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"Sports Quote of the Day"
"You control your future, your destiny. What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands - your own." ~ Mark Victor Hansen, Inspirational and Motivational Speaker, Trainer and Author
Trending: Super Bowl XX: 30 years later. (See the football section for details).
Trending: Super Bowl XX: 30 years later. (See the football section for details).
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Trending: Q&A: MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. (See the baseball section for the interview).
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Crawford, Darling allow five goals as Blackhawks rocked by Hurricanes.
By Tracey Myers
The Blackhawks wanted to into the All-Star break with a better outing than they did heading into the Christmas one.
They didn’t.
Riley Nash scored two goals and Joakim Nordstrom scored against his former team as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Blackhawks, 5-0, on Tuesday night. The Blackhawks have lost three of their last four games, but they’ll nevertheless enter the break leading the Central Division with 70 points. Dallas remains in second with 67 points, and St. Louis is third with 64 points; neither the Stars nor Blues play again before the break.
Corey Crawford was pulled after allowing three goals on 16 shots in the first period. Scott Darling allowed two over the final 40 minutes. Jonathan Toews did not play at all in the third period. He’s been fighting illness the last few days, and as coach Joel Quenneville said, “he’s pretty run down."
The Blackhawks, who have had a busy schedule since coming out of the Christmas respite, looked sluggish in their last few games. That includes Tuesday, when the Hurricanes outmatched the Blackhawks in every aspect of their contest.
From the start the Hurricanes were ready. They created plenty of traffic and opportunities in front of Crawford and capitalized three times. A Jeff Skinner redirect gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead, and Nash scored the first of his two for a 2-0 advantage. Jean-Michael Liles scored his fifth of the season about 15 minutes into the third for a 3-0 Carolina lead.
“It was pretty evident right from the beginning that we were in a lot of trouble tonight,” Quenneville said. “We lost every puck battle, every single race, and getting behind early was only bigger problems ahead of us. It was an ugly game across the board. Nothing positive came out of it, except it’s over.”
Indeed, things didn’t get much better in the second period, when Nordstrom scored for a 4-0 lead. It was Nordstrom’s third goal in as many games. Nash added his second less than two minutes later.
“We don’t like to make any excuses, but you look at the schedule, we probably played, three, four or five more games than other teams in the league,” Patrick Kane said. “I don’t know if it was bound to happen, but we had a good stretch there where we won 12 in a row. Obviously that got us to where we want to be going into this little break. Tough one tonight and ... it goes without saying we didn’t have our best tonight.”
The Blackhawks sputtered in their final week before the break, but their 12-game winning streak prior to that has them in a good place. They would’ve liked a better end to the break. They didn’t get it. Now they better rest up, because the stretch run isn’t going to be easy.
“The best thing to do right now is probably get away form the game for a few days, relax and get ready for the late push,” Kane said. “I’m sure when we come back we should have a sour taste in our mouth, especially after these last few games.”
Blackhawks ink GM Stan Bowman to three-year extension.
By Tracey Myers
The Blackhawks have long preached continuity with their group, finding ways of keeping the right players and their head coach as they look to continue their run of success.
To that end, they’ll be keeping their general manager for a few more years, too.
The Blackhawks signed Stan Bowman to a three-year contract extension, which will run through the 2020-21 season. Bowman has been at the helm for the Blackhawks’ last three Stanley Cup runs, balancing a salary cap while still finding the players the team has needed to continue its success.
“It’s a great honor,” Bowman said prior to the Blackhawks game against the Carolina Hurricanes. “I love what I do and there’s nowhere I’d rather be than in Chicago.”
It’s been a busy month for the Blackhawks in signing their leadership group. On Jan. 12 coach Joel Quenneville was signed to an extension that will take him through the 2019-20 season. The two have combined to lead the Blackhawks to a lot of great achievements lately.
“We’re both respectful of each other’s position. He has to do what he has to do and he has respect knowing what we have to do,” Quenneville said. “We’re in the now business of trying to win today whereas he has a longer perspective of the goals of the organization. Winning has helped a lot of it, but mutual respect for each other is what you have to [have] to be successful.”
When Bowman was named GM he inherited several core players, including Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith. While Bowman’s locked up some of those core players for the long haul — most recently Toews, Kane and Brent Seabrook — those big contracts, combined with the salary cap, have meant annual personnel changes. Assembling and re-assembling this team has meant tough decisions for Bowman, but he’s nevertheless constantly found ways to build a reliable group around the core players.
Besides the salary considerations, Bowman said figuring out whom to hold onto and who to keep usually comes down to a few factors.
“You have to identify how can you keep it together for the most part and analyze which players are contributing the most. Then you have to have internal candidates that you think are ready to take that next step and, depending on where they are and what positions they play, that may dictate which players are ones you may be able to move,” Bowman said. “It’s never a matter of wanting to weed out players who don’t fit. It’s more trying to determine how can you keep this going forward. And there has to be some changes every year, so that’s the hard part.”
Sure, not every decision Bowman has made has worked out perfectly – which general manager has? But many have worked; and the fact that the Blackhawks have won several Cups in the salary-cap world is a testament to what Bowman has done.
“I think it’s impressive what he’s done, not just with the salary cap but with as many changes as we’ve had over the course of five, six, seven years. He’s done a great job of putting teams together that are able to win consistently,” said Kane, who lived with Bowman when he first came into the league. “I have nothing but good things to say about Stan."
They didn’t.
Riley Nash scored two goals and Joakim Nordstrom scored against his former team as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Blackhawks, 5-0, on Tuesday night. The Blackhawks have lost three of their last four games, but they’ll nevertheless enter the break leading the Central Division with 70 points. Dallas remains in second with 67 points, and St. Louis is third with 64 points; neither the Stars nor Blues play again before the break.
Corey Crawford was pulled after allowing three goals on 16 shots in the first period. Scott Darling allowed two over the final 40 minutes. Jonathan Toews did not play at all in the third period. He’s been fighting illness the last few days, and as coach Joel Quenneville said, “he’s pretty run down."
The Blackhawks, who have had a busy schedule since coming out of the Christmas respite, looked sluggish in their last few games. That includes Tuesday, when the Hurricanes outmatched the Blackhawks in every aspect of their contest.
From the start the Hurricanes were ready. They created plenty of traffic and opportunities in front of Crawford and capitalized three times. A Jeff Skinner redirect gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead, and Nash scored the first of his two for a 2-0 advantage. Jean-Michael Liles scored his fifth of the season about 15 minutes into the third for a 3-0 Carolina lead.
“It was pretty evident right from the beginning that we were in a lot of trouble tonight,” Quenneville said. “We lost every puck battle, every single race, and getting behind early was only bigger problems ahead of us. It was an ugly game across the board. Nothing positive came out of it, except it’s over.”
Indeed, things didn’t get much better in the second period, when Nordstrom scored for a 4-0 lead. It was Nordstrom’s third goal in as many games. Nash added his second less than two minutes later.
“We don’t like to make any excuses, but you look at the schedule, we probably played, three, four or five more games than other teams in the league,” Patrick Kane said. “I don’t know if it was bound to happen, but we had a good stretch there where we won 12 in a row. Obviously that got us to where we want to be going into this little break. Tough one tonight and ... it goes without saying we didn’t have our best tonight.”
The Blackhawks sputtered in their final week before the break, but their 12-game winning streak prior to that has them in a good place. They would’ve liked a better end to the break. They didn’t get it. Now they better rest up, because the stretch run isn’t going to be easy.
“The best thing to do right now is probably get away form the game for a few days, relax and get ready for the late push,” Kane said. “I’m sure when we come back we should have a sour taste in our mouth, especially after these last few games.”
Blackhawks ink GM Stan Bowman to three-year extension.
By Tracey Myers
The Blackhawks have long preached continuity with their group, finding ways of keeping the right players and their head coach as they look to continue their run of success.
To that end, they’ll be keeping their general manager for a few more years, too.
The Blackhawks signed Stan Bowman to a three-year contract extension, which will run through the 2020-21 season. Bowman has been at the helm for the Blackhawks’ last three Stanley Cup runs, balancing a salary cap while still finding the players the team has needed to continue its success.
“It’s a great honor,” Bowman said prior to the Blackhawks game against the Carolina Hurricanes. “I love what I do and there’s nowhere I’d rather be than in Chicago.”
It’s been a busy month for the Blackhawks in signing their leadership group. On Jan. 12 coach Joel Quenneville was signed to an extension that will take him through the 2019-20 season. The two have combined to lead the Blackhawks to a lot of great achievements lately.
“We’re both respectful of each other’s position. He has to do what he has to do and he has respect knowing what we have to do,” Quenneville said. “We’re in the now business of trying to win today whereas he has a longer perspective of the goals of the organization. Winning has helped a lot of it, but mutual respect for each other is what you have to [have] to be successful.”
When Bowman was named GM he inherited several core players, including Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith. While Bowman’s locked up some of those core players for the long haul — most recently Toews, Kane and Brent Seabrook — those big contracts, combined with the salary cap, have meant annual personnel changes. Assembling and re-assembling this team has meant tough decisions for Bowman, but he’s nevertheless constantly found ways to build a reliable group around the core players.
Besides the salary considerations, Bowman said figuring out whom to hold onto and who to keep usually comes down to a few factors.
“You have to identify how can you keep it together for the most part and analyze which players are contributing the most. Then you have to have internal candidates that you think are ready to take that next step and, depending on where they are and what positions they play, that may dictate which players are ones you may be able to move,” Bowman said. “It’s never a matter of wanting to weed out players who don’t fit. It’s more trying to determine how can you keep this going forward. And there has to be some changes every year, so that’s the hard part.”
Sure, not every decision Bowman has made has worked out perfectly – which general manager has? But many have worked; and the fact that the Blackhawks have won several Cups in the salary-cap world is a testament to what Bowman has done.
“I think it’s impressive what he’s done, not just with the salary cap but with as many changes as we’ve had over the course of five, six, seven years. He’s done a great job of putting teams together that are able to win consistently,” said Kane, who lived with Bowman when he first came into the league. “I have nothing but good things to say about Stan."
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session... Mike Dunleavy practices with Bulls, hoping for February return.
By Vincent Goodwill
The Bulls had a sweaty old guy running through sets with the second unit after Monday’s shoot-around, and he went through his battery of shots well after everyone departed the Advocate Center in preparation for the game against the Miami Heat.
No, Mike Dunleavy won’t play but he’s miles away from the quietly-asked question of whether his back would allow him to play this season, now going through practices with the team and a season debut on the horizon.
“Lately it's going well. I'm practicing with the team,” Dunleavy said. “I'm closer, feeling a lot better. Hope to be out there soon.”
“Soon” is a relative term, as he would only say he expects to be on the floor in February, but Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said Dunleavy will go through a contact practice Tuesday and will travel on the west coast trip that begins Thursday.
“(We’ll) kind of put him in a controlled type situation with some of the guys and coaches,” Hoiberg said. “Get him out running our stuff in a controlled scrimmage type way. He will travel on this trip and hopefully practice with our team.”
Hoiberg said a return date is “still too early to determine” but with the way his team has been struggling, they hope Dunleavy’s return could stabilize the small forward spot in a way Tony Snell and Doug McDermott have been unable to do through 42 games.
Dunleavy isn’t the athletic, youthful wing the Bulls have been looking for in the trade market but when they were at their best last year, having a veteran who knew where to be and who shot 41 percent from three was a piece in the puzzle—a piece that ‘s likely depended on too much this time around, but is still needed.
But just getting to this point where a return appears certain is a victory, with his back injury leading to all types of questions. But Dunleavy said he’s not concerned about any setbacks, such as the one he suffered a month or so ago, causing him to shut down all basketball activity for 4-6 weeks.
“The back feels great. It's mostly conditioning, rhythm, timing,” Dunleavy said. “I haven't played a game since May. There's kind of a readjustment and getting back in the swing of things. But overall I feel really good.”
Sitting on the bench has been torturous, as one can expect with this level of inactivity for this length of time. Dunleavy’s back had been acting up for some time in the offseason, with surgery as the last option. But he didn’t undergo with a procedure on his back until the first days of training camp.
“It's been awful, from a personal standpoint,” Dunleavy said. “I feel mostly bad for the organization, my teammates, coaches, just not being there for them. Somebody who considers himself reliable and someone you can count on, not being able to be there is the biggest thing for me. Looking forward to being out there and being with the guys and contributing.”
Dunleavy has seen the up and down play but has downplayed his tangible value to what he can bring, although a veteran presence can be invaluable considering the pieces who’ve had trouble producing anything on a consistent basis.
“Whatever a wily 35-year old can add,” he joked. “People are gonna say shooting but to me, I haven't thought much about that. it's a lot of the little things. Things that make a difference, getting back on defense, setting screens, moving without the ball. The little things that contribute to winning, that kind of make me valuable. Hopefully I can bring that and have an impact.”
“It's been awful, from a personal standpoint,” Dunleavy said. “I feel mostly bad for the organization, my teammates, coaches, just not being there for them. Somebody who considers himself reliable and someone you can count on, not being able to be there is the biggest thing for me. Looking forward to being out there and being with the guys and contributing.”
Dunleavy has seen the up and down play but has downplayed his tangible value to what he can bring, although a veteran presence can be invaluable considering the pieces who’ve had trouble producing anything on a consistent basis.
“Whatever a wily 35-year old can add,” he joked. “People are gonna say shooting but to me, I haven't thought much about that. it's a lot of the little things. Things that make a difference, getting back on defense, setting screens, moving without the ball. The little things that contribute to winning, that kind of make me valuable. Hopefully I can bring that and have an impact.”
Dwyane Wade grabs leadership reins for undermanned Heat. (Monday night's game, 01/25/2016).
By Mark Strotman
The Miami Heat practiced Sunday in Chicago, and head coach Erik Spoelstra implored his leaders to do just that: lead.
Dwyane Wade got the message.
Wade and the Heat were reeling entering their Monday-evening tilt with the Bulls, certainly not the hottest team in the league but one that returned home following a wire-to-wire victory over LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Cleveland. Having dealt with injuries to four of their six leading scorers the past two weeks, Miami had lost seven of their last eight, including their last three on the road.
Again shorthanded Monday night, with point guard Goran Dragic missing his seventh straight game and center Hassan Whiteside out with an oblique strain, the undermanned and undersized Heat got their leaders to step up when they needed it most. Miami erased a nine-point Bulls lead in the second half and closed the game on a 13-5 run to earn a much needed 89-84 victory over the Bulls.
"When it’s tough we’ve got to lead more," Spoelstra said of himself, Wade, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem. "And when it gets tougher we have to lead even more. And that started yesterday in practice, with their approach in shootaround today and the approach (tonight) to bring it with a no-possessions-off mentality."
Wade played every possession, and the Heat needed them all. He scored 28 points, his most in more than a month, and added seven rebounds and five assists. It was a throwback performance for Wade in his hometown, complete with a baseline jumper that kissed off the glass, a dunk in transition, spin moves in the post and timely passes to open teammates, a welcome sight for a team desperate for offense; the Heat hadn't topped 87 points during their four-game losing streak and averaged 86.7 points in their last eight games.
Thirteen of Wade's 21 field goal attempts came in the painted area, and he also went to the free-throw line eight times.
"That’s the biggest thing for our team, when myself, when Goran’s back, when we’re getting in the paint that allows us to be aggressive, scoring the ball and get our teammates better looks," he said. "That was the whole mindset."
A matchup of two of the NBA's best defensive teams — Miami ranked sixth in defensive efficiency, the Bulls eighth — was destined for a low-scoring affair, and the rebounding of fill-in starter Amare Stoudemire (10 in 25 minutes) and the hounding defense from rookie Justise Winslow (Jimmy Butler scored 13 points on 15 shots and just four points in the final period), who had nine rebounds and two steals, helped Miami back into the game after they scored just 12 points in the third quarter.
But in the fourth quarter it was Wade's playmaking — and leadership — that closed the door for the Heat.
He hit a pair of shots early in the period, and later connected on a free throw to tie the game at 82 apiece. Wade then drove the lane and found a baseline-cutting Winslow for a dunk to give the Heat a two-point lead.
Pau Gasol hit a jumper to tie the game with 1:14 left, but Wade came back and found Bosh open on a pick-and-pop after Gasol followed Wade to the basket with Butler. Bosh connected on the 17-footer, his 18th point to go with seven rebounds, and the Bulls couldn't answer off an inbounds play set up by a Wade deflection.
With 22 seconds left, Wade called for a screen, knowing Gasol had been switching on the wing, and drained a 21-footer over the seven-footer with 22 seconds left to put the game out of reach.
"They were calling a switch majority of the time on that play," Wade said. "I knew they were. Kind of already knew, wasn’t surprised, got a shot I was comfortable with and got it to fall."
Wade called the win "much-needed," an apt assessment for a team that two weeks ago was 21-13 and second in the Eastern Conference. In the midst of a difficult stretch where they'll play 11 of 12 away from American Airlines Arena, Monday's win could act as a springboard for a team that, when healthy, could contend for an Eastern Conference title.
Their health improved Monday, as Luol Deng returned from a brief absence after suffering an eye injury last week, scoring nine points. Beno Udrih was back in the lineup after missing four games, providing some stability at the point in the absence of Dragic. Whiteside's injury isn't considered serious, and Dragic should be back this week, meaning the Heat will be back at full-strength sooner than later as they attempt to make up ground they've lost while dealing with an undermanned roster.
"It’s the NBA. That’s the deal. We’re not feeling sorry for ourselves," Spoelstra said. "The league keeps on moving, games keep on coming and you have to be able to respond to it. Ultimately these times can toughen you and you can grow from it if you approach it the right way.
"Our guys have been approaching it, but we need to play better basketball. Guys will be coming back soon enough; we see the light at the end of the tunnel."
Declining to address future Joakim Noah declares he will 'bounce back'.
By Vincent Goodwill
Fresh off season-ending shoulder surgery, Joakim Noah left the door open to a return to the Bulls in free agency but seemed resigned to the diagnosis of the procedure ending his 2015-16 season.
“It’s not easy, you know? It’s very humbling to go through injuries as an athlete,” said Noah in his return to the Advocate Center for Bulls practice Tuesday. “You prepare yourself for a long season and then you get hurt. It’s part of it. It’s tough but I’ll bounce back.”
