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"Sports Quote of the Day"
TRENDING: Jimmy Butler, Bulls steal game 1 in an emotional Boston Garden. (See the basketball section for Bulls news and NBA updates).
(Photo/Michael Dwyer/AP)
TRENDING: Despite taking 2-0 series lead, Predators know Blackhawks are 'not going to go away'. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).
TRENDING: Looks like Bears want quarterback in draft, but will they trade up to make sure they get their guy? Another early DL selection? Definite possibility. (See the football section for Bears news and NFL updates).
TRENDING: Jason Heyward explains what Jackie Robinson Day means to him and why black kids aren't pursuing baseball. (See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).
TRENDING: Bryan rallies for first win at RBC Heritage. (See the golf section for PGA news and tournament updates).
TRENDING: Bastian Schweinsteiger scores again, Fire cruise to win. (See the soccer section for Fire news and worldwide soccer league updates).
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Despite taking 2-0 series lead, Predators know Blackhawks are 'not going to go away'. (It doesn't look good but we've been here before. You gotta believe!!!) CS&T/AA.
By Charlie Roumeliotis
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
After blanking one of the best teams in the league on their home ice to open the playoffs, the Predators knew Game 2 would present an even greater challenge.
The expectation was the Blackhawks, who have won three Stanley Cups since 2010, would push back like they've consistently done over the last decade during those deep spring runs.
But it was the Predators who brought a much better effort Saturday night, stunning an entire city with a 5-0 victory to take a commanding 2-0 series lead back to Nashville.
To some degree, it even surprised them.
"I don’t think I would have planned for that," coach Peter Laviolette said after the game about picking up a pair of shutouts in the first two games. "They are a good hockey team, they are kind of the benchmark. ... You know what they’re capable of, the core remains the same, they are well-coached. That was not the game plan coming in here."
The Predators became the fifth team in NHL history to begin a playoff campaign with consecutive road shutouts, joining the 1936 Detroit Red Wings, 1983 Buffalo Sabres, 1995 New Jersey Devils and 2001 Toronto Maple Leafs, according to the NHL's PR staff.
It was also the first time the Blackhawks have lost consecutive home playoff games since 2002 against the St. Louis Blues, per CSN's stat guru Chris Kamka.
The Blackhawks have seemingly been through it all, including the highs and the lows. But they've never lost two straight home games to open a playoff series under Joel Quenneville, sending them into oblivion, a state you almost never see them in.
"That was frustration to a different level," Quenneville said. "That wasn't fun to watch. We dug ourselves a tremendous hole. Across the board, not too many positives came out of tonight's game. Everybody was responsible, from the coaches down to every single player. We need to get out of this mess and hole. We can play much better than that in all areas, in all aspects. We're a better hockey team than we showed tonight."
Give credit to the Predators.
For the second straight game, they jumped on the Blackhawks early and stayed aggressive throughout the game. They continued to play their style, limited the high percentage shots allowed, and got better as the game went on.
Pekka Rinne pitched his third career playoff shutout — second this postseason — with a 30-save performance, and has stopped all 59 shots he's seen this series. He also added two assists in Game 2, which is two more points than the entire Blackhawks roster through two games this series.
Four Predators players (Ryan Ellis, Harry Zolnierczyk, Colton Sissons and Kevan Fiala) scored their first career postseason goals in the victory, showing how valuable a four-line rotation is at this time of year.
"Yeah, that's the coaches mindset right now," Zolnierczyk said. "To stick with that team is to have four lines that can play. He can kind of roll four lines, regardless of who they put on the ice. We're comfortable enough facing whoever they have out there. Obviously the playoffs are a long haul, and to have four lines I think will be beneficial down the line."
The Predators have been in this position before, though, and know the job is far from over. They stole two road victories in Anaheim last year in the first round, but the Ducks fought back by pushing it to seven games before Nashville completed the series.
"I think we can learn a lot from what happened last year against Anaheim," Ellis said. "We need to keep on the gas, because this team’s not going to go away. They’ve proven time and again that they’re a championship team for a reason, and we have to keep on the gas.”
The Blackhawks became a perennial Stanley Cup contender by how they've finished series' not necessarily by how they've started.
With Saturday's loss, they slipped to 44-42 in Games 1-4 under Quenneville. But in Games 5-7? They're 32-8, proving just how difficult they will be to put away.
"Any time you're playing the Chicago Blackhawks and you have an opportunity to be up 2-0 in the series, you'll take that obviously," Zolnierczyk. "But there's a lot of work to be done here still. We're gonna have to head back to Nashville and prepare for Game 3."
Second straight shutout loss drops Blackhawks in 2-0 series hole vs. Predators. (Saturday night's game, 04/15/2017).
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Zip. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.
The Blackhawks didn't get anything in Game 1 against Nashville, but that game was at least palatable. They didn't do a lot, but they didn't give up a lot, either. But in Game 2, with the Predators upping their game, the Blackhawks didn't match. They didn't even come close. And now they're facing one hell of a first-round series hole.
Ryan Ellis scored what would be the game-winning goal in the first period and Pekka Rinne got his second shutout in as many games with 30 stops as the Predators beat the Blackhawks 5-0 on Saturday night. The Predators, who looked as strong as the Blackhawks looked frustrated, take a 2-0 lead back to Nashville for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Thursday, respectively.
The Blackhawks could take positives out of Game 1. This one? Not so much. It's the second time in franchise history the Blackhawks were shut out in their first two postseason games. The last time it happened was back in 1935.
"That was frustration to a different level. That wasn't fun to watch. Across the board, not too many positives came out of tonight's game," coach Joel Quenneville said. "Everybody was responsible, from the coaches down to every single player. We need to get out of this mess and hole. We can play much better than that in all areas, in all aspects. We're a better hockey team than we showed tonight."
Unlike in Game 1, when the Predators seemed content to go into full defense mode after taking a 1-0 lead, they took more initiative on Saturday. The Blackhawks' frustration level grew as the game wore on. Jonathan Toews had five shots on goal, but he and Patrick Kane (four shots) couldn't punch anything through. The two, who were on the same line by the third period, have just one playoff goal combined since the start of the 2016 postseason.
"For sure. It always is," Toews said about the pressure being on he and other top guys. "But I think everyone in this room will take it upon themselves to try to make a difference and try to get our team going with the first goal of the series. I didn't think you'd be saying that three games into the series, but I think we all add a little bit more on ourselves to try and find a way. But again, it's collectively as a team, those little details that'll add up that will translate into those scoring chances that we're looking for."
On Saturday nothing the Blackhawks did, from line changes to defensive pair changes — prior to the game or in it — worked. Meanwhile the opportunistic Predators fired at every opportunity, coming at the Blackhawks in waves.
Ellis' goal came just after Richard Panik blocked his previous attempt, with Viktor Arvidsson setting the screen in front. In the second period Harry Zolnierczyk, during a bad Blackhawks line change, got separated just enough to beat Corey Crawford for a 2-0 lead. Then Colton Sissons, after Crawford had stopped two previous shots, came in to score for a 3-0 lead 13 minutes into the second.
The Blackhawks had their strongest push in the third period, but they still couldn't capitalize on any opportunities. Meanwhile, Ryan Johansen added his first of the postseason with 6:11 remaining in regulation. Kevin Fiala scored at 18:13 to cap the Predators' scoring.
"It's not good enough, and we have to find a way to beat the neutral zone. That's the No. 1 thing. And be more desperate around the net," Marian Hossa said. "Pretty much, most chances are one and done. I think we can create more than we're showing, and we have to be way better around their goalie."
The Blackhawks have to regroup fast. They had a great road record this regular season, but they'll be facing a Predators team that's up 2-0 and brimming with confidence. This was already looking like a tough series before it started. It's now going to be that much more difficult for the Blackhawks to get back in it.
"One shift at a time. That's how desperate is has to be. A gigantic hole," Quenneville said. "It's going to be a loud building (in Nashville). We have to chip away. We need a goal to start to get the momentum back on our side. Giving up another early goal again tonight didn't help, but baby steps. Be angry."
Quick Hits from Blackhawks-Predators Game 2: Blackhawks dig themselves a deeper hole.
By Tracey Myers
The Blackhawks didn't get anything in Game 1 against Nashville, but that game was at least palatable. They didn't do a lot, but they didn't give up a lot, either. But in Game 2, with the Predators upping their game, the Blackhawks didn't match. They didn't even come close. And now they're facing one hell of a first-round series hole.
Ryan Ellis scored what would be the game-winning goal in the first period and Pekka Rinne got his second shutout in as many games with 30 stops as the Predators beat the Blackhawks 5-0 on Saturday night. The Predators, who looked as strong as the Blackhawks looked frustrated, take a 2-0 lead back to Nashville for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Thursday, respectively.
The Blackhawks could take positives out of Game 1. This one? Not so much. It's the second time in franchise history the Blackhawks were shut out in their first two postseason games. The last time it happened was back in 1935.
"That was frustration to a different level. That wasn't fun to watch. Across the board, not too many positives came out of tonight's game," coach Joel Quenneville said. "Everybody was responsible, from the coaches down to every single player. We need to get out of this mess and hole. We can play much better than that in all areas, in all aspects. We're a better hockey team than we showed tonight."
Unlike in Game 1, when the Predators seemed content to go into full defense mode after taking a 1-0 lead, they took more initiative on Saturday. The Blackhawks' frustration level grew as the game wore on. Jonathan Toews had five shots on goal, but he and Patrick Kane (four shots) couldn't punch anything through. The two, who were on the same line by the third period, have just one playoff goal combined since the start of the 2016 postseason.
"For sure. It always is," Toews said about the pressure being on he and other top guys. "But I think everyone in this room will take it upon themselves to try to make a difference and try to get our team going with the first goal of the series. I didn't think you'd be saying that three games into the series, but I think we all add a little bit more on ourselves to try and find a way. But again, it's collectively as a team, those little details that'll add up that will translate into those scoring chances that we're looking for."
On Saturday nothing the Blackhawks did, from line changes to defensive pair changes — prior to the game or in it — worked. Meanwhile the opportunistic Predators fired at every opportunity, coming at the Blackhawks in waves.
Ellis' goal came just after Richard Panik blocked his previous attempt, with Viktor Arvidsson setting the screen in front. In the second period Harry Zolnierczyk, during a bad Blackhawks line change, got separated just enough to beat Corey Crawford for a 2-0 lead. Then Colton Sissons, after Crawford had stopped two previous shots, came in to score for a 3-0 lead 13 minutes into the second.
The Blackhawks had their strongest push in the third period, but they still couldn't capitalize on any opportunities. Meanwhile, Ryan Johansen added his first of the postseason with 6:11 remaining in regulation. Kevin Fiala scored at 18:13 to cap the Predators' scoring.
"It's not good enough, and we have to find a way to beat the neutral zone. That's the No. 1 thing. And be more desperate around the net," Marian Hossa said. "Pretty much, most chances are one and done. I think we can create more than we're showing, and we have to be way better around their goalie."
The Blackhawks have to regroup fast. They had a great road record this regular season, but they'll be facing a Predators team that's up 2-0 and brimming with confidence. This was already looking like a tough series before it started. It's now going to be that much more difficult for the Blackhawks to get back in it.
"One shift at a time. That's how desperate is has to be. A gigantic hole," Quenneville said. "It's going to be a loud building (in Nashville). We have to chip away. We need a goal to start to get the momentum back on our side. Giving up another early goal again tonight didn't help, but baby steps. Be angry."
Quick Hits from Blackhawks-Predators Game 2: Blackhawks dig themselves a deeper hole.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Well, things just got a whole heck of a lot more interesting for the Blackhawks. It's not that they lost on Thursday it's how they lost. Frustrated, at this point, seems like an understated description. The Blackhawks were losing their cool at the end of Game 2, emotions boiling over after an ugly 5-0 loss to the Nashville Predators.
So where do the Blackhawks go from here (other than Nashville, of course)? The D-word (desperation) was uttered following this one, and understandably so. The Blackhawks are in a terrible position against a team that's got all the momentum. Still, we'll see what Game 3 brings on Monday. Until then, let's look at the Quick Hits from Game 2.
What worked: The Predators' attack. The Predators got up 1-0 in the first period, much like they did on Thursday, but they kept looking for more. There was no sitting back for the visiting team on Saturday. The Predators were already up 1-0 in the series but they played with more urgency from start to finish.
What didn't work: Anything the Blackhawks tried. Change up lines. Change up defensive pairs. Didn't matter, the Predators just stifled them and thwarted them at every opportunity. The frustration was clear with the Blackhawks, who struggled to get in sync throughout the evening. Ryan Hartman's unnecessary shot to Craig Smith's head was another (unnecessary) show of how the Blackhawks are not even close to responding in the right ways.
Star of the game: Pekka Rinne. Yeah, we're giving it to him again because he earned it again. The Blackhawks' best push came in the third period but he was still up to task, stopping all 30 shots he saw for his second shutout in as many games. He also added two secondary assists (on Harry Zolnierczyk and Ryan Johansen's goals) Rinne has been the question mark in previous series. He's made statements in the first two of this one.
He Said It: "It wasn't fun to watch, standing from behind the bench. As a teammate, as a player, as a coach, it was one of those games that, hey, it's as bad as you can be. We're looking for a response because we've put ourselves in this tough hole, and we need a collective group here to come together and show them that we have to be way better and bring our best. Because we haven't seen anywhere near our best." Coach Joel Quenneville on the Blackhawks' Game 2
By the Numbers:
11 – Postseason games without a goal for Jonathan Toews, dating back to Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Lighting on June 10, 2015.
1 – Goal in his last nine playoff games for Patrick Kane. His last came in Game 5 against the St. Louis Blues last April 21.
12 – Combined shots for Kane (three), Hossa (four) and Toews (five) in Saturday's game.
59 – Stops for Pekka Rinne in Games 1 and 2. He's the first goaltender to record back-to-back shutouts to open a postseason series since Michael Leighton (vs. Montreal Canadiens, May 16 and 18, 2010).
156:40 – The Blackhawks' current postseason scoreless streak. Their last playoff goal came from Andrew Shaw at 3:20 of the second period in Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues last April.
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Looks like Bears want quarterback in draft, but will they trade up to make sure they get their guy?
So where do the Blackhawks go from here (other than Nashville, of course)? The D-word (desperation) was uttered following this one, and understandably so. The Blackhawks are in a terrible position against a team that's got all the momentum. Still, we'll see what Game 3 brings on Monday. Until then, let's look at the Quick Hits from Game 2.
What worked: The Predators' attack. The Predators got up 1-0 in the first period, much like they did on Thursday, but they kept looking for more. There was no sitting back for the visiting team on Saturday. The Predators were already up 1-0 in the series but they played with more urgency from start to finish.
What didn't work: Anything the Blackhawks tried. Change up lines. Change up defensive pairs. Didn't matter, the Predators just stifled them and thwarted them at every opportunity. The frustration was clear with the Blackhawks, who struggled to get in sync throughout the evening. Ryan Hartman's unnecessary shot to Craig Smith's head was another (unnecessary) show of how the Blackhawks are not even close to responding in the right ways.
