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"Sports Quote of the Day"
"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. ~ Colin Powell, Statesman and Retired Four Star General
TRENDING: Why the Bears will play Mitch Trubisky with the No. 1 offense against Tennessee. (See the football section for Bears news and NFL updates).
TRENDING: Even Jonathan Toews knows he needs to score more. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).
TRENDING: The Bulls Young Players Can’t Stand Dwyane Wade, (so says Nick Friedell). (See the basketball section for Bulls news and NBA updates).
TRENDING: Cubs foiled late despite gem from 'Snake'; White Sox cool Twins behind 'Dutch' treat. (See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).
TRENDING: D. Johnson (65) one behind Henley in playoff opener. (See the golf section for PGA news and tournament updates).
TRENDING: Yes, there is NASCAR racing Sunday: Xfinity entry list for Road America. (See the NASCAR section for NASCAR news and racing updates).
TRENDING: Fire Talk Podcast: Can the Fire turn things around? Top Premier League story lines – Week 3. Top Premier League story lines – Week 3. (See the soccer section for Fire news and worldwide soccer updates).
TRENDING: Candid Coaches: Getting real on marijuana legalization, testing in college football. What's Your Take? (See the last article on this blog for an update. Details will follow in this column next week).
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Why the Bears will play Mitch Trubisky with the No. 1 offense against Tennessee.
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Why the Bears will play Mitch Trubisky with the No. 1 offense against Tennessee.
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Mitch Trubisky has been excellent in his first two preseason games, completing 73 percent of his passes for 226 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. But that production has come with third and fourth stringers on offense, and against defenses with players mostly from the same fringy units.
It’s with that backdrop that the Bears will have Trubisky start the second half of Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans running their first-team offense and, hopefully, facing a first-team defense.
“I think his performance has been good,” coach John Fox said. “To get a true evaluation and for us to look at him, you need to do this and I think most people in the league would agree and do this.”
Fox said the decision to get Trubisky work with the first-team offense — as he did Wednesday during practice — doesn’t change the team’s quarterback depth chart. Mike Glennon is still the starter, Mark Sanchez is still the backup and Trubisky is still No. 3.
“Right now Mike Glennon’s the starter,” Fox said. “He’s going to start preseason game 3, which is usually a pretty good indicator where you start the season.”
Glennon said it’s clear to him the depth chart hasn’t changed, and stuck to saying his focus remains on “what I can control.” Fox, when asked if he would be open to having Trubisky be his starting quarterback in Week 1, said he didn’t want to get into hypotheticals and reiterated that Glennon remains the team’s starter.
If the Bears stick to that depth chart, though, Sunday will be the last opportunity for a “true evaluation” of Trubisky before he eventually takes over for Glennon as the team’s quarterback. This, seemingly, is a chance for Trubisky to speed up his timeline if he shows in that evaluation he’s capable of succeeding against a defense full of players he could actually face in the regular season.
Perhaps the evaluation goes well for Trubisky. Perhaps it doesn’t. But even if this is only for evaluative purposes, Sunday represents Trubisky’s best shot to show he’s ready to start in the NFL sooner rather than later.
“I would say I’ve shown them what I can do, I think I’ve progressed faster than they expected I would, but I’ve still got a long ways to go and I know that,” Trubisky said. “But I think I’ve shown that I’ve earned these reps and I just need to continue to get better each day.”
How Mitch Trubisky and Mike Glennon reacted to the Bears’ change in first-team QB reps.
By JJ Stankevtiz
Mitch Trubisky was asked, toward the end of his meeting with the media on Wednesday, if he feels like he’s ready to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
“That’s not up to me,” Trubisky said. “That’s a good question. You almost got me.”
Trubisky sounded confident but stuck to talking mostly about “control” after getting first-team practice reps for the first time in his nascent pro career. He didn’t entertain questions about if he, after playing well in two preseason games, created a quarterback competition with Mike Glennon, who’s struggled in those contests. Sunday, for Trubisky, is less an opportunity to unseat Glennon as the team’s starter — or Mark Sanchez as the backup — and more of a chance to better himself against the best competition he’ll have faced in 2017.
“I think it’s more of how I can make myself better each day, how I can be the best version of me and how I can make the people around me better,” Trubisky said. "That's one of the things I can control and I’m just focused on what I can control: my effort, my attitude. Come out here, practice hard, get better every day and in due time, you’ve got to earn a spot. Every spot is earned. That’s what we’re trying to do, just create competition on both sides of the ball to make this team better.”
Trubisky added that he’s not changing how he’ll practice and play now that he’ll play with the Bears’ first-team offense on Sunday.
“Just keep taking the same approach I have been doing — I mean, that sounds good to me because I’m not going to change what I’ve been doing, I’m just going to come out here, work every day, it doesn’t matter what group I’m going with,” Trubisky said. “But yeah, they just want to see what I can do with a different group, I guess. So go out there, perform, do my job and get the playmakers the ball.”
Glennon had a similar message, though coming from a different place. He said he knew from experience in Tampa — which drafted Jameis Winston to supplant him as the starter in 2015 — this could be a possibility, and learned how to approach it then.
“Really to control what you can control,” Glennon said. “Outside of that, it just doesn’t do you any good to worry about other things. Just any of that. All I can do is prepare for Tennessee and treat it just like anything else.”
Glennon (and coach John Fox) said “nothing’s changed” regarding his status as the Bears’ Week 1 starter or his approach to having a top-picked quarterback stringing together good-to-impressive games behind him on the depth chart. The best thing Glennon can do on Sunday is accomplish what he sets out to do, which he hasn’t done yet in a game but could — at least temporarily — quiet the noise.
“I think ultimately, be kind of the commander on the field,” Glennon said of his goals for Sunday. “Get the ball in the playmakers’ hands. Get a lot of completions. Protect the football. And put together a few scoring drives.”
Akiem Hicks wants to ‘be a Bear for a long time’.
“I think his performance has been good,” coach John Fox said. “To get a true evaluation and for us to look at him, you need to do this and I think most people in the league would agree and do this.”
Fox said the decision to get Trubisky work with the first-team offense — as he did Wednesday during practice — doesn’t change the team’s quarterback depth chart. Mike Glennon is still the starter, Mark Sanchez is still the backup and Trubisky is still No. 3.
“Right now Mike Glennon’s the starter,” Fox said. “He’s going to start preseason game 3, which is usually a pretty good indicator where you start the season.”
Glennon said it’s clear to him the depth chart hasn’t changed, and stuck to saying his focus remains on “what I can control.” Fox, when asked if he would be open to having Trubisky be his starting quarterback in Week 1, said he didn’t want to get into hypotheticals and reiterated that Glennon remains the team’s starter.
If the Bears stick to that depth chart, though, Sunday will be the last opportunity for a “true evaluation” of Trubisky before he eventually takes over for Glennon as the team’s quarterback. This, seemingly, is a chance for Trubisky to speed up his timeline if he shows in that evaluation he’s capable of succeeding against a defense full of players he could actually face in the regular season.
Perhaps the evaluation goes well for Trubisky. Perhaps it doesn’t. But even if this is only for evaluative purposes, Sunday represents Trubisky’s best shot to show he’s ready to start in the NFL sooner rather than later.
“I would say I’ve shown them what I can do, I think I’ve progressed faster than they expected I would, but I’ve still got a long ways to go and I know that,” Trubisky said. “But I think I’ve shown that I’ve earned these reps and I just need to continue to get better each day.”
How Mitch Trubisky and Mike Glennon reacted to the Bears’ change in first-team QB reps.
By JJ Stankevtiz
(Photo/USA Today)
Mitch Trubisky was asked, toward the end of his meeting with the media on Wednesday, if he feels like he’s ready to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
“That’s not up to me,” Trubisky said. “That’s a good question. You almost got me.”
Trubisky sounded confident but stuck to talking mostly about “control” after getting first-team practice reps for the first time in his nascent pro career. He didn’t entertain questions about if he, after playing well in two preseason games, created a quarterback competition with Mike Glennon, who’s struggled in those contests. Sunday, for Trubisky, is less an opportunity to unseat Glennon as the team’s starter — or Mark Sanchez as the backup — and more of a chance to better himself against the best competition he’ll have faced in 2017.
“I think it’s more of how I can make myself better each day, how I can be the best version of me and how I can make the people around me better,” Trubisky said. "That's one of the things I can control and I’m just focused on what I can control: my effort, my attitude. Come out here, practice hard, get better every day and in due time, you’ve got to earn a spot. Every spot is earned. That’s what we’re trying to do, just create competition on both sides of the ball to make this team better.”
Trubisky added that he’s not changing how he’ll practice and play now that he’ll play with the Bears’ first-team offense on Sunday.
“Just keep taking the same approach I have been doing — I mean, that sounds good to me because I’m not going to change what I’ve been doing, I’m just going to come out here, work every day, it doesn’t matter what group I’m going with,” Trubisky said. “But yeah, they just want to see what I can do with a different group, I guess. So go out there, perform, do my job and get the playmakers the ball.”
Glennon had a similar message, though coming from a different place. He said he knew from experience in Tampa — which drafted Jameis Winston to supplant him as the starter in 2015 — this could be a possibility, and learned how to approach it then.
“Really to control what you can control,” Glennon said. “Outside of that, it just doesn’t do you any good to worry about other things. Just any of that. All I can do is prepare for Tennessee and treat it just like anything else.”
Glennon (and coach John Fox) said “nothing’s changed” regarding his status as the Bears’ Week 1 starter or his approach to having a top-picked quarterback stringing together good-to-impressive games behind him on the depth chart. The best thing Glennon can do on Sunday is accomplish what he sets out to do, which he hasn’t done yet in a game but could — at least temporarily — quiet the noise.
“I think ultimately, be kind of the commander on the field,” Glennon said of his goals for Sunday. “Get the ball in the playmakers’ hands. Get a lot of completions. Protect the football. And put together a few scoring drives.”
Akiem Hicks wants to ‘be a Bear for a long time’.
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Akiem Hicks is entering a contract year and has yet to sign an extension, but the Bears’ defensive end reiterated on Thursday that he’d like to remain a part of this organization beyond 2017.
After left tackle Charles Leno signed a four-year extension earlier this week, the natural follow-up question is: Will Hicks be next?
“It’s a beautiful thing to be looked at as somebody that you want to be a part of your team for a long time,” Hicks said. “I appreciate the interest in that category and I would love to be a Bear for a long time.”
Hicks signed with Drew Rosenhaus in July, and Rosenhaus was seen around Olivet Nazarene University early in training camp, but no extension materialized in Bourbonnais. Hicks will be 28 in November, and coming off his best NFL season — he had a career high seven sacks and started all 16 games last year — he’ll command a contract greater than the two-year, $10 million one he signed in 2016.
Hicks still sees his arrow pointing up, and said he has a “goal board” in his room that includes a box for making the Pro Bowl. Perhaps that means Hicks could be confident not signing a contract and betting on himself to cash in as a free agent next spring.
But Hicks has found a home at defensive end for the Bears after being shuttled around different positions on the lines of the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots. Consistency, from that standpoint, could be a good thing for him.
Either way, Hicks is lined up to be a key part of a defense — especially a front seven — that could exceed expectations in 2017. And, too, Hicks is saying the right things about wanting to stay here going forward.
“I will say this: I’m still living my dream,” Hicks said. “I’m still playing every day. I still get to be a Bear. I’m under contract for another year. I’m taking it step-by-step. I’d love to be a Bear for a long time. Let’s leave it at that.”
Why Tarik Cohen wanted to ‘scream like a little girl’ after Saturday’s preseason game.
By JJ Stankevitz
(Photo/USA Today Sports Images)
Tarik Cohen’s explosive preseason has caught the attention of teammates, coaches, fans — and, after Saturday’s game, one of the running back’s favorite players.
“I wanted to scream like a little girl,” Cohen said. “But (I) gotta be a man about it, so (I replied) thank you, appreciate it.”
While in college at North Carolina A&T, Cohen and his teammates would watch highlight film of Mathieu from his days at LSU, where he was a rare playmaker on both defense and special teams.
“He did it all,” Cohen said. “He was stripping the ball, he was scoring more points on defense than some players scored on offense. So just to watch that was amazing and gets you so hype for a game.”
Cohen earned that nod from Mathieu not only for his impressive play on Saturday, but also because of the work he’s put in during practices since the beginning of training camp. Coach John Fox said Cohen is one of the hardest-working players in practices — an evaluation backed up by GPS tracking data — and has been impressed by the 5-foot-6, 181 pounder’s “grit.”
The better Cohen practices, the more he plays — and the more he plays, the more situations in which he shows he can be used in the Bears' offense.
“I feel like (the coaches) are probably excited of the many facets of how I can be used,” Cohen said. “They can see I can run the ball now. They knew I could catch the ball out of the backfield and using me on special teams, so I feel like they’re going to be drawing up a whole lot of packages for me.”
Bears fans should be excited, too. Cohen’s affirmatively answered just about every question posed about him during training camp, except for perhaps what nickname to call him.
But could the guy who goes by “Big Daddy” and “Chicken Salad” and “The Human Joystick” add another nickname to go by, inspired by his admiration of Mathieu, who's also known as the "Honey Badger?"
“I’m thinking the chocolate badger,” Cohen said. “Chocolate badger. I’m going to ride off his wave a little bit.”
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Jonathan Toews explains why he altered his offseason training regime: 'I might have overdone it'.
