CS&T/AllsportsAmerica Friday Sports News Update and What's Your Take? 04/17/2015.

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Sports Quote of the Day:

"Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That's truly about the game, and in some ways that's about life too." ~ Michael Jordan, NBA Superstar and current NBA Team Owner
 

Trending: Why athletes go broke: The myth of the dumb jock.

By Robert Pagliarini

(MoneyWatch) Did you hear about the professional athlete who just declared bankruptcy? Of course you have. Because when it comes to professional athletes and money, we tend to only hear about how large their new contract is worth or how much they just lost -- and unfortunately there is no shortage of examples of the latter. A Sports Illustrated article reports the grim statistics -- 78 percent of NFL players face bankruptcy or serious financial stress within just two years of leaving the game and 60 percent of NBA players face the same dire results in five years.

While the statistics are not in dispute, the reasons why so many athletes face financial problems are. Often it boils down to the "dumb jock" stereotype -- these guys are superstars on the field but completely clueless off. Sure, that may explain some of the athletes that have gone broke, but this is not a valid or useful explanation of why so many professional athletes end up broke. In fact, NFL players score above average on intelligence measures. Many professional athletes suffer financial problems -- not because they aren't smart -- but for a number of more nuanced reasons.
 
In my work managing the finances of sudden wealth recipients and advising professional athletes, the best way to help is to overcome the common barriers that prevent windfall recipients from doing the right thing. Here are a few issues, any one of which can wreak havoc on one's finances, that are common to the professional athlete:

Trust issues. Think Goldilocks. Too much or too little can be a problem. For the athlete that doesn't trust anyone, he won't be open to good tax, legal, and financial advice that could protect his wealth and ensure a lifetime of financial stability. On the other hand, more than a few professional athletes have been duped, taken advantage of, or downright defrauded because they blindly trusted a smooth talking "suit." A newly announced financial helpline by the NFL Player's Association aims to address this very issue. Liz Davidson, CEO of Financial Finesse and the company supporting the helpline says, "This program gives players a strong base to build upon, and that with the continued growth of their financial education initiatives, players will continue to progress financially."

Wired differently. It's pretty easy to spot a professional athlete in a lineup. Physically they are quite different from you and me. But psychologically they may be different as well. Research found significant differences between athletes and non-athletes across personality characteristics such as inhibition, emotionality, and aggressiveness. Good characteristics on the field, but not necessarily optimum for making financial decisions.

Today focus. Research published in the Journal of Judgment and Decision Making shows professional athletes are more present focused rather than future focused as compared to non-athletes. In other words, there is much greater emphasis placed on today than there is on tomorrow. This may help support the athletes' winner-take-all mindset needed to excel, but can impede any attempt at saving and investing for their future.

Familial pressure. "If you haven't experienced it yourself, there is no way to describe it" is how one client expressed the rush of a windfall and the ensuing pressure from friends and family to "spread the love." The star we see on the field is often the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Who we don't see is the family or friends that may have encouraged and even supported the athlete. For some athletes, they feel a sense of duty to buy houses and cars or invest in the business ideas of those who helped them get to where they are. They may do this to the extreme in order to assuage the idea that money has changed them. "Look at me," they'll say. "Money hasn't changed me and I'll prove it."

Ego bleed. For professional athletes it's the Lake Wobegon Effect -- the tendency for everyone to think they are above average -- but on steroids! Because in this case, these athletes are truly the very best in the world at what they do. The problem is when this over confidence bleeds into their finances -- thinking they don't need advice and that they have some special insight or talent in areas beyond their athletic expertise.

Need excitement. Investing and finance is fast-paced and exciting with high emotions and drama ... in the movies. In the real world, financial planning is slow and methodical. The glitz and glamour we think of on Wall Street doesn't translate into a good, long-term financial strategy. But some athletes want and expect the drama. A steady return in the stock market just isn't exciting enough, so some seek high-risk, winner-take-all (sound familiar?) investments that often leave them high on adrenaline but low on funds.

Two worlds. As foreign as it would feel for you to enter their world, it is often just as alien for the athlete to discuss asset allocations, family limited partnerships, and the alternative minimum tax. According to former professional baseball player Bobby Grich, "Players are not trained in wealth management and that world can be totally intimidating as I know from firsthand experience."

Athletes suffer financially for many reasons, but the dumb jock explanation is not one of them. Professional athletes are intelligent and talented in ways the rest of us cannot fathom. Davidson agrees, noting that "The game requires a high level of discipline, focus and intelligence -- all traits that can be parlayed into smart money management." Sometimes all it takes is recognizing and overcoming some of these barriers, entering their world, and providing a little guidance.

Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: The above article was published July 1, 2013. The issue of highly paid athletes going broke is still a tremendous problem and has been going on forever. All kind of programs have been initiated and tried by the leagues, team owners, agents, families of the players and fellow players themselves. It is very frustrating to see a young athlete put his life in danger playing professional sports, earn three to three hundred million dollars in his playing life and then when he retires, he's broke within two to seven years.    

Below is an example of family and peer pressure that these young athletes must contend with. Sometimes it's very difficult for them to handle. It takes a very strong person to do the right thing.  Please continue reading.....

Phillip Buchanon’s cautionary tale: My mom demanded $1 million

By Michael David Smith

When Phillip Buchanon was a first-round draft pick in 2002, his mom decided that his payday would be her payday, too.

Buchanon, who has written a book offering cautionary tales about athletes going broke despite multimillion-dollar contracts, says that once he was drafted, his mom began to demand money. Buchanon says his mom told him the bill for raising him was $1 million, and she wanted it paid back right away.

“Soon after the draft, she told me that I owed her a million dollars for raising me for the past 18 years,” Buchanon says, via FOXSports.com. “Well, that was news to me. If my mother taught me anything, it’s that this is the most desperate demand that a parent can make on a child. The covenant of having a child is simply that you give your child everything possible, and they owe you nothing beyond a normal amount of love and respect. There is no financial arrangement. If you get old and infirm, and your kids are around to help you out at that point, then you’re lucky. It’s not written in the social contract.”

Buchanon wisely declined to write his mom a $1 million check, but he did buy his mom a house, which turned out to be more expensive than he expected when she also started demanding money for upkeep not only on the new house, but on her old house, which she declined to sell.

“I bought my mother a house,” he says. “I also advised her to sell the old one I grew up in when I put a new roof over her head, but my mother had other plans. Instead of selling my childhood home, she decided to rent it to my aunt. So I had to finance my mother, the budding landlord. Only this wasn’t an investment. It was an encumbrance, because I didn’t share in my mother’s profit-making scheme. For the next seven years, I continued to make mortgage and maintenance payments on both homes.”

Eventually Buchanon stopped giving his family money, but he says he lost several hundred thousand dollars before he reached that point. His book, New Money: Staying Rich, is designed to teach others who come into money at a young age how to say no.

An Observation: My mother did not give my brother and I everything that we wanted but she made sure we had everything that we needed. She taught us about love, respect and common sense; basics that I have endeared into my children. We'd love to hear what you think about this issue and any thoughts or suggestions that we can pass along to help these young men and ladies that will aid them in the future. It starts with them first but positive support and reinforcement will go a long way in helping them to do the right thing. Now that you know what we think and how we feel, we want to know, what's your take?  Marion P. Jelks, The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica editorial staff. 

