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"Sports Quote of the Day"
"The greatest achievement of the human spirit is to live up to one's opportunities and make the most of one's resources." ~Luc de Clapiers, Writer and Moralist
"The greatest achievement of the human spirit is to live up to one's opportunities and make the most of one's resources." ~Luc de Clapiers, Writer and Moralist
TRENDING: Mitch Trubisky thinks Bears can make the playoffs this year. (See the football section for Bears news and NFL updates).
TRENDING: Patrick Sharp will do whatever it takes to win another Stanley Cup in return to Blackhawks. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).
(Photo/www.cbssports.com)
TRENDING: Bulls begin free agency period by re-signing Cristiano Felicio. (See the basketball section for Bulls news and NBA updates).
TRENDING: Even with injuries, Joe Maddon thought Cubs would have better record halfway through season. Go-ahead Yolmer! Sox rally to beat Rangers. (See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).
TRENDING: Kang birdies 18 to win first major at Women's PGA. Stanley beats Howell to win Quicken Loans playoff. Perry tops Triplett for second U.S. Senior Open title. Fleetwood holds off Uihlein to win French Open. (See the golf section for PGA news and tournament updates).
TRENDING: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. triumphs at Daytona, snatching win from upset contender David Ragan. William Byron, 19, becomes youngest winner at Daytona; wins 2nd straight Xfinity race. (See the NASCAR section for NASCAR news and racing updates).
TRENDING: Fire's Michael de Leeuw got the elephant off his back. Champs, again! Germany top Chile in contentious Confed Cup final. USA 2-1 Ghana: Dwyer, Acosta power USMNT in Gold Cup tune-up. (See the soccer section for Fire news and worldwide soccer updates).
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Truth, Trubisky and (what should be) the Bears Way.
TRENDING: Fire's Michael de Leeuw got the elephant off his back. Champs, again! Germany top Chile in contentious Confed Cup final. USA 2-1 Ghana: Dwyer, Acosta power USMNT in Gold Cup tune-up. (See the soccer section for Fire news and worldwide soccer updates).
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Truth, Trubisky and (what should be) the Bears Way.
By Chris Boden
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Bears general manager Ryan Pace tried to do the rebuild-on-the-fly. But injuries, and some misses among his hits in drafting and free agency, proved during last season this was going to take a little longer. And based on health, cohesiveness, and their first half schedule, who knows if 2017 will look much better, won-loss-wise, when all is said and done?
Even though the collective bargaining agreement requires players to stay away from team-supervised workouts, Bears rookies have been working with the organization to remain visible through the first two weeks of this break before training camp. While veterans scatter to vacations and their off-season homes, the rookies are trying to settle into their new professional homes while they can. They’ve been seen out in the community, led by Mitch Trubisky, visiting hospitals and speaking at youth camps. And let’s face it, most optimism about the franchise’s future must come from the hoped-for cornerstones of this rebuild, with those ingredients needing to come together and show progress this season. Not the only factors, but key ones in resuscitating the organization. And the more we see and hear them, the better, provided they’re willing participants.
While there are Leonard Floyds and Eddie Goldmans and Cody Whitehairs and Cam Merediths that should be part of that foundation, three potential keys who, ideally, could be main offensive stars when this team gets good again, led a 7-on-7 camp Friday in Wheaton. Trubisky was joined by “veterans” Jordan Howard and Kevin White. Two of those three have yet to prove much, if anything, in NFL game action. But unless you’ve already made your minds up negatively on Trubisky and White, feel-good interaction with kids, and fans in general, goes a long way in rooting for them.
Trubisky has embraced his activity. The second overall pick is probably aware of the doubters, and hopefully understands the knuckeheads who booed him when he was introduced at a Bulls game were more likely booing the overall drought and frustration. But he’s said all the right things, has bought into what the investment in him means, and understands his short-term role behind Mike Glennon without planning on giving a competitive inch. So when he answered a question about whether the Bears would make the playoffs during Friday’s Q-and-A with the campers, he said he thought they would. But White, who knows a thing or two about how things may be interpreted, got in the quarterback’s ear to make sure they understood it was a feeling, not a public guarantee.
“Great message,” White said with a smile as reporters laughed, knowing where he was going. “He’s just gotta be clear on some things. People can take it the wrong way and run with it and make it seem like he’s being cocky. We all think that, of course. But we’ve gotta put some pieces together and do what we have to do to get there. I think Mitch cleared it up that he wasn’t saying 'for sure we’re going to the playoffs,' but just said that’s what we think. And that’s what we all think.”
White also shared some other knowledge about the trials and tribulations of Bears’ fans expectations with a top 10 draft pick.
“Just with the experience and the pressure, the things people expect, try to teach him how to handle that a little bit.”
Howard, who was on stage at Soldier Field Saturday night as part of the Warriors Games opening ceremony, has noticed Trubisky’s commitment.
“You can tell he wants to be great” the team’s all-time rookie rushing leader said Friday. “He puts the time in, and the effort to be a great quarterback in this league, because in order to be great, you’ve go to put the time in and have a good work ethic.”
That, of course, is no guarantee for greatness, just as Trubisky’s words were a feeling, not a guarantee. His personality could change down the road as success and failures come. But Pace said that’s not likely, based on his background homework and personal interaction. At this very early stage, Trubisky is embracing all he can to represent his employer, and maybe even plant some seeds of hope along the way in the community.
“I guess that comes with the position, part of playing quarterback, part of being drafted second overall,” Trubisky said between answering questions from campers, then getting out on the field with them.
“I realize that my voice holds some weight now. I just gotta be careful with what I say, but also realize I want to be a positive influence in the community for these kids out here and the Bears organization. The things I do, I want them to reflect on my own beliefs and how I want to make a positive impact on the people around me.”
SportsTalk Live Podcast: Mitch Trubisky thinks Bears can make the playoffs this year.
By #BearsTalk
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Mark Carman (WGN Radio), Matt Verderame (Fansided.com) and Jordan Bernfield join Mark Schanowski on the panel.
The Bulls rebuild continues as they waive Rajon Rondo. Should they have considered keeping him to work with their young point guards?
Plus Mitch Trubisky thinks the Bears will make the playoffs. Is it a rookie mistake?
Listen to the latest SportsTalk Live Podcast right here.
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks trade Marcus Kruger to Vegas Golden Knights.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Marcus Kruger’s name has been tied to trade possibilities for several weeks now. While he wasn’t sent to the Vegas Golden Knights at the expansion draft, it was expected he would be dealt to the NHL’s newest team eventually to help alleviate the Blackhawks’ cap issues.
On Sunday, he was.
On Sunday, he was.
The Blackhawks sent Kruger to Vegas for future considerations. TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report.
It was another cap move for a team that signed several players, including Patrick Sharp, on Saturday. A team can spend 10 percent over the cap from now until the day the regular season begins. It’s expected the Blackhawks will put Marian Hossa on long-term injured reserve once the season begins, which would also give them more wiggle room at that time.
As for now, the Blackhawks had to make more tough moves. Cash-wise, they rid themselves of Kruger’s $3.08 million cap hit for this and next season. Personnel-wise they lose another center -- Dennis Rasmussen, who was not given a qualifying offer last week, is gone, too. Kruger was also a reliable penalty killer. He had been steadily improving in faceoffs, peaking in the 2013-14 season when he won 56.7 percent of his draws. But after missing the second half of the 2015-16 season with a broken wrist, his faceoff numbers fell below 50 percent.
“We thank Marcus for his many contributions to our team—most notably, two Stanley Cup Championships,” Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement. “His work ethic, reliability and strength as a two-way player made him a valuable member of the organization. We wish him the best with Vegas.”
Patrick Sharp will do whatever it takes to win another Stanley Cup in return to Blackhawks.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Patrick Sharp was finishing up his opening statement when he broached the obvious subject: what to expect in his second tour of duty with the Blackhawks?
“I want to make it clear that I’m coming back home to contribute to the Blackhawks in whatever role it may be,” he said.
Sharp departed the Blackhawks two summers ago a three-time Stanley Cup champion, a top-six forward who played a big role in the team’s success. Now he’s back with Chicago, although with time passing comes changes. Sharp is now 35 and coming off one of his toughest seasons, especially with injuries. He’s recovering, very well and on schedule, from a hip surgery in March. He probably won’t be the top-six guy this time around. But to get another chance at a Cup with a group he knows very well, Sharp is willing to play whatever role necessary.
Sharp talked to the media on Saturday afternoon, not long after signing his one-year deal worth $1 million with the Blackhawks. It’s the latest in the Blackhawks’ attempts to rekindle magic with former players. For the most part, this has not worked out well. But for general manager Stan Bowman, the familiarity of Sharp, coupled with the forward’s ability to mentor to young players and fill a role on a team needing depth, was a convincing combination.
“We expect him to bring a lot of speed to the table. He knows how to put the puck in the net. That’s something some players just have a knack of getting open and getting the shot off. As far as the intangibles go, stuff away from the ice, there’s no question there’s chemistry there,” Bowman said. “There are younger players here who weren’t here when Patrick was here before, but I think he’s going to help mentor those guys. Patrick has a lot of experience, been through a lot of situations. He can help sort of mentor those younger players and so from that perspective, there’s great comfort level among players and staff.”
As for that speed and great skating, how much will be affected by Sharp’s hip surgery. Both Sharp and Bowman said he’s progressing just fine and Sharp will be ready for training camp — the surgery had a 4-5-month recovery window. Sharp said he’s, “pushing it pretty hard in the gym, and I’ve been on the ice in full equipment skating. I don’t anticipate any problems going forward.”
“I still have a ton of time to be ready for Day 1 and be ready for training camp,” Sharp continued. “I had got the surgery toward the end of [March] and that provided me with a ton of time… not to just back to the level I was at in March but it also allows me time to build my body back up to where I can play a season. I’ve played a lot of hockey, I know where I have to be physically and mentally to start the season. The time I’ve given myself is plenty.”
So where does Sharp end up in the lineup? As of now, Brandon Saad is penciled in as Jonathan Toews’ left wing. Nick Schmaltz, who played some with Patrick Kane last season, will likely get the first shot on Kane’s wing when the season begins. Sharp finished his 2014-15 postseason playing on the Blackhawks’ third line, and that’s probably where he could start this fall.