By Charlie Roumeliotis
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Days after the Blackhawks were swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Jonathan Toews made it known that he wanted to make "some little changes" to his offseason training program.
He went on to say that he never quite reached the level of play that he wanted to during the 2016-17 season after scoring a career-low 21 goals and totaling 58 points for the second straight year. Not bad, but not great by his standards.
In a recent interview with Sportsnet's Chris Johnston, Toews opened up about why he altered his offseason regime from the previous year.
“Last summer is the first time I really got the time to train really hard and I might have overdone it in the wrong way," Toews admitted. "Just worrying about power and strength all the time. I came into the season and just couldn’t move, just felt slow. I mean the game is so fast nowadays. It’s kind of a wake-up call in that sense.”
The game indeed is getting faster, and younger players are breaking into the league much quicker because of it. Look no further than Connor McDavid, who's quickly emerged as the face of the NHL.
It's also evident after watching the Pittsburgh Penguins win back-to-back Stanley Cups with their speed, not necessarily grit.
Toews recognizes that, and it's why he's making the necessary changes to help return to top form and get the Blackhawks back on track in doing so.
“When you see the top players nowadays they’re all on the ice,” Toews said. “They’re on the ice all the time just working on skill and that’s something I’m really going to focus on going forward.
"Just getting back to playing with the puck, knowing that that’s the type of player I am, and not just being overly concerned with the defensive two-way hockey but knowing that I can go out there and contribute with the best of them, too, if I put my mind to it a little bit more.”
Even Jonathan Toews knows he needs to score more.
By Satchel Price
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(Photo/Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
There was an interview with Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews in Sportsnet recently that I had missed until it was discussed by CSN Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis on Tuesday night. In it Toews talks about changing his training routine after being disappointed with his performance last season.
But more than the admittance that he “might have overdone it” with his training regimen in 2016, I thought this paragraph from the center stood out.
“When you see the top players nowadays they’re all on the ice,” said Toews. “They’re on the ice all the time just working on skill and that’s something I’m really going to focus on going forward. Just getting back to playing with the puck, knowing that that’s the type of player I am, and not just being overly concerned with the defensive two-way hockey but knowing that I can go out there and contribute with the best of them, too, if I put my mind to it a little bit more.”
One of the most common reasons that fans give for Toews’ offensive performance, which has ranged from elite at his peak to merely good last season, is that he’s so focused on playing a two-way game. It’s not inaccurate to say that Toews has taken on difficult assignments with the Hawks, but this was always couched as a reason for why he should be considered better than his point production would indicate.
However, this sounds like Toews saying that approach might change soon. Of course he’ll always prioritize being a solid defensive center, but the message here seems to be that playing at a faster pace and pushing for more offense is what will get Toews back where he needs to be.
“I came into the season and just couldn’t move, just felt slow. I mean the game is so fast nowadays. It’s kind of a wake-up call in that sense,” he told Sportsnet.
This is pretty interesting to me. First, you have the dynamic where Toews has put up back-to-back 58-point seasons that don’t quite match up with his $10.5 million cap hit, even if you love what he brings defensively and in the faceoff circle. He’s been a point-per-game player in the past, but that was years ago. Getting closer to that level of production, even if not all the way, would be huge.
And then there’s the reality that the Blackhawks will likely need to score a lot next season. The defense just lost Niklas Hjalmarsson, Brian Campbell, and Trevor van Riemsdyk. They’re being replaced with Connor Murphy, Gustav Forsling, and either Jan Rutta, Ville Pokka, or someone who isn’t even in the organization yet. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are also a year older, and who knows how they’ll continue aging.
Oh, and you’ve gone from an elite backup in Scott Darling to an unproven (albeit talented) one in Anton Forsberg.
So the Blackhawks’ goal prevention for next season is a massive question mark. They finished 10th in goals allowed last season, largely because their goaltending was so good. They were a middle-of-the-pack team in shot prevention last season with a very good defender in Hjalmarsson. Corey Crawford will likely be asked to do more than ever next season to keep this team in games.
As a result of all that, there seems to be a recognition that this team can’t keep playing the way it did last season and maintain its footing in the modern NHL. Stan Bowman more or less said it during the Blackhawks TV preview special.
As a result of all that, there seems to be a recognition that this team can’t keep playing the way it did last season and maintain its footing in the modern NHL. Stan Bowman more or less said it during the Blackhawks TV preview special.
The blue line will be much younger, but the skating ability of Murphy and Forsling offers some upside if things come together. The coaching staff also has a different look, which wasn’t done for no reason. Given that Hjalmarsson didn’t NEED to be traded and Campbell didn’t NEED to be let go, it seems like these were deliberate choices by the Blackhawks to change how they play.
So maybe I’m stretching this quote from Toews beyond the initial point, but it’s interesting to see where this Blackhawks season could be heading based on the crumbs.
Toews is back with Brandon Saad, and the goal there is clearly to get the team back to having multiple high-level scoring lines (with Patrick Kane anchoring the other). Maybe Alex DeBrincat is thrown into the mix if they’re really trying to remake this team into a more offensive-minded one. Or at least one that’s focused more on possessing the puck and pushing for chances than the counter-attacking style they’ve settled into the past two years.
I’m intrigued. It’s all intriguing. The Blackhawks are going to look a lot different next season. October should be fun.
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... The Bulls Young Players Can’t Stand Dwyane Wade, (so says Nick Friedell). (Taken from SBNation.com, Chicago Bulls, 08/23/2017).
By paulsteeno
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(Photo/Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
As if the Bulls needed another reason to look for a buyout.
ESPN Chicago Bulls writer Nick Friedell, who isn’t having the best summer, dropped a bomb on his appearance on ESPN’s ‘The Jump’.
After stating that a buyout involving Dwyane Wade is inevitable (we already knew that though), Friedell revealed an even juicier piece of Bulls gossip.
"The young players on the Bulls really can't stand Dwyane," ESPN's Nick Friedell said on "The Jump" on Tuesday. "It's no secret in Chicago, they have had enough."
According to Friedell, some of the Bulls youngsters were angered by Wade's comments, given that like many NBA veterans, he was often not a full participant in practices.
Here is the full video clip with the comments regarding Wade’s relationship with his younger teammates occurring around the three minute mark.
Wade, working in conjunction with Jimmy Butler, created tension in the Bulls locker room last season when they called out their young teammates for not working hard and not caring enough. These comments prompted Rajon Rondo’s now infamous rebuttal on Instagram.
For what it’s worth, Rondo recently won the National Basketball Players Association award for best Bulls teammate as voted for by each player on the team. Both Denzel Valentine and Bobby Portis earlier this summer praised Rondo as their favorite teammate.
One more tidbit from the video in case you didn’t watch the whole thing. Friedell once again backtracked on his earlier comments that a Wade buyout was imminent, instead describing the buyout situation as inevitable but more likely to occur in December or January than in the next few months.
LeBron’s camp ‘fairly confident’ Wade goes to Cleveland. (Taken from SBNation.com, Miami Heat, 08/22/2017).
By Diego Quezada
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(Photo/Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Heat players have also publicly voiced their desire for Wade to rejoin them in Miami.
Dwyane Wade may have to choose between his friends in Miami and his friend in Cleveland later this season.
Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon said that “people close to” LeBron James “are fairly confident that, at some point this year, Dwyane Wade is going to end up on the Cavs.”
This report comes on the heels of increasing speculation that the rebuilding Chicago Bulls will negotiate a buyout agreement with Wade and allow him to become a free agent. Udonis Haslem has already said, “We’d love to have” Wade back. Hassan Whiteside has made his feelings known on Twitter.
For Wade, the decision may come down to whether he’d like to join a team aiming for another championship in the Cavaliers, or end his career for a triumphant (albeit not championship-contending) run with the only other franchise he’s known. We also have Wade’s lingering feelings toward Pat Riley and his relationship with James to put into the picture. Besides, Wade will have to give up some of his $23.8 million salary for the Bulls to agree to a buyout in the first place.
Wade may find himself with a tough decision ahead.
Cubs foiled late despite gem from 'Snake'.
By Mark Sheldon and Andy Call
(Photo/MLB.com)
The Reds were able to contain the Cubs' bats for much of Thursday night, just long enough to get a big hit when they needed it most. Pinch-hitting in the bottom of the eighth, Jose Peraza (aka "Miguel Angel" on his Players Weekend jersey) drove a two-out, two-run double that lifted Cincinnati to a 4-2 victory over Chicago at Great American Ball Park.
Pedro Strop worked the eighth inning for the Cubs and got two quick outs, including a nice diving catch from right fielder Jason Heyward that robbed Joey Votto of a hit. But Adam Duvall followed with a single and Scooter Gennett added a double. Eugenio Suarez ran a 3-0 count before given the intentional walk to load the bases.
Peraza hit a first-pitch drive to center field that bounced on the warning track just out of reach for Ian Happ before skipping over the wall for a ground-rule double.
"He's a really good pitcher. He's got a good fastball. I was ready for that," Peraza said. "I was just working in the cage to be ready for this at-bat."
"I ran a pretty long way for it," Happ said. "I had an opportunity; I just couldn't haul it in."
When asked how close he came to the ball, Happ replied, "centimeters."
"That was the last thing we saw coming," Chicago manager Joe Maddon said. "Give [Peraza] credit."
A wild pitch to Tucker Barnhart scored Suarez for an insurance run. The Cubs' five-game winning streak was snapped and they saw their National League Central lead shaved to three games over the idle Brewers.
Happ hit a solo home run in the second inning for the game's first run but it was Javier Baez's RBI single off Sal Romano in the sixth that snapped a 1-1 tie for the Cubs' go-ahead run.
In a no-decision, Romano allowed two earned runs over seven innings with six hits, three walks and seven strikeouts. Jake Arrieta pitched 5 2/3 innings with one unearned run, four hits, three walks and eight strikeouts. Michael Lorenzen earned the win in the top of the eighth by striking out the side with one walk. Raisel Iglesias handled the top of the ninth for his 24th save in 25 tries.
"They have a great lineup," Arrieta said of the Reds. "When Sal goes out and pitches the way he does, it makes them that much tougher. If he pitches like tonight, they're a really good team."
Arrieta ("Snake") retired the first 10 batters he faced before Zack Cozart ("Coach") reached second base on an error by third baseman Kris Bryant on a ball down the line. Votto ("Tokki 2") followed with an RBI single to reach safely in his 28th consecutive game.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Nice relay to the plate: Cozart hit a leadoff single in the Reds' sixth inning before Votto drove a double to the left-field wall that Kyle Schwarber struggled to corral. Despite being under orders to not run at full speed on a sore right quadriceps, Cozart was waved around to the plate by third-base coach Billy Hatcher. Schwarber threw to Baez, who made a perfect relay throw to catcher Rene Rivera that nailed Cozart for the first out. Cincinnati would go on to load the bases but come up empty.
Been caught stealing: With one out in the ninth, Iglesias walked pinch-hitter Jon Jay and brought the tying run to the plate in pinch-hitter Alex Avila. On an 0-1 pitch, Jay attempted to steal second base but Barnhart reacted quickly and fired a perfect throw to second base that easily caught Jay for the second out. Avila was called out on strikes two pitches later from Iglesias to end the game. According to Statcast™, Barnhart's pop time was 1.94 seconds and his arm strength was 81.0 mph. The MLB-average pop time is 2.02 seconds. Barnhart's throw was the fifth-fastest tracked from him this season. His high is 83.5 mph.
QUOTABLE
"I think anyone that has listened to me talk looks at the Reds 20 games under .500 and is going to say, 'This guy is a nut case if he's going to talk about how great the team is.' But, what we do is show up every day and play hard. Today we got a really nice start, really good bullpen work and some really phenomenal late-game heroics. … I think that's what the fans should expect and as we continue to tighten things up and get stronger and get healthier with our pitching. I think this is something that could happen rather quickly, where we start to become a team that isn't just talking about playing hard but talking about winning streaks and better positioning in the standings." -- Reds manager Bryan Price.
REPLAY CHALLENGE
In the seventh inning with Rivera on first base, pinch-hitter Tommy La Stella grounded to Votto, who fielded the ball and touched first base. Votto fired a throw to Cozart covering second base, who had to tag Rivera as he slid. Umpire Bill Miller made a safe call but the Reds challenged it and upon review, the replay official overturned it and Rivera was out in a double play.
WHAT'S NEXT
Cubs: The Cubs open a three-game Players Weekend series at Philadelphia at 6:05 p.m. CT Friday. Jose Quintana ("Q") (4-2, 3.73) will start for Chicago against Jerad Eickhoff ("Eick") (3-7, 4.66). Quintana will be making his eighth start for the Cubs. He has a combined 8-10 record and 4.27 ERA with the White Sox and Cubs.
Reds: The homestand shifts to three games vs. the Pirates, with Friday's series opener set for 7:10 p.m. ET. While it will be Players Weekend and the Pirates will wear their special uniforms, the Reds are observing a military appreciation night and will don camouflage jerseys instead. Robert Stephenson will get the start for Cincinnati.
Five takeaways from the Cubs' loss to the Reds.
By Paul Roumeliotis
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Here are five takeaways from the Cubs' 4-2 loss over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at the Great American Ball Park.
1) Cubs' five-game winning streak snapped. It was the third time Joe Maddon's squad had a five-game winning streak this season. They were in fine position to pull out a win in the series finale, but a late rally by the Reds doomed the Cubs' chances. The Cubs are now 68-58 on the campaign and hold a three-game lead in the NL Central.
