Monday, November 10, 2014

CS&T/AllsportsAmerica Monday Sports News Update, 11/10/2014.

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:

" If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability." ~ Henry Ford, Auto Magnate and Creator of the Assembly Line 

Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! In must-win game, Bears embarrassed, walloped by Packers.

By Scott Krinch                                                                                          
 
This goes out to some "Bears fans" and even a couple administrators.... #Bears #DieHard

-PapaBearDown
 
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica observation: Things are not good for the home team right now. In fact they're down right ugly. Most of us are diehard fans and will be until the day we die. It's hard but we just gotta suck it up, keep the faith and keep on pushing.  You'll probably find this hard to believe but we will make it through this and live to fight another day. We're all frustrated right now and are thinking and saying things we don't mean. Take a deep breath and get ready for the Vikings, we will win some more games this season.   

And now for the rest of the story..........

The Bears are who we thought they were. 
 
They are exactly the same team that was throttled by the New England Patriots just two weeks ago.
 
With two weeks to prepare for a must-win game against the Green Bay Packers, the Bears came into Lambeau Field and were annihilated by their NFC North rival, 55-14. 
 
And it didn't last much longer than 15 minutes for the majority of Chicago to turn off their television sets and catch the latest episode of Homeland or Walking Dead (not to be confused with the 2014 Bears).
 
After a quick series by the Bears offense, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers led the team on a 12-play, 71-yard scoring drive, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown to third-string tight end Brandon Bostick on fourth down. The drive lasted just under six minutes, their longest scoring drive of the evening and first of five straight first half touchdown drives by the Packers offense.  

It wouldn't take long for the Bears to unravel soon after.

Just two plays later, Jay Cutler was intercepted by Packers defensive back Micah Hyde on a pass intended for Martellus Bennett. It was the 20th time the Packers have picked off Cutler in 11 career games.

Rodgers and the Packers would go on to immediately cash in on the giveaway. Green Bay backup tight end Andrew Quarless broke free in the end zone, and Bears safety Chris Conte was late getting over as Rodgers found Quarless for a four-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 with less than five minutes to go in the first quarter.

The Packers turned it into a laugher after two quick three-and-outs by the Chicago offense. After a breakdown in coverage by the Bears secondary, Rodgers found wide receiver Jordy Nelson wide open for a 73-yard score on the first play of the second quarter for a 21-0 lead. 

On the Packers' next drive, Nelson once again broke free and hauled in a 40-yard touchdown reception giving his team a 28-0 lead. 

Not to be outdone by his teammates, Packers running back Eddie Lacy would get in on the scoring barrage, turning a screen pass into a 56-yard touchdown late in the first half.

After ex-Bear defensive end Julius Peppers registered a strip sack of Cutler with just 1:09 to go in the half, Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb for an 18-yard score, giving the Packers a 42-0 halftime advantage. 

The halftime deficit set an all-time Bears' franchise record, previously set two weeks ago when they went into the half down 38-7 against the Patriots. 

With the game in hand, the Packers pulled Rodgers after just two second half drives.
Rodgers finished the game with a sparking 145.8 passer-rating and six touchdowns.

The Bears finally got on the board midway through the third quarter when Cutler tossed a 45-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall. Cutler finished the evening 22-of-37, for 272 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions (his second INT was returned 82 yards for a score by Packers nickel back Casey Hayward). 

Late in the fourth quarter Chicago recorded their first return touchdown since Oct. 20, 2013 when Chris Williams returned a kickoff 101 yards for a score.

An evening of futility for the Bears set multiple franchise records for both sides:

-A record Lambeau Field crowd of 78,292 was in attendance to see the Packers crush the Bears. 

-Rodgers became the first quarterback to ever throw six touchdown passes in a game against the Bears. 

-42 points is the highest total the Bears have ever allowed in a half. Previous high was 38 against the Patriots on Oct. 26, 2014.

-The Bears 158 penalty yards against the Packers came within 12 yards of setting a new franchise record, previous set in 1944. 

-Rodgers' threw three TD passes of 40-plus yards. The last time that happened was Nov. 1, 1942 against the Chicago Cardinals.

-Bears have allowed 50-plus points three times in the last 11 games. The previous 770 games: just two times (including playoffs).

-Bears have been outscored 94-7 in the first half over their last three games.

-Rodgers is the first quarterback with multiple five-touchdown passes against Chicago. There have only been eight such games ever against the Bears.

-Bears are second team in NFL history to give up 50 or more points in back-to-back games. First time that has happened since the 1923 Rochester Jeffersons. 


How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks get back on track, knock off Sharks. 
 
By Tracey Myers

LGH ❤️󾬕󾬓󾬖

The Blackhawks’ once sizeable lead was whittled to one early in the second period, and a bit of apprehensiveness settled into the United Center.

But before the San Jose Sharks could get that equalizer, the Blackhawks regrouped and put the game out of reach.

Trevor van Riemsdyk got his first NHL goal of his career and the Blackhawks got four more goals from four more players as they beat the Sharks 5-2 at the United Center on Sunday night. It was a strong start and finish for the Blackhawks, who withstood a strong second period by the Sharks to win their first game at the UC since Oct. 26 (a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators).


“I think it was a good win,” said Duncan Keith. “They definitely grabbed some of the momentum there off their power-play goal (in the second) and I thought we did a good job in the third of trying to get that back, and working hard to get it in.”

The Blackhawks’ offense was clicking early in this one, as they scored three times within a two-minute, 34-second span in the first period. It started with van Riemsdyk, who played with Duncan Keith, fired a one-timer got through several players and past Antti Niemi for a 1-0 lead. Brent Seabrook, who had a tough game on Friday, scored his third goal of the season for a 2-0 edge. Just 24 seconds later Niklas Hjalmarsson netted his first of the season, off a feed from Marian Hossa, for a 3-0 edge.

But the Sharks, who came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Dallas Stars 5-3 on Saturday night, looked ready to repeat that against the Blackhawks. Joe Pavelski had two goals, including a power-play effort that cut the Blackhawks’ lead to 3-2 early in the second period. Corey Crawford preventing anything else from getting through, however, stopping 32 of 34 shots for the victory. Twelve of those stops came in the second period, when the Sharks outshot the Blackhawks 13-6.


“That’s a tough team over there,” Crawford said. “Momentum really swung back and forth throughout he game. We’ve done a great job of keeping our composure and sticking to our game. No matter what happens, we keep playing; we try and turn the game around.”

The Blackhawks did wrestle momentum back in the third; and the team that’s struggled to find goals, especially at home, found a few more late. Bryan Bickell scored his second of the season for a 4-2 lead with less than five minutes remaining in regulation and Jonathan Toews added an empty-netter with 67 seconds left.

It was an encouraging evening for the Blackhawks. They’ve sometimes faltered during close games this season. On Sunday, they regrouped and got through it. Now they need to continue that.

“You can see where the confidence in tight games, playing the right way and doing the right things is a work in progress,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “There’s probably a little hesitation knowing we’ve lost some tough games we traditionally win. Finding a way to do the right things and being comfortable and making the right decisions is what we’re working through. That has to be one of our strengths.”


Blackhawks let two-goal lead slip away, fall to Capitals. (Friday night's game, 11/07/2014).

By Tracey Myers

Brent Seabrook #7 of the Chicago Blackhawks falls in front of Patrick Kane #88 as Nicklas Backstrom #19 of the Washington Capitals skates by during the NHL game on November 07, 2014 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

For the first 35 minutes of Friday’s game the Blackhawks were playing exactly how they wanted.

They were scoring, they were spending a lot of time in the Washington Capitals’ zone and they were being smart.

Then they committed a gaffe here, another error there. By the time the final five minutes of the second period were over, the once dominating Blackhawks were in a 3-2 hole. And they wouldn’t get out of it.

Duncan Keith scored a power-play goal in his 700th career game, but the Capitals scored three times in the final 4:57 of the second period to beat the Blackhawks 3-2 on Friday night.


The Blackhawks thought they were on the right track after their 5-0 victory over Montreal on Tuesday. Three days later, however, were once again making errors that have become too commonplace this early season.

“(We’ve got) a 2-0 lead, giving up nothing, make a bad decision and it’s in our net, and it’s in our net and in our net,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “We played a perfect 35 minutes and then we basically shot ourselves in the foot with mental mistakes. A couple of plays were totally unacceptable. The last (goal) at the end of the period was tough to give up.”

Indeed, that one proved to be the dagger. But let’s back up to the start of this one, when the Blackhawks were doing plenty of things right. After struggling to score in the United Center for nearly eight periods, the Blackhawks got a 1-0 first-period lead when Brandon Saad scored his second of the season. Keith would add his third of the year just 56 seconds into the second period, a power-play goal that put the Blackhawks up 2-0.

It was all well and good, until about five minutes remaining in the second. Sloppy passing and a bad Brent Seabrook pinch later, and Andre Burkakovsky scored on a wicked shot to cut the Blackhawks’ lead to 2-1 with 4:57 left in the second. Quenneville wasn’t happy with Seabrook’s decision.

“There’s no reason to come in off the point there in that situation,” he said.


