Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica
"America's Finest Sports Fan Travel Club, May We Plan An Event Or Sports Travel For You?"
We offer: Select opportunities, For your convenience, At "Very Rare but Super Fair" pricing
Because it's all about you!!!
"Sports Quote of the Day"
"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy." ~ Norman Vincent Peale, Minister and Author of the Book, "The Power Of Positive Thinking"
TRENDING: Time to deal? Bears have better depth overall but need wide receiver help. (See the football section for Bears news and NFL updates).
TRENDING: Blackhawks represented well in top ‘NHL 18’ ratings. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).
TRENDING: Bulls reportedly deal for second round pick, Quincy Pondexter; Lauri Markkanen shines in EuroBasket debut. (See the basketball section for Bulls news and NBA updates).
TRENDING: Bryant, Hendricks keep Cubs rolling; Why rebuilding White Sox have something to play for down the stretch. (See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).
TRENDING: Who will win POY? Spieth lists his four candidates; Even if players want a break, most won't take one. (See the golf section for PGA news and tournament updates).
TRENDING: NASCAR at Darlington: TV schedule, live stream, playoff points, stage lengths; NASCAR unveils Monster Energy championship trophy; Keep track of Silly Season with this scorecard. (See the NASCAR section for NASCAR news and racing updates).
TRENDING: Fire focusing on mental side in hopes of ending slide; PL Summer transfer window grades: How did each club do? See the soccer section for Fire news and worldwide soccer updates).
TRENDING: UPDATE: NCAAFB: Candid Coaches: Getting real on marijuana legalization, testing in college football. What's Your Take? (Please read the last article on this blog and take a minute and share your thoughts with us. We love hearing from you).
By JJ Stankevitz
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Playing devil’s advocate
The biggest thing Mitch Trubisky still has to work on is his pre-snap operation of the Bears’ offense. So what better way to get him reps doing that — and protect him in the process — in the fourth preseason game than by handing the ball off nine consecutive times?
That’s what the Bears did on Thursday night to a scattering of boos as the offense went three-and-out on three consecutive possessions. Trubisky wound up getting a fourth series and completed two of four passes for 10 yards, and Josh Rounds and Adam Shaheen dropped catchable balls on those two incompletions.
"(I was) calling the plays coach was calling," Trubisky said. "It’s above my head. I’m just doing what I’m told."
The operational stuff is an area in which Trubisky needed improvement, especially after struggling with that against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. He showed all he could throwing the ball during his first three preseason games and didn’t have much left to prove working with backups/third-stringers against a backup/third-string defense. So properly running the offense may have been the thing the Bears wanted to see the most from Trubisky tonight.
Coach John Fox said in a short week for the final preseason game, there wasn't necessarily a set strategy that dictated those consecutive handoffs, though.
"When you’re getting ready for the season opener, it’s not like you gameplan every game," Fox said.
And it’s worth noting that when the Bears did open the game up for Trubisky to pass, he was shoved out of bounds (for a penalty) that resulted in him nearly getting accidentally clotheslined by a Cleveland Browns assistant coach. That’s not something you want to see happen to your quarterback of the future.
But what about the fourth quarter?
Here's where the protection argument breaks down: Why were the Bears having Trubisky attempt passes when he entered the game for a banged-up Connor Shaw in late in the fourth quarter?
Trubisky was shoved to the ground after attempting a screen pass, and he was sacked on the final play of the 25-0 loss while trying to get the Bears into the end zone. The Bears are lucky to have put Trubisky in that spot and have their quarterback of the future come out of it unscathed.
"Any time you go out there it’s a risk, truth be told," Fox said "… Football’s a rough game, no doubt. You never want to see people get hurt. But it is part of the game. So I don’t know that we exposed Mitch a whole lot, but I can also say any time you trot between those lines you’re exposed.
... I think it’s going to be fair to say it won’t be the first time he’s been hit and it won’t be the last."
Trubisky didn't back away from the challenge of tagging in and out for Shaw, which makes sense given how competitive he is. But the Bears could've done more to protect him, like having him hand the ball off or attempt a field goal (with new long snapper Jeff Overbaugh) on fourth down.
"If I was in there, I wanted to score," Trubisky said. "Just kind of feel bad for the fans because we want to put on a show but we really didn’t get to do that. I’m never worried about injury — you go out there, you’re playing football. When you start to worry about those things, that’s more when they happen — playing timid or keeping it in the back of your mind. But I’ll do whatever this team asks of me. It was kind of fun being in there at the end, a little exciting, got the adrenaline back going. Too bad we didn’t get score."
Tough injuries for a few on the roster bubble?
Wide receiver Victor Cruz and linebacker Lamarr Houston both were taken to the locker room after suffering knee injuries in the third quarter, and safety Deiondre’ Hall also suffered an injury in the second quarter.
Of that group, Houston and Hall had the best shots of making the Bears’ initial 53-man roster given the Bears’ need for depth at outside linebacker and the versatility Hall, a former cornerback, provides.
Houston has suffered two serious, season-ending knee injuries in the last three years and was ruled out for the rest of the game after going to the locker room, so there’s some concern there. We’ll know more later tonight.
Cruz was on the bubble coming into this game, and left with two catches (on four targets) for nine yards. He finished the preseason with six catches for 28 yards with a touchdown and didn’t make much more of an impact in practice. An injury, depending on the severity — he was deemed questionable to return late in the third quarter — could damage his already-shaky chances of surviving cut-down day on Saturday.
Time to deal? Bears have better depth overall but need wide receiver help.
By Brad Biggs
A main theme John Fox kept working his way back to when training camp opened 36 days ago was that the roster was upgraded and the Bears had considerably better depth entering the regime's third season.
A cynic would say it didn't take a lot to improve certain areas for a club coming off a 9-23 mark the previous two seasons. Reality is the Bears do look in better position to tackle the road ahead, one that features a tough slate with the Falcons, Buccaneers, Steelers and Packers in the first 19 days of the regular season.
Now, general manager Ryan Pace and his staff go to work finalizing a 53-man roster and it will be interesting to see what kind of twists and turns there are before the team reconvenes Monday at Halas Hall for the first regular-season practice of the year. Remember, the Bears worked diligently on Labor Day weekend a year ago, the biggest move being the addition of guard Josh Sitton to a $21 million, three-year contract with $10 million guaranteed. They swapped out kicker Robbie Gould for Connor Barth, claimed Eric Kush and Cre'Von LeBlanc off waivers and added veteran tight end Logan Paulsen.
So, the 53-man roster the Bears wind up with at 3 p.m. Saturday when final cuts are due will likely look different come Monday. It's unknown what will become available and there are surely a handful of positions they would be happy to supplement with the right player.
The loss of wide receiver Cameron Meredith to a torn ACL in his left knee makes that position the most obvious when thinking about spots they could be seeking actively help. Their top two receivers project to be Kendall Wright and Kevin White and you can add Markus Wheaton to that group when he returns from a fractured left pinkie, probably in the next two weeks or so. That's not much in the way of frontline talent and White has yet to prove anything.
Victor Cruz is a veteran with experience but a long shot to make the roster based on preseason usage. Josh Bellamy, Titus Davis, Tanner Gentry and Deonte Thompson are options, though they're all unproven.
"We have guys on this team who will step up and they know that," Pace said before the game on the WBBM-AM 780 pregame show. "We have a really good player personnel department that's evaluating the waiver wire. That'll come down this Saturday. There will be a lot of names coming across. There are trade scenarios. So it's kind of all of the above. You can bet we'll be on top of that."
What's out there? Front office executives around the league say three wide receivers are known to be available in trade. Phillip Dorsett, a first-round pick of the Colts in 2015, Jermaine Kearse of the Seahawks and Dontrelle Inman of the Chargers, a former CFL star, are said to be available.
None of them projects quite like Meredith, who the Bears are particularly fond of having developed. He was reliable over the middle and could make plays downfield. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Dorsett is a one-dimensional speed threat that is undersized, not real tough and not good in a crowd. Wheaton figures to be a good downfield performer for the Bears when he's back.
Inman (6-3, 205) and Kearse (6-1, 209) have better size and if the Bears were thinking about going the trade route, they make more sense. Kearse is physical with good hands and adequate speed. He does a little bit of everything and had 41 catches for 510 yards last season. Inman is an outside receiver with good length. He doesn't have great speed but was productive last season when he made 58 catches for 810 yards.
The challenge in trading for a receiver is you're bringing in a player right before the start of the season, handing him a new playbook and just hoping it can be digested quickly. Starting quarterback Mike Glennon is going to need all the help the front office and coaching staff can provide him. The same goes for Mitch Trubisky when his turn comes.
We will have a better idea how the Bears feel about their own wide receiver possibilities come Monday.
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks represented well in top ‘NHL 18’ ratings.
By Mario Tirabassi
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56439337/usa_today_9877113.0.jpg)
(Photo/Perry Nelson/USA TODAY Sports)
Toews, Kane, Crawford, and Keith all crack top-ten ratings in NHL 18.
As the calendar crawls through the month of August and into September, hockey fans begin to feel the itch that hockey season is nearly here. One of the signifying events that, yes indeed, hockey season is back is the annual release of EA Sports’ NHL franchise. This year’s installment drops on Sept. 15 and looks to, as it always seems, be the series’ best year yet.
Boasting a deeper franchise mode, expansion elements, a more in-depth Be A Pro mode, new game-play physics, and of course the EASHL community getting more attention, NHL 18 will again be a can’t miss for any hockey gamer.
NHL 18 Ratings Overhaul
One of the things that EA does well with the NHL franchise is get people hyped for it through ratings reveals. Whether it is on purpose or just coincidence, the ratings reveals seem to happen at the same time as the always popular NHL Network player rankings lists that every hockey fan loves in the dog days of summer. We have all died on those NHL Network hills at least once, be honest.
In previous seasons, the EA NHL franchise has been pretty generous with their ratings system. While it doesn’t get the attention that a Madden or FIFA does, the NHL franchise does their best to give a fair representation of the world’s players with the tools they are given. In NHL 18, the game developers made it a point to re-vamp the ratings system to make it feel more realistic.
From EA:
As a whole, player overalls will be lower and more spread out than they have been in previous years. There are a few reasons for this change happening.
First, it spreads out the talent from first liners to fourth liners to improve Franchise Mode logic. This means that there is a more defined gap between a player’s value in Franchise Mode and will affect any player transaction from trades to waivers.
Since talent is more spread out throughout the league, it also allows the superstars like Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby to be even more valuable to have on your team. The top stars provide you with an advantage, so you will want to do your best to have a superstar player on your team.
Finally, top prospects like Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier will be ready to step into the NHL straight out of the NHL Entry Draft. This will allow for more authentic drafting as generally the top picks out of every NHL Entry Draft class are able to step in and make an impact in the NHL.
With the new ratings system, NHL 18 looks to eliminate the over-saturation of elite-level talent around the league and make the “real” elite talent shine. Additionally, having top-end prospects be more NHL-ready in the game makes franchise mode drafting more important for teams with picks outside of the top 10-15 selections. The ratings overhaul should make for a more interesting dynamic in NHL 18 when selecting teams to beat your buddies with or when building a franchise.
Four Blackhawks make the top 50
With all this said, what are the Chicago Blackhawks ratings in the newest installment of the NHL franchise?
First, with the revamp of the ratings, every player in the game took a hit to their overall ratings. Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby lead the top players in the game, both rated 93 overall. In contrast, last season Jonathan Toews was rated 94 overall and was behind Crosby for the top center in NHL 17. So yes, every player has been rated lower than in previous games. For the Blackhawks, there is representation from four top players: Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, and Corey Crawford.
Centers
Top Players: Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby (93 OVR)
Blackhawks: Jonathan Toews (89 OVR)
The Blackhawks still have one of the best players at the center position with captain Jonathan Toews. As mentioned before, last season Toews was the second-highest rated player at the Center position in NHL 17 but in NHL 18, Toews falls to fifth place. Obviously EA Sports has noticed the dip in production from Toews, but as they are a sensible bunch, still believe he is one of the best in the league.
Left Wing
Top Player: Alex Ovechkin (92 OVR)
Blackhawks: None
Not surprising here that the Blackhawks only position with no top-10 representation is the left wing. The Blackhawks traded Artemi Panarin for Brandon Saad over the Summer and lost their top player at the position. Panarin, now with the Columbus Blue Jackets, ranked 7th overall at the position with an 86 overall rating. 10th on the list was Colorado Avalanche Captain Gabriel Landeskog at 85 overall, so it would seem that Saad either didn’t make the top-10 as an 85 overall or is rated lower than that. The full ratings list is still yet to be released.
