Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica
"America's Finest Sports Fan Travel Club, May We Plan An Event Or Sports Travel For You?"
We offer: Select opportunities, For your convenience, At "Very Rare but Super Fair" pricing
We offer: Select opportunities, For your convenience, At "Very Rare but Super Fair" pricing
Because it's all about you!!!
"Sports Quote of the Day"
"A good athlete always mentally replays a competition over and over, even in victory, to see what might be done to improve the performance the next time." ~ Frank Shorter, Former Long Distance Olympic Runner who won Gold (1972) and Silver (1976) Medals
Trending: Blackhawks winning streak snapped with loss to Lightning. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates).
"A good athlete always mentally replays a competition over and over, even in victory, to see what might be done to improve the performance the next time." ~ Frank Shorter, Former Long Distance Olympic Runner who won Gold (1972) and Silver (1976) Medals
Trending: Blackhawks winning streak snapped with loss to Lightning. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates).
Trending: Super Bowl 50: Vegas Odds For The Remaining Four Teams. (See the football section for details).
Trending: If Antwaan Randle El could go back, he wouldn't play football. What's Your Take? (See the last article in this blog for details and our opinion).
Trending: Bills announce hiring of full-time female assistant coach. (See the football section for details).
Trending: Bills announce hiring of full-time female assistant coach. (See the football section for details).
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Chicago Blackhawks-Florida Panthers Preview.
By ALAN FERGUSON
The Chicago Blackhawks couldn't surpass the Florida Panthers for the NHL's longest win streak this season but have been victorious in recent matchups between the teams.
The Blackhawks will try to bounce back from the end to their franchise-best run Friday night by claiming a ninth consecutive win over the Panthers, who have cooled off since their lengthy streak.
Chicago (32-14-4) generated a season-low 18 shots - including a combined nine in the first two periods - as their 12-game win streak ended Thursday in Tampa Bay.
The Lightning had 33 shots and totaled 23 in the first two periods in a 2-1 victory. Artem Anisimov scored the Blackhawks' lone goal in the opening minute.
"Tonight, they were definitely the better team," coach Joel Quenneville said. "We didn't generate much. We didn't get much traffic or pucks to the net. We didn't get the offensive zone time we would have liked.
"I really like what we did (during the 12-game win streak) but we've got to keep pushing."
Chicago will try to shake off that defeat by matching its longest active win streak versus one opponent. The Blackhawks have won nine in a row over Buffalo.
They beat Florida 3-2 in Chicago on Oct. 22, with Patrick Kane scoring a key power-play goal in the opening minute of the third period and assisting on the first two scores.
The league leader with 72 points, Kane has six goals and 11 assists in his last 10 games versus the Panthers (26-15-5).
Seeking a career-high 31st goal, Kane faces a Florida team that's been outscored 16-5 over an 0-3-1 stretch since its franchise-best 12-game winning streak concluded. Monday's 4-2 loss to Edmonton ended a team-record seven-game home win streak.
The Panthers trailed 3-0 after two periods before pulling within one less than six minutes into the third. The Oilers sealed the win by scoring with 1:28 remaining.
"The work ethic is lacking for sure, whether they're tired or whatever it is," coach Gerard Gallant said. "I'm not happy with the way we played the last number of games. Hopefully we get back at it and play our game again."
The Blackhawks, who also had a six-game road win streak snapped Thursday, have prevailed in each of their last three visits to Florida with Corey Crawford posting a 3-0 victory in the latest Feb. 26.
In the second of back-to-back games, Chicago might turn to Scott Darling, who has a 1.64 goals-against average in winning his last three starts. He earned a shootout win in his only matchup against Florida on Feb. 24, making 34 saves.
The Blackhawks could help whoever is in net by extending the Panthers' power-play woes. Florida is 0 for 22 with a man advantage in the past eight games but has gone 28 for 30 on the penalty kill in its last nine.
The Panthers are expected to get one of their top defensemen, Aaron Ekblad, back after a four-game absence due to an upper-body injury.
The Blackhawks, meanwhile, could have forward Jiri Sekac on the ice after he was acquired from Anaheim on Thursday for Ryan Garbutt.
Chicago captain Jonathan Toews has five goals and five assists in his team's win streak against Florida.
Blackhawks winning streak snapped with loss to Lightning.
By Tracey Myers
Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford stops a shot by Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Ryan Callahan during the first period. (Photo/Chris O'Meara/AP)
It was bound to end at some point.
The Blackhawks weren’t feeling pressure as they continued their winning streak, which reached a franchise-best 12 games on Tuesday. They were having fun adding to it. But when the Tampa Bay Lightning thwarted the Blackhawks at every opportunity on Thursday, the fun ended.
Corey Crawford stopped 31 of 33 shots, but he had, by far, the Blackhawks’ best performance in their 2-1 loss to the Lightning at Amalie Arena. The loss snapped the Blackhawks’ winning streak at 12. The Lightning, meanwhile, won their seventh consecutive game.
The Blackhawks will remain in first place in the Central Division, three points ahead of Dallas, which beat Edmonton, 3-2, on Thursday.
It wasn’t so much the loss that was disappointing — again, it was going to happen at some point. But after Artem Anisimov’s backhand gave them the lead just 43 seconds into the game, the Blackhawks didn’t put up much of a fight. They finished with just 18 shots, a season low.
“Tonight they were definitely the better team,” coach Joel Quenneville said of the Lightning. “We didn’t generate much, didn’t get much traffic or pucks to the net, didn’t get the offensive zone time we liked. We got a few shifts, but they were few and far between.”
The Blackhawks were also doing a bit of line juggling. With Richard Panik benched after he overslept morning skate, Rob Scuderi played wing on the Blackhawks’ fourth line. Patrick Kane played a few shifts there, too.
But regardless of the line, the Blackhawks just couldn’t get much going. It took them until the third period to hit double digits on the shot count. The Lightning, meanwhile, got plenty — and good quality — shots on Crawford, who was stellar once again.
“Crow was our best player today again. At least he gave us a chance to tie the game up,” said Niklas Hjalmarsson, who wasn’t sure why the Blackhawks were so flat. “It’s tough to say. I think we maybe didn’t have our best game out there today. We knew it was going to be a tough game. They’re one of the better ... it’s their seventh (victory) in the row. It’s just a pretty rough game. Could’ve been more goals for them.”
Anton Stralman redirected Victor Hedman’s shot to tie it 1-1 about seven minutes into the first. The Blackhawks killed off two minors, including a Kane high-sticking, midway through the second period. But as Kane’s high-sticking penalty ended and he stepped out of the box to play the puck, he was whistled for interference.
That interference fell under Rule 56.2, which states:
A minor penalty shall be imposed on any identifiable player on the players' bench or penalty bench who, by means of his stick or his body, interferes with the movements of the puck or any opponent on the ice during the progress of the play. In addition, should a player about to come onto the ice, play the puck while one or both skates are still on the players' or penalty bench, a minor penalty for interference shall be assessed.
And the Lightning would capitalize on that power play, with Kucherov scoring his 20th of the season with nine seconds remaining on the advantage.
“Yeah, I’ve been around a long time. For the number of games I’ve seen, I’ve seen one other time it happened,” Quenneville said of the obscure infraction. “I think a lot of people didn’t know the rule.”
The Blackhawks knew it was going to end at some point. They would’ve liked a better all-around performance, even if it resulted in a loss, but they’ll have a quick turnaround and face the Florida Panthers on Friday night. Jiri Sekac, who was acquired on Thursday morning from the Anaheim Ducks, is “likely” to play in that game, according to Quenneville.
The winning streak is over. But it was a heck of a ride, and it changed the complexion for the Blackhawks in the Central Division.
“Yeah, it was definitely a turning point for our season,” Crawford said. “We’re feeling good chemistry throughout the lines. It was definitely important to get on that streak and move up the standings.”
Blackhawks acquire Jiri Sekac for Ryan Garbutt.
By Tracey Myers
The Blackhawks made a left-wing swap on Thursday morning, acquiring Jiri Sekac from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Ryan Garbutt.
The 23-year-old Sekac has a goal and two assists in 22 games with the Ducks. He also played in seven postseason games with the Ducks last spring. Garbutt, who the Blackhawks acquired from the Dallas Stars as part of the Patrick Sharp deal, had two goals and four assists in 43 games with the Blackhawks.
Sekac is in the final season of his current contract, which has a cap hit of $950,000. Garbutt had another year left in his current deal, which had a cap hit of $1.8 million; the Blackhawks, however, only took a cap hit of $900,000 on that deal, since the Stars retained the other half of Garbutt’s salary.
When Sekac joins the Blackhawks and where he fits into the lineup is uncertain at the moment.
The Blackhawks will try to bounce back from the end to their franchise-best run Friday night by claiming a ninth consecutive win over the Panthers, who have cooled off since their lengthy streak.
Chicago (32-14-4) generated a season-low 18 shots - including a combined nine in the first two periods - as their 12-game win streak ended Thursday in Tampa Bay.
The Lightning had 33 shots and totaled 23 in the first two periods in a 2-1 victory. Artem Anisimov scored the Blackhawks' lone goal in the opening minute.
"Tonight, they were definitely the better team," coach Joel Quenneville said. "We didn't generate much. We didn't get much traffic or pucks to the net. We didn't get the offensive zone time we would have liked.
"I really like what we did (during the 12-game win streak) but we've got to keep pushing."
Chicago will try to shake off that defeat by matching its longest active win streak versus one opponent. The Blackhawks have won nine in a row over Buffalo.
They beat Florida 3-2 in Chicago on Oct. 22, with Patrick Kane scoring a key power-play goal in the opening minute of the third period and assisting on the first two scores.
The league leader with 72 points, Kane has six goals and 11 assists in his last 10 games versus the Panthers (26-15-5).
Seeking a career-high 31st goal, Kane faces a Florida team that's been outscored 16-5 over an 0-3-1 stretch since its franchise-best 12-game winning streak concluded. Monday's 4-2 loss to Edmonton ended a team-record seven-game home win streak.
The Panthers trailed 3-0 after two periods before pulling within one less than six minutes into the third. The Oilers sealed the win by scoring with 1:28 remaining.
"The work ethic is lacking for sure, whether they're tired or whatever it is," coach Gerard Gallant said. "I'm not happy with the way we played the last number of games. Hopefully we get back at it and play our game again."
The Blackhawks, who also had a six-game road win streak snapped Thursday, have prevailed in each of their last three visits to Florida with Corey Crawford posting a 3-0 victory in the latest Feb. 26.
In the second of back-to-back games, Chicago might turn to Scott Darling, who has a 1.64 goals-against average in winning his last three starts. He earned a shootout win in his only matchup against Florida on Feb. 24, making 34 saves.
The Blackhawks could help whoever is in net by extending the Panthers' power-play woes. Florida is 0 for 22 with a man advantage in the past eight games but has gone 28 for 30 on the penalty kill in its last nine.
The Panthers are expected to get one of their top defensemen, Aaron Ekblad, back after a four-game absence due to an upper-body injury.
The Blackhawks, meanwhile, could have forward Jiri Sekac on the ice after he was acquired from Anaheim on Thursday for Ryan Garbutt.