Noah won’t accompany the team on the seven-game road trip that’ll take the Bulls one game away from the All-Star break, but he plans to be visible with his teammates through his rehab. Noah underwent surgery to repair his dislocated left shoulder and the outlook calls for a 4-6 month process, essentially ending the season.
“I’m not thinking about the future at all,” Noah said. “Just trying to focus on getting my shoulder right. I’m a week removed, it’s tough, I wanna be out there, I wanna compete. But it’s not my reality.”
Doctors said there’s a good chance Noah has a full recovery and his arm was in a sling after going through some rehab exercises with the training staff.
Repeatedly saying “I just had surgery a week ago” whenever queries came up about trying to come back or anything revolving around free agency, Noah still feels very connected to his teammates and offered his observations on the team’s struggles before going out west.
The Bulls lost their fourth straight home game to the Miami Heat Monday, a rarity in the Noah era.
“I think the mindset is good. Just gotta keep building, still gotta figure things out, with rotations, guys in and out of lineups,” Noah said. “But overall it’s a healthy group. It’s exciting. We’ve lost games we should’ve won. Won a lot of big games this year. So even though it’s up and down there’s still a lot of hope and we’re still trying to figure it out. It’s a long process.”
Noah strained the shoulder right before Christmas, missed nine games and four games into his return, the shoulder popped out while being tangled up with Dallas’ JaVale McGee. Almost everyone who heard Noah yell out in pain immediately knew his season was done.
Embracing the reality hasn’t been an easy one, and the season to date before the injury was arguably the toughest of his career.
“This is all I know,” Noah said. “I’ve been here nine years, I’ve been injured before. Maybe not this situation but yeah, I’m looking forward to being around the guys.”
Being relegated to a bench role dulled his affect, all the while facing the prospect of free agency in the off-season made for a delicate situation for both Noah and coach Fred Hoiberg.
When asked if he would consider a return to the Bulls, Noah diplomatically left the door open but no one knows how either side feels about the other in regards to the future—and Noah added he can’t think too much about that right now, anyways.
“I hope so. Right now I’m not trying to focus on the future,” Noah said. “I just had season-ending surgery last week. But this is all I know. Looking forward to seeing what guys are doing. It’s all about taking a step back, focus on getting healthy and going from there.”
Certainly in a melancholy mood, his spirits opened up when talking about the Bulls’ rousing win in Cleveland over the weekend. After all, Noah has taken shots at Cleveland through the years and couldn’t resist getting one more jab in.
“I liked the win in Cleveland. Liked it a lot. Liked that one a lot,” Noah said.
When asked what he liked about it specifically, he finally let loose.
“I thought we executed well, just good to see that crowd be (so) upset,” Noah said. “They never thought we would win. Everyone’s (bleeped) off that night. Helped me sleep better.”
By Mark Strotman
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The Miami Heat practiced Sunday in Chicago, and head coach Erik Spoelstra implored his leaders to do just that: lead.
Dwyane Wade got the message.
Wade and the Heat were reeling entering their Monday-evening tilt with the Bulls, certainly not the hottest team in the league but one that returned home following a wire-to-wire victory over LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Cleveland. Having dealt with injuries to four of their six leading scorers the past two weeks, Miami had lost seven of their last eight, including their last three on the road.
Again shorthanded Monday night, with point guard Goran Dragic missing his seventh straight game and center Hassan Whiteside out with an oblique strain, the undermanned and undersized Heat got their leaders to step up when they needed it most. Miami erased a nine-point Bulls lead in the second half and closed the game on a 13-5 run to earn a much needed 89-84 victory over the Bulls.
"When it’s tough we’ve got to lead more," Spoelstra said of himself, Wade, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem. "And when it gets tougher we have to lead even more. And that started yesterday in practice, with their approach in shootaround today and the approach (tonight) to bring it with a no-possessions-off mentality."
Wade played every possession, and the Heat needed them all. He scored 28 points, his most in more than a month, and added seven rebounds and five assists. It was a throwback performance for Wade in his hometown, complete with a baseline jumper that kissed off the glass, a dunk in transition, spin moves in the post and timely passes to open teammates, a welcome sight for a team desperate for offense; the Heat hadn't topped 87 points during their four-game losing streak and averaged 86.7 points in their last eight games.
Thirteen of Wade's 21 field goal attempts came in the painted area, and he also went to the free-throw line eight times.
"That’s the biggest thing for our team, when myself, when Goran’s back, when we’re getting in the paint that allows us to be aggressive, scoring the ball and get our teammates better looks," he said. "That was the whole mindset."
A matchup of two of the NBA's best defensive teams — Miami ranked sixth in defensive efficiency, the Bulls eighth — was destined for a low-scoring affair, and the rebounding of fill-in starter Amare Stoudemire (10 in 25 minutes) and the hounding defense from rookie Justise Winslow (Jimmy Butler scored 13 points on 15 shots and just four points in the final period), who had nine rebounds and two steals, helped Miami back into the game after they scored just 12 points in the third quarter.
But in the fourth quarter it was Wade's playmaking — and leadership — that closed the door for the Heat.
He hit a pair of shots early in the period, and later connected on a free throw to tie the game at 82 apiece. Wade then drove the lane and found a baseline-cutting Winslow for a dunk to give the Heat a two-point lead.
Pau Gasol hit a jumper to tie the game with 1:14 left, but Wade came back and found Bosh open on a pick-and-pop after Gasol followed Wade to the basket with Butler. Bosh connected on the 17-footer, his 18th point to go with seven rebounds, and the Bulls couldn't answer off an inbounds play set up by a Wade deflection.
With 22 seconds left, Wade called for a screen, knowing Gasol had been switching on the wing, and drained a 21-footer over the seven-footer with 22 seconds left to put the game out of reach.
"They were calling a switch majority of the time on that play," Wade said. "I knew they were. Kind of already knew, wasn’t surprised, got a shot I was comfortable with and got it to fall."
Wade called the win "much-needed," an apt assessment for a team that two weeks ago was 21-13 and second in the Eastern Conference. In the midst of a difficult stretch where they'll play 11 of 12 away from American Airlines Arena, Monday's win could act as a springboard for a team that, when healthy, could contend for an Eastern Conference title.
Their health improved Monday, as Luol Deng returned from a brief absence after suffering an eye injury last week, scoring nine points. Beno Udrih was back in the lineup after missing four games, providing some stability at the point in the absence of Dragic. Whiteside's injury isn't considered serious, and Dragic should be back this week, meaning the Heat will be back at full-strength sooner than later as they attempt to make up ground they've lost while dealing with an undermanned roster.
"It’s the NBA. That’s the deal. We’re not feeling sorry for ourselves," Spoelstra said. "The league keeps on moving, games keep on coming and you have to be able to respond to it. Ultimately these times can toughen you and you can grow from it if you approach it the right way.
"Our guys have been approaching it, but we need to play better basketball. Guys will be coming back soon enough; we see the light at the end of the tunnel."
Declining to address future Joakim Noah declares he will 'bounce back'.
By Vincent Goodwill
Fresh off season-ending shoulder surgery, Joakim Noah left the door open to a return to the Bulls in free agency but seemed resigned to the diagnosis of the procedure ending his 2015-16 season.
“It’s not easy, you know? It’s very humbling to go through injuries as an athlete,” said Noah in his return to the Advocate Center for Bulls practice Tuesday. “You prepare yourself for a long season and then you get hurt. It’s part of it. It’s tough but I’ll bounce back.”
Noah won’t accompany the team on the seven-game road trip that’ll take the Bulls one game away from the All-Star break, but he plans to be visible with his teammates through his rehab. Noah underwent surgery to repair his dislocated left shoulder and the outlook calls for a 4-6 month process, essentially ending the season.
“I’m not thinking about the future at all,” Noah said. “Just trying to focus on getting my shoulder right. I’m a week removed, it’s tough, I wanna be out there, I wanna compete. But it’s not my reality.”
Doctors said there’s a good chance Noah has a full recovery and his arm was in a sling after going through some rehab exercises with the training staff.
Repeatedly saying “I just had surgery a week ago” whenever queries came up about trying to come back or anything revolving around free agency, Noah still feels very connected to his teammates and offered his observations on the team’s struggles before going out west.
The Bulls lost their fourth straight home game to the Miami Heat Monday, a rarity in the Noah era.
“I think the mindset is good. Just gotta keep building, still gotta figure things out, with rotations, guys in and out of lineups,” Noah said. “But overall it’s a healthy group. It’s exciting. We’ve lost games we should’ve won. Won a lot of big games this year. So even though it’s up and down there’s still a lot of hope and we’re still trying to figure it out. It’s a long process.”
Noah strained the shoulder right before Christmas, missed nine games and four games into his return, the shoulder popped out while being tangled up with Dallas’ JaVale McGee. Almost everyone who heard Noah yell out in pain immediately knew his season was done.
Embracing the reality hasn’t been an easy one, and the season to date before the injury was arguably the toughest of his career.
“This is all I know,” Noah said. “I’ve been here nine years, I’ve been injured before. Maybe not this situation but yeah, I’m looking forward to being around the guys.”
Being relegated to a bench role dulled his affect, all the while facing the prospect of free agency in the off-season made for a delicate situation for both Noah and coach Fred Hoiberg.
When asked if he would consider a return to the Bulls, Noah diplomatically left the door open but no one knows how either side feels about the other in regards to the future—and Noah added he can’t think too much about that right now, anyways.
“I hope so. Right now I’m not trying to focus on the future,” Noah said. “I just had season-ending surgery last week. But this is all I know. Looking forward to seeing what guys are doing. It’s all about taking a step back, focus on getting healthy and going from there.”
Certainly in a melancholy mood, his spirits opened up when talking about the Bulls’ rousing win in Cleveland over the weekend. After all, Noah has taken shots at Cleveland through the years and couldn’t resist getting one more jab in.
“I liked the win in Cleveland. Liked it a lot. Liked that one a lot,” Noah said.
When asked what he liked about it specifically, he finally let loose.
“I thought we executed well, just good to see that crowd be (so) upset,” Noah said. “They never thought we would win. Everyone’s (bleeped) off that night. Helped me sleep better.”
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Super Bowl XX: 30 years later in a career covering the Bears.
By Chris Boden
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
It was my first road trip as a reporter. Bearing down on 23 years old.
Whenever I'm ready to complain about the occasional, overblown inconveniences of a career that's been blessed to get this far, I have to reset and remember two things: The special people I've had the chance to work with and the special moments I was fortunate enough to witness.
Covering the 1983 White Sox and the 1984 Cubs while still a radio student at Columbia College showed me Chicago teams could, after all, help erase some of the youthful nightmares of my local fandom, while trying no longer to be a fan, but build professionalism for the career I was pursuing.
In 1985, there was no internet, OnDemand, DVDs, Blu-ray, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or SnapChat. The media was limited to newspaper, television and radio. And, in those pre-Internet days, something called SportsPhone. Out of college, despite my belief I was already better than a lot of sportscasters on radio at the time (and, yes, a lot of stations had their very own sportscasters), I cut my teeth on a dial-up, recorded phone version of one-minute sportscasts.
312-976-1313.
Gamblers couldn't check for scores online. They - and fanatics simply curious about what was going on out of town or away from their living rooms to follow their favorite teams - would be billed a fee for every call made. We'd update scores, received from stringers that would be paid throughout the country covering games, every 10 minutes. You may have heard of some of the other folks who got their post-collegiate professional starts there: Jeff Joniak, David Schuster, Les Grobstein, Lou Canellis, Fred Huebner, Brian Wheeler.
But we'd also have specific team "hotlines." I was that guy fortunate to be assigned the 1985 Bears.
There were offices here in Chicago, New York and Detroit. We'd conference up, exchange scores, determine which offices pursued which scores every 10 minutes when games were going on, and each office had reporters ("stringers") covering each team. But when the Bears reached the Super Bowl, I was the pool guy that the company resourced to cover the game and file reports throughout the week, tailored for each city.
So many personal and professional moments and challenges have clouded some of the memories over the past three decades. But except for family vacations, there was hardly any solo out-of-town exposure for me before given this opportunity. I'd covered every Bears home game that season, as it unfolded in mind-blowing fashion for a kid who grew up here so foreign to sports dominance. The lone regular season loss in Miami was proof they could be susceptible. The lack of being exposed to local sports dominance kept a Patriots upset very real in this brain.
More than the day-to-day Super Bowl week particulars, I more clearly remember a completely different vibe to New Orleans than this Chicago Boy had ever been previously exposed. The music. The cab drivers. The food. The January weather.
Thirty years ago, the NFL wasn't nearly as organized (er, "controlled") as it is now. Super Bowl Media Day and the other player availabilities during the week were held on the Superdome playing field. Players would just stroll out wherever they'd want to and much smaller clusters of media would hustle up to wherever certain players they wanted to talk to were standing. No individual podiums, nameplates or speakers. There's a picture inside the modern Halas Hall Press Room of Walter Payton and Matt Suhey sitting on the AstroTurf, with reporters gathered around them. That's how things rolled back then.
But pool reporters covering practices had already been instituted back then, so not everyone got to see Jim McMahon mooning a helicopter trying to find out if he was practicing with his sore gluteus Maximus. But for this Kid on the Road, making sure he got his job done right, there wasn't much of a desire to see if I could track down and hang out with a team built to pound (its chest, among other things) and party. Lord knows there were enough places Bears worshipers who made the trip from Chicago and other parts could run into the biggest rock stars in sports, buy some rounds and probably have a few purchased in return. After all, the public wasn't part of the "media" back then, as it is now.
Once we finally got to Sunday, the spectacle was bigger than I ever experienced, but a fraction of what it is now. New Orleans native Wynton Marsalis performed the National Anthem. Then the Bears turned the ball over, leading to a Patriots field goal to open the scoring. Here we go again. Chicago heartbreak.
But the Bears became the '85 Bears again, scoring the game's next 44 points with a very non-controversial halftime performance by "Up With People" thrown in the middle. A Henry Waechter safety and a "who cares" Pats touchdown later, Mike Ditka and the Bears were world champions for the first time since I was nine months old, 22 years earlier, since Ditka was a part of that one back then, too. The Bears had seven sacks. They held New England to seven yards rushing on 11 attempts, 123 total yards and controlled the clock for more than 39 minutes.
When I just realized Monday we were a day away from the 30th anniversary of Super Bowl XX, I couldn't find enough time to find out which box in which corner of my house has the media credential, the game program and other interesting souvenirs you guys might like seeing. But it didn't take long to find my postgame audio cassettes, as well as a couple of those from interviews earlier in the week. I'll let all you youngsters guess exactly what cassettes were and how they worked. Look it up on that internet.
Now, the question was whether they'd play in my old Yamaha stereo system and said system wouldn't chew up those 30-year-old artifacts. It was double-decked!
First deck? Nothing. It was quickly popped out in fear of being munched-up into history. I popped the second deck. Inserted the cassette and closed. Hit "play." And now I remembered how it seemed like the Bears thought the real Super Bowl happened two weeks earlier, in the snow, at home, in their NFC Championship win over the Rams.
Jim McMahon: "It's kinda anti-climactic. It's not the kind of feeling I thought I'd have after we won the Super Bowl.
"It's supposed to be 'we're on top of the World,' and I just feel it's just another ballgame. Maybe it'll hit me later on tonight or something."
He went on to explain the headbands he was offered from fans around the country and how he focused on publicizing charitable causes from United Way to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation to POWs/MIAs.
Mike Ditka on whether he was surprised at the final score: "No."
If it bothered him the score was so one-sided: "Not at all. This is the game of football."
Other postgame Ditka-isms: "The game was never in question." "We made history today and that's beautiful."
The late Dave Duerson on defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan's speech to his players: "Buddy's a very tough guy. Of course he plays that role. We all know because we've been working with him so long he's a very loving, caring person and his statement was very simply, 'win or lose, next week, you guys are my heroes.'
"By the time he was able to finish his statement, his eyes were filled with tears. They were running down his chin. His entire face was quivering. We gave him a standing ovation, then Steve (McMichael) proceeded to destroy a chalkboard. Then we had a few seconds of film. We said, 'The hell with this, we don't need it,' and went to our rooms."
Walter Payton was nowhere to be found amidst the celebration and locker room after the game. Despite the blowout win, the Patriots had keyed on him to make sure he didn't beat them, holding him to 61 yards on 22 carries (with a longest run of seven yards), while being held out of the end zone. A touchdown would have been an exclamation point to 11 years of toil for too many bad teams. Ditka was criticized, with a 37-7 lead, for giving the ball to William Perry for a one-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, rather than giving Payton another opportunity to score on the game's biggest stage. McMahon even took a veiled shot at the play call after the game (though he probably easily could've changed the call himself).
I walked out of the locker room, towards the field to make my way up to the press box. There was Walter, with his family and friends, starting to walk across the field. I ran up to him, catching up with the guy who'd eluded the NFL's best defenders for 11 seasons and the media that night. A couple of other reporters were there, too, though I can't remember who.
"Whaddya need?"
Though I never specifically asked him about not being "allowed" the opportunity to score, his comments really answered that question after giving blood, sweat and tears to the organization since 1975. It wasn't okay that I didn't ask the exact question, but his answer almost came in the responses to being a Super Bowl champion, similar to McMahon's.
"It's not like I expected," he said. "Believe me. The mind is unbelievable the way it can paint pictures of things, and when you think about things in your mind, you can do anything with it. But when it actually happens, you know the way you picture it in your mind, it seems a little bit inferior.
"It wasn't easy," Payton continued while briskly walking the length of the Superdome field as I and a few others tried to keep up. "The defense played unbelievable. We had everybody doing their jobs - Jim McMahon, Willie Gault, Ken Margerum, Matt Suhey, Emery Moorehead. They knew what it was going to take to win. They knew what they had to do, and they did it."
They.
Then, when I asked whether he talked to Ditka afterward:
"I didn't talk to him. I didn't get a chance to."
Ditka has since repeatedly, publicly regretted not making a more concerted effort to get Payton a touchdown.
What seemed like the start of a run of Super Bowls actually ended that day. This piece has gone too long and there were multiple reasons that've already been assessed why the Bears were a comet that streaked brightly across the sky, then faded away.
But for a kid reporter who didn't know he'd get the chance to cover Michael Jordan and six Bulls championships and three Blackhawks Stanley Cups in six years, those 1985 Bears were absolutely the most dominant team this town has ever seen. I'm pretty confident about that since not being around or have much to remember prior to 1970.
