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"Sports Quote of the Day"
"There are really four 'headlines' for me: honesty, integrity, hard work, and what I call a 'can-do' attitude. You could call that 'can-do' attitude optimism, but it is not Pollyannaish optimism. Rather, it is a 'we'll figure it out' type of mentality." ~ Dylan Taylor, Actor
TRENDING: Could Football Ever End? What's Your Take? (See the last article on this blog and let us know, what's your take?)
TRENDING: Tarik Cohen continues to impress, but Bears know most important test is yet to come. (See the football section for Bears news and NFL updates).
TRENDING: No longer homesick, Jokiharju of Blackhawks thriving in North America. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).
TRENDING: BullsTalk Podcast: Stacey King on the state of the franchise. (See the basketball section for Bulls news and NBA updates).
TRENDING: Joe Maddon getting Cubs into playoff mode: ‘You cannot be thin-skinned right now and win’; Influx of talent from July trades result in No. 1 ranking for White Sox farm system. (See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).
TRENDING: McIlroy, Spieth trail Pieters by 2 in Bridgestone; Surprise! Wie back in the lead at a major. (See the golf section for PGA news and tournament updates).
TRENDING: No longer homesick, Jokiharju of Blackhawks thriving in North America. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).
TRENDING: BullsTalk Podcast: Stacey King on the state of the franchise. (See the basketball section for Bulls news and NBA updates).
TRENDING: Joe Maddon getting Cubs into playoff mode: ‘You cannot be thin-skinned right now and win’; Influx of talent from July trades result in No. 1 ranking for White Sox farm system. (See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).
TRENDING: McIlroy, Spieth trail Pieters by 2 in Bridgestone; Surprise! Wie back in the lead at a major. (See the golf section for PGA news and tournament updates).
TRENDING: Young drivers hold key to NASCAR's future. (See the NASCAR section for NASCAR news and racing updates).
TRENDING: MLS All-Star Game was a big event, but it's up to the Fire to turn Chicago into a soccer city. (See the soccer section for Fire news and worldwide soccer updates).
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! What you need to know from Bears camp: Kevin White. (08/03/2017).
By Chris Boden
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
2. A corner is back: Prince Amukamara was back a day after the cornerback's wife had emergency surgery, and she came out okay. "She's a trooper. It's funny because the night before she was telling me her stomach hurts, and I told her one of my teammates (Markus Wheaton) had the same thing and they had to take his appendix out. She said if it still feels that way, she's going to the ER and she would end up getting operated on (like Wheaton, an appendectomy)." Wheaton told NFL Network's Stacey Dales he expects to only miss two weeks after surgery early Sunday morning.
3. Long's road back continues: With Josh Sitton returning to practice Wednesday, Kyle Long was on the basketball floor for the walk-through as we slowly works his way back from ankle surgery. That means the projected starting offensive line was intact for the first time this summer. "Kyle's taking it a day at a time, getting more comfortable with that ankle" said John Fox. "It's kind of like lifting weights after time off, you're a little sore. He's on target and we're pleased with his progress."
4. Game Anxious: Talking with some players the last couple of days, we've reached the one week point in camp, and you sense they can't wait for another week to pass to line up in the preseason opener next Thursday at Soldier Field versus Denver. But they still have to get through practices Friday, Saturday (at Soldier Field), Monday and Tuesday before they can go after an opponent.
5. Cruz on Kev: A day after some miscommunication or misperception crawled out of the wide receiver room in how Kevin White's viewing of his college tape was portrayed, Victor Cruz was asked a couple of times about White's ability to block out the so-called outside noise and channel his focus. Cruz insisted he's impressed by how White goes about his work and knows White's feeling about two injury-plagued seasons all too well. While White has been healthy enough for just four games his first two seasons, Cruz was limited to six games in 2014 and 2015 because of calf and knee injuries.
6. Cooperating coordinators: Friday marks the first time the media will have a chance to talk with Coordinators Vic Fangio, Dowell Loggains and Jeff Rodgers since rookie minicamp in May.
What you need to know from Bears camp: Kevin White has his best day in Bourbonnais. (08/02/2017).
By Chris Boden
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Chris Boden's six observations from Wednesday's practice in Bourbonnais:
1. White bright
Kevin White had himself his best day of training camp thus far with a handful of nice receptions as he and Cam Meredith looked in synch with Mike Glennon in particular. White said afterward the "on our own" trip to Ft. Lauderdale most of the receivers took with Glennon and Mitch Trubisky (organized by Glennon) was the best thing he's been a part of since becoming a Bear as he looks to have that elusive healthy season.
2. Outside pressure
Leonard Floyd's speed continues causing problems for anyone attempting to block him. He's regularly winning his battles, but we can't see how many sacks he'd actually get since quarterbacks are "hands off." The guess here is a lot. He and Willie Young collapsed the pocket on one particular play during two-minute drills that would've resulted in a Glennon sandwich.
3. Big play for E.J.
During Mark Sanchez's possession in the two-minute drill, he targeted Joshua Bellamy in the right front corner of the end zone. Rookie fourth-rounder Eddie Jackson darted over and picked it off before falling out of bounds, reminiscent of his nine career interceptions in 41 games at Alabama.
Another safety had a rough day. Harold Jones-Quartey rolled an ankle and slowly limped off the field. The team was practicing on the farthest field from the locker room, so he had to be carted off. Also, Jeremy Langford (ankle) remained sidelined, Kyle Long (ankle) was held out of on-field work and Prince Amukamara was excused as his wife underwent an appendectomy. Speaking of which, Markus Wheaton was back on the field as an observer, four days after undergoing the same procedure.
5. Sitton sittin' no longer
After Josh Sitton's wife gave birth to a girl last week, the guard was back at work, though not participating on every play. The 10-year veteran didn't seem too torn up about shortening his summer workload, stating training camp lasts too long anyway. He believes his switch back to right guard after five seasons on the left side will be fairly seamless, citing muscle memory.
6. Pace and Phillips
The general manager and the president/CEO spent a good portion of the two-hour practice observing together at one corner of the field. What were they talking about? "So how much money should we pay for an Akiem Hicks extension?" (Pure speculation on my part.)
Leonard Floyd is on the right track for the Bears in 2017.
By JJ Stankevitz
(Photo/AP)
Leonard Floyd is thinking less and reacting more, and is armed with a better understanding of where he fits with his other 10 teammates in Vic Fangio’s defense. That, combined with the 7 1/2 sacks Floyd had without as much knowledge as a rookie, looks like a scary proposition for opposing offensive coordinators.
“You don’t have to think as much because you know what to do,” Floyd said. “You just play football.”
Another point veteran linebacker Jerrell Freeman brought up is that Floyd — and every other player who’s in Year 2 in this defense — can start focusing more on what opposing offenses are doing as opposed to thinking about what they individually have to do.
“Now you understand and know what you’re going to get and feel out the defense, and you know the defense, know the system and now you can kind of move on to a greater understanding of the opponent,” Freeman said. “Even though you have to spend time on your craft, you can get more and more into what the offense is doing. It’s good to have that.”
Floyd feels like he’s playing faster during the first week of training camp practices, and has settled into a good rhythm of the day-to-day grind here at Olivet Nazarene University. That wasn’t the case last year, when Floyd’s participation in training camp practices wasn’t consistent.
“It helps a lot, just coming out grinding every day and trying to improve on my mistakes from yesterday’s practice,” Floyd said. “Just going out, looking at the film, looking at what I did wrong, going out the next day and just doing it better.”
Floyd still has to prove his concussions are behind him — the Bears believe the poor tackling form that led to the two ones he suffered last year is a correctable problem — and that he can stay healthy for an entire season. But everything he’s shown and said during training camp has been a positive sign that he’s heading in the right direction to make that second-year leap and be a pass-rushing force for the Bears’ defense.
“As a rookie, I played kind of jittery at times and missed a few sacks,” Floyd said. “I’m going to make sure this year I don’t miss any.”
Tarik Cohen continues to impress, but Bears know most important test is yet to come.
By JJ Stankevitz
(Photo/AP)
Despite being small in stature, Tarik Cohen has been hard to miss through the first week of Bears training camp.
The 5-foot-6 running back has displayed impressive quickness, speed, acceleration and agility while zipping around the fields at Olivet Nazarene University, showing no signs of struggling to adapt to a sizable step up in competition from his FCS days at North Carolina A&T. But the real test for Cohen will come when the Bears play their first preseason game Aug. 10 against the Denver Broncos, a team that won’t hold back on how physical they can be with the fourth-round pick.
“Like a lot of shifty guys, they don’t give you easy hits on them so hopefully he does a good job of avoiding those,” coach John Fox said. “He’s a matchup problem. He’s tough for linebackers, even for safeties at times as far as covering, because he’s explosive and real quick. And he has excellent hands.”
Still, Cohen won’t be able to avoid hits the way he has in practices — both padded and unpadded — so far this summer. One of the biggest adjustments he said he’s experienced is with how disciplined opposing defenses are — in college, Cohen was able to dart around the field and slip through defenses, but in the NFL, he’s finding defenders are much better at outside contain.
The point of that being: Cohen will have fewer opportunities for highlight-reel cutbacks and making chicken salad out of…well, you know the origin of one of his many nicknames. But evasiveness will always be a part of his game given his size.
“If a defender really gets hands on me, like a good grip on me, then most likely he's going to make that tackle,” Cohen said. “So me evading that tackler is definitely important.”
The Bears envision Cohen as a weapon on third downs, with his shifty quickness and good hands can make an immediate impact. But beyond that, running backs coach Curtis Modkins praised Cohen’s motivation to work hard and study the game — “He’s really hungry to be successful,” Modkins said.
But all this training camp positivity won’t matter if Cohen can’t flash like this against a defense not wearing an orange “C” on their helmets.
“You practice to try to get as close as you can to simulating the game,” Modkins said. “But there is no substitute for the game.”
In a week, we’ll get our first opportunity to see what Cohen can do in a game. Then, in a month and a week, we’ll see how he fares when the games start mattering.
The early signs are encouraging, but they’re just that — early signs.
“I feel like the physical part is going to be the greatest (adjustment),” Cohen said “Getting stronger and faster and then being more mentally tough and mentally disciplined, so I have to stay on my keys and stay fundamentally sound.”
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? No longer homesick, Jokiharju of Blackhawks thriving in North America.
(Photo/nhl.com)
Defenseman prospect improving game in WHL after leaving Finland.
