Friday, April 24, 2015

CS&T/AllsportsAmerica Friday Sports News Update and What's Your Take? 04/24/2015.

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Sports Quote of the Day:

We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience. ~ George Washington, First President of the United States of America

Trending: Not again! Royals brawl with White Sox leads to five ejections!!!

Jeff Samardzija
 
Chicago White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija, center, fights with Kansas City Royals players during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 23, 2015, in Chicago. The White Sox lost in 13 innings 3-2. (See the game summary in the baseball section below.)

How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks unravel in third period, fall to Predators in Game 5, 5-2. 

By Tracey Myers

Chicago Blackhawks Alternate Logo (1965) - A yellow C with red ...

The Blackhawks entered the third period tied 1-1 with the Nashville Predators, bending a few times but otherwise playing a solid road game.

But in the first three minutes of the third period, sloppiness crept back into the Blackhawks’ game. And against a Predators team that would do anything to extend its postseason, those three minutes proved very costly.

Filip Forsberg had a hat trick and James Neal had a goal and an assist as the Predators beat the Blackhawks, 5-2, at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday night. The Blackhawks, who still hold a 3-2 lead in the first-round series, will host the Predators in Game 6 at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Brad Richards scored his first goal of this postseason, as did Kris Versteeg. Scott Darling suffered his first loss of this postseason, allowing four goals on 28 shots. It was a trying third period for all of the Blackhawks, including Darling, but coach Joel Quenneville wasn’t putting the onus on his goaltender.


“I’m not blaming the goalie,” he said. “An open-side play, another one was a nice play on power-play goal, the other [goal] open side. It’s not the goalie at all.”

Asked if Darling will start Game 6 on Saturday, Quenneville said, “we’ll talk about it but [Darling] did everything right. He’s fine.”

Darling said he was fine after the game.

“You lose games sometimes,” he said. “That’s not how you want to start a period, me or the team. We’re just getting ready for the next game. That’s all there is to it."

The Blackhawks’ defense, however, was not fine to start the third period. The Predators scored three times in the opening three-plus minutes, beginning with James Neal’s wraparound goal 47 seconds into the period. That gave the Predators a 2-1 lead. Colin Wilson, who has been stellar against the Blackhawks, scored his fifth goal of the series — a power-play goal — to put Nashville up 3-1 at 3:02 of the third. Just 12 seconds after that, Forsberg scored his second on an odd-man rush for a 4-1 advantage.

“You feel like you’re in a good position to start the third, being tied at one, and obviously we gave up a quick goal, scored on the power play and faceoff right after. It was pretty quick to get yourself down like that and obviously not the start to the third we wanted,” said Patrick Kane, who assisted on Versteeg’s goal. “I think every goal they had, especially 5-on-5, we pretty much gave to them, either breakdowns or plays that we can’t really let happen.”

Forsberg added his hat trick-earning goal, an empty-netter, with 11 seconds remaining in regulation.

“It was five minutes they won,” Darling said of the Predators. “And that was the difference.”

The Blackhawks knew they were going to get a fight from the Predators. They didn’t help their cause with shaky defense. Nashville wasn’t going to go quietly, and they capitalized on every error. The ball is back in the Blackhawks’ court and, in two days, their arena. They’re still confident they can close this series out on Saturday but they can’t have the lapses they did on Thursday.

“It’s one of those situations where you definitely want to win Game 6 in our building,” Kane said. “We have a great situation. If you told us we’d be up 3-2 heading back to our building for Game 6 we’d take that at the beginning of the series. We’re still in a great situation. We’ll move on and be ready come Saturday.”

Carcillo opens up about Montador, calls for change.

#HAWKSTALK

Daniel Carcillo remembered back to that Sunday afternoon in the rink back in mid-February when a friend called to tell him the tragic news.

"My best friend in hockey, Steve Montador, was found dead in his home at age 35," Carcillo wrote as a guest contributor for the Players' Tribune. "Steve was a 12-year NHL vet who battled addiction at certain points in his career before getting sober. Since he walked away from the game due to concussions in 2013, he was struggling to figure out what to do next. But I was still in complete shock and disbelief."

Carcillo went on to open up not only about his relationship with Montador over the years, but also about the NHLPA's exit strategy for players when their time in the league comes to an end. 

Now Carcillo is speaking up about mental issues and is calling for change.

"After Monty died, I really did some research, kind of asking guys that had already moved on and that I had played with if they knew what our exit program was for the NHLPA," he said. "I was kind of astonished to find out that not one guy can tell me what it was. Right now, as far as the PA goes, we would receive a phone call to see how we're doing and that's pretty much our exit program.

"From the guys that I've talked to who have moved on, they've all said the same thing — all fell into a deep depression and went away quietly. It was almost as if the less noise you make when you go away, the better. I don't think it's right. It doesn't feel right for how much we give to this league and this sport. Sacrificing our bodies, sacrificing our minds with the concussions and hits we take."

Just Another Chicago Bulls Session… Rose, Bulls get past Bucks to take Game 3 in double overtime 113-106.

By Vincent Goodwill

Game 3: Bulls vs. Bucks
Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) drives to the basket in the first half. (Armando L. Sanchez, Chicago Tribune)

Great teams’ waters are most still when the atmosphere is at the height of anarchy, and if the Bulls wanted to get pushed, the Milwaukee Bucks had no problem playing with reckless abandon for 56 minutes.

The Bulls had no issues rebounding from an 18-point first half, but buckled under the weight of an eight-point lead with 1:43 left, and it took two overtimes to take a 3-0 lead against the pesky and game Bucks, with a 113-106 win at the BMO Bradley Center.

Look no further than the man who once hit a game-winner in the building in a previous life, Derrick Rose. Whether it was scintillating left-to-right drives to the basket or one of his five 3-pointers, he seemed to hammer home the school of thought that the Bulls need to rest to gear up for their anticipated 12-round bout with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After splitting a pair of free throws with 4.9 seconds left that could’ve put the Bulls up one, he flexed his defensive muscles on Michael Carter-Williams in the second overtime, repeatedly stopping him as the Bucks went scoreless.

Then he put the Bucks away doing what he does best, attacking the basket. After driving the lane for a layup to put the Bulls up eight, the demure 26-year old yelled out as the Bucks called timeout.