How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks-Predators Preview.

AP               
                                                                                 

                                  
Joel Quenneville seemingly had a tough decision to make.

Does he go with the backup goaltender who sparked a rally in Game 1? Or should he stick with the guy who has carried the load most of the season?

To the Chicago Blackhawks coach, though, it was "pretty much a no-brainer."

Corey Crawford - not Scott Darling - will be in net for Friday night's Game 2 against the host Nashville Predators.

After the Blackhawks fell behind 3-0 on Nashville's 12 first-period shots Wednesday, Darling played the final 67:44 and made 42 saves before Duncan Keith scored in the second overtime to give Chicago a 4-3 victory.

Darling's relief effort was the longest for any goaltender without allowing a goal in the history of the playoffs. But Crawford, who shared the Jennings Trophy with Montreal's Carey Price for the fewest team goals allowed during the season, had been the rock in net leading up to Game 1, and that made Quenneville's decision easy.

''He's our starting goalie,'' Quenneville said. ''He's been our strength all year long. It was one period, and one collectively as a team - goaltending all the way out through the forwards - I thought our first period was ordinary at best. I look forward to him getting back in the net.''

Darling, who was in Nashville's system in 2013 and a minor league roommate of Predators' standout rookie Filip Forsberg, was just part of the comeback. Jonathan Toews had a goal and two assists, and Patrick Kane added a pair of assists.

Kane's return was the story heading into Game 1 after he missed the final 21 of the season with a broken clavicle. He quickly shook off any rust and played more than 23 minutes.
"If anybody can come back and not look out of place, it's a guy like (Kane), whose skill level is so much higher than everybody else's," Keith said.

Kane's return left Antoine Vermette as the odd man out. Vermette, acquired from Arizona at the trade deadline, seems headed for a second straight healthy scratch after Quenneville said it's "not likely" any lineup changes would be made from Game 1.

The Predators, though, may have to shake things up depending on the availability of forward Mike Fisher, who left after suffering a lower-body injury early in the second period.

That left Nashville with 11 forwards for the remainder of the game, and he's questionable to play Friday.

"That was big," coach Peter Laviolette said. "It happened early enough in the game to where you have to juggle that position. You have to take a guy out that you could go down a checklist of things that you need from players on the ice, and you just keep checking the boxes when Mike comes out of the lineup. Those are some big shoes to fill."

The Predators have lost seven straight, but Laviolette said his club isn't panicking. He also defended Pekka Rinne, who has lost his last five starts with a 3.24 goals-against average and .871 save percentage.

Nashville now looks to put together a full performance rather than just a 20-minute explosion in which Colin Wilson scored twice and former Blackhawk Viktor Stalberg had a goal off a Crawford misplay.

"You'd rather be sitting in a different position that's for sure, but it's one game," Laviolette said. "We can pull a lot of positives from (Game 1), but we've got to win hockey games as well."

Blackhawks defeat Predators 4-3 in double overtime. (Wednesday night's game, 04/15/2015).

By Chris Hine
                         

Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) tries to move the puck around several Nashville Predators players, during the first period. (Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago Tribune)

On the list of potential heroes for the Blackhawks in Game 1 of their first-round NHL playoff series against the Predators, Scott Darling ranked just above the assistant coaches.

Yet it was the rookie from Lemont who was absolutely brilliant in relief of starting goaltender Corey Crawford to propel the Hawks to an improbable 4-3 double-overtime victory over the Predators on Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena.

Darling entered the game to start the second period after Crawford yielded three goals that had his team nearly down and out and made 42 saves — many of them spectacular — as the Hawks seized home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series that will resume with Game 2 Friday night here.

Duncan Keith scored the game-winner 7 minutes, 49 seconds into the second OT, capping a comeback from a three-goal deficit after one period of ragged defensive play.

“This is just another thing that I never would have told you would have happened, but it did,” Darling said. “It was a great goal by Duncan and what an effort by the boys. It was a great game.”

With the help of two assists from by Patrick Kane, who was playing in his first game since suffering a broken left collarbone Feb. 24, the Hawks roared back in the second on scores from Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Niklas Hjalmarsson. Those goals negated two from Colin Wilson and another from Viktor Stalberg that had the crowd roaring and the Hawks on their heels in the opening period.

From there, Darling and Pekka Rinne engaged in a classic goalie duel but when the dust settled it was Darling still standing.

“It was a great opportunity for (Darling) and he seized the moment,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “I commend him on everything that he achieved. I look back at what he has done for us over the course of the season, every time we put him in the net our team doesn’t change their approach. (Wednesday night) playing in a playoff game of this magnitude in that situation it was one of the greatest relief performances you’re going to see.”

 

Keith’s shot from the point found its way through traffic and into the net to give the Hawks momentum heading into Game 2.

“It was probably the worst it could get, down 3-0,” Keith said. “We knew that we had nowhere to go but up. We know in the playoffs a lot can change. You get a couple of goals and you’re right back in it.”

Kane logged 23:08 in his return and looked dangerous with the puck after a shaky first period.

“I felt a little rusty,” Kane said. “It’s nothing I didn’t really expect after some time off and coming back for the first playoff game.”

The term “fresh as a daisy” isn’t used often around NHL arenas during the postseason — or any time for that matter — but Quenneville invoked the term when discussing Kane’s return.

While not the ideal way to get it, Kane had plenty of time to rest before the playoffs. While many players are running on fumes after a grueling regular season, Kane is fresh.

“Exactly,” he said. “That’s a good way to look at it. When you … get injured it’s tough to look at it that way but now that we’re past all of that stuff I think it’s important to look at the positive.

“We picked up some good assets while I was out. We played pretty well too. And now if you look at having 50 days off, hopefully you’re rested and relaxed. I have a lot of energy and I’ll try to bring that to the table.”

Blackhawks: Predators fans sing National Anthem before Game 1.

#HAWKSTALK

Not only did the Predators do an impressive job at "keeping the red out" for Game 1, but they kept them quiet as well.

In an effort to prevent Blackhawks fans from cheering during the National Anthem at Bridgestone Arena, the Mayor of Nashville let the fans sing it in unison before puck drop on Wednesday night.

And it worked.

Just Another Chicago Bulls Session… Bucks-Bulls Preview.

USA Today

No. 3 Chicago Bulls (50-32) vs. No. 6 Milwaukee Bucks (41-41).

Season series: Bulls, 3-1.

Points per game (per 100 possessions): Bulls 100.8, Bucks 97.8 (Bulls 107.5, Bucks 102.7).

Points allowed per game (per 100 possessions): Bulls 97.8, Bucks 97.4 (Bulls 104.3, Bucks 102.2).

Matchups worth watching: Bulls PG Derrick Rose vs. Bucks PG Michael Carter-Williams, Bulls SG Jimmy Butler vs. Bucks SG Khris Middleton.

Scoring leaders: Bulls Butler (20.0 points per game), Bucks Williams (14.1 points per game)

Why Chicago will win: The Bulls have proven they not only know how to win in the playoffs, but do so while banged up, which is fortunate for a team with multiple injuries to key players entering the playoffs. It's not clear the Bucks have an answer for Pau Gasol, and a healthy Derrick Rose is better than anyone the Bucks can throw at him.