Chicago Blackhawks defenseman prospect Henri Jokiharju could have stayed in Finland to continue his development as a hockey player, like a lot of his friends did.
Instead, Jokiharju, 18, the No. 29 pick of the 2017 NHL Draft, is preparing for his second season with Portland of the Western Hockey League, which he hopes will speed his path to the NHL.
Jokiharju, who participated in his first development camp with the Blackhawks in July, said his decision to play in North America wasn't as difficult as it might seem.
"I have always had a strong idea that I wanted to come over and play hockey, and be close to the NHL," Jokiharju said. "After the first week [in Portland], I had a rough week [being homesick], but after that I was fine. I knew that someday you have to take that step and get away from home, so that was good to make it at that time."
After adjusting to life in North America on and off the ice, Jokiharju began to show his skills as an offensive-minded defenseman with Portland last season. He had 48 points (nine goals, 39 assists) in 71 regular-season games and three assists in 11 WHL playoff games.
His play attracted the attention of the Blackhawks, who went into the 2017 draft looking to stockpile defensemen. Chicago selected defensemen with five of its nine picks and Jokiharju was the headliner. The Blackhawks also took Ian Mitchell of Spruce Grove (Alberta Junior Hockey League) in the second round (No. 57), Roope Laavainen of Jokerit Jr. (Finland) in the fourth round (No. 119), Jakub Galvas of Olomouc (Czech Republic) in the fifth round (No. 150) and Joshua Ess of Lakeville South High School (Minnesota) in the seventh round (No. 215).
Jokiharju and Mitchell each are right-handed shots, a valued commodity to the Blackhawks, but Jokiharju's slick skating stood out most. The next step is adding more strength and defensive responsibility.
"He's a very good skater," said Blackhawks director of amateur scouting Mark Kelley. "He has great ice awareness. He's very good with the puck and making plays with the puck, but if you look at all the good defensemen, it takes a little longer [to develop] only because there's two elements to it. He's going to be offensive, but at the same time, he's going to have to be defensive, as well."
Kelley isn't big on comparing prospects to NHL players, but there's an obvious one to be made with Jokiharju. His mobility, fluid strides and ability to absorb a lot of ice time are all traits that also belong to Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith, a two-time winner of the Norris Trophy and 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy recipient during Chicago's run to the Stanley Cup.
"We would call him an easy skater," Kelley said of Jokiharju. "Easy skaters, especially on defense, go longer. They can play more minutes. [Keith] would probably be at the top of the bar."
Jokiharju is still a long way from the top; he is expected to miss the rest of the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Michigan, this week, after sustaining a lower-body injury playing for Finland. His goal clearly is to get to the NHL someday, preferably sooner than later.
That's why he decided to leave home as a teenager.
"I learned [to play] a quicker game and we had a good team in Portland," said Jokiharju, whose older brother, Juho, is a forward at Clarkson University. "I feel like the WHL and all [Canadian Hockey League] leagues are more close to the NHL than the Finnish hockey league [Liiga], so that's why [I came over]. I learned a lot about the North American game and the quick [transition] game. The Chicago Blackhawks [play] the same kind of game, so it's good."
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... BullsTalk Podcast: Stacey King on the state of the franchise.
(Photo/USA TODAY)
On this edition of the Bulls Talk podcast, Stacey King joins Mark Schanowski and Kevin Anderson to talk about the Bulls offseason, how Jimmy Butler fits in Minnesota, and what he expects out of the team in the near future. Stacey also explains why there’s still a place for a defensive center in today’s NBA and the moment that he knew his pronunciation of ‘Giannis Antetokounmpo’ was going to go viral. Plus you don’t want to miss Stacey’s inside info on how close the Bulls came to cutting Jimmy Butler in his second season. That and more on the Bulls Talk podcast.
Listen here: Bulls Talk Podcast
CUBS: The Willson Contreras Game isn’t enough as Diamondbacks, Nationals are coming after Cubs.
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Arizona Diamondbacks closer Fernando Rodney turned his back to home plate at 7:55 p.m. on Thursday and fired an imaginary arrow toward Wrigley Field’s iconic scoreboard. It might as well have been a warning shot for the defending World Series champs.
Because as good as the vibe feels around the clubhouse now – and as much talent as this team has on paper – the Cubs still have two months left in the regular season, a 1.5-game lead in the division and a much stronger top of the National League coming after them.
It’s impossible to not frame this weekend against the Washington Nationals as coming attractions for October. But so much will happen between now and then and the rest of the NL didn’t stand still while the Cubs took their victory lap. The Diamondbacks are 16 games over .500 and could finish third in a division where the Los Angeles Dodgers are on pace to win 113 games.
And as the rain poured on and off in Wrigleyville, The Willson Contreras Game turned into The Paul Goldschmidt Game.
“I’m still disappointed,” Contreras said after homering twice off Zack Greinke during a 10-8 loss that lasted almost 4 hours plus 2 hours and 35 minutes of delays. “I feel like I didn’t do enough to help the team to win. I’d rather go 0-for-5 with a win than 3-for-5 with six RBI.”
This is not how the Cubs (57-50) drew it up: Jose Quintana gave up two homers to Goldschmidt – one that almost hit the big video board and another that landed on Waveland Avenue – and put his new team in a 6-1 hole against a Cy Young Award winner.
But the stadium started shaking when Contreras knocked a go-ahead, bases-loaded, two-run single up the middle off Archie Bradley in the seventh inning, spreading his arms out like an airplane as he ran to first base and pounding his chest and yelling at the dugout once he got there.
That’s how Wrigley Field felt the last two Octobers and Dusty Baker will randomly return the same week Steve Bartman got a World Series ring. The Nationals gave their manager three good relievers – Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle and Brandon Kintzler – before the July 31 trade deadline but not the classic closer to fix a leaky bullpen.
Imagine all the drama and the stress points in a star-studded matchup where the Cubs are finally the team with less baggage and the Nationals are trying to make up for winning three division titles – and zero playoff series – since 2012.
But this wasn’t in The Plan, either: Justin Wilson – the lefty reliever who gave up a tack-on run during his Cubs debut in Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to Arizona – allowed two inherited runners to score in the eighth inning. Wade Davis – the All-Star closer who had been 2-0 and 22-for-22 in save chances with one home run allowed in 36 innings – also isn’t indestructible.
Davis warmed up for the ninth inning in a tie game and stood on the mound when the rain started pouring again, leading to a 30-minute delay added onto the scheduled 1:20 p.m. first pitch that had been pushed back to 2:50 and a separate 35-minute stoppage.
The crowd had emptied so much by that point that you could hear the thud when Goldschmidt launched Davis’ 96-mph fastball into the left-center field bleachers for his third home run. The next batter, J.D. Martinez, drove another ball into the left-field basket.
“There’s no negatives,” manager Joe Maddon said. “Both teams wanted to win. It was obvious. It was a really hard-fought game on both sides. You got to appreciate that. It indicates why they’re in the position that they’re in. And same thing with us.”
It’s foolish to draw too many conclusions from one game, but this will be a safe assumption: In the middle of his first full season in The Show – one that has already seen him put up 18 homers and 65 RBI, handle a veteran pitching staff and play with so much energy – Contreras will be ready for the Nationals on Friday afternoon.
“It was a crazy game,” Contreras said. “It was like a rollercoaster. We did our best, (but) tomorrow’s another day. You got to keep going.”
Cubs may have lined up Wade Davis’ replacement with Justin Wilson move.
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/USA TODAY)
The Detroit Tigers kept Justin Wilson in the loop enough that he brought two suitcases for the team’s Sunday night flight to New York, where he had dinner with his representatives from ACES and learned that trade talks with the Cubs were heating up.
Wilson flew back to Detroit on Monday morning, checked in with his family and picked up his car to drive to Chicago, where he will loom as another late-game weapon out of Joe Maddon’s bullpen and audition to be next year’s closer.
“Obviously, he’s done it before,” Maddon said. “We’ll probably cross that bridge when we get to it. Yes, one eye’s on the present, and one eye’s been on the future. What a great way to do business. To be able to fulfill needs with that kind of a quality player – with those contract benefits – that’s what our guys do.”
This is how Theo Epstein’s front office operates: The Cubs once used a Rule 5 pick to coach up and develop a 30-save closer during the rebuilding years. Hector Rondon got bumped out of the ninth inning last summer when Epstein saw Aroldis Chapman as the missing piece to the World Series puzzle and sacrificed elite prospect Gleyber Torres in a blockbuster deal with the New York Yankees.
The Cubs viewed Chapman only as a rental, rated Jorge Soler as a diminishing asset and flipped the inconsistent outfielder to the Kansas City Royals at the winter meetings for one full season of Wade Davis.
Davis is now positioned to hit the free-agent market after a record-setting winter for closers – the Yankees gave Chapman five years and $86 million guaranteed – and an All-Star season where so far he’s been healthy, perfect in save situations (22-for-22) and a good influence on the rest of the bullpen.
“I don’t think it would be appropriate to get into that now,” Epstein said. “We hope every good player we have now is back. But that’s a discussion for another day.”
For now, Wilson is another left-handed option who allows Maddon to unleash Carl Edwards Jr. earlier in the game, pick his spots with Pedro Strop and rest Davis when necessary. Wilson is making $2.7 million this season and has one more year in the arbitration system before he can become a free agent. Saving 13 games for the Tigers – while putting up a 2.68 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 40.1 innings – enhanced Wilson’s marketability.
“Obviously, he’s shown this year especially that he has the ability to do that,” Epstein said. “It’s nice to have a number of options to close games now on the days that Wade is down, hopefully from having saved three in a row.”
All that matters to Wilson now is going from a team that was nine games under .500 to the defending World Series champs.
“I just want to pitch – it doesn’t really matter when to me,” Wilson said. “I don’t anticipate anything. I pitch when my name’s called.”
Joe Maddon getting Cubs into playoff mode: ‘You cannot be thin-skinned right now and win’.
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Joe Maddon might be the most hands-off manager in the game, letting the coaches do their jobs and allowing the players to run the clubhouse while he focuses on big-picture strategy, in-game decisions and the public aspects of the job.
But the Cubs also understand that Maddon’s free-flowing nature begins to change in August. You knew it two years ago when Maddon benched Starlin Castro and made Addison Russell the everyday shortstop going forward.