That Bears team over Blackhawks and Bulls in one game. Best of-seven? Maybe not.
Bears lose wide receivers coach Mike Groh to Rams.
By John Mullin
Offseasons are generally times of building through key additions, but the 2016 one has come with some early challenges for the Bears as a fourth member of their coaching staff has left for a promotion elsewhere.
Wide receivers coach Mike Groh has left to become the passing-game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams after the Bears went outside to hire Dave Ragone as quarterbacks coach to fill that job. The Bears’ vacancy was created after Dowell Loggains was promoted to offensive coordinator, replacing Adam Gase, hired as Miami Dolphins head coach.
Groh, a former quarterback at Virginia, was one of two coaches retained from the Marc Trestman staff when coach John Fox arrived.
The Fox coaching tree, which boasts Gase and San Diego's Mike McCoy as head coaches, is expanding but at the expense of some continuity on Fox’s staff. Groh joins a list of former Bears coaches that now includes Gase, offensive assistant Bo Hardegree (to Miami as Gase’s quarterbacks coach) and assistant special teams coach Derius Swinton (to San Francisco 49ers special teams coordinator), according to a report by the Sacramento Bee. Assistant strength and conditioning coach Jim Arthur also went to Miami with Gase.
The Bears blocked a request from the Dolphins to hire linebackers coach Clint Hurtt for the same job in Miami. But the Rams offered Groh a promotion in the form of a coordinator’s title in addition to coaching quarterbacks, a common launching point for NFL coaching careers.
“I’m very excited to have coach Groh join our staff,” Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said in a statement Monday. “He’s a talented young coach that has proven himself on the college level as well as in the NFL. We’re looking forward to what he will bring to our offense.”
Whenever I'm ready to complain about the occasional, overblown inconveniences of a career that's been blessed to get this far, I have to reset and remember two things: The special people I've had the chance to work with and the special moments I was fortunate enough to witness.
Covering the 1983 White Sox and the 1984 Cubs while still a radio student at Columbia College showed me Chicago teams could, after all, help erase some of the youthful nightmares of my local fandom, while trying no longer to be a fan, but build professionalism for the career I was pursuing.
In 1985, there was no internet, OnDemand, DVDs, Blu-ray, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or SnapChat. The media was limited to newspaper, television and radio. And, in those pre-Internet days, something called SportsPhone. Out of college, despite my belief I was already better than a lot of sportscasters on radio at the time (and, yes, a lot of stations had their very own sportscasters), I cut my teeth on a dial-up, recorded phone version of one-minute sportscasts.
312-976-1313.
Gamblers couldn't check for scores online. They - and fanatics simply curious about what was going on out of town or away from their living rooms to follow their favorite teams - would be billed a fee for every call made. We'd update scores, received from stringers that would be paid throughout the country covering games, every 10 minutes. You may have heard of some of the other folks who got their post-collegiate professional starts there: Jeff Joniak, David Schuster, Les Grobstein, Lou Canellis, Fred Huebner, Brian Wheeler.
But we'd also have specific team "hotlines." I was that guy fortunate to be assigned the 1985 Bears.
There were offices here in Chicago, New York and Detroit. We'd conference up, exchange scores, determine which offices pursued which scores every 10 minutes when games were going on, and each office had reporters ("stringers") covering each team. But when the Bears reached the Super Bowl, I was the pool guy that the company resourced to cover the game and file reports throughout the week, tailored for each city.
So many personal and professional moments and challenges have clouded some of the memories over the past three decades. But except for family vacations, there was hardly any solo out-of-town exposure for me before given this opportunity. I'd covered every Bears home game that season, as it unfolded in mind-blowing fashion for a kid who grew up here so foreign to sports dominance. The lone regular season loss in Miami was proof they could be susceptible. The lack of being exposed to local sports dominance kept a Patriots upset very real in this brain.
More than the day-to-day Super Bowl week particulars, I more clearly remember a completely different vibe to New Orleans than this Chicago Boy had ever been previously exposed. The music. The cab drivers. The food. The January weather.
Thirty years ago, the NFL wasn't nearly as organized (er, "controlled") as it is now. Super Bowl Media Day and the other player availabilities during the week were held on the Superdome playing field. Players would just stroll out wherever they'd want to and much smaller clusters of media would hustle up to wherever certain players they wanted to talk to were standing. No individual podiums, nameplates or speakers. There's a picture inside the modern Halas Hall Press Room of Walter Payton and Matt Suhey sitting on the AstroTurf, with reporters gathered around them. That's how things rolled back then.
But pool reporters covering practices had already been instituted back then, so not everyone got to see Jim McMahon mooning a helicopter trying to find out if he was practicing with his sore gluteus Maximus. But for this Kid on the Road, making sure he got his job done right, there wasn't much of a desire to see if I could track down and hang out with a team built to pound (its chest, among other things) and party. Lord knows there were enough places Bears worshipers who made the trip from Chicago and other parts could run into the biggest rock stars in sports, buy some rounds and probably have a few purchased in return. After all, the public wasn't part of the "media" back then, as it is now.
Once we finally got to Sunday, the spectacle was bigger than I ever experienced, but a fraction of what it is now. New Orleans native Wynton Marsalis performed the National Anthem. Then the Bears turned the ball over, leading to a Patriots field goal to open the scoring. Here we go again. Chicago heartbreak.
But the Bears became the '85 Bears again, scoring the game's next 44 points with a very non-controversial halftime performance by "Up With People" thrown in the middle. A Henry Waechter safety and a "who cares" Pats touchdown later, Mike Ditka and the Bears were world champions for the first time since I was nine months old, 22 years earlier, since Ditka was a part of that one back then, too. The Bears had seven sacks. They held New England to seven yards rushing on 11 attempts, 123 total yards and controlled the clock for more than 39 minutes.
When I just realized Monday we were a day away from the 30th anniversary of Super Bowl XX, I couldn't find enough time to find out which box in which corner of my house has the media credential, the game program and other interesting souvenirs you guys might like seeing. But it didn't take long to find my postgame audio cassettes, as well as a couple of those from interviews earlier in the week. I'll let all you youngsters guess exactly what cassettes were and how they worked. Look it up on that internet.
Now, the question was whether they'd play in my old Yamaha stereo system and said system wouldn't chew up those 30-year-old artifacts. It was double-decked!
First deck? Nothing. It was quickly popped out in fear of being munched-up into history. I popped the second deck. Inserted the cassette and closed. Hit "play." And now I remembered how it seemed like the Bears thought the real Super Bowl happened two weeks earlier, in the snow, at home, in their NFC Championship win over the Rams.
Jim McMahon: "It's kinda anti-climactic. It's not the kind of feeling I thought I'd have after we won the Super Bowl.
"It's supposed to be 'we're on top of the World,' and I just feel it's just another ballgame. Maybe it'll hit me later on tonight or something."
He went on to explain the headbands he was offered from fans around the country and how he focused on publicizing charitable causes from United Way to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation to POWs/MIAs.
Mike Ditka on whether he was surprised at the final score: "No."
If it bothered him the score was so one-sided: "Not at all. This is the game of football."
Other postgame Ditka-isms: "The game was never in question." "We made history today and that's beautiful."
The late Dave Duerson on defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan's speech to his players: "Buddy's a very tough guy. Of course he plays that role. We all know because we've been working with him so long he's a very loving, caring person and his statement was very simply, 'win or lose, next week, you guys are my heroes.'
"By the time he was able to finish his statement, his eyes were filled with tears. They were running down his chin. His entire face was quivering. We gave him a standing ovation, then Steve (McMichael) proceeded to destroy a chalkboard. Then we had a few seconds of film. We said, 'The hell with this, we don't need it,' and went to our rooms."
Walter Payton was nowhere to be found amidst the celebration and locker room after the game. Despite the blowout win, the Patriots had keyed on him to make sure he didn't beat them, holding him to 61 yards on 22 carries (with a longest run of seven yards), while being held out of the end zone. A touchdown would have been an exclamation point to 11 years of toil for too many bad teams. Ditka was criticized, with a 37-7 lead, for giving the ball to William Perry for a one-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, rather than giving Payton another opportunity to score on the game's biggest stage. McMahon even took a veiled shot at the play call after the game (though he probably easily could've changed the call himself).
I walked out of the locker room, towards the field to make my way up to the press box. There was Walter, with his family and friends, starting to walk across the field. I ran up to him, catching up with the guy who'd eluded the NFL's best defenders for 11 seasons and the media that night. A couple of other reporters were there, too, though I can't remember who.
"Whaddya need?"
Though I never specifically asked him about not being "allowed" the opportunity to score, his comments really answered that question after giving blood, sweat and tears to the organization since 1975. It wasn't okay that I didn't ask the exact question, but his answer almost came in the responses to being a Super Bowl champion, similar to McMahon's.
"It's not like I expected," he said. "Believe me. The mind is unbelievable the way it can paint pictures of things, and when you think about things in your mind, you can do anything with it. But when it actually happens, you know the way you picture it in your mind, it seems a little bit inferior.
"It wasn't easy," Payton continued while briskly walking the length of the Superdome field as I and a few others tried to keep up. "The defense played unbelievable. We had everybody doing their jobs - Jim McMahon, Willie Gault, Ken Margerum, Matt Suhey, Emery Moorehead. They knew what it was going to take to win. They knew what they had to do, and they did it."
They.
Then, when I asked whether he talked to Ditka afterward:
"I didn't talk to him. I didn't get a chance to."
Ditka has since repeatedly, publicly regretted not making a more concerted effort to get Payton a touchdown.
What seemed like the start of a run of Super Bowls actually ended that day. This piece has gone too long and there were multiple reasons that've already been assessed why the Bears were a comet that streaked brightly across the sky, then faded away.
But for a kid reporter who didn't know he'd get the chance to cover Michael Jordan and six Bulls championships and three Blackhawks Stanley Cups in six years, those 1985 Bears were absolutely the most dominant team this town has ever seen. I'm pretty confident about that since not being around or have much to remember prior to 1970.
That Bears team over Blackhawks and Bulls in one game. Best of-seven? Maybe not.
Bears lose wide receivers coach Mike Groh to Rams.
By John Mullin
Offseasons are generally times of building through key additions, but the 2016 one has come with some early challenges for the Bears as a fourth member of their coaching staff has left for a promotion elsewhere.
Wide receivers coach Mike Groh has left to become the passing-game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams after the Bears went outside to hire Dave Ragone as quarterbacks coach to fill that job. The Bears’ vacancy was created after Dowell Loggains was promoted to offensive coordinator, replacing Adam Gase, hired as Miami Dolphins head coach.
Groh, a former quarterback at Virginia, was one of two coaches retained from the Marc Trestman staff when coach John Fox arrived.
The Fox coaching tree, which boasts Gase and San Diego's Mike McCoy as head coaches, is expanding but at the expense of some continuity on Fox’s staff. Groh joins a list of former Bears coaches that now includes Gase, offensive assistant Bo Hardegree (to Miami as Gase’s quarterbacks coach) and assistant special teams coach Derius Swinton (to San Francisco 49ers special teams coordinator), according to a report by the Sacramento Bee. Assistant strength and conditioning coach Jim Arthur also went to Miami with Gase.
The Bears blocked a request from the Dolphins to hire linebackers coach Clint Hurtt for the same job in Miami. But the Rams offered Groh a promotion in the form of a coordinator’s title in addition to coaching quarterbacks, a common launching point for NFL coaching careers.
“I’m very excited to have coach Groh join our staff,” Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said in a statement Monday. “He’s a talented young coach that has proven himself on the college level as well as in the NFL. We’re looking forward to what he will bring to our offense.”
Why Cubs spent big this winter (and won't be major players next offseason).
By Patrick Mooney
The Cubs are always trying to stay ahead of the curve, picturing the lineup five years out, recalibrating their financial position and preparing for worst-case scenarios.
When Jon Lester made his recruiting trip to Wrigleyville in November 2014, the Cubs showed the All-Star lefty their projected defensive alignment across the diamond for 2016 — with Gold Glove outfielder Jason Heyward playing center.
Heyward would eventually sign the biggest contract in franchise history, an eight-year, $184 million commitment to a player who won’t turn 27 until August. Between that megadeal — and the guarantees to super-utility guy Ben Zobrist, veteran starter John Lackey and swingman Trevor Cahill — the Cubs lead the majors with more than $276 million spent on free agents this offseason, according to ESPN’s tracker.
The Cubs needed all the stars to align for the Plan-A offseason. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein ruled out the idea of signing two $100 million players back in November — and made it sound like that kind of offseason binge would have to wait for the new TV money to kick in first.
When Jon Lester made his recruiting trip to Wrigleyville in November 2014, the Cubs showed the All-Star lefty their projected defensive alignment across the diamond for 2016 — with Gold Glove outfielder Jason Heyward playing center.
Heyward would eventually sign the biggest contract in franchise history, an eight-year, $184 million commitment to a player who won’t turn 27 until August. Between that megadeal — and the guarantees to super-utility guy Ben Zobrist, veteran starter John Lackey and swingman Trevor Cahill — the Cubs lead the majors with more than $276 million spent on free agents this offseason, according to ESPN’s tracker.
The Cubs needed all the stars to align for the Plan-A offseason. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein ruled out the idea of signing two $100 million players back in November — and made it sound like that kind of offseason binge would have to wait for the new TV money to kick in first.
But this team earned the reinvestment after winning 97 games and two playoff rounds and turning Wrigley Field into a destination again. Chairman Tom Ricketts and president of business operations Crane Kenney worked with the baseball side to get creative. Plus some of the market forces that left Yoenis Cespedes unsigned in late January — and pushed the Cuban outfielder back to the New York Mets over the weekend — also drove the Cubs to think big this winter.
Cespedes, who transformed New York’s lineup after a July 31 trade from the Detroit Tigers last summer, reportedly agreed to a three-year, $75 million deal that includes an opt-out after this season, allowing him to become a headliner in a weak class of free agents.
“Next winter doesn’t look that great,” Epstein said. “(That’s) one of the reasons (why) we were aggressive this winter with bringing in the free agents that we did.”
Stephen Strasburg might never live up to the unrealistic hype with the Washington Nationals — and he’s already had Tommy John surgery — but he will be a 28-year-old free agent next winter with an All-Star/No. 1-overall-pick pedigree.
When healthy, Carlos Gomez has played Gold Glove defense in center field, stolen 40 bases and blasted 24 home runs, all in the same 2013 season. He just turned 30 and will get paid with a good walk year for the Houston Astros.
Outside of those types of premium players, “there really aren’t many talented free agents out there,” Epstein said during a recent Cubs Convention panel.
“It’s really dry, and there’s going to be a lot of demand,” Epstein said. “So as we looked at it, we realized we almost needed to do two offseasons worth of shopping in one offseason. Ownership and our business side were fantastic to work with, trying to figure out how we could strategize and structure some things financially to be aggressive now.
“I think it put us in a really good position for the next couple years. Maybe next offseason will be more active in the trade market than we are in free agency (or we do) some lower-profile free-agent signings.”
Remember, payroll is always relative to where the Cubs were when the Ricketts family took over the team (around $145 million on Opening Day 2010) and the rest of a booming industry (even the Kansas City Royals will be in the range of $130 million when they defend their World Series crown).
It’s also getting harder to see where the Cubs can realistically add another core player to their everyday lineup with first baseman Anthony Rizzo (26), shortstop Addison Russell (22), third baseman Kris Bryant (24) and outfielders Jorge Soler (24 in February) and Kyle Schwarber (23 in March) already locked into place.
At the same time, the Cubs can see a two-year window to win a World Series before Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta becomes a free agent, Lackey probably retires and Lester starts to decline in his mid-30s. Right when all those young players will start to get expensive through the arbitration system, winning closes off access to top-of-the-draft talent and the cable bubble might burst.
Big picture: The Cubs don’t know what their next play will be in a rapidly changing media world. The franchise owns an equity stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, which holds exclusive cable rights through the 2019 season.
Looking for leverage, Kenney says the Cubs are “100 percent” focused on launching their own network and points to another industry-in-transition deal, how CBS Radio Chicago wouldn’t have been considered the frontrunner until swooping in with a game-changing offer that ended a long partnership with WGN-AM 720.
On some level, this is also a sign of weakness. Beyond the financial uncertainty, the Cubs “won the offseason” because the farm system doesn’t have any pitching prospects close to being part of a playoff-caliber rotation, and their young lineup got exposed by the Mets during a National League Championship Series sweep.
Against that backdrop, the Cubs took their shot this winter. And they better be right, because they might not get another chance to dramatically reshape the team next offseason.
“We’ll know we got to our goal as an organization when we’re not relying on free agency regularly,” Epstein said, “because we have almost everything covered from our farm system and internally. That may be a hard goal to accomplish. Free agency is going to help us get where we’re going. But it’s not something that we want to rely on every offseason.”
Manfred rules out use of DH in NL for ‘foreseeable future’.
Sports Illustrated; Gottlieb
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred ruled out the use of a designated hitter in the National League for the “foreseeable future” on Monday, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.
“The most likely result on the designated hitter for the foreseeable future is the status quo,” Manfred told Crasnick. “I know [St. Louis Cardinals general manager] John Mozeliak talked about it, and when you have any National League club talking about it, it’s interesting. But I think the vast majority of clubs in the National League want to stay where they are.”
The news comes in the wake of Manfred’s comment to reporters last week that the NL could get a DH by the 2017 season.
The National League has never used a designated hitter, while the American League has used a DH since 1973.
Cespedes, who transformed New York’s lineup after a July 31 trade from the Detroit Tigers last summer, reportedly agreed to a three-year, $75 million deal that includes an opt-out after this season, allowing him to become a headliner in a weak class of free agents.
“Next winter doesn’t look that great,” Epstein said. “(That’s) one of the reasons (why) we were aggressive this winter with bringing in the free agents that we did.”
Stephen Strasburg might never live up to the unrealistic hype with the Washington Nationals — and he’s already had Tommy John surgery — but he will be a 28-year-old free agent next winter with an All-Star/No. 1-overall-pick pedigree.
When healthy, Carlos Gomez has played Gold Glove defense in center field, stolen 40 bases and blasted 24 home runs, all in the same 2013 season. He just turned 30 and will get paid with a good walk year for the Houston Astros.
Outside of those types of premium players, “there really aren’t many talented free agents out there,” Epstein said during a recent Cubs Convention panel.
