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"Sports Quote of the Day"

"Before we can talk about a championship, we have to practice like a championship team." ~ Mike Singletary, NFL Football Coach, Former Player, Super Bowl XX Team Member and NFL Hall of Fame Member

Trending: Post-Matt Forte, Bears looking to get in the zone with Jeremy Langford, backfield committee. (See the football section for Bears and NFL updates).

Trending: If this is it at trade deadline, Cubs believe they have enough to win World Series. (See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).

Trending: Why Jimmy Butler wanted Dwyane Wade to sign with Bulls. (See the basketball section for Bulls and NBA updates).

Trending: Jimmy Walker wins PGA Championship with dramatic finish at 18. (See the golf section for tournament updates and PGA news).

Trending: Cubs and White Sox road to the "World Series".              

                                                

Cubs 2016 Record: 63-41

White Sox 2016 Record: 51-54

(See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).

Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!! Post-Matt Forte, Bears looking to get in the zone with Jeremy Langford, backfield committee.

By John Mullin

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

After seeing him every year beginning in 2008, a Bears training camp without familiar No. 22 – Matt Forte – still doesn’t feel quite right. But viewing the departure of the franchise’s No. 2 all-time rusher based solely on lost experience and all-around excellence, and concluding that the Bears will inevitably be a poorer running team, may be premature and far from complete.

Forte averaged 4.2 yards on his 2,035 Bears carries. Langford netted 3.6 (Forte’s career-low, set in his second year) on his 148 last season. But simple side-by-side comparisons are incomplete.

The Bears have stated the plan to build their run game on more than one back. But one striking observation from the early days of training camp has been the outright speed of Jeremy Langford, who projects to start the season with the No. 1 offense, in addition to his cutback ability while sacrificing virtually speed in the process. Langford has repeatedly broken runs to the outside of the blocking schemes, utilizing cutback abilities arguably better than Forte’s at this point in the latter’s distinguished career.

A key to the Bears rushing offense this year will be Langford’s mesh with a variety of scheming. “We do a little bit of everything,” said offensive line coach Dave Magazu. “We run some ‘power,’ some zone, a mixture, probably a little more zone than power stuff. But I think everybody in the league does. There’s a couple teams where this or that is all they do. We do a little bit more than just that.”

The Bears clearly view Langford as a fit as that style of runner for that varied style of offense.

“We ran a lot of ‘power’ and ‘gap’ schemes but we ran outside zone, inside zone as well,” Langford said of his schemes at Michigan State. “Our offense is a lot like NFL teams, just different words. I feel like we did do a little bit of everything there so I feel like I can adjust to any offense.”

With pads on for the first time on Saturday, far from slowing down, Langford consistently was getting outside of middle clogs and into space, where he left behind tacklers from a defense itself marked by speed. It is not the first time.

This time a year ago, “the one thing that I’ve noticed is that [Langford is] playing faster with pads on than he didn’t back in the spring when we didn’t have the pads on,” observed running backs coach Stan Drayton.

The zone template

Indeed, the decision to move forward without Forte was predicated on exactly what coaches are seeing from Langford, which is a younger version of Forte working in a simplified run game based on the zone-blocking scheme favored by coach John Fox and the offensive staff. It is an approach that vaulted to favor nearly two decades ago when Terrell Davis joined John Elway in the Denver Broncos backfield and took the Broncos to consecutive Super Bowl victories.

The methodology involved the offensive line, as one unit, flowing right or left and the running back (Davis) following the leads and making no more than one cut to the hole that inevitably opened somewhere along the front, or cut back against the defense flowing with the play. The point was for the back to avoid multiple cuts and instead make one and go, no loss of speed.

“It’s tracks and vision and when to make the cut,” said Fox. “Not a dancing kind of run play. It’s kind of a one-cut play and guys that have the good vision are pretty productive… .

“I saw him last year as a rookie and thought he was a very productive player for us. Obviously he’s way more comfortable now in what we’re doing, and more comfortable in the speed and strength of our league.”

For Willie Young, Bears contract extension more than just a simple business transaction.

By John Mullin

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Sometimes football is just a business. Sometimes it’s that and a lot more.

For Willie Young, the business side was taken care of late Friday night when the Bears added two years to his contract, projecting him as a Bear through the 2018 season.

The emotional side was still being taken care of on Saturday, when a former seventh-round draft choice was able to step back and realize what effectively a third NFL contract means to someone who was passed over time after time in the draft and never expected to be much.

“I’m slightly speechless right now but excited,” said Young, someone rarely at a loss for words.

“It means a lot,” Young said after a long pause, reflecting on how seventh-round picks rarely even make teams. “All the teams that passed me over ... My big thing is who I am and what the name on my back stands for.”

Young was able to call his family and give them the news, “We’re going to be in Chicago a little while longer.”

Just as his entry into the league was shaky, his tenure in Chicago was seldom secure before this weekend.

When Young signed with the Bears in the 2014 offseason, leaving the Detroit Lions, he did so assuming that he was coming in as a starting defensive end. That changed when the Bears landed Jared Allen to position opposite Lamarr Houston. That season ended nevertheless with Young leading the Bears in sacks (10) before suffering a torn Achilles late in the season.

Allen was traded away last season, giving Young a job opportunity as he was coming back from Achilles surgery. Trouble was, the defense Young was returning to had changed completely, and Young was now a linebacker, now with coverage responsibilities and playing in situations.

Despite that second major change from what he’d expected, Young still managed 6.5 sacks, second on the Bears. That, combined with his work through the offseason to date, convinced the Bears that he was more of a fit than even he perhaps thought once upon a time.

The result was a two-year contract extension agreed to late Friday night and added to the final year (2016) Young had from his initial Bears contract which locked him up only through the end of this season.

“It feels good to reward somebody that’s worked as hard as he’s worked and overcome the injury last year, and the leader that he is out there mentoring our younger players,” said GM Ryan Pace. “I feel really good about it. It’s good for our locker room, it’s good for our team.”

Where he once struggled to fit in – and was not reluctant to say so – Young now is securely ensconced as one of the starting outside linebackers in the Bears’ 3-4 scheme. When the Bears go to a 4-3 in nickel situations, Young lines up as the defensive end he had been for his career.

“There’s not a big difference [between 3-4 linebacker and 4-3 end],” said coach John Fox. “I think that [‘don’t call me a linebacker!’] was a little tongue-in-cheek. Some guys up to a point have had their hand on the ground, it’s a little bit of an adjustment. But there’s way more carryover They are involved in coverage a little bit more but I think he’s adapted to it quite nicely actually.”

How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks?

Right now, all is quiet in Blackhawks nation. The front office is reviewing contracts, evaluating players, scrutinizing the organization from top to bottom and preparing for training camp. The Blackhawks will be seriously pursuing the Stanley Cup again this year. Their goal: to win the Stanley Cup every two years. Stay tuned, when Blackhawks information breaks, we will be right here to pass it on to you. In the meantime, relax. Training camp is just around the corner and before you know it, we'll be chasing the Cup again..... Let's go Hawks!!!

UBS: Mariners blitz Brian Matusz before Cubs make big comeback.

By Patrick Mooney

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

The Cubs are in people’s heads. The rebuild accelerated so quickly and so successfully that the perception became every move having a Matrix-like level of complexity behind it, turning roster churn into an art form.

The Cubs are creative, aggressive and still in first place. Maybe team president Theo Epstein will shock the baseball world again by 3 p.m. Chicago time at Monday’s non-waiver trade deadline. But starting Brian Matusz is more about survival and worst-case scenarios than some grand-plan equation.

Whether you believed this was an audition for another start or another team, Matusz bombed in front of a big crowd (40,952) and a national TV audience, the Seattle Mariners knocking him out after three innings during Sunday night’s wild 7-6, 12-inning comeback win at Wrigley Field. 

Facing a looming opt-out clause, mid-August doubleheader and shortage of pitching prospects at the upper levels of their farm system, the Cubs promoted Matusz from Triple-A Iowa, where he had made only two starts after a rocky beginning to this season: Disabled list (intercostal strain); 12.00 ERA out of Baltimore’s bullpen; traded to Atlanta; released by June 3 without ever pitching for the Braves.