2) Pedro Strop's struggles continue. Strop allowed three more runs — all earned — in the eighth inning to give the Reds a 4-2 lead, and win. In his last seven appearances, the 32-year-old reliever has allowed eight earned runs on nine hits in eight innings. His ERA jumped from 2.96 to 3.44 on the year.
3) Jake Arrieta stays hot. The Cubs pitcher recorded eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings and allowed one run — unearned — on four hits and three walks. In his last 10 starts, Arrieta is 6-2 with a 1.85 ERA and 56 strikeouts.
4) Kris Bryant returned. The Cubs third baseman was back in the lineup after missing a game with a hand injury. Bryant was hit by a pitch in his left hand on Tuesday and X-Rays came back negative. On Thursday, he went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double and a run.
5) Ian Happ needs one more homer. The 23-year-old hit another dinger, his 19th of the season. Happ is one home run shy of the Cubs having six players with 20 or more homers in the same season, which has never been done in franchise history. He also has five home runs in his last 10 games.
White Sox cool Twins behind 'Dutch' treat.
(Photo/MLB.com)
Left-hander Derek Holland turned in six strong innings and was backed by a homer from Yolmer Sanchez to lift the White Sox to a 5-1 win over the Twins on Thursday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
It gave the White Sox the series victory in a rare five-game set after a doubleheader on Monday, and dropped the Twins to 5 1/2 games behind Cleveland in the American League Central. The Twins still hold a half-game lead over the Angels, Mariners and Royals for the second AL Wild Card spot.
"It's disappointing to have a chance to win the series and then lose the last couple games," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Just not enough offense the last couple nights. They outplayed us. We made mistakes and they took advantage. We just couldn't get back into the game."
"It would be foolish for me to say it doesn't mean anything," said White Sox manager Rick Renteria of the series win. "It's good for us as an organization, as a club, to come in and play the Twins and take three out of five. It was good to play the way we played."
Twins right-hander Jose Berrios struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings, but was charged with five runs (three earned) to get pegged with the loss. He gave up the homer to Sanchez in the second, endured a three-run fourth that saw the Twins commit two errors, and allowed an RBI double to Kevan Smith in the sixth that knocked him from the game.
It helped Holland pick up his first win since Aug. 8, with one run allowed on three hits and four walks with five strikeouts. Holland, whose nickname is "Dutch" for Players Weekend, surrendered the lone run on a solo shot from Byron Buxton in the sixth. It was the 10th home run of the year for Buxton, who will wear "Buck" on his jersey this weekend.
Holland earned his first win against the Twins since July 25, 2011, at Target Field, snapping a four-game losing streak to them, and improved to 2-4 with an 8.27 ERA over seven starts since the All-Star break.
"Definitely today was a great day," Holland said. "The only disappointment would be the walks. But to go as long as I did, and my guys were making plays out there, that's huge."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Errors prove costly: After Yoan Moncada recorded his first career stolen base, rookie first baseman Mitch Garver booted a grounder from Nicky Delmonico that allowed Moncada to score from second. After an RBI groundout from Tim Anderson, Berrios tried to pick off Smith at third, but it got past Ehire Adrianza, allowing the inning's third run to score.
"It was a ball to my right that was weakly hit, might've been a broken bat, and [second baseman Brian Dozier] was playing more up the middle so I had to try to get to it to make a play on the ball," Garver said of his error. "It hit off the heel of my glove and I ended up slipping."
Sanchez smacks homer: Sanchez hit his second homer of the series, opening the scoring for the White Sox. It was the seventh homer of the year for Sanchez and left the bat at 102.2 mph, traveling a projected 405 feet, per Statcast™.
"It was supposed to be a sinker inside, and I left it over the plate," Berrios said through interpreter Carlos Font. "That was the only hit they got that was a good hit."
QUOTABLE
"I was frustrated. It's just something finally clicking together. It's always something with [White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper] saying, 'You're not off by much. You just got to keep fighting through it,' which I did. Coop and I did a great job of continuing to work every single time out there in the bullpen." -- Holland, on his first quality start since Aug. 2 against Toronto
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Delmonico has reached base in 21 of 22 games played this season, including eight straight. He is hitting .307 with two doubles, six home runs, 15 walks and 12 RBIs in 2017.
WHAT'S NEXT
Twins: Minnesota heads to Toronto for a three-game series that begins Friday at 6:07 p.m. CT. Right-hander Bartolo Colon (5-10, 6.66 ERA) starts for the Twins and has been pitching well recently, posting a 3.67 ERA in four starts in August. Preview >>
White Sox: Miguel Gonzalez opens the three-game weekend series against the Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday (7:10 p.m. CT) on Elvis Night at the ballpark and the start of Players Weekend. Gonzalez Is 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA over his past three starts and 3-2 with a 3.07 ERA in his past seven (six quality). Preview >>
Why White Sox aren't panicked as Yoan Moncada endures 'process'.
By Dan Hayes
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Yoan Moncada trusts the process and that desirable results beyond walks will come soon. The White Sox too have seen plenty of good things from their young second baseman to feel comfortable that even though his average is low he’s on the right track.
Even though he’s off to a slow start in his first month, both Moncada and the White Sox are treating this period as they should — another stage of development. Moncada had two hits in Tuesday’s loss and carried a .189/.330/.358 slash line into the contest in 115 plate appearances.
“His plate discipline is big for me,” hitting coach Todd Steverson said. “He's still trying to pull himself around in terms of timing and understanding how they're pitching him up here. But overall the way that he's been able to get on base still without really being on his best swinging, is pretty positive for him."
"It's a process. Baseball is a process and let them go through it.”
Moncada also sees it as a development period.
He said he hasn’t made many adjustments and primarily has stuck to a routine in which he’s proven to show patience and a good eye. Moncada has only swung at 28.4 percent of the pitches he sees outside the strikezone, according to fangraphs.com. Out of 153 qualified hitters this season, Moncada’s would be tied for the 63rd lowest.
“I’ve just been sticking with my routine,” Moncada said through an interpreter. “I know that good results are going to come. It’s just a part of the process. Sometimes you’re tested to see how tough you are, and then you have to keep doing what you’re supposed to do.”
“Right now, I’m not concerned with results. It’s a learning process, and I’m taking these last weeks of the season like a learning process. I hope the good results are going to be there by the end of the season, but my goal is just to keep improving and keep growing as a player. This is part of that process.”
Both Steverson and manager Rick Renteria said Moncada’s in a good place in part because of his relationship with several veteran hitters. Jose Abreu and former teammate Melky Cabrera, when he was here, have been good sounding boards for Moncada.
Still, Renteria said he saw a different kind of determination from Moncada on Tuesday before he doubled twice and lined out to shortstop. Renteria said Moncada had a better sense of how he wanted to square everything up in batting practice. The manager wasn’t surprised when Moncada produced in Tuesday’s loss.
“Every person has a particular time where you start to get tired of looking a particular way,” Renteria said. “Everybody inches toward their desire to want to improve. Sometimes you have to hit a little wall before you can push through that. Sometimes you have to allow them to experience that.
“He had a desire of wanting to make sure he would hit the ball well and he took that straight into the ballgame. Now he got a couple fastballs up, hittable zones, but he took advantage of it. If he were starting to miss those pitches I would be a little more concerned.”
Tim Anderson wanted chance to lift White Sox to victory.
By Dan Hayes
(Photo/AP)
Tim Anderson has dealt with so many teachable moments this season that an enjoyable one was long overdue.
It arrived in the form of several freezing cold Gatorade showers late Wednesday night following the first walkoff hit of the White Sox shortstop’s career. Grinding through the final six weeks of a sophomore slump, Anderson shook off three hitless at-bats to single in the game-winning run and set off a raucous celebration as the White Sox topped the Minnesota Twins 4-3 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Anderson’s game-winner off Twins reliever Trevor Hildenberger was set up an inning earlier when rookie Yoan Moncada doubled in the tying run while batting right-handed against Taylor Rogers.
“I think it’s a big lift,” Renteria said. “We were talking about how they were trying to be able to do something with the secondary pitches. Obviously, they did both. Obviously, it’s a confidence builder, both of them getting big hits, one to tie and one to go ahead. We were sitting in there today in the last at-bat going, ‘Man, we really want this for Timmy right here.’ Big situation, see how he does and fortunately he was able to get it through the infield.”
Renteria and the coaching staff weren’t the only ones who wanted to see how Anderson would fare in the moment. The second-year player had a sense from the dugout how it all would play out after Avisail Garcia led off the inning with a single to right field. Renteria had Kevan Smith bunt Garcia into scoring position, which led to an intentional walk of Yolmer Sanchez. Sanchez’s free pass brought up Anderson, who had one hit in his last 20 at-bats, including a bases-loaded strikeout in Tuesday’s loss.
“I wanted that moment,” Anderson said.
Before the game, Anderson had a lengthy conversation in the tunnel between the clubhouse and the dugout with hitting coach Todd Steverson. Anderson said much of the discussion surrounded his season and the ways he could benefit from everything he has endured.
Anderson struggled early this season and then battled some more as he dealt with the sudden death of close friend Branden Moss, who was killed in May while trying to help an assault victim. With the help of a counselor, Anderson began to rebound in August, posting a .976 OPS in the first 16 games of the month.
He followed that with another downturn that carried into Wednesday’s game.
“We really were just figuring out who I am and kind of learning from this year,” Anderson said of his discussion with Steverson. “Talking overall about everything that has been going on this year and kind of how I’m maturing as a hitter, just to really get better.”
Anderson shook off three hitless at-bats when he stepped up in the ninth. He had struck out on three pitches in the third inning before, grounded out in the fifth and popped out on the first pitch he saw with the tying run aboard in the seventh.
But Anderson made sure none of that mattered in the ninth.
After he took a first-pitch changeup for a ball, Anderson ripped Hildenberger’s next offering, which caught too much of the plate, into the hole. Running all the way, Garcia raced home and scored when Eddie Rosario’s throw went offline. White Sox players then chased down Anderson and Jose Abreu dropped a full bucket of Gatorade on Anderson’s head with the help of Sanchez, who held him in place.
“I put the first three at-bats behind me and came up big,” Anderson said. “It was an exciting moment. I’m going to enjoy it and wear it until tomorrow.”
Ditto for Moncada, who produced only his second extra-base hit from the right side all season long. While Moncada entered the contest with an .886 OPS against right-handed pitching, he had just a .327 OPS against southpaws. But Moncada took advantage of Leury Garcia’s one-out double even after he fell behind in the count 0-2. Moncada worked the count even, fouled off a fastball and then ripped a curve from Rogers inside the third-base line to tie the game.
“I like the pressure,” Moncada said through an interpreter. “I like being in some at-bats with the game on the line, because that’s something that you can change the course of the game. I like to be that guy, and I like to be the guy to help to win games. I like to get those chances.”
Golf: I got a club for that..... D. Johnson (65) one behind Henley in playoff opener.
By Doug Ferguson
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Golf hasn't felt this easy to Dustin Johnson since he was making it hard for anyone to beat him.
Coming off a week in the Bahamas and switching back to his old putter to rely more on feel, Johnson ran off three birdies over his last six holes at Glen Oaks Club and finished with a 5-under 65 to trail Russell Henley by one shot after the opening round of The Northern Trust.
Johnson missed only two fairways and two greens Thursday afternoon, and he finished with a shot up the hill to 4 feet for one last birdie that gave him his lowest round since he won at Riviera in February to rise to No. 1 in the world.
''Today was much easier than it has been in the past,'' Johnson said. ''I've been saying it's close and I've seen signs of it. But today was the first day where I felt like all day I was really in control of the swing. Hit a lot of really good shots. Drove it well. Did everything really well. It's the first time in a long time I've done that.''
He specifically used as a reference the weeks leading into the Masters, when Johnson looked nearly unstoppable by winning three straight tournaments. And then he was stopped by a staircase in his rental home at the Masters, slipping in socks and wrenching his back. He had to withdraw from Augusta National the next day, and since then he has been trying to get over the back injury and get back his game.
The first of four FedEx Cup playoff events moved this year to Glen Oaks, a course no one in the field knows particularly well. It is spacious and immaculate, the contoured greens that can be difficult to negotiate outside of close range.
Henley brought a conservative strategy of aiming for the safe part of the green, and he converted eight birdies. Seven of them were from 12 feet or closer, a testament to how well he was playing. He also chipped in from 80 feet.
''I don't know what the key is, or the secret,'' Henley said. ''I just tried to hit the fairway, make sure I hit the green when I was in the fairway, and the greens are great and I rolled in a couple of putts.''
Scott Brown, Camilo Villegas and Chris Kirk were at 66, and it was an important start for Villegas and Kirk.
The top 100 in the FedEx Cup after this week advance to the second playoff event at the TPC Boston. Kirk is at No. 97, Villegas is one spot behind. It was even better for a few players who opened with a 67, such as Bubba Watson (No. 113), Martin Flores (No. 118) and Harold Varner III (No. 123).
Flores only got into the top 125 by finishing with an ace, a par and a birdie at the Wyndham Championship.
Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, needs to see a score much better than his 72, which featured two straight birdies at the end but also a pair of double bogeys. Mickelson has played in every Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup since 1994, and he is in danger of being left out of the Presidents Cup next month at Liberty National.
U.S. captain Steve Stricker has said he needs to see signs from the five-time major champion, and Mickelson knows that.