Sharp had several options this free agency. Like Brian Campbell last season, he took a lot less money to return to the Blackhawks. Much like his paycheck, his role will be different this time, too. But it’s a familiar place full of familiar faces, and whatever role Sharp takes on in order to win another Cup, he said he’s willing to play it.
“I expect to be 100 percent ready to go from Day 1, to contribute in any role Joel [Quenneville] puts me in and I’ll do the best I can,” Sharp said. “I look back to my time in Chicago, being a part of three different teams, all three times I played in a different spot. Things move around, there’ll be changes and combination, but I’m open and ready for anything.”
UPDATE: Evaluating Saturday's depth signings, and where Blackhawks stand after Day 1 of free agency.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/USA TODAY)
The Blackhawks are in what’s become a typical offseason situation for them: a few needs to fill, not a lot of cash with which to fill them. With four more signings on Saturday, however, the Blackhawks hope to give themselves some depth and options this season.
Wilmette native Tommy Wingels signed a one-year deal on Saturday, as did fellow forward Lance Bouma. The Blackhawks also signed goaltender Jean-François Bérubé and defenseman Jordan Oesterle to two-year contracts. The moves give the Blackhawks more options and all four players are in their 20s – Bérubé and Oesterle are both 25, Bouma is 27 and Wingels is 29.
Wingels brings that drive-to-the-net element that the Blackhawks had for most of the regular season but were sorely lacking in the playoffs. He said he talked with general manager Stan Bowman and coach Joel Quenneville about his role. Whatever that may be, outside of going to the dirty areas, getting the chance to play for the hometown team is a thrill.
“Hearing from those guys meant a lot to me. When the offer did come, I spoke with my family and it was just a no-brainer. Such an unbelievable organization and what the Blackhawks mean to the city, I’m such a big fan of it,” Wingels said. “I’m a good bottom-six player, expected to bring energy, [play] a straight-line game and get into the dirty areas. Watching the team, watching how the team fared in the playoffs, that’s a piece that was missing. I’m sure they’re adding others but I think that’s an area I can help out and get to the net, score some dirty goals and be a difficult player to play against.”
Wingels can play either center or wing, and being a right-handed shot was also an asset.
“Whether he’s full time in the middle, I’m not sure. That’s something Joel [Quenneville] will figure out. We definitely like having a right-handed shot to take faceoffs and [Patrick Sharp] is the same way. He played center long ago, but we see him more on the wing here. But Patrick certainly has the ability to take faceoffs, too,” Bowman said. “We don’t have a lot of right-handed centers here and we wanted to add to that area. It’s probably more on the wing for Tommy but he has experience in the middle and I think as things go along, he could end up there.”
Bouma, meanwhile, should bring a gritty element the Blackhawks have been lacking. This is also a welcomed fresh start for Bouma; the Calgary Flames bought out the final year of his previous contract on Friday.
“Anytime you end like that it’s tough… because you’re signed to a deal and you want to prove them right on what they signed you to. But I had a great run there, made a lot of great friends in the city and on the team,” Bouma said. “I’m just looking forward and obviously winning here and having fun here and meeting new teammates. It’s going to be a fun time for sure.”
With Bérubé the Blackhawks gain some depth at goaltending. Anton Forsberg is likely the Blackhawks’ backup goaltender but Bowman wanted another option. Last year when Corey Crawford was out with appendicitis, Scott Darling started all 11 games in his absence.
Bowman wouldn’t say what else the Blackhawks could add during this free-agency period. They’re currently a few million over the $75 million salary cap – teams are allowed to be 10 percent over it until the regular-season begins – and are expected to make another move. They'll still also see what happens regarding Marian Hossa’s long-term injured reserve possibility; Bowman didn’t foresee that being a problem, and it’s likely to be applied early in the regular season.
The Blackhawks still have concerns at defense, where replacing Niklas Hjalmarsson will be difficult. Again, as said above, we’ll see if the Blackhawks make any more moves or, once Hossa’s LTIR can be applied, look at options then. Right now there’s a lot of youth there, from guys who have gotten some work with the Blackhawks (Michal Kempny, Gustav Forsling, Erik Gustaffson) to those who haven’t Jan Rutta, Ville Pokka and Oesterle).
“The opportunity will be there for the young guys to show which one belongs or if a few belong, that would be great,” Bowman said. “That’s what we’ll figure out in camp. It’ll be a competitive time for these guys to put their best foot forward and see who’s ready for the job.”
Blackhawks bolster depth with flurry of moves.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
While the Blackhawks certainly have depth to add across the board before the season begins. On Saturday they worked to that end, signing Tommy Wingels to a one-year deal and goaltender Jean-Francois Berube and defenseman Jordan Oesterle to two-year deals.
Wingels, who hails from Wilmette, was traded to the Ottawa Senators at the deadline last season. He played in 36 regular-season games and nine playoff games for Ottawa. Wingels had been with the San Jose Sharks since the 2010-11 season.
The 25-year-old Berube was 3-2-2 with a 3.42 goals-against average and a .889 save percentage with the New York Islanders. As of now the Blackhawks are planning on Anton Forsberg, acquired as part of the Brandon Saad trade last Friday, to be Corey Crawford’s backup this season.
As for Oesterle, 25, he’s played 19 games with the Edmonton Oilers over the past two seasons. He spent most of last season with the Bakersfield Condors, recording 32 points in 44 games.
Reunited: Patrick Sharp is officially back with the Blackhawks.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
On July 10, 2015 Patrick Sharp was another one of the Blackhawks’ salary-cap casualties. Now he’s the latest former player brought back into the fold.
Sharp’s return became official on Saturday morning, as the NHL free agency period began. He signs a one-year deal for a reported $1 million (per Bob McKenzie, $800,000 base salary and $200,000 in bonuses), a sizeable pay cut from the $5 million he earned last season.
It’s another instance in which the Blackhawks are bringing back a player who was a big part of their Stanley Cup-winning years. Brandon Saad was reacquired last week from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Brian Campbell (offseason) and Johnny Oduya (trade deadline) were back last season.
Sharp is coming off a tough season with the Dallas Stars, especially with injuries. A concussion he sustained early last season sidelined him twice, and a hip injury prevented him from being a potential trade target last February. Sharp underwent hip surgery in March; the expected recovery time was 4-5 months.
Money-wise, the deal is a friendly one for a team with little to spend. The Blackhawks began Saturday nearly $3 million over the $75 million salary cap set for the 2017-18 season. A team can go 10 percent over the cap during the summer but has to be at or under the cap the day the season starts.
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... Bulls begin free agency period by re-signing Cristiano Felicio.
By #BullsTalk
It’s another instance in which the Blackhawks are bringing back a player who was a big part of their Stanley Cup-winning years. Brandon Saad was reacquired last week from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Brian Campbell (offseason) and Johnny Oduya (trade deadline) were back last season.
Sharp is coming off a tough season with the Dallas Stars, especially with injuries. A concussion he sustained early last season sidelined him twice, and a hip injury prevented him from being a potential trade target last February. Sharp underwent hip surgery in March; the expected recovery time was 4-5 months.
Money-wise, the deal is a friendly one for a team with little to spend. The Blackhawks began Saturday nearly $3 million over the $75 million salary cap set for the 2017-18 season. A team can go 10 percent over the cap during the summer but has to be at or under the cap the day the season starts.
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... Bulls begin free agency period by re-signing Cristiano Felicio.
By #BullsTalk
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Teams around the NBA are making huge franchise-changing moves as the free agency period begins. The Bulls started free agency with a much less splashy move.
Cristiano Felicio is reportedly going to re-sign to a four-year deal worth $32 million. Felicio was a restricted free agent.
The 24-year-old Brazilian averaged 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 66 appearances, all off the bench, this past season. He shot 57.9 percent from the field and averaged 15.8 minutes per game. The 6-foot-9 forward was in his second year with the Bulls.
The only other Bulls name being talked about this early in free agency is Nikola Mirotic, although that was not expected to happen as quickly as Felicio's deal.
And then there was one Alpha: Bulls waive veteran point guard Rajon Rondo.
By CSN Staff
(Photo/USA Today)
And then there was one Alpha.
As expected, the Bulls officially announced the release of veteran point guard Rajon Rondo on Friday afternoon.
The Bulls held a team option that would have paid Rondo $13.4 million next season, but the Bulls elected to waive Rondo which will cost the team $3 million.
Rondo, 30, appeared in 69 games with the Bulls last season and averaged 7.8 points, 6.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds.
Rondo helped the Bulls to two wins over the No. 1 seeded Boston Celtics in the playoffs by averaging 11.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 10.0 assists. However, Rondo suffered a broken thumb in practice and missed the rest of the series, with the Celtics winning four consecutive games.
The Bulls also announced that they waived guard Isaiah Canaan.
The 26-year-old Canaan averaged 4.6 points in 39 games with the Bulls last season.
CUBS: Jake Arrieta sharp again, Ian Happ homers as Cubs top Reds.
The Bulls held a team option that would have paid Rondo $13.4 million next season, but the Bulls elected to waive Rondo which will cost the team $3 million.
Rondo, 30, appeared in 69 games with the Bulls last season and averaged 7.8 points, 6.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds.
Rondo helped the Bulls to two wins over the No. 1 seeded Boston Celtics in the playoffs by averaging 11.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 10.0 assists. However, Rondo suffered a broken thumb in practice and missed the rest of the series, with the Celtics winning four consecutive games.
The Bulls also announced that they waived guard Isaiah Canaan.
The 26-year-old Canaan averaged 4.6 points in 39 games with the Bulls last season.
CUBS: Jake Arrieta sharp again, Ian Happ homers as Cubs top Reds.
By #CubsTalk
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Jake Arrieta pitched one-hit ball for seven innings without allowing a stolen base on Sunday, and Ian Happ homered twice in the ballpark where he played as a college star, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 6-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
The Cubs (41-41) salvaged the final game of their series.
Injuries to the starting lineup and inconsistencies in the rotation have left the defending World Series champions treading water. Arrieta (8-6) was coming off a subpar performance that created friction and a surprise move.
The Nationals stole seven bases off Arrieta during their 6-1 win on Tuesday, and catcher Miguel Montero complained afterward about the pitcher's move to the plate with runners on base. Montero was cut loose the following day.
Back in the ballpark where he threw a no-hitter last season, Arrieta was back in form, allowing only Joey Votto's first-inning single and a pair of walks - the Reds were never in position to try to steal. Votto singled home a pair of runs in the eighth off Koji Uehara.