He rebounded his own miss on the next possession, scoring on another layup, sending the Bucks’ fans back home, visions of grandeur clearly erased.

In 47 pressure-packed minutes, Rose scored 34 with eight assists and five rebounds while Jimmy Butler scored 24, reversing the trend from Game 2, where Butler took over late.

That wasn’t the case early on, as the Bulls seemed overwhelmed by the Bucks’ energy and execution. Quality possessions were nowhere to be found, as they looked lost on offense and confused on defense. Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was relentless in his drives early, getting to the ball quicker than any of the Bulls.


His jumpers in transition were matched by forays to the basket where he merely turns into Reed Richards from the “Fantastic Four”—including a transition layup and foul where it looked like he barely had control of the ball, helping the Bucks to a 22-4 run, part of his 23-point performance.

But the Ambien soon wore off, and the Bulls realized they had a golden opportunity in front of them if they could stay within striking distance. An 18-4 run put the Bulls down by four at the half, giving them new life.

Mike Dunleavy kept taking advantage of his limited opportunities, hitting four triples in the place he most called home, a handful of the 14 3-pointers the Bulls hit at a 42-percent clip—shots they had to take, even without Nikola Mirotic on the floor because the Bucks were giving them to the Bulls, daring them to beat them from beyond 20 feet.

Challenge accepted.

And before you knew it, panic turned to patience, evidenced by methodically moving the ball around before Noah found Taj Gibson for a reverse layup before the shot clock expired early in the fourth.

The next possession, Noah hit Gibson again, except Tony Snell was wide open, eagerly waiting for a wing triple that put the Bulls up seven, before the Bucks gamely cut the lead to two courtesy of back-to-back triples from Khris Middleton with 55.6 seconds left.

After Middleton hit another jumper, this one over Joakim Noah, Rose took on three defenders before getting fouled with 4.9 seconds left.

He made one of two free throws before Middleton’s triple banged off the rim, giving the Bulls extra basketball and a test they would soon pass—although they’d much rather learn this lesson in 10 fewer minutes.

Bulls: Nikola Mirotic optimistic about health, not so much about Zaza Pachulia.

By Vincent Goodwill

Nikola Mirotic’s status for Games 3 and 4 for the Bulls’ first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks certainly appears to be in doubt, but his feelings toward Bucks big man Zaza Pachulia aren’t as ambiguous.

Mirotic issued a passive-aggressive shot toward the man who landed an elbow on top of his head in the second half and another shot while both men were diving for a loose ball in the fourth quarter.

“I’m not upset. I understand this is the playoffs and people play more physical," said Mirotic in the Bulls' morning shoot around at the BMO Bradley Center before Game 3 of their playoff series. “But you need to be careful too. It’s good when you play physical but not dirty.”

Pachulia has a reputation as a player who toes the line of physical and dirty, and a few Bulls have privately spoken of Pachulia’s tactics, although Pachulia’s elbow to Mirotic’s head appeared to be more incidental than malicious.

When asked directly if Pachulia plays dirty, the rookie tried to be more diplomatic.

“Could be. I don’t know,” Mirotic said. “I don’t like to talk bad about other players. But players need to be careful. Of course I understand you should play physical because it’s the playoffs. But you need to be careful and maybe that play was really dirty and maybe he tried to push me. He knows better than me.”

But as for his ailing left knee that will keep him out for at least Game 3, the heavy limp from Tuesday’s practice is gone, and he seems impressed at the progress modern medicine can provide.

“It’s really sore right now,” Mirotic said. “After the first day, it’s getting better. Right now, I can walk normal. Yesterday, I took some shots. I didn’t jump. But all the treatment, it’s amazing that it’s getting better. Right now, I’m trying to be positive and my mind fresh and try to be ready.”

Mirotic hadn’t played a big part in the team’s offense through the first two games, one that has struggled if you discount Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler, so his small frustration is understandable.

“It’s hard. This is the first playoffs for me,” Mirotic said. “I’ve worked really hard to prepare myself and help my team. Right now, I can’t play. But I will work hard to again soon help my teammates. Probably going to be just one game, two games, I don’t know. But the most important thing is I will be back. And they will play good without me for sure.”

He hopes to be back on the floor Saturday afternoon for Game 4, but if the Bulls take care of business to gain a commanding 3-0 lead, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him sit for more rest before the second round.

“I’m doing my treatments,” Mirotic said. “My quad is still really sore right now so I’m just working to get better and be a faster heal. I don’t know when the time is but I’m doing my best. Hopefully, I’ll be soon on the court.”


Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!! Game-by-game predictions: Chicago Bears. What's your take?

By Jeff Dickerson, Chicago Bears beat reporter
 
Chicago Bears

Bears coach John Fox’s trademark phrase is “understate and overproduce.” Expect Chicago to improve, but a tricky opening three weeks of the schedule against Green Bay, Arizona and Seattle does not look promising for a club in rebuild mode after a horrible 5-11 effort in 2014. Still, we see an improvement to 7-9 in 2015. (All times Eastern.)

Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 13, Green Bay, 1 p.m.

The Bears draw the unlucky assignment of hosting the reigning NFC North champs in Week 1. Aaron Rodgers is 12-3 lifetime against the Bears. Jay Cutler is 1-11 versus the Pack. What else needs to be said? Packers 24, Bears 17. Record 0-1

Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 20, Arizona, 1 p.m.

Surprise. Bears squeak out a victory against a feisty Cardinals team led by enigmatic coach Bruce Arians. Chicago fans no longer scorn the day former general manager Phil Emery hired Marc Trestman over Arians. Bears 27, Cardinals 26. Record 1-1

Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 27, at Seattle 4:25 p.m.

Seattle is the toughest road venue in the NFL. Too much too soon for the rebuilding Bears. Seahawks 34, Bears 17. Record 1-2

Week 4: Sunday, Oct. 1, Oakland, 1 p.m.

Bears pound the NFL’s perennial doormat. Closing out the first quarter of the season at .500 gives the Bears faithful reason to celebrate. Bears 30, Raiders 10. Record 2-2


Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 11, at Kansas City, 1 p.m.

The Bears' first trip to Arrowhead since 2003 ends in a close defeat. Don’t be surprised if a Dave Toub trick on special teams seals the victory for KC. Chiefs 21, Bears 20. Record 2-3

Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 18, at Detroit, 1 p.m.