Chicago captain Jonathan Toews has five goals and five assists in his team's win streak against Florida.
Blackhawks winning streak snapped with loss to Lightning.
By Tracey Myers
It was bound to end at some point.
The Blackhawks weren’t feeling pressure as they continued their winning streak, which reached a franchise-best 12 games on Tuesday. They were having fun adding to it. But when the Tampa Bay Lightning thwarted the Blackhawks at every opportunity on Thursday, the fun ended.
Corey Crawford stopped 31 of 33 shots, but he had, by far, the Blackhawks’ best performance in their 2-1 loss to the Lightning at Amalie Arena. The loss snapped the Blackhawks’ winning streak at 12. The Lightning, meanwhile, won their seventh consecutive game.
The Blackhawks will remain in first place in the Central Division, three points ahead of Dallas, which beat Edmonton, 3-2, on Thursday.
It wasn’t so much the loss that was disappointing — again, it was going to happen at some point. But after Artem Anisimov’s backhand gave them the lead just 43 seconds into the game, the Blackhawks didn’t put up much of a fight. They finished with just 18 shots, a season low.
“Tonight they were definitely the better team,” coach Joel Quenneville said of the Lightning. “We didn’t generate much, didn’t get much traffic or pucks to the net, didn’t get the offensive zone time we liked. We got a few shifts, but they were few and far between.”
The Blackhawks were also doing a bit of line juggling. With Richard Panik benched after he overslept morning skate, Rob Scuderi played wing on the Blackhawks’ fourth line. Patrick Kane played a few shifts there, too.
But regardless of the line, the Blackhawks just couldn’t get much going. It took them until the third period to hit double digits on the shot count. The Lightning, meanwhile, got plenty — and good quality — shots on Crawford, who was stellar once again.
“Crow was our best player today again. At least he gave us a chance to tie the game up,” said Niklas Hjalmarsson, who wasn’t sure why the Blackhawks were so flat. “It’s tough to say. I think we maybe didn’t have our best game out there today. We knew it was going to be a tough game. They’re one of the better ... it’s their seventh (victory) in the row. It’s just a pretty rough game. Could’ve been more goals for them.”
Anton Stralman redirected Victor Hedman’s shot to tie it 1-1 about seven minutes into the first. The Blackhawks killed off two minors, including a Kane high-sticking, midway through the second period. But as Kane’s high-sticking penalty ended and he stepped out of the box to play the puck, he was whistled for interference.
That interference fell under Rule 56.2, which states:
A minor penalty shall be imposed on any identifiable player on the players' bench or penalty bench who, by means of his stick or his body, interferes with the movements of the puck or any opponent on the ice during the progress of the play. In addition, should a player about to come onto the ice, play the puck while one or both skates are still on the players' or penalty bench, a minor penalty for interference shall be assessed.
And the Lightning would capitalize on that power play, with Kucherov scoring his 20th of the season with nine seconds remaining on the advantage.
“Yeah, I’ve been around a long time. For the number of games I’ve seen, I’ve seen one other time it happened,” Quenneville said of the obscure infraction. “I think a lot of people didn’t know the rule.”
The Blackhawks knew it was going to end at some point. They would’ve liked a better all-around performance, even if it resulted in a loss, but they’ll have a quick turnaround and face the Florida Panthers on Friday night. Jiri Sekac, who was acquired on Thursday morning from the Anaheim Ducks, is “likely” to play in that game, according to Quenneville.
The winning streak is over. But it was a heck of a ride, and it changed the complexion for the Blackhawks in the Central Division.
“Yeah, it was definitely a turning point for our season,” Crawford said. “We’re feeling good chemistry throughout the lines. It was definitely important to get on that streak and move up the standings.”
Blackhawks acquire Jiri Sekac for Ryan Garbutt.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/NHL.com)
The Blackhawks made a left-wing swap on Thursday morning, acquiring Jiri Sekac from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Ryan Garbutt.
The 23-year-old Sekac has a goal and two assists in 22 games with the Ducks. He also played in seven postseason games with the Ducks last spring. Garbutt, who the Blackhawks acquired from the Dallas Stars as part of the Patrick Sharp deal, had two goals and four assists in 43 games with the Blackhawks.
Sekac is in the final season of his current contract, which has a cap hit of $950,000. Garbutt had another year left in his current deal, which had a cap hit of $1.8 million; the Blackhawks, however, only took a cap hit of $900,000 on that deal, since the Stars retained the other half of Garbutt’s salary.
When Sekac joins the Blackhawks and where he fits into the lineup is uncertain at the moment.
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Jay Cutler is going into the Vanderbilt Hall of Fame.
By Tony Andracki
Jay Cutler is a Hall of Famer.
After this weekend, there won't be any disputing that fact.
The enigmatic Bears quarterback will be inducted into the Vanderbilt Hall of Fame Friday night in Nashville.
Cutler was a four-year starter with Vanderbilt, setting school records in passing yards, touchdowns, completions and attempts.
Cutler was named the SEC offensive player of the year in his senior season in 2005 when he threw for 3,073 yards and 21 TDs.
In four seasons at Vanderbilt, Cutler also rushed for 1,256 yards and 17 TDs, including nine scores in his freshman year.
The Denver Broncos made Cutler the 11th overall pick in the 2006 Draft before trading him to the Bears three years later.
Cutler will be inducted into the Vanderbilt Athletic Hall of Fame alongside eight other individuals, including big-league pitcher David Price who just signed a $217 million megadeal with the Boston Red Sox.
By Tony Andracki
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Jay Cutler is a Hall of Famer.
After this weekend, there won't be any disputing that fact.
The enigmatic Bears quarterback will be inducted into the Vanderbilt Hall of Fame Friday night in Nashville.
Cutler was a four-year starter with Vanderbilt, setting school records in passing yards, touchdowns, completions and attempts.
Cutler was named the SEC offensive player of the year in his senior season in 2005 when he threw for 3,073 yards and 21 TDs.
In four seasons at Vanderbilt, Cutler also rushed for 1,256 yards and 17 TDs, including nine scores in his freshman year.
The Denver Broncos made Cutler the 11th overall pick in the 2006 Draft before trading him to the Bears three years later.
Cutler will be inducted into the Vanderbilt Athletic Hall of Fame alongside eight other individuals, including big-league pitcher David Price who just signed a $217 million megadeal with the Boston Red Sox.
AFC, NFC championships compelling beyond Tom Brady-Peyton Manning
(Photo/AP)
The boxing cliché that “styles make fights” says that contrasting strengths make for the best competitions, and the matchups in the AFC and NFC championship games this weekend are all of that. And these extend far deeper than just Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning. Besides, those two aren’t ever on the field at the same time anyhow.
Other matchups are far more relevant to game conduct and outcomes.
Coaches
Both championship games involve teams with head coaches from opposite sides of the football. Offense vs. defense. Both games.
Other matchups are far more relevant to game conduct and outcomes.
Coaches
Both championship games involve teams with head coaches from opposite sides of the football. Offense vs. defense. Both games.
Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians is a go-downfield boss who reined in quarterback Carson Palmer in a overtime win against the Green Bay Packers. Arians says now that the Cardinals will get back to their core style, the one that made Arizona No. 1 in total yardage and No. 2 in points per game.
Against him is Ron Rivera, he of the ’85 Bears, aggressive defense (part of where he and Lovie Smith diverged sharply) and the No. 6 overall defense.
Bill Belichick’s legend owes in very large part to the quarterbacking of Brady, but in even larger measure to Belichick’s New England defense.
Against that will be former NFL quarterback Gary Kubiak’s Denver Broncos, the one offense among the final four not ranked in the top three in points scored. But the Broncos also the only one who didn’t have its starting quarterback for all 16 games, yet was solid enough to win five games starting a backup quarterback (Brock Osweiler).
Offenses vs. defenses
In one of the key tipping-point stats:
Arizona ranks No. 1 in yards per pass play. Palmer’s 8.70-yard average is nearly a full yard more than Cam Newton’s (7.75) for Carolina. Carolina is No. 2 against the pass.
Meaning: The NFC championship game has the conference’s best passing offense against its best pass defense.
The only defense better per pass than the Panthers is the Broncos. Only the Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 2) and Cincinnati Bengals (No. 3) were better than Brady and New England in the AFC this year. The Broncos did allow seven pass plays of 20 yards or longer in defeating Pittsburgh in the divisional round, but more than half were short tosses with yards after catch, and the Broncos didn't allow Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers a single touchdown pass.
Meaning: The thing that the Patriots do best — pass the football — is the thing that the Broncos are best at stopping.
Ball security
If there is a decision point in either game, it is in turnovers. And then only in the AFC.
Three of the four remaining quarterbacks — Brady, Manning, Newton — have thrown zero interceptions in their one-game postseasons. Palmer, in what was a decidedly shaky playoff game, threw two. Carolina led the NFL with a plus-20 turnover differential. Arizona stood fourth with a plus-9.
Carolina had the NFL’s best passer-rating-against this season (73.5). No team intercepted more than the Panthers’ 24 pass pick-off’s. Turnovers decide football games and if Palmer and the Cardinals commit them in Charlotte, they will lose.
Brady-Manning? The two rank 5-6 with nearly identical career passer ratings, reflective of ball security. The Broncos led the NFL in sack rate and ended the Steelers season with a final takedown of Roethlisberger.
But the Patriots were 4-2 in games in which Brady was sacked three or more times. Denver defensive lineman Antonio Smith said that Brady may whine a bit, looking for penalty flags, when he’s hit, but Smith also said that hits don’t particularly faze Brady, either.
Against him is Ron Rivera, he of the ’85 Bears, aggressive defense (part of where he and Lovie Smith diverged sharply) and the No. 6 overall defense.
Bill Belichick’s legend owes in very large part to the quarterbacking of Brady, but in even larger measure to Belichick’s New England defense.
Against that will be former NFL quarterback Gary Kubiak’s Denver Broncos, the one offense among the final four not ranked in the top three in points scored. But the Broncos also the only one who didn’t have its starting quarterback for all 16 games, yet was solid enough to win five games starting a backup quarterback (Brock Osweiler).
Offenses vs. defenses
In one of the key tipping-point stats:
Arizona ranks No. 1 in yards per pass play. Palmer’s 8.70-yard average is nearly a full yard more than Cam Newton’s (7.75) for Carolina. Carolina is No. 2 against the pass.
Meaning: The NFC championship game has the conference’s best passing offense against its best pass defense.
The only defense better per pass than the Panthers is the Broncos. Only the Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 2) and Cincinnati Bengals (No. 3) were better than Brady and New England in the AFC this year. The Broncos did allow seven pass plays of 20 yards or longer in defeating Pittsburgh in the divisional round, but more than half were short tosses with yards after catch, and the Broncos didn't allow Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers a single touchdown pass.
Meaning: The thing that the Patriots do best — pass the football — is the thing that the Broncos are best at stopping.
Ball security
If there is a decision point in either game, it is in turnovers. And then only in the AFC.
Three of the four remaining quarterbacks — Brady, Manning, Newton — have thrown zero interceptions in their one-game postseasons. Palmer, in what was a decidedly shaky playoff game, threw two. Carolina led the NFL with a plus-20 turnover differential. Arizona stood fourth with a plus-9.