Maddon managed like it was already October during that four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants, giving Jason Hammel the quick hook and sensing a young team needed to make a statement against the franchise that won World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
“You cannot be thin-skinned right now and win,” Maddon said before Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
So don’t expect to see Kyle Schwarber hit against lefties. Maybe Maddon doesn’t have the same patience for Ian Happ’s rookie learning curve and the hernia swings from Javier Baez. We know Maddon doesn’t like to take the ball from John Lackey, but he could get the Hammel treatment. Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta always seem to think they could pitch deeper into games. At what point does Wade Davis start getting four-out saves?
“The fact that we’ve been through this the last couple years, guys know if we have to do something during the course of the game, please don’t throw a tantrum about it,” Maddon said. “Maybe it’s a pinch-hitter, or taking you out of the game as a pitcher. It’s just in this moment, somebody might have a better skill set for this particular situation.
“You can’t really worry about that as much right now, so you may see us do some things a little bit differently, different patterns, possibly, just based on that thought.
“Winning groups, winning teams, teams that are together – guys that get it – are not really concerned about: ‘Well, I got hit for tonight.’ Or if somebody took me out: ‘I thought I could get that guy out.’ All that kind of crazy talk that only ends up causing you a loss.”
The immediacy on Twitter, the magnitude of a World Series Game 7 and the spotlight on this team forced Maddon to take so much heat and answer rounds and rounds of questions about how he handled his bullpen during last year’s playoffs.
But that doesn’t take into account Maddon’s influence on the Cubs becoming a championship organization, how he seamlessly incorporated young talent, deflected attention and gave the clubhouse a new sense of confidence.
Maddon absolutely deserved to be the National League’s 2015 Manager of the Year, taking over a 77-win team and pressing the right buttons during a 19-9 August that led to 97 wins and the NL Championship Series.
Maddon knows the rest of 2017 no longer revolves around player development, worrying about hurt feelings and playing the same long game of rest/recovery.
“You do test the waters a little bit,” Maddon said. “You’re a little bit more patient. You’re maybe more willing to absorb a loss, based on finding some things out. But then it gets to a certain time of the year.”
This Jake Arrieta means another big finish for Cubs.
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Alex Avila worked with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer during Cy Young Award seasons with the Detroit Tigers – and caught Chris Sale and Jose Quintana last year on the South Side – so he knows what an ace looks like.
Avila’s first impression of Jake Arrieta became the biggest takeaway from Wednesday night’s 3-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs saw flashes of their 2015 Cy Young Award winner and what that could mean this October.
“A big horse,” Avila said. “He’s like those guys. When they’re out on the mound, you expect good outings. You expect consistency. You prepare for that. He was pretty much everything that I had heard, as far as the way the ball moves, the way he can use his sinker on both sides of the plate, the effectiveness of his breaking balls.”
The Good Jake/Bad Jake narrative has faded away during what’s becoming a strong Boras Corp. push (10-8, 3.86 ERA) toward free agency. Working with Avila for the first time, Arrieta allowed one hit through five innings against a tough Arizona lineup anchored by All-Stars Jake Lamb and Paul Goldschmidt and trade-deadline addition J.D. Martinez.
If not for shortstop Addison Russell’s throwing error in the sixth inning – and Lamb’s two-run chopper that went by first baseman Anthony Rizzo and up the right-field line in the next at-bat – Arrieta might have completely shut down the Diamondbacks (61-46).
Either way, Arrieta didn’t hesitate when asked if he could approximate the 2015 finish that turned him into the hottest pitcher on the planet and transformed the Cubs into playoff contenders.
“Yeah, it’s possible,” Arrieta said. “Yeah, I don’t see why not. I think it’s possible for all our guys to elevate themselves and pitch at a really high level, or compete on defense or at the plate at a level higher than they have currently.
“That’s just having a lot of confidence in the guys that we have. We expect to do some really special things again this season, and we shouldn’t think otherwise.”
Arrieta still didn’t outpitch Zack Godley, an under-the-radar prospect the Cubs traded away in the Miguel Montero deal during the 2014 winter meetings. The night after the offense exploded for 16 runs, the Cubs managed only three singles and two walks in six innings against Godley (5-4, 2.86 ERA), the kind of homegrown pitcher the Theo Epstein regime hasn’t developed yet.
If Montero could have kept his mouth shut last month – or at least softened his public criticism of Arrieta’s issues holding runners on base – the Cubs (57-49) wouldn’t have needed to acquire Avila in a package deal with lefty reliever Justin Wilson before the July 31 deadline.
But Arrieta and Avila met for about 30 minutes on Tuesday to review the game plan and go over Arizona’s hitters and spoke again briefly before Wednesday’s start. Arrieta tied a season-high by pitching seven innings and finished with eight strikeouts against two walks, allowing those two runs (one earned).
Arrieta said: “I told him: ‘Whatever you throw down, regardless of whether I think maybe something else is the better pitch, I’ll trust you.’ I don’t know if I shook him off more than two or three times all night.”
“To be honest with you, I thought it was going to be a little bit more of an adjustment,” Avila said, “as far as getting used to the way he throws and the movement on his pitches behind the plate. But I ended up feeling really comfortable.”
Do the Cubs have a new Arrieta whisperer or another personal-catcher situation? It’s too soon to go there – the Cubs had questions about Avila's defense – but Arrieta isn’t getting questions about his velocity or his mechanics or the walk-year pressures.
“I heard Rizzo allude to the fact that it’s a different feeling in the clubhouse,” Arrieta said. “It’s something that’s palpable in the dugout, in the clubhouse, on the field. We’re in a really good spot. I think that we feed off each other. And that’s what championship teams do.”
WHITE SOX: Yoan Moncada happy to return to Fenway: 'I've improved a lot'.
By Dan Hayes
(Photo/USA TODAY)
He was a little surprised when his meteoric rise through the farm system brought him here and struggled after his promotion. But Yoan Moncada has only positive memories of Fenway Park and his brief time with the Boston Red Sox.
The White Sox second baseman was all smiles for his return to the home of the Green Monster on Thursday night. Moncada — who received a $31.5 million signing bonus from the Red Sox in March 2015 — the December trade that sent him to the White Sox was surprising.
But he also felt Boston treated him fairly. Moncada went 0-for-2 with two runs and two walks in his return, though the White Sox fell to the Red Sox 9-5. While he labored in his month with the 2016 Red Sox, Moncada thinks it better prepared him to handle his mid-July promotion to the White Sox.
“Last year I wasn’t expecting to play in the majors,” Moncada said through an interpreter. “When they told me, I was happy because of course that’s what every ballplayer wants. But I think that I wasn’t ready. This year, I know what my role is and I know I’m going to be playing every day. Because I have experience from last year, that made me feel more comfortable, and I think that I’m more prepared for this opportunity.”
Moncada had only accrued 207 plate appearances at Double-A when he was promoted to the majors in 2016. And after he played 92 games at second base, Boston moved him to third base to see if Moncada could fill the void left by Pablo Sandoval’s injury.
Moncada played sparingly, striking out 12 times in the 20 plate appearances he had with Boston. Though he was up for a month, Moncada played only eight games, starting four times. Moncada said he learned a lot about the grind, preparation and how to make adjustments from now-retired veteran David Ortiz. He also loved Fenway, where he played only once, striking out in a pinch-hit plate appearance on Sept. 12.
“It’s a special place for me,” Moncada said. “I played here last year, and it feels good.
“I’m excited just because I’m going to see the guys I played with and the people from the front office who treated me very fair here.”
Though the results haven’t come so far, Moncada is confident they will. He feels good about his process and approach at the plate. The rookie drew walks in each of his first two plate appearances on Thursday, including the first after he fell behind 2016 AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello 1-2 in the count in the second inning.
Moncada also had a chance to display his strong arm in the sixth inning when a Christian Vazquez grounder kicked off the glove of White Sox reliever Brad Goldberg. Moncada ranged to his right, retrieved the ball and fired a strike to first for the out. He also showed off his speed in the second inning when Moncada sped from first to third base on Nicky Delmonico’s single.
“I learned a lot from the Red Sox players like Ortiz,” Moncada said. “They taught me how to play at this level and how to make adjustments. It’s a process for young people like me. I took all of the advice, and it’s helped me.
“I have improved a lot, all over my game, but especially my defense. That was an area I had to work hard to get to the point where I am right now. I used my time in Triple=A to develop that area specifically. I feel good. I feel right now I’m a better player than I was last year.”
Influx of talent from July trades result in No. 1 ranking for White Sox farm system.
By Dan Hayes
(Photo/USA TODAY)
The rave reviews continue to pour in for the White Sox farm system, which is the now top-rated minor league system in baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com.
A series of never-ending trades in July, five in all involving seven major leaguers, depleted the 25-man roster, but also brought back an incredible amount of minor league talent to push the White Sox over to the top in the eyes of both publications. The White Sox acquired top-100 prospects Eloy Jimenez, Blake Rutherford and Dylan Cease and eight other minor leaguers in those deals. Prior to July, the White Sox added seven prospects to their system in deals for Chris Sale and Adam Eaton. It’s quite the turnaround for a system that was generally thought to be in the lower-third of baseball only nine months ago.
“It’s been an exciting time around here,” general manager Rick Hahn said last month. “In terms of what we’ve been able to do since December, last draft or wherever you want to draw that line, we’re pleased. But at the same time, we know we have more work to do.”
Hahn has done the bulk of his work since May, dispelling any notions the White Sox hadn’t fully committed to the rebuild.
First, he signed international free agent Luis Robert. Then he continued a massive overhaul of the roster with a series of trades that has gutted the roster. Critics who believed the team only traded Eaton and Sale last winter to rid themselves of malcontents have been silenced as Hahn dumped seven helpful players in July in exchange for 11 minor leaguers and one veteran (Tyler Clippard). The team’s choice to dump nine of its best players since last offseason has also heavily increased its odds of landing a high pick in the 2018 amateur draft.
While not everyone is on board with the plan to tear down and start over again, a majority of fans have expressed excitement that the club has defined its direction. Hahn said last month he appreciates the love from the fans but it wouldn’t prevent him from making what would be seen as an unpopular move as long as the White Sox think it can help them out.
“It has been very positive,” Hahn said. “There’s a good feel in the front office, throughout various departments, and a good feeling throughout the fan base, at least from what I’ve heard from the people who reached out to me through the emails and calls I’ve gotten.
“Regardless of the risk we might lose some of that good feeling as that process continues, we are going to remain focused on what we feel is best for the long-term health of the organization. Hopefully those moves continue to resonate with the fan base. If they don’t, hopefully they at least see where we think this thing is headed and why we’re making the moves we are.”