Star of the game: Pekka Rinne. Yeah, we're giving it to him again because he earned it again. The Blackhawks' best push came in the third period but he was still up to task, stopping all 30 shots he saw for his second shutout in as many games. He also added two secondary assists (on Harry Zolnierczyk and Ryan Johansen's goals) Rinne has been the question mark in previous series. He's made statements in the first two of this one.
He Said It: "It wasn't fun to watch, standing from behind the bench. As a teammate, as a player, as a coach, it was one of those games that, hey, it's as bad as you can be. We're looking for a response because we've put ourselves in this tough hole, and we need a collective group here to come together and show them that we have to be way better and bring our best. Because we haven't seen anywhere near our best." Coach Joel Quenneville on the Blackhawks' Game 2
By the Numbers:
11 – Postseason games without a goal for Jonathan Toews, dating back to Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Lighting on June 10, 2015.
1 – Goal in his last nine playoff games for Patrick Kane. His last came in Game 5 against the St. Louis Blues last April 21.
12 – Combined shots for Kane (three), Hossa (four) and Toews (five) in Saturday's game.
59 – Stops for Pekka Rinne in Games 1 and 2. He's the first goaltender to record back-to-back shutouts to open a postseason series since Michael Leighton (vs. Montreal Canadiens, May 16 and 18, 2010).
156:40 – The Blackhawks' current postseason scoreless streak. Their last playoff goal came from Andrew Shaw at 3:20 of the second period in Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues last April.
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Looks like Bears want quarterback in draft, but will they trade up to make sure they get their guy?
By John Mullin
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
All draft analyses are fluid, including the ones of NFL teams right up to the minute they are on the clock. But inside of two weeks until the 2017 selection derby, the conclusion here has become that the Bears will use their first pick — be it the No. 3 overall choice or another should they trade up — on a quarterback.
Earlier thought was that the Bears might be looking at a safety — LSU's Jamal Adams or Ohio State's Malik Hooker — but the Bears have conducted some of the most exhaustive research and evaluations in recent memory not of one quarterback but multiple quarterback prospects, in particular Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer, Texas Tech's Pat Mahomes and Clemson's Deshaun Watson.
And the expectation here is that Watson will be the Bears' selection.
How that happens, though, could be more interesting than simply using the third pick on the Clemson product.
To this point, the predominance of thought has centered around whether the Bears would trade down from the No. 3 pick. But a confluence of circumstances might be positioning the Bears for a possible trade the opposite direction. A trade up could allow the Bears to pick Texas A&M's Myles Garrett, the most dominant pass rusher in this year's draft, or more likely Watson, who checks every box for what general manager Ryan Pace wants in a franchise quarterback.
What are those circumstances?
Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson said during the owners meetings last month that the Browns are not trading the No. 1 pick. Policy statements in the NFL can be fluid, but Jackson and the Browns are having internal debates on whether to settle their quarterback situation with North Carolina's Mitchell Trubisky or to stay the presumed course with Garrett.
Meanwhile, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch made it clear that operators are standing by. "We're open for business," said Lynch, who shored up his quarterback situation with Brian Hoyer this offseason and has sparked whispers that he is keeping his powder dry for a run at Kirk Cousins next offseason. "We'll listen to anything."
Lynch confirmed last week that the 49ers had gotten calls for the No. 2 pick, and it would be a surprise if Pace and the Bears were not among those doing at least a little due diligence. Pace showed his willingness to be aggressive by trading up from No. 11 to No. 9 last year in order to grab rush-linebacker Leonard Floyd ahead of the New York Giants.
Does Pace make another call on draft day? For Watson?
As comfortable as Pace appeared to be as recently as the owners meetings with Mike Glennon, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneer is under contract at a very good price after this season, meaning he could settle in nicely as a backup if the Bears' quarterback addition this draft proves to be franchise-grade. And Pace has been very clear that improving and settling the quarterback position is Goal No. 1. So the thought that he is done at a position that important seems like a stretch, though impressions of him during the NFL meetings were pretty unanimous that he felt good if he had to go forward with Glennon. Remember he gave John Fox, Vic Fangio and the defense an edge rusher with the team's first pick last year with Floyd.
Would the Bears need to trade up, though? They would if they had decided their goal-pick was Watson (or Kizer or Mahomes, for that matter) and he was going to be stolen out from under them by the 49ers dealing the pick to someone else. The reason teams trade to get up that high is nearly always to snare a quarterback.
The team at No. 2 in the last draft, Cleveland, traded that pick and a fourth-rounder to the Philadelphia Eagles, who wanted Carson Wentz. The cost was steep: the Eagles' 2016 first-, third- and fourth-round picks as well as Philadelphia's first-round pick in 2017 and second-round pick in 2018.
But the Eagles needed to move all the way up from No. 15 and had to offer a very sweet pot. The Bears would be moving from No. 3 to No. 2, meaning the 49ers would still have a top-five pick, plus whatever else the package includes.
For loose comparison purposes, in order to move from No. 4 to No. 3 in the 2012 draft, the Browns needed to give the Minnesota Vikings that No. 4 choice along with picks in the fourth, fifth and seventh rounds of that draft. That involved the Browns wanting a running back (Trent Richardson), but it serves as a one-slot trade-up template.
However it plays out, there is no shortage of scenarios for the Bears. But thinking strategically, the Bears have no intention of being anywhere near this draft position again anytime soon. So the thought that the Bears can wait for the 2018 quarterback class is a bad one. Even if the quarterbacks are significantly better, the Bears figure they'll be long gone by the time their turn comes up in 2018.
So the time for the Bears is now, and as the stocks of Watson, Mahomes and Kizer rise — all have been intensely scrutinized by the Bears — the need might be to move up a spot to be sure of landing their idea of a prize.
And the 2017 draft is becoming rife with possibilities for doing just that.
Bears NFL Draft preview: Another early DL selection? Definite possibility.
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Bears pre-draft situation
Akiem Hicks stands as one of the top free-agent signings under GM Ryan Pace, with Hicks starting playing 931 of opponents’ 1,012 snaps and netting a career-high 7 sacks while finishing fourth among Bears in tackles. Hicks likely earns a Pro Bowl trip but for the Bears’ woeful season overall.
Investing a 2015 second rounder at nose tackle (Eddie Goldman) and 2016 No. 3 (Jonathan Bullard) at end underscored the Bears’ commitment to being stout when offenses allow them into base 3-4. Goldman had ankle issues cost him most of last season and Bullard played like a wasted draft choice. The Bears cut non-factor Ego Ferguson and have gotten the max out of Will Sutton, an undersized favorite of the defensive staff but who missed the last seven games and played just 173 total snaps.
The Bears strengthened their interior with the signing of nose tackle John Jenkins, a third-round pick of the New Orleans Saints while GM Ryan Pace was their player personnel director. Free agency took versatile rotation lineman Cornelius Washington to the Detroit Lions. The Bears did re-sign C.J. Wilson, who was on and off the roster last season but played in six games.
The defense overcame a number of significant losses to injury to be on the brink of top 10 against the run as late as game 10. But the Bears held only one of their final six opponents to fewer than 124 yards, and saw Green Bay (226) and Washington (208) trample a dispirited unit that held none of the final six opponents under 4 yards per carry.
Pre-draft depth-chart’ing starters
DE: Mitch UnreinNT: Eddie Goldman
DE: Akiem Hicks
Reserves: Jonathan Bullard, John Jenkins, Kapron Lewis-Moore, Will Sutton, C.J. Wilson.
Bears draft priority: Moderate
Bullard was a major disappointment and gave little indication of being more than a reserve. Jenkins significantly upgrades the depth behind Goldman, but a need still exists for an end/5-technique capable of taking pressure off Goldman and Hicks.
The draft class on the defensive line is considered strong, topped by Alabama’s Jonathan Allen, with whom the Bears arranged a private visit in addition to monitoring his Pro Day. A decision for the Bears is one regarding size and type; Bears defensive schemes need size in their 3-4 packages but ability to generate inside pressure when forced into 4-3 nickel sets.
The Bears have taken close looks at potential impact defensive linemen, and Pace has taken one within the first three rounds of both his Bears drafts (Goldman No. 2 in 2015, Bullard No. 3 in 2016).
Keep an eye on ...
Jonathan Allen, DE, Alabama: Rated as one of the straight-up best players at any position in the draft. An issue for some will be his having had surgery on both shoulders and arthritis concerns. "They said I have some arthritis in my left shoulder," Allen said during the Combine. "It's not really a problem now, but it might be a problem 15-20 years down the road so I'm not worried about that right now."
Takkarist McKinley, DE/LB, UCLA: Undersized but good production (10 sacks, 18 TFL) as senior in hybrid role, with ability to be physical presence. "My sophomore year and junior year I was a big defensive end," McKinley said. "So I was playing the '4' position rushing inside sometimes going against guards."
Chris Wormley, DT/DE, Michigan: Bears coaches had time with Worley at the Senior Bowl and has the versatility the Chicago schemes require. "I’ve heard a lot of different things – 4-3 defenses can see me as an end or a 3-tech tackle, and 3-4 defenses see me as a left end," Wormley said, "so there's a lot of versatility I think within myself, and that's what a lot of teams see as well."
Bears ink Acho to one-year contract.
By Larry Mayer
(Photo/chicagobears.com)
The 28-year-old has appeared in 82 NFL games with 45 starts over six seasons with the Cardinals (2011-14) and Bears (2015-16), compiling 212 tackles, 14 sacks, 22 tackles-for-loss, three interceptions, 10 pass breakups, nine forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He has also recorded 24 special-teams tackles.
Last season with the Bears, Acho produced 40 tackles, one sack, three tackles-for-loss, one pass breakup, one forced fumble and three special teams tackles while playing in all 16 games with six starts.
Acho entered the NFL in 2011 with the Cardinals as a fourth-round draft pick from Texas.
Last season with the Bears, Acho produced 40 tackles, one sack, three tackles-for-loss, one pass breakup, one forced fumble and three special teams tackles while playing in all 16 games with six starts.
Acho entered the NFL in 2011 with the Cardinals as a fourth-round draft pick from Texas.
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... Jimmy Butler, Bulls steal game 1 in an emotional Boston Garden.
By Vincent Goodwill
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Having the best player on the floor can cure a lot of ills, and the playoffs have a way of showing who's not afraid of the moment.
Against the emotional backdrop of the tragedy surrounding the death of Isaiah Thomas' sister, a charged-up atmosphere was at a more fevered pitch in Game 1 of the Bulls' series with the Boston Celtics.
Big runs, big stops and big stops resulted in the Bulls stealing the opener with a 106-102 decision Sunday at TD Garden, with Bobby Portis aiding Jimmy Butler in a way not many thought was possible.
Portis finished off the Celtics with a midrange jumper to give him 19 points to go with his nine rebounds in his playoff debut, along with a big block over Jae Crowder on a basket cut a few minutes earlier when the Bulls first began to take late control.
With so many young players who are seeing the real bright lights for the first time, Portis stepping up wasn't predictable but he's never appeared to allow moments to be too big for him.
"He was one of our new young guys who I wasn't worried about," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He's gonna play with unbelievable confidence, he's gonna play with swagger. He's gonna lay it on the line. He was playing with such tenacity. He was hitting shots, we needed every one of them."
But the star of the night was none other than the apple of the Celtics' eye, Jimmy Butler.
Shaking off a passive first half, Butler scored 23 in the second half to finish with 30, going with nine rebounds and three assists. He caught fire to push a close game to a 95-88 lead with four minutes left.
"I think we were so locked in all week. We knew their stuff like they knew our stuff," Butler said. "We executed really well, we haven't done that all season but this is the right time to do it. And that's all you can do, especially on the road."
Hitting nine of 19 shots from the field after starting one for five, he and the Bulls weathered an early emotional storm authored by Thomas as Thomas played amid unspeakable grief.
"What did I see? The same thing he always does. He's such a tough kid, one of the hardest guards to cover in the game," Hoiberg said.
He scored 13 of his game-high 31 points in the first quarter but when directly defended by Butler in the last few minutes, he had a hard time finding space — which could mean doom for the Celtics if they can't get him loose in the last few minutes of close games.
"It's just a different look for him," said Bulls guard Dwyane Wade, a man who also saw some time chasing Thomas around. "Obviously, he scored more than 30 points, he's a handful on the floor. It's just mixing up, giving him different looks with different guys. If it takes two or three seconds away from their offense, it takes the ball a little further out, then we won that battle."
Butler took Thomas after Rajon Rondo picked up two fouls in succession, leading to an 88-87 Celtics lead with 5:41. From that moment, the Celtics mustered just one score and two free throws, while the Bulls went on a 12-4 run until the 1:17 mark to give themselves some breathing room.
Of course, since these are the Bulls, nothing comes easy. A nine-point lead with a minute left turned into danger time in the last 10 seconds, as a review went against them along with an offensive foul on Butler for freeing himself against Celtics irritant Marcus Smart.
But Butler hit two free throws with 3.3 seconds left as the Bulls had a two-point lead to finally close the door and sending the Bulls to the second road win in these NBA Playoffs.
He had help from Portis, who played like a lottery pick when Nikola Mirotic played with a scared rookie. Portis flexed after a big block on Jae Crowder and played the biggest game of his career in his playoff debut, scoring 17 with eight rebounds and hitting back to back triples in the third quarter when the Bulls were reeling.
They shook off a first half where they mustered just 38.5 percent shooting with 11 turnovers along with going two of 14 from the 3-point line.
Many times the Bulls were at their best when shots caromed waywardly off the rim and found its way to Robin Lopez, or Taj Gibson early in the season. Lopez and Portis were all over the glass as the Bulls were under 40 percent for most of the night, but the relentless attacking wound up in keeping the Bulls within striking distance as the Celtics couldn't get away in the first half.
"Obviously we knew that was an advantage of our going into the series, I think everybody did a great job of keying in on that aspect," said Lopez, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds in 34 minutes.
The Bulls dominated the boards overall with a 53-36 advantage, as 20 of those came on the offensive end with 23-15 advantage in second-chance points. Hoiberg made a critical decision when Rajon Rondo picked up his fifth foul guarding Thomas, subbing in Jerian Grant and moving Butler to Thomas. Grant had been one of eight from the field but hit a big triple from Butler to make it a 95-88 game with four minutes left.
From there the Bulls held on for dear life and suddenly have more than new life in their attempt to show this is not an ordinary 1-8 first-round matchup.
Against the emotional backdrop of the tragedy surrounding the death of Isaiah Thomas' sister, a charged-up atmosphere was at a more fevered pitch in Game 1 of the Bulls' series with the Boston Celtics.
Big runs, big stops and big stops resulted in the Bulls stealing the opener with a 106-102 decision Sunday at TD Garden, with Bobby Portis aiding Jimmy Butler in a way not many thought was possible.
Portis finished off the Celtics with a midrange jumper to give him 19 points to go with his nine rebounds in his playoff debut, along with a big block over Jae Crowder on a basket cut a few minutes earlier when the Bulls first began to take late control.
With so many young players who are seeing the real bright lights for the first time, Portis stepping up wasn't predictable but he's never appeared to allow moments to be too big for him.