The Capitals, however, weren’t done. With less than a minute left in the period, Marcus Johansson’s shot went off Seabrook’s stick in front to tie the game 2-2. Then came Joel Ward’s goal, a deflection of a Matt Niskanen shot, to put the Caps up 3-2 with 4.4 seconds remaining in the second.

“We talk about it. We need to be better. We’ve gotten scored on too many times in the last or first minute of periods,” Keith said. “We need to be better in those times.”

The Blackhawks had so-so urgency at the start of the third period, desperate urgency at the end of it. Still, much like they have in several other losses this season, the Blackhawks couldn’t find that final goal.

This isn’t how this season was supposed to start for the Blackhawks. They’re now 7-6-1, a mark Quenneville said is “not good enough.” The Blackhawks thought they were doing well with their early scoring, with their puck possession and with their clean game. When the mistakes came, however, they were in the same predicament as recent games. And they suffered the same fat.

“I don’t think it’s anything that they took from us as much as it is us letting up and kind of getting away from our pace and giving them chances that we didn’t make them earn, so we can’t be happy with that,” Jonathan Toews Said. “I think we just got satisfied for a short amount of time. I think we felt comfortable with our 2-0 lead and it came back to bite us. We can’t be happy with that. It’s something we need to deal with and learn from right away and not let that happen again.”

 
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session… Pistons-Bulls Preview. 

AP Sports

Once again, the Chicago Bulls are unsure of the status of Derrick Rose.

Even if he returns Monday night, he likely won't help solve some unprecedented rebounding woes under coach Tom Thibodeau.

The Bulls have been outrebounded in six straight games heading into Monday night's Central Division home matchup with the Detroit Pistons.

Rose sat out Saturday's 106-101 home loss to Boston because of sprained ankles. The former league MVP has missed consecutive games and four of five.
 
''He's not ready to go yet," Thibodeau said. "We'll see where he is (Sunday).''
 
Kirk Hinrich has started the last two games in place of Rose and missed all seven shots in a scoreless effort Saturday.
 
Thibodeau was more concerned about watching his team get outrebounded 45-38 by the Celtics and allow 18 second-chance points. This is the first time Chicago has been outrebounded this many times in a row under him.
 
"In order to do something special, you gotta be a great rebounding team so that's something that we've got to correct," he said.
 
Joakim Noah had a team-high 11 rebounds but sat out the final 2:03 because of what Thibodeau called ''restrictions.''
 
Neither would say whether they were related to a minutes limitation or complications from Noah's left knee surgery six months earlier. Noah has played consecutive games after missing two with an illness.
 
Chicago (5-2) has won 15 of its last 16 at home against Detroit (2-5), which begins a four-game trip after Sunday's frustrating 97-96 home loss to Utah. The Pistons had just one basket in the final 2:50.
 
''It would have been nice to start that trip off a three-game winning streak - that's why this one hurts so much,'' forward Josh Smith said.
 
The Pistons have dropped 21 of their last 23 road games. This trip also includes stops in Washington, Oklahoma City and Memphis.

"We're playing some good teams," Smith said. "We have a hard-playing Chicago team tomorrow and we have to be able to prepare for them now."

Detroit is the NBA's worst shooting team at 40.7 percent. Brandon Jennings led the way with 23 points Sunday as the Pistons finished at 38.7 percent from the field.

The game plan Monday could revolve around whether Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond can control the glass. Both rank among the league leaders in rebounds, with Monroe averaging 11.8 per game and Drummond 11.7.

Drummond had 26 points and matched a career high with 26 rebounds the last time these teams met in Chicago's 106-98 win April 11. The Bulls rallied from an 18-point deficit in that contest to take three of four in the season series.

Smith missed the last meeting because of tendinitis in his left knee. His 36.3 field-goal percentage at the United Center is his worst in any NBA arena.

Chicago's surprising scoring leader with Rose in and out of the lineup is Jimmy Butler, averaging 19.6 points. Butler has been aggressive, averaging 7.4 free-throw attempts.

Brooks, Bulls late rally comes up short in loss to Celtics. (Saturday night's game, 11/08/2014). 

By Mike Singer

Celtics at Bulls
Aaron Brooks hits a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. (Photo; Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

The offense caved, the defense sagged and the Bulls built themselves too big a hole to overcome as the Boston Celtics snapped the Bulls' four-game winning streak with a 106-101 victory on Saturday.
 
Backup guard Aaron Brooks staged a furious fourth-quarter rally, and the Bulls nearly overcame a late 15-point deficit. But several clutch free throws iced the game for the Celtics. Down 97-82 with 4:18 left, Brooks scored 12 of the team’s next 16 points, and the Bulls clawed back to 100-98 with just 30 seconds left.
 
Brooks hit two 3-pointers, two free throws, a jumper and a circus-style running lay-up to stir the United Center crowd into a frenzy, but they would leave Saturday night disappointed, despite Brooks' 26 points. 
 
The 34-point fourth-quarter nearly erased what had been an ugly offensive showing until then. Pau Gasol chipped in 19, but he was just 8 of 17 from the field and missed numerous open looks. 
 
The Celtics shot 52 percent from the field, highlighting another inconsistent defensive effort from the Bulls. Celtics Evan Turner and Kelly Olynyk led the team with 19 and 18, respectively, as Chicago struggled to contain Boston’s jump shooters.
 
That Bulls’ winning streak, built on the strength of Chicago’s depth, was finally exposed on Saturday. Derrick Rose sat out with a pair of sprained ankles, missing his fourth game out of the last five. More concerning, though, was the defense, which has been inconsistent at best this season.
 
On Friday, the Bulls came away with a victory against winless Philadelphia despite giving up 115 points. They also gave up 105 in a win against Minnesota last Saturday.
 
Unlike last year, coach Tom Thibodeau isn't sure what type of defensive effort his team's going to give.   
 
Part of that could be reigning Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah's health status. After two hard falls in the first, Noah didn't seem to move as freely. He's played in five games this season after having offseason knee surgery and has been on a minutes restriction for much of the year. 
 
Boston picked apart the Bulls’ defense in the third quarter with timely shooting and good movement – two things the offense sorely lacked. The Celtics’ lead hovered at 18 on separate occasions as Boston poured in jumpers and found several easy lay-ins. More than once Jimmy Butler and Gasol shared glances of disbelief. Kelly Olynyk and Evan Turner traded buckets while the Bulls couldn’t cut into the deficit, despite a respectable 26-point quarter.
 
The offense, despite Thibodeau’s best wishes, has been the driving factor to the Bulls’ hot start. It’s been a “pick-your-poison” type effort as six different players have led the scoring through seven games.
 
The Bulls entered the half down 56-41 on the heels of a sterling Celtics burst. Six different players knocked down field goals for Boston to close the second quarter on a 22-6 run over the final 5:45.
 
Chicago’s offense missed dozens of chances, possibly a result of the ever-changing rotations Thibodeau has been forced to use in the wake of so many injuries. The Bulls shot 33 percent in the second quarter with just seven field goals to close the half at a 40 percent clip.
 
That wasn’t Brooks’ fault, who continually set up his teammates in good shooting positions. Brooks, averaging 21 minutes per night, seems to be becoming more and more comfortable knowing which players to look for on hard cuts along the baseline. He had six assists at the half, but none prettier than when he set up Gibson for a massive dunk in the lane.
 
Gibson, Thibodeau’s first forward off the bench, also cleaned up another Doug McDermott missed lay-up with a two-handed jam. It was one of the few first half highlights as the Bulls were exposed on the glass yet again. The Bulls had been outrebounded five straight games and again lost the battle 27-18 in the first half.
 
Saturday’s game couldn’t have started worse for the Bulls as they quickly trailed 12-2 and missed 10 of their first 11 shots. Friday night’s star, MIke Dunleavy, dragged the team back with three first-quarter 3-pointers as the Bulls closed on a 23-8 run and momentarily held the lead. 

Bulls almost spoil strong second half in win over Sixers. (Friday night's game, 11/07/2014).

By Tim Marcin

Dunleavy leads Bulls over 76ers 118-115
Jimmy Butler #21 of the Chicago Bulls goes to the basket against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 7, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

The third quarter changed everything for the Bulls in Friday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers. But a sloppy fourth quarter almost washed it away. The Bulls beat the winless Sixers, 118-115, Friday night despite a slow start and finish. The win moved the Bulls to 5-1.  
 
Mike Dunleavy led the Bulls' scoring with 27 points, shooting 5-of-8 from behind the arc. Jimmy Butler added 23 and Pau Gasol notched a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. The game was closer than might be expected, but coach Tom Thibodeau pointed out nothing is guaranteed in the NBA.

“You’re not going to knock them out in the first minute,” he said.
 
After entering the half tied due to sloppy play, the Bulls came out of the locker room and dominated. Shots started to go down, and the defense tightened. The first four minutes of the half saw three made three-pointers for the Bulls (two from Dunleavy, one from Kirk Hinrich), and a lead started to build. By the time the third quarter ended, the score was 92-76.
 
The fourth quarter was a matter of controlling the pace and maintaining a healthy margin. At first the Bulls did just that and went up by as much as 18. But the Sixers stomped back into the game scoring 39 points in the fourth quarter, steadily chipping away at a 16-point deficit about halfway through the quarter.

“I thought some of it was them making shots, I thought a lot of them were challenged” Thibodeau said. “But obviously giving up 39 in the fourth is not a good thing.”
 