Happ grew up in the Pittsburgh area and played at the University of Cincinnati, including one game at Great American Ball Park. The first-round pick from 2015 hit a two-run homer and a solo shot off Tim Adleman (5-5). The rookie added an RBI single, the third time he's driven in four runs in a game.
Anthony Rizzo also had a solo homer, and Javier Baez doubled home a run as the Cubs prevented a three-game sweep.
REDS MOVES
Cincinnati acquired Double-A outfielder/first baseman Nick Longhi from Boston in exchange for international signing bonus pool space. The Reds also optioned RH starter Jackson Stephenson to Triple-A Louisville and called up RHP Asher Wojciechowski. LHP Brandon Finnegan was moved to the 60-day DL with a shoulder injury.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cubs: Ben Zobrist started in right field, his first start since returning from a sore left wrist that sidelined him for 17 games. He was activated a day earlier and pinch hit.
Reds: SS Zack Cozart was back after getting a day of rest. Cozart is recovering from a strained right thigh.
UP NEXT
Cubs: After a day off, they open a six-game homestand heading into the All-Star break. John Lackey (5-9) starts against Tampa Bay's Chris Asher (6-5). In his last start, Lackey gave up a season-high eight runs in 5 1/3 innings of an 8-4 loss to Washington.
Reds: Luis Castillo (0-0) makes his third major league start as Cincinnati begins a seven-game road trip at Coors Field, facing Colorado's Jeff Hoffman (4-1). Castillo was the victim of blown saves in his first two starts.
Wade Davis lone representative for Cubs in 2017 MLB All-Star Game.
By #CubsTalk
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
It's his third career All-Star nomination, and also third straight after participating as a member of the Kansas City Royals in 2015 and 2016.
Davis ranks tied for fifth in the National League with 16 saves, and is one of two regular closers in baseball who has yet to blow a save opportunity this season. He owns a 2-0 record with a 1.93 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 42 strikeouts to 10 walks in 29 games this season.
Joe Maddon will be managing in the All-Star Game for the second time in his career, and is the first Cubs manager to do so since Dusty Baker in 2003.
Kris Bryant is part of the NL's Final Vote, going up against Miami's Justin Bour, Washington's Anthony Rendon, Colorado's Mark Reynolds and Los Angeles' Justin Turner.
You can vote here until Thursday at 3 p.m. CT.
Even with injuries, Joe Maddon thought Cubs would have better record halfway through season. ()7/01/2017).
By Associated Press
(Photo/USA Today)
With the bases loaded, two outs and the Reds down a run, manager Bryan Price decided to let his rookie pitcher take some swings.
Jackson Stephens delivered on the first one.
The right-hander lasted five innings in his major league debut and drove in the go-ahead runs with a bases-loaded single on Saturday, leading Cincinnati to a 5-3 victory over the struggling Chicago Cubs.
"It was unbelievable, a childhood dream," said Stephens (1-0), who smacked his hands together after reaching first base on his first major league hit.
The Cubs' fourth loss in five games dropped them to 40-41, well off their pace from a year ago (51-30) when they were on their way to an NL Central title and a World Series championship.
"We look forward to turning that thing around completely and heading in the other direction - .500 is not good enough for us, and we know that," infielder Ben Zobrist said.
The Cubs' roster has been depleted by injuries, contributing to their season-long inconsistency. Zobrist returned from the disabled list on Saturday, and Kris Bryant was back after missing two games with a sprained ankle.
Manager Joe Maddon thought his team would have a better record at this point, even with the injuries.
"But it's OK," Maddon said. "We get everybody healthy right now, get everybody back out there, and I'm very confident that we'll start looking like we're supposed to look."
Stephens gave up a solo homer by Jon Jay and a two-run shot by Willson Contreras in five innings. He was called up to help the Reds fill an opening in the rotation created by Brandon Finnegan's arm injury.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth, Stephens singled up the middle off Eddie Butler (4-3) for two runs and a 4-3 lead.
"I located probably my best fastball of the day to the pitcher and he hits a six-hopper up the middle," Butler said. "That's frustrating."
Raisel Iglesias escaped a two-on threat in the eighth and got the last four outs for his 15th save in 16 chances.
Chicago managed only three singles while losing the series opener 5-0 on Friday night. The Cubs got to Stephens the second time through the order for a 3-0 lead. Jay led off the third inning with his first homer since May 24 of last season, and Contreras added a two-run shot.
Cincinnati sent nine batters to the plate in the fourth. Adam Duvall doubled home a run, and Butler walked Tucker Barnhart to force in a run with two outs and bring up Stephens, who singled on the first pitch.
GOTCHA!
Billy Hamilton singled to open the Reds' first inning and was picked off by Butler, the first time he's been picked off this season.
TWEET
Maddon tweeted two photos of a large group of Cubs fans cheering the team as it left the hotel for the ballpark on Saturday morning. "Pretty spectacular," Maddon said. "And it's humbling, it really is."
STATS
Jay's homer ended a streak of 328 at-bats without one. ... The Cubs have homered in 16 of their last 17 games at Great American Ball Park. ... The Reds will try to sweep the Cubs for the first time at Great American. Their last three-game sweep in Cincinnati came in 1996 at Cinergy Field. ... Stephens is the first Reds pitcher with two RBIs in his major league debut since Paul Moskau drove in two runs on June 21, 1977, according to information from the Elias Sports Bureau provided by the Reds.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cubs: Zobrist was activated off the DL and grounded out as a pinch hitter. He missed 17 games with an injured left wrist. ... OF Jason Heyward starts a rehab assignment on Sunday. He's been sidelined since June 19 by a hand injury.
Reds: SS Zack Cozart got a day off. He returned from a thigh injury and singled twice on Friday night. He'll get days off regularly as he's eased back into a starting role.
UP NEXT
Cubs: Jake Arrieta (7-6) makes his first start since the Washington Nationals stole seven bases against him during the Cubs' 6-1 loss on Tuesday. Afterward, Miguel Montero blamed the pitcher's move to the plate, prompting the Cubs to let go of the catcher a day later.
Reds: Tim Adleman (5-4) is 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA in his last seven starts. He didn't get a decision in the Cubs' 6-5 win at Wrigley Field on April 21 after he allowed two runs in six innings.
The right-hander lasted five innings in his major league debut and drove in the go-ahead runs with a bases-loaded single on Saturday, leading Cincinnati to a 5-3 victory over the struggling Chicago Cubs.
"It was unbelievable, a childhood dream," said Stephens (1-0), who smacked his hands together after reaching first base on his first major league hit.
The Cubs' fourth loss in five games dropped them to 40-41, well off their pace from a year ago (51-30) when they were on their way to an NL Central title and a World Series championship.
"We look forward to turning that thing around completely and heading in the other direction - .500 is not good enough for us, and we know that," infielder Ben Zobrist said.
The Cubs' roster has been depleted by injuries, contributing to their season-long inconsistency. Zobrist returned from the disabled list on Saturday, and Kris Bryant was back after missing two games with a sprained ankle.
Manager Joe Maddon thought his team would have a better record at this point, even with the injuries.
"But it's OK," Maddon said. "We get everybody healthy right now, get everybody back out there, and I'm very confident that we'll start looking like we're supposed to look."
Stephens gave up a solo homer by Jon Jay and a two-run shot by Willson Contreras in five innings. He was called up to help the Reds fill an opening in the rotation created by Brandon Finnegan's arm injury.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth, Stephens singled up the middle off Eddie Butler (4-3) for two runs and a 4-3 lead.
"I located probably my best fastball of the day to the pitcher and he hits a six-hopper up the middle," Butler said. "That's frustrating."
Raisel Iglesias escaped a two-on threat in the eighth and got the last four outs for his 15th save in 16 chances.
Chicago managed only three singles while losing the series opener 5-0 on Friday night. The Cubs got to Stephens the second time through the order for a 3-0 lead. Jay led off the third inning with his first homer since May 24 of last season, and Contreras added a two-run shot.
Cincinnati sent nine batters to the plate in the fourth. Adam Duvall doubled home a run, and Butler walked Tucker Barnhart to force in a run with two outs and bring up Stephens, who singled on the first pitch.
GOTCHA!
Billy Hamilton singled to open the Reds' first inning and was picked off by Butler, the first time he's been picked off this season.
TWEET
Maddon tweeted two photos of a large group of Cubs fans cheering the team as it left the hotel for the ballpark on Saturday morning. "Pretty spectacular," Maddon said. "And it's humbling, it really is."
STATS
Jay's homer ended a streak of 328 at-bats without one. ... The Cubs have homered in 16 of their last 17 games at Great American Ball Park. ... The Reds will try to sweep the Cubs for the first time at Great American. Their last three-game sweep in Cincinnati came in 1996 at Cinergy Field. ... Stephens is the first Reds pitcher with two RBIs in his major league debut since Paul Moskau drove in two runs on June 21, 1977, according to information from the Elias Sports Bureau provided by the Reds.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cubs: Zobrist was activated off the DL and grounded out as a pinch hitter. He missed 17 games with an injured left wrist. ... OF Jason Heyward starts a rehab assignment on Sunday. He's been sidelined since June 19 by a hand injury.
Reds: SS Zack Cozart got a day off. He returned from a thigh injury and singled twice on Friday night. He'll get days off regularly as he's eased back into a starting role.
UP NEXT
Cubs: Jake Arrieta (7-6) makes his first start since the Washington Nationals stole seven bases against him during the Cubs' 6-1 loss on Tuesday. Afterward, Miguel Montero blamed the pitcher's move to the plate, prompting the Cubs to let go of the catcher a day later.
Reds: Tim Adleman (5-4) is 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA in his last seven starts. He didn't get a decision in the Cubs' 6-5 win at Wrigley Field on April 21 after he allowed two runs in six innings.
Cubs going all-in with Willson Contreras and youth movement at catcher.
By Patrick Mooney
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The trade-deadline priorities for Theo Epstein’s front office are pitching, pitching and more pitching. Manager Joe Maddon says the rotation will drive the engine for a team that has been stuck in neutral through 49 percent of the season. The Cubs just removed their only experienced catcher from their pitching-and-defense equation.
This isn’t trying to turn Miguel Montero into a martyr for the honest/foolish criticism of Jake Arrieta that got him designated for assignment. Willson Contreras already did most of the heavy lifting, proving himself as an eager-to-learn student and a clutch postseason hitter.