Carolina had the NFL’s best passer-rating-against this season (73.5). No team intercepted more than the Panthers’ 24 pass pick-off’s. Turnovers decide football games and if Palmer and the Cardinals commit them in Charlotte, they will lose.
Brady-Manning? The two rank 5-6 with nearly identical career passer ratings, reflective of ball security. The Broncos led the NFL in sack rate and ended the Steelers season with a final takedown of Roethlisberger.
But the Patriots were 4-2 in games in which Brady was sacked three or more times. Denver defensive lineman Antonio Smith said that Brady may whine a bit, looking for penalty flags, when he’s hit, but Smith also said that hits don’t particularly faze Brady, either.
Bills announce hiring of full-time female assistant coach.
By Shalise Manza Young
By Shalise Manza Young
Kathryn Smith (Photo/yahoosports.com)
But the Buffalo Bills are taking it one step further: on Wednesday night, the team announced that Kathryn Smith is the team's new special-teams quality control coach, making her the first full-time assistant in the NFL.
It's a low-level position, but it's a start, and a position that many an NFL coach has held on his way up the coaching ladder.
Smith is well-known to Bills head coach Rex Ryan: she began her career with the New York Jets as a game day and college scouting intern, then became a player personnel assistant in 2007, a position she held for several years; Ryan was hired as head coach in 2009. In 2014, Smith changed positions and became assistant to the head coach.
When Ryan was fired by the Jets and hired a short time later by Buffalo, Smith followed him to Western New York, as administrative assistant to the head coach.
In a statement, Ryan said Smith is ready for the job change, and that he'd spoken to Cardinals' coach Bruce Arians about having a female on staff.
"Kathryn Smith has done an outstanding job in the seven years that she has worked with our staff. She certainly deserves this promotion based on her knowledge and strong commitment, just to name a couple of her outstanding qualities, and I just know she’s going to do a great job serving in the role of Quality Control-Special Teams," Ryan said.
"Kathryn Smith has done an outstanding job in the seven years that she has worked with our staff. She certainly deserves this promotion based on her knowledge and strong commitment, just to name a couple of her outstanding qualities, and I just know she’s going to do a great job serving in the role of Quality Control-Special Teams," Ryan said.
“Kathryn has been working in a football administrative role and assisted the assistant coaches for years. She has proven that she’s ready for the next step, so I’m excited and proud for her with this opportunity. She will work with [special teams coordinator] Danny Crossman and [special teams assistant] Eric Smith involving a number of responsibilities.
“I consulted with Bruce Arians on this since he was really the first NFL head coach to make this kind of move when he hired a female linebackers coach through the summer. You can see the success some of these young ladies are having in the coaching profession, such as the young lady that is an assistant to Coach (Gregg) Popovich at the San Antonio Spurs [Becky Hammon], and realize how exciting this is for women like Kathryn Smith as well as the Bills organization.”
Super Bowl 50: Vegas Odds For The Remaining Four Teams.
After an action-packed 2015 NFL regular season and two entertaining rounds of postseason football, the 2016 playoffs is down to its final four teams: the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, and Denver Broncos. And one thing is for sure, you won’t hear us complaining. This year’s conference championship games will each feature the top two seeds from the NFC and AFC. It doesn’t happen often, but it certainly feels like we’re getting to witness the best matchups we could possibly hope for.
As a result, we’d like to believe that, no matter how it all turns out, we’ll end up with an epic battle on the sport’s biggest stage come February 7 at Super Bowl 50. Of course, when it’s all said and done, only one of these teams will get to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. And with the conference title games on the horizon, the folks in Vegas have made sure to voice their opinions. Therefore, as we approach the home stretch of the 2015 NFL season, here’s a look at the Super Bowl 50 odds for the remaining four squads.
4. Denver Broncos
(Photo/Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
Odds: 22-5
While the Denver Broncos enter their upcoming conference championship game against the New England Patriots as the No. 1 seed in the AFC, Vegas only gives them the fourth-best odds to win Super Bowl 50. We guess this is to be expected when the road to the big game, although physically being held in Denver, goes through the defending Super Bowl champions.
If the Broncos and future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning stand any chance of getting past Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, they’ll need their ferocious defense — which allowed 18.5 points per game (fourth in the NFL) — to lead the way. If that doesn’t happen, Manning may find himself on the wrong side of this potentially tie-breaking affair with the other greatest quarterback of his generation.
While the Denver Broncos enter their upcoming conference championship game against the New England Patriots as the No. 1 seed in the AFC, Vegas only gives them the fourth-best odds to win Super Bowl 50. We guess this is to be expected when the road to the big game, although physically being held in Denver, goes through the defending Super Bowl champions.
If the Broncos and future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning stand any chance of getting past Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, they’ll need their ferocious defense — which allowed 18.5 points per game (fourth in the NFL) — to lead the way. If that doesn’t happen, Manning may find himself on the wrong side of this potentially tie-breaking affair with the other greatest quarterback of his generation.
3. Arizona Cardinals
(Photo/Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Odds: 18-5
Following a thrilling 26-20 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round, the Arizona Cardinals head to Carolina to take on the Panthers with a trip to Super Bowl 50 on the line. The Cards averaged 30.6 points per game — second in the NFL — this season and should have no problem putting up points if this NFC championship games turns into a shootout. Of course, we should note that Carolina led the league in scoring, putting up 31.2 points per game. For Cardinals fans out there, let’s just hope quarterback Carson Palmer brings his A-game.
2. Carolina Panthers
Following a thrilling 26-20 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round, the Arizona Cardinals head to Carolina to take on the Panthers with a trip to Super Bowl 50 on the line. The Cards averaged 30.6 points per game — second in the NFL — this season and should have no problem putting up points if this NFC championship games turns into a shootout. Of course, we should note that Carolina led the league in scoring, putting up 31.2 points per game. For Cardinals fans out there, let’s just hope quarterback Carson Palmer brings his A-game.
2. Carolina Panthers
(Photo/Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Odds: 39-20
Despite finishing the 2015 regular season with a 15-1 record and taking down the two-time defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks by a score of 31-24 in their Divisional Round matchup, the Carolina Panthers are not quite Vegas’s pick to be the last team standing at the end of the 2016 playoffs. We have a feeling that this will only further motivate quarterback — and soon-to-be NFL MVP — Cam Newton and the rest of the under-appreciated Panthers. It should be exciting to see how NFC’s No. 1 seed responds.
1. New England Patriots
(Photo/Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Odds: 19-10
In a career that has been nothing short of incredible, quarterback Tom Brady has only managed to win two of his eight appearances in Denver. If the New England Patriots hope to have any shot at defending their crown, No. 12 will need to lead them to win No. 3. And yet, even with this obstacle standing in their way, the Patriots are still Vegas’s pick to keep their position atop the NFL mountain. It must have something to do with New England having Belichick on the sidelines, tight end Rob Gronkowski playing at a ridiculously high level, and a team that appears to be as healthy as its been all year. Come to think of it, we’d probably have a difficult time betting against them as well.
Odds courtesy of sportsbook.ag.
Statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.go.com.
In a career that has been nothing short of incredible, quarterback Tom Brady has only managed to win two of his eight appearances in Denver. If the New England Patriots hope to have any shot at defending their crown, No. 12 will need to lead them to win No. 3. And yet, even with this obstacle standing in their way, the Patriots are still Vegas’s pick to keep their position atop the NFL mountain. It must have something to do with New England having Belichick on the sidelines, tight end Rob Gronkowski playing at a ridiculously high level, and a team that appears to be as healthy as its been all year. Come to think of it, we’d probably have a difficult time betting against them as well.
Odds courtesy of sportsbook.ag.
Statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.go.com.
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session... Chicago Bulls-Boston Celtics Preview.
By BRETT HUSTON
For the Celtics it's a return to their defensive principles that can start with Friday night's visit from Chicago, while for the Bulls it's that and harnessing the effectiveness and conditioning of Derrick Rose.
Boston (22-21) has lost eight of 12 while looking nothing like the defensive stalwart it was in the season's first few months. Only Golden State and San Antonio allowed fewer points per 100 possessions than the Celtics (97.4) before Dec. 30, but since then half the league has been better than the 104.3 per 100 allowed by Brad Stevens' club.
It allowed at least 115 points in each stop on a 1-2 road trip - one of which went to overtime - and Toronto's 55.4 shooting percentage in Wednesday's 115-109 loss was the second-best by a Celtics opponent this season.
"We know we can score. It's been good to see the ball go in the hole for a lot of guys on this road trip," forward Jae Crowder told the team's official website. "But we've got to get back to our defense."
At 19-3 when holding opponents under 100, there's plenty of incentive. The same could be said for the Bulls (24-17), who are 18-2 when keeping teams from triple digits.
They've only done that once while losing five of seven, yielding 109.3 points per 100 possessions, and they'd gone nearly six years without giving up more points at home than they did in Wednesday's 125-94 loss to Golden State.
''It's embarrassing,'' Rose said. ''We stopped communicating while we were out there. You could easily tell there was no communication on both sides of the ball. The only thing we can do from it is learn.
"We've got a back-to-back coming up (the Bulls visit Cleveland on Saturday) and a chance to redeem ourselves."
Rose had 29 points in 30 minutes against the Warriors, bumping his average to 22.3 in three since missing a game with left knee tendinitis.
''It's embarrassing,'' Rose said. ''We stopped communicating while we were out there. You could easily tell there was no communication on both sides of the ball. The only thing we can do from it is learn.
"We've got a back-to-back coming up (the Bulls visit Cleveland on Saturday) and a chance to redeem ourselves."
Rose had 29 points in 30 minutes against the Warriors, bumping his average to 22.3 in three since missing a game with left knee tendinitis.
Last season he was still one of the league's most effective guards when taking the ball toward the basket, as Rose was 10th in team points produced per drive at 1.27. He's dropped to a pedestrian 1.15 this season, but helped account for 21 Bulls points on 10 drives against Golden State.
"Derrick was great, was really good coming out, was attacking, was carrying us on offense," coach Fred Hoiberg told the team's official website. "If he keeps playing like that and attacking like that we've got a chance to have a good rest of the year."
No team allows fewer points per drive (1.07) than the Celtics, and the disparity in Rose's drives was evident in two earlier meetings. Rose's eight drives produced five Chicago points in a 105-100 loss at TD Garden on Dec. 9, but his 10 drives led to 16 points in a 101-92 home win Jan. 7 - though that one came with Avery Bradley sitting due to a hip injury.
The Bulls were more successful in the meeting where Jimmy Butler served as a distributor. He had 36 points but no assists in Boston, then recorded 19 points with 10 assists in Chicago. Pau Gasol has averaged 19.4 points and 15 boards as the Bulls have won four of five in the series.
The Bulls were more successful in the meeting where Jimmy Butler served as a distributor. He had 36 points but no assists in Boston, then recorded 19 points with 10 assists in Chicago. Pau Gasol has averaged 19.4 points and 15 boards as the Bulls have won four of five in the series.
Bradley, who was shooting 43.1 percent from 3-point range through 22 games, is at 23.8 percent from beyond the arc in his last 16.
Curry, Warriors embarrass Bulls in measuring stick game. (Monday night's game, 01/20/2016).