Right Wing
Top Player: Patrick Kane (91 OVR)
Blackhawks: Patrick Kane (91 OVR)
THAT’S HOCKEY BABY! Patrick Kane comes in at numero uno for right wingers in NHL 18 and doubles as Chicago’s highest rated player in the game. Kane also topped the right wing position in NHL 17. He remains one of the best players in the league and should stay that way for the foreseeable future. With the loss of Marian Hossa, who cracked NHL 17’s top-10 last season, Kane is the only wing the Blackhawks have in the top-20. He beat out NHL 17 cover athlete Vladimir Tarasenko for the top spot at the position by 1 overall rating. Subsequently, with the NHL Network’s rankings of the top-20 wingers in the league right now, Kane topped that list too.
Defensemen
Top Players: Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty (91 OVR)
Blackhawks: Duncan Keith (90 OVR)
One of the most talent-heavy positions along with Center, Defensemen are again at a premium in NHL 18. The Blackhawks blue-line this season is thin on depth, but leading the way is two-time Norris Trophy winner, Duncan Keith. At 90 overall, Keith missed out on top spot honors by just 1 overall point. He is one of only five defenders rated at 90 or better along with Karlsson, Doughty, Brent Burns, and Victor Hedman. The 5th ranking is a small drop from 3rd in NHL 17 for Keith. He’ll be leaned on heavily by the Blackhawks this season and his rating in NHL 18 reflects how important he is to the franchise.
Goalie
Top Player: Carey Price (92 OVR)
Blackhawks: Corey Crawford (87 OVR)
While not a part of the NHL Network’s top-10 goalies list, Corey Crawford lands at 9th in NHL 18 for goalies at 87 overall. A fair value for two-time Stanley Cup Champion Crawford, he’ll once again be the lead in net for the Blackhawks after the departure of Scott Darling leaves no offseason questions in net. It is a slight drop from being the 7th highest rated goalie in NHL 17 for Crawford. NHL 18 log-jammed the mid-level starting goalies with only two players rated 90 or better with Braden Holtby at 90 overall and Carey Price, the highest rated goalie in the game, at 92 overall.
The Blackhawks will undoubtedly be one of the favorite teams to play with in NHL 18, again, with the top-end talent on their roster. When EA Sports revealed their Top-50 players in the game overall, all four Blackhawks mentioned above landed on the list with Crawford 44th, Toews 23rd, Keith 16th, and Kane 7th.
NHL 18 hits the shelves on Sept. 15. The Blackhawks host Training Camp Fest on the same day at the United Center and play their first preseason game on Sept. 19 in Columbus. Hockey season is right around the corner. It has been way too long.
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... Bulls reportedly deal for second round pick, Quincy Pondexter.
By Tim Goldrick
(Photo/USA TODAY)
The Bulls are finalizing a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans for Quincy Pondexter and a 2018 second round pick, sources told CSN Chicago's Vincent Goodwill.
In the five seasons before being sidelined, Pondexter averaged 5.3 points and two rebounds per game. His last season in 2014-2015, he connected on a career high 43 percent from beyond the arc.
Despite his injury history and long layoff, Pondexter intends to play in the upcoming NBA season.
The highlight of this deal is the pick, though, which gives the Bulls another asset.
Lauri Markkanen shines in EuroBasket debut.
By JayPatt
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56462183/810926816.0.jpg)
(Photo/Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Bulls rookie helped Finland score an upset of France.
20-year-old Bulls rookie Lauri Markkanen made his EuroBasket debut on Thursday, and he acquitted himself quite nicely after a sluggish start. Markkanen came alive in the second half and overtime to lead Finland to an 86-84 upset victory over France.
20-year-old Bulls rookie Lauri Markkanen made his EuroBasket debut on Thursday, and he acquitted himself quite nicely after a sluggish start. Markkanen came alive in the second half and overtime to lead Finland to an 86-84 upset victory over France.
Markkanen poured in 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with seven rebounds in the victory. He also knocked down two triples, with both of those coming in the fourth quarter/OT as Finland stormed back from a late nine-point deficit.
The game didn’t start so hot for the rookie. Markkanen was passive early on and spent a good amount of time just hanging out around the perimeter. As the first half wore on he started to take matters in his own hands with some aggressive drives to the basket, and there were a few times where he even brought the ball up the floor.
Things really started working in the second half. Outside of a few ugly post-up opportunities (his need to add strength really showed here), he displayed a versatile offensive game. He knocked down those aforementioned 3s, hit a nice off-the-dribble jumper, threw down a putback dunk and got an easy bucket by running the floor, among other things. His confidence was sky high coming down the stretch of the game, and it was nice to see a little swagger after his second 3-pointer.
Markkanen seemed to hold his own defensively, although I admit I wasn’t watching him as closely on this end and was focusing more on his offense. He got beat a few times, but he didn’t appear to be a liability and he did a solid job challenging shots.
Overall, it was a promising performance. It was great to see him embrace the big stage as the game got tight down the stretch. I will note that this French team isn’t nearly as talented as years past, and they’re not particularly good down low. Boris Diaw is their primary big man and former Bull Joffrey Lauvergne (who, by the way, was just awful) is another one.
Still, it was fun to watch Lauri fill it up and lead Finland to a big win. Vijay will have more in-depth analysis coming!
Still, it was fun to watch Lauri fill it up and lead Finland to a big win. Vijay will have more in-depth analysis coming!
Bulls guard Cameron Payne reportedly to undergo foot surgery.
By Dan Santaromita
(Photo/USA TODAY)
Cameron Payne didn't make much of an impression in his brief time with the Bulls last season and will have to wait to change that in the upcoming season.
The Vertical's Shama Charania reported that Payne will have foot surgery which will keep him out of action until late November.
After being traded from the Thunder to the Bulls in the Taj Gibson/Doug McDermott deal, Payne played 11 games for the Bulls last season. He averaged 4.9 points per game while shooting 33.3 percent from the field in just under 13 minutes per game.
The Murray State product was the No. 14 pick in the 2015 draft, but has yet to find consistent playing time or production in the NBA. The arrivals of Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and David Nwaba have created an upcoming competition for playing time at the guard spots for the Bulls. Payne missing preseason and starting the regular season on the shelf won't help his cause.
CUBS: Bryant, Hendricks keep Cubs rolling.
(Photo/mlb.com)
Kris Bryant added another milestone Thursday night. Bryant smacked a two-run homer into the wind, his 25th of the year, to back Kyle Hendricks and lead the Cubs to their fourth straight win, a 6-2 victory over the Braves. The reigning National League Most Valuable Player is the first player in franchise history and the 12th in the Majors to hit 25 or more home runs in each of his first three seasons.
Jon Jay had four hits, including a triple in the eighth, to help the Cubs improve to a season-high 13 games over .500 and maintain a 3 1/2-game NL Central lead over the Brewers, who beat the Nationals on Thursday night.
Bryant connected with one on and one out in the sixth inning against Jason Motte, hitting an 0-2 fastball into the left-field bleachers despite a 17-mph northeast wind.
Hendricks scattered five hits over 6 2/3 innings, and was lifted after serving up pinch-hitter Lane Adams' home run with two outs in the seventh. The right-hander, who allowed two runs (one unearned), has given up 12 earned runs over 46 2/3 innings since the All-Star break for a 2.31 ERA.
The Cubs gave Hendricks a cushion in the first when Jay singled, reached third on Bryant's ground-rule double and scored on Anthony Rizzo's groundout for his 97th RBI. Javier Baez added an RBI single to open a 2-0 lead.
The Cubs were coming off a sweep of the Pirates, which they capped with a 17-3 win Wednesday. They have scored 15 or more runs in four games since the All-Star break, but were 0-4 the next day until Thursday's win. Atlanta rookie left-hander Sean Newcomb struck out seven over five innings but took the loss, giving up three runs (two earned).
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Just missed: The Braves threatened in the eighth against Carl Edwards Jr. as Ozzie Albies singled and two outs later, Nick Markakis walked. Kurt Suzuki, who has 15 home runs, could've tied the game with No. 16, but Edwards got him to fly out to left and end the inning.
Substitute starter: Albies was a late add to the Braves' lineup and he delivered in the fifth. Dansby Swanson reached on a fielding error by second baseman Ben Zobrist, who couldn't get a glove on the ball, and then moved up on a sacrifice by Newcomb and a groundout by Ender Inciarte before scoring on Albies' single to center. Albert Almora Jr. ended the inning with a running catch of Freddie Freeman's fly ball in center.
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Rizzo gave Hendricks a 1-0 lead in the first when a run scored on his groundout. Rizzo had 30 RBIs in August and is the first Cubs player to reach that figure in the month since Sammy Sosa (36) in August 2001.
WHAT'S NEXT
Braves: Mike Foltynewicz, who grew about 90 miles from Wrigley Field, will take the mound Friday at 2:20 p.m. ET. The right-hander had allowed at least six runs in three straight starts before limiting the Rockies to one run over five innings Sunday.
Cubs: John Lackey will open September on Friday in Game 2 of this four-game series at 1:20 p.m. CT. He went 2-1 with a 5.47 ERA in five August starts and is coming off a loss to the Phillies when he gave up four earned runs over five innings. The right-hander beat the Braves on July 18, giving up one run over five innings.
Cubs Talk Podcast: Should Cubs be more scared of Brewers or Cardinals in season's final month?
By CSN Staff
(Photo/USA TODAY)
On the latest edition of the Cubs Talk Podcast, Vinnie Duber, Patrick Mooney and Jeff Nelson talk about the Cardinals’ “white-flag” trade and how it affects the National League Central race, wondering whether the Cubs should be more concerned with the Cardinals or the Brewers over the season’s final month.
Plus, when will Addison Russell return from the disabled list and how much play will he get in a crowded middle infield?
And the guys look at what Anthony Rizzo has done to become the face of the franchise for the Cubs both on and off the field.
Listen to the latest episode here: Cubs Talk Podcast
Game on: Jon Lester cleared to rejoin Cubs rotation.
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/USA TODAY)
The Cubs are now a season-high 12 games over .500, 29-15 since the All-Star break and prepared to reincorporate their $155 million ace this weekend at Wrigley Field.
Mike Montgomery will make at least one more spot start on Sunday – the lefty swingman also matches up well with Atlanta – while Jake Arrieta will be pushed back to Labor Day against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
This is about as good as the defending World Series champs could have hoped for on Aug. 17 when Lester (8-7, 4.37 ERA) waved at the home dugout during a blowout loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
Lester passed two more tests this week – Monday’s simulated game and Wednesday’s bullpen session – to convince the Cubs that he’s ready for the stretch run.
WHITE SOX: Hanson's clutch HR not enough for White Sox.
(Photo/mlb.com)
It was yet another show of resilience from the red-hot Twins, who are surging into September after one of the best months in club history. After trailing by a run in the ninth, Max Kepler served as the hero, as he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Twins a 5-4 walk-off win over the White Sox on Thursday at Target Field. It helped notch the team's third walk-off of the season, and it completed a three-game sweep over Chicago to extend Minnesota's win streak to four games.
Minnesota now has a 1 1/2-game lead over the idle Angels for the second spot in the American League Wild Card race, and it trails the Yankees by a half game for the No. 1 spot pending tonight's New York game against Boston. The Twins (70-63) now have at least 70 wins by Sept. 1 for the first time since 2010, and they won 20 games in August for the first time since 1967. They went 20-10 despite being sellers at the Trade Deadline, and they ended the month in an unusual fashion with just the second walk-off hit-by-pitch in club history.
"I've had three, and the last one I had against Cleveland was on an error, so they come in all different shapes and forms," Kepler said with a smile about his game-winner. "A walk-off is a walk-off, so I'll take it. I tried to get out of the way, but I would've regretted it if I did get out of the way."
Ehire Adrianza began the rally with a pinch-hit single, and he came around to score the tying run on an RBI single by Eddie Rosario. Three batters later, Kepler was plunked by White Sox right-hander Juan Minaya with the bags full to send Target Field into a frenzy. It was the first walk-off hit-by-pitch by the Twins since Paul Molitor was hit in the bottom of the 10th on May 1, 1996, against Kansas City.
"I don't remember it," Molitor said with a laugh.
Kepler spoiled Alen Hanson's late-inning heroics. Hanson hit a ninth-inning solo shot to break a 3-3 deadlock, as he launched a 1-0 fastball from closer Matt Belisle over the right-field wall. According to Statcast™, Hanson's third homer of the season went an estimated 390 feet with an exit velocity of 100.2 mph. It was Hanson's first home run since July 26 and just the second homer hit off Belisle by any player over the past two months.
"He got a pitch that he could drive, was able to put it out over the right-field wall," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. "I wish we would have been able to score a few more runs for him. Just wasn't meant to be."