But at the age of 25 — and with two half-seasons of experience in the big leagues — Contreras is now the senior catcher to Victor Caratini at a mentally and physically grueling position.
“It’s going to put more on our plate, for sure, because there’s a learning curve coming into the league,” pitcher John Lackey said. “I don’t care who you are. We’ve all done it. I had it when I was a young kid. But from what I hear, (Caratini’s) been hitting really good at Triple-A, I guess, so we’ll see what happens.”
Lackey (5.24 ERA) wasn’t in excuse-making mode after an ugly loss this week at Nationals Park. Lackey was just answering the question and being realistic. Caratini, 23, earned a promotion that wouldn’t have happened so soon without Montero’s loose-cannon personality by hitting .343 with eight homers, 54 RBI and a .923 OPS in 68 games at Iowa.
“Veteran pitchers pretty much know what they want to do or how they want to do it,” Maddon said, “so I’m always relying on (them). Our philosophy is that the pitcher always has the right — the last right — to choose what he wants to do or not do. Even when it comes down to defense, if you don’t like the shift, we won’t move. When it comes to calling a game, starting pitchers – our veteran guys – are pretty much in charge of that moment.”
Maddon also has faith in a secret weapon: Mike Borzello, the catching/strategy coach who spearheads the team’s unique system that blends scouting and analytics into daily reports.
“Our catchers are prepped really well,” Maddon said. “Borz does a great job of game-planning. They sit down before the game and they go through the process. I think in a moment like this, you’re relying on the veteran-ship and the know-how of your starting pitchers more than the catchers. As long as the catchers know the game plan, receive well, block well, throw well, I’m OK with it.”
Maddon would also never publicly lobby for a defense-first veteran catcher to stabilize things behind the plate.
“It depends on who the guy is,” Maddon said. “I like our catchers right now. If you’re any major-league team, I think you’d like to say Willson Contreras is one of your catchers.
“I love (Caratini’s) swing, so there’s not going to be a long period of time before people are going to say we’d like to have Caratini also. These are two really good young catchers to grow with.”
Jon Lester – who has almost exclusively thrown to David Ross and Contreras since signing his $155 million megadeal — spoke with Montero on Wednesday after those running-game comments went viral and Epstein dropped the DFA hammer trying to jolt the clubhouse.
“I’ve gotten to know Miggy over the last couple years as a piece of this team that changed history, so that’s something that he’ll always have,” Lester said. “But at the end of the day, management needs to make decisions. And they made the decision. You say your goodbyes and kind of move on.”
WHITE SOX: Go-ahead Yolmer! Sox rally to beat Rangers.
By Fabian Ardaya and T.R. Sullivan
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Yolmer Sanchez's two-run, eighth-inning blast gave the Chicago White Sox a 6-5 win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday, sealing a series victory with their second comeback against the Rangers' bullpen in three games.
The Texas 'pen, which saw some high-leverage roles change after Friday's 8-7 collapse against Chicago, was again unable to lock down the White Sox' bats. After Ernesto Frieri and Matt Bush -- who blew the save Friday -- worked scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh, Jose Leclerc issued a one-out walk to Todd Frazier before Sanchez sent a hanging 78.1-mph curveball a Statcast-projected 415 feet to right field to give Chicago a 6-5 lead.
"Oh yeah, definitely when I hit the ball, I know I got it on the barrel," Sanchez said. "I knew I hit it really hard to be a homer. 100 percent. It was a very special moment for the team."
The Rangers loaded the bases against White Sox closer David Robertson in the ninth, but catcher Kevan Smith's diving play to tag home before pinch-runner Joey Gallo scored on a dropped third strike with Carlos Gomez at the plate sealed the comeback win.
"A calm panic, I guess you could say," Smith said of the play. "I knew he was going to throw it down, so I was prepared for it. I actually thought the ball was right in front of me, and when it wasn't there it's kind of that moment where you peek back. I just kind of took control."
Texas right-hander Tyson Ross was erratic, allowing five walks in five innings, but managed to avoid the crooked number outside of a three-run third. Ross allowed four earned runs in total.
Chicago's Jose Quintana snapped his stretch of three consecutive quality starts, allowing five runs (three earned) in 4 1/3 innings, after working scoreless outings in his previous two turns. The left-hander got little help from his defense, as four errors led to a pair of unearned runs before Jonathan Lucroy dumped a two-run single over the head of second baseman Sanchez to give Texas a lead they would not hold.
"Losing is losing," Lucroy said. "It all stinks. Obviously it's frustrating. Anytime you lose like this, it's frustrating. We've got to get it rolling."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
You can put it on the board … again: The White Sox have gotten off to quick starts in each game of their three games during the series, as Melky Cabrera's first-inning solo shot just over Gomez's glove in center field gave Chicago its third first-inning homer in as many games. Jose Abreu and Frazier went back-to-back in Friday's 8-7 White Sox win, while Abreu hit a two-run blast in Saturday's 10-4 loss. Cabrera took an 84.1 mph slider in the middle of the zone from Ross, driving it a Statcast-projected 399 feet for his ninth home run of the season.
Limiting the damage: After a replay review granted the Rangers a second life with the middle of their order up and a suddenly tied ballgame, they seemed poised to take the lead. Adrian Beltre drew a walk to reload the bases with two outs, but Quintana got Gomez to fly out and limit the damage to just one run.
Chirinos scores off first career steal: Robinson Chirinos pulled off his first Major League stolen base in the fourth inning. The White Sox were so shocked, they ended up letting Chirinos score. Chirinos reached on a one-out single and broke to steal second base on a 2-2 pitch to Delino DeShields. White Sox catcher Smith's throw sailed into center field, allowing Chirinos to go to third. He kept on running after center fielder Adam Engel's throw bounced past third baseman Matt Davidson to cut the lead to 4-3. Chirinos entered the game having reached base 301 times in his career without a stolen base, according to Stats Inc. -- third-most among active Major Leaguers. "We lost the game so that run doesn't mean anything," Chirinos said. "If it had made a difference, it would have felt good. But when it doesn't do anything … who cares?"
QUOTABLE
"The big story today was seven walks and one hit batter … and three of them scored." -- Rangers manager Jeff Banister
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Sunday marked the first time the White Sox had won a game in the five times this season which they had committed three or more errors. It was the team's first win while also committing four errors since July 4, 2016.
"We put ourselves in the predicament that we were in, honestly," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "We had a couple of plays that developed that we weren't able to make. Just in general some fundamental things that we didn't do."
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW
• With one out in the third inning and a runner on, DeShields chopped a grounder to shortstop, which the White Sox were able to turn for an out at second base while DeShields reached on a fielder's choice. The Rangers challenged, saying that Chicago second baseman Sanchez did not have his foot on the base as he received the throw from shortstop Tim Anderson for the out at second. The call was overturned, and Sanchez was charged with an error while Pete Kozma returned to second base. The Rangers kept their challenge as a result.
• Quintana found himself in a bind later in the third inning, as a pair of errors and an infield single loaded the bases with one out. Quintana induced a potential double play ball, which appeared to be halted when Sanchez couldn't get the throw off to first base. Second-base umpire Gabe Morales ruled that Shin-Soo Choo went out of the basepaths to trip Sanchez, granting the out at first base for an inning-ending double play. The Rangers challenged for the second time in the inning, and the call was overturned after a four-minute, seven-second review that stated Choo didn't violate Official Baseball Rule 6.01(j). A run scored as a result, snapping Quintana's scoreless streak at 19 2/3 innings.
"You feel bad because you know that you have to make those plays," Sanchez said of the reviews. "You know that you have to support your pitcher and do your job in the defensive part of the game. That's just part of the game. You just try to overcome those mistakes and do your job better the next time."
• After Engel led off the seventh inning with a walk, he took off for second on a delayed steal. Alen Hanson swung through Matt Bush's fastball at the plate, and it appeared that Chirinos threw out Engel at second. The White Sox challenged, saying Engel slid underneath Elvis Andrus' tag. The call was upheld after a review that lasted one minute and 43 seconds.
WHAT'S NEXT
Rangers: Left-hander Martin Perez comes off the disabled list and pitches against the Red Sox at 7:05 p.m. CT on Monday in Arlington. Perez, who has won his last two starts, has been sidelined with a fractured tip of his right thumb.
White Sox: Chicago will hit the road to start a six-game road trip before the All-Star break starting with Oakland. Carlos Rodon (0-1, 0.00) will make his second start of the season after missing most of the first half with left biceps bursitis. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. CT.
All-Star Avi: Avisail Garcia's turnaround with White Sox earns him spot among baseball's best.
By Vinnie Duber
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Avisail Garcia is heading to Miami for the All-Star Game.
That’s not something many White Sox fans would’ve expected heading into this season after Garcia put up a few mediocre years since coming over from the Detroit Tigers in a 2013 trade. But after an offseason of hard work and a half-season of stellar offensive production, the team’s big bat of the future is finally its big bat of the present.
“I feel happy,” Garcia said Sunday. “It’s an honor to represent the White Sox in the All-Star Game. It’s an honor for me. It’s another blessing. I just have to keep working and can’t wait for that moment.
“I believe in myself. And you know, I know I work hard trying to improve myself, my career. Like I said it’s another blessing. When you work hard and believe in yourself, I think you got a really good chance to be where I am right now representing the White Sox in the All-Star Game. I feel blessed for that.”
Garcia flashed plenty of potential when he first came to the South Side in the three-team deal that sent Jake Peavy to the Boston Red Sox and Jose Iglesias to the Tigers. In his first 42 games in a White Sox uniform during that 2013 season, he hit .304 with a .327 on-base percentage.
But in the three full seasons that followed, Garcia had plenty wondering why he was such a high-profile acquisition in the first place. In the 2014, 2015 and 2016 seasons, he combined to slash .250/.308/.380, striking out 300 times.
Then came the work.
This past offseason, Garcia explained, he got to work, hitting the gym and the cage to transform himself into the hitter the White Sox thought he could be.
“I lost weight first of all. I worked on my hitting. And all that stuff, wake up every day at like 5 a.m. to go to the gym and work hard. And then go back home in the afternoon and then go to hit like three times per week,” Garcia said. “All that work is coming together.”
The work has definitely paid off. Garcia is slashing .318/.362/.512 in 75 games this season with 11 homers and 51 RBIs. He’s one off his 120-game total in home runs from a season ago and has already matched the RBI number from 2016. His current OPS of .875 is more than 140 points above his previous career high.