By Vincent Goodwill
Bulls guard Derrick Rose maneuvers around Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during the first half. (Photo/Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune)
Stephen Curry had the ball on a string and thought Derrick Rose was right with it, but when Rose didn’t allow himself to be shook, the United Center stood and applauded the defensive effort.
Then Curry found a curling Klay Thompson escaping Jimmy Butler a few inches away, and seconds later that effort went unrewarded as the best shooter in basketball fed the second-best shooter in basketball.
Triple, swish, timeout.
It was that kind of night for the Bulls against the NBA champs, who openly said this game was a measuring stick to their progress to date.
And a 125-94 loss to the Golden State Warriors sent a resounding message that though the Bulls have a reputation for getting up for the big games, their elevator doesn’t reach that high.
“They play the right way,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. “All their guys move, they cut and every guy on the floor can make a play.”
Coming in knowing full well the Warriors can embarrass you if you’re not adhering to the game-plan or if the game-plan doesn’t cover everything, the Bulls still succumbed and the submission seemed to happen early.
Again, communication was a problem.
“It was embarrassing, we stopped communicating when while we were out there,” Rose said. “You could easily tell there was no communication on both sides of the ball.”
The Bulls shot 37 percent in the first half and trailed by 19 when the game was barely 15 minutes old. The Warriors shot 52 percent and toyed with the opponent as if it was a varsity-JV matchup.
Curry and Thompson didn’t have explosive nights, but they surely weren’t silent, as Curry had some dazzling moves and Thompson filled in the blanks where necessary. Curry could’ve tallied a triple double but in 34 minutes scored 25 points with 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Thompson scored an easy 20 in 32 minutes, hitting three triples as the Warriors shot 38 percent and made 12 long balls.
“They’re tough, they have a lot of guys who can score, a lot of guys who can guard, yeah. But when you don’t play good basketball, any matchup is difficult in this league,” Butler said.
The Warriors didn’t put an all-out assault like they did on the Cleveland Cavaliers when they went up 43 points in a laugher. They just did all the great things championship teams do on a given night: never got lost on screens, shared the ball endlessly and ignored the noise.
“Guard, for one," Butler said. “We’re too worried about offense too much at times. We don’t play defense, we don’t rebound, we don’t get back. It’s not the bigs, it’s on everybody. When we’re not guarding, we’re not a very good team.”
Rose provided most of the noise early for the Bulls as they jumped out to a quick lead that wouldn’t hold. He finished with 29 points, including 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the first quarter.
Rose burned so much energy early attacking the basket and challenging Curry, he asked out six minutes into the game due to fatigue. The Bulls were down 13-12, but the Warriors went on a 21-6 run to finish the quarter, effectively ending it before it began.
Without Butler being his usual self, the Bulls were no match. He didn’t get involved until the third quarter, and by then the Warriors had a 20-point head start.
He finished with 23 points and five rebounds but only had four at halftime, when the Warriors achieved a 21-point lead.
“It just shows how bad we can be if we don’t guard,” Butler said.
Harrison Barnes scored 19 with three triples, while Andre Iguodala came off the bench to score 10 and disrupt the Bulls offense, one that made just one of 20 triples and shot 37 percent from the field.
“We came out like that in the second half and had a chance to cut it to single digits,” said Hoiberg, referring to the Bulls grabbing a little momentum to cut the lead to 67-56 midway through the third.
But the offense folded, and the lead was quickly pressed back to 16 and then to 24 at quarter’s end.
“We missed some easy shots, we let it affect us on the other end and they got some easy baskets. They kept attacking all the way to the finish line.”
Pau Gasol was 30 points short of his effort in Detroit, going 0-for-8 with only a free throw in 23 minutes.
Nikola Mirotic was also on a milk carton, going 0-for-5 along with Tony Snell only making a field goal in the last six minutes, when the game was well out of reach.
Everything the Bulls did wrong, the Warriors pounced on.
They stripped weak drives, caught the Bulls napping way too much on defense for multiple backdoor layups and open shots, laughing all the way home.
When the Bulls got close, the Warriors would hit a couple of triples in succession to hush the impending roar of the United Center. Then it became showtime, with alley-
oops, long triples and the general joy that comes with being a member of a Warriors team challenging the 1996 Bulls' record of 72 wins.
For the Bulls, there was misery for the better part of 40 minutes and the knowledge of knowing they’ll have a long, long way to go before reaching elite status.
Cubs prospect Willson Contreras could be next core player to hit Wrigley.
(Photo/www,bleachernation.com)
Willson Contreras isn’t riding the tidal wave of hype that followed Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber.
But the Cubs still see Contreras as their potential catcher of the future, possibly the next core player to crash onto the stage at Wrigley Field as they ramp up their rebuild.
Miguel Montero is guaranteed $28 million across the next two seasons, David Ross is ready to begin his retirement tour and the Cubs haven’t definitively answered the question about Schwarber’s long-term future at catcher.
Contreras is ticketed for Triple-A Iowa this year, not quite ready for the demands of catching at the big-league level and handling a veteran pitching staff and the intricate game-planning system that helped the Cubs become contenders. But his time is coming after winning the Southern League batting title last year and turning into what one team official called an untouchable prospect.
“He’s an incredibly talented, athletic catcher who can really throw, can really block and his receiving is much improved,” team president Theo Epstein said. “He projects to be a frontline catcher in the big leagues for a long time. We’re excited about his development.”
The Cubs didn’t add Contreras to the 40-man roster last winter, leaving him exposed in the Rule 5 draft. Originally signed as an infielder out of Venezuela in 2009, he hadn’t played above the A-ball level at that point.
Contreras went out and hit .333 with eight homers, 75 RBIs and an .891 OPS in 126 games at Double-A Tennessee, finishing the year as the organization’s No. 2 prospect on Baseball America’s top-10 list.
“He could have got taken by anybody (else),” said Jason McLeod, the senior vice president of scouting and player development. “A big transformation for him was playing in Venezuela (last winter and seeing): ‘This is how I need to be.’
“He’s always been a wonderful kid — passionate, big smile, hard worker. But there was more of a maturity level to him. He’s always going to play with passion — that’s just the way he is — but there was a different confidence that came with the maturity from Day 1 in spring training. And he carried that throughout the whole year.”
Contreras, who will turn 24 in May, comes out of the Latin American pipeline the Cubs built during the Jim Hendry administration. Pound for pound, Contreras (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) is said to be one of the strongest players in the entire organization and a more advanced catching prospect than Welington Castillo.
Castillo showed flashes of potential but never quite put it together on the North Side. The Cubs didn’t have much leverage after adding Montero and Ross last winter and sold low on Castillo in a midseason trade with the Seattle Mariners, acquiring a reliever who’s already out of the organization (Yoervis Medina). Castillo got flipped again two weeks later and put up 17 homers and 50 RBIs in 80 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
After guaranteeing more than $275 million to free agents this offseason — and with some uncertainty surrounding their next TV deal and how that impacts the overall financial picture — the Cubs need more breakthrough players like Contreras.
On some level, organizational rankings reflect how much time a front office spends on lobbying those media outlets, but Epstein genuinely believes the Cubs still have a top-tier farm system, even without big names like Bryant, Russell, Soler and Schwarber.
“We’re probably going to end up in that fifth-through-seventh range,” Epstein said. “When you consider the prospects that we’ve graduated, most of our farm system is playing third base for the Cubs, shortstop for the Cubs, right field for the Cubs, left field for the Cubs.
“That’s where those guys went. They didn’t like fall down the rankings because they’re not very good. They’re up in the big leagues. I think we still have a really good farm system.”
The Cubs are holding scouting meetings this week in Chicago, preparing for a draft where they won’t have a first-round selection after that spending spree in free agency and not expecting another top-five pick anytime soon.
“Now that we’re transitioning into this winning mode at the big-league level,” Epstein said, “we will not abandon the pursuit of elite young talent. It’s fundamental to what we do. We’re going to have to have a constant stream of young talent coming up through our system into Wrigley.
“We’re already looking five years ahead, six years ahead (at) what our lineup’s going to look like, different areas of need in the organization.
“We will not abandon young players. That’s what we’re all about.”
National League could adopt DH by 2017, Rob Manfred says.
By Mike Oz
If you love to watch MLB pitchers bat, take it in while you can, because 2016 may be the final season it happens.
At an MLB owners' meeting on Thursday in Coral Gables, Fla., Commissioner Rob Manfred said the idea of the designed hitter coming to the National League is "gaining momentum." What's more: Deciding whether to implement a unified DH rule could happen this year and then get rolled out for the 2017 season.
MLB is set to work on a new collective bargaining agreement with the players' union this year. The current CBA expires on Dec. 31, 2016 and it sounds as if the DH could be a big part of the new agreement.
This would shake baseball like an earthquake. The entire brand and style of NL ball is built upon pitchers batting. It affects how teams construct their lineups and use their pitching staffs. Bringing the DH to the NL would not only start to make extinct a specific style of baseball but rattle long-time fans who swear by NL rules.
The designated hitter was adopted in the American League in 1973 and ever since has been a divisive issue among fans. Opinion is spread out in a number of factions: People who want DHs in both leagues, people who want the DH gone altogether and people who would be happy to keep things the way they are, even if they are imbalanced.
Adding the DH to NL would bring a number of benefits to the game, though: It would increase offense, since many pitchers are looked as easy outs (the Zack Greinkes and Madison Bumgarners of the world notwithstanding) and that's something that would benefit baseball overall, since fans like offense.
The universal DH would also unify the rules at a time when interleague play is being featured more prominently. A third plus would be pitchers not hurting themselves when they're out of their element at the plate. Adam Wainwright, for instance, tore his Achilles last season when he was running out a pop-up.
Just last week Wainwright's boss, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, said the idea of a DH in NL was gaining favor among owners and GMs. But to hear that notion come from the commissioner's mouth is another thing entirely.
Baseball, in recent years, has proven it's not afraid to mess with tradition — even if that means upsetting fans who don't like change. The addition of video replay and the home-plate collision rule are two examples. Making the DH universal, though, would be a much bigger and impactful change. It would essentially introduce a new era of the game.
WHITE SOX; Hawk Harrelson: Todd Frazier trade will considerably help Jose Abreu.
But the Cubs still see Contreras as their potential catcher of the future, possibly the next core player to crash onto the stage at Wrigley Field as they ramp up their rebuild.
Miguel Montero is guaranteed $28 million across the next two seasons, David Ross is ready to begin his retirement tour and the Cubs haven’t definitively answered the question about Schwarber’s long-term future at catcher.
Contreras is ticketed for Triple-A Iowa this year, not quite ready for the demands of catching at the big-league level and handling a veteran pitching staff and the intricate game-planning system that helped the Cubs become contenders. But his time is coming after winning the Southern League batting title last year and turning into what one team official called an untouchable prospect.
“He’s an incredibly talented, athletic catcher who can really throw, can really block and his receiving is much improved,” team president Theo Epstein said. “He projects to be a frontline catcher in the big leagues for a long time. We’re excited about his development.”
The Cubs didn’t add Contreras to the 40-man roster last winter, leaving him exposed in the Rule 5 draft. Originally signed as an infielder out of Venezuela in 2009, he hadn’t played above the A-ball level at that point.