“It’s really dry, and there’s going to be a lot of demand,” Epstein said. “So as we looked at it, we realized we almost needed to do two offseasons worth of shopping in one offseason. Ownership and our business side were fantastic to work with, trying to figure out how we could strategize and structure some things financially to be aggressive now.
“I think it put us in a really good position for the next couple years. Maybe next offseason will be more active in the trade market than we are in free agency (or we do) some lower-profile free-agent signings.”
Remember, payroll is always relative to where the Cubs were when the Ricketts family took over the team (around $145 million on Opening Day 2010) and the rest of a booming industry (even the Kansas City Royals will be in the range of $130 million when they defend their World Series crown).
It’s also getting harder to see where the Cubs can realistically add another core player to their everyday lineup with first baseman Anthony Rizzo (26), shortstop Addison Russell (22), third baseman Kris Bryant (24) and outfielders Jorge Soler (24 in February) and Kyle Schwarber (23 in March) already locked into place.
At the same time, the Cubs can see a two-year window to win a World Series before Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta becomes a free agent, Lackey probably retires and Lester starts to decline in his mid-30s. Right when all those young players will start to get expensive through the arbitration system, winning closes off access to top-of-the-draft talent and the cable bubble might burst.
Big picture: The Cubs don’t know what their next play will be in a rapidly changing media world. The franchise owns an equity stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, which holds exclusive cable rights through the 2019 season.
Looking for leverage, Kenney says the Cubs are “100 percent” focused on launching their own network and points to another industry-in-transition deal, how CBS Radio Chicago wouldn’t have been considered the frontrunner until swooping in with a game-changing offer that ended a long partnership with WGN-AM 720.
On some level, this is also a sign of weakness. Beyond the financial uncertainty, the Cubs “won the offseason” because the farm system doesn’t have any pitching prospects close to being part of a playoff-caliber rotation, and their young lineup got exposed by the Mets during a National League Championship Series sweep.
Against that backdrop, the Cubs took their shot this winter. And they better be right, because they might not get another chance to dramatically reshape the team next offseason.
“We’ll know we got to our goal as an organization when we’re not relying on free agency regularly,” Epstein said, “because we have almost everything covered from our farm system and internally. That may be a hard goal to accomplish. Free agency is going to help us get where we’re going. But it’s not something that we want to rely on every offseason.”
Manfred rules out use of DH in NL for ‘foreseeable future’.
Sports Illustrated; Gottlieb
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred ruled out the use of a designated hitter in the National League for the “foreseeable future” on Monday, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.
“The most likely result on the designated hitter for the foreseeable future is the status quo,” Manfred told Crasnick. “I know [St. Louis Cardinals general manager] John Mozeliak talked about it, and when you have any National League club talking about it, it’s interesting. But I think the vast majority of clubs in the National League want to stay where they are.”
The news comes in the wake of Manfred’s comment to reporters last week that the NL could get a DH by the 2017 season.
The National League has never used a designated hitter, while the American League has used a DH since 1973.
Top prospects Anderson, Fulmer among 20 invited to White Sox camp.
By Dan Hayes
Carson Fulmer and Tim Anderson headline a list of 20 White Sox spring training invitees, a group that includes nine minor-league free agents.
While this will be the first trip to big league camp for Fulmer, the eighth overall pick of the 2015 draft, it’s the second for Anderson, who starred at Double-A Birmingham last season. The team also announced Tuesday that five other players from Baseball America’s top-10 prospect list are among the invitees, including pitchers Tyler Danish and Jordan Guerrero and outfielders Adam Engel, Jacob May and Courtney Hawkins.
While this will be the first trip to big league camp for Fulmer, the eighth overall pick of the 2015 draft, it’s the second for Anderson, who starred at Double-A Birmingham last season. The team also announced Tuesday that five other players from Baseball America’s top-10 prospect list are among the invitees, including pitchers Tyler Danish and Jordan Guerrero and outfielders Adam Engel, Jacob May and Courtney Hawkins.
Q&A: MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.
By Jeff Passan
Monday marked one year that Rob Manfred has served as MLB commissioner. (Photo/AP)
Monday marked the one-year anniversary of Rob Manfred taking over as commissioner of Major League Baseball. In a Q&A over the weekend with Yahoo Sports, Manfred reflected on the big issues of his first year (Pete Rose and recapturing the youth market), looked at the game’s future (expansion, relocation and the DH in the National League) and explored the questions most pertinent now (MLB’s domestic-violence policy, a potential work stoppage and cord-cutting).
The NFL damaged itself in how it handled the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson cases. What did you take away from the response and reaction, and how will that shape your domestic-violence punishment?
When the domestic-violence issue moved to the forefront, we did a really careful review of how people handled domestic-violence problems in a variety of industries. For us, we concluded the most important thing for us to do was have a collectively bargained policy, and we thought that for two reasons. Only through collective bargaining can you have a complete approach to the issue – education, counseling, discipline. If you don’t have the representative of the employees on board, you’re not going to get that complete, well-rounded approach. And point two: We think collectively bargained policies in disciplinary areas generally have more acceptance among the players because they provide them with certain safeguards that our players have been used to over time.
What other industries aside from sports did you look at?
We looked at all of the other leagues. But we made a broad inquiry into the handling of domestic-violence problems completely outside of sports.
Did you learn more from those outside of sports than those within?
It’s a different kind of learning. With respect to the leagues, there are lessons in dealing with unions and athletes, and when you look outside, the range of expertise in terms of the problem itself, with counseling and education and how you handle these issues, is probably a little more in-depth and developed because it’s a bigger area.
The policy is written in very broad language. When you’re meting out punishment for the first time, how do you strike a proper balance?
Compare it to the drug policy. It’s a heck of a lot easier when you have a policy that says the first time you test positive, you sit down for 80 games. That’s easy, right? I think the reality of these cases, and both the bargaining parties realize this, is that you can’t have a formulaic approach. Through the labor-relations process, we’re going to develop some precedent for dealing with cases that can have some pretty wide variations.
In your first year, you made one choice that stirred significant emotion: not reinstating Pete Rose. How difficult a decision was that?
I felt that it was important to focus on the specific issue in front of me – that is, can I remove Mr. Rose from the permanently ineligible list and open the door to the possibility that he would be directly involved with the play of the game on the field? Once you focus on that issue, I think it was not that difficult to write the opinion that was written. In a broader context, the process was extremely difficult. I’ll give you two things that, given what I said already, weigh on the other side. One is that the guy was one of the greatest players of all-time. And No. 2 is obviously this penalty has been in place a long time. Those factors made it more difficult. But at the end of the day, it’s important to remember what my responsibility is under the major league constitution, and I tried to discharge that responsibility.
What are you proudest of in your first year?
The thing I’m most excited about is how much traction our effort in the youth space got. The Play Ball initiative, the partnership with the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Getting Cal Ripken to join us as an adviser, given what a great job he does in the youth space. I feel really good about the start we got there.
How is One Baseball going to work? Are you more confident in it after this first year than you might’ve been otherwise?
Yes. Let’s take the two sides of the house first. I think the business side has been an immediate improvement for us. Our partners have been overwhelmingly positive about the ability to do business with us online, offline, all in one spot. And I think the bigger job is on the real play-of-the-game side. I’ve had some nice conversations with Mark Emmert. We have work to do on the NCAA relationship, and a continuing effort to create greater unity below the college level in terms of play.
With the NCAA’s grip on college athletics more and more tenuous, does that open up opportunities for MLB to fund college baseball scholarships and fill the vacuum that exists and can cause athletes to opt for football instead?
I think the NCAA will continue as a force in the college ranks, so [I don’t necessarily agree with] the premise of the question. I do think it’s possible in working with the NCAA to make college baseball more competitive in terms of attracting the very best athletes. Whether that’s funding or flexibility in terms of summer play or a better calendar, there are a whole bunch of ways. We need to get on those topics and make baseball as competitive as we possibly can.
I’m sure you saw the story on Antwaan Randle El in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette in which he said concussions sustained in football make him wish he had played baseball instead.
I did.
How does baseball respond to football’s concussion issues without looking like ambulance chasers? Because those are the sort of kids you want playing baseball, but nobody feels good profiting off a tragedy.
I have a rule: I don’t talk about other sports. I don’t compare ourselves to other sports. But what I will say is that I think it’s very important in the youth space for us to be emphasizing the positives of our game. It’s a very safe game for the very best athletes that presents the very, very best economic opportunity in terms of dollars, guaranteed dollars, length of career. And that’s a big deal. For us, it’s about accentuating our positives.
How big of a disruption are cord-cutters going to be to a business that is so dependent on large local television contracts?
Cord-cutting is a concern for us. The biggest concern with it is we don’t know exactly – nobody knows – how big and persistent this phenomenon is going to be. The cable model has served this industry really well. Anything that interrupts that model is something we have to worry about. Having said that, I do think our over-the-top capacity at BAM (MLB Advanced Media) and BAM Tech gives us downside protection that is a little more robust than other businesses.
How can baseball leverage its success with BAM into greater growth?
I think you saw the beginning of it this year. I don’t think there’s any mystery. We have a very robust and effective distribution platform. We think if, in addition to becoming a distribution platform, we can become an aggregator of content maybe with the right partner it could be a really fantastic business development for us.
How does baseball benefit from preventing people in Las Vegas and Iowa from watching up to 40 percent of games on an average weeknight with blackouts?
It doesn’t. It just plain doesn’t.
So now that the Garber vs. MLB lawsuit is settled, is there actually something that’s going to be done about it?
I think Garber was helpful in terms of focusing us on the underserved areas and blackouts. I think you will see continuing efforts in this area. But I want to be realistic about it. One of the problems here is whether or not there is distribution in a particular area, someone bought the rights to distribute in that area. I think people think, ‘Gee, Bud Selig should’ve just thrown the switch and that was the end of it.’ The fact of the matter is you have clubs that sold rights to [regional sports networks] that have rights in certain areas, and so it’s going to be a complicated process. But one of the side benefits of Garber is we’re really focused on the topic.
What is preventing you at this point from stepping in with Los Angeles and allowing everyone there to watch Vin Scully in his final season?
The distribution problem in L.A. is the product of a negotiation at a table where we don’t have a seat. You can rest assured that we are continuing to have dialogue with the Dodgers, who desperately want that distribution. And also with distributors that we have relationships with in order to get that resolved.
Do you have any plans for expansion?
We’re a growth business. Sooner or later, growth businesses expand. Having said that, I do not have a timetable. It’s not a short-term project for us.
Two NFL teams are about to move. Baseball is the sport that has gone the longest since a franchise relocated. Are you nearing that situation with Tampa Bay or Oakland?
It remains my strong preference, because I think it’s a policy that has served baseball really well over time, to stay in the markets where we’re located. We’re going to exhaust every possibility to get stadiums done in Tampa Bay and Oakland. But clearly you would think I was sort of la-la if I didn’t recognize at some point in time it may be necessary to consider alternatives.
How soon?
Tampa just opened a chapter that could be really positive in that process, so I think it’s going to be some time there. I would say sort of the same thing on Oakland. I think the A’s are focused on Oakland as opposed to someplace outside of the immediate area. And as a result, it’s going to take some time for the process to play out.
Public reaction is such a big factor with social media, do you ever send test balloons out to see how an idea is gauged? I’m thinking in particular of you suggesting defensive shifts be banned.
I wish I could tell you I was smart enough that it was a test balloon. That was a mistake. And it’s a mistake I’ve tried not to repeat. Somebody took me down the hypothetical-question trail long enough that I said something I shouldn’t have. It’s a lesson learned. And to me the lesson is that our fans are passionate, and where they are the most passionate and are going to react the strongest isn’t if you say something about labor or broadcasting or cord-cutters. It’s about something that has to do with the play of the game on the field.
In that case, what do you think about the push from some corners for the designated hitter in the National League?
I was very surprised, the stories that were written. All I did was respond to a question about advantages and disadvantages and respond to a comment [Cardinals GM John Mozeliak] had made. My summation on that was: I don’t even know if it’s going to be a topic in bargaining. We seem to forget about this piece.
The current collective-bargaining agreement expires in December. Is there going to be a labor stoppage before the 2017 season?
I’m going to answer that one this way: I’m going to do everything humanly possible to make sure that doesn’t happen.
With the grand disparity that exists between the highest- and lowest-earning clubs, how does the league foster competitive balance?
It’s a continuing battle. What I’d say is the balance we’re seeing right now is a product of the fact that we made progress on the amateur-talent acquisition system last time at a point when young talent was becoming more and more important in the game. That’s not a panacea. You need another act. So we’re going to have to continue to be creative to find ways to accomplish that result.
Are you still as bullish on the international draft as you once were, even with the logistical nightmare people who work internationally think will come of it?
I am. One hundred percent. I just think you’ve got to follow the fundamentals on this one. Getting into a single method of entry into the industry will be the most effective in terms of promoting competitive balance.
Rachel Robinson [Jackie Robinson’s widow] said this week that more can be done in terms of “hiring” and “promotion” of minorities. Do you agree, and how, specifically, can you address that?
We have demonstrated, over time, a really strong commitment to making progress on this topic. We just announced a hiring in the commissioner’s office of Tyrone Brooks, who’s going to be focused full-time on this. And it’s like any other project: put some resources against it and keep after it.
With intellectual capital the greatest asset in the game these days, how large of a sin is it for one team to break into another’s computer and access its information?
I’m going to beg off on that one. I’ve got to make a decision there, so I’m going to pass on that one.
I have a Hall of Fame vote, and I vote for PED users. If you had a Hall of Fame vote, would you vote for PED users?
Like I said, I got in trouble with hypothetical questions Day 1, and I’m not going to do it again. The only thing that I will say – I have said this before and will continue to say it – is that the key in that question is PED users. Writers make their own judgments about people who have been proven to use PEDs. I think it is inordinately unfair for people to assume that those who were never proven to have used or tested positive were PED users because of silly things like the way they look. Because you and I both know you can’t decide who’s a user based on how someone looks.
Golf: I got a club for that..... Spieth hoping to wield hot putter in tropical Singapore.
Reuters; By Patrick Johnston, Editing by John O'Brien
Jordan Spieth may be sitting proudly at the top of the world rankings but the American believes his short game needs plenty of work before he can regain the mantle of the hottest player in golf.
The 22-year-old double major winner finished tied for fifth at the European Tour's Abu Dhabi Championship on Sunday after some erratic play on the greens left him five shots adrift of compatriot and champion Rickie Fowler.
The victory in a strong field also featuring four-times major winner Rory McIlroy and world number six Henrik Stenson left Spieth, already a winner in Hawaii this year, with someone to target.
"I'd argue Ricky Fowler is the hottest name in golf right now, he is the previous week's winner, he beat all of us, so he is the best player, that's the way I look at it," the Texan told reporters at Sentosa Golf Club on Tuesday ahead of this week's Singapore Open.
"I look at it most recent, the rankings look at it in a two-year cycle. For me, I was beat by four guys last week, I need to get better, that's my drive," added Spieth, who stormed up the rankings with victories at last year's Masters and U.S. Open.
"I'm not satisfied if I don't have my best stuff week-to-week, even though that is not going to happen. It still leaves me wanting more, so I come into this week trying to really improve my short game from last week as well as maintain my ball striking."
Spieth is the overwhelming favorite to triumph in the $1 million Asian Tour opener, also co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour, with world number 26 An Byeong-hun and Welshman Jamie Donaldson the only others in the field ranked in the top 50.
PUTTING WOES
Weariness, though, is another opponent Spieth will have to negotiate after feeling the effects of a "crazy four-month adventure" of tournament play in South Korea, China, Australia, the U.S., Middle East and now Southeast Asia.
"It was certainly fatigue at the end of that day," he said of his feelings after Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
"I was very pleased with the form last week, I just didn't make anything and that happens. I can normally rely on my putter when everything else goes off and I had a lot of chances from that mid-range distance I normally feel very confident on but I just mis-read them or the speed was just off.
"I was actually pretty pleased to turn in a top five with what I felt like was disappointing with my short game."
The hazard-filled Serapong Course layout is not a place for anyone struggling with their short game, however, with large undulating greens ready to deceive, as McIlroy found out during a third-place finish in 2012, the last time the event was held.
"Looking at the yardage book there is a lot of trouble, a lot of water hazards," Spieth said of the tight layout.
"And some massive greens too, so I will need to work on my speed control... so I'm not three-putting. You can get 60 or 70-feet putts regularly out here. The goal is definitely to win this week."
The golf world is losing its mind over whether or not pro players should be able to wear shorts.
By Emmett Knowlton
(Andrew Redington/Getty)
Lee Westwood — in shorts! — during a practice round at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Citing an attempt to modernize the sport of golf, the European Tour announced last week that professional golfers could begin to wear shorts during pro-am events and practice rounds of its tournaments.
"The players have embraced it," European Tour CEO Keith Pelley said. "Shorts are a natural evolution to help modernize the game. It puts our players first and our fans first as well. The fashion of golf is something that the youth adopt. We will have strong rules, but there will be some fashion statements, and it's a great start."
Following the news, golfers spoke out in praise of the decision.
"I think it’s awesome," Jordan Spieth said. "I think it will be something that I would love to see on the PGA Tour, as well. Guys seem to all love it over here. And most of the guys that are really talking highly of it are the older guys oddly enough. Yeah, I think it’s a great move."
Rory McIlroy echoed Spieth's endorsement.
"I like it. I think it's a good idea to let guys wear shorts in practice rounds," McIlroy added. "I probably just need a couple more weeks in the sun to get my legs out in public! I think all the guys enjoy wearing shorts, especially in practice, and especially if it gets hot, I think it's a good idea."
Although the European Tour's announcement will only make way for shorts during practice rounds — and not during actual tournaments — many golf traditionalists nevertheless immediately lambasted the decision, fearing the modern sartorial concept of wearing shorts on the golf course will eventually spread to tournaments on the PGA Tour.
Acknowledging that he wears shorts when he hits the links over the summer, The Big Lead's Michael Shamburger penned a piece entitled "PGA Tour Golfers Wearing Shorts During Tournaments Should Never Happen". From Shamburger:
But really, what’s enjoyable for a spectator about a professional golfer in shorts; the pasty white legs? The pace of play doesn’t require that legs be free like in soccer or basketball. Guys aren’t racing to their ball or running to the tee box and the pants worn are generally dri-fit stuff that is extremely breezy.