Ford Field has been unkind to the Bears lately. The Lions figure to once again be competitive in the NFC North after going 11-5 in Jim Caldwell’s first year. Lions 34, Bears 20. Record 2-4

Week 7: Bye Week – Record 2-4


Week 8: Sunday, Nov. 1, Minnesota, 1 p.m.

Minnesota is on the rise, but Chicago finds a way to save its season. A split of the season series seems like a probable scenario. Bears 21, Vikings 17. Record 3-4

Week 9: Monday, Nov. 9, at San Diego, 8:30 p.m.

The Bears’ lone appearance on Monday Night Football ends in a surprise victory. The Chargers don’t seem as formidable with their quarterback situation in flux. Bears 30, San Diego 27. Record 4-4


Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 15, at St. Louis, 1 p.m.

Letdown city. Bears fall victim to the old trap game and get caught looking ahead to Denver and Green Bay. Rams 28, Bears 19. Record 4-5

Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 22, Denver, 1 p.m.

Bears can’t keep pace with Denver in a rematch game for John Fox and offensive coordinator Adam Gase. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning proves there is still magic left in that arm. Broncos 40, Bears 30. Record 4-6

Week 12: Thursday, Nov. 26, at Green Bay, 8:30 p.m.

Nothing good ever happens when Brett Favre is in the stadium. Favre’s number-retirement ceremony gives Thanksgiving night some extra juice, as if the Packers needed it. Packers 35, Bears 10. Record 4-7

Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 6, San Francisco, 1 p.m.

These aren’t Jim Harbaugh’s 49ers. Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio knows all of Colin Kaepernick’s secrets. Bears 28, 49ers 16. Record 5-7

Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 13, Washington, 1 p.m.

You think Chicago’s quarterback situation is a mess? Wait until the Redskins come to Soldier Field. Bears 30, Redskins 7. Record 6-7

Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 20, at Minnesota. 1 p.m.

Teddy Bridgewater avenges the earlier loss. Bad stuff tends to happen whenever the Bears are in Minnesota. Vikings 25, Bears 21. Record 6-8

Week 16: Sunday, Dec. 27, at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.

Doesn’t matter if Jameis Winston or Josh McCown is the quarterback -- the Bucs aren’t expected to be very good. Lovie Smith falls to 0-2 vs. his old team. Bears 27, Bucs 14. Record 7-8

Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 3, Detroit, 1 p.m.

In a game filled with playoff implications of the Lions, the Bears are worn down in the fourth quarter. But the arrow is pointing up heading into 2016. Lions 17, Bears 13. Record 7-9

Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: Since the NFL schedule came out, we've read many predictions for the Bears 2015 season. The prognosticators have them going from 5-11 to 10-6. The Bears last 10-6 record was in 2012, the year that Lovie Smith got fired for not making the playoffs. Marc Trestman's records were 8-8 in 2013 and 5-11 in 2014. In this particular prediction, 7-9 is a good improvement but 8-8 or better would be more impressive.

With new front office management and a new coaching staff not to mention new schemes, I guess 7-9 would be okay. However, like the NCAA basketball tournament, there's always upsets and we hope the Bears can accomplish a couple. It's going to be a tough season but a fun one at the same time. Our prediction, Bears 8-8. The ground work will be laid this year and next year will be even better. Plus, we'll see many new faces in key positions. The only way for the Bears to go is up.

Now that you know how we feel and what we think, we'd love to know your thoughts and what's your take? Please go to the comment section at the bottom of this blog and record away. We can't wait to read them.

Bears switch to 3-4 means changing faces, roles on DL.

By John Mullin

Who’s in: Ego Ferguson, Jarvis Jenkins, Ray McDonald, Jeremiah Ratliff

Where do they fit: Will Sutton

The Bears invested two of their top three 2014 draft choices in defensive linemen. One – Ego Ferguson, second round – already has been projected at nose tackle, rotating with veteran Jeremiah Ratliff, to the point where the Bears do not have that position as a major need.

The other – Will Sutton, third round – is less secure and will be squeezed in the new defense. He was drafted for his pass-rush ability, a gap-shooting tackle, and is not naturally a big, physical presence on the scale of the other linemen in the competition mix to be part of the “3” in 3-4. Head coach John Fox has noted that the current nature of the game dictates extensive use of nickel personnel, and Sutton’s niche may lie in a rush alternative to Jenkins and McDonald, who have not been sack threats.

Sutton started five games as a rookie but failed to dominate. He is stretching to be 6-feet, Jenkins is 6-4 and McDonald 6-3, and GM Ryan Pace stressed “length” in his bill of particulars for front seven.

“One of the most important traits is length,” Pace said. “Pernell [McPhee] has got incredible length. A lot of these guys got length. That aids you in your pass rush, it aids you in shedding blocks and gaining separation, so that’s something with pass rushers, defensive linemen and also corners, length is something we really pay attention to.”

The Bears targeted Jenkins and McDonald to muscle up the outside areas of their 3-4, getting players possessed of the size and experience to operate in a two-gap system based heavily on linebacker movement. Sutton has played as big as 320 pounds in college but was ineffective.

And while the NFL may be a passing league, it really only becomes that against defenses who can stop the run, regardless of alignment.

“A lot of times, you know, people you take that maybe aren’t the big splash when you take them become the big splash when you start playing,” Fox said.

“It’s hard [to project] because the Chicago Bears defense was a 4-3 defense a year ago. Watched these guys, every play they played on tape and now trying to project them into a 3-4 not having ever coached them on the field before…it’s really a lot of wait-and-see. There are guys we saw, they have strengths and weaknesses in our book but until you are in those meeting rooms with them eight hours a day and watching them perform either in the weight room or on the grass.

“I think the good news is sometimes when you come in new there is new light. So guys don’t have preconceived ideas on them. You start from scratch and that is the exciting thing about coming in new somewhere both as players and as coaches.”

Judge OKs 65-year deal over NFL concussions; could cost $1B.