Philadelphia came within one point with five seconds to play, but Hinrich made two free throws to put the Bulls up by the final three-point margin. A Sixers' prayer from 46-feet missed to end the game.
 
“At the end, we let them back in the game when we had the game under control,” Gasol said. “We’ve got to get better at that.”
 
The Bulls' offense showed up and that largely carried the team to the win. They’ve scored over 100 points four times in six games.
 
“Offense is not a problem,” Thibodeau said. “We’re getting to the line, shooting the three well, I think we have a good balance inside out.”
 
The Bulls played a tight and sloppy first half. It took a late bucket and a Sixers' foul to bring the score to an even 57-57 at the half. Jimmy Butler led the early Bulls' offensive charge, scoring 15 first-half points, 13 of which came in a hot first quarter. He ended the opening quarter with a three-pointer after a nice drive by Aaron Brooks, who swung the ball his way. Mike Dunleavy added 12 first-half points as well.
 
The Sixers, undermanned with just nine players, were able to fly around the court in the first 24 minutes, scoring 12 second-chance points and grabbing 11 offensive rebounds. They managed to find some open looks and get to the rim against an uncharacteristically sluggish Bulls defense. The Bulls didn’t control the pace of the game and got just 16 first-half points from Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah and Gasol.
 
After all the scares, the Bulls got the expected result and won their fourth straight.
 
“At the end of the day that’s what we got to do, we got to keep scratching out wins,” Thibodeau said.
 
The Sixers, who were led by guard Tony Wroten (31 points, seven assists), moved to 0-6. The Bulls will play the Boston Celtics at home Saturday.

Cubs heading into GM meetings targeting Russell Martin.

By Patrick Mooney

Catcher Russell Martin (John Dunn/Associated Press)

The Cubs think Russell Martin could be the right player at the right time, the free-agent splash that makes sense because of his production, leadership and postseason experience.

It already felt like the Cubs got a huge head start on 2015 by hiring star manager Joe Maddon, who fell into their lap after an opt-out clause that triggered when Andrew Friedman left the Tampa Bay Rays to run baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Cubs are going to keep making aggressive moves. General manager Jed Hoyer would neither confirm nor deny a WSCR-AM 670 report that had the team meeting with Martin on Thursday, but multiple industry sources have described mutual interest and suggested the All-Star catcher is a primary target this offseason.

Martin’s agency has an office in downtown Chicago. MCA can market a client who’s been to the playoffs seven times in the last nine years with the Dodgers, New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Martin — who finished with a .402 on-base percentage and became a Gold Glove finalist this year — will be a hot name during next week’s GM meetings at the Arizona Biltmore.   

“We’re looking for any area that we can upgrade,” Hoyer said Friday on a conference call with beat writers. “We want veteran leadership on the team, whether that’s one person or whether that’s three or four people. So if we can find that combination of attributes, I think that’s something that would be appealing.” 

Around this time last year — when Brian McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit the open market — a Cubs official expressed some reservations about the idea of sinking too much money into such a grueling position.

After leaving his comfort zone with the Atlanta Braves, McCann had an up-and-down season in The Bronx, hitting .232 with 23 homers and 75 RBI and struggling against the defensive shift.

The Yankees might have reset the market with McCann’s five-year, $85 million deal. Martin will be 32 next season and tagged with Pittsburgh’s $15.3 million qualifying offer, an issue mitigated when the Cubs have a protected first-round pick.

Saltalamacchia hit .220 with 11 homers, 44 RBI and a .681 OPS in 114 games during the first season of a three-year, $21 million deal with the Miami Marlins.

It wasn’t the breakout year the Cubs hoped for, but Welington Castillo did hit .237 with 13 homers, 46 RBI and a .686 OPS in 110 games. He’s heading into his age-28 season and will be under club control for the next three years.

“I don’t think Wely had his best year last year,” Hoyer said. “But that said, I think he’s a very good major-league catcher. And I think he showed the second half of 2013 what he can do (.863 OPS). He showed some glimpses of it last year. He just never put it together the whole way.

“Certainly, we like Wely as a catcher and as a person and as a potential leader down the road.”

The Cubs have also pointed to the Oakland A’s and their success deploying platoons, particularly behind the plate. Combined, Derek Norris (.763 OPS) and John Jaso (.767 OPS) generated 19 homers and 95 RBI for an 88-win team.

In Maddon, the Cubs have the perfect manager to get creative with splits and matchups. (In July, Maddon tweeted out a tribute to an 80s one-hit wonder: “Going with Tommy Tutone lineup today: 8-6-7-5-3-0-9.”)

Theo Epstein’s front office could give Maddon the parts to indulge all his mad-scientist tendencies, whether it’s Martin and Castillo or Martin or Castillo and a solid veteran backup.

A National League scout described David Ross as the ideal backup catcher, because he’s a steady clubhouse presence who can handle a pitching staff and step in and hit a home run (95 career bombs). Ross, a 37-year-old free agent, won a World Series ring with the 2013 Boston Red Sox, but it’s unclear if the Cubs would head in that direction.

It’s obvious the Cubs are just getting started. Firing Rick Renteria and signing Maddon to a five-year, $25 million contract will only be the first act of this baseball winter.

“There’s pretty good momentum that we have as we sit down and talk to free agents, or talk to their agents,” Hoyer said. “We finished the season strong. Our farm system and our young talent have gotten a lot of recognition. We had good momentum going into the offseason anyway. People were starting to take notice.

“Joe coming onboard just sort of underscored that we have momentum. We’re a team (that’s) — while possibly not fully formed — certainly moving in the right direction and has a bright future. Joe’s presence here probably just underscores or illuminates that.”

'Tremendous moves' have White Sox Hahn in Executive of Year running.
 
By Dan Hayes
 
As he heads into another significant offseason for the franchise, Rick Hahn is receiving kudos for last year’s performance.
 
Based on last winter when he signed Jose Abreu and acquired Adam Eaton, the White Sox general manager is listed among seven candidates for Executive of the Year by BaseballProspectus.com. BP also cites Hahn’s shrewd long-term deal for Jose Quintana — five years for $26.5 million — and his commitment to rebuilding the farm system, including the addition of first-rounder Carlos Rodon, among his achievements.
 
Abreu is expected to receive the American League Rookie of the Year award on Monday while Eaton established himself as a formidable leadoff hitter and a great defender.
 
But even before the two could prove their worth, rival GMs applauded Hahn’s efforts.
 
Kansas City GM Dayton Moore called the moves “terrific” last spring while Cleveland’s Chris Antonetti took it a step further.
 
“Unfortunately for us I thought Rick and his staff had an exceptional offseason,” Antonetti said. “They’ve positioned themselves not only better for the short term, but also for the long term as well and that’s a challenging thing to do. I thought they made a number of tremendous moves that will not only help them this year but for years to come, unfortunately to our detriment.”
 
Hahn has the White Sox positioned well as he heads into his third offseason as GM.
 
A team that improved by 10 games last season could add between $35-40 million in payroll this offseason. That money appears to be earmarked for a laundry list of needs including starting and relief pitching, a left-handed hitter, a left fielder and a backup catcher.
 
Hahn, who will attend the GM meetings in Phoenix starting Monday, suggested in late September the White Sox will be aggressive this offseason in both free agency and on the trade market.
 
“We’re going to continue to aggressively pursue targeted moves that put us on that path that ideally puts us on that path to contend in ’15,” Hahn said. “I think we are pleased with a lot of the progress we’ve made in the last 15 months, but we’re by no means, first satisfied nor operating under the belief that we’re by any means finished, in terms of assembling a core and a unit that can contend on annual basis. That’s absolutely the goal as we enter the offseason here.”
 
BP also recommended Cubs GM Jed Hoyer as a candidate for the award.

Golf: I got a club for that; Bubba Watson wins a thriller in Shanghai.

By Doug Ferguson
 
Bubba Watson of the U.S. celebrates with his champion …
Bubba Watson of the U.S. celebrates with his champion trophy during the award ceremony of the HSBC Champions golf tournament at the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2014. Watson captured his first World Golf Championship. (AP Photo)

Bubba Watson captured his first World Golf Championship with a stunning turnaround Sunday when he holed a bunker shot for eagle on the 18th hole to get into a playoff, and then made a 20-foot birdie putt to beat Tim Clark and win the HSBC Champions.

The 10th edition of the HSBC Champions was the wildest one of them all.

Watson had a two-shot lead with three holes to play until he appeared to throw it all away. He missed the 16th green with a lob wedge and made bogey, and then took two shots to get out of a bunker on the par-3 17th and made double bogey to fall one shot behind a five-way tie for the lead.

The two-time Masters champion was fidgety and irritated at any movement around him, even stopping at the top of his swing from the bunker left of the green on the par-5 18th hole because of a camera click from the hospitality suite. But angst turned to joy when he blasted onto the green and watched the ball roll some 25 feet into the cup for eagle.

"You always joke about holing it," Watson said. "And then it actually went in. So I didn't know how to react, and so I just kind of screamed and I lost my voice a little bit. It was one of those shots — one-in-a-lifetime kind of shot."

He closed with a 2-under 70.