The Orioles Way didn’t work for Jake Arrieta, and the Cubs saw change-of-scenery potential for Matusz, a finesse lefty with first-round pedigree (drafted fourth overall in 2008) and top-prospect status (No. 5 on Baseball America’s list heading into the 2010 season).

Forget about the Cubs giving Matusz a showcase in this mismatch against Felix Hernandez and trying to capitalize on a weak market for starting pitchers. The Mariners made it look like batting practice, with Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano and Dae-Ho Lee hitting two-run homers in the first, second and third innings.

“Location and breaking pitches weren’t there,” said Matusz, who gave up six runs on six hits while walking two and hitting a batter. “Just wasn’t able to get that feel. I felt like I was digging myself out of a hole most of the game.”

Matusz wanted the chance to reboot his career as a starter, but he had been a decent reliever throughout his career, putting up a 3.47 ERA in 171 innings. The truth is the Cubs are going to need extra arms like Matusz – if not a true sixth starter – to make sure they don’t fade down the stretch like last year’s 100-win St. Louis Cardinals team.  

And to make up for the nine scoreless innings the bullpen combined to throw after Matusz. The Cardinals are still lurking, 7.5 games back in the division, with the Miami Marlins – another dangerous wild-card contender featuring Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez and Ichiro Suzuki (2,998 career hits) – now coming to Wrigleyville.

If this is it at trade deadline, Cubs believe they have enough to win World Series.

By Patrick Mooney

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

With less than 24 hours to go until Monday’s non-waiver trade deadline, manager Joe Maddon expected the Cubs to be quiet this time.

“There’s nothing going on, as far as I know,” Maddon said before Sunday night’s 7-6, 12-inning, walk-off win over the Seattle Mariners. “Nothing. Nothing. Crickets.”

That wouldn’t have gone over well while sections of Wrigley Field booed spot starter Brian Matusz, and might not have initially registered with the casual fans tuning into ESPN to see baseball’s biggest story. Theo Epstein’s front office also won’t be content with the lineup simply because the Cubs came back from a 6-0 deficit and Seattle closer Steve Cishek blew a three-run, ninth-inning lead. 

But the Cubs have a roster that keeps coming at you in waves and a manager who enjoys controlled chaos. This one ended while John Lackey, Wednesday’s scheduled starter, warmed up in the bullpen after seven different relievers combined to throw nine scoreless innings. It took Jason Heyward leading off the 12th inning with a line-drive double, hustling to third base on a Willson Contreras flyball, sprinting home on Jon Lester’s two-strike bunt and sliding headfirst to score the game-winning run.

The Cubs might have already made their biggest move this summer, stomaching Aroldis Chapman’s off-the-field baggage and acquiring the 105-mph closer last week from the New York Yankees.

So is this team good enough – as is – to win a championship? Ask the $155 million pitcher with two World Series rings and now his first career walk-off RBI.

“Yeah, I think so,” Lester said. “Any addition that they can give us is a bonus, (but) there are always other things involved – money, prospects, all that other stuff. We realize that if you just make that (Chapman trade), we still feel that we’re good enough to get where we want to go. Now it’s a matter of us doing it and staying healthy and playing.”

“Expect the unexpected” is also how general manager Jed Hoyer framed this trade deadline. The mighty Yankees became sellers for the first time in a generation, sending an All-Star reliever (Andrew Miller) to the Cleveland Indians on Sunday in another 4-for-1 deal. 

While the small-market Indians – a cautious organization known for slow playing and using trade negotiations to gather better intelligence on their own farm system – also had an agreement in place with the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire Jonathan Lucroy. At least until the All-Star catcher used his no-trade protection to veto that deal.

The Cubs felt enough of a roster crunch over the weekend to send a valuable bench player (Tommy La Stella) and a trusted reliever during last year’s playoff run (Justin Grimm) down to Triple-A Iowa, where Trevor Cahill (knee) is stretching out on a rehab assignment and Albert Almora Jr. is itching for another promotion and the chance to become the 2017 Opening Day center fielder. Jorge Soler (hamstring) – another big-time playoff performer last year – is trying to get his timing down at Double-A Tennessee.

“If they do something, great,” Lester said. “That’s just kind of like that shot in the arm, that little boost for you. But if they don’t, I feel like we’re in a good place.”

In Maddon, the Cubs have a manager unafraid to push bullpen buttons by playing Travis Wood in left field, watching the crowd of 40,952 give him a standing ovation for an athletic catch at the brick wall in the seventh inning, and then summon the lefty reliever again for an eighth-inning matchup.

In Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs have two leading MVP candidates in the middle of their lineup and 50 percent of an All-Star infield. In Jake Arrieta, the Cubs have the National League’s reigning Cy Young Award winner for what’s been a durable, reliable rotation, at a time when the price for pitching is skyrocketing.

In Chapman, the Cubs added the game’s most intimidating closer to a team that almost had a 99-percent chance to make the playoffs and is now 58-1 when leading entering the ninth inning.

Crickets? To the clubhouse, to the rest of a $10 billion industry, to anyone skeptical of The Plan, the Cubs already sent their message loud and clear with the Chapman trade.

“He was more of like a ‘want,’” Lester said. “We had a great back end of our bullpen. ‘Ronnie’ (Hector Rondon) and (Pedro) Strop have been doing a good job for us. When a talent like (Chapman) becomes available, it’s more of like when you’re a kid. You go to the toy aisle, you’re like: ‘Yeah, I want that.’ I don’t need it, but I want it, because it would be kind of cool. 

“That’s the luxury (this organization has) now. We have that freedom to maybe trade away a few of these (prospects) and try to help us get a little bit better.”

White Sox lose 6-4 to Twins in Carlos Rodon's return.

By Dan Hayes

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

The White Sox certainly didn’t expect to find themselves here.

And based off the increasing frustration he has felt, Carlos Rodon didn’t envision this, either.

Making his first start in 26 days, Rodon struggled early on Sunday afternoon and the Minnesota Twins took advantage. Rodon allowed three quick runs and the White Sox never recovered in 6-4 loss in front of 29,670 at Target Field. The White Sox lost for the fourth time in five games and fell to 51-54 overall several hours after they completed a trade that sent reliever Zach Duke to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfield prospect Charlie Tilson. The deal could lead to more trades before Monday’s 3 p.m. CST non-waiver trade deadline for a team that once led its division by 6 1/2 games.

“I didn’t think we’d be in this position right now,” third baseman Todd Frazier said. “I thought we’d be right in the thick of things, but it kind of spiraled a little bit. We’re still not out, but we have to put our winning shoes on like now and it has to come in bunches. It really does. We have to find a way to win games.”

Rodon’s first inning made that goal more difficult to attain.

He hadn’t pitched since July 5. And even though he peppered the zone with strikes (68 of 99 pitches), too many early offerings caught the plate and Minnesota did damage. Brian Dozier, who also homered twice, opened the game with a double and scored on Robbie Grossman’s RBI single. Two batters later, the Twins held a 3-0 advantage when Kenny's Vargas blasted a two-run homer.

“They jumped on him pretty good there early,” manager Robin Ventura said. “He was probably knocking a little rust off and getting back into it. But they jumped on him and he battled back and velocity-wise I think he started getting a little stronger as the game went on. That’s probably par for the course of how long he has been away and still trying to feel for it somewhat.”

Jorge Polanco also doubled in a run off Rodon in the third and Dozier homered off him in the fifth to make it a 5-3 game. Dozier later homered off rookie Carson Fulmer, who pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief.

Rodon allowed five earned runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out seven. The loss dropped his record to 2-8.

“(Rust is) not an excuse,” Rodon said. “I’ve just got to be better. The team scores four runs and I have to keep these guys to less than four. That’s my job. I didn’t do it today.

“Everything felt good. They just put good swings on the ball and made it happen.

“I have high expectations. It just didn’t happen today.”

Melky Cabrera went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a walk in the losing effort. Rookie catcher Omar Narvaez drove in a run and singled twice. The Twins committed four errors, including one to allow a run in the eighth inning. But Michael Tonkin struck out Carlos Sanchez with the bases loaded to keep the Twins ahead by two.