Why Milwaukee will win: Doubting Jason Kidd has been a fool's errand at every turn. They have a top-five defense that will keep them in games throughout the series. Middleton, who has been great late in the year, could be an offensive answer to Butler's production. And the Bulls are banged up, while the Bucks are young and healthy.

Did you know? The Bucks backed into the playoffs, finishing the season 10-18, but still improved 26 games over their 2013-14 record, even without top pick Jabari Parker for the final 57 games of the regular season.

Prediction: Bulls in 7.

Schedule: Bulls-Bucks playoff series starts on CSN. 

#BULLSTALK

The Bulls sealed their first-round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday after Tom Thibodeau's crew pulled out a comeback win over the Hawks.

Here's a look at the schedule for the Bulls-Bucks series. Comcast SportsNet Chicago will air every game between the two teams in the first round, starting with Game 1 at 6:00 p.m.

Game 1 (at Chicago)	Saturday, April 18	6:00 p.m.
Game 2 (at Chicago)	Monday, April 20	7:00 p.m.
Game 3 (at Milwaukee)	Thursday, April 23	7:00 p.m.
Game 4 (at Milwaukee)	Saturday, April 25	4:30 p.m.
Game 5 (at Chicago)	Monday, April 27	TBD
Game 6 (at Milwaukee)	Thursday, April 30	TBD
Game 7 (at Chicago)	Saturday, May 2	TBD

For Bulls' Rose, suiting up for playoffs long time in making.

By ANDREW SELIGMAN (AP Sports Writer)

Derrick Rose has no interest in looking back, in discussing what might have been.

All that matters is that the Chicago Bulls open the playoffs at home Saturday against Milwaukee and he expects to be in the lineup.

It will be a moment three years in the making. Not since the 2012 playoff opener has Rose appeared in a postseason game, and not since the 2011 Eastern Conference finals have the Bulls had their hometown star for the duration of their run.  

''It'll be fun,'' Rose said. ''It'll give me a chance to go out here and battle with my teammates in the playoffs. The playoffs is a different atmosphere, a different type of setting. I get the opportunity to play the game that I love playing. The intensity is going to be definitely high. I can't wait to play.''
 

Does he wonder what might have been had he been healthy the past few years?

''Can't think about that,'' Rose said. ''I let that go years ago. (I'm) living in the present and that's where I'm trying to keep things.''
 

Still, it's hard not to wonder if the Bulls would have emerged from the Eastern Conference at least once and maybe captured their first championship since the Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen era had their standout point guard not suffered season-ending injuries to both knees.
 

After all, they had the No. 1 overall playoff seed in back-to-back seasons and Rose at his explosive best.

  
 He became the youngest MVP in NBA history while leading the Bulls to 62 wins and a trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 2011. The Bulls lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in five games, but the following season, they looked like they were poised to make another big run.

That notion came crashing down as Rose crumbled to the court late in Game 1 of the first-round series against Philadelphia. It happened just as he seemed to be rounding into form after missing 27 games in a lockout-shortened season.

Rose had 23 points and nine assists and was performing more like a reigning MVP when he was injured with about 1:20 left in a lopsided victory. The Bulls also lost Joakim Noah to a sprained ankle later in the series and wound up bowing out in the first round.

Chicago expected to get Rose back the following year, but that never happened. And his long-awaited comeback ended at 10 games last season when Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee.

Without Rose, the Bulls were the plucky team that was always going to try hard but in no way challenge the Heat for supremacy in the East let alone win a championship. They lost in the second round to Miami in 2013 and got knocked out in the first round by Washington last season.

''You always reminisce,'' Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. ''Every year, we reminisce about 'what if.' We talk about this all the time. It's frustrating. You have to think about the times we were right there and we were just a little bit short.''

The Bulls believe they are loaded this time with Rose back and Pau Gasol in the mix. They expected to challenge for the Eastern Conference title, and they have a chance to make it happen in the playoffs after a challenging regular season.

There were injuries and minutes restrictions placed on Rose and Noah. The inconsistent Bulls earned the third seed at 50-32, but they expect most if not all their key players to be available.

Their starting five of Rose, Jimmy Butler, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Gasol and Noah should be ready for Saturday's game, a rarity for Chicago this season. The Bulls went with that lineup just 22 times this season, winning 17.

That certainly bodes well for them even if Rose remains a bit of a question mark.

Rose averaged 17.7 points, but the aggression has been lacking at times. His field-goal percentage (40.5) is the second-lowest of his career after shooting 35.4 percent over 10 games last year.

He recently missed about six weeks following a minor operation on his right knee and sat out the second half of Wednesday's finale against Atlanta because of soreness in his left knee. He insisted it was minor. He was also adamant about this.

''I believe I'm one of the best players in the NBA,'' Rose said.

Still?

''Still,'' he said.

Bulls clinch third seed and matchup with Bucks in comeback win 91-85. (Wednesday night's game, 04/15/2015).

By Vincent Goodwill

With so many things out of the Bulls’ hands this season, Wednesday was the one night where plenty was in their control as they could’ve clinched the third seed with a win against the Atlanta Hawks.

But the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference — one with nothing to play for, it should be added — gave the Bulls another taste of what a potential second-round matchup could look like if it were in the cards.

But after giving the Bulls some old-fashioned ‘tussin, the Hawks rested their starting group — one that ran circles around the Bulls’ first five — making way for the beat-up Bulls to make a comeback.

And some unlikely Bulls led the charge in their third-seed clinching 91-85 win at the United Center, sealing a matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks when the playoffs begin this weekend.  

In case one didn’t notice, this riddled team hit the 50-win mark this season, leaving them encouraged about the season to date.

“Overall we took a huge hit when Derrick went down and it wasn’t just that,” said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, the man charged with keeping this boat afloat for seven months.

“We had Jimmy (Butler) and Taj (Gibson) go down to survive that stretch. When you have a lot of moving parts it can get choppy (and) we have to hit the ground running.”

They didn’t hit the ground running Wednesday, looking like they would have to face the team that sent them home last spring, the Washington Wizards, after falling behind by double digits early and trailing by as many as 18 in the second half.

“I don’t think our team played very well,” Thibodeau said. “That was disappointing but then we had a good stretch and worked our way back into the game. Turnovers hurt us.”

The Bulls turned it over 22 times due to the swarming Hawks defense, and barely got over the 40 percent mark, while shooting just 29 percent from three.

But consecutive triples from Aaron Brooks gave the Bulls an 87-82 lead with four minutes left, after Nazr Mohammed and E’Twaun Moore added contributions early in the fourth to keep things afloat.

Mohammed, in his 1,000^th game, tipped in a Butler miss to tie the game at 77 with eight minutes left in the fourth, and Moore made a couple twisting moves to the basket to stress the Hawks defense until Brooks re-entered. Brooks finished with 23 points and six rebounds in 32 minutes while Jimmy Butler scored 21 in 41 minutes.

Those contributions were clearly necessary given the circumstances, and things weren’t truly settled until Pau Gasol lightly pumped his fist after a lefty-layup over Elton Brand with a little over a minute remaining, giving the Bulls a 91-85 lead.