Clark was the only player from the five-way tie to join Watson at 11-under 277. He laid up on the 18th and hit wedge to 5 feet for birdie and a 69. In the playoff, his wedge was to the right edge of the green about 25 feet away. The putt was on line, but short.
''I misjudged how it was going to play,'' Fowler said.
Graeme McDowell, trying to complete a wire-to-wire win, missed a 12-foot birdie attempt and shot 73. Hiroshi Iwata (72) missed an 8-foot birdie putt. Martin Kaymer's wedge for his third shot bounded off the green to the right and went into the water, leading to double bogey. He had a 73.

Watson became the 14th player to win a major and a World Golf Championship, and it capped off his best calendar year - the Northern Trust Open at Riviera in February, another green jacket at the Masters in April, and a WGC title in China that he nearly let slip through his fingers.

That his WGC title was in China was even more meaningful.

''For my own personal career, this is big for me to win outside the U.S., to say that I can travel a little bit and win instead of just one place,'' Watson said.

Both big moments - the bunker shot and the winning putt - produced more high-charged emotion than either of his two Masters victories. With a world-class field, this tournament came down to six players over the final 30 minutes.

The final group - McDowell, Iwata and Kaymer - were so shocked to see the leaderboard when they reached the 16th green that they asked if it was correct. They had been chasing. Suddenly, they were tied at 10 under, and Watson was trailing.

''That's why I went for the green on 16,'' Kaymer said. ''I thought if I can make 3 there, I can square with Bubba. And I saw that he made double bogey on 17, so all of a sudden, there were five guys in the lead.''

Watson at that moment appeared to be the least likely of the bunch to hold the trophy.

Kaymer took two chips to get on the 16th green and had to scramble for par. Iwata was just over the back of the green with his tee shot on the par-4 16th, but he stubbed his chip and two-putted for par. McDowell narrowly missed an 18-foot birdie. All had their chances on the 18th to catch Watson and Clark.

Watson moved up to No. 3 in the world, making him the highest-ranked American.

Golfers call for Tour shake-up after O'Grady steps down.
 
AFP; By Daniel Hicks
 
George O'Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour (AFP Photo/Scott Halleran)
 
Senior players at the WGC-HSBC Champions this week have suggested it's time for the European Tour to move in a new direction following the news that CEO George O'Grady is to step down.
 
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, one of the most experienced players to ply his trade on both sides of the Atlantic, believes it might be the right time for a "maverick" to shake up the Tour and elevate it to the level of the more lucrative US PGA Tour.
 
"I’d say George O'Grady has given 40 years' service to the European Tour," McDowell told AFP before setting out for his second round Friday in the WGC-HSBC Champions with a two-shot lead.
 
"As far as his replacement goes, it has to be someone who views the game of golf on a global scale and really be dynamic and perhaps a maverick to try to push the envelope, to put this tour back where it deserves to be, up there, if not on a par with the PGA Tour," McDowell said.
 
Tour chief O'Grady confirmed this week he will step down as soon as a replacement is found after 40 years of service to the tour, the last 10 as CEO.
 
"He has done a phenomenal job. I think he should be very proud of what he has accomplished. He leaves behind a fairly impressive legacy. We should thank him for everything he has done for us," added McDowell.
 
McDowell said the players had been consulted about the future direction of the Tour but he was not sure they should have a direct say in the appointment of their new CEO.

"We've been asked for our views on where the future of the European Tour lies. We all realize that things have got to change from the point of view of how the top players especially play, where they play and when they play.
 
"As far as his replacement goes, I don't think we're qualified to choose."
 
Another senior figure, Ian Poulter, said that changes were in the pipeline for the post-O'Grady era.
 
"Things are going to change, and I can see all of those things being healthy moving forward," said Poulter.
 
"I'm not saying George did a bad job -- he did a great job for a long period of time. But it's good to have a shake-up every now and then.
 
"Whether that person is someone who understands golf, I’m not sure, but I just feel change is good, and it will be good for the European Tour."
 
Poulter had a slightly different view to McDowell on the players' role in appointing a replacement for O'Grady.
 
"Do I think players should be consulted on George’s replacement? Yes and no.
 
"If they speak to everybody at least they will get the right opinion from inside out, rather than outside looking in."

Harvick wins Phoenix; Hamlin, Logano and Newman join him in final 4 for Cup title.

By Nick Bromberg
 
Newman's late pass dooms Gordon at Phoenix
Kevin Harvick drives out of turn four during the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Phoenix International Raceway, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
 
Kevin Harvick got his third-straight win at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, and it's a win that gives him a chance to run for the Sprint Cup Series title.
 
Harvick's win guaranteed him a spot in NASCAR's final four to race for the championship on Nov. 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The three other drivers joining Harvick are Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman, who made a banzai last lap pass to sneak in ahead of Jeff Gordon.

Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards were eliminated from the Chase.
 
While Harvick sprinted away with the lead of the race from Gordon with 12 laps to go after the race's final restart, Newman lost two spots. It put him in a tie with Gordon for the final spot to advance to Homestead, assuming Harvick would win the race and Logano and Hamlin would maintain their positions.
 
Because of Gordon's second-place finish in the first race of the third round at Martinsville two weeks ago, he had the tiebreaker. Newman had to finish a point ahead of Gordon, and to do it, he needed to pass Kyle Larson for 11th on the final lap.
 
Newman drove his car into turn three and four onto the apron as far as he could and his car slid up into Larson's. Larson's car slid up out of the groove and into the wall. Newman had the spot on the track and a chance to race for the championship.
 
"I just gave it my all and they paved (the apron) I guess for a reason," Newman said. "And they didn't make any rules that said we couldn't use it. A great team effort today. We did not have the race car, we had horrible restarts, I did not have track position with this Cat Mining Chevrolet when we needed to but in the end we fought back hard."

"Did what we had to. As clean as I possibly could. I wasn't proud of it, but I'll do what I got to make it to this next round. That little boy has got a lot of things coming in this sport and he used me up at Eldora in a truck race a couple years ago, so from my standpoint I call it even. I think if he was in my position, he would have done the same thing."

After climbing from his car, Gordon expounded on the merits of clean racing. Last week, Gordon went from second to 29th at Texas after contact with Brad Keselowski while racing for the lead late in the race. Sunday, he was eliminated when Newman used Larson as a buffer.

"That's disappointing. We've got a lot to hold our heads up high about, the way that we raced this race, the whole Chase and the season. We raced hard, we raced together as a team, but I hope we taught somebody that you can race clean and still go out there and give it your best. That you don't have to go out there and wreck people to make it in the Chase or win the championship."

"I'm afraid if it was that ugly these last couple weeks it's going to get really ugly next week."

Gordon simply didn't have a chance to make a move on Harvick for the win. The gap Harvick had on Gordon in the final laps never closed, and it was fitting. Harvick was by far the day's most dominant driver. He led the most laps and was nearly untouchable.

"I guess that's what it feels like to hit a walk-off in the extra innings there," Harvick said.

The dominance was an incredibly good thing, too. Harvick entered the day eighth among the eight drivers vying for the final four spots and because none of the eight had porous finishes, had Harvick finished second, he wouldn't have made it to Homestead eligible for the title.

"I could tell that we were probably going to have to win because everyone was running up in the front of the pack that we were racing against," Harvick said. "So that was our goal coming in here and that's really the goal every time you come to Phoenix."

Elliott becomes NASCAR's youngest champion at 18.

By JENNA FRYER (AP Auto Racing Writer)

Elliott becomes NASCAR's youngest champion at 18
Nationwide points leader Chase Elliott waves to fans during driver introductions before the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Phoenix International Raceway Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Chase Elliott became the youngest champion in NASCAR history on Saturday when he wrapped up the Nationwide Series title at Phoenix International Raceway.

The 18-year-old rookie is the youngest driver to win a title in any of NASCAR's three national series. He broke the mark set by Brian Vickers, who was 20 when he won the Nationwide title in 2003.
 
Elliott, the son of Hall of Fame inductee and 1988 NASCAR champion Bill Elliott, clinched the title with his fifth-place finish at Phoenix. It moved him 52 points ahead of teammate Regan Smith with only next week's season-ending race remaining.

A high school graduate in May - his mother made him juggle school with his budding racing career - Elliott wasn't even sure he'd be racing this time last year. He had no prospects for a full-time ride in any of NASCAR's top series, and his deal to drive a Nationwide car for JR Motorsports didn't come together until January.

''This race a year ago, we had no plans of racing Nationwide this season and was uncertain what our future was going to be,'' Elliott said. ''It truly has been a dream come true for me to even be competing this season.''
 
Elliott's official celebration will have to wait until next week's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but he was greeted near the finish line by his parents and the family proudly posed for photos.
 
''They said just enjoy it,'' Elliott said of his parents. ''This certainly has not set in for me, by any means. I am going to enjoy every bit of it until the green flag at Daytona (in February). This is a dream come true for me.''

The Elliotts become the fifth father/son duo to win NASCAR national series championships. The others are Lee Petty and Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett and Dale Jarrett, David Pearson and Larry Pearson, and Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

But this title also made Dale Earnhardt Jr. a champion car owner - something his late father accomplished when Earnhardt Jr. won Nationwide titles in 1998 and 1999 driving for his dad. The championship for JR Motorsports was the first for the organization, which is owned by Earnhardt Jr., his sister, Kelley, and Rick Hendrick.

