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"Sports Quote of the Day"
"You've got to be the best at what you can do - be the best at it! And the best has to be the best; you can't just fiddle around and hope." ~ Anouska Hempel, Hotelier, Designer and Former Actress
TRENDING: Multiple routes for Mitch Trubisky to Bears starting QB. (See the football section for Bears news and NFL updates).
(Photo/USA TODAY)
TRENDING: Blackhawks’ Stan Bowman sets record straight. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).
TRENDING: Bulls will have plenty of options in 2017 NBA Draft. (See the basketball section for Bulls news and NBA updates).
TRENDING: Cubs spin after Cardinals beat Jake Arrieta: ‘I don’t think there’s any reason to panic’. White Sox score eight times in eighth for comeback win over Padres. (See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).
TRENDING: Kim becomes youngest Players champ in history. (See the golf section for PGA news and tournament updates).
TRENDING: After prior misses, Truex earns a strike with Go Bowling 400 win at Kansas. (See the NASCAR section for NASCAR news and racing updates).
TRENDING: Fire pour it on to knock off defending champ Seattle in front of full house. (See the soccer section for Fire news and worldwide soccer updates).
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Multiple routes for Mitch Trubisky to Bears starting QB.
By John Mullin
(Photo/AP)
Rookie minicamp ended Sunday for the Bears but now a measure of franchise intrigue around Mitch Trubisky starts to build behind the curtain of closed practices. Because the ultimate question about the rookie quarterback now shifts from “how’d he look?” to, with apologies to Mark Sanchez, “who’s better, Mike Glennon or The Kid?” And since all but a few OTA sessions are closed, the answer to any of that is weeks off, maybe months, and it may not be known until starting lineups are actually set.
The Bears are adjusting elements of their quarterback coaching plan for Trubisky, apparent if for no other reason than coaches don’t want to discuss details of whatever. The fact is that over much of the next month or so, Trubisky could astound and even surpass the presumed starter. It’s happened before, although “surprise” wouldn’t quite cover it in this case.
“Really it’s going to start tomorrow,” said coach John Fox on Sunday, the “it” really referring to the bigger picture that Fox is focusing, not just on rookie development. “We’ll spend a little more time with the rookies early in meetings and then we’ll kind of inject them into Phase II of what we’re doing. Obviously we’re not practicing against each other; we can’t do that until Phase III of the OTAs, but there is classroom settings as well as some field time not going against each other.”
The Bears have named Glennon the starter. More than once. But Fox has stated repeatedly what somebody has to be “the starter” at this or any point. He’s demonstrated that depth charts are the definition of “fluid.” Glennon may ultimately be the starter. He and the Bears are certainly planning on it, with Trubisky getting a redshirt year.
But Fox is old school with respect to who plays: not the guy who’ll be better down the road, but the guy who’s better. Present tense. Period. And a core reality here is that Glennon, besides having on-field experience, also knows exactly how the NFL ultimately works – if the coaches think the other guy is better, he plays. If Glennon has a problem with that, you don’t want him anyway.
Trubisky uses the word “competition” even if no one else wants to right now. “We know Mike’s the starter, but competition brings out the best in everyone,” Trubisky said on Friday. “I’m going to come out here and compete. But we know Mike is the starter, so it’s my job to support him and make sure everything I do I can help him as well.”
The NFL, however, is too replete with examples of depth charts being scrambled by rookies. The Bears have been involved in some of those.
Case study: Leonard Floyd
The Bears are adjusting elements of their quarterback coaching plan for Trubisky, apparent if for no other reason than coaches don’t want to discuss details of whatever. The fact is that over much of the next month or so, Trubisky could astound and even surpass the presumed starter. It’s happened before, although “surprise” wouldn’t quite cover it in this case.
“Really it’s going to start tomorrow,” said coach John Fox on Sunday, the “it” really referring to the bigger picture that Fox is focusing, not just on rookie development. “We’ll spend a little more time with the rookies early in meetings and then we’ll kind of inject them into Phase II of what we’re doing. Obviously we’re not practicing against each other; we can’t do that until Phase III of the OTAs, but there is classroom settings as well as some field time not going against each other.”
The Bears have named Glennon the starter. More than once. But Fox has stated repeatedly what somebody has to be “the starter” at this or any point. He’s demonstrated that depth charts are the definition of “fluid.” Glennon may ultimately be the starter. He and the Bears are certainly planning on it, with Trubisky getting a redshirt year.
But Fox is old school with respect to who plays: not the guy who’ll be better down the road, but the guy who’s better. Present tense. Period. And a core reality here is that Glennon, besides having on-field experience, also knows exactly how the NFL ultimately works – if the coaches think the other guy is better, he plays. If Glennon has a problem with that, you don’t want him anyway.
Trubisky uses the word “competition” even if no one else wants to right now. “We know Mike’s the starter, but competition brings out the best in everyone,” Trubisky said on Friday. “I’m going to come out here and compete. But we know Mike is the starter, so it’s my job to support him and make sure everything I do I can help him as well.”
The NFL, however, is too replete with examples of depth charts being scrambled by rookies. The Bears have been involved in some of those.
Case study: Leonard Floyd
Consider how 2016 unfolded for the Bears and No. 1 pick Leonard Floyd. Not the same position as Trubisky, obviously, but the scenario offered insight into how the Fox staff operates.
Floyd didn’t start until the normally throwaway fourth preseason game but played more than half of Cleveland’s snaps in the game, finishing with three tackles and a quarterback hit. The next time the Bears took the field, Floyd was a starting outside linebacker opposite Willie Young against the Houston Texans on opening day.
Floyd had quietly moved past Sam Acho and Lamarr Houston, who had started in the preseason, at outside linebacker. And while an apparent factor could have been that Pernell McPhee was still in knee rehab, the fact was that Floyd would eventually start five games in which McPhee was active.
So no matter what Fox, GM Ryan Pace, O-coordinator Dowell Loggains or anyone else says at this moment, Trubisky is competing with a chance to become the starter.
Case study: Jack Del Rio-Zach Thomas
Jimmy Johnson in 1996 signed veteran linebacker Jack Del Rio to a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins; that was in early June, more than six weeks after the Dolphins had drafted Zach Thomas in that year’s fifth round. Del Rio had been a Pro-Bowler two years earlier.
One day after the first preseason game, Johnson cut Del Rio, who’d started for Johnson earlier in his career. Asked why the call to go with the rookie, Johnson said simply, “Zach’s better.”
Any more questions? There were none.
Case study: Brian Urlacher
The day after the 2000 draft, then-coach Dick Jauron announced that Brian Urlacher, the team’s No. 1 pick, ninth-overall, was the starting strongside linebacker. It was a decision the staff had to reverse when Urlacher lost the job to a supremely motivated Roosevelt Colvin after just two preseason games. Jauron acknowledged that giving a job to an unproven anybody was a mistake. Opportunity finally came for Urlacher when Barry Minter was injured in a blowout loss at Tampa. Urlacher stepped in at middle linebacker and all went as it should have.
Urlacher hadn’t beaten out Minter when the change came. Players do not lose jobs because of injury. They lose them because the individual who fills in for them turns out to be better than they are. Urlacher made his first start the following week and started a streak with 6 sacks over the next five games.
Case study: Mike Glennon-Jameis Winston
Glennon was the Tampa Bay starter when the Buccaneers drafted Jameis Winston No. 1 overall in 2015. At this point of the 2015 offseason, Glennon was still the Tampa Bay starter. Winston was taking No. 2 reps in OTA’s, which for the Bears this year start later this month. Those culminated with the three-day mandatory minicamp in mid-June.
At that point, the Lovie Smith staff had seen what they needed and wanted to: Winston was named the starter going into training camp. A light parallel in Philadelphia last year:
As training camp and preseason were winding along, No. 2-overall pick Carson Wentz was third on the Philadelphia depth chart, behind both Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel. The Eagles traded starter Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings and leap-frogged Wentz over Daniel into the No. 1 slot. Who knew?
A qualifier in Winston’s case, besides him being an exceptional student of the game, which there is no reason to suspect that Trubisky is not, was that he also had 27 starts in pro-style offense under coach Jimbo Fisher at Florida State, vs. 13 starts in a spread offense for Trubisky. Wentz’s experience similarly dwarfs Trubisky’s.
No expectation exists that Trubisky will be the Bears’ starting quarterback at any point this season, other than perhaps the starter for the fourth preseason game, which incidentally will be in Soldier Field.
Good seats still available.
Floyd didn’t start until the normally throwaway fourth preseason game but played more than half of Cleveland’s snaps in the game, finishing with three tackles and a quarterback hit. The next time the Bears took the field, Floyd was a starting outside linebacker opposite Willie Young against the Houston Texans on opening day.
Floyd had quietly moved past Sam Acho and Lamarr Houston, who had started in the preseason, at outside linebacker. And while an apparent factor could have been that Pernell McPhee was still in knee rehab, the fact was that Floyd would eventually start five games in which McPhee was active.
So no matter what Fox, GM Ryan Pace, O-coordinator Dowell Loggains or anyone else says at this moment, Trubisky is competing with a chance to become the starter.
Case study: Jack Del Rio-Zach Thomas
Jimmy Johnson in 1996 signed veteran linebacker Jack Del Rio to a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins; that was in early June, more than six weeks after the Dolphins had drafted Zach Thomas in that year’s fifth round. Del Rio had been a Pro-Bowler two years earlier.
One day after the first preseason game, Johnson cut Del Rio, who’d started for Johnson earlier in his career. Asked why the call to go with the rookie, Johnson said simply, “Zach’s better.”
Any more questions? There were none.
Case study: Brian Urlacher
The day after the 2000 draft, then-coach Dick Jauron announced that Brian Urlacher, the team’s No. 1 pick, ninth-overall, was the starting strongside linebacker. It was a decision the staff had to reverse when Urlacher lost the job to a supremely motivated Roosevelt Colvin after just two preseason games. Jauron acknowledged that giving a job to an unproven anybody was a mistake. Opportunity finally came for Urlacher when Barry Minter was injured in a blowout loss at Tampa. Urlacher stepped in at middle linebacker and all went as it should have.
Urlacher hadn’t beaten out Minter when the change came. Players do not lose jobs because of injury. They lose them because the individual who fills in for them turns out to be better than they are. Urlacher made his first start the following week and started a streak with 6 sacks over the next five games.
Case study: Mike Glennon-Jameis Winston
Glennon was the Tampa Bay starter when the Buccaneers drafted Jameis Winston No. 1 overall in 2015. At this point of the 2015 offseason, Glennon was still the Tampa Bay starter. Winston was taking No. 2 reps in OTA’s, which for the Bears this year start later this month. Those culminated with the three-day mandatory minicamp in mid-June.
At that point, the Lovie Smith staff had seen what they needed and wanted to: Winston was named the starter going into training camp. A light parallel in Philadelphia last year:
As training camp and preseason were winding along, No. 2-overall pick Carson Wentz was third on the Philadelphia depth chart, behind both Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel. The Eagles traded starter Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings and leap-frogged Wentz over Daniel into the No. 1 slot. Who knew?
A qualifier in Winston’s case, besides him being an exceptional student of the game, which there is no reason to suspect that Trubisky is not, was that he also had 27 starts in pro-style offense under coach Jimbo Fisher at Florida State, vs. 13 starts in a spread offense for Trubisky. Wentz’s experience similarly dwarfs Trubisky’s.
No expectation exists that Trubisky will be the Bears’ starting quarterback at any point this season, other than perhaps the starter for the fourth preseason game, which incidentally will be in Soldier Field.
Good seats still available.
Bears looking beyond rookies for defensive boost.
By John Mullin
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
With only one 2017 draft choice spent on defense, and that player — Alabama safety Eddie Jackson, fourth round — being held out as part of rehab from a broken leg suffered last October, the defensive report on this weekend’s rookie minicamp would be ... well ... maybe later.
More to the bigger Bears point than the influx of rookies is the virtual tsunami of veteran players that point to likely no fewer than six new starters from the lineup that finished the 2016 season.
The number might have been as high as seven but middle linebacker Danny Trevathan’s return from a ruptured patellar tendon, suffered in the Nov. 27 loss to the Tennessee Titans, is problematic at this point.
“I think that's in question whether he'll be ready [by training camp] at that point,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said.
But the defense, which stumbled badly when nose tackle Eddie Goldman was out with an ankle injury, has added two starting cornerbacks – Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper — plus a starting safety – Quintin Demps — and added mass on the defensive line with Jaye Howard and John Jenkins.
The key, however, projects to be Leonard Floyd, whose otherwise standout rookie season (7 sacks) was hampered by two concussions and a total of four missed games.
“He’s got a foundation of a year behind him, and he was only available about half the time last year,” Fangio said. “He had a bunch of those little injuries that interrupted his progress throughout the season. Hopefully with the year under his belt, getting in better shape, better condition, and take off. If he stays healthy, I feel good about him.