"He was one of our new young guys who I wasn't worried about," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He's gonna play with unbelievable confidence, he's gonna play with swagger. He's gonna lay it on the line. He was playing with such tenacity. He was hitting shots, we needed every one of them."
But the star of the night was none other than the apple of the Celtics' eye, Jimmy Butler.
Shaking off a passive first half, Butler scored 23 in the second half to finish with 30, going with nine rebounds and three assists. He caught fire to push a close game to a 95-88 lead with four minutes left.
"I think we were so locked in all week. We knew their stuff like they knew our stuff," Butler said. "We executed really well, we haven't done that all season but this is the right time to do it. And that's all you can do, especially on the road."
Hitting nine of 19 shots from the field after starting one for five, he and the Bulls weathered an early emotional storm authored by Thomas as Thomas played amid unspeakable grief.
"What did I see? The same thing he always does. He's such a tough kid, one of the hardest guards to cover in the game," Hoiberg said.
He scored 13 of his game-high 31 points in the first quarter but when directly defended by Butler in the last few minutes, he had a hard time finding space — which could mean doom for the Celtics if they can't get him loose in the last few minutes of close games.
"It's just a different look for him," said Bulls guard Dwyane Wade, a man who also saw some time chasing Thomas around. "Obviously, he scored more than 30 points, he's a handful on the floor. It's just mixing up, giving him different looks with different guys. If it takes two or three seconds away from their offense, it takes the ball a little further out, then we won that battle."
Butler took Thomas after Rajon Rondo picked up two fouls in succession, leading to an 88-87 Celtics lead with 5:41. From that moment, the Celtics mustered just one score and two free throws, while the Bulls went on a 12-4 run until the 1:17 mark to give themselves some breathing room.
Of course, since these are the Bulls, nothing comes easy. A nine-point lead with a minute left turned into danger time in the last 10 seconds, as a review went against them along with an offensive foul on Butler for freeing himself against Celtics irritant Marcus Smart.
But Butler hit two free throws with 3.3 seconds left as the Bulls had a two-point lead to finally close the door and sending the Bulls to the second road win in these NBA Playoffs.
He had help from Portis, who played like a lottery pick when Nikola Mirotic played with a scared rookie. Portis flexed after a big block on Jae Crowder and played the biggest game of his career in his playoff debut, scoring 17 with eight rebounds and hitting back to back triples in the third quarter when the Bulls were reeling.
They shook off a first half where they mustered just 38.5 percent shooting with 11 turnovers along with going two of 14 from the 3-point line.
Many times the Bulls were at their best when shots caromed waywardly off the rim and found its way to Robin Lopez, or Taj Gibson early in the season. Lopez and Portis were all over the glass as the Bulls were under 40 percent for most of the night, but the relentless attacking wound up in keeping the Bulls within striking distance as the Celtics couldn't get away in the first half.
"Obviously we knew that was an advantage of our going into the series, I think everybody did a great job of keying in on that aspect," said Lopez, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds in 34 minutes.
The Bulls dominated the boards overall with a 53-36 advantage, as 20 of those came on the offensive end with 23-15 advantage in second-chance points. Hoiberg made a critical decision when Rajon Rondo picked up his fifth foul guarding Thomas, subbing in Jerian Grant and moving Butler to Thomas. Grant had been one of eight from the field but hit a big triple from Butler to make it a 95-88 game with four minutes left.
From there the Bulls held on for dear life and suddenly have more than new life in their attempt to show this is not an ordinary 1-8 first-round matchup.
CUBS: Wacky inning spoils Jon Lester's stellar start, pits Cubs on wrong end of sweep.
By Tony Andracki
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Jon Lester has allowed all of two runs in 18 innings to start the season and yet he's still searching for his first win pitching in front of the best defense in the league and a high-powered offense.
The Cubs bullpen struggled for the second straight day and some tough bounces went Pittsburgh's way as the Pirates completed a three-game sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley Field with a 6-1 win Sunday afternoon.
Lester and Jameson Taillon matched zeros through 6.5 innings before the Cubs pushed a run across when pinch-hitter Tommy La Stella doubled off the glove of Pirates left fielder Adam Frazier.
But the Pirates came right back against Koji Uehara in an ugly and wild eighth inning that saw three runs cross home plate.
Uehara didn't record an out, surrendering one run on a walk, double, walk and bloop single before Joe Maddon jogged out of the dugout to retrieve him.
Hector Rondon came on in search of a Houdini act and at first, it looked like he was up to the task, getting Starling Marte to ground out to Javy Baez, who made a nice pick and throw home to get the lead runner.
Anthony Rizzo followed with a barehanded pickup a few pitches later but his throw carried Willson Contreras off home plate. The next hitter, David Freese, flew out to right field but Jason Heyward's throw home skipped up the third base line and off Contreras, allowing the third run to score.
Uehara was charged with three runs - two earned. It is the first time he's allowed a run since July 9, 2016 - a span of 20 innings - which served as the longest streak in the majors among relievers.
The Pirates added on in the ninth off Justin Grimm on Adam Frazier's three-run homer. It was only the sixth professional homer for Frazier in 434 games.
Lester's start was spoiled again as he went seven shutout innings allowing just three hits and two walks compared to three strikeouts. Contreras helped his starter out by gunning down three Pirates on the basepaths, including a classic David Ross-esque back-pick at first base to nab Freese in the seventh.
"They've been working really well," Maddon said of the new pitcher-catcher duo. "From my perspective, Jonny's really taken control of the situation. Willson called the pitch that got a first pitch out of [Andrew] McCutchen and immediately, Jonny acknowledged Willson coming to the dugout based on the call of the pitch.
"So they're really getting into that method right now. I know Willy's really grinding it out. He's really trying to be everything to all the pitchers. He'll settle down; he'll settle into it; he'll get into his groove. When he starts hitting, heads up. It's gonna get even better behind the plate. I thought he did a really good job with [Lester]."
Lester now has a 1.00 ERA and 1.06 WHIP on the season through his first three starts, picking up right where he left off after a 2.02 ERA in 35.2 postseason innings last fall.
The sweep is a tough pill for the Cubs to swallow as it sends them back to .500 overall (6-6) on the season. Meanwhile, the Pirates - who had dropped four straight entering the weekend series at Wrigley - climbed to 6-6 as well.
In the final two games of the series, the Cubs bullpen allowed 11 runs in 5.1 innings.
"Two days in a row, we just gotta do a better job in the latter part of the game protecting leads," Maddon said. "That's all...
"We did not get the [big] hit. I totally agree with that. That's been more of our problem than anything — not getting that clutch hit and not holding a lead in the latter part of the game."
The Cubs welcome the Milwaukee Brewers into Wrigley Field Monday night for a three-game series that will be preceded by a mini World Series ring ceremony for Travis Wood, Jason Hammel and Jorge Soler.
Monday's game will be aired on CSN+ with coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. and you can also stream the game on CSNChicago.com and through the NBC Sports App.
Jason Heyward explains what Jackie Robinson Day means to him and why black kids aren't pursuing baseball.
By Tony Andracki
The Cubs bullpen struggled for the second straight day and some tough bounces went Pittsburgh's way as the Pirates completed a three-game sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley Field with a 6-1 win Sunday afternoon.
Lester and Jameson Taillon matched zeros through 6.5 innings before the Cubs pushed a run across when pinch-hitter Tommy La Stella doubled off the glove of Pirates left fielder Adam Frazier.
But the Pirates came right back against Koji Uehara in an ugly and wild eighth inning that saw three runs cross home plate.
Uehara didn't record an out, surrendering one run on a walk, double, walk and bloop single before Joe Maddon jogged out of the dugout to retrieve him.
Hector Rondon came on in search of a Houdini act and at first, it looked like he was up to the task, getting Starling Marte to ground out to Javy Baez, who made a nice pick and throw home to get the lead runner.
Anthony Rizzo followed with a barehanded pickup a few pitches later but his throw carried Willson Contreras off home plate. The next hitter, David Freese, flew out to right field but Jason Heyward's throw home skipped up the third base line and off Contreras, allowing the third run to score.
Uehara was charged with three runs - two earned. It is the first time he's allowed a run since July 9, 2016 - a span of 20 innings - which served as the longest streak in the majors among relievers.
The Pirates added on in the ninth off Justin Grimm on Adam Frazier's three-run homer. It was only the sixth professional homer for Frazier in 434 games.
Lester's start was spoiled again as he went seven shutout innings allowing just three hits and two walks compared to three strikeouts. Contreras helped his starter out by gunning down three Pirates on the basepaths, including a classic David Ross-esque back-pick at first base to nab Freese in the seventh.
"They've been working really well," Maddon said of the new pitcher-catcher duo. "From my perspective, Jonny's really taken control of the situation. Willson called the pitch that got a first pitch out of [Andrew] McCutchen and immediately, Jonny acknowledged Willson coming to the dugout based on the call of the pitch.
"So they're really getting into that method right now. I know Willy's really grinding it out. He's really trying to be everything to all the pitchers. He'll settle down; he'll settle into it; he'll get into his groove. When he starts hitting, heads up. It's gonna get even better behind the plate. I thought he did a really good job with [Lester]."
Lester now has a 1.00 ERA and 1.06 WHIP on the season through his first three starts, picking up right where he left off after a 2.02 ERA in 35.2 postseason innings last fall.
The sweep is a tough pill for the Cubs to swallow as it sends them back to .500 overall (6-6) on the season. Meanwhile, the Pirates - who had dropped four straight entering the weekend series at Wrigley - climbed to 6-6 as well.
In the final two games of the series, the Cubs bullpen allowed 11 runs in 5.1 innings.
"Two days in a row, we just gotta do a better job in the latter part of the game protecting leads," Maddon said. "That's all...
"We did not get the [big] hit. I totally agree with that. That's been more of our problem than anything — not getting that clutch hit and not holding a lead in the latter part of the game."
The Cubs welcome the Milwaukee Brewers into Wrigley Field Monday night for a three-game series that will be preceded by a mini World Series ring ceremony for Travis Wood, Jason Hammel and Jorge Soler.
Monday's game will be aired on CSN+ with coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. and you can also stream the game on CSNChicago.com and through the NBC Sports App.
Jason Heyward explains what Jackie Robinson Day means to him and why black kids aren't pursuing baseball.
By Tony Andracki
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Jackie Robinson Day is one of the best annual Major League Baseball traditions where everybody around the league dons a No. 42 uniform.
Jason Heyward held court at his locker Saturday before the 2017 iteration of Jackie Robinson Day and explained what the event means to him.
"It's great to be able to have it every year," Heyward said. "Some things, the game won't let you forget, which is awesome. It brings people together for a common reason.
"We love to play; we love to watch as fans. It's awesome to be able to put differences aside and have that common ground, share that passion for one game. It's a step in the right direction, I feel like, to be reminded of things like that."
Heyward is going throwback with his look for Saturday, wearing high socks as homage to the style of the trailblazer who helped bust down the color barrier in professional baseball.
It's also notable for Heyward he gets to experience Jackie Robinson Day at Wrigley Field, the only current MLB stadium Robinson played at (he hit .295 with a .400 on-base percentage in 93 career games at "The Friendly Confines").
"To get to do it here, at this stadium," Heyward said. "The history that's here, as well. It's just really cool. I feel like it takes you back and it makes you feel like you get to be playing in that time for a day.
"It's one of the fun things about this game is you get to pay homage to a historic moment like this, especially for off the field, the impact it had as well."
Heyward also spent a lot of time discussing his thoughts on why black players are not more prevalent in baseball.
Only 7.7 percent of MLB players are black in 2017, which is only up a tick from the 6.7 percent in 1956, Robinson's final season.
Major League Baseball is more diverse than it's ever been with 34.6 percent of active players on the 2017 Opening Day roster registering as non-white.
But why aren't there more black players in the game?
For starters, five black players began the year on the disabled list, which skews the numbers.
Heyward offered other ideas:
"As far as college, I feel like any household that says, 'Get an education, try to do better for yourself, start a family,' those kinds of things — the scholarship numbers in baseball are really low," Heyward said. "There's not a lot of opportunity there. You look at trying to go to college and hopefully get a job and set yourself up for a career — even outside of sports — football has a lot higher numbers.
"I feel like seeing more people in a direction where there's more opportunity. It's hard to make it in baseball regardless."
So what can baseball do?
"I don't know," Heyward said. "Talk about people trying to have a job after school. As far as playing a sport, guys want to go to college and have sports pay for their education some. Everybody's family can't afford to take out a loan. People still have to pay back loans well after they're out of school.
"I couldn't tell you where to being as far as getting guys into college. As far as kids playing in the inner cities and in general, they're playing. Especially in Georgia, where I grew up. A lot of African-Americans are playing baseball.
"It's all about pursuing that dream and having the means to do it and also being lucky and being able to make it."
Heyward's passion for baseball originated as a kid. His father outlawed football in the household because of the violent contact involved in the sport, but baseball was always the favorite of Heyward's dad, who was a Mets fan in the 1980s in the heyday of Dwight Gooden and Daryl Strawberry.
Heyward himself said he really got into the game traveling around the country playing as a kid and watching Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson.
"Once I saw that, I thought, 'I wanna try and do this forever,'" he said. "It stuck and here we go."
Cubs will welcome back Travis Wood, Jorge Soler and Jason Hammel in mini ring ceremony Monday.
By Tony Andracki
By Tony Andracki
(Photo/USA TODAY)
The Cubs will keep the festivities going at Wrigley Field Monday night as they welcome back a trio of players who helped end the 108-year championship drought.
Travis Wood, Jorge Soler and Jason Hammel — who are now all Royals — will travel from Kansas City to Chicago to take part in a mini ring ceremony before Monday's Cubs-Brewers game.
With no games scheduled against the Royals this season, the Cubs invited the trio up on Kansas City's off-day Monday in an effort to honor the former North Siders.
"I think it's awesome," Joe Maddon said. "The fact that we're doing it speaks to the organization to have that kind of foresight to do something like that and to have that first-class-ness.
"There's no other way to do it. The date was there. We're flying them up, apparently, they're gonna get their rings. I thought it was perfect. We'll be excited to see all those guys again."
Hammel made 61 starts over the last two seasons with the Cubs — his second stint with the team — and went 15-10 last year with a 3.83 ERA. But he didn't see any time in the postseason as he wasn't on the active roster during any of the three series.
Hammel signed a two-year, $16 million deal with the Royals this past winter after the Cubs kept their promise and let him test the free agent market.
Soler was traded to the Royals in the deal that brought closer Wade Davis to Chicago in December. The 25-year-old outfielder has struggled to stay healthy in his career (he's currently on the disabled list with Kansas City) and appeared in only 187 games the last two seasons with the Cubs, hitting 22 homers with a .741 OPS.
Soler was one of the first international signings by Theo Epstein's front office with the Cubs, inking a nine-year, $30 million deal that keeps him under team control through the 2020 season.
Wood was the longest-tenured Cubs player before he departed over the winter and inked a two-year, $12 million deal with the Royals.
The 30-year-old lefty pitched in 220 games with the Cubs — including 98 starts — with a 3.94 ERA, 1.267 WHIP and four saves. He was a valuable swingman who made nine appearances throughout the Cubs' World Series run that included hitting a home run in Game 2 the National League Division Series.