''I would love to be on that team, but I've got to bring something to the table,'' Mickelson said.
PGA champion Justin Thomas, still sluggish from a busy week of trying to deal with his new status as major champion, wasn't expecting much out of his game and dropped two shots early before he rallied for a 68. In his first start since his two-shot victory at Quail Hollow, Thomas was not introduced on the tee as the PGA champion.
''After the drive I hit, I'm kind of glad they didn't,'' he said.
He hit it on the toe of the driver, a duck-hook that he says would have gone about 130 yards. He was exaggerating. It went 221 yards after it clanged out of the trees and into the fairway, leaving him a 2-iron to the green when most players are hitting a wedge or short iron.
British Open champion Jordan Spieth had a 69, while Hideki Matsuyama, the No. 1 seed going into the PGA Tour's version of the postseason, didn't make a birdie and opened with a 74. Rory McIlroy made three bogeys on the back nine and shot 73.
Johnson switched to a TaylorMade Spider putter during the playoffs last year, and he stuck with that up until returning this week and going back to what he used when he won the U.S. Open last summer at Oakmont.
''I got a little bit more feel with the putter instead of the Spider I was using,'' he said. ''I was getting a little bit too mechanical and I was worrying about too many things when I was putting instead of just putting.''
He ran a long birdie putt some 15 feet by the hole at No. 2 and three-putted for bogey. After that, his speed was better and his game was sharp. The 65 was his best round since a 64 in the second round at Riviera.
Prez pick? Mickelson's Cup streak in jeopardy.
By Rex Hoggard
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
“What did he shoot, 2 [over]?” Steve Stricker asked as a cool morning gave way to the last vestiges of summer at Glen Oaks on Thursday.
Although he’d just finished a round of 4 over himself, Stricker’s focus was squarely on Phil Mickelson and how he fared on Day 1 of what is essentially an eight-round Presidents Cup qualifier.
The toughest part of Stricker’s job as the U.S. Presidents Cup captain has been made that much more complicated by Mickelson’s performance this season which has left the southpaw 18th on the points list and in danger of not playing for a U.S. team, any team, for the first time since 1994.
As the Sept. 4 deadline approaches, Mickelson’s plight has been particularly consuming for Stricker, who will make his two captain’s picks following the final round of next week’s Dell Technologies Championship.
Although two stellar weeks could make all of Stricker’s anxiety go away, Mickelson’s start at The Northern Trust wasn’t exactly encouraging, and the fact that Lefty has just a single top-10 finish in the last five months is hard to ignore.
He is, however, Phil Mickelson.
“I’m going to talk to him when this is all over the next two weeks and see how he’s feeling,” Stricker said. “He deserves that, more than anything. He’s been a part of so many teams and he’s shown when he’s down to 30th on the points that he can come and contribute and contribute in a big way.”
Although Stricker stopped short of giving Mickelson the keys to the kingdom when it comes to a potential captain’s pick, it seems clear that when the time comes Lefty will have a voice at the table which creates an interesting dynamic for a player who has never lacked for confidence.
Even if Mickelson doesn’t catch lightning in a bottle over the next fortnight, it’s hard to imagine that the inner competitor would concede that he’s not playing well enough to contribute to the U.S. team at Liberty National.
Asked on Thursday at Glen Oaks if he thought he could be “honest” with Stricker when the time comes Mickelson said, “I will be. I will be.”
Perhaps Mickelson will be able to come to terms with his Presidents Cup plight, but that still leaves Stricker faced with an ever-evolving reality. If not Phil, then who?
“No one else is really standing out in my mind right now. [Kevin] Chappell has played well, he’s No. 11, but 12 through 20 no one has really done anything. I’m looking for someone to really step up and play some good golf,” Stricker said. “If nobody does, then it will be a tough pick.”
That list of would-be picks includes Chappell at No. 11, Brian Harman (12), Jason Dufner (13), Gary Woodland (14), Brandt Snedeker (15), Brendan Steele (16) and Ryan Moore (17).
Of those six players ranked 12th to 17th, only one (Woodland at the Canadian Open) has a top-10 finish over the last month – although Moore did finish tied for 13th at the PGA – and Snedeker recently announced he was done playing this season due to an injury to his sternum joint.
Stricker is also eyeing a team that currently includes five Presidents Cup rookies (to be fair, Koepka’s experience at last year’s Ryder Cup would mitigate some of that inexperience).
Without the likes of Mickelson - who has evolved into the team-room leader - or Jim Furyk, an assistant captain for this year’s matches there’s the potential for a leadership vacuum. Who fills that space without Lefty?
“I don’t know, that’s a good question,” Stricker said. “There could be potentially a lot of leaders. We have [assistant captains] Tiger Woods in our locker room, Davis Love, Freddie [Couples], Jim Furyk. Jordan Spieth is a veteran in so many ways except for his age, there are a lot of guys who are going to lead by example.”
There’s no denying that Mickelson brings more to the team room than just a 23-16-12 record in the matches, and from Stricker’s point of view there’s no statistic to accurately quantify what that means.
“He’s got a calming influence,” Stricker said. “He thinks about everything, he’s got a lot of knowledge. He’s a team guy. He’s important for the team.”
A few weeks ago at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Stricker spoke with Mickelson, encouraged him and offered a final thought, “you’ve got to show me a little bit more than what you’ve shown lately.”
For those who know Stricker, it was entirely out of character and the U.S. captain quickly offered an apology.
“It’s weird coming from a guy who has never won any majors and only won 12 times on Tour telling Phil, 'Hey you’ve got to show me more.' That doesn’t sound right coming from me.”
To Mickelson’s credit, he acknowledged that his current form simply won’t due regardless of how beneficial his experience and leadership could be to what promises to be a young U.S. team.
“I've got to bring something to the table,” Mickelson said. “If I can play well this week and next week and show that I'm playing as well as I know I'm playing, but the only thing that matters is the score.”
All season Mickelson has said his game is close, but now so is a deadline that could potentially end one of the most impressive streaks in golf unless he can turn things around in a hurry.
Payne retiring as Augusta National chairman.
By Golf Channel Digital
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Billy Payne is retiring as chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters, the club announced Wednesday. He will be replaced by Fred Ridley.
Payne, who turns 70 in October, had served in the role since 2006 and was instrumental in modernizing Augusta National, admitting the club’s first female members and growing the game worldwide.
Ridley, a former president of the USGA, has served as the competition chairman since 2007. A former U.S. Amateur champion, Ridley, 65, is the first chairman to have played in the Masters (1976-78).
Payne will retire from his role Oct. 16 and become chairman emeritus.
“The privilege I experienced serving as chairman of Augusta National and the Masters was far greater than I could have ever imagined,” he said in a statement. "This honor, however, is too great for one person to claim as their own for too long a period of time. I retire knowing it is simply the right thing to do – and at the right moment – to open the door and invite someone new to be called upon to lead, bring forth new ideas and craft a new vision that will honor our founders and serve the game of golf for many years to come.”
| Augusta National Golf Club chairmen | Years served |
| Clifford Roberts | 1931-1976 |
| William H. Lane | 1976-1980 |
| Hord H. Hardin | 1980-1991 |
| Jackson T. Stephens | 1991-1998 |
| William W. Johnson | 1998-2006 |
| William P. Payne | 2006-2017 |
| Fred S. Ridley | 2017 - |
Payne’s 11-year term – the second-longest in club history – was arguably the most transformative in the 84-year history of Augusta National.
In 2012, the club announced that it had admitted its first female members, marking a significant departure from the previous tenure of Hootie Johnson, who had vehemently defended the male-only membership policy. ANGC now has three female members: Condoleezza Rice, Darla Moore and Virginia Rometty.
Payne has also succeeded in growing golf worldwide, creating the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship on the eve of Masters week, starting amateur tournaments in Asia and South America, and spearheading golf’s return to the Olympic Games.
As much as the course has stayed the same inside the ropes, Payne has significantly upgraded areas like building a new media center and Berckmans Place, for corporate hospitality. In one of his final acts as chairman, the club purchased land from neighboring Augusta Country Club that secured the course’s border and made room for the possible expansion of the par-5 13th hole.
Payne and Ridley were elevated into their new roles in 2006, when Ridley became the chairman of the competition and rules committee.
Ridley, who becomes the club’s seventh chairman, was a past president of the USGA from 2004-05. In the 2013 Masters, Ridley was involved in a controversial rules situation involving Tiger Woods, when he gave Woods a two-shot penalty instead of disqualifying him for taking an improper drop.
Said Payne: “Fred will be an excellent chairman who will serve with my complete and enthusiastic support.”
Who is Fred Ridley? A look at the new ANGC chair.
By Golf Channel Digital
(Photo/www.usatoday.com)
Fred Ridley will become Augusta National Golf Club chairman when Billy Payne steps down on Oct. 16. Here's some biographical information on the former U.S. Amateur champion:
FRED S. RIDLEY
Age: 65
Born: Lakeland, Fla.
Residence: Tampa, Fla.
Education: Undergraduate degree at University of Florida (1974); Law degree from Stetson College of Law (1977).
Occupation: Business lawyer and partner in international law firm Foley & Lardner LLP
Family: Wife Betsy; daughters Maggie, Libby and Sydney.
Notes:
- Elected seventh chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters
- Named chairman of Masters competition committee in 2007
- Served as president of USGA from 2004-05
- First became member of USGA’s executive committee in 1994
- In 2006, recipient of PGA Distinguished Service Award
- Won 1975 U.S. Amateur at Country Club of Virginia, defeating Keith Fergus in the championship; Beat Curtis Strange and Andy Bean on his way to victory
- Competed in three Masters (1976, 1977, 1978), one U.S. Open (1976) and one Open Championship (1976). He missed the cut in each
- Competed in 1977 Walker Cup for a winning U.S. squad and was U.S. Walker Cup captain in 1987 and 1989
- Three-time letterman on University of Florida golf team
NASCAR: Yes, there is NASCAR racing Sunday: Xfinity entry list for Road America.
By Jerry Bonkowski
(Photo/Getty Images)
Who says there’s no NASCAR racing this weekend?
Sure, the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series will enjoy the weekend off, but not the Xfinity Series.
Drivers in that series will be competing Sunday at what has become one of the most challenging and popular road courses on the Xfinity schedule: the twisting 4.048-mile road course at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
A total of 42 cars are listed on the preliminary entry list released Monday.
Only 40 cars will qualify to race in Sunday’s Johnsonville 180 (3 p.m. ET on NBC). This will be the third road course the series has raced on in the last four races.
Ryan Ellis announced Tuesday he will drive the No. 07 Chevrolet for SS Greenlight Racing, which is normally driven by Ray Black Jr. It will be Ellis’ first NASCAR start of the year.
In 2016, Ellis made four Cup starts, 16 Xfinity starts and four Truck Series starts.
One driver position and one crew chief position remain to be filled.
- Team JD Motorsports has not named a driver for the No. 15 Chevrolet.
- And the No. 72 Chevrolet, driven by John Jackson and owned by James Carter, has yet to name a crew chief for the race.
This will be the eighth Xfinity race at Road America since the series first visited there in 2010.
The winners since then have been Carl Edwards (2010), Reed Sorenson (2011), Nelson Piquet Jr. (2012), A.J. Allmendinger (2013), Brendan Gaughan (2014), Paul Menard (2015) and Michael McDowell last year.
Click here for the preliminary entry list for Sunday’s Xfinity race at Road America.
NASCAR America: How concerned should Jimmie Johnson’s team be ahead of playoffs?
By Daniel McFadin
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
What happened to that Jimmie Johnson guy?
The seven-time Cup champion is fourth on the playoff grid but his performance this summer has been anything but stellar since he last won at Dover in June.
In the 11 races since, the No. 48 Chevrolet has only two top 10s (Michigan I, New Hampshire I) and they were both 10th-place finishes. Johnson also had four DNFs in that stretch, including three in four races at one point.
He hasn’t led a lap since the July race at Daytona.
But with two races until the playoffs start, the NASCAR America crew discusses whether the No. 48 team should be doubted, especially given its history of underperforming in the summer before going on championship runs.
“During his run of five straight championships, what we always said about Jimmie Johnson then was don’t doubt them until they prove they can’t just flip a switch,” Nate Ryan said. “They did every year from 2006 until 2010 and I think that conversation is back in play after last year. … I think they’re going to be able to find the switch come Chicagoland just like last year.”
Said Steve Letarte: “I won’t doubt them a second time. What we saw last year was Jimmie Johnson, a veteran racer, understanding how long 36 races are and I think that’s what you see. They went out and they won, they won early. They guaranteed themselves a spot in the playoffs. I think they would love to have more playoff points, but it’s not worth the 100 percent commitment it takes to run with Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch.”
Hong Kong group to sponsor Richard Childress Racing Xfinity car at Darlington.
By Jerry Bonkowski
(Photo/Richard Childress Racing)
Richard Childress Racing on Wednesday announced a new one-race sponsorship for the Sept. 2 Sports Clips Haircuts VFW 200 Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.
The unique sponsorship is with KCMG, a motorsports group based in Hong Kong, China. KCMG was established in 2007 and has become a major force in development of professional racing across the Asian Pacific region.
It is also currently expanding operations to Europe.
Brandon Jones will drive the No. 33 KCMG Chevrolet in the race.
Both RCR and KCMG are looking at a potential future full-time sponsorship in NASCAR, as well as develop additional racing opportunities in the Asia Pacific region.