CT scan reveals broken Jaw for White Sox outfielder Willy Garcia.
By Dan Hayes
(Photo/AP)
Willy Garcia suffered a fractured right jaw as a result of his collision with Yoan Moncada and is out 4-6 weeks, the team announced Thursday.
Already on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion, the White Sox outfielder will miss at least a month after he has a procedure to insert a plate into his jaw. Moncada missed two days with a right knee contusion but returns to the lineup Thursday when the White Sox open a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Garcia spoke to reporters for several minutes during a postgame media session on Monday and was upbeat. He also reported improvement on Tuesday.
"All of us are happy that it wasn’t his skull," manager Rick Renteria said. "That would have obviously been much more serious. Not that the blow he took wasn’t serious but he’s going to be OK."
The two players collided on a fly ball to short right field in the sixth inning of Monday’s game. Both men stayed down after the collision with Garcia knocked out cold after he was struck on the right side of the head by Moncada’s knee.
“When I saw the video, I saw the collision, I was like, ‘Wow, that was hard,’ ” Garcia said Monday. “ At first, I was knocked out. I didn’t remember anything before I saw the video. And then I saw the video, and I said, ‘Wow, it was hard.’ ”
Moncada is making his return to Fenway Park one year after he debuted for the Red Sox. The rookie was acquired by the White Sox as part of the four-player return for Chris Sale in December.
Golf: I got a club for that..... McIlroy, Spieth trail Pieters by 2 in Bridgestone.
By Doug Ferguson
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Rory McIlroy had his best friend on the bag and his best start on American soil in 18 months. For Jordan Spieth, it was more of the same with two long putts and another comment filled with bravado directed at his caddie.
Both of them opened with a 3-under 67 at the Bridgestone Invitational, leaving them two shots behind Thomas Pieters of Belgium.
Pieters, playing only for the sixth time since he challenged briefly at the Masters this year, holed a 30-foot birdie putt on his final hole at Firestone to finish a day of good scoring with a one-shot lead over Russell Knox.
The opening two rounds were moved up to the morning because of a forecast of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
McIlroy split with J.P. Fitzgerald, his caddie of nine years, after The Open. He decided to use Harry Diamond, who played amateur golf for Ireland and was the best man at McIlroy's wedding, for the Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship next week.
It didn't have much bearing on McIlroy's game, which was fine. McIlroy won at Firestone the last time he played it in 2014.
''We both did the numbers and I sort of consulted him a couple of times. Yeah, it was good,'' McIlroy said. ''There was a couple of shots that I hit or a couple of clubs that I pulled that I maybe should have just thought a little bit more about. It's been a while since I've paced yardages off and written notes in my book.''
One of them was at No. 9, his last hole, when he went some 50 feet long on his approach and three-putted for bogey. Even so, it was a solid start, and that's what has held back McIlroy in recent months when he missed three cuts in four tournaments, and then started poorly at The Open.
Spieth has no such concerns, having won two straight events going into this World Golf Championship with an eye toward next week at the PGA Championship and his shot at becoming the youngest player to complete the Grand Slam.
Winning a major turned this into a great year for Spieth, regardless of what happens at the PGA Championship. He is feeling as good as ever about his game, particularly the way he finished off Royal Birkdale with the amazing escape on the 13th hole and the birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie stretch that followed. The biggest putt was the eagle from 50 feet on the par-5 15th at the Open, now famous for Spieth playfully barking at his caddie, ''Go get that!'' when it dropped in.
Thursday brought another such moment.
Spieth got back into range of the lead with a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 5 and a 50-foot birdie putt on the next hole that got him to 3 under. But he was in trouble at No. 8, well right of the fairway with trees blocking his view of the green. He couldn't punch under them because he had too much rough to cover with a punch shot beneath the branches. But he did see about a 3-foot gap way up in the trees. And he was feeling it.
His caddie, Michael Greller, got the yardage and came over to see what Spieth had in mind.
''I said, 'Michael, just put the bag over there, stand over there and watch this,''' Spieth said.
Spieth rehearsed his swing with a pitching wedge and pulled it off.
''I split a hole that was 60 yards in front of me and cut it to get onto the green,'' Spieth said. ''It was really a cool shot. I was shocked I pulled it off.''
Greller smiled, bumped fists with his boss and handed him the putter.
The opening round was no place to lose ground in such good scoring conditions. Dustin Johnson did his part with a 68. He hasn't won since the Match Play just two weeks before his staircase injury that knocked him out of the Masters. Johnson only wants to give himself a chance to win, and he says all the parts are in working order for that.
Bubba Watson, also showing signs of getting his game turned around, was also in the group at 67 that included Kevin Kisner and Jon Rahm.
The surprise might have been Knox, who has missed his last three cuts and is in danger of falling out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since he won the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in the fall of 2015. The difference was a change in the shafts of his irons, and a change back to the putter he used when he won in Shanghai.
The question is why he would ever take that putter out of play.
''Golfers are sick,'' Knox said. ''You always blame your equipment rather than yourself. So maybe I just have to take the blame and say I (stunk) and the putter worked.''
Surprise! Wie back in the lead at a major.
By Randall Mell
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Somewhere in the cosmos Old Tom Morris must be scratching his head.
Young Tom Morris, too.
Really, aren’t we all?
Michelle Wie is impossible to figure out, but here she is again, sitting atop a major championship leaderboard after blistering Kingsbarns Golf Links with an 8-under-par 64, a course record for women and the third lowest score posted in any Women’s British Open since it became a major in 2001.
Three weeks after withdrawing from the U.S. Women’s Open with a neck injury, Wie looks back on track to a resurgent year as the early leader in Scotland.
Through the years, Wie has taken many detours on that road to greatness we all thought she was navigating as a teen phenom, some of them awful turns where we were sure, “Yeah, this time she is lost for good.”
Yet here she is again, flashing more promise.
Here on the outskirts of St. Andrews, Wie’s efforts leave a special impression. Old Tom and Young Tom are buried at the St. Andrews Cathedral Graveyard just seven miles down the road from Kingsbarns. The Old Course, the Home of Golf, is just eight miles down that same road.
“The fact that I got the course record today, that’s a huge honor for me,” Wie said.
The American left the morning wave one shot ahead of South Korea’s In-Kyung Kim and two ahead of fellow American Lindy Duncan.
Wie cautioned it’s only Thursday, but she has her eye on the bigger prize, on adding another major championship title to the U.S. Women’s Open she won three years ago.
“Winning the Women's British Open has always been a huge goal of mine,” Wie said. “That's a long way from now. I'm just really proud of myself, for how I set myself up the first day.”
Wie’s 64 is topped in Women’s British Open major history only by Mirim Lee’s 62 in the first round at Woburn last year and by Minea Blomqvist’s 62 in the third round at Sunningdale in 2004.
After a rough start Thursday, Wie was all smiles coming home, making birdies at the last three holes, six of the last eight.
“I skulled a lob wedge on the second hole, which is nice, straight over the green, so started with that bogey,” Wie said. “Kind of got me a little pissed for a little bit. But it was fun out there.”
Wie, 27, has made many of us scratch our heads in the unorthodox ways she navigates her way back from all the detours, from all the injuries and slumps.
Notably, her 64 didn’t come with three different putting grips within the round, something she has been doing quite effectively this summer, rotating among conventional, left-hand low and claw grips during a single round. She stuck with the left-hand low throughout Thursday’s round.
This was as conventional as we’ve seen Wie set up over putts in a long time. No tabletop stance. No quasi-Nicklaus crouch. No potpourri of grips.
Wie said playing the Ladies Scottish Open last week helped her sort out a putting approach.
“I came over to Scotland last week and it was so windy that I couldn't really do the claw,” Wie said. “It just was moving all over the place, so just tried to figure something out that I could putt on links. So I'm glad I came over last week so I could figure all that out.”
That doesn’t mean we might not see other grips before Sunday comes.
“That could change,” she said.
Wie’s ball striking was impressive. She hit 13 of 14 fairways and all but one green in regulation.
“Michelle’s normal ball flight is pretty low,” said David Leadbetter, her swing coach. “She probably has more lag in her swing than anybody on tour except, maybe, Lexi Thompson. By lag, I mean how her hands are leading the club to such a large extent that she is always de-lofting the club. It is perfect for windy conditions.”
While Wie’s new stock fade will be tested in higher winds, Leadbetter said she can hold shots against the wind with straighter ball flights.
“The good thing with Michelle, is she has such an array of shots, and she has a lot of variety with her short game,” Leadbetter said.
Wie has an array of eclectic weapons, too. She put up her 64 with an 11-wood and a 9-wood in her bag.
“The 11-wood replaces my 5-iron, the 9-wood my 4-hybrid,” Wie said.
After breaking through to win the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst in 2014, Wie lost her way again, with left hip, back and knee injuries preceding a slump. She hasn’t won since.
With a new stock fade this year, with her more upright putting stance, Wie has righted herself again, with form that has launched her into contention more regularly.
Wie had four finishes of T-4 or better in a five-tournament stretch this summer, before the neck injury struck. She withdrew in pain during the third round of the U.S.
Women’s Open in Bedminster, N.J., just three weeks ago.
“I just hopped over to New York City, and my doctor is over there, and had an epidural and a block injection,” Wie said. “It went very well, was very successful.”
Wie was asked if she’s finally feeling injury free.
“I am not going to answer that question, because I feel like every time I say I'm good, something happens,” Wie said. “Fingers crossed. Knock on wood.”
Leadbetter says Wie’s improving game is growing her confidence, her ambitions with it.
“People are saying she doesn’t really have the desire to be No. 1, but I can tell you she has a great desire to be No. 1, no two ways about it,” Leadbetter said. “I’ve told her I think her best golf is ahead of her. I really believe that. She has the talent, and with the belief, if she stays healthy, she can be a real factor for the next two or three years.”
From caddies to clubs, pros will always tinker.
By Will Gray
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
As Russell Knox walked to the interview podium that sits a few feet from the clubhouse steps at Firestone Country Club, he took off his hat, ran his hand through his hair and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
It’s been a while since Knox has had reason to address a handful of reporters after one of his rounds. The affable Scot has been mired in a lengthy slump, missing each of his last three cuts as his world ranking plummeted from 18th in January to 50th as of this week.
With his on-course efforts not translating into results, Knox found himself beginning to tinker. He recently tried new iron shafts for the first time in five years. And he rifled through his personal collection of putters, spending a rainy afternoon last week at home in Jacksonville Beach effectively holding a tryout on a 12-foot mat.