Wood was a fan and clubhouse favorite in his time in Chicago and flourished in a super-sub role under Maddon, adding pinch-hitting and pinch-running to his list of duties besides pitching and also played the outfield a few times, infamously making a catch in the vines on July 31 last summer.
No word yet on whether Wood will be wearing a shirt or camo vest for Monday's festivities.
WHITE SOX: Avisail Garcia's 10th-inning homer leads White Sox over Twins.
Associated Press
(Photo/AP)
With a runner at third and two outs in the 10th inning, Avisail Garcia swung hard and missed on the first pitch he saw against Minnesota reliever Ryan Pressly.
Garcia stepped out of the box, collected himself and thought about what's worked this season: just put the bat on the ball.
Garcia had a career-high four hits, including an opposite-field, two-run homer in the 10th that gave the Chicago White Sox a 3-1 win over the Twins on Sunday.
"I said to myself, `Hey, don't try to do too much,'" Garcia said. "Just put the barrel on the ball because he throws hard. That's what I do. I just tried to put a good swing, see the ball and hit it."
Leury Garcia doubled off Pressly (0-2) leading off the 10th and advanced on Tyler Saladino's sacrifice. Jose Abreu struck out and Garcia drove a high fastball over the seats and into the right field plaza.
"It's a situation where we all know how hot he is, but I'm not huge on walking guys to get to other people and I feel my guy's got the stuff to get him out with," Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said. "Obviously, he left the ball up where he could handle it. Tough one to swallow."
Nate Jones (1-0) struck out two in a perfect ninth, and David Robertson fanned his first two batters in a 1-2-3 10th for his third save in three chances.
Garcia entered the year hitting .262 through five major league seasons, but the 6-foot-4 Venezuelan increased his league-leading average to .465.
"I think he's focusing on just making good contact," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "I can guarantee you he didn't go up there thinking he was going to hit a homer. He just wanted to get a pitch to hit. With a man that strong, you put a good swing on a ball and you click it, it's got a chance to go."
DOZIER'S RUN
Brian Dozier hit an inside-the-park home run for the Twins, the first of his career and the first for a Minnesota player since Byron Buxton on Oct. 2, 2016 in Chicago.
A day after sitting out to due to right knee swelling, Dozier raced around the bases after his fifth-inning drive deflected off center fielder Jacob May's glove.
EXCELLENT EEPHUS
White Sox starter James Shields yielded five hits and three walks in six innings for his third consecutive strong start this season.
The most curious aspect of Shields' outing was the slow breaking ball he was throwing. He had a few pitches register in the high 60s mph, and the stadium's video board labeled the offerings Eephus pitches.
"It's kind of funny; I've never seen that before," Shields said. "Just a slower curveball. I've kind of messed around with it a little bit. I feel like I've got a pretty good feel for it, so I've been throwing it a little bit more than normal."
SANTIAGO AGAINST THE SOX
Twins' starter Hector Santiago gave up six hits in seven innings, walked none and struck out six. Santiago is 5-1 against Chicago, where he pitched the first three years of his career after being drafted there in 2006.
He's allowed six earned runs in 38 2/3 innings against the White Sox.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: 3B Todd Frazier did not play because of flu-like symptoms. Renteria said Frazier has been feeling dehydrated. He missed two games last week, and returned, leaving Saturday's game early with recurrence of the symptoms.
Twins: INF Ehire Adrianza (right oblique strain) will report to Fort Myers, Florida, to begin playing in extended spring training games on Monday. ... LHP Ryan O'Rourke (left forearm strain) has been throwing at 60 feet and his next step will be to toss from 90 feet.
UP NEXT
White Sox: Chicago's three-city trip ends in New York, where LHP Derek Holland (1-1, 1.50 ERA) is to start Monday against the Yankees. Holland allowed one hit in six scoreless innings in his last outing.
Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson (0-1, 8.00) starts Monday as Minnesota opens a four-game home series against Cleveland. Gibson surrendered five runs in four innings in a loss to Detroit last week.
Golf: I got a club for that..... Bryan rallies for first win at RBC Heritage.
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
It was a hectic close to the RBC Heritage, but in the end the tournament crowned another first-time winner. Here's how things ended up at Harbour Town, where Wesley Bryan used an early charge to step into the winner's circle:
Leaderboard: Wesley Bryan (-13), Luke Donald (-12), Patrick Cantlay (-11), Ollie Schniederjans (-11), William McGirt (-11)
What it means: Bryan started the day four shots off the lead, but four straight birdies on the front nine put him in contention and two more on the back nine moved him to the top of the leaderboard. After earning his PGA Tour card with three wins on the Web.com circuit last year, Bryan has been solid in his rookie campaign and now has his first career win on the main stage. Bryan becomes the first native South Carolinian to win this event and, after growing up a short distance from Augusta National, now has earned his first Masters invite. For Donald, it's another close call in an event where he regularly contends but still has never won.
Round of the day: Matt Kuchar made a big final-round surge for the second straight week, this time moving up 50 spots with a closing 64. Kuchar eagled the par-5 second and made three more early birdies to make the turn in 31, then added three more birdies on his inward half. After beginning the day nearly in last place, Kuchar made it all the way back up into a tie for 11th.
Best of the rest: Bryan bogeyed the third hole, but he bounced back with four straight circles on Nos. 4-7 to spark his rally. He was among a logjam of players near the lead when he rolled in a 10-footer on No. 13 followed by an accurate wedge on No. 15 that gave him the solo lead for the first time - a position he never relinquished. After three closing pars, he shot a 4-under 67.
Biggest disappointment: Jason Dufner started the day with a one-shot lead, but he quickly fell from contention early in the back nine. An errant approach to No. 13 led to a double bogey, and when Dufner rinsed his tee shot on the next hole he was out of the mix. A birdie on No. 2 proved to be his only birdie of the day, as he played his final 16 holes in 6 over to drop into a tie for 11th.
Shot of the day: Nursing a one-shot lead over Donald, Bryan found the fairway and then put his final approach within 30 feet of the target. Two putts later, he was a winner on the PGA Tour.
Quote of the day: "Of all places, right back here is where the first one goes down? I'm going to remember this for a long time." - Bryan
Kerr wins 19th LPGA title at Lotte in Hawaii.
Associated Press
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Cristie Kerr won the LPGA Lotte Championship on Saturday for her 19th tour title, closing with a 6-under 66 for a three-stroke victory.
The 39-year-old Kerr broke the tournament record at 20-under 268, a day after shooting 62 at Ko Olina to match the event mark. She earned $300,000 to top $18 million in her career.
Kerr ended a 30-event victory drought since the 2015 season finale. She was 16 under the final two days, soaring into contention with the third-round 62 that included seven back-nine birdies. She made six more birdie putts in the final round, taking the lead on the 14th hole.
The American overcame sponsor invite Su-Yeon Jang, the South Korean player who led after the second and third rounds and was five ahead of Kerr after three holes Saturday.
Canadian Alena Sharp, looking for her first LPGA win in her 241st start, bogeyed the final hole for a 70 to finish alone in fifth at 16 under, a shot ahead of second-ranked So Yeon Ryu (67).
Molinari tops Dunne in playoff to win Trophee Hassan.
Associated Press
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Edoardo Molinari won the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco on Sunday, beating Paul Dunne on the first playoff hole for his first European Tour title in seven years.
Molinari sank a two-foot par putt after Dunne had missed his putt for par from six feet, securing victory for the Italian after a 5-under 68 saw him join Dunne at the top of the leaderboard.
Molinari, a former Ryder Cup player, last won on the tour at the Johnnie Walker Championship in 2010. The Trophee Hassan was his third tour title.
''Fantastic. It's been a while,'' Molinari said. ''I've been through some very hard times in the last few years and to get this, I'm very, very pleased.''
England's Paul Waring was third at the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam club on 8 under. Dunne held the overnight lead and was seeking his maiden title as a professional but closed with a 1-under 72. He also had to make birdie on the last hole of his final round to force the playoff with Molinari.
Molinari had eagled No. 18, one of two eagles for him on the back nine, to go to 9 under and open a two-shot lead. He made four birdies in his closing round but his eagle threes on the two par fives coming home set up his victory.
Dunne made a clutch up-and-down birdie on No. 18 to take the tournament to an extra hole.
Both men made hard work of No. 18 in the playoff, with Molinari ending up over the back of the green with his third shot and Dunne in a greenside bunker.
Molinari put his fourth shot closer, though, and rolled in for par to clinch the title.
Dunne's second place was still a career-best finish for the 24-year-old Irishman.
NASCAR: Leader of the pack: Kevin Harvick has led the most laps this season.
Molinari sank a two-foot par putt after Dunne had missed his putt for par from six feet, securing victory for the Italian after a 5-under 68 saw him join Dunne at the top of the leaderboard.
Molinari, a former Ryder Cup player, last won on the tour at the Johnnie Walker Championship in 2010. The Trophee Hassan was his third tour title.
''Fantastic. It's been a while,'' Molinari said. ''I've been through some very hard times in the last few years and to get this, I'm very, very pleased.''
England's Paul Waring was third at the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam club on 8 under. Dunne held the overnight lead and was seeking his maiden title as a professional but closed with a 1-under 72. He also had to make birdie on the last hole of his final round to force the playoff with Molinari.
Molinari had eagled No. 18, one of two eagles for him on the back nine, to go to 9 under and open a two-shot lead. He made four birdies in his closing round but his eagle threes on the two par fives coming home set up his victory.
Dunne made a clutch up-and-down birdie on No. 18 to take the tournament to an extra hole.
Both men made hard work of No. 18 in the playoff, with Molinari ending up over the back of the green with his third shot and Dunne in a greenside bunker.
Molinari put his fourth shot closer, though, and rolled in for par to clinch the title.
Dunne's second place was still a career-best finish for the 24-year-old Irishman.
NASCAR: Leader of the pack: Kevin Harvick has led the most laps this season.
(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Seven races into the season, Kevin Harvick has led the most number of laps at 419. A year ago, he ranked second to Kyle Busch. Harvick had led 486 laps at this point last year and Busch had led 520 laps.
This year, Busch ranks second to Harvick in laps led with 413.
Harvick, Busch and Truex have combined to lead 53.6 percent of the 2,142 laps run this year.
Here’s a look at the top 10 in laps led this year:
419 – Kevin Harvick
413 – Kyle Busch
316 – Martin Truex Jr.
232 – Brad Keselowski
169 – Chase Elliott
159 – Kyle Larson
150 – Ryan Blaney
143 – Joey Logano
46 – Jimmie Johnson
28 – Denny Hamlin
This year, Busch ranks second to Harvick in laps led with 413.
Harvick, Busch and Truex have combined to lead 53.6 percent of the 2,142 laps run this year.
Here’s a look at the top 10 in laps led this year:
419 – Kevin Harvick
413 – Kyle Busch
316 – Martin Truex Jr.
232 – Brad Keselowski
169 – Chase Elliott
159 – Kyle Larson
150 – Ryan Blaney
143 – Joey Logano
46 – Jimmie Johnson
28 – Denny Hamlin
‘Mind over matter’ philosophy keeps ‘The King’ going as he nears 80.
By Daniel McFadin
Richard Petty has been through a lot in nearly 80 years of life and 35 years of NASCAR racing.
“The King” has broken bones, had parts of his stomach and gallbladder removed and survived a brush with prostate cancer in 1995.
“I got a really good DNA as far as healing,” Petty said last month at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
After all the battle scars sustained through 1,184 Cup races and afterward, Petty feels like he did the day he retired in 1992.
“My daddy (Lee Petty) always said, I don’t know how you’re supposed to feel when you’re this old,” Petty said. “So, I don’t know if I’m 80 or 70 or 50. Basically, physically … I don’t hurt nowhere right now. … I don’t feel like I feel any different than 10 years ago, 20 years ago or 30 years ago.”
Still a constant presence on the Cup circuit, the seven-time NASCAR champion can be seen in the garage and pits in his trademark cowboy hat and glasses serving in his roles of team owner and NASCAR ambassador.
And don’t expect that to change anytime soon.
“That is part of it,” Petty said. “If you own the team and you’re not interested in going to see what happens, that can’t be good moral for the team. I go because I want to go, too. I enjoy being around and watching all the stuff. You go in there and try to give them … they don’t listen to what I want them to do. At least give them support, ‘You guys can do this, you can, just keep working at it.’ It’s a confidence builder for them to know I pay the bills, but I’m also interested in what comes out in the end.”
Three months from celebrating his 80th birthday, Petty is able to see his families’ story documented in the Hall of Fame’s “Petty: Building a Family Legacy” exhibit, which runs until July.
But according to NBC Sports analyst Kyle Petty, his father wouldn’t have made it this far if not for fulfilling his desire to keep tabs on Richard Petty Motorsports and NASCAR.
“My sisters and I have talked about it,” Kyle Petty said. “If it wasn’t for racing, he wouldn’t make it to 80. … Because he would just sit down and stop. He wouldn’t have anything to do.
“If it wasn’t for racing people and being able to walk through that garage and talk to people. Yeah, he wouldn’t have made it this far.”
His father agrees.
“Mentally, I couldn’t do it,” Richard Petty said. “I’m a strong believer in mind over matter. You do what your mind tells you to do, whether your body wants to do it or whatever. I think that’s what kept me going from that standpoint.”
If not for racing, the Petty families’ trajectory might not have taken them far from Level Cross, North Carolina, where Lee and Elizabeth Petty raised their family and the school in Randleman both Richard and Kyle attended. The small student body meant Richard was one of 13 or 14 members of the football team and a performer in the marching band that played at halftime.
This part of “The King’s” life is touched on in the Hall of Fame exhibit by his trumpet.
But it was the music provided by stock car engines that fueled the Pettys.
“We lived on a dirt road and all the guys around us were the same way,” Richard Petty said. “They had nothing. So I didn’t know that until dad started racing. We’d go to Greensboro, we’d go to Martinsville or we’d go to Philadelphia. They had indoor plumbing, this is great. We grew up in that era. So that made you appreciate all the stuff going on. … Racing was all I ever knew. We raised a garden, so I knew how to raise a garden, but I didn’t know how to farm. I didn’t know how to be in the lumber business like my granddaddy was. I didn’t want to be in the liquor business.”
Because the Pettys pursued racing instead of farming – and liquor – the Buick Regal driven by Richard Petty to his seventh and final Daytona 500 win in 1981 sits next to a replica of the 1959 Oldsmobile Lee Petty drove in his own Hall of Fame career.
Not far away is the No. 42 Pontiac Grand Prix Kyle Petty drove to one of his eight Cup wins. Next to it is a No. 45 Monte Carlo Kyle’s son Adam Petty drove in his tragically brief career.
Display cases show letters, typewriters, pictures, trophies and oddities that make up the Petty story.
Not many athletes, in auto racing or any sport, can say the end of their career was honored by a comic book.
The exhibit chronicles the family dynasty and its many contributors, from Richard’s brother and engine builder, Maurice Petty, to his cousin and crew chief, Dale Inman, and his late wife, Lynda Petty.