Because of the late-game dramatics, neither starter factored into the decision despite each lasting six frames. Minnesota right-hander Bartolo Colon was charged with three runs on 10 hits while recording a season-best eight strikeouts and no walks. Chicago righty Miguel Gonzalez notched his fifth straight quality start, as he allowed three runs on seven hits with five punchouts and two free passes.
The White Sox struck first with a pair of runs in the second on an RBI single by Rob Brantly and an RBI double via Adam Engel, which marked their first advantage of the series. Yolmer Sanchez drove in another run in the fourth on a base knock. Meanwhile, the Twins scored a pair of runs in the fifth on consecutive doubles by Jorge Polanco and Kepler, while Zack Granite delivered an RBI single in the second.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Double trouble: After trailing for the first time all series, the Twins evened the score at 3 with a trio of doubles in the bottom of the fifth. Brian Dozier opened the frame with a double into right off Gonzalez, who proceeded to retire the next two batters he faced. That's when Polanco and Kepler delivered back-to-back RBI doubles to erase an early two-run deficit. Minnesota finished with five doubles on the afternoon -- all off Gonzalez -- to bring its August two-bagger tally to 49.
"I wasn't as crisp as last outing," Gonzalez said. "It helped us early in the game they were swinging right away, and then after that, they were pretty patient. That's a good team, they are playing really good."
Rock solid: Granite contributed to a key run early in the absence of Byron Buxton, who was on the bench with a left hand contusion. After the White Sox scored a pair of runs in the top of the second, Eduardo Escobar recorded a one-out triple in the home half. Three batters later, Granite smacked a two-out single into center to halve the deficit, 2-1, at the time. It was Granite's first RBI since he drove in two on July 29.
QUOTABLE
"I'm not thinking about it, honestly. If something happens, then it's meant to be. If it doesn't, then I'm here all the way with the White Sox." -- Gonzalez, on pitching with the possibility of being traded
"The most important thing is we keep fighting. When we fall behind, we're able to come back and win games, and that's important. The young players gain confidence in those situations, and they know to perform in tight games." -- Colon
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Kepler's run-scoring double in the fifth served as his 20th RBI in August, becoming the fifth Twin with at least 20 RBIs this month. It marked the first time in club history that five players have driven in at least 20 runs in a single month. Minnesota had four different players accomplish the feat in May 1964.
The Twins struck out 38 White Sox batters during the series, which is the most punchouts in a three-game set in Twins history.
REPLAY REVIEW
Escobar tripled high off the right-field wall in the second inning, and it was reviewed to see whether the ball cleared the wall. But after a short review, the call was confirmed by replay, and Escobar remained at third.
WHAT'S NEXT
White Sox: Chicago will return home for a three-game weekend set with Tampa Bay starting on Friday at 7:10 p.m. CT. Right-hander Reynaldo Lopez is slated to return from the disabled list after missing a couple weeks with a back strain. Lopez has allowed eight runs on nine hits over 10 1/3 innings in two games this season.
Twins: The Twins remain home to host the Royals in a three-game series that begins on Friday at 7:10 p.m. CT. Right-hander Dillon Gee (1-1, 3.53 ERA) faces his former team, and struggled last time out, allowing four runs in four innings in a loss to the Blue Jays.
Why rebuilding White Sox have something to play for down the stretch.
By Dan Hayes
(Photo/AP)
Who says the rebuilding White Sox don’t have anything to play for in September and October?
Of utmost importance is the potential for development of White Sox rookies who have reached the majors, a group that includes Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Nicky Delmonico, amongst others.
But beyond that is another critical aspect: With 30 games left on the schedule after Thursday, the White Sox are locked in a battle for first. At 52-79 overall, the White Sox are well within striking distance of the Philadelphia Phillies for the worst record in baseball and the privilege to make the first overall pick in the June 2018 amateur draft.
Currently, the White Sox own the third-worst record in the majors. The San Francisco Giants — who come to Guaranteed Rate Field for three games on Sept. 8-10 — have the second-worst mark at 53-82 overall. The Cincinnati Reds (56-77) and Oakland A’s (58-75) round out the top five prior to Thursday’s results.
While it’s nowhere close to as significant as winning a division or, there’s little question about how much impact possessing a top pick and the larger signing bonus pool attached to it can have on an organization. Given the early talk about the 2018 draft class, the White Sox appear to be in great shape to add more impact talent to an already loaded farm system.
“It’s a better draft all around from a depth and impact standpoint,” amateur scouting director Nick Hostetler said, adding it’s potentially the best class since 2010.
The potential for adding a top-three talent via the amateur draft could leave White Sox players and coaches and a portion of the team’s fan base at odds for the final month of the season.
With a team full of inexperience, White Sox players are hungry and looking to sew up future roster spots by showing off their talent. The Giolitos and Lopezes and Moncadas are intent upon improvement and highly unlikely to put their own careers in jeopardy in order to secure the franchise a better draft pick. They want to win and do everything they can to make themselves a prominent part of the club’s future.
“Everybody wants to come out, as far as the players are concerned, you want to come out and play to win,” manager Rick Renteria said. “I think the word rebuild adds a connotation of it doesn’t really matter what goes on and it couldn’t be further from the truth. These guys are trying to go out and exemplify what they’re supposed to be as a team and individuals as trying to continue to perform the things that are necessary to win ballgames.”
On the other side of things, many White Sox fans have fully embraced The Tank. They want a high pick so the team can select Seth Beer, Jarred Kelenic or Brice Turang or any other number of players.
One hundred losses and a first pick? Many fans say bring it on.
It’s yet another strange position in a calendar year full of them.
At the same time, this is exactly where the White Sox have been headed all along. You don’t trade Chris Sale and Adam Eaton off a 78-win roster and expect to improve.
General manager Rick Hahn made it clear this spring that the White Sox would keep the big picture in mind all along in 2017. If the White Sox were going to win, they would have to do it with the players they already had. No short-term trades would be made and prospects wouldn’t be rushed to fill voids at the major league level.
Though the White Sox had plenty of zest in the season’s first two months and hung around longer than most suspected they would, Hahn had no qualms about ripping apart the 25-man roster in July with a series of trades.
Still, as much as Hahn might like to hold the first pick come next June, he doesn’t want to sacrifice critical development to get there.
“There’s been no secret made about what we're trying to accomplish as an organization,” Hahn said earlier this month. “That's been clear since well before the start of spring training, and the players have understood the opportunities that are here for them, in the now, based on that long-term approach that we're taking. Again, I can't say enough about the work that Ricky and the coaches have done in terms of preparing this team on a daily basis and making the most out of what they have on a given night on their roster.”
Should make for an interesting month.
White Sox surprised that nobody has acquired Miguel Gonzalez.
By Dan Hayes
(Photo/USA TODAY)
The White Sox remain in let’s-make-a-deal-mode, Miguel Gonzalez has pitched well for six weeks and yet he’s still here.
Even the White Sox starting pitcher’s manager reflected his astonishment about the status of Gonzalez roughly 90 minutes before he took the mound on Thursday. Gonzalez pitched well yet again, though the White Sox ultimately lost to the Minnesota Twins 5-4 at Target Field. It was the eighth quality start produced by the free-agent-to be in nine outings since he returned from the disabled list on July 18. The waiver trade deadline for Major League Baseball falls at 11 p.m. CST on Thursday night.
“A little bit (surprised),” Renteria said. “He’s pitched against some of the top clubs in the big leagues in his last four or five starts and has done a nice job keeping us in ballgames and minimizing damage, to a run or two in some or most of the starts. But I am surprised. He has done a great job. I wouldn’t be surprised (if he’s traded). It’s still not midnight yet so if today is the day, I wouldn’t be surprised if something would happen.”
The market for Gonzalez has been relatively quiet with few exceptions. Given that Gonzalez has a 3.27 ERA since he returned from a shoulder injury in mid-July and is affordable (he’s owed a little more than $1 million), the White Sox had to believe their asset would drum up more interest.
Though he doesn’t overpower hitters with the fastball, Gonzalez has a nice mix of pitches and has proven to be consistent and likes attacking the strike zone. Gonzalez posted a 3.45 ERA between 2012-2014 for the Baltimore Orioles. He struggled in 2015 and did so again earlier this season after a shoulder injury limited his ability. Prior to the injury, however, Gonzalez pitched well for the White Sox in 2017, posting a 3.18 ERA in his first six starts after he finished 2016 on a good run. Gonzalez posted a 2.72 ERA over his final 13 starts of 2016 (79 1/3 innings).
But for now at least, a run of seven poor starts from mid-May to mid-June in which Gonzalez had a 7.15 ERA and eventually landed on the disabled list has tempered the interest. Since returning, Gonzalez has only had on rough outing on Aug. 3 at Boston as he got chased after 1 2/3 innings.
“I saw him throw in Boston and he didn’t throw well, but he still has good stuff,” one American League scout said. “I’d like to have him. He could at least pitch out of the bullpen.”
Gonzalez said he has tried to avoid thinking about the potential for a trade even as the White Sox traded a boatload of players over the past six weeks.
Anything that isn’t nailed down has been on alert to the possibility of a trade since the White Sox began to offload players last December with the trades of Chris Sale and Adam Eaton. The process included a series of trades in July that saw the departures of Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Dan Jennings, Anthony Swarzak and later Tyler Clippard.
But Gonzalez, who was stunned to be released by the Baltimore Orioles at the end of spring training in 2016, has enjoyed his time with the White Sox. He’s 12-18 with a 4.01 ERA in 45 games (44 starts) since coming over and credits the White Sox for giving him a chance after a rough 2015 season.
Gonzalez has been one of the team’s steadiest pitchers since he returned in July. On Thursday, the right-hander said he wasn’t as crisp as normal but got by in the early innings because the Twins had an aggressive approach. The Twins doubled three times off Gonzalez in the fifth inning to score twice and tie the game. But Gonzalez stranded the go-ahead run with a strikeout of Eduardo Escobar and retired four straight to get through the sixth. Gonzalez allowed three earned runs, seven hits and walked two while striking out five in a 110-pitch effort over six innings.
“Not thinking about it, honestly,” Gonzalez said. “If something happens then it’s meant to be. But if it doesn’t than I’m here all the way with the White Sox.
“It is what it is. Nothing that we can control. We’ve got to keep pitching, keep going out there every fifth day and try to make things happen.
“I’m happy (with my recent performances). A lot of positives. Been able to go out there until the sixth, seventh inning, even to the eighth. That’s a blessing in disguise. Struggling for a lot of months and to be able to come back and do that has been great.”
Golf: I got a club for that..... Facing criticism, Hanse defends TPC Boston changes.
By Rex Hoggard
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Opinions have ranged from simply bad to downright awful this week as players have gotten a look at the redesigned 12th hole at TPC Boston.
From Dustin Johnson to Paul Casey, players have questioned why officials had Gil Hanse redesign the 12th and 13th holes. In specific, they have taken issue with a collection of fairway bunkers on 12 that first force players to carry the ball more than 260 yards but no further than 300 yards, where a pair of principal’s nose-like bunkers await.
From Dustin Johnson to Paul Casey, players have questioned why officials had Gil Hanse redesign the 12th and 13th holes. In specific, they have taken issue with a collection of fairway bunkers on 12 that first force players to carry the ball more than 260 yards but no further than 300 yards, where a pair of principal’s nose-like bunkers await.
On Thursday at the Dell Technologies Championship, Hanse explained the need for the tinkering and the philosophy behind the changes.
“Part of what we didn’t like about the two holes was the distance from 12 to 13 tee. It was a big jigsaw puzzle,” he said. “What we came up with is connecting that ridge, and looking at where that landform fell and how it made sense naturally.
“It would be right where the longest hitters that, if we kept that all fairway, would be catching that downslope and going all the way down and have a 70-, 80-yard advantage over guys who couldn’t hit it that far. The concept was just stop the fairway.”
Hanse and his team originally shaped a wide fairway that he said felt too “spacious,” which led to the bunker complex that is now in the middle of the fairway at around 300 yards off the tee.
“The conversation we’ve had with three or four players is, 'Listen, just give it three or four rounds. Try to figure it out.' If we build a golf hole that the players can figure out after one round, then we probably haven’t done our job challenging them.”
Hanse also adheres to the philosophy of pacing a round, with difficult stretches of holes followed by scoring opportunities. Under this concept, the idea was to create a more demanding hole at No. 12, which played the 12th-hardest last year during the Dell Technologies Championship, that put players in position to hit a long- to mid-iron approach shot.
Hanse also pointed out that while the fairway is relatively generous from 250 to 290 yards off the tee, it narrows to about 31 yards wide from 300 to 339 yards, which is where the fairway drops dramatically into a wild area that’s dotted with rocks.