The White Sox are just 28-44 since their 23-10 start in mid-May. Frazier didn’t want to think about the possibilities of what could happen over the next day after Duke was traded.

“I don’t know what it means to be honest with you,” Frazier said. “Good, bad or ugly I’m not thinking about anything like that. But to lose a guy like Zach is good because he’s a good left-handed specialist and he’s going to help the Cardinals a lot.”

White Sox face 'tough' reality after Zach Duke trade.

By Dan Hayes

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

The reality that they’ve been mired in mediocrity finally hit the White Sox clubhouse on Sunday morning when reliever Zach Duke was traded to St. Louis.

Whereas division rival Cleveland has considerably upgraded its roster with the addition of Andrew Miller, the White Sox have potentially begun to sell off key pieces in hopes of cashing in on a talented roster that has underperformed.

In exchange for Duke, the White Sox acquired outfielder Charlie Tilson, a speedy center fielder/contact hitter who is already rated the No. 5 prospect in the farm system. While the organization hopes Tilson can soon take over as its everyday center fielder, players and coaches are saddled with the realization that a season full of promise only two months ago has taken yet another harsh turn. Once 23-10 and 6 1/2 games up in the American League Central, the White Sox headed into Sunday six back of Boston for the second wild-card spot.

“The way we started and where we’re at right now, you are disappointed,” manager Robin Ventura said. “It goes back to when you see a guy like Zach going out of here. It makes you think about a lot more things.”

The White Sox have sent mixed signals over the past week and a half about which direction they intended to head.

On July 21, general manager Rick Hahn said the club had ruled out the addition of short-term rental players and was open minded about listening to the offers of other clubs on its big-ticket items like Chris Sale and Jose Quintana after yet another disappointing season.

Executive vice president Kenny Williams said Tuesday the team was day to day in determining how it wanted to proceed. Then on Wednesday, Ventura said he wasn’t sure if the White Sox planned to do anything significant even though rumors continued to fly about the availability of Sale and Quintana.

On Saturday, outfielder Adam Eaton said players only have themselves to blame if the front office began to trade significant pieces.

With one move complete, it's only natural for players to wonder if the floodgate has been opened, Ventura said.

“It will affect guys,” Ventura said. “That’s normal when somebody of Zach’s stature goes out of here, it’s going to be a tough day for guys.

“Any time you get around the trade deadline and something like this happens, it affects guys differently. But they’re professional, they’ll go out there and continue to play. But definitely a tough day.”

Duke said he learned about the deal at 9 a.m. when Hahn called. Even though it’s the first time he has been traded before the deadline, Duke wasn’t overly surprised given he’s a left-handed reliever. He’s excited to be headed to St. Louis to help the Cardinals push for yet another postseason appearance. But Duke also said he’s disappointed to leave behind a tight-knit group in the bullpen.

“The way we started out, we were all excited and all pumped up,” Duke said. “It’s unfortunate that the season has progressed the way it has. We all wanted to win more and felt like we were capable of winning more. So it’s unfortunate we are at this point. Really, this is a great group of guys in that clubhouse and we all really wanted to win and put in the effort. It just unfortunately hasn’t worked as well as we wanted to at this point.”

Just how the bullpen will operate without Duke -- who had a 2.63 ERA in a big league-high 53 games -- remains to be seen. Signed to be the left-handed specialist they missed for several seasons, Duke appeared in 124 games for the White Sox the past two seasons. He went 5-6 with two saves and a 3.11 ERA. But Duke was also admired by other relievers for his experience. A candid veteran who said he became a reliever only after he was fired as a starting pitcher, Duke was a critical member of the group.

“He’s been a vital part of the bullpen, not just in the games but being around all the time,” closer David Robertson said. “There’s going to be a hole there for a little bit, but we’ll figure it out and fill that hole. We’ll keep moving forward and trying to win ballgames.”

Ventura said it won’t be so easy for players to immediately turn the page. The loss of Duke may only account for 60 innings pitched out of 162 games. But the move itself potentially signals more difficult moves ahead.

“It’s a tough one any time you give up a good guy like him, a big presence inside our clubhouse and very effective pitcher,” Ventura said. “To see a guy like that go out the door, it’s tough on everyone. Don’t know necessarily what it all means beyond that, but we lost a good one today.”

Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... Third time's a charm as Dwyane Wade embraces Bulls and Jimmy Butler as leader.

By Vincent Goodwill

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Joking in presentation but serious in intent, Dwyane Wade sat patiently with Bulls GM Gar Forman, refusing to start his introductory news conference until his wife, Gabrielle Union, arrived for the proceedings.

After 13 years of waiting, and then a couple weeks after formally agreeing to join the Chicago Bulls, a few extra moments didn’t feel like an eternity.

For some, Wade was worth the wait.

“Sounds good, doesn’t it?” Forman joked to Wade about announcing him as a Chicago Bull, before going through Wade’s litany of accomplishments, all of which were done in a Miami Heat uniform.

“You make me feel good about myself,” Wade said.

With Jimmy Butler off to the side, Wade made sure to announce that despite his pedigree, his rings, his status as a Hall-of-Fame player and respected voice through the NBA that this team isn’t his; He first mentioned owner Jerry Reinsdorf, then Butler, stopping any controversy before it could develop.

“We’re not gonna go through this all year. It’s Jimmy Butler’s team,” Wade said. “He’s a young Bull who can play 40 minutes. I ain’t trying to do all that.”

It makes Forman’s opening statement about Wade that much more poignant, aside from the 20 points and on-floor savvy Wade will likely provide to a young Bulls team and inexperienced coach.

“As important and maybe more so, the presence and intangibles Dwyane will bring to this organization and this team,” Forman said. “From the locker room to the floor to how he interacts with his teammates…it’ll serve our team well.”

Wade has gone through the city in recent days after his trip from China, readjusting himself to Chicago.

“This is one of those moments for me, that is a dream come true,” Wade said. “It took a long time to get here. But I’m here. The excitement the city has shown, I can’t tell what you’ve meant to me.”

It was a long and winding road as Wade said “let’s take a trip down memory lane”, recalling the belief he thought he would be drafted by the Bulls in 2003 when they held the seventh pick.

The Miami Heat had other plans.

Then when Wade hit unrestricted free agency in 2010, he had another two meetings with the Bulls and seriously considered them.

“Prime of my career. My first meeting was back home,” Wade said. “I met with a few teams, met with the Bulls twice.”

“It was a place I was really pulled toward. I had the opportunity to play with two good players, LeBron (James) and Chris (Bosh).”

The Bulls weren’t able to lure Bosh and James to Chicago, so the thought of being a Bull went as far as a deleted picture on his camera that showed him in a Bulls uniform—before he realized deleted pictures could be obtained through a cloud.

The third time was the charm, as the Bulls presented themselves as a reasonable option when talks broke down between Wade and the Heat early in free agency, creating arguably the biggest personnel surprise of the offseason—and a curious marriage of a player who still has enough game to be effective with a team struggling to claim a new identity on the fly as opposed to hitting the reset button.

“I still have a little bit left,” Wade said. “I wanted to come here and be a part of building this organization back up and where it should be.”

Why Jimmy Butler wanted Dwyane Wade to sign with Bulls.

By Vincent Goodwill

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

When Dwyane Wade’s re-signing with the Miami Heat went from a forgone conclusion to a question mark, the Chicago Bulls and Jimmy Butler got involved in a whirlwind courtship that resulted in Friday's all-smiles press conference.

The Bulls came with the tangibles, the respect in the form of $47 million. Butler came with the intangibles—and respect as the two had critical conversations that lead to Wade finally making the leap to trek back home to Chicago after 13 years on the beach.

It was why Wade was so comfortable at his own introductory news conference to cede the spotlight to Butler Friday afternoon, the savvy veteran understanding Butler was in attendance and giving Butler the affirmation he quietly craved in front of a national TV audience.

“Jimmy Butler, everybody! Jimmy, you gonna come out with your muscles out and everything, though? You got oil on...,” Wade said jokingly, motioning to Butler as Butler stood amongst many to the side, having just finished an on-court workout with his trainer.