What does Richard Petty hope today’s generation of drivers can learn from the family oriented exhibit and the Hall of Fame as whole?
“I would like for the next generations coming in to go back a appreciate what Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Lee Petty and Fireball Roberts did,” he said. “Because if it hadn’t been for them, they wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing. I hope they don’t get away from who built the fan base. I was just part of the foundation. … It took all of us to do it. I hope that they don’t think they’re the ones making it happen.”
But Richard Petty is still helping to build the sport, 25 years after he last took a checkered flag.
Don’t expect him to ever hold a press conference in Daytona announcing he’s stepping away from the sport full-time.
“That would go over like a lead balloon,” he said. “I went that many years and I don’t want to start a new life. I’ve been going to races for 68 years, since 1949. I don’t know I wouldn’t cut back on going to all the races. But I’m still interested in being nosy enough to know whose doing what.”
After 70 years, ageless wonder Red Farmer still racing – and winning.
By Jerry Bonkowski
The only thing more amazing than legendary short track racer Red Farmer continuing to race regularly at the age of 84 is that he continues to win.
Recently named one of 20 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018, Charles “Red” Farmer is doing anything but slowing down in his golden years.
Instead of sitting in a rocking chair, he’s behind the wheel of his Late Model and still putting racers 60 or more years younger than him to shame.
Farmer’s favorite track – and one he competes on most weekends from April to October – is the Talladega Short Track, a 1/3-mile dirt track across the street from Talladega Superspeedway.
“I look forward to Saturday every week because I know I’m going to go and race in my car and run,” Farmer told NBC Sports.
But don’t think that because of his age, Farmer is a start-and-park driver.
Farmer finished third in the standings last season at Talladega Short Track. He led the points the first 10 weeks before he had to skip a couple of races. Had he not missed those two races, he likely would have won the track championship.
Two weeks ago, Farmer won a qualifying heat race at Talladega Short Track, just three days after undergoing a heart procedure.
When he was discharged from the hospital on a Wednesday, his doctor told Farmer not to drive anything for 48 hours. Obviously, his doctor forgot Red was a racer, Farmer said, laughing as he related the tale.
“But they didn’t say nothing about me racing on Saturday night,” Farmer chuckled.
So what happened?
“I won the heat race, had a front row starting spot in the feature, but I didn’t think running the whole race would be too smart,” Farmer said. “I had a little bit of pain in there when they had the tube in me.
“They said if I started bleeding again, that I’d have to go to the emergency room. I hated to give up the front row start because the car was so good, but I let a buddy of mine – Chris Mullenix – drive for me. They put him to the rear. It was hard to give up. That’s the way racing goes. Sometimes, it doesn’t wind up like you want it to.”
Farmer then described the heart procedure he underwent in another humor-filled manner.
“I had two oil lines that were (blocked) 50 percent – that’s what I call ‘em – and I got a burnt valve in my heart,” he said of his arteries and heart. “They said the two oil lines that were plugged up about 50 percent was not enough to put a stent or anything like that; they have to be worse.
“So I figure that at 84, almost 85 years old and I only have 50 percent blockage, I’m in pretty good shape.”
ONE OF THE MOST REVERED RACERS
Farmer is an iconic racer. He’s enshrined in several Halls of Fame, including the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, the Dirt Track Hall of Fame, Living Legends of Auto Racing in Daytona Beach and the Jacksonville Hall of Fame.
“They’ve all been great honors,” Farmer said.
But the biggest honor Farmer feels he’s ever received was “when I was voted one of the 50 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR history in its 50th year (1998). That was quite an honor to be in that top 50.
“I look back at that list now and I think there was only one guy I never raced against, and that was Red Byron, who won the first NASCAR championship in 1948. But he quit in 1951 or 1952, and I started in 1953.
“But all the other great drivers in there – Lee and Richard Petty, Buck and Buddy Baker, Junior Johnson, Ralph Moody and all those guys that made that 50 Greatest Drivers list, I raced against all of them at one time or another. It was quite an honor, it really was.”
But soon, Farmer could potentially earn what would be the biggest honor of his 70-year racing career: possible induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
“It was a great honor to be able to get in that top 20, that short list,” Farmer said. “I’ve been a NASCAR member since 1953 when I ran out on the beach course in Daytona. There’s an awful lot of good people on that list, that’s for sure.”
“This would probably be the ultimate. It’s like the star on top of the Christmas tree. It’s a great honor to be in the other Halls of Fame, but this one here (NASCAR Hall of Fame) is the ultimate. It’d be a big honor if I get elected.”
While he’d welcome induction into NASCAR’s Hall, it would be sweeter if something else also happened.
“The only thing that would make it better is if Davey (Allison) and myself both got in it together at the same time,” Farmer said. “That would be unbelievable, really.”
Farmer and Davey Allison, son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison, were very close. Farmer was injured in the same helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway that claimed Davey Allison’s life in July 1993.
Like Farmer, Davey Allison is in his first year as a NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee.
“Davey was like a second son to me and I worked as his crew chief and car chief for about eight or nine years in the (Busch) Series,” Farmer said. “That would probably be the ultimate right there, if me and Davey both went in together. But if we don’t, I hope he gets in anyway, and maybe I’ll get in later. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
Farmer still lives in Hueytown, Alabama, about an hour west of Talladega, in the same house he’s lived in over 54 years.
The love of Red’s life, wife Joan, passed away in June 2015, a week after the couple celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.
But family is still at the center of Red’s life, as he races regularly with grandsons Lee and Matt Burdett at Talladega Short Track.
“This year starts my 70th year of racing,” Farmer said. “I started driving in 1948, so I’ve been racing for 70 years. I just love it.”
Why does he keep racing?
“It’s hard to explain unless you are a driver, but it’s like people that get up with playing golf or bowling or hunting, anything that they really love to do,” Farmer said. “I’m still competitive, that’s the main thing. As long as I can be competitive and race with those youngsters.
“It’s just something I love to do. I go out to the garage every day at 8:30 in the morning and work on my cars until about 5:30 in the afternoon. I have three cars in my race shop that I work on. I still love working on the cars, going out there and racing and trying to keep up with all these youngsters. It’s just something in my blood that I love to do.”
How long will Farmer keep racing?
“As long as I’m competitive and still have good health, I’m going to run,” he said.“ I don’t have a timetable, but I figure if the time’s right, then I’ll quit.”
A DIFFERENT CAREER COURSE
Farmer was part of NASCAR’s original Alabama Gang that came out of Hueytown in the mid-1960s, along with brothers Bobby and Donnie Allison.
“When we were running as the Alabama Gang with Bobby and Donnie, back in the 60’s, we ran 106 races in one year,” Farmer said. “We were pulling the cars all over in an open trailer behind a pickup truck and we ran all over the country.”
Although Bobby and Donnie took to the Grand National Series, Farmer decided to do what he did best – race on short tracks.
How many races Farmer has won in 70 years varies widely. Because records weren’t as well-kept as they are today, estimates of Farmer’s trips to victory lane range between 600 to more than 900 wins. And then there’s countless match races he won.
And even though he competed in just 36 NASCAR Grand National races (0 wins, 2 top-fives and one other top-10) in his career, his legendary NASCAR short track prowess landed him not only on the 50 Greatest Drivers of NASCAR list in 1998, but also contributed to his being on this year’s NASCAR Hall of Fame nomination list.
Farmer, whose age has often been in dispute, said he was born in 1932. He drove in his first race in 1948 – and has been going virtually non-stop ever since.
“My first race was Opa-Locka, Florida in 1948, on an abandoned Air Force base,” Farmer recalled. “There were two parallel landing strips. We’d run down to the end of one, turn left and go through the dirt and grass, get on the other strip and run down to the other end and turn left again on the grass and dirt. They eventually made it a real race track two years later.
“That’s where we started. We just kind of made our own racetrack.
“I remember that first race still. I flipped the car twice, rolled it over, landed on four wheels and kept on running and finished the race. That was some of the most fun I’ve ever had. It got in my blood and I’ve been doing it for another 70 years.”
Farmer isn’t the only octogenarian still racing. “Big Daddy” Don Garlits and Chris Karamesines are both still drag racing part-time at the ages of 85. Garlits is involved in electric-powered dragsters that approach 200 mph, while Karamesines can still hit 300 mph in his NHRA Top Fuel dragster.
Racing keeps them all feeling young, Farmer said.
“I’ve got a saying that I came up with: ‘How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?’” Farmer said. “Seriously, if you didn’t have a birth certificate and didn’t know old you was, how old would you be? In other words, it’s a state of mind and how you feel about yourself.
“I’ve seen people that are young at 75 and old at 65. I still think that if you don’t have a goal to accomplish or something that you really look forward to, like I do every Saturday night to get out on that racetrack and run, if you’ve got no goals you get older a lot quicker.
“My other saying is, ‘I’m going to wear out, not rust out.’”
SOME OF FARMER’S BEST CAREER STORIES
Farmer has an uncanny memory. Here are some of his favorite stories of his career:
— “I won my first NASCAR championship, the Modified Championship, in 1956. And you know who stood up at the banquet with me at Daytona and won the Sportsman Championship that same year was Ralph Earnhardt (father of Dale and grandfather of Dale Jr.). And then, back in 1990, I had a match race with Dale Earnhardt. That was the year he won the Winston 500, the IROC race and the sportsman race (all on the same weekend at Talladega Superspeedway). And the only race he lost was Friday night in a match race against me at the dirt track.”
— “I won the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman championship in 1969, 1970 and 1971. I said that was enough for me, four national championships was quite an accomplishment, which I never had an idea I’d ever do. I told Jack Ingram, ‘You take over from here,’ and he won the next three (championships in 1972-74).”
— “I was basically a short track driver. I didn’t follow NASCAR’s Grand National much like Bobby and Donnie did. But I also won two ARCA 500s at Talladega in 1984 and 1988 and I won Daytona in 1971. So, I won on two of the biggest racetracks in the country, even though I was a short track driver. I also ran fourth in the Talladega 500 (1972) in a (Grand National) car I built here in the backyard.”
— “One race I wanted to win bad was the Daytona (Late Model) race and I finally won the Permatex 300 in 1971. It was a very special race because my mother (Florence O’Neil) was there for the first race she’d ever been at Daytona. She didn’t travel that much or follow my racing, but she was there when I won and it was on her birthday, February 13, and she got to go to victory circle. I think that’s the biggest race I’ve ever won, to win it on my mother’s birthday.”
— “Everybody always asks me why I didn’t follow what Bobby and Donnie (Allison) did, but back in those days, if you didn’t have a factory sponsor or something like that, you were an also-ran. You’d be lucky to run in the top 15 if you were an independent. I didn’t have the big factory sponsorship, but I was not going to be a backburner, one of them start-and-park cars. I didn’t want to run 30th in a 35-car field and say I was a NASCAR Cup driver. I would rather go out on a short track and win a 30-lap feature and win the race rather than being a backburner. That’s why I didn’t do it. I went back to short track races and won all over the country. I’d rather go out and win at places like Huntsville, Montgomery, Birmingham and run on Friday and Saturday nights – and win races, too. That’s what I was there for, to win races. Second place was like kissing your sister, it don’t do nothing for you.”
— “I had a match race here a few years ago against Kasey Kahne. We were going to run three dashes, like five-lap races. Whoever won two of them was named the champion. I won the first one after I started on the pole and he was on the outside pole. Then the next race, he won the pole and I started on the outside pole and I won that one too. When I won the first two, we didn’t even run the third one.”
SOCCER: Bastian Schweinsteiger scores again, Fire cruise to win.
By Daniel McFadin
(Photo/Getty Images)
Richard Petty has been through a lot in nearly 80 years of life and 35 years of NASCAR racing.
“The King” has broken bones, had parts of his stomach and gallbladder removed and survived a brush with prostate cancer in 1995.
“I got a really good DNA as far as healing,” Petty said last month at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
After all the battle scars sustained through 1,184 Cup races and afterward, Petty feels like he did the day he retired in 1992.
“My daddy (Lee Petty) always said, I don’t know how you’re supposed to feel when you’re this old,” Petty said. “So, I don’t know if I’m 80 or 70 or 50. Basically, physically … I don’t hurt nowhere right now. … I don’t feel like I feel any different than 10 years ago, 20 years ago or 30 years ago.”
Still a constant presence on the Cup circuit, the seven-time NASCAR champion can be seen in the garage and pits in his trademark cowboy hat and glasses serving in his roles of team owner and NASCAR ambassador.
And don’t expect that to change anytime soon.
“That is part of it,” Petty said. “If you own the team and you’re not interested in going to see what happens, that can’t be good moral for the team. I go because I want to go, too. I enjoy being around and watching all the stuff. You go in there and try to give them … they don’t listen to what I want them to do. At least give them support, ‘You guys can do this, you can, just keep working at it.’ It’s a confidence builder for them to know I pay the bills, but I’m also interested in what comes out in the end.”
Three months from celebrating his 80th birthday, Petty is able to see his families’ story documented in the Hall of Fame’s “Petty: Building a Family Legacy” exhibit, which runs until July.
But according to NBC Sports analyst Kyle Petty, his father wouldn’t have made it this far if not for fulfilling his desire to keep tabs on Richard Petty Motorsports and NASCAR.
“My sisters and I have talked about it,” Kyle Petty said. “If it wasn’t for racing, he wouldn’t make it to 80. … Because he would just sit down and stop. He wouldn’t have anything to do.
“If it wasn’t for racing people and being able to walk through that garage and talk to people. Yeah, he wouldn’t have made it this far.”
His father agrees.
“Mentally, I couldn’t do it,” Richard Petty said. “I’m a strong believer in mind over matter. You do what your mind tells you to do, whether your body wants to do it or whatever. I think that’s what kept me going from that standpoint.”
If not for racing, the Petty families’ trajectory might not have taken them far from Level Cross, North Carolina, where Lee and Elizabeth Petty raised their family and the school in Randleman both Richard and Kyle attended. The small student body meant Richard was one of 13 or 14 members of the football team and a performer in the marching band that played at halftime.
This part of “The King’s” life is touched on in the Hall of Fame exhibit by his trumpet.
But it was the music provided by stock car engines that fueled the Pettys.
“We lived on a dirt road and all the guys around us were the same way,” Richard Petty said. “They had nothing. So I didn’t know that until dad started racing. We’d go to Greensboro, we’d go to Martinsville or we’d go to Philadelphia. They had indoor plumbing, this is great. We grew up in that era. So that made you appreciate all the stuff going on. … Racing was all I ever knew. We raised a garden, so I knew how to raise a garden, but I didn’t know how to farm. I didn’t know how to be in the lumber business like my granddaddy was. I didn’t want to be in the liquor business.”
Because the Pettys pursued racing instead of farming – and liquor – the Buick Regal driven by Richard Petty to his seventh and final Daytona 500 win in 1981 sits next to a replica of the 1959 Oldsmobile Lee Petty drove in his own Hall of Fame career.
Not far away is the No. 42 Pontiac Grand Prix Kyle Petty drove to one of his eight Cup wins. Next to it is a No. 45 Monte Carlo Kyle’s son Adam Petty drove in his tragically brief career.