After spending hours in search of a spark, Knox ended up coming full circle by reinstating the putter he used to win the 2015 WGC-HSBC Invitational. Why it ever left his bag – or what exactly it did to turn his fate around on the greens during his opening-round 66 at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational – remains a mystery.
“We’re sick, man,” Knox said. “Us golfers are sick. I mean, it’s amazing. I’ve probably went through 20 putters since then, just in doing the search, but today felt unbelievable.”
In a sport with endless variables, there’s never a shortage of options for players looking to point the finger of blame. For some, the focus is off the course. Bubba Watson explained after a 3-under 67 that a shift in diet has boosted his energy levels and helped him lose 18 pounds since November from his already slight frame.
Others look to the man carrying the bag as a possible solution. Rory McIlroy’s first round with friend Harry Diamond looping went well, but his departure from J.P. Fitzgerald was clearly an effort to turn around his season before it’s too late. Adam Scott has had Steve Williams on the bag for each of the first three majors this year, but for this week and next the job is back in the hands of David Clark.
For many, though, the greatest temptation – and the change that’s easiest to make mid-season – is to tinker with the 14 clubs in the bag.
When it comes to changes on the fly, few can match the passion or frequency of Phil Mickelson. Whether it’s two drivers, no drivers, wedges of variable loft or a new putting grip, Mickelson is not shy about making adjustments.
“I’ve always sided on doing it rather than not, because I feel like if there’s something that gives me a chance to play better, gives me an advantage or an opportunity to shoot a lower score, I want to do it,” Mickelson said.
While all players inevitably swap out old equipment, the question of timing remains a very personal one. Some are willing to make tweaks up until the eve of the tournament, while others like to run their sticks into the ground.
“I hate it,” said Dustin Johnson. “I don’t like to change clubs ever. So when I find stuff I like, I play with it as long as I can.”
Of course, the world No. 1 made a notable exception to his longstanding philosophy this week, swapping in a new driver with higher loft to help him better hit a fade around Firestone. The results, including a 439-yard bomb on No. 16, speak for themselves.
While Jordan Spieth dabbled with a new putter at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May, he explained after a 3-under 67 that such actions for him are more the exception than the rule when the results have dried up.
“For me, that adds another thing with what I have to do and what’s already going wrong with myself,” Spieth said. “I actually would rather figure it out with my stuff, and if I feel like I’m on, then at certain times where I get plenty of time to put something new into play, then it’s the time to do it. It’s rare.”
Amid a busy two-month stretch that kicks off this week and includes a WGC, a major, four playoff events and the Presidents Cup, the range was buzzing early in the week. Even the PGA Tour’s elite, those who have earned entry into this limited-field event, sometimes believe that the secret could be unlocked with one more slight change.
According to Mickelson, this is actually the best time of the year to do your tinkering.
“A lot of guys like to wait until the season’s over to do stuff, but the problem with that for me is [that] I usually stop practicing those last two months of the year. My game isn’t sharp,” Mickelson said. “I can’t really tell the difference, the subtle differences of a club because I haven’t been playing. So it’s actually easier for me to do it in an off week during the year.”
The search continues, even among the best players and even after a good round, because golf is a game that simply can’t be solved. The maddening beauty of such a proposition makes the wins all the sweeter, and it can frustrate indiscriminately when the chips are down.
For Knox, it’s one round on the good side of the ledger, the first in a while. And it comes knowing full well that a race through another 20 putters in search of inspiration may not be that far away.
“You always blame your equipment rather than yourself,” Knox said. “So maybe I just have to take the blame and say I sucked and the putter worked.”
NASCAR: Weekend schedule for NASCAR at Watkins Glen International. (Reposted from 08/02/2017 update).
(Photo/Getty Images)
NASCAR heads north again this weekend with the Cup and Xfinity Series returning to Watkins Glen International.
Cup teams take part in the 32nd annual I Love New York 355 at the Glen and Xfinity teams gear up for the Zippo 200.
At a scheduled distance of 220.5 miles, Watkins Glen is the second shortest race distance in Cup (Sonoma is 218.9 miles).
Here’s the full weekend schedule for Cup and Xfinity teams.
(All times are Eastern)
Friday, Aug. 4
9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. – Xfinity garage open
Noon – 12:55 p.m. – Xfinity practice (NBC Sports App)
2:30 – 3:25 p.m. – Final Xfinity practice (NBC Sports App)
Saturday, Aug. 5
7 a.m. – Xfinity garage opens
7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. – Cup garage open
10 – 10:55 a.m. – Cup practice (NBCSN, MRN)
11:05 a.m. – Xfinity qualifying; multi-car/two rounds (NBCSN)
12:30 – 1:20 p.m. – Final Cup practice (NBCSN, MRN)
1:30 p.m. – Xfinity driver introductions
2 p.m. – Zippo 200; 82 laps, 200.9 miles (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday, Aug. 6
8 a.m. – Cup garage opens
12:05 p.m. – qualifying; multi-car/two rounds (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
1:30 p.m. – Driver-crew chief meeting
2:20 p.m. – Driver introductions
3:35 p.m. – I Love New York 355; 90 laps/220.5 miles (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Chase for playoff points looms larger with five races left in regular season.
By Dustin Long
(Photo/www.wbwn.com)
As Kyle Busch and his team found so many ways to lose races, it wasn’t the lack of victories that proved worrisome but the loss of playoff points.
“It was a huge concern,’’ crew chief Adam Stevens said.
It’s not a stretch to believe Busch could have eight victories at this moment, giving him at least 40 playoff points and a path through part of the playoffs — if not all the way to the championship race in Miami.
Instead, he scored his first Cup win of the year Sunday at Pocono Raceway. He has 13 playoff points, trailing Martin Truex Jr. (29 playoff points) and Jimmie Johnson (16).
All those lost opportunities for Busch could impact the playoffs. Each stage victory is worth one playoff point. Each race win is worth five playoff points. Those points carry through the first three rounds as long as the driver remains in contention for the championship.
“I don’t think any of us truly understand how important (playoff points) are,’’ seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson said.
They’ll begin to find out when the playoffs open Sept. 17 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Stage racing and playoff points have created extra layers in the races this season. Those changes have forced crew chiefs to plot differing strategies and drivers to be more aggressive. It was evident at Pocono.
“I don’t think any of us truly understand how important (playoff points) are,’’ seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson said.
They’ll begin to find out when the playoffs open Sept. 17 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Stage racing and playoff points have created extra layers in the races this season. Those changes have forced crew chiefs to plot differing strategies and drivers to be more aggressive. It was evident at Pocono.
Martin Truex Jr. pitted from the lead Sunday shortly before the end of the second stage. He and crew chief Cole Pearn were going for the race win instead of the stage victory. Many followed. Clint Bowyer stayed out to win the stage and collect the one playoff point and 10 bonus points. Bowyer, who is not in a playoff spot, needs all those bonus points.
While teams created models on what it might take to advance in the playoffs, no one knows for sure. It’s reminiscence of 2004 when NASCAR changed the way the championship was decided by implementing the 10-race Chase instead of having the title determined over the entire season. There were many theories of how to run the final 10 races but no one knew what strategy would work.
Drivers and teams that have lost races worry how their missed opportunities this season might impact their title hopes.
Brad Keselowski was the leader for the final restart at Indianapolis last month. He lost the race — and five playoff points — to Kasey Kahne. Could those points be the difference in Keselowski advancing another round in the playoffs?
He rues missed chances for more playoff points this season.
“I wouldn’t say that it was just Indy that I felt that way,’’ Keselowski said. “I felt that way at Richmond and Vegas where we finished second, had a shot of winning, were leading and it fell apart at the end.
“There’s other races where we won. Atlanta, Kevin (Harvick) was probably the best car there. Sometimes you win when you shouldn’t have and sometimes you don’t win where you probably should have. You hope to be on the better side of that. Steal more than you have stolen. Never feels like you are. That’s the bigger picture look that I have at.’’
Another key will be the bonus points the top 10 teams in points receive after the regular season ends next month. Barring a collapse or severe penalty, Truex is on pace to win the regular-season title and collect 15 playoff points. He has 29 playoff points and the regular-season title bonus would put him at 44 — and five races remain for him to score more playoff points.
To put those 44 points into context, when the playoffs start, every driver contending for the title will have their point total reset to 2,000 and have their playoff points added. It’s possible that Truex will lead some drivers by more than 40 points before the opening round begins.
That likely will help him advance to the second round (if he doesn’t win a race in the first round). He would then carry all those bonus points with him after the point totals are reset to 3,000 for the remaining title contenders. Truex still could have a big enough cushion over some title hopefuls that he could advance to the third round even if he struggles some in those three races.
He was leading the points after Daytona last month but a 35-point penalty and four finishes outside the top 25 in the last six races has dropped him to second in the season standings with Harvick and Busch closing. Should both pass Larson and he finishes the regular season fourth, he will have lost eight playoff points by fading from first (15 playoff points) to fourth (seven).
Those eight points could be significant in the playoffs.
Young drivers hold key to NASCAR's future.
By Andrew Legare
Young drivers hold key to NASCAR's future.
By Andrew Legare
Kyle Larson has won two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races this season.(Photo/Getty Images)
Fast-forward 10 years and imagine megastars Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant and Mike Trout all decide to retire within a year or two of each other.
The impact on Major League Baseball from a marketing and ticket sales standpoint would be significant, no doubt, if nobody were waiting to step up.
With the recent retirements of Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards, plus the impending departure of Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR is dealing with that type of loss right now. Actually, it is more profound given there are only 40 drivers competing each week and the team bonds fans have in racing are nowhere near what they are in baseball.
Big names still remain in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, with Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch at the top of that ever-shortening list. Still, not even those guys can compensate for the retirement of Earnhardt, a last name that stands with the likes of Petty and France as the most prominent in NASCAR history.
How much losing icons such as Gordon and Stewart has hurt the bottom line is hard to say, but NASCAR is going through some struggles. According to Sports Business Daily, viewership for races on Fox and FS1 during their 15-race package earlier this season dropped 12 percent from last year and 14 percent from 2015.
Attendance also continues to decline, with International Speedway Corp. reporting in April numbers were down about 7 percent for races at Phoenix, Martinsville and Auto Club Speedway. Some unofficial reports have overall attendance down as much as 30 percent in the sport.