“He had a nice stretch there. I don’t remember the exact games, maybe it was like Game 9-12 where he was practicing and playing and you could see him coming. Then he got dinged twice in the last two games, or the last four games and it interrupted again.”
The Bears did not pick up the fifth-year option on cornerback Kyle Fuller, a distinct longshot after missing all of 2016 with a knee injury and clearly not a favorite of this coaching staff. But Fangio is declaring “competition,” which could give Fuller a shot at restarting a career that has faltered badly.
“Absolutely, I mean, it's wide open,” Fangio said. “I hope to see Kyle healthy and out there running around. Moving like he's 100 percent, and we'll go from there.”
Bears new wideout coach hopes to bring best out of Kevin White.
By Chris Boden
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Zach Azzanni's been on the Bears coaching staff less than three months, the same length of time he's been an NFL coach.
What's that name again?
The one-time wide receiver from Central Michigan had been in the collegiate coaching ranks in the 18 years since graduating, covering seven stops (most recently the past four years at Tennessee). But as John Fox's third wide receivers coach in as many years here, the hope is the third year, and position coach, is the charm for the man who becomes Azzanni's pet project, 2015 first rounder Kevin White.
"His past two position coaches (Mike Groh and Curtis Johnson) probably haven't been able to develop him as they would've liked because of the injury setbacks (four games in his first two seasons)," Azzanni said Friday afternoon in Lake Forest. "So I get to almost start from Square One. Nothing against those guys, they just weren't able to get him out there a lot. So some of the bad habits he may still have from college I get to come in and try to break those habits."
"It's a fresh start for him in a lot of ways. My man's got a new number (switching from an apparently unlucky 13 to 11), he's got a new coach, he's healthy. So, knock on wood, good things for him right now."
But with health must come a rebuilding of White's confidence and growing what was a limited route tree at West Virginia, which hasn't been able to grow much in two injury-plagued years.
"We met the other day and I asked him, 'Look what do you think you are?' He said, `I'm a big physical guy. I'm aggressive with the ball in the air...' So I said, `OK that's what we have to be. When I press play I wanna see a big physical guy that's strong with the ball in the air.' And some of those things you saw last year, saw some flashes.
"The other thing I liked about him (in reviewing last year's limited tape): He made a catch on the sideline (in what would his last game, versus Detroit) and he got up, and I finally saw some emotion, some of that `Dawg' came out in him - and I don't know if he's had that the last two years. If he can play like that, he'll be pretty hard to stop, but he has to play like that all the time."
The rest of the receiver room
Yet looking around the group he inherits, there's not a lot of NFL game-level wideout experience he inherits, and the two with the most are free agent signees Markus Wheaton and Kendall Wright.
"Deonte Thompsin actually played for me at Florida so it's kinda nice to have that guy in the room who can co-sign for me," Azzanni said. "Y'know like `Hey, I know this guy may seem a little crazy and do things differently, but I'm tellin ya it works.' He can lead by example because he knows what I'm looking for. Same thing with Josh (Bellamy, the other longest-tenured, vocal Bear in that position group)."
The speedy Wheaton started 19 games for Pittsburgh in 2014 and 2015 (averaging 49 receptions) before a shoulder injury limited him to three games a year ago.
"I coached Antonio (Steelers Pro-Bowl seventh-round wideout Brown) in college so I called him up and asked him, `Tell me what Markus does well, his practice habits.' I called him and got the skinny. He's brought a professionalism to the group. He's a pro, very diligent. He's in that trainers room every morning at 6:30 making sure that shoulder's good from last year. He beats me in here. He brings a level of calmness. Not a `rah-rah' guy. Steady Eddie. That's good. We need that."
With Eddie Royal waived this week and 2016 seventh rounder Daniel Braverman not ready for much game action a year ago, Wheaton, Bellamy and Wright figure to compete, even though Azzanni may hope for the group to be interchangeable so he can put the best three out there. That may be a tough task, given all the moving parts in the Bears' offense, outside of the line and running back Jordan Howard.
"You know what Kendall was in college and what he was when Dowell (offensive coordinator Loggains) had him, so we're trying to get him back to that, see if he can do that," Azzanni said, referring to the former first-rounder's single-season Titans/Oilers franchise mark of 94 catches in 2013, when Loggains ran Tennessee's offense.
"He's getting back in shape (from rib and knee injuries last season) and hopefully we can get him back in that same mold he was two, three years ago." Azzanni said.
Azzanni also says last season's leading receiver, Cam Meredith, can go "as far as he wants it to go. He's a talented young man, and C.J. (Johnson) and I actually talked about him in the offseason when we were at a Pro Day, and his development thru the year. He's big, he's tall, he's loose. He can make all the catches. Now he has to go to the next level. He's gotta be tougher, can't put the ball on the ground, must make contested catches and get himself in better condition so he can run all day. He's willing, but I'm not really letting him breathe so I don't know if he likes me now."
As for his new gig at the highest level after coaching since 1999 (Valparaiso) in the college game?
"The rules are different that's all," Azzanni said. "Football's football. Everyone asks how I'm gonna coach pros. Listen, a lot of these guys are now grown men. If the meeting ends at noon, it ends at noon. You can sneak time in college, things like that. You have to be efficient with their time but they want to get better. I have a good room, willing to buy in to the culture. I wanna push these guys a little bit. I wouldn't want it any other way."
"I don't have a high-priced nine-time Pro Bowler in that room. I don't have the superstar. I have a bunch of guys that have a lot to prove. Hey sshhh... don't tell anybody, but nobody thinks we can do anything in this room. Perfect."
Azzanni really has no choice, and can make a bigger name for himself if his students find a way to do the same. It looks like at least the name tags have been removed.
Layers of learning process begin for Bears' rookie Adam Shaheen.
By Chris Boden
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Bears second round rookie Adam Shaheen is big, has had big expectations placed on him with that draft status, and has learned the hard way how to be a big boy, facing up to mistakes.
The 6-foot-6, 277-pound tight end from Division II Ashland admits in the two weeks since becoming the 45th overall pick, he's had to pretty much keep his head from spinning off his neck. It came full circle when walking into Halas Hall Thursday to report to rookie minicamp.
"I'm nervous, obviously. It's to be expected," Shaheen said Saturday, not referring to the four- or five-person press conferences in college he became used to, rather the magnitude of the building, the franchise, the league. "I'm just real excited to be here and make the best of my opportunity."
The former basketball player has hung up those shoes after getting the itch to return to football taking in a Wisconsin-Ohio State football game in Columbus a few years back. But he's still a loyal NBA watcher, as he and roommate Mitch Trubisky did at their hotel to wind down from the first day of minicamp.
Sorry, guys. He's a Cavs fan.
With the little time he's spent with Trubisky, he sees some of the same signs his bosses apparently saw: "The demeanor in which he carries himself. As well as back home he's in the books really trying to learn and develop himself as a starter."
And, oh, that nearby hotel they're staying in? There's a Chipotle right across the street about one light down. That restaurant was Shaheen's "go-to" place in packing on 90 pounds post-hoops, to get where he is today, with some discipline and workouts.
And he has a "go-to" meal there:
"I get a burrito with extra, extra white rice. And then double the chicken, which you've got to tell them because with one scoop of chicken they try to mix it in and you won't get as much. Then just a little corn."
Yes, he's gone there the first two nights in town. And it's a burrito. Not a burrito bowl. But as for the "extra, extra white rice..."
People who'd learned about Shaheen's Twitter history became aware of one, say, less-than-complimentary post several years ago about President Barack Obama. So when the Chipotle recipe was relayed as he spoke Saturday, snark responses followed.
"I know exactly what you're talking about," Shaheen said when broached on the subject. "I was a dumb teenager. If I had the maturity I do now, I would have discovered there could be some potential problems. I would have understood.
"One of my buddies went, 'Hey, man, this is blowing up. (I'm) gonna have to delete that.' Then I went through all of them. I was, like, 'Wow'...just completely...I was a high schooler."
Just another part of the professional playbook the 22-year-old is beginning to absorb.
Bears sign standout WR Tanner Gentry, 13 undrafted free agents.
By Scott Krinch
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The Bears have found success in the undrafted free agent market with the likes of wide receiver Cameron Meredith, linebacker Christian Jones and safety Harold Jones-Quartey among others during GM Ryan Pace's tenure with the club.
Pace and the Bears hope to continue that trend and uncover some hidden gems in this year's crop of undrafted free agents.
Ahead of rookie minicamp this weekend, the Bears announced on Thursday they have signed 13 undrafted free agents.
Here's a look at some of the notable UDFA's the Bears signed:
Tanner Gentry (WR), Wyoming: The 6-foot-2 wideout ran a 4.40-yard dash at his Pro Day and had 72 catches for 1,326 yards with 14 touchdowns for the Cowboys last season. Gentry also led the country in deep targets (49) last season.
Dieugot Joseph (OT), Florida International: After a switch from defensive end to the offensive line, Joseph became a stalwart at left tackle for the Panthers. Joseph was named honorable mention All-Conference USA in 2016.
Andy Phillips (K), Utah: A former member of the United States National Ski Team, Phillips walked on to the Utah football team in 2012. As the Utes starting kicker from 2013-16, Phillips converted 84 percent of field goals and missed just one extra point.
Freddie Stevenson (FB), Florida State: For three seasons Stevenson served as the lead blocker for All-American running back Dalvin Cook. A former four-star recruit as a linebacker, Stevenson had 292 total yards and seven touchdowns with the Seminoles.
Kermit Whitfield (WR), Florida State: One of the most explosive athletes in the country, Whitfield accumulated 2,386 yards as a kick returner at Florida State. Whitfield broke the ACC record for yards per return (36.4) during his freshman season.
Jhajuan Seales (WR), Oklahoma State: Seales has the ability to climb the ladder and make the contested catches with a 41.5-inch vertical leap. After subpar sophomore and junior seasons, Seales rebounded as a senior with 37 receptions for 615 yards and four touchdowns.
Franko House (TE), Ball State: House was a standout basketball player for the Cardinals. House will use his 6-foot-6, 247-pound frame to make the transition to the gridiron after not playing the sport since his senior year of high school.
Joel Bouagnon (RB), Northern Illinois: The ex-Huskies running back couldn't quite replicate his junior year numbers, but still posted a respectable 4.9 yards per carry with nine total touchdowns in 2016.
Rashaad Coward (DL), Old Dominion: Coward was a second-team All Conference USA selection last season, finishing with 50 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks. Coward fits the Bears 3-4 base defense as somebody who could rotate either inside or outside on the defensive line.
Mitchell Kirsch (OL), James Madison: Kirsch was the starter at right tackle for the Dukes since 2014, and was named an FCS All-American last year.
Hendrick Ekpe (LB), Minnesota: Ekpe started 11 games for the Gophers and notched 28 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks. Ekpe played defensive end at Minnesota, but with his size (6-foot3, 245 pounds) he'll play outside linebacker for the Bears.
Isaiah Irving (LB), San Jose State: The 6-foot-3, 255 pound Irving led San Jose State with seven sacks as a senior.
Alex Searce (LB), Coastal Carolina: Searce was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan National Defensive Player of the Year Award. He had eight sacks for the Chanticleers in 2016.
Below are some standout players who were invited to rookie minicamp:
Robinson (RB): The artist formerly known as "Shoelace" from his days as a quarterback at Michigan is one several veterans that will try to impress the Bears' brass at rookie minicamp this weekend. Robinson was used as an "offensive weapon" during his four years with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2013-2016) and accumulated 1,058 rushing yards, 310 receiving yards and five total touchdowns.
Tyler Gaffney (RB): The former Stanford star will be at rookie minicamp for the Bears after he was released by the New England Patriots in March. Gaffney, originally a sixth-round selection by the Patriots in 2014, spent the majority of the last three seasons on injured reserve. During his season year at Stanford, Gaffney started 14 games and had 1,709 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns.
Titus Davis (WR): Davis, a standout wide receiver at Wheaton South High School, is the older brother of Tennessee Titans' 2017 first-round selection Corey Davis. Titus Davis played at Central Michigan from 2011-2014 and registered 204 receptions for 3,700 yards and 37 touchdowns.
D.J. Johnson (TE), Kansas State: Johnson joins House as one of two college basketball players the Bears will have in rookie minicamp. Johnson averaged 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game with the Wildcats in 2016-17 and helped the team to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Johnson was an All-Conference defensive end and tight end at Parkway North High School in St. Louis.
Mark Spelman (OL), Illinois State: Spelman was one of the key members of the Redbirds offensive line last season and garnered third-team All-American honors.
D'Nerius Antoine (S), Southern Mississippi: A two-year starter for the Golden Eagles, Antoine had 189 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss, 2 interceptions and 10 passes defended. Antoine also has experience as a returner.
DeSean Smith (TE), LSU: Smith wasn't often utilized in the Tigers passing game, ending his collegiate career with 19 receptions for 346 yards and one touchdown.