Display cases show letters, typewriters, pictures, trophies and oddities that make up the Petty story.
Not many athletes, in auto racing or any sport, can say the end of their career was honored by a comic book.
The exhibit chronicles the family dynasty and its many contributors, from Richard’s brother and engine builder, Maurice Petty, to his cousin and crew chief, Dale Inman, and his late wife, Lynda Petty.
What does Richard Petty hope today’s generation of drivers can learn from the family oriented exhibit and the Hall of Fame as whole?
“I would like for the next generations coming in to go back a appreciate what Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Lee Petty and Fireball Roberts did,” he said. “Because if it hadn’t been for them, they wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing. I hope they don’t get away from who built the fan base. I was just part of the foundation. … It took all of us to do it. I hope that they don’t think they’re the ones making it happen.”
But Richard Petty is still helping to build the sport, 25 years after he last took a checkered flag.
Don’t expect him to ever hold a press conference in Daytona announcing he’s stepping away from the sport full-time.
“That would go over like a lead balloon,” he said. “I went that many years and I don’t want to start a new life. I’ve been going to races for 68 years, since 1949. I don’t know I wouldn’t cut back on going to all the races. But I’m still interested in being nosy enough to know whose doing what.”
After 70 years, ageless wonder Red Farmer still racing – and winning.
By Jerry Bonkowski
Red Farmer was one of the many NASCAR legends honored during the 50th Daytona 500 in 2008. (Photo/Getty Images)
Recently named one of 20 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018, Charles “Red” Farmer is doing anything but slowing down in his golden years.
Instead of sitting in a rocking chair, he’s behind the wheel of his Late Model and still putting racers 60 or more years younger than him to shame.
Farmer’s favorite track – and one he competes on most weekends from April to October – is the Talladega Short Track, a 1/3-mile dirt track across the street from Talladega Superspeedway.
“I look forward to Saturday every week because I know I’m going to go and race in my car and run,” Farmer told NBC Sports.
But don’t think that because of his age, Farmer is a start-and-park driver.
Farmer finished third in the standings last season at Talladega Short Track. He led the points the first 10 weeks before he had to skip a couple of races. Had he not missed those two races, he likely would have won the track championship.
Two weeks ago, Farmer won a qualifying heat race at Talladega Short Track, just three days after undergoing a heart procedure.
When he was discharged from the hospital on a Wednesday, his doctor told Farmer not to drive anything for 48 hours. Obviously, his doctor forgot Red was a racer, Farmer said, laughing as he related the tale.
“But they didn’t say nothing about me racing on Saturday night,” Farmer chuckled.
So what happened?
“I won the heat race, had a front row starting spot in the feature, but I didn’t think running the whole race would be too smart,” Farmer said. “I had a little bit of pain in there when they had the tube in me.
“They said if I started bleeding again, that I’d have to go to the emergency room. I hated to give up the front row start because the car was so good, but I let a buddy of mine – Chris Mullenix – drive for me. They put him to the rear. It was hard to give up. That’s the way racing goes. Sometimes, it doesn’t wind up like you want it to.”
Farmer then described the heart procedure he underwent in another humor-filled manner.
“I had two oil lines that were (blocked) 50 percent – that’s what I call ‘em – and I got a burnt valve in my heart,” he said of his arteries and heart. “They said the two oil lines that were plugged up about 50 percent was not enough to put a stent or anything like that; they have to be worse.
“So I figure that at 84, almost 85 years old and I only have 50 percent blockage, I’m in pretty good shape.”
ONE OF THE MOST REVERED RACERS
Farmer is an iconic racer. He’s enshrined in several Halls of Fame, including the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, the Dirt Track Hall of Fame, Living Legends of Auto Racing in Daytona Beach and the Jacksonville Hall of Fame.
“They’ve all been great honors,” Farmer said.
But the biggest honor Farmer feels he’s ever received was “when I was voted one of the 50 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR history in its 50th year (1998). That was quite an honor to be in that top 50.
“I look back at that list now and I think there was only one guy I never raced against, and that was Red Byron, who won the first NASCAR championship in 1948. But he quit in 1951 or 1952, and I started in 1953.
“But all the other great drivers in there – Lee and Richard Petty, Buck and Buddy Baker, Junior Johnson, Ralph Moody and all those guys that made that 50 Greatest Drivers list, I raced against all of them at one time or another. It was quite an honor, it really was.”
But soon, Farmer could potentially earn what would be the biggest honor of his 70-year racing career: possible induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
“It was a great honor to be able to get in that top 20, that short list,” Farmer said. “I’ve been a NASCAR member since 1953 when I ran out on the beach course in Daytona. There’s an awful lot of good people on that list, that’s for sure.”
“This would probably be the ultimate. It’s like the star on top of the Christmas tree. It’s a great honor to be in the other Halls of Fame, but this one here (NASCAR Hall of Fame) is the ultimate. It’d be a big honor if I get elected.”
While he’d welcome induction into NASCAR’s Hall, it would be sweeter if something else also happened.
“The only thing that would make it better is if Davey (Allison) and myself both got in it together at the same time,” Farmer said. “That would be unbelievable, really.”
Farmer and Davey Allison, son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison, were very close. Farmer was injured in the same helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway that claimed Davey Allison’s life in July 1993.
Like Farmer, Davey Allison is in his first year as a NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee.
“Davey was like a second son to me and I worked as his crew chief and car chief for about eight or nine years in the (Busch) Series,” Farmer said. “That would probably be the ultimate right there, if me and Davey both went in together. But if we don’t, I hope he gets in anyway, and maybe I’ll get in later. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
Farmer still lives in Hueytown, Alabama, about an hour west of Talladega, in the same house he’s lived in over 54 years.
The love of Red’s life, wife Joan, passed away in June 2015, a week after the couple celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.
But family is still at the center of Red’s life, as he races regularly with grandsons Lee and Matt Burdett at Talladega Short Track.
“This year starts my 70th year of racing,” Farmer said. “I started driving in 1948, so I’ve been racing for 70 years. I just love it.”
Why does he keep racing?
“It’s hard to explain unless you are a driver, but it’s like people that get up with playing golf or bowling or hunting, anything that they really love to do,” Farmer said. “I’m still competitive, that’s the main thing. As long as I can be competitive and race with those youngsters.
“It’s just something I love to do. I go out to the garage every day at 8:30 in the morning and work on my cars until about 5:30 in the afternoon. I have three cars in my race shop that I work on. I still love working on the cars, going out there and racing and trying to keep up with all these youngsters. It’s just something in my blood that I love to do.”
How long will Farmer keep racing?
“As long as I’m competitive and still have good health, I’m going to run,” he said.“ I don’t have a timetable, but I figure if the time’s right, then I’ll quit.”
A DIFFERENT CAREER COURSE
Farmer was part of NASCAR’s original Alabama Gang that came out of Hueytown in the mid-1960s, along with brothers Bobby and Donnie Allison.
“When we were running as the Alabama Gang with Bobby and Donnie, back in the 60’s, we ran 106 races in one year,” Farmer said. “We were pulling the cars all over in an open trailer behind a pickup truck and we ran all over the country.”
Although Bobby and Donnie took to the Grand National Series, Farmer decided to do what he did best – race on short tracks.
How many races Farmer has won in 70 years varies widely. Because records weren’t as well-kept as they are today, estimates of Farmer’s trips to victory lane range between 600 to more than 900 wins. And then there’s countless match races he won.
And even though he competed in just 36 NASCAR Grand National races (0 wins, 2 top-fives and one other top-10) in his career, his legendary NASCAR short track prowess landed him not only on the 50 Greatest Drivers of NASCAR list in 1998, but also contributed to his being on this year’s NASCAR Hall of Fame nomination list.
Farmer, whose age has often been in dispute, said he was born in 1932. He drove in his first race in 1948 – and has been going virtually non-stop ever since.
“My first race was Opa-Locka, Florida in 1948, on an abandoned Air Force base,” Farmer recalled. “There were two parallel landing strips. We’d run down to the end of one, turn left and go through the dirt and grass, get on the other strip and run down to the other end and turn left again on the grass and dirt. They eventually made it a real race track two years later.
“That’s where we started. We just kind of made our own racetrack.
“I remember that first race still. I flipped the car twice, rolled it over, landed on four wheels and kept on running and finished the race. That was some of the most fun I’ve ever had. It got in my blood and I’ve been doing it for another 70 years.”
Farmer isn’t the only octogenarian still racing. “Big Daddy” Don Garlits and Chris Karamesines are both still drag racing part-time at the ages of 85. Garlits is involved in electric-powered dragsters that approach 200 mph, while Karamesines can still hit 300 mph in his NHRA Top Fuel dragster.
Racing keeps them all feeling young, Farmer said.
“I’ve got a saying that I came up with: ‘How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?’” Farmer said. “Seriously, if you didn’t have a birth certificate and didn’t know old you was, how old would you be? In other words, it’s a state of mind and how you feel about yourself.
“I’ve seen people that are young at 75 and old at 65. I still think that if you don’t have a goal to accomplish or something that you really look forward to, like I do every Saturday night to get out on that racetrack and run, if you’ve got no goals you get older a lot quicker.
“My other saying is, ‘I’m going to wear out, not rust out.’”
SOME OF FARMER’S BEST CAREER STORIES
Farmer has an uncanny memory. Here are some of his favorite stories of his career:
— “I won my first NASCAR championship, the Modified Championship, in 1956. And you know who stood up at the banquet with me at Daytona and won the Sportsman Championship that same year was Ralph Earnhardt (father of Dale and grandfather of Dale Jr.). And then, back in 1990, I had a match race with Dale Earnhardt. That was the year he won the Winston 500, the IROC race and the sportsman race (all on the same weekend at Talladega Superspeedway). And the only race he lost was Friday night in a match race against me at the dirt track.”
— “I won the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman championship in 1969, 1970 and 1971. I said that was enough for me, four national championships was quite an accomplishment, which I never had an idea I’d ever do. I told Jack Ingram, ‘You take over from here,’ and he won the next three (championships in 1972-74).”
— “I was basically a short track driver. I didn’t follow NASCAR’s Grand National much like Bobby and Donnie did. But I also won two ARCA 500s at Talladega in 1984 and 1988 and I won Daytona in 1971. So, I won on two of the biggest racetracks in the country, even though I was a short track driver. I also ran fourth in the Talladega 500 (1972) in a (Grand National) car I built here in the backyard.”
— “One race I wanted to win bad was the Daytona (Late Model) race and I finally won the Permatex 300 in 1971. It was a very special race because my mother (Florence O’Neil) was there for the first race she’d ever been at Daytona. She didn’t travel that much or follow my racing, but she was there when I won and it was on her birthday, February 13, and she got to go to victory circle. I think that’s the biggest race I’ve ever won, to win it on my mother’s birthday.”
— “Everybody always asks me why I didn’t follow what Bobby and Donnie (Allison) did, but back in those days, if you didn’t have a factory sponsor or something like that, you were an also-ran. You’d be lucky to run in the top 15 if you were an independent. I didn’t have the big factory sponsorship, but I was not going to be a backburner, one of them start-and-park cars. I didn’t want to run 30th in a 35-car field and say I was a NASCAR Cup driver. I would rather go out on a short track and win a 30-lap feature and win the race rather than being a backburner. That’s why I didn’t do it. I went back to short track races and won all over the country. I’d rather go out and win at places like Huntsville, Montgomery, Birmingham and run on Friday and Saturday nights – and win races, too. That’s what I was there for, to win races. Second place was like kissing your sister, it don’t do nothing for you.”
— “I had a match race here a few years ago against Kasey Kahne. We were going to run three dashes, like five-lap races. Whoever won two of them was named the champion. I won the first one after I started on the pole and he was on the outside pole. Then the next race, he won the pole and I started on the outside pole and I won that one too. When I won the first two, we didn’t even run the third one.”
SOCCER: Bastian Schweinsteiger scores again, Fire cruise to win.
By Dan Santaromita
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Bastian Schweinsteiger has made quite the early impression with the Chicago Fire.
The German midfielder, who wasn't noted for his goal-scoring ability in his European career, scored for the second time in three matches in the Fire's 3-0 win against the New England Revolution.
The Fire had a man advantage from the 27th minute on after Je-Vaughn Watson picked up his second yellow card. Still the Fire didn't have any shots on target for almost the entire first half. Then Schweinsteiger received a pass from Luis Solignac, weaved through the Revolution defense in the box and scored with a low shot to beat goalkeeper Cody Cropper in the 45th minute.
The ironic thing is that Schweinsteiger had more turnovers in the first half than he did in his first two Fire games, but all was forgotten once he scored. Nemanja Nikolic added two goals in the second half to put the game away.
This is the first time in coach Veljko Paunovic's tenure that the Fire have won consecutive league matches. It also marked the end of a three-game homestand in which the Fire gained seven points with two wins and a draw.
"We have our identity now," Nikolic said. "Everybody so badly wanted to play and of course when the atmosphere in the team is good and when the players behind me are in good form, for me it's also easier. They gave me great balls today and I scored two goals, but the most important thing is that in these three games we played at home we achieved seven points and now we have a very difficult three games away so we have to prepare for this from tomorrow."
After failing to get the second goal and put the game away against Columbus last week, the Fire didn't waste much time getting the second goal this time. Two minutes into the second half Solignac again played creator with a centering ball from the right. Initially Michael de Leeuw couldn't connect with a shot, but the ball sat right for Nikolic to finish in front.
Nikolic scored his second later in the half when David Accam, who entered off the bench just over a minute earlier, passed a ball into Nikolic's stride. Nikolic scored his fourth goal of the season with a first-time shot.
With the man advantage, the Fire (3-1-2, 11 points) controlled the game and earned a second straight shutout. The confidence within the team was apparent on the field, although playing up a man for over an hour tends to help with that.
"It goes game-by-game, you got to see what kind of battles you get into early in the game and today it turned out where they went a man down," defender Brandon Vincent said. "It made it easier on us in the back where we could have more possession and not have to defend too much. It's game-by-game, but definitely feeling more confident."
The Fire had over 75 percent of the possession, including holding a majority of the possession before the red card. New England (2-3-1, 7 points) didn't manage to get a shot on target for the first 80 minutes.
"Going back to that locker room and seeing the guys happy and confident and now feeling that we can win every single game, which wasn't the case in the past," Paunovic said. "That's something that motivates me more. That's why we have to work and work and keep on improving."
Real Madrid named opponent for 2017 All-Star Game in Chicago.
By Andy Edwards
(Photo credit: Major League Soccer)
We already knew Real Madrid would be making their way to North America this summer, as the first-ever meeting between the 42-time Spanish first-division champions and arch rival Barcelona, 24-time winners themselves, on non-European soil was announced last month.
Another date on Los Blancos‘ preseason has been officially added and formally announced, as Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos and the rest of Zinedine Zidane’s superstar-laden squad will take on the MLS All-Stars at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 2.
Madrid will be the first Spanish side to face the MLS All-Stars, who have previously taken on various clubs from the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, Scottish Premier League, and Liga MX.