Had Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer chose not to rest Al Horford, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver in the fourth, the outcome would’ve likely been different. Horford gave Gasol fits, with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Teague got into the lane at will in 22 minutes for 10 points and Korver’s endless activity was the fuel for the Hawks’ movement-based offense.

But the Bulls will make no apologies given the unforeseen circumstances that have haunted them throughout the year, and in this game.

Perhaps for precautionary reasons, Derrick Rose didn’t play in the second half after 10 first-half minutes where he uncharacteristically turned the ball over four times, with two points and two assists.

It was termed left knee soreness, not the knee that had been operated on in February.

He certainly didn’t appear injured, with nothing wrapped around his knees or ankles sitting on the bench alongside Joakim Noah, but it’s clear a strange bedfellow that was next to the Bulls for 82 games will follow them for games 83 and beyond—those darned injuries, evidenced by Gibson leaving the game in the third quarter with a left shoulder strain.

But the Bulls will head to the playoffs with a 50-win season under their belts, finishing this season with production across the board, just like all year. And there’s plenty of questions headed to Saturday’s playoff opener—just like all year.

NBA players to be tested for HGH starting next season.

AP - Sports

NBA players will be blood tested for human growth hormone beginning next season.

The league and the Players Association announced Thursday that HGH testing will start during training camp next fall. All players will be subjected to three random, unannounced tests annually - two during the season and once in the offseason.

A positive test will result in a 20-game suspension for a first violation and a 45-game ban for a second violation. A player would be dismissed and disqualified from the NBA for his third violation.

Owners and players had agreed during collective bargaining negotiations in 2011 to determine a process for how HGH testing could be implemented. The league hasn't previously done blood testing.

Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!! Kyle Long provides peek into Bears' voluntary workouts.  

By Chris Boden

Kyle Long

It appears the main reason Bears guard Kyle Long was asked to phone in to yesterday's "Rich Eisen Show" was to talk about former Oregon Ducks, from Marcus Mariota's leadership and charisma to the culture Chip Kelly instills in his teams. The methods to Kelly's madness is an ongoing national topic now that he's blown up and pieced the Philadelphia Eagles back together despite back-to-back 10-6 seasons. 

But we here in Chicago are more concerned about what's going on at Halas Hall, now that this week marked the start of voluntary, off-field workouts under the new coaching regime. Through most accounts by hearsay, attendance is strong despite the absence of running back Matt Forte, who appears to be making whatever statement he can about working out elsewhere as he enters the final year of a four-year contract. The training facilities are open to veterans under contract for supervised weight training, and rehabbing injured players get to work with the training and medical staffs. Perhaps most importantly of all, the new coaching staff gets a fixed amount of daily classroom time with the players about the schemes they're implementing.

It's certainly safe to call Long a long-term cornerstone to this offense, no matter how and where he'll be implemented. And while being careful to respect the previous regime that brought him to Chicago, the two-time Pro Bowl guard further fueled optimism when sharing the culture change in the building.

"The guys we're playing for now are just older versions of us," Long told Eisen. "They understand what we're going through ... They do a great job of balancing work and your life outside of football, and they're also football guys. They're crazy about it and John Fox is hitting biceps curls next to me, talking smack, telling me to put weight on the bar. I think we got the right guys in the building.

"They're a bunch of 'men's men' upstairs. They love football and everything that comes about with football. That's apparent here."

To be fair, Marc Trestman promoted that balance between work and life outside of football, but the execution of that concept was never fully realized, and the on-field execution crumbled with each passing week. 

"We need to score more points than the other team, and defensively we need to allow less points than we're scoring," Long said. "If we can't play defense, if we can't play offense or special teams, good things aren't going to happen. I feel we have the right people in the building to achieve that. It's been very evident the past two days it's a different culture here."

NFL: Mara realizes playoffs will be expanding.

By Mike Florio

Giants co-owner John Mara doesn’t talk very much.  When he does, he says plenty.  Often to the website owned by the team that he owns.  (Exclusive!)

Via Giants.com, Mara spoke recently about the inevitability that the playoff field will expand from 12 to 14 teams.  It’s a change that some owners will reluctantly accept.

“I still would prefer to keep it the way it is, but I don’t think it’s the end of the world if we end up making the change,” Mara said.  (We really need a better figure of speech for describing worst-case scenarios, unless anyone who uses that phrase looks forward to the eventual validation.  “See, this, is the end of the world.”)

“We did not believe that there were any competitive reasons not to do it,” Mara added.  “Not all of us are crazy about it, but competitively, the only thing that bothers us is the fact that only one team in each conference would get a bye, which gives them somewhat of an advantage. But we’ve seen in the past that the number one seed doesn’t always make it through to the Super Bowl.”

He’s right.  The No. 1 seed loses surprisingly often in the divisional round of the playoffs.  Which leads to the far more important potential complication of having the No. 2 seed face the No. 7 seed in the wild-card round.  As Commissioner Roger Goodell explained last month to Peter King of TheMMQB.com, the No. 2 seed could end up hosting games for five straight weekends, if the No. 2 seed has back-to-back home games to end the regular season.

It would go like this:  Week 16 at home; Week 17 at home; wild-card round at home vs. No. 7 seed; divisional round at home vs. No. 3, No. 4, or No. 5 seed; and conference championship game at home, if No. 1 seed loses in the divisional round.

The other problem arises from the placement of the extra two games in what would become a six-game wild-card weekend.  The NFL is interested in Monday night, but a potential conflict looms with the NCAA championship game.  And the NCAA has said it’s not moving.

The prevailing thought continues to be that the NFL will tie the extra playoff games to the Thursday night package in a one-plus-one-equals-three effort to get more money for both from whichever network picks up the extra games.  With the Thursday night package going out for bid in 2016, that’s when the playoff change is likely to be made.

The owners who don’t like the idea will find solace in the enhanced opportunity to qualify for the postseason — and in all the extra cash they’ll be making.

White Sox-Tigers Preview.

AP

After suffering their first defeat, the Detroit Tigers have responded with another scoreless streak. Now they're giving the ball to a left-hander capable of putting up more zeros.

David Price will try to extend his longest season-opening stretch without allowing an earned run while helping the Tigers record their third straight shutout Friday against the visiting Chicago White Sox.

Following a 5-4 loss Monday at Pittsburgh, Shane Greene gave up three hits over eight innings in a 2-0 victory Tuesday before Alfredo Simon allowed two hits over eight in Wednesday's 1-0 win.

"The one downside is we do have some guys who could actually use some work (in the bullpen)," manager Brad Ausmus told MLB's official website.

The Tigers (8-1) also had consecutive shutouts and surpassed a 68-year-old AL record with a season-starting 24 scoreless innings during a home sweep of Minnesota last week.

Detroit, off to its best start since going 16-1 in its World Series title season in 1984, will turn to Price (1-0, 0.00 ERA) with a chance to extend its run of 19 straight scoreless innings.

The four-time All-Star is taking a 21 2-3 regular-season scoreless inning streak that dates to his last outing of 2014 into the opener of this 10-game home stand. He's 3-0 with a 1.11 ERA over his last four regular-season home starts.