“The opportunity arose to partner with Richard Childress Racing, one of the premier stock car racing teams, and we felt that a partnership for a Xfinity Series race would be the next best step in exploring opportunities in NASCAR,” KCMG founder Dr. Paul Ip said in a media release.
KCMG entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2013 and claimed the LMP2 win in the French Endurance race in 2015.
SOCCER: Fire Talk Podcast: Can the Fire turn things around?
By Dan Santaromita
(Photo/USA TODAY)
The Fire are in the middle of a slump and need to turn things around. Dan Santaromita and Shane Murray (MLSsoccer.com) recap the loss to Toronto and talk about the Fire's recent struggles.
Hear from Bastian Schweinsteiger as he talked about the team's slide after training on Tuesday.
Then Dan and Shane answer some fan questions and look ahead to the upcoming game against Minnesota.
Listen to the full episode at this link here.
Top Premier League story lines – Week 3.
By Nicholas Mendola
(Photo/Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
The EFL Cup, Liverpool, and Everton gave us tastes of Premier League play this week, but Week 3 of the top flight has been dancing through our minds for some time.
There are several fantastic match-ups on the docket for Saturday and Sunday, so much so that we crammed six matches into our Top Five story lines for the weekend.
Enjoy.
Will the real Arsenal please stand up?
Liverpool – Arsenal (Sunday, 11 a.m. ET, NBCSN) [ STREAM ]
Host side Liverpool could’ve easily had its name in the same question about, oh, 36 hours ago, but the Reds’ work in dispatching a decent Hoffenheim team from the UEFA Champions League deserves kudos.
So which Arsenal team is a better indication of the Gunners we’ll see for most of this season: the club that batted Leicester City to a 4-3 win, or the side that failed to find its finish (okay, okay, also got a load of bad decisions against it) in a loss to Stoke City? Probably the former, but Liverpool will be a step up in class.
Blues and Toffees aim to make significant statement
Chelsea – Everton (Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN) [ STREAM ]
Two sides coming off quite decent results but still with plenty to prove. Chelsea won at Wembley against Tottenham but didn’t exactly look like the club that should’ve won the contest, while Everton came close to tossing away a 45-minute lead, up a man against Manchester City.
No shame in either of those facts, but here is a big chance to make a strong statement for the men of Antonio Conte and Ronald Koeman. That’s especially true for the latter, as Everton will be just over 60 hours removed from an elimination game in Croatia (The Toffees advanced and saw an amazing Gylfi Sigurdsson goal).
Jose Mourinho’s ruthless Red Devils step up in competition
Manchester United – Leicester City (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC) [ STREAM ]
At the risk of speaking too soon, the Foxes look pretty darn good and are a seven-minute collapse at Arsenal from 2-0. Want to impress some more folks? Try and hold down a Manchester United side which is already recalling some of the better sides in recent history, with twin 4-0 wins to start the season.
Are you for real, Messrs Wagner and Pulis?
Huddersfield Town – Southampton (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, NBC Sports Gold) [ STREAM ]
West Bromwich Albion – Stoke City (Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET, CNBC) [ STREAM ]
We snuck a pair of matches into this one, because both Huddersfield Town and West Brom have eyebrows threatening to leap off foreheads given 2-0 starts to the season. Town beat unimpressive Newcastle and Palace, while West Brom knocked off Burnley and Bournemouth. Neither is expected to contend for the Top Seven, but perhaps will give more people reason to consider the idea with strong performances against better opposition.
Nobody wants to go 0-3
Newcastle United – West Ham United (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, NBCSN) [ STREAM ]
The Hammers have certainly looked much better than the Magpies, but both managers have been feeling the heat for different reasons. West Ham has spent good money this summer and last, and Slaven Bilic could have a red hot seat with a loss against the moribund Magpies. For the hosts’ part, Newcastle looked decent against Spurs before Jonjo Shelvey was sent off for a dirtbag move on Dele Alli. Then they didn’t bother to show up against Huddersfield Town. One may wind up 0-fer the season, though given what we discussed earlier a 2-2 draw sounds about fitting.
Prince-Wright’s Premier League picks – Week 3.
By Joe Prince-Wright
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
We have one more weekend until the international break when teams can take a little breather from a hectic start to the season. Let’s make it count.
If you, like me, love to dissect all the games and predict what the score will be and which team will win, I encourage you to get involved in the comments section below. Let’s have a bit of fun.
Okay, so I’ve consulted my crystal ball and here’s how we see things panning out. Listen carefully, because this is very specific.
With the first section labelled “basically, free money” for the picks I think are dead certs. The section labelled “don’t touch this” means if you’re betting I advise you to stay clear, while the “so you’re telling me there’s a chance” section are the longshots. If it is better odds you are after, those are the picks to go for.
BASICALLY, FREE MONEY
Man United 3-1 Leicester City – (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC) – [STREAM]
Bournemouth 0-4 Man City – (Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN) – [STREAM]
Watford 3-1 Brighton – (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET) – [STREAM]
Tottenham 2-0 Burnley – (Sunday, 11 a.m. ET) – [STREAM]
DON’T TOUCH THIS…
Chelsea 2-1 Everton – (Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN) – [STREAM]
Huddersfield 2-2 Southampton – (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET) – [STREAM]
Liverpool 1-2 Arsenal – (Sunday, 11 a.m. ET, NBCSN) – [STREAM]
West Brom 1-1 Stoke – (Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET) – [STREAM]
“SO YOU’RE TELLING ME THERE’S A CHANCE…”
Newcastle 2-1 West Ham – (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, NBCSN) – [STREAM]
Crystal Palace 0-1 Swansea City – (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET) – [STREAM]
UEFA Europa League wrap: Everton, Marseille, AC Milan move on.
By Nicholas Mendola
(AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Gylfi Sigurdsson marked the first start of his Everton career with a bang, hammering a goal over the keeper from just past half as the Toffees advanced to the UEFA Europa League’s Round of 16.
Elsewhere, Marseille and AC Milan moved on, Ajax was sent home, and USMNT prospect Ethan Horvath had a busy and rough night between the sticks in Greece.
Hajduk Split 1-1 (1-3 agg.) Everton
Josip Radosevic hit a rocket just before halftime to pull to within one of Everton, but new Toffees midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson sank the drama with a 46th minute marker.
The goal came from more than 40 yards out and meant Hajduk would need a three-goal win. The hosts got a prime chance to get one back when Ashley Williams felled his mark inside the 18, but Jordan Pickford robbed Said Ahmed Said with a quality diving stop of his penalty attempt.
AEK Athens 3-0 (3-0 agg.) Club Brugge
American goalkeeper Ethan Horvath was under siege, with the Greek hosts outshooting Brugge 14-4. Lazaros Christodoulopolous scored in the 27th minute and Andre Simoes nabbed two goals in the win.
Shkendija 0-1 (0-7 agg.) AC Milan
No six-spot this time, just Patrick Cutrone’s 13th minute finish to book Milan’s place in the group stage.
Marseille 3-0 (4-1 agg.) Domzale
Valere Germain scored twice and ex-Newcastle United attacker Florian Thauvin nabbed an 85th minute finish to ease the heavily favored Ligue 1 side into the next stage.
Elsewhere
AEK Larnaca 0-0 (1-3 agg.) Viktoria Plzen
Dynamo Kiev 3-1 (3-1 agg.) Maritimo
Oleksandria 1-2 (2-3 agg.) BATE Borisov
Red Bull Salzburg 4-0 (7-1 agg.) Viitorul Constanta
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 2-2 (3-2 agg.) Rheindorf Altach
Ostersunds 2-0 (3-3 agg.) PAOK Salonika
Sheriff Tiraspol 0-0 (1-1 agg.) Legia Warsaw
Zenit Saint Petersburg 2-0 (2-1 agg.) Utrecht
Austria Wien 0-1 (2-2 agg.) NK Osijek
Crvena Zvedzda 2-1 (4-4 agg.) Krasnodar
Braga 3-2 (5-3 agg.) FH Hafnarfjordur
Rosenborg 3-2 (4-2 agg.) Ajax
Athletic Bilbao 1-0 (4-2 agg.) Panathinaikos
Videoton 0-4 (0-4 agg.) Partizan Belgrade
Skenderbeu 0-0 (1-1 agg.) Dinamo Zagreb
Midtjylland 1-1 (3-4 agg.) Apollon Limassol
Suduva 0-0 (0-2 agg.) Ludogorets Razgrad
Fenerbahce 1-2 (1-4 agg.) Vardar
NCAAFB: CFT 2017 Preseason Previews: The Big Ten.
By Kevin McGuire
(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
After hearing calls about how great the Big Ten was becoming, the conference fell flat on its face during the postseason. Ohio State was blanked in the College Football Playoff by eventual national champion Clemson. Michigan couldn’t hold on to beat Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Penn State blew a double-digit fourth-quarter lead in the Rose Bowl against USC. The rest of the conference went 3-4.
Now, entering the 2017 season, the Big Ten is once again looking to prove itself among its power conference peers, and it just may have some teams able to help wave the Big Ten banner. The Big Ten may even have a chance to place not one, but two teams in the College Football Playoff if things go down in their favor in the Pac-12 and Big 12 (or, of course, in the ACC and SEC).
BIG TEN EAST
1. Ohio State (11-2 in 2016, lost Fiesta Bowl vs. Clemson in College Football Playoff semifinal)
What is not to like about the Buckeyes this season? The Big Ten’s deepest team across the board thanks to multiple years of bringing in the top recruiting classes in the Big Ten seems to only be getting stronger. In 2017, the Buckeyes will have a tremendous defensive front led by Sam Hubbard and a strong linebacking unit with Chris Worley. If there is one concern, it might be in the secondary. On offense, J.T. Barrett is back once again and has the luxury of handing off to sophomore running back Mike Weber. The expectations are high for the Ohio State offense with new offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson but we’ll see how quickly that offense gels. The Bucks also get some of the toughest games at home — Oklahoma and Penn State — although road trips to Nebraska, Iowa, and Michigan are not to be taken lightly. Not only is Ohio State a favorite in the Big Ten, but they might prove to be a favorite to win the national championship for the second time in the College Football Playoff era.
2. Penn State (11-3, Big Ten champion, lost Rose Bowl vs. USC)
The Nittany Lions surged last year and will be out to prove the 2016 season’s Big Ten championship was not a fluke. The Big Ten’s best offense will shine in Happy Valley with RB Saquon Barkley, QB Trace McSorley, TE Mike Gesicki and more led by offensive coordinator Joe Moorehead, but the defense will have to show a little more development and improvement this season to avoid some slips along the way. If Penn State wins every game they are favored in, they could be making a legitimate playoff case at 11-1 without a Big Ten conference or division championship. Road games at Iowa, Northwestern, and Michigan State will be dangerous.
3. Michigan (10-3, lost Orange Bowl vs. Florida State)
Jim Harbaugh will have the Wolverines looking pretty good once again this season even after replacing a good number of starters from last season. Michigan has started to catch up on the recruiting trail and Harbaugh has proven more than capable of developing the players to reach their full potential. And after slumping to the finish line last season, the motivation will be to finish what was started a season ago. The Wolverines return just one starter on defense (but they do have Rashan Gary) but have a good chance to get past that initial hurdle while everyone finds a role. The offense must figure out its quarterback situation, but can rely on running back Chris Evans to have a breakout season. Michigan will be a slight work in progress this season, but could still potentially be undefeated when they make the trip to Penn State in mid-October. Tread carefully with Michigan in 2017.
4. Michigan State (3-9)
This season could not possibly go worse for Mark Dantonio and the Spartans, could it? Of course it could, with just a small handful of returning starter from a woeful 2016 season. Despite all of the trends seemingly going against the Spartans, Dantonio should not be counted out just yet. A new season will offer Michigan State a chance to start from scratch without the preseason expectations of competing for a Big Ten title weighing on their shoulders. LJ Scott is still there to run the ball and he will have to be the main guy until the rest of the offense figures things out, including at quarterback. The Spartans defense has traditionally been the strong suit, but they will also have to forget about what happened last year and get back to fundamentals. The Spartans can still be tough, but they may lack enough playmakers to do any serious damage in the division. A return to the bowl season, however, is not that far out of reach.
5. Maryland (6-7, lost Quick Lane Bowl vs. Boston College)
Maryland is a program that should be watched closely because head coach DJ Durkin is starting to get the blueprint off the ground in College Park. For 2017, the season will be more about continued growth within the program and develop a young roster to be able to physically go toe-to-toe with their division rivals. Maryland may be capable of scoring an upset (Nov. 11 vs. Michigan, Nov. 25 vs. Penn State?), but they are still at least a minimum of a couple of more years away from having the kind of size, durability, and depth needed to make a run at the division crown. Instead, the goal of getting to and winning a bowl game will be seen as a step in the right direction, and that is well within reason.
6. Indiana
Tom Allen takes over as the head coach of the Hoosiers on a full-time basis, and he has a good amount of work to do. For starters, Indiana has to reshape its offensive approach, and it is expected the offense will downshift gears in the post-Kevin Wilson era. The Hoosiers also have big shoes to fill on offense. Richard Lagow will provide some stability as the starting quarterback but he must cut down on mistakes. Nick Westbrook will remain the top target after 995 receiving yards and six touchdowns a season ago. Indiana is not typically known for its defense, but Allen’s squad returns almost an entire defense with starting experience, and that defense can do enough to keep some games within reach if the offense gets on track.