By MARYCLAIRE DALE (Associated Press)

'Concern' about appeals of NFL concussion case settlement
New England Patriots linebacker Junior Seau (55) reacts after a defensive play during an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Foxborough, Mass. A federal judge has approved Wednesday, April 22, 2015, a plan to resolve thousands of NFL concussion lawsuits that could cost the league $1 billion over 65 years. Critics contend the NFL is getting off lightly given annual revenues of about $10 billion About 200 NFL retirees or their families, including Seau's, have rejected the settlement and plan to sue the league individually. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

A federal judge has approved a settlement agreement that is expected to cost the NFL $1 billion over 65 years to resolve thousands of concussion lawsuits.

NFL actuaries project about 6,000 of the league's nearly 20,000 retired players could someday develop Alzheimer's disease or moderate dementia over the life of the deal approved Wednesday by a federal judge in Philadelphia. The average individual award would be about $190,000. 

Awards could reach $1 million to $5 million for those diagnosed in their 30s and 40s with Parkinson's disease or Lou Gehrig's disease, or for deaths involving chronic brain trauma.


The benefits process could start this summer, but any appeal would delay all payments indefinitely.

''What matters now is time, and many retired players do not have much left,'' said plaintiff Kevin Turner, a former New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles running back who has Lou Gehrig's disease. 

The league has been dogged for years by complaints that it long hid the risks of repeated concussions to return players to the field.  

Senior U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody approved the settlement after twice sending it back to lawyers over concerns the fund might run out. The negotiators did not increase the original $765 million plan, but agreed to remove that number as the cap. 

The settlement approval, a week before the NFL draft, ends a nearly four-year legal fight. Critics contend the NFL is getting off lightly given annual revenues of about $10 billion.  

But a trial could have delayed the financial awards and medical testing for years, plaintiff's lawyers Christopher Seeger and Sol Weiss said. 

''With over 99 percent participation, it is clear the retired player community overwhelmingly supports this agreement,'' the lawyers said in a conference call.

The deal means the NFL may never have to disclose what it knew when about the risks and treatment of concussions. However, the NFL has acknowledged the concussion epidemic publicly, changing protocols for evaluating injured players during games and launching an advertising and social media campaign to promote safe play at all levels of football.

NFL general counsel Jeff Pash said that Brody's approval ''powerfully underscores the fairness and propriety'' of the settlement.

In her 132-page opinion, Brody agreed with the lead negotiators that the settlement could exclude future claims involving chronic traumatic encephalopathy, even as critics like neurologist Robert Stern of Boston University call CTE ''the industrial disease of football.'' Brody said neither the disease nor any definitive symptoms can yet be diagnosed in the living.

''The settlement does compensate the cognitive symptoms allegedly associated with CTE,'' Brody wrote, and ''requires the parties to confer in good faith about possible revisions ... based on scientific developments.''
 
The total NFL payouts over 65 years, including interest and $112 million sought for lawyer fees, is expected to exceed $1 billion.
 
''From a business point of view, (the NFL has) ... avoided what may have been the biggest risk to their continued prosperity,'' said Andrew Brandt, director of the sports law program at Villanova University law school. ''Removing this as a threat is extraordinary.''

The NFL lawsuits, and similar suits filed later against the NHL, the NCAA and others, have fostered debate, discussion and safety reforms about sports concussions. Yet the NFL games seem to be as wildly popular as ever.
 
Participation statistics also show only a slight decline in the overall number of high school students playing football, and only 5 percent of parents polled last summer by Associated Press-GfK said they have discouraged their child from playing in the last two years as concern over head injuries has increased.  
 
''I know people talk about, it's dangerous, and mothers won't let their sons play football. But I don't see that. I don't see that at all,'' Brandt said. 
 
More than 5,000 former players were plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

About 200 NFL retirees or their families have rejected the settlement and plan to sue the league individually. They include the family of Junior Seau, the popular Hall of Famer who killed himself at his San Diego-area home in 2012 after several years of increasingly erratic behavior. An autopsy showed he suffered from CTE.

Brody has persuaded the parties to make several tweaks, to the ex-players' benefit, since negotiators first announced a deal in August 2013. Most notably, the NFL agreed to remove the initial $765 million cap.

She mostly rejected complaints raised at a November fairness hearing, including those who challenged award reductions for older men and those who played fewer than five years in the league.

''Retirees and their families will be eligible for prompt and substantial benefits and will avoid years of costly litigation that - as Judge Brody's comprehensive opinion makes clear - would have an uncertain prospect of success,'' Pash said in a statement.

Thursday's Recap: Royals 3, White Sox 2, 13 innings.

By Colleen Kane

19th Ward Chicago

Five players were ejected Thursday night at U.S. Cellular Field as the White Sox’s 3-2 loss to the Royals in 13 innings was marred by a bench-clearing brawl.

Sox pitchers Chris Sale and Jeff Samardzija and the Royals’ Yordano Ventura, Lorenzo Cain and Edinson Volquez were all ejected from the game following the fight, which started when Ventura appeared to yell an obscenity at Sox center fielder Adam Eaton as he ran to first base on a groundout.

The teams then played six more innings before Jarrod Dyson scored from first base on Eric Hosmer’s double to right field to push the Royals ahead 3-2.

At the plate

Alexei Ramirez hit a two-out RBI single against Ventura in the fourth inning, and Melky Cabrera and Jose Abreu hit back-to-back doubles in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2.

On the mound

Sale gave up two earned runs on nine hits with one walk and two strikeouts over seven innings. Kendrys Morales hit a two-run single in the first inning.

Hit list

After a heated first series in Kansas city with several hit batsmen, Ventura hit Abreu and Sale hit Mike Moustakas with pitches, prompting an early warning.

The quote

“A really good team, really good. All sides of the ball, they’re aggressive on the bases, they do the little things and put a lot pressure on other teams. I can see why they’ve been so successful.” –Sox designated hitter Adam LaRoche on the Royals before the game 

Up next

Vs. Royals, 7:10 p.m. Friday, WGN-9.

Cubs: Javier Baez returning from leave of absence.

By Patrick Mooney


The Cubs expect Javier Baez to return from his leave of absence on Thursday and report to the team’s complex in Arizona.
 
Baez has been spending time with his family after the death of his younger sister, Noely, on April 8. That was the day before Triple-A Iowa’s season started.

Noely had been born with spina bifida and made it to the age of 21, becoming an inspirational figure for Baez as he pursued a career in professional baseball.

Baez, 22, didn’t make the team out of spring training and missed another window to impress during what must have been a difficult grieving process. The Cubs called up top prospect Addison Russell from Iowa this week to take over at second base.