It comes in a season of turnaround for JRM, which has entered full-time entries in the Nationwide Series since 2006 but won just 12 races in its first eight seasons. JRM has nine victories this year, three by Elliott.

Brad Keselowski won the race with a pass of Kyle Busch following a restart on the two-lap overtime sprint to the finish. Busch led 187 of the 206 laps but was denied the victory because Keselowski was given the final chance to catch him after a caution with one lap remaining in regulation.

''It was kind of a shame, he had the race won but the yellow came out,'' said Keselowski. ''I could understand if he was upset about that.''

Busch questioned the need for the caution - it was because Alex Bowman ran out of gas on the track - and wondered if it was thrown to prevent him from winning his eighth win of the season.

''It's pretty pathetic NASCAR throws these Kyle Busch cautions, it's really getting old and aggravating for us in this Nationwide Series,'' Busch said. ''It's their prerogative, it's their series and they get to do what they want to and I just have to settle for second and miss our opportunity on another owner's championship this year.''

Elliott Sadler was third, followed by Ty Dillon, Elliott and Erik Jones.

It was Keselowski's 32nd career Nationwide victory and fifth of the season. The Team Penske entry driven by Keselowski goes into the finale with a 29-point lead over Joe Gibbs Racing in the race for the owners' championship.

Swansea 2-1 Arsenal: Sigurdsson, Gomis complete Arsenal collapse. 
 
By Kyle Bonn

Alexis Sanchez continued his goalscoring run of form, but Gylfi Sigurdsson grabbed the headlines with a thumping free kick as Swansea leveled with 15 minutes to go, and Bafetimbi Gomis earned all three points just a minute after coming off the bench.

The three points were deserved by the home side, who were dominant throughout the first half without earning anything from it. While Arsenal was dangerous on the counter, there was always a concern about its back line that featured Nacho Monreal deputizing next to Per Mertesacker.

Swansea looked quite bright to start the match, showing both confidence and organization in defense while also owning possession and looking dangerous up front in the opening 20 minutes.

It appeared the hosts had a clear penalty shout just past the 20-minute mark but referee Phil Dowd said no despite Calum Chambers clattering into the back of Wilfried Bony while receiving a cross into the middle of the box. They continued to pummel the Arsenal box, but couldn’t find the final ball.

Finally Arsenal grew into the match a half-hour in, but Swansea then became dangerous on the counter. On 35 minutes Jefferson Montero dispossessed Chambers and Bony found Marvin Emnes trailing the play but his low shot was right at Wojciech Szczesny.

Arsenal should have gone ahead just before the halftime despite dealing with Swansea for most of the first 45. A number of Gunners could have had a shot from the edge of the box, but instead it was worked around to Danny Welbeck from point blank range in front of the post but Lukasz Fabianski was strong to deny the England international. Just moments later Swansea couldn’t clear, and Aaron Ramsey ripped a wobbling volley just inches wide of the post.

 
As the rain picked up in the second half and it edged on monsoon status at the Liberty Stadium, the two teams began to get physical, but as it continued to pour, things opened up on the wet pitch. Arsenal broke in the 63rd minute, and Danny Welbeck’s cutback in the box found Alexis Sanchez wide open in the middle of the box. The in-form Chilean couldn’t miss, and he buried his eighth goal of the season to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead.

Swansea nearly hit back straight away as Jefferson Montero beat Calum Chambers down the left, and his cutback found Bony unmarked in the box, but he scuffed the first-time shot and it went harmlessly wide.

A prospect of both teams making it out of the match with all 11 men continued to lessen, as Phil Dowd drew card after card. With substitute Modou Barrow’s great run on 74 minutes drawing a foul by Kieran Gibbs, eight cards had been shown to that point. The ensuing free kick was Swansea’s moment to equalize.

An absolute howitzer off the foot of Gylfi Sigurdsson splashed the top corner of Szczesny’s net, and Swansea were back on level terms as Garry Monk pumped his fist emphatically on the sidelines. It was just the beginning. Moments later Montero again beat Chambers down the left, and his searching cross found the head of Bafetimbi Gomis who had just come on a minute earlier, and Swansea were suddenly ahead after trailing just three minutes prior.

The rain didn’t let up and neither did Swansea, and Arsenal went down with little fight. Instead of the three points Arsenal appeared to be headed towards that would have sent them into the top four, it’s Swansea who go above the Gunners into fifth place, even with West Ham in fourth.

LINEUPS:

Swansea: Fabianski; Rangel, Bartley, Williams, Taylor; Ki, Carroll (Britton 87′), Sigurdsson, Emnes (Barrow 67′), Montero; Bony (Gomis 76′).

Goals: Sigurdsson 75′, Gomis 78′

Arsenal: Szczesny; Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs; Flamini (Wilshere 79′), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey (Walcott 79′), Alexis, Cazorla; Welbeck (Sanogo 90’+1).

Goals: Sanchez 63′

Bale on target in Real win, Suarez inspires Barca revival.

AFP; By Kieran Canning

Gareth Bale scored on his return to the Real Madrid starting line-up for the first time in a month as the European champions beat Rayo Vallecano 5-1 on Saturday. 
 
Barcelona remain just two points behind the league leaders thanks to two assists from Luis Suarez as they came from behind to snap a two-game losing streak in La Liga with a 2-1 win at Almeria.

Bale took just nine minutes to make his mark as he slid in to turn home Toni Kroos's low cross before Sergio Ramos's fortunate looping effort doubled Madrid's lead.                               
 
An awful attempted backpass from James Rodriguez gave Rayo hope just before half-time as Alberto Bueno reduced the arrears, but Kroos restored the hosts' two-goal advantage with his first goal for the club.

Karim Benzema added a dubious fourth despite being clearly in an offside position before Cristiano Ronaldo registered his 23rd goal of the season thanks to some generous goalkeeping from Cristian Alvarez.

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti reserved special praise for the impact Kroos is having in his first season in the Spanish capital.

"Kroos was the best player on the pitch. He scored for the first time and he has surprised me for how consistently he is performing at a very high level."

A pelvic muscle injury had kept Bale on the sidelines for five games prior to his return as a second-half substitute against Liverpool in midweek, and there were positive signs for Welsh boss Chris Coleman as he looked back to his best ahead of his country's Euro 2016 qualifiers against Belgium and Israel.

Bale was on hand to prod home the opener from close range after a neat one-two between Kroos and Ronaldo.

Ronaldo then uncharacteristically blazed over from inside the area and Alvarez did well to turn a curling effort from Rodriguez wide.

However, from the resulting corner Ramos made it 2-0 when the ball fortunately ricocheted off his thigh into the top corner.

Rayo were gifted a reward for their neat possession football two minutes before the break, though, as Rodriguez passed the ball straight to Leo Baptistao and the on-loan Atletico Madrid striker squared for Bueno to slot into an empty net.

Baptistao thought he had brought Rayo level 10 minutes into the second period, but the goal was ruled out for a marginal offside call and within seconds Madrid had put the game to bed.

- Precise finish -

Ronaldo cut the ball back for Kroos 25 yards from goal and the German World Cup winner bent home his first goal for the club with a low precise finish.

Four minutes later it was 4-1 as Benzema turned home Ronaldo's miscued shot and this time the goal did stand despite the Frenchman being clearly in an offside position.

Bale was denied a sensational second of the night when Alvarez turned his thunderous volley onto the bar, but the 'keeper undid his good work when he allowed Ronaldo's weak effort through his body to round off a 13th consecutive victory in all competitions for Madrid.

Barca were bailed out by a superb second-half performance by Suarez after he and Neymar had been left on the bench by boss Luis Enrique as he made five changes from the side that defeated Ajax 2-0 in midweek.

Yet, despite his team's reaction after the break, Enrique was less than impressed by their display.

"The second-half was better for the ambition and attitude shown by the players rather than for good football," he said.

"To have a good season, though, you have to win even when you don't play well in games like today."

The visitors were caught out eight minutes before half-time as Lionel Messi lost possession deep inside the Almeria half and with one pass Barca were undone as Fernando Soriano released Thievy Bifouma and he raced past Marc Bartra before calmly slotting past Bravo.

Enrique had seen enough in the first 45 minutes and swiftly introduced Suarez and Neymar for Munir El Haddadi and Pedro Rodriguez at the break.

It took 15 minutes for the substitutes to make an impact as Suarez acrobatically volleyed against the bar at the back post from a corner.

Suarez was the creator when Barca did eventually level as he turned his marker just inside the area and squared for Neymar to turn the ball home via a deflection off Ximo Navarro 18 minutes from time.

The Uruguayan was inches away from his first Barca goal moments later as he spun and sent a low shot just beyond Martinez's far post.

Suarez then teed up Messi to sent another looping header off the crossbar as the pressure from the Catalans continued.

And they found the winner eight minutes from the end when after another burst from Suarez down the right he picked out the late arriving Alba from left-back to bundle home his first goal of the season.