Wade was reciprocating what Butler had initiated during free agency during those conversations, as the only question there is to be answered is how the two will mesh on the floor as opposed to the assumption of clashing personalities.

“Just what we can do if we were to play basketball together. I said look man, I’m okay with whatever role you want me to play,” said Butler to CSNChicago.com in an exclusive interview after Team USA beat Venezuela 80-45 Friday at the United Center, with Wade sitting next to Team USA’s bench. “But we can win games if you’re here with us. So that’s basically how it went.

“I was telling him, of all the things that have been said, I’m here to win. I don’t care what role I’m supposed to play, whose team it is, you come here, we’ll win games.”

Free agent acquisitions Wade and Rajon Rondo have openly said Butler is the first name on the basketball masthead, but Butler has termed them “the three Alphas”. Regardless of what Butler has said before publicly about not being concerned with his standing in the locker room of the Chicago Bulls, he’s feeling more and more comfortable with the position of leadership—perhaps emboldened by the validation of the two.

“Outside of all of that, all anybody wants is to be wanted,” Butler said. “He wants me to step up and lead. He wants this to be my team. Just like I wanted him for my team. That mutual respect, us being honest with each other like that, that’s where it starts. That’s the foundation.”

Establishing a pecking order is easier when the players who see this version of Jimmy Butler only know this version of Butler. The player who has evolved into an All-Star and Olympian, not necessarily the 30th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Both attributes are true, but there’s something to be said about initial impressions and how they stick.

“Moving forward, I’m gonna do my best, whatever it takes to help us win games,” Butler said. “I don’t think people understand how serious I am when I say I want to (freaking) win a championship. I’m not playing.”

Rondo and Wade have the championship receipts, so it’s unlikely they’ll allow Butler to go unchecked if his methods aren’t parallel with his words. Given the appointed title Butler gave the three, it doesn’t sound like they would let him slide regardless.

“That’s what I wanted him here, that’s why I wanted Rondo here,” Butler said. “Because they’ve done it, they know what it takes. I want them to show me. If I’m not listening, make me listen.”

When told he could be bullheaded and stubborn, Butler agreed.

“I agree, I can (be). Fine. It only makes me better,” Butler said. “If you’re on my tail all the time it only makes me better. I want that. I like that. If I’m (messing) around, you tell me, you let me know, you’re better than that. You’re right. I’m gonna respond in a positive manner and I’m gonna do what I’m supposed to be doing.”

Butler used a lot of “my team” and “my guys” but one can surmise it’s less about ownership and possessiveness compared to investment—the sweat equity that earns his respect and admiration more than any single attribute.

“I respect a lot of things but I think your confidence comes from your work,” Butler said. “I’m a firm believer in that. I’m successful because of that. I just put in the time. I know these guys put in the time.”

“I respect that s**t. I’m going to war with you everyday when I know in my heart that your best interest is to help us win. I’m all about that.”

Whether Butler felt some of his old teammates were moving all tides in the same direction, he wouldn’t say—and the former Bulls probably wouldn’t on elaborate on their feelings, either.

“I think man, it was a lot of mixes of everything,” he said. “We weren’t winning games we wanted to win. We were in and out the lineup, so many guys.

“I don’t wanna use any excuses but that had something to do with it. We have a whole new team, we gotta move forward. I’m happy for those new guys, I want them to be successful on their new team.”

But he admits last season was one to learn from, and falls back on the work that he hopes will lead to others following willingly.

“You grow. You learn. You grow. I’m six years into this thing,” Butler said. “I’ve made a name for myself. I’ve done a lot with basketball since I started. I think I’m only gonna start to get better. I pray I only continue to get better because I do work. I really do work.”

Golf: I got a club for that..... Jimmy Walker wins PGA Championship with dramatic finish at 18.

By Jay Busbee

(Photo/Golf Channel)

At a time when golf’s pool of talent is broader than it’s ever been, it’s the guys in the sportcoats who are threatening to scuttle the game in the post-Tiger Woods era. The 98th PGA Championship ended up working out just fine for winner Jimmy Walker, but Mother Nature ended up bailing the PGA of America out of what could have been a very ugly weekend indeed.

The tournament came down to a two-man race on the back nine at Baltusrol: Walker vs. defending champ Jason Day. Two weeks ago, at the British Open, golf saw one of the most epic head-to-head battles when Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson matched red numbers with red numbers.

This wasn’t that … until it was.

Walker, playing in the group behind Day, watched as the world No. 1 scrambled for par after par, leaving Walker to take a more conservative approach.

As Day walked to the 18th, he trailed Walker by two. It appeared the tournament was over, until Day plugged his second shot on the par-5 18th to within 12 feet. Eagle was in play, and so was the tournament … for about a minute.

Moments later, Walker drained a birdie at 17, moving him to 14-under, three strokes clear. Even if Day eagled, he’d only need par on 18 to grab his first major championship win.

Day did eagle to move within one, putting the pressure squarely on Walker, who flew his second shot on 18 into the greenside rough. Suddenly, the Wanamaker Trophy was still in play.

Still, he had three strokes to make par. He pitched out conservatively to 33 feet, lagged his putt to three feet, then stood over the knee-knocker and dropped it in.

“[The eagle] really put it in me to make a par, and sometimes pars are hard, and I got it,” Walker said. “There was a lot of emotion going on out there, I’m not going to lie.”

Walker’s victory came at the end of a marathon 12-hour day that featured the final five groups playing two full rounds Sunday. Clouds rolled in on Saturday afternoon, drenching the course with up to 10 inches of rainfall that washed out Saturday’s play before the leaders had even teed off.

Granted, the PGA has an enormous field, 156 players, and well over half of them managed to make the cut. Even so, the PGA set itself up for second-guessing by electing not to start Saturday’s round early, in trios instead of pairs, or on split tees. Everyone knew the weather was coming; the only question was how much would be lost.

Once Sunday morning dawned and the expected monsoon held off, the PGA elected to permit the controversial – but in this case wise – practice of “preferred lies,” meaning that players could clean the wet goop and garbage off their golf balls on virtually every shot.

But then things began to break the PGA’s way. First, the Sunday rain, while steady throughout most of the day, never increased in intensity, and lightning never materialized, meaning the Monday finish that everyone expected never materialized. As the round wore on, it became clear that the lift, clean & place rules were only going to speed up play, not lead to some kind of record-setting performance. A 62 carded with that kind of benefit would have carried an asterisk large enough to be seen from space.

Par ruled the day until 5:25 ET. Right when the leaders made the turn, the tournament finally caught a spark. In the lead was Walker, the 37-year-old journeyman who’d never won a major but held at least a share of the top spot every single round of this one. Right behind him, Henrik Stenson, just two weeks removed from one of the most exceptional major duels in golf history at the British Open. Also in the mix: Jason Day, the defending champion who’d allegedly come into this tournament sick and unprepared but had somehow managed to courageously post three straight sub-70 rounds.

Walker, who looks a bit like a face-swap of Justin Timberlake and Blake Shelton, had gone as bland as toast his front nine, parring every single hole. But then he chipped in from the bunker to start the back nine, and that kicked off the flurry. Moments later, Day rolled in a 22-foot birdie on the 11th to close to within one. Stenson, meanwhile, had ridden a relentlessly efficient one-under round – only a single birdie at the 6th – to remain close.

But the smell of destiny began cutting through the stench of wet hay that surrounded the course. Walker followed his birdie on 10 with a 30-foot birdie putt on 11, and suddenly he was two strokes clear of Day and three of Stenson.

Curiously, thanks to the rain none of the three leaders played with the other; the tight turnaround meant that the PGA couldn’t re-pair the groups to let the leaders compete head-to-head. That meant Walker, Day, and Stenson played within sight of, but not with, each other.

The lead trio parred their way through the next few holes, but Stenson was the first to blink, running into trouble on the 15th. He double-bogeyed to drop five strokes back, effectively ending his hopes of winning two straight majors. Day, meanwhile, couldn’t close the gap, only matching Walker’s run of pars. Day’s most clutch putt of the back nine, an 11-footer on No. 15, was only good enough for a par to keep him on the pace.