The Cubs like a lot about Baez and his game — the speed, up-the-middle defense and baseball IQ — but they will need to see him make adjustments at the plate and cut down on the strikeouts. The road back begins now for Baez.
 
Manfred: Rose will be allowed to be part of All-Star Game.

By RONALD BLUM (AP Baseball Writer)

Manfred: Rose will be allowed to be part of All-Star Game
Pete Rose sits in the dugout at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard, Monday, June 16, 2014, in Bridgeport, Conn. Rose, banned from Major League Baseball, returned to the dugout for one day to manage the independent minor-league Bridgeport Bluefish. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Commissioner Rob Manfred says Pete Rose will be allowed to participate in activities surrounding this summer's All-Star Game in his hometown of Cincinnati.

Rose, baseball's career hits leader and a former Reds star player and manager, agreed to a lifetime ban from the sport in 1989 after a Major League Baseball investigation concluded he bet on his team to win while he was managing the club.
 
Manfred said initial thoughts about Rose's role at the July 14 game will come from Reds owner Bob Castellini.
 
''I've agreed with Mr. Castellini that we're going to have a conversation about what specific kind of participation the Reds are interested in, and we have not had that conversation yet,'' Manfred said Thursday during a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors. ''You can rest assured that he will about allowed to participate in some of the activities.''
 
MLB permitted Rose to take part in the All-Century team announcement at Atlanta's Turner Field during the 1999 World Series and a Reds ceremony in 2013 honoring their 1975 and '76 championship teams.
 
In 24 seasons in the majors, Rose had 4,256 hits, won three World Series titles and was voted the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1973 NL Most Valuable Player. A 17-time All-Star, Rose made the team at five different positions.
 
 Rose, who turned 74 this month, applied for reinstatement in September 1997 and met in November 2002 with Commissioner Bud Selig, who never ruled on the application. Rose submitted another application for reinstatement after Manfred succeeded Selig in January.

''We have gathered volumes, I mean literally volumes of documents, related to the original investigation,'' Manfred said, explaining how they had been brought out of storage. ''They're in the process of organizing those, preparing summaries so that I can review those documents.''

MLB has spoken with Rose's representatives about how the process for Manfred's evaluation will go forward. Manfred said it was too early to estimate a timetable.

Fox, which will televise the All-Star Game, said last weekend it had hired Rose as a studio analyst this season. Because of the ban, Rose is not allowed in areas of ballparks not open to fans, except with special approval from the commissioner's office.

''Fox's decision is their decision,'' Manfred said. ''It's really not something that we have any contractual control over or that we ever had any input in.''

Rose has been ineligible for the Hall of Fame ballot because of the lifetime ban. Manfred was asked about the distinction between Rose and players tainted by allegations of steroids use, who are eligible for the Hall but have fallen short of election.

''I don't accept the analogy between steroids and gambling,'' Manfred said. ''I see gambling as different in a sense that baseball's rules on gambling have been in place literally for decades. They've been clear. They spell out specific penalties. The reason those rules exist is that gambling is corrosive in a number of ways, including raising the specter of somebody of not doing everything they can to win. Steroids - a very, very different kind of issue.''

Golf: I got a club for that: Weekley, de Jonge set pace in New Orleans.

Reuters; Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Peter Rutherford

Boo Weekley and Brendon de Jonge 
Boo Weekley (l) threw a 64 up on the board early Thursday at the Zurich Classic, then Brendon de Jonge matched him late. (USA Today Sports Images)

American Boo Weekley, seeking his first PGA Tour victory in two years, took advantage of rain-softened conditions to grab a share of the lead in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans opening round on Thursday.

With a few family members spurring him on, the 41-year-old birdied four of his last eight holes to card an eight-under-par 64 at the TPC Louisiana, setting the early pace before being caught late in the day by burly Zimbabwean Brendon de Jonge.

Canada's David Hearn and American Sean O'Hair fired 65s to finish a stroke in front of Englishmen Brian Davis and Greg Owen and Americans Daniel Berger, Mark Hubbard and Erik Compton while Australian Jason Day was among a group bunched on 67.

Play was suspended for just over an hour during the afternoon because of heavy rain and 12 players will have to complete the opening round on Friday.

Weekley, a three-times winner on the PGA Tour who lives in Florida, had an eagle, seven birdies and a lone bogey at a venue softened by more than nine inches of rainfall last week.

"I just like the way the layout is," Weekley told Golf Channel. "We're back on Bermuda grass and it's close to home. And the temperature man, I love the heat. It's a great place to come and play.

"The fans are awesome and they get behind you. With it being close to the house like this, I've got a lot of family members that come over and that kind of helps you out a little bit, gives you a little bit of a confidence boost."

Weekley also benefited from a new set of irons that worked well for him in Wednesday's pro-am competition.

"I played good in the pro-am, the first time in a while that I actually felt like I could hit my shots, hit my numbers and control the trajectory of the ball," he said. "It felt good to be able to come out today and play, and make some putts."
 
Australian world number six Day relished playing in the company of seventh-ranked Dustin Johnson and his fellow American Ben Crane, who also carded 67s.  

"I made a great start, birdieing the first hole, and everyone kind of followed suit after that," said Day. "The course is very receptive, it's very gettable. It was good to be a part of a group with DJ and Ben Crane. We had a lot of fun out there."  

South Korea's Noh Seung-yul, who won last year's title by two shots, launched his title defense with a 73.

Nicklaus: Tiger Woods told me he's in for the Memorial.

By Ryan Ballengee

Tiger Woods hasn't said yet publicly when he'll play again, noting after the Masters that he would take some further time away from the PGA Tour following a two-month stint to again find his game.

However, according to six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus, the former world No. 1 told him at Augusta National that he'll be playing in Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament in June.

“It’s as much conversation as I’ve ever had with Tiger,” Nicklaus said Wednesday at a tournament-related luncheon in Columbus, Ohio. “We talked about a lot of things. It was good. And he said, ‘Hey, (I’ll) see you in May. I’ll be at the Memorial.’ It’ll be nice to have Tiger back.”

The Memorial will be played June 4-7. Woods missed the tournament last year as he was recovering from a March back procedure.