He continued:
Call me a traditionalist, call me stuffy, call me rigid, but I don’t want to see the top guys looking like weekend warriors. I don’t want to see the top guys looking like…me. There’s an air of confidence surrounding a professional golfer who is well dressed.
Shamburger was by no means the only person to disagree with the European Tour's updated policy, but his argument caused a second wave of backlash — backlash to the shorts' backlash, if you will.
To many, the disapproval of professional golfers in shorts seemed to embody an unnecessarily old-school approach to a historically upper-class sport already too often — and too often rightfully — criticized for classism.
"The naysayers will point to the erosion of standards and the abandonment of tradition," expounded James Corrigan of the Telegraph. "What a load of complete and utter balderdash. Have you seen John Daly’s uniform nowadays? Fine, it complies with the rules, but to any sense of sartorial etiquette it deserves punishment. And as far as tradition goes, that smug bunch who believe themselves to be its greatest supporter are confusing it with pomposity. Golf is never in a worse light than when it is cast in the smog caused by tradition being mixed with pomposity."
If this all seems like much ado about nothing, well ... the Masters is less than three months away!
The next generational shift in golf might be on TV.
By DOUG FERGUSON
Peter Kostis went to the Ryder Cup as a swing coach and left with a broadcasting career.
USA Network televised the 1989 matches when no one else wanted the Ryder Cup. Jim Simpson was the lead announcer. Gary McCord, Ben Wright and journalist Don Wade were part of the reporting crew.
''They get over there and realize they may be short a person,'' Kostis said. ''I had several players on both teams that I was coaching, so they said, 'Would you like to be an on-course reporter?' I said, 'What do I have to do?' They said, 'Just walk and tell us what's going on.' I jumped at it. And that was my first foray into television broadcasting.''
Roger Maltbie was handed a microphone, but no manual.
''I had no clue what I was doing,'' he said of his television debut in 1991 at the Bob Hope Classic. ''They just put you out there, and either you have some aptitude for it or you don't. The television jargon, everything they were saying in my ear, half of it I had no idea what they were talking about.''
Larry Cirillo was NBC's golf producer and gave Maltbie the only advice he ever needed: Just be yourself.
Inside the ropes, golf has been going through a significant generation shift over the last few years. For the first time since the world ranking began in 1986, the top three players were all in their 20s. And with Rickie Fowler winning in Abu Dhabi last week, make that the top four.
On the air, another generational shift might not be far behind.
Gary McCord has been with CBS Sports since 1986. Kostis is starting his 25th year with CBS. Gary Koch started with ESPN in 1990 and enters his 20th year with NBC. Koch and Maltbie already are starting to cut back on their schedules. Mark Rolfing, who is recovering from a rare form of cancer, is approaching 30 years in television, all but six of those with NBC.
Their voices - not to mention Johnny Miller - have filled living rooms for a quarter century or more.
Golf on TV already is going through a few changes this year. David Feherty has left CBS and brings his brand of humor to NBC and Golf Channel starting next week at the Phoenix Open. Dottie Pepper makes her debut this week at Torrey Pines with CBS and will become the first woman to be part of the announcing crew at the Masters. Notah Begay was hired three years ago at NBC when Pepper left.
But that core of voice in booths and on the course - Koch, Kostis, Maltbie, McCord and Rolfing - are all in the mid- to upper-60s and not sure how much longer they want to put up with the travel and the grind. Television is glamor. It's also hard work.
Who's next?
''It's going to be interesting,'' Kostis said. ''I don't see very many guys who want to work hard enough to do a good job.''
Golf Channel executive producer Molly Solomon referred to the Feherty hire as a ''bridge to the next generation.'' The biggest hole to fill is Miller whenever he decides to step away, although Solomon said getting the British Open has rejuvenated him.
But it's clear the network already is making plans, especially with Maltbie and Koch starting to cut back.
Brandel Chamblee has been a strong presence on Golf Channel, known for his research and biting commentary of Tiger Woods. Golf Channel last year brought on David Duval, a former British Open champion and world No. 1, primarily for studio work. Justin Leonard, another former British Open champion, made his TV debut at the Hero World Challenge last month and likely will get a few more looks. John Cook has been used on occasion.
''What helps is having a deep bench,'' Solomon said.
The networks didn't always have that. It's almost as if they found on-course reporters by accident.
Rolfing was playing in the old Kapalua International when he won a car for being closest to the pin, was invited to the booth and made enough of an impression to eventually get offered a job. ''The break of all time,'' Rolfing said.
Maltbie started at the Bob Hope in 1991, but only if NBC let him work the Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island.
And that's where he thought his career was over before it really started.
He was pulled off his group to find Mark Calcavecchia, who had just blown his match against Colin Montgomerie. Maltbie said Calcavecchia had been sobbing so hard that his eyes were swollen. He wasn't about to interview him, so he left.
''My mindset back then was I wasn't a TV guy. I was still a player,'' Maltbie said. ''I walked over to the production compound and (producer) Terry O'Neil is standing at the door. I said, 'I found him, but he can't talk.' He said, 'Stay with him. He'll talk.' I looked at Terry and said, 'You stay with him and maybe he'll talk to you. But I'm not doing it.' Whatever thoughts of doing television, I figured that was out the window.
''Less than a month later, Terry O'Neil offered me a job.''
NASCAR announces start times, networks for Sprint Cup races.
By Dustin Long
NBC Sports Group’s 20-week Sprint Cup schedule is highlighted by seven races on NBC, 12 races on NBCSN, and one race on USA Network during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
NASCAR announced the start times and TV networks for the upcoming Sprint Cup schedule. Fox will air 11 points races with six points races on Fox Sports 1.
NBC’s portion of the schedule begins in July. Races on NBC will be Daytona, the Southern 500 at Darlington, and Chase races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and the season finale in Miami.
NBCSN races will be New Hampshire, Kentucky, Indianapolis, Pocono, Bristol, Michigan, Richmond and Chase races at Chicagoland Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway.
The race at Watkins Glen, held during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games that NBC Sports Group will broadcast, will be on USA Network.
Eight races will have earlier start times than a year ago. Races in the second half of the season at Indianapolis, Michigan, Chicagoland, Dover, Talladega and Homestead will start 30 minutes earlier this year. The Southern 500 will start an hour earlier than last year, and Martinsville’s fall race will start 15 minutes earlier than last year.
Two races will start later this year than a year ago. Watkins Glen and the Bristol night race each will start 30 minutes later.
NBC’s coverage will again include Rick Allen as lead announcer with Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton in the booth. Krista Voda returns to host pre- and post-race coverage alongside NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett and analyst Kyle Petty. Pit road will again feature Marty Snider, Mike Massaro, Kelli Stavast and Dave Burns. NASCAR Talk‘s Nate Ryan will provide news and Rutledge Wood also is back to do features.
Here’s the 2016 Sprint Cup schedule with starting times and TV networks:
(All Times Eastern)
Feb. 13 – Sprint Unlimited (Daytona International Speedway) … 8 p.m. … Fox
Feb. 14 – Daytona 500 qualifying … 1 p.m. … Fox
Feb. 18 – Duel qualifying races at Daytona … 7 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
Feb. 21 — Daytona 500 … 1 p.m. … Fox
Feb. 28 – Atlanta … 1 p.m. … Fox
March 6 — Las Vegas … 3:30 p.m. … Fox
March 13 — Phoenix … 3:30 p.m. … Fox
March 20 — Auto Club Speedway … 3:30 p.m. … Fox
March 27 – Easter (off weekend)
April 3 – Martinsville … 1 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
April 9 – Texas … 7:30 p.m. … Fox
April 17 – Bristol … 1 p.m. … Fox
April 24 – Richmond … 1 p.m. … Fox
May 1- Talladega … 1 p.m. … Fox
May 7 – Kansas … 7:30 p.m. .. Fox Sports 1
May 15 – Dover … 1 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
May 20 – Sprint Showdown at Charlotte … 7 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
May 21 – Sprint All-Star race at Charlotte … 7 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
May 29 – Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte … 6 p.m. … Fox
June 5 – Pocono … 1 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
June 12 – Michigan … 1 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
June 19 – Father’s Day (off weekend)
June 26 – Sonoma … 3 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
July 2 — Daytona … 7:45 p.m. … NBC
July 9 – Kentucky … 7:30 p.m. … NBCSN
July 17 – New Hampshire … 1:30 p.m. … NBCSN
July 24 – Indianapolis … 3 p.m. … NBCSN
July 31 – Pocono … 1:30 p.m. … NBCSN
Aug. 7 – Watkins Glen … 2:30 p.m. … USA Network
Aug. 14 – Off weekend
Aug. 20 – Bristol … 8 p.m. … NBCSN
Aug. 28 – Michigan … 2 p.m. … NBCSN
Sept. 4 – Darlington … 6 p.m. … NBC
Sept. 10 – Richmond … 7:30 p.m. … NBCSN
Sept. 18 – Chicagoland (first race in Chase) … 2:30 p.m. … NBCSN
Sept. 25 – New Hampshire … 2 p.m. … NBCSN
Oct. 2 – Dover … 2 p.m. … NBCSN
Oct. 8 – Charlotte … 7 p.m. … NBC
Oct.16 – Kansas … 2:15 p.m. … NBC
Oct. 23 – Talladega … 2 p.m. … NBCSN
Oct. 30 – Martinsville … 1 p.m. … NBCSN
Nov. 6 – Texas … 2 p.m. … NBC
Nov. 13 – Phoenix … 2:30 p.m. … NBC
Nov. 20 – Homestead … 2:30 p.m. … NBC
NASCAR announced the start times and TV networks for the upcoming Sprint Cup schedule. Fox will air 11 points races with six points races on Fox Sports 1.
NBC’s portion of the schedule begins in July. Races on NBC will be Daytona, the Southern 500 at Darlington, and Chase races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and the season finale in Miami.
NBCSN races will be New Hampshire, Kentucky, Indianapolis, Pocono, Bristol, Michigan, Richmond and Chase races at Chicagoland Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway.
The race at Watkins Glen, held during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games that NBC Sports Group will broadcast, will be on USA Network.
Eight races will have earlier start times than a year ago. Races in the second half of the season at Indianapolis, Michigan, Chicagoland, Dover, Talladega and Homestead will start 30 minutes earlier this year. The Southern 500 will start an hour earlier than last year, and Martinsville’s fall race will start 15 minutes earlier than last year.
Two races will start later this year than a year ago. Watkins Glen and the Bristol night race each will start 30 minutes later.
NBC’s coverage will again include Rick Allen as lead announcer with Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton in the booth. Krista Voda returns to host pre- and post-race coverage alongside NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett and analyst Kyle Petty. Pit road will again feature Marty Snider, Mike Massaro, Kelli Stavast and Dave Burns. NASCAR Talk‘s Nate Ryan will provide news and Rutledge Wood also is back to do features.
Here’s the 2016 Sprint Cup schedule with starting times and TV networks:
(All Times Eastern)
Feb. 13 – Sprint Unlimited (Daytona International Speedway) … 8 p.m. … Fox
Feb. 14 – Daytona 500 qualifying … 1 p.m. … Fox
Feb. 18 – Duel qualifying races at Daytona … 7 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
Feb. 21 — Daytona 500 … 1 p.m. … Fox
Feb. 28 – Atlanta … 1 p.m. … Fox
March 6 — Las Vegas … 3:30 p.m. … Fox
March 13 — Phoenix … 3:30 p.m. … Fox
March 20 — Auto Club Speedway … 3:30 p.m. … Fox
March 27 – Easter (off weekend)
April 3 – Martinsville … 1 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
April 9 – Texas … 7:30 p.m. … Fox
April 17 – Bristol … 1 p.m. … Fox
April 24 – Richmond … 1 p.m. … Fox
May 1- Talladega … 1 p.m. … Fox
May 7 – Kansas … 7:30 p.m. .. Fox Sports 1
May 15 – Dover … 1 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
May 20 – Sprint Showdown at Charlotte … 7 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
May 21 – Sprint All-Star race at Charlotte … 7 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
May 29 – Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte … 6 p.m. … Fox
June 5 – Pocono … 1 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
June 12 – Michigan … 1 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
June 19 – Father’s Day (off weekend)
June 26 – Sonoma … 3 p.m. … Fox Sports 1
July 2 — Daytona … 7:45 p.m. … NBC
July 9 – Kentucky … 7:30 p.m. … NBCSN
July 17 – New Hampshire … 1:30 p.m. … NBCSN
July 24 – Indianapolis … 3 p.m. … NBCSN
July 31 – Pocono … 1:30 p.m. … NBCSN
Aug. 7 – Watkins Glen … 2:30 p.m. … USA Network
Aug. 14 – Off weekend
Aug. 20 – Bristol … 8 p.m. … NBCSN
Aug. 28 – Michigan … 2 p.m. … NBCSN
Sept. 4 – Darlington … 6 p.m. … NBC
Sept. 10 – Richmond … 7:30 p.m. … NBCSN
Sept. 18 – Chicagoland (first race in Chase) … 2:30 p.m. … NBCSN
Sept. 25 – New Hampshire … 2 p.m. … NBCSN
Oct. 2 – Dover … 2 p.m. … NBCSN
Oct. 8 – Charlotte … 7 p.m. … NBC
Oct.16 – Kansas … 2:15 p.m. … NBC
Oct. 23 – Talladega … 2 p.m. … NBCSN
Oct. 30 – Martinsville … 1 p.m. … NBCSN
Nov. 6 – Texas … 2 p.m. … NBC
Nov. 13 – Phoenix … 2:30 p.m. … NBC
Nov. 20 – Homestead … 2:30 p.m. … NBC
By Jerry Bonkowski
(Photo/Getty Images)
If Bill Nye, the Science Guy had his way, NASCAR would change its name and its focus.
As in NESCAR – for National Electric Stock Car Auto Racing.
The noted scientist wants NASCAR to switch from gas fuel for its race cars to electric power – ala Formula-E.
Nye has a blog entry on Aeon.co entitled “If NASCAR Embraced Electric Cars, It Could Change the World.”
In his post, Nye reveals he has a number of family members who grew up in – or still live in — NASCAR country. He’s also gone to races, particularly at Martinsville Speedway, which he talks about in his blog post:
“The cars go just crazy fast, and they are amazingly loud … or LOUD!! But beyond the heart-pounding, Are-these-cars-going-to-jump-the-barrier-and-kill-me? exciting quality of it, it’s depressing – leastways depressing for me as an engineer. Because here I am trying to envision the smart, efficient transportation technology of tomorrow, and there is NASCAR doing the opposite – celebrating a very old transportation technology of yesterday.”
Nye’s goal is noble: he wants to cut car emissions, as well as help address climate change by converting “all of our racecars to electricity — right now — and show the public exactly what electrons can do.
“NASCAR kinda breaks my heart. It’s a celebration of old tech. It uses gasoline-burning instead of electron-flowing. I wish NASCAR were more like NASA. I wish NASCAR were more about the future instead of the past.”
To be fair, NASCAR has an extensive green program already in place, including the largest recycling program of all major professional sports leagues.
Plus, fuel used to race contains 15 percent ethanol.
Nye’s proposal for pit stops was quite intriguing: no longer would cars come in for fuel from gas cans.
“It’s easy for me to imagine an electric racecar that completely outperforms a gas-powered competitor,” Nye wrote. “Instead of refueling a gas tank, the electric racecar pit crew would change battery packs.
“The car would be designed to roll up a ramp. The battery pack would be disconnected and dropped out. Moments later, a fresh battery pack would be lifted into place, and off our electric racer would go with time in the pit comparable to what it takes to refuel and service a conventional gas-powered racecar.”
Some of Nye’s ideas are interesting. But instead of NESCAR, maybe a better name might be NAESCAR or NASCARE or maybe NASCAR-E.
SOCCER: Liverpool 0-1 Stoke City (agg. 1-1): Reds onto Wembley with Mignolet the hero.
By Nicholas Mendola
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Simon Mignolet saved shots from Peter Crouch and Marc Muniesa in the penalty shootout, and Liverpool overcame giving up its first leg lead to beat Stoke City in Tuesday’s League Cup semifinal second leg.
Joe Allen made the deciding penalty kick, and the Reds will go to Wembley despite allowing Marko Arnautovic to equalize the tie at 1 during first half stoppage time.
The final is Feb. 28 at Wembley Stadium, and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has his first chance to snag silverware for the Anfield set.
The Reds will face the winner of Manchester City and Everton. That second leg is Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium, with Everton leading 2-1.
Joe Allen made the deciding penalty kick, and the Reds will go to Wembley despite allowing Marko Arnautovic to equalize the tie at 1 during first half stoppage time.
The final is Feb. 28 at Wembley Stadium, and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has his first chance to snag silverware for the Anfield set.
The Reds will face the winner of Manchester City and Everton. That second leg is Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium, with Everton leading 2-1.
Liverpool entered the second leg with a 1-0 lead on a road goal from Jordon Ibe, and Stoke was tasked with at least getting on the scoresheet to make things interesting.
The first half wasn’t much for the eyes, though Jon Walters came close to pulling the Potters even when he shot the ball past Simon Mignolet but missed the frame.
Yet Stoke broke through before halftime to level things at 1-1. It was Marko Arnautovic, off a 1-2-3 with Walters and Bojan Krkic. We ask, though, did Arnautovic stay level with the ball before Bojan’s pass? See below:
Stoke then got a hold of the game for the second stanza of the half, and Liverpool tried to flip it by bringing on Benteke.
The Potters made a change of their own when Arnautovic came up limping, and Shaqiri found his introduction to the leg.
The Reds has a late shout for a penalty when Erik Pieters saw a cross hit his arm, but none was given.
The first half wasn’t much for the eyes, though Jon Walters came close to pulling the Potters even when he shot the ball past Simon Mignolet but missed the frame.
Yet Stoke broke through before halftime to level things at 1-1. It was Marko Arnautovic, off a 1-2-3 with Walters and Bojan Krkic. We ask, though, did Arnautovic stay level with the ball before Bojan’s pass? See below:
What a goal by @StokeCity. Nothing but beauty! #CapitalOneCup https://t.co/5O0o0pEkAV
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) January 26, 2016
— Geoff Cameron (@GeoffCameron) January 26, 2016
Anfield saw its heroes on the front foot to start the second half, and Firmino cranked a shot off the outside of the right post off a corner kick.Stoke then got a hold of the game for the second stanza of the half, and Liverpool tried to flip it by bringing on Benteke.