Contreras went out and hit .333 with eight homers, 75 RBIs and an .891 OPS in 126 games at Double-A Tennessee, finishing the year as the organization’s No. 2 prospect on Baseball America’s top-10 list.
“He could have got taken by anybody (else),” said Jason McLeod, the senior vice president of scouting and player development. “A big transformation for him was playing in Venezuela (last winter and seeing): ‘This is how I need to be.’
“He’s always been a wonderful kid — passionate, big smile, hard worker. But there was more of a maturity level to him. He’s always going to play with passion — that’s just the way he is — but there was a different confidence that came with the maturity from Day 1 in spring training. And he carried that throughout the whole year.”
Contreras, who will turn 24 in May, comes out of the Latin American pipeline the Cubs built during the Jim Hendry administration. Pound for pound, Contreras (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) is said to be one of the strongest players in the entire organization and a more advanced catching prospect than Welington Castillo.
Castillo showed flashes of potential but never quite put it together on the North Side. The Cubs didn’t have much leverage after adding Montero and Ross last winter and sold low on Castillo in a midseason trade with the Seattle Mariners, acquiring a reliever who’s already out of the organization (Yoervis Medina). Castillo got flipped again two weeks later and put up 17 homers and 50 RBIs in 80 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
After guaranteeing more than $275 million to free agents this offseason — and with some uncertainty surrounding their next TV deal and how that impacts the overall financial picture — the Cubs need more breakthrough players like Contreras.
On some level, organizational rankings reflect how much time a front office spends on lobbying those media outlets, but Epstein genuinely believes the Cubs still have a top-tier farm system, even without big names like Bryant, Russell, Soler and Schwarber.
“We’re probably going to end up in that fifth-through-seventh range,” Epstein said. “When you consider the prospects that we’ve graduated, most of our farm system is playing third base for the Cubs, shortstop for the Cubs, right field for the Cubs, left field for the Cubs.
“That’s where those guys went. They didn’t like fall down the rankings because they’re not very good. They’re up in the big leagues. I think we still have a really good farm system.”
The Cubs are holding scouting meetings this week in Chicago, preparing for a draft where they won’t have a first-round selection after that spending spree in free agency and not expecting another top-five pick anytime soon.
“Now that we’re transitioning into this winning mode at the big-league level,” Epstein said, “we will not abandon the pursuit of elite young talent. It’s fundamental to what we do. We’re going to have to have a constant stream of young talent coming up through our system into Wrigley.
“We’re already looking five years ahead, six years ahead (at) what our lineup’s going to look like, different areas of need in the organization.
“We will not abandon young players. That’s what we’re all about.”
National League could adopt DH by 2017, Rob Manfred says.
By Mike Oz
If you love to watch MLB pitchers bat, take it in while you can, because 2016 may be the final season it happens.
At an MLB owners' meeting on Thursday in Coral Gables, Fla., Commissioner Rob Manfred said the idea of the designed hitter coming to the National League is "gaining momentum." What's more: Deciding whether to implement a unified DH rule could happen this year and then get rolled out for the 2017 season.
MLB is set to work on a new collective bargaining agreement with the players' union this year. The current CBA expires on Dec. 31, 2016 and it sounds as if the DH could be a big part of the new agreement.
This would shake baseball like an earthquake. The entire brand and style of NL ball is built upon pitchers batting. It affects how teams construct their lineups and use their pitching staffs. Bringing the DH to the NL would not only start to make extinct a specific style of baseball but rattle long-time fans who swear by NL rules.
The designated hitter was adopted in the American League in 1973 and ever since has been a divisive issue among fans. Opinion is spread out in a number of factions: People who want DHs in both leagues, people who want the DH gone altogether and people who would be happy to keep things the way they are, even if they are imbalanced.
Adding the DH to NL would bring a number of benefits to the game, though: It would increase offense, since many pitchers are looked as easy outs (the Zack Greinkes and Madison Bumgarners of the world notwithstanding) and that's something that would benefit baseball overall, since fans like offense.
The universal DH would also unify the rules at a time when interleague play is being featured more prominently. A third plus would be pitchers not hurting themselves when they're out of their element at the plate. Adam Wainwright, for instance, tore his Achilles last season when he was running out a pop-up.
Just last week Wainwright's boss, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, said the idea of a DH in NL was gaining favor among owners and GMs. But to hear that notion come from the commissioner's mouth is another thing entirely.
Baseball, in recent years, has proven it's not afraid to mess with tradition — even if that means upsetting fans who don't like change. The addition of video replay and the home-plate collision rule are two examples. Making the DH universal, though, would be a much bigger and impactful change. It would essentially introduce a new era of the game.
WHITE SOX; Hawk Harrelson: Todd Frazier trade will considerably help Jose Abreu.
(Photo/mlbstartingnine.com)
And with newly acquired third baseman Todd Frazier in the mix, the veteran play-by-play man figures the White Sox slugger is due for an even bigger campaign in 2016.
Despite little stability directly behind him in the lineup, Abreu finished 2015 with a .290/.347/.502 slash line with 30 home runs and 101 RBIs in 668 plate appearances.
Abreu’s success is due in large part to him slugging .560 on pitches out of the strike zone, according to baseballsavant.com (he also hit an absurd .341/.453/.530 with runners in scoring position). But with Frazier — who has 64 homers the past two seasons — behind him, Abreu should benefit, Harrelson said.
“To have a dangerous hitter behind him, he’s going to have pitches to hit,” Harrelson said. “Abreu’s stock went straight up when we got Frazier.
“People don’t understand what a great season Abreu had. They just don’t understand. There was no protection. Zero.
“The numbers were fantastic when you take into consideration what he had hitting behind him."
Abreu’s .560 slugging percentage on pitches out of the strike zone ranked 18th in the majors. Of his 178 base hits, 76 were on pitches outside of the zone, up 16 from his rookie campaign when Abreu had 60 of 176 hits on similar pitches.
Part of it could also be attributed to opposing pitchers pitching to the scouting report more effectively in Abreu’s second season. Part of the increase also could be due to the fact that the team’s No. 4 hitters — Abreu batted third in 107 games — performed poorly. Minus Abreu’s 13 games batting fourth, White Sox cleanup men combined to hit .241/.334/.400 with 15 homers and 67 RBIs in 634 plate appearances.
As it is, studies have shown the idea of protection rarely results in anything more than fewer intentional walks for the hitter receiving protection. But Harrelson’s point is that having a powerful hitter behind him could benefit Abreu from a psychological standpoint.
A year earlier, when Adam Dunn posed a much bigger threat than anyone did in 2015, Abreu slugged a major-league best .581.
“A lot of people don’t understand that one guy can change the whole culture of the lineup, either positive or negative,” Harrelson said. “On the positive side, one guy can change it and I think that guy is Todd Frazier. The big thing for me is he can catch the ball at third base. And the next thing is, he’s going to protect the best hitter on our club. It’s contagious.”
ZIPS projects that Frazier will hit .255/.318/.449 with 25 homers and 80 RBIs for the White Sox this season. Harrelson hopes those numbers are on the low end. But even if they are correct, Abreu and the White Sox offense should see a significant increase.
“If he does that, he’s going to make Abreu 10-15 percent better and it’s going to take a lot of heat off (Avisail Garcia),” Harrelson said. “What a great year Abreu had because they had nobody to hit behind him. For him to get 30 and 100 again with no protection, it would be like if they had nobody to protect Miguel Cabrera, he wouldn’t hit anything either because nobody would pitch to him.”
Golf: I got a club for that..... Golf-U.S. amateur DeChambeau outshines superstars in Abu Dhabi.
By Matt Smith; Neville Dalton)
American amateur Bryson DeChambeau stole the limelight from golf's big guns Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy on his European Tour debut, seizing a first-round lead at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship on Thursday.
The self-described "golfing scientist" sank seven birdies and an eagle in carding an eight-under par 64, a stroke clear of world number five Henrik Stenson and two ahead of four-time major winner Rory McIlroy. Top-ranked Jordan Spieth was two shots further back on 68.
"I had no expectations coming into today, free-wheeled it and pretty much hit every fairway and was able to make a couple putts," said DeChambeau, 22.
Unusually, the flat-cap-wearing physics student uses clubs that are all the same length.
"It works pretty well. It helps me keep my same posture, same setup, same everything," said the Californian.
"I'm trying to analyze and understand each and every aspect of the golf course and the way I played. I'll analyze today and see what I can do better tomorrow."
McIlroy, 26, and Spieth, 22, played in a trio alongside world number six Rickie Fowler (70) that drew big crowds despite the near-dawn start.
Northern Ireland's McIlroy started the stronger, picking up four birdies on the opening six holes in his first tournament since winning November's DP World Tour Championship, but Spieth's two late birdies kept the U.S. Masters champion in touch with the leaders.
"There's been times where it's taken me at least four or five days to find the middle of the clubface," said McIlroy.
"There's been times where it's taken me a couple of hours and I'm right back into it. This time it was closer to the latter."
Stenson, 39, had missed the cut in Abu Dhabi in each of the previous two years and was returning to competitive golf after knee surgery, but the amiable Swede showed few ill effects as he sank eight birdies between his fourth and 17th holes before bogeying the last.
"The challenge is walking 18 holes a day," said Stenson. "It's a bit of a grind, especially for my foot, but knee feels pretty good, and I've just got to try and pace myself."
South Africa's Branden Grace (66) is tied with McIlroy for third, English duo Andy Sullivan and Richard Bland made 67 and Spieth is one of five players on 68.
Spieth made victim of European Tour's new pace-of-play policy.
By Ryan Ballengee
Jordan Spieth (Photo/www.europeantour.com)
It took but just one day for the European Tour to show off its new pace-of-play policy. The first victim? Jordan Spieth.
On Thursday at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, Spieth was given what's termed a "monitoring" penalty that, if it happens again, will lead to a fine.
As Spieth and his playing competitors, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, approached the fourth tee (the 13th hole for the group), they were told by European Tour chief rules official John Paramor that the group was being monitored for their pace of pace, which had lagged behind the pace of the group in front of them.
Under a new policy which starts this week, players in a group on watch have 40 seconds (up to 50 seconds if they're first to play) to play a shot. On the eighth green, Spieth apparently did not complete a putt in the allotted window. He was told on the ninth tee that he was receiving a "monitoring" penalty. There are no penalty strokes associated with the penalty (nor any part of the new policy), but Spieth could be subject to a fine of approximately $2,810 if he is put on watch and has another slow time.
“It didn’t make any sense to me,” said Spieth, who finished with 4-under 68, four shots behind leader amateur Bryson DeChambeau. “It didn’t affect the round, but Rory and Rickie were surprised as well.”
On Thursday at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, Spieth was given what's termed a "monitoring" penalty that, if it happens again, will lead to a fine.
As Spieth and his playing competitors, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, approached the fourth tee (the 13th hole for the group), they were told by European Tour chief rules official John Paramor that the group was being monitored for their pace of pace, which had lagged behind the pace of the group in front of them.
Under a new policy which starts this week, players in a group on watch have 40 seconds (up to 50 seconds if they're first to play) to play a shot. On the eighth green, Spieth apparently did not complete a putt in the allotted window. He was told on the ninth tee that he was receiving a "monitoring" penalty. There are no penalty strokes associated with the penalty (nor any part of the new policy), but Spieth could be subject to a fine of approximately $2,810 if he is put on watch and has another slow time.