One of those outings came against the White Sox in September, when he tossed eight scoreless innings but coughed up a three-run lead in the ninth before the Tigers won 4-3. Since losing his first four starts against Chicago, Price has gone 4-1 with a 2.96 ERA in his last six meetings.

Jose Abreu batted .389 with five homers, eight doubles and 13 RBIs in 19 games versus Detroit in 2014, and his only hit in seven at-bats against Price is a two-run homer. Adam Eaton has gotten off to a 4-for-34 start, but he went 5 for 8 off Price in 2014 and is batting .436 over his last nine games against the Tigers.

''You know Adam is going to come out of it eventually because you know the talent is there," manager Robin Ventura said following Wednesday's 4-2 loss at Cleveland that snapped a three-game winning streak.

Jeff Samardzija (0-1, 6.23) hopes he can build on some of the improvement he made in his second start with the White Sox (3-5). After allowing five runs over six innings in a season-opening 10-1 loss at Kansas City, he threw five scoreless innings after giving up four runs in the second of a 5-4 home win over Minnesota on Saturday.

J.D. Martinez is the only Detroit position player that has faced Samardzija, who has never pitched against the Tigers. The right fielder has gone 2 for 6 with a triple.

The Tigers totaled seven runs in the series with the Pirates after scoring 47 over the first six games.

Jose Iglesias has three hits in five at-bats in the last two games, raising his average to .481. Miguel Cabrera is batting .432 with two home runs and nine RBIs after going hitless in three at-bats Wednesday.

Kris Bryant tracker: The wait is over.

#CUBSTALK

Controversy surrounded the Cubs' decision to send Kris Bryant to the minors just before the season began. (Photo/Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)

 

Kris Bryant Watch appears to be over.

The top prospect in baseball is expected to be called up to The Show on Friday, according to CSN Cubs Insider Patrick Mooney.

Here's a rundown of Bryant's minor league action this season:

Thursday, April 16 - Iowa Cubs @ New Orleans Zephyrs

Bryant went 3-for-5 including a three-run game-winning homer in his final I-Cubs game. Bryant also struck out once and made a couple errors while playing third base.

The I-Cubs won the game, 4-1, earning their third win of the season.

Wednesday, April 15 - Iowa Cubs @ New Orleans Zephyrs

After a rainout Tuesday, Bryant and the I-Cubs picked up play again with an early game Wednesday, in which Bryant went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. He was also hit by a pitch and struck out twice as Iowa lost 3-2 in extra innings.

Bryant is now hitting .333 on the season with a 1.004 OPS, two homers, seven RBI and two stolen bases in six games.

Monday, April 13 - Iowa Cubs @ New Orleans Zephyrs

Bryant didn't homer Monday, but he did collect three hits - all singles - in helping the I-Cubs to a 4-1 victory. Bryant didn't score or drive in a run (the bottom of the order did all the damage) and stole his second base of the season. He also made two throwing errors at third base.

Sunday, April 12 - Iowa Cubs @ Memphis Redbirds

Bryant went deep again Sunday, crushing a two-run homer in the seventh to spark Iowa to a 7-2 victory. He also hit a sacrifice fly in the game and finished 1-for-4 with three RBI. Bryant hit third in the lineup, with Addison Russell collecting three hits - including a homer - and two RBI hitting ahead of Bryant.

Saturday, April 11 - Iowa Cubs @ Memphis Redbirds

Bryant broke out of his mini-slump to start the year, going 3-for-4 with a double, his first home run of the year and 3 RBIs.

He added a single and played error-free baseball at third base as the Cubs won 13-0, picking up their first win of the year.

Friday, April 10 - Iowa Cubs @ Memphis Redbirds

Bryant was the cleanup hitter, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. He was error-free in nine innings of work at third base.

Iowa finished the game with five hits, losing 8-1.

Thursday, April 9 - Iowa Cubs @ Memphis Redbirds

Bryant hit fourth and went 1-for-4 with a single, an RBI, a run and a stolen base while playing third. He hit behind fellow uber-prospect Russell, who had two hits, a run and an RBI.

Bryant drove in John Andreoli with a two-out single to right and then promptly stole second before Junior Lake's single brought home both Russell and Bryant.

Still, the I-Cubs wound up on the losing end in a 7-4 ballgame.

Golf: I got a club for that: Jordan Spieth struggles in 1st round after Masters win.

By Pete Iacobelli

Jordan Spieth hits off the third tee during the first round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament in Hilton Head Island, S.C., Thursday, April 16, 2015. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

It's been quite some time since Jordan Spieth had to explain a performance this poor.

The Masters champion had a post-Masters letdown in the opening round Thursday, shooting 3-over 74 to end his run of 16 straight rounds under par. He blamed it all on himself — and not the two-day celebratory media tour in New York this week.

"I didn't drive the ball well, didn't particularly strike my irons well. My chipping and putting weren't there," he said. "It was just an off day."

And the sort of performance that stands in stark contrast with how Spieth played the past month. He won the Valspar Championship, finished second at the Texas Open and lost a playoff in the Houston Open before capturing the green jacket and his first major championship at Augusta National.

It was a lot to ask of anyone to come back just as strong, let alone a 21-year-old who hadn't gone through it before.

"No excuses, I just didn't have it today," he said.

He better have it on Friday if he hopes to hang around for the weekend. Spieth stands eight shots behind Graeme McDowell and Matt Every, tied for the top at 5-under 66.

"Got a good feeling about tomorrow," Spieth said. "Feel like I got some swings in, got in somewhat of a rhythm and can at least go out and feel the shots."

Don't bet against the young Texan.

He got into Sea Pines Resort late Tuesday night after some 25 appearances and interviews in New York, including an appearance with David Letterman and seeing the view atop the Empire State Building. He acknowledged his preparation this week had suffered.

Spieth was greeted by a large gallery on the first tee, crowds five and six deep stretching cellphones to snap pictures and get video footage. "Way to go, Jordan," someone shouted after his tee shot.

The applause continued throughout the round and, while Spieth appreciated the sentiment, had difficulty concentrating on his game.

"I was upset about missing the green and then there was a standing ovation walking up," he said. "It's like, 'Thank you. I just hit a terrible shot. Thanks.' So it was kind of tough to find the balance there."

It was clear, though, this would not be the Spieth who tied the Masters' scoring mark of 18-under 270 set by Tiger Woods in 1997.

He was in perfect position on the par-5 second, which played the easiest in round one, when he left his approach shot short and in the bunker. Spieth could not make an 8-footer to save birdie. He was short of the green again on the par-4 sixth hole, leading to the first of three bogeys — Spieth had just one bogey in his first 36 holes at Augusta National.

The wheels truly came off at the par-3 14th when Spieth hit into the water and watched his third shot spin back about 15 feet from the cup. He made a double-bogey 5.

He hasn't had many days like this in 2015 — and neither had McDowell, who hadn't shot lower than 71 in his previous 12 rounds, including all four at last week's Masters when he tied for 52nd.

McDowell, though, found his game on the layout's tight fairways and small greens. He had six birdies after an opening bogey to move in front.

"It was great to feel comfortable out there today, see my lines, hit my speeds and make a few putts," said McDowell, who has not won on tour since taking this title in 2013.