The Potters made a change of their own when Arnautovic came up limping, and Shaqiri found his introduction to the leg.
The Reds has a late shout for a penalty when Erik Pieters saw a cross hit his arm, but none was given.
Extra time saw Can play a long ball for Benteke, who laid off for Firmino. A good shot came, but Stoke keeper Jack Butland remains in fine form.
Chelsea property Marko van Ginkel came close to putting Stoke ahead during the 104th minute, but Simon Mignolet slid to knock it away. And the second session of extra time found Mignolet robbing the same player.
Fire appear loaded with depth at outside back.
By Dan Santaromita
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Over and over again Chicago Fire general manager Nelson Rodriguez has harped on how center back has been the club’s priority this offseason.
However, outside back might be the position that has undergone the biggest overhaul for both the short-term and long-term future of the Fire.
From last year’s team, Lovel Palmer and Greg Cochrane had their options declined, Joevin Jones was traded and Eric Gehrig, who played some at right back last year, appears more destined to play at center back this season. Only Patrick Doody, who spent most of 2015 on loan with Saint Louis FC and made just seven appearances with the Fire as a rookie, is a returning outside back.
In this year’s draft, the Fire grabbed Stanford left back Brandon Vincent with the fourth pick. That meant competition for Doody, who showed promise at left back in his rookie season. When asked about the competition for playing time after training on Monday, Doody gave the politically correct answer that he would play wherever needed and explained he has played on the right.
“I am left footed, but I have played both sides,” Doody said. “It’s the same position, it’s just inverted. I think most guys at this level should have the ability to play either. If you’re an outside back you should be able to do OK at each side.”
That versatility could come in handy for Doody, but there also appears to be a lot of competition at right back. Free agent signing Michael Harrington, another left-footed player, has experience playing at both outside back spots and is a nine-year league veteran. He figures to get plenty of playing time this season.
“Left or right,” Harrington said. “It doesn’t matter. Either one.”
Third round pick Vincent Keller played center back and right back at Creighton, but is sliding over to right back as a pro because he is only 5-foot-9. It also appears that 2015 second round pick Kingsley Bryce is now a right back.
Bryce played forward in college at St. Louis University. Last year on loan with Saint Louis FC, Bryce played both midfield and defense. When asked what his position was on Monday Bryce answered without hesitation that he is a right back.
It’s not hard to see why the Fire could see the 22-year-old Bryce as a good option for right back. He’s 6-feet tall, fast and athletic at a position that requires tons of running up and down the sideline. At least physically, he seems capable of handling the demands of an outside back, but the position move isn’t an easy one.
“It’s tough,” Bryce said. “You have to learn to play where they need you. I’m still learning to play out of the back, but I think it helps that I know how to play forward so when I attack it’s something familiar to me.”
So, for now at least, it appears the Fire have five options at outside back. Harrington, 30, is the only veteran of the group, considering even Doody is still largely unproven.
Center back may be the club’s priority as far as acquiring new players, but outside back might be the most interesting competition in training camp.
NCAABKB: NCAA Top 25 Basketball Poll, January 25, 2016.
AP
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS | RECORD |
PREVIOUS
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma (36) | 1592 | 16-2 | 1 |
| 2 | North Carolina (29) | 1586 | 18-2 | 2 |
| 3 | Iowa | 1483 | 16-3 | 9 |
| 4 | Kansas | 1473 | 16-3 | 3 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 1369 | 17-2 | 10 |
| 6 | Villanova | 1261 | 17-3 | 4 |
| 7 | Xavier | 1186 | 17-2 | 5 |
| 8 | Maryland | 1111 | 17-3 | 7 |
| 9 | West Virginia | 1105 | 16-3 | 6 |
| 10 | Providence | 1005 | 17-3 | 16 |
| 11 | Virginia | 903 | 15-4 | 13 |
| 12 | Michigan State | 869 | 17-4 | 11 |
| 13 | SMU | 838 | 18-1 | 8 |
| 14 | Iowa State | 792 | 15-4 | 19 |
| 15 | Miami (Fla.) | 753 | 15-3 | 15 |
| 16 | Louisville | 719 | 16-3 | 17 |
| 17 | Baylor | 594 | 15-4 | 13 |
| 18 | Arizona | 502 | 16-4 | 12 |
| 19 | Indiana | 466 | 17-3 | 25 |
| 20 | Kentucky | 403 | 15-4 | 23 |
| 21 | Purdue | 328 | 17-4 | 22 |
| 22 | Wichita State | 151 | 14-5 | NR |
| 23 | Oregon | 149 | 16-4 | NR |
| 24 | Duke | 145 | 15-5 | 20 |
| 25 | Notre Dame | 136 | 14-5 | NR |
- Others Receiving Votes: Dayton 77, South Carolina 74, St. Mary's 42, Pittsburgh 38, USC 27, Butler 26, Clemson 18, VCU 17, Valparaiso 9, Hawaii 9, Utah 5, Connecticut 5,
- UAB 4, Chattanooga 2, Navy 1, Colorado 1, Grand Canyon 1, Michigan 1
Forde Minutes: Have rule changes made the college game better?
By Pat Forde
Oklahoma at LSU (11). The nation’s No. 1 team, led by the nation’s No. 1 scorer, travels to face the nation’s No. 1 draft pick. The Sooners put on a passing/shooting tour de force in ripping Baylor on Saturday, which should concern a Tigers team that is not exactly barbed wire defensively. This is a huge résumé opportunity for LSU, which is playing better in January but still trying to negate five losses to teams outside the RPI Top 50.
Kentucky at Kansas (12). OK, this game could be played anytime in football season and these two fans bases would still be all-in – but it does provide an intriguing matchup of talent-laden bluebloods that have wobbled at times this year. Kentucky has four losses to teams that likely are outside the NCAA tournament, while the Jayhawks have lost their past three road games. It’s also another matchup between Calipari and Bill Self, who met in the 2008 and ’12 national title games – the first won by Self, the second by Calipari.
SOARING SENIORS
Denzel Valentine (16), Michigan State. Needed to do more this year to keep the Spartans among the national elite, and he has. Leads the team in scoring (18.4 per game, up from 14.5), rebounding (up to 7.9 from 6.3), assists (6.6, up from 4.3) and steals (1.1, up from 0.9). That’s a big load to shoulder; let's see how long he can keep it up.
Brice Johnson (17), North Carolina. Another guy who has had an across-the-board increase in production. He’s always been talented, but the focus and intensity had been known to wander until this season. He’s had some monster double-doubles this month: 39 points and 23 rebounds at Florida State; 27 points and 11 rebounds against Wake Forest; 19 points and 17 rebounds at Virginia Tech. If he keeps playing this way, the Tar Heels are The Minutes’ national title favorite.
Buddy Hield (18), Oklahoma. His shooting percentages have skyrocketed, in part because he’s harder to guard as a more versatile offensive player. Hield has gone from taking 54 percent of his shots outside the 3-point arc the previous two seasons to 49 percent, improving his ability to drive and score off the dribble. In the process his 3-point accuracy has ballooned from 36 percent to 52 percent. The nation’s leading scorer also is shooting 91 percent from the foul line while increasing his free-throw attempts by 30 percent per game.
Yogi Ferrell (19), Indiana. The long wait for Ferrell to become a leader appears to finally be paying off. He’s shooting the highest percentages of his career from the field (.479) and the 3-point line (.447) while significantly upping his rebounds (4.3), assists (a Big Ten-leading 6.1 per game) and steals (1.3). But the intangibles coming out during the Hoosiers’ current winning streak might be his greatest improvement.
FLOUNDERING FRESHMEN
Basically, the 2015-16 college basketball freshman class is Ben Simmons (20) and everyone else. And even Simmons’ transformative powers have been somewhat limited at LSU. It has otherwise been an undistinguished group. The Minutes takes stock of where the rookies stand, some 20 games into their college careers.
Derryck Thornton (23), Duke. Rivals.com class rank: No. 14. In November and December he averaged 28 minutes, 10 points and 3 assists per game. In January those numbers have dropped to 21.5 minutes, 5.6 points and two assists. Simply put, Thornton hasn’t yet been the answer Duke desperately needs at point guard.
Malik Newman (24), Mississippi State. Rivals.com class rank: No. 8. He certainly hasn’t been bad, ranking second on the team in scoring (13.4) after dropping 25 on rival Mississippi Saturday in a potential breakout game. But to date Newman hasn’t been the program-elevator he was billed to be when he and Ben Howland arrived in tandem. The Bulldogs are in their customary position: tied for last in the SEC with a 1-5 league mark and an 8-10 overall record.
Antonio Blakeney (25), LSU. Rivals.com class rank: No. 13. Simmons wasn’t the only blue-chip Johnny Jones brought onboard this year – Blakeney arrived with a big rep of his own. But he’s shooting just 30 percent from 3-point range despite fairly avid gunning (85 attempts) and has generally been overmatched against top competition. As LSU got its full roster back intact, Blakeney’s role has been reduced and the team has improved.
Five more freshmen who are figuring it out (non-Simmons Division):
California duo (30) of Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown. Rivals.com class rank: No. 7 for Rabb and No. 3 for Brown. Cuonzo Martin’s huge recruiting coups are growing up, combining to average 29 points and 13 rebounds in Pac-12 play. They’re still wild with the ball at times – 98 turnovers, 60 assists – and foul-prone, but the upside is considerable in a league with vacancies at the top.
CONFERENCE ASSESSMENT: THE BIG EAST
A brief Minutes overview of the 2015-16 Big East as it stands today:
If you thought Rutgers (35) was only a dumpster fire during football season, we bring you this four-alarm update: The basketball program is worse. (Minus the off-field scandal. At least since Mike Rice went away and Eddie Jordan earned a degree.)
The Scarlet Knights are 6-14 overall, with the closest thing to a quality win probably being an 82-70 triumph over Howard on Nov. 15. Howard is No. 267 in the Pomeroy Ratings, but Rutgers is No. 278 – lowest of any Power 5 program, by 27 spots – so that was big. They are 0-7 in road/neutral games. They are 0-7 in the Big Ten, with an average losing margin of 25.6 points. And this week they are at Michigan on Wednesday and Michigan State on Saturday.
Good luck, Knights.
NIGHTMARE SCHEDULE OF THE YEAR
The predictable result: an 0-14 record.
Between Tuesday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 6, MVSU played at Duquesne, at North Carolina Central and at Seattle. That’s an awful travel week – and you know the Delta Devils weren’t flying charter.
UNDER THE RADAR LOVE
COACH WHO SHOULD TAKE THE BUS TO WORK
Chris Mullin (39), St. John’s. No, he did not inherit a flush hand, but this has gotten a bit ridiculous. Since beating Syracuse on Dec. 13 and giving rise to at least faint hopes of a revival, the Red Storm has lost 10 straight. They wasted no time killing off the Syracuse momentum by incomprehensibly losing by 22 to Incarnate Word next time out. That was followed by a loss to NJIT, then a loss to South Carolina, and now an 0-7 start to Big East play. Mullin was a weird hire to begin with – a nostalgia grab for a guy who was a great player but had zero coaching experience. So far it’s working out every bit as well as Clyde Drexler did at Houston (19-39 in two largely uninterested seasons).
BUZZER BEATER
When hungry in Dallas, The Minutes recommends a visit to AllGood Cafe (40). It has a decidedly un-Dallas funk to it, hence the slogan: “It’s like going to Austin without having to pass through Waco.” The Travel Channel touts AllGood’s bacon as among the best in America – and if for some reason that isn’t enough of a reason to go, try the grilled cheese with green chiles and thank The Minutes later.
NCAAFB: Judge OKs reworked NCAA concussions deal - with changes.
By Pat Forde
The NCAA selection committee's job won't be easy considering the level of parity this season. (Photo/AP)
STATE OF THE GAME: IMPROVING
There was a lot of lamentation about the quality and vitality of college hoops in the last couple of years, and in 2015 the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee took action to do something about it. A shorter shot clock and a renewed emphasis on actually calling fouls were the primary initiatives designed to speed up games and free up offensive players from defensive assault and battery.
Results to date show that it’s been a major success.
The Minutes spoke Monday with Oklahoma athletic director and men’s basketball committee chair Joe Castiglione (2), NCAA men’s basketball vice president Dan Gavitt (3) and NCAA director of media coordination and statistics Dave Worlock (4). Among some of the key points of the discussion:
After reaching historic lows last year, scoring is up by eight percent in games played through Sunday. Possessions per game are up six percent. On this date in 2015, 37 teams were averaging 75 points per game; this year the number is 147.
“It’s encouraging,” Castiglione said. “The statistical data is trending in a positive direction. But we knew this is going to be a years-long process.”
It seems clear that the 30-second shot clock is working (5), despite the protestations from some Cassandras that speeding up the offense will only result in even worse shot selection. That doesn’t appear to be the case. Not only are more shots going up, a slightly higher percentage of them are going in (44.1 percent, up .62 percent over last year at this time).
I think this begins to debunk that theory,” Castiglione said.
Less effective thus far are attempts to clean up the sport via calling games more tightly (6). Fouls per game are up only 1.3 over last year at this time, and that small increase is virtually negated by the increased number of possessions per game.
“We thought the increase would be more drastic,” Gavitt said. “There’s maybe a little concern that we’re not quite as far along with the officiating directive.”
However, complaints from some coaches – hello, John Calipari (7), after Kentucky lost to Auburn – that officials are once again swallowing their whistles in league play is unfounded. Fouls per game have stayed almost exactly the same since conference play started, decreasing just .03 per game.
“The data does not support that there’s been any backslide,” Gavitt said.
Other items of interest from the interview:
• Basketball people were toying with the idea of copying some elements of the College Football Playoff, specifically in terms of publicity. The idea of a basketball version of the CFP’s weekly rankings release/TV show was discussed. Ultimately, it hasn’t gained enough traction to happen anytime soon. Selection Sunday will remain the Big Reveal for now (8).
“We feel like the process we have in place is best for college basketball,” Castiglione said.
“I think there’s a recognition that the two sports and two championships are distinct,” Gavitt said. “There’s something really special about unwrapping a gift on Christmas morning. But at the same time, we’re looking at ways to shake the package a little bit beforehand.”
Among those ways is moving the selection show from Indianapolis to New York, the nation’s media mecca and also home base for NCAA tournament broadcast partners CBS and Turner. From the sound of things, there may be additional prerelease wrinkles in the works that the NCAA isn’t ready to divulge yet.
• Castiglione acknowledged that the selection committee’s job could be among the hardest ever this year (9). The teams that will occupy the top tier of the bracket have not yet distanced themselves from the pack.
“We publicly acknowledged last year that eight teams were clearly battling for the top two seed lines,” Castiglione said. “But this year is a little different. We recognize the value of many more exciting teams to consider. That’s a good thing.”
Last year at this time, Kentucky and Virginia were undefeated and Gonzaga had just one loss, while seven more teams had two losses. This season only four teams eligible for the postseason have two losses, and none has fewer than two.
• Castiglione could spend a lot of time outside the selection committee war room during conference championship week.
As the athletic director of the current No. 1 team in America, he will have to recuse himself from all discussions regarding the Sooners. Given the amount of time spent identifying the top seeds – especially this year – that means Castiglione could find himself watching a lot of league tourneys on TV while the rest of the committee weighs the merits of the Sooners. Worlock said there was a similar situation in 2010 and ’11, when Ohio State’s Gene Smith (10) was the committee chair and the Buckeyes were a No. 1 seed (2010) and a No. 2 (’11).
MORE PROGRESS: INTER-LEAGUE GAMES IN JANUARY
As a smart acquiescence to King Football, the Big 12-SEC Challenge was moved from before January to a time when fans in those grid-centric conferences are actually watching basketball. Not that every coach is thrilled about interrupting the rhythm of conference competition, of course.
“I don’t necessarily like it at all,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I don’t like the disruption to league play. But for a league, I think it’s a great exposure day. I think the bonuses outweigh the negatives, but I know the coaches don’t like it.”
The inter-league games will be played Saturday, and there are some good ones. The three best:
There was a lot of lamentation about the quality and vitality of college hoops in the last couple of years, and in 2015 the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee took action to do something about it. A shorter shot clock and a renewed emphasis on actually calling fouls were the primary initiatives designed to speed up games and free up offensive players from defensive assault and battery.
Results to date show that it’s been a major success.
The Minutes spoke Monday with Oklahoma athletic director and men’s basketball committee chair Joe Castiglione (2), NCAA men’s basketball vice president Dan Gavitt (3) and NCAA director of media coordination and statistics Dave Worlock (4). Among some of the key points of the discussion:
After reaching historic lows last year, scoring is up by eight percent in games played through Sunday. Possessions per game are up six percent. On this date in 2015, 37 teams were averaging 75 points per game; this year the number is 147.
“It’s encouraging,” Castiglione said. “The statistical data is trending in a positive direction. But we knew this is going to be a years-long process.”
It seems clear that the 30-second shot clock is working (5), despite the protestations from some Cassandras that speeding up the offense will only result in even worse shot selection. That doesn’t appear to be the case. Not only are more shots going up, a slightly higher percentage of them are going in (44.1 percent, up .62 percent over last year at this time).
I think this begins to debunk that theory,” Castiglione said.
Less effective thus far are attempts to clean up the sport via calling games more tightly (6). Fouls per game are up only 1.3 over last year at this time, and that small increase is virtually negated by the increased number of possessions per game.
“We thought the increase would be more drastic,” Gavitt said. “There’s maybe a little concern that we’re not quite as far along with the officiating directive.”
However, complaints from some coaches – hello, John Calipari (7), after Kentucky lost to Auburn – that officials are once again swallowing their whistles in league play is unfounded. Fouls per game have stayed almost exactly the same since conference play started, decreasing just .03 per game.
“The data does not support that there’s been any backslide,” Gavitt said.
Other items of interest from the interview:
• Basketball people were toying with the idea of copying some elements of the College Football Playoff, specifically in terms of publicity. The idea of a basketball version of the CFP’s weekly rankings release/TV show was discussed. Ultimately, it hasn’t gained enough traction to happen anytime soon. Selection Sunday will remain the Big Reveal for now (8).
“We feel like the process we have in place is best for college basketball,” Castiglione said.