Watkins Glen International, also owned by ISC, has bucked the trend. WGI is on target to sell out more than 38,000 grandstand seats for a third straight year and attendance remains close to 100,000 fans each August. The Glen's appeal is helped by a large number of campers and the historic road course having more of a festival atmosphere than other tracks, some of which are also hurt by having two race weekends.
However, even WGI had its own issue after Kellogg decided last year to refocus its marketing money away from racing to Major League Baseball after sponsoring The Glen's Cup race — known as the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen — from 2013 to 2016. This year, the track has partnered with the state tourism office for the I Love New York 355 at The Glen.
NASCAR has made a myriad of changes to its championship format and this year implemented stage racing for its XFINITY, Camping World Truck Series and Cup events — a move designed to make early portions of races more compelling. Of course, those caution breaks also provide viewers a built-in spot to change the channel or head outside if it's an uneventful race.
There's reason to question NASCAR's numerous changes, which fail to address what is probably its biggest issue — races that are too long. Attention spans in general are shorter while the number of rivals for people's entertainment dollar has grown. Watkins Glen is a rare exception, given it generally ends within 2 1/2 hours if there are no stoppages.
As for the sport losing some of its all-time most popular drivers, that's perhaps an even trickier problem. There's a fine line between promoting young drivers and shoving them down people's throats to the point where there's a backlash from fans.
As for the sport losing some of its all-time most popular drivers, that's perhaps an even trickier problem. There's a fine line between promoting young drivers and shoving them down people's throats to the point where there's a backlash from fans.
The good news for NASCAR is this season has shown there are potential superstars waiting in the wings. Their emergence happens to coincide with NASCAR's interest in drawing younger fans (hence the Monster Energy partnership). The Glen showed it shares this goal with the addition of the Glentopia campground, which is geared toward millennials.
Kyle Larson, 25, has added two more victories after breaking through for his first Cup win in 2016. He is second in the points standings behind Martin Truex Jr. Despite his success, Larson fell victim to a common problem in sports when his sponsor made a strategic change. Target decided last month to end a 28-year association with Chip Ganassi Racing to focus its sports marketing on soccer and its young, diverse fan base.
Ryan Blaney, 23, earned his first career Cup win June 11 at Pocono Raceway. That came two weeks after Austin Dillon, 27, claimed his first checkered flag in the series in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Perhaps the most obvious young driver to step into a starring role is Chase Elliott, 21, the son of NASCAR legend Bill Elliott. Chase Elliott has 12 top-10 finishes this season and sits 14th in the playoff points race. Sixteen drivers will compete in the postseason. It also doesn't hurt that he's driving Gordon's old No. 24 car for Hendrick Motorsports.
Ty Dillon, Austin's 25-year-old brother, is another young Cup driver with potential. Seeing other young drivers step up this year has him hopeful about his own shot at reaching victory lane and the potential for the young guns as a group.
"I think with those guys stepping out and retiring, you kind of lose a little bit of a veteran voice in the sport that keeps the ball rolling on things," he said. "But there’s opportunities for young drivers like myself to step up and gain some leadership in the sport and also gain respect from fans and build a bigger following. I think with every driver that does retire, it leaves more room for young guys to make a name for themselves."
The goal is for those drivers to do just that.
SOCCER: MLS All-Star Game was a big event, but it's up to the Fire to turn Chicago into a soccer city.
By Dan Santaromita
By Dan Santaromita
(Photo/USA TODAY)
The MLS All-Star Game was the marquee event of a multiple day onslaught of soccer in Chicago.
The league sent all of its marketing, promotional and financial muscle behind making it an extravaganza with the idea of boosting the profile of the sport, and by proxy the Chicago Fire, within the city. Ultimately, the game and the result were insignificant towards that goal.
While the All-Star Game won’t single handedly turn around the visibility and public perception of soccer and the Fire in Chicago, it was a marquee event on a big stage with 61,428 fans at Soldier Field and the Fire got to play host.
Before the game Fire general manager Nelson Rodriguez called it a once in a lifetime event. On top of that, the Fire had the player who turned into the face of the event, Bastian Schweinsteiger.
When it was announced that the game was coming to Soldier Field back in January, the Fire were still viewed as a laughing stock in the league. Back-to-back last place seasons will do that.
The league sent all of its marketing, promotional and financial muscle behind making it an extravaganza with the idea of boosting the profile of the sport, and by proxy the Chicago Fire, within the city. Ultimately, the game and the result were insignificant towards that goal.
While the All-Star Game won’t single handedly turn around the visibility and public perception of soccer and the Fire in Chicago, it was a marquee event on a big stage with 61,428 fans at Soldier Field and the Fire got to play host.
Before the game Fire general manager Nelson Rodriguez called it a once in a lifetime event. On top of that, the Fire had the player who turned into the face of the event, Bastian Schweinsteiger.
When it was announced that the game was coming to Soldier Field back in January, the Fire were still viewed as a laughing stock in the league. Back-to-back last place seasons will do that.
The Fire had already made some notable offseason additions in Dax McCarty, Juninho and Nemanja Nikolic, but by adding Schweinsteiger the team had someone capable of being a significant part of an event like this. The move had already been in the works, but wasn’t finalized until after the season began in March.
Schweinsteiger captained the MLS All-Stars and was one of two Fire players to start, alongside Johan Kappelhof. Only Toronto FC, with the trio of Michael Bradley, Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore, had more starters. McCarty and Nikolic entered after halftime and Schweinsteiger and Kappelhof exited. McCarty played a role in the MLS All-Stars’ lone goal.
The Fire had more players than any other MLS team on the roster, including the fan-voted captain. That the team is having a good season and had so many players worthy of All-Star selection is more valuable than the game itself being in Chicago. Having those two things at the same time is a bonus.
“I think we are putting the pieces together in our club,” Fire and MLS All-Star coach Veljko Paunovic said. “I think it’s very important to represent the community, starting with our club in the MLS. We had some progression. I think that also helps. Obviously the team is doing well, but being on the right path doesn’t mean you did it all. We have to continue with our process, with everything we have done so far. Improve our team, our results. From there in the coming years I believe we can light up the rest of the critical mass that is needed in order to not only have Chicago as one of the best sports cities in the United States, but we are missing soccer. We want soccer to be important in this city and in this community and obviously in this country.”
The MLS All-Star Game was a showcase for the league and the Fire in Chicago, with Real Madrid drawing in more spectators and eyeballs. It gave more attention to the winning season the Fire are enjoying, but the more significant events for soccer in Chicago occurred when Nikolic, McCarty and especially Schweinsteiger joined the team.
“I think that it was great,” Nikolic said. “The city deserved this game played here and Chicago is a city of sport. People like sports a lot here and they deserve to see these kinds of games.”
The All-Star Game is a glorified exhibition between a team that is in its preseason and a collection of players that had less than three days to turn into a team. It won't change soccer's standing in the city. There are already plenty of fans of the sport in the city, but that critical mass that Paunovic spoke of is likely only something that the Fire can chip away at over time.
The All-Star Game is a glorified exhibition between a team that is in its preseason and a collection of players that had less than three days to turn into a team. It won't change soccer's standing in the city. There are already plenty of fans of the sport in the city, but that critical mass that Paunovic spoke of is likely only something that the Fire can chip away at over time.
Oh, by the way, Real Madrid won in penalty kicks after a 1-1 game.
Culture shift? Tournament of Nations has three female coaches.
Associated Press
(Photo/NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)
An ongoing shift in women’s soccer has been apparent at the Tournament of Nations – not on the field but on the sidelines.
Three of the four teams participating in the international event have female coaches, a rare majority in soccer.
A year ago, the two teams playing for the gold medal at the Rio Olympics were both led by women, Sweden’s Pia Sundhage and Germany’s Silvia Neid. And Jill Ellis led the U.S. national team to the Women’s World Cup title in Canada the year before.
Three of the four teams participating in the international event have female coaches, a rare majority in soccer.
A year ago, the two teams playing for the gold medal at the Rio Olympics were both led by women, Sweden’s Pia Sundhage and Germany’s Silvia Neid. And Jill Ellis led the U.S. national team to the Women’s World Cup title in Canada the year before.
Ellis and others in the sport believe that recent events show women are making important and necessary gains in soccer – but there’s more work to be done.
“I think it’s forward-thinking federations that are about hiring competent coaches but also willing to provide opportunities,” Ellis said. “I know we’ve recently hired technical advisers for our academies and they’re all female and I think that’s great. We’ve got to have more coaches out there and more role models for young coaches. I think it’s great.”
The inaugural Tournament of Nations concludes on Thursday night in Carson, California. The U.S. women rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Brazil 4-3 on Sunday in San Diego and will face Japan in the tournament’s final match.
U.S. Soccer hopes to host the tournament each summer that there isn’t a World Cup or Olympic competition. In addition to Ellis, Emily Lima is the new coach for Brazil and Asako Takakura manages Japan. The only male coach in the event is Australia’s Alen Stajcic.
Lima and Takakura are former players who are relatively new to their teams: Lima took over Brazil last fall following the Olympics and Takakura was appointed after Japan failed to make the field for Rio. Both are the first female coaches for their teams.
Another sign of a possible culture shift in the sport: Five of the top 10 teams in FIFA’s world rankings are coached by women.
The trend has not been lost on Moya Dodd, a former Australian national team standout and vice president of the Asian Football Confederation who has been a vocal advocate for women’s soccer.
“When given the opportunity, women coaches are phenomenally successful. All but one of the World Cups, Olympic golds and Euros in women’s football since 2000 have been won by female-coached teams,” Dodd said, adding that’s 11 of 12 tournaments at the sport’s highest level.
“When given the opportunity, women coaches are phenomenally successful. All but one of the World Cups, Olympic golds and Euros in women’s football since 2000 have been won by female-coached teams,” Dodd said, adding that’s 11 of 12 tournaments at the sport’s highest level.
Australia wins Tournament of Nations in 6-1 win over Brazil.
Associated Press
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Australia has won the inaugural Tournament of Nations, beating Brazil 6-1 on Thursday to claim the four-team round robin women’s soccer event.
Lisa De Vanna and Caitlin Foord scored two goals apiece to win the Matildas’ first international trophy since the 2010 Asian Cup.
Lisa De Vanna and Caitlin Foord scored two goals apiece to win the Matildas’ first international trophy since the 2010 Asian Cup.
Australia, the world’s seventh-ranked team, went unbeaten through the three-game event, starting with a 1-0 victory over the defending World Cup champion U.S. team in the opener in Portland.