7. Rutgers (2-10)
Year one under head coach Chris Ash revealed that the Rutgers rebuild is going to take some time and patience. Fortunately for Rutgers, Ash appears to have the right mindset for the challenges that lay ahead. Rather than immediately set the bar as high as winning the Big Ten, Rutgers simply needs to focus on the little things that build a program. As bad as things were for Rutgers a year ago, there are some reasons to be at least a bit more optimistic this season. Having a healthy Janarion Grant is among them. Grant is arguably the most electric player in the Big Ten and he looks to come back for a strong season in the offense and special teams after having his 2016 season cut short due to injury. The defense also returns a good amount of starting experience, which could potentially pay off in the growing and maturing process with the program. reaching a bowl game will be a reach for Rutgers, but improving on last year’s win total should absolutely be expected.
BIG TEN WEST
1. Wisconsin (11-3, Big Ten West champion, won Cotton Bowl vs. Western Michigan)
The Badgers took an unfortunate blow this summer with the loss of linebacker Jack Cichy, but the Badgers have plenty of returning talent on offense and defense to keep things running smoothly in Madison. The Badgers running game will always be in good form behind an offensive line returning just about everybody, and tight end Troy Fumagalli will be a big target to trust. Plus, the schedule is as favorable as possible with no Ohio State or Penn State, but a home game against Michigan late in the season. The Badgers also get Northwestern and Iowa at home, but must go to Nebraska. The Badgers appear to be in a great spot to get back to Indy.
2. Nebraska (9-4, lost Music City Bowl vs. Tennessee)
The Cornhuskers stumbled their way to the finish last season. After starting the season 7-0, Nebraska’s season went off the rails with an overtime loss at Wisconsin and a 59-point beating at Ohio State as Nebraska dropped four of the final six games, including the bowl game. If Nebraska is going to improve their chances of competing for the Big Ten West, getting stronger up front will be the key. If the offensive line doesn’t improve, the signature running game will not be a factor, and the passing game will not be a consistent threat despite a pair of talented receivers like De’Mornay Pierson-El and Stanley Morgan.
3. Northwestern (7-6, won Pinstripe Bowl vs. Pittsburgh)
Those pesky Wildcats will again be a thorn in the sides for a handful of teams this season. Pat Fitzgerald continues to keep the Wildcats playing well and that should continue in 2017 with one of the top[ running backs in the Big Ten; Justin Jackson. Jackson will rack up big rushing numbers once again this season, but there may not be a tremendous amount of support from the rest of the offense, and that could ultimately keep Northwestern from making a serious push for the division. But Northwestern is going to score an upset somewhere this season, and a home game against Penn State (a week after facing Wisconsin) should not be overlooked.
4. Iowa (8-5, lost Outback Bowl vs. Florida)
There are two strengths for Iowa this season, and neither one of them will help make the Hawkeyes a legitimate Big Ten title contender. The offensive line should be dominant enough to give Akrum Wadley plenty of opportunities to grind out yardage. The linebackers should be steady enough to hold down the fort in the middle of the field as well. Other than that, there are some questions about Iowa this season. One drastic change could come on the offense, where offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz is expected to open things up with the offense. We’ll see how quickly that changes Iowa’s outlook. Until then, Iowa will be a stingy team (just ask Michigan) lacking much firepower.
5. Minnesota (9-4, won Holiday Bowl vs. Washington State)
Expect good things to come at Minnesota, where P.J. Fleck is already kicking up dust and getting the engines going on the recruiting trail. Fleck is going to provide a spark with the Gophers, but it may be another year or so before things really get going in the Big Ten West. The schedule is more difficult than it was a season ago with a pretty brutal November slate. The Gophers do have Rodney Smith to run the ball, and he can do damage catching the ball as well. A lack of depth will be addressed over time, but for now, it remains a serious concern for Fleck and his staff.
6. Purdue (3-9)
Fleck stole the show when it came to new coaching hires, but Purdue came away with a solid hire that should start paying off rather quickly. Jeff Brohm may have a complete rebuild on his hands in front of a challenging schedule, one should expect Purdue’s offense to start improving immediately. Success in 2017 should not be judged by the win total, because Purdue simply does not have the talent to win much more than they did last year, but having David Blough back to lead an offense in transition will be a benefit while receivers find themselves and the offense continues to build using a new offensive philosophy. Better days are coming, but they will be few and far between in 2017.
7. Illinois (3-9)
Hiring Lovie Smith was supposed to have a positive impact on the Illini. Instead, the program took steps backward and now Illinois is in serious danger of falling to the bottom of the conference while others improve. Recruiting has not gone well with Smith as the head coach, and this year’s team has few options to replace whatever key players are moving on. This is a young team that will need time to grow and develop, but any serious signs of progress will be more likely to show up in 2018 if you are being optimistic.
BIG TEN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PREDICTION
Ohio State over Wisconsin
College football rule changes 2017: Area for horse-collar tackle penalties expanded.
By Ben Kercheval
The three rule changes for 2017 are focused on player safety.
College football tweaks its rules every year. This year, three new rules have been approved for the 2017 season. Because 2017 is considered an "off year" for rules legislation, the minor tweaks were limited to directly impacting player safety.
Earlier this year, the NCAA Football Rules Committee proposed changes to horse-collar penalties, leaping/hurdling plays and knee pads. As noted by the National Football Foundation, those changes were approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel.
Those new rule modifications are as follows ...
Horse-collar tackles: A penalty for a horse collar will now include the nameplate area of a player's jersey. Previously, the rule applied to the inside collar of the shoulder pad and jersey. "The committee recognizes that on occasion a tackler grabs the nameplate area and jerks the ball carrier down, with the same effect as if his grip was on the collar."
Leaping and hurdling: It is now illegal for a defensive player to run toward the neutral zone and leap or hurdle in an attempt to block a field goal attempt. This was previously only a penalty if the offending player landed on someone else. The committee made the change after leaping/hurdling players were injured in attempting to block kicks.
Knee pads (2018): Beginning in 2018, pants and knee pads are required to cover a player's knees. This was only a recommendation before. Because some schools have already purchased equipment for the upcoming season, the new rule will not go into effect until 2018. There was concern about players not properly covering their knees to avoid potential injury.
Additionally, there is a point of emphasis on game time, which the NFF notes has increased by an average of 13 minutes -- from three hours and nine minutes to three hours and 22 minutes -- over the past eight years. Game officials will be tasked with being more efficient with dead-ball intervals. Halftimes, currently set at 20 minutes, can also be shortened if both schools agree on a set time.
Candid Coaches: Cheating like Wakeyleaks happens often in college football.
By Dennis Dodd
(Graphic illustration by Michael Meredith)
Wakeyleaks appeared to be a one-off incident, but it goes down more often than you might think.
Following in the footsteps of our college basketball brethren here at CBS Sports, college football writers Dennis Dodd, Chip Patterson and Barrett Sallee spoke with one-fifth of the 130 active coaches leading FBS teams entering the 2017 season. They asked for honest opinions on everything from NCAA rules to social issues to their peers in the profession. We shared their candid thoughts over a two-week period leading into the season.
When the Wakeyleaks scandal hit during the 2016, it seemed like a one-off issue. But in our anonymous poll of college football coaches, one in four admitted that they have been the victim of having a game plan, plays or some other proprietary information either stolen by an opponent or given to them by some nefarious means. We asked ...
Do you believe an opponent has ever had proprietary information about your team entering a game?
| Answer | Responses |
|---|---|
| Yes | 26 percent |
| No | 74 percent |
Explain yourselves
- "Is there insider trading on Wall Street? Is college football -- in various parts of the country -- at least as big a business as Wall Street?"
- "I know there are schools that go through every trash can before and after a game [to make sure nothing sensitive is left behind]."
- "I get this call. You can tell the guy's voice is all hurried, and he's on this pay phone. The [opponent] had this field goal fake. The guy says, 'When No. 3 is in, [the opponent] is going to do this.' I made him repeat it. Sure enough, first drive the ball is on the 28 or 33 -- and guess who comes trotting out there? No. 3. … Basically everybody starts yelling and pointing, and we basically talked them out of it. They call timeout and take No. 3 off the field and kick a field goal. For one, I got the call. Two, they [were going to run the play]."
- "I have been involved with information being sent. It has happened to me, a long time ago. But a lot of that stuff is overrated as to how it will impact the game."
Breaking it down
College football has moved on from one of the biggest cheating scandals of our time. No, not USC, Ohio State or Penn State -- Wake Forest.
If that doesn't immediately register, you were either never aware or underestimated the impact of Wakeyleaks. The Wake Forest color man -- in apparent retaliation to not becoming a member of Dave Clawson's staff -- provided proprietary scheme information to opponents Army, Virginia Tech and Louisville. At least.
As we wrap up our Candid Coaches series, the question must be asked: Was Wakeyleaks a one-off or a symptom of something larger? Was that color man, Tommy Elrod, just a vengeful loon or an example of schools doing anything to get an edge?
Almost three-fourths of head coaches responding to our survey said there was no evidence of an opponent ever having proprietary game information about their team.
But there is a reason team underlings clean out trash cans before and after each game. They're looking for information (at home games) and trying to remove any evidence of it (at road games).
One coach I talked to for the survey remains convinced a conference opponent had some of his plays. When an anonymous source called to give him that rival's fake field goal play, the coach gladly accepted that information.
This series started with some startling revelations about NCAA cheating. It concludes with a discussion of on-field cheating.
There is a distinction to be made. The normal sign-stealing stuff doesn't count. As the Army investigation concluded, that sort of thing is considered "ethical."
We're talking proprietary info that can actively be used against an opponent.
Once again, there isn't a majority, but there are some juicy stories from the minority who have experienced this sort of thing.
And it isn't going to end anytime soon.
"Is there insider trading on Wall Street?" one coach asked. "Is college football in various parts of the country at least as big a business as Wall Street?"
Of course. That's what makes the game both great and ripe for abuse.
NCAABKB: Great Alaska Shootout will end after 2017.
By The Associated Press
The University of Alaska Anchorage says the 40th Great Alaska Shootout will be the last edition of the long-running college basketball tournament.
Chancellor Sam Gingerich said Thursday that the university can no longer sustain funding for the annual Thanksgiving week tournament.
The shootout began in 1978 and is the longest-running regular-season college basketball tournament.
The event brought the highest level of basketball competition to Alaska, with appearances in the men's bracket by Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA and other perennial national contenders.
In recent years, as early season tournaments multiplied, top teams chose warmer venues.
The 2017 GCI Great Alaska Shootout begins Nov. 21 with the four-team women's tournament. The field includes Binghamton, Tulsa, Maryland Eastern Shore and host Alaska-Anchorage.
The men's tournament begins Nov. 22 with Cal Poly, Central Michigan, College of Charleston, CSU Bakersfield, Idaho, Sam Houston State, Santa Clara and host Alaska-Anchorage.
UPI Horse Racing Weekend Preview.
By Robert Kieckhefer
For the first time since 1982 and only the second time ever, the three individual winners of the U.S. Triple Crown series will face off against one another in the weekend's racing feature, Saturday's $1.25 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga -- the "Midsummer Derby."
While the Travers is the focus, it's far from the only big deal brewing during the weekend. Also in action are the likes of Songbird, Defrong, Lady Eli, Mind Your Biscuits and Irish invader Idaho.
There are five Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" races -- three at Saratoga and one at Del Mar, the site of this fall's Breeders' Cup World Championships. Two of those are sprint races. Woodbine has graded stakes on the turf and the all-weather course. Monmouth graces the Jersey Shore with the Philip H. Islin.
On the international front, Elate romped in Thursday's Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks and Ulysses whipped some of the best 3-year-olds in Wednesday's Group 1 Juddmonte International -- both earning Breeders' Cup berths. Friday, Lady Aurelia goes after the Group 1 Nunthorpe, which also offers a spot in the November World Championships at Del Mar.
Keep track of the busy weekend with coverage by Horse Racing Radio Network (www.horseracingradio.net) and learn even more about the contenders from HRRN's Jude Feld at www.popejude.com.
Meanwhile, like Ulysses, we're off on a voyage:
Classic Division
With year-end honors up for grabs and November's Breeders' Cup Classic suddenly seeming a lot more competitive, Saturday's Travers has even more than its usual grand luster as Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming, Preakness victor Cloud Computing and Belmont winner Tapwrit prepare to face the starter.
In similar circumstances in 1982, Runaway Groom ran from last to win the 1 1/4-mile classic over all three Triple Crown winners. The only other time these reels came up on the machine, in 1918, Sun Briar was the Travers winner with all three Triple Crown winners in his wake.
There's no guarantee this year's version won't be a repeat.
Tapwrit finished sixth in the Derby and hasn't raced since his Belmont Stakes triumph. Trainer Todd Pletcher said at this week's post-position draw he passed up the Grade II Jim Dandy at the Spa and the Grade II Haskell at Monmouth Park to keep the Tapit colt fresh for the Travers. "Everyone was in agreement that the Travers was the race for him," Pletcher said.
Pletcher, of course, also will saddle Derby winner Always Dreaming. The Bodemeister colt has disappointed since the Run for the Roses, finishing eighth in the Preakness, then third in the Jim Dandy. "We've done a better job with him coming into this race," Pletcher said of Always Dreaming. "Honestly, I think we left him probably a little bit short for the Jim Dandy."