It's been a strange season for Every, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month yet hadn't finished better than 27th in any of his 11 other events.

He had birdies on four of his final eight holes, including a 50-foot chip in on the sixth hole and a 20-foot chip in on the seventh, to tie McDowell. Every stayed in the lead when he chipped to a foot on the eighth hole to save par.

"I'll take it any way I can get it," he said.

After Bae, defending champion Matt Kuchar led a group of five another stroke back at 68. Ian Poulter and former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen were in a group of 12 at 69.

DIVOTS: Luke Donald, who's had three seconds and two thirds in his past six trips to the RBC Heritage, opened with a 2-over 73. It was just his second round over par in his past 25 played here. ... U.S. Amateur champion Gunn Yang opened with a 3-over 74. The 21-year-old from South Korea has missed the cut in the three PGA Tour events he's played since winning his title, including the Masters where he shot 85-74 the first two rounds. ... Camilo Villegas withdrew after going 8-over par on his opening nine holes.

45 Sprint Cup drivers on entry list for Bristol Motor Speedway.

By Jared Turner

Ron Hornaday, pictured here with Dale Earnhardt Jr., will attempt to race for just the second time in 2015. (Jerry Markland / Getty Images North America)

 

Forty-five drivers are on the preliminary entry list for Sunday's Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes at Bristol Motor Speedway.

That means two drivers will have to go home early and won't compete in the 500-lap race that begins live on FOX at 1 p.m. ET.

Substitute drivers entered for Bristol include David Ragan (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota), Brett Moffitt (No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota) and Chris Buescher (No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford).

Four-time Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday will attempt to race for just the second time this season, after failing to qualify or withdrawing in three previous events.

Full-time XFINITY Series driver Brendan Gaughan will be back in a No. 62 Chevy for Jay Robinson Racing after failing to qualify for the past two events.

Check out the full entry list, below:

There are 45 entries.

Drivers in Blue must qualify by speed.

Drivers listed along with the owner of the car 

1. #1 Jamie McMurray – Felix Sabates

2. #2 Brad Keselowski – Roger Penske – Past Champion Provisional Available

3. #3 Austin Dillon – Richard Childress

4. #4 Kevin Harvick – Tony Stewart

5. #5 Kasey Kahne – Linda Hendrick

6. #7 Michael Annett – Tommy Baldwin

7. #9 Marcos Ambrose – Richard Petty

8. #10 Danica Patrick – Tony Stewart

9. #11 Denny Hamlin – J.D. Gibbs

10. #13 Casey Mears – Bob Germain

11. #14 Tony Stewart – Margaret Haas – Past Champion Provisional Available

12. #15 Clint Bowyer – Rob Kauffman

13. #16 Greg Biffle – Jack Roush

14. #17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – John Henry

15. #18 Kyle Busch – Joe Gibbs

16. #20 Matt Kenseth – Joe Gibbs – Past Champion Provisional Available

17. #22 Joey Logano – Walter Czarnecki

18. #23 Alex Bowman – Ron Devine

19. #24 Jeff Gordon – Rick Hendrick – Past Champion Provisional Available

20. #26 Cole Whitt – Anthony Marlowe

21. #27 Paul Menard – Richard Childress

22. #30 Parker Kligerman – Brandon Davis

23. #31 Ryan Newman – Richard Childress

24. #32 Travis Kvapil – Frank Stoddard Jr.

25. #33 Timmy Hill – Joe Falk

26. #34 David Ragan – Bob Jenkins

27. #35 David Reutimann – Jerry Freeze

28. #36 Reed Sorenson – Allan Heinke

29. #38 David Gilliland – Brad Jenkins

30. #40 Landon Cassill – Mike Hillman

31. #41 Kurt Busch – Gene Haas – Past Champion Provisional Available

32. #42 Kyle Larson – Chip Ganassi

33. #43 Aric Almirola – Richard Petty

34. #44 J.J. Yeley – John Cohen– Withdrew

34. #47 A.J. Allmendinger – Tad Geschickter

35. #48 Jimmie Johnson – Jeff Gordon – Past Champion Provisional Available

36. #51 Justin Allgaier – Harry Scott Jr.

37. #55 Brian Vickers – Michael Waltrip

38. #66 Joe Nemechek – Jay Robinson

39. #77 Dave Blaney – Randy Humphrey

40. #78 Martin Truex Jr. – Barney Vissar

41. #83 Ryan Truex – Ron Devine

42. #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Rick Hendrick

43. #95 Michael McDowell – Bob Leavine

44. #98 Josh Wise – Mike Curb

45. #99 Carl Edwards – Jack Roush

 
Nick Saban: 'Tremendous respect' for IndyCar drivers.

By Jeff Olson

Alabama football coach Nick Saban (left) and WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder get some instruction from IndyCar driver Ryan Hunter-Reay in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP)

 

Alabama football coach Nick Saban’s plan to ride around Tuscaloosa in a street-legal Indy car was rained out Monday, but he vowed to visit the series’ crown jewel – the Indianapolis 500 – soon.

“There are two sporting events I’ve always wanted to go to that I haven’t been to — the Indy 500 and the Kentucky Derby,”  Saban told USA TODAY Sports via phone during a promotional event that brought Saban together with 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder. “I’m hoping to get there and see it soon.”

Saban, Hunter-Reay and Wilder met at the Alabama practice facility to promote the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, slated for April 26 at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham. The race is in its sixth year, and Hunter-Reay has won the past two events.

HONDA: Closing the gap?

After exchanging helmets and boxing gloves and posing for photographs, Wilder — a native of Tuscaloosa — and Hunter-Reay held an impromptu fitness contest at the Crimson Tide football facility as renowned Alabama strength coach Scott Cochran watched.

POWER: Growing up with humor

“I can see that fitness is a big part of racing,” Wilder told USA TODAY Sports. “You’ve got to stay fit and stay active. Race-car drivers have to keep a balance about themselves. They have to pay attention to their weight, because the more they weigh, the slower the car is.”

The Andretti Autosport driver said he beat Wilder in the dead hang, but vowed never to get into the ring against the 6-foot-7, 215-pound WBC world heavyweight champ.

“We did the stare-down pose for a photo, and he gave me his game face,” Hunter-Reay told USA TODAY Sports. “I don’t want any part of that.”

After Saban and Hunter-Reay exchanged helmets adorned with Hunter-Reay’s car number (28), Saban said he was disappointed that rain prevented him from riding in the two-seater.

“When you’re a coach, you have tremendous respect for great competitors,” said Saban, whose daughter Kristen works for Zoom Motorsports, the Birmingham-based company that promotes the race. “These guys are obviously great competitors to be able to do that. Even though it’s different than football, it’s still something we have a tremendous amount of respect for.”

Wilder climbed into the two-seater and posed briefly for photos.

“That was the most uncomfortable feeling I’ve ever had in my life,” he said. “It was like when I traveled to Russia and had to fly in a really old plane. It was super uncomfortable, but it was a great experience. I would’ve loved to have put that thing on the road. I wanted to feel the wind on me.”