However, Woods is expected to play at least once before the week at Muirfield Village. He is expected to play in The Players Championship in two weeks.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Director Richard Buck issues memo to Sprint Cup teams about inspection process and penalties.

By Dustin Long

57th Annual Daytona 500
57th Annual Daytona 500

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director Richard Buck sent a memo to teams Thursday morning that formalized penalties for failing to pass inspection at the start of the race weekend, before qualifying and before the race.

In a draft of the memo acquired by NBC Sports, Buck wrote to Sprint Cup crew chiefs: “Based on the data that we have collected thus far in 2015, we have identified several trends. One trend in particular highlights the failure rate during inspections.

“In an effort to ensure all competitors an equal and fair opportunity to participate, we will be implementing the following:"


  • All cars must pass initial inspection and receive a final sticker to be eligible to practice.
  • Cars that fail qualifying inspection twice will receive a written warning.
  • Cars that fail qualifying inspection three times also will be penalized 15 minutes of practice time at the next event.
  • Cars that fail prerace inspection twice will receive a written warning.
  • Cars that fail prerace inspection three times also will be penalized 15 minutes of practice time at the next event.

Buck wrote in the memo: “Based on the above, there WOULD HAVE BEEN 9 written warnings issued at Bristol and an additional 3 competitors that would have received time penalties.’’

NASCAR’s rule book states that multiple warnings to the same member or team will result in a P1 penalty.

If a team receives two warnings during the same event or two warnings during two consecutive events its P1 penalty could result in last choice in selecting pits, reduced time for practice, reduced time for qualifying, delay in order of inspection and/or be selected for post-race inspection, among other things.

If any team or member accumulates six or more warnings during a six-month period from the time of the first warning, then it could result in a P2 penalty, which could include the loss of points.

NASCAR has penalized teams by holding them out of practice for multiple inspection failures this season, but it was at the discretion of Buck. The memo essentially makes the penalties automatic and also escalates the potential for future punishment via the written warnings that can trigger greater penalties on the tiered structure that was introduced last year.

Richmond NASCAR schedule from Friday's practices through Saturday night's Sprint Cup race.

By Jerry Bonkowski

Virginia may be for lovers, but that state’s Richmond International Raceway is for racers and race fans.

And there’ll be lots of action compressed into two days, Friday and Saturday, as NASCAR returns to the legendary .750-mile racetrack.

There have been 118 Sprint Cup races at the high-speed short track to date, and race No. 119 promises to be as exciting as most of its predecessors.

Here’s the weekend schedule including Fox and Fox Sports 1 TV coverage and the Motor Racing Network (simulcast on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) radio coverage:

THURSDAY, APRIL 23

12 pm – 5 pm – Xfinity garage open

2 pm – 6:30 pm – Sprint Cup garage open
 
FRIDAY, APRIL 24


7 am – Xfinity Series garage open

8:15 am – 10:25 am – Final Xfinity practice (No TV)

9 am – 9 pm – Xfinity Series garage open

11 am – 12:25 pm – Sprint Cup practice (Fox Sports 1)

1 pm – 2:25 pm – Sprint Cup final practice (Fox Sports 1)

2:30 pm – Sprint Cup qualifying inspection begins

3:45 pm – Xfinity Series qualifying (Fox Sports 1)

5:15 pm – Xfinity driver/crew chief meeting

5:45 pm – Sprint Cup qualifying (Fox Sports 1/MRN)

7 pm – Xfinity driver introductions

7:30 pm – Xfinity Series race – Toyota Care 250 (250 laps, 187.5 miles) (Fox Sports 1/MRN)
 
SATURDAY, APRIL 25

1 pm – Sprint Cup garage open

5 pm – Sprint Cup driver/crew chief meeting

6:30 pm – Sprint Cup driver introductions

7 pm – Toyota Owners 400 (400 laps, 300 miles) (Fox Sports 1/MRN)


MLS: Fire host NYCFC on Friday, seeking third consecutive win.

By Danny Michallik


Having gone nearly three weeks since their last competitive match, the Chicago Fire are on the verge of putting their 'mini preseason' behind them as Frank Yallop's side prepares for its first-ever clash against expansion side New York City FC (1-3-3; 6 points) Friday night at 7 p.m.

In front of what is expected to be a sell-out crowd at Toyota Park, the Men in Red are seeking their third consecutive victory, while Jason Kreis' contingent is working toward restoring a winning culture after going winless in their previous five matches.

Though unwelcome, the Fire have used the 20-day break perhaps as a trump card to address injury concerns with Matt Polster, Michael Stephens and Quincy Amarikwa, as well as to get Victor Perez and Jason Johnson acclimated to their new environment.

“The guys have trained very well in the three weeks we’ve had off,” Yallop said. “We’ve put a lot of work in. I think it worked perfect, and the guys look fit and ready for this game." 

 
As Polster, Stephens and Amarikwa worked their way back into full training and in contention for selection on Friday night, NYCFC have been dealing with injury issues of their own. Other than defender George John, who underwent knee surgery last July, five players did not participate in the club's 1-0 home loss to the Portland Timbers on April 19.

Among them, Designated Player signing David Villa has yet to train fully with the squad after coming off at halftime with a hamstring injury against the Philadelphia Union three days prior. Midfielder Mix Diskerud picked up an ankle injury before the Portland match, but Kreis is optimistic he will be available.

Meanwhile, Tony Taylor ruptured his ACL in the 35th minute of that match and is out for the season. Manchester City loanee Shay Facey (hip) trained fully, but flew back to England Wednesday night to deal with a personal family matter, thus rendering him unavailable for selection against the Fire. Defender Josh Williams (adductor strain) is doubtful, while Jason Hernandez (calf), who also didn't train Thursday, is ruled out.

Needless to say, injuries have unluckily dominated a sizable portion of the conversation before the two sides butt heads for the first time, yet Yallop was full of praise for Kreis' outfit despite their setbacks.

“They’ve had a year to prepare and they’ve got some good players on their books,” he said. “All of us just look at results and that’s what you get judged on, but I’ve seen them play and they’ve played well. They give up goals here and there, like every team does. We do.

“Whether their guys are injured or not, their squad is strong.”

For now, the Men in Red continue to focus on themselves, wary that any team can win at any time in MLS. Yallop, who emphasized that the Fire get on the front foot come Friday, said he doesn't expect anything different from their Eastern Conference opponent, who have yet to win on their travels.