The eagle on 18 provided the tournament with a bit of drama, but ultimately Walker made it a moot point. He’d put himself in position where par on 18 would be good enough, and par he got.

That brings to a close the final major of 2016; while there’s golf in the Olympics and the Tour Championship and the Race to Dubai and the Ryder Cup still ahead this year, the real prizes golfers care most about are done for the year. It’ll be a long eight months until Augusta.

A. Jutanugarn smiles all the way to first major title.

By Randall Mell

(Photo/Golf Channel)

Talk about a winning smile.

Ariya Jutanugarn’s smile embodies the terrific story of how this broken player put herself back together again.

Though she looked like she was going to run away early with the Ricoh Women’s British Open Sunday, it was fitting she had to overcome another dose of adversity on another nerve-wracking back nine, that she had to overcome a final test of her resolve.

It was fitting she smiled through every daunting challenge this crazy day presented.

Jutanugarn started smiling as part of a new pre-shot routine after she collapsed in April at the ANA Inspiration, the season opening major. The smile was a “trigger” Vision 54s Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott gave Jutanugarn to remind her to slow down, calm down and focus when the pressure mounted in big events.

So when all hell started breaking loose on the back nine Sunday, Jutanugarn kept smiling.

“When I get really excited or nervous, I know what I have to do,” Jutanugarn said.

Jutanugarn shot an even-par 72 to become the first man or woman from Thailand to win a major championship. She finished at 16-under 272, three shots better than Mirim Lee (73) and Mo Martin (70).

“I really wanted to win a major, and I did, so I'm very proud of myself,” Jutanugarn said.

Jutanugarn beat more than the 143 other players in the field this week at Woburn Golf Club. She beat all the demon memories lined up against her.

A year ago, Jutanugarn left the Women’s British Open miserable, frustrated missing the cut. It was her 10th consecutive missed cut. Once a teenage phenom who seemed destined for stardom, she was lost. And when she finally thought she had fought her way back this spring, she blew a two-shot lead over the final three holes at the ANA Inspiration, creating more doubts.

“Ariya shows us all you can go through tough times in life, but you can come back,” said Gary Gilchrist, her swing coach. “She bounced back with her determination, with her self-belief.”

With Nilsson, Marriott and Gilchrist helping, Jutanugarn rebuilt her swing and her confidence. She needed all her gifts Sunday after building a six-shot lead on the front nine and then nearly losing it on the back nine.

With a double bogey at the 13th hole, Jutanugarn watched Mirim Lee move within a shot of her, but Jutanugarn didn’t crack with the pressure mounting.

“I was still nervous, but I’m pretty sure I learned a lot from [ANA],” Jutanugarn said. “Because after I felt nervous, I knew what to do.”

Jutanugarn’s smile reminded her to avoid the pitfalls that cost her at the ANA, to slow down and stay in the moment.

“She was so different than at the ANA,” Nilsson said. “She had the tools to manage herself.”

Jutanugarn rebounded from her double bogey with one solid shot after another and with a clutch 25-foot birdie putt at the 17th to put her back up by two shots with one hole to play.

“Today, she knew she would be more nervous,” Marriott said. “She took more breaths with long exhales and slowed down a little bit.”

Moriya Jutanugarn, Ariya’s older sister and fellow tour pro, saw how down Ariya was after missing her 10th consecutive cut a year ago at the Women’s British Open.

“Her mind wasn’t going right,” Moriya said. “She was everywhere. She had too many worries. She was really stressed, but this year’s completely different. She said this year she was just going to play her game and show everyone her style of golf.”

Jutanugarn’s practiced pre-shot smile embodied the winning plan Ariya put together with her team’s help.

Peter Godfrey, Jutanugarn’s caddie, saw how it worked after the double bogey.

“She never changed her attitude all through the day, whether she made birdie or double bogey,” Godfrey said.

The victory is Jutanugarn’s fourth this season.

Early last year, she was No. 124 in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings. She’s projected to move three spots to No. 3 with this win, behind No. 1 Lydia Ko and No. 2 Brooke Henderson. The top three players in the world are now 19, 18 and 20 years old, respectively.

Ariya’s mother, Narumon, was beaming for all of Thailand afterward.

“I’m proud for Thailand,” she said with Moriya translating. “I hope this inspires more young girls in Thailand to take up golf.”

Gilchrist believes Jutanugarn is only beginning to show what she’s capable of achieving.

“Ariya’s confidence is going to go to another level with this victory,” Gilchrist said. “This girl was cruising in fourth gear today. She’s got a fifth gear and a sixth gear.”

Jutanugarn also has a winning smile that won’t quit.

NASCAR: Rain forces postponement of Pennsylvania 400 to Monday.

By Jerry Bonkowski

(Photo/nbcsports.com)

Rain forced NASCAR to postpone Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400 Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway.

The race at the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle” has been rescheduled for 11 a.m. ET Monday.

Martin Truex Jr. will start from the pole when the race begins, with Carl Edwards alongside on the front row.

NBCSN will go live from the track at 10:30 a.m. with Countdown to Green. The green flag is expected to fall just after 11 a.m. ET.

Monday’s Sprint Cup race at Pocono: start time, weather, TV/radio info and lineup.

By Dustin Long

(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

The Sprint Cup Series will try it again at Pocono Raceway after Sunday’s race was postponed by rain.

Here’s all the info you need for Monday’s rescheduled Pennsylvania 400.

(All times Eastern)

START: The command for drivers to start their engines will be at 10:57 a.m. The green flag is scheduled for 11:07 a.m.

DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 160 laps (400 miles) around the 2.5-mile speedway.

PRERACE SCHEDULE: The Sprint Cup garage opens at 9 a.m.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: It will be performed at 10:51 a.m.

TV/RADIO: NBCSN will broadcast the race with its coverage beginning at 10:30 a.m. with Countdown to Green. Race coverage on NBCSN begins at 11 a.m. Motor Racing Network’s radio broadcast begins at 10:45 a.m. and can also be heard at mrn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have MRN’s broadcast.

FORECAST: The wunderground.com site predicts a temperature of 68 degrees at race time with a 64 percent chance of rain.

COMPETITION CAUTION: Lap 15

LAST TIME: Kurt Busch won last month, leading the final 32 laps. Chase Elliott led a race-high 51 laps, finishing fourth. In this race last year, Matt Kenseth took the lead on the last lap when Kyle Busch ran out of fuel while leading and won. Busch finished 21st.

TO THE REAR OF THE FIELD: Aric Almirola goes to the rear for a rear differential change.

STARTING LINEUP:



Aric Almirola will have to wait a day to make his 200th career Sprint Cup start.

By Dustin Long

(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Aric Almirola’s 200th career NASCAR Sprint Cup start will have to wait a day after rain postponed Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway.

But that’s fine for the 32-year-old driver for Richard Petty Motorsports, who reflects upon his early goals in racing.

“When I dreamed about driving a race car I dreamed about racing in NASCAR, but I never really understood what that looked like and I never really thought about long-term and things like that,’’ Almirola said.

“You just dream about running a race and you dream about winning a race and things like that, but to actually have had the opportunities that I’ve had along the way that have got me to where I’m at today, when you get to this point and you sort of take the time to reflect back on what all has happened to get to where you’re at today, to make my 200th start this weekend, for me, it honestly just makes me realize how blessed I am.”

Almirola is among those who have won at least one race in each the Sprint Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series.

He has one Cup victory (Daytona in July 2014), two Camping World Truck Series wins and officially two Xfinity victories — although he recognizes only his win at Daytona last month since he completed that race unlike the 2007 Milwaukee win he was replaced by Denny Hamlin but still credited with the win because he started the race.

“As a kid racing out of Tampa, Florida that just had high hopes and a lot of dreams, I never thought I would make it to this point, so I’m just really blessed and fortunate to be where I’m at today and grateful,’’ Almirola said.

Almirola’s 200th start, though, will come from the back. Almirola will relinquish his 27th starting spot and take the green flag at the back of the field because of a rear differential change before the race. The race has been rescheduled for 11 a.m. ET on NBCSN (Countdown to Green airs at 10:30 a.m. ET).