“It is an honor to represent Major League Soccer and to work with our League’s great players in a match against one of the top clubs in the word,” said Chicago Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic. “I know how special it is to compete against Real Madrid and I think our players and fans will also enjoy the experience.”
La Liga: Sampaoli drama sees Sevilla slip up in race for 3rd.
By Andy Edwards
(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
A roundup of Sunday’s action in Spain’s top flight…
Valencia 0-0 Sevilla
The drama surrounding Sevilla manager Jorge Sampaoli is weighing on his team off the field, and beginning to impact results on the field. The 57-year-old Argentine has been heavily linked with the national team job back in his homeland, and tensions reached a boiling point earlier this week when the club released a statement calling it “unacceptable” that the president of the Argentine football federation said he plans to meet with Sampaoli, who may or may not honor his contract through the end of the current season.
On Sunday, Sevilla failed in their bid to keep pace with Atletico Madrid, who won on Sunday, in the race for third place in La Liga, and the automatic place in next season’s UEFA Champions League group stage that comes with it.
Real Betis 2-0 Eibar
Coming into the weekend, Eibar were unbeaten in their last five league games (three straight wins), and Europa League qualification was looking a real possibility. On Sunday, a 2-0 loss away to 14th-place Real Betis, coupled with wins by fellow fifth- and sixth-place chasers Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol, and Eibar now sit eighth and trail Villarreal (who play on Monday), Bilbao and Real Sociedad by four, three and two points, respectively.
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Real Madrid | 31 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 82 | 33 | 49 | 12-4-0 | 11-2-2 | 75 |
| Barcelona | 32 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 91 | 30 | 61 | 12-3-1 | 10-3-3 | 72 |
| Atlético Madrid | 32 | 19 | 8 | 5 | 59 | 24 | 35 | 12-2-2 | 7-6-3 | 65 |
| Sevilla | 32 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 56 | 39 | 17 | 11-3-1 | 7-5-5 | 62 |
| Villarreal | 31 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 45 | 24 | 21 | 9-3-4 | 6-6-3 | 54 |
| Athletic | 32 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 45 | 37 | 8 | 12-3-2 | 4-2-9 | 53 |
| Real Sociedad | 32 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 48 | 45 | 3 | 8-4-4 | 8-0-8 | 52 |
| Eibar | 32 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 52 | 44 | 8 | 9-3-4 | 5-5-6 | 50 |
| Espanyol | 32 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 44 | 42 | 2 | 8-5-3 | 5-5-6 | 49 |
Elsewhere in La Liga
Leganes 0-1 Espanyol
Granada 0-3 Celta Vigo
Monday’s La Liga schedule
Alaves vs. Villarreal — 2:45 p.m. ET
Ligue 1: Falcao scores late winner, preserves Monaco’s 3-point lead.
Associated Press
(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Monaco had Radamel Falcao to thank once again as the Colombia striker came off the bench to score the winner with a superb free kick in a 2-1 home victory against Dijon on Saturday.
Falcao scored an opportunistic winner in a 1-0 defeat of Angers last weekend, and this goal was equally important as it kept Monaco three points clear of Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the French league.
Nabil Dirar scored the first goal midway through the second half, having also set up Falcao’s winner against Angers.
With teenage star Kylian Mbappe enduring a tough evening and Monaco struggling to find space in the first half, 19th-placed Dijon took the lead with a goal from Cedric Varrault shortly before halftime.
Monaco pushed hard after the interval but failed to break Dijon’s solid defense from open play. Falcao first came to the rescue in the 69th minute when the striker hit a free kick from 25 meters (yards) that hit the bar, bounced on `keeper Baptiste Reynet and stopped just in front of the goal line. Dirar rushed toward the ball and hammered it into the back of the net to level.
Falcao, who played 31 minutes, sealed Monaco’s win in the 81st with a sumptuous 20-meter curled strike into the top right corner that left Reynet stranded.
It was Falcao’s 26th goal of a season that has confirmed his return to the highest level and his 18th in 24 league games. Six of those games have been as a substitute since he has occasionally struggled for full fitness.
Falcao warmed up perfectly for the visit of Borussia Dortmund in the return leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday, with Monaco leading 3-2 from the away leg in Germany.
With five games left to play, Nice is guaranteed a top-three finish in the French league for the first time in more than 40 years.
Chasing its first league crown since 1959, the southern side beat struggling Nancy to ensure its first podium slot since it was runner-up behind Saint-Etienne in 1976.
The only team still unbeaten at home, apart from defending champion Paris Saint-Germain, Nice was caught cold against the run of the play after 26 minutes. It recovered with goals from Mickael Le Bihan and Jean-Michael Seri, who scored a brace.
The win kept Nice within four points of leader Monaco, which has one game in hand.
Yoan Cardinale made a reflex save in the 25th minute to deny a direct free kick from Loic Puyo which surprised everyone else in the box, but the Nice `keeper was powerless in the next minute after midfielder Valentin Eysseric failed to clear a corner from the left. That allowed Issiar Dia to recover the ball in the area and serve up an assist for Maurice Dale, who scored from six yards (meters).
The goal triggered an all-out assault on the Nancy goal and the hosts managed to level 10 minutes later. After receiving the ball in front of the area, Younes Belhanda almost lost it but managed to deliver a perfect through ball for Le Bihan, who beat `keeper Guy Roland Ndy Assembe for his third goal this season with a precise shot to the bottom corner.
In the absence of injured striker Alassane Plea and with Mario Balotelli suspended, Le Bihan was given his first start of the season and proved to be a worthy addition to the team, with two other good chances in the second half. Le Bihan scored a brace in February after coming off the bench in a 2-1 win against Montpellier on his return from a 17-month injury layoff.
Eysseric almost doubled his team’s lead immediately after the interval when he dribbled on the left side of the box and forced Ndy Assembe into a fine save. Issiar Dia then committed a clumsy foul on Dalbert Henrique in the box and Seri coolly converted from the spot with a shot right in the center of the goal in the 50th minute.
Seri doubled his tally with five minutes left from Eysseric’s clever assist in the back of the defense.
Montpellier made a big step forward in the fight against relegation with goals from Ryad Boudebouz and Isaac Mbenza.
After posting its first home win since February, the 2012 French champions moved to 12th place, eight points above the danger zone.
It was Boudebouz’s 11th goal this season, his best ever tally in the league.
Also Saturday, Guingamp beat Toulouse 2-1; Metz and Caen drew 2-2; and Rennes defeated Lille 2-0.
Serie A: Milan derby entertains again; Juventus go 8 points clear.
Associated Press
(Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images)
Cristian Zapata’s stoppage-time equalizer prevented the new era at AC Milan from getting off to a losing start on Saturday as the Rossoneri fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at city rival Inter Milan.
Antonio Candreva and Mauro Icardi scored in the first half but Alessio Romagnoli reduced the deficit in the 83rd minute before Zapata’s leveler in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
Milan remained sixth in Serie A, two points above Inter in the race for the final qualifying position for the Europa League.
This was the first match since the $800 million takeover of Milan was completed on Thursday by Chinese-led Rossoneri Sport Luxembourg, ending Silvio Berlusconi’s 31-year reign.
Inter, which is also owned by a Chinese group, was taken over last year by Suning.
“It was an advert for the East, it was a hard-fought match, which gave the fans emotions – both positive and negative,” Milan coach Vincenzo Montella said. “I think Milan and Inter offered up a great spectacle.
“This team gave the last victory to Berlusconi, against Palermo, and also the last trophy and that’s a privilege. A win would have been better today but a draw which arrived in this way and for how the team played is a good start.”
New Milan President Yonghong Li was in the stands for the match, which kicked off at 12:30 p.m. local time – perfect for prime time Chinese television audiences seven hours ahead.
Milan fans unveiled a banner at halftime, mocking that decision as it depicted a man eating cash with chopsticks and the words, “All you can eat … have a nice meal Italian league.”
The Rossoneri supporters also displayed another banner at the start of the first half, with the words: “We hope to see seriousness, commitment and presence. We give our welcome to the new management.”
Milan attacked from the start and almost took the lead in the second minute but Carlos Bacca fired over from close range after Samir Handanovic denied Gerard Deulofeu and a series of shots was charged down.
Deulofeu went close again in the 14th but his effort went off the base of the right post from a tight angle.
Milan looked to be the more dangerous side but Inter broke the deadlock in the 36th on its first real chance. Roberto Gagliardini sent a long ball over the top to Candreva, who shrugged off Mattia De Sciglio to chip it over the onrushing Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Inter doubled its lead a minute from halftime as Ivan Perisic won the ball in midfield, played a one-two with Icardi and then raced down the left flank before pulling back from the byline for the Argentine to tap in at the near post.
It was Icardi’s first goal against Milan in nine matches.
Milan got back in the match in the 66th minute when Romagnoli volleyed in Suso’s cross from close range, giving Milan new belief.
Everyone, including Donnarumma, went up for a corner, which Bacca headed on and Zapata managed to turn into the net off the underside of the bar. Goal-line technology proved the ball had gone over.
It was revenge after the first meeting between the two sides this season had also ended 2-2, following Perisic’s last-minute equalizer.
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Juventus | 32 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 64 | 20 | 44 | 16-0-0 | 10-2-4 | 80 |
| Roma | 32 | 23 | 3 | 6 | 70 | 27 | 43 | 14-1-1 | 9-2-5 | 72 |
| Napoli | 32 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 75 | 33 | 42 | 11-4-2 | 10-3-2 | 70 |
| Lazio | 32 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 54 | 36 | 18 | 10-2-4 | 8-5-3 | 61 |
| Atalanta | 32 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 53 | 35 | 18 | 10-2-3 | 8-4-5 | 60 |
| AC Milan | 32 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 49 | 35 | 14 | 11-2-3 | 6-5-5 | 58 |
| Inter Milan | 32 | 17 | 5 | 10 | 59 | 37 | 22 | 10-3-3 | 7-2-7 | 56 |
| Fiorentina | 32 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 50 | 41 | 9 | 8-7-1 | 6-3-7 | 52 |
Roma’s faint hopes of beating Juventus to the Serie A title are all but over, while it is at risk of losing out on second spot to Napoli.
Roma slipped eight points behind Juventus with just six matches remaining. Third-placed Napoli closed the gap on Roma to just two points after a 3-0 victory over Udinese, thanks to goals from Dries Mertens, Allan and Jose Callejon.
Atalanta remained fifth, two points ahead of AC Milan.
Jasmin Kurtic fired Atalanta in front in the 22nd after good work from Andrea Conti, who went past Antonio Rudiger on the left.
Roma leveled five minutes after the break, when Mohamed Salah knocked down Mario Rui’s cross for Edin Dzeko to tap in and score his 25th league goal of the season, keeping him level with Torino’s Andrea Belotti at the top of the goalscoring charts.
Daniele De Rossi almost scored a spectacular goal but his overhead kick from the edge of the area crashed off the post. Roma hit the woodwork again when Radja Nainggolan’s effort came off the underside of the crossbar.
Gonzalo Higuain scored two first-half goals as Juventus won 2-0 at relegation-threatened Pescara.
La Liga: Madrid, Barca win, remain 3 points apart; up next: El Clasico.
By Andy Edwards
(Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
A roundup of Saturday’s action in Spain’s top flight…
Sporting Gijon 2-3 Real Madrid
If Saturday taught us anything, it’s that the title race is anything but a foregone conclusion. Madrid found themselves a goal down after 14 minutes, and again five minutes into the second half. Fortunately for Zinedine Zidane’s side, the two deficits lasted a combined 12 minutes.
Isco pulled Los Blancos back to 1-1 three minutes after they fell behind, just as Alvaro Morata did the same in the 59th minute.
Through 89 minutes, Madrid looked destined to drop a pair of points that would allow Barcelona to close the gap in the title race to just a single point, with the season’s final El Clasico to be played next Sunday. Then, in the 90th minute, up popped Isco with a low, powerful strike to break the deadlock and improve Madrid’s recent run of results to seven wins in nine games as the season winds down.
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Real Madrid | 31 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 82 | 33 | 49 | 12-4-0 | 11-2-2 | 75 |
| Barcelona | 32 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 91 | 30 | 61 | 12-3-1 | 10-3-3 | 72 |
| Atlético Madrid | 32 | 19 | 8 | 5 | 59 | 24 | 35 | 12-2-2 | 7-6-3 | 65 |
| Sevilla | 31 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 56 | 39 | 17 | 11-3-1 | 7-4-5 | 61 |
| Villarreal | 31 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 45 | 24 | 21 | 9-3-4 | 6-6-3 | 54 |
| Athletic | 32 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 45 | 37 | 8 | 12-3-2 | 4-2-9 | 53 |
| Real Sociedad | 32 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 48 | 45 | 3 | 8-4-4 | 8-0-8 | 52 |
| Eibar | 31 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 52 | 42 | 10 | 9-3-4 | 5-5-5 | 50 |
| Espanyol | 31 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 43 | 42 | 1 | 8-5-3 | 4-5-6 | 46 |
Barcelona 3-2 Real Sociedad
If the last two months have taught us anything, it’s that Barcelona might just be incapable of taking advantage of any and/or every Madrid slip-up. On Saturday, Luis Enrique’s side did what they had to do in order to heap maximum consequence on next weekend’s showdown at the Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi made it 1-0 and 2-0 in the 17th and 37th minutes, but Samuel Umtiti gave one back via an own goal five minutes later. Messi’s brace give the 29-year-old (yes, still) Argentine 498 goals across all official competitions for Barca.
Two minutes later, Paco Alcacer re-established the two-goal lead for all of three minutes of game time. Two minutes into the second half, Xabi Prieto made it 2-1, which is how things would end.
Elsewhere in La Liga
Atletico Madrid 3-0 Osasuna
Deportivo La Coruña 2-0 Malaga
Bundesliga wrap: Bayern stumbles, Top Four looks set.
By Nicholas Mendola
(AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Bayern Munich had a rare stumble, and its three nearest competitors scooped three points each. Fifth place Hertha Berlin lost its match to leave the Bundesliga with its likely top four sides.
Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Marco Reus feasted on a Christian Pulisic assists just two minutes into the game, but Mexico’s Marco Fabian scored to make sure Pulisic wasn’t the only CONCACAF star on the sheet. Sokratis Papastathopolous buried a beauty before Pierre-Emerick again found the scoreboard in an easy-enough win.
RB Leipzig 4-0 Freiburg
Naby Keita, Timo Werner… the usual suspects were on the score sheet for the top flight’s new power as Leipzig climbed to within eight points of leaders Bayern Munich.
Hoffenheim 5-3 Borussia Monchengladbach
Turkey’s Kerem Demirbay and Hungary’s Adam Szalai each recorded braces as Hoffenheim has a double-digit advantage in its race for a Top Four spot. ‘Gladbach didn’t make it easy, coming back from 2-0 to make it 2-2 and 4-2 to make it 4-3 before Demirbay scored his second.
Mainz 1-0 Hertha Berlin
This one stings: Hertha is now 10 points off the Top Four after an own goal from U.S. international John Anthony Brooks.