“This golf course, rightfully or wrongly, has always been characterized as a bomber’s golf course,” said Hanse, who lengthened the 12th by 50 yards. “So when you’re making alterations, you have that in the back of your mind, and you don’t want to be seen increasing that advantage. We felt like the positioning of these hazards gives the average guy room to hit the ball. But as you want to push around 330, it gets more narrow.”
Hanse, who received widespread praise last year for his work on the Olympic Golf Course in Rio, is no stranger to player pushback. In 2012, Luke Donald inadvertently tweeted a criticism of Hanse’s work at TPC Boston before deleting the tweet; he later apologized.
“If you are going to put your work on this stage, there are going to be opportunities for guys to criticize. We want to build holes that are interesting and require thought and learning to figure it out,” Hanse said.
Who will win POY? Spieth lists his four candidates.
By Rex Hoggard
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Last week, before the playoffs began, most players figured the race for the PGA Tour Player of the Year Award was down to two – Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.
On Thursday at the Dell Technologies Championship, Spieth figured the race was down to four – Thomas, Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama and himself.
“If the four of us finish 20th here on in, it's probably Justin's,” Spieth said. “It's very much in the air.”
If Johnson, who currently leads the playoff points race, were to win the FedExCup, for some (including Spieth) that would make DJ the frontrunner for Player of the Year, with four victories, including two World Golf Championships, but no majors.
The voting could come down to how much weight players give winning a major compared to other events.
“We're going to have a pretty good taste of how everybody equates World Golf Championships, majors, whatever it may be,” Spieth said.
It was a similar situation in 2008, when Padraig Harrington won the Nicklaus Award with just two Tour victories, both of which were majors (PGA Championship and Open Championship). That same season, Tiger Woods, who only played six months due to injury, won four times, including the U.S. Open and a World Golf Championship, but lost the voting to Harrington, which was a measure of how much importance players give major victories.
Even if players want a break, most won't take one.
By Rex Hoggard
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
It’s whispered about in locker rooms and endlessly, needlessly, editorialized each year as the PGA Tour’s season begins to wind down.
off·sea·son |ˈȯf-ËŒsÄ“-zÉ™n | noun
a time of year when a particular activity, typically a sport, is not engaged in
But if so, so be it.
“I'm excited for it. To have three months where I can focus on myself, my health, my game, and just improvement,” McIlroy said of his impending offseason, a self-imposed hiatus to mend mind and body after what has been a difficult year.
“I don't think I'm ever going to get a chance like this in my career again where I get this opportunity to take three months to re-evaluate things, to work on some stuff, to just try and improve and get better.”
Following his finish in New York, McIlroy remained 43rd on the postseason points list. Without strong performances in his next two starts, last year's FedExCup champion might not make it to East Lake.
And McIlroy isn't the only player looking for a clean break and a little R&R before getting back to work in ’18.
Bubba Watson, whose tie for 10th at Glen Oaks last week propelled him into the field this week at the Dell Technologies Championship, is equally content to succumb to the competitive misfortunes of an earlier-than-anticipated exit.
“When I'm done with the playoffs, no matter where that is, I'm taking at least 4 ½ months off. I won't play until next year,” Watson said. “I'm looking forward to playing good golf, or I'm looking forward to going home for some vacation. Either way, I'm going to be tee-ball coach. So looking forward to that, being home with the family, and just have a blast.”
It’s become an annual rite of the Tour’s wraparound season, which began in 2013, to lament the lack of an offseason in golf. When play wraps up on Sept. 24 at East Lake, many of the game’s top players will head directly to the Presidents Cup the next week in New Jersey.
For those who don’t make the U.S. or International team, it’s back to work at the Safeway Open the first week of October to kick off the 2017-18 season.
While the call for a true offseason will become louder over the next few weeks, the Tour doesn’t make anyone play the fall or any portion of the schedule.
In fact, players face very limited requirements. They must play a minimum of 15 events in a season, and those who don’t play at least 25 have to add an event they haven’t played in the last five years. But even that addendum doesn’t dictate where or when that addition must be.
“The players are independent contractors. They choose where they are going to play,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said at last month’s PGA Championship. “Some players go out the first part of our season (October-November). Some step back, rest, and prepare and come back in January. Some do a combination of both. Every player has an ability to decide what’s best for them.”
While players and fans may like the concept of an extended offseason, from the Tour’s perspective, contraction for the sake of rest simply doesn’t make solid business sense.
“We’re not the only tour out there, and if you create openings in our schedule, those openings will be filled. Our job is to maximize playing and financial opportunities and create the platform for our players,” Monahan said.
That means that while players like McIlroy (exempt on Tour through the 2020-21 season) can choose to take a three-month break after the playoffs, other players who don’t enjoy multiple-year exemptions face a risky competitive decision.
“I would like four months off if there were no tournaments scheduled where everybody had to take four months [off],” Paul Casey said. “Your hand is being forced a little bit. If you don’t play any of those fall tournaments you feel like you’re behind.
“These are guys who have multiple-year exemptions. I don’t. If you don’t, you are always having to step up to the plate. I would love to have a multiple-year exemption. Then you wouldn’t see me for three months.”
For the vast majority of Tour players, taking that much time off would mean spotting the field eight fall events to earn points, which count just the same as those events played in 2018.
It’s why, no matter badly players and even some fans may want a few months off to unwind after a long season, there won’t be many that follow McIlroy and Watson into a restful offseason.
NASCAR at Darlington: TV schedule, live stream, playoff points, stage lengths.
By Matthew Mayer
Elliott is currently the first in on merit and will look to clinch a championship spot in his final season in the No. 24 before eventually moving to his father's historic No. 9 next season. Kenseth is the only winless driver to cruise to Victory Lane at Darlington, but take that with a grain of salt. Over the past decade we've seen 11-straight different winners at the track, including Martin Truex Jr. last season. In addition to attempting to go back-to-back, Truex will also be focusing on clinching a regular season title Sunday. While he currently has a 101-point lead over Kyle Busch, Truex will need just a 61-point lead over second place when the race concludes.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be making his final start at the track this weekend. In 21 career starts, Junior has an average finish of 14 as well as three consecutive top-10 finishes. His father had nine victories at the track over the course of his legendary career.
How to watch the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500
Location: Darlington Raceway
Date: Sunday, September 3
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Length: 367 laps/501.3 miles
Stage 1: Ends on lap 100
Stage 2: Ends on lap 200
Final stage: Scheduled for lap 367
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: NBC Sports App
How to watch the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sport Clips Help a Hero 200
Location: Darlington Raceway
Date: Saturday, September 2
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Length: 147 laps/200.8 miles
Stage 1: Ends on lap 45
Stage 2: Ends on lap 90
Final stage: Scheduled for lap 147
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: NBC Sports App
How to watch the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado 250
Location: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Date: Sunday, September 3
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Length: 64 laps/157.37 miles
Stage 1: Ends on lap 20
Stage 2: Ends on lap 40
Final stage: Scheduled for lap 64
TV: FS1
Live stream: FOX Sports GO
2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season standings
| POSITION | DRIVER | CAR # | POINTS | BEHIND | WINS |
| 1. | Martin Truex Jr. | 78 | 951 | LEADER | 4 |
| 2. | Kyle Busch | 18 | 850 | 101 | 2 |
| 3. | Kyle Larson | 42 | 845 | 106 | 3 |
| 4. | Kevin Harvick | 4 | 824 | 127 | 1 |
| 5. | Denny Hamlin | 11 | 753 | 198 | 1 |
| 6. | Brad Keselowski | 2 | 728 | 223 | 2 |
| 7. | Chase Elliott | 24 | 711 | 240 | 0 |
| 8. | Matt Kenseth | 20 | 703 | 248 | 0 |
| 9. | Jamie McMurray | 1 | 700 | 251 | 0 |
| 10. | Clint Bowyer | 14 | 642 | 309 | 0 |
| 11. | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | 628 | 323 | 3 |
| 12. | Ryan Blaney | 21 | 623 | 328 | 1 |
| 13. | Kurt Busch | 41 | 586 | 365 | 1 |
| 14. | Joey Logano | 22 | 583 | 368 | 1 |
| 15. | Ryan Newman | 31 | 574 | 377 | 1 |
| 16. | Erik Jones | 77 | 574 | 377 | 0 |
2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff point totals
| POSITION | DRIVER | CAR # | PLAYOFF POINTS | STAGE WINS | RACE WINS |
| 1. | Martin Truex Jr. | 78 | 35 | 15 | 4 |
| 2. | Kyle Busch | 18 | 20 | 10 | 2 |
| 3. | Kyle Larson | 42 | 18 | 3 | 3 |
| 4. | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | 16 | 1 | 3 |
| 5. | Brad Keselowski | 2 | 14 | 4 | 2 |
| 6. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 17 | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| 7. | Ryan Blaney | 21 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 8. | Kevin Harvick | 4 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 9. | Denny Hamlin | 11 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| 10. | Kurt Busch | 41 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 11. | Ryan Newman | 31 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 12. | Austin Dillon | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 13. | Kasey Kahne | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 14. | Matt Kenseth | 20 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 15. | Chase Elliott | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 16. | Clint Bowyer | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 17. | Daniel Suarez | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 18. | Joey Logano | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
By Dustin Long
(Photo/NASCAR)
NASCAR unveiled the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup, which will be presented to the series champion Nov. 19 after the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The trophy stands 37 inches tall and weighs nearly 70 pounds. It is made of machined aluminum. It took more than 300 hours and was designed by championship manufacturer Jostens.
The trophy features the outlines of all 23 Cup tracks.
The Cup holds about 600 ounces.
Keep track of Silly Season with this scorecard.
By Dustin Long
(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
GMS Racing announced this week it won’t field a full-time Cup entry in 2018, removing a possible landing place for a driver or two for next season. As NASCAR heads to Darlington Raceway for the Southern 500, Silly Season continues.
Here’s a look at where Silly Season stands with less than three months left in the Cup season.
ANNOUNCED RIDES FOR 2018
— Erik Jones will drive the No. 20 at Joe Gibbs Racing, replacing Matt Kenseth (announcement made July 11)
— Alex Bowman will drive the No. 88 at Hendrick Motorsports, replacing Dale Earnhardt Jr. (announcement made July 20)
— Ryan Blaney moves to Team Penske to drive No. 12 car and signs a multi-year contract extension (announcement made July 26)
— Paul Menard moves to Wood Brothers Racing to drive No. 21 car (announcement made July 26)
— William Byron will drive the No. 24 at Hendrick Motorsports, replacing Kasey Kahne (announcement made Aug. 9)
— Matt DiBenedetto will remain with Go Fas Racing in the team’s No. 32 car (announcement made Aug. 12)
— Chris Buescher signs a multi-year contract to remain at JTG Daugherty driving the No. 37 car. (announcement made Aug. 18)
OPEN/POSSIBLY OPEN RIDES
— No. 10: Sponsorship has yet to be announced for next season, and Danica Patrick could be out. Patrick told USA Today on Aug. 5 that there’s “no buyout needed. I don’t have a sponsor. It’s contingent on the sponsor.’’
— No. 41: Stewart-Haas Racing declined to pick up the option on Kurt Busch’s contract for next year on Aug. 1. Even so, the team tweeted that it expected Busch back with sponsor Monster Energy for next year. Busch told reporters Aug. 5 at Watkins Glen that “there are a couple of offers already, so we’ll see how things work out.’’
— No. 77: With Erik Jones returning to JGR, team owner Barney Visser is looking to fill that seat. The first concern, though, is sponsorship. Visser told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Aug. 9: “We’ve got no sponsorship right now for the 77,” for next season. “So we’ve got to find something. We don’t want to give up that car, but if we don’t get sponsorship, we’ll have to.” Sponsor 5-Hour Energy has an option to return. The company can’t go to any other Cup team with Monster Energy as series sponsor.
AVAILABLE DRIVERS
Matt Kenseth: Out of the No. 20 after this season. Doesn’t have anything for next year at this point. At Bristol, Kenseth was asked about his plans for 2018. He said: “I’ll be honest with you … I’m not worried about (2018) even really one percent anymore to be honest with you. I’m just not concerned about it.’’
Kurt Busch: With Stewart-Haas Racing declining to pick up his option for next year, Busch is a free agent. Even with Stewart-Haas Racing’s action, there’s still a chance Busch could sign a new deal to remain with the organization.
Kasey Kahne: The 2017 Brickyard 400 winner is available after Hendrick Motorsports announced it had released him from the final year of his contract. Rick Hendrick said Aug. 9 that he’s working to help Kahne land a ride for next season and hinted it could through an alliance with Hendrick Motorsports.