"We know that we’ve got to be on top of our game," Yallop said. "We’ve had a big break. They’re going to come out trying to win the game, we’re going to come out and try to win at home. I see a game with two teams that aren’t going to sit back, that’s for sure. I’m looking forward to it.”

The pre-game narrative will certainly elevate the stakes. With both sides sitting on six points apiece in the East, the Men in Red, following back-to-back wins, have two games in hand. NYCFC haven't won since a 2-1 home-opening win over last year's MLS Cup finalist New England Revolution at Yankee Stadium on March 15.

Report: National Football League in stadium talks with Tottenham Hotspur.

By Nicholas Mendola

SPURSSTADIUM1

Tottenham Hotspur is hoping its new palace will draw National Football League games away from Wembley, and perhaps the first NFL franchise away from the States.

The refurbished Spurs grounds are set to be ready in 2018-19, and will have all the amenities and infrastructure necessary to host the larger rosters — in size and quantity — of NFL teams.

A London Evening Standard report says Spurs are in talks with the NFL to host games in the $600 million stadium.

From the report:
Standard Sport has spoken to NFL experts who confirm the East Stand zone would suit an NFL side. A typical “locker room” area must accommodate 53 players and 15-20 coaches — far more than is necessary for a football team. There must also be extensive space to house playing equipment, and provision for medical treatment as well as physiotherapy — which is factored into Tottenham’s drawings.

Standard Sport understands the NFL believe Wembley is not ideal in terms of the experience it offers American football fans and would prefer a ground more suited to them. Spurs’ stadium could provide the solution and talks have taken place between the club and the sport’s governing body.
This would be a potential nightmare for Spurs players, especially given what a pair of NFL teams could do to grass in December (let alone for 8 home games a year). Or could we, gasp, see artificial turf?

Still, to be the first NFL franchise outside of the United States would be worth it for Daniel Levy’s bunch. Stay tuned.

Mark Emmert: Freshmen ineligibility 'has all kinds of problems'.

By Sam Cooper

NCAA President Mark Emmert answers questions during a news conference at the Men's Final Four college basketball tournament Thursday, April 2, 2015, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
NCAA President Mark Emmert answers questions during a news conference at the Men's Final Four college basketball tournament Thursday, April 2, 2015, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

NCAA president Mark Emmert spoke with reporters Thursday at an Associated Press Sports Editors meeting in New York City and touched on some of the issues facing collegiate athletics. Emmert discussed the Big Ten’s recent proposal for freshmen ineligibility in football and men’s basketball, saying the NCAA has been “heavily involved” in the conversation.

"I’m really pleased that the Big Ten presidents want to at least have the conversation about it, because it’s worth having,” Emmert said according to USA Today.

Emmert said the idea has "all kinds of problems" and is "highly controversial," but is "worthy of debate."  

Emmert especially didn't seem to be on board with freshmen ineligibility if its main purpose is to curb the number of college basketball recruits who declare for the NBA after one year in school.  

“The real question we need to address is, are students sufficiently serious about being students as well as athletes? And are they sufficiently prepared to be successful as a student as well as an athlete?” Emmert said.  

Emmert, while pointing out the NCAA’s minimum grade-point average increasing from 2.0 to 2.3 next year, said one potential benefit for freshmen ineligibility would be to help student-athletes who may be behind academically compared to their peers.  

Regarding an issue that solely pertains to college football, Emmert said coaches participating in satellite camps is “on the top” of the NCAA oversight committee’s list of issues to look at. 
 
Big Ten coaches – particularly Penn State’s James Franklin and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh – are scheduled to participate as guest coaches at football camps across the country this summer. Franklin and his staff were at camps in Florida and Georgia last summer and are scheduled to attend five more this year. Meanwhile, Michigan’s staff is attending nine camps in seven states in June.
 
The SEC, which outlaws such a practice, wants to see it banned. ACC commissioner John Swofford voiced a similar sentiment Thursday.

"Whether they throw the gates open or whether they close it down will be their call," Emmert said per the Associated Press. "Having different rules in different places, that's a de facto decision. If one or more conferences is doing it then it seem inevitable that all the conferences will say, 'Yes, let's do it.' So that's a decision by default. If that's where they (the oversight committee) want to be, fine but at least make a conscious decision."
 
Additionally, Emmert was again asked about the NCAA’s handling of the scandal at Penn State in which the football program was hit with scholarship reductions, a bowl ban, vacated wins and the school was fined $60 million. Emmert said Thursday that the sanctions were “right and appropriate,” even though 112 of the program’s wins were restored and the scholarship reductions and bowl ban were lifted.
 
Emmert did concede, however, that the NCAA could have “handled the communication differently.”
 
“I think communication could have been handled a lot better,” Emmert said. "Certainly I could have done that a lot better. But the reality is it was a very, very difficult circumstance for the university. I think the executive committee wound up in the right place.”

SEC feeling college football recruiting heat due to Big Ten's attempted talent raids.

By Pat Forde

Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes are considering a satellite camp in the South this year. (AP)
Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes are considering a satellite camp in the South this year. (AP)

From the days of Reconstruction, Southerners have not always reacted kindly to Northern interlopers. “Carpetbaggers” was hardly a term of endearment.

The stakes are far less serious now than they were then, but college football coaches from the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences may feel similarly regarding Yankee invaders.

For the second consecutive summer, Penn State coaches are crossing the Mason-Dixon Line to work satellite football camps designed to raid the local talent. Last year they were in Atlanta and central Florida; this year the locales are Charlotte, N.C. and Norfolk, Va. The Nittany Lions have company from the Big Ten this time – Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan coach staff is going satellite camping in Alabama, Florida and Texas.

Last week Ohio State coach Urban Meyer clucked his tongue and shook his head over these Dixie dives through a Big Ten loophole, which allows schools to work far-flung camps that the SEC and ACC forbid. Then he said his program may follow suit.

“I think that should be outlawed,” Meyer said in one breath. Shortly thereafter: “If it helps us, we’ll do it. And I think we might try one this year.”  

Satellite camps are not a new idea. Yahoo Sports wrote about Oklahoma State working this loophole in Texas nearly two years ago. But it is an idea gaining popularity, even in the one conference that has been historically timid when it comes to pushing the envelope.  