“It didn’t make any sense to me,” said Spieth, who finished with 4-under 68, four shots behind leader amateur Bryson DeChambeau. “It didn’t affect the round, but Rory and Rickie were surprised as well.”
McIlroy didn't see the rationale for the penalty either.
“It was a bit of a weird one,” McIlroy said. “Sometimes the refs have to use common sense. With the time we’re allowed if you take an extra look at a putt you’re over the time. But if we’re in position there’s no reason to time us.”
All things considered, including the incident at the end of the round, Spieth is pretty happy with his opening 68.
“I didn't drive the ball well, which is really the key out here, so to shoot four-under with the way I felt with my driver is spectacular,” he said.
“I scrambled pretty well for the majority of the round and then a couple wedge shots just really (stopped) me from making it a great round.”
Spieth labels Ryder Cup as 'possibly at the very top' of '16 goals.
By Ryan Ballengee
CIMB Classic winner Justin Thomas caught a lot of flak two weeks ago when he told Golf Channel, without hesitation, that he'd prefer being on a winning 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup team to winning a major this year.
"[The Ryder Cup is] a huge goal this year for me and possibly at the very top of the list to try and get that win as a team," Spieth said ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
"We are tired of hearing about changes that need to be made. We are tired of hearing about the past. And we're ready to believe in kind of a younger, more hungry team going forward."
The 22-year-old seemed particularly excited that the 2016 American side appears to be set to take a dip in average age.
"There's less scar tissue there," Spieth said, referring to the U.S. having lost eight of the last 10 Ryder Cups. "Rickie (Fowler) has been on I think two losing teams. I've been on one. You've got guys like Brooks (Koepka) and Justin (Thomas) and Patrick (Reed), a number of guys who are young, fiery, have good success in different team environments going back to their amateur and junior days."
A member of the losing U.S. side in the 2014 debacle at Gleneagles, Spieth is planning to forget that experience at Hazeltine, hoping to hit the Reset button.
"We're going to go in believing that it's just a completely clean slate," he said. "The Ryder Cup trend in our mind, when we get there this year, it starts over. That's the strategy we are going to take.
By Kathy Sheldon
Joey Logano (Photo/NASCAR.com)
Joey Logano has essentially the same thoughts about last year's drama with Matt Kenseth as the driver of the No. 20 car does: No regrets and let's move on.
"I can't speak for anyone else. I feel like there's only one person who can judge me, and it's no one standing across from me right now," Logano said, indicating the throng of reporters surrounding him during the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour on Wednesday. I know there are some things I need to work on as a person, and I try to work on that every day.
Patience is not one of Logano's virtues, he admits, saying he's really eager to get back into the race car at Daytona. But he's not apologizing for his Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup win at Kansas, where he spun leader Kenseth in the closing laps, or how he handled himself the rest of the 2015 season.
Logano said he and teammate Brad Keselowski are both passionate, competitive drivers, and nothing about that is going to change. He wants to win another Sprint Cup title for Roger Penske, and Team Penske's 50th anniversary year would be a great time for that. And just maybe duking it out with Kenseth during the 2015 Chase can help Logano as a competitor.
"People are drawn to the negative side, but there are a lot of positives," Logano said. "Maybe as a positive thinker, that's how I get through life, but I want to look at the positives like 'where did I grow from this whole thing, internally as a person or externally as what we do as a race team and how we gained a lot of fans through this whole thing?'"
"I'm proud of how we handled everything, and the way my fans supported me is greatly appreciated."
Kenseth, too, said his fans had weighed in heavily during the offseason.
"I've got to be honest. I've had more fan support in the last three months than I've ever had in my life," Kenseth said Tuesday during JGR's media tour availability. "But this isn't a popularity contest, it's about winning."
Logano said one aspect of the feud -- and fans' reactions to it -- was amusing. When he went to Talladega Superspeedway the week after Kansas and received a rousing chorus of boos from the crowd, he said it reminded him of Jeff Gordon's usual reception at the Alabama track. "Hey, at least I have one thing in common with Jeff Gordon!"
Report: Indianapolis 500 signs first presenting sponsorship deal.
By Nick Bromberg
(Photo/yahoo.com)
The Indianapolis 500 will have a presenting sponsor for the next three years.
Per the Indianapolis Star, the official title of the race will be the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. It's the first time the Indianapolis 500 has had a sponsor. The May 29 race is the 100th running of the iconic race.
From the Star:
PennGrade Motor Oil is a subsidiary of D-A Lubricants, a Lebanon, Ind., company with ties to the historic race. D-A Lubricants sponsored cars in the 500 from 1955-58, with Bob Sweikert finishing sixth in the ’56 race.
It's a similar sponsorship arrangement to the sponsorship agreements at the Rose Bowl. The historic Jan. 1 game is currently presented by Northwestern Mutual. The game first signed a sponsorship agreement in 1999 with AT&T, but the sponsoring company over the past 16 years has not had its name in front of the game's name.
The Brickyard 400 first had a race sponsor in 2005 when the Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis became the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. However, that race is still commonly called the Brickyard 400 and it's highly unlikely that PennGrade's name will make it in to casual references of the 500.
SOCCER: Jurgen Klinsmann insists he is a big fan of MLS, not an enemy.
Goal.com
If you have listened to recent comments about Jurgen Klinsmann, you would think he is Major League Soccer’s biggest enemy.
In recent weeks we have had an MLS owner (Portland’s Merritt Paulson) hammer the U.S. national team coach for being anti-MLS, and this week we had an MLS star (Benny Feilhaber) criticize Klinsmann for ignoring some of the league’s top players when it came time to select national team rosters.
When you add in the perception that Klinsmann tried steering up-and-coming U.S. international forward Jordan Morris away from MLS toward Europe, you start to see how Klinsmann might be looking like public enemy No. 1 for the North American league.
"Why did I take 13 players from MLS to Brazil?” Klinsmann asked. “Why did I come in almost four years ago saying everyone is on the same page, no matter if you're playing in Europe or Mexico or MLS? All of the players suddenly got the same messages, no matter where you're from. I brought players back in that haven't been in for a long time, and we continue to give that message.”
Rich list revealed: 17 Premier League teams in top 30 richest clubs.
Per the Indianapolis Star, the official title of the race will be the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. It's the first time the Indianapolis 500 has had a sponsor. The May 29 race is the 100th running of the iconic race.
From the Star:
PennGrade Motor Oil is a subsidiary of D-A Lubricants, a Lebanon, Ind., company with ties to the historic race. D-A Lubricants sponsored cars in the 500 from 1955-58, with Bob Sweikert finishing sixth in the ’56 race.
The deal is reportedly worth $4.5 million over three years. Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2015 race, beating Team Penske teammate Will Power.
It's a similar sponsorship arrangement to the sponsorship agreements at the Rose Bowl. The historic Jan. 1 game is currently presented by Northwestern Mutual. The game first signed a sponsorship agreement in 1999 with AT&T, but the sponsoring company over the past 16 years has not had its name in front of the game's name.
The Brickyard 400 first had a race sponsor in 2005 when the Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis became the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. However, that race is still commonly called the Brickyard 400 and it's highly unlikely that PennGrade's name will make it in to casual references of the 500.
SOCCER: Jurgen Klinsmann insists he is a big fan of MLS, not an enemy.
Goal.com
If you have listened to recent comments about Jurgen Klinsmann, you would think he is Major League Soccer’s biggest enemy.
In recent weeks we have had an MLS owner (Portland’s Merritt Paulson) hammer the U.S. national team coach for being anti-MLS, and this week we had an MLS star (Benny Feilhaber) criticize Klinsmann for ignoring some of the league’s top players when it came time to select national team rosters.
When you add in the perception that Klinsmann tried steering up-and-coming U.S. international forward Jordan Morris away from MLS toward Europe, you start to see how Klinsmann might be looking like public enemy No. 1 for the North American league.
The German-born Klinsmann is aware of the perception, and he can only scratch his head at what he considers to be a completely false notion that he is working against MLS.
“There's a misconception, and that's just not right,” Klinsmann told Goal USA. “Our consistent message is that we try to get the players to their personal highest level. That phrase is a broken record. If you ask me, 'Should Michael [Bradley] play for Manchester United,' I'll say yes, and I don't think anybody here would argue.
“I want them to know to chase your highest possible level,” he added. “This is always a consistent message. If your highest consistent level is MLS, I'm thrilled. I'm going to be there for you 24/7 to help you. Jordan is maybe a good example. I said, 'No matter what you decide, we are here to help you with every step. Obviously, you have to be the driver, you are your own boss, but every decision is fine.'"
Klinsmann went on to say "it's sad" that people think he's against MLS and pointed to his team selection for the 2014 World Cup as an example of how much he trusts the talent the league has to offer.
"Why did I take 13 players from MLS to Brazil?” Klinsmann asked. “Why did I come in almost four years ago saying everyone is on the same page, no matter if you're playing in Europe or Mexico or MLS? All of the players suddenly got the same messages, no matter where you're from. I brought players back in that haven't been in for a long time, and we continue to give that message.”
Klinsmann has drawn scrutiny in MLS circles for what was believed to be his attempt to steer Morris to Europe after Klinsmann and U.S. Under-23 coach Andi Herzog helped set up a trial with Bundesliga side Werder Bremen. Klinsmann insisted his efforts with Morris were about ensuring the former Stanford University star was able to see all his options.
“It hurts when people say I want every kid to go to Europe, because every kid is so different,” Klinsmann said. “If Jordan makes the decision to go to Bremen and he doesn’t feel ready for it, he will fall under the table three months from now. Whose benefit is that? Nobody’s. The kid is burned and maybe doesn't even find his way back up anymore.
“It hurts when people say I want every kid to go to Europe, because every kid is so different,” Klinsmann said. “If Jordan makes the decision to go to Bremen and he doesn’t feel ready for it, he will fall under the table three months from now. Whose benefit is that? Nobody’s. The kid is burned and maybe doesn't even find his way back up anymore.
“It's wrong that people think I push a player either way,” he continued. “That's when people don't really see our work and how we work. We haven't yet done a good enough job to explain all the time what the national team is about and what our work is and how we deal with players on all sorts of ends, meaning players from Mexico, the U.S., Europe or whatever.”
With Morris officially introduced by the Seattle Sounders, Klinsmann made it clear he has no problem with the 21-year-old choosing to stay home rather than start his pro career abroad.
“For every player, the step comes at a different time and (Morris) has to feel it is right,” Klinsmann said. “I felt I was mature enough to go to Italy at 23, 24, not before. I had offers, big offers, when I was 20, 21. Arsene Wenger at Monaco offered, at that time, 6.5 million to Stuttgart and I said I want to go. Monaco sounds like fun, Monte Carlo and stuff like that.
“My president came at Stuttgart and said, 'You're not going anywhere. You are not mature enough yet.' I looked at him like, 'Me? I'm not mature enough?' The same (with Morris). You have to take the tempo of that person.