After Camila scored for Brazil just 80 seconds into the match at StubHub Center, Australia piled up four goals in the first half. De Vanna started the scoring with a goal off her own missed penalty, and Foord put the Matildas ahead before De Vanna and Katrina Gorry added goals.
Australia’s victory rendered the No. 1-ranked Americans’ late match against Japan irrelevant to the overall tournament result.
The U.S. needed Australia to lose to have any chance to make up a three-goal aggregate deficit.
Europa League roundup: Everton, Milan move on.
By Nicholas Mendola
(Photo by Press Focus/MB Media/Getty Images)
Everton, AC Milan, and Marseille were among the name sides to avoid stumbling before the playoff round of the UEFA Europa League.
PSV Eindhoven, Freiburg, Gent, and Aberdeen? Not-so-much.
The playoff round draw is Friday morning.
Milan 2-0 (3-0 agg.) Craiova
Giacomo Bonaventura gave the hosts a great exhalation with his ninth minute goal, and Patrick Cutrone scored his first Milan goal in the 52nd minute to help i Rossoneri waltz into the playoff round, its first European win since March 2014.
Ruzomberok 0-1 (0-2 agg.) Everton
Leading by one after the first leg, Ronald Koeman‘s men held firm at the back and youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin came off the bench to give the Premier Leaguers breathing room and a spot in the UEFA Europa League playoffs, where they’ll be a seeded side and avoid most of the big names (Marseille, Milan, Ajax, Athletic Bilbao, Zenit Saint Petersburg).
Full scoreboard
Sion 1-1 (1-4) Suduva — Weds.
AEL 1-2 (1-2) Austria Wien — Weds.
Dinamo Minsk 1-1 (1-3) AEK Larnaca
Shkendija 3-0 (4-2) Trakai
Odd 0-0 (1-2) Dinamo Zagreb
Zenit Saint Petersburg 0-1 (2-1) Bnei Yehuda
Sparta Prague 0-1 (0-3) Crvena Zvezda
Apollon 2-0 (3-2) Aberdeen
Olexandriya 1-0 (1-0) Astra
Videoton 1-0 (2-2) Videoton
Gabala 1-2 (1-3) Panathinaikos
Fola 1-2 (1-3) Ostersund
Fenerbahce 1-1 (3-2) Sturm
Lyngby 1-3 (2-5) Krasnodar
Maritimo 2-0 (2-0) Botev Plovdiv
PAOK 2-0 (3-1) Olimpik Donetsk
Skenderbeu 2-1 (3-3, 4-2 on PKs) Mlada Boleslav
Lech 2-2 (2-2) Utrecht
Altach 3-1 (4-2) Gent
Hajduk Split 2-0 (2-0) Brondby
Midtjylland 2-1 (4-4) Arka
Oostende 0-0 (2-4) Marseille
Athletic Bilbao 3-0 (4-1) Dinamo Bucharest
Osijek 1-0 (2-0) PSV Eindhoven
Panionios 0-1 (0-2) Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Domzale 2-0 (2-1) Freiburg
Braga 2-1 et (3-2) AIK
NCAAFB: Alabama No. 1, Ohio State No. 2 in preseason coaches’ poll.
By John Taylor
(Photo/Associated Press)
Nearly a month before the 2017 season kicks off in earnest, the first noteworthy of the meaningless preseason polls has been released.
With USA Today as its delivery vehicle, the Amway Coaches’ Poll released its initial ranking of the Top 25 teams in the country. Not surprisingly, to some, 2016 national runner-up Alabama is ranked as the top team in the country.
Of the 65 “coaches” (winkwinknudgenudge) who participated in the voting, 49 of them cast their first-place votes for ‘Bama. The Nos. 2 and 3 teams in the country, Ohio State and Florida State, respectively, received five and four first-place votes, respectively. The only other team that received No. 1 nods was fifth-ranked and defending national champion Clemson with seven.
The remainder of the Top 10 is rounded out by No. 4 USC, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Washington, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 9 Michigan and No. 10 Wisconsin.
While there were four Big Ten teams in the Top 10, just one team from the SEC can make the same claim. Overall, though, the latter conference lead all leagues with six teams in the Top 25, followed by the ACC and Big 12 with five each and the Big Ten and Pac-12 with four apiece. The Group of Five program to crack the initial ranking was South Florida, with the AAC school coming in at No. 21.
For those who are curious, and before we get to the complete Top 25 rankings, below are the “coaches” (winkwinknudgenudge) who will vote in this particular poll throughout the 2017 season:
Major Applewhite, Houston; David Bailiff, Rice; David Beaty, Kansas; Bret Bielema, Arkansas; Craig Bohl, Wyoming; John Bonamego, Central Michigan; Terry Bowden, Akron; Jeff Brohm, Purdue; Matt Campbell, Iowa State; Rod Carey, Northern Illinois; Mark Dantonio, Michigan State; Butch Davis, Florida International; Dave Doeren, North Carolina State; DJ Durkin, Maryland; Shawn Elliott, Georgia State; Larry Fedora, North Carolina; Luke Fickell, Cincinnati; Jimbo Fisher, Florida State; P.J. Fleck, Minnesota; James Franklin, Penn State; Willie Fritz, Tulane; Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech; Bryan Harsin, Boise State; Clay Helton, Southern California; Tom Herman, Texas; Doc Holliday, Marshall; Mark Hudspeth, Louisiana-Lafayette; Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech; Joey Jones, South Alabama; Mike Leach, Washington State; Lance Leipold, Buffalo; Tim Lester, Western Michigan; Seth Littrell, North Texas; Rocky Long, San Diego State; Mike MacIntyre, Colorado; Gus Malzahn, Auburn; Derek Mason, Vanderbilt; Urban Meyer, Ohio State; Jeff Monken, Army; Philip Montgomery, Tulsa; Scottie Montgomery, East Carolina; Jim Mora, UCLA; Dan Mullen, Mississippi State; Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh; Ken Niumatalolo, Navy; Barry Odom, Missouri; Gary Patterson, TCU; Mike Riley, Nebraska; Rich Rodriguez, Arizona; Nick Rolovich, Hawaii; Nick Saban, Alabama; Tony Sanchez, UNLV; Mike Sanford Jr., Western Kentucky; Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State; Bill Snyder, Kansas State; Frank Solich, Ohio; Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee; Mark Stoops, Kentucky; Tyson Summers, Georgia Southern; Dabo Swinney, Clemson; Matt Wells, Utah State; Mark Whipple, Massachusetts; Kyle Whittingham, Utah; Bobby Wilder, Old Dominion; Everett Withers, Texas State.
Notre Dame mourns the passing of Ara Parseghian.
By John Taylor
(Photo/blogs.nd.edu)
Ara Parseghian, who took over a flailing Notre Dame football program a half-century ago and brought it back to national prominence, passed away very early Wednesday morning at the age of 94, the university announced in a release.
Parseghian had been hospitalized last month because of an infection in his hip. He only recently returned to his home in Granger, Ind., as he continued battling the infection.
“Notre Dame mourns the loss of a legendary football coach, a beloved member of the Notre Dame family and good man — Ara Parseghian,” university president Rev. John L Jenkins said in a statement. “Among his many accomplishments, we will remember him above all as a teacher, leader and mentor who brought out the very best in his players, on and off the field.
“He continued to demonstrate that leadership by raising millions of research dollars seeking a cure for the terrible disease that took the lives of three of his grandchildren. Whenever we asked for Ara’s help at Notre Dame, he was there.
“My prayers are with Katie, his family and many friends as we mourn his passing and celebrate a life that was so well lived.”
In the eight years prior to Parseghian’s arrival in 1964, the Fighting Irish finished at or below .500 in six of those years; in 1963, they went 2-7. They hadn’t won a national champion ship in more than 15 years.
The turnaround under Parseghian was immediate as they went 9-1 in his first season and finished the year ranked third in the country. In 11 seasons with Parseghian as coach, the Irish went 95-17-4 and won two national championships, 1966 and 1973.
Just twice in those 11 seasons did the Irish finish outside the Top 10, an 8-2 1971 season that left them 13th in the final Associated Press poll and 8-3 the following year that had them 14th.
In his final season, which was capped by a win in the Orange Bowl, they were sixth in the country after finishing 10-2.
“As a student, I enjoyed the thrill of being on campus for Ara’s last three years as head coach, including the 1973 championship, and saw firsthand the profound impact that he had on my classmates who played for him,” said athletic director Jack Swarbrick. “When I returned many years later as athletics director, Ara was unfailingly generous with his time, and his counsel proved to be invaluable.”
In addition to his time at Notre Dame, Parseghian served as the head coach at Northwestern (36-35-1, 1956-63) and Miami of Ohio (39-6-1, 1951-55). Overall, he went 170-58-6 as a head coach.
In 1980, Parseghian was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
NCAABKB: NCAA Tournament selection committee makes another surprise change.
Matt Norlander
A late roster change provides stability for the selection committee for the season ahead.
There has been another surprise change for the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Two months removed from former New Mexico athletic director Paul Krebs' unexpected departure from the 10-person panel that selects and seeds the Division I tournament, the committee has retained BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe for the 2017-18 season, per an NCAA source.
Holmoe was preparing to leave the committee Aug. 31 after four years (he originally replaced former West Coast Conference commissioner Jamie Zaninovich, who left for the Pac-12 in 2014), but his services will be needed because former Richmond athletic director Keith Gill was not appointed to the committee, according to the source.
Gill resigned from Richmond in May, then took on a role with the Atlantic 10 as the conference's executive associate commissioner in an effort to keep his committee spot. But after Krebs' withdrawal, the NCAA reevaluated the situation: Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson joined the committee to replace Krebs; and Northwestern AD Jim Phillips and Southland conference commissioner Tom Burnett also will be in their first year. So the committee decided against having 4 of 10 members new to the current process (Thompson has served on the committee before, but not since 2000).
"Tom Holmoe has been a valuable member of the committee for the past three years and I was delighted to share with him and his colleagues the news that his term will be extended by a year," Dan Gavitt, the NCAA's senior vice president of basketball, said in a statement. "If there has been one common theme with this committee that I've heard over the past five years, it's that the first year with the group can be a bit overwhelming. ... Having Tom back for another year prevents us from having essentially four new members for the upcoming season, and we think that's important for the committee to have the most balanced experience possible."
Holmoe is a veteran voice on the panel in a notable upcoming season of change. The committee recently announced a significant tweak to its evaluation process in both selection and seeding. Creighton AD Bruce Rasmussen will chair the committee in 2017-18.
Northwestern opens basketball season with 3 home games in 6 days — at Allstate Arena.