Not now.
 
This is the radically re-energized Big Ten – a league in transition from stubbornly traditional to aggressively proactive. It began when former SEC coach Meyer was hired at Ohio State in 2012, accelerated when former SEC coach James Franklin went to Penn State last year, hit another gear when the Buckeyes won the national title in January and has reached a new level with former NFL coach Harbaugh spiking the punch at Michigan.

The latest outgrowth of this new attitude is the satellite camps. And those make the conferences that had won the previous eight national titles (seven for the SEC, one for the ACC) a bit cranky.
 
Outgoing SEC commissioner Mike Slive joked Monday at a writers conference in Birmingham: “We are going to have a camp up at Penn State.”
 
Incoming SEC commissioner Greg Sankey followed up: “I'm not sure that the others want our coaches going to places like State College, Pennsylvania, because very clearly, if we do take the approach others have, they will go places and run those satellite camps, and it will certainly, I would expect, change the tone of the conversation.”
 
A prior Southern invasion of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg, to be precise) didn’t end well. But Sankey said his league’s preferred solution to this situation would not be SEC satellite camps in the north; it would be national legislation restricting camps to a school's own campus.
 
It is humorous to see the two conferences swapping roles to a degree. The SEC, sitting on its rich recruiting soil and long dismissive of the Big Ten, suddenly is threatened. The Big Ten, which has whined for years about the unfair advantages the SEC has, suddenly is emboldened.
 
Unsurprisingly, Sankey’s comments made their way north. They were met with something of a bring-it-on glee in some Big Ten outposts.
 
“We don’t mind stirring the pot,” said a staffer at one Big Ten school Monday. But this isn't just about rattling sabers and ruffling feathers. There are tangible reasons for Big Ten schools to recruit outside their area – and tangible reasons for the smaller schools that host the satellite camps to play ball.

At Davidson College just north of Charlotte, N.C., they’re wildly excited about bringing in Penn State coaches – and a few hundred players – to increase exposure to their non-scholarship FCS program. The big-time prospects will be there to be seen by the Nittany Lions; but the camp should also attract plenty of recruits who fit the Davidson profile.
 
“Anytime we have the opportunity to bring people on campus – student-athletes we’re recruiting, or coaches from different staffs – it can only help us,” head coach Paul Nichols said. “We have to cast a very broad net for people who can score a 30 on the ACT and play football. This helps in terms of getting a maximum number of prospects on our campus.

“Whether we have 500 kids here, 200 or 300, they’re going to leave here having had exposure to high-level coaching and to Davidson College. It’s win-win for everyone involved.”
 
It should be noted that this isn’t just a War of Northern Aggression. There also is some potential satellite in-fighting among Big Ten programs.
 
Michigan, for example, will attend a camp in Pennsylvania. And Penn State is the headliner on a five-staff camp in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Ill., on June 15. That’s about 40 miles from Northwestern and less than 150 miles from the University of Illinois campus.

Division III North Central College is the site for that camp. In addition to the hosts and the Nittany Lions, coaches from Bowling Green, Ball State and Illinois State will be on hand. North Central coach Jeff Thorne said his staff sent out an email Friday to prospects about the camp, and over the weekend 30 players signed up.  

“The benefits for us are huge,” Thorne said. “We get a lot of high school football players on our campus and they get a chance to meet our coaching staff. And it’s a cost-effective way for the kids to be exposed to coaches from different levels of football. People are pretty excited to hear Penn State and other D-I schools are going to be in Naperville.”  

Southern coaches are demonstrably less excited by the presence of Penn State and Michigan staffs working camps in their backyards. But this is the new Big Ten, willing to take the fight into SEC and ACC’s backyard. Game on.

Mayweather-Pacquiao secondary ticket market predictably insane.

By Jay Hart

See that photo to the right, that's the view of the Mayweather-Pacquaio fight $16,100 will get you.

That's for one ticket mind you, so if you're bringing someone else, double it.

Which comes in at a bargain in comparison to a ringside seat, which will cost you a cool $141,575.25 on StubHub. Don't be short the 25 cents.

(I can think of at least one person crazy enough to spend $141K for a single ticket, only problem is he'll be inside the ring that night.)

A full nine days before the mega fight is to be staged at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and tickets finally went on sale to the public Thursday. About 500 of them. 

That many!

I tried to get them. No luck. But 200 or so were available on secondary sites. Face value for the cheapest was $1,500. What you'll have to pay: $6,177 on SeatGeek. Here's the view: 

View from Sec 218 at the MGM Grand Garden. (SeatGeek)
View from Sec 218 at the MGM Grand Garden. (SeatGeek)

Now, these are asking prices. Not necessarily selling prices.

SeatGeek told Yahoo Sports it already sold at least one ticket for $17,850 (Sec 9, Row G), "making it the most expensive single ticket we've ever sold."  

Expect to hear a lot of that.

(NOTE: The highest price paid on SeatGeek for a Super Bowl ticket this year was $15,000.)

Overall, SeatGeek's average selling price for the upper level has been $7,113, $11,530 for the lower level.

The MGM did at least make the appearance of trying to cut down on resale's, making all tickets Will Call, requiring a photo ID and the actual credit card used in order to pick them up. Thing is, even if you live in New York City, flew to Vegas first class, got a suite at the Wynn, played a few hundred hands of Baccarat and held hands with Candy at the Crazy Horse for three straight hours, you'd still come out in the black selling a single pair on the secondary market.

That's what I figured on doing, anyway.

So fight fans, bust out your credit card, and the other one and the other and you're in. If you can't afford the nosebleeds and you want to watch the fight in Vegas, there's always closed circuit TV for the low, low price of $150, not including handling fees.

Yay boxing!

On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, April 24, 2015.

Memoriesofhistory.com

1961 - Sandy Koufax (Los Angeles Dodgers) struck out 18 batters becoming the first major-league pitcher to do so on two different occasions.

1963 - The Boston Celtics won their fifth straight NBA title.

1994 - David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs) scored 71 points against the Los Angeles Clippers.

2003 - The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim defeated the Dallas Stars 4-3 in 5 overtime periods in game 1 of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Petr Sykora scored 48 seconds into the fifth overtime ending the game as the fourth longest game in NHL history. The final time was 140 minutes and 48 seconds.


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