“For every player, the step comes at a different time and (Morris) has to feel it is right,” Klinsmann said. “I felt I was mature enough to go to Italy at 23, 24, not before. I had offers, big offers, when I was 20, 21. Arsene Wenger at Monaco offered, at that time, 6.5 million to Stuttgart and I said I want to go. Monaco sounds like fun, Monte Carlo and stuff like that.
“My president came at Stuttgart and said, 'You're not going anywhere. You are not mature enough yet.' I looked at him like, 'Me? I'm not mature enough?' The same (with Morris). You have to take the tempo of that person.
“I just want to do what's best for the kid. So if the kid says, 'I badly want to go there,' and the club is OK with that, that's all cool with me as long as the player is 100 percent behind it."
As for criticisms aimed at him by the likes of Merritt Paulson, Klinsmann acknowledged having spoken to the Portland Timbers owner after Paulson was recently quoted in a podcast ripping Klinsmann for being anti-MLS.
As for criticisms aimed at him by the likes of Merritt Paulson, Klinsmann acknowledged having spoken to the Portland Timbers owner after Paulson was recently quoted in a podcast ripping Klinsmann for being anti-MLS.
"I don't think you're going to find a single MLS owner who's going to be an advocate for Jurgen Klinsmann,” Paulson told Soccer Made in Portland. “This is a guy who has got a clear agenda that's an anti-MLS agenda. He makes emotional decisions. Landon Donovan would be a case in point. There's very much an agenda to get people playing abroad and probably rewarding some people playing abroad who don't deserve to be playing.”
Klinsmann revealed that he spoke with Paulson after those comments to clear the air and try to explain to him what he is trying to do as U.S. coach. Klinsmann called the conversation a productive one that left Paulson feeling differently about his position on Klinsmann. Paulson confirmed to Goal USA that the two did have a good chat and that he appreciated Klinsmann’s willingness to engage.
“We talked at length. It was really a good talk,” Klinsmann said. “I said, ‘Merritt, because you do not know, you were, unfortunately, given the wrong information. You were fed the wrong input by the wrong people. Here are the facts and here's what we're doing.' He said, 'You caught me on the wrong foot.' It was good. If I had that chance with every owner of the league, I think they would think probably differently.”
Klinsmann’s relationship with MLS will continue to be a complicated one because of his natural desire to want the best American players to strive for the best and work toward trying to play in the world’s best leagues. It is a stance that every national team coach in the world has for his players, but one Klinsmann must carefully balance along with wanting to also help MLS grow.
“We talked at length. It was really a good talk,” Klinsmann said. “I said, ‘Merritt, because you do not know, you were, unfortunately, given the wrong information. You were fed the wrong input by the wrong people. Here are the facts and here's what we're doing.' He said, 'You caught me on the wrong foot.' It was good. If I had that chance with every owner of the league, I think they would think probably differently.”
Klinsmann’s relationship with MLS will continue to be a complicated one because of his natural desire to want the best American players to strive for the best and work toward trying to play in the world’s best leagues. It is a stance that every national team coach in the world has for his players, but one Klinsmann must carefully balance along with wanting to also help MLS grow.
Klinsmann fully acknowledges the unique complexity of his situation as U.S. coach, but he maintains the position that rather than being an enemy of MLS, he is one of the league’s leading advocates.
“We are the biggest fans of MLS because of the growth of the game here,” Klinsmann said. “I'm probably the biggest sales rep of MLS in Europe because I'm talking nonstop to coaches, to people, to fans, to journalists. With endless interviews that I do now, the comments that I make are for the development of MLS in Europe.
"I want this league where I live to grow on a tremendous speed with beautiful facilities now all over the place and tremendous owners.”
"I want this league where I live to grow on a tremendous speed with beautiful facilities now all over the place and tremendous owners.”
Rich list revealed: 17 Premier League teams in top 30 richest clubs.
By Joe Prince-Wright
(Photo/Getty Images)
But this loaded? Wowza.
A report released by Deloitte on Thursday looked at the revenues for the 2014-15 season and has listed the top 30 clubs on the planet in terms of revenue generated.
With the huge TV and commercial deals on offer, there’s no surprise that the Premier League is dominating the list but the fact that only the three newly promoted teams to the PL this season — Watford, Bournemouth and Norwich City — failed to make the top 30 proves just how valuable being a part of England’s top-flight is.
A record nine Premier League teams are in the top 20, generating $3.25 billion between them.
For the 11th-straight season Real Madrid lead the way and reigning European champions Barcelona move up to second place with Manchester United the highest-ranked PL club in third, and for the first time the top three each recorded revenue levels of over $540 million. Paris Saint-Germain’s commercial arm continues to grow with the French champions rising to fourth-place, while Bayern Munich drop to fifth.
However, an overall trend is prevalent in this list with PL clubs littered throughout and plenty on the rise.
United ($557.5 million in revenue last season) lead the way and are expected to overtake Real next season thanks to plenty of new commercial deals kicking in during the 2015-16 campaign and a return to the UEFA Champions League, while Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool come in sixth to ninth spots. Tottenham Hotspur (12), Newcastle United (17), Everton (18) and West Ham United (20) round off the nine PL reps in the top 20.
A list of the top 30 largest moneymaking teams on the planet can be seen below (with their revenue amounts in parenthesis) as the PL’s financial dominance is clear for all to see.
1. Real Madrid ($625.3 million)
2. Barcelona ($607 million)
3. Manchester United ($557.5 million)
4. Paris Saint-Germain ($520.4 million)
5. Bayern Munich ($513.1 million)
6. Manchester City ($501.5 million)
7. Arsenal ($471.4 million)
8. Chelsea ($454.4 million)
9. Liverpool ($423.9 million)
10. Juventus ($350.6 million)
11. Borussia Dortmund ($303.7 million)
12. Tottenham Hotspur ($278.6 million)
13. Schalke 04 ($237.8 million)
14.AC Milan ($215.4 million)
15. Atletico Madrid ($202.4 million)
16. AS Roma ($195.2 million)
17. Newcastle United ($183.2 million)
18. Everton ($178.7 million)
19. Inter Milan ($178.3 million)
20. West Ham United ($174.1 million)
21. Galatasaray ($172.1 million)
22. Southampton ($161.7 million)
23. Aston Villa ($161 million)
24. Leicester City ($148.5 million)
25. Sunderland ($143.8 million)
26. Swansea City ($143.7 million)
27. Stoke City ($141.6 million)
28. Crystal Palace ($141.5 million)
29. West Bromwich Albion ($137 million)
30. Napoli ($135.8 million)
NCAABKB: Chaos is the only certainty in college basketball this season.
By Jeff Eisenberg
North Carolina, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Kansas. (Photo/Amber Matsumoto)
For a man whose team is near the bottom of the ACC standings and lost its most recent game by 28 points, Wake Forest coach Danny Manning displayed remarkable confidence entering Wednesday night's visit to second-ranked North Carolina.
"They’re beatable," Manning told reporters in Winston-Salem on Monday. "Every team in college basketball is beatable."
Seldom have those words been more undeniable than they are this year. In a dizzying, upset-riddled season in which there are lots of good teams but no great ones, the only two certainties are parity and chaos.
Five No. 1 teams have fallen before the month of February for the first time since 1949. Fifteen teams ranked in the current AP Top 25 have lost at least once in the past eight nights. Of the 19 losses suffered in January by AP top 10 teams, 13 have been upset by an unranked opponent.
Perennial juggernaut Duke is in the throes of a three-game losing streak and should fall out of the AP Top 25 next week for the first time in nearly nine years. Fellow powerhouse Kentucky is teetering on the verge of joining the Blue Devils after four losses to unranked teams. Almost every top team has a glaring flaw, from North Carolina's suspect outside shooting, to Villanova's over-reliance on the 3-point shot, to West Virginia's inability to score when it's not dominating the offensive glass.
Fittingly, the lone remaining undefeated team is SMU, which is ineligible to participate in the postseason this spring.
Fittingly, the lone remaining undefeated team is SMU, which is ineligible to participate in the postseason this spring.
It's difficult to quantify the idea that college basketball's title picture is unusually wide open this season, but one of Ken Pomeroy's advanced metrics may serve as the best method of demonstrating the lack of a dominant team. Pomeroy uses teams' offensive and defensive efficiency to calculate their “Pythagorean winning percentage,” which he describes as "just a fancy way of computing a team’s expected winning percentage against an average D-I team."
For the past four years, Pomeroy's top team at this juncture of the season had a higher percentage than this year's No. 1 Villanova does today. Kentucky, Arizona, Wisconsin and Duke all finished last season with a higher percentage than the Wildcats' current one and Virginia and last year's Villanova team were just slightly behind.
Is all this parity this season a good thing? There are plenty of pros and cons.
On one hand, the public is often drawn to juggernauts like North Carolina's 2009 national championship team or Kentucky's most formidable teams of the John Calipari era. On the other hand, the slimmer-than-usual margin between the top teams and everyone else suggests this year's NCAA tournament should be especially unpredictable and action-packed.
There are a handful of factors that have contributed to the lack of a dominant team this season, but one of the biggest is that many of this year's elite freshmen did not cluster at traditional powers.
Likely No. 1 overall draft pick Ben Simmons chose to play at LSU, where his godfather is an assistant coach. Potential lottery pick Henry Ellenson selected Marquette, where his brother also plays. Stephen Zimmerman stayed close to home at UNLV, Malik Newman chose his dad's alma mater Mississippi State and Jaylen Brown followed close friend and fellow McDonald's All-American Ivan Rabb to Cal.
The overall weakness of this year's freshman class also has played a role. Many of the freshman who did select name-brand programs have struggled with the transition to the college game and have not performed to expectations.
Brandon Ingram has been sensational for Duke, but the Blue Devils still lack a traditional point guard or any semblance of interior depth because Derryck Thornton hasn't been reliable and Chase Jeter has fallen out of the rotation altogether.
Freshman guards Jamal Murray and Isaiah Briscoe have both scored in bursts at Kentucky, but highly touted big man Skal Labissiere has been a major disappointment.
And while Kansas has performed better than either the Blue Devils or Wildcats, the Jayhawks can't reach their ceiling unless decorated big man Cheek Diallo gains Bill Self's trust and begins to make an impact.
The other force at play in producing parity is that just about every prospect who could have turned pro last spring did so. Seven underclassmen from Kentucky's 38-1 team bolted for the NBA, as did the three Duke freshmen that spearheaded its title run. Fellow elite teams Wisconsin, Arizona, Virginia and Louisville were also hurt by defections.
The two best NBA prospects who did opt to stay in school last spring both play for fringe contenders. Providence and Utah would both probably be rebuilding this season if point guard Kris Dunn and center Jakob Poeltl had decided to turn pro.
There was a time when the elite programs had the depth to overcome NBA defections or disappointing freshman classes, but the transfer craze has made that more difficult now. Players who don't receive extended minutes as freshmen often leave rather than stay patient on the bench until their junior or senior seasons.
The result is a season in which the unexpected has become the norm.
UCLA loses to Monmouth but beats Kentucky? Makes perfect sense. Northern Iowa topples North Carolina and Iowa State but starts 2-4 in Missouri Valley play? Why not.
So would anyone truly be shocked if Wake Forest rode Danny Manning's bravado to an upset of the Tar Heels on Wednesday night? Of course not.