2014 NCAA Football Rankings Top 25 - (Nov. 9, 2014)

CBSSports.com

Associated Press Top 25
 
1. Mississippi State
2. Florida State
3. Oregon
4. Alabama
5. TCU
6. Baylor
7. Arizona State
8. Ohio State
9. Auburn
10. Ole Miss
11. Nebraska
12. Michigan State
13. Kansas State
14. UCLA
15. Notre Dame
16. Georgia
17. Arizona
18. Clemson
19. Duke
20. LSU
21. Marshall
22. Wisconsin
23. Colorado State
24. Georgia Tech
25. Utah
 
Coaches Poll
 
1. Mississippi State
2. Florida State
3. Alabama
4. Oregon
5. TCU
6. Baylor
7. Ohio State
8. Arizona State
9. Auburn
10. Ole Miss
11. Nebraska
12. Michigan State
13. Kansas State
14. Georgia
15. UCLA
16. Notre Dame
17. Clemson
18. Arizona
19. Duke
20. LSU
21. Marshall
22. Wisconsin
23. Georgia Tech
24. Oklahoma
25. Colorado State
 
5 Ways to Improve the College Football Playoffs.

By Eric Martaugh

Has there been a lot to dislike from the playoffs? How can we make it better?
 
So the era of the college football playoff is here and we've been living it in earnest for a couple weeks now. While I think things are generally going pretty well there's no doubt that the playoffs are adding a lot of controversy and heated discussion to our world. One might argue that's part of the flavor of college football, but I digress.
 
Almost everything in this world can be improved. Except Notre Dame's helmets. Those are the very definition of perfection attained on Earth. However, there are a handful of ways to improve the college football playoffs, particularly in the way the committee goes about selecting teams.
 
Quick note: I'm trying to keep this realistic. If I was appointed Commissioner of College Football and wielded enormous power I'd do one two things with the playoff:

1) Expand the playoff field to 16 teams with auto-bids to 10 conference winners and 6 additional at-large bids.

2) Shrink college football to the 65 teams in the Power 5 conferences + Notre Dame, expand the playoffs to 8 teams with auto-bids to conference winners and 3 at-large bids.

I personally favor the second idea, by quite a large margin. Anyway, those possibilities are at the very least years away if not decades away from being implemented. In the here and now I think there 5 relatively easy ways to make the playoff system more acceptable to a greater selection of fans.

Release the Poll Every 2 Weeks 
 
The playoff committee got things right by waiting until after Week 9 to release the first rankings. I'm not one of those who thinks releasing a poll in late October was unnecessary but doing so any earlier doesn't make a whole lot of sense. We have averted the disaster of the committee trying to release a Top 25 after two games.
 
It may not be a significant change but releasing the College Football Poll every two weeks after week 9 might be a little bit more effective. Granted, each week in college football from late October on probably has enough drama to release a new ranking every week. Still, a two week re-ranking would allow the committee more time to do their research and go through their process while reducing the amount of weekly outrage. Again that outrage can either be part of the fun or an annoying nuisance but waiting 2 weeks should make the committee better at its job. For this season it could have looked like this:
 
  •  October 28th
  • November 11th
  • November 25th
  • December 7th (Final Poll)

That feels like the right amount of rankings leading up to the all-important final poll.

Publish a Report with Short Comments on Each Team

Too much work? It likely would be with a poll every Tuesday from week 9 onward. However, by instituting the every other week policy this becomes worthwhile.
 
Now, I'd be just as happy if the committee didn't say anything once the rankings are updated. That doesn't seem to be the way they're handling things right now, though. Putting Jeff Long in the spotlight on ESPN after the unveiling and allowing him some canned responses before sending him off to a radio show really isn't helping people get as good of a grasp on why teams are where they are. Something like this might work:
 
No. 6 Alabama- The Tide decisively won against Tennessee and were on a bye this past week. They stayed at their sixth ranking but were jumped by TCU. Although Alabama beat West Virginia by more we look more favorably on TCU's two wins over ranked teams versus Alabama's one defeated ranked team, plus TCU beat the Mountaineers on the road. The Tide have looked strong in recent weeks and will have the opportunity to boost their resume very soon.
 
Would it be too hard to do something like this?
 
Decrease Emphasis on Conference Champions
 
One of the major factors we've yet to experience is how the committee will handle the conference champions. They've mentioned numerous times that those teams who win their leagues will be looked at favorably. Here's why I don't like this way of doing things.
 
First, of course it's not good news for Notre Dame as an independent. But besides that not all conferences are created equally. I don't think there should be so much weight on winning a league where a team at No. 7 would jump into the No. 4 spot in the last rankings because it won a conference title game.
 
1. Florida State (13-0, ACC Champs)
 
2. Oregon (12-1, Pac-12 Champs)
 
3. Alabama (12-1, SEC Champs)
 
4. Notre Dame (11-1)
 
5. Miss. State (11-1)
 
6. Nebraska (12-1, Big Ten Champs)
 
In this hypothetical above let's assume Notre Dame and Mississippi State each have one more victory over a ranked opponent in comparison to Nebraska--and that's after the Huskers picked up an additional ranked win in their 13th game. Would the Huskers jump up into the final playoff spot because of their conference title?
 
I'll stress that we don't know if something like this is going to play out but I don't really like the power of a league title in this situation. I'm fine with conferences giving out auto-bids to their winners in an expanded playoff but until we do that winning a conference shouldn't mean a whole lot to the committee.
 
Keep Rewarding Tough Out of Conference Games & Best Wins
 
Now we get to some strength of schedule talk. I've been reading a lot about how the committee should punish teams who play FCS opponents. I'm not sure how they're supposed to go about doing that and it doesn't seem like a realistic idea anyway. Teams who schedule FCS teams do so at their own peril as they'll be weakening their strength of schedule and foregoing a matchup against a tough opponent for a much easier opponent.
 
They are free to do so just as Notre Dame is free to schedule Rice instead of someone like Wisconsin. We could have scheduled a tougher game to open the season and made our resume stronger--and perhaps we'd be a spot or two higher in the poll right now--but we didn't.
 
The problem for many Irish fans right now is that Notre Dame's lack of FCS opponents isn't worth a whole lot in the eyes of the committee (or more accurately the complaint is that it's not worth anything which I don't think is true). The vast majority of the time skipping a game against a FCS team will boost your strength of schedule. It's just Notre Dame's normally strong SOS isn't quite as potent this year so now we want the committee to start docking the teams ahead of us who did schedule FCS games.
 
If the committee somehow was able to enact a rule where teams were no longer allowed to schedule FCS teams I'd be okay with that. But remember, that would mean dozens of teams going out and having to schedule a bunch of new opponents from the FBS ranks. As an independent that would make Notre Dame's scheduling a little tougher in terms of logistics, plus even if you remove the FCS teams there's still a 'bad team threshold' which would only get shifted to the likes of the Sun Belt and Conference USA. And now that a bunch of other teams just made their strength of schedules a little tougher relative to Notre Dame, it's up to Jack Swarbrick to go out and counteract that with new tougher opponents, as well.
 
Focusing too much or putting too much weight on the bottom of the schedules just isn't worth the tears right now. If two teams are insanely close in the rankings, the weakest scheduled opponents is something way down the list to compare--outside of general strength of schedule formula which the committee is using anyway--but it's not enough to vault one team ahead of another just based on that bottom schedule alone.
 
There's a lot of complaining about Michigan State playing Jacksonville State, Eastern Michigan, and Wyoming. However, there's not much complaining about Nebraska playing Florida Atlantic, McNeese State, and Fresno State. That's because one team is ahead of us in the polls and the other is not. Irish fans aren't really searching for a truly fair set of criteria as much as finding criteria that makes Notre Dame look the best.
 
The committee should continue rewarding big OOC games and giving far greater weight to best wins more so than the bottom quarter of everyone's schedule. Notre Dame beating Rice and Michigan State beating Jacksonville State is a small bonus for the Irish but nothing more.
 
Embrace the Elitism
 
As I was listening to the Audible podcast earlier this week Stewart Mandel lamented the fact that the playoffs have rendered the smaller programs across the country as mostly irrelevant and out of the spotlight.
 
Oh, well.
 
I've already copped to wanting what we call FBS football to shrink to 65 teams but it isn't going to happen overnight. As cruel as it sounds the way the committee has treated a team like Marshall (8-0, +235 point differential) in the playoff poll is exactly the first step in this long-term process. If you're undefeated but playing a AAA-level baseball schedule you're not going to be considered ahead of 1-loss, 2-loss, and even some 3-loss teams playing major league schedules.
 
If we want a system where strength of schedule and big games (particularly between separate conferences) are what is super important and one of the biggest weights to compare teams then the non-major conference teams are essentially done competing for anything worthwhile. I think the playoff committee has to embrace this elitism.
 
There needs to be incentive for Top 30 type of program to try and differentiate themselves from the crowd by scheduling some tough games without fear that a Marshall is going to pass them by simply not losing to a soft schedule. Essentially, the committee needs to keep doing what it's doing by rewarding a 3-loss West Virginia over an undefeated Marshall.

Alabama shows it simply 'knows how to win' with resilient comeback at LSU.

By Eric Adelson

Alabama coach Nick Saban had plenty to smile about after Alabama's 20-13 OT win over LSU. (AP)
Alabama coach Nick Saban had plenty to smile about after Alabama's 20-13 OT win over LSU. (AP)

Nick Saban had a message for his players, for the press, and for the rest of the college football world.

He delivered those messages quite clearly, on a night when Alabama's place in the College Football Playoff looked quite murky.