Danica Patrick: Sponsorship uncertainty leaves her status murky for next year. She’s not looking for a ride in the Xfinity Series. “Cup only,’’ she said.
Aric Almirola: Hasn’t been announced yet as returning to Richard Petty Motorsports next season. He’s tied closely to sponsor Smithfield, which also is in its final year with the team, but Richard Petty has said he’s confident Smithfield will return.
GMS Racing/Spencer Gallagher: GMS Racing confirmed on Aug. 30 that it will not have a full-time Cup entry in 2018. The organization, which fields teams in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series, had looked into moving to Cup.
SOCCER: Fire focusing on mental side in hopes of ending slide.
By Dan Santaromita
(Photo/USA TODAY)
As the rest of the soccer world closes in on final transfer moves on deadline day, MLS teams have already seen the transfer deadline come and pass.
While teams can still sign free agents until the roster freeze date of Sept. 15, like the Fire did with goalkeeper Richard Sanchez, whatever roster deficiencies teams have they are more or less stuck with through the rest of this season. For the Fire, a collection of players that once looked like one of the best teams in the league has shown plenty of warts in the last several weeks.
The Fire’s two summer additions, Sanchez and defender Christian Dean, have not yet had a positive effect. Sanchez, who was brought in after Jorge Bava went down for the season with elbow surgery, hasn’t made a matchday roster as even the No. 2 goalkeeper yet as he adjusts to the Fire’s system. Dean was brought in to add depth to a position that soon after went through emergency level injuries before Dean became part of the problem with his own injury. The Fire lost all three games Dean played and now he is expected to miss at least the rest of the regular season, if not any postseason run as well.
That means in order to stop the current slide, four straight losses and six out of seven, the Fire will have to look within to turn things around.
“It goes back to the daily work,” coach Veljko Paunovic said. “We have to do our job everyday. We have to get sharp. We have to get strong fitness wise and all that helps so the mentality improves and the confidence, too. We are aware of the situation. The guys are working hard preparing for the next game, next opportunity to fix the things.”
This is where Paunovic seems to be most comfortable. The Serbian coach is always talking about forging a winning attitude and mentality. Now that’s the Fire’s only shot.
“It’s part of the job that I love the most because that’s when the coaches have to step in, take the lead and make the guys understand that they are actually a good team because we are,” Paunovic said. “It’s a part of the work that I love. I cannot say that I’m enjoying, I’m not saying that, but I’m saying that I love the challenge and I’m doing my best to fix the things.”
Just as striker Nemanja Nikolic said he is confident he will get things going again while he is in the middle of an eight-game goalless drought, some of the veteran players on the Fire are saying all the right things about seeing a turnaround happen soon. If the Fire’s slump endures much longer, the team’s once certain playoff spot will start to come into question as the Eastern Conference has proven to be the better of the two conferences in MLS and as the chasing teams are almost all playing well at the moment.
Scenarios like this are why general manager Nelson Rodriguez said it was so important to bring in proven players with winning pedigrees like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Dax McCarty and Juninho in the offseason. McCarty is away with the U.S. national team for a pair of World Cup qualifiers and Schweinsteiger has shown more frustration with each defeat as he goes through the type of slump he hasn’t endured in his professional career.
“To be honest, we’ve been feeling very sad about it,” Juninho said. “That happens to every single team. You just have to maintain your group of guys ready to go when that type of things happens. I think our group of guys is ready to step forward and to step in in any situation. I think we can do good things in the future.”
Opposing teams have adapted to the Fire's style of play and have been able to punish them for not being able to adapt. Nikolic believes the Fire still have enough to win with this group though.
"It’s also the same team... who was the top on the table a couple of weeks before so we just need to put confidence back, to get that idea, to get that mentality that we had a couple of weeks before," Nikolic said. "The main thing is to believe in the work, in the coach, in the staff, in their idea and all together for sure we will win the games also and hopefully we will be in the playoffs."
"It’s also the same team... who was the top on the table a couple of weeks before so we just need to put confidence back, to get that idea, to get that mentality that we had a couple of weeks before," Nikolic said. "The main thing is to believe in the work, in the coach, in the staff, in their idea and all together for sure we will win the games also and hopefully we will be in the playoffs."
Summer transfer window grades: How did each club do?
By Joe Prince-Wright
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
Now that the summer transfer window is closed in the Premier League, it is time to let the dust settle and figure out, amid all the madness, who actually did the best business.
How did each Premier League club do? Was a record summer of spending enough to strengthen teams? Or did some fail to address glaring weaknesses?
Below we give all 20 PL teams a grade and sum up their summer window.
Manchester United – A
Their business was done early and properly with Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic starting off superbly and Victor Lindelof will settle in. Smart business by Jose Mourinho with his squad now looking like a much stronger unit overall. Didn’t need a new wide player in the end because his team started the season so well.
Their business was done early and properly with Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic starting off superbly and Victor Lindelof will settle in. Smart business by Jose Mourinho with his squad now looking like a much stronger unit overall. Didn’t need a new wide player in the end because his team started the season so well.
Manchester City – A-
Pep Guardiola did plenty of business early in the window and he addressed his needs superbly with Kyle Walker, Danilo, Benjamin Mendy and Ederson improving their defense. Bernardo Silva is a luxury signing and Alexis Sanchez would have been something similar but City couldn’t get it over the line. Very solid window but one more center back would have given them an A.
Everton – B+
Like Man United and Man United the Toffees did their business early. Ronald Koeman strengthened his defense with Michael Keane and Jordan Pickford and spent the Romelu Lukaku cash wisely with Gylfi Sigurdsson, Davy Klaassen and Wayne Rooney likely to score and create plenty of goals. However, failing to sign a recognized targetman could come back to haunt Koeman. Olivier Giroud or Diego Costa would have been perfect for this system.
Like Man United and Man United the Toffees did their business early. Ronald Koeman strengthened his defense with Michael Keane and Jordan Pickford and spent the Romelu Lukaku cash wisely with Gylfi Sigurdsson, Davy Klaassen and Wayne Rooney likely to score and create plenty of goals. However, failing to sign a recognized targetman could come back to haunt Koeman. Olivier Giroud or Diego Costa would have been perfect for this system.
Tottenham Hotspur – B+
Spurs had a really strong finish to the window, adding Davinson Sanchez, Serge Aurier and Fernando Llorente. That gives them more cover in defense and an extra option off the bench with Llorente happy to back up Harry Kane. Selling on Kyle Walker for over $65 million made sense and Mauricio Pochettino will be happy with his summer window after keeping hold of Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Kane and Danny Rose.
West Brom – B+
The Baggies had a really decent window and pulled off a big shock with silky midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak arriving on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. Jay Rodriguez, Kieran Gibbs and Gareth Barry are all solid additions who will start and Tony Pulis managed to keep hold of his skipper Jonny Evans despite interest from Man City and Arsenal.
The Baggies had a really decent window and pulled off a big shock with silky midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak arriving on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. Jay Rodriguez, Kieran Gibbs and Gareth Barry are all solid additions who will start and Tony Pulis managed to keep hold of his skipper Jonny Evans despite interest from Man City and Arsenal.
Leicester City – B+
Decent window for the Foxes as they managed to keep hold of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy and although it seems likely they lost Danny Drinkwater to Chelsea, they added some deadline day deals in Aleksandar Dragovic and potentially Adrien Silva. Early additions of Harry Maguire, Kelchi Iheanacho and Vicente Iborra seem to have strengthened the overall squad too.
Decent window for the Foxes as they managed to keep hold of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy and although it seems likely they lost Danny Drinkwater to Chelsea, they added some deadline day deals in Aleksandar Dragovic and potentially Adrien Silva. Early additions of Harry Maguire, Kelchi Iheanacho and Vicente Iborra seem to have strengthened the overall squad too.
Liverpool – B
Mohamed Salah and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are both key additions in the window and sealing the deal for Naby Keita was a big one for next summer. However, not adding a top-class center back (the Virgil Van Dijk pursuit was doomed from the start) was a big letdown and there is still an issue with the goalkeeping department. Some issues not addressed but Philippe Coutinho seems all but certain to stick around, so that’s a positive.
Mohamed Salah and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are both key additions in the window and sealing the deal for Naby Keita was a big one for next summer. However, not adding a top-class center back (the Virgil Van Dijk pursuit was doomed from the start) was a big letdown and there is still an issue with the goalkeeping department. Some issues not addressed but Philippe Coutinho seems all but certain to stick around, so that’s a positive.
Huddersfield Town – B
David Wagner added more new players than any other team and Huddersfield have looked the part early on. Steve Mounie is a powerful forward with an eye for goal, grabbing Aaron Mooy on a permanent deal was superb business and goalkeeper Jonas Lossl has settled in well. Unlike the other promoted teams Huddersfield did their business early and were rewarded.
Swansea City – B
They held out and got a huge sum of $57.6 million for Gylfi Sigurdsson which they then spent wisely on re-signing Wilfried Bony and adding Renato Sanches on loan in a stunning deal from Bayern Munich. They did lose Fernando Llorente too, but Tammy Abraham seems like a steal on loan and the Swans will be hopeful their young squad can surprise opponents. Decent window all things considered.
Burnley – B
They lost Michael Keane and Andre Gray but did recoup over $60 million for the duo and spent it wisely with Chris Wood, Jack Cork and Jonathan Walters coming in. Plenty of experience added by Sean Dyche and the Clarets will once again be tough to break down. Solid window.
They lost Michael Keane and Andre Gray but did recoup over $60 million for the duo and spent it wisely with Chris Wood, Jack Cork and Jonathan Walters coming in. Plenty of experience added by Sean Dyche and the Clarets will once again be tough to break down. Solid window.
Watford – B
Marco Silva added some decent signings from Udinese around deadline day and brought in Andre Gray and Richarlison to strengthen their attack. Nathaniel Chalobah and Will Hughes will add energy in midfield and overall an inventive window, once again, from the Hornets.
Marco Silva added some decent signings from Udinese around deadline day and brought in Andre Gray and Richarlison to strengthen their attack. Nathaniel Chalobah and Will Hughes will add energy in midfield and overall an inventive window, once again, from the Hornets.
Stoke City – B
The Potters did some really good business late in the window which saved them. Jese and Choupo-Moting look lively up top and Kurt Zouma, Kevin Wimmer and Bruno Martins Indi will improve them defensively. Darren Flecther is another solid buy but another striker would have been ideal for Mark Hughes.
The Potters did some really good business late in the window which saved them. Jese and Choupo-Moting look lively up top and Kurt Zouma, Kevin Wimmer and Bruno Martins Indi will improve them defensively. Darren Flecther is another solid buy but another striker would have been ideal for Mark Hughes.
Southampton – B-
They kept hold of Virgil van Dijk which was the main aim and added Mario Lemina in midfield and center backs Jan Bednarek and Wesley Hoedt. Saints really could have done with freshening up their attack but it didn’t seem like they were close to key forward additions.
They kept hold of Virgil van Dijk which was the main aim and added Mario Lemina in midfield and center backs Jan Bednarek and Wesley Hoedt. Saints really could have done with freshening up their attack but it didn’t seem like they were close to key forward additions.
Chelsea – B-
A really weird window for Chelsea who kept seeing players turn them down. From Romleu Lukaku to Oxlade-Chamberlain and Llorente to Ross Barkley, Antonio Conte couldn’t get deals over the line and Chelsea’s squad isn’t looking as strong as it did at the end of last season. Selling Nemanja Matic to Manchester United was a bad decision and the situation surrounding Diego Costa’s future was handed poorly. Alvaro Morata will be a star and both Bakayoko and Rudiger are also good additions, but not a great window at all for the Blues.
Bournemouth – C+
Adding experience was the main aim and Bournemouth did that early with Asmir Begovic and Jermain Defoe coming in. Nathan Ake should be a solid buy too but Eddie Howe‘s attack is looking a little lackluster after the opening weeks of the season.
Adding experience was the main aim and Bournemouth did that early with Asmir Begovic and Jermain Defoe coming in. Nathan Ake should be a solid buy too but Eddie Howe‘s attack is looking a little lackluster after the opening weeks of the season.
West Ham United – D
It looked like decent business on paper but three of their four buys in the window look like they could be ill-advised. Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez will score goals for fun but Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart look low on confidence and Marko Arnautovic already has a red card and some poor displays against his name. Not a great window for the Hammers.
It looked like decent business on paper but three of their four buys in the window look like they could be ill-advised. Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez will score goals for fun but Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart look low on confidence and Marko Arnautovic already has a red card and some poor displays against his name. Not a great window for the Hammers.