“I think there’s a recognition that the two sports and two championships are distinct,” Gavitt said. “There’s something really special about unwrapping a gift on Christmas morning. But at the same time, we’re looking at ways to shake the package a little bit beforehand.”
Among those ways is moving the selection show from Indianapolis to New York, the nation’s media mecca and also home base for NCAA tournament broadcast partners CBS and Turner. From the sound of things, there may be additional prerelease wrinkles in the works that the NCAA isn’t ready to divulge yet.
• Castiglione acknowledged that the selection committee’s job could be among the hardest ever this year (9). The teams that will occupy the top tier of the bracket have not yet distanced themselves from the pack.
“We publicly acknowledged last year that eight teams were clearly battling for the top two seed lines,” Castiglione said. “But this year is a little different. We recognize the value of many more exciting teams to consider. That’s a good thing.”
Last year at this time, Kentucky and Virginia were undefeated and Gonzaga had just one loss, while seven more teams had two losses. This season only four teams eligible for the postseason have two losses, and none has fewer than two.
• Castiglione could spend a lot of time outside the selection committee war room during conference championship week.
As the athletic director of the current No. 1 team in America, he will have to recuse himself from all discussions regarding the Sooners. Given the amount of time spent identifying the top seeds – especially this year – that means Castiglione could find himself watching a lot of league tourneys on TV while the rest of the committee weighs the merits of the Sooners. Worlock said there was a similar situation in 2010 and ’11, when Ohio State’s Gene Smith (10) was the committee chair and the Buckeyes were a No. 1 seed (2010) and a No. 2 (’11).
MORE PROGRESS: INTER-LEAGUE GAMES IN JANUARY
As a smart acquiescence to King Football, the Big 12-SEC Challenge was moved from before January to a time when fans in those grid-centric conferences are actually watching basketball. Not that every coach is thrilled about interrupting the rhythm of conference competition, of course.
“I don’t necessarily like it at all,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I don’t like the disruption to league play. But for a league, I think it’s a great exposure day. I think the bonuses outweigh the negatives, but I know the coaches don’t like it.”
The inter-league games will be played Saturday, and there are some good ones. The three best:
Oklahoma at LSU (11). The nation’s No. 1 team, led by the nation’s No. 1 scorer, travels to face the nation’s No. 1 draft pick. The Sooners put on a passing/shooting tour de force in ripping Baylor on Saturday, which should concern a Tigers team that is not exactly barbed wire defensively. This is a huge résumé opportunity for LSU, which is playing better in January but still trying to negate five losses to teams outside the RPI Top 50.
Kentucky at Kansas (12). OK, this game could be played anytime in football season and these two fans bases would still be all-in – but it does provide an intriguing matchup of talent-laden bluebloods that have wobbled at times this year. Kentucky has four losses to teams that likely are outside the NCAA tournament, while the Jayhawks have lost their past three road games. It’s also another matchup between Calipari and Bill Self, who met in the 2008 and ’12 national title games – the first won by Self, the second by Calipari.
Iowa State at Texas A&M (13). Two of the most experienced teams in the country – the Cyclones are almost exclusively playing juniors and seniors, and the Aggies start four seniors. It’s working for them. Texas A&M is the lone SEC unbeaten in league play, and Iowa State has taken down Oklahoma and Kansas on the past two Mondays in Ames. The game also pits two former Murray State coaches against each other: Billy Kennedy, who left Murray for A&M and passed along the job to assistant Steve Prohm, now in his first year at Iowa State.
SOARING SENIORS
Last year was dominated in many ways by star freshmen: Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones, D’Angelo Russell, Stanley Johnson and so forth. This year, not so much (see below). Instead, there has been an upperclassman uprising.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association revealed its updated Player of the Year watch list Monday. Of the 20 names on the list, just one is a freshman. Eleven are seniors and five are juniors.
The biggest senior movers in terms of upgrading their game this season:
Jarrod Uthoff (14), Iowa. Might be the breakthrough player of the year. Uthoff’s scoring has jumped from 12.4 to 18.9 points per game, and his accuracy from both 3-point range and the foul line has improved more than 10 percent. He’s also blocking three shots per game, up from 1.6 last year. No wonder the Hawkeyes have shot up to No. 3 in the nation.
The biggest senior movers in terms of upgrading their game this season:
Jarrod Uthoff (14), Iowa. Might be the breakthrough player of the year. Uthoff’s scoring has jumped from 12.4 to 18.9 points per game, and his accuracy from both 3-point range and the foul line has improved more than 10 percent. He’s also blocking three shots per game, up from 1.6 last year. No wonder the Hawkeyes have shot up to No. 3 in the nation.
Jalen Jones (15), Texas A&M. Has increased his efficiency this season, playing a career-low minutes (27.1) and scoring a career-high points (17.5). Jones has expanded his range, having already made more 3-pointers this season (16) than all of last season (12). Jones also leads the team in rebounds at 6.8 per game.
Denzel Valentine (16), Michigan State. Needed to do more this year to keep the Spartans among the national elite, and he has. Leads the team in scoring (18.4 per game, up from 14.5), rebounding (up to 7.9 from 6.3), assists (6.6, up from 4.3) and steals (1.1, up from 0.9). That’s a big load to shoulder; let's see how long he can keep it up.
Brice Johnson (17), North Carolina. Another guy who has had an across-the-board increase in production. He’s always been talented, but the focus and intensity had been known to wander until this season. He’s had some monster double-doubles this month: 39 points and 23 rebounds at Florida State; 27 points and 11 rebounds against Wake Forest; 19 points and 17 rebounds at Virginia Tech. If he keeps playing this way, the Tar Heels are The Minutes’ national title favorite.
Buddy Hield (18), Oklahoma. His shooting percentages have skyrocketed, in part because he’s harder to guard as a more versatile offensive player. Hield has gone from taking 54 percent of his shots outside the 3-point arc the previous two seasons to 49 percent, improving his ability to drive and score off the dribble. In the process his 3-point accuracy has ballooned from 36 percent to 52 percent. The nation’s leading scorer also is shooting 91 percent from the foul line while increasing his free-throw attempts by 30 percent per game.
Yogi Ferrell (19), Indiana. The long wait for Ferrell to become a leader appears to finally be paying off. He’s shooting the highest percentages of his career from the field (.479) and the 3-point line (.447) while significantly upping his rebounds (4.3), assists (a Big Ten-leading 6.1 per game) and steals (1.3). But the intangibles coming out during the Hoosiers’ current winning streak might be his greatest improvement.
FLOUNDERING FRESHMEN
Basically, the 2015-16 college basketball freshman class is Ben Simmons (20) and everyone else. And even Simmons’ transformative powers have been somewhat limited at LSU. It has otherwise been an undistinguished group. The Minutes takes stock of where the rookies stand, some 20 games into their college careers.
Five who are struggling:
Cheick Diallo (21), Kansas. Rivals.com class rank: No. 5. If you thought Cliff Alexander was a disappointment as the Jayhawks’ Five-Star Freshman Big Man last year, he was polished compared to Diallo. He started out behind the curve due to an eligibility inquiry that kept him out of Kansas’ first five games, and after some early flourishes against outmanned competition (Loyola Maryland and Holy Cross), he has almost disappeared. Diallo didn’t get off the bench Saturday against Texas and played just four minutes against Iowa State Monday. He’s simply not a major part of Self’s plans at the moment.
Skal Labissiere (22), Kentucky. Rivals.com class rank: No. 1. Nothing brings out the bug-eyed lunatic in Calipari more than a soft big man, and that’s what Labissiere has been so far. Cal has downgraded Skal’s role and slashed his minutes in recent weeks, bringing him off the bench and hoping that he’ll eventually grow into a tougher interior presence. A step forward at Arkansas (11 points and three blocks in 20 minutes) was followed by a near-no show against Vanderbilt (no points, no rebounds and two fouls in four minutes). Long way to go.
Skal Labissiere (22), Kentucky. Rivals.com class rank: No. 1. Nothing brings out the bug-eyed lunatic in Calipari more than a soft big man, and that’s what Labissiere has been so far. Cal has downgraded Skal’s role and slashed his minutes in recent weeks, bringing him off the bench and hoping that he’ll eventually grow into a tougher interior presence. A step forward at Arkansas (11 points and three blocks in 20 minutes) was followed by a near-no show against Vanderbilt (no points, no rebounds and two fouls in four minutes). Long way to go.
Derryck Thornton (23), Duke. Rivals.com class rank: No. 14. In November and December he averaged 28 minutes, 10 points and 3 assists per game. In January those numbers have dropped to 21.5 minutes, 5.6 points and two assists. Simply put, Thornton hasn’t yet been the answer Duke desperately needs at point guard.
Malik Newman (24), Mississippi State. Rivals.com class rank: No. 8. He certainly hasn’t been bad, ranking second on the team in scoring (13.4) after dropping 25 on rival Mississippi Saturday in a potential breakout game. But to date Newman hasn’t been the program-elevator he was billed to be when he and Ben Howland arrived in tandem. The Bulldogs are in their customary position: tied for last in the SEC with a 1-5 league mark and an 8-10 overall record.
Antonio Blakeney (25), LSU. Rivals.com class rank: No. 13. Simmons wasn’t the only blue-chip Johnny Jones brought onboard this year – Blakeney arrived with a big rep of his own. But he’s shooting just 30 percent from 3-point range despite fairly avid gunning (85 attempts) and has generally been overmatched against top competition. As LSU got its full roster back intact, Blakeney’s role has been reduced and the team has improved.
Five more freshmen who are figuring it out (non-Simmons Division):
Brandon Ingram (26), Duke. Rivals.com class rank: No. 4. Duke has been bad of late, but Ingram has been really good. After an inconsistent first month, the scrawny wing player has become indispensable for the Blue Devils. Since December he’s averaged 20.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. He even played as the 6-foot-9 top of Duke’s (not terribly effective) 1-3-1 zone defense part of the game against Miami on Monday night. Not much he cannot do.
Henry Ellenson (27), Marquette. Rivals.com class rank: No. 11. Leads the team in minutes, points and rebounds, and has compiled 11 double-doubles in 20 games – most recently a 16-point, 18-rebound effort to help Marquette beat St. John’s on Sunday. Only quibble is that the 6-foot-10 Ellenson is shooting too many threes (65 of them) for a guy who is only making 25 percent outside the arc.
Henry Ellenson (27), Marquette. Rivals.com class rank: No. 11. Leads the team in minutes, points and rebounds, and has compiled 11 double-doubles in 20 games – most recently a 16-point, 18-rebound effort to help Marquette beat St. John’s on Sunday. Only quibble is that the 6-foot-10 Ellenson is shooting too many threes (65 of them) for a guy who is only making 25 percent outside the arc.
Diamond Stone (28), Maryland. Rivals.com class rank: No. 6. For a guy who is playing just 21 minutes per game, Stone has been quite productive. He’s averaging 13.2 points and 5.5 rebounds, and prior to a quiet six-point night at Michigan State on Saturday, he had 12 straight double-figure scoring games. Stone is a true low-post hoss who knows where his future paycheck will be earned: He has attempted zero 3-pointers and 90 free throws this season.
Jamal Murray (29), Kentucky. Rivals.com class rank: No. 9. Murray comes into the gym firing – his 278 field-goal attempts are 76 more than the Wildcats’ second-most avid shooter, Tyler Ulis. But on a team with an offensive deficit inside, Murray’s brash confidence is needed. When he gets on a roll, he’s one of the toughest covers in the game. He’s scored at least 18 points in every SEC game.
Jamal Murray (29), Kentucky. Rivals.com class rank: No. 9. Murray comes into the gym firing – his 278 field-goal attempts are 76 more than the Wildcats’ second-most avid shooter, Tyler Ulis. But on a team with an offensive deficit inside, Murray’s brash confidence is needed. When he gets on a roll, he’s one of the toughest covers in the game. He’s scored at least 18 points in every SEC game.
California duo (30) of Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown. Rivals.com class rank: No. 7 for Rabb and No. 3 for Brown. Cuonzo Martin’s huge recruiting coups are growing up, combining to average 29 points and 13 rebounds in Pac-12 play. They’re still wild with the ball at times – 98 turnovers, 60 assists – and foul-prone, but the upside is considerable in a league with vacancies at the top.
CONFERENCE ASSESSMENT: THE BIG EAST
The 2013-14 remodeling of the Big East as a basketball-first conference was a successful act of survival in a changing landscape. The 10-member league has been fun, deep and nationally competitive – to a point. (See below.) Despite a lack of football revenue, the Big East has outperformed several larger and more powerful leagues in terms of overall strength. It has been in the national top five in conference power ratings the past two seasons, and is again this year.
A brief Minutes overview of the 2015-16 Big East as it stands today:
NCAA bids: Probably four right now (Villanova, Xavier, Providence, Butler) with three lurking (Seton Hall, Creighton, Georgetown).
Possible top 16 seeds: Two. Villanova and Xavier.
Recent history: The successes in pre-conference play have not carried over to when it matters most – the new Big East has not been a good NCAA tournament league. It was 5-6 as a conference last year, with only Xavier exceeding expectations by making the Sweet 16 and three teams underachieving according to seed. In 2014 the league was 2-4 in the Big Dance, with nobody making the Sweet 16.
The primary problem is the annual March futility of Villanova (31), which cannot get out of the first weekend despite excellent seeding. As a No. 1 seed last year, the Wildcats fell in the second round. As a No. 2 seed in 2014, the Wildcats fell in the second round. With a current RPI of 2, a Sagarin rating of 3 and a Ken Pomeroy rating of 4, Villanova is good enough to score a high seed despite doubts about its tournament staying power.
At 17-2, Xavier (32) is an intriguing team, with several non-conference victories that will boost its seeding (Michigan, USC, Dayton, Cincinnati). The tough, balanced Musketeers have a challenge at Providence on Tuesday night and then three highly winnable games before a tough closing seven-game gauntlet. This has become a consistent high-level program, and many think this is the squad capable of reaching the school’s first Final Four.
Providence (33) has star power in point guard Kris Dunn, but that’s not all. Forward Ben Bentil has averaged 24 points and 9.7 rebounds the Friars’ past three games. Butler (34) started hot but has lost five of seven league games – largely attributable to playing four games against Villanova, Xavier and Providence already.
THE ETERNAL DUMPSTER-FIRE FLAME
Possible top 16 seeds: Two. Villanova and Xavier.
Recent history: The successes in pre-conference play have not carried over to when it matters most – the new Big East has not been a good NCAA tournament league. It was 5-6 as a conference last year, with only Xavier exceeding expectations by making the Sweet 16 and three teams underachieving according to seed. In 2014 the league was 2-4 in the Big Dance, with nobody making the Sweet 16.
The primary problem is the annual March futility of Villanova (31), which cannot get out of the first weekend despite excellent seeding. As a No. 1 seed last year, the Wildcats fell in the second round. As a No. 2 seed in 2014, the Wildcats fell in the second round. With a current RPI of 2, a Sagarin rating of 3 and a Ken Pomeroy rating of 4, Villanova is good enough to score a high seed despite doubts about its tournament staying power.
At 17-2, Xavier (32) is an intriguing team, with several non-conference victories that will boost its seeding (Michigan, USC, Dayton, Cincinnati). The tough, balanced Musketeers have a challenge at Providence on Tuesday night and then three highly winnable games before a tough closing seven-game gauntlet. This has become a consistent high-level program, and many think this is the squad capable of reaching the school’s first Final Four.
Providence (33) has star power in point guard Kris Dunn, but that’s not all. Forward Ben Bentil has averaged 24 points and 9.7 rebounds the Friars’ past three games. Butler (34) started hot but has lost five of seven league games – largely attributable to playing four games against Villanova, Xavier and Providence already.
THE ETERNAL DUMPSTER-FIRE FLAME
If you thought Rutgers (35) was only a dumpster fire during football season, we bring you this four-alarm update: The basketball program is worse. (Minus the off-field scandal. At least since Mike Rice went away and Eddie Jordan earned a degree.)
The Scarlet Knights are 6-14 overall, with the closest thing to a quality win probably being an 82-70 triumph over Howard on Nov. 15. Howard is No. 267 in the Pomeroy Ratings, but Rutgers is No. 278 – lowest of any Power 5 program, by 27 spots – so that was big. They are 0-7 in road/neutral games. They are 0-7 in the Big Ten, with an average losing margin of 25.6 points. And this week they are at Michigan on Wednesday and Michigan State on Saturday.
Good luck, Knights.
NIGHTMARE SCHEDULE OF THE YEAR
The Minutes understands perfectly well that the smallest schools in Division I must submit to cruel scheduling indignities to fund their programs. But what Mississippi Valley State (36) has done to its basketball team this season is barbaric.
The Delta Devils have played 18 road games and three at home – and the first home date came on Jan. 4. They began the season with 14 straight on the road, wandering from Lincoln, Neb.; to Colorado Springs, Colo.; to Las Cruces, N.M.; to Phoenix; to Provo, Utah; to Cookeville, Tenn. for two games; to Pittsburgh; to Raleigh; to Seattle; to Evansville, Ind.; to Evanston, Ill.; to DeSoto, Texas; to at least a deserving ending in Honolulu.
The predictable result: an 0-14 record.
Between Tuesday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 6, MVSU played at Duquesne, at North Carolina Central and at Seattle. That’s an awful travel week – and you know the Delta Devils weren’t flying charter.
This suicide scheduling is nothing new for MVSU, but at least last year they squeezed in a game in nearby Clarksdale, Miss., in December against North Carolina Central. In 2013-14 there were two non-conference home games and one in Clarksdale. Playing 14 straight on the road is a brutal thing to do to a team.
UNDER THE RADAR LOVE
Egidijus Mockevicius (37), Evansville. The 6-foot-10 Lithuanian is one of the most impactful players on the defensive end in America, blocking 2.7 shots and collecting a whopping 11.7 defensive rebounds per game. The senior had back-to-back 20-rebound games last week, and has averaged 15.7 boards in January. If you want the biggest reason why the Purple Aces are 17-4 and a factor in the Missouri Valley Conference race, he’s it.
COACH WHO EARNED HIS COMP CAR THIS WEEK
COACH WHO EARNED HIS COMP CAR THIS WEEK
Tom Crean (38), Indiana. Remember when everyone wanted to give up on Crean on Dec. 2, after a lopsided loss to Duke dropped the Hoosiers to 5-3? After that game the coach noted the date, pointing out that it was ridiculously early to hit the panic button. Since then, Indiana is 12-0, including a 7-0 start to Big Ten play – all the league wins coming without injured guard James Blackmon Jr. Yes, the schedule will get much harder in February, but give Crean credit for keeping calm and carrying on and making his team better. This is a formidable offensive team and an improving defensive squad, even with (and perhaps because of) the loss of Blackmon.