The Tide basically fumbled away its season late in the fourth quarter here on Saturday, when T.J. Yeldon put the ball on the ground inside his own 10-yard-line in a tie game to give LSU at least three points if not seven.
 
Saban turned to anyone who would listen and said, "This is where you show you know how to win."

Then came a red-zone stand – holding LSU to three points – a breathless last-minute drive, a field goal, and overtime.

Saban repeated it: "This is where you show you know how to win."

Then came a brilliant Lane Kiffin play call, a go-ahead touchdown, and a game-ending defensive stop that had LSU coach Les Miles so incensed at the referees that he had to be held back by his school's sports information director.

Saban was unmoved through it all, of course. He strode into the cramped press room and called the game "Ol' fashioned ball."

He added a zinger:

"Nothing spread about that."

Saban and his team grabbed its spiraling season by the throat on Saturday, right about the time many were imagining a playoff without the Tide. Alabama would have been doomed had it lost to the Tigers, with two defeats and only one impressive win over a shaky Texas A&M team. Instead, it comes home to Tuscaloosa with a likely spot in the top four and a chance to move as high as second in the country with a win over unbeaten Mississippi State next weekend.

This is where the Tide showed they knew how to win, and they did it on the road, "where opponents' dreams come to die."

The Tide showed serious cool at a place and time when most opponents show fissures. Instead, it was LSU that came apart, first with a personal foul down by the goal line with a game-winning touchdown only six yards away in the last two minutes. Miles didn't complain about the penalty, but he admitted it "changed the complexion of the game."

So did the kickoff after the field goal, which skittered out of bounds for a penalty. So did a secondary that allowed Alabama quarterback Blake Sims to move the ball into chip-shot field goal range.

And so did LSU's head-scratching play-calling in overtime, as the Tigers went with four straight passes after riding the entire game on their rushing attack.

The more LSU seemed stunned, the more Alabama seemed sure.

"No nerves," Sims said after the game. "No nerves at all."

That's quite a statement considering how deafening it was down on the field. There will likely be no roar as hostile as that one for the rest of Alabama's season, and it was hardly an issue.

"He was ready," Amari Cooper said of his quarterback. "No fear in the guy."

That was made clear on the first play of overtime, as Sims shocked the Tigers with a throw over the middle to 304-pound tight end Brandon Greene, who nearly carried three defenders to paydirt before being brought down at the 1. Everyone in the stadium was thinking run to start the extra session, or maybe a throw to Cooper. Didn't happen.

"I was not expecting that call," Cooper said with a smile.

Kiffin had it ready. He seemed to have the entire two-minute offense ready as soon as the lead was surrendered. The pass to Greene had been practiced endlessly, and it sure looked rote – as if it was done on an empty field in August instead of in the din of November.

"After the field goal, we were ready for overtime," Cooper said matter-of-factly. "We believe. That's what our program is all about."

This is what makes Alabama, and makes the SEC the SEC. It is bruising, sometimes ugly football. There are not many style points, or any kind of points for that matter.

That deludes some into thinking the league is overrated or mediocre. But if you put a TCU or Oregon in Death Valley and force them to tackle LSU's rushers 56 times over the course of four painful, corndog-scented hours, you're going to get some serious stress on the system. All but a few teams will wilt just like Ole Miss did two weekends ago.

Alabama?

"We were built to beat a team like LSU," Saban said. All the gassers and weights in the dead of summer were aimed toward this chilly night, where "you better butt the guy in the throat," Saban said.

Asked if he prefers it that way, he said, "I love it."

So do his players.

"This is the SEC," said center Ryan Kelly. "This is football to me. This is how I played high school. This is all I've ever known about football."

Saban spoke of resiliency, and you'll note that's been a hallmark of Florida State as well.

What Alabama did Saturday night looked a whole lot like what the 'Noles did against Auburn in the BCS title game – and what Auburn did against Alabama last season in the Iron Bowl. Resiliency is not a statistic for review by the playoff committee, but near losses can be more impressive than big wins. Any team can look good when the plan comes together from the opening kickoff, but how many teams win when the plan changes with a minute to go on the road?

Saban was asked after the game about Miles' decision to go for a field goal to take the late lead instead of trying for a touchdown. He didn't seem to appreciate the question.

"The difference between what you have to do and what I have to do and what Les Miles has to do is that all our decisions are final, and we have to live with the consequences," Saban said. "Everybody else gets to second-guess everything we do, and everything we do that doesn't work, is a bad decision."

It was prickly, but it was another example of his preparation: he knows a game in Death Valley is going to come down to a decision, or a play. He accepts the finality of it. He embraces it. His players do, too.
 
Some team out there is going to have to finish off Saban and his team. It could be Mississippi State next week in Tuscaloosa. It could be an SEC East team in Atlanta. It could be Florida State in Arlington. Just know that there will come a moment in that game when Alabama will show it knows how to win, and somebody is going to have to show it knows how to end the Tide's season.

NCAA Basketball: Seven small-conference teams with Cinderella potential.

By Jeff Eisenberg

1. Harvard (27-5, 13-1): After four straight Ivy League titles, three straight NCAA bids and two round of 64 victories, Harvard appears poised to extend its run of success. The Crimson return all but three key players from last season's loaded team including a deep frontcourt and two of the better mid-major guards in the nation. The key for Harvard will be the health of junior point guard Siyani Chambers and senior wing Wesley Saunders. Chambers is an outstanding playmaker and Saunders has led the team in scoring the past two seasons, but the Crimson lack the perimeter depth they had a year ago with Brandyn Curry and Laurent Rivard having graduated. Sharpshooter Corbin Miller, a 45.6 percent 3-point shooter in the 2011-12 season, returns from his Mormon mission and will likely start alongside Chambers and Saunders. There are no such depth concerns in the frontcourt, where Amaker has size, strength and numerous options. One likely starter is senior Steve Mondou-Missi, a double-digit scorer last season and the team's top rebounder. Kenyatta Smith, who played all of two minutes last season due to injuries, is another potential starter thanks to his shot-blocking prowess, while sophomore Zena Edosomwan and freshman Chris Egi are both top 150 recruits that will play a role off the bench. Last year, Harvard dominated the Ivy League but received a modest No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament because it failed to notch any notable wins out of conference. This year, the Crimson's best chance to impress in non-league play is a critical Dec. 21 matchup with Virginia.
 
2. Georgia State (25-9, 17-1): The Panthers had Cinderella potential last season before falling by one point in overtime to Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt title game. That should provide them plenty of motivation to avoid another conference tournament slip-up this season — or better yet play their way into at-large contention so that their season doesn't come down to three days in mid-March. What gives Georgia State a chance to emerge as one of the nation's elite mid-majors this season is a backcourt headlined by three talented guards. R.J. Hunter is an NBA prospect who averaged 18.3 points per game last season and thrives off moving without the ball. Former top 40 recruit Ryan Harrow enjoyed an all-conference caliber season last year in a bounce back from his struggles at Kentucky and Louisville transfer Kevin Ware will seek to show that he is finally fully recovered from the gruesome broken leg he suffered two years ago. Among the biggest questions facing Georgia State is whether it can rebound at a competent level, a season-long problem a year ago. Marcus Krider, Jalen Brown and freshman Jordan Session will all try to help returning starter Curtis Washington transform that from a weakness to a strength this season.
 
3. Green Bay (24-7, 14-2): Fueling the Phoenix this season will be the memory of the day they let a gift-wrapped chance to reach last season's NCAA tournament slip away. In one of the most surprising outcomes of conference tournament week last March, Green Bay fell to rival Milwaukee in the Horizon League semifinals, a loss made all the more frustrating by the fact that 7-foot NBA prospect Alec Brown aggravated a shoulder injury early in the first half and explosive pont guard Keifer Sykes played with a hyperextended knee and an injured ankle. Though Green Bay will miss the inside-outside contributions of Brown, the return of Sykes and three other starters gives the Phoenix hope of again ascending to the top of the Horizon League. Sykes will be the catalyst with his ability to get into the lane, finish at the rim or create for his teammates. He'll be aided by sharpshooter Carrington Love, high-flying Greg Mays and defensive standout Jordan Fouse. Look for forwards Kenneth Lowe and Alfonzo McKinnie to each absorb some of the minutes vacated by Brown in the frontcourt. This is a potent Green Bay team with enough talent and experience to do some damage in the NCAA tournament, but getting there won't be easy. Cleveland State is formidable competition in the Horizon League and Valparaiso and Wright State won't be pushovers either.
 
4. Louisiana Tech (29-8, 13-3): They've won a combined 56 games the past two seasons. They've captured an outright WAC title and a share of the Conference USA crown. At this point, all that's missing for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs is to finally enjoy some conference tournament success and to punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991. That certainly will be the goal for Louisiana Tech this season with four pillars of last season's success returning and coach Michael White also back despite heavy interest from Tennessee. The strength of the Bulldogs once again will be a backcourt powered by pass-first point guard Kenneth "Speedy" Smith and high-scoring wings Raheem Appleby and Alex Hamilton. Smith notched 90 steals in Louisiana Tech's pressing, up-tempo system last season and averaged 7.7 assists per game, second most in the nation. Appleby was Louisiana Tech's leading scorer before an injury sidelined him for 12 games late last season, while Hamilton picked up the slack in his absence. Shot-blocking specialist Michale Kyser headlines the frontcourt, but the key to Louisiana Tech's season could be whether its young players can provide the depth needed to run a full-court pressing system. If so, the Bulldogs have a great chance to emerge as the class of Conference USA. If not, UTEP or Charlotte could overtake them.
 