Crystal Palace – D-
Yes, they may well add Mamadou Sakho, but apart from that it has been a disastrous start to life in the Premier League for Frank De Boer. With three defeats he needed to add another two defenders and another striker to help ease the load on Christian Benteke. Palace have some big squad issues with a new playing style not suiting many of their players.
Yes, they may well add Mamadou Sakho, but apart from that it has been a disastrous start to life in the Premier League for Frank De Boer. With three defeats he needed to add another two defenders and another striker to help ease the load on Christian Benteke. Palace have some big squad issues with a new playing style not suiting many of their players.
Brighton – F
Numbers have arrived but real quality hasn’t for the Seagulls. It is early days but you have to think more firepower was necessary for them to have any chance of staving off relegation. Davy Propper could be a good buy and so too could Jose Izquierdo but apart from that an underwhelming window. If they manage to add Vincent Janssen it would improve their grade, but not by much.
Numbers have arrived but real quality hasn’t for the Seagulls. It is early days but you have to think more firepower was necessary for them to have any chance of staving off relegation. Davy Propper could be a good buy and so too could Jose Izquierdo but apart from that an underwhelming window. If they manage to add Vincent Janssen it would improve their grade, but not by much.
Arsenal – F
My goodness. What happened? From still having Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil around, to losing out on Thomas Lemar on the final day and selling Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arsene Wenger has a nightmare. They added Alexandre Lacazette but did they really need another striker? Yet another window has come and gone without Wenger addressing the glaring problems in central midfield and defense. They way this situation has been handled from the top of the club is shambolic.
My goodness. What happened? From still having Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil around, to losing out on Thomas Lemar on the final day and selling Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arsene Wenger has a nightmare. They added Alexandre Lacazette but did they really need another striker? Yet another window has come and gone without Wenger addressing the glaring problems in central midfield and defense. They way this situation has been handled from the top of the club is shambolic.
Newcastle United – F
Rafael Benitez and his owner Mike Ashley have been airing their dirty laundry in the media and Benitez has not got the deals he wanted. Joselu could score some goals but overall it was a really poor window for Newcastle, a team who should be challenging for a top four finish considering their stadium and fanbase. This window suggests they will be battling relegation.
Rafael Benitez and his owner Mike Ashley have been airing their dirty laundry in the media and Benitez has not got the deals he wanted. Joselu could score some goals but overall it was a really poor window for Newcastle, a team who should be challenging for a top four finish considering their stadium and fanbase. This window suggests they will be battling relegation.
UEFA World Cup qualifying: Ronaldo tops Pele; Netherlands crushed.
By Nicholas Mendola
(AP Photo/Paulo Duarte)
Deadline Day has dominated the headlines, but a megastar and several potential superstars are burying goals in UEFA World Cup qualifying.
Kylian Mbappe has scored.
Thomas Lemar has two.
Romelu Lukaku and Thomas Meunier have three.
So does Cristiano Ronaldo, who rode his hat trick past Pele of all people.
Toss in a massive shot to the Netherlands’ World Cup hopes and a major surprise is Cyprus, and you’ve got one wild day of qualifying.
France 4-0 Netherlands
Antoine Griezmann scored a 14th minute goal, then leapt into the air to get Kevin Strootman sent off for a second half second yellow, and Les Bleus took advantage of the man advantage to the tune of a Thomas Lemar brace and Kylian Mbappe blast.
The Dutch World Cup qualifying hopes are very slim now. With three matches to play, the Netherlands are six points back of the automatic qualifying spot from Group A, three back of the playoff spot held by Sweden, and two points behind third place Bulgaria. Chances to make up three points on Sweden and Bulgaria remain, as well as a match against Belarus.
Back to Lemar, who reportedly turned down a massive dollar deal to join Arsenal because he wants to play in the UEFA Champions League.
Bulgaria 3-2 Sweden
Sweden entered the day leading Group A, and twice answered Bulgarian goals to leave the match 2-2 at the break. Ivaylo Chochev scored in the 79th minute to spring Bulgaria into third place, within a point of now second-place Sweden.
Portugal 5-1 Faroe Islands
If you’re going to pass Pele on a record list, do it in style. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick to land him on 78 international goals, one ahead of Pele for seventh all-time. That’s second in European history to legendary Hungarian finisher Ferenc Puskas (84 goals) but 45 goals behind the all-time leader, Kuwait’s Bashar Abdullah.
Portugal is three points behind first-placed Switzerland, and their Oct. 10 finale could decide which team goes directly to Russia, and who needs a playoff win to move on.
Cyprus 3-2 Bosnia and Herzegovina
A 2-0 halftime lead on the road was not enough for BNH, which allowed three goals in 11 second-half minutes. Recording goals were Dimitris Christofi (65th minute), Vincent Laban (67′), and Pieros Sotiriou (76′) giving a surprise win to the hosts.
Cyprus is a point behind third-placed BNH and still plays second-place Greece and leaders Belgium, as well as Estonia.
Belgium 9-0 Gibraltar
Thomas Meunier and Romelu Lukaku both recorded hat tricks for the Red Devils, and Axel Witsel, Dries Mertens, and Eden Hazard also scored in the blowout. Belgium can clinch a World Cup berth with a win over second-placed Greece on Sept. 3.
Elsewhere
Switzerland 3-0 Andorra — Swiss will finish no worse than 2nd.
Luxembourg 1-0 Belarus
Hungary 3-1 Latvia
Greece 0-0 Estonia
Japan qualifies for World Cup, beats Australia 2-0.
By Associated Press
(Photo/Getty Images)
Japan qualified for the World Cup by beating Asian champion Australia 2-0 on Thursday.
The Japanese, who reached for their sixth straight World Cup, got goals from Takuma Asano and Yosuke Ideguchi to improve to 20 points in Group B. Australia can still qualify if it clinches second place.
Yuto Nagatomo set up the first goal in 41st minute, sending a cross into the box that an unmarked Asano calmly side-footed past Australia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan.
“Yuto made a great play to get me the ball,” Asano said. “I was thrilled to contribute to the team in such a big game and want to thank the coach for showing confidence in me.”
Looking to create more chances, Australia coach Ange Postecoglou sent in Tomi Juric and Tim Cahill in the second half.
Instead, Ideguchi scored another for Japan in the 83rd when he sent an angled shot past the outstretched arms of Ryan for his first goal with national team.
With 20 points, Japan is four points ahead of Australia and Saudi Arabia. Japan travels to Saudi Arabia for its final group game on Sept. 5. Australia faces last-place Thailand on the same day.
NCAAFB: Ex-Florida QB Treon Harris leads Tennessee State to first FCS win of the season over an FBS team.
By Bryan Fischer
(Photo/Getty Images)
We didn’t have to wait long this season to see a FCS team upset a FBS team.
Former Florida quarterback Treon Harris continued to dominate the Peach state on Saturday night as he guided Tennessee State to a 17-10 upset of Georgia State. Harris, who was 2-0 against Georgia during his time with the Gators, threw for 145 yards and rushed for another 91 yards and a touchdown. Tailback Seth Rowland also chipped in with 76 yards rushing and a score as well.
The loss was particularly brutal for the Panthers to start the year off given what the game was supposed to mean for the school. Head coach Shawn Elliott was making his debut as the new man in charge and the program was playing its first ever game at their recently remodeled Georgia State Stadium, a venue most will recognize as the former Turner Field that used to host the Atlanta Braves.
If there’s one consolation for GSU though, it does not appear they will be alone in the FBS ranks with a loss to a FCS squad and could have some company on Thursday night as well.
No. 2 Ohio State struggles early but eventually routs pesky Indiana.
By Bryan Fischer
Then things just started to click for the Buckeyes in the third quarter and the No. 2 team in the country started living up to that preseason ranking, eventually pulling away from the Hoosiers for a comfortable 49-21 victory on Thursday night that opened the season and Big Ten play for both teams.
Quarterback J.T. Barrett wasn’t quite as sharp as some expected the senior to be but he still posted solid numbers (284 yards, three touchdowns passing plus another score on the ground) as he broke in several new receivers for OSU. Perhaps the biggest development for Urban Meyer’s team was the emergence of freshman tailback J.K. Dobbins, who may have Wally Pipped starter Mike Weber (hamstring) with 181 yards rushing and showed off plenty of nifty moves in the open field.
Like their counterparts on the other side of the ball, Ohio State’s defense also need a little time to get warmed up but ended up performing just as expected. The vaunted defensive line helped record five sacks while Jordan Fuller and Denzel Ward both picked off passes.
Though the final score may not have indicated it, the Hoosiers did have their moments in the debut of new head coach Tom Allen and actually led at halftime 14-13. They had numerous opportunities to make things even more interesting in the third quarter but failed to capitalize each time they had a shot at the lead, eventually giving way to a 29 point unanswered run that salted the game away for the visitors. Quarterback Richard Lagow did what he could running the quick tempo offense (40-of-65 — yes 65 attempts — for 410 yards, three scores and two interceptions) and hooked up several times for some highlight reel plays with wideout Simmie Cobbs (149 yards, one score). It wasn’t enough though and the lack of any ground game certainly hampered the offense down the stretch.
If you told somebody who didn’t watch the game that Ohio State won by four touchdowns over Indiana, they probably would think things went as expected in Bloomington before the second string entered the action. That wasn’t exactly the case to start for the Buckeyes but the end result was certainly something fitting for the second-ranked team in the country. It probably won’t be good enough next week as Oklahoma rolls into Columbus but that will be a story for another time.
Nevada has big edge in game prep vs. Northwestern.
The loss was particularly brutal for the Panthers to start the year off given what the game was supposed to mean for the school. Head coach Shawn Elliott was making his debut as the new man in charge and the program was playing its first ever game at their recently remodeled Georgia State Stadium, a venue most will recognize as the former Turner Field that used to host the Atlanta Braves.
If there’s one consolation for GSU though, it does not appear they will be alone in the FBS ranks with a loss to a FCS squad and could have some company on Thursday night as well.
No. 2 Ohio State struggles early but eventually routs pesky Indiana.
By Bryan Fischer
(Photo/AP Images)
For two quarters and some change, Kevin Wilson’s return to Indiana after a messy departure last year wasn’t going as smoothly as Ohio State new offensive coordinator would have wanted. For fans at home and in the stands, the same could be said of the team’s highly anticipated new look on offense, which sputtered early and often.
Then things just started to click for the Buckeyes in the third quarter and the No. 2 team in the country started living up to that preseason ranking, eventually pulling away from the Hoosiers for a comfortable 49-21 victory on Thursday night that opened the season and Big Ten play for both teams.
Quarterback J.T. Barrett wasn’t quite as sharp as some expected the senior to be but he still posted solid numbers (284 yards, three touchdowns passing plus another score on the ground) as he broke in several new receivers for OSU. Perhaps the biggest development for Urban Meyer’s team was the emergence of freshman tailback J.K. Dobbins, who may have Wally Pipped starter Mike Weber (hamstring) with 181 yards rushing and showed off plenty of nifty moves in the open field.
Like their counterparts on the other side of the ball, Ohio State’s defense also need a little time to get warmed up but ended up performing just as expected. The vaunted defensive line helped record five sacks while Jordan Fuller and Denzel Ward both picked off passes.
Though the final score may not have indicated it, the Hoosiers did have their moments in the debut of new head coach Tom Allen and actually led at halftime 14-13. They had numerous opportunities to make things even more interesting in the third quarter but failed to capitalize each time they had a shot at the lead, eventually giving way to a 29 point unanswered run that salted the game away for the visitors. Quarterback Richard Lagow did what he could running the quick tempo offense (40-of-65 — yes 65 attempts — for 410 yards, three scores and two interceptions) and hooked up several times for some highlight reel plays with wideout Simmie Cobbs (149 yards, one score). It wasn’t enough though and the lack of any ground game certainly hampered the offense down the stretch.
If you told somebody who didn’t watch the game that Ohio State won by four touchdowns over Indiana, they probably would think things went as expected in Bloomington before the second string entered the action. That wasn’t exactly the case to start for the Buckeyes but the end result was certainly something fitting for the second-ranked team in the country. It probably won’t be good enough next week as Oklahoma rolls into Columbus but that will be a story for another time.
Nevada has big edge in game prep vs. Northwestern.
By Louie Vaccher
(Photo/Wildcat Review/Yahoo Sports)
Northwestern may have an advantage over Nevada in the season opener on Saturday in terms of conference pedigree (Big Ten vs. Mountain West), last season’s record (7-6 vs. 5-7) and experience (16 returning starters vs. 14).
But one area the Wolfpack has a decided edge is in game preparation.
