spinster this month.

On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, October 24, 2014.

MemoriesofHistory.com

1857 - The Sheffield Football Club of England was formed.

1943 - The Green Bay Packers intercepted nine passes in a 27-6 victory over the Detroit Lions.

1948 - The Chicago Cardinals scored 35 points in the third quarter on the way to a 49-27 victory over the Boston Yanks.

1965 - Fran Tarkenton (Minnesota Vikings) threw for 407 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-41 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

1970 - In Athens, Christo Papanikolaou (Greece) pole vaulted 18' 1/4". He was the first pole vaulter to clear the 18-foot mark.

1971 - Texas Stadium officially opened in Irving, TX.

1976 - Chuck Foreman (Minnesota Vikings) rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-12 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

1992 - The Toronto Blue Jays became the first non-U.S. team to win the World Series.

1996 - The Atlanta Braves played their last game at Fulton County Stadium. They lost to the New York Yankees 1-0 in Game 5 of the World Series. The next season the Braves began playing at Olympic Stadium.

1997 - In Arlington, VA, former NBC sportscaster Marv Albert was spared a jail sentence after a courtroom apology to the woman he'd bitten during a sexual encounter.

1998 - Ricky Williams (University of Texas) became the leading scorer in NCAA Division I history. At the end of the game he had a total of 428 points.

2003 - The Chicago Blackhawks fired general manager Mike Smith.

*************************************************************

Please let us hear your opinion on the above articles and pass them on to any other diehard fans that you think might be interested. But most of all, remember, Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica wants you!!!!!