Cloud Computing, a Maclean's Music colt, returned from his Preakness triumph to run a dull fifth in the Jim Dandy. Trainer Chad Brown said the track on Jim Dandy day "was very demanding ... This horse has never let us down in a workout or a race except that one day. Just didn't come out of that race like we've normally seen." Since then, he said, Cloud Computing has worked well and he is ready to shine again.
The competition in the Travers includes Jim Dandy winner Good Samaritan; Haskell winner Girvin; Kentucky Derby runner-up Lookin at Lee; early Triple Crown contenders McCraken, Irap, and Gunnevera; Rachel Alexandra's half-brother Fayeq; and West Coast invader West Coast, who won the Grade III Los Alamitos Derby in his last outing and will try to give trainer Bob Baffert back-to-back Travers wins following last year's tour de force by Arrogate.
All in all, not a bad little race.
Battle of Midway, the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, runs in Saturday's $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes at 1 mile on the Del Mar main track. The Jerry Hollendorfer trainee won the Grade III Affirmed at Santa Anita in June, then traveled back east to finish sixth in the Grade I Haskell at Monmouth after a troubled start. This field also includes Santa Anita Derby winner Gormley, who finished ninth in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Belmont Stakes. Klimt comes to this after a runner-up finish behind West Coast in the Los Alamitos Derby.
The other weekend race featuring in the Classic division is Saturday's $100,000, Grade III Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park. Eagle, Conquest Big E, Mr. Jordan and Just Call Kenny all seem well matched with only Discreet Lover listed at double digits on the morning line in a field of five.
Already in the books: Cupid tracked the early pace in Wednesday's $75,000 Harry F. Brubaker Stakes at Del Mar, came three-wide around the turn and built enough of a lead that he could hold off the late charge of Curlin Rules by 3/4 length. Soi Phet finished third. Cupid, a 4-year-old Tapit colt, ran 1 mile on a fast track in 1:36.41 with Rafael Bejarano up for trainer Bob Baffert. It was his first start since winning the Grade I Gold Cup at Santa Anita nearly three months earlier, going 10 furlongs. Baffert said he will move on to either the $750,000 Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Oct. 7 or the $300,000 Grade I Awesome Again at Santa Anita Sept. 30.
Sprint
What a race Saturday's $600,000 Grade I Forego promises to be, and with an unusual international flair at that. The 7-furlongs test at Saratoga, a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In", has last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Defrong, who unseated Mike Smith at the start of his only 2017 race, resulting in only his second career loss. It also has the winner of this year's Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, Mind Your Biscuits, who returned to the track July 8 with a win in the Grade II Belmont Sprint. Then there's Ross, a German-trained internationalist who finished second in the Group 2 Godolphin Mile, only a nose behind Second Summer and won over the Deauville all-weather course on Aug. 4. Stallwalkin Dude hasn't been quite himself so far in his 7-year-old campaign but won the restricted Tale of the Cat at Saratoga Aug. 11 and will be a very square price. Also not to be dismissed are Awesome Slew and Divining Rod. If he's nicer to Smith this time, it could be Defrong's race to lose.
Danzig Candy, Giant Expectations and Silent Bird are among the most likely in Saturday's $200,000 Grade II Pat O'Brien at Del Mar, a 7-furlongs Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In". Danzig Candy has won all three of his starts this season, including the Grade II San Carlos at Santa Anita in July. Giant Expectations lives up to his name in this after winning twice at Belmont Park before a runner-up showing in an optional claimer at Del Mar July 19. Silent Bird comes off a five-month vacation.
American Anthem is the morning-line pick in Saturday's $500,000 Grade I H. Allen Jerkens Memorial for 3-year-olds at Saratoga. The Bodemeister colt, trained by Baffert and ridden by Smith, has won both his starts since being cut back to Saturday's 7-furlong distance after proving he isn't a two-turn type. Competition likely will come from Practical Joke, who won the Grade I Hopeful over the course and distance a year ago but has been running longer. Coal Front is undefeated in three starts for trainer Todd Pletcher, most recently winning the Grade II Amsterdam going 6 1/2 furlongs with a 105 Beyer Speed Figure. Takaful got a four-months rest after retiring from the Triple Crown trail and also earned a 105 Beyer in his comeback, an allowance victory July 21 at the Spa.
Filly & Mare Sprint
Saturday's $500,000 Grade I Ballerina at Saratoga drew a tough field of seven fillies and mares chasing a Breeders' Cup spot through the "Win and You're In" program. Paulassilverlining is the narrow 2-1 morning-line favorite after winning her last four starts, three of them by narrow margins. By the Moon, Curlin's Approval and Carina Mia all have claims based on their recent form.
Nine are in for Saturday's $125,000 (Canadian) Grade III Seaway at Woodbine, 7 furlongs on the all-weather course. The morning-line picks here are Ontario Matron winner Ami's Mesa, Sky My Sky and Tulsa Queen. Gliding By might be gliding under the radar after four straight exacta finishes.
Distaff
Songbird flies again in Saturday's $700,000 Grade I Personal Ensign at Saratoga, another Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In". The 4-year-old Medaglia d'Oro filly is out to avenge her only loss -- that heart-stopping nose that Beholder put in front at the end of last year's Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita. Since then, Songbird has won the Grade I Ogden Phipps and the Grade I Delaware Handicap. She has four rivals in the Personal Ensign including Forever Unbridled, who was third in the Breeders' Cup. Her only intervening race was a win in the Grade II Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs on June 17. If form holds, Songbird is the only speed and Forever Unbridled will be trying to run her down in the lane.
Turf
Idaho, Highland Reel's younger brother, invades from Ireland to contest Saturday's $1 million Grade I Sword Dancer at Saratoga. The 1 1/2-miles Sword Dancer is a "Win and You're In" event for the Nov. 4 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, won last year by ... wait for it ... Highland Reel. Ryan Moore is set to take the mount on Idaho, who won the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, then finished third behind only Enable and Ulysses in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot July 29. Both Enable and Ulysses were impressive winners this week in Group 1 events at the Ebor Festival at York. Don't like Idaho? Have a look at Erupt, winner of the Grade I Canadian International at Woodbine in his last North American visit. The 5-year-old son of Dubawi was eased in his last start, the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and might be a place contender in this. Among the locals, Money Multiplier was sixth in last year's Breeders' Cup and won impressively first up this season in the Grade II Monmouth on the Jersey shore. Hunter O'Riley, Bigger Picture and Sadler's Joy were 1-2-3 at the end of the Grade II Bowling Green earlier in the Saratoga meeting but weren't facing Idaho.
Saturday's $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby at Canterbury Park in Minnesota drew a field of 11 headed by Ian Wilkes trainee Giant Payday. An intriguing entry is Hot Shot Kid, a Minnesota-bred owned and bred by Warren Bush. Hot Shot Kid has won five straight races but makes his first start on the green course. "We know we have a really nice horse going forward," Bush said. "If he can run on the grass it opens up a whole new realm of possibilities."
Bush decided to breed in Minnesota as a result of a 2012 cooperative marketing and purse enhancement agreement between Canterbury Park and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, owners and operators of Mystic Lake Casino Hotel. That pact provided a $70 million infusion of purse money over a 10-year-period and prompted the creation of the Mystic Lake Derby.
Already in the books: Infinite Wisdom led all the way to a 1-length win over Nessy in Wednesday's $100,000 John's Call Stakes at Saratoga. The 6-year-old Smart Strike gelding ran 1 5/8 miles on firm turf in 2:40.52 with Irad Ortiz Jr. up. St. Louie was third and Red Rifle fourth.
Filly & Mare Turf
Lady Eli returns to the fray in Saturday's $400,000 Grade II Woodford Reserve Ballston Spa at Saratoga. The plucky 5-year-old daughter of Divine Park has never finished worse than second in 12 career starts and survived a near-fatal bout of laminitis. She was second by a nose in last year's Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf behind Queen's Trust, who ran well to finish third in Thursday's Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, setting up a rematch in November. She is a solid favorite against just five rivals in the Ballston Spa.
Sunday's $125,000 (Canadian) Grade III Ontario Colleen is run at 1 mile for 3-year-old fillies.
Juvenile
Friday's $200,000 Funny Cide at Saratoga is for New York-bred 2-year-olds. Eight are engaged with What a Catch, a Justin Phillip colt trained by Todd Pletcher, the morning-line favorite. He won both previous starts against fellow state-breds at Belmont Park and John Velazquez keeps the mount. Aveenu Malcainu, an Into Mischief colt trained by Jeremiah Englehart, won at first asking earlier in the meeting.
Juvenile Fillies
Friday's $200,000 Seeking the Ante at Saratoga is for state-bred juvenile fillies and got a cast of nine. I Still Miss You is the favorite after two wins and a second in her first three starts for trainer Jeremiah Englehart. Her loss was to Pure Silver, who returned to win the Grade II Adirondack at the Spa Aug. 12.
On the international front:
England
Ulysses rolled by two of Europe's top 3-year-olds, Churchill and Barney Roy, in deep stretch to take Wednesday's Group 1 Juddmonte International at York by 2 lengths. The 4-year-old Galileo colt, trained by Sir Michael Stoute and ridden by Jim Crowley, tracked the leading pair through most of the 1 1/2-miles plus, then easily seized the lead in the final 200 yards and was drawing away at the end. The Flaxman Stables homebred now has won three of five starts this year, finishing third to Highland Reel and Decorated Knight in the Group Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot and second behind Enable in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth over the same course. Sir Michael said owner Maria Niarchos is "keen" to send Ulysses to the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar Nov. 4. "What we have to do is work backwards from that," he said.
On Thursday at the Knavesmire, it was Enable's turn. The super filly already was judged at least Europe's top 3-year-old after winning the Epsom Oaks, Irish Oaks and the King George -- beating the aforementioned Ulysses by 4 1/2 lengths. She did nothing to spoil that impression in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, leading all the way under Frankie Dettori and winning by 5 lengths. Coronet was up with a late effort to land second over Queen's Trust, who defeated Lady Eli by a nose in last year's Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Enable's unchallenged romp only lowered her odds further for the Group 1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Oct. 1 at Chantilly.
Friday, trainer Wesley Ward sends out Lady Aurelia to tackle 11 rivals, most of them older, in the Group 1 Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes at York. The Scat Daddy filly is the favorite on the basis of her impressive victory in the Group 1 King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot. But she faces an improving Bataash, a 3-year-old colt by Dark Angel who rides a 3-race winning streak. Profitable and Marsha have been chasing those two earlier in the season. The others would be a big surprise. A Breeders' Cup spot is up for grabs here, too.
South Africa
Frankel's progeny joined the honor role in their 10th country as Lady Frankel got the job done in her second start Wednesday at Scottsville. With Anton Marcus up, the 3-year-old filly out of Val De Ra reported a comfortable 4 1/2 lengths ahead of runner-up Flo Joyner. Miss Frankel is the first of her sire's progeny to race in quarantine-challenged South Africa, which joined England, France, Japan, Ireland, Germany, the United States, Chile, Argentina and Australia in Frankel's win column.
Around the ovals:
Indiana Grand
Joyous Lady worked her way to the lead in the stretch run in Wednesday's $100,000 Shelby County Stakes for state-bred fillies and mare and inched away to win by 1 1/2 lengths over Hay Little Bit. The odds-on favorite, She Mabee Wild, settled for third. Joyous Lady, a 5-year-old daughter of Kela, ran 6 furlongs on a fast track in 1:10.75 with Thomas Pompell up.
Supreme Justice came six-wide into the stretch, passed the early speed and went on to win Wednesday's $100,000 William Henry Harrison Stakes for Indiana-breds by 1 length from Double Tuff. Zoned In got show money. Supreme Justice, a 5-year-old Lantana Mob gelding, got 6 furlongs in 1:09.85 under Marcelino Pedroza.
NCAAFB: Candid Coaches: Getting real on marijuana legalization, testing in college football. What's Your Take?
Follow-up: Last week, we told you that we would express Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica's opinion this week in this column on the above headline. Our staff has been in heated discussion on this issue all week. We've finally reached a consensus this evening before deadline and will post our position next week. Please be patient and we look forward to hearing your thoughts, pro or con, after you review our article. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica's Editorial Staff.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, August 25, 2017.
While the Travers is the focus, it's far from the only big deal brewing during the weekend. Also in action are the likes of Songbird, Defrong, Lady Eli, Mind Your Biscuits and Irish invader Idaho.
There are five Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" races -- three at Saratoga and one at Del Mar, the site of this fall's Breeders' Cup World Championships. Two of those are sprint races. Woodbine has graded stakes on the turf and the all-weather course. Monmouth graces the Jersey Shore with the Philip H. Islin.
On the international front, Elate romped in Thursday's Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks and Ulysses whipped some of the best 3-year-olds in Wednesday's Group 1 Juddmonte International -- both earning Breeders' Cup berths. Friday, Lady Aurelia goes after the Group 1 Nunthorpe, which also offers a spot in the November World Championships at Del Mar.
Keep track of the busy weekend with coverage by Horse Racing Radio Network (www.horseracingradio.net) and learn even more about the contenders from HRRN's Jude Feld at www.popejude.com.
Meanwhile, like Ulysses, we're off on a voyage:
Classic Division
With year-end honors up for grabs and November's Breeders' Cup Classic suddenly seeming a lot more competitive, Saturday's Travers has even more than its usual grand luster as Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming, Preakness victor Cloud Computing and Belmont winner Tapwrit prepare to face the starter.