Northwestern is perhaps the easiest team to prepare for in America. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald is in his 12th year in Evanston, and his coordinators, Mick McCall on offense and Mike Hankwitz on defense, are each in their 10th season. There’s enough tape of the Wildcats’ systems to start a film festival.
Nevada, on the other hand, features a head coach, Jay Norvell, who is coaching his first game as a head man, as well as a pair of coordinators who are both new to Reno.
The fact that Northwestern is such a known commodity while Nevada is shrouded in mystery gives the Wolfpack an edge, says Fitzgerald.
“Nevada’s got a huge advantage on us. New head coach, new coordinators,” he said. “They obviously know a lot more about us than we know about them.”
Fitzgerald likened the whole process of preparing his team to putting together a puzzle “without having the picture.” So to get ready for the game, Fitzgerald and his staff pored over twice the amount of tape as they normally would.
“You have to look at Nevada from a personnel standpoint, a year ago, how they played,” said Fitzgerald. “Then you have to study what we project based on the coordinators they hired, and all three phases, to try to get a glimpse, a snapshot, of what we may do… It’s basically double the work.”
What did the Wildcats learn in their exhaustive study?
Looking at the coaching staff first, Norvell played for Hayden Fry at Iowa in the 1980s and has had stops in his coaching career in both the NFL (Colts and Raiders) and in the NCAA. He was the offensive coordinator at Nebraska (2004-06), where he worked under head coach Bill Callahan during an era Husker fans would rather forget, and at UCLA (2007). He also served as the wide receivers coach at Oklahoma (2008-14), Texas (2015) and Arizona State (2016).
But the real personality of this team is going to come from the coordinators, and each brings a unique style to Nevada -- a program, by the way, that has made 10 bowls in the last 12 years, three more than Northwestern over the same period.
On offense, all you need to know is the coordinator’s last name: Mumme. Matt Mumme’s father, Hal, was one of the founders of the pass-happy Air Raid offense adopted by coaches like Washington State’s Mike Leach and West Virginia’s Dana Holgerson, and former coaches like Cal’s Sonny Dykes and Baylor’s Art Briles. So the Wolfpack are going to sling the ball around. A lot.
Mumme has a pair of quarterbacks listed as co-starters on the depth chart: David Cornwell is a 6-foot-5, 228-pound transfer from Alabama who was a highly recruited four-star prospect coming out of Norman (Okla.) in 2014, and Ty Gangi, who started last year and threw for 1,301 yards, with eight touchdowns and six interceptions. Either quarterback will likely throw frequently to wide receiver Wyatt Demps, a 6-foot-4, 200-pounder who led the Pack with 53 catches for 686 yards and 9 TDs a year ago and is one of just four returning starters on the offense.
The defensive coordinator, Jeff Casteel, is also a known commodity. He was the DC under Rich Rodriguez at both West Virginia and Arizona, so the Wildcats will see that funky 3-3-5 alignment that Rich Rod became famous for.
Casteel has a better hand than Mumme, with nine returning starters on defense. The bad news is that the Wolfpack allowed 456 yards and 29.0 points per game to rank 107th in the country in 2016. Still, Nevada returns four starters in the secondary, including Asauni Rufus, who finished second on the team with 95 tackles last season.
The Wildcats have some pretty good ideas about what the Wolfpack will try to do on Saturday at Ryan Field. But they won’t know for sure until sometime after the 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff, meaning that their Plan A will need a Plan B and possibly a Plan C.
“We have to plan to adjust,” said Fitzgerald. “We’ll have quite a few contingency plans for what we think we may see, as well as if we see different things.”
Facing a relative unknown in the curtain raiser is nothing new for Fitzgerald and his staff. This will be the fourth time the Wildcats faced a team with a new head man in the first game of the season. The Wildcats won all three of the previous games, against Townson (coach Rob Ambrose) in 2009, Vanderbilt (Robbie Caldwell) in 2010 and Cal (Dykes) in 2013.
Facing a relative unknown in the curtain raiser is nothing new for Fitzgerald and his staff. This will be the fourth time the Wildcats faced a team with a new head man in the first game of the season. The Wildcats won all three of the previous games, against Townson (coach Rob Ambrose) in 2009, Vanderbilt (Robbie Caldwell) in 2010 and Cal (Dykes) in 2013.
NCAABKB: Purdue loses in Taiwan to a Lithuanian team led by Notre Dame's starting center.
By Kyle Boone
It's early, but it appears the Boilermakers are really going to miss Caleb Swanigan.
Purdue charged to the title game in the World University Games with seven consecutive victories, but the Boilermakers fell short of winning gold with an 85-74 loss to Lithuania.
Purdue, USA's lone representative at the games, will return from Taipei with a silver medal. It's a disappointing finish for Purdue, but overall it was a productive international trip that allowed the team, which lost Caleb Swanigan to the NBA Draft, a chance to rebuild and rally before the season officially gets underway.
Without Swanigan, Lithuania out-rebounded Purdue 44-32, and it was the 17 offensive rebounds and extra opportunities allowed that ultimately did them in.
It's too early to tell if Swanigan's absence will loom large this season, or if Matt Painter can replace his production by committee. The team returns 7-footer Isaac Haas and 6-foot-8 power forward Vincent Edwards, both of which combined to average just under 10 rebounds per game last season. But on Tuesday, the lack of an inside presence may have been the dagger, as the team wasn't able to deal with the size of the roster that featured Notre Dame starting center Martinas Geben.
Sophomore point guard Carson Edwards was gracious in defeat after pouring in 23 points, noting that rebounding -- or a lack thereof -- might have cost them the gold.
"You've got to tip your hat to Lithuania — they played a hard and athletic good game," Edwards said to reporters (via the Journal & Courier) in Taipei. "When we didn't get the rebound they got second-chance points and they made us pay for it. We didn't get the stops when we needed them. We got them to take tough shots, but they ended up getting some rebounds."
Purdue has made three-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under Painter.
U of L men's basketball to play Simmons College of Kentucky next year at the KFC Yum! Center.
WDRB Media
(Photo/Courtesy Simmons College)
The University of Louisville will play Simmons College of Kentucky in basketball at the KFC Yum! Center in the 2018-19 season.
Cardinals basketball coach Rick Pitino announced that U of L will play an exhibition game against Simmons College next year at the KFC Yum! Center.
The schools also announced a major donation by Adidas to sponsor Simmons. A $30,000 donation by the athletic company will help outfit the Simmons basketball team. Simmons College officials said they will give $1,000 of that donation to relief efforts for Hurricane Harvey.
U of L Athletic Director Tom Jurich announced a 10-year, $160 million deal with Adidas last week. The long-running partnership will now run through the 2027-28 season. The deal means Adidas will provide footwear, apparel and accessories and marketing support for all 23 of U of L's intercollegiate athletic programs.
It's Adidas' largest deal with any school, essentially making U of L its flagship property. The deal also ranks in the top five nationally for all brands.
Federer comes back to edge Youzhny for 2nd 5-set U.S. Open win.
Associated Press
(Photo/AP)
Given that Roger Federer entered Thursday with a 16-0 career record against his opponent, Mikhail Youzhny, and a 16-0 mark in the U.S. Open’s second round, one might have thought that their meeting at that stage in Flushing Meadows would have been no contest at all.
Think again.
Federer set aside an uncharacteristic 68 unforced errors and what appeared to be a bad back, managing to pull out his second five-set victory in a row at the U.S. Open by coming back to edge Youzhny 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
It is the first time in his long career that the 36-year-old Federer has played five-setters in both the first and second rounds at a Grand Slam tournament.
“These five-set battles are actually quite a lot of fun,” Federer said in his on-court interview in Arthur Ashe Stadium, “and I feel quite warmed up by now.”
The No. 3-seeded Federer won five consecutive U.S. Open championships from 2004-08 and also was the runner-up twice, including two years ago. But he missed last year’s tournament while taking off the second half of the season to let his back and surgically repaired left knee fully heal.
That time off paid obvious dividends: He is 37-3 with five titles in 2017, including his 18th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, then 19th at Wimbledon in July. Federer did not lose any of the sets he played in seven matches at the All England Club.
Things have been rather different so far in New York.
Youzhny is a former top-10 player who reached the U.S. Open semifinals in 2006 and 2010, but he is now ranked 101st.
His level of play dipped considerably over the last two sets Thursday as he appeared to be restricted by a leg cramp.
“I was feeling (badly) there for Mikhail,” Federer said.
Federer was not quite himself for much of the match, either. He appeared slowed by the back that he tweaked earlier in August and his strokes were not at their usual level of crispness.
He also needed five sets to win in the first round Monday night against 19-year-old American Frances Tiafoe.
Against Youzhny, who is 35, Federer surprisingly faltered repeatedly. He got broken while serving for the second set at 5-4, and then once more while serving for the fourth set at 5-3.
While Federer did drop that second set in a tiebreaker, he recovered from his slip-up in the fourth. On his second set point, he hammered a return of a first serve that came in at 86 mph and broke to force a fifth, then engaged in a muted celebration by merely shaking his right fist.
At 1-all in the deciding set, Youzhny stumbled and collapsed to the court, grabbing at his right leg as he appeared to cramp up after whiffing on an attempted running swat at Federer’s lob. Youzhny stayed down for a few moments, then grimaced and limped around for the rest of that game.
Even with Youzhny clearly compromised, Federer did not take full advantage right away.
Federer’s unforced errors continued to mount in the fifth set – 11 in the first four games alone, including a badly shanked forehand on his first break point at 2-1, a netted backhand on his second, and a long forehand to let Youzhny hold there.
The next time he returned, though, Federer raced ahead love-40 and converted on his second break chance when Youzhny double-faulted to make it 4-2.
Another break in the final game ended things, allowing Federer to improve to 17-0 against Youzhny – and 17-0 in the second round at the U.S. Open.
Sharapova wins another 3-setter to reach US Open’s 3rd round.
Associated Press
(Photo/AP)
No one, not even Maria Sharapova herself, knew quite what to expect from her return to Grand Slam tennis at the U.S. Open.
It had been 19 months since she had entered a major tournament. She played only nine times anywhere since returning from a 15-month doping suspension in April. Two three-set tussles into her stay at Flushing Meadows, it’s clear that Sharapova’s game might be patchy, but she is as capable as ever of coming up with big strokes in big moments – and maybe, just maybe, could stick around for a while in a depleted draw.
Sharapova became the first woman into the third round at the U.S. Open by using 12 aces to help set aside a poor start and coming back to beat Timea Babos of Hungary 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday in Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was the highlight of a busy day that featured 87 singles matches on the schedule after rain washed out most play a day earlier.
“It wasn’t my best tennis,” Sharapova acknowledged in an on-court interview. “It felt like it was a scrappy match.”
Sure was, particularly in the early going. Sharapova made a whopping 19 unforced errors in the first set alone, including a pair of missed forehands that handed over the opening set to the 59th-ranked Babos. But as the match went on, Sharapova looked more and more like someone who used to be ranked No. 1 and owns five major titles – including the 2006 U.S. Open – than someone who needed a wild-card invitation from the U.S. Tennis Association because she is now 146th, on account of her ban and lack of play.
“In the second set, I just felt like I was physically fresh and that gave me a lot of confidence,” said the 30-year-old Russian, who wore a strip of black tape on the left forearm that bothered her earlier in the month. “I just wanted to be fittest player out there in the end, and I really felt like I was.”
She cut down her miscues to 12 unforced errors in the second set, then just five in the third, and finished with a 39-13 advantage in winners, looking as strong as she did while eliminating No. 2 seed Simona Halep in a three-set thriller in Ashe on Monday.
“It was definitely tough to control the emotions yesterday, because as much as you want to be happy about that match and what I accomplished there, you want to move on really fast,” Sharapova said. “And so finding that balance is really hard. Today I felt like going into the match I just wanted to get it done. And I did.”
Not quickly, though: She already has spent nearly 5 hours on court, and so perhaps the yelling and fist-pumping she showed at the end against Babos were as much a reflection of a sense of relief as celebration.
If her 14 return winners were a key to getting past Halep, it was Sharapova’s serving that really made a difference down the stretch against Babos: She won 16 of the last 19 points she served.
With so many matches going on, there were plenty of names to keep tabs on. Two other past U.S. Open champions, Juan Martin del Potro and Svetlana Kuznetsova won in the afternoon, while two-time winner Venus Williams faced Oceane Dodin of France at night. After that, 2008 Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was scheduled to meet 18-year-old Canadian qualifier Denis Shapovalov.
There was a mix of first- and second-round matches thanks to Tuesday’s postponements, and No. 14 Nick Kyrgios, No. 22 Fabio Fognini, No. 26 Richard Gasquet and No. 27 Pablo Cuevas all lost their openers. Two top-10 men whose opening matches also were delayed – and will have to get back on court Thursday – expended little energy: No. 6 Dominic Thiem beat Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1, 6-1, and No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov was a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 winner against qualifier Vaclav Safranek.