Elsewhere
Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Bayern Munich
Augsburg 2-1 Koln
Wolfsburg 3-0 Ingolstadt
Standings
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Bayern Munich | 29 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 71 | 15 | 56 | 11-3-0 | 10-3-2 | 69 |
| RB Leipzig | 29 | 19 | 4 | 6 | 55 | 30 | 25 | 12-1-2 | 7-3-4 | 61 |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | 29 | 14 | 12 | 3 | 56 | 31 | 25 | 10-5-0 | 4-7-3 | 54 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 29 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 62 | 33 | 29 | 11-3-0 | 4-5-6 | 53 |
| Hertha BSC Berlin | 29 | 13 | 4 | 12 | 37 | 35 | 2 | 11-1-2 | 2-3-10 | 43 |
| SC Freiburg | 29 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 36 | 51 | -15 | 8-1-5 | 4-4-7 | 41 |
| 1. FC Köln | 29 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 42 | 36 | 6 | 7-5-2 | 3-5-7 | 40 |
| Mönchengladbach | 29 | 11 | 6 | 12 | 37 | 41 | -4 | 7-3-4 | 4-3-8 | 39 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 29 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 29 | 33 | -4 | 6-6-2 | 4-2-9 | 38 |
| FC Schalke 04 | 28 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 37 | 32 | 5 | 8-3-4 | 2-4-7 | 37 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 29 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 42 | 44 | -2 | 5-5-5 | 5-1-8 | 36 |
| Werder Bremen | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 44 | 48 | -4 | 6-1-7 | 4-5-5 | 36 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 29 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 30 | 42 | -12 | 5-2-8 | 4-4-6 | 33 |
| Hamburger SV | 28 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 28 | 51 | -23 | 7-3-4 | 2-3-9 | 33 |
| FSV Mainz 05 | 29 | 9 | 5 | 15 | 37 | 47 | -10 | 6-4-5 | 3-1-10 | 32 |
| FC Augsburg | 29 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 28 | 46 | -18 | 4-5-6 | 4-3-7 | 32 |
| FC Ingolstadt 04 | 29 | 8 | 4 | 17 | 31 | 50 | -19 | 4-3-7 | 4-1-10 | 28 |
| Darmstadt | 28 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 19 | 56 | -37 | 4-3-7 | 0-0-14 | 15 |
Premier League roundup: Man City, Spurs bury their chances.
By Nicholas Mendola
(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
With Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Liverpool all waiting to play, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur firmed up their Top Four chances with blowout wins on Saturday.
At the other end of the table, it’s looking more and more like a two-horse race to avoid one relegation slot (although Middlesbrough has matches-in-hand). Hull City and Swansea City both lost Saturday.
Southampton 0-3 Manchester City — RECAP
Nil-nil at half, Pep Guardiola‘s men built momentum throughout the second half. Vincent Kompany scored his first Premier League goal in 20 months before Kevin De Bruyne teed up Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero for insurance markers. City goes third, level on matches with Liverpool.
Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Bournemouth — RECAP
At the other end of the table, it’s looking more and more like a two-horse race to avoid one relegation slot (although Middlesbrough has matches-in-hand). Hull City and Swansea City both lost Saturday.
Southampton 0-3 Manchester City — RECAP
Nil-nil at half, Pep Guardiola‘s men built momentum throughout the second half. Vincent Kompany scored his first Premier League goal in 20 months before Kevin De Bruyne teed up Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero for insurance markers. City goes third, level on matches with Liverpool.
Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Bournemouth — RECAP
Spurs just keep piling up blowout wins, this one behind two goals in each half. Moussa Dembele and Heung-Min Son buried markers in the first half, then Harry Kane added his 20th of the season before Vincent Janssen rounded out the scoring in stoppage time. Spurs are back within four points of leaders Chelsea.
Stoke City 3-1 Hull City — RECAP
Marko Arnautovic was a man possessed, but it was a lay-off to Xherdan Shaqiri that led to an otherworldly highlight. Those two were joined on Stoke’s scoresheet by Peter Crouch, while Harry Maguire scored Hull’s lone goal. The Tigers remain two points ahead of Swansea for the final safe spot in the league.
Watford 1-0 Swansea City — RECAP
Etienne Capoue scored his first goal of 2017, stopping Swansea City from taking advantage of Hull City’s stumble. Swans remain 18th.
Crystal Palace 2-2 Leicester City — RECAP
Christian Benteke and Yohan Cabaye led the Eagles to a come-from-behind point as Palace moved closer to ensuring its Premier League future. Jamie Vardy and Robert Huth opened the scoring for Leicester.
Sunderland 2-2 West Ham United — RECAP
Wahbi Khazri scored an Olimpico and Fabio Borini also scored, but Sunderland will lament not nabbing all three points from the Irons. Andre Ayew and James Collins netted for the visitors.
Everton 3-1 Burnley — RECAP
Everton started slow, but rallied to score three second-half goals. Phil Jagielka and Sam Vokes traded goals before a Ben Mee own goal and Romelu Lukaku beauty teamed up to close it out at Goodison Park.
NCAABKB: Father of 5-star recruit Kevin Knox says they turned down $1.4 million to play in China.
By Kyle Boone
(Photo/www.madehoops.com)
Kevin Knox, the nation's No. 8 recruit for 2017, is a highly sought prospect considering Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida State and Missouri.
In addition to his college recruitment, he's also getting recruiting pitches from overseas.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Knox turned down a lucrative offer for $1.4 million from a professional team in China, an option that would allow him to make money for one year before becoming NBA draft eligible.
"I didn't put much stock into the offer," Knox's father Kevin told the Tampa Bay Times. "We politely said thanks but no thanks. He's going to college."
That's good news for one college team who will be lucky enough to land his services. The 6-foot-8 Knox is one of the best available recruits that hasn't signed with a school, and could become a game-changer for one of the five programs left on his list.
Although Knox turned down the offer in China, he still has a bright financial future ahead. His family took out a $1 million insurance policy for protection in case of injury before he cashes in at the NBA. But if he develops into the NBA talent that many project, he'll be worth plenty more than that.
NCAAFB: State budget cuts drove need for Northern Illinois to add Florida State to loaded 2018 schedule.
By Bryan Fischer
(Photo/Getty Images)
Northern Illinois raised a few eyebrows a few weeks ago when word came out that they had added a trip to Florida State to their 2018 schedule.
The 2013 Orange Bowl rematch from the days of the BCS was notable not only for the two schools participating in it but because it added to the Huskies’ absolutely loaded non-conference slate even more. In 2018 alone, the program will take trips to Tallahassee as well as Iowa and BYU. The Huskies will sandwich a lone home non-conference game with Utah in there as well.
As it turns out though, the MAC program had a rather unique impetus to adding the Seminoles to their schedule: state budget cuts.
“A $1.6 million infusion (from the FSU game) saved a lot of jobs and a lot of heartbreak in our department,” NIU athletic director Sean Frazier told FoxSports.com. “Our football staff stepped up and were a team player.”
The school has been on the wrong end of political issues in the state of Illinois that have led to huge cuts across higher education. That has trickled down to affect athletics and resulted in the need for a few “paycheck” games for one of the annual contenders in the MAC. Frazier did note that he was going to be upgrading the Huskies' football schedule either way because of changes in the College Football Playoff, but even he would be the first to admit that 2018 is even tougher than it should be because of the financial need to schedule somebody like Florida State.
The 2013 Orange Bowl rematch from the days of the BCS was notable not only for the two schools participating in it but because it added to the Huskies’ absolutely loaded non-conference slate even more. In 2018 alone, the program will take trips to Tallahassee as well as Iowa and BYU. The Huskies will sandwich a lone home non-conference game with Utah in there as well.
As it turns out though, the MAC program had a rather unique impetus to adding the Seminoles to their schedule: state budget cuts.
“A $1.6 million infusion (from the FSU game) saved a lot of jobs and a lot of heartbreak in our department,” NIU athletic director Sean Frazier told FoxSports.com. “Our football staff stepped up and were a team player.”
The school has been on the wrong end of political issues in the state of Illinois that have led to huge cuts across higher education. That has trickled down to affect athletics and resulted in the need for a few “paycheck” games for one of the annual contenders in the MAC. Frazier did note that he was going to be upgrading the Huskies' football schedule either way because of changes in the College Football Playoff, but even he would be the first to admit that 2018 is even tougher than it should be because of the financial need to schedule somebody like Florida State.
Safe to say that Northern Illinois will open next season with the most difficult schedule in the country as a result of all that maneuvering. The flip side is the benefits from games like the one at FSU will go a long ways toward keeping the athletic department running much smoother down in DeKalb.
Nick Saban isn't thrilled about any potential NCAA action regarding staff sizes.
By Nick Bromberg
(Photo/footballscoop.com)
Could the NCAA make a move to limit the size of support staff a top-level football team employs?
As the sanctioning body approved a 10th assistant coach for coaching staffs beginning in 2018, discussion regarding the number of people a program utilizes quickly became a discussion. Big 12 commissioner and Football Oversight Committee chairman Bob Bowlsby said the committee would look at the sizes of support staffs in the upcoming year and that one unnamed program employed 97 people.
As the sanctioning body approved a 10th assistant coach for coaching staffs beginning in 2018, discussion regarding the number of people a program utilizes quickly became a discussion. Big 12 commissioner and Football Oversight Committee chairman Bob Bowlsby said the committee would look at the sizes of support staffs in the upcoming year and that one unnamed program employed 97 people.
“I think that door has been open for a while,” Bowlsby said via Al.com. “We’re seeing very large staff. We see non-coaching personnel doing coaching duties. It is one of our two priorities for the Football Oversight Committee for the coming year … looking at personnel and how personnel should be deployed in the football coaching staff environment.”
It’s fair to assume that the program with nearly 100 support positions is a big revenue program, possibly Alabama. After all, Alabama coach Nick Saban has hired former FBS coaches like Steve Sarkisian and Mike Locksley to analyst positions. Analysts can help with play design and game-planning but they can’t have a coaching role.
On Friday, Saban was happy that he would be able to officially add a 10th assistant coach next season. But he wasn’t too happy with any dive the NCAA and its committees could be doing to potentially limit the size of support staffs. From Bama Insider:
“All these people that complain about staff sizes, I mean, we pay interns really, really little money,” Saban said. “Very small amount of money. You would be shocked at how cheap the labor really is. It’s almost criminal. And why we have administrators complaining about how many cheap labor people you have, trying to promote the profession, trying to do something to develop our game and the coaches in the game, because how else do you develop guys?”
A former head coach at New Mexico and offensive coordinator at Alabama, Locksley was making $45,000 as an analyst in 2016 before he was promoted to a full-time assistant in 2017. And it’s fair to assume that other staffers without Locksley’s résumé were making even less than that. Saban, meanwhile, was the second-highest paid coach in 2016 with a salary near $7 million.
Given Saban’s salary, it’s hard to hear him say it’s “almost criminal” what Alabama pays its interns when $1 million from his annual pay spread to dozens of positions would have a far greater impact per-person than the pay cut he’d be getting. And while it’s universally true across professions that entry-level jobs pay far, far less than CEO-level gigs, Saban is in a very unique position to be able to change the pay structure at his employer.
He also doesn’t have to. Alabama is an incredibly attractive place to get a start or restart in coaching because of Saban’s excellence and the prestige of the program. And the same goes for other big programs like Michigan, Ohio State, LSU, USC, Texas and on and on.
But we’re a relatively long way away from any potential action by the NCAA regarding staff size and it’s unclear just how the NCAA could regulate the number of people a team employs. Given the NCAA’s lengthy enforcement process when it comes to current infractions, it’s OK to wonder if an additional realm of oversight is a good idea.
And if staff sizes do end up being limited, then programs will figure out a way to spend the money they rake in another way. Like maybe installing 60-inch televisions above players’ lockers instead of measly 43-inch ones.
Classic Empire clinches Kentucky Derby spot with Oaklawn win.
AP
(Photo/isportsweb.com)
Two-year-old champion Classic Empire recovered from a poor performance his last time out and locked up a Kentucky Derby bid Saturday with a come-from-well-behind win in the $1 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park.
Malagacy lost for the first time, finishing fifth, but the points he picked up last month in the Rebel Stakes are enough to send him to Churchill Downs, too. Conquest Mo Money, which broke fast but couldn't hold off Classic Empire in the final 16th-mile, could be Kentucky-bound if his owners put up a $200,000 supplemental fee.
Earlier Saturday, Senior Investment chased down West Coast in the final furlong to win the $200,000 Grade 3 Lexington by a head Saturday at Keeneland, but the 10 points he earned leaves him outside looking in for the May 6 Kentucky Derby. His win in the 1 1/16-mile race was his third in five starts, and his first graded stakes victory.
Classic Empire had finished third at February's Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park, but well off the pace. He caught Conquest Mo Money just shy of the wire in the 1 1/8-mile Grade 1 race and won by a half-length. Lookin at Lee and Sonneteer finished third and fourth, but did not win enough qualifying points to automatically be considered for the Kentucky Derby.
Steve Asmussen, the trainer of Lookin at Lee, said he would continue training the horse with the hope that it can be a Kentucky Derby entrant.
"He's a tremendous horse. He just shows up. He's sixth 70 yards from the wire," Asmussen said. "I mean, he never quits trying, and you'd love to see him rewarded for that effort."
And even though his horse was chased down in the final yards, Miguel Hernandez said he was happy with Conquest Mo Money's performance.
"Oh, my God. It's so exciting," he said. "I want to say, I said, 'I got it. I got it. I got it.'
"Right by the three-quarter pole, I thought he was going to quit. He came back. I'm happy with the way he ran," Hernandez said.
At the Lexington, running on two weeks' rest didn't bother Senior Investment, whose strong close so impressed trainer Ken McPeek that the distance almost seemed too short and the Kentucky Derby points reward too small for his horse, which had finished sixth in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds.
Lagging back entering the final turn, Senior Investment surged late and nipped West Coast by a head.
"He timed it right," jockey Channing Hill said.
McPeek, meanwhile, wondered what Senior Investment could have done in a longer race if given the chance.
"I really felt like a mile and an eighth would have been great for him," McPeek said. "I think Churchill (Downs) ought to add more (Kentucky Derby qualifying) points to this race immediately, but that's the way the ball bounced."
At Oaklawn, Classic Empire paid $5.80, $4.40 and 3.80.
At Keeneland, Senior Investment paid $24.20, $8.20 and $4.20.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Monday, April 17, 2017.
Memoriesofhistory.com
1892 - At Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, the first National League game to be played on Sunday took place. The Reds beat the Browns 5-1.
1947 - Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers) performed a bunt for his first major league hit.
1967 - The U.S. Supreme Court barred Muhammad Ali's request to be blocked from induction into the U.S. Army.
2001 - Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) hit his 500th home run.
2010 - Ubaldo Jiménez threw the first no-hitter in Colorado Rockies history. The Rockies beat the Braves 4-0.
1947 - Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers) performed a bunt for his first major league hit.
1967 - The U.S. Supreme Court barred Muhammad Ali's request to be blocked from induction into the U.S. Army.
2001 - Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) hit his 500th home run.
2010 - Ubaldo Jiménez threw the first no-hitter in Colorado Rockies history. The Rockies beat the Braves 4-0.
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