“He played some winter ball last year and I spoke to him over the winter. He talked about wanting to improve himself as a player,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “There's never been a doubt this kid's driven to try to perform and excel. I hope it's something that's going to be here and he'll continue to move forward into the future in terms of the consistency. Maybe he's scratching the surface right now, finally starting to get to grips with who he is as a player and what he's doing.”
Now all that work has earned Garcia a place on the American League All-Star team. Not that he was expecting that to happen.
“I just take one day at a time,” Garcia said. “I don't like to think what's going to happen. I just think right now. We have to be like that because we're focused for the game. Whatever happens outside happens. It's work. When you work hard and when you play hard, you don't have to think about it. It's going to come along. You just have to be focused and play hard every day, try to do your best and give 100 percent on the field.”
While the joy of being included among baseball’s best at the All-Star Game was apparent — Garcia sported a huge smile when he spoke about his All-Star jersey hanging in his locker — the biggest message Garcia’s selection sends is the change in his standing when it comes to the White Sox rebuild.
While the team always envisioned this type of production as a possibility, fans and observers — not known for their patience — weren’t sold on Garcia as a long-term piece through the last three middling seasons. With the rebuild underway, many were hesitant to include Garcia in their lineup projections for two or three seasons down the road.
This All-Star season has likely changed many minds. Garcia, just 26, can now easily be envisioned in a batting order alongside the likes of Yoan Moncada, Zack Collins and Luis Robert.
“It’s just maturation,” Renteria said. “All players, after a certain point in time, you start to feel comfortable at the big league level. We’re hoping that this is the beginning of something that he will continue to be able to push forward and maintain some consistency throughout the rest of his career. There’ll be some ups and downs, but for the most part I think he’s coming to understand who he is as a player and he’s trusting it. Hopefully that continues.”
“It’s big. I think a lot of people believe in me, like myself. I appreciate that,” Garcia said. “I thank god for those people that believe in me. I know who I am, what kind of person I am. I know what kind of player I am. I have to keep working and try to get better every day, every year, and try to improve.
“I want to have success here. I would like to stay here for a long time. That's why I'm trying to do my best every day, every year. I'm trying to improve, trying to do my best so I can be here for a long time.”
With All-Star validation, being on the South Side for a long time suddenly seems a lot more realistic.
“First time,” Garcia said, “hopefully there's many more to come.”
Matt Davidson's strikeout-heavy slump rolls on: 'It's a little tough right now'.
By Vinnie Duber
(Photo/USA Today)
Matt Davidson is in a slump, it’s as simple as that.
What’s not so simple is digging out of it.
The young White Sox slugger has done plenty of impressing this season, heading into Sunday’s game against the visiting Texas Rangers with a team-high 17 home runs and a team-best .518 slugging percentage. But the last week-plus has been a struggle. In his last six games, Davidson is 1-for-24 with 16 strikeouts.
While no one in a White Sox uniform had much success against Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels in Saturday’s 10-4 loss on the South Side, Davidson had an especially poor day, striking out in his three at-bats against the four-time All-Star lefty.
“I feel all right,” Davidson said after the game. “When the results aren’t there, it’s tough, but I felt like I had pretty good at-bats.”
To help remedy Davidson’s ugly stretch — and that of young shortstop Tim Anderson, who’s been mired in a longer period of disappointing results, slashing .179/.211/.269 in his last 18 games — White Sox manager Rick Renteria gave the duo a couple consecutive days off to help clear out the cobwebs.
“At this point, they’ve got to experience this,” Renteria said Sunday. “It’s probably the first time in their careers they’ve had a sense of ‘I’m kind of out of sync right now’ to the extent that it’s lasted as long as it has. And for them, one day or two days is a long time, let alone a week.
“But as they’re experiencing it, starting to understand what’s going on, starting to understand other clubs are going to pitch them a certain way, do certain things to try to detract from their ability to dominate, they’ve got to start to make adjustments. It’s a process. It’s something you have to let them experience. You can talk to them about it. I know everybody goes over a lot of different things with these guys. But in the end, they’re the ones that have to go into the box and control the emotions, control the approaches and the plans that they have.”
Renteria said he believed both guys reacted positively to their rest. That was hard to judge from a results standpoint considering the job Hamels did shutting down the entire White Sox lineup Saturday. Both Davidson and Anderson were back in the starting lineup Sunday.
Davidson said the rest helped, allowing him to get away from the everyday grind and the, of late, everyday struggles.
“Definitely it does (help),” he said. “It gets you away, and you feel pretty good coming out of it.”
These types of struggles are hardly unusual for young players. Just look to the other side of town, where Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber was finding so little success that he was shipped back to Triple-A Iowa.
Renteria doesn’t think that kind of thing is necessary for the likes of Davidson and Anderson. Their numbers aren’t as bad as Schwarber’s were at the big league level this season, nor are the White Sox in a similar position as the Cubs, where they’re expected to compete for a championship this season.
It's very possible that these disappointing stretches could prove useful down the road in the White Sox rebuild.
“It’s magnified because potentially it has some kind of an impact on the outcome of the ballgame,” Renteria explained. “But I would rather have them be here and experience and understand what they’re going to have to be able to do on this stage. And not only are they here and they’re going through the struggles, but they’re dealing with it to the best of their ability and we’ll keep trying to help them handle the situations that they have to and hopefully they’ll come out of it.”
Davidson’s hearing a similar message. “Just keep going,” he said. “It’s a little tough right now. I’m not getting the results that I want. But you just keep on going, and we’ll get it.”
Golf: I got a club for that..... Kang birdies 18 to win first major at Women's PGA.
By Associated Press
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Danielle Kang birdied the final hole to win the KPMG Women's PGA Championship on Sunday for her first LPGA title, edging defending champion Brooke Henderson.
Kang bogeyed the tricky par-3 17th, and Henderson closed with two birdies to move into a tie for the lead, coming up just short on a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th. But Kang responded with two solid shots to get to the green in two, and then two-putted for the victory.
''I just told myself it was my week. It was my day,'' Kang said.
It was another great finish for the LPGA's second major of the season. The 19-year-old Henderson beat Lydia Ko in a playoff last year at Sahalee in Washington.
The 24-year-old Kang trailed Henderson and Chella Choi by one after she bogeyed the par-4 10th at Olympia Fields. But Kang moved in front with four straight birdies on Nos. 11-14, getting hot with her putter at the right time.
Kang also had a clutch 21-foot par putt at 16 on her way to a 4-under 68 and the winner's check of $525,000. Henderson closed with a 66 to finish a stroke back, and Chella Choi, who was tied with Kang for the lead coming into the day, was third at 10 under after a 71.
Kang's previous best finish in a major was a tie for 14th in the 2012 U.S. Women's Open.
Henderson made a strong bid for a second straight title in the event, jumping up the leaderboard three birdies in her first seven holes. But the Canadian had nine straight pars in the middle of the round.
''I kind of had a mix of really good putts that had a chance to go in, and some that maybe I would have liked to give a better opportunity for,'' Henderson said.
Mi Hyang Lee (67), Amy Yang (68) and Sei Young Kim (68) tied for third at 9 under, and Lexi Thompson (69) and Inbee Park (68) were another two strokes back.
Kang received some high-profile support as she tried for her first title since turning pro, hearing from Wayne Gretzky and Caitlyn Jenner - friends from her days at Sherwood Country Club in California - over the weekend. Four-time major winner Hollis Stacy also reached out, but it was some sage advice from brother Alex that set the tone for her breakout performance.
Feeling overwhelmed after her last practice round on the tree-lined course near Chicago, Kang called her brother to help formulate a game plan. Alex Kang, who plays on the Web.com Tour, told her to ''just blast it down.''
''Alex is the one that I called to map out the golf course. He's one of the people that I lean on for everything,'' Kang said.
Guided by that simple strategy, Kang posted four rounds in the 60s. The two-time U.S. Women's Amateur champion had just five bogeys, with each of them coming in the final two rounds.
Thompson looked ready to make a charge, beginning with three birdies and no bogeys on her front nine. But she sputtered down the stretch.
Thompson contended for the first major title of the year, but was penalized for a controversial rules violation and lost to So Yeon Ryu in a playoff in the ANA Inspiration. The top-ranked Ryu shot a 72 in the final round at Olympia Fields and tied for 14th.
''The back nine, I think I honestly got really tired,'' Thompson said. ''I don't really know what hit me. Overall the whole week, I played very well. Just missed a few putts that I needed to make, and kind of my wedges let me down a little bit.''
Stanley beats Howell to win Quicken Loans playoff.
By Will Gray
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
It was a dramatic finish to the Quicken Loans National, and one that needed overtime to determine a winner. Here's how things ended up at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, where Kyle Stanley edged Charles Howell III on the first extra hole:
Leaderboard: Kyle Stanley (-7), Charles Howell III (-7), Rickie Fowler (-5), Martin Laird (-5), Spencer Levin (-4), David Lingmerth (-4), Sung Kang (-4)
What it means: Lingmerth and Daniel Summerhays started the day out in front, but both were wobbly out of the gates. That opened the door for Howell and Stanley, both of whom shot rounds of 4-under 66 to force a playoff with eyes on ending lengthy victory droughts. The trophy went to Stanley in short order, as Howell bogeyed the first extra hole and Stanley rolled in a 4-footer for his first win since the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Round of the day: Nick Watney made the day's biggest move after closing with a 6-under 64. The veteran birdied each of his first three holes and carded seven birdies on the day, vaulting from 10 shots off the pace all the way into a tie for 13th at 3 under despite failing to break 70 in each of the first three rounds.
Best of the rest: Fowler had the day's most colorful scorecard, notching a career-high nine birdies en route to a 5-under 65. Fowler's run peaked with six birdies in a seven-hole stretch from Nos. 7-13, but his title chances ended when he made a double bogey on the driveable 14th hole. Despite the hiccup, he bounced back to birdie Nos. 16 and 18 to snag a share of third.
Biggest disappointment: Lingmerth started the day with a one-shot lead and was poised to finish a wire-to-wire victory. But he bogeyed two of his first five holes and suffered a blow at a critical juncture when he made a double on the difficult par-4 11th hole. Lingmerth ultimately signed for a 3-over 74 that left him three shots back and one shot short of qualifying for The Open.
Shot of the day: Stanley's approach barely rolled through the green during the playoff, but a deft downhill pitch left him only a few feet for par to seal the win.