The only seeded woman to exit in the afternoon was No. 19 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, beaten 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 by Christina McHale of the U.S.
UPDATE: NCAAFB: Candid Coaches: Getting real on marijuana legalization, testing in college football. What's Your Take?
By Dennis Dodd
(Photo/Graphic illustration by Michael Meredith)
Should college football players still be tested and punished for using marijuana?
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 will be sharing their candid thoughts over a two-week period leading into the season.
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 will be sharing their candid thoughts over a two-week period leading into the season.
Marijuana is slowly but surely being legalized across the United States -- either for medicinal or recreational use. But the NCAA -- and individual universities -- still test college athletes to determine whether they smoke weed and punish them accordingly. Yes, even in states like Colorado where marijuana is legal. That led us to ask coaches, under the condition of anonymity, to share their stances on marijuana and whether players should still be punished for using it.
Should marijuana be legalized nationwide?
| Answer | Responses |
|---|---|
| No | 52 percent |
| Yes | 35 percent |
| No opinion | 13 percent |
Should college athletes still be tested and suspended for marijuana use?
| Answer |
Responses
|
|---|---|
| Yes | 74 percent |
| No | 18 percent |
| No opinion |
8 percent
|
Explain yourselves
- "No, [it should not be legalized]. I think it's a gateway drug, and I've got kids. Right now, in [my team's state], marijuana and opiates are a bad, bad killer."
- "I'm to the point where -- if you get a caught smoking marijuana and it's illegal -- we're going to punish you. [However], it doesn't recognize the standards in our society today. We've got several states where it's legal. I have a ton of players. I came back from spring break. They decided to have their offseason drug test. Thirty of my players [tested positive]. They just went home for spring break. What do you think they're going to do? Look at what we did: We drank a lot of beer, and we weren't even of age. They're going to smoke a little bit. The sad thing is they're going to go home and their parents are going to be smoking. Let's not kill ourselves on something that's no longer in effect. I hate to test them after summer because these kids' parents grew up smoking pot. It's very socially accepted."
- "I think it should be legal. Why? It's legal all over our country. It's legal for people who are sick. What we should do is make it legal, but there's got to be a certain [threshold]. Everything that leads to bad decisions goes back to what? After midnight -- with alcohol. I think we have it all reversed. I'm more [against] alcohol than I am marijuana. We drug test all these kids, so why don't we breathalyze them? Nobody says, 'You're dying, grab some whiskey.' You'll die faster."
- "Absolutely [they should be tested]. A lot of times these things are established before you ever meet these kids. When a kid has never done it before college, usually I can correct it if it's a learned behavior. But when he's out 12 years old smoking with Uncle John and Cousin Rudy, it's deep rooted. If I let you do this, I'm setting you up for failure. Right now, the two organizations that say you can't [smoke] are the NFL and NCAA. You're involved in one and want to be in the next one. … I really believe marijuana is a gateway drug."
- "I've really come to the conclusion [that] what is socially acceptable is so different than the rules in our game. It doesn't fit. My daughter in [one state] has told me there are more marijuana stores than McDonald's."
- "I think it's going to be legalized soon. I have come full circle as a man on that. We lose a lot of money. We're helping the cartels grow [by not legalizing]."
- "Our jails are full of people [who have been arrested for marijuana]. There are people losing their lives, dying every day. I know there are a lot worse things out there including things that are legal, including drinking, that are at the same level if not higher. We have to stop testing for it because it is legalized in states of competing universities. That's not fair for those teams to have to be able to manage those kids when it's legal in those states. I also believe that if it's legalized it doesn't become as cool anymore and the numbers go down."
- "A guy's mind doesn't stop forming until he's 26. If he's smoking a lot, it can change. We have to figure out what it [does] to our minds."
Breaking it down
Pot has been called the new six pack. Outrageous? Apparently not to the Candid Coaches. Our respondents reflect society. Marijuana is becoming more socially acceptable. Slightly more than half the states -- 26 -- have legalized marijuana at least in some broad form. That 35 percent of our coaches believe pot should be legalized nationwide is more than a trend.
You see, it really doesn't matter what your politics are. The change is coming. The NCAA has been testing for drugs for decades. Marijuana is just not that big a deal anymore.
Maybe the association woke up to the incongruity of testing itself. The hit rate for NCAA drug positives remain in the 2-3 percent range. If you think only 2-3 percent of players have illicit substances in their systems then you're as dumb as the testers themselves. To get caught you either have to be stupid or sloppy. The science of masking drug use has always been ahead of drug testing itself.
Then there is the drug itself. Marijuana is not performance enhancing. Anything but. The NCAA said so in 2014 in one of the most progressive statements the association has ever made. "Street drugs are not performance-enhancing in nature ..."
Perhaps that's why an amazing 18 percent of the Candid Coaches said either marijuana should not be tested for any longer or players should not be suspended for using it. Times truly have changed.
It's important to note in this survey that the minority of voters on both questions were the most passionate.
It's both a common sense and ethical argument. If a regular citizen can posses and consume pot, why can't a college football player?
The entire process is inconsistent. Most Power Five schools conduct in-house drug testing, so do their conferences, and so does the NCAA. That's three layers. But other schools and conferences don't have the budget or will to test. Are their players more high? Are more pot heads a competitive advantage -- or disadvantage? See how silly this argument is becoming?
Then there is the issue of the consequences of drug use and the varying punishments from one school to another. As noted above, the NCAA long ago began decriminalizing marijuana. Look, it's just not that big a deal anymore.
It's clear the ice is melting around the issue. Whether you like it or not, marijuana is becoming more acceptable. Pot indeed may be becoming the new six pack. "We drank a lot of beer [when we were in school], and we weren't even of age," a coach said. "[These days] they're going to smoke a little bit."
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: Marijuana is legal in 26 states for medical or recreational use. It's slowly becoming socially acceptable. It's our opinion that it's just a matter of time before the Federal Government starts to regulate the production and sale of marijuana for tax revenue purposes. Like alcohol, it will affect people differently. It has been stated that marijuana is not a performance enhancing drug. That might be so, however, for some people, it will affect judgement. That could put athletes in danger of increasing injuries, especially in contact sports as football and hockey. We can go on and on about the pros and cons of marijuana use but let's get back to the question, should college athletes be tested? Our position is that the rules say it's illegal to use marijuana when participating in college athletics. Period. Again, that's the rule and they should be tested. If and when the rule changes and state that marijuana is acceptable socially and legally, then the test should be abandoned. It doesn't make a difference whether it is legal in some states or not, the NCAA rules say it is illegal and a player can be randomly tested. Not to digress but we consistently say that , America's adherence to the rule of law is what separates us from other countries. Everyone use to follow the rules and now, more and more people want to choose to select which rules they will follow. This creates chaos and civil breakdown. This rule is there for a reason and if the participants, (University Presidents, Athletic Directors, Coaches, Managers players and fans), don't agree with it then they should mount a campaign and get the rule changed or deleted. But as long as the rule is in place, it should be adhered to. A simple example is stopping at a red light when driving. That's the rule of the road. Everyone stops but when that one guy decides he's not, Bam!!!! There's an accident. It can be minor or it can be fatal. Uncalled for and very preventable by just following the rule.
You see, it really doesn't matter what your politics are. The change is coming. The NCAA has been testing for drugs for decades. Marijuana is just not that big a deal anymore.
Maybe the association woke up to the incongruity of testing itself. The hit rate for NCAA drug positives remain in the 2-3 percent range. If you think only 2-3 percent of players have illicit substances in their systems then you're as dumb as the testers themselves. To get caught you either have to be stupid or sloppy. The science of masking drug use has always been ahead of drug testing itself.
Then there is the drug itself. Marijuana is not performance enhancing. Anything but. The NCAA said so in 2014 in one of the most progressive statements the association has ever made. "Street drugs are not performance-enhancing in nature ..."
Perhaps that's why an amazing 18 percent of the Candid Coaches said either marijuana should not be tested for any longer or players should not be suspended for using it. Times truly have changed.
It's important to note in this survey that the minority of voters on both questions were the most passionate.
It's both a common sense and ethical argument. If a regular citizen can posses and consume pot, why can't a college football player?
The entire process is inconsistent. Most Power Five schools conduct in-house drug testing, so do their conferences, and so does the NCAA. That's three layers. But other schools and conferences don't have the budget or will to test. Are their players more high? Are more pot heads a competitive advantage -- or disadvantage? See how silly this argument is becoming?
Then there is the issue of the consequences of drug use and the varying punishments from one school to another. As noted above, the NCAA long ago began decriminalizing marijuana. Look, it's just not that big a deal anymore.
It's clear the ice is melting around the issue. Whether you like it or not, marijuana is becoming more acceptable. Pot indeed may be becoming the new six pack. "We drank a lot of beer [when we were in school], and we weren't even of age," a coach said. "[These days] they're going to smoke a little bit."
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: Marijuana is legal in 26 states for medical or recreational use. It's slowly becoming socially acceptable. It's our opinion that it's just a matter of time before the Federal Government starts to regulate the production and sale of marijuana for tax revenue purposes. Like alcohol, it will affect people differently. It has been stated that marijuana is not a performance enhancing drug. That might be so, however, for some people, it will affect judgement. That could put athletes in danger of increasing injuries, especially in contact sports as football and hockey. We can go on and on about the pros and cons of marijuana use but let's get back to the question, should college athletes be tested? Our position is that the rules say it's illegal to use marijuana when participating in college athletics. Period. Again, that's the rule and they should be tested. If and when the rule changes and state that marijuana is acceptable socially and legally, then the test should be abandoned. It doesn't make a difference whether it is legal in some states or not, the NCAA rules say it is illegal and a player can be randomly tested. Not to digress but we consistently say that , America's adherence to the rule of law is what separates us from other countries. Everyone use to follow the rules and now, more and more people want to choose to select which rules they will follow. This creates chaos and civil breakdown. This rule is there for a reason and if the participants, (University Presidents, Athletic Directors, Coaches, Managers players and fans), don't agree with it then they should mount a campaign and get the rule changed or deleted. But as long as the rule is in place, it should be adhered to. A simple example is stopping at a red light when driving. That's the rule of the road. Everyone stops but when that one guy decides he's not, Bam!!!! There's an accident. It can be minor or it can be fatal. Uncalled for and very preventable by just following the rule.
Summary: We're not judging anyone on their use of marijuana, we're saying that if the rule states that you can be tested a punished for it's use, then the rule must be adhered to as long as it is in effect. If you don't like the rule, mount a campaign an change it.
As always, we've espoused our position. Some will agree with us and others won't. But it's our position and we're sticking to it. Now, we'd love to hear your take. Please go to the comment section at the bottom of this blog and share your thoughts with us. We love hearing from you and we value your opinions. Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.
The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Editorial Staff.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, September 01, 2017.
Memoriesofhistory.com
1906 - Jack Coombs of the American League’s Philadelphia Athletics pitched 24 innings against the Boston Red Sox.
1971 - Danny Murtaugh of the Pittsburgh Pirates gave his lineup card to the umpire with the names of nine black baseball players on it. This was a first for Major League Baseball.
1982 - J.R. Richard returned to major league baseball after a two year absence following a near-fatal stroke.
1998 - Mark McGwire, of the St. Louis Cardinals, hit his 56th and 57th homeruns to set a new National League record. He would eventually reach a total of 70 for the season on September 27.
1999 - Twenty-two of major league baseball's 68 permanent umpires were replaced. The problem arose from their union's failed attempt to force an early start to negotiations for a new labor contract.
2004 - In Colorado, the sexual assault charge against Kobe Bryant was dropped after the victim decided not to participate.
1971 - Danny Murtaugh of the Pittsburgh Pirates gave his lineup card to the umpire with the names of nine black baseball players on it. This was a first for Major League Baseball.
1982 - J.R. Richard returned to major league baseball after a two year absence following a near-fatal stroke.
1998 - Mark McGwire, of the St. Louis Cardinals, hit his 56th and 57th homeruns to set a new National League record. He would eventually reach a total of 70 for the season on September 27.
1999 - Twenty-two of major league baseball's 68 permanent umpires were replaced. The problem arose from their union's failed attempt to force an early start to negotiations for a new labor contract.
2004 - In Colorado, the sexual assault charge against Kobe Bryant was dropped after the victim decided not to participate.
*****************************************************************
Please let us hear your opinion on the above articles and pass them on to any other diehard fans that you think might be interested. But most of all, remember, Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica wants you.
No comments:
Post a Comment