Lance Lenoir (WR), Western Illinois: Lenoir, a high school teammate of 2016 Minnesota Vikings first-round pick Laquon Treadwell at Crete Monee, finished his Leathernecks career as the school's all-time leader in receptions (273), yards (3,796) and touchdowns (28).
Pace and the Bears hope to continue that trend and uncover some hidden gems in this year's crop of undrafted free agents.
Ahead of rookie minicamp this weekend, the Bears announced on Thursday they have signed 13 undrafted free agents.
Here's a look at some of the notable UDFA's the Bears signed:
Tanner Gentry (WR), Wyoming: The 6-foot-2 wideout ran a 4.40-yard dash at his Pro Day and had 72 catches for 1,326 yards with 14 touchdowns for the Cowboys last season. Gentry also led the country in deep targets (49) last season.
Dieugot Joseph (OT), Florida International: After a switch from defensive end to the offensive line, Joseph became a stalwart at left tackle for the Panthers. Joseph was named honorable mention All-Conference USA in 2016.
Andy Phillips (K), Utah: A former member of the United States National Ski Team, Phillips walked on to the Utah football team in 2012. As the Utes starting kicker from 2013-16, Phillips converted 84 percent of field goals and missed just one extra point.
Freddie Stevenson (FB), Florida State: For three seasons Stevenson served as the lead blocker for All-American running back Dalvin Cook. A former four-star recruit as a linebacker, Stevenson had 292 total yards and seven touchdowns with the Seminoles.
Kermit Whitfield (WR), Florida State: One of the most explosive athletes in the country, Whitfield accumulated 2,386 yards as a kick returner at Florida State. Whitfield broke the ACC record for yards per return (36.4) during his freshman season.
Jhajuan Seales (WR), Oklahoma State: Seales has the ability to climb the ladder and make the contested catches with a 41.5-inch vertical leap. After subpar sophomore and junior seasons, Seales rebounded as a senior with 37 receptions for 615 yards and four touchdowns.
Franko House (TE), Ball State: House was a standout basketball player for the Cardinals. House will use his 6-foot-6, 247-pound frame to make the transition to the gridiron after not playing the sport since his senior year of high school.
Joel Bouagnon (RB), Northern Illinois: The ex-Huskies running back couldn't quite replicate his junior year numbers, but still posted a respectable 4.9 yards per carry with nine total touchdowns in 2016.
Rashaad Coward (DL), Old Dominion: Coward was a second-team All Conference USA selection last season, finishing with 50 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks. Coward fits the Bears 3-4 base defense as somebody who could rotate either inside or outside on the defensive line.
Mitchell Kirsch (OL), James Madison: Kirsch was the starter at right tackle for the Dukes since 2014, and was named an FCS All-American last year.
Hendrick Ekpe (LB), Minnesota: Ekpe started 11 games for the Gophers and notched 28 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks. Ekpe played defensive end at Minnesota, but with his size (6-foot3, 245 pounds) he'll play outside linebacker for the Bears.
Isaiah Irving (LB), San Jose State: The 6-foot-3, 255 pound Irving led San Jose State with seven sacks as a senior.
Alex Searce (LB), Coastal Carolina: Searce was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan National Defensive Player of the Year Award. He had eight sacks for the Chanticleers in 2016.
Below are some standout players who were invited to rookie minicamp:
Robinson (RB): The artist formerly known as "Shoelace" from his days as a quarterback at Michigan is one several veterans that will try to impress the Bears' brass at rookie minicamp this weekend. Robinson was used as an "offensive weapon" during his four years with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2013-2016) and accumulated 1,058 rushing yards, 310 receiving yards and five total touchdowns.
Tyler Gaffney (RB): The former Stanford star will be at rookie minicamp for the Bears after he was released by the New England Patriots in March. Gaffney, originally a sixth-round selection by the Patriots in 2014, spent the majority of the last three seasons on injured reserve. During his season year at Stanford, Gaffney started 14 games and had 1,709 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns.
Titus Davis (WR): Davis, a standout wide receiver at Wheaton South High School, is the older brother of Tennessee Titans' 2017 first-round selection Corey Davis. Titus Davis played at Central Michigan from 2011-2014 and registered 204 receptions for 3,700 yards and 37 touchdowns.
D.J. Johnson (TE), Kansas State: Johnson joins House as one of two college basketball players the Bears will have in rookie minicamp. Johnson averaged 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game with the Wildcats in 2016-17 and helped the team to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Johnson was an All-Conference defensive end and tight end at Parkway North High School in St. Louis.
Mark Spelman (OL), Illinois State: Spelman was one of the key members of the Redbirds offensive line last season and garnered third-team All-American honors.
D'Nerius Antoine (S), Southern Mississippi: A two-year starter for the Golden Eagles, Antoine had 189 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss, 2 interceptions and 10 passes defended. Antoine also has experience as a returner.
DeSean Smith (TE), LSU: Smith wasn't often utilized in the Tigers passing game, ending his collegiate career with 19 receptions for 346 yards and one touchdown.
Lance Lenoir (WR), Western Illinois: Lenoir, a high school teammate of 2016 Minnesota Vikings first-round pick Laquon Treadwell at Crete Monee, finished his Leathernecks career as the school's all-time leader in receptions (273), yards (3,796) and touchdowns (28).
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks’ Stan Bowman sets record straight.
By Brian Hedger
(Photo/Chicago Sun Times)
Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman has seen the reports and has a message for anyone who thinks his firing of assistant Mike Kitchen was a warning shot directed at coach Joel Quenneville.
Speaking with the Sun-Times on Friday at the world hockey championships, Bowman dismissed that notion.
‘‘People think that’s the case, even though there’s no validity to it,’’ said Bowman, a member of the advisory group for the U.S. men’s national team. ‘‘I learned a long time ago that you can’t control what other people are going to think or say. We know what the truth is, and none of that is accurate. But that’s OK. That’s the way it goes.’’
Bowman said he hasn’t set a deadline to replace Kitchen. He also said Quenneville will play a significant role in the hiring process.
Kitchen coached with Quenneville at several stops in his NHL career and joined the Hawks after their Stanley Cup victory in 2010. It will be hard to replace that kind of chemistry, but the Hawks will try.
‘‘[The decision] is definitely going to be a joint collaboration,’’ Bowman said. ‘‘The coaches spend every day and several hours every day together. I interact with them, but not to the level they do.’’
Bowman spends most of his time working on the roster, which he already has begun to retool. He recently traded backup goalie Scott Darling to the Carolina Hurricanes, then re-signed winger Richard Panik to a two-year extension Thursday.
The Hawks acquired a third-round draft pick for Darling — a nice return for a pending free agent — and Panik’s new deal assures Quenneville the option of keeping him on center Jonathan Toews’ line.
‘‘The big thing is, he found some chemistry with Jonathan,’’ Bowman said of Panik, who had career highs in goals (22), assists (22) and points (44) this season. ‘‘When you find that, you’d like to try and keep that going, so Jonny doesn’t have to start over next year. I don’t know if that’s going to be the line again; they may change things around. But at least we know going into the year that we have that.’’
As for Darling, the decision was easy from a business standpoint. He went from being a journeyman to being a highly regarded backup for Corey Crawford in three seasons and was ready to become a starter elsewhere.
‘‘I met with Scott at the end of the year, and he made it clear, in a very nice way: ‘My time has come to be a No. 1, and I know you guys have a great goalie here,’ ’’ Bowman said. ‘‘There was really no way to do anything else, other than the fact we were able to get a pretty good asset.’’
Bowman said he thinks winger Tomas Jurco, 24, is a another good asset, even though he scored only one goal in 13 games after the Hawks acquired him from the Detroit Red Wings. Jurco can become a restricted free agent this summer, but it sounds as though the Hawks are likely to re-sign him.
‘‘I think he’s going to be way better next year, just because he’s going to be a lot more prepared and he’s a lot healthier,’’ Bowman said. ‘‘The opportunity’s there for him. He’s just got to take it.’’
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... Bulls will have plenty of options in 2017 NBA Draft.
By Mark Schanowski
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Picking in the middle of the first round (16th overall), you can expect the Bulls to go with the "best athlete available" formula, with extra emphasis on finding a young wing player to develop behind Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade.
So, assuming the Bulls stay at No. 16, which players might still be on the board when they're on the clock? Let's start with a pair of athletic wings' OG Anunoby (Indiana) and Terrance Ferguson (currently playing professionally in France).
Anunoby would have probably been a lottery pick if he had not suffered a knee injury that ended his sophomore season with the Hoosiers. At 6-foot-8, with a 7'2 1/4" inch wingspan, Anunoby should be a plus defender immediately. With the Bulls, he could provide valuable rest for Butler and also spare the three-time All-Star the responsibility of guarding the opposing team's best scorer for long stretches.
Anunoby only averaged 11.1 points during his shortened sophomore year at Indiana, but he has the athleticism to run the floor for easy baskets, and since he still hasn't turned 20, he has plenty of time to develop his offensive game.
Similar story with Ferguson, who grew up in Tulsa but decided to play overseas rather than spend a year in college. He's only averaging 4.6 points for French team Adelaide, but scouts are intrigued by his physical skills and potential as a 6-foot-7 shooting guard.
Some other players to watch in the middle of the first round include power forwards' Ivan Rabb (California) and John Collins (Wake Forest). Rabb was projected as a likely lottery pick last season, but decided to return to Cal for his sophomore year.
Facing double teams most of the season, Rabb didn't show the improvement in his numbers (14 points per game, 10.5 rebounds per game) that a lot of NBA scouts expected. Still, the 6-foot-10 lefty continues to draw comparisons to long-time Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat star Chris Bosh, and is a polished low post scorer.
Rabb can hit consistently from mid-range, but if the Bosh comparisons are going to hold up, he'll need to stretch his shooting skills out to the 3-point line.
I asked Rabb about the possibility of being drafted by the Bulls.
"One of my friends, Bobby Portis, he's a real good player," Rabb said. "He played pretty well in the playoffs and throughout the season. I know they traded Taj Gibson, they have (Nikola) Mirotic, so I'm not really sure what they plan on doing. I feel that's a great destination from me, too."
The Bulls needs at power forward depend heavily on whether they re-sign Mirotic, who will be a restricted free agent on July 1. Rabb could be a good fit as an athletic, rangy 4 who can replace some of the skills the Bulls lost with the Gibson trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Similar story with Collins, who averaged 19.2 points at Wake Forest last season. The 6-foot-10 Collins is known for his athleticism and ability to finish at the rim, but he understands how important it is to show scouts he can be a threat from the 3-point line.
"I think I can shoot it a lot better than I've shown, or had the ability to show," Collins said. "Definitely going to be working on that, and keep on expanding on that, so when the time is necessary for me to shoot it, I'm going to look good doing it."
When it comes to self-confidence, it will be tough for any of the prospects to top Creighton center Justin Patton. The 7-foot Patton averaged 12.9 points per game last season, playing for Doug McDermott's dad Greg McDermott at Creighton. Patton shot over 68 percent on 2-point attempts and is a powerful finisher on alley-oop passes.
When asked about his ability to be a "stretch 5" in the league like Al Horford or Karl-Anthony Towns, Patton said, "If they're looking for a stretch-5, they come to me, and find the right person. My skills translate perfectly. I can put the ball on the floor, I can shoot the ball with range, and I'm a willing passer, and a great passer too, and I have a high IQ."
Okay, then. Patton says he's already met with the Bulls and will be ready to play immediately with any team that drafts him. At this point, it seems unlikely the Bulls would draft a center at No. 16, but anything is possible considering Cristiano Felicio and Joffrey Lauvergne are both restricted free agents.
Other names to watch during the middle part of round one include power forwards' T.J. Leaf (UCLA) and Kyle Kuzma, Duke shooting guard Luke Kennard, Syracuse small forward Tyler Lydon and point guard Jawun Evans.
And, there's always the possibility the Bulls could be involved in a trade to move up into the Top 10. That would bring a whole different level of prospects into play. But for now, the front office is looking for athletes and shooters to add quality depth to a roster that figures to be very similar to the one we watched last season.
Five potential targets for the Bulls in the first round.
By #BullsTalk
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The Bulls have the No. 16 pick in next month's NBA Draft and a number of draft prospects are in Chicago for the combine.
CSN Chicago's Mark Schanowski looked at five players the Bulls could target in the first round in the video above. According to Schanowski, the Bulls are likely looking for athletes and shooters.
OG Anunoby, 6-8, Indiana
Anunoby more than doubled his scoring average (11.1) and his rebounds per game (5.4) in nearly twice as many minutes (26.7) in his sophomore year compared to his freshman season. The problem is he hurt his knee and missed the last two months of the season, which could have dropped him from a lottery pick to where the Bulls pick.
Schanowski's take: "He could be a great value for the Bulls and give them a second shutdown perimeter defender to go along with Jimmy Butler, and maybe give JB a little bit of rest."
Terrance Ferguson, 6-7, Adelaide 36ers
Ferguson grew up in Tulsa, but opted to play in Australia instead of go to college for a year. He was a McDonald's All-American in 2016.
Schanowski's take: "He's a very raw prospect, but his physical tools are off the charts."
Justin Patton, 7-0, Creighton
If the Bulls go big in the first round, 7-footer Justin Patton could be the choice. He averaged 12.9 points and 6.2 rebounds as a freshman at Creighton. He also showed plenty of confidence in interviews at the combine (watch in the video above).
Schanowski's take: "He's a high percentage shooter and an excellent finisher at the rim."
John Collins, 6-10, Wake Forest
Another good athlete, Collins had a breakout sophomore season for the Demon Deacons with 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds. He won't stretch the floor, Collins didn't attempt a single 3-pointer in two years of college, but he made 62.2 percent of his field goals this season at Wake.
Schanowski's take: "He attacks the glass on both ends and plays with a very high motor."
Ivan Rabb, 6-11, Cal
Rabb was a big recruiting get for Cal after being a McDonald's All-American in 2015. He averaged 12.5 points and 8.6 rebounds as a freshman and improved on those numbers as a sophomore, averaging 14 and 10.5.
Schanowski's take: "The 6-10 lefty is a Chris Bosh clone physically. The problem is he doesn't shoot it like Bosh. That's probably why he'll be available for the Bulls at 16."
CSN Chicago's Mark Schanowski looked at five players the Bulls could target in the first round in the video above. According to Schanowski, the Bulls are likely looking for athletes and shooters.
OG Anunoby, 6-8, Indiana
Anunoby more than doubled his scoring average (11.1) and his rebounds per game (5.4) in nearly twice as many minutes (26.7) in his sophomore year compared to his freshman season. The problem is he hurt his knee and missed the last two months of the season, which could have dropped him from a lottery pick to where the Bulls pick.
Schanowski's take: "He could be a great value for the Bulls and give them a second shutdown perimeter defender to go along with Jimmy Butler, and maybe give JB a little bit of rest."
Terrance Ferguson, 6-7, Adelaide 36ers
Ferguson grew up in Tulsa, but opted to play in Australia instead of go to college for a year. He was a McDonald's All-American in 2016.
Schanowski's take: "He's a very raw prospect, but his physical tools are off the charts."
Justin Patton, 7-0, Creighton
If the Bulls go big in the first round, 7-footer Justin Patton could be the choice. He averaged 12.9 points and 6.2 rebounds as a freshman at Creighton. He also showed plenty of confidence in interviews at the combine (watch in the video above).
Schanowski's take: "He's a high percentage shooter and an excellent finisher at the rim."
John Collins, 6-10, Wake Forest
Another good athlete, Collins had a breakout sophomore season for the Demon Deacons with 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds. He won't stretch the floor, Collins didn't attempt a single 3-pointer in two years of college, but he made 62.2 percent of his field goals this season at Wake.
Schanowski's take: "He attacks the glass on both ends and plays with a very high motor."
Ivan Rabb, 6-11, Cal
Rabb was a big recruiting get for Cal after being a McDonald's All-American in 2015. He averaged 12.5 points and 8.6 rebounds as a freshman and improved on those numbers as a sophomore, averaging 14 and 10.5.
Schanowski's take: "The 6-10 lefty is a Chris Bosh clone physically. The problem is he doesn't shoot it like Bosh. That's probably why he'll be available for the Bulls at 16."
Cubs spin after Cardinals beat Jake Arrieta: ‘I don’t think there’s any reason to panic’.
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Jake Arrieta has lost the air of invincibility that surrounded him during his Cy Young Award season in 2015. Even Joe Maddon – a relentlessly optimistic manager by nature – doesn’t pretend the Cubs expect to ever see that again.
Arrieta went through stretches last year where he looked unsure and out of sync with his mechanics. He still finished with 18 wins and a 3.10 ERA and beat the Cleveland Indians twice in the World Series.
The story of how a last-place team transformed into a championship organization cannot be written without Arrieta, who infused the Cubs with so much attitude and confidence, his Bob Gibson impression helping fuel 97 wins and a spending spree that approached $290 million after the 2015 season.
At the moment, Arrieta symbolizes the 18-19 team that quietly packed up after Sunday afternoon’s 5-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
“We would obviously like to be playing better than we are right now,” Arrieta said. “I don’t think there’s any reason to panic. I think that the talent we have here will correct itself and start to turn itself around.
“Yeah, we’d like to win a few more games than we are and tighten things up a little bit. But guys are showing up ready to play and going about themselves the right way. We’re just not necessarily getting the results we would like.”
Roughly 25 percent into a contract year, Arrieta now has a 5.44 ERA and one quality start since the first weekend of the season. If the velocity doesn’t keep ticking up – and this signals the start of a steeper decline – then the Cubs are in trouble.
The Cardinals (21-15) already have a 3.5-game lead over the fourth-place Cubs after winning this weekend series. Fireworks erupted in the second inning after Yadier Molina drilled Arrieta’s first-pitch fastball 410 feet into the left-field seats for a two-run homer and flipped his bat away with one hand.
Matt Carpenter crushed another Arrieta fastball 414 feet over the right-center field wall for a two-run homer in the third inning, breaking the 0-for-28 against his old teammate from Texas Christian University.
Arrieta went through stretches last year where he looked unsure and out of sync with his mechanics. He still finished with 18 wins and a 3.10 ERA and beat the Cleveland Indians twice in the World Series.
The story of how a last-place team transformed into a championship organization cannot be written without Arrieta, who infused the Cubs with so much attitude and confidence, his Bob Gibson impression helping fuel 97 wins and a spending spree that approached $290 million after the 2015 season.
At the moment, Arrieta symbolizes the 18-19 team that quietly packed up after Sunday afternoon’s 5-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
“We would obviously like to be playing better than we are right now,” Arrieta said. “I don’t think there’s any reason to panic. I think that the talent we have here will correct itself and start to turn itself around.
“Yeah, we’d like to win a few more games than we are and tighten things up a little bit. But guys are showing up ready to play and going about themselves the right way. We’re just not necessarily getting the results we would like.”
Roughly 25 percent into a contract year, Arrieta now has a 5.44 ERA and one quality start since the first weekend of the season. If the velocity doesn’t keep ticking up – and this signals the start of a steeper decline – then the Cubs are in trouble.
The Cardinals (21-15) already have a 3.5-game lead over the fourth-place Cubs after winning this weekend series. Fireworks erupted in the second inning after Yadier Molina drilled Arrieta’s first-pitch fastball 410 feet into the left-field seats for a two-run homer and flipped his bat away with one hand.
Matt Carpenter crushed another Arrieta fastball 414 feet over the right-center field wall for a two-run homer in the third inning, breaking the 0-for-28 against his old teammate from Texas Christian University.
Maddon, of course, put his spin on the situation and called it Arrieta’s “best stuff” all year. But even Miguel Montero, the blunt-spoken, veteran catcher, felt the same way. Nothing to see here?
“Honestly,” Montero said, “I think that was the only two bad pitches he made. I said to him after the game: ‘Hey, man, you know what, this could be the turning point for you, because I really liked what I’ve seen. Everything was sharp. That was the best I’ve seen you so far the whole year.’
“The ball was coming out of his hand differently. He has some life to it. I’m happy to see him back pitching that way, because, of course, we’re going to need him.”
The Cardinals did all their damage against Arrieta with those two swings and the Cubs are a team playing without much margin for error right now. Adam Wainwright, who lugged a 6.37 ERA into the game, shut down the Cubs for seven innings. The defense that was supposed to be a constant is no longer playing like the ’85 Bears.
“It’s some bad luck,” Arrieta said. “Right now, it seems like the mistakes I’m making, they’re not fouling them off or taking or swinging and missing. They’re making pretty solid contact. I’m going to continue to be aggressive.
“Obviously, I’d like to not make any mistakes, but the ones I’m making right now are getting taken advantage of.”
There are peripheral numbers – like Arrieta’s strikeout-to-walk ratio (49:13) – and a track record that can be sources of optimism. But at a certain point, the defending champs talking about taking steps in the right direction and trusting the process will get old. This is a bottom-line business.
“I have so much faith and confidence in him and his methods,” Maddon said. “You’re pretty aware that I don’t get kind of off the bandwagon very easily. I really believe he’s going to be fine. I believe it’s just going to be almost like a snap of the fingers – everything’s going to fall back into place.
“I don’t think you’re going to see this slow method of better, better, better, better, great. I just think you’re all of a sudden going to see something’s going to click and he’s going to be back close to where he had been.
“It’s hard to be where he had been when he won the award. I’m not expecting that, but more like what we had seen last year, a lot more consistency in his velocity. Velocity is probably the biggest (thing).”
Cubs manager Joe Maddon trolls MLB safety rules, proposes cup checks, face masks and banning headfirst slides.
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Joe Maddon trolled Major League Baseball officials while waiting to hear from the New York headquarters about his pointed criticism of the slide rule.
"I'm looking forward to it," Maddon said Sunday at Busch Stadium. "I have some other additions to it. I had to think about it some more. I thought of other ways for protectionism."
The Cubs manager didn't exactly walk back his comments after Saturday's 5-3 loss, Maddon fuming over the automatic double play awarded the St. Louis Cardinals once Ian Happ slid past second base, wiping out a run scored and a potential fifth-inning rally.
"I'm looking forward to it," Maddon said Sunday at Busch Stadium. "I have some other additions to it. I had to think about it some more. I thought of other ways for protectionism."
The Cubs manager didn't exactly walk back his comments after Saturday's 5-3 loss, Maddon fuming over the automatic double play awarded the St. Louis Cardinals once Ian Happ slid past second base, wiping out a run scored and a potential fifth-inning rally.
Maddon ran with a throwaway follow-up question near the end of a pregame media session that lasted almost 20 minutes.
"I think we should consider now eliminating the headfirst slide to protect base runners, because that is really a dangerous slide," Maddon said. "You hurt your hand. Your eye could be poked out. There are all these different things that could occur on the headfirst slide.
"I think face masks should be mandatory for all hitters. And pitchers have been hit with line drives several times up the middle, so I think pitchers should now be forced to wear helmets.
"The other day, we're playing in Colorado and (Charlie) Blackmon was in the on-deck circle and their pitcher was late and he got smoked. I think there should be a cage in the on-deck circle now, so on-deck guys could stand behind the screen and not get hurt.
"And finally, even when I coached third base in the minor leagues, I always wore a cup. I was always concerned, so I think there needs to be a cup check as players run onto the field now, in order to prevent the potential for the loss of future families."
The Maddon Plan could become the extension of The Buster Posey Rule and The Chase Utley Rule.
"I'm on board with protectionism," Maddon said. "No more headfirst slides. Face masks, helmets, cage, cup check on a daily basis."
White Sox score eight times in eighth for comeback win over Padres.
By Vinnie Duber
(Photo/AP)
Crooked numbers don’t get more crooked than an eight spot.
The White Sox looked doomed after the visiting San Diego Padres took a 3-1 lead with a seventh-inning homer, but the South Siders came through in the late innings for the second straight game, scoring eight times in the eighth inning to come back for a 9-3 win on Mother’s Day at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“Eight-run eighth, that doesn’t happen too often in the game of baseball,” Todd Frazier said after the game. “Guys battling. A walk here, a couple knocks here, and away we go. Everybody just battling their butt off, taking really good at-bats and waiting for their pitch. It was a lot of fun.”
After more than a week where fun was in short supply, the White Sox now have back-to-back wins in very fun fashion after slogging through a six-game losing streak.
Jose Quintana was excellent through six innings but coughed up a narrow 1-0 lead by surrendering a three-run home run to Hunter Renfroe in the seventh. Considering the White Sox ordinarily have difficulty scoring in games Quintana pitches, that looked like it might have been all she wrote.
But then came that eighth inning. After back-to-back one-out walks, Avisail Garcia reached on an error by the shortstop to load the bases and Frazier walked to force in a run that made it a one-run ballgame. After a pitching change, Melky Cabrera came through with a pinch-hit single that scored the game-tying and go-ahead runs.
That was all the clutch the White Sox really needed, but they were nowhere near done scoring off the Padres’ bullpen in the eighth, something they couldn’t do against starter Jered Weaver, who allowed one run in the first before five scoreless frames.
Tyler Saladino followed Cabrera’s big hit by popping up a bunt that was caught by first baseman Wil Myers. But Frazier took advantage of Myers turning his back to home plate and scampered home for the fourth run of the inning.
“I’m just curious if it’s a sac fly or not. Me and Sally were trying to talk, hopefully it is,” Frazier said. “Just one of those things. You just read what’s going on, and you take a chance. I thought it was a good chance to take there. We scored, we were up two runs already with our closer coming in. I wasn’t thinking that all in my head, but I was thinking, ‘Back’s turned, take a shot,’ and he actually flipped the ball up high enough, too, where I could take three or four more steps. It worked out perfect.”
Two batters later, Willy Garcia’s single made it 6-3. After that, Leury Garcia doubled to make it 8-3. Yolmer Sanchez drove in a final tally with a base hit.
When the dust all settled on that eighth inning, the White Sox tagged four different Padres relievers for eight runs, four hits, five walks, an error and a hit batsman.
Quintana looked due for another loss, which would have been his sixth of the young season. Instead, he got no decision for the first time in 2017. As usual, the White Sox didn’t score much while he was in the game, but at least this time they made up for it with the monster eighth.
“I think they were responding,” manager Rick Renteria said. “They wanted to not allow that to be kind of the end of it. They kept battling even after that happened (the seventh-inning home run). They were still talking on the bench and getting ready to continue to battle. And then it opened up in that one particular inning and they just took advantage of it.”
Quintana finished allowing three runs on five hits and four walks in seven innings of work.
Sunday’s huge eighth inning combined with Saturday’s walk-off winner in the ninth means the White Sox now have a winning streak after that long losing streak. En route to Southern California for the start of a three-city road trip through Anaheim, Seattle and Phoenix, the White Sox have a bit of momentum on their side.
“Great momentum,” Frazier said. “We’ll take a win any way. So if we would’ve won by one run, it wouldn’t have mattered. Momentum’s right where we need it to be. Going on the long road trip, it helps us out on the flight. We get to listen to some music and enjoy a good flight.”
With fewest walks in baseball, are more bases on balls to come for White Sox?
By Vinnie Duber
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
A lack of hitting in April and May doesn't often generate the same kind of fret among players and managers as it does in a fan base.
The White Sox haven't been hitting the cover off the ball this season, but Rick Renteria & Co. are confident the hits and the runs will come.
But what about walks?
The White Sox entered play Sunday dead last in baseball with just 88 walks in their 34 games. That's nearly half as many as the majors-leading Tampa Bay Rays, who have walked 153 times so far this season.
While hitting the ball hasn't gone much better for the South Siders — they're third-to-last in baseball with 271 hits and tied for 25th out of 30 big league teams with 137 runs scored — could a lack of getting on base in any fashion be a bad sign of things to come?
The ball starts jumping off bats when the weather warms up, meaning those hit and run totals could soon jump up, too. But will the White Sox not-so-great .299 on-base percentage (fourth from the bottom in baseball and second worst in the American League) get a boost, too?
"It's a good question," Todd Frazier, the team's walks leader, said ahead of Sunday's game against the San Diego Padres. "If you're not getting walks, how are you getting on base? Are you getting hits? How else you get on base? Errors and all that kind of stuff? I think you need walks. You need guys to take some pitches and battle some counts, foul some pitches off, get an eight-, nine-pitch at-bat and end up getting walked.
"I think walks are big. It goes to show you've got plate discipline, goes to show you're not swinging out of the strike zone. I think walks are big, but at the end of the day, if you're getting your hits and getting on base, everything will even out."
Common thinking is that things even out, as Frazier said. It's a 162-game season, after all, and the White Sox are just past the 20-percent mark.
And the White Sox low walk total could just be one of those baseball things.
Manager Rick Renteria and infielder Tyler Saladino both said that walks are the result of individual at-bats, not necessarily a indicator of a trend outside of one game.
"Walks are a consequence of the at-bat," Renteria said. "They'll come when you're recognizing pitches as well as you want to. So it's a byproduct of a good at-bat.
"You don't work a walk. Hitters go up there to hit. I think the game dictates how aggressive or how passive you might want to be. Obviously you're thinking about getting on base. Whether it's through a hit or a walk, however you do it, I think it's mostly based on you focusing on the strike zone and what you're able to handle.
"I think that there are situations that maybe ask for you to get up there and take a pitch because you want to see what that guy's doing or maybe he's getting in a little trouble. Think about it now, he's not anywhere near the plate, let him get himself out, let him get himself in trouble. And then sometimes when that guy's just missing — I've talked to guys about this. When a guy's missing around the plate, just missing by just a hair, it's like, 'He's around there, be ready.' So it just depends on your feel of what's going on in the game and the batter and the trust that they have and the confidence they have to do what they need to do."
But like the approach can change from at-bat to at-bat within a game, it can also change within the scope of a season.
Frazier has had a tough time at the plate this year, coming into Sunday's game with a .189/.292/.344 slash line. So he's changed things up a bit, trying to find another way to get on base while he waits for the hits to start falling.
Frazier has 13 walks so far this season. He's on pace to fly by the 53 walks a season he's averaged in his career.
"I've got more walks over this first month and a half than I've had in my career," Frazier said. "Trying to change my approach a bit and understand my strike zone. But I'm still not going up there looking for a walk, I'm looking to drive the ball."
So while there isn't much clarity to be had on whether more walks are coming for the White Sox, or whether they care if they do, the numbers show that this team is having trouble reaching base. And the more you get on base, the more opportunities to score. If the offensive totals stay low, maybe the rest of the team takes an approach more like Frazier's.
"Say you're down every time, sometimes you've got to take that first pitch or that first strike and try and focus from there," Frazier said. "Everybody can hit with one strike, not many can hit with two strikes.
"It's a tough balance, but at the same time you're looking for that one pitch in that one area. And if you go away from that — which I've done numerous times. Sometimes your mind gets in the way of things. You're like, 'Oh man, I'm ready to launch here.' You never know.
"But if you can stay disciplined in your mind going up there looking for one spot and one pitch only — it could be a curveball that hit the spot, but that's not the pitch you were looking for. Basically less is more in those situations. Keep one thought in your mind and go from there."
White Sox option Cody Asche to Triple-A, addition of pitcher — not Yoan Moncada — coming Monday.
By Vinnie Duber
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The White Sox made a roster move after Sunday afternoon's 9-3 win over the San Diego Padres, optioning infielder Cody Asche to Triple-A Charlotte.
A corresponding roster move will be made before Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim.
To prevent speculation that the organization's top prospect, Yoan Moncada, could soon make his debut with the team, the White Sox said that the player added to the active roster will be a pitcher. Likely, that will mean an addition to the bullpen.
Asche has not had a good start to the 2017 campaign, his first with the White Sox. In 19 games, he posted a gruesome .105/.177/.175 slash line with 21 strikeouts in 62 plate appearances.
A corresponding roster move will be made before Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim.
To prevent speculation that the organization's top prospect, Yoan Moncada, could soon make his debut with the team, the White Sox said that the player added to the active roster will be a pitcher. Likely, that will mean an addition to the bullpen.
Asche has not had a good start to the 2017 campaign, his first with the White Sox. In 19 games, he posted a gruesome .105/.177/.175 slash line with 21 strikeouts in 62 plate appearances.
Golf: I got a club for that..... Kim becomes youngest Players champ in history.
By Nick Menta
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Si Woo Kim carded a bogey-free 69 Sunday to win The Players Championship by three shots over Ian Poulter and Louis Oosthuizen. Here's how things wrapped up at TPC Sawgrass:
Leaderboard: Kim (-10), Ian Poulter (-7), Louis Oosthuizen (-7), Rafa Cabrera Bello (-6), Kyle Stanley (-6)
What it means: This is Kim’s second PGA Tour victory, following his breakthrough at last year’s Wyndham Championship. Kim, 21, is now the youngest winner in Players history, knocking off Adam Scott, who won at age 23 in 2004. The youngest player on the PGA Tour is now also the first player from Asia to record two victories before his 22nd birthday. Kim, who became the youngest player to ever earn a Tour card when he made it through Q-School at 17, is now the second man from Asia to win The Players, joining fellow South Korean K.J. Choi. With the victory, Kim earns $1.89 million, a five-year PGA Tour exemption, and three-year exemptions into the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship. He is projected to move into the Official World Golf Ranking’s top 30.
Round of the day: Kim made three front-nine birdies at Nos. 1, 7 and 9 to make the turn with the outright lead. From there, he’d play defense, recording nine straight pars on his way to the trophy presentation. Kim made just one bogey over his final 36 holes at TPC Sawgrass, playing the weekend 7 under par (68-69).
Best of the rest: Poulter was 3 under on his round and 9 under for the championship and had gone 39 holes without a bogey before he made his pivotal mistake on the new par-4 12th. After deciding to lay up off the tee, Poulter from 112 yards missed the green with his approach, coming up a full 22 yards short of the pin with a wedge and going on to make bogey. Failing to a mount a charge of any kind thereafter, Poulter made par on Nos. 13-17 before an ill-timed shank at the 18th hole ended his chances for good. After taking a one-shot penalty for removing his ball from a bush, he hoisted an incredible shot over the trees that nearly went in for par. He went on to tap in for bogey and tie Louis Oosthuizen for second place behind Kim.
Biggest disappointments: The final pairing of J.B. Holmes (84) and Kyle Stanley (75) combined to play the Stadium Course in 15 over on Sunday. Holmes finished quintuple bogey-double bogey, rinsing two balls at the par-3 17th. In 18 holes, he went from the top of the leaderboard to a tie for 41st.
Shot of the day: Rafa Cabrera Bello on Sunday recorded the first albratross in the history of TPC Sawgrass' par-5 16th hole when his approach from 181 yards bounded off a mound short of the green and headed right toward the cup.
A 2-2-4 finish on 16, 17 and 18 netted him a tie for fourth.
Quote of the day: "I still cannot believe that I'm the champion." - Kim, via an interpreter.
Matt Wallace holds nerve for first European Tour title in Portugal.
By ESPN/PA Sport
England's Matt Wallace won the Open de Portugal by three shots. (Photo/Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
England's Matt Wallace held off a two-pronged assault on the final day to claim his first European Tour title with a superb wire-to-wire victory in the Open de Portugal.
Wallace held a five-shot lead at the halfway stage and was still three ahead starting the final round, but saw his advantage reduced to a single shot, first by German Sebastian Heisele and then American Julian Suri.
However, the 27 year old held his nerve to card four vital birdies in a closing 69, his third bogey-free round of the week at Morgado Golf Resort giving him a winning total of 21 under par.
Suri had piled on the pressure with nine birdies in his first 15 holes, but bogeyed the 17th and had to settle for a closing 65 and second place on 18 under.
France's Matthieu Pavon was two shots further back in third, with Heisele sharing fourth with England's Sam Walker on 15 under.
Wallace won six times on the Alps Tour last season -- including five in a row -- to secure a place on the Challenge Tour, but now has a full European Tour card after just his fourth event at this level.
"It's the best feeling ever," Wallace said after rounds of 63, 66, 73 and 69. "It's always been a dream to win on the European Tour.
"Those first two days were really easy, that third day was the hardest day of my life and today was tough but it's so satisfying and I'm really happy.
"A good friend of mine, Tom Lewis, won here in Portugal and I spoke to him yesterday and he has great memories here and I'm going to as well.
"I didn't see it coming, I never envisioned standing here, I just tried to go through my processes and work as hard as I could to be standing here today."
What does MDF mean in golf scoring?
By Golfweek Staff
(Photo/Michael Madrid/USA TODAY Sports)
At The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Jon Rahm was knocked out of the tournament after Round 3 despite being just five shots off the lead heading into play Saturday.
Rahm blew up Saturday in a 10-over 82 that featured six bogeys and three doubles. The stumble and dropped him all the way to an MDF.
“What does MDF mean in golf scoring?”
It was a question asked by many on social media Saturday.
The acronym MDF stands for “made cut, didn’t finish,” and has been somewhat controversial since it was first used on the scoreboard in January 2008. The term does not relate to a player who withdraws during the third or fourth round because of injury or other reasons.
Overview
Traditional professional golf tournaments consist of four rounds. After two rounds of play, the playing field is reduced dramatically. Usually, the top 70 players, including ties, make the cut and go on to play the third and fourth rounds. The players who finish outside the top 70 do not make the cut and go home without playing over the weekend.
Problem
Because the top 70 finishers including ties traditionally qualified for the weekend, there could easily be considerably more than 70 players in the third and fourth rounds. This excess number could lead to tee time scheduling problems, as tournament organizers would be forced to accommodate more golfers than expected.
Solution
The MDF rule specifies that if more than 78 players qualify for the final two rounds, the cut score will be lowered to the next available score. These golfers receive an MDF note beside their name on the tournament’s official scoring. They each earn a portion of the tournament’s purse but do not continue play. The rule has been met with some criticism from the media and professionals, who have argued that a player who makes the cut should be able to continue.
Considerations
The PGA Tour developed this rule after analyzing data leading up to 2008. It said that in the previous 12 years’ worth of tournaments, 136 events had 78 golfers or more make the cut, despite the recommended cutoff of 70. The PGA Tour argued that anyone who qualified despite being so close to missing the cut could not be a serious threat to win the tournament, making it easy to remove these players from competition.
NASCAR: After prior misses, Truex earns a strike with Go Bowling 400 win at Kansas.
Rahm blew up Saturday in a 10-over 82 that featured six bogeys and three doubles. The stumble and dropped him all the way to an MDF.
“What does MDF mean in golf scoring?”
It was a question asked by many on social media Saturday.
The acronym MDF stands for “made cut, didn’t finish,” and has been somewhat controversial since it was first used on the scoreboard in January 2008. The term does not relate to a player who withdraws during the third or fourth round because of injury or other reasons.
Overview
Traditional professional golf tournaments consist of four rounds. After two rounds of play, the playing field is reduced dramatically. Usually, the top 70 players, including ties, make the cut and go on to play the third and fourth rounds. The players who finish outside the top 70 do not make the cut and go home without playing over the weekend.
Problem
Because the top 70 finishers including ties traditionally qualified for the weekend, there could easily be considerably more than 70 players in the third and fourth rounds. This excess number could lead to tee time scheduling problems, as tournament organizers would be forced to accommodate more golfers than expected.
Solution
The MDF rule specifies that if more than 78 players qualify for the final two rounds, the cut score will be lowered to the next available score. These golfers receive an MDF note beside their name on the tournament’s official scoring. They each earn a portion of the tournament’s purse but do not continue play. The rule has been met with some criticism from the media and professionals, who have argued that a player who makes the cut should be able to continue.
Considerations
The PGA Tour developed this rule after analyzing data leading up to 2008. It said that in the previous 12 years’ worth of tournaments, 136 events had 78 golfers or more make the cut, despite the recommended cutoff of 70. The PGA Tour argued that anyone who qualified despite being so close to missing the cut could not be a serious threat to win the tournament, making it easy to remove these players from competition.
NASCAR: After prior misses, Truex earns a strike with Go Bowling 400 win at Kansas.
By Daniel McFadin
(Photo/usatoday.com)
Martin Truex Jr. held his own in a two-lap dash to the finish to win the Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway.
After chasing down and passing Ryan Blaney with 33 to go, Truex had to fend off the field on three late restarts.
Finally, Truex outran Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Blaney to claim his second victory of 2017.
“These races are so hard to win, any of those restarts I could’ve gotten beat on,” Truex told Fox Sports 1. “Something could have happened. You just never know.”
The No. 78 Toyota started third and led six times for a race-high 104 laps. The car Truex took to Victory Lane was the same one he won with last year in the Southern 500.
“It felt like if I could get out front on those restarts I’d be fine,” Truex said. “If I came out second or third after a lap or two, it took me a long time to get good enough to pass those guys. I knew I had to go, I knew I had to make it happen.”
It’s the ninth career Cup Series win for Truex and it comes at the track closest to Furniture Row Racing’s headquarters in Denver, Colorado.
Truex joins Jimmie Johnson and Keselowski as the third repeat winner of the season.
Stage 1 winner: Kyle Busch
Stage 2: winner: Ryan Blaney
WHO HAD A GOOD DAY: Blaney led 82 laps and finished fourth for best finish since running second in the Daytona 500 … Rookie Daniel Suarez finished seventh, tying his career best result (Phoenix, Auto Club) … Jamie McMurray finished eighth for his seventh top 10 of the season .. Kansas native Clint Bowyer came from the rear to finish ninth.
WHO HAD A BAD DAY: Landon Cassill brought out cautions on Lap 30 and 50 for getting into the wall. He finished 21st … Chase Elliott finished 29th, nine laps down after a pit road accident with Michael McDowell during the second caution period … With 86 to go, a violent three-car accident occurred between Joey Logano, Danica Patrick and Aric Almirola and caused a red flag. Almirola was placed on a backboard after being removed from his car and transported to a local hospital.
Erik Jones brought out three cautions for accidents, the last coming with eight laps left. He finished 22nd. … After being penalized on pit road and losing a tire mid race, Jimmie Johnson was fifth on a Lap 263 restart when contact with Kurt Busch sent him sliding onto the apron. He finished 24th.
Quote of the Night: “It was nice to show our muscle this weekend and prove that, like I said, this is where the 21 team deserves to be” – Ryan Blaney after finishing fourth.
WHAT’S NEXT: Monster Energy All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway at 7:30 p.m. ET on May 20 on Fox Sports 1.
Martin Truex Jr. takes lead in playoff points with second victory of season.
By Nate Ryan
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
With his second victory of the 2017 season, Martin Truex Jr. tied Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson for the series lead. But the Furniture Row driver moved into the lead in playoff points with Saturday night’s win at Kansas Speedway.
Through 11 of 26 races, Truex has compiled 15 playoff points, three more than Keselowski and five ahead of Johnson. Truex, Keselowski and Johnson are the only drivers on NASCAR’s premier series with double-digit playoff points. Kyle Larson ranks fourth with seven points.
Larson, who finished sixth at Kansas in a backup car, maintained his lead in the regular-season standings by 44 points over Truex.
Joey Logano, who finished 37th in a crash Saturday, fell three spots to ninth in the standings.
Click here for the points standings after Saturday’s race at Kansas.
Kyle Busch wins Kansas Truck race after Ben Rhodes’ engine falters.
By Dustin Long
(Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)
Leader Ben Rhodes suffered an engine problem with eight laps left, allowing Kyle Busch to go on to win Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway.
The 20-year-old Rhodes, seeking his first career series win, drove his truck to the garage. After exiting it, he slammed the roof with both hands and walked away.
“We did everything right, but Ben Rhodes has a curse on his back because or something because goes always goes wrong,” he told Fox Sports 1. “It’s just tough.
“It’s just crazy that something always go wrong with our team. We do everything right, we just can never pull one off.”
STAGE 1 WINNER: Kyle Busch
STAGE 2 WINNER: Kyle Busch
HOW DID KYLE BUSCH WIN: He got lucky. Even he admitted that Ben Rhodes was going to win had it not been for the engine issues.
WHO ELSE HAD A GOOD RACE: Christopher Bell rallied from 16th to fourth in the final 40 laps. He ran near the front until making his final pit stop under green only to see the yellow come out shortly afterward, trapping him a lap down. He got the wave around and was last among cars on the lead lap. … Johnny Sauter finished second. The points leader has finished third, second and second in the past three races.
WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Ben Rhodes had a great race but a horrible finish when debris damaged his radiator and forced him from the lead to the garage in the final 10 laps. … Matt Crafton spun late while running fifth. He couldn’t recover and finished 16th.
NOTABLE: Four of the top-10 finishers are teenagers: John Hunter Nemechek (third), Kaz Grala (eighth), Justin Haley (ninth) and Austin Cindric (10th).
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: “We’ve been trying for years and years. If I don’t make it in this game, it won’t be from lack of effort but bad luck. Let that be known,” Ben Rhodes to Fox Sports 1 about losing the lead in the final laps because debris damaged his radiator.
NEXT: The series races May 19 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Johnny Sauter remains points leader after Kansas Truck race.
By Dustin Long
(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Johnny Sauter remains the points leader after his runner-up finish Friday night in the Toyota Tundra 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway. Kyle Busch won the race.
Sauter leads Christopher Bell by two points. Matt Crafton is 44 points behind Sauter. Chase Briscoe is 54 points behind Sauter.
Aric Almirola airlifted to hospital after vicious three-car crash.
By Nick Bromberg
(Photo/Getty Images)
Aric Almirola was airlifted to a local hospital and is stable and being held overnight for observation after he had to be extracted from his car following a violent three-car wreck at during Saturday night’s Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.
Joey Logano’s car suffered an apparent mechanical failure in the right front of his car, which sent it into Danica Patrick’s car entering turn 1. The contact sent Patrick careening headfirst into the wall — while collecting Logano — and Almirola’s car slid so viciously into the accident that the rear tires lifted off the ground before slamming back onto the track.
Almirola’s car came to rest at the exit of turn 2 and he immediately put the window net down, which is the universal signal that a driver is alert. But crews had to peel back the roof of his car to remove him from it, and he was taken to a waiting ambulance via a backboard.
The ambulance then took Almirola to the infield care center and he was subsequently airlifted to a local hospital for further evaluation. Richard Petty Motorsports released a broad statement regarding Almirola early Sunday morning.
Joey Logano’s car suffered an apparent mechanical failure in the right front of his car, which sent it into Danica Patrick’s car entering turn 1. The contact sent Patrick careening headfirst into the wall — while collecting Logano — and Almirola’s car slid so viciously into the accident that the rear tires lifted off the ground before slamming back onto the track.
Almirola’s car came to rest at the exit of turn 2 and he immediately put the window net down, which is the universal signal that a driver is alert. But crews had to peel back the roof of his car to remove him from it, and he was taken to a waiting ambulance via a backboard.
The ambulance then took Almirola to the infield care center and he was subsequently airlifted to a local hospital for further evaluation. Richard Petty Motorsports released a broad statement regarding Almirola early Sunday morning.
Almirola was alert after the accident as safety professionals removed him from the car. He was transported by helicopter to a local medical facility for evaluation. He is in stable condition and will be held overnight for further observation.Because his car came to a stop near the wall, photographers were able to get detailed shots of Almirola.
Logano said he was unsure of what happened to his car to cause the accident.
“Something broke on my car, I don’t know what it was,” Logano said. “I noticed it as I was trying to go in [turn 1]. I tried to back it off but you’re going 215 (mph) and it’s hard to check up. The car just took a bit step sideways into the corner and I hooked Danica. I haven’t seen a replay yet, I don’t know what happened. You can see the right-front popped and it popped. I just hope everyone is okay. I hope Aric is alright. That’s the last thing you want to see, a big hit like that for anyone. It’s unfortunate for everyone. Let’s hope that Aric is alright.”
Patrick lamented the fact that a good run got derailed by Logano’s part failure.
“We were having a really good race and having fun out there and had a lot of speed,” Patrick said. ” … All I know is that I all of a sudden crashed. I definitely had a feeling it was [Logano] and I am sure that the doctors in the medical center checking my neurological abilities are glad to know I was right that it was Joey. When he said he had a failure I can’t say it made me feel that much better in the moment. I am just frustrated for the lack of breaks I get. It seems like every time things are going better and something happens I get crashed or am in a crash.”
UPDATE: Aric Almirola suffers compression vertebra fracture in Kansas crash.
By Nick Bromberg
Aric Almirola suffered a compression fracture in his back in a scary crash at Kansas.
Almirola was involved in a three-car accident on lap 200 of Saturday night’s Cup Series race. He slammed into the crashing cars of Joey Logano and Danica Patrick so violently that the rear wheels of his car were lifted off the ground.
Safety workers had to peel the top off Almirola’s car to remove him from the vehicle and he was transported to a local hospital.
The team said Sunday morning that Almirola had been released from a local hospital and was diagnosed with a compression fracture to his T5 vertebra.
He is scheduled to fly home to North Carolina on Sunday and will visit with doctors there. No timeline on a potential absence from the cockpit was given.
Almirola came into Kansas on the heels of a fourth-place finish at Talladega, though his car failed inspection after the race. His team was penalized 35 points and crew chief Drew Blickensderfer was suspended three races.
SOCCER: Statement win: Fire pour it on to knock off defending champ Seattle in front of full house.
By Dan Santaromita
(Photo/USA TODAY)
As far as making a statement, Saturday’s from the Chicago Fire was pretty good.
The Fire thumped the defending champion Seattle Sounders 4-1 in front of an announced sellout crowd and a national TV audience on Saturday.
The Fire (4-3-3, 15 points) scored three second-half goals to pull away from the struggling Sounders (2-4-4, 10 points). Nemanja Nikolic scored a pair of goals and David Accam and Luis Solignac each had one.
The Fire took the lead in the 25th minute following a bizarre sequence. Nemanja Nikolic was awarded a penalty kick after going down in the box even though replays showed that the tackle may have been clean. David Accam's penalty was saved by Stefan Frei, but the ref had it retaken due to both teams having players entering the box early. The second time Nikolic stepped up and scored for his seventh goal of the season.
It didn’t take long for Seattle to answer though. Clint Dempsey was given room from just outside the box and stepped into a wicked left-footed shot three minutes after Nikolic scored.
The Sounders went into halftime with 61 percent of the possession, but things flipped in the second half. Coach Veljko Paunovic moved from a 4-2-3-1 formation to a 4-3-3, moving Dax McCarty directly in front of the two centerbacks to close off the open areas like the one Dempsey scored from.
"From there we took over the possession," Paunovic said of his team, which had 57 percent possession in the second half. "With that change, it helped the team to have the possession, stop their progressions and when we switched to 5-3-2 formation after we scored the second goal I think we definitely took over control of the game and we had a lot of opportunities from the flanks and going from inside out and outside back in and that’s how we scored the rest of the goals. I think the key was taking the possession away from Seattle."
Accam gave the Fire the lead an hour into the match, finishing off a pretty combination of dribbling and short passes between Drew Conner, Bastian Schweinsteiger and de Leeuw.
Later in the half, Matt Polster subbed on for his season debut and Jonathan Campbell also entered. The 5-3-2 formation helped the Fire lock things down defensively, as Paunovic noted, and led to goals from Luis Solignac and Nikolic's second three minutes apart.
Nikolic's eight goals tie him with Mike Magee for the most goals in the first 10 games with the Fire.
“It gives us confidence," Schweinsteiger said. "Of course Seattle is a good team. They have very good players. They won last year, but we are more focused on our game style, on our philosophy, what we have.
"We are a very good team when we understand the game, when we are moving, when everyone is giving options and when we close the gaps and make it difficult for the opponent to play so today we made a very good job, especially in the second half. Now we just have to keep going, keep working and take all the confidence what we got today for the next match and maybe play 90 minutes like today (in) the second half.”
The Fire improved to 4-0-1 at home after going winless on a three-game road trip right before this. Paunovic believes the team's improvement has been consistent despite the lack of wins on the road.
Juninho sat out the match due to an ankle sprain. Michael de Leeuw returned to the starting lineup for the first time in three matches.
The Fire play at Toyota Park again on Wednesday, against Colorado.
Sunday PL Results:
Tottenham 2-1 Man Utd: Victorious goodbye to WHL.
By Nicholas Mendola
Victor Wanyama and Harry Kane scored to help Tottenham Hotspur say goodbye to White Hart Lane in style with a 2-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday.
Spurs clinch second place in the Premier League with the win, and will move into Wembley Stadium next season as construction continues on their new home. That’s set to open in 2018-19.
Wayne Rooney scored for United, which can no longer finish in the Top Four.
Spurs played at White Hart Lane for 118 seasons.
The celebrants were ahead by the sixth minute, when Ben Davies collected a short corner and swept a high offering toward the back post. Wanyama floated in the air and hammered a neck-snapping header beyond David De Gea to make it 1-0.
A funny bounce let Heung-Min Son on goal, but De Gea made a point blank save and Christian Eriksen hit the rebound wife of the frame to keep the deficit one. That was one of several key moments for De Gea, who was instrumental in keeping United in the match.
Kane doubled the advantage within minutes of the restart, as Kane beat Chris Smalling to redirect Eriksen’s free kick from the left right.
Rooney attempted to lead a comeback with his seventh career goal at White Hart Lane, running onto Anthony Martial‘s ball into the six to score in front — and off — of Jan Vertonghen.
Substitute Marcus Rashford nearly surprised with an equalizer in stoppage time, but was prodded into a shot wide by Vertonghen.
West Ham 0-4 Liverpool: Reds clobber listless Irons.
By Nicholas Mendola
Philippe Coutinho scored twice and set-up Daniel Sturridge for another as Liverpool strengthened its Top Four stock with a 4-0 win over West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Divock Origi also scored for Liverpool. The win boosts the Reds back into third place, two points ahead of Manchester City and four clear of Arsenal.
West Ham remains 12th with 42 points.
Jonathan Calleri played Sam Byram into the right of the box, but the Englishman hit his low shot wide of the far post in the eighth minute.
The Reds came close at the other end, with Joel Matip grounding a header off the underside of the bar off an 11th minute corner.
The chances continue to come, with Fernandes drilling a low shot through traffic that Simon Mignolet pushed out for a West Ham corner.
The breakthrough came in highlighter yellow, as Jose Fonte kept Sturridge onside for Philippe Coutinho’s through ball. The Englishman danced around Adrian to slide a low shot into the center of the goal.
The Hammers should’ve been level in first half stoppage time, but Andre Ayew hit the post from five yards out and put the rebound off the same post from a prone position.
Coutinho made it 2-0 shortly after Georginio Wijnaldum hit the crossbar on a swerving volley. The Brazilian maneuvered through space to beat Adrian to his right.
The third goal, another from Coutinho, came when Winston Reid was laid to the turf with an arm to the face at the other end. To add insult to injury, Wijnaldum’s offending arm may have handled the ball in the box.
The referee allowed play to go on, and Coutinho dribbled through the 18 to beat Adrian.
Hull City relegated from Premier League.
By Nicholas Mendola
Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke clinched Premier League safety for Crystal Palace and Swansea City on Sunday, their first half goals enough to send Hull City down in a 4-0 win at Selhurst Park.
Luka Milivojevic converted a late penalty and Patrick Van Aanholt scored on the edge of stoppage time to seal the win.
Hull has 34 points, four behind Swans and seven back of Palace.
Ranocchia’s colossal error made it 1-0 within the first two minutes, his swing and miss at a Michael Dawson back pass allowed Zaha — of all people! — in one-on-one with Eldin Jakupovic. The star keeper didn’t have much of a chance.
The desperation clicked up a notch for Hull, but good chances failed to materialize as the game neared the half-hour mark. Alfred N'Diaye blazed a shot over the bar, but it was mainly Palace’s advantage in class on display.
Jason Puncheon‘s 34th minute corner saw Benteke power past Harry Maguire to head home, and Hull was in a lot of trouble.
Palace should’ve conceded a penalty within minutes of the second goal when Puncheon handled Kamil Grosicki‘s free kick, but Martin Atkinson didn’t see the offense.
The second half was cagey, as Palace set back to hit on the counter. Andros Townsend was particularly effective in his defensive responsibilities.
Palace wrote its safe status in ink when Dawson took down Jeffrey Schlupp and Milivojevic sent Jakupovic the wrong way. Van Aanholt took a pass from James McArthur to make it 4-0 as the match his stoppage time.
Serie A: Juve waste chance to clinch title; Roma move to within 4.
By Andy Edwards
(Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)
A roundup of Sunday’s action in Italy’s top flight…
Roma 3-1 Juventus
Juve would have clinched their sixth straight Serie A title with a win or draw away to Roma, their closest Scuedtto challengers, on Sunday. Everything started well enough for Massimiliano Allegri’s side, as Mario Lemina put the visitors 1-0 ahead in the 21st minute. The advantage was short-lived, though, as Daniele De Rossi brought Roma back to 1-1 just four minutes later.
Still, it was a result that would have ended the title race. 11 minutes into the second half, Stephan El Shaarawy made it 2-1 to the home side, and Radja Nainggolan doubled the advantage, which was to be unchanged, in the 65th minute.
Juve are now winless in their last three league games (two draws) and have seen Roma trim their lead from eight points down to four. With just two games remaining for each side, though, the odds of any outcome other than a Juve title remain very, very long.
Torino 0-5 Napoli
Napoli, who locked up a third-place finish (at worst) last week, haven’t given up on catching Roma for second. On Sunday, they rode a second-half tidal wave to put five past 9th-place Torino and moved their goal differential (which is only the third tiebreaker in Italy) to the top of the table (+50).
Jose Callejon scored what turned out to be the winner in the 7th minute. The barrage of goals didn’t begin until Lorenzo Insigne made it 2-0 right on the hour mark. Dries Mertens scored 12 minutes later, followed by Callejon’s second in the 76th minute, and Piotr Zielinski for 5-0 two minutes later.
Elsewhere in Serie A
Fiorentina 3-2 Lazio (Saturday)
Atalanta 1-1 AC Milan (Saturday)
Inter Milan 1-2 Sassuolo — MORE
Crotone 1-0 Udinese
Bologna 3-1 Pescara
Sampdoria 1-1 Chievo
Cagliari 3-2 Empoli
Palermo 1-0 Genoa
La Liga: Real Madrid’s game in hand to decide title; Barcelona powerless.
By Andy Edwards
(Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
A roundup of Sunday’s action in Spain’s top flight…
Las Palmas 1-4 Barcelona
Barcelona have done just about everything they could possibly do (since drawing three straight games and dropping six of nine possible points in November and December… and inexplicably losing to 17th- and 11th-place Deportivo La Coruña and Malaga, respectively, in March and April) to put themselves in position to win the title.
On Sunday, Neymar bagged himself a hat trick to take his league goals tally to 13 on the season (to go with 11 assists) and keep Barca level on points with Real Madrid on points (87) and ahead based on the head-to-head tiebreaker (one win, one draw). The decisive game in the 2016-17 La Liga season will be played on Wednesday, with every one of Barca’s players and coaches sitting at home, their feet kicked up on the couch, as Real Madrid come level on games played (37), away to 13th-place Celta Vigo.
Luis Suarez scored Barcelona’s other goal (assisted by Neymar), the one that turned out to be the winner, giving him 28 league goals (to go with 13 assists) this season.
Real Madrid 4-1 Sevilla
These clubs hate each other so much, yet they’re constantly imitating and mimicking the other. Barca won 4-1, thus Madrid couldn’t be outdone.
Nacho opened the scoring early, putting Los Blancos ahead in the 10th minute, followed 13 minutes later by Cristiano Ronaldo’s 400th goal for Madrid (in just eight seasons — all competitions) to make it 2-0. Ronaldo made it 3-1 in the 78th minute (Stevan Jovetic pulled a goal back for Sevilla just after halftime) to give him 401 goals in the white shirt of Madrid, and Toni Kroos completed the scoring six minutes later. All Madrid need are four points from their final two games to win a record 33rd league title next Sunday.
Elsewhere in La Liga
Real Betis 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Villarreal 0-0 Deportivo La Coruña
Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Leganes
Real Sociedad 2-2 Malaga
Eibar 0-1 Sporting Gijon
Alaves 3-1 Celta Vigo
Premier League wrap: Arsenal alive, Swansea makes statement.
By Nicholas Mendola
(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
The race for the Top Four is tighter after Arsenal seized all three points at Stoke City, while Swansea City’s goal of avoiding relegation is within reach following a big win of their own on a five-match day in the Premier League.
Stoke City 1-4 Arsenal — RECAP
A dominant first half came close to producing nothing, but Olivier Giroud scored the first goal of his brace to give the Gunners a halftime lead. He scored again in the second, as did Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, and Hector Bellerin nabbed two assists as Arsenal pulled to within a point of fourth-place Liverpool with two matches to play.
The win is Arsenal’s first in seven tries at the bet365 Stadium.
Manchester City 2-1 Leicester City — RECAP
Riyad Mahrez committed a double-touch on a penalty kick, disallowing his equalizer, and Manchester City was the beneficiary of a questionable onside ruling in a fortunate win over game Leicester to kick off the day of action. Man City is three points clear of fifth place Arsenal and two ahead of Liverpool with two matches left on its docket.
Sunderland 0-2 Swansea City — RECAP
Swansea City is on the verge of ensuring Premier League safety after getting goals from Fernando Llorente and Kyle Naughton in an easy-enough win at the Stadium of Light. If Hull City loses on Sunday, it will be incapable of catching Swans and Crystal Palace.
Middlesbrough 1-2 Southampton — RECAP
Relegated Boro put a charge into this one when Patrick Bamford scored late, but the equalizer never arrived as goals from Nathan Redmond and Jay Rodriguez lifted Saints into the top half.
Bournemouth 2-1 Burnley — RECAP
Southampton’s Southern neighbors also are firmly in the fight for eighth after knocking off Burnley at the Vitality Stadium. Junior Stanislas put the Cherries ahead only to see Sam Vokes level the score, but Joshua King buried his 16th goal of the PL season to give the win to Eddie Howe‘s men.
A dominant first half came close to producing nothing, but Olivier Giroud scored the first goal of his brace to give the Gunners a halftime lead. He scored again in the second, as did Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, and Hector Bellerin nabbed two assists as Arsenal pulled to within a point of fourth-place Liverpool with two matches to play.
The win is Arsenal’s first in seven tries at the bet365 Stadium.
Manchester City 2-1 Leicester City — RECAP
Riyad Mahrez committed a double-touch on a penalty kick, disallowing his equalizer, and Manchester City was the beneficiary of a questionable onside ruling in a fortunate win over game Leicester to kick off the day of action. Man City is three points clear of fifth place Arsenal and two ahead of Liverpool with two matches left on its docket.
Sunderland 0-2 Swansea City — RECAP
Swansea City is on the verge of ensuring Premier League safety after getting goals from Fernando Llorente and Kyle Naughton in an easy-enough win at the Stadium of Light. If Hull City loses on Sunday, it will be incapable of catching Swans and Crystal Palace.
Middlesbrough 1-2 Southampton — RECAP
Relegated Boro put a charge into this one when Patrick Bamford scored late, but the equalizer never arrived as goals from Nathan Redmond and Jay Rodriguez lifted Saints into the top half.
Bournemouth 2-1 Burnley — RECAP
Southampton’s Southern neighbors also are firmly in the fight for eighth after knocking off Burnley at the Vitality Stadium. Junior Stanislas put the Cherries ahead only to see Sam Vokes level the score, but Joshua King buried his 16th goal of the PL season to give the win to Eddie Howe‘s men.
NCAAFB: Illinois DC Hardy Nickerson undergoes emergency appendectomy surgery while recruiting.
By Bryan Fischer
(Photo/Getty Images)
It’s a busy time for coaches in college football as they travel across the country this month evaluating the next crop of players they’ll sign in the coming years. While we’ve seen more than a handful of interesting stories from the coaches hitting the road, one Big Ten coordinator disclosed quite the scary moment about one trip this week.