In a year when there are no truly elite teams, everyone has hope.
NCAAFB: College Football Playoff adds four to selection committee.
By Graham Watson
The College Football Playoff announced Thursday that it has added four new members to its selection committee.
Former Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower, former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, former Central Michigan coach Herb Deromedi and Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens all will begin their three-year tenures with the committee in the spring.
The tenures of Mike Gould, Pat Haden, Tom Osborne and Mike Tranghese expired after the 2015-16 season.
“We are delighted that Jeff, Lloyd, Herb and Rob are joining the committee,” Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff, said in a statement. “Throughout the selection process, it was essential that the four new members have an in-depth knowledge and passion for college football. Each of these four fit that description perfectly. They will continue the high integrity of the committee.”
Former Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower, former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, former Central Michigan coach Herb Deromedi and Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens all will begin their three-year tenures with the committee in the spring.
The tenures of Mike Gould, Pat Haden, Tom Osborne and Mike Tranghese expired after the 2015-16 season.
“We are delighted that Jeff, Lloyd, Herb and Rob are joining the committee,” Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff, said in a statement. “Throughout the selection process, it was essential that the four new members have an in-depth knowledge and passion for college football. Each of these four fit that description perfectly. They will continue the high integrity of the committee.”
If Antwaan Randle El could go back, he wouldn't play football. What's Your Take?
By Frank Schwab
Antwaan Randle El played nine seasons in the NFL. (Photo/Getty Images)
Antwaan Randle El had the type of football career that almost anyone would envy.
He was a star at Indiana, finishing sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2001. A college quarterback, Randle El transitioned into a fine NFL wide receiver, playing nine seasons with 4,467 yards and 15 touchdowns. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and had the signature play of Super Bowl XL with a touchdown pass on a trick play to Hines Ward. He signed three NFL contracts worth about $41 million, and although he didn't get all of that money, he got enough to be financially secure for the rest of his life. He used that money to help found Virginia Academy, a high school in Ashburn, Va. He is the school's athletic director.
And if he had the choice, he'd have never played football.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted Randle El as saying, “If I could go back, I wouldn’t [play football]." Randle El, who was also a very good baseball and basketball player, said he would have played baseball. He was a 14th-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in 1997.
"Don’t get me wrong, I love the game of football," Randle El told the Post-Gazette. "But right now, I could still be playing baseball.”
That might be overstating things — Randle El will turn 37 this year, and 14th-round picks are far from locks to make the majors considering first-round picks often fall short in baseball. But it's not just regret that he missed out on a great baseball career.
Football took a toll on him. Randle El said he has trouble walking down steps and has memory lapses.
“I ask my wife things over and over again, and she’s like, ‘I just told you that,’" Randle El told the Post-Gazette. “I’ll ask her three times the night before and get up in the morning and forget. Stuff like that. I try to chalk it up as I’m busy, I’m doing a lot, but I have to be on my knees praying about it, asking God to allow me to not have these issues and live a long life. I want to see my kids raised up. I want to see my grandkids.”
Randle El talked in the article about the dangers of concussions and spinal injuries and how he tells parents, "You can have the right helmet, the perfect pads on, and still end up with a paraplegic kid." Randle El said it wouldn't surprise him if football isn't around in 20 or 25 years.
Football is doing just fine, averaging more than 36 million television viewers for the four playoff games last weekend. But it's startling when a player whose football career resulted in fame, fortune and a Super Bowl ring wishes he had never played.
Update: Mike Ditka suggests encouraging children to play golf instead of football.
By Nick Schwartz (December 23, 2015)
Former Bears center Mike Pyle, the center and captain of the 1963 title-winning Chicago team, died in July at the age of 76 and on Monday was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the neurodegenerative disease found in athletes who have been subjected to repeated head trauma.
Concerns over the long-term health effects of playing football have led many current and former athletes (from Joe Namath to LeBron James) to declare that they would not let their children participate in the sport. Pyle’s former Bears roommate Mike Ditka shared the sobering details of a visit he had with Pyle before his death (“It was like talking to a child“), and told Chicago Tribune reporter Jared Hopkins that while he wouldn’t prohibit his kids from playing football, he would try to steer them toward a safer sport like golf.
Via the Chicago Tribune:
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: Football is now America's most popular sport. It embodies all of the components of American society; Tough Competition, Game Strategy, Controlled Violence, Financial Profitability, Substantial TV Revenue, High Player and Front Office Salaries, Nice Advertising and Promotional Paydays, City/Regional Representation and on and on. People all over the country live and die with their teams. It doesn't get any better than that. That's a good thing.“Well, let’s say you’re a father right now, an you’ve got a [young] kid. So what do you tell them? People ask me the question. I would never discourage my son from playing football or baseball or anything else, but I would probably say ‘Hey, listen, you ought to try golf.’ Seriously. And I think that’s what’s going to happen to a degree. And that’s just the way it’s going to be.”
But now let's talk about an issue that can destroy the golden goose that lays the golden eggs; as the players have gotten bigger, faster and stronger, player injuries are starting to take it's tolls on the players especially brain injuries but not limited to that alone. Joints (ankles, knees, and hips) breakdown several years after the players retire. Not to mention lung, kidney, liver and other major organ damage that occur after years of playing. The money is fantastic and for young guys with tremendous athletic talent, there's no way that they feel they can be compensated huge amounts of money working the everyday 9 to 5 job. The fan adulation, national TV exposure, advertising and promotional endorsements and a chance to make it to the hall of fame for sports immortality looms big; it's the opportunity of a lifetime. It's a chance that they just can't pass up.
On the flipside, they're actually rolling the dice with their lives and their future after they leave the field. The average player career length is 3.3 years, superstars play longer. So what's the answer? Do you play a sport with much less contact like tennis, bowling, golf, track and field, etc.? Baseball, soccer, basketball and hockey also have potential contact consequences but not to the extent of football. The teams and the player's union are working together to try and improve the sport but you can only go so far because the violent nature of the game is what makes it so attractive. Kinda like the old days at the coliseum when the Christians fought the lions. The game is what it is and I don't know what else can be done to clean it up. My question to you is, "Would you want your son to play football and what changes would you recommend to improve the game and at the same time make it safer to play?"
The American public is very good at solving problems and coming up with solutions for situations that there doesn't seem to be answers for. There's nothing like exceptional American ingenuity. My last question is, "Do we really want to change the game as it is today? As long as players are willing to take the chance to play for big paydays and as long as the public is willing to pay high prices to see the games, why fix it?
This week, we're asking for your thoughts on professional football, the health concerns it poses and what changes would you recommend for the sport? In other words, what's your take?
Please go to the comment section at the bottom of this blog and share your thoughts with us. Everyone has an opinion on this issue and we'd love to hear yours.
We look forward to hearing from you.
The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Editorial Staff.
On
emoriesofhistory.com
1951 - Fidel Castro was ejected from a Winter League baseball game after hitting a batter. He later gave up baseball for politics.
1959 - British world racing champion Mike Hawthorn was killed while driving on the Guildford Bypass.
1960 - The 10th NBA All-Star Game was played. The East beat the West 125-115 in Philadelphia.
1961 - Wilma Rudolph set a world indoor record in the women’s 60-yard dash. She ran the race in 6.9 seconds.
1968 - The NBA awarded franchises to Milwaukee and Phoenix.
1973 - Joe Frazier lost the first fight of his professional career to George Foreman. He had been the undefeated heavyweight world champion since February 16, 1970 when he knocked out Jimmy Ellis. The event was HBO's first televised boxing match.
1982 - Reggie Jackson, a free agent at the time, ended five seasons as a New York Yankee when he signed a four-year contract with the California Angels.
1983 - Houston became the first NBA team to not score a point in overtime. They lost to the Portland Trail Blazers after being outscored 17-0 in overtime.
1983 - Bjorn Borg retired from tennis. He had set a record by winning 5 consecutive Wimbledon championships.
1984 - Barry Manilow sang the U.S. national anthem at Super Bowl XVIII.
1984 - Annette Kennedy (State University of New York) set a woman's collegiate basketball record when she scored 70 points.
1998 - Minnesota's new NHL franchise selected the nickname Wild.
2001 - Former National Football League (NFL) player Rae Carruth was sentenced to a minimum 18 years and 11 months in prison for his role in the 1999 shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams. Adams died a month later from her wounds. The baby survived and lives with the victim's mother.
2002 - Pat Summerall announced that he would leave his NFL broadcasting partner, John Madden, after they called the Super Bowl for Fox Sports. The two had worked together for 21 years.
2002 - Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson held a press conference to announce an upcoming fight. After an altercation the fight was delayed until June when Lewis knocked Tyson out in the eighth round.
2002 - Theo Fleury (New York Rangers) made an obscene gesture to fans at the end of a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders. The next day the NHL fined Fleury $1,000.
2003 - Michael Jordan (Washington Wizards) became the third highest all-time scorer in the NBA.
2006 - Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. It was the second highest point total in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain had scored 100 points in a single game in 1962.
1959 - British world racing champion Mike Hawthorn was killed while driving on the Guildford Bypass.
1960 - The 10th NBA All-Star Game was played. The East beat the West 125-115 in Philadelphia.
1961 - Wilma Rudolph set a world indoor record in the women’s 60-yard dash. She ran the race in 6.9 seconds.
1968 - The NBA awarded franchises to Milwaukee and Phoenix.
1973 - Joe Frazier lost the first fight of his professional career to George Foreman. He had been the undefeated heavyweight world champion since February 16, 1970 when he knocked out Jimmy Ellis. The event was HBO's first televised boxing match.
1982 - Reggie Jackson, a free agent at the time, ended five seasons as a New York Yankee when he signed a four-year contract with the California Angels.
1983 - Houston became the first NBA team to not score a point in overtime. They lost to the Portland Trail Blazers after being outscored 17-0 in overtime.
1983 - Bjorn Borg retired from tennis. He had set a record by winning 5 consecutive Wimbledon championships.
1984 - Barry Manilow sang the U.S. national anthem at Super Bowl XVIII.
1984 - Annette Kennedy (State University of New York) set a woman's collegiate basketball record when she scored 70 points.
1998 - Minnesota's new NHL franchise selected the nickname Wild.
2001 - Former National Football League (NFL) player Rae Carruth was sentenced to a minimum 18 years and 11 months in prison for his role in the 1999 shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams. Adams died a month later from her wounds. The baby survived and lives with the victim's mother.
2002 - Pat Summerall announced that he would leave his NFL broadcasting partner, John Madden, after they called the Super Bowl for Fox Sports. The two had worked together for 21 years.
2002 - Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson held a press conference to announce an upcoming fight. After an altercation the fight was delayed until June when Lewis knocked Tyson out in the eighth round.
2002 - Theo Fleury (New York Rangers) made an obscene gesture to fans at the end of a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders. The next day the NHL fined Fleury $1,000.
2003 - Michael Jordan (Washington Wizards) became the third highest all-time scorer in the NBA.
2006 - Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. It was the second highest point total in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain had scored 100 points in a single game in 1962.
*****************************************************************
Please let us hear your opinion on the above articles and pass them on to any other diehard fans that you think might be interested. But most of all, remember, Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica wants you.
No comments:
Post a Comment