5. UTEP (23-11, 12-4): Though Tim Floyd's teams have averaged 18 wins per season in his four years at UTEP, he has never won a conference title or reached the NCAA tournament. This could be his best chance yet to change that. Nine of 10 UTEP's 10 top scorers return from last year's team that finished a game out of first place in Conference USA including a pair of all-conference-caliber talents in senior Julian Washburn and sophomore Vince Hunter. The 6- foot-8 Hunter averaged 12.3 points and 6.5 rebounds en route to earning Conference USA Freshman of the Year honors, while Washburn averaged 13.1 points and 3.5 rebounds from the wing. The only loss from last season was efficient double-double threat John Bohannon, but UTEP has the post depth to survive it between Hunter, Matt Wilms and Cedrick Lang. One area where UTEP must improve to take the next step this season is its inconsistency. The Miners went 7-1 on the road in league play, but home losses against New Orleans, Charlotte and Florida Atlantic proved damaging.
 
6. Northern Iowa (16-15, 10-8): If any Valley team is going to emerge as a foil for Wichita State, Northern Iowa is probably the most likely candidate. The Panthers return their six leading scorers from last season and add a potential impact newcomer in Virginia transfer Paul Jesperson. One of the major reasons Northern Iowa underachieved a bit last season was the Panthers lost their hardscrabble defensive identity, playing at a faster tempo but surrendering the Valley's fifth-most points per possession. Interior scorers Seth Tuttle and Nate Buss sometimes appeared afraid to challenge shots in the paint last season because they didn't want to get into foul trouble, a mindset that must change. Regardless of how much Northern Iowa gets better defensively, the Panthers should remain efficient on offense. The 6-foot-8 Tuttle is a four-year starter and a returning all-league player, guard Deon Mitchell generates offense off the dribble and Jesperson is a former top 100 recruit who shot well from the perimeter at Virginia but will seek to showcase an improved all-around game. Dethroning Wichita State will be a difficult goal for Northern Iowa to achieve, but the Panthers could be formidable if they can improve their defensive without sacrificing scoring. This is a team with legitimate NCAA tournament aspirations.
 
7. Toledo (27-7, 14-4): Three years after Toledo went 4-28 in Todd Kowalcyzk's debut season, the Rockets won a program-record 27 games last season and a share of the MAC West crown. The only goal Toledo didn't accomplish was reaching the NCAA tournament, a chance that slipped out of the Rockets' grasp when they lost to Western Michigan in the conference tournament title game. The only silver lining to that loss was Toledo knew it would have another shot this year. Julius Brown and Justin Drummond lead a formidable group of returners and guard Rian Pearson is the only major contributor the Rockets don't bring back. The 5-foot-10 Brown is a four-year starter at point guard who averaged 14.9 points and 6.0 assists per game last season. The 6-foot-4 Drummond also averaged more than 14 points per game  and shot 50.7 percent from the floor. Toledo will need its perimeter-powered offense to be efficient again because its frontcourt has its share of question marks. Nathan Boone plays smaller than his size and J.D. Weatherspoon is a great rebounder but stands only 6-foot-6.
 
Others worthy of consideration: UC Irvine, Murray State, Charlotte, Cleveland State Manhattan, Iona, Florida Gulf Coast, New Mexico State, Stephen F. Austin,

Sergey Kovalev runs the table, routs 49-year-old Bernard Hopkins.

By Kevin Iole

Bernard Hopkins is knocked down in the first round against Sergey Kovalev. (Getty)
Bernard Hopkins is knocked down in the first round against Sergey Kovalev. (Getty)
 
So many times, Bernard Hopkins was able to defy time, and logic, and win fights he had no business winning. 

On Saturday, though, the magic ran out.

Hopkins' dream of holding a world title belt at age 50 ended ingloriously, as he had to summon all his heart, will and mettle not to go down in the final round as Kovalev looked to put an exclamation point on his victory.

All three judges gave Kovalev all 12 rounds. Lawrence Layton scored it 120-106, while Carlos Ortiz Jr. and Clark Sammartino scored it 120-107. Yahoo Sports gave Hopkins the seventh and scored it 119-108 for Kovalev. 

Promoter Kathy Duva was beaming and repeating, "He outboxed the boxer," after Kovalev's impressive performance.
 
"I was so eerily calm," she said. "The only thing I was nervous about was that I wasn't nervous."
 
She had little to fret about Saturday. Hopkins looked in magnificent condition, but he couldn't get his punches off and was fighting from behind from the opening moments. Kovalev dropped Hopkins with a short right hand in the first round and the outcome was never in doubt after that. 
 
Though Hopkins promoter Oscar De La Hoya said Hopkins would drop a division and seek a bout with middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, Hopkins wasn't so sure he'd fight again.
 
"It's 50-50 right now," he said. "I really don't want to say anything. Everybody will have a long time to talk about my career. It's been 50-50 the last nine years. I'd done what I had to do."
 
He hung in against one of the biggest punchers, taking a series of hard right hands and never giving in. He took a pounding in the 12th when Kovalev landed 38 punches against him, most that would have put other men to sleep. No fighter in the 41 fights tracked by CompuBox had ever landed that many punches. Hopkins was reeling a bit in the final round, but didn't go down in one last display of intestinal fortitude.

Kovalev, who referred to Hopkins as an all-time great, said, "I wanted to show I could box and I did." 

Kovalev landed 166 of 585 punches, remaining patient and sticking with his game plan. Hopkins landed only 65 punches and very few in the early rounds.

After landing his punches, Kovalev made a subtle but highly effective move – backing up to move out of punching range.

"He was pressuring strong, but he knew when to pull back," De La Hoya said. "It didn't allow Hopkins to counter. This wasn't [Hopkins getting old]. I believe it was what Kovalev was doing. He'd throw and take a step back and didn't allow Hopkins to get his punches off. He's good. He's really good.

"He knows how to use his distance and his power. He was impressive."

It wasn't the night that Hopkins wanted it to be, but he had no excuses. He fought an unbeaten fighter who had been roaring through his opposition, compiling a 25-0-1 mark with 23 stoppages entering the bout.

Hopkins hoped to be able to control the pace, frustrate Kovalev and land the counters, but Kovalev's shrewd plan negated that strategy and there was no Plan B for Hopkins.

"He did just what I knew he'd do," said Kovalev trainer John David Jackson, who was stopped by Hopkins in a 1997 middleweight title bout. "He was the teacher tonight."

Hopkins surprised many when he challenged Kovalev, but he has faced a slew of elite opposition in his career and at 49, knew he couldn't get motivated to fight B-leaguers.

He gambled that he could regain the magic for one more night, but it was not to be. It's not like he looked old and slow; he was beaten by a smart fighter who had a better plan on this night.

But the fact that a 49-year-old willingly stepped into the ring with arguably boxing's hardest hitter speaks volumes about why he's a cinch for induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

"We both would fight anyone and that's how we ended up here," Hopkins said. "That's what brought us here. It's what the fans want: One champion, one title, unification."

The bigger loser in this is WBC champion Adonis Stevenson, who bolted HBO earlier in the year for Showtime, ostensibly to fight Hopkins. But when Stevenson was hard to make a bout with, Hopkins went back to HBO and made the deal to fight Kovalev.

Kovalev will return in the spring with a considerably higher profile.

"He just catapulted right to the top of the boxing world," Duva said. "He beat a legend and he's on top now."

On This Date in Sports History: Today is Monday, November 10, 2014.

MemoriesofHistory.com

1928 - Knute Rockne made his famous "win one for the Gipper" pep talk during halftime of a tied game between Notre Dame and Army.

1934 - Armand Mondou (Montreal Canadiens) was awarded the first penalty shot in the NHL. George Hainsworth (Toronto) stopped the shot.

1940 - The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles played a penalty free NFL game.

1957 - 102,368 people attended the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams game. The crowd was the largest regular-season crowd in NFL history.

1962 - Glenn Hall (Chicago Black Hawks) missed a game due to a back injury. The missed game ended a streak of 503 consecutive games played over seven years.

1963 - Don Meredith (Dallas Cowboys) passed for 460 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

1963 - Gordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings) became the NHL's all-time leader in goals when he scored his 545th career goal.

1964 - The Atlanta Braves signed a 25 year lease to play in the new Atlanta stadium.

1974 - The Montreal Canadiens shutout the Washington Capitals 11-0.

1975 - The Kansas City Royals released Harmon Killebrew. He ended his 22-year career with 573 home runs.

1977 - The Major Indoor Soccer League was officially organized in New York City.

1990 - The Phoenix Suns set an NBA record when they scored 107 points in the first half of a game against the Denver Nuggets. Phoenix won the game 173-143.

1991 - Bernie Kosar ended his NFL record streak of 308 passes without an interception.

1991 - Martina Navratilova tied Chris Evert's record of 157 career titles.

1996 - Dan Marino (Miami Dolphins) became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 50,000 yards.

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