It has been a struggle this season for Almirola and his Richard Petty Motorsports team. He is 25th in the points and has yet to score his first top-10 of the season. His best finish this season is 12th in the Daytona 500.

“We still have an alliance with Roush (Fenway Racing), but it’s a little less this year than it’s been in year’s past,’’ Almirola said. “We’ve gotten a little more autonomous with building our own cars and hanging our own bodies and brought on some of our own engineering staff and things like that.

“To be honest with you, we knew that going into it was going to be a work in progress. We weren’t just going to be able to build from ground zero and come out of the box and be super-successful and ultra-competitive, but we did have a lot higher hopes for success than what we’ve seen this year.

“I realize that it is challenging to go out and start a whole program from scratch as far as building your own chassis and bringing on engineers to help develop that, especially now with the limited testing that we get to do. You end up testing at the race track on race weekends, which makes it even more difficult.’’

SOCCER: Another late goal forces Fire to settle for draw against Red Bulls.

By Dan Santaromita

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

The New York Red Bulls didn’t put a shot on target for more than 87 minutes, but still managed to score two goals and leave Toyota Park with a draw on Sunday.

The Chicago Fire gave the Red Bulls an own goal in the first half and Bradley Wright-Phillips scored in the 90th minute to prevent the hosts from coming away with a win. David Accam and Matt Polster scored for the Fire in the 2-2 draw.

Polster’s own goal in the 16th minute gave the Red Bulls (9-9-5, 32 points) the lead before either team had registered a shot. Mike Grella crossed in a ball that seemed like it would be easy to deal with for goalkeeper Sean Johnson, but Polster slid to block the cross and knocked it into the goal.

“(Johnson) and I talked at halftime," Polster said. "It looked like Sean was going to have it, but then it kind of hung up there. So last second I went for it and just a little miscommunication. I didn’t hear anything, but I should have just cleared it myself. I think sometimes you have to take it into your own hands and just do it. I second-guessed myself and that’s on me.”

"Shot from Grella, I don’t think it was a cross," Johnson said. "I’m waiting on it skip through and collect. Polster comes, he sees the ball dying and tries to make a play on it and clears it out, but as a goalkeeper that’s the type of position when a shot is coming in you expect the ball is going to come through. I didn’t know Polster was going to come through and make a play on it so it’s OK. These things happen and at the end of the day you learn from plays like that with players in front of you."

The Fire (4-10-6, 18 points) tied things up in the 35th minute through David Accam. Accam got control of a loose ball in the New York half and dribbled to the edge of the box, where he unleashed a low shot which tucked just inside the post.

That was Accam’s fifth goal of the season, giving him sole possession of the team lead in goals scored. Recently traded forward Kennedy Igboananike was tied with Accam at four goals entering the match.

Polster was able to make up for the own goal in first-half added time. John Goossens curled in a cross from the right that found Polster open at the back post. Polster scored with a diving header, his first professional goal, to give the Fire the lead.

The two goals marked just the third time this season the Fire have scored more than a goal in an MLS game.

The Fire had done well to limit the touches of Wright-Phillips, but he converted his only big chance of the match by volleying in a Connor Lade cross. The Red Bulls had just two shots on target in the match.

"We dropped back too much and we allowed them to play," Accam said. "That was difficult for us because we were chasing the ball in the second half and we didn’t have enough energy to go forward. I think we should have played like we played in the first half. Keep pressuring them and trying to keep the ball in their half, but we didn’t do that.”

There were injuries on both sides. Key New York midfielder Dax McCarty and Fire defender Joao Meira both exited late in the first half. Meira had a hamstring strain.

The Fire’s next game is Saturday at Real Salt Lake.

MLS could expand in the Midwest and how that affects the Fire.

By Dan Santaromita

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

There aren’t many notable traditions in Major League Soccer yet.

So many things are frequently changing in the league, which is currently in its 20th season, that not much can be counted on year after year.

However, one of the smaller things that is newsworthy each season is commissioner Don Garber’s on-air halftime interview during the MLS All-Star Game. For hardcore fans of the league it’s must-see TV and in some years might even be more interesting than the game itself.

Expansion, one of the seemingly evergreen hot topics in the league, always seems to come up and Garber usually has some good details to offer. During halftime of yesterday’s All-Star Game in San Jose, Garber teased more than he informed when asked about expansion, but there was still some useful information.

Atlanta is all set and ready to go for 2017 and Garber said they have 31,000 season-ticket deposits. Garber said a second team, which is all but assured to be Minnesota, will also join in 2017 with a formal announcement in “a couple weeks.” Los Angeles FC and David Beckham’s Miami team, which appears to be in limbo at the moment, are next in line.

After that, it’s anyone’s guess beyond the fact that Garber has previously said the league is working to add an additional four teams to reach 28. At this point even Garber doesn’t know which cities will get those teams, but he said there’s a lot of interest.

“I can’t tell you when that’s going to be,” Garber said during the interview on ESPN. “We’re going to be careful to ensure we manage the technical aspects of expansion, but a lot of interest. Probably a dozen cities for those last four spots.”

A dozen cities seems high and perhaps Garber is posturing to increase the competition for those expansion openings, but there are plenty of cities that on the surface would appear to be good for MLS.

From a local perspective, or more appropriately, a regional perspective, it makes one wonder how many of those cities are in the Midwest and could become geographical rivals for the Chicago Fire.

The region as a whole doesn’t have many teams in MLS. Chicago is joined by Kansas City and Columbus, with Minneapolis-St. Paul soon to join. The problem is Kansas City and Minneapolis, and to some extent Columbus, are the geographical edges of the region. There are plenty of Midwestern cities that are both closer and have more ties with Chicago in other sports that don’t have MLS teams.

Looking at the candidates

St. Louis: This is an obvious pick in the rivalry category for the Fire and jumped up the MLS list once the Rams left. The city has rich soccer history, a fairly successful minor league team (the Fire's United Soccer League affiliate, Saint Louis FC, is averaging nearly 5,000 fans per game to put it towards the top of the league attendance chart) and just two other sports teams to compete for mindshare and media attention.

Detroit: There hadn’t been much talk about Detroit joining MLS until Tom Gores (Pistons owner) and Dan Gilbert (Cleveland Cavaliers owner) announced they are working on getting a team into Detroit. Detroit City FC is a semi-pro that team that has built a dedicated following. There’s preexisting Chicago-Detroit rivalries in every other sport with Bulls-Pistons and Blackhawks-Red Wings the standouts.

Cincinnati: A year ago Cincinnati would have been an afterthought, but since FC Cincinnati has joined the USL things have changed. The expansion club is averaging a league-best 16,750 fans per game and recently drew just over 35,000 for a friendly against Premier League club Crystal Palace. There’s nothing minor league about those numbers.

Indianapolis: Indy Eleven, which the Fire beat in penalty kicks in this year’s U.S. Open Cup, led the North American Soccer League in attendance in 2014 and 2015 and sit only behind Minnesota this season. The fan interest and the numbers are there for a minor league team, but the question is if the investment is also there to move into MLS.

How this affects the Fire

MLS continues to market rivalries via sponsored “rivalry weeks” and the same few matchups seem to headline. Seattle-Portland, the new New York derby, LA-San Jose and to a lesser extent Dallas-Houston. The Fire don’t have anything that approaches these games.

The Columbus Crew are probably the Fire’s biggest rival and that’s not reaching the top tier of big matchups in the league. St. Louis, Detroit or Indianapolis could provide a marquee game on the schedule.

“The growth of the league is phenomenal,” Fire general manager Nelson Rodriguez said back in May when asked about Midwest expansion. “We will be excited to go into those markets because we know we’ll be met with fans who will be inclined to hate Chicago because Chicago is a great sports town. Because we carry with us the tradition of six trophies in our cabinet and we also carry with us the reputation of Chicago sports in general. I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s a wonderful thing.”

From the players’ perspective, they won’t complain about their being more jobs in the league, but they also look forward to the bigger spectacles.

“Any rivalry game brings a lot of fan interest, a lot of high-intensity games,” said Fire midfielder Michael Stephens, who grew up in the Chicago area. “You see New York City-New York Red Bull this weekend was a good one so they’re always good.