NOLA: Awash in rain, cautions and poor restarts

Hunter-Reay left Saban with an open invitation: Kentucky Derby and the Indy 500, back-to-back. The Derby is May 2. The 500 is May 24.

“I told him we can knock them both out in the same month,” Hunter-Reay said. “I told him he’s always welcome to be a guest of ours at the race. Hopefully he’ll take us up on that.”

Tottenham Hotspur coming to Colorado to take on MLS All Stars on July 29.

By Nicholas Mendola

Welcome back, DeAndre Yedlin. Your dreams were your ticket out.

Tottenham Hotspur’s American winger is going to be coming back to the States with his club to take on the MLS All Stars on July 29 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Some suspected that Bayern Munich would come back to avenge last year’s 2-1 loss to the All Stars, which ended with a “funnier every day” snubbed handshake offer from Caleb Porter to Pep Guardiola.

The league announced Colorado as the host in late January.

History of MLS All Star Game

1996: East 3-2 West
1997: East 5-4 West
1998: USA 6-1 World
1999: East 4-6 West
2000: East 9-4 West
2001: East 6-6 West
2002: MLS 3-2 USMNT
2003: MLS 3-1 Chivas Guadalajara
2004: East 3-2 West
2005: MLS 4-1 Fulham
2006: MLS 1-0 Chelsea
2007: MLS 2-0 Celtic
2008: MLS 3-2 West Ham United
2009: MLS 1-1 Everton (Everton wins in PKs)
2010: MLS 2-5 Manchester United
2011: MLS 0-4 Manchester United
2012: MLS 3-2 Chelsea
2013: MLS 1-3 AS Roma
2014: MLS 2-1 Bayern Munich
2015: MLS vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Landon Donovan: USMNT should be considered favorites to win 2015 Gold Cup.

By Andy Edwards

Landon Donovan knows a thing or two about winning Gold Cups — he won four of them (2002, 2005, 2007 and 2013) during his legendary international career — so when the U.S. national team’s all-time leading goal scorer and assist provider says the USMNT should be considered favorites to win the 2015 Gold Cup, we should listen to him, right?

Speaking in an interview with Yahoo Sports (above video), the recently-retired Donovan was unequivocal in stating his belief that the USMNT should be considered favorites to lift the nation’s sixth CONCACAF title (the tournament began in 1991) this summer.

“It increasingly more difficult to win because other countries in this region are improving constantly, and that makes it more difficult. But when you have a team that can compete at the world level the way they have, and consistently qualify for the World Cup in this region, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be considered favorites to win the Gold Cup this summer.”

Even before the USMNT’s latest defeat of rivals Mexico on Wednesday night, Jurgen Klinsmann’s side were likely thought of as favorites to reach the final i July, where they’ll likely meet Mexico once again. The fact that Donovan can pile a bit more pressure onto Klinsmann, who famously cut him from last summer’s World Cup team, effectively ending his USMNT career, is just the cherry on top for the increasingly outspoken Donovan.

Speaking of which, Donovan also revealed how he thinks Klinsmann should be judged for the job he’s done as USMNT head coach.

“I think we will judge what Jurgen’s done when his time is done here. Obviously getting out of the group at the World Cup is no small feat. There’s many teams in the World Cup that don’t do that. That’s really where all of us get judged — whether we get out of the group or not.”

As for who should replace Klinsmann when his current contract runs out in 2018 (or whenever he leaves), Donovan was quick to point out the large number of young, American coaches currently managing in Major League Soccer, but also pointed out that being a national team coach is “a higher level” than managing in MLS.

Before you even let your brain wander there, Donovan has stated on many occasions that he’d not want to manage a professional soccer team, because he couldn’t deal with the egos, he says. Along with that “higher level” of the national team surely comes bigger egos as well.

Condi Rice, Larry Scott in favor of keeping the CFP at just four teams.

By Graham Watson

Oregon's Marcus Mariota (8) throws during the second half of an NCAA college football playoff championship game against Ohio State Monday, Jan. 12, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Want to expand the College football Playoff?

Well, you’ll have to convince CFP committee member Condoleeza Rice it’s the right thing to do.

Rice, along with Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, was a keynote speaker at the Stanford Graduate School of Business Sports Innovation Conference on Wednesday. Both were asked about possibly expanding the playoff and Rice towed the company line.

"I feel pretty strongly about four now because I thought that the rivalry weekend — that Saturday after Thanksgiving — almost felt like a play-in game," said Rice, per ESPN's Heather Dinich. "Now the Iron Bowl, Alabama has to beat Auburn. You could imagine the circumstances in another year where the Civil War, Oregon really has to beat Oregon State. There are questions whether they will.

"I agree that if it got much larger, I don't think you would have that momentum coming out of the regular season, so it's the best possible scenario."

A lot of people would agree with Rice's reasoning. We all want the rivalry games to mean something and with so few spots in the College Football Playoff, they do, especially in the SEC.

However, there’s still the argument that it’s ludicrous to have five power conferences and just four spots, but even Scott said he didn’t envision the playoff scenario changing, at least through the 12-year duration of the current contract, and he cited the drama the small field creates.

"I think we're all lamenting regular-season college basketball not being more popular right now, at a time when March Madness has never been more popular," Scott said. "To me, that's a great example of the field being so big that the regular season doesn't matter anymore.

 

"There's something about that drama, that tension that makes it very special and keeps a lot of value in the regular season, which is good for all of our schools."

Scott also mentioned the academic calendar as one of the reasons for the lack of expansion, and that did come into play during the national championship game when Ohio State was allowed more practice time because its students were still on a semester break while Oregon had returned to school the week leading up to the game.

What do you think? Is one season enough to make calls for a playoff change or do we need to let it play out for a few years and evaluate the process before making a real push for change?

My theory is that while yes, there were probably six teams that deserved to get into the playoff this season, the four teams that got in sure made for a fun run. I enjoy the exclusivity. I enjoy the idea that every game matters whether it’s early or late. If I had any gripe with the College Football Playoff, it’s the weekly rankings, which meant very little. The criteria for those rankings seemed to change weekly and when it came down to the final rankings — the ones that actually mattered — the protocol that had determined the standings in previous weeks was totally thrown out the window.

But those aren’t going away because they generate intrigue and ratings, which translates to money for ESPN. So there's no use in complaining about that. Speaking of those rankings though, the College Football Playoff committee met in Indianapolis earlier this month and decided to go with one fewer weekly ranking since the season starts a week later. That means, the weekly rankings would start Nov. 3. The proposal must be approved by the playoff's management committee, which is made up of the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick, when they meet later this month in Dallas.

The year college basketball's coaching carousel got weird.

By Pat Forde

The fact that Greg Gard is, as of this writing, still the associate head basketball coach at Wisconsin is great news for the Badgers. It is bad news for the rest of college basketball, because it speaks to the nonsensical nature of the hires made in the sport.

Gard just completed his 14th season at Wisconsin, and has been with Bo Ryan since 1993. Gard gets first call on opponent scouting reports, and serves as the Badgers’ recruiting coordinator – and no school in the country has done a better job identifying unheralded players who become future stars. He is integral to a program that has won consistently all century, and has moved into the elite echelon in the last two years.

So, why is this man still waiting for his chance to be a head coach?