In similar circumstances in 1982, Runaway Groom ran from last to win the 1 1/4-mile classic over all three Triple Crown winners. The only other time these reels came up on the machine, in 1918, Sun Briar was the Travers winner with all three Triple Crown winners in his wake.
There's no guarantee this year's version won't be a repeat.
Tapwrit finished sixth in the Derby and hasn't raced since his Belmont Stakes triumph. Trainer Todd Pletcher said at this week's post-position draw he passed up the Grade II Jim Dandy at the Spa and the Grade II Haskell at Monmouth Park to keep the Tapit colt fresh for the Travers. "Everyone was in agreement that the Travers was the race for him," Pletcher said.
Pletcher, of course, also will saddle Derby winner Always Dreaming. The Bodemeister colt has disappointed since the Run for the Roses, finishing eighth in the Preakness, then third in the Jim Dandy. "We've done a better job with him coming into this race," Pletcher said of Always Dreaming. "Honestly, I think we left him probably a little bit short for the Jim Dandy."
Cloud Computing, a Maclean's Music colt, returned from his Preakness triumph to run a dull fifth in the Jim Dandy. Trainer Chad Brown said the track on Jim Dandy day "was very demanding ... This horse has never let us down in a workout or a race except that one day. Just didn't come out of that race like we've normally seen." Since then, he said, Cloud Computing has worked well and he is ready to shine again.
The competition in the Travers includes Jim Dandy winner Good Samaritan; Haskell winner Girvin; Kentucky Derby runner-up Lookin at Lee; early Triple Crown contenders McCraken, Irap, and Gunnevera; Rachel Alexandra's half-brother Fayeq; and West Coast invader West Coast, who won the Grade III Los Alamitos Derby in his last outing and will try to give trainer Bob Baffert back-to-back Travers wins following last year's tour de force by Arrogate.
All in all, not a bad little race.
Battle of Midway, the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, runs in Saturday's $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes at 1 mile on the Del Mar main track. The Jerry Hollendorfer trainee won the Grade III Affirmed at Santa Anita in June, then traveled back east to finish sixth in the Grade I Haskell at Monmouth after a troubled start. This field also includes Santa Anita Derby winner Gormley, who finished ninth in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Belmont Stakes. Klimt comes to this after a runner-up finish behind West Coast in the Los Alamitos Derby.
The other weekend race featuring in the Classic division is Saturday's $100,000, Grade III Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park. Eagle, Conquest Big E, Mr. Jordan and Just Call Kenny all seem well matched with only Discreet Lover listed at double digits on the morning line in a field of five.
Already in the books: Cupid tracked the early pace in Wednesday's $75,000 Harry F. Brubaker Stakes at Del Mar, came three-wide around the turn and built enough of a lead that he could hold off the late charge of Curlin Rules by 3/4 length. Soi Phet finished third. Cupid, a 4-year-old Tapit colt, ran 1 mile on a fast track in 1:36.41 with Rafael Bejarano up for trainer Bob Baffert. It was his first start since winning the Grade I Gold Cup at Santa Anita nearly three months earlier, going 10 furlongs. Baffert said he will move on to either the $750,000 Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Oct. 7 or the $300,000 Grade I Awesome Again at Santa Anita Sept. 30.
Sprint
What a race Saturday's $600,000 Grade I Forego promises to be, and with an unusual international flair at that. The 7-furlongs test at Saratoga, a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In", has last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Defrong, who unseated Mike Smith at the start of his only 2017 race, resulting in only his second career loss. It also has the winner of this year's Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, Mind Your Biscuits, who returned to the track July 8 with a win in the Grade II Belmont Sprint. Then there's Ross, a German-trained internationalist who finished second in the Group 2 Godolphin Mile, only a nose behind Second Summer and won over the Deauville all-weather course on Aug. 4. Stallwalkin Dude hasn't been quite himself so far in his 7-year-old campaign but won the restricted Tale of the Cat at Saratoga Aug. 11 and will be a very square price. Also not to be dismissed are Awesome Slew and Divining Rod. If he's nicer to Smith this time, it could be Defrong's race to lose.
Danzig Candy, Giant Expectations and Silent Bird are among the most likely in Saturday's $200,000 Grade II Pat O'Brien at Del Mar, a 7-furlongs Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In". Danzig Candy has won all three of his starts this season, including the Grade II San Carlos at Santa Anita in July. Giant Expectations lives up to his name in this after winning twice at Belmont Park before a runner-up showing in an optional claimer at Del Mar July 19. Silent Bird comes off a five-month vacation.
American Anthem is the morning-line pick in Saturday's $500,000 Grade I H. Allen Jerkens Memorial for 3-year-olds at Saratoga. The Bodemeister colt, trained by Baffert and ridden by Smith, has won both his starts since being cut back to Saturday's 7-furlong distance after proving he isn't a two-turn type. Competition likely will come from Practical Joke, who won the Grade I Hopeful over the course and distance a year ago but has been running longer. Coal Front is undefeated in three starts for trainer Todd Pletcher, most recently winning the Grade II Amsterdam going 6 1/2 furlongs with a 105 Beyer Speed Figure. Takaful got a four-months rest after retiring from the Triple Crown trail and also earned a 105 Beyer in his comeback, an allowance victory July 21 at the Spa.
Filly & Mare Sprint
Saturday's $500,000 Grade I Ballerina at Saratoga drew a tough field of seven fillies and mares chasing a Breeders' Cup spot through the "Win and You're In" program. Paulassilverlining is the narrow 2-1 morning-line favorite after winning her last four starts, three of them by narrow margins. By the Moon, Curlin's Approval and Carina Mia all have claims based on their recent form.
Nine are in for Saturday's $125,000 (Canadian) Grade III Seaway at Woodbine, 7 furlongs on the all-weather course. The morning-line picks here are Ontario Matron winner Ami's Mesa, Sky My Sky and Tulsa Queen. Gliding By might be gliding under the radar after four straight exacta finishes.
Distaff
Songbird flies again in Saturday's $700,000 Grade I Personal Ensign at Saratoga, another Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In". The 4-year-old Medaglia d'Oro filly is out to avenge her only loss -- that heart-stopping nose that Beholder put in front at the end of last year's Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita. Since then, Songbird has won the Grade I Ogden Phipps and the Grade I Delaware Handicap. She has four rivals in the Personal Ensign including Forever Unbridled, who was third in the Breeders' Cup. Her only intervening race was a win in the Grade II Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs on June 17. If form holds, Songbird is the only speed and Forever Unbridled will be trying to run her down in the lane.
Turf
Idaho, Highland Reel's younger brother, invades from Ireland to contest Saturday's $1 million Grade I Sword Dancer at Saratoga. The 1 1/2-miles Sword Dancer is a "Win and You're In" event for the Nov. 4 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, won last year by ... wait for it ... Highland Reel. Ryan Moore is set to take the mount on Idaho, who won the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, then finished third behind only Enable and Ulysses in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot July 29. Both Enable and Ulysses were impressive winners this week in Group 1 events at the Ebor Festival at York. Don't like Idaho? Have a look at Erupt, winner of the Grade I Canadian International at Woodbine in his last North American visit. The 5-year-old son of Dubawi was eased in his last start, the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and might be a place contender in this. Among the locals, Money Multiplier was sixth in last year's Breeders' Cup and won impressively first up this season in the Grade II Monmouth on the Jersey shore. Hunter O'Riley, Bigger Picture and Sadler's Joy were 1-2-3 at the end of the Grade II Bowling Green earlier in the Saratoga meeting but weren't facing Idaho.
Saturday's $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby at Canterbury Park in Minnesota drew a field of 11 headed by Ian Wilkes trainee Giant Payday. An intriguing entry is Hot Shot Kid, a Minnesota-bred owned and bred by Warren Bush. Hot Shot Kid has won five straight races but makes his first start on the green course. "We know we have a really nice horse going forward," Bush said. "If he can run on the grass it opens up a whole new realm of possibilities."
Bush decided to breed in Minnesota as a result of a 2012 cooperative marketing and purse enhancement agreement between Canterbury Park and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, owners and operators of Mystic Lake Casino Hotel. That pact provided a $70 million infusion of purse money over a 10-year-period and prompted the creation of the Mystic Lake Derby.
Already in the books: Infinite Wisdom led all the way to a 1-length win over Nessy in Wednesday's $100,000 John's Call Stakes at Saratoga. The 6-year-old Smart Strike gelding ran 1 5/8 miles on firm turf in 2:40.52 with Irad Ortiz Jr. up. St. Louie was third and Red Rifle fourth.
Filly & Mare Turf
Lady Eli returns to the fray in Saturday's $400,000 Grade II Woodford Reserve Ballston Spa at Saratoga. The plucky 5-year-old daughter of Divine Park has never finished worse than second in 12 career starts and survived a near-fatal bout of laminitis. She was second by a nose in last year's Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf behind Queen's Trust, who ran well to finish third in Thursday's Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, setting up a rematch in November. She is a solid favorite against just five rivals in the Ballston Spa.
Sunday's $125,000 (Canadian) Grade III Ontario Colleen is run at 1 mile for 3-year-old fillies.
Juvenile
Friday's $200,000 Funny Cide at Saratoga is for New York-bred 2-year-olds. Eight are engaged with What a Catch, a Justin Phillip colt trained by Todd Pletcher, the morning-line favorite. He won both previous starts against fellow state-breds at Belmont Park and John Velazquez keeps the mount. Aveenu Malcainu, an Into Mischief colt trained by Jeremiah Englehart, won at first asking earlier in the meeting.
Juvenile Fillies
Friday's $200,000 Seeking the Ante at Saratoga is for state-bred juvenile fillies and got a cast of nine. I Still Miss You is the favorite after two wins and a second in her first three starts for trainer Jeremiah Englehart. Her loss was to Pure Silver, who returned to win the Grade II Adirondack at the Spa Aug. 12.
On the international front:
England
Ulysses rolled by two of Europe's top 3-year-olds, Churchill and Barney Roy, in deep stretch to take Wednesday's Group 1 Juddmonte International at York by 2 lengths. The 4-year-old Galileo colt, trained by Sir Michael Stoute and ridden by Jim Crowley, tracked the leading pair through most of the 1 1/2-miles plus, then easily seized the lead in the final 200 yards and was drawing away at the end. The Flaxman Stables homebred now has won three of five starts this year, finishing third to Highland Reel and Decorated Knight in the Group Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot and second behind Enable in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth over the same course. Sir Michael said owner Maria Niarchos is "keen" to send Ulysses to the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar Nov. 4. "What we have to do is work backwards from that," he said.
On Thursday at the Knavesmire, it was Enable's turn. The super filly already was judged at least Europe's top 3-year-old after winning the Epsom Oaks, Irish Oaks and the King George -- beating the aforementioned Ulysses by 4 1/2 lengths. She did nothing to spoil that impression in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, leading all the way under Frankie Dettori and winning by 5 lengths. Coronet was up with a late effort to land second over Queen's Trust, who defeated Lady Eli by a nose in last year's Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Enable's unchallenged romp only lowered her odds further for the Group 1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Oct. 1 at Chantilly.
Friday, trainer Wesley Ward sends out Lady Aurelia to tackle 11 rivals, most of them older, in the Group 1 Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes at York. The Scat Daddy filly is the favorite on the basis of her impressive victory in the Group 1 King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot. But she faces an improving Bataash, a 3-year-old colt by Dark Angel who rides a 3-race winning streak. Profitable and Marsha have been chasing those two earlier in the season. The others would be a big surprise. A Breeders' Cup spot is up for grabs here, too.
South Africa
Frankel's progeny joined the honor role in their 10th country as Lady Frankel got the job done in her second start Wednesday at Scottsville. With Anton Marcus up, the 3-year-old filly out of Val De Ra reported a comfortable 4 1/2 lengths ahead of runner-up Flo Joyner. Miss Frankel is the first of her sire's progeny to race in quarantine-challenged South Africa, which joined England, France, Japan, Ireland, Germany, the United States, Chile, Argentina and Australia in Frankel's win column.
Around the ovals:
Indiana Grand
Joyous Lady worked her way to the lead in the stretch run in Wednesday's $100,000 Shelby County Stakes for state-bred fillies and mare and inched away to win by 1 1/2 lengths over Hay Little Bit. The odds-on favorite, She Mabee Wild, settled for third. Joyous Lady, a 5-year-old daughter of Kela, ran 6 furlongs on a fast track in 1:10.75 with Thomas Pompell up.
Supreme Justice came six-wide into the stretch, passed the early speed and went on to win Wednesday's $100,000 William Henry Harrison Stakes for Indiana-breds by 1 length from Double Tuff. Zoned In got show money. Supreme Justice, a 5-year-old Lantana Mob gelding, got 6 furlongs in 1:09.85 under Marcelino Pedroza.
NCAAFB: Candid Coaches: Getting real on marijuana legalization, testing in college football. What's Your Take?
Follow-up: Last week, we told you that we would express Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica's opinion this week in this column on the above headline. Our staff has been in heated discussion on this issue all week. We've finally reached a consensus this evening before deadline and will post our position next week. Please be patient and we look forward to hearing your thoughts, pro or con, after you review our article. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica's Editorial Staff.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, August 25, 2017.
Memoriesofhistory.com
1946 - Ben Hogan won the PGA in Portland, OR. It was his first major golf title.
1946 - Ben Hogan won the PGA in Portland, OR. It was his first major golf title.
1985 - Dwight Gooden became the youngest pitcher to win 20 major league baseball games in a season.
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