“There’s been some talk about St. Louis as well so that could be a little rivalry. We got the Cardinals and Cubs going on already so that could be nice. Any more teams is good for the players.”

Like Stephens, Eric Gehrig is a Chicago native and a big fan of Chicago sports. Gehrig also believes it would be good for both the Fire and the league to see more teams in the region.

“You think about the markets, maybe St. Louis,” Gehrig said. “A lot of ties there with Chicago and Detroit obviously. Michigan has got a healthy crop of young talent. I think as the years pass soccer is going to keep getting bigger and bigger and any time you can add more teams and more rivalries to the Midwest it will be good.”

NCAAFB: Kelly expects to play two quarterbacks in 2016.

By Keith Arnold

(Photo/AP)

With Notre Dame opening up camp next week, Brian Kelly seems to be opening up to the idea of playing two quarterbacks.

As DeShone Kizer and Malik Zaire get set to begin their battle, Notre Dame’s head coach talked about that high-profile job with Jim Rome, giving us an interesting look at his mindset on the eve of the season, while also adding a new tweak to the old adage of having two quarterbacks.
Namely, you need two.

“I think you need two,” Kelly told Rome. “You’re going to need two quarterbacks in college football. You need two and we’ve got two very good ones. My expectation is that we need both of them to play.”

That attitude makes sense when you look back at Kelly’s time in South Bend. From the moment Dayne Crist’s bell was rung against Michigan in Kelly’s first season, Notre Dame’s offense has seemingly been pushed into Plan B each and every season—giving way to Nate Montana, Tommy Rees, Andrew Hendrix and eventually Malik Zaire and DeShone Kizer.

The Irish certainly wouldn’t have won 10 games in 2015 if Kizer wasn’t capable of thriving when he replaced Zaire against Virginia. And Kelly knows that experience has turned the tables on the depth chart as they enter 2016.

“Both of them are capable of winning, we know that. Malik showed that in the way he played against Texas and he’s been in the program for four years,” Kelly said. “But Kizer obviously has got more experience because of the number of games that he played and big games last year.”

While the plan to continue the competition into fall camp hasn’t changed, Kelly seems to have softened on his stance that only one quarterback will be happy. And while you certainly can’t take this as a declaration that a platoon is coming, Kelly acknowledged the need to have both guys ready and involved. And the best way to do that is by getting them on the field.

“It would be great that whoever took the job over played so well that he’s going to be a Heisman contender,” Kelly said. “If that doesn’t happen, I can see both of them eventually playing.”

The balancing act is nothing new for Kelly. He’s managed it in South Bend, as well as in Cincinnati and his two previous stops. While he’s noted the challenges Ohio State had last season trying to make their offense work while utilizing both Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett, it’s worth pointing out that the Irish coaching staff also spent significant time this offseason huddled with the Buckeyes coaching staff, likely a helpful introduction to the quarterback challenges that even Urban Meyer struggled with.

Kelly knows it won’t be easy finding snaps for both quarterbacks. But he also knows it’s likely better to find your balance when you’re the one dictating terms—not a season-ending injury.

“I think it’s so important to have two quarterbacks, be engaged, keep them involved and as much as they can try to get them in the game if you can,” Kelly said. “It’s a lot more difficult if you can do that. But that's the way it is in college football, with the quarterback being so actively involved in the running game.”

Zaire made it only 19 carries last year when his season ended with a broken ankle. Quarterback runs have ended seasons for Dayne Crist and forced Everett Golson to miss multiple games. But Notre Dame’s offense requires a quarterback who can run the football. And Kelly would rather take his chances playing to that identity than recalibrating how they attack opponents.

“You can’t change your identity week to week, you’ve got to be who you are,” Kelly said. “These two quarterbacks are proven winners. The team knows that.

“I’m not going to have a quarterback controversy. I think we can move forward knowing that both of them are going to play in some fashion.”

NCAAFB UPDATE: Playoff semifinals to move off New Year's Eve in 4 future years.

By Nick Bromberg

The College Football Playoff’s move to get its semifinal games off New Year’s Eve is official. Though it’s not as widespread of a shift as you may have been expecting.

The playoff announced Thursday that the semifinal games would have new dates in 2018, 2019, 2024 and 2025. The other six semifinal dates will stay either on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day depending on the way the calendar falls. Here’s a recap of the dates for the next 10 years. The semifinals for the 2016 season are unaffected with this change.

2016 season: Saturday, Dec. 31
2017 season: Monday, Jan. 1, 2018
2018 season: Saturday, Dec. 29
2019 season: Saturday Dec. 28
2020 season: Friday, Jan. 1, 2021
2021 season: Friday Dec. 31
2022 season: Saturday Dec. 31
2023 season: Monday, Jan. 1, 2024
2024 season: Saturday, Dec. 28
2025 season: Saturday, Dec. 27

The CFP was originally scheduled for New Year’s Eve in years where the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl weren’t the semifinal sites because of the “tradition” of having each of those bowls on Jan. 1. The 2015 semifinals, played on Dec. 31, saw television ratings drop nearly 40 percent from semifinals on Jan. 1, 2015, after the 2014 season.

The Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl are the semifinal sites at the conclusion of the 2017 season, the 2020 season and the 2023 season. The CFP made sure to point out in its release that New Year’s Eve at the end of 2022 will be officially recognized as a holiday because it’s on a Friday.

“We had healthy discussions with a lot of people who love college football and we concluded that making these changes would be the right thing to do for our fans.” CFP spokesperson Bill Hancock said in a statement.

“We tried to do something special with New Year’s Eve, even when it fell on a weekday. But after studying this to see if it worked, we think we can do better.  These adjustments will allow more people to experience the games they enjoy so much.  For these four years, our previous call is reversed.”

The CFP semifinals are the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl for the 2016 season.

NCAABKB: Big Ten offseason storylines: Experienced Wisconsin has Final Four potential.

By Jon Rothstein

Bronson Koenig made a team-high 83 3-pointers for Wisconsin last season. (Photo/USATSI)

Led by seniors Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig, the Badgers are the class of the Big Ten.

The Big Ten has consistently been one of the top leagues in college basketball and this season should be no different.

Check out below as we breakdown five offseason storylines in the conference.

1. There's major separation after the top four teams

The one thing that's for sure in regards to the Big Ten heading into next season is that the four best teams in the league are Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, and Purdue.

After that, however, it is very much up for discussion.

The Badgers return five starters from last year's team that should have ultimately advanced to the Elite Eight before blowing a late lead against Notre Dame in the Sweet 16.

Meanwhile, Indiana returns several key pieces from last season's squad that won the Big Ten regular season title.

Michigan State is always going to be Michigan State as long as Tom Izzo is on the sidelines and Purdue returns the conference's top front court in Vincent Edwards, Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas.

Expect all four of these teams to play the majority of next season with a ranking next to their names and be high seeds in the NCAA Tournament next March.

2. Wisconsin is again set up for a Final Four run

Greg Gard may be pulling the strings from the bench instead of Bo Ryan, but that doesn't negate the fact that the Badgers will enter next season with a team that has a legitimate chance to advance to the Final Four for the third time in four years.

Wisconsin returns nine players that averaged 9.4 minutes or more last season and adds two potential rotation pieces in redshirt freshmen Brevin Pritzl and Andy Van Vliet.

A year ago at this time, Ryan was doing everything he could to make sure Gard was in position to be his successor and now 12 months later the Badgers' program remains as healthy as any in the sport.

Gard's demeanor is different than Ryan's as he's more stoic than boisterous and his decision to re-install the swing offense in the middle of last season reiterated the belief he has in his mentor's initial system.

The first-year head coach led Wisconsin to impressive road wins last February at both Maryland and Iowa which were trumped by a thrilling Round of 32 triumph over Xavier in the NCAA Tournament.

The biggest reason to be bullish on the Badgers next season?

Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes -- two seniors that boast a, 11-3 career NCAA Tournament record and have all intentions of adding to that in 2017.

The Big Ten goes through the Kohl Center.

3. Eron Harris' time is now

Many of the early season headlines surrounding Michigan State will focus on the Spartans' elite recruiting class of Miles Bridges, Josh Langford, Cassius Winston and Nick Ward, but returning players in college basketball are always more than important than incoming ones.