In a hiring-and-firing cycle that saw more than its usual share of strangeness, that question is more pertinent than ever. Trying to figure out what schools are thinking come hiring time seems to get more difficult every year, as proven assistants at big-time programs continue to not get hired.

The current trends seem to be:

Nostalgia is in.

NBA backgrounds are in.

Recent success is out.

Hiring high-major assistant coaches is out.

Of the seven jobs that opened in power conferences, exactly one hire would qualify as a no-brainer: Shaka Smart to Texas. Everything else comes with a question mark attached. The new guys come from odd places, and often after extended periods away.

Avery Johnson to Alabama? Zero college coaching experience. Hasn’t coached at all since being fired in 2013 by the Brooklyn Nets. Was 56 games below .500 as coach of the Nets. The Crimson Tide took a big swing at Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall, but the backup plan appeared to be lacking when he ultimately said no.

Bobby Hurley to Arizona State? That has the chance to work out well, but it’s a complete geographic start-over for Hurley, whose roots and coaching experience are in the Northeast.

Dave Leitao to DePaul? What, Joey Meyer wasn’t available? Ten years after leaving DePaul and six years after he was last a college head coach – there was a stint in 2011-12 as head coach of the NBA Development League Maine Red Claws – Leitao is back. Don’t everyone order your season tickets all at once.

Ben Howland to Mississippi State? On paper, Mississippi State hiring a guy with three Final Four appearances looks great. But beyond the odd cultural fit, there is the fact that Howland hasn’t coached in two years, and why that may be. Things did not end well at UCLA, and there is reason to question whether things are starting any differently in Starkville. One of Howland’s first reported moves was to visit junior-college forward Ray Kasongo, which indicates that the ties between Howland assistant Korey McCray and Kasongo “mentor” Brandon Bender – named in Central Florida’s NCAA violations a couple years ago – are alive and well.

Chris Mullin to St. John’s? Not to be outdone by DePaul in the Big East Nostalgia Sweepstakes, the Red Storm dialed back to the mid-80s glory days to give the 51-year-old Mullin his first-ever coaching job. The name is magic in New York – at least among parents and grandparents of prospects. Mullin did a smart thing by hiring ace recruiter Barry “Slice” Rohrssen away from Kentucky, but that’s only part of the equation. The X’s and O’s question will loom every bit as large.

Rick Barnes to Tennessee? For a school that spectacularly blew its last hire (the thoroughly-investigated, quickly-discarded Donnie Tyndall), the Volunteers may have lucked into an upgrade on the rebound. Barnes took the job about five minutes after being forced out at Texas. If he regains the motivation level he showed early in his time in Austin, this may work out splendidly. If not, then hiring a guy who recruited Final Four talent but hasn’t made the Sweet 16 since 2008 may not work out that gloriously.

Even on the next level down, there seemed to be abnormal interest in nostalgia hires, head-coach retreads and novelty acts. Holy Cross hired Bill Carmody, who is 63 and hasn’t coached in two years after being fired at Northwestern. Charlotte hired Mark Price, a former NBA player with no experience as a head coach and very little as a college assistant. Liberty borrowed DePaul’s DeLorean and went back to the future, hiring former head coach Ritchie McKay six years after he left the school to be an assistant at Virginia. Penn brought Steve Donahue back to the Ivy League, five years after he left Cornell and a year after he was fired at Boston College.

Some or all of those may work out well. But they’re examples of the fact that the old axioms about paying your dues as an assistant or lower-level head coach, working your way up from the ground floor, aren’t always true. Someone may come sailing out of unemployment or the NBA and take the job in front of you.

It’s true that top-level assistants now are paid well enough that they don’t have to jump at bad jobs – Kentucky’s Kenny Paine is making a reported $350,000 annually, and UK’s bench ace, John Robic, is making a reported $300,000. Plus bonuses.

But almost all of the high-major assistants who got head-coaching jobs this year are taking a risk. There are only seven of them total to date, and almost all of them had to go well down the food chain to do so.

Miami assistant Michael Huger went to Bowling Green; Florida assistant Matt McCall to Chattanooga; Minnesota assistant Dan McHale to Eastern Kentucky; Indiana assistant Steve McClain to Illinois-Chicago; LSU assistant Eric Musselman to Nevada; Alabama assistant John Brannen to Northern Kentucky; and California assistant Jon Harris to SIU-Edwardsville. Of that group, only Musselman is going to what can reasonably be called an NCAA tournament multi-bid league.

Which must leave the Greg Gards of the game frustrated and perplexed. What do they have to do to become a head coach?

Kentucky Derby betting preview: American Pharoah sits atop odds.

By OddsShark

 

American Pharoah and Dortmund lead the field of contenders heading into the 2015 Kentucky Derby. (Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports)

American Pharoah picked up his fourth straight win last Saturday in the Arkansas Derby. Victor Espinoza has been atop American Pharoah for each of the horse's last four races and will be looking for another win as the likely betting favorite in the Kentucky Derby on May 2.

Currently going off at 2/1, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com, American Pharoah is the favorite to win this year's Kentucky Derby. Since losing his maiden race, American Pharoah had his blinkers removed and his jockey trained, and since then he's been on a roll. His performance in the Arkansas Derby was so dominant that he was able to pull up down the stretch and coast to the win. 

Dortmund currently sits behind American Pharoah on the betting board at 9/2, but many believe that by post time these two horses could be co-favorites. Off to a perfect 6-0-0 start to his career, Dortmund seems to get stronger with each race. 

The horse's last performance in the San Antonio Derby was a wire-to-wire victory that clocked in at a Beyer speed of 106. Dortmund will look to follow in the footsteps of his sire Big Brown, who won the Derby in 2008. 

The horse that figures to be the biggest threat to spoil Bob Baffert's duo of American Pharoah and Dortmund is Carpe Diem, going off at 6/1 on the Kentucky Derby betting odds. 

Carpe Diem has four wins and one place under his belt, and is coming into the Derby off a strong performance in the Blue Grass Stakes. This horse has a good late kick and could come from behind to win if Dortmund and American Pharoah wear each other out early.
 

Materiality and Mubtaahij are each going off at 9/1 to win the Kentucky Derby. The Irish-bred Mubtaahij punched his ticket to the Kentucky Derby by winning the UAE Derby in Dubai with a comfortable eight-length victory. Materiality is undefeated in three career starts.
 

Rounding out the Kentucky Derby odds are Firing Line and Frosted at 14/1, International Star and Upstart at 16/1, El Kabeir, Itsaknockout, Ocho Ocho Ocho and One Lucky Dane at 25/1, Danzig Moon, Far Right, Ocean Knight and Tencendur at 33/1, Imperia at 40/1 and Mr. Z at 50/1.

On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, April 17, 2015.

Memoriesofhistory.com

1892 - At Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, the first National League game to be played on Sunday took place. The Reds beat the Browns 5-1.

1947 - Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers) performed a bunt for his first major league hit.

1967 - The U.S. Supreme Court barred Muhammad Ali's request to be blocked from induction into the U.S. Army.

2001 - Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) hit his 500th home run.

2010 - Ubaldo Jiménez threw the first no-hitter in Colorado Rockies history. The Rockies beat the Braves 4-0.

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