Quote of the day: "It means a lot. I've had so much help from my coaches, my family, my wife. It's hard to put it into words." - Stanley
Perry tops Triplett for second U.S. Senior Open title.
By Associated Press
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Kenny Perry claimed his second U.S. Senior Open on Sunday, pulling away from Kirk Triplett at Salem Country Club to finish at 16 under and win by two strokes.
The 56-year-old Perry closed with a 2-under 68 for a record score of 264. Perry also won the event in 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska. It is his fourth major victory on the senior tour.
Perry started the day a stroke behind Triplett but five ahead of the next-closest contender, Brandt Jobe. Triplett, who tied the tournament record with a 62 in the opening round, had five bogeys Sunday and shot 71.
The 56-year-old Perry closed with a 2-under 68 for a record score of 264. Perry also won the event in 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska. It is his fourth major victory on the senior tour.
Perry started the day a stroke behind Triplett but five ahead of the next-closest contender, Brandt Jobe. Triplett, who tied the tournament record with a 62 in the opening round, had five bogeys Sunday and shot 71.
Jobe had a 70 to finish seven strokes back. Tom Lehman and Fred Couples each shot 69 to tie for fourth at 8 under.
Perry's 264 total was three strokes better than the U.S. Senior Open record set by Hale Irwin at Saucon Valley in 2000 and matched by Perry in 2013. Perry was the only player to shoot under par in each of the four rounds at the 6,815-yard Donald Ross-designed course, which also hosted the tournament in 2001.
That year, Bruce Fleischer won at even par.
But overnight rain before the first three rounds softened the greens, and Triplett and Jobe each took advantage with rounds of 62 - matching the lowest score in a PGA Tour Champions major.
''Today was probably how they wanted the golf course to play all week,'' said Jobe, who played his other three rounds at a combined 1 under. ''It was hard out there.''
Triplett started the final day with a one-stroke lead but it didn't last long. Perry birdied the first hole and then took the lead for good when Triplett dropped a stroke on No. 5. By the ninth hole, Perry's lead was four strokes, and Jobe had closed within two shots of second place.
Triplett, who only had two total bogeys in the first three rounds, had five on Sunday. Perry played bogey-free, with a pair of birdies.
Perry has nine overall victories on the 50-and-over tour after winning 14 times on PGA Tour. He lost a playoff to Mark Brooks in the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla in his home state of Kentucky.
Perry has nine overall victories on the 50-and-over tour after winning 14 times on PGA Tour. He lost a playoff to Mark Brooks in the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla in his home state of Kentucky.
Fleetwood holds off Uihlein to win French Open.
By Will Gray
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
A banner year for Tommy Fleetwood continued Sunday when the Englishman came from behind to win the HNA French Open.
Fleetwood started the day one shot behind two players, but he ended up one shot clear after a bogey-free 66 that gave him his second European Tour victory of the year. The 26-year-old also won in Abu Dhabi, finished second to Dustin Johnson at the WGC-Mexico Championship, and came in fourth last month at the U.S. Open.
Fleetwood got out of the gates quickly with two birdies over his first three holes, then added two more on Nos. 13-14 to briefly push his advantage to four shots. Uihlein birdied the 71st hole to cut the deficit to one, but Fleetwood closed with pars and Uihlein was unable to birdie the difficult finishing hole.
"It was good from start to finish, really. Nearly holed my first two iron shots," Fleetwood said. "I played great today, felt comfy again. It's always great to just test your game and test what you work on every day under the ultimate pressure."
Fleetwood started the year ranked No. 99 in the world, and he entered this week at No. 21. But following his victory in the second Rolex Series event of the year, he's expected to move up to No. 15 when the newest rankings are published. While this was Fleetwood's fifth start at Le Golf National, he had missed the cut in each of his four prior trips.
Jon Rahm headlined the group that tied for 10th at 5 under, one that also included BMW PGA champ Alex Noren and former world No. 1 Lee Westwood.
Uihlein earned a spot in The Open for his runner-up finish as part of the Open Qualifying Series, as did Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Alexander Bjork who both tied for third. The Rolex Series and Open Qualifying Series both continue next week with the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Portstewart in Northern Ireland.
NASCAR: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. triumphs at Daytona, snatching win from upset contender David Ragan.
By Nate Ryan
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won his second consecutive restrictor-plate race, capturing the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Stenhouse snatched the lead from David Ragan on an overtime restart and led the final two laps in his No. 17 Ford. It’s the second career victory for the Roush Fenway Racing driver, who won at Talladega Superspeedway in May.
“This validates what we did at Talladega,” Stenhouse said. “I want to first off thank all the troops that have fallen for our country, for our freedom. That is most important right now. “We have been working hard at Roush Fenway and this pushes us further along.”
Clint Bowyer finished second, followed by Paul Menard, Michael McDowell and Ryan Newman. Ragan, who was trying to qualify underdog Front Row Motorsports for the playoffs for the second consecutive season, finished a season-best sixth in a race filled with multicar crashes.
“I zigged when I should have zagged,” said Ragan, who chose the inside lane for the restart despite the oustide lane being fast and then missed a chance to throw a block on Stenhouse after pulling away from second-place Ty Dillon.
The race featured a record 14 caution flags involving 27 drivers, and several of the fastest cars were eliminated early.
Pole-sitter Dale Earnhardt Jr. hit the Turn 1 wall on the 52nd lap after getting hit by Menard because Earnhardt had slowed with an apparent flat tire.
After falling two laps down for repairs, he climbed back to the lead lap and into the top 10 when he was collected in a four-car crash resulting from a spin by Kevin Harvick, who led three times for seven laps before a cut tire ended his race.
A seven-car wreck on Lap 153 featured Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet getting airborne and a heavy hit for Kurt Busch (neither was injured).
A 10-car crash on Lap 71 that began with a cut tire for Kyle Busch eliminated Martin Truex Jr. and Austin Dillon.
Defending race winner Brad Keselowski, whose No. 2 Ford led a race-high 35 laps, hit the wall with another cut tire on Lap 117, finishing 31st.
STAGE 2 WINNER: Matt Kenseth
WHO HAD A GOOD DAY: Michael McDowell finished a career-best fourth. … Brendan Gaughan‘s seventh was his best showing since a sixth in the 2004 season finale. … Corey LaJoie earned a career-best 11th. … Ty Dillon led seven laps and was in front on a restart with two laps remaining in the scheduled distance. … JTG Daugherty Racing earned top 10s with drivers A.J. Allmendinger (eighth) and Chris Buescher (10th).
WHO HAD A BAD DAY: Where to start? With 40 laps, five of the prerace favorites with the fastest cars (Harvick, Truex, Keselowski, Earnhardt, Logano and Truex) were out. … Ryan Blaney, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch were eliminated by crashes after running well. … Danica Patrick crashed out of a race for the sixth time this season. … Ryan Sieg, DJ Kennington and Cole Whitt were out within the first 15 laps because of problems related to engine trouble.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We just blew a tire. That’s the way it goes. It just blew out right in the middle of the corner. I hate to wreck half the field. That’s a part of what we do.” — Harvick
WHAT’S NEXT: The Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, July 8 on NBCSN
Larson, Truex continue to pull away in NASCAR Cup standings after Daytona.
By Jerry Bonkowski
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
Kyle Larson got airborne and saw his night come to an end early, but he still remains No. 1 in the NASCAR Cup point standings.
Larson continues to lead Martin Truex Jr., whose night also ended early, holding an 18-point edge and making it a 1-2 runaway in the points.
Kyle Busch is a distant third, 108 points behind Larson, followed by Kevin Harvick (-110) and Brad Keselowski (-132).
Sixth through 10th in the standings are Chase Elliott (-143), Jimmie Johnson (-151), Jamie McMurray (-163), Denny Hamlin (-169) and Clint Bowyer (-198).
Click here for the NASCAR Cup standings after the Coke Zero 400.
William Byron, 19, becomes youngest winner at Daytona; wins 2nd straight Xfinity race.
Kyle Busch is a distant third, 108 points behind Larson, followed by Kevin Harvick (-110) and Brad Keselowski (-132).
Sixth through 10th in the standings are Chase Elliott (-143), Jimmie Johnson (-151), Jamie McMurray (-163), Denny Hamlin (-169) and Clint Bowyer (-198).
Click here for the NASCAR Cup standings after the Coke Zero 400.
William Byron, 19, becomes youngest winner at Daytona; wins 2nd straight Xfinity race.
By Jerry Bonkowski
(Photo/www.mm.com)
William Byron earned his second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series race, winning the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.
Driving the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Byron won under caution, needing four laps past the scheduled 100. The final caution was due to a five-car wreck that occurred behind Byron as he passed the overtime line.
At 19, Byron becomes the youngest winner at Daytona. He also won last week at Iowa Speedway and finished second a week before that at Michigan.
“We’re extremely blessed to be here and just a lot of hard work from all these guys to get here,” Byron told NBCSN in victory lane. “As a team, we’re getting more and more confident. Coming into this week (after the win at Iowa), I could tell everyone was confident.
“I never thought I’d win one of these. It’s so hard to win it.”
Byron’s JR Motorsports teammate, Elliott Sadler, finished second, followed by Dakoda Armstrong, Jeb Burton and David Starr.
“Really happy for William, but man, I didn’t want to see that (last) caution come out,” Sadler said.
With eight laps left in regulation, Brennan Poole got loose, abruptly cut to his left near the front of the pack and collected Ty Dillon.
The race resumed with four laps to go. Joey Logano was in the lead with three laps left, got shuffled back and almost wrecked, but regained control even though he dropped back to 16th.
Then, with just over a lap to go, the first multi-car wreck occurred on the backstretch, bringing out a red flag and sending the event into overtime.
The race originally started Friday night, but was red-flagged after 11 laps due to rain.
It resumed Saturday shortly after Noon ET following a red flag delay of 16 hours, 15 minutes, 51 seconds.
Then, after running an additional 26 laps, the race was stopped again for rain for two hours, 29 minutes and 37 seconds.
STAGES: Blake Koch won Stage 1, while Elliott Sadler won Stage 2.
HOW BYRON WON: The JR Motorsports driver led 29 laps. When the final restart began with four laps to go, he kept pushing toward the front and got to the point with two laps left, holding on for his second straight Xfinity Series win.
WHO ELSE HAD A GOOD RACE: Elliott Sadler had a strong run throughout the race and appeared poised to win his first race of the season. But his JRM teammate was just a bit stronger, leaving Sadler to finish runner-up. Even so, Sadler remains No. 1 in the Xfinity standings.
WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Wrecks are synonymous with Daytona, and several drivers saw their days end early, including Daniel Suarez, Blake Koch, Ryan Sieg, Casey Mears, Michael Annett, Ryan Reed and Daniel Hemric.
NOTABLE: Dakoda Armstrong (third), Jeb Burton (fourth) and David Starr (fifth) each earned career-best Xfinity finishes.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We’ve had a great last three weeks. I just can’t believe this. .. I never thought I’d win one of these.” – Race winner William Byron
WHAT’S NEXT: Alsco 300, Friday July 7, 8 p.m. ET, Kentucky Speedway.
Elliott Sadler remains No. 1 in the Xfinity standings after Daytona race.
By Jerry Bonkowski
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
Elliott Sadler may have finished second in Saturday’s Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway, but he’s still No. 1 in the Xfinity Series driver standings.
Sadler holds a 59-point edge over William Byron, who won Saturday’s race.
Justin Allgaier is third, 69 points behind Sadler, continuing the 1-2-3 JR Motorsports strangelehold on the Xfinity points.
Sadler’s lead in the points really begins to spread out after Allgaier, as fourth-ranked Brennan Poole is 175 points back, followed by Daniel Hemric, who is 185 points behind Sadler.
Click here for the updated Xfinity Series point standings.
SOCCER: Michael de Leeuw got the elephant off his back.
By Dan Santaromita
(Photo/USA TODAY)
On Saturday that finally changed. The Chicago Fire forward scored his first goal of the season in a 4-0 win against Vancouver to end a drought that lasted through the first half of the regular season.
“Finally, you know?” de Leeuw said. “The monkey is finally off my back, but I think it was an elephant. I’m happy with my goal, but also with the points. It’s for me also good that I scored, but I think the most important thing was that we killed the game really soon.”
De Leeuw’s goal was the fourth in a comprehensive win. The Fire now have the best record in Major League Soccer following Toronto’s 3-1 loss at Dallas.
De Leeuw scored seven goals in 18 games last year on a bad Fire team, but moved to a different role this year to accommodate the league’s leading scorer, Nemanja Nikolic. He maintained a regular spot in the lineup due to his work rate and ability to have a positive influence on the game without scoring.
“So happy for him,” coach Veljko Paunovic said. “We were talking about that for a long time now, how important his work for the team and how important his assists are for the team.”
De Leeuw, who was named the man of the match, assisted Nemanja Nikolic for the second goal of the match. That was de Leeuw’s fifth assist of the season.
In the second half, he had a pair of golden opportunities where it seemed certain that he would score. De Leeuw chipped goalkeeper David Ousted after an errant clearance, but a defender headed the ball off the line. Later, he missed an open shot in the box.
“I had some chances,” de Leeuw said. “One ball was headed out of the line. Also one chance that has to be a goal.
“I was feeling it today. Then at the end it’s good that you score a goal. Sometimes you just need that goal to open your tab, open your account and let’s hope that it keeps flowing now.”
Finally, de Leeuw scored on a give-and-go with Nikolic in the 84th minute. He took the shot with his first touch and slid it past Ousted.
He was mobbed by his teammates, who were clearly aware of de Leeuw finally getting a goal.
“That felt great, the support” he said. “I felt the guys were also feeling it, that I needed a goal. I felt the love from the guys and that’s great.”
Everything feels good when a team is winning, but this one had a little extra meaning to de Leeuw and his teammates.
“I think we’re all excited,” defender Matt Polster said. “He’s been working really hard. We need everyone scoring.”
USA 2-1 Ghana: Dwyer, Acosta power USMNT in Gold Cup tune-up.
By Andy Edwards
(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
The U.S. national team’s future is looking quite alright after all, if Saturday’s 2-1 victory, over Ghana, by Bruce Arena’s “B-team” Gold Cup squad is any indication.
Dom Dwyer and Kellyn Acosta got the goals for an experimental side which should see plenty of minutes starting next Saturday when the 2017 CONCACAF tournament kicks off.
The story of the first half was Dwyer. The 26-year-old English-born striker became an American citizen in March and made his USMNT debut on Saturday. After missing a pair of chances inside his first 15 minutes in the Red, White and Blue, Sporting Kansas City’s star striker hit pay dirt in the 19th minute (WATCH HERE).
Joe Corona fired from well outside the penalty area, his shot blocked and sent high into the air by a Ghanaian defender. Dwyer, who was only held onside by a late-arriving defender, lashed at the waist-high ball with his left foot, smashing it past Richard Ofori Antwi for a debut goal.
Ghana’s way back into the game came and went in first-half stoppage time, as Jorge Villafaña got wrong side of his man and tugged at his jersey, gifting the Black Stars a penalty in the process. Brad Guzan bailed out the Santos Laguna left back with a save at his left-hand post to deny Asamoah Gyan with the final kick of the opening 45 minutes.
The story of the second half way the continued emergence of Acosta as arguably the USMNT’s best central midfielder, at the age of 21. Partnering Dax McCarty in the middle of the park, Acosta showed complete control of the game’s tempo and got himself on the scoresheet with a stunning free kick in the 52nd minute.
Ghana pulled a goal back right on the hour mark, as Gyan’s free kick upstaged that of Acosta. Perfectly placed and hit with power, Guzan was never getting to the upper-90 to deny Ghana’s all-time record goalscorer.
The Yanks kick off their Gold Cup campaign next Saturday, in Nashville, against Panama.
Champs, again! Germany top Chile in contentious Confed Cup final.
By Andy Edwards
(Photo/www.dailymail.co.uk)
With Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Chile in Saint Petersburg, Russia, you can add the Confederations Cup to the miles-long list of international tournaments (at senior and various youth levels) in which Germany have triumphed over the years.
Chile, on the other hand, were denied a third straight summer with a major international trophy after topping Argentina in the Copa America final in each the summer of 2015 and 2016.
Lars Stindl’s 20th-minute goal, the only one of the game and Stindl’s 2017 Confederations Cup-leading third goal of the tournament (tied with teammates Leon Goretzka and Timo Werner), was all Joachim Loew’s side would need 12 months before they begin defense of their 2014 World Cup title.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was called upon to make a massive save fewer than five minutes into the game, as Arturo Vidal and Eduardo combined down the left flank to put Charles Aranguiz through on Ter Stegen. The ball eventually fell to Vidal atop the six-yard box, but Barcelona’s no. 1 denied him at the near post.
15 minutes later, disaster struck for La Roja. Marcelo Diaz, on top of his own 18-yard box, turned the wrong way and gifted the ball to the on-rushing Werner, who needed just one touch to dispossess the Chilean defender and draw Claudio Bravo off his line. Werner played the simple square ball to Stindl, and the Borussia Monchengladbach striker tapped the ball into an empty net.
Seeing how this summer’s Confederations Cup will forever be remembered for the introduction and implementation of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), one final flubbed video review was the perfect way to close out the tournaments. Gonzalo Jara elbowed Werner in the jaw as he ran past him, which prompted referee Milorad Mazic to look at the replay. In the end, a yellow card was shown for the clear-cut red-card offense.
The battle for places in Loew’s squad next summer, given the fact his “B-team” cruised to Confederations Cup glory, will be a fascinating subplot as the new European club season kicks off in August.
NCAAFB: NCAA to examine 14-week playing season, size of football support staffs in near future.
By Bryan Fischer
(Photo/Getty Images)
The NCAA announced the upcoming agenda for the Division I Football Oversight Committee on Friday and a few head coaches around the country could be very pleased if those bullet points turn into actual changes on the docket for the sport.
Most notably, the committee is set to look into expanding the standard regular season schedule to 14 weeks. This move is being examined as a result of previous changes that eliminated two-a-days for programs across college football and the subsequent need for a host of pre-season waivers allowing teams to start fall camp earlier than normal. According to the association’s release on the matter, administrators would prefer to keep the standard early August start date for camp and move to a 14-week slate that would not result in the need for waivers to start early.
“A variety of different models will be looked at,” said Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, the oversight committee chair. “We think there are some ways that the beginning of preseason practice can be kept in August and still meet the appropriate safety considerations.”
Teams normally play a 13-week season with one bye weekend but the calendar does provide a few opportunities every once in a while to play a 14-week season when there is an extra Saturday baked into the standard Labor Day through Thanksgiving run. The move to 14-weeks would probably get a big thumbs up from coaches with the inclusion of an extra bye week for most.
Also on the agenda are an AFCA proposal to allow for players to play in a limited number of games without using up a full year of the eligibility and a more in-depth look at the size of non-coaching football support staffs. It appears the committee is already asking schools to submit details of the number of folks connected to their football program in areas from quality control to the front office.
Don’t hold your breath if you’re expecting a quick move on some of these items though, as the committee will not meet again until early October and the meandering NCAA process making it 2018 at the earliest before any changes will be enacted.
Paterno family voluntarily dismisses their lawsuit against the NCAA.
By Bryan Fischer
(Photo/Getty Images)
The long-running legal battle between the family of former Penn State coach Joe Paterno and the NCAA appears to be over.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, the association confirmed that the estate of Paterno, his son Jay Paterno, and former Nittany Lions assistant Bill Kenney had voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit against the NCAA. In an unusually pointed remark, the NCAA noted that they “did not settle the case and provided plaintiffs with no consideration—financial or otherwise.”
“The Paterno family characterized this case as a ‘search for the truth,’” Donald Remy, the NCAA’s chief legal officer, remarked in the statement. “Its decision today, after years of investigation and discovery, to abandon its lawsuit rather than subject those facts to courtroom examination is telling. We believe that the powerful record developed during discovery overwhelmingly confirmed what the NCAA has believed all along: the NCAA acted reasonably in adopting the conclusions of an eight-month investigation by Louis Freeh.”
The lawsuit against the NCAA has been working its way through the courts for years ever since Penn State dismissed Paterno and his coaching staff following the Jerry Sandusky scandal and resulting punishment from the NCAA board. Remy noted in the release that the association was set to file a summary judgement brief on Friday before the lawsuit was ultimately dropped just hours before. While that no doubt played a key role in the decision to let the quest go for the Paternos, increasing reports that Paterno knew of sexual abuse committed by Sandusky and the election of Jay Paterno to the Penn State board of trustees also could have played a role.