No player on Michigan State's roster knows that more than Harris.

Just two years ago, the 6-foot-3 guard averaged 17.2 points and made 89 3-point shots for West Virginia before opting to transfer and ultimately head to the Big Ten.

Harris averaged 9.3 points last season for the Spartans, but only logged 20.9 minutes because he was playing behind two all-conference caliber wings in Denzel Valentine and Bryn Forbes.

With both of those players now gone, it's Harris' time to play like a fifth-year senior.

Izzo brings in four quality freshmen and also added another solid piece in UNLV grad transfer Ben Carter, but Harris has to be a consistent double-figure scorer if Michigan State is going to do what Michigan State is accustomed to doing on an annual basis: compete for a Big Ten title and a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.

4. Penn State finally has a legitimate Big Ten roster

It hasn't been an easy five years for Pat Chambers in State College, but now he's finally in a position to compete with more ammo than he's ever had since becoming a head coach in the Big Ten.

Thanks to his relentless efforts on the recruiting trail, Chambers will welcome the best recruiting class in program history to campus this fall headlined by a trio of top-100 recruits in Philadelphia natives Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens along with Oak Hill Academy's Joe Hampton.

Redshirt freshman Mike Watkins is another newcomer that should have a major impact for Penn State next season while UConn transfer Terrence Samuel is a quality guard that played key minutes on the Huskies' team that won the 2014 national title.

Add three strong returnees in Shep Garner, Josh Reaves and Payton Banks who all averaged more than 23.8 minutes last season and Chambers has a legitimate Big Ten rotation.

Now comes the hard part: dealing with expectations and performing like a team that could finish in the middle of one of the elite conferences in college basketball.

5. Ohio State looks like a sleeper

It's a little weird to associate a word like that with the Buckeyes' program, but Thad Matta's squad is entering next season slightly off-the-radar.

That may be a good thing.

Ohio State returns its top-six scorers from last year's team that won 21 games and didn't have starting forward Jae'Sean Tate available after Feb. 20 due to a shoulder injury.

Tate, Marc Loving, Keita Bates-Diop, JaQuan Lyle, Kam Williams and Trevor Thompson give Matta the type of veteran nucleus he needs to bring the Buckeyes back among the Big Ten's elite while newcomers Micah Potter and C.J. Jackson figure to serve as capable role players in reserve.

Is Ohio State as good as Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, or Purdue?

No person can firmly make that statement in July based on last season, but here's something to remember: Matta has never won less than 20 games since he's been in Columbus and last year was his lowest win total since his inaugural campaign.

The Buckeyes are primed to bounce back.

This and That

• One Big Ten head coach told CBS Sports that Indiana's Robert Johnson could be the league's most underrated player. "He's a two-year starter that can play multiple positions," the coach said of the 6-3 Johnson, who averaged 8.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists last season. "Don't be surprised if he winds up playing a lot of point guard next season."
  

• I'm hearing the early surprise out of Maryland this summer has been Kevin Huerter's basketball IQ. The 6-5 freshman has yet to play a college game, but figures to be an immediate contributor for the Terps thanks to his overall feel. This may be the best first-year player in the Big Ten that nobody is talking about.
  

• One under-the-radar name to know in the Big Ten: Illinois wing Jalen Coleman-Lands. The 6-3 guard averaged 10.3 points last season as a freshman and is the likely candidate to replace Kendrick Nunn in the Illini's starting lineup. Coleman-Lands needs to become a better defender, but he can really shoot the basketball. The long range gunner made 87 3-point shots last season.
  

• Michigan went 12-3 last season with Caris LeVert in the lineup, but just 11-10 without him. The Wolverines return five starters from the team last March that nearly beat Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament's First Round.
  

• If Bryant McIntosh played for Duke instead of Northwestern then people would be regularly comparing him to Jon Scheyer. The 6-3 guard is a flat out stud. McIntosh averaged 13.8 points, 6.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds last season as a sophomore.

Exaggerator Adds to Championship Credentials in Haskell.

By Tom LaMarra

Exaggerator wins the Haskell Invitational. (Photo/Eclipse Sportswire)

Big Chief Racing, Head of Plains Partners, and Rocker O Ranch's Exaggerator continued to show his affinity for off tracks with a sweeping off-the-pace victory in the $1-million, Grade 1 Betfair.com Haskell Invitational July 31 at Monmouth Park.

Ridden by Kent Desormeaux for his brother, trainer Keith Desormeaux, Exaggerator got away last in the six-horse field but gained on the backstretch through fast fractions on a main track rated sloppy. An early pace battle between favored Nyquist and American Freedom laid the groundwork for the Curlin colt to quickly reel in the leaders and pull away to win his third Grade 1 stakes.

But before he could enjoy the win, Exaggerator had to survive a claim of foul from jockey Rafael Bejarano, who was aboard American Freedom. The Bob Baffert trainee, in a strong effort, put away Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands winner Nyquist in the lane and appeared to check briefly when Exaggerator blew by on the outside.

American Freedom ran on for second, 1 1/2 lengths behind Exaggerator, with New Jersey-bred Sunny Ridge another two lengths back in third and Nyquist fourth. Exaggerator, who won the Preakness Stakes on a sloppy surface but finished 11th as the favorite in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, paid $7.60 to win as the second choice.

Exaggerator covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.70.
The result of the Haskell most likely was determined in the first half-mile. Nyquist, who broke from the rail, was sent early as was Awesome Slew, American Freedom, and Gun Runner. The leaders were bunched through an opening quarter-mile in :22.78, and by the time they clocked a half-mile in :46.62, the battle was left to Nyquist and American Freedom.

American Freedom, owned by Gary and Mary West, edged past Nyquist on the backstretch and had the lead after six furlongs in 1:11, but Nyquist, who hadn't raced since his gritty third-place finish in the Preakness, fought back along the inside. American Freedom finally got past Nyquist soon after the field turned for home, but Exaggerator ran past before one mile was covered in 1:35.96.

"When he came around me, he crossed me a couple times," Bejarano said. "I had to change my course in the stretch and then let him run again. I'm completely disappointed. We are hoping everyone had a clean race, in such a prestigious race, and he definitely crossed my lane and I had to change my course."

Despite the incident, Baffert indicated he's pleased with the Pulpit colt's effort.

"He was stuck outside (in post 5) and I told (Bejarano) to ride his race," Baffert told TVG from Del Mar. "I'm proud of the fact American Freedom can run those big horses. He's doing well and moving forward.

"I think I'm leaning toward the Travers with him right now. I like that race, but I'll feel more comfortable bringing him home first. I really like what I saw today."

Exaggerator, who now has six wins, three seconds, and one third in 13 starts, finished behind Nyquist three times before his victory in the Preakness. Nyquist skipped the Belmont, and Kent Desormeaux blamed himself for Exaggerator’s off-the-board finish at Belmont Park.

"This race set up early like the Preakness," he said. "It came down to what was the best part of the track. Exaggerator showed an exemplary turn of foot. He just took off when I threw the 'helicopter' at him. The major difference today (was the pace). I take full blame for the Belmont. We probably should have been 10 (lengths) in front, just galloping."

With his win in the Haskell, Exaggerator now has an automatic berth to the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November. The race will be held at Santa Anita Park, where the colt won his first Grade 1 in the Santa Anita Derby earlier this year.

On This Date in Sports History: Today is Monday, August 01, 2016.

Memoriesofhistory.com

1945 - Mell Ott hit his 500th career home run.

1972 - Joe Namath signed a two year contract worth $500,000 with the New York Jets.

1976 - The Seattle Seahawks played their first (preseason) game. The Seahawks lost 27-20 to San Francisco.

1978 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds ended his streak of hitting in 44 consecutive games.

1986 - John McEnroe and Tatum O'Neal were married.

1986 - Bert Blyleven became only the 10th pitcher to strike out 3,000 batters in his career.

1993 - Reggie Jackson was admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

2005 - It was announced that Raphael Palmeiro would be suspended for 10 days after testing positive for steroid use. Palmeiro stood by his statements to the U.S. Congress on March 17, 2005, that he had never taken steroids.

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