COACH WHO SHOULD TAKE THE BUS TO WORK
Chris Mullin (39), St. John’s. No, he did not inherit a flush hand, but this has gotten a bit ridiculous. Since beating Syracuse on Dec. 13 and giving rise to at least faint hopes of a revival, the Red Storm has lost 10 straight. They wasted no time killing off the Syracuse momentum by incomprehensibly losing by 22 to Incarnate Word next time out. That was followed by a loss to NJIT, then a loss to South Carolina, and now an 0-7 start to Big East play. Mullin was a weird hire to begin with – a nostalgia grab for a guy who was a great player but had zero coaching experience. So far it’s working out every bit as well as Clyde Drexler did at Houston (19-39 in two largely uninterested seasons).
BUZZER BEATER
When hungry in Dallas, The Minutes recommends a visit to AllGood Cafe (40). It has a decidedly un-Dallas funk to it, hence the slogan: “It’s like going to Austin without having to pass through Waco.” The Travel Channel touts AllGood’s bacon as among the best in America – and if for some reason that isn’t enough of a reason to go, try the grilled cheese with green chiles and thank The Minutes later.
NCAAFB: Judge OKs reworked NCAA concussions deal - with changes.
By MICHAEL TARM
A federal judge gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a reworked head-injury settlement between thousands of former athletes and the NCAA that includes a $70 million fund to pay for brain trauma testing and limits legal immunity for the nation's largest college sports governing body.
U.S. District Judge John Lee praised the new deal for expanding potential plaintiffs to athletes from sports beyond football, hockey and other contact sports. But he suggested several changes - most notably ones modifying what would have been a blanket protection for the NCAA from class-action lawsuits over concussions, something the organization may find unacceptable.
The core of the agreement remains largely the same. That includes the NCAA creating the fund to test current and former athletes for brain injuries they say they suffered while playing collegiate sports. The tests would gauge the extent of neurological injuries and could establish grounds for individual athletes seeking damages.
The NCAA is also required to toughen return-to-play rules after a concussion, and all athletes will take baseline neurological tests to start each year to help doctors determine the severity of any concussion during the season. A new, independent Medical Science Committee will oversee the medical testing.
"To the extent that the Settling Plaintiffs and the NCAA are agreeable to these modifications or are otherwise able to address the Court's concerns, preliminary approval of the amended class settlement is granted,'' Lee wrote in his 53-page ruling.
The NCAA admits no wrongdoing in the settlement and has denied understating the dangers of concussions. Its chief legal officer, Donald Remy, issued a cautiously worded statement that did not indicate whether the organization might have concerns about the ruling.
''While we are pleased the court has provided a preliminary pathway to provide significant resources for the medical monitoring of student-athletes who may suffer concussion, we are still examining the conditions placed on preliminary approval,'' he said.
Jay Edelson, a Chicago-based attorney for athletes who had long opposed the settlement, said he was pleased with the judge's provisions for scaling back NCAA immunity from future suits. He said he believed the proposal would likely bar national class-action suits but also allow class actions against individual schools or, in some cases, even the NCAA.
''So we are thrilled,'' he said. He said the NCAA might conclude the scaling back of class-action protections is poison pill that forces it to withdraw its backing.
The number of athletes who may require testing runs into the tens of thousands. In court filings, the plaintiffs cited NCAA figures that said from 2004 to 2009 alone, 29,225 athletes suffered concussions. Lee on Tuesday also ordered the plaintiffs' attorney to begin the process of notifying those who could qualify for settlement benefits.
In his December 2014 ruling rejecting the first deal, Lee portrayed it as unclear in sections and potentially underfunded.
Among the new elements in the reworked deal was stronger wording mandating that all NCAA member schools must adopt tougher concussion-management and return-to-play guidelines. If they don't follow the NCAA lead, they could lose some of the legal protections from lawsuits.
To keep the NCAA from having to hold unwieldy talks with multiple plaintiffs, 10 lawsuits filed from Georgia and South Carolina to Minnesota and Missouri were consolidated into the one case in Chicago, where the first lawsuit was filed in 2011. Combined, the suits identified several dozen athletes by name as having suffered brain trauma.
The lead plaintiff was Adrian Arrington, a former safety at Eastern Illinois who said he endured five concussions while playing, some so severe he has said he couldn't recognize his parents afterward. Subsequent headaches, memory loss, seizures and depression made it difficult to work or even care for his children, filings said. He later withdrew his support because of the settlement, singling out provisions that largely shielded the NCAA from class-action suits.
Another plaintiff who hasn't withdrawn his support is former Central Arkansas wide receiver Derek K. Owens. After several concussions, he said he found he could no longer retain what he had just studied. His symptoms became so severe he dropped out of school in 2011, telling his mother: ''I feel like a 22-year-old with Alzheimer's.''
Changes recommended for FCS playoffs.
(Photo/yahoosports.com)
If the FCS playoffs undergo change for next season, the process will start to move that way this week.
Conference commissioners are scheduled to meet Tuesday through Thursday in Naples, Florida, for various reasons, and their discussions will include whether they seek detours so the playoffs can avoid bumps in the road.
There was more outcry than usual after the selection of the 24-team playoff field Nov. 22. Complaints are often reserved publicly for the schools left just shy of an at-large bid as well as the media analyzing a perceived snub, but this past season they extended as high as the conference commissioners.
Patty Viverito from the Missouri Valley Football Conference voiced concern that all five qualifiers from her league were placed on one side (12 teams) of the bracket. That didn't happen to the conferences with the next-most qualifiers, CAA Football with four and the Big Sky Conference with three.
Doug Fullerton from the Big Sky was not pleased after his conference's champion, Southern Utah, did not receive a home game for the first round and then lost on the road to a Sam Houston State program that placed a higher bid for hosting the game. That had never happened before to a Big Sky champion.
The playoffs opened to poor crowds on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but gained momentum, especially with the two finalists, national champion North Dakota State and Jacksonville State, drawing strong crowds to their three home games. The playoffs set a record with 258,066 fans in 23 games, although it was only the third season under the 24-team format (they went from 16 to 20 teams in 2010 and then 20 to 24 teams in 2013).
Despite the strong finish, which included 21,836 attending North Dakota State's 37-10 win over Jacksonville State in the championship game - the high for the six seasons that Frisco, Texas, has been the host - there is interest over potential change regarding the playoffs.
Conference commissioners are scheduled to meet Tuesday through Thursday in Naples, Florida, for various reasons, and their discussions will include whether they seek detours so the playoffs can avoid bumps in the road.
There was more outcry than usual after the selection of the 24-team playoff field Nov. 22. Complaints are often reserved publicly for the schools left just shy of an at-large bid as well as the media analyzing a perceived snub, but this past season they extended as high as the conference commissioners.
Patty Viverito from the Missouri Valley Football Conference voiced concern that all five qualifiers from her league were placed on one side (12 teams) of the bracket. That didn't happen to the conferences with the next-most qualifiers, CAA Football with four and the Big Sky Conference with three.
Doug Fullerton from the Big Sky was not pleased after his conference's champion, Southern Utah, did not receive a home game for the first round and then lost on the road to a Sam Houston State program that placed a higher bid for hosting the game. That had never happened before to a Big Sky champion.
The playoffs opened to poor crowds on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but gained momentum, especially with the two finalists, national champion North Dakota State and Jacksonville State, drawing strong crowds to their three home games. The playoffs set a record with 258,066 fans in 23 games, although it was only the third season under the 24-team format (they went from 16 to 20 teams in 2010 and then 20 to 24 teams in 2013).
Despite the strong finish, which included 21,836 attending North Dakota State's 37-10 win over Jacksonville State in the championship game - the high for the six seasons that Frisco, Texas, has been the host - there is interest over potential change regarding the playoffs.
Among those to suggest changes has been Bill Chaves, athletic director at Eastern Washington, which won the 2010 title in Frisco before North Dakota State's current five-year reign. He emailed recommendations for change to Mark Wilson, the Tennessee Tech athletic director who served as the chair of the playoff selection committee this past season, and Mark Lewis, the NCAA's executive vice president for championships and alliances.
Chaves said his recommendations were made "to better an already tremendous event" and centered on two chief concerns - expanding the seeding process and changing the dates of the playoffs.
The seedings offer the potentially easier change:
- Chaves suggested expanding the seeds from eight to 16. Under the current selection format, a team that is ninth-strongest in the field is treated the same as the 24th team. Chaves cited Southern Utah and South Dakota State from the Missouri Valley as teams that had excellent regular seasons and were deserving of a home game in the first round. Both lost on the road in the first round.
Doubling the number of seeds would likely decrease how the playoff field has become increasingly regionalized in its matchups. Six of the eight second-round games this season had been played in the regular season, including three that matched teams from the same conferences.
To counter the potentially higher travel costs, Chaves suggested a slight raise in the minimum bid to host a playoff game.
The recommendation for changing playoff dates would probably draw less support:
- Chaves wants first-round games moved from Thanksgiving weekend. His reasoning was that student-athletes involved would have the chance to enjoy the holiday and extra time for studies and the first-round hosts would have a better opportunity to sell tickets, with the traveling teams gaining additional time for their preparations.
Such a change, Chaves said, "could potentially avoid dismal crowds that have plagued our tournament during this weekend." He added that an extra week of preparation will reduce charter and travel costs for the NCAA.
"If you have Thanksgiving weekend off, it gives everybody a chance to decompress a little bit and the student-athletes extra time to kind of get their academics in order," Chaves told STATS.
The downside to Chaves' idea is that it could mean the two semifinals - played the weekend before Christmas - would fall between Christmas and New Year's, which would have them competing for exposure among the many FBS bowl games. Also, the Thanksgiving bye week would mean the top eight teams would have a three-week gap from the final weekend of the regular season to the second round of the playoffs, when they would play their first game. That break is currently two weeks.
Brent Colbourne, the director of programming and acquisitions at ESPN, which broadcasts all FCS playoff games, is scheduled to be involved in the commissioners meetings. Changes in playoff dates would impact the network's schedule of postseason games.
Interest in the playoffs has risen as they have expanded in scope both on and off the field. But the desire for different tweaks also has risen.
The ball is back in the conference commissioners' hands.
Serena Williams continues her dominance over Maria Sharapova.
By Danielle Elliott
.(AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)
For about 55 minutes on Tuesday afternoon, it looked like the world's two best women were facing off on court at Rod Laver Arena.
Maria Sharapova broke Serena Williams's serve to open the match and stuck with her through the next seven games.
But Williams refused to back down on a steaming hot day in Melbourne. She held off two break points at 4-all, then served out the set.
The next half hour looked more like an open-round match between a newcomer and a veteran.
It took Williams less than 20 minutes to jump out to a 4-love lead in the second set. She eventually walked away with a 6-4, 6-1 win.
That's Williams's 18th straight victory over Sharapova, dating back to 2004. The Russian star, who is currently ranked No. 5, has failed to even take a set off of the world No. 1 in their last seven meetings. Sharapova owns five titles of her own, but has only once beaten Williams in a Grand Slam.
In her post-match interview on court, Williams told the crowd that she'd started less aggressively than she liked. "I have been playing this whole week aggressively, but it did not start out that way in the first set," Williams said. "I knew I had to be." By the second set, she decided that she wanted to return to her usual style, to play the way she'd played so far in her run to the quarterfinals.
It's what many expect from Williams in a quarterfinal of a Grand Slam event at this point. She's won 21 of them and is making a strong run at her 22nd, which would put her in equal standing with Steffi Graf on the list of most Grand Slam titles in the Open era.
"It's motivating," Sharapova said of her loss to Williams. "It's motivating because she's at a different level. She makes you go back to the drawing board, not just for me, but for many other players. She makes you work. That's inspiring."
Federer vs Djokovic in Australian Open semifinals.
By JOCELYN GECKER
Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016.(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Novak Djokovic has a larger than life presence at the Australian Open.
Maria Sharapova broke Serena Williams's serve to open the match and stuck with her through the next seven games.
But Williams refused to back down on a steaming hot day in Melbourne. She held off two break points at 4-all, then served out the set.
The next half hour looked more like an open-round match between a newcomer and a veteran.
It took Williams less than 20 minutes to jump out to a 4-love lead in the second set. She eventually walked away with a 6-4, 6-1 win.
That's Williams's 18th straight victory over Sharapova, dating back to 2004. The Russian star, who is currently ranked No. 5, has failed to even take a set off of the world No. 1 in their last seven meetings. Sharapova owns five titles of her own, but has only once beaten Williams in a Grand Slam.
In her post-match interview on court, Williams told the crowd that she'd started less aggressively than she liked. "I have been playing this whole week aggressively, but it did not start out that way in the first set," Williams said. "I knew I had to be." By the second set, she decided that she wanted to return to her usual style, to play the way she'd played so far in her run to the quarterfinals.
It's what many expect from Williams in a quarterfinal of a Grand Slam event at this point. She's won 21 of them and is making a strong run at her 22nd, which would put her in equal standing with Steffi Graf on the list of most Grand Slam titles in the Open era.
"It's motivating," Sharapova said of her loss to Williams. "It's motivating because she's at a different level. She makes you go back to the drawing board, not just for me, but for many other players. She makes you work. That's inspiring."
To reach her 22nd title, she'll first have to get past No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi-final. Radwanska advanced earlier in the day with a 6-1, 6-3 win over No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro, thereby becoming the first Polish woman to advance to the Australian Open final four.
Williams is 25-4 in Grand Slam semifinal matches. Radwanska is 1-3. The pair last met at a Grand Slam in the 2013 Wimbledon final, where Williams prevailed.
"She's a great defender and a great girl, and regardless who gets to the final, it will be a good thing," Williams said on court. "But I am going to do my best."
Federer vs Djokovic in Australian Open semifinals.
By JOCELYN GECKER
Novak Djokovic has a larger than life presence at the Australian Open.
His face smiles at fans from sponsor's billboards. His voice gives inspirational advice over center-court speakers between matches.
There's even a new addition to Melbourne Park called ''Novak's World,'' where fans can slip on virtual reality goggles and feel as if they're walking in Djokovic's shoes - as he stretches in the locker room and then walks out onto the court as the crowd roars.
A few years ago, the Australian Open and the other majors could have been called ''Roger's World'' - when Roger Federer was No. 1, still dominating men's tennis and the favorite face of sponsors.
On Thursday, the two players' worlds collide. Again.
The top-ranked Djokovic will play No. 3 Federer in a blockbuster semifinal match at the Australian Open. It will be the 45th installment in a riveting rivalry that is so equally split that they are tied with 22 wins each.
It's a rematch of last year's final at the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, both of which Djokovic won in thrilling nail-biters.
It will be their 15th matchup at a Grand Slam tournament, more than any other pair of men in tennis' Open era, which dates to 1968. Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have played each other 13 times at majors, Federer and Nadal 11 and John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl 10.
But more than just numbers, it is a tantalizing rematch that holds great importance to both players as they try to cement their place in history.
For Federer, who owns a record 17 Grand Slam titles, it offers a chance to prove that his best is not entirely behind him. He is 34, which means that time really is running out.
''It would mean a lot to me, no doubt about it,'' Federer said Tuesday when asked about the significance of winning one more major in the era of Djokovic. ''It's part of the reason why I guess I'm still playing. I feel like I'm competitive at the top. I can beat all the guys on tour.''
That is true, but the problem for Federer has been making it happen in the last round of a major.
Federer hasn't won a major since Wimbledon in 2012 despite repeatedly coming close. He was runner-up in 2014 at Wimbledon and in 2015 at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open - beaten all three times by Djokovic.
The 28-year-old Djokovic finished 2015 as the No. 1 player for the fourth time in five years. The Serb won three Grand Slams - the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open - and reached the final at the French Open.
Djokovic is considered the best baseliner in the game, contorting his body as he stretches and slides between defense and offense.
In Melbourne, Federer has been playing a brilliant brand of attacking tennis, ushering him comfortably through the draw and past No. 6 Tomas Berdych 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4.
Djokovic and other players have commented that he's playing as well as ever, if not better, deploying well-honed new skills and aggressiveness at net.
''Roger is playing really terrific tennis,'' Djokovic said after his 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 quarterfinal win over No. 7 Kei Nishikori. ''He's got great defense, amazing offense. He's very complete. He puts constant pressure on the opponent. You have to be aware at all times. You got to be tough. You've got to be concentrated.
''This is going to be a big challenge for both of us,'' Djokovic said. ''I'm expecting a great fight.''
Something else Djokovic can expect is the ''SABR.'' It stands for ''Sneak Attack By Roger'' and it's a maneuver the Swiss star introduced last year but hasn't yet displayed in Melbourne.
It's a tactic in which he races forward on an opponent's second serve and half-volleys a return while heading to the net.
During his on-court interview Tuesday, Federer, who is adored by Australian tennis fans, was asked why he hadn't shown off his ''sneak attack'' at the Australian Open.
''You want to see it?'' Federer asked, as the crowd voiced its approval. ''All right. I'll definitely play at least one in the next match.''
On
emoriesofhistory.com
1965 - Ulf Sterner became the first Swedish-born player to appear in the NHL. Sterner only played four games in the NHL. 1967 - Paige Cothren became the first player to sign with the New Orleans Saints.
1973 - The UCLA Bruins won their 61st consecutive game to break the NCAA record held by the University of San Francisco.
1984 - Carl Lewis beat his own two-year-old record by 9-1/4 inches when he set a new indoor world record with a long-jump mark of 28 feet, 10-1/4 inches.
1984 - Wayne Gretzky set a National Hockey League (NHL) record for consecutive game scoring. He ended the streak at 51 games the next night against the Los Angeles Kings. The streak began on October 5, 1983.
1991 - Whitney Houston sang the "Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV.
1992 - Former world boxing champion Mike Tyson went on trial for allegedly raping an 18-year-old contestant in the 1991 Miss Black America Contest.
2002 - The Montreal Canadiens became the first NHL team to score 10,000 home goals. The feat was achieved in the Canadiens' 2,675th regular season game. The goal was scored by Sergei Berezin who had come to the team only two days before from the Phoenix Coyotes.
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