By Paul Skrbina
The Northwestern men’s basketball team will begin play in its home away from home — Allstate Arena — Nov. 10 when it opens its season against Loyola.
Sacred Heart, Chicago State, Valparaiso, Lewis University and Brown round out the home schedule.
The Wildcats will play road games at Georgia Tech, DePaul and Oklahoma.
Northwestern returns four starters and its top five scorers from last season, when the Wildcats set a school record with 24 wins and earned their first NCAA tournament berth.
Could Football Ever End? What's Your Take?
Northwestern returns four starters and its top five scorers from last season, when the Wildcats set a school record with 24 wins and earned their first NCAA tournament berth.
Could Football Ever End? What's Your Take?
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(Photo/Shane Keyser/Zuma Press)
It seems crazy to imagine the end of football. The game is so beloved, so profitable, and, frankly, such a cultural mirror that it feels like a permanent feature of American life. Without football, what the heck happens to Sunday? (Or Saturday, or Monday night, or an ever-expanding number of weekday nights.)
There are a lot of institutions and franchises and schools with a deep interest in football’s continued prosperity. The game is a godsend for the entertainment industry, which is why it commands billions.
That’s why if football ever vanishes, it will likely vanish from within.
From the players. And parents.
Consider the conversation of the past week. A disturbing medical study was released showing brain damage in the brains of 110 of 111 deceased NFL players.
Shortly afterward, a PhD-candidate offensive lineman in Baltimore abruptly retired at age 26. In Pittsburgh, a two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback wondered out loud if the 2017 football season should be his last.
As NFL teams begin their preseason preparations, players were confronted with an ominous query:
How worried are you about continuing to play this game?
Let’s be clear: football, an overtly physical game of speed and collision, has always carried bodily risk. Busted knees. Degraded hips, shoulders, ankles, fingers. Careers at the pro level tend to be mercilessly short, and players often leave with chronic pain, which can continue long after leaving the sport.
But it’s the grimmer, previously-unknown risks which are finally catching up to football. After years of denial and obfuscation, there is widening agreement that football carries long-term risk from head injuries. A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found signs of the progressive neurological disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in 87% of 202 brains donated from deceased high school, college, semi pro and pro football players.
The report’s stunner was that 110 out of 111 figure—of 111 brains donated by late NFL players, all but one showed signs of CTE.
Sure, we could go around and around about the study’s limited and self-selecting sample—the late players’ families who donated brains suspected a problem—and how it can’t be seen as representative of the full football-playing population. The authors don’t deny its biases.
But is that enough comfort to players still receiving hits, or their families? Take a look at the recent comments of 35-year-old Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has suffered concussions in the past.
“This [JAMA study] shows there’s nothing to mess with,” Roethlisberger told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review last week. “If you want to mess with your brain, you can’t put a new one in. You can’t have a brain transplant. If you want to mess with your brain, go ahead. I’m not going to. I love my family and kids.”
“I want to play catch with my kids. I want to know my kids’ names. As much as I want my kids to remember what I did and watch me play the game, I also want to remember them when I’m 70 years old.”
The study was reportedly a factor in the sudden decision last week of Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel—currently pursuing a doctorate in mathematics at MIT—to retire early from game. Urschel did not mention the JAMA report publicly, but the Baltimore Sun cited team sources as saying the study was involved in Urschel’s choice to walk away.
He’s not the first premature exit. A year ago, there was the Buffalo linebacker A.J. Tarpley, leaving at 23 after a pair of concussions. “I am walking away from the game I love to preserve my future health,” Tarpley said at the time. In 2015 there was San Francisco rookie standout Chris Borland, relinquishing millions after a single year in the NFL. “If there was no possibility of brain damage, I’d still be playing,” Borland told ESPN.
On and on the quiet drumbeat of early exits goes, attracting far less media attention than, say, a quarterback controversy or locker room dust-up. Widows and children of dead players give heartbreaking interviews, and after a somber wave of respect, they fade from the conversation. Same with the NFL’s nearly billion-dollar settlement with former players. It’s a lot easier to argue about Colin Kaepernick’s job odyssey, or Rob Gronkowski’s latest goof, than it is to confront an existential threat to the game.
At this point playing football—even watching football—requires a sharp dissonance between one’s enjoyment of it and the growing evidence. Make no mistake: I’m right there with the shameless compartmentalizers. I love football, write about it, often celebrate it in print like a face-painted fan in the parking lot. Come September, I’ll be back with my pom-poms. Count on it.
But even the devoted have to feel twinges of conflict now. Consider this recent editorial in the Dallas Morning News sounding the alarm about football in Texas, where the sport is basically religion.
“We’re as crazy about football as anyone in Texas, but this new data gives a sense of urgency to our push for more study on concussions in all sports,” the Morning News editorial said. (That “all sports” is a nod to games like soccer, hockey and others, where concussions are also a hazard. Still, football’s the game where the head has been routinely weaponized.)
Football has always been a trade-off. There are many, many former players among us who feel every second was worth it. And there will always be players willing to take a chance with their health for a shot at their dream. They’re not the only American laborers making such a choice, and in football, there’s potentially millions to be made.
In the meantime, current players trade in their own rationalizations:
Those players in that CTE study were from a different era.
The game is smarter now about handling head injuries.
My equipment’s better.
I haven’t had a bad concussion.
You can get hurt doing anything.
“We’re not hitting head-to-head all the time,” New York Jets linebacker Jordan Jenkins told the Journal’s Jim Chairusmi on Saturday. “CTE is something we have to be worried about, but that specific sample isn’t completely accurate. People who played pre-2000s, that’s a different story. There’s not nearly as much contact [now].
We aren’t hitting in the first days of camp—[years ago,] it was like that. I feel this generation of football is safer, not softer.”
It’s possible science will catch up and offer a clearer view. My colleague Matthew Futterman has written about a blood test in development that will give a fast and conclusive diagnosis of concussions. But such a test “may reveal more vividly how dangerous the game really is,” Futterman wrote. Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist and the director of Boston University’s CTE Center, told him it’s not the big hits, but a career of lesser blows, that appears to be the underlying problem. “It’s looking like that—not the concussions, but the duration, the years of playing—is the most significant factor,” McKee told the Journal last fall. McKee was one of the co-authors of the recent JAMA study.
Will anything ever alleviate the worry? A few months ago, there was a brief stir when Gisele Bundchen, the fashion mogul and spouse of Patriots superstar Tom Brady, aired her anxieties about her husband’s long-term health, and appeared to suggest he’s played with head injuries that were not disclosed. Brady’s father, Tom Sr., has said publicly would be hesitant to let his son play football were he a kid growing up today.
Brady has five Super Bowl rings, and has gotten as much out of football as anyone who’s ever played it. And he loves the game too much to leave it. On the verge of turning 40, he’s back out on the field for the New England Patriots.
It’s hard to know what to say, other than: Good luck.
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: We often discuss what the legacy of American football will be years from now. Will it still be around or will it go the way of boxing? I hazard to guess that the game will be around, modified quite a bit but it will still be around. It is the epitome of the true American experience; excitement, teamwork, violence, profitability, strategy, winning, success and much, much more. The violence will be reduced by new rules such as the existing one with regards to protection of the quarterback. However, more emphasis will be put on strategy, performance objectives and skills. The NFL experiment with moving the kicker back to the 30 yard line for extra points is one example of skill testing. They are talking about getting rid of kickoffs and placing the ball on the 20 or 25 yard line with a coin flip to start the game and after scoring. The competition committee is constantly looking for ways to improve the game but at the same time making it safer. It sounds crazy and very difficult to imagine the game of football changing drastically as we now know it but changes will definitely have to occur to protect the longevity of the game.
The equipment is getting better but the main concern is brain damage. Knees, ankles, joint injury, etc. is permitted but brain damage, that's the major concern. If a method can be developed to reduce brain injury, the game's popularity will continue to grow. It should also be noted that there will always players willing to take a chance for the money, the notoriety and the fan adulation. Not to mention the owners, league management personnel, food vendors, parking lots, jersey and team paraphernalia manufacturers, ticket brokers, sports shows, etc.; everyone has a stake in this great American sport and depend on it to make a living. Many of America's sports teams owners are now buying soccer teams and looking for ways to continue making money in other sports; but in America, football is still king of the hill. Head injuries are a big concern and can really destroy the sport of football but for some reason, we just feel that there will be some solution to save this financial juggernaut. After all, as we said earlier, this sport provides all the emotions of the true American experience. We can't imagine an America without football, can you?
Our prognosis is, the game will continue to live on!!!!! Now you know what we think, what's your take? Please go to the comments section at the bottom of this blog and share your thoughts with us. We can't wait to hear from you and want to thank you in advance for your comments, pro and con.
The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Editorial Staff.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, August 04, 2017.
Memoriesofhistory.com
1934 - Mel Ott became the first major league baseball player to score six runs in a single game.
1956 - William Herz became the first person to race a motorcycle over 200 miles per hour. He was clocked at 210 mph.
1957 - Juan Fangio won his final auto race and captured the world auto driving championship. It was his the fifth consecutive year to win.
1983 - New York Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield threw a baseball during warm-ups and accidentally killed a seagull. After the game, Toronto police arrested him for "causing unnecessary suffering to an animal."
1984 - Carl Lewis won a gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympics.
1985 - Tom Seaver (Chicago White Sox) achieved his 300th victory.
1985 - Rod Carew (California Angels) got his 3,000th major league hit.
1986 - The United States Football League called off its 1986 season. This was after winning only token damages in its antitrust lawsuit against the National Football League.
1996 - Josia Thugwane won a gold medal after finishing first in the marathon. He became the first black South African to win a gold medal.
1956 - William Herz became the first person to race a motorcycle over 200 miles per hour. He was clocked at 210 mph.
1957 - Juan Fangio won his final auto race and captured the world auto driving championship. It was his the fifth consecutive year to win.
1983 - New York Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield threw a baseball during warm-ups and accidentally killed a seagull. After the game, Toronto police arrested him for "causing unnecessary suffering to an animal."
1984 - Carl Lewis won a gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympics.
1985 - Tom Seaver (Chicago White Sox) achieved his 300th victory.
1985 - Rod Carew (California Angels) got his 3,000th major league hit.
1986 - The United States Football League called off its 1986 season. This was after winning only token damages in its antitrust lawsuit against the National Football League.
1996 - Josia Thugwane won a gold medal after finishing first in the marathon. He became the first black South African to win a gold medal.
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