Illinois defensive coordinator and longtime NFL veteran Hardy Nickerson was back in the familiar confines of the state of Florida on a recruiting trip recently and visiting the Jacksonville area. That’s apparently where the trouble happened as the coach tweeted on Friday afternoon that he had undergone an emergency appendectomy surgery and was recovering at nearby hospital St. Vincent’s Medical Center Riverside.
Yikes!
It’s not every day that you hear of somebody undergoing an emergency appendectomy, much less a prominent coach on the road recruiting during the evaluation period.
Best wishes to Nickerson as he recovers from the surgery. Hopefully for the Illini, whatever recruits he was visiting will pay a little more attention to Illinois in the future knowing just what their defensive coordinator went through while evaluating them this spring.
Illinois defensive coordinator and longtime NFL veteran Hardy Nickerson was back in the familiar confines of the state of Florida on a recruiting trip recently and visiting the Jacksonville area. That’s apparently where the trouble happened as the coach tweeted on Friday afternoon that he had undergone an emergency appendectomy surgery and was recovering at nearby hospital St. Vincent’s Medical Center Riverside.
Yikes!
It’s not every day that you hear of somebody undergoing an emergency appendectomy, much less a prominent coach on the road recruiting during the evaluation period.
Best wishes to Nickerson as he recovers from the surgery. Hopefully for the Illini, whatever recruits he was visiting will pay a little more attention to Illinois in the future knowing just what their defensive coordinator went through while evaluating them this spring.
NCAABKB: With scoring up, only tweaks proposed to college basketball.
By Ralph D. Russo
Pleased with recent changes that have boosted offense, the NCAA basketball rules committee chose not to propose any drastic moves for next season such as breaking the men's game into four quarters, pushing back the 3-point line or widening the lane.
The committee did encourage conferences and tournaments to experiment with some of those alterations as a way to get a handle on the possible effects they would have on a game they feel is trending in the right direction.
''Officiating continues to emphasize freedom of movement, physicality and free flow of the game,'' Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot, the committee chairman, said Friday. ''Adjustments for next season are going to be relatively minor which shows that I think most of the key stakeholders in the game feel like things are going well.''
Two years ago, the shot clock was dropped from 35 to 30 seconds. The rules committee also recommended officials crack down on what many coaches felt was overly physical play that restricted movement. Division I teams averaged 73.4 points per game last season, up from 67.5 in the 2012-13. Points per game and field-goal percentage (44.4 percent) last season were the highest since 1994-95. Possessions per game have gone up as well.
The proposals the committee announced Friday were more modest and included, increasing the size of the coach's box from 28 to 38 feet; expanding the use of replay in the last two minutes to aid officials with some block-charge calls near the baskets and tweaking how the shot clock is reset.
The committee also proposed making throw-in spots in the front court more consistent, a mandatory minimum of 0.3 seconds be taken off the clock when the ball is legally touched and redefining a legal screen.
The committee also proposed allowing the Southeastern Conference to use a centralized replay system that would give on-court officials some help reviewing calls by officials not at game sites.
The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel will consider the proposals in June.
As for the potentially big changes involving quarters, the 3-point line and the lane, Art Hyland, the committee's secretary and rules' editor, said all three are ''still in play.''
In the NIT this year, team fouls were reset at the beginning of each half and 10 minutes into each half, mimicking four quarters. Hyland said similar experiments could be used this season with the 3-point line. He said collecting data on the playing with a wider lane is more difficult.
Hyland said potential issues with media partners over commercial breaks needed to be worked out before the men's game could make the move from two 20-minutes halves to four 10-minute quarters. Women's college basketball games are timed by quarters as NBA games and almost all high school games.
''In the meantime we're trying some experimental rules that kind of creating quarters without really creating quarters, but you get some of the same benefits such as a reset of the one-and-one and other things coaches are in favor of,'' Hyland said.
Elaine Thompson blazes to year's fastest 100m.
By Dan Martin, AFP
(Photo/AFP)
Olympic champion Elaine Thompson clocked the fastest 100m of the season at the Shanghai Diamond League on Saturday to bolster her claim as sprint favorite for this year's world championships.
Among the field events, former crystal meth addict Luvo Manyonga leapt to a Diamond League record 8.61m in his final attempt to win the long jump in brilliant style.
A little earlier, Thompson had crossed the line well ahead of America's Tori Bowie (11.04sec), whom the Jamaican also relegated to silver at last year's Rio Olympics.
"I'm feeling pretty good," Thompson said, when asked about her trajectory toward the world championships in London in August. "I just have to take it race by race."
"It's all about preparing for the rest of the season and the world championships," added Thompson.
Thompson, 24, achieved a rare sprint double in Rio, becoming the first woman since Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988 to win both the 100m and 200m in the same games, but is yet to win an individual world gold.
She continued her strong start to the year after running 22.19sec in the 200m in Doha -- nearly a half-second faster than her gold-medal time in Rio.
In the long jump, Manyonga, the Olympic silver medalist who became addicted to crystal methamphetamine and was suspended in 2012, led even before his giant final leap.
"I didn't get the distance today I wanted as I was looking for 8.80m, but I know it will come," the South African said.
"I am pleased to win again. My success has been down to hard work, training, dedication and commitment. I hope now to just go on and win everything I can this season."
- Miller time -
Kenya's 800m world record-holder David Rudisha, however, was less thrilled with his 2017 Diamond League debut.
The two-time world and Olympic champion managed just fourth place in Shanghai, citing early-season rust, but vowed to sharpen up.
"I'm not really happy but at least now I know where I am and can see how I can improve from there," he said.
"I've been doing some quite good training and hopefully in a few weeks I'll be building up nicely."
Olympic champion Omar McLeod joined Thompson as a Jamaican winner with victory in the men's 110m hurdles, just holding off hard-charging Spaniard Orlando Ortega in a repeat of the Rio Games one-two finish.
And Jamaica's Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who memorably snatched Rio 400m gold with a last-gasp dive across the finish line to upset decorated American Allyson Felix, won with the fastest time of the year at 49.77.
Olympic title-holder Faith Kipyegon of Kenya logged the fastest time so far this year in the women's 1,500m, holding off late pressure from 2016 world indoor silver medallist Dawit Seyaum of Ethiopia.
In a field largely devoid of elite sprinters, 19-year-old American Noah Lyles tied world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk for the fastest men's 200m time of the year, 19.90sec.
China's Su Bingtian gave the home crowd a thrill by winning the men's 100m with a time of 10.09sec in another race lacking top talent, including America's Justin Gatlin who skipped Shanghai.
In the pole vault, Sam Kendricks of the United States -- last year's Olympic bronze medallist -- exacted some revenge on Rio gold and silver medallists Thiago Braz of Brazil and France's Renaud Lavillenie.
Kendricks vaulted 5.88m to win the event, with world record-holder Lavillenie second and Canada's Shawn Barber third.
Braz, who electrified a fiercely partisan Rio home crowd last August by beating Lavillenie to gold, finished fourth.
Always Dreaming is 'eager to run' a week before Preakness.
In the pole vault, Sam Kendricks of the United States -- last year's Olympic bronze medallist -- exacted some revenge on Rio gold and silver medallists Thiago Braz of Brazil and France's Renaud Lavillenie.
Kendricks vaulted 5.88m to win the event, with world record-holder Lavillenie second and Canada's Shawn Barber third.
Braz, who electrified a fiercely partisan Rio home crowd last August by beating Lavillenie to gold, finished fourth.
Always Dreaming is 'eager to run' a week before Preakness.
By Chris Korman
Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming looks out from his stall after arriving at Pimlico Race Course for the upcoming Preakness Stakes on May 9, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland.(Photo: Rob Carr, Getty Images)
Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming came to a decaying track wedged into one of the most frayed neighborhoods in one of the country’s most turbulent cities to relax.
The likely favorite for Saturday’s 142nd Preakness Stakes spent last week regaining strength after his win over a muddy track in the first leg of the Triple Crown. He did so in the relative quiet of Stall 40, the usual home to Kentucky Derby winners, with few other horses nearby. Pimlico Race Course is rarely used for racing, and the facility has a set of barns reserved for stakes horses. Only a few arrived last week.
“It’s been really peaceful for him in every way with nobody around,” said exercise rider Nick Bush, the din of a busy street off in the distance. “This is exactly what he needed, just having a few days basically to himself. You can tell he’s feeling great.”
Always Dreaming, who broke cleanly from the crowded Derby field and won by 2 3/4 lengths with jockey John Velazquez, is vying to become the 13th Triple Crown winner. American Pharoah won in 2015, breaking a 37-year drought that had dominated the discussion this time of year. Now that it has again been proven a 3-year-old can win three grueling races over six weeks, questions about the configuration of the series and the breeding stock of modern horses have mostly subsided.
That works for Pletcher, as taciturn a trainer as there is in horse racing today. This is his second time taking the Derby winner to the Preakness; Super Saver finished a disappointing eighth for him in 2010. Unlike then, he decided to come here early, sending the horse three days after the Derby, to get acclimated.
Pletcher has been named the country’s top trainer seven times, but he’s never won the Preakness and has only entered eight previous times. He, like most trainers, generally does not run his horses on a two-week turnaround. He spent a rainy first week in Baltimore watching his slender colt closely.
On Friday morning, Always Dreaming went out on a saturated track and jogged alongside a pony. Pletcher described the horse, who at times appeared to be jumping gleefully along the track, as “full of himself.”
Always Dreaming galloped on Saturday and Sunday, and Pletcher plans to ease him into the Preakness.
“This whole two weeks in between the Derby and the Preakness is all about just refueling and keeping him healthy and happy,” Pletcher said. “Right now he looks like he’s very, very happy.”
Always Dreaming’s pace-tracking style may bode well for his chances at the Preakness, the shortest of the Triple Crown races at 1 3/16 miles. Derby winners who have stayed near the lead — American Pharoah, California Chrome (2014) and I’ll Have Another (2012) — have been able to replicate that success at Pimlico. Horses that won coming from behind — Orb (2013), Animal Kingdom (2011) and Super Saver — struggled two weeks later.
Always Dreaming’s sire, Bodemeister, finished second to I’ll Have Another in both the Derby and the Preakness, where he lost by a neck after setting the pace.
Bush, the exercise rider, only started working with Always Dreaming in the days leading up to the Derby when another of Pletcher’s riders suggested the colt — winner of all four races he has entered this year — needed a more muscular rider. Pletcher also decided to switch to draw reins, which more strictly control the horse’s head.
“What we’ve seen, I think, is that he just keeps getting stronger every day,” Bush said. “You could just really tell he was growing and understanding what he could do. That has continued here. He’s very eager to run.”
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Monday, May 15, 2017.
emoriesofhistory.com
1862 - Brooklyn's Union Grounds opened. It was the first enclosed baseball park.
1926 - The New York Rangers were officially granted a franchise in the NHL. The NHL also announced that Chicago and Detroit would be joining the league in November.
1935 - The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies 20-5.
1941 - Joe DiMaggio began his major league baseball hitting streak of 56 games. The streak ended on July 17th.
1965 - The Canadian Football Players Association was organized.
1973 - Nolan Ryan (California Angels) pitched his first no-hitter.
1980 - The U.S. Basketball League canceled its summer schedule.
1991 - U.S. President Bush took Queen Elizabeth to an Oakland A's-Baltimore Oriole game.
1993 - The Montreal Expos retired Rusty Staub's #10. It was the first number retired by the team.
1993 - In San Antonio, TX, the Alamodome opened.
1995 - The Vancouver Canucks set an NHL playoff record when Christian Ruutu and Geoff Courtnall scored shorthanded goals only 17 seconds apart.
2016 - Rougned Odor (Texas Rangers) punched Jose Bautista (Toronto Blue Jays) in the face after Bautista made a hard slide into Odor at second base. Odor was suspended two days later for eight games. The suspension was eventually adjusted to seven games.
1926 - The New York Rangers were officially granted a franchise in the NHL. The NHL also announced that Chicago and Detroit would be joining the league in November.
1935 - The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies 20-5.
1941 - Joe DiMaggio began his major league baseball hitting streak of 56 games. The streak ended on July 17th.
1965 - The Canadian Football Players Association was organized.
1973 - Nolan Ryan (California Angels) pitched his first no-hitter.
1980 - The U.S. Basketball League canceled its summer schedule.
1991 - U.S. President Bush took Queen Elizabeth to an Oakland A's-Baltimore Oriole game.
1993 - The Montreal Expos retired Rusty Staub's #10. It was the first number retired by the team.
1993 - In San Antonio, TX, the Alamodome opened.
1995 - The Vancouver Canucks set an NHL playoff record when Christian Ruutu and Geoff Courtnall scored shorthanded goals only 17 seconds apart.
2016 - Rougned Odor (Texas Rangers) punched Jose Bautista (Toronto Blue Jays) in the face after Bautista made a hard slide into Odor at second base. Odor was suspended two days later for eight games. The suspension was eventually adjusted to seven games.
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