While it would appear that the lawsuit being withdrawn would end yet another chapter in this sordid affair, history has shown this is probably not the last tiff we’ve seen between the NCAA and the Paterno family.
NCAABKB: College basketball: Council introduces start-of-season change proposal.
NCAA
Division I basketball games could start three days earlier if legislation introduced today by the Division I Council is adopted.
The proposal, created by the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Oversight Committees, would move the first contest date to the Tuesday before the second Friday in November, three days earlier than the current start. Additionally, the Council will ask the autonomy conferences to adopt a mandatory three-day break from athletics activities for basketball student-athletes during a school’s winter break.
Dan Guerrero, chair of the Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee and athletics director at UCLA, said the change could benefit the students, fans and the game of basketball overall.
“We hope to strike a balance between creating optimal attention for the start of basketball and providing the best scheduling model for student-athletes, and I think these proposals do that,” Guerrero said.
Changing the start of the season would alleviate the compression of the nonconference season, allow for additional flexibility in providing days off for college athletes and offer a scheduling window that would avoid a conflict with football games for a school’s first basketball game.
The Council also introduced legislation that would change the women’s basketball first practice date to 42 days before the team’s first competition, allowing 42 days to complete 30 practices. Current rules allow 30 practices in 40 days. Men’s basketball would maintain a first practice date that is 42 days before the team’s first competition.
The change in women’s basketball would not only align men’s and women’s basketball, but also help campus administrators with monitoring practice starts. Sandy Hatfield Clubb, chair of the Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee and athletics director at Drake, advocated for the changes, as well.
“The calendar change would provide a little bit of relief from compaction in the calendar,” she said. “It moves the first game from conflicts with volleyball and football and puts a little bit more of the spotlight on basketball student-athletes as we start the season. The practice change provides more flexibility in the calendar but doesn’t change the demands on a student’s time.”
The Council could vote on these proposals as early as January.
To offset the earlier start date, the oversight committees would like to require a three-day period during a school’s winter break in which required athletically related activities are prohibited for basketball student-athletes. This requirement needs to be proposed and voted on by the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences as part of the autonomy process.
This recommendation for the three-day break is supported by a majority of basketball student-athletes, according to results of a January 2016 NCAA time demands survey of all student-athletes and a National Association of Basketball Coaches time demands ad hoc group. The committees recommended the days count toward required days off per week but not count toward the required 14 additional days off adopted by the five conferences earlier this year.
The committees will consider an exemption from the required three-day break for a team once every four years to allow flexibility in scheduling multiteam events or tournaments during the school’s winter break.
If the proposal is introduced into the autonomy legislative cycle, the 65 schools and 15 student-athletes who vote in that process will consider it at the regular autonomy business session in January. If adopted, it would be effective for the 2018-19 academic year.
Generally, the deadline for legislative proposals in the system is Sept. 1. However, the Council noted that multiple major issues are percolating in the governance structure, including early recruiting and transfer issues, that might require a little extra time to coalesce into legislative proposal form. The Council will ask the Division I Board of Directors to extend the deadline to Nov. 1.
The Council also sponsored legislation that would:
- Create recruiting “shutdown” periods for all women’s basketball coaches in May and August.
- Shift the fall weekend for nonscholastic evaluations in women’s basketball to the third weekend in May.
- Revise the July women’s basketball evaluation period.
- Allow women’s basketball coaches to use 10 of the allowed 112 recruiting-person days evaluating prospects outside an evaluation or contact period at any live organized activity involving the national team or affiliates if the team is coached by a Division I school’s coach or has a coach involved. The activity would have to be approved, sponsored or conducted by the applicable national governing body, and some limits would apply. Under the proposed legislation, women’s basketball coaches also could use their allowed days at regional championships approved, sponsored or conducted by the International Basketball Federation. Some limits would apply.
- Expand the women’s soccer championship season without increasing the number of games.
Additionally, the Council members agreed to extend the waiver allowing the NCAA to pay for family travel expenses to the Division I Men’s and Women’s Final Fours. The waiver was extended by a year. Rules permit the College Football Playoffs to provide similar expenses for family members of student-athletes participating in that event.
The autonomy conferences are discussing legislation that could create a more permanent solution to financing family travel.
Pacquiao loses contentious WBO title fight to Jeff Horn.
By John Pye
Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines waves to his supporters after his loss to Jeff Horn. (Photo/The Associated Press)
It went all the way and ended in a contentiously bitter loss, the opposite of what Manny Pacquiao’s handlers predicted for his WBO welterweight world title fight against Jeff Horn.
Pacquiao’s long-time trainer Freddie Roach tipped a “short and sweet” knockout win for the 11-time world champion in Sunday’s so-called ‘Battle of Brisbane,’ but Horn got a unanimous points decision in his first world title fight — delighting the 51,052-strong crowd.
The 38-year-old Philippines senator arrived in Brisbane a week ahead of the fight with a chartered plane carrying more than a hundred supporters and as the hot favorite to beat Horn. He leaves without the WBO belt.
All three judges awarded it to Horn, with Waleska Roldan scoring it 117-111 and both Chris Flores and Ramon Cerdan scoring it 115-113.
Some critics slammed it as a hometown decision, saying the statistics had Pacquiao landing twice the number of power punches as Horn.
“That’s the decision of the judges. I respect that,” Pacquiao was quoted as saying by broadcaster ESPN. “We have a rematch clause, so no problem.”
But Pacquiao’s conditioning trainer, the Los Angeles-based former Australian heavyweight Justin Fortune, was critical of the referee and the judging.
“Manny lost the fight, but Jeff Horn looks like a pumpkin. Those scores, that card?” he said, “It should be the other way.”
Fortune said Pacquiao should have taken any risk out of the equation.
“When you come into someone’s backyard, you need to really do a number on them or knock them out,” he said. “That’s boxing. You get given a gift sometimes, you get (swindled) sometimes. But when you come to someone’s house, you’re supposed to mess them up, make a statement. Never leave it in the judge’s hands.”
Horn started strongly and won at least three of the first five rounds on all three of the judge’s cards. But Pacquiao, after twice needing treatment for a cut on top of his head in the 6th and 7th rounds, appeared to dominate most of the rounds from the eighth.
He was close to finishing it in the 9th when he relentlessly pounded Horn and had him wobbling — to the point where referee Mark Nelson asked the 29-year-old former schoolteacher if he could continue — and could also have come out with the win.
Pacquiao didn’t attend the formal post-fight news conference, sending a spokesman to say he was getting treated for the cuts. He also declined to do any interviews in the dressing room.
Horn was confident he was always ahead on points, and was startled after the 9th when the referee asked if he was OK to continue.
“I felt buzzed for sure, but I’m the Hornet — I’ve got to come back,” Horn said. “I’m not a quitter. Australians aren’t quitters to start with. We’ve showed we’re winners.
“It was the battle of Brisbane, that’s for sure. Absolutely unbelievable.”
Co-promotor Bob Arum said it was a “close fight. It could have gone either way.”
“A couple of close rounds, but you can’t argue with the result,” he said. “I scored a lot of the early rounds for Jeff. Then I had Manny coming back in the middle. The 12th round, Jeff really won. If you give Manny the 11th, you have it a draw. You give Jeff the 11th, it’s 7-5.”
Roach had said earlier in the week that he’d think about advising Pacquiao to retire if he lost the fight, but they’re already considering a rematch.
Horn can’t see Pacquiao retiring any time soon.
“I’m sure he’ll want to come back. It was a close decision and I’m sure he’ll want to come back and prove himself,” he said.
Arum said there was a clause for a rematch, but he’d give it time before talking to Pacquiao about it.
“I don’t know Manny’s future position. Is he going to stay in politics and not continue in boxing? I don’t know, and he doesn’t know,” Arum said. “It’s unfair to ask him now.”
Pacquiao’s camp had talked about a rematch with Mayweather if he got past Horn, hoping to avenge his loss on points in the 2015 mega fight. That seems to be a long shot now.
Pacquiao entered the fight with a record of 59-6-2, but the last of his 38 wins by knockout was in 2009. Horn hadn’t lost any of his previous 17 professional fights, but had never encountered anybody with Pacquiao’s credentials.
“I take massive confidence from this fight,” Horn said. “I believed in myself before, now I’ve climbed the Pacquiao mountain.”
Roach said the quietly spoken Horn was “a little bit rougher than I thought he was. Maybe a little bit more physical.”
“Like every time you come you come out of a clinch in a headlock, something is wrong there,” he said. “I don’t know if the referee couldn’t control that or what it was.
“But, I thought it was a pretty close fight. I thought Manny had a real good round in the 9th — I thought it was maybe a two-point round — and I just told Manny, ‘give me one more of those and the fight’s over,’ but he just couldn’t do it. We lost the decision.”
Roach said he couldn’t judge the fight, given how close he was.
“I hear there’s a lot of people think it’s controversial, think Manny won, but it went the other way and we have to live with that.”
At Marawi City in the southern Philippines, where local officials organized a free public viewing to give some respite from the disastrous siege by militants, hundreds of people gathered to cheer for Pacquiao.
“Many couldn’t accept the result initially but the entertainment side of it provided a respite,” Marawi crisis committee spokesman Zia Alonto Adiong told The Associated Press. “The message of courage and resiliency, I think Manny Pacquiao provided that today.”
2017 Stage 2 Tour de France Summary
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On This Date in Sports History: Today is Wednesday, July 03, 2017.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Wednesday, July 03, 2017.
Memoriesofhistory.com
1912 - Rube Marquard of the New York Giants set a baseball pitching record when earned his 19th consecutive win.
1937 - Del Mar race track opened in Del Mar, CA.
1947 - The Cleveland Indians purchased the contract of Larry Doby from the Neward Eagles of the Negro National League. Doby became the first black player to play in the American League.
1966 - Tony Cloninger (Atlanta Braves) became the first National League pitcher to hit two grand slams in one game.
2001 - The National Basketball Association (NBA) owners unanimously approved to move the Vancouver Grizzlies to Memphis for the 2001-02 season.
1937 - Del Mar race track opened in Del Mar, CA.
1947 - The Cleveland Indians purchased the contract of Larry Doby from the Neward Eagles of the Negro National League. Doby became the first black player to play in the American League.
1966 - Tony Cloninger (Atlanta Braves) became the first National League pitcher to hit two grand slams in one game.
2001 - The National Basketball Association (NBA) owners unanimously approved to move the Vancouver Grizzlies to Memphis